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THE    EXPANSI  ON 


of 


so  UTH   CAROLINA 


1729-1765 


ROBERT    L.    MERIWETHER 

Professor  of  History 
University  of  South  Carolina 


SUBMITTED  IN  PARTIAL  FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS 

FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY  IN  THE 

FACULTY  OF  POLITICAL  SCIENCE 

COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


SOUTHERN     PUBLISHERS,     Inc. 

KINGSPORT,    TENNESSEE 

1940 


THE    EX  PAN  S  I  O  N 


0 


f 


S  O  UTH    CAROLI  NA 


1729-1765 


By 
ROBERT    L.    MERIWETHER 

Professor  of  History 
University  of  South  Carolina 

ROBERT  LEE  MERIl'.'ETKER 

SUBMITTED  IN   PARTIAL  FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS 

FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY  IN  THE 

FACULTY  OF  POLITICAL  SCIENCE 

COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


SOUTHERN     PUBLISHERS,     Inc 

KINGSPORT,    TENNESSEE 
1940 


Copyright,  1940,  by 
SOUTHERN  PUBLISHERS,  Ikc. 


Printing  and  Binding  by 
KINGSPORT  PRESS,  Inc.,  Kingsport,  Tennessee 


To 
J.  G.  M. 

Jnd 
H.  O.  M. 


PREFACE 

The  peoples  who  settled  in  the  uplands  bordering  the  southern  Blue 
Ridge  and  in  corresponding  areas  of  the  northern  colonies  established  a  new 
and  distinct  American  frontier.  There  was  an  essential  unity  in  this  "Old 
West,"  as  F.  J.  Turner  pointed  out  in  1908,  but  while  similarity  of  industry 
and  society  bound  its  settlers  together,  other  forces  and  factors  split  the 
section  into  segments.  The  first  advance  into  the  back  country  was  by  rivers 
and  land  routes  from  the  nearest  seaboard  communities;  colonial  boundaries 
paralleled  these  natural  transportation  lines  and  cut  across  the  piedmont. 
Thus  provincial  expansion  and  political  authority  established  ties  with  the 
coast  which  were  strengthened  as  trade  increased.  At  the  same  time  strong 
sectional  feeling  was  developing,  the  South  Carolina  phase  of  which  is  ef- 
fectively traced   in  W.  A.  Schaper's  "Sectionalism  and   Representation." 

The  process  which  filled  the  back  country  with  small  farmers  was  not 
the  only  colonial  expansion.  An  older  and  more  spectacular  movement,  long 
before  the  settlement  of  the  piedmont,  carried  English  trade  and  influence 
into  the  heart  of  the  continent.  The  earlier  chapters  of  this  story  have  been 
written  with  rare  skill  by  Verner  W.  Crane  in  his  Southern  Frontier.  The 
progress  of  the  South  Carolina  back  country,  as  in  the  case  of  several  other 
colonies,  was  at  times  profoundly  affected  by  the  Indian  trade  and  its  ac- 
companying alliances,  and  a  subordinate  but  important  part  of  my  work 
has  been  to  set  forth,  from  a  superabundance  of  material,  the  later  stages  of 
imperial  development. 

For  the  actual  processes  of  South  Carolina  settlement — the  primary  con- 
cern of  this  book — there  are,  in  comparison  with  other  states,  enormous  and 
surprisingly  complete  records.  Of  material  for  some  of  the  most  important 
phases  of  intellectual  life  and  daily  routine,  however,  there  is  little  or  none. 
It  is  partly  to  compensate  for  the  incompleteness  of  the  picture,  partly  for 
their  own  inherent  interest,  that  I  have  devoted  so  much  attention  to  the 
prosaic  yet  eloquent  records  of  individual  settlers  in  their  eager  quest  of  land. 

This  volume  began  with  settlement  and  frontier  studies  under  Profes- 
sors M.  W.  Jernegan  and  W.  E.  Dodd  of  the  University  of  Chicago.  It 
has  been  completed  under  the  supervision  of  Professor  E.  B.  Greene  of  Co- 
lumbia University,  to  whom  grateful  thanks  are  tendered  for  counsel  and 
assistance.  Professors  G.  P.  Voigt  of  Wittenberg  College,  Ohio,  and  J.  H. 
Easterby  of  the  College  of  Charleston,  and  Miss  Leah  Townsend  of  Flor- 
ence, South  Carolina,  have  read  portions  of  the  manuscript  and  have  given 
aid  on  difficult  problems.  Professor  D.  D.  Wallace  of  WofiFord  College 
offered  helpful  criticisms  on  the  draft  of  the  first  nine  chapters  which  he  had 

V 


vi  Preface 

in  hand  while  writing  the  first  volume  of  his  History  of  South  Carolina,  and 
suggested  additional  material.  Professor  J.  A.  Krout  of  Columbia  Univer- 
sity, Miss  Anne  King  Gregorie  of  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  and  Mr.  C.  L. 
Epting  of  Clemson  College,  have  likewise  read  portions  of  the  manuscript 
and  made  suggestions.  The  Social  Science  Research  Council  assisted  by  a 
grant  covering  a  summer's  work.  My  chief  debt,  however,  is  to  my  wife, 
Margaret  Babcock  Meriwether,  for  invaluable  aid  in  the  task  of  revision 
and  in  reading  proof. 

Among  curators  and  librarians  I  am  most  of  all  obliged  to  Mr.  A.  S. 
Salley,  Secretary  of  the  Historical  Commission  of  South  Carolina,  who  gave 
every  facility  for  use  of  the  records  in  his  custody,  secured  duplicates  from 
the  British  Public  Record  Office  when  this  research  disclosed  gaps  in  series, 
and  constantly  assisted  in  identification  of  material.  To  Miss  Harriet  J. 
Clarkson  and  Mr.  F.  M.  Hutson  of  the  Historical  Commission  staff,  to  the 
staff  of  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  to  Miss  Mabel  L.  Webber, 
Secretary  of  the  South  Carolina  Historical  Society,  are  due  likewise  cordial 
appreciation  and  thanks.  The  gracious  aid  of  Miss  Ellen  M.  Fitzsimons, 
Librarian  of  the  Charleston  Library  Society,  and  the  help  of  her  assistants, 
made  the  use  of  the  files  of  newspapers  there  a  pleasure.  I  am  also  indebted 
to  the  custodians  of  other  libraries  and  offices  noted  in  the  bibliography  and 
footnotes. 

This  list  of  acknowledgements  would  not  be  complete  without  grateful 
mention  of  the  fine  courtesy  and  helpfulness  of  farmers,  tenants  and  field 
laborers  who  discussed  with  me  soil  problems  and  helped  to  identify  forgot- 
ten roads  and  sites  of  the  old  back  country. 

Robert  L.  Meriwether. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

THE  BACKGROUND  OF  EXPANSION 

I.  South  Carolina  in  1729 3 

II.  Governor  Johnson's  Township  Scheme 17 

THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  MIDDLE  COUNTRY 
—THE  WESTERN  TOWNSHIPS 

III.  PURRYSBURG 34 

IV.  Amelia  and  Orangeburg 42 

V.  Saxe  Goth  a  and  the  Congarees 53 

VI.  New  Windsor  and  the  Salkehatchie  Forks  ....       66 

THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  MIDDLE  COUNTRY 
—THE  EASTERN  TOWNSHIPS 

VII.  Williamsburg  and  Kingston 79 

VIII.  Queensboro  and  the  Welsh  Tract 89 

IX.  Fredericksburg  and  the  Waterees 99 

THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  BACK  COUNTRY 

X.  The  Northwest  Frontier 117 

XI.  The  Waxhaws  AND  the  Upper  Wateree 136 

XII.  The  Dutch  Fork  and  Upper  Broad  River  ....     147 

BACK  COUNTRY  AND  FRONTIER 

XIII.  The  Back  Country  IN  1759 160 

XIV.  The  Southern  Indians  and  Their  Trade     ....     185 

XV.  The  Cherokee  War 213 

XVI.  The  Growth  OF  THE  Back  Country,  1760-1765  .      .      .     241 

vii 


MAPS 

PAGE 

1.  South  Carolina  In  1729 2 

2.  The  Western  Townships 32 

3.  The  Congarees 52 

4.  The  Eastern  Townships 78 

5.  The  Back  Country 112 

6.  The  Northwest  Frontier 116 

7.  The  Back  Country  in  the  Cherokee  War 212 


vm 


ABBREVIATIONS 

CSCHS:   Collections  of  the  South  Carolina  Historical  Society 

JC:   Journal  of  the  Council 

JCHA:  Journal  of  the  Commons  House  of  Assembly 

JUHA:  Journal  of  the  Upper  House  of  Assembly 

P:   Plats 

PR:   Public  Records  of  South  Carolina 

SCAGG:   South  Carolina  and  American  General  Gazette 

SCG:  South  Carolina  Gazette 

SCGCJ :  South  Carolina  Gazette  and  Country  Journal 

SCHGM :  South  Carolina  Historical  and  Genealogical  Magazine 

Stats:   Statutes  at  Large  of  South  Carolina 


THE  BACKGROUND  OF  EXPANSION 


CHAPTER  I 

South  Carolina  in  1729 

It  was  in  the  year  1719  that  the  impatient  South  Carolinians  overthrew 
the  rule  of  the  Lords  Proprietors,  but  ten  years  passed  before  the  leisurely 
negotiations  were  completed  which  transferred  the  great  realm  to  the 
crown.  The  southern  colony  was  at  that  time  a  squat  triangle  of  settle- 
ment the  base  of  which  was  the  coast  between  Winyah  Bay  and  Port  Royal 
Sound,  its  apex  the  great  bend  of  the  Santee  fifty  miles  inland,  its  white 
population  ten  thousand,  its  slaves  twice  that  number.  Two  generations  of 
Carolinians  had  laid  the  foundations  of  an  English  society  and  had  brought 
their  institutions  to  such  maturity  that  they  were  to  continue  unchanged 
and  dominant  to  1776.  Now,  under  the  immediate  protection  of  the 
British  government  and  with  a  more  liberal  colonial  administration.  South 
Carolina  was  in  position  to  receive  its  full  share  of  the  great  German  and 
Scotch-Irish  migration  which  -was  already  filling  up  the  colonies  to  the 
north.  An  even  more  important  result  of  the  ending  of  Proprietary  rule 
was  the  setting  free  of  forces  within  the  province  to  exploit  its  resources 
and  to  grapple  with  its  peculiar  problems. 

The  area  of  the  present  state  of  South  Carolina  is  divided  by  the  sand 
hills  and  the  "fall  line"  into  two  sections,  the  low  country  or  coastal  plain, 
and  the  "up  country"  or  piedmont.  The  former,  nearly  two-thirds  of  the 
whole,  was  until  comparatively  recent  geologic  ages  covered  by  the  sea, 
and  the  sand  hills,  veritable  little  mountains  near  the  rivers  but  practically 
disappearing  at  points  between,  mark  the  former  sea  coast.  The  low 
country  is  itself  composed  of  the  upper  and  lower  pine  belts.  The  tide- 
water portion  of  the  lower  pine  belt  is  a  strip  about  thirty  miles  wide  in 
the  south  narrowing  to  ten  or  fifteen  beyond  the  Santee.  It  is  traversed 
by  a  dozen  considerable  rivers  and  along  the  coast  is  cut  into  a  fringe  of 
islands  by  salt  creeks  and  inlets  which  were  navigable  for  the  small  boats  of 
the  eighteenth  century.^ 

^  See  H.  H.  Bennett,  Soils  and  Agriculture  of  the  Southern  States  (New  York, 
1921),  pp.  54—62;  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  Bureau  of  Soils,  Field 
Operations  of  the  Bureau  of  Soils,  1904,  1911,  1918  (Washington,  1905,  1914,  1924), 
Surveys  of  Charleston  Area,  Georgetown  County,  Horry  County.  Compare  early 
descriptions,  m\.  S.  Salley,  Jr.,  ed.,  Narratives  of  Early  Carolina  (New  York, 
1911),  pp.  S8-93,  101-104,  130,  170-171,  290;  B.  R.  Carroll,  ed.,  Historical  Col- 
lections of  South  Carolina  (2  vols.,  New  York,  1836),  I,  75-77,  II,  467-468; 
American  Husbandry  (2  vols.,  London,  1775),  I,  384-387;  William  Bartram, 
Travels  through  North  and  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  East  and  fVest  Florida 
(London,  1794),  pp.  28-32. 

3 


4  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

The  swamp  or  marsh,  sometimes  several  miles  wide,  bordering  all  these 
streams  is  interrupted  from  time  to  time  by  low  bluffs  abutting  squarely 
upon  the  water.  Among  the  islands  and  for  a  short  distance  above,  the 
water  is  salt  and  is  flanked  by  marsh  grass  only,  but  beyond  this  the  tides 
are  fresh  and  flow  through  jungles  of  cypress,  bay  and  gum.  Above  the 
tide  level  in  either  portion  are  also  to  be  found  small  creeks  and  lakes 
similarly  wooded,  or  even  meadow-like  savannas. 

Scattered  about  in  this  half-drowned  coast  country  lie  high  and  dry 
areas,  sometimes  of  large  extent,  originally  covered  with  forests.  Along  the 
sea  islands  great  live  oaks  overlooked  the  shining  stretches  of  bay  and 
sound,  while  farther  back  long-leaf  pines  made  a  grave  and  spacious  con- 
trast to  the  dense  growth  bordering  the  clean  dark  streams.  In  the  colonial 
period  these  dry  portions  were  yielding  good  crops  of  corn,  large  amounts  of 
naval  stores,  and  pasturage  for  stocks  of  cattle  and  hogs.  This  soil  was 
likewise  used  for  the  first  experiments  in  growing  rice,  but  the  discovery 
was  soon  made  that  the  wet  black  mold  of  the  swamps  was  ideal  for  its 
production,  and  the  new  crop  speedily  became  the  staple  of  the  province. 

The  constant  need  of  rice  for  water  caused  some  planters  before  the 
middle  of  the  century  to  dam  the  small  streams  for  reservoirs  from  which 
they  periodically  watered  the  fields.  By  the  end  of  the  colonial  period 
attempts  had  been  made  to  control  the  growth  of  plant  and  weeds  by 
alternately  flooding  and  draining  the  fields.  This  method,  transferred  to 
the  freshwater  portion  of  the  tide  lands  after  the  Revolution,  was  developed 
into  the  famous  water  culture.  But  in  1729  the  planters  for  the  most  part 
merely  selected  the  swamps  of  those  streams,  small  or  large,  which  were 
out  of  reach  of  the  tides  and  depended  on  the  hoe  for  cultivation.^ 

Most  of  the  swamp  area  was  a  dead  loss  even  for  rice  growing  because 
of  standing  water  or  sheer  inaccessibility,  and  an  adequate  amount  of  high 
land  and  desirable  swamp  was  hard  to  secure  except  by  taking  up  large 
tracts.  Rice  was  an  extremely  heavy  crop,  and  the  planter  sought  to  have 
his  plantation  front  on  navigable  water  whence  he  had  ready  access  to  the 
sea.  Through  the  streams  that  fell  into  Charleston  harbor,  or  through  the 
inland  passage  from  Charleston  to  the  Savannah,  boats  from  half  the  tide- 
water area  could  reach  the  town  without  touching  the  ocean. 

The  work  of  clearing  the  ground,  cultivating  the  plant,  and  cleaning 
the  grain  from  the  husk  was  arduous  in  the  extreme,  and  in  the  hot  wet 
swamp  land  only  negroes  could  well  endure  it.  Therefore  the  importation 
of  slaves  kept  pace  with  the  increase  of  the  crop  and  early  made  South 
Carolina  a  region  of  large  plantations,  though  the  total  acreage  tended  to 

2  Letter  of  Agricola,  South  Carolina  Gazette  (cited  as  SCG),  Oct.  8,  1744; 
Carroll,  Collections,  II,  201-202;  South  Carolina  Historical  and  Genealogical 
Magazine  (cited  as  SCHGM),  XXXII,  85-86;  Lionel  Chalmers,  Account  of  the 
Weather  and  Diseases  of  South  Carolina  (2  vols.,  London,  1776),  I,  3-41;  Amer- 
ican Husbandry,  I,  391-394;  U.  B.  Phillips,  Life  and  Labor  in  the  Old  South 
(Boston,  1929),  pp.  116-117.     See  also  below,  p.  109. 


The  Background  of  Expansion  5 

remain  within  moderate  limits.  By  quit  rents,  sales,  taxes,  and  settlement 
requirements,  the  Proprietors  and  the  assembly  restricted  landholding. 
Furthermore,  for  the  twenty  years  preceding  1731,  the  land  office  was 
practically  closed,  although  from  time  to  time  the  Proprietors  made  in- 
dividual grants  of  great  tracts  for  little  or  nothing.  However,  the  pro- 
vincial taxes  fell  heavily  on  land,  and  the  grantees  were  often  in  no  hurry 
to  assume  their  obligations  by  fixing  upon  a  site  and  surveying  it.^ 

In  1720  there  were  1,163,239  acres  on  the  tax  books,  between  five  and 
six  percent  of  which  was  in  the  parish  of  St.  Philip,  Charleston.  Thus 
for  the  rural  districts  the  acreage  per  capita  was  71.*  Estimating  the  pos- 
sible number  of  rural  laborers  at  7,000  or  7,500,^  the  average  amount  of 
land  to  each  was  about  150  acres.  In  1731  the  taxed  lands  were  1,453,- 
875  acres,  but  the  slave  population  had  increased  nearly  seventy  percent, 
and  the  white  about  fifty,®  so  that  the  acreage  for  each  possible  rural 
laborer  had  fallen  to  about  110.  Large  stretches  of  pine  barren,  marsh 
and  irreclaimable  swamp  were  included  in  these  holdings.  For  a  new 
country  the  amount  was  not  excessive.^ 

^  Edward  McCrady,  History  of  South  Carolina  under  the  Proprietary  Gov- 
ernment. 1670-1719  (New  York,  1897),  pp.  190,  279,  284,  554,  n.  1,  557,  n.  3,  580- 
581,  718-719;  Statutes  at  Large  of  South  Carolina,  ed.  by  Thomas  Cooper  and 
D.  J.  McCord  (9  vols.,  Columbia,  1836-1841— cited  as  Stats.),  Ill,  34-38,  69-84,  257- 
265;  Public  Records  of  South  Carolina,  MS  (bound  copies  of  records  in  British 
Public  Record  Office;  the  accompanying  identification  will  serve  for  reference  to 
these  papers,  whether  in  the  original  or  in  print — cited  as  PR),  XIII,  422 
(Governor  Robert  Johnson  to  Board  of  Trade,  Dec.  19,  1729). 

■'PR,  IX,  23  (James  Moore,  Mar.  21,  1721).  The  white  population  in  1719  was 
about  6,400,  the  slave  11,828.  Charleston  had  about  1,400  whites  and  1,400 
slaves — see  ibid,  and  Edward  McCrady,  History  of  South  Carolina  under  the 
Royal  Government,  1719-1776  (New  York,  1899),  p.  807.  The  tax  returns  appear 
to  be  a  fair  indication  of  the  holdings  of  land.  For  instance  in  1770  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Bull,  the  younger,  said  that  "several  hundred  thousand"  acres  granted 
were  not  taxed,  "owned,  perhaps  chiefly,  by  non-residents"  (PR,  XXXII,  400 — 
Representation,  Nov.  30).  A  single  tract  doubtless  accounted  for  nearly  200,000 
acres  of  this — the  Hamilton  survey  in  the  back  country  (below,  pp.  125-127,  SCG, 
June  12,  1762,  advertisement  of  Miles  Brewton  et.  al.).  For  difficulties  in  the  way 
of   collecting   taxes   on   lands   of   non-residents   see   Stats.,    Ill,   439,    IV,   270-271. 

^  That  is,  white  males  and  slaves  able  to  work.  Using  the  basis  later  given 
by  Lieutenant-Governor  Bull  for  calculation  (see  PR  XXVIII,  352 — to  Board, 
May  29,  1760),  there  were  in  South  Carolina  outside  of  Charleston  in  1720  5,300 
slaves  and  1,000  white  males  over  sixteen.  However,  the  number  of  negro 
laborers  was  much  larger  than  the  number  from  sixteen  to  sixty.  The  number  of 
slaves  between  seven  and  sixty  necessary  to  make  up  the  South  Carolina  tax  of 
1724  {Stats.,  Ill,  207)  after  deducting  a  land  tax  based  on  the  provincial  and 
St.  Philip's  acreage  (PR,  XXI,  346 — Benjamin  W^hitaker,  Observations  [etc.] 
enclosed  with  his  letter  to  Board,  June  25,  1744),  was  about  9,200,  or  about  two- 
thirds  the  slave  population. 

^See  PR,  XV,  213  (Benjamin  V^^hitaker,  Sept.  21,  1732,  received  by  Board 
Dec.  1,  1732),  87,  229  (Johnson  to  Board,  received  Jan.  26,  Dec.  22,  1732),  163 
(James  St.  John  to  Board,  received  Sept.  6,  1732). 

"^  In  1733  Governor  Burrington  estimated  the  North  Carolina  population  at 
thirty  thousand  whites  and  six  thousand  negroes — a  larger  population  than  that  of 
South  Carolina  at  that  time,  but  perhaps  a  smaller  labor  force  {Colonial  Records  of 
North  Carolina— 10  vols.,  Raleigh,  1886-1890— III,  433),  and  in  1736  put  the 
amount  of  land  held  at  three  million  acres   {ibid.,  IV,  158). 


6  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

The  rice  production  doubled  during  this  decade;  Charleston  became  a 
flourishing  town  of  3,000  souls,  and  the  total  exports  amounted  to  £100,- 
000.^  With  the  rice  market  good  and  the  supply  of  negroes  increasing, 
the  possibilities  for  wealth  in  the  region  between  Cape  Fear  and  the  Al- 
tamaha  River  seemed  almost  unlimited.  The  white  population  however 
increased  slowly,  and  in  1729  was  less  than  a  third  of  the  total  of  30,000. 
What  visions  of  expansion  and  greater  wealth  the  planters  had  were 
clouded  by  the  danger  of  insurrection  by  the  new  and  half-savage  slaves. 
Formerly  the  problems  of  defense  had  been  largely  external,  represented  by 
the  Spaniard  and  the  Indian,  but  by  1729  there  had  come  about  a  funda- 
mental change.  Letters  and  papers  of  the  time  are  full  of  allusions  to  the 
peril,  and  for  forty  years  it  remained  perhaps  the  strongest  influence  in  the 
province  on  public  policy.^ 

South  Carolina  was  thus  a  comparatively  small  community  with  inter- 
ests nearly  uniform  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  its  local  government  was  so 
little  developed.  The  vestries,  church  wardens  and  rectors  of  the  parishes 
were  elected ;  the  parish  government,  besides  providing  for  the  church,  had 
the  care  of  the  poor  and  conduct  of  elections.^"  The  militia  officers  and  the 
justices  of  the  peace  were  appointed  by  the  governor,  and  the  road  com- 
missioners by  the  assembly.  These  oflices  carried  no  salaries,  however,  and 
the  appointees  were  necessarily  of  the  community.  As  long  as  the  popula- 
tion was  small  and  the  province  compact  this  system  made  for  efficiency  and 
good  government. 

Charleston  and  its  flourishing  trade  presented  the  only  serious  threat 
to  this  unity.  The  merchants  were  creditors  of  the  planters,  and  the  in- 
terests of  the  two  occasionally  came  into  violent  conflict.  But  after  all 
Charleston  was  the  planters'  rather  than  the  merchants'  city.  It  was  to  a 
surprising  extent  the  gathering  point  for  all  the  resources  and  forces  of  the 
province,  and  the  center  from  which  practically  all  social  influence  and 
political  control  were  exercised.  Here  in  the  late  autumn  met  the  General 
Assembly,  the  elective  branch  of  which — the  Commons  House — was  made 
up  chiefly  of  planters,  although  the  Charleston  lawyers  were  an  important 
factor.^^    By  an  act  of  1721  the  Commons  was  made  a  body  of  thirty-six 

8  PR,  XIV,  32  (below,  p.  19,  n,  7),  XV,  66-68  (Johnson  to  Board,  Dec.  16,  1731), 
229  (above,  n.  6). 

"  For  instances,  see  PR,  VIII,  67  (Joseph  Boone  .  .  .  ,  received  by  Board 
Aug.  23,  1720),  XIII,  24  (Representation  ...  St.  Paul's  and  St.  Bartholomew's, 
received  by  Board  Apr.  S,  1728),  XVI,  398-399,  XVII,  300  (below,  p.  22,  n.  14), 
XVIII,  172-173  (below,  p.  27,  n.  28)  ;  Journal  of  the  Upper  House  of  Assembly, 
MS  (cited  as  JUHA),  Feb.  26,  1734;  Journal  of  the  Council,  MS  (cited  as  JC), 
July  12,  1751;  Collections  of  the  South  Carolina  Historical  Society  (5  vols., 
Charleston,  1857-1897— cited  as  CSCHS),  I,  252;  Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  II,  421; 
Letter  on  Jamaica  slave  insurrection,  SCG,  July  1,  1732;  Essay  on  Currency,  pp.  4 
and  17. 

^°  Stats.,  II,  287-291,  594,  III,  51. 

^^  Compare  the  list  of  lawyers  with  that  of  the  speakers  of  the  Commons — 
McCrady,  S.  C.  under  the  Royal  Go'vernment,  pp.  475,  802. 


The  Background  of  Expansion  7 

members  from  eleven  parishes,  the  representation  varying  from  two  to  five. 
In  the  royal  as  in  the  Proprietary  period  the  House  was  the  chief  power  in 
the  province.  Individually  and  as  a  body  its  members  had  the  political 
skill  that  came  from  long  experience  and  careful  attention  to  the  affairs  of 
government.  Equally  great  was  their  self-confidence,  the  result  of  success- 
ful struggles  with  the  Proprietors  and  constant  grappling  with  the  dangers 
that  beset  the  isolated  colony.  French,  Spanish  and  pirate  attacks  they 
had  weathered  or  even  signally  defeated,  and  to  their  brilliant  defense  in 
the  great  Yamasee  war  of  1715  they  looked  back  as  to  an  heroic  age. 
Finally  in  1719  the  Proprietors  themselves,  for  years  regarded  as  enemies, 
had  been  overthrown  by  the  Commons.^" 

The  governor's  title  was  the  highest  in  the  colony,  and  he  still  had 
much  authority.  He  was  commander-in-chief  of  the  militia  and  appointed 
its  officers  as  well  as  the  justices  of  the  peace.  He  could  call  or  dissolve 
the  assembly  and  veto  its  acts.  But  his  authority  was  closely  restricted  by 
the  Commons'  control  of  taxes  and  appropriations  from  which  were  paid 
three-fourths  of  the  expenses  of  the  government,  including  the  salaries  of 
the  governor  and  chief  justice  and  the  pay  of  the  garrisons  and  troops.^^ 
The  transfer  to  royal  government  materially  strengthened  the  position  of 
the  executive  without  altering  these  powers,  for  the  cumbersome  and  in- 
efficient machinery  of  the  British  colonial  system  had  little  more  than 
negative  means  of  enforcing  its  orders.  The  crown  like  its  governor  had 
the  rights  of  veto,  appointment  and  removal,  and  as  important  were  the 
favors  that  might  be  granted  by  the  British  government — bounties  for 
products,  relief  from  some  pinch  of  the  navigation  acts,  and  defense  for  the 
province  by  ships  of  war  or  troops. 

Between  the  governor  and  the  Commons  House — between  the  province 
and  the  crown,  in  fact — stood  the  council,  in  a  position  anomalous  but 
strategic.  It  advised  the  governor  in  all  administrative  matters  and  was 
likewise  the  upper  house  of  assembly;  its  members  were  appointed  by  the 
crown,  but  were  themselves  well-to-do  planters  or  merchants  and  drew  no 
pay.  They  were  therefore  dependent  upon  neither  governor  nor  Commons, 
and  during  the  next  thirty  years  rendered  the  province  a  service  so  generally 
excellent  as  to  command  almost  unfailing  respect.  But  the  high  honor  of 
the  position  and  the  natural  tendency  of  a  body  to  increase  its  power  caused 
the  council  to  support  the  crown  rather  than  the  Commons  where  the 
prerogative  or  executive  control  was  concerned. 

The  usual  point  at  issue  between  executive  and  Commons  was,  of 
course,  the  amount  of  taxes  and  appropriations.  The  governor,  having 
the  responsibility  for  the  government,  called  for  liberal  expenditures,  while 
the   Commons,    representing   the   taxpayers   and   themselves   paying   large 

^^  Stats.,  Ill,  137,  JC,  June  27,  1744,  below,  p.  234,  SCG,  June  2,  1766. 
^^  See,   for  instance,   Stats.,  Ill,    186-188;    W.   R.   Smith,   South    Carolina   as   a 
Royal  Province,  1719-1776   (New  York,  1903),  p.  334. 


8  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

amounts,  were  careful  to  the  point  of  stinginess.  Bound  up  with  this  issue 
was  the  problem  of  a  medium  of  exchange.  The  province  exported  food- 
stuffs and  raw  material  and  imported  manufactured  goods  and  slaves;  the 
balance  of  trade  was  therefore  heavily  against  it,  and  the  planters  were  al- 
most invariably  in  debt.  Even  in  good  times  the  currency  was  often  in- 
sufficient for  ordinary  expenses  of  making  or  moving  the  crops,  and,  when 
business  depression  or  an  emergency  entailing  extraordinary  government 
expense  came  upon  the  province,  the  planter  bore  a  crushing  burden  of 
debt  and  taxes.^* 

The  natural  resort  at  such  times  was  to  issues  of  legal  tender  notes, 
with  or  without  adequate  provision  for  redemption.  Thus  the  crisis  was 
tided  over  without  additional  taxes,  conduct  of  business  was  made  easier 
by  the  increase  of  money  in  circulation,  and  last  but  hardly  least  the  prompt 
depreciation  of  the  currency  resulted  in  a  fifteen  to  thirty  percent  decrease 
in  debts.  When  the  Proprietary  government  was  overthrown  in  1719  the 
paper  money  in  circulation  had  a  face  value  of  about  eighty  thousand 
pounds,  but  in  sterling  was  worth  only  one-fifth  that  amount.  Through- 
out the  following  decade  the  Commons  fought  to  prevent  the  retiring  of 
this  money  and  even  attempted  to  increase  it.  In  1723  when  the  desperate 
Charleston  merchants  protested  against  a  new  attack  upon  the  debts  due 
them,  by  a  bill  to  increase  the  paper  money  by  fifty  percent,  they  were  put 
under  arrest  for  slander  and  contempt.  During  the  dissension,  the  worst  in 
the  province  since  the  fight  over  the  establishment  of  the  Anglican  Church 
twenty  years  before,  the  council  rather  than  the  governor  sided  with  the 
merchants.  In  this  case,  however,  both  yielded  to  pressure  and  the  measure 
passed.^^ 

The  act  was  promptly  repealed  by  the  crown,  and  the  London  mer- 
chants petitioning  for  the  removal  of  the  too  sympathetic  Governor  Nichol- 
son, he  was  recalled  two  years  later.  Meanwhile  he  had,  as  ordered  by 
the  crown,  secured  from  the  assembly  a  law  for  retiring  practically  half 
the  entire  paper  money  of  the  province.  This  was  to  be  done  in  annual 
installments  as  it  was  paid  in  for  customs  duties.  The  Commons  almost 
immediately  repented  its  action,  which  would  in  effect  double  all  debts. 
The  continued  attacks  by  the  Indians  or  escaped  slaves,  instigated  by  the 
Spanish,  added  to  the  expenses  of  the  government,  and  made  the  planters 
fear  complete  ruin  if  the  law  of  1724  were  to  run  its  full  course.^®  Their 
representatives  were  amazingly  fertile  during  the  next  six  years  in  ex- 
pedients for  staving  off  the  evil  day.     The  council  and  its  senior  member, 

^*  See  H.  L.  Osgood,  The  American  Colonies  in  the  Eighteenth  Century  (4  vols., 
New  York,  1924),  II,  373-375,  Stats.,  Ill,  105-106,  188,  IX,  759. 

^^  Stats.,  Ill,  188-193,  IX,  770-776,  Smith,  S.  C.  as  a  Royal  Province,  pp.  235- 
240,  PR,  XIII,  270-335   (Representation  of  S.  C.  Council,  Dec.  19,  1728). 

i«PR,  XI,  231-23  5  (Petition  of  merchants  to  crown,  Oct.  16,  1724),  Osgood, 
Colonies  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  II,  376,  Stats.,  Ill,  219-221.  See  also  PR, 
XIII,   61-70    (President   Arthur   Middleton,   June    13,    1728). 


The  Background  of  Expansion  9 

Arthur  Middleton,  who  now  presided  in  the  absence  of  the  governor,  were 
equally  determined  on  enforcement  and  the  contest  culminated  in  rioting 
and  a  complete  deadlock  that  lasted  from  1727  to  the  end  of  1730.  At  that 
time  the  paper  money  amounted  to  £106,500,  and  its  value  was  one-seventh 
that  of  sterling."  Meanwhile  some  of  the  more  moderate  spirits  were 
working  earnestly  on  this  as  well  as  on  the  greater  problem  of  the  slave 
population.  In  1730  a  solution  of  the  two  was  presented  in  the  shape  of 
the  new  expansion  policy. 

The  ten  or  fifteen  mile  stretch  of  the  lower  pine  belt  adjoining  the 
tidewater  enjoyed  advantages  of  transportation  that  made  it  practically  a 
part  of  that  more  favored  section,  but  beyond  there  was  little  to  redeem  the 
region.  It  was  monotonously  level  and  a  fine  compact  sand  prevailed; 
save  for  occasional  gentle  slopes  near  the  streams  and  elsewhere  the  soil 
was  poor  and  the  drainage  bad.  Everywhere  except  in  the  swamps  grew 
the  long-leaf  pine,  often  to  the  exclusion  of  other  trees.  These  splendid 
but  solemn  vistas  early  gained  for  these  districts  the  name  of  "pine  bar- 
rens".^' 

The  upper  pine  belt  was  far  better  suited  to  the  purposes  of  the  early 
settler.  It  ojFfered  broad  areas  of  nearly  level  or  gently  rolling  land 
covered  with  pine  or  oak  and  the  soil,  a  sandy  loam,  was  easily  worked  and 
fertile  though  not  rich.  Bordering  the  streams  or  shallow  lakes  were 
cypress  and  gum  swamps  varying  in  width  from  a  few  yards  to  several 
miles.  These  swamps  might  tempt  the  rice  planter,  but  neither  in  soil  nor 
advantages  of  transportation  could  they  compare  with  the  tidewater.^® 
Northwest  of  this  section  the  sand  hills — wastes  of  coarse  sand  covered 
with  scrub  oak  or  pine — partially  blocked  the  river  valleys,  the  natural 
lines  of  communication  between  low  country  and  piedmont,  and  for  genera- 
tions served  as  barrier  as  well  as  dividing  line  between  them.     Further- 

^^  Stats.,  IX,  776,  779.  This  ratio  continued  with  few  fluctuations  until  the 
Revolution — see  for  instance  ibid.,  p.  780,  III,  482,  D.  D.  Wallace,  The  History  of 
South  Carolina  (4  vols.,  New  York,  1934),  I,  315 — and  was  the  standard  for 
salaries  and  payments  in  the  province.  In  this  work  all  figures  are  given  in 
sterling  at  this  rate  unless  otherwise  stated,  fractions  of  pounds  being  usually 
disregarded.  The  "proclamation  money"  often  referred  to  in  the  records  was  not 
a  real  money,  but  an  attempted  standard  for  valuation  of  foreign  coins  set  by  royal 
proclamation.  "Four  pounds  proclamation  money"  was  about  three  pounds 
sterling.  See  Osgood,  Colonies  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  I,  225;  Stats.,  II,  563- 
565,  III,  701;  JC,  Mar.  3,  1732. 

i^PR,  XIV,  30  (Johnson  to  Board,  Jan.  2,  1729),  261-262  (Thomas  Lowndes 
to  Board,  Aug.  26,  1730),  XXI,  101  (below,  p.  81,  n.  6).  The  lower  pine  belt  in 
fact  extends  quite  to  the  coast,  but  in  the  eighteenth  century  the  problem  of 
transportation  alone  made  of  the  tidewater  portion  of  it  a  separate  section. 
For  descriptions  see  Bennett,  Soils  of  the  Southern  States,  pp.  54-57,  and  Bureau  of 
Soils,  Field  Operations,  1915,  1916,  1910,  1914  (Washington,  1919,  1921,  1912, 
1919),    Hampton,    Dorchester,   Berkeley,    Clarendon,    Florence. 

^®  See  Bennett,  Soils  of  the  Southern  States,  pp.  60-62;  Bureau  of  Soils, 
Field  Operations,  1912,  1913,  1904,  1907,  1902,  1917,  (Washington,  1915,  1916, 
1905,  1909,  1903,  1923),  Barnwell,  Bamberg,  Orangeburg,  Orangeburg  Area, 
Sumter,  Darlington  Area,  Marlboro. 


10  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

more,  navigation  of  rivers  was  halted  at  the  upper  edge  of  the  sand  hills  by 
outcrops  of  rock  which  formed  the  shoals  and  low  falls  of  the  "fall 
line".  The  pine  belts,  between  the  tidewater  and  the  sand  hills,  seemed 
designed  by  nature  to  form  a  distinct  section,  a  transition  from  the  tide- 
water to  the  piedmont — the  middle  country  as  it  was  occasionally  called 
in  later  times. 

The  first  occupation  of  this  middle  country  was  military,  and  before 
1720  a  line  of  garrisons  marked  off  the  territory  that  the  province  was 
forty  years  in  settling.  In  the  Yamasee  War  of  1715  South  Carolina  nar- 
rowly escaped  destruction,  and  the  continuation  of  Indian  attacks  for  sev- 
eral years  thereafter  caused  the  assembly  to  establish  four  garrisons  for  the 
defense  of  the  frontier;  the  first  two,  provided  for  in  1716,  were  placed 
at  Port  Royal  and  Savannah  Town.  Fort  Moore,  for  the  second  garrison, 
was  built  on  a  high  bluff  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Savannah  River,  about  six 
miles  below  the  later  town  of  Augusta.^"  For  trade  with  the  Indians  and 
defense  against  them  it  was  the  chief  gateway  to  the  South  Carolina  tide- 
water, as  it  was  on  the  regular  route  from  the  Creeks,  Chickasaws, 
Choctaws  and  part  of  the  Cherokees.  Between  Charleston  and  Fort 
Moore  freight  seems  to  have  gone  almost  entirely  by  water,  using  the  river 
and  the  inland  passage  through  the  islands.  There  was  likewise  a  path 
overland  which  ran  through  Dorchester,  crossed  the  Edisto  immediately 
below  the  mouth  of  Four  Hole  Swamp,  then  followed  the  South  Fork  for 
about  thirty  miles  before  striking  across  to  the  Savannah  at  Silver  Bluff 
or  Town  Creek.^^ 

The  only  other  entry  from  the  southwest  was  by  the  Pallachuccolas,  a 
crossing  of  the  Savannah  about  sixty  miles  from  its  mouth.  Here  in  1717 
the  assembly  stationed  a  company  of  rangers,  and  in  1722  ordered  the  con- 
struction of  "a  small  Pallisado  Fort,  and  convenient  huts  to  lodge  in." 
This  garrison  was  maintained  until  1735,  although  its  work  was  partly 
done  by  a  fort  built  later  on  the  Altamaha.^^ 

20  See  CSCHS,  II,  231-232,  235,  Stats.,  II,  691,  III,  8.  Fort  Moore  was  on  the 
site  of  the  chief  town  of  the  Savannahs,  a  branch  of  the  Shawnees,  who  abandoned 
it  a  few  years  later,  probably  about  1720.  The  bluff  is  immediately  below  the 
mouth  of  Horse  Creek.  See  John  R.  Swanton,  Early  History  of  the  Creek  Indians 
and  Their  Neighbors  (Washington,  1922),  pp.  317-318;  Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  II,  422; 
Henry  Mouzon,  Map  of  North  and  South  Carolina   (London,   1775). 

^^  The  loaded  boats  drew  three  or  four  feet  of  water  and  carried  forty 
barrels  of  rice.  See  Journal  of  the  Commons  House  of  Assembly,  MS  (cited  as 
JCHA),  Jan.  27,  1733;  Feb.  10,  1737,  and  V.  W.  Crane,  The  Southern  Frontier, 
1670-1732  (Durham,  1928),  p.  128.  For  the  land  route  see  entries  in  Thomas 
Bosomworth's  journal  (Indian  Books,  MS,  III,  23-149),  pp.  23-24,  115;  Year  Book, 
City  of  Charleston,  1894,  pp.  325-326;  Swanton,  Creek  Indians,  Plate  3;  Plats, 
MS  (cited  as  P),  III,  176,  VI,  245,  299;  "Tobler  Manuscripts"  (see  below, 
p.  67,  n.  3),  pp.  89-91,  94—95.  For  identification  of  the  streams  see  maps  of 
Barnwell  and  Colleton  Districts  in  Robert  Mills,  Atlas  of  the  State  of  South 
Carolina   (Philadelphia,  1825). 

22  Stats.,  Ill,  24,  180,  Smith,  S.  C.  as  a  Royal  Province,  p.  209, 


The  Background  of  Expansion  11 

The  garrison  at  Fort  Moore  early  became  a  nucleus  for  the  most  impor- 
tant Indian  trading  town  that  provincial  South  Carolina  developed.  Most 
of  the  men  who  came  there  were  transients,  Indian  traders  who  received 
goods  for  the  trade  and  brought  back  the  deerskins,  A  few  were  em- 
ployed in  keeping  the  stores  or  raising  cattle.  The  assembly,  wishing  to 
build  up  a  permanent  settlement — doubtless  in  the  hope  of  shifting  to  it  the 
burden  of  defending  this  gateway — in  1721  enacted  a  law  forbidding  the 
execution  of  any  civil  writ  of  thirty  pounds  or  less  upon  any  person  residing 
beyond  the  Three  Runs,  about  twenty  miles  south  of  Fort  Moore ;  property 
of  these  persons  was  exempted  from  taxation,  and  their  cattle  when  driven 
to  the  settlements  could  not  be  seized  for  debt.  For  the  frontiersmen  seek- 
ing these  privileges  a  town  was  ordered  laid  out  about  Fort  Moore  to 
consist  of  three  hundred  half-acre  lots  with  one  thousand  acres  for  a 
common ;  this  provision  was  not  carried  out,  however,  because  of  the  re- 
fusal of  the  Proprietors  to  grant  any  land  after  the  Revolution  of  1719.^^ 

Seventy  miles  east  of  Fort  Moore  the  sand  hill  barrier  was  pierced  by 
the  Congaree  River.  Along  its  west  bank  ran  the  Cherokee  path,  soon  to 
become  the  most  noted  of  the  South  Carolina  routes  to  the  Indian  country 
and  eventually  the  chief  highway  of  the  province  and  state.  However,  the 
Catawabas  were  a  small  tribe,  the  Cherokee  trade  was  not  well  developed — 
"they  being  but  ordinary  Hunters  &  less  Warriors",  Governor  Nathaniel 
Johnson  explained  in  1708 — and  Virginia  sent  traders  to  both  nations. 
Consequently  the  northern  Carolina  traffic  was  small  in  comparison  with 
that  of  the  southwest.  Goods  and  traders  came  up  the  Cooper  River  to 
Strawberry,  about  thirty  miles  from  Charleston,  or  by  pack  train  along  the 
road  to  the  west  of  the  river.  Thence  the  path  led  across  to  Eutaw 
Springs  on  the  Santee,  but  presently  turned  northwest  skirting  Halfway 
Swamp  and  kept  the  high  ground  a  few  miles  from  the  river  until  it  neared 
Congaree  Creek.  There  was  some  navigation  of  the  Santee,  but  land 
transportation  was  more  important.^"* 

On  the  west  side  of  the  Congaree  a  petty  tribe  lived  and  hunted  until 
the  Yamasee  War,  when  they  retired  to  their  kinsmen  the  Catawbas.  Not 
only  was  their  name  given  to  the  river  itself  and  to  a  fine  bold  creek  run- 
ning into  it  three  miles  below  the  shoals,  but  the  northern  part  of  the  valley 
was  known  till  the  Revolution  as  "the  Congarees".  In  1717  the  assembly 
provided  that  one  of  the  four  frontier  garrisons — a  captain  and  a  dozen 

23JCHA  Mar.  17,  1731,  Stats.,  Ill,  122-124.  This  was  repeated  in  an  act  of 
the  next  year  (pp.  176-178).  The  exemption  was  for  seven  years.  For  the 
"town"  see  PR  XII,  42  (Enclosure  No.  4,  Middleton  to  Gov.  Nicholson,  May 
1726)  ;  the  same  privileges  were  given  the  Pallachuccola  garrison  {Stats.,  Ill, 
182),  but  no  settlement  appears  to  have  resulted. 

2*  PR,  V,  209  (to  Board,  Sept.  17,  1708);  JCHA  May  23,  1734;  The  Colonial 
Records  of  the  State  of  Georgia  (26  vols.,  Atlanta,  1904-1916)  IV,  666;  Crane, 
Southern  Frontier,  p.  129;  A.  S.  Salley,  Jr.,  George  Hunter's  Map  of  the  Cherokee 
Country  .  .  .   (Columbia,  1917). 


12  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

men — should  be  placed  on  the  north  side  of  the  creek  near  its  mouth. 
From  this  point  the  Cherokee  path  ran  northwest  along  the  high  ground 
a  few  miles  west  of  the  Saluda  to  Ninety  Six,  while  the  Catawba  path 
crossed  the  Congaree  and  ran  north  toward  the  Catawba  towns  a  few 
miles  south  of  the  later  North  Carolina  line.  The  resolution  of  the  as- 
sembly in  1722  which  directed  the  discharge  of  the  Congaree  garrison  gave 
the  provisions,  with  ten  pounds  of  powder  and  twenty-five  pounds  of  shot, 
to  "the  people  that  remain  there",  and  these  settlers,  attracted  chiefly  by 
the  possibilities  of  the  Indian  trade,  were  doubtless  the  beginning  of  a 
permanent  white  population.^^ 

There  were  other  inhabitants  of  the  middle  country,  but  these  too, 
whether  white  or  Indian,  were  chiefly  on  its  borders.  Generally  adjoining 
the  tidewater,  but  at  times  on  the  frontier,  were  the  cowpens,  as  the  larger 
cattle-raising  establishments  were  called.  The  cattle  ranged  for  miles 
and  were  brought  to  the  enclosures  at  regular  intervals  for  branding.  The 
cowpens  were  of  course  owned  by  men  of  considerable  capital,  but  the 
following  description  of  one  of  their  employees  is  probably  typical:  "This 
North  is  a  very  mean  and  inconsiderable  person  one  of  those  who  in  this 
country  are  called  Cattle  Hunters  These  sort  of  people  from  their  con- 
tinual ranging  the  Woods  are  better  acquainted  with  the  land  than  any 
other  set  of  men".     Negroes  were  also  used  for  this  work.^*^ 

Since  the  expulsion  of  the  Yamasees  in  1715  there  was  no  large  tribe 
of  Indians  left  within  the  middle  country,  but  it  still  boasted  some  rem- 
nants of  red  peoples  who  at  times  played  a  part  in  the  affairs  of  the 
province.  Indeed  the  tidewater  itself  had  fragments  of  the  Ittewans, 
Cussoes,  Winyaws,  "Cape  Fairs",  St.  Helenas,  and  others.  They  were 
quite  inoffensive,  and  were  valued  for  their  services  in  hunting  runaway 
negroes.  In  the  Stono  insurrection  of  1739  they  killed  three  of  the  re- 
bellious slaves  and  aided  in  the  capture  of  others.  They  were  allowed 
complete  freedom  in  the  settlements,  but  were  subject  to  control  by  the 
justices  of  the  peace,  who  could  have  them  whipped  for  misbehavior.^^ 
On  the  borders  of  the  middle  country  were  other  small  tribes  living  under 
the  same  regulations  and  similarly  valued  though  not  so  well  behaved — the 
Uchees  on  the  Savannah  below  Fort  Moore,  a  few  Creeks  about  the  Pal- 
lachuccolas,  the  Waccamaws  beyond  the  Santee,  and  the  Peedees  on  the 
river  of  that  name.    The  Tuscaroras  were  still  further  northeast,  in  North 

25  James  Mooney,  Siouan  Tribes  of  the  East  (Washington,  1894),  p.  80,  Stats., 
Ill,  24.  For  location  of  the  post  see  William  Faden,  Map  of  South  Carolina  .  .  . 
(London,  1780)  ;  George  Haig,  Map  of  the  Townships  and  of  the  Cherokee 
Country,  MS;  JCHA,  June  14,  1722;  below,  p.  53. 

2«See  JCHA,  June  14,  1722;  JUHA,  Dec.  15,  1732;  SCG.  Feb.  15,  1735;  P,  III, 
21;  Col.  Recs,  of  Ga.,  IV,  314-315;  PR,  XV,  210  (Benjamin  Whitaker,  Sept.  21, 
1732,  received  by  Board   Dec.  1,   1732). 

2^JC,  Mar.  1,  Dec.  16,  1743,  July  6,  1750,  May  20,  1751;  JCHA  May  12, 
1731,  Feb.  4,  1734,  Nov.  29,  1739;  Stats.,  Ill,  327,  332. 


The  Background  of  Expansion  13 

Carolina,  and  were  consistently  enemies  of  the  southern  province  and  its 
Indians.^* 

Ninety  miles  north  of  the  Congarees  dwelt  the  Catawbas  who  were,  to 
all  intents,  another  frontier  garrison.  They  were  the  bitter  enemies  of  the 
Iroquois  of  New  York  and  almost  as  hostile  to  their  neighbors  the  Chero- 
kees,  who  were  of  Iroquoian  stock.  From  the  South  Carolina  standpoint 
their  position  was  almost  ideal,  for  invaders  from  the  north  must  pass  near 
them.  In  1729  they  numbered,  including  the  Waterees,  about  four  hundred 
warriors.  Soon  afterwards  the  Cheraws  and  some  of  the  Peedees  joined 
them,  but  liquor,  smallpox,  the  advance  of  South  Carolina  settlement  and 
the  ceaseless  attacks  of  the  Iroquois  thinned  them  in  a  single  generation  to 
a  beggarly  band  of  four  score  that  often  depended  on  the  charity  of  the 
South  Carolina  government.  The  presence  on  the  northern  border  of  the 
faithful  and  courageous  warriors  was  itself  more  than  recompense  for  these 
doles,  but  the  Catawbas  further  served  the  colony  by  coming  down  from 
time  to  time  to  hunt  negroes  out  of  the  swamps  and  were  counted  as  part 
of  the  available  military  force  of  the  province.^ 

Two  hundred  miles  from  the  Congarees  and  four  hundred  from  Fort 
Moore  lay  the  country  of  the  greater  Indian  nations  of  the  southwest,  and 
the  outermost  circle  of  South  Carolina  interest.  The  three  thousand  war- 
riors and  the  fifty  or  sixty  towns  of  the  Cherokee  tribe  were  settled  in  four 
divisions  in  the  southern  mountains.  On  the  Keowee  and  other  waters  of 
the  Savannah  River  were  the  Lower  Towns;  across  the  Blue  Ridge  were 
the  Middle  Settlements,  the  most  important  division,  holding  the  upper 
branches  of  the  Little  Tennessee;  fifty  miles  below  them  were  the  Over- 
hills,  while  farther  west  on  the  Hiwassee  were  the  Valley  Towns.  The 
Lower  Towns  were  practically  in  the  Carolina  piedmont;  the  others  were 
reached  only  by  passes  through  the  lofty  mountains  that  were  dangerous 
even  for  pack  trains.  The  Cherokees  were  the  most  intelligent  and  civilized 
of  the  southern  tribes,  but  not  the  most  warlike.  They  were  dominated 
by  the  Iroquois  and  bullied  by  other  northern  Indians.  Their  confederacy 
was  a  very  loose  union  over  which  an  Overhills  chief  presided,  but  neither  he 
nor  the  headmen  of  the  individual  towns  had  any  real  control.  From  an 
early  date  the  South  Carolinians  considered  the  Cherokee  country  an  open 
door  to  their  province,  a  threat  to  their  safety  second  only  to  the  slave  prob- 
lem. From  the  Mississippi  valley  the  French  could  attack  the  Cherokees 
with  ease;  with  even  greater  facility  the  Cherokees  could  devastate  South 

28  JC,  Mar.  19,  1731,  May  26,  Aug.  27,  1742,  Aug.  17,  1743;  JUHA,  Mar.  20, 
May  29,  1735,  May  25,  29,  1742;  JCHA,  Apr.  18,  1733,  Nov.  13,  1734,  May  27, 
1742;  Stats.,  Ill,  142;  below,  pp.  73-74,  93. 

2^  Mooney,  Siouan  Tribes,  p.  73,  James  Adair,  History  of  the  American  Indians 
(London,  1775),  pp.  223-224;  below,  p.  93;  JC,  Apr.  14,  Dec.  14,  1743;  JCHA, 
Mar.  1,  1743,  June  8,  1748,  Nov.  25,  1755;  PR,  XX,  180,  XXVIII,  352  (below,  p. 
26,  n.  26,  above,  p.  5,  n.  5);  SCG,  Aug.  9,  1760;  JUHA,  May  29,  1735,  July  8, 
1742. 


14  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

Carolina,  while  a  counter-attack  across  the  mountain  wall  was  all  but  im- 
possible. For  the  present,  however,  the  French  were  far  away  and  the 
Cherokees,  dependent  upon  the  Virginia  and  South  Carolina  trade,  were 
the  least  troublesome  of  the  larger  tribes.^** 

The  Creeks  were  about  fifteen  hundred  warriors  at  this  time.  The 
Lower  Creeks  (often  called  the  Cowetas),  the  less  numerous  portion  of  the 
tribe,  had  their  towns  on  the  Chattahoochee  River.  The  Upper  Creeks  or 
Coosas  lived  on  the  Alabama  and  its  branches.  The  Creek  position  was 
peculiar,  for  their  lands  touched  those  of  the  three  white  peoples  of  the 
continent  and  those  of  three  important  red  nations.  They  wisely  chose  to 
be  neutral  where  the  whites  were  concerned,  but  played  their  part  with 
such  boldness  and  success  that  they  appeared  as  dictators  rather  than  suitors. 
The  French  had  forts  at  Mobile  and  on  the  Alabama  and  Tombigbee 
Rivers  but  were  too  weak  to  control  the  tribe,  while  the  English  were  at 
too  great  a  distance.  Furthermore  the  Creeks  were  rapidly  increasing  in 
numbers — doubling  in  thirty  years — and  long  before  the  Revolution  were 
spoiling  for  the  great  fight  that  did  not  come  until  1812.^^ 

West  of  the  Upper  Creeks,  in  the  east  central  part  of  the  present  state 
of  Mississippi,  were  the  Choctaws,  about  five  thousand  men.  They  were 
not  great  fighters,  and  hemmed  in  as  they  were  by  the  French  on  the 
Mississippi  and  the  Gulf  they  could  not  maintain  neutrality.  But  the 
French  were  not  able  fully  to  supply  them  with  goods,  and  the  Carolina 
merchants  longed  for  their  trade.^^ 

North  of  the  Choctaws,  between  the  branches  of  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Tombigbee,  was  the  small  tribe  of  the  Chickasaws.  They  were  the  boldest 
of  the  southern  Indians,  surpassing  the  Catawbas  in  courage  and  fighting 
skill.  Their  position  partly  commanded  the  French  line  along  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  they  used  it  for  constant  attacks  upon  passing  cargoes  and  ex- 
peditions. The  French  in  turn,  with  their  allies  the  Choctaws,  made  such 
incessant  attacks  upon  the  hated  Chickasaws  as  to  reduce  their  fighting  men 
from  about  six  hundred  in  1730  to  less  than  half  that  number  twenty-five 
years  later.  But  in  the  face  of  annihilation  they  held  to  their  beloved 
ground  and  to  the  English  alliance.  The  South  Carolinians  cherished 
them  for  their  invaluable  service  as  they  did  the  Catawbas,  and  the  traders 
loved  the  "cheerful  brave  Chikkasah"  as  they  did  no  other  tribe.^^ 

The  alliances  and  enmities  of  these  ten  thousand  southwestern  warriors 

^°  Crane,  Southern  Frontier,  pp.  130-131;  Adair,  American  Indians,  p.  227. 
"whereas,  the  safety  of  this  Province  does,  under  God,  depend  on  the  friendship 
of  the  Charokees  to  this  Government"  {Stats.,  Ill,  39)  ;  see  also  JCHA,  Dec.  IS, 
1736. 

^^JCHA,  Mar.  6,  1734;  Adair,  American  Indians,  p.  259  (apparently  on  the 
authority  of  Lachlan  McGillivray — see  p.  279). 

^^Ibid.,  pp.  282-283;  JCHA,  Mar.  6,  1734. 

^^  Adair,  American  Indians,  pp.  3,  n.,  340-341,  352-358,  and  map;  Swanton, 
Creek  Indians,  pp.  417,  449;  JCHA,  July  23,  1740;  JC,  June  18,  1755;  Indian 
Books,    III,    196-202. 


The  Background  of  Expansion  15 

were  a  source  of  infinite  perplexity  to  their  English,  French  and  Spanish 
neighbors.  Various  factors  helped  to  determine  these  relations,  but  all, 
even  the  great  question  of  available  planting  or  hunting  land,  gave  place 
to  the  overmastering  influence  of  the  Indian  trade.  To  the  Indians,  w^ho 
had  almost  completely  forgotten  how  to  make  hatchets,  knives  and  bows, 
the  trade  in  arms,  ammunition  and  blankets  was  a  matter  of  life  and  death. 
To  the  Charleston  merchants  the  deerskins  meant  nearly  a  fourth  of  the 
total  exports  of  South  Carolina,  one  of  the  most  profitable  but  most  haz- 
ardous investments  in  the  province.^* 

The  three  hundred  men  known  as  Indian  traders,  the  agents  of  the 
merchants  in  getting  these  skins,  were  officially  divided  into  two  classes.^^ 
The  principal  trader  was  often  a  man  of  education  and  standing,  attracted 
to  this  dangerous  business  by  love  of  adventure  and  hope  of  fortune,  or 
perhaps  driven  to  the  woods  by  threat  of  imprisonment  for  debt.  These 
men,  whether  solvent  or  not,  made  their  arrangements  with  the  Charleston 
merchants,  hired  the  many  packhorsemen  necessary — sometimes  employing 
other  responsible  traders — and  maintained  trading  stores  at  Savannah 
Town,  Augusta,  the  Congarees,  or  Ninety  Six.  The  term  Indian  trader, 
however,  was  also  applied  to  the  hundreds  of  packhorsemen,  whose  stand- 
ing in  regard  to  the  white  community  was  nearer  that  of  outcast  than 
exile.  Illiterate,  irresponsible,  often  fugitives  from  justice,  and  as  a  class 
lacking  in  any  sense  of  decency  or  morality,  they  were,  more  than  any 
others,  objects  of  scorn  and  wrath  to  the  orderly  members  of  society.  Yet 
their  reckless  courage  on  other  occasions,  their  skill  and  endurance,  some- 
times won  for  them  well  deserved  tributes  of  admiration  and  gratitude. 

The  packhorseman  was  seldom  prominent  save  by  reason  of  his  mis- 
deeds, but  the  principal  trader  was  more  than  the  owner  or  manager  of  a 
large  commercial  enterprise — he  was  the  ambassador  of  the  provincial 
government  to  his  particular  Indian  nation.  He  regularly  corresponded 
with  the  governor  about  the  trade,  the  prevailing  sentiment  of  the  Indians, 
and  the  schemes  of  the  French.  He  was  constantly  charged  by  the  provin- 
cial government  with  diplomatic  missions,  some  of  them  involving  great 
difficulty  and  danger.  Self-interest  and  patriotism  impelled  him  to  the 
faithful  performance  of  these  tasks,  and  British  imperialism  had  no  more 
aggressive  nor  more  ardent  agent.  The  trader's  life  and  goods  were  com- 
pletely at  the  mercy  of  the  Indians,  and  were  likely  to  be  forfeit  for  his 
own  misconduct  or  any  blunder  of  his  government.  He  was  in  turn  pro- 
tected by  the  Indians'  fear  of  losing  the  trade,  by  the  pressure  of  the 
Charleston  merchants  on  the  government,  and  by  his  own  more  or  less 
permanent  matrimonial  connection  with  some  Indian  woman.  When  war 
came  it  was  the  faithfulness  of  these  women  and  their  halfbreed  children  to 

^  See    Carroll,    Collections,    II,    237-238,     Crane,    Southern    Frontier,    p.     330. 

25  PR,  XVII,  412^21  (below,  p.  187,  n.  8);  Crane,  Southern  Frontier,  pp. 
124—125.  Adair,  American  Indians,  pp.  412-415,  describes  the  life  of  the  principal 
trader  among  the  Indians. 


16  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

which  most  of  the  traders,  both  employers  and  packhorsemen,  owed  their 
lives. 

The  Spaniards  sometimes  complicated  relations  with  the  Indians,  but 
the  real  rivals  of  the  Carolinians  were  the  French.  The  crown,  however, 
refused  to  build  forts  in  the  Indian  country,  and  the  planter-controlled 
Commons  House  cared  to  guard  only  the  immediate  entrances  to  the  prov- 
ince at  Fort  Moore  and  the  Pallachuccolas.  It  was  left  therefore  to  the 
governor  and  the  council  to  push  English  interests  in  the  southwest.  In 
this  work  they  had  the  assistance  of  the  Charleston  merchants  and  of  the 
daring  and  astute  traders,  and  above  all  the  aid  of  the  English  woolens — 
better,  cheaper  and  more  plentiful  than  those  of  the  French.  The  very 
isolation  of  the  province  was  an  advantage,  for  it  made  the  Indians  de- 
pendent upon  the  Carolina  merchants  and  traders. 

An  impartial  observer  of  the  province  in  1729  might  have  doubted 
whether  the  situation  held  more  of  promise  or  threat.  For  the  planters 
the  possibilities  of  rice  production  in  the  abundant  swamp  lands  were  of?- 
set  by  the  slave  problem,  while  easy  financing  of  their  industry  was  blocked 
by  the  relentless  opposition  of  the  merchants  and  the  crown  to  paper 
money.  For  the  merchant  the  returns  from  rice  and  slaves  were  con- 
stantly threatened  by  paper  money  issues  and  the  Indian  trade  menaced  by 
French  interference,  or  the  desire  of  the  Commons  to  restrict  rather  than 
defend  it.  Nor  was  it  easy  to  appraise  the  political  situation.  The  planters 
controlled  the  government  and  their  skill  and  vigor  were  beyond  dispute  ; 
but  the  influence  of  the  merchants  on  the  governor  was  strong,  and  they  had 
the  ear  of  the  crown.  Either  party  could  completely  block  the  government, 
and  such  a  deadlock  had  existed  since  1727.  It  was  high  time  for  a  gov- 
ernor with  a  real  program. 


CHAPTER  II 
Governor  Johnson's  Township  Scheme 

In  the  same  year  that  South  Carolina  passed  to  the  crown  Robert  John- 
son was  appointed  governor.  It  would  have  been  hard  to  improve  upon 
this  choice,  for,  aside  from  his  abilities,  Johnson's  connections  and  record 
were  such  as  to  give  him  prestige  and  inspire  confidence.  He  was  the  son 
of  a  former  governor  and  had  himself  held  that  office  from  1717  to  1719. 
In  the  warfare  with  the  pirates  he  had  behaved  with  courage  and  decision, 
and  in  the  Revolution  of  1719,  despite  the  former  ill  treatment  of  him  by 
the  Proprietors,  he  had  done  his  full  duty  by  them.  Finally,  as  a  Carolina 
planter  he  was  acceptable  to  the  dominant  group  of  the  province.  For 
years  he  had  been  seeking  his  old  office,  and  now  at  the  age  of  forty-seven 
he  was  ready  to  add  new  honors  to  an  already  successful  career.  He  sold 
his  estate  in  England  and  cast  his  lot  wholly  with  his  people.^ 

Governor  Johnson's  name  will  always  be  associated  with  what  he  called 
his  "Township  scheam"  for  the  settlement  of  the  South  Carolina  slave 
problem.  There  were  several  sources  upon  which  to  draw  for  such  a  plan. 
Both  Proprietors  and  assembly  had  tried  to  increase  the  white  population 
by  the  occasional  or  indirect  methods  of  encouragement  characteristic  of 
the  other  colonies.  The  Proprietors  in  1716  had  vaguely  promised  the 
Yamasee  lands  to  settlers,  and  the  assembly  had  accordingly  passed  an  act 
for  settling  that  frontier  with  Protestants  from  Great  Britain,  Ireland,  or 
the  American  colonies.  It  offered  three  hundred  acres  to  each  free  male  of 
military  age,  with  fees  paid,  and  the  promise  of  exemption  for  four  years 
from  taxes  and  from  the  regular  purchase  price  of  Proprietary  lands.  This 
encouragement  was  published  in  Ireland  and  a  number  of  Protestants  came 
over,  but  in  1718  the  Proprietors  repealed  the  act  and  the  plan  collapsed. 
The  acts  for  establishing  settlements  about  the  frontier  forts  have  been 
mentioned."  The  favorite  measure  of  the  Proprietary  period,  however, 
was  forced  employment  of  indentured  servants  on  the  plantations,  and  in 
1716,  after  the  Yamasee  war,  an  act  was  passed  requiring  planters  to  keep 
one  male  white  servant  for  each  ten  slaves,  and  providing  aid  for  importing 
them.     This  measure,   though  soon   repealed,   was  in   effect   reenacted   in 

1  CSCHS,  I,  250,  SCG.  May  10,  1735. 

^CSCHS,  I,  164,  Stats.,  H,  641-646;  PR,  XVH,  125-126  (Affidavit  of  Andrew 
Hogg,  enclosed  with  Port  Royal  Petition,  Oct.  23,  1734)  ;  above,  p.  11.  For  other 
colonies  compare  F.  J.  Turner,  The  Frontier  in  American  History  (New  York, 
1920),  pp.  86-92;  S.  A.  Ashe,  History  of  North  Carolina,  I  (Greensboro,  1908),  p. 
254. 

17 


18  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

1726.  Another  law  in  1725  directed  the  planter  to  maintain  a  male  white 
servant  to  each  two  thousand  acres  of  land.  Later  records  indicate  that 
these  measures  were  irregularly  enforced,  although  there  were  many  white 
servants  in  the  province.^ 

Another  mode  of  encouraging  settlement  which  found  much  favor  was 
the  granting  of  large  tracts  of  land  to  adventurers  who  would  undertake 
to  import  Protestants  from  Europe  to  settle  upon  them.  These  projects 
were  common  after  the  Revolution  of  1719,  but  could  not  be  put  into 
effect  because  of  failure  to  agree  upon  terms.*  A  plan  of  this  sort  for  a 
settlement  of  poor  people  from  England  between  the  Savannah  and  the 
Altamaha  finally  evolved  into  the  colony  of  Georgia.  Other  promoters  re- 
lied mainly  on  Switzers  and  Palatines,  whom  they  hoped  to  turn  from 
the  beaten  track  to  Pennsylvania.  In  this  group  was  the  Swiss  land  agent. 
Colonel  Jean  Pierre  Purry,  whose  proposals  antedated  Johnson's  settlement 
scheme  and  had  their  part  in  its  formation.^ 

Besides  the  South  Carolina  experiments  and  the  proposals  of  the  pro- 
moters, there  were  other  possible  sources  for  a  general  settlement  policy. 
Francis  Nicholson,  governor  of  South  Carolina  from  1721  to  1724,  was 
governor  of  Virginia  in  1701  when  a  frontier  settlement  plan  was  con- 
ceived which  bears  a  close  resemblance  to  that  later  adopted  for  the  south- 
ern province.  The  New  England  town  method  of  settlement  was  well 
known,  nor  were  there  lacking  New  Englanders  in  South  Carolina  to  ex- 
plain its  advantages.  In  a  real  sense,  however,  the  forerunner  of  Johnson's 
plan  was  the  project  of  an  earlier  South  Carolina  leader.  Colonel  John 
Barnwell.  In  1720  and  1722,  following  the  Yamasee  conflict  and  the 
War  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  he  had  proposed  the  establishment  of 
forts  on  the  Savannah  and  Altamaha  Rivers,  with  townships  to  be  settled 
about  them,  for  defense  against  the  French,  Spaniards  and  Indians.^  But 
before  this  plan  could  be  put  into  effect  eight  years  had  passed,  eight 
thousand  new  negroes  had  been  set  down  in  South  Carolina,  and  it  was 
necessary  for  a  planter  governor  to  revise  and  elaborate  the  project  to  make 
it  fit  a  newer  and  now  more  pressing  need. 

It  was  a  master  stroke  that  evolved  from  these  inherited  materials  the 
plan  which  made  peace  between  planter  and  merchant,  financed  settlement 

^Stats.,  II,  646-649  (see  also  VII,  363),  III,  14-15,  255-257,  272;  VII,  363;  see 
SCG,  Nov.  8,  1742,  Jan.  14,  1764. 

*See  CSCHS,  II,  123,  232-233;  PR,  XIII,  39,  XIV,  12-13,  25-27  (Board  of 
Trade  Journal,  Sept.  10,  1728,  June  11,  Dec.  3,  1730),  48-53  (Thomas  Lowndes  to 
Board,  received  Mar.  5,  1730).  Compare  Crane,  Southern  Frontier,  pp.  281- 
294. 

5  See  ibid.,  pp.  251,  294,  303-325;  PR,  XII,  190  (John  Vat  to  crown,  about 
January   1727),   390    (Thomas   Lowndes,   Oct.    11,    1729,    received   Oct.   31,    1729). 

"  See  Turner,  Frontier,  pp.  85-86,  and  the  admirable  treatment  of  the  external 
defense  problem  and  the  place  of  this  plan  in  it  in  Crane,  Southern  Frontier, 
pp.  228-234,  282-283. 


The  Background  of  Expansion  19 

of  townships  from  the  sinking  fund,  and  projected  a  ring  of  settlements 
which  were  to  strengthen  the  province  against  internal  as  well  as  external 
dangers.  In  February  1730,  at  the  instance  of  Governor  Johnson,  twenty- 
one  men  signing  themselves  merchants  of  London  laid  before  the  Board  of 
Trade  a  memorial  which,  for  merchants,  exhibited  a  new  and  surprising 
tenderness  to  problems  that  were  really  the  planters'  own/  The  memorial 
stated  that  the  province  was  under  a  heavy  debt  from  the  Indian  war  and 
from  large  yearly  expenses  for  frontier  defense,  and  that  its  exports  were  a 
hundred  thousand  pounds  sterling,  although  its  currency  was  equal  to  only 
fifteen  thousand.  Therefore  they  requested  that  the  receipts  from  customs 
reserved  by  the  existing  law  for  the  retirement  of  the  currency  be  ap- 
propriated to  furnishing  tools  and  provisions  for  poor  Protestant  settlers. 

Some  of  these  merchants  had  plantations  in  the  province,  but  even  with 
their  champions  thus  compromised  the  affair  was  a  signal  victory  for  the 
planters.  The  memorial  was  followed  by  Governor  Johnson's  "Scheem  .  .  . 
for  Settling  Townships",  which  was  given  to  the  Board  March  7th  and 
further  explained  later.  The  governor  proposed  that  the  crown  grant  ten 
townships  on  the  frontier  of  twenty  thousand  acres  each.  The  settlers  in 
them  should  have  lots  in  the  town  and  lands  in  the  township.  There 
should  be  extra  lots  for  churches  and  schools,  and  when  the  population  of 
any  township  reached  a  hundred  householders,  it  should  send  one  or  two 
members  to  the  assembly.^ 

In  June  1730  the  Board  completed  the  one  hundred  and  twenty-four 
articles  of  Johnson's  instructions,  including  sections  which  made  a  com- 
plete land  and  settlement  system  as  far  as  the  crown  could  provide  it.  The 
twentieth  instruction  authorized  the  governor  to  assent  to  the  suspension  of 
the  act  of  1724  for  retiring  the  currency,  and  to  the  application  of  the  duties 
for  seven  years  "to  the  charge  of  Surveying  and  laying  out  Townships,  & 
to  the  purchasing  of  Tools,  provisions  and  other  necessaries  for  any  poor 
Protestants  that  shall  be  desirous  to  settle  in  Our  Said  Province."  This 
was  on  the  condition,  however,  that  the  suspending  clause  be  a  part  of  "an 
effectual  Law"  for  registering  grants  and  regulating  quit  rents.  The 
forty-second  instruction  directed  the  governor  to  urge  the  assembly  to  enact 
a  law  for  annulling  excessive  grants  of  land  which  remained  uncultivated, 

^PR,  XIV,  32-33  (Representation  to  Board,  received  Feb.  4,  1730),  XVII,  333- 
335  (William  Wood,  received  by  Board  July  3,  1735).  July  28,  1729,  Governor  Bur- 
rington  of  North  Carolina  befriended  his  neighbors  by  stating  to  the  Board  his 
opinion  that  the  expenses  of  their  government  had  been  four  times  as  great 
as  those  of  any  other  continental  colony,  and  that  they  must  be  allowed  to  sink 
their  currency  by  degrees  (PR,  XIII,  373).  See  also  Johnson's  letter  of  Dec.  19, 
1729  to  the  Board   (pp.  421-426). 

«PR,  XIII,  339-342  (Stephen  Godin  to  Board,  July  25,  1729),  XIV,  54-60, 
71-74,  89-91  (Johnson  to  Board,  received  Mar.  7,  18,  Apr.  30,  1730).  Note  error 
on  p.  60  corrected  by  Wallace,  History  of  S.  C,  I,  334.  Johnson  proposed  that  the 
funds  be  devoted  to  "paying  the  passage  and  buying  of  Provisions  and  tools  for 
poor  protestant  people  that  will  go  over.  .  .  ."   (PR,  XIV,  57). 


20  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

and  ordered  him  to  give  no  more  than  fifty  acres  for  each  person,  white  or 
black,  in  the  grantee's  household.  No  grant  might  have  a  river  front  of 
more  than  one-fourth  its  depth.^ 

The  preamble  to  the  forty-third  instruction  recited  the  proved  success 
of  townships  in  the  settlement  of  New  England.  Johnson  was  directed  to 
lay  out  eleven  of  them  "on  the  Banks  of  Rivers  at  Sixty  Miles  distance 
from  Charles  Town":  two  each  on  the  Altamaha,  Savannah,  and  Santee, 
and  one  each  on  the  Pon  Pon,  Wateree,  Black,  Peedee  and  Waccamaw. 
Each  grantee  was  to  have  a  lot  and  for  each  head  in  his  family  was  to 
receive  fifty  acres  in  the  township.  The  instruction  further  reserved  the 
land  within  six  miles  of  the  township  for  the  future  use  of  the  inhabitants. 
The  forty-fourth  directed  that  each  township  be  later  erected  into  a  parish ; 
when  the  parish  with  the  six  mile  reservation  had  one  hundred  house- 
holders it  should  send  two  members  to  the  assembly.  The  forty-fifth  re- 
served three  hundred  acres  near  the  town  for  a  common.  The  forty-sixth, 
after  referring  to  the  need  for  whites,  ordered  the  governor  to  "recommend 
in  the  Strongest  Terms  to  the  Assembly"  encouragement  for  white  servants, 
and  offered  them,  when  their  terms  expired,  the  full  grant  of  land  and  ten 
years'  exemption  from  quit  rents.  The  forty-seventh  extended  this  ex- 
emption to  the  township  settlers. 

By  providing  for  two  townships  on  the  Altamaha,  far  beyond  the 
present  area  of  Carolina  settlement,  the  crown  was  extending  the  frontier 
into  the  land  claimed  by  Spain,  and  toward  the  French  territories.  Had 
this  instruction  stood,  and  had  the  territory  not  been  alienated  from  South 
Carolina  an  interesting  process  in  frontier  defense  might  have  been  de- 
veloped. Instead,  the  two  Altamaha  townships  were  taken  for  a  new 
colony  designed  to  protect  the  Carolina  rice  plantations  as  well  as  to  be  an 
outpost  of  the  British  empire.  To  prevent  the  recurrence  of  the  South 
Carolina  problems  on  this  new  frontier  slavery  was  prohibited  by  the 
Georgia  Trustees  and  landholdings  were  limited  to  five  hundred  acres, 
with  provision  for  descent  in  the  male  line.  But  these  peculiar  devices 
kept  whites  out  of  the  colony  almost  as  effectively  as  they  did  negroes,  and 
to  maintain  the  outpost  Parliament  spent  a  hundred  and  thirty  thousand 
pounds  in  twenty  years. ^°  It  is  as  interesting  as  it  is  idle  to  reflect  on  the 
possible  results  of  extension  of  settlement  to  the  Altamaha  under  the  South 
Carolina  government ;   a  subsidy   of   half   that   amount   from   Parliament 

^  PR,  XIV,  147-214  (Instructions  to  Johnson;  in  1755  the  instruction  for 
granting  land  was  changed  to  allow  100  acres  to  the  head  of  the  family — XXVI, 
315,  instructions  to  Lyttelton).  The  instructions  for  encouragement  of  settlers, 
and  the  provincial  acts  putting  them  in  effect  did  not  preclude  giving  aid  to  im- 
migrants from  other  American  colonies,  but  Johnson  had  specified  Protestants  from 
Europe  (XIV,  57),  and  it  is  clear  that  this  was  likewise  the  intention  of  the  crown 
and   of  the    assembly. 

^°  Crane,  Southern  Frontier,  p.  294,  C.  C.  Jones,  Jr.,  History  of  Georgia  (2  vols., 
Boston,  1883),  I,  106-112,  Osgood,  Colonics  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  III,  46, 
54-64. 


The  Background  of  Expansion  21 

would  have  provided  for  frontier  forts  and  garrisons  and  larger  aid  and 
adequate  protection  for  tovi^nship  settlers.  The  British  government  would 
thus  have  strengthened  its  southern  frontier  by  utilizing  and  directing  the 
economic  forces  of  the  time  instead  of  flying  in  their  face. 

With  the  completion  of  Johnson's  instructions  the  chief  work  of  the 
imperial  government  was  done,  and  the  program  went  with  the  governor 
to  South  Carolina  to  be  enacted  into  law  and  administered.  Johnson  ar- 
rived in  Charleston  in  December  1730  and  called  the  assembly  to  meet  in 
January.  The  provincial  debts  had  remained  unpaid  for  four  years,  and 
no  taxes  except  customs  duties  had  been  collected  since  1727.  The  back 
claims  were  £15,000  and  the  needs  of  the  current  year  amounted  to  about 
£4,000  more.  The  latter  sum  was  provided  for  by  a  tax  on  land  and 
negroes;  for  the  former  there  was  available  in  the  treasury  nearly  £6,000, 
the  accumulation  from  the  duty  law.^^ 

To  pay  the  remaining  £9,000  without  a  further  tax  upon  a  people  who 
had  recently  endured  a  prolonged  period  of  distress,  the  assembly,  in  equal 
disregard  of  the  instructions  of  the  crown  and  the  larger  interests  of  the 
province,  invaded  the  settlement  fund.  The  instructions  to  the  governor 
allowed  the  suspension  of  the  act  of  1724  on  the  condition  that  the  entire 
fund  for  retiring  the  currency  be  applied  to  settlement.  "The  appropria- 
tion law",  as  it  came  to  be  known,  estimated  the  annual  receipts  from  the 
duty  act  at  £1,857,  £1,214  of  it  from  negroes  imported.  The  £9,000  of 
the  provincial  debt  was  paid  in  orders  bearing  interest  at  five  percent,  and 
for  the  retirement  of  these  the  negro  duty  was  pledged  for  seven  years. 
The  remainder  of  the  customs  receipts  was  appropriated  to  the  laying  off  of 
townships,  paying  the  passage  of  poor  Protestants,  and  buying  provisions 
and  tools  for  them.^^  The  other  pressing  problem  of  the  day,  the  question 
of  land  titles  under  the  Proprietary  grants,  was  attacked  in  the  quit  rent 
law.  In  this  act  the  assembly,  after  providing  an  inadequate  system  for 
collection  of  the  rents,  boldly  legalized  these  titles  provided  that  some  part 
of  the  land  had  been,  or  should  be  in  two  j-ears,  surveyed  by  a  sworn 
surveyor.  The  clauses  of  the  appropriation  bill  for  suspending  the  sinking 
fund  act  and  for  the  appropriation  of  duties  were  tacked  on  to  this  bill.^^ 

The  wisdom  of  this  procedure  was  doubtful  in  the  extreme.  It  unduly 
aided  the  land  speculators  and  threatened  to  cripple  the  settlement  fund ; 
it  must  inevitably  offend  the  Board  of  Trade,  which  had  advised  the  con- 
cession so  needed  by  the  province,   and  strengthen  the  position  of  those 

"JC,  Dec.  17,  1730;  PR,  XIV,  220-222  (Alexander  Cuming's  Memorial  to 
Newcastle,  July  11,  1730),  XV,  37  (Johnson  to  Board,  Nov.  14,  1731);  Stats.,  Ill, 
308-317,  334. 

'^~  Stats.,  Ill,  334-341.  The  duty  was  11:8^  on  negroes  over  10  years  of  age, 
and  half  that  amount  for  children  under  10  {ibid.,  p.  160).  Note  that  according  to 
the  preamble  only  £643  would  be  available  for  settlement  purposes.  The  estimate 
in  the  quit  rent  act  is  £714   (ibid.,  p.  301). 

^^  Stats.,  Ill,  289-304,  B.  W.  Bond,  Jr.,  Quit  Rent  System  in  the  American 
Colonies  (New  Haven,  1919),  pp.  318-326. 


22  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

interests,  both  colonial  and  British,  which  were  utterly  opposed  to  paper 
money  and  to  taxes  on  importations  of  negroes.  However,  those  holding 
Proprietary  grants  were  entitled  to  some  consideration ;  the  crown,  by  im- 
posing the  very  heavy  quit  rent  of  four  shillings  proclamation  money  per 
hundred  acres  instead  of  the  former  one  shilling,  put  strong  pressure  upon 
the  colony  to  evade  this  burden ;  and  a  planter  assembly  was  prone  to  be 
generous  with  public  land.  On  the  20th  of  August  Governor  Johnson  as- 
sented to  both  laws,  and  they  were  laid  on  the  knees  of  the  home  govern- 
ment. 

The  Board  of  Trade  recommended  the  repeal  of  both  the  quit  rent  and 
appropriation  laws,  but  Peregrine  Furye,  the  provincial  agent,  and  Francis 
Yonge,  a  member  of  the  council  who  was  at  that  time  in  London,  defended 
them  with  skill  and  address.  Yonge  advised  the  approval  of  the  quit  rent 
law  lest  the  assembly  pass  a  worse  one.  Furye  showed  that  the  Bristol 
and  London  slave  merchants  who  were  urging  repeal  of  the  appropriation 
law  were  aiming  at  repeal  of  the  negro  duties  rather  than  application  of 
them  to  settlement,  and  at  retirement  of  all  of  the  currency,  which  would 
ruin  the  province.  On  April  9,  1734,  the  governor,  council  and  Commons 
House  completed  an  elaborate  representation  to  the  king  on  the  state  of  the 
province,  which  dwelt  eloquently  on  the  danger  from  the  French,  Spanish 
and  slaves."  This  was  shrewd  playing  on  British  imperial  fears,  for  the 
crown  could  ill  afford  to  weaken  or  antagonize  its  bulwark  against  French 
aggression  in  the  southwest.  The  quit  rent  law  was  finally  allowed  to 
stand,  and  in  1735,  when  the  appropriation  law  had  nearly  run  its  course, 
the  Board  of  Trade  proposed  a  new  instruction  to  Johnson  to  secure  a  law 
assigning  the  whole  negro  duty  to  settlement — a  measure  already  adopted 
by  the  assembly  a  month  before.^^ 

Meanwhile  in  the  province  the  settlement  fund,  having  run  the  gaunt- 
let of  the  legislature,  was  sustaining  with  almost  equal  damage  the  as- 
saults of  colonial  officialdom.  The  first  serious  difficulty  arose  over  the 
fees  for  surveying  the  townships.  The  logical  one  to  do  this  work  was 
Surveyor-General  James  St.  John,  appointed  by  the  crown  in  March  1731. 

i*PR,  XV,  239-246  (Treasury  Board  to  Board  and  Board  to  crown,  Oct.  6, 
Nov.  1,  1732),  XVI,  228,  230  (Board  of  Trade  Journal,  Feb.  20,  Mar.  22,  1734), 
366-386  (Council  Committee  to  Board,  July  23,  1734  and  enclosures),  XVII, 
32-77  (William  Wood  et  al,  to  Board,  Sept.  10,  1734),  196-231  (Peregrine 
Furye  to  Board,  Dec.  3,  1734),  262-266  (Board  of  Trade  Journal,  June  24,  July 
3,  4,  1735),  286-295  (Francis  Yonge  to  Board,  Feb.  18,  1734),  300-301  (Furye  and 
Yonge  to  Board,  Mar.  8,  1735).  Furye  declared  that:  "such  was  the  Scarcity 
and  necessity  of  Paper  Currency  in  Carolina  that  several  Merchants  there  issued 
no  less  than  50,000  in  Notes  depending  on  their  own  private  Creditt  bearing 
an  Interest  at  10  p  Cent  .  .  .  which  notes  they  stamped  with  the  Emblems  of 
Liberty  charity  mercy  and  Justice  and  yet  they  complain  against  the  Publick  for 
makeing  and  issuing  orders  on  a  Fund  and  bearing"  five  percent  interest 
(XVII,  212).    For  the  representation  see  PR,  XVI,  388-401  or  JCHA,  Mar.  6,  1734. 

i^PR,  XVII,  266-267  (above,  n.  14),  347-349  (Board  to  Council  Committee, 
July  11,  1735),  372-373  (William  Wood  to  Board,  Sept.  3,  1735),  388-389  (Order 
in  Council,  Oct.  13,  1735)  ;  Stats.,  Ill,  409^11. 


The  Background  of  Expansion  23 

However,  his  large  though  vague  designs  upon  the  township  fund  led  him 
to  reject  the  offer  of  the  governor  and  council  of  seventy-one  pounds  for 
surveying  the  lines  of  each  township,  even  though  this  would  have  left 
intact  the  fees  for  each  settler's  tract  as  it  came  to  be  surveyed.  Members 
of  the  council  were  thereupon  assigned  to  the  task,  and  by  November  1732 
six  of  the  townships  had  been  "laid  out",  although  the  failure  of  some  of 
the  councillors  to  mark  the  line  circumscribing  the  reserved  areas  made  it 
easy  for  outsiders  to  encroach  upon  them.^^ 

But  the  real  enemy  of  St.  John  was  the  Commons,  which  had  so 
phrased  the  quit  rent  law  as  to  make  inroads  upon  his  fees.  Furthermore, 
after  a  committee  report  that  he  was  collecting  the  fees  twice  on  the  same 
survey,  an  act  was  passed  strictly  regulating  his  ofEce.  In  turn  St.  John 
made  what  trouble  he  could  for  his  accusers,  and  in  this  he  was  aided  by 
one  with  far  more  brains  than  he — Benjamin  Whitaker,  later  chief  justice, 
conspicious  for  his  legal  attainments  and  capacity  for  public  service. 
Recently  ousted  from  the  office  of  attorney-general,  he  just  now  filled  no 
higher  post  than  that  of  deputy  surveyor-general,  and  for  his  partisan  at- 
tacks in  some  measure  deserved  Johnson's  sour  characterization  of  him  as 
"the  Craftsman  amongst  us".  In  separate  letters  to  the  officials  of  the 
home  government  and  in  representations  to  Johnson  himself  St.  John  and 
Whitaker  charged  the  governor  and  the  assembly  with  being  the  principals 
in  a  huge  land  grab.^^  They  declared  the  governor  had  interpreted  his  in- 
structions to  grant  no  more  than  fifty  acres  per  head  as  allowing  him  to 
give  the  planters  fifty  acres  for  every  slave  they  had,  regardless  of  the 
amount  of  land  they  already  held.^^  The  quit  rent  act  had  added  to  estates 
already  too  large  for  the  owners  to  cultivate. 

Governor  Johnson  hotly  refuted  the  charges  made  against  him,  and 
another  investigation  resulted  in  imprisonment  by  the  House  of  some  of 
St.  John's  deputies  for  making  surveys  in  violation  of  the  quit  rent  act,  and 
in  his  own  arrest  for  insulting  remarks  about  the  Commons.  After  various 
petitions  and  court  hearings  all  were  released  save  the  arch-offender,  St. 
John.  His  complaints  reached  the  Board  of  Trade  which  severely  criti- 
cised the  House  and  instructed  Johnson  to  do  what  he  could  to  secure  the 
surveyor-general's  release.  But  St.  John  after  being  under  arrest  for  three 
months  had  petitioned  the  Commons  for  his  freedom  and  had  been  granted 
it,  with  a  reprimand  and  a  warning  that  "this  House  expects  that  you'l 
offer  to  them  no  such  future  indignity."     He  held  his  office  for  ten  years 

^^PR,  XV,  198-202  (Memorial  of  St.  John,  received  by  Board  Sept.  6,  1732, 
and  enclosures)  ;  JC,  Nov.  18,  19,  1731,  Mar.  10,  Nov.  9,  1732. 

"  JCHA,  Jan.  26,  1732;  Stats.,  Ill,  343-347;  PR,  XV,  163-165  (Observations  of 
St.  John,  to  Board,  received  Sept.  6,  1732),  219-222  (Benjamin  Whitaker  to 
Johnson,  Sept.  21,  1732),  264  (Johnson  to  Newcastle,  Dec.  15,  1732),  JC,  Nov.  10, 
1732.    For  the  later  status  of  the  surveying  fees  see  JCHA,  Apr.  7,  1759. 

^*  St.  John's  successor  in  1743  repeated  this  charge;  he  also  declared  that 
St.  John's  fees  at  the  time  were  a  thousand  pounds  a  year  (PR,  XXI,  174 — George 
Hunter  to  the  Board,  Oct.  31,  1743). 


24  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

more,  but  appears  to  have  offered  the  strong-willed  Commons  neither  in- 

...  *    *  19 

dignity  nor  opposition. 

These  charges  and  counter-charges  were  incidents  in  a  spectacular  in- 
crease in  the  holdings  of  land  and  slaves  in  the  South  Carolina  tidewater. 
By  1738  a  million  acres  had  been  put  on  the  tax  books.  From  1729  to 
1732  there  were  imported  5,153  slaves,  and  in  the  next  four  years  10,447 
more.  "Neffroes  may  be  said  to  be  the  Bait  proper  for  catching  a  Carolina 
Planter,  as  certain  as  Beef  to  catch  a  Shark,"  noted  a  native  critic  on  ob- 
serving the  ominous  figures  which  marked  the  undoing  of  the  white  settle- 
ment plan  almost  before  it  could  get  under  way.  Judged  by  standards  of 
eighteenth  century  economy  this  expansion  of  slave  and  land  holdings  was 
in  part  a  normal  increase  in  a  young  and  vigorous  commonwealth — witness 
Lieutenant-Governor  Bull's  statement  in  1738  that  the  colony  sent  an- 
nually to  Great  Britain  products  amounting  to  near  £150,000,  employing 
over  two  hundred  vessels.  It  was  in  part,  however,  a  speculation  which 
far  overestimated  the  immediate  possibilities  of  the  rice  industry.^" 

St.  John  and  Whitaker  declared  Johnson  had  by  September  1732  issued 
warrants  for  600,000  acres  of  land;  on  warrants  apparently  issued  before 
that  time  there  were  surveyed  in  1731  and  1732  about  300,000  acres,  a 
fifth  of  the  amount  in  tracts  larger  than  2,000  acres."^  The  slave  importa- 
tion since  the  acquisition  of  the  province  by  the  crown  would  have  provided 
headrights  for  four-fifths  of  the  amount  of  the  surveys.  If  the  headrights 
of  these  slaves  and  of  the  considerable  number  of  white  immigrants  to  the 
coast  country  were  used  in  1731  and  1732,  the  land  taken  up  under  Pro- 
prietary and  other  irregular  warrants  or  surveys  was  no  great  proportion 
of  the  total  acquired  during  the  'thirties.  Most  of  the  surveys  were  in 
tracts  which  made  ordinary  plantation  units,  or  convenient  additions  to 
existing  plantations.  Whatever  the  method  used  for  distributing  this  tide- 
water land  the  result  must  have  been  the  same  for  the  province  as  a  whole. 
There  was  scant  room  in  the  industry  or  climate  of  the  tidewater  area  for 
small  farmers. 

Governor  Johnson's  death  in  May  1735  brought  to  a  sudden  end  the 
most  popular  and  most  successful  of  the  royal  administrations.  His  was 
the  chief  part  in  making  and  maintaining  that  peace  between  crown  and 
assembly,  between  merchant  and  planter,  which  restored  the  government 
to  efficiency  and,  in  some  measure,  the  province  to  prosperity.     The  town- 

"PR,  XV,  267-268  (Johnson  to  Hutcheson,  Dec.  21,  1732),  XVII,  185-189 
(from  Johnson's  letter— pp.  174-193— to  Board,  Nov.  9,  1734),  XVI,  146  (Board  to 
Johnson,  June  7,  1733),  202-212  (Council  Committee  to  Board,  Dec.  6,  1733),  XXI, 
153  (William  Bull  to  Newcastle,  May  6,  1743);  JC,  Apr.  28,  1733;  JCHA,  Feb.  3, 
9,  10,  May  9,  10,  June  7,  1733.  See  Bond,  Quit  Rent  System,  pp.  322-326,  Wallace, 
History  of  S.  C,  I,  325-329;  Smith,  S.  C.  as  a  Royal  Province,  pp.  34-48,  for 
different  interpretations  of  this  controversy. 

-'^SCG,  Apr.  2,  1737,  Mar.  9,  1738;  PR,  XIX,  119  (Bull  to  Board,  May  25, 
1738),  XXIV,  314  (Governor  James  Glen,  received  by  Board  Aug.  10,  1751). 

21  PR,  XV,  219-222   (above,  n.  17)  ;  see  also  vols.  I  and  II  of  Plats. 


The  Background  of  Expansion  25 

ship  scheme,  a  vital  part  of  the  process  of  white  settlement  that  was  to 
transform  South  Carolina,  he  had  originated  and  started  fairly  on  its  way. 
Himself  one  of  the  planters,  he  had,  from  appreciation  of  their  needs  and 
problems  or  from  political  necessity,  acted  as  their  friend  rather  than  as 
champion  of  the  merchant  and  the  crown.  Very  well  might  the  assembly, 
representing  the  grieving  province,  appropriate  a  hundred  and  eleven 
pounds  for  a  tablet  to  him  in  St.  Philip's  Church  "as  a  mark  of  peculiar 
esteem  and  gratitude".^^ 

During  Johnson's  administration  there  was  little  to  mar  relations  be- 
tween the  executive  and  the  Commons.  Early  in  1735,  however,  the  settle- 
ment fund  faced  a  deficit,  and  as  the  Commons  moved  to  tardy  repair  of 
the  damage  it  had  done  in  1731  by  diversion  of  the  negro  duty  to  pay  off 
the  provincial  debt,  the  situation  was  complicated  by  the  demands  of  the 
attorney-general  and  the  secretary  for  their  fees  on  the  lands  granted  to  the 
settlers.  The  House  now  appropriated  the  whole  negro  duty  to  settlement, 
but  considering  the  fees  excessive  so  worded  the  act  as  to  restrict  their 
payment  to  the  proceeds  of  other  duties;  a  tax  was  laid  to  retire  the  remain- 
ing bills  of  1731.  In  the  course  of  an  intermittent  contest  of  four  years 
the  executive  made  good  its  claim  to  authority  to  order  payments — includ- 
ing those  for  officers'  fees — out  of  any  part  of  the  settlement  fund,  while 
the  House  made  the  further  concession  of  sending  all  its  orders  to  the 
executive  for  concurrence.^^ 

The  proportion  of  the  fee  charges  to  the  total  is  indicated  by  a  com- 
mittee report  covering  the  period  from  May  1745  to  January  1750.  Dur- 
ing this  time  579  new  settlers  got  £1,632  in  bounties  of  tools  and  provi- 
sions, and  £551  in  indirect  aids — payments  for  defense,  salaries  to  ministers, 
and  the  like.  The  public  officers  received  £778  in  fees  and  commissions, 
the  most  deserving  of  them,  the  deputy  surveyors  who  surveyed  the  lands, 
getting  less  than  a  fifth  of  the  amount."* 

The  ten  townships  founded  under  Governor  Johnson's  program  be- 
tween 1733  and  1759  went  through  three  stages  of  development:  an  initial 
period  of  rapid  settlement  under  the  active  encouragement  of  the  provincial 
government,  ten  years  of  slow  growth  during  which  the  government  con- 
tinued its  policy  of  liberal  aids,  and  finally  a  decade  of  renewed  expansion 
as  immigrants  from  Europe  and  the  north  came  in  larger  numbers  than  at 
any  time  before. 

Throughout  the  second  of  these  periods  the  settlement  policy  of  the 
province  was  undergoing  a  slow  and  painful  transformation.     In  March 

^^  Stats.,  Ill,  448,   Year  Book,  Charleston,  1880,  p.  270. 

22  JUHA.  Feb.  13,  Mar.  26,  Apr.  25,  1735,  Oct.  8,  1737;  JCHA,  Feb.  15,  Mar.  6, 
1735,  Dec.  3,  1736,  Jan.  11,  Feb.  1,  10,  Mar.  4,  1737,  Feb.  4,  Mar.  6,  11,  23,  1738;  JC, 
Aug.  19,  1735,  Dec.  14,  1738,  Feb.  9,  1739;  Stats.,  Ill,  409^11,  414-423;  PR,  XIX, 
259    (John  Hammerton,  received  by  Board  Aug.  19,   1738). 

-*JCHA,  Jan.  31,  1750.  For  the  fees  see  Stats.,  II,  144-148,  III,  343-347,  415- 
421.    See  also  JC,  May  14,  1752,  JCHA,  Apr.  7,  1759,  May  8,  9,  1760. 


26  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

1737  Lieutenant-Governor  Broughton  announced  in  the  South  Carolina 
Gazette  that  the  settlement  fund  was  insufficient  for  the  demands  upon  it, 
and  that  the  act  creating  it  would  soon  expire.  He  therefore  warned 
future  comers  not  to  expect  the  bounty.  The  chief  sin  of  the  provincial 
government  against  the  township  program  was  thus  visited  upon  the 
province.  The  non-resident  grants  in  Purrysburg  and  Williamsburg  did 
not  prevent  those  townships  serving  their  purpose,  but  for  lack  of  a  thou- 
sand pounds  of  the  money  diverted  to  the  sinking  of  the  1731  orders  the 
movement  of  the  poor  Protestants  from  Europe  had  to  be  momentarily  dis- 
couraged. Immigration  from  Europe  fell  off  sharply,  and  though  money 
for  the  bounty  again  became  available,  few  Germans  and  no  Scotch-Irish 
came  until  after  1748.  There  were  several  reasons  for  this  decline  besides 
Broughton's  proclamation.  A  reaction  after  the  high  hopes  for  ventures 
like  that  of  Purry  was  inevitable.  The  quarrels  of  the  settlers  at  Purrys- 
burg and  Williamsburg  with  the  colonial  government  must  likewise  have 
been  bad  advertising  for  the  province,  while  the  sickness  that  Purrysburg 
and  New  Windsor  suffered  was  warning  of  the  trial  which  the  immigrant 
from  a  cooler  climate  to  the  low  country  must  expect.  Finally  the  renewal 
of  hostilities  in  Europe — England's  wars  first  with  Spain  and  then  with 
France — made  the  sea  unsafe  for  immigrant  ships."^ 

The  settlement  of  Georgia  intensified  the  feud  between  the  English  and 
Spanish  on  the  southern  frontier.  In  1738  the  governor  at  St.  Augustine 
published  the  order  of  the  Spanish  crown  that  all  slaves  coming  from  the 
English  colonies  should  be  freed  and  protected.  Parties  of  slaves  fled  from 
South  Carolina,  one  body  of  twenty-four  escaping  from  Port  Royal.  They 
were  received  at  St.  Augustine  and  employed  for  wages.  In  September 
1739  about  fifty  negroes  rose  at  Stono,  twenty  miles  below  Charleston, 
armed  themselves  from  a  store,  killed  twenty-one  whites,  and  began  their 
march  southward.  Their  leisurely  progress  enabled  the  militia  to  overtake 
them  and  nearly  all  were  killed  or  executed.  There  was  smallpox  and  an 
"Epidemical  Fever"  to  plague  the  province  in  1738  and  1739,  and  a  de- 
structive fire  in  Charleston  in  1740.^® 

In  October  1739  war  between  England  and  Spain  was  declared  which 
in  1744  widened  into  the  War  of  the  Austrian  Succession.  Already  in 
1742  the  assembly  had  petitioned  the  crown  for  three  companies  of  troops 
of  a  hundred  men  each,  which  were  needed  to  garrison  two  forts  on  the 
coast  and  two  on  the  frontier.  The  petition  was  granted,  but  the  first  of 
the  troops  did  not  arrive  until  January  1746  and  a  later  report  of  a  Com- 

2^  PR,  XIX,  54  (Sebastian  Zouberbuhler  to  Board,  Mar.  14,  1738);  see  below, 
pp.  36,  67,  81-82;  JC,  Jan.  26,  1743,  Mar.  25,  1745. 

^^CSCHS,  IV,  17-18;  JUHA,  Jan.  18,  1739;  JCHA,  Jan.  18,  19,  1739;  PR,  XX, 
179-183,  192  (Bull  to  Board,  Oct.  5,  Nov.  20,  1739),  326-330  (Petition  of  South 
Carolina  council  and  House  to  king,  Nov.  21,  1740).  Two  other  slave  plots  were 
discovered  shortly  afterwards  (PR,  XX,  300-301 — Representation,  enclosed  with 
letter  of  Bull  July  28,  1740). 


The  Background  of  Expansion 


27 


mons  committee  declared  that  most  of  them  were  raised  in  the  province 
and  therefore  made  "no  augmentation  of  men  or  strength".  The  rice  in- 
dustry, depressed  by  the  low  price  which  had  resulted  from  overproduction, 
was  burdened  anew  by  high  freights  and  insurance.^^  The  climax  of  this 
series  of  misfortunes,  however,  was  the  Stono  insurrection.  The  report 
of  a  committee  of  the  Commons  House  in  1741  expressed  the  feeling  of 
the  planters  who  had  so  energetically  conferred  on  the  savage  Africans 
and  themselves  the  dubious  blessings  of  American  negro  slavery:  "With 
Regret  we  bewailed  our  peculiar  case  that  we  could  not  Enjoy  the  Benefits 
of  peace  like  the  Rest  of  mankind,  and  that  our  Industry  Should  be  the 
means  of  taking  from  us  all  the  Sweets  of  life  and  of  Rendering  us  Liable 
to  the  Loss  of  our  Lives  and  Fortunes."  ^^ 

The  regular  session  of  the  assembly  began  soon  after  the  insurrection 
and  with  it  an  eager  effort  to  abate  the  negro  problem.  The  danger  was 
too  pressing  to  allow  dependence  on  the  now  small  bounty  immigration 
alone;  furthermore  most  of  the  townships  were  at  a  considerable  distance 
from  the  districts  of  heaviest  slave  population.  The  committee  on  methods 
of  defense  therefore  felt  it  necessary  to  resort  to  the  unpopular  plan  of 
forcing  the  planters  to  employ  white  servants  on  their  plantations;  for  "by 
the  late  unhappy  accident  at  Stono  it  appears  to  be  absolutely  necessary  to 
get  a  Sufficient  number  of  white  Persons  into  this  Province".  Its  pro- 
posed bill  to  increase  the  number  of  white  men  required  on  plantations  by 
the  law  of  1726  was  rejected  by  the  council,^  but  the  two  houses  were  a 
unit  on  the  restriction  of  slave  importation.  The  general  duty  law  of  1731 
was  now,  in  April  1740,  reenacted  with  few  changes  save  in  the  rate  on 
slaves  which  was  set  at  a  little  more  than  fourteen  pounds  for  those  four 
feet  two  inches  or  more  in  height.  This  duty  which  was  to  go  into  effect  in 
fifteen  months  and  to  last  three  years  was  so  high  that  it  constituted  a 
prohibition.     Before  and  after  the  three  year  period  the  duty  was  to  be  one 

2^  PR,  XX,  577-579  (Petition  of  assembly  to  crown,  June  3,  1742),  598-611 
(Representation  of  lieutenant-governor  and  council,  Sept.  3,  1742)  ;  JCHA,  June  2, 
1742,  Jan.  23,  1746,  Feb.  10,  11,  1747.  On  the  suggestion  of  the  crown,  when  these 
companies  were  discharged  in  the  summer  of  1749,  the  governor  and  council  offered 
the  men  land  with  fees  paid  from  the  township  fund,  and  for  those  who  had  en- 
listed outside  the  province  half  the  regular  bounty  (JC,  June  16,  July  4,  Aug.  2, 
1749).  A  score  of  South  Carolinians  and  about  thirty  outsiders  took  advantage  of 
this  offer,  two-thirds  of  the  warrants  being  for  land  in  the  middle  country.  The 
export  of  rice  in  1740  was  about  90,000  barrels,  and  the  average  1740-1745  about 
100,000  (Carroll,  Collections,  I,  343,  PR,  XXI,  403— below,  n.  33);  see  also 
SCG,  Oct.  8,  1744  (letter  of  Agricola),  PR,  XXII,  115-123  (Furye  and  John  Fen- 
wicke  to  Board,  Nov.  21,  1745),  273-275    (Glen  to  Board,  Apr.  28,   1747). 

^*  CSCHS,  II,  19.  Compare  Lieutenant-Governor  Broughton's  statement  in 
1737:  "our  Negroes  are  very  numerous  and  more  dreadful  to  our  Safety,  than  any 
Spanish  Invaders"   (PR,  XVIII,  172-173— to  Newcastle,  Feb.  6,  1737). 

2^  JCHA,  Nov.  10,  1739.  Henrv  McCulloh,  the  speculator  in  North  Carolina 
lands  {Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  V,  779-780,  VII,  13-14),  declared  that  its  failure  was 
due  to  the  landholdings  of  the  council  (PR,  XX,  424-425 — enclosure  by  McCulloh 
with  letter  to  Board,  Nov.  12,  1741;  Bond,  Quit  Rent  System,  pp.  396-397). 


^vl^ 


28  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

tenth  of  that  amount.^"  This  act,  evidently  in  view  of  the  small  immigra- 
tion, gave  only  two-thirds  of  the  negro  duty  to  township  settlement,  but 
made  generous  allowances — transportation  from  Charleston,  tools,  pro- 
visions for  a  year,  and  a  cow  and  a  calf  for  each  five  settlers.  The  act  was 
continued  in  1746  for  five  years  more,  but  until  the  end  of  the  war  in  1748 
there  was  no  great  income  of  either  money  or  settlers.^'^ 

The  weakness  of  the  tidewater  plantations  caused  the  Commons  for 
several  years  to  seek  some  means  of  strengthening  them.  An  act  of  1742 
offered  exemption  from  jury  duty  and  all  provincial  taxes  exceeding  twenty- 
nine  shillings  to  all  free  white  Protestant  men  residing  in  towns  or  villages 
situated  at  the  passes  or  ferries  over  rivers.  The  measure  was  continued  in 
1752  for  six  years,  but  then  lapsed  with  no  perceptible  results.  In  1743  a 
House  committee  renewed  the  proposal  to  increase  the  required  number  of 
servants  on  plantations,  and  recommended  that  training  of  negroes  for 
trades  in  which  white  men  were  usually  employed  be  forbidden.  Nothing 
came  of  this  nor  of  a  more  elaborate  plan  the  next  year  for  the  purchase  of 
twenty-acre  tracts  between  the  Santee  and  Savannah  not  more  than  thirty 
miles  from  the  sea  nor  twenty  from  a  parish  church.  On  these  tracts  a 
hundred  white  families  a  year  should  be  settled,  with  much  smaller  bounties 
than  those  allowed  to  township  settlers,  and  forbidden  to  sell  their  lands. 
The  probable  expense  alone — about  fourteen  hundred  pounds  a  year  which 
would  have  to  be  met  in  part  by  direct  taxes — made  this  scheme  im- 
practicable.^" 

The  bounties  on  agricultural  products  offered  during  this  decade  were 

^°  Stats.,  Ill,  556-568;  half  and  one-fourth  the  full  duties  were  charged  on  the 
smaller  negroes — see  PR,  XXIII,  369-370  (from  Glen's  Answers,  enclosed  with  his 
letter  to  Board,  July  19,  1749).  The  act  of  1731  {Stats.,  Ill,  340-341)  by  its  own 
wording  should  have  expired  automatically  June  7,  1739;  no  continuing  act  has  been 
found.  The  bounty  act  expired  in  August  1738  (see  p.  26,  above)  ;  it  was  evidently 
continued,  however  {Stats.,  Ill,  562)  ;  the  duties  on  slaves  and  other  imports  were 
collected  without  any  break    (Treasurer's   Ledgers,    MS,    1735-1748). 

^^  Stats.,  Ill,  670.  This  encouragement  as  administered  by  the  governor  and 
council  in  1743  came  to  the  following:  for  immigrants  over  12  years  of  age,  300 
lbs.  of  beef,  50  of  pork,  200  of  rice,  8  bushels  of  corn,  1  bushel  of  salt;  to  all  under 
12,  half  these  quantities;  to  each  man  an  axe,  broad  hoe,  and  narrow  hoe;  to 
every  five  persons,  1  cow  and  calf,  1  sow;  to  each  servant,  at  the  end  of  his  term, 
the  same  bounty  (JC,  Apr.  2,  1743).  The  assembly  was  no  longer  bound  by  any 
instruction  in  its  disposition  of  income  from  duties,  as  the  crown  considered  that 
the  condition  imposed  when  the  sinking  fund  of  1724  was  suspended  had  been 
satisfied  by  the  legislation  of  1731  and  1735  (PR,  XIX,  224 — Board  to  crown, 
July  13,   1738). 

^^  Stats.,  Ill,  591,  775;  Letter  ...  to  a  Member  of  Assembly,  SCG,  Mar.  28, 
1743;  JCHA,  Mar.  23,  30,  Apr.  1,  1743,  Jan.  25,  Mar.  1,  6,  1744.  Compare  the 
restrictions  imposed  on  the  Georgia  settlers — above,  p.  20.  An  act  to  allow  holders 
of  uncultivated  lands  to  surrender  them,  and  thus  to  be  relieved  of  quit  rents — an 
aftermath  of  the  failure  of  the  speculation  of  the  'thirties — was  vetoed  by  the 
crown.  The  total  amount  of  land  on  the  provincial  treasurer's  books,  however, 
declined  from  2,349,129  acres  in  1742  to  2,057,457  in  1748.  See  Stats.,  Ill,  636,  PR, 
XXI,  346-347  (Benjamin  Whitaker,  Observations,  enclosed  with  his  letter  to 
Board,  June  25,  1744),  XXIV,  314  (Glen  to  Board,  received  Aug.  10,  1751), 
Bond,  Quit  Rent  System,  pp.  334-341. 


The  Background  of  Expansion  29 

to  aid  the  recovery  of  the  depressed  plantation  system  as  well  as  to  en- 
courage small  farmers.  In  1741  the  assembly  renewed  the  bounty  on  hemp 
and  silk  given  in  1736.  Three  years  later  it  increased  both,  and  added 
bounties  on  wine,  flax,  indigo,  cotton,  and  flour  sold  in  Charleston  made 
from  wheat  raised  in  the  province.  "A  pretty  large  quantity  of  Indigo" 
was  made  in  this  year,  and  the  production  rose  so  rapidly  that  the  assembly 
in  1746  hastily  repealed  the  bounty  on  the  new  staple.^^ 

The  return  of  peace  in  1748  brought  better  times  for  the  province,  and  ,  / 
with  it  more  slaves  and  a  renewal  of  the  bounty  immigration.  The  speedy 
exhaustion  of  the  township  fund  brought  about  a  careful  reconsideration 
of  settlement  policy.  Again  the  House  played  with  the  idea  of  land  pur-  > 
chase  and  settlement  in  the  parishes,  and  for  the  first  time  showed  op-  -_ 
position  to  Germans  as  settlers  by  ordering  the  agent  of  the  province  in 
England  to  do  his  utmost  to  prevent  the  immigration  of  more  than  a  thou-  \ 
sand  foreign  Protestants  a  year.  The  act  of  1751  appropriated  three- 
fifths  of  the  negro  duties  to  settling  foreign  Protestants,  or  Protestants 
from  the  British  dominions  who  should  present  certificates  of  good  char- 
acter from  ministers  or  corporations.  For  five  years  the  bounty  was  to  be 
paid  only  to  those  settling  between  the  Santee  and  the  Savannah,  within 
forty  miles  of  the  coast.  For  the  first  three  of  the  five  years  four  pounds 
ten  shillings  should  be  paid  to  all  from  thirteen  to  forty-nine  years  of  age, 
and  half  that  amount  to  those  from  three  to  twelve.  For  the  next  two 
years  of  the  term  these  amounts  were  to  be  reduced  by  a  third,  and  at  the 
end  of  that  time  two-thirds  of  the  remainder  should  be  paid  to  those  set- 
tling anywhere  in  the  province.  The  act  was  to  run  for  ten  years.  A  re- 
newed contest  between  House  and  council  over  the  fees,  which  the 
Commons  thought  excessive,  resulted  in  assignment  by  the  act  of  a  fifth  of 
the  negro  duties  to  that  purpose.^* 

In  October  1752  the  prospect  of  the  arrival  of  fifteen  hundred  Ger-  ~^ 
mans  caused  a  hasty  revision  of  the  law.  The  governor  asked  the  Com- 
mons to  omit  the  restriction  of  settlers  to  the  limits  stated,  on  the  ground 
that  there  was  not  enough  land  for  them.  This  was  promptly  done,  but, 
evidently  appalled  by  the  number  of  aliens  coming  into  the  province,  the 
House  took  steps  to  divert  the  entire  three-fifths  of  the  duties,  after  the 
incoming  horde  should  have  been  settled,  to  settlers  from  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland.     However,  on  the  protest  of  the  council  against  this  frank  attempt 

^^  Stats.,  Ill,  587,  613-616,  671;  PR,  XXI,  403^04,  XXII,  100  (Governor  James 
Glen  to  Board,  Sept.  22,  1744,  May  28,   1745). 

2*JCHA,  Nov.  23,  1749,  Jan.  30,  31,  Feb.  7,  Mar.  16,  17,  1750,  June  6,  7,  12,  14, 
1751;  Stats.,  Ill,  739-751.  The  remaining  fifth  of  the  duty  was  appropriated  as  a 
bounty  for  ship  building.  It  was  later  diverted  to  other  uses  (Stats.,  IV,  10-12). 
No  attempt  was  made  by  the  governor  and  council  to  draw  fees  from  the  three- 
fifths  appropriated  for  the  settlers  (JC,  Apr.  4,  1757,  May  30,  1758).  See  letter  of 
"D.C."  (SCG,  Dec.  4,  1749)  reporting  discussion  of  settlement  measures  by  a 
Charleston  club,  and  SCG,  Nov.  7,  1754  (letter  to  Timothy)  for  evidence  of  interest 
in  settlement  measures. 


<, 


30  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

to  draw  population  from  the  mother  country,  the  Commons  adopted  a 
less  drastic  change.  The  act  of  October  1752  prescribed  no  place  of  set- 
tlement; the  bounty  was  to  be  paid  in  tools  and  provisions,  and  a  reduction 
of  one-sixth  was  offset  by  provision  for  a  cow  and  calf  for  each  five  persons. 
This  rate  was  to  continue  only  four  months,  and  thereafter  half  the  amount 
was  to  be  paid.^*^ 

The  settlement  fund  for  its  first  five  years  amounted  to  about  £3,500. 
From  that  time  to  1741,  when  the  importation  of  slaves  became  negligible, 
the  receipts  from  negro  duties  totalled  about  £17,000.  Only  about  £2,200 
was  received  by  the  township  fund  during  the  next  decade,  but  between 
1752  and  1759  nearly  £18,000  was  realized  from  the  four-fifths  of  the 
negro  duty,  and  by  the  end  of  1765  £18,500  more,  a  total  of  £60,000.'*^ 
The  aid  to  settlement  thus  given  had  no  counterpart  in  any  other  English 
continental  colony. 

In  the  tangled  history  of  these  years  of  encouragement  to  settlers, 
with  the  ups  and  downs  that  came  from  indifference,  selfishness  and  short- 
sightedness of  officials  and  representatives,  one  discerns  that  neither  war 
nor  pestilence,  prosperity  nor  hard  times,  long  blinded  the  provincial 
leaders  to  the  fact  that  the  essential  problem  of  South  Carolina  was  the 
negro  problem,  and  that  the  only  available  remedy  was  white  settlement. 

35  Below,  p.  151;  JCHA,  Sept.  27,  28,  Oct.  5,  1752;  JUHA,  Oct.  5,  1752;  Stats.. 
Ill,  781-782;  PR,  XXV,  107-108  (Glen  to  Board,  Dec.  16,  1752). 

36  Treasury  Ledger  B,  1735-1773;  JCHA,  May  23,  1747,  May  10,  1748,  Jan. 
31,  1750,  June  4,  1760,  June  16,  1761;  below  pp.  243-244.  The  exemptions  from 
quit  rents  and  provincial  taxes,  generally  for  ten  years,  in  effect  increased  the 
township  fund  by  several  thousand  pounds — see  Stats.,  Ill,  439,  473,  527-528,  IV, 
54,  129,  190;  JCHA,  Nov.  23,  1750. 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  MIDDLE 
COUNTRY— THE  WESTERN  TOWNSHIPS 


6<x 


sex 


if* 

If 


VS'^^' 


tK^^ 


-li 


^-^&S'-'- 


Aii^ttsta 


Ebe 


nac^ 


Txexdi 


Gck  yi 


3u.r 


'^ 


Map   2. 

The  Western  Townships 


The  Settlement  of  the  Middle  Country — the 
Western  Townships 

The  townships  marked  off  under  Governor  Johnson's  scheme  roughly 
embraced  the  middle  country,  the  wide  region  that  stretched  from  the  tide- 
water to  the  fall  line.  It  was  the  portion  of  the  colony  least  desired  by 
eighteenth  century  settlers,  having  neither  the  advantages  of  position 
enjoyed  by  the  tidewater,  nor  the  more  healthful  climate  of  the  piedmont. 
Into  this  region  colonial  policy  now  directed  the  newcomers  whom  it 
coaxed  from  Europe,  and  thereby  established  settlements  which  in  turn 
offered  attractions  to  settlers  from  the  coast  and  from  the  more  northern 
colonies.  As  these  small  and  uncertain  streams  of  population  converged  at 
one  point  or  another  in  the  middle  country,  communities  were  founded 
which  partook  in  their  nature  of  the  characteristics  of  the  others  spread 
along  the  southern  pineland,  but  because  of  varying  racial  mixtures,  and 
circumstances  of  settlement  or  early  development,  each  was  stamped  with 
some  difference  from  its  neighbors  which  two  centuries  have  not  obliterated. 

In  November  1732  a  party  of  Switzers  landed  in  Charleston,  and  at 
nearly  the  same  time  there  arrived  a  number  of  Scots  from  northern  Ire- 
land. As  soon  as  practicable  both  were  sent  to  their  appointed  task  of 
guarding  the  tidewater  and  settling  the  coastal  plain  behind  it.  The  Switz- 
ers were  sent  to  the  frontier  southwest  of  the  Santee,  doubtless  because  it 
was  thought  that  they,  as  aliens  to  the  tongue  of  their  neighbors,  would 
cling  to  each  other  and  make  a  more  compact  settlement.  The  Scots  were 
sent,  perhaps  by  their  own  choice,  to  the  thinly  settled  but  less  exposed 
district  north  of  the  Santee.  The  provincial  government  continued  to 
direct  the  foreigners  to  the  west  and  northwest,  while  the  north  side  of  the 
Santee  attracted  other  Scots  for  fifteen  years,  and  proved  most  convenient 
for  British  settlers  who  came  from  the  northern  colonies.  Thus  there  was 
brought  about  from  the  beginning  a  distinct  difference  in  blood  of  the 
eastern  and  western  portions  of  the  middle  country. 


CHAPTER  III 

PURRYSBURG 

In  1724  the  Proprietors,  with  the  approval  of  the  crown,  had  agreed 
with  Jean  Pierre  Purry  of  Neufchatel,  Switzerland,  to  transport  six  hun- 
dred persons  to  South  Carolina  and  to  grant  him  twenty-four  thousand 
acres  of  land.  The  Proprietors  were  unable  to  do  their  part,  and  the 
project  collapsed,  although  twenty-four  Swiss  were  said  to  have  gone  to  the 
province.  In  1730  Purry  applied  to  the  crown  and  offered  to  procure  six 
hundred  Switzers  within  six  years  for  settlement  in  South  Carolina;  in 
return  he  asked  twelve  thousand  acres  for  himself  free  of  quit  rents.  He 
evidently  expected  to  make  his  expenses  and  profit  by  sale  of  this  land. 
Governor  Johnson  and  the  Board  of  Trade  recommended  that  his  petition 
be  granted  on  condition  that  the  Swiss  settle  in  a  township.  The  crown, 
however,  ordered  that  he  have  forty-eight  thousand  acres  on  completion  of 
his  enterprise,  with  a  quit  rent  exemption  of  only  ten  years.^ 

Without  waiting  for  final  confirmation  by  the  crown,  Purry  proceeded 
to  South  Carolina.  In  Charleston  he  laid  before  the  assembly  the  plans 
he  had  made  for  his  settlers,  who  were  to  raise  hemp,  silk,  indigo,  cotton 
and  wines.  The  assembly  agreed  that  when  he  imported  one  hundred  able- 
bodied  men  he  should  receive  four  hundred  pounds  from  the  township 
fund.  His  settlers  up  to  the  number  of  three  hundred  should  be  fed  for  a 
year,  each  person  over  twelve  years  of  age  receiving  eight  bushels  of  Indian 
corn  or  pease,  three  hundred  pounds  of  beef,  fifty  pounds  of  pork,  two  hun- 
dred pounds  of  rice,  and  a  bushel  of  salt.  For  those  under  twelve  half 
these  amounts  were  allowed.  Each  man  was  to  have  an  axe,  a  broad  hoe 
and  a  narrow  hoe,  and  for  each  five  persons  there  would  be  furnished  a  cow 
and  a  calf  and  a  sow.  Purry  selected  as  the  site  of  his  town  "the  great 
Yamasee  Blufif",  about  eight  miles  below  the  Pallachuccola  garrison ;  this 
met  the  desire  of  Governor  Johnson  for  a  post  which  would  guard  the 
lower  Savannah  River  pass.  From  his  findings  and  his  own  lively  imagina- 
tion he  then  constructed  a  pamphlet  which  was  a  glowing  description  of 
the  riches  and  possibilities  of  Carolina  with  no  hint  of  the  hardships  which 
beset  the  road  to  wealth." 

^PR,  XII,  190-192  (above,  p.  18,  n.  5),  XIV,  3-5,  25  (Board  of  Trade  Journal, 
Mar.  13,  25,  Oct.  15,  1730),  77-78  (Purry  to  Board,  Mar.  24,  1730),  237  (Johnson 
to  Board,  July  20,  1730),  243-245,  XV,  113-121,  123-126  (Board  to  crown,  July  23, 
1730,  to  Council  Committee,  May  26,  June  26,   1732). 

2  JCHA,  Mar.  5,  17,  1731;  PR,  XIV,  237-238  (see  n.  1  above),  XVI,  350  (Purry, 
received  by  Board  July  16,  1734)  ;  Carroll,  Collections,  II,  121-140.  See  A.  B. 
Faust  and  G.  M.  Brumbaugh,  Lists  of  Siviss  Emigrants  to  the  American  Colonies 

34 


The  Western   Townships  35 

In  November  1732  sixty-one  Switzers  arrived,  the  advance  guard  of 
Purry's  group.  They  w^ere  put  in  charge  of  James  Richard  of  Geneva,  one 
of  the  associates  of  Purry  w^ho  had  accompanied  him  to  South  Carolina  the 
year  before.  Richard  was  made  justice  of  the  peace  and  major  of  the 
militia.  Orders  were  issued  to  deliver  him  six  small  cannon,  twenty 
muskets,  three  hundred  pounds  of  powder,  three  hundred  pounds  of  bullets 
and  three  hundred  pounds  of  swan  shot.  The  settlers  were  also  furnished 
with  six  crosscut  saws,  six  whipsaws,  twelve  handsaws,  hammers,  nails, 
spades  and  two  iron  corn  mills.  Actual  settlement  of  the  town  may  have 
awaited  the  arrival  of  Purry  himself  six  weeks  later.  He  brought  with  him 
ninety-one  Swiss  and  shortly  afterwards  proceeded  with  a  party  of  eighty- 
seven  to  the  Pallachuccolas.  The  trip  was  made  in  three  pettyaugers,  or 
periaguas,  as  the  long  narrow  boats  were  called  that  plied  the  inland  passage 
to  the  Savannah.  By  the  end  of  the  year  1733  there  were  two  hundred  and 
seventy,  perhaps  three  hundred  people  in  Purrysburg.  Purry  returned  to 
Europe  and  in  November  1734  arrived  with  two  hundred  and  eighty  more. 
By  this  time  he  had  received  half  of  his  four  hundred  pounds.^ 

During  1735  four  hundred  and  fifty  Swiss  were  reported  as  arriving 
at  Purrysburg  or  shortly  expected  there,  the  passage  of  apparently  all  being 
paid  by  the  crown.  It  is  quite  probable  that  there  was  duplication  in  these 
statements,  or  that  some  settlers  went  to  other  South  Carolina  townships 
or  even  to  Georgia.  In  March  of  that  year,  however,  the  assembly  was 
satisfied  that  the  border  was  sufficiently  defended  and  abolished  the 
Pallachuccola  garrison.* 

Surveys  in  the  township  for  the  Purrysburgers  began  soon  after  their 
arrival,  but  their  grants  were  not  made  out  until  1735.  By  1739  thirty- 
five  thousand  acres  was  granted,  and  in  the  next  six  years  this  was  increased 
by  a  seventh  of  that  amount.^  By  the  land  regulations  this  represented 
about  eight  hundred  persons  settled  in  the  township.  Grants  were  based, 
however,  on  the  warrants  which  were  made  out  soon  after  the  arrival  of  the 
settlers,  and  were  not  affected  by  the  death  or  removal  of  persons  in  the 
grantee's  family.  The  number  in  the  township  at  any  one  time  must  have 
been  far  short  of  eight  hundred.  Two-thirds  of  the  land  thus  granted  was 
to  persons  of  French  name,  and  about  one-fourth  of  it  to  Germans.  The 
remainder  was  taken  up  by  Englishmen,  who  probably  qualified  for  the 
grants   by  settling   in   the  township.     Among   the   foreigners  were   forty 

in  the  Eighteenth  Century  (vol.  II,  Washington,  1925),  pp.  17-26,  and  "Documents 
in  Swiss  Archives  relating  to  Emigration  .  .  ."  {American  Historical  Revieiv, 
October,   1916). 

3JC,  Nov.  9,  1732;  H.  A.  M.  Smith,  "Purrysburgh",  in  SCHGM,  X,  193  (this 
article,  covering  pp.  187-219,  is  cited  below  as  Smith,  "Purrysburgh")  ;  SCG, 
Dec.  30,  1732;  JCHA,  Dec.  15,  1732,  Dec.  6,  1733;  PR,  XVII,  191-192  (above,  p. 
24,  n.  19),  227   (Furye  to  Board,  Dec.  3,  1734). 

*JUHA,  Apr.  17,  1735,  SCG,  Nov.  22,  1735,   TCHA,  Mar.  21,  1735. 

'P,  III,  307,  330,  Smith,  "Purrysburgh",  pp.  211-217  (eleven  of  the  names  listed 
pp.  217-218  are  clearly  different  renderings  of  names  on  the  preceding  list). 


36  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

Protestants  from  Piedmont,  twentj^-five  from  the  Archbishopric  of  Salz- 
burg, and  a  few  individuals  from  other  places.*'  With  these  exceptions  the 
Purrysburgers  are  all  spoken  of  as  Swiss. 

The  twenty  thousand  acres  of  the  township  were  laid  out  before  the  end 
of  1733,  but  by  the  negligence  of  the  governor  and  council  the  six-mile 
reservation  was  not  surveyed  until  1735.  It  was  found  then  that  the  delay 
had  enabled  outsiders,  among  them  Governor  Johnson  himself,  to  take  up 
over  thirty  thousand  of  the  one  hundred  and  nine  thousand  acres.  In 
compensation  for  these  encroachments  the  council  ordered  double  the 
quantity  so  taken  to  be  reserved  north  of  the  township.  Purry  himself 
during  the  years  1732  to  1736  received  grants  of  nearly  twenty  thousand 
of  his  forty-eight  thousand  acres,  all  within  the  reserved  land  of  the  town- 
ship. He  died  shortly  afterwards,  and  though  the  governor  and  council 
approved  the  petition  of  his  son  Charles  for  the  rest  of  the  land,  he  does 
not  appear  to  have  taken  it  up.^ 

When  the  mountain-bred  Switzers  first  saw  their  new  home  the  face  of 
the  land,  even  more  than  the  cannon  entrusted  to  them,  must  have  shown 
them  that  it  was  selected  for  the  military  needs  of  South  Carolina  and  not 
for  their  own  comfort.  The  settlement  itself  was  on  a  bluff,  but  the  town- 
ship was  made  up  of  the  mixture  of  good  land,  pine  barren  and  swamp  char- 
acteristic of  the  lower  pine  belt.  Any  other  site  for  a  large  settlement  on  a 
river  near  the  tidewater  must  have  had  the  same  disadvantages.  The 
province  was  paying  three  thousand  pounds  for  the  defense  of  the  Palla- 
chuccola  pass,  and  the  fever,  heat  and  loss  of  life  which  the  settlement 
suffered  was  the  price  it  paid  for  that  extraordinary  bounty.  Nevertheless 
the  government  imposed  a  needless  hardship  upon  the  first  settlers  by 
forcing  them  to  cast  lots  for  their  lands,  and  by  allowing  encroachments 
upon  the  township.  In  1751  twenty-five  of  the  inhabitants  declared  that 
their  lots  had  fallen  on  worthless  land  which  they  had  been  obliged  to 
forsake.  The  town  itself  was  the  first  to  suffer,  as  most  of  the  settlers 
adapted  themselves  to  the  needs  of  the  region  and  dispersed  through  the 
township,  or,  in  complete  dissatisfaction,  went  to  other  places.  Neverthe- 
less, the  position  on  the  Savannah  favored  trade ;  the  Switzers  were  a 
foreign  element  and  tended  to  stay  together,  and  they  evinced  real  determi- 
nation to  build  up  a  settlement  of  traders  and  artisans.^ 

The  most  interesting  of  their  attempts  was  to  carry  out  one  of  Purry's 

'^  Ibid.  p.  201,  SCG,  July  21,  1733.  Persecution  by  the  Archbishop  of  Salzburg 
caused  many  of  his  Protestant  subjects  to  migrate  {SCG,  Mar.  11,  Apr.  22,  1732). 
They  founded  Ebenezer  in  Georgia  opposite  Purrysburg  (Jones,  History  of  Ga.,  I, 
167-169).  For  individuals,  note  Holzendorf  and  de  Beaufain  (below,  pp.  38,  39). 
John  Linder  was  from  Berlin  (G.  P.  Voigt,  German  and  German-Siviss  Element  in 
South  Carolina,  /7J2-7752— Columbia  1922— p.  22). 

^  Smith,  "Purrysburgh",  pp.  205,  218-219;  JC,  May  11,  1739;  PR,  XVII,  185- 
189  (above,  p.  24,  n.  19),  XIX,  173-175   (Petition  of  Charles  Purry,  May  18,  1738). 

«PR,  XVII,  227  (see  n.  3  above);  Carroll,  Collections,  I,  296,  Col.  Recs.  of 
N.  C,  IV,  159-162;  JC,  Apr.  19,  May  14,  1751;  Voigt,  German  Element,  p.  23;  see 
also  PR,  XIX,  174-175   (above,  n.  7). 


The  Western   Townships  37 

first  proposals — the  establishment  of  the  silk  industry.  John  Lewis  Poyas 
was  a  native  of  Piedmont  and  arrived  in  Purrysburg  in  1734.  He  and  his 
wife,  so  he  stated  later,  understood  "perfectly  the  manufacture  of  Silk  in 
all  its  Process  from  the  very  planting  of  the  White  Mulberry  to  the 
spinning  of  the  Superfine  Organzine  Raw  Silk  after  the  manner  used  in 
Turin  and  Italy."  "The  Gentlemen  who  had  first  engaged  him  to  teach  the 
Silken  manufacture  in  that  Colony"  must  have  been  the  Purrysburg 
leaders.  In  1733  the  Georgia  Trustees  offered  to  buy  both  South  Carolina 
and  Georgia  silk  cocoons,  and  in  1736  the  South  Carolina  assembly  like- 
wise gave  a  bounty.  The  next  year  Poyas  appeared  before  the  lieutenant- 
governor  and  council  with  "Several  Samples  of  Silk  by  him  made".  He 
declared  that  he  had  no  aid  nor  support  from  his  "Gentlemen",  and  pro- 
posed that  the  provincial  government  employ  him.  The  Commons  House 
voted  him  a  gratuity  of  fourteen  pounds  and  agreed  to  pay  him  a  hundred 
pounds  a  year  for  three  years  to  manage  a  plantation  with  six  slaves,  while 
training  ten  apprentices  a  year.^  But  four  years  later  the  House  declared 
Poyas  responsible  for  the  lack  of  results,  discharged  him  and  retired  from 
the  silk  business.  In  1744  a  larger  bounty  was  offered,  but  it  lapsed  in 
1749.^° 

Meanwhile  the  Georgia  government  continued  to  buy  cocoons,  and 
in  1751  set  up  a  filature  in  Savannah  for  winding  silk.  Most  of  this  came 
from  the  German  settlement  of  Ebenezer,  Georgia,  but  Purrysburg  silk 
balls  were  bought  likewise,  and  in  1766  the  township  furnished  6,000 
pounds  of  cocoons,  making  about  300  pounds  of  raw  silk,  nearly  a  third  of 
the  total.  At  that  time  it  was  reported  that  "almost  every  family  in  Pur- 
rysburg parish"  had  quantities  of  silk  worms.  After  this  the  industry  in 
Georgia  declined  and  was  abandoned.  Governor  Wright  explaining  that 
the  labor  could  be  far  more  profitably  emplojxd  elsewhere,  even  though 
the  cocoons  were  bought  for  more  than  the  market  price.  With  the  help  of 
the  bounty  offered  by  Parliament,  however,  the  Purrysburgers  persevered, 
and  in  1772  exported  through  Charleston  455  pounds  of  "exceeding  fine 
Raw  Silk".  Probably  all  the  592  pounds  exported  the  preceding  year 
came  from  that  township." 

®  Georgia  Trustees,  SCG,  May  19,  1733;  Stats.,  Ill,  436-437;  JC,  July  13,  1737; 
JCHA,  Oct.  6,  8,  Dec.  9,  1737,  Jan.  19,  24,  Feb.  3,  1738.  In  December  1737  Hercules 
Coyte,  acting  as  a  surveyor  of  hemp,  flax,  and  silk  under  the  act  of  1736,  certi- 
fied fourteen  pounds  "of  good  Silk  well  drawn  &  fit  for  any  Market"  made 
by  Peter  Paget  of  St.  Thomas'  Parish,  near  Charleston  (JCHA,  Dec.  15,  1737). 
Dec.  11,  1736  Coyte  advertised  mulberry  trees  for  sale  in  any  number  up  to  two 
hundred   thousand    (SCG). 

1*^  JCHA,  Mar.  1,  1739,  Mar.  29,  1740,  Jan.  30,  Feb.  24,  1741;  Stats.,  Ill,  613-616. 
See  also  JCHA,  Dec.  17,  1743,  Jan.  27,  1744.  Apr.  10,  1742  [SCO)  Poyas  offered 
to  buy  silk  balls.  In  1739  the  commissioners  under  whom  Poyas  worked  advertised 
for  ten  apprentices,  offering  to  take  children  from  the  townships  at  the  expense  of 
the  public  {SCG,  Feb.  22,  1739). 

1^  Jones,  History  of  Ga.,  I,  373,  433,  II,  75-78;  SCG,  July  7,  1766,  Mar.  14, 
1771;  South  Carolina  Gazette  and  Country  Journal  (cited  as  SCGCJ),  Jan.  14, 
1772. 


38  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

Despite  the  competition  of  the  more  favorably  situated  towns  of  Sa- 
vannah and  Beaufort  there  are  references  to  four  stores  in  Purrysburg  be- 
tween 1735  and  1752;  certainly  not  all — perhaps  no  two  of  them — were 
operated  at  the  same  time."  Charles  Purry  and  Samuel  Montaigut  main- 
tained their  store  until  1739,  when  Purry  transferred  his  business  to 
Beaufort;  he  was  murdered  there  in  1754  by  his  own  slaves.  A  tanyard 
and  bark  mill  and  a  shoemaker  appear  in  the  Purrysburg  advertisements, 
and  in  1741  David  Kinder,  Henry  Bourquin  and  Jacob  Truan  from 
Purrysburg  gave  notice  in  the  Gazette  that  they  would  undertake  any  sort 
of  carpenter's  or  joiner's  work  "on  very  reasonable  Terms,  that  is  to  say, 
their  Employers  shall  have  one  Half  of  their  Work  done  for  Nothing"." 

