USA > North Carolina > Edgecombe County > History of Edgecombe County, North Carolina > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44
29
ORIGIN AND SETTLEMENT
spective plantations. Extortionate fees were charged by the col- lectors who used their political office to advance their own per- sonal greed. The fees were increased sevenfold, and those who were hindered from coming to the appointed places were charged an increase of eightfold with extravagant fees extra.
The bill providing for the collection of the various rents hav- ing been rejected, the people were secure, and were justified in their protest against the extortionate proceedings of the Crown. Governor Johnston appealed to the Board of Trade in England for instructions. The Governor receiving no instructions, now ad- vised the Crown that unless the old laws were annulled and better ones made, his majesty would have very little authority, for the people were taking especial care of themselves, irrespective of the Crown and government. He also requested a company of troops to be sent in order to insure a better condition of affairs.
The Governor evidently intended to enforce his will and plans by compulsion, if necessary. In 1737 there came an urgent need for the troops which he had requested. At the General Court at Edenton of that year a man was imprisoned for insulting a mar- shal during the court. The people in Edgecombe understood the offense was non-payment of quit rents. They rose to the number of five hundred, cursing the King with hearts full of rebellion, and approached Edenton with the purpose of rescuing one of their fellow sufferers. So completely agitated were these people over the treatment they had received concerning quit rents that they re- solved to be oppressed no further. At the same time they threat- ened cruel usage to any person who came to demand rents of them in future.
The quit rent controversy subsided when the Spanish War broke out in 1739. Governor Johnston was requested to raise what troops he could in 1740 to defend the rights of Great Britain. Edgecombe and Bertie furnished three companies of one hundred men each, while the Governor said he could have raised more if it had been possible to negotiate bills of exchange. These troops were intended to act under General Oglethorpe against St. Augus- tine, some few being dispatched on that service. However, that expedition failed, and they sailed for Jamaica, where the British troops had gathered. The losses here were great, due to the lack of co-operation between the army and navy. Some of the troops
30
HISTORY OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY
engaged in battles in the West Indies, where fever broke out among them, and nine out of ten became victims of this disease. Only a small number of these troops returned to the county.
Before the termination of the war in 1738,1 a law was enacted directing the Justices of the Peace in the precinct to erect store- houses to receive commodities in payment of quit rents. The Justices of the Peace were also authorized to levy a poll tax to defray the expenses of collecting the commodities stored in the warehouses. The first warehouse was established at John Pratt's. Later this same warehouse was moved to Marmaduke Kimbrough's near the fall of Maratock River, the distance to Mr. Pratt's be- ing too far for the inhabitants of North Edgecombe. By this new law the people were obliged to pay the expenses of the men collecting the taxes for the King. Moreover, while the legality of this act may be admitted, it did not grant justice to the people as a whole. The poor were sorely oppressed, because the families who had only a small amount of land were required to pay more than a small family with a large amount of land.
Happily for all concerned Governor Johnston was not able to enforce his views. The law had been in operation for only a short time when the Governor received instructions that it had been disallowed by the Crown. This bit of information was sadly humiliating to the Governor, who had labored incessantly to secure the passage of the bill. The decision was altogether in conflict with the Governor's views. Specie payments were abandoned. Quit rents were payable in commodities at their market value, and the place of payment was on the plantation. The relief came at the opportune time for the people, and gave them a greater incentive for industrial activity.
The production of tar and naval stores was introduced after the relaxation of this law.2 In 1734 a large supply of tar for Europe had been secured from the section of Bertie and Edge- combe. The price became so low, however, between 1735 and 1740, that the production ceased. Governor Johnston claimed that the cause for such low prices was due to the fact that the people made large fires in their kilns, forcing the coarse juices of the lightwood along with the tar in order to get a larger quantity.
1 In 1789 all precincts by an act of Assembly became counties.
" Naval stores were produced very early in the precinct, the industries being con- ducted on a very small scale.
31
ORIGIN AND SETTLEMENT
The tar producers claimed, on the other hand, that in order to make a better quality the old bounty of ten shillings per 1 barrel should be allowed. It is not known whether the additional pre- mium was given. Tar making, however, never ceased entirely. The vast pine forests were filled with lightwood, being the heart of resinous pines after the body of the fallen tree had decayed many years before, and the business of making tar engaged a good per cent of the population. There were also many new saw mills being erected, bricks were burned, and much progress was made in comfortable and respectable living, as well as in profitable com- merce. Special seasons of the year, planting time, harvest, the winter and summer, were recognized, and beeame of high impor- tance to the agricultural population. Frequently the occasions were observed and celebrated with some sort of festivity, such as log rolling and ceremonies involving symbols and physical courage.
