The Rudd Family of Anson Co., NC ~ Part Two

Second Generation Families

On July 11, 1771, the county court in Anson recommended to the General Assembly that Burlingham Rudd be exempted from future tax by including him in an order passed for John Seago.

Ord. that John Seago a poor, aged and infirm man be rec. to Assembly for exemption of future tax.
Ord. the same for Burlingham Rudd.

Burlingham Rudd would become sixty-five years old the coming August. Because of the passing down of the name Burlingham from father to son and to the next generation, it’s difficult to tell just how long Burlingham the Father lived using the land records where the suffix Sr. and Jr. are well documented.

My best guess is that Burlingham the father lived at least until February 1782 based on a deed of sale for a tract of land from William Holifield to Thomas Jones where the witnesses were George L. Rudd and Burlin Hamrod. The typed transcription says that George used his “L” mark and Burlin Hamrod used an “M” as his mark. I was surprised when I found this record because I've not seen this "M" as a mark on the Rudd deeds before, but I was more surprised by the way his name was transcribed. Burlin Hamrod.

As you may know, some courthouse records were transcribed as part of the WPA Project, in other cases, DAR members undertook the transcription of old records. Even though the intent was to preserve history, often the result was to change the record and, therefore, change history. Often on the old deeds we see the mark “X” which indicates that the person did not write their name, but sometimes, the person used a particular mark in place of their name because marks were like brands on livestock. When the old records were transcribed long ago, the typewriters could not replicate the marks, sometimes the transcriber used a letter on the typewriter that closest resembled the mark. It might have just been the letter “M” on the typewriter looked the closest to the mark on the original deed. There is another deed that was witnessed by Burlingham Rudd that is listed in an abstract book, but I've not found the deed nor a transcription. The abstract describes the mark as an "S" laying on its side. Well, as "S" on its side could look like an "M".

The transcriptions of the early land records for Burlingham the Father indicate that he signed those deeds with his legal signature. His full name - Burlingham Rudd - is typed on those deeds and off to the side is a circle with the letters "LS" inside the circle. This signifies the original deed bore his legal signature. When we see a name split between the first and the last name with "his mark" written over the top and a mark in between the first and last names, the same circle with "seal" will be to the side. Indicating the mark was the legal signature. It might seem strange that the Father would switch from his legal signature to a mark, but he would have been almost seventy-six years old and at this point in time there are at least three Burlingham Rudd males living in Anson County ... Father, the Second and the Third who had recently turned twenty-one. Also, when the Father died, the Second became senior and the Third became junior, so individual marks would serve to make it clear which Burlingham Rudd signed the document. This situation is further complicated because the transcribed deeds in Anson for Burlingham the Second and Burlingham the Third bear "X" as their marks, when it might have been something else. Such are the complications we must endure!

We will see George Lounsdell use his “L” mark throughout the deeds he signs in Anson, as well as, Screven Co., GA and Charleston Co., SC except for the last one right before he died where an "X" is used as his mark.

But that’s not what stands out to me as much as the way his name is written ... Burlin Hamrod. Remember my pointing out to you in First Family Migration ... North Carolina Frontier about the significance of how Burlingham the Father’s name appears on the entry for his crown grant in 1748.

I'll quote myself: "Now think about this ... Burlingham had to go to the land office in Bladen County to file a claim for the land, he told the land office clerk his name and, evidently, this is how he pronounced it. Burling (the cup bearer son), Ham rudd (clan Rudd)."

His name on this deed is written the same way. The split is between Burlin ... Hamrud, not Burlingham ... Rud. My guess is this is the last record of our dear old progenitor.

Notice this deed was proved in court six years later, January 1788 by George Lounsdell. As you will see in his land records, this is likely about the time he migrates out of Anson. This might be an indication he was wrapping up his business and it might be an indication that Burlingham the Father had died and that left George Lounsdell was the only witness to the deed. As you will see, the year 1788 will be significant to Burlingham the Second also.

When Burlingham and Elizabeth Rudd left Prince Frederick’s Parish, SC we know they had baptized three children on October 27, 1745, Martha, born March 1, 1738/9; Burlingham, born October 13, 1741; and Walter, born March 20, 1743/44. The name of George Lounsdell Rudd does not appear in this record. However, we know from Burlingham’s crown grant, entered on October 2, 1748 in Bladen Co.,issued on April 11, 1749 in Anson Co., that he was granted 300 acres of land on Jones’ Creek, southwest of the Great Pee Dee River. Based on a headright of fifty acres per person entering the North Carolina colony, that equates to six people. So, it does appear that one more child is born into the family between the October 1745 baptisms and the October 1748 entry in the Bladen County land book. Since it would appear likely that if George Lounsdell had been born prior to the migration he too would have been baptized, I’ve assumed he was born about 1746 in Anson, after the family left the Georgetown area of South Carolina. That tells us in the second generation there was at the least, Martha, Burlingham the Second, Walter and George Lounsdell.

I have found no clue as to what happened to Martha. She could have been as young as eight years old at the time of migration. So typically, in about another eight years she would be marriageable. It’s very likely she married a neighbor’s son. Maybe someday, someone will turn up a family history with her name included. As the branches of the family begin to migrate at the end of the 18th century, there are family names following the same path that appear to have also come out of Anson. Which is not unusual for the times since the country was newly born and those who came from families more than one generation native born quite rightly understood the wave of immigration that was about to come and began moving on to find better land and better lives and pushed the frontier regardless of the new government’s attempt to hold them within the boundary lines.

As I’ve mentioned before, I have found no evidence of Walter other than his name in the baptismal record. He was the second-born son named for Burlingham's father, Gualterus which is Latin for Walterum or Walter. My best guess is that if he had survived beyond the land grant to George Lounsdell in 1762, we would have seen him referenced in the Anson land records. Of course, there is the possibility that Walter did not acquire any land in Anson, or that the record was lost. When we look forward in time to the given names that will show up in the Barnwell and Charleston branches, we do not find the name passed down. For now, we are faced with the same hope as in identifying Martha Rudd, maybe someday, someone will turn something up.

