USA > North Carolina > Chronology of North Carolina : showing when the most remarkable events connected with her history took place, from the year 1584 to the present time, with explanatory notes > Part 1
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Gc 975.6 B43c 1707754
IVI. L
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02400 6485
CHRONOLOGY
OF
NORTH CAROLINA,
SHOWING WHEN THE MOST REMARKABLE EVENTS CONNECTED WITH HER HISTORY TOOK PLACE, FROM THE YEAR 1534 TO THE PRESENT TIME, WITH EXPLANATORY NOTES.
BY D. K. BENNETT.
"Time flies, and from his gloomy wings A shadow falls on living things."
NEW - YORK : .
. 1 PUBLISHED BY JAMES M. EDNEY. 1858.
FS65.08
1707754
ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by D. K. BENNETT,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the District of Cape Fear, in North Carolina.
W. II. Tissos, Stereotyper and Printer, Pear of 43 % 45 Contra EL, N. Y.
100011
PREFACE .
THE necessity, and even the utility, of a work like the following, is obvious to every thinking mind. It is a notorious fact, that of the myriads of books that are yearly being written and published in every department of literature, a large majority are sadly deficient in chronological information, from which cause many of our modern writers have labored under great and per- plexing inconveniencies, being compelled to gather from numerous, and too often unauthentic sources that which might have been easily compressed in a small volume.
The design of the compiler of the following work was to prepare at least a useful little book of reference, for those engaged in the study or otherwise interested in the history of the " Old North State ;" how well he has succeeded is for the public to judge. From the haste in which it has been prepared, and some other causes, it is doubtless very incomplete ; but the compiler will still continue to gather material, and should another
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iv
PREFACE.
edition be called for, it will be his greatest pleasure to add to it every possible improvement.
And now that, with all its imperfections, it is about to launch forth upon the uncertain sea of public favor, the author has this confidence in his fellow-citizens, that they will study to improve, rather than to condemn his production.
If however there are any disposed to criticise, they are respectfully referred to the following lines from Pope :
" Whoever thinks a faultless piece to see, Thinks what ne'er was, nor is, nor e'er shall be. In every work regard the writer's end, Since none can compass more than they intend ;
And if the means be just, the conduct true, Applause, in spite of trivial faults, is due."
THE AUTHOR.
CHRONOLOGY
OF
NORTH CAROLINA.
-
1584.
AMIDAS and BARLOW sail for America, . . April 27th. arrive in N. Carolina, July 4th, 2 5"
" The North Carolinians are indebted, for the discov- ery and first effort to colonize their State, to the zeal and enterprise of Sir Walter Raleigh, one of the leading statesmen, and the most accomplished gentleman of his day. Endowed with a daring and fertile genius, and an ambition that looked beyond the intrigues of Euro- pean courts, Raleigh made himself familiar with the accounts of navigators and adventurers who had visited the shores of this Western World ; and to plant a colony and build up a great State became, with him, a darling object. To carry out his designs, he obtained from Queen Elizabeth (March, 1584) a grant for such lands as he should discover, not in the possession of any Christian prince or people.
" This grant contained important powers and privi- leges, and provided that no other should take posses-
6
CHRONOLOGY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
sion of any place within two hundred leagues of settle- ments which he might make within six years. He at once fitted out two vessels, under the command of Philip Amidas and Arthur Barlow ; and on the 27th of April, full of hope, they sailed in search of undiscovered lands.
" Pursuing a southwesterly route, they touched at the Canary Islands ; and sailing thence northward, they soon got soundings in a region where the air of early summer was laden with the aroma of flowers and fra- grant shrubs. These balmy breezes came from the . shores of North Carolina; and after ranging the coast for one hundred and twenty miles, the adventurers entered, on the 4th of July, 1584, the first haven which offered, devoutly returned thanks to God for their safe arrival, and, in the name of the Queen of England, took possession of the country."-N. C. Reader.
1603.
QUEEN ELIZABETH died . Mar. 24th.