From  the  beginning,  however,  agriculture  was  the  chief  pursuit  of  the 
Purrysburgers  and  it  finally  became  their  sole  interest.  A  flood  from  the 
river  in  1741  caused  a  partial  listing  of  products:  "the  pumpkins,  beans, 
turnips,  rice,  etc.,  are  ruined  by  the  high  water.  .  .  ;  and  because  the  bears 
have  beaten  down  much  grain,  it  will  be  ruined  in  the  water."  The  next 
year  a  tract  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  acres  in  the  township  was  advertised, 
which  was  made  up  of  good  corn  and  rice  land,  with  cattle,  one  slave,  and 
a  dwelling  house.  Gradually  the  settlement  changed  from  a  frontier  town 
of  white  laborers,  free  and  indented,  to  a  South  Carolina  parish  dominated 
by  slave  labor.  Plats  surveyed  for  settlers  in  the  first  ten  years  were  small, 
averaging  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  each,  but  a  beginning  of  the 
plantation  system  was  provided  in  several  large  grants.  Daniel  Vernezo- 
bre,  a  London  merchant,  received  two  thousand  acres  and  sent  negroes  as 
well  as  white  people  to  the  township.  The  absence  of  other  references  to 
negroes  in  the  first  few  years  indicates  that  as  a  rule  the  larger  grants — 
though  these  were  modest  enough — were  based  on  indentures,  and  that 
their  owners  were  "the  so-called  lords"  of  the  Swiss  servants.  Samuel 
Montaigut  received  grants  amounting  to  eighteen  hundred  acres,  James 
Richard  seven  hundred,  Doctor  Brabant  five  hundred,  and  John  Fred- 
erick Holzendorf  four  hundred  and  fifty .^*  All  these  were  before  1740,  as 
were  those  of  nineteen  hundred  and  fifty  acres  to  Hector  Berenger  de 
Beaufain,  who  became  one  of  the  most  honored  and  best  loved  men  of  the 
province.     He  was  born  in  Orange,  France,  and  came  to  South  Carolina 

^2JC,  Mar.  19,  1735;  Court  Records,  Charleston,  Common  Pleas,  MS,  Feb.  1746 
(Samuel  Montaigut  &  Charles  Purry,  merchants,  1739)  ;  ibid.,  August  (John 
Linder  of  Purrysburg,  storekeeper,  1745)  ;  SCG,  Aug.  18,  1739  (advt.  of  Montaigut 
&  Purry)  ;  JC,  Apr.  6,  1752   (Isaac  Brabant  "Marchand  in  Purisburgh"). 

^^SCG,  Aug.  15,  1754,  J.C,  Aug.  1,  1754;  SCG,  Sept.  8,  1739,  June  11,  1741, 
June  15,  1747   (advts.  of  Peter  DuPra,  David  Kinder,  Paschal  Nelson).     Note  the 

letter  outlining  a  new  currency  system  signed  "C P ."     Purrysburg 

{SCG,  May  3,  1739). 

"Smith,  "Purrysburgh",  pp.  211-217,  SCG,  Oct.  18,  1742  (advt.  John  Rodolph 
Grant)  ;  PR,  XVII,  270  (Board  of  Trade  Journal,  Aug.  8,  1735),  JCHA,  June  26, 
1736;  Voigt,  German  Element,  p.  29  (see  also  Col.  Recs.  of  Ga.,  XXIII,  190-191, 
on  the  "two  Sorts  of  People"  at  Purrysburg). 


The  Western   Townships  39 

from  London  in  1733.  For  several  years  he  was  a  magistrate  in  Purrys- 
burg,  but  later  moved  to  Charleston;  in  1742  he  was  appointed  Collector 
of  the  Customs  for  South  Carolina,  and  in  1747  became  a  member  of  the 
provincial  council/^ 

In  1742  Peter  Delmestre  had  four  slaves  as  well  as  four  white  servants, 
but  a  decade  elapsed  before  other  negroes  appear  in  the  land  records.  In 
1752  Henry  de  Saussure,  whose  first  grant  in  1738  was  for  only  three 
hundred  acres,  declared  that  he  had  a  wife,  seven  children,  two  white 
servants,  and  fourteen  negroes.  Within  three  years  seven  other  inhabitants 
of  the  township  received  warrants  which  included  the  headrights  of  twenty- 
five  slaves.  The  two  thousand  acres  of  Henry  Bourquin  in  1757  and 
similar  surveys  for  half  a  dozen  others  in  the  next  four  years  were  probably 
based  on  slaves.  These  owners  are  all  listed  among  the  early  Purrysburg 
immigrants.^* 

The  white  population  of  the  township  probably  remained  nearly  sta- 
tionary for  a  generation  after  the  settlement  period.  In  1743  a  petition 
stated  that  there  were  seventy  men  in  its  militia  company;  in  1757  there 
were  sixty-four,  showing  that  there  were  about  three  hundred  and  fifty 
settlers.^^  Three-fourths  of  the  land  taken  up  between  1750  and  1765  was 
granted  to  persons  of  the  same  names  or  surnames  as  those  of  the  early  im- 
migrants. 

The  migration  to  Purrysburg  brought  with  it  several  professional  men 
of  note.  Three  doctors  came  during  the  period  of  settlement,  although  one 
of  them,  John  Frederick  Holzendorf,  did  not  practice  in  Purrysburg.  He 
was  a  Brandenburger  and  brought  with  him  a  letter  of  introduction  from 
the  Duke  of  Newcastle.  By  1737  he  had  moved  to  Charleston.^^  Francis 
Pelot  was  engaged  by  a  neighboring  planter  as  a  tutor,  married  into  the 
family,  and  eventually  became  the  Baptist  minister  of  the  Euhaw  church, 
between  Purrysburg  and  Beaufort.  At  the  time  of  settlement  of  the  town- 
ship two  German  schoolmasters  are  mentioned.  One  of  them,  a  weaver, 
opened  a  school  in  1735,  but  soon  had  to  abandon  both  his  trades.  In  1748 
the  parsonage,  being  unfit  for  a  dwelling,  was  used  for  a  school,  and  for 
several  years  about  1740  some  of  the  Germans  had  children  at  school  in 
Ebenezer.  David  Zubly  was  one  of  the  early  planters  of  Purrysburg  but 
developed  religious  scruples  regarding  slavery.  At  his  death  in  1757  his 
German  books,  including  two  that  were  silver-cased  and  edged,  but  exclud- 
ing two  that  were  lent  out,  were  worth  four  pounds,  and  were  of  equal 

"  Year  Book,  Charleston,  1880,  p.  270;  JUHA,  Feb.  14,  1735;  JC,  June  1,  1738, 
Smith,  "Purrysburgh",  p.  212. 

^^  JC,  Sept.  17,  1742,  Feb.  4,  Apr.  6,  7,  Nov.  7,  1752,  Jan.  7,  June  6,  1755;  Smith, 
"Purrysburgh";  P,  VI,  342,  343,  VII,  114,  127,  131,  142,  149,  243. 

^MUHA,  Mar.  2,  1743   (see  also  JCHA,  Jan.  30,  1740),  JC,  May  4,  1757. 

IS  PR,  XVI,  123,  172  (Newcastle  to  Johnson,  and  reply  May  22,  Sept.  17,  1733)  ; 
JC,  July  7,  1752;  Voigt,  German  Element,  pp.  30-31. 


Q 


\ 


40  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

value  with  his  still  pot ;  the  two  items  were  the  most  valuable  in  his  in- 
ventory/^ 

Both  the  Lutheran  and  German  Reformed  faiths  were  represented 
among  the  German  settlers  and  the  former  were  occasionally  visited  by  the 
Ebenezer  pastors.  The  French,  however,  like  the  Huguenots  of  the  pre- 
vious generation,  easily  made  the  transition  to  the  Anglican  Church. 
^^-  Joseph  Bugnion,  one  of  the  early  arrivals  in  the  township,  was  ordained  in 
London  on  his  way  over,  as  was  his  successor,  Henry  Francis  Chisselle,  who 
served  the  community  from  1734  to  his  death  in  1758.  Chisselle  drew  an 
allowance  from  the  Society  for  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts, 
and  the  assembly  voted  him  seventy-one  pounds  a  year  from  the  township 
fund.  He  held  services  for  the  French  and  German  Switzers  on  alternate 
Sundays,  preaching  to  the  former  but  for  the  latter  merely  reading  a  Ger- 
man translation  of  the  English  prayerbook.  In  1737  the  meetings  were  in 
his  house,  but  in  1744  "a  large  and  decent  edifice"  was  finished  by  private 
subscriptions  and  by  a  contribution  of  forty-six  pounds  from  the  township 
fund.^*' 

In  1735  Purry  petitioned  the  assembly  to  make  the  township  a  parish, 

/  in  accordance  with  the  instructions  of  the  crown ;  the  inhabitants  presented 

I  a  similar  petition  in  1737.     But  no  impression  was  made  until  1746  when  a 

\^  petition  was  presented  urging  in  strongest  terms  the  need  of  "Parochial 

\         Government  and  Discipline".    The  Ebenezer  pastors  were  violent  in  their 

— \         denunciation  of  the  settlers;  "it  indeed  appears  that  by  and  by  a  wild, 

dissolute  Indian  life  will  be  found  among  most  of  them."     Doubtless  the 

settlement  had  dropped  into  easy-going  ways,  though  it  does  not  appear 

that  it  deserved  words  as  hard  as  these.     By  an  act  of  1747  the  parish  of 

St.  Peter  was  formed,  including  the  township  and  the  district  north  of  it  to 

Kings  Creek,  forty  miles  from  the  town.     It  was  given  one  member  in  the 

Commons  House.^^ 

By  means  of  the  established  church  and  the  plantation  system  the  Swiss 
had  become  closely  identified  with  tidewater  South  Carolina.  Neverthe- 
less, a  protest  which  they  made  in  1759  against  a  road  petition  of  some 
planters  to  the  south  of  them  shows  that  the  barrier  of  language  continued 
to  exist,  and  that  the  old  land  grievance  was  not  forgotten.  The  petition, 
\         they   declared,    if   granted    "would    make   your    Petitioners    fall    again    a 

i^Leah  Townsend,  South  Carolina  Baptists,  1670-1805  (Florence,  1935),  p.  41, 
note;  JUHA,  Apr.  30,  1748,  Voigt,  German  Element,  pp.  26-28,  Inventories,  Charles- 
ton, MS,  1756-1758,  pp.  117,  118.  The  scholarly  minister  John  Joachim  Zubly  was 
David  Zubly's  son  (George  Howe,  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  South 
Carolina — 2  vols.,  Columbia,  1870,  1883 — pp.  266-267,  Voigt,  German  Element, 
p.  49). 

^'^  Ibid.,  pp.  22-25,  Frederick  Dalcho,  Historical  Account  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  South  Carolina  (Charleston,  1820),  pp.  385-386;  JCHA, 
Feb.  22,  Mar.  6,  Sept.  21,  1733,  Nov.  15,  1734,  Dec.  4,  1736,  Apr.  19,  1744;  JUHA, 
Mar.  2,  1733,  May  30,  1735;  JC,  Apr.  21,  1744. 

21  JUHA,  Apr.  24,  1735;  JCHA,  Feb.  5,  1737,  Nov.  27,  Dec.  11,  1746;  Voigt, 
German  Element,  pp.  25,  27,  Stats.,  HI,  668-669. 


\ 


The  JVestern   Townships  41 

Sacrifice  to  the  most  sordid,  most  glaring  and  most  palpable  Self-interest  to 
which  for  want  of  public  Spirited  Men  amongst  them  that  understood 
thoroughly  the  Laws  and  Language  of  the  Country  .  .  .  they  have  ever 
been  an  easy  Prey."  The  law  for  the  proposed  road  was  delayed  four  years, 
and  in  the  final  act  the  Purrysburgers  partly  won  their  point.^^ 

The  permanent  material  results  of  Purry's  settlement  of  foreign 
Protestants  were  modest  enough,  but  in  so  small  and  exposed  a  province 
they  were  not  to  be  despised.  The  failure  of  the  town — due  rather  to  the 
later  and  more  heavily  subsidized  settlement  of  Savannah  than  to  any  ill- 
planning  or  mismanagement — was  of  minor  significance.  The  southwest, 
the  weakest  point  in  the  province  in  1729,  under  the  protection  of  Purrys- 
burg  and  of  Georgia,  grew  into  a  region  of  large  and  rich  plantations."^ 
Yet  more  important  were  the  intangible  achievements  of  these  Switzers, 
who,  thanks  to  their  own  good  qualities  and  the  training  and  culture  of 
their  leaders,  were  readily  assimilated  and  in  spite  of  the  barrier  of  language 
made  a  significant  contribution  to  the  intellectual  life  of  province  and  state. 

22JCHA,  Jan.  17,  1759,  Stats.,  IX  202-204. 

~^  Two  other  parishes  were  established  between  the  Combahee  and  the 
Savannah:  Prince  William's  in  1745,  and  St.  Luke's  in  1767  {Stats.,  Ill,  658-660, 
IV,  266-268). 


CHAPTER  IV 
Amelia  and  Orangeburg 

With  the  southwest  protected  by  Purrj^sburg  the  administration  turned 
its  attention  to  the  exposed  region  between  the  Edisto  and  the  Santee. 
Here  the  settlements  reached  farthest  inland  and  the  townships  in  this 
quarter  were  placed  in  the  upper  pine  belt;  better  soil  and  better  drainage 
gave  the  settlers  an  advantage  over  the  Purr3'sburgers,  and  the  distance 
from  the  coast  largely  relieved  them  of  the  inroads  of  the  planters.  Amelia 
Township  was  laid  out  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Congaree-Santee,  with  a 
town  site  at  the  mouth  of  the  former  stream,  and  was  traversed  its  entire 
length  by  the  Cherokee  path.  In  the  northeastern  part  of  the  township  the 
land  fell  away  sharply  to  the  narrow  Congaree  bottom,  but  along  the 
Santee  the  slope  was  more  gradual,  and  the  lowland  and  river  swamp 
wider.  A  small  creek  rose  in  the  center  of  the  area  and  ran  southeast  be- 
tween low  hills  covered  with  oak  and  pine,  but  when  it  reached  the  lowland 
and  neared  the  river  it  became  lost  in  a  morass  of  mud  and  water  called 
Halfway  Swamp.  On  the  headwaters  of  this  stream  and  on  Buckhead 
Creek  and  its  branches  was  to  be  found  the  best  land,  a  sandy  loam  with  a 
good  clay  subsoil.'^ 

A  few  men  applied  for  lots  in  Amelia  "town",  and  had  their  lands 
surveyed  nearby,  but  do  not  seem  to  have  settled  themselves  there.^  The 
administration  took  little  interest  in  the  township,  doubtless  because  there 
were  already  a  number  of  settlers  on  the  Cherokee  path  who  might  serve 
to  defend  it.  Among  them  was  Charles  Russell,  former  commander  of  the 
Congaree  garrison,  who  as  early  as  1725  had  established  himself  at  Ox 
Creek  (later  Lyons  Creek)  where  it  joined  the  other  main  source  of  Half- 
way Swamp.  The  spot  was  well  chosen,  for  here  the  slightly  higher  and 
better  land  of  the  upper  pine  belt  began.  It  had  probably  been  an  ancient 
stopping  place  for  Indians  and  traders,  for  the  land  was  granted  in  1704  to 

■"^  JC,  June  7,  1733.  The  township  was  named  for  one  of  the  princesses  of  the 
royal  family.  The  plat  (state  archives)  was  made  November-December  1733. 
Note  that  Bunch's  plat  (P,  XIII,  425),  adjoins  the  "town";  for  location  see 
plats  of  Jackson  (P,  XI,  490),  Kelly  (P,  IX,  295),  and  Elliott  (P,  XV,  5),  P.  C.  J. 
Weston,  Documents  Connected  ivith  the  History  of  South  Carolina  (London,  1856), 
p.  177,  Salley,  George  Hunter's  Map.  For  description  of  the  area  see  Bureau  of 
Soils,  Field  Operations,  1904    (Washington,   1905),   Orangeburg  Area. 

^  For  instance,  David  Brown  (a  ship  carpenter  of  Charleston — JC,  Jan.  25, 
1744),  P,  II,  40-41;  John  Bryan,  P,  II,  52;  John  Cooke,  P,  II,  119;  George  Haig, 
P,  II,  347;  Rowland  Stratham,  P,  III,  107;  James  Michie,  P,  II,  461.  See  also  P, 
III,  169,  213. 

42 


The  Western   Townships  43 

George  Sterling,  whose  daughter  Russell  married.  In  1731  Russell  bought 
the  land  from  Sterling's  son.^  The  crossing  continued  to  be  a  convenient 
stopping  place  on  the  road,  and  Robert  Whitford,  Joseph  Lyons,  Benjamin 
Carter  and  Thomas  Weekly  settled  near  Russell  and  had  their  lands  sur- 
veyed on  the  creek.  The  Charleston  records  indicate  that  the  men  were 
from  the  coast  of  South  Carolina.  Near  them  was  the  cowpen  of  James 
Le  Bas  of  St.  John's  Parish.* 

One  of  the  few  foreigners  among  the  early  settlers  of  Amelia  was 
Christian  Gottlieb  Priber,  driven  out  of  Germany,  he  afterwards  said,  for 
his  Utopian  schemes.  In  December  1735  he  was  advertising  sundry  per- 
sonal effects  for  sale  in  Charleston.  Two  months  later  he  asked  for  land  in 
Amelia  on  the  rights  of  himself  and  five  other  persons,  probably  servants; 
he  proposed  to  bring  his  wife  and  four  children  from  Saxony  later.  But 
the  Congaree  river  bottom  offered  too  narrow  scope  for  his  learning  and 
ambitions,  and  during  1737  he  resorted  to  the  Cherokee  country  to  erect  a 
model  state.  Neither  the  colonial  officials  nor  the  English  traders  liked 
this  new  and  would-be  neutral  power,  and  Priber  ended  his  days  a  prisoner 
in  the  Georgia  fort  at  Frederica.° 

By  1740  about  thirty-five  survej^s  had  been  made  in  Amelia,  amounting 
to  over  twelve  thousand  acres.  A  third  of  the  number  and  half  of  the 
acreage  were  for  non-residents.  In  the  next  nine  j^ears  less  than  six  thou- 
sand acres  were  added  to  the  total ;  nearly  all  the  applicants  were  residents.^ 

Major  Russell  died  in  January  1737,  at  the  beginning  of  a  mission  as 
agent  to  the  Cherokees.  His  widow  continued  in  her  home,  which  was 
even  more  conveniently  situated  than  before,  for  from  this  point  on  the 
Cherokee  path  there  now  ran  a  path  to  Joyner's  or  McCord's  ferry,  Mrs. 
Russell  supplied  passers-by  with  food  and  drink;  her  bill  to  the  provincial 
government  for  entertainment  of  Cherokees  and  Catawbas  going  to  visit  the 
governor  was  in  1742  about  eleven  pounds;  in  1746  it  was  sixteen,  and  in 
1750  twenty-five.  Sugar,  punch  and  drams  were  large  items  in  these 
amounts.     At  that  time  five  children  and  eleven  slaves  were  part  of  her 

^  For  the  date  see  notice  of  the  death  of  his  widow  (A.  S.  Salley,  Jr.,  History  of 
Orangeburg  County — Orangeburg,  1898 — p.  198).  For  the  location  and  identity  of 
Ox  Creek,  see  P,  I,  235,  VI,  58.  The  lines  and  bounds  of  P,  I,  235,  368,  412-413, 
identify  the  tract.  See  Susan  S.  Bennett,  "Some  Early  Settlers  of  Calhoun  County", 
Proceedings  of  the  South  Carolina  Historical  Association,  1938. 

*  See  N.  D.  Mereness,  Travels  in  the  American  Colonies  (New  York,  1916), 
pp.  98-99,  and  S.  C.  Williams,  Early  Travels  in  the  Tennessee  Country  (Johnson 
City,  1928),  p.  130;  P,  I,  235,  412-413,  II,  90,  IV,  210;  JC,  June  26,  1735;  P,  IV, 
216,  VI,  9;  JCHA,  Jan.  19,  1737.  The  names  of  the  land  owners  occur  in  the 
Giessendanner  record  (Salley,  Orangeburg),  and  similar  names  occur  in  A.  S. 
Salley,  Jr.,  Register  of  St.  Philip's  Parish  .  .  .  1720-1758   (Charleston,   1904). 

^JC,  Feb.  27,  1736;  P,  IV,  28;  Mereness,  Travels,  pp.  246-249;  SCG,  May  30, 
Aug.  15,  1743;  JCHA,  Mar.  1,  1739;  V.  W.  Crane,  "A  Lost  Utopia",  Seivanee 
Review,  January,   1919. 

®  See  the  Amelia  entries  in  the  index  to  Plats.  Evidence  of  residence  may  be 
found  in  the  Giessendanner  record,  the  advertisements  in  SCG,  and  petitions  for 
land. 


44  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

household.^  A  rival  for  this  trade  appeared  in  1747 — Robert  Rogers, 
lately  arrived  in  the  province,  who  described  himself  as  Innkeeper  of 
Boggy  Gully,  a  small  stream  which  entered  Halfway  Swamp  a  mile  below 
the  junction  of  Lyons  Creek  and  Mill  Creek.  In  1749  Conrad  Hallman 
surveyed  the  adjoining  land  below,  and  in  time  made  his  house  also  an 
important  stopping   place.^ 

Mill  Creek,  the  eastern  source  of  Halfway  Swamp,  received  its  name 
from  Miles  Jackson's  mill,  and  in  1749,  on  his  declaration  to  the  governor 
that  he  and  his  neighbors  had  been  successful  in  wheat  growing,  he  was 
lent  the  bolting  cloth  needed  to  complete  the  mill.  To  the  northeast  and 
near  the  pleasant  valley  of  Buckhead  Creek,  several  small  farmers  and  the 
owner  of  nine  slaves  established  themselves  during  the  'forties,  and  Joseph 
Joyner  began  operating  his  private  ferry  over  the  Congaree  at  the  tip  of 
the  great  bend  of  the  river.^ 

The  northern  part  of  the  township,  about  High  Hill  Creek,  was  at  the 
edge  of  the  sand  hill  region,  and  was  evidently  least  desired  by  settlers. 
Sir  Alexander  Cuming  in  1730  noted  "Iron  Stone"  and  iron  ore  (the  iron- 
bearing  sandstone  of  the  region)  at  several  points  within  or  near  the  town- 
ship. That  some  use  was  made  of  it  is  indicated  by  the  occurrence  in  1753 
of  "Mine  Branch"  on  one  plat,  and  "Path  to  Mines"  on  two  others,  all 
above  High  Hill  Creek.^°  Ten  miles  above  this  creek,  near  Sandy  Run, 
there  was  similar  sandstone,  and  several  notations  on  plats  are  good  evi- 
dence that  here  too  some  enterprising  smith  smelted  the  ore.^^ 

Meanwhile,  in  the  unsettled  area  on  the  banks  of  the  nearby  Edisto, 
the  administration  was  planting  the  second  group  of  Switzers  who  came 
among  the  bounty  immigrants.  The  North  Fork  of  the  Edisto  is  one  of  the 
beautiful  little  rivers  that  rise  in  the  sand  hills;  after  reaching  the  coastal 
plain  its  swamps  are  from  a  half  mile  to  a  mile  in  width,  but  the  stream  is 
still  bold  and  clear.  The  site  selected  for  the  town  of  Orangeburg  was  the 
east  bank  of  the  river  where  it  turns  sharply  to  join  the  South  Fork,  and  the 
lines  of  the  township  were  surveyed  to  make  a  rectangle  extending  to  the 
western  border  of  Amelia.    Only  the  southern  corner  of  the  township  lay  in 

^JCHA,  Feb.  26,  1737,  Feb.  16,  1742,  Jan.  23,  1746,  Mar.  14,  May  17,  1750;  JC, 
Mar.  16,  1749;  Mouzon,  Map  of  N.  and  S.  C. 

^Ib'td.,  JC,  May  14,  1747;  P,  IV,  449,  V,  230,  VII,  255;  JCHA,  May  22,  1749, 
Feb.  9,  1750;  SCG,  May  7,  1750,  Nov.  3,  1759. 

9  See  P,  IV,  419,  522,  V,  83,  212,  VI,  62,  XVII,  212-213;  JC.  Feb.  14,  1745, 
Nov.  21,  1746,  Mar.  16,  Nov.  7,  1749;  SCG,  May  14,  1750  (advt.  of  Thomas 
Bulline);  Salley,  Orangeburg,  pp.  97,  99,  101,  114,  132;  JCHA,  Mar.  10,  1752, 
Apr.  10,  1753;  JUHA,  Mar.  9,  1752,  Mouzon,  Map  of  N.  and  S.  C. 

^°  Williams,  Early  Travels,  pp.  130-131,  Bureau  of  Soils,  Orangeburg  Area; 
P,  V,  472,  XII,  52,  XV,  402. 

"P,  V,  224,  VI,  399.  See  also  "The  Mine  Land"  (P,  VI,  399).  For  location 
see  below,  p.  58,  n.  15  and  Map  3.  The  "mines"  tract  was  Earingsman's  plat; 
today  an  area  of  about  half  an  acre  partly  covered  with  loose  iron-sandstone, 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  highway  in  the  direction  of  Bell  Hall  on  the 
Congaree  (see  Mills,  Atlas,  "Lexington  District"),  indicates  the  location. 


The  Western   Townships  45 

the  flat  swampy  area  of  the  lower  pine  belt;  in  the  middle  and  upper 
portions,  especially  along  the  river,  were  large  stretches  of  soil  like  the  best 
in  Amelia/^ 

On  the  13th  of  July  1735  a  ship  arrived  from  Rotterdam  with  two 
hundred  and  fifty  Swiss  on  board,  ninety  of  them  able  to  bear  arms.  The 
South  Carolina  Gazette  enlarged  upon  the  possibilities  of  their  producing 
wheat  and  corn  "which  now  we  are  obliged  to  purchase  at  what  rate  soever 
from  our  neighbours."  They  were  to  settle  on  the  Edisto,  that  land  being 
thought  best  for  wheat,  corn,  hemp  and  flax,  and  likewise  for  vineyards. 
The  Broughton  administration  pursued  the  enterprise  with  vigor.  Within 
a  fortnight  over  two  hundred  of  the  Switzers  began  their  journey  to  the 
township,  and  fourteen  months  later  lands  had  been  surveyed  and  grants 
signed  for  eighty-three  men.^^ 

The  newcomers  probably  found  Joseph  Robertson  already  settled  in 
the  township;  he  was  evidently  from  St.  Philip's  Parish.  In  1732  John 
Hearn  "of  James  Island,  hatmaker,"  declared  that  he  had  "settled"  a 
tract  of  five  hundred  acres  on  the  Edisto;  the  next  year  as  "Planter"  of 
Colleton  County  he  had  this  tract  surveyed  and  was  then  living  on  it. 
This  doubtless  was  his  cowpen,  a  short  distance  below  the  proposed  site 
of  the  town;  in  1741  he  was  justice  of  the  peace.  Seth  Hatcher,  a 
Virginian,  had  land  in  the  township  in  1735.^*  The  names  of  a  dozen  other 
non-German  settlers  occur  in  the  land  records  up  to  1740,  and  as  many 
more  appear  in  the  next  twenty  years.  Grants  of  land  in  the  township  to 
non-residents,  however,  were  negligible. 

For  several  years  after  1735  the  foreigners  came  in  steadily;  like  the 
other  German  settlers  prior  to  1750,  they  were  almost  entirely  Swiss.  By 
1740  30,000  acres  had  been  granted  or  surveyed;  in  the  next  nine  years 
6,000  acres,  and  in  the  'fifties  9,000  more  was  taken  up,  all  in  tracts 
averaging  less  than  two  hundred  acres.  Nine  of  the  applicants  were  men 
who  had  completed  their  terms  as  indented  servants.  One  of  the  former 
servants  owned  a  slave,  another  had  five,  but  there  were  only  half  a  dozen 
other  negroes  listed  throughout  the  period.  However,  as  there  were  few 
additions  to  the  original  holdings — despite  the  fact  that  there  were  three 
or  four  hundred  children  born  in  the  township  between  1740  and  1759 — 
this  does  not  account  for  the  possible  purchases  of  slaves  by  the  earlier 
settlers.  The  first  choice  for  surveys  was  the  high  ground  about  the  site 
of  the  town,  and  next  the  valleys  of  the  two  or  three  creeks  in  the  south- 

■^^  Bureau  of  Soils,  Orangeburg.  A  plat  of  Orangeburg  has  not  been  found. 
Several  line  plats  (P,  IV,  185,  255,  321,  V,  2+2)  show  that  Faden,  Map  of  S.  C, 
gives  the  location  more  accurately  than  Mouzon,  Map  of  N.  and  S.  C.  The  name 
was  evidently  given  in  honor  of  the  marriage  of  the  Princess  Royal  to  the  Prince 
of  Orange — see  London  News,  SCG,  Aug.  12,   1732. 

^^SCG,  July  19,  26,  1735;  JC,  July  19,  1735,  Sept.  17,  1736. 

ifJC,  Nov.  23,  1732,  June  26,  1735;  P,  II,  331,  358-359,  III,  253,  IV,  447; 
Register  of  St.  Philip's,  index,  and  Salley,  Orangeburg,  pp.  96,  202. 


46  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

east  and  center  of  the  township.  Orangeburg  was  thus  a  compact  settle- 
ment of  small  farmers,  and  suited  perfectly  the  purposes  of  the  founders. 
There  were  one  hundred  and  forty-three  men  in  the  militia  company  of 
the  township  in  1757,  and  as  there  does  not  appear  to  have  been  any  great 
loss  by  death  or  removals,  it  is  probable  that  the  population  increased  from 
about  five  hundred  in  1740  to  about  eight  hundred  in  1759.^^ 

Major  Russell  directed  the  settlement  of  the  Orangeburg  Switzers, 
and  in  the  latter  part  of  1736  Lieutenant-Governor  Broughton  himself 
visited  the  Edisto  and  Santee  townships  to  inquire  into  the  complaints  of 
the  settlers.  After  Russell's  death  in  1737  Christian  Mote  was  appointed 
agent  for  the  Swiss  and  rendered  valuable  service.  For  a  time  he  lived  in 
Orangeburg,  but  in  1740  he  advertised  from  Charleston  a  hundred  acres 
and  two  lots  for  sale  in  Orangeburg,  "upon  one  of  which  is  built  a  neat, 
strong  Dwelling-house,  as  also  a  Kitchen  and  other  Out  houses".  John 
Chevillette  who  was  in  Purrysburg  in  1736  had  been  formerly  an  officer 
in  the  Prussian  service,  and  was  in  1757  Colonel  of  the  Berkeley  County 
militia  regiment.  This  organization  included  the  companies  of  Amelia, 
Orangeburg  and  other  settlements  to  the  northwest;  Christian  Minnick, 
in  the  Edisco  Forks,  was  Lieutenant-Colonel.^^ 

The  Switzers  embarked  in  earnest  upon  their  mission  of  supplying  the 
province  with  grain,  and  in  October  1737  Mote  declared  that  they  had 
begun  a  water  mill  on  the  Edisto  which  for  completion  would  need  "4 
saws  for  a  Water  Machine  to  saw  Plank,  4  Mill  stones  for  grinding 
Corn",  six  hundred  pounds  of  iron  and  one  hundred  pounds  of  steel. 
Despite  an  aid  of  twenty-nine  pounds  from  the  township  fund  for  the 
purpose,  Peter  Roth  reported  in  1742  that  the  mill  had  never  been  com- 
pleted, and  proposed  to  finish  it  if  he  were  granted  an  acre  of  land  on  the 
river  adjoining  the  town.  The  plat  of  this  acre,  surveyed  the  next  year, 
shows  "The  Mill"  on  the  banks  of  the  river  a  few  yards  from  Front 
Street.  This  year  and  the  two  following  the  Orangeburgers  were  "favored 
with  a  very  plentiful  crop  of  Wheat"  and  had  high  hopes  for  the  future." 

Henry  Snell's  application  in  1742  for  the  bounty  on  hemp,  the  drown- 
ing of  tiny  Barbara  Frolick  in  an  indigo  vat,  the  listing  of  indigo  seed  in 
one  Orangeburg  inventory  with  rice  sieves  in  that  and  another  from  the 
nearby  country,  indicate  that  the  settlement,  in  a  small  way,  made  some 
profit  from  the  Carolina  staples.  Several  tradesmen  appear — another 
carpenter-millwright,  a  blacksmith,  and,  most  enterprising  of  all,  a  counter- 
feiter, Martyn  Binsky,  who  in  1751  on  promise  of  pardon  secured  by  his 

^^JC,  Feb.  14,  1745,  Mar.  13,  1746,  May  4,  1757;  note  baptisms  In  Salley, 
Orangeburg,  pp.  94-213,  and  see  Orangeburg  in  index  to  Plats. 

^^  JCHA,  Apr.  26,  1735,  Feb.  26,  1737;  JUHA,  Nov.  11,  1736,  Dec.  9,  1737;  JC, 
May  18,  Dec.  3,  1736,  Mar.  5,  1737,  June  1,  1738;  SCG,  Sept.  6,  1740;  Salley, 
Orangeburg,  pp.  24,  32. 

"JUHA,  Oct.  S,  1737;  JCHA,  Oct.  6,  7,  1737;  JC,  June  1,  1738,  Aug.  27,  1742, 
Aug.  3,  1744;  P,  IV,  181. 


The  Western   Townships  47 

wife,  delivered  up  copper  plates  and  six  hundred  and  eighty-one  counterfeit 
South  Carolina  notes.  He  revealed  a  plot  for  smuggling  money  through 
Philadelphia  from  Svt^itzerland.^^ 

The  circuit  court  act  of  1769  provided  for  a  courthouse  at  Orange- 
burg, vv^hich  had  before  been  no  more  than  a  village,  and  shortly  afterwards 
the  town  was  resurveyed.  John  Chevillette  in  1745  appears  in  Orange- 
burg as  justice  of  the  peace  and  as  "John  Chevillette  &  Comp.  of  Orangeb. 
Storekeeper."  A  traveller  in  1767  found  here  a  tavern,  a  store  "and  a  man 
that  pretended  to  preach".^® 

The  position  of  the  township  and  the  compactness  of  settlement  doubt- 
less had  much  to  do  with  the  solidarity  of  Orangeburg,  but  the  strongest 
force  for  unity  and  progress  was  its  church.  John  Ulrick  Giessendanner, 
from  Lichtensteig,  Switzerland,  came  with  the  colony.  In  March  1737  he 
advertised  as  a  silversmith  in  Charleston,  but  in  October,  with  Mote  to 
read  the  service  in  English,  he  married  an  English  couple  in  Orangeburg. 
His  housekeeper,  who  had  been  for  twenty-six  years  in  his  employ,  followed 
him  to  America  "&  to  prevent  &  obviate  any  cause  offence  or  scandel"  he 
married  her,  Mote  performing  the  service.  In  the  open  near  his  house  he 
preached  every  Sunday.^" 

In  hardly  more  than  a  year,  however,  the  worthy  minister  died.  His 
nephew,  John  Giessendanner,  at  the  desire  of  the  Germans  went  to  Charles- 
ton to  secure  from  the  Anglican  Commissary  license  to  preach  in  Orange- 
burg. Mote  persuaded  him  instead  to  take  Presbyterian  orders.  His 
preaching  was  "to  the  Inexpressible  satisfaction  of  the  Congregation  at 
Orangeburgh,"  and  several  years  later  the  English  of  that  and  nearby  com- 
munities observing  him  "to  be  a  Man  of  Learning,  Piety  and  Knowledge 
in  the  holy  Scriptures,  prevailed  with  him  to  officiate  in  preaching  once  Ev- 
ery fortnight  in  English,  which  he  hath  Since  performed  very  articulate  and 
Intelligible."  In  1743  Bartholomew  Zouberbuhler,  Junior,  a  candidate 
for  Anglican  orders,  attempted  to  displace  Giessendanner.  John  Hearn 
"and  above  four  score  of  the  Dutch  and  English  Inhabitants  of  Orange- 
burg and  the  adjoining  plantations"  sent  an  indignant  protest  to  the  gov- 
ernor. They  were  high  in  their  praise  of  Giessendanner,  and  declared  that 
Zouberbuhler  had  been  sent  for  "by  some  wicked  Persons,  in  one  part  of 
the  Township"  who  had  been  exasperated  by  Giessendanner's  public  repri- 
mand for  "Great  Irregularitys,  and  disorders"  committed  on  the  Sabbath.^^ 

18  JC,  July  4,  1749,  July  12,  Aug.  1,  6,  26,  29,  Sept.  3,  1751;  Salley,  Orangeburg, 
pp.  202,  207-208;   JCHA,  Jan.  25,   1742;    Inventories,   1758-1761,   pp.  32,   283-284. 

^^  Stats.,  VII,  198,  Wallace,  History  of  S.  C,  II,  61,  n.  71,  above,  p.  46;  JCHA, 
Mar.  15,  1774;  SCG,  July  13,  1745  (Chevillette's  advt.).  Court  Records,  Charles- 
ton, Common  Pleas,  Feb.  1746  (note  of  1745  due  to  Chevillette,  see  also  suit  by  him 
in  August  term,  1747),  Diary  of  T.  Griffiths,  Expedition  to  Ayoree  1767-1768, 
The  State    (Columbia),   Dec.   30,    1929. 

2°  Voigt,  German  Element,  pp.  52-53,  Salley,   Orangeburg,  p.  94. 

21  See  Salley,  Orangeburg,  pp.  35,  95,  JC,  Nov.  9,  1743,  Mar.  6,  1744.  Zouber- 
buhler later  became  rector  of  Christ  Church  in  Savannah  (Jones,  History  of  Ga., 
I,    525). 


48  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

This  secured  Giessendanner  in  his  ministry.  Six  years  later  he  appeared 
armed  with  a  supporting  petition  from  the  township  and  proposed  to  go  to 
England  for  Episcopal  orders,  and  thence  to  Germany  and  Switzerland  as 
immigration  agent.  He  was  allowed  fourteen  pounds  expense  money,  and 
was  promised  a  shilling  and  a  half  a  head  for  the  foreign  Protestants  he 
might  bring  back.  He  returned  shortly,  having  received  orders,  and 
brought  with  him  fifty  copies  in  German  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 
On  a  further  petition  to  the  assembly  he  was  allowed  for  preaching  in 
Orangeburg  and  Amelia  fifty-seven  pounds  a  year  from  the  provincial 
funds.  In  1757,  on  his  plea  that  this  sum  was  inadequate  for  the  ex- 
tensive service  and  for  his  "very  numerous"  family,  it  was  increased  to  one 
hundred  pounds.  About  the  time  that  Giessendanner  returned  from 
England  the  Orangeburgers  built  him  a  church,  in  which  he  preached 
until  his  death  in  1761.^^ 

The  register  begun  by  the  elder  Giessendanner  was  continued  by  the 
nephew  until  near  his  death.  Before  his  ordination  in  1749  it  was  in 
German;  thereafter,  as  befitted  a  minister  of  the  Church  of  England,  it 
was  kept  in  English.^^  One  has  but  to  read  through  the  entries  to  under- 
stand the  "inexpressible  satisfaction"  of  his  parishioners,  and  the  unique 
service  he  rendered  the  historian.  His  register  shows  that  the  German 
and  English  elem.ents  in  Orangeburg  tended  to  remain  separate  from  one 
another  but  not  aloof.  There  are  many  instances  of  one  standing  sponsor 
for  the  other  in  the  baptism  of  children,  and  in  the  entire  record,  for  the 
township  and  nearby  communities,  there  were  about  a  score  of  mixed 
marriages. 

The  long  rectangle  of  level  or  rolling  land  between  the  North  and 
South  Forks  of  the  Edisto  was  closely  associated  with  Orangeburg,  and 
had  much  the  same  type  of  soil,  but  both  in  population  and  industry  pre- 
sented a  marked  contrast.  The  rivers  which  shut  it  off  from  the  coast  put 
its  agriculture  at  a  disadvantage  but  served  to  enclose  its  cattle ;  the 
abundant  cane  of  the  swamps  fed  them,  and  the  region  soon  became  the 
largest  and  best  range  in  the  province."* 

Christian  Minnick  came  to  South  Carolina  about  the  time  that  the 
Swiss  settled  in  Orangeburg;  he  began  then  or  soon  afterwards  to  raise 
cattle  in  the  forks  and  before  1745  two  other  stocks  of  cattle  are  recorded. 
In  1744  a  separate  militia  company  of  about  thirty  men  was  formed  in  this 
community,  on  the  petition  of  settlers  who  complained  of  the  difficulty  of 
attending  militia  musters.  Prior  to  1749,  when  Minnick,  along  with 
Gavin  Pou  and  William  Young  who  appear  in  Giessendanner's  register 


22 
23 


;JC,  Feb.  26,  1748,  Mar.  16,  1749;  JCHA.  Jan.  15,  1765,  Aug.  11,  1769. 

'  The  original  record,  recently  acquired  by  the  South  Caroliniana  Library  of 
the  University  of  South  Carolina,  was  printed  in  Salley,  Orangeburg,  pp.  93-216. 
^*  See  Bureau  of  Soils,  Orangeburg,  Mouzon,  Map  of  N.  and  S.  C,  South  Caro- 
lina and  American  General  Gazette  (cited  as  SCAGG),  June  5,  1769  (advt.  of 
Audeon  St.  John  &  Co.). 


The  Western   Townships  49 

years  before,  applied  for  warrants,  there  were  few  surveys.  By  that  time  it 
is  probable  that  the  cattle  raisers  had  establishments  too  valuable  to  be  left 
without  full  protection  of  the  law.  There  was,  for  instance,  the  property  on 
the  east  side  of  the  South  Fork  formerly  owned  by  Joseph  Russell.  When 
his  successor  advertised  it  in  1755  the  thousand-acre  tract  included  fifty 
acres  of  cleared  land,  a  good  house  and  corn  house,  both  cedar-framed,  the 
dwelling  house  boarded  above  and  below.  There  was  also  a  negro  kitchen 
and  other  outhouses,  and  a  landing  on  the  river.^^  Pou  had  one  slave, 
Minnick  six,  and  in  the  next  five  years  applied  for  warrants  on  the  rights 
of  eleven  more.  There  were  four  other  applicants,  among  them  Thomas 
Jones,  cowkeeper,  who  appeared  between  1740  and  1750  in  the  forks,  but 
whose  lands  were  not  taken  up  until  1757  and  1758.^^  These  families 
were  ministered  to  by  Giessendanner  to  all  appearance  as  part  of  his 
Orangeburg  congregation. 

There  was  little  if  any  navigation  of  the  Edisto,  and  the  road  to  Charles- 
ton spanned  a  forty-mile  stretch  of  scantily  settled  country  crossed  by  two 
wide  swamps.  The  assembly  gave  no  aid  for  building  and  maintaining 
bridges  over  these  swamps,  and  the  inhabitants  found  the  labor  and  taxes 
burdensome,  while  the  roads  continued  to  be  "very  deep  and  dangerous  .  .  . 
and  exceeding  troublesome.  .  .  ."^^  In  1756  a  private  bridge  over  the 
North  Fork  which  gave  access  to  the  Charleston  road  was  placed  under 
public  care,  and  these  settlers  pointed  out  to  the  assembly  that  it  would  be 
seventy  miles  nearer  were  the  present  route  from  Charleston  to  the  Chero- 
kee forts,  which  followed  the  road  along  the  Congaree  and  Saluda,  changed 
to  run  through  Orangeburg  and  the  forks.^^  But  the  forks  population 
was  probably  less  than  two  hundred,  and  much  of  the  country  was  still 
waste ;  within  the  past  six  years  there  had  been  two  advertisements  mention- 
ing "wild  gangs  of  horses"  in  that  section.  The  road  to  Saluda  had  to 
wait  ten  years. 

With  the  end  of  the  general  depression  in  the  province  about  1748  the 

25Salley,  Orangeburg,  pp.  94,  100,  162,  172;  P,  III,  263,  IV,  520;  SCG,  May  19, 
1739,  Dec.  24,  1744,  Dec.  22,  1746,  Apr.  1,  1751,  Jan.  30,  1755  (advts.  of  Abraham 
Du  Pont,  George  Haig,  James  Marion,  and  Alexander  McGregor)  ;  JC,  Feb.  29, 
Apr.  13,  1744,  June  30,  Sept.  6,  1749,  Dec.  3,  1751. 

^*' JC,  May  5,  1752,  Apr.  14,  1753.  For  Jones  and  the  other  three  applicants,  see 
SCG,  July  23,  1750    (advt.  of  Chevillette)  ;   John  Clayton,  Salley,   Orangeburg,  p. 

107,  JC,  Mar.  1,  1757;  Brand  Pendarvis,  JC,  Dec.  5,  1758,  SCAGG,  June  5,  1767 
(advt.  of  Gavin  Pou),  Salley,  Orangeburg,  p.  98;  Leonard  Varnido,  ibid.,  pp.  103, 

108,  P,  VI,  294.  See  also  John  Simmons  and  James  Pendarvis,  Salley,  Orange- 
burg,  index. 

'^5CG,  July  4,  1774;  JUHA,  Jan.  21,  1737,  May  7,  1752;  JCHA,  Jan.  21,  1737, 
Feb.  25,  26,  28,  May  21,  1741,  May  9,  1752;  Stats.,  VII,  519-520,  IX,  95-96,  140- 
141;  Diary  of  T.  Griffiths   Cabove,  n.  19). 

^"^  Stats.,  IX,  183-184,  190-191;  JCHA,  Mar.  17,  1756,  Feb.  2,  1757,  Mar.  2, 
1758;  JUHA,  Mar.   15,  Nov.   15,   1756. 

29  JC,  May  4,  1757,  SCG,  Oct.  23,  1752,  July  25,  1754  (advts.  of  James  Francis 
and  Gavin  Pou),  Stats.,  IX,  221.  A  plat  surveyed  in  1757  near  Clouds  Creek,  a 
branch  of  Little  Saluda,  showed  a  "wagon  road"  from  Orangeburg  to  Long  Cane 
(P,  XIV,  269),  but  there  is  nothing  to  show  that  it  was  much  used  for  such  traffic. 


50  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

scantily  developed  Amelia  began  a  rapid  growth.  During  the  year  1749 
about  twenty-five  surveys  or  applications  for  land  were  made  for  persons 
settling  in  the  township,  a  third  of  them  for  Germans.  For  the  years  1749 
to  1759  the  total  was  between  twenty-eight  and  thirty  thousand  acres, 
representing  about  one  hundred  and  ninety  warrants,  evenly  divided  be- 
tween German  and  English  names.  The  Germans  were  a  part  of  the  great 
tide  of  this  decade  which  the  Indian  troubles  of  the  back  country,  aided 
perhaps  by  the  efforts  of  the  provincial  government,  turned  back  toward 
the  coast.  Less  than  ten  percent  of  the  total  warrants  for  the  decade  ap- 
pear to  have  been  for  non-residents  and  about  the  same  number  were  for 
English  settlers  who  already  had  lands.  In  the  militia  organization  of 
1757  were  two  Amelia  companies,  the  lower  of  eighty-three  men,  the 
upper  of  fifty-five,  but  the  latter  evidently  included  some  settlers  north  of 
the  township.  There  were  probably  six  hundred  and  fifty  whites  and  a 
hundred  slaves  in  the  township.^^ 

Of  this  new  migration  the  early  settlement  on  Halfway  Swamp  re- 
ceived its  share.  John  Fouquet  in  1749  applied  for  a  warrant  for  three 
hundred  acres  which  included  the  rights  for  four  slaves,  and  in  1753  for 
five  hundred  acres  on  ten  headrights.  His  first  tract  was  survejed  on 
Halfway  Swamp  immediately  below  Boggy  Gully,  and  here  he  built  up  an 
establishment  which,  in  his  advertisement  offering  it  for  sale  in  1758,  he 
described  at  length :  "a  very  good  pleasant  dwelling-house,  a  very  large 
barn,  stables,  a  stand  for  waggon  and  cart,  a  large  smoak-house,  and  several 
negro  houses ;  about  70  acres  clear,  and  a  good  part  thereof  new  ground, 
most  under  good  fence,  about  10  acres  under  wild  indico,  cut  but  once,  with 
conveniences  for  making  indico  without  pumps,  and  a  good  quantity  of 
fruit  trees."  ^^ 

Nearly  a  score  of  small  landholders  made  surveys  in  the  valley  of 
Buckhead  Creek,^"  while  other  settlers  were  moving  in  with  capital  and 
slaves  for  developing  the  land  along  the  Santee.  Moses  Thomson,  who  ac- 
cording to  family  tradition  was  from  Pennsylvania,  settled  in  the  Shen- 
andoah Valley  and  bought  a  thousand  acres  from  William  Beverley. 
By  the  end  of  1745  he  had  moved  to  Amelia  where  he  presently  became 
justice  of  the  peace  and  captain  of  the  militia.  Headrights  for  thirteen 
slaves  were  included  in  warrants  granted  him  in  1749  and  1754.  His  son 
William  in  1755  married  a  daughter  of  Charles  Russell  and  acquired  a 
tract  of  four  hundred  acres  at  the  mouth  of  Buckhead  Creek,  the  beginning 
of  his   Belleville   plantation.^^      Near   him   lived   John    McCord,    former 

3°  Below,  p.  154,  JC,  May  4,  1757.  For  slaves  see  also  JC,  Dec.  5,  1749,  Sept.  3, 
1754,  Aug.  5,  Oct.  21,  1755. 

^MC,  Oct.  3,  1749,  Apr.  3,  1753,  SCG,  Dec.  15,  1758. 

^^P,  V,  83,  85,  133,  VI,  36,  41,  85,  93;  see  also  adjoining  names  in  Plat  index. 

^^  SCG,  Apr.  18,  1748;  Joseph  Johnson,  Traditions  .  .  .  of  the  American 
Revolution  (Charleston,  1851),  pp.  91,  100-101;  Lyman  Chalkley,  Chronicles  of  the 
Scotch-Irish  Settlement  in  Virginia  (3  vols.,  Rosslyn,  1912),  III,  253-254;  JC,  Feb. 
10,  1749,  Oct.  7,  1751,  Aug.  7,  1754;  Salley,  Orangeburg,  p.  119;  P,  VI,  172. 


The  Western   Townships  51 

Indian  trader,  and  in  1759  proprietor  of  Joyner's  ferry .^*  Moses  Thomson 
made  his  home  at  the  mouth  of  Halfway  Swamp,  and  the  settlement  on  the 
lower  portion  of  that  stream  of  others,  residents  if  not  natives  of  the  prov- 
ince, shifted  the  center  of  gravity  of  the  township  to  the  southeast.  This 
brought  into  the  affairs  of  the  community  a  group  of  Santee  planters  hitherto 
little  interested  in  Amelia.^'' 

Giessendanner  records  frequent  marriages  or  baptisms  at  Mrs.  Russell's 
home,  and  the  majority  of  Amelia  names  are  in  his  register.  Occasionally  he 
appears  at  Moses  Thomson's,  or  on  Buckhead  at  William  Martin's  or  John 
Lloyd's.  In  1756  the  upland  settlers,  through  their  "Trustees",  asked  aid 
of  the  Commons  to  complete  their  partly  built  church.  The  planter-  V* 
controlled  House  rejected  the  petition,  but  "Amelia  Chappel"  occurs  in  Gies- 
sendanner's  record  in  March  1757  and  regularly  thereafter.  It  seems  to 
have  been  on  the  Cherokee  road  about  a  mile  below  the  Ox  Creek  crossing.^® 

The  death  of  Giessendanner  in  1761  cleared  the  way  for  the  planters 
to  assume  control.  In  1764  the  House  was  petitioned  by  certain  Amelia 
inhabitants,  probably  the  same  group  as  before,  for  some  provision  for  a 
minister,  and  the  next  year  the  Orangeburgers  asked  that  their  township  be 
made  a  parish.  The  answer  of  the  assembly  was  an  act  to  form  St. 
Matthew's  Parish,  including  in  it  the  two  townships  and  an  additional  sec- 
tion below  Amelia  on  the  Santee.  The  desire  of  the  assembly  to  grant 
representation  to  the  middle  and  back  country,  none  too  strong  at  best, 
was  now  sadly  weakened  by  the  veto  of  this  act  by  the  crown  because  it 
added  two  members  to  the  Commons.  St.  Matthew's  became  a  parish  in 
1768  with  only  one  seat  in  the  House,  and  that  had  to  be  taken  from  St. 
James  Goose  Creek.  The  acts  provided  for  a  chapel  in  Orangeburg  and  a 
church  and  chapel  elsewhere  as  the  commissioners  should  decide.  The  two 
Thomsons,  William  Heatley,  and  Thomas  Sabb  were  among  those  named, 
and  there  could  have  been  no  surprise  when  the  church  was  placed  on  the 
river  road,  above  Halfway  Swamp,  and  the  chapel  some  miles  south  of  it.^^'— ^^ 

Orangeburg  remained  a  township  of  small  German  farmers,  but  Amelia  Kv^ 
had  become  a  planter's  parish.  v 

s*  Indian  Books,  II,  pt.  2,  150;  JC,  Apr.  27,  1748,  Mar.  16,  1749,  May  7,  1751; 
JCHA,  July  6,  1759,  P.  VI,  62;  Salley,  Orangeburg,  index,  SCHGM,  XXXIV,  177- 
179.  McCord's  Ferry  was  not  made  a  public  ferry  until  1766 — Stats.,  IX,  214. 
McCord  appears  as  witness  to  a  deed  made  by  Thomas  Brown  Dec.  4,  1745  (Mesne 
Conveyances,  MS,  3A,  182-187). 

^^  For  instance,  Garret  Fitzpatrick,  Thomas  and  William  Sabb,  Ezekiel  Cox, 
William  Heatley,  Jerome  LeBoeuf — Salley,  Orangeburg,  index;  JC,  Sept.  6,  1749, 
Mar.  6,  1753,  Feb.  2,  1756;  Register  .  .  .  Prince  Frederick  (Baltimore,  1916),  index; 
Transactions  of  the  Huguenot  Society  of  South  Carolina,  1934,  pp.  48-51. 

3«JCHA,  Nov.  17,  1756,  Mar.  11,  1757;  Salley,  Orangeburg,  p.  169;  SCG,  Dec. 
IS,  1758  (John  Fouquet's  advt.).  See  G.  D.  Bernheim,  History  of  the  German 
Settlements  and  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  North  and  South  Carolina  (Philadelphia, 
1872),  pp.  227-228. 

!*^JCHA,  July  31,  Aug.  1,  9,  1764,  Jan.  15,  Mar.  7,  1765;  Stats.,  IV,  230-232, 
298-300;  Mouzon,  Map  of  N.  and  S.  C,  Dalcho,  Episcopal  Church,  p.  333-334. 


-Vi.dLa.iy J  p.t.Yrcj 


No\t:  CKo-Tig  e.5  Ka_i^e.  ^ee.  n  Tr\o.de 
iV\  \i'ht.s   of  .5  c'lTNe.  plo-t-j  ta  hriwg- 

YOrs  or  fYo.u.ds  M\ea.Kly  ^it^i^e^j 
loca.tiow.j  of  Thosse  (7  laVs  fl-j^pr^/^i- 
Ce.Yfi-f-iCCK'ryO  \\-^  Yc  f  iV  Ct\  ce.}  (\Ye.   t-p 

velu\\ve.i   (7-f  P\al^,   Mame-s  m 
brac-Kcl-i  indicate    \.a."te^y  oujwzrs; 
fpr  refefenctJ    see    a.ciyo(A(w. 


Map  3 
TVve  Co-ng-arees  tn  /7J3 


5ca\e.    of  Mi  le^ 


CHAPTER  V 

Saxe  Gotha  and  the  Congarees 

The  upper  Congaree  Valley  was  inevitably  chosen  for  one  of  the  new 
townships.  Here  the  sand  ridges  faced  each  other  across  the  river  only  two 
or  three  miles  apart,  inviting  blue  heights  at  a  distance  but  desolate  wastes 
underfoot.  Above,  the  chief  valley  of  the  piedmont  spread  out  like  a  fan. 
Below,  on  the  west  side  for  thirty  miles  the  Congaree  hugged  the  sand  hills 
which  east  of  the  river  receded  before  the  steadily  widening  swamp  and 
fertile  plain.  A  settlement  at  the  upper  end  of  this  valley  and  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  river  must  always  be  cramped  in  its  quarters,  but  would  com- 
mand the  Cherokee  path  and  much  of  the  future  traffic  of  the  piedmont. 

In  1730  or  perhaps  earlier  Thomas  Brown,  of  northern  Irish  origin, 
entered  the  Catawba  trade,  and  a  few  years  later  established  his  famous 
store  "near  the  Congrees  Old  Fort".  This  post  had  been  on  the  high 
bank  of  the  river  at  the  point  where  Congaree  Creek,  approaching  the 
larger  stream,  turns  sharply  to  the  south,  a  mile  and  a  half  above  its  mouth. 
Brown's  brother  Patrick  was  his  partner  until  about  1740  when  he  entered 
the  Creek  trade.  Concerned  with  them  was  Alexander  Kilpatrick,  who  a 
few  years  later  left  the  pathetic  injunction  to  his  executors  to  endeavor  to 
get  his  son  Thomas  down  from  the  Catawabas.^ 

In  1733  the  governor  and  council  ordered  a  township  marked  off  at  the 
Congarees.  With  its  reserve  it  extended  from  Sandy  Run  on  the  Congaree 
beyond  Twelve  Mile  Creek  on  the  Saluda,  but  the  strip  of  desirable  land 
was  little  more  than  a  mile  wide  at  any  point.  The  town,  eventually 
known  as  Saxe  Gotha,  was  laid  out  just  above  the  old  garrison  site  with  its 
Front  Street  paralleling  the  river  bank  for  nearly  a  mile,  and  a  reservation 
for  a  fort  at  its  northern  end.  The  ground  was  level  and  fertile  and  the 
location  convenient." 

Between  1732  and  1735  eight  surveys  were  made  on  the  east  bank  of 
the  river  between  the  shoals  and  Patricks  or  Jacksons  Creek.  At  least 
three,  probably  five,  of  the  men  taking  up  these  lands  were  non-residents, 
the  investment  in  the  rich  bottom  land  evidently  appealing  to  them  either 

1  Above  pp.  11-12;  Map  3;  Wills,  MS,  1736-1740,  p.  229,  1740-1747,  pp.  388-389, 
1752-1756,  p.  373;  JC,  Nov.  28,  1733  (Brown's  Catawba  son  was  fifteen  years  old 
in  1745— Mesne  Conveyances,  3A,  p.  183);  JUHA,  May  23,  1733,  Feb.  28,  1744; 
Bureau  of  Soils,  Field  Operations,  1922    (Washington,  1928),  Lexington. 

2JC,  June  7,  1733,  Haig,  Map  of  the  Cherokee  Country;  P,  IV,  166,  382,  469, 
VI,  325,  XII,  135,  145,  Map  3.  The  name  was  evidently  given  later  in  honor  of 
the  marriage  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  Princess  Augusta  of  Saxe  Gotha — see 
JCHA,  Dec.  4,  1736. 

S3 


54  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

for  future  sale  or  for  their  own  use.^  One  tract  was  for  Alexander  Kil- 
patrick,  another  for  Thomas  Brown,  and  he  or  his  brother  Patrick  also  ac- 
quired the  tracts  of  Dr.  Daniel  Gibson  and  of  Henry  Gignilliat,  a  Charles- 
ton vintner.  The  west  side  of  the  river  was  almost  ignored  until  the 
arrival  of  the  bounty  settlers,  but  Patrick  Brown  had  three  hundred  acres 
surveyed  at  the  bend  of  Congaree  Creek  which  included  the  site  of  the  old 
fort.  By  1736  Thomas  Brown  and  John  Beresford,  a  low  country  land- 
owner, had  acquired  plats  on  Twelve  Mile  Creek,  and  Brown  even 
secured  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  at  Ninety  Six,  fifty  miles  northwest  of 
that  point.  They  were  anticipating  the  growth  of  the  province  by  seizing 
the  best  crossings  on  the  Cherokee  path.* 

In  February  1735,  during  a  temporary  exhaustion  of  the  township  fund, 
several  Switzers  petitioned  the  assembly  for  payment  of  the  passage  of 
nineteen  others  of  their  party,  in  order  that  they  might  come  on  shore  and 
settle  in  a  township.  Among  the  former  were  Martin  Friday,  John  Ulric 
Beckman  (or  Bachman),  John  Ulric  Muller  and  John  Frederick  Coleman. 
But  Jacob  Gallman  was  unable  to  pay  for  the  transportation  of  himself 
and  nine  children,  and  John  Matthias,  Jacob  Spuhl  and  five  others  were 
still  bound  for  their  passages.  Anglicizing  of  some  of  the  names  had  al- 
ready begun ;  Coleman  was  evidently  for  Gallman,  Friday  for  Fridig,  and 
Matthias,  Muller  and  Spuhl  soon  after  began  to  appear  as  Matthews, 
Miller,  and  Spear.  The  Commons  House  provided  the  desired  payment 
and  ordered  the  immigrants  sent  to  the  Congarees.  Half  a  barrel  of 
powder  and  sixteen  muskets  were  to  be  delivered  "to  the  Patroon  of  the 
Periague,  who  is  to  transport  the  .  .  .  Swiss  to  the  said  Township."  ^  This 
is  one  of  the  few  references  to  water  transportation  between  Charleston  and 
the  Congarees.  It  may  have  involved  the  perilous  voyage  along  the  coast 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Santee,  or  the  safer  but  broken  trip  by  way  of  the 
Cooper  River.  All  of  the  names  cannot  be  identified  with  the  Saxe  Gotha 
settlement;  however,  Jacob  Gallman  had  his  land  surveyed  immediately 
below  the  old  fort  and  three  others  selected  theirs  near  him.  But  Martin 
Friday  had  his  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  surveyed  two  miles  above  at  the 
falls,  a  site  of  which  he  later  made  good  use,  and  three  more  established 
themselves  nearby.  A  Charleston  merchant,  in  May  1735,  reported  of  the 
Swiss  at  the  Congarees  "that  they  were  industrious  and  settling  apace." 
In  December  the  council  read  their  complaint  that  Brown's  store  attracted 
Indians  who  destroyed  their  corn.     Two  years  later  the  settlers  gratified 

2  See  Map  3,  Memorials,  I,  50  (Satur),  V,  186  (Gignilliat),  J.  H.  Easterby, 
History  of  the  St.  Andrew's  Society  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  1729-1929 
(Charleston,  1929),  p.  22  (Stitsmith).  Gibson  does  not  appear  as  residing  in  the 
Congarees  at  any  time.  James  Hopkins,  a  resident  in  1737,  seems  to  have  given 
up  claim  to  two  surveys  made  near  the  site  of  the  garrison  in  1733 — see  P,  I,  219- 
220,  II,  344,  JC,   Nov.  28,   1733,   Mesne  Conveyances,  2B,  35. 

*  Wills,  1740-1747,  p.  388;  P,  I,  506,  514,  II,  1,  17,  V,  141;  Map  3;  below,  p. 
118. 

^See  Map  3;  JUHA,  Feb.  5,  6,  7,  14,  1735;  JCHA,  Feb.  5,  6,  1735. 


The  Western   Townships  55 

the  provincial  government  by  seizing  six  counterfeiters  hidden  near  the 
settlement.^ 

In  1736  Stephen  and  Joseph  Crell,  who  were  German — whether  Swiss 
or  not  does  not  appear — arrived  with  "their  people"  in  Charleston  and 
were  transported  to  the  Congarees  at  the  expense  of  the  township  fund. 
Their  seven  hundred  and  fifty  acres  were  surveyed  for  them  on  the  river 
about  the  mouth  of  Toms  Creek,  the  next  stream  below  Congaree  Creek. 
The  following  year  a  dozen  other  immigrants  settled  in  the  township. 
Three  of  them,  Herman,  Abraham  and  John  Jacob  Geiger,  had  withdrawn 
from  John  Tobler's  band  of  New  Windsor  Switzers  who  considered  their 
departure  a  good  riddance,  Herman,  so  Tobler  declared,  being  "a  useless 
man  .  .  .  [who]  swore  and  cursed."  The  Geiger  lands,  along  with  those 
of  several  others  of  the  newcomers,  were  surveyed  immediately  above 
Martin  Friday.^  John  Jacob  Riemensperger  from  Toggenburg,  Switzer- 
land, arrived  in  South  Carolina  in  1737  with  twenty-nine  families  of  his 
countrymen.  His  plat,  with  several  others,  probably  for  those  who  came 
with  him,  was  surveyed  in  the  same  year  on  the  river  below  Toms  Creek. 
At  the  same  time  three  or  four  seem  to  have  settled  about  the  mouth  of  the 
Saluda,  and  even  as  high  up  as  Twelve  Mile  Creek.  Between  1736  and 
1741  several  English  names  are  to  be  found  among  the  Saxe  Gotha  plats; 
Robert  Lang  senior  and  junior,  William  Baker,  Thomas  Berry,  Richard 
Myrick,  and  John  Gibson  had  surveys  near  Savannah  Hunt  Creek.  Gibson 
was  probably  a  non-resident;  the  others  doubtless  lived  on  their  lands. 
Myrick  a  few  years  later  was  living  on  Raifords  Creek  across  the  river.^ 

Like  all  the  townships,  Saxe  Gotha  had  a  very  slow  growth  in  the 
early  'forties.  The  most  promising  move  for  adding  to  its  population  was 
that  of  Riemensperger.  He  returned  to  Switzerland  with  a  description  of 
Saxe  Gotha  signed  by  thirty-one  of  the  settlers  which  was  published  as  a 
pamphlet  at  St.  Gall  in  1740.  He  was  forbidden  to  seek  emigrants  in 
Zurich  and  was  ordered  from  the  territory.  But  late  the  next  year  he 
arrived  at  Savannah  with  a  number  of  Switzers,  part  of  whom  went  to 
Ebenezer.  The  newcomers  were  in  a  miserable  state  at  the  time  of  land- 
ing, and  the  pastors  at  Ebenezer  reported  nearly  two  months  later  that, 
despite  the  care  taken  of  them,  only  two  of  the  thirty  who  had  started  for 
Saxe  Gotha  were  alive.  However,  the  "several"  orphans  whom  Riemen- 
sperger carried  in  carts  to  the  township,  and  nursed  in  his  home,  were 
evidently  other  members  of  this  luckless  group.     Nine  years  later  four 

^Map  3  (H.  Spearly  adjoined  J.  "Coleman"— P,  IX,  476);  PR,  XVII,  339 
(Samuel  Eveleigh,  May  1,  1735,  received  by  Board  July  4,  1735)  ;  JC,  Dec.  2,  1735; 
JUHA,  Jan.  16,  Mar.  25,  1736;  JCHA,  Jan.  17,  Feb.  4,  1736;  SCG,  Jan.  17,  1736. 

^JC,  Sept.  29,  1736,  May  28,  June  5,  1742;  "Tobler  Manuscripts"  (below,  p. 
67,  n.  3),  pp.  86-87.  To  locate  the  plats  see  Map  3  and  P,  IV,  161-162  (M. 
Friday),  239  (J.  Shillig),  473  (J.  Struck),  IX,  397  (J.  Credy),  472  (A.  Geiger), 
XII,  68   (J.  Liver). 

^PR,  XXIII,  299  (Riemensperger's  petition  to  the  crown,  May  8,  1749)  ;  P,  IV, 
156,  157,  162-163,  355,  475;  Map  3.     See  also  below,  pp.  150-151. 


56  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

young  Germans,  two  brothers  of  one  name,  two  of  another,  asked  for  land 
between  the  Broad  and  Saluda,  and  explained  that  two  of  them  had  been 
cared  for  by  Herman  Geiger,  and  one  each  by  Henry  and  John  Coleman. 
In  the  case  of  each  pair  the  bounty  of  one  brother  had  been  invested  in 
cattle,  that  of  the  other  taken  by  the  guardian." 

There  were  twenty-five  surveys  in  the  township  between  1740  and  1747 
on  nearly  a  hundred  headrights  of  Germans,  while  three  small  tracts  were 
run  out  for  Englishmen.  At  the  latter  date  a  petition  stated  that  there 
were  in  the  township  sixty-six  fathers  of  families  and  a  hundred  and  seven 
children.  Modest  as  was  the  total  of  land  holdings  by  English  and  German 
settlers  there  had  already  begun  a  small  overflow  to  the  north  bank  of  the 
Saluda." 

The  Crells  were  granted  two  hundred  and  fifty  and  five  hundred  acres 
respectively  and  evidently  brought  some  capital  with  them.  Stephen  Crell 
became  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  sold  goods  under  the  name  of  Stephen 
Crell  and  Company.  At  his  death  in  1763,  he  had  a  stock  of  cattle,  "some 
books",  a  Hebrew  Bible,  and  a  Greek  Testament.  In  1739  Joseph  Crell 
declared  that  he  had  been  at  great  expense  "in  Erecting  a  Water  Mill"  in 
the  township.  He  so  impressed  the  Commons  House  with  the  advantage 
that  his  mill  would  offer  "to  the  Inhabitants  of  the  several  Townships 
who  plant  wheat"  that  he  was  granted  twenty-two  pounds  for  completion 
of  the  work.  But  he  seems  to  have  tired  speedily  of  his  Congaree  farm  at 
Toms  Creek,  and  in  September  advertised  it  for  sale.  He  thus  put  on 
record  an  excellent  description  of  a  back  country  establishment  of  the  better 
type:  five  hundred  acres  "compleatly  scituated  to  keep  a  Store,  and  a  Stock 
of  Cattle  and  Mares,  wnth  a  new  fram'd  Dwelling  House  and  other  Build- 
ings thereupon,  viz  a  large  Cornfield,  Potatoes,  Peas,  Beans,  ^c.  as  also 
Wheat  and  Hemp  already  gather'd.  ,  .  ;  moreover  about  8  Bushels  of 
Hemp  Seed  (the  Produce  of  a  Quarter  of  an  Acre)  20  Acres  of  the  Land 
being  in  good  Fence  all  high  dry  Swamp  rich  Land  fit  to  raise  Hemp  with- 
out any  dunging.  .  .".  He  also  offered  three  choice  slaves  "acquainted  to 
manage  the  Hemp  and  to  dress  Deer  Skins,  Household  Stuffs,  Plantation 
Utensils,  a  Waggon,  a  Plough,  a  Brewkettle,  Brass  Kettles,  .  .  .  Hoes, 
Axes,  .  .  ."  etc.  and  choice  cows,  horses  and  hogs.  The  advertisement 
does  not  mention  the  mill,  and  the  actual  building  was  probably  done  by 

^  MS  notes  of  G.  P.  Voigt,  citing  letter  of  Archivist  of  Zurich;  Samuel  Url- 
sperger,  Ausfiihrliche  Nachricht  von  den  Saltzhurghischen  Emigranten  (18  series, 
Halle,  v.d.),  series  10,  p.  1856;  JC,  May  28,  1742,  Dec.  4,  1750;  PR,  XXIII,  299 
(n.  8)  ;  Col.  Recs.  of  Ga.,  II,  357-358,  370,  385.  Peter  Huber  and  Peter  Inabnet, 
two  Orangeburgers,  also  attempted  to  canvass  Switzerland  for  settlers  but  were 
imprisoned  in  1744,  and  Inabnet  lost  his  life  trying  to  escape.  Huber  returned  to 
South  Carolina,  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  he  brought  settlers.  See  JC,  Oct.  6, 
1742,  June  29,  1744,  Feb.  10,  1750;  A.  B.  Faust,  Lists  of  Siviss  Emigrants  in  the 
Eighteenth   Century  to   the  American   Colonies,   I    (Washington,    1920),   pp.   12-16. 

"JC,  Mar.  3,  1748;  P,  IV,  276,  385-387;  see  also  JC,  Nov.  11,  1747. 


The  Western   Townships  57 

Philip  Puhl,  or  Poole  as  he  was  often  called,  who  acquired  both  of  Joseph 
Crell's  tracts  of  land/^  In  1748  Puhl  declared  that  he  had  a  corn  mill 
and  was  desirous  of  erecting  a  sawmill  on  the  same  stream.  Martin 
Friday  had  a  mill  near  the  site  of  his  ferry  and  at  his  death  about  1758 
owned  another  on  Twelve  Mile  Creek  above  his  home." 

A  petition  from  Saxe  Gotha  in  1740,  signed  by  thirty-nine  persons  of 
German  name,  shows  that  practically  all  of  the  Germans  there  were  of  the 
Reformed  faith.  They  addressed  their  petition  to  the  officers  and  citizens 
of  the  city  of  Zurich,  and  asked  for  prayerbooks.  Bibles  and  psalters  with 
notes  arranged  for  four  voices.  When  Riemensperger  went  to  Switzerland 
he  carried  this  petition  but  it  was  rejected  at  the  time  the  authorities 
ordered  him  to  leave  the  district.  Christian  Theus,  the  faithful  minister  of 
the  congregation,  came  from  Switzerland  probably  with  his  brother 
Jeremiah,  the  Charleston  portrait  painter,  and  in  1739  began  his  service  to 
the  Congaree  Germans  which  lasted  until  after  the  Revolution.  In  re- 
sponse to  a  petition  in  1747  which  described  the  great  need  of  the  township 
for  a  church  and  school  with  a  glebe  and  maintenance  for  a  minister,  a 
committee  of  the  Commons  House  recommended  that  seventy-one  pounds 
be  paid  from  the  township  fund  towards  building  "a  Church  and  Free- 
School"  in  Saxe  Gotha.  The  Lutheran  ministers  at  Ebenezer  declared 
that  the  money  went  to  building  a  church  for  the  Reformed  congregation 
only.  In  1751,  however,  William  Baker  gave  half  an  acre  on  the  Congaree 
a  few  hundred  yards  above  the  mouth  of  Sandy  Run  to  the  "Elders  of  the 
German  Congregation  of  the  Dissenting  protestants  at  the  Congrees  .  .  . 
[with  the  Meeting  house  build  on]  for  the  sole  .  .  .  use  of  said  German 
Protestants  of  the  Helvetic  or  Walloone  Confession  as  well  as  of  that  of 
Augsbourg  in  Common."  Eventually  the  Lutherans  seem  to  have  been  left 
to  themselves,  for  seventeen  years  later  John  Gallman  gave  an  acre  of  land 
three  miles  above,  likewise  with  a  church  upon  it,  to  the  Helvetic  congrega- 
tion.^^ 

Just  when  the  growth  of  the  back  country  was  merging  the  small  Saxe 
Gotha  settlement  into  that  of  the  upper  Congaree  valley  as  a  whole,  the 
township  lost  its  two  most  important  men,  Thomas  Brown  and  George 
Haig.    Brown  died  in  1747,  leaving  a  considerable  estate  in  lands  and  ^^itr- 

^^SCG,  Sept.  1,  1739,  Aug.  29,  1743  (Crell's  advt.)  ;  JCHA,  Mar.  1,  1739,  May  8, 
1749;  Inventories,  1763-1767,  p.  15;  P,  II,  108,  109,  IX,  51;  JUHA,  Jan.  18,  1739. 
For  the  transfer  of  Crell's  land  see  Mesne  Conveyances,  T,  478-479. 

12  JC,  Oct.  5,  1744,  Mar.  14,  1745,  Mar.  9,  1748,  Mar.  16,  1749;  JCHA,  May  25, 
1749,  Feb.  9,  1750;  SCG,  Dec.  22,  1758,  Inventories,  1758-1761,  p.  89.  Friday  also 
had  a  tan-yard,  a  windmill,  nine  negroes,  a  glass  window  worth  three  shillings, 
and  "a  small  sett  of  House  Organs."  He  purchased  Anthony  Stack's  fifty-acre 
tract  on  Savannah  Hunt  Creek    (Map   3,  Memorials,  VI,  304-305). 

1^ Zurich  Archives,  Akten,  369  (notes  of  G.  P.  Voigt)  ;  Bernheim,  German 
Settlements,  pp.  138-140,  142;  JC,  May  15,  1747,  Feb.  6,  Mar.  3,  1748;  P,  IV,  468, 
V,  33;  JCHA,  Mar.  5,  1748,  May  25,  1749,  July  19,  1760;  Mesne  Conveyances,  3M, 
118-121,  Memorials,  VI,  370. 


58  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

sonal  property,  but  the  decline  of  the  Catawbas  had  been  accompanied  by 
his  own  ruin.  In  this  year  he  had  been  unable  to  meet  a  note  for  twenty- 
seven  hundred  pounds,  and  his  appraisers  declared  that  of  the  accounts 
carried  on  his  books  "the  Greatest  part  .  .  .  are  Desperate  Debts".  His 
effects  included  two  silver  watches,  a  sundial,  a  coffee  mill,  a  trading  boat 
valued  at  £21,  250  bushels  of  wheat,  43  head  of  cattle,  185  head  of  horses, 
and  22  slaves,  "some  of  which  have  been  long  used  to  a  trading  Boat  and 
Pettiauger."  " 

The  back  country  career  of  George  Haig  is  among  the  most  interesting 
in  the  history  of  South  Carolina  expansion.  On  May  5,  1733,  as  "George 
Haig  of  Charles  Town  .  .  .  Gent."  he  was  appointed  deputy  surveyor. 
For  the  next  few  years  he  surveyed  lands  in  the  low  country  and  in  the 
Santee  and  Congaree  townships.  In  1737  he  was  appointed  justice  of  the 
peace  and  probably  about  that  time  moved  to  Sandy  Run,  having  his  home 
about  a  mile  below  the  crossing  of  the  Cherokee  path.  He  became  engaged 
in  the  Catawba  trade  and  in  1742  brought  the  Catawbas  to  yield  up  for 
justice  one  of  their  number  who  had  ravished  a  white  woman.  The  Cataw- 
bas at  the  time  were  about  four  hundred  warriors  and  were  not  so  uni- 
formly well  behaved  as  they  were  thereafter,  when  they  had  lost  heavily 
by  smallpox.^^ 

Like  other  leaders  of  his  time  Haig  could  withhold  his  hand  from  no 
office  or  business.  He  surveyed  most  of  the  early  Saxe  Gotha  and  Orange- 
burg plats,  carried  on  his  Indian  trade,  and  was  captain  of  the  local  militia 
company.  Between  1737  and  1746  he  bought  eleven  hundred  and  forty 
acres  of  land  in  the  Congarees  or  in  the  lower  part  of  the  province.  He 
was  constantly  in  correspondence  with  the  governor  on  Indian  affairs  and 
in  1746  went  to  the  Cherokees  as  assistant  to  Colonel  George  Pawley,  the 
agent  who  effected  the  important  Ninety  Six  purchase.  Here  he  made 
enemies  of  the  Iroquois  by  seizing  from  them  some  captive  settlement  In- 
dians, and  two  years  later,  on  a  trip  to  the  Catawbas,  he  was  taken  prisoner. 
With  the  half-breed  son  of  Thomas  Brown  he  was  carried  northward 
through  the  Cherokee  towns,  where  the  traders  tried  in  vain  to  get  the 
Cherokees  to  intercept  the  party  of  their  dreaded  cousins  and  rescue  the 
prisoners.  Mrs.  Haig  sent  a  spirited  petition  to  the  governor  begging  that 
the  trade  to  the  Cherokees  be  stopped  until  they  interfered.  She  trans- 
mitted this  through  her  husband's  factor,  Thomas  Corker,  and  the  sensible 
merchant  likewise  handed  in  the  eloquent  and  dignified  letter  she  had 
written  to  him,  with  its  postscript:    "Please  to  send  me  something  for  a 

^*  Wills,  1740-1747,  pp.  388-389;  Court  Records,  Charleston,  Common  Pleas, 
Aug.  1747;  Inventories,  1746-1748,  pp.  162-169;  SCG,  June  15,  1747  (advt.  of 
Brown  and  Corker). 

^^P,  I,  72,  114,  205,  II,  47,  53-54,  344,  376,  V,  224,  VI,  325,  399  (plats  of 
Mercier  and  Earingsman  and  marks)  ;  Commissions  and  Instructions,  1732-1742, 
MS,  p.  18;  William  De  Brahm,  Map  of  South  Carolina  (London,  1757)  ;  JC,  July  5, 
1742;  PR,  XXIV,  408  (Glen  to  Board,  Dec,  1751),  Adair,  American  Indians,  p.  224. 


The  Western   Townships  59 

Gown  that  is  light  &  Coarse  for  every  days  Wear  &  very  grave,  if  Callico  let 
there  be  but  little  White  in  it  or  Stamped  Linnen."  ^® 

A  year  and  a  day  from  the  time  of  Haig's  capture  there  was  read  in  the 
council  a  letter  of  President  Palmer  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  journal  of 
Conrad  Weiser,  Indian  agent,  which  gave  news  of  Haig's  fate.  Despair- 
ing of  escape  and  worn  out  with  the  journey,  he  had  forced  his  captors  to 
kill  him.  His  more  phlegmatic  companion  had  been  ransomed  by  Weiser 
and  got  safely  home.  Haig's  personal  estate  amounted  to  about  £570,  and 
included  2  old  silver  watches,  5  old  candlesticks,  15  packhorses,  44  horses, 
18  negroes,  and  42  gallons  of  rum.^^ 

During  these  dozen  years  of  Saxe  Gotha's  growth,  a  separate  and 
curiously  contrasting  development  was  taking  place  across  the  river.  Im- 
mediately below  the  shoals,  the  east  bank  of  the  Congaree  widened  out  into 
a  poorly  drained  bottom  which  is  now  regularly  overflowed  by  the  river. 
Two  miles  below  the  mouth  of  Jacksons  Creek,  later  known  as  Gill  Creek, 
and  about  four  miles  from  the  site  of  the  Congaree  garrison.  Green  Hill 
rose  above  high  water,  and  the  river  bank  for  a  short  distance  invited 
settlement.  Here  Philip  Jackson  had  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  surveyed 
in  1740;  and  on  "Green  Hill  Path",  which  Haig  traced  upon  the  plat,  he 
later  built  his  house.  Other  plats  were  run  out  on  the  river  bank  in  the 
early  'forties,  despite  the  danger  of  high  water.  One  four  hundred  acre 
stretch,  crisscrossed  by  water  courses,  was  surveyed  in  1741  for  Elihu 
Baker,  a  resident  on  Ashley  River ;  it  was  bought  by  George  Haig,  and  on 
the  plat  appears  a  sketch,  perhaps  more  of  a  prophecy  than  an  achievement, 
of  a  "Rice  Field".  But  the  most  desirable  land  in  this  district  lay  two  miles 
east  on  the  edge  of  the  lowland.  Here  for  several  miles  a  level  terrace  of 
silt  loam,  fertile  and  easily  cultivated,  parallels  the  river.  Raifords  Creek, 
the  present  Mill  Creek,  enters  this  narrow  strip  about  two  miles  below 
Gill  Creek;  it  then  begins  an  amazing  series  of  turns  and  three  miles 
farther,  having  traversed  many  times  that  distance,  reaches  the  river  bot- 
tom." 

^^Ibid.,  p.  344;  Memorials,  VII,  485-486;  JC,  Mar.  27,  Oct.  21,  1746,  Mar.  29, 
Apr.  16,  21,  1748;  SCG,  Apr.  23,  1753;  vol.  IV  of  Plats. 

^nnventories,  1748-1751,  pp.  174-176;  JC,  Mar.  18,  1749.  Adair,  American 
Indians,  pp.  343-345,  tells  part  of  the  story,  but  uses  only  the  initials,  "G.H.";  and 
John  H.  Logan,  History  of  the  Upper  Country  of  South  Carolina  (Charleston, 
Columbia,  1859),  pp.  302-306,  reversing  the  initials  assumes  that  it  was  Herman 
Geiger  who  was  slain. 

i^P,  IV,  85,  251,  VII,  81;  Townsend.  S.  C.  Baptists,  pp.  33-34,  Bureau  of  Soils, 
Field  Operations,  1916  (Washington,  1921),  Richland.  Two  early  attempts  to  ex- 
ploit this  region  came  to  naught — Thomas  Brown's  "purchase"  from  the  Wateree 
Indians  of  the  land  between  the  Congaree  and  the  Wateree,  and  the  proposal  of 
John  Cartwright  and  John  Selwvn  of  London  to  settle  a  thousand  Protestants  on  a 
grant  here  of  200,000  acres  (JUHA,  Feb.  28,  1744;  JCHA,  Feb.  28,  Apr.  20,  21, 
1744;  PR,  XIX,  176-179,  195-198,  228-231  (Petition  of  Cartwright  and  McCulloh's 
proposal,  received  by  Board  May  30,  June  14.  1738;  Order  in  Council,  July  20, 
1738). 


60  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

In  1740  Richard  Jackson  had  four  hundred  acres  surveyed  at  the  head 
of  this  stretch,  but  his  name  was  given  to  the  stream  farther  north ;  his 
headrights  probably  represented  several  slaves,  for  he  had  seven  w^hen  he 
died  in  1750.  At  the  other  end  of  the  terrace,  four  miles  away,  Philip 
Raiford  in  1742  and  1743  had  two  tracts  surveyed  and  later  acquired  two 
others  nearby,  the  total  amounting  to  nearly  thirteen  hundred  acres/^ 
John  Pearson,  who  was  in  Amelia  Township  in  1737,  in  1742  married 
Raiford's  daughter  Mary,  and  bought  a  warrant  for  three  hundred  acres 
near  the  tract  of  his  father-in-law.  He  proceeded  to  clear  and  cultivate  the 
land,  built  a  house  and  barn,  and  made  his  home  there.  The  purchase  of 
the  warrant,  however,  merely  extinguished  the  claim  of  the  original  appli- 
cant; the  legal  title  he  secured  later  on  his  own  rights  of  three  children  and 
three  slaves.  On  Haig's  death  Pearson  turned  to  surveying  and  became 
the  most  active  of  these  enterprising  developers  of  the  back  country.  Fol- 
lowing his  business  he  moved  up  to  Broad  River  about  1755,  but  after  his 
bankruptcy  in  1766  returned  to  the  Congaree.^° 

John  Fairchild,  Pearson's  chief  rival  as  surveyor,  was  evidently  from 
the  coast  country.  He  had  four  tracts,  eight  hundred  acres,  surveyed  on 
or  near  Raifords  Creek  between  1741  and  1745  and  for  a  time  lived 
there.  By  1742  William  Howell  and,  within  a  few  years,  Thomas  and 
Arthur  Howell  had  acquired  tracts  of  land  adjoining  each  other  on  the 
creek  between  Pearson  and  Raiford.  Thomas  Howell's  plat,  like  those 
of  several  of  his  neighbors,  shows  his  house  on  the  very  edge  of  the  high 
bank  of  the  creek,  and  from  his  house  to  that  of  William  the  surveyor 
traced  "an  Avenue"."^ 

In   1741   the  blacksmith,  Thomas  Wallexelleson,  settled  on  the  river 

and  plied  his  trade.     He  neglected  to  have  his  warrant  surveyed,  however, 

and  four  years  later  had  to  hasten  to  Charleston  where  he  indignantly  and 

successfully  protested  against  the  attempt  of  Gilbert  Gibson  "contrary  to 

law  and  the  intent  of  an  hospitable  Neighbour"  to  take  up  the  greater  part 

of  his  timber.^^     William  Hay  claimed  to  have  been  "in  Low  and  mean 

Circumstances"  when  he  came  from  Virginia  about  1748,  but  he  bought 

^»P,  IV,  76-77,  86,  382,  V,  155;  Map  3  (E.  Reese)  ;  Wills,  1747-1752,  pp.  62-63. 
See  also  Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  IV,  330   (Philip  Raiford). 

20  Wills,  1736-1740,  p.  30,  JC,  Aug.  2,  1749,  Feb.  8,  1751,  Salley,  Orangeburg,  p. 
107  (note  P,  V,  155,  214,  for  paths  to  John  Pearson's)  ;  P,  IV,  502,  below,  p.  156.  He 
was  "a  good  Judge  of  Land"   (SCGCJ,  Nov.  19,  1771,  advt.  of  John  Ward). 

21  P,  II,  256,  IV,  184,  327,  352,  354,  V,  131  (see  IV,  270,  293,  299,  382,  V,  222), 
Register  St.  Philip's,  p.  73.  William  Howell's  later  headrights  included  five  negroes 
and  when  he  died  he  had  twelve,  while  Thomas  had  fourteen  slaves  and  nine 
sheep — JC,  Nov.  29,  1744,  Sept.  6,  1749,  May  2,  1750,  Oct.  1,  1751,  Inventories, 
1758-1761,  pp.  394-395.  John  Gallman  who  died  in  Saxe  Gotha  about  1760  had 
eight  sheep   {ibid.,  p.  22). 

22  JC,  Nov.  2,  1742,  Oct.  5,  1744,  Mar.  22,  1745;  P,  IV,  309;  Inventories,  1751- 
1753,  p.  420;  Wills,  1747-1752,  p.  521.  Gibson,  a  native  of  the  province,  was  il- 
literate; when  he  died  about  1760  he  owned  five  slaves,  a  plow  and  a  thousand 
pounds  of  wheat  (JC,  Oct.  5,  1744,  Jan.  27,  1750,  Inventories,  1758-1761,  pp.  588- 
589). 


The  Western   Townships  61 


Richard  Jackson's  land,  on  which  he  built  "a  Griss  Mill",  and  in  1750 
had  four  negroes  in  his  family  besides  seven  children.^^ 

By  the  end  of  1747  about  forty  plats,  a  dozen  of  them  for  Germans,  had 
been  added  to  the  earlier  surveys  between  the  falls  and  the  mouth  of 
Raifords  Creek.  Raiford's  holdings  were  the  largest  and  few  were  over 
five  hundred  acres.  The  total  population  was  probably  about  two  hundred. 
Green  Hill  was  the  outlet  for  their  wheat  and  cattle,  but  cut  off  as  they 
were  by  river,  swamp  and  creeks,  they  were  badly  handicapped.  There 
were  few  plats  below  Raifords  Creek;  indeed,  the  section  between  that 
stream  and  the  mouth  of  the  Congaree  remained  almost  unsettled  until 
after  the  Cherokee  War.  The  swamp,  here  three  or  four  miles  wide,  lay 
almost  entirely  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  and  even  such  lovers  of  mud 
and  water  as  the  planters  could  hardly  hope  to  use  it,  and  neither  they  nor 
the  small  farmers  cared  to  take  up  the  fertile  land  paralleling  the  swamp 
when  it  meant  complete  isolation  from  the  river.  The  Indians  may  have 
constituted  another  obstacle  to  settlement  of  the  region.  The  Catawbas  or 
Waterees  probably  hunted  in  the  swamps  long  after  the  settlement  of 
Saxe  Gotha.'* 

With  the  renewal  of  the  German  immigration  the  English  element  in 
the  Congarees  fell  far  behind  in  numbers.  Their  petitions  between  1749 
and  1759  amounted  to  about  a  hundred  and  thirty  headrights,  over  half 
of  them  in  the  township.  The  best  lands,  however,  were  gone;  the  two 
hundred  and  fifty  Germans  who  now  established  themselves  in  Saxe  Gotha 
and  the  fifty  who  settled  across  the  river  brought  the  population  of  the 
upper  Congaree  valley  to  eight  or  nine  hundred,  but  were  unable  to  com- 
pete with  the  English  or  earlier  Swiss-German  settlers  for  offices,  honors 
or  trade.  There  were  three  settlers  from  Virginia,  one  of  them  John 
Taylor  from  Amelia  County,  who  in  1756  bought  the  land  of  Thomas 
Wallexelleson.  John  Hamelton,  another  of  the  newcomers,  was  a  soldier 
from  one  of  the  independent  companies,  who  after  his  discharge  settled  on 
Broad  River  near  the  Congarees.  He  became  deputy-surveyor  and,  about 
1754,  justice  of  the  peace;  twelve  negroes  were  numbered  in  his  head- 
rights."^ 

2^  JC,  Sept.  6,  1749,  May  2,  1750.  The  mill  appears  to  have  been  near  the  site 
of  the  dam  of  the  present  Adams  Pond,  or  perhaps  nearer  the  junction  of  Mill 
(Raifords)  and  Little  Creeks.  See  Map  3,  and  plats  of  Hardy  Hay  and  Robert 
Goodwyn  adjoining  (P,  VHI,  354,  XI,  300).  See  also  Mesne  Conveyances  3Q, 
346.     Note  that  there  v?as  another  mill  on  a  small  creek  five  miles  above   (Map  3). 

^^  See  below,  p.  99.  Note  "Notchee  Gut"  and  "Path  to  the  Notchees"  on  two 
Raifords  Creek  plats  (Map  3).  Some  of  these  Notchees — fragments  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi Natchez  tribe — were  to  be  found  at  this  time  among  the  Cherokees,  in  the 
Catawba  towns,  and  in  the  low  country  near  Four  Hole  Swamp — see  John  R.  Swan- 
ton,  Indian  Tribes  of  the  Loijjer  Mississippi  Valley  .  .  .  (Washington,  1911),  pp. 
247-248,  254-255;  JC,  July  25,  1744,  Feb.  4,  1747;  JUHA,  Mar.  25,  Sept.  12,  1738; 
Indian  Books,  V,  93-94;  SCG,  Apr.  27,  1734. 

25  SCHGM,  XXVII,  204-205,  JC,  Feb.  2,  Apr.  6,  July  4,  Oct.  4,  1749,  Aug.  4,  1752, 
Mar.  6,  1753;  SCG,  Oct.  31,  1754  (advt.  of  Hamelton);  above,  p.  27,  n.  27; 
P,  V,  116;  Indian  Books,  II,  pt.  2,  93;  Mesne  Conveyances,  2S,  140-145. 


62  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

Henry  Christopher  Beudeker,  one  of  the  few  tradesmen  to  appear,  was 
a  Westphalian  brewer  and  linen-maker.  Having  "Tasted  Philadelphia  and 
New  York  Beer  .  .  .  the  best  of  which  he  reckoned  bad"  he  asked  aid  of 
the  governor  and  council  for  the  establishment  of  a  brewery  at  the  Con- 
garees,  whence  he  would  float  his  product  down  the  river.  He  received 
seventy-one  pounds  as  a  loan  from  the  township  fund.  The  next  year  he 
applied  for  a  further  grant  because  of  the  loss  of  his  barley  crop,  but  this 
was  refused,  and  nothing  more  is  heard  of  his  scheme."^ 

In  1746  the  Germans  proudly  showed  Governor  Glen  their  "large 
fields  with  fine  Wheat"  and  Martin  Friday  had  2,466  pounds  of  flour 
when  he  died.  For  supplying  Fort  Loudoun  in  1756  and  1757,  over  a 
hundred  thousand  pounds  of  flour  was  sent  from  the  settlement,  and  Henry 
Gallman  was  ordered  to  buy  there  three  or  four  thousand  pounds  of 
bacon."^  Much  of  this  flour  and  bacon,  however,  may  have  come  from  the 
nearby  communities.  The  successful  establishment  of  indigo  planting  on 
the  coast  suggested  the  crop  as  a  possibility  for  the  middle  country  and 
even  for  the  back  country,  for  it  grew  fairly  readily  in  both  regions.  A 
tract  on  the  river  above  Green  Hill  was  advertised  in  1755  as  choice  land 
for  indigo,  but  there  are  few  references  to  it.  Flax  and  hemp  added  small 
amounts  to  the  income  of  the  more  enterprising  settlers.^^ 

The  rise  during  the  'fifties  of  successful  families  like  the  Howells  and 
Raifords  was  accompanied  by  a  small  exodus  of  others.  Besides  Fairchild 
and  Pearson,  who  were  doubtless  looking  for  surveyor's  fees,  a  dozen 
Congaree  names  are  found  in  the  piedmont  between  1749  and  1759.  Solo- 
mon McGraw  went  to  Little  River  of  Broad,  and  there  were  several  others 
on  that  stream  who  evidently  had  connections  with  the  Raifords  Creek 
settlement.  Philip  Raiford,  Junior  and  James  Leslie  were  also  on  Broad 
River  by  1756.  Samuel  Lines  went  to  the  lower  Saluda,  while  Robert 
Lang  senior  and  junior,  or  two  men  of  their  name,  went  one  to  the  upper 
Saluda,  the  other  to  Crims  Creek,  a  branch  of  Broad.^  Ill  health  and 
floods  alone  were  quite  enough  to  drive  these  men  from  the  low-lying  bot- 
tom east  of  the  river,  but  some  no  doubt  moved  because  of  opportunities  to 
sell  to  more  successful  neighbors.  From  the  west  side,  which  offered  higher 
ground  next  to  the  river,  there  appear  to  have  been  fewer  departures. 

Other  changes  equally  significant  were  taking  place  in  the  Congarees. 

28  JC,  Jan.  18,  1749,  Jan.  26,  1750,  JCHA,  Feb.  9,  10,  1750.  Andrew  Earner, 
cooper  and  distiller,  settled  near  Raifords  Creek  (JC,  Nov.  6,  1750,  Aug.  6,  1751, 
Map  3). 

2^  PR,  XXIV,  431  (Enclosure  with  Glen's  letter  of  December  1751  to  Board); 
Inventories,  1758-1761,  p.  89;  JCHA,  May  14,  1752;  Indian  Books,  V,  379,  VI,  32. 

^  SCG,  June  15,  1748  (advt.  of  sale  of  Brown's  property),  Jan.  23,  1755  (advt. 
Provost  Marshall)  ;  for  identification,  see  Map  3,  and  P,  IV,  497.  See  also  above 
p.  56,  and  below,  n.  34.  William  Howell,  in  his  thousand  pounds  of  personal 
property  in  1757  had  no  indigo.  His  inventory  included  a  number  of  notes,  45  head 
of  horses,  185  head  of  hogs,  and  36  sheep   (Inventories,   1756-1758,  pp.  178-179). 

29  See  Map  3,  below,  pp.  147,  148,  and  n.  6,  and  P,  V,  498. 


The  Western   Townships  63 

In  1749  Martin  Friday  was  feeding  travelers  and  transporting  them  across 
the  Congaree  at  the  foot  of  the  shoals.  His  petition  for  the  ferry  privileges 
aroused  to  action  his  countryman,  Jacob  Geiger,  and  both  plied  the  Con- 
garee in  canoes  while  they  built  flats  in  anticipation  of  the  assembly's  ac- 
tion. Elizabeth  Haig  and  Robert  Steill  also  asked  the  coveted  privilege, 
but  in  1754  Friday  won  the  contest.^"  The  Raifords  Creek  settlers  used  a 
private  ferry  at  Green  Hill  until  1756,  when  Thomas  Howell  completed 
a  road  thirty  miles  in  length  from  another  ferry  over  the  Congaree  south 
of  Raifords  Creek  to  the  road  leading  north  from  Friday's  Ferry .^^ 

Thomas  Brown's  death  in  1747  was  followed  by  the  appearance  of 
several  traders  at  the  Congarees.  Robert  Steill,  who  was  a  member  of  a 
Charleston  firm,  settled  on  the  Congaree  opposite  the  fort  in  1749  or  1750, 
and  succeeded  to  the  Catawba  trade  of  Brown  and  Haig.^^  He  had  sixteen 
negroes  and  a  white  servant.  The  chief  heir  of  Brown's  Cherokee  trade, 
however,  and  perhaps  its  purchaser,  was  one  of  the  first  of  the  bounty  set- 
tlers, Herman  Geiger,  who  in  1748  and  the  years  following  was  supplying 
the  traders  with  goods  and  serving  food  and  drink  to  passing  Indians. 
In  1749  and  1751  he  took  up  a  thousand  acres  of  land  in  the  vicinity.^^ 
He  died  in  1751,  leaving  an  estate  appraised  at  nearly  nineteen  hundred 
pounds,  including  nine  negroes,  thirty-three  horses,  sixty  head  of  cattle,  and 
seventy  head  of  hogs,  two  four-horse  wagons,  over  a  thousand  pounds  in 
bonds  and  book  debts,  a  gristmill,  a  windmill  for  cleaning  wheat,  a  broken 
sawmill,  a  trading  boat  worth  twenty-eight  pounds,  five  psalters,  a  sermon 
book,  a  Bible,  two  decanters  and  twenty  dram  glasses.^*  With  his  death 
the  outpost  of  the  Cherokee  trade  shifted  northwestward  to  Ninety  Six,  and 
to  the  hands  of  one  of  Geiger's  clients,  Robert  Goudey.  The  Congaree 
store  continued  in  existence  and  at  one  time  or  another  there  were  several 
others.^'* 

^  JCHA,  May  25,  1749,  Feb.  9,  1750,  Feb.  9,  Mar.  6,  1751,  Mar.  10,  1752,  Feb.  8, 
27,  1754;  Stats.,  IX,  176-177;  JUHA,  Feb.  8,  1751,  Mar.  9,  1752. 

^^  P,  V,  155;  the  line  marks  show  that  James  Myrick's  land  (see  John  Aberly's 
plat,  P,  IV,  431)  was  E.  Baker's  survey  (P,  IV,  270)  ;  JCHA,  Nov.  16,  1756,  Mar. 
15,  1757;  Stats.,  IX,  214-215,  Mouzon,  Map  of  S.  C. 

^^  Court  Records,  Charleston,  Common  Pleas,  Feb.  1754  (Wright  and  Hume, 
surviving  Steill)  ;  there  was  a  Robert  Steale  in  the  Yamasee  country  in  1711  (A.  S. 
Salley,  Jr.,  Journal  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  Indian  Trade  .  .  .  1710  .  .  .  1715 
(Columbia,  1926),  p.  13;  JC,  Jan.  19,  1749,  May  16,  1750.  Steill  died  in  1753  (PR, 
XXV,  354 — Glen  to  Board,  Oct.  25,  1753). 

33  See  above,  p.  55;  JC,  Nov.  16,  1738,  June  4,  July  18,  1748,  Jan.  6,  July  4, 
1749,  Mar.  23,  May  7,  1751;  JCHA,  June  28,  1748,  May  22,  1749. 

3*JC,  Mar.  17,  1752;  SCG,  Sept.  16,  1751  (advt.  of  Elizabeth  Geiger);  In- 
ventories, 1751-1753,  pp.  107-109.  Compare  this  inventory  with  that  of  William 
Strother  of  the  Congarees  who  likewise  died  in  1751:  18  negroes,  22  head  of  cattle, 
54  head  of  hogs,  4  beds  and  their  "furniture,"  each  bed  exclusive  of  bedstead  being 
worth  five  pounds,  a  dozen  pewter  soup  plates,  a  coflFee  mill,  a  linen  and  a  woolen 
wheel,  2  flax  hackles,  5  old  books,  and  4  bee  hives.  The  total  value  of  the  per- 
sonal property  was  nearly  seven  hundred  pounds    {ibid.,  pp.  40-42). 

3^  See  above,  p.  56,  below  p.  132;  the  commander  of  the  Congaree  fort  also  had 
a  store  (JCHA,  May  8,  1749,  Jan.  27,  1750). 


64  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

Haig's  murder  in  1748  and  other  Indian  outrages  caused  the  assembly 
to  provide  for  a  palisade  fort  at  the  Congarees  and  for  two  troops  of 
rangers  to  patrol  the  frontier  during  the  immediate  danger.  John  Fair- 
child  was  given  command  of  one  of  these  troops,  and  in  this  capacity  or 
for  some  other  reason  was  marked  out  like  Haig  for  the  special  vengeance 
of  the  Iroquois;  during  one  long  moment,  while  he  sat  in  a  house  at  Saluda 
Old  Town,  two  of  them  looked  into  his  face  while  their  fellows  sur- 
rounded the  house.  The  dim  firelight  and  the  stout  lying  of  his  friends 
barely  saved  him  this  time,  as  did  the  fleetness  of  his  horse  in  another 
crisis.^^  The  fort  at  the  Congarees  was  completed  near  the  end  of  1748 
and  a  garrison  was  maintained  there  for  several  years.  One  of  the  com- 
manders, Lieutenant  Peter  Mercier,  married  Elizabeth  Haig,  and  by  his 
death  in  1754  in  the  battle  of  Great  Meadows  in  Virginia  she  was  left 
again  to  care  for  her  fortunes.  In  the  next  five  years,  while  she  continued 
to  gather  up  small  cash  from  sales  of  petty  supplies  or  entertainment  of 
Indians,  nearly  nine  hundred  acres  of  land  were  surveyed  in  her  name.^^ 

The  spiritual  state  of  this  crossroads  of  inland  South  Carolina  doubt- 
less continued  to  be  none  of  the  best,  and  it  was  difficult  to  better  the 
situation  because  of  the  hopeless  divisions  in  the  community.  The  German 
and  English  elements  tended  to  remain  separate,  and  each  of  these  was  di- 
vided— the  Germans  into  Lutheran  and  Reformed,  the  English  into  Baptist 
and  Anglican.  The  Reverend  John  Giessendanner  visited  the  Congarees 
occasionally  if  not  regularly  and  doubtless  preached  to  the  settlers  when  he 
baptized  their  children.  The  services  were  usually  held  in  Mrs.  Haig's 
house.^^ 

In  1756  an  act  was  passed  allowing  thirty  pounds  a  year  to  a  minister 
who  should  hold  services  in  the  Congarees  "and  six  times  a  year  at  least,  at 
the  most  populous  places  within  forty  miles  of  the  same."  For  a  time  this 
service  was  rendered  by  Abraham  Imer,  recently  rector  of  Purrysburg, 
who  died  at  the  Congarees  in  1766.  Theus  continued  his  ministry  to  the 
Reformed  congregation,  and  there  was  also  another  German  church  at 
Crims  Creek  on  Broad  River.^®    The  visits  of  the  Reverend  Philip  Mulkey 

3^JC,  Mar.  29,  Apr.  21,  1748,  May  18,  1750,  May  13,  1751,  JCHA  Apr.  8,  1748. 

3^0,  May  20,  July  20,  1748,  Feb.  8,  1749,  May  9,  1751;  Indian  Books,  II,  pt.  2, 
6,  V,  1-4;  Salley,  Orangeburg,  p.  140,  below,  p.  208,  n.  79;  JCHA,  Mav  12,  1758, 
Stats.,  IV,  121 ;  P,  VI,  325,  394,  407.  Mrs.  Mercier  later  married  David  Webb  of 
the  Congarees,  who  had  been  a  lieutenant  of  rangers  in  the  Cherokee  War  (SCG, 
July  5,  1760,  Oct.  8,  1763 — advt.  of  Millicent  Lang,  Mesne  Conveyances,  30,  12-18). 

38  Salley,  Orangeburg,  pp.  122,  123,  140,  149-150,  159-160,  163.  The  Lutheran 
pastors  of  Ebenezer  described  the  Congaree  settlers,  at  the  time  when  the  Re- 
formed Church  was  dominant  there,  as  "a  vile  mixture  of  bad  men"  (Voigt,  Ger- 
man Element,  pp.  35-36). 

f^JUHA,  Jan.  23,  1756;  Stats.,  IV,  20-21;  SCGCJ,  Sept.  9,  1766;  Dalcho, 
Episcopal  Church,  p.  386;  Library  of  Congress  Transcripts  of  Fulham  MSS,  N.  C, 
S.  C,  and  Ga.,  No.  72,  p.  44;  below,  p.  155.  Imer's  personal  property  advertised 
later  included  four  negroes,  a  riding  chair,  and  some  "valuable  Books"  (SCGCJ, 
Dec.  23,  1766). 


The  Western   Townships  65 

of  Fairforest  Creek  led  to  the  forming  of  the  Congaree  Baptist  Church 
in  1766,  with  John  Pearson,  Isaac  Raiford  and  about  thirty  others,  chiefly 
late  arrivals  in  the  community,  as  the  first  members.  The  church  was 
built  in  the  same  year  on  land  given  by  William  Howell,  apparently  part  of 
the  mill  tract  he  acquired  from  William  Hay.^ 

Diverse  and  discordant  as  were  these  Congaree  groups,  they  had  by 
1759  developed  a  settled  society  that  was  no  discredit  to  the  province,  and 
were  effectively  exploiting  the  limited  agricultural  resources  and  the  com- 
mercial possibilities  of  the  upper  Congaree.  In  the  township  defense  sys- 
tem the  settlement  was  a  conspicuous  success;  the  chief  passage  from  the 
hill  and  mountain  country  to  the  coastal  plain  was  now  completely  blocked 
by  an  independent  and  resourceful  population.  The  credit  for  establish- 
ing this  outpost  was  due  in  part  to  the  provincial  government,  but  even 
more  to  an  unusual  group  of  frontiersmen,  both  English  and  Swiss. 

^Townsend,  S.  C.  Baptists,  pp.  142-143.  For  the  location  of  the  church  see 
ibid.,  Mesne  Conveyances,  3Q,  346,  3S,  70;  P,  XIX,  192  (path  to  meeting  house, 
John  Pittman's  plat,  which  was  near  Back  Swamp). 


CHAPTER  VI 

New  Windsor  and  the  Salkehatchie  Forks 

Fort  Moore,  like  the  site  of  the  old  Congaree  garrison,  was  better 
situated  for  defense  than  for  a  center  of  township  settlement.  On  the 
eastern  side  of  the  Savannah,  for  six  miles  below  the  shoals,  great  ridges, 
little  better  than  the  sand  hills  bej'ond  them,  lay  parallel  with  or  facing  the 
river  and  left  small  space  for  river  bottom  or  good  upland.  The  southern- 
most of  these  ridges  ended  in  a  bluff  that  dropped  a  sheer  hundred  feet  to 
the  river  bank,  and  from  this  height  Fort  Moore  commanded,  at  the  same 
time  that  it  was  protected  from,  the  great  western  trading  path  that  ap- 
proached the  opposite  bank.^ 

In  the  wider  bottom  of  swamp  and  lowland  below  the  fort  and  on  the 
slopes  of  the  higher  land  lay  the  restricted  agricultural  possibilities  of  the 
neighborhood.  Greater  promise  for  a  town  was  offered  by  the  other  side 
of  the  river  where  there  was  more  good  land  and  where  traders  could  es- 
tablish storehouses  and  save  the  expense  of  transportation  across  the  river. 
But  few  thought  of  this  in  1735,  and  even  though  the  Georgia  town  of 
Augusta  was  founded  the  same  year,  most  of  the  traders  clung  to  the 
safer  east  bank  and  to  their  old  trading  post,  which  continued  to  be  called 
Savannah  Town. 

Sebastian  Zouberbuhler  of  Appenzell,  Switzerland,  came  to  South 
Carolina  in  November  1734,  commissioned  by  the  Protestants  of  his  canton 
to  find  them  a  place  for  settlement.  The  next  six  months  he  spent  in 
viewing  the  proposed  township  sites  and  in  conference  with  the  lieutenant- 
governor  and  council.  In  July  he  signed  a  contract  to  bring  over  a  hundred 
families  to  settle  within  eighteen  months  in  the  township  at  Fort  Moore, 
the  province  supplying  the  settlers  with  food,  tools  and  cattle,  and  furnish- 
ing lands  free  of  all  surveying  charges  and  other  fees.  Two  hundred  more 
families  were  to  be  brought  over  "with  all  convenient  speed".  No  reward 
for  Zouberbuhler  was  stipulated,  but  he  evidently  hoped  for  money  from 
the  township  fund  and  expected  a  grant  of  land  from  the  crown.^ 

About  fifty  Swiss  families,  numbering  a  hundred  and  ninety-two  per- 

^  Bartram  says  {Travels,  p.  313)  that  by  1776  the  river  had  eaten  away  the 
site  of  the  fort,  and  in  view  of  present-day  shifts  of  the  current  this  may  well  be  so. 

2  PR,  XVIII,  111-117  (Board  of  Trade  Journal,  Feb.  8,  Mar.  15,  Apr.  29,  May 
3,  5,  1737),  174-177  (Zouberbuhler's  petition,  received  by  Board  Feb.  7,  1737)  ;  JC, 
June  27,  1735,  Apr.  2,  Dec.  15,  16,  1743.  He  was  allowed  16,000  acres  but  does 
not  seem  to  have  had  it  surveyed. 

66 


The  Western   Townships  67 

sons,  came  to  South  Carolina  under  this  agreement.  They  set  out  in  Au- 
gust 1736,  under  the  leadership  of  the  Reverend  Bartholomew  Zouber- 
buhler,  the  father  of  Sebastian,  and  Johannes  Tobler,  former  governor  of 
Appenzell.  Tobler  and  half  or  more  of  the  immigrants  were  of  the 
moderate  party  in  Appenzell,  and  as  a  result  of  a  recent  defeat  Tobler  had 
lost  his  position.  The  Rotterdam  magistrates  were  unwilling  to  allow  them 
to  depart  in  an  English  vessel  and  held  them  six  weeks,  so  that  they  did  not 
arrive  in  Charleston  until  the  first  of  February,  1737.  Tobler  led  a  party 
of  twenty-five  by  the  direct  path  to  Fort  Moore,  finding  a  grasping  "inn- 
keeper" half-way  the  distance,  but  the  rest  of  the  settlers  went  by  boat.  It 
was  April  before  these  started  on  their  way;  the  journey  to  Fort  Moore 
consumed  an  additional  six  weeks,  and  in  the  hot  season  succeeding  many 
became  sick  and  forty  died.^ 

New  Windsor  Township  was  marked  to  extend  from  the  mouth  of 
Town  Creek  to  a  point  about  seven  miles  above  Fort  Moore.  The  "town" 
was  laid  out  with  the  fort  in  its  northwestern  corner  and  most  of  the  plats 
lay  between  it  and  Silver  Bluff,  about  ten  miles  farther  down.  In  1737 
and  1738  the  names  appear  of  twenty-two  Germans  who  had  land  sur- 
veyed in  the  township.'*  Probably  a  number  of  the  Switzers  came  over  as 
the  servants  of  Zouberbuhler  and  Tobler  and  were  therefore  allowed  no 
land  at  this  time. 

Between  1732  and  1738  twenty-six  persons  of  non-German  name  had 
lands  surveyed  in  the  township  area.  Ten  of  them  were  concerned  in  the 
Indian  trade  and  there  were  others  with  the  same  surnames  as  the  traders.^ 
The  population  of  the  township  in  1738  was  perhaps  three  hundred.  Few 
names  were  added  to  the  list  between  that  time  and  1760,  and  the  removal 
of  the  stores  to  Augusta  after  1740  probably  kept  the  population  nearly 
stationary.  Three  of  the  later  applicants  for  land  also  had  Indian  trade 
interests.  John  Dick,  whose  name  suggests  that  he  was  from  Williams- 
burg, settled  in  New  Windsor  about  1742,  and  ten  years  later  applied  for 
a  warrant  on  Town  Creek,  which  "is  Convenient  for  his  Trade  of  Tan- 

2  PR,  XVIII,  176-177  (above,  n.  2),  232-233  (Bartholomew  Zouberbuhler,  Apr. 
9,  1737,  received  by  Board,  Apr.  12,  1738)  ;  Voigt,  MS  notes  (citing  letter  of 
Archivist  of  Zurich),  and  German  Element,  pp.  31-33,  47;  JC,  Mar.  31, 
1737;  SCG,  Feb.  5,  1737;  "John  Tobler  Manuscripts",  edited  by  C.  G.  Cordle, 
Journal  of  Southern  History,  February,  1939,  pp.  83-97. 

*JCHA,  Sept.  20,  1733,  Mouzon,  Map  of  N.  and  S.  C,  Faden,  Map  of  S.  C, 
Haig,  Map  of  the  Cherokee  Country,  DeBrahra,  Map  of  S.  C,  P,  II,  493,  XXA, 
458;  see  "New  Windsor"  in  index  to  Plats.  No  plat  of  the  township  has  been 
found. 

^  See  JC,  Mar.  31,  1737,  Mereness,  Travels,  p.  222.  Compare  the  following 
names  in  Plats  index  and  in  SCG  advertisements:  Summers  (Mar.  26,  1737), 
O'Brien  and  Roche  (Nov.  5,  1737),  Vaughan  (Nov.  9,  1738),  Smith  (June  23, 
1739),  Motte  and  McGillivray  (Aug.  25,  1739),  and  note  mention  of  Duche  in 
letter  to  editor,  July  25,  1748.  See  also  surveys  for  Campbell  and  Brown,  who 
were  concerned  in  the  trade  (below,  pp.  69,  70). 


68  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

ning."  On  this  stream  at  the  crossing  of  the  path  from  Fort  Moore  to 
Charleston,  "a  publick  house  was  kept  by  one  Sullivan."  ® 

The  rank  and  file  of  the  Switzers,  quietly  devoting  themselves  to  their 
lands,  almost  disappear  from  the  records  of  early  New  Windsor.  In  a 
township  of  limited  agricultural  possibilities  farming  offered  scant  oppor- 
tunity for  achieving  wealth  or  notoriety.  On  their  first  arrival  Tobler 
and  his  own  group  had  planned  a  harmonious  community,  which  should 
admit  newcomers  only  on  approval  of  the  majority,  but  the  elements  of 
population  in  the  Savannah  Town  settlement  made  this  hope  as  futile  as 
their  expectation  of  large  accessions  of  their  countrymen.^ 

A  tract  of  six  hundred  and  fifty  acres  was  surveyed  for  John  Tobler — 
"Landschampton  Tobler"  he  was  sometimes  called  in  recognition  of  his 
former  title  of  Landeshauptman — in  a  great  bend  of  the  river  even  then 
called  "Beach"  or  Beech  Island.^  Here  a  short  distance  from  the  edge  of 
the  swamp  Tobler  built  his  house,  and  adjoining  his  land  surveys  were 
later  made  for  John  Tobler,  Junior,  and  Dr.  John  Jacob  Sturzennegger. 
When  Tobler  established  his  store  does  not  appear,  but  from  1744  to  1765 
there  are  occasional  references  to  it,  chiefly  in  connection  with  the  Indian 
trade.  Apparently  his  son  William  was  in  charge  of  it  at  the  beginning,  but 
later  another  son,  Ulric,  who  was  also  a  deputy  surveyor  and  justice  of  the 
peace,  was  partner.  At  the  father's  death  the  debts  due  the  store  amounted 
to  nearly  twelve  hundred  pounds.^ 

John  Tobler  announced  in  the  South  Carolina  Gazette  in  1744  that  he 
had  invented  a  machine  for  cleaning  rice,  which  with  the  labor  of  three 
negroes  would  clean  three  barrels  a  day.  The  invention  is  not  mentioned 
again  but  in  another  enterprise  the  versatile  Switzer  met  with  more  suc- 
cess. In  the  Gazette  of  December  18,  1749,  the  printer  announced  that 
on  the  23d  he  would  publish  an  almanac  for  the  year  1750  "calculated  for 
this  Province  by  John  Tobler,  a  Philomath  of  New  Windsor."  The  first 
reference  to  actual  publication,  however,  was  the  announcement  in  De- 
cember  1751  of  Tobler's  almanac  for  1752  which  contained  "the  Luna- 

^  David  Douglas — moved  from  New  Windsor  to  Augusta  (JC,  Apr.  11,  1746, 
SCG,  Aug.  17,  1747,  his  advt.),  John  McQueen,  Charleston  merchant,  with  heavy  in- 
vestments in  Indian  Trade  (JC,  Sept.  18,  1755,  Aug.  13,  1759),  Daniel  Clark, 
former  associate  of  Patrick  Brown  {SCG,  Aug.  28,  1755,  his  advt.)  ;  the  three 
plats  were  surveyed  in  1757  a  short  distance  above  Horse  Creek  (P,  VI,  356-357, 
363),  evidently  from  land  of  the  former  Chickasaw  reservation  (below,  p.  71). 
For  Dick  see  PR,  XXI,  99  (Signatures  to  Williamsburg  petition,  see  below,  p.  81), 
JC,  Dec.  8,  1752;  for  Sullivan  see  Indian  Books,  III,  116   (below,  p.  205,  n.  70). 

^  "Tobler  Manuscripts",  pp.  85-86. 

«  JC,  Mar.  1,  May  24,  1744,  P,  VII,  278,  Mouzon,  Map  of  N.  and  S.  C,  makes 
an  island  of  the  east  bank  from  Fort  Moore  nearly  to  Silver  BluflF.  The  name 
evidently  came  from  the  number  of  "beach"  trees  in  the  area.  There  are  eleven  in 
the  lines  of  a  nearby  plat   (P,  V,  285). 

*P,  VI,  90,  VII,  278;  JC,  Mar.  1,  1744;  Indian  Books,  VI,  14-15,  123;  SCG, 
May  12,  1759,  June  8,  1765  (advts.  of  Ulric  Tobler  and  Sturzennegger)  ;  Inven- 
tories, 1763-1767,  pp.  265-267. 


The  Western   Townships  69 

ti'ons  and  Eclipses,"  advice  about  bleeding,  "some  diverting  epigrams,"  a 
garden  calendar  by  a  lady  of  the  province,  and  a  description  of  the  roads  in 
the  southern  colonies.  With  the  possible  exception  of  three  years  The 
South-Carolina  Almanack,  with  Tobler's  calculations,  was  published  yearly 
until  his  death  in  1765,  after  which  his  son  John  seems  to  have  continued 
the  work,  with  some  interruptions,  until  1790.  When  the  elder  John 
Tobler  died  he  left  eighty-three  pounds  cash,  nearly  two  thousand  pounds 
due  him  in  bonds  and  mortgages,  two  negroes,  two  pictures  valued  at 
twenty-five  shillings,  a  "Chamber  Organ",  a  flute,  a  clock  and  a  number  of 
German  books  valued  at  twenty-one  pounds.^" 

The  Indian  trade  determined  the  ups  and  downs  of  New  Windsor's 
turbulent  economic  and  social  life.  The  traders  were  most  of  the  time  in 
the  Indian  country,  but  returned  regularly  to  Savannah  Town  or  Augusta, 
while  the  storekeepers  or  caretakers  were  residents  throughout  the  year. 
Of  the  principal  traders  by  far  the  most  important  was  Patrick  Brown, 
formerly  of  the  Congarees,  who  in  1741  entered  the  western  trading  firm 
of  Archibald  McGillivray  and  Company.  With  the  retirement  of  Mc- 
Gillivray  and  Wood,  Brown  became  the  most  important  trader  in  either 
province.  He  had  land  in  New  Windsor,  but  if  he  lived  there  at  all  it  was 
for  a  short  time,  and  in  1743  he  was  in  Augusta  where  he  maintained  his 
store.  In  1748  he  was  granted  by  the  Georgia  government  five  hundred 
acres  thirty  miles  below  Augusta  on  his  promise  to  carry  on  there  "a  large 
Indigo  Work."  At  his  death  in  1755  he  was  head  of  the  firms  of  Brown, 
Rae  and  Company  and  Patrick  Brown  and  Company,  besides  doing  business 
in  his  own  name.  He  had  through  these  firms  a  near  monopoly  of  the 
western  trade,  which  through  him  went  to  Charleston.  Unlike  the  other 
chief  traders  he  had  little  interest  in  imperial  schemes,  or  perhaps  thought 
that  the  empire  was  best  served  by  ceaseless  application  to  business,  peace 
with  the  Indians,  and  abstention  from  colonial  politics." 

One  of  Brown's  associates  was  George  Galphin,  who  appears  in  the 
Creek  trade  in  1744.  In  1747  it  was  stated  that  he  had  bought  four  hun- 
dred acres,  surveyed  in  1737,  from  the  McGillivray  company.  The  tract 
lay  immediately  south  of  Town  Creek  and  so  included  part  of  Silver  BlufiE, 
where  he  established  his  home.     He  was  granted  two  thousand  acres  by  the 

^^Ibid.;  SCG.  Apr.  30,  1744;  JC,  Apr.  18,  1744;  JCHA,  Dec.  15,  1743.  Notice 
of  Tobler's  death  is  found  in  Urlsperger,  Nachrichten,  VII,  pt.  4,  35.  His  daughter 
married  John  Joachim  Zubly  {ibid.,  p.  135).  See  list  of  Tobler  almanacs  in 
SCHGM,  XV,  73-81;  those  for  1756,  1757  and  1758  were  printed  by  Christopher 
Sower  in  Germantown,  Pennsylvania,  who  also  printed  a  Tobler  Pennsylvania 
Almanack — see  Charles  Evans,  American  Bibliography,  III  (Chicago,  1905), 
p.  242;  in  addition  they  are  advertised  as  published  or  forthcoming,  for  the  years 
1754,  1759,  1761,  1762,  1763,  1767  (SCG,  Oct.  29,  1753,  Mar.  17,  1759,  Dec.  23, 
1760,  Jan.  16,  1762,  Nov.  20,  1762,  SCAGG,  Nov.  28,  1766). 

11  Adair,  American  Indians,  p.  325;  JCHA,  Apr.  30,  1740,  Jan.  19,  25,  1742; 
SCG,  Aug.  29,  Sept.  26,  1741,  July  9.  1744,  Aug.  28,  1755  (advt.  of  Daniel  Clark), 
Apr.  28,  1757  (advt.  of  William  Pinckney)  ;  Col.  Recs.  of  Ga.,  VI,  225;  Henry 
Laurens,  Letter  Books,  MS,  July  4,  1755. 


70  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

South  Carolina  government,  and  in  receiving  other  grants  from  Georgia  he 
declared  in  1757  that  he  had  forty  negroes.  From  1750  to  the  Revolution 
Silver  Bluff  was  a  place  of  some  note;  Henry  Laurens  wrote  Galphin  in 
1770  thanking  him  "very  heartily  for  your  politeness  &  civilities  when  I 
was  lately  at  your  Hospitable  Castle".^^  Several  other  traders  had  planta- 
tions or  cowpens  near  Fort  Moore.  On  Alexander  Wood's  death  in  1757 
his  executor  advertised  for  sale  at  Point  Comfort,  at  the  mouth  of  Upper 
Three  Runs  below  Silver  Bluff,  three  hundred  horses,  six  hundred  head  of 
cattle  and  a  stock  of  hogs.  Ten  negro  and  Indian  slaves  were  part  of  the 
estate.^^ 

Most  of  the  Indian  trading  stores  were  moved  to  Augusta  during  the 
'forties,  but  in  1749  Jeremiah  Knott  still  describes  himself  as  storekeeper  of 
New  Windsor.  Isaac  Motte,  a  sometime  trader,  lived  there  until  his 
death  about  1753.  The  store  of  Samuel  and  George  Eveleigh,  the  most 
noted  of  the  Charleston  firms  interested  in  the  trade,  was  early  in  1741  in 
charge  of  Martin  Campbell,  but  in  1744  was  kept  by  John  Fallowfield,  at 
that  time  justice  of  the  peace.  At  his  death  in  1751  Fallowfield  had  a  store 
here  in  his  own  name,  and  his  personal  property  included  decanters,  drink- 
ing glasses,  plates,  a  teakettle,  two  teapots,  a  spit,  a  chocolate  pot,  a  coffee 
mill,  three  brass  candlesticks,  eight  chairs,  three  tables,  a  bureau,  a  writing 
desk,  a  couch  and  mattress,  a  featherbed,  bolster  and  pillows,  a  hat  and 
wig,  a  black  coat,  a  pair  of  black  plush  breeches,  a  fustian  coat  and  pair  of 
breeches  and  a  large  looking  glass.  He  had  two  negroes,  fourteen  goats, 
and  six  sheep.  The  goods  in  the  store  and  his  personal  property  together 
amounted  to  two  hundred  pounds.^* 

In  their  own  persons  as  well  as  through  their  trade  the  Indians  were  a 
potent  influence  on  New  Windsor  and  Augusta.  They  were  constantly 
passing  on  their  way  to  Charleston  to  see  the  governor  and  the  town  and  to 
receive  presents.  Furthermore,  as  early  as  1725  there  were  a  number  of 
Chickasaws,  a  rather  disorderly  group  of  wanderers  from  the  distant  tribe, 
living  near  Fort  Moore.  About  1738,  when  settlement  of  whites  in  New 
Windsor  practically  ceased,  the  provincial  government  invited  the  entire 
Chickasaw  nation,  for  the  sake  of  mutual  protection,  to  move  to  its  borders. 
Most  of  them  refused  the  offer,  declaring  "their  Resolution  to  maintain 
themselves  on  that  Spot  of  Ground,  where  their  fore  Fathers  had  kindled 
their  Fires  &  laid  their  Bones  for  so  many  Generations."     However,  there 

^See  JC,  Jan.  20,  1744,  Nov.  11,  1747,  Nov.  10,  1761,  June  21,  1765;  Indian 
Books,  II,  2,  P,  IV,  347;  Laurens,  Letter  Books,  Jan.  2,  1770.  The  company  re- 
ferred to  in  Col.  Recs.  of  Ga.,  VI,  333  is  evidently  Brown's  organization;  see  also 
ibid.,  pp.  3  31,  673. 

^^SCG,  Apr.  28,  1757  (advt.  of  William  Pinckney)  ;  P,  VI,  156,  Mouzon,  Map 
of  N.  and  S.  C;  see  also  SCG,  June  7,  1740,  Feb.  5,  1741  (John  Craig),  JC,  Oct.  8, 
1742,  JCHA,  Dec.  15,  1736— deposition  of  McMullen  (William  McMullen). 

"JCHA,  May  8,  1749,  May  28,  1751;  SCG,  Aug.  6,  1753;  JC,  Mar.  1,  Sept.  8, 
1744;  Inventories,  1751-1753,  pp.  469-471.  On  Eveleigh  see  Crane,  Southern 
Frontier,  pp.  121-122. 


The  Western   Townships  71 

were  two  groups  of  Chickasaws  near  New  Windsor  in  1748 — one  body  of 
twenty  men  with  their  families  within  three  miles  of  the  fort,  and  seventy 
more  under  their  chief  the  Squirrel  King  ten  miles  away  on  Horse  Creek. 
A  tract  of  21,774  acres  was  surveyed  and  reserved  for  them.  These  Indian 
settlers  were  often  a  nuisance,  sometimes  a  real  danger  to  their  white 
neighbors — "pilfering  thieving  dogs"  George  Haig  called  them,  but  Haig 
was  a  Catawba  trader,  and  the  Squirrel  declared  "that  his  People  do  not 
quarrel  with  the  white  People  but  when  they  are  Drunk."  ^' 

In  1742  the  Squirrel  and  his  warriors,  under  the  command  of  Captain 
William  Gray,  aided  in  the  repulse  of  a  Spanish  attack  on  Frederica,  the 
southern  outpost  of  Georgia — and  according  to  one  of  their  champions, 
they  saved  the  day.  Lieutenant-Governor  Bull  ordered  the  commander  of 
Fort  Moore  to  hoist  the  colors  and  entertain  them  royally  whenever  they 
came  to  the  fort,  and  the  Commons  House  remembered  the  old  chief  long 
and  gratefully.  Governor  Glen  gave  them  little  countenance,  however, 
and  about  1755  they  moved  for  a  time  to  a  place  a  few  miles  below  Augusta, 
called  New  Savannah.  They  later  returned  to  South  Carolina.  William 
Gray  was  formerly  a  Creek  trader,  but  about  1740  settled  near  Fort  Moore 
where  he  stayed  for  fifteen  years,  apparently  engaged  in  planting.^® 

Fort  Moore  was  maintained  by  the  province  until  the  Cherokee  War, 
the  garrison  ranging  from  ten  to  about  twenty-five  men.  The  most  in- 
teresting of  its  commanders  was  Daniel  Pepper  whose  service  extended 
from  1737  to  1745.  The  conduct  of  the  New  Windsor  settlers  un- 
doubtedly left  much  to  be  desired — the  situation  being  in  no  way  improved 
by  a  tacit  exemption  from  prosecution  for  debt — and  with  more  zeal  than 
discretion  Pepper  used  his  commission  as  justice  of  the  peace  to  attempt  a 
reform  of  the  community.  Seizure  of  traders  who  had  failed  to  pay  their 
Charleston  debts  caused  an  exodus  to  Augusta,  whereon  the  indignant  re- 
mainder, among  them  Martin  Campbell,  Jeremiah  Knott,  and  William 
Tobler,  planned  Pepper's  undoing.  With  Campbell  presiding  over  a  two 
gallon  bowl  of  punch  several  affidavits  were  secured,  which  were  later 
repudiated  by  the  repentant  signers,  one  of  whom  sagely  observed  "When 
the  liquor  is  in,  the  wit  is  out."  But  to  other  charges — that  he  had 
slandered  Robert  Vaughan's  wife  and  put  him  in  the  stocks  for  resenting 
it,  and  without  trial  had  another  woman  ducked  "so  often  that  her  life 
was  in  danger" — the  captain  could  only  say  that  he  himself  was  drunk 
when  he  put  Vaughan  in  the  stocks,  and  that  the  victim  of  the  ducking  was 

^•^Mereness,  Travels,  pp.  168-172;  JC,  May  14,  1731,  Mar.  27,  1746,  Mar.  29, 
1748;  JCHA,  Mar.  26,  1743,  May  21,  1747,  Mar.  27,  1765;  JUHA,  Jan.  26,  1739. 
See  Crane,  Southern  Frontier,  p.  273,  Col.  Recs.  of  Ga.,  IV,  47,  Adair,  American 
Indians,  p.  224. 

^"Indian  Books,  VI,  17;  below,  p.  189;  Jones,  History  of  Ga.  I,  357;  JCHA, 
May  21,  1747,  June  8,  1748,  May  16,  1755  (tax  estimate).  Mar.  27,  1765;  JC,  Apr. 
27,  1748,  July  12,  1751;  PR,  XIX,  126  (Deposition  of  John  and  William  Gray, 
Jan.  16,  1727,  enclosed  by  Bull  to  Board  May  25,  1738). 


72  The  Expansio7i  of  South  Carolina 

a  woman  of  ill  fame.  Pepper  was  deprived  of  his  commission  as  magistrate 
but  he  was  complimented  for  his  record  as  commander  and  for  his  arrest  of 
the  delinquent  debtors/^ 

Others  beside  Pepper  tried  to  reform  New  Windsor,  although  by  some- 
what different  methods.  The  rector  of  St.  Bartholomew's  paid  a  visit  to 
Savannah  Town  and  preached  before  the  arrival  of  the  Swiss.  He  baptized 
ten  children,  five  of  them  being  of  Indian  mothers.  John  Tobler  himself 
used  to  read  aloud  to  his  Swiss  neighbors  extracts  from  German  sermons; 
in  asking  his  friend,  one  of  the  Ebenezer  pastors,  for  other  books  of  sermons 
he  stipulated  that  they  be  not  too  short.  He  and  several  other  Switzers 
earnestly  begged  the  provincial  government  for  a  school  and  pastor  in  the 
hope  not  only  of  putting  a  stop  to  the  ungodliness  prevalent  in  the  town- 
ship, but  also  of  encouraging  the  settlement  of  foreign  Protestants.  The 
subject  was  doubtless  very  near  the  heart  of  the  former  governor,  for  John 
Tobler,  Junior,  though  he  had  the  education  requisite  for  carrying  on  his 
father's  almanac,  was  in  1762  deprived  of  his  commission  as  justice  of  the 
peace  because  of  his  irregular  course  of  life.  Between  1751  and  1753  the 
missionary  at  Augusta  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel 
preached  nine  sermons  in  the  township,  and  on  petition  of  the  inhabitants 
the  assembly  provided  for  monthly  sermons  by  him  at  about  thirty  shillings 
apiece.  In  1766  it  was  reported  that  he  had  done  so  for  several  years  "very 
much  to  the  Edification  and  Improvement"  of  the  people.^^ 

A  New  Windsor  petition  in  1754,  regarding  the  ferry  over  the  Savan- 
nah River,  was  signed  by  about  fifty-five  persons.  The  militia  company 
two  years  later  consisted  of  sixty-six  men,  and  there  were  listed  with  them 
thirty-nine  male  slaves  from  sixteen  to  sixty.^^  This  company,  however, 
included  others  beside  settlers  of  the  township,  and  it  is  improbable  that  the 
white  population  was  over  three  hundred.  New  Windsor  was  thus  the 
most  thinly  settled  of  the  townships,  and  though  it  had  several  leaders  of 
some  distinction,  it  was  not  strong  enough  to  play  a  great  part  in  either  the 
defense  or  the  development  of  the  frontier.  Its  backwardness,  however, 
was  due  to  conditions  beyond  the  control  of  the  government.  Despite  its 
weakness  in  white  settlers,  it  was  able  to  give  substantial  assistance  to  the 
two  forts  and  to  the  Chickasaws  in  defense  of  the  western  entrance  to  the 
province. 

I'JCHA,  Apr.  25,  1735,  Mar.  26,  30,  31,  1743,  May  2,  15,  16,  1745;  JC,  Oct.  5, 
1737,  Mar.  1,  1744,  July  30,  1745.  Pepper  came  from  Dorchester,  and  retired,  at 
the  end  of  his  service,  to  James  Island  {SCG,  Sept.  7,  1734,  JCHA,  Dec.  14,  1747). 
He  maintained  a  store  at  the  fort,  a  cowpen  on  Horse  Creek,  and  a  ferry  over  the 
river  (JC,  Mar.  1,  1744).  The  petition  refers  to  an  act  granting  immunity  to 
debtors — probably  the  one  of  1721    (see  above,  p.  11). 

^®  Dalcho,  Episcopal  Church,  p.  368;  Samuel  Urlsperger,  Nachrichten  {Ameri- 
canischcs  Ackeriverk  Gottes,  4  parts,  Augsburg,  1754-1767),  pt.  2,  317,  pt.  4,  135; 
JC,  Nov.  29,  1744,  Jan.  21,  1745,  May  23,  1760,  Dec.  28,  1762;  JCHA,  Feb.  1,  1754, 
Mar.  6,  1766. 

^MUHA,  Feb.  6,  1754,  JCHA,  Feb.  8,  1754,  JC,  May  4,  1757. 


The  Western   Townships  73 

In  1729  the  southwest  was  the  weakest  point  in  the  South  Carolina 
line  of  defense,  and  at  that  time  the  assembly  was  maintaining  for  its 
protection  the  fort  at  the  Pallachuccolas  and  a  troop  of  rangers  with  head- 
quarters on  the  Salkehatchie.^°  Conditions  here  encouraged  the  growth  of 
plantations  on  the  coast,  but  hindered  settlement  in  the  interior.  Up  the 
Combahee  and  Savannah  Rivers  and  the  waters  of  Port  Royal  Sound  the 
tides  run  for  thirty  miles,  and  these  streams  with  their  numerous  tidal 
creeks  and  inlets  and  the  inland  passage  to  Charleston  afforded  unusually 
easy  transportation.  In  the  thousand  small  fresh-water  swamps  draining 
into  these  waterways  was  a  large  area  for  the  cultivation  of  rice.  The  land 
and  slave  boom  of  the  'thirties  perhaps  reached  its  height  here. 