And while speaking of names, have you noticed that when you go back into pre-revolutionary times you don’t find many with middle names. George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson ... none had middle names. It was an unusual practice to give a child a middle name during that epoch in our history. So for George Lounsdell to be given a middle name, it surely had some significance. Some have opined it was his mother’s maiden name. It surely does sound like a surname, and perhaps it was. I’ve never found any Lounsdell family in our area of colonial America during that period of time, so perhaps it goes back to the old country. However, it is quite obvious that the name was of importance to George Lounsdell. His first tract of land was called Lounsdell’s Folly. He almost always included his middle name or initial in all his documents and, as I mentioned, he used “L” as his mark on his deeds. So, it is curious to me that the name Lounsdell is not to be found in his family lines. It if was a family name, I would have expected to see it carried down, especially in light of its obvious importance. However, we do see the name Burlingham/Burrell carried down in both the Barnwell and Charleston branches.
~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~As you will remember, one of the contributing factors of the Regulators’ Movement was the economic depression in the backcountry. And one of the causes of the economic depression was the lack of roads for the farmers to take their commodities to port at Wilmington. There were few north-south roads, such as the road that led from Charleston up through Anson County following the Pee Dee River. Old maps of the time period show this road with a fork above the mouth of Little River with the westward road leading on to Salisbury in Rowan County and the eastward road leading to Cross Creek in Cumberland County with a fork in that road leading up into Orange County on the Virginia border. But the east-west horse trails and cart paths were not dependable market roads from the backcountry to the eastern coast of North Carolina. Mary L. Medley in her book History of Anson County, NC 1750-1976 tells us on page 29:

In the year 1768, the laying of a road was ordered from the frontier to Wilmington. It was designed to route transportation from the back country of Rowan and Mecklenburg through Anson and Bladen to Wilmington and Brunswick on the coast. Governor Tryon, commenting on the action of the North Carolina General Assembly in a letter to Lord Shelburne, said that the road ought to provide a means of bringing produce “which at present is diverted to South Carolina” from the back country “to our port.”

The map Mary Medley provides on the inside cover of her book appears to depict what is called the Charlotte Road on old maps of that time period and crosses Anson County passing through the area where the town of Wadesboro would eventually rise, continuing above Jones Creek and ending at Haley’s Ferry on the Pee Dee River.

In the Anson County court minutes we find two entries for new roads to be laid that include Burlingham Rudd. Given the fact that we know that Burlingham the Father had been determined to be “aged” by the county court by this time, some might assume this reference was to Burlingham the Second being employed to lay this road, but that is not necessarily so. When a road was ordered laid it was the usual practice for those men who lived along the route to help with its construction and later with its maintenance, the list also included the names of those who owned the lands that would be providing the right-of-ways for the public road. Back in those days, having a road was a benefit! So sometimes you can look at the names and determine the general path by applying the names of the land owners to a map of the time period, if you can find one with the landmarks!

October 11, 1771
Ord: ___ ___, Thomas Tomkins, John Parsons, John Hinson, BURLINGHAM RUDD, Jason Meadows, John May, James Langford, Lewis Lowry, Robert Lowry, William Fielding, Stephen Tompkins, John Wright and Thomas Dickson lay out road from Mecklenburg to Cheraws between Branches of Westfield Cr. and those of Huckleberry Cr. into new road from Cheraws to Anson C. H., Lawrence Franklin to be overseer, and to lay out road from the above new road from Cheraws to continue same, leading by or near Dr. Thomas Dickson to Anson C. H. and Nicholas White be overseer.

In this entry, Burlingham Rudd, Jason Meadows, John May, James Langford, Lewis and Robert Lowry, and William Fielding are names that appear as boundary land owners on Rudd land grants. Westfield Creek was located slightly across the NC/SC border as a branch of the Pee Dee River. I have not found Huckleberry Creek, but there is a later map that shows a Whortleberry Creek below Westfield Creek. The land index at the North Carolina State Archives shows that Thomas Dickson had land in the area of Mill Creek, as well as, Thompson Creek on the South Carolina side of the border, and we know the Anson Courthouse was on the banks of the Pee Dee River near Blewet Falls. This order appears to indicate the continuing of the road coming up from Cheraws District, SC to the courthouse in Anson. I suspect that portion might have been more of an improvement project for an existing road.

October 14, 1774
Ord. road to be laid from Mecklenburg road near William Leverett’s to cross Pee Dee at Moorman’s Ferry above mouth of Hitchcock’s Cr. to join road to Cole’s bridge on Drowning Cr. Following to lay this out: William Leverett, Lawrence Franklin, John Harnis, Robert Gatewood, John May, David Rich, BURLINGHAM RUDD, William Fielding, John Knotts, John Jarman, George Wilson, Richard Leake, John Wall and Henry Adcock.

This entry is three years later. We find a few of the same names, John May, Burlingham Rudd and William Fielding. But unless this road took a southern curve I don’t think it would have impacted Burlingham’s lands, so it may be he was included as laborer for this road; that would indicate Burlingham the Second. Moorman’s Ferry was located on the Pee Dee River slightly below Smith’s Creek on the west side and slightly above the mouth of Hitchcock Creek on the east side. Cole’s Bridge was located on the far side of Anson (the part that became Cumberland County) over Drowning Creek, a tributary of the Lumbar River, and was the scene of battles during the Revolutionary War.
~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~There are a few other entries in the Anson County court minutes for Burlingham Rudd concerning his serving on grand juries. And oh ... what an interesting bunch of names.

April 13, 1775
James Cotton vs Daniel Burford. Jury: Alexander ___, William McQueen, John Smith, Stephen Jackson, David Smith, James MacDonald, Caleb Touchstone, John Chiles, Joshua Morgan, Ezekiel McClendon, James Fletcher and BURLINGHAM RUDD. Verdict; £20.

July 12 1775
Burford and Howard vs Isaac Brigman. Jury: John Lambden, Charles Ray, William Brooks, BURLINGHAM RUDD, Lawrence Franklin, William May, Thomas Jowers, John Stanfield, John Jarman, Duncan McNabb, Joseph Huff and Reuben Phillips. Non-suit.

