USA > North Carolina > Edgecombe County > History of Edgecombe County, North Carolina > Part 7
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CHAPTER III
REVOLUTION
If the object of history is to describe the movements of people, the most obvious question that arises will naturally be: What force moves the people? In describing a war or a revolution the first thing to seek for is the cause of the event-the force which causes the conflagration-not in the power of any one individual, but in the reciprocal influence on each other of many individuals who took part in the controversy.
The greatest activity of the Americans during the Revolution was directed from localities and the various sections of the various colonies. In the study, therefore, of the causes and part played by individuals, one must begin in the localities where action was displayed. In almost every State, and in the county in each State, while they had many things in common, were actuated by different motives in taking a stand in the struggle of 1775. Nor did all the motives appear spontaneously during the same period.
While the actual cause of the Revolution grew out of condi- tions and measures affecting more directly the New England colonies, there were also some important forces in operation in other colonies which actuated them in taking a very prominent part in the rebellion. These causes in Edgecombe County began, it might be said, from the time Edgecombe Precinct was erected.1 This precinct along with all the others was considered a source of revenue to the Proprietors and of the English Crown. Those who occupied the land had to pay so much quit rent 2-for the use and cultivation of the territory occupied.
Like a great many of the other policies of England during this period there was no regularity or consistency in the execution of the law, and the people were unmolested in their taking up land and cultivating it. The earliest overseer of the quit rents was a Mr. Rutherford, who had married the late Governor's widow. He was somewhat indolent and extravagant in his personal habits and permitted the people to manage affairs to suit themselves. Complaints were directed against him on account of his inac-
1 The control of the Colony was at this time (1732) under the Lords Proprietors.
" The significance of the term is not known. For several years the sheriff of the precinct did the collecting and was allowed 5 per cent of all rents collected.
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HISTORY OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY
tivity. Quit rents became greatly in arrears with no one to supervise a regular collection for the Lords Proprietors. The arrears from 1732 to 1735 had heavily accumulated. In 1735 over 400,000 acres of land were held by only 67 men who were not owners of the land in fee simple. Of the 67 tenants the entire amount of quit rent paid for the privilege of using the land for two and one-half to five years was only a few hundred pence. When one considers the amount that should have been collected according to law, it is calculated a deficit of several hundred pounds. Finally, Mr. Rutherford lost his position, but not until matters had drifted into a deplorable state of affairs.
The result from failure to collect the quit rents, especially in Edgecombe, which at this time was one of the most thickly settled sections of the Province, was that government officials- judges, councilmen, and Governor-were behind in their salaries.1 George Nicholas,2 one of the resident judges in the district of Edgecombe wrote Governor Dobbs in 1755 that his salary of 20 pounds was always in arrears, and the same could not be paid until the quit rents were collected. He also complained that the circuit of Edgecombe compelled him to ride two hundred miles twice a year before he could secure his salary, which was payable out of the quit rent money.
Naturally, when the Governor's salary depended on the collec- tion of rents, the officials sought to execute the measures which would guarantee them their pay. The controversy began with Governor Burrington, but reached no permanent head because of his limited stay in the Province. Governor Johnston, his suc- cessor, began the rent quarrel immediately after his arrival. New measures were enacted, the number of places for collecting the rents were diminished, the inhabitants were treated as tenants of the Crown, and revenues were to be paid in specie instead of in kind as was the former method.
In the meantime many of the inhabitants had purchased and owned lands in fee simple. Consequently, those who were not so fortunate were grievously handicapped by being subject to the arbitrary treatment of the agents. The tenants refused to pay
1 Officials were paid with quit rent money.
" Judge Nicholas was allowed 220 annually as Circuit Court judge for Edge- combe.
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REVOLUTION
their rents unless provided with more convenient places, and, ac- cording to their interpretation, convenient places were the neigh- borhood in which the rents accrued. They also requested that rents should be collected in kind at a fixed price.
The result of this conflict of opinion between the officials and the people led to a rebellion in 1735. The people refused to pay their rents until overtures were made by the authorities and the officials changed their attitude. It is not an easy matter to say just how far the trouble would have extended if it had not been for a change of policy on the part of the Crown.
For sometime it had been a matter of serious consideration as to whether or not the Crown should take over the colony. In 1729 the question was decided affirmatively. Although this settled the quit rent trouble temporarily in Edgecombe, it caused a more serious economic one to the settlers by the transfer of the land from the Proprietors to the Crown. It ultimately led, as will be seen, to numerous uprisings and open hostilities to the Crown's authority.