In 1744 the entire section of Edgecombe was turned over to Lord Granville as a part of his share of the colony. The people then became subject to his power, in that they owed him rents and advancements for settlement of the land.2 The Earl of Granville did not display a profound interest in the development of the county. His primary concern was to collect rents, intro- duce settlers, and to increase his profits by larger agricultural trade and industries. However, the currency in the colony was at this time rated so low that the people were reluctant to pay very much revenue for the land. The earl's rents became greatly in arrears. Matters became unsatisfactory on every side.
In the meantime, for the benefit of a great number of soldiers and seamen, who were discharged from the service of the King because of peaceful conditions, quit rents in 1740 were remitted for ten years, and thereafter the rate was to be one shilling for every fifty acres. This same offer was extended also to men of trades, builders, and farmers. In 1744 a number of people, in- duced by these encouragements, immigrated to the northern part of Edgecombe County. A hundred acres of land was purchased from James Leslie by the various merchants in the county in order to build a town. The motives for building the town was to
1 The Crown in order to stimulate the production of naval stores had been giving a bounty.
" The Earl of Granville had refused to sell his share in the Colony when the Lords Proprietors released their rights to the Crown in 1729.
32
HISTORY OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY
foster a commercial relation between the counties and people. On the south side of the Roanoke River was a healthful and con- venient location. Good water facilities and resources for a large commerce were made possible by this stream. The trade of the county was fast growing in importance by means of the steady in- crease of people. The Roanoke was improved and made navigable. Trade became more effective by reason of large numbers of prom- inent merchants locating at this place.
The Assembly in 1744 granted the right to erect the town which was already under construction. The village was given the name Halifax, presumably in honor of Lord Halifax, who was a mem- ber of the Board of Trade in London. Thomas Barker, Alexander McCulloch, John Gibson, Richard Browning, and Robert Jones, Jr., were appointed trustees to supervise the buildings, laying off the lots, and to direct the affairs of the town until its completion. Four acres were reserved for a central market place; the re- mainder was cut up into lots. These lots were purchased by the citizens at forty shillings each with the obligation to build houses of certain dimensions which were specified by the trustees. The town had a prodigious growth from the beginning, but it was checked in its expansion for about five years on account of an outbreak of smallpox.
Halifax town immediately became the center of commercial activities. By 1752 the little village was a scene of hustling traders and merchants. Although it was the center for local markets, the interior location of the town and county made for- eign trade very unsatisfactory. The Roanoke was only navigable to a certain distance. Moreover, the difficulty of shipping was great on account of the frequent low water. The county raised large quantities of tobacco, but it was generally carried to Suffolk or Norfolk, Virginia, for shipment to England. In these ports the tobacco was inspected by officers appointed for that purpose. The best was selected; the remainder was burned. The farmers were paid just what the Virginia merchant saw fit to give.
Cattle raising was also conducted in a similar fashion. The stock was taken to Virginia and slaughtered. The cattle raiser only received pay for the net meat, while the hide, tallow, livers, and remnants were appropriated by the Virginia merchant. The
i
33
ORIGIN AND SETTLEMENT
same was true in regard to hogs. They were slaughtered in Vir- ginia, salted in Virginia, exported from Virginia, and were sold as Virginia pork.
Parallel with the commercial growth, Halifax became the nucleus of social life in the county. The town became the gather- ing place for the merchant class, the trader, and the politician, all of whom settled around this typical English borough. Many also became large land and slave owners, and operated large plantations near the town. Few of the men married, but lived a sedentary life of luxury and self-indulgence. Many free negroes and mulattoes intermarried with white women, while in the earliest period there was no recognized social restraint against exogamy to avoid incest. Halifax was the gathering place for all social activities indulged in by the landed aristocracy, such as the dance conducted in English style, the fox chase, and card parties. These social pastimes afforded the men of the leisure class means of occupation.