October 12, 1775
Grand Jury: Thomas Wade, foreman, Charles Medlock, John Chiles, Solomon Gross, Samuel Snead, Robert Lee (River), Richard Farr, Lawrence Franklin, William Mask, John Hornbeck, BURLINGHAM RUDD, Robert Webb, John Cole and John Walters.

April 1777
Present: Charles Medlock, Thomas Wade, James Auld, William Pickett, Esquires.
Grand Jury: Thomas Dockery, foreman, George Wilson, George Webb, Duke Glenn, Joseph Howell, Morgan Brown, John Crowson, Thomas Slay, Josiah Martin, Henry Knotts, William Mask, Lawrence Franklin, BURLINGHAM RUDD, Frederick Temple.

You should recognize the name Charles Medlock. He was specifically named in the Regulators’ Protest Paper, after they stormed the courthouse, as the Anson Sheriff who was accused of corrupt practices in collecting taxes, as well as, arresting men, incarcerating them and then releasing them with no charges as a scheme that embezzled from the county treasury to cover the cost of incarceration by double billing that cost to the General Assembly.

James Cotton chose the side of Loyalists and attempted to remove records from the courthouse when tensions began to rise leading up to the Revolutionary War. He was be caught informing to Governor Martin about the activities of the Whigs in Anson. You can read one of his depositions here given on April 1775 aboard the Sloop Cruizer. The British anchored the sloop at the Cape Fear River to serve as the provincial headquarters for Governor Martin out of fear the Whigs or the Continentals might capture him.

Richard Farr and Thomas Wade were commanders of Anson Militia troops. Burlingham the Third served his third tour of duty under Colonel Wade. Thomas Wade began his military career as commander of the Minutemen for the Salisbury District. Richard Farr was one of George Lounsdell’s neighbors.

William Pickett was among the Anson delegation to the Provincial Congress at Hillsborough on August 20, 1775 as was Thomas Wade, among others.

John Chiles was among the representatives to the Provincial Congress in Halifax in response to the establishment of a new government by the Continental Congress, in 1777 he was elected Senator for Anson to the new General Assembly. James Auld, William Pickett and William May are future sheriffs and William May was Burlingham’s neighbor. His son, Pleasant May, was the justice of the peace who married Burlingham the Third and Mary Vaughan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~Rudd signatures also appear on at least two petitions that are found in the county court records. The first one I believe is Burlingham the Second with George Lounsdell. The second one has the name Burrell, which is the first time we see this variation of Burlingham in the records. My instinct tells me this is Burlingham the Second also. The notation says the end of the petition is torn off, so George Lounsdell’s name could have been there too.

February 1779
Petition to Governor, Council and Assembly from the inhabitants of the upper end of the county for a division to form Montgomery County. [Two lists]
Burlingham Rudd
George Lounsdell Rudd

1783
Petition of inhabitants of Anson County to General Assembly showeth that whereas as act of the Assembly appointed commissioners to fix a place in Anson County to build a courthouse within two miles of the center of sd county, it appears from the plan thereof to be remote from the bulk of inhabitants and a very poor settlement of barren black-jack land unfitting for public roads, etc.; a remedy where of the petitioners pray as act empowering commissioners to build courthouse on plantation of William Best, which is high, dry land, well-watered, etc. [The end of petition torn off including a few signatures]
Burrell Rudd

At the time of the first petition, Savannah, Georgia was under British occupation. The Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War had just begun and Sir Henry Clinton will soon depart for Charleston with General Cornwallis. The Provincial Congress of North Carolina had elected Richard Caswell as governor of the North Carolina State government established on December 20, 1776. The dividing of Anson to create Montgomery would be beneficial because each county was responsible for forming their own militia.

In the second petition, the Revolution was over, the Americans have won and the British have surrendered at Yorktown. Mary Medley gives us the background on the building the second Anson Courthouse at the new location on page 64 of her book:

Colonel Thomas Wade and his brother-in-law, Captain Patrick Boggan, along with other Anson patriots, returned home from the partisan fighting after Yorktown to find that settlers were spreading west from the banks of the Pee Dee River. They soon realized that the little court house on the river would not be sufficient for the future. The County Statutes of 1782 declared that the court house’s location was unsatisfactory and named commissioners to select a more appropriate site for public buildings at the center of the county. Boggan, who had purchased land from William Best, told Wade to take any of his land that was needed or wanted for a new town. In 1783 an act was passed to establish a town on Boggan’s land at the place where the road leading from Salisbury to the Cheraws crossed the road leading from Mask’s Ferry (also spelled Maske) to Camden. The town was to be called New Town.

Later, New Town became Newton and was renamed Wadesboro in honor of Thomas Wade, and is located between the North Fork of Jones Creek and Gould’s Fork.
~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~On April 11, 1748 when Burlingham the Father’s 300 acre grant was awarded to him, the land was described as on the south side of the Great Pee Dee River beginning at a red oak on Jones’ Creek. That’s the general description we see continued throughout the transactions in 1750 between Burlingham the Father and John Red, and again between John Read and James Stewart, as well as, on April 15, 1751 when Burlingham the Father bought his land back from James Stewart. On January 26, 1757, Burlingham the Father took 200 acres out of his tract and sold it to Burlingham the Second, retaining 100 acres as his homestead. On March 11, 1792, the 100 acres was sold to James Landford of Spartanburg for eighteen pounds, ten shillings and the deed described the tract as “one hundred acres lying on the southwest side of Pee Dee River being the upper part of a tract.” The same description was again used in the October 26, 1796 deed of sale from James Landford to Benjamin Buchannon for sixty pounds. The upper part would be the part that was closest to the Pee Dee River.