When the Earl of Granville consented, with the other Lords Proprietors in 1729, to surrender to the Crown the sovereignty of the Province of North Carolina, he reserved to himself all the rights of ownership to one eighth part of the Province. The area of Edgecombe at this time included all of the Granville district. This fact resulted in many hardships on those residing in his territory. Naturally, Granville would create more drastic meas- ures and use more compulsion in the collection of rents than had been done. Since it was his main source of revenue, he decreed that all rents must be paid in gold or silver, and refused com- modities. Moreover, the rents were to be paid at Outlaw's Land- ing on Chowan River, about 90 miles from the nearest boundary of Edgecombe and 300 miles from the frontier.1 This caused a hardship on the people, who every year had to make the journey without wagon trails, through forests infested with Indians and dangerous beasts. There were also other difficulties, for there was very little specie in the colony at this time, and this law nat- urally kept the Province entirely drained of gold or silver. More- over, instead of having a resident among them to collect the rents,
1 The inhabitants were allowed 10 per cent of the amount paid for rents whenever they carried same to the regular place for collection-Edenton or Outlaw Landing.
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HISTORY OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY
as was the case during the proprietary period, agents from Eng- land were sent over by Granville to take charge of his lands.
In addition to this a gross unfairness to the inhabitants came about through a controversy between Granville and the Crown. It was Granville's policy to rent land to various tenants, charging them a fee for issuing the land grant, and then a quit rent for the privilege of using the land for cultivation. The consequences were that an immense revenue from Edgecombe County, instead of going into the King's treasury, went into the private funds of the Earl of Granville. This constituted a serious loss to the Crown, and an increased burden on the people, since it caused the Crown's officials to impose additional fees and taxes upon them in order to compensate the officials for their services in the Province.
In a short time Granville's district was looked upon as a sepa- rate part of the Province, and a warm jealousy grew up between this section and the King's domain in the matter of colonial rep- resentation. This friction was not satisfactorily adjusted until the opening of hostilities in 1775.
In the meantime additional trouble arose over Earl Granville's neglect of his North Carolina possessions. Instead of supervising his estate personally and providing against grievances, which necessarily arose, he placed agents, many of whom were unfit for the position over the people. These agents by unscrupulous means carried on extortions until it became unbearable. These agents, especially Francis Corbin and Bradley, in their practices of fraud induced several persons to make entries for the same piece of land, charging each a fee. In 1752 Corbin and Thomas Childs increased their intolerable oppression by declaring patents void, which had been issued by their predecessors, in order to col- lect more fees. When the fraud was detected the agents refused to return the money. In this manner huge sums were collected and appropriated by the agents. Moreover, exhorbitant fees were charged extra in all land grants for Granville's lands; the amounts above which they were required to turn over to the Earl of Gran- ville were retained by these agents. It has been estimated that in collecting the taxes imposed for revenue to meet the expenses of the Indian Wars and the fees imposed by the various agents amounted to $10 on each head of a family in the Granville district.
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REVOLUTION
In 1759 the Earl of Granville further showed his indifference to the people's grievances, and the welfare of his territory, by turning his lands over to Thomas Childs and Francis Corbin.1 Childs was made auditor and exercised much influence over Lord Granville himself. The fraud by which these men were to grow very rich in a short time was disclosed in a letter during this period.
Mr. Childs was to return to England, leaving his position in charge of Colonel Innes on the Cape Fear during his absence. In his visit to England he was to represent the conditions of the colonists in Granville's district to the Earl, while Corbin was to act upon the information sent him as to the movements in the fraudulent scheme. In the meantime, Innes was to be a go- between, being kept ignorant of the intrigue, and receiving an annual salary for journeying to Edenton at stipulated times to receive fees, fines, and to issue deeds for lands imposed by Corbin.
While in England Childs worked his scheme well, having issued in his own name a notice in which he delegated specified power to himself as auditor and representative of Earl Granville in the Granville district. He succeeded in acquiring much esteem and favor from Lord Granville by informing the Earl that the agents had collected considerable money, and that Lord Granville took all the fees himself and granted only fixed salaries for his agents. Childs did this in order to show that the profits of the agents were lessened and that Colonel Innes (in office without Lord Granville's knowledge and at the instigation of Childs) would not pay him, Childs, the agent's regular allowance. Thus Childs candidly admitted to Earl Granville that he was under the neces- sity of stopping the money remitted to the Earl in order to pay himself. The design worked effectively as Childs had planned and justified him and his colleague Corbin in their robberies, in the estimation of Lord Granville. Colonel Innes, innocent though he was, bore the brunt of the blame.
In the course of the swindle and hypocrisy, Lord Granville in his complete ignorance and stupidity, authorized Childs to turn out Innes. This was accordingly done, and a Mr. Wheatly was appointed in his place, the requirements for the position was a
1 Corbin was a member of the Governor's Council during Dobbs' administration, and Childs served as Attorney General.
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HISTORY OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY
bond of £1000, and Childs was instructed by Lord Granville to force Corbin to sign bonds to Lord Granville to execute his trust. Childs was furthermore instructed to send over a list or schedule of fees which were to be posted in the district, in order that the people might know the amount they were required to pay as rents and land grants. Childs, however, in his adroit and cunning manner arranged with Corbin to get the bond and to keep it with- out its being properly signed and filed. The list of fees were never sent, nor were remittances of any importance made to Lord Granville. Childs continued his defalcations by making it appear that the fault was with the men he had appointed, thus clearing Corbin, who was his secret agent and growing richer with him at the expense of the inhabitants.