The production of tobacco about the middle of the eighteenth century was so extensive that new lands were opened up. The old soil for some time had been fast losing its fertility. Consequently in 1746, five years after Edgecombe was recognized by the As- sembly, the first settlement of Virginians on Tar River had so expanded that Edgecombe had to be divided. The business of the county became very difficult to handle because of the distance many settlers had to travel in order to reach the place where courts were held. The territory from the mouth of Stonehouse Creek on Roanoke River, and thence across the river to the strip of land between Tar and Neuse Rivers, which was the dividing line between Craven and Edgecombe Counties, was included in the bounds of the new county to be called Granville. The county was named in honor of Earl of Granville, who owned the entire territory of Edgecombe.
A few years later, in 1758, the southern part of Edgecombe and Johnston Counties was cut off and Dobbs County was formed, named in honor of Governor Dobbs.
The system of trade and agriculture was of vital interest after the formation of Granville and Johnston Counties. The large
3
34
HISTORY OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY
district west of Little River was cut off, leaving a much smaller area in the bounds of Edgecombe. In the meantime, settlers were still coming in the county. The result of this was a more rapid process of forming and shaping of industries. Tobacco was not planted in such quantities as before. Better roads, fences, and bridges were constructed to aid in better commerce. Waterways were opened up by taxation and swamps drained and put into cultivation. Good roads had been supported by Governor Bur- rington, but he was unsuccessful in getting any action during his administration. Places of inspection were established in all im- portant places in the county to insure convenience to the farmer. Warehouses for the inspection of tobacco, turpentine, shingles, hemp, flax, pork, beef, flour, indigo, tar, pitch, etc., were estab- lished at William Williams' on Kehukee Creek, Howell's Ferry on Tar River, and on Fishing Creek. Agriculture was conducted on a far more intensive scale than when the vast fields were ac- cessible. At the same time the inspectors of the places near Mr. Joseph Howell's and William William's requested an increase in their salaries as inspectors.
In 1754 an Indian uprising in the county affected the progress of the commercial life. When Governor Dobbs came over from England he found the Indian war in progress. The affairs of the colony generally were in a deplorable condition. He called for the militia, and Edgecombe responded, reporting 1,317 men. On Roanoke River in Bertie and Edgecombe there were still a hun- dred warriors of the Tuscaroras and about two hundred women and children. In Granville County on the west there were the Saporas with only fourteen men and fourteen women. The long struggle with the Indians terminated after about seventeen mur- ders and ten or twelve captives being carried away.
In 1758 the greatest check to progress came when Halifax, the town and commercial center, was cut off from Edgecombe by a division of the county. Considerable inconvenience prevented the inhabitants from attending the courts and many other public meetings because of the large extent of territory. Consequently, a petition was made to the Assembly in 1758 for a separate
35
ORIGIN AND SETTLEMENT
county to be called Halifax.1 The dividing line was fixed be- tween the parish of Edgecombe and the parish of St. Mary's.
The separation of Halifax County from Edgecombe checked the progress and welfare of the county in many respects. The town of Halifax being in the area cut off, there was no borough with which to carry on trade. There remained no central gather- ing place for public meetings, and no organized activities in any from. Every plantation was a distinct organization of business and social life in itself. To make matters worse, Edgecombe's Superior Courts were to be held at Halifax, its former capital. This would only help the new county and town to grow at the expense of Edgecombe.
The merchants and people of Edgecombe, realizing the situation, acted wisely in formulating immediate plans for a new capital for the county. In 1758, the same year the county of Halifax was formed, seven merchants, Thomas Spell, James Anderson, Aquila Suggs, Edward Telfair, Peter Mitchell, Robert Bignall, John Watson were selling merchandise at the village, Tarr Bur- row. Two years later, on September 23d, Joseph Howell, then liv- ing on Tar River, where the town of Tarboro now stands, sold to James Moir, Aquila Suggs, Lawrence Toole, Elisha Battle, and Benjamin Hunt, one hundred and fifty acres of land for 2,000 pounds proclamation money of the province of North Carolina. This tract of land lay on the south side of Tar River.
The same year the men who purchased the land were appointed by the Assembly as trustees to lay off a town. A bond of 2,000 pounds lease was given by the trustees as security to Mr. Howell for the construction of buildings and the laying off of the village. The land was cut up into lots, except the lot where Mr. Howell's dwelling stood, a small graveyard and fifty acres, which were to be used as a common for the benefit of the town. The Commis- sioners were to have rights to all the profits for the period of one year, and at the end of that time the trustees were to pay Mr. Howell the rent of one penny for transferring the property into the possession of the Commissioners. This deed of lease was
1 Called Halifax in honor of Lord Halifax.
36
HISTORY OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY
recognized by the court in Tarboro and was attested by James Hall, the clerk, on September 24, 1760.