1618.
RALEIGH beheaded . Oct. 29th.
"Sir Walter Raleigh, who was frequently distin- guished by the title of the noble and valorous knight, and whose works have placed him in an important rank in the history of English literature, was doomed to pass the best period of his life in captivity. The reign of James I. may be praised for its pacific character ; but as long as the name of Raleigh shall be remembered, will that reign be stained with one of the foulest crimes a monarch could commit.
CHRONOLOGY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
" Almost immediately after the accession of James. in 1603, Raleigh was imprisoned on a charge of treason, tried at Winchester in November of the same year, and condemned to die. He was, however, reprieved and confined a close prisoner in the Tower, where he re- mained for upwards of fourteen years. During his confinement, he devoted a great part of his time to his studies, and the productions of his pen at this time were so numerous, that he rather resembled a collegian than a captive-a student in a library, than a prisoner in the Tower. His principal work, the History of the World. was written and published during his confinement. He was at length released from the Tower in March, 1615, had the king's commission for a voyage to Guiana, which he made in 1617, but being unsuccessful, the old sentence was revived against him on his return home, and he was sent to the scaffold, to the eternal disgrace of the pusillanimous monarch, whose conduct in this affair gained him the indignation of his contemporaries and of posterity."
1663.
Charter of the State of North Carolina granted by Charles II. . Mar. 24th. First permanent settlement made in the State in . April.
WILLIAM DRUMMOND, first Governor of North Carolina, appointed in . . September.
1672.
GEORGE Fox visits North Carolina.
Mr. Fox was the founder of that respectable sect do- nominated Quakers or Friends.
S
CHRONOLOGY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
1680.
JOHN JENKINS appointed Governor in . June.
1681.
GEORGE Fox, founder of the Quakers, died Jan. 13th. HENRY WILKINSON appointed Governor.
1683.
SETH SOTHEL appointed Governor.
"The character of Sothel presented every vice that could degrade man or disgrace his nature. During the six years that he misruled the people of North Carolina, the dark shades of his character were not relieved by a single ray of virtue."
1693.
PHILIP LUDWELL, Governor.
1704.
Tar first made in the State.
HENDERSON WALKER died . . April 14th.
About five miles below Edenton, just a hundred yards from Albemarle Sound, may be seen beneath the spreading branches of a large cedar, the grave of Hen- derson Walker. The following is from his tombstone :
"Here lyes ye body of HENDERSON WALKER, ESQ.,
President of the Council and Commander-in-Chief of North Carolina, during whose Administration the pro- vince enjoyed that tranquillity which it is to be wished
9
CHRONOLOGY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
it may never want. He departed this life 14 April, 1704, aged 44 years."
On the north side of this tomb is the following :
"Lyes ye body of GEORGE LILLINGTON,
Son of Major Alexander Lillington, who died in ye 15 year of his age, Anno, 1706."
On the other side is this inscription :
" Here lyes ye body of MADAM ANN MOSELY, Wife of Edward Mosely, Esq.
She was ye daughter of Maj. Alexander Lilling- ton, Esq., and ye widow of the Hon. Henderson Walker, Esq., late President of His Majesty's Council of North Carolina. She departed this life Nov. the 18th, A.D. 1712, aged 55 years and 5 months."
1705.
First Church erected in the State.
1709.
Newberne laid out.
1711.
Massacre of the whites by the Indians . Sept. 11t
1712.
Gov. HYDE died of yellow fever . Sept. Sth. MADAM ANN MOSELY died . Nov. 1Sth.
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10
CHRONOLOGY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
1713.
CHARLES EDEN appointed Governor . July 13th.
1716.
PENELOPE EDEN died . Jan. 4th.
1722.
Gov. CHARLES EDEN died . .
. March 17th.
Succeeded by THOMAS POLLOCK · . March 30thi-
THOMAS POLLOCK died
. Aug. 30th.