Beyond  the  tides,  however,  the  swamps  contract  and  as  far  as  Kings 
Creek,  forty  miles  above,  the  land  becomes  typical  of  the  lower  pine  belt, 
with  stretches  of  fine  compact  sand — so  level  that  only  extensive  ditching 
could  make  it  profitable  for  crops — alternating  with  soil  somewhat  looser 
in  structure,  better  drained  and  much  more  desirable.  The  land  rush  over- 
flowed into  this  region  and  before  1740  fifty  thousand  acres  had  been  taken 
up,  chiefly  on  the  Savannah  about  the  Pallachuccolas,  where  was  surveyed 
a  tract  of  twelve  thousand  acres  for  Purry,  and  on  the  forks  of  the  Sal- 
kehatchie,  on  the  eastern  branch  of  which  a  similar  survey  was  made. 
From  point  to  point  up  the  Savannah  were  smaller  tracts:  Arthur  Mid- 
dleton  had  two  thousand  acres  laid  off  at  the  mouth  of  Kings  Creek ;  there 
was  another  of  eight  hundred  acres  at  the  mouth  of  Briar  Creek;  and  a 
third,  a  thousand  acres  in  area,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lower  or  Old  Three 
Runs."^ 

The  presence  of  a  hundred  or  two  Uchees  in  this  section  added  little  to 
its  attractions,  although  they,  like  the  New  Windsor  Chickasaws,  were 
often  useful.  Most  of  the  tribe  lived  a  few  miles  below  Silver  Bluff,  but 
they  roamed  the  entire  area  west  of  the  Salkehatchie.  As  late  as  1737  there 
were  some  Creeks  about  the  Pallachuccolas  and  Kings  Creek,  who  like  the 
other  settlement  Indians  were  called  upon  in  emergency.  But  in  1732  a 
planter  complained  "that  some  Creek  Indians  who  for  some  years  have  re- 
sided in  the  Settlements,  had  been  at  his  Cowpen  &  drove  away  his  over- 
seer and  Slaves  Robed  his  House  destroyed  his  Corn  and  broke  down  his 
Fences,  &  committed  many  Insolencies."  ^"  An  order  was  given  for  the 
pursuit  and  destruction  of  these  Indians,  but  they  probably  escaped  severe 
punishment.    These  depredations  were  hardly  as  alarming  to  the  settlers  as 

-'^  Stats.,  Ill,  213,  244,  263,  335,  JCHA,  Mar.  9,  29,  Apr.  4,  5,  1734.  The  Pal- 
lachuccola  fort  appears  on  a  plat   (P,  I,  196). 

^^  Bureau  of  Soils,  Hampton;  plat  for  John  Roberts  (state  archives)  ;  P,  I,  be- 
tween pp.  318  and  319,  II,  392,  437,  439. 

22  On  the  Uchees,  see  JUHA,  Mar.  19,  1737;  JC,  Apr.  14,  1743,  June  15,  1751, 
Apr.  4,  1761;  SCG,  Oct.  28,  1732,  Oct.  2,  1749  (advt.  of  Hugh  Bryan)  ;  Mereness, 
Travels,  pp.  218,  222.  For  the  Creeks,  see  JUHA,  Mar.  19,  1737,  July  2,  1744; 
JC,  Aug.  30,  1732. 


74  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

the  attacks  made  upon  the  Indians  themselves  by  their  own  enemies.  As 
late  as  1751  a  party  of  northern  Indians  traversed  the  region  quite  to  the 
coast  and  there  slew  or  captured  five  Uchees.  About  this  time  at 
Silver  Bluff  the  Uchees  lost  thirty-five  of  their  women  and  children  in  the 
same  manner,  but  turned  the  tables  on  the  invaders  and  killed  nearly  all 
of  them.  Most  of  these  settlement  Indians  went  to  the  Creeks  about  1750, 
and  by  1761  the  rest  of  them  appear  to  have  followed.^^ 

After  1740  large  grants  in  this  region  ceased  for  a  time.  During  the 
next  twenty  years  a  score  of  men  of  English  name  had  warrants  or  surveys 
here  for  tracts  of  five  hundred  acres  or  less,  chiefly  on  the  Salkehatchie. 
One  of  these  plats,  in  the  fork  of  the  river,  shows  "Indigo  vats"  near  a 
house.  An  advertisement  of  a  larger  holding  in  1760  gives  an  unusually 
complete  description  of  an  indigo  plantation.  It  consisted  of  one  thousand 
acres  on  Buckhead  Swamp,  a  branch  of  the  east  fork  of  the  Salkehatchie; 
one  hundred  acres  of  the  higher  land  had  been  planted  with  indigo  in  1758 
and  fifty  more  the  next  year — all  of  it  under  good  fence;  more  than  one- 
third  of  the  tract  was  good  swamp  for  rice,  a  hundred  acres  having  been 
cleared ;  there  were  "eleven  setts  of  wedged  indico  vats",  together  with  a 
large  quantity  of  rice,  corn  feed  and  some  hogs.  The  plantation  had  been 
in  the  hands  of  an  overseer."* 

The  northern  half  of  this  district  lay  in  the  upper  pine  belt,  the  swamps 
becoming  smaller  as  the  sand  hills  near  New  Windsor  were  approached, 
the  sand  becoming  less  compact,  and  the  soil  usually  better  drained.  Here 
about  twenty  small  landholders  settled  by  1760,  most  of  them  on  the  Upper 
Three  Runs  or  on  Steel  Creek,  but  several  were  on  the  Lower  Three 
Runs.^^  Farther  down,  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Coosawhatchie,  in  a 
slightly  rolling  section  which  is  in  effect  an  extension  of  the  upper  pine  belt, 
a  small  group  made  their  homes.  Thomas  Barker  in  1755  had  a  plat 
surveyed  on  Jacksons  Branch,  which  drained  into  the  Salkehatchie;  part  of 
his  land  was  the  site  of  Jackson's  "Old  Cowpen".  John  Townsend  Dade, 
who  in  1748  was  a  settler  in  the  Welsh  Tract,  in  1758  had  a  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  surveyed  on  Duck  Branch,  a  tributary  of  the  Coosawhatchie. 
Dade  and  his  wife  were  among  the  first  members  of  the  Coosawhatchie 
Baptist  Church  organized  here  in  1759 — the  first  Baptist  church  to  be  es- 
tablished  beyond   the  tidewater   after   those  of   the   Peedee   and   Lynches 

2^JCHA,  May  27,  1742;  JC,  May  26,  1742,  May  7,  June  15,  July  2,  1751,  Apr. 
4,  1761;  JUHA,  June  6,  1747;  Adair,  American  Indians,  p.  346. 

2*JC,  July  4,  Sept.  6,  1749,  July  3,  Aug.  7,  1753,  Oct.  21,  1755,  Aug.  23,  Oct.  5, 
1756,  Jan.  4,  Sept.  6,  1757,  Aug.  1,  Oct.  5,  Nov.  7,  Dec.  5,  1758,  Jan.  2,  Feb.  6, 
1759;  P,  V,  137.  The  advertisement  was  that  of  John  Lining  {SCG,  Mar.  15, 
1760). 

^^  Bureau  of  Soils,  Barnwell,  Bamberg  and  Hampton;  for  the  upper  settle- 
ments see  P,  VI,  231,  359,  VII,  133,  176,  182;  for  the  others  see  P,  VI,  294,  296, 
304,  305. 


The  Western   Townships  75 

River.  The  minister  of  this  church  was  James  Smart  who  first  appears  in 
the  province  on  Lynches  River.  Four  years  after  the  organization  of  the 
church  he  had  a  plat  surveyed  on  Beech  Branch  of  Coosawhatchie.  Henry 
Smart  had  land  surveyed  adjoining  that  of  James  and  probably  came  with 
him.  These  and  other  names  among  the  nineteen  original  members  of  the 
church  show  that  it  was  largely  an  offshoot  of  the  distant  Welsh  Neck 
Church.2« 

In  the  entire  region,  from  the  Forks  to  the  Upper  Three  Runs,  cattle 
raising  was  evidently  an  important  business  until  the  Revolution.  Lazarus 
Brown  in  1758  became  owner  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  acres  on  the 
Lower  Three  Runs  from  which  he  advertised  in  1765  a  thousand  head  of 
cattle.  Brown  was  reputed  to  be  the  tallest  man  in  the  province — nearly 
seven  feet.  He  was  killed  by  one  of  his  slaves  who  was  tried  and  according 
to  sentence  burned  alive.  Robert  Oswald  in  1761  advertised  for  sale  three 
thousand  acres  on  the  Coosawhatchie,  including  good  corn,  rice  and  indigo 
land  and  six  hundred  cattle.  In  1768  a  stock  of  two  thousand  head  was 
advertised,  part  being  in  the  fork  and  part  on  Buckhead  Swamp,  "being  as 
good  a  range  for  cattle  as  any  in  the  southern  parts  of  the  province,  having 
a  large  cane  swamp  between  them  for  a  winter's  range,  and  a  most  extensive 
and  plentiful  summer's  range."  And  in  1771  there  was  offered  a  third  of 
a  stock  of  cattle  and  horses  "ranging  on  Coosawhatchie,  reckoned  one  of 
the  largest  Stocks  and  as  good  Cattle  as  any  in  this  Province."  ^^ 

The  continued  weakness  of  the  southwest  was  the  chief  factor  in  the 
effort  of  the  Commons  in  the  'forties  to  work  out  a  plan  of  settlement  for 
the  parishes,  and  in  1749  the  governor  and  council  reserved  the  vacant  lands 
in  a  six-mile  strip  along  the  Savannah  from  Purrysburg  to  New  Windsor 
for  persons  who  would  settle  upon  them.  The  reservation  amounted  to  no 
more  than  did  the  parish  settlement  plans,  but  the  renewed  immigration  of 
the  foreign  Protestants  a  few  years  later  provided  a  partial  solution  of  the 
problem.  For  lack  of  sufficient  vacant  lands  near  the  tidewater  the  Ger- 
mans were  evidently  directed  to  the  upper  part  of  the  Salkehatchie  forks, 
and  there  between  1753  and  1759  at  least  sixty  surveys  were  made,  amount- 
ing to  over  eleven  thousand  acres.  The  great  majority  of  these  were  on  or 
near  Willow  Swamp,  Coltsons  Branch  or  the  forks  of  the  Salkehatchie 
nearby.  Forty  or  fifty  miles  from  tidewater,  they  were  on  the  edge  of  the 
upper  pine  belt,  and  had  good  land  for  the  compact  settlements  for  which 
the  Germans  in  other  parts  of  the  province  had  shown  so  marked  a  pref- 

26  JC,  Mar,  8,  1748,  Mar.  4,  1755,  P,  VI,  252,  XI,  411;  Barker  was  probably 
from  St.  George  Dorchester  (JCHA,  Mar.  16,  1756).  See  below,  p.  145,  P,  VIII, 
249,  Townsend,  S.  C.  Baptists,  pp.  47^8.  The  church  has  long  been  known  as 
Beech  Branch  Baptist  Church. 

2'P,  VI,  296;  see  advertisements,  SCG,  June  25,  1750,  Aug.  29,  1761,  May  4, 
1765,  July  2,  1772,  SCGCJ,  Jan.  9,  1770,  July  30,  1772,  SCAGG,  July  IS,  1768, 
May  27,  1771. 


76  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

erence.^^  Additional  Germans,  a  score  or  more  in  number,  settled  in  other 
parts  of  this  district,  on  the  Upper  and  Lower  Three  Runs  and  elsewhere, 
often  quite  apart  from  their  countrymen.^ 

Partly  by  the  efforts  of  the  provincial  government,  partly  by  the  normal 
spread  of  settlement,  the  southwest  had  been  settled,  although  by  reason 
of  the  swamps  which  nearly  surrounded  the  Germans  in  the  Salkehatchie 
and  the  thinness  of  settlement  everywhere  else,  the  inhabitants  lived  in  com- 
parative isolation.  The  militia  returns  of  1757  listed  no  company  between 
the  head  of  tidewater  and  New  Windsor,  but  at  that  time  a  company  was 
formed  for  the  Salkehatchie  forks  in  order  to  include  the  Germans/*' 
The  total  population  could  hardly  have  been  six  hundred,  over  half  of  it 
German. 

28  Above,  p.  28,  JC,  Oct.  3,  4,  1749;  see  the  surveys,  P,  V,  315-329,  349,  VI, 
32,  163,  174-175,  178,  202,  319,  324,  377,  380,  392,  VII,  62,  75,  94,  198-201,  297, 
and  note  the  names  adjoining  these  plats.  Among  the  settlers  were  Henry  Ulmer 
and  Conrad  Preacher   (V,  324,  328). 

2'' See  P,  VI,  109,  136,  164,  179,  200,  256,  257,  260,  264,  268,  270,  273,  276,  VII, 
61,  78,  82,  100  and  plats  adjoining  these. 

^'^JC,  May  4,  23,  1757.  Note  the  road  petitions  from  the  Salkehatchie  and 
Coosawhatchie  settlers  in  1764  and  1765;  the  latter  built  ten  miles  of  road  on  their 
own  initiative  (JCHA,  July  31,  Aug.  7,  1764,  Jan.  24,  Mar.  12,  26,  29,  July  19, 
1765,  Stats.,  IX,  206-207). 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  MIDDLE 
COUNTRY— THE  EASTERN  TOWNSHIPS 


Ma  p  -^ 


CHAPTER  VII 

Williamsburg  and  Kingston 

The  region  north  of  the  Santee,  cut  off  by  the  river  from  Charleston 
and  without  an  inland  water  passage  to  the  south,  in  1729  was  settled  only 
in  its  southern  tip  and  was  faced  by  neither  slave  nor  Indian  menace.  The 
attention  of  the  framers  of  the  township  plan  had  been  fixed  upon  the 
southwest  and  upon  the  Protestant  immigrants  from  the  continent  who 
were  to  defend  it;  when  groups  of  Scotch-Irish  settlers  began  to  arrive  and 
to  claim  the  bounty  they  were,  without  much  ado  and  perhaps  by  their  own 
choice,  assigned  to  the  northeastern  frontier. 

On  October  27,  1732,  a  ship  arrived  from  Belfast  with  eighty-five 
passengers;  the  "Irish"  settlers  imported  by  James  Pringle  and  Robert  Orr, 
on  the  advice,  they  said,  of  two  members  of  the  council,  were  probably 
among  the  number.  Neither  Pringle  nor  Orr  became  settlers  in  the  town- 
ships, and  seem  to  have  been  acting  merely  as  immigration  agents.  Simi- 
larly the  Reverend  John  Baxter,  Presbyterian  minister  at  Cainhoy  near 
Charleston,  in  1737  reported  that  he  had  brought  in  forty-three  persons 
from  Belfast.^ 

How  many  of  the  settlers  thus  imported  went  to  Williamsburg,  sur- 
veyed in  the  spring  of  1732,  and  how  much  time  elapsed  between  arrival  in 
Charleston  and  settlement  in  the  township  does  not  appear.  Supplies  from 
the  township  fund  were  given  to  a  group  of  "Irish  Protestants"  about  the 
end  of  the  year  1733.  Several  men  of  the  Witherspoon  connection — Gavin 
Witherspoon,  David  Wilson  and  William  James — who  are  said  to  have 
reached  the  province  in  1732,  may  have  been  among  these  settlers,  and  they 
were  joined  by  others  of  their  kin  in  January  1735.  In  1736  a  shipload 
arrived,  the  majority  of  whom  went  to  Williamsburg.  The  experience  of 
one  of  these  families  which  came  in  1734  was  probably  typical.  They 
found  the  inhabitants  in  Charleston  very  kind,  but  were  carried  from 
the  town  to  Williamsburg  by  sea  in  an  open  boat.  It  was  the  dead  of 
winter  and  they  suffered  much  from  the  weather  and  "  'the  atheistical  and 
blasphemous  mouths  of  our  Patroons  and  the  other  hands.'  "  On  arrival 
at  the  township  the  settlers  put  up  temporary  huts  of  poles  covered  with 
earth,  while  they  made  a  beginning  of  clearing  and  planting  the  land. 
There  was  comparatively  little  sickness,  and  although  the  Indians  hunted 

'^SCG,  Oct.  28,  1732;  JCHA,  Feb.  22,  28,  1733;  JC,  Nov.  9,  10,  1732,  Jan.  17, 
May  9,  1733,  Feb.  27,  1736,  July  5,  1737.  For  Baxter  see  Howe,  Presbyterian  Church, 
I,  204,  255-256,  284-285. 

79 


80  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

in  the  region  during  the  spring  season  "in  great  numbers  in  all  places  like  the 
Egyptian  locusts,"  they  gave  no  serious  trouble.  From  the  corn  crop  of 
1734  the  settlers  had  five  hundred  bushels  beyond  their  needs.^ 

The  township  selected  lay  on  the  Black  River,  a  few  miles  above 
tidewater.  The  King's  Tree  on  a  bluff  of  the  eastern  bank  was  taken  as 
the  starting  point  for  the  survey  of  the  town  and  the  center  of  the  town- 
ship. Unfortunately  the  reserve  was  not  surveyed  until  1736,  although 
the  order  was  given  two  years  earlier.  The  198,023  acres  was  typical  of 
the  lower  pine  belt,  with  many  swamps,  and  large  areas  beside  so  poorly 
drained  as  to  have  been  ill  adapted  for  anything  but  cattle  raising.  There 
were  likewise  some  stretches  of  coarse  sand  that  were  nearly  barren,  but 
much  remained  that  was  good  land  and  the  township  had  the  advantage  of 
a  river  that  was  navigable  for  small  boats.^ 

So  closely  did  the  townships  hedge  in  the  settled  area  that  the  admin- 
istration was  subjected  to  heavy  pressure  from  the  expanding  planter 
interests,  and  in  October  1735  the  lieutenant-governor  and  council  frankly 
threw  open  the  townships  east  of  the  Santee  to  the  planters  by  adopting  a 
rule  that  no  inhabitant  of  South  Carolina  might  have  a  warrant  in  the 
townships  west  of  that  river.*  The  effect  of  this  action,  combined  with  the 
delay  in  surveying  the  Williamsburg  reserve,  was  disastrous.  In  1734 
surveys  of  about  four  thousand  acres  in  Williamsburg  can  be  accounted  for, 
and  four-fifths  of  the  grantees  were  evidently  settlers,  but  in  1735  one- 
third  of  the  total  acreage  of  about  nineteen  thousand  was  for  persons  who 
could  not  have  intended  to  settle  in  the  township.  The  average  size  of 
these  tracts  was  nearly  five  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  while  that  of  the  set- 
tlers was  three  hundred.  A  fourth  of  the  total  acreage  of  the  years 
1734-1737  can  be  satisfactorily  identified  as  that  of  bona-fide  settlers  of 
Williamsburg,  representing  about  three  hundred  and  fifteen  persons.  Half 
of  the  land  taken  up  was  evidently  for  non-residents.  The  status  of  the 
remaining  fourth  is  doubtful,  but  the  majority  of  the  applicants  appear  to 
have  been  inhabitants  rather  than  outsiders.  There  were  besides  thirty- 
eight  men  mentioned  in  the  years  1734  to  1759  for  whom  no  land  record 
appears,  sixteen  of  them  in  a  petition  of  1748.^  The  total  population  at  the 
end  of  the  settlement  period  was  probably  five  hundred. 

The  Williamsburg  Scots  evidently  hoped  to  have  the  entire  township 

2  PR,  XVII,  339  (above,  p.  55,  n.  6);  J.  G.  Wardlaw,  Genealogy  of  the 
tVitherspoon  Family  (Yorkville,  1910),  pp.  8-11;  JC,  Feb.  25,  Mar.  3,  Nov.  13, 
1736. 

^  Plats  of  Williamsburg  town  and  township  (state  archives),  Bennett,  Soils 
of  the  Southern  States,  p.  55  and  map;  Bureau  of  Chemistry  and  Soils,  Soil  Survey 
of  fVilliamsburg  County  .  .  .  (Washington,  1931).  The  "King's  Tree"  was  prob- 
ably a  Walter's  pine  (see  W.  C.  Coker  and  H.  R.  Totten,  Trees  of  the  South- 
eastern States — Chapel  Hill,  193'1 — pp.  27-29),  which  resembles  the  white  pine  re- 
served for  the  crown  in  the  grants  of  land. 

4  JC,  Oct.  17,  1735.     See  also  Feb.  26,  1736. 

^JUHA,  May  3,  1748. 


The  Eastern   Townships  81 

to  themselves,  and  to  choose  their  lands  from  its  whole  area.     Instead — as 
they  declared  in  angry  protests,  first  to  the  governor  and  council,  then  in 
1743  to  the  royal  commissioner  for  inspecting  land   grants — the  deputy 
surveyor  had  forced  them  to  take  consecutive  tracts,  while  "all  the  good 
Lands  .  .  .    [were]  taken  up  by  Gentlemen  resideing  in  other  parts  of  the 
Province."     They  further  declared  that  many  of  the  "near  sixty  families 
who  came  last  over"  were  forced  to  go  elsewhere.     While  there  was  much 
justification  for  this  complaint  there  was  also  some  exaggeration  in  it,  for 
there  were  many  thousands  of  good  acres  left  in  the  township.     Further- 
more,  while  the  surveys  were  concentrated   about  the   King's  Tree   and 
Black  River,  there  were  many  away  from  river  and  town,  with  frequent 
intervals  between  plats,  which  indicate  that  settlers  had  their  choice  of 
land.    The  tracts  of  the  outsiders  were  similarly  distributed,  and  because  of 
their  greater  size  often  included  land  which  was  not  practicable  for  the 
Scots.     For  instance,  John  Cleland's  five  hundred  acres  lay  entirely  in  the 
swamp   opposite   the   town,    and   Andrew   Rutledge's   thousand   was   half 
swamp.*'    These  outsiders  were  South  Carolina  officials,  planters,  Charles- 
ton lawyers,  merchants  and  tradesmen.     The  lands  were  probably  taken 
up  for  planting  or  investment  rather  than  speculation  for  speedy  sale,  for 
only  about  five  thousand  acres  of  Williamsburg  land  was  advertized  for 
sale  in  the  Gazette  in  the  next  fifteen  years. 

James  Aiken,  a  planter  south  of  the  Santee,  had  five  hundred  acres 
granted  to  him  in  1735.  When  the  township  was  surveyed  and  his  tract 
was  found  to  be  in  it,  the  obliging  Broughton  administration  gave  him  a 
special  grant  for  it  and  for  the  adjoining  tract  which  he  had  bought. 
Thomas  and  Alexander  McCree  and  two  other  Scots  arriving  in  1736 
were  then  settled  upon  this  land  by  the  deputy  surveyor.  The  McCrees  re- 
fused to  move  even  after  they  had  lost  a  suit  for  damages  brought  against 
them  in  1740.  Four  years  later  they  again  petitioned  the  governor  and 
council  for  the  land,  but  thereafter  gave  up  a  struggle  which  was  patently 
hopeless  from  the  start.  There  was  more  justification  for  the  grant  of  a 
thousand  acres  to  George  Hunter  on  which  six  Williamsburgers  had  been 
placed  by  the  deputy,  and  on  which  they  had  cleared  six  acres  and  built 
huts.  Hunter  showed  that  his  survey  had  been  made  in  1728  and  that  he 
had  paid  taxes  on  it  since.^ 

With  the  year  1737  warrants  and  surveys  in  Williamsburg  come  almost 
to  a  stop.  In  the  next  eight  years  between  five  and  six  thousand  acres  was 
granted,  and  from  1746  to  1759  about  twelve  thousand.  Three-fourths  or 
more  of  this  was  for  residents.     For  fifteen  years  of  this  time  there  was  no 

^PR,  XXI,  93-105  (Representation  to  Henry  McCulloh,  Jan.  19,  1743,  enclosed 
by  him  to  Board,  Mar.  19,  1743),  P,  II,  157,  III,  261. 

■^  Grants,  MS,  I,  372,  P,  I,  483 ;  Court  Records,  Charleston,  Common  Pleas, 
Nov.  1740,  Akin  vs.  McCrea ;  JC,  Oct.  1,  Nov.  13,  Dec.  2,  18,  1736,  Jan.  14,  1743, 
Jan.  14,  1744;  see  also  Mar.  16,  1745. 


82  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

migration  of  bounty  settlers  from  Ireland  to  South  Carolina.  This  may  be 
accounted  for,  in  part,  by  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  Williamsburgers  with 
their  treatment,  but  it  was  apparently  due  also  to  an  unwillingness  to 
settle  in  the  low  country;  when  immigration  began  again  after  1760, 
although  much  of  the  upper  pine  belt  was  still  vacant,  the  Scotch-Irish 
studiously  avoided  it.  Such  reports  as  that  of  "the  Great  Sickness"  of 
1750,  which  "put  us  all  into  so  great  Confusion,  that  no  business  was 
minded"  were  not  calculated  to  encourage  the  prospective  settler.  There 
were  other  obstacles;  the  local  authorities  in  Ireland  put  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  emigration,  and  the  Spanish  and  French  wars  from  1739  to  1748 
interfered  with  shipping.® 

With  corn  the  Williamsburgers  made  at  least  an  excellent  beginning. 
The  cattle  raising  industry  preceded  them  to  the  township,  for  in  February 
1735  William  James  and  three  others  protested  that  "sevl.  People  had 
settled  Cow  Pens  and  kept  large  stocks  of  Cattle  in  the  said  Township, 
which  consumed  the  Herbage."  The  council  at  once  ordered  all  cattle 
removed  save  those  of  the  landowners  of  the  township.  In  1743  James' 
own  cowpen  is  mentioned  in  an  advertisement.  That  rice  was  an  ordinary 
crop  of  the  township  is  indicated  by  a  petition  of  James  Gamble  in  1743  in 
which  he  asked  for  another  tract  of  land,  declaring  that  the  two  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  assigned  him  in  1734  was  "so  Extreamly  barren"  that  three 
of  his  best  crops  did  not  exceed  ten  bushels  of  rough  rice.^ 

Hemp  and  flax  were  among  the  many  products  that  the  South  Carolina 
leaders  wished  to  introduce  among  the  planters,  and  during  1733  and 
1734  Richard  Hall  was  employed  by  the  assembly  to  this  end;  but  the 
seed  arrived  too  late  to  plant,  and  the  death  of  Governor  Johnson  removed 
his  "only  pillar".  Hall  had  surveys  of  two  thousand  acres  in  Williams- 
burg, and  now  turned  his  attention  to  the  township,  where  he  found  the 
land  good.  The  settlers  accepted  his  advice  and  assistance  and  "resolved 
to  follow  sowing  Hemp."  In  1736  the  assembly  offered  a  bounty  for  flax 
and  doubled  an  existing  premium  on  hemp.^° 

Shortly  after  this  references  to  Hall  cease,  but  in  1740  William  Lowry 
from  Williamsburg  laid  before  the  lieutenant-governor  in  council  "the 
first  Piece  of  Holland  made  in  this  Province,"  and  was  given  three  pounds 

®  JC,  Nov.  6,  1751,  SCG,  Aug.  21,  1736,  Pennsyl'vania  Magazine  of  History  and 
Biography,  XXI,  485-487;  "We  have  Letters  from  our  Friends  in  Ireland  Acquaint- 
ing us  of  their  desire  of  coming  here,  if  we  would  in  any  shape  encourage  them, 
which  we  have  hitherto  declin'd,  because  of  the  Lands  being  run  and  possessed 
by  others."     (PR,  XXI,  98— see  n.  6  above). 

^JC,  Feb.  12,  1735,  Nov.  9,   1743,  SCG,  Oct.  3,   1743    (advt.  of  John  Basnett). 

^^See  SCG,  Jan.  15,  1732  (letter  of  Agricola),  May  18,  1734  (advt.  of  Hall); 
PR,  XV,  87  (Johnson  to  Board,  received  Jan.  26,  1732),  XVII,  174-193  (Same, 
Nov.  9,  1734,  with  enclosure,  pp.  160-173),  313-315  (Hall,  May  8,  1735,  received  by 
Board  June  25,  1735);  JCHA,  Jan.  20,  25,  26,  Mar.  12,  1733,  May  28,  Nov.  15, 
1734;  JUHA,  May  18,  23,  1734;  Stats.,  Ill,  184,  436-437,  VII,  489;  P,  II,  313,  334, 
337,  III,  483. 


The  Eastern   Townships  83 

from  the  township  fund.  In  1743  Janet,  wife  of  John  Fleming,  brought 
in  twenty-four  yards  of  fine  white  holland,  the  flax  having  been  grown  on 
Fleming's  plantation,  spun  by  Janet,  and  woven  by  David  Witherspoon. 
She  was  given  seven  pounds.  The  next  year  she  appeared  with  more  linen, 
and  with  her  James  McClellan,  likewise  of  the  township,  who  produced 
twenty-one  yards.  No  more  gratuities  were  given,  but  in  1749  Governor 
Glen  said  that  a  few  linens  were  used  in  the  province,  made  in  Williams- 
burg. In  1748  John  Dobell,  a  former  Georgia  schoolmaster,  wrote  from 
Charleston  a  somewhat  exaggerated  account  of  Williamsburg  industry. 
He  stated  that  Williamsburg  and  Orangeburg  were  both  flourishing, 
particularly  the  former,  "by  whose  Ingenious  Industry  our  Market  is 
often  supply'd  with  abundance  of  Barrelled  Butter  and  Flour  inferior  to 
none  in  the  Northern  Provinces  and  very  little  so  to  any  in  England ;  with 
Cheese  Tallow  Bacon  etc.  Not  to  mention  Linnen  Cloth  which  they  make 
in  that  perfection  that  our  Governor  has  deign'd  to  wear  it  in  Shirts  him- 
self"." 

It  was  indigo,  however,  that  brought  wealth  to  Williamsburg.  The 
loose,  dry  and  moderately  rich  soil  demanded  by  the  crop  was  to  be  found 
at  many  points  in  the  township,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  lower  pine  belt, 
and  in  June  1755  Henry  Laurens  wrote:  "We  shall  have  a  great  deal 
offerd  to  us  from  such  Persons  as  deal  with  us  for  Slaves  from  Williams- 
burgh  Township  which  affords  in  general  the  best  Indigo."  Accordingly 
one  finds  in  the  militia  census  of  1757  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  male 
slaves  from  sixteen  to  sixty  years  of  age  listed  from  Williamsburg,  indi- 
cating a  total  for  the  township  of  over  six  hundred.  About  fifty  slaves  are 
found  in  the  land  petitions  of  the  actual  inhabitants  between  1744  and 
1755;  doubtless  there  were  many  besides.  Laurens'  letters  show  that 
buyers  came  in  person  from  the  township,  and  it  is  thus  probable  that  men 
who  had  themselves  been  bounty  immigrants  in  1735-1736  were  among 
those  who  "went  to  collaring  each  other  &  would  have  come  to  blows  had 
it  not  been  prevented"  in  contending  for  the  best  slaves.^" 

However,  the  absentees  who  still  held  the  land  taken  up  in  1736  and 
1737  were  in  position  to  profit  by  the  new  crop,  and  probably  owned 
many  of  the  negroes.  Indigo  did  not  require  so  much  labor  as  rice,  but 
called  for  heavy  expenditures  for  vats,  and  required  skilled  supervision. 
Where  the  work  was  undertaken  by  outsiders  it  must  have  been  in  the 
charge  of  overseers,  for  the  Williamsburgers  continued  to  monopolize  the 
public  offices,^^  as  they  could  not  have  done  had  any  considerable  number 

i^CHA,  Mar.  1,  1737;  SCG,  July  5,  1740;  JC,  Nov.  12,  1743,  Nov.  30,  1744; 
PR,  XXIII,  362-363  (Answers  of  Glen  to  Board,  July  19,  1749,  incorrectly  given 
In  Carroll,  Collections,  II,  229,  as  Williamsburg,  Virginia)  ;  Col.  Recs.  of  Ga., 
XXV,  281.     For  Dobell,  see  also  ibid.,  pp.  15-19. 

12  Carroll,  Collections,  II,  203-204,  U.  B.  Phillips,  American  Negro  Slavery 
(New  York,   1918),  pp.  91-92,  Laurens,   Letter  Books,  June   30,  July  2,   31,   1755. 

i^See,  for  instance,  the  militia  officers  (JC,  May  4,  1757),  Stats.,  IX,  149,  VII, 
503.     See   also  William  W.  Boddie,  History  of  Williamsburg    (Columbia,   1923). 


84  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

of  well-to-do  Anglican  planters  established  themselves  in  the  township  in 
person. 

Transportation  was  not  a  grave  problem  for  Williamsburg,  In  1734 
a  boat  carried  the  goods  of  the  Witherspoons  up  to  Kingstree,  and  in  1737 
Robert  Finley  received  two  hundred  bushels  of  corn  from  the  provincial 
government  as  a  gratuity  for  his  clearing  the  river  for  large  boats  up  to 
the  town.  The  river  was  regularly  used,  and  acts  were  passed  providing 
for  clearing  it  to  the  northern  boundary  of  the  township  at  the  expense  of 
the  inhabitants.  A  bridge  over  the  Black  at  Kingstree,  built  by  Roger 
Gibson  in  1740,  and  Murray's  Ferry  over  the  Santee,  established  by  the 
assembly  the  next  year,  gave  the  settlers  access  to  Charleston  by  land." 

Not  many  seem  to  have  taken  the  "town"  seriously  before  the  Revolu- 
tion. However,  in  1740  Hugh  Campbell,  "late  of  Williamsburgh  .  .  . 
Storekeeper"  was  sued  by  a  Charleston  merchant  for  twenty-two  pounds. 
John  Bassnett,  who  evidently  went  from  Charleston  with  the  first  settlers, 
was  in  1744  captain  of  the  militia  and  justice  of  the  peace.  He  was  both 
planter  and  storekeeper.  Against  him  in  his  role  as  planter,  Robert  Pringle 
got  a  judgment  for  about  £1,143,  which  was  delivered  to  John  Rice,  a 
Charleston  butcher,  for  execution.  But  when  Rice  seized  one  of  his  slaves, 
Bassnett's  wife  rescued  her.  Bassnett  himself  from  the  window  threatened 
to  shoot  the  deputy  and  declared  "that  half  the  men  in  Charlestown 
should  not  be  able  to  seize  them,  being  so  well  beloved  by  the  Inhabitants 
of  Williamsburg,  who  would  stand  by  him."  Several  months  later,  on 
another  suit,  he  declared  himself  bankrupt.  In  1761  he  was  still  justice  of 
the  peace.^^ 

The  Williamsburgers  constituted  a  social  unit  of  unusual  strength  and 
vigor.  They  were  bound  by  "their  National  Adherence  to  each  other"  and 
this  was  probably  appreciably  strengthened  by  their  contact  with  the  Eng- 
lish who  had  taken  so  much  of  the  land  of  their  township.  Futhermore, 
the  Witherspoon,  Fleming  and  James  families,  with  several  others,  were 
related  by  blood  or  marriage  at  the  time  of  migration.  But  the  chief  bond 
was  the  Williamsburg  Presbyterian  Church,  organized  in  the  third  year  of 
settlement.  On  the  petition  of  William  James  in  July  1736  to  the 
lieutenant-governor  and  council,  a  two  hundred  and  fifty  acre  plat  was 
given  in  trust  for  the  use  of  a  dissenting  minister.  From  Ireland  they 
procured  the  Reverend  Robert  Herron,  who  served  them  three  years. 
After  an  interval  he  was  succeeded  in  1743  by  the  much  loved  John  Rae, 

i^Wardlaw,  Genealogy,  p.  9;  JC,  May  4,  1737;  JUHA,  Jan.  22,  1745;  JCHA, 
Feb.  27,  1753;  Stats.,  VII,  489-491,  503,  IX,  121-124. 

^°  Court  Records,  Charleston,  Common  Pleas,  Feb.  1740;  Register  of  St.  Philip's, 
index;  JC,  Apr.  26,  1735,  Dec.  8,  1736,  Apr.  17,  1744;  SCG,  July  30,  1744  (adv. 
of  J.  Wedderburn)  ;  Register  .  .  .  Prince  Frederick,  index.  Town  lots  were  sur- 
veyed, however— see  above,  n.   3,  JC,  Apr.  26,   1735,   Feb.  27,   1736,  July  1,   1737. 


The  Eastern   Townships  85 

of  the  Presbytery  of  Dundee,  Scotland,  who  continued  their  minister  until 
his  death  in  1761.^^ 

The  original  intent  of  Johnson's  plan  was  that  each  township  be  made 
a  parish,  and,  when  it  should  have  one  hundred  householders,  send  two 
members  to  the  Commons  House.  The  first  move  to  take  advantage  of 
this  understanding  was  made  in  1739  when  the  Scotch  dissenters  petitioned 
the  assembly  to  make  the  township  into  a  parish  "with  all  the  Privileges  &ca 
thereto  annexed".  Since  parish  expenses  were  borne  almost  entirely  by 
the  provincial  government,  the  Williamsburgers  may  have  been  willing  to 
have  an  Anglican  church  built  for  the  privilege  of  representation.  They 
may  even  have  thought  that  since  the  number  of  Anglicans  settlers  in  the 
parish  was  negligible,  the  church  would  remain  unorganized.  Meanwhile 
they  voted  in  Prince  Frederick's  parish.^^  The  petition  precipitated  much 
discussion,  and  though  the  House  authorized  such  a  bill,  it  was  never 
passed.  The  next  parish  east  of  the  Santee  was  St.  Mark's,  formed  in 
1757,  with  its  church  near  the  mouth  of  the  Wateree. 

In  1746,  during  the  War  of  the  Austrian  Succession,  John  Rae  the 
minister  presented  a  petition  to  the  assembly  in  behalf  of  his  congregation, 
saying  that  they  were  two  hundred  effective  men,  and  asking  a  fort  to 
secure  their  wives  and  children  and  enable  them  "to  act  like  men  in  de- 
fense of  their  Country".  In  1757,  in  a  list  of  the  South  Carolina  militia, 
Williamsburg  had  two  companies,  one  of  forty-five  men,  the  other  of 
eighty-four;^®  the  total  white  population  in  1757  was  probably  about  six 
hundred  and  fifty. 

This  estimate,  indicating  an  actual  decrease  of  the  white  population 
since  1746,  points  to  two  significant  developments  east  of  the  Santee — 
a  replacing  of  white  labor  by  slaves,  and  an  emigration  of  the  increase  of 
the  whites  to  the  less  convenient  but  more  fertile  upper  pine  belt  to  the 
northwest.  The  proportion  of  slaves  was  far  from  dangerous,  however, 
and  from  the  standpoint  of  development  of  the  province  both  the  slave 
importation  and  the  white  emigration  were  quite  desirable. 

Williamsburg  was  the  most  successful  of  the  townships  in  Governor 
Johnson's  scheme.  In  the  unpopular  lower  pine  belt  it  continued  to  be  a 
compact  community  in  which  slaves  were  numerous  enough  to  bring  pros- 
perity, but  not  to  threaten  security,  while  the  expansion  of  the  township 
to  the  northwest  was  a  vital  factor  in  establishing  contact  between  the 
coast  and  the  back  country.     In  another  sense,  one  perhaps  not  foreseen  by 

IS  PR,  XXI,  103  (above,  n.  6),  Wardlaw,  Genealogy,  JC,  July  2,  1736,  Howe, 
Presbyterian  Church,  I,  324.  There  was  also  a  glebe  of  100  acres  (Plat,  state 
archives).  See  also  J.  A.  Wallace,  History  of  IViUiamsburg  Church  (Salisbury, 
1856),  pp.  22-29. 

1' JCHA,  Mar.  16,  Apr.  4,  1739,  May  2,  7,  1740;  see  also  names  in  PR,  XXI, 
96-99,  100-105   (above,  n.  6)  ;  and  Register  .  .  .  Prince  Frederick,  pp.  117,  121,  129. 

18  JCHA,  Apr.  16,  1746,  May  4,  1757. 


86  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

the  governor,  these  Scots  were  equally  important.  They  were  a  Scotch 
Puritan  community  set  down  in  a  more  easy-going  English  plantation 
province.  Their  high  standards  of  conduct  and  education,  their  social 
compactness  and  their  remarkable  vigor  were  valuable  aids  to  South  Caro- 
lina progress.  On  the  other  hand,  despite  their  quarrels  with  the  govern- 
ment and  the  non-resident  landowners,  they  were  sufficiently  adjusted  to 
economic,  social,  and  political  conditions  to  make  an  effective  unit  in  South 
Carolina  life.  To  a  conspicuous  degree  they  served  the  same  purpose  as  the 
French  element  in  the  older  parishes. 

Kingston  on  the  Waccamaw  was  one  of  the  northern  townships  thrown 
open  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  province  by  the  order  of  the  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor and  council  in  1735.  It  was  first  planned  to  include  both  banks  of 
the  Waccamaw  River,  but  in  1733  the  Commons  House  so  earnestly  urged 
that  it  be  run  out  entirely  on  the  north  bank  that  the  administration  con- 
sented. A  later  House  charged  the  failure  of  the  township  largely  to 
this  change.  It  is  true  that  the  additional  land  on  the  Little  Peedee  was 
poor  compensation  for  the  thirty  or  forty  miles  of  the  south  bank  of  the 
Waccamaw,  but  climate,  soil  and  grants  to  non-residents  are  more  satis- 
factory explanations  for  its  ill  success.^® 

The  township  thus  located  had  three  sides  of  a  square,  the  southwest 
line  being  for  most  of  its  course  in  the  swamp  of  the  Little  Peedee,  the 
northeast  line  lying  close  to  and  paralleling  the  North  Carolina  boundary. 
Ten  or  fifteen  miles  from  the  southern  tip  of  the  township  a  large  creek 
or  "lake"  flowed  into  the  Waccamaw  and  on  the  bluff  at  this  point  the 
site  of  the  town  was  fixed. 

The  bulk  of  this  great  area  is  a  plain  so  level  that  drainage  is  bad  and 
much  of  the  soil — partly  for  this  reason  and  partly  from  its  composition — 
was  hardly  practicable  for  settlement  in  a  country  where  better  and  ac- 
cessible land  was  plentiful.  Near  the  two  rivers,  however,  the  plain  falls 
away  to  the  edge  of  the  river  swamp,  presenting  a  wide  strip  of  well 
drained  and  excellent  soil.  Smaller  strips  of  the  same  land  are  to  be  found 
along  the  small  creeks  reaching  back  into  the  interior.^"  Thus  the  southern 
corner,  between  the  two  rivers  and  including  the  site  of  the  proposed  town, 
offered  the  best  advantages — good  upland  soil,  river  swamp  for  rice,  and 
water  transportation. 

Between  four  and  five  thousand  acres  was  taken  up  in  the  township 
prior  to  1 736,  but  in  that  year  over  seventeen  thousand  acres  appear  in  the 
records  in  plats,  warrants  or  grants.  A  third  of  this  was  in  tracts  of  five 
hundred  acres  or  more  for  outsiders  of  the  type  that  besieged  Williams- 

13  Above,  p.  80;  JCHA,  Mar.  1,  2,  7,  1733,  Feb.  9,  1734,  Mar.  30,  1743;  JUHA, 
Feb.  26,  1734;  De  Brahm,  Map  of  S.  C,  Mouzon,  Map  of  N.  and  S.  C.  No  plat  of 
the  township  has  been  found;  in  1783  "the  plan"  of  Kingston  is  mentioned,  and 
in  1801  its  name  was  changed  to  Conwayborough   (Stats.,  IV,  561,  V,  408). 

^  Bureau  of  Soils,  Horry. 


The  Eastern   Townships  87 

burg.  The  next  year  about  fifteen  thousand  acres  was  taken  up  or  applied 
for,  with  about  the  same  proportion  for  non-residents.  Thereafter  for 
twenty  years  Kingston  warrants  and  surveys  ranged  from  one  hundred  to 
two  thousand  acres  a  year.  If  all  the  land  which  was  not  apparently  for 
non-residents  was  taken  up  by  actual  settlers,  the  population  would  have 
been  about  four  hundred,  and  this  figure  is  in  accord  with  the  militia  re- 
turns of  1757  which  listed  for  the  township  a  company  of  eighty-six  men, 
and  showed  fifty-seven  male  slaves  from  sixteen  to  sixty.  There  is  little  but 
indirect  evidence  for  the  identity  of  these  settlers.  The  Williamsburgers 
themselves  declared  that  many  of  the  nearly  sixty  families  of  their  country- 
men "who  came  last  over"  to  settle  in  the  Black  River  township  had  to  go 
elsewhere.  The  establishing  of  a  Presbyterian  church  in  Kingston  is  a 
further  indication  that  a  number  of  the  Scotch-Irish  settled  there.^^ 

The  Kingston  settlers  appear  less  in  the  colonial  records  than  those  of 
any  other  South  Carolina  district.  It  seems  improbable,  therefore,  that 
many  of  the  two  hundred  or  more  slaves  of  1757  belonged  to  the  inhab- 
itants. However,  Arthur  Baxter,  who  started  with  a  town  lot  and  three 
hundred  acres  in  1737,  got  a  warrant  in  1754  for  four  hundred  more  on 
the  headrights  of  eight  slaves.  In  1756  and  1757  he  applied  for  warrants 
for  three  hundred  and  fifty  additional  acres.  Robert  Jordan  recited  in  his 
petition  of  1744  that  the  five  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  his  former 
warrant  had  "proved  so  barren,  that  he  cannot  by  labour  nor  Industry  Get 
a  Living  thereby"  and  asked  other  land  instead.  At  the  same  time  that 
he  got  the  new  warrant  he  was  given  another  for  one  hundred  and  fifty 
for  increase  in  his  headrights.  In  1755  a  third  warrant  was  given  him  for 
three  hundred  and  fifty  acres  based  in  part  on  two  slaves.  Abraham 
Jordan's  warrant  for  five  hundred  acres  in  1755  was  on  the  right  of  ten 
slaves.  The  two  Jordans  were  captain  and  lieutenant  respectively  of  the 
militia  company  in  1757.  George  Starrat's  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
acres  in  1745  must  have  included  rights  for  slaves,  for  it  represented 
fifteen  persons.  Those  Kingston  plats  which  were  recorded  were  run  out 
chiefly  on  or  near  the  Waccamaw  about  Kingston,  with  a  smaller  number 
on  or  near  the  Little  Peedee  opposite.  How  far  into  the  interior  they 
extended  cannot  be  stated,  but  in  1751  William  Ridgeway  declared  that  he 
had  lived  some  years  in  the  upper  part  of  the  township  on  rented  land,  and 
now  applied  for  a  warrant  for  two  hundred  acres  on  Playcard  Swamp. 
This  was  in  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  township,  fifteen  miles  or  more 
from  Kingston.^' 

From  the  nearly  complete  obscurity  enfolding  it  the  "town"  of  Kingston 
emerges  for  a  moment  in  1768  into  a  somewhat  lurid  light.  The  testimony 
of  William  Hunter  in  a  murder  case  having  been  called  in  question,  he  felt 

21  JC,  Feb.  7,  1737,  May  4,  1757. 

22  JC,  Jan.  24,  1744,  Mar.  20,  1745,  June  4,  1751,  May  7,  1754,  Mar.  4,  May  7, 
1755,  May  4,  1756,  Mar.  1,  1757. 


88  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

impelled  to  publish  in  the  South  Carolina  Gazette  of  May  2nd  an  affi- 
davit he  had  made  in  January  preceding.  From  the  piazza  of  the  house  of 
John  McDougal,  justice  of  the  peace  and  tavern  keeper  of  Kingston, 
Hunter  had  seen  the  owner  and  Joseph  Jordon  begin  a  quarrel  which,  inter- 
larded with  many  and  furious  oaths,  proceeded  to  displays  of  horsewhip, 
sword,  and  knife;  in  the  course  of  the  long  altercation  Jordon  paused  to 
eat  the  victuals  set  before  him  by  the  negro  wench  of  the  tavern,  and  on 
McDougal's  refusal  to  let  him  have  punch,  sent  to  Mrs.  Wilson's  for  it. 
Presently  McDougal  wounded  Jordon,  pursued  him  eighty  yards  to  a 
smith's  shop  and  there  killed  him.  Mrs.  Gaddis  dressed  a  cut  in  Mc- 
Dougal's hand,  and  a  negro  belonging  to  Hunter's  schooner  also  saw  part 
of  the  affair. 

The  Reverend  John  Baxter  of  Cainhoy  occasionally  preached  at 
Waccamaw,  and  in  1756  William  Donaldson,  a  newly  ordained  minister 
from  the  north,  accepted  a  call  to  that  congregation.  After  his  death  three 
years  later  the  Gazette  advertised  his  estate — seven  hundred  acres  on  the 
river,  ten  slaves,  and  the  year's  indigo  crop.  Mouzon's  map  of  1775  shows 
a  church  at  Kingston,  and  in  1795  Bishop  Asbury  preached  in  an  old 
Presbyterian  meeting-house  then  repaired  for  the  Methodists."^  This 
church  could  hardly  have  been  other  than  a  Presbyterian  church  founded 
chiefly  by  the  Scotch-Irish  settlement  of  Kingston,  and  served  by  Baxter 
and  Donaldson. 

23  Howe,  Presbyterian  Church,  I,  282,   594,  SCG,  Dec.  8,   1759    (advt.  of  Glen 
and  Skinner). 


CHAPTER  VIII 

QUEENSBORO  AND  THE  WeLSH  TrACT 

The  Peedee,  like  the  Santee  and  Savannah,  offered  the  best  advantages 
for  the  small  farmer  in  its  upper  pine  belt,  which  lay  above  Black  Creek, 
In  1729,  however,  the  population  north  of  the  Santee  was  too  scanty  for  the 
government  to  encourage  settlement  at  such  a  distance,  and  the  Peedee 
township  was  placed  on  the  lower  course  of  the  river  in  a  region  of  many 
and  wide  swamps,  ill  adapted  as  a  whole  to  any  but  large  plantations. 
Queensboro  was  surveyed  in  1733  and  lay  on  both  sides  of  the  Peedee, 
having  its  "town"  and  center  on  the  west  bank  three  or  four  miles  above 
the  mouth  of  Lynches  River.^ 

In  November  of  this  year  James  Gordon,  proposing  to  settle  one  hun- 
dred families  in  Queensboro,  applied  to  the  assembly  for  the  same  aid  as 
that  given  to  Purry.  The  Commons  House  refused  his  request  on  the 
ground  that  the  northern  townships  needed  no  encouragement  for  settle- 
ment. Thereupon,  in  1734,  Gordon  at  his  own  expense  imported  twenty- 
seven  persons  whom  he  freed  from  indentures  the  next  year  when  he 
applied  for  the  bounty  for  these  and  for  twenty-one  others  just  arrived. 
The  second  group  was  from  Pennsylvania  as  probably  was  the  first;  each 
settler  was  given  a  bounty  of  eight  bushels  of  corn  and  a  peck  of  salt. 
Gordon  was  commissioned  as  justice  of  the  peace  and  captain  of  the  militia 
for  the  township  although  he  seems  to  have  had  his  home  in  Georgetown.^ 

The  bounty  given  was  only  a  part  of  the  usual  supply,  but  these  settlers, 
being  neither  foreign  nor  European,  were  not  within  the  intention  of  the 
settlement  program.  No  individual  grants  appear  which  would  correspond 
to  this  migration,  but  Gordon  himself  in  1735  had  surveys  made  in  the 
township  of  eight  tracts  amounting  to  thirty-one  hundred  acres.  The 
settlers  may  have  established  themselves  in  the  township,  or  perhaps  moved 
up  the  river  with  the  later  arrivals  from  Pennsylvania.  As  for  the  town, 
so  little  was  it  regarded  that  Gordon  had  his  overseer  plant  the  area  re- 

iJC,  Mar.  10,  1732;  JCHA,  Sept.  20,  1733;  copies  of  Welsh  Tract  and  Queens- 
boro plats  (see  Alexander  Gregg,  History  of  the  Old  C/ieraivs — Columbia,  1905 — 
opposite  pp.  45  and  49,  and  n.  8  below),  De  Brahm,  Map  of  S.  C.  The  township 
and  its  town  may  also  be  approximately  located  by  the  following  plats:  P,  I,  512, 
II,  160,  172,  427. 

2  JCHA,  Nov.  17,  Dec.  6,  1733;  JC,  Mar.  7,  29,  1735;  SCG,  Mar.  8,  1740  (advt. 
of  sale  of  Gordon's  property).  In  his  estimate  of  expenses  of  the  province  for 
settlement  (PR,  XVII.  228 — above,  p.  22,  n.  14)  Furye  listed  a  year's  allowance 
"to  Mr.  Gordon  &  40  Highlanders  in  one  of  the  Northern  Townships"  but  the 
group  cannot  be  identified,  nor,  perhaps,  the  statement  entirely  relied  upon. 

89 


90  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

served  for  ft.  Meanwhile  the  planters  were  taking  up  the  land  of  Queens- 
boro.  Besides  Gordon's  holdings  there  were  a  dozen  others  of  a  thousand 
acres  or  more,  and  by  1745  about  sixty-five  plats  had  been  surveyed,  which 
brought  the  total  to  nearly  thirty  thousand  acres.  The  three  surveys  of 
John  Hammerton,  Secretary  of  the  province,  who  was  the  chief  grantee, 
amounted  to  four  thousand  acres.^ 

Even  earlier  than  the  arrival  of  Gordon's  immigrants  several  men  had 
settled  on  the  river  above  the  township.  Malachai  Murphy,  a  native  of  the 
province,  claimed  to  have  purchased  part  of  a  warrant  for  land  on  the 
Peedee  about  1728.  He  made  his  home  a  short  distance  above  Mars  Bluff, 
a  three  or  four  mile  stretch  of  high  ground  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river 
five  miles  above  Jeffreys  Creek.*  When  in  1746  he  applied  for  a  warrant 
for  the  land  he  had  so  long  occupied  without  legal  title,  he  had  twelve 
slaves.  Gideon  Gibson,  who  established  a  cowpen  on  the  Peedee  about 
1732,  later  moved  to  the  Little  Peedee.® 

John  Thompson,  Junior,  lived  near  enough  to  Prince  Frederick's 
Church  on  the  lower  Black  River  to  serve  as  vestryman,  but  in  1735  he  had 
a  thousand  acres  surveyed  on  the  point  between  Jeffreys  Creek  and  the 
Peedee,  and  by  the  spring  of  1736  several  tracts  for  others  were  surveyed 
on  the  creek  nearby.  Thompson  traded  with  the  Cheraw  Indians,  who 
lived  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river  at  the  shoals  and  caused  the  vicinity  to 
be  called  "the  Cheraws".®  They  hunted  along  the  river,  with  some  of  the 
Peedees  who  probably  lived  with  them,  and  claimed  the  land  at  least  as  far 
down  as  Mars  Bluff,  sometimes  called  "the  Little  Cheraws".  Francis 
Young  lived  on  the  river  opposite  the  Great  Cheraws  town,  and  he  and 
Thompson  later  had  lands  surveyed  there  at  the  mouth  of  Thompsons 
Creek. ^ 

In  August  1736  Lieutenant-Governor  Broughton  and  the  council  read 
and  granted  the  petition  of  David  Lewis,  Samuel  Wild  and  Daniel  James. 
These  men  represented  members  of  a  colony  of  Welsh  Baptists  living  in 
Newcastle  County,  then  one  of  the  three  Lower  Counties  of  Pennsylvania, 
but  later  part  of  the  state  of  Delaware.  On  examination  they  had  found 
the  land  of  the  Peedee  valley  suited  to  their  purpose  of  raising  "Hemp, 

2  See  above,  p.  20,  n.  9 ;  P,  II,  316,  322,  344,  IV,  14-18,  20,  22-24,  39-40;  JC, 
June  2,  1752.  In  1743  five  hundred  acres  in  fifty  acre  tracts  was  advertised  as 
formerly  the  property  of  Gordon    {SCG,  Mar.  14th). 

^JC,  Apr.  13,  1744,  Feb.  20,  1746  (the  name  is  sometimes  given  as  Michael); 
Welsh  Tract  plat  (below,  n.  8)  ;  SCG,  Apr.  17,  1755  (advt.  of  Edward  Jerman)  ; 
Bureau  of  Soils,  Florence   (map). 

^  JC,  Nov.  12,  1747,  P,  IV,  510.  He  was  probably  the  carpenter  who  came 
from  Virginia — JCHA,  July  2,  8,  1731 — but  the  identity  of  the  Gideon  Gibsons  is 
not  clear. 

^  See  index  to  Register  .  .  .  Prince  Frederick  and  P,  III,  156,  516,  IV,  5; 
JUHA,  Jan.  26,  1738;  JC,  June  8,  1739;  Mooney,  Slouan  Tribes,  p.  60. 

^  SCG,  Feb.  7,  1761,  SCGCJ,  Aug.  26,  1766  (advts.  of  Andrew  Johnston  and  Isaac 
Navel)  ;  Grooms'  land  was  on  or  near  Mars  Bluff  {SCAGG,  Mar.  18,  1768— 
advt.  of  John  Murray);  JC,  Nov.  9,  1743;  P.  IV,  195,  263-264. 


The  Eastern  Townships  91 

Flax,  Wheat,  Barley  &ca".  They  asked  for  the  prospective  settlers  a  reser- 
vation of  ten  thousand  acres  of  Queensboro — the  northeast  portion  of  that 
township — and  all  the  land  above  for  eight  miles  on  each  side  the  river  as 
far  as  the  junction  of  its  two  main  branches.  The  nearest  tributary  of  the 
Peedee  that  could  be  called  its  main  branch  was  Little  River,  seventy  miles 
north  of  Queensboro  and  twenty  miles  beyond  the  North  Carolina  line  as 
later  surveyed.  The  South  Carolina  portion  alone  thus  constituted  a 
reservation  for  immigrants  with  which  no  township  could  compare  in  area 
of  fertile  and  convenient  land.® 

Associated  with  James  in  the  reservation  for  the  Welsh  was  Maurice 
Lewis,  a  Charleston  member  of  the  Commons  House  who  had  but  recently 
taken  up  surveys  of  fifteen  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Queensboro,  and  who 
called  himself  one  of  "the  Welch  and  Pensilvanians".  The  records  of  the 
Welsh  Tract  Baptist  Church  in  Pennsylvania  state,  in  November  1735, 
that  Abel  Morgan,  teaching  elder,  James  James,  ruling  elder,  Thomas 
Evan,  deacon,  Daniel  James,  Samuel  Miles  [Wilds],  John  Harry,  John 
Harry,  Junior,  Thomas  Harry,  Jeremiah  Rowell,  Richard  Barrow, 
Thomas  Money,  Nathaniel  Evan,  Mary  James,  Annie  Evan,  Sarah  James, 
Mary  Wilds,  Elizabeth  Harry,  Margaret  Harry,  Eleanor  Jenkin,  Sarah 
Harry,  Margaret  William,  Mary  Rowell,  and  Sarah  Barrow  were  re- 
moved to  Carolina  and  were  dismissed  to  the  Baptist  Church  in  Charles- 
ton, or  permitted  to  form  themselves  into  a  church.  But  not  until  January 
1737  is  there  reference  in  the  South  Carolina  records  to  the  arrival  of 
"several"  in  the  province.^  During  the  year  1737  the  Welsh  Tract  Church 
dismissed  to  the  Peedee  settlement  eight  men  and  seven  women,  in  1738 
John  Jones  and  his  wife,  Ann,  and  in  1739  and  1741  several  other  mem- 
bers. With  the  exception  of  Abel  Morgan,  listed  in  the  record  as  re- 
turned, James  James  who  soon  died,  and  Thomas  Money,  references  to 
all  the  men  named  appear  on  Peedee  plats  within  the  next  few  years.^° 
In  the  summer  of  1737  warrants  were  granted  to  several  whose  names  do 
not  appear  in  the  minutes  of  the  mother  church,  among  them  Evan 
Vaughan,  Samuel  Sarancy  and  Evan  Davis.^^ 

^Records  of  the  fVelsh  Tract  Baptist  Meeting  .  .  .  Delanvare,  1701-1828 
(Wilmington,  1904),  I,  7-18;  JC,  Aug.  13,  1736;  Gregg,  Old  Cheraivs,  pp.  614-617. 
The  plat  finally  surveyed  according  to  these  directions  was  not  returned  until 
January  1738  (JC,  Jan.  27,  1738)  ;  it  has  not  been  found.  A  plat  of  Nov.  29,  1736, 
rejected  by  the  administration,  is  in  the  state  archives;  it  is  reproduced  without 
the  signature  of  the  surveyor  in  Gregg,  Old  Chera<ws,  opp.  p.  49.  For  the  at- 
tempts to  deceive  the  administration  into  depriving  the  Welsh  of  a  great  part  of 
their  reservation,  see  JC,  Feb.  18,  Dec.  14,  1737,  Jan.  27,  1738,  July  7,  1739; 
SCG,  Feb.  12,  1737   (proclamation). 

9JCHA,  Feb.  1,  1738,  Register  of  St.  Philip's,  pp.  128,  167,  P,  III,  375,  412, 
JC,  Jan.  19,  1737. 

1°  See  Townsend,  S.  C.  Baptists,  p.  62,  n.  2 ;  P,  IV,  297  (Wild),  203  (S.  Parsons), 
197  (J.  Rowell),  IV,  262  (Barrow),  302  (Ellerbe,  adjoining  N.  Evans),  187 
(Dousenal — i.e.,  Devonald),  189   (Evan  Harry,  adjoining  J.  Harry). 

^^JC,  July  29,  1737.  Daniel  James  already  had  received  a  warrant  for  350 
acres  (JC,  Dec.  9,  1736). 


92  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

To  each  head  of  a  family  among  these  settlers  arriving  in  1737  were 
given  six  bushels  of  corn  and  a  bushel  of  salt.  Eight  hundred  and  fifty- 
nine  pounds  was  set  aside  from  the  township  fund  as  a  bounty  for  the  first 
two  hundred  settlers  over  twelve  years  of  age  who  should  come  from 
Wales.  The  reservation  was  extended  from  time  to  time  until  1745,  but 
there  is  no  evidence  of  direct  immigration  from  Wales,  the  war  with  Spain 
being  given  as  the  cause  of  the  failure  of  the  plan.  From  Pennsylvania, 
however,  the  Welsh  continued  to  come  in  considerable  numbers. ^^ 

The  immigrants  made  little  use  of  the  lower  half  of  their  great  reserva- 
tion. In  1737  Thomas  Evans  and  the  widow  of  Samuel  Wilds  had  their 
surveys  made  in  or  near  Queensboro,  followed  in  1738  by  Thomas  James, 
Griffith  John  and  Evan,  John  and  David  Harry.  These  were  near  the 
mouth  of  Catfish  Creek.  There  was  room  for  others,  for  none  of  the  plats 
showed  outsiders  adjoining,  but  the  rest  of  the  Welsh  evidently  preferred 
land  farther  north.^^ 

Between  Black  Creek  and  the  sand  hills  on  either  side  of  the  Cheraws 
the  Welsh  Tract  included  the  typical  soils  of  the  upper  pine  belt.  A  short 
distance  from  the  river  was  a  light  sandy  loam,  excellently  adapted  to 
agriculture,  but  next  to  the  Peedee  the  land  was  even  more  fertile,  con- 
venient for  water  transportation,  and,  because  of  the  forage  in  the  swamp 
portions,  better  suited  for  cattle  raising.  A  five  mile  square  of  this  river 
bottom,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  and  ten  miles  below  the  Cheraws,  lay 
nearly  enclosed  in  a  great  bend  of  the  Peedee.  The  soil  was  a  rich  silt 
loam  like  that  of  Raifords  Creek,  and  the  area  less  subject  to  the  floods 
that  afflicted  it  later  when  the  valley  above  was  cleared.  Here  in  the 
"Welch  Neck",  before  they  had  been  a  year  in  the  province,  the  Welsh 
began  their  surveys,  their  plats  fronting  the  river  above  and  below  the 
mouth  of  Crooked  Creek.  William  and  Abel  James,  Thomas  Evans, 
James  Rogers,  William  Terrel,  Daniel  Devonal  and  John  Jones  had  their 
plats  made  in  1738."  Within  seven  years  of  that  date  nearly  a  hundred 
plats  were  run  out  in  the  Welsh  reservation,  amounting  to  about  twenty 
five  thousand  acres.  Few  of  the  holdings  were  over  five  hundred  acres. 
The  population  of  five  hundred  thus  represented  was  probably  half  Welsh, 

■^-JC,  Dec.  14,  1737  (a  few  others  may  have  received  the  bounty  later — JC, 
June  6,  1739,  Oct.  15,  1742),  July  7,  1739,  Jan.  26,  1743,  Mar.  25,  1745.  James 
Price,  however,  claimed  to  have  come  from  Wales  on  encouragement  by  the 
province;  see  also  William  Hughes  and  Job  Edwards  (JC,  Jan.  22,  1746),  and 
note  JC,  Jan.  20,  July  19,   1738. 

^^P,  IV,  145-146,  188-189,  297;  the  later  claim  of  the  Welsh  that  grants  to 
South  Carolinians  had  forced  them  to  settle  further  up  the  river  and  had  prevented 
immigration  of  others  was  evidently  an  excuse  on  which  to  ask  an  extension  of 
the  reservation— (JC,  July  7,  1739). 

"Bureau  of  Soils,  Marlboro;  above,  p.  59;  P,  IV,  187,  190-194  (Devonald's 
plat  was  stated  to  be  in  Queensboro,  but  later  surveys — see  P,  IV,  394 — and  the 
index  to  Plats  show  this  to  be  an  error).  The  location  of  the  Welsh  Neck  surveys 
may  be  worked  out  from  the  names  on  a  later  plat  of  Thomas  James  (P,  XVII, 
228). 


The  Eastern   Towtiships  93 

all  of  whom  lived  in  or  near  the  Welsh  Neck.  The  petitions  from  the 
west  side  of  the  river  indicate  that  a  larger  number  of  the  early  settlers 
there  came  from  the  South  Carolina  coast  than  from  Virginia  or  the 
northern  colonies. 

One  of  the  first  difficulties  of  the  Welsh  was  with  the  Cheraw  and 
Peedee  Indians  who  by  "running  among  their  Settlements  under  pretence 
of  Hunting"  caused  them  great  uneasiness.  In  1739  John  Thompson  was 
called  before  the  lieutenant-governor  and  council,  but  he  denied  that  he 
had  promoted  "any  misunderstanding  between  the  Welch  and  Indians  or 
Virginians  &ca."  About  two  years  before  he  had  bought  all  the  lands  of 
these  Indians  on  the  river,  including  about  forty  "old  fields"  as  the 
abandoned  cleared  lands  of  the  Indians  were  called.  His  expenses,  in- 
cluding his  service  in  quieting  the  apprehensions  of  settlers  in  the  Welsh 
Tract  and  in  Williamsburg,  came  to  a  hundred  and  five  pounds  which  the 
provincial  government  undertook  to  pay  him  in  return  for  surrender  of 
the  deed,  giving  him  warrants  for  a  thousand  acres  of  land  besides.  Some 
of  the  Cheraws  were  already  with  the  Catawbas ;  probably  the  rest  of  their 
tribe  and  the  Peedees  soon  joined  them.^^ 

James  James  was  the  leading  member  of  the  Welsh  group  at  the  time 
of  the  migration.  He  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  Pennsylvania  and  was 
the  father  of  Abel,  Daniel  and  Philip  James.  He  seems  to  have  died 
within  a  year,  however,  and  Daniel  James  became  justice  of  the  peace, 
succeeded  in  turn  by  William  James,  who  was  likewise  the  first  captain  of 
the  militia.  Daniel  James  started  a  mill  which  William  completed,  each 
receiving  a  reward  of  fourteen  pounds  from  the  provincial  government. 
John  Newberry,  on  Muddy  Creek  at  the  lower  end  of  the  Welsh  Neck, 
set  up  a  grist-  and  sawmill  and  another  like  it  was  built  by  Gideon  Ellis, 
who  came  to  the  Welsh  Tract  from  the  lower  part  of  the  province,  and 
settled  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  on  or  near  Jeffreys  Creek.^''  Among 
four  other  mills  projected  at  the  same  time  one  belonged  to  John  Kolp  and 
one  to  James  Gillespie,  formerly  of  Winyaw  and  sometime  Cherokee 
trader.  These  mills  are  evidence  of  the  success  of  the  Welsh  plans  for 
grain  production.  In  1743  the  governor  and  council  offered  a  bounty  of 
fourteen  shillings  a  barrel  for  the  first  twenty  barrels  "of  good  and 
merchantable  white  flower"  made  in  the  Welsh  Tract  and  brought  to  the 
Charleston  market.     It  was  promptly  claimed  the  next  year.^" 

1^  JC,  June  8,  1739,  SCG,  June  2,  1746,  Adair,  American  Indians,  p.  224,  Indian 
Books,  V,  94.  There  were  other  Peedees,  living  near  Charleston  (JC,  July  25, 
1744). 

i^Townsend,  S.  C.  Baptists,  p.  62;  JC,  June  8,  1739,  Jan.  26,  Apr.  28,  1743, 
Nov.  29,  1744,  Mar.  14,  1745,  Feb.  8,  Nov.  20,  1746;  P,  II,  252-253,  IV,  203,  373; 
Register  of  St.  Philip's,  p.  166. 

"JC,  Sept.  16,  1736,  July  9,  1739,  Jan.  26,  1743,  Oct.  5,  1744,  Mar.  22,  1745, 
May  29,  1750;  for  Kolp  see  JC,  Jan.  14,  1746,  P,  IV,  241;  for  Gillespie  see  Commis- 
sions and  Instructions,  p.  186,  P,  II,  395-396,  IV,  282.  For  other  mills  see  JC, 
Feb.  8,  Nov.  20,  1746. 


94  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

When  in  1747  indigo  suddenly  became  a  Carolina  staple  the  planters 
in  the  Queensboro  portion  of  the  Peedee  valley  turned  to  it  with  great 
success.  Over  a  thousand  acres  of  James  Gordon's  land  was  advertised 
as  extraordinarily  good  for  indigo.  It  was  probably  also  responsible  for  no 
small  part  of  the  prosperity  of  the  Welsh  Tract.  At  Mars  Bluff  eighteen 
hundred  acres  was  offered  for  sale  which  Malachi  Murphy  said  was  good 
for  indigo  and  corn.  Even  the  settlers  on  the  Rocky  River  in  North 
Carolina  made  indigo  and  shipped  it  to  Charleston.^^ 

From  the  expiration  of  the  reservation  in  1745  until  1759  settlement 
proceeded  apace.  Nearly  five  hundred  warrants  were  issued  for  about 
115,000  acres  of  land  on  the  Peedee,  chiefly  in  the  Welsh  Tract.  These 
warrants  represent  an  addition  of  2,300  persons  to  the  five  hundred  earlier 
settlers  of  the  region.  The  militia  returns  of  1757  listed  seven  Welsh 
Tract  companies  numbering  865  officers  and  men  and  117  male  slaves 
sixteen  to  sixty  years  of  age,  and  indicated  a  population  of  about  4,300 
whites  and  500  negroes.  The  returns,  however,  list  only  two  companies 
between  the  Welsh  Tract  and  the  Waccamaw  River,  and  it  is  probable  that 
some  of  the  so-called  Welsh  Tract  companies  included  settlers  below  the 
lines  of  that  reservation.  The  population  of  the  Welsh  Tract  proper  was 
perhaps  three  thousand  whites  and  three  hundred  negroes.  The  slaves 
were  widely  distributed,  nearly  a  hundred  persons  owning  them.  As  early 
as  1745  Thomas  EUerbe,  a  Virginian,  had  applied  for  warrants  on  head- 
rights  of  twenty-five  persons,  doubtless  most  of  them  slaves.  George 
Hicks,  likewise  from  Virginia,  could  boast  fifteen  negroes  and  an  overseer, 
and  Samuel  Sarancy  had  twenty-one.^^  The  Welsh  like  the  other  earlier 
settlers  had  their  full  share  in  the  expansion  of  holdings  in  slaves  and 
land.    There  was,  apparently,  little  shifting  of  population  in  the  area. 

The  Peedee  was  unobstructed  by  shoals  below  the  Cheraws,  and  was 
even  navigated  above  as  far  as  Rocky  River.  The  settlers  received  "all 
their  salt  and  heavy  goods"  by  water  from  Georgetown,  but  sent  their 
indigo  by  wagons  to  Charleston.  The  Welsh  had  a  church  rule  censuring 
a  member  who  should  travel  up  or  down  the  river  on  the  Sabbath  save  in 
case  of  absolute  necessity.  Thus  the  Cheraws  like  the  other  settlements  of 
the  fall  line  of  the  rivers  was  in  an  excellent  position  for  trade,  and 
references  from  time  to  time  show  that  it  became  the  center  for  the  neigh- 
boring middle  and  back  country.  In  1750  a  Charleston  firm  sued  Samuel 
Armstrong  "of  Cheraws  .  .  .  Trader"  for  a  debt  of  one  hundred  pounds 
made  in  1747.    In  1760  mention  was  made  of  the  stores  of  John  Crawford 

^^  See  SCG  advertisements  of:  Alexander  Fraser  (Mar.  19,  1754),  Provost 
Marshal  (June  9,  1759,  Nov.  20,  1762),  Edward  Jerman  (Apr.  17,  1755),  Andrew 
Johnston  (Feb.  7,  1761),  Robert  Williams  (Sept.  18,  1762);  Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C, 
V,  356. 

19  JC,  July  5,  1742,  Mar.  20,  22,  May  3,  1745,  Nov.  18,  1747,  Nov.  5,  1751,  May 
4,  1757;  note  also  John  Crawford  and  his  ten  slaves  near  Thompsons  Creek  (JC, 
June  4,  1751,  JCHA,  Mar.  27,  1759,  P,  VI,  52). 


The  Eastern  Townships  95 

and  Christopher  Gadsden,  and  the  next  year  Gadsden  announced  the  sale 
of  all  his  goods  and  warned  the  public  not  to  trust  his  Dutch  servant  who 
"lately  attended  at  his  stores  at  the  Charraws  and  George-Town."  ^° 

The  Welsh  Tract  paid  a  penalty  for  its  prosperity  and  freedom  from 
serious  Indian  dangers  by  becoming  early  a  prey  to  horse  thieves.  In  1739 
one  of  the  petitions  of  the  Welsh  complained  "That  several  Out  Laws  and 
Fugitives  from  the  Colonies  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  most  of  whom 
are  Mullatoes  or  of  a  mixed  Blood"  had  thrust  themselves  among  them, 
paying  no  taxes  nor  quit  rents,  "and  are  a  Pest  &  Nuisance  to  the  adjacent 
Inhabitants".  A  few  years  later  seven  men  on  the  unsurveyed  North 
Carolina  boundary  defied  the  officers  of  both  provinces,  and  sent  word  to 
Captain  James  "to  raise  all  his  Company,  swearing  they  were  Men  enough 
if  the  whole  Inhabitants  of  the  River  came  after  them."  They  were  part 
of  a  band  of  robbers  sought  by  the  Virginia  government,  and  had,  so  the 
Welsh  suspected,  the  sympathy  of  some  of  their  neighbors.  The  governor, 
however,  thought  it  sufficient  to  order  James  to  issue  a  magistrate's  warrant 
and  to  call  out  an  adequate  force  of  the  militia  to  enforce  it.  In  1746  two 
settlers  petitioned  for  lands  elsewhere,  one  stating  that  the  robbers  had  re- 
duced his  stock  of  hogs  from  twenty-five  to  six.  In  1750,  on  recommenda- 
tion of  James  Gillespie,  the  governor  appointed  George  Hicks  and  John 
Crawford  justices  of  the  peace,  for  Gillespie  declared  that  he  and  James 
were  the  only  magistrates  within  a  hundred  miles,  and  some  of  the  settlers 
were  "Living  very  Riotous".  Two  years  later  Crawford  himself,  with 
about  sixty  others,  petitioned  for  a  county  court  for  the  district  between  the 
mouth  of  Lynches  River  and  the  North  Carolina  line,  but  nothing  came  of 
the  request.^^ 

Another  episode  in  the  boundary  controversy  concerned  the  lands  of 
Governor  Arthur  Dobbs,  part  of  whose  200,000  acres  lay  on  Rocky  River. 
A  colony  of  Scotch-Irish  from  Pennsylvania  had  settled  on  his  land,  but — 
probably  encouraged  by  the  wording  of  the  Welsh  Tract  reservation — a 
score  of  them  applied  to  South  Carolina  for  their  grants  instead  of  to  the 
North  Carolina  governor,  hoping  to  get  their  land  for  the  cost  of  fees  in- 
stead of  paying  Dobbs  fifteen  or  twenty  pounds  per  hundred  acres.  In 
1755  and  1756  about  seventy  of  these  Rocky  River  settlers  petitioned  the 
South  Carolina  government  for  protection.  They  even  offered  to  seize 
Dobbs'  agent  and  surveyor  and  bring  him  to  Charleston  if  Glen  would  send 
instructions  and  commissions  to  certain  of  their  number  as  justices  of  the 
peace  and  militia  officers.     Commissions  were  given,  and  under  another 

^  Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  V,  357,  Welsh  Neck  Church  Book,  MS,  p.  4;  Townsend, 
S.  C.  Baptists,  p.  85;  Court  Records,  Common  Pleas,  Feb.  1750;  SCG,  Mar.  14, 
1761.  Gadsden's  thirteen  hundred  acre  plat  in  1763  included  land  earlier  surveyed 
for  John  Thompson,  and  showed  a  building  near  the  mouth  of  Thompsons  Creek 
(P,  IV,  195,  VI,  213).    See  JCHA,  May  19,  1760,  for  Gadsden  and  Crawford  stores. 

21  JC,  July  7,  1739,  Mar.  25,  1745,  Mar.  12,  1746,  May  29,  1750;  JCHA,  Mar. 
17,  1752;  JUHA,  Mar.  16,  1752,  Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  IV,  760. 


96  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

name  the  Rocky  River  company  of  fifty  men  was  included  in  the  South 
Carolina  militia  list  of  1757.  To  avert  violent  measures,  however,  Glen 
and  the  council  urged  Governor  Dobbs  to  allow  all  persons  in  the  disputed 
boundary  area  to  remain  on  their  lands  until  the  crown  gave  proper  in- 
structions. Final  settlement  of  the  dispute  did  not  come  until  1764  when 
the  boundary  was  run  west  to  the  Catawba  River,  and  after  a  riot  in  which 
Dobbs  was  threatened  with  violence.^^ 

The  Welsh  immigrants  constituted  a  religious  group  as  compact  and 
vigorous  as  that  which  settled  Williamsburg.  In  January  1738  fifteen  of 
them  with  their  wives  were  organized  as  the  Peedee — later  the  Welsh 
Neck — Baptist  Church.  Philip  James,  son  of  James  James,  was  dismissed 
from  the  Pennsylvania  church  in  November  1737  and  came  with  the  first 
settlers;  he  was  ordained  as  their  minister  in  1743,  and  served  till  his  death 
in  1754,  The  congregation  first  met  in  the  house  of  John  Jones  who  used 
a  Welsh  concordance  of  the  scriptures  by  Abel  Morgan.  In  1744  they 
built  a  church  which  was  replaced  in  1769  by  another,  forty-five  feet  by 
thirty.    There  were  sixty-six  members  in  1759.^^ 

The  early  history  of  this  church  was  far  from  tranquil.  Declaring  that 
it  was  not  a  church  of  Christ,  the  Reverend  Robert  Williams  withdrew 
from  it  in  1759,  his  lands  and  slaves  no  doubt  giving  him  quite  enough  to 
do.  After  many  patient  inquiries  and  admonitions  the  church  excommuni- 
cated him.  The  congregation  immediately  called  the  Reverend  Nicholas 
Bedgegood,  an  Englishman  who  had  been  partially  trained  for  the  law, 
and  who  was  later  associated  with  Whitefield  in  the  management  of  the 
Georgia  Orphan  House.  The  conduct  of  the  members  was  the  subject  of 
constant  investigation.  In  1760  James  James  was  suspended  for  beating  a 
neighbor.  John  Booth  was  likewise  suspended  for  quarrelling  and  using 
profane  language,  and  required  to  make  public  acknowledgment  of  repent- 
ance before  he  was  restored.  Other  offenses,  both  lighter  and  graver,  were 
inquired  into  and  handled  with  fine  firmness,  charity  and  common  sense."* 

In  1752  thirty-one  settlers,  among  them  Gideon  Gibson  and  several  of 
the  first  Welsh  immigrants  to  Queensboro,  organized  a  Baptist  Church  on 
Catfish  Creek,  and  in  1758  they  built  a  meeting  house  near  the  mouth  of 
the  stream.  During  the  'fifties  the  Welsh  Neck  Church  established  two 
branches,  one  at  Mars  Bluff,  the  other  in  Cashaway  Neck  on  the  east  side 
of  the  river  and  above  Mars  Bluff.  In  1756  the  latter  congregation, 
which  had  been  meeting  "  'at  the  Scholl  house'  ",  achieved  separate  organi- 
zation,  and  in  its  activity  and  influence  was  second  only  to  the  Welsh 

22  Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  V,  xxxii-xxxiv,  355-356,  VI,  788-789,  JC,  Aug.  12,  1755, 
Jan.  7,  1756,  May  4,  1757,  below,  p.  135. 

23Townsend,  S.  C.  Baptists,  pp.  62-64,  74;  Welsh  Neck  Church  Book;  Abel 
Morgan,  Cyd-Gordiad  Egyddora^vl  o'r  Scrytliurau  .  .  .  (Philadelphia,  1730)  — 
John  Jones'   copy   has   notes    in   Welsh   made    after   the    settlement   on   the    Peedee. 

2*  See  JC,  Feb.  23,  1749,  May  5,  1752,  Mar.  22,  1754,  Feb.  4,  1755;  Townsend, 
S.  C.  Baptists,  pp.  64-67,  69;  Welsh  Neck  Church  Book,  pp.  1-19. 


The  Eastern   Towfiships  97 

Neck.  Like  that  church  it  kept  a  strong  but  kind  hand  upon  its  errant 
members,  requiring  their  attendance  on  Sundays  and  striving  to  keep  them 
from  excessive  drinking — the  latter  a  fault  for  which  it  became  necessary 
to  suspend  one  of  the  ministers.  The  Reverend  Evan  Pugh  began  his  long 
service  to  this  church  in  1764.  Among  the  first  members  were  Abel  and 
Benjamin  James,  Jeremiah  Rowell,  and  Henry,  John  Martin  and  Peter 
Kolb.     The  Kolbs,  too,  were  said  to  have  come  from  Pennsylvania.^^ 

The  Anglican  church  developed  more  slowly  in  the  Welsh  Tract  than 
did  the  Baptist,  but  the  settlement  there  of  South  Carolinians  and 
Virginians  provided  it  with  possible  members,  and  the  growth  of  population 
and  wealth  on  the  Peedee  made  parish  government  necessary.  The  rector 
of  Prince  Frederick,  John  Fordyce,  visited  the  upper  Peedee  in  1743.  He 
held  services  at  four  places,  and  baptized  twenty-nine  children  for  his  own 
parish  and  nineteen  from  North  Carolina.  He  had  an  eye  for  the  material 
as  well  as  spiritual  future  of  the  region;  in  1737  he  had  had  a  thousand 
acres  surveyed  for  himself  in  Queensboro,  and  now  looked  enviously  upon 
the  Welsh  reservation,  which  he  found  "as  good  land  as  ever  was  plowed 
and  Capable  of  Great  Improvements  but  ill  bestowed  on  a  people  who 
will  never  answer  the  Intention  of  the  Governmts  Indulgence  to  them". 
Members  of  even  the  Gibson,  Wild  and  Evans  families  resorted  to  Fordyce 
for  baptism  or  marriage,  but  after  his  death  in  1751  there  was  a  different 
story.  That  the  Peedee  was  soon  well  provided  with  dissenting  ministers 
was  a  condition  which  his  successors  had  some  part  in  bringing  about  The 
vestry  and  wardens  of  Prince  Frederick  declared  to  the  Bishop  of  London 
that  their  rector,  the  notorious  Michael  Smith,  "did  make  a  Tour  into  these 
remote  Parts  of  the  Parish.  But  He  had  better  stay'd  at  home,  for  the 
Consequence  has  been,  that  thro'  his  indiscreet  Carriage,  (We  shd  rather 
say  immoral  Conduct)  among  them,  instead  of  bringing  them  over,  and 
joining  of  them  to  the  Communion  of  our  Church,  he  has  unhappily  driven 
them  to  send  for  Anabaptist  Teachers  from  Philadelphia,  who  dip  many, 
and  form  them  into  Congregations;  so  that  the  regaining  of  them,  and 
making  them  Members  of  the  Established  Chh  will  (we  judge)  be  at- 
tended with  great  Pains,  if  not  an  impossibility."  "^ 

When  St.  Mark's  parish  was  created  in  1757  its  minister  served  the 
Peedee  settlers  three  years  before  the  church  was  built  on  the  Santee.  It 
was  not  until  1768  that  St.  David's  was  formed;  the  church  was  built  at 
Cheraw  Hill.  This  parish  extended  from  Lynches  River  to  the  North 
Carolina  line,  the  southern  boundary  running  northeast  and  crossing  the 

25  Gregg,  Old  Cheraivs,  p.  83,  Townsend,  S.  C.  Baptists,  pp.  78-79,  84-90. 
Shortly  after  1765  two  other  Baptist  Churches  appear  on  the  Peedee,  growing  out 
of  the  Catfish  Church   {ibid.  pp.  79,  81). 

26  JC,  Dec.  16,  1743,  P,  II,  395,  Dalcho,  Episcopal  Church,  pp.  319-320, 
Register  .  .  .  Prince  Frederick,  p.  132,  and  Welsh  names  in  index;  see  also  Francis 
Young,  Malachi  Murphy,  Daniel  McDaniel,  George  Hicks,   and  Thomas  Ellerbe. 


98  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

Peedee  a  short  distance  above  the  mouth  of  Black  Creek,  leaving  much  of 
the  Welsh  Tract  in  Prince  Frederick's.^^ 

The  Welsh  Tract  was  a  happy  afterthought  of  the  administrators  of 
the  township  system.  In  1759  it  was  far  the  most  populous  part  of  the 
middle  country,  and,  next  to  Williamsburg,  the  most  prosperous.  This 
success  was  due  chiefly  to  the  excellent  soil,  to  the  fact  that  swamps  were 
neither  large  nor  numerous,  to  the  easy  water  transportation,  and  to  the 
establishment  of  experienced  settlers  from  South  Carolina  and  other 
colonies.  The  part  played  by  the  province,  though  small,  was  important. 
Without  the  reservation  and  the  initial  bounty  the  Welsh  would  have 
come  more  slowly,  probably  in  smaller  numbers,  and  would  have  had 
difficulty  in  establishing  so  strong  a  community.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
privileges  accorded  the  Welsh  caused  little  hindrance  to  the  actual  settle- 
ment of  other  persons.  The  rich  Peedee  basin  developed  Anglican  and 
Presbyterian  groups  as  well,  contributing  to  the  province  not  one,  but  three 
elements,  equally  vigorous  and  distinctive  in  their  culture. 

27JCHA,  Jan.  30,   31,  July  6,   1759,   Apr.   17,   1760;   Gregg,   Old  Cheraws,  pp. 
163-166,  174-175. 


CHAPTER  IX 

Fredericksburg  and  the  Waterees 

From  the  fall  line  to  its  mouth  the  Wateree  runs  through  a  valley  which 
is  a  duplicate  of  the  Congaree  basin.  The  shoals  end  at  the  mouth  of 
Sawneys  Creek  and  the  river  begins  to  wander  through  a  swamp  that 
slowly  widens  until  it  is  five  miles  across.  The  upper  two-thirds  of  this 
valley  has  the  appearance  of  the  piedmont,  for  the  sand  hills  approach 
within  a  mile  or  two  of  the  river,  but  between  the  hills  and  the  swamp  lie 
irregular  strips  of  sandy  loam  and  river  bottom,  which  are  as  much  a  part  of 
the  low  country  as  the  swamp  or  the  navigable  river  itself.^ 

Early  in  the  eighteenth  century  the  Wateree  Indians  had  their  villages 
on  both  sides  of  the  river  a  few  miles  below  the  falls.  The  first  plats 
showed  large  cleared  fields  and  an  "Indian  Ditch"  in  a  great  bend  of  the 
river  opposite  the  mouth  of  Pinetree  Creek.  After  the  Yamasee  War  the 
Waterees  removed  to  the  Catawbas,  but  continued  to  hunt  along  the  stream 
to  its  mouth.^  The  main  path  to  the  Catawbas  ran  nearly  north  from  the 
Congarees  to  the  west  bank  of  the  Wateree,  and  followed  the  stream  to  the 
towns.  Another  crossed  the  sand  hills  from  the  Congarees  to  the  Wateree 
villages,  and  joined  a  less  used  path  up  the  eastern  side  of  the  Santee  and 
Wateree.  Above  Pinetree  Creek  this  eastern  path  forked,  one  route  fol- 
lowing the  river,  the  other  the  ridge  between  the  valleys  of  the  Wateree 
and  Lynches  River.^ 

Such  a  gateway  called  for  the  protection  of  a  township,  although  the 
danger  was  not  great.  For  settlers  there  was  the  advantage  of  the  Catawba 
trade  and  the  fact  that  this  was  the  best  route  from  the  back  country  of 
the  more  northern  colonies.  In  June  1733  instructions  were  given  for 
surveying  the  township  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wateree,  but  later  the  selection 
of  the  site  was  entrusted  to  the  surveyor,  who  in  February  1734  laid  off 
Fredericksburg  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  with  the  mouth  of  Pinetree 
Creek  as  the  center  of  its  western  line,  and  the  site  of  the  proposed  town.* 

^Bureau  of  Soils,  Sumter,  Richland,  Field  Operations,  1919  (Washington, 
1925),   Kershaw. 

^Mooney,  Siouan  Tribes,  p.  81;  JCHA,  Feb.  27,  1738,  Apr.  20,  1744;  H.  Moll, 
Neiv  Map  of  the  North  Parts  of  America  .  .  .  (1720),  P,  IV,  400,  V,  27,  108. 
Compare  Mills,  Atlas  of  S.  C,  Kershaw  District. 

^Haig,  Map  of  the  Cherokee  Country;  P,  IV,  118,  134,  V,  353,  383,  430,  VII, 
252,  319,  VIII,  605. 

^JC,  June  7,  Dec.  6,  1733;  see  copy  of  the  plat  in  T.  J.  Kirkland  and  R.  M. 
Kennedy,  Historic  Camden,  Pt.  I,  (Columbia,  1905),  opposite  p.  10;  see  also  JC, 
Oct.  5,  1744,  and  P,  VIII,  343. 

99 


100  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

It  is  possible  that  the  Indian  trade  had  already  tempted  settlers  to  the 
spot,  for  in  1736  when  a  family  was  killed  near  Pinetree  the  report  referred 
to  "Neighbours"  dwelling  thereabout.  Apparently  the  murder  was  done 
by  the  Cheraws  who  lived  with  the  Catawbas,  and  a  lieutenant  and  eight 
men  were  sent  to  range  to  the  rear  of  the  settlement.  A  year  later  the 
Waterees  objected  to  the  settlement  on  their  lands,  and  their  "flagrant  and 
insolent  Behaviour"  caused  the  sending  of  Colonel  Henry  Fox  as  agent  to 
bring  them  to  terms.  He  was  also  given  command  of  the  six  rangers 
provided.  Neither  this  formidable  force  nor  the  threat  to  bring  the 
Senecas  upon  them  availed,  and  they  were  not  quieted  until,  on  the  lieu- 
tenant-governor's suggestion,  some  of  their  headmen  were  invited  to 
Charleston  for  a  conference.^ 

The  beginning  of  township  settlement  is  indicated  by  the  advertisement 
of  the  commissary-general  in  January  1737  for  fifteen  hundred  bushels  of 
corn  to  be  delivered  at  Fredericksburg  before  September  next.  Probably 
among  the  prospective  settlers  thus  provided  for  were  Adam  Strain,  David 
Alexander,  James  McGowen,  Hugh  McCutchin,  and  Michael  Harris,  for 
in  February  of  that  year  they  were  given  warrants  for  land  in  the  township, 
their  tracts  ranging  in  size  from  fifty  to  three  hundred  acres.  It  was  doubt- 
less the  failure  of  the  bounty  fund  which  delayed  the  surveys,  and  not  until 
ten  years  later,  when  settlers  began  to  arrive  in  considerable  numbers,  did 
these  men  bestir  themselves  to  secure  titles  to  their  lands.  The  names  and 
the  fact  that  some  of  the  grants  carried  the  ten-year  exemption  from  quit 
rents  given  to  bounty  immigrants  indicate  that  they  were  part  of  the 
Scotch-Irish  movement  which  founded  Williamsburg,  but  it  is  not  certain 
that  they  actually  settled  on  the  Wateree.  In  1737  several  Switzers  from 
John  Tobler's  group  were  assigned  to  Fredericksburg,  but  they  do  not 
appear  in  the  township.® 

Alexander  Rattray,  Gentleman,  who  was  probably  from  Charleston  or 
nearby,  settled  on  the  Wateree  about  1739.  He  bought  land,  and  did  not 
apply  on  his  own  rights  until  1749  when  he  had  a  wife  and  eight  slaves. 
His  plat  was  surveyed  near  Swift  Creek  in  the  lower  part  of  Fredericks- 
burg.^ Nine  applicants  for  land  in  1743  and  1744,  among  them  Jeffrey 
Summerford  a  Pennsylvanian,  had  plats  surveyed  at  various  points  on  the 
river  or  the  creeks  in  and  near  the  township.  In  the  latter  year  twelve 
settlers  signed  a  petition  in  behalf  of  Charles  Radcliffe's  request  for  land 

^JUHA,  Dec.  17,  1736,  Feb.  23,  1738,  Nov.  20,  1740;  JCHA,  Feb.  24,  25,  27, 
Mar.  1,  2,  1738,  Feb.  17,  1741,  Jan.  19,  1742. 

^SCG,  Jan.  22,  1737  (advt.  of  Peter  Taylor);  Kirkland  and  Kennedy,  His- 
toric Camden,  Pt.  I,  68;  P,  IV,  461,  V,  50,  204;  Grants,  XLII,  314,  362,  366. 
Adam  Strain,  or  another  of  his  name,  was  in  Williamsburg  in  1743  (PR,  XXI, 
99 — above,   p.  81,  n.  6).     For  the   Switzers   see   "Tobler   Manuscripts",   pp.   87-88. 

'^  SCG,  Nov.  16,  1753  (advt.  of  Edward  Richardson);  SCHGM,  XIII,  213; 
Register  of  St.  Philip's,  p.  172;  JC,  Oct.  5,  1744,  Feb.  23,  1749;  P,  V,  50.  Note 
also  plats  of  William  and  Robert  Seawright  (P,  IV,  512-513).  Neither,  however, 
appears  in  the  township — see  Salley,  Orangeburg,  pp.  112,  140. 


The  Eastern   Townships  101 

on  which  to  build  a  mill,  and  about  twice  as  many  a  similar  petition  for 
Paul  Harrelson.  The  names  of  only  four  of  the  petitioners  are  given, 
but  the  numbers  indicate  that  the  Wateree  settlers  were  slower  than 
most  others  in  applying  for  warrants.  Radclifife  was  promised  by  the 
governor  and  council  fourteen  pounds  if  he  completed  his  mill  within  two 
years.  He  made  a  dam  on  Sims  Creek,  below  the  township  line,  but  ap- 
pears to  have  gone  to  Georgia  before  he  built  the  mill.  Harrelson,  how- 
ever, reported  in  March  1745  that  he  had  completed  his  mill,  and  was 
given  seven  pounds  from  the  township  fund.^ 

In  1746  there  were  four  warrants  for  land  in  Fredericksburg,  one  of 
which  was  given  to  Benjamin  McKennie,  an  immigrant  from  the  north,  who 
had  in  his  household  nine  whites  and  three  negroes.  He  selected  land  on  the 
river  near  Sims  Creek,  and  later  added  a  small  tract  adjoining  which  he 
said  would  afford  him  a  good  landing.  John  Hope  of  Black  River  applied 
for  land — perhaps  for  his  son  who  was  later  a  resident  near  Pinetree  Hill 
— on  rights  including  three  slaves.^  In  1747  a  warrant  was  given  to  John 
McConnel  who  had  been  in  the  province  for  five  or  six  years;  because  of 
his  poverty  he  was  relieved  from  paying  the  fees.  Within  three  years 
warrants  were  granted  to  Daniel  McDaniel,  who  was  from  Williamsburg 
and  had  thirteen  slaves,  and  to  Bryan  Rork,  a  bricklayer  from  West 
Jersey.'" 

The  land  below  the  shoals  on  the  west  side  of  the  Wateree,  despite  the 
fact  that  it  was  hemmed  in  by  river  and  sand  hill,  early  attracted  planters 
and  small  farmers  from  the  low  country  and  other  settlers  from  elsewhere. 
From  point  to  point  as  the  river,  winding  through  its  wilderness,  thrust 
an  elbow  towards  the  upland,  or  paralleled  it  for  a  considerable  distance, 
there  were  provided  inviting  spots  or  terraces.  Below  the  sand  hills  and 
extending  several  miles  below  and  above  the  great  "raft"  of  trees  which 
choked  the  channel  of  the  river  ten  miles  from  its  mouth,  there  was  a 
stretch  with  soil  like  that  on  Buckhead  and  Lyons  Creeks  of  Amelia  Town- 
ship. Near  the  raft  as  late  as  1750  there  was  an  Indian  hunting  camp, 
probably  of  the  Waterees." 

In  1742  Joseph  Hasfort,  a  Cherokee  trader  who  after  his  retirement 
seems  to  have  lived  in  Orangeburg,  had  two  hundred  acres  surveyed  a  mile 
above  the  raft.  Richard  Singleton  in  1733  applied  for  two  warrants  which 
were  surveyed  immediately  above  Hasfort's.    This,  however,  was  not  done 

8  JC,  Oct.  5,  1743,  Oct.  5,  Nov.  29,  1744,  Mar.  14,  IS,  1745,  Nov.  20,  1746,  Feb.  4, 
Sept.  1,  1752;  P,  IV,  221,  436,  480,  V,  125,  VII,  145.  For  location  compare  also 
Kirkland  and  Kennedy,  Historic  Camden,  Pt.  I,  opp.  p.  69. 

9JC,  Nov.  20,  1746,  Mar.  18,  1749,  Sept.  1,  1752;  P,  IV,  438,  V,  418,  SCG. 
June  30,  1746  (advt.  of  John  Hope);  SCAGG,  July  4,  1766  (advt.  of  John  N. 
Oglethorpe)  ;  for  the  other  two  warrants  see  JC,  Nov.  20,  1746  (Anne  Dugette), 
and  Apr.  15,  1749    (John  Tyler). 

I'^JC,  May  14,  Nov.  28,  1747,  June  9,  1748,  Jan.  24,  1749. 

"  See  Mouzon,  Map  of  N.  and  S.  C,  Faden,  Map  of  S.  C,  and  P,  VI,  75,  362, 
VII,  93,  Bureau  of  Soils,  Richland,  above,  p.  42. 


102  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

until  1750  and  the  year  before  John  Pearson  laid  off  seven  hundred  acres 
for  him  on  the  swamp,  probably  some  distance  above,  the  plat  showing  a 
large  cleared  field,  a  house  and  two  outhouses.  Timothy  Puckett  moved  to 
this  section  probably  from  land  acquired  in  Amelia  in  1736,  and  lived  here 
for  a  time  before  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  valley  of  Stevens  Creek/^ 
Henry  and  Anne  Dungworth  were  married  in  Charleston  in  1748,  but  in 

1751  it  was  Anne  who  appeared  before  the  governor  to  ask  for  a  warrant 
for  two  hundred  acres  on  the  Wateree,  explaining  that  her  husband  could 
not  come  to  town  because  of  the  debt  in  which  he  was  involved.  Since 
their  marriage  triplets  had  been  born  to  them.  The  warrant  was  granted 
with  all  fees  paid  from  the  township  fund.  In  time  Henry  effected  a  truce 
with  the  government,  if  not  with  his  creditors,  for  two  or  three  years  later 
he  was  acting  as  constable.^^  Above  Singleton's  land,  and  near  the  mouth 
of  Colonels  Creek,  Colonel  Henry  Fox  established  himself  and  apparently 
gave  his  title  to  the  creek.  He  had  lived  in  South  Carolina  four  years  be- 
fore his  mission  of  1737  to  the  Catawbas,  and  perhaps  about  that  time 
made  his  home  on  the  Wateree.  James  McGirt  from  the  low  country  was 
living  further  up  the  river  in  1741  and  became  in  time  justice  of  the  peace." 

Twenty  miles  above  these  settlements  a  terrace  of  silt  loam  opposite 
the  mouth  of  Pinetree  Creek  attracted  Roger  Gibson,  formerly  a  Williams- 
burg planter,  and  Anthony  Wright  and  his  nephew  Luke  Gibson,  who  had 
low  country  connections.  Their  plats  were  surveyed  in  1748  and  1749, 
and  Gibson  was  appointed  justice  of  the  peace  and  captain  of  one  of  the 
Wateree  militia  companies.  His  warrant  was  based  on  the  headrights  of 
two  children  and  eight  slaves;  his  plat  lay  within  a  great  bend  of  the  river 
and  included  a  large  cleared  Indian  field. ^^  John  Todd,  from  Pennsylvania 
and  North  Carolina,  had  a  plat  surveyed  on  rights  which  included  three 
slaves.  The  ever-widening  swamp  below  Gibson's  land  had  little  appeal 
save  to  men  who  could  take  up  large  tracts ;  here  James  Michie  of  Charles- 
ton, a  member  of  the  Commons  House  and  a  large  landholder,  had  twenty- 
five  hundred  acres  surveyed ;  near  him  there  was  laid  out  a  thousand  acres 
for  James  McCrellas  and  five  hundred  for  John  and  William  Scott.    The 

12JUHA,  Nov.  14,  1734;  JCHA,  May  24  1734;  Salley,  Orangeburg,  pp.  96, 
98;  JC,  Jan.  23,  1748;  P,  V,  42,  439,  VI,  145.  For  Puckett  see  P,  XIX,  290,  below 
p.  129,  n.  34,  and  paths  and  adjoining  names  P,  VI,  91,  362. 

'^^  Register  of  St.  Philip's,  p.  189,  JC,  Sept.  3,  1751,  P,  V,  341,  JCHA,  Jan.  28, 
1754. 

^*  For  Fox  see  JC,  Jan.  1,  1754;  for  the  location  see  Lindsay's  plat  (P,  V,  412) 
and  Richardson's  (P,  VI,  329),  the  latter  being  Toland's  advertised  June  19,  1767 
(SCG).  For  McGirt,  see  Register  of  St.  Philip's,  p.  163;  JCHA,  Feb.  25,  1741, 
Jan.  16,  1755;  SCG,  June  8,  1747;  P,  IV,  313,  VI,  352;  note  path  to  McGirt's, 
P,  VII,  363.  For  Fox  and  McGirt  see  also  JUHA,  May  8,  1754,  JC,  Mar.  16,  1745, 
Mav  16,  1751,  May  5,  1752,  Aug.  5,  1755,  May  4,  1756;  P,  V,  452;  SCG,  Dec.  18, 

1752  (advt.  of  McGirt). 

1^  Bureau  of  Soils,  Kershaw;  JC,  Jan.  31,  Oct.  21,  1746,  Jan.  23,  Mar.  10,  1748, 
Aug.  6,  1751;  P,  IV,  400,  437,  496,  V,  27;  JUHA,  Jan.  22,  1745,  May  3,  1748,  JC, 
Jan.  24,  1749,  May  13,  1751. 


The  Eastern   Townships  103 

Scotts  were  early  resident  on  the  Wateree,  and  William  Scott  married  the 
widow  of  McCrellas/^ 

During  1749  there  were  over  sixty  surveys  in  Fredericksburg  and  on 
the  west  side  of  the  river  between  the  falls  and  Colonels  Creek.  This  was 
twice  as  many  as  for  any  year  prior  to  the  Cherokee  War.  Even  more 
than  in  the  case  of  the  earlier  warrants,  these  were  for  actual  settlers. 
Gibson's  militia  company  more  than  doubled  in  number  from  1749  to 
1751,  and  at  the  latter  date  his  and  Rattray's  together  had  a  hundred  and 
eighty-odd  men.  For  the  time  the  movement  spent  itself,  and  during  1750 
there  were  not  a  dozen  warrants.  In  1751  there  was  an  increase,  but  the 
Indian  troubles  of  the  spring  of  that  year  alarmed  the  Waterees  almost  as 
much  as  Saluda  and  Ninety  Six.  The  assembly  provided  for  two  troops  of 
rangers;  the  captains,  Gibson  and  John  Fairchild  of  the  Congarees,  were 
instructed  to  trace  the  same  route,  but  in  opposite  directions,  from  the 
Catawbas  to  the  Congarees  and  Ninety  Six.  In  eight  days  Gibson  com- 
pleted his  troop  of  twenty-two,  all  but  six  of  them  represented  in  Wateree 
land  records  either  in  person  or  by  others  of  their  names.  Rattray  ap- 
peared before  the  governor  and  council  and  reported  that  his  neighbors  had 
enforted  themselves;  that  ten  families  had  gone  to  Virginia,  and  that  many 
others  wished  to  leave.  He  set  forth  the  pains  at  which  he  had  been  to 
keep  the  people  together,  "using  both  Perswation  and  threats,"  but  what 
favor  he  might  have  gained  with  the  governor  by  this  was  probably  lost 
by  his  blunt  statement  "That  he  apprehends  if  some  other  Method  be  not 
taken  with  the  Cherokees  the  making  them  Presents  &  paying  them 
Tribute,  instead  of  their  being  Tributary  to  us,  there  will  be  no  Living  in 
these  out  parts."  It  soon  became  evident,  however,  that  the  Waterees  was 
too  far  to  the  east  to  be  in  great  danger.^^ 

In  October  1751  a  small  immigration  of  Quakers  from  Ireland  brought 
Sam.uel  Wyly  and  Josiah  Tomlinson  to  the  Waterees.  They  applied  for 
two  hundred  and  fifty  and  four  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  respectively; 
Wyly  had  three  servants,  Tomlinson  four.  Early  in  November  four  others 
of  this  group,  Robert  Millhouse,  Samuel  Russell,  John  Wyly,  and  Timothy 
Kelly,  petitioned  for  warrants,  Millhouse  having  five  servants  and  Kelly  and 
Russell  two  each.  Joseph  Evans  applied  for  land  in  1752  affirming  as  a 
Quaker;  in  1753  two  other  Irish  Quakers,  Joshua  English  and  John 
Dixon,  profited  by  the  settlement  act  of  the  year  before  to  produce  Quaker 
certificates  of  sober  character,  and  were  given  the  bounty.    The  next  year 

i^For  Todd,  see  JC,  Jan.  24,  1749,  P,  V,  27  (path  on  Gibson's  plat),  90, 
Indian  Books,  II,  pt.  2,  87;  for  Michie  see  JC,  Mar.  15,  1750,  JCHA,  May  7,  1752, 
P,  V,  92,  SCGCJ,  Aug.  12,  1766;  for  McCrellas  and  Scott  see  P,  IV,  399,  479,  JC, 
Aug.  6,  Sept.  3,  1751.     See   also  John  Scott's  advertisement,  SCG,  Mar.  20,   1742. 

i^JC,  May  13,  22,  1751,  Indian  Books,  II,  pt.  2,  65,  87,  below,  pp.  121-123. 
Rattray  became  bankrupt  in  1753;  in  1767  he  was  living  further  up  the  valley  on 
Rocky  Creek  {SCG,  Nov.  16,  1735— advt.  of  Edward  Richardson,  JC,  Mar.  S, 
1754,  Sept.  7,  1762,  Sept.  1,  1767). 


104  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

six  families  of  Irish  Protestants — apparently  not  Quakers,  for  they  took 
the  oath — were  given  warrants  for  from  one  to  two  hundred  acres  with 
bounty.  They  had  come  by  way  of  England  and  Philadelphia  and  de- 
clared themselves  much  reduced  by  the  expense  of  the  trip.  They  settled 
on  both  sides  of  the  river  in  or  near  the  township.  At  least  three  other 
families,  probably  all  from  Ireland,  received  the  bounty  later.^^ 

Samuel  Wyly  bought  land  above  Swift  Creek,  opposite  Friends'  Neck, 
finding  it  "of  great  use  to  himself  &  Friends,"  and  perhaps  made  his  home 
here  for  a  while.^^  In  1752  he  obtained  a  warrant  for  three  hundred  acres 
and  in  1755,  on  the  rights  of  six  slaves,  another  for  three  hundred  more. 
His  home  in  1759  was  "Mount  Pleasant",  near  Pinetree  Hill  which  is  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  present  city  of  Camden.  By  1753  he  was  surveying 
land,  and  the  supplies  furnished  by  him  to  the  Catawbas  indicate  that  he 
kept  an  inn,  perhaps  an  inn  and  store.  He  was  appointed  justice  of  the 
peace  and  stood  high  in  the  favor  of  governors.""  In  1761  he  had  a  survey 
made  of  six  hundred  and  fifty  acres  running  in  an  irregular  tract  from 
Little  Pinetree  Creek  north  of  Pinetree  Hill  over  to  the  river.  The  plat 
showed  a  pond  on  the  creek  with  two  millraces,  one  supplying  a  sawmill, 
the  other  a  gristmill.  The  Pinetree  Hill  store  in  1760  is  spoken  of  as 
belonging  to  Joseph  Kershaw,  the  Pinetree  member  of  the  Charleston  firm 
of  William  Ancrum,  Aaron  Loocock  and  Lambert  Lance,  which  evidently 
began  its  investment  in  Wateree  land  with  Ancrum's  plat  of  1758.  Ker- 
shaw and  his  brother  Ely,  later  associated  with  him,  are  said  to  have  come 
from  Great  Britain  to  Charleston.^^ 

Robert  Millhouse,  Samuel  Russell  and  Timothy  Kelly  executed  their 
rights  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  ten  miles  from  Pinetree  Hill,  in  the 
bend  below  the  mouth  of  Gum  Swamp,  which  immediately  came  to  be 
called  Friends'  Neck.  These  plats  were  largely  swamp,  however,  and  the 
next  year  Kelly  declared  that  on  examining  his  he  could  not  find  there 
"any  place  whereon  to  build  a  home  conveniently,"  and  on  the  rights  of 
three  children  obtained  another  warrant  which  he  had  surveyed  on  Saw- 
neys Creek  at  the  falls."  Millhouse  likewise  seems  to  have  preferred 
higher  ground,  for  in  six  months  from  his  first  warrant  he  applied  for  land 
on  Pinetree  Creek,  a  mile  from  its  mouth,  where  he  built  a  gristmill  and, 

i^C,  Oct.  25,  Nov.  5,  6,  1751,  Apr.  7,  Aug.  7,  1753,  Dec.  7,  1754,  Oct.  21,  1755, 
June  7,  1757;  see  also  SCG,  July  23,  1753,  and  above  p.  29,  P,  VI,  22,  34,  97-98. 

■■^^  JC,  Feb.  4,  1752;  the  location  can  be  made  out  from  the  plats  of  Hope  and 
Kelly    (P,   VI,   32,   IV,  457). 

20  JC,  Dec.  5,  1752,  Dec.  5,  1755;  Indian  Books,  VI,  181-182;  JCHA,  Mar.  31, 
1757,  May  12,  1758;  P,  V,  351;  SCG,  Dec.  22,  1759;  Kirkland  and  Kennedy, 
Historic  Camden,  pt.  I,  opp.  p.  69. 

^'^Ibid.  and  pp.  11-12,  P,  VI,  415,  VII,  156;  Howe,  Presbyterian  Church,  I, 
495-496.     Ancrum's   plat   included   Pinetree    Hill— P,   VI,    353. 

22  P,  VI,  56,  115,  244,  355,  VII,  247  (the  plats  and  the  advertisement  of 
Kershaw — SCAGG,  June  19,  1767 — show  the  location;  Ancrum's  Ferry  was  later 
included  in  this  neck — see  Mills,  Atlas  of  S.  C,  Kershaw  District)  ;  JC,  Aug.  4, 
1752,  P,  V,  394. 


The  Eastern   Townships  105 

probably,  his  home  and  his  sawmill.  The  inventory  of  his  estate  made 
a  year  later  showed  him  possessed  of  five  slaves,  small  quantities  of  wheat, 
barley  and  indigo  seed,  and  three  sets  of  indigo  vats.  The  gristmill  was 
valued  at  forty  pounds,  the  sawmill  at  two  thirds  as  much.  As  early  as 
1753  the  Quakers  had  organized  a  meeting,  and  to  their  three  trustees 
Wyly  in  1759  gave  a  tract  of  four  acres  near  Pinetree  Hill.'^ 

The  warrants  and  surveys  in  Fredericksburg  and  on  the  west  side  of 
the  lower  Wateree  between  1737  and  1759  amounted  to  about  twenty 
thousand  acres  each.  Nearly  a  third  of  the  total  consisted  of  thousand- 
acre  tracts  for  low  country  planters  surveyed  in  1759  in  the  Wateree 
swamp.  There  were  four  companies  of  militia  on  the  Wateree  in  1757, 
besides  two  in  the  Waxhaws,  but  two  of  these,  Adanison's  and  White's, 
were  evidently  made  up  of  men  on  the  west  side  above  the  falls.  The  one 
which  embraced  the  township,  commanded  by  Joseph  McKerthlin  with 
Michael  Brannon  as  lieutenant,  had  seventy-seven  white  men  and  listed 
twenty  slaves.  James  McGirt's  company,  including  the  lower  west  side, 
had  sixty-three  white  men,  with  sixteen  slaves.^*  The  total  population  thus 
indicated  at  the  time  of  the  return  was  about  eight  hundred,  a  number  in 
accord  with  the  headrights  represented  in  the  warrants,  and  in  1759  it  was 
probably  at  least  nine  hundred. 

The  majority  of  the  warrants  were  surveyed  on  the  river,  most  of  the 
others  on  the  larger  creeks,  and  until  the  last  few  years  of  the  period  it  was 
seldom  that  one  was  surveyed  away  from  any  stream.  There  were  a 
score  of  Germans.  Of  all  the  settlers  only  about  thirty  gave  their  origin — 
eight  from  Pennsylvania,  six  from  Virginia,  twelve  from  other  colonies  to 
the  north,  or  from  the  "northward".  Among  them  was  John  Collins  who 
came  from  Long  Island  with  his  wife  and  five  children,  bringing  a  wagon, 
plow,  "and  tools  proper  to  make  Wheat  and  Flour."  The  trip  took  twenty 
weeks.  He  said  that  he  left  eight  families  on  the  Yadkin  who  were  coming 
to  South  Carolina  if  they  could  be  sure  that  they  could  have  six  months  in 
which  to  take  up  the  lands  on  which  they  might  settle.  Another  settler 
from  the  north,  William  Smith,  bought  a  tract  already  improved  with  a 
log  house  on  it.  Only  five  applicants  stated  that  they  were  from  South 
Carolina,  but  it  is  probably  that  at  least  a  dozen  others  if  not  more  were 
from  the  coast.  For  instance  James  Gamble  declared  that  he  was  from 
New  York,  and  applied  for  land  for  himself,  wife,  seven  children,  and 
three  slaves;  it  turned  out,  however,  that  he  was  from  Williamsburg  and 

23  JC,  May  5,  1752;  P,  VI,  56;  SCG,  Oct.  24,  1761  (advt.  of  William  Far- 
rell)  ;  Wills,  1752-1756,  pp.  391-392;  Inventories,  1753-1756,  p.  405;  S.  B.  Weeks, 
Southern  Quakers  and  Slavery  (Baltimore,  1896),  p.  114,  Kirkland  and  Kennedy, 
Historic  Camden,  pt.  I,  77-81. 

-*  JC,  May  4,  1757.  For  Adamson,  see  below  p.  232;  his  lieutenant  is  listed  as 
James  Co'b,  but  the  index  to  Plats  shows  that  it  is  Cobb,  whose  land  was  on 
Rocky  Creek,  Catawba  (JC,  Aug.  2,  1757,  P,  VI,  297).  White's  land  has  not 
been  found,  but  the  small  number  of  slaves  in  his  company  indicates  that  it  was 
on  the  upper  Wateree.    See  also  below,  p.  142. 


106  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

was  entitled  to  four  hundred  acres  only.     Edward  Howard,  his  neighbor, 
was  also  from  Williamsburg.^^ 

The  plats  of  the  'fifties,  like  those  of  the  preceding  decade,  show  the 
difference  in  the  needs  of  the  small  farmers  and  the  planters.     Those  who 
had  servants  or  slaves  and  sometimes  those  who  had  large  families  selected 
the  river  bottom  below  the  fall  line,  where  they  found  swamp,  rich  soil  and 
high  ground.     This  is  sometimes  shown  in  the  1759  plats  for  low  country 
planters  which  were  tracts  of  five  hundred  or  a  thousand  acres,  two  or 
three  miles  long  lying  entirely  in  the  great  swamp.    The  warrants  indicate 
that  there  were  perhaps  fifty  slaves  in  Fredericksburg  in   1759,  most  of 
them  in  the  lower  portion,  and  nearly  a  hundred  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river.     The  small  farmers  settled  in  the  center  and  the  northern  part  of 
the  township,  where  the  narrow  river  bottom  left  ample  space  for  a  house 
and  cornfield.     The  heat  and  apparent  danger  of  sickness  may  have  been 
additional  reasons  why  immigrants  from  the  north  avoided  the  swamp. 
Thus  the  upper  part  of  the  Wateree  valley,  piedmont  in  its  soil,  became 
small  farm  in  its  industry,  while  the  lower  portion  showed  a  beginning  of 
the  plantations  and  their  crops.    A  petition  of  the  inhabitants  in  1752  listed 
wheat,  barley,  oats,  rye,  peas,  flax,  hemp,  and  indigo  as  the  products  their 
land   produced   successfully,   also   butter,   cheese,    pork,   beef,    and   tallow. 
Joseph  Kershaw  or   his  partners   in   Charleston   in    1760   advertised    fine 
Carolina  flour  from  Pinetree  Hill,  and  in  1763  a  quantity  of  hemp  seed  to 
be  sold  from  either  point.    The  Waterees  took  the  lead  in  the  process  that 
was  by  1763  to  drive  most  of  the  northern  flour,  save  the  superfine  grade, 
from  the  Charleston  market.     Cattle  and  stock  were  doubtless  important 
throughout  the  valley.     The  1752  inventory  of  John  Scott's  estate,  which 
included  ten  negroes,  listed  about  a  hundred  and  seventy  cattle,  sixteen 
hogs,  twenty-eight  horses,  and  no  other  property  save  furniture  and  tools. 
Scott  had  a  rifle-gun,  a  set  of  silver  shoe  and  knee  buckles  and  clasps,  three 
books,  a  tablecloth,  two  pewter  dishes,  six  plates,  and  six  each  of  knives, 
forks,  and  spoons.^*^ 

In  response  to  the  petition  of  1752  the  assembly  appropriated  a  hundred 
pounds  for  clearing  the  river  of  the  rafts  of  timber  obstructing  it,  and  di- 
rected that  if  the  sum  proved  insufficient  a  tax  of  seventeen  pence  a  hundred 
acres  should  be  levied  on  all  absentee  owners  of  lands  within  ten  miles  of  the 
river  above  the  raft.  The  road  called  for  by  the  petition,  from  Beards 
Ferry  on  the  Santee  nearly  to  the  Catawba  nation,  was  ordered  built  by 
the  usual  labor  levy;  later  plats  show  that  by  1755  it  had  been  cleared  to 

25  JC,  Jan.  14,  1744,  Feb.  6,  Mar.  2,  1749,  Dec.  3,  1751,  Feb.  4,  Mar.  3,  1752, 
P,  V,   109. 

2«P,  VII,  50,  52,  73-75,  77,  81,  91,  93,  124-125;  JCHA,  May  9,  1752,  SCG,  July  12, 
Aug.  30,  1760,  Sept.  17,  1763  (Charleston  news),  Nov.  5,  1763,  Dec.  29,  1766; 
Inventories,   1751-1753,  pp.  457-1-58, 


The  Eastern   Townships  107 

Pinetree  Hill,  but  apparently  not  to  the  Waxhaws  before  1760.  The 
Wateree  was  cleared  for  less  than  half  the  sum  appropriated,  and  fourteen 
pounds  was  reserved  for  removing  future  obstructions.  There  was  a  path 
on  the  west  side  of  the  river  leading  to  the  private  ferry  over  the  lower 
Congaree  kept  by  Joseph  Joyner,  and  probably  by  1754  a  ferry  was  main- 
tained by  Anthony  Wright  opposite  Pinetree  Creek,  but  despite  petitions 
the  ferries  were  not  made  public  nor  a  road  authorized  until  1766.^^ 

The  Waterees  seems  to  have  been  comparatively  free  of  the  rougher 
elements  which  the  Indian  trade  gathered  at  the  other  fall  line  settlements. 
Only  a  dozen  of  the  land  petitions  were  signed  by  mark.  After  the  com- 
plaint of  horse  thieves  in  1745  a  rather  orderly  life  prevailed,  though  there 
were  some  exceptions.  Riots  occurred  during  the  rush  for  lands  in  1749 
when  the  dispossessed  claimants  attempted  to  prevent  surveys.  The  poor 
and  illiterate  Charles  Lindsay  had  settled  on  the  west  side  of  Wateree 
immediately  below  Colonel  Fox  in  1748  and  built  his  house  near  the  river. 
He  suffered  many  reverses,  but  secured  a  warrant  and  a  survey  in  1749. 
Fox,  in  an  attempt  to  take  advantage  of  his  delay  in  completing  his  title, 
urgently  petitioned  for  a  warrant  to  the  land,  piously  declaring  that  his 
chief  purpose  was  to  remove  as  a  neighbor  one  whose  principles  were 
"Enfattuated  by  the  Common  Enemy  to  mankind".  In  lieu  of  this  land  he 
proposed  to  present  him  four  hundred  acres  about  forty  miles  distant  which 
would  make  a  much  better  range.  But  Lindsay  vigorously  denied  all 
charges  of  actual  wrongdoing,  and,  whatever  influence  the  common  enemy 
had  over  him,  kept  his  land."^ 

In  1756  the  assembly  provided  a  hundred  pounds  a  year  for  a  minister  to 
preach  at  or  near  Pinetree  Hill  and  six  times  a  year  at  the  most  populous 
places  within  forty  miles  of  that  point,  but  for  a  decade  the  salary  was  un- 
claimed. However,  the  minister  of  Prince  Frederick's  Parish  on  December 
9,  1753,  baptized  twenty-three  children,  most  of  them  belonging  to  families 
near  Pinetree  Hill,  and  it  is  possible  that  other  ministers  also  visited  the 
section.^ 

For  twenty  miles  northwest  of  Williamsburg  the  land  is  characteristic 
of  the  lower  pine  belt,  with  wide  swamps  and  areas  of  fine  compact  sand 
too  level  for  proper  drainage,  alternating  with  higher  and  looser  soil  of 
more  value.  For  another  score  of  miles  above  this  point,  quite  to  the  sand 
hills  and  embracing  the  upper  waters  of  Black  River,  was  a  stretch  of 
slightly  rolling  country  with  a  loose,  sandy  loam  as  good  as  any  the  upper 

"Above,  p.  44,  JCHA,  Dec.  12,  1752,  Mar.  31,  Apr.  4,  16,  1753,  May  10,  1754, 
Mar.  16,  17,  25,  1756,  July  6,  1759;  Stats.,  VII,  504-506,  IX,  186,  199-200,  213-216; 
P,  V,  412,  439,  VI,  27,  327,  VII,  134,  269. 

28  JC,  Jan.  24,  May  2,  Aug.  1,  Sept.  6,  Oct.  3,  4,  Nov.  7,  1749,  Mar.  3,  Sept.  1,  1752, 
Feb.  5,  6,  Apr.  30,  1754,  Feb.  2,   1756. 

^  Stats.,  IV,  20-21,  Fulham  MSS,  N.  C,  S.  C,  Ga.,  No.  72,  p.  43,  Register  .  .  . 
Prince  Frederick,  pp.  40-41. 


108  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

pine  belt  afforded.     Here  the  Catawba  Indians  had  hunting  camps  as  late 
as  1748.'° 

In  1744  John  Neilson,  a  Charleston  butcher,  had  two  small  surveys 
made  on  Rocky  Bluff  Swamp  and  Turkey  Creek,  and  on  one  of  these  tracts 
Samuel  Neilson  made  his  home.  John  Hope,  who  had  been  fifteen  years  in 
the  province,  in  1746  likewise  established  himself  on  the  upper  waters. 
Plats  for  Williamsburg  names  begin  to  appear  in  1752,  though  David 
Anderson  had  actually  settled  himself  on  the  "northernmost  Branch  of 
Black  River" — doubtless  Stony  Run,  where  his  lands  were  later  surveyed — 
as  early  as  1742;  it  is  probable  that  others  too  had  ventured  to  build  in  this 
secluded  part  of  the  middle  country  without  applying  for  warrants.'^  There 
were  at  least  twenty-five  settled  near  each  other  chiefly  about  Stony  Run, 
among  them  Robert  Wilson,  Hugh  Erwin,  Henry  Cassels,  James  Bradley 
and  James  Grimes.'"  The  tracts  were  nearly  all  less  than  five  hundred 
acres  in  extent.  Twenty  or  thirty  others  settled  on  the  headwaters  of  the 
Black,  some  of  whom  may  have  been  from  Williamsburg.  Lynches  River 
was  only  a  few  miles  from  Stony  Run  and  a  portion  of  the  overflow  from 
the  township  found  its  way  there. 

David  Anderson  became  captain  of  the  militia  company  on  the  head  of 
Black  River  and  Lynches  River,  and  gave  the  land  for  Salem  Presbyterian 
Church  built  about  1759.  A  year  before,  on  the  petition  of  "the  Principal 
Inhabitants  of  Jeffreys  Creek",  the  governor  granted  a  warrant  for  three 
hundred  acres  on  or  near  that  creek  in  trust  for  a  Presbyterian  church  and 
minister.  This  church,  too,  probably  owed  its  origin  to  migration  of  Scots 
from  Williamsburg.'^ 

Along  the  east  side  of  the  Santee  Swamp  from  Jacks  Creek  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Wateree  lay  a  stretch  of  sandy  loam,  four  or  five  miles  wide,  which 
held  great  promise  for  planters  who  could  make  use  of  it  and  of  the  nearby 
swamp.  Beyond  the  head  of  the  Santee  this  strip  was  in  effect  continued 
in  the  reddish  sandy  soil  found  in  the  high  ridge  paralleling  the  east  bank 
of  the  Wateree  but  known  as  the  High  Hills  of  Santee.  In  December 
1739  the  lieutenant-governor  proclaimed  a  two-year  reservation  of  the  east 
bank  of  the  Santee  and  Wateree,  from  Jacks  Creek  to  Fredericksburg 
township,  for  settlers  from  Scotland.  The  inspiration  of  this  was  doubtless 
the  arrival  in  North  Carolina  in  the  preceding  September  of  a  shipload  of 
three  hundred  and  fifty  Scots.  Others  were  not  won  by  this  invitation,  how- 
ever, although  the  Commons  House  in  1743  hopefully  proposed  an  exten- 

^°  Bureau  of  Soils,  Clarendon,  Sumter,  Field  Operations,  1907  (Washington, 
1909),  Lee,  JC,  June   13,   1748. 

^^  SCG,  June  30,  1746,  June  23,  1759  (advts.  of  David  Anderson,  Henry  Ravenel 
et  al.)  ;  P,  IV,  425,  454;  JC,  Nov.  20,  1746. 

32  See  P,  V,  357,  386,  400,  464,  468,  VI,  23,  93,  164,  218  and  the  names  on  the 
plats  adjoining.  The  names  may  be  identified  from  the  petition  of  JUHA,  May 
3,  1748.     See  also  SCHGM,  XXVI,  122-123. 

3'' See  P,  V,  282,  468,  and  JUHA,  May  3,  1748;  Howe,  Presbyterian  Church, 
I,  327,  412-413;  JC,   May  4,   1757,  May  30,   1758. 


The  Eastern   Townships  109 

sion  of  the  time  and  the  reservation  of  land  near  Williamsburg  for  Protes- 
tants from  Ireland.^* 

Development  of  the  district  therefore  waited  upon  the  planters  who  were 
during  the  'thirties  and  'forties  moving  into  the  region  north  and  east  of 
the  Santee.     Most  of  these  settlers,  among  them  John  and  Josiah  Cantey, 
were  from  the  older  coast  country,  but  Richard   Richardson  came  from 
Virginia  and  in  1736  married  Mary  Cantey.     He  did  not  petition  for  land 
until  1744;  his  three  hundred  acres,  surveyed  at  Halfway  Swamp,  showed 
his  house  on  the  road   to  Fredericksburg  Township.^''     In   1749  George 
Russell,  who  claimed  to  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  "North  Britain  tract",  as 
the  Wateree  reservation  was  called,  declared  to  the  governor  and  council 
that  there  were  several  families  from  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  settled 
there,  and  that  many  others  were  planning  to  come  to  South  Carolina.     He 
asked  for  a  reservation  of  land  for  a  glebe  which,  by  attracting  a  minister, 
would  also  draw  most  of  his  congregation.    Accordingly  five  hundred  acres 
was  reserved  for  this  purpose  for  a  Scotch  or  Presbyterian  congregation. 
The  land  was  surveyed  in  the  High  Hills,  but  nothing  more  is  heard  of 
Russell  or  his  congregation.     Between  1745  and  1759  about  seventy  plats 
were  surveyed  between   Halfway  Swamp  and   Fredericksburg  Township, 
chiefly  about  the  High  Hills.     Among  these  was  one  for  John  Dargan  on 
Shanks  Creek,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Wateree.     At  his  death  in  1767  it 
had  on  it  a  gristmill  and  was  well  equipped  for  the  culture  of  rice,  for  it 
was  described  as  good  swamp  easily  overflowed,  ten  acres  under  dams.     On 
a  nearby  tract  he  had  two  sets  of  indigo  vats.     The  militia  organization 
combined  these  men  with  a  portion  of  the  upper  Black  River  settlers,  with 
Isaac  Brunson  of  the  High  Hills  as  captain  and  Richardson  as  lieutenant  of 
the  company  of  one  hundred  and  twentj'-five.    There  were  sixty-two  slaves 
listed.     Richardson  was  shortly  afterwards  made  colonel  of  a  regiment  of 
the  militia.^*' 

This  Santee  and  High  Hills  section  was  sufficiently  Anglican  to  secure 
for  itself  one  of  the  three  parishes  granted  the  middle  country  before  the 
Revolution  and  two  of  the  four  members  in  the  Commons  House  from  that 
section.  St.  Mark's  Parish  was  established  in  1757,  Richardson,  James 
McGirt,  Matthew  Neilson  and  three  of  the  Canteys  being  made  commis- 
sioners for  building  the  church,  which  was  eventually  put  near  Richardson's 
home." 

3^  Bureau  of  Soils,  Clarendon  and  Sumter;  JUHA,  Dec.  14,  1739;  JCHA,  Dec. 
15,  1739;  SCG,  Dec.  29,  1739  (proclamation;  the  reservation  was  ten  miles  wide)  ; 
P,  VII,  67;  Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  IV,  489   (compare  SCG,  Apr.  11,  1740). 

^^SCHGM,  XI,  203-204,  213;  JC,  Oct.  5,  1744;  P,  IV,  291,  525;  SCG,  Aug. 
31,   1747    (advt.  of  Thomas   Monck). 

*«JC,  July  4,  1749,  Sept.  3,  1754,  May  4,  1757,  Oct.  1,  1759;  P,  IV,  421,  VI,  15, 
VII,  67;  SCAGG,  Feb.  27,  1767  (Provost-Marshal's  advt.). 

^'  Stats.,  IV,  35-37,  JCHA,  Jan.  30,  1759,  Mouzon,  Map  of  N.  and  S.  C. 


I 

I 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  THE 
BACK  COUNTRY 


cr 

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^  '^ 

CD 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back  Country 

By  1759  South  Carolina  settlement,  following  the  rivers  of  the  middle 
country,  had  largely  realized  Governor  Johnson's  plan.  As  though  by  a 
seven-fingered  hand  the  tidewater  had  laid  hold  upon  the  entire  coastal 
plain,  and  by  its  economic  and  social  system  bound  the  region  securely  to 
itself.  Meanwhile  for  twenty  years  forces  of  expansion,  much  the  same  as 
those  which  had  settled  the  lower  and  upper  pine  belts,  had  been  filling  up 
the  piedmont.  Already,  however,  it  was  apparent  that  this  was  a  section 
fundamentally  different  from  the  plain  below  the  sand  hills,  and  the  grave 
problems  which  were  in  store  for  the  South  Carolina  government  were  even 
now  faintly  foreshadowed. 

Soil,  topography,  climate  and  distance  from  the  coast  all  had  their  part 
in  marking  out  a  different  development  for  this  "up  country",  as  it  later 
came  to  be  called.  Originally  it  was  a  low  plain  of  sand  and  clay,  with  its 
seashore  the  line  of  great  sand  banks  which  later  became  the  sand  hills.  As 
the  ocean  receded  to  its  present  position,  the  rivers  deepened  their  valleys 
across  the  piedmont  plain  which  now  became  a  plateau,  carved  into 
rectangles  and  triangles  by  the  parallel  or  converging  streams.  A  thou- 
sand creeks  cut  through  the  edges  of  these  valleys,  sometimes  reducing  them 
to  gentle  slopes,  but  near  the  large  streams  making  veritable  little  mountain 
ranges.  The  desirable  land  thus  came  to  lie  upon  two  levels,  the  river 
valley  with  its  adjoining  creek  bottoms,  and  the  long  parallel  stretch  of 
plateau  with  its  ridges  that  reached  out  and  interlaced  with  the  arms  of  the 
valley.  The  river  sometimes  ran  through  a  wide  basin,  then  again  between 
steeply  sloping  sides,  while  the  upland  stretches  in  turn  might  be  several 
miles  wide  or  mere  ridges  from  which  one  could  look  down  a  creek  bottom 
in  either  direction  to  a  river. 

113 


114  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

This  was  the  topography  of  the  piedmont — infinitely  complicated  in 
detail,  but  simple  in  plan  and  impressive  in  the  constantly  recurring  sweep 
of  valley  and  ridge.  Later  generations  were  to  see  many  of  these  hillsides 
cleared  and  abandoned,  lonely  as  sand  hill  or  pine  barren,  with  all  the  larger 
streams  reddened  or  yellowed  by  the  clay  poured  into  them.  But  the  new- 
comer saw  clear  waters  and  the  varied  unbroken  green  of  the  great  forest 
of  oak,  hickory  and  pine.^ 

The  soil  of  these  hills  and  plateaus  compared  favorably  with  any  but 
the  very  best  in  the  province.  The  surface  was  a  mold,  rich,  though  of  no 
great  thickness,  laid  down  by  the  hardwood  trees.  The  valleys  of  the 
rivers  and  larger  creeks  were  even  more  fertile,  for  in  them  had  slowly  ac- 
cumulated an  alluvium  of  washings  from  the  hills.  While  the  surface 
mold  was  of  fundamental  importance  in  the  settlement  and  early  develop- 
ment of  the  piedmont,  it  was  the  prevailing  clay  subsoil  which  was  later  to 
determine  its  history.  This  clay,  really  a  mixture  of  sand  and  clay,  ranged 
in  depth  from  a  few  inches  to  many  feet,  and  was  derived  from  the  weather- 
ing of  rocks,  chiefly  granite  and  the  kindred  gneiss.  When  comparatively 
level  ground  was  cleared  the  surface  drainage  slowly  carried  away  the 
clay,  often  leaving  several  inches  of  sandy  loam  like  that  of  the  coastal 
plain.  On  unprotected  slopes,  however,  no  sand  could  accumulate,  and 
the  clay  was  swept  off  in  sheets  or  eaten  out  in  gullies. 

The  clay,  especially  where  it  had  a  coating  of  sand,  formed  an  ideal 
foundation  for  the  mold  which  lay  upon  the  surface,  the  sand  keeping  the 
earth  porous  and  well  drained,  the  clay  holding  moisture.  Unfortunately 
this  combination  was  easily  destroyed.  On  level  ground  the  subsoil  was 
secure,  but  the  surface  soil  was  soon  exhausted,  and  on  the  slopes  both  were 
quickly  washed  away.^ 

The  piedmont,  even  at  its  lower  edge,  rose  two  hundred  feet  above  the 
coastal  plain,  and  was  free  from  swamps.  In  consequence  the  air  in  sum- 
mer was  cooler  and  less  sultry  than  that  of  the  low  country,  and  its  climate 
more  healthful.  This  was  probably  the  chief  attraction  to  the  immigrant 
from  Europe  and  the  northern  colonies.  But  however  conducive  the 
region  might  be  to  health  and  comfort,  it  held  little  promise  of  wealth  for 
the  early  eighteenth  century  settler.  By  neither  soil  nor  climate  was  it  well 
adapted  to  the  staples  of  the  day.  Far  worse  than  this  were  the  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  transportation.  Each  river  made  its  exit  from  the  piedmont 
by  tumbling  over  a  series  of  rocks ;  a  dozen  other  shoals  lay  back  of  this 

^  See,  for  instance,  Indian  Books,  II,  pt.  2,  22-23.  That  treeless  spots  were 
rare  is   shown   by  the   early   plats,   which   seldom   lacked   trees  to    mark    all   lines. 