The January 26, 1757 deed of sale from Burlingham the Father to Burlingham the Second simply described the 200 acres portion of the tract being sold as “containing two hundred acres beginning at the lower end running up the said creek for the complement”. This indicates one boundary of the tract was along Jones’ Creek. We get a better description of the 200 acres when Burlingham the Second sold the land on October 20, 1788 to Lewis Lanier for two hundred pounds. The deed described the tract as “lying on the south side of Pee Dee River and on both sides Jones’ Creek beginning at a red oak stump with a stake in it being the old original beginning.” So, the original grant of 300 acres was on both sides of Jones’ Creek. Also, there is an interesting clause included in the deed to Lewis Lanier that I’ve never come across before. It says: “the said Lewis Lanier to have full and quiet possession of the said land on or before the first day of December next.” The deed also has a clause added to it that says: “the grave yard on the sd. land is given liberty to Burlingham Rud his to keep up forever without any hindrance of denial of Lewis Lanier or his heirs or assigns.” This was Burlingham the Second's homestead and the language indicates he gave himself about a year to move off the property, by December 1, 1789. On April 18, 1791, Lewis Lanier sold the 200 acres to Moses White for two hundred pounds. About three weeks later, May 5, 1791, Moses White cut 50 acres out of the 200 and sold it for fifty pounds to John Melton. The deed says that Burlingham the Second was a witness to the sell, as well as, gave oath about a year later in July 1792. At some point (perhaps the reason for Burlingham the Second's oath a year after the sell) John Melton sold the 50 acres to John Crawford, and evidently the remaining 150 acres made its way from Lewis Lanier to Philip Gathing Sr. who sold it on March 2, 1803 to William Teal for 800 Spanish milled dollars. That deed includes a reference to the 50 acres that was cut from the original 200, as well as the clause “except the graveyard” written above the witness name.

A tract containing 300 acres was seized from James Landford due to a suit brought by Fredrick Briggs, attorney for Shoer (sic), I think the name is likely Swor which is a name that is found in Anson at that time. The seized tract was auctioned on June 28, 1785 by Anson Sheriff Stephen Miller and bought by Jesse Miller for thirty pounds. Two days later, Jesse Miller sold the tract to Stephen Miller for the same amount. The deed of sale in both instances says: “including 100 acres that Landford previously bought from Burlingham Rudd Sr. on both sides of south fork of Jones’ Creek.” This reference is not to the 100 acres that belonged to Burlingham the Father because that land was not sold to James Landford until 1792. And it is not a reference to some portion of the 200 acres that Burlingham the Second brought from Burlingham the Father, because those 200 acres are documented as sold intact to Lewis Lanier in 1788. I don’t find a paper trail for this 100 acre tract, however, the deed does tell us that the tract once belonged to Burlingham Rudd, Sr. which my best guess is Burlingham the Second, he sold it prior to 1785, and the land was on both sides of the south fork. Another thing this deed demonstrates is ... we should not assume the records are complete.

On January 18, 1790, Burlingham the Second authorized his friend, Malachi Watts, to bid on land being auction by the Sheriff of Anson, William May. The land had been seized from Richard Odem (sic) on October 3, 1789 to satisfy a judgment of twenty pounds and costs of fourteen shillings and sixpence. It included two 150 acre tracts. One tract is described in the deed as “beginning at a stone marked LLIK the division between Richard Odem and William Vaughn.” Burlingham the Second bought the 300 acres for one pound sixteen shillings. Those who are familiar with the Rudd family recognize the name William Vaughan as the family of Mary Vaughan, the known wife of Burlingham the Third. They were married in 1807, when Burlingham the Third was about forty-six years old. So this purchase by his father was seventeen years prior to their marriage. Three and a half years after the purchase, July 6, 1793, the land was sold by Burlingham the Second to Burlingham the Third for one pound. Obviously, Burlingham the Second was giving this land to his son and the one pound selling price sealed the deal legally. Two months later, September 9, 1793, the land was sold by Burlingham the Third to Robert Wallace for one hundred pounds, ten shillings. All the transactions contained the same description of the land.

This is the extent of the land transactions in Anson Co., NC that I’ve found in the names of Burlingham the Father, the Second and the Third. As you see, the 200 acres Burlingham the Second bought from his father was sold. The 100 acres that Burlingham the Father retained as his homestead, was also sold. The two 150 acre tracts that Burlingham the Second bought at auction and sold to Burlingham the Third, was also sold. And we have evidence that another 100 acre tract had been bought and sold for which I have found no deed in the Rudd name, therefore, there could have been additional lands as well. Family researchers know that Burlingham the Third remained in Anson through the 1820 census, so he was living somewhere. The land abstract books contain numerous mentions of Burlingham Rudd land in references to boundary land in deeds well into the early 1800s. Some refer to the land in past tense, but others refer to the land in present tense. For example, on October 15, 1801, John Swor sold to Nathaniel Turner land that includes a boundary described as: “begins at a beach on the north bank of the south prong of Jones’ Creek, joins Burlingham Rud’s line, Thomas Jones’ corner …” On February 9, 1805, Nathaniel Turner sold to William Teal a portion of this tract which was described as: “begins at a beach on the north bank of the creek, joins Burlingham Rudd, John Turner, head of a small branch and mouth of the branch; part of a grant (no date) to Burlingham Rudd.” Notice the mention of a small branch and the mouth of the branch in the Swor-Turner and Turner-Teal deeds? In 1792, John Hornback sold five tracts of land to Edward Smith. One tract included the description: ”on Rudd’s Branch and upper side of Jones’ Creek.” Another tract included the description: ”begins at a white oak on west side of Rudd’s Branch of Jones’ Creek.” John Hornback/Hornbach was a long time neighbor and evidently there was a stream of water between his property and Rudd property that was called Rudd’s Branch. And the north side of Jones’ Creek was a beach area. Sounds like the property had been very nicely improved, doesn’t it?

I do not find any instances of Burlingham the Second as witness to any deeds in Anson after he sold his 300 acres to Burlingham the Third on July 6, 1793. I think this is likely the time frame that he left. In three months he will turn fifty-two years old.

When George Lounsdell’s first tract of land was granted on April 24, 1762, the land was described simply as “lying on Jones’ Creek called Lounsdell’s Folley” but the survey gives us a better description by showing the boundary as crossing Jones’ Creek. The survey indicates that after the tract crossed Jones’ Creek to the north bank, a line ran down the north side of the creek for the entire boundary line then it turned back across the creek. The entire boundary line opposite Jones’ Creek was land belonging to Burlingham Rudd.