Mr. Wheatly was accordingly turned out as had been his prede- cessor, Colonel Innes. Mr. Childs immediately transferred the bogus bond to Mr. Bodeley, another agent, after making about £2,000 by charging this agent a premium for the place. Mr. Bode- ley became an accomplice in the machinations of Childs and Corbin. He was instructed by Childs to call Corbin to a strict ac- countability. At the same time he directed Corbin not to account with Bodeley until he returned to the colony from England.
Childs straightway began a movement to return to the gold mine he had laid and to reap some of the rewards of his ignoble scheme. He instructed Corbin to exert his influence as far as possible to create a party against the Governor and his admirers. Corbin was also to create a division among the agents so that Lord Granville would be under the necessity of sending him to the colony to adjust his affairs.
There could be but one result from this secret and dishonest diplomacy. The suffering of the people caused by this corruption checked the final execution of the well-laid plots. The colonists complained and groaned under the oppression of wicked and de- signing men until relief could be had only by violent resistance.
In order to check the injustice of the agents and to obtain re- dress, requests were addressed to Earl Granville by the inhabi- tants of Edgecombe. This effort proved futile, however, since Granville was too much engrossed with his personal matters, and the colonial legislature was unable to take action in the matter because the Earl's possessions were beyond its jurisdiction.
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REVOLUTION
The trouble drifted into an intolerable condition; the people became desperate. The Attorney General was applied to for in- formation in 1758. They demanded advice as to the best course to pursue. The Attorney General suggested that a petition be sent to either the Earl Granville or the legislature to consider their grievances. It was not advisable to send another petition to Granville, since he ignored the first one, and on November 25, 1758, the inhabitants presented a petition to the Colonial Assem- bly through William Williams, the representative from Edge- combe County. A special committee was appointed to inquire into the action of the Granville agents. Witnesses were sum- moned and examined, and a detailed report was submitted to the Assembly showing that true complaints had been lodged against the agents. No action, however, was or could be taken by the legis- lature, but Corbin was forced, more through fear than by the law, to present his books and accounts for public inspection.
The agitation abated temporarily, the quit rent trouble assumed a less violent form, and redress was looked forward to by the out- raged citizens. The abatement did not last, however, for the grievances were reopened when resentment became less apparent. Corbin had in the meantime assumed the role of chief, and was growing fat upon the extortions of his subordinates. It is prob- able that he sought to elude the people by playing second fiddle, thereby preventing the impression of his responsibility. Corbin at this time was a man of considerable political influence. In addition to being chief representative for Earl Granville, he was a member of the General Assembly. In 1756 he was playing a most active part in colonial legislation.
The people, however, realized that Corbin was the direct cause of the renewal of their oppression, and took drastic measures against him when it became evident that no assistance would be offered by the Colonial Assembly. In January, 1759, a consider- able number of people from Edgecombe went to Corbin's home near Edenton, seized him during the night and carried him to Enfield, where the agent had an office at the time. He was forced to give a heavy bond for his appearance at the spring term of the Superior Court, and to refund all unjust fees taken from the people. In order to check the timely but unpleasant uprising Corbin signed an article in which he agreed with the inhabitants
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HISTORY OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY
to refund to every person the monies he had taken from them through his deputies. He further agreed to remove any deputy surveyor against whom objections were made, and to appoint only one person of good character in the county to take entries and to survey lands. The people were also permitted to examine the entry books and to appoint committees to adjust the claims to lands where two or more made a settlement on the same terri- tory. In the meantime Bodeley, Corbin's principal subordinate, had also been captured and was required to submit to the same procedure as his superior.1
The feeling against Corbin subsided, but against those of his subordinates, who were not required to give bond, became more acute. The people's feelings were so worked up that almost un- pardonable actions are charged to them. During the time Corbin was in the custody of the people a Mr. Haywood, one of his sub- ordinates, returned home from Virginia, where he had fled, and he died suddenly. The inhabitants, thinking this was a rumor spread abroad to lead them from the pursuit, went to his grave and dug up his remains to see if the report was true.