^  See  Bennett,  Soils  and  Agriculture,  pp.  147-148;  Bureau  of  Soils,  Field 
Operations,  1902,  1909,  1911,  1921  (Washington,  1903,  1912,  1914,  1926),  Abbe- 
ville Area,  Anderson,  Fairfield,  Greenville;  Phillips,  Life  and  Labor,  pp.  5,  9-10. 
For  contemporary  descriptions  of  this  and  similar  areas,  see  American  Husbandry, 
I,  388-389,  Tra'vels  of  William  Bartram,  pp.  318-328;  compare  Adelaide  L. 
Fries,  Records  of  the  Moravians  in  North  Carolina  (4  vols.,  Raleigh,  1922-1930), 
I,  44-60. 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back  Country  115 

point,  and  navigation  even  with  small  boats  was  so  tedious  and  dangerous 
that  early  settlers  found  pack  train  and  wagon  preferable.  Land  trans- 
portation in  turn  faced  great  obstacles,  for  roads  paralleling  the  rivers 
crossed  many  creeks,  some  deep  and  nearly  all  with  steep  banks.  The  best 
routes  were  along  the  ridges  between  the  rivers,  but  these  ran  at  a  distance 
from  the  desirable  land  of  the  river  bottoms.  Thus  the  corn,  wheat  or 
cattle  which  the  piedmont  could  produce  so  well  and  which  the  rice  planta- 
tions could  afford  to  buy  must  be  carried  or  driven  from  one  to  three 
hundred  miles  to  market,  and  there  sold  in  well-nigh  hopeless  competition 
with  similar  products  from  the  upper  or  lower  pine  belts  or  from  Pennsyl- 
vania. Therefore  the  piedmont  remained  in  isolation — a  back  country 
indeed — until  the  slow  coming  of  the  canal,  railroad,  and  cotton. 


/  The  Fiv-Jt  NineVy  5i)f 

■3   Ni-n^fy  Sl)/  CoLcrthouse,  1 77Z. 
ABC  LaKdi  of  Rpbert  Qc^udet/ 

P        ^         ^ 
ScQ.le.of  Mcl«.i 


Map  6 


The:  Northwest  frontier 


Prior  Sai-vejj  "at 
CoroTvo-Ca"  ' 
Pricr  Su.ri/ey^  fOr 

H  a-na  a  t  C IV 

NiT\e.Vw  Silx-5ee Inset  Ma^ 


Re-f  erence-s;  for  tKe.  &re.Q.t  Jclv  rey,  Ch^- 

ter  Z,  K.  i*^:  f  ">-  tl\e.  tPw;nsUipo,  ClvccJ^^er  ZET, 

noiej  xJO.d'f;  for  w.i\«.ty  5i)f,  CKcvf  ter  X,  n->3. 


5caVe  of  M,  lej 


20 

-i 


CHAPTER  X 

The  Northwest  Frontier 

The  movement  of  settlers  into  the  hills  waited  for  the  Carolina  popula- 
tion to  span  the  low  country — not  even  the  hardiest  of  frontiersmen  cared 
to  be  more  than  a  day's  journey  from  his  fellows.  But  no  sooner  was  the 
settlement  of  the  upper  tier  of  townships  well  under  way  than  men  began 
to  seek  the  creek  and  river  valleys  beyond  the  fall  line.  Such  was  the  isola- 
tion of  the  region,  however,  that  in  some  portions  the  Indians  and  their 
trade  largely  determined  its  early  history.  The  Cherokee  path  along  the 
Saluda  River  first  opened  the  way  for  back  country  settlement,  but  then, 
having  been  indirectly  the  means  of  encouraging  expansion,  the  Indians 
so  effectually  blocked  its  progress  that  the  farther  end  of  the  path  was  not 
reached  until  the  whole  province  east  of  it  had  been  settled. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  century  the  chief  route  to  the  Cherokees  began 
at  Fort  Moore  and  followed  the  eastern  side  of  the  Savannah  River  to  the 
Lower  Towns.  Near  the  crossing  of  the  path  over  Stevens  Creek  John 
Stevens  in  1715  maintained  a  cowpen,  the  establishment  surviving  only 
in  the  name  of  the  stream.  This  path  was  half  as  long  again  as  that  which 
ran  by  way  of  the  Congarees,  but  so  inconsiderable  was  the  trade  of  the 
Cherokees  that  they  had  to  depend  for  their  goods  upon  the  center  of  the 
greater  southwestern  traffic.  By  1730  or  earlier  some  traders,  to  avoid  the 
large  streams  that  fell  into  the  Savannah,  were  making  their  way  due 
north  from  Fort  Moore  along  the  ridge  between  the  headwaters  of  Stevens 
Creek  and  the  Little  Saluda.  Reaching  the  Saluda  valley  at  the  point 
which  later  came  to  be  called  Ninety  Six,  the  path  followed  an  easy  course 
along  the  edge  of  the  narrow  western  side  of  that  valley  until  it  was  within 
fifty  miles  of  Keowee.^ 

By  1740  there  was  a  fundamental  change  in  the  situation.  The  Chero- 
kee trade  had  become  an  important  factor  in  the  general  South  Carolina 
expansion,  and  the  traffic  turned  toward  the  well  settled  Congaree  and 
Santee  valleys  which  afforded  the  shorter  route,  and  a  wagon  road  and 

^  See  above,  p.  10;  Mouzon,  Map  of  N.  and  S.  C;  P,  V,  100,  137,  405; 
Year  Book,  Charleston,  1894,  p.  327;  Crane,  Southern  Frontier,  pp.  41,  132,  and 
map;  JC,  Mar.  1,  1744;  PR,  XIII,  76  (Philemon  Parmeter,  Oct.  19,  1727,  en- 
closed by  Middleton,  June  13,  1728)  ;  Swanton,  Creek  Indians,  map  3.  For  the 
Fort  Moore-Saluda  path  see  P,  II,  361,  IV,  439;  for  the  Congaree-Keowee  path 
see  Salley,  George  Hunter's  Map,  Mouzon,  Map  of  N.  and  S.  C,  and  compare  the 
journal  with  stream  numbers  on  modern  maps. 

117 


118  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

river  navigation  to  Saxe  Gotha  town.^  Enterprising  men  tried  to  anticipate 
the  needs  of  the  trade  and  advancing  population  by  taking  up  land  at  what 
promised  to  be  trading  posts.  Major  Hugh  Butler  in  1736,  a  year  before 
he  went  as  agent  to  the  Cherokees,  had  a  hundred  and  twenty-three  acres 
surveyed  "at  a  place  commonly  called  and  known  by  the  name  of  Saludy 
Old  Town,  at  the  Cherokee  Path",  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  he  made 
any  use  of  it.  It  was  Thomas  Brown  who  shrewdly  selected  the  strategic 
center  of  the  western  piedmont  and  in  1738  had  George  Haig  survey  for 
him  two  hundred  acres  where  the  Congaree  and  Savannah  Town  paths 
met.  This  was  on  the  south  side  of  what  was  then  called  Ninety  Six 
Creek,  but  now  Henleys,  about  half  a  mile  above  its  junction  with  the 
stream  now  called  Ninety  Six,  and  five  miles  from  the  river.^  Traders 
coming  from  the  Congarees  by  turning  so  far  to  the  left  avoided  the  lower 
and  deeper  portions  of  Wilsons  Creek.  Ninety  Six  was  the  trader's  esti- 
mate of  the  number  of  miles  from  Keowee,  the  nearest  Cherokee  town,  and 
appears  on  George  Hunter's  map  of  the  path  made  in  1730.*  It  was  the 
point  selected  by  Major  Butler,  however,  which  had  the  earliest  develop- 
ment. From  a  short  distance  above  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Saluda  quite 
to  Ninety  Six  the  valley  of  the  river  offered  good  bottom  land  in  rather 
generous  stretches.  Added  attractions  were  the  Cherokee  path,  which 
came  close  to  the  bank,  and  a  ford  over  the  river  nearby.  The  west  bank 
near  the  mouth  of  Terrapin  Creek  was  the  former  home  of  the  Saluda 
Indians,  and  over  two  centuries  after  their  departure  to  Pennsylvania  the 
name  Saluda  Old  Town  clings  to  the  spot.° 

It  is  probable  that  as  early  as  1740  some  settlers  had  established  them- 

2  See  above,  p.  58,  below,  pp.  170,  191. 

3P,  IX,  376,  JCHA,  Oct.  3,  1737,  JC,  June  29,  1737.  For  Ninety  Six  see 
Map  6,  inset.  1  is  on  Brown's  1738  plat  (P,  II,  361);  2  is  on  Robert  Goudey's 
land — see  below,  p.  219  and  note  the  Simpson-Murray  plat  (below,  p.  127)  ;  for  3 
see  Stats.,  IV,  325,  maps  in  William  Johnson,  Life  and  Correspondence  of 
Nathanael  Greene  (2  vols.,  Charleston,  1822),  II,  opposite  p.  140,  and  John 
Drayton,  Memoirs  of  the  American  Revolution  (2  vols.,  Charleston,  1821),  I, 
opposite  p.  389.  A,  B,  C  are  plats  surveyed  for  Thomas  Nightingale,  William 
Dargan  and  Robert  Goudey  (P,  V,  431,  VII,  349,  VIII,  450);  notations  and 
lines  of  the  plats  and  Goudey's  advertisement  in  SCAGG,  Nov.  4,  1774,  show  that 
he  acquired  the  other  two.  Brown's  1744  plat  adjoined  the  southern  line  of  his 
1738  survey  (P,  IV,  268),  but  was  ignored  by  later  surveyors  (see  P,  VII,  181, 
VIII,  450). 

*  The  original  of  the  Hunter  map  is  in  the  Library  of  Congress;  attention  was 
called  to  it  by  Professor  Verner  W.  Crane,  and  it  has  been  printed  as  George 
Hunter's  Map  of  the  Cherokee  Country  by  the  Historical  Commission  of  South 
Carolina  (Bulletin  No.  4,  Columbia,  1917).  Thomas  Brown's  plat  of  1738  was 
"at  a  place  commonly  called  and  known  by  the  name  of  Ninety  Six"  and  a 
second  adjoining  it  was  laid  out  for  him  in  1744  described  as  "96  miles  from  the 
Charokee  Nation"  (PR,  XXII,  62— Hunter  to  Board,  May  1,  1745).  For  two  plats 
at  the  Little  Saluda  crossing,  taken  up  about  1738,  see  P,  IV,  89  (William  Sterling 
and  Edward  Keating;  both  were  residents  of  the  middle  or  low  country — see  JUHA, 
Feb.  26,  1734,  and  Bennett,  "Some  Early  Settlers  of  Calhoun  County"). 

=  Bureau  of  Soils,  Field  Operations,  1909,  1918  (Washington,  1912,  1924), 
Saluda,  Newberry;  P,  IV,  439,  V,  153,  Mooney,  Siouan   Tribes,  p.  83. 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back  Country  119 

selves  on  the  Cherokee  path  between  the  Little  Saluda  and  Ninety  Six  to 
live  by  hunting  or  farming.  In  June  1746  Governor  Glen,  attended  by 
nearly  three  hundred  men,  made  a  tour  of  the  back  country  to  hold  a 
series  of  conferences  with  the  Indians,  and,  incidentally,  to  see  the  progress 
of  the  townships.  After  an  interview  with  the  Catawbas  at  the  Congarees 
the  party  proceeded  to  Ninety  Six,  crossing  the  Little  Saluda  River,  then 
in  high  water,  by  swimming  the  horses  and  using  improvised  boats  of 
buffalo  hides.^  At  Ninety  Six  was  held  the  most  important  of  the  con- 
ferences, that  with  the  Cherokees.  It  is  hardly  to  be  doubted  that  the 
inhabitants  were  all  in  attendance  at  this  imposing  affair.  Among  them 
was  James  Francis,  who  had  lived  in  the  back  country  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia,  one  of  the  most  interesting  figures  of  South  Carolina  frontier 
history.  He  furnished  five  pounds  worth  of  supplies  to  the  governor's 
party  at  this  time.  Two  years  later  he  disposed  of  the  improvements  he 
had  made  at  Saluda  Old  Town,  and  in  the  same  year  was  appointed  captain 
of  a  troop  of  rangers.' 

This  troop,  with  another  which  was  put  under  the  command  of  John 
Fairchild,  was  provided  for  by  the  assembly  in  April  1748  because  of  the 
capture  of  George  Haig,  the  murder  of  a  trader  in  the  Cherokees,  and 
other  threats  of  an  Indian  outbreak.  Each  troop  was  to  consist  of  fifteen 
men,  two  of  them  friendly  Indians,  and  was  to  serve  for  four  months. 
Within  two  days  after  receiving  Glen's  letter  Francis  enlisted  twelve  men, 
"All  Living  in  Saludy  Settlements".^  Of  the  twelve  John  Turk,  Robert 
Lang,  Charles  Banks,  David  Ball,  John  Reed,  and  Henry  Foster  received 
warrants  in  the  Saluda  valley  between  1749  and  1755,  and  John  Foster 
had  his  plat  surveyed  in  1767;  the  other  five  appear  never  to  have  applied 
for  land,  and  in  1748  not  one  of  the  troop  had  either  warrant  or  plat. 
Francis  begged  the  governor  to  allow  him  to  enlist  two  more  white  men  in 
place  of  the  Indians,  and  gave  a  hint  of  the  occupation  of  his  neighbors  by 
saying  that  "As  for  their  usefulness  in  hunting  for  Provision  ...  I 
Question  whether  e'er  an  Indian  on  the  Main  can  compare  with  some  of 
the  Men  inlisted,  not  only  in  killing  Provisions  or  the  like  but  any  other 
Property  that  an  Indian  is  adapted  to."  The  commander  of  Fort  Moore 
three  years  later  in  effect  confirmed  Francis'  argument  by  his  opinion  that 
the  best  way  to  capture  the  raiding  Iroquois  would  be  to  employ  the 
"White  Hunters  ab^  the  Congrees  and  Salude  .  .  .  for  they  are  in  general 

^See  PR,  XXI,  266-267  (Reply  of  Upper  House  to  Commons,  Oct.  14,  1743, 
enclosed  by  Council  committee  to  Board,  Apr.  24,  1744)  ;  note  Adair,  American 
Indians,  p.  236  on  the  Cherokee  silver  mine  (at  this  time  the  Little  Saluda  was 
usually  called  the  Saluda — see  George  Hunter's  Map);  SCG,  June  12,  1755; 
PR,  XXII,  101,  202-203,  135-136,  154-155,  (Glen  to  Board,  May  28,  1745,  Sept. 
29,  1746,  to  Newcastle,  Feb.  11,  May  3,  1746). 

'  JCHA,  Feb.  20,  1753,  Mar.  6,  1755,  JC,  June  8,  1748. 

^  Above,  p.  58,  JC,  Mar.  29,  1748  (letters  of  Minnick,  Dexter,  Beamer,  Max- 
well), Apr.  16,  May  11  (letter  of  Francis),  1748,  JCHA,  Apr.  8,  1748. 


120  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

very  expert  Woods  men  but  might  perhaps  exceed  their  orders  as  they  are 
little  more  than  white  Indians".^ 

There  are  occasional  references  in  the  South  Carolina  as  well  as  the 
Georgia  and  North  Carolina  records  to  men  who  made  their  living  entirely 
or  chiefly  by  hunting  and  sale  of  skins/"  but  nowhere  in  colonial  South 
Carolina  does  there  appear  another  community  like  this.  Two  of  the  troop, 
John  and  Henry  Foster,  were  stepsons  of  the  captain,  and  presumably  came 
from  Virginia  or  Pennsylvania  with  him.  Charles  Banks  was  also  from 
the  northward,  and  formerly  in  the  Cherokee  trade.  Robert  Lang  and  his 
father  had  land  in  Saxe  Gotha  by  1740  and  at  some  time  one  or  both  of 
them  probably  were  also  traders.  Francis  himself  did  not  know  the 
Cherokee  language,  and  could  hardly  have  been  at  any  time  regularly  en- 
gaged in  that  trade,  but  Henry  Foster  was  familiar  with  the  nation.^^ 

When  Francis  left  Saluda  Old  Town  he  established  himself  at  or  near 
the  crossing  of  the  Cherokee  path  over  Wilsons  Creek,  ten  miles  above 
Ninety  Six.^^  He  became  justice  of  the  peace  and  captain  of  the  militia, 
but  his  "people"  were  not  always  favorably  known — "Seven  or  Eight  very 
desperate  Fellows",  Herman  Geiger  called  them.  Despite  the  fact  that 
Francis'  influence  was  strong  in  this  community,  his  authority  was  probably 
ill  defined.  His  sole  land  warrant,  sworn  to  in  1755,  was  for  only  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  acres,  and  it  was  probably  from  hunting  and  trafficking  with 
Indians  and  whites  for  skins  that  he  and  his  henchmen  drew  most  of  their 
livelihood.  It  seems  to  have  been  this  trade  also  which  brought  him  into 
debt  that  he  could  not  pay,  and  his  retirement  from  Saluda  Old  Town,  it 
was  alleged,  was  to  enable  him  to  defend  himself  against  writs.  But  Francis 
likewise  farmed,  and  a  farmer  near  him  was  plundered  by  the  Indians  in 
1751  who  "made  a  Dreadfull  Havock",  destroying  most  "of  the  Corn  then 
Growing,  Potatoes,  Colwarts  Tob^".  Another  man  of  this  neighborhood 
had  five  cows  killed,  four  of  them  milch  cows  with  young  calves.  In  fact, 
the  population  which  depended  entirely  upon  the  soil  must  have  far 
exceeded  the  hunters  in  number,  for  Glen  in  1751  sent  a  hundred  muskets, 

^JC,  Apr.  6,  1749,  Apr.  1,  June  4,  1751,  July  3,  1752,  Feb.  1,  1754;  P,  IV,  502, 
V,  39,   135,  411,  VI,  74,  VII,  324,  IX,  147. 

i°For  South  Carolina  see  Stats.,  IV,  310,  JC,  Oct.  31,  1766,  JCHA,  Jan.  7, 
1768,  SCG,  July  14,  1759,  Oct.  30,  1762  (advt.  of  Lazarus  Brown),  SCAGG, 
Oct.  2,  1767;  for  North  Carolina,  see  Fries,  Records  of  the  Moravians,  I,  46-47, 
50,  58,  State  Rec.  of  N.  C.  (16  vols.,  Winston  and  Goldsboro,  1895-1906),  XXIII, 
218-219;  for  Georgia,  see  Col.  Recs.  of  Ga.,  VIII,  167,  JC,  Sept.  16,  1756. 

^^  JC,  June  29,  1737;  May  7,  11,  23,  1751  (statements  of  Stephen  Crell,  Herman 
Geiger,  and  David  Dowey)  ;  July  3,  1753;  Indian  Books,  II,  pt.  2,  12-13  (affidavits 
of  William  Turner  and  Charles  Banks)  ;  Adair,  American  Indians,  p.  347;  Map  3. 

^  He  lived  five  or  six  miles  from  Thomas  Davis  (Indian  Books,  II,  pt.  2, 
21),  who  lived  twelve  miles  above  Ninety  Six  on  Goudey's  Saluda  River  planta- 
tion {SCG,  Sept.  27,  1760).  These  distances  correspond  with  those  on  the 
Simpson-Murray  plat  (below,  p.  127). 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back  Country  121 

a  hundred  pounds  of  powder  and  two  hundred  pounds  of  bullets  to  Francis 
to  distribute  to  those  destitute  of  arms/^ 

James  Adair,  the  Chickasaw  trader  and  later  author  of  the  History  of 
the  American  hidianSj  recently  ruined  in  the  attempt  to  win  the  Choctaws 
to  the  English  alliance,  graced  the  household  of  Francis  with  his  presence 
during  1750  and  1751.  He  went  to  the  Cherokees  in  company  with  Henry 
Foster,  the  two  carrying  two  kegs  of  rum  and  perhaps  other  Indian  trade 
commodities.  The  principal  Indian  traders  were  almost  uniformly  men  of 
such  large  business  interests  and  important  connections  that  they  heartily 
disliked  the  trouble-making  frontiersmen,  but  the  Scotch  adventurer,  who 
had  not  yet  had  his  fill  of  danger  nor  suffered  decline  of  his  own  boisterous 
nature,  found  these  "brave  Wanton  fellows"  kindred  spirits.  "A  brave 
chearful  companion"  he  declared  Henry  Foster  to  have  been,  when  many 
years  later  he  recalled  their  trip  to  the  Cherokees,  the  songs  and  draughts 
of  punch  with  which  they  beguiled  the  dangerous  journey.  Francis  him- 
self was  not  an  uncongenial  associate,  to  judge  by  hints  in  Adair's  carefully 
written  letters  to  the  governor  during  the  1751  alarm,  in  which  he  applied 
for  permission  to  lead  these  frontiersmen  and  the  New  Windsor  Chicka- 
saws  against  the  Indian  enemies  of  Carolina.  When  in  his  book  he  lauded 
the  virtues  and  hardihood  of  the  American  woodsmen,  he  could  have  ranked 
no  others  in  his  mind  above  the  traders  and  "Francis's  people"  with  whom 
he  had  been  most  closely  associated.^* 

About  January  1751  the  hunting  camp  on  the  Savannah  of  some 
Cherokees  from  the  Lower  Town  of  Tugaloo  was  rifled  by  white  men  of 
three  hundred  and  thirty-one  deerskins.  The  Indians  applied  to  Francis, 
who  gave  them  a  written  permission  to  search  houses  of  men  they  suspected. 
Charles  Banks  soon  found  them  "looking  and  Peeping  about  his  House, 
Something  more  than  Common,"  but  Herman  Geiger,  now  in  his  short 
term  of  trading  with  the  Cherokees,  reported  that  he  was  sure  one  of  the 
Fosters  was  guilty.  Some  color  was  given  to  this  charge  by  Francis'  slow- 
ness in  investigating  the  affair  and  the  opinion  of  the  Cherokees  which  he 
expressed  in  private.  Unfortunately  the  affair  was  speedily  followed  by  a 
crisis  in  Indian  relations,  and  for  a  time  the  injured  Tugaloo  huntsmen 
were  forgotten.  Later,  after  the  war  scare  had  subsided,  Francis  wrote  to 
Governor  Glen  describing  the  slow  and  inadequate  process  of  frontier 
justice  for  Indians.  Benjamin  Burgess,  escaping  from  arrest  for  theft  of 
the  skins,  took  refuge  with  John  Vann,  a  former  Choctaw  trader  who  now 

^^SCG,  Dec.  3,  1750  (advt.  of  "John"  Francis,  J.  P.);  JC,  Apr.  2,  1751  (peti- 
tion of  John  Collier),  May  11  (above,  n.  11),  Aug.  9,  1751,  Aug.  5,  1755,  May  4, 
1757;  PR,  XXV,  355  (Glen's  letter  to  one  of  council,  enclosed  by  him  to  Board 
Oct.  25,  1753);  Miscellaneous  Records,  MS,  Charleston,  1754-1758,  p.  159  (Protec- 
tion to  Francis,  Apr.  9,  1755)  ;  Indian  Books,  II,  pt.  2,  14-16,  17-23. 

i^See  below,  pp.  195-197,  JCHA,  May  16,  1750,  JC,  May  11,  23,  1751;  Adair, 
American  Indians,  pp.  266,  346-347,  454-455. 


122  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

traded  irregularly  with  the  Cherokees.  Vann  maintained  an  establish- 
ment near  Ninety  Six  Creek  of  more  unsavory  character  than  that  of 
Francis — including  three  negroes,  a  mulatto  and  a  half-breed  Indian — 
"all  bearing  an  Equal  Character  with  Burgess  &  which  I  believe  there  is 
not  three  Families  on  Saludy  wou'd  Suffer  any  one  of  them  to  Remain 
Four  &  Twenty  Hours  on  their  Plantation."  Eventually  Vann  sent  one 
of  the  negroes,  ostensibly  to  seize  Burgess  in  his  hunting  camp,  but  really  to 
kill  him  and  thus  prevent  his  telling  tales.  But  Burgess,  attacked  in  his 
sleep,  escaped  with  a  jaw  "very  much"  broken,  and  several  knife  wounds, 
leaving  two  score  deer  and  beaver  skins,  a  rifle — one  of  the  first  mentioned 
in  the  records  of  the  back  country — and  two  horses.  The  provincial  gov- 
ernment finally  assumed  responsibility  for  paying  the  injured  Cherokees  for 
the  skins.^^ 

The  chief  episode  in  the  1751  Indian  alarm  occurred  on  a  branch  of 
the  thinly  settled  Little  Saluda.  The  head  of  the  stream  later  called 
Clouds  Creek  was  formed  by  several  springs  near  the  crossing  of  the 
natural  routes  from  the  Congarees  to  Fort  Moore  and  from  Ninety  Six 
to  Orangeburg;  for  that  reason,  probably,  the  place  appealed  to  the  retired 
Indian  trader  Isaac  Cloud,  and  here  he  made  his  home.  At  midnight  of 
May  7,  1751,  Mary  Cloud  arrived  at  the  house  of  Martin  Friday,  in  Saxe 
Gotha,  and  there  gave  her  narrative  on  oath  before  Daniel  Scheider, 
captain  of  the  militia  company: 

That  on  the  fourth  Instant  two  Indians  came  to  my  House  about 
Half-way  between  the  Congrees  and  Savannah  Town.  The  Indians  were 
Savannas.  They  came  there  about  dark,  and  sate  down  very  civilly; 
and  my  Husband  being  able  to  talk  their  Tongue  they  talked  a  great 
while  together,  And  I  gave  them  Supper.  And  they  asked  my  Husband 
for  Pipes  and  Tobacco,  and  he  gave  it  them.  And  we  sate  up  until 
Midnight,  and  then  we  all  went  to  Sleep;  and  they  lay  down  too  and 
pulled  off  their  Mogassens  and  Boots.  One  of  them  broke  his  Pipe,  and 
he  came  to  the  Bed  to  my  Husband,  who  handed  unto  him  his  Pipe  out 
of  his  Mouth,  and  laid  down  again;  and  we  all  dropt  into  Sleep:  and 
when  the  Cocks  began  to  Crow  they  came,  as  I  suppose,  to  the  Bed,  and 
Shot  my  Husband  through  the  Head.  And  a  young  Man  lying  upon 
the  Floor  was  Shot  in  the  same  Minute.  And  the  Indians,  I  suppose, 
thinking  the  Bullet  had  gone  thro'  my  Husband's  Head  and  my  own  too, 
struck  me  with  a  Tomahawk  under  my  right  Arm;  and  afterwards  they 
struck  me  two  Cuts  upon  the  left  Knee.  I  lying  still  they  supposed  I 
was  dead,  and  one  of  them  went  and  killed  both  my  Children;  &  then 
they  came  and  took  the  Blankets  from  us  &  plunder'd  the  House  of  all  that 
was  valuable  and  went  off.  And  in  that  bad  Condition  I  have  lain 
amongst  my  Dead  two  Days.  And  by  the  help  of  Providence  one  of  my 
Horses  came  to  the  House;  and  so  I  came  to  Martin  Fridig's  House. 

i^ndian  Books,  II,  pt.  2,  12-13,  14-20,  III,  7-8;  JC,  May  11,  Aug.  9,  Nov.  25, 
1751.  For  Vann,  see  P,  V,  404,  and  below,  p.  196.  A  German  immigrant  brought 
a  rifle-gun  in  1750  (JC,  Mar.  13,  1750)  ;  see  also  above,  p.  106.  At  some  time 
between  1751  and  1759  Vann  was  on  the  Savannah  River  opposite  the  mouth  of 
the  Georgia  Broad  River  (P,  VIII,  273,  535).  In  1759  he  was  in  Georgia  (PR, 
XXVIII,  210— Governor  W^illiam   Henry   Lyttelton  to  Board,   Sept.    1,    1759). 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back  Country  123 

The  Commons  was  stirred  by  this  and  other  accounts  of  raids  in  the 
northwest  to  debate  so  drastic  a  measure  as  an  expedition  of  a  thousand 
men  to  punish  the  Cherokees  and  their  friends,  but  later  thought  better  of 
it.  Meanwhile  Mary  Cloud  had  been  brought  to  town,  and  the  House, 
having  resolved  to  pay  her  expenses,  some  months  later  read  and  approved 
the  few  bills  which  finished  the  story — five  pounds  to  Doctor  Chalmers 
for  amputating  her  leg,  with  other  sums  to  someone  else  for  nursing  her  and 
to  the  sexton  of  St.  Philip's  for  her  funeral  charges.^® 

The  Saluda  frontiersmen  were  rendered  desperate  by  the  continued 
danger  and  uncertainty.  At  one  time  they  thought  of  falling  upon  the 
Indians  and  thus  bringing  the  matter  to  open  war,  at  another  they  threat- 
ened to  abandon  their  homes  if  the  government  did  not  take  measures 
to  protect  them.  Four  troops  of  rangers  were  provided,  Francis  and  his 
neighbors  built  a  fort  on  his  place,  and  the  storm  blew  over.  The  captain 
continued  to  enjoy  the  confidence  of  the  governor,  but  his  connections  were 
not  such  as  to  recommend  him  to  the  low  country  as  a  whole,  and  when  the 
Commons  House  provided  in  1755  for  a  troop  of  fifty  men  to  range  from 
the  Savannah  to  the  Broad,  it  urged  upon  Glen  the  appointment  of  William 
Gray,  veteran  of  the  Spanish  war  and  retired  Indian  trader,  but 
a  man  of  the  middle  country  rather  than  the  frontier.  Glen  accordingly 
canceled  Francis'  appointment,  and  sent  the  commission  to  Gray,  who  was 
then  living  near  Fort  Moore.  "I  have  got  some  Enemies  on  Account  of 
the  Commission",  the  new  captain  wrote  the  governor,  "but  please  God 
for  to  bless  me  with  Health  there  shall  be  no  cause  of  Complaint  of  any 
neglect  of  my  guarding  the  Out  Inhabitants  of  this  Province."  Since  the 
troop  had  already  been  raised  under  Francis  as  captain  and  John  Fairchild 
as  lieutenant  it  is  not  hard  to  guess  who  were  the  enemies.  Either  they  or 
his  health  speedily  proved  too  much  for  him,  for  after  only  six  days  service 
he  abandoned  the  command  and  went  home  again,  with  the  result  that 
Francis  was  eventually  restored  to  the  place.^^ 

Life  in  Francis'  neighborhood  and  on  both  sides  of  the  Saluda  about 
him  appears  to  have  changed  very  little  until  after  the  Cherokee  war. 
Below,  howev^er,  first  at  Saluda  Old  Town  about  1748  and  then  at  Ninety 
Six  half  a  dozen  years  later,  there  had  begun  a  more  settled  industry  and 
society  of  farmers  who  owned  their  lands.  For  a  time  there  was  excellent 
prospect  of  the  immigration  of  a  large  number  of  substantial  farmers  from 
Virginia  to  this  section.  In  January  1746  Governor  Glen  and  the  council 
read  two  petitions  of  John   and  Thomas  Turk  and   Michael  Taylor  of 

^^]C,  May  11,  1751,  JCHA,  May  13,  14,  1751,  Jan.  9,  15,  23,  June  12,  1752. 
For  location  note  the  deposition  following,  and  SCG,  Oct.  19,  1767  (Charleston 
news),  P,  V,  425,  VI,  401,  420.  No  record  of  a  warrant  or  survey  for  Cloud  ap- 
pears. 

1"  JUHA,  and  JCHA,  May  9,  1751;  Indian  Books,  II,  pt.  2,  195-197;  JC, 
May  23,  1751,  May  7,  1755;  JCHA,  Apr.  27,  May  10,  14,  1751,  Feb.  6,  28,  1755,  Feb. 
17,  1756,  above,  p.  71. 


124  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

Augusta  County,  Virginia,  They  stated  that  they  had  examined  the  lands 
about  Ninety  Six,  which,  according  to  "the  Inhabitants  dwelling  there- 
abouts", were  claimed  by  the  Indians.  They  asked  that  the  government 
purchase  the  lands  and  reserve  them  for  new  settlers  from  the  back  country 
of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,  the  prospective  immigrants  to  get  the  usual 
fifty  acres  a  head  and  some  further  encouragement.  The  governor  and 
council  resolved  that  the  lands  should  be  purchased,  and  the  Commons 
House  agreed  to  a  fifteen-year  exemption  from  all  provincial  taxes  save 
that  on  negroes,  the  exemption  to  begin  only  when  one  hundred  families 
had  arrived.  The  House,  in  accordance  with  its  policy  of  compact  settle- 
ment, instructed  a  committee  to  persuade  the  agents  to  select  lands  nearer 
the  settled  areas,  but  the  reply  was  that  only  the  Ninety  Six  region  would 
serve  their  purpose,  as  nowhere  else  could  they  find  land  "so  healthy  in  its 
situation  so  good  in  its  kind  or  sufficient  enough  to  support  such  a  number 
of  them  as  may  be  sufficient  to  make  themselves  secure  against  the  attempts 
of  Indians  or  other  Enemys."  John  Turk  evidently  remained  to  see  the 
purchase  made  from  the  Cherokees,  while  Taylor  and  Thomas  Turk  went 
back  to  spread  the  news  and  to  make  preparations  for  removal.^^ 

But  this  project,  even  more  than  that  of  the  Welsh  tract,  which  it 
closely  resembled,  was  to  meet  with  many  difficulties.  Relations  with  the 
Cherokees  in  1746  were  none  too  good,  and  nothing  was  done  about  the 
purchase  until  John  Turk,  evidently  despairing  of  action,  returned  to 
Virginia.  Thereupon  in  October  the  governor  and  council  received  from 
the  three  promoters  a  letter  in  which  respect  for  constituted  authority 
contended  with  disgust.  "The  want  of  such  a  purchase  has  caus'd  a  War 
&  Bloodshed  where  we  now  live,  which  makes  the  people  here  afraid  of 
falling  again  into  the  like  crooked  Circumstances."  The  failure  of  the 
administration  "makes  the  people  here  believe  you  want  that  land  settled 
without  the  charge  of  a  purchase,  which  they  are  unwilling  to  do  ...  if  a 
purchase  is  made  soon,  it  will  clear  us,  if  not,  we  shall  rue  that  we  were  at 
any  trouble  or  charge  about  it."  The  petitioners  seemed  resolved  to  come 
whether  or  not,  but  William  Baskins,  John  Pickens,  James  Lesslie  "and 
above  30  other"  inhabitants  of  the  back  country  of  Virginia  declared  that 
they  waited  for  news  of  the  purchase.  This  letter  brought  action ;  addi- 
tional instructions  were  given  to  a  recently  appointed  Cherokee  agent,  and 
on  the  twelfth  of  February  1747  the  headmen  of  the  Lower  Towns  signed 
a  deed  for  the  Cherokee  lands  between  Long  Canes  and  Ninety  Six, 
defining  the  new  boundary  as  extending  along  Long  Cane  Creek  to  its 
head,  thence  to  the  head  of  the  nearest  tributary  of  the  Saluda,  along  that 
stream  to  the  river,  and  from  that  point  north  to  the  Catawba-Cherokee 

i^JC,  Jan.  9,  10,  14,  Oct.  21,  1746;  JCHA,  Jan.  10,  11,   13,  1746. 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back   Country  125 

path.  The  price  was  a  hundred  and  eighty  nine  pounds  sterling,  paid  in 
ammunition. 

The  effect  of  this  purchase  was  to  hasten  settlement  on  the  Cherokee 
path,  but  the  early  settlers  were  the  hunters  and  squatters  of  Ninety  Six 
rather  than  farmers  or  planters  like  the  clients  of  the  Turks.  The  latter 
were  probably  alarmed  by  the  news  of  South  Carolina  Indian  troubles  and 
went  elsewhere  or  did  not  come  to  the  province  at  all.  As  for  the  pro- 
moters themselves,  left  without  the  support  of  neighbors,  they  took  up  land 
farther  down  the  river.  John  Turk,  who  had  returned  from  Augusta 
County  in  time  to  serve  in  Francis's  troop  in  1748  and  the  next  year,  had 
four  hundred  and  fifty  acres  surveyed  just  above  Terrapin  Creek  at  Saluda 
Old  Town.  His  household  included  three  slaves  and  an  indented  servant. 
Thomas  Turk  does  not  appear  again,  but  James  Turk  in  1749  had  two 
hundred  acres  surveyed  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  nearly  opposite  John's 
land.'° 

Up  to  1752  there  were  about  thirty  plats,  averaging  three  hundred 
acres  each,  surveyed  about  Saluda  and  Ninety  Six.  Among  the  headrights 
were  those  of  James  Maxwell,  low  country  planter  and  Cherokee  trader, 
who  had  sixteen  hundred  acres  surveyed  in  a  great  bend  of  the  Saluda  on 
the  east  side,  and  of  Daniel  Burnett,  evidently  from  Charleston,  who 
bought  Francis'  improvements  at  Saluda  Old  Town  and  later  had  five 
hundred  acres  run  out  there.  Making  allowance  for  Maxwell's  slaves, 
who  were  probably  on  his  low  country  plantation,  and  for  the  Ninety 
Six  hunters,  few  of  whom  had  warrants,  the  land  records  indicate  a 
population  of  about  a  hundred  and  eighty.  During  the  1751  crisis  practi- 
cally no  warrants  were  issued  for  land  in  the  Saluda  valley,  but  settlement 
only  awaited  the  prospect  of  peace;  "the  world  can  Scarcely  Exceed  us, 
in  a  more  healthy  Climate,"  wrote  Francis  during  the  troubles,  "more 
Clear  and  wholesome  Waters  Running  thro'  such  a  beautiful  and  fruitfuU 
soil.  These  Blessings  wou'd  soon  Induce  thousands  to  be  Partakers,  when 
they  understand  this  Government  hath  taken  such  Methods  with  the  Indi- 
ans so  as  they  need  be  under  no  concern,  of  fear  or  danger  from  them." 
Only  a  fort  in  the  settlement,  or  perhaps  among  the  Cherokees,  and  a  stand- 
ing company  of  rangers,  he  declared,  would  make  the  frontier  secure."^ 

Meanwhile  the  Saluda  valley  and  the  adjacent  waters  of  the  Savannah 

had  become  the  scene  of  the  largest  speculation  in  land  in  colonial  South 

Carolina.     As  early  as   1737  John   Hamilton   of   London   petitioned   the 

crown  for  two  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  in  the  province  on  which  to 

^^  JC,  Oct.  21,  1746,  Mar.  7,  1747;  Wallace,  History  of  S.  C,  I,  447-448;  JCHA, 
May  22,  23,  25,  June  10,  1747.    The  agent  was  George  Pawley — below,  pp.  194-195. 

20  JC,  Apr.  6,   Aug.   1,   1749;   P,   IV,   502,  V,  39,   105.     For  Pickens,   Leslie   and 
Taylor,  see  below,  pp.  138,  147,  148. 

21  JC,  Aug.  20,  1743,  P,  V,  105,  Register  of  St.  Philip's,  index,  P,  IV,  439,  JC, 
June  8,   1748,  Indian  Books,  II,   pt.  2,  21-23. 


126  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

settle  a  thousand  families  and  to  raise  wine,  olives,  coffee,  hemp,  flax  and 
so  forth.  He  claimed  to  have  made  agreement  with  a  hundred  and  forty 
families  as  prospective  settlers.  The  Board  of  Trade,  however,  was  not 
satisfied  with  his  proposals  or  his  ability  to  carry  out  the  settlement  and  re- 
ported against  it.  In  1741  William  Livingston,  who  was  merely  the  agent 
for  the  newly  appointed  Governor  Glen,  made  a  similar  proposal  for 
himself  and  "associates",  undertaking  to  settle  a  thousand  persons  on  two 
hundred  thousand  acres  on  the  Savannah  in  ten  years.  The  products  he 
had  in  mind  were  rice,  naval  stores,  "and  in  time  even  Silk  and  Wine". 
The  Board  recommended  granting  the  petition,  despite  the  extraordinary 
proportion  of  two  hundred  acres  per  head,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the 
promoters  were  to  meet  all  expenses  of  transportation  and  settlement.  The 
crown  gave  the  order,  stipulating  that  there  should  be  settled  one  white 
person  to  each  two  hundred  acres.^^ 

For  a  time  the  Livingston  project  languished,  probably  because  of  the 
Austrian  war  and  the  depression  in  South  Carolina.  Meanwhile  John 
Hamilton  revived  his  plans,  and  in  1747  petitioned  the  crown  for  half  a 
million  acres  in  South  Carolina  on  condition  of  settling  one  person  per  two 
hundred  acres.  It  appeared  now  that  Solomon  da  Costa,  Francis  Salvador 
and  other  Jews  had  associated  themselves  with  him,  in  order  to  settle  some 
of  their  poor  in  America.  However,  the  unwillingness  of  da  Costa  and 
his  group  to  bind  themselves  to  a  large  initial  expenditure  caused  the 
failure  of  this  petition  likewise.  In  1749  the  Livingston  order  was  re- 
newed and  transferred  to  Hamilton,  and  the  latter,  with  a  family  of 
fifty-eight  persons — whether  servants  or  slaves  does  not  appear — proceeded 
to  South  Carolina.^^  In  November  1751  Surveyor-General  George 
Hunter  surveyed  the  two  hundred  thousand  acres  of  "Hamilton's  Great 
Survey"  in  four  plats  of  equal  area.  The  tract,  nearly  eighteen  miles  on  a 
side,  extended  from  the  Saluda  River  far  into  the  valleys  of  Long  Cane  and 
Stevens  Creeks,  and  lay  immediately  above  Thomas  Brown's  1738  plat. 
The  southernmost  plat  enclosed  two  surveys  already  made  for  John  Hamil- 
ton amounting  to  twelve  thousand  nine  hundred  acres.^^ 

22  PR,  XVIII,  272-276,  278-280,  304-310,  XX,  383-385,  543-545,  581-584  (papers 
on  Livingston-Hamilton  application,  dated,  or  received  by  Board,  July  29,  Aug. 
31,  Nov.  17,  1737,  Aug.  8,  1741,  Feb.  2,  Oct.  29,  1742),  XX,  338-340,  530-531 
(Journal  entries  thereon,  Aug.  11,  Oct.  1,  1741,  Jan.  15,  28,  1742). 

23  PR,  XXII,  324-329,  XXIII,  103-107,  198  (papers  dated  or  received  Dec.  7, 
1747,  Jan.  12,  Mar.  26,  Apr.  3,  Dec.  13,  1748),  XXII,  251-253,  XXIII,  1,  31-32 
(entries  of  Dec.  8,  17,  22,  1747,  Jan.  12,  Feb.  3,  Dec.  8,  13,  14,  1748). 

2^  The  second,  third  and  fourth  plats  are  to  be  found  in  P,  V,  between  pp. 
506,  509;  the  lines  of  the  first  are  in  a  survey  of  this  tract  made  for  its  later 
purchasers  (below,  n.  25).  The  location  of  the  lines  of  the  entire  Great  Survey  is 
indicated  by  the  streams  and  line-trees  on  the  four  plats,  by  the  marks  on  the 
adjoining  plats,  and  by  the  plats  of  the  following:  Richard  Oswald  (XIX,  97), 
Andrew  Williamson  (XXI,  490,  491),  John  McCue  (XVIII,  182),  Elizabeth 
Campbell  (IX,  30),  Londonborough  Township  (below,  p.  251).  These  references 
also  show  the  inaccuracy  of  the  survey.  The  southeast  boundary  of  the  tract 
was   surveyed   as   a   N45E   line,   but   appears   to   have   been   N40E;    compare    the 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back  Country  127 

The  tract  nearest  to  Ninety  Six  was  bought  in  1755  for  eight  thou- 
sand pounds  by  William  Simpson  and  Dr.  John  Murray,  a  Charleston 
physician,  and  the  one  lying  on  the  Saluda  above  it  was  earlier  sold  to 
Joseph  Salvador,  a  London  merchant.  The  Simpson-Murray  tract  was 
divided  three  years  after  its  purchase,  Murray  taking  the  half  lying  next 
to  the  river.  It  was  doubtless  on  this  land  that  he  established  a  plantation, 
for  in  1757  he  had  an  overseer  "at  Saludy".  Probably  most  of  the  "12 
stout  Negro's"  in  the  Ninety  Six  fort  at  the  beginning  of  the  Cherokee  War 
were  his.  Murray  also  seems  to  have  acted  as  agent  for  Hamilton  for  the 
remaining  lands  of  the  Great  Survey,  and  raised  cattle  on  his  plantation 
called  Hard  Labor,  which  gave  its  name  to  the  western  branch  of  Stevens 
Creek.  Cuffytown  Creek,  the  eastern  fork,  was  doubtless  so  called  from  the 
negro  quarters  of  a  similar  plantation.  Dr.  Murray's  advertisement  of 
1760  for  a  strayed  horse  bred  at  Ninety  Six  gives  point  to  the  name  of 
Horse  Pen  Creek,  a  nearby  branch  of  CufiFytown.^^  Andrew  Williamson 
appears  in  the  back  country  in  1758  furnishing  and  driving  cattle  and  hogs 
to  supply  the  forts,  and  in  1760  and  1766  seems  to  have  been  employed  by 
Murray  or  in  partnership  with  him.  The  fact  that  Williamson  applied  for' 
no  land  until  1767  suggests  that  his  own  headright  had  been  taken  up  by 
someone  else,  and  that  he  was  a  native  of  the  province.  A  survey  of  1764 
refers  to  him  as  possessor  of  land  and  a  mill  within  Hamilton's  survey,  ap- 
proximately the  location  of  his  later  plantation  White  Hall.^'' 

Stevens  Creek  and  Long  Cane  Creek  were  the  chief  tributaries  of  the 
Savannah  between  New  Windsor  and  the  Indian  boundary,  and  their 
basins  contained  most  of  the  desirable  land,  for  the  river  valley  proper  was 
narrow  and  steep.  The  two  creek  valleys,  however,  closely  hedged  in  the 
Saluda  and  during  the  settlement  period  were,  for  the  most  part,  merely  an 
extension  of  the  Ninety  Six  region.  The  Cherokee  path  made  Ninety  Six 
and  Fort  Moore  the  natural  gateways  to  Stevens  Creek  and  the  adjacent 
bank  of  the  Savannah,  and  shortly  before  1750  settlers  entered  from  each 
point.  In  1747  Isaac  Barksdale,  one  of  the  chief  southwestern  traders, 
recently  if  not  at  that  time  an  inhabitant  of  New  Windsor,  secured  from 
the  Georgia  government  a  grant  of  four  hundred  acres  on  Uchee  Island, 

boundary  of  the  later  Edgefield  District  (P,  XXI,  491,  Mills,  Atlas  of  S.  C).  See 
also  C.  T.  Julien  in  The  Index-Journal  (Greenwood,  S.  C),  June  27,  1937,  for  the 
present  state  of  this  line.  For  the  enclosed  lands  of  Hamilton,  see  JC,  Jan.  17, 
Mar.  23,  1751. 

25  Mesne  Conveyances,  4T,  490-501;  SCG,  Jan.  13,  1757,  Nov.  15,  1760  (advts.  of 
Murray),  Feb.  9,  Mar.  15,  1760,  Feb.  21,  1761  (frontier  news);  Laurens,  Letter 
Books,  Oct.  10,  1764.  Murray  and  another  coast-country  physician,  Dr.  David 
Caw,  in  1755  had  a  thousand  acres  each  surveyed  on  "Stephens  Creek"  adjoining 
each  other  (P,  VI,  14,  VIII,  393).  These  probably  were  the  plats  on  Hard  Labor 
Creek  included  in  Londonborough  Township — see  below,  p.  251,  n.  30  for  reference. 

2«  JCHA,  May  12,  1758,  July  2,  1766;  Indian  Books,  VI,  134;  JC,  Mar.  3,  1767. 
His  mill  was  near  the  lower  end  of  the  survey  numbered  6  in  Map  6.  The  William- 
son name  was  not  uncommon  near  the  Edisto  and  lower  Savannah  (see  P,  I,  409,  IV, 
454,  VII,  176). 


128  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

probably  the  island  ten  miles  above  the  mouth  of  Stevens  Creek  at  or  near 
which  the  Uchees  had  formerly  lived.  Here  the  next  year  he  had  an  over- 
seer, but  whether  for  plantation  or  cowpen  does  not  appear.^^ 

In  1751  Joseph  Chatwin  and  a  Virginian,  Joseph  Nelson,  asked  for 
land  which  they  had  already  settled  on  the  river  above  the  mouth  of 
Stevens  Creek.^®  Chatwin  had  four  slaves,  and  later  applied  for  land  on 
the  rights  of  three  more.  He  soon  began  work  as  deputy  surveyor,  and  was 
captain  of  the  first  militia  company  of  the  section,  but  by  1759  had  re- 
moved to  Georgia.^  In  1752  Matthew  Chavous  applied  for  a  warrant 
for  three  hundred  acres,  explaining  that  he  was  a  free  negro,  and  had  been 
in  the  province  twelve  years.  The  council  postponed  action  for  more 
deliberate  consideration  "whether  the  giving  away  lands  to  Negroes  in  this 
Province  and  to  their  Posterity  be  Expedient",  but  the  matter  was  not  re- 
ferred to  again.  Thomas  Bassett  in  1751  swore  to  the  rights  of  himself, 
four  children  and  thirty  slaves,  and  applied  for  land  on  the  waters  of 
Savannah.  After  a  long  delay  for  which  he  declared  the  Indian  alarm  of 
1751  in  part  responsible,  and  during  which  he  went  to  Virginia,  the 
warrant  dwindled  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  in  New  Windsor; 
Thomas  does  not  appear  as  a  settler  but  Nathaniel  Bassett  does.  It  is 
possible  that  others  besides  Bassett  intended  to  settle  here  and  changed 
their  minds  for  one  reason  or  another;  Jacob  Pennington  in  November 
1749  asked  that  his  warrant  for  three  hundred  and  fifty  acres  on  the 
Savannah  be  changed  to  the  district  between  the  Broad  and  Saluda,  for  he 
had  "found  himself  deceived  in  the  Situation  and  Quality  of  the  Land  on 
said  River." '^ 

The  other  entrance  to  the  Stevens  Creek  district  was  from  the  north,  by 
Ninety  Six,  whence  a  formerly  used  branch  of  the  Cherokee  path  led 
directly  south  to  Savannah  Town.  Cuffytown  Creek,  extending  far  be- 
yond the  main  valley  of  Stevens,  was  nearest  to  the  Saluda  settlements. 
John  Scott  in  1747  applied  for  four  hundred  acres,  having  a  wife,  one  child 
and  five  slaves,  and  four  years  later  on  the  rights  of  three  children  obtained 
another  warrant.  The  first  warrant  was  surveyed  on  Haw  Tree  Creek,  a 
branch  of  Cuf¥ytown,  near  the  Ninety  Six  path  and  Horse  Pen  Creek; 

2^JC,  Mar.  1,  1744,  Col.  Recs.  of  Ga.,  VI,  171-172  (see  also  pp.  416,  434,  and 
IX,  265),  Mouzon,  Map  of  N.  and  S.  C,  SCG,  Aug.  30,  1748.  See  also  Patrick 
Cardiff  and  James  Jarvis — probably  Indian  traders,  the  latter  a  resident  of  New 
Windsor.  Their  plats  seem  to  have  been  surveyed  a  few  miles  above  the  mouth 
of  Stevens  Creek  (JC,  June  3,  Nov.  6,  1748,  Jan.  18,  May  17,  1750,  P,  V,  100,  137). 

28  JC,  Feb.  28,  May  7,  1751,  Mav  4,  1757,  P,  V,  137.  Thomas  Bryan  had  a 
plat  surveyed  adjoining  Chatwin  (JC,  Feb.  28,  1751,  P,  V,  392).  Several  dis- 
charged soldiers  from  the  independent  companies  applied  for  land  here,  but  it 
is  not  certain  that  any  became  settlers  (JC,  Dec.  5,  Aug.  2,  1749,  Sept.  4,  1750, 
P,  V,  249). 

-9JC,  Apr.  7,  Nov.  7,  1752,  Oct.  21,  1755,  P,  V,  281,  VI,  128,  Col.  Recs.  of  Ga., 
VIII,  15-16. 

^°JC,  Feb.  2,  Nov.  7,  1749,  Feb.  28,  Apr.  7,  July  8,  1752,  Sept.  7,  1756,  Grants. 
V,  73. 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back  Country  129 

the  second,  the  plat  for  which  shows  a  mill  on  a  branch  of  Stevens  Creek, 
was  probably  nearby/^  Between  1755  and  1757  several  others  gained  lands 
on  Haw  Tree  Creek,  among  them  Richard  Wallace  and  Thomas  Howard, 
who  were  made  captain  and  lieutenant  of  the  second  militia  company 
organized  in  the  Stevens  Creek  district/^ 

Better  land  than  that  on  Cuffytown  or  Savannah  River  lay  between 
these  streams  in  the  fifteen  mile  circle  nearly  surrounded  by  Stevens  Creek 
and  its  tributary  Turkey  Creek.  Horns,  Beaverdam,  Log,  Turkey,  Rocky, 
Sleepy  and  Mountain  Creeks  in  quick  succession,  as  one  travelled  the  old 
Cherokee  path  to  Ninety  Six,  offered  good  bottom  land  and  pasturage. 
Alexander  McGregor,  a  Charleston  innkeeper,  in  1747  obtained  a  warrant 
for  six  hundred  acres  near  the  mouth  of  Horns  Creek.  At  its  mouth 
another  absentee,  Ulric  Tobler  of  New  Windsor,  in  1751  had  two  hun- 
dred acres  surveyed  and  for  a  time  thereafter  the  stream  was  known  by  his 
name,  or  that  of  Joseph  Noble  who  applied  for  his  warrant  in  1754.^^ 
The  next  year,  however,  Benjamin  Horn  from  North  Carolina  asked  for 
two  hundred  acres  on  this  creek  and  gave  it  its  more  permanent  name; 
George  Bussey,  with  five  slaves,  also  settled  here.  Already  the  Germans 
arriving  in  Charleston  were  finding  their  way  to  the  valley  and  in  1756  and 
1757,  surveys  were  made  for  them  and  for  other  Englishmen  on  Horns 
Creek  and  the  nearby  streams.^^ 

By  1759  the  central  portions  of  the  Stevens  Creek  valley,  from  Horns 
Creek  to  the  upper  branches  of  Turkey  Creek,  had  been  dotted  with  nearly 
fifty  surveys  amounting  to  about  nine  thousand  acres,  and  on  Cuf^ytown 
there  were  a  dozen  more  for  actual  settlers.  On  the  river  the  taking  up  of 
land  nearly  ceased  after  1752,  though  the  thirty  plats  surveyed  from  1747 
to  1759  amounted  to  nearly  as  much  as  those  of  the  Turkey  Creek  section. 
Among  the  newcomers  here  was  John  Scott,  formerly  of  Cuffytown  Creek, 
who  seems  to  have  moved  about  1755  to  a  point  about  ten  miles  above  the 
mouth  of  Stevens  Creek.  He  was  made  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  1760; 
above  and  below  him  half  a  dozen  other  settlers  had  surveys  made  which 
included  convenient  proportions  of  river  bottom  and  high  land.  The 
total  number  of  plats  in  the  valley  of  Stevens  Creek   and  on   the  river 

31  Above,  p.  117,  JC,  Nov.  10,  1747,  Apr.  2,  1751;  P,  IV,  483,  V,  150;  for  location 
of  Haw  Tree  see  Blakeley's  plat,  P,  IX,  360,  and  names  adjoining.  Note  that 
Horse  Pen  and  Haw  Tree  Creeks  are  at  or  near  Cuffy  Town  (P,  VIII,  98,  119, 
420,   500). 

32  P,  VI,  109,  334,  VII,  17,  XX,  372,  JC,  May  4,  1757.  For  several  absentee 
land  owners  see  P,  VI,  167,  SCG,  June  5,  1755  (advt.  of  Peter  Sanders),  P,  VI, 
180,  IX,  390,  B.  A.  Elzas,  The  Jeivs  of  South  Carolina  (Philadelphia,  1905),  pp. 
33-37. 

33  JC,  Nov.  11,  1747,  Apr.  2,  1751,  Apr.  2,  1754;  JCHA,  May  22,  1749;  SCG, 
Jan.  30,  Apr.  24,  1755;  P,  V,  148,  XII,  118. 

3*  Co/.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  IV,  946,  JC,  Feb.  4,  1755,  P,  VI,  31.  For  the  Germans 
see,  for  instances,  P,  VI,  170,  175,  199;  for  the  English  note  John  Lamar  (JC, 
May  4,  1757,  P,  VI,  214,  234-235,  240,  332),  and  Timothy  Puckett,  formerly 
a  Wateree  settler   (above,  p.  102,  P,  VI,  253). 


130  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

nearby  between  1747  and  1759  was  nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty,  represent- 
ing headrights  of  about  six  hundred  and  fifty  persons.  The  two  militia 
companies  reported  in  1757  had  a  hundred  and  nine  men,  and  the  returns 
listed  seventeen  slaves.  The  population  of  six  hundred  thus  indicated  cor- 
responded closely  to  the  number  of  headrights.^' 

On  the  Saluda  warrants  and  surveys  between  1752  and  1759,  a  hun- 
dred and  forty  in  all,  amounted  to  nearly  thirty  thousand  acres.  Only 
three  of  these  were  for  more  than  five  hundred  acres,  and  there  were 
apparently  not  over  half  a  dozen  for  non-residents.  Slightly  over  half  of 
the  total  were  for  land  on  the  south  side  of  the  Saluda,  along  the  river  it- 
self, scattered  about  on  the  branches  of  the  Little  Saluda,  or  rather 
compactly  on  Ninety  Six  Creek.  On  the  north  side  the  valley  of  Bush 
River  was  preferred  to  Little  River,  and  to  the  banks  of  the  Saluda.  A 
few  men  had  surveys  far  above  the  rest;  Henry  Foster's  hundred  and  fifty 
acres  was  on  the  point  between  the  Saluda  and  Reedy  Rivers ;  John  Reed, 
another  member  of  Francis'  troop  of  1748,  had  two  hundred  and  fifty  run 
out  farther  up  on  the  Reedy;  John  Turk  in  1753  had  one  hundred  and 
fifty  acres,  and  James  Williams  in  1755  three  hundred,  surveyed  on 
Raeburns  Creek."" 

About  ten  per  cent  of  the  warrants  were  for  Germans  who  had  strayed 
farther  north  than  the  great  Dutch  Fork  settlement.  A  dozen  settlers 
stated  that  they  had  been  residents  of  the  province,  five  others  that  they 
were  from  Virginia,  and  several,  including  Edward  Brown  and  Thomas 
Haverd,  with  twelve  children,  were  from  Pennsylvania.  There  were  few 
servants,  and  few  slaves  besides  those  of  Dr.  Murray,  but  in  1748  Daniel 
Burnett  was  possessed  of  a  servant  and  thiee  negroes,  and  later  Enoch 
Anderson  had  three  slaves,  William  Turner  four,  and  John  Davis  two. 
Stephen  Holston  had  four  "Dutch"  servants.^^  Warrants  and  surveys  in 
the  valley  above  and  including  the  Little  Saluda  account  for  nearly  eight 
hundred  persons.  The  number  of  warrants  would  have  been  considerably 
smaller  had  it  not  been  for  Governor  Glen's  trip  to  Keowee  in  1753  to 
build  Fort  Prince  George.  On  his  return  he  received  the  petitions  and 
heard  the  oaths  as  to  headrights  of  sixteen  men  about  Saluda  Old  Town 
and  Ninety  Six  and  in  1755,  when  he  held  a  conference  here  with  the 
Cherokees,  even  James  Francis  and  Henry  Foster  paid  their  respects  to  the 
royal  authority  by  seeking  titles  to  land.  Timothy  Riordan,  nearly  thirty 
years  after  he,  or  one  of  his  name,  had  served  in  a  provincial  company,  ap- 
peared to  ask  for  two  hundred  acres  on  Ninety  Six  Creek,  and  Benjamin 
Burgess  got  a  warrant  for  a  hundred  acres  which  he  had  surveyed  near 

^^P,  VI,  85;  Grants,  VII,  39;  P,  V,  162,  XIX,  365;  JC,  Mar.  22,  1754;  Grants, 
V,  386  (apparently  Lloyd  acquired  the  Kirby  plat);  P,  XIX,  365  (two  plats  of 
Scott),  XVIII,   376    (Michie),    387    (Middleton). 

3SP,  V,  407,  VI,  74,  176,  VII,  324;  see  also  V,  245,  480,  VII,  277,  282. 

^MC,  Mar.  16,  1749,  Feb.  5,  Apr.  3,  1750,  Nov.  5,  1751,  Sept.  3,  1753,  Feb.  4, 
1755;  P,  V,  75.    For  Burnett  see  above,  p.  125,  and  JC,  June  8,  1748. 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back  Country  131 

Little  River,  though  he  fell  again  into  evil  courses  during  the  horse-thieving 
days  of  the  next  decade.^^ 

In  1757  the  two  militia  companies  of  Andrew  Brown  and  James 
Francis  numbered  forty-seven  and  seventy  men,  respectively,  and  to  this 
number  should  be  added  some  portion  of  the  company  on  the  Little  Saluda 
and  Twelve  Mile  Creek  below.  Slaves,  possibly  fifty  in  number,  were  not 
included  in  the  return.  Thus  the  militia  list  indicates  a  population  in  1757 
of  about  seven  hundred  and  twenty-five,  which  must  have  increased  by 
1759  to  nearly  eight  hundred. 

Ninety  Six  and  the  valley  below  had  passed  the  hunting  stage   and 
developed   a  fairly  prosperous  and  varied   industry,  with   some   products 
which  brought  in  a  money  income.     On  Ninety  Six  Creek  itself  Daniel 
Migler  had  his  blacksmith's  shop.     In  1751  John  Collier  who  came  from 
Virginia  declared  that  he  had  built  a  flour  mill  on  Samsons  Fork,  a  branch 
of  Saluda.     Nothing  more  appears  of  his  mill,  but  mill  paths  running  to- 
ward Little  River  near  its  mouth  are  found  on  plats  as  early  as   1749, 
showing  the  existence  of  one  on   the  north  side,   and   Mill   Creek  near 
Daniel   Burnett  suggests  that  there  was  another  at  Saluda  Old  Town. 
When  in  1753  Governor  Glen  was  casting  about  for  provisions  for  the  men 
who  were  to  build  Fort  Prince  George,  he  was  encouraged  to  hear  that 
the  wheat  crop  of  the  Saluda  valley  had  not  failed.     In  a  petition  of  1755 
the  settlers  of  Saluda  and  Enoree  stated  that  they  hoped  this  year  to  raise 
"some  hundreds"  of  pounds  of  indigo,  but  how  many  were  able  to  make 
money  in  this  way  cannot  be  said.    The  country  was  well  adapted  to  horse 
and  cattle  raising,  and  the  Cherokee  path  and  trade  offered  both  outlet  and 
possible  market.     Daniel  Burnett's  widow  in  1755  had  four  horses  stolen 
from  her,  and  about  the  same  time  there  is  a  reference  to  her  cattle.    The 
great  majority  here  were  small  farmers  who  had  little  money,  but  evidently        ^ 
maintained  themselves  in  a  fair  degree  of  comfort.     Robert  Lang  in  1757      / 
asked  the  Commons  House  to  pay  him  twenty  pounds  for  the  plundering     7" 
of  cattle  and  goods,  and  the  burning  of  his  house  by  the  Cherokees.     The      V 
house  was  evidently  a  simple  affair,  such  as  John  Hanna,  from  Virginia,     / 
expected  his  neighbors  to  help  him  build.     Hanna  also  had  the  promise  of 
aid  in  clearing  ground.^^ 

A  description  of  a  back  country  establishment  was  put  on  record  as  a 
result  of  the  mischievous  work  of  a  Cherokee  embassy  in  1753.  In  that 
year  Stephen  Holston  of  the  Little  Saluda  appeared  before  the  governor 
and  council  and  declared  that  during  his  absence  from  home  a  party  of 

38  JC,  Feb.  1,  1754,  May  22,  Aug.  5,  1755,  below,  pp.  207,  209,  P,  VII,  24,  IX, 
144,  JCHA,  Feb.  28,  1770,  PR,  XIII,  195  (Enclosure  no.  10  with  Middleton's  letter 
of  June  13,  1728). 

39  JCHA,  Feb.  5,  1755,  Mar.  15,  1757,  May  31,  1760;  below,  p.  172;  JC,  Apr. 
2,  1751,  Sept.  1,  1752;  P,  V,  52,  153,  VI,  340,  VII,  30;  PR,  XXV,  355  (above,  n. 
13);  SCG.  Oct.  31,  1754,  June  5,  1755  (advts.  of  John  Hamilton  and  James 
Francis). 


132  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

about  forty  Cherokees,  returning  from  a  conference  in  Charleston,  stopped 
for  the  night  at  his  house.  The  Indians  demanded  provisions  which  were 
given  them,  and  two  were  allowed  to  sleep  on  the  floor.     Holston's  wife 

retired  to  her  bed  Chamber  and  two  other  white  men  to  their  Rooms  but 
no  sooner  had  they  been  asleep,  till  the  said  Cherokee  Indians  Surrounded 
the  house  at  the  same  time  firing  a  great  many  Guns,  and  on  Each  side 
of  the  house  there  being  a  Door  the  Indians  broke  open  the  Doors  and 
came  forcibly  into  the  .  .  .  house  and  one  of  them  armed  with  a  gun  en- 
deavoured to  force  open  the  door  of  the  Room  where  the  Petifs  wife  Lay, 
she  looking  throw  a  hole  asked  him  what  he  wanted  and  seeing  all  of 
them  armed  and  in  a  forcible  posture,  to  save  her  life  she  Jumped  out  of 
a  window,  with  a  young  Infant  in  her  arms  and  went  thro  the  woods 
three  Miles  to  a  Neighbours  house  where  she  took  Shelter  that  night,  and 
in  the  morning  she  returned  to  her  own  house  she  found  that  the  said 
cherokees,  had  Robbed  her  of  the  Chief  part  of  her  Pewter  Plate  Dishes, 
Tea  Cups  Kettle  and  took  away  about  30  Bushels  of  Corn. 

As  there  were  three  other  white  men  at  the  place  that  night,  besides  James 
Beamer  and  his  half-breed  son  Thomas,  who  were  with  the  party,  Mrs. 
Holston's  aHrm  may  have  been  unwarranted,  but  it  was  sufficient  to  cause 
her  husband  to  apply  for  his  two  warrants  of  two  hundred  acres  each  on 
the  north  side  of  the  Saluda,  away  from  the  Cherokee  path."*" 

The  Cherokee  trade  brought  within  reach  of  the  Saluda  settlers  what 
was  probably  the  largest  store  above  the  fall  line,  and  made  Robert  Goudey 
the  most  important  man,  next  to  Francis,  in  the  valley.  Goudey  first  ap- 
pears in  the  Cherokee  trade  about  1747,  and  was  actively  engaged  in  it  for 
several  years.  In  1751  he  came  from  the  upper  Cherokees  with  a  hundred 
horse  loads  of  skins.  But  two  years  after  Herman  Geiger's  death  he  had 
a  store  at  Ninety  Six  and  was  thereafter  merchant  rather  than  trader, 
carrying  on  enterprises  larger,  perhaps,  than  those  of  any  other  Indian 
merchant  save  Patrick  Brown  himself.*^  He  sent  out  one  trader  with 
goods  worth  three  thousand  pounds  of  skins,  and  in  1758  got  judgment 
against  Cornelius  Daugherty  for  fifteen  hundred  pounds  sterling.  He  had 
already  the  year  before  gone  into  the  Cherokee  country  with  two  constables 
and  six  men  and  carried  away  four  slaves  from  Daugherty  in  the  night. 
When  he  died  in  1775  or  1776  there  were  about  four  hundred  persons  in 
debt  to  him ;  some  of  the  accounts,  however,  were  of  men  dead  fifteen  years. 
By  his  will  he  left  his  property  to  his  wife,  son  and  daughter,  but  gave  to 
his  three  Indian  daughters  a  small  sum  of  money  each.^^ 

*ojC,  Sept.  3,  1753,  P,  V,  414,  424. 

"JC,  July  18,  1748  (letter  of  Ludovick  Grant),  June  5,  1751,  July  6,  1753 
(statement  of  Elliott).  An  impressive  sketch  of  a  house  "the  forest,  belonging  to 
Mr.  Gowdie"  appears  on  the  plat  of  the  Simpson-Murray  tract  (above,  p.  127, 
n.  25)  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Saluda  and  nearly  opposite  the  upper  corner  of  the 
tract.     Note  "the  forest"  of  P,  V,  411,  and  "Windsor  Forest"  of  JC,  June  7,   1751. 

*-JC,  June  5,  1751;  Indian  Books,  V,  44,  VI,  105-109  (letters  of  Grant  and 
Demere)  ;  Court  Records,  Common  Pleas,  Feb.  1758  (Goudey  vs.  Cornelius 
Docharty)  ;  Wills,  1774-1779,  pp.  303-304;  Inventories,  1774-1785,  195-208. 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back  Country  133 

The  Saluda  valley  above  the  German  settlements  between  1748  and 
1759  represented  a  new  phase  of  the  South  Carolina  frontier.  The  rudest 
aspects  of  life  here  were  to  last  less  than  a  generation,  but  between  the 
piedmont  settlements  and  the  earlier  outposts  of  the  province  at  the 
Congarees  and  Savannah  Town  there  were  differences  of  more  than  pass- 
ing import.  The  great  distance  from  markets,  the  climate  and  soil — one 
more  healthful  than  that  of  the  lowlands,  the  other  more  generous  than 
that  at  the  fall  line — had  bred  or  attracted  a  hardier  and  more  numerous 
population,  which  as  a  whole  had  little  wealth  and  few  connections  with 
the  economy  and  society  of  the  coast. 

Yet  the  government  and  coast  country  had  a  grip  upon  the  region 
which  intelligent  administration  and  the  growth  of  settlement  bade  fair 
to  strengthen.  The  burden  of  defense  against  the  Indians  the  frontiers- 
men carried  for  the  most  part  by  themselves,  but  they  looked,  and  not 
always  vainly,  for  aid  from  Charleston.  The  conservative  South  Carolina 
government  had  no  stauncher  champions  than  the  back  country  leaders 
who  by  reason  of  origin,  or  the  property  or  position  they  had  acquired  or 
hoped  for,  felt  themselves  responsible  for  law  and  order  in  their  section. 
Among  these  men  was  William  Turner  who  owned  slaves  and  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  acres;  his  plantation,  which  included  the  low  ground  of 
Bush  River  at  its  mouth,  displaced  the  irregular  establishment  of  Thomas 
Haverd.  Others  were  Enoch  Anderson,  the  former  Indian  trader,  who 
settled  down  with  family  and  slaves  opposite  Saluda  Old  Town,  and  John 
Turk,  who  felt  in  1754  that  he  had  property  enough  to  require  his  adver- 
tising in  the  Gazette,  after  the  manner  of  Charleston  tradesmen,  the  fact 
that  his  wife  had  eloped  from  him,  and  that  he  would  not  be  responsible 
for  debts  contracted  by  her.^^  Finally  there  was  Francis  himself,  doubly 
important  because  he  combined  education,  experience  and  earnest  desire  to 
fill  responsible  positions  with  the  frontier  interests  and  outlook  which  gave 
him  a  powerful  hold  upon  unruly  neighbors. 

The  settlement  of  Stevens  Creek  and  the  nearby  valley  of  the  Savannah 
was  the  signal  for  the  advance  upon  Long  Cane  Creek,  the  Indian  bound- 
ary. John  Chevis,  a  free  negro  carpenter  from  Virginia,  in  1751  asked  for 
land  on  the  rights  of  himself,  wife,  nine  children  and  a  foundling  infant, 
saying  that  he  had  begun  improvements  on  Stevens  Creek.  This  warrant 
the  governor  and  council  granted  with  the  condition  that  he  prove  that  he 
was  free.  The  plat,  however,  was  surveyed  the  same  year  on  Little  River, 
of  which  Long  Cane  Creek  was  a  branch,  five  miles  above  the  junction  of 
the  two  streams.  Wider  bottom  lands  were  to  be  found  here,  but  it  was 
several  miles  beyond  the  Indian  boundary.*^     Four  men  between  1754  and 

^JC,  Feb.  S,  Apr.  3,  1750,  Mar.  17,  1752,  Feb.  4,  1755;  P,  V,  75,  VIII,  241; 
Indian  Books,  II,  pt.  2,  12,  V,  33;  SCG,  July  25,  1748  (letter  to  editor),  Aug.  IS, 
1754. 

**JC,  May  7,  1751,  P,  V,  138;  Patrick  Calhoun  refers  to  him  as  a  free  negro 


134  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

1756  had  surveys  made  on  or  near  the  lower  course  of  Little  River,  here- 
after generally  called  the  Northwest  Fork  of  Long  Cane — perhaps  to 
satisfy  scruples  in  regard  to  the  Indian  lands.  One  of  the  settlers  was  the 
illiterate  William  Morris,  "very  Sick  and  poor"  at  the  time,  who  sent  his 
wife  Elinor  to  petition  for  his  warrant.  He  survived  to  take  up  more  land 
and  to  have  his  wife  elope  from  him.^^ 

These  pioneers  opened  the  way  for  a  rapid  development  of  the  Long 
Cane  and  Little  River  valleys.  Noteworthy  among  the  new  settlers  was  a 
group  from  the  north,  similar  to,  though  smaller  than,  that  which  a  few 
years  before  made  the  Waxhaw  region  one  of  the  distinctive  settlements  of 
the  province.  The  Calhouns — four  brothers,  James,  Ezekiel,  William  and 
Patrick,  their  sister  Mary  Noble  and  a  Hugh  Calhoun — appear  for  a 
decade  prior  to  1755  in  the  records  of  Augusta  County,  Virginia,  holding 
considerable  tracts  of  land  and  disputing  before  the  courts  with  their 
neighbors.  After  January  1755  they  are  found  no  more  in  Augusta  records 
as  residents,  and  John  C.  Calhoun,  the  son  of  Patrick,  many  years  later  said 
that  the  four  brothers  with  their  sister  and  their  mother  Catherine  arrived 
in  South  Carolina  in  February  1756.  In  September  of  this  year  certain 
settlers  of  the  Long  Canes  region  petitioned  the  governor  for  protection 
against  Cherokee  depredations,  saying  that  they  had  moved  from  the 
Virginia  frontier  at  the  beginning  of  the  preceding  year,  and  had  secured 
the  consent  of  the  Cherokees  for  their  settlement.  Applications  for  war- 
rants, however,  were  not  made  until  June  6  1758,  when  William,  Ezekiel 
and  Patrick  were  allowed  four  hundred,  five  hundred  and  two  hundred 
acres  respectively,  while  Arthur  Patton,  doubtless  also  from  Augusta 
County,  was  given  a  warrant  for  six  hundred  and  fifty  acres.*®  On  the 
fourth  of  July  Mary  Noble  applied  for  three  hundred  acres  and  James 
Calhoun  for  three  hundred  and  fifty;  in  November  Robert  Norris,  ap- 
parently another  neighbor  from  Virginia,  and  Hugh  and  Robert  Calhoun 
were  given  warrants  for  three  hundred,  a  hundred,  and  a  hundred  acres 
respectively.  Patrick  evidently  had  secured  a  deputation  as  surveyor  while 
in  Charleston  and  with  these  tracts  began  the  near  monopoly  of  Long 
Canes  surveying  which  he  held  for  seven  years.  William  had  his  plat 
surveyed  to  include  Little  River  immediately  above  its  junction  with  a 
small  stream  later  known  as  Calhoun  Creek.  Perhaps  the  preference  was 
given  to  Mary  Noble,  who  acquired  "Cane  Hill"  at  the  junction  of  the 

(P,  VII,  63,  381).  The  location  is  indicated  by  plats  of  Petit  (P,  VIII,  136)  and 
Hillsboro  Township   (below,  p.  253). 

*5  William  Beddingfield  {Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  IV,  946,  P,  VI,  123);  Nimrod 
Kilcrease  (P,  VII,  418)  ;  John  Kilcrease  (P,  XX,  281,  for  location  see  P,  VIII, 
137  and  plat  of  Hillsboro);  Morris  (JC,  Dec.  5,  1755,  P,  VI,  350,  VIII,  382,  552, 
SCG,  June  11,  1763).    Note  also  John  Vann,  above,  n.  15. 

^SCHGM,  VII,  81-84,  XXXIX,  50;  Chalkley,  Chronicles,  I,  40,  JC,  Sept.  9, 
1756,  June  6,  1758;  Indian  Books,  V,  220-221.  The  Calhouns  were  formerly 
of  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania. 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back  Country  135 

forks  of  Calhoun  Creek,  a  mile  above  her  brother.  Patrick  laid  out  his 
own  land  on  the  south  fork  of  the  creek  a  mile  beyond  Cane  Hill/^ 

Another  group,  the  Alexanders,  came  immediately  afterwards.  From 
Aaron  to  Zebulun  there  were  nine  of  them  whose  plats  of  from  two  to  four 
hundred  acres  each  were  surveyed  in  1758  and  1759  on  Little  River  and 
the  smaller  streams  near  the  Calhoun  settlement.  Adam  Alexander  was 
apparently  one  of  the  settlers  on  Governor  Dobbs'  Rocky  River  lands,  and 
by  1759  two  more  of  his  neighbors  had  applied  for  land  on  Little  River  or 
its  branches;  after  1760  nine  others  appeared  in  the  Long  Canes  and  eight 
in  other  parts  of  the  South  Carolina  back  country.** 

Nearly  forty  plats  were  surveyed  on  Little  River  and  its  upper  tribu- 
taries during  1758  and  a  dozen  more  on  Long  Cane  and  other  nearby 
streams,  the  total  headrights  amounting  to  about  a  hundred  and  seventy- 
five.  The  next  j'ear,  because  of  Indian  troubles,  there  were  only  a  third 
as  many.  Thus  the  Long  Canes  region  had  thirty  percent  of  the  land- 
holdings  of  the  Savannah  valley  above  New  Windsor.  Despite  its  new- 
ness it  boasted  its  mill  on  one  of  the  branches  of  Little  River,  and  a  wagon 
road  running  from  the  Calhoun  settlement  across  Long  Cane  and  Turkey 
Creek  to  the  forks  of  the  Edisto.*^ 

How  true  it  was,  as  the  Long  Canes  settlers  claimed,  that  they  had 
the  approval  of  the  Cherokees  for  their  Little  River  settlement,  cannot  be 
ascertained ;  they  declared  that  for  a  time  they  were  well  treated  by  the 
Indians,  but  then  began  to  lose  their  horses  and  cattle.  Their  suspicions 
that  some  of  their  white  neighbors,  perhaps  engaged  in  the  Indian  trade  or 
dependent  on  hunting,  inspired  the  Indians  to  do  them  mischief  was 
probably  not  without  foundation.  However,  far  worse  than  cattle  steal- 
ing was  about  to  befall  those  who  had,  wittingly  or  not,  gone  over  the 
Indian  boundary. 

^^Chalkley,  Chronicles,  I,  53,  JC,  July  4,  Nov.  7,  1758.  For  these  plats  see 
P,  VI,  382-383,  390,  404,  406,  408,  421,  VII,  3,  27.  For  location  of  Ezekiel  Cal- 
houn's plat  note  that  it  adjoined  Henry  Baker  who  in  turn  adjoined  Beddingfield 
(P,  VIII,  376)  ;  for  Patton,  see  P,  IX,  382.  The  date  of  Hugh  Calhoun's  warrant  is 
noted  on  the  plat. 

*«P,  VI,  355,  358,  395.  VII,  12,  63,  284-286,  296,  above,  pp.  95-96. 

^^P,  VI,  319,  VII,  32,47,  268. 


CHAPTER  XI 

The  Waxhaws  and  Upper  Wateree 

The  Catawbas  and  their  kindred  tribes,  reduced  to  a  handful  by  war 
and  disease,  left  the  valley  of  the  Catawba- Wateree  open  for  settlement 
below  their  towns,  and  at  the  same  time  were  a  defense  against  attacks  upon 
it.  Pinetree  Hill  was  the  natural  outlet  for  the  region,  while  through  its 
upper  gateway  the  great  migration  from  the  north  made  its  way  into  South 
Carolina.  During  the  'forties  the  earlier  representatives  of  the  movement 
went  down  the  Wateree  and  there  or  elsewhere  mingled  with  the  pioneers 
from  the  low  country.  The  South  Carolinians  first  met  the  solid  mass  of 
Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  immigrants  in  the  next  decade  on  the  upper  or 
Catawba  reaches  of  the  river. 

Settlement  of  the  west  side  of  the  Wateree  above  the  falls  began  shortly 
after  that  in  Fredericksburgh  Township,  To  the  narrow  valley  and  slate 
land  of  Sawnej's  Creek  came  Isaac  Pinson,  who  could  not  sign  his  name, 
and  James  Adamson  who  declared  that  he  had  been  many  years  in  the 
service  of  the  crown  and  had  come  with  his  wife  and  two  children  by  way 
of  Philadelphia.^  Further  north  where  Wateree  Creek  offered  a  wider 
bottom  and  better  land  John  Arledge  of  Virginia  and  Richard  Gregory 
from  East  Jersey  in  1749  applied  for  warrants,  and  here  John  Stubbs — 
probably  from  Williamsburg — made  his  home.^ 

The  first  record  of  Moses  Kirkland  in  South  Carolina  is  typical  of  his 
troubled  career.  In  May  1752  Richard  Kirkland,  from  the  north,  applied 
for  a  warrant  for  three  hundred  and  fifty  acres  on  the  rights  of  himself, 
wife,  three  children,  a  white  servant,  and  two  negroes.  The  plat  was 
surveyed  near  the  mouth  of  Wateree  Creek  where  the  westerly  Catawba 
path  crossed  the  stream,  and  was  evidently  settled  by  Moses.  Accused  later 
in  the  year  of  enticing  the  Catawbas  down  to  his  house  to  trade  and  of 
selling  them  liquor,  Moses  declared  that  he  kept  "a  Store  of  Dry  goods  and 
have  had  some  Rum  and  other  Liquors  to  sell  which  I  have  sold  to  my 
Customers  and  Travelers  as  they  pass  [and]  repass  from  the  Northward  to 
the  Congarees  &c"  but  indignantly  denied  that  he  had  ever  sold  a  drop  of 
rum  to  an  Indian  in  his  life.     In  May  1754  he  was  summoned  before  the 

MC,  Aug.  1,  1749,  Oct.  3,  1752;  P,  V,  310,  370,  VII,  146;  Kirkland  and  Kennedy, 
Historic  Camden,  pt.  1,  62. 

2  Bureau  of  Soils,  Fairfield,  Kershaw;  P,  IV,  519,  V,  144  (path  on  Gate's 
plat)  ;  JC,  Mar.  20,  1735,  Feb.  2,  1749. 

136 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back   Country  137 

governor  on  the  charge  of  harboring  a  runaway  negro  and  was  again  ac- 
cused of  selling  rum  to  the  Indians.  The  latter  complaint  he  answered  as 
before,  but  promised  to  send  down  the  negro.  Shortly  afterward  he  began 
to  take  up  land  in  Amelia,  but  finally  established  himself  in  the  lower  part 
of  the  fork  of  the  Broad  and  Saluda  and  there  set  up  an  elaborate  wheat 
and  sawmill  plant.^  At  the  same  time  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  a  small 
group  of  settlers  was  filling  in  the  creek  valleys  immediately  above  Fred- 
ericksburg, among  them  Roger  Gibson,  who  moved  about  1751  from  his 
place  opposite  Pinetree  Hill  to  Beaver  Creek.  When  he  died  not  long  after, 
his  property  was  seized  for  debt.  Nearby  was  Jonathan  Christmas,  who 
was  from  the  Williamsburg  section.*  Perhaps  a  dozen  others  established 
themselves  on  or  near  Beaver  Creek  before  1759. 

At  Great  Falls,  halfway  between  Pinetree  Hill  and  the  Catawba  towns, 
a  rocky  ridge  partly  closes  the  Catawba  valley.  Above  this  point  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river  from  Camp  Creek  to  Waxhaw  Creek  the  land  is  roll- 
ing but  not  rugged,  and  the  surface  was  doubtless  a  vegetable  mold  for 
which  the  red  clay  made  a  good  subsoil,  in  some  contrast  with  the  darker 
heavier  clay  at  Waxhaw  Creek  and  beyond.  Between  the  two  small 
streams  lay  the  district  called  the  Waxhaws,  composed  chiefly  of  the  fan- 
like system  of  Cane  Creek  and  its  tributaries;  the  Waxhaw  Indians,  after 
whom  it  was  called,  abandoned  it  at  the  time  of  the  great  Indian  war  and 
went  to  the  Catawbas.  The  Catawba  path  dropped  from  the  higher  land 
into  the  valley,  crossed  Cane  Creek  above  its  junction  with  Camp  Creek, 
and  turned  north  along  the  ridge  between  the  creek  and  the  river.^ 

Edward  Richardson,  bricklayer,  slaveholder,  and  real  estate  owner  in 
Charleston,  in  1749  applied  for  a  warrant  for  twelve  hundred  acres  in  the 
Waxhaws,  but  later  had  his  survey  made  on  Jacks  Creek,  in  the  planta- 
tion area  on  the  north  side  of  the  Santee.  The  troubles  of  others  who 
actually  attempted  settlement  may  have  caused  him  to  make  the  change.* 
Benjamin  Maddox,  evidently  son  of  a  Maryland  settler  in  Fred- 
ericksburg, in  1752  declared  that  he  had  built  a  house  in  the  Waxhaws, 
and  had  moved  his  family  there;  his  warrant  was  surveyed  at  the  junction 
of  Cane  and  Camp  Creeks.  Ralph  Jones,  who  came  from  Ireland  with  the 
Wyly  group  of  Quakers,  and  Thomas  Simpson,  who  had  fourteen  slaves, 
applied  for  lands  on  Cane  Creek  at  crossings  of  the  Catawba  path,  while  on 

3JC,  May  5,  Nov.  15,  1752,  June  5,  1753,  Apr.  25,  May  7,  1754,  June  7,  1756, 
Sept.   7,    1762;    JCHA,   Mar.    19,    1765;    Indian   Books,    III,    160-161,    P,    V,    417. 

*  JC,  Mar.  3,  Dec.  3,  1752  (Daniel  Bready),  Oct.  2,  1753;  P,  V,  272,  Register  .  .  . 
Prince  Frederick,  p.  52. 

•"^Bureau  of  Soils,  Field  Operations,  1904  (Washington,  1905),  Lancaster 
(this  report,  however,  ignores  the  change  in  the  soil  beyond  Waxhaw  Creek)  ; 
Mooney,  Siouan  Tribes,  pp.  74-76;  JUHA,  Oct.  6,  1737.  For  the  path,  which 
evidently  changed  its  course,  perhaps  more  than  once,  see  P,  VII,  269,  XI,  471, 
XVI,  259. 

^  Court  Records,  Common  Pleas,  Nov.  term,  1746  (Richardson  'vs.  Clark)  ;  SCG, 
Feb.  9,  1760   (advt.  of  Richardson)  ;  JC,  Oct.  3,  1749,  P,  V,  449. 


138  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

the  river  nearby  John  Hudson,  a  Fredericksburg  settler,  had  a  hundred 
acres  surveyed  for  one  of  his  children.^ 

But  while  these  men,  between  1751  and  1753,  were  establishing  claims 
under  the  South  Carolina  government,  another  and  larger  group  was 
settling  in  the  Waxhaws.  In  1751  Andrew  Pickens,  Robert  Ramsay, 
Robert  and  William  Davies,  John  Linn  and  James  Moore  applied  to  the 
governor  and  council  of  North  Carolina  for  warrants  in  Anson  County, 
then  the  westernmost  of  the  counties  in  the  unsurveyed  portion  of  the 
southern  border.  Pickens  applied  for  eight  hundred  acres,  Ramsay  seven 
hundred,  and  Robert  Davies  six  hundred.  Pickens  became  captain  of  an 
Anson  County  militia  company,  a  roll  of  which,  apparently  made  in  1754, 
listed  sixty-one  privates  beside  his  subordinates.  Lieutenant  Robert  Ramsay, 
Ensign  John  Crockett,  three  sergeants,  and  five  corporals.®  Of  the  entire 
troop  thirty-two  appear  in  the  South  Carolina  or  North  Carolina  records 
as  landholders  in  the  Waxhaws  prior  to  the  Revolution.  Seventeen  more 
are  indicated  as  residents  of  the  Waxhaws  by  the  appearance  there  of 
others  of  the  same  surname.  Six  of  the  total  can  be  identified  with  Fishing 
Creek  or  Rocky  Creek,  opposite  the  Waxhaws;  five  more  appear  as  land- 
holders elsewhere  in  South  Carolina, 

Andrew  and  John  Pickens  were  among  the  justices  of  the  peace  who 
met  in  December  1745  to  form  the  first  court  for  Augusta  County,  Vir- 
ginia. The  next  year  a  John  Pickens  signed  the  petition  to  the  governor 
and  council  of  South  Carolina  for  the  purchase  of  the  Ninety  Six  lands.  In 
November  1750  Andrew  sold  four  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Augusta 
County,  and  disappears  from  its  records.  References  to  John  Pickens  con- 
tinue, but  one  of  that  name  was  sought  in  1750  and  again  in  1758  and  not 
found.  Upon  his  North  Carolina  warrant  Andrew  obtained  a  grant  for 
five  hundred  and  fifty  acres  on  the  north  side  of  Waxhaw  Creek.^  There 
are  many  references  in  the  Augusta  County  records  to  Robert  Ramsay  or 
Ramsey.  The  one  who  came  to  the  Waxhaws  apparently  surveyed  both 
of  his  North  Carolina  warrants  on  Cane  Creek,  near  the  crossing  of  the 
Catawba  path,  and  this  point,  lying  as  it  did  in  red  soil  rather  than  in  the 
darker  tougher  ground  on  Waxhaw  Creek,  became  the  center  of  the  settle- 
ment. Here,  adjoining  Ramsay  or  his  immediate  neighbors,  surveys  were 
made  for  Thomas  Wright,  George  Douglas,  James  Moore,  John  Martin 
Klein,  John  Kennedy,  and  Philip  Walker,  all  members  of  Pickens'  militia 

^For  Maddox  see  JC,  Sept.  6,  1749,  Feb.  4,  1752,  P,  V,  291;  for  Jones,  above, 
p.  103,  JC,  Dec.  7,  1752,  Mar.  13,  1754  (letter  of  Wyly),  P,  V,  290;  for  Simpson, 
JC,  Mar.  6,  1753,  P,  V,  420;   for  Hudson,  JC,  May  5,  1752,   P,  VII,  463. 

^  Col.  and  State  Recs.  of  N.  C,  IV,  1246,  1250,  XXII,  381-382. 

^Chalkley,  Chronicles,  I,  13,  305,  322,  III,  289;  above,  p.  124;  P,  XIV,  240; 
Grants,  (North  Carolina),  Book  2,  p.  11,  File  No.  28  (office  of  Grant  Clerk, 
Raleigh). 


% 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back  Country  139 

company;  others  were  to  be  found  close  by  on  other  portions  of  Cane 
Creek/°  Pickens  had  with  him  on  or  near  Waxhaw  Creek  several  of  his 
company,  among  them  Archibald  Crockatt,  William  Hood,  William 
Davies,  and  John  Pickens.  Near  him  Robert  McClenachan,  who  was 
evidently  of  Augusta  County  likewise,  settled  himself,  having  in  1751  ob- 
tained a  North  Carolina  warrant  for  four  hundred  acres.  Never  a  doubt 
that  he  was  not  in  North  Carolina  appeared  to  vex  him,  and  he  served  as 
justice  of  the  peace  under  that  government,  on  the  commission  for  estab- 
lishing Mecklenburg  County,  and  as  captain  of  the  militia.^^ 

Meanwhile  on  Cane  Creek  there  had  been  trouble  between  the  settlers 
holding  land  under  the  rival  governments.  Benjamin  Maddox  in  his  ap- 
plication for  land  in  1752  declared  that  the  day  after  he  moved  his  family 
to  his  new  house  a  surveyor  "and  a  Good  many  People  belonging  to  N° 
Carolina  came  and  run  out  the  Land,"  claiming  that  it  was  in  that  province. 
The  survey  on  this  warrant,  however,  and  another  made  for  him  later 
show  that  he  carried  his  point.  Richard  Causart  the  next  year  complained 
that  after  he  had  settled  himself  in  the  Waxhaws  on  the  land  for  which  he 
had  applied  to  the  South  Carolina  government,  Griffith  Rutherford,  a 
North  Carolina  surveyor,  surveyed  the  land  and  threatened  to  shoot  him 
or  any  South  Carolina  deputy  who  might  try  to  run  it  out.  Despite  the 
threat  Samuel  Wyly  surveyed  four  hundred  acres  for  him  on  a  branch  of 
Cane  Creek.  Ralph  Jones  secured  a  grant  for  his  Cane  Creek  survey,  "but 
being  terrified  with  the  Threats  of  the  people  in  that  part  who  say  it  is  in 
North  Carolina  he  was  afraid  to  venture  amongst  .  .  .  such  Despar'd 
people",  and  sold  the  land  to  John  Douglas.^^ 

The  governor  and  council  ordered  the  land  vacated,  but  at  the  same 
time  wrote  to  the  North  Carolina  executive  protesting  vigorously  against 
the  encroachments  on  the  Catawbas  and  on  the  southern  province.  Presi- 
dent Rowan  directed  an  inquiry  and  sent  a  report  of  the  findings  of  Anson 
County  officials.  One  of  these  was  Andrew  Pickens,  justice  of  the  peace, 
who  explained  that  Captain  William  Moore  had  obtained  a  North 
Carolina  warrant,  but  delayed  execution  of  it  till  after  Douglas  had  estab- 
lished his  title,  and  though  he  also  bought  a  South  Carolina  warrant  to  the 
land,  he  "found  himself  the  younger  Brother  there."  Both  "strove  each 
with  the  other  which  should  enjoy  the  Premises  which  occasioned  great 
Contentions  Quarrelings  and  Fightings  between  them,  and  Moore  plows 
up  the  others  Turnips  and  one  turned  Cattle  into  the  others  Wheat." 
Douglas  first  appealed  to  the  South  Carolina  government,  then  both  parties 

^^  See  plats  of  these  men,  or  their  names  on  plats  of  others,  P,  IX,  128,  XI, 
471,  XVI,  258-259. 

^^P,  VIII,  451  (path  on  Jane  Grierson's  plat),  XIV,  240;  Deed  Books  (Anson 
County,  N.  C.),  I,  280;  Chalkley,  Chronicles,  I  and  II,  indexes;  Col.  and  State 
Recs.  of  N.  C,  IV,  1250,  VI,  799,  XXIII,  590-591  ;  see  also  V,  141. 

12  p,  V,  291,  351,  VII,  289;  JC,  Feb.  4,  1752,  Feb.  6,  1753,  Mar.  13,  1754. 


140  The  Expansion  of  South  Caroli?ta 

went  to  Pickens.  He  persuaded  them  to  submit  the  dispute  to  their  neigh- 
bors, and  they  in  turn  referred  it  to  the  North  Carolina  government." 

Hard  on  the  heels  of  this  affair  came  the  complaint  of  Daniel  Mc- 
Daniel.  Three  warrants  were  granted  in  the  upper  part  of  Fredericks- 
burg to  two  slaveholders  of  that  name,  one  from  Virgina,  the  other  from 
Williamsburg,  but  it  was  probably  the  former  who  in  June  1754  de- 
scribed his  injuries  at  the  hands  of  would-be  North  Carolinians.  His 
narrative  was  to  the  effect  that  "being  at  one  of  his  Neighbours  Houses 
called  William  Mitchell  where  there  was  Lickuar  to  sell,  and  some  of  the 
Company  began  to  fight  and  abuse  each  other,  the  said  McDaniel  strove  to 
peacefie  them"  and  himself  was  drawn  into  an  altercation  with  one.  After- 
wards "he  went  to  one  of  His  own  Plantations"  where  he  had  a  tenant  and 
went  to  bed.  Late  in  the  night  a  party  of  men  armed  with  clubs  and  other 
weapons  came  to  the  house  to  carry  him  before  Squire  Robeson,  of  Anson 
County.  McDaniel  and  his  tenant  drove  them  off.  A  hue  and  cry,  with 
promise  of  five  pistoles  reward  resulted  in  his  capture  and  appearance  before 
several  magistrates,  one  of  them  Andrew  Pickens.  Another  protest  from 
the  southern  government  followed,  and  apparently  the  case  went  no  further. 
It  was  partly  to  avoid  conflict  with  the  North  Carolina  authorities  but 
chiefly  for  the  protection  of  the  Catawbas  that  Governor  Glen  and  his 
council  ordered  the  Jones  tract  vacated,  and  from  time  to  time  inserted 
clauses  in  Wateree  warrants  forbidding  surveyors  to  execute  them  within 
thirty  or  forty  miles  of  the  Catawbas.  The  prohibition  did  not  entirely 
prevent  South  Carolina  encroachments,  however,  and  of  course  had  no 
effect  upon  the  northern  government.^* 

Most  of  the  Waxhaw  settlers  were  to  be  found  on  or  near  the  five  or 
six  mile  stretch  of  Cane  Creek  that  parallels  the  river.  From  the  center 
of  the  settlement  where  the  Catawba  path  crossed  Cane  Creek  another  road 
ran  west  to  Land's  ford  over  the  river.  The  plats  as  well  as  the  names  of 
these  settlers  are  evidence  of  a  group  spirit  that  is  in  marked  contrast  with 
the  individualism  of  most  of  the  settlements  on  other  piedmont  rivers, 
and  indicate  that  in  part  this  was  such  a  migration  as  that  which  settled  the 
Welsh  Tract.  In  Pickens'  company  there  were  five  men  of  each  of  the 
names  Pickens,  Davies,  and  Nutt ;  four  Crocketts  and  four  Walkers,  and 
two  each  of  five  other  names.  The  first  plats  were  on  the  creek,  but  later 
settlers  showed  a  tendency  to  cling  to  the  others,  and  surveyed  the  adjoin- 
ing upland  rather  than  the  remaining  but  more  distant  creek  bottoms.  The 
court  records  of  Augusta  County,  Virginia,  indicate  that,  besides  the 
Pickens  and  Ramsay  families,  Robert  McClenachan,  the  McCorkles, 
Crocketts,  and  Linns  came  from  that  county.    Three  of  the  deeds  for  land 

^^JC,  Mar.  14,  Apr.  24,  May  6,  1754. 

"JC,  Nov.  28,  1747,  June  9,  1748,  Jan.  24,  1749,  Dec.  3,  1751,  Aug.  4,  1752, 
June  5,  1753,  May  11,  June  17,  1754;  Indian  Books,  III,  163-164. 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back  Country  141 

by  the  Waxhaw  settlers,   recorded   in  Anson   County,  were   paid   for   in 
Virginia  currency/^ 

Across  the  river  and  somewhat  below  the  Waxhaws  lay  a  region  much 
resembling  it.  Fishing  Creek  and  Rocky  Creek  entered  the  Catawba  at 
the  "Great  Falls"  or  shoals  of  the  river,  and  with  their  tributaries  made  a 
rolling  valley  or  a  series  of  small  valleys  affording  a  large  amount  of  creek 
bottom  for  small  farmers.  Thomas  Pinson  in  1749  asked  for  a  warrant  for 
fifty  acres  near  the  mouth  of  Rocky  Creek  on  which  to  build  a  mill.  Three 
years  later  John  Lea  or  Lee  stated  that  he  came  from  Maryland  about  a 
year  before  and  had  settled  on  Wateree  Creek,  where  he  had  cleared  nine 
acres  of  land  and  on  it  "built  proper  Conveniencys  for  his  Family". 
Thomas  Land,  a  weaver,  also  from  the  northward,  one  of  the  party  which 
attacked  Daniel  McDaniel,  declared  that  he  had  bought  a  North  Carolina 
warrant,  but  wished  a  South  Carolina  title;  his  four  hundred  acres  was 
surveyed  in  the  forks  of  Rocky  Creek.^^  Thirty  or  forty  men  had  lands 
surveyed  before  1760  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  above  Rocky  Mount,  but 
these  plats  were  chiefly  on  the  branches  of  Rocky  Creek,  for  the  sides  of 
the  river  valley  proper  were  narrow  and  steep.  Few  North  Carolina 
surveys  appear. 

By  1760  over  a  hundred  and  fifty  South  Carolina  warrants  and  surveys 
amounting  to  thirty  thousand  acres  had  been  recorded  for  the  Wateree- 
Catawba  valley  above  the  shoals  on  the  west  side  and  Fredericksburg  Town- 
ship on  the  east.  A  quarter  of  this  total  was  located  in  the  Waxhaws,  an- 
other quarter  across  the  river  in  the  valleys  of  Rocky  and  Fishing  Creeks, 
a  third  of  it  on  the  west  side  between  Wateree  Creek  and  the  shoals,  and 
the  remainder  on  the  east  side  between  the  Waxhaws  and  the  township. 
To  this  amount  should  be  added  four  thousand  acres  which  can  be  identified 
as  Waxhaw  grants  of  the  North  Carolina  government.  Half  a  dozen  men 
appear  as  settlers  on  Wateree  and  Beaver  Creeks  whose  land  records  have 
not  been  found. 

For  the  portions  of  the  valley  below  Rocky  Creek  and  the  Waxhaws 
the  land  holdings  are  probably  a  fair  index  of  the  population — about  two 
hundred  and  twenty-five  on  the  west  and  a  hundred  on  the  east.  But  the 
number  and  apparent  distribution  of  the  men  in  Pickens'  company  in  1754 
show  that  the  South  Carolina  offices  recorded  only  a  small  portion  of  the 
Waxhaw  settlers.  Furthermore,  the  South  Carolina  militia  list  of  1757 
includes  two  Waxhaw  companies — one  commanded  by  Pickens,  with 
Robert  Ramsay  as  lieutenant  and  John  Crockatt  as  ensign,  the  other  by 

^'^  See  Chalkley,  Chronicles,  I  and  III,  Indexes;  Deed  Books,  (Anson  County, 
N.  C),  MS,  I,  222-224,  280,  390. 

-^Bureau  of  Soils,  Field  Operations,  1912  (Washington,  1915),  Chester.  For 
Pinson  see  JC,  Aug.  1,  1749,  Indian  Books,  II,  pt.  2,  87;  for  John  Lee  and  his  son 
Francis  see  JC,  Nov.  7,  1752,  P,  V,  378-379;  for  Land,  P,  V,  416,  VIII,  414,  Deed 
Books  (Anson  County,  N.  C),  I,  431-432,  JC,  June  5,  1753. 


142  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

Thomas  Simpson.  The  first  contained  sixty-one  white  men,  including 
officers,  and  six  slaves ;  the  second,  sixty-one  whites  and  seven  slaves.  There 
were  two  companies  on  the  west  side,  Adamson's  and  White's.  The  popu- 
lation of  the  Waxhaws  was  probably  about  five  hundred,  and  that  across 
the  river  on  Rocky  and  Fishing  Creeks  over  three  hundred.^^ 

The  Catawbas,  perhaps  the  chief  sufferers  by  the  boundary  controversy, 
themselves  became  troublesome  as  settlers  encroached  upon  their  lands. 
A  certain  Andrew  Clever  was  driven  from  Fishing  Creek  by  the  young 
Catawbas  who  burned  his  house  but  allowed  him  to  take  away  his  belong- 
ings. A  drunken  Catawba  even  killed  a  child  in  the  Waxhaws,  but  was 
immediately  put  to  death  by  his  tribe.  Matthew  Tool,  the  trader  who 
stayed  in  the  nation,  complained  of  their  usually  petty  but  constant  depre- 
dations on  the  inhabitants.  The  South  Carolina  settlers  found  no  favor 
with  their  government,  since  the  sufferers  all  lived  within  the  thirty-mile 
limit  set  by  Governor  Glen.  The  North  Carolina  administration,  feeling 
little  need  of  the  Catawbas  as  a  frontier  defense,  resented  the  South  Caro- 
lina reservation  and  protectorate,  and  aggrieved  settlers  had  some  success 
in  their  applications  to  that  government.  At  a  conference  at  Tool's  house 
in  1754  three  settlers,  who  cannot  be  identified  by  the  records  of  either 
government,  complained  that  the  Indians  took  bread,  meat  and  clothes  from 
them,  and  had  even  tried  to  carry  off  a  child.  The  Catawba  chief.  King 
Hagler,  made  a  good  defense.  The  attempted  abduction,  he  said,  was 
merely  a  joke  of  one  of  their  wild  young  men.  When  the  warriors  were  on 
the  warpath,  either  in  pursuit  or  flight,  and  went  to  some  of  the  settlers' 
houses  for  food,  "no  sooner  we  do  appear  but  your  Dogs  bark  and  .  .  . 
[you]  hide  Your  Bread  Meal  and  Meat"  so  that  food  had  to  be  taken  by 
force.  However,  there  were  many  "that  are  very  kind  and  Curtious  to 
us  .  .  .  they  give  us  Bread  and  milk  meat  or  Butter  very  freely".  In 
turn  he  brought  the  constant  Indian  indictment  against  the  whites: 
"Brothers  here  is  One  thing  You  Yourselves  are  to  Blame  very  much  in. 
That  is  You  Rot  Your  grain  in  Tubs  out  of  which  you  take  and  make 
Strong  Spirits  You  sell  it  to  our  young  men  and  give  it  them,  many  times; 
they  get  very  Drunk  .  .  .  [and]  Commit  those  Crimes  ...  it  is  also 
very  bad  for  our  people,  for  it  Rots  their  guts  and  Causes  our  men  to  get 
very  sick".^® 

It  is  chiefly  these  fracases  of  McDaniel,  Douglas,  and  the  Indians  that 
bring  out  the  scanty  evidence  on  the  industrial  life  of  the  upper  Wateree 
and  the  Catawba.  Their  corn,  wheat,  rye,  cattle  and  hogs,  turnips,  milk 
and  butter,  were  the  products  of  a  simple  but  complete  back  country  in- 

■'^'^JC,  May  4,  1757,  above,  p.  105.  Simpson's  company  probably  included  the 
men  on  Beaver  Creek  and  nearby.  For  the  landless  settlers  see  paths  on  plats, 
p^  V,  49,  144,  149. 

'   i«  jc'  Apr.  5,  1753   (letter  of  Steill),  Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  V,  141-144b,  363,  574, 
784,  VI,  58. 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back  Country  143 

dustry — so  complete  that  it  even  included  the  whiskey  with  which  to  brace 
their  spirits  or  fuddle  their  wits  without  recourse  to  the  low  country  rum. 
A  larger  industry — probably  more  a  hope  for  the  future  than  an  achieve- 
ment of  the  present — is  outlined  by  the  petition  of  the  Wateree  inhabitants 
of  1752  in  which  they  asked  for  a  road  to  the  Catawba  nation.  They  de- 
clared it  would  open  a  considerable  trade  with  the  settlements  on  the 
Catawba  and  Yadkin  in  flour,  butter,  cheese,  hemp,  flax  and  flax  seed. 
In  addition  to  Pinson's  mill  on  Rocky  Creek,  there  was  the  gristmill  of 
James  Lynah  which  appears  on  a  plat  of  1756  on  Singletons  Creek,  below 
the  Waxhaws.  The  conference  with  the  Catawbas  in  1754  shows  the 
existence  of  another  mill,  perhaps  above  the  Catawba  towns.  Probably 
the  best  customers  that  these  settlers  had  for  their  surplus  were  the  new- 
comers, but  there  was  doubtless  a  considerable  export  likewise.  A  certain 
McLaney  of  Fishing  Creek  was  at  Pinetree  Hill  with  his  wagon  on  his 
way  to  Charleston  in  1760  when  the  Cherokees  attacked  his  home  and 
killed  his  wife  and  daughter.^® 

The  inventories  of  Robert  and  James  McCorkle,  the  one  of  1757  and 
the  other  of  1760,  add  considerably  to  the  scanty  descriptions  of  the 
economy  and  of  conditions  of  life  in  the  Waxhaws.  Both  men,  or  rather, 
men  of  both  names,  were  in  Pickens'  company,  and  all  the  names  in  the 
inventories  are  of  Waxhaw  settlers.  Both  lists  include  twenty  or  twenty- 
five  head  of  cattle  and  several  horses,  but  together  only  ten  hogs.  James 
had  a  cart,  Robert  a  plow,  plow  irons,  and  "her"  gears.  Robert's  in- 
ventory carried  two  mattocks,  a  weeding  hoe,  a  sickle,  three  axes,  a  band 
saw,  cooper's  tools,  and  some  plank.  For  household  comforts  he  had  one 
bed,  a  trunk,  two  iron  pots  and  a  pot  rack,  a  frying  pan,  pewter,  delph 
ware  and  wooden  dishes,  with  two  dozen  spoons,  and  eight  knives  and 
forks.  He  had  two  Bibles.  Most  of  James  McCorkle's  property  seems 
to  be  listed  as  already  sold  at  a  vendue,  seven  gallons  and  two  quarts  of 
whiskey  being  expended  on  the  occasion.  Much  of  the  property  was  in 
cattle,  but  included  was  a  "chist",  a  coat  and  "wescoat",  a  pair  of  shears, 
and  some  firearms.^" 

The  Waxhaws,  like  Williamsburg  and  the  Welsh  Tract,  affords  strik- 
ing evidence  that  it  required  a  closely-knit  community  to  found  a  church, 
and  that  in  turn  the  church  was  a  powerful  factor  in  binding  together  as 
well  as  improving  the  settlement.  Between  1753  and  1755  both  the 
Charleston  Presbytery  and  the  northern  Presbyterians  sent  ministers 
through  the  settlement  to  preach.  In  November  1755,  one  of  these,  Hugh 
McAden,  after  a  trip  across  to  Broad  River,  returned  and  preached  to  a 
congregation  which  was  evidently  the  beginning  of  Fishing  Creek  Church, 
then  crossed  the  Catawba  and  preached  in  the  Waxhaw  meeting  house.    In 

^MC,  Apr.  6,  1756,  SCG,  Sept.  27,  1760;  JCHA,  May  9,  Dec.  12,  1752,  P,  VI,  258. 
Note  the  acts  providing  for  Wateree  and  Catawba  roads,  above,  p.  106. 


I 


20 


Will  Books  (Anson  County,  N.  C),  I. 


144  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

March  1757,  Robert  Miller,  "min''  of  the  Waxaws",  bought  a  tract  of 
land  on  which  was  an  old  cabin,  but  in  February  of  the  next  year  simply 
as  Mr.  Robert  Miller,  with  his  wife,  he  resold  the  cabin  and  the  land  ex- 
cept four  and  a  half  acres.  This  latter  tract,  with  a  house  for  divine  wor- 
ship and  a  retiring  house,  he  gave  by  deed  a  few  weeks  later  to  Robert 
Davies,  Robert  Ramsay,  John  Linn,  Samuel  Dunlap,  and  Henry  White, 
planters,  for  the  use  of  the  Waxhaw  Presbyterian  congregation.  The 
deed  mentioned  a  spring  on  the  lot.  Miller  and  his  wife  Jean  reserved 
the  seat  at  the  left  of  the  north  entrance,  the  seat  to  be  four  feet  long  and 
to  be  paid  for  at  the  same  rate  as  the  others  then  rented  in  the  church.^^ 

The  short-lived  ministry,  which  thus  came  to  an  end  with  such  apparent 
good  feeling  on  the  part  of  Miller,  began  with  the  church's  appeal  to  the 
Charleston  Presbytery  for  a  minister  and  the  licensing  by  that  body  of  this 
probationer,  a  Scotch  schoolmaster.  In  June  1758  Miller  was  deposed 
by  the  Presbytery  on  the  charge  of  adultery.  Within  a  year  the  church 
called  William  Richardson,  an  Englishman  educated  at  the  University  of 
Glasgow  and  a  student  of  theology  under  Samuel  Davies  of  Virginia.  He 
had  recently  been  ordained  by  the  Hanover  Presbytery  of  Virginia  as 
missionary  to  the  Cherokees,  but  had  given  up  the  task  as  hopeless  almost 
as  soon  as  appointed.  His  widely  extended  ministry,  lasting  till  his  death 
in  1771,  did  much  to  make  the  Waxhaws  the  Presbyterian  center  of  the 
South  Carolina  back  country.  The  church  stood  near  the  point  where  the 
old  Catawba  path  crossed  the  new  path  to  Land's  ford,  and  was  only  a 
mile  and  a  half  from  the  river.  During  the  next  decade  settlers  even 
forebore  their  usual  search  for  river  and  creek  bottoms  and  took  up  every 
foot  of  land  near  the  church.  The  Presbyterian  congregation  on  Fishing 
Creek  evidently  joined  the  Waxhaw  Church  in  calling  Richardson,  and  a 
plat  surveyed  on  the  creek  in   1763  shows  paths  to  the  meeting  house.^^ 

So  varied  had  been  the  social  types  of  the  newer  South  Carolina  com- 
munities, so  gradual  the  drift  of  the  settlement  process  away  from  the 
plantation  and  trading  post  types  of  the  early  royal  period  toward  non- 
staple  and  non-commercial  communities,  that  there  were  probably  few  in 
the  province  who  realized  that  the  Waxhaw  settlement  had  any  significance 
save  for  trade  and  frontier  defense.  In  one  way  or  another  the  dominant 
planter  and  merchant  group  of  the  tidewater  had  a  powerful  grip  upon 
each  of  the  preceding  settlements,  whether  by  its  staple  crop,  slave  labor, 
fear  of  the  Indians  or  French,  or  by  the  low  country  origin  of  its  settlers. 
But  two-thirds  or  three-fourths  of  the  settlers  of  the  upper  Wateree  and 
Catawba  came  from  the  north,  among  them  nearly  all  the  leaders  of  the 
region,  and  their  slaves  were  negligible  in  number.  The  absence  of  eco- 
nomic ties,  however,  promised  to  be  less  serious  than  social  and  political 

21  Deed  Books  (Anson  County,  N.  C),  V,  12,  125,  136-137;  Howe,  Presby- 
terian Church,  I,  286-288. 


22 


Ibid.,  287-293,  297-298,  336,  417,  P,  VII,  339. 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back  Country  145 

differences,  for  already  there  was  a  small  sale  from  the  upper  valley  of  the 
products  of  the  dairy  and  of  the  farm.  It  was  the  strengthening  of  South 
Carolina  Presbyterianism  and  its  connections  with  the  north  that  con- 
stituted a  real  threat  to  the  tidewater  system. 

The  valley  of  Lynches  River  above  the  sand  hills  made  a  small  and 
somewhat  isolated  area,  which  because  of  its  position  and  scanty  resources 
played  a  minor  part  in  the  colonial  life  of  South  Carolina.  In  1750 
Robert  Stuart,  from  the  Jerseys,  and  John  Middleton  whose  family  had 
six  slaves,  applied  for  warrants  near  the  mouth  of  Buffalo  Creek,  a  branch 
of  the  main  stream,  Middleton  explaining  that  his  father  before  his  death 
had  built  a  house  and  made  improvements  there.  In  1.752  William  McKee 
from  the  northward,  who  had  a  white  servant  in  his  family,  applied  for 
a  warrant  which  was  surveyed  on  a  branch  of  the  south  fork,  or  Little 
Lynches  River,  which  rises  so  far  to  the  west  that  it  interlaces  with  the 
waters  of  the  Catawba.  The  Catawba  path  crossed  this  creek  where  a 
hundred-foot  cliff  and  the  great  Hanging  Rock  overhung  the  stream,  and 
McKee's  plat  included  the  rock.^^ 

A  contemporary  historian  of  the  Baptists  stated  that  about  1754  nine- 
teen members  of  the  Welsh  Neck  congregation  moved  to  this  region  and  in 
September  1755  formed  a  church.  Henry  Ledbetter  was  their  first  pastor 
and  James  Smart  his  assistant,  both  men  being  originally  from  Virginia. 
Edward  Boykin  and  his  son  Henry  were  made  deacons;  Ledbetter  and 
Smart  both  applied  for  warrants  on  November  6,  1755  and  the  plat  of  the 
former  was  surveyed  on  the  south  fork.  Edward  Boykin  and  William 
DeLoach  appear  among  the  landholders  of  the  Peedee  section,  and  De- 
Loach  and  Henry  Boykin  now  had  warrants  surveyed  on  Little  Lynches. 
The  church  built  in  1757  was  probably  on  the  east  side  of  the  main  fork, 
but  a  few  years  later  was  rebuilt  near  the  mouth  of  Flat  Creek  across  the 
river.  The  rectors  of  Prince  Frederick's  occasionally  visited  this  as  other 
nearby  settlements.^* 

The  names  of  several  settlers  taking  out  warrants  for  land  on  these 
upper  waters  indicate  that  some  of  them  were  from  the  communities  on 
the  Black  River  and  nearby  stretches  of  Lynches  River.  John  Pickens, 
however,  came  from  Virginia  with  the  Waxhaw  group  of  settlers.  He 
bought  land  on  the  west  side  of  the  Catawba  in  1755  from  Robert  Mc- 
Clenachan,  but  two  years  later  resold  the  tract  to  its  former  owner,  mean- 
while in  1756  applying  to  the  South  Carolina  government  for  two  hundred 

23  JC,  Aug.  10,  1750.  For  Stuart,  see  P,  VI,  1,  227  (plat  of  John  "Perkins"),  JC, 
Nov.  6,  1755  (David  Anderson)  ;  for  Middleton,  and  James  Clark,  a  neighbor, 
JC,  Aug.  10,  1750,  Jan.  8,  1752,  P,  V,  390,  VI,  227,  418,  VII,  10;  for  McKee,  JC, 
Dec.  5,  1752,  P,  V,  383. 

2*Townsend,  5".  C.  Baptists,  pp.  95-96,  JC,  Feb.  8,  1746,  Nov.  6,  1755,  P, 
V,  59,  169,  VI,  121,  146  VII,  162;  Register  .  .  .  Prince  Frederick,  pp.  33,  36,  39 
(Hewet,  Dial,  Clark,  Cantey).  Smart  in  1759  moved  to  the  Coosawhatchie  and 
became  minister  of  that  church  (see  above,  p.  75). 


146  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

acres  on  Lynches  River.  The  survey  the  next  year,  on  a  branch  of  the 
south  fork,  showed  a  mill  and  pond  apparently  complete.  In  1759  he  was 
a  justice  of  the  peace  advertising  strayed  horses  and  cattle,  but  described 
himself  as  living  on  the  north  fork.^^ 

From  1752  to  the  end  of  1758  surveying  of  land  on  the  two  forks  of 
the  river  and  their  branches  went  on  slowly  but  steadily,  finally  amounting 
to  at  least  fifteen  thousand  acres,  over  half  of  it  on  Little  Lj'nches  and  its 
chief  tributary.  Hanging  Rock  Creek.  There  were  a  number  of  other 
grants  of  uncertain  location  that  might  have  increased  the  total  by  a  third. 
The  militia  organization  of  1757  included  two  companies,  one  on  each  fork, 
that  on  the  south  branch  having  fifty  white  men  and  sixteen  slaves, 
the  other  fifty-three  whites  and  five  slaves.  The  few  hints  as  to  the  oc- 
cupation of  these  men  point  to  stock  raising  as  their  chief  support — "this 
range"  is  the  phrase  used  by  Pickens  in  1759.^® 

^^  See,  for  instance,  index  to  Plats  for  Thomas  Crawford,  Robert  Allison,  John 
Lide,  Thomas  Dial,  and  William  Cantey.  For  Cantey  see  also  SCG,  Apr.  2, 
1763  (advt.  of  John  Pickens).  For  Pickens  see  above,  p.  124,  Deed  Books,  (Anson 
County,  N.  C),  I,  280,  390;  JC,  Dec.  7,  1756,  P,  VII,  379;  SCG,  May  5,  12,  1759. 

26  JC,  May  4,  1757;  SCG,  Jan.  12,  Sept.  8,  1759,  Feb.  14,  1761,  Nov.  5, 
1763    (advts.  of  Pickens). 


CHAPTER  XII 

The  Dutch  Fork  and  Upper  Broad  River 

The  valley  of  Broad  River,  the  largest  in  the  South  Carolina  piedmont, 
opened  upon  the  Congaree  gateway,  the  most  important  interior  point  in 
the  province.  Its  development,  however,  was  somewhat  slower  than  that 
of  the  basins  of  either  the  Saluda  or  Wateree,  for  it  had  neither  township 
nor  Indian  trade  path  from  Charleston  to  attract  settlers  and  to  direct 
them  along  its  course.  Furthermore,  its  lower  portion  for  twenty  miles 
or  more,  like  that  of  the  Saluda,  is  generally  narrow,  with  small  creek 
valleys  opening  from  it,  and  the  soil,  derived  from  the  prevailing  slate,  is 
neither  so  fertile  nor  so  easily  cultivated  as  the  red  clay  land  beyond.^ 

On  the  Saluda,  above  Twelve  Mile  Creek  and  the  scantily  settled 
corner  of  Saxe  Gotha,  a  certain  John  Gibson  and  several  Germans  es- 
tablished themselves  between  1747  and  1749.  Michael  Taylor,  one  of  the 
Virginians  who  petitioned  in  1746  for  the  purchase  of  the  Ninety  Six  lands, 
described  himself  in  1749  as  a  weaver  and  had  his  plat  surveyed  on  the 
south  bank  of  the  Saluda.  On  the  same  day  two  other  Virginians,  James 
Scott  and  William  Jenkins,  applied  for  tracts  on  the  south  bank,  and  Scott 
apparently  kept  a  boat  for  the  convenience  of  travellers  who  came  by  the 
path  approaching  the  northern  side.  Samuel  Lines,  a  native  of  the  prov- 
ince who  in  1745  was  living  on  Raifords  Creek,  moved  to  Beaverdam 
Creek,  near  Scott's  home.^ 

The  first  settlement  between  the  Broad  and  the  Saluda  was  the  result 
of  the  partial  exhaustion  by  the  bounty  immigrants  of  the  good  land  in 
Saxe  Gotha,  and  in  1749  other  Germans  appear  near  the  earlier  settlers. 
Farther  up  the  Saluda,  on  High  Hill  Creek  and  on  Bear  Creek,  two 
Germans  and  several  Englishmen  had  plats  surveyed,  among  them  Robert 
Steill,  the  Congaree  trader,  and  two  soldiers  recently  discharged  from  the 
independent  companies.^  On  the  west  bank  of  the  Broad,  at  a  ford  and 
island  four  miles  above  its  mouth,  Thomas  Brown  had  two  hundred  and 

^  See  below,  n.  5. 

2p,  IV,  382,  V,  63,  JC,  Feb.  5,  1750;  for  Taylor,  see  above,  p.  123,  P,  V,  101 
("above  the  Congrees")  ;  for  Scott  and  Jenkins,  see  JC,  Mar.  2,  1749,  P,  V,  104, 
and  for  location  plat  of  Jackson,  see  Lines;  for  Lines,  see  Map  3,  JC,  Apr.  7, 
1752,  P,  Vn,  180. 

3  Above,  p.  56;  for  High  Hill  Creek,  see  P,  IV,  423,  426,  456,  462,  467,  475- 
476;  for  Bear  Creek,  and  location  of  those  plats,  see  JC,  Aug.  2,  1749,  and,  in 
order,  plats  of  Jackson,  Brown,  Long,  Frymouth,  Warle,  Myer,  and  Rome  (P, 
V,  236,  IV,  493,  448,  463,  431,  V,  54). 

147 


148  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

fifty  acres  surveyed.  Samuel  Hollenshed,  a  blacksmith  from  New  Jersey 
and  Virginia,  made  his  home  and  carried  on  his  trade  on  the  west  side 
of  the  river  at  the  mouth  of  the  creek  which  came  to  be  known  by  his 
name,  and  by  1750  a  dozen  Germans  had  settled  on  both  sides  of  the  river 
below  Cedar  Creek,  one  of  them  having  three  slaves  in  his  headrights.* 

There  was  no  great  attraction  for  settlers  on  the  lower  Broad,  how- 
ever, and  hardly  had  the  handful  of  earlier  immigrants  brought  the  settle- 
ments as  far  as  Little  River  than  other  newcomers  overran  the  red  clay 
lands  above  quite  to  the  Tyger.^  Purmont  Carey  and  John  Hughes, 
former  companions-in-arms  in  one  of  the  independent  companies,  now 
chose  to  be  neighbors,  settling  themselves  at  the  mouth  of  Little  River, 
while  Daniel  Rees,  a  blacksmith  from  Pennsylvania,  obtained  a  warrant 
for  three  hundred  acres  and  settled  higher  up  on  the  same  stream.  Like- 
wise to  this  river  there  came  during  the  'fifties  Solomon  McGraw,  Richard 
Spencer  and  James  Leslie,  former  settlers  on  Raifords  Creek,  and 
James  Andrews  who  had  been  some  years  in  the  province.®  Near  Wilkin- 
sons Creek,  a  few  miles  above,  Thomas  Conoway  of  Virginia,  who  declared 
he  had  been  living  on  the  north  side  of  the  Broad  for  four  years,  and 
Conrad  Alder,  who  had  two  slaves  and  said  he  had  been  long  a  resident  of 
the  colony,  had  tracts  surveyed  on  warrants  issued  in  1749.^  Two  Penn- 
sylvanians,  Thomas  Owen  and  Lawrence  Free,  and  Free's  "former  ac- 
quaintance" Jacob  Canomore,  in  1752  petitioned  for  land  on  the  creek. 
Three  years  later  Owen  had  a  tract  with  a  mill  on  it  surveyed  adjoining 
his  land.  Here  settled  Ann  Hancock,  after  being  barbarously  treated  by 
her  husband  in  Virginia  and  finally  deserted  by  him.* 

On  the  south  side  of  the  Broad,  Wateree  Creek  was  the  first  large 
stream  which  settlers  found  in  their  northward  movement.  Elisha  Atkin- 
son and  John  Taylor,  recently  discharged  soldiers  who  had  to  sign  their 
names  by  mark,  Alexander  Deley,  who  had  lately  married  a  German  immi- 

^P,  IV,  316  (Brown);  JC,  Mar.  5,  6,  1751,  P,  V,  122  (Hollenshed);  JC,  Nov. 
11,  1749,  P,  IV,  459  (Stocker  and  Derer)  ;  P,  IV,  385  (Burckhard),  386  (Appeal), 
457-458  (Geiger,  Blackvelder,  Weaver)  ;  JC,  Mar.  16,  1749,  P,  IV,  524  (Kuntz- 
ler);  P,  V,  222  (Cranmar)  ;  P,  V,  74  (Bookman,  Pushart)  ;  178  (Frantz)  ;  182 
(Hogheim).  Note  also  Peter  Rentfro,  at  the  mouth  of  Turkeycock,  now  Nicholas 
Creek  (P,  V,  158,  JC,  Mar.  16,  1749).  He  seems  to  have  been  in  Augusta  County- 
Virginia   in  1749    (Chalkley,   Chronicles,  I,  23,  28). 

^  See  Bennett,  Soils  of  the  Southern  States,  pp.  164-166,  Bureau  of  Soils,  Fair- 
field, Richland,  Newberry,  Lexington. 

«JCHA,  Feb.  6,  1736;  JC,  Sept.  6,  Oct.  19,  Nov.  7,  1749,  Apr.  7,  1752,  Apr.  6, 
1756,  June  5,  1759;  P,  IV,  478,  V,  143,  303,  311,  VI,  10,  56,  65  (path  to  Rees), 
above.  Map  3.  Note  also  Martha  Howell  on  Cowpen  Branch  of  Little  River  (P, 
VII,  28),  path  to  Philip  Raiford  (P,  VI,  54),  and  Reese  names  in  the  Congarees 
(Map  3,  and  Townsend,  S.  C.  Baptists,  p.  145,  n.  70). 

^Conoway — JC,  June  6,  1749;  note  names  of  creeks  in  P,  V,  448,  and  VI,  64 
and  65  (Owen  and  Harris)  ;  Alder— JC,  May  2,  1749,  see  plat  of  "Cornelius" 
Alder,  P,  IX,  8,  and  for  location  of  this  plat  see  V,  459  (plat  of  Vansant). 

8JC,  June  6,  1749,  June  2,  Sept.  1,  1752,  P,  V,  53,  448,  VI,  64,  65  (path  on 
Harris'  plat),  VI,  305. 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back  Country  149 

grant,  and  Mary  King,  widow  of  a  corporal  in  the  garrison  of  the  new  Con- 
garee  fort,  were  given  warrants  which  were  surveyed  on  or  near  this  creek.® 
Immediately  above  two  similar  streams  invited  immigrants.  On  the  near- 
est John  Gregory  from  New  Jersey  and  his  illiterate  son  Benjamin  settled 
in  1748,  the  latter  planning  to  make  flour.  Peter  Crim  had  a  survey  on 
the  Santee  in  Amelia  in  1738.  Five  years  later  he  engaged  in  a 
Cherokee  mine  venture,  and  was  reported  to  be  overseer  of  the  work.  In 
1750  he  applied  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  which  was  surveyed  at 
the  mouth  of  the  creek  adjoining  Benjamin  Gregory,  and  the  stream  there- 
after was  known  as  Crims  Creek.  Andrew  Holman,  a  foreign  Protestant 
who  came  by  way  of  Philadelphia  the  same  year,  in  like  manner  gave  his 
name  to  a  tributary  a  mile  above,  where  he  said  he  planted  three  kinds  of 
wheat.  In  the  wide  lowland  at  the  mouth  of  Cannons  Creek  Herman 
Geiger  of  the  Congarees  in  1749  had  a  tract  surveyed,  and  an  ad- 
joining plat  run  out  the  next  year  for  Hans  Jacob  Morf  was  crossed  by  a 
path  to  Geiger's  cowpen.  In  February  1750  John  Cannon  petitioned  for 
land  on  the  headrights  of  nine  children,  a  servant,  his  wife  and  himself. 
The  survey  two  months  later  showed  two  houses  on  the  land.^° 

The  Enoree  and  the  Tyger,  for  some  miles  above  the  points  at  which 
they  empty  themselves  into  Broad  River,  have  narrow  and  steep  valleys,  but 
at  six  or  seven  miles  distance  one  comes  to  Kings  Creek  on  the  Enoree,  the 
first  of  a  series  of  tributaries.  Early  settlers  evidently  found  this  network 
of  small  vallej^s  with  their  clear  streams  and  fertile  cane-covered  bottoms 
unusually  inviting.  "The  canebrake"  was  the  name  given  to  one  of  the 
tracts  first  settled  on  the  west  side  of  the  Enoree  just  above  the  mouth  of 
Indian  Creek.  Easy  access  to  this  region  was  offered  by  the  ford  over  the 
Broad  a  mile  and  a  half  above  the  mouth  of  the  Enoree — at  first  called 
John  Lee's  ford,  but  later  Lyles's.^^  In  or  about  1748  a  settler  named 
King  made  his  new  home  on  the  north  side  of  the  Enoree  near  the  mouth 
of  Indian  Creek.  He  soon  died  and  his  widow  Mary,  rendered  uneasy 
by  surveys  near  her,  in  1750  applied  for  a  warrant  on  the  headrights  of 
herself  and  six  children.  In  consideration  of  her  poverty  this  was  given 
her  without  requiring  her  appearance  in  Charleston.  The  plat  showed  her 
house  set  on  the  edge  of  the  low  ground  of  the  river  and  near  a  spring. 
On  "Collins  River"  as  the  Enoree  was  known  for  several  years,  Samuel  Col- 
lins applied  for  land  in  September  1750,  stating  that  he  had  already  made 

^JC,  Aug.  2,  Sept.  6,  Nov.  7,  1749;  P,  V,  196,  267  (plat  of  Walthour),  VI,  14 
(note  that  this  plat  adjoins  Fisher,  and  see  his  plat — V,  225 — adjoining  Walthour). 

^0  Gregory— J C,  Oct.  3,  1749  and  see  path  on  P,  V,  184;  Crim— P,  IV,  210,  V, 
220,  PR,  XXI,  262  (deposition  of  Michael  Christopher  Rowe,  enclosed  by  Council 
Committee  to  Board,  Apr.  24,  1744)  ;  Holman— P,  V,  184,  486,  JC,  Mar.  6, 
1750;  Geiger  and  Cannon— above,  pp.  55-56,  63,  JC,  Feb.  5,  1750,  P,  V,  38, 
243,  278. 

^^See  Jacob  Pennington's  will  (n.  12);  P,  V,  380,  VIII,  209;  Mills,  Atlas  of 
S.  C,  Newberry. 


150  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

improvements  to  provide  for  his  wife  and  six  children  whom  he  expected 
shortly  by  sea  from  New  Jersey .^^ 

A  path  to  John  Linvell's,  traced  on  a  plat  surveyed  for  John  Heigler 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Enoree  in  1750,  indicates  the  origin  of  the  name 
Linvells  River  by  which  the  Tyger  was  first  known.^^  Jacob  Pennington 
and  Gilbert  Gilder  came  from  Pennsylvania  and  in  February  1749  obtained 
warrants  which  were  surveyed,  the  one  in  the  cane-covered  Enoree  river 
bottom,  the  other  on  the  Broad ;  Gilder  however  made  his  home  on  or 
near  Indian  Creek.  Abraham  Pennington,  brother  of  Jacob,  settled  op- 
posite Samuel  Collins  perhaps  as  early  as  1750,  and  in  March  of  that  year 
Nicholas  Boater  asked  for  four  hundred  and  fifty  acres  to  enable  him  to 
plant  wheat,  the  occupation  to  which  he  had  been  bred ;  his  survey  included 
the  mouth  of  Indian  Creek/*  Duncans  Creek,  the  next  of  the  numerous 
western  tributaries  above  Indian  Creek,  apparently  received  its  name  from 
a  certain  Duncan  who  was  living  there  at  least  as  early  as  August  1752. 
The  first  of  the  name  to  apply  for  land  was  John  Duncan  in  1754.  Two 
plats  on  the  Tyger  surveyed  in  1753  showed  North  Carolina  grants  ad- 
joining." 

Thus  between  1749  and  1751  settlers  from  the  Carolina  low  country 
and  from  the  north,  two  or  three  to  each  creek,  had  staked  ofi  the  upper 
Broad  region  for  the  white  man,  but  the  Indian  troubles  during  the  latter 
year  reduced  to  a  handful  the  number  who  came  to  the  region  above  Crims 
Creek  and  Little  River.  In  1752  settlement  began  again,  but  the  chief 
accessions  for  the  next  few  years  were  not  from  the  British  colonies  to  the 
north,  but  from  the  German  states,  the  continuation  of  a  movement  having 
its  beginnings  in  1749.  John  Jacob  Riemensperger,  undaunted  by  the 
disastrous  outcome  of  his  first  return  to  Europe  in  1740  as  immigration 
agent,  four  years  later  offered  to  make  another  trip  to  bring  back  some  of 
his  Swiss  countrymen.  He  asked  the  provincial  administration  to  pay  the 
passages  of  the  expected  immigrants,  but  nothing  came  of  his  application 
until  he  renewed  it  in  1748  after  the  close  of  the  Austrian  Succession  War. 
He  was  then  promised  payment  of  his  own  passage  to  England,   fifteen 

12  For  King,  see  JC,  Apr.  3,  1750,  P,  V,  474;  Wills,  1757-1763,  pp.  324-325. 
For  the  location  note  the  Bentley  (or  Bensley)  and  Garret  tracts  (P,  V,  270,  VI, 
25,  X,  195)  ;  for  Collins,  see  JC,  Sept.  4,  1750,  P,  VI,  309;  the  plat  was  surveyed 
on  the  north  side  of  the  river  in  what  is  now  called  the  Horseshoe,  opposite  the 
mouth   of   Kings    Creek. 

13  P,  V,  112,  179,  364,  JC,  June  6,  1753;  it  was  likewise  called  W^oodalls  River; 
there  was  a  John  Woodall  on  Kings  Creek  in  1769  (P,  V,  312,  XI,  322).  Reference 
to  David  Tyger  in  the  Enoree-Tyger  community  appears  in  1760  (JC,  Feb.  11). 
Among  the  Tyger  River  headrights  of  1751  was  one  slave  (JC,  Nov.  1,  1751, 
P,  V,  268). 

i*JC,  Feb.  2,  1749,  Mar.  6,  1750,  Feb.  4,  1752;  P,  IV,  499,  V,  41,  114,  436,  VI, 
17,  309;  above,  p.  128;  Wills,  1753-1763,  pp.  324-325,  1774-1779,  pp.  169-170. 

i^P,  V,  287  (path  on  Hamitt's  plat),  JC,  Mar.  5,  1754.  For  North  Carolina  sur- 
veys see  P,  V,  364  (and  note  on  this  plat  "Path  to  Padgetts" — doubtless  the  origin 
of  the  name  of  the  nearby  Padgetts  Creek),  XII,  95,  JC,  Apr.  5,  1753. 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back  Country  151 

guineas  for  purchase  of  clothes  for  himself,  and  one  shilling  sterling  a  head 
for  all  foreign  Protestants  whom  he  should  get  to  settle  in  South  Carolina. 
In  April  he  announced  that  he  had  forty  letters  from  the  Germans  to  their 
friends  and  relatives,  and  was  ready  to  depart.^^ 

In  October  1749  Riemensperger  arrived  with  a  hundred  and  thirty- 
two  German  Protestants  who  came  as  freemen,  besides  others  who  had  to 
become  servants  in  payment  of  their  passage.  "Palatines"  they  were  called, 
but  they  probably  were  part  of  the  six  hundred  Wiirttemberg  Lutherans 
for  whom  he  had  vainly  besought  aid  from  the  British  government. 
Riemensperger  declared  to  the  governor  and  assembly  that  from  Germany 
and  Switzerland  he  had  engaged  upwards  of  three  thousand  persons,  but 
had,  by  a  series  of  misadventures,  lost  most  of  them  to  other  places,  chiefly 
Pennsylvania.  In  London  he  had  asked  for  his  party  the  privilege  of  set- 
tling above  Saxe  Gotha  "where  land  is  better",  doubtless  having  in 
mind  the  Crims  Creek  section,  the  first  large  body  of  very  desirable  land 
on  the  Broad,  and  a  region  already  known  to  the  promoter."  The  crown 
discouraged  his  suggestion,  but  the  South  Carolina  governor  and  council 
gave  his  immigrants,  along  with  the  bounty,  warrants  for  land  "in  or  near 
Saxe  Gotha"  which  carried  the  ten-year  exemption  from  quit  rents,  despite 
the  fact  that  none  of  them  was  surveyed  in  the  township.  John  Adam 
Epting  and  ten  others,  with  headrights  amounting  to  forty-seven  persons, 
chose  Crims  Creek;  another  settled  on  Wateree  Creek,  three  miles  below.^^ 

Three  years  after  the  arrival  of  this  group  of  settlers  it  was  learned  that 
Foster,  Cunliffe  and  Sons  of  Liverpool  had  taken  on  board  ship  about 
fifteen  hundred  Germans  bound  for  South  Carolina.  To  the  consternation 
of  their  Charleston  consignees  it  developed  that  the  English  firm  and  its 
Rotterdam  agents  "led  into  a  very  great  Error  by  some  Officious  Person  or 
another",  expected  to  receive  the  passage  money,  presumably  from  the 
provincial  government,  when  the  immigrants  were  landed.  It  does  not 
appear  that  Riemensperger  or  the  other  South  Carolina  German  agents 
were  immediately  responsible  for  this  migration  or  the  blunder  of  the 
shippers,  but  the  circumstances  indicate  that  it  was  their  energetic  advertis- 
ing that  started  the  exodus.  The  consignees  estimated  that  only  one-fourth 
could  be  disposed  of  as  indented  servants;  with  this  resource  quickly  ex- 
hausted they  released  the  remaining  Germans  after  taking  bond  for  pay- 
ment.    The  immigrants  were  then  entitled  to  their  lands  and  bounty,  but 

^6  Above,  p.  55,  JC,  Nov.  29,  1744,  Mar.  9,  Apr.  21,  27,  1748. 