On May 24, 1773 George Lounsdell entered 300 acres that was surveyed on May 7, 1774 and issued on March 15, 1775 that is described as ”joining his own land on James’ Branch of Jones Creek.” The boundary lands were owned by Reaney and Crawley. Also on May 24, 1773 he entered 100 acres described as: ”lying on the south side of Pee Dee River beginning at a red oak on the south side of the south fork of Jones’ Creek.” The boundary lands were owned by Burlingham Rudd Sr., Raney and James Lankford. I’ve not found a survey or an issue document for this grant. On January 28, 1783 a survey was done for another 70 acres and is described as: ” beginning at a red oak stump Burlingham Rudd’s beginning on the south side of the south fork of Jones’ Creek.” The boundary lands were George’s Lounsdell Folly and Jones (likely Thomas Jones). The grant was issued on October 14, 1783. By adding this parcel of land, George Lounsdell compiled his homestead that contained 620 acres from four land grants.

On December 31, 1787 George Lounsdell sold these four tracts in a package to Michael Crawford for one hundred sixty pounds. On March 20, 1793, Michael Crawford sold these four tracts to William Ellerbe, Jr. for £466.13.4 sterling. The deed says: ”part of bond and mortgage dated March 20, 1791 to Ellerbe.” And on October 8, 1802 William Ellerbe Jr. released the bond and mortgage to Michael Crawford, Jr. in exchange for $1000. If the land was the extent of the assets that Michael Crawford used for his loan, then George Lounsdell surely made him a good deal when he sold it to him for one hundred and sixty pounds. My instinct tells me that George Lounsdell was a smart business man, and the deal given to Michael Crawford was intentional.

But that was not the extent of his land acquisitions.

It appears in the records that the second tract of land that George Lounsdell acquired in Anson was not included in the parcel he sold to Michael Crawford. I’ve not found any deed or paper trail other than in the May Wilson McBee Collection, Vol. 1; Anson County NC Abstracts of Early Records, Abstract of County Court Minutes, 1771-1777 there is an extract dated April 16, 1772 that says: “Henry McNish to George Lounsdell Rudd 150 acres by Burlingham Rudd.” A search of the North Carolina State Archives indicates the McNish family owned land on Jones’ Creek with descriptions such as, middle prong, Long Branch, upper side of creek, but I’ve not found a map that identifies any of those indicators. A man named John McNish was signatory on the 1769 Regulators’ Petition. The family name McNish also shows in Cumberland County and I suspect this was a Scottish family. That might be the reason the land transfer was recorded in the minutes instead of a deed. A deed required a fee, but the Scots had a general practice of recording their land deals in the court minutes which suited the same purposes of transferring the title without the cost. That might be what we are seeing in this case. It is interesting that the record says “by Burlingham Rudd” because George Lounsdell was about twenty-six years old at this time and old enough to record the transfer himself unless there was more to this transaction. Maybe Burlingham Rudd, and I believe this was the father, was acting on the behalf of Henry McNish in some legal capacity. My instinct tells me there is more to the relationship between McNish and Rudd based on the land records for the George Lounsdell branch at St. James Goose Creek Parish in South Carolina. The first land survey I find for Burlingham Rudd shows boundary land owned by Burlingham Rudd and James McNish, the second land survey for Burlingham Rudd shows boundary land owned by McNish. This McNish tract appears to have been left behind unsold when George Lounsdell migrated out of Anson.

In the Abstracts of Land Entrys, Anson Co., NC 1776-1795; Col. David Love’s Book, No. 325, pg 126, there is an extract dated July 8, 1778 that says: ”George Lounden (sic) Rudd entered 100 acres in Anson on Jones’ Creek”. The boundary land owners included Burlingham Rudd’s old line, Jones and Lankford. I’ve found no record of the acquisition or the sell of this tract. Remember my telling you about Mr. James Cotton who became a Loyalist during the Revolution and his attempt to remove records from the Anson County court house? Well, David Love, who I’ll talk about in the next narrative about the Revolutionary War in Anson, became among other things the register of deeds and the book he used was buried to keep it out of the hands of the Tories and the British. As a result, most of the records were too damaged to be extracted. Great pains and many people worked to resurrect the book entries when it was discovered. We are fortunate to even have this much information. Also, those who worked to save the records observed that there was no real order to the entries and some were on individual sheets of paper placed into the book when it was buried. What a time it must have been! So there is no paper trail for this tract of land and no indication if it was sold, but it was not included in the parcel that George Lounsdell sold to Michael Crawford. Also, I think it most likely the Jones mentioned as a boundary land owner was Thomas Jones or a member of his family. They gave the name to Jones’ Creek as the early settlers and appear to have been concentrated around the south fork of the creek during that time period.

A few months later, on October 17, 1778, George Lounsdell entered 100 acres and the warrant says: ”crossing a branch of Mill Creek near Haley’s Road on the west side of the creek”. The survey was done on July 27, 1781 and the grant was issued on October 24, 1782. None of the documents for this grant give the names of the boundary land owners but the description indicates George Lounsdell’s lands are now moving southward towards the NC/SC border. Haley’s Road likely refers to the road to Haley’s Ferry on the Pee Dee River and Mill Creek is near the border right above Thompson Creek, where the road went through that was ordered laid in 1771. The real mystery about this tract of land is when it is sold. On August 10, 1801, Elizabeth Rudd sold this land back to George Lounsdell for thirty pounds sterling with a deed of sell that was drafted in Charleston District, SC, witnessed by Burlingham Rudd who signed his name and James Rudd who made his mark. Two years later, 1803, the deed was recorded in Anson County at the July session of the county court and proven in open court by the oath of Burlingham Rudd as a witness. Our mystery is ... who is Elizabeth Rudd ... and how did she acquire this tract of land. The deed of sale states that the tract was granted to George Lounsdell Rudd on October 24, 1782 so there was no transfer of title from George Lounsdell to Elizabeth Rudd or any other person. He held legal title to this tract of land when he bought it back which means he retained ownership of this land when it was proved in court in 1803, and those of us who are familiar with the history of George Lounsdell know that by May 1804 he had died. I suspect he had died by July 1803. This is such a strange transaction and Elizabeth Rudd’s identity lies in the answer to how she came into possession of this tract without having title to it and why was she given £30 sterling for a tract of land she did not have title to?