Bertie County formed
On Salmon Creek, in Bertie County, is a monument to the memory of Charles and Penelope Eden. The following is the inscription :
" Here lyes ye body of CHARLES EDEN, ESQ.,
Who governed this Province Eight years, to ye great satisfaction of the Lord's Proprietors, and ye ease and happiness of yº people, he brought the Country into a flourishing condition, and died much lamented March ye 26. 1722. etatis 49.
" And near this place lyes also ye body of Penelope Eden, his virtuous consort, who died Jan 4th 1716. Etatis . 39. Vivit post funera. Ille quem virtus non marmor in eternum sacrat."
1723.
ELISHA BATTLE died . Jan. 9th.
1724.
GEORGE BURRINGTON appointed Governor . Jan. 15th.
--
T
11
CHRONOLOGY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
1725.
SIR RICHARD EVERHARD appointed Govern-
or . . July 17th.
DAVID CALDWELL born® . March 22d.
Boundary line between Virginia and N. C. established.
1729.
RICHARD CASWEL, born . Aug. 3d.
Last Legislature of N. C. under the author-
ity of the Lords' Proprietaries, convened at Edenton ·
. Nov. 27th.
Ten thousand inhabitants in the State.
Currituck County formed.
Charter of Charles II. surrendered.
1731.
GEORGE BURRINGTON re-appointed Governor Feb. 25th.
1733.
BENJAMIN LINCOLN born . Jan. 23d.
Edgecombe County formed.
1734.
Bladen and Onslow Counties formed.
NATHANIEL RICE made Governor . Apr. 17th.
GABRIEL JOHNSTON made Governor . Nov.
1735.
RICHARD HENDERSON born . Apr. 20th. Dr. HUGH WILLIAMSON born . Dec. 5th.
12
CHRONOLOGY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
1741.
JOHN PENN born . May 17th. Beaufort and Northampton Counties formed.
1742.
WILLIAM HOOPER born
. June 17th.
WILLIAM SHARP born
. Dec. 13th.
1743.
Whitmel Hill born . Feb. 12th).
1744.
Fort Johnston erected at the mouth of the
Cape Fear River.
1746.
Granville and Johnston Counties formed.
1749.
Forty-five thousand inhabitants in the State.
Anson and Duplin Counties formed.
Beacon Island, near Ocracoke Inlet, de -- stroyed by a storm.
First printing press in the State imported this year from Virginia by James Davis, State printer.
Col. WHEELER says: "France having declared war against England (1744), the defenceless seaboard of North Carolina received the attention of the Legisla- ture,"
13
CHRONOLOGY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
" A fort was ordered to be built, sufficient to mount twenty-four pieces of cannon, on the south bank of Cape Fear, by the Legislature, which met at Newberne about 1745, and was called, in honor of the governor, Fort Johnston."
Wiley, in the "North Carolina Reader," says: "In 1747 the Legislature made provision for the completion of Fort Johnston, at the mouth of the Cape Fear River."
From these two statements, which are, I presume, both correct, we must infer that Fort Johnston was erected by the British some time between 1740 and 1750.
When the royal rule of England terminated in North. Carolina, April, 1775, Josiah Martin, the last of the royal governors, took refuge in Fort Johnston, where he remained until the 12th day of July following, when, says one writer," "Fort Johnston was burned by the militia, under the command of Col. John Ashe." And another writert speaks of " the sacking or burning of Fort Johnston." Be that as it may, I suppose Col. Ashe used about the same means to dislodge Martin that a prudent farmer would to rid his premises of a mis- chievous fox that had taken refuge in a brush-heap near his poultry-yard .¿
One thing, however, is certain : if Fort Johnston was burned at all, it was only partial ; or else it was rebuilt very soon afterwards.
The fort is still standing, having been enlarged and
* Hon. David L. Swain.
+ Jo. Seawell Jones.
# After Governor Martin was driven from Fort Johnston, he took refuge on board the " Cruiser" sloop-of-war, where he remained nearly a year, thundering forth his political anathemas against the people of North Carolina. ITe left for Charleston, S. C., about the Ist June, 1776.