"  JC,  Oct.  16,  17,  19,  22,  1749,  JCHA,  Dec.  1,  1749,  PR,  XXIII,  283-286,  299-318 
(Board  Journal,  May  30,  31,  1749,  Riemensperger's  petition.  May  8,  Board's  report, 
June  5,  Board  to  Bedford,  June  2,  his  reply,  June  7,  1749).  In  1748  Riemensperger 
stated  that  he  had  a  stock  of  cattle  on  the  east  side  of  the  Broad,  forty  miles  from 
the  Congarees  in  charge  of  his  son-in-law  John  Frasier,  and  asked  500  acres  there 
for  Frasier  and  himself  (JC,  Apr.  21,  1748).  For  Frasier  see  also  Map  3,  JC,  Oct. 
3,  1749,  P,  V,  60. 

i«JC,  Oct.  16,  17,  1749;  P,  V,  187,  190,  193,  197,  199,  201,  203,  209,  231,  IX, 
378. 


152  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

the  township  fund  speedily  fell  short  of  the  demands  upon  it,  and  though  a 
loan  of  the  four  hundred  pounds  in  the  ship-building  bounty  in  part  met 
the  emergency,  the  later  arrivals  received,  for  the  time  being,  only  a  por- 
tion of  what  was  due  them/^ 

From  September  1752  to  March  of  the  following  year  the  governor 
and  council  received  the  land  petitions  of  these  immigrants  amounting  to 
twelve  hundred  and  fifty  headrights.  The  clause  of  the  act  of  1751  al- 
lowing the  bounty  only  to  those  settling  within  forty  miles  of  the  coast 
had  been  repealed  on  the  governor's  request  and  the  warrants  were  given 
for  lands  throughout  the  western  half  of  the  province,  some  of  them  in  the 
townships.  Despite  the  fact  that  only  the  township  settlers  were  given  the 
ten-year  exemption  from  quit  rents,  the  great  majority  settled  outside ;  these 
were  allowed,  however,  the  provincial  exemption  for  ten  years  from  taxes. 

Four  of  the  petitioners  stated  that  they  came  from  Wiirttemberg  or 
nearby,  one  that  he  was  from  the  upper  parts  of  Germany,  and  another 
that  he  was  from  Germany,  but  the  rest  were  silent  as  to  their 
origin.  In  1846  a  Lutheran  minister,  after  thirteen  years  residence  in  the 
Saluda  valley,  stated  that  the  oldest  inhabitants  declared  "their  ancestors 
chiefly  came  from  the  neighborhood  of  the  Rhine,  Baden  and  Wurten- 
berg".^"  Some  of  the  petitions  gave  the  purposes  of  the  applicants  in 
coming  to  South  Carolina:  a  score  declared  that  they  came  in  order  to  join 
friends  and  relatives;  a  dozen  roundly  asserted  that  they  had  come  to  live 
in  a  country  of  liberty,  or  a  free  Protestant  land ;  a  smaller  number  ad- 
mitted that  the  bounty  had  drawn  them;  several  stated  that  they  came  to 
make  their  fortune,  and  Rosina  Barbara  Ralgebin,  the  only  one  of  her 
name  and  family,  said  that  she  was  "Desirous  to  see  more  of  the  World". 
Some,  no  doubt,  anticipated  the  lot  which  fell  to  Barbara  Powmin  and 
others.  When  Adam  Hover  heard  of  the  arrival  of  the  immigrants  on  one 
of  the  first  ships,  he  came  down  from  his  home  on  Crims  Creek  with  several 
of  his  friends  "to  purchase  some  of  them",  and  meeting  Barbara  he  forth- 
with engaged  her  for  marriage.^^ 

Peter  Beckeli  stated  that  he  was  a  Catholic,  and  was  informed  that  he 
could  not  get  the  bounty  "unless  he  renounced  the  Errors  of  the  Roman", 
but  no  apparent  objection  was  made  to  giving  admittance  or  land  to  him  or 
to  the  four  other  men  of  his  faith  who  came  after  him.  In  the  course  of 
the  proceedings,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Zubly  announced  that  after  several  con- 
versations with  the  Catholics  four  of  them  had  accepted  Protestantism,  and 

i»JC,  Sept.  1,  22,  Nov.  25,  1752,  Jan.  11,  1753;  JCHA,  Sept.  27,  Nov.  22,  Dec. 
12,   1752. 

2°JC,  Oct.  20,  30,  Nov.  7,  1752,  Ernest  L.  Hazelius,  History  of  the  American 
Lutheran  Church  (Zanesville,  O.,  1846),  pp.  26,  239.  See  also,  Urlsperger, 
Nachrichten   {Ackcrivcrk),  pt.  4,  259,  Voigt,  German  Element,  p.  12. 

21  JC,  Oct.  3,  Nov.  29,  1752,  P,  V,  234   ("Haubert"),  500. 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back  Country  153 

the  others  appear  to  have  done  likewise,  for  their  grants  were  marked  as 
being  on  the  bounty." 

In  1755  Joseph  Crell,  back  in  the  Congarees  for  a  short  time,  declared 
that  the  recent  German  immigrants  to  South  Carolina  were  "poor  and  of 
the  meaner  Sort",  and  asked  encouragement  for  himself  as  an  agent  for 
bringing  in  a  better  type  of  settlers.  Crell's  charge  is  supported  in  1754  by 
the  complaint  of  the  wardens  and  vestry  of  St.  Philip's,  Charleston,  that 
the  great  number  of  beggars  in  the  town  was  "chiefly  occasioned  by  the 
Importation  of  many  old  and  Impotent  Palatines  .  .  .  ,  who  not  being 
able  to  get  Masters,  the  Merchants  agents  had  been  obliged  to  take  their 
Bonds  and  let  them  go  at  large".  It  is  clear  that  the  host  imported  by  the 
Foster-Cunliffe  firm  lacked  the  outstanding  leaders  who  came  to  the  town- 
ships, and  that  it  contained  a  far  larger  proportion  of  poor  and  shiftless 
than  did  the  earlier  Swiss  migration ;  nevertheless  there  is  no  evidence  that 
the  great  majority  were  inferior  to  the  average  of  the  English  and  Scotch 
settlers.^^ 

Tracing  these  twelve  or  thirteen  hundred  Germans  to  their  new  homes 
is  a  difficult  task,  for  the  warrants  specified  no  place,  and  the  uncertain 
rendering  of  the  German  names  by  the  English  clerks  often  made  effective 
disguise.  However,  a  check  of  the  plats  and  grants  locates  all  but  forty  of 
the  petitioners,  who  represented  only  about  ten  per  cent  of  the  immigrants. 
At  least  a  fourth  of  the  total  are  discovered  in  the  valleys  of  the  large 
creeks  in  the  red  clay  lands  west  of  Broad  River.  Of  these  Cannons 
Creek  was  the  first  choice,  with  Crims  Creek,  Second  Creek  immediately 
above  Cannons,  and  Wateree  Creek  attracting  smaller  numbers.  With 
some  the  desire  to  be  near  their  friends  and  relatives  obviously  outweighed 
the  attractions  of  land  and  water,  and  their  plats  are  found  on  high  ground. 
There  is  a  hint  in  this  that  these  were  Wiirttembergers,  following  Hans 
Adam  Epting  and  his  fellows  who  had  come  there  three  years  before. 
Above  Second  Creek  only  a  few  ventured,  but  Andreas  Power  and  John 
George  Wells  had  their  plats  surveyed  on  Indian  Creek,  and  Christopher 
Jacob  Dues  and  Jacob  Hayle  found  land  on  Padgetts  Creek  and  were  ap- 
parently the  first  to  make  South  Carolina  surveys  on  that  stream."*     The 

22  JC,  Oct.  20,  Nov.  7,  28,  1752,  Feb.  7,  Mar.  23,  1753,  and  see  above,  p.  40, 
n.  19.  Two  of  the  petitions  were  made  after  Zubly's  report  (Nov.  28)  ;  four  of 
the  men  had  wives.  It  is  thus  not  clear  how  many  Catholics  there  were,  or  how 
many   became   Protestant.      (Compare   Grants,    V,   446,    VI,    143,    354,    VIII,    214). 

-3JC,  Feb.  4,  1755,  JCHA,  Feb.  2,  1754.  For  Crell,  see  above,  pp.  55-57, 
John  George  Kreps,  or  Krepsin,  had  21  chests  of  baggage  (JC,  Nov.  7, 
1752;  his  land  was  surveyed  on  Beaverdam  Creek,  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Saluda — P,  V,  480).  The  clerk  recorded  no  signatures  to  the  land  petitions  of 
these  immigrants  as  made  by  mark,  but  the  unusual  circumstances  make  this  evi- 
dence uncertain. 

24JC,  Oct.  3,  Nov.  7,  1752,  Feb.  7,  Mar.  23,  1753;  P,  V,  481,  483,  VI,  95,  XII, 
132. 


154  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

slate  land  on  the  west  side  of  the  Broad  below  Wateree  Creek  was  practi- 
cally ignored,  but  the  north  side  of  the  Saluda  a  few  miles  awaj'^,  which 
had  the  same  type  of  soil  and  an  equally  scanty  population  of  German  and 
English  settlers,  attracted  a  tenth  or  more  of  the  newcomers.  This  was 
doubtless  due  to  the  fact  that  the  slopes  here  were  gentler  and  streams 
somewhat  larger  than  those  of  the  lower  Broad.  Camping  Creek,  the 
largest,  was  selected  by  a  dozen  families.  The  opposite  side  of  the  Saluda 
received  no  more  than  a  total  of  fifty  settlers,  the  north  side  of  the  Broad 
only  half  as  many,  and  a  few  others  went  to  other  portions  of  the  back 
country. 

Save  for  the  upper  west  side  of  the  Broad,  however,  Amelia  Town- 
ship offered  the  chief  attraction — the  excellent  soil,  scanty  settlement,  and 
exemption  from  quit  rents  apparently  outweighing  the  opportunity  to  live 
among  the  three  hundred  or  more  of  their  countrymen  on  the  upper  WMters. 
A  hundred  and  sixty  or  more  settled  here,  and  Orangeburg  drew  half  as 
many.  Nearly  a  hundred  were  established  on  the  waters  of  the  Coosawhat- 
chie  and  Salkehatchie,  and  a  score  perhaps  below  Amelia  and  Orange- 
burg.2^ 

Over  a  third  of  the  Germans  who  settled  in  the  middle  and  back  coun- 
try between  1748  and  1759  came  in  this  migration  of  1752.  Until  1756 
they  continued  to  arrive  at  the  rate  of  two  or  three  hundred  a  year,  but 
thereafter  the  number  of  petitions  fell  off  sharply  and,  save  for  the  group 
which  came  in  1764,  practically  ceased  with  the  outbreak  of  the  Cherokee 
War.     The  movement  of  Germans  from  the  north  was  negligible. 

The  total  number  of  petitions  of  the  Germans  between  1748  and  1759 
was  slightly  over  thirteen  hundred,  representing  about  thirty-seven  hundred 
headrights.  The  place  of  settlement  of  a  fifth  of  these  has  not  been  located 
but  of  the  remainder  sixteen  hundred  settled  on  the  branches  of  the  Broad 
and  Saluda,  nearly  seven  hundred  in  Amelia  and  Orangeburg  and  im- 
mediately below  those  townships,  about  three  hundred  on  the  Congaree, 
and  an  equal  number  on  the  Salkehatchie  and  Coosawhatchie.  The 
Wateree,  the  upper  Savannah  and  Purrysburg  each  attracted  from  twenty- 
five  to  fifty.  Of  the  seven  hundred  or  more  whose  place  of  settlement  is 
not  established  a  number  may  have  failed  to  take  up  their  warrants  and 
remained  in  Charleston ;  the  others,  concealed  under  different  renderings 
of  their  names,  were  doubtless  distributed  throughout  the  middle  and  back 
country  in  somewhat  the  same  proportions  as  their  brothers. 

The  compactness  of  German  settlement  in  the  forks  of  the  Broad  and 
Saluda  made  possible  a  church  organization,  and  it  was  for  the  service  of 
these  settlers  that  the  Reverend  John  Gasser  left  Switzerland  in  1752. 
Coming  by  way  of  Pennsylvania  he  did  not  reach  Charleston  to  petition 


25 


See  above,  pp.  45,  50,  75. 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back  Country  155 

for  land  until  February  1754,  but  at  that  time  he  had  agreed  with  the 
settlers  to  preach  in  two  churches,  one  in  the  lower  part  of  the  fork  and  the 
other  farther  up.  He  was  given  the  bounty,  as  was  his  servant,  John  Crebs, 
whom  he  had  recently  freed.  His  fifty  acre  plat  was  surveyed  about  three 
miles  from  the  mouth  of  Crims  Creek,  and  about  a  mile  above  the  junction 
of  Holmans  Creek  with  that  stream,  a  spot  convenient  for  this  and  the 
nearby  German  settlements.  The  church  seems  to  have  been  organized  at 
once,  but  in  April  Gasser  presented  a  petition,  signed  by  about  forty  per- 
sons, stating  that  bad  crops  and  the  expenses  of  settlement  made  it  im- 
possible for  the  people  to  support  a  minister  and  schoolmaster,  and  asking 
permission  to  make  a  general  collection  from  the  province.^®  It  was  prob- 
ably on  account  of  these  troubles  that  the  minister  soon  after  returned  to 
Switzerland.  In  1763,  however,  Epting  and  Peter  Dickert,  as  elders  of 
the  dissenting  congregation  on  Crims  Creek,  applied  for  a  hundred  acres 
for  a  meeting  house  and  glebe  for  the  minister.  The  warrant  was  exe- 
cuted on  land  adjoining  Gasser's,  the  plat  showing  the  church  complete 
with  steeple,  evidently  on  or  near  the  site  of  the  present  St.  John's  Lutheran 
Church,  with  roads  running  to  it  from  four  directions.^^ 

In  1760  and  1761  a  very  different  group  of  worshippers,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Saluda,  achieved  an  unenviable  notoriety.  Jacob  Weber  was 
a  Switzer,  brought  up  in  the  Reformed  church.  After  a  season  of  depres- 
sion, then  another  of  faith  and  exaltation,  he  fell  into  the  delusion  that  he 
was  the  Deity.  Among  the  few  associates  he  collected  around  him  one 
became  the  Son,  another  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  a  third,  John  George  Smith- 
peter,  the  devil,  whom  the  others  eventually  murdered.  Weber,  Hannah 
Weber,  John  Geiger,  and  Jacob  Burghart  were  tried  in  Charleston  and 
condemned  to  death  for  the  crime,  but  only  Jacob  Weber  was  executed. 
Lutheran  and  Anglican  vied  with  each  other  in  driving  home  the  lessons 
of  this  tale,  each  using  it  for  his  own  purpose,  and  the  frenzy  of  the  luck- 
less handful  of  settlers  was  dignified  into  "the  Weber  heresy".^^ 

The  English  settlers  were  first  on  the  ground  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the 
Broad  and  Saluda  region,  but  after  the  German  tide  set  in  at  any  point 
English  settlement  nearly  or  completely  ceased.  In  the  lower  Saluda 
valley  there  were  a  score  of  English  headrights  between  1752  and  1759,  on 
the  Broad  below  Wateree  Creek  and  Cedar  Creek,  about  twice  as  many. 
The  scanty  resources  of  this  region  make  it  improbable  that  any  consider- 
able number  of  English  settlers  would  have  chosen  it,  even  if  there  had 

2«  JC,  Feb.  5,  Apr.  2,  1754,  P,  IX,  456.  In  May  1754  John  George  Loeff  "being 
a  minister  of  the  Gospel",  applied  for  land  about  the  Congarees,  but  nothing  more 
appears  about  him    (JC,  May  7,  1754). 

"Faust,  Lists,  I,  10,  JC,  Mar.  1,  1763,  P,  V,  338,  VIII,  346,  IX,  456. 

28  PR,  XXIX,  80-82  (Bull  to  Pitt,  Apr.  26,  1761),  SCG,  Apr.  25,  1761,  Bern- 
heim,  German  Settlements,  pp.  195-205.  For  the  location  see  plats  of  Derer  (P, 
IV,  459),  Burkard   (IV,  385),  Geiger   (V,  463),  and  "Smithpader"   (V,  495). 


156  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

been  no  Germans,  but  between  Wateree  Creek  and  Second  Creek,  in  one 
of  the  most  desirable  spots  in  the  province,  only  about  thirty  English  head- 
rights  were  represented  in  petitions  and  plats.  There  is  no  evidence  of  any 
hostility  between  the  two  peoples,  nor  as  yet  any  migration  of  the  earlier 
English  settlers  from  the  German  district,  but  later  comers  of  either  race 
chose  districts  inhabited  by  settlers  speaking  their  own  tongue. 

Between  1752  and  1759  a  hundred  and  sixty  men  of  British  name  ap- 
plied for  land  on  the  waters  of  the  Broad,  their  headrights  amounting  to 
nearly  six  hundred  and  fifty  persons.  Less  than  fifty  of  these  headrights 
were  for  land  below  Wateree  Creek  and  Cedar  Creek.  Above  these 
streams  Indian  Creek  was  the  first  choice  throughout  the  period  and  at- 
tracted a  hundred  settlers;  the  Enoree  itself  received  about  eighty.  On 
Wilkinsons  Creek  and  the  other  branches  on  the  north  side  of  the  Broad, 
but  below  Sandy  River,  were  located  plats  amounting  to  a  hundred  and 
forty  headrights,  while  on  the  latter  stream  about  forty  settlers  were  es- 
tablished, chiefly  in  1758  and  1759.  Surveys  were  made  on  Tyger  River 
and  its  tributary  Fairforest  Creek  as  early  as  1752.  By  1759  the  head- 
rights  on  the  former  were  about  sixty,  while  on  the  latter  there  were  a 
score.  The  English  population  of  the  valley  of  the  Broad,  as  indicated  by 
the  land  records,  was  between  nine  hundred  and  a  thousand.^^  They  were 
thus  outnumbered  two  to  one  by  the  Germans  who  had  settled  among  them 
on  the  middle  waters  of  this  river. 

As  settlement  advanced  along  the  Broad  and  its  branches  mills  were 
set  up  in  the  manner  characteristic  of  other  back  country  communities.  The 
first  mentioned  was  on  Wilkinsons  Creek  in  1752;  the  next  year  Peter 
Crim  had  one  on  Crims  Creek,  and  Isaac  Pennington  later  owned  two  on 
the  Enoree.  Indirect  rather  than  direct  evidence  indicates  that  corn  was 
the  usual  crop,  but  wheat  was  commonly  grown.  Though  slaves  were  few, 
Pennington  bequeathed  two  and  Crim  had  three.^° 

The  most  important  of  the  later  settlers  was  the  elder  John  Pearson, 
formerly  of  the  Congarees,  who  was  captain  of  the  militia  company  of  the 
Congaree  forks  in   1757  and  appears  to  have  been  living  then  on  Broad 

^  The  militia  list  of  JC,  May  4,  1757  does  not  give  location  of  companies  for 
a  satisfactory  check  of  this  figure.  John  Pearson's  company  "In  the  Congaree 
Forks"  had  134  whites  and  40  slaves;  the  company  of  James  "Lassley"  (Leslie — see 
above,  p.  148)  on  Broad  River  had  76  whites  and  9  slaves;  and  that  of  Fink 
(whose  first  name  is  not  given)  on  the  south  side  of  the  Saluda,  40  whites.  It  is 
thus  impossible  to  distinguish  between  these  and  the  Congaree-Saxe  Gotha  com- 
panies; the  total  militia  returns,  however,  appear  to  be  far  short  of  the  headrights. 

^°For  Pennington  and  Crim  see  JC,  Apr.  2,  1754,  P,  VIII,  636,  Wills,  1757- 
1763,  pp.  324-325,  SCG,  Dec.  19,  1761  (advt.  of  Margaret  Mint)  ;  for  other  mills, 
note  P,  V,  423,  VI,  29,  64,  65,  X,  248,  XII,  167.  For  wheat  see  above,  pp.  149,  150, 
P,  VIII,  346,  and  the  following  references  (the  name  and  the  figure  following  are 
from  Stats.,  IV,  the  figures  in  parenthesis  are  the  Plats  volume  and  page  locating 
the  name):  Conrade  Volk,  120  (VIII,  635);  Felix  Grose  [Cronx],  121  (VIII,  64); 
Adam  Summers,  121  (V,  338);  Henry  Heartley,  121  (VIII,  346);  John  Sheely, 
121   (V,  332)  ;  Conrad  Shire,  121   (VII,  400)  ;  John  Cannon,  122   (V,  278). 


The  Settlement  of  the  Back  Country  157 

River.  When  he  became  bankrupt  in  1766  and  his  thirteen  hundred  acres 
was  advertised  for  sale,  his  home  w^as  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  above 
the  mouth  of  Crims  Creek,  where  a  high  ridge  rises  from  a  narrow  bottom 
and  affords  a  splendid  view  of  the  valley.  Two  other  former  settlers  of 
Raifords  Creek — Evan  Rees  and  Philip  Raiford,  Junior — had  plats  sur- 
veyed on  the  north  side  of  the  river ;  the  latter  was  living  there,  near  Wil- 
kinsons Creek,  in  1755.^^ 

Pearson's  letters  were  well  worded  though  badly  spelled,  and  in  the 
beautiful  script  of  the  trained  penman  of  the  day;  those  of  his  son  Philip 
were  nearly  as  good.  Both  Philip  and  his  brother  John  were  born  after 
their  father  settled  at  the  Congarees,  and  of  the  latter  it  was  said  that 
"Under  the  instruction  of  his  father,  &  with  a  little  school  education,  he 
became  a  very  good  English  scholar."  In  1758  John  Fairchild  surveyed  a 
plat  of  two  hundred  acres  on  a  branch  of  Indian  Creek  for  Abel  Anderson, 
and  at  one  point  of  the  line  wrote  the  word  "Schoolhouse".  No  other 
reference  to  the  "school"  appears,  but  as  the  plat  was  in  the  midst  of  the 
Anderson,  Pennington  and  King  settlement,  the  suggestion  is  clear  that 
these  men  sought  to  provide  something  more  than  the  simple  home  instruc- 
tion which  was  the  only  recourse  for  most  of  the  back  country.  Between 
this  time  and  the  Revolution  references  appear  to  three  different  streams 
named  Schoolhouse  Branch,  one  flowing  into  the  Tyger,  one  into  Duncans 
Creek,  and  a  third  into  Padgets  Creek,  but  none  could  well  have  touched 
Abel  Anderson's  land.^"  Six  of  the  English  applicants  for  land  on  the 
Broad  and  lower  Saluda  were  unable  to  sign  their  names  and  two  others 
who  were  recorded  as  signing  land  petitions,  on  some  other  occasion  made 
their  marks.  Five  of  the  eight  signatures  to  the  wills  of  Mary  Pennington 
and  John  Cannon  were  made  by  mark,  although  the  number  must  be  dis- 
counted because  of  the  possible  infirmity  of  the  principals.^^ 

On  the  east  side  of  the  Broad  a  handful  of  settlers  from  Pennsylvania, 
among  them  Thomas  Owen,  Jacob  Canomore  and  Lawrence  Free,  joined  by 
Richard  Gregory,  from  the  Wateree  valley,  with  his  father  and  brother, 
made  the  nucleus  of  two  small  Seventh-Day  Baptist  congregations  of  un- 
certain history  and  identity,  organized  probably  about  the  same  time. 
John  Pearson,  in  the  absence  of  an  ordained  minister,  served  both  churches 
in  the  capacity  of  exhorter  or  lay  preacher.  Two  letters  of  Pearson  written 
in  1764  reveal  his  intense  religious  interest  and  activity.  In  his  house- 
hold he  held  prayers  morning  and  evening,  and  on  the  fifth  of  May  he 

31  For  Pearson  see  below,  p.  163,  P,  V,  410,  SCG,  June  9,  1766,  JC,  Apr.  2,  1754, 
May  4,  1757,  Indian  Books,  II,  pt.  2,  63,  Wills,  1760-1767,  p.  132.  For  Raiford 
and  Rees  see  above,  Map  3,  P,  VI,  54,  64,  249,  VII,  207. 

32  Draper  MSS,  University  of  Wisconsin  Library,  2VV,  186  (Pearson  MSS)  ; 
below,  n.  34;  P,  XI,  15,  XIII,  432,  XX,  544,  XXI,  446.  Compare  Schoolhouse 
Branch  of  Black  River   (P,  VIII,  84). 

33  JC,  Aug.  2,  Sept.  6,  Oct.  3,  1749,  Wills,  1760-1767,  pp.  194,  232. 


158  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

announced  "A  Great  Meeting"  to  be  held  on  the  next  Friday,  Saturday 
and  Sunday  to  which  he  invited  his  Raifords  Creek  kin.^* 

Another  Baptist  congregation  was  organized  on  Broad  River  in  1759 
or  1760  by  the  Reverend  Philip  Mulkey,  made  up  of  members  said  to  have 
come  with  him  from  Deep  River  in  North  Carolina.  In  1762,  however, 
the  minister  moved  to  Fairforest  Creek,  about  eight  miles  above  the  junc- 
tion of  that  stream  with  Tyger  River.  His  congregation  followed  him, 
and  the  Fairforest  Baptist  Church  quickly  became  the  chief  back  country 
center  for  the  Baptist  faith.^^ 

2*  See  above,  p.  157,  Townsend,  S.  C.  Baptists,  pp.  159,  167-168,  172-174; 
photographs  of  four  letters  or  fragments  from  John  Pearson  and  his  son  Philip  to 
another  son  (supplied  by  Professor  E.  L.  Green,  University  of  S.  C,  originals 
owned  by  W.  Boyce  Pearson,  Strother,  S.  C). 

^^  Townsend,  S.  C.  Baptists,  pp.  125-126,  136.  The  building  erected  in  1772 
was  on  land  given  by  Benjamin  Holcombe  {ibid.,  p.  126),  whose  plat  of  1770  on 
both  sides  of  Dining  Creek  lay  chiefly  on  the  north  side  of  that  stream.  This 
indicates  a  site  approximating  that  of  the  present  church — see  Bureau  of  Soils, 
Field  Operations,  1913  (Washington,  1916),  map  of  Union  County.  Joseph  Breed, 
one  of  the  members,  had  a  plat  surveyed  on  Fairforest  Creek  in  1762  (P, 
VII,   362). 


BACK  COUNTRY  AND  FRONTIER 


CHAPTER  XIII 
The  Back  Country  in  1759 

The  beginnings  and  early  growth  of  the  back  country  had  been  in  large 
measure  the  history  of  separate  and  nearly  isolated  communities.  But  in 
1759  these  settlements  touched  one  another  along  the  whole  length  of  the 
Indian  boundary,  and  partly  by  mere  physical  contact,  partly  by  increasing 
likeness  of  industry  and  interests,  had  become  a  distinct  section  of  the 
province. 

In  thirty  years  the  South  Carolina  of  1729  with  its  10,000  whites  and 
20,000  negroes  had  grown  to  36,000  of  the  former  and  55,000  of  the  latter, 
while  the  compact  triangle  of  the  earlier  day  had  expanded  into  the  sections 
which  distinguished  the  later  history  of  the  commonwealth.  The  tide- 
water proper  had  19,000  whites  and  all  but  two  or  three  thousand  of  the 
slaves;  to  these  numbers  should  be  added  1,400  whites — over  half  of  them 
Scotch — and  about  900  slaves  which  were  the  population  of  Purrysburg, 
Williamsburg  and  Kingston,  townships  touching  tidewater  and  raising  their 
products  under  coast  conditions.^ 

In  the  townships  of  the  upper  pine  belt  and  fall  line  and  on  the  small 
rivers  between  them  there  were  apparently  9,000  whites  and  about  1,300 
slaves.  Nearly  a  third  of  these  whites  and  a  fourth  of  the  slaves  were  in  the 
Welsh  Tract,  the  best  settled  portion  of  the  section.  With  the  exception  of 
500  Welsh  and  nearly  2,000  Germans  the  white  settlers  of  the  middle 
country  seem  to  have  been  almost  entirely  of  English  stock. 

Beyond  the  fall  line  and  the  townships  was  the  back  country  with  nearly 
7,000  whites  and  about  300  slaves.  The  Broad  River  valley,  with  1,800 
Germans  and  1,000  Britons,  had  twice  as  many  settlers  as  either  the 
Wateree-Catawba  or  Saluda  valleys.  On  the  Catawba  and  in  the  Long 
Canes  the  great  majority  were  doubtless  Ulster  Scots,  but  elsewhere  it  is 
difficult  to  distinguish  between  North  and  South  Briton;  except  for  the 
Germans  it  is  probable  that  there  were  comparatively  few  who  were  not 
English. 

The  origin  of  the  middle  and  back  country  settlers  who  did  not  enjoy 
the  bounty  or  did  not  come  in  well  identified  groups  cannot  be  satisfactorily 
stated   without   intensive  study  of   population  lists   of  the  other   colonies 

^  See  population  estimates  above,  pp.  5-6,  the  militia  return  of  1757  (JC,  May 
4),  Glen's  estimate  of  175'1 — 7,000  militia,  50,000  slaves  (JC,  Dec.  30),  imports  of 
slaves    {SCG.  Dec.  8,   1759). 

160 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  161 

which  furnished  emigrants.  The  names  were  English  or  Scotch,  few  of 
them  distinctive;  even  where  reasonable  probability  of  origin  in  a  certain 
colony  is  established  for  a  settler  the  question  usually  remains  unanswered 
as  to  whether  he  was  in  turn  a  recent  immigrant  to  that  region. 

Besides  the  small  groups  of  settlers  in  Amelia  and  on  Black  River, 
Lynches  River  and  the  Coosawhatchie  which  have  been  listed  as  coming 
from  the  coast  or  middle  country,^  the  South  Carolina  provincial  records 
and  the  parish  registers  which  have  survived  show  about  a  hundred  and  fifty 
names  of  men  going  from  the  tidewater  to  the  interior.^  These  local 
records  cover  perhaps  half  of  the  settled  population  of  the  tidewater ; 
newcomers  to  that  section  are  scarcely  to  be  identified  at  all.*  This  evi- 
dence though  slender  is  consistent  and  one  concludes  that  a  quarter  or 
even  a  third  of  the  middle  country  white  population  came  from  the  tide- 
water after  a  shorter  or  longer  residence  there,  while  probably  less  than 
ten  percent  of  the  back  country  settlers  had  a  similar  origin.  Furthermore, 
the  fact  is  clear  that  the  chief  leaders  of  the  middle  country  came  in  this 
migration,  while  it  gave  scarcely  any  important  men  to  the  back  country. 
In  other  words,  during  this  period  the  middle  country  was  quite  sufficient 
as  a  settlement  field  for  the  coast  population;  here  was  room  and  to  spare 
with  soil,  climate  and  crops  much  the  same  as  those  to  which  they  were 
accustomed,  and  there  was  little  point  in  their  going  farther  in  their  search 
for  homes. 

Of  the  outsiders  who  can  be  identified  by  their  petitions  or  otherwise 
much  the  largest  number  came  from  Virginia — sixty  or  more  heads  of 
families,  besides  the  groups  in  the  Waxhaws  and  Long  Canes;  nearly  fifty 
slaves  were  brought  in  by  these  settlers.  Half  as  many  petitioners  stated 
that  they  came  from  Pennsylvania,  but  these  were  in  addition  to  the  Welsh 
settlers  from  the  Lower  Counties  of  that  colony.  Maryland,  the  Jerseys 
and  North  Carolina  were  each  named  by  a  handful  of  petitioners  as  their 
former  homes.  Thus,  in  the  middle  country  the  Virginia  element  may  have 
been  as  large  as  that  from  tidewater  South  Carolina,  while  in  the  back 
country  it  was  undoubtedly  in  the  lead,  the  settlers  from  the  other  colonies 
coming  second  and  the  South  Carolinians  making  a  poor  third. 

This  mixing  of  elements  was  by  no  means  new  to  South  Carolina.     Its 

2  Above,  pp.  43,  75,  108,  145. 

^  This  number  includes  the  discharged  soldiers   (see  above,  p.  27,  n.  27). 

^  Some  idea  of  the  immigration  to  the  province  may  be  had  from  the  advertise- 
ments by  shipmasters  of  servants'  time  for  sale,  by  the  numerous  advertisements  for 
return  of  runaway  servants  recently  imported,  and  by  applications  of  recent  im- 
migrants from  the  West  Indies  for  permission  to  bring  in  slaves  duty  free.  See 
for  instances,  SCG,  Sept.  30,  1732  (Capt.  James  Wilks),  Mar.  20,  1742  (John 
Savage),  Jan.  20,  1746  (William  Whaley),  Jan.  7,  1745  (McKenzie  &  Roche), 
Feb.  4,  1745  (M.  Peacock),  Dec.  16,  1745  (Isaac  Ross);  Harriott  Horry  Ravenel, 
Eliza  Pinckney  (New  York,  1896),  p.  1;  JUHA,  June  4,  1735,  Nov.  20,  1742;  SCG 
Dec.  2,  1732,  JC,  July  5,  1742,  JCHA  Mar.  1,  1754. 


162  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

own  tidewater  society  had  been  compounded  mainly  of  Englishmen  from 
England  and  her  colonies;  the  Germans  and  Welsh,  the  strangers  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  made  no  greater  diversity  than  did  the  French  in 
earlier  days,  and  the  native  South  Carolina  element  in  the  middle  and 
back  country  afforded  a  nucleus  for  provincial  unity.  The  new  settlements 
were  a  problem,  in  some  ways  a  threat  to  the  province,  but  geography,  not 
race,  was  at  the  root  of  the  matter.  The  back  country,  the  region  which 
was  farthest  removed  and  fastest  growing,  was  to  be  the  chief  focus  of 
South  Carolina's  growing  pains ;  only  by  concentrating  study  upon  it  and  by 
comparing  its  conditions  with  those  of  the  middle  country — the  transition 
section — can  an  understanding  be  gained  of  the  province's  new  and  coming 
problems. 

The  part  played  by  the  Indian  trader  in  opening  up  the  back  country 
was  of  great  importance.  As  he  counted  off  the  weary  miles,  or  rested 
himself  by  clear  waters,  or  hunted  game  and  searched  for  strayed  horses  in 
the  forest,  he  came  to  know  the  country  as  few  others  could.  He  pointed 
the  way  to  the  first  settlers,  and  not  infrequently  forsook  his  hazardous 
occupation  to  take  his  place  among  them.  In  his  domesticated  state  he  was 
of  special  value  because  of  his  knowledge  of  Indian  affairs  and  his  former 
connections  with  the  government  and  the  merchants  of  the  coast.  The 
Indian  path  itself  was  a  channel  along  which  came  a  trickle  of  the  ebb  and 
flow  of  the  commerce  and  civilization  of  the  distant  little  city,  and  the 
early  settler  sought  a  place  upon  it,  where  he  could  fancy  himself  a  part  of 
or  least  in  touch  with  that  life.  Vying  with  the  trader  in  his  knowledge  of 
the  frontier  was  the  professional  hunter  who  might  himself  have  served  an 
apprenticeship  as  packhorseman  in  the  Indian  trade,  or  else  have  drifted 
from  the  settlements  into  this  hard  and  shiftless  existence.  This  class  was 
not  so  numerous  in  South  Carolina  as  in  the  colony  to  the  north,  where  the 
back  country  was  more  free  from  Indian  competition  as  well  as  from 
Indian  danger.  About  Saluda  Old  Town  and  Ninety  Six  the  Indian  trade 
and  the  nearness  to  the  Cherokee  country  enabled  the  trader  and  hunter  to 
continue  their  pursuits  after  they  became  husbandmen. 

Cattle-raising  was  in  many  respects  a  frontier  occupation,  and  occasion- 
ally cowpens  were  established  far  beyond  the  settlements.  But  there  was 
little  point  in  raising  beeves  so  far  from  a  market,  for  the  middle  country 
continued  to  the  Revolution  to  be  thinly  settled,  and  its  myriad  swamps, 
especially  in  such  comparatively  isolated  sections  as  the  Coosawhatchie  and 
Edisto  Forks,  remained  the  chief  cattle  ranges.  Elsewhere  through  the 
back  country  the  first  settlers  were  the  small  farmers.  These  varied  among 
themselves  in  their  possessions,  some  evidently  bringing  scarcely  more  than 
a  few  tools  and  a  little  clothing — destitute  even  of  the  gun  so  much  needed 
on  the  frontier.  A  single  horse  transported  these  goods  and  any  members 
of  the  family  that  could   not  walk.     Wagons  came  only   after   a  given 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  163 

section  was  fairly  well  settled,  and  the  poorer  men  probably  brought 
neither  cow  nor  hog. 

But  equally  early  in  the  process  of  settlement  came  a  somewhat  more 
well-to-do  farmer,  his  several  horses  carrying  his  family  as  well  as  his 
goods,  the  latter  differing  from  those  of  his  poorer  neighbor  in  quality  and 
quantity  rather  than  in  kind.  To  what  extent  he  brought  his  stock  of 
cattle,  hogs  and  poultry  with  him,  and  how  much  he  depended  on  buying 
them  from  earlier  settlers  cannot  be  said.  Probably  all  these  men  had 
some  money  with  them,  the  proceeds  of  the  breaking  up  of  the  home  they 
left,  for  most  of  them  could  within  a  year  pay  the  land  fees. 

In  the  selection  of  a  site  for  settlement  the  back  countryman  was  nearly 
always  influenced  by  the  distance  from  other  settlers.  He  was  rarely 
found  more  than  ten  miles  from  his  fellows,  but  within  these  liberal  limits 
he  sought  for  land  to  answer  rather  exacting  requirements.  In  the  process 
he  usually  passed  by  the  larger  rivers,  such  as  the  Wateree  and  the  Broad, 
and  even  the  secondary  streams,  like  the  Enoree,  Little  Saluda  and  Stevens 
Creek.  Where  the  lowland  on  the  river  was  wide  the  owner  of  two  or  three 
hundred  acres  risked  his  all  in  the  occasional  floods;  where  it  was  narrow 
the  adjacent  highland  was  usually  steep  and  rocky,  while  the  rivers  them- 
selves were  obstacles  rather  than  means  of  transportation.  Instead  he  made 
his  way  to  the  valleys  of  those  streams  more  properly  called  creeks,  where 
the  piedmont  offered  its  choicest  combination  of  soil  and  convenience,  and, 
indeed,  of  beauty  too.  The  clear  stream  was  easily  crossed,  on  its  banks 
grew  the  cane  or  grass  essential  for  cattle,  the  soil  of  the  slopes  was  good, 
that  of  the  narrow  bottom  as  rich  as  was  to  be  found.  Finally,  though 
wells  were  not  unknown,^  the  hillside  produced  a  spring  or  the  site  was  not 
complete. 

Although  these  advantages  seem  to  have  outweighed  small  differences  in 
soil  structure,  the  average  settler  examined  his  ground  carefully,  and  the 
large  areas  which  today  are  stubborn  or  poor  land  were  usually  passed  over 
for  the  red  clay  beyond.  Very  often  the  surveyor  was  entrusted  with  the 
selection,  and  when  John  Pearson's  lands  were  advertised  for  sale  in  1771 
he  was  spoken  of  as  a  good  judge  of  land.^ 

The  bounty  settlers,  since  they  came  through  Charleston  and  had  their 
land  fees  paid  for  them,  swore  to  their  headrights  before  the  governor  and 
council  and  secured  their  warrants  at  once.  Others,  including  emigrants 
from  the  coast,  first  found  a  spot  and  set  to  work,  application  for  the 
warrant  being  delayed  for  a  term  varying  from  several  months  to  several 
years  according  to  the  circumstances  of  the  newcomer.  The  settler  had  no 
legal  rights  to  land  or  improvements  until  he  had  secured  a  warrant,  but 
the  government  gave  him  every  consideration  possible ;  not  only  was  his  the 

^Indian  Books,  V,  21. 

^SCGCJ,  Nov.  19,  1771;  see  also  JC,  June  2,  1752. 


164  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

first  claim,  but  if  any  one  else  obtained  a  warrant  for  the  land,  the  occu- 
pant, if  he  applied  for  his  own  warrant  before  a  survey  was  made,  could  get 
the  other  cancelled. 

The  warrant  allowed  twelve  months  for  the  survey,^  and  could  be  re- 
newed on  application.  A  one  hundred  acre  tract  cost  the  settler  who  did 
not  enjoy  the  bounty  about  five  pounds  sterling  in  fees,  besides  the  time 
and  expense  of  appearing  in  Charleston  to  swear  to  headrights.^  To  the 
provincial  government  the  non-bounty  settler  was  due  to  pay  taxes,  appar- 
ently from  the  date  of  the  warrant,  but  they  seem  to  have  been  collected, 
and  with  fair  efficiency,  from  the  time  the  survey  was  made.®  When  the 
grant  was  made  he  became  obligated  to  the  crown  for  annual  payment  of 
quit  rents;  this  he  often  evaded  by  leaving  his  plat  in  the  surveyor-general's 
office  instead  of  taking  out  the  grant,  though  by  so  doing  he  ran  some  risk 
of  losing  his  land.^° 

The  number  of  those  who  made  no  move  to  apply  for  warrants  was 
small ;  "  land  was  abundant,  the  regulations  of  the  crown  liberal,  and  the 
poorest  settler  had  his  choice.  On  the  other  hand  there  were  few  large 
holdings.  This  impartial  distribution  of  the  soil,  matched  in  varying 
degrees  in  the  back  country  of  the  other  southern  colonies,  was  the  chief 
basis  for  an  equality  of  wealth  and  opportunity  that  was  the  most  significant 
characteristic  of  the  American  frontier. 

The  five  months  from  November  to  March  were  the  time  of  the  year 
chosen  by  the  overland  immigrants  for  their  arrival  in  South  Carolina,  the 
need  for  harvesting  the  old  crop  and  planting  the  new  outweighing  the 
discomforts  of  winter  weather  on  the  road  and  in  a  makeshift  house. ^"  It 
was  not  uncommon  for  the  newcomer  to  buy  out  the  improvements  of  some 
less  well-to-do  settler;  in  other  cases  the  family  was  left  at  the  old  home 
while  the  head  of  it  made  proper  provision  for  his  wife  and  children ; 
others  found  lodging  with  neighbors  while  the  new  house  was  building." 

''State  Recs.  of  N.  C,  XI,  39;  this  was  reduced  in  1755  to  six  (PR,  XXVI,  321— 
instructions  to  Lyttelton). 

^  See  above,  p.  25.  The  requirement  for  personal  appearance  seems  to  have 
been  first  made  by  the  crown  in  1739  (see  State  Recs.  of  N.  C,  XI,  39,  PR,  XXIII, 
133— Surveyor  General  George  Hunter,  June  20,  1748,  JC,  Mar.  7,  1735). 

*'See  Stats.,  Ill,  354,  385,  440;  JC,  Sept.  1,  1752,  Aug.  7,  1753,  Dec.  2,  1760. 

^^4  shillings  proclamation  money  per  100  acres;  after  1755  they  began  two 
years  from  the  grant  (PR,  XXVI,  315 — instructions  to  Lyttelton)  ;  the  province 
as  a  whole  paid  only  half  the  rents  due  (Bond,  Quit  Rent  System,  pp.  318-349), 
and  it  is  probable  that  the  back  country  paid  an  even  smaller  proportion.  For 
instances  of  evasion  see  JC,  Feb.  27,  Mar.  7,  1735,  Mar.  7,  1758,  Sept.  4,  1759. 

^^  Had  it  been  otherwise  the  many  reports  of  disasters  and  mishaps  to  persons 
in  the  back  country  and  on  the  frontier — the  poorest  class  being  more  often  than 
not  the  victims — would  have  recorded  a  much  larger  number  of  squatters. 

^-  About  twenty  petitioners  gave  the  approximate  time  of  their  arrival  in  the 
province. 

13  JC,  Jan.  24,  1749,  Sept.  4,  1750,  Mar.  3,  May  5,  1752,  Journal  of  Alexander 
Chesney,  .  .  .  ed.  by  E.  Alfred  Jones  (Columbus,  1921),  pp.  3-4. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  165 

On  the  whole,  however,  it  appears  that  the  custom  was  for  the  family  to 
come  as  a  unit  and  to  settle  the  land  without  outside  aid. 

The  first  dwelling  set  up  seems  to  have  been  a  small  log  cabin  or  a  mere 
shelter  of  poles  covered  with  branches  of  trees  and  earth/*  The  settler's 
permanent  home  on  the  bank  of  the  stream  or  on  the  edge  of  its  narrow 
swamp  was  probably  built  within  the  year.  It  was  usually  made  of  logs, 
doubtless  roofed  with  rough  boards.^^  Throughout  the  back  country,  how- 
ever, there  were  occasional  frame  houses  covered  with  plank  sawed  out  of 
trees  by  hand  with  whipsaws,  or  perhaps  hewn  out  with  axes.^^  The  labor 
involved  in  this  proceeding  was  immense,  but  it  was  probably  used  by  all 
who  had  slaves  or  money  with  which  to  hire  laborers  because  of  the  tighter 
and  more  comfortable  house  it  made.  Wooden  floors  were  apparently  the 
rule,  although  in  1775,  at  one  back  country  house,  William  Tennant  slept 
on  a  broken  clay  floor.  Stephen  Holston's  house  at  Little  Saluda  had  three 
or  more  rooms,  and  when  the  Catawbas  in  1756  attempted  to  go  into  the 
house  of  a  nearby  North  Carolina  settler  and  found  it  locked  they  made 
their  entrance  by  the  chimney.  Glass  windows  were  rare;  Martin  Friday 
had  one  in  his  Congaree  home  appraised  at  approximately  three  shillings." 

Sometimes  settlers  were  able  to  plant  their  first  crops  in  an  abandoned 
Indian  field,  but  the  country  was  otherwise  heavily  wooded,  and  the 
clearing  of  a  few  acres  of  the  land  was  as  pressing  a  need  as  the  erection  of 
some  sort  of  shelter.^^  Petitioners  for  land  warrants  always  spoke  of  this 
as  extremely  heavy  labor;  it  appears  that  they  felled  all  the  trees  in  a  space 
of  five  or  ten  acres,  later  used  part  of  the  timber  to  build  the  house,  and 
converted  the  branches  of  the  trees  into  the  fence  necessary  for  protection 
of  the  crop.^®  For  additions  to  the  original  clearing  settlers  may  have  used 
the  method  of  girdling  the  trees  and  leaving  them  to  die,  though  appar- 
ently it  was  the  custom  to  cut  them  down  and  leave  them  to  rot  on  the 
ground.  The  cleared  field  usually  began  at  the  edge  of  the  narrow  swamp 
which  bordered  the  creek.^° 

Through  most  of  the  middle  and  back  country  corn  was  the  first  crop 
planted  in  the  newly  cleared  land,  and  long  remained  the  chief  food  re- 

i*For  instance,  JC,  Mar.  3,  1752,  Sept.  3,  1753,  Dec.  24,  1764,  PR,  XVII,  339 
(above,  p.  55,  n.  6).     Compare  above,  p.  79. 

^^Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  V,  355,  362,  R.  W.  Gibbes,  Documentary  History  of  the 
American  Revolution,  1764-1776   (New  York,  1855),  p.  232. 

"See  advertisements,  SCG,  Sept.  1,  1739  (Joseph  Crell),  Jan.  30,  1755  (Alex- 
ander McGregor)  ;  JC,  Oct.  17,  1764.  Note  the  lumber  and  whipsaws  in  Inven- 
tories, 1753-1756,  p.  368,  1758-1761,  pp.  22,  392,  428,  469,  483,  588;  see  also 
inventory  of  Robert  McCorkle  (above  p.  143,  n.  20).  Note  also  Elisha  Lawrence's 
sawmill  on  Long  Cane,  in  1767   (P,  XVII,  283). 

1^  Gibbes,  Documentary  History,  1764-1776,  p.  232,  JC,  Sept.  3,  1753,  Aug.  24, 
1756,  Inventories,  1758-1761,  p.  89. 

^®See  JC,  June  8,  1739,  P,  IV,  400,  above,  p.  114,  n.  1. 

^^For  instances,  JC,  Nov.  13,  1736,  Apr.  2,  1751,  Apr.  7,  Nov.  7,  1752;  com- 
pare Col.  Rccs.  of  N.  C,  V,  362-363. 

20  See  ibid.,  Carroll,  Collections,  II,  201,  P,  VII,  17,  215. 


166  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

source.  There  was  no  sale  for  it,  however,  save  to  incoming  settlers,  since 
the  low  country  supplied  itself.  Like  other  back  country  crops  it  was 
made  almost  entirely  with  the  hoe;  only  the  well  to  do  had  ploughs — 
heavy,  cumbersome  implements  which  were  utterly  impracticable  for  the 
new  ground  with  its  numerous  stumps  and  network  of  roots.  Cultivation 
was  therefore  shallow  and  inefficient,  and  only  the  fertility  of  the  fresh 
soil  enabled  the  farmer  to  make  from  twenty  to  thirty  bushels  to  the  acre. 
Corn  was  planted  in  wide  rows  with  hills  six  feet  or  more  apart,  evidently 
to  give  room  for  other  products  such  as  peas  and  probably  beans  and 
pumpkins  planted  with  it.^^  Rye  was  also  a  food  product  cultivated  in 
small  quantities,  and  barley  sometimes  appears  in  the  records."^  Oats  seem 
to  have  been  rare,  the  horses  and  cattle  depending  in  winter  upon  the 
canes  and  grass  on  the  banks  of  the  streams,  with  some  assistance  from 
fodder  and  doubtless  from  corn  shucks.'^ 

It  is  probable  that  the  poorer  settlers  planted  no  grain  but  corn,  but 
references  to  sweet  potatoes,  turnips,  pumpkins  and  coleworts  suggest  that 
these  garden  products  were  commonly  grown,  and  that  they  formed  an 
important  part  of  the  food  supply.'^  Orchards  of  peach,  pear  and  apple 
trees  were  a  point  of  pride  with  the  better  class  of  middle  country  settlers,^" 
and  were  doubtless  planted  in  the  back  country  also. 

At  the  time  of  settlement  there  were  high  hopes  that  wheat  planted  in 
the  townships  would  replace  the  flour  imported  from  the  northern  colonies, 
but  not  until  the  settlement  of  the  Wateree  and  Congaree  did  the  industry 
receive  any  great  impetus.^®  The  Cherokee  War  not  only  brought  out  the 
evidence  of  the  amiount  of  back  country  wheat  but  accounts  of  supplies 
furnished  by  the  frontier  neighborhoods  to  their  stockade  forts  show  that 
its  cultivation  was  widely  distributed,  and  even  suggest  that  wheat 
rivalled  corn  as  a  food  product  of  the  frontier.  The  Charleston  news- 
paper advertisements  of  this  period  indicate  that  despite  the  expense  of 
transportation  the  settlers  about  the  Congarees  and  Pinetree  Hill  drew  a 

^^Inventories;  compare  American  Husbandry,  I,  447-448,  II,  21,  above,  p.  34, 
Carroll,  Collections,  II,  203.  South  Carolina  regularly  exported  small  amounts  of 
corn  and  pease  {SCG,  Dec.  8,  1759),  and  it  does  not  appear  that  this  came  from 
the  back  country. 

"  JC,  Jan.  18,  1749,  JCHA,  July  1762  (schedule  for  1762),  May  25,  1764,  Inven- 
tories, 1758-1761,  p.  483.    Reap-hooks  occur  in  ibid.,  for  instance,  1761-1763,  p.  318. 

^^  Note  oats,  fodder,  corn  blades  or  pasturage — Stats.,  IV,  119,  121,  126,  In- 
ventories,  1753-1756,   p.  237. 

24  See  above,  pp.  38,  56,  120,  139;  P,  IX,  460  (Turnip  Patch  Fork);  JC,  Apr. 
26,  1764;  Stats.,  IV,  123,  126;  JCHA,  June  23,  1761.  The  white  or  Irish  potato 
became  common  on  the  coast  later   (SCG,  July  7,  1766). 

25  JC,  Apr.  11,  1746,  Nov.  6,  1751;  SCG,  Dec.  15,  1758  (advt.  John  Fouquet), 
Jan.  23,  1762  (advt.  of  J.  F.  Doubbs)  ;  SCAGG,  Nov.  4,  1774. 

26  See  PR,  XXIII,  226  (enclosure  with  Glen's  letter  to  Board,  Oct.  10,  1748), 
Carroll,  Collections,  II,  223-224,  JCHA,  May  6,  1749,  Inventories,  1756-1758,  pp. 
398-399. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  167 

considerable  income  from  it.^^  Aside  from  this  crop  there  was  little  in 
the  agriculture  of  the  piedmont  to  yield  money.  Hemp  and  flax,  however, 
were  likewise  among  the  early  ambitions  for  the  townships,  and  the  initial 
bounties  were  continued,  though  irregularly,  for  the  remainder  of  the 
colonial  period.^^  Several  settlers  at  the  Congarees  and  Orangeburg  raised 
small  quantities  of  hemp  until  the  end  of  the  'fifties,  but  otherwise  the  new 
settlers  seem  to  have  paid  little  attention  to  it.^  Flax  was  more  generally 
planted,  but  the  evidence  is  the  listing  of  flax  hackles  in  inventories,  and 
indicates  that  it  was  grown  only  to  supply  the  family  with  cloth.^° 

In  some  respects  indigo  offered  more  inducements  to  the  frontiersman 
than  any  other  money  crop.  Its  bulk  was  so  small  in  proportion  to  its 
value  that  transportation  of  it  was  a  negligible  problem,  for  the  produce  of 
an  acre  might  be  sold  for  ten  pounds  sterling,  yet  weigh  only  eighty 
pounds.  Furthermore  it  grew  readily  in  either  middle  or  back  country 
soil.  In  1754  the  commissary-general  announced  that  he  had  six  bushels 
of  Guatemala  seed  to  distribute  to  the  back  settlers,  a  pint  to  each  family. 
Therefore  it  is  not  surprising  to  read  the  optimistic  statements  of  the 
Saluda  and  Enoree  settlers  in  1755  that  they  hoped  to  raise  "some  hun- 
dreds" of  indigo  that  year,  nor  of  Governor  Dobbs  of  North  Carolina  in 
regard  to  indigo  making  by  the  back  settlers  of  that  province.^^  Doubtless 
a  few  succeeded  with  the  marvellous  new  crop,  but  the  process  of  getting 
the  dye  from  the  weed  was  complicated  and  delicate,  and  required  large 
carefully  made  vats  plentifully  supplied  with  water.  The  back  country 
did  not  develop  indigo  till  after  1759,  though  the  middle  country,  in 
better  position  and  with  more  capital,  was  already  an  important  factor  in 
Its  production. 

No  record  appears  to  throw  real  light  on  the  profit,  in  normal  times, 
to  the  back  country  from  cattle  raising.     But  exports  of  beef  and  pork 

27JCHA,  Feb.  25,  1741,  July  3,  1760,  July,  1762  (schedule  for  1762);  JC,  Mar. 
6,  1750,  Nov.  7,  1752,  Inventories,  1758-1761,  pp.  89,  589;  see  also  above,  p.  106, 
and  below,  p.  221,  n.  23. 

28  See  above,  pp.  82-83;  Stats.  Ill,  587,  615,  616;  IV,  28-29,  49,  98,  166-168, 
232,  315-317. 

29  Above,  p.  56,  Inventories,  1753-1756,  p.  237,  JCHA,  Jan.  25,  1742,  Jan  10, 
1755,  SCG,  June  9,  1759. 

30  Inventories,  1751-1753,  p.  41,  1753-1756,  p.  236,  1758-1761,  pp.  22,  277,  483, 
1761-1763,  pp.  31,  318.  A  bounty  was  offered  on  cotton  by  the  act  of  1744 
{Stats.,  Ill,  615),  and  a  few  references  to  it  similar  to  those  to  flax  are  found  in 

middle  and  back  country  inventories  (1753-1756,  pp.  47,  443,  1758-1761,  p.  318; 
see  also  PR,  XXII,  276— Glen  to  Board,  Apr.  28,  1747).  In  1747  James  Marion 
applied  to  the  assembly  for  a  seven  year  monopoly  for  a  machine  "for  ginning 
of  the  rough  seed-Cotton,  such  as  has  usually  been  sown  ...  in  this  Province;" 
which  would,  with  the  labor  of  a  negro  man  and  two  boys  in  twelve  hours  clean 
eighty  pounds  of  cotton  from  the  seed  (JCHA,  May  19,  1747). 

31  Carroll,  Collections,  II,  203,  235,  SCG,  Feb.  12,  1754,  above,  p.  131,  Col.  Recs. 
of  N.  C.  V,  149. 

32  Above,  pp.  62,  94,  105.  See  Harriott  H.  Ravenel,  Eliza  Pinckney  (New  York, 
1896),  pp.  102-103. 


168  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

from  South  Carolina  which  were  5,576  barrels  in  the  year  ending  June 
1749,  when  the  back  country  was  in  process  of  settlement,  fell  steadily  and 
during  the  last  three  years  of  the  'fifties  were  less  than  a  thousand  barrels 
a  year.  The  new  settlements  were  evidently  unable  to  take  advantage  of 
the  shift  of  low  country  labor  to  the  rapidly  expanding  rice  and  indigo 
crops  by  sending  salted  pork  and  beef  to  Charleston  for  export,  and 
probably  were  scarcely  better  equipped  to  sell  meat  to  the  low  country 
planters.  For  this  purpose  cattle  must  be  fattened,  salt  brought  up  from 
the  coast,  and  heavy  meat  transported  back,  or  else  the  fat  cattle  must  be 
driven  to  the  coast  and  properly  fed  on  the  way.  Hides  could  be  tanned  in 
the  back  country,  and  marketing  them  was  a  somewhat  simpler  matter. 
In  1748  they  were  worth  six  shillings  apiece  in  Charleston.^^  There  were 
few  large  holdings  of  cattle  in  the  back  country.  About  fifty  inventories, 
fairly  representative  of  all  but  the  poorest  back  and  middle  country  settlers, 
show  only  half  a  dozen  owners  of  as  many  as  a  hundred,  and  only  one  of 
these  was  in  the  piedmont.  However,  most  of  these  men  had  more  cattle 
than  their  families  alone  could  consume,  and  it  is  evident  that  small  num- 
bers of  beeves  and  hogs,  sold  as  opportunity  offered,  eked  out  the  back 
country  income. 

It  was  probably  butter,  rather  than  beef,  that  made  cattle  worth  while 
to  the  more  enterprising  frontiersman.  Butter  was  worth  in  the  back 
country  four  or  five  pence  a  pound,  and,  prepared  with  saltpetre  and  salt 
in  the  manner  of  the  time,  kept  indefinitely,  so  that  the  output  of  the 
individual  farm,  whether  little  or  large,  could  be  fully  utilized.  In  1739 
it  was  spoken  of  as  the  "chief  produce"  of  the  townships.  The  Scotch- 
Irish  settlers  on  Rocky  River  in  North  Carolina  were  the  first  to  give 
back  country  butter  a  name  in  the  Charleston  market,  the  first  advertise- 
ments— which  also  included  tallow — appearing  in  1760.  The  Waxhaws 
early  announced  intentions  of  making  butter  and  cheese,  and  the  cooper's 
tools  in  Robert  McCorkle's  inventory  must  have  been  intended  for  making 
casks  for  these  exports.  In  the  Cherokee  War  one  settler  supplied  eighty 
pounds  of  butter,  another  eighty-eight,  to  frontier  forts  on  the  Broad  and 
Saluda  Rivers  at  about  four  pence  a  pound.^ 

There  were  few  settlers  who  did  not  have  at  least  one  horse.  Oxen 
seem  to  have  been  seldom  used,  and  horses  were  essential  for  work  on  the 
farm  as  well  as  for  transportation  abroad ;  the  numbers  owned  by  any 
individual  were  usually  small,  only  in  rare  cases  as  high  as  fifty  head.^^ 

^^  Carroll,  Collections,  II,  237,  SCG,  Sept.  8,  1759.  Note  the  tanyard  at  the 
Congarees  (above,  p.  57,  n.  12).  See  also  Inventories,  1753-1756,  p.  47,  1758- 
1761,  p.  67.  A  German  tanner,  George  Keat,  settled  on  the  Saluda  in  1752 
(JC,  Jan.  8,  1752,  P,  V,  267). 

^MCHA,  Dec.  18,  1739,  May  28,  1760,  May  25,  1764;  SCG,  Aug.  23,  1760, 
above,  p.  143;   see  Inventories,  1758-1761,  p.  589. 

35  For  instance,  JC,  July  7,  1752.  See  JUHA,  Dec.  3,  1744,  JCHA,  Jan.  24, 
1745,  SCG,  Oct.  2,  1755  (advt.  of  Richard  Waters),  Feb.  2,  1760  (advt.  of  William 
Lawrence),  Mar.  28,  1761  (advt.  of  John  Dawson)  ;  John  Crawford,  at  Cheraw,  had 
two  pairs  of  oxen  (Inventories,  1758-1761,  p.  585). 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  169 

They  were  bred  in  the  back  country  and  probably  found  ready  sale  on  the 
coast. 

Hunting  was  a  resource  available  to  most  of  the  back  country  people, 
and  almost  as  much  to  those  of  the  middle  country,  which  was  even  more 
thinly  settled,  and  had  wide  swamps  for  the  protection  of  game.  Buffalo 
disappeared  as  the  first  settlers  arrived,  leaving  only  their  licks,  paths,  and 
the  names  of  streams  to  record  their  history.  Bears  made  their  exit  as 
promptly,  though  the  Purrysburgers  claimed  to  have  suffered  by  them 
several  years  after  their  settlement.  But  the  deer  survived  in  spite  of  the 
annual  slaughter,  and  the  Cherokees  from  the  Lower  Towns  came  regularly 
nearly  to  Ninety  Six  for  their  hunts.  Probably  the  great  majority  of  the 
settlers  profited  from  lucky  chances  at  deer,  and  more  rarely  caught  beaver. 
Some  undoubtedly  continued  to  make  their  living  chiefly  by  hunting,  but 
their  number  was  small ;  success  in  this  profession  required  as  great  skill  and 
as  hard  work  as  did  farming  and  promised  less  reward.^^  Dogs  were 
common  in  the  back  country,  but  seem  to  have  been  kept  for  defense  rather 
than  for  hunting.  Guns  were  usually  muskets ;  however  the  new  rifles 
began  to  appear  in  1750  and  by  1759  were  found  frequently.  References 
to  fishing  are  rare;  the  Ebenezer  pastors  complained  that  the  Purryburgers 
preferred  to  have  their  children  hunt  and  fish  rather  than  go  to  school,  and 
Patrick  Calhoun  said  in  1765  that  the  settlers  had  repaired  the  Indian 
fishdam  across  Little  River,  and  that  in  the  large  creeks  were  plenty  of 
rock  fish,  shad,  perch,  cat  and  trout.^^ 

The  sale  of  his  surplus  products  might  enable  the  poorest  back  country- 
man to  spend  a  few  shillings  a  year  for  salt  and  ammunition,  and,  at  rare 
intervals,  for  a  blanket  or  some  indispensable  tool,  while  his  more  comfort- 
able neighbor  sold  and  bought  in  proportion.  The  total  of  this  trade  was 
considerable,  but  it  was  spread  out  over  a  great  area  which  had  not  as  yet 
developed  any  economic  centers  nor  even  a  respectable  crossroads.  Four 
rivers  divided  the  region  into  as  many  districts,  and  made  cross-country 
communication  excessively  difficult.  True,  there  was  Ninety  Six  where 
Robert  Goudey  did  a  business  rivalling  that  of  some  of  the  merchants  in 
Charleston,  but  this  was  a  store  for  the  Cherokee  traders,  and  was  not 
even  within  reach  of  the  best  settled  regions  of  the  back  country.  In  1762 
Thomas  Wade  appears  to  have  had  a  store  at  the  crossing  of  the  Catawba 
road  over  Hanging  Rock  Creek,  and  at  that  time  reference  is  made  to  a 
similar  establishment  formerly  kept  at  the  mouth  of  Stevens  Creek.  Some- 
where on  every  road,  no  doubt,  there  was  an  enterprising  settler  like 
Moses  Kirkland  who  kept  an  extra  supply  of  some  commodity,  wet  or  dry, 
of  which  he  might  occasionally  sell  a  little,  but  that  was  all.     The  rivers 

3«See  SCGCJ,  Aug.  9,  1768,  P,  VII,  63,  XI,  514,  XII,  48,  54,  97,  above,  pp.  38, 
119-122,  Inventories,  1753-1756,  p.  47. 

"JC,  Mar.  13,  1750,  Mar.  16,  1756,  Apr.  26,  1764,  Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  V,  142, 
Indian  Books,  III,  8,  Voigt,  German  Element,  p.  27,  Hillsboro  Plat  (below,  p.  253). 


170  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

which  precluded  cross  country  communication  inexorably  pointed  the  direct 
ways  to  the  fall  line  or  to  the  coast,  and  thither  the  back  countryman  be- 
took himself — not  indeed  by  an  easy  water  carriage,  but  on  horseback, 
following  the  path  along  the  side  of  the  valley.  Within  a  decade  of  settle- 
ment, however,  the  path  had  widened  into  a  rough  road,  and  harnessing  four 
horses  to  a  wagon — if  he  was  one  of  the  few  who  owned  one  of  the  pon- 
derous vehicles — he  set  forth,  charged  with  the  sales  and  commissions  of  his 
neighbors  as  well  as  his  own.  To  make  the  best  of  the  venture  many, 
perhaps  most,  of  these  wagons  were  driven  direct  to  Charleston,  but  there 
were  others  ready  to  stop  short  of  this  goal.^® 

At  Savannah  Town  John  Tobler's  store  survived  the  competition  of 
Augusta;  at  the  Congarees  Audeon  St.  John,  successor  to  Thomas  Brown, 
Robert  Steill,  and  Herman  Geiger,  was  perhaps  the  only  considerable 
merchant.  His  store  was  hired  as  a  military  depot  during  the  Cherokee 
War,  and  in  1763  he  had  "a  complete  and  fresh  assortment  of  dry  goods 
suitable  to  the  back  inhabitants,  .  .  .  for  cash  or  short  credit".  The 
sand  hills  prevented  the  wagons  of  the  Wateree  and  Catawba  coming  to 
the  Congarees;  instead  those  bound  for  Charleston  from  the  upper  valley 
and  from  still  further  north  followed  the  road  along  the  eastern  side  of 
the  river.  With  the  development  of  wheat  as  a  paying  crop  there  was  a 
good  opportunity  for  a  store  at  the  head  of  Wateree  navigation,  and  here 
Samuel  Wyly  tried  for  a  time  the  role  of  merchant.  He  was  succeeded  if 
not  bought  out  by  Joseph  Kershaw  and  his  Charleston  partners.  After  the 
Cherokee  War  this  store  became  the  most  important  trading  enterprise  in 
the  middle  or  back  country.^® 

The  transportation  problem,  which  geography  made  the  fundamental 
obstacle  to  the  early  development  of  the  piedmont,  was  intensified  by  the 
quickness  with  which  a  comparatively  small  population  spread  over  the 
great  area  behind  the  tidewater.  The  resources  of  the  province  would 
not  have  permitted  any  considerable  assistance  for  roads  in  the  new  settle- 
ments even  had  the  provincial  system  sanctioned  it,  while  public  levies  of 
money  or  labor  on  the  inhabitants  themselves  was  for  years  manifestly 
impossible.  At  the  expense  of  the  township  fund  the  Cherokee  path  was 
made  a  wagon  road  as  far  as  the  Congarees  in  1737,  and  in  1747  the 
inhabitants  were  charged  with  its  upkeep,  but  in  the  main  the  settlers  were 
left  to  themselves  to  make  the  best  use  they  could  of  the  Indian  trade  paths 
and  to  develop  new  routes.  In  1748  the  Cherokee  path  above  the  Congarees 
was  spoken  of  as  the  "Main  Road",  evidently  meaning  that  the  trees  had 

^  Above,  p.  136;  for  Wade,  Mesne  Conveyances,  3E,  785-792,  P,  V,  383,  VII, 
184;  for  the  other  store,  SCG,  Oct.  9,  1762  (advt.  of  J.  and  C.  Wright),  P,  IX,  398. 
Most  of  the  fifty  wagons  in  Lyttelton's  expedition  were  from  the  Broad  and 
Saluda;  one-horse  carts  were  as  common  as  wagons   {Stats.,  IV,  117-128). 

29JCHA,  July  1762   (schedule  for  1762),  SCG,  Nov.  26,  1763,  above,  p.  104. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  171 

been  cut  back  along  the  route  to  allow  the  passage  of  wagons.  There  were 
few  if  any  bridges  on  this  stretch,  and  streams  like  the  Little  Saluda  could 
only  be  crossed  when  the  water  was  not  high.  Even  in  low  water  the 
footing  in  the  fords  was  treacherous  and  the  steep  banks  made  an  empty 
wagon  a  load.  By  1759  the  road  to  the  Cherokees  was  open  for  wagons 
almost  if  not  quite  to  Fort  Prince  George.*" 

The  old  trading  path  from  the  Catawbas  ran  nearly  south  along  the 
west  bank  of  the  Catawba  to  the  head  of  the  Congaree,  but  about  1755  the 
traffic  on  it  shifted  to  the  road  constructed  by  Thomas  Howell  to  his 
ferry  below  Raifords  Creek.  A  plat  of  1758  on  Cedar  Creek  shows  that 
the  path  of  the  early  settlers  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Broad  had  yielded 
chief  place  to  a  road  along  the  ridge  to  the  Howells  Ferry  road ;  the  latter 
and  its  two  branches  above  were  not  made  a  public  charge  until  1766,  nor 
does  it  appear  that  the  upper  portions  of  these  routes  were  open  for  wagons 
until  after  1760.  Meanwhile  the  more  convenient  path  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Wateree  was  made  a  public  road  in  1753  but  it  was  not  completed  to 
the  Waxhaws  until  the  end  of  the  decade.  From  Grannys  Quarter  Creek, 
a  few  miles  above  Pinetree  Hill,  a  path  turned  east  across  Lynches  River 
to  the  Peedee  at  the  Cheraws,  and  by  1756  wagons  seem  to  have  been 
following  it,  although  improvement  of  the  route  was  not  provided  for 
until  1762." 

In  1750,  with  the  settlement  of  the  Enoree  and  its  branches,  paths 
appear  on  the  plats  near  the  mouths  of  Indian  Creek  and  Kings  Creek, 
crossing  Cannons  Creek  about  five  miles  from  the  Broad,  and  evidently 
reaching  the  Crims  Creek  settlement  near  its  church.  In  1758  this  path 
is  referred  to  as  a  wagon  road ;  about  Wateree  Creek  it  turned  and  crossed 
the  ridge  to  the  Saluda,  thus  avoiding  the  rugged  land  on  the  lower  Broad. 
The  Cherokee  path  was  perhaps  reached  by  Scott's  landing  below  Bear 
Creek,  but  later  this  road  was  continued  farther  down  the  north  bank  of 
the  Saluda  to  Kirkland's  Ferry,  near  the  mouth  of  the  river.*^ 

There  were  two  early  trading  paths  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Savannah 
above  the  falls,  one  paralleling  the  river  a  few  miles  from  its  banks,  the 
other  running  north  from  Savannah  Town  to  Ninety  Six.  The  settlers 
of  the  Long  Cane  section  and  the  upper  branches  of  Stevens  Creek,  how- 
ever, used  the  Cherokee  path  or  the  later  route  which  led  from  the  Calhoun 

^JC,  Jan.  19,  1737,  P,  IV,  439,  Stats.,  IX,  146,  SCG,  Jan.  12,  1760.  Compare 
the  troubles  of  the  Moravian  company  on  their  journey  from  Pennsylvania  to  North 
Carolina  in  1753    (Mereness,   Travels,  pp.  325-356). 

^1  Above,  pp.  63,  99,  106;  P,  V,  222,  253,  278,  459,  VI,  129,  213,  328,  VII, 
281,  294;  Stats.,  IX,  200-201,  214;  see  also  pp.  144-147. 

*2p,  V,  114,  184,  278,  VI,  96,  309,  316,  320,  VII,  80,  XII,  99;  Stats.,  IX,  211, 
Mouzon,  Map  of  N.  and  S.  C.  The  upper  portion  of  the  route  evidently  ap- 
proximated that  of  the  later  Kings  Creek-Crims  Creek  road  (see  Mills,  Atlas  of 
S.  C,  Newberry). 


172  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

settlement  across  Hard  Labor  Creek  to  the  Ninety  Six-Savannah  Town 
road  and  thence  to  the  forks  of  the  Edisto." 

The  first  of  the  paths  crossing  the  piedmont  from  the  north  was  the 
Virginia  trading  route  which  also  served  for  communication  between  the 
back  country  and  the  northern  colonies.  In  1752  another  path  paralleling 
this  one  led  to  Lea's  ford  over  Broad  River,  nearly  a  mile  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Enoree.  John  Lea  or  Lee  appears  no  more  on  Broad  River, 
and  the  crossing  later  became  known  as  Lyles'  ford,  but  in  1756  the  wagon 
road  crossed  by  the  shallow  ford  at  Fishdam  shoals,  six  miles  above  the 
Tyger."**  The  Catawba  was  crossed  at  Land's  ford  west  of  the  Waxhaw 
Church.  Beyond  Broad  River  the  road  cannot  be  traced  prior  to  1759; 
the  most  used  route  seems  to  have  been  a  path  from  Cannons  Creek  to  the 
Saluda,  crossing  that  stream  about  a  mile  above  the  mouth  of  Bush  River. 
The  Indian  path  from  the  Catawbas  to  Savannah  Town,  which  before  the 
settlement  of  the  middle  country  crossed  at  the  shoals  at  the  head  of  the 
Congaree,  was  used  for  the  infrequent  travel  between  the  Congarees  and 
Fort  Moore.  The  route  skirted  the  branches  of  the  Little  Saluda  for  half 
the  distance,  but  then  turned  southwest,  crossing  the  head  branches  of  the 
South  Fork  of  the  Edisto.  At  the  fort  a  ferry  was  established  by  law  in 
1739,  the  "Sand  Bar"  being  the  landing  place  on  the  Georgia  side.^^ 

The  simple  forms  of  manufacturing  to  be  found  in  the  back  country 
were  the  making  or  repairing  of  tools  and  utensils  and  the  crude  processes 
necessary  to  prepare  crops  and  products  for  market  or  home  consumption. 
Most  blacksmiths  appear  to  have  plied  their  trade  along  with  their  farm 
work.  At  Ninety  Six  there  were  Daniel  Migler  and  William  Ritenour, 
on  the  Broad  were  Samuel  Hollenshed  and  Daniel  Rees,  while  the  smith's 
tools  among  Isaac  Pennington's  effects  and  the  71  pounds  of  bar  iron,  worth 
one  pound  sterling,  owned  by  Peter  Crim  suggest  that  these  men  employed 
smiths.^*'  At  the  fall  line  there  were  others;  for  instance  one  of  Herman 
Geiger's  negroes  was  a  smith.  The  "path  to  the  Mines"  in  Amelia,  and 
Isaac  Pennington's  petition  for  fifty  acres  on  the  Enoree  on  which  he  was 
"Settling  an  Iron  Work  and  that  he  may  have  some  Ore  to  keep  the  same 
imployed,"  suggest  early  native  sources  to  eke  out  imports  of  bar  iron.*^ 
The  carpenters,  joiners,  wheelwrights,  shoemakers  and  weavers,  a  score  of 
them,  were  to  be  found  chiefly  in  the  fall  line  settlements,  but  there  were 
several  in  the  back  country.*® 

*3p,  V,  293,  381,  VII,  32,  47;  Plat  of  Hillsboro   (below,  p.  253). 

**P,  V,  380,  VI,  149,  VII,  65,  IX,  92;  see  also  VI,  309,  XVI,  353.  For  fishdams 
see  above,  p.  169. 

4-^P,  IV,  134,  VI,  281,  VIII,  241,  XVI,  219,  above,  p.  72;  Stats.  IX,  110-111, 
Mouzon,  Map  of  N.  and  S.  C. 

*^  Stats.,  IV,  122  (for  location  see  P,  VII,  181,  334),  above,  p.  148;  Inventories, 
1758-1761,  pp.  432,  439. 

^Ubid.,  1751-1753,  p.  108,  above,  p.  44,  JC,  Apr.  2,  1754, 

*^  Mesne  Conveyances. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  173 

The  grinding  of  corn  and  wheat  was  one  of  the  first  problems  of  the 
settler.  Some  may  have  cracked  their  corn  Indian  fashion,  but  others  out 
of  reach  of  a  cornmill  probably  used  small  steel  or  iron  hand  mills;  they 
were  furnished  to  the  Purrysburg  and  Hillsborough  settlers  and  are  oc- 
casionally found  in  inventories,  valued  at  about  fifteen  shillings.^^  But  a 
mill  pond  and  its  corn  mill  were  usually  the  first  evidence  that  a  section 
had  been  settled,  and  it  was  rare  that  the  settlers  were  not  thus  provided 
within  five  years.  Corn  was  usually  sold  in  the  grain,  but  wheat  was 
ground  in  the  back  country  or  at  the  fall  line  before  it  was  sent  to  the 
coast. 

Sawmills  were  available  to  few  of  the  back  country  settlers  before  the 
Cherokee  War ;  with  their  whipsaws  the  settlers  could  saw  planks  them- 
selves almost  as  efficiently  as  could  the  clumsy  frames,  set  with  two  or  more 
saws,  which  were  slowly  driven  through  the  log  by  a  water  wheel.  The 
carpenter  who  contracted  to  rebuild  Fort  Moore  in  1747  made  the  brick — 
doubtless  for  chimneys — on  the  ground,  but  otherwise  bricks  are  con- 
spicuous in  the  back  country  by  their  absence. ^° 

Weaving  and  spinning  were  important  items  in  home  industry,  although 
there  is  no  evidence  that  there  was  any  surplus  for  sale ;  spinning  wheels 
and  looms,  even  after  years  of  use,  were  worth  six  or  seven  shilling  each. 
Wool,  flax  and  cotton  were  generally  used,  although  sheep  were  not  to  be 
found  in  every  inventory.^^  In  Isaac  Pennington's  estate  in  1762  there  was 
a  still  valued  at  about  twenty-one  pounds;  Hans  Jacob  Morf,  of  Saxe 
Gotha,  had  one  worth  only  fifty  shillings;  he  also  had  both  corn  and  rye. 
The  whiskey  used  at  the  vendue  of  James  McCorkle's  estate  was  valued 
at  eighteen  pence  a  gallon." 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  slaves  were  listed  by  a  hundred  and  seventy 
owners  in  applications  for  warrants  in  the  back  country  between  1744  and 
1756.  Eight  of  these  men,  owning  eighty-six  slaves,  were  residents  of  the 
coast  or  middle  country,  and  some  of  them  probably  did  not  put  their  slaves 
upon  the  land.  The  other  applicants  averaged  about  three  slaves  each,  and  \  j 
the  negroes  were  widely  distributed  over  the  piedmont.  During  the  last 
three  or  four  years  of  the  decade  there  was  doubtless  a  more  rapid  increase 
of  slaves  in  the  back  country,  but  the  total  could  scarcely  have  been  over  I  /^ 
three  hundred.  Indentured  servants  played  an  even  smaller  part;  the 
number  listed  in  warrants  was  less  than  fifty,  though  this  figure  was  doubt- 

*^  Above,  p.  35,  below,  p.  253;  Inventories,  1753-1756,  pp.  326,  405;  compare 
Adair,  American  Indians,  p.  407. 

®°  Note  plan  of  sawmill  in  Ebenezer — Plan  <von  Neu  Ebenezer,  .  .  .  Augsberg 
(Collection  of  H.  D.  Kendall,  Camden,  S.  C),  and  provision  for  sawing  plank  at 
Fort  Prince  George  in  1763  (Journal  of  Directors  of  Cherokee  Trade,  MS,  B,  p. 
32)  ;  and  Inventories,  1758-1761,  pp.  399,  428,  588.  For  the  Fort  Moore  reference, 
see  JCHA,  Apr.  11,  1747. 

^1  See  for  instances,  Inventories,  1753-1756,  pp.  47,  236,  326,  405,  443,  1758- 
1761,  pp.  22,  428,  439,  1761-1763,  pp.  31,  249,  318. 

^^Ibid.,  1758-1761,  p.  432,  1761-1763,  p.  319,  above,  p.  143. 


174  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

less  incomplete  even  for  the  period  covered.  About  fifty  applicants  for 
land  in  the  back  country  stated  that  they  had  served  indentures,  but  most  of 
these  had  been  servants  to  masters  in  Charleston  or  elsewhere  on  the  coast. 
Only  a  few  of  the  servants  were  not  German,  and  the  indentures  almost  in- 
variably represented  passage  money  from  Europe  to  Charleston.  If  many  of 
the  numerous  Scotch  or  Irish  servants  on  the  coast  made  their  way  to  the 
back  country  after  the  expiration  of  their  terms,  the  fact  does  not  appear  in 
the  records.  The  demand  for  overseers  or  tradesmen  doubtless  absorbed 
them  as  free  laborers.  Labor  was  therefore  almost  uniformly  free,  but 
there  was  little  employment  for  hire.  William  Calhoun  about  1764  records 
a  few  instances  of  work  done  for  purchase  of  commodities,  and  Henry 
Christopher  Beudeker  paid  seventeen  pence  a  day  for  men  to  reap  barley 
and  wheat,  while  his  coopers  received  twenty-one  pence. ^^  It  is  clear  that 
these  were  exceptions  to  the  rule  that  the  farmer  himself  and  his  family 
did  nearly  all  the  work. 

The  furniture  of  the  poorer  settlers  of  the  back  country  probably  con- 
sisted of  a  few  chairs  and  a  bedstead  with  straw  mattress  and  blankets  or 
skins  for  covering.  Cooking  was  done  on  the  open  fire,  by  both  poor  and 
well  to  do,  and  the  poorest  had  his  pot,  which  hung  in  the  flame  by  a  hook, 
and  a  pan  for  frying.  Wooden  noggins,  serving  for  cups  or  small  vessels, 
piggins — small  wooden  tubs — and  wooden  pails  were  probably  common. 
Pewter  plates  and  spoons,  with  steel  knives  and  forks,  completed  a  simple 
but  adequate  list  of  utensils.  Pewter  implements  were  easily  broken  or 
hopelessly  bent,  but  could  be  melted  and  reshaped  almost  as  easily,  and  the 
occurrence  of  spoon  molds  in  two  inventories  suggests  that  this  work  was 
part  of  the  blacksmith's  craft.  A  great  many  of  the  back  settlers  were 
much  more  amply  provided  with  household  conveniences.  Featherbeds, 
pillows  and  bolsters,  linen  sheets,  table  cloths  and  towels,  looking-glass, 
teakettle,  china  or  delftware  and  a  greater  abundance  of  pots,  basins,  jugs, 
hooks,  potracks,  were  evidence  of  this  comfort.^* 

One  of  John  Pearson's  neighbors  about  1764  pawned  a  pair  of  cloth 
breeches,  and  the  fact  that  Pearson  felt  impelled  to  describe  them  as  made 
of  cloth,  together  with  the  occurrence  in  Robert  Goudey's  inventory  of 
1776  of  fourteen  pairs  of  leather  breeches,  suggests  that  the  latter  were  the 
common  wear  of  the  back  country.^^  There  are  no  references  to  moc- 
casins, a  poor  a  covering  at  best ;  and  with  leather  so  easy  to  procure  there 
was  no  excuse  for  the  back  country  settler  to  be  badly  shod.  The  goods 
that  Captain  Pepper  kept  for  sale  in  Fort  Moore  were  primarily  to  appeal 

°^  "Journal  of  William  Calhoun",  Publications  of  the  Southern  History  As- 
sociation, VIII  (1904),  18+;  JC,  Jan.  26,  1750. 

^■*  Will  of  James  McCorkle  (above,  p.  143,  n.  20);  Inventories,  1751-1753,  pp. 
93,  420,  1753-1756,  p.  237,  1754-1758,  p.  258,  1756-1758,  p.  4. 

^■^  John  Pearson  to  his  son  (above,  p.  158,  n.  34);  Inventories,  1774-1785, 
p.  195. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  175 

to  the  soldiers  of  his  garrison  but  probably  indicate  the  usual  clothes  of  the 
settlers.  He  sold  coarse  shoes  for  five  or  six  shillings,  while  steel  shoe 
buckles  cost  two-thirds  as  much.  Felt  hats  were  about  six  shillings,  fine 
castor  hats — presumably  beaver — about  twelve  shillings.  Coarse  stock- 
ings he  sold  at  two  shillings,  the  "best  knit  stockings"  at  five  or  six,  and  a 
cotton  shirt  "well  made"  was  eight  and  a  half.  Moses  Hendrick,  on 
Indian  Creek,  boasted  a  coat  and  red  jacket;  other  inventories  of  perhaps 
the  better-to-do  show  usually  coat  and  "wescoat".  James  Adamson,  on 
the  Wateree,  had  a  broadcloth  coat  valued  by  appraisers  at  twenty-eight 
shillings,  and  another,  evidently  the  worse  for  wear,  worth  about  a  third 
that  much.    Some  inventories  on  the  fall  line  list  razors,  wigs  and  perukes.^® 

About  women's  wear  there  is  a  dearth  of  evidence.  It  may  in  part  be 
inferred  from  the  items  in  lists  of  men's  clothes.  Governor  Dobbs  de- 
scribed the  summer  clothing  of  his  Rocky  River  settlers — "no  woman  wear- 
ing more  than  a  shift  and  one  thin  petticoat."  Mrs.  Haig,  belonging  to 
the  middle  country,  and  to  the  upper  class  at  that,  demanded  of  Thomas 
Corker  that  he  send  her  a  gown  so  that  she  might  have  good  mourning 
clothes  for  everyday  wear.  In  1767  an  indented  servant  girl  about  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  "short,  lusty,  ruddy-faced  and  remarkably  sluttish", 
recently  come  from  Ireland  and  supposed  to  be  headed  for  the  "Irish" 
settlements,  ran  away  from  her  Charleston  master  clad  in  "a  new  black 
quilted  serge  petticoat,  a  new  printed  linen  gown,  a  long  ear'd  cap  and 
straw  hat."  " 

The  diet  of  the  back  country  settlers  varied,  but  the  staples  for  rich  and 
poor  were  corn  (meal  or  hominy),  wheat  flour,  salt  or  dried  beef  and  pork. 
One  of  the  innumerable  complaints  of  the  Reverend  Charles  Woodmason, 
of  the  Parish  of  St.  Mark,  had  to  do  with  the  prevailing  fare  of  his  High 
Hills  neighbors:  "Where  I  am,  is  neither  Beef  or  Mutton — nor  Beer, 
Cyder,  or  anything  better  than  Water — These  People  eat  twice  a  day  .  .  . 
Their  Bread  of  Indian  Corn,  Pork  in  Winter  &  Bacon  in  Sumf  If  any 
Beef,  they  jerk  it  &  dry  it  in  the  Sun — So  that  you  may  as  well  eat  a  Deal 
Board."  An  Indian  forced  himself  into  a  German's  house  near  Four  Hole 
Swamp  and  took  out  of  the  pot  of  hominy  the  piece  of  meat  that  was  being 
cooked  with  it.  The  Catawba  Indians  said  that  many  settlers  very  cheer- 
fully gave  them  bread  and  milk,  meat  or  butter.  Poultry  were  evidently 
common,  geese  are  occasionally  mentioned  in  the  middle  country,  and  an 
Orangeburg  settler  had  turkeys.  Patrick  Calhoun  remarked  on  his  plat  of 
Hillsborough  Township  that  the  country  afforded  plenty  of  deer  and  wild 

^'^^JC,  Mar.  1,  1744,  Inventories,  1746-1748,  pp.  162-169,  1751-1753,  p.  470, 
1758-1761,  pp.  468,  483.  The  Iroquois  took  from  Haig  his  cap,  his  handkerchief 
from  his  neck,  and  his  great  coat,  and  from  Brown  his  coat,  jacket,  and  the  shirt 
from  his  wallet  (JC,  Mar.  29,  1748). 

"Co/.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  V,  355-356,  above,  pp.  58-59,  SCG,  Jan.  12,  1767. 


176  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

turkeys.  The  beehives  listed  show  the  country  was  well  supplied  with 
honey  from  its  own  hives,  if  not  from  the  forests.^® 

The  various  kinds  of  drink  of  the  better  class  is  indicated  by  the  tea- 
kettles, chocolate  pots  and  coffee  mills  found  in  the  back  country  and  in 
the  fall  line  townships.  Wine  is  seldom  found ;  John  Gallman  of  Saxe 
Gotha  township  left  eighteen  bottles  of  Vidonia  in  1758.  Rum,  less  often 
whiskey,  undiluted  or  mixed  with  sugar  and  water  to  make  punch,  was  the 
usual  drink  of  the  back  countryman,  and  was  both  necessity  and  luxury. 
With  its  sovereign  power  it  might  make  even  hard  labor  a  pleasure,  and 
was  perhaps  used  by  the  new  settler  to  get  the  aid  of  his  neighbors  in  raising 
his  log  house.  This  was  the  habit  in  the  back  country  of  North  Carolina, 
said  the  Moravians,  who  refused  to  believe  in  its  efficacy:  "Wagner  was 
very  busy  with  his  new  house,  and  about  twenty  people  were  helping  him, 
but  things  never  go  well  at  such  a  gathering  for  more  time  is  spent  in 
drinking  brandy  than  in  working."  The  same  use  of  it  is  hinted  at  among 
the  expenses  of  the  Cherokee  War  in  an  account  for  rum,  which  "was  ab- 
solutely necessary  to  encourage  the  men  to  build  Fort  Ninety  Six."  ^^  The 
references  to  tobacco  before  the  Cherokee  War  are  few,  but  these  indicate 
that  it  was  commonly  used.  A  poor  man  at  Ninety  Six  had  tobacco  planted 
along  with  his  crop  and  vegetables ;  this  was  probably  for  his  own  con- 
sumption and,  perhaps,  for  trade  with  his  neighbors,  for  it  does  not  appear 
that  the  back  country  sold  tobacco  at  this  time.*"* 

With  violins  the  region  was  well  supplied ;  several  of  them  by  one  chance 
or  another  get  into  the  records.  Moses  Hendrick  had  one  on  Indian  Creek, 
another  occurs  in  the  Congaree  inventories,  a  third  in  Orangeburg  and  a 
fourth  at  the  Cheraws.  Martin  Friday,  at  the  Congarees,  as  well  as  John 
Tobler  at  New  Windsor,  had  "a  small  sett  [of]  House  Organs",  but  no 
others  are  mentioned.  In  the  varied  assortment  of  articles  left  by  robbers 
in  a  sack  hidden  in  a  hollow  tree  on  Twenty-Five  Mile  Creek,  near  Pine- 
tree  Hill,  in  1767,  were  two  Jews  harps.  At  a  belated  Regulator  affair  on 
a  branch  of  Stevens  Creek  in  1772  a  drum  was  kept  beating  and  a  fiddle 
playing  while  the  offender  received  his  five  hundred  lashes.*'^ 

It  does  not  appear  that  life  in  the  tiny  clearings  of  the  great  forest  made 
the   back   countrymen   somber   or   melancholy;   on   the   contrary,    the   oc- 

^^  Fulham  MSS,  S.  Carolina  (Library  of  Congress  copies),  No.  51;  JC,  Apr.  10, 
1753,  above,  p.  142;  Inventories,  1753-1756,  pp.  236,  1758-1761,  pp.  275, 
394;  PR,  XXII,  201  (Glen  to  Board,  Sept.  29,  1746),  Hillsboro  Plat  (below,  p. 
253),  Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  V,  142. 

^inventories,  1751-1753,  pp.  41,  469,  1758-1761,  pp.  22,  483;  Fries,  Records  of 
the  Moravians,  I,  96,  JCHA,  June  11,  1760.  William  Calhoun's  journal  (above,  n. 
53)  from  1760  to  1771  records  frequent  sales  of  rum,  but  late  in  the  decade  these  gave 
way  to  "liquor"  which  apparently  meant  whiskey. 

80  Above,  p.  120;   Inventories,   1751-1753,  pp.  107,  470;  JC,  Mar.   19,   1735. 

^Inventories,  1758-1761,  pp.  89,  274,  468,  585,  589;  above,  p.  69;  SCAGG, 
Oct.  16,  1767  (advt.  of  J.  N.  Oglethorpe)  ;  JC,  Feb.  3,  1772.  There  were  Jews  harps 
in  Thomas  Brown's  inventory  (1746-1748,  p.  164). 


Back  Country/  and  Frontier  177 

casional  glimpses  of  them  when  they  were  not  concerned  about  the  appear- 
ance of  their  letters  or  speech  show  them  to  have  been  a  very  cheerful 
people.  Their  life  was  simple  and  usually  hard,  but  nature  was  bountiful, 
and  there  was  no  necessity  for  unrelieved  toil.  The  climate  and  every 
creek  and  wood  were  a  continual  invitation  to  outdoor  sports,  and  winter 
evenings  by  firelight  or  occasional  candle  were  not  without  their  resources 
even  though  spinning,  carding,  and  other  tasks  required  much  of  the  time. 

Only  on  the  northwest  frontier,  its  nearest  approach  to  one  of  the  major 
Indian  tribes,  does  the  back  country  seem  to  have  gathered  a  considerable 
number  of  the  idle  and  vicious,  the  Indians  and  the  Indian  trade  attract- 
ing rougher  elements  like  those  to  be  found  in  Saxe  Gotha  in  the  earlier 
days.  Even  there,  however,  the  forces  and  the  desire  for  law  and  order 
were  distinctly  uppermost;  there  were  few  who  did  not  earnestly  wish  for 
advance  of  settlement  and  all  that  went  with  it.  Elsewhere  in  the  pied- 
mont the  record  is  remarkably  good.  The  reasons  are  not  far  to  seek.  The 
criminally  minded  were  as  yet  little  drawn  to  the  region — there  was  not 
much  to  steal — and  the  idle  and  worthless  contrived  to  stay  in  districts 
farther  removed  from  Indian  dangers.  Those  who  came  were  the  re- 
sponsible type  who  sought  land  and  wealth,  or,  if  that  were  out  of  reach, 
at  least  comfort  and  independence.  To  some  very  serious-minded  per- 
sons like  the  Ebenezer  Lutheran  pastors  and  John  Tobler,  or  to  others 
like  Governor  Glen,  desirous  of  writing  a  letter  that  would  entertain  and 
strike  the  fancy  of  his  superiors  in  England,  the  back  settlers  offered  ex- 
cellent material  for  lurid  imaginations  to  play  upon.  The  facts,  however, 
were  against  the  traducers.®^ 

The  council  journal  notes  on  land  petitions  of  the  late  'forties  and 
early  'fifties  indicate  the  petitioner's  signature,  whether  written  by  him- 
self or  signed  by  mark,  but  the  deeds  and  mortgages  of  the  middle  and  back 
country  show  the  inaccuracy  of  this  record.^^  A  fair  estimate  would  place 
illiteracy  between  ten  and  twenty  percent.  The  Germans  made  the  best 
showing,  the  overland  settlers  from  Virginia  and  the  northern  colonies  the 
poorest.  Failure  to  sign  a  paper,  however,  was  no  indication  of  economic 
status,  for  some  of  the  owners  of  slaves  and  of  considerable  amounts  of 
other  property  were  thus  listed. 

In  the  incomplete  record  made  by  back  country  inventories,  books  are 
an  infrequent  entry.  This  item  in  James  Love's  estate  on  upper  Lynches 
River  amounted  to  nearly  two  pounds ;  in  James  Adamson's  on  the  Wateree 
to  twelve  shillings;  Benoni  Fowler's  books  on  upper  Broad  River  were 
worth  nine  shillings,   as  were   "Some   old   Books"   belonging  to  Thomas 

«2Voigt,  German  Element,  JC,  July  4,  1749,  PR,  XXV,  350  (above,  p.  121,  n. 
13).  For  instances  of  bad  behavior,  see  above,  p.  121,  JC,  Apr.  6,  Aug.  4,  1749, 
Sept.  1,  1752.  For  a  summary  account  of  the  German  element  see  G.  P.  Voigt, 
"The  Germans  and  German-Swiss  in  South  Carolina",  Proceedings  of  the  South 
Carolina  Historical  Association,  193  5. 

®^  Mesne  Conveyances,  Inventories,  Wills. 


178  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

Ortham  near  Ninety  Six.  In  the  older  communities  on  the  fall  line  and 
below,  inventories  made  before  1760  show  that  John  Jacob  Riemensperger 
of  the  Congarees  had  sixty-four  "old  Dutch  books,"  Robert  Millhouse  of 
the  lower  Wateree  had  over  seven  pounds  worth,  John  Fallowfield  of 
New  Windsor  had  twelve  "reading"  books  appraised  at  seven  shillings, 
and  John  Tobler's  library  was  worth  over  twenty-one  pounds.  James 
Gerald  of  the  Congarees  had  a  two-volume  set  of  Fielding's  Joseph 
Andrews  which  was  valued  at  six  shillings.^* 

Petitions  from  the  back  country  were  probably  written  out  at  times  by 
a  Charleston  lawyer  or  the  clerk  of  the  court,  but  some  evidently  were  put 
to  paper  without  such  help,  and  the  wording  of  the  letters  copied  into  the 
council  journal  or  the  Indian  Books  bears  evidence  of  fairly  faithful  trans- 
literation. They  were  written  with  what  skill  and  knowledge  of  English 
the  writer  could  muster — for  like  others  of  the  day  they  wished  to  appear 
well  on  paper — and  on  the  whole  are  no  discredit  to  their  section.  The 
papers  and  letters  of  the  less  learned,  and  of  those  who  approached  danger- 
ously near  to  illiteracy,  more  often  than  not  had  some  saving  grace  of 
simple  and  effective  language,  awkward,  perhaps,  but  all  the  more  charged 
with  meaning  for  being  hard-won.  The  writers  had  been  little  touched 
by  the  wordy  style  of  the  day;  what  they  knew  was  to  a  large  degree  the 
English  of  the  King  James  version,  even  though  they  perhaps  did  not  get  it 
direct  from  that  source.  Mary  Cloud's  affidavit  was  written  out  before  a 
German  justice  of  the  peace  in  Saxe  Gotha  or  on  the  Cherokee  path  below, 
and  doubtless  all  the  help  available  was  rendered  the  worthy  squire  in 
putting  it  down.  But  there  was  little  time  for  polishing  a  paper  in  a  case 
in  which  time  was  vital,  and  its  stark  simplicity,  its  dignified  and  rhythmic 
prose,  quite  certainly  represented  the  speech  of  the  woman  who  had  sur- 
vived, as  Governor  Glen  put  it,  to  tell  "the  whole  of  the  Dreadful  & 
Bloody  Scene." '' 

A  study  of  these  back  countrymen  in  the  middle  of  the  century  impresses 
one  with  their  soundness,  their  integrity,  their  goodly  heritage  of  ideas  and 
customs.  With  equal  force  comes  the  realization  that  conditions  in  their 
new  home  were  violently  upsetting  to  their  previous  habits  and  social  or- 
ganization, and  that  there  was  as  much  of  threat  as  of  promise  in  the 
situation.  In  the  prevailing  economic  equality,  in  the  lack  of  government 
and  of  church  establishment,  there  was  the  foundation  for  a  society  more 
democratic  and  free  than  ever  known  before  to  these  immigrants  save  to 
those  who  had  come  from  the  back  country  of  other  colonies.  The  stimulus 
of  the  new  independence,  the  demands  upon  the  family  and  upon  each  re- 

«*  Inventories,  1753-1756,  pp.  237,  405,  1751-1753,  p.  471,  1758-1761,  pp.  341,  399, 
483,  1761-1763,  p.  31,  1763-1767,  p.  265.  For  identification  of  Love,  see  JC, 
Dec.  6,  1757,  Ortham,  JUHA,  Feb.  4,  1755,  Fowler,  P,  VII,  257. 

«2  Above,  p.  122,  JC,  June  18,  1753. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  179 

sponsible  member  of  it,  developed  a  high  degree  of  individualism,  and 
for  the  most  part  showed  these  settlers  at  their  best.  The  obvious  danger, 
however,  was  that  society  in  the  back  country  would  break  down  by 
reason  of  this  very  individualism  and  isolation,  this  lack  of  agencies  like 
schools  and  churches  which  could  organize  the  community,  utilize  and 
foster  its  intellectual  and  spiritual  resources,  and  maintain  stimulating 
and  improving  contact  with  the  progressive  influences  of  the  outside  world. 
The  critical  problem  was  therefore  whether  the  plain  vigorous  culture 
characteristic  of  the  best  of  these  people  could  strike  root  in  the  soil  and 
draw  new  strength  from  its  bounty,  its  beauty  and  its  hardships. 

Brief  though  their  sojourn  had  been  in  the  Carolina  piedmont  the 
settlers  were  striving,  both  consciously  and  unconsciously,  to  preserve  if 
not  to  improve  upon  the  heritage  they  brought  with  them.  The  efforts 
were  sometimes  effective,  more  often  pathetically  inadequate,  but  whether 
they  took  the  form  of  attempts  to  educate  children,  to  acquire  handsome 
clothes  or  tableware,  to  set  up  churches  for  the  improvement  of  the  morals 
of  the  settlement,  or  of  moves  on  the  part  of  ambitious  individuals  to  get 
for  themselves  the  offices  and  scanty  emoluments  that  lay  within  their 
reach,  the  tendency  was  to  establish  in  the  back  country  the  social  organiza- 
tion as  well  as  the  agencies  and  standards  these  leaders  had  known  on  the 
coast  or  in  the  old  country.  Under  the  circumstances  it  was  even  more  dif- 
ficult to  make  headway  toward  establishing  a  superior  class  than  to  set  up 
schools  and  churches,  but  the  obstacles  were  economic  and  natural,  not  the 
outgrowth  of  any  conscious  or  organized  effort  to  set  up  democratic  opinions 
and  institutions.  The  foundations  of  democracy  had  been  laid,  but  its 
growth  was  not  to  come  until  the  next  generation. 

More  success  attended  the  effort  to  achieve  the  simpler  and  more 
tangible  standards  or  institutions  of  the  older  society.  Sheer  illiteracy  was 
kept  to  a  minimum,  and  the  absence  of  evidence  to  the  contrar}-  indicates 
that  for  this  elementary  education  the  children  were  dependent  on  their 
parents.  The  results  even  in  the  homes  of  those  who  had  a  fair  education 
were  likely  to  be  meager,  although  John  Pearson  succeeded  well  enough 
in  his  own  task,  and  farther  down,  on  the  border  of  the  middle  country, 
John  Tobler  appears  to  have  imparted  his  almanac-making  craft,  if  not 
all  of  his  superior  learning,  to  his  son.^ 

But  most  of  the  work  of  education  fell  to  the  church,  and  the  teaching 

of  creed  or  catechism  to  the  young,  the  grappling  of  the  elders  with  the 

uncompromising  theology-  of  the  day  as  it  was  set  forth  in  the  occasional 

sermon   or   in   community   pra\'er-meetings,   went    far   toward    preventing 

^  Above,  p.  69.  John  Tobler  Jr.  appears  to  have  lived  until  1790  at  least, 
and  to  have  married  about  1760  (JC,  Apr.  6,  1762)  ;  presumably  he  grew  up  in 
South  Carolina.  In  1764  the  Gazette  listed  nine  places  on  the  fall  line  and  in  the 
back  country  %yhere  subscriptions  might  be  left  for  the  paper,  and  a  score  of  others 
in  the  middle  country  (Aug.  25,  Oct.  1,  1764). 


r 


180  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

intellectual  stagnation."  I'here  was  yet  another  secular  service  rendered 
by  the  church.  It  is  improbable  that  the  majority  of  the  settlers  of  any 
nationality  represented  in  the  back  country  had  great  religious  interest, 
but  the  church  members  as  a  rule  were  the  more  substantial  elements  of 
the  population,  and  thus  the  leaders  were  brought  into  more  effective  or- 
ganization. In  turn  the  services  strengthened  the  hold  of  the  church  upon 
the  affection  and  the  imagination  of  the  people  and  increased  the  comfort 
and  joy  it  gave  to  those  who  were  able  and  willing  to  do  its  bidding. 

For  these  purposes  there  were  in  the  back  country  in  1759  only  five 
or  six  fully  organized  churches — the  Waxhaw  and  Fishing  Creek  Presby- 
terian Churches,  the  Baptist  Churches  on  Lynches  River,  Broad  River 
and  Fairforest  Creek,  and  probably  the  German  church  on  Crims  Creek. 
Occasionally  communities  were  visited  by  ministers  from  the  middle 
country  churches  or  by  missionaries  from  the  northern  colonies.  Nor  were 
the  Anglican  leaders  in  the  low  country  and  in  England  unaware  of  the 
dangers  and  opportunities  on  the  frontier,  although  in  1759  the  only  practi- 
cal results  were  the  short-lived  missions  to  the  fall  line  settlements.*'^ 
xv  The  problems  which  vexed  the  back  country,   and  the  scanty  list  of 

forces  and  agencies  which  it  could  of  itself  muster  for  their  solution,  throw 
into  strong  relief  the  role,  actual  and  possible,  of  the  government  which 
should  have  been  greatest  of  all  institutions  for  the  purposes  of  order  and 
progress.  In  appearance  political  authority  was  lacking  to  a  degree  almost 
startling.  There  was  no  court  outside  of  Charleston,  with  the  exception  of 
the  justices  of  the  peace  who  had  the  authority  to  try  cases  involving 
about  three  pounds  sterling  or  less,  to  issue  warrants  for  the  arrest  and 
transportation  of  offenders  to  the  provincial  court,  and  to  hear  the  appeals 
of  servants  having  grievances  against  their  masters.  For  warrants  which  they 
issued  or  executions  they  granted,  the  justices  received  fees  of  eight  or 
nine  pence;  the  few  constables  had  similar  fees  for  serving  these  papers, 
and  about  a  penny  and  a  half  mileage.     Petty  breaches  of  the  peace,  small 

^^  Note  the  prayer  meetings  conducted  by  Pearson  and  John  Tobler  (above 
pp.  72,  157).  In  the  Congarees  Herman  Geiger  had — besides  a  Bible — a  sermon 
book  and  five  psalters,  and  William  Howell  had  three  volumes  of  "Arskens 
Sermons"  (Inventories,  1751-1753,  p.  107,  1756-1758,  p.  178).  Of  physicians, 
whose  professional  training  might  have  served  to  raise  the  standard  of  education 
as  well  as  that  of  physical  well-being,  the  back  country  probably  had  none  in 
1759.  Dr.  John  Cantzon  was  in  the  Waxhaws  in  1763  (JC,  Dec.  6,  1763,  P,  VIII, 
340,  X,  55),  and  a  year  earlier  Dr.  Abraham  Anderson  in  the  forks  of  the  Broad 
and  Saluda  advertised  his  oflFer  to  cure  "CONSUMPTION,  CANCKER,  or  in- 
ward IMPOSTHUMES"  (SCG,  June  19.  1762).  On  the  fall  line  were  Dr. 
Benjamin  Farrar,  in  1757  (Mesne  Conveyances,  2T,  538-541),  Dr.  William 
Tucker,  in  1765  {ibid.,  3E,  383-389),  both  of  the  Congarees,  and  Dr.  J.  J. 
Sturzennegger,  in  New  Windsor  in  1765    (advt.,  SCG,  June  8,   1765). 

^  See  above,  pp.  143,  145,  155,  158.  The  importance  of  the  church  in  the 
back  country  was  further  emphasized  by  the  South  Carolina  law  which  required 
performance  of  the  marriage  ceremony  by  a  minister,  whereas  in  North  Carolina 
the  justices  of  the  peace  had  this  right  {Stats.,  II,  289,  Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  I,  601, 
VIII,  208). 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  181 

damage  suits  and  collection  of  taxes  were  thus  provided  for,  while  serious 
offenses  could  be  tried  only  by  sending  the  criminal  to  Charleston  to  jail, 
and  by  forcing  witnesses  to  make  the  long  and  expensive  trip. 

For  the  present,  however,  Indians  were  a  greater  danger  to  the  back 
settlers  than  lawless  persons  of  their  own  color,  and  the  fourteen  captains  of 
militia  resident  among  them  were  charged  with  the  duty  of  registering 
every  white  male  from  sixteen  to  sixty.  The  officers  had  the  authority  to 
summon  the  men  for  drill  when  they  should  see  fit  up  to  six  times  in  the 
j^ear,  and  to  call  out  any  number  needed  to  repel  an  Indian  attack.**^ 

Slender  as  was  this  political  machinery  it  sufficed  surprisingly  well  until 
the  Cherokee  War;  the  country  was  too  thinly  settled  for  the  inhabitants 
to  have  much  need  of  courts  for  civil  relations.  As  yet  the  idle  and  lawless 
elements  had  not  resorted  to  it  in  large  numbers,  while  the  militia  sj'stem, 
supplemented  by  occasional  troops  of  rangers,  gave  the  back  country  almost 
as  much  protection  as  that  enjoyed  by  the  coast.  The  settlers  themselves 
complained  little — perhaps  because  they  realized  how  small  was  the  like- 
lihood that  courts  would  be  granted  them.^" 

Whether  viewed  from  economic  or  social  angles,  the  South  Carolina  back 
country  in  1759  presented  problems  and  possibilities  as  interesting  as  im- 
portant. Good  land  that  was  practically  free  and  a  mild  and  healthful 
climate  were  developing  a  sturdy  and  independent  population  of  small 
farmers,  while  lack  of  markets  prevented  the  rise  of  a  wealthy  class.  A 
few  indomitable  and  enterprising  spirits  might  gain  the  status  of  small 
planters  and  lay  the  foundation  of  an  effective  organization  and  leadership 
for  the  future,  but  this  was  no  serious  disturbance  to  the  rule  of  substantial 
equality.  The  processes  of  immigration  had  brought  to  the  region  a  popu- 
lation which  was  on  the  whole  very  desirable,  and  a  goodly  number  who 
lacked  only  polish  and  wealth  to  vie  with  the  ruling  class  on  the  coast. 
However,  though  its  make-up  was  essentially  sound,  and  its  economic 
conditions  gave  it  a  common  denominator,  this  back  country  society  was  no 
society  at  all;  it  was  rather  a  mixture  of  various  racial  and  religious 
elements  with  half  a  dozen  rudimentary  centers  and  few  unifying  in- 
fluences. The  back  country  was  separated  from  the  tidewater  and  its  well 
established  institutions  by  the  wide  and  thinly  settled  middle  country,  and 
by  other  barriers  even  more  serious.  Indeed,  many  of  its  interests  and  con- 
nections drew  it  to  the  piedmont  settlements  of  the  colonies  to  the  north, 
and  the  problems  of  the  South  Carolina  tidewater,  as  of  the  coast  country 

^^¥oT  the  justices  of  the  peace  see  Stats.  Ill,  17,  131-132,  268-269.  The 
militia  act  of  1747  {ibid.,  IX,  645-663)  was  in  force  until  the  Revolution  {ibid., 
p.  663,  IV,  206-209,  294-297). 

^^  An  anonymous  letter  from  the  Broad  and  Saluda  in  1762  {SCG,  Apr.  3, 
1762),  protesting  the  injustice  to  the  dissenting  back  country  involved  in  the 
Anglican  establishment,  listed  only  one  other  grievance,  and  that  incidentally — the 
burden  of  the  land  tax  which  taxed  all  lands  alike.  Disposing  of  property  by  will 
involved  probating  it  in  Charleston,  and  few  did  so,  depending  instead,  apparently, 
upon  deeds — see  for  instance,  JC,  July  3,   1753. 


182  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

of  the  other  colonies,  were  being  made  more  complex  and  difficult  by  the 
rise  of  an  American  back  country  section.  Nevertheless  economic  im- 
provement demanded  access  to  capital  and  markets,  which  in  the  eight- 
eenth century  could  be  found  only  on  the  coast.  Already  progress  had 
been  made  toward  establishing  these  connections,  although  it  was  far 
from  clear  whether  their  development  in  this  province  would  answer  its 
needs. 

There  were  thus  two  great  issues  at  stake  in  South  Carolina — what 
would  the  back  country  itself  develop  into,  and  what  would  be  its  relations 
with  the  tidewater  ?  Both  proved  to  be  of  vital  concern  to  the  low  country, 
and  from  time  to  time  during  the  next  fifty  years  forced  themselves  upon 
the  attention  of  its  leaders  even  to  the  obscuring  of  their  own  proper 
concerns.  Both  geography  and  the  social  and  political  situation  threatened 
to  evolve  a  colony  of  totally  dissimilar  and  separate  sections,  neither  of 
them  constituting  a  well  rounded  economy  or  society,  and  neither  large 
enough  to  achieve  any  high  development.  The  South  Carolina  tidewater 
was  one  of  the  best  governed  units  in  the  British  empire,  but  its  leaders 
were  at  present  absorbed  in  their  own  politics  and  in  the  unprecedented 
expansion  of  their  industry;  the  immediate  problems  and  the  future 
/  ;  significance  of  the  back  country  made  little  impression  upon  them.  But, 
V  \  as  is  common  in  such  cases,  military  needs  enforced  a  measure  of  unity 
and  strengthened  organs  of  control  which  otherwise  would  have  remained 
weak.  The  same  process  was  going  on  in  other  colonies,  but  in  few  were 
the  issues  so  critical  as  in  South  Carolina.  The  Seven  Years  War  now 
came  upon  the  colony,  and  was  to  have  potent  influence  upon  the  later  de- 
velopments of  the  back  country,  and  on  its  relations  with  the  tidewater. 

The  middle  country  in  almost  every  important  respect  was  a  transition 
from  the  tidewater  to  the  piedmont  section,  and  the  problems  just  surveyed 
emphasize  the  significance  of  its  role.  Its  population  of  nine  thousand 
whites  and  near  fifteen  hundred  slaves  was  spread  out  in  long  strips 
paralleling  the  rivers  and  occasionally  expanding  as  in  Amelia  and 
Orangeburg.  Slaveowner  and  small  farmer  were  side  by  side  in  most  of 
this  section,  save  that  the  swamp  areas  were  left  almost  entirely  to  the 
former.  Frame  houses  with  detached  kitchens  and  smoke-houses  were 
common,  and  inventories  indicate  that  the  planters,  but  probably  not 
the  farmers,  used  better  methods  than  did  the  back  countrymen.  Crops 
of  piedmont  and  coast  were  grown  and  more  cattle  raised  than  in  either  of 
the  other  two  sections.  No  doubt  many  of  the  small  farmers  profited  by 
rice  and  indigo  to  some  extent,'^  but  the  capital  and  type  of  labor  required 
largely  restricted  their  cultivation  to  the  plantation  system.  Transporta- 
tion was  a  grave  problem,  but  not  so  great  a  barrier  to  progress  as  in  the 
piedmont.    On  the  Peedee,  Wateree,  Congaree  and  Savannah  boats  ran  to 


71 


This  is  indicated  by  the  rice  and  indigo  advertisements. 


II 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  183 

the  fall  line,  but,  thanks  to  the  greater  directness  of  the  roads  and  the  ease 
of  building  them,  most  of  the  traffic  was  by  land. 

Racially  the  middle  country  was  as  mixed  as  the  back  country,  but  the 
South  Carolina  element  was  much  larger  than  in  the  piedmont,  and  was 
clearly  dominant.  As  in  the  back  country  there  was  no  barrier  between  ele- 
ments, save  that  the  language  of  the  German-Swiss  cut  them  off  from  the 
English  speaking  groups.  However,  in  contrast  with  the  back  country 
situation,  the  scattered  nature  of  the  middle  country  German  settlements 
brought  assimilation  of  the  Switzers  obviously  nearer ;  it  might  even  be  said 
to  have  begun. 

So  far  as  schools  were  concerned  the  middle  country  furnishes  no  more 
evidence  of  organized  community  work  than  does  the  back  country.  But 
the  number  of  ministers,  the  number  of  planters  living  near  one  another 
who  might  together  employ  a  tutor,  and  the  comparative  accessibility  of 
Charleston  with  its  advantages,  held  out  adequate  promise  for  educational 
development.  The  inventories  of  Tobler,  Herman  Geiger  and  others  show 
the  means  and  desire  of  the  leading  men  for  the  finer  things  of  life,  and 
there  were  others  besides — for  instance  William  Seawright  of  Beaver 
Creek,  a  few  miles  above  Amelia,  who  had  pictures  appraised  at  forty-six 
shillings,  and  two  mahogany  tables.'^  In  religion  the  section  was  as  much 
a  transition  as  in  other  respects,  for  while  the  tidewater  was  dominantly 
Anglican,  with  a  strong  dissenter  minority,  the  middle  country  was 
dominantly  dissenter  although  most  of  its  leaders  were  Anglican. 

In  government  the  middle  country  had  some  of  the  advantages  of  the 
tidewater,  and  most  of  the  disadvantages  of  the  back  country.  Its  justices 
of  the  peace  were  more  numerous,  and  it  was  nearer  the  provincial  court 
in  Charleston.  In  1759  St.  Mark's  was  the  one  parish  in  the  middle 
country  proper;  not  until  1768  were  two  more  established,  St.  David's  and 
St.  Matthew's.  With  these  slender  systems  of  courts  and  representation 
the  middle  country  was  not  wholly  content,  and  long  before  the  worse 
treated  back  country  voiced  a  protest,  Peedee  settlers  called  for  courts, 
and   Amelia,    Orangeburg   and   Williamsburg   asked    for   representation.^^ 

For  the  present  the  middle  country  seemed  to  be  equidistant  from  the 
other  two  sections,  but  the  drift,  for  the  time,  at  least,  was  toward  the 
tidewater:  for  a  decade  the  small  farmers  coming  into  the  province  had 
been  clearly  avoiding  the  entire  low  country  and  going  to  the  cooler  and 
less  swampy  piedmont,  while  the  phenomenal  development  of  indigo,  rice 
and  slave-holding  was  steadily  pushing  the  plantation  system  up  the  rivers 
toward  the  fall  line.  Nevertheless,  even  if  this  process  continued  apace, 
the  origin   and   the  continued  existence   of  small   farmers  in   the  middle 

■^2  Inventories,  1758-1761,  pp.  469-470. 

"^^  Stats.,  ly.  35-37,  230-232,  298-3p2,  JCHA,  Mar.  17,  1752.  Williamsburg  and 
Purrysburg,  tidewater  rather  than  middle  country  townships,  were  within  reach  of 
Prince  Frederick's   (1734),  and  St.  Peter's   (1747). 


184  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

country  guaranteed  a  certain  amount  of  sympathy  for,  if  not  connection 
with  the  piedmont,  and  was  one  of  the  best  promises  of  provincial  unity. 
In  this  respect  alone  it  would  have  stamped  the  settlement  program  of  the 
thirty  years  preceding  as  a  conspicuous  success,  for  otherwise  the  middle 
country  probably  would  have  gone  largely  unsettled  until  the  piedmont 
had  grown  into  a  populous  and  utterly  isolated  section. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

The  Southern  Indians  and  their  Trade,   1731-1759 

The  back  country  was  primarily  the  product  of  internal  conditions  in 
the  province  and  in  the  colonies  or  countries  which  contributed  its  immi- 
grants, but  problems  of  frontier  defense  constantly  affected  its  growth  and 
sometimes  profoundly  influenced  its  institutional  development.  The  danger 
from  the  Indians  and  the  warfare  with  them  retarded  the  settlement  of  one 
district  and  thus  indirectly  encouraged  that  of  another;  it  kept  out  some 
types  of  settlers,  and  for  the  others  increased  their  dependence  on  the 
provincial  government  while  it  forced  them  to  a  more  effective  organization 
and  community  cooperation  than  would  have  been  possible  under  other 
circumstances. 

For  the  most  part  the  role  of  the  backcountryman  in  this  business  was 
altogether  passive.  In  the  painfully  worked  out  diplomacies  and  innumer- 
able intrigues  which  were  the  Englishman's,  the  Frenchman's  and  the  In- 
dian's way  of  getting  along  with  one  another  he  was  never  consulted  and 
seldom  considered.  Nevertheless  he  was  a  potential  factor  of  great  impor- 
tance, for  when  diplomacy  and  intrigue  failed  he  must  defend  the  colony 
or  lose  his  home. 

When  Governor  Johnson  reached  Charleston  in  December  1730,  the 
province  had  recovered  most  of  the  ground  lost  in  the  collapse  of  1715. 
The  Indian  trade  was  larger  that  it  had  been  in  the  years  immediately 
preceding  the  Yamasee  War,  although  relations  with  the  Creeks  and  Chero- 
kees  were  uncertain  and  the  French  had  taken  advantage  of  the  troubles  of 
their  rivals  to  establish  Fort  Thoulouse,  or  the  Alabama  Fort,  as  the  Eng- 
lish called  it,  at  the  forks  of  the  Alabama  River. ^  The  Carolina  leaders 
now  attacked  the  old  problem  with  renewed  vigor,  the  Commons  as  usual 
seeking  peace  and  security,  the  council  listening  to  merchant  and  trader 
and  their  schemes  for  enlarging  trade  and  empire. 

The  Indian  trade  act  of  1731  provided  for  a  commissioner  with  a  salary 
of  a  hundred  pounds  a  year,  who,  subject  to  the  orders  of  the  governor, 
was  to  visit  the  Indian  nations  and  Fort  Moore,  hear  complaints  of  Indians 
against  traders,  and,  if  he  found  it  necessary,  fine  the  trader  and  take  his 
license  from  him.  To  enforce  his  authority  he  could  summons  other  traders 
as  constables.     The  trader  as  principal  paid  an  annual  license  fee  of  four 

^  See  above,  pp.  13-14,  and  Crane,  Southern  Frontier,  ch.  XI,  and  pp.  256, 
328-331.  The  Spanish  threat  was  through  the  danger  of  slave  insurrection  rather 
than  through  their  slight  influence  with  the  Indians. 

185 


186  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

pounds  six  shillings,  with  the  privilege  of  taking  two  white  men  with  him, 
but  paying  for  others  in  proportion.  Each  trader  was  restricted  to  the 
Indian  town  named  in  his  license." 

In  1734,  following  the  murder  of  traders  by  Creeks  and  a  threat  of 
some  of  the  Cherokees  to  kill  their  traders  if  they  did  not  lower  prices,' 
the  House  was  strongly  tempted  to  repeat  the  1716-1721  experiment  of 
government  operation  of  the  trade.  But  the  protests  of  the  merchants  had 
weight  with  the  council  and  caused  a  compromise.'*  Already  steps  had 
been  taken  looking  toward  the  building  of  forts  in  the  Indian  nations,  and 
the  colony  of  Georgia  was  now  brought  into  the  South  Carolina  plans. 
In  a  conference  of  committees  of  both  houses  with  Oglethorpe  in  March 
1734,  the  latter  agreed  to  put  a  garrison  of  twenty-four  men  among  the 
upper  Creeks,  increasing  the  number  to  thirty  the  second  year,  if  the  South 
Carolina  government  would  pay  to  Georgia  the  equivalent  of  about  £570 
the  first  year  and  £640  the  second — probably  the  entire  cost  of  the  proposed 
garrison.^  Meanwhile  the  offending  Cherokees  were  brought  to  terms  by 
a  resolution  completely  stopping  their  trade,  and  at  the  time  they  made 
their  submission  they  sold  a  piece  of  ground  for  a  fort  which  was  evidently 
located  near  Chauga,  a  lower  town  on  the  Tugaloo  River  where  the 
Georgia  Cherokee  path  converged  with  a  branch  of  the  Ninety  Six  path.® 

For  building  these  forts  and  for  securing  a  more  responsible  type  of 
Indian  trader  the  two  houses  agreed  in  November  1734  upon  an  act  which 
added  seven  pounds  three  shillings  to  the  license  each  principal  trader  had 
to  pay,  and  imposed  a  duty  of  nearly  a  penny  on  every  skin  they  bought.^ 
If  this  law  could  have  been  enforced  and  the  southwestern  trade  kept 
under  a  single  control  it  would  have  been  a  potent  factor  in  maintaining 
peace  and  British  influence  among  the  Indians  of  this  troubled  frontier. 

Oglethorpe  sailed  from  Charleston  in  April  1734,  immediately  after 
the  agreement  for  the  Creek  garrison.  He  was  present  at  the  meeting  of 
the  Georgia  Trustees  the  following  January  when  an  act  for  the  regula- 
tion of  the  Indian  trade  was  adopted  which  for  the  most  part  accurately 
copied  the  wording  of  the  South  Carolina  act  of  1731,  with  a  clause  ex- 

^  Stats.,  IV,  327-334.  Chickasaw  traders,  because  of  the  distance  and  the  need 
to  supply  those  Indians  as  cheaply  as  possible,  were  exempted  from  the  license  fee. 
This  act  was  the  last  of  a  series  which,  after  the  experiment  of  1716  with  a 
government  owned  trade,  brought  the  system  back  to  the  model  of  1707  {ibid.,  II, 
309-316,  Crane,  Southern  Frontier,  pp.  193-200). 

^JC,  Aug.  16,  1732,  SCG,  May  11,  1734  (see  also  "Publicola",  Jan.  27,  1733); 
PR,  XVII,  189  (Johnson  to  Board,  Nov.  9,  1734),  JCHA,  Dec.  7,  1732,  Dec.  11, 
1733. 

*JUHA,  May  29,  31,  1734;  JCHA,  May  21,  22,  24,  28,  1734. 

^  JCHA,  Mar.  9,  1734,  Mar.  18,  21,  Apr.  18,  28,  1735;  Stats.,  Ill,  402.  Compare 
the  cost  of  the  Fort  Moore  garrison — ibid.,  p.  390. 

^'JCHA,  Nov.  22,  1734,  PR,  XVII,  189-191  (above,  n.  3);  JUHA,  Nov.  23, 
1734;  Haig,  Map  of  the  Cherokee  Country;  SCHGM,  XIX,  157-161;  see  also 
JUHA,  Feb.  21,  1734. 

^JCHA,  Nov.  13-16,  21,  1734,  JUHA,  Nov.  14,  1734  Stats.,  Ill,  399-402.  The 
duty  was  sixpence  currency,  the  act  was  to  be  in  force  two  years. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  187 

eluding  all  traders  not  licensed  by  Georgia  from  the  territory  of  that  prov- 
ince. Enforcement  of  the  act  was  provided  for  by  orders  from  Oglethorpe 
and  the  Trustees  to  Captain  Patrick  McKay,  the  officer  who  had  been 
commissioned  to  establish  the  Creek  garrison.  McKay  at  once  began  a 
drastic  reorganization  of  the  Carolina  trade  and  traders  in  the  Creek, 
Chickasaw  and  Cherokee  towns.* 

The  Carolina  protests  against  this  attempt  at  a  monopoly  of  the  Indian 
trade  were  first  directed  to  the  Trustees.  Oglethorpe  was  not  suspected 
until  a  letter  was  received  from  him  expressing  his  determination  to  en- 
force the  act,  and  intimating  that  a  few  men  engaged  in  the  Indian  trade 
were  trying  to  force  their  own  interests  at  the  sacrifice  of  those  of  the 
public.  A  patched-up  truce  failed  to  bring  even  temporary  peace,®  and  it 
was  not  until  1738  that  the  matter  was  settled  by  an  order  of  the  crown 
to  the  Georgia  authorities  to  issue  certificates  without  charge  to  all  traders 
licensed  from  South  Carolina.^"  As  a  consequence  the  South  Carolina  as- 
sembly in  1739  set  the  license  fee  of  traders  at  twelve  shillings  with  no 
extra  charge  for  employees.  Traders  were  forbidden  to  credit  Indians 
for  more  than  six  buckskins  worth  of  goods ;  the  commissioner's  salary  was 
reduced  and  no  provision  was  made  for  him  to  visit  the  Indian  nations. 
Otherwise  the  act  was  essentially  the  same  as  that  of  1731.  It  was  con- 
tinued till  1751.^^ 

The  results  of  Oglethorpe's  venture  into  Indian  trade  regulation  and 
Indian  diplomacy  reflect  no  credit  on  any  of  the  parties  to  the  controversy, 
and  least  of  all  upon  himself.  Instead  of  using  his  prestige  to  strengthen 
the  hand  of  the  South  Carolina  assembly  in  its  promising  move  for  effective 
regulation  and  frontier  defense,  his  efforts  were  bent  to  transferring  the 
trade  to  the  village  of  Savannah  and  its  control  to  the  inexperienced  and 
wretchedly  organized  Georgia  government.  To  the  officials  of  South 
Carolina  his  conduct  had  all  the  appearance  of  double-dealing  and  his  send- 
ing an  armed  force  to  eject  English  traders,  without  previous  attempts  to 
efifect  a  peaceable  settlement  of  the  dispute,  thoroughly  warranted  the  re- 
mark of  a  Creek  headman  "that  he  had  never  seen  such  doings  by  the 
White  People  before."     Cordial  relations  between  the  two  governments 

8  Jones,  History  of  Ga.,  I,  171,  174;  Col.  Recs.  of  Ga.,  I,  25,  31-43,  184-185, 
197-198;  JCHA,  Mar.  19,  1735,  Dec.  15,  1736  (Appendix  no.  5).  See  also  JCHA, 
Mar.  5,  7,  21,  22,  25,  Apr.  24,  25,  1735  and  JUHA,  Apr.  25,  1735;  PR,  XVII,  396- 
444   (Broughton  to  Board,  October,   1737). 

''PR,  XVII,  381-382,  442-444  (Georgia  Trustees  to  Capt.  Patrick  McKay, 
Oct.  10,  1735— see  Board  Trade  Journal,  Dec.  17,  1735)  ;  above,  n.  8;  JCHA,  May 
6,  25,  June  26,  July  13,  15,  Dec.  15,  1736;  JUHA,  May  27,  June  26,  1736;  Stats., 
Ill,  448-449;   Col.  Recs.  of  Ga.,  XXI,  118,   184,  195,  206-207. 

lojCHA,  Dec.  15,  1736,  Dec.  2,  3,  6,  8,  9,  10,  14,  1736;  JUHA,  Dec.  11,  1736, 
Oct.  7,  1737,  Col.  Recs.  of  Ga.,  I,  282-283,  PR,  XVIII,  118-152  (Board  of  Trade 
Journal,  May  19,  June  6,  9,  18,  21,  Aug.  3,  1737),  289-297,  XIX,  79-84  (Board  to 
Council  Committee,  Sept.  4,  1737,  Order  in  Council,  May  25,  1738). 

^^  Stats.,  Ill,  517-525,  587,  646,  754.  The  commissioner's  salary  was  not  set  in 
the  act,  but  he  was  paid  £14:6  a  year — for  instance,  ibid.,  p.  538,  IV,  70. 


188  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

were  destroyed  and  they  now  began  to  compete  in  laxity  of  trade  regula- 
tion. A  number  of  traders  moved  over  to  Augusta  for  convenience,  but  a 
Savannah  official  despondently  noted  during  the  controversy  that  when  the 
newly  licensed  traders  came  down  with  fifteen  thousand  pounds  sterling 
worth  of  skins  to  trade  they  were  forced  to  go  on  to  Charleston  with 
them/" 

The  South  Carolina  frontier  defenses  at  this  time  were  primarily  de- 
vised for  protection  against  the  Indians,  and  from  1731  to  1733  were 
manned  by  seventy-seven  men.  Garrisons  were  stationed  at  Fort  Moore 
and  the  Pallachuccolas,  sometimes  called  Fort  Prince  George,  guarding  the 
crossing  of  the  lower  Creek  path  over  the  Savannah.  The  crew  of  a  scout 
boat  and  a  troop  of  rangers  likewise  covered  that  exposed  district.  From 
the  founding  of  Georgia  till  the  Indian  trade  dispute  the  scout  boat  and 
a  detachment  of  rangers  were  put  under  Oglethorpe's  orders,  and  served 
south  of  the  Savannah.  But  in  September  1736  their  pay  came  to  an  end, 
despite  Broughton's  urgent  request  that  they  be  continued — both  for  pur- 
poses of  defense  and  lest  the  colony  of  Georgia  "give  some  ill  turn  thereof 
at  Home".  In  this  year  the  Fort  Moore  garrison  was  reduced  to  sixteen 
men.^^ 

In  February  and  March  1737  the  prospect  of  a  Spanish  attack  on 
Georgia  from  Havana  caused  hurried  preparations  for  defense  of  the  broad 
inlets  and  the  thin  settlements  from  Port  Royal  to  the  Altamaha.  At  Port 
Royal  a  small  fort,  afterwards  called  Fort  Frederick,  and  a  troop  of 
rangers  were  placed,  and  orders  were  given  for  bringing  four  or  five  hun- 
dred Creeks  and  their  traders,  the  Uchees,  and  the  New  Windsor  Chicka- 
saws  to  defend  the  Altamaha  and  the  Savannah.  It  was  designed  to  have 
three  or  four  hundred  Cherokees  lie  in  reserve  on  the  Santee,  to  overawe  the 
slaves  "more  dreadful  to  our  Safety,"  Broughton  said,  "than  any  Spanish 
Invaders".  Though  this  alarm  subsided  there  was  still  danger  from  the 
Spanish  forces  at  Havana,  which  could  use  St.  Augustine  as  a  base  for  an 
attack  upon  the  isolated  English  colonies.  In  1738  therefore  the  British 
government  sent  a  regiment  of  troops  to  the  Georgia  coast,  and  in  September 
Oglethorpe  arrived  as  general  and  commander-in-chief  of  the  royal  forces 
in  Georgia  and  South  Carolina.^^ 

The  war  with  Spain,  of  which  these  alarms  were  the  precursors,  was 
at  last  declared  in  1739.  Oglethorpe  wished  to  seize  the  opportunity  to 
capture  St.  Augustine  and  thus  end  forever  the  Spanish  peril  to  the  south- 
ern coast.     Despite  the  prevailing  depression  in  the  rice  industry,  the  as- 

i-See,  for  instance,  JC,  May  11,  June  7,  1750;  JCHA,  Dec.  7,  1749;  Col  Recs. 
of  Ga.,  XXI,  186.     For  the  headman's  remark  see  JCHA,  Dec.  15,  1736. 

^'■^  Stats.  Ill,  316,  359,  390-391,  446,  481;  JC,  Jan.  26,  1733;  JCHA,  Jan.  19, 
1733,  Mar.  18,  Apr.  13,  May  29,  July  17,  1736,  Jan.  18,  1737;  JUHA,  Apr.  8, 
May  27,  1736,  Jan.  14,  1737. 

"JUHA,  Feb.  8,  Mar.  19,  1737;  PR,  XVIII,  172-173  (Broughton  to  New- 
castle, Feb.  6,  1737);  Stats.,  Ill,  510,  537;  Jones,  History  of  Ga.,  I,  258-260. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  189 

sembly  entered  heartily  into  the  project,  for  the  Carolinians  attributed 
the  Stono  insurrection  and  their  other  slave  troubles  to  the  Spaniards.  A 
regiment  of  five  hundred  whites  was  raised,  fifty  volunteers  added  them- 
selves to  the  force  and  there  was  an  indeterminate  number  of  Indians,  in- 
cluding the  New  Windsor  Chickasaws,  under  the  command  of  William 
Gray/^  There  were  also  five  men-of-war,  mounting  altogether  a  hundred 
and  twenty  guns,  and  several  smaller  vessels.  The  failure  of  the  expedi- 
tion in  July  1740  caused  an  investigation  by  the  assembly,  charged  now  with 
a  debt  of  over  seven  thousand  pounds.  A  committee  of  fourteen  of  the 
leading  men  of  the  Commons  and  the  council  finally  presented  an  ex- 
haustive report,  with  an  impressive  array  of  documents  and  depositions, 
which  were  as  plain  evidence  of  Oglethorpe's  lack  of  resolution  as  of  the 
timidity  or  indifference  of  the  commanders  of  the  vessels.^^ 

In  the  counter-attack  of  the  Spanish  two  years  later  on  the  forts  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Altamaha  Oglethorpe  acquitted  himself  with  great  credit 
and  complete  success.  For  this  defense  he  asked  no  aid  from  Bull,  "since 
you  can  spare  none  but  think  myself  Obliged  to  give  you  this  notice  that 
you  may  prepare  to  prevent  any  Revolt  amongst  the  Negroes."  The  as- 
sembly, however,  had  already  provided  nine  thousand  pounds  for  the  de- 
fense of  the  two  provinces,  but  the  eight  vessels,  carrying  seventy-eight 
guns  and  six  hundred  men,  arrived  too  late  for  action.^^  Spain  had  now 
shot  her  bolt,  and  was  thereafter  only  a  minor  problem  on  the  southern 
frontier. 