On January 28, 1783, George Lounsdell had 100 acres surveyed and the grant was issued on October 14, 1783 The warrant says it was entered in 1782. The survey describes the tract as: ”beginning at a black oak James Lankford beginning.” The boundary land owners were Lankford, Rainey and Burlingham Rudd’s old corner. This tract was sold on July 31, 1786 by George Lounsdell to Evan Thomas for eighty pounds. Five months later, Evan Thomas sold this tract to Richard Odom for forty pounds. Then on November 2, 1792, Richard Odom sold this tract to Charity Ducksworth, widow, for forty pounds. Next, on November 20, 1795, Charity Ducksworth, widow, sold this tract to Benjamin Buckannon for sixty pounds. Benjamin Buckannon was the same man who bought the 100 acres that had been Burlingham the Father’s homestead from James Landford on October 26, 1796.

On December 25, 1787, James Farr sold to Richard Farr multiple tracts of land. In the parcel there was a 50 acre tract that has a chain of custody included which says the 50 acres was purchased on January 25, 1783 by Londsel (sic) Rudd from William Oens (sic) and sold by George Londsel (sic) Rudd to James Farr on July 5, 1785. The transcribed names are a mess, but the land went from William Fielding to William Owens to George Lounsdell to James Farr to Richard Farr. The location is southwest of the Pee Dee, east of Morris’ Branch of Jones’ Creek. I’ve not found any old map that identifies Morris’ Branch, but the North Carolina State Archives index says the Thomas Jones owned land on Morris Branch, east of that places this tract in the general area of George Lounsdell’s other properties. The records say that on October 3, 1793, Richard Farr, Jr. and wife Lucy, sold to John Turney (sic; likely Turner) two tracts for fifty pounds and one of them was this tract of land. The borders were described as joining William Owens, William Johnson, George Rud, Crawley’s second and third lines and Fielding’s survey. The chain of custody is included also. This deed of sale indicates that George Rud still owned land in Anson about six years after he sold his homestead.

The final land acquisition I have found for George Lounsdell in Anson surely seems to have an interesting story behind it. The entry for the warrant is dated January 1787, the survey was done on February 21, 1787 and says: ”at Mill Branch between John Curbow and J. Temples on Haley’s Road, crossing Old Mill Creek twice.” The boundary land was James Farr’s upper line of his beverdam survey. This appears as George Lounsdell’s second tract at Mill Creek, and unlike the other one that Elizabeth Rudd sold back to him, this one was seized by the Anson sheriff, William May, in October 1790. The actual issue of the grant to George Lounsdell is dated November 16, 1790. It looks like, technically, the process had to be completed since the date of seizure was a month before the date of issue. The land was sold at auction a little more than three years later on January 30, 1794. The deed of sell says: ” William May former sheriff of the County of Anson to Daniel Short for forty shillings, 100 acres seized from George L. Rud to satisfy a judgment of £5.2.1 which was recovered by Charles Sparks”. So the land was seized in October 1790 to satisfy a court judgment brought by Charles Sparks against George Lounsdell, but not sold at auction until January 1794 to Daniel Short. I sure would like to know what that was all about! But the most revealing item on this survey is the chain bearers were Burlingham Rudd and William Rudd. This is the first time we see the name William Rudd.

Just as with Burlingham Rudd, there are a number of deeds belonging to others which include references to George Lounsdell Rudd land as boundary markers in both present and past tense. In addition to the 50 acres that Richard Farr and his wife Lucy sold in 1793, there is another mention of ”George Lounsdell’s line” in the border description of a January 19, 1788 deed of sale from James Farr to Asa Faulkner for 50 acres on Jones’ Creek. The other names are Thomas Jones, Bexley John Lamden and Morris’ Branch. There is also a reference to land owned by George Lounsdell in a deed of sale on January 18, 1807 from Isaac Jackson to William S. Spencer for 300 acres sold for $500 on the south prong of Jones’ Creek. The deed says: ”border begins at a pine on the south side of the creek and joins George Lounsdell Rudd.” It might be unlike Burlingham, the records are less complete for George Lounsdell or the references might indicate that he left Anson without selling off all of his properties, or he left it behind to children who did not migrate when he did. I count at least three tracts based on the records I have found: 1) the 150 acre McNish tract, 2) the 100 acres recorded in Col. David Love’s Land Book, 3) the 100 acres he bought back from Elizabeth Rudd.

I do not find George Lounsdell as a witness to any Anson deeds after he sold his homestead to Michael Crawford on December 31, 1787. The land records seem to indicate he was still acquiring land in early 1787. He didn’t complete the process with the 100 acre tract at Old Mill Creek that was seized. He evidently, also, left Anson without resolving some financial situation that caused Charles Sparks to take him to court, which returned a judgment against him. It seems that George Lounsdell made his decision to leave Anson during that year and likely left sometime in 1788.

So, the Anson County records point towards two surviving sons, Burlingham the Second and George Lounsdell, as the progenitors of the second generation families that will carry the Rudd name into the future. As I said, I don’t find Walter in Anson, and even though it is likely that Martha married in Anson, I don’t find any evidence of her either. The land records also provide the confirmation that Burlingham the Second of the second generation was the father of Burlingham the Third of the third generation. They reveal a female named Elizabeth Rudd who is somehow connected to George Lounsdell and until that relationship is figured out, there is no way to tell into what generation she falls. Lastly, a male named William Rudd as a chain bearer on a 1787 survey for George Lounsdell is also revealed who appears to be in the third generation.