14
CHRONOLOGY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
improved by the United States since the Revolution. It is now surrounded (except on the water side) by the little town of Smithville, and is, in the summer season, " all alive with beauty and fashion," being the place of resort of persons of wealth and refinement from Wil- mington and other places, for health and pleasure. Some of the old buildings, erected perhaps before 1750. are yet to be seen. They strike the beholder with deep thought as he gazes upon their time-worn walls, and thinks of the stirring scenes they have witnessed. Fort Johnston is the Mecca of North Carolina, which every citizen should visit at least once in his life.
At the session of 1747, four commissioners were appointed to revise, codify, and print the laws then in use. The commissioners were Chief Justice Hall, Ed- ward Mosely, Samuel Swann, and Thomas Baker. This revisal, the first ever made in the State, was reported to the Legislature in 1749, by Samuel Swann, was exam- ined, approved, and finally printed at Newberne by James Davis, State printer, in 1752, who had, in 1749, imported from Virginia the first printing press seen in North Carolina. The work was handsomely printed and bound, in a small folio volume, and, from the yel- lowish hue of the leather with which it was bound, was called yellow-jacket, a name by which it was long fami- liarly known, and which it still retains. What a con- trast between the ponderous volumes of North Carolina laws now in use, and the little yellow jacket of a cen- tury ago !
1750.
JAMES IREDELL born
. Oct. 5th.
ISAAC SHELBY born
. Dec. 11th.
15
CHRONOLOGY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
Isaac Shelby filled many high and responsible offices, at the hands of both the Executive and the people, chiefly military. He was one of those fearless and daring spirits which tyrants dreaded.
1751.
Gen. WILLIAM LENOIR born . May 20th. Orange County formed.
1752.
First law book printed in North Carolina. Gov. GABRIEL JOHNSTON died . Aug.
Gov. Johnston had presided over the province for nearly twenty years. He died universally lamented. "The patriotic and public spirited county of Johnston," and the fort at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, are both so called in honor to his memory.
1753.
Unitas Fratrum arrive.
Rowan County formed.
1754.
MATTHEW ROWAN made Governor . Feb. 1st. Col. BENJAMIN HAWKINS born . .
. Aug. 15th.
"in the fall."
ARTHUR DOBES made Governor . Cumberland County formed. Gen. BANASTRE TARLETON born . . Aug. 21st.
1755.
ALFRED MOORE, Sen., born . May 21st.
[NOTE .- JAMES DAVIS printed the "Carolina Gazette," at Newbernc, the first paper in the State .- Publisher.]
16
CHRONOLOGY OF NORTHI CAROLINA.
Mr. Moore was one of those who early threw into the doubtful balance "their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor."
He was appointed a captain in the 1st Regiment of North Carolina Continental troops, and with his com- pany was present at the memorable attack on Fort Moultrie, in South Carolina. He afterwards raised a troop of volunteers, with which he diligently watched and greatly annoyed the British commander (Major Craig) at Wilmington. ·
The General Assembly elected him in 1790, Attorney- General. In 1798, he was called to the bench; and in 1799, was appointed by the President of the United States an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States ; he continued in this important and re- sponsible office for six years, when he resigned on ac- count of ill health, which gradually wasted him away, when with a consciousness of a well spent and useful life, and in the hope of a joyful immortality, he died on the 15th October, 1810, at the house of Major Waddell, in Bladen County, in the arms of his afflicted family.
His life and services, consecrated as they were to the cause of liberty and the best welfare of his country, will ever render dear to every North Carolinian the name of MOORE.
Rev. HUMPHREY HUNTER born . . May 14th.
From a manuscript on file in the Executive office at Raleigh, we learn that Mr. Hunter was born in the vicinity of Londonderry, Ireland ; he was a distinguished soldier of the Revolution, and afterwards an eminent minister of the gospel. The record on his headstone in
-
17
CHRONOLOGY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
Steele Creek grave yard, will better illustrate his char- acter than anything I could write :
"SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF REVEREND HUMPHREY HUNTER, Who departed this life August 21st, 1827, in the 73d year of his age."