With  the  passing  of  this  menace  the  external  military  problem  of  South 
Carolina  became  primarily  a  matter  of  rivalry  with  the  French  in  main- 
taining and  extending  the  Indian  trade  and  Indian  alliances.  Until  1748 
the  chief  theatre  of  this  rivalry  was  in  the  southwest,  involving  the  Creeks, 
Choctaws  and  Chickasaws,  for  during  that  period  the  French  activities 
were  directed  to  the  Gulf  region  rather  than  to  the  Ohio  Valley  area. 

Thomas  Broughton  and  the  elder  William  Bull,  who  administered  the 
government  from  1735  to  Glen's  arrival  in  1743,  were  experienced  and 
capable  advocates  of  a  vigorous  expansion. ^^  The  trade  with  the  Creeks 
belonged  to  the  English  beyond  any  dispute,  but  the  French,  enforted  at 

^^  See  Report  of  the  Committee  .  .  .  on  the  St.  Augustine  Expedition  {SCHSC, 
IV,  especially  19-21,  26,  30,  32,  46,  115-116,  126-127,  149,  150,  165-167,  171),  Stats., 

III,  551-552. 

'^^  Stats.,  Ill,  546-553,  577-579;  JCHA,  July  18,  24,  1740,  Feb.  26,  July  1,  1741. 
The  money  was  to  be  raised  by  annual  levies,  1741-1745.  The  JUHA  report  (July 
2,  1741)  has  only  37  of  the  139  documents  of  the  appendix;  it  is  printed  in  SCHSC, 

IV,  9-177. 

^"JC,  June  18,  19,  July  4,  16,  24,  30,  1742;  Stats.,  Ill,  595-597,  Jones,  History 
of  Ga.,  I,  344-352,  above,  p.  71. 

^^  Compare  the   aggressive  proposals  of  the  council   in  1742 — JC,   Aug.   14,   19, 

Sept.  3,   1742,   PR,  XXII,   3-4    (Board  of  Trade  Journal,  Apr.  23,   May   8,    1745), 

40-56    (Representation  of  John  Fenwicke,   Apr.  9,   1745).  For  Fenwicke,   see  PR, 

XXI,  30-32  (from  Charleston,  Mar.  3,  1743),  JCHA,  Dec.  18,  1740,  Crane, 
Southern  Frontier,  pp.  193-194. 


190  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

New  Orleans,  Mobile  and  at  the  forks  of  the  Alabama,  kept  the  traders 
and  their  goods  in  perpetual  danger,  and  were  in  position  to  block  English 
expansion  to  the  west.  Oglethorpe's  essay  into  Indian  affairs  resulted  in 
nothing,  for  the  garrison  which  marched  into  the  Creek  countrj^  did  not 
build  a  fort.  The  Creeks  were  very  well  pleased,  for  the  French  could  not 
prevent  their  trade  with  the  English,  yet  offered  a  protection  against  them; 
as  they  blandly  remarked  to  Glen  not  long  afterward,  "they  were  better 
supply'd  with  Goods  when  they  lived  well  with  both  French  and  English." 
One  of  the  motives  of  those  desiring  a  Creek  fort  was  better  access  to  the 
five  thousand  Choctaw  warriors  whose  market,  ill  supplied  by  the  French, 
might  be  gained  by  the  English.  But  the  French  with  their  forts  had  the 
Choctaws  nearly  surrounded,  and  by  a  judicious  use  of  force  and  gifts,  and 
by  making  it  perilous  for  English  traders  to  enter,  kept  the  nation 
firmly  bound.  Nevertheless  the  bolder  spirits  among  the  English  traders 
constantly  planned  to  disrupt  this  control. ^^ 

Early  in  1737  the  Commons,  fearing  the  possible  destruction  of  the 
Chickasaws  by  the  French  and  Choctaws  and  the  consequent  upset  of  the 
balance  of  power  in  the  southwest,  urged  that  an  alliance  be  sought  with 
the  latter.  The  indefatigable  trader  Alexander  Wood  and  his  associate 
John  Campbell  were  the  chief  instruments  in  the  negotiations.  But  the 
French  though  weak  in  trade  were  strong  in  position ;  they  nipped  this  at- 
tempt in  the  bud,  and  even  had  the  Choctaws  ambush  the  traders  on  their 
way  to  the  Chickasaw  towns.~°  In  1743  the  Commons  was  for  the  moment 
so  far  aroused  to  the  apparent  danger  from  the  French  that  it  asked  the 
lieutenant-governor  to  get  permission  again  from  the  Creeks  to  build  a 
fort.  Bull  promptly  reported,  two  months  later,  that  he  had  secured  per- 
mission for  a  fort  near  Okfuskee  town  (on  the  upper  Tallapoosa  River,  the 
first  of  the  Creek  towns  on  the  trading  path)  ;  he  had  also  the  promise  of  the 
Creeks  to  give  assistance  in  building  it,  and  with  the  advice  of  the  council 
he  had  authorized  some  expenditures  for  the  purpose.  Wood,  in  turn 
exceeding  his  own  instructions,  sent  out  a  hundred  men  to  build  the  fort, 
and  asked  a  suitable  reward  for  them  according  to  the  number  of  French 
and  Choctaw  scalps  they  might  bring  in.  The  Commons  receded  from  its 
plan  of  building  a  fort,  however,  and  the  over-zealous  trader  was  repri- 
manded by  the  newly  arrived  Governor  Glen  and  the  council."^ 

Wood  was  a  partner  in  the  firm  of  Archibald  McGillivray  and  Com- 
pany, the  leading  trading  organization  in  the  southwest.     Both  men  seem 

i^C,  July  29,  1735,  May  22,  1745.  Note  Alexander  Wood's  plan  of  1731  (JC, 
July  20,  1731). 

2«JCHA,  Mar.  5,  1737,  June  1,  1738;  JUHA,  June  1,  Sept.  12,  1738,  Jan.  17, 
18,  1739,  Feb.  2,  1740.  See  PR,  XXII,  45  (above,  n.  18),  and  note  the  suggestion 
of  the  Commons  that  the  Chickasaws  be  settled  on  the  Savannah  above  Fort 
Moore    fJCHA,  Feb.  23,  1738). 

21  JUHA,  Mar.  17,  1741,  Jan.  22,  1745;  JCHA,  Oct.  8,  Dec.  13,  14,  16,  1743; 
JC,  Dec.  15,  1743,  Mar.  21,  Apr.  20,  1744,  Jan.  25,  1745;  Crane,  Southern  Frontier, 
p.  135;    Swanton,   Creek  Indians,  p.  246. 


Back  Country  atid  Frontier  191 

to  have  withdrawn  soon  after  1743,  McGilHvray  leaving  the  province, 
Wood  retiring  to  live  on  his  plantation  at  Goose  Creek,  near  Charleston, 
while  their  former  partners,  Patrick  Brown,  William  Studders,  George 
Cussings  and  Jeremiah  Knott,  continued  the  trade.  Brown  was  now  the 
dominant  figure,  and  peace  and  conciliation  became  the  guiding  principle 
of  the  combination  of  which  he  had  control.'^ 

Because  of  the  strategic  position  of  the  Cherokee  country  the  South 
Carolina  leaders  kept  a  watchful  eye  upon  that  tribe.  The  Cherokees, 
however,  were  usually  hostile  to  the  French,  though  from  time  to  time 
they  received  them  and  took  their  presents,  for  their  prime  desire  was  to 
maintain  their  independence,  threatened  by  the  exposure  of  their  Overhill 
towns  to  attacks  from  the  Mississippi.  Bull,  reporting  that  they  had  asked 
swivel  guns  to  enable  them  to  protect  themselves,  urged  the  crown  to  fore- 
stall the  French  by  building  a  fort  among  them.^^ 

By  1744  the  southern  Indian  trade  had  made  its  adjustments  to  chang- 
ing political  and  economic  conditions,  and  had  assumed  the  lines  to  which  it 
held  closely  until  the  Seven  Years  War.  Traders  secured  their  licenses 
from  the  Georgia  and  South  Carolina  governments  as  suited  their  con- 
venience. Little  of  the  trade  went  to  Georgia,  however,  and  that  probably 
came  chiefly  from  the  Lower  Creeks,  the  only  towns  with  which  the  prov- 
ince had  much  to  do.  The  Spanish  had  ceased  to  be  a  considerable  factor  in 
the  trade ;  the  French  usually  commanded  the  output  of  the  Choctaws,  but 
only  a  small  part  of  that  of  the  Creeks,  while  the  English  had  the  Chick- 
asaw, nearly  all  the  Creek,  and  all  the  Cherokee  trade.  The  last,  formerly 
so  little  regarded,  had  become  quite  as  important  as  that  of  the  southwest; 
in  1751  in  a  list  of  37  principal  traders  there  were  17  to  the  Creeks,  16  to 
the  Cherokees,  2  to  the  Catawbas,  1  to  the  Chickasaws  (who  also  had  a 
license  to  trade  to  the  Choctaws),  and  1  to  the  Breed  Camp  of  Chickasaws, 
a  town  of  that  people  settled  on  the  northwest  portion  of  the  Creek  lands. 
There  were  about  150  traders  and  packhorsemen  among  the  Cherokees  in 
1756,  and  the  total  of  Carolina  traders  in  the  Indian  nations  at  this  period 
must  have  been  more  than  300.^* 

Patrick  Brown's  great  Indian  trade  organization  had  no  counterpart  in 
the  Cherokee  country,"""  but  throughout  the  middle  of  the  century  there 
were  in  that  nation  unusually  capable  traders.  With  few  exceptions  they 
lived  among  the  Indians,  though  James  Maxwell,  most  important  of  them 
during  the  'forties,  was  a  planter  and  a  member  of  the  Commons  House. 

-2  See  above,  p.  71,  SCG,  Sept.  26,  1741,  PR,  XVII,  430  (Affidavit  of  Knott, 
July  4,  1735,  see  above,  p.  187,  n.  8);  Col.  Recs.  of  Ga.,  XXI,  67,  JC,  Nov.  11, 
1747,  Adair,  American  Indians,  p.  325.     For  Wood  see  also  above,  p.  70. 

-3  See  above,  p.  43,  JC,  Oct.  14,  1743,  July  30,  1745;  JCHA,  May  21,  1741, 
Oct.  7,  1743  (see  also  June  2,  1742);  Mereness,  Travels,  pp.  246-247,  Adair, 
American  Indians,  pp.  240-243. 

"*JC,  June  15,  1751,  Oct.  1,  1756,  Laurens,  Letter  Books,  July  4,  1755,  Indian 
Books,  II,  pt.  2,  150-151;  Swanton,  Creek  Indians,  p.  418. 

-"Above,  p.  69. 


192  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

Until  1746  he  was  the  usual  spokesman  of  the  provincial  government  for 
the  Cherokees,  but  the  decline  of  his  political  and  economic  fortunes  began 
about  the  same  time,  and  in  1751  he  w^as  bankrupt,  owing  ten  thousand 
pounds  to  a  Charleston  merchant.^^  James  Beamer,  probably  a  native  of  the 
province,  entered  the  Cherokee  trade  in  1724,  but  in  1741  he  was  unable 
to  appear  in  the  settlements  for  fear  of  arrest  for  debt.  In  this,  the  normal 
state  of  the  trader,  he  lived  at  Eastatoe,  in  the  Lower  Towns,  with  his 
Cherokee  wife  and  half-breed  sons  and  daughters,  his  slaves  and  cattle.^^ 

Cornelius  Daugherty,  in  the  Overhllls,  counted  his  stay  in  the  nation 
from  1719.  Illiterate  and  rougher  than  even  the  average  of  his  fellows,  he 
was  nevertheless  one  of  the  largest  traders  to  the  nation,  and  liked  by  In- 
dians and  whites.  Ludovick  Grant,  who  traded  near  him,  entered  the 
Cherokees  in  1725.  Like  Beamer  he  was  a  man  of  education;  his  care- 
fully written  letters  were  Governor  Glen's  chief  dependence  for  Cherokee 
affairs  and  good  evidence  that  he  was  the  "Gentleman"  Glen  declared  him 
to  be.  Others  almost  as  interesting  as  these  were  Robert  Bunning,  the 
senior  of  them  all,  who  had  been  in  the  Cherokees  since  the  year  before  the 
Yamasee  war,  and  Robert  Goudey  who  traded  only  a  few  years  in  person, 
about  1750,  then  established  his  store  at  Ninety  Six.^®  Tucked  away  in  their 
narrow  valleys  among  the  Indians  with  whom  they  had  cast  their  lot,  the 
traders  found  the  great  mountains  that  shut  them  off  from  their  own  color 
and  civilization  a  not  unwelcome  barrier.  This  wild  commerce  and  life 
which  had  tempted  them  from  their  people  and  ruined  nearly  every  one  of 
them,  had  in  recompense  given  them  an  existence  so  easy-going,  yet  so  far 
removed  from  monotony,  such  bountiful  if  simple  comforts,  that  their 
regrets  seem  to  have  been  few. 

As  the  settlements  moved  to  the  fall  line,  and  the  roads  became  easier, 
the  competition  between  traders  and  between  merchants  became  keener. 
The  Indians  were  thus  better  and  better  supplied,  and  in  turn  became  more 
and  more  dependent  on  the  whites.  One  year's  kill  varied  from  another, 
and  there  were  periods  of  decline — such  as  that  between  1749  and  1751 
which  was  doubtless  due  largely  to  the  war  between  the  Creeks  and  Chero- 
kees, and  to  the  troubles  of  the  latter  with  other  Indians.  The  export  of 
deerskins  did  not  recover  from  the  Yamasee  War  until  1722,  when  it 
reached  approximately  60,000.  Rising  irregularly  to  about  200,000  in  1745 
when  the  skins  were  worth  £35,000,  it  fell  to  100,000  in  1750,  and  did  not 
reach  200,000  again  until  1759.     A  petition  in  1749  from  the  Charleston 

26  See  JCHA,  Mar.  19,  1741,  Jan.  22,  1742,  JC,  Mar.  29,  1748,  SCG,  Dec.  3, 
1750  (advt.  of  Provost  Marshal),  Court  Records,  Common  Pleas,  Nov.  1752.  He 
later  moved  to  Georgia   {Col.  Recs.  of  Ga.,  VII,  620). 

"A.  S.  Salley,  Jr.,  Warrants  for  Lands  in  South  Carolina,  1680-1692  (Colum- 
bia, 1911),  pp.  69,  77;  JC,  Nov.  9,  1732,  Mar.  1,  1744,  Nov.  22,  1751. 

2«  Indian  Books,  V,  19;  JC,  Nov.  22,  1751,  July  6,  1753,  Aug.  29,  1755,  above,  p. 
132. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  193 

merchants  interested  in  the  trade  was  signed  by  thirty-one  individuals  or 
firms,  the  same  number  listed  in  a  similar  petition  during  the  Oglethorpe 
affair  in  1735."^  Only  two  or  three  of  the  earlier  list  appear  in  the  second, 
but  in  both  the  names  were  those  of  the  leading  merchants  of  the  town. 
Samuel  Eveleigh  in  the  early  period,  followed  by  Thomas  Lambton 
and  John  McQueen  in  the  'fifties,  made  most  of  the  advances  to  the 
traders;  they  in  turn  resold  some  of  the  skins  they  received  to  others 
in  the  business.  The  investment  of  the  individual  merchant  in  the 
trade  was  not  large,  but  on  it  he  made  a  pretty  profit,  which  he  was  un- 
willing to  forego.  There  were,  however,  many  undesirable  conditions; 
indeed,  the  very  increase  of  the  traffic  was  based  in  no  small  measure  upon 
unregulated  competition.  In  their  petition  of  1749  the  merchants  force- 
fully described  the  evils  of  improper  dressing  which  left  horns,  hoofs  and 
snouts  on  the  skins  to  increase  their  weight,  thus  adding  to  the  cost  of  car- 
riage and  breeding  worms.  Worse  still  were  the  selling  of  rum  and  allow- 
ing reckless  credit  to  the  Indians,  the  abuse  of  the  Indians  by  the  traders 
and  the  utter  helplessness  of  the  government.  The  traders  came  to  town 
in  August,  and  returned  shortly  with  their  goods  for  purchase  of  skins.  A 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  made  a  horse-load,  and  transportation  of  this  to 
the  Indian  country  cost  from  three  to  five  pounds  sterling.^" 

In  December  1743  James  Glen  arrived  in  Charleston  to  begin  his 
thirteen-year  administration  and  immediately  developed  an  intense  in- 
terest in  Indian  affairs.  At  first  he  exercised  both  caution  and  tact,  yield- 
ing to  the  veteran  councillors,^^  and  working  cordially  with  the  leaders  of 
the  Commons.  But  early  in  1746  a  crisis  developed;  the  Cherokees  were 
being  threatened  and  cajoled  by  the  French  and  their  Indians,  the  Cataw- 
bas  were  in  danger  of  destruction  by  the  Six  Nations,  and  the  Creeks  were 
described  as  in  dangerous  mood.  Glen  now  took  matters  in  his  own  hands. 
Ignoring  the  council  he  called  the  assembly  and  informed  the  Commons 
that  he  had  summoned  the  Cherokee  headmen  to  meet  him  at  Ninety  Six 
and  that  he  also  expected  to  confer  with  the  Catawbas  at  the  Congarees 
and  the  Creeks  at  Fort  Moore.  A  joint  committee  of  Commons  and 
council,  declaring  the  situation  was  grave,  expressed  disapproval  of  the 
governor's  action  because  it  had  not  the  sanction  of  the  council,  but  since 
he  had  committed  himself,  recommended  that  the  assembly  provide  for 
an  escort  of  two  hundred  men  to  accompany  him.     The  report  likewise 

-^PR,  XVII,  421  (July  4,  1735,  enclosed  by  Broughton— see  above,  p.  187,  n.  8), 
XXIII,  389  (Glen  to  Board,  Aug.  12,  1749)  ;  Adair,  American  Indians,  pp.  278- 
281;  JC,  Sept.  5,  1749;  see  Crane,  Southern  Frontier,  pp.  112,  329-333. 

^^  Ibid.,  pp.  122,  127;  JC,  Sept.  7,  1749,  Nov.  26,  1755;  Laurens,  Letter  Books, 
Apr.  7,  Dec.  11,  1756;  PR,  XXIV,  349  (Glen  to  Board,  July  15,  1751).  On 
the  Indian  trade  see  also  above,  p.  188,  and  JC,  May  17,  1749.  Childermas 
Croft  was  Commissioner  from  1736  to  1747,  William  Pinckney  served  from  that 
time  to  the  Cherokee  War   (JCHA,  May  29,  1747,  JC,  Feb.  7,  1760). 

^^  See,  for  instance,  JC,  May  22,  1745. 


194  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

recommended   that  the  governor  be  asked   to  give  orders  to   repair  Fort 
Moore.^- 

Having  formed  the  force,  together  with  fifty  gentlemen  volunteers  and 
their  servants,  into  a  "Regiment"  as  he  described  it,  Glen  set  out  on  the 
twenty-first  of  April.  At  the  Congarees  he  conferred  with  the  Catawbas 
who  offered  to  escort  him,  but  Glen,  perhaps  mindful  of  their  recent 
quarrel  with  the  Chickasaws,  discreetly  declined.  Here  he  reassured  the 
settlers,  who  feared  an  Indian  war.  At  Ninety  Six,  attended  by  George 
Haig  and  doubtless  also  by  Francis  and  his  neighbors,  the  governor  met 
the  so-called  "Emperor"  and  sixty  other  Cherokees,  but  reported  nothing 
conclusive  from  the  interview.  Thence  he  went  to  Fort  Moore  and  talked 
with  the  New  Windsor  Chickasaws  and  with  the  Creeks,  returning  to 
Charleston  after  more  than  a  month's  absence.  The  expedition  cost  over 
four  hundred  pounds  in  pay  of  the  men  alone.^^ 

The  series  of  conferences,  conducted  by  the  inexperienced  governor 
without,  apparently,  any  leader  of  the  council  or  House  to  advise  him, 
constituted  on  the  whole  a  grand  but  rather  futile  gesture.  The  Com- 
mons received  the  reports  of  the  expedition  and  accounts  for  its  expense 
in  sour  mood.  James  Maxwell  was  snubbed  by  the  House  when  he  pre- 
sented a  bill  for  certain  of  the  expenses,  and  entirely  lost  his  influence  with 
that  body,  while  the  Board  of  Trade,  perhaps  receiving  unfavorable  re- 
ports from  the  province,  answered  Glen's  account  of  his  achievements  by 
recommending  that  in  the  future  he  avoid  such  expensive  missions.  A 
conference  committee  of  the  upper  and  lower  houses  reported  that  the  ef- 
forts of  the  French  to  win  over  the  Cherokees  and  the  Creeks  required  that 
an  agent  be  sent  to  each  tribe.  The  Commons  agreed  to  provide  for  both 
agents,  but  no  action  was  taken  until  the  new  assembly  met  in  September.^* 

At  that  time  the  new  House  heard  further  reports  of  the  presence  of 
French  Indians  in  the  Cherokee  towns,  and  of  "an  Indian  Fellow,  called 
the  Little  Carpenter"  who  was  expected  to  bring  two  hundred  more 
shortly.  George  Pawley,  recommended  by  the  Commons  for  the  agency, 
was  a  member  of  the  House  from  Prince  George  Winyaw,  a  former  sur- 
veyor of  lands  in  the  Welsh  Tract,  and  colonel  of  the  Craven  County 
militia  regiment.  He  had  apparently  no  connection  with  the  Indian  trade, 
and  Glen  seven  years  later  declared  that  the  council  considered  him  un- 
suited  unless  an  experienced  man  were  sent  with  him.     The  governor  de- 

^^Ibid.;  SCG,  May  6,  1745;  JCHA,  Apr.  25,  1745,  Mar.  13,  15,  21,  Apr.  14,  15, 
1746;  PR,  XXII,  149-153   (Glen  to  Newcastle,  May  3,  1746). 

^  Ibid.,  pp.  153-155,  199-204  and  XXIV,  427-431  (Glen  to  Board,  Sept.  29, 
1746,  Dec.  1751,  enclosure),  above,  p.  119;  SCG,  May  26,  1746;  JC,  Jan.  22,  1747; 
JCHA,  June  7,  1746. 

3*  JCHA,  June  6,  7,  14,  17,  1746,  PR,  XXII,  287-288  (Board  to  Glen,  May  26, 
1747),  JC,  Mar.  29,  1748.  Each  Commons  House  from  1731  to  1745  had  lasted  to 
within  a  few  months  of  its  statutory  life  of  three  years,  but  of  the  first  six  of 
Glen's  administration  (1745-1751),  only  one  was  allowed  to  run  as  long  as  a 
year   (Smith,  S.  C.  as  a  Royal  Province,  pp.  108,  409). 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  195 

layed  for  a  month  giving  him  his  commission  and  instructions,  and  thereby 
incurred  the  censure  of  the  House.'^ 

There  were  many  letters  and  papers  from  Pawley,  but  little  more  than 
titles  and  dates  were  recorded.  He  was  insulted  by  some  Shawnees,  two 
white  men  and  a  negro  of  the  party  were  wounded,  and  George  Haig,  who 
was  a  member  of  the  expedition,  later  paid  with  his  life  for  his  succor  of 
some  settlement  Indians.  But  the  agent  was  able  to  send  a  deed  signed 
by  thirty-four  of  the  Cherokee  headmen  for  the  lands  between  Ninety  Six 
and  Long  Canes,  thus  fulfilling  the  provincial  agreement  with  John  and 
Thomas  Turk.  At  the  next  session  of  the  assembly  the  conference  com- 
mittee appointed  to  consider  the  papers  of  the  mission  recommended  that  a 
fort  be  established  "about  the  Place  recommended  by  Colonel  Pawley,  in 
order  to  .  .  .  protect  our  Traders,  and  keep  those  Indians  in  the  British 
Interest ;"  with  the  proviso  that  it  be  garrisoned  by  a  detachment  from  the 
independent  companies  and  that  the  Cherokees  be  required  to  exclude  the 
French  and  Northward  Indians.  The  Commons  resolution  that  the  fort 
be  on  the  hither  side  of  the  mountains  indicates  that  Pawley's  proposal  was 
for  one  in  the  Overhills.^^ 

In  November  1746  Glen  succeeded  in  getting  a  new  consent  from  a 
few  Creek  headmen  for  building  an  English  fort  near  the  Alabama  gar- 
rison of  the  French.  Five  months  later,  in  the  midst  of  his  fruitless  ef- 
forts to  persuade  the  Commons  to  build  the  fort,  there  came  news  from  the 
southwest  that  showed  that  the  sanguine  governor,  like  more  than  one 
Carolina  imperialist  before  him,  was  preparing  to  burn  his  fingers  in  the 
Choctaw  business.^^  Jam.es  Adair,  who  entered  the  Chickasaw  trade  in 
1744,  later  declared  that  at  that  time  Glen  charged  him  to  do  all  in  his 
power  to  win  over  the  Choctaws.  The  Chickasaw  traders  always  had  an 
eye  on  the  Choctaw  trade,  and  the  Chickasaws  themselves,  in  danger  of 
extermination  by  French  and  Choctaw  attacks,  aided  in  this  wilderness 
diplomacy.  Thus  it  came  about  that  Red  Shoes,  the  leading  Choc- 
taw chief,  was  approached  by  Adair  and  his  doubtless  more  useful 
partner  John  Campbell,  veteran  of  twenty  years  of  this  trade  and  one  of 
the  prime  movers  of  the  1738  Choctaw  revolt.  Red  Shoes,  with  a  per- 
sonal grudge  against  the  French,  readily  fell  in  with  the  plans,  and  in  the 
summer  of  1746  sent  three  French  scalps  to  the  Chickasaw  traders  for 
the  governor  at  Charleston.  The  scalps  failed  of  their  destination,  but  in 
April  1747  the  Little  King,  brother  of  Red  Shoes,  at  the  head  of  a  Choctaw 
delegation  arrived  in  Charleston  to  propose  a  Choctaw  alliance  and  trade. 

^^  JCHA,  Sept.  17,  18,  Dec.  11,  1746  and  list  of  members,  May  25,  26,  1747,  Apr. 
17,  1753;  P,  IV;  JC,  Apr.  17,  1744,  Oct.  21,  1746,  May  28,  1751.  For  Haig,  see 
above,   pp.   58-59. 

^MC,  Jan.  22,  Mar.  7,  1747,  JCHA,  Apr.  8,  11,  14,  1747,  June  20,  1748,  above, 
pp.  123-125. 

37  JC,  Jan.  25,  1745,  Nov.  3,  1746,  Feb.  17,  1747;  JCHA,  Feb.  21,  1745,  Feb.  17, 
Mar.  28,  Apr.  8,  14,  15,  16,  June  9,  10,  1747,  May  16,  1750;  JUHA,  June  11,  1747. 


196  The  Expansion  of  South   Carolina 

At  the  same  time  Adair  and  his  two  partners,  John  Campbell  and  William 
Newbury,  asked  the  assembly  for  a  monopoly  of  the  Choctaw  trade.^^ 

Adair  might  have  expected  some  countenance  from  Glen,  for  in  his 
report  to  the  Board  of  Trade  the  following  February  the  governor  gave 
the  credit  for  the  revolt  to  no  one  besides  himself  except  Campbell  and 
Adair,  and  suggested  that  the  Board  recommend  a  reward  of  a  hundred 
guineas  each  for  the  two  traders.  But  while  Adair  vainly  waited  in 
Charleston  for  official  favors  the  firm  of  Charles  McNaire  and  Company 
sent  up  two  hundred  horseloads  of  goods  to  the  Choctaws.  This  is  the 
first  appearance  of  McNaire  in  the  South  Carolina  Indian  trade  records, 
but  his  partner  was  the  former  Cherokee  trader,  James  Maxwell,  and  in 
all  probability  Maxwell's  equipment  was  used.  It  appears  that  a  loan 
from  Governor  Glen  financed  or  partly  financed  the  expedition,  for  in 
November  1746  Matthew  and  Francis  Roche  and  James  Maxwell  made 
a  bond  to  Glen  for  one  thousand  pounds  sterling  to  be  paid  a  year  later 
with  ten  percent  interest.  The  obligation  was  assumed  in  1750  by  Jordan 
Roche,  merchant  and  former  Chickasaw  trader,  who  had  the  provost 
marshall  sell  Maxwell's  property  at  auction  the  next  year — part  of  it 
Maxwell's  share  of  the  horses  belonging  to  McNaire  and  Company.  In 
1752  Glen  sued  the  widow  of  Jordan  Roche  for  the  principal  and  interest 
and  was  accordingly  paid  over  seventeen  hundred  pounds.^® 

On  his  arrival  in  the  nation  McNaire  found  himself  in  a  sorry  plight. 
The  French  and  their  allies  among  the  Choctaws  made  war  upon  the  Eng- 
lish partisans.  Red  Shoes  was  slain,  and  the  hard-put  English  party  instead 
of  buying  goods  demanded  presents  of  ammunition.  McNaire  added  to  his 
troubles  the  hostility  of  the  other  traders,  by  pretending — with  no  ap- 
parent denial  by  Glen — that  the  governor  had  given  him  a  monopoly  of 
the  trade.  Glen  seems  to  have  kept  most  of  these  matters  to  himself,  but, 
the  assembly  not  being  in  session,  he  now  consulted  the  council.  On  the 
advice  of  that  body  fifteen  hundred  pounds  of  powder  and  twice  that 
weight  of  bullets,  half  of  it  for  the  Choctaws,  the  rest  for  the  Creeks  and 
Chickasaws,  was  delivered  to  Roche  and  Maxwell.  For  delivery  they  in- 
trusted it  to  John  Vann,  one  of  McNaire's  company,  then  or  later  of 
the  Ninety  Six  community.*"  Instead  of  three  months  or  less,  the  usual 
trip  to  the  Choctaws  from  Fort  Moore,  Vann  took  eight,  excusing  himself 
on  the  ground  of  floods  and  lack  of  forage.     On  the  advice  of  the  council 

^^PR,  XXIII,  75-76  (Glen  to  Board,  Feb.  3,  1748),  Adair,  American  Indians, 
p.  13,  Mereness,  Travels,  pp.  293-294,  JC,  Mar.  28,  1747,  May  17,  1750,  JCHA, 
Apr.   14,   1747,   May  31,   1750. 

^^PR,  XXIII,  75-76  (above,  n.  38),  XXIV,  418-^20,  424  (Glen  to  Board,  Dec. 
1751,  and  John  Vann's  examination);  Adair,  American  Indians,  pp.  314-343; 
Court  Records,  Common  Pleas,  Nov.  1752  (Glen  vs.  Admix.  Jordan  Roche;  Mis- 
cellaneous Records,  Charleston  Courthouse,  MS,  1749-1751,  p.  278,  1751-1754,  p. 
413;  JC,  Dec.  14,  1747. 

*°JC,  Nov.  13,  Dec.  14,  1747,  Jan.  9,  26,  1749,  May  17,  1750,  JCHA,  May  23, 
1750;   above,  pp.  121-122. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  197 

other  traders  were  encouraged  to  go  to  the  Choctaws,  but  it  was  too  late; 
the  English  cause  was  now  hopeless.*^  Glen  had  made  his  usual  grandilo- 
quent report  of  his  achievements  and  he  now  had  explanations  to  make  of 
the  relapse  of  the  Choctaws  to  the  French  alliance.  The  Commons  House 
investigated  the  affair,  and  in  May  1749  decided  that  McNaire  had  won 
the  Choctaws  over.  A  resolution  to  allow  him  nearly  £300  was  lost  by 
one  vote;  the  House  voted  him  £150,  instead,  and  recommended  him  to  the 
crown  for  reward.  But  a  year  later,  on  more  careful  investigation,  a  com- 
mittee charged  McNaire  with  fraud,  Adair  with  lying,  and  Roche  with 
concealing  evidence.  A  quarrel  developed  between  the  governor  and  Mat- 
thew Roche,  and  as  a  result  the  latter  wrote  a  pamphlet,  entitled  "A 
Modest  Reply  to  His  Excellency",  in  which  he  used  such  terms  that  the 
Commons  House  declared  it  slander.^^ 

Investment  of  a  thousand  pounds  in  the  Choctaw  trade,  even  under 
these  circumstances,  may  have  appeared  to  Glen  as  fully  within  his  rights, 
or  financing  the  needy  Maxwell  in  an  undertaking  which  could  be  of  the 
first  importance  to  the  empire,  may  have  seemed  to  him  a  public  service. 
But  whatever  his  motives  the  blunder  cost  him  dear,  and  later  years 
showed  that  he  did  not  profit  by  the  lesson.  In  1761  when  he  was  trying 
to  get  payment  of  certain  expenses  of  his  administration  he  stated  that 

when  there  had  been  a  Scarcity  of  Goods  in  the  Cherokee  Nation  &  the 
Merchants  in  Town  did  not  care  to  Trust  the  Traders,  he  has  many  times 
been  obliged  to  procure  Goods  for  them  on  his  own  Credit,  twice  to  the 
amount  of  Ten  thousand  pounds  each  time,  &  has  Notes  of  Hand  of  the 
Traders  Bonds  and  Judgments  to  the  amount  of  some  thousands  pounds, 
which  are  now  waste  Paper.*^ 

These  investments  in  the  Cherokee  trade  are  indicated  at  a  few  other  points 
in  the  records.  He  lent  the  trader  Lantagnac  money  to  enable  him  to 
make  a  start  in  that  nation ;  soon  after  the  governor's  retirement  the  Little 
Carpenter,  in  complaining  bitterly  of  the  abuses  of  the  trader  John  El- 
liott, said  that  he  understood  Glen  was  related  to  Elliott  and  concerned 
in  the  trade  with  him.  How  gossip  could  make  use  of  these  reports  is 
indicated  by  the  statement  of  Governor  Dobbs,  who  had  his  own  grudges 
against  Glen,  that  he  had  been  told  that  Glen  had  become  rich  by  the 
Indians.** 

"JCHA,  June  1,  1749,  May  23,  1750,  JC,  Jan.  12,  Aug.  14,  1749,  PR,  XXIV, 
424-427  (above,  n.  39),  Mereness,  Travels,  p.  282.  Chickasaw  traders  continued  as 
before  to  carry  on  a  small  trade  among  the  Choctaws,  but  at  considerable  danger 
and  with  occasional  loss — see  Indian  Books,  II,  pt.  2,  31-32,  JC,  May  17,  1750,  May 
29,  1754. 

^2  PR,  XXIII,  205-207,  446  (Glen  to  Board,  Oct.  10,  1748,  and  enclosure  with 
his  of  Dec.  23,  1749),  JCHA,  May  23,  27,  1749,  May  16,  23,  24,  1750;  SCG,  Feb.  26, 
Apr.  9,  1750. 

'*^  JCHA,  Apr.  29,   1761;  the  amounts  are  in  currency. 

^*  S.  C.  Williams,  Early  Travels  in  the  Tennessee  Country  (Johnson  City,  1928), 
pp.  182-183,  Indian  Books,  V,  155-157;   Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  V,  360. 


198  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

Glen's  role  of  aggressive  imperialist  guaranteed  him  more  than  enough 
trouble  with  the  planter  controlled  Commons  House,  for  such  plans  in- 
evitably involved  heavy  cost  in  money  if  not  in  men.  His  practice  of  con- 
tracting debts  not  authorized,  and  of  referring  to  other  expenses  as  having 
been  paid  by  himself,  his  bitter  opposition  to  proposals  for  disciplining  the 
Indians  by  stopping  the  trade,  and  these  ill-advised  investments  added 
greatly,  and  unnecessarily,  to  his  difficulties.  The  extreme  reluctance  with 
which  the  Commons  empowered  the  governor  to  spend  money  in  Indian 
affairs,  and  the  polite  but  obvious  distrust  with  which  that  house  received 
his  unauthorized  bills  indicate  that  the  members  at  times  questioned  his 
motives  as  well  as  his  judgement. 

The  spectacular  events  in  the  southwest  during  1747  and  1748  diverted 
attention  for  a  time  from  the  Cherokees,  but  the  situation  there  was  only 
temporarily  improved  by  Pawley's  mission,  and  the  cause  of  the  unrest  of 
the  Indians  was  in  no  way  removed.  The  Cherokees  in  the  Overhill  towns, 
uneasily  watching  the  French  on  the  Mississippi,  frequently  attacked  pass- 
ing parties,  and  from  time  to  time  talked  of  an  English  fort  for  protection 
against  them.^''  The  Creeks  were  an  even  greater  danger  than  the  French, 
but  of  all  the  troubles  of  the  Cherokees  the  worst  came  from  the  Shawnees 
and  Iroquois.  The  former — most  inveterate  wanderers  of  the  eastern  In- 
dians— had  formerly  been  in  two  branches.  The  smaller  for  a  time  lived 
on  the  Savannah  River,  where  Fort  Moore  was  later  established,  and  had 
been  called  by  the  Carolinians  "Savannahs",  whence  the  name  of  the  river; 
driven  out  by  the  Catawbas  they  had  removed  to  Pennsylvania  during  and 
after  the  Yamasee  War.  The  larger  body  for  many  years  were  on  the 
Cumberland  River,  but  about  1730  moved  to  the  Ohio  above  the  mouth  of 
the  Scioto,  where  about  1750  they  were  re-united  with  the  smaller  portion 
of  the  tribe.^^ 

The  endless  feud  of  the  Iroquois  with  the  Catawbas  entered  a  new 
phase  about  1748.  At  that  time  portions  of  several  of  the  tribes  of  the 
Six  Nations  were  living  on  the  Ohio  near  the  Shawnees — Logstown  (about 
twenty  miles  below  the  site  of  the  later  Fort  Pitt)  being  the  chief  town  of 
this  newly  formed  confederacy.  The  Shawnees  were  not  the  only  elements 
of  the  group  recently  associated  with  the  French.  The  Iroquois  were  al- 
ways enemies  of  the  Catawbas,  the  Shawnees  usually  friends  of  the  Creeks, 
and  both  were  sometimes  friends,  sometimes  enemies  of  the  Cherokees. 
But  whatever  their  errand  in  the  southern  country,  each  found  the  Chero- 
kee towns  a  convenient  route  and  stopping  place.  The  weakness  of  the 
Catawbas  invited  attack,  and  the  Cherokees  themselves,  afraid  of  their 
fierce  visitors  and  at  the  same  time  looking  for  allies,  usually,  whether  for 

^MC,  Oct.  14,  1743,  Sept.  4,  1749;  PR,  XXIII,  169-173  (Glen  to  Board,  July 
26,  1748);   JCHA,  Dec.   IS,  1736,  Apr.  27,   1751;   Mereness,    Travels,  pp.  239-255. 

*^  Fredeiick  Webb  Hodge,  ed.,  Handbook  of  American  Indians  (2  vols.,  Wash- 
ington,  1910),   II,   530-535. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  199 

fear  or  favor,  shielded  them.  The  Carolina  traders  generally  called  the 
Shawnees  Savannahs  or  French  Indians,  the  Iroquois  chiefly  Senecas  or 
Northward  Indians,  but  the  terms  during  the  years  leading  up  to  the 
Cherokee  War  were  almost  interchangeable ;  most  of  the  parties  probably 
contained  warriors  from  several  tribes,  and  seem,  as  a  rule,  to  have  come 
from  the  Ohio  settlement.*^ 

Early  in  1748  the  killing  of  a  trader  by  the  warriors  of  the  Lower 
Towns  and  the  abduction  of  Haig  by  the  Northward  Indians  precipitated 
a  crisis.  Glen  used  the  incidents  to  drive  home  his  arguments  for  forts  in 
the  Overhills,  but  the  Commons  instead  provided  for  rangers  and  a  fort  at 
the  Congarees.*^  A  half-hearted  promise  by  the  Commons  of  two  hundred 
pounds  for  the  Overhills  fort  was  followed  by  an  agreement  of  the  two 
houses  on  a  trade  embargo  to  bring  the  Cherokees  to  terms.  Upon  this  the 
governor  abruptly  put  an  end  to  the  session  and  the  matter  was  dropped.*^ 

In  February  it  was  reported  that  the  new  Congaree  fort  was  complete 
and  in  May  following,  that  Fort  Moore  was  rebuilt  at  a  cost  of  about  three 
hundred  pounds;  garrisons  of  thirty  men  each  had  already  been  sent  to 
these  posts  from  the  independent  companies.^  In  June  1749,  when  the 
three  South  Carolina  independent  companies  were  discharged,  three  others 
were  organized  from  the  Georgia  regiment  disbanded  at  the  same  time,  and 
detachments  from  these  new  companies  replaced  the  old  at  Fort  Moore  and 
the  Congarees.  The  Commons  continued  to  pay  for  the  two  hundred  men 
in  South  Carolina  but  refused  money  for  those  left  in  Georgia,  and  the 
companies  continued  on  this  status  until  1758.^^ 

The  burden  of  defense  moved  the  governor  and  assembly  in  January 
1748  to  petition  the  crown  for  reimbursement  of  an  annual  expense  of 
fifteen  hundred  pounds,  representing  this  amount  as  being  paid  "for  Treaties 
and  Presents",  whereas  it  was  in  fact  the  total  for  presents  and  defense. 
With  surprising  promptness  a  grant  was  made  to  the  Georgia  and  Carolina 
governments  of  three  thousand  pounds  a  year,  not  in  money  but  in  goods  for 
presents,  the  first  shipment  arriving  in  1749.  Some  of  the  goods  were  en- 
tirely unsuited  for  the  purpose,  however,  and  the  need  of  the  provincial 
government  for  money  suggested  the  sale  of  the  undesirable  presents  and  the 
application  of  the  money  to  other  frontier  expenses.  This  happy  solution  of 
the  problem  was  put  into  effect  and  a  year  later  the  crown,  convinced  by  a 

*^See  JC,  July  30,  1745,  Mar.  29,  1748,  Mar.  18,  1749,  Nov.  14,  15,  1751. 

*8  Above,  p.  58,  JC,  Mar.  29,  Apr.  7,  16,  21,  27,  1748,  JCHA,  Apr.  8,  28,  1748. 
For  the  rangers  see  JC,  May  11,  1748. 

^MCHA,  Apr.  30,  May  3,  June  20,  21,  25,  27,  28,  1748;  JC,  May  7,  June  4,  13, 
14,  22,  28,  29,  July  12,   18,   1748;   SCG,  July  16,  25,   1748;  JUHA,  June  29,   1748. 

^^^  JC,  May  20,  July  20,  1748,  Feb.  8,  1749;  JCHA,  Apr.  16,  1746,  Apr.  11,  1747, 
May  25,  1749;  Indian  Books,  II,  pt.  2,  5.  The  Commons  later  paid  £143  more 
for  the  work  on  Fort  Moore — see  JCHA,  May  26,  Dec.  7,  1749,  Feb.  10,  Mar.  6,  9, 
1750,  Mar.  2,  7,  1751. 

"JCHA,  Feb.  6,  10,  Mar.  2,  Nov.  23,  1750,  May  9,  1751,  JC,  June  16,  July  4, 
1749,  May  9,  1751;  see  below,  p.  216. 


200  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

representation  from  South  Carolina  that  the  Georgia  government  was  not 

in  position  to  handle  the  distribution  of  its  half  of  the  Indian  presents,  gave 

over  the  entire  amount  to  the  older  colony.     This  bounty  was  continued 

until  the  outbreak  of  the  next  war,  and  afforded  a  welcome  and  needed 
relief.'^ 

The  year  1749  was  one  of  comparative  quiet  in  the  Cherokee  country, 
but  in  the  spring  of  1750  the  Northward  Indians  appeared  again,  killing 
four  traders  as  they  were  bringing  away  their  deerskins  from  the  nation. 
Another  party  of  them  attacked  the  Catawbas,  but  had  sixteen  slain  and 
four  taken  prisoners.  In  January  1751  the  traders  in  the  Lower  Towns 
wrote  to  the  "Gentlemen  and  Others"  of  the  back  country  that  there  were 
upwards  of  a  hundred  Northward  Indians  on  their  way  to  the  settlements 
who  had  declared  that  they  would  spare  neither  white  nor  red,  and  would 
slay  all  cattle  and  hogs  they  could  find.  Shortly  afterwards  a  group  call- 
ing themselves  Nottawegas,  doubtless  a  part  of  this  band,  had  the  ef- 
frontery to  inform  the  governor  that  as  the  Catawbas  were  their  mortal 
enemies  they  must  follow  them  to  the  settlements,  and  if  the  whites  har- 
bored the  fugitives  they  must  expect  their  cattle  to  be  killed.''^  During  the 
six  months  following  there  came  a  succession  of  reports  which  fully  justified 
the  warning.  In  March  the  store  of  one  of  the  Georgia  traders  to  the 
Creeks  at  Oconee  was  attacked,  apparently  by  Northward  and  Cherokee 
Indians,  the  store  destroyed  and  one  man  killed.  There  was  an  exodus  of 
traders  from  the  Cherokee  towns,  although  some  of  the  headmen  strove  to 
reassure  them.^ 

Later  in  the  month  a  band,  apparently  from  the  Ohio,  seized  and  carried 
away  four  Notchees  from  a  white  man's  home  at  the  Four  Holes,  not 
fifty  miles  from  Charleston.  Several  weeks  later  others,  or  members  of  the 
same  party,  insulted  and  frightened  women  at  Moncks  Corner.  In  April 
Indians  appeared  in  the  Congarees,  killing  horses  and  cattle,  and  in  May 
came  news  of  the  murder  of  the  Cloud  family  by  the  Savannahs.^^  During 
the  summer  and  autumn  months  parties  of  Cherokees  or  of  Northward 
Indians  penetrated  to  Amelia  Township,  where  they  murdered  a  white  man 
and  killed  cattle;  to  the  Santee,  where  they  committed  depredations;  to 
Lady's  Island,  near  Beaufort,  where  they  killed  or  captured  five  Uchees 
and  escaped  by  boat ;  and  to  the  seaside  in  Christ  Church  Parish,  where  in 
a  skirmish  with  a  party  of  the  militia  two  Indians  were  killed  and  one 

^2JC,  Jan.  27,  1748,  Apr.  21,  1749;  JCHA,  Jan.  27,  30,  May  14,  1748,  May  26, 
1749,  May  31,  1750;  PR,  XXIII,  63-65  (Representation  of  governor,  council  and 
assembly  to  crown,  Jan.  30,  1748),  XXIV,  384-385  (Memorial  of  James  Crokatt, 
provincial    agent,   Nov.    14,    1751),    XXVII,    47    (Glen   to    Board,    Apr.    14,    1756). 

^^JC,  May  22,  1750,  Apr.  1,  May  7,  1751,  JCHA,  May  26,  1750.  See  also  JC, 
Apr.  6,   1749. 

^^''JC,  Apr.  1,  May  7,  23,  June  5,  8,  1751;  JCHA,  May  8,  1751;  Indian  Books, 
II,  pt.  2,  7-9,  17-20. 

^^JC,  Apr.  1,  17,  1751;  JCHA,  Apr.  25,  1751;  Indian  Books,  II,  pt.  2,  4;  above, 
p.   122. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  201 

white  man  wounded.  In  only  one  of  the  affairs  was  the  militia  or  any  party 
of  men  able  to  come  up  with  the  raiders,  who  skulked  about  the  swamps 
until  they  could  find  an  undefended  house.^ 

The  initial  reports  of  these  raids  caused  consternation  among  the  back 
settlers  from  Ninety  Six  to  the  Congarees,  and  several  hastily  built  forts 
were  thrown  up.  Doubtless  these  were  very  flimsy  affairs,  but  John 
Pearson  asked  for  some  swivel  guns  "to  place  in  Each  of  our  Flankers", 
and  James  Francis  wrote  that  "We  .  .  .  met  the  Generality  of  the  Neigh- 
bourhood, at  the  most  convenient  place,  &  Fortifyed  our  Selves  So  as  to  de- 
fend us  against  any  quantity  of  Indians  as  we  Imagine  could  come  against 
us."  The  Saluda  settlers,  so  John  Fairchild  reported,  had  entirely  deserted 
their  homes,  fleeing  to  the  Congarees  or  betaking  themselves  to  similar 
forts.  Except  for  the  Cloud  murders,  the  back  country  suffered  little  in  the 
raids.  In  December,  however,  a  party  of  Indians  passed  through  the  fork 
of  the  Saluda  and  Broad  killing  cattle,  stealing  horses,  frightening  and 
insulting  women  until  in  desperation  Samuel  Hollinshed  wrote:  "If  wee 
must  Suffer  such  Losses  and  Dammiges  &  have  no  Restitution  wee  cannot 
Live  here  for  it  almost  brakes  us  poor  people  the  Loss  of  Cretors  &  Loss  of 
Time  pray  exsquse  the  Pen  &  Ink  being  bad."  ^^ 

During  the  spring  of  1750  the  debates  of  the  governor  and  the  assembly 
on  means  of  defending  the  province  and  its  Indian  trade  got  no  further  than 
a  report  agreed  to  by  the  two  houses  that  there  ought  to  be  an  Overhills 
Cherokee  fort  built  and  garrisoned  by  the  crown.  But  in  1751,  from  April 
to  June,  as  one  lot  after  another  of  reports  of  Indian  outrages  came  in,  the 
governor,  council  and  Commons  made  earnest  attempts  to  reconcile  their 
violently  conflicting  ideas.  The  Commons  throughout  the  session  urged 
closing  the  Indian  trade  until  the  offending  Cherokee  towns  came  to 
terms,  but  Glen  opposed  this  with  elaborate  arguments  on  the  value  of 
the  trade,  and  the  barrier  against  the  French  that  the  Cherokees  con- 
stituted. He  pointed  out  that  the  alternatives,  if  the  stoppage  of  the  trade 
failed  to  coerce  the  Indians,  were  devastation  of  the  back  country  or  an 
expedition  by  the  province  into  a  region  all  but  impossible  to  pierce. 
Finally,  in  support  of  his  favorite  thesis  that  the  Cherokees  were  well 
inclined,  he  extolled  the  good  deeds  of  the  past  seven  years  and,  for  the 
most  part,  ignored  their  unfriendly  acts."*^ 

^]C,  July  2,  Sept.  26,  Oct.  1,  7,  1751;  JCHA,  Mar.  20,  Apr.  17,  22,  1752; 
Indian  Books,  II,  pt.  2,  141,  146.  The  attack  on  the  Uchees  was  probably  by 
Savannahs. 

5"JC,  May  13,  23,  June  7,  1751,  Indian  Books,  II,  pt.  2,  254-255;  see  also  pp. 
21-23.  The  fort  described  by  Francis  was  evidently  on  the  Cherokee  path  above 
Ninety  Six  (JC,  May  23,  1751)  and  it  is  probable  that  Pearson  described  the 
same  fort. 

^8  JCHA,  Mar.  15,  16,  17,  May  26,  31,  1750,  Apr.  27,  1751;  JC,  May  2,  28, 
1751.  In  1753  a  party  of  Northward  Indians  murdered  a  German  near  Four 
Holes  and  ravished  his  kinswoman.  The  Commons  thereupon  resolved  to  pay  a 
reward  for  the  next  three  months  of  fourteen  pounds  for  each  Northward  Indian 


202  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

After  an  angry  controversy  over  this  issue  and  over  the  revival  of  the 
1739  trade  act  ^'^  the  Commons  had  its  way  in  stopping  the  trade,  with  the 
provision  that  a  force  might  be  held  in  readiness  in  the  back  country  in  case 
this  measure  failed.  Accordingly  letters  were  sent  to  the  Cherokees 
ordering  all  the  traders  out  of  the  nation,  and  demanding  delivery  within 
two  months  of  two  headmen  from  each  of  the  offending  Lower  Towns, 
and  of  some  of  the  men  concerned  in  the  Oconee  murder.  Full  assurance  of 
loyal  support  was  given  to  friendly  towns  and  headmen,  but  the  threat  was 
made  that  if  the  offenders  were  not  delivered  they  would  be  taken  by  force. 
The  Georgia  government  was  asked  to  withhold  the  Cherokee  trade  of 
that  colony,  but  the  raising  of  the  reserve  force  was  not  undertaken.  How- 
ever, the  Commons  had  provided  in  April  for  two  troops  of  rangers  for  the 
frontier,  and  the  next  month  added  two  more.*'" 

The  Cherokees  replied  to  the  provincial  demands  with  evasive  promises 
but  refused  to  come  to  a  conference  until  the  trade  was  restored,  their 
attitude  justifying  the  declarations  of  Robert  Goudey  and  Patrick  Brown 
that  the  Indians  held  the  province  in  complete  contempt.  Glen,  however, 
eager  to  smooth  things  over,  declared  that  the  Cherokee  messages  were  an 
acceptance  of  terms.  His  desire  for  conciliation  was  no  doubt  sharpened 
by  reports  that  forty  Cherokees  had  gone  to  Virginia  to  ask  a  trade  with 
that  province,  and  even  the  Virginia  governor's  reassurance  did  not  allay 
his  suspicions  of  the  ancient  rival.®^  The  chief  Cherokee  headman  in  this 
move  to  reopen  the  Virginia  trade  was  Atta  Kulla-Kulla,  the  Little 
Carpenter  as  the  traders  called  him,  of  Tomotley,  an  Overhills  town.  He 
had  gone  to  England  in  his  youth  with  Sir  Alexander  Cuming,  and  Goudey 
charged  that  he  had  spent  several  years  among  the  French,  returning  to 
his  tribe  about  1748.*'' 

With  positions  reversed  and  apparently  themselves  on  trial,  the  gov- 
ernor, council  and  certain  Commons  members  appointed  by  that  body  for 

taken  in  the  settlements  dead  or  alive,  with  a  standing  oflFer  thereafter  of  half  that 
amount.  Governor  Glen,  however,  attempted  to  confine  the  reward  for  the  first 
three  months  to  the  Indians  guilty  of  the  Four  Holes  affair  (JCHA,  Apr.  6,  7, 
11,  16,  1753,  JC,  Apr.  7,  10,  1753).  Six  Savannahs  were  taken  shortly  thereafter 
and  imprisoned,  but  those  who  did  not  escape  were  released  (JC,  June  18,  July  3, 
Aug.  7,  Oct.  2,  Dec.  14,   1753,  Jan.  1,  Feb.  6,   1754,  JCHA,  Aug.  25,  1753). 

^^JUHA,  May  10,  1751;  Stats.,  HI,  517-525.  This  act  was  the  most  objection- 
able to  the  governor  of  several  included  in  a  revival  bill  (JCHA,  May  4,  7-11, 
1751).  The  act  as  finally  passed  differed  little  f.rom  the  one  of  1739  save  in  the 
provision  for  sending  the  commissioner  to  the  Indian  nations,  at  a  salary  of  forty- 
two  shillings  a  day,  or,  in  case  he  should  refuse  to  go,  an  agent.  The  latter  was 
to  be  approved  by  the  assembly  if  it  were  in  session,  otherwise  by  the  governor 
and  council  (JCHA,  Jan.  16,  Mar.  10,  12,  20,  May  8,  9,  16,  1752,  JUHA,  Mar.  11, 
1752,  Stats.,  Ill,  763-771). 

^JC,  May  13,  June  8,  15,  July  2,  1751;  Indian  Books,  II,  pt.  2,  71;  JCHA, 
Apr.  27,  May  10,  11,  14,  June  14,  15,  1751. 

«i  JCHA,  June  8,  11,  12,  14,  Aug.  28,  1751,  JC,  Aug.  9,  16,  Sept.  1,  11,  17,  Nov. 
13,  22,  1751. 

62  Crane,  Southern  Frontier,  pp.  279-280;  JCHA,  Sept.  17,  1746;  JC,  June  4, 
8,  1751;  SCG,  Sept.  22,  1759. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  203 

the  purpose,  agreed  to  send  a  message  to  the  Cherokees  that  the  friends  of 
the  Carolinians  had  nothing  to  fear.  The  guileless  leaders  accepted  the 
assurances  for  the  friends  as  meant  for  all,  and  came  to  Charleston  to 
reopen  the  trade.  After  much  difficulty  they  were  persuaded  to  sign  a 
treaty  in  which  they  agreed  to  deliver  up  the  Oconee  murderer,  to  return 
all  stolen  goods,  to  send  down  the  Little  Carpenter  to  answer  charges,  and 
to  do  their  utmost  to  prevent  the  passage  of  French  and  Northward  Indians 
into  the  South  Carolina  settlements.  Traders  were  to  go  up  at  once  with 
goods,  but  no  rum  was  to  be  carried.  The  presents  provided  for  the 
occasion  of  signing  the  treaty — including  a  hundred  and  thirteen  guns — 
were  more,  so  Glen  said,  than  ever  before  given.^^  Thus  the  half-hearted 
threats  of  expedition  or  trade  embargo  were  abandoned  and  the  Cherokees 
cajoled  into  making  a  set  of  empty  promises.  With  the  sealing  of  this  treaty 
by  over-generous  presents  and  restoration  of  trade  the  prospect  of  coercing 
the  offending  towns  became  slight  indeed. 

The  threatened  destruction  of  the  Catawbas  by  the  continued  raids  of 
their  northern  enemies,  and  the  consequent  exposure  of  the  frontier  so  long 
defended  by  these  faithful  friends,  revived  the  project  of  a  Catawba-Iroquois 
peace.  Perhaps  the  chief  obstacle  to  this  move  was  the  pride  of  the  Cataw- 
bas themselves,  who  for  a  long  time  refused  to  go  to  New  York  for  a  con- 
ference lest  it  appear  that  they  were  suing  for  peace.  The  Nottawegas  in 
May  1751  sent  a  talk  to  Glen,  written  at  Keowee,  relating  the  intolerable 
insult  they  received  when  they  sought  a  peace  with  the  Catawbas.  "Since 
which  time,"  declared  the  indignant  Indians,  "we  are  at  War".  At  last 
in  1751  a  peace  was  patched  up  between  the  ancient  enemies  in  a  meeting 
at  Albany  under  the  direction  of  Governor  Clinton  of  New  York.^*  There 
were  occasional  ruptures,  however,  for  the  old  feud  died  hard,  and  in  these 
frays  the  Catawbas  did  not  always  come  off  worsted.  But  the  Northward 
Indians,  having  laid  aside  only  one  grudge,  behaved  little  better  than  be- 
fore in  the  settlements.*^^ 

For  another  group  of  their  stout  friends,  the  Chickasaws,  the  Carolina 
government  could  do  little.  Periodically  there  came  reports  of  threatened 
attacks  by  overwhelming  numbers  of  the  French  and  their  Choctaws,  and 
regularly  there  was  given  the  expected  present  of  ammunition  with  full 
assurance  that  it  would  be  effectively  employed  to  keep  the  French  amused 
on  the  lower  Mississippi  and  to  that  extent  relieve  the  pressure  upon 
Creeks  and  Cherokees.  The  journal  of  one  of  the  Chickasaw  traders  for 
the  year  ending  May  1753  listed  28  Chickasaws  slain  by  the  Choctaws  and 

«3JC,  Sept.  2,  3,  11,  17,  Oct.  25,  29,  Nov.  2,  5,  6,  13-15,  20,  25,  26,  28,  1751. 
There  was  also  in  this  session  an  acrimonious  dispute  because  of  the  unwillingness 
of  the  governor  to  submit  to  the  House  the  originals  of  papers  on  Indian  affairs 
(JCHA,  Mar.  6,  10,  11,  13,  14,  17,  May  1,  1752,  JC,  Mar.  10,  1752). 

«*JUHA,  Oct.  6,  1737;  JCHA,  Jan.  29,  1742,  May  17,  1751;  JC,  Jan.  12,  1743, 
Aug.  10,  1750,  May  7,  18,  20,  Aug.  1,  16,  26,  1751. 

«sjC,  Oct.  7,  1751,  Mar.  3,  Nov.  15,  1752,  May  28,  Aug.  7,  10,  1753. 


204  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

23  of  the  latter  slain  by  the  Chickasaws,  who  also  captured  5  Frenchmen. 
From  June  of  1753  to  June  of  1754  the  Chickasaws  lost  22  killed  by  the 
Choctaws,  but  sent  word  to  the  governor  that  "we  still  Love  our  Land  and 
Libertys  nor  shall  we  Chuse  ever  to  give  it  up  but  with  the  loss  of  our 
Lives."  They  asked  the  governor  to  send  "four  of  your  guns  that  make 
a  great  noise  and  will  Kill  our  Enemies  at  a  great  distance  we  will  either 
keep  our  Land  or  Die  a  long  side  of  them  guns."  At  this  time  the  trader, 
John  Buckles,  said  that  there  were  340  able  warriors  in  the  tribe,  and  so 
many  women  that  every  fellow  had  two  or  three  wives  at  least."" 

The  New  Windsor  Chickasaws  were  not  so  valuable  an  outpost  as 
either  the  Catawbas  or  the  "Far  Chickasaws",  but  did  good  service,  direct 
or  indirect,  during  the  troublous  'fifties.  In  a  combined  Cherokee  and  Sa- 
vannah raid  in  1752  two  of  their  women  were  taken  prisoner;  "greatly 
Irritated",  so  James  Francis  declared,  by  their  neighbors'  part  in  this  affair 
the  Chickasaws  raided  the  Cherokee  towns  in  turn  and  returned  with  ten 
scalps  and  three  prisoners.  Three  years  later  from  their  temporary  home 
below  Augusta  they  apprehended  a  party  of  Mohawk  raiders,  and  killed 
five  of  them."^ 

The  experience  of  Glen's  predecessor  had  shown  how  little  profit  was 
to  be  had  from  meddling  in  Creek  affairs,  but  in  his  role  as  peacemaker 
among  the  friends  of  the  English  the  governor  in  1749  essayed  to  bring 
the  Creek-Cherokee  war  to  an  end.  This  move  aroused  the  misgivings  of 
some  of  the  traders  who  dreaded  the  release  of  energies  of  the  surly  Creek 
warriors,  the  fastest  growing  tribe  in  the  southwest."®  A  series  of  futile 
efforts  came  to  a  climax  in  1752  when,  near  Charleston,  the  Creeks  mur- 
dered four  members  of  a  Cherokee  delegation.  The  Commons,  finding 
no  little  comfort  in  the  troubles  of  the  Cherokees,  protested  against  any 
interference  in  the  war  while  their  headmen  ignored  the  provisions  of  the 
treaty  of  1751,  but  in  the  face  of  this  opinion  the  governor  and  council 
fell  back  upon  the  wording  of  the  Indian  trade  act  recently  passed  which 
authorized  the  governor,  on  the  advice  of  the  council,  to  send  the  com- 
missioner or  an  agent  to  the  Indian  country."^ 

The  commissioner,  however,  found  so  much  to  do  in  Charleston  that 
he  could  not  undertake  this  mission,  and  several  others  declined  the  honor. 
In  desperation  the  governor  and  council  in  June  1752  turned  to  the  former 
chaplain  of  Oglethorpe's  regiment,  Thomas  Bosomworth  and  his  half-breed 

«« Indian  Books,  III,  150,  168-171,  196-202;  PR,  XXIII,  388-389  (Glen  to 
Board,  Aug.  12,  1749)  ;  JCHA,  Feb.  7,  1754,  Jan.  27,  1756;  JC,  Sept.  4,  1749,  May 
29,  July  3,   1754,  July  1,   1758. 

^^  See  above,  p.  71,  Indian  Books,  III,  7-8,  V,  36-37,  JC,  Mar.  24,  1752. 

«*JC,  Apr.  27,  1748,  June  2,  Sept.  4,  1749,  Jan.  18,  1750;  JCHA,  May  25,  1749, 
Mar.  15,  1750,  above,  p.  14.  See  also,  for  distress  of  the  Cherokee  Lower  Towns, 
JC,  May  5,  25,  June  24,  1752,  JUHA,  May  6,   1752. 

«^JC,  Sept.  4-7,  1749,  Sept.  5,  1750,  Mar.  31,  Apr.  1-6,  16,  24,  28,  May  25,  27, 
1752.  For  opposition  to  this  agency  by  House  members,  see  JCHA,  May  5-8,  1752, 
Feb.  27,  1753. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  205 

wife  Mary,  sister  of  Malatchi,  the  chief  headman  of  the  Lower  Creeks  and 
son  of  the  great  Brim  of  an  earlier  generation.  Both  had  had  troubled 
careers  in  Georgia.  With  great  boldness  and  skill  the  strangely  assorted 
pair  of  diplomats  brought  about  the  execution  of  the  leader  in  the  murder 
of  the  Cherokee  delegates,  and  even  the  pledge  of  Creek-Cherokee  peace, 
to  be  confirmed  in  conference  with  the  governor.^" 

Peace  was  finally  made  between  the  tribes  about  a  year  later,  but  in  the 
conferences  with  the  governor  that  point  was  almost  forgotten  among  the 
angry  demands  of  both  Creeks  and  Cherokees  for  lower  trade  prices. 
Alarmed  by  reports  of  French  activities  among  the  Creeks  the  governor 
and  assembly  tried  to  work  out  a  plan  for  reduction  of  the  prices  in  re- 
turn for  Creek  permission  to  build  an  English  fort,  but  nothing  came  of 
it.'^  Thus  the  decade  of  the  'fifties  drew  to  a  close  with  the  Creeks  still 
maintaining  successfully  their  policy  of  peace  with  all  the  white  nations, 
and  thereby  continuing  to  hold  the  balance  of  power  in  the  southwest. 

Meanwhile  Glen  was  pushing  his  plans  for  the  forts  that  were  to 
establish  English  control  of  the  Cherokee  country,  the  grand  design  which 
became  his  all-absorbing  ambition.  In  the  early  years  of  his  administration 
his  schemes,  like  those  of  the  previous  generation  of  Carolinians,  were 
directed  primarily  at  the  lower  Mississippi.'"  But  succeeding  events  turned 
him  more  and  more  to  the  Tennessee.  For  some  years  he  was  chiefly 
concerned  with  the  ancient  Carolina  problem  of  holding  the  Cherokee 
towns,  the  key  to  the  Indian  frontier  of  the  province,  but  by  1754  it  was 
no  mere  scheme  for  frontier  defense  that  the  governor  had  in  mind.  Boldly 
reversing  the  prevailing  thought  he  conceived  of  the  Cherokees  and  their 
land  as  the  key  to  the  Ohio  valley,  and  himself  as  the  proper  leader  of  an 
aggressive  movement  which  would  thwart  the  French  and  secure  the 
region  for  Great  Britain.  In  August  of  that  year  he  wrote  to  the  Secretary 
of  State  proposing  annexation  of  the  Cherokee  lands  and,  at  a  cost  to  the 
crown  or  the  colonies  of  twelve  thousand  pounds,  the  building  of  forts  that 
would  command  the  mouths  of  the  Wabash,  the  Tennessee  and  the  Ohio.''^ 

'^°JC,  May  27,  June  2,  4,  11,  16,  24,  1752;  Bosomworth's  journal  and  letters 
cover  pp.  23-149  of  Indian  Books,  III;  the  £317  due  him  (JCHA,  May  9,  1754)  was 
paid  in  1754— JCHA,  Feb.  10,  27,  28,  Mar.  1,  Apr.  16-18,  1753,  Jan.  16,  Feb.  1, 
Mar.  15,  1754.  For  the  Bosomworths  see  also  JUHA,  June  6,  1747,  JC,  May  3, 
1748,  May  31,  1753,  Crane,  Southern  Frontier,  pp.  260-261,  Col.  Recs.  of  Ga.,  VI, 
252-279,  Jones,  History  of  Ga.,  I,  384-399. 

^iJC,  May  28,  30,  31,  June  2,  14,  28,  July  4-7,  1753,  Aug.  19,  Sept.  1,  18,  20, 
1755,  Jan.  10,  12,  13,15,  19,  20,  1756 ;  JCHA,  Sept.  16,  18,  20,  22,  1755  ;  Indian  Books, 
III,  191-194,  V,  8,  60-75,  95;  Stats.,  IV,  19-20. 

^2  See  for  instance  his  letter  to  the  Board  of  Feb.  3,  1748  (PR,  XXIII,  77-78), 
which  proposed  two  forts  in  the  Chickasaw  and  Choctaw  tribes,  and  one  in  the 
upper  Cherokees.  Compare  with  this  the  proposals  of  a  member  of  the  council  and 
a  veteran  of  the  old  school,  John  Fenwicke,  in  his  representation  to  the  Board, 
Apr.  9,  1745   (above,  n.  18). 

^3  Aug.  15,  1754  (PR,  XXVI,  101-102)  ;  see  also  pp.  52-55  (Board  to  Sir  Thomas 
Robinson,  June  20,  1754),  and  JC,  June  1,  1754. 


206  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

Between  the  eager  imperialist  and  his  objective  there  lay,  in  air-line 
distances,  nearly  a  hundred  miles  of  unsettled  Carolina  piedmont,  over  a 
hundred  miles  of  the  highest  and  most  difficult  mountains  of  eastern 
America,  and  beyond  them  two  hundred  miles  more  of  Indian  country. 
The  practicable  routes  were  two  or  three  times  longer.  The  populous 
colonies  of  Virginia,  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania,  on  the  other  hand,  had 
settlements  separated  by  a  scant  two  hundred  miles  from  the  forks  of  the 
Ohio,  and  a  mountain  region  presenting  not  half  the  problems  of  the 
southern  Appalachians.  Probably  Glen  himself  had  misgivings  as  to  the 
possibility  of  controlling  the  Ohio  valley  from  South  Carolina,  for  he 
seldom  pressed  the  point.  Instead  his  immediate  and  constant  goal  came  to 
be  the  acquisition  for  the  British  empire  of  the  entire  country  claimed  by 
the  Cherokees,  stretching  north  and  northwest  quite  to  the  Ohio.  But  the 
mountains,  the  course  of  the  rivers,  and  the  position  of  the  Cherokees  made 
this  aim  scarcely  more  practicable  than  the  other. 

Nor  were  his  schemes  much  better  suited  to  the  problems  of  defense. 
The  obvious  policy  for  guarding  the  frontier  of  South  Carolina  was  a  fort 
in  the  Lower  Tow^ns  which  would  be  in  reach  from  the  settlements, 
standing  troops  of  rangers  for  pursuit  of  roving  bands  of  hostile  Indians,^* 
subsidies  of  ammunition  to  the  Cherokees  for  their  own  defense  against  the 
Indian  allies  of  the  French,  a  strictly  regulated  trade  which  might  keep 
the  Indians  fairly  satisfied  when  they  were  at  peace  with  the  English,  and 
suspension  of  the  trade  as  the  penalty  for  misdeeds.  Tying  the  shifting 
and  vacillating  assemblies  to  so  consistent  a  policy  and  maintaining  it 
amid  conflicting  interests  of  this  and  the  neighboring  colonies  would  have 
been  no  easy  task,  but  it  could  hardly  have  been  so  difficult  as  the  achieve- 
ments he  actually  effected. 

In  March  1750  Glen  informed  the  House  that  he  had  determined  to 
march  with  forty  men  of  the  independent  companies  to  the  Cherokee 
country  to  make  preparations  for  a  fort,  and  asked  the  Commons  to  provide 
for  tents,  tools  and  carriage  of  baggage.  On  the  slender  foundation  of  the 
House  resolution  of  1748 — a  resolution  hedged  about  with  conditions — 
and  the  crown  instruction  to  acquire  a  site  and  to  make  an  estimate  of 
expense,  he  was  probably  planning  to  begin  an  elaborate  plant  and  hoping 
that  crown  or  colony  would  finish  it.  The  Commons  in  obvious  suspicion 
asked  for  the  plans  and  orders  which  the  governor  had  drawn  up,  and 
finding  that  he  had  no  promise  from  the  crown  refused  to  consider  his  re- 
quest, proposing  instead  that  the  crown  build  and  garrison  a  fort  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  Cherokee  country  to  keep  out  the  enemy  Indians. 
Glen  made  the  application  to  the  crown  but  nothing  came  of  it.  The 
next  year,  however,  after  Cherokee  and  Northward  Indian  raids  in 
the  settlements,  a  conference  committee  recommended  a  fort  in  the  Lower 

''^  Compare  Glen's  letter  to  the  Board,  July  15,  1750   (PR,  XXIV,  69-72). 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  207 

Towns,  and  in  November  the  House  committed  itself  to  an  appropria- 
tion of  £428,  called  for  by  Glen's  estimate,  with  the  condition  that 
the  Cherokees  must  cede  all  their  lands  from  Long  Canes  to  Keowee  River, 
the  site  of  the  proposed  garrison/^ 

Glen  had  already  told  the  Indians  that  he  would  build  the  fort  in  the 
spring,  but  he  allowed  a  year  and  a  half  to  pass  before  making  any  move. 
Finally  in  August  1753  Beamer  and  three  other  traders  declared  that  if  the 
fort  were  not  built  the  Lower  Towns  would  move  over  the  mountains  that 
fall  for  fear  of  destruction  by  their  enemies,  and  the  council  advised  the 
governor  to  proceed  at  once.  Failing  to  get  men  at  the  Congarees,  he  went 
on  to  Ninety  Six  where  Francis  found  enough  laborers,  at  two  pounds  a 
month,  to  bring  his  party  to  about  one  hundred  men.  On  his  return  to 
Charleston  in  December  the  governor  produced  a  deed  for  the  land  on  which 
the  fort  had  been  built  and  a  strip  as  wide  as  the  fort  extending  to  the  Long 
Canes.'" 

In  March  Glen  made  a  report  to  the  assembly,  declaring  that  the 
building  of  the  fort  "really  cost  me  in  the  whole  upwards  of  five  thousand 
pounds"  (in  sterling  about  seven  hundred  pounds),  and  on  request  of 
the  Commons  for  an  account  of  the  expense,  declared  that  if  he  were  in  a 
private  station  he  would  not  consider  eight  thousand  pounds  currency 
adequate  recompense  for  his  trouble  and  expense.  Instead  of  accounts, 
however,  he  merely  referred  to  a  certificate  signed  by  two  captains  of  the 
independent  companies — his  own  subordinates — and  stated  that  if  the  Com- 
mons paid  the  amount  asked  he  would  deem  that  body  "not  only  just  but 
Generous."  A  motion  promptly  passed  appropriating  five  thousand  pounds 
currency  to  the  governor  "for  building  the  Fort  .  .  .  and  for  his  Excel- 
lencys  extraordinary  services  upon  that  occasion."  The  fort,  called  Fort 
Prince  George,  was  described  by  Glen  as  two  hundred  feet  square  with 
walls  and  ravelins  six  or  seven  feet  high;  the  former  were  reinforced  by 
earthen  embankments  above  a  ditch,  while  the  latter  were  made  of  lightwood 
posts.  On  the  east  side  of  the  Keowee,  it  lay  midway  of  the  narrow  bot- 
tom that  intervened  between  the  highland  and  the  river,  and  commanded 
the  ford  leading  to  the  town.'' 

No  better  move  could  have  been  made  for  strengthening  the  South 
Carolina  frontier  defense  than  the  building  of  the  Keowee  fort,  and  the 

■^5  JCHA,  Mar.  15-17,  May  31,  1750,  Nov.  23,  1751  (see  also  Jan.  25,  1752)  ;  PR, 
XXII,  277-278  (Glen  to  Board,  Apr.  28,  1747),  XXIII,  121-122,  148-151  (Board 
to  Council  committee,  and  recommendation  thereon,  June  9,  30,  1748),  XXIV,  69- 
78,  XXVI,  98  (Glen  to  Board,  July  15,  1750,  and  to  Robinson,  Aug.  15,  1754)  ; 
above,  pp.  195,  199. 

^«JCHA,  Jan.  25,  1752;  JC,  Aug.  7,  Dec.  14,  1753,  Apr.  13,  1754;  PR,  XXV, 
354-355  (Glen,  Oct.  25,  1753,  enclosed  with  his  of  same  date  to  Board)  ;  Indian 
Books,   IV,   83-84. 

''^  JCHA,  Mar.  7,  May  1,  10,  11,  1754.  See  description  of  the  fort  quoted  from 
PR,  XXVI,  106-109  (Glen  to  Board,  Aug.  26,  1754),  and  discussion  of  location, 
D.  D.  Wallace,  Life  of  Henry  Laurens   (New  York,  1915),  pp.  504-510. 


208  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

cost  was  properly  paid  by  the  province.  For  Glen,  however,  it  was  merely 
the  first  step  in  the  realization  of  his  plans,  and  he  urged  with  renewed 
vigor  his  proposal  of  an  Overhills  fort.  It  is  not  improbable  that  in  these 
schemes  Glen  hoped  to  duplicate  or  to  surpass  the  program  of  the  Ohio 
Company,  chartered  in  1749  for  trade  in  and  settlement  of  the  upper  Ohio 
valley.  The  development  of  that  company's  plans  and  the  approach  of  the 
French  and  Indian  war  now  hastened  a  new  clash  of  imperial  interests 
and  renewed  the  former  Virginia-Carolina  trade  rivalry.  In  securing  the 
approval  of  the  Ohio  Indians  for  the  operations  of  the  company  of  which  he 
was  a  member,  Lieutenant-Governor  Dinwiddie  held  a  series  of  confer- 
ences, gave  large  presents  which  were  provided  by  the  crown,  and  more 
and  more  essayed  leadership  in  Southern  Indian  affairs.  While  Glen  was 
building  Fort  Prince  George  the  council  received  a  letter  from  Dinwiddie 
saying  that  he  had  invited  the  Catawbas  and  Cherokees  to  a  general  Indian 
conference  the  following  May,  looking  to  defense  of  the  Ohio  country 
against  the  French.  The  councillors,  jealous  for  the  South  Carolina  au- 
thority over  the  Indians,  and  evidently  thinking  they  smelt  the  rat  of 
Virginia  intrusion  in  the  Southern  Indian  trade,  replied  that  invitations  to 
these  Indians  would  best  come  through  the  South  Carolina  government.^^ 
On  his  return  Glen  was  equally  non-committal,  contenting  himself  with  a 
vague  proposal  to  the  assembly  for  a  "confederacy"  of  the  colonies.  This 
plan  contemplated  conferences  for  present  and  future  emergencies,  but  the 
governor  seems  to  have  paid  no  attention  to  the  Albany  Congress,  appointed 
for  June  1754.^' 

Meanwhile  reports  from  the  Cherokees  showed  a  growing  unrest  in 
that  tribe,  due  in  part  to  abuses  in  the  Indian  trade.  Ludovick  Grant  in 
March  1755  declared  that  the  nation  as  a  whole  had  come  to  hate  the 
South  Carolina  traders  because  of  mismanagement  and  cheating  and  the 
extravagant  credit  given  to  the  warriors,  who  were  now  ready  for  any 

■^^  See  Dinwiddie's  letters  of  Nov.  8,  1752,  May  23,  Oct.  25,  1753  (JC,  Dec.  19, 
1752,  June  13,  Nov.  12,  1753),  and  PR,  XXV,  70-74  (Glen  to  Board,  July  27, 
1752),  JC,  Nov.  19,  1751,  Sept.  1,  1752,  Nov.  12,  1753,  JCHA,  Nov.  23,  1751.  See 
also  Hayes  Baker-Crothers,  Virginia  and  the  French  and  Indian  War  (Chicago, 
1928),  ch.  I  and  pp.  43-44,  and  W.  N.  Franklin,  "Virginia  and  the  Cherokee 
Indian  Trade,  1673-1752,  1753-1775",  East  Tennessee  Historical  Society's  Pub- 
lications, 1932,   1933. 

^^JC,  Feb.  28,  June  1,  Aug.  1,  1754,  JCHA,  Mar.  5,  9,  May  2,  10,  11,  1754. 
In  March  the  crown  ordered  one  of  the  independent  companies  to  Virginia;  ac- 
cordingly a  hundred  men  were  sent  with  Capt.  James  Mackay  and  Peter  Mercier, 
commander  of  the  Congaree  garrison,  lieutenant.  Mercier  was  killed  at  Great 
Meadows— see  JCHA,  Feb.  20,  1753,  Indian  Books,  V,  1-4,  A.  S.  Salley,  The  Inde- 
pendent Company  from  South  Carolina  at  Great  Meadoivs  (Columbia,  1932). 
For  the  charges  and  counter-charges  of  Glen  and  Dinwiddie,  see  PR,  XXVI,  84— 
105  (Aug.  15,  1754),  JC,  Aug.  1,  20,  1754,  JCHA,  Sept.  3,  6,  1754.  _  The  instruc- 
tions to  the  Cherokees  to  stay  at  home,  complained  of  by  Dinwiddie,  came  from 
the  traders,  who  took  their  cue  from  the  desires,  express  or  implied,  of  the 
governor  and  council — see,  for  instances,  JC,  Apr.  13,  June  20,  1754  (letters  of 
Sgt.  Harrison,  commanding  Fort  Prince   George,   and   James  Beamer). 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  209 

measure,  however  desperate,  which  might  relieve  them  of  their  debts/" 
Even  more  alarming  was  the  uneasiness  among  the  Overhill  towns  because 
of  their  exposure  to  the  attacks  of  the  Shawnees  or  "French  Indians".  The 
most  impressive  of  these  letters  or  "talks"  to  the  governor  were  those  sent 
by  Connocortee  of  Chotee,  "Old  Hop",  as  the  traders  called  the  lame  old 
chieftain,  at  this  time  the  most  influential  man  in  the  Cherokees.  The 
danger  in  this  situation  was  brought  nearer  home  by  the  murder  in 
September  1754  of  the  families  of  John  Guttery  and  a  neighbor  and  of 
several  travellers,  in  all  sixteen  or  seventeen.  This  occurred  on  Buffalo 
Creek,  near  the  border  of  North  and  South  Carolina  as  later  surveyed, 
but  then  supposed  to  be  in  the  northern  province.  The  bodies,  piled  with 
hogs  and  fowls  killed  by  the  Indians,  were  found  by  a  couple  who  had 
gone  forty  miles  to  be  married  and  were  returning  to  the  waiting  Guttery 
household.  The  panic-stricken  discoverers  remained  only  long  enough  to 
throw  the  bodies  in  a  well.  The  Commons  House  in  January  provided 
for  a  troop  of  rangers  and  a  reward  of  four  and  a  half  pounds  for  any 
white  man  or  friendly  Indian  bringing  in  the  scalp  of  an  Indian  found  com- 
mitting violence  to  person  or  property  in  the  province.  Glen  gave  orders  for 
raising  the  troop  but  questioned  the  statement  of  the  House  that  there  was 
evidence  that  the  murders  were  done  by  "our  Insiduous  friends  the  Chero- 
kees", and  remarked  that  offering  scalp  rewards  in  this  manner  was  a 
good  way  to  start  a  war.  He  accordingly  refused  to  issue  the  proclama- 
tion.^^ 

At  this  point  Glen's  plans  advanced  a  step  nearer  realization,  for 
there  was  put  at  his  disposal  for  building  the  Overhills  fort  a  thousand 
pounds  of  the  crown  funds  in  Governor  Dinwiddie's  hands.  Unable  at 
the  moment  to  commit  the  Commons  to  an  increase  of  the  sum,  he  never- 
theless undertook  to  get  from  the  Cherokees  authority  to  build  the  fort. 
In  May  1755  the  Little  Carpenter  was  coaxed  to  town  with  thirty-two 
other  Cherokees,  but  despite  an  unprecedented  amount  of  presents,  nothing 
conclusive  was  said  or  done,  and  the  governor  found  that  he  must  confer 
with  Old  Hop.  Accordingly  in  June  he  set  out  accompanied  by  the  troop 
of  rangers,  about  fifty  men  from  the  independent  companies,  and  a  few 
volunteers.  When  he  reached  the  Congarees  he  found  that  the  Cherokees 
were  meeting  him  at  Saluda,  seven  hundred  strong.  From  the  out  settle- 
ments therefore  the  governor  raised  his  force  to  five  hundred  men.  The 
permission  for  building  the  fort  became  a  mere  incident  of  this  colorful 
meeting,  for  Glen  here  put  in  effect  his  cherished  plan  to  have  the  Cherokees 
cede  all  their  lands  to  the  king.  Since  there  was  no  way  to  assert  control 
over  the  territory  the  transaction  meant  little  save  an  excuse   for  more 

^"Indian  Books,  V,  41-47;  see  also  pp.  48-59,  80-82,  85-88. 

^MC,  Apr.  24,  June  20,  Aug.  1,  Oct.  1,  19,  1754;  Indian  Books,  V,  20-21;  Col. 
Recs.  of  N.  C,  V,  140;  JCHA,  Jan.  22,  25,  Feb.  6,  7,  Mar.  1,  5,  1755;  above,  p. 
123. 


210  The  Expansioji  of  South  Carolina 

presents.  The  conference  seems  to  have  been  given  over  almost  entirely  to 
such  vaporings.^" 

The  gifts  to  the  Cherokees  exhausted  the  royal  store  and  Glen  bought 
£355  worth  on  his  own  credit.  He  asked  reimbursement  by  the  Commons 
of  this  amount,  and  said  that  for  repayment  of  further  expenditures  he 
would  apply  to  the  crown;  the  House  accordingly  paid  the  bill.  In  1761 
Glen  declared  that  at  one  time  or  another  he  had  spent  five  thousand 
pounds  and  more  in  the  public  service,  but  that  if  the  Commons  would 
pay  him  £1,084  he  would  renounce  further  claims.  This  time  he  was 
paid  £500  as  a  final  settlement.  The  Board  of  Trade  recommended  that 
the  crown  pay  the  remainder,  but  apparently  it  was  never  done.^' 

The  Saluda  conference  was  ill-timed  for  the  Ohio  campaign,  for  on 
June  10th  Braddock  left  Fort  Cumberland  to  essay  the  wilderness,  and 
on  July  9th  his  force  was  destroyed.  Dinwiddie  wrote  Glen  later  in  the 
month  that  the  Cherokees  and  Catawbas  sent  him  a  message  that  they 
could  not  keep  their  promise  to  aid  him  because  Glen  had  summoned  them 
to  a  meeting;  otherwise,  he  said,  they  might  have  saved  the  day.  The 
Cherokees  were  not  a  warlike  tribe  and  in  their  present  wavering  allegiance 
it  is  extremely  doubtful  if  they  would  have  been  of  use  in  an  expedition  so 
far  from  their  nation.  The  governor's  only  effective  defense,  however,  was 
that  the  Cherokees  would  not  go  to  war  to  the  northward  with  their 
Overhill  towns  exposed  to  their  Indian  enemies,  a  situation  due,  he  pointed 
out,  to  Dinwiddie's  parsimony  in  remitting  only  a  thousand  pounds  of  the 
crown  money  for  their  defense.  Glen's  contention  was  supported  by  the 
application  of  the  Little  Carpenter  the  following  December  in  which  he 
demanded  the  building  of  the  Overhills  fort,  declaring  that  the  Cherokees 
were  in  grave  danger  of  destruction  the  next  spring  by  the  French  and 
their  Indians.^* 

On  the  advice  of  the  council  Glen  assured  the  chieftain  that  a  force 
would  be  in  the  nation  by  April  to  build  the  fort,  and  in  January  set  the 
Cherokee  situation  and  his  promise  before  the  Commons.  The  House 
voted  a  thousand  pounds,  "not  doubting"  its  being  refunded  by  the  crown, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  session  resolved  to  add  another  thousand  to  the 
amount,  but  here  a  quarrel  with  the  council  or  Upper  House  caused  a 
deadlock.  Glen  sent  John  Pearson  in  advance  to  report  on  supplies  in  the 
Indian  country  and  to  select  a  site  for  the  fort.    In  May  he  set  out  himself, 

82  JCHA,  Mar.  7,  12,  13,  1755;  PR,  XXVII,  41-73  (Glen  to  Board,  Apr.  14,  1756, 
and  enclosures)  ;  JC,  May  21,  22,  June  6,  Aug.  29,  1755;  Indian  Books,  V,  48,  51-59. 
See  also  the  account  of  the  meeting  in  Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  V,  359-360.  In 
February  Glen  vetoed  a  bill  for  the  defense  of  the  American  colonies  providing 
for  an  issue  of  £40,000  currency,  equal  to  about  £5,700  sterling,  to  be  retired  in 
seven  years  by  annual  taxes   (JCHA,  Jan.  14,  17,  21,  Feb.  1,  1755). 

»=*JCHA,  Mar.  20,  1756,  Mar.  22,  May  14,  1757  (account  of  John  McQueen), 
Apr.  29,  May  1,  8,  1761;  PR,  XXIX,  228-233  (report  of  Board,  May  27,  1762); 
Wallace,  History  of  S.  C,  II,  13,  n.  39. 

8*JC,  Aug.  12,  29,  Sept.  17,  Nov.  26,  Dec.  6,  8,   1755,  Indian  Books,  V,  53-59. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  211 

but  was  not  allowed  to  put  into  effect  his  cherished  plan.  On  June  1st, 
a  little  more  than  a  week  after  he  left  town,  his  successor  William  Henry 
Lyttelton  arrived  in  Charleston.®^ 

Thus  ended  Glen's  long  administration.     In  domestic  affairs,  by  reason 
of  his  considerable   ability  and  wide   range  of  information,   his  essential 
integrity  and  sincere  devotion  to  the  public  service,  he  made  an  excellent 
record.     But  in  his  chosen  role  of  imperialist  his  success  was  indifferent. 
With  his  eye  on  far  horizons  he  tried  to  use  both  the  Indian  tribes  and  the 
province  for  purposes  which  often  were  not  calculated  to  solve  the  im- 
mediate problems  of  either.     Master  of  neither  force  nor  money,  he  usually 
attempted  to  manoeuver  the  Commons  House  into  such  positions  that  it 
must  needs  carry  out  his  designs,  while  to  win  the  Indians  to  his  ends  he 
resorted  to  conciliation.    The  representatives  of  the  colony,  finding  that  he 
did  not  deal  with  them  frankly,  suspected  his  motives  and  often  thwarted 
him.     The  contempt  of  the  Indians  for  the  South  Carolina  government, 
which  had  so  much  to  do  with  the  disaster  of  the  Cherokee  War,  was  to  a 
real  degree  the  result  of  tame  submission  to  the  insults  of  Creek  and  Chero- 
kee embassies  and  to  the  grotesque  deviltries  of  the  wandering  parties  of 
Shawnees   and    Iroquois.      Fort   Prince   George   was   the   governor's   best 
frontier  achievement,  but  the  projected  Overhills  fort,  later  known  as  Fort 
Loudoun,  was  no  credit  to  him  or  to  anyone  else  associated  with  him  in  the 
enterprise.     In  the  imperial  game  some  risks  must  be  run,  but  the  establish- 
ment of  a  fort  which  could  not  possibly  survive  a  real  quarrel  with  the 
Cherokees  and  French  was  an  inexcusable  blunder — inexcusable  because 
the  nature  of  the  country  and  the  position  of  the  Cherokees  were  notorious. 
The  service  of  the  fort  in  keeping  the  Cherokees  from  going  over  to  the 
French  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  under  pressure  of  French  bribes  and 
the  attacks  of  Indian  enemies,  was  a  real  but  hardly  important  factor  in  the 
contest.     In  the  main  the  Cherokees  were  not  formidable  fighters  and  it  is 
doubtful  if  their  attitude  would  have  mattered  in  the  war  as  a  whole.    The 
fact  was  that  the  French  no  more  than  the  English  were  in  position  to 
take  the  aggressive  in  the  southwest ;  therefore  neither  the  Cherokee  nor 
the  South  Carolina  frontier  had  any  important  relation  to  the  war,  and  the 
problems  throughout  the  struggle  were  local. 

S5JC,  Dec.  17,  1755,  Feb.  16,  June  2,  1756;  JCHA,  Jan.  23,  Feb.  3,  4,  7,  Apr.  9, 
1756;  SCG,  May  22,  1756,  PR,  XXVII,  105-107  (Lyttelton  to  Board,  June  19, 
1756). 


CAda|ji:e-dLfvouv 


Th\eBfi\CK  Country  In 
The  Cherokee  War 

a   GayrUoried  Fort  s 
o   IvLdiatv  Totw  Tvj 


CHAPTER  XV 

The  Cherokee  War 

Governor  Lyttelton  profited  by  the  flattering  reputation  which  had 
preceded  him  and  the  reh'ef  of  most  of  the  province  at  being  rid  of  Glen. 
He  promptly  called  the  assembly,  and  pointed  out  to  the  Commons  House 
the  great  need  for  appropriations  for  the  Cherokee  fort.  When  the  House 
repeated  its  resolution  for  a  loan  of  tvi^o  thousand  pounds  to  the  crown  he 
called  attention  to  an  instruction  which  seemed  to  forbid  his  approving 
such  an  appropriation.  Upon  this  the  Commons  made  the  appropriation 
without  condition,  and,  generous  beyond  precedent,  doubled  the  amount.^ 

Lyttelton  recalled  Glen  and  reorganized  his  expedition.  The  force, 
consisting  of  two  companies  of  provincials  serving  under  regulations  of 
regular  troops  and  about  eighty  soldiers  from  the  independent  companies, 
in  all  about  two  hundred  men,  reached  Tomotley  in  the  Overhill  towns  on 
October  1st.  John  Pearson,  sent  ahead  by  Glen,  had  selected  a  site  which 
was  evidently  on  fairly  level  ground,  but  when  the  engineer,  William 
Gerard  De  Brahm,  also  appointed  by  Glen,  arrived  he  declared  the  spot 
commanded  from  three  separate  nearby  heights.  Amid  bitter  differences 
and  quarrels  with  the  officers  De  Brahm  proceeded  to  lay  out  the  lines  of 
the  fort;  it  was  completed  in  the  summer  of  1757  by  the  commander. 
Captain  Raymond  Demere,  formerly  in  command  at  Frederica  in  Georgia. 
The  twelve  guns  for  it,  weighing  three  hundred  pounds  apiece,  were 
brought  over  the  mountain  passes  by  the  energetic  and  resourceful  trader 
John  Elliott.^ 

About  a  mile  above  the  junction  of  Tellico  River  with  the  Little 
Tennessee  a  narrow  ridge  extends  from  the  higher  ground  toward  the 
latter  stream,  ending  in  a  blufif  fifty  feet  or  more  above  the  river.  A 
hundred  yards  back  of  this  point  a  deep  ditch,  still  plainly  marked,  was  cut 

1  JCHA,  June  18,  22,  23,  25,  29,  30,  July  1,  1756. 

2  PR,  XXVH,  126,  (Lyttelton  to  Board,  July  19,  1756),  Indian  Books,  V,  194, 
241-247,  249-253,  272-283,  290-294,  368,  375-379,  VI,  74-78.  P.  M.  Hamer,  "Anglo- 
French  Rivalry  in  the  Cherokee  Country,  1754-1757",  North  Carolina  Historical 
Review,  July  1925,  notes  the  location  of  the  fort,  and  quotes  De  Brahm's  technical 
description  of  it,  which  is  likewise  given  in  Williams,  Early  Travels,  pp.  187-194. 
See  also  Memoirs  of  Henry  Timberlake  (London,  1765),  "Draught  of  the  Chero- 
kee Country".  As  the  expedition  reached  its  destination  a  force  of  Virginians 
was  preparing  to  depart,  having  constructed  a  small  log  fort  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river.  This  was  to  carry  out  a  pledge  of  the  Virginia  government  made  to 
win  the  allegiance  of  the  Cherokees;  it  was  not  garrisoned  (Indian  Books,  V,  173, 
JC,  Mar.  29,  1756).    For  Demere,  see  JC,  Mar.  16,  1756. 

213 


214  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

through  the  ridge  to  defend  it  against  the  slowly  rising  ground  beyond. 
On  the  steep  face  overhanging  the  river  the  rocks  aided  in  making  the 
various  works  for  commanding  the  wide  stream,  while  on  the  south  or  up- 
stream side  other  intrenchments,  still  to  be  seen,  overlooked  the  level  ground 
which  De  Brahm  included  in  the  fort.^  It  is  easy  to  understand  the  mysti- 
fication and  anger  of  the  officers  at  seeing  a  fort  placed  on  two  levels,  with 
the  higher  ground  itself  the  lower  end  of  a  ridge.  But  the  engineer  was 
doubtless  directing  his  chief  attention  to  guarding  the  river  against  passage 
of  armed  boats  and  the  event  proved  that  the  deep  ditches,  locust  hedges  and 
other  defenses  were  sufficient  protection  against  land  attacks. 

De  Brahm  later  declared  that  he  pointed  out  to  Glen  in  advance  that  a 
garrison  cut  off  from  supplies  and  relief  by  "impregnable  defiles"  could 
"but  be  accounted  a  hostage  and  sacrifice  to  a  formidable  and  savage 
nation".  The  route  to  which  he  referred  was  the  easier,  though  longer 
one,  through  the  Tellico  and  Hiwassee  valleys.  By  this  way  Fort  Loudoun 
was  about  150  miles  from  Fort  Prince  George,  and  that  in  turn,  by  traders' 
estimates,  300  from  Charleston.*  Indeed,  the  only  practicable  military 
route  from  Fort  Loudoun  to  the  English  settlements  was  that  through  the 
Great  Valley  to  distant  Virginia,  a  colony  which  had  no  responsibility  for 
the  fort,  nor  any  considerable  commercial  connection  with  the  Overhill 
Cherokee  towns.  In  the  ensuing  war  with  the  Cherokees  two  British 
expeditions  of  a  thousand  men  or  more  each  stopped  in  the  Middle  Settle- 
ments, without  attempting  the  major  difficulties  of  the  path,  and  in  the 
Revolution  North  and  South  Carolina  forces  amounting  to  five  thousand 
men  confined  their  work  to  the  middle  towns  and  the  Hiwassee  valley, 
leaving  to  a  Virginia  detachment  the  task  of  penetrating  the  Great  Valley 
to  the  Overhill  towns.  Modern  highways  through  the  region  only  add 
force  to  De  Brahm's  remarks. 

The  fort  was  obviously  intended  to  control  the  Cherokees  as  well  as 
to  protect  them,  and  Captain  Demere  soon  reported  great  unrest  in  the 
towns,  even  among  the  warriors  formerly  well  affected  towards  the  Eng- 
lish, as  the  French  played  upon  their  fears  of  losing  their  lands.^  In 
November  a  delegation  from  Tellico,  the  most  exposed  and  disaffected 
town,  made  a  treaty  with  the  French  governor  at  New  Orleans,  and  during 
the  year  the  French  founded  Fort  Massac  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee.'^ 
The  South  Carolina  government,  beset  now  with  war-time  problems,  did 
nothing  about  the  Indian  trade  and  complaints  and  feeling  against  the 
traders  became  bitter.     Soldiers  and  officers  from  the  two  forts  had  their 

^  The  description  is  from  notes  taken  by  J.  H.  Easterby  and  the  writer,  June  5, 
1936. 

*  Williams,  Early  Travels,  pp.  189-190,  Salley,  George  Hunter's  Map. 

^  Indian  Books,  V,  229-230,  272-283. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  6;  photostat  of  treaty  obtained  by  Professor  D.  D.  Wallace  (see 
History  of  S.  C,  II,  15,  n.  43),  Library  of  Congress.  See  JCHA,  Apr.  1,  1757, 
for  reference  to  this  treaty. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  215 

part  in  the  growing  Cherokee  hostility/  as  did  some  of  the  new  arrivals  in 
the  South  Carolina  back  country.     Undesirable  immigrants  now  appeared       v 
wandering  about  the  frontier  settlements  or  among  the  Indian  towns,  and      /" 
in  December  1757  four  Cherokees  were  killed  and  scalped  near  the  Little      I 
Saluda.    The  Indians  in  turn  burned  houses  and  stole  horses,  and  for  their       ) 
excuse  pointed  to  the  encroachments  on  their  lands.®  t^ 

Old  Hop  and  the  Little  Carpenter,  the  two  most  influential  men  of  the 
nation,  the  one  declining,  the  other  ambitiously  striving  to  increase  his 
power,  tried  hard  to  steer  themselves  and  their  people  safely  through  these 
troubled  waters.  Connocortee,  old,  clever,  grim  and  elusive,  held  to  the 
English  trade,  but  could  not  conceal  an  abiding  fondness  for  the  French 
and  their  presents.  The  Carpenter,  however,  showed  plainly  that  whatever 
the  French  offers  and  the  Cherokee  drift,  in  his  judgment  the  English  were 
the  stronger  and  the  Cherokees  must  befriend  them.  Occasionally  he  went 
to  war  against  the  French  or  the  Indians  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee  or 
on  the  Mississippi.®  But  the  situation  was  full  of  peril  for  white  man  or 
red,  and  the  demands  of  the  war  soon  brought  up  new  and  graver  problems. 

In  1755  the  assembly  provided  six  thousand  pounds  for  the  general 
North  American  defense,  five-sixths  of  the  amount  being  issued  in  bills 
which  were  to  be  retired  in  five  years,  but  the  next  year  the  Commons  was 
content  to  regard  the  four  thousand  pounds  appropriated  for  the  building 
of  Fort  Loudoun  as  its  contribution.  In  1757  Pitt  called  upon  the  south- 
ern colonies  to  raise  forces  for  the  defense  of  the  southern  frontier, 
promising  that  the  crown  would  arm,  equip  and  feed  the  troops.  Accord- 
ingly in  July  the  assembly  passed  an  act  appropriating  nearly  twenty-three 
thousand  pounds  in  bills,  chiefly  for  raising  a  regiment  of  seven  companies 
of  a  hundred  men  each.  Two  of  these  companies  were  to  consist  of  the 
garrisons  at  Forts  Loudoun,  Prince  George  and  Johnson,  the  remaining 
five  represented  the  quota  of  men  for  service  outside  the  province  as  de- 
termined at  the  Philadelphia  conference  held  by  Lord  Loudoun,  the  com- 
mander-in-chief. The  pay  of  the  privates  was  set  at  six  pence  a  day.  But 
the  regiment  was  recruited  so  slowly  that  by  the  following  summer  it 
had  only  four  hundred  men,  most  of  them,  so  Lyttelton  said,  enlisted  from 
the  back  country.    James  Francis,  however,  in  a  tour  through  the  Tyger 

^Indian  Books,  V,  194-196;  see  also  pp.  106-107,  and  JC,  Feb.  2,  1757.  Note 
the  convincing  statement  of  the  captive  Cherokee  vyarrior  in  1760  on  the  abuse  of 
the  Indians  by  drunken  officers  from  Fort  Prince  George,  and  on  ill  usage  by  the 
traders   (JC,  June  20,  1760). 

^SCG,  Sept.  22,  1759,  Indian  Books,  V,  365-366,  VI,  99,  103,  123,  128,  131,  JC, 
Feb.  2,  9,  17,  Dec.  14,  1757. 

^Indian  Books,  V,  245-246,  VI,  57-66,  114-115;  JC,  Apr.  10,  1758.  A  reward 
of  about  five  pounds  in  goods  offered  by  the  Commons  in  1757  for  the  scalp  of 
any  white  man  or  Indian  in  the  French  interest  taken  in  the  Cherokee  towns, 
though  offered  to  please  the  Cherokees,  caused  more  trouble  (JCHA,  Feb.  3,  4, 
1757,  Indian  Books,  VI,  49-52,  68-74). 


216  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

and  Enoree  region  got  only  a  dozen  recruits.^"  One  means  of  very  doubt- 
ful value,  used  on  Lyttelton's  suggestion,  was  an  act  ordering  the  justices 
of  the  peace  to  take  up  all  vagrants  and  put  them  in  the  regiment.  It  is 
not  surprising  that  one  of  the  companies  on  the  march  in  1759  to  the 
garrisons  in  the  Indian  country  should  have  lost  a  fifth  of  its  number  by 
desertion  before  it  reached  Ninety  Six/^ 

The  fact  that  Loudoun  had  spoken  well  of  the  service  of  the  Cherokees 
in  the  1757  campaign  caused  the  Commons  in  1758  to  divert  nearly  three 
thousand  pounds  of  the  regiment  fund  to  pay  all  expenses  of  a  party  of 
those  warriors  to  be  sent  to  Virginia.  It  was  an  unlucky  move,  as  the 
event  proved.  A  draft  from  the  militia  to  fill  the  regiment,  proposed  by 
the  governor  in  1758,  the  House  considered  unconstitutional;  the  next 
year  the  Commons  declared  the  burden  of  the  regiment  too  great,  and 
resolved  to  provide  for  only  three  hundred  men,  who  should,  with  the 
independent  companies,  serve  for  the  immediate  protection  of  the 
province.^" 

The  plan  of  1758  to  equip  five  hundred  or  a  thousand  Cherokees  for 
service  was  prosecuted  with  vigor  by  the  Virginia  and  South  Carolina 
governments,  and  five  hundred  warriors  set  out  for  the  Virginia  frontier, 
besides  two  hundred  others  who  went  down  the  Tennessee  River.  During 
the  spring  months,  however,  a  succession  of  letters  and  affidavits  showed 
how  well  these  Indians  had  studied  the  lessons  of  the  Shawnees  and 
Iroquois.  Cherokee  plunderings  in  southwest  Virginia  brought  about 
clashes  with  the  militia  and  settlers  there  in  which  thirty  warriors  were 
reported  slain.^^ 

Lyttelton,  asked  by  Lieutenant-Governor  Fauquier  to  make  up  the 
affair  with  the  Cherokees,  threatened  the  Indians  if  they  persisted  in  their 
bad  behavior,  and  at  the  same  time  promised  presents  sufficient  to  satisfy  the 
relatives  of  the  slain  provided  the  warriors  seeking  revenge  were  recalled. 
The  Cherokee  situation  had  meanwhile  been  further  complicated  by  the 
Little  Carpenter  who  joined  the  expedition  of  General  Forbes  on  his 
slow  march  upon  Fort  DuQuesne.  Two  days  before  the  army  reached 
the  fort  the  Carpenter  and  his  party  deserted,  were  brought  back  and  dis- 
armed by  Forbes  and  dismissed  in  disgrace.  Serious  as  was  the  offense 
the  South  Carolina  government  could  not  afford  to  make  an  enemy  of  the 
little  Napoleon,  and  Lyttelton,  on  the  council's  advice,  solemnly  forgave 

^^  Stats.,  IV,  18-19,  45,  JCHA,  June  22,  24,  1757;  JC,  July  12,  1757;  PR,  XXVII. 
349-352  (Circular  letter  Dec.  30,  1757),  XXVIII,  105-106  (Lyttelton  to  Admiral 
Boscawen,  Aug.  22,  1758;  see  also  his  to  Board  and  Pitt,  Nov.  30,  1757,  Aug.  7, 
1758,  XXVII,  332,  XXVIII,  47-48);  Indian  Books,  VI,  104-105.  In  July  1759 
there  were  386  men  in  the  regiment  (JCHA,  July  7,  1759),  although  at  one  time  it 
had   500. 

"  JC,  Sept.  17,  1759,  JCHA,  Apr.  28,  May  2,  3,  1758,  Stats..  IV,  51-52. 

i-JCHA,  Mar.  17,  18,  Apr.  28,  May  2,  3,  1758,  July  5,  7,  9,  1759. 

13  JCHA,  Mar.  17,  18,  1758,  JC,  Mar.  13,  14,  May  12,  1758,  Indian  Books,  VI, 
137-139,  153-162,  PR,  XXVIII,  79-82   (Lyttelton  to  Board,  Oct.  2,  1758). 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  217 

him.  But  all  efforts  at  conciliation  failed  to  make  up  the  breach,  and  in 
the  last  days  of  April  Cherokees,  chiefly  from  the  town  of  Settico  near 
Fort  Loudoun,  fell  upon  the  North  Carolina  settlers  on  the  Yadkin  and 
Catawba  and  killed  and  scalped  fourteen.  At  the  same  time  three  more 
scalps  were  taken  on  upper  Broad  River,  apparently  by  warriors  from 
Eastatoe,  one  of  the  Lower  Towns.  When  the  commander  of  Fort  Prince 
George,  in  accordance  with  Governor  Lyttelton's  orders,  stopped  the 
passage  of  ammunition  to  the  Overhills  there  was  a  general  outburst  from 
the  offended  towns,  and  their  traders  fled  to  Fort  Prince  George,  few  of 
them  carrying  anything  whatever  with  them.  The  Lower  Towns  con- 
ferred with  the  Creeks,  expecting  aid  from  them  and  French  ammunition 
and  goods  from  the  Alabama  fort.^* 

Although  in  every  division  of  the  Cherokees  were  to  be  found  warriors 
who  had  struck  some  blow  at  the  whites,  of  the  Lower  Towns  only  could 
it  be  said  that  the  greater  part  were  hostile ;  in'  the  rest  of  the  nation  per- 
haps only  Settico  and  Tellico  were  inveterate  in  their  enmity.  There  was 
little  complaint  to  make  of  the  Valley  which  had  a  tradition  of  warm 
friendship  for  the  English,  and  from  the  Middle  Settlements  the  "Round 
O"  of  Sticoe  in  September  1759  led  a  large  delegation  of  headmen  to  the 
Lower  Towns  to  threaten  them  into  good  behavior.  In  this  situation  lay 
the  only  hope  of  arresting  the  drift  toward  war.  In  times  past  surprising 
success  had  attended  the  efforts  of  those  bold  and  capable  agents  who  had 
executed  their  missions  in  the  heart  of  the  Indian  nations,  and,  as  James 
Adair  pointed  out  years  later,  the  divisions  among  the  Cherokees  invited 
such  an  embassy.  But  when  the  clumsy  diplomacy  of  the  commanders  of 
the  forts  as  well  as  the  negotiations  in  the  conferences  at  Charleston 
failed,  the  new  governor  was  not  inclined  to  further  talk.  Glen  had 
been  too  pacific ;  Lyttelton  now  proved  rash.^^ 

With  his  council  the  governor  took  stock  of  the  situation.  Fort 
Loudoun,  now  under  Captain  Paul  Demere,  brother  of  Raymond,  had 
scanty  supplies  of  food  and  only  132  men,  while  Fort  Prince  George  had 
93  under  Lieutenant  Richard  Coytmore.  On  the  other  hand  the  traders 
had  never  been  more  active,  and  the  nation  was  full  of  goods,  one  Charles- 
ton firm  having  sent  in  the  last  year  nearly  £5,000  worth  of  goods  besides 
presents.  John  McQueen  said  he  had  sent  2,000  pounds  of  ammunition 
to  the  traders  since  the  first  of  June  with  orders  for  much  more.  Lyttel- 
ton  at  once  ordered   a  detachment  of   seventy  men   from   the   provincial 

"PR,  XXVIII,  226-230,  247-248,  257-260  (Lyttelton  to  Board,  Oct.  16,  1759, 
and  Coytmore  to  him,  Aug.  3,  and  Sept.  26,  enclosed  with  his  of  Sept.  1,  and  Oct. 
16);  JC,  July4,  Nov.  1,  7,  8,  14,  16,  1758,  Apr.  7,  1759;  Indian  Books,  VI,  181-185; 
SCG,  July  14,  Aug.  4,  25,  Sept.  22,  Oct.  6,  1759. 

^^SCG,  Sept.  22,  1759,  Adair,  American  Indians,  pp.  248-249.  Note  Lyttelton's 
proposal  for  an  attack,  in  the  spring  of  1759,  upon  the  Alabama  fort  with  a  force  of 
2,000  men  to  be  drawn  from  the  garrisons  and  the  militia  (PR,  XXVIII,  94-100, 
Lyttelton  to  Pitt,  Nov.  4,  1758). 


218  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

troops  to  Fort  Loudoun  under  Captain  John  Stuart,  later  superintendent 
of  southern  Indian  affairs,  but  it  was  a  month  before  Stuart  was  able  to 
get  farther  than  Fort  Prince  George.  At  Fort  Loudoun  Captain  Demere 
helped  himself  by  killing  and  salting  all  his  cattle,  seventy  head,  and  got  in 
all  the  corn  he  had  planted.  The  Commons  in  July  had  provided  two 
troops  of  rangers  until  the  first  of  November,  but  Lyttelton — perhaps  the 
council  also — was  already  planning  recourse  to  arms  on  a  far  larger  scale. ^® 

The  news  of  more  Cherokee  outbreaks  reached  the  governor  on  the 
last  day  of  September.  The  next  day  he  met  the  council,  five  members 
attending  including  the  younger  William  Bull,  and  laid  the  problem  before 
them.  The  council  advised  him  to  send  orders  to  the  three  colonels  of  the 
middle  and  back  country  militia  to  assemble  their  regiments  and  to  draft 
and  hold  half  the  men  for  further  orders.  They  further  advised  him  to 
call  on  the  Catawbas,  Chickasaws  and  Creeks  for  aid,  to  have  all  but 
twenty  of  the  troops  in  Charleston  ready  to  march,  and  to  apply  to  Virginia 
to  reinforce  and  supply  Fort  Loudoun  by  way  of  the  Holston  River. 
These  recommendations  had  been  put  in  effect  by  the  time  the  assembly 
met,  according  to  call,  on  the  fifth.  The  governor  recounted  his  moves 
and  plans  and  earnestly  urged  the  Commons  to  make  provision  for  pay- 
ment of  the  militia,  for  purchase  of  half  a  dozen  one-pounder  field  guns 
which  could  be  carried  over  the  Cherokee  mountains,  and  for  a  small 
fort  in  the  Catawbas  which  would  enable  those  warriors  to  serve  with  the 
expedition.  He  pointed  out  that  the  militia  law  empowered  him  to  impress 
supplies,  but  that  provision  for  speedy  payment  would  make  the  process 
much  easier.  He  announced  that  he  would  himself  command  the  expedi- 
tion." 

Drastic  as  was  Lyttelton's  exercise  of  his  authority  in  drafting  the 
militia  for  an  expedition  to  the  frontier  and  perhaps  across  the  mountains, 
the  House  promptly  approved  it;  the  proposal  to  pay  the  men  for  the 
service,  a  provision  not  in  the  militia  acts,  doubtless  made  it  more  palatable 
to  the  assembly  as  well  as  to  the  men  themselves.  A  committee  submitted 
a  report  with  thirty  recommendations  including  provision  for  a  force  of 
fifteen  hundred  with  pay  ranging  from  nearly  fourteen  pence  a  day  for 
privates  to  about  six  shillings  for  the  two  colonels.  The  House  de- 
bated the  report  for  two  days  and  with  a  few  changes  adopted  the  recom- 
mendations.^^ 

i«JC,  Aug.  13,  14,  1759,  PR,  XXVIII,  209-210  (Lyttelton  to  Board,  Sept.  1, 
1759),  256-260  (Coytmore  and  Stuart  to  Lyttelton,  enclosed  by  him  in  letter  of 
Oct.  16,  1759  to  Board)  ;  SCG,  Nov.  17,  1759;  JCHA,  Jul.  12,  13,  1759.  Raymond 
Demere  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Paul,  Aug.  14,  1757  (Indian  Books,  VI, 
76-78). 

"JC,  Oct.  1,  1759  (see  also  Sept.  17),  JCHA,  Oct.  5,  1759;  PR,  XXVIII,  266 
(excerpts  of  letters  of  Speaker  of  Commons  to  S.  C.  agent,  read  by  Board,  Feb.  1, 
1760)  ;  SCG,  Oct.  6,  1759. 

^«JCHA,  Oct.  6,  9,  10,  11,  13,  1759;  see  also  Feb.  6,  14,  1760. 


II 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  219 

On  the  13th  of  October  letters  from  Fort  Prince  George  announced 
that  two  parties  of  Indians  were  on  the  way  to  Charleston,  having  set  out, 
Coytmore  said,  when  their  demand  for  ammunition  was  refused.  When 
they  were  received  on  the  19th  they  indicated  that  they  were  ready  to  make 
peace,  though  they  proposed  no  amends  whatever,  and  Tistoe  of  Keowee 
complained  bitterly  of  Coytmore's  abuse  of  their  warriors  and  their  women 
when  he  was  drunk.  After  four  days  debate  the  council  divided  equally, 
four  for  carrying  on  the  expedition,  four  for  holding  a  number  of  the 
embassy  as  hostages  until  the  Cherokees  gave  satisfaction  for  the  twenty 
whites  slain  and  the  four  wounded  but  not  yet  dead.  The  governor,  how- 
ever, remained  unchanged  in  his  opinion,  and  informed  the  delegation  that 
he  was  going  to  the  nation  to  enforce  his  demands ;  as  for  them,  he  promised 
to  see  them  safe  home.^® 

Lyttelton  left  Charleston  on  the  26th  of  October  for  the  militia  ren- 
dezvous at  the  Congarees.  When  he  found  that  the  draft  from  the  three 
regiments  did  not  bring  out  the  fifteen  hundred  men,  and  that  those  regi- 
ments murmured  at  the  prospect  of  a  further  demand  upon  them,  the 
governor  ordered  a  draft  of  five  hundred  men  from  four  other  regiments. 
Desertions  were  frequent — especially  of  the  new  back  settlers,  so  the 
Gazette  announced — and  by  the  time  Ninety  Six  was  reached  on  November 
21st,  what  with  these  losses  and  "Meazles,  Purgings  and  pleuritic  Com- 
plaints", the  effective  force  was  reduced  to  1299  men.  To  fill  up  the 
ranks  200  of  the  new  levies  were  ordered  to  follow  at  once.  More  than 
a  hundred  wagons  besides  carts  and  pack  horses  constituted  the  baggage 
train.  At  Ninety  Six  Lyttelton  built  a  stockade  ninety  feet  square  around 
Goudey's  barn  to  make  it  serve  as  a  fort  and  magazine.  On  the  29th  the 
expedition  left  Ninety  Six  in  good  spirits  for  Fort  Prince  George  which  it 
reached  on  December  9th;  arrival  of  the  later  militia  drafts  brought  the 
force  up  to  1700  men.^ 

The  refractory  towns  of  the  Cherokees,  representing  about  five  hundred 
warriors,  were  reported  unchanged  in  their  attitude,  while  the  rest  of  the 
nation  desired  peace.  Lyttelton  at  once  dismissed  all  the  Cherokees  who 
had  returned  with  him  except  twenty-eight  of  the  leading  men,  but  the  fic- 
tion was  maintained  that  they  were  voluntary  prisoners.    After  ten  days  the 

^^PR,  XXVIII,  246-247  (Lyttelton  to  Board,  Oct.  16,  1759)  ;  JC,  Oct.  15,  19-22, 
1759.  A  few  days  before  the  governor,  on  advice  of  the  council,  issued  orders  for 
stopping  a  cargo,  reported  to  be  one  hundred  horse-loads  of  goods  and  ammunition 
bound  from  Virginia  to  the  Cherokee  towns  by  way  of  the  South  Carolina  piedmont 
(JC,  Oct.  7,  14,  1759).  Hewat  says  that  the  Great  Warrior  of  Chotee,  Old  Hop's 
town,  tried  to  speak,  and  that  Bull  tried  to  get  him  a  hearing,  but  that  Lyttelton 
would  not  listen  and  put  an  end  to  the  conference  (Carroll,  Collections,  I,  445). 
It  is  only  fair  to  Lyttelton  to  say,  however,  that  further  talk  with  this  delegation 
could  have  made  no  real  difference  in  the  course  of  events. 

-""SCG,  Nov.  1,  3,  10,  17,  Dec.  1,  8,  22,  29,  1759;  JC,  Oct.  4,  Nov.  10,  24,  26, 
1759;  PR,  XXVIII,  280-282  (Lyttelton  to  Board,  Dec.  10,  1759).  There  was  an 
abortive  attempt  of  the  North  Carolina  administration  to  reinforce  Lyttelton  by  a 
militia  draft.  Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  VI  60-61,  136-137,  220-221. 


/ 


220  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

Little  Carpenter  appeared,  bringing  a  French  prisoner,  and  talked  about 
peace  but  avoided  all  controversial  topics.  The  governor  reminded  him  of 
the  treaty  which  he  and  Tistoe,  one  of  the  hostages,  had  signed  in  London 
in  1730,  under  which  an  Indian  killing  a  white  man  was  to  be  given  up  for 
punishment.  He  therefore  demanded  twenty-four  Cherokees — saying 
that  he  expected  them  to  be  from  the  murder  gangs — to  be  put  to  death  or 
otherwise  dealt  with  as  he  might  see  fit.  After  a  conference  with  the 
hostages  the  Carpenter  went  away,  but  returned  two  days  later  and  secured 
the  release  of  Tistoe,  and  the  next  day  two  murderers  were  delivered  up  by 
the  Keowee  warriors.  Then  came  three  more  days  delay,  during  which 
plans  were  made  to  destroy  Eastatoe,  a  larger  town  above  Keowee.  But 
Lyttelton's  force  was  on  the  verge  of  disintegration.  Six  days  after  the 
arrival  of  the  expedition  at  Fort  Prince  George  the  Gazette  repeated 
reports  that  the  smallpox  had  lately  destroyed  nearly  half  of  the  Catawbas 
— and  there  were  Catawbas  with  the  expedition — spreading  thence  to  the 
white  settlements  at  the  Cheraws  and  the  Waterees,  and  that  it  had  been 
found  also  at  Keowee.  Measles  raged  through  the  hapless  camp,  the  men 
deserted  in  increasing  numbers,  and  on  the  12th  of  December  only  1,105 
appeared  at  review. ''^ 

On  the  26th,  with  three-fourths  of  his  force  apparently  ready  to 
desert,  Lyttelton  made  a  treaty  with  the  Cherokees.  By  it  the  treaty  of 
1730  was  confirmed,  and  the  further  agreement  made  that  whereas  the 
Cherokees  had  killed  sundry  persons  since  November  19,  1758 — at  which 
time  the  previous  troubles  in  Virginia  had  been  settled — and  had  yielded 
up  only  two  of  the  guilty  warriors,  twenty-two  hostages  should  be  held 
as  security  until  that  number  of  offenders  were  surrendered.  Traders 
were  to  enter  the  nation  at  once.  Six  Cherokees,  including  the  Little 
Carpenter  and  the  Great  Warrior,  signed  the  treaty,  but  the  latter  soon 
repudiated  his  signature,  and  the  Carpenter,  adhering  to  it,  lost  his  in- 
fluence with  the  tribe.  The  treaty,  poor  substitute  as  it  was  for  a  real 
settlement,  came  just  in  time,  for  the  second  day  afterwards  several  men 
of  the  expedition  showed  symptoms  of  smallpox.  The  governor  "in- 
timated" that  those  who  cared  to  could  leave;  in  an  hour  nearly  seven 
hundred  had  made  up  their  packs  "and  filed  off  with  great  alertness,"  and 
the  expedition  dispersed.  That  the  scare  was  no  idle  one  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  within  the  next  two  months  fourteen  cases  died  in  Fort  Prince 
George.  The  South  Carolina  Gazette  in  April  following  said  that  of 
about  six  thousand  persons  who  had  had  the  disease  naturally  or  by 
innoculation  since  February,  about  380  whites  and  350  negroes  had  died. 
According  to  Adair  only  the  spread  of  the  plague  in  their  own  towns 
and  their  internal  dissension  kept  the  Cherokees  from  attacking  the  de- 

^^SCG,  Dec.  8,  15,  22,  1759,  Jan.  12,  1760.  If  Tistoe  went  to  England  with  the 
Cuming  mission  he  was  presumably  the  "Tathtowe"  of  that  group — see  Crane, 
Southern  Frontier,  p.  279,  Williams,  Early  Travels,  pp.  127-128. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  221 

moralized  host.  The  governor  reached  Charleston  on  the  8th  of  January. 
He  tried  to  enter  quietly,  on  this  as  on  other  occasions  avoiding  display,  but 
was  received  with  salutes,  parades  and  many  congratulatory  addresses.^^ 

The  Commons  House  provided  with  reasonable  promptness  for  paying 
the  cost  of  the  expedition  which  a  committee  in  1761  put  at  nearly  twenty- 
five  thousand  pounds.  Most  of  this  amount,  along  with  other  expenses  of 
the  year,  was  paid  with  orders  which  were  to  be  retired  within  five  years. 
The  pay  of  the  militia  came  to  about  eight  thousand  pounds,  and  the 
greater  part  of  it  and  of  the  nearly  six  hundred  small  sums  for  food  and 
services  went  to  the  settlers  in  the  middle  and  back  country.  This  money, 
along  with  similar  receipts  during  the  Indian  troubles,  afforded  a  small 
recompense  for  their  losses.^^ 

The  expedition  which  ended  so  ingloriously  is  usually  called  Lyttelton's, 
although  the  credit  for  it  belongs  almost  as  much  to  the  council  and  Com- 
mons. Under  the  best  circumstances  it  could  have  achieved  no  more  than 
a  demonstration  before  the  Lower  Towns,  or  the  destruction  of  some  of 
them,  without  touching  the  centers  of  the  Cherokee  power.  The  collapse 
of  the  expedition  emboldened  the  war  party  in  the  nation,  and  the  bad  faith 
in  keeping  the  hostages  increased  its  fury. 

For  three  weeks  after  the  treaty  the  Cherokees  were  "remarkably 
assiduous"  in  their  friendliness  to  the  whites,  doubtless  waiting  to  supply 
themselves  from  the  traders  and  to  disarm  suspicion.  In  the  ensuing  plot 
and  first  outbreak  the  Overhills  appeared  to  have  no  part,  but  the  Lower 
Towns  and  Middle  Settlements  were  deeply  involved.  On  the  19th  of 
January  James  Beamer's  half-breed  son  Thomas,  a  man  of  intelligence 
and  property  and  himself  a  licensed  trader,  at  the  request  of  the  Young 
Warrior  of  Eastatoe  accompanied  a  party  of  seventy  or  eighty  to  Fort 
Prince  George.  The  Warrior  pretended  to  be  delivering  up  two  men  for 
punishment,  but  Beamer  discovered  that  though  they  made  a  show  of 
leaving  their  arms  two  miles  from  the  fort,  they  still  had  hatchets  under 
their  blankets,  and  Coytmore  was  able  to  frustrate  the  plot.  On  the  same 
day  and  by  a  detachment  of  the  same  party  the  killing  of  the  traders  began. 
John  Elliott,  now  in  the  Lower  Towns,  was  perhaps  their  first  victim. 
The  slaughter  was  general,  but  a  number  escaped,  thanks  to  their  skill  and 
hardihood,  the  timely  warning  of  their  Indian  women,  or  some  lucky 
chance  such  as  that  to  which  James  Beamer  owed  his  life.  His  house  near 
Eastatoe  was  cut  of¥  from  the  towns  for  two  days  by  high  water.     When 

^~SCG,  Jan.  12,  19,  Apr.  19,  Aug.  23,  1760;  JC,  Jan.  11,  1760;  below  p.  224; 
Indian  Books,  VI,  219-220,  Adair,  American  Indians,  pp.  247-251.  Note  also 
SCG,  Mar.  22,  1760  that  not  five  hundred  remained  to  take  the  smallpox. 

^^  Stats.,  IV,  113-128,  JCHA,  June  20,  1760,  May  20,  1761.  Later  accounts 
added  over  two  thousand  pounds  to  the  amount  (JCHA,  June  23,  1761).  The  pre- 
ceding August  the  commissary  stated  that  he  had  bought  all  the  flour  in  the  back 
settlements  and  had  contracted  with  the  settlers  for  70,000  pounds  of  their  present 
crop   (JC,  Aug.  14,  1759). 


222  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

Thomas  Beamer  heard  of  the  murders  he  hurried  his  father  away  to  the 
nearest  settlement,  and  came  back  for  his  Cherokee  mother  and  what  goods 
they  could  take  away.  He  then  went  to  Charleston  and  there  on  the 
31st  gave  the  first  news  of  the  outbreak."^ 

Failing  in  their  attempt  on  Fort  Prince  George  the  Lower  Towns 
warriors  turned  out  in  a  body,  with  a  great  many  from  the  Middle  Settle- 
ments and  the  Valley,  and  fell  upon  the  frontier.  The  day  they  started  a 
Cherokee  wench  set  out  from  Fort  Prince  George  in  advance  of  five  or  six 
hundred  Indians.  She  arrived  at  Ninety  Six  on  the  30th,  two  traders 
reaching  the  post  the  same  day,  and  the  alarm  thus  given  undoubtedly  pre- 
vented a  massacre.  Twenty  men  came  in  from  the  community  that  day, 
and  twenty  more  were  expected  during  the  night.  Other  traders  were 
reported  to  have  gone  towards  Savannah  Town  to  warn  settlers  in  that 
direction.  Before  the  attack  on  Ninety  Six  Aaron  Price,  a  Cherokee 
trader,  with  a  letter  from  Francis  dated  the  31st,  set  out  for  Charleston 
which  by  an  air  line  was  a  hundred  and  sixty  miles  away.  On  the  2nd 
of  February  Lyttelton  laid  the  letter  before  the  council;  the  South  Carolina 
Gazette  remarked  that  Price  was  on  the  road  two  days  and  a  few  hours.^^ 

The  first  blow  fell  upon  the  new  settlers  of  Long  Cane.  About  a 
hundred  and  fifty  of  them,  including  the  Calhouns,  on  February  1st  made 
the  fatal  mistake  of  trying,  with  their  loaded  wagons,  to  flee  before  the 
savages.  With  a  few  hours  work  on  a  stockade  the  forty  men  could  have 
successfully  defended  their  families  in  any  house.  But  the  day  they  started, 
near  the  crossing  of  Long  Cane  Creek,  on  the  way  to  Augusta,  they  were 
attacked  by  a  hundred  Cherokees.  In  the  wild  confusion  few  of  the  men 
could  even  lay  hand  on  guns ;  the  Indians  killed  twenty-three,  including 
the  mother  of  the  Calhouns,  and  captured  nearly  as  many;  after  half  an 
hour's  futile  fight  the  men  fled  to  Augusta.  Days  afterward  nine  or  more 
children  of  the  party  were  found ;  some  of  them  had  been  scalped  and  left 
for  dead,  others  had  scurried  to  cover  during  the  attack.  Near  Stevens 
Creek  there  was  a  similar  surprise  of  a  score  of  fugitives,  with  like  dis- 
astrous results.  The  attack  on  Ninety  Six  materialized  on  the  3rd,  but 
after  two  hours  of  firing  the  Cherokees  retired  with  a  loss  of  two  men. 
Two  others  had  been  taken  by  a  scouting  party  of  the  garrison  the  day 
before.  On  the  day  of  the  fight  at  Ninety  Six  other  settlers  were  gathered 
at  William  Turner's  under  the  command  of  Andrew  Brown,  captain  of 
the  militia.  While  they  were  building  a  fort,  doubtless  on  Turner's  land 
at  the  mouth  of  Bush  River,  they  suffered  a  four-hour  attack  by  the  Indians, 
with  no  loss  to  themselves,  and  killed  several  of  the  enemy.^® 

2*  PR,  XXVIII,  311-312  (Lyttelton  to  Board,  Feb.  22,  1760);  JC,  Feb.  4,  14, 
1760;  SCG,  Feb.  9,  1760;  Indian  Books,  VI,  222.  On  Beamer  see  Indian  Books,  II, 
pt.  2,  150-151,  Wills,  1760-1767,  p.  42. 

25  JC,  Feb.  2,  1760,  Indian  Books,  VI,  222,  SCG,  Feb.  9,  1760. 

^^SCG,  Feb.  9,  16,  23,  1760,  above  p.  133. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  223 

John  Pearson  wrote  on  February  8th  that  the  Indians  were  reported  to 
have  killed  twenty-seven  on  Raeburns  Creek,  but  this  was  not  confirmed. 
On  Bush  River  Pearson  said  all  the  settlers  had  fled  save  a  group  with 
Jacob  Brooks;  these  were  doubtless  the  builders  of  Brooks'  or  Rhall's 
fort,  which  appears  to  have  been  on  the  middle  course  of  that  stream.  On 
receipt  of  later  letters  the  lieutenant-governor  and  council  agreed  that 
Brooks  be  offered  a  commission  as  commander  of  the  fort  with  the  provision 
that  if  he  refused,  the  garrison  should  elect  a  commander.  In  two  forts 
on  the  Enoree  there  were  thirty-six  men  and  nearly  three  hundred  and 
fifty  women  and  children.^^ 

The  attack  on  the  Savannah  River  settlements  above  Augusta  and 
Fort  Moore  came  somewhat  later,  but  on  the  15th  of  February  Ulric 
Tobler,  the  highly  esteemed  son  of  the  elder  John  Tobler,  was  killed  near 
Fort  Moore  by  a  volley  which  was  meant  for  some  other  person  marked 
out  for  special  vengeance.  Within  a  few  miles  of  Fort  Moore  John  Tobler 
and  George  Galphin  built  forts,  and  on  the  Georgia  side,  above  Augusta, 
several  were  in  process  of  construction,  one  of  them  designed  for  six 
hundred  persons.  As  far  down  as  Buckhead  Swamp  on  the  Salkehatchie 
and  at  Orangeburg  and  the  Congarees  there  were  other  stockades.^^ 

The  parties  of  Cherokees  in  this  general  onslaught  varied  from  a  dozen 
to  a  hundred,  and  were  estimated  at  about  eight  hundred  altogether. 
There  were  some  murders  in  the  back  country  of  North  Carolina, ^''  but  the 
Georgia  settlements  escaped  serious  loss.  Only  the  stockade  forts,  which 
within  a  week  of  the  Long  Cane  affair  dotted  the  frontier,  prevented 
wholesale  slaughter  in  South  Carolina.  Constructed  in  desperate  haste 
these  defenses  were  flimsy  enough  at  first,  but  as  time  wore  on  and  more 
and  more  of  the  settlers  ventured  to  return  they  were  strengthened  and  im- 
proved and  increased  in  number  until  probably  half  the  population  of  the  ^ 
upper  valleys  of  the  piedmont  was  housed  in  them.  From  these  rude 
citadels  the  men  sallied  out  to  do  a  little  work  in  the  fields  or  to  look  after 
the  cattle  that  were  left,  and  in  more  quiet  periods  families  ventured  to 
their  homes.  The  remainder  of  the  population  almost  as  far  down  as  the 
fall  line  abandoned  the  exposed  regions  and  fled  to  the  Congarees  or 
farther  down  the  country. 

The  first  attack  of  the  Cherokees  was  over  in  a  few  days,  and  the 
triumphant  warriors  hastened  to  their  towns  to  exhibit  their  scalps  and 
their  wretched  captives,  while  the  unlucky  nursed  their  wounds  and  dis- 
appointments. In  this  interval  Abraham,  a  negro  slave  belonging  to  a 
trader  in  Fort  Loudoun,  on  promise  of  his  freedom  slipped  through  the 

^■^JC,  Feb.  11,  Mar.  19,  21,  Apr.  1,  30,  1760.  For  approximate  location  of 
Brooks'  Fort,  see  P,  VI,  333  and  index  to  Plats  from  which  adjoining  plats  may  be 
located.     For  Pearson's  letter  see  Indian  Books,  VI,  218. 

^^SCG,  Feb.  16,  23,  Aug.  23,  1760,  below,  n.  59.  Later  smallpox  afflicted  the 
people  in  Tobler's  fort,  SCG,  Mar.  22,  1760. 

^^SCG,  Feb.  16,  Apr.  12,  1760,  Ashe,  History  of  N.  C,  I,  300-301. 


224  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

Indian  lines  to  Charleston.  He  reported  that  the  hundred  and  eighty  men 
were  in  good  health  and  well  supplied  with  all  but  flour  for  four  or  five 
months.  The  Cherokees  had  cut  off  all  communication  with  the  fort  but 
had  not  attacked  it.^° 

The  warriors  were  soon  on  the  war  path  again,  this  invasion  like  the 
first  beginning  with  an  attempt  upon  Fort  Prince  George.  On  the  14th  of 
February  the  Great  Warrior  of  Chotee  came  to  the  fort  and  asked  for  the 
hostages  of  the  Overhill  towns,  with  the  implied  threat  that  if  they  were 
not  released  those  towns  would  enter  the  war.  Two  days  later  he  and 
his  warriors  ambushed  the  commander,  Lieutenant  Coytmore,  and  mortally 
wounded  him,  but  in  the  ensuing  five-day  attack  the  Indians  fired  from  such 
a  distance  that  no  further  harm  was  done.  When  the  soldiers  demanded 
the  death  of  the  hostages,  Ensign  Alexander  Miln,  Coytmore's  successor, 
tried  to  pacify  the  men  by  ordering  the  hostages  put  in  irons.  While  this 
was  being  done  a  soldier  was  mortally  wounded  with  weapons  the  Indians 
had  concealed,  and  the  garrison,  beyond  control,  fell  upon  the  prisoners  and 
slew  them  to  a  man.  On  a  rainy  day,  the  Indians  not  appearing,  Miln  got 
in  a  small  supply  of  firewood,  of  which  he  had  greater  need  than  of 
provisions.  Far  worse  than  the  close  siege,  however,  was  the  small- 
pox, which  by  the  24th  had  caused  fourteen  deaths,^^ 

It  was  fortunate  for  the  Ninety  Six  garrison  that  this  time,  too,  there 
was  warning  of  the  impending  attack,  for  on  the  22nd  of  February  two- 
thirds  of  the  men  were  down  with  the  smallpox.  On  the  2nd  of  March 
two  messengers  from  Prince  George  arrived  and  reported  that  on  the  way 
down  they  came  by  Indian  camps  which  appeared  to  have  three  hundred 
warriors.  The  next  morning,  at  sunrise,  over  two  hundred  attacked  the 
fort  and  fired  furiously  all  day  and  night.  Two  of  the  garrison  were 
wounded,  but  in  turn,  so  Francis  wrote,  several  of  the  enemy  were  seen  to 
drop,  "And  we  have  now  the  Pleasure  Sir,  to  Fatten  our  Dogs  with  their 
Carcases,  and  to  Display  their  Scalps,  neatly  ornamented  on  the  top  of 
our  Bastions."  ^" 

Leaving  Ninety  Six  the  Indians  spread  over  the  Saluda  valley  destroying 
houses  and  crops,  and  killed  or  captured  sixteen  persons.  A  settler  named 
Michael,  his  wife  and  five  children  were  made  prisoners;  a  son  was  killed 
in  the  encounter,  and  at  Nuquassee  in  the  Middle  Settlements  the  man  was 
burned.  The  rest  of  the  family  were  made  slaves,  but  a  humane  chief 
bought  them,  and  it  was  reported  that  they  were  well  treated  thereafter. 
At  Rhall's  fort  a  man  was  slain  and  scalped,  but  the  garrison  in  turn 
sallied  out  and  drove  ofif  the  Indians,  killing  and  scalping  two  of  them. 
A  party  of  the  militia  and  a  troop  of  rangers  reached  the  Saluda-Ninety 
Six  region  in  the  later  stages  of  this  attack,  and  probably  prevented  other 

^""SCG,  Feb.  16,  1760. 