A chain bearer was a very important job. The survey is a legal document and the chain bearers were usually friends or family of the man applying for the land grant. They kept the surveyor honest and ensured the details laying out the boundaries as recorded in the grant were accurate. They were required to take an oath and as such, required to be at least twenty-one years old. However, as we've seen before, this was the North Carolina backcountry and not all of the land deeds followed procedures.

The name William Rudd shows up in the 1800 Barnwell Co., SC census. I don’t find this name at Four Holes Swamp in Charleston. I think it most likely he is a son of Burlingham the Second.
~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~The official enumeration date for the first census was August 2, 1790, so technically the information that is reflected on the 1790 census is intended to be a reflection of that date. Such as ... “On August 2nd, who was the head of this household, how many people lived in this household, and what were their ages, gender and race?” However, the respondent didn’t always understand the specifics of the question. The process for gathering information was delegated to the local Sheriff of the counties who often delegated the work to their Deputies. The information was then submitted to the Assistant Marshall of each district who compiled the data on to the official form and submitted that to the Marshall for the State. The system was similar to the reporting of tithables that had been used during the colonial period to determine most all things concerning the levy of taxes and representation to colonial assemblies. Under the new government it was expanded to count all people and in that light, it was often met with skepticism. Both George Washington as President and Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State shared a concern that the first census had significantly undercounted the population, perhaps by several hundred thousand people. Most all of those who were landowners at the time owned multiple tracts of land, but they were to be counted only once based on their dwelling. So it was helpful if the person gathering the information also knew the neighborhood, but that did not prevent missing information or mistakes from being made. I have found that census data can be helpful information but by no means should it be looked to as the determination of accuracy. We often find mistakes and prior to 1850 when the names of those in the household began to be recorded; the count was just numbers in age categories tied to the name of the head of household. A lesson that I have learned which I will pass along is that often I find that male toddlers are counted as females, probably because at that age they were kept in gowns ... I’m sure you can imagine why. Also, sometimes the resident was not home and others gave the information, sometimes guessing at ages. And even when a family member was available to give the information, they couldn’t always remember ages with accuracy ... and sometimes the women were notoriously bad at remembering their OWN age ...!
~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~Burlingham Rudd, the Second

On October 20, 1788 he sold the homestead he had been living on for almost thirty years based on the date he bought the land from his father. He gave himself until December 1, 1789 to vacate the land and we know that he did because the land was sold again on April 18, 1791. On January 18, 1790 he purchased two 150 acres at auction. To me, this indicates that Burlingham the Second had planned to migrate but something changed his mind and he stayed in Anson. Perhaps he moved onto the land he bought in 1790, but we also know that there was at least one instance of land he owned and sold that I have not found a record for, so there could be other instances and the homestead for Burlingham the Father was still in the family. We know that Burlingham the Third would be about thirty years old in 1790 and there was a male named William Rudd. So when I look at the 1790 census for Anson County ...

Burlingham the Second (now called Sr.) is head of household with one male under 16 and three females. I suspect that the male is William Rudd and that not all those identified as females are indeed females. This will become clearer ten years later with the 1800 Barnwell Co., SC census.

Burlingham the Third (now called Jr.) with incomplete information and a small “x” by his name, likely transcribed from the document used to gather the information. I caution against assuming that the information for Burlingham the Third is complete. I suspect that "x" is an identifier to that effect.

You see William Vaughan listed as head of the neighboring household. He owned several tracts of land in Anson and the closes I can determine the area where he lived is revealed in his Revolutionary War Pension Application. In describing his tours of duty, he said this about his third tour which ought to have been about late 1780:

Also I was employed six months to provide beef cattle for the regular army when marching through this section of the county on their march to the South. The year not recollected, I remember seeing Gen Gates as he marched to the South. Also Gen Green and his army stopped a short time near my house when I lived at the crossroads near May’s mill on Jones’ Creek.

In Question #3 he was asked where he lived when called into service. His answer:

I lived in Cumberland County NCarolina when called into service and after my first six months tour was out I moved to Anson County NCarolina near May mill where I have lived ever since.

According to the map on the inside cover of Mary L. Medley’s book, History of Anson County, North Carolina 1750-1976, May’s Mill was a Revolutionary War muster ground and was located about a third of the way down the south fork of Jones’ Creek and likely just west of where the Rudd lands were located. It’s difficult to determine which crossroads William Vaughan is referring to without a map of the time period but we know there was a road ordered laid in 1771 that ran from “Mecklenburg to Cheraws between Branches of Westfield Cr. and those of Huckleberry Cr.” Cheraws District was on the South Carolina side of the NC/SC border.

It’s fortunate for us that the 1790 census for Anson looks as though it was recorded based on a route rather than rearranged in alphabetical order, (which I detest!) and depicts Burlingham the Second (as Burlingham Rudd, Sr.) on page 189 with Burlingham the Third (as Burlingham Rudd, Jr.) on page 196. The names of the households around Burlingham the Second look to be many of the same old families. He sold his 200 acre homestead in 1788, he purchased two 150 acre tracts in 1790 and did not sell the 100 acres that belonged to Burlingham the Father until 1792. So he's either living at the original homestead or on the newly purchased lands. A few of the surnames of the households around Burlingham the Third and William Vaughan seem to be related to some of the older families, but on page 198 there is the name Thomas Dickson who is likely the same Dr. Thomas Dickson named in the laying of the road in 1771 who lived in the area of Old Mill Creek. That seems to indicate that for the 1790 census, Burlingham the Third was living down towards the South Carolina border area near Mill Creek.

This is an excerpt of a map of Anson County that was created in 1878, almost a hundred years later, by William H. James. I have copied by hand and added some of the landmarks that are mentioned in the History of Anson Co., NC, 1750-1976, by Mary L. Medley. You can see the larger area map here.

The land areas I've outlined for Rudd and Vaughan are general and based on the land descriptions in the Rudd land records and the land descriptions of the land grants to William Vaughan, father of Mary Vaughan. He owned several tracts of land and most of them do not seem to be continuous, but they do stretch from below Gould's Fork to Brown's Creek to south of the South Fork of Jones' Creek. Both families lived very near the border of Chesterfield Co., SC.