" He was a native of Ireland, and emigrated to America at an early period of his life. He was one of those who early promoted the cause of freedom in Mecklenburg County (May 20th, 1775), and subsequently bore an active part in securing the independence of his country. For nearly thirty-eight years he labored as a faithful and assiduous ambassador of Christ, strenuously enforc- ing the necessity of repentance, and pointing out the terms of salvation. As a parent, he was kind and affec- tionate ; as a friend, warm and sincere ; and as a min- ister, persuasive and convincing."
1756.
Major PLEASANT HENDERSON born . Jan. 9th.
Hon. SAMUEL LOWRIE born
. May 12th.
WILLIAM R. DAVIE born . June 20th.
1757.
NATHANIEL MACON born.
1758.
Col. JOSEPH MCDOWELL born . Feb. 25th. Halifax County formed.
18
CHRONOLOGY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
1760.
GEORGE III. began to reign . Oct. 25th. Pitt County formed.
1761.
New Inlet to the Cape Fear River formed by a violent storm . Sept. 23d. GEORGE III. proclaimed king at the town of
Brunswick . Oct. 6th.
The site of the old town of Brunswick may be still seen on the Cape Fear River, in the present county of Brunswick; several monuments of its former celebrity are still standing. It was from the council chamber at this place that William Tryon thundered forth his arbi- trary mandates against the Regulators. It was also here that the first stamped paper sent from England for the use of the colony was attempted to have been landed, which was so gallantly resisted by the brave Whigs of the neighborhood.
Its name is associated with deeds of daring adventure and bravery. The town was finally deserted for the more commodious site where Wilmington now stands.
1762.
Dr. CHARLES HARRIS born . Nov. 23d.
Mecklenburg County formed.
1764.
Second newspaper ever published in North Carolina, called "The Cape Fear Gazette and Wilmington Advertiser," by Andrew Stewart, printer to the King . . . June 1st.
19
CHRONOLOGY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
Gen. JOHN STEELE born . Nov. 1st.
Brunswick county formed.
1765.
Gov. DOBES died . March 28th.
WILLIAM TRYON made governor , April 3d.
Gov. TRYON first met the Assembly in the
town of Wilmington . May 3d.
1766.
Hon. FRANCIS LOCKE born . Oct. 31st.
BUNCOMBE MEN.
WILLIAM MILLS emigrated to the " block house" on the Catawba, and thence to Green River, now Ruther- ford County, in 1766. He was of English descent, and was born on James' River, Va., the 10th of November, 1746. At an early age he married Miss Eleanor Morris, of South Carolina, and together they journeyed happily through life for sixty-nine years. They were surrounded by Indians several times, and twice driven from their homes, having their houses and all their contents pillaged and burned. At one time he returned home from hunt- ing, and found his house robbed, his wife gone, and every- thing laid desolate, which set him perfectly wild ; he commenced moaning and tearing out his hair, when, like an angel, his wife suddenly appeared unharnied. As the Indians entered the house she crept out at a small window in the garret, and down the chimney, making her escape to a swamp near by where she lay concealed till she heard her husband's voice. At another time she escaped in a similar way, and when a whole troop of Indians were ripping up feather beds and yelling over
.
20
CHRONOLOGY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
their plunder she raised a shout solitary and alone in a swamp near the house-" Hurra for King George and his army," with such rapidity and vehemence, that the whole horde of savages took to their heels, and she gained a bloodless victory, and saved most of her property. She was not only bold, but a most exemplary · woman and Christian, having been a member of the Methodist Church for over fifty years previous to her death, which occurred in the spring of 1838, at the age of ninety-four years, beloved and lamented by all who knew her.