31  Indian  Books,  VI,  219-224,  226,  JC,   Feb.  4,   1760. 

32  Indian  Booics,  VI,  227-228;  SCG,  Mar.  15,  1760. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  225 

and  more  serious  losses,  but  throughout  April  and  May  there  were  oc- 
casional surprises  of  persons  away  from  forts,  the  most  daring  feat  of  the 
Indians  being  the  capture  of  the  negroes  of  Henry  Young,  near  Orange- 
burg.^^' 

When  Price  arrived  in  Charleston  the  2nd  of  February  with  the 
news  of  the  impending  Cherokee  attack.  Governor  Lyttelton  called  a  meet- 
ing of  the  council.  On  their  advice  he  sent  pressing  requests  for  aid  to  the 
commander-in-chief  at  New  York  and  to  the  North  Carolina  and  Virginia 
governments.  The  application  to  Virginia  amounted  to  nothing.  The 
regiment  raised  by  that  province  for  royal  service  advanced  slowly  upon 
the  Overhill  towns  by  the  newer  and  safer  route  down  the  Great  Valley, 
and  finally,  two  hundred  miles  from  Fort  Loudoun,  came  to  a  stop.  The 
North  Carolina  back  country  suffered  from  Cherokee  raids,  but  that  colony 
did  no  more  than  maintain  a  fort  and  provide  for  an  additional  three 
hundred  men  to  defend  its  own  frontier.^* 

It  was  obvious  that  if  the  Cherokees  succeeded  in  bringing  the  Creeks 
into  the  war  Georgia  would  be  in  danger  of  complete  destruction  and  the 
South  Carolina  frontier  subject  to  a  flank  attack  almost  as  ruinous.  Every 
effort  was  made  by  the  new  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  of  the  South, 
the  Carolina  councillor  Edmund  Atkin,  and  the  active  and  capable  Georgia 
Governor  Henry  Ellis  to  bring  the  Creeks  to  the  point  of  attacking  the 
Cherokees,  or,  failing  in  that,  to  keep  them  neutral.  On  the  14th  of  May, 
however,  trouble-makers  among  the  upper  Creeks  fell  upon  the  traders 
and  slew  eleven  of  them,  and  to  all  appearance  a  Creek  war  had  begun, 
for  this  was  the  way  the  Cherokee  war  had  started.  The  terror-stricken 
settlers  fled  to  Augusta  and  to  strengthen  that  fort  the  detachment  of  in- 
dependent troops  at  Fort  Moore  was  sent  across  the  river.  The  dilapidated 
Carolina  stronghold  was  promptly  occupied  by  George  Bussey  and  a 
hundred  and  seventy  other  settlers.  The  Creek  danger  was  made  worse 
by  the  trade  from  northern  colonies  to  Pensacola  and  Mobile  which  sup- 
plied the  French,  enabling  them  in  turn  to  supply  and  corrupt  the  Indians. 
After  feverish  activity,  with  many  messages  and  presents,  the  storm  blew 
over,  the  great  majority  of  the  Creeks  complacently  holding  to  their  policy 
of  neutrality  for  the  tribe  and  freedom  for  the  wilder  spirits  to  slay  or 
plunder  with  impunity.^'' 

The  Commons  House,  already  due  to  meet  the  week  following  the 
news  of  the  attacks  by  the  Cherokees,  proceeded  to  consider  the  papers 
set  before  it  by  the  governor.  Provision  was  made  for  seven  companies  of 
rangers  of  seventy-five  men  each  to  patrol  the  frontier  until  July  1st,  the 

^^SCG,  Mar.  IS,  Apr.  19,  May  3,  10,  24,  1760;  Indian  Books,  VI,  227-228. 

^'■'JC,  Feb.  2,  1760;  SCG,  Feb.  23,  July  26,  1760;  Ashe,  History  of  N.  C,  I, 
300-301;  PR,  XXVIII,  413  (Bull  to  Board,  Oct.  21,  1760). 

"■'SCG,  Feb.  16,  Mar.  1,  22,  Apr.  7,  12,  19,  May  10,  31,  June  21,  1760;  PR, 
XXVIII,  348,  352,  359-361,  366-368  (Bull  to  Board,  May  29,  June  17,  30,  1760)  ;  JC, 
June  5,  20,   1760.     On  Atkin  see  JC,   Nov.   1,  1760. 


226  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

men  getting  approximately  forty-three  shillings  a  month  and  furnishing 
arms,  supplies  and  horses.  The  provincial  companies  recruited  under  the 
act  of  1757  were  likewise  continued  until  July,  and  a  reward  of  nearly 
seventy-two  shillings  was  oftered  for  each  scalp  of  a  Cherokee  man.  On  the 
governor's  request  ten  days  later  the  ranger  pay  was  increased  by  a  third. 
Meanwhile  on  February  12th  the  Commons  resolved  that  it  would  raise  a 
regiment  to  relieve  Fort  Prince  George  and  chastise  the  Cherokees,  but 
declared  that  Fort  Loudoun  could  not  be  relieved  from  this  province. 
This  hard  decision,  which  might  have  been  anticipated  in  1756,  was  but  an 
admission  of  a  fact.  The  proposed  regiment  was  to  consist  of  a  thousand 
men  with  the  same  pay  and  provision  for  supplies  as  first  set  forth  for  the 
rangers,  the  captains  to  begin  their  pay  when  their  companies  were  half 
full.  A  significant  action  came  the  next  day  when  a  motion  to  ask  the 
governor  to  command  the  regiment  in  person  was  lost.^'' 

The  committee  report  on  which  these  resolutions  were  partly  based 
recommended  a  regiment  of  five  hundred,  and  the  vote  in  the  House  to 
double  the  number  was  eleven  to  ten.  Christopher  Gadsden,  who  was 
chairman  of  the  committee,  two  years  later  declared  that  over  half  the 
members  were  kept  away  by  smallpox  then  raging  in  town,  and  that  the 
measure  was  not  well  considered.  Five  hundred  with  proper  pay,  he  con- 
tended, could  have  been  raised  promptly.  The  fact  that  it  had  been  impos- 
sible to  raise  more  than  three  of  the  five  companies  authorized  in  1757  made 
the  resolution  for  another  regiment  little  more  than  a  gesture,  and  six 
months  later  it  consisted  of  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  men.  It  was,  ap- 
parently, the  intention  of  the  Commons  to  give  the  men  of  the  exposed 
regions  an  opportunity  to  protect  themselves  while  being  paid  for  it  by  the 

(province  at  large.^'^ 
As  a  matter  of  fact  the  whole  able-bodied  male  population  of  the  back 
country  would  scarcely  have  sufficed  for  the  second  regiment,  while  from 
their  number  and  from  the  middle  country  had  been  drawn  most  of  the 
men  already  in  service.  Furthermore  the  timid  had  taken  refuge  in  safer 
quarters,  and  the  bolder  souls  who  remained  may  well  have  had  little  en- 
thusiasm for  this  service  when  they  balanced  the  possibilities  of  a  mountain 
campaign  against  defense  of  their  own  stockade  forts. 

On  the  council's  advice  the  militia  colonels  whose  regiments  included 

^JCHA,  Feb.  7-9,  12,  13,  19,  1760. 

^"^  So7ne  Observations  on  the  Tivo  Campaigns  against  the  Cherokee  Indians  in 
1760  and  1761  in  a  Second  Letter  from  Philopatrios  (Charles  Town,  1762),  pp. 
17-18  (a  copy  of  this  pamphlet,  written  by  Gadsden — see  SCG,  Feb.  26,  1763 — is 
bound  in  with  the  manuscripts  of  the  "Gadsden  Miscellany"  of  the  Smythe  Col- 
lection, Presbyterian  College  of  South  Carolina)  ;  above,  pp.  215-216,  Stats.,  IV, 
128,  JCHA,  June  30,  July  2,  1760.  The  uneasiness  because  of  reports  of  negro  insur- 
rection plots  doubtless  made  it  more  difficult  to  raise  troops  in  the  plantation  area,  al- 
though this  was  not  given  as  a  cause  (see  JC,  June  20,  1759,  SCG,  Aug.  18,  1759). 
"Good  Reasons  have  been  suggested  to  us,  for  not  inserting  in  this  Paper  any 
Account  of  Insurrections,  especially  at  this  Time;"   (May  31,  1760). 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  227 

the  back  settlements  were  ordered  to  call  out  one  or  more  companies  for 
local  service  and  these  did  excellent  work  in  patrolling  exposed  sections  like 
the  forks  of  the  Edisto  and  the  Ninety  Six  region.  The  colonels  were  like- 
wise authorized  to  impress  provisions,  not  only  for  the  men  of  the  com- 
panies but  also  for  women  and  children  in  the  forts.  Lyttelton  sent  rein- 
forcements from  independent  troops  to  Fort  Moore  and  to  Augusta  and 
"very  large  Quantities"  of  ammunition  to  Orangeburg,  the  Congarees  and 
Pinetree  Hill."" 

To  save  time  Lyttelton  instructed  the  militia  colonels  to  appoint  cap- 
tains of  the  ranger  companies  which  with  their  higher  pay  and  mounted 
service  made  the  chief  appeal  to  the  prospective  soldiers.  In  two  weeks 
Colonel  Richard  Richardson  of  St.  Marks  on  the  upper  Santee  wrote 
from  the  Waterees  that  he  had  appointed  Thomas  Bosher  captain  of  one 
company  and  hoped  to  persuade  Pearson  to  take  the  other.  The  sixty 
Catawba  warriors,  he  reported,  were  ready  for  service.  In  March  Chevil- 
lette  reported  one  troop  of  rangers  under  Captain  John  Grennan  nearly 
filled  and  another  under  Charles  Russell  about  half  full.  The  7th  of 
April  the  Gazette  stated  that  most  of  the  seven  troops  were  complete. 
Almost  all  the  commanders  and  evidently  most  of  the  men  were  from  the 
middle  and  back  country.^® 

The  letters  from  the  frontier  forts  brought  the  government  to  the 
realization  of  their  needs  and  their  place  in  the  provincial  defense  system. 
Earlier  in  the  year  Governor  Lyttelton  had  assured  the  men  in  the  Ninety 
Six  garrison  of  pay  on  the  basis  of  provincial  troops.  In  April  there  came 
a  petition  from  the  two  Enoree  forts,  showing  their  desperate  plight. 
Beset  as  they  were  by  the  Cherokees  and  weakened  by  losses  in  scouting 
parties,  they  declared  themselves  unable  to  hold  the  forts  longer  without 
aid.  They  were  accordingly  promised  a  reinforcement  of  fifteen  men  each, 
and  were  warmly  commended  for  their  long  and  brave  defense.  In  May 
Turner's  fort  was  given  more  ammunition  and  twelve  bushels  of  salt,  and 
directions  were  issued  for  a  militia  officer  to  impress  provisions  for  it. 
Godfrey  Dryer's  fort  near  the  Congarees,  with  a  hundred  and  twenty-one 
women  and  children  in  it,  was  ordered  similarly  provisioned.  Finally  in 
June  the  Commons  appropriated  about  seven  hundred  pounds  for  relief 
of  the  people  in  the  frontier  forts.**' 

Meanwhile,  with  the  defense  of  the  frontier  in  a  measure  provided  for, 
the  governor  and  council  addressed  themselves  to  the  task  of  relieving  Fort 
Prince  George.     Colonel  Richardson,   now  commander  of  the  new  pro- 

38  Above,  p.  223,  JC,  Feb.  11,  12,  14,  1760;  SCG,  Feb.  9,  23,  Mar.  1,  Apr.  19, 
May  10,  1760;  PR,  XXVIII,  313    (Lyttelton  to  Board,  Feb.  22,  1760). 

^^  SCG,  Dec.  6,  1760,  Indian  Books,  VI,  224-227.  Bosher  seems  to  have  been 
from  the  Georgetown  section — see  Register  .  .  .  Prince  Frederick,  index,  P,  I, 
159,  II,  46;  Pearson  accepted  the  command  (JC,  Apr.  1,  1760). 

^<*JCHA,  June  24,  30,  July  2,  1760,  May  29,  1761;  JC,  Apr.  30,  May  20,  23,  24, 
June  9,  18,  July  3,  1760. 


228  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

vincial  regiment,  was  ordered  to  Ninety  Six  and  instructed  to  make  the 
attempt  if,  with  the  rangers  included,  he  could  raise  five  hundred  men. 
Patrick  Calhoun  appeared  to  offer  the  services  of  the  Long  Canes  settlers 
and  became  an  officer  in  the  regiment.  The  scalp  money  was  increased  to 
about  seven  pounds  but  neither  this  nor  other  inducements  sufficed,  and  the 
requisite  force  could  not  be  raised.^^ 

On  the  19th  of  March  William  Bull  presided  over  the  council  meeting, 
explaining  that  the  governor  was  about  to  depart  for  England.  A  month 
before  Lyttelton  had  produced  a  letter  from  the  Board  of  Trade  announc- 
ing his  promotion  to  the  governorship  of  Jamaica,  and  the  appointment 
of  Thomas  Pownall  as  governor  and  Bull  as  lieutenant-governor  of  South 
Carolina.  Pownall  never  came  to  the  colony ;  his  successor,  Thomas  Boone, 
did  not  reach  Charleston  until  December  1761.  While  Lyttelton's  ad- 
ministration was  no  great  success,  his  vigor,  his  plain,  direct  dealing,  his 
usual  courtesy  and  his  apparent  disinterestedness  retained  for  him  the 
confidence  of  the  province.  Bull's  appointment  was  well  received.  His 
father's  record  and  the  standing  of  his  family  gave  him  prestige,  and  his 
own  service  as  member  and  speaker  of  the  Commons  and  in  the  council 
brought  him,  on  his  first  meeting  with  the  assembly,  a  flattering  address.*^ 

On  the  1st  of  April  a  war  vessel  and  six  transports  arrived  in  Charles- 
ton harbor  with  twelve  hundred  troops  on  board  sent  by  General  Amherst. 
The  men — half  of  them  Highlanders,  the  others  of  the  First  or  Royal 
Scotch  regiment — were  commanded  by  Colonel  Archibald  Montgomery. 
The  assembly  enacted  an  ordinance  for  impressment  of  wagons,  horses 
and  drivers ;  the  force,  marching  by  way  of  the  Congarees,  reached  Ninety 
Six  on  the  25th  of  May.  Here  preparations  were  made  and  the  expedi- 
tion reorganized  for  the  march  into  the  enemy's  country.  Richardson 
retired  from  the  command  of  the  provincials  and  Montgomery  took  three 
hundred  and  fifty  rangers  and  foot  soldiers,  leaving  the  others  to  guard 
the  frontier.*^ 

With  twelve  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  appropriated  by  the  Commons 
Bull  equipped  about  forty  Catawbas,  whose  families  were  to  be  maintained 
at  Pinetree  Hill,  and  as  many  of  the  former  New  Windsor  Chickasaws 
now  resident  on  the  Georgia  side  of  the  Savannah  below  Augusta.  The 
Commons  authorized  payment  likewise  of  five  pounds  reward  for  each 
scalp  taken  by  any  person  not  in  pay  of  the  crown  or  province.  James 
Adair  volunteered  to  lead  the  Savannah  River  Chickasaws  without  pay, 
but  the  Commons  provided  for  him  about  seven  pounds  a  month ;  he  and 
his  party  joined  with  some  of  the  western  Chickasaws  under  Captain  John 

^iJC,  Feb.  29,  Mar.  3,  6,  Apr.  7,  July  17,   1760;   JCHA,  July  9,   1760. 

*-See  JCHA,  Mar.  11,  14,  Apr.  16,  1760,  JC,  Feb.  14,  Mar.  19,  1760;  PR,  XXIX, 
54-55,  210  (Order  in  Council,  Mar.  20,  1761,  Boone  to  Board,  Dec.  24,  1761); 
Lyttelton   embarked   April  4th    {SCG,   Apr.   7,    1760). 

^''SCG,  Apr.  7,  May  31,  1760,  JCHA,  Apr.  16,  17,  19,  1760;  PR,  XXVIII, 
328-333    (Bull  to  Board,  May  6,   1760). 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  229 

Brown,  who  though  the  half-breed  son  of  a  Cherokee  mother,  was  an  active 
and  responsible  trader  to  the  distant  tribe  and  their  leader  in  defense 
against  the  Choctaws.  The  Indians  did  not  accompany  Montgomery  be- 
yond the  Lower  Towns  but  served  irregularly  about  Fort  Prince  George 
during  the  summer.  In  September  Adair's  party  claimed  to  have  taken 
four  Cherokee  scalps  and  the  Catawbas  in  October  produced  a  prisoner  and 
six  scalps.** 

On  the  28th  of  May  Montgomery  left  Ninety  Six  with  his  force  of 
regulars  and  provincials;  his  lieutenant-colonel  was  James  Grant  who 
acted  as  correspondent  for  the  expedition.  Bull,  with  little  hope  of  success 
for  the  expedition,  said  that  in  two  weeks  he  expected  news  of  the  burning 
of  the  empty  towns  and  the  supplies  of  the  "volatile"  enemy.  At  this  time 
the  negro  Abraham,  now  freed  for  his  services,  again  brought  news  of  the 
wretched  Fort  Loudoun  garrison  with  its  ration  of  two  ounces  of  "rotten 
meat"  and  a  pint  of  corn  a  day,  and  only  enough  of  this  for  six  weeks. 
He  also  reported  the  sufferings  of  the  prisoners  in  the  towns.  Miln  had 
recently  decoyed  Tistoe  of  Keowee  and  nine  other  Cherokees  to  the  fort, 
seized  them  and  exchanged  two  for  several  white  prisoners.*^ 

On  the  fifth  day  after  his  departure  from  Ninety  Six  Montgomery 
reached  Twelve  Mile  Creek  and  there  left  the  baggage  in  charge  of  a  small 
party,  while  he  attempted  to  surprise  Eastatoe,  the  largest  of  the  Lower 
Towns,  several  miles  above  Keowee.  Forced  to  turn  aside  to  destroy  a 
small  outlying  village  where  they  killed  most  of  the  men,  the  troops  dis- 
closed themselves  to  the  enemy  and  Eastatoe  was  found  deserted  with  the 
beds  still  warm.  In  Sugar  Town  nearby  they  found  the  dead  body  of  a 
man  tortured  the  preceding  morning,  and  burned  that  town  and  the  several 
smaller  towns  making  up  the  lower  division  of  the  Cherokees,  together  with 
their  plentiful  stores  of  food.  On  June  2nd,  after  an  uninterrupted  march 
of  sixty  miles  from  Twelve  Mile  Creek,  the  force  reached  Fort  Prince 
George.  Here  Montgomery  waited  for  the  Indians  to  sue  for  peace,  while 
Grant  wrote  condescending  dispatches  to  Charleston  in  which  he  even 
praised  the  rangers.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  Catawbas  started  home 
with  thirty  horse  loads  of  plunder.*" 

On  the  5th  Montgomery  released  Tistoe,  who  now  for  the  second  time 

^*PR,  XXVIII,  330-331  (Bull  to  Board,  May  6,  1760);  JCHA,  Apr.  19,  28, 
1760,  Indian  Books,  V,  339-340;  SCG,  July  19,  Aug.  2,  1760;  JC,  Sept.  3,  5,  Oct.  6, 
1760. 

■'^PR,  XXVIII,  353-354  (Bull  to  Board,  May  29,  1760);  JCHA,  June  12,  1760, 
SCG,  May  24,  June  7,  10,  1760.  This  was  Abraham's  third  trip  through  the  Chero- 
kee country;  he  had  meanwhile  had  smallpox  in  Charleston.  For  Grant,  see  below, 
p.  237. 

^SCG,  June  10,  14,  July  5,  1760;  JC,  June  10,  1760.  On  his  return  Mont- 
gomery brought  1  man  and  32  women  and  children  prisoners  (SCG,  Aug.  13, 
1760).  By  his  failure  to  destroy  the  growing  crops  he  neglected  his  best  opportunity. 
Later  in  the  year,  when  the  Middle  and  Overhill  settlements  developed  a  food 
shortage  the  fields"  of  the  Lower  Towns  became  an  invaluable  supply  {SCG,  July 
5,  Aug.  2,  Sept.  13,  1760;  JC,  June  30,  1760). 


230  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

in  six  months  went  out  from  confinement  in  Fort  Prince  George  a  dubious 
envoy  of  peace.  He  carried  from  the  commander  a  threat  that  if  the 
Indians  did  not  come  to  terms  within  ten  days  he  would  destroy  the  other 
towns,  but  this  availed  nothing,  for  the  Middle  Settlements  were  not  yet 
touched,  and  the  hostile  Overhills  had  Fort  Loudoun  at  their  mercy."  On 
the  24th  therefore  Montgomery  started  on  his  mission  of  destruction  of  the 
Middle  Towns,  frankly  admitting  that  he  could  not  attempt  the  relief  of 
Fort  Loudoun.  Forty  of  the  rangers,  even  more  disillusioned  than  he, 
deserted  the  night  before  the  march.  A  provision  train  with  supplies  for 
thirty  days — cattle,  and  flour  loaded  on  packhorses — accompanied  the 
expedition.  Crossing  the  Keowee  at  the  ford  below  the  fort  the  little  army 
advanced  along  the  trading  path  over  high  rolling  hills,  following  Oconee 
Creek  to  its  head.  They  climbed  Oconee  Mountain,  descended  to  the 
Chattooga  River  and  crossing  it  ascended  the  narrow  and  rugged  valley  of 
War  Woman  Creek.  At  no  point  of  the  fifty-mile  stretch  of  broken 
country  between  Keowee  and  the  nearest  of  the  Middle  Towns  did  the 
Cherokees  offer  resistance,  apparently  preferring  to  stand  nearer  their  own 
homes  and  perhaps  wishing  to  cut  the  invading  force  off  from  retreat.*® 
On  the  27th,  anticipating  trouble,  Montgomery  marched  at  four  in  the 
morning  hoping  to  surprise  the  Indians.  Turning  due  north  he  passed 
Rabun  Gap  and  entered  the  narrow  but  pleasant  valley  of  the  Little 
Tennessee.  Following  the  west  bank  of  the  stream,  at  ten  o'clock  he 
reached  the  site  of  a  former  Cherokee  town,  Tassantee,  thirteen  miles  from 
his  camp  of  the  preceding  night  and  five  miles  from  Echoe.  Here  he  ap- 
proached a  low  and  thickly  covered  stretch,  the  river  a  short  distance  in 
front,  to  his  left  a  steep  mountain,  and  on  the  right  a  hill.  As  John  Mor- 
rison of  Amelia,  captain  of  one  of  the  provincial  companies  and  leading  the 
advance  guard,  plunged  into  the  thicket  to  reconnoitre  he  was  fired  on  from 
all  sides  and  fell  dead.  The  grenadiers  and  light  infantry  at  once  charged 
into  the  thicket,  while  the  Royal  Scotch  were  moved  to  the  rising  ground  on 
the  right  and  the  Highlanders  toward  the  mountain  on  the  left.  The 
Cherokees  retiring  to  the  steep  slope  of  the  mountain,  the  troops  faced  to 
the  left,  apparently  with  their  backs  to  the  river,  and  suffered  a  galling  fire 
from  the  rifles  of  the  Indians  which  carried  further  than  their  own  muskets. 
Then,  after  four  or  five  hours  of  fighting,  the  force  faced  to  the  right,  filed 
over  the  ford  to  the  east  bank  of  the  Tennessee,  and  made  their  way  to 
Echoe  five  miles  away.  Some  of  the  Cherokees  had  gone  ahead  and  warned 
the  town,  which  was  empty  when  Montgomery  arrived,  but  others  at- 
tacked the  provision  train  which  was  guarded  by  about  a  hundred  men. 

^''  SCG,  June  7,  July  5,  1760;  PR,  XXVIII,  364-366  (Bull  to  Board,  June  30, 
1760)  ;  JC,  June  30,  1760. 

^^  SCG,  July  5,  12,  1760;  Some  Observations  etc.  (see  above,  n.  37),  pp.  81-82; 
PR,  XXVIII,  365  (Bull  to  Board,  June  30,  1760).  For  the  route  see  Haig,  Map  of 
Back  Country  of  S.  C,  and  Bartram,   Travels  through  N.  and  S.  C,  pp.  331-348. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  231 

Beset  on  all  sides,  these  men  barricaded  their  wounded  with  the  bags  of 
flour,  and  eventually  beat  off  the  enemy.  They  met  the  reinforcement  sent 
back  from  Echoe  and  reached  the  town  after  midnight.  16  regulars  were 
killed  and  66  wounded,  while  of  the  provincials  there  were  3  slain  and  10 
wounded.  The  dead  were  left  on  the  field,  and  covered,  if  at  all,  too 
slightly  to  give  the  bodies  any  protection. '*'* 

The  regular  troops  apparently  remained  in  close  formation  and  the 
Indians,  themselves  suffering  little,  declared  later  that  they  shot  down  the 
soldiers  like  turkeys.  The  provincials  and  rangers  in  part  protected  them- 
selves by  trees,  and  Grant  afterwards  charged  the  latter  with  cowardice. 
His  accusation  was  refuted  by  the  losses  of  these  companies  which  were  in 
equal  proportion  to  those  of  the  regulars,  and  reflected  little  credit  on  the 
author  whose  letters  showed  that  the  main  force,  including  himself,  left 
the  rear  guard  of  rangers,  wagoners  and  regulars  to  shift  for  itself,  and 
that  this  mixed  company  fought  its  way  through  the  enemy  and  saved  the 
supplies.^** 

At  Echoe  Montgomery  camped  for  the  night  and  the  following  day, 
the  Indians  making  two  attacks  which  apparently  inflicted  no  loss.  Then 
at  midnight,  leaving  lights  in  the  houses  to  deceive  the  Indians,  and  with 
the  wounded  in  litters,  the  troops  began  a  return  march  that  brought  them 
the  following  night  to  War  Woman  Creek,  twenty-eight  miles  away. 
Grant's  truculent  statement  later  that  the  Indians  dared  not  come  near 
them  was,  under  the  circumstances,  somewhat  unnecessary.  On  the  30th 
there  were  skirmishes  with  the  Indians  with  slight  loss,  and  at  the  end  of 
that  day  the  army  camped  within  twelves  miles  of  Keowee.°^  Mont- 
gomery's position  after  the  fight  at  Echoe  was  unenviable,  and  his  argu- 
ment that  it  was  impossible  to  continue  the  campaign  without  sacrificing 
his  wounded  was  not  without  force,  but  the  need  of  preserving  some  shred 
of  respect  for  the  whites  demanded  that  he  at  least  attempt  the  destruction 
of  the  towns  which  lay  within  easy  reach  a  few  miles  down  the  Little 
Tennessee  valley.  The  flight  by  night  capped  the  failure  of  the  expedition 
and,  coming  on  the  heels  of  Lyttelton's  expedition,  gave  the  Cherokees 
such  confidence  in  themselves  and  their  hills  that  not  even  another  year  of 

^^SCG,  July  5,  12,  19,  1760;  Some  Observations  etc.,  pp.  82-86.  The  dis- 
tances and  description  of  the  ground  indicate  that  the  battle  occurred  on  a 
stretch  of  the  path  nearly  a  mile  long  which  cut  across  from  one  end  to  another  of 
a  half-circle  described  by  the  river.  The  lower  end  of  that  half-circle  was  at  or 
near  the  ford  marked  approximately  by  the  present  Smith's  bridge,  half  a  mile 
above  the  mouth  of  Tessentee  Creek.  The  "rising  ground"  appears  to  have  been 
the  hill  partly  enclosed  by  the  river,  the  "mountain"  probably  the  slope  to  the 
northwest  of  the  hill  rather  than  the  steeper  ascent  to  the  southwest  (Haig,  Map  of 
Cherokee  Country,  and  United  States  Geological  Survey,  North  Carolina  "Cowee 
Quadrangle" — Washington,  1907;  notes  made  by  J.  M.  Lesesne  and  the  writer, 
Oct.  10,  1936). 

^°SCG,  Oct.  25,  1760;  Some  Observations  etc.,  pp.  26-27. 

^^SCG,  July  12,  1760,  JC,  July  11,  1760,  Some  Observations  etc.,  p.  85. 


232  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

war  and  another  invasion  brought  them  to  terms.    The  province  was  much 
the  worse  for  Montgomery's  coming. 

The  expedition  reached  Fort  Prince  George  on  July  1st  and,  leaving 
six  months  supply  of  flour  and  forty  bullocks,  marched  the  next  day  for 
Ninety  Six.  The  garrison  was  so  near  to  mutiny  at  the  prospect  be- 
fore it  that  a  show  of  force  was  necessary  to  restore  order  and  a  rein- 
forcement of  twenty-six  men  from  the  regulars  was  left  in  the  fort.  At 
the  Congarees  Montgomery  left  three  hundred  men,  but,  despite  the  urgent 
pleas  of  Bull  and  the  assembly,  he  embarked  in  August  with  the  remainder 
of  his  troops,  carrying  out  Amherst's  orders  for  a  return  to  the  north  as 
soon  as  the  Cherokees  were  chastised.  The  commander-in-chief  properly 
reminded  the  provincial  authorities  of  their  obligation  to  fill  the  South 
Carolina  regiments  before  asking  a  permanent  force  of  regulars.^^ 

The  failure  of  Montgomery's  expedition  assured  the  fall  of  the  hap- 
less Fort  Loudoun.  Though  under  close  siege  since  the  beginning  of  the 
war,  it  had  not  often  been  attacked,  and  by  sale  of  petty  trifles  to  the  In- 
dians Captain  Demere  had  obtained  small  quantities  of  supplies.  But  as 
the  war  spirit  in  the  Overhills  mounted  and  the  news  of  the  death  of  the 
hostages  at  Fort  Prince  George  came  to  them  the  lines  were  drawn  closer. 
The  distress  of  the  garrison,  with  its  allowance  of  a  pint  of  corn  a  day  for 
each  soldier,  caused  the  resourceful  lieutenant-governor  to  form  a  scheme 
for  temporary  relief.  He  succeeded  in  getting  a  parcel  of  ribbons  and 
paint  to  the  fort,  and  with  this  small  but  precious  cargo  Demere  bought 
two  weeks  provisions  from  the  Cherokee  wenches,  "above  30  of  whom 
constantly  resorted  to  the  fort".  The  services  of  these  women,  whether 
for  love  of  the  soldier  or  for  his  gewgaws,  no  doubt  had  much  to  do  with 
the  increasing  hostility  of  the  warriors.  Despite  the  shortage  of  supplies 
Demere  ransomed  a  woman  and  three  children  from  the  Indians,  the 
former  shortly  afterwards  dying  of  the  abuse  she  had  suffered.  At  the 
last  the  fort  subsisted  on  the  flesh  of  horses  or  of  lean  hogs  and  the  beans 
which  the  women,  with  the  Little  Carpenter's  aid,  brought  in  on  rainy 
nights.     But  finally  that  too  ceased.^^ 

As  July  wore  on  the  occasional  despatches  told  of  the  despair  of  the 
garrison  "abandoned  and  forsaken  by  God  and  man."  On  the  6th  of 
August  a  council  of  war  decided  that  the  fort  could  not  be  held  longer, 
and  Captain  Stuart  and  Lieutenant  James  Adamson  went  to  the  Great 
Warrior  for  terms.  In  return  for  the  surrender  of  the  fort  and  all  guns, 
spare  arms  and  ammunition,  the  Indians  granted  permission  for  the  gar- 
rison with  arms  and  ammunition  to  go  to  Virginia  or  Prince  George  while 

^-Ibid.,  p.  88,  SCG,  July  19,  1760,  JCHA,  July  11,  30,  31,  1760;  PR,  XXVIII,  372- 
380,  388-391  (Bull  to  Board,  July  20,  Aug.  15,  1760,  with  enclosed  letter). 
Apparently  Montgomery  left,  in  all,  400  men — see  below,  p.  237. 

•'^=*PR,  XXVIII,  331-333,  362  (Bull  to  Board,  May  6,  June  17,  1760),  SCG, 
June  7,  21,  Aug.  23,  1760. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  233 

the  sick  were  to  be  cared  for  in  the  Indian  towns.  The  Cherokees  thus 
came  in  possession  of  14  cannon,  80  small  arms,  1,000  pounds  of  powder  and 
2,000  pounds  of  ball/" 

From  the  time  that  these  despatches  were  received  till  the  31st  of 
August  nothing  was  known  at  Fort  Prince  George  of  the  fate  of  the  gar- 
rison, and  the  details  of  the  massacre  reached  Charleston  a  month  later  by 
way  of  Virginia.  The  soldiers  marched  out  of  the  fort  on  the  9th  and 
camped  that  night  sixteen  miles  away.  As  they  resumed  their  journey  the 
next  morning  the  Indians  attacked  the  advance  guard.  Demere,  who  was 
bitterly  hated  by  the  Indians,  whether  for  his  position  or  his  behavior  does 
not  appear,  was  wounded,  scalped  at  once  and  then  tortured  horribly  to 
death  on  the  spot.  It  was  reported  at  the  time  that  only  25  others  were 
killed,  but  Bull  later  declared  that  there  were  slain  4  officers,  23  privates, 
and  3  women.  7  others  were  reported  drowned  in  attempting  to  escape 
and  two  to  have  burst  themselves  eating.  The  remainder,  about  120, 
brought  the  number  of  prisoners  from  the  frontier  of  the  two  Carolinas  to 
near  300.  Stuart  was  spirited  away  by  the  Little  Carpenter;  months  later 
when  he  reached  Charleston  by  way  of  Virginia,  he  was  commended  highly 
by  the  lieutenant-governor  and  the  Commons  and  voted  a  gratuity  of  about 
two  hundred  pounds. ^"^ 

The  destruction  of  the  hated  and  feared  Fort  Loudoun  establishment 
satisfied  many  Cherokees,  and  started  talk  of  peace,  but  the  majority 
were  inspired  to  a  renewed  blockade  of  Fort  Prince  George,  determined, 
so  Bull  reported,  to  have  the  officers  who  commanded  when  the  hostages 
were  put  to  death,  and  to  get  the  presents  and  the  six  thousand  pounds  of 
powder  left  there  by  Lyttelton.  The  lieutenant-governor  acted  promptly 
to  cover  the  frontier  with  what  forces  he  had.  One  troop  of  rangers  he 
placed  a  few  miles  above  the  detachment  left  by  Montgomery  at  the 
Congarees.  The  other  six  he  stationed  in  pairs  between  the  Catawba  and 
the  Broad,  the  Broad  and  Ninety  Six,  and  between  Ninety  Six  and  the 
Savannah  and  Fort  Moore.  At  Ninety  Six  he  placed  fifty  men  and  four 
swivel  guns,  primarily  to  keep  lines  open  to  Fort  Prince  George.  The  post 
continued  the  base  of  operations  until  the  campaign  of  1761  but  the  pro- 
vincial regiment  remained  at  the  Congarees.^® 

^*PR,  XXVIII,  361-362,  389,  394-396,  413-414  (Bull  to  Board,  June  17,  Aug. 
15,  31,  Oct.  21,  1760),  SCG,  June  14,  Aug.  2,  23,  1760.  Adamson  was  from  the 
Waterees    (above  p.  105). 

^^SCG,  Sept.  6,  27,  Oct.  4,  11,  18,  1760;  PR,  XXVIII,  401-^03,  409-411  (Bull 
to  Board,   Sept.  9,   Oct.   21,    1760);   JC,   Oct.   22,   1760;   JCHA,   Jan.  22,  23,   1761. 

^^SCG,  Sept.  27,  1760;  PR,  XXVIII,  396-397,  402  (Bull  to  Board,  Aug.  31, 
Sept.  9,  1760)  ;  JCHA,  Aug.  14,  1760,  Mar.  28,  1761.  During  August  one  of  the 
garrison  was  killed  and  two  captured  {SCG,  Sept.  13,  1760).  In  February  1761 
Miln  and  the  other  officers  at  Fort  Prince  George  who  had  been  there  when 
the  hostages  were  killed  were  recalled,  Miln  being  replaced  in  command  by 
Lieutenant  Lachlan  Mcintosh,  appointed  by  Bull  because  he  was  "greatly  re- 
spected by  the  Indians"  and  thus  could  facilitate  peace  talks  (letters  of  Aug.  15, 
1760,  Jan.   29,    1761,   PR,   XXVIII,   390-391,   XXIX,   23-24,   SCG,   Mar.   7,    1761). 


234  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

It  was  not  until  October  that  the  relief  of  Fort  Prince  George  was 
undertaken.  Meanwhile  that  garrison,  reduced  to  sour  flour  and  the 
flesh  of  an  occasional  horse,  had  become  desperate  and  fearful  that  the  fate 
of  the  Overhills  fort  would  also  be  theirs.  "For  God's  sake,"  wrote  a 
correspondent,  "tell  me,  what  are  they  about?  have  they  no  compassion  for 
us,  for  themselves,  or  for  their  posterity?  shall  scarce  2000  savages  now 
give  law  to  Carolina,  when  12  or  15,000,  45  years  ago,  could  not?     Oh! 

my  country!     "      But   on   October    11th    Major 

William  Thomson  set  out  from  Ninety  Six  with  a  detachment  of  268 
picked  rangers  driving  pack  horses  loaded  with  2,500  pounds  of  flour,  each 
ranger  carrying  on  his  own  horse  40  pounds  of  salted  jerked  beef.  Arriving 
on  the  15th,  Thomson  likewise  supplied  the  garrison  with  firewood.  In 
November  and  again  in  February  the  lieutenant-governor  sent  up  more 
supplies  in  wagons,  escorted  by  the  rangers." 

In  this  collapse  of  the  ambitious  and  expensive  imperial  structure  it 
was  not  the  ranger  troops  alone  who  held  the  South  Carolina  frontier. 
The  defeat  of  Montgomery's  force  threw  the  back  country  settlers  into 
"such  dreadful  apprehensions"  that  many,  so  the  Gazette  declared,  fled  to 
the  now  safer  northern  colonies,  while  some  took  refuge  in  the  fall  line 
settlements  or  in  the  low  country.  But  others  held  their  ground.  Renewed 
activity  in  building  stockades  made  more  demands  upon  the  provincial 
administration  for  swivel  guns  and  blunderbusses,  and  there  was  even  re- 
settlement of  the  Long  Canes  where  a  fort  was  built  under  guard  of  a 
party  of  the  "far  Chickasaws".  Another  was  built  for  the  Catawbas  at 
the  expense  of  the  province,  enabling  them  to  return  to  their  homes  from 
their  refuge  at  Pinetree  Hill.^^ 

There  were  more  than  a  score  of  these  forts  dotting  the  country  from 
the  Salkehatchie  forks  to  the  Indian  boundary,  but  probably  the  dozen  in 
the  exposed  region  between  Fort  Moore  and  the  mouth  of  the  Tyger  River 
contained  the  fifteen  hundred  persons  referred  to  by  Lieutenant-Governor 
Bull  in  January  1761.^^    The  seven  hundred  pounds  given  by  the  Commons 

"PR,  XXVIII,  411-412,  XXIX,  23-24  (Bull  to  Board,  Oct.  21,  1760,  Jan.  29, 
1761)  ;  SCG,  Sept.  27,  Oct.  18,  25,  1760,  Feb.  21,  1761 ;  JC,  Nov.  IS,  1760.  On  the  last 
expedition  133  of  Thomson's  horses  were  killed  or  taken  by  the  Indians  when  they 
strayed  from  the  fort  {SCG,  Mar.  7,  1761). 

^SCG,  July  26,  Aug.  13,  Nov.  15,  1760;  JCHA,  Oct.  14,  17,  1760;  JC,  Aug.  7, 
Oct.  8,  15,  1760,  Sept.  12,  1761;  Howe,  Presbyterian  Church,  I,  307-308. 

53  JCHA,  Jan.  21,  1761;  PR,  XXIX,  89  (Bull  to  Pitt,  Apr.  28,  1761).  The 
following  is  a  list  of  forts  named  in  the  records: 

1.  Ashepoo,  Fort  at  head  of    (JC,  Apr.  7,   1760). 

2.  Aubrey's    (Samuel),    Enoree    River,    apparently   abandoned    for    Musgrove's, 
two  miles   away    (JC,   Apr.   30,   June   18,   1760). 

3.  Barker's,  Salkehatchie  River   {SCG,  Oct.  10,  1761— advt.  of  Joseph  Glover). 

4.  Bedon's,    Buckhead    Creek,    Salkehatchie    River;    Bedon's    and    Barker's    may 
have  been  the  same    (JC,  Mar.  27,   1760). 

5.  Brooks'    (Jacob),  or  Rhall's,   Bush  River    (Indian   Books,   VI,   218,   above,   p. 
223). 

6.  Bull,  Fort,  Orangeburg   (JC,  Apr.  30,  1760). 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  235 

in  June  to  these  civilian  soldiers  and  their  families  fell  so  far  short  of  the 
needs  of  the  frontier  that  in  January  1761  twice  as  much  again  was  ap- 
propriated for  the  purpose.""  This  was  scanty  aid  for  the  stout-hearted 
frontiersmen  who  held  the  back  country  for  two  bitter  years  and  saved  the 
province  from  the  economic  and  moral  damage  that  would  have  followed 
complete  abandonment  of  the  piedmont.  The  money  served  the  purpose, 
however,  for  it  eked  out  the  partial  crops  of  grain  they  planted  and  har- 

7.  Catawba  Fort;  Twelve  Mile  Creek,  Catawba  River   (JCHA,  Oct.  14,  1760; 
JC,  Oct.  8,  1760,  Sept.  12,  1761;  State  Records  of  N.  C,  XI,  80,  map). 

8.  Dryer's   (Godfrev  Dreher's),  Congarees   (JC,  May  24,  1760). 

9.  Fletchall's    (probably   Thomas)    or    "Fletcher's",    Sandy   River    {SCG,    Sept. 
27,   1760). 

10.  Gallman's   (Henry),  Congarees   (JC,  Mar.  27,  1760,  JCHA,  May  19,  1760). 

11.  Galphin's  (George),  Silver  Bluff  {SCG,  July  12,  1760,  above,  p.  70). 

12.  Gordon's,  Enoree   (P,  VH,  253;  Stats.,  IX,  211). 

13.  Helm's,  Wateree  Creek,  Wateree  River  (JCHA,  May  25,  1764;  P,  VII,  501). 

14.  Lee's,  head  of  East  Fork  Little  River  of  Broad  (JCHA,  May  25,  1764,  Dec. 
1769,  P,  VII,  475,  Stats.,  IX,  214). 

15.  Long  Canes,  {SCG,  Nov.  15,  1760;  note  also  Fort  Adventure  on  Savannah 
River— JCHA,   May  25,    1764). 

16.  Lyles'  or  "Loyalls'  ",  Beaver  Creek  (JCHA,  Schedule  for  1762  appropriation 
bill,  names  men  supplying  the  fort;  P,  VIII,  184,  185,  XVI,  353— plats  of 
Samuel  and  Clement  Mobberly  and  John  Liles). 

17.  Moore,  Fort,  occupied  by  settlers  in  spring  of  1760  when  the  garrison  was 
moved  to  Augusta   {SCG,  June  21,  1760). 

18.  Musgrove's,  later  Fort  William  Henry;  see  also  Aubrey's  (JCHA,  Schedule 
for  1762  appropriation  bill;  JC,  Apr.  30,  June  18,  1760). 

19.  Nixon's  (Edward),  Little  River,  Broad  River  (JCHA,  Schedule  for  1764 
appropriation  bill;  JC,  Dec.  7,  1762;  P,  XVI,  512). 

20.  Otterson's,  Tyger  River  (Howe,  Presbyterian  Church,  I,  333.  Perhaps 
James  Otterson,  see  ibid.,  p.  298  and  his  advertisement,  SCAGG,  July  17 
1767). 

21.  Pearson's  (John),  apparently  on  his  own  land  on  Broad  River  (Indian 
Books,  VI,  218;  above,  pp.  156-157). 

22.  Pennington's  (Jacob),  Indian  Creek  {SCG,  Aug.  8,  1761;  JCHA,  July  23, 
1761;  P,  VI,  44,  X,  248). 

23.  Raiford's  (Philip),  Little  River,  Broad  River  (Indian  Books,  VI,  225; 
Robert  Mills,  Statistics  of  South  Carolina — Charleston,  1826 — p.  555). 

24.  Stevens  Creek    (JC,  Apr.  7,  1760). 

25.  Tobler's  (John),  near  Fort  Moore  (JC,  Apr.  7,  1760;  Urlsperger,  Nach- 
richten,  Ackeriverk,  pt.  4,  148). 

26.  Turner's  (William),  mouth  of  Little  Saluda  {SCG,  Feb.  9,  1760,  May  30, 
1761). 

27.  Waggener's  (John),  Beaver  Creek,  Broad  River  (JCHA,  May  25,  1764; 
Mills,  Statistics,  p.  555). 

28.  Wofford's,  Fairforest  Creek    (P,  VIII,   57). 

There  are  likewise  references  to  Burkhalter's  fort  (JCHA,  May  25,  1764),  and 
to  Ott's  and  Rowe's  forts  in  the  Orangeburg  community  (Salley,  Orangeburg,  pp. 
190-191). 

60  See  above,  p.  227,  JCHx\,  Jan.  22,  1761.  Thomas  Gill,  miller  of  the  Saluda 
settlements  (P,  VIII,  599),  disabled  while  serving  in  Fort  Ninety  Six,  was 
granted  an  annuity  of  thirteen  pounds  (JCHA,  Jan.  23,  24,  1761).  Frauds  were 
discovered  in  some  of  these  accounts  (JCHA,  July  14,  23,  1761)  and  the  Commons 
refused  to  pay  several  others  because  the  certificates  and  names  of  appraisers 
were  all  in  the  same  hand   (JCHA,  July  3,  1764). 


236  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

vested  at  the  risk  and  sometimes  at  the  cost  of  their  lives.  With  the  Ninety 
Six  garrison  the  Commons  were  more  generous.  First  under  command  of 
Francis  and  then  under  Thomas  Bell,  it  was  continued  in  the  provincial 
service  until  April  1761,  the  pay  for  the  preceding  seven  and  a  half  months 
amounting  to  nearly  six  hundred  pounds.®^ 

When  Bull  learned  in  July  1760  that  Montgomery's  force  must  return 
at  once  to  New  York,  he  proposed  to  the  Commons  that  the  four  com- 
panies of  British  troops  left  at  the  Congarees  be  used  with  the  rangers  to 
defend  the  frontier,  and  that  the  province  not  attempt  the  offensive.  In 
view  of  Amherst's  strictures  he  urged  the  House  to  fill  the  new  regiment 
provided  for  in  February  and  to  bring  the  old  provincial  companies  up  to 
three  hundred.  But  a  House  committee  recommended  more  vigorous  meas- 
ures, and  by  a  bare  majority  the  Commons  resolved  to  raise  a  new  regiment 
of  a  thousand  men,  the  number  including  the  independent  troops  and  the 
three  provincial  companies  already  in  service.^^ 

Recruiting  proceeded  slowly  in  the  province  and  neighboring  colonies 
despite  the  energetic  efforts  of  Thomas  Middleton,  the  Colonel,  Henry 
Laurens,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  and  their  subordinate  officers,  among  them 
William  Moultrie  and  Francis  Marion.  In  December  there  were  400  in 
the  regiment,  the  following  April  about  500.''^  No  such  difficulties  handi- 
capped the  ranger  service.  In  October  1761  the  Commons  approved 
Bull's  organization  of  the  seven  troops  into  a  regiment  of  horse  with 
William  Thomson  as  major,  and  in  January  authorized  enlistment  of  an 
eighth  troop  which  the  lieutenant-governor  said  he  could  immediately  raise. 
A  uniform  for  the  men,  and  pay  for  the  officers  equal  to  that  of  the  regi- 
mental officers,  completed  the  evolution  of  Francis'  and  Fairchild's  nonde- 
script troops  of  the  previous  decade.*'* 

Much  of  the  lieutenant-governor's  time  for  the  six  months  following 
the  surrender  of  Fort  Loudoun  was  taken  up  with  futile  peace  talks,  which 
may,  however,  have  saved  Fort  Prince  George  and  the  frontier  more  than 
one  attack.®'    More  to  the  point  were  the  negotiations  by  which  115  prison- 

«1PR,  XXIX,  90  (Bull  to  Pitt,  Apr.  28,  1760),  JCHA,  May  28,  29,  June  13,  24, 
1761,  SCG,  Apr.  11,  1761  ("Rayfords"  Creek  is  evidently  a  misprint  for  Raeburns; 
for  location  see  P,  X,  126,  XIII,  290 — Edward  and  Robert  Box  and  Jacob  Brooks). 

«2  JCHA,  July  31,  Aug.  1,  5,  6,  13,  14,  IS,  19,  1760;  Stats.,  IV,  144-148.  The 
"regiment"  projected  by  the  resolution  of  Feb.  12th  preceding  (see  above,  p. 
226)  was  ignored;  nine  months  pay  for  its  125  men  was  included  in  the  appro- 
priation  act  of  July   31st    {Stats.,  IV,    128). 

^'^  Manuscript  copy  of  [First]  Letter  of  Philopatrios  in  "Gadsden  Miscellany"; 
JCHA,  Apr.  23,  1761;  SCG,  Sept.  27,  Oct.  25,  Nov.  8,  15,  22,  1760;  PR,  XXVIII, 
447  (Bull  to  Board,  Dec.  17,  1760).  For  Bull's  delay  in  issuing  commissions  see 
JCHA,  Oct.  10,  13,  1760. 

*^JCHA,   Oct.   14,   17,    1760,  Jan.    16,    17,    1761. 

«^PR,  XXVIII,  391-397,  409-415  (Bull  to  Board,  Aug.  15,  31,  Oct.  21,  1761), 
JC,  Oct.  6,  1760,  SCG,  Oct.  25,  1760. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  237 

ers  were  ransomed,  about  70  of  them  soldiers,  leaving  perhaps  30  captives 
in  the  nation.®'' 

The  news  of  the  massacre  of  the  Fort  Loudoun  garrison  and  Bull's 
application  to  General  Amherst  brought  another  detachment  of  regular 
troops  commanded  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  James  Grant,  Montgomery's 
adjutant  and  the  chief  correspondent  of  the  1760  expedition.  The  troops 
arrived  January  6,  1761,  and  with  the  men  left  by  Montgomery  at  the 
Congarees  brought  Grant's  command  to  1,600.  Provision  was  made  for  a 
depot  of  500,000  pounds  of  flour  at  the  Congarees  and  for  sending  1,500 
head  of  cattle  to  designated  points.*''  Renewed  application  to  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina  caused  troops  to  be  raised  by  both  colonies,  but  neither  of 
these  forces  influenced  the  result  of  the  campaign.®* 

By  the  end  of  March  Grant  had  his  troops  at  Moncks  Corner  ready  to 
leave  as  soon  as  the  woods  afforded  forage  for  horses  and  cattle.  Marching 
by  detachments  and  delayed  by  rains  the  force  reached  Ninety  Six  on  the 
14th  of  May,  where  Major  Moultrie  had  already  finished  a  new  stockade 
for  that  fort.  Here  Grant  organized  his  force  for  the  campaign.  He  had 
on  the  spot  1,400  regulars,  689  provincials  under  Colonel  Thomas  Middle- 
ton,  401  rangers,  and  57  Indians  who  were  to  serve  as  scouts,  beside 
wagoners  and  negro  pioneers,  making  a  total  of  nearly  2,800.  There  were 
19  Catawbas  under  old  Hagler,  accompanied  by  a  few  Mohawks  who  came 
with  Grant,  and  these  erstwhile  enemies,  now  companions  in  arms,  did  well 
in  the  campaign.  Perhaps  the  Indian  honors  went  to  the  Chickasaws  led 
by  Colbert;  fifteen  of  them  as  they  set  out  for  Ninety  Six  from  Augusta 
declared  that  if  more  Cherokee  peace  talks  were  listened  to  they  would 
never  fight  them  again,  "observing,  that  they  often  hear  the  white  people 
say  'God  damn  the  Cherokees,'  but  never  see  them  kill  any".  The  western 
Chickasaws  were  gone  a  3ear  from  home.®^ 

Arriving  at  Fort  Prince  George  May  27,  Grant  added  to  his  force 
the  Fort  Loudoun  soldiers  recently  ransomed.  Again,  as  on  Montgomery's 
approach,  there  was  talk  of  peace,  the  Little  Carpenter  striving  to  make 
terms.  But  the  redoubtable  Young  Warrior  and  Cunnicatoka  or  the 
Standing  Turkey  of  Chotee,  who  later  succeeded  Old  Hop  as  "Emperor", 

««PR,  XXIX,  21-24,  106  (Bull  to  Board,  Jan.  29,  May  16,  1761)  ;  JCHA,  Jan. 
22,  23,  May  7,  1761;  JC,  May  6,  1761;  SCG,  Nov.  29,  1760,  May  9,  June  13,  20, 
1761.  Some  prisoners  were  redeemed  by  the  Virginia  governor  and  others  were 
sent  to  the  French   {SCG,  Dec.  6,  1760,  May  9,  1761). 

67  JCHA,  June  24,  Oct.  6,  1760,  Jan.  19,  Mar.  28,  Apr.  2,  1761;  PR,  XXVIII, 
436-438,  447-H8,  XXIX,  17-21,  (Bull  to  Board,  Nov.  18,  Dec.  17,  1760,  Jan.  29, 
1761)  ;  SCG,  June  10,  1760. 

«8  JCHA,  Mar.  28,  1761,  SCG.  May  2,  1761. 

«9JC,  July  21,  Sept.  12,  Nov.  17,  1761;  JCHA,  Mar.  28,  Apr.  2,  July  21,  23,  24, 
1761;  SCG,  Mar.  21,  Apr.  25,  May  2,  9,  23,  30,  June  20,  1761.  Part  of  the  ranger 
force  had  been  reserved  by  Bull  for  protection  of  the  southwest  frontier  against 
the  Creeks   (JCHA,  Mar.  28,   1761). 


238  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

were  still  for  war.  Accordingly  on  June  7th,  with  about  650  packhorses 
loaded  with  flour,  salt  and  ammunition,  but  with  no  tents,  Grant  crossed 
the  Keowee  leaving  only  invalids  at  Prince  George.^" 

At  eight  or  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  10th,  as  he  marched 
along  the  Little  Tennessee,  he  was  about  two  miles  from  the  site  of  the 
battle  of  the  year  before.  Here  where  hills  rose  steeply  almost  from  the 
banks  of  the  stream,  the  Cherokees  attacked.  Grant  formed  his  regulars 
in  columns,  and,  evidently  expecting  a  duplication  of  the  former  attack, 
planned  to  have  Thomson's  rangers  seize  the  hills  on  both  sides  of  the  river 
from  which  the  Indians  could  fire  upon  those  troops.  Behind  him  Colonel 
Middleton  and  his  provincial  regiment  had  the  provisions  and  cattle.  The 
Cherokees,  however,  with  a  fine  grasp  of  the  strategic  points  in  the  situa- 
tion, while  firing  upon  the  regulars  made  their  chief  attack  upon  the  pro- 
vincials, probably  intending  to  cut  off  the  provision  train.  Middleton 
sent  out  a  party  to  the  hills  on  his  own  right  flank,  and  a  reinforcement  of 
a  hundred  men  to  the  rear  to  quiet  the  apprehensions  of  the  troops  there 
who  feared  that,  like  Montgomery's  rear  guard,  they  might  be  abandoned. 
Grant  refused  to  send  troops  or  to  allow  Indians  to  go  to  the  rear.^^ 

After  three  or  four  hours  of  fighting  the  Cherokees  drew  off,  having 
inflicted  a  loss  on  their  enemy  of  11  killed  and  52  wounded.  It  was  sheer 
weight  of  numbers  rather  than  any  difference  in  management  by  the  officers 
or  behavior  of  the  men  that  made  the  second  battle  of  Echoe  a  better 
story  than  the  first.  From  the  battle  ground  Grant  marched  his  force  to 
the  town  where  he  camped  for  the  night.  Then,  leaving  Middleton  with  a 
thousand  men  to  guard  the  provisions,  he  proceeded  to  the  destruction  of 
the  fifteen  towns  and  fourteen  hundred  acres  of  corn  and  beans  in  the 
Middle  Settlements.  He  encountered  no  resistance,  and  on  the  9th  of 
July  reached  Fort  Prince  George  again,  after  thirty-three  days  in  the 
Indian  country.'^ 

A  campaign  against  the  Overhills  would  have  been  far  more  difficult 
and  dangerous  than  the  one  just  finished,  and  the  Valley  Towns,  almost 
as  far  away  though  not  as  inaccessible,  had  been  the  least  hostile  of  the 
Cherokee  divisions.  The  results  of  Grant's  expedition,  however,  were 
inconclusive.     He  had  inflicted  no  considerable  loss  on  the  man-power  of 

^°PR,  XXIX,  118-120  (Bull  to  Board,  June  19,  1761);  SCG,  May  30,  June  2Q, 
1761.  20  or  30  rangers  and  13  Provincials  deserted  at  Ninety  Six  {SCG,  May  30, 
1761).  For  Standing  Turkey  see  JC,  Dec.  18,  1761,  SCG,  Jan.  5,  1760.  Bull  said 
in  May,  1760  that  he  had  been  elected  (to  Board,  May  6th — PR,  XXVIII,  331,  and 
see  SCG,  May  3,  1760),  but  either  this  election  was  not  confirmed,  or  Little  Car- 
penter hoped  to  put  it  aside    (JCHA,  Sept.  15,  1761). 

^^PR,  XXIX,  124-126  (Bull  to  Board,  July  17,  1761);  SCG,  July  11,  18,  25, 
Aug.  1,  Sept.  12,   1761. 

■2  PR,  XXIX,  124-126  (Bull  to  Board,  July  17,  1761).  In  October  Grant  moved 
his  camp  to  Ninety  Six;  in  November  the  Provincial  Regiment,  much  reduced 
by  desertion  and  expiration  of  enlistment,  was  disbanded,  but  four  companies  of 
Thompson's  rangers  were  maintained  (PR,  XXIX,  199-201,  Bull  to  Board,  Dec.  5, 
1761;  SCG,  Oct.  10,  31,  1761). 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  239 

the  Cherokees,  and  his  destruction  of  crops  so  early  in  the  season  by  no 
means  cut  off  all  the  food  supply  even  of  the  Middle  Towns.  By  returning 
before  any  move  for  peace  had  been  made,  he  threw  away  any  assurance  of 
favorable  terms.  His  force  was  large  enough  to  secure  his  position  in  the 
Middle  Settlements  and  the  transportation  of  supplies  from  the  province. 
The  Virginia  expedition  was  on  the  Holston  River  a  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  from  the  Overhills  towns, '^  and  the  two  together  would  have  consti- 
tuted a  wholesome  influence  on  the  Cherokees  during  the  peace  negoti- 
ations. 

The  first  news  of  the  engagement  caused  smoldering  resentments  and 
differences  to  leap  into  flame,  and  this  was  doubtless  made  worse  by  Grant's 
condescending  letters  and  the  jealousy  in  the  English  province  of  Scotch 
officials.^*  The  Charleston  newspaper  of  Robert  Wells,  a  Scot,  carried 
laudatory  accounts  while  Timothy's  correspondents  attacked  Grant  for 
failure  to  inflict  serious  loss  on  the  Indians  in  the  skirmish  or  to  support 
the  provincial  troops;  they  recalled  the  treatment  of  the  rear  guard  the 
j^ear  before,  and  Grant's  previous  charge  of  cowardice  against  the  rangers. 
That  prince  of  controversialists,  Christopher  Gadsden,  speedily  threw  him- 
self into  the  fray,  and  scored  Grant  for  adopting  a  rigidly  defensive  policy 
with  evident  set  purpose  to  destroy  the  food  and  houses  of  the  Cherokees 
rather  than  their  warriors:  "who  wou'd  have  expected"  he  asked,  "to 
have  heard  the  forces  run  the  Gauntlet  through  them,  only  to  burn  a  parcel 
of  Indian  huts,  and  pull  up  their  corn  ?  Were  we  afraid  these  huts  and 
cornfields  wou'd  have  sneaked  off  &  not  waited  in  their  places,  till  the 
Army  had  sufficiently  revenged  the  Blood  of  our  Butchered  officers  and 
men  of  Fort  Loudoun  garrison?"  Middleton  was,  so  he  and  his  partisans 
claimed,  completely  ignored  during  the  campaign,  and  withdrew  from  the 
force  when  it  returned  to  Fort  Prince  George.  A  bitter  controversy  arose 
which  resulted  in  a  bloodless  duel  between  Grant  and  Middleton  and  a 
newspaper  war  in  which  Grant  was  championed  by  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Laurens,  Middleton's  second  in  command.^^ 

In  April  Bull  had  sent  to  Grant  a  preliminary  treaty  in  case  the  Chero- 
kees sued  for  peace,  but  nearly  two  months  elapsed  after  the  return  to 
Prince  George  before  the  Little  Carpenter  appeared  at  the  fort  to  ask  for 
terms.  On  hearing  the  first  article  which  demanded  execution  of  at 
least  one  offender  from  each  of  the  four  divisions  of  the  nation,  he  declared 
that  he  must  consult  the  Cherokee  towns  before  he  could  consent  to  it. 
Grant  instead  sent  him  to  Charleston  and  himself  urged  the  lieutenant- 

^^  See  Baker-Crothers,  Virginia  and  the  French  and  Indian  War,  pp.  150-151. 
There  were  600  in  the  force  on  July  26th   (JCHA,  Sept.  15,  1761). 

'*  Note  Charleston  News,  SCG',  Oct.  1,  and  letter  to  editor,  SCG,  Oct.  8,  1761. 

''^  SCG,  July  25,  Aug.  1,  8,  Sept.  12,  1761;  [First]  Letter  of  Philopatrios, 
and  letters  of  John  Rattray,  Jan.  7,  1761,  Lt.  Gov.  Bull,  Jan.  10,  Apr.  10,  1761, 
Middleton,  July  19,  1761,  Grant,  July  10,  1761,  included  in  "Gadsden  Miscellany"; 
Letter  of  "Philolethes"   [Laurens]   MS. 


240  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

governor  to  waive  that  provision.  Bull  called  the  assembly  to  deliberate  on 
the  proposed  treaty,  and  a  committee  of  the  Commons  reported  its  opinion 
that  the  omission  of  this  article  would  make  the  treaty  useless  and  dis- 
honorable. The  House,  however,  informed  the  lieutenant-governor  that 
in  view  of  the  burden  of  debt  on  the  province,  and  the  apparent  uselessness 
of  expecting  the  commander  to  listen  to  sound  advice  it  was  constrained  to 
approve  the  concession.  The  terms  thus  agreed  on  were  delivered  to  the 
Carpenter  to  lay  before  a  general  meeting  of  the  Cherokee  towns,  but  not 
until  the  18th  of  December  did  the  little  chief  and  eight  others  sign  the 
treaty  in  Charleston.  Far  from  granting  terms  like  a  conqueror,  the 
province  was  put  in  the  position  of  suing  for  peace,  and  its  predicament 
reminded  Gadsden  of  Sir  John  Falstaff's  situation  "with  the  prisoner  he 
took,  who  wou'd  neither  come  along  with  him,  nor  let  him  come  away 
himself."  '' 

The  articles  called  for  the  prompt  yielding  up  of  all  prisoners,  negroes, 
horses  and  cattle  held  by  the  Cherokees,  the  surrender  of  Fort  Loudoun 
and  permission  to  the  English  to  build  forts  at  any  points  in  the  nation, 
exclusion  of  the  French  and,  in  the  future,  execution  by  the  Cherokees  of 
any  Indian  who  murdered  an  Englishman.  The  line  between  the  whites  and 
the  Indians  should  be  drawn  at  forty  miles  distance  from  Keowee,  a  line 
which  was  proposed  by  the  Cherokees  themselves,  instead  of  Twenty-Six 
Mile  Creek  which  had  first  been  stipulated.  The  trade  was  to  be  re- 
opened when  the  Indians  yielded  up  their  prisoners.^^ 

Thus  ingloriously  the  Cherokee  War  came  to  an  end,  having  cost  the 
province  over  a  hundred  thousand  pounds  sterling,''^  between  a  hundred  and 
fifty  and  two  hundred  lives,  and  the  devastation  and  partial  abandonment 
of  a  large  part  of  its  area.  For  this  there  was  no  compensating  advantage 
and  neither  province  nor  crown  gained  any  prestige  from  it.  Except  for 
the  story  of  the  frontier  forts  and  the  behavior  of  subordinate  officers  and 
of  the  rank  and  file  of  troops,  there  was  little  to  redeem  the  record. 

7«JCHA,  Sept.  15-19,  JC,  Sept.  10,  15,  1761;  PR,  XXIX,  182-185,  199-201 
(Bull  to  Board,  Sept.  23,  Dec.  5,  1761),  [First]  Letter  of  Philopatrios.  The  next 
Commons  House  declared  that  the  war  had  been  without  "Real  advantages"  to  the 
Province   (JCHA,  May  28,  1762). 

^'JC,  Sept.  22,  Nov.  13,  Dec.  14,  16-18,  28,  1761.  On  leaving  the  delegation 
was  given,  instead  of  the  presents  they  expected,  only  the  supplies  necessary  for 
their  return  journey,  and  in  disgust  refused  them  (JC,  Dec.  28,  1761).  It  was 
June  1762  before  the  Cherokees  gave  up  all  their  prisoners  and  the  provincial 
authorities  felt  safe  in  releasing  the  Indians  in  Charleston  (JC,  June  21,  1762). 
Some  of  the  prisoners  were  reported  by  one  of  their  number  to  be  unwilling  to 
leave  the  nation    (JCHA,  May  28,  1761). 

^*  Report  of  Committee  of  Commons,  JCHA,  Feb.  22,  1762;  the  amount  was 
£733,079   currency. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

The  Growth  of  the  Back  Country,   1760-1765 

In  more  than  one  way  the  Cherokee  War,  and  the  great  Seven  Years 
War  of  which  it  was  a  small  phase,  affected  profoundly  the  development 
of  South  Carolina  and  the  thinking  of  her  people.  The  collapse  of  the 
worm-eaten  Indian  system  of  the  colony  was  an  effective  rebuke  to  the 
Charleston  merchants  and  the  other  imperialists,  the  officials,  while  to  the 
planters  was  driven  home  the  grim  lesson  that  their  slaves  had  made  the 
proud  and  flourishing  province  helpless  before  a  couple  of  thousand 
mountain-enforted  savages. 

Before  Grant  had  reached  the  Indian  country  the  Commons  House 
addressed  itself  once  more  to  the  unending  negro  problem.  The  South 
Carolina  Gazette  of  May  30th  remarked  that  "The  pernicious  Conse- 
quences of  too  free  an  Importation  of  Negroes  into  this  Province,  having 
lately  become  the  Subject  of  serious  Consideration  of  some  public-spirited 
Gentlemen",  a  motion  had  been  made  in  the  assembly  to  impose  a  duty 
which  would  nearly  prohibit  imports  of  slaves.  On  the  second  reading  of 
the  bill  the  Commons  ordered  it  printed  in  the  Gazette;  on  the  third  it 
raised  the  proposed  duty  from  five  pounds  fourteen  shillings  to  two  and  a 
half  times  that  amount,  and  set  its  duration  at  three  years.  On  the  third 
reading  in  the  council  or  Upper  House,  however,  the  bill  was  rejected. 
The  dispute  was  complicated  by  the  fact  that  in  trying  to  amend  this  bill 
the  Upper  House  was  tampering  with  a  tax  measure,  but  the  chief  issue 
was  the  slave  duty.  The  Commons  thereon  resolved  that  it  would  do  no 
more  business  during  that  session,  and  the  next  day  Lieutenant-Governor 
Bull  prorogued  it  for  four  daj^s  that  another  start  might  be  made.^ 

A  new  bill  was  introduced  at  once  and  the  duty  set  at  ten  pounds,  but 
this  too  was  rejected  by  the  council.  The  Commons  next  made  the  negro 
duty  part  of  a  new  bill  to  finance  the  South  Carolina  regiment — pay  for 
that  organization  being  in  arrears — and  set  the  duty  at  five  pounds.  Bull 
indicated  his  approval  of  this  action,  but  again  the  Upper  House  rejected 
the  measure,  after  protesting  that  the  proposed  duty  was  prohibitive.^ 

The  Commons  now  prepared  an  address  to  the  lieutenant-governor 
declaring  that  it  had  attempted  to  fulfill  its  obligations  for  maintenance  of 

'^SCG,  May  30,  June  6,  13  (A  Letter  from  the  Country),  1761;  JCHA,  June  5, 
12,  13,  July  8,  9,  1761.  See  also  the  messages  of  the  House  of  June  13,  and  of  the 
council  of  July  8  (JCHA,  June  13,  July  8,  1761). 

2  JCHA,  July  14,  17,  20,  22,  24,  27,  31,  Aug.  1,  4,  5,  6,  1761. 

241 


^ 


242  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

the  regiment  by  means  which  "equally  regard  the  Security  &  Interest  of 
this  Province",  but  that  the  council,  with  only  three  members  present,  had 
"for  reasons  'best  known  to  themselves'  "  rejected  the  bill.  On  debate  of 
the  message  a  motion  passed  to  substitute  for  the  words  "best  known  to 
themselves"  the  clause  "too  glaring  to  be  concealed  from  the  world,"  but 
the  further  motion  was  lost  which  proposed  to  add:  "Two  of  whom  being 
persons  too  nearly  concerned  in  point  of  private  Interest  cannot  be  thought 
altogether  the  most  impartial  Judges  of  this  matter."  The  three  members 
present  when  the  bill  was  rejected  were  Othniel  Beale,  senior  member  and 
stickler  for  the  rights  of  the  council  as  Upper  House,  and  John  Guerard 
and  George  Austin,  both  concerned  in  the  slave  trade.  Thus  the  session 
came  to  an  end.^ 

When  the  Commons  took  up  the  other  half  of  the  South  Carolina 
problem,  the  encouragement  of  white  settlement,  the  lesson  of  the  war  was 
already  apparent.  Had  the  settlers  been  driven  in  to  the  fall  line  and  the 
middle  country  made  the  theatre  of  the  war,  the  possibilities  of  slave 
insurrection  would  have  been  disturbing  indeed.  The  middle  country, 
which  the  provincial  representatives  and  the  administration  had  so  earnestly 
desired  to  settle  was  now,  in  effect,  a  part  of  the  coast  country,  and  the 
more  distant  hill  men,  who  had  settled  in  their  own  fashion,  and  often 
with  scant  regard  for  the  government,  were  now  recognized  as  the  real 
hope  of  the  province.  This  was  the  first  of  a  series  of  dear-bought  lessons 
in  the  value  of  the  back  country  which,  with  consequent  concessions  over 
the  course  of  half  a  century,  brought  about  the  unification  of  the  common- 
wealth. 

Without  controversy  the  Commons  and  council  replaced  the  act  of 
1752  with  one  which  made  sweeping  changes  in  settlement  policy.  Citing 
the  fact  that  there  was  in  the  settlement  fund  over  eight  thousand  pounds 
sterling,  the  new  law  appropriated  that  fund  as  follows:  four  pounds 
sterling  to  pay  the  passage  from  Europe  "of  every  free  poor  protestant", 
above  the  age  of  twelve,  arriving  in  the  next  three  years  "who  shall,  in  case 
they  come  from  Great-Britain  or  Ireland,  produce  a  certificate  under  the 
seal  of  any  corporation,  or  a  certificate  under  the  hands  of  the  minister  and 
church  wardens  of  any  parish,  or  the  minister  and  elders  of  any  church, 
meeting,  or  congregation,  of  the  good  character  of  such  poor  protestant" ; 
two  pounds  for  those  under  twelve  and  over  two  years  of  age ;  and  one 
pound  for  each  immigrant  over  two  years  of  age  for  the  purchase  of  tools 
and  provisions.  The  act  provided  that  the  passage  money  should  be  paid 
to  the  settler  if  he  had  paid  his  passage,  or,  if  he  had  not,  to  the  shipmaster. 

2  JCHA,  Aug.  6,  1761,  JC,  Aug.  3,  4,  5,  1761.  On  Beale  see,  for  instance,  JCHA, 
May  5,  1761,  JUHA,  Jan.  31,  1765;  on  Austin  and  Guerard,  see  Elizabeth  F.  Donnan, 
Documents  Illustrative  of  the  Slave  Trade  to  America,  IV  (Washington,  1935), 
pp.  372,  375. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  243 

The  ten-year  exemption  of  the  bounty  settlers  from  land  taxes  was  likewise 
continued.* 

Thus  the  Commons  abandoned  its  traditional  opposition  to  immigrants 
unable  to  pay  their  passage,  and  sought  to  guard  against  the  dumping  of 
undesirables  by  demanding  certificates  of  good  character.  No  discrimina- 
tion was  made  against  German  Protestants,  but  in  view  of  the  decline  of 
Germ.an  migration  to  America  they  probably  were  of  secondary  considera- 
tion. Any  opposition  the  home  government  might  have  to  this  plan  to 
drain  ofif  the  population  of  the  mother  country  was,  no  doubt,  to  be  over- 
balanced by  the  need  for  strengthening  the  southern  colonial  frontier.  The 
law  ran  for  three  years;  its  expiration  came  shortly  after  the  departure  of 
Governor  Boone  for  England  brought  to  an  end  a  prolonged  deadlock  in 
public  business.  Lieutenant-Governor  Bull  urged  its  continuance,  and  its 
lapse  for  a  few  months  preceding  its  three-year  revival,  in  January  1765, 
was  due  to  pressure  of  business.^ 

In  August  1764  a  renewed  effort  to  restrict  slave  importation  met  with 
success.  This  bill  added  a  duty  of  fourteen  pounds  six  shillings  to  the  tax 
in  the  general  duty  law  on  every  slave  imported."  Unfortunately  in  exag- 
gerated tenderness  for  those  who  had  already  engaged  in  ventures,  enforce- 
ment of  the  act  was  delayed  until  the  first  day  of  1766,  and  two  weeks  be- 
fore that  date  Bull  wrote  that  the  purpose  of  the  measure  had  thus  in  large  \ 
measure  been  defeated,  for  more  than  eight  thousand  slaves  had  been  im-  j 
ported  during  the  year — a  number  nearly  equal  to  a  three-year  importation. 
The  "unhappy  consequences"  which  might  come  from  this  addition  to  a 
number  already  too  large  for  safety  were  soon  foreshadowed  in  rumors  of 
insurrection  plots.^ 

The  prohibitive  duty  shut  off  the  source  of  income  for  bounty  pay- 
ments, but  the  settlement  fund  had  since  the  beginning  of  the  Cherokee 
War  a  large  surplus.  In  September  1761  this  was  £10,200,  and  by  the 
end  of   1765  at  least  as  much  again  had  been  added  to  it.^     Meanwhile 

^JCHA,  July  18,  20,  23,  24,  25,  1761.  The  act  is  not  to  be  found  in  Cooper's 
Statutes,  but  is  printed  in  the  S.  C.  Gazette,  Aug.  1,  1761.  Bull  gives  the  reasons 
for  the  act  but  incorrectly  states  that  £2  not  £1  was  to  be  given  for  provisions 
and  tools  (PR,  XXIX,  188-189— to  Board,  Sept.  23,  1761).  The  clause  of  the  act 
of  1751  setting  aside  a  fifth  for  fees  was  not  changed.  For  the  tax  exemption,  see 
above  p.  30,  n.  36,  and  Stats.,  IV,  190,  239,  269. 

5  See  JCHA,  Apr.  16,  23,  May  23,  June  5,  July  16,  Aug.  25,  1764;  Stats.,  IV, 
209.  The  act  expired  Feb.  12,  1768  {SCAGG,  Feb.  15,  1768),  PR,  XXX,  186,  225 
(Bull  to  Board,  Aug.  20,  1764,  Mar.  15,  1765). 

«JCHA,  Aug.  14,  15,  21,  1764,  Apr.  2,  1765;  Stats.,  IV,  187-188.  The  S.  C. 
Gazette  of  Jan.  14,  1764,  noted  a  determined  effort  to  enforce  the  law  requiring  a 
white  man  on  the  plantations  for  every  ten  slaves.  Compare  a  similar  move  in 
1768    {SCGCJ,  July  12,  1768). 

7  PR,  XXX,  300-301,  XXXI,  20-21  (to  Board,  Dec.  17,  1765,  Jan.  25,  1766)  ; 
107  slaves  were  reported  later  to  have  left  masters  and  to  have  fled  to  join  run- 
aways already  in  Colleton  County  swamps    (JCHA,  Jan.   14,   1766). 

«JCHA,    July    31,    1764,    Treasurer's    Books,    1748-1765.      These    Treasurer's 


244  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

bounties  paid  to  new  settlers  amounted  to  about  £4,100,  and  payments 
for  fees  probably  left  in  the  fund  at  the  end  of  1765  nearly  £15,000  which 
in  two  years  more  was  exhausted.^ 

The  settlement  act  of  1761  was  not  unwisely  designed  in  its  general 
outline ;  properly  administered  it  should  have  filled  up  the  northwest 
frontier  with  fairly  compact  settlements  of  sober  industrious  immigrants, 
and  that  within  a  comparatively  short  time.  Unfortunately  no  effort  was 
made  to  assure  effective  administration  of  the  law ;  the  settlement  fund 
therefore  was  in  the  hands  of  several  authorities,  no  one  of  whom  was 
completely  responsible — the  governor  and  council,  the  commissary  general, 
a  petty  official  who  was  not  dependent  on  his  office  for  his  livelihood,  and 
the  clerk  of  the  council  who  seems  to  have  been  the  chief  dependence  for 
enforcement  of  the  act.  Thus  the  way  was  left  open  for  fraud  on  the  part 
of  authorities  in  Great  Britain  wishing  to  get  rid  of  undesirable  elements  of 
population,  and  on  the  part  of  ship-masters  who  might  wish  to  squeeze 
profits  out  of  their  wretched  cargoes.  It  is  significant  that  the  protests 
against  fraud  and  ill-treatment  came  as  occasional  outbursts  in  the  Com- 
mons and  not  from  administrative  officials.^" 

Like  the  Yamasee  War,  the  Cherokee  conflict  brought  about  a  reaction 
against  the  merchants'  policy  of  unregulated  competition.  Once  more  the 
assembly  embarked  upon  the  experiment,  first  tried  in  1716,  of  government 
monopoly.  The  act  which  was  ratified  in  May  1762  named  five  Charleston 
merchants  as  directors  of  the  Cherokee  trade,  and  prescribed  as  their 
commission  two  and  a  half  percent  of  sales  of  goods  and  of  skins.  They 
were  to  appoint  a  factor  to  reside  at  Fort  Prince  George  who  was  to  be 
paid  £225  a  year,  and  was  allowed  two  clerks  and  two  porters;  the 
Cherokee  trade  was  forbidden  to  all  other  persons  whatsoever,  on  pain  of 
£75  fine  or  a  year's  imprisonment.  The  directors  were  to  furnish  the 
factor  with  goods  suited  to  the  trade,  bought  from  merchants  or  imported, 
and  sold  to  the  Indians  for  no  more  than  the  cost  of  furnishing  them  and  of 
administration ;  the  skins  were  to  be  auctioned  in  Charleston  to  the  highest 
bidder  in  lots  of  not  over  £37  :10  each.  The  act  was  to  run  for  three  years, 
but  was  in  force  only  a  few  months  when  an  order  of  the  crown  nullified 
its  exclusive  features  by  ordering  the  governor  to  license,  under  certain 
restrictions,  all  traders  who  might  apply.  Governor  Boone  protested  vainly 
against  this  action,  urging  that  the  crown  extend  the  general  plan  of  the 

records  show  that  the  duties  under  the  act  of  1751  were  collected  without  inter- 
ruption to  the  end  of  1765,  although  it  does  not  appear  when  the  act  of  1751  was 
continued. 

^  Ibid.,  JCHA,  June  24,  1766,  Mar.  2,  1768.  A  loan  of  nearly  £8,600  to  pay 
the  rangers  for  their  war  service  was  replaced  as  it  was  needed  for  payments  for 
settlement  expenses   (JCHA,  Jul.  31,  1764,  Apr.  8,  1768). 

^**See  JCHA,  Jan.  10,  16,  1755,  for  report  on  this  office,  and  Apr.  7,  1759, 
Mar.  2,   1768. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  245 

South  Carolina  act  to  the  other  colonies  with  uniform  and  drastic  regula- 
tions." 

On  the  5th  of  November  1763  the  Southern  Congress,  planned  by 
Colonel  John  Stuart,  recently  appointed  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs 
for  the  southern  district,  convened  at  Augusta.  The  governors  or  lieuten- 
ant-governors of  Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  were 
present,  with  chiefs  from  the  Catawbas,  Cherokees,  Creeks,  Chickasaws  and 
Choctaws;  others  attending  brought  the  total  to  about  seven  hundred  per- 
sons. Of  the  Indians  the  Chickasaw  headman  was  properly  given  the  honor 
of  speaking  first,  and  said  of  himself:  "You  must  not  look  on  him  as  on 
other  Indian  Nations,  for  he  is  True  and  Trusty,  he  and  his  are  few  but 
faithful."  The  Chickasaws,  Creeks,  and  Cherokees  urged  the  need  of  honest 
and  responsible  traders  to  reside  in  their  towns,  the  Cherokees  pointing  out 
the  hardship  and  inconvenience  of  having  to  resort  from  the  Overhills,  or 
even  from  other  Lower  Towns,  to  Fort  Prince  George  for  their  trade. 
The  Creeks  complained  of  Georgia  encroachments  on  their  lands,  and  the 
Catawba  king  represented  the  pitiful  plight  of  his  people  for  lack  of  hunting 
space,  and  asked  for  a  reservation  thirty  miles  square.  In  the  final  treaties 
the  Georgia  bounds  were  agreed  upon,  the  Catawbas  were  confirmed  in  a 
fifteen-mile  square,  already  partly  run,  with  their  former  rights  of  hunting 
outside  that  area.^" 

The  congress  did  not  allay  the  discontent  of  the  Creeks.  They  had 
suffered  little  in  the  conflicts  of  the  preceding  generation,  and  their  diplo- 
macy had  hitherto  been  uniformly  successful,  but  now  they  saw  their 
system  topple  about  their  ears,  for  the  French  and  the  Spanish,  whom  they 
had  so  successfully  played  off  against  the  English,  were  gone.  As  early  as 
July  1762  there  were  rumors  of  intended  attacks  on  the  Long  Cane  settle-  <^ 
ments.  A  year  later  came  reports  of  Creek  depredations  on  Augusta 
traders  and  of  the  murder  of  three  traders  to  the  Upper  Creeks.^^  Finally, 
on  the  heels  of  the  Augusta  congress  came  the  news  of  the  slaying,  by  a 
party  of  Creeks,  of  fourteen  settlers.  The  victims  belonged  to  a  settlement 
on  the  east  bank  of  the  Savannah  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Georgia  Broad 
River,  where  an  Indian  ford  crossed  the  larger  stream.  Among  them  were 
the  wife  and  one  child  of  James  Dyer  who  was  formerly  to  be  found  on 

"JCHA,  Feb.  20,  May  27,  1762;  Stats.,  IV,  168-173;  n.  12  below;  PR,  XXIX, 
259-264  (Memorial  of  Charles  Garth,  November  1762),  306-307,  395-404  (Boone 
to  Board,  Jan.  9,  Nov.  24,  1763;  he  had  already  pointed  out  the  need  of  uniform 
regulations  advising  that  the  home  government  take  the  initiative  "as  we  are 
more  given  to  obedience  to  the  Crown,  than  harmony  with  one  another". — ibid., 
218-219— to   Board,   Feb.   28,   1762). 

12  PR,  XXIX,  345-347  (Board  to  Stuart,  Aug.  5,  1763),  XXX,  16-123,  (Journal 
of  the  Congress)  ;  State  Recs.  of  N.  C,  XI,  178-206. 

'^^SCG,  Jul.  10,  1762,  JC,  June  3,  Sept.  2,  1763.  In  August  preceding  raids— 
probably  by  Northward  Indians — above  the  Waxhaw  section,  in  which  Hagler, 
the  Catawba  king,  and  several  whites  were  killed,  sent  the  Fishing  Creek  and 
Waxhaw  settlers  scurrying  to  forts    (JC,  Sept.  5,   1763). 


246  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

the  Savannah  near  Stevens  Creek;  but  he  and  the  tw^o  others  named  in  the 
report  were  evidently  squatters." 

Governor  Boone  issued  orders  for  the  scouring  of  the  frontier  by 
parties  of  the  militia  and  sent  a  supply  of  arms  and  ammunition  to  the 
bounty  settlers  on  the  head  of  Long  Canes,  vv^ho  complained  that  they  were 
abandoned  by  the  older  settlers.  With  the  approval  of  the  council,  he 
proposed  to  Governor  Wright  of  Georgia  the  stoppage  of  the  Creek  trade, 
but  the  latter  refused,  lest  it  bring  on  a  war  with  the  whole  tribe  in  which 
his  colony  would  bear  the  brunt  of  the  fight.  Nor  was  Boone  more  success- 
ful with  his  own  Commons  House,  for  that  body  adhered  to  its  resolution  of 
December  16,  1762  to  do  no  business  with  him  until  he  should  make 
amends  for  his  violation  of  its  privileges  in  refusing  to  qualify  Christopher 
Gadsden  as  a  member.^^ 

Profiting  by  the  lesson  of  the  Cherokee  War  the  Long  Canes  settlers 
did  not  attempt  to  leave  the  country,  but  resorted  to  stockade  forts. 
Patrick  Calhoun's  "Fort  Boone"  was  reported  to  have  140  persons  in  it; 
there  were  139  in  Arthur  Patton's  fort  and  about  the  same  number  at  Dr. 
Murray's  plantation  on  Hard  Labor  Creek.  For  a  time,  Calhoun  later 
declared,  the  settlers  ranged  the  woods  themselves,  or  maintained  "a 
Scouting  Company".  On  the  departure  of  Governor  Boone  for  England, 
however,  Calhoun  repaired  to  Charleston,  and  was  given  command  of  the 
troop  of  twenty-two  rangers  which  the  Commons  provided  on  Bull's 
request.^*' 

Even  before  the  Creek  alarm  had  shown  the  need  of  a  frontier  defense 
near  Long  Canes,  the  Commons  had  declared  its  desire  to  abandon  Fort 
Moore — now  of  little  use  because  of  the  growth  of  Augusta — and  to  build 
a  brick  or  stone  fort  at  or  near  Stevens  Creek.     Accordingly,  in  January 

1765  Lieutenant-Governor  Bull  reported  to  the  House  selection  of  a  site 
that  would  command  the  Indian  ford  from  the  Creek  country  and  protect 
the  new  French  and  German  settlements.  Later,  in  submitting  a  plan  for 
the  post,  he  announced  his  intention  of  naming  it  for  the  reigning  Queen 
Charlotte.^^ 

Archibald  McClelland,  a  Long  Canes  settler,  was  employed  by  Dr. 
John  Murray  and  Andrew  Williamson  to  build  the  fort.     In  December 

1766  McClelland  reported  that  he  had  completed  the  task,  using  "a 
Cement  of   his   Invention".     The   fort  was  placed  fifty  yards   from  the 

"5CG,  Dec.  31,  1763,  JC,  Dec.  30,  1763.  This  was  John  Vann's  abandoned 
settlement  (above,  p.  122).  See  P,  V,  163,  VIII,  7,  273,  and  JC,  May  8,  1764,  SCG, 
Oct.  8,  1764. 

^^SCG,  Jan.  28,  1764;  JC,  Mar.  7,  Apr.  2,  1764;  JCHA,  Jan.  6,  1764;  Smith, 
S.  C.  as  a  Royal  Promnce,  pp.  340-349. 

".SCG,  Dec.  31,  1763,  JCHA,  May  29,  June  2,  5,  1764,  Mar.  5,  1767.  Nota- 
tions on  plats  indicate  that  Fort  Boone  was  on  Calhoun  Creek  on  the  land  first 
surveyed  for  Mary  Noble  (above,  p.  134).  Patton's  land  was  chiefly  on  Little 
River  to  the  west,  and  his  fort  was  probably  there — see  P,  VII,  27,  IX,  41. 

^MCHA,  May  29,  1762,  Jan.  10,  30,  1765;   see  also  June  27,   1764. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  247 

east  bank  of  the  Savannah  and  a  half  mile  below  the  mouth  of  the  Georgia 
Broad  River.  A  rectangle  fifteen  yards  wide  and  fifty  feet  long,  with 
bastions  at  the  northwest  end,  can  still  be  distinguished,  the  enclosed 
ground  elevated  six  or  eight  feet  above  the  surrounding  river  bottom.  The 
portions  of  the  wall  remaining  are  two  feet  wide,  made  of  rough  field  stone 
set  in  clay  mortar,  or,  as  the  House  committee  reported  it,  sand  and 
clay.  The  thousand  pounds  originally  appropriated  was  paid  accordingly, 
but  not  without  censure  because  the  new  stronghold  had  been  built  in  a 
swamp  and  on  a  sandy  foundation.^®  The  fort  was  at  once  garrisoned  by 
an  officer  and  twenty-five  men  of  the  crown  forces  from  Fort  Moore.^^ 

The  directors  of  the  Cherokee  trade  were  allowed  to  continue  their 
hopeless  effort  to  make  the  trade  pay  despite  the  competition  of  uncon- 
trolled private  traders  until  repeal  of  the  act  in  October  1764,  six  months 
before  it  was  due  to  expire.  When  they  finally  closed  up  their  affairs  they 
showed  a  loss  to  the  public  of  about  £560.  It  was  to  their  credit  and  to 
that  of  their  factor  at  Fort  Prince  George,  Edward  Wilkinson,  that  this 
loss  was  not  greater,  for  the  Cherokees,  the  directors  found,  were  no  longer 
dependent  on  South  Carolina  trade.  In  the  southwest  the  decline  was  even 
worse.  Pensacola,  because  of  its  nearness  to  many  of  the  Indian  towns, 
developed  a  thriving  traffic  but  the  chief  heir  of  Charleston  was  Savannah, 
at  last  grown  to  such  estate  that  its  shipping  could  take  care  of  the  needs 
of  the  trade.  In  1760,  when  the  South  Carolina  trade  was  at  its  height, 
Georgia  exported  65,000  pounds  of  deerskins,  in  1770  more  than  four 
times  that  amount.^" 

When  in  1729  the  Crown  acquired  the  province  of  Carolina  there 
began  a  long-drawn-out  boundary  quarrel.  In  January  1730  Governor 
Johnson  and  George  Burrington,  who  was  during  that  month  commis- 
sioned for  his  second  administration  of  North  Carolina,  appeared  before  the 
Board  of  Trade  and  stated  that  they  had  agreed  upon  a  line.  After  further 
consideration  the  Board  decided  that  the  boundary  should  parallel  the 
Cape  Fear  the  whole  length  of  that  river  but  thirty  miles  southwest  of  it. 
On  the  9th  of  June,  however,  the  day  before  Johnson's  instructions  were 
agreed  upon,  the  Board  read  a  memorial  from  him  that  "the  same  intent" 
would  be  answered  by  the  following  addition :  "But  if  Waccama  River 
lyes  within  30  miles  of  Cape  Fear  River  then  that  River  to  be  the  boundary 

^«JCHA,  Feb.  7,  Mar.  13,  Oct.  29,  1765,  Jul.  2,  Dec.  4,  5,  9,  1766.  For  Mc- 
Clelland see  P,  VII,  300,  VIII,  383.  The  description  is  from  the  present  state  of 
the  fort  as  noted  by  J.  Rion  McKissick  and  the  writer,  Oct.  28,  1936 — Lawrence 
Hester,  Jr.,  of  Mt.  Carmel,   S.  C,   acting  as  guide. 

^^PR,  XXX,  269-270  (Bull  to  Halifax,  Sept.  8,  1765)  ;  Fort  Prince  George  was 
largely  rebuilt  in  1765   {ibid.). 

^  Stats.,  IV,  188-189;  JCHA,  July  19,  1764;  Journal  Directors  Cherokee  Trade, 
MS,  Aug.  22,  1764,  Dec.  19,  1765,  SCAGG,  Mar.  18,  1768,  PR,  XXXII,  403  (Bull 
to  Hillsborough,  Nov.  30,  1770)  ;  Leila  Sellers,  Charleston  Business  on  the  Eve  of 
the  American  Revolution  (Chapel  Hill,  1934),  p.  43;  Crane,  Southern  Fro?ttier, 
p.  331.  In  July  1764  the  price  of  goods  for  Indian  presents  was  the  same  in 
Charleston   and   Savannah    (JCHA,  July   16,   1764). 


248  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

from  the  sea  to  the  head  thereof,  and  from  thence  to  keep  the  distance  of 
30  miles  Paralel  from  Cape  Fear  River  to  the  head  thereof  and  from 
thence  a  due  West  Course  to  the  South  Sea."  The  addition  was  promptly 
incorporated  in  Johnson's  instructions."^ 

The  Waccamaw  rises  within  ten  or  fifteen  miles  of  the  Cape  Fear,  but 
flowing  southwestward  enters  Winyah  Bay  more  than  eighty  miles  from 
that  river.  The  proposed  revision  would  have  brought  a  long  finger  of 
North  Carolina  territory  within  sixty  miles  of  Charleston,  and  would 
have  given  several  hundred  square  miles  of  South  Carolina  sea  coast  and 
river  swamp  in  exchange  for  a  smaller  area  at  the  head  of  the  Waccamaw. 
Johnson  later  claimed  that  the  addition  to  the  instruction  should  have  pro- 
vided that  the  Cape  Fear  be  the  boundary  unless  the  mouth  of  the  Wac- 
camaw were  within  thirty  miles  of  Cape  Fear  River,  and  it  is  possible  that 
this  was  the  case.  The  fact,  however,  that  the  wording  was  the  same  in 
each  rendering  of  the  clause  indicates  that  the  inadvertence  was  Johnson's 
own,  and  that  he  failed  to  realize  the  construction  that  would  certainly  be 
placed  upon  it.  In  October  1732  Burrington  published  a  notice  in  the 
South  Carolina  Gazette  declaring  that  Johnson  was  granting  lands  within 
the  northern  province,  and  quoted  his  boundary  instruction,  omitting, 
however,  the  clause  which  stipulated  that  the  line  should,  from  the  head 
of  Waccamaw  River,  parallel  the  Cape  Fear  River  to  its  head.  Two  weeks 
later  Johnson  replied  in  the  Gazette  with  a  vigorous  argument  in  support 
of  his  contention,  but  his  letters  to  the  Board  of  Trade  were  somewhat 
unconvmcmg. 

Finally  in  January  1735  Johnson  and  the  council  laid  the  matter  be- 
fore the  Commons,  and  a  joint  committee  of  both  houses  went  into  the 
question  at  length,  putting  the  best  possible  face  on  the  South  Carolina 
arguments  for  a  line  paralleling  the  Cape  Fear.  In  March  three  com- 
missioners were  sent  to  meet  those  already  appointed  for  North  Carolina 
and  after  six  weeks  of  consultation  "the  Friendly  interposition"  of  Gabriel 
Johnston,  now  governor  of  North  Carolina,  brought  about  a  compromise. 
The  boundary  thus  defined  was  to  begin  on  the  seacoast  thirty  miles  south- 
west of  the  Cape  Fear,  and  it  was  to  run  northwest  to  latitude  thirty-five, 
thence  west  to  the  South  Seas,  with  a  provision  that  the  Catawbas  and 
Cherokees  should  be  included  in  South  Carolina.  For  a  strip  of  land 
fifty  miles  long  and  from  three  to  fifteen  miles  wide  the  southern  com- 
missioners yielded  up  a  claim  to  the  immense  area  north  of  the  thirty-fifth 
parallel  and  west  of  the  Cape  Fear  River.^^ 

^^  A.  S.  Salley,  The  Boundary  Line  betivern  North  and  South  Carolina,  (Co- 
lumbia, 1929),  pp.  3^,  Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  III,  84;  PR,  XIV,  134-136  (Johnson's 
memorial). 

22  PR,  XV,  233-234  (Johnson  to  Board,  Sept.  28,  1732),  Salley,  Boundary  Line, 
pp.  4-5. 

23  State  Recs.  of  N.  C,  XI,  20-22,  25-26,  JUHA,  Jan.  25,  1735,  Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C, 
IV,  294-296;  Salley,  Boundary  Line,  pp.  6-15. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  249 

When  the  South  Carolina  council  had  given  its  approval  and  the 
Commons  a  tacit  consent  the  commissioners  in  May  1735  began  the  survey 
of  the  boundary.  After  running  it  a  few  miles  inland  they  separated  for 
the  summer  with  the  agreement  that  if  either  party  failed  to  return  in 
September,  the  other  would  run  a  line  that  should  bind  both.  Accordingly 
in  the  absence  of  the  South  Carolina  commissioners  the  North  Carolina 
surveyors  ran  the  line  "about  70  miles" ;  in  October  the  other  party  traced 
the  line  for  forty  miles,  and,  finding  it  so  far  correct,  desisted.  The  Board 
of  Trade  accepted  the  boundary  thus  irregularly  established,  but  the  filling 
up  of  the  Peedee  country  and  disorder  and  tax  evasion  almost  immediately 
made  the  problem  more  serious  than  before.  Both  provinces  were  dis- 
satisfied, and  in  1755  Governor  Dobbs  and  the  North  Carolina  council 
sought  a  change  which  would  have  made  the  Peedee  the  boundary,  while 
the  South  Carolinians,  who  had  never  been  entirely  reconciled  to  the 
compromise  of  1735,  took  advantage  of  the  fact  that  the  agreement  had  not 
been  formally  ratified  by  the  assembly,  and  proposed  in  their  turn  a 
radical  change.  An  ably  written  report  of  both  houses  in  1757  urged  the 
crown  to  grant  to  South  Carolina,  in  compensation  for  the  territory  in- 
cluded in  Georgia,  the  upper  portions  of  the  Santee  and  Peedee  valleys. 
Arguments  were  offered  to  show  that  this  would  suit  the  needs  of  the 
settlers  of  those  regions,  whose  best  market  was  Charleston,  and  that  the 
white  population  thus  annexed  to  the  colony  would  be  an  efifective  counter- 
balance for  the  slaves  of  the  tidewater.  The  report  was  transmitted  to  the 
Board,  but  the  Seven  Years  War  left  little  time  for  province  or  crown  to 
think  of  the  boundary.^* 

The  Cherokee  treaty  of  1761  vaguely  fixed  the  boundary  between  South 
Carolina  and  that  tribe  at  forty  miles  distance  from  Keowee  without 
indicating  the  directions  it  should  take.  When  the  line  was  surveyed  in 
1766  it  was  run  direct  from  the  Reedy  River  to  the  Savannah,  crossing  the 
Cherokee  road  at  right  angles  at  the  proper  point.  A  year  later  Governor 
Tryon  of  North  Carolina,  with  commissioners  and  some  Cherokee  head- 
men, ran  the  line  north  from  the  Reedy  River  fifty-three  miles  to  Tryon 
Mountain,  and  thus  completed  the  boundary  between  both  provinces  and 
the  Cherokee  country.  Tryon  found  no  settlers  within  the  line,  and  only 
two  near  it,  but  the  Indians  had  previously  complained  to  Bull  that  there 
were  whites  within  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  of  their  towns.  He  promised 
them  that  they  should  be  removed,  and  apparently  this  was  done.^^ 

^^Ibid.,  pp.  11-13,  16-17;  Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  V,  xxxvii-xxxviii,  276,  381- 
382,  3  84,  1105,  VI,  776-777;  above,  pp.  95-96;  JCHA,  May  3,  Sept.  3,  1754,  Apr. 
28,  1757;  PR,  XXVII,  269-276  (Report  accompanying  Lyttelton's  letter  to  Board, 
May  24,  1757). 

-5JC,  Dec.  6,  1763;  PR,  XXXI,  70  (Bull  to  Board,  June  9,  1766);  Mouzon, 
Map  of  N.  and  S.  C,  Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,  VII,  851-855;  State  Records  of  N.  C, 
XI,  map  opposite  p.  80,  SCAGG,  July  10,  1767  (Tryon's  line  was  ratified  by  the 
Cherokees  at  Hard  Labor  Cittk—ibid.,  Oct.  28,  1768)  ;  PR,  XXX,  184-185   (Bull  to 


250  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

The  South  Carolina  hopes  of  annexing  lands  in  the  valleys  of  the 
Yadkin,  Catawba  and  upper  Broad  proved  vain,  for  in  1762  the  Board  of 
Trade  recommended  that  the  thirty-fifth  parallel  be  made  the  boundary 
to  the  Catawba  nation.  Accordingly  in  1764  commissioners  resurveyed 
the  existing  line  extending  it  to  the  point  they  calculated  to  be  the  thirty- 
fifth  parallel,  and  then  ran  it  west  until  they  struck  the  Salisbury  road, 
a  few  miles  below  the  northeastern  tip  of  the  Catawba  reservation. 
Lieutenant-Governor  Bull  promptly  informed  the  Board  that  the  new  line 
fell  far  short  of  the  western  edge  of  settlement  and  therefore  proposed 
that  it  include  the  Catawbas,  and  thence  follow  the  Catawba  River  to  the 
mountains.  Governor  Tryon  of  course  urged  that  the  line  be  continued 
due  west  from  its  terminus.  The  arguments  were  taken  up  anew  in  1769 
by  the  Board  and  with  it  the  findings  of  James  Cook,  who  had  been  em- 
ployed in  1767  as  one  of  the  surveyors  to  make  a  map  of  the  province. 
Cook  showed  that  the  surveyors  of  the  line  of  1764  had  run  it  eleven 
miles  south  of  the  thirty-fifth  parallel,  and  compensation  for  this  error  was 
all  that  the  South  Carolinians  gained.  In  1771  the  crown  ordered  the 
line  run  north  of  the  Catawbas  to  the  south  fork  of  the  river,  thence  west 
to  the  recently  run  Cherokee  line.  The  survey  was  made  in  1772  and 
the  region  thus  annexed  west  of  the  Catawbas  was  called  the  New  Ac- 
quisition. 

With  this  action  the  eventual  limits  of  South  Carolina  were  fairly  in- 
dicated, for  when  the  later  Cherokee  cessions  were  made  the  line  as  com- 
pleted merely .  filled  out  the  bounds  already  projected.  Thus  by  a 
combination  of  circumstances,  perhaps  the  most  important  being  Johnson's 
blunder  in  1730,  South  Carolina  was  confined  within  an  area  smaller  than 
that  of  any  of  the  lower  southern  colonies  or  states,  and  was  given  a  dis- 
proportionately small  amount  of  hill  and  mountain  country — a  fact  that 
was  to  be  of  great  importance  in  extending  the  plantation  influence  over 
the  commonwealth. 

That  settlement  under  the  act  of  1761  should  be  slow  to  get  under  way 
was  inevitable  because  of  war  conditions  in  South  Carolina  and  on  the 
seas.  In  anticipation,  John  Pouag,  a  Charleston  merchant,  applied  im- 
mediately after  the  act  was  passed  for  a  certificate  of  the  bounty  that  he 
might  transmit  it  to  Ireland.  A  year  later  Pouag  and  six  others  in  a 
petition  to  the  governor  declared  that  there  were  many  in  Ireland  who 
would,  with  proper  encouragement,  come  to  the  province.  They  asked 
for  a  survey  and  reservation  of  forty  thousand  acres,  to  form  one  or  two 
townships,  in  such  places  as  they  might  choose ;  in  addition  to  the  bounty 
they  expected  tax  and  quit  rent  exemption  for  the  settlers  for  ten  years.^^ 

Board,  Aug.  20,  1764)  ;  JCHA,  Jan.  17,  1766  (bill  of  Aaron  Price  "for  assisting  to 
remove  several  persons  who  had  encroached  on  the  Indians  Land  at  Reedy  River"). 

2^Salley,  Boundary  Line,  pp.  16-30;  JC,  June  29,  1764;  Stats.,  IV,  262-264. 

^MC,  Aug.  29,  1761,  June  9,  1762. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  251 

The  Reverend  John  Baxter,  first  of  the  petitioners — formerly  Presbyterian 
minister  near  Charleston,  later  on  the  Santee  and  Black  Rivers — had  im- 
ported some  of  the  early  settlers  of  Williamsburg  from  Belfast.  In  a  peti- 
tion for  land  in  1745  he  stated  that  he  had  twenty-five  negroes,  and  in 
later  years  he  added  to  his  possessions  in  slaves  and  lands,  most  of  the 
latter  in  or  near  Williamsburg.^^  John  Greg  was  a  merchant  of  London, 
John  Rae  had  the  name  of  the  minister  who  had  served  Williamsburg  from 
1743  to  1761,  and  David  Rae  was  doubtless  a  connection.  John  Torrans 
and  Pouag  appear  about  this  time  as  a  merchant  firm  in  Charleston.^^ 

On  the  advice  of  the  council  Boone  gave  the  petitioners  permission  to 
choose  sites  for  two  townships ;  in  October  they  reported  that  they  had 
found  suitable  places  and  in  December  the  surveys  were  made.  One  con- 
taining 20,500  acres  lay  on  the  head  of  Long  Cane  Creek,  with  its  center 
a  mile  below  the  crossing  of  the  Cherokee  path,  its  northwestern  tip  slightly 
above  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Due  West,  its  northeastern  line 
paralleling  and  including  the  course  of  the  later  Columbia  and  Greenville 
Railroad.  This  township  was  named  Boonesborough,  although  surveyors 
occasionally  called  it  Belfast.  The  other  township,  22,000  acres  in  area, 
was  named  Belfast  and  later  called  Londonborough.  Hard  Labor  Creek 
entered  it  at  the  center  of  its  northeastern  edge  and  left  it  near  the  lower 
end  of  its  southeastern  line,  being  at  that  point  only  about  a  mile  from  the 
junction  with  Cuffytown  Creek.^° 

In  February  Governor  Boone  informed  the  council  that  about  seventy 
persons  had  arrived  from  Ireland  on  the  encouragement  of  the  act  of  1761. 
Besides  the  three  warrants  for  a  total  of  sixteen  hundred  acres  for  the 
Reverend  John  Baxter  there  were  forty-two  petitions  based  on  seventy-one 
headrights.  Plats  for  ten  of  these  petitioners  are  not  to  be  found ;  six- 
teen of  them  had  their  plats  surveyed  adjoining  each  other  about  the  cross- 
ing over  Long  Cane  Creek;  eight  were  in  a  group  in  the  northwestern 
corner  of  the  township,  some  of  them  appearing  to  be  entirely  outside  the 
lines.  None  of  the  Reverend  John  Baxter's  land  was  surveyed  in  the 
Long  Canes.    In  1765  about  a  score  of  bounty  immigrants  applied  for  war- 

^  Above,  p.  79;  JC,  Feb.  27,  1736,  Jul.  5,  1737,  May  11,  1745,  Jan.  7,  Apr.  7, 
1752,  May  21,  1759;   Howe,  Presbyterian  Church,  I,  204,  255-256. 

"^  Ibid.,  I,  254,  283,  SCHSC,  II,  101,  SCG,  Jul.  6,  1765,  JCHA,  June  5,  1764, 
Jan.  27,  1768. 

^°JC,  Oct.  22,  1762;  the  instructions  to  Lyttelton  and  Boone  authorized  the 
governor  to  set  off  new  townships  as  they  might  be  needed,  (Nov.  4,  1755,  Nov.  11, 
1761).  Both  plats  are  in  the  state  archives.  For  further  location  of  the  first  see 
P,  VII,  467,  VIII,  219,  238,  XV,  110,  XVIII,  182;  for  the  second  see  P,  XVII,  502, 
XVIII,  446,  XXA,  47  (plats  on  or  near  Calabash  Creek).  The  Belfast-London- 
borough  township  is  treated  as  two  separate  townships  in  Wallace,  History  of  S.  C, 
II,  44,  the  latter  in  the  correct  location,  the  former  below  it  on  Stevens  Creek.  The 
marks  on  this  plat  and  the  plats  of  individual  settlers  referred  to  above  show  it 
to  have  been  on  Hard  Labor,  while  no  individual  plats  have  been  found  to  identify  a 
township  below.  There  was  no  room  above  the  township,  for  it  bordered  Hamilton's 
Great  Survey. 


252  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

rants  which  were  surveyed  in  or  near  Boonesborough,  their  headrights 
representing  about  fifty  persons.  This  was  the  only  considerable  single 
accession  to  the  township.^^ 

The  next  township  to  be  settled  originated  in  a  new  movement  of 
French  Huguenots.  In  July  1763  the  crown  referred  to  the  Board  of 
Trade  the  memorial  of  the  Reverend  Jean  Louis  Gibert  asking  concessions 
for  settling  a  colony  of  Huguenots  in  South  Carolina.  The  crown  finally 
agreed  with  Alexander  McNutt,  who  proposed  to  transport  the  group  to 
South  Carolina,  directed  the  governor  to  lay  out  a  township  for  them, 
and  ordered  the  expense  of  surveying  their  lands  to  be  paid  from  the  crown 
quit  rents.  The  112  males  and  61  females  listed  appear  to  have  come  to 
England  during  the  summer  of  1763  in  anticipation  of  aid.  Those  who 
arrived  in  South  Carolina  were  chiefly  husbandmen,  handicraftsmen  and 
vinegrowers,  and  beside  Gibert  himself  there  was  another  pastor.^^ 

After  a  seven-weeks  voyage  of  hardship  and  danger  they  arrived  in 
Charleston  April  14,  1764.  Since  the  season  was  too  far  advanced  for  the 
immigrants  to  get  to  their  new  homes  and  make  a  crop  the  governor  and 
council  decided  to  send  them  for  four  months  to  Fort  Lyttelton,  near 
Beaufort,  where  they  could  plant  corn,  potatoes,  pumpkins  and  pease  to 
eke  out  their  living.  They  were  given  a  daily  ration  of  a  pound  of  flour 
and  a  quart  of  corn,  and  for  their  meat  a  steer  was  promised  for  the  group 
each  week.  They  were  allowed  to  choose  three  of  their  number,  who 
would  be  provided  with  horses  and  a  guide,  to  select  land  for  their  settle- 
ment. Special  warning  was  given  them  against  dissension,  Boone  observing 
that  they  had  as  many  opinions  as  men  in  their  number,  but  the  anticipated 
trouble  began  immediately  and  resulted  in  the  sending  of  fourteen  of  them 
to  Purrysburg.^^ 

At  the  end  of  May  the  deputies  returned  to  town  with  their  guide 
Patrick  Calhoun;  finally  in  July,  with  wagons  to  carry  their  baggage 
and  tools,  most  of  the  men  set  out  from  Charleston.  Governor  Boone, 
giving  up  his  struggle  with  the  Commons,  had  returned  to  England  and  it 
was  Bull  who  sent  the  minute  directions  to  Calhoun  for  purchasing  pro- 
visions and  surveying  town,  township  and  lands  for  the  settlers.  The 
worthy  lieutenant-governor  reminded  the  surveyor  of  "my  present  good 
opinion  of  your  honesty"  and  told  him  that  he  would  be  repaid  for  his 
trouble  by  the  surveying  fees.  The  town  Bull  called  New  Bordeaux  for 
the  city  "from  whence  many  of  them  came",  the  township  he  named  for 
the  Earl  of  Hillsborough,  then  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trade.     The 

^^  JC,  Feb.  19,  1763,  Nov.  5,  Dec.  4,  1765.  Among  the  forty-two  petitions  was  one 
of  John  Baxter. 

^-SCHSC,  II  82-93.  Note  that  one  of  the  Immigrants,  Pierre  Moragne,  left 
his  home  near  St.  Foy,  July  30,  1763  {Address,  Delivered  at  New  Bordeaux.  .  .  . 
S.  C,  Nov.  15,  1854  .  .  .  by  W.  C.  Moragne,  Charleston,  1857).  The  S.  C.  Gazette 
of  Sept.  21,  1763  stated  that  about  a  thousand  Huguenots  had  lately  come  to  Eng- 
land  from    about   Bordeaux. 

^  Moragne,  Address,  JC,  Apr.  16,  24,  Aug.  2,  1764. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  253 

township — which  contained  28,000  acres  including  2,000  acres  for  earlier 
settlers — was  only  six  or  seven  miles  from  the  mouth  of  Little  River  and 
thus,  like  other  piedmont  areas  so  situated,  was  deeply  cut  by  the  large 
streams.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  the  earlier  settlers  had  taken  up  the 
gentler  slopes  of  the  valley  above,  leaving  this  area  vacant  except  for  a 
dozen  plats.  The  land  itself  was  for  the  most  part  quite  fertile,  being 
generally  a  red  clay  overlaid  by  accumulated  vegetable  mould,  and  Calhoun 
marked  on  the  plat  the  "Valluable",  Good,  Middling,  and  Bad  and  Scrub 
Oak  land.  Comparison  of  the  plat  with  the  face  of  the  land  today  shows 
that  the  soil  underlaid  by  deep  red  clay  he  considered  good.  Half  a  mile 
below  the  junction  of  Long  Cane  and  Little  River  Calhoun  surveyed  the 
town,  198  lots  of  an  acre  each;  above  it,  on  both  sides  of  the  stream,  a 
vineyard  plot  of  44  4-acre  lots;  below  the  town  was  a  common  of  195 
acres,  and  a  glebe  of  300  reserved  for  an  Anglican  minister.®* 

Bull's  carefully  made  out  instructions  directed  that  the  settlers  build 
first  their  homes  and  a  palisade  fort,  the  latter  to  be  not  less  than  a  hundred 
and  twenty  feet  square  and  to  serve  likewise  as  a  storeroom  for  provisions. 
Roger,  whom  he  had  appointed  justice  of  the  peace  and  to  whom  he  had 
given  Simpson's  Justice  as  a  guide,  Pierre  Boutiton,  the  minister.  Due, 
captain  of  the  militia,  and  his  lieutenant  and  ensign,  were  to  be  given  the 
first  choice  of  lands  and  the  five  of  them  were  to  be  a  council  for  the  settle- 
ment.®^ 

On  the  5th  and  7th  of  August  the  two  parties  of  Huguenots  reached 
their  new  home.  Calhoun  reported  in  October  that  they  had  set  up  six 
houses,  and  that  frames  were  ready  for  fourteen  more,  indicating  that  they 
were  building  plank  rather  than  log  houses.  For  a  time  they  were  plagued 
with  boils  and  other  ills,  but  three  months  later  Calhoun  wrote  that  they 
were  recovered  of  their  "indisposition".  The  remaining  settlers  did  not 
leave  Charleston  until  January,  with  wagons  carrying  the  weak  and  in- 
firm. With  this  group  went  also  vessels  for  brewing  and  silk-making. 
Pierre  Moragne,  one  of  their  number  who  left  a  brief  diary  of  the  voyage 
and  the  settlement,  wrote  that  in  February  1765,  after  completion  of  the 
barracks,  "I  have  begun  to  labor  on  my  own  land — on  my  half-acre,  and 
afterwards  on  my  four  acres.  The  13th  June  I  finished  planting  in  corn 
and  beans  all  of  the  land  which  I  had  been  able  to  prepare — being  then 
very  feeble,  having  only  a  little  corn  to  eat,  and  being  placed  under  the 
necessity  of  grinding  it  at  an  iron  mill.  Though  we  have  not  a  sufficiency, 
yet,  with  the  aid  of  God,  we  may  always  have  enough  to  keep  us  from 

3*JC,  May  28,  Jul.  13,  1764,  PR,  XXX,  185  (Bull  to  Board,  Aug.  20,  1764), 
Plats  of  Hillsboro  Township  (there  are  two,  identical  except  for  shading  and  notes 
to  show  quality  of  soil).  The  plats  of  the  township  do  not  show  James  Davis'  plat 
of  ISO  acres  formerly  surveyed  for  him  at  the  mouth  of  Long  Cane  which  was 
bought  for  the  site  of  the  town   (P,  VI,  157,  JC,  Oct.  17,  1764). 

®^JC,  Jul.  13,  1764.  See  William  Simpson,  Practical  Justice  of  the  Peace 
(Charlestown,  R.  Wells,  1761),  "compiled  for  the  Instructions  of  the  Justices  of  this 
Province."     (Bull's  letter  of  Mar.  15,  1765 — see  n.  36). 


254  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

starving  till  our  little  harvest  comes  in.  .  .  .  The  16th  July,  1765.  I 
am  married — "  to  Cecile  Bayle,  whose  hundred  acres  had  been  in  April 
preceding  surveyed  adjoining  his.^® 

In  January  1765  Bull  reported  that  nearly  £600  had  been  expended, 
about  £140  of  it  being  paid  out  of  the  quit  rents  on  order  of  the  crown. 
At  that  time  £214  more  was  assigned  from  the  settlement  fund  for  purchase 
of  provisions  for  the  colony.  On  April  18,  1764,  immediately  after  their 
arrival  in  Charleston,  81  of  the  French  had  applied  for  land  and  bounty; 
50  of  them  were  single  men,  9  were  single  women;  the  other  22  petitions 
represented  72  persons.  25  of  those  petitioning  do  not  appear  in  the 
records  thereafter — death,  departure  from  the  province  or  inexpediency 
doubtless  accounting  for  their  failure  to  take  up  the  land.  4  of  the  others 
had  their  land  in  or  near  Purrysburg;  3  are  found  near  Hillsborough  but 
not  in  it.  Plats  representing  the  headrights  of  the  other  73  were  surveyed 
in  the  township  in  little  groups  along  Long  Cane  and  Little  River,  and  on 
their  smaller  tributaries — the  latter  being  preferred  to  the  former,  and  the 
groups  of  plats  corresponding  closely  to  the  areas  marked  by  Calhoun  as 
good  land.  Gibert's  plat  was  not  surveyed  until  1768;  Etienne  and  Marie 
Thomas  appear  in  1769  near  the  township  as  Steven  and  Mary  Thomas.^^ 

The  Reverend  Mr.  Gibert,  the  original  leader  of  the  colony,  did  not 
immediately  settle  at  New  Bordeaux,  leaving  the  ministerial  work  to  the 
Reverend  Pierre  Boutiton.  Instead  he  devoted  himself  for  the  ensuing 
year,  under  the  patronage  of  Gabriel  Manigault,  to  raising  silk  on  the  site 
of  Governor  Nathaniel  Johnson's  ancient  venture — Silk  Hope  on  the 
Cooper  River.  Here  he  made  in  his  first  season  620  pounds  of  cocoons, 
from  which  he  expected  to  get  50  pounds  of  silk.  With  this  he  went  to 
England  and  persuaded  some  public-spirited  gentlemen  there  to  lend  a 
hundred  pounds  sterling  towards  building  a  silk  filature  in  South  Carolina, 
and  the  Commons  voted  £143  from  the  township  fund  to  that  purpose.  At 
the  same  time  a  few  more  French  immigrants  appeared,  said  to  be  skilled 
in  silk  culture,  and  were  sent  to  New  Bordeaux.  A  year  later  the  Com- 
mons appropriated  £433  for  purchasing  silk  cocoons.  For  a  time  the  new 
silk  venture  in  South  Carolina  offered  promise  of  success,  but  it  was  in 
Purrysburg  that  the  production  centered.  EiiForts  at  raising  hemp  and 
wine  eventually  netted  the  same  negligible  results.^^ 

^''JC,  Oct.  17,  1764,  Jan.  30,  1765,  SCG,  Oct.  8,  1764,  Moragne,  Address,  P, 
VIII,  139,  140,  JCHA,  Jan.  18,  1765.  Bull  urged  the  French  settlers  as  well  as  their 
neighbors,  the  Germans  of  Londonborough,  to  plant  hemp,  and  supplied  each  town- 
ship with  several  bushels  of  seed   (PR,  XXX,  249— Bull  to  Board,  Mar.  15,  1765). 

^MCHA,  Jan.  18,  Feb.  11,  1765;  JC,  Apr.  18,  1764;  P,  VIII,  216,  447,  532,  IX, 
455    X    132    XI    175    XVI    54. 

^^S'CG, 'Aug.  3, 'l765,' JCHA,  June  7,  10,  24,  26,  27,  1766,  Apr.  15,  1767. 
See  above  pp.  36-37,  and  compare  the  later  design  of  Jean  Louis  DuMesnil  de  St. 
Pierre  (PR,  XXXIII,  91-92— his  petition  to  Board,  Nov.  15,  1771)  ;  SCGCJ,  June  28, 
1768,  Apr.  6,  1772,  JCHA,  Feb.  24,  Mar.  2,  1768).  For  hemp  see  also  SCG,  Oct.  8, 
1764,  Jan.  7,  1765,  July  7,  Nov.  10,  1766. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  255 

Under  circumstances  not  unlike  those  of  the  French  settlement  there 
came  in  1764  a  somewhat  belated  group  of  Germans.  In  September  1764 
the  crown  heard  the  petition  of  benevolent  Englishmen  who  had  succored 
about  four  hundred  emigrants  from  the  Palatinate  and  other  parts  of 
Germany,  led  to  England  b\'  a  too  hopeful  immigration  agent.  The  crown 
accordingly  issued  an  order  for  them  to  be  sent  to  South  Carolina  with  the 
same  exemptions  and  aids  given  the  French.  The  first  shipload,  which 
arrived  in  December,  "were  all  sick,"  Lieutenant-Governor  Bull  said 
tersely,  "20  died  on  the  Passage  and  20  more  within  3  days  after  their 
landing."  Others  arrived  afterward,  and  among  all  who  landed  there 
were  45  deaths  of  those  over  two  years  of  age.  The  bounty  was  paid  on 
262  others,  and  warrants  were  issued  to  116  representing  headrights  of  272 
persons.  Since  infants  under  three  were  allowed  no  bounty  but  were  in- 
cluded in  headrights,  it  is  probable  that  a  considerable  number  of  the 
Germans  did  not  apply  for  land.  17  of  the  petitioners  cannot  be  found; 
the  others,  on  headrights  of  233  persons,  had  their  warrants  surveyed  on 
the  branches  of  Stevens  Creek.^^ 

On  receipt  of  the  order  of  the  crown  for  the  settlement  of  these  Ger- 
mans Bull  sent  an  express  to  Patrick  Calhoun  to  build  them  a  log  hut  at  the 
spot  designated  for  their  settlement;  the  surveying  of  the  lands,  however, 
was  to  be  done  by  John  Fairchild.  The  first  party  which  went  up  chose 
land  south  of  Ninety  Six  as  being  more  secure  from  the  Indians,  although 
the  lieutenant-governor  evidently  wished  to  plant  them  fifteen  miles  beyond 
Hillsborough  near  the  Indian  line,  and  remarked  that  they  had  chosen  land 
not  so  good.  It  was  perhaps  this  disagreement  which  caused  his  reference 
to  "their  Obstinacy  in  refuseing  to  go  to  their  Lands  till  it  was  too  late  to 
expect  the  Crops"  although  it  may  have  been  an  unwillingness  to  go  up 
during  the  winter  which  occasioned  the  delay.  The  result  was  that  some 
were  brought  to  want  within  the  year.  Andrew  Williamson,  who  lived 
near  the  proposed  settlement,  received  Bull's  further  instructions  about  the 
building  of  shelters  for  the  settlers.  The  lieutenant-governor  appointed 
militia  officers  and  made  Frederick  Nicholas  Myer,  "a  Man  of  Learning", 
justice  of  the  peace,  furnishing  him  with  Simpson's  guide.  He  sent  several 
bushels  of  hemp  seed,  urging  the  Germans,  as  he  had  the  French,  to  go 
"with  their  whole  strength"  next  year  on  that  crop.  In  March  he  reported 
that  the  first  party  which  went  up  in  January  had  now  finished  their 
"Huts".'° 

Bull  evidently  had  intended  to  set  another  township  near  Boonsboro 
on  or  near  the  Indian  boundary.  But  the  choice  of  lands  by  the  Germans 
fell  partly  if  not  wholly  within  the  limits  of  the  thinly  settled  Belfast,  and 
on  Hard  Labor  Creek,  probably  in  this  township,  Fairchild  laid  out  the 

39  JC,  Dec.  14,  24,  1764,  Jan.  31,  Feb.  27,  1765,  PR,  XXX,  234-235  (Bull  to  Board, 
Dec.  21,  1764). 

^]C,  Dec.  24,  1764,  Jan.  30,  Feb.  26,  Mar.  20,  Oct.  11,  1765;  PR,  XXX,  248- 
249  (Bull  to  Board,  Mar.  IS,  1765). 


256  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

town  which  the  settlers  ignored.  Bull  therefore  appears  to  have  thought 
it  useless  to  survey  another  township,  and  named  the  settlement  London- 
borough.  This  name  appears  on  plats  in  Belfast  while  the  name  Belfast 
nearly  disappears  except  on  maps  which  attempt  to  resolve  the  discrepancy 
of  two  names  for  one  township  by  placing  another  on  Stevens  Creek.*^ 

The  Germans  were  by  no  means  willing  to  confine  themselves  to  the 
limits  of  the  township,  however,  and  were  indulged  in  their  choice  of  lands 
in  groups  on  nearly  all  the  upper  branches  of  Stevens  Creek;  a  compara- 
tively small  number  established  themselves  in  the  township,  where  a  dozen 
plats  were  surveyed  on  or  near  Hard  Labor  Creek.  As  many  were  sur- 
veyed six  or  seven  miles  away  on  both  sides  of  Horse  Pen  Creek  between 
its  mouth  and  the  crossing  of  a  path  to  Ninety  Six.  Two  plats  surveyed 
at  the  mouth  of  the  creek  were  said  to  be  "at  the  place  called  Cufifee  Town" 
and  a  dozen  were  on  Cuffytown  Creek  near  this  point.  But  the  chief 
preference  of  the  newcomers  was  for  the  network  of  small  streams  five  or 
ten  miles  east  of  the  township  near  the  point  where  Little  Stevens,  Sleepy, 
Log  and  Turkey  Creeks  run  together.  Here  in  a  three  or  four  mile  radius 
fifty  plats  were  surveyed,  strung  out  along  the  small  watercourses,  usually 
including  both  banks,  in  stretches  two  or  three  miles  long. 

The  German  settlements  on  the  branches  of  Stevens  Creek  were  so 
situated  as  to  invite  association  and  eventually  amalgamation  with  the 
English  settlers,  and  are  to  be  compared  with  the  Congaree,  New  Windsor, 
and  to  a  certain  extent  with  the  Orangeburg  German  establishments  rather 
than  with  the  great  isolated  Dutch  Fork. 

With  the  exception  of  the  Londonborough  settlement  the  movement  of 
Germans  into  the  colony  under  the  bounty  act  practically  ceased  with  the 
Cherokee  War,  only  about  sixty  others  applying  for  land,  a  third  of  them 
on  the  bounty.  The  warrants  were  sought  chiefly  on  the  Broad  and  Saluda 
and  in  the  German  portions  of  the  middle  country. 

During  the  years  1763  to  1765  about  300  individuals,  besides  those 
already  accounted  for  in  the  townships,  were  listed  as  applying  in  groups, 
large  and  small,  for  land  on  the  bounty.  Except  for  a  score  of  Germans 
they  seem  to  have  been  entirely  immigrants  from  Northern  Ireland.  The 
land  records  show  them  in  striking  contrast  with  the  township  settlers  and 
with  the  bounty  immigrants  before  the  Cherokee  War.  Less  than  50  can 
be  identified  in  the  provincial  land  records,  and  these  are  distributed  rather 
evenly  over  the  area  of  the  province.  This  is  in  full  accord  with  the  report 
of  the  Commons  committee  of  1768  which  charged  that  many  of  the  im- 
migrants for  whom  the  bounty  was  paid  were  brought  in  as  indented 
servants,  their  headrights  used  by  their  masters,  and  the  persons  kept  in 
servitude,  in  double  violation  of  the  intent  of  the  law.*^     These  probably 

"  P,  VIII,  105,  plat  of  Philip  Zimmerman,  see  note  30;  for  the  name  see  Bull's 
letter  of  Mar.  IS,  1765    (n.  40). 


42 


JCHA,  Mar.  2,  1768. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  257 

stayed  in  the  settled  areas  after  their  terms  expired,  lacking  the  money  or 
perhaps  the  initiative  to  take  up  land.  The  wisdom  of  the  Commons 
policy  in  the  early  period,  of  discouraging  the  immigration  of  any  but  free 
Europeans,  was  thus  abundantly  confirmed. 

In  addition  to  these  bounty  immigrants  who  came  in  groups  there  were, 
chiefly  between  1763  and  1765,  about  50  individual  applications  for  land 
on  the  bounty  by  persons  of  British  name  whose  headrights  amounted  to 
about  120.  Nearly  all  of  them  can  be  found  on  the  land;  half  went  into 
the  upper  Savannah  valley,  most  of  them  about  the  Long  Canes ;  the  middle 
country  received  nearly  half  of  the  remainder.  There  were  about  30 
petitions  for  the  king's  bounty,  two-thirds  of  them  for  land  in  the  middle 
country,  the  rest  in  the  back  country.     The  headrights  were  about  50. 

Thus  the  bounty  act  of  1761  had  by  the  end  of  1765  brought  into  the 
colony  about  700  persons,  of  whom  probably  450,  perhaps  500,  settled  in 
the  back  country.  The  results  for  the  expenditure  of  money  compared  but 
ill  with  those  of  the  period  of  the  'thirties;  nevertheless  the  three  town- 
ships, especially  Hillsborough,  were  valuable  acquisitions. 

Besides  the  bounty  petitions  there  were  about  2,500  applications  for 
land  in  South  Carolina  between  1760  and  1765^^  for  a  total  of  about  525,- 
000  acres.  20%  of  the  warrants,  including,  however,  30%  of  the  acreage, 
were  for  land  in  the  tidewater  region — a  hundred  of  them  in  or  near 
Purrysburg  and  a  fourth  as  many  in  Williamsburg.  The  headrights  for 
these  tidewater  warrants  amounted  to  about  3,100  persons.**  Two-thirds 
of  the  warrants  were  for  persons  already  landholders  of  the  section,  less 
than  20%  appearing  clearly  to  be  newcomers.  Over  half  the  warrants 
were  in  1764  and  1765,  and  few  of  them  were  for  as  much  as  a  thousand 
acres. 

For  land  in  the  great  and  thinly  settled  middle  country  there  were  about 
900  warrants,  the  acreage  amounting  to  nearly  185,000;  only  three  or  four 
petitioners  applied  for  as  much  as  a  thousand  acres.  Somewhat  more  than 
40%  of  these  middle  country  warrants  were  for  men  who  already  owned 
nearby  land ;  about  the  same  proportion  of  the  applicants  were  newcomers 
to  the  province,  and  less  than  10%  came  from  other  portions  of  the  colony. 
The  total  of  headrights  was  about  3,300.  Two-thirds  of  these  warrants 
were  in  1764  and  1765. 

A  fifth  of  the  middle  country  warrants  were  for  the  fertile  and  slightly 
settled  areas  on  and  between  the  Black  and  Santee ;  a  sixth  were  for  land 
on  the  Peedee  and  its  branches,  with  the  Wateree,  the  Savannah,  and 
Lynches  River  taking  each  a  somewhat  smaller  share,  and  Amelia,  the 
Congarees  and  the  Edisto  attracting  each  about  8%  of  the  total.     Scarcely 

*^  This  excludes  about  500  warrants  for  which  no  plats  appear  to  have  been 
surveyed,  and  which  could  not  be  identified  by  the  warrant. 

**  Under  the  instructions  of  1755  (above,  p.  20,  n.  9)  the  head  of  the  household 
received  100  acres,  the  headrights  of  the  others  were  50  acres  each.  Therefore  in 
the  case  of  new  settlers  allowance  for  this  must  be  made. 


258  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

more  than  a  score  applied  for  land  in  the  Coosawhatchie-Salkehatchie 
region.  Nearly  40%  of  the  middle  country  applicants  appear  to  have  been 
newcomers,  the  proportions — about  50% — being  highest  among  those  ask- 
ing for  land  on  the  Savannah. 

For  back  country  sections  there  were  nearly  1,100  warrants  for  a  total 
of  about  180,000  acres,  nearly  a  third  of  them  for  land  in  the  Broad  River 
valley.  The  Enoree  and  Tyger,  with  their  long  branches  and  good  land, 
were  sought  by  more  than  a  hundred  of  the  applicants,  whose  headrights 
represented  about  350  persons,  60%  of  them  appearing  to  be  new  settlers. 
A  dozen  families  settled  as  far  up  as  the  three  forks  of  the  Tyger. 
Nearly  200  headrights,  45%  of  them  new  settlers,  were  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Broad  below  Sandy  River,  while  on  the  Sandy  and  on  Turkey  Creek 
and  their  branches  and  the  land  between,  there  were  150  headrights  of 
whom  60%  were  new.  Above  Turkey  Creek  on  the  east  side,  and  on  the 
Pacolet  and  Thicketty  Creek  on  the  west  side  there  were  few  plats,  and  of 
the  25  warrants  for  a  hundred  headrights  70%  were  for  newcomers.  On 
the  west  side  below  the  Enoree  there  were  a  score  of  warrants,  representing 
scarcely  40  headrights,  less  than  half  of  the  petitioners  being  new. 

A  score  of  Germans,  chiefly  bounty  settlers,  procured  warrants  for  this 
valley,  and  most  of  them  settled  elsewhere  than  in  the  German  settle- 
ments. Hardly  10%  of  the  applicants  for  Broad  River  valley  land  can  be 
identified  as  coming  from  other  portions  of  the  province,  most  of  them 
from  the  middle  country,  the  others  from  various  parts  of  the  back  country. 
Nearly  30%  of  the  total  were  persons  already  owning  land  in  the  section 
who  were  enlarging  their  holdings.     The  remainder  cannot  be  identified. 

Next  to  the  Broad  the  valley  of  the  Catawba-Wateree  tempted  the  new 
settler  or  encouraged  the  old  to  add  to  his  lands.  The  300  or  more  war- 
rants here  and  on  the  upper  waters  of  Lynches  River  to  the  east  amounted 
to  over  40,000  acres,  about  55%  of  the  headrights  representing  persons  new 
to  the  province,  while  a  third  were  resident  already  in  the  region.  Nearly 
40%  of  the  warrants  (over  half  for  newcomers)  were  for  land  in  the 
Catawba  valley,  the  long  courses  of  Fishing  and  Rocky  Creeks  attracting 
settlers,  as  did  the  Enoree  and  Tyger  in  the  valley  of  the  Broad.  The 
east  side  of  the  Wateree  between  the  Waxhaws  and  Fredericksburg  Town- 
ship accounted  for  little  over  15%,  the  Lynches  River  section  a  slightly 
smaller  number,  the  proportion  of  newcomers  in  each  being  about  40%. 
The  west  side  of  the  Wateree  drew  about  10%  of  the  total,  two-thirds  of 
them  newcomers,  and  the  Waxhaws,  the  best  settled  region  in  1760,  the 
smallest  number — somewhat  less  than  10%,  half  of  them  new  settlers. 
About  20  applicants  came  from  the  back  country,  Williamsburg,  or  the 
middle  country. 

The  Savannah  valley,  which  showed  such  weakness  during  the  Cherokee 
War  and  the  Indian  troubles  following,  was  the  object  of  the  solicitude  of 
the  officials,  and  here  were  laid  off  and  settled  the  three  townships  for 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  259 

the  400  French,  German  and  Scotch  bounty  settlers.  There  were  in  addi- 
tion a  score  of  bounty  warrants  on  Long  Cane  or  Little  River  representing 
50  persons.  Of  the  non-bounty  petitions  the  Savannah  valley  drew  250, 
with  an  acreage  of  about  43,000.  Two-thirds  of  the  petitioners,  represent- 
ing 500  persons,  over  half  of  them  newcomers,  asked  for  land  on  Little 
River  and  Long  Cane  and  their  branches.  On  Stevens  Creek  and  its  trib- 
utaries were  to  be  found  less  than  a  fifth  of  the  non-bounty  headrights,  over 
half  for  new  settlers,  the  headrights  amounting  to  125  persons;  and  on 
Rocky  River,  beyond  Little  River  were  a  score  of  families,  half  of  them 
new,  with  headrights  of  50  persons. 

A  dozen  of  these  Savannah  valley  settlers,  perhaps  more,  came  from 
the  middle  and  back  country.  Among  them  was  Andrew  Pickens,  son  of 
the  Waxhaw  militia  captain,  who  in  1762  had  250  acres  surveyed  on  Little 
River,  and  John  Pickens,  whose  plats  were  run  out  on  Little  River  and 
Rocky  River.  Andrew  Pickens'  plat  adjoined  that  of  James  Gamble,  who 
was  himself  probably  from  the  Waxhaws.*^ 

On  the  Saluda,  oldest  of  the  back  country  settlements,  there  were  about 
185  warrants,  amounting  to  35,000  acres,  with  headrights  totalling  nearly 
600.  A  third  of  the  petitions — about  200  headrights — were  for  land  on 
Bush  River  and  Little  River  and  on  the  east  side  of  the  Saluda  below 
Reedy  River,  half  of  them  by  newcomers.  A  fifth  were  on  Little  Saluda 
and  the  streams  below  Ninety  Six  Creek ;  apparently  less  than  half  of  these 
were  for  newcomers,  and  the  headrights  represented  about  a  hundred 
persons.  A  sixth  of  the  total  was  to  be  found  on  Ninety  Six  Creek,  and 
another  sixth  on  the  Reedy  and  its  branches.  But,  whereas  only  a  quarter 
of  the  Ninety  Six  warrants  were  for  new  settlers,  practically  all  of  those 
on  the  Reedy  were  newcomers;  the  headrights  were  respectively  about  100 
and  70.  On  the  east  side  of  the  river,  below  Bush  River,  were  half  a 
dozen  warrants.  15  or  20  of  the  Saluda  warrants  were  for  settlers  from 
the  middle  and  back  country. 

To  the  1759  back  country  population  of  7,000,  there  were  added  be- 
tween 1760  and  1765,  as  far  as  the  land  records  may  be  taken  as  an  index, 
about  3,600  persons,  700  of  them  brought  in  on  the  bounty.  The  land 
records  of  course  took  no  account  of  shifts  of  population  by  death  or  removal 
to  other  colonies;  on  the  other  hand,  the  natural  increase  among  the  Ger- 
mans was  to  a  very  slight  degree  represented  in  the  land  warrants,  for  few 
of  them  took  out  additional  warrants  in  this  period. 