~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~George Lounsdell Rudd

George Lounsdell sold his homestead on December 31, 1787 and even though he appears to have left a few tracts of land unsold, we know he migrated at least by the time of the 1790 census because he is found in Fairfield County, Camden District, SC ...

He is head of household with three males under the age of 16 and four females. Of the four sons that George Lounsdell named in the 1797 Screven Co., GA Deed of Gift, only one, Lias, has a discernible birth year derived from the future Charleston Co., SC census that places his year of birth about 1790. So it's possible he is not included in the 1790 census, or he could have been misidentified as a female. But nevertheless, allowing for one of the females to be the mother, there are six children in the household and that might not be all of them since he is likely to have been married for at least twenty years.

On March 7, 1792 George Lounsdell had 88 acres at Dutchman’s Creek in Fairfield surveyed and certified for William Bryan. This is likely where the family was living when the 1790 census was taken. It appears he was selling this tract of land and if so, he was on the move to Screven Co, GA.

Guess who else was there?

From Pioneer Days: a history of the early years in Screven County by Clyde Hollingsworth, Chapter IV, A New County is Created.

The population of the area soon to be known as Screven County had sufficiently increased to make the creation of a new county desirable. Although history does not so record it, no doubt people themselves, began the agitation for a new county to be carved out of Burke and Effingham. There was no question of its necessity, so on December 14th, 1793, the County of Screven was created by an act of the Georgia Legislature. The county was named for General James Screven. Among those that were active in the cause of the new county, and who took an active part in the affairs before and after the county’s creation were:

Benjamin Lanier, Lewis Lanier, Solomon Gross, Mund Gross, Caleb Howell, Phillip Howell, Daniel Howell, Stephens Mills, James H. Rutherford, Job Herrington, James Caswell, Isaac Perry, Seaborn Goodall, Clement Lanier, Lemuel Lanier, Robert Stafford, James Oliver, William Coursey, William Skinner, P. R. Smith, Wheeler Gersham, William Blair, Daniel Bonnell, Enoch Godfrey, James F. Lovett, and others.
[ ]
The Act (refers of the Act which created the county) also provided that “until the courthouse shall be erected the elections and courts for said county shall be held at the house of Benjamin Lanier.”
[ ]
The Justices of the Inferior Court named in the Act were Benjamin Lanier, Caleb Howell, Lemuel Lanier, Paul Bevil, and Drury Jones.
[ ]
Courts and election were evidently held in the home of Benjamin Lanier until 1791 when action was taken to locate the county site and erect buildings thereon.

The Lanier family and the Howell family came from Anson Co., NC. Others may have come from there also. Lewis Lanier was the purchaser of Burlingham the Second's homestead in 1788. And you might recognize Caleb Howell. He was the former Justice for Anson County in 1754 when the General Assembly directed the Attorney General to issue a warrant for his arrest to recover the funds they had issued for the purchase of arms and ammunition at the outbreak of the French and Indian War. The AG reports to the General Assemble that some funds had been recovered from Caleb Howell, but that he had disposed of his lands and absconded to Georgia. The AG also reports that he had issued a warrant for Burlingham Rudd, who had been taken into custody, but had escaped from jail. Interesting, huh?

On January 30, 1797 George Lounsdell authored a Deed of Gift for Sundry Stock in Screven Co., GA. There has been much misunderstanding about this document and its intended purpose. For a long while the document was thought to be the Last Will and Testament of George Lounsdell Rudd, but it was not. There is a lot of information about the family contained in the document. First he named four sons, George Rudd, Jr., Ely Rudd, James Rudd and Lias Rudd. He stated that they were all resident of Georgia. And then he described the property as ”my stock of hogs with their increase, likewise any stock of cattle with their increase and two mares and one gelding and all my moveable property in the State aforesaid ...” You notice he did not mention land even though by the description of his property, he clearly had some land. I’ve not found any grant or deed to land in his name in Georgia. But the available records are very few for this period of time and this area of Georgia. If he didn’t sell the land, and my best guess would be to Lewis Lanier if he did, then I suspect he left the land to one of his sons. I think this is most likely the case because if they were all moving with him, he would have moved the stock and furnishing with him. We know he goes to St. James Goose Creek Parish, Charleston Co., SC and that was not very far away.

Looking ahead, George Lounsdell’s first land grant in Charleston is dated January 5th, 1797, this Deed of Gift was written on January 30, after that land was awarded, so it appears he had already migrated to Four Holes Swamp. The Screven deed was registered in Screven eight months later, on August 30, 1797. My guess is either the son who stayed behind registered it in the State of Georgia because they decided to migrated and didn't want to come back or he died and the deed defaulted to the other brother who was of age. The deed tells us that on the date of January 30, 1797, George Jr. and Ely were of legal age but James and Lias were not. ”…appoint my son George Rudd and Ely Rudd to take in their possession all the property aforesaid and to keep it carefully until these two younger brothers become of age. And then for it with increase to be equally divided among the four, their heirs and assigns ...” If it was the case that a son stayed behind, then George Jr. would be the choice and Ely migrated, and if George Jr. died then Ely took responsibility for the deed. This could explain why we find no evidence of George Jr. in Charleston with the rest of his branch of the family. This deed was discovered by former family genealogy researchers in the State Papers of South Carolina in the Wills index as filed on May 4, 1804. From there was drawn the assumption that it was George Lounsdell’s Last Will and Testament. But I think the reason it was in those files is because it was a legal liquidation of his property after his death.

It’s not known if Burlingham the Second also migrated to Screven County. He sold the two 150 acre tracts to Burlingham the Third on July 6, 1793, almost a year and a half after George Lounsdell had the Fairfield tract surveyed. Both brothers might have gone to Screven, but as the family now enters the 19th century, the Burlingham the Second branch will be found in the 1800 Barnwell Co., SC census while the George Lounsdell branch will be found in the 1800 Charleston Co., SC census.

They’ve gone back to South Carolina ... the place where their father first touched foot in America, the place where Elizabeth and Burlingham were married and where most, if not all, of their children were born.