Wm. Mills was small in stature but compact, sinewy and " hardy," always wore " moccasins," wool hats, and rode bare-backed horses, never having owned but one saddle. He was fond of the largest horses, was an un- crring rifleman, and a sober, industrious citizen. He fought bravely at "Cowpens," and there received two bul- let wounds and one from a sword, which marked him dis- tinctly to his grave ; he fought also at " Ninety-Six." Being one of the first adventurers and settlers in the western part of the State, its history grew up under his eye. Mills' Gap, the first wagon road across the Blue Ridge, took its name from him, as also Mills' River, one of the most beautiful streams of pure clear water in the world ; this river is in Henderson, formerly "Buncombe," which in those days was a great State, including Hay- wood, Henderson, Yancy, Madison, a part of Burke and Rutherford, and what is still " old Buncombe," being then about 60 miles wide and 160 in length ! The children of Mr. and Mrs. Mills were two sons and five daughters. John Mills married, moved and settled on White Oak, Rutherford County, where he accumulated a fortune and died, leaving a good name and a promising
21
CHIRONOLOGY OF NORTH CAROLINA:
family. Marville Mills married and settled on Mills' Gap road, Rutherford County, made a handsome pro- perty, raised a large family, and died at a good old age, honored and beloved. Phalby married David Myers, who lived some years in Buncombe, then moved to Richland District, South Carolina, where he amassed a very large fortune, raised a large family, and was killed by Col. Ellmore, (I believe), in his old age, in a most cowardly manner, by shooting him in the back with a shot-gun, without due notice! Ellmore, by his great wealth, escaped the gallows. Morning married Overton Lewis ; Sarah married Asa Edney; Eleanor, Rev. Samuel Edney ; these three all settled on Clear Creek, near their father, raised large families, lived and died respected and lamented. Elizabeth married George Jones, who settled on White Oak, Rutherford County, but afterwards moved to Spartansburg, C. H., S. C., where he remained a number of years, then returned to his farm where he died ; he raised and educated a large family, and made a handsome fortune. The daughters all attached themselves to the Methodist church in their early days, and lived and died, four of them, in the faith of the gospel, having each spent an average of fifty years in the church ! Mrs. Jones is the only one of the family living at this time, 1858. Mr. Mills, at the death of his wife, when he walked out by a spring near the grave, remarked, with tears streaming o'er his furrowed checks, "I and Nelly drank upon our knees at that spring fifty-five years ago, when there was no white man's foot in the country." He was proverbial for his benevolence and kind advice to all his children and neighbors, and almost daily, for an age, rode round to see the three children that lived near him. At his
22
CHRONOLOGY OF NORTH CAROLINA.
death he had S9 grandchildren. His orchards were common property for all, and every year of his life he set out at least 100 of the most choice trees, particularly peaches and cherries. On Saturdays " an army" might always (in fruit season) be seen, mostly children of the neighborhood, filling their baskets, pails and cans, with the contents of the orchards. The only charge ever made was " don't break my trees."
Once his house was beset by Indians in the night : he was absent, and his family escaped and fled to a hill or brushwood near by ; on reaching it, the mother missed " Marville," then about seven or eight years of age; he had crawled under the bed. The savages entered the house, and among them was the most noted Indian in all that region, known as " Club" or " Big Foot," from the fact of his having not only an enormous body but an enormous "foot," which " made its mark" wherever he went. Some stood at the door-" Club-foot" went in first, and went to the hearth, where there were a few chunks or flickering embers ; he got on his knees and commenced " blowing up the fire ;" at this, "Marville," in his boyish innocence, and through fear of being seen, bethought him of the "pail of water" (which then bestudded every " log palace"), and instantly made for it, seized, and right over " Big Foot's" head he emptied its contents into the fire-place, extinguishing every spark of fire, to the amazement of " Big Foot ;" and to his amazement, the next thing he knew, he struck the other end of the wall about eight feet from the floor and eighteen from the fire-place ! " Big Foot" having seized him, and with one hand dashed him against the other end of the house. It was perfectly dark, and " Marville" soon was able to crawl, and knowing the doorway, he
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