It  is  obvious  that  most  of  the  non-bounty  immigrants  were  part  of  the 
great  movement  of  settlers  south  from  western  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia, 
and  probably  the  greater  part  of  them  were  Scotch-Irish.*^     Prior  to  the 

^5  See  P,  VII,  369,  VIII,  363,  SCG,  Oct.  8,  1763,  Dec.  1,  1766  (advts.  of  John 
Pickens),  above  pp.  138-139,  145-146;  J.  B.  Longacre  and  J.  Herring,  National 
Portrait  Gallery,   (4  vols.,  Philadelphia,   1836),  III. 

^^  See  Lieutenant-Governor  Bull's  statement  about  the  immigrants  in  1773  (PR, 
XXXIII,  273-274,  Bull  to  Board,  June  14,  1773). 


260  The  Expansion  of  South  Carolina 

Cherokee  War  there  seem  to  have  been  few  who  settled  in  the  middle  or 
back  country  who  did  not  speedily  appear  as  headrights,  but  with  the 
partial  removal  of  the  Indian  menace  and  the  rapid  increase  of  immigra- 
tion from  the  north,  the  number  of  idle  and  landless  persons  increases,  and 
after  1764  perhaps  rapidly/^  Included  in  the  back  country  headrights 
were  probably  600  or  700  slaves,  who  with  the  200  or  300  of  1759  made  a 
total  of  nearly  10%  of  the  population/^  Some  of  these  were  acquired  by 
dubious  means,  no  doubt,  for  James  Parsons  in  1763  complained  that  it 
had  lately  become  a  pernicious  custom  for  back  settlers,  when  they  met 
with  runaways,  to  publish  deceptive  advertisements  and  to  keep  the  ne- 

4ft 

groes. 

The  four  )'ears  since  the  Cherokee  treaty  of  1761  had  thus  brought  a 
fifty  percent  increase  in  the  population  of  the  back  country,  which  was 
now  a  region  of  about  ten  thousand  souls,  with  the  vanguard  of  settlement 
within  fifty  miles  of  the  eventual  South  Carolina  boundary.  In  the  more 
extensive  but  still  thinly  settled  middle  country  were  about  twelve  thou- 
sand. The  process  of  filling  up  and  strengthening  the  province,  begun  at 
the  time  of  its  acquisition  by  the  crown,  was  in  a  manner  complete.  Pri- 
marily the  result  of  economic  forces  of  the  old  and  new  world  it  had 
nevertheless  been  due  in  part  to  government  enterprise.  The  officials  of 
the  provincial  and  royal  governments  had  in  the  main  served  its  purposes 
faithfully.  The  planters,  too,  by  fits  and  starts  had  given  it  earnest 
thought :  at  one  time  they  looked  to  it  in  joyful  confidence ;  at  another  they 
turned  to  it  in  bitter  discouragement  and  dread ;  between  times  they  forgot 
about  it  in  the  press  of  their  own  affairs.  Now,  with  the  white  population 
of  the  middle  and  back  country  sufficient  to  insure  protection  against  In- 
dian and  negro  enemies,  they  turned  their  attention  to  other  things.  In 
the  new  issues  that  successively  faced  the  colony  in  the  decade  preceding 
the  Revolution  the  back  country  at  times  figured  largely,  but  no  longer 
as  a  mere  reserve  of  man-power.  It  was  now  a  section  of  the  province  with 
its  own  problems. 

But  the  period  of  thirty-seven  years  since  the  appointment  of  Governor 
Johnson  had  accomplished  far  more  than  the  settling  of  two-thirds  of  the 
area  of  the  later  state,  and  giving  it — as  far  as  concerned  the  whites — the 
racial  composition  it  was  to  retain  through  two  centuries.  The  settlement 
of  the  interior  of  North  and  South  Carolina  and  the  extension  of  popula- 
tion along  the  coast  had  brought  the  rice  country  into  close  physical  contact 
with  its  neighbors  to  the  north,  and  South  Carolina,  which  in  1729  had 

*^  See,  for  instance,  SCG,  June  8,  1765. 

^^  Only  the  occasional  references  supplied  by  wills  and  inventories  and  news- 
paper advertisements  give  hints  of  the  number  of  slaves.  Comparison  of  these 
with  similar  references  for  the  years  preceding  and  with  the  headrights  recorded 
in  land  petitions  before  1756  suggests  this  figure. 

*^  See  SCG,  Jan.  29,  Oct.  22,  1763. 


Back  Country  and  Frontier  261 

much  of  the  appearance  of  a  West  Indian  colony,  became  like  the  main- 
land settlements. 

The  most  interesting  result  of  this  expansion,  however,  was  the  es- 
tablishment in  the  back  country  of  a  population  that  in  its  economic  condi- 
tions and  its  social  trends  was  very  different  from  that  of  the  tidewater. 
In  its  essential  characteristics,  and  to  a  less  degree  in  its  connections,  it  was 
merely  an  extension  southwestward  of  the  piedmont  society  and  population 
of  the  more  northern  colonies,  as  the  rice  and  indigo  plantations  in  turn 
were  now  a  part  of  the  wealthy  and  highly  developed  coast  country  of 
the  English  mainland. 

But  the  other  forces — the  artificial  though  real  boundaries  set  up  by 
the  British  and  provincial  governments,  the  geographic  situation  that  made 
Charleston  the  trading  outlet  of  the  whole  area  between  the  Peedee  and 
the  Savannah,  the  history  of  the  last  thirty  years  in  which  a  vigorous  and 
capable  government  had  partly  determined  the  lines  of  provincial  expan- 
sion, and  therefore  had  more  than  the  usual  influence  over  it — all  tended 
to  mark  off  the  South  Carolina  tidewater,  middle  country  and  piedmont  as 
sections  or  portions  of  a  single  commonwealth. 

The  tidewater  and  back  country  were  indeed  two  commonwealths,  one 
highly  developed,  cultivated  and  confident;  the  other  new,  raw,  slightly 
organized  and  uncertain  of  itself.  Nevertheless  the  good  qualities  that 
characterized  so  large  a  part  of  the  piedmont  population  promised  to  make 
it  a  vigorous  though  sadly  handicapped  rival  of  the  older  society.  They 
were  different  and  in  many  respects  hostile,  but  not  to  such  an  extent  that 
it  was  altogether  impossible  for  them  to  find  common  ground.  They  were 
widely  separated  by  distance  and  interests,  but  their  connections  were  real 
and  the  bonds  already  established  were  of  some  strength.  Nor  were  the 
areas  and  present  and  potential  populations  so  large  as  to  prevent  effective 
operation  upon  the  two  by  the  factors  tending  to  bring  about  a  closer  union. 
No  situation  better  calculated  to  stimulate  both  groups  and  to  challenge 
leadership  could  have  been  devised. 


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1836 
McCrady,  Edward,  History  of  South  Carolina  under  the  Proprietary  Government, 

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INDEX 

Note:   Middle   and  back  country  settlers   are   identified  by  township, 
e.g.,   Amelia,    section,    e.g.,    Congarees,    or   river   valley,    e.g.,   Broad. 


Aberlin,  Solomon,  Congarees,  52 

Aberly,  John,  Congarees,  52,  63  n. 

Abraham,  slave,  Fort  Loudoun,  223- 
224;   freed   for   services,  229 

Adair,  James,  220;  and  frontier,  121; 
and  Choctaw  affair,  195;  in  Cherokee 
War,  228-229 

Adamson,  James,  Wateree,  105,  136, 
175;  Fort  Loudoun,  232 

Agriculture,  Purrysburg,  38-39;  Amel- 
ia, 50;  Congarees,  56;  Williamsburg, 
81-83;  Saluda,  120,  131;  Waxhaws, 
142;  clearing  ground  for,  165;  meth- 
ods, 166;  back  country,  labor  in,  174; 
middle  country,  182;  Hillsborough, 
252,  253 

Aiken,  James,  planter,   81 

Alabama  Fort  (Fort  Thoulouse),  185, 
190,  195,  217 

Albany,  203  ;   Congress,  208 

Alder,   Conrad,  Broad,  148 

Alexander,  Aaron,  Long  Canes,   135 

Alexander,  Adam,  Long  Canes,  135 

Alexander,  David,  100 

Alexander,  Zebulun,   Long  Canes,   135 

Allison,  Robert,  Lynches,   146  n. 

Altamaha  River,  6;  fort  on,  10;  pro- 
posed settlement  of,  18,  20;  defense 
of,  188-189 

Amelia  Township,  101,  137,  161,  172, 
182,  183,  230;  map,  32;  settlement, 
42-44,  50-51;  settlers  from,  60,  149; 
Germans  in,  154;  demand  for  repre- 
sentation, 183;  Indian  raid,  200; 
warrants,   1761-1765,  257 

American  colonies,  proposed  immigra- 
tion from,  17,  20  n. 

Amherst,  General  Jeffrey,  228,  232,  236, 
237 

Ancrum,   William,   Charleston,   104 

Anderson,  Abel,  Broad,  157 

Anderson,  Dr.  Abraham,  Broad  and 
Saluda,  180  n. 


Anderson,   David,  Black,   108,  145  n. 

Anderson,  Enoch,  Saluda,  130,  133 

Anderson,  James,   Congarees,   52 

Andrews,  James,  Broad,   148 

Anglican  Church,  8,  47;  Purrysburg, 
40;  Orangeburg,  47;  Amelia,  51; 
Congarees,  64;  Williamsburg,  85; 
Peedee,  97-98;   Wateree,  107 

Anson  County,  North  Carolina,  138 

Appenzell,  Switzerland,   66,   67 

Arledge,  John,  Wateree,   136 

Arms  and  ammunition,  121,  125,  143, 
162,  169,  201,  203-204,  206,  217,  227, 
233,  234 

Armstrong,  Samuel,   Cheraws,  94 

Assembly,  the,  and  early  settlement  pol- 
icy, 5 ;  composition,  6-7 ;  and  town- 
ship plan,  21-22;  petition  for  troops, 
26;  and  plans  for  Purrysburg,  34; 
reimbursed  for  Indian  expenses,  199- 
200;   asks  larger  territory,  249 

Atkin,  Edmund,  Superintendent  Indian 
Affairs,  225 

Atkinson,  Elisha,  Broad,   148 

Aubrey,   Samuel,  Broad,   234  n. 

Augusta,  10,  72,  170,  228,  237,  246;  and 
Indian  trade,  15,  69-71;  founded,  66; 
in  Cherokee  War,  222,  225,  235  n. 

Augusta  County  Virginia,  134,  138-140, 
148  n. 

Austin,  George,  council,  242 

Bachman,  John  Ulric,  Congarees,  52, 
54 

Back  country,  map  112;  settlement,  112- 
158  {see  Broad,  Catawba,  Lynches, 
Saluda,  Savannah  and  Wateree  Riv- 
ers) ;  description,  113-115;  Indian 
trade  in  settlement  of,  117-119,  162; 
hunters  in,  119-120;  relation  to  pro- 
vincial government,  133;  significance 
of  church  development,  144—145; 
Germans   in,    150-154;    in   1759,   160- 


269 


270 


Index 


184;   population  and  origin,   160-162; 
settlement  process,   162-165;   industry, 
165-169;     trade     and     transportation, 
169-172;      manufacturing,      172-173; 
labor,   173-174;   life,   174-177;   church 
and   education,   177-180;    significance, 
181-182;    and   imperial   policies,   185; 
Indian  alarm  of  1751,  201;  in  Chero- 
kee    War,     212-240      {see     Cherokee 
War);    raids  upon,  222-227;   settlers' 
forts,  223,  234-236;   enlistments  from, 
226-227;    growth  of,   1761-1765,  241- 
261;  importance  of,  242;  warrants  in, 
258-259;    settlers   from,   259;    popula- 
tion   and    change    in   type   of   settlers, 
260;   significance,   1765,  261 
Baden,   Germany,   152 
Baker,  Elihu,   Congarees,   52,   59,  63  n. 
Baker,  William,  Congarees,   52,  55 
Ball,  David,  Saluda,  119 
Banks,    Charles,    Saluda,    119-121 
Baptist  Church,  Euhaw,  39;  Congarees, 
64-65;  Coosawhatchie,  74-75;  Peedee 
and  Lynches,  74-75,  145,   180;  Welsh 
Tract,  96-98;  Broad,  157,  180;  prayer 
meetings  on  Broad,  158,  180  n.;  Fair- 
forest,  158,  180 
Barker,  Thomas,  Salkehatchie,  74 
Barksdale,   Isaac,   New   Windsor,   127 
Barley,     Congarees,     62,     174;     Welsh 

Tract,  91 ;   Waterees,   106 
Earner,   Andrew,    Congarees,   52,   62  n. 
Barnwell,   John,   township   plan   of,    18 
Barrow,   Richard,   Welsh   Tract,   91 
Barrow,   Sarah,   Welsh   Tract,   91 
Baskins,  William,  Virginia,   124 
Bassett,   Nathaniel,   Savannah,   128 
Bassett,  Thomas,   New  Windsor,   128 
Bassnett,  John,  Williamsburg,   84 
Baxter,  Arthur,  Kingston,  87 
Baxter,  Rev.  John,  Cainhoy,  79,  88,  251 
Baxter,   John,   Boonesborough,  252  n. 
Bayle,  Cecile,   Hillsborough,  254 
Beach  Island,  68 
Beale,   Othniel,  council,  242 
Beamer,  James,  Cherokee  trader,  119  n., 

132,   192,  208  n.,  221 
Beamer,  Thomas,  Cherokee  trader,  132, 

221,  222 
Beans,   Purrysburg,   38;    Congarees,   56; 
back  country,   166;    Hillsborough,   253 
Bear  Creek,  Saluda,  147,  171 
Bears,  38,  169 


Beaufort,  38,  39 

Beaver   Creek,   Broad,   235  n. 

Beaver  Creek,  Wateree,  137,  141,  142  n. 

Beaver  skins,   122,   169 

Beaverdam   Creek,   Saluda,   147,    153  n. 

Beaverdam  Creek,  Stevens   Creek,   129 

Beckeli,   Peter,   152 

Beddingfield,  William,  Long  Canes, 
134  n. 

Bedgegood,  Rev.  Nicholas,  Welsh  Tract, 
96 

Beech  Branch  (Coosawhatchie)  Baptist 
Church,   75  n. 

Beer,   62,   175,  253 

Belfast,  settlers  from,  79 

Belfast  Township.    See  Londonborough. 

Bell,   Thomas,   Fort   Ninety   Six,   236 

Bell    Hall,   Congaree,  44  n. 

Bellville,   Amelia,   50 

Beresford,   John,    54 

Berlin,  36  n. 

Berry,  Thomas,  Congarees,  52,   55 

Beudeker,  Henry  Christopher,  Conga- 
rees,  62,    174 

Binsky,   Martyn,   Orangeburg,  46 

Black  Creek,  Peedee,  92 

Black  River,  90,  161;  township  pro- 
posed, 20;  Williamsburg  on,  79-84; 
settlement  of  upper  waters,  107-109; 
settlers  from,  145;  warrants,  1761- 
1765,  257.     See  Williamsburg. 

Board  of  Trade,  210,  228,  252;  and 
township  plan,  19-20;  and  settlement 
acts,  21-22;  and  land  dispute,  23;  and 
Purrysburg  plans,  34;  and  Hamilton 
plan,  126;  and  Indian  affairs,  194, 
196;  and  Carolina  boundary,  247-250 

Boater,  Nicholas,  Broad,  150 

Books,  Purrysburg,  39-40;  Saxe  Gotha, 
56,  63,  64  n.;  Welsh  Tract,  96;  Wat- 
eree, 106;  Waxhaws,  143;  back  and 
middle   country,    177-178 

Boone,  Governor  Thomas,  243,  251;  ap- 
pointed, 228;  on  Indian  trade  plan, 
244—245 ;  dispute  with  Commons,  246, 
252 

Boonesborough  Township,  map,  116; 
settled,   250-252 

Booth,  John,  Welsh  Tract,   96 

Bosher,  Thomas,  captain  of  rangers, 
227 

Bosomworth,  Thomas  and  Mary,  204- 
205 


Index 


271 


Bounties  to  settlers,  25,  27  n.,  28,  30,  34, 
35,  56,  79,  89,  92,  100,  103-104,  151, 
152,   155,   163,  251-257 

Bourquin,  Henry,  Purrysburg,  38,  39 

Boutiton,  Rev.  Pierre,  Hillsborough, 
253,  254 

Box,  Edward,   Saluda,  236  n. 

Box,  Robert,   Saluda,  236  n. 

Boykin,  Edward,  Lynches,  145 

Boykin,  Henry,  Lynches,  145 

Brabant,  Dr.  Daniel,  Purrysburg,  38 

Brabant,  Isaac,  Purrysburg,  38  n. 

Braddock's  expedition,  210 

Bradley,   James,   Black,    108 

Brandenburg,   39 

Brannon,   Michael,   Wateree,   105 

Bready,    Daniel,    Wateree,    137  n. 

Breed,  Joseph,  Broad,   158  n. 

Brewery,  proposed  for  Congarees,  62 

Briar   Creek,    Savannah,   73 

Bricks,  at  Fort  Moore,   173 

Brim,  Lower  Creek  headman,  205 

British.     See   English. 

Broad  and  Saluda,  128;  settlement  on, 
137,  180  n.;  forts  on,  168;  wagons 
from,  170  n.;  complaint  from,  181  n.; 
Indian  alarm,  201 

Broad  River,  143,  163;  settlement,  147- 
158;  Germans  on,  148,  150-155;  set- 
tlers from  Raifords  Creek,  148;  set- 
tlers from  Northward,  148-149;  settle- 
ment of  Enoree  and  Tyger,  149- 
150;  later  English  settlers,  155-156; 
churches  and  education,  156-158,  180; 
roads,  171;  blacksmiths,  172;  Chero- 
kee raids,  217;  defense  of,  233-235; 
in  boundary  dispute,  250;  warrants, 
1761-1765,  258 

Broad  River,  Georgia,  122  n.,  245 

Brooks,  Jacob,  Saluda,  223,  234  n.,  236 

Broughton,  Lieutenant-Governor 
Thomas,  81,  90,  188;  visits  townships, 
46;  and  imperial  expansion,  189 

Brown,  Andrew,  Saluda,  131,  222 

Brown,    David,   42  n. 

Brown,  Edward,  Saluda,  130 

Brown,  John,  Chickasaw  captain,  228- 
229 

Brown,  Lazarus,  Lower  Three  Runs,  75 

Brown,  Patrick,  Congarees,  52,  54,  132, 
202;  in  Catawba  trade,  53;  in  Creek 
trade,  68  n.,  191;  leading  trader,  69 

Brown,  Thomas,  51  n.,  147,  170;  in  Con- 


garees, 52-54,  57-58,  59  n.,  63;  estate, 
58,  176  n.;  Ninety  Six  lands,  118,  126 

Brown,  William,  Congarees,  52,  53  n., 
58,  59,  175  n. 

Brown,  Rae  &  Co.,  Indian  trade,  69 

Bryan,  John,  42  n. 

Bryan,   Thomas,   Savannah,   128  n. 

Buckhead  Creek,  Amelia,  42,  44,  50,  51, 
101 

Buckhead  Creek,  Salkehatchie,  74,  212, 
223,  234  n. 

Buffalo,   119,   169 

Buffalo  Creek,  Broad,  209 

Buffalo  Creek,  Lynches,  145 

Bugnion,    Rev.   Joseph,    Purrysburg,    40 

Bull,  Lieutenant-Governor  William,  the 
Elder,  and  imperial  expansion,  189- 
190 

Bull,  Lieutenant-Governor  William,  the 
Younger,  218,  243;  appointed,  228; 
on  Montgomery's  prospects,  229;  and 
defense  of  province,  232-233,  236;  and 
peace  negotiations,  239-240;  and  pro- 
vincial boundary,  250;  instructions  for 
Hillsborough   settlers,   252-253 

Bunning,   Robert,   Cherokee  trader,   192 

Burgess,  Benjamin,  Saluda,  121-122, 
130-131 

Burghart,   Jacob,   Saluda,   155 

Burnett,    Daniel,   Saluda,    125,    130,    131 

Burrington,  Governor  George,  North 
Carolina,  19  n. ;  and  boundary  dispute, 
247-248 

Busby,  William,  Congarees,   52 

Bush  River,  130,  133,  172,  222,  223,  234  n., 
259 

Buss,  Hans,  Congarees,  52 

Busser,  Ulrick,  Congarees,  52 

Bussey,  George,  Stevens  Creek,  129,  225 

Butler,  Major  Hugh,  118 

Butter  and  cheese,  from  townships,  83  ; 
Wateree,  106;  Waxhaws,  142,  143, 
175;  back  and  middle  country,  168 

Cainhoy  Presbyterian  Church,  79 
Calabash    Creek,    Hard    Labor     Creek, 

251  n. 
Calhoun,  Ezekiel,  Long  Canes,  134,  135  n. 
Calhoun,  Hugh,  Long  Canes,  134,  135  n. 
Calhoun,  James,  Long  Canes,   134 
Calhoun,  Patrick,  Long  Canes,   133-135, 

169,  175,  246;  and  settlement  of  Hills- 


272 


Index 


borough,  252-253;  and  Londonbor- 
ough,  255 

Calhoun,  William,  Long  Canes,  134,  174, 
176  n. 

Calhoun    Creek,    Savannah,    135,   246  n. 

Camp   Creek,   Catawba,  137 

Campbell,  Elizabeth,  Stevens  Creek, 
126  n. 

Campbell,  Hugh,   Williamsburg,   84 

Campbell,  John,  Indian  trader,  190,  195- 
196 

Campbell,  Martin,  New  Windsor,  70,  71 

Camping  Creek,  Saluda,  154 

Cane  Creek,  Catawba,   137-140 

Cane  Hill,  Long  Canes,  134-135 

Cane  swamps,  middle  country,  75  ;  back 
country,  149,  150,  163,  166 

Cannon,  John,  Broad,  149,  156  n.,  157 

Cannons  Creek,  Broad,  149,  153,  171, 
172 

Canomore,  Jacob,  Broad,   148,   157 

Cantey,  John,   Santee,   109 

Cantey,  Josiah,  Santee,  109 

Cantey,   William,    Lynches,    146  n. 

Cantzon,  Dr.  John,  Waxhaws,  180  n. 

Cape  Fear  River,  6;  Indians,  12;  in 
boundary   dispute,   247-248 

Cardiff,    Patrick,    Savannah,    128  n. 

Carey,  Purmont,  Broad,   148 

Carter,  Benjamin,  Amelia,  43 

Cartwright,  John,  London,   59  n. 

Cashaway   Baptist    Church,    Peedee,    96 

Cassels,  Henry,  Black,   108 

Catawba  Indians,  71,  100,  104,  108,  137, 
143,  165;  in  1729,  11,  13;  effect  of 
whites  upon,  13,  142;  entertainment 
of,  43-44;  decline  of,  58,  136;  trade  of, 
99-100;  conferences  with,  119,  142, 
143,  194;  encroachments  on,  140,  142; 
and  Iroquois,  193,  200,  203;  expel  Sa- 
vannahs, 198;  and  Virginia  defense, 
208,  210;  fort  for,  212,  218,  235  n.;  in 
Cherokee  War,  218,  220,  228-229,  237; 
and  Indian  Congress,  245;  and  South 
Carolina  boundary,  248-250 

Catawba  River,  96,  143,  170;  settle- 
ment, 136-145;  description,  136-137; 
conflict  over  lands,  137-140;  migra- 
tion from  Virginia,  138-139;  Wax- 
haws  settlement,  140-141 ;  Catawba 
troubles,  142;  church  and  society,  142- 
145;  Cherokee  raids  on,  217;  defense 


of,  233;  boundary  dispute,  250;  war- 
rants, 1761-1765,  258 

Catfish  Creek,  Peedee,  92;  Baptist 
Church,  96 

Catholic  immigrants,  152-153 

Cattle  and  hogs,  200,  252;  tidewater,  4; 
frontier,  11,  12;  Purrysburg,  38;  forks 
of  Edisto,  48^9;  Congarees,  56,  58, 
62,  63  ;  in  southwest,  74,  75  ;  Williams- 
burg, 83;  Peedee,  95;  Wateree,  106; 
piedmont,  115;  Saluda,  120,  131;  Ste- 
vens Creek,  127;  Waxhaws,  139,  142, 
143;  Lynches,  146;  Broad,  149,  151  n.; 
frontier,  162-163;  back  country,  166, 
167-168,  175;  middle  country,  182. 
See  also  Butter,  Cowpens,  Leather. 

Causart,  Richard,  Waxhaws,  139 

Caw,  Dr.  David,  127  n. 

Cedar  Creek,  Broad,  148,  155,  156 

Chair,  riding,  64  n. 

Charleston,  102,  125,  129,  133,  137,  164, 
168,  169,  174,  175,  178,  185,  204,  207, 
214,  222,  224,  228,  252-254;  popula- 
tion, 5  n.,  6;  provincial  center,  6;  In- 
dian trade,  10,  192,  193,  197,  217;  mer- 
chants, 15,  68  n.,  70,  84,  104,  151;  1740 
fire,  26;  club,  29  n.;  treatment  of  im- 
migrants, 79;  North  Carolina  trade, 
94;  Peedee  trade,  94;  back  country 
trade,  143,  170;  Germans  in,  154;  con- 
nections with  back  and  middle  coun- 
try, 162,  183;  and  new  Indian  trade, 
244,  245,  247;  merchants  import  set- 
tlers, 251;   in  1765,  261 

Charleston  Baptist  Church,  91 

Charleston  Presbytery,  143,  144 

Chattooga   River,  230;   map,   112 

Chatwin,  Joseph,   Savannah,    128 

Chavous,  Matthew,  128 

Cheraw  Indians,  90,  93,  100;  join  Ca- 
tawbas,  13 

Cheraws  (section),  90,  94,  97,  171;  Little 
Cheraws,  90 

Cherokee  boundary,  124,  133,  135;  of 
1761,  240,  249,  255 

Cherokee  Indians,  101,  103,  162,  185, 
229;  description  of,  11,  13,  206;  im- 
portance of,  13,  14  n.,  191,  201,  205; 
Priber  and,  43;  entertainment  of,  43- 
44,  119;  route  to,  49;  and  Iroquois,  58; 
Lower  Towns,  117,  169,  186,  192,  199, 
200,  204,  206;  missions  to,  118,  124, 
144,   194;   conferences  with,   119,   130, 


« 


Index 


273 


132,  194;  and  Savannahs,  123;  bound- 
ary, 160;  trade  embargoes  on,  186, 
199,  201-203;  and  defense  against 
slaves,  188;  trade  with,  191-192;  in- 
trigues of  French  and  enemy  Indians 
among,  191,  193,  198-199;  Overhills, 
192,  198,  201,  209,  210;  war  with 
Creeks,  192,  204-205;  traders  killed 
by,  199,  200;  treaties  with,  202-203, 
212;  attack  on  Chickasaws,  204;  de- 
fense of  Virginia  frontier,  208,  210; 
cession  of  lands  of,  209,  210;  and  the 
Seven  Years  War,  211;  war  with, 
212-240  {see  Cherokee  War)  ;  and  In- 
dian Congress,  245  ;  boundary  of,  248- 
250 

Cherokee  path,  2,  10-12,  52,  54,  116,  132; 
in  Amelia,  42,  43  ;  in  Saxe  Gotha,  52, 
53,  170,  178;  on  Savannah,  117;  at 
Ninety  Six,  117-119,  127,  201  n.;  to 
Fort  Moore,  128,  129;  to  Fort  Prince 
George,  171 

Cherokee  War,  103,  143,  154,  166,  168, 
170,  173,  176,  181,  199,  212-240,  256; 
causes,  214-215,  221;  Lyttelton's  ex- 
pedition, 217-221;  Overhills  in,  217, 
221,  224,  225,  229,  230,  238,  239;  Val- 
ley in,  217,  222,  238;  Lower  Towns  in, 
217,  221,  222,  229;  hostile  towns,  219; 
the  hostages,  219,  221,  224,  232,  233; 
Middle  Settlements  in,  221,  222,  224, 
229  n.,  230,  238,  239;  prisoners,  223, 
224,  229,  232,  233,  236-237,  240;  Mont- 
gomery's expedition,  228-232,  234,  236; 
engagements  near  Echoe,  230-231,  238; 
Grant's  expedition,  237-239;  peace  ne- 
gotiations, 236,  237,  239-240;  results, 
240-241.  See  also  Provincial  troops, 
Rangers. 

Chevillette,  John,  Orangeburg,  militia 
colonel,  46,  227 ;  justice  of  the  peace,  47 

Chevis,  John,  Long  Canes,  133 

Chickasaw  Indians,  route  to,  10;  in  1729, 
14;  and  the  French  war,  70,  195,  203- 
204;  trade  with,  186  n.,  191;  defense 
of,  190;  in  Cherokee  War,  218,  228- 
229,  234,  237;  and  Indian  Congress, 
245 

Chickasaw  Indians,  New  Windsor,  70- 
73,  121,  188-190,  194,  204;  in  Cherokee 
War,  228 

Chisselle,  Rev.  Henry  Francis,  Purrys- 
burg,  40 


Choctaw  Indians,  route  to,  10;   in  1729, 

14;  attempts  at  alliance  with,  121,  195- 

197;   French  domination  of,   190-191; 

and  Chickasaw  war,  203-204 

Chotee,  Cherokee  town,  209,  219  n.,  224; 

map,  212 
Christmas,  Jonathan,  Wateree,  137 
Church    and    religion,    19;    Purrysburg, 
40;    Orangeburg,    47-48;    Congarees, 
64-65;   New  Windsor,  72;   Williams- 
burg, 86;   Welsh  Tract,  96,  97;   state 
of  in  back  country,  179-180;  and  edu- 
cation, 179;  missionaries,  180;  middle 
country,    183;    Hillsborough,    252-253 
Clark,  Daniel,  New  Windsor,  68  n.,  69  n. 
Clark,  James,  Lynches,  145  n. 
Clayton,  John,  Edisto  forks,  49  n. 
Cleland,  John,  81 
Clever,  Andrew,  Catawba,  142 
Clinton,   Governor   George,   New   York, 

203 
Clothing,    Congarees,     59,     63  n. ;     New 
Windsor,  70;  Wateree,  106;  of  immi- 
grants,  162;    back   country,   167,   174— 
175 
Cloud,    Isaac   and   Mary,    Saluda,    122- 

123,  178,  200,  201 
Clouds  Creek,  Saluda,  122 
Cobb,  James,  Catawba,   105  n. 
Coffee,  proposed  for  Saluda  crop,  126 
Coleman,  Henry,  Congarees,  56 
Coleman,  John,  Congarees,  56 
Coleman     (Gallman),    John    Frederick, 

Congarees,   54 
Coleworts,    Saluda,    120;    back   country, 

166 
Collier,  John,  Saluda,  121  n.,  131 
Collins,  John,  Wateree,  105 
Collins,  Samuel,  Enoree,   149,   150 
Collins  River.     See  Enoree. 
Colonels  Creek,  Wateree,  102,  103 
Coltsons  Branch,  Salkehatchie,  75 
Combahee  River,  41  n.,  73 
Commissary-general,   100,  167,  244 
Commons  House  of  Assembly,   6-7,   91; 
and    paper   money,    8-9;    and    Indian 
relations,  16,   123,   193,   194,  201,  204; 
proposed   township    representation   in, 
19-20,  85 ;   arrest  of  surveyor-general 
by,  23;  attempts  to  settle  coast,  27-28, 
124;    members   of  for   St.   Peter's,    St. 
Matthew's,    and    St.    Mark's,    40,    51, 
109;  middle  country  demand  for  rep- 


274 


Index 


resentation,  183;  imperial  aims,  185- 
186;  and  Glen's  plans,  194  n.,  198,  199, 
206,  207,  210;  and  Lyttelton,  213,  218; 
and  Seven  Years  War,  215,  216;  pro- 
vides rangers  and  troops,  225,  226, 
236;  verdict  on  Cherokee  War,  240; 
and  negro  problem,  241-242;  new  set- 
tlement policy,  242-243,  256;  quarrel 
with  Boone,  246 

Congaree  garrison,  old,  2,  11-12,  52-54, 
63,  66 

Congaree  Indians,  11 

Congarees  (section),  11,  99,  103,  117, 
133,  136,  147,  148  n.,  151  n.,  165,  176, 
194,  200,  207,  219,  223;  early  settlers, 
12;  map  of,  52;  settlement  of,  52-65; 
Raifords  Creek  settlers,  59-61 ;  Ger- 
mans in,  61-62,  154,  256;  emigration 
from,  62  {and  see  Saxe  Gotha)  ;  mili- 
tia, 156  n.;  industry,  166,  170,  172; 
river  navigation,  182;  Indian  alarm, 
201;  in  Cherokee  War,  212,  223,  227, 
228,  235  n.;  troops  at,  232,  233,  236; 
supplies  at,  237;  warrants,  1761-1765, 
257 

Connocortee,  Cherokee  headman,  209, 
215,  219  n. 

Conoway,  Thomas,  Broad,  148 

Constables,   84,    102,    132 

Cook,  James,  and  map  of  South  Caro- 
lina, 250 

Cooke,   John,  42  n. 

Cooplett,  R.,  Congarees,  52 

Coosawhatchie  Baptist  Church,  74-75, 
145  n. 

Coosawhatchie  River,  161;  settlement 
on,  74-76,  154;  cattle  industry,  162 

Corker,  Thomas,  Charleston,  58,  175 

Corn,  92,  100,  252;  Purrysburg,  38;  Or- 
angeburg, 45,  46;  Congarees,  54,  56, 
173  ;  southwest,  74,  75 ;  Williamsburg, 
80,  82;  Welsh  Tract,  94;  Saluda,  120, 
132;  Waxhaws,  142;  Broad,  156;  and 
fodder,  back  country,  165-166,  173, 
175;   Hillsborough,  253 

Cotton,  bounty  for,  29,  167  n.;  proposed 
for  Purrysburg,  34;  gin  for  rough- 
seed,  167  n.;   back  country,   173 

Council,  the,  163 ;  position  and  policy, 
7-9;  and  settlement,  23,  27  n.;  impe- 
rial policy,  185,  189  n.;  and  Glen,  193- 
194,  196;  and  Virginia  Indian  trade, 
208;  quarrel  with  Commons,  210;  and 


Cherokee   War,   218,   219;    and   slave 
duty  bill,  241-242 
Counterfeiting,    55;    in    Orangeburg,    47 
Courts  and  courthouses,  Orangeburg,  47; 
Augusta    County    Virginia,    138;    lack 
of  in   back   country,    180-181;    middle 
country  demand  for,  183 
Cowpens,  location,  12;  Amelia,  43;  Or- 
angeburg, 45;  Edisto  forks,  49;   New 
Windsor,  70,  72  n.;  southwest,  73-75; 
Williamsburg,  82;  Peedee,  90;  Stevens 
Creek,    117;    Broad,    148  n.;    frontier, 
162 
Cox,  Ezekiel,  Amelia,  51  n. 
Coyte,  Hercules,  37  n. 
Coytmore,      Lieutenant     Richard,      Fort 

Prince  George,  217,  219,  224 
Craig,   John,   New  Windsor,  70  n. 
Crawford,  John,  Cheraws,  94-95,  168  n. 
Crawford,  Thomas,  Lynches,  146  n. 
Crebs,  John,  Broad,  155 
Credy,  Julius,   Congarees,   55  n. 
Creek  Indians,  74;  route  to,  10;  on  Sa- 
vannah,  12,   73-74;   divisions  of,   14; 
relations  with,  185-186,  189-191,  194, 
205,  211;  use  of  against  Spanish,  188; 
policy,  190,  205;  war  with  Cherokees, 
192,    204-205;    missions    to,    194;    in 
Cherokee  War,  217,  218,  225,  237  n.; 
discontent  of,  245-246.    See  also  Forts, 
proposed. 
Crell,  Joseph,  Congarees,  52,  55,  56,  153, 

165  n. 
Crell,  Stephen,  Congarees,  52,  55,  56 
Crim,  Peter,  Broad,  149,  156,  172 
Crime    and   punishment,    131;    Beaufort, 
38;    southwest,   75;    Kingston,   87-88; 
Catawba,   142;   Saluda,   155,  215 
Crims  Creek,  149,  150-153,  157,  171 
Crims  Creek  Church,  64,  155,  171 
Crockatt,  Archibald,  Waxhaws,  139,  140 
Crockatt,  John,   Waxhaws,   141 
Croft,  Childermas,  Commissioner  Indian 

Affairs,    193  n. 
Croft,  George,  Congarees,  52 
Crokatt,    James,    provincial    agent,    52, 

200  n. 
Crooked  Creek,  Peedee,  92 
Crouch,  Abraham,  Congarees,  52 
Crown,  authority  of,  7 
Cuffy  Town,  Stevens  Creek,  129  n.,  256 
Cuffytown   Creek,    Stevens   Creek,    129; 


Index 


275 


name,  127,  256;  settlements,  128,  251, 
256 

Cumberland  River,   198 

Cuming,  Sir  Alexander,  44,  202 

Cunnicatoka,  Cherokee  headman,  237, 
238  n. 

Currency,  provincial  contest  over,  8-9, 
210  n.;  amount  and  value  of,  9;  set- 
tlement of  dispute  over,  19;  British 
merchants  oppose,  22;  letter  on,  38  n. ; 
war  issues  of,  215 

Cussings,  George,  Creek  trader,  191 

Cussoe   Indians,   12 

Customs  duties,  8,  21,  27-28,  30 

da  Costa,  Solomon,  London,  126 

Dade,  John  Townsend,   Coosawhatchie, 

74 
Dargan,  John,   Wateree,   109 
Dargan,   William,   118  n. 
Daugherty,   Cornelius,  Cherokee  trader, 

132,   192 
Davies,  Robert,  Waxhaws,  138,  140,  144 
Davies,  Rev.  Samuel,  Virginia,  144 
Davies,  William,  Waxhaws,  138-140 
Davis,  Evan,  Welsh  Tract,  91 
Davis,  James,  Long  Canes,  253  n. 
Davis,  John,  Saluda,   130 
Davis,  Thomas,   Saluda,   120  n. 
Dawson,    John,    168  n. 
De  Beaufain,  Hector  Berenger,  Purrys- 

burg,  38-39 
De  Brahm,  William  Gerard,  213-214 
Debts,  planters',  8;  protection  for  debt- 
ors, 11;  Congarees,  58,  62  n.,  63;  New 
Windsor,    68,    69,    71 ;    Williamsburg, 
84;  Wateree,  103  n.,  137;  Saluda,  120, 
133;  Indian  trade,  132,  192,  196-197; 
Broad,  158;  back  country,  170 
Deep  River,  North  Carolina,  158 
Deer   and  deerskins,  in   Congarees,   56; 
Savannah  River,  121-122;  back  coun- 
try, 169,  175;   duties  on,  186;   exports 
of,   192 
Delaware,   90 

Deley,  Alexander,  Broad,   148 
Delmestre,  Peter,  Purrysburg,  39 
DeLoach,    William,    Lynches,    145 
Demere,    Captain    Paul,    Fort   Loudoun, 

217,  218,  232,  233 
Demere,    Captain   Raymond,   Fort   Lou- 
doun,  213-214,  217 
Democracy,  economic  basis  for  in  back 


country,  164,  167,  179,  181-182 

Denly,   James,   Congarees,   52 

de  St.  Pierre,  Jean  Louis,  254  n. 

de  Saussure,  Henry,  Purrysburg,  39 

Desertion  from  provincial  troops,  216, 
219,  230,  238  n. 

Detring,  Herman  Christopher,  Con- 
garees, 52 

Devonal,  Daniel,  Welsh  Tract,  92 

Dial,   Thomas,   Lynches,   146  n. 

Dick,  John,  New  Windsor,  67 

Dickert,  Peter,  Broad,  155 

Dining  Creek,  Fairforest,   158  n. 

Dinwiddle,  Lieutenant-Governor  Robert, 
and  Cherokees  and  Catawbas,  208,  210 

Dixon,  John,  Wateree,  103 

Dobbs,  Governor  Arthur,  North  Caro- 
lina, 95-96,  135,  167,  175,  197,  249 

Dobell,  John,  83 

Dogs,  back  country,  142,  169,  224 

Donaldson,  Rev.  William,  Kingston,  88 

Dorchester,  10,  72  n. 

Douglas,  David,  New  Windsor,  68  n. 

Douglas,   George,  Waxhaws,   138 

Douglas,  John,  Waxhaws,   139,  142 

Dowey,   David,  Cherokee  trader,   120  n. 

Dreher,  Godfrey,  Congarees,  235  n. 

Dues,  Christopher  Jacob,  Broad,  153 

Dugette,  Anne,  Wateree,  101  n. 

Duncan,  John,  Broad,  150 

Duncans  Creek,  Enoree,  150,  157 

Dungworth,  Henry  and  Anne,  Wateree, 
102 

Dunlap,  Samuel,  Waxhaws,   144 

DuPont,  Abraham,  49  n. 

DuPra,  Peter,  Purrysburg,  38  n. 

Dutch  Fork,  130;  prospect  for  assimila- 
tion, 256.     See  Broad  River. 

Dyer,  James,  Savannah,  245 

Eastatoe,  Cherokee  town,  217,  220,  221, 
229 

Ebenezer,  Georgia,  32,  36  n.,  37,  39,  40, 
55,  64  n.,  169,  173  n.,  177 

Echoe,  engagements  at,  212,  230-231,  238 

Edgefield   District,  127  n. 

Edisto  River,  127  n.;  township  proposed, 
20;  North  Fork  of,  44;  settlement  of 
forks  of,  48-49;  cattle  industry  in 
forks  of,  162;  roads,  172;  forks  of  in 
Cherokee  War,  227;  warrants,  1761- 
1765,  257 

Education,  Purrysburg,  39  ;  Welsh  Tract, 


276 


Index 


96;    Broad,    157;    back   country,    177- 
179,  180  n.;  middle  country,  183 
Edwards,  Job,  Welsh  Tract,  92  n. 
Ellerbe,  Thomas,  Welsh  Tract,  94,  97  n. 
Elliott,  John,  Cherokee  trader,  197,  213, 

221 
Ellis,  Gideon,  Welsh  Tract,  93 
Ellis,  Governor  Henry,  Georgia,  225 
"Emperor,"  Cherokee,   194,  237 
English,  Joshua,  Wateree,  103 
English    settlers,    153;    Purrysburg,    35; 
Orangeburg  and  Amelia,  47,  48;  Con- 
garees,  56,  61,  65;  New  Windsor,  67; 
Salkehatchie,    74;    Welsh    Tract,    96; 
Wateree,    104;     Stevens    Creek,    129; 
Waxhaws,     144;     and     Germans     on 
Broad    and    Saluda,    155-156;    middle 
country,  160;  and  Scotch,  160-161,  257 
Enoree  River,  131,  163,  167,  172;  descrip- 
tion,   149;    settlement,    149-150,    156; 
roads,   171;    Cherokee  War,  216,  223, 
234  n.;  warrants,  1761-1765,  258 
Epting,  John  Adam,  Broad,  151,  153,  155 
Erwin,   Hugh,   Black,   108 
Eutaw  Springs,  Cherokee  path,  11 
Evan,  Annie,  Welsh  Tract,  91 
Evan,  Nathaniel,  Welsh  Tract,  91 
Evan,  Thomas,  Welsh  Tract,  91 
Evans,  Joseph,  Wateree,   103 
Evans,  Thomas,  Welsh  Tract,  92 
Eveleigh,    Samuel    and    George,    Indian 
trade  of,  70,  193 

Fairchild,  John,  Congarees,  52;  lands  of, 
60;  surveyor,  62,  157,  255;  lieutenant, 
captain  of  rangers,  64,  103,  123,  236; 
and  Indian  alarms,  201 

Fairforest  Baptist  Church,  158,  180 

Fairforest  Creek,  112,  156,  158,  235  n. 

Fallowfield,  John,  New  Windsor,  70,  178 

Farrar,  Dr.  Benjamin,  Congarees,  180  n. 

Farrell,  William,  105  n. 

Fauquier,  Lieutenant-Governor  Francis, 
Virginia,   216 

Fees,  dispute  over  township,  23,  25,  29; 
for  land  grants,  163-164,  244 

Fenwicke,  John,  council,  189  n.,  205  n. 

Ferries,  Joyner's,  44,  51,  107;  McCord's, 
51;  Friday's,  Myrick's,  Howell's,  52, 
63,  171;  New  Windsor,  72;  Murrays, 
84;  Ancrum's,  104;  Beards,  106; 
Wright's,  107;  Little  Saluda,  119;  Sa- 


luda, 147,  194;  Kirkland's,  171;  Sand 
Bar,   172 

Fielding's  Joseph  Andreivs,  178 

Finley,   Robert,  Williamsburg,   84 

Fishdam   Shoals,    172 

Fishdams,  169,  172  n. 

Fishing,   169 

Fishing  Creek,  138,  141-143,  258 

Fishing  Creek  Presbyterian  Church,  143, 
144,  180 

Fitzpatrick,   Garret,   Amelia,   51  n. 

Flax,  bounty  for,  29 ;  proposed  for  Or- 
angeburg, 45,  for  Saluda,  126;  in 
Congarees,  62,  63  n.;  linen  in  Wil- 
liamsburg, 82-83;  Welsh  Tract,  91; 
Wateree,  106;  Waxhaws,  143;  back 
country,  167,  173 

Fleming,  John  and  Janet,  Williamsburg, 
83 

Fletchall,  Thomas,  Broad,  235  n. 

Food  and  drink,  supplies  for  settlers, 
28  n.,  34,  89,  92,  100,  252,  253;  Amelia, 
43;  Congarees,  58,  59,  62,  63;  New 
Windsor,  70,  71;  Kingston,  88;  Wax- 
haws, 142;  back  country,  165-166,  175- 
176 

Fordyce,  Rev.  John,  Prince  Frederick's, 
97 

Fords,  Land's  (Catawba),  140,  144;  Sa- 
luda, 147;  Lyles'  (Broad),  149,  172; 
Fishdam  (Broad),  172.  See  also  Fer- 
ries. 

Foreign  languages,  persistence  of,  Pur- 
rysburg, 40-41;  Orangeburg,  47-48; 
Welsh    Tract,    96  n.;    Congarees,    178 

Forests,  114 

Fort  Adventure,   Savannah,   235  n. 

Fort,  Ashepoo,  234  n. 

Fort,  Aubrey's,  Enoree,  212,  223,  227, 
234  n. 

Fort,  Barker's,  Salkehatchie,  212,  234  n. 

Fort,  Bedon's,  Salkehatchie,  212,  223, 
234  n. 

Fort  Boone,  Long  Canes,  246 

Fort,  Brooks'  (Rhall's),  Bush  River,  212, 
223,  224,  234  n. 

Fort  Bull,  Orangeburg,  212,  234  n. 

Fort,   Burkhalter's,   235  n. 

Fort,  Catawba,  212,  235  n. 

Fort  Charlotte,  Savannah,  116,  246,  247 

Fort,  Congaree,  63  n.,  64,  149,  199 

Fort  Cumberland,  Maryland,  210 

Fort,  Dryer's  (Dreher's),  212,  227,  235  n. 


I 


Index 


277 


Fort  DuQuesne,  216 

Fort,  Fletchall's,  212,  23  5  n. 

Fort  Frederick,  Port  Royal,   188 

Fort,   Gallman's,   Congarees,  212,  235  n. 

Fort,  Galphin's,  Savannah,  212,  223, 
235  n. 

Fort,  Gordon's,  Enoree,  212,  235  n. 

Fort,  Hard  Labor  Creek,  246 

Fort,  Helm's,  Wateree,  212,  235  n. 

Fort    Johnson,    Charleston    harbor,    215 

Fort,  Lee's,  Catawba,  212,  235  n. 

Fort,  Long  Canes,  212,  235  n. 

Fort  Loudoun,  62,  211,  217,  225,  236,  237, 
239;  building  of,  210-211,  213-215; 
map,  212;  and  garrison  of,  217,  218, 
224;  siege  of,  224,  229,  230,  232;  at- 
tempts to  relieve,  226,  232;  surrender 
of,  232-233;  in  peace  treaty,  240 

Fort,  Lyles'  ("Loyalls"'),  Broad,  212, 
235  n. 

Fort  Lyttelton,  Beaufort,  252 

Fort  Massac  (French),  214 

Fort  Moore,  2,  71,  119,  123,  173,  174,  185, 
186  n.,  196,  198;  settlement  and  In- 
dian trade  at,  11;  and  frontier  de- 
fense, 16,  66,  188;  and  Cherokee  trade, 
117;  conference  at,  193,  194;  rebuilt, 
199;  in  Cherokee  War,  223,  225,  233, 
234,   235  n.;    abandoned,   246,   247 

Fort,  Musgrove's,  Enoree,  212,  223,  227, 

234  n.,  23  5  n. 

Fort  Ninety  Six,  map,  116,  212;  built, 
219;  attacked,  222,  224;  pay  for  gar- 
rison, 227,  236;   rebuilt,  237 

Fort,   Nixon's,   Little  River,  Broad,   212, 

235  n. 

Fort,  Otterson's,  Tyger  River,  212,  235  n. 

Fort,    Ott's,    Orangeburg,   235  n. 

Fort,  Patton's,  Long  Canes,  246 

Fort,  Pearson's,  Broad,  212,  235  n. 

Fort,  Pennington's,  Enoree,  212,  235  n. 

Fort  Pitt,    198 

Fort  Prince  George,  130,  131,  173  n.. 
211,  214,  217-219,  230,  232,  233,  238, 
239;  building  of,  207,  208;  map,  212; 
garrison,  217;  smallpox  in,  220;  at- 
tacks on,  221,  224,  233  n.;  relief  of, 
226,  229,  234,  236;  discontent  in,  232; 
and  nevy  Indian  trade,  244,   245,  247 

Fort,  Raiford's,  Broad,  212,  235  n. 

Fort,  Rhall's.     See  Brooks'. 

Fort,   Rowe's,    Orangeburg,   235  n. 

Fort,   Stevens  Creek,  212,  235  n. 


Fort  Thoulouse.     See  Alabama  Fort. 

Fort,  Tobler's,  New  Windsor,  212,  235  n. 

Fort,  Turner's,  Little  Saluda,  212,  222, 
227,  235  n. 

Fort,  Waggener's,  Broad,  212,  235  n. 

Fort  William  Henry.     See  Musgrove's. 

Fort,   Wofford's,   Fairforest,   212,    235  n. 

Forts,  proposed,  for  Cherokee  country, 
125,  186,  195,  199,  201,  205-207;  for 
Creeks,  186,  190,  195,  205;  for  Chicka- 
saws  and  Choctaws,  205  n. 

Forts,  settlers',  166,  168,  201,  212,  223, 
227,  234-236 

Foster,   Henry,   Saluda,   119-121,   130 

Foster,  John,   Saluda,   119,   120 

Foster,  Cunlifle  &  Sons,  Liverpool,  151, 
153 

Fouquet,  John,  Amelia,  50,  166  n. 

Four  Hole  Swamp,  200-202 

Fowler,  Benoni,  Broad,  177 

Fox,  Henry,  Wateree,  100,  102,  107 

Francis,  James,  Ninety  Six,  49  n.,  131  n., 
132,  204,  236;  and  northwest  frontier, 
119-123,  125,  201,  207;  importance  of, 
133;  and  Cherokee  War,  215-216,  222, 
224 

Eraser,  Alexander,  94  n. 

Frasier,  John,   Congarees,   52,   151  n. 

Frederica,  Georgia,  43,  213 

Fredericksburg  Township,  136,  137; 
map,  78;  surveyed,  99;  settlement, 
100-101,  103,  105;  Quakers  in,  103- 
104;  warrants,  1761-1765,  258.  See 
also  Wateree  River. 

Free,   Lawrence,   Broad,   148,   157 

French,  danger  from,  13;  and  southwest 
Indians,  14-16,  189-190,  203,  205;  war 
with,  26;  advance  of,  185;  and  Choc- 
taws, 190-191,  195-197;  and  Chero- 
kees,  191,  193-195,  198,  201,  210,  214, 
215,  217;  and  Ohio  Indians,  198;  in 
Cherokee   War,  237  n. 

French  settlers,  in  Purrysburg,  35,  40; 
in  South  Carolina,  162;  in  Hills- 
borough, 252-254,  259 

Friday,  Martin,  Congarees,  54,  55,  57, 
62,   122,   165,   176 

Friends'  Neck,  Wateree,  104 

Frolick,  Barbara,  Orangeburg,  46 

Frontier,  and  cattle  raising,  12;  settle- 
ment of  northwest,  116-135  {see  Sa- 
luda River,  Savannah  River)  ;  soci- 
ety, 120-121,  133 


278 


Index 


Frontier  defense,  after  Yamasee  War, 
10-13;  in  1729,  16,  18,  73;  by  Purrys- 
burg,  34,  36,  41;  Fort  Moore,  71; 
northeast,  79;  northwest,  125,  133;  by 
Catawbas,  136,  142;  and  relations  of 
back  and  low  country,  182;  in  1731, 
188;  after  Spanish  war,  189;  needs 
of  in  1750,  206.     See  also  Forts. 

Frontier  forts.     See  Forts. 

Fruit  trees.     See  Orchards. 

Furniture,  Congarees,  57-59,  63  n. ;  New 
Windsor,  69,  70;  Saluda,  122;  Wax- 
haws,  143;  back  country,  174;  middle 
country,   183 

Furye,  Peregrine,  provincial  agent,  22 

Gadsden,  Christopher,  95,  226,  246;  at- 
tacks Grant,  239-240 

Galliser,  John,  Congarees,  52 

Gallman,  Henry,  Congarees,  62,  235  n. 

Gallman,  Jacob,  Congarees,  52,  54 

Gallman,  John,  Congarees,  57,  60  n.,  176 

Galphin,  George,  Savannah,  69-70, 
235  n. 

Gamble,  James,  Williamsburg,  82; 
Wateree,   105;   Savannah,  259 

Gasser,  Rev.  John,  Broad,  154-155 

Geiger,  Abraham,  Congarees,  55 

Geiger,  Elizabeth,  Congarees,   63  n. 

Geiger,  Herman,  Congarees,  55,  56, 
59  n.;  in  Cherokee  trade,  63,  120,  121, 
132,  170;  property  and  estate,  149, 
172,   180  n.,   183 

Geiger,  Jacob,  Congarees,  63 

Geiger,  John,  Saluda,  155 

Geiger,  John  Jacob,  Congarees,  52,  55 

Geneva,   Switzerland,  35 

Georgetown,  89,  94,  227  n. 

Georgia,  120,  186,  205,  249;  origin  of, 
18;  British  aid  to,  20;  restrictions  on 
settlers,  20,  28  n.;  and  Spanish  war, 
26;  emigration  to,  35,  101,  122  n.,  128; 
silk  industry  in,  37;  grants  to  South 
Carolinians,  69,  70,  127;  Orphan 
House,  96;  and  frontier  defense,  186, 
199;  Indian  trade  dispute,  186-188; 
Spanish  threat  to,  188-189;  and  In- 
dian trade,  191,  202;  in  Cherokee 
War,  223,  225;  and  Indian  Congress, 
245 

Gerald,  James,  Congarees,  52,  178 

German  settlers,  29;  Purrysburg,  35, 
39;    Amelia,   43,    50;    Congarees,    56, 


61;  southwest,  75-76;  Wateree,  105; 
Stevens  Creek,  129,  246;  Saluda,  130, 
147;  servants,  130,  174;  Broad,  148, 
150-156;  immigration  of  'fifties,  150- 
156;  change  in  type  of,  153;  middle 
country,  160;  in  South  Carolina,  162, 
177  n.;  illiteracy,  177;  German  books 
of,  178;  church  on  Crims  Creek,  180; 
assimilation  of,  183,  256;  in  London- 
borough,  254-256,  259;  warrants, 
1761-1765,   258,  259 

Germantown,  Pennsylvania,  69  n. 

Germany,  decline  of  immigration  from, 
26,  243,  256.  See  also  German  set- 
tlers. 

Gibert,  Rev.  Jean  Louis,  Hillsborough, 
252,  254 

Gibson,    Dr.   Daniel,    52,    54 

Gibson,  Gideon,  Peedee,  90,  96 

Gibson,  Gilbert,  Congarees,  52,  60 

Gibson,  John,  Congarees,  52,   55 

Gibson,  John,  Saluda,  147 

Gibson,  Luke,  Wateree,  102 

Gibson,  Roger,  Williamsburg,  84;  Wa- 
teree, 102,  103,  137 

Giessendanner,  Rev.  John,  Orangeburg, 
47-48,   51,   64 

Giessendanner,  Rev.  John  Ulrick, 
Orangeburg,  47 

Gignilliat,  Henry,  52,  54 

Gilder,  Gilbert,  Broad,  150 

Gill,  Thomas,  Saluda,  235  n. 

Gill  Creek.     See  Jacksons  Creek. 

Gillespie,  James,  Peedee,  93,  95 

Glasgow,  University  of,  144 

Glen,  Governor  James,  83,  123,  126,  140, 
142,  178,  189,  190,  213,  214;  Ninety 
Six  and  Saluda  Indian  conferences, 
119,  209-210;  Fort  Prince  George, 
130,  131;  letters,  177;  Cherokee  af- 
fairs, 192,  201-203;  arrival  and  early 
Indian  policy,  193-194,  205;  and  Com- 
mons, 194  n.,  199,  207,  210-211;  and 
Choctaw  affair,  195-197;  Indian  trade 
investments,  197-198;  Cherokee  coun- 
try plans,  205-211;  and  Dinwiddle, 
208  n.,  210;  his  administration,  211, 
217 

Glover,  Joseph,  234  n. 

Goats,  New  Windsor,  70 

Goodwyn,  Robert,  Congarees,  61  n. 

Goose   Creek,    191 

Gordon,  James,  89,  90  n.,  94 


Index 


279 


Goudey,  Robert,  Ninety  Six,  116,  118  n., 

169,  192,  219;  and  Ciierokee  trade,  63, 

132,  169,  192,  202;  estate,  174 
Governor,    163;    position   and   influence, 

7;    authority,   25;    and    Indian   trade, 

185 
Grannys  Quarter  Creek,  Wateree,  171 
Grant,    Lieutenant-Colonel    James,    229, 

231,  241;  Cherokee  expedition  of,  237- 

239;  feeling  against,  239-240 
Grant,  John  Rodolph,  Purrysburg,  38  n. 
Grant,   Ludovick,  Cherokee  trader,   192, 

208 
Gray,  William,  New  Windsor,  71,  123, 

189 
Great     Britain,     proposed     immigration 

from,  17,  29,  242,  244 
Great  Falls,  Catawba,  137,  141 
Great  Meadows,  battle  of,  64,  208  n. 
Great     Warrior,     Cherokee     headman, 

219  n.,  224,  232 
Green  Hill,  Congarees,  52,  59,  62,  63 
Greenland,  William,  Congarees,  52 
Greg,  John,  London  merchant,   251 
Gregory,  Benjamin,  Broad,  149 
Gregory,  John,  Broad,  149 
Gregory,  Richard,  Wateree,  136,  157 
Grennan,  John,  captain  of  rangers,  227 
Grierson,  Jane,  Waxhaws,   139  n. 
Grimes,  James,  Black,  108 
Grose,  Felix,  Broad,  156  n. 
Guerard,  John,  council,  242 
Gum  Swamp,  Wateree,  104 
Guttery,  John,  Broad,  209 

Habick,  Daniel,  Congarees,  52 
Haghabucher,  Jacob,  Congarees,  52 
Hagler,   Catawba  "King,"  142 
Haig,  Elizabeth,   Congarees,   58,  63,   64, 

175.    See  Mercier. 
Haig,  George,  49  n.,  71,  118,  119,  175  n., 

194,    195,     199;    land    of    in    Amelia, 

42  n. ;  in  Congarees,  52,  57,  64;  career, 

58-59 
Halfway  Swamp,  Amelia,  42,  50,  51 
Halfway  Swamp,  St.  Mark's  Parish,  109 
Hall,  Richard,  Williamsburg,  82 
Hallman,  Conrad,  Amelia,  44 
Hamelton,  John,  Congarees,  61,  131  n. 
Hamilton,  John,  London,   125-127 
Hamilton's    "Great    Survey,"    5  n.,    116, 

251  n. 
Hammerton,  Secretary  John,  90 


Hancock,  Ann,  Broad,  148 
Handicraft  trades,   Purrysburg,   38,   39; 
Charleston,   42  n.,  47,   54,    81,   84,   108, 
137,   174;  James  Island,  45;   Orange- 
burg,   46^7;     Congarees,     57  n.,     62, 
63  n.,     174;     New     Windsor,     67-68; 
Kingston,   88;   Wateree,   101;   Saluda, 
131;  Long  Canes,  133;  Catawba,  141; 
Saluda,  147;   Broad,   148;  back  coun- 
try,  168,    172-173,    177;   Hillsborough, 
252 
Hanging  Rock,  Lynches,  145 
Hanging  Rock  Creek,  Lynches,  145,  146, 

169 
Hanna,  John,  Saluda,  131 
Hanover  Presbytery,  Virginia,  144 
Hard  Labor  Creek,  127,  172;  treaty  of, 
212,  249;   fort  on,  246;   township  on, 
251;  Germans  on,  256 
Harrelson,  Paul,  Wateree,  101 
Harris,  Michael,  100 
Harry,  David,  Welsh  Tract,  92 
Harry,   Elizabeth,  Welsh  Tract,   91 
Harry,  Evan,  Welsh  Tract,  91  n.,  92 
Harry,  John,  Welsh  Tract,  91,  92 
Harry,  John,  Jr.,  Welsh  Tract,  91 
Harry,  Margaret,  Welsh  Tract,  91 
Harry,  Sarah,  Welsh  Tract,  91 
Harry,  Thomas,  Welsh  Tract,  91 
Hasfort,  Joseph,  Wateree,  101 
Hatcher,  Seth,   Orangeburg,  45 
Havana,   188 

Haverd,  Thomas,  Saluda,  130,  133 
Haw   Tree    Creek,   Stevens   Creek,   128, 

129 
Hay,    Hardy,   Congarees,    61  n. 
Hay,  William,  Congarees,  52,  60-61,  65 
Hayle,  Jacob,   Broad,   153 
Hayne,  Nicholas,  52 

Health,  Purrysburg,  36;  Congarees,  62; 
Williamsburg,  79,  82;  Fredericksburg, 
106;  conditions  of  piedmont,  114,  124, 
125;     Hillsborough,     253.      See     also 
Smallpox. 
Hearn,  John,   Orangeburg,  45,  47 
Heartley,    Henry,   Broad,    156  n. 
Heatley,  William,  Amelia,  51 
Heigler,   John,  Broad,   150 
Hemp,  bounty,  29;  proposed  for  Purrys- 
burg, 34;  for  Saluda,  126;  in  Orange- 
burg, 45,  46,   167;    Congarees,   56,   62, 
167;  Williamsburg,  82;  Welsh  Tract, 


280 


Index 


90;   Wateree,  106;   Catawba,   143;   in 
new  townships,  254,  255 
Hendrick,  Moses,  Broad,  175,  176 
Henleys  Creek,  Saluda,  116,  118 
Herron,  Rev.  Robert,  Williamsburg,  84 
Hicks,    George,    Welsh    Tract,    94,    95, 

97  n. 
High  Hill  Creek,  Amelia,  44 
High  Hill  Creek,  Saluda,  147 
High  Hills  of  Santee,   108,  175 
Hillsborough,  Earl  of,  252 
Hillsborough   Township,    173,    175,   257; 
map,    116;    settlement,    252-254;    gov- 
ernment, 253;   health,  253 
Holcombe,  Benjamin,  Broad,  158  n. 
HoUenshed,    Samuel,    Broad,    148,    172, 

201 
HoUenshed  Creek,  Broad,   148 
Holman,  Andrew,  Broad,   149 
Holmans  Creek,  Broad.  149,  155 
Holston,    Stephen,    Saluda,    130-132,    165 
Holston  River,  218,  239 
Holzendorf,  Dr.  John  Frederick,  Purrys- 

burg,  38,  39 
Hood,  William,  Waxhaws,  139 
Hope,  John,  Black,   101,   104  n. 
Hopkins,  James,  Congarees,  52,  54  n. 
Horns  Creek,  Stevens  Creek,  129 
Horse   Pen   Creek,    Stevens   Creek,   127- 

129;  Germans  on,  256 
Horses,  194,  252;  wild,  Edisto  forks,  49; 
Congarees,  56,  58,  59,  62  n.,  63;   New 
Windsor,  70;   Welsh  Tract,  95;   Wa- 
teree, 106;   Saluda,  122,   131;   Stevens 
Creek,    127;    Waxhaws,    143,    146;    of 
immigrants,     162-163;     back    country, 
168-169,   215 
Houses   and   buildings,   Purrysburg,   38; 
Orangeburg,    46;     Edisto    forks,    49; 
Congarees,  52,  56,  60;  southwest,  73; 
Williamsburg,   79,    81;    Kingston,    88; 
Wateree,  102,  104,  105;  log,  105,  176; 
Saluda,  122,  131,  132;  Waxhaws,  137, 
139,  144;  Catawba,  142;  Lynches,  145; 
Broad,    149,    157;    back   country,    164- 
165;  building  of,  176;  middle  country, 
182;    Hillsborough,    253;    Londonbor- 
ough,  255 
Hover,  Adam  and  Barbara,  Broad,  152 
Howard,  Edward,  Wateree,  106 
Howard,  Thomas,  Stevens  Creek,  129 
Howell,  Arthur,  Congarees,   60 
Howell,  Martha,  Broad,   148  n. 


Howell,  Thomas,  Congarees,  52,  60,  171 
Howell,    William,     Congarees,     52,     60, 

62  n.,  65,   180  n. 
Huber,  Peter,  Orangeburg,  56  n. 
Hudson,  John,  Wateree,  138 
Hughes,  John,  Broad,  148 
Hughes,  William,  Welsh  Tract,  92  n. 
Huguenot      Church,      Purrysburg,      40; 

Plillsborough,  252-254 
Hummell,  Peter,   Congarees,  52 
Hunter,  Surveyor-General  George,  23  n., 

81,  118,  126 
Hunter,  William,  Kingston,   87-88 
Hunters,    Ninety    Six    and    Saluda,    119- 

120,  125;  in  back  and  middle  country, 

162,   169 
Hyde,  Mary,  Congarees,  52 

Illiteracy,  Congarees,  60  n.;  Wateree, 
107,  136;  Long  Canes,  134;  Germans, 
153  n.,  177;  Broad,  157;  back  country, 
177,  179 

Imer,  Rev.  Abraham,  Congarees,   64 

Immigration,  early,  17;  decline  of,  26, 
28;  increase  of,  29-30;  agents,  34,  48, 
55,   56,   66,  79,   89-91,   150-151 

Inabnet,  Peter,  Orangeburg,  56  n. 

Independent  companies,  206,  207,  209; 
sent  to  South  Carolina,  26-27,  199; 
discharged,  27  n.,  199;  for  frontier 
service,  195,  199;  in  Virginia,  208  n.; 
at  Fort  Loudoun,  213;  at  Augusta, 
225;  in  provincial  regiment,  236.  See 
also  discharged  soldiers  of. 

Independent  companies,  discharged  sol- 
diers of,  encouraged  to  settle  in  prov- 
ince, 27  n.;  in  Congarees,  61;  on  Sa- 
vannah, 128  n.;  on  Saluda,  147;  on 
Broad,  148,  149;  in  middle  and  back 
country,  161  n. 

Indian  Creek,  Enoree,  175,  176;  settle- 
ment, 149-150,  153,  156,  157;  roads, 
171;  Cherokee  War,  235  n. 

Indian  "old  fields",  93,  99,  102,  165 

Indian  trade,  in  1729,  11,  15;  Congarees, 
54,  58,  59,  63  ;  Fort  Moore  or  Savan- 
nah Town,  66,  69-71;  Catawbas,  100; 
and  settlement  of  back  country,  117; 
Ninety  Six,  132;  1731-1759,  185-211; 
act  of  1731,  185-186;  act  of  1734,  186; 
effect  of  Georgia  dispute,  187-188;  in 
1744,  191-193;  abuses  in,  194,  206, 
208,  214-215;  act  of  1751,  202;  dispute 


Index 


281 


over  prices,  186,  205 ;  reopening  of 
Cherokee,  240;  government  operation, 
244,  247 ;  Southern  Congress,  245 ; 
Creek  trade,  246;  decline  of  Carolina 
trade,   247 

Indian  trade.  Commissioner  of,  185,  187, 
193  n.,  202  n.,  204 

Indian  Traders,  42,  51;  at  Fort  Moore, 
11,  128  n.;  Chickasaw,  14,  187,  191, 
195,  203-204;  description  of,  15;  at 
Congarees,  53,  58,  59,  63;  New  Wind- 
sor, 67,  68  n.,  71;  Cherokee,  101,  119, 
125,  169,  187,  190-192,  196,  197,  199- 
200,  208-209,  213,  221;  Ninety  Six, 
118,  120,  121;  importance  of  in  settle- 
ment, 162;  imperial  schemes  of,  185; 
regulation  of,  185-186;  and  southwest 
trade,  190-191;  Creek,  187,  191,  225; 
number,  191;  life,  192;  and  Choctaws, 
197 

Indian  troubles,  64,  199 ;  Wateree,  103  ; 
Ninety  Six,  119,  120,  122-123,  131, 
132;  Broad  River,  150;  Amelia,  175 

Indians,  agents  and  missions  to,  202  n., 
204-205 

Indigo,  success  with,  29,  168;  proposed 
for  Purrysburg,  34;  Orangeburg,  46; 
Amelia,  50;  Congarees,  62;  Georgia, 
69;  Salkehatchie,  74,  75;  Williams- 
burg, 83;  Kingston,  88;  Peedee,  94; 
Wateree,  106,  109;  Saluda,  131;  back 
and  middle  country,  167,  182;  Guate- 
mala  seed,   167 

Inns,  Amelia,  43-44;  Orangeburg,  47; 
Congarees,  63,  64;  on  Fort  Moore 
path,  67,  68;  New  Windsor,  70; 
Kingston,  88;  Wateree,  104,  136; 
Charleston,  129 

Ireland,  immigration  from,  17,  26,  29, 
242,  250;  Scots  from,  33,  79;  minister 
from,  84;  Quakers  from,  103;  settlers 
from,  104,  137,  251,  256,  259;  servants 
from,  174,  175 

Iron  ore  and  use  of,  in  Amelia,  44,  172; 
Broad,   172 

Iroquois,  199;  and  Catawbas,  13,  198; 
raids,  64,  74,  119,  175,  199-203,  206, 
216 

Ittewan  Indians,  12 

Jacks   Creek,    Santee,    108,    137 
Jackson,  Philip,  Congarees,  52,  59 
Jackson,  Richard,   Congarees,   52,   60 


Jackson,   Thomas,    Congarees,    52 
Jacksons  Branch,  Salkehatchie,  74 
Jacksons  Creek,  Congaree,  53,  59,  60 
Jamaica,  6  n.,   228 

James,  Abel,  Welsh  Tract,  92,  93,  97 
James,  Benjamin,  Welsh  Tract,  97 
James,   Daniel,  Welsh  Tract,  90,  91,  93 
James,  James,  Welsh  Tract,   91,   93,  96 
James,  James,  Jr.,  Welsh  Tract,  96 
James,  Mary,  Welsh  Tract,  91 
James,  Philip,  Welsh  Tract,  93,  96 
James,  Sarah,  Welsh  Tract,  91 
James,  Thomas,  Welsh  Tract,  92 
James,  William,  Welsh  Tract,  92,  93,  95 
James,   William,   Williamsburg,    79,    82, 

84 
James  Island,  settlers  from,  45,  72  n. 
Jarvis,  James,   New  Windsor,  128  n. 
Jeffreys  Creek,  Peedee,  90,  93 
Jenkin,  Eleanor,  Welsh  Tract,  91 
Jenkins,  James,  Congarees,  52 
Jenkins,   William,    Saluda,    147 
Jerman,  Edward,  90  n.,  94  n. 
Jersey,    East    and    West,    settlers    from, 

101,   136,   145,   148-150,   161 
Jews,  proposed  settlement  of  on  Saluda, 

126 
John,  Griffith,  Welsh  Tract,  92 
Johnson,      Governor      Nathaniel,      Silk 

Hope,  254 
Johnson,     Governor    Robert,     185;     ap- 
pointment   and   early   career,    17;    his 
township     scheme,     17-21,     85,     113; 
crown  instructions  to,   19-21 ;   charges 
against,  23,   24;   death   and   apprecia- 
tion of,  24-25 ;  and  Purrysburg  plans, 
34;  lands  for  in  Purrysburg,  36;  and 
boundary  dispute,  247-248,  250 
Johnston,  Andrew,  90  n.,  94  n. 
Johnston,      Governor      Gabriel,      North 
Carolina,    and   boundary   dispute,   248 
Jones,  Ann,  Welsh  Tract,  91 
Jones,  John,  Welsh  Tract,  91,  92,  96 
Jones,  Ralph,  Waxhaws,   137-139 
Jones,  Richard,  Congarees,  52 
Jones,  Thomas,  Edisto  forks,  49 
Jordan,  Abraham,  Kingston,  87 
Jordan,  Joseph,  Kingston,  88 
Jordan,  Robert,  Kingston,  87 
Joyner,  Joseph,  Amelia,  43,  44 
Joyner's   (McCord's)  ferry,  43,  51 
Justices  of  the  peace,  93,  216;   appoint- 
ment  of,    6;    and    settlement   Indians, 


282 


Index 


12;  middle  country,  3  5,  45,  47,  50,  61, 
70-72,  84,  88,  93,  95,  102,  104,  178; 
back  country,  120,  129,  146,  180-181; 
Virginia,  138;  North  Carolina,  139, 
180  n.;    Simpson's  guide  for,  253,  255 

Keat,  George,  Saluda,  168  n. 
Keating,  Edward,  118  n. 
Kelly,  Timothy,  Wateree,  103,  104 
Kennedy,  John,  Waxhaws,  138 
Keowee,    Cherokee    town,    2,    117,    118, 
203  ;  in  Cherokee  War,  219,  220,  229- 
231 
Keowee  River,  207,  230 
Kershaw,  Ely,  Wateree,  104 
Kershaw,  Joseph,  Wateree,  104,  106,  170 
Kilcrease,  John,  Long  Canes,  134  n. 
Kilcrease,  Nimrod,  Long  Canes,  134  n. 
Kilpatrick,    Alexander,    Congarees,    52; 

Catawba  trade,  53,  54 
Kinder,   David,  Purrysburg,  38 
King,  Mary,  Kings  Creek,  Broad,  149 
King,  Mary,  Wateree  Creek,  Broad,  149 
Kings  Creek,  Enoree,  149,  150  n.,   171 
Kings  Creek,  Savannah,  32,  40,  73 
Kingston  Presbyterian  Church,  87,  88 
Kingston  Township,   160;  map,  78;  set- 
tlement, 86-88 
Kingstree,     Williamsburg,     80,     81,     84, 

map,  78 
Kirkland,   Moses,   52,    136-137,   169,    171 
Kirkland,  Richard,  Wateree,  136 
Kitchen     utensils,     Congarees,     56,     58, 
63  n.;    New    Windsor,    70;    Wateree, 
106;     Saluda,    132;     Waxhaws,     143; 
back  country,  174 
Klein,  John  Martin,  Waxhaws,  138 
Knott,  Jeremiah,   Indian  trader,  70,   71, 

191 
Kolb,  Henry,  Welsh  Tract,  97 
Kolb,  John  Martin,  Welsh  Tract,  97 
Kolb,  Peter,  Welsh  Tract,  97 
Kolp,  John,  Welsh  Tract,  93 
Kreps,  John  George,  Saluda,  153  n. 

Lady's  Island,  200 
Lamar,  John,  Stevens  Creek,  129  n. 
Lambton,  Thomas,  Indian  trade,  193 
Lancaster   County,   Pennsylvania,    134  n. 
Lance,  Lambert,   104 
Land,  Thomas,   Catawba,   141 
Land,   amounts  of  in  warrants,  surveys 
and      grants,      Purrysburg,      35,      39; 


Amelia,  43,  50;  Orangeburg,  45;  Saxe 
Gotha,  56,  61 ;  Congarees,  61 ;  New 
Windsor,  67;  southwest,  73-75;  Wil- 
liamsburg, 80-81;  Kingston,  86-87; 
Queensboro,  90;  Welsh  Tract,  92; 
Peedee,  94;  Wateree,  103;  St.  Mark's, 
108,  109;  Saluda,  125;  Stevens  Creek, 
129-130;  Long  Canes,  135;  Catawba, 
141;  Broad,  156;  Boonesborough,  251- 
252;  Hillsborough,  254;  Stevens 
Creek,  255-256;  South  Carolina,  1761- 
1765,  257-259 

Land  system,  Proprietary,  5,  11;  royal, 
19-20,  35,  60,  80,  126,  163-164,  257  n.; 
for  Georgia,  20 

Landholdings,  amounts,  5,  24,  28  n.;  ex- 
cessive, 19-20,  23-24,  27  n. 

Land's  ford,  Catawba,  140,  172 

Lang,  Millicent,   Congarees,  64  n. 

Lang,  Robert,  62,  119,  131;  Senior  and 
Junior,   Congarees,   52,  55 

Laurens,  Henry,  70,  83  ;  provincial  regi- 
ment,  236,   239 

Law  and  law  enforcing  agencies,  Welsh 
Tract,  95;  back  country,  133,  178;  and 
significance  of,   180-181 

Lawrence,  Elisha,  Long  Canes,  165  n. 

Lawrence,   William,   168  n. 

Lawyers,  81,  178;  in  Commons,  6 

Leather  and  tallow,  back  country,  168, 
174 

Le  Bas,  James,  St.  John's,  43 

LeBoeuf,  Jerome,  Amelia,  51  n. 

Ledbetter,  Henry,  Lynches,   145 

Lee,  Francis,   Catawba,   141  n. 

Lee,  John,  Catawba,  141 ;  Broad,  149, 
172 

Leslie,  James,  Congarees,  52;  Broad, 
62,   148,   156  n.;  Virginia,  124 

Lewis,  David,  Welsh  Tract,  90 

Lewis,  Maurice,  Charleston,  91 

Lichtensteig,   Switzerland,  47 

Lide,  John,  Lynches,   146  n. 

Life    and    customs,    Congarees,    60,    64 
New  Windsor,  70-72;   tidewater,   79 
Kingston,      88;      Welsh      Tract,     96 
Saluda,   64,    122,    123,   131-133;   Wax- 
haws, 139-140;  back  country,  176-177, 
209 

Liks,  John  George,  Congarees,  52 

Liles,  John,   Broad,   235  n. 

Linder,  John,  Purrysburg,  36  n. 

Lindsay,  Charles,  Wateree,   102  n.,   107 


Index 


283 


Lines,  Samuel,  Congarees,  52;  Saluda, 
62,  147 

Lining,  John,  74  n. 

Linn,  John,  Waxhaws,   138,  140,  144 

Linvell,  John,  Broad,  150 

Linvells  River.     See  Tyger  River. 

Liquor,  still  at  Purrysburg,  40;  Con- 
garees, 59;  New  Windsor,  71;  Indian 
trade,  121,  203;  Wateree,  136-137; 
Waxhaws,  140,  142,  143  ;  stills  in  back 
country,   173,  176 

Little  Carpenter,  Cherokee  headman, 
and  French,  194,  203 ;  and  Cherokee 
trade,  197,  202;  and  Fort  Loudoun, 
209;  ally  of  English,  215,  216,  220,  232, 
233;   and  peace  treaty,  239-240 

Little  King,  Choctaws,   195-196 

Little  Lynches  River,  145 

Little  River,  Broad,  148,  150,  23  5  n. 

Little  River,  Peedee,  91 

Little  River,  Saluda,  130,  131,  259 

Little  River,  Savannah,  133-134,  169, 
246  n.,  253,  254,  259 

Little  Saluda  River,  215;  and  Cherokee 
path,  117-119;  settlers  on,  122,  130, 
131,  163,  165;  road,  172;  fort  on, 
235  n.;  warrants,  1761-1765,  259 

Little  Stevens  Creek,  256 

Livingston,    William,    126 

Lloyd,  John,  Amelia,   51 

Loeff,  Rev.  John  George,  Congarees, 
155  n. 

Log  Creek,  Stevens  Creek,  129,  256 

Logstown,  Ohio  River,  198 

London,  125,  151 

Londonborough  Township,  127  n.;  map, 
116;    surveyed,   251;    settled,   254-256 

Long  Cane  Creek,  124,  126-128,  133-135; 
Northwest  Fork,  134;  township  on, 
251,  254;  warrants,  1761-1765,  259 

Long  Canes,  207;  land  purchase,  124, 
195;  settled,  133-135;  population,  160; 
roads,  171;  fort,  212,  235  n.;  mas- 
sacre, 222,  223 ;  return  of  settlers, 
234;  Creek  attack  upon,  245-246; 
British  settlers  in,  257 

Long  Island,  settlers  from,   105 

Loocock,  Aaron,  Charleston,   104 

Lormier,    Lewis,    52 

Loudoun,   Lord,  215 

Love,  James,  Lynches,  177 

Lower  Three  Runs,  Savannah,  73,  74 


Lowry,    William,    Williamsburg,    82-83 

Lutheran  Church,  Purrysburg,  40;  Con- 
garees, 57,  64;  Broad  and  Saluda,  155 

Lyles'  ford.  Broad,   149,   172 

Lynah,   James,   Wateree,   143 

Lynches  River,  95,  97,  99,  108,  161;  set- 
tlers from,  75,  259;  settlement  of  upper 
waters  of,  145-146;  road,  171;  books, 
177;   warrants,   1761-1765,  258 

Lynches  River  Baptist  Church,  145,  180 

Lyons,   Joseph,   Amelia,  43 

Lyons  Creek,  Amelia,  42,  101 

Lyttelton,  Governor  William  Henry,  ar- 
rival of,  211,  251  n. ;  and  Cherokee 
War,  213-221,  225-228,  233 

Mackay,    James,    captain    Independent 

company,  208  n. 
Maddox,   Benjamin,  Waxhaws,   137—139 
Malatchi,  Creek  headman,  205 
Manigault,   Gabriel,    and   silk   industry, 

254 
Manufacturing,    back    country,    172-173 
Marion,    Francis,    provincial    regiment, 

236 
Marion,   James,  49  n.,    167  n. 
Marriage  laws.  North  and  South  Caro- 
lina, 180  n. 
Mars  BluflF,  Peedee,   90,   94;   church  at, 

96 
Martin.    William,    Amelia,    51 
Maryland,  206;   settlers  from,  137,   141, 

161 
Matthias  (Matthews),  John,  Congarees, 

52,  54 
Maxwell,    James,    119  n.,    125,    191-192, 

194,  196,  197 
McAden,   Rev.    Hugh,    143-144 
McClellan,  James,  Williamsburg,   83 
McClelland,  Archibald,  Long  Canes,  246 
McClenachan,    Robert,    Waxhaws,    139, 

140,    145 
McConnel,  John,  Wateree,   101 
McCord,    John,    Amelia,    50-51 
McCorkle,   James,    Waxhaws,    140,    143, 

173,   174  n. 
McCorkle,  Robert,  Waxhaws,   140,   143, 

165  n.,  168 
McCree,    Alexander,    Williamsburg,    81 
McCree,  Thomas,  Williamsburg,   81 
McCrellas,  James,   102,  103 
McCue,  John,   Stevens  Creek,   126  n. 


284 


Index 


McCulIoh,  Henry,  speculation  of  in  land, 
27  n. 

McCutchin,    Hugh,    100 

McDaniel,  Daniel,  Peedee,  97  n. 

McDaniel,    Daniel,    Wateree,    101,    140 

McDaniel,    Daniel,    Waxhavvs,    140-142 

McDougal,  John,  Kingston,  88 

McGillivray,  Archibald  &  Co.,  in  west- 
ern Indian  trade,  69,  190-191 

McGirt,  James,  Wateree,   102,   105,   109 

McGowen,  James,  100 

McGraw,   Edward,   Congarees,    52 

McGraw,  Solomon,  Congarees,  52; 
Broad,    62,    148 

McGregor,  Alexander,  49  n.,  129,  165  n. 

Mcintosh,  Lieutenant  Lachlan,  Fort 
Prince  George,  233  n. 

McKay,  Patrick,  187 

McKee,  William,  Lynches,   145 

McKelvy,  James,  52 

McKennie,   Benjamin,   Wateree,    101 

McKerthlin,    Joseph,    Wateree,    105 

McMullen,  William,  New  Windsor,  70  n. 

McNaire,  Charles,  Indian  trader,  196- 
197 

McNutt,  Alexander,  252 

McPherson,   Thomas,   Congarees,    52 

McQueen,  John,  Indian  trade  of,  68  n., 
193,  217 

Men-of-war,  St.  Augustine  expedition, 
189 

Merchants,  English,  and  Johnson's  plan, 
19;  opposition  to  duties  on  slaves,  22. 
See  Charleston,  merchants. 

Mercier  (Haig,  Webb),  Elizabeth,  Con- 
garees,  52,   58,   64 

Mercier,  Lieutenant  Peter,  64,  208  n. 

Michie,   James,  42  n.,    102 

Middle  country,  defined,  10;  Indians  of, 
12;  attempts  at  better  settlement  of, 
27-28;  maps  of,  32,  78;  township  set- 
tlement of,  32-109,  113;  differences 
between  eastern  and  western  town- 
ships, 33,  79;  importance  of  Congaree 
settlement,  65  ;  the  southwest  frontier, 
73,  75-76;  church  and  representation, 
85;  significance  of  Williamsburg,  85- 
86;  boundary  controversy,  95-96;  suc- 
cess of  Welsh  Tract,  98;  farmers  and 
planters,  106,  109;  population,  1759, 
160;  origin  of  settlers,  160-161;  cattle 
industry,  162;  orchards,  166;  illiter- 
acy, 177;  relation  to  back  country  and 


tidewater,  181;  industry  and  society, 
1759,  182-184;  enlistments  from,  227; 
relation  to  coast  country,  242;  war- 
rants, 1761-1765,  257-258;  settlers 
from,  259;  population,  1765,  260;  sig- 
nificance, 1765,  261 

Middleton,  Arthur,  9,  73 

Middleton,   John,   Lynches,    145 

Middleton,  Colonel  Thomas,  provincial 
regiment,  236,  237,  238;  duel  with 
Grant,  239 

Migler,    Daniel,    Saluda,    131,    172 

Militia,  194,  200-201,  222;  appointment 
of  officers,  6,  7;  Purrysburg,  35,  39; 
Orangeburg,  46;  Edisto  forks,  48; 
Amelia,  50;  New  Windsor,  72;  south- 
west, 76;  Williamsburg,  83,  85;  Kings- 
ton, 87;  Queensboro,  89;  Peedee,  94- 
96;  Wateree,  102,  103,  105;  Black 
River,  108,  109;  Saluda,  120,  131; 
Saxe  Gotha,  122;  Stevens  Creek,  128- 
130;  Waxhaws,  138,  139;  Lynches, 
146;  Broad,  156;  South  Carolina, 
160  n.;  back  country,  181;  in  Chero- 
kee War,  216-220,  224,  226-227;  in 
Creek   alarm,   246 

Mill   Creek,  Amelia,  44 

Mill  Creek,  Congaree.  See  Raifords 
Creek. 

Miller,  Robert  and  Jean,  Waxhaws,  144 

Millhouse,  Robert,  Wateree,  103-105, 
178 

Mills,  Amelia,  44;  Orangeburg,  46; 
Congarees,  52,  56,  61,  63;  Peedee,  93; 
Wateree,  101,  104,  105;  Stevens  Creek, 
129;  Saluda,  131;  Long  Canes,  135; 
Broad  and  Saluda,  137;  Catawba, 
141,  143;  Lynches,  146;  middle  and 
back  country,   173 

Miln,  Ensign  Alexander,  Fort  Prince 
George,  224,  229,  233  n. 

Mines,  Amelia,  44,  172;  Cherokee  silver 
mine,    119  n.,    149 

Minnick,  Christian,  Edisto  forks,  46, 
48-49,   119  n. 

Mint,   Margaret,   156  n. 

Mississippi,  191,  198,  203,  205,  215 

Mitchell,   William,  Waxhaws,    140 

Mobberly,    Clement,    Broad,   235  n. 

Mobberly,    Samuel,    Broad,    235  n. 

Mobile,  14,   190 

Mohawks,   204,   237 

Monck,  Thomas,   109  n. 


i 


■ 


Index 


285 


Moncks  Corner,  200,  237 
Money,  Thomas,  Pennsylvania,  91 
Montaigut,    Samuel,    Purrysburg,    38 
Montgomery,  Colonel  Archibald,  Chero- 
kee   expedition   of,   228-232,   237 
Moore,   James,    Waxhaws,    138 
Moore,  William,  Congarees,  52 
Moore,   William,   Waxhaws,    139 
Moravians,   171  n.,   176 
Moragne,    Pierre,    Hillsborough,    252  n., 

253 
Morf,  Hans  Jacob,  Congarees,  173 
Morgan,   Abel,  Pennsylvania,  91,   96 
Morris,     William     and     Elinor,     Long 

Canes,  134 
Morrison,    Captain    John,    Amelia,    230 
Mote,  Christian,  Orangeburg,  46,  47 
Motte,  Isaac,  New  Windsor,  70 
Moultrie,  William,  provincial  regiment, 

236,  237 
Mountain  Creek,  Stevens  Creek,  129 
Muddy  Creek,  Peedee,  93 
Mulkey,  Rev.  Philip,  64,   158 
Muller  (Miller),  John  Ulric,  Congarees, 

54 
Murphy,   Hugh,   Congarees,   52 
Murphy,  Malachi,  Welsh  Tract,  90,  94, 

97  n. 
Murray,    Dr.    John,    90  n.,    118  n.,    127, 

130,  246 
Musical   instruments,    176 
Myer,    Frederick    Nicholas,    Londonbor- 

ough,  255 
Myrick,  James,   Congarees,   52,   63  n. 
Myrick,  Richard,  Congarees,  52,  55 

Naval  stores,  proposed  for  Saluda,  126 

Navel,  Isaac,  90  n. 

Navigation,  tidewater,  4,  10,  35,  79; 
middle  country,  10;  Edisto,  49;  Con- 
garee,  54,  58,  63;  Williamsburg,  84; 
Kingston,  86,  88;  Peedee,  94,  98; 
Wateree,  99,  106-107,  170;  piedmont, 
115,   163;   middle  country,   182-183 

Negroes,  free  or  of  uncertain  status, 
Saluda,  122;  upper  Savannah,  128, 
133;    in    Cherokee    country,    195,    229 

Neilson,  John,  108 

Neilson,    Matthew,    St.    Mark's,    109 

Neilson,    Samuel,    Black,    108 

Nelson,  Joseph,   Savannah,   128 

Nelson,  Paschal,  38  n. 

Neufchatel,    Switzerland,    34 


New  Acquisition,  the,  250 

New   Bordeaux,    Hillsborough,   252,   254 

New   England,  township   system,    18,  20 

New   Orleans,    190,   214 

New  Windsor  Township,  75,  76,  127, 
135,  178,  180  n.;  effect  of  sickness  in, 
26;  map,  32;  settlement,  66-72; 
Switzers  in,  66-68;  John  Tobler,  68- 
69,  72;  Indian  trade,  69-70;  Chicka- 
saws,  70-71;  and  Fort  Moore,  70-72; 
Germans,   256 

New  York,  62,  203,  225,  236;  settlers 
from,    105 

Newberry,  John,  Welsh  Tract,  93 

Newbury,   William,    Indian   trader,    196 

Newcastle,   Duke  of,   39 

Nicholas  Creek,  Broad,  148  n. 

Nicholson,  Governor  Francis,  and  paper 
money  issue,  8;  and  Virginia  settle- 
ment  plans,    18 

Nightingale,    Thomas,    118  n. 

Ninety  Six,  103,  116,  122,  123,  126,  169, 
172,  176,  207,  256;  on  Cherokee  path, 
12,  118;  and  Indian  trade,  15,  63,  192; 
survey  at,  54;  land  purchase,  58,  123- 
125,  138,  147,  195;  courthouse,  116; 
origin,  118;  settlers,  119-120,  130;  life, 
131,  162;  roads,  171-172;  books,  178; 
Glen's  conference  at,  193-194;  Indian 
alarm,  122,  201;  Fort,  219;  warned 
of  attack,  222;  in  Cherokee  War,  227, 
228,  232;  defense  of,  233;  Grant  at, 
237,  238  n.;   warrants,  1761-1765,  259 

Nixon,    Edward,    Broad,   235  n. 

Noble,  Joseph,   Stevens  Creek,   129 

Noble,  Mary  (Calhoun),  Long  Canes, 
134,  246 

North  Britain   Tract,    108-109 

North  Carolina,  120,  171  n.,  260;  popu- 
lation, 5n. ;  landholdings,  5n. ;  boun- 
dary, 95,  96,  142,  209;  settlers  from, 
102,  161;  dispute  over  grants,  138— 
141;  grants  in  South  Carolina,  150; 
indigo,  167;  butter  from,  168;  Chero- 
kee raids  in,  217;  and  Cherokee  War, 
219  n.,  223,  225;  and  Indian  Congress, 
245;  boundary  dispute  with,  247-249; 
survey  of  boundary,  248-250 

Notchees,  61  n. ;  at  Congarees,  52,  61  n. ; 
at  Four  Holes,  200 

Nottawegas,   200,   203 

Nuquassee,   Cherokee   town,   224 


286 


Index 


Oats,   Wateree,    106;    back   country,    166 

Oconee,   Cherokees,   200,   202,  203 

Oconee  Creek,  Keowee,  230 

Oconee  Mountain,  230 

Oglethorpe,  James,  186-189,  193,  204 

Oglethorpe,  John  N.,  101  n.,  176  n. 

Ohio   Company,  the,  208 

Ohio  River,  198,  205,  206;  Indians,  198- 
199,  208 

"Old   Hop."     See  Connocortee. 

Olives,  proposed  for  Saluda,  126 

Orange,   France,   38 

Orangeburg  Township,  58,  83,  101,  176, 
182,  234  n.;  map,  32;  settlement,  44- 
48,  51;  Germans  in,  154,  256;  demand 
for  representation,  183;  Cherokee  War 
forts,  223,  234-23  5;  in  Cherokee  War, 
227 

Orchards,  in  middle  and  back  country, 
50,  166 

Orr,  Robert,  79 

Ortham,  Thomas,  Saluda,  177-178 

Oswald,  Richard,  126  n. 

Oswald,  Robert,  75 

Otterson,  James,  Broad,  235  n. 

Overseers,  74,   83,   89,   127,   128 

Owen,  Thomas,  Broad,  148,  157 

Ox  Creek.     See  Lyons  Creek. 

Oxen,  middle  country,  168  n. 

Pacolet  River,  Broad,  258 

Padgetts   Creek,   150  n.,   153,  157 

Paget,   Peter,   St.  Thomas'  Parish,   37  n. 

Palatines,  proposed  as  settlers,  18;  im- 
ported,  151,   153 

Pallachuccolas,  garrison  at,  10,  11  n.; 
Creeks  at,  12;  and  frontier  defense, 
16,  73,  188;  map,  32;  Purrysburg 
placed  near,  34;  garrison  abolished, 
35 

Parmeter,  Philemon,   117  n. 

Parsons,    James,    260 

Paths,  to  Fort  Moore,  10  n.;  to  Cataw- 
bas,  12,  99,  136,  140,  144,  169,  171; 
to  Creeks,  66;  to  northern  colonies, 
99;  Wateree,  107;  Catawba-Cherokee, 
124,  172;  Broad,  150  n.;  back  country, 
170-172;  Catawba-Savannah  Town, 
172.     See  also   Cherokee  path. 

Patricks  Creek.     See  Jacksons   Creek. 

Patton,  Arthur,  Long  Canes,  134,  135  n., 
246 

Pavey,  Joseph,  Congarees,  52 


Pawley,  George,  58,  125  n.,  194-195,  198 

Pearson,  John,  Congarees,  52,  60,  65, 
174,  175,  179,  223;  surveyor,  60,  62,  65, 
102,  163;  Baptist  Church,  65,  157- 
158;  Broad  River,  156-158;  frontier 
defense,  201,  227,  235  n.;  Fort  Lou- 
doun, 210,   213 

Pearson,  John,  Jr.,  Congarees,  157 

Pearson,   Mary    (Raiford),  60 

Pearson,   Philip,    Congarees,    157,    158  n. 

Peas,  252;  Congarees,  56;  Wateree, 
106;   back  country,   166 

Peedee  Indians,  12,  93;  join  Catawbas, 
13 

Peedee  River,  261;  township  proposed, 
20;  settlement,  89-98  {see  Welsh 
Tract)  ;  settlers  from,  145;  road,  171; 
navigation,  182;  demand  of  settlers 
for  courts,  183;  and  boundary  dispute, 
249;   warrants  on,   1761-1765,   257 

Pelot,   Rev.    Francis,    Purrysburg,    39 

Pendarvis,   Brand,   Edisto  forks,  49  n. 

Pendarvis,  James,  49  n. 

Pennington,   Abraham,  Broad,   150 

Pennington,  Isaac,  Broad,   156,   172,  173 

Pennington,  Jacob,  Broad,  128,  149  n., 
150,  235  n. 

Pennington,  Mary,  Broad,  157 

Pennsylvania,  115,  118,  154,  171  n.,  198, 
206;  immigration  to,  18,  151;  settlers 
from,  89-92,  95,  97,  100,  102,  105,  109, 
119,  120,  130,  134  n.,  136,  148,  150, 
157,  161;  settlers  from  1761-1765,  259 

Pensacola,   247 

Pepper,  Daniel,  commander  Fort  Moore, 
71-72,  174 

Pettinger,   John,   Congarees,    52 

Philadelphia,  47,  62,  97,  104,  136,  149, 
215 

Physicians,  Purrysburg,  38,  39;  New 
Windsor,  68;  Charleston,  123;  back 
country,    180  n. 

Pickens,    Andrew,    Savannah,    259 

Pickens,  Andrew,  Waxhaws,  138-141, 
143 

Pickens,  John,  Virginia,  124;  Waxhaws, 
138,  139;  Lynches,  145-146;  Savan- 
nah, 259 

Piedmont,  Italy,  immigrants  from,  36, 
37 

Pinckney,  William,  69  n.,  70  n.;  Com- 
missioner Indian  trade,   193  n. 

Pine  barrens,  9,  36,  82,  87,  114 


I 


Index 


287 


Pine  belts,  upper  and  lower,  2-3 ; 
description  of,  9 

Pinetree  Creek,  99,  100,  104,  107 

Pinetree  Hill,  Wateree,  107,  137,  143, 
171,  176;  settlement,  101,  104;  Quak- 
ers, 105;  Kershaw  store,  106;  wheat 
from,  166-167;  in  Cherokee  War,  227, 
228,  234 

Pinson,  Isaac,  Wateree,  136 

Pinson,   Thomas,   Catawba,    141,    143 

Pitt,  William,  215 

Pittman,  John,  Congarees,  65  n. 

Plantations,  size  of,  4—5;  indentured 
servants  on,  27-28;  Purrysburg,  38- 
40;  Amelia,  50;  southwest,  73,  74; 
Peedee,  89-90;  Wateree,  106;  Saluda, 
127,  133;   Santee,  137;  Waxhaws,  140 

Planters,  interests  of,  6 ;  in  Commons, 
6,  16;  desire  for  slaves,  24;  Orange- 
burg, 45;  Amelia,  50-51;  Congarees, 
62;  encroachments  in  Williamsburg, 
81,  in  Kingston,  86-87;  on  Santee, 
109;  back  country,  181;  middle  coun- 
try, 182-183;  and  settlement  policy, 
260 

Population,  white,  6;  Purrysburg,  39; 
Orangeburg,  46;  Edisto  forks,  49; 
Amelia,  50;  Saxe  Gotha,  56,  61; 
Congarees,  61;  New  Windsor,  67,  72; 
southwest,  76;  Williamsburg,  80,  85; 
Kingston,  87;  Welsh  Tract,  92;  Pee- 
dee, 94;  Wateree,  103,  105  ;  St.  Mark's, 
108;  Saluda,  125,  130,  131;  Stevens 
Creek,  129-130;  Long  Canes,  135;  Ca- 
tawba, 141;  Waxhaws,  142;  Lynches, 
146;  South  Carolina,  1759,  160;  mid- 
dle and  back  country,   1765,  259-260 

Porcher,   Isaac,   52 

Port  Royal,  garrison  at,  10;  runaway 
slaves  from,  26;   Fort   Frederick,    188 

Potatoes,  252;  Congarees,  56;  Saluda, 
120;    back   country,    166 

Pou,  Gavin,  Edisto  forks,  48-49 

Pouag,  John,   Charleston,  250,  251 

Poultry,  Saluda,  122;  of  immigrants, 
163;    back   country,    175 

Power,  Andreas,  Broad,  153 

Powmin,    Barbara,    152 

Pownall,  Thomas,  appointed  governor, 
228 

Poyas,  John  Lewis,  Purrysburg,  37 

Preacher,   Conrad,   Salkehatchie,   76  n. 

Presbyterian  Church,  47,  251;   Cainhoy, 


79;  Williamsburg,  84-85;  Salem,  108; 
Jeffreys  Creek,  108;  proposed  for 
High   Hills,   109;    Waxhaws,    143-144 

Priber,  Christian  Gottlieb,  Amelia,  43  ; 
Cherokee  country,  43 

Price,  Aaron,  Cherokee  trader,  222,  225, 
250  n. 

Price,  James,  Welsh  Tract,  92  n. 

Prince  Frederick's  Parish,  85,  107,  145; 
Church,  90,  97-98 

Prince  George's  Parish,   194 

Prince  William's  Parish,  41  n. 

Pringle,  James,  79 

Pringle,  Robert,   84 

Proclamation  money,   9  n. 

Proprietors,  Lords,  3,  5,  7,  11,  17;  en- 
couragement for  settlers,  17,  34;  land 
titles  under  grants  of,  21-22 

Provincial  troops,  130,  189;  in  Cherokee 
War,  213,  215,  217,  226,  228,  230-231, 
236,  238,  241.     See  also  Rangers. 

Puckett,  Timothy,  Wateree,  102;  Ste- 
vens Creek,   129  n. 

Pugh,  Rev.  Evan,  Welsh  Tract,  97 

Puhl,  Philip,  Congarees,  52,  57 

Pumpkins,  252;  Purrysburg,  38;  back 
country,    166 

Purry,  Charles,  Purrysburg,  36,  38; 
Beaufort,   38 

Purry,  Jean  Pierre,  89;  settlement  plans, 
18,  34;  death  of,  36;  petition  of,  40; 
land  of,  73 

Purrysburg  Township,  75,  160,  169,  173; 
discontent  of  settlers,  26;  map,  32; 
settlement,  33-41;  Swiss  settlers,  33- 
36;  hardships,  36,  41;  silk  industry, 
37;  slaves,  39;  St.  Peter's  Parish,  40; 
and  southwest  defense,  42;  settler 
from,  46;  Germans  in,  154;  and  An- 
glican Church,  183  n.;  later  arrivals 
at,  252,  254;  warrants,  1761-1765,  257 


Quakers,   Wateree,   103-105 

Quit   rents,  5,   164;   instructions  on,    19 
1731   act  for  collection  of,  21-22;   ex- 
emptions from,  30  n.,  34,  100,  151,  152 
appropriated  for   Hillsborough,  254 

Queensboro  Township,  91,  92;  map,  78 
settlement,  89;  church,  96 

Radcliffe,  Charles,  Wateree,  100-101 
Rae,  David,  251 


288 


Index 


Rae,  Fev.  John,  Williamsburg,  84-85, 
251 

Raeburns  Creek,  112,  223,  236  n. 

Raiford,  Isaac,  Congarees,  65 

Raiford,  Mary,  Congarees,  60 

Raiford,  Philip,  Jr.,  Broad,  62,  148  n., 
157,  235  n. 

Raiford,   Philip,    Sr.,    Congarees,    52,   60 

Raifords  Creek,  92,  147,  148,  157,  158, 
171 ;    settlement  of,   52,   59-63 

Ralgebin,    Rosina    Barbara,    152 

Ramsay,  Robert,  Waxhaws,  138,  140, 
141,   144 

Rangers,  64,  73,  100,  119,  123,  125,  181, 
188,  202,  206,  209;  Indian,  119;  in 
Cherokee  War,  218,  224-228,  233,  236, 
244  n.;  on  Montgomery's  expedition, 
228-231;  on  Grant's  expedition,  237- 
238 

Rattray,  Alexander,  Wateree,   100,  103 

Ravenel,  Henry,  108  n. 

Red  Shoes,  Choctaw  headman,  195- 
196 

Reed,  John,  Saluda,   119,   130 

Reedy  River,  130,  249,  250  n.,  259 

Rees,  Daniel,  Broad  River,  148,  172 

Rees,  Evan,  Congarees,  52,  60  n. ;  Broad, 
157 

Reformed  Church,  in  Purrysburg,  40; 
Congarees,  57,  64;  Broad  and  Saluda, 
155 

Regulators,  176 

Reimensperger.     See  Riemensperger. 

Rentfro,    Peter,   Broad,    148  n. 

Revolution  of  1719,  3,  17,  18 

Rhine   River,    152 

Rhod,  J.  J.,  Congarees,   52 

Rice,  John,   Charleston,   84 

Rice,  transportation  of,  10  n.;  industry 
expands,  24,  168,  260;  depression  in, 
27;  Purrysburg,  38;  Orangeburg,  46; 
Congarees,  52,  59;  machine  for  clean- 
ing, 68;  southwest,  73-75;  Williams- 
burg, 82;  Wateree,  109;  middle  coun- 
try, 182 

Richard,  James,  Purrysburg,  35,  38 

Richardson,  Edward,  103  n.,  137 

Richardson,  Mary  (Cantey),  Santee,  109 

Richardson,  Richard,  Santee,  109,  227, 
228 

Richardson,  Rev.  William,  Waxhaws, 
144 

Ridgeway,   William,    Kingston,   87 


Riemensperger,  John  Jacob,   Congarees, 

52,   55,   57,   150,   151,   178 
Rifles,  106,  122,  169,  230 
Riordan,  Timothy,  Saluda,   130 
Riots  and  lawlessness,  Welsh  Tract,  95 ; 
Rocky    River,    Peedee,    96 ;    Wateree, 
107;    Waxhaws,    137-140;    northwest 
frontier,    177;    Peedee,   249.     See  also 
Crime. 
Ritenour,   William,    Saluda,    172 
Roads,  petition  for,  Purrysburg,  40^1 ; 
Edisto  forks,  49;  Congarees,  52,  117; 
southwest,    76  n.;     Wateree,     106-107, 
109;  piedmont,  115;  Long  Canes,  135; 
Waxhaws,     140,     143 ;     back    country, 
170-172;    middle   country,    183 
Roberts,  John,  73  n. 
Robertson,  Joseph,   Orangeburg,   45 
Roche,  Francis,  196 
Roche,  Jordan,   196 
Roche,  Matthew,  196-197 
Rocky  Bluff   Swamp,  Black  River,   108 
Rocky    Creek,    Catawba,    103  n.,    105  n., 

138,  141-143,  258 
Rocky  Creek,   Stevens  Creek,   129 
Rocky  River,  Peedee,  94-96,  175 
Rocky  River,  Savannah,  259 
Rogers,  James,  Welsh  Tract,  92 
Rogers,  John,  Congarees,  52 
Rogers,   Robert,   Amelia,  44 
Rork,  Bryan,  Wateree,  101 
Ross,  Isaac,  161  n. 
Roth,    Peter,    Orangeburg,   46 
Rotterdam,   45,   67,   151 
"Round  O,"  Cherokee  headman,  217 
Rowan,    Matthew,    North   Carolina,    139 
Rowe,     Michael     Christopher,     Orange- 
burg,  149  n. 
Rowell,  Jeremiah,   Welsh  Tract,   91,  97 
Rowell,  Mary,  Welsh  Tract,  91 
Russell,  Charles,  Amelia,  42,  43,  46,  50 
Russell,  Charles,  Jr.,  captain  of  rangers, 

227 
Russell,  George,  Wateree,  109 
Russell,  Joseph,  Edisto  Forks,  49 
Russell,  Mary,  Amelia,  43-44,  51 
Russell,   Samuel,    Wateree,    103 
Rutherford,  Griffith,  North  Carolina,  139 
Rutledge,  Andrew,  81 
Rye,  Wateree,  106;  Waxhaws,  142;  back 
country,   166;   Congarees,  173 


i 


Index 


289 


Sabb,    Thomas,   Amelia,    51 

Sabb,  William,  Amelia,   51  n. 

St.  Augustine,  188-189 

St.  Bartholomew's  Parish,  72 

St.  David's  Parish,  97,   183 

St.  Gall,  Switzerland,  55 

St.  Helena  Indians,   12 

St.  James  Goose  Creek,   51 

St.  John,  Audeon,  Congarees,  170 

St.  John,  Surveyor-General  James,  and 
township  fees,   22-24 

St.  John's  Church,  Broad,   155 

St.  John's  Parish,  43 

St.  Luke's  Parish,  41  n. 

St.  Mark's  Parish,  85,  97,  183,  227;  set- 
tlement, 107-109;  established,  109; 
warrants,  1761-1765,  257 

St.  Matthew's  Parish,  32,  51,  183 

St.  Peter's  Parish,  40 

St.  Philip's  Parish,  123,  153;  landhold- 
ings  of,  5 

Salem  Presbyterian  Church,   108 

Salisbury  road,  250 

Salkehatchie  River,  234  n.;  settlement  of 
forks  of,  73-76,  154;  fort  on,  223,  234; 
warrants,  1761-1765,  258 

Salt,  168,  169 

Saluda  Old  Town,  2,  64;  origin,  118; 
hunters,  119-120,  162;  settlement,  119- 
120,  123,  125,  133;  Cherokee  confer- 
ence, 130;  mill,  131 

Saluda  River,  152,  210;  early  plats  and 
settlers,  54-57,  62,  147;  Indian  alarms, 
103,  201;  settlement,  117-127,  130-133 
(see  Ninety  Six,  Saluda  Old  Town)  ; 
Weber  frenzy,  155;  militia,  156  n.; 
population,  160;  indigo,  167;  roads, 
171,  172;  Cherokee  attack,  224;  war- 
rants, 1761-1765,  259 

Salvador,  Francis,  London,   126 

Salvador,   Joseph,  London,   127 

Salzburg,  immigrants  from,  36 

Samsons  Fork,  Saluda,   131 

Sand  Hills,  2-3,  170;  description  of,  9- 
10;  Amelia,  44;  Congaree,  S3;  Pee- 
dee,  92;  Wateree,  99,  101,  107,  113, 
114;   Lynches,   145 

Sanders,  Peter,  129  n. 

Sandriker,  John,   Congarees,  52 

Sandy  River,  112,  156;  warrants,  1761- 
1765,  258 

Sandy  Run,  Congaree,  44;  Church,  57 

Sarancy,  Samuel,  Welsh  Tract,  91,  94 


Satur,  Jacob,  52 

Savage,  John,  161  n. 

Savannah,  Georgia,  38,  41,  47  n.;  and 
Indian  trade,   188,  247 

Savannah,  New,  71,  204,  228 

Savannah  Indians  (Shawnees),  leave 
Carolina,  10  n.;  murders  by,  122; 
among  Cherokees,  195,  198-200,  203, 
204,  216;  raids  by,  202  n.,  209 

Savannah  River,  73,  121,  122,  261;  pro- 
posed settlement,  18,  20;  settlement  of 
lower,  73-75 ;  settlement  of  upper  wa- 
ters, 125-130,  133-135,  154  (see  Long 
Canes,  Stevens  Creek)  ;  paths,  171- 
172;  navigation,  182;  settlements  at- 
tacked, 223;  defense  of,  233;  fort  on, 
235  n.;    warrants,    1761-1765,    257-259 

Savannah  Town  (at  Fort  Moore),  10, 
133,  170,  222;  Indian  trade,  15,  66, 
72,  128 

Sawmills,  saws  and  lumber,  Orange- 
burg, 46;  Congarees,  57,  63;  Wateree, 
104-105;  Broad  and  Saluda,  137; 
Waxhaws,  143;  back  country,  165,  173 

Sawneys   Creek,    Wateree,    99,    104,    136 

Saxe  Gotha  Township,  122,  147,  151, 
177,  178;  map,  32;  town,  52;  settle- 
ment, 52-65;  name,  53  n.;  description, 
53;  Swiss  settlers  in,  54—56;  church 
and  industry,  56-57,  63-65;  Brown 
and  Haig,  57-58.    See  also  Congarees. 

Saxony,  43 

Scalps,  and  rewards  for,  190,  195,  209, 
215,  224,  226,  228,  229 

Scheider,  Daniel,  Saxe  Gotha,  122 

Schneiss,  Conrad,  Congarees,   52 

Schoolhouse  Branches,  Broad  River,  157; 
Black   River,    157  n. 

Schools  and  schoolmasters,  proposed  for 
townships,  19;  Purrysburg,  39;  New 
Windsor,  72;  Charleston,  83,  144; 
Broad,  155,  157;  Congarees,  157;  lack 
of  in  back  country,  179.  See  also  Edu- 
cation. 

Scioto  River,  Ohio,   198 

Scotch,  Highland,  89  n. 

Scotch-Irish  settlers,  in  Williamsburg 
and  Kingston,  79-88,  100;  immigra- 
tion of,  81-82;  importance  of,  86;  in 
North  Carolina,  95;  encouragement 
for,  109;  in  1759,  160-161 

Scotland,   ministers    from,    85,    144;    set- 


290 


Index 


tiers  expected  from,  lOS-109;  servants 
from,   174 

Scott,  James,  Saluda,  147,   171 

Scott,  John,  Savannah,  128-130 

Scott,  John,  Wateree,  102 

Scott,  William,  Wateree,  102-103 

Scout  boat,  southwest,  188 

Seawright,  Robert,    100  n. 

Seawright,  William,  Amelia,  100  n.,  183 

Second  Creek,   Broad,   153,   156 

Secretary  of   State,  205 

Selwyn,   John,   London,    59  n, 

Seneca  Indians,   100,   199 

Servants,  indentured,  for  defense  against 
slaves,  17-18,  27;  encouragement  for, 
20;  Purrysburg,  38,  39;  Amelia,  43; 
Orangeburg,  45;  Congarees,  63;  Che- 
ravps,  95;  Wateree,  103,  136;  Saluda, 
125,  130;  Lynches,  145;  Broad,  149; 
German,  151,  155;  in  advertisements, 
161  n.;  back  country,  173-174;  pro- 
tection of,  180;  importation  of,  256 

Settico,   Cherokee   town,   212,   217 

Settlement  fund,  origin,  21 ;  deficit,  25- 
26,  54,  152;  appropriation  to,  29; 
amount  of,   30,  243 

Settlement  Indians,  12,  73,  74,  79-80, 
195.  See  also  Cape  Fear,  Cussoe,  St. 
Helena,  and  Winyaw  Indians. 

Settlement  policy.  Proprietary  period,  5, 
17 ;  origin  of  new,  6,  9  ;  encouragement 
for  debtors,  11;  revision  of,  25-30; 
provincial  mistakes  in,  26;  encourage- 
ment for  servants,  27;  for  developing 
villages,  28;  encouragement  for  dis- 
charged soldiers,  27  n.;  discourage- 
ment of  German  immigration,  29; 
new  encouragement  for  settlers,  29- 
30,  103;  purchases  of  land  for,  123— 
125;  after  Cherokee  War,  242-243; 
defects  of,  244,  256-257;  results  of, 
257,   260 

Settlement  projects,  Purry's,  34;  Cart- 
wright  and  Selwyn,  59  n.;  on  Savan- 
nah River,  75;  North  Carolina,  95; 
High  Hills  of  Santee,  108 ;  Ninety  Six, 
123-127 

Shanks  Creek,  Wateree,  109 

Shawnees.     See  Savannah   Indians. 

Sheely,  John,  Broad,  156  n. 

Sheep,  Congarees,  60  n.;  New  Windsor, 
70;  back  country,  173,  175 

Shillig,  John,  Congarees,  55  n. 


Ship  building,  bounty  for,  29  n.,  152 

Shire,   Conrad,  Broad,   156  n. 

Shleppy,  John  George,   Congarees,   52 

Silk,  bounty  for,  29,  37;  proposed  for 
Purrysburg,  34,  for  Saluda,  126,  for 
Hillsborough,  253,  254;  industry  in 
Purrysburg,  37,  254;  Silk  Hope,  254 

Silver  and  jewelry,  Congarees,  58,  59 

Silver  Bluff,  10,  32,  67,  69,  70,  73,  235  n. 

Simmons,  John,  49  n. 

Simpson,  Thomas,  Waxhaws,  137,  138  n., 
142 

Simpson,  William,   118  n.,   127 

Simpson,  William,  Practical  Justice  of 
the  Peace,  253  n.,  255 

Sims  Creek,  Wateree,  101 

Singleton,  Richard,   Wateree,   101-102 

Singletons  Creek,  Wateree,  143 

Sinking  fund,  8,  19,  21,  28  n.  See  also 
Settlement  fund. 

Slaves,  126,  167;  number,  3;  need  for, 
4;  increase,  5;  danger  of  insurrection, 
6,  22,  185  n.,  188-189,  226;  runaway, 
8,  13,  243  n.;  in  cattle  industry,  12; 
indentured  servants  for  defense 
against,  17-18;  prohibited  in  Georgia, 
20;  duties  on,  21-22,  241-242;  imports 
of,  24,  241,  243 ;  importation  pro- 
hibited, 27-28,  243 ;  Purrysburg,  38- 
39;  Amelia,  43,  44,  50;  Orangeburg, 
45,  225;  Edisto  forks,  49;  Congarees, 
56,  58-61,  63,  64  n.;  New  Windsor,  69; 
Indian,  70;  southwest,  73,  75;  north- 
east, 79;  Williamsburg,  83-85;  Kings- 
ton, 87-88;  Peedee,  94,  96;  Wateree, 
100-102,  104-106,  109,  136,  137;  taxes 
on,  124;  Saluda,  125,  127,  130,  131, 
133;  Savannah,  128;  Stevens  Creek, 
129;  in  Cherokees,  132,  192;  Wax- 
haws,  137,  140,  142,  144;  Lynches, 
145-146;  Broad,  148,  150  n.,  156; 
South  Carolina,  160;  back  country, 
161,  165;  imports  of,  161  n.,  173,  177; 
middle  country,  182;  deaths  from 
smallpox,  220;  in  Grant's  expedition, 
237;  in  back  country,  1765,  260.  See 
also  Stono  insurrection. 

Sleepy  Creek,  Stevens  Creek,  256 

Smallpox  epidemics,  1738,  26;  1759- 
1760,  220,  223  n.,  224,  226,  229  n. 

Smart,    Henry,    Coosawhatchie,   75 

Smart,  Rev.  James,  Coosawhatchie,  75; 
Lynches,   145 


i 


I 


Index 


291 


Smith,  Rev.  Michael,  Prince  Frederick's, 
97 

Smith,  William,  Wateree,  105 

Smithpeter,  John  George,  Saluda,  155 

Snell,   Henry,   Orangeburg,  46 

Snelling,   Henry,  Congarees,  52 

Society,  classes  of,  Purrysburg,  38; 
groups  in  Amelia  and  Orangeburg, 
48,  in  New  Windsor,  68;  Wateree, 
100;  Saluda,  120;  Waxhaws,  140; 
tidewater  and  back  country  compared, 
161-162;  middle  country,  175;  back 
country,  178,  179;  significance  of 
churches  in  social  organization,  179- 
180;  significance  of  back  country,  181- 
182;   make-up  of  middle  country,   183 

Society  for  Propagation  of  the  Gospel 
in  Foreign  Parts,  40,  72 

Soil,    tidewater,    4;    middle   country,    9 
Amelia   and   Orangeburg,   42,  45,   48 
Congarees,  53,  59;  New  Windsor,  66 
southwest,   73,  74;   Williamsburg,   80 
Kingston,    86;    Peedee,    92;    Wateree 
99,    101,    136;    St.    Mark's,    107,    108 
piedmont,    114;    Saluda,   118;    Savan- 
nah, 127-129;  Long  Canes,  133;  Wax- 
haws,  137;  Broad,  147,  148,  151,  153- 
154;    Dutch    Fork,    154;    choice   of   by 
immigrants,   163;   Hillsborough,  253 

South  Carolina,  in  1729,  2-16;  geo- 
graphical sections,  2-4;  population,  3, 
160;  compactness  of,  6;  local  govern- 
ment, 6;  exports,  6,  24,  167-168; 
Yamasee  War,  10;  Indian  trade,  15; 
proposals  for  defense,  18,  20;  funda- 
mental problem  of,  30;  disadvantages 
for  settlement,  33;  boundary  and  the 
plantation  influence,  250;  results  of 
settlement,  260-261.  See  also  Tide- 
water, Middle  country.  Back  country. 

South  Carolina  almanac,  68-69 

South  Carolina  Gazette  in  middle  and 
back  country,  179  n. 

Southern   (Indian)    Congress,  245 

Sower,  Christopher,  69  n. 

Spanish,  danger  from,  6,  8,  22,  185  n.; 
and  Indians,  15,  16;  encroachments 
on,  20;  war  with,  26;  encouragement 
to  runaway  slaves,  26;  attack  upon 
and  counter-attack,  188-189;  decline 
of  influence,   191 

Spencer,  Richard,  Congarees,  52;  Broad, 
148 


Springs  and  wells,  163 

Spuhl  (Spear),  Jacob,  Congarees,  52,  54 

Squatters,  119,  125,  141,  142,  164  n.,  246, 

260 
Squirrel  King,   Chickasaw  headman,  71 
Stack,   Anthony,   52 
Stainor,  Hans,  Congarees,  52 
Standing  Turkey.     See  Cunnicatoka. 
Starratt,   George,  Kingston,   87 
Steill,  Robert,  Congarees,  52,  63,  142  n., 

147,  170 
Sterling,   George,  Amelia,  43 
Sterling,  William,   118  n. 
Stevens,  John,   Stevens   Creek,   117 
Stevens   Creek,    102,   126,   133,   163,   171, 

176,    251  n.;    name,    117;     settlement, 

127-130;  store  on,  169;  roads,  171;  in 

Cherokee   War,   222,  235  n.;   fort  for, 

246;     Germans,    255-256;     warrants, 

1761-1765,  259 
Stitsmith,  Thomas,  52 
Stolea,  Hannah  Maria,  Congarees,  52 
Stono  insurrection,  12,  26,  27 
Stony  Run,  Black,  108 
Strain,  Adam,   100 
Stratham,  Rowland,  42  n. 
Strawberry,  on  Cherokee  trade  route,  11 
Strother,    William,    Congarees,    63  n. 
Struck,   John,    Congarees,    55  n. 
Stuart,    Captain    John,    Fort    Loudoun, 

218,   232-233;    Superintendent   Indian 

Affairs,  245 
Stuart,  Robert,  Lynches,  145 
Stubbs,   John,   Wateree,   136 
Studders,  William,  Creek  trader,   191 
Sturzenegger,     Dr.     John     Jacob,     New 

Windsor,   68,   180  n. 
Sugar  Town,   Cherokees,  229 
Summerford,  Jeffrey,  Wateree,   100 
Summers,  Adam,  Broad,   156  n. 
Surveyor-General,     164.      See    also    St. 

John,  James;    Hunter,    George. 
Surveyors,  deputy,  25,  52,  58,  60-62,  104, 

128,    139,   163,   194 
Swift  Creek,  Wateree,  100,  104 
Switzers,   proposed    as   settlers,    18,    100, 

151;  Purrysburg,  33-41;  Orangeburg, 

45-47;    Saxe    Gotha,    54-56,    61,    65; 

New    Windsor,    66-69,    72;    compared 

with  other  Germans,  153;  Broad,  154; 

Saluda,   155;   assimilation  of,   183 


292 


Index 


Tassantee,   Cherokee  town,  230 

Taverns.     See  Inns. 

Taxes,  provincial,  5,  7,  21,  164;  exemp- 
tion from,  30  n.,  152,  243;  back  coun- 
try,  181  n. 

Taylor,  John,  Broad,   148 

Taylor,  John,  Congarees,   52,  61 

Taylor,    Michael,    Saluda,    123-124,    147 

Taylor,    Peter,    100  n. 

Tellico,  Cherokee  town,  212,  214,  217 

Tellico   River,   Tennessee,   212,   213-214 

Tennant,  Rev.  William,  165 

Tennessee,  Little,  212,  213,  230,  231,  238 

Tennessee  River,  205,  214-216 

Terrapin  Creek,  Saluda,  118,  125 

Terrel,  William,  Welsh  Tract,  92 

Theiler,  John,   Congarees,   52 

Theus,  Rev.  Christian,  Congarees,  57,  64 

Theus,  Jeremiah,  Charleston,  57 

Thicketty  Creek,  Broad,  258 

Thomas,  Steven  and  Mary,  Hills- 
borough, 254 

Thompson,  John,  Jr.,  Prince  Frederick's, 
90,  93,  95  n. 

Thompsons  Creek,  Peedee,  94  n.,  95  n. 

Thomson,  Moses,  Amelia,   50-51 

Thomson,  William,  Amelia,  50-51; 
Major  of  rangers,  234,  238 

Three   Runs.     See   Upper   Three   Runs. 

Tidewater,  4,  166;  landholdings  in,  5, 
24;  immigration,  24;  settlers  from,  43, 
93,  105,  109,  161;  expansion,  113; 
population,  160;  connections  with  back 
country,  181-182;  warrants,  1761- 
1765,  257 

Timothy,  Peter,  printer,  239 

Tistoe,  Cherokee  headman,  219,  220,  229 

Tobacco,  Saluda,  120,  122;  back  country, 
176 

Tobler,  John,  New  Windsor,  55,  100, 
176-179;  account  of,  67;  store,  68, 
170;  almanac,  68-69;  death  and  estate 
of,  69,  72,  183;  fort  of,  223,  235  n. 

Tobler,  John,  Jr.,  New  Windsor,  68,  72, 
179 

Tobler,  Ulric,  New  Windsor,  68,  129, 
223 

Tobler,  William,   New  Windsor,  68,   71 

Todd,  John,  Wateree,  102 

Toggenburg,  Switzerland,   55 

Tomlinson,  Josiah,   Wateree,   103 

Tomotley,  Cherokee  town,  202,  212,  213 

Tool,  Matthew,  Catawba  trader,  142 


Tools  and  implements,  for  bounty 
settlers,  28  n.,  34;  Congarees,  56,  57  n., 
60  n.;  Waxhaws,  143;  of  immigrants, 
162;    back   country,   165-166,    169,    172 

Torrans,  John,  Charleston,  251 

Towns,  plans  to  encourage,  11,  28;  in 
Purrysburg,  36,  38,  41;  Amelia,  42; 
Orangeburg,  44,  47;  Saxe  Gotha,  52, 
53;  Williamsburg,  80,  84;  Kingston, 
86-88;  Queensboro,  89;  Fredericks- 
burg, 99;  in  new  townships,  252-253, 
255 

Townships,  119;  Johnson's  plan  for, 
17-21,  24-25;  surveying  of,  22-23; 
development  of,  25;  non-resident 
grants  in,  26;  western,  32-76;  en- 
croachments on,  36,  80,  81 ;  eastern, 
78-109;  new  townships  surveyed, 
250-253 

Trade  and  stores,  Purrysburg,  38; 
Orangeburg,  47;  Congarees,  56,  63; 
New  Windsor,  68-71;  Williamsburg, 
84;  Cheraws,  94-95;  Wateree,  104, 
136;  Ninety  Six,  132;  Catawba,  143; 
back   and  middle  country,   169-170 

Transportation,  back  country  problem 
of,  169-172;  middle  country,  182-183. 
See  Navigation,  Paths,  Roads,  Wag- 
ons. 

Troops,  British,  in  Georgia,  189,  199, 
204;  Cherokee  expeditions  of,  228-232, 
237-238.  See  also  Independent  Com- 
panies. 

Truan,  Jacob,  Purrysburg,  38 

Tryon,  Governor  William,  North  Caro- 
lina,   and   boundary,  249-250 

Tryon  Mountain,  249 

Tucker,  Dr.  William,  Congarees,  180  n. 

Tugaloo,  Cherokee  town,  121 

Turk,  James,  Saluda,  125 

Turk,  John,  Saluda,  119,  123-125,  130, 
133,  195 

Turk,  Thomas,  Saluda,  123-124,  195 

Turkey  Creek,  Black,  108 

Turkey  Creek,  Broad,  258 

Turkey  Creek,  Stevens  Creek,  129,  135, 
256 

Turkeycock   Creek,   Broad,    148  n. 

Turner,  William,  Saluda,  120  n.,  130, 
133,  222,  235  n. 

Turnips,  Purrysburg,  38;  Waxhaws, 
139,  142;  back  country,  166 

Tuscarora  Indians,  12 


! 


Index 


293 


Twelve  Mile  Creek,  Catawba,  235  n. 
Twelve  Mile  Creek,  Keowee,  229 
Twelve  Mile  Creek,  Saluda,  55,  131,  147 
Twenty-five   Mile   Creek,   Wateree,    176 
Tyger   River,    158;    settlement,    148-150, 
156;    roads,    172;    in    Cherokee   War, 
234;    warrants,    1761-1765,   258 
Tyler,  John,  Wateree,   101  n. 

Uchee  Indians,  on  Savannah,  12,  73-74, 

128,  188,  200,  201  n. 
Uchee  Island,  Savannah,  127-128 
Ulmer,    Henry,   Salkehatchie,   76  n. 
Upper  Three  Runs  (Steel  Creek),  11,  32, 

70,  74,  75 

Vagrants,  to  be  enlisted,  216 

Vann,     John,      Saluda,      121-122,      196; 

Savannah,   246  n. 
Varnido,  Leonard,  Edisto  forks,  49  n. 
Vaughan,  Evan,  Welsh  Tract,  91 
Vaughan,  Robert,  New  Windsor,  71 
Verdity,   Elizabeth,    52 
Vernezobre,   Daniel,   London,   38 
Virginia,    103,    172,   206,    214,   232-233; 
and    Indian   trade,    11,    14,    202,    208, 
219  n.;    and    frontier    settlement,    18; 
settlers   from,  45,   61,   93,   94,  97,    105, 
109,   119,  120,   123-125,   128,   130,   131, 
133-134,    136,    138-141,    145,    147,    148, 
161,    177;    and   frontier   defense,   208; 
Cherokee    depredations    in,    216,  220; 
and   Cherokee  War,   218,   225,  237  n., 
239;      and     Indian      Congress,     245; 
settlers  from  1761-1765,  259 
Volk,  Conrade,  Broad,  156  n. 

Wabash  River,  205 

Waccamaw  Indians,  12 

Waccamaw  River,  94;  township  pro- 
posed, 20;  in  boundary  dispute,  247- 
248.     See  Kingston. 

Wade,  Thomas,  Lynches,  169,  170  n. 

Waggener,  John,  Broad,  235  n. 

Wagons  and  carts,  Congarees,  55,  56, 
63 ;  Catawba,  143 ;  of  immigrants, 
162-163;  back  country,  170-171;  Cher- 
okee War,  219,   228,   234 

Wales,   proposed   immigration  from,    92 

Walker,    Philip,   Waxhaws,   138,    140 

Wallace,  Richard,  Stevens  Creek,  129 

Wallexellson,  Thomas,  Congarees,  52, 
60,  61 


War  Woman  Creek,  Chattooga,  230, 
231 

Ward,  John,   60  n. 

Wateree  Creek,  Broad,  148,  151,  153- 
156,  171 

Wateree  Creek,  Wateree,  112,  136,  141, 
235  n. 

Wateree  Indians,  59  n.,  101;  absorbed 
by  Catawbas,  13,  99 

Wateree  River,  147,  163,  170,  175,  178, 
227;  township  proposed,  20;  settle- 
ment, west  side,  102-103,  105;  origin 
of  settlers,  105-106;  wheat,  106,  166; 
land  riots,  107;  settlement  of  upper 
Wateree,  136-137;  Germans  on,  154; 
population,  160;  road,  171;  warrants, 
1761-1765,  257,  258.  See  also  Fred- 
ericksburg. 

Waters,  Richard,   168  n. 

Waxhaw    Church,    143-144,    172,    180 

Waxhaw  Creek,  Catawba,  137-139 

Waxhaw   Indians,    137 

Waxhaws  (section),  107,  134,  145,  161; 
settlement,  136-145,  180  n.  {see  Ca- 
tawba River)  ;   settlers  from,  259 

Wealth  and  inequality  in  back  country, 
163,   169,   181 

Webb,  David,  Congarees,  64  n. 

Webb,   Elizabeth    (Mercier),   64  n. 

Weber,  Jacob  and  Hannah,  Saluda,  155 

Weekly,   Thomas,   Amelia,   43 

Weiser,  Conrad,  Pennsylvania  Indian 
agent,  59 

Wells,  John   George,   Broad,   153 

Wells,  Robert,  printer,  239 

Welsh,  on  Peedee,  90-98;  language,  96; 
population,  160;  in  South  Carolina, 
162 

Welsh  Neck,  78,  92,  93.  See  Welsh 
Tract. 

Welsh  Neck  Baptist  Church,  75,  96,  145 

Welsh  Tract,  78,  143,  161,  194;  settlers 
from,  74-75,  145;  settlement,  90-98, 
140;  Welsh  reservation  and  migra- 
tion, 90-92;  Welsh  Neck,  93;  Peedee 
trade  and  industry,  93-94;  churches, 
96-97 

West  Indies,  161  n. 

Whaley,  William,   161  n. 

Wheat,  bounty,  29;  Amelia,  44;  Or- 
angeburg, 45,  46;  Congarees,  56,  60  n., 
62,  63,  174;  Williamsburg,  83;  Welsh 
Tract,    91,    93;     Wateree,     105,     106, 


294 


Index 


170;     piedmont,     115;     Saluda,     131; 
Waxhaws,  139,  142,  143;   Broad,  149, 
ISO,  156;  back  country,  166,  173,   175, 
221  n. 
Whitaker,    Benjamin,    attorney-general, 
chief  justice,  quarrel  with  Johnson,  23 
White,  Henry,  Waxhaws,  144 
White,   William,   Wateree,    105 
White  Hall,  Stevens  Creek,  127 
Whitefield,  George,  96 
Whitford,    Robert,    Amelia,    43 
Wilds,  Mary,  Welsh  Tract,  91 
Wilds,  Samuel,  Welsh  Tract,  90-92 
Wilkinson,     Edward,     Cherokee     trade 

factor,  247 
Wilkinsons  Creek,   148,   156,   157 
Wilks,  James,  161  n. 
William,   Margaret,  Welsh  Tract,   91 
Williams,  James,  Saluda,  130 
Williams,    Fev.    Robert,    Welsh    Tract, 

94  n.,   96 
Williamsburg       Presbyterian       Church, 

84-85 
Williamsburg  Township,  98,  100,  143, 
160,  251;  discontent  of  settlers,  26; 
settlers  from,  67,  85,  101,  105,  106, 
108,  136,  137,  140;  map,  78;  settle- 
ment, 79-86;  Scotch-Irish  in,  79-82; 
hemp  and  flax,  82-83 ;  indigo  and 
slaves,  83-84;  significance,  85-86; 
Indian  troubles,  93;  demand  for  rep- 
resentation, 183;  warrants,  1761-1765, 
257 
Williamson,     Andrew,     Stevens     Creek, 

126  n.,  127,  246,  255 
Wilson,  David,  Williamsburg,  79 
Wilson,   Robert,   Black,    108 
Wilsons  Creek,  Saluda,  118,  120 
Wine,    bounty    for,    29;     proposed    for 


Purrysburg,    34,   for    Orangeburg,   45, 

for  Saluda,  126;  in  Congarees,  176 
Winyah  Bay,  248 
Winyaw  Indians,   12 
Witherspoon,    David,   Williamsburg,    83 
Witherspoon,    Gavin,    Williamsburg,   79 
Wood,   Alexander,   70,   191;    in  western 

trade,    69;    and    southwest    expansion, 

190 
Wright,   Anthony,  Wateree,    102 
Wright,  Governor  James,  Georgia,  246 
Wright,  Thomas,  Waxhaws,   138 
Wiirttemberg,  immigrants  from,  151-153 
Wyly,  John,  Wateree,  103 
Wyly,  Samuel,  Wateree,   103-105;    137- 

139,  170 

Yadkin  River,  105,  143,  217,  250 
Yamasee   Indians,   12,   17,   63  n. 
Yamasee  War,  7,   10,   17,   18,   137,   185, 

192,  198,  234,  244 
Young,  Francis,  Peedee,  90,  97  n. 
Young,  Henry,  Orangeburg,  225 
Young,  Jacob,  Congarees,  52 
Young,  William,  Edisto  forks,  48 
Young  Warrior,  Cherokee  headman,  237 

Zimmerman,  Philip,  Londonborough, 
256  n. 

Zouberbuhler,  Bartholomew,  Jr.,  Or- 
angeburg, 47 

Zouberbuhler,  Bartholomew,  Sr.,  New 
Windsor,  67 

Zouberbuhler,  Sebastian,  New  Windsor, 
66-67 

Zubly,  David,  Purrysburg,  39,  40  n. 

Zubly,  John  Joachim,  39,  69  n.,  152 

Zurich,  Switzerland,  55,  57 


VITA 

The  author  of  this  work  was  born  at  Allendale,  South  Carolina,  in 
1890.  He  attended  public  schools  in  the  state  and  graduated  from  Wofford 
College  in  1912  with  the  degree  of  A,B.  He  received  the  degree  of  A.M. 
from  Columbia  University  in  1914  and  since  that  time  has  done  further 
work  in  that  institution  and  in  the  University  of  Chicago.  Since  1919  he 
has  been  a  member  of  the  staff  of  the  History  Department  of  the  University 
of  South  Carolina.