The government officials, in the meantime, through their con- sideration for, and moral support to the Granville agents, set the inhabitants of Edgecombe against them. Robert Jones, the Attor- ney General, lost his influence over the people by reason of his unjust treatment of their case, and considerable odium was ex- pressed against him. The people had given Mr. Jones a fee to ap- pear for them in court and to present their petition to the Gen- eral Assembly. In the meantime it was reported that Corbin had offered him a larger fee not to carry out his contract and to appear for him. The rumor gained credence and the people vowed not to let him appear in the General Assembly nor to plead in the local courts. It is not known whether the charges against Jones were true or not. The people, however, prepared to avenge them- selves when he appeared in the district to attend court.
The extreme severity of the trouble was shown in a memorial addressed by the General Assembly to the Governor in May, 1759. The summary of the address was to the effect that several people within Lord Granville's district had conspired to do per- sonal injury to the officials. A request was made also to quell
1 This uprising is known as the Enfield Riot in North Carolina history.
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REVOLUTION
the rioters and to restore order in the county. A reward of £25 was also offered for any detection of those who caused the trouble, and upon conviction an additional fee would be paid.
Governor Dobbs, however, was reluctant in giving the required help to quell the rebellion. In the first place, he was very well satisfied to let the trouble continue, since it would give him a pre- text to raise an issue of Granville's inability to oversee his pos- sessions. This was one of the main policies of the Governor, who was striving to bring Edgecombe under the control of the Crown. Perhaps if it had not been for the action of Reverend Mr. Moir, the parish clergyman, Governor Dobbs would have remained silent in the matter. Previous to this episode Governor Dobbs and Mr. Moir had carried on a bitted controversy over the parish court system in the county; consequently, when the latter addressed a letter to the Secretary at London describing the situation, claim- ing that Corbin acted unjustly, Dobbs was obliged to come into the fray, although it was contrary to his interest. Mr. Moir, Dobbs stated, in order to create more feeling against Corbin, obtained a committee to report to the General Assembly on the conditions; but his efforts proved ineffectual, and that Corbin publicly backed the collector in the county.
The controversy between Dobbs and Moir had the effect in a slight degree which the former had hoped for in the beginning, that the disputes and riots which grew out of the rent quarrel gave him ample pretensions to object to this part of the Province being retained by private ownership.
Dobbs, however, was duty bound to offer some objection to the lawlessness of the people, and accordingly issued a proclamation causing some of the rioters to be arrested. Certain leaders or supposed leaders were arrested and put in jail at Enfield, but were immediately released by their comrades. Corbin himself led the matter of prosecution, but was later warned by Childs, who had secretely guided the entire affair, that if he pursued this action too far he would be the one to suffer, since he had done many deeds which he could not justify. Childs, after having led his partner into crime, did not support him further.
Although the Governor was a friend of the rioters, still believ- ing in the hope that the people would continue their rebellious attitude, the Assembly being the avowed enemy of the citizens.
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HISTORY OF EDGROOMBE COUNTY
Pressure, therefore, was brought upon Dobbs, and he was com- pelled to continue an open effort to suppress the rebellion, at the same time giving a secret support to the people's opposition to the government. Many of the people did not understand his posi- tion and thus in their misconception became opposed to the Gov- ernor.
This apparent stand of the Governor caused feeling to run high against English rule. Moreover, at this time action was taken to prevent freedom of speech and liberty of the press. The people were not allowed to write letters and pamphlets to agitate relief for their grievances. In 1764 Lewis Griffin was arrested and tried for speaking against the King, but by reason of the sympathies of the people, who shared his opinions, was not convicted. One of the witnesses, William Bakerman, during the trial against Griffin, swore that the prisoner was engaged in a quarrel with one of the citizens, and that Will O'Quinn, a constable, com- manded him to keep the King's peace, and that Griffin replied, "God damn the King's peace, and you, too."
Early in 1766 a letter was written in Tarboro and addressed to the Wilmington paper in which the actual conditions and the grievances of the county were clearly stated. The general tone of the letter and its statement created considerable uneasiness among the officials and a movement was started to suppress the information. Threats were made against the parties in Wilming- ton who had published the letter as a public document. The effect of this was instantaneous, for the people were then deprived of the only means of making their grievances known.
The change of feeling in Edgecombe was natural, due to the progress of the economic trouble and the attitude of the officials toward their demand for redress of their grievances. Although the Governor represented the King in the colony, and was the bitter enemy of the people in Edgecombe, he became secretly a friend for personal ends and was forced to take a stand against them. It was, therefore, well nigh impossible that these people could progress, work out an economic policy, without political and civil liberty. Their domestic life and economic salvation conflicted with the policy and development of government as pro- posed by the laws of England. Progress generally cost a struggle. The first phase of the struggle in Edgecombe was an opposition
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REVOLUTION
by the individual to the agent of Granville. The second phase was the opposition of the people to the British Governor. The self-assertive interests and impulses were ever present in these pastoral and agricultural people, but these qualities were largely undeveloped because they had not had enough stimulus to excite their activity prior to the beginning of the Revolution.
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