The Commissioners began the work of surveying, laying off the streets seventy feet in width, and sold the lots to the inhabi- tants with one-half acre to each lot. The "common" was laid off and consisted of the land beginning where the City Hall now stands. In order to cover the expenses of the pledged amount of 2,000 pounds, the Commissioners took up subscriptions for the common at £2 proclamation money for each lot. The money received was paid over to Mr. Howell for all the lots composing the fifty acres except twelve lots which were used for the erection of public buildings.
On November 30th the town was constituted and called Tar- borough by the Governor and his Council. The town, situated at the head of navigation on the Tar River, fifty miles from Wash- ington, receives its name from this beautiful stream. A tradition of Tar River, although spurious is very interesting. The word Tar is a corruption of Tau. A tribe of Indians inhabiting the Roanoke (probably the Tuscarora) was visited every year by an epidemic which carried off large numbers of their tribe. They determined to migrate in search of a more healthful location, and accordingly fixed their residence on this river, which stream on account of its superior advantages to health they named Tau, signifying, in Indian language, health. By an easy substitution of the letter (r) for (u), aided by the circumstance that tar was the principal product on the river and an article of export from Edgecombe County, the name was easily changed to the present name Tar from the ancient and simple word Tau.
There was much interesting dispute among the settlers as to the original name of the river. Following the controversy, in more modern times the name was first spelled Tau, and then Tar. The name of the town was subject to the same change as that of the river whenever the contest was applied. About 1855 an old in- habitant of Tarboro believed Tauboro to be the original name of the town. He said that in the year 1812 a delegation from the Tuscarora tribe of Indians, who formerly occupied this section of
1
i
WIL SOM
STREET
12
3
.
5
6
1
STREET
COMMONS
12
IS
14
IS
ET
10
17
STREET
29
30
STREETH
20
STREET
CHURCH
STREET
J4
35
35
44
1
45
STREET
47
54
58
ST.
JAMES
STREET
60
67
68
..
70
71
72
£4
74
75
76
DAVID
77
PITT
STREET
78
79
TRADE
ST.
..
ST
ST
07
ST.
TOWN
TOWN
8
SO
91
95
94
97
99
100
...
110
113
114
115 116
118
181
ட்
TOWN
COMMONS
-
Garrin
COMMONS
STREET
23
24
S'
27
50
ANDREW
PATRICK
CREEK
57
60
GEORGE
105
104
100
118
THE TOWN OF TARBORO AS IT WAS ORIGINALLY LAID OFF IN 1760
Ark
=
ST. JOHNS
37
ORIGIN AND SETTLEMENT
the county, visited Tarboro. One of the oldest, on being told the name of the river was Tar, shook his head. Then he was told by some persons that they thought the right name was Tau, and he immediately said: "That is it, a beautiful river."
An Englishman, Mr. Sabin, sent an original map of North Carolina to J. C. Hoyt, of Buncombe County, several years ago, which spells the town Tarrburg, and indicates the opinion of those who have been confused and have insisted upon the abo- riginal authority of the name Tar River, and the somewhat re- proachful suggestion that the petty avocation of making tar on the river originated the name, and accordingly attempted to sub- stitute the name Tar for several years. The name is found in- scribed on this map as Tarr, with a double (r). No doubt but that the advocates of the name Tau were justified in their conten- tions, since Hawks, in his History of North Carolina, supported and published this as being his view. Dr. Hawks formed the English derivation from a syllable of an Indian word, which he claimed to have been the Indian name of the River Tarpaco and now known as Tar River. Dr. Hawks was correct in his guess, but from its present form of name Tar is more closely accurate, and will in all probability be spelled forever as it is now spelled.
The town at the time of its formation was bounded on the north by what is now Wilson Street,1 running east and west; on the west by Hendrix Creek, running north and south; on the south by St. John Street; and on the east by the New Street, running west and parallel with the present Albemarle Avenue, and the avenue from Hendrix Creek.
The spacious grounds left for the common was dedicated to the public for parks and amusements by the Commissioners. Oaks, which have since grown into large trees, were cultivated, giving a very comfortable as well as ornamental appearance. Today the common bears the impressive stamp of antiquity, with spread- ing limbs of gigantic branches of trees.
