The Family of Burlingham Rudd

A Note From the Author

2011-12-10T11:00:00.000-06:00

Dear Rudd Cousins,

I’m in the process of editing and updating some of the narratives you will find in the archives. They represent my research of the Burlingham Rudd family. I have moved them to the archives because I am now writing the history of the family as I know it. So the narratives dated 2011 represent my rewrite with updated information. As I add to the series, I will be taking down the relevant narrative in the archives.

Blogs are formatted to read from the bottom up, so the beginning is at the end... so to speak. To read the story of the Burlingham Rudd family in chronological order ... from the beginning, use the link to the Table of Contents in the right-side panel.

I hope you enjoy!

Linda Rudd

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

2011-11-28T12:47:00.000-06:00

~ From Regulation to Revolution, 1765-1776 ~

…”but there is a fascination belonging to the word Liberty that beguiles the minds of the vulgar beyond the power of antidote” ~ Josiah Martin, Provincial Governor North Carolina, aboard the Cruizer Sloop of War on the Cape Fear River, October 16, 1775, in a letter to William Legge, Earl of Dartmouth

~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~Most of the published history about the causes and events that led up to the American Revolution focuses on the northern and New England colonies where much of the tension between America and Great Britain was fermented prior to our Declaration of Independence. Most of the published history about our War of Independence focuses on the major battles; the early years from 1776 to 1779 in the north and the southern campaign from 1780 to 1781, with victory at Yorktown when Lord Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington. And of course, all of us with southern roots are aware of General Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox, and his role in the defeat of the Redcoats, famously fictionalized in the movie, The Patriot. But when I was reading up on the details for this narrative, I realized that I really hadn’t understood the reasoning for the British strategy. They believed the southern colonies to be Loyalists’ strongholds. Then I read that during the War most Highlanders were Loyalists. That was a surprise to me. Having some Highlander ancestors, my curiosity was peaked. Then I read that in North Carolina, most of the former Regulators were Loyalists. Well, among the signers of the 1769 Anson County Regulators’ Petition there is the name Burlingham Rudd, which is either Burlingham the Father or Burlingham the Second, and Burlingham the Third served during the Revolutionary War. In his Revolutionary War Pension Application he states that his first two tours of duty were as a draftee and his third tour was as a volunteer. He served under Colonel Thomas Wade, Captain Patrick "Paddy" Boggan and General Henry William Harrington, all of whom were neighbors. In Mary Medley's book "History of Anson County North Carolina 1750-1976", she describes the general area as heavily populated by the Whig/Patriot fraction with high anxiety and frequent skirmishs between them and the Tory/Loyalist fraction. Burlingham the Third's service and the fact that a male will be born into the family during the final years of the War who was given the name George Washington Rudd, indicates to me that the Rudds were very likely on the Troy/Patriot side of the War.

Our Rudd family lived in Anson during the entirety of the American Revolution. They were among the original settlers of the Pee Dee River region and lived in that area for about thirty years prior to the outbreak of hostilities. Burlingham the Father began with a 300 acre homestead which was joined with additional land acquisitions by his sons, Burlingham the Second and George Lounsdell. The family didn’t begin to migrate out until after the War ended and our new Constitution had been adopted by the Philadelphia Convention. George Lounsdell was the first one to leave Anson, probably sometime in early 1788. The War had been over for about six years. In April 1789, George Washington took the oath of office as our first President. In November 1789, North Carolina was the twelfth state to ratify our Constitution. Burlingham the Second remained in Anson and likely migrated in the later part of 1793. President George Washington had been elected to his second term and it was seventeen years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

If we use 1776 as a measure, Burlingham the Father was exempted from taxes in 1771, so he was likely 60+ years old at the time and probably mid-to-late sixties in 1776. We don’t know if Elizabeth the Mother was still living. If Martha the eldest daughter was living, she was about thirty-seven, and likely a mother with a husband and children. Burlingham the Second was about thirty-five, he likely had a wife with maybe a daughter or two, he had a son named Burlingham the Third who was about fifteen, and William probably was his younger son. We know that Burlingham and Elizabeth also had a son named Walter, but I find no trace of him in Anson. He would have been about thirty-three. Then we have George Lounsdell who would have been about thirty, was married by this time and had some children. We don’t know for sure how many, but probably more than the four sons he named in the Screven Co., GA Deed of Transfer of Property. So, based on the ages of those we know about, Burlingham the Second and George Lounsdell were both of military age, Burlingham the Third was about age fifteen in 1776 and about age twenty by the time the British began their Southern Campaign. The daughter Martha was the oldest child and could have had a male child older than Burlingham the Third, but he would have bore the surname of his father, which is unknown to us. Likewise, if George Lounsdell followed the pattern of his older brother and began his family about age eighteen, then he could have had a male child about age sixteen when the Southern Campaign began. If there were other family members who served during the Revolutionary War, they too would most likely have been in militia units. There are no known surviving militia lists for us to look to for their names. As a matter of fact, the only reason we even know of Burlingham the Third's service is because he lived long enough to qualify for a pension under the legislation that was passed on June 7, 1832 which allowed pensions to Revolutionary War Veterans who served in militia units. He was about seventy-three years old by this time.

So, my goal is to tell you the story of what happened in North Carolina among the people who lived there and by extension, the experience of our Rudd family in Anson County. This story will be in two parts. The first part spans the years from the Regulators’ Movement to the signing of our Declaration of Independence. The second part will pick up at the Declaration of Independence and include with the War years.

I warn you now. This is a long read, but I hope you find it interesting!
~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~

North Carolina was a sporadically populated colony at the time of our Revolution with population density concentrated around places of commerce, such as, the ports on the eastern side and the Cape Fear River area. The Pee Dee River region was the longest established on the western side. The population had also grown across the Virginia border and down the road along the Appalachians to Charlotte, but there where large areas of forest and rolling hills in between. From 1760 to 1775, five new counties had been carved out of Orange and Rowan. Mecklenburg had been carved from Anson’s western side, with a boundary line creating Tryon to the west of Mecklenburg. I’ve drawn a line on the map to give you some idea of where the growth of the colony had pushed the frontier. There were few settlers to the west of that line and it generally paralleled the Great Wagon Road which was the main thoroughfare through the North Carolina backcountry. The 1763 Proclamation Line drawn after the French and Indian War was the boundary, and the Indian reserve was on the other side. The asterisk marks the general area where our Burlingham Rudd family lived. They were within a few miles of the South Carolina border. In those days, the border was pretty much invisible to those who lived in the area because many held land patents that crossed into South Carolina. That’s a fact that lends itself to my theory that the Burlingham Rudd we find in the 1800 Chesterfield, SC census is the same Burlingham the Third we find in the 1790 Anson, NC census. But, more about that at another time.

The British perceived the southern colonies as Loyalist strongholds, because at the beginning of the Revolution, they were. There were a lot of similarities in the ethnic makeup and the political control. In North Carolina, the population on the eastern side of the fall line had developed for about sixty years before the western side of the fall line began to be populated and a good ninety years before the Revolution. Those on the eastern side were mostly descendents of those who came generations before and moved down from Virginia or up from South Carolina. So that area of the colony mirrored Virginia and South Carolina. The population on the western side had only begun to develop about thirty years before the Revolution. Some, like our Burlingham Rudd, came up the Pee Dee from South Carolina, and some came down the Fall Line Road from Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, but they were of the frontier mentality, unlike the upper-class mentality in the eastern part. In the west were small farmers and tradesmen; in the east were lawyers, plantation owners and merchants. South Carolina had a similar composition, but starker in socioeconomics, with the established families, plantations owners, artisans and merchants of the Low Country along the east coast around Charleston while in the western Up Country there were mostly small farmers and newly arrived settlers. But Charleston was a unique place; it was a very important port city with about 100 years of history by the time of the Revolution, and there were a lot of poor people who completed with the slaves for work.

There were other similarities between North and South Carolina. In both colonies the tax supported official religion was the Church of England. Politically, it was very strong in the eastern counties and the Anglicans held most of the positions of political power. Both colonies had similar governing structures, a general assembly/congress was divided between an upper and lower chamber. But North Carolina was probably more representative of the entire colony than South Carolina even though the representation was weighted heavier on the eastern side. The Up Country of South Carolina continued to have little representation or say in the government at Charleston which was very much controlled by the planters of the Low Country.

Both colonies had slave populations on the eastern side because of the plantation class and few in the western counties. South Carolina had substantially more slaves; almost a total population ratio of 2:1 with whites. South Carolinians lived in constant fear of a slave revolt. In South Carolina there were a number of French Huguenots, while in North Carolina there were few French. Both colonies had Welsh populations that kind of crossed over the NC/SC border area because of the Welsh Tract. Both colonies had large German populations with a lot of newly arrived in the back counties, as well as, a longer established French-German-Swiss ethnic mix in southwestern South Carolina. Both colonies had substantial and long established Scottish Presbyterian populations of Ulster Scots who were Lowlanders, which we call Scots-Irish. The backcountry of North Carolina had some scatterings of Highlanders who had migrated along the Virginia border and quite a few in Mecklenburg, but a huge Scottish Highlander settlement was at the Cape Fear River area which was growing and strategically being reinforced by the British. There were Highlanders in South Carolina who had long dispersed throughout the population. In Georgia Highlanders had been settled as a buffer to the Indians. There were also Highlander settlements in Nova Scotia, Canada that would play a role in British’s southern strategy.

The high concentration of Presbyterian Scots-Irish and Highlanders living in the southern colonies, especially in North Carolina, as well as, the presence of such a high concentration of people with Germanic blood created a large loyalist population in North and South Carolina because of the history between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England, as well as, the succession of the House of Hanover had put a German on the throne of Great Britain. The colony of Georgia was relatively young compared to the other colonies, and most of the colonists were new comers with strong ties to their homeland.
~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~In April 1763, George Grenville replaced John Stuart as Prime Minister of Great Britain. His most immediate task was to resolve the debt England had accumulated during the Seven Year’s War (1756-1763). The American theatre of that war is known as the French and Indian War (1754-1763). He was the hard-liner during the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris 1763. His negotiation style is described as what we call today “gun boat diplomacy”. It was Grenville’s position that the American colonists should bear “their share” of the cost of “defending them from the French”, as well as, provide the revenue to support military outposts which would be permanently based along the 1763 Proclamation Line imposed on the western frontier to protect them from rouge French and Spanish, as well as, Indian attacks. The British Parliament approved General Jeffery Amherst’s request for 10,000 additional soldiers to man the outposts. The colonists saw the new boundary line, which created an Indian reserve along their western border, as siding with their enemy, the Indians, snatching away the land they had fought for and penning them in against the eastern settlements so they were easier to control. The British wanted to prevent any future problems; they didn’t have the money to fight another war with the Indians and wanted to capitalize on the fur trade with independent traders under contract with Britain. Within a few years of the issuing of the 1763 Proclamation Line, it was moved due to lobbying by land speculators in Britain and prominent American colonists to exclude the land that now includes West Virginia and Kentucky, but it maintained all the other land down to Florida as off-limits to settlers.

Next Grenville instituted reforms in the customs service and the regulation of trade with the colonies. The first thing he did was mandate that custom officials had to live in the colonies. No longer could they live in England where they enjoyed the refinements of comfort and culture, and performed their duties long distance. Now, enforcement was on location. The Royal Navy was empowered to act as customs agents in American waters which expanded the reach of the agents with intentions of curtailing smuggling. They were authorized to conduct general searches of ships and warehouses for contraband under a general warrant. The Admiralty Courts were expanded and allowed to conduct proceedings without juries. And colonial governors, some of whom were complicit in evading imperial trade regulations, were put on notice.

Then Grenville took the 1733 Molasses Act which levied a sixpence tax on imported non-British (French and Spanish) sugar and molasses and refashioned it into the 1764 Revenue Act (Sugar Act) by reducing the tax by half and increasing the list of items taxed to include wine, cloth, coffee, tropical fruits and silk. Since rum was a major product of New England distilleries, for years the colonists had worked around the tax through smuggling and black markets and the 1733 Act was no longer of any significance to them. But now, with the tightening of the customs laws, general warrants to search for contraband and customs agents living in the colonies, they felt the pinch. American exports of iron and lumber were also closely supervised and shippers were required to complete bonding procedure before loading cargoes, so shippers began to feel that pinch. This caused immediate economic hardship on the New England and middle colonies. The economy slowed down and people began to hoard their hard currency of gold and silver and increased their use paper money to settle debts. The distillers began a non-importation boycott of British goods that was adopted in Boston and spread to outer areas of New England and New York. It was during these protests that the cry of “no taxation without representation” was first widely heard.

This was followed by the 1764 Currency Act which ended the use of paper money and bills of credit as legal tender in the colonies and mandated hard currency in its place. Colonial America had always experienced currency shortage problems to the extent that commodity trading in beaver pelts, tobacco and corn had been made legal tender. But British merchants had complained about the dubious value of paper money which had an impact on Great Britain’s economy. The economic depression was a disaster for the working class as we saw in the Regulators’ Movement in the North Carolina backcountry when extortion and corruption among the ruling class brought poverty to the middle class.

Now Grenville had ignited the anger of the two disparate classes of American society, the laborers and small farmers of the working class and the merchants and planters of the wealthier class. His next program succeeded in drawing the anger of the middle class, the 1765 Stamp Act which was paired with the 1765 Quartering Act.

After the French and Indian War, the British government was faced with the additional expense of soldiers returning from the colonies and providing these veterans with pay and pensions. If they could keep the soldiers in service in America, then the colonies would have to pay for them and that would relieve the English from the financial burden. American colonials did not believe a standing army was necessary, they felt the major threat to their security was the French and they had been vanquished. When there was a security problem with the Indians, the colonial militias were called into duty and when the problem subsided, the militias were disbanded. They also were skeptical of the reason for the military to be kept in America, and the Proclamation Line with the restrictions on expansion westward added to that skepticism.

Under the Quartering Act, each colonial assembly was directed to provide for the basic needs of the soldiers stationed within its borders which included such things as, bedding, cooking utensils, firewood, beer or cider and candles. The law was expanded to include housing for soldiers in taverns and unoccupied houses. The Stamp Act was intended to raise the funds needed to pay the soldiers. So the legislation for the Quartering Act and the Stamp Act were both passed in March 1765 with the Quartering Act effective immediately and the Stamp Act being effective on November 1, 1765.

Originally, Grenville had floated the Stamp Act idea months before, and it had generated opposition in the colonies. He said that he was willing to consider a substitute for generating the revenue if one could be found, but none was volunteered. The Act required both the use of small stamps to be affixed on items, as well as, the use of stamped paper for a list of fifty-four items including all legal documents, newspapers, broadsides, pamphlets, letters, almanacs, calendars, posters, playing cards, everything made of paper, skin or vellum and ... apprenticeships. Violators of the Act would be tried in the Admiralty Courts, those with royal appointed judges and without juries whose authority was intended to be maritime. The reaction in the colonies was loud and quick!

There was a distinction in the rallying cry “no taxation, without representation” that the colonists understood that many in England did not. They recognized themselves as British citizens, and therefore, they had the same rights as those living in Britain. But they had no representation in the British Parliament. There were some members in the Parliament that agreed with them. However, many others did not, nor did George the Third. For almost their entire 150+ years of existence, the colonies had pretty much enjoyed self-rule, even at this point in time as royal colonies with Crown appointed governors, they had a government structure that allowed for elected assemblies and these assemblies were authorized by the colonial electorate to levy taxes as needed for the operation and security of the colony. They were use to taxes being levied for a designated purpose and when that purpose was fulfilled the assemblies eliminated the taxes. The only real mandated internal tax was the one which supported the Church of England as the official church.

So when the Sugar Act was instituted, even though it drew protests in specific colonies where it had a drastic impact, it was viewed largely as an indirect and external tax on trade. But when the Stamp Act was instituted it was viewed as a direct and internal tax. This distinction was incomprehensible to the Parliament and royal officials. But it served to unite some of the most powerful and influential elements of colonial America … lawyers, clergy, journalists and merchants. Rioters took to the streets and violence against royal officials ensued, so much so that by mid-November, all but the appointed Stamp Agent in Georgia had resigned.

Shortly after the passing of the Sugar Act and when Grenville floated the idea of the Stamp Act, James Otis, a well known radical of the Massachusetts Assembly, sent a circular letter to the other colonial assemblies calling for a meeting to plan organized resistance. By November 17, 1764 the letter had been received and was laid before the Lower House of the North Carolina Assembly. During the following months, North Carolina Governor Dobbs became ill and died on March 28, 1765. The Lt. Governor, William Tryon, succeeded him in April 1765 and did not call meetings of the Assembly from May 1765 to November 1766. This prevented the selection of a delegation from North Carolina to New York for the Stamp Act Congress on October 7, 1765. At the Congress, John Dickinson of Pennsylvania was mostly responsible for the 14-point Declaration of Rights and Grievances that emerged which argued that colonial taxation could only be imposed by their own assemblies. The Stamp Act and the use of the Admiralty Courts (trial without jury) were singled out for specific criticism. They also ended their statement with a pledge of loyalty to the king which reinforced their demand that they be treated the same as all other British citizens. Some of the more radical elements of the colonial assemblies believed the statement to be too moderate and would not sign it, but it didn’t matter because the British Parliament rejected it.

On November 2, 1765, The ”North Carolina Gazette” recorded the protests that took place in the days following the Stamp Act Congress. There is no way my description can do justice to this report, so here it is:

Wilmington - On Saturday the 19th of last Month, about Seven of the Clock in the Evening, near Five Hundred People assembled together in this Town, and exhibited the Effigy of a certain Honourable Gentleman; and after letting it hang by the Neck for some Time, near the Court-House, they made a large Bonfire with a Number of Tar Barrels, &c. and committed it to the Flames.—The Reason assigned for the People's Dislike to that Gentleman, was, from being informed of his having several Times expressed himself much in Favour of the STAMP-DUTY.—After the Effigy was consumed, they went to every House in Town, and bro't all the Gentlemen to the Bonfire, and insisted upon their drinking, LIBERTY, PROPERTY, AND NO STAMP-DUTY, and Confusion to Lord B-TE and all his Adherents, giving three Huzzas at the Conclusion of each Toast.—They continued together until 12 of the Clock, and then dispersed, without doing any Mischief. And, on Thursday, 31st of the same Month, in the Evening, a great Number of People again assembled, and produced an Effigy of Liberty, which they put into a Coffin, and marched in solemn Procession with it to the Church-Yard, a Drum in Mourning beating before them, and the Town Bell, muffled, ringing a doleful Knell at the same Time:—But before they committed the Body to the Ground, they thought it adviseable to feel its Pulse; and when finding some Remains of Life, they returned back to a Bonfire ready prepared, placed the Effigy before it in a large Two-arm'd Chair, and concluded the Evening with great Rejoicings, on finding that LIBERTY had still an Existence in the Colonies.—Not the least Injury was offered to any Person.

On Saturday the 16th of this Inst. William Houston, Esq; Distributor of STAMPS for this Province, came to this Town; upon which three or four Hundred People immediately gathered together, with Drums beating and Colours flying, and repaired to the House the said Stamp-Officer put up at, and insisted upon knowing, “Whether he intended to execute his said Office, or not?” He told them, “He should be very sorry to execute any Office disagreeable to the People of the Province.” But they, not content with such a Declaration, carried him into the Court-House, where he signed a Resignation satisfactory to the Whole.

As soon as the Stamp-Officer had comply'd with their Desire, they placed him in an Arm-Chair, carried him first round the Court House, giving three Huzzas at every Corner, and then proceeded with him round one of the Squares of the Town, and sat him down at the Door of his Lodgings, formed themselves in a large Circle round him, and gave him three Cheers: They then escorted him into the House, where was prepared the best Liquors to be had, and treated him very genteely. In the Evening a large Bonfire was made, and no Person appeared in the Streets without having LIBERTY, in large Capital Letters, in his Hat.—They had a large Table near the Bonfire, well furnish'd with several Sorts of Liquors, where they drank in great Form, all the favourite American Toasts, giving three Cheers at the Conclusion of each. The whole was conducted with great Decorum, and not the least Insult offered to any Person.

Immediately after the appointed Stamp-Master had comply'd with their Commands, they call'd upon Mr. A STUART, the Printer,—(who had not printed the GAZETTE for some weeks before the ACT took Place, it having pleased GOD to afflict him with a dangerous Fever) when he appeared, they ask'd him, if “He would continue his Business, as heretofore?—And Publish a Newspaper?” He told them, that “As he had no Stampt Paper, and as a late ACT of Parliament FORBID the Printing on any other, He could not.—He was then positively told, that “If he did not, he might expect the same Treatment of the STAMP-MEN,” and demanded a positive Answer:—Mr. Stuart then answer'd, “That rather than run the Hazard of Life, being maimed, or have his Printing-Office destroy'd, that he would comply with their Request;” but took the WHOLE for Witness, that he was compell'd thereto.

His Excellency our GOVERNOR has been for some Time past very ill of Health: but we have the pleasure to say he is now recovering.

Circular Letters were sent last Week by the Governor, to the Principal Inhabitants in this Part of the Province, requesting their Presence at his Seat at Brunswick, on Monday last; where, after Dinner, his Excellency conferr'd with them concerning the Stamp-Act: The Result of which shall be in our Next.

We hear from Newbern, that the Inhabitants of that Place, try'd, condemn'd, hang'd, and burn'd Doctor William Houston, in Effigy, during the Sitting of their Superior Court.—Mr. Houston, however, thinks that there was too much of the Star-Chamber Conduct made Use of, in condemning him unheard; especially as he had never solicited the Office: Nor had he then heard he was appointed Stamp-Officer.—At Cross-Creek, 'tis said, they hang'd his Effigy and M' Carter's together, (he who murder'd his Wife;) nor have they spar'd him even in Duplin, the County where he lives.

We are told that no Clearances will be granted out of our Port, till a Change of Affairs.

On November 16, 1765, William Houston the Stamp Agent resigned, on November 18th, Governor Tryon invited a committee of fifty gentlemen representing New Hanover, Brunswick and Bladen counties to dinner to discuss his proposal. These counties represented the center of shipping commerce for the province and Tryon wanted to try and head off any trouble when the stamps arrive. It went something like this:

Tryon assured them he would use his influence in England to promote the prosperity of the colony bearing in mind his duty to King and country and he would be most happy if he could at the same time serve “his Majesty’s faithful subjects of this Province.” He criticized the assaults taking place in other colonies against royal appointees including having their houses torn down, furniture and belongings destroyed and stamped paper burned. He hoped that no violence would come to North Carolina when the stamps arrived and warned of the consequences if it did. He would not discuss the right of Parliamentary taxation but hoped the Province wasn’t considering separating from Great Britain and urged the prudent thing was not to oppose the legislation. He then told them that it was unlikely the Stamp Act would function in parts of the province anyway because cash was too scarce to cover one year of tax. So he would ask for an exemption for the colony unless his “endeavours were frustrated by the conduct of the people” and noted that the other colonies who had refused the stamps had suffered the economic consequences of obstructed trade. Tryon then proposed that if they accepted the small stamps, he would pay the fees associated with those documents that required stamped paper, such as, land documents, testimonials, marriage licenses, Last Wills and probate documents, and also would provide four wine licenses for Edenton, Newbern, Wilmington, Salisbury and Halifax, two for Brunswick and Cross Creek and one each for Bath and Tarborough.

The next morning the fifty gentlemen offered their reply. After praising Tryon for his generous offer and acknowledging his influence in England and how very fortunate they were that he was their governor, they said:

...every view of this Act confirms us in our opinion that it is destructive of these Liberties which, as British Subjects, we have a Right to enjoy in common with Great Britain.

To our Sovereign we owe, and shall always be ready to testify by our Conduct, every Act of Loyalty and Obedience consistent with the Rights of a free people; and we most sincerely pray, that the British Throne may never want Heirs of the present illustrious House of Hanover to secure that happy constitution: But the Extention of the Stamp Act, by a melancholy presage of America being deprived of all, or most of the British Privileges, naturally suggests to us, that the submission to any part of so oppressive and (as we think) so unconstitutional attempts, is opening a direct inlet for Slavery, which all Mankind will endeavor to avoid.

For these Reasons it is with great pain we are obliged to dissent from what your Excellency has been pleased to mention of your paying the Stamp Duties on the Instruments enumerated in the Proposal; nor can we assent to the payment of the smaller Stamps: An Admission of Part, would put it out of our Power to refuse with any Propriety, a Submission to the Whole; and as we can never consent to be deprived of the invaluable Privilege of a Trial by Jury, which is one part of that Act, we think it more consistent as well as securer conduct to prevent to the utmost of our Power, the operation of it—At the same time, we assure your Excellency, that we will upon every occasion, avoid and prevent, as far as our Influence extends, any Insult or Injury to any of the officers of the Crown; but must confess, that the Office of Distributors of the Stamps is so detested by the People in general that we dont think either the person or Property of such an Officer, could by any means be secured from the resentment of the Country.

Governor Tryon responded that he was comforted by their expression of loyalty to the King and their assurance of support for his administration, but regretted that his offer was not accepted because of the consequences that would come from their position.

The stamps and the stamped paper arrived on November 28, 1765 aboard the sloop Diligence under the command of Captain Phipps but there was no Stamp Agent to receive them and they sat on the sloop. As a result of having no stamps to affix to documents, no ships left port. Commerce ceased. No business was transacted in the courts, all civil government came to a halt, public business and commerce stagnated. There was little to no currency circulating and the province fell into economic depression.

On February 1, 1766, Governor Tryon wrote to England and reported the stamps were still on the ship. He also said that since there is no activity at the ports, he could not receive any dispatches from England with instructions, so direct his mail to the Governor of South Carolina and it will be sent over by express.

A few weeks later the stand off at the port caused all heck to break loose. Ships had been seized by port inspectors carrying smuggled contraband; ships attempting to leave port without stamped papers had been stopped and not allowed to depart. Ship owners, plantation owners and merchants became irate.

On February 18th, an association was formed and an oath was taken for the purpose of stopping the Stamp Act. This appears to be the birth of the North Carolina chapter of the Sons of Liberty. Cornelius Harnett was their leader.

An Association signed by the Principal Gentlemen, Freeholders and Inhabitants of several Counties in this Province. North Carolina.

“We the Subscribers, Free and Natural-born Subjects of George the Third, true and Lawfull King of Great Britain and All its Dependencies, (whom God preserve) whose Sacred Person, Crown, and Dignity, We are ready and Willing, at the Expence of Our Lives and Fortunes to defend, being fully convinced of the Oppressive and Arbitrary Tendency of a late Act of Parliament, imposing Stamp Duties on the Inhabitants of this Province, and fundamentally subversive of the Liberties and Charters of North America; truly sensible of the inestimable Blessings of a free Constitution, gloriously handed down to Us by Our Brave Fore Fathers, detesting Rebellion yet preferring Death to Slavery, Do with all Loyalty to Our most Gracious Sovereign, with All deference to the Just Laws of Our Country, and with a proper and necessary Regard to Ourselves and Posterity, hereby mutually and Solemnly plight Our Faith and Honour that We Will at any Risque whatever, and whenever called upon. Unite, and truly and Faithfully Assist each other, to the best of Our Power, in Preventing entirely the Operation of the Stamp Act.

Witness Our Hands this 18th day of February 1766.

On February 19th, a group of men broke into Mr. Dry’s office, the Collector, and stole the unstamped paper belonging to one of the seized ships and pursued an effort to force the release of the ship. On February 21st, about 8 o’clock that morning a group of armed men shut down all the roads to Governor Tryon’s house. At 10 o’clock about 500 armed men surrounded the house and a detachment of about sixty led by Cornelius Harnett came down the road and demanded to speak to Mr. Pennington, the Comptroller, who had taken refuge in Tyron’s house. Tryon refused to allow him to leave, but Mr. Pennington agreed to go to them. He did and they forced him to sign a resignation and promise to never issue any stamped paper. Afterwards, Pennington informed Tryon that all the clerks of the county courts and other public officers had also been forced to make the same promise.

Tryon writes to Great Britain:

By the best accounts I have received the number of this insurrection amounted to 580 men in arms, and upwards of 100 unarmed. The Mayor and Corporation of Wilmington and most all of the gentlemen and planters of the counties of Brunswick, Newhanover, Duplin, and Bladen with some masters of vessels composed this corps. Thus, Sir, I have endeavoured to lay before you the first springs of this disturbance.

Many of the men involved in this incident were members of the elected Lower House of the General Assembly. So in his next dispatch to England, March 1766, Tryon told the minister that he had decided not to call an Assembly, he did not want to fan the flames. He had been told by General Thomas Gage that British troops could not reach him until October and he only had about twenty-two days of provisions on hand.

The non-importation of British goods began to spread and London merchants began to feel the effects. Even though they preferred the colonies pay some taxes, they were more concerned about the non-importation movement and the effect on trade. On January 17, 1766, they appealed to Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act and on March 17, 1766, Parliament did just that, but not because they agreed with the American’s argument.

As a result of the upheaval over the Stamp Act, Grenville’s government fell, and he was replaced with the Marquis of Rockingham, Charles Watson-Wentworth. As soon as the Stamp Act was repealed, the Parliament passed the Declaratory Act which stated that Parliament:

“had, hath, and of right ought to have, full power and authority to make laws and statues of sufficient force and validity to bind the colonies and people of AMERICA, subjects of the crown of Great Britain, in all cases whatsoever.”

Some colonial leaders were too busy celebrating to pay attention to the Declaratory Act, but others were outraged. They recognized that it hinted more restraints would be coming. It had been copied almost word for word from the Irish Declaratory Act which had placed Ireland in a position of subjugation to the British Crown and that implied the same fate was intended for the Americans. They were right.

The New York colony was the base for the British military under General Thomas Gage so the Quartering Act had a significant impact on the colonials. The Assembly resisted full compliance with the requirements laid out in the legislation and that resulted in a confrontation between a group of soldiers and the Sons of Liberty. General Gage ordered the suspension of the Assembly which eventually forced compliance with the Quartering Act. This was followed by the passage of the Townshend Acts in 1767.

Five laws were included in the Townshend Acts; the Revenue Act, the Indemnity Act, the Commissioners of Customs Act, the Vice Admiralty Court Act, and the New York Restraining Act. The last one specifically intended to punish New York. The other four were intended to raise money to pay salaries for governors and judges, to establish Parliament’s supremacy in raising taxes, and to enforce trade regulations.

In Boston, the protests and boycott led by Sons of Liberty leader, Samuel Adams, prompted the Governor to request assistance from General Gage. In October 1768 British troops arrived in Boston and occupied the city. That resulted in the Boston Massacre in 1770. But as an outcome of the confrontation and subsequent trial of the British soldiers involved, the British Parliament repealed most of the taxes in the Townshend Act, except the tax on tea.~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~It was during this period of time that the Regulators’ Movement rose in Orange County, NC and spread through the North Carolina backcountry. You can read my narrative Era of the Regulators’ Movement for more details. But to sum it up, the economic depression spurred on by the Stamp Act resistance, the passage of the Currency Act which was putting an end to paper currency and commodities as legal tender, the shortage of hard currency and the unwillingness of Governor Tryon to allow for a redress of grievances, eventually erupted at the Battle of Alamance on May 16, 1771. Regulators who had gathered in the woods along the Alamance River, expecting to have their grievances heard, were fired on and some were killed by militias under the command of Governor Tryon. Twelve men were identified as leaders and tried in Hillsborough on June 19, 1771. Six of them were hung and six were pardoned. After the trials, Tryon required an oath of allegiance to the Great Britain from the remaining Regulators and their supporters, many of whom had their names on petitions for redress, just like our Burlingham Rudd. As a result of Tryon’s army disarming inhabitants, burning houses, destroying crops, confiscating beef and commodities for his purposes, and holding court martial for those who defied him, 6,409 took the oath of allegiance. Approximately, 1,500 fled the province. Governor Tryon’s heavy hand at putting down the insurgency was rewarded by George the Third who granted to him his long coveted commission to Governor of New York.

Some historians assert the Battle of Alamance was the opening battle in our War of Independence. Governor Tryon certainly portrayed the insurgency as a rebellion against the Crown government which elevated his status. However, the petitions that were addressed to Governor Tryon, appealing to him for redress, do not indicate this was a movement to break from England, although the Regulators did claim their constitutional rights as the subjects of England were being violated. Outside of North Carolina, published accounts and letters appeared in newspapers, such as, the Boston Gazette and Pennsylvania Journal. There were a few in support of Governor Tryon which were countered with others condemning his actions and laying the facts before the public. The most demoralizing one was a “Letter from “Atticus” to Governor Tryon” on November 7, 1771 in The Virginia Gazette which we now know was anonymously penned by Maurice Moore, an Associate Justice of the Superior Court in North Carolina during the Regulators’ Movement. He was on the bench during the trial of Edmund Fanning when the guilty verdict was deferred to England for clarification and consequently not enforced, and he was on the bench during the trial after Alamance which resulted in the hanging of six Regulators for treason, one of the six was Benjamin Merrill, who certainly would have been pretty well known and respected in the county to be the Captain of the Rowan County Militia.

“Atticus” not only recounted the Regulators’ Movement from its origins and condemned Tryon’s actions, but also exposed the ruse Tryon created that the Regulators were in rebellion against the Crown when actually the upheaval was against Tryon’s government. Moore was especially critical of Tryon’s manipulation of the legislative process that created the temporary law, the Johnston Riot Act. There is so much detail and first hand knowledge in the Letter, it’s hard to imagine that Maurice Moore’s compatriots didn’t know he was Atticus. Also, given the evidence of so many published accounts stating the details and condemning Tryon’s actions, it caused me to wonder just what did happen after the Battle of Alamance. What impact, if any, did it have on the political class? Were they emboldened? Did the Assembly take any legislative steps at all to address the issues that contributed to the rise of the Movement? And what impact did the aftermath of the Battle of Alamance have on the general population in the years that led up to the Revolution? With more than 6,000 men taking an oath of allegiance to England in 1771, which was imposed by the political class, how did North Carolina move from Regulators to Revolution in the following four years? Most of the published history of the Regulators’ Movement ends with the hangings after the battle, so I turned to the State and Colonial Records that are transcribed and made available online by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and found some interesting details. We are so lucky to have them. THANK YOU!

Governor Tryon’s replacement was Josiah Martin who arrived in North Carolina in August 1771. He was born in Long Island, NY and entered the British Army at the age of nineteen; by the time he was twenty he was serving on the New York Governor’s Council from 1759-64. He resigned his rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1769. North Carolina was his first governorship. His communications to the Secretary of State for the American colonies depict him eager and willing to do the best job he could for his King and country. He was a personal friend to Tryon, and a new member of the “royal governor’s club”, he understood what had transpired, but resisted laying responsibility at Tryon’s feet. His first encounter with the Lower House of the General Assembly was during the November 10 – December 23, 1771 session. James Picket and a Mr. Robertson represented Anson County. This was the second session of the present assembly, the first session had concluded on January 1771. Therefore, the members of this Lower House were sitting as representatives in the Assembly during the year leading up to and after the Battle of Alamance; the Assembly had not convened since. The Lower House was the elected representation; the men were the political movers and shakers in their respective counties and boroughs. They held the purse strings through their authority to levy taxes to fund the costs of running the province. The county sheriff collected the taxes. Most of this session dealt with paying the bills related to the campaign against the Regulators which cost the taxpayers six thousand pounds.

Interestingly, one of the first orders of business was a Bill proposed by Maurice Moore to indemnify those who had participated in “defence of the Government” and pardon “the misguided offenders”. The Bill was amended to exclude from pardon Hermon Husband, Rednap Howell and William Butler. The Lower House approved the Bill and notified Governor Martin, who told them he did not have the authority to issue a pardon, but would send the Bill on to England for George the Third to respond. Knowing what we now know about the “Atticus Letter”, was this Maurice Moore doing some CYA in anticipation that the law might not be on their side if law suits were filed against those in government? As far as I can tell, indemnification was never approved. The Board of Trade responded that the language in the Bill was too broad and needed to be narrowed and specific.

Then something that appeared to be routine business ended up being a shot across the new governor’s bow. The Lower House proposed a Bill that discontinued a poll tax of one shilling and a duty of four pence per gallon of rum, wine and other spirits that had been levied first in 1749 and renewed in 1754. The reason given was because the tax had served its purpose and was no longer needed. The Bill passed both chambers and was sent to the Council for their approval. When it came to Governor Martin for his approval, he denied the Bill because he wanted the revenue tied to the sinking of proclamation money which had been ordered discontinued under the Currency Act. Martin believed the process of moving from paper money to hard currency was too slow. The Assembly defied Martin’s order and did not include the one shilling poll tax on the list to the sheriffs and did not include the four pence tax on the list to the port collectors. Martin found out after the fact. He was told a discussion had taken place in the Lower House where the decision had been made, but when he referred back to the House journals, the official record, he found no mention of it. The Lower House had defied Martin and intentionally did not record their discussion in the official record. So Martin wrote to the Treasurers insisting they direct the sheriffs to collect the tax. The Treasurer of the Northern District complied, but the Treasurer of the Southern District said it was not his duty to give lists of taxes to the sheriffs and refused. In Martin’s letter to the Secretary of State for the American Colonies he included an interesting example of how Governor Tryon had used this method to go around the Assembly. Martin explained, in 1768, both Houses of the Assembly discontinued a poll tax of three shilling dedicated to the sinking of paper money. Governor Tryon worked around the Assembly by directing the sheriffs to collect the tax. Because some did and some didn’t, the tax was not universally collected. Martin supposed it was this lack of consistency in the collection of the tax that contributed to the unrest that led to the Regulators’ Movement. Perhaps it was the other way around and the collecting of taxes not approved by the Assembly was viewed as unconstitutional.

Next, Martin sent a message to the Lower House that he had received orders from the Crown’s representative to appoint commissioners to meet with South Carolina and continue the running of the border between the two provinces from the Salisbury Road, the stopping point at which the boundary had been run in 1763, to the Cherokee Lands (western border). The Speaker of the Lower House responded that the House refused the expense and gave reasons why. First, they told Martin the province had already paid thousands of pounds for a plan which ended up being drawn by the Governor of South Carolina and it had been put before the House for approval, but they had rejected it. They had asked Tryon to communicate to the King their concerns, but Tryon had left before that could happen, so they appealed to Martin to communicate their concerns. They had no interest in paying thousands of pounds for a boundary line that would deprive the province of many “useful inhabitants”, take from the province a great tract of valuable land now under North Carolina patents, cut off all communication and commerce between the province and the western Indians because it would leave then with a tract of impassable mountains between them, and ultimately cost them money they didn’t have to spend only to see the land go to South Carolina based on the old plan.

Governor Martin was exasperated by their refusal to fund a direct order from the King and dissolved the Assembly.

The following month, February 1772, Governor Martin wrote to the Board of Trade, as a matter of routine business, and informed them there were four legislative acts that had been passed by Tryon’s government in January 1771 that were still under consideration awaiting authorization from England.

First was the Johnson Riot Act. Martin advised that the legislation had been created in order to suppress the Regulators’ Movement and while there were some useful regulations in the law, there was one particular clause that his Crown lawyer advised he could not pass. It said that if any person was indicted for a crime under the Act, the Justices of the Court could post the indictment at the court house and each church, give the offender sixty day to surrender and stand trial. If the offender did not surrender, he would be deemed guilty and could be lawful killed and his lands and chattel confiscated for the use of government. The lawyer advised the clause was “unfit for any part of the British Empire” and recommended the Act be repealed. In May 1772, the Board of Trade wrote back and told Martin ... ”said clause appears to us to be irreconcilable with the principles of the Constitution, full of danger in its operation, and unfit for any part of the British Empire, but ...” let it stand until it expires.

Now, isn’t that an interesting development? The Johnston Riot Act issued by Tryon’s government was unconstitutional. The Act had never been transmitted to England for review and approval. Maybe Maurice Moore had a good reason for submitting the Bill to indemnify those who participated in the campaign against the Regulators.

Second was an Act for the establishment of Queen’s College in Mecklenburg. Third was an Act authorizing the Presbyterian ministers to solemnize the Rites of Matrimony according to The Church of Scotland. Both of these Acts were a quid pro quo to the Scots-Irish and Highlander Presbyterian ministers who had used their sermons to rally the militias that assisted Tryon with the suppression of the Regulators’ Movement. The fourth Act was a suspension of taxes for four years to a group of Highlanders who had settled in Cumberland County three years earlier. Perhaps, another quid pro quo that Tryon gave to Highlanders who provided the militia that assisted him at the Battle of Alamance. In April 1772 the Board of Trade disallowed these three Acts.

The next election for the Lower House of the Assembly took place in May 1772 and the new Assembly convened on January 25, 1773. Charles Robinson and James Picket represented Anson. Governor Martin opened this session with the traditional Governor’s Address before both Houses of the Assembly and touched on four points. First, George the Third proposed “an Act of Pardon and Oblivion”. He did not include the indemnification. Second, the public funds were in such disarray that he recommended the example of Virginia be adopted. Third, the establishment of permanent courts of law with a focus concerning the appointment of sheriffs needed their attention to “prevent for the future the evils that have originated in their mismanagement or corruption.” Martin told them he had toured the western counties during the summer and found some of the abuses still prevailed, for example the practice of making an arrest based on nothing more than accusations and holding the person in jail without bail or proof. This was one of the issues listed in both the 1768 Anson Regulators’ Protest Paper and the 1769 Anson Regulators’ Petition. Martin recommended they look to Great Britain as the example for this legislation. Fourth, he asked for the refurnishing of Fort Johnston of the necessary supplies to provide for the necessary defense.

The deliberations between the upper and lower houses of the Assembly are recorded in the minutes for both chambers and they include two incidents directly related to the Regulators’ Movement. Remember, the Lower House holds the purse strings for the province.

First, Governor Martin sent a request to the Lower House and told them that he had been approached the previous March by “many Judicious Gentlemen well wishers to this Country” with concerns that continued attempts by attorneys for Edmund Fanning to recover cost for the loss of his property (destroyed by angry Regulators in Orange County) were keeping alive “the dissentions that have recently thrown this Province into Civil commotions.” Martin informed the Lower House that because he desired peace and tranquility, he had advised Fanning’s attorneys that if Fanning dropped his lawsuits, the Legislature would pay Fanning’s losses in the amount of £1500 proclamation money. Fanning dropped his lawsuits. The Lower House responded that just the opposite would be the effect; paying reparations to Fanning would be “productive of discontent to the Inhabitants of this Province in general.” They denied the Governor’s request. As you can imagine, Martin’s response expressed his displeasure and then asserted his authority. The Lower House responded by expressing their appreciation for Martin’s good intentions and they surely felt uneasy about the denial, especially since Martin had already told Fanning to expect reparations. But it was not consistent with the justice they owed to the province to pay Fanning’s private losses from the public treasure. And … when the insurrection was quelled, the offenders were held to justice by the court … and Fanning’s continued attempts only affected a small part of the province. And, if the Legislature was to grant such a request, it might start the discontent all over again by injuring the public faith. And besides, they could not justify an appropriation of the public money for private purpose without the consent of the public.

The second incident involved payments to individuals who had filed claims related to sundry items either provided for or perhaps confiscated by Tryon’s military during the expedition against the Regulators. The minutes do not provide us with the details of the claims, only the name of the individual, the item(s) and amounts. Most of the claims were denied. But three claims were approved and among those three was a payment to William Few for a field of wheat, barley and oats for thirty-seven pounds ten shillings. William Few was a family member, perhaps brother, of James Few who was captured at the Battle of Alamance and hung the next day without trial and left to swing from a tree on the road to Hillsborough as a warning to others. After which, Tryon’s army turned their horses loose in his fields to forage and destroyed them as punishment.

So it does seem there was some “setting straight” going on in the Lower House concerning Edmund Fanning and his role, as well as, the hanging of James Few.

Most of the session of this Assembly was directed at the legislation to establish the Superior and Inferior Courts. It seems that it was the practice to establish these courts and applicable laws on a time limited/term basis and when the time limits expired, the Assembly recreated the legislation for the next term. A committee was established to determine which laws were set to expire and in their communication to Governor Martin there are a couple of additional indications that they recognized they needed to make changes. One was to the role of the sheriffs in collecting taxes because the current system did “not answered the intention of the Laws, but is a general grievance to this Colony.” The second one was to the method for selecting jurymen. They wanted the County Court to select juries, the reason being that when a sheriff makes the selection the juror tends to feel he is obligated to follow the will of the sheriff and not the law. This became a minor sticking point in a much larger battle. The Lower House continued the practice of “foreign attachments”. This meant that someone who owned property, such as land, in the province but never lived in North Carolina could have their property attached as a debtor to settle the debt. Governor Martin had orders from the Board of Trade to change the language to remove foreign attachments. The Lower House refused and cited it had always been the practice to attach and every other colony used attachments.

Towards the end of the session, Governor Martin presented the Lower House with a bill for the running of the SC/NC border over the summer months. You’ll remember that in the previous Assembly, the Lower House had refused to fund the project. But Governor Martin had orders from the King to get it done, so he had it done after he dissolved the previous Assembly. Martin stated to them that he had addressed their previous concerns. Assured them it was not the old plan that they had rejected, but a new plan. Once again they refused to provide the funds.

Governor Martin responded by setting the following Tuesday to reconvene the Assembly in order to give “a farther opportunity to reconsider the state of the Colony, and to proceed to the dispatch of public business”. When Tuesday came, the Clerk of the House informed Martin that there were not enough representatives left in town to make a quorum. Martin responded that according to English law only fifteen were needed to make a quorum and sent the message back to the Lower House. The Speaker of the House, John Harvey, replied that fifteen was not consistent with their duty to their constituents, a majority was required for a quorum. Martin responded by asking the Speaker if he expected a sufficient number of representatives to return in order to make a quorum. The Speaker replied ... no, actually those that are here are on their way home.

Governor Martin dissolved the Assembly on March 9, 1773 and set May 1, 1773 as the election date for a new Assembly. He’s now been governor for the province for a little less that two years and he’s dissolved the Assembly twice. The tension between Martin and the Lower House was mounting right along with the power struggle. Martin wrote to England and told the Secretary of State what transpired and why he dissolved the Assembly. The Secretary wrote back and told him to stand his ground; the King had instructed that fifteen was a quorum.

But before the election in May, a man by the name of Josiah Quincy traveled through North Carolina on his way back to Massachusetts from South Carolina. He visited with several of the important men of the province. Quincy was a member of the Sons of Liberty in Boston and had joined with John Adams in the defense of the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre. The journal of his trip and his impression of North Carolina are transcribed.

March 30th (1773). Dined with about twenty at Mr William Hooper's; find him apparently in the Whig interest; has taken their side in the House—is caressed by the Whigs, and is now passing his election through the influence of that party. Spent the night at Mr Harnett's,—the Samuel Adams of North Carolina (except in point of fortune). Robert Howe, Esq., Harnett and myself made the social triumvirate of the evening. The plan of continental correspondence highly relished, much wished for, and resolved upon as proper to be pursued.

Then on May 10, 1773, the Tea Act which gave a monopoly on the sale of tea to the East India Company went into effect. The Company had a surplus of tea and was on the verge of bankruptcy, so the Act was intended to secure the shareholder’s investments. The British Prime Minister, now Lord North, thought the colonists would agree to pay the tax because he had reduced the tea to half price. He miscalculated. In Philadelphia and New York, the tea ships were turned back to Britain. In Charleston the cargo was left in the basement of the Exchange to rot. In Maryland the colonists set the ship and cargo on fire. In Boston the Governor held the ships in port, but the colonists would not allow the ships to unload. The harbor filled up with tea cargo ships and the town filled up with British crews looking for work and finding trouble. On December 16, 1773, colonists disguised as Indians snuck onboard the ships and threw 342 chests of tea overboard, the Boston Tea Party. When word reached the Privy Council in London, they scolded Benjamin Franklin and, in due course, punished Massachusetts, Boston in particular.

Back in North Carolina, the new Assembly convened on December 4, 1773. Governor Martin gave his Address which was intended to give direction by defining the agenda for the legislative session. Once again he instructed that the Superior and Inferior Courts needed to be established and made permanent. He reported to the Assembly that the King had set the perimeters for the Law of Attachments, the jurisdiction of the Superior and Inferior Courts, and instructed that they pass the Act of Pardon and Oblivion with the excepted persons. Martin then told them that since they had failed to establish the courts in the last session, the province had been without a mode of justice over the last year and the goals had filled up with criminals. Therefore, he had used his authority to appoint Courts of Oyer and Terminer to alleviate the problem and he requested that the Assembly provide for the cost that had been acquired including the salary for the Judges.

James Picket and William Robeson represented Anson County. What a session it was! The first order of business was a reading of the letters and resolutions that had been received from the provinces of Massachusetts Bay, Virginia, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Delaware. Samuel Johnston, Robert Howe and Cornelius Harnett were appointed to a committee to draft the responses. Before the House adjourned, Robert Howe reported back from the committee. I’ve excerpted two most significant resolves:

Resolved that a Standing Committee of Correspondence and Enquiry be appointed, to consist of nine persons to wit, Mr. Speaker (John Harvey), Mr. Robert Howe, Mr. Cornelius Harnett, Mr. William Hooper, Mr. Richard Caswell, Mr. Edward Vail, Mr. John Ashe, Mr. Joseph Hewes, and Mr. Saml Johnston, and five of them to be a Committee whose business it shall be to obtain the most early and authentic intelligence of all such Acts and resolutions of the British Parliament, or proceedings of Administration as may relate to or effect the British Colonies in America and to keep up and maintain a correspondence and communication with our Sister Colonies respecting these important considerations and the result of such, their proceedings from time to time, to lay before this House.

Resolved that it be an instruction to the said Committee that they do without delay inform themselves particularly of the principles and Authority on which was Constituted a Court of Enquiry said to have been lately held in Rhode Island with powers to transmit persons accused of offences committed in America to places beyond the seas to be tried.

The second resolve referred to The Gaspee Affair.

This was the session, December 1773, where North Carolina set up their Committee of Correspondence to maintain communication with the other colonies. In the North Carolina Assembly there were those who identified with the Whigs and those who identified with the Tories. Those were the political parties of the British Parliament. Those in the North Carolina Assembly who leaned toward resistance adopted the name Whig, while those who leaned toward compliance adopted the name Tory, but their taking of those names did not necessarily mean that those two political parties in the British Parliament were aligned the same way with Americans.

The Lower House established a committee to respond to the Governor’s speech. They acknowledged the expediency of framing laws for the establishment of the courts but stated it would be in such manner ”as may be judged best adapted to the situation and circumstances of their constituents.” They told Martin that his recommendation concerning foreign attachments was not adequate, and therefore, would not be adopted. Then they reminded him that the authority delegated to him from the King concerning the commissions of Oyer and Terminer ”cannot be legally carried into execution without the aid of the Legislature of this Province; and the House cannot, consistent with the Justice due to their Constituents, make provision for defraying the expence attending a measure which they do not approve.”

So in other words, no they were not going to pay the cost of the courts and judges as Martin requested, they did not agree with the Crown’s instructions concerning foreign attachments, and the courts would be established according to what was best for America, not England.

The Lower House proceeded and did as they said they would do and when the Bill to establish the Superior and Inferior Courts arrived in the Governor’s Council with the foreign attachment clause, a stand off began. The Council would not accept the Bill. The foreign attachment clause was in the Superior Court Bill and some members of the Council proposed they just pass the Inferior Court part. The Lower House did not agree and insisted the two be joined in one Bill and adjourned on December 21, 1773. Governor Martin told the Lower House representatives to go ask their constituents if including the foreign attachment clause in the Superior Courts Bill was more important to them than not having a functioning Inferior Court system. He then set March 1, 1774 as the date for the Assembly to reconvene.

On March 2, 1774, the General Assembly convened and Governor Martin gave his address to the joint session. He acknowledged that he had read in the Lower House journals of the last session that the members had called on the London agent for the Province to the Crown to petition George the Third concerning their objection about the elimination of the foreign attachment clause in the Superior Court legislation. Martin told them that since they were awaiting a response from the Crown, he requested they lay that issue aside and move ahead with the establishment of a permanent court system. To emphasis the necessity, he cited “a flagrant and alarming instance in the barbarous and inhuman murder lately perpetrated at Cross Creek in the County of Cumberland. That is perhaps only a shocking prelude to scenes still more flagitious and tragical, if the hands of Justice continue longer disarmed by the suspension of the executive power of the Law” as an example of not having a system of justice in the province. He also spoke of “hostilities committed by the Indian Nation on the back part of the Southern Colonies” and requested they create the legislation to re-establish the militias for defense.

In the Lower House, Charles Robinson and James Picket represented Anson County. The stand off concerning the foreign attachment clause persisted. The previous incident concerning the Lower House’s discontinuance of the poll tax of one shilling and a duty of four pence per gallon on rum, wine and sprits that Martin had instructed the sheriffs to collect despite the legislation, also, arose again. This time the Lower House included the discontinuance in the court legislation Bill because the original intent of the tax and duty was to pay the salary of the Chief Justice. Their argument was they had established another system for paying the salary and no longer needed the tax.

When the Lower House presented the Bill for the establishment of the Superior Courts, it contained the foreign attachment clause and the legislation to discontinue the poll tax and duty. The Council responded with a proposal for temporary relief … that the Lower House create three separate Bills, one for the establishment of the Courts which would terminate in one year, and a second one in which “the attachment Law be drawn up as shall be most agreeable to your House” and a third for the repeal of the fee Bill with the last two subject to the suspension clause.

So the Lower House put the Council's proposal to a vote of the membership. Did they agree to separate bills for the court system and the foreign attachment law? No. Did they agree to separate out the fee bill? No. The Lower House drafted their preferred language for the foreign attachment clause and negotiated it with the Upper House and representatives of the Governor’s Council, who signed off on it.

Then the Lower House passed a resolution stating that they had the authority to levy taxation, as well as, discontinue that taxation and resolved that the collectors of taxes and duties would discontinue the collection of the one pound poll tax and four pence duty, and then resolved to indemnify the collectors from prosecution.

During this session the Act of Pardon and Oblivion was passed for the old Regulators, but the Act of Indemnification for those who acted on behalf of the government in putting down the insurrection was rejected on basis it needed to be clarified and more specific. England said it was too general. The Lower House responded it was based on a previous Act of Parliament and North Carolina asked no less than was granted in England to Englishmen, especially with a six thousand pounds debt to the province because of the campaign against the Regulators.

The General Assembly adjourned on March 25, 1774 with a date to reconvene on May 25, 1774 and sent their representatives to the Governor’s Mansion with the Bills they had passed for his signature. Martin signed all the Bills except one, I bet you can guess which one that was ... the Bill establishing the Superior Court with the foreign attachment clause. That same day, Martin required the members of the Governor’s Council who had signed off on the Bill to put their reasons in writing. Lewis De Rosset gave the most complete and compelling argument, but John Rutherford, John Sampson and Samuel Cornell all basically said the same thing ... they had tried every way possible to get the Lower House to separate out the foreign attachment clause to no avail and they believe it was best for the province to pass the Bill so that the Courts of Justice would be established because they had now gone a year without them.

This time, Martin found out about the resolution disallowing the collection of the poll tax and duty when he read the House journals. He was irate, to put it mildly.

Whereas the Assembly of this Province having by their resolves of the 24th of this Instant March assumed to themselves a power unconstitutional, repugnant to the Laws, and derogatory to the honour and good faith of this Province, by attempting to abrogate an Act of the General Assembly upon which the public credit essentially depends, It becomes necessary for His Majesty's service to dissolve the said Assembly of this Province. I do therefore with the advice and consent of His Majesty's Council and by virtue of the powers and Authorities in me vested by His Majesty, dissolve the said Assembly—And it is hereby dissolved accordingly. Given under my hand &c., dated 30th March 1774.

Governor Martin dissolved the Assembly. It was the last General Assembly to convene in North Carolina.

Following the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773, the Boston Port Act was passed on March 31, 1774, and on May 13th British General Gage replaced the Massachusetts governor with himself and occupied Boston with additional British troops. On May 20th the Massachusetts Government Act and the Administration of Justice Act took effect. On June 2nd the Quartering Act was reinforced and on June 22nd, the Quebec Act was passed, which extended the boundaries of French Quebec beyond the Proclamation Line of 1763 and allowed for Catholics to practice their faith without restrictions, the objective of which was to intimidate the Americans, and it reinforced their suspicion about the intent of the western boundary line.

On July 17, 1774 in Virginia, a meeting took place between George Mason, Patrick Henry and George Washington at Mount Vernon. They drew up the Fairfax Resolves of Virginia which were adopted by the county convention the following day.

On July 21, 1774, a meeting was held in Wilmington, North Carolina by a group of freeholders. They took the lead and prepared a circular letter to the other counties condemning the oppressive acts taken against the Massachusetts Bay colony for having exerted itself in defense of the constitutional rights of America. They called for all counties of North Carolina to send representatives to a general meeting at the Johnston County Court House on August 20th. They stood in alliance with Maryland, Virginia, the Northern Provinces and South Carolina. They agreed that Philadelphia was the place to hold the First Continental Congress in September. They said they considered the cause of Boston as the common cause of America and would send all the supply of provisions possible to assist by every means possible and encouraged Bostonians to stand firm.

In Anson, a meeting was held at the Court House on August 15, 1774, Thomas Wade was selected Chairman. Their language wasn’t as nuanced as Wilmington. It was more straightforward. Here’s an example:

Resolved, That it is the opinion of this Meeting, that the late arbitrary and cruel Acts of the British Parliament, and other unconstitutional and oppressive measures of the British Ministry, against the Town and Port of Boston, and province of Massachusetts Bay, are no other than the most alarming prelude to that yoke of slavery already manufactured by the said Ministry, and by them intended to be laid on all the Inhabitants of British America, and their Posterity for ever.

Samuel Spencer and William Thomas were appointed representatives to the August meeting at the Johnston County Court House and empowered to “consult on the great and important Subject of American Freedom”... “to the preservation of the Rights and Liberties of this Colony and those of America in general”.

Thomas Dockery, Thomas Wade, Samuel Spencer, William Thomas, Charles Robinson, Charles Medlock, William Pickett and James Auld were appointed to a Committee of Correspondence and empowered to call meetings of the freeholders when they thought necessary.

The Anson committee gave instructions to their representatives ... “the speediest, most constitutional and effectual way to obtain redress of the grievances above mentioned will be for the several American Colonies on this Continent to stop all trade and commerce with Great Britain, and every part of America that shall continue any trade or commerce with the same (except in some necessary articles such as salt) until the above said Acts be repealed”.

On August 25, 1774, the First Provincial Congress of North Carolina opened at New Bern. The list of resolutions they produced was long. They began with confirmation of their loyalty to George the Third and the rights of succession of the House of Hanover. They stated that the imposing of taxes by the British Parliament without their consent was illegal, unconstitutional and a violation of their rights as Englishmen. They called the forcing of tea from the East India Company dishonorable to America. They praised the colonists of Massachusetts Bay for having distinguished themselves as standing up for the rights of America and stated their cause was the cause of every honest American. They condemned the actions taken in Boston and Massachusetts Bay as a breach of the charter granted by King William and Queen Mary, a violation of their rights as confirmed and sanctified by the Magna Charta. Then, they listed what they were not going to do and applied specific dates, including no imports of East India goods, except medicines, beginning January 1775, no export of tobacco, pitch, tar or turpentine to Great Britain beginning October 1775, no import of slaves or purchase of imported slaves beginning November 1775, no use of East India Tea by anyone beginning September 1775 and anyone that violated any of those items would be considered an enemy. They would not do business with any other colony who did not take the same position of embargo and vendors would not be allowed to take advantage of the increase of prices because of the embargo. They agreed to send representatives to the General (First Continental) Congress in September for the purpose of securing the rights of Americans, repairing the violations of those rights and guarding from future violations. They agreed as a colony to provide support for the Town of Boston as each is able to contribute. They agreed to the establishment of a Committee of Safety, as well as, a Committee of Correspondence in each county to ensure the resolutions of both the Continental Congress and the Provincial Congress were enforced. They selected Joseph Hewes, William Hooper and Richard Caswell to represent them in Philadelphia in September and committed that each county raise twenty pounds Proclamation Money to pay their expenses. They then laid out their specific instructions to their representatives and closed with … “That therefore until we obtain an explicit declaration and acknowledgment of our rights, we agree to stop all imports, from Great Britain after the first day of January 1775, and that we will not export any of our commodities to Great Britain after the first day of October 1775.”

On September 1, 1774, Governor Martin wrote to William Legge, Earl of Dartmouth, Secretary of State for the American colonies. It’s a long letter that detailed all the problems he had with members of the Lower House, the jest of which was; this was all just political theatre, he was being stonewalled by a “cable” of members who are using the legislative process to prevent the court system from being constituted under English laws. It’s a puppet show. He would like to change the number of representatives per county and township in order to change the balance in the Lower House because most of his problems came from the representatives of the southern counties. The bigger problem was that when the province was brought under royal supervision, there was not an effort change from the old constitution under the Lords’ Proprietors to rule under English Law.

The First Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774. Twelve of the thirteen colonies sent representatives, absent was the Georgia colony (but a couple of individuals from Georgia did attend). Hewes, Hooper, Caswell were in attendance representing North Carolina. On September 9, the Suffolk Resolves of Massachusetts were unanimously passed by the leaders of Suffolk County and Paul Revere carried a copy to the Congress in Philadelphia where they were endorsed. The main outcome of the First Continental Congress was a Declaration of Rights and Grievances, a petition to George the Third, and an agreement to form a Continental Association which would ensure the enforcement of the boycotts. They set a date for their next meeting on May 10, 1775 if the Parliament had not agreed to their demands.

From London, Benjamin Franklin wrote to John Harvey in North Carolina on December 24, 1774 and informed him that the petition to the King that was produced at the First Continental Congress had been given to him by Lord Dartmouth who had informed Franklin that “his Majesty had been pleased to receive it very graciously, and say it was a matter of so great Importance that he should as soon as they met, lay it before his two Houses of Parliament.”

Sure he was!

There still were a few members of Parliament who wanted to find some resolution to the problem and were sympathetic to the Americans cause. Lord Chatham recommended removing British troops from Boston, but that was shot down. Then he proposed that if American would formally recognize Parliament’s supremacy and enact their own revenue plan, the British would not enforce the tax programs and would recognize the Continental Congress. But this plan was quickly killed. Lord North proposed that if the colonies taxed themselves to pay for their own defense and salaries for royal judges and other officials, then Parliament would not impose taxes on them. This was a favored proposal by the House of Commons but needed the House of Lords and the King’s approval.

Instead, on February 9, 1775 Parliament declared the American colonies in a state of rebellion and on March 30, 1775, Parliament passed, and George the Third approved, the New England Restraining Act which targeted the northeastern colonies as the troublemakers. It said, effective July 1, 1775, New England trade was to be limited to Britain and the British West Indies; trade with other nations was prohibited, and effective July 20, 1775, New England ships were barred from the North Atlantic fisheries. This last measure very much pleased the British Canadians, but threatened great harm to the New England economy.

In April 1775, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and South Carolina were added to the Restraining Act as a punishment for joining the Continental Association. North Carolina was not included in the expansion because Lord North did not know if North Carolina had joined the Continental Association.

When the Second Provincial Congress convened in North Carolina on April 3, 1775, Hewes, Hooper and Caswell presented the oath of the new Continental Association for approval by the representatives. All those at the meeting signed the oath, except Thomas MacKnight, a delegate from Currituck County. He withdrew himself as a representative. Upon which the other members issued the following resolve:

Resolved, That it is the Opinion of this Convention that from the Disingenuous and equivical behaviour of the said Thomas Macknight, it is manifest his intentions are inimical to the Cause of American Liberty, and we do hold him up as a proper object of Contempt to this Continent, and recommend that every person break off all connection, and have no further Commercial Intercourse or Dealings with him.

They also ordered the resolution to be printed in the newspapers of the neighboring provinces.

When the Second Provincial Congress of North Carolina adjourned on April 7, 1775, General Gage was undertaking a British troop build-up in Boston and had given orders to arrest John Hancock and Samuel Adams. Paul Revere made his famous ride to Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams that the British were coming to arrest them. Hancock and Adams escaped. Jonas Parker with seventy-five Minutemen were waiting and met the British upon their arrival.

On April 19, 1775, the British fired on the Minutemen ... ”The shot that was heard around the world”, at the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

The Second Continental Congress convened on May 10, 1775 in Philadelphia, as had been planned. On that same day, the Green Mountain Boys led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold defeated a small garrison and captured Fort Ticonderoga, and Fort Crown Point the following day. Seven days later, Arnold and fifty men raided Fort Saint-Jean and seized the British’s largest military vessel on Lake Champlain. They took the armaments and cannons to Boston.

The first shots of the War had been fired by the time the Second Continental Congress came into session and the sentiment had begun to shift from reconciliation to independence, especially in Boston which was under occupation by the British military. The advocates for independence marshaled a resolution recommending that any colony that lacked a proper revolutionary government should form one.

On May 15, 1775, the Congress adopted John Adams’ preamble to this resolution which called for the colonies to throw off the authority of the Crown government and their oath of allegiance to Britain. The Virginia Convention gave instructions to their delegates to propose a resolution calling for a declaration of independence.

Coincidentally, on May 20, 1775, the freeholders in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina met and issued the Mecklenburg Resolves calling for independence from England.

On June 13, 1775, the colonial leaders in Boston heard of a plan by General Gage to occupy the hills surrounding the city and lay siege to Boston. They took those cannons they had captured from that British ship on Lake Champlain with 1,200 colonial troops and fortified the area at the surprise of the British. On June 17th the colonial forces repulsed two assaults by the British, but fell on the third one and retreated to Cambridge. The British attained a victory at the Battle of Bunker Hill, but their losses were significant, 800 wounded, 226 killed, including a large number of their officers. The colonial forces had few losses, but more importantly they demonstrated they were willing to stand and fight the British army.

The Second Continental Congress stayed in session throughout the War and took on the role of our national government. Delegates communicated back to their Provincial Congress the instructions and recommendations and periodically reported back in person. On June 14, 1775 the Congress created the Continental Army and named George Washington Commander in Chief on June 15th, he took command on July 3, 1775.~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~Meanwhile back in North Carolina, Governor Martin had fled from the Governor’s Mansion at New Bern because the training of the Brunswick County militia had caused him to fear for his safety. He relocated to Fort Johnston which was guarded by Captain John Collett with a small contingent of British military. On June 30, 1775, he wrote to William Legge, the Earl of Dartmouth, to appraise him of the situation in the colony, and he proposed a plan to return control of the government back to his authority. Three months earlier, March 1775, Martin had first proposed to raise the Highlanders at Cape Fear if the King would restore his military rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Once again he requested a return to his former rank and said he could raise 3000 Highlanders. He needed some arms and ammunition and had communicated this request to General Gage. He told Legge that he had been working on building an alliance in the western counties and proposed rallying the old Regulators, as well as, an alliance with the Indians on the western frontier before they were persuaded to support the Americans. He recommended using the Negroes, who were few in the western counties but larger in number in the southern counties. Martin told Legge that he felt confident he could hold back the insurgency if the British would just do something about Virginia’s influence! He closed by requesting his dispatches be sent by way of South Carolina’s Governor because he feared they would otherwise be intercepted. He was right.

On July 13, 1775, the Committee of Safety in Wilmington wrote to Samuel Johnston and told him the Committee of Intelligence had incepted a letter from Legge to Martin that indicated a plan to use the Regulators, Indians and Negroes against them. They asked that the Provincial Congress be convened without delay because the time had come to raise the militia and put them on a payroll for the defense of the province. Only the Provincial Congress had the authority to do that. They also told him they had “a number of enterprising young fellows that would attempt to take the fort, but are much afraid of having their conduct disavowed by the Conventien.” In other words, they wanted orders to attack Fort Johnston. When Governor Martin heard of the talk about the attack on Fort Johnston, he fled to the safety of the British sloop-of-war Cruizer, anchored on the Cape Fear River, leaving Captain Collett at the fort. Because Martin had dismantled the guns at the fort and remounted them on the Cape Fear River to protect the Cruizer, Captain Collett could not protect the fort and abandoned it. On the night of July 18th, Colonel Robert Howe and his militia, with John Ashe and Cornelius Harnett, marched to the abandoned fort and burned it in full view of Governor Martin aboard the Cruizer. When Martin eventually received a response from Legge, he was told that the King approved his plan but would not restore his rank, instead the command had been given to Lieutenant Colonel MacLeane and the King expected Martin to give his full support.

Highlanders began arriving by shiploads and Governor Martin required an oath of allegiance to Great Britain before he would issue their land grants. On July 10, 1775, the Presbyterian ministers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania sent a circular letter to the Presbyterian inhabitants of North Carolina explaining to them that what they have been told about the ministers in Pennsylvania was not true. That it is totally in keeping with the principles of their faith to demand their rights as Englishmen.

Listen not to them who abuse our General (Continental) Congress, or our poor distressed brethren at Boston, who are contending for American liberty, and now bear the burden and heat of the day; but above all listen not to their bloody Counsels who would excite you to draw your sword to enslave your fellow subjects in North Carolina and make your Province a field of blood. We conclude with hearty prayers for your temporal and everlasting welfare, and for a speedy and honorable decision of our contests with Great Britain on constitutional principles: and beg leave to subscribe ourselves, with great respect, your friends and brethren in the Lord Jesus Christ

The Third Provincial Congress of North Carolina opened on August 20, 1775 at Hillsborough and adjourned on September 10th. Representing Anson County were Thomas Wade, Samuel Spencer, William Thomas, David Love and William Picket. There were several items on their agenda with most of the meeting dedicated to the formation of the military structure: Minutemen, Militia and Continentals or Regulars. The province was divided into six military districts. Anson County fell in the Salisbury District and the Field Officers appointed were: Thomas Wade, Colonel; Adlai Osburn, Lieut. Colonel; Joseph Hardin, Major. They put the province on a war footing and appointed Richard Caswell Treasurer of the Southern district and one of the Signers of the Public Bills of Credit, so he resigned his position as one of the three representatives to the Continental Congress and was replaced by John Penn. They implemented the resolution of the Continental Congress to defy the Navigation Act and declared their ports open to any country of Europe except Great Britain, Ireland and the British West Indies, duty free! The Articles of Confederacy from the Continental Congress were presented and sent to a committee. Persons suspected of suspicious behavior were sent to a committee for examination. Governor Martin’s recent proclamation of condemnation of the Provincial Congress as an illegal bunch of traitors was presented and unanimously resolved:

That the said Paper is a false Scandalous, Scurrilous, malicious, and sedicious Libel, tending to disunite the good people of this province, and to stir up Tumults and Insurrections, dangerous to the peace of His Majesty's Government, and the safety of the Inhabitants, and highly injurious to the Characters of several Gentlemen of acknowledged Virtue and Loyalty; and further that the said paper be burnt by the common Hangman.

A committee was established to prepare an address to the inhabitants of the province to explain the situation and called on them to unite behind a new government, pointing out that the Governor had abandoned his duties without any threat or violence towards him and was onboard a sloop-of-war on the Cape Fear River. Likewise, a committee was appointed to meet with the Highlanders “to explain to them the nature of our unhappy controversy with Great Britain, and to advise and urge them to unite with the other inhabitants of America in defence of those rights which they derive from God and the Constitution.”

In his letter to William Legge, Earl of Dartmouth, dated October 16, 1775, Martin confirmed that the committee appointed by the Provincial Congress had succeeded in persuading many of the settlers in the western counties to the American’s side and those who had voiced their support for him now claimed neutrality. He wasn’t sure, but he thought the same had happened among the Cherokees. He was surprised to learn that the Highlanders had also declared neutrality, but he felt like they were just lying dormant and would rally to the Crown’s side. He suggested that two battalions of Highlanders be raised in Britain and sent to North Carolina so they could use their influence to rally their countrymen to the King’s Standard. He voiced his frustration that he had not heard from General Gage about his request for arms and ammunition, lamented that the colony was slipping away, and what a shame it was to loose such resources. If he could just get some support, he was certain he could restore royal authority.

In October 1775, the British recalled General Thomas Gage from his command as a result of the huge loss of men he had incurred at the Battle of Bunker Hill and put Major General William Howe in charge. On October 27, 1775 William Legge wrote the Governor Martin:

The advantages that may attend the sending immediately a Force to the assistance of the Friends of Legal Government in the Four Southern Provinces of Virginia North and South Carolina, and Georgia, are so apparent, and have been so fully stated, by yourself and the Governors of the other 3 Provinces, that the King has thought fit to order, that a Body of His Majesty's Forces, consisting of seven Regiments should prepare to embark at Cork about the 1st of December, in order to proceed with two companies of Artillery and a proper number of Battalion Guns, Howitzers, etc to Cape Fear River.

You will see by the enclosed copy of a Letter to Major General Howe, that this separate corps is to be commanded by one of the several officers with him, and it will also fully instruct you as to the whole plan and conduct of the expedition, and I have only to add, that any corps of Provincials that may be formed upon this occasion, must be raised by your authority, and commanded by you as Provincial Colonel.

The provincial governor of Georgia, James Wright, had lived in the colonies for a long time. His father had been the chief magistrate of South Carolina when he began his law practice in Charleston. Eventually, he became the London agent for South Carolina, and then he became the lieutenant governor of Georgia, followed by the governorship in 1760. The governor of South Carolina, Lord William Campbell, was a Scot. He was married to a native South Carolinian, Sarah Izard. She was the daughter of Ralph Izard, a family name that those familiar with the Rudd clan at St. James Goose Creek will recognize as prominent in early South Carolina history. Campbell had been governor of Nova Scotia prior to his successful petition to be reassigned to South Carolina in 1775 because of his wife’s family. He replaced the acting governor, William Bull, who was a Loyalist, and often acted as governor in the absence of a royal appointee. In Virginia, John Murray was governor. Murray was a Scot who had participated in the Jacobite campaign of 1745 to restore the English Crown to the House of Stuart. He was only fifteen years old at the time and served with his father, William. He joined the British Army at age twenty, served in the British Parliament and became governor of Virginia at about age forty in 1771.

In his letter of November 7, 1775, Legge laid out the strategy to Martin. He told him to gather his force of Loyalists to be ready for British troop arrival at Cape Fear. Once the troops were landed and the Crown’s authority was returned, the command would take forces to Charles Town, South Carolina and do the same there.

In his November 12, 1775 letter to Legge, we find the details of Governor Martin’s strategy to raise the Highlanders. He said, about three weeks ago, Captain Alexander McLeod, a gentleman from the Highlands of Scotland and a former officer of the Marines who had been in the province for about a year, as well as, his father-in-law, Mr. Allan McDonald, had sought him out and told him they each had raised a company of Highlanders. And Major (Donald) McDonald who was sent by General Gage from Boston under orders to raise a battalion of Highlanders under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Allan McLeane (mentioned above as appointed by the King) had offered to these Highlanders a position of rank and title under his command which they had agreed to if the King decided not to grant Martin’s request to raise the Highlanders under his own command. Martin also expressed his concern that taking those men away from the province would undermine the solidarity of the Highlanders that were under their influence.~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~

Allan McDonald, the father-in-law of Alexander McLeod, was the husband of Flora McDonald, the main character in the escape of Bonnie Prince Charlie after his defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Alexander McLeod, the son-in-law, was married to their daughter, Anne. Alexander and Anne had two sons, Alexander Jr. and James. The family emigrated to North Carolina in the summer of 1774, and eventually settled at Cheek’s Creek which at the time was in Anson County, a tributary of the Pee Dee River. It’s important to understand the history of the Highlanders at Cape Fear.

According to Malcolm Fowler, author of ”They Passed this Way; a Personal Narrative of Harnett County History”, after Gabriel Johnston, a Scot and a graduate of the University of Edinburgh, became governor of North Carolina in 1734, he established his residence and the seat of government on the Cape Fear River, over the protests of the Albemarle planters. (I think that was likely because the colony was populated down from the Virginia side and up from the South Carolina side and that location shifted the seat of political influence.) He began to write back to his friends in Scotland about the opportunities in North Carolina and encouraged them to emigrate. As governor, he also offered incentives including ten years of free poll taxes and grants of money to get them started in their new life. In 1736, a group of Highlanders came to have a look and not finding the area around Wilmington and lower Bladen very appealing, they moved up the Cape Fear River just above present-day Fayetteville where they found the hills and streams that reminded them of their Highlands. Some of them remained and others returned to Scotland and spread the word of this appealing new home in the new world where they would be far from England’s yoke. In September 1739, the first shipload arrived and headed up the Cape Fear. Gradually, the settlement grew into thousands as more and more Highlanders arrived over the decades.

Now, some English-American colonial history, I’ll try not to confuse, but it does get complicated!

The era known as the ”Restoration” began in 1660 when the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland were restored to a monarchy with the return of the House of Stuart by Charles II. The colony of Carolina was established by eight noblemen who had helped Charles II regain the English Crown by rewarding them with the land grant and a lot of freedom to do with it as they pleased. They (or their heirs) had sold their interest back to the Crown by 1727, except for a strip along the VA/NC border that became known as the Granville District. The colony split between North Carolina and South Carolina. As the eastern coastal tidewater portion of North Carolina was being populated, the migration from South Carolina flowed into the southern end of the eastern portion and began to spread towards the Pee Dee River area within the following twenty years. (That’s when our Burlingham Rudd, the father, migrated to the lower Pee Dee River region.)

Prior to the reign of Charles II, England had just come out of the Commonwealth period of Cromwell which was the result of a religious war between Cromwell’s Puritans and Charles I’s Royalists. That ended with Charles I being charged with treason and his ultimate execution for a secret deal to use the Scots against Cromwell. Prior to that period, England had a long bloody history of the throne being back and forth between Anglican or Catholic, depending on who succeeded. When Charles II became King, many were concerned that he was secretly a Catholic and he had married a Catholic. But he died in 1685 leaving no legitimate heirs. The Crown passed to his brother, James II of England and VII of Scotland who was a Catholic convert. He had two daughters, Mary and Anne, by his first wife and both were raised Protestant at the command of Charles II. His first wife died, he remarried a Catholic and had a son. Now there was a Catholic heir to the throne and this gave impetuous for the ”Glorious Revolution”. James II&VII was deposed by his nephew, William of Orange, who was also his son-in-law, the husband of Mary, his daughter.

During the ”Glorious Revolution”, the Scot Presbyterians supported William, but the Scot Highlander Catholics supported James II&VII. The period of joint rule by two heirs began in 1689 with William and Mary. James fled to the protection of Louis XIV of France with his son and wife. When James II&VII died in 1701, Louis XIV officially recognized his son as James III of England and VIII of Scotland, who became known as “The Old Pretender” (to the throne). During the reign of William and Mary the Declaration of Rights was signed into law which laid out the succession that brought Anne to the throne as Queen in 1702. And in 1701, before William died he had signed the Acts of Settlement which ensured the Protestant succession to the throne. Anne had eighteen pregnancies, but left no heir when she died in 1714. The Acts of Settlement directed that succession go to Sophia, House of Hanover (Germany), grand-daughter of James I (VI of Scotland and I of England) who was a Protestant. But Sophia died seven weeks before Anne, so the English throne passed to Sophia’s eldest son, George Lewis, who was 52nd in the line of succession to the throne. This marked the beginning of the Hanoverian Dynasty with George I.

The year following his coronation, 1715, the Jacobites (exiled Highland Scots loyal to the House of Stuart and James III&VIII) landed in Scotland and made an unsuccessful attempt to take the throne from the Hanoverians. Some of the captured leaders were exiled as prisoners-of-war to Charleston, South Carolina. George I militarized the Highlands and when George II became King, he continued the militarization. In 1745 there was another unsuccessful Jacobite uprising instigated by the son of James III&VIII, Charles Stuart, also known as “Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Young Pretender”. This time the Jacobite forces were brutally defeated at the Battle of Culloden in 1746 by the English forces under William Augustus, the Duke of Cumberland who was the youngest son of George II. His defeat of the Jacobites earned him the nickname of ”Butcher Cumberland” for his scorched earth policy in the aftermath of the battle. Those Highlanders who survived submitted to the Blood Oath. Many of them eventually fled to North Carolina where Gabriel Johnston was the Royal Governor. In 1754, Cumberland County was set off from Bladen County and given the name honoring the man who was responsible for the butchery of thousands of Highland Scotsmen following the Battle of Culloden in 1746 … no doubt as a reminder to the Highlanders living at Cape Fear.

So, there was an old settlement of Highlanders at Cape Fear by the time of the American Revolution, some of them were former Jacobites, some were descendants of Jacobites, others had come over the years to join them. Those who had been in America for a generation or more, no longer felt the loyalty to England. For some, it was their fathers or grandfathers who had taken the Blood Oath and bore the brand on their wrist, not them. This is what Governor Martin discovered when he attempted to persuade them to the Loyalist side. This is why the strategy of importing new Highlanders into Cape Fear was developed and why Governor Martin required the oath of allegiance to Great Britain before he allowed their land grants. And in a very twisted logic, this is why Flora McDonald and her family had such influence over those Highlanders at Cape Fear who had ties to the defeat at Culloden and had taken the ”Blood Oath”. It was a powerful bond.

“I, _____, do swear and as I shall answer to God at the great day of judgment, I have not, nor shall I have in my possession any gun, pistol or arm whatsoever, and will never use plaid, tartan or any part of Highland garb. That I will defend His Majesty the King and support him in any measure he may take. And should I break this, my solemn oath, may I be cursed in all my undertakings, family and property; may I never see my wife, children, father, mother or other relations; may I be killed in battle as a coward and lie without Christian burial in a strange land, far from the graves of my forefathers and kindred. May all this come across me if I break my oath.”

Likewise, the oath of allegiance to Great Britain that the old Regulators had taken after the Battle of Alamance bound some of them as Loyalists.~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~On December 23, 1775, George Germain, Viscount Sackville wrote to Martin and told him they were ready to put the plan in motion. Lord Cornwallis was given command of the land forces, Sir Peter Parker was in command of the naval forces, and instructed Martin to gather his provincial troops to join the King’s troops when they landed.

Governor Martin issued a Proclamation on January 10, 1776 calling for all loyal to the King to rally to the cause of restoring royal authority and issued commissions to Highlanders and Regulators as officers. On February 5th, Donald MacDonald, a British officer sent by General Gage, issued his Manifesto as a general call for loyalists to rally. That was followed by a Manifesto by Thomas Rutherford, Colonel for the Cumberland County Loyalists, to meet at Cross Creek by February 16th.

On February 12th, John Penn, one of the North Carolina delegates to the Continental Congress, wrote to Thomas Person and told him he read in the newspaper that the British were on their way to North Carolina, that Major General Clinton had left from Boston about three weeks ago (January 20th) and stopped in New York to consult with Governor Tryon about what strategy to pursue when he arrived at Cape Fear. By February 10th, the New Bern Committee of Safety had received word that men were on the move from Cumberland, Anson, Bladen and Guilford to Cross Creek in response to Donald MacDonald’s call for Loyalists to repair to the King’s Royal Standard and ordered Richard Caswell to raise the Minutemen and join forces with the other Patriot militias. There were three officers deployed to stop the Loyalists before they arrived at Wilmington, Colonel Richard Caswell, Colonel Alexander Lillington and Colonel James Moore (the father of Maurice Moore) who was the lead commander. The various Committees of Safety around the province began arresting and disarming Highlanders and old Regulators as a deterrent and calling out their militias for the march to Wilmington. Research now shows that about twenty-three of the thirty-five counties sent as many men as they could spare. The Anson County regiment of militia detachment was led by Major David Love with two known companies led by Captain Thomas Harris and Captain Thomas Wade; a third company led by Captain Thomas Childs arrived after the battle and most likely assisted with the capture of prisoners.

On February 23rd, Colonel William Purviance reported on activity around Wilmington and that he had taken some Tories into custody. His reconnaissance said that there were about 200 old Regulators and about 900 Highlanders on the move toward Wilmington.

Colonel Caswell led the New Bern District and Colonel Lillington led the Wilmington District, all the other District Militias were instructed to join Colonel Moore with the 1st NC Regiment of the Continental Line who had positioned his troops along Rockfish Creek, south of Cross Creek. This position at Rockfish Creek blocked the most direct route for the Loyalists forces from Cross Creek to Wilmington so they were forced to detour by crossing the Cape Fear River at Campbelton and using Negro Head Point Road for their march to Wilmington. When Colonel Moore learned of their route, he sent messages to Colonel Caswell to block their way at Corbett’s Ferry over the Black River, to Colonel Alexander Martin and Colonel James Thackston to take their troops to Cross Creek and prevent a retreat, and to Colonel Lillington to fortify Moore’s Creek Bridge. Colonel Moore took his troops to Elizabeth Town hoping to meet the Loyalists at Corbett’s Ferry, but they constructed a bridge above the ferry and crossed, continuing towards Moore’s Creek. On February 25th, Colonel Lillington and 150 Minutemen built earthworks on the east bank of the creek. The next day February 26th, Colonel Caswell and his 850 Militiamen arrive and brought two pieces of artillery, Old Mother Covington, a 2 ½ pound cannon, and her Daughter, a ½ pound swivel gun, and camped on the west side of the creek.

When the Loyalists arrived about six miles from the bridge, General McDonald, the British commander, sent a messenger under a flag of truce to the Patriots offering terms of surrender. The Patriots refused and sent that message back. His messenger told General MacDonald that the Patriots were camped with their backs to the creek. That night Colonel Caswell moved his troops to the east side of the creek where Colonel Lillington was camped. Together they made up about 1000 troops. Colonel Caswell ordered his tents left up and campfires burning on the west side to fool the enemy. They removed the planks from the bridge and greased the girders.

General McDonald wanted to move on to the coast, but he fell ill that night and Lieutenant Colonel McLeod took command of the Loyalists troops. He decided to attack and began his march to the bridge at about 1 a.m. on February 27, 1776. When he arrived he found Colonel Caswell’s camp empty and saw some men on the other side of the bridge. The men called out and asked if he was a friend. He replied “to the King”. The men fell back to the earthworks. Lieutenant Colonel McLeane approached the bridge and called out in Gaelic. There was no reply and he realized they were Patriots. Lieutenant Colonel McLeane told Lieutenant Colonel McLeod and he rallied the Loyalists troops and moved toward the bridge. In spite of discovering that the planks had been removed, and only about half of the Loyalists forces were armed, Lieutenant Colonel McLeod and Captain John Campbell led the charge down the girders of the bridge with the battle cry “King George and Broadswords” to the beat of drums and Scottish war pipes. They were met with cannon and musket fire from the Patriots. The battle was over within minutes. Over thirty Loyalists were killed including Lieutenant Colonel McLeod, some fell on the road, some on the bridge and some drowned in the creek. About twenty Loyalists were wounded. Most of the fleeing Loyalists were captured, about 850, including General Donald McDonald. Colonel Moore with his troops arrived after the battle but his forces assisted with rounding up the fleeing Loyalists, some three to a horse. The Loyalist officers were taken to Halifax and placed in the goal, which now was bulging with prisoners-of-war. The remaining Loyalists were paroled upon their taking an oath not to raise arms against the Patriot cause ever again.

The Battle of Widow Moore’s Creek Bridge was the first battle of the American Revolution in North Carolina. The charge of the Highlanders is thought to have been the last broadsword battle ever fought.

Major General Clinton arrived at the coast of North Carolina on March 12, 1776 to find no Loyalists troops waiting and remained there expecting Lord Cornwallis and Sir Peter Parker to arrive not knowing they had been delayed by stormy seas. The situation had now changed in North Carolina. The Committees of Safety had continued to seek out old Regulators and Highlanders, pressing them to choose to take the oath of allegiance to the American cause, claim neutrality or be disarmed.

The Fourth Provincial Congress convened on April 4, 1776. Representing Anson County were Daniel Love, Samuel Spencer, John Crawford, James Picket, and John Childs. At this meeting the Halifax Resolves were passed granting authority for North Carolina delegates to the Second Continental Congress, Joseph Hewes, William Hooper and John Penn, to cast their votes for independence. It’s noteworthy that the resolution also maintained the independent rights of North Carolina. Both the date of the Mecklenburg Resolves and the date of the Halifax Resolves are emblazoned on the North Carolina State Flag in commemoration of the bold steps taken by North Carolina in being the first of the American colonies to call for independence from Great Britain.

Resolved, That the delegates for this Colony in the Continental Congress be impowered to concur with the delegates of the other Colonies in declaring Independency, and forming foreign alliances, reserving to this Colony the sole and exclusive right of forming a Constitution and laws for this Colony, and of appointing delegates from time to time (under the direction of a general representation thereof), to meet the delegates of the other Colonies for such purposes as shall be hereafter pointed out. The Congress taking the same into consideration, unanimously concurred therewith.

The Provincial Congress established a committee of inquiry including: Allen Jones, John Ashe, Miles Harvey, Thomas Benbury, Nathaniel Rochester, Griffith Rutherford, Arthur Council, Whitmill Hill, Thomas Burke, Thomas Person, John Rand, Thomas Jones and Cornelius Harnett, to investigate the extent of the involvement of those incarcerated at the Halifax gaol and reported back to the Congress on April 20, 1776. They singled out one particular as a traitor to the cause because he had taken the Association oath:

Your Committee are of Opinion that Farquard Campbell disregarding the sacred Obligations he had voluntarily entered into to support the Liberty of America against all usurpations has Traitorously and insidiously endeavoured to excite the Inhabitants of this Colony to take arms and levy war in order to assist the avowed Enemies thereof. That when a prisoner on his parole of honor he gave intelligence of the force and intention of the American Army under Colo Caswell to the Enemy and advised them in what manner they might elude them—and that he is a Freeholder and lives in Cumberland County.

Among the list, you can find here, are these men from Anson County, who they charged with participation at the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge on the side of the British: Alexander MacDonald (son of Kingsborough), Samuel Snead, Lewis Lowrey, Nathaniel Stead, Murdoch McLeod, John Smith, Norman McLeod, John McLeod, Rory McKinnen, Allen Macdonald (of Kingsborough), Alexander McRaw, Hugh McDonald.

Both Colonel James Moore and Colonel Richard Caswell wrote after-battle accounts to Cornelius Harnett. And on March 21, 1776, Governor Martin wrote a very long explanation to his new boss, George Germain, Viscount Sackville, who had replaced William Legge, in which he pretty much said ... he moved ahead with plans estimating that the British would arrive mid-February based on the instructions he had received from William Legge unaware that the plans for deployment from Great Britain had been delayed. Then Martin described a very interesting picture that referenced an Address from Inhabitants of Anson County proclaiming their loyalty to Great Britain. Martin said the delay caused loyalists support to decline. If the British had arrived according to his plans, then the loyalists of the backcountry would have rallied to the side of restoring the Crown’s authority. There is no date on the Anson County document, or a list of signatures, but it was signed by 227 inhabitants. We can see by the list of names of officers that the committee identified, most of those from Anson have Scottish surnames, but one surname in particular ... Lowrey (Lowery) ... is a surname of one of the Rudd family neighbors. But so were many of the men representing Anson County in the Provincial Congress. No doubt there were family, friends and neighbors in Anson on both sides, just as there was throughout the colonies. Martin had been given the impression from the North Carolina loyalists, as well as, the prediction of Highlander support by Lieutenant Colonel MacLeane that 10,000 men could be successfully raised. The first report he received indicated about 5,000, the next report indicated about 3,500. Most of the Highlanders came from Cross Creek, the main settlement on the Cape Fear River, and numbered about 1,400 when the march began. But as they moved towards Wilmington, many abandoned the march and returned home which reduced the numbers. Martin explained that by the time the Loyalists forces had reached Moore’s Creek Bridge, they numbered about one hundred “country” people (likely old Regulators) and 600 Highlanders because along the way there were defections ”as danger and difficulty increased upon them”.

Sir Peter Parker’s fleet began arriving at Cape Fear on April 18th and Lord Cornwallis arrived on May 3rd. On May 5, 1776, Major General Clinton issued a proclamation which offered a pardon to any “insurgent” who laid down their arms and took a loyalty oath to Great Britain … expect for Cornelius Harnett and Robert Howe. Then the British set about raiding the property of Patriots and Governor Martin ordered the “Crown’s share” of supplies for the British fleet. In late-May, Clinton sent recognizance to Charleston Harbor and by May 31st, realizing that the Patriots had done a really good job of disarming Loyalists, Clinton decided to move ahead with the plan to take Charleston and lifted anchor with Lord Cornwallis and Sir Peter Parker. Governor Martin went with them.~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~John Rutledge, one of the representatives from South Carolina, had returned to Charleston in February 1776. He had received the same intelligence that John Penn had received when he warned Thomas Person of the British plans to capture the southern colonies. The royal appointed governor, Lord William Campbell, had opted for the safety of a British warship in September 1775. On March 26, 1776, the last Provincial Congress of South Carolina adjourned and the same men convened themselves as the first General Assembly and elected John Rutledge as president and Henry Laurens as vice president. Rutledge ordered the strengthening of Charleston’s defenses and put Colonel William Moultrie in charge of the military preparations. Rutledge ordered Moultrie to Sullivan’s Island to supervise the building of a fort for seacoast defense, to either stop the British landing or make it as costly as possible. Since it was unlikely the fort could annihilate Clinton’s armada, inland troops and arming the city was also planned. General George Washington had given Major General Charles Lee command of the Southern Department in March 1776 with the orders to protect Charleston, the most important port in the south. Major General Lee marched a detachment of Colonel Muhlenberg's Virginians to North Carolina where he picked up a detachment of North Carolina Regulars under Colonel Jethro Sumner and Colonel Thomas Clark. These 2,000 men joined Colonel Thompson’s South Carolina Rangers in Charleston.

At Sullivan’s Island, Colonel Moultrie’s work gangs, among them Charleston’s African slaves, began construction on a fort that was to be 500 feet square with double walls, sixteen feet apart and filled with sand to absorb the cannon shots. The walls were made of twenty feet high palmetto logs that rose ten feet above a wooden platform where the artillery was mounted consisting of a assortment of thirty-one cannons along the front and rear walls, but only the front, seaward side was completed. When Major General Lee saw the fort he called it a “slaughter pen” and told Colonel Moultrie to abandon it. John Rutledge told Colonel Moultrie to obey the orders of Major General Lee in everything, except in leaving Fort Sullivan.

The British fleet of nine Man-of-War ships, Bristol, Experiment, Actaeon, Active, Solebay, Syren, Sphinx, Friendship, and the bomb-vessel Thunder, and their accompanying support vessels, eleven ships total arrived off the coast of Charleston Harbor by June 10th. They carried a total of 300 heavy cannons. General Clinton’s plan was to take Sullivan’s Island, then use it as a base to take Charleston Harbor. The warships would obliterate the unfinished fort. Lord Cornwallis was to land his army on Long Island (Isle of Palms) and cross Breach Inlet to Sullivan’s Island. Then they would take the harbor.

By the morning of June 28th the warships had maneuvered into position. At 9 a. m., Sir Peter Parker fired a signal gun and in about an hour the warships began to advance. Cornwallis discovered that the low tide at Breach Inlet was six to seven feet deep instead of the estimated two the three feet and the army could not wade the Inlet, so he resorted to “Plan B” … use boats to cross.

Thousands of Charlestonians were watching from the banks of the Cooper River and from rooftops. Their royal governor, Lord William Campbell, was on board Parker’s flagship, the Bristol and commanded the gundeck.

At 11:30 a. m. the bomb-vessel, Thunder, started throwing mortar bombs towards the fort. Colonel Moultrie’s men returned fire at the closest ship, Active. Colonel Moultrie only had about thirty rounds of powder for the cannons when the fight started, so he told his troops to take good aim and not waste their shots. He sent Lieutenant Byrd to inform Lee and bring back more ammunition. Then the British ships started firing broadsides at the fort, and the three frigates attempted to use the fire cover to sail past the fort to the weak side. But their pilots were unfamiliar with the sandbars and they ran aground. Inside the fort the cannons were firing furiously, the British mortar bombs were hitting the palmetto trees outside the fort and most of them were smothered before they could explode. The spongy palmettos also stopped most of the cannon balls from penetrating into the fort. Most of the American casualties came from direct hits to the cannon embrasures or those few bombs that made it over the walls. The 400 troops that Colonel Moultrie had stationed on the end of Sullivan’s Island as advanced guard stopped Clinton’s troops from crossing the Inlet. During the battle, a cannon ball from a British ship successfully took down the battle flag over the fort and Sergeant William Jasper, in the words of Captain Horry, “leapt over the ramparts and deliberately walked the whole length of the fort, until he came to the colors and the extremity of the left, when he cut off the same from the mast, and called to me for a sponge staff, and with a thick cord tied on the colors and stuck the staff on the rampart in the sand. The sergeant fortunately received no hurt, though exposed for the considerable time, to the enemy’s fire.”

About 4 p. m., Major General Lee visited the fort and more powder was brought. Lee described the men as "determined and cool to the last degree, their behavior would in fact have done honors to the oldest troops." With the additional ammunition, the Americans fired at the British ships until after sunset. At about 9 p. m., Parker had had enough. He had been able to get two of the three frigates afloat and retreated. The next morning the British set the one frigate still grounded, Actaeon, on fire and the Americans sailed out to her and fired her guns at the departing Bristol. After they returned to shore, the Actaeon exploded and sent up an inferno of fire and smoke that Moultrie described as ”a grand pillar of smoke, which soon expanded itself at the top, and to appearance, formed the figure of a palmetto tree.”

The British used 32,000 pounds of powder, the Americans used 5,000 pounds. The British causality count was about 78 dead, 127 wounded. General Lee’s report to General George Washington said the American’s loss was ”ten killed on the spot, and twenty-two wounded; seven of whom lost their legs or arms”.

The cool courage they displayed astonished and enraptured me; for I do assure you my dear General, I never experienced a hotter fire—twelve full hours it was continued without intermission. The noble fellows who were mortally wounded conjured their brethren never to abandon the standard of liberty. Those who lost their limbs deserted not their posts. Upon the whole, they acted like Romans in the third century.

And this about the detachments of troops under his command.

The manifest intention of the enemy was to land, at the same time the ships began to fire, their whole regulars on the east end of the Island. Twice they attempted it, and twice they were repulsed by a Colonel Thompson of the South Carolina Rangers, in conjunction with a body of North Carolina Regulars. Upon the whole, the South and North Carolina troops, and the Virginia Rifle Battalion we have here, are admirable soldiers.

In late July, Clinton, Cornwallis and Parker left South Carolina and returned to New York. Governor Martin hired a sloop to accompany General Clinton’s armada on its limp back to New York.

The flag that flew over Fort Sullivan bore the symbol of a crest on a field of dark blue which represented the color of the militia’s uniforms and the crescent moon emblem on their caps. When South Carolina seceded from the Union and needed a new flag in joining the CSA, the palmetto tree was added as symbolism of the Battle of Sullivan’s Island. Fort Sullivan was eventually renamed Fort Moultrie in honor of the Colonel.

On July 4, 1776, the final draft of our Declaration of Independence was presented to the Second Continental Congress. The attempts of the British to invade, as well as their defeat, at Moore’s Creek Bridge in North Carolina and Sullivan’s Island in South Carolina were strong encouragements for signing of the pact ...

"We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately." ~Benjamin Franklin, in the Continental Congress just before signing the Declaration of Independence, 1776

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

2011-07-31T01:21:00.012-05:00

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.

This is the only hint we have of his age, and therefore the birth year of Burlingham the father. There does not appear to be an “official age” when a property owner was exempted from taxes. For example, the age for militia service was from sixteen to sixty. It could be that exempt-status was recommended on an individual basis. A look at the genealogy of John Seago compiled by his descendants indicates he was born about 1720 in Maryland where he married Margaret Birmingham about 1740, migrated to Anson Co., NC around the time of the outbreak of the Revolutionary War and died there about 1784. He would have been only about fifty years old at the time of his exemption, and that sounds rather young to me, so perhaps he was in declining health. He apparently lived another thirteen years. That’s the only rule of thumb I can find at this time. Because of the passing down of the name Burlingham from father to son 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. However, the 100 acres that Burlingham the father kept from his original 300 acre grant, the tract that became his homestead, was sold on March 11, 1792, twenty years and eight months after he was exempted from taxes.

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. 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. But the marks used by the various generation of Burlinghams vary, not only between each other, as it should be, but there is contradiction between the excerpts I find in old deed abstract books and the transcriptions I’ve found as the official documents. So there really is no telling if the mark transcribed for Burlin Hamrod is correct, and if it is an accurate depiction, what the “M” represents is a mystery to me. I have searched the Anson County courthouse records, as well as, the North Carolina State Archives and both places turn up the same typed transcript. Evidently, the original record is lost.

As you might 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 seems to indicate that the person could 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.

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 or the word seal inside the circle. This signifies the original deed bore his legal signature. When we see a name split between the first name and the last name with "his mark" written over it and a mark in between the names, the same circle or seal will be off to the side of the document. Indicating a mark was the legal signature. It might seem strange that he would switch from his legal signature to a mark, but, at this point in time there are at least three Burlingham Rudd males living in Anson County ... father, Junior and the Third, and Burlingham the father would be rather old. When the father died, Junior became senior and the Third became junior. So individual marks would be a better signature.

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.

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 ... Burlin Hamrud. And the split is between Burlin ... Hamrud, not Burlingham ... Rud. My guess is this is the last record of our dear old progenitor, Burling Hamrudd.

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 Junior 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 Junior, 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. English naming traditions at the time lean towards naming the first-born son after the paternal grandfather, the second son after maternal grandfather and the third son after the father. But since it appears that Burlingham named his first-born son after himself, perhaps the name Walter came from Elizabeth’s father. My best guess is that if he had survived beyond the 1762 land grant to George Lounsdell, 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 find no one named Walter. 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. He named his first tract of land Lounsdell’s Folly, He almost always included his middle name or initial in all his documents and 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. 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 Junior 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 Junior. 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 sided with the Loyalists and attempted to remove records from the courthouse when the choosing of sides began with the Revolutionary War. He reported 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 had 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, later he was elected Senator for Anson in 1777 to the new General Assembly. James Auld, William Pickett and William May are future sheriffs and William May was Burlingham’s neighbor. His likely 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 Junior 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 Junior. The notation says the end of the petition is torn off, so George Lounsdell’s name could have been there also.

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 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 by those “rebels”. He was one of the commanders of the militiamen who defeated the Scottish Loyalists at the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge on February 27, 1776.

In the second petition, the Revolution was over, the “rebels” 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 Junior, 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 Junior 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 Junior 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 Junior’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 Junior 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 Junior’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 Junior 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 Junior, 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 Junior 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 Junior 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 Junior to Burlingham the Third for one pound. Obviously, Burlingham Junior 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, Junior and the Third. As you see, the 200 acres Burlingham Junior 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 Junior 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 Junior 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. George Lounsdell adds to this tract of land with additional purchases that will eventually create a parcel of 620 acres.

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. This parcel of land George Lounsdell compiled contained 620 acre from four land grants and was his homestead.

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 and his clan. 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 sons, Burlingham Junior 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 Junior 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.

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. So my best guess is that William is at least fifteen years old, if not older, and that places him in the third generation. This name 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 Junior and being at least fifteen in 1787 makes him born around 1772 ... or earlier if he is older. That’s too early to be a son of George Lounsdell ... born about 1746 and if married by age 16 = 1762 plus a son at least 15 = 1777. William Rudd seems too old to be a son of George Lounsdell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~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, Junior

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 Junior 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 William Rudd ought to be about eighteen or older. So when I look at the 1790 census for Anson County ...

I see Burlingham Junior (now called Sr.) as head of household, one male under 16 and three females.

I see 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.

You see William Vaughan listed as head of the neighboring household. He owned several tracts of land in Anson and the closest 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 Junior (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 Junior look to be many of the same old families, so either he is still living on his homestead or perhaps he has moved into Burlingham the father’s homestead. 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.

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. There is no telling why he decided to go there. Camden served as headquarters for the British General Cornwallis during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution. At the Battle of Camden, American General Horatio Gates was defeated and humiliated. When British General Cornwallis abandoned Camden to begin his march to Yorktown, most of Camden was burned to the ground. Camden was also an important trading post and a gateway to the Carolinas and Virginia, located on the Fall Line Road which led to Augusta, Georgia. Since the end of the Revolutionary War, the United States government had been operating under the Article of Confederation. In May 1787 the Constitution Convention convened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to draft a new constitution to be ratified by all thirteen states. The ratification process began in September 1787, and by January 1788 Georgia had become the third state to ratify the new constitution. I can imagine just how busy the Fall Line Road became. By the time George Lounsdell sold his homestead in Anson, the United States of America was only officially about four years old with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

On March 7, 1792 George Lounsdell had 88 acres at Dutchman’s Creek in Fairfield surveyed and certified for William Bryan. It appears he was selling this tract of land and it might be the indication that he was moving down into 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.”
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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 Junior’s homestead in 1788. And you might recognize Caleb Howell. He was 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 said 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 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 all of the property. We know he goes to St. James Goose Creek Parish, Charleston Co., SC and that was not very far away.

Another peak ahead. George Lounsdell’s first land grant in Charleston is dated January 5th, 1797, this Deed of Gift was written after that land was awarded, so it appears he had already migrated. The decision to leave the property appears to me to be due to indecision among the sons about also migrating because the Deed of Gift in Screven is registered months later on August 30, 1797. My guess is that it was registered in the State of Georgia because whoever stayed behind had decided to leave. The only other reason I can think of would be if the property was being divided, but we know it wasn’t because this Deed of Gift was filed on May 4, 1804 with the State of South Carolina and was discovered by family researchers in the Wills index of the State Papers. 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.

The Deed of Gift also 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 ...” Now, legal age in this circumstance is difficult to determine. I contacted an historian at the State of Georgia and asked that question. I was told the legal age would have been twenty-one. We’ll see if that holds true when the George Lounsdell branch settles in at Four Holes Swamp.

It’s not known ... yet ... if Burlingham Junior 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 Junior 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 the children were born.

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

2011-06-12T15:30:00.011-05:00

Era of the Regulators' Movement

If you have not heard of the Regulators' Movement in North Carolina, then you are not likely aware that Burlingham Rudd’s name appears on the October 9, 1769 petition from the inhabitants of Anson County. Through the previous two decades, our Rudd family in Anson County has witnessed the French and Indian War in their back yard, the Anglo-Cherokee War in their front yard, and now the Regulators' Movement comes to their doorstep. The story is a captivating episode in our history, not just our family, but for our Nation. There has been a lot written about the Regulators' Movement from various perspectives, some believe it to be the opening battle in the American Revolution, others disagree. Some believe the ‘cause’ was inspired by the Sons of Liberty and their successful protest against The Stamp Act, others disagree. As I was researching and reading everything I could find to prepare myself to be able to tell you the facts of what happened and why, several quotes from my favorite philosophers kept running through my mind. If I had to choose just one it would be ...

“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it”. ~ George Santayana

What began as an attempt to employ their constitutional rights as Englishmen, to assembly, and to petition their government for redress of grievances, was mischaracterized, intentionally or not, as an anti-government insurgency by Colonel Edmund Fanning, who held many official offices in the provincial government of colonial North Carolina, and whose personal relationship with Governor Tryon appears to have provided camouflage for him and his collaborators in corruption and extortion. On the other hand, Fanning is recorded in history as saying he believed he was right to take all he could take. This was in fact an English colony, and as such, the prevailing ‘social order’ in Great Britain favored the aristocracy of the ruling/political class over the layman of the working class. The records show that several attempts were made by Regulators in their respective counties to petition the governor, as well as, the Hillsborough District Court and the Salisbury District Court in attempts to open dialogue, and attain fairness, not as anti-government rabble-rousers, or traitors as they would eventually be condemned, but as men who saw injustice and sought to set it right.

The refusal of officials to heed what was a clarion call for equality and evenhandedness according to the law provided the fuel that spread the fire in the belly of the backwoodsmen into a popular uprising involving several of the back counties of the Piedmont. As it escalated into intimidation on both sides, desperation grew on the part of the Regulators and sometimes pushed them into violent confrontations. And just when it appeared a compromise was in the works, fate took a cruel turn and the Movement became a War which ended with a showdown between about 2,000 Regulators gathered in the woods at Great Alamance Creek and 1,452 militia men, of which 1,068 were from eastern counties, in the Battle of Alamance on May 16, 1771 near Hillsborough in Orange County.

The next day, James Few, a twenty-five year old Orange County farmer, was hung without trial. His body was left swinging beside the road to Hillsborough as a warning to others. A few weeks later, fourteen Regulators were tried and twelve were convicted, of that, six were hung. The other six were released in an effort that North Carolinians would think the government generous and forgiving. All were accused as traitors and outlawed, when Governor Tryon issued amnesty to those who took an oath of allegiance to the King, the choices were 1) leave North Carolina, 2) be shot on sight, 3) swear allegiance. In two weeks, 6,409 swore allegiance. But, as we will see, the distrust of far away, centralized power of government over citizens only grew stronger.

To quote historian Milton Ready:

“Backcountry freeholders had become Jeffersonian long before Jefferson in their belief that a government that exercises the least control over its people governs best.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~The same natural barriers that divided the colony of North Carolina into three distinct regions and prohibited migration from the Coastal Plains into the Piedmont, not only undermined the overall economic development of the colony, but contributed to the advancement of an aristocracy in the eastern portion with the seat of provincial government at New Bern. Just as in South Carolina, where the planter and merchant classes on the coast around the Charleston area developed into the ruling/political class, so did the planter and merchant classes on the east coast of North Carolina. Which isn’t surprising in hind-sight since it was the migration of planters and merchants from South Carolina that brought the plantation system into eastern North Carolina.

Similarly, both colonies experienced rapid growth of the back counties between the 1750s and 1760s. As migration of the colonials from the New England, Pennsylvania and Maryland colonies, as well as, new immigrants looking for opportunities moved southward, the Appalachian Mountains on the western boundary of Virginia funneled them into the North Carolina Piedmont and the South Carolina Upcountry. At the time the Georgia colony was young and mostly settled around the lower Savannah River area. Most of the frontier fighting during the French and Indian War was north of the Virginia-North Carolina line up into Pennsylvania, Maryland and New York along this western colonial boundary. On the eastern side of the colonies, the fighting was mostly concentrated in the New England coastal area and along the Canadian border. The threat to the east coast of the southern colonies was from the Spanish in Florida which was comparatively insignificant. This is likely why Charleston was such a popular location for French prisoners of war. After the French and Indian War, Great Britain established the 1763 Royal Proclamation Line which reinforced this western boundary. So, North and South Carolina were appealing as the last of the unsettled land.

During the Anglo-Cherokee War which followed the French and Indian War, both the frontier of North and South Carolina became the front lines and many colonists fled the area to escape the slaughter. South Carolina, in particular, had passed legislation in 1752 to encourage settlement of the back counties with some positive results, so in 1761, after the end of the Cherokee War, they renewed the Act to encourage re-settlement. The response was a great influx of settlers, but along with them came roving bands of brigands and marauders, highway men who had free reign over the developing back settlements. Pleas for help from the population to the seat of government in Charleston went unanswered. The provincial government had encouraged settlement without plans for providing for the security that the taxpayers expected their government to provide. There were no peace officers, nor a court system, except in the area of Charleston. So about 1765, the local settlers developed vigilante groups and drove out the criminal elements. Over the course of the next few years, the government in Charleston continued to fail to respond to the needs of the settlers. These citizens, who recognized they had no representation in the Assembly, and believed they were not getting their fair share of return on their money, organized into an association with a wider focus including, not just law enforcement and courts, but also roads, schools and judicial districts. They gave themselves the name Regulators and threatened a march on Charleston. What resulted was the Circuit Court Act of 1768 which brought judicial districts to the back counties for the first time. The Regulators' voluntarily disbanded, but, two distinct cultural and social classes developed, the aristocratic class of the Low Country based on a plantation culture and slavery where the Church of England was the dominate tax-supported religion; and the class of the commoner in the Up Country above the Fall Line who were dominantly hard working small farmers, owned few slaves and were primarily Presbyterian and Baptist.

There are interesting similarities between what happened in South Carolina and what developed into the Regulators’ Movement in the North Carolina backcountry, with one big difference ... in North Carolina, the criminal element was represented by corrupt officials, appointed by the Governor and his Council, who were using their authority to extort unlawful fees for services, manipulating the tax collection system which often resulted in confiscation of property, and what taxes they did collect they mostly embezzled.

As in South Carolina, two distinct cultural and social classes developed between those who lived in the Coastal Plains region and the Piedmont region of North Carolina. Those in the eastern tidewater area mostly represented the ruling/political class of the province built on a plantation economy and slavery, the Church of England was the prevailing religion supported by a provincial tax. The area had already purged the Quakers during Cary’s Rebellion and tolerated the Scottish Presbyterians along the Cape Fear River. Those in the backcountry across the Fall Line represented the common man, hard working sustenance farmers who owned few slaves and were primarily non-Anglican Protestants, including Baptist, Anabaptist, Quakers, Lutherans, Moravians, Reformers and Presbyterians. By this time, The Great Awakening was in full swing.~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~Those offices appointed by the King, or the Governor as the King’s representative, were considered gifts and the office holder’s property right. That included every office in the provincial government structure with the exception of the Lower House of the General Assembly which was elected by the freeholders. In addition, the Sheriff, who was selected by the Governor, was in charge of elections. The sheriff’s salary came from a percentage of the taxes he collected. Lawmaking moved up the chain from Assembly, first Lower then Upper houses, then to the Governor, then to Board of Trade and Plantations before it was approved. The county court which included the Justices, Clerk, Register and Sheriff were the sole unit of local government. Frequently, a man held a military commission and public office; in fact, he might hold several offices at the same time.

The results of this type of government structure ensured that a certain number of men in each county were in control of all the offices. The effectiveness of government depended too much on the personal honesty of the office holders.

To quote Professor John S. Bassett, Trinity College, North Carolina “The Regulators of North Carolina 1765-1771”, page 149:

“In many of the eastern counties this state of affairs seems to have worked well. But in the remote sections there is much evidence that the officers were selfish and mercenary, and that they were mutually leagued together to forward their own selfish ends. It was to try to clean out this Augean stable that Regulation had its existence.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~Great Britain accumulated a huge debt during the French and Indian War and turned her eyes to the colonies in America as a source of revenue, as well as, passing legislation that served to reduce her cost. The scarcity of hard currency in the colonies had always been a problem. But it was worsened when the British Parliament passed the Currency Act of 1764 which took control of the entire colonial currency system. It prohibited the issue of new bills and the reissue of existing bills in favor of a hard currency system based on the pound sterling. Rather than regulate the colonial monetary system, they chose to abolish it. No longer could the Assembly issue proclamation money. This made the trade deficit with Great Britain worse because now British merchants and bankers wanted debts paid in hard currency. The money shortage in the North Carolina backcountry was severe. Banks did not exist and there was not a consistent monetary system, not just in North Carolina, but throughout colonial America. The lack of ports on the east coast of the colony was partly the reason for the economic situation, but even if ports were available, there were no roads for backcountry farmers to take their commodities to port in order to maximize their profits. From time to time, the legislative body had issued proclamation money, but this money often came with restrictions concerning how it could be used. It might be used to purchase land, but not pay debts to merchants. It wasn’t used to pay taxes but might be used for legal fees, and it very often wasn’t accepted outside of the North Carolina colony. Up until this point in time, creditors were paid mostly in commodities. Those commodities were kept in warehouses and warehouse receipts were traded as a form of currency. The backcountry was also warehouse poor.

The farmers in the backcountry grew and raised what they needed to support their families, often using the barter system among their neighbors, few kept hard currency on hand. If they need hard currency, they usually borrowed from neighbors and most areas had someone who was a lender. As I pointed out in a previous narrative, we saw this practice when Burlingham the father gave the deed to his land to John Red on October 12, 1750 for forty dollars proclamation money, then the deed was passed to James Stewart the same year for the same amount. Within six months, on April 15, 1751, Burlingham bought his land back. Apparently, Burlingham used his land for collateral for a loan. James Stewart bought Burlingham’s IOU from John Red, which is why Burlingham was a witness to the second transaction.

Professor John S. Bassett gives us an example of how dishonest county sheriffs took advantage of the situation and sometimes used the shortage of hard currency as a pretext to confiscate personal property for payment of taxes, page 151:

When the sheriff would come unexpectedly to the taxpayer, the latter would propose to get the money if the officer would accompany him to the home of this neighborhood banker. The officer usually refused to do this and proceeded to distrain on some property, taking a fee of 2s. 8d. for the same. The taxpayer would then hasten to his neighbor's, secure the needed money, and hurry after the sheriff. That officer would take a different route than the one he had promised to take, and the luckless pursuer would arrive in Hillsboro in time to see his property sold to some friend of the officer's for much less than its value. The Regulators charged that officers played into each others hands for this purpose, and that there were men in Hillsboro who had made large sums by dealing in such business.

The first recorded incident that seemed to indicate things to come was in 1759 in Enfield, Granville District.

In January, 1759, a group of backwoodsmen seized Lord Granville's land agent, Francis Corbin, in Edenton and brought him to Enfield. There they forced Corbin to give bond to return illegal fees which had been collected. On May 14, 1759, a group of citizens in Enfield expressed the same sentiments against British tyranny. Several of the "rioters" were arrested and jailed. However, they were soon released when an irate group of citizens, broke into jail and freed them.

Then in 1764, groups of citizens in Anson, Orange and Granville counties banded together to create a number of local disturbances which prompted a response from the Board of Trade and Plantations with orders to publish a proclamation forbidding the collection of illegal fees.

By the King—A Proclamation
Whereas frequent complaints have been heretofore made, that exorbitant Fees have been demanded and taken in the publick Offices in several of our Colonies and Plantations in America for Business transacted in such Offices; And whereas it hath been represented unto us, that there is great reason to apprehend that such unwarrantable Demands and exactions are still continued in some of our Colonies, particularly on the survey and passing Patents for Lands; And, Whereas such shameful and illegal practices do not only dishonour our Service but do also operate to the prejudice of the publick interests, by obstructing the speedy settlement of our Colonies; Our Will and pleasure therefore is, that fair Tables of all fees legally established within this Province, be constantly affixed up in every publick office, And we do hereby strictly enjoin and require all public officers whatever, in their respective Stations, not to demand or receive any other fees for Publick Business transacted in their Offices, than what have been established by proper Authority, upon pain of being removed from their said office, and prosecuted with the utmost severity of the Law. Witness our Trusty and Well beloved Arthur Dobbs, Esquire, Our Captain General and Governor in Chief in and over our said Province at Wilmington the third day of November, In the fifth year of Our Reign.

In Mecklenburg County in 1765, there was an incident known as the Sugar Creek War. Farmers led by Thomas Polk attacked John Frohock and six surveyors on a tract of land said to be patented to Henry Eustace McCulloch and George A. Selwyn, who were partners in land speculation with former Governor Dobbs. The conflict arose when McCulloch and Selwyn assembled a team of surveyors to lay out the boundaries of the land so that the current settlers could begin paying the rent, but first they had to purchase the land. Many of them had been on the land for several years and felt McCulloch and Selwyn’s claim to the land was no longer valid, the patent was a couple of decades old. The cost was assessed at “current value” instead of the original value with back rents. The older residents objected, the newer ones agreed. The older ones intimidated the newer ones into backing down. A violent conflict ensued. Frohock was lashed across his face and another man was said to have daylight cracked in his head. Governor Tryon interceded and appointed a commission which determined the proprietorships were null and void because they had not met the requirements to settle the land according to the original patent. Therefore, they had to relinquish their claim. The history of the incident is recorded in Minutes of the North Carolina Governor's Council, May 07, 1765 - May 09, 1765, Volume 07, Pages 10-31

On June 6, 1765, a school master by the name of George Sims in Granville District published what became known as the Nutbush Address describing the “deplorable situations” the people suffer. How a poor man without cash resources who tried to do the right thing, provide for his family and meet his obligations, was victimized by the system and those who manipulated it.

Professor John S. Bassett excerpts part of the address for us, page 160:

A poor man is supposed to have given his judgment bond for £5, and this bond is by his creditor thrown into court. The clerk of the county has to enter it on the docket and issue execution, the work of one long minute, for which the poor man has to pay the trifling sum of 41s. 5d. The clerk, in consideration he is a poor man, takes it out in work at 18d. a day. The poor man works some more than twenty-seven days to pay for this one minute's writing. Well, the poor man reflects thus: At this rate, when shall I get to labor for my family? I have a wife and parcel of small children suffering at home, and here I have lost a whole month, and I don't know for what, for my merchant is as far from being paid yet as ever. However, I will go home now and try and do what I can. Stay, neighbor, you have not half done yet. There is a d--d lawyer's mouth to stop yet--for you empowered him to confess that you owed this £5, and you have 30s. to pay him for that, and go and work nineteen days more; and then you must work as long to pay the sheriff for his trouble; and then you may go home to see your horses and cow sold, and all your personal estate for one-tenth part of the value, to pay off your merchant. And lastly, if the debt is so great that all your personal estate will not do to raise the money--which is not to be had--then goes your lands the same way to satisfy these cursed hungry caterpillars that will eat out the very bowels of our commonwealth if they are not pulled down from their nests in a very short time.

In August 1766, in Orange County the Sandy Creek Association founded by Shubal Stearns, a Separate Baptists minister, joined with Hermon Husband and other Quakers to call for a meeting between taxpayers and county officials. Regulator’s Advertisement No. 1 was read at the Orange County Courthouse, inviting county neighbors to elect delegates to attend a meeting at Maddock’s Mill on the Eno River. The purpose of the meeting, the advertisement stated, would be...

"... to judiciously enquire whether the free men of this county labor under any abuses of power or not and let the same be notified in writing if any is found and the matter fully conversed upon and proper measures used for amendment; this method will certainly cause wicked men to tremble..."

County officials were invited to attend, but Colonel Edmund Fanning, who had just been promoted from Attorney General to Assistant Judge of the Superior Court of Justice for the District of Salisbury, deemed the gathering “insurrectionary” and none attended.

As land, personal property, farm animals and implements, even clothing, continued to be taken from the people for payment of taxes, fuel was added to the growing fire when Governor Tryon secured a $15,000 appropriation from the Council to build a new combination statehouse-governor’s residence at New Bern to be paid for by an extra poll tax. The backcountry settlers gave it the name of “Tryon’s Palace” and many were furious … only to be made more furious when Tryon and his entourage undertook a very costly and luxurious march to survey the western boundary line of the Cherokee country, which would also be paid for by taxes. That was followed by an announcement by the Sheriff of Orange County that he would accept tax payment at only five locations in his huge county and that, if he were forced to visit the taxpayer to collect, he would levy the legal 2s8d additional fee for his "distress."

These things added to the feeling that the government did not care about the welfare of the citizens in the western counties and caused the unrest to spread. Soon the backcountry men of Orange County were joined by others who formed an association calling themselves “Regulators” and published their resolves. The Regulators in Anson County also took an oath:

The Regulation in Anson County ~ Rules and Resolves
Whereas the Tax for the present year is very high part of which, unseen seem to many unlawful and unnecessary, that together with the great scarcity of Money that have put it out of our power to make payment of the same, and we the subscribers being in that circumstance and also willing to consider the Public, that we are sensible of oppressions and therefore have thought convenient to stay the payment of the Tax aforesaid, not but what we acknowledge ourselves true and lawful subjects to the crown of Great Britain and therefore have entered into a league with each other and have taken the following Oath & subscribed our name, being willing to pay four shillings for Kings Dues.
THE OATHI [A. B.] do promise and swear that if any Officer or any other Person do make distress on any of the goods or other Estate of any Person sworn herein being a subscriber for the non-payment of the said Tax that I will with other sufficient assistance go take if in my power from the said Officer and restore it to the party from whom taken and in case any one concerned herein should be imprisoned or under an arrest or otherwise confined, or his Estate or any part thereof by reason or means of joining into this Company of Regulators for the non-payment of Taxes, that I will immediately do my best endeavour to raise as many of the said subscribers as will be of force sufficient and if in my power set the said Person and his Estate at liberty and I do further promise and swear that if in case this our scheme should be broke or otherwise give out our intention, any of our Company should be put to any expence or be put under any confinement that I will bear an equal share with those in trying to pay and make up the sufferer, all these things I do promise and swear and subscribe my name.

Tension grew when the Regulators of Orange County published a new advertisement demanding the sheriff show his tax lists, collection records and fees table. Local officials became furious and Fanning wrote a frantic letter to Tryon encouraging him to call out the militia “and do battle” referring to the Regulators as “the mob” and declaring they thought themselves to be “the sovereign arbiters of right and wrong”.

In a day or two the powder keg was lit by an incident. The sheriff seized a Regulators’ horse, saddle and bridle for tax payment. On April 8, 1768, eighty angry Regulators marched on Hillsborough armed with clubs, staves and cloven muskets; they captured and bound Sheriff Hawkins, then "rescued" the horse and tack. On the way out of town, some in the group fired shots into Fanning's house. He was in Halifax at the time and when he was informed, he ordered the arrest of the "ringleaders". He then called out seven companies of the Orange militia, hurried back to Hillsborough to take command and wrote again to Tryon asking for more authority to deal with the "traitorous Dogs . . ." Tryon's Council declared the Regulators guilty of insurrection. Fanning was authorized to call up militia from the surrounding counties.

Meanwhile, terrified officials in Orange agreed to meet with the Regulators to discuss grievances. While this was happening, Fanning and a posse raided the Sandy Creek area, arrested William Butler and Herman Husband on a charge of "inciting to rebellion." The two prisoners were jailed in Hillsborough. When news reached the Regulators, they dropped plans for the meeting and 700 Regulators and supporters marched on Hillsborough. County officials released the two prisoners on bail. Isaac Edwards, the governor's private secretary, promised the Regulators if they would lay out their complaints in a petition to the governor, he would see that justice was done them. The Regulators agreed to the request. But on hearing this, Tryon stated that his secretary had exceeded his authority and refused to deal with the Regulators as an organization and demanded they immediately disband.

About three weeks later, on April 27, 1768, trouble erupted in Anson County when a “mob” marched to the Anson County Court House and disrupted the proceedings. They demanded the removal of local magistrates and clerk Samuel Spencer, Sheriff James Medlock and Anthony Hutchins. Samuel Spencer, a colonel for the Anson County militia, had purchased his position as clerk of the county court from Colonel John Frohock for one hundred and fifty pounds. Spencer wrote a letter to Tryon describing the scene and expressed that he believed the entire business had been instigated by someone trying to garner support for the next election. The Regulators had held a vote during the commotion and elected Charles Robinson to represent them in the lower house of the Assembly.

The Anson County Regulators also wrote to Governor Tryon concerning the incident. The document is known as the Regulator Protest Paper, April 28, 1768 and is signed by ninety-nine men. They say, “we blame ourselves” but “being long under the growing weight of oppression became rash, and precipitate” and decided they would make those who are abusing their offices “wary of their employments”. So they organized themselves into “the opposite Party called a mob of about five hundred men”. They say to Tryon, surely you as governor have the good of your people at heart and would not want them “oppressed to gratify the errors and ambition of any particular Persons, who are Anthony Hutchins, Colonel Samuel Spencer, Charles Medlock and their Assistants the Justices and Sheriffs &c.” They did not believe these persons were capable of performing the duty of their offices and their character was “extremely doubtful & precarious” because they arrest citizens, put them in jail, causing a great expense, then let them go without a trial to cover up their corruption. Then they listed examples of the “unusual manner” of taxing.

First Persons who commit capital offences are committed to the County Goal and there retained five or six months, a County Tax is laid to defray the expence when it is notoriously known it is a Province Expence, But Medlock the late Sheriff stop’t not there, but proceeded by Mr. Spencer the Clerk and Member for the County to have the same claim allowed by the Assembly, and were only prevented as we are informed by its being proved to the Committee of Claims that the Prisoners had made satisfaction themselves – These things were not unknown to Mr. Spencer when he laid Medlock’s claim before the Assembly. In the next place where the Justices are in possession of Public Ferries they establish them free at times pretending for the free passage of Courtiers a considerable Tax is laid for that Purpose. In the next place they tax considerable sums of money for particular Persons, who not having the right thereto, the Magistrates after receive back part, if not all to their own use. All these things can be made to appear, and we conceive that no People have a right to be taxed, but by the consent of themselves or their Delegates. But here the Magistrates assume it, then the Sheriffs who receive the Tax particularly Medlock and his Associates have made a constant practice to exact 2.8 for distress money, when no distress is made nor necessary to be made, and also have taxed different sums from the People according to their non acquaintance with the right Tax so that several different sums were received from the People in the same year surmounting the right Tax.

As to the Clerk his extortions are burthensome to all that fall in his power as he takes double and some times treble his due – And tho’ it is true he purchased his Office from Colonel Frohock and gave to the amount of one hundred and fifty pounds for it yet it’s unreasonable we should bear the expence by way of extortion, Please Sir, to enquire of Mr. Edwards, touching the connection of Hutchins Spencer and Medlock, and their unreasonable method of proceeding by means of their influence over the ignorant Magistrates as he had doubtless made some observation on their behaviour. This and much more are the causes of the present disturbances which we humbly pray your Excellency will please to reconcile by discharging the most of the Magistrates from their seats, & appointing better men, more capable and willing to discharge that Office, and also the Clerk if it seems right to you.

They close by saying to Tryon, that if he will give then honest officials who are knowledgeable and capable of performing their duties, then it will ease the minds of the people who are willing to pay honest taxes for the support of their government. The names of those petitioners are at the above link. Burlingham Rudd’s name is not on this petition, but I think it likely these are representatives of “the mob” that “visited” the court house.

In May 1768, Governor Tryon wrote back to Spencer. He tells him that he has issued a proclamation “requiring the Rioters to disperse, and return to a dutiful obedience to the Laws of their Country” and he hopes it will be effective. Tryon gives Spencer the authority to raise the Anson Regiment of Militia if need be in order to apprehend the ringleaders of the mob so they can be brought to trial to discourage future outbreaks. Tryon acknowledges receiving from Spencer the copies of the “rules and Oath of the Insurgents” and calls it “rash, inconsistent and illegal”. Tryon then tells Spencer if the people of Anson have any real grievances they should put them in a petition to the General Assembly or to him so they can be redressed. Tryon assures Spencer he does not form his opinion of the people of Anson based on “a few Incendiaries who are more desperate perhaps in their Fortunes than in their Courage” but he will not allow “the most dissolute part of the inhabitants of this Province to pay off their Public Taxes by Insurrections”. Then Tryon tells Spencer, “This contagion and disaffection has spread from Anson to Orange County”, that a similar confrontation had transpired in Hillsborough but Fanning and his officers through their firmness and with the assurances of Tryon’s secretary, Mr. Edwards, dispersed them through the same strategy … put your grievances in a petition. What that last statement reveals is that Fanning, evidently, did not want Tryon to know that the bulk of the unrest was in Orange County because it would be poor reflection on him; it is a cover-up of personal responsibility that will fan the flames in Orange County.

On July 6, 1768, Tryon arrived in Hillsborough with two purposes. First, persuade the Regulators to disband, and second, protect the September term of the Superior Court – the court that was about to put William Butler, Herman Husband, Samuel Devinney and John Hartzo on trial charged with inciting the recent Hillsborough Riot. On July 21, 1768, Tryon issued a new "Proclamation Against Charging Exorbitant Fees", ordering that fee tables be posted and that illegal practices be stopped. At this point, he began to exchange messages with the Regulators in an attempt to get them to disband. He ordered the Attorney General to institute prosecutions against officers charged with taking illegal fees. One officer charged was Colonel Edmund Fanning.

The Regulators would not agree to disband, but they did agree to petition the Assembly for redress. They would not agree to make a bond to ensure their good behavior at the upcoming trials because it might limit their ability to restrain the more volatile members among them. Governor Tryon knew most of the backwoodsmen were sympathetic to the Regulators’ cause and he needed to raise county militias to protect the upcoming court session. He turned to the Presbyterian ministers for assistance and offered 40 shillings per volunteer.

Tryon did not respond to the Anson County Regulators’ Protest Paper of April until August 1768. Read it well. He tells them that the charges they make against county officials are so serious that it will require consultation of his Council at New Bern, but he’s away at Hillsborough at the moment. Anyone who feels they have been extorted should file a complaint with the Attorney General who will prosecute those who abuse the public trust. And by the way, nice of you to admit your guilt because there will be an investigation of the incident at Anson County Court House by the Salisbury District Superior Court and your acknowledgement of your rash and illegal behavior might bring you some leniency IF you behave yourselves and “dutifully submit to the law.”

On trial in the Hillsborough District Superior Court during the September term were four Regulators: Herman Husband, William Butler, Samuel Devinney, and John Hartzo. Husband was acquitted of the charge of inciting a riot. The other three were found guilty of the same charge, but Tryon suspended the fines and released the prisoners. Later, they received a full pardon from the governor.

Also on trial for extortion were three county officials: Edmund Fanning, Francis Nash and John Wood. About 800 Regulators were waiting outside Hillsborough for the outcome of the court trials. Also waiting were 1,461 militia members who had been raised from Rowan, Mecklenburg, Granville, and Orange counties with the help of the ministers. No Anson militia.

Fanning was found guilty on five counts of extortion, and fined one penny for each count. But the three judges, Martin Howard, Chief; Maurice Moore and Richard Henderson, Associates were unsure of the legality of judging Fanning guilty, and the case was referred to England. Fanning immediately resigned the office of Register and was never fined.

In Johnston County, about eighty Regulators unsuccessfully attempted to disrupt the court, in Edgecombe County about thirty Regulators tried to rescue a fellow Regulator from the Halifax jail but were routed. In Rowan County, the Regulators attempted to prosecute Judge John Frohock and three other officers for extortion in the Salisbury District Superior Court. When the Regulators arrived at court they discovered the grand jury was stacked with their enemies, all but three of the men were officers. They later found out that those sitting on the jury were not the first chosen. Not surprisingly, the juries refused to return "true bills" on the cases.

There was not another election for Assembly representation until July 18, 1769 with the next session scheduled to convene in October 1769. This election demonstrated the strong feelings against the officers throughout the province by the results. Carteret, Beaufort, Anson, Halifax, Bladen, Edgecombe, Tyrrell, Orange, Granville, and Hyde changed their entire delegations. In Orange, Granville, Anson, and Halifax, where the Regulator sentiment was strong, the change was complete. In Rowan, a strong Regulator county, Griffith Rutherford, considered a moderate friend of the people, was retained, but his yokefellow, John Frohock, was dropped and in his place Christopher Nation, an ardent Regulator, was elected. Out of the 78 members of the new Assembly, 43 were new men. Professor Bassett explains the change in political thinking on page 183:

The next step taken by the Regulators was in the line of practical politics. Until recently no suspicion had been cast upon the members of the assembly. The people were accustomed to leaders and willingly trusted their affairs in their hands. With no widely circulating newspapers and no political aptness, they formed themselves into no parties, but usually accepted the candidate put forward by the officeholders, who was generally either a member of or closely associated with the officeholding class. When they first began their agitation the Regulators had been content to aim at the local officers. They were told to apply to the courts, where justice should be done them. They complied, and found that the laws were in favor of the officers. They concluded that the laws should be changed. At the same time, since the issue had been sharply defined, they saw that the assemblymen were ranged on the side of the county officers. They now determined to attack this office, and here they were more successful than they had been in any of their other undertakings.
[ ]
This idea, as we have seen, had taken shape in Anson when the Regulators had nominated Charles Robinson as their candidate for the assembly, making, perhaps, the first political nomination in America.

At the fall session of the new Assembly, the Anson County Regulators submitted their petition dated October 9, 1769. It was signed by approximately 250 men, many of whom who had signed the 1768 Protest Paper after “the mob” took the court house. Orange and Rowan counties united in another petition that contained some of the same issues as the Anson petition, although not as extensive. A very noteworthy petition came from the Presbyterians in Mecklenburg. They declared themselves a thousand freemen, "who hold to the Established Church of Scotland, able to bear arms." They told Tryon they were ready and cheerful to support him during the recent trouble in Hillsborough and then demanded that he repeal the vestry and marriage acts in the counties of Mecklenburg, Rowan, and Tryon so that the Scottish church has the same footing with "our sister church of England." It is true that freedom of non-Anglican worship was granted to colonials in America, the exception being the Catholic Church was banned in most all of them. But since the Church of England was the official church in the colonies and was supported by a vestry tax upon the people, it was the only Church allowed to perform legal marriages, register birth, baptisms, etc. For those who were not Anglican, their choice was something like Quaker-style where they announced their marriage to their neighbors, or “jumped the broom” as was an old-world tradition, or common law marriages. They wanted equal rights.

The Assembly was working along, proposing legislation that addressed many of the problems that had been listed in the various petitions, when a situation developed between Tryon and the lower chamber, the freeholders that had come into the legislature during the last anti-establishment election, which resulted in Tryon dissolving the Assembly. The next election was set for March 1770.

Many of the same freeholders were returned to the next legislative session which was described as having the “Regulator spirit”, with an additional representative seat for Hillsborough created by Tryon, to which Fanning was promptly elected, and therefore, returned to one of his previous offices. Preparations for the coming session were underway when word came in September that there had been another riot at the Hillsborough District Superior Court. The Orange County Regulators had presented a petition to the justice requesting an investigation of extortion. Judge Richard Henderson was the only justice on the bench and deferred the petition to the following Monday. About 150 Regulators gathered outside on Monday; the crowd inside included Hunter, Howell, Husband, Butler, Hamilton, and Devinney. Jeremiah Fields asked for permission to speak. Granted, he rose and said that the Regulators understood that the judge had decided not to try their causes at that term but they were determined to have them tried, and if the court would do it, it would prevent “mischief”. They insisted that the jury that had been selected be changed. While the judge was trying to pacify them on the inside, the group gathered outside was restless. They were all carrying switches and sticks when a lawyer named John Williams started to enter the building. The crowd fell upon him, beating him severely until he made his escape. They rushed to the courthouse and found Fanning. They seized him by the heels and dragged him into the street and beat him mercilessly until he made his escape. They went after him, but allowed him to go home with the promise he surrendered himself the following morning. They also whipped several others that were there before they could make their escape. The next morning Fanning gave himself up to the Regulators and they told him they would release him if he agreed to take to the road running until he was out of sight. Which he no doubt did! Then they went to his pretentious new house, which represented to them all that Fanning had acquired with illegal fees. They tore it up, everything. Then demolished it.

The Regulators returned to the courthouse and allowed Judge Henderson to adjourn the court for the day on the promise he would take up their case the next day. He promised. About 10 o’clock that night the judge took a fast horse out of town. On November 12th, Judge Henderson’s barn and stables were burned to the ground, two nights later his house was burned to the ground. Regulators were suspected.

Tryon inquired of the attorney general if the Regulators involved in the second Hillsborough Riot could be tried for treason. The AG told him no, they could only be charged with rioting and the law required they be tried in their home district court. Tryon knew there would be too much sympathy for the Regulators in Orange County to raise a jury that would return his desired verdict. He ordered his officers to call for a muster of their militias to test the responsiveness of volunteers. Soon came rumors that the Regulators were going to march on the coming session of the Assembly in New Bern. The Council was panicked, offered rewards for the instigators and called the militias between Hillsborough and New Bern into readiness. The Assembly finally had a quorum on December 5th and a report came from Pitt County that the Regulators of Bute and Johnston were marching on New Bern to stop Fanning from taking his seat for Hillsborough. The Council fabricated some charges against Husband, expelled him from the Assembly and had him arrested by the chief justice in mid-December. At the end of December word came that another group of Regulators were at Cross Creek preparing to march on New Bern. With that the Johnston Riot Act was passed into law giving the governor and attorney general extensive authority in suppressing riots with a one year expiration date.

The Assembly was making great progress with legislation addressing the grievances of the Regulators, perhaps the rumors of gathering Regulators preparing to march on the government was having some effect. They passed a bill to amend the act for appointing sheriffs and to direct their duty in office; a bill to ascertain attorneys' fees; an act more strictly to regulate officers' fees; an act for the more speedy collection of debts under £5; an act to grant the chief justice a salary, and acts to erect the counties of Wake, Guilford, Chatham, and Surry, all lying in the region infected with the Regulator spirit. All these laws contained reforms sought by the Regulators. Many of them are listed in the 1769 Regulators’ Petition from Anson County that bears the name of Burlingham Rudd.

Tryon did not wait for the new laws to have effect on the unrest. The first law he signed was the riot law and at once had the leaders of the Hillsborough riot charged. He called for a special court at New Bern as the location of their trial. The new law gave the attorney general the power to change of venue, no longer was a sympathetic jury in Orange County an obstacle. On February 2, 1771, the grand jury took up the case of Hermon Husband who had been in jail since December 1770. The grand jury found “no bill” and Husband was released. Tryon was "unpleased with the discharge of Husband." He dismissed that term of the court and called another for March 11th. He instructed the county sheriffs to only select jurymen who were “gentlemen of the first rank, property and probity”. The witnesses were all one-sided and most were officers who testified before the grand jury which returned “a true bill” for all sixty-two counts. The riot law declared that the defendants would be considered outlaws if they did not appear for trial within sixty days.

Meanwhile, on March 7, 1771 in Rowan County, a committee of arbitrators had been formed to work out a resolution between the Regulators and representatives of the government including Hermon Husband, James Graham, James Hunter, and Thomas Person on the Regulators side and Matthew Locke, John Kerr, Samuel Young, and James Smith on the other side. Alexander Martin and John Frohock reported the progress to Tryon with great enthusiasm telling him the committee had planned to meet on the third Tuesday in May. Tryon wrote back that he did not approve of their entering into negotiations with insurgents and he was about to march with an army into the Regulators’ country. He believed this was a more effective resolution than a Rowan agreement.

On March 18, 1771, Tryon read to the Governor’s Council an intercepted letter from Rednap Howell to James Hunter:

Halifax Feb. 16th 1771.

Respected Friend,
On my setting out for Hallifax my horse fell sick which detained me some time so that on my arrival here I had certain information that Herman was at liberty; so that I found it needless to raise the Country but I am satisfied it would be easily done if occasion required, however I have animated the people here to join the Regulation; on Saturday come 2 weeks they are to have a meeting for the purpose. If it once takes a start here it will run into the neighboring Counties of Edgecomb, Bute and Northampton and this will undoubtedly facilitate Justice to poor Carolina. I will now inform you of such things as I have learnt since I left home. At New Bern the Governor called a general muster of 1,100 men; after treating them at yours and my expence he tried to prevail on them to march against the rebels but on one man's absolute refusal he ordered him to turn out of the Ranks for a Traitor which he very readily did and all the Regiment followed or were following him; the Governor perceiving his mistake says Gentlemen you mistook me I only meant should they come down and destroy all your livings would you not fight them; they answered yes on which he dismissed them, they then gathered in Companys of 6, 8, 10 & 12 growling and swearing would the Mob come down they would join them. In Dobbs a general muster was called for the same purpose, but only seven men attended. I am informed the Clerk's places in the New Countrys are parcelled out among the Quality; one Cooper is designed for your Country but if you suffer any rascal to come there may eternal oppressions be your lot: as I cannot solely depend on the Irish ahead pray you will reserve that morsel for yours to serve; for as the whole province is in your favor you may do as you list in that respect. I understand Butler and you are to be outlawed; despise it laugh at it—We hear that the Governor has sent a proclamation to you importing as the French and Spaniards are now at war with us, it's a pity to breed a civil war among ourselves; that the Chief cause of the trouble was the counterfeit money for which the great men were to blame; artful V—n! if he could have raised the Province on us he would have told another tale. However if this be true the day is ours in spite of Lucifer—I give out here that the Regulators are determined to whip every one who goes to Law or will not pay his just debts or will not agree to leave his cause to men where disputes; that they will choose Representatives but not send them to be put in jail; in short to stand in defiance and as to thieves to drive them out of the Country. I leave the plan to your consideration from your sincere friend ~ Rednap Howell

Tryon also read a letter to the Council from the chief justice of Hillsborough District Superior Court stating that he and his associates could not attend the March term of the Hillsborough court for fear of personal safety. Tryon’s strategy paid off. The Council resolved the governor should immediately raise a body of militia to march against the insurgents.

The following day, March 19, 1771, Tryon began preparations for a military campaign against the Regulators. He gave orders to raise 2,550 men by April 20th. A bounty of 40 shillings was promised to each volunteer. Tryon would lead one column of eastern militias directly from New Bern to Hillsborough. General Hugh Waddell would take the Cape Fear militia and lead a second column to overcome the Rowan Regulators, raise the western militias, march to Salisbury, and then join Tryon at Hillsborough. Tryon’s regiment included 917 rank and file and 151 officers with detachments from Craven, Carteret, Orange, Beaufort, New Hanover, Onslow, Dobbs, and Johnston, and an artillery company. The Wake County militia showed up with no arms which appeared to have been a ruse to keep from having to serve in the conflict, but when a smaller detachment reported, Tryon ordered the sheriff to take the smaller detachment with him and collect taxes in Wake County.

Waddell’s regiment contained 236 rank and file and 48 officers and an artillery company. In addition to the Scots at Cape Fear, along the march he picked up militias from Anson. Rowan, Mecklenburg, and Tryon, but he met opposition along the way. First, on the way to Salisbury, his column was attacked by a group of Regulators who had disguised themselves with black-face, later they became known as “The Black Boys of Cabarrus”, they destroyed a power shipment coming from South Carolina by ambushing the wagons on Rocky River. Later, on the march to Hillsborough, Waddell’s camp was surrounded by about 2,000 Regulators in a daring and insolent attempt to push the regiment back, which they did without a fight. Waddell had no more than 300 men and he had his doubts they would be willing to engage, so he had no other option than to retreat over the Yadkin River.

On May 12th, Tryon and the Regulators received news of Waddell's rebuff. The Regulators issued a call for all men to assemble at James Hunter's plantation, to prevent Waddell and Tryon from linking forces. On Monday, May 13th, Tryon’s forces camped on the west bank of Great Alamance Creek. On the evening of May 15th, Tryon received a petition from the Regulators who were camped about five miles west of him. They asked if he was prejudiced against their cause and determined for bloodshed. They asked for a meeting to state their grievances. The next morning, May 16th, Tryon marched is column within a half-mile of the Regulator camp and dispatched his aide, Captain Malcom, and the Sheriff of Orange County with his response to their petition:

In answer to your petition, I am to acquaint you that I have been attentive to the true Interest of this Country, and to that of every Individual residing within it. I lament the fatal Necessity to which you have now reduced me, by withdrawing yourselves from the Mercy of the Crown, and the Laws of your Country, to require you who are Assembled as Regulators, to lay down your Arms, Surrender up the outlawed Ringleaders, and Submit yourselves to the Laws of your Country, and then on the lenity and Mercy of Government. By accepting these Terms in one Hour from the delivery of this Dispatch you will prevent an effusion of Blood, as you are at this time in a State of War and Rebellion against your King, your Country, and your Laws.

The sheriff and aide returned to Tryon with the news that “the Rebels” rejected his offer with distain, saying they needed no time to consider his terms. About mid-morning, Tryon sent another message “cautioning the Rebels to take care of themselves, as he should immediately give the signal for action." According to traditional accounts, the Regulators' reply was "Fire and be damned". Tryon gave the order for the cannons to fire on the Regulators and the first line of militia fired a volley, kneeled to reload and the second line fired a volley. The Regulators scrambled for cover. They had no battle plan, officers, or discipline. They were crouching behind rocks and trees, each man waging his own private war against a unified militia. The militia began moving forward advancing through the trees, the Regulators began to flee. The battle lasted about two hours, fifteen Regulators were captured. Remarkably, only nine Regulators and nine militia were killed, many were wounded. Tryon took the prisoners and wounded back to his camp on Alamance Creek. The next day, May 17th, a captured Regulator named James Few was hung without benefit of military trial. His body was left hanging beside the road to Hillsborough as a warning to others. During the next few days, militia units scoured the countryside for Regulators. The main body of the army stayed at Alamance Camp.

Tryon offered a proclamation of pardon to all Regulators who would swear a loyalty oath to the government with the exception of those responsible for destroying General Waddell’s ammunition, the remaining fourteen prisoners and four others: Herman Husband, Rednap Howell, James Hunter, and William Butler, who had already fled the country. On May 21st the troops marched to James Hunter's farm at Sandy Creek were Tryon burned the dwelling and outbuildings. That evening he marched to Hermon Husband’s plantation and took possession of it.

By June 6th, Tryon and Waddell joined forces at the Moravian settlement and celebrated the King’s birthday and their victory. On June 14th, they arrived in Hillsborough. Four days later a court martial tried the prisoners. On the bench were Chief Justice Martin Howard and Associate Justices Maurice Moore and Richard Henderson. Of the fourteen prisoners remaining after the execution of James Few, two were acquitted, twelve were found guilty of high treason against the Crown. Of the twelve, six were pardoned: Forest Mercer, James Stewart, James Emerson, Hermon Cox, William Brown, and James Copeland; and six were hung: Robert Messer, Benjamin Merrill, Robert Matear (Matter), James Pugh, and two others whose names have been lost in history. Of those six, James Pugh died steadfast in his principles. He lectured Tryon from the barrel which served as his scaffold. He told him that "his blood would be a good seed sown on good ground, which would produce a hundredfold". He recalled the causes of the conflict noting that the “Regulators had taken the life of no man previous to the battle, nor had they aimed at anything more than a redress of grievances”. As he was about to address Fanning, he was strangled when the barrel was overturned at the instigation of Fanning.

After the hangings, Tryon hastened back to New Bern. Back in February he had been told his long sought for appointment as Governor of New York had final come true. He had proven his loyalty to the King and on June 30th he left for New York. Soon he sent for Edmund Fanning to come to New York as his personal secretary.

About two weeks after the hangings at Hillsborough ... 6,409 Regulators had taken the oath of allegiance.~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~I hope I was able to portray a sense of the political, social and cultural tension of this episode in the history of our Rudd family. The story I’ve just told you only includes the highlights of what happened in the backcountry during those years. In the details there is much more arrogance on the part of the officials and officers and much more frustration and desperation on the part of the backwoodsmen. I think Rednap Howell was right, in reality this was a civil war in the North Carolina colony. Down in the details, the militias that fought against the Regulators at the Battle of Alamance were mostly from eastern counties, the military officers also held official offices in the government. After the Regulators were defeated and the countryside was brought into submission, those who did not take the oath of allegiance were outlawed as traitors. An estimated 1500 people left North Carolina. It’s not difficult to visualize the somberness that must have fallen over the backcountry as the news spread about the battle, the trials and the hangings.

In Anson County, the unrest seemed to be more temperate; in Orange County it was more extreme. No doubt that had a lot to do with the condescension of Edmund Fanning and the agitation by Hermon Husband, James Hunter and Rednap Howell. Even though the April 28, 1768 Protest Paper from Anson Regulators to Governor Tryon does not bear the name of Burlingham Rudd, there are several names of his neighbors on that document. The language in that document does read as though the signers were also among the participates of “the mob” that took over the court house. There is a significant passage in that document that gives insight into the emerging American idea of government of, for and by the people when they say “...we conceive that no People have a right to be taxed, but by the consent of themselves or their Delegates.”

The October 9, 1769 Anson County Regulators’ Petition is a well thought out list of issues to be addressed, as well as, proposed solutions. Here’s what Professor John L. Bassett says about the Anson County Regulators’ Petition, page 187:

The Anson Regulators prepared a petition to the assembly. It contained a remarkably well-prepared statement of their grievances, and to it were more than two hundred and fifty signatures. It recounted seven kinds of political hardships and proposed seventeen points of redress. The former are but the grievances we have seen alleged all along. The noteworthy items of the latter are as follows:

At all elections the vote should be given by ballot;

Taxation should be apportioned on a property basis and not per capita;

Taxes might be paid in commodities;

Paper money should be issued and loaned on land;

Debts above 40s. and under £10 should be sued for without lawyers, and before a county justice and a jury of six;

The chief justice should have no fees, but should be given a salary;

The fees of the clerks should be restricted,

And the assembly should inform the King that the governor and council granted land without regard to the legal "head rights," by which means it had come about that all the best land was in the hands of a few people, and poor men were obliged to cultivate poor land. By this means, it was alleged, members of the council and their friends had gotten large tracts.

They asked for reforms in regard to quitrents, the issuing of land warrants, and the valuing of the improvements on land.

They also asked that all denominations have liberty to conduct the marriage ceremony according to their respective rites;

And, finally, that Dr. Benjamin Franklin, or some other known patriot, be appointed agent of the colony in London

This petition, it may be said, is the nearest approach of the Regulation to the Revolution. Several of its proposed reforms hinted at a decided change in government, and its hitting on Franklin for an agent looked toward bringing it into close relation with the larger movement, which it is well known that Franklin was then leading. The mention of this patriot's name was perhaps due to Husband, who, though not a Regulator, was doing all he could to spread among the people a greater love of liberty, and who was in frequent communication with Franklin.

It is a tribute to the wisdom of the Anson Regulators that many of these reforms were afterwards, when North Carolina had become a State, put into laws.

I would only add ... “#15. That all taxes in the following Counties be paid as in other Counties in the Province (i.e.) in the produce of the County and that warehouses be erected as follows (viz), In Anson County at Isom Haleys Ferry Landing on PeeDee River, Rowan and Orange at Cambleton in Cumberland County, Mecklenburg at __?___ on the Catawba River, and in Tryon County at __?__ on __?__ River.” This item reaches beyond Anson County and indicates a participation by Rowan and Orange counties in this petition. The blanks for Mecklenburg and Tryon counties look to me like the committee was intending to receive some recommendations from those county Regulators. Therefore, we see a combined effort between Anson, Mecklenburg, Rowan and Orange counties to address the problems of the backcountry. If I was Tryon, that would have worried me.

Be sure to read the entire document, it does provide quite a bit of insight into the conditions in the backcountry, as well as, the aptitude of the men who signed it. Among the signatures we find fathers and sons, signed as Sr. and Jr. We only find one Burlingham Rudd. The only way to know absolutely whether it was father or son is to see the original document. If it is signed with a signature, then that would be Burlingham the father, if it is signed with a mark, then that would indicate Burlingham the son. My best guess is that the signature is Burlingham the father and there are a few reasons I think that is the case. First, the signature doesn’t have a suffix and we know that both father and son are living in 1769. Could be that Burlingham the father signed without a suffix so there was no indication that Jr. existed. If Junior had signed the document, I think he would have been inclined to add the suffix, Jr. to his name to ensure his father was not in anyway held accountable if things turned for the worst. Second, and maybe more importantly, I think if anyone knew the dangers of standing up against the English ruling class, it was Burlingham the father. Burlingham had not only witnessed the "justice" system of the English, he had lived through it. He understood the consequences of adding his name to the list, especially in light of the fact that Governor Tryon had already told the first group that they would be brought up on charges in the Salisbury District Superior Court. Lastly, at the time this document was penned and signed, Burlingham Sr. was about sixty-five years old based on our previous calculations. The family had lived in Anson for about twenty-three years. They were part of the founding community on the Pee Dee River, the oldest part of the county. He was the patriarch of the family. Burlingham Jr. was about twenty-eight and George Lounsdell was about twenty-three. Even though both of them had started their own families by this time, I do think Burlingham Sr. had that much influence over his sons and forbade them from putting their names to that document. And in that light, all of the men who signed that document put themselves in danger. I really do believe there must have been a great feeling of despair on the part of the backcountry people striving to feed their families and hold on to their property that drove them to such desperate measures. I can also imagine the sense of superiority that was felt by the ruling class who had imposed their authority over the backcounty.

In just a few short years, the backcountry will once again fall into a civil war, but this time between the Whigs and the Tories. Old enemies become allies and old allies become enemies. It was a time for choosing sides in Anson.
~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~Resources used in this narrative

Carolana ~ One Vision-Many Dreams!
Documenting the American South ~ Colonial and State Records
~The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
John Spencer Bassett, 1867-1928
~The Regulators of North Carolina (1765-1771): Electronic Edition
NCpedia
North Carolina History Project
North Carolina State Archives
North Carolina Digital History
Texas A&M University Archives: The Regulators and the Battle of Alamance
~Sons of DeWitt Colony of Texas
US History.org

Join or Die ~ The Thunder Before the Storm

2011-05-22T17:44:00.014-05:00

Era of the French & Indian War

On May 9, 1754, the Pennsylvania Gazette published this political cartoon which accompanied an editorial about the “disunited state” of the British colonies which inhibited “…speedy and effectual measures for our common defense and security; while our enemies have the very great advantage of being under one direction, with one council and one purse... ”.

The publication was intended to provide support for The Albany Plan which was a proposal, unanimously adopted, by the Albany Congress that would create a centralized government structure among the colonies that included a President General appointed by the Crown and a Grand Council chosen by representatives of the various colonial assemblies. The Albany Plan was an attempt to organize the colonies into a union for their common defense against the encroachment of the French into the upper Ohio Country.

The author of the cartoon and editorial, as well as, the plan was Benjamin Franklin.

A copy of The Albany Plan was presented to each of the colonial assemblies and, being suspicious of creating a central taxing authority, it was promptly rejected.

A copy of The Albany Plan was sent to the Board of Trade and Plantations in London and because many in the British government were already suspicious of some of the strong-willed colonial assemblies and weren’t keen on the idea of consolidating power in the colonies, it was promptly rejected.

On May 28, 1754, a young Lieutenant Colonel in the British army was involved in a short skirmish at Fort Necessity resulting in the first shot in the opening battle of the French and Indian War.

His name was George Washington.
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At the conclusion of the King George’s War (1744-1748), as it is known in America, known in Europe as the War of the Austrian Succession, the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was signed. The details of the Treaty were mostly negotiated between Britain and France and, basically, returned the world to the status quo of 1744. New England colonials were not happy. In 1745, they had captured the mighty fortress at Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, not only without the assistance of the British Navy, but with the adamant refusal of the British government to assist them in any way … and now the British Empire gave it back to France. Since 1740, when the fort had been completed, French privateers had used it as a base to prey upon New England fishermen working the Grand Banks. In 1745, a small force of New Englanders under William Pepperrell, with the support of Sir Peter Warren and a fleet of merchantmen, attacked Louisbourg and forced its surrender. Now, it was being returned in exchange for Madras, India. The Treaty also failed to resolve the growing colonial and commercial tensions between the British colonists and the French traders along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The struggle for North America would continue in North America while Europe pretended peace had finally come to their continent.

About thirty-five years earlier, the Queen Anne’s War (1702–13) as it is known in America, in Europe as the War of the Spanish Succession, had been fought by colonials in New York and New England along the Canadian border against French forces and their native Indian allies. As a result, the British had captured Port Royal which brought French Arcadia under British control as the province of Nova Scotia. But under the Treaty of Utrecht which brought an end to this war, the British had allowed France to retain control of Cape Breton Island, upon which they had promptly built Fort Louisbourg creating a French base for the launch of attacks against New England fishermen.

Also in North America, France ceded to Great Britain all claim to the Hudson’s Bay Company, Rupert’s Island and Newfoundland. As a condition of the Treaty, France was required to recognize British dominion over the Iroquois and commerce with the “Far Indians” was to be open to traders of all nations. This part of the Treaty should not be underemphasized. The British and Iroquois had a strong relationship and as you’ll see, as far as native culture is concerned, the Iroquois had dominion over the Ohio Country. But France wasn’t inclined to share the grip they had on the fur trade.

About sixteen years before the end of the Queen Anne’s War, the New England colonists and their native Indian allies had fought the French Canadians during King William’s War (1689-97) as a part of the War for the Grand Alliance (1688–97) which resulted in Great Britain’s failure to capture Quebec and France’s failure to capture Boston.

Therefore, by 1748, New England colonials had had more than their share of conflicts with the French along their borders for about fifty years. They had rallied to the side of the British government in conflict after conflict and when the British government did not come to their assistance, they took matters into their own hands and emerged triumphant, only to have the British government trade their conquests for Madras, India.
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The Iroquois Indians were an association of several tribes of indigenous people located mostly in present-day central and upstate New York and into Canada. Around the 16th century they united into an association known as the Iroquois League, also known as the Iroquois Confederacy, including Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca nations. They are often referred to as the Five Nations. After the Tuscarora War (1711-15) in North Carolina, the Tuscarora returned to their ancestral home and joined the League in 1722 which then became known as the Six Nations.

Beginning in the early 1600s, the Iroquois traded mostly with Dutch and British merchants, a few traded with the French. They gave beaver and other hides to European traders and in turn they received muskets, iron tools, blankets, glass beads and other items of their interests. By mid-1600s, the Iroquois had hunted and trapped most of all the fur-bearing animals in their homeland and turned their eyes towards the rich hunting grounds of their neighboring tribes in the Ohio Country. The natives in that area had been weakened by diseases and had lost many of their numbers. Between 1650 and 1700 the Iroquois waged a war (The Beaver Wars) of extermination against the tribes in Ohio Country and claimed the land for the Iroquois Confederacy as the Beaver Hunting Ground. Most the hunters and warriors did not live there but came primarily to hunt deer and beaver and returned home after a hunting expedition. The Erie Indians were the exception and lived along the south shore of Lake Erie from New York to about present-day Cleveland, Ohio.

During King William’s War (1689-97), the Iroquois Confederation allied with the British against the French and in 1701 they deeded their Beaver Hunting Ground in the Nanfan Treaty to the acting colonial governor of New York. The Treaty was ratified in 1726. Of course, the vast majority of the Beaver Hunting Ground was located in New France and the French did not recognize the treaty as valid. That same year, 1701, the Iroquois signed a peace treaty with France known as the Great Peace of Montreal. During the next war, the Queen Anne’s War, the Iroquois pretty much stayed neutral even though Queen Anne had them at Court in an effort to secure their assistance.

Between 1721-22, the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia renewed the Covenant Chain with the Iroquois in the signing of a new Treaty of Albany which recognized the Blue Ridge as the boundary between the Iroquois and the Virginia Colony. But by 1730, new settlers began to move beyond the Blue Ridge into the Shenandoah Valley to which the Iroquois objected and were told that the agreed upon demarcation line was intended to prevent them from trespassing east of the Blue Ridge, but not to prevent English from moving west of the Blue Ridge. The Iroquois were on the verge of war with the Virginia Colony when Governor Gooch, acting on behalf of the Crown, in 1743 agreed to pay them 100 pounds sterling for any settled land in the Valley that was claimed by them. The next year, the Treaty of Lancaster was signed whereby the Iroquois sold to Virginia all of their remaining claims on the Shenandoah Valley for 200 pounds gold.
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However, the French had a different opinion about who held the lands west of the Allegany Mountains. As you can see by this 1750 map of New France; their claim stretched from Louisiana to the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. They had secured the western boundary of the British colonies with a cordon of fortifications, especially along the upper northern area. As far as they were concerned, the vast landmass between Louisiana and Canada belonged to them. Even though colonization was not as successful for France as it had been for England, France argued that the area was majority populated by French. They argued that their countrymen had been the original explorers who navigated the area, and therefore, they had the right of discovery. They did not recognize the Iroquois’ claim of domination over the Beaver Hunting Ground and were negotiating treaties with the powerful Delawares and Shawnees on the frontiers of Pennsylvania and Virginia. The French were not going to allow expansion westward of the British colonies and apparently had even greater plans for pushing the British colonists off the continent. The British colonials perceived real and impending danger. Those living on the frontier were becoming alarmed.

From the ”The history of South Carolina under the royal government, 1719-1776, by Edward McCrady, page 300-302

The colony of Georgia was now interposed between the Carolinians and the Spaniards in Florida; but her western frontier was still exposed to the claims of France. Firmly established in Canada and Louisiana, France was rapidly connecting these extreme points by a chain of military posts, stretching through the entire length of the Mississippi Valley, and having formed close commercial alliances with several of the most powerful tribes of the continent, her triumph was apparently, beyond peradventure, not far distant. Her design was to secure the possession of the great valley, and having circumscribed the English colonists within their narrow belt along the Atlantic, when everything was ready for the blow, to fall upon them, with the hordes of their savage confederates, and exterminate or drive them from the soil.

In an old map, constructed previous to 1741, by M. de L’Isle, geographer to the French King, a definite line is traced, marking the eastern limit of France’s assumed domain on the American continent. It set out from a point near Charlestown, ran northeastward to Cooper River, - which it crossed some sixty miles from the ocean, - passed the Santee one hundred miles from its mouth, turned northwestward along the eastern bank of that stream till it reached the Catawba, pursued this tributary into the Alleghany Mountains, followed that course around the head waters of the Potomac to the Susquehanna, - crossing it at a point some sixty-five miles from the head of the Chesapeake Bay, - ran thence up the eastern bank to the North Branch, and along that stream to the Mohawk, - which it crossed some fifty miles above its junction with the Hudson, - thence to a point near the lower extremity of Lake Champlain, and along the channel of that water to the mouth of the Sorrell, by which it finally passed to the River St. Lawrence. The sandy strip of country lying between this imaginary defiant line of frontier and the ocean was all that was allowed England for her portion of the continent. Through all the immense territory between this strip and the Mississippi, English and French emissaries were alike alternately stirring up the Indians against each other.

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Now the stage was set. Great Britain had purchased the Beaver Hunting Ground located in Ohio Country from the Iroquois. The area was rather thinly populated by native Indians since the Iroquois had driven them out. Those tribes still in the area were under the Iroquois’ dominion, for example the Delawares, with whom the French were negotiating. So, before the ink had time to dry on the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, the Earl of Halifax, who had just attained the position as head of the Board of Trade and Plantations, convinced the Crown to deed land to two new land speculation companies, the Ohio Company and the Loyal Company, both based in Virginia. During the mid-1740s, a sprinkling of British colonists had made their way across the Allegany Mountains and settled on the frontier, businessmen from Great Britain had moved into the region and set up trading posts among the natives and were competing with the French for the lucrative fur trade. The French had strong influence over the native populations in their near-area, but it was beginning to wane as the Indians were developing a trade relationship with the British. On the North American continent, the French claimed more land mass, but the British had more population. Tensions were high.

The group known as the Loyal Company was organized in 1749. Among the investors were Peter Jefferson, who was the father of Thomas Jefferson, Joshua Fry, a surveyor and map maker among other things, Reverend James Maury and Thomas Walker, the first being Thomas Jefferson’s teacher and the latter will become his guardian, and Thomas Meriwether, who was the grandfather of Meriwether Lewis of Lewis & Clark. This group acquired an 800,000 acre patent located on the southern border of Virginia in what is present-day southeastern Kentucky, which they renewed twice, but even though they completed the surveys, the coming war interrupted the process and their plans never got off the ground.

However, the Ohio Company of Virginia which organized in 1747 was more successful. Among the members were Thomas Lee, the namesake for Leesburg, Virginia, Nathaniel Chapman, a prominent physician, John Mercer and his son, George Mercer, Lawrence Washington and Augustine Washington, Jr., who were the brothers of George Washington, as well as, the Duke of Bedford, Virginia Lt. Governor Robert Dinwiddie, and John Hanbury, who was a wealthy London merchant. This group acquired 200,000 acres of land near the headwaters of the Ohio River in what is now western Pennsylvania. The patent was awarded in 1749 and made with the conditions that one hundred families would be settled within seven years, that the Company would build a fort at their own expense to protect the settlers and the claim, and that the settlement would establish a regular trade with the local natives in order to maintain friendly relations. To that end, in 1752, the Company signed a treaty of friendship and permission at Logstown with the main tribes in the region. Then, from 1748-50, they hired Thomas Cresap who opened a trading fort and founded Oldtown, Maryland at the foot of the eastern climb up the Cumberland Narrows. He was was contracted to blaze a trail over the mountains to the Monogahela River as the first step in building a wagon road. In 1750, the Company hired Christopher Gist to explore the Ohio Valley and identify lands for potential settelment which he did in 1750, 1751 and 1753. He traveled far and kept a journal of his experiences and when he returned his report, the Company identified the an area in western Pennsylvania and present-day West Virginia for settlement.

On July 1, 1752, Marquis Duquesne, the governor in New France, ordered the construction of new forts to secure control of the Ohio Country and in 1753 sent 1,500 French soldiers into the upper Ohio Valley to established Fort Presq'-isle in modern day Erie, Pennsylvania, Fort Le Boeuf in modern day Waterford, Pennsylvania and Fort Manchault in modern day Franklin, Pennsylvania. Back in England, the Earl of Halifax charged the French had broken the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, which acknowledged the Iroquois as British subjects, therefore, their land, even areas conquered by them were British.

The Ohio Company’s land patent was technically under the control of the Virginia colony because it fell within the chartered boundaries. Robert Dinwiddie, a member of the Company, as well as, Lt. Governor of Virginia first sent Major George Washington to Fort Le Boeuf with a letter of remonstrance to Captain Legardeur de Saint-Pierre, the French commander. He was joined by John Davidson as Indian interpreter, and Jacob Van Braam, who spoke the French language and Christopher Gist who acted as a guide, as well as four other men, two of them Indian traders. Forty-one days later they arrived at Fort Le Boeuf and handed the letter to Captain Saint-Pierre. Four days later, December 16, 1753, Saint-Pierre handed to Major Washington his sealed reply to Lt. Governor Dinwiddie and the party began their perilous journey back to Virginia. The mountains were covered with snow, the streams were swift and swollen and filled with ice, and much of the journey was on foot. They arrived back in Williamsburg on January 16, 1754. In addition to the letter, Washington reported on the reconnaissance he had gathered telling Dinwiddie that the French had swept south; he detailed the steps they had taken to fortify the area and their intention to fortify the confluence of the Allegheny and the Monongahela rivers.

Lt. Governor Dinwiddie commissioned Major Washington a Lieutenant-Colonel, and placed him in chief command of two hundred troops to be raised to march to the Ohio River and build two forts before the French could descend the stream or its tributaries in the spring. The Governor sent an appeal to the other colonies for help. All hesitated except … North Carolina … whose Assembly immediately voted men and money, for the first time a colony put their money and their men in support of another colony beyond their boundaries for common defense. The other colonial assemblies became bogged down in the debate over the supremacy of parliament verses the rights of the colonists in regards to which group had the authority to levy taxes and direct the use of those funds; and on the frontier, there was competition for the Indian trade among the provincial governments.

Thus, Benjamin Franklin’s political cartoon … “Join, or Die” … and his scathing editorial about the “disunited state” of the British colonies.

Washington recommended the building of the first fort at the forks of the Ohio River and Captain Trent took a contingent of troops and went ahead to speed the construction while Washington remained in Alexandria recruiting. In early April, Washington left Alexandria with his small force, along the way he was intercepted by swift runners from the Half-King on the Monongahela with reports of the French movements toward the forks of the Ohio River. He reached Will’s Creek on April 20, 1754 and was met by a member of Trent’s Company with news that French Captain Contrecoeur had come down the Alleghany and not only taken possession of the unfinished fort that Trent’s troops had begun, but had finished it on a stronger plan and named it Fort Duquesne for the Governor of New France.

By late May, Colonel Fry and his contingent of troops had reached Washington on the banks of the Youghiogheny River, within forty miles of Fort Duquesne. There they received a message from the Half-King warning the French were on the move, so Washington fell back across the Great Meadows and built a stockade that he named Fort Necessity. Christopher Gist, who lived nearby, reported tracks of Frenchmen within five miles of the Great Meadows. That night the Half-King sent a message saying a party of armed Frenchmen was lying in ambush about six miles away. Even though it was dark and rainy, Washington immediately set out with about forty men for the camp of the friendly Seneca Chief to enlist his help and together they sought the hiding place of their common foe. On May 28, when they met the enemy, Washington order this troops to fire and the enemy returned fire, the fight lasted about fifteen minutes. When it ceased, French Commander Jumonville and ten of his men were dead, one Virginian had been killed.

Colonel Fry died on May 31 and Washington was promoted to Colonel. He spent the next few days fortifying his position, preparing for the French to attack. On June 9, the rest of the Virginia regiment arrived at the Great Meadows, bringing supplies and nine swivel guns. Washington had under his command now a total of 293 officers and men. Several days later about 100 men of Captain James MacKay’s Independent Company of regular British troops from South Carolina arrive but Washington’s attempt to retain his Indian allies was not successful.

The South Carolina troops remained in the Great Meadows while Washington and the Virginians spent most of June opening a road from Fort Necessity to Gist’s Plantation in direction of the forks of the Ohio. When he received reports of a large force of French and Indians advancing from Fort Duquesne, Washington withdrew his men to the Great Meadows, arriving there on July 1.

On the morning of July 3, a force of about 600 French and 100 Indians took up position in the woods. Rain fell all day and flooded the marshy ground. Both the British and the French and Indians took casualties, but the British suffered greater losses. At about 8 o’clock that evening, the French Captain, Louis Coulon de Villiers, commander and brother of Jumonville, requested a truce to discuss the surrender of Washington’s command. The British forces were allowed to withdraw with the honors of war, were allowed to keep their baggage and weapons, except for the swivel guns. On July 4, Washington and MacKay left Fort Necessity and marched back to Virginia. The French burned Fort Necessity to the ground and returned to Fort Duquesne.

The French and Indian War had begun in North America.

After the surrender of Washington at Fort Necessity, Lt. Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia pressed the British government for assistance to remove the French from Fort Duquesne and found them eager to advance a full war on the French in North America. What resulted was a disaster in the making, infamously known in American history as Braddock’s Defeat. On July 9, 1755, about 1,500 British and American troops from Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina were set upon by a force of 300 to 600 Indians including Ottawas, Miamis, Hurons, Delawares, Shawnees and Mingoes and about 30 French colonial troops on the Monongahela River at the fork of the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers near present-day Pittsburgh. Braddock attempted to fight European-style, while the French and Indians fought Indian-style. When the colonial militias fell behind the trees out of instinct to fight Indian-style, Braddock forced them back into European-style. When it was over the British command had lost twenty-six officers killed, thirty-seven wounded, 430 soldiers killed and 385 wounded, many had been shot by their own men in the confusion. The French and Indian losses were probably less that thirty killed and an unknown number of wounded. Most of the women and children who had been permitted to accompany the march were killed and scalped. Twelve prisoners were stripped naked and tortured to death throughout the night.

The defeat of Braddock unleashed a relentless wave of French and Indian attacks on frontier settlements from Pennsylvania and Maryland to Virginia. Many of the settlers living on that frontier had recently arrived during the migration period that had brought the expansion of the North Carolina Piedmont and their experiences with the Indians thus far had not prepared them for the onslaught that was to come down upon them. The peaceful, non-violent Quakers had entered into a treaty with the Delawares, and now they were being murdered, scalped, kidnapped and tortured by those very same Indians. The tomahawk of the Shawnees was at work on the Virginia frontier. There are numerous accounts of the horrendous brutality that was brought down on their heads. One of those accounts you can find HERE, of Sidnah Rosine, one of my ancestors who lived to tell her story, which I suspect was not that unusual except that she survived it.

On May 8, 1756, Britain and France formally declared war against each other as the conflict grew world-wide and became the Seven Years’ War.
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Meanwhile, back in South Carolina, it was about the time of Governor Dinwiddie’s initial adventurer into the Ohio Country that Governor Glen of South Carolina was made aware of Dinwiddie’s attempt to secure a larger share of trade with the four southern tribes, Cherokee, Catawba, Muscogee/Creek and Chickasaw, by enticing them away from their dependence on South Carolina for their necessities of life. The South Carolina colony had a long standing relationship with the Cherokee, as well as, the Catawba. Governor Glen understood the importance of their trade with South Carolina, and more importantly it seems he understood how to manage the Cherokee. They had been on and off allies with the Carolinians during the 1711 Tuscarora War in North Carolina and the 1715 Yamasee War on the South Carolina/Spanish Florida border.

Edward McCrady, in his ”The history of South Carolina under the royal government, 1719-1776, records on pages 303-4, the letter Governor Glen sent to Governor Dinwiddie. It not only describes how Glen has learned to manage the Cherokee, but also, gives us some insight into just how unprotected the Carolina frontier was at the time. All that stood between them and the Indians, on their western boundary, was a small Georgia colony on the Savannah River.

“South Carolina,” he wrote, “is a weak frontier colony, and in case of an invasion by the French would be their first object of attack. We have not much to fear, however, while we retain the affections of the Indians around us; but should we forfeit that by any mismanagement on our part, or by the superior address of the French, we are in a miserable situation. The Cherokees alone have several thousand gunmen well acquainted with every inch of this province – their country is the key to Carolina. We have been greatly alarmed by the behavior of the Virginians in regard to the Cherokees. Few or no Indians are in treaty with Virginia. By long experience we have become thoroughly acquainted with their nature and inclinations, and have been so successful in managing them as to keep them steady to the British interest, notwithstanding the vigorous and persevering efforts of France to seduce them from us. We can see no good or wise policy in endeavoring to draw away these Indians form one of his Majesty’s provinces to another. We have been enabled to fix the affections of the four great nations around us. Let facts speak: they come when we send for them, and go when we bid them depart; they do whatever we desire them. They now perfectly understand the injustice of punishing the innocent for the guilty, and the necessity of punishing the latter in conformity to the treaties between them and us. And when, under any circumstances, a white man is killed in their country, the offender is sure to die, through the greatest of the nation.

“When a people unacquainted with the nature of crimes and punishments are brought to deal with offenders on principles that guide, under similar circumstances, the most enlightened nations, may we not safely boast of having progressed a great way in the education of savages? All this we do aver to be truthful. What benefit, therefore, do you hope to gain for the common cause by sending so many pressing invitations to those nations, or the five of New York to come to Virginia? I will answer for their good behavior with my life if your province will let them alone. In my absence the Council of this colony wrote praying you not to intermeddle with out Indians. I have also requested the same, yet you have sent messages lately to the Catawbas and the Chickasaws inviting them to come and receive the presents sent over by the King.”

Between 1753 and 1755, battles had broken out between the Cherokee and the Muscogee/Creek nations over disputed hunting grounds in North Georgia with the Cherokee emerging victorious. In 1753, Governor Glen of South Carolina agreed to build Fort Prince George in present-day Pickens County on two thousand acres of land opposite the Indian town of Keowee to serve as protection against the Creek Indians, as well as, a trading post for the Cherokee Lower Towns. Chief Old Hop, crippled King of the Cherokee, agreed to give Governor Glen all the land lying between the Cherokee nation and the existing white settlements which at the time extended no higher than Aiken and Lexington counties and two years later deeded the area to Governor Glen which became District Ninety-Six.

At the outbreak of the French and Indian War, the Overhill Cherokee located on the Tennessee were attacked by the French-allied Shawnee and requested of Governor Glen to build a fort among them for protection and trade, so in 1756, Governor Glen began the building of Fort Loudon, in present-day Monroe County, Tennessee, a few miles downstream from the Cherokee capital Chota in an attempt to ensure their allegiance. The British representatives in the colonies were aware of attempts by French traders to sway the Overhills to their ally. Over many years French traders from Fort Toulouse in French Alabama had made numerous visits to the Overhills on their way to and from their fort on the St. Lawrence River. It is said that at the beginning of the French and Indian War, the Cherokee allied with the British, however, suspicions and tensions grew between them, misunderstandings and indignations perpetuated mistrust which resulted in the Cherokee switching sides and joining with the French before the end of the war. The Battle of Quebec in 1759 ended most of the fighting against the French in the British colonies of North America. By September 1760, fighting in Canada ended with English victories in Montréal, then Newfoundland. But that was not the case with the Indians. The timing of and causes for the switch of allegiance is difficult to determine. I think it was a case of gradual drifting of allegiances. It seems the Upper Towns flipped first, perhaps beginning with the Overhill Cherokees on the Tennessee. It seems the older, more moderate Cherokees in the Lower Towns were more British-leaning, perhaps because of long relationships and their attachment to the items they acquired through trade with the British; and the younger, more fundamentalist Cherokees were influenced by the French who were telling them that the British intended to make them slaves. There was a history of Indian slave trading in the colonies, so that played on their fears. No doubt the increased migration of new white settlers, pushing the frontier of the colonies further into Indians lands was a major factor also.

On page 24 of her book, ”History of Anson County, North Carolina-1750-1976”, Mary L. Medley tells us that Fort Dobbs, in present-day Rowan County, North Carolina, was built in 1756 as an outpost against the Cherokee. That same year, Governor Dobbs recommended another fort near the headwaters of the Catawba called Old Fort in present-day McDowell County, North Carolina. So, it seems that at least by that time, the threat from the Cherokee was a concern for North Carolinians.

On page 22, Ms. Medley quotes for us from The Colonial Records an account of a meeting in Salisbury, North Carolina held on May 26-27, 1756 between chief justices and King Hagler of the Catawbas with fifteen of his warriors. King Hagler says:

The Cherokees, we and the white People have been brothers and I desired that the path between them might be kept clear but the Cherokees have been playing the Rogue at which I am terribly concerned. We will stand by our brethren the English or go down to the grave with them. Mine is a small nation yet are brave men, and will be fast friends to their brothers the white people as long as the sun endures.

On page 23, Ms. Medley tells us that at the Salisbury Conference, King Hagler also made an interesting plea for the life of a white woman, who had been captured or delivered to him by the Cherokees. He said that she had been forced to do what she did and added, “I always hate to lose a woman for she may become the mother of sons.”

On page 24, Ms. Medley quotes again from the The Colonial Records, this time a letter sent by Governor Dobbs of North Carolina to the Board of Trade in London on June 14, 1756:

My Lords,
There having been a conference with the Catawbas held at Salisbury by their King Hagler and some warriors with Chief Justice Henly which had been sent down to me I thought to send you a Copy of it occasioned by some of the Cherokees who were returning from Virginia after their disappointment of attacking the Shawnee, who carried off a white Woman from Virginia and tis’ supposed at her instigation carried off horses, saddles and plunder from the Back Settlers as they passed through the Province, but I suppose they would not supply them with provisions, and our Mad settlers want to repel force with force. But I have sent strict orders at their peril to make any opposition but save their lives. I shall order 100 weight of Gunpowder and 400 weight of lead to the Catawbas, our friends although, we have not 1000 weight in the Province and none can be unless the Government supplies us from England in case of war.

In South Carolina, Governor Glen’s replacement, William Henry Lyttleton, arrived from England on June 1, 1756. His inability, or rather unwillingness, to “manage” the Cherokee as Governor Glen had done, brought down horrendous butchery upon the Carolina frontier. His brusque treatment of their chiefs was cause for concern for Lt. Governor William Bull and others of influence in the colony, and they were right to be concerned. An incident involving about twenty-six Cherokee chiefs held hostage at Fort Prince George by Governor Lyttleton, while awaiting his demand to surrender those Cherokee warriors responsible for raids resulting in the murder and kidnapping of white settlers, ended with an attempt by the Cherokee to free their chiefs that resulted in, not only the killing of the officer and wounding of the small contingent of soldiers at the fort, but also the killing of the hostages by those soldiers.

A quote from a quote in ”History of South Carolina, Volume 1”, edited by Yates Snowden, Harry Gardner Cutler, on page 271:

The horrible sequel in graphically told in Landrum’s “History of Upper South Carolina,” to this effect: “This unfortunate catastrophe maddened the whole Cherokee nation. The pleasant relations which had been so recently formed with these people were at the end. It is said that in the murder of these hostages, there was scarcely a family among the Cherokees that had not lost a friend or relative. The whole nation seized at once the hatchet, sang their war songs and, burning for revenge, fell upon the frontier settlements of Carolina, and with merciless fury set to work murdering men, women and children. The settlements, everywhere alarmed and terrified, lost no time in setting to the work of building forts and stockades. It is said that a line of forts extended along the borders of the outer settlements from Virginia to Georgia.

As Indian trouble rose up to the north, south and west of Anson, the provincial government at Wilmington sent Hugh Waddell of Rowan County to defend the frontier about the same time that a smallpox outbreak struck the Catawbas and reduced their numbers by half, so they were not able to provide much assistance against the Cherokee. By 1758, there was a temporary relief from the Cherokee threat until an attack on settlers in the Catawba Valley that year which killed Robert Gillespie and the fourteen-year-old son of Richard Lewis. Then the Cherokee attacked Fort Dobbs in 1759 which resulted in about twelve Indians killed and two North Carolina militia killed, one who died from scalping.

In late 1759 the Cherokees laid siege to Fort Loudoun, which had been built for the Overhills on the Tennessee. After five months, the fort surrendered under terms that allowed the garrison to return to South Carolina under a white flag. After spending the night on the bottoms of Cane Creek near Belltown, the garrison woke to find the Cherokee guides gone and their party surrounded. Cherokee warriors attacked at dawn, killing about twenty-five soldiers. Attakullakulla, a respected Cherokee leader, asked that John Stuart be spared, describing him as "a true friend." The Cherokees considered it a retaliation for an earlier killing of Cherokee hostages at Fort Prince George in South Carolina.

From 1759-61, the Anglo-Cherokee War was unleashed on the Carolina frontiers, from the western border of South Carolina to the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in western North Carolina. After the incident at Fort Prince George unleashed the fury of the Cherokee on settlers in the Carolina frontier, General Jeffrey Amherst, the British commander in North America, sent Archibald Montgomerie with an army of 1,200 troops consisting of the Royal Scots and the 77th Regiment of Foot Highlanders to South Carolina and they razed the Cherokee Lower Towns including Keowee. When Montgomerie attempted to enter the Middle Towns territory at Echoee Pass, he was defeated and withdrew. After the siege at Fort Loudoun and the resulting ambush, in 1761, James Grant, who had replaced Archibald Montgomerie, enlisted the help of Catawba scouts and led an army of 2,600 men through Echoee Pass, and proceeded to raze about fifteen Middle Towns. Hugh Waddell and Griffith Rutherford of Rowan, and Hugh Montgomery of Salisbury accompanied Major Grant on this final push against the Cherokee that brought an end to the war. In November 1761, the Cherokee signed a peace treaty with Virginia and another with South Carolina.

In 1762, King Hagler, head of the Catawbas, was murdered by a Shawnee while on a journey into the Waxhaw settlement with only one bodyguard. He was a friend of the Carolinians, and that is what likely got him killed.

Then in May 1763, came Pontiac’s War, named after an Ottawa chief Obwandiyag, whom the English called Pontiac. It included tribes of the Great Lakes region, Ottawas, Ojibwas, Potawatomis and Hurons, and the tribes of eastern Illinois Country, Miamis, Weas, Kickappos, Mascoutens, and Piankashaws, As well as, tribes in the Ohio Country, Delawares, Shawnees, Wyandots, and Mingos. Two things they had in common; one, they had all been French allies, and two, they were very alarmed to learn that they were under British sovereignty after the French loss of North America. They discovered this when the British moved into Fort Detroit and began to fortify the other forts in the region that had been vacated by the French. It is said that the policies of General Amherst spurred the tensions that led to this war. Those polices included the practice of giving presents such as guns, knives, tobacco, and clothing to village chiefs, who in turn distributed these gifts to their people. By this process, the village chiefs gained stature among their people. This was an important aspect of the colonial-native relationship. Amherst considered it a form of bribery that was no longer necessary. The Indians regarded this change in policy as an insult and an indication that the British looked upon them as conquered people rather than as allies. Amherst also restricted the amount of ammunition and gunpowder that traders could sell to Indians because he did not trust them, especially after the Anglo-Cherokee War.

Nine forts were captured by the Indians, eight of which were destroyed, about 2,500 white settlers were killed, others were captured and hundreds fled from the region. The war spread throughout the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley regions with the Indian’s coalition having many successes. However, Pontiac's alliance slowly began to disintegrate, first the Potawatomis dissociated themselves, and then Hurons broke their alliance. Little by little most of his Ojibwa and Ottawa followers also deserted him and scattered to their winter hunting grounds. The final peace was concluded at Fort Ontario July 23-25, 1766.

It is said that Pontiac's acquiescence in peace set his former allies against him; his own village decided to banish him. He was murdered at the hand of a Peoria.
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The Peace of Paris or Treaty of 1763 was signed on February 10, 1763 in Paris between the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. It ended the world-wide Seven Years’ War and the North American French and Indian War. As you can see, the Crown created an Indian reservation the entire distance of the western colonial frontier from Florida to Quebec. I bet I can guess how those who had just lived through the worst nightmare imaginable felt about that ... can’t you?

Then the Crown went even further. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued on October 7, 1763 by King George the Third. It is said that the intent of the proclamation was to organize Great Britain’s North American empire and to stabilize relations with the natives through regulation of trade, settlement and land purchases on the western frontier. Basically it said, any British subject living on the western side of the Proclamation Line was to move immediately, no compensation or assistance was offered, and if you didn’t ... you were on your on ... the Crown was not responsible for your safety.

I think I can guess how that was received. Bet you can too.

There are several points of view as to why the Crown made these decisions depending on who is doing the opining. But the one thing they didn’t succeed in doing, which should not have been a surprise, was stop the migration west of the colonists. As a matter of fact the demarcation line was moved twice with more treaties ... by the Crown. After the war, George Washington requested and received a 20,000 acre patent in Ohio Country for those who had served during the French and Indian War ... from the Crown. This land grant was located in parts of present-day West Virginia and Kentucky, very near the area that had been granted to the Loyal Company prior to the war. That land was eventually opened to Virginians. As settlers continued to venture west, Indians continued to attack attempting to push them back, most notably Lord Dunmore's War in 1774 between the Colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo nations.

The back and forth attacks, skirmishes and raids between Indians and settlers on the frontier continued right up until the outbreak of the American Revolution. And by coincidence … or perhaps design … the very Indians to whom the Crown had granted a land reserve became their allies against the Patriots.
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With the exception of the attack on Fort Dobbs in 1759, the location of the Burlingham Rudd family on the Pee Dee River appears to have limited their exposure to the fighting between the British and the French and Indians during most of the war. No doubt the news of the fighting reached Anson, and no doubt there were neighbors who fought as part of the colonial militias from the Piedmont. However, I think that was not likely the case when it came to the Anglo-Cherokee War that followed. Not only was that conflict much closer to home, along the South Carolina and North Carolina border, but the Carolinians and the Cherokee had been trading partners for a long time up until the outbreak of the fighting between them. It seems that the trouble is traced back to the alliance with the Cherokee and the troops in Virginia against the Shawnee. For the Carolinians and the Cherokee, it must have been a terrorizing time for two cultures who had pretty much adapted to each other by this time.

In 1763, at the end of this period, Burlingham Junior was about twenty-two years old and George Lounsdell would have been about seventeen if he was born about 1746 and perhaps married. If Walter is living, he would be about twenty and Martha would have been about twenty-five and likely married with her own family. Burlingham Junior is married and Burlingham the third is about three years old. When this chapter of their lives closed, the next chapter will witness the Regulator’s Movement in North Carolina right at their doorstep.
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The Rudd Family of Anson Co., NC ~ Part One

2011-04-27T14:42:00.070-05:00

~ First Family ~

Of course, it wasn’t called Anson County when they arrived. It was the western edge of the frontier of Bladen County. Bladen had been formed out of New Hanover in 1734, up until about that time the population of the North Carolina colony had pretty much been contained to the Coastal Plains. But migration from the northern colonies, Virginia and South Carolina had begun to cross the borders. Remember, back in South Carolina there had been a plan put into motion to populate the up country by creating a new headright system and economic incentives to encourage the settlement of new townships, not only as a buffer to the native Indians, but also as a means of strengthen the colony's southern boundary. Between 1730 and 1740, the population of Charleston had doubled and property value rose 500%. I guess one of the mysteries we may never solve is why did Burlingham Rudd migrate to Anson County instead of the up country of South Carolina. In my own mind, I can imagine that Burlingham wanted to take his family and start a new life by leaving the past one behind.

In these three maps, the top one is 1729, about the time that Burlingham arrived in Charleston, SC. The middle one, 1746, shows the formation of Bladen out of New Hanover, this is just about the time I’d guess that Burlingham migrated into the Pee Dee River area. I’ve placed a red* on the approximate location of his crown grant. The bottom map, 1750, shows the creation of Anson County. When the boundary lines were originally determined, the eastern line was at the Little Pee Dee River, later when Richmond County is formed the boundary was moved west to the Great Pee Dee River.

First came the people, and then came the county. When Anson County was formed, the concentration of the population was located along the banks of the Pee Dee River and its tributaries. Comparing the list of settlers with early land grants to the map of the streams and creeks, it appears that they stretch up the Pee Dee, on both sides of the river. These early pioneers were referred to as the Pee Dee settlers. From Documenting the American South we find the petition for a new county in the “Minutes of the North Carolina Governor's Council, September 29, 1748 - September 30, 1748, Volume 04, Pages 887-889

At a Council held at New Bern 29th September 1748
Present His Excellency the Governor
The Honoble Nath Rice Esqr Member of Council
The Honoble Roger Moore Esqr Member of Council
The Honoble Robert Halton Esqr Member of Council and
The Honoble Edwd Moseley Esqr Member of Council
The Honoble Will Forbes Esqr Member of Council

Captain Samuel Davis, Charles Robinson, and Thomas Smith exhibited a petition in behalf of themselves and Sundry others Inhabitants of Pedee, which was read being to the following Effect Vizt

That by the great distance of that Settlement from the County Court of Bladen, and the badness of the ways they were in a manner excluded from all Benefits of the said Court, to which, by reason of the bad behaviour of many amongst them, they have frequent Occasions of recourse Wherefore they pray for a Division, and to be made a separate County, when (tho' now but few) they doubt not to encrease to a competent Number.

Then was also read a Petition with several names to it, in one and the same hand writing, as of Inhabitants of Pee dee, opposing the aforesaid Petition, in regard of the Paucity and Poverty of the Inhabitants.

Whereupon his Excellency was pleased to interrogate the presenters of the first petition (no person appearing to the other) upon the subject of their petition: And it appearing to the satisfaction of his Excellency and the Council, that the Number of white Tithables upon Pee dee river and near the same, is between two and three Hundred; and that the Court House of Bladen County (in which County they have been hitherto Included) is above one hundred miles distant from the nearest Inhabitants of Peedee; and that at some seasons of the year, the roads between are very bad, if not impracticable. For the ease of the said Inhabitants, and to promote the Settlement of the said River his Excellency thought proper, by and with the Advice and consent of His Majestys Council, to grant the petition for a Division of the County of Bladen, and making Pee dee and parts above it a Separate County as aforesaid and accordingly it was Ordered, that that part of Bladen County which is known by the name of Peedee, together with all parts adjacent, extending as hereafter set forth, shall be erected into a County, distinct from and independant of Bladen County by the name of Anson County. And by virtue of the Power and authority of his Excellency the Governour in Council, agreeable to ancient usage, the said place or Tract of Land commonly called Peedee, and parts adjacent, were erected into, made, constituted and declared (within the Bounds and Limits hereafter described) to be, and henceforth are to be deemed held and taken for a separate County, by itself, with Distinct Jurisdiction, enjoying all such Priviledges and powers as any other County within this province have and enjoy (that is to say) the said County shall be and stands divided from Bladen County by little Peedee river, to the head of the main Branch thereof, and then by a Line to be run, as near as may be equal Distance from Haw River, and Great Peedee river, And untill another County shall be Erected to the Westward or Northward of this new County, all the Inhabitants to the Westward of the aforementioned Dividing Line, shall belong and appertain to Anson County.

Then His Excellency was pleased to lay before the Board his proper power or Commission as consequent to the foregoing Effect which was read being as follows, vizt Know all men by these Presents that I Gabriel Johnston Esqr Captain General, Governour and Commander in Chief in and over his Majestys Province of North Carolina, Upon the humble Petition of his Majestys Subjects the Inhabitants of Peedee by virtue of the Power and Authority vested in me by his Majesty's Commission and agreeable to Ancient Usage for good and sufficient Reasons me thereunto moving by and with the Advice and Consent of his Majesty's Council to make, create, constitute and ordain the said Peedee in the province of North Carolina and certain Tracts of Land contiguous to the same late in the County of Bladen, a County by the name of Anson County, and the same is hereby Declared (within the Bounds and Limits hereafter ascribed) a County by itself Separate from and independent of Bladen having distinct Jurisdiction with all such Power and Priviledges as any other Countys within this Province have and enjoy: Which County of Anson shall be and is hereby Circumscribed and bounded as followeth that is to say the same is and stands Divided and Distinguished from Bladen County by little Peedee River to the Head of the main Branch thereof and then by a Line to be run equal distance from Haw River and Great Peedee River and untill another County be Erected to the Westward or Northward of this new County all the Inhabitants to the Westward of the aforementioned Dividing Line, shall belong and appertain to Anson County In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the Province to be Affixed at New Bern day of … Anno Dom 1748. GAB JOHNSTON

In other words, on September 29, 1748, two petitions were presented to the Governor’s Council at New Bern by the same three men. One petition was a plea by residents of the Pee Dee area for the formation of a new county to be divided from Bladen. They presented three reasons. First, the distance from their land to the nearest court, which was in Bladen County, denied them the benefit of the courts as subjects of the colony. Second, there were some bad people who did bad things and there was no court to hold these bad people accountable. Third, if the Governor and Council would establish a new county and establish a court, then more people would come to the area and the population would no doubt increase. The second petition presented that day also had signatures which opposed the formation of a new county based on the “Paucity” (few people) and “Poverty” (poor people) of the inhabitants.

The three men who presented the petitions testified for the first petition but they did not testify for the second petition. Their testimony reveals that there are between two and three hundred white tithables living in the area. A tithable refers to a head tax, in this case, white males. According to The Laws of North Carolina, 1749, Chapter III, Item II:

II. Be it Enacted, by his Excellency Gabriel Johnston, Esq., Governor, by and with the Advice and Consent of his Majesty's Council, and General Assembly of this Province, and by the Authority of the same, That all and every White Person, Male, of the Age of Sixteen Years, and upwards, all Negroes, Mulattoes, Mustees Male or Female, and all Persons of Mixt Blood, to the Fourth Generation, of the Age of Twelve Years, and upwards, and all white Persons intermarrying with any Negro, mulatto, or Mustee, or other Person of mixt Blood, while to intermarry with no other Person or Persons whatsoever, shall be deemed Taxables: Any Law, Usage, or Custom, to the contrary, notwithstanding.

Every person except white female was subject to the head tax and all white males above the age of sixteen were taxed, so there were two to three hundred white males over the age of sixteen in the Pee Dee settlements. I thought that was such an interesting piece of legislation for the times, so I found this explanation according to NCpedia, Bladen County in the 1700’s, by Jason Bordeaux

The General Assembly passed a statute in 1723 requiring that wives and other females in households of free persons of color should be taxable. The policy originated as a result of so many mixed blood people who were moving into the colony and intermarrying with whites. Inter-racial marriages were forbidden by an earlier statute passed in 1715. There is an abundance of evidence available in the records to show that settlers and slaves formed unions and had children. These children and subsequent generations became free persons of color.

The testimony before the Governor’s Council goes on to say the travel distance was more than one hundred miles from the nearest Pee Dee settler to the courthouse in Bladen County, which was in the area of present day Elizabethtown, and there were times of the year when the roads are not conducive to travel.

The Governor agreed, the Council determined the boundaries for the new county and named it Anson. The following day, the same three men appeared again before the Governor’s Council. This time they were asked to recommend two men to be added to the existing Justices who would constitute a Bench of Justices for Anson County, as well as, a location for the courthouse, and a recommendation for a new Sheriff. The days the court would be in session were also determined.

Charles Robeson, Thomas Smith and Captain Samuel Davis appeared again before this Board and being asked by his Excellency with regard to the most proper persons for Justices as well as convenient and most fitting place to fix a Court house in the new County … added to the former Justices to constitute with them a Bench of Justices are John Hicks and John Holmes and the Ford of Rockey River where the road crosses is the most suitable place whereon to fix the Court House ... constituting and appointing the said Joseph White, Charles Robinson, Edmund Cartledge, William Philips, Samuel Davis, Thomas Smith, John Hicks and John Holmes Justices of the peace for the County of Anson and that the Court Days be on the fourth Tuesdays in the Months of March, June, September and December yearly … constituting and appointing the said John Hamer Sheriff of Anson County.

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In 1976 Mary Louise Medley, a journalist, historian and native Ansonian, was commissioned by the Anson County Historical Society to write a history of the county for the Nation’s Bicentennial. Her work “History of Anson County, North Carolina, 1750-1976” is the only comprehensive history of Anson County. It’s a wonderfully written history and we are so fortunate to have it. I’ll be quoting from her frequently during this series of narratives. On pages 4 through 6, Ms. Medley paints for us the picture of the wilderness and the Indians who occupied the area where Burlingham and Elizabeth Rudd made their home.

Settlers tricking into Anson from 1740-1750 and taking up land along the rivers and creeks found a wilderness with much of nature’s bounty mixed with danger and the hardship of unknown frontiers. Vast forest of pine, oak, gum and numerous other trees still known today, wild game and fruits of tree and vine filled the virgin land. Flowers and blossoming shrubs lent beauty to this wilderness. Rivers and creeks teamed with fish and offered means of travel and trade routes. The streams, which flowed southeast from their mountain sources to the sea, were to influence the north-south trade routes that later developed. This was the habitat for Indians of various tribes – forest children whose Asian forbearers claimed this region centuries before and first made our land their home.

To the west was the Iroquoian, including the Cherokee, while in the present areas of Anson, Rowan and Mecklenburg were found the Siouan tribes. It is thought that these tribes ran out members of the Muskogian group whose culture spread along the Pee Dee and Little rivers from 1550 to 1650. The later date is given by anthropologists and archeologists for the rout of the earlier tribes by the Siouans.

The Siouan Indians lived on or near the border where South Carolina and Anson territory joined, and reached down into the coastal area.
[ ]
New Hanover County, grandmother of Anson was only one year old in 1730. Bladen County, daughter of New Hanover and mother of Anson, had not been born. Before 1730, only the aboriginal red man held the Pee Dee region of which eastern Anson is part.
[ ]
Maps locating the various Siouan tribes in North and South Carolina place the Waxhaws, Catawbas and Cheraws close to the line where present Anson, Mecklenburg, Union and Richmond counties join South Carolina. Southward on the Pee Dee River were the Pee Dees, while the Waccamaws were located on the lower tributary.

The Sugarees, Congarees and Waterees were not too far from the Indians living along the Anson-South Carolina border. Of the Siouan tribes, the Catawbas were the most powerful and were closest to present Anson, Rowan and other neighboring counties.

In 1752 Bishop Augustus Gottlieb Spangenberg and a group of Moravians from Pennsylvania traveled the area of North Carolina from Edenton to the Blue Ridge in search of a suitable location to establish a settlement and kept a diary of their travels. On page 14, Ms. Medley reports some of their findings.

Spangenberg’s diary … gives a vivid description of the land from the eastern pine barrens to the more pleasing, undulating hills of the Piedmont, where he found the springs and fertile land he was seeking. He tells of the problems of colonizing, the deplorable conditions of the Indians, and the abundance of bear and panther, which would have to be destroyed to raise stock. “They [the Brethren] will probably settle in Anson County,” he wrote in his diary at one stop. From camps at “Little River – Anson County, twenty miles from the Catawba,” and “mouth of Little River – Anson County, North Carolina,” he wrote, “This is the first piece of land that we have taken up.”

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There is an historical marker for the establishment of Prince Frederick’s Parish in 1734 near present-day Dunbar, SC in Georgetown County on Brown’s Ferry Road (South Carolina Route 51). This is the closest I can determine to be the location of the little chapel where Burlingham and Elizabeth baptized their three children. In Anson, there is a town called Morven that is the closest identifiable location of where the Rudd family lived. Map Quest says the distance is about 225 miles and about a three hour drive by car. Based on an average of thirty miles a day by horseback, that’s about seven and half days, a wagon hauling household goods would move slower. The likely route the family traveled is described by Ms. Medley on page 43.

Old clippings from The Cheraw Chronicle tell of the old Cheraw roads. The road from Cheraw to Georgetown was the oldest. It ran by what is now Society Hill, passed to the east of Darlington, went by Mars Bluff parallel to the river, and on into Georgetown. River transportation was easier from Cheraw to Georgetown and on to Charleston.

This is a very useful map. It gives you an idea of the abundance of streams and creeks, as well as, the surrounding counties that developed while our Rudd family lived in the area. The yellow highlight on Jones and Mill creeks shows the general area of their land grants and deeds. Notice how the map includes the upper area of South Carolina. That is the old Cheraws District and Chesterfield County will be created on the Anson border in 1798. This is going to be important to sorting out the composition of the family. In the 1800 Chesterfield census, there is a Burlingham Rudd. The border has a long history of dispute and there are documented land grants that were issued for Anson and Bladen counties that extend into South Carolina. The old Cheraws District did not come into being until 1769, long after the North Carolina border counties along that area were settled. You might be able to see at the bottom right the Little Pee Dee River. This was the boundary when Anson was set off from Bladen as mentioned in the Governor’s Council Minutes above. Also, the green asterisk denotes the location of Ratcliff Mill and I’ve included it because in the 1820 census there is a Burlingham Rudd and a Burwell Rudd living in the Ratcliff Township. My guess is this is likely the area and this, too, will be a clue in sorting out the makeup of the family. The red asterisk is the location of the first Anson County Courthouse, jail and stocks. This location will also be a part of our story.

April 11, 1749 is the official date for Burlingham Rudd’s Crown Grant. This is the date that puts into effect the requirements as described in the patent: “Yielding and paying four shillings proclamation money every year for every hundred acres. Clearing and cultivating three acres for every hundred within three years and entering these letters with the auditors within six months.”

About a year and a half later something very peculiar happened. On October 12, 1750, Burlingham the father sold all 300 acres to John Red for forty pounds proclamation money. Then that same year, 1750, John Red sold Burlingham’s 300 acres to James Stewart for forty pounds proclamation money, and Burlingham witnessed this deed. Then on April 15, 1751 James Stewart sold the same 300 acres back to Burlingham for twenty pounds proclamation money.

To me, this looks like Burlingham borrowed forty pounds from John Red and used his land as collateral. John Red then sold the IOU to James Stewart for the same amount and Burlingham was a witness to the second deed because he now was obligated to repay the loan to James Stewart. And six months later, Burlingham buys his land back from James Stewart, but he pays half the price he sold it for in the first transaction. Wouldn’t you like to know what that was all about? Me too! One thing I think it safe to assume, the Rudds didn’t move off the land for six months. For some reason it looks like Burlingham needed some cash and forty pounds is quite a bit for the times. But the colonies as a general rule were cash poor. They were after all commercial enterprises under the authority of the British government for the purposes of providing raw materials for export. Those materials were restricted to export only to the British mainland and other colonies, and the same applied to imports. Trade was restricted to Britain.

Most of those who came to the Piedmont, particularly the first couple of decades of settlement, were sustenance farmers. They grew enough crops and raised enough livestock to feed their families, barter with neighbors, meet their patent requirements, and sell for export. Unlike South Carolina, where the backcountry small farmers brought their goods into the urban area of Charleston to sell, there was no urban area in Anson County. Eventually, migration down The Great Wagon Road, which was west of Anson, facilitated the development of settlements along its path and those grew into towns and later cities, but in the early days of settlement, the Pee Dee settlers were on the frontier edge of the colony. The natural barriers that inhibited the migration of settlers from the coastal plains area into the Piedmont were also barriers to economic development. Moving goods to market was a problem because the rivers flowed north-south and there were no dependable roads moving west-east. The natural market for import and export for Anson County farmers was South Carolina. Once goods arrived overland at Cheraws, SC, they could then be transported down the Pee Dee to Georgetown and Charleston. Likewise, ready made goods that the Pee Dee settlers needed to buy came up from South Carolina. As a result, North Carolina backcountry farmers were adding to the wealth of South Carolinians, and eventually, the North Carolina Assembly will take steps to impose imports fees on goods coming from South Carolina, thus, contributing to the foundation for coming unrest in the backcountry.

On January 26, 1757 Burlingham the father sold 200 acres of his 300 acres grant to Burlingham the son for twenty pounds sterling. Based on the 1745 baptism record, Burlingham Jr. had just turned fifteen years old the previous October 12, 1756.

At this point, let’s look at what the law said about legal age and land ownership for free males. From Robert W. Baird at Bob's Genealogy Filing Cabinet:

Under the common law, full majority was reached at the age of 21. Anyone under 21 was legally an infant. Only persons who had reached majority could perform certain legal actions: Buy or sell land without restriction, vote or hold public office, bring suit in one’s own name, devise land in a will, sign a bond or note, patent land, marry without consent, act as a guardian, serve on a jury.

Minors and Land: The particular case of land transactions deserves special attention. Minors could, of course, own land acquired by gift or inheritance. Land was never without title, so a father’s will devising land to a minor resulted in the minor’s immediate ownership regardless of age. Likewise, the land of an intestate person fell immediately to a specific heir, even if a minor, under the law of succession.

However, it is rare to find minors selling land. Nothing in the common law prevented a minor from selling land, but the contract was unenforceable if the minor later changed his mind. As Blackstone expressed it: “an infant can neither aliene his lands, nor do any legal act, nor make a deed, nor indeed any manner of contract… that is of any force or effect.” That is, the minor could renege on the sale at any time. No prudent buyer would contract with a minor. The other party to the deed or contract was best served by either renting the land (the risk was lowered) or by contracting with the infant’s guardian, who had the right to dispose of the minor’s property or bind an infant’s estate to a contract. In cases where the infant himself sells land (quite a rare occurrence), we usually find contractual language requiring him to reaffirm the sale upon reaching majority and usually a subsequent deed upon reaching majority. Persons under 21 generally sold land through a guardian, a “next friend”, or a father.

Likewise, nothing in the common law prevented an infant from buying land or other property. But, again, such an action could be later be repudiated by the minor. Therefore, for the same reasons, we generally find such purchases made on the infant’s behalf by an adult guardian or next friend. Blackstone points out that an infant could renege on any contract upon reaching majority: “an infant may also purchase lands, but his purchase is incomplete: for, when he comes to age, he may either agree or disagree to it, as he thinks prudent or proper, without alleging any reason…”

Virginia in 1642 made these questions moot by enacting a statute to eliminate the “bad effects of tradeing and trucking with orphants” by legislating that anyone who attempted to “barter, bargain, buy or sell with orphants under age shall lose all that he so bartereth” plus a penalty of twice the value. To assure enforcement, the law provided that the informer would receive half the penalty.

So, common law dictated that a free male was required to be 21 years old to purchase land, but the reason was based on the fact that under the age of 21 was considered an infant/minor and, therefore, he could back out of the deal. In the case of Burlingham the father selling a tract of his land to his son, the likelihood of default on Junior’s part was not an issue.

Another interesting aspect of this deed is that Burlingham the son paid his father twenty pounds sterling for the 200 acres. If this was only a case of legally transferring the land from father to son, one pound would have sealed the deal. So I think there must have been some significance to the purchase price, as well as, the money being in the form of sterling rather than proclamation money. And wouldn’t you like to know how a fifteen year old boy came into possession of twenty pounds sterling? Me too!

On Page 15 of her book, Ms. Medley says this about sterling money.

The earliest deeds in the Pee Dee area show that tracts from one hundred to two hundred acres were common. Some were for less than a hundred, while a few were three to five hundred, or more. While a number of white settlers paid for the land in English sterling, much of it was purchased with North Carolina or Virginia proclamation money. In the 1750’s it was said that a man could be spotted for the amount of sterling he possessed; one might ask how.

One more thing I’d like to point out to you before I move on to our next mystery. Notice on the deed of Burlingham to John Red Burlingham the father has his legal signature, on the deed between John Red and James Stewart that Burlingham the father witnessed, he has his legal signature, not a mark. And on the deed between father and son, Burlingham the father has his legal signature. Either Burlingham Rudd came to Charleston, SC already having the ability to sign his name or he learned how to sign his name after he arrived. I doubt the latter.

In the “Minutes of the Lower House of the North Carolina General Assembly, November 23, 1758 - December 23, 1758, Volume 05, on page 1083” we find Burlingham Rudd named in the Attorney General’s report. You can read the entirety of the minutes at Documenting the American South or HERE where I have truncated the relevant part of the report.

In Salisbury Court, Robert Jones Jr., Attorney General for the Province of North Carolina, reports back to the Assembly on his efforts to recover money from several people who are indebted to the public. On October 15, 1754, the Assembly had granted proclamation money designated for supplying the frontier with arms and ammunition. It appears that the grants were in 250 pound allotments. The Assembly had ordered the Attorney General to pursue this action by a resolution made on October 14, 1755 (three years earlier and one year after the grants were given) and as a result the AG has filed legal actions against named individuals. I can find no explanation in the Assembly minutes for why the AG had been instructed to recover the money.

An Action of Debt against Caleb Howell and others on a Bond to the same purposes and sum as those above mentioned On which Judgment hath been recovered for £297.10.0 proclamation Money and a Ca. Sa. issued thereon by virtue of which the Sheriff of Anson County returned that he had taken Wm Little and Burlingham Rudd &c and that they had escaped out of his Custody.

The language states the same purpose and sum as above mentioned. The purpose was to supply arms and ammunition. But the amount mentioned above was 250 pounds. The recovery was 297 pounds and ten shillings. According to my math, that’s more than 250 pounds, but maybe that was including interest. If the money was recovered, why did the AG issue an order to the Anson County Sheriff to take William Little and Burlingham Rudd into custody? Wouldn’t you like to know what Burlingham’s involvement was in that? Me too!

On page 18 of her book, Ms. Medley identifies Caleb Howell:

A deed dated July 20, 1753 reads, John Clark to Charles Robinson, Caleb Howell and Andrew Pickens, Justices for Anson County, a site for court house, etc. Wit. A. F. Smith and Joseph White.

So Caleb Howell was a Justice for Anson County. The AG then states that he issued a writ requiring William Little and others and their securities to show cause why the judgment against them should not be executed. The AG also filed an action of debt against William Little in the Wilmington Supreme Court. A second action of debt against Caleb Howell was filed to which the 250 pounds with interest had been recovered, after which Caleb Howell sold his lands and effects and absconded to Georgia. Therefore, the AG had filed suit against the estate of Charles Robinson, deceased, who was Caleb Howell’s security. Charles Robinson was also a Justice for Anson County.

It appears that John Hamer was Sheriff of Anson in 1758 and I’m pretty sure he knew where to find Burlingham Rudd. I’ve not found any more records about this matter, but Ms. Medley provides us with more information about the reason for the grant of proclamation money on pages 21-22 of her book in Chapter 5, Anson in the French and Indian War.

War had broken out in America between the French and English in 1754. Washington (George) was leading colonial troops westward to put down Indian troubles. For over 50 years, the French had wanted to force the English out of America and gain full control of the lands from the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River. The fur trade was a factor.

The following extract from The Colonial Records gives some idea of the vast extent of Indian tribes in the Carolinas between 1754 and 1756:

The Catawba Nation under King Hagler are of Warriors, 240. The Warriors of the Cherokee Nations are 2,390 divided into different settlements viz. the Savannah River under the Good Warrior Headman, 275. On the Waters of the Mississippi under Raven of Cowee, 715. The Upper Settlement of Mississippi under Round O Head Man, 415. In the Valley under Raven of Highwasa, 545. The lower Settlement of Mississippi under Emperor Tillaw and Old Hop of Chote, the two head men of the Cherokee Nation, 640-2,590.

A year after Rowan was formed from Anson, August 9, 1754, a treaty was signed between the whites and Catawbas in Rowan and Anson counties. King Hagler was present with sundry of his headmen and warriors. James Carter and Alexander Osborne were the Commissioners signing the treat.

At the time people were making complaints against the Indians, and many who were without means of defense feared daily for their lives. Royal Governor Arthur Dobbs had issued paper money to aid a number of projects in the province, including aid for the poorer inhabitants of Anson to purchase weapons and ammunition “in order to properly defend themselves.” When Governor Dobbs reached the colony of North Carolina he was warmly greeted because of his activities on behalf of the province. With a note of felicitation from Anson County settlers also came a cry for help. They related how murderers had carried off several person and killed others and reported that “other cruelties by Indians had been prevented by our aspiring neighbors to the south,” South Carolinians.

Colonel John Clark had reported Indian trouble to Matthew Rowan, president of the Council, on September 2, 1754. Rowan received news that fifteen persons had been killed on the north side of Broad River and that ten others had been killed or taken captive. Dobbs in a report to the Board of Trade sent from New Bern on July 12, 1756, stated that Anson militia and tithables were less than a thousand. He also reported less than half the militia armed. However, a breather from Indian trade trouble had been brought about earlier through Dobb’s influence on August 29, 1755, when a treaty was made with the Catawbas. They were given a tract of land fifteen miles square containing 144,000 acres, although the government wished to allow them only 96,000.

If these two situations are related, and my best guess is they are, it seems that Caleb Howell who was a Justice for Anson County was the recipient of the grant from the General Assembly to procure arms and ammunition for the Anson militia. After Governor Dobbs arrived in North Carolina he received a communication from Anson County settlers that indicated they were in need of arms and ammunition for defense because they had less than a thousand men in the militia and less than half of them were armed. That seems to indicate that Caleb Howell did not use the grant as intended. If I was investigating where the money went, I’d be looking for records and receipts and this seems to indicate that Burlingham Rudd and William Little were involved in the procurement of the arms and ammunition in some capacity. So the Assembly had instructed the AG to have the Anson County Sheriff take Rudd and Little into custody as a part of the investigation. The Sheriff reported back to the AG that he had indeed taken both into his custody, but they had escaped … which sounds suspicious to me! Makes me wonder what the Sheriff knew about all this! According to my notes, the date of the “jail break” was December 19, 1758. In keeping with his responsibilities, the AG then filed a writ of judgment that required Rudd and Little to declare and justify why they should not be held accountable. I have not found any records that would tell us any more details, but since we know Burlingham went right on living in Anson County on his property, my guess is he satisfied the writ in some manner and the order for arrest was vacated.

Our next mystery involves George Lounsdell Rudd. In my last narrative I made mention of a land record in Anson County for George Lounsdell that seems to give an indication of his birth year. On June 6, 1759 a survey for 150 acres on Jones Creek and adjoining Burlingham’s line was conducted for George Lounsdell and the document names the tract of land as “Lounsdell’s Folly”. The chain barriers were Burlingham Rudd and Burlingham Rudd, Jr. Almost three years later, on April 24, 1762 the land was entered into the land office book and officially granted the same day to George Lounsdell Rudd and confirmed as “Lounsdell’s Folly”. This was a purchase patent. I don’t know what the cost per acre was for land during this time, but the system of headright had been changed because some were manipulating the system to accumulate large tracts of land as absentee landlords which defeated the purpose of encouraging settlers and/or they were reselling the land for profit.

Traditionally, the procedures for acquiring land were to first identify land that you wanted to acquire and you were best served if you determined the land had not been claimed by anyone else. Under the headright system, you knew based on the acres allotted per person and the number of people in your family, how many acres you would be allowed; under the purchase patent system, you knew how much the land cost per acre, so you knew how much you could afford. The next step was to enter a description of your choice into the land warrant book; this was the entered date for the grant. The entry acted as a warrant to the surveyor to perform a survey of the land and it also allowed the surveyor the opportunity to determine if any one else had laid claim to the land. Next, the land was surveyed for a fee. When the survey was completed, the grant was issued when the cost and fees had been paid. So this transaction for Lounsdell’s Folly does not follow the traditional order of procedures. In this instance, the survey was performed before the land was entered into the land warrant book and the book entry and grant date are the same. There may be a clue here.

Looking back at the information provided by Robert W. Baird that states the legal age to own land was twenty-one years old, for George Lounsdell to be legal age in 1759 he would have to have been born by 1738, before Martha. If he was born in 1745/6 he would be only thirteen to fourteen years old at the time of the survey. In 1762 when the land is officially granted he would be sixteen to seventeen years old. So according to the laws of North Carolina, George Lounsdell would have to have been born before Martha to legally purchase land from the provincial government. This wasn’t a private sale, and it wasn’t a family transfer of property as was the one between Burlingham the father and son. And the name on the survey and grant was not Burlingham the father, it was in George Lounsdell’s name.

Now, back to the issue of there being three named children in the 1745 baptisms in the Prince Frederick Parish Register; Martha born 1738/9, Burlingham Jr. born 1741 and Walter born 1743/4. No George Lounsdell is listed. Burlingham the father’s Crown Grant was for 300 acres and it appears to have been a headright, especially since we now understand he had established a claim to the land before Anson County was formed. At fifty acres per person, that was six people, but three children and two parents equates to five people, thus, George Lounsdell was born either before Martha and was already baptized or after the October 27, 1745 baptism date and before Burlingham the father registered his land in Bladen County in October 1748.

Determining George Lounsdell’s birth year is important to understanding the make up of the branches of the family that will form in the next generation because when we incorporate him into the birth order of Burlingham and Elizabeth’s children, the difference is about ten years. The only record we have, the 1745 Prince Frederick Parish Register, does not list him but that doesn’t mean he had not been born. We don’t have the luxury of birth records from Prince George Parish and that is possibly the parish where they were married and living since Prince Frederick Parish was not established until 1734. That’s really too close to discount because we have no information about when the little chapel there was built. The Church of England was the official church of the royal colonies and in both the Carolinas, on and off again, the only church that was allowed to perform marriages and baptisms. It doesn’t mean that Burlingham and Elizabeth were adherents to the Anglican Church, but they may have made use of it. So in the absence of a birth record for George Lounsdell, we look to the laws of the province for historical context and you see how that turns out. Now that I have either clarified or confused you about the evidence we have available, l will tell you what my instinct tells me, my best guess based on all that I have presented to you in this narrative and to borrow a phrase from my favorite TV detective, Adrian Monk ... “Here’s what happened" ...

Burlingham and Elizabeth baptized their three children on October 27, 1745 and soon departed for Anson County. Burlingham had already made provision for the family to relocate and leaving in the fall season to be settled in for winter would have been practical, some of the most threatening wildlife was about to become dormant for the winter, the underbrush would be dying back in the forests and it was conducive to an early spring planting season. Sometime during that first year, Elizabeth gave birth to George Lounsdell, so I’ll give him the birth year of 1746. Elizabeth appears to follow the traditional pattern of birthing a child every 24-30 months and with Walter born 1743/4, then another child would likely come due about 1745/6. By October 1748 there were six people in the family, and that sure seems to indicate four children.

The area began to populate to the extent that living in the wilderness was being impacted by a need for some form of law enforcement, therefore, registering land titles became necessary. Same thing happens in today’s environment, you move out to an unpopulated area, you enjoy the freedom and solitude but gradually others move in and change it, that usually follows with those looking to take what someone else has made. But I digress.

In October 1750, Burlingham the father, borrowed money and used his land as collateral. Six months later he paid off the lien for half of what he owed. Seems likely he either bartered the rest of the loan or had already been making payments and the twenty pounds he paid to James Stewart on April 15, 1751 was the balance of his debt. Let’s imagine that the money was used to finance some type of enterprise like perhaps a personal business that would have been conducive to his involvement in procuring arms and ammunition for the county militia in 1754. He eventually managed to satisfy the writ, one way or another. It sure does seem suspicious to me that the Anson County Sheriff would admit to the Attorney General of the Providence of North Carolina that he had followed his orders to arrest Burlingham Rudd and William Little but they had escaped from his custody. I have no doubt that the Sheriff knew where to find Burlingham. And I'm pretty sure that under this provincial government, the County Sheriff had the same boss as the Attorney General!

On October 14, 1756, Burlingham Rudd, Jr. had his fifteenth birthday. Two months later, January 26, 1757, this enterprising young man, who had somehow acquired twenty pounds sterling, persuaded his father to sell him 200 acres of the 300 acres grant for which he gives his father the twenty pounds sterling. I can imagine that this land deal had been a topic of conversation between father and son for sometime. I can almost hear the words between father and son and all the plans Junior had for what he could do with that land, can’t you? Where did Junior get the money? Maybe he earned it. Maybe he won it. But wherever Junior got the money, it seems he wanted his father to have it and perhaps his father thought it best he be relieved of it.

I can also imagine that as George Lounsdell was approaching his teen years, he was pestering his father about wanting his own tract of land, like his big brother. So on June 6, 1759, Burlingham the father had a 150 acre track that bordered his old line surveyed for George Lounsdell and gave it the name Lounsdell’s Folly because it was indeed folly for a thirteen year old boy, but he did it anyway. The survey secured the land and guaranteed that George Lounsdell would have his own land adjoining the family lands. My guess is that Burlingham the father arranged for the survey through his "connections" in the community and that is why the survey doesn’t follow the traditional procedures. Burlingham could have had the land under his own name and followed the letter of the law, and transferred the title with a one pound sale to George Lounsdell, but in the backcountry, he made it happen because it was important that the land be in George Lounsdell’s name. And on April 24, 1762, when George Lounsdell was about sixteen years old, the land was officially granted to him because even though the transaction did not follow the letter of the law, Burlingham, his father made it happen. What he did for one son, he did for the other son.

Which brings me to the son named Walter Rudd. I’ve never found any reference to him again in the North Carolina records. The first son to emerge is Burlingham Jr., next is George Lounsdell. It appears that Walter died by 1759 because if he hadn’t I think we would have found a land record for him before we find the first one for George Lounsdell. There was ample opportunity for death in the frontier wilderness. Later in our story there will be a land deed that has an addendum which mentions the graveyards and says … “liberty to Burlingham Rud his to keep up forever without any hindrance of denial”.

It is generally accepted that our colonial history ends at the end of the French and Indian War, 1763; or rather it was the aftermath of the French and Indian War that laid the foundation for the American Revolution.

That’s the setting for the next part of our story.
~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~Resources used in this narrative:

A History of Anson County, North Carolina, 1750-1976, by Mary L. Medley
Bob’s Genealogy File Cabinet
Documenting the American South
Historical Marker Database
History of North Carolina | NCpedia
North Carolina History: A Digital Textbook - LEARN NC
North Carolina Office of Archives and History
North Carolina State Archives

First Family Migration ... North Carolina Frontier

2011-03-25T15:00:00.011-05:00

Under a 1584 charter by Queen Elizabeth the First to Sir Walter Raleigh, five attempts were made to establish a permanent settlement in North Carolina. None of the attempts succeeded in a permanent colony, the longest lasting attempt was at Roanoke Island and is known in American history as the “Lost Colony”. Queen Elizabeth the First died in 1603 and King James the First ascended to the throne. England was financially strapped after years of war with Spain and resources, such as, lumber and navel stores for building ships were in short supply. Imports from the Dutch were insufficient and England’s unstable relationship with the other European countries made trade unpredictable. So, James the First looked to the New World and granted a proprietary charter to two competing branches of the Virginia Company, which were supported by investors. One was the Plymouth Company and the other was the London Company. The Plymouth Company was permitted to establish a colony of one hundred square miles roughly between Chesapeake Bay up to our northern Canadian border and the London Company was permitted the same between roughly Long Island Sound and Cape Fear. Neither company was allowed to establish a colony within one hundred miles of the other.

The Plymouth Company sailed for the New World in August 1606 but the ship was intercepted and captured by the Spanish near Florida and never reached its destination. The next attempt was in May 1607 and this time they sent two ships and about 120 colonists. They arrived in August 1607 and established a settlement known as the Popham Colony in present day Phippsburg, Maine near the Kennebec River. Half the colonists returned to England in the fall of 1607 and the other half stayed through the winter, spring and summer during which time they built a 30-ton ship they named Virginia. Late that summer the colony was abandoned when all the remaining colonists returned to England.

The London Company set sail with three ships, 105 men and boys, plus thirty-nine sailors in December 1606 and around May 1606 arrived at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay where they came ashore, erected a cross and named the point of land Cape Henry for Henry Fredrick, Prince of Wales. The event is known in American history as the “First Landing”. They explored the area for the most favorable defensive location where they built their first fort and named the settlement Jamestown in 1607. In 1609, the London Company’s Virginia charter was adjusted to include territory that had been abandoned by the Plymouth Company. Thus, America was born.

In 1624, James the First revoked the London Company’s Virginia charter because the Virginia Company had gone bankrupt. Virginia became a crown colony under royal authority.

James the First died in 1625 and Charles the First acended to the throne. In 1629, he granted to Sir Robert Heath a charter for Carolana with the same goal to establish a permanent settlement in North Carolina with the same unsuccessful results. Some years later, in 1653, settlers from Virginia crossed over and settled on the Chowan and Roanoke rivers, in a district called Albemarle. It is documented that Nathaniel Batts was the first European man to permanently settle in North Carolina in the Albemarle area in 1655. It’s likely there were other settlers in the area also, without the proper paperwork. Then in 1663, Charles the Second was returned from exile and the British monarchy was restored. As a reward he gave the Carolina charter to eight noblemen … the true and absolute Lords’ Proprietors … who had assisted with the Restoration.

Now history merges with the attempts to establish a permanent settlement in Carolina that I described in the previous narrative and I’ll briefly paraphrase here. The original idea was that settlers from Virginia and New England could be enticed to move down the coast into Carolina. Sir William Berkeley had been returned to the crown appointed governorship of Virginia as a result of the Restoration and was also a member of the group of eight noblemen who had attained the Carolina charter. The Lords’ Proprietors who had financial interests in the other American colonies believed that Berkeley could assist in this migration into Carolina. In 1662, a group from New England explored around the Cape Fear area but left after staying about six months. In 1663, William Hilton was commissioned by a group in Barbados to explore the area but they could not reach agreement with the Lords’ Proprietors. In 1665, a group from Barbados including Sir John Yeamans, John Vassall and Robert Sandford established Charles Town on the Cape Fear River but abandoned the settlement in 1667. Finally, in 1670 the Lords’ Proprietors succeeded in establishing a permanent colony at Charleston.

In 1664 the governor of Virginia, Sir William Berkeley, appointed William Drummond as the first governor of the colony of Carolina which at the time was only populated in the Albemarle area along the NC/VA border. Drummond was born and educated in Scotland and had come to the Virginia colony as an indentured servant during which time he had conspired with other indentures to runaway but the plan was discovered and he received a public flogging and an extension of his indenture. By 1650, he improved his situation, married and had children, became an attorney, merchant, Presbyterian clergyman and a large land owner. By all accounts he was an efficient and effective governor and the Albemarle colony began to grow. Drummond’s term ended in 1667. About ten years later he would become a follower of Nathaniel Bacon and a supported of Bacon’s Rebellion. After Sir William Berkeley put down the Rebellion, he had Drummond arrested, tried for treason, found guilty and hung to death on the same day.

The next governor, appointed in 1667, was Samuel Stephens who pushed for a new law with incentives that would attract settlers. It gave newcomers a one year tax exemption, outlawed any debts they had elsewhere and gave them a five year protection against any law suit brought by anyone for any cause outside of the colony. As you can imagine, like June bugs to a light bulb, they came and soon the Albemarle settlement came to be known in Virginia as “Rogues’ Harbor”.

Over the next thirty to forty years the North Carolina colony grew slowly. The barrier islands along the coast and the wetlands contributed to the inability to establish a deep water port for shipping, so trade was inhibited. The storms and hurricanes that frequented the area did not encourage any great expense in building permanent structures. The Great Dismal Swamp prohibited settlements moving west and south.

Region Map
So, the peopling of North Carolina was unique due to the geography of the state which is naturally divided into three regions; the Coastal Plains with two sub-regions, the Tidewater near the ocean and Inner Coastal Plains, then the Piedmont Plateau which begins at the fall line where the Coastal Plains end and the elevation creates the first of the natural waterfalls and rapids, followed by the Allegany Mountains.

In the early 1700’s, the population in the Coastal Plains began to increase when Huguenots from France settled at Bath near Pamlico Sound and Germans from the Rhine founded New Berne at the junction of the Trent and Neuse rivers. The white population was about five thousand and the Albemarle settlement had pushed many miles into the forest which encroached on the natives and brought about the Tuscarora War in 1711. It started when the Tuscaroras and other allied tribes massacred 130 German settlers at New Berne within two hours. It ended when Colonels John Barnwell and James Moore from South Carolina destroyed 400 of their warriors at a battle near the Neuse River. The Tuscaroras of North Carolina were descendents of the New York tribe. In 1714, they returned to the land of their fathers and joined the Iroquois confederation known as the Five Nations of New York which from thereafter was known as the Six Nations.

The Carolina colony was officially split between north and south in 1712 for the purposes of administrative management. The two settlements in Carolina were the Albemarle region in the north and the Charleston region in the south. In 1729 when the Lords’ Proprietors, who by now were the heirs of the original group of eight, sold their charter back to the Crown, the heir of Sir George Carteret, his great-grandson John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, decided he wasn’t interested in selling his inheritance so he negotiated with the Crown to retain his one-eighth share with his agreement he would not participate in the government. The boundary for his charter was a sixty mile wide strip of land along the North Carolina/Virginia border known as the Granville District. The land stayed in the Carteret family down to his son, Robert, until he died in 1776. After the Revolution, the family was compensated for the loss of the land.

Beginning in the mid-1720s, settlers up from South Carolina migrated into the Cape Fear River area. Most of them were small farmers but several accumulated large tracts of land and developed Pine Plantations to provide needed exports of timber and naval stores for Britain’s expanding Navy. The South Carolinians also brought their slaves. Eventually, rice plantations developed. But the northern part of Carolina resembled Virginia, used Virginia ports and Virginia money while the southern part with its plantation culture resembled the low country of South Carolina with lots of slaves and a concentration on wealth.

By the 1730s a steady stream of immigrants were flowing into North Carolina. Welsh settled along the Northeast Cape Fear River early in that decade. In 1732, Highland Scots began to move into the Cape Fear backcountry. Cape Fear was navigable by seagoing vessels for over twenty miles upstream. It was necessary to disembark at Brunswick Town and again at Wilmington but the arriving Highlanders preferred the Wilmington site because it placed them closer to the backcountry. After landing, they transferred their belongings to longboats, canoes, or other small craft and made their way up the Cape Fear River. Ninety miles upstream, at the site of present-day Fayetteville, they debarked for the last time.

Settlement Map
Up until about 1740 the population of North Carolina was contained mostly in the Coastal Plains area. The Dismal Swamp, the fall line rapids and the south running rivers of the Piedmont Plateau were obstacles to migration from the eastern coastal area into the Piedmont. The early settlers to the Piedmont were primarily Scotch-Irish and German descendants of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia settlers who traveled down the Great Wagon Road in search of new lands. As those colonies were growing, land back home had become scarce and expensive. The eastern slope of the Alleghenies was rapidly being settled as was the upper Piedmont. They were Lutherans and Reformers, Quakers, Presbyterians, Moravians, Baptist and Anabaptist. Towns were beginning to be established along the migration path where came brewers, distillers, weavers, hatters, tailors, blacksmiths, carpenters, coopers, potters, rope makers, wagon makers, and wheelwrights, as traffic increased so did commerce. Most of the Piedmont settlers were small farmers who grew corn, wheat and tobacco, raised livestock, gristmills, sawmills and tanneries. They came in such numbers that six new counties were created in the Piedmont between 1746 and 1763.

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I do not doubt our progenitor, Burlingham Rudd, was watching from South Carolina as new settlers began to move into the wilderness of the Piedmont, just as I do not doubt he was aware of the migration of South Carolina plantation owners into the lower Coastal Plains in the Cape Fear area. I’ve placed an asterisk on the map to show you the general location of the Rudd lands in Anson Co., NC. Of course, the map is generalized but you might see that the location is on the leading edge of the development of the frontier between 1740 and 1750. Anson County was created out of Bladen County in 1749. Notice it is very near the NC/SC border and slightly to the west of the Great Pee Dee River which will become the eastern border for Anson. We don’t know where Burlingham and his family were living before the migration, but the chapel in Prince Frederick Parish where Burlingham and Elizabeth baptized three children was located on the Pee Dee, so it is very likely Burlingham and family were living in the area.

Looking back at the timeline for Burlingham, he was sentenced in 1728 and probably sold into indenture about 1729 for seven years. That means about 1736 he was free to marry. It’s likely that Burlingham was sold to a plantation owner and it’s just as likely that Elizabeth, who will become his wife, was also on that plantation. She could have been sentenced to transportation herself or an indentured servant or a member of the numerous ethnic groups that migrated into South Carolina. Charleston society made no distinction between convict, indenture or slave, or poor. So to marry a former convict who had been sentenced for stealing a horse, I think we can safely assume that Elizabeth was not a member of the plantation or merchant class, not a person of “station”. There are approximately ten years between marriage and migration which means they were living somewhere and sustaining a family somehow. I can imagine, once Burlingham had completed his sentence he became employed by his former master. After all, after years of training a person to perform a specific task, if that person is accomplished in that task, most employers do strive to retain reliable employees. That concept has not changed. And by this time is plantation system development the operation had become self-contained with the addition of amenities very much like a small town.

Now looking back at the Prince Frederick Parish Register, Burlingham Rudd and wife Elizabeth baptized three children on October 27, 1745: Martha b. March 1, 1738/9, Burlingham b. October 13, 1741, Walter born: March 20, 1743/44. The reason we see the double dates for Martha and Walter is because of the change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar.

The practice of double dating resulted from the switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. Not all countries and people accepted this new calendar at the same time. England and the American colonies didn't officially accept it until 1752. Before that date, the government observed March 25 as the first of the year, but most of the population observed January 1 as the first of the year. For this reason, many people wrote dates falling between January 1 and March 24 with both years, as in the following examples.

It appears the person who transcribed the Prince Frederick Parish Register Book added the double dates when the book was transcribed. Martha and Walter were born before March 24 and Burlingham was born in October, therefore, the change was made to Martha and Walter but not to Burlingham. That makes it difficult to tighten up the timeline around the birth of the children. I don’t know whether the year is the earlier one or the later one in relation to the year Burlingham 2nd was born. This presents a problem in identifying the make up of the family, specifically, George Lounsdell, since he is not among the list of children. There is a natural assumption that George Lounsdell was born after 1745 because he is not among the list, but there is a land record in Anson that seems to indicate he was older. So there is another possibility, he was born before Martha and had already been baptized. If Burlingham and Elizabeth were married when he was freed about 1736, a first child could be born by 1737 and that would still leave enough time for a second child, Martha, in 1738/9.

Like most fathers, Burlingham had sons and he was responsible for providing them with a start, which back then meant land and he knew where it was. I can just imagine how beautiful the wilderness was up the Great Pee Dee River, with the fall line rapids and waterfalls, the virgin forest and rolling hills of the Piedmont, the wildlife and wildflowers. It must have looked like a paradise.

1748 Crown Grant Entry Book
The date on the entry is not legible, but the other entries on the page read October 1748. That's not necessarily the date Burlingham made the entry, but the date the land claim was entered into the land office book. Notice how his name is written as Burling Ham rudd? Let me remind you of the old Angles-Saxon interpretation of his name from a previous narrative:

The Kingdom of East Angles was founded by Uffa. This in turn was broken up into petty chieftancies, one of them being Burlingham, which means Byrl, "the cup bearer", "ing" is the Saxon suffix meaning "son" and "hame" is the Angle suffix meaning "home or clan", or in other words, home or clan of the sons of Byrl.

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). Knowing now some of the facts of his life, he was about forty years old, had been involuntarily transported by the British to their colony in South Carolina, sold as slave, likely worked a hard life on a plantation for seven years, and since marriage had strived to provide for his family. Now he was about to embark on a new start, with land that he owned, likely for the first time in his life. I can surely understand an intent to claim his heritage by registering his name as Burling Ham Rudd to a tract of land.

The transcription as best I can make out says:

Burling Ham rudd, 300. Bla. (Bladen) on the So. side of Great Pedee river. So. side of Jones’ Creek beg. at a red oak ... up for the compliment. Looks like it says Piedmont under his name.

Based on my research of the methods that were used to grant land during that period of settlement, it’s difficult to determine whether the headright system was still in force or if the purchase patent system was in force. The reason is because the headright system which had been used off and on during proprietary period was used for a good length of time during the royal colony period. The literature seems to agree that about 1750-52 there was a complete change from a headright system to the purchase patent system because of some abuse. The headright granted 50 acres per person for those who were entering North Carolina as settlers. But it wasn’t long until land speculators began to abuse the system by acting as agents, providing transportation for settlers, and then claiming the allotment per person as a means of amassing large grants of land which they then sold.

But I think this is a headright and it actually might be a combination of the two systems whereby the 50 acres per settler is combined with a fee per 100 acres and a cultivation requirement. If it is a headright allotment then there may be a clue in the 300 acres. That means six people entered including Burlingham and Elizabeth and that indicates either four children or the three children (as we saw in the Prince Frederick Parish baptism records) and another person, such as, one of Elizabeth’s parents because I doubt seriously that Burlingham took a slave with them to Anson.

And this brings me back to my previous point about George Lounsdell. All of the baptisms were on the same day, October 27, 1745 and the children ages were; Martha about six and a half or seven and a half years old, Burlingham had just turned four years old, and Walter was between two and a half or one and a half years old. It seems to me that the children were being baptized because the family was preparing to migrate into the wilderness of North Carolina. As I said before, it seems logical to me that if George Lounsdell had been born by 1745 then he would have had to be the first born and perhaps already baptized. Or he was born after the migration and the migration happened soon after the baptisms, because if he had been born between 1745 and 1748 in Prince Frederick Parish, surely Burlingham and Elizabeth would have had him baptized also, and we would have found an entry in the register, even if it was on a different day, it would be there.

The land office in Bladen County was a great distance away and back in those days a settler would find the land they were interested in acquiring and determine if the land belonged to someone else, if it didn’t they generally would move onto the land and get a head start on improvements, then follow up with the paperwork at a later time since the paperwork was going to set the wheels in motion and that was going to involve some kind of financial transaction. So, by the time Burlingham made that trip to Bladen to record his entry at the land office the family had likely already migrated and was living on the land.

The procedure for granting land involved three steps and they didn’t always follow the same process. The first step was the entry in the land book of the location and general description by identifying boundary markers, such as stumps and trees, and waterways. Above is the entry Burlingham Rudd made for his claim of 300 acres.

The second step was the warrant which was the legal notice to the land surveyor that he had been authorized to survey the land.

Surveyor's Warrant
This says:

George the Second (symbol) To all to whom (symbol) Know ye that we (symbol) have given unto Burling ham Rud a tract of land containing three hundred acres of land in Anson County on the So. Side of Great Pee Dee beginning at a Red Oak on Jones Creek running So. 13 West 200 poles to a Red Oak then So. 70 West 188 poles to a Pine then No. 310 poles to a Pine then to the first station.
To Hold (symbol): Dated the 11th day of April 1749. Gab. Johnston

You see the warrant was issued about six months after the entry date and gives us a better detail of the boundaries for the tract of land. Also, we see that Anson County has now been officially formed. That means Burlingham Rudd was an Anson County pioneers, among the first founding families.

The third step was the issuing of the patent to Burlingham which laid out the financial requirements, as well as, the cultivation requirements.

Crown Grant Patent
This says:

George the Second (symbol) To all to whom (symbol) Know ye that we (symbol) have given and granted unto Burling ham Rud a tract of land containing three hundred acres lying and being in the County of Anson on the So. Side of the Great Pee Dee beginning at a Red Oak on Jones Creek running So. 13 West 200 poles to a Red Oak then So. 70 West 188 poles to a Pine then No. 310 poles to a Pine then to the first station. To Hold (symbol): Yielding and paying (symbol) four shillings proclamation money yearly for every hundred acres. Sealing the same according to his rights. Clearing and cultivating three acres for every hundred within three years and entering these letters with the auditor within six months.
In Testimony (symbol): Witness (symbol):
dated the 11th day of April 1749. Gab. Johnston

You see the patent was issued on the same day as the warrant to the surveyor. The surveyor was probably also the land office clerk and he combined his paperwork. I suspect he was a one-man operation and was kept quite busy!

I wouldn’t be surprised to find that other families of similar circumstances, who were friends of Burlingham and Elizabeth, also migrated to the same location up the Pee Dee River. Like many of you, I’ve always wondered where the name Lounsdell came from. It surely sounds like a surname, but I’ve never found any evidence of it in early South Carolina. The name does seem to be an English name and some have speculated that is was Elizabeth’s maiden name. That might be the case. But whatever the source for the name, it sure appeared to have been important to George Lounsdell as we will see in the Anson Co., NC records.

Of all the thirteen colonies, North Carolina was the least commercial, the most provincial, the farthest removed from European influences, and its wild forest life the most unrestrained. Every colony had its frontier, its borderland between civilization and savagery; but North Carolina was composed entirely of frontier. The people were impatient of legal restraints and averse to paying taxes; but their moral and religious standard was not below that of other colonies. Their freedom was the freedom of the Indian, or of the wild animal, not that of the criminal and the outlaw. Here truly was life in the primeval forest, at the core of Nature's heart. There were no cities, scarcely villages. The people were farmers or woodmen; they lived apart, scattered through the wilderness; their highways were the rivers and bays, and their homes were connected by narrow trails winding among the trees. Yet the people were happy in their freedom and contented with their lonely isolation. Source: History of the United States of America, by Henry William Elson, The MacMillan Company, New York, 1904

Sounds like a family I know!
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Resources used for this narrative:

Carolana - One Vision - Many Dreams!
History of North Carolina | NCpedia
History of the USA
Natives and Newcomers
NC Museum of History
North Carolina History: A Digital Textbook
North Carolina: Map, History from Answers.com
North Carolina Office of Archives and History
North Carolina State Archives

Perish or Prosper

2011-03-08T22:48:00.010-06:00

England was a relative late comer to colonization on the world stage as compared to Spain and Portugal. However, the English monarchy had a great deal of experience in colonization dating back to Henry the Eight which consisted of confiscating lands from Gaelic clans in Ireland and granting the land to colonists (planters) from England. The confiscation of lands and transplanting of non-Catholics into Ireland accelerated under each monarch up through the Commonwealth period. It came to an end during the time of Oliver Cromwell’s Protectorate after he settled thousands of Parliamentarian soldiers in Ireland during the 1650’s. At first the colonies were small settlements, later the practice created large plantations. It was an attempt to change the demography, religion and political attitude in Ireland by creating a English and Anglican culture. So, England’s experience with colonization and plantations in Ireland dovetailed with their early development of colonies in the Caribbean islands and North America by transporting the displaced Irish to foreign plantations as the labor force. The need for the labor drove the practice to eventually include convicts, orphans, vagrants, prisoners of war, political enemies and kidnapping off the streets of London. Long before Africans were imported as slaves to work the English plantations, they were worked by white Europeans from Great Britain.

... between 1651 and 1660, Emmet asserts that during this time, more that "100,000 young children who were orphans or had been taken from their Catholic parents, were sent abroad into slavery in the West Indies, Virginia and New England, that they might lose their faith and all knowledge of their nationality, for in most instances even their names were changed. Source: England's Irish Slaves, by Robert E. West, PEC Illinois State Director

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George Downing wrote a letter to the honorable John Winthrop Colonial Governor of Massachusetts in 1645, “planters who want to make a fortune in the West Indies must procure white slave labor out of England if they wanted to succeed.” Lewis Cecil Gray’s History of Agriculture in the Southern United States to 1860 vol.1 pp 316, 318 records Sir George Sandys’ 1618 plan for Virginia, referring to bound whites assigned to the treasurer’s office. “To belong to said office forever. The service of whites bound to Berkeley Hundred was deemed perpetual.”
[ … ]The British government had realized as early as the 1640’s how beneficial white slave labor was to the profiting colonial plantations. Slavery was instituted as early as 1627 in the British West Indies. The Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series of 1701 records 25,000 slaves in Barbados in which 21,700 were white slaves.
Source: White Slavery, What the Scots Already Know, by Kelly D. Whittaker

By the time Burlingham Rudd was sentenced in the summer of 1728, the use of transportation to provide labor for the plantations in colonial America had been in practice for over 100 years. As the Old Bailey website says, the 1718 Transportation Act was a substantial expansion of the use of transportation. So, as much as I’d like to think that Burlingham stepped off his transport ship into a bright future in the land of opportunity that is not the reality that history dictates. We don’t know what his circumstances were back in Norfolk, nor do we know the details of his arrest, incarceration and sentencing, but one thing I think we can drawn from English history is that his life began here very much as a slave. The fact that he was English, most likely Anglican, and white had no effect on his circumstances when he stepped on that auction block. As a matter of fact, if he was young and strong, it probably made his circumstances worse.

Most convicts were sentenced for seven years, some for fourteen years, and a few for life. They could be bought at auction relatively cheap compared to African slaves. It was a booming business and very profitable to those who were contracted by the English government to provide the transportation. Ship captains were paid a fee per prisoner to cover the cost of the voyage and they received the revenue generated from the auction of the convicts. According to Peter Wilson Coldham, “a shipload of felons who were “well-conditioned” could be auctioned for 10 to 20 pounds each”. The ship’s captain then reloaded his cargo hold for the return trip to England with another source of revenue, such as tobacco, rice, animal furs, deer skins, sugar and the like, of which he generally received ten percent of sale once back in Great Britain.

Unlike Australia, there was no penal colony in America. Once the convict was put on the transport ship, England washed her hands of them. For a time, there was a requirement that the ship’s captain obtained a certificate of landing from the customs officer at the port of disembarkation, but very few of those records have survived the years. This was to ensure that the convict was placed on the ship and not just released back into the population by the captain, which often times was the practice if the convict was not going to be a profit making venture.

Once they arrived in port, the procedure called for a person appointed by the Crown to board the ship and inspect the cargo of convicts to ensure they were not disease infected, record the names of those who were to be auctioned, those who were too ill and needed to be quarantined, and those who had died during the voyage. The date of auction was set and announced to the public through newspapers or advertisements placed around the town. The ship’s captain would have his human cargo cleaned up, often they needed some clothing since they left England with what they were wearing unless they were fortunate to have family who had given to them clothing, food or money for the trip. When auction day came, the convicts were taken to the market place and, just as African slaves and Native Indians, they were auctioned off to the highest bidder. For the average convict, their labor was sold for seven years which meant that the person who bought them could work them, or sell their labor on daily, weekly, yearly basis, or take them to another location and sell them again for profit. The new master had authority over every aspect of their life for the term of their sentence and since that term did have an end date, they usually were not allowed to marry because the master did not want a family cutting into the profits. Basically, they had no rights, no liberty.

Also, Britain had passed a law forbidding any convict to return to England before they completed their sentence, to do so would result in hanging. Any convict who ran away from their master was severely punished when they were caught and the length of time they were gone was added to the end of their sentence. For most convicts, once they completed their sentence and had been given their freedom, they changed their names and relocated to a place where no one knew who they were. They blended into the fabric of society. Some returned to a life of crime because, after all, some were just criminals. Then I suspect there were the few, like our dear progenitor, who kept his name and raised a family who fought for freedom and became law abiding Americans who contributed to the building of this country.

In “The Complete Book of Emigrants in Bondage ~ 1614-1775”, by Peter Wilson Coldham where we find the extract of Burlingham Rudd’s sentence to transportation, we also find a list of those ships and captains who were contracted to transport the convicts to their destination. For the time period that would apply to Burlingham we find:

Sailing Date: May 1728; Name of Ship: Unknown; Master: Sam Waller; Destination: New York
Sailing Date: Jun 1728; Name of Ship: Elizabeth; Master: Wm. Whithorne; Destination: Virginia
Sailing Date: Nov 1728; Name of Ship: Forward; Master: Wm. Loney; Destination: Virginia
Sailing Date: Mar 1729; Name of Ship: Patapsco Merchant; Master: Darby Lux; Destination: Maryland
Sailing Date: Nov 1729; Name of Ship: Forward; Master: Wm. Loney; Destination: Virginia

As you see, all of these ships arrived in New York, Virginia or Maryland. This record of Burlingham and the later record of his 1748-9 Crown grant in Anson Co., NC led to assumptions that Burlingham had entered the colonies at Virginia and migrated down from there to North Carolina. This was then supported by the evidence that there is a John Rudd documented in early Virginia, but much earlier than our Burlingham arrives. Later this John Rudd, who married Avis Whittaker, had a son named BurlingTON Rudd who eventually settles in Blount Co., TN and marries a Mary Ogle. This caused great confusion about the origins of our Burlingham Rudd family. But there was a crucial piece of information that was missing at the time.

Register Book for Parish Prince Frederick Winyaw 21 (South Carolina)

Baptized the 27 Oct' 1745, Burlingham Rudd Son of Burlingham Rudd & Ehzabeth (sic) his Wife, Born October the 13 1741

Baptized the 27 Oct' 1745, Walter Rudd Son of Said Parents, Born March 20 1743/4

Baptized the 21 (more likely 27) Oct’ 1745, Martha Rudd daughter of Said Parents, Born March 1 1738/9

Prince Frederick Parish was created in 1734 out of Prince George Parish; both were located in Craven Co., SC and bordered by the Great Pee Dee River. Prince Frederick Parish is geographically above the area of Prince George moving towards the SC/NC border. The Pee Dee River flows down through the parish from North Carolina where it provides the eastern boundary