Tarboro immediately became the center for trade. Merchants began to build up a commercial relation with the neighboring centers, and a medium of exchange was declared for the settlers
1 Named in honor of Louis D. Wilson.
38
HISTORY OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY
and the Virginia ports. Tar River had an outlet to the ocean only through Ocracoke, and here the shoals and sand bars made navigation impossible except for small crafts. Insurance on ac- count of dangerous obstructions and shoals was so high that navigation by water was very impracticable. Consequently, all goods, salt, and merchandise were brought from Petersburg and Norfolk over land by pack mules. Whiskey and brandies were made, and traded for the manufactured goods from England which were left at these ports for distribution among the colonists.
The following is a list of the purchasers of the town lots in Tarboro from the Commissioners' Book 1760, which remained in the possession of Elisha Battle until his death :
Lots
No.
No.
James Barnes
1
99
...
Francis Kenner
1
19
...
Thomas Barnes
1
25
...
- James Moir
2
73
48
John Scott
1
14
Benjamin Hart
2
85
80
Joseph Summer
1
26
..
Thomas Lenoir
2
66
9
The Reverend Thomas Burgess.
2
54
55
James Casy (Attorney)
1
82
...
Robert
1
16
...
William Souther
2
101
63
William Foreman
2
62
89
Joseph Turson
2
3
107
Joseph Cotten, Jr.
1
74
...
- Joseph Moore
1
102
...
John Watsman
1
119
...
Com. in care of William Williamson to Col. Alex McCulloh
1
65
...
Thomas Mills
2
43
17
Egland Haigwood
8
120
94
John Tanner
2
96
18
Geraldus Tool
1
110
...
Lucy Belcher
1
79
...
Dudley Whitakers
1
86
...
West Duck
2
81
88
Elisha Battle
2
78
45
John Linsey
2
64
6
i
:
39
ORIGIN AND SETTLEMENT
Lots
No.
No.
Michael Cotaunch, Jr.
2
105
116
Blake Baker
1
57
...
James Knight
1
36
...
Richard Goose
1
53
...
Andrew Little
42
44
Robert Hardy
2
12
83
William Mace
1
70
..
Jacob Carter
3
9
90
Thomas Harrison
2
69
...
Irwin Tool
1
91
...
John Agar
3
92
8
John Frost
1
38
...
Henry Irwin
1
84
...
John Gathings
1
31
...
William Haywood
8
22
59
Joseph Cotten
1
11
...
Lawrence Tool
1
106
...
John Gilchrist
8
59
41
Nicholas Long
8
15
28
Sarah Cotaunch
1
21
...
John Goodloe
1
121
...
James Gibson
2
100
83
Susanah Mead
3
57
51
Timothy Nicholson
8
117
1
Samuel Johnson
104
68
Walley Chauncy
47
115
William Kinchen
1
67
...
Batt Peterson
1
134
...
Robert Palmore
2
20
87
Rob Goodloe
1
2
...
James Williamson
1
5
...
Michael Cotaunchrist
2
30
27
Joseph Harrell
2
118
4
John Parris
2
7
35
James Braswell
1
24
...
Jacob Jones
1
107
...
John Balmore
2
10
97
Peter Johnson
1
34
...
Peter Copland
2
77
33
John Whitaker
2
56
40
John Durien
2
46
29
Thomas Goodson
1
57
...
40
HISTORY OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY
Lots
No.
No.
Edward Fanning
8
95
90
Joseph Harrell
1
113
...
..
38
39
..
49
50
..
60
61
Public lots as appears by plan.
..
71
72
..
103
11
..
75
76
..
111
114
i
1
i
1
i i
-- - -
CHAPTER II COLONIAL GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
The inhabitants of Edgecombe in the colonial period were sub- ject to a dual government, that of the Province of North Carolina, and that of the local courts. The study of the local court system is a good index to the people's conception of justice and affords a better understanding of the people's history than any other institution. The method by which the people are governed deter- mines in a large measure what the people really are; a bad govern- ment makes a discontented people, and a sound government makes a content and peaceful population. There was no institution which came so near touching the just and necessary need of all the people as that of the courts; securing a fair and impartial administration of justice to both the offended and the offender.
There are, however, two distinct facts one should realize in the study of local government. In the first place the territory in the colonial period was transitory and rapidly undergoing changes; consequently, the court system naturally became flexible and was remodeled to meet the demands of the expanding settlement. In the second place the local court system was merely a transplanting of the old English customs upon new soil and as such it was not entirely fitted for conditions in the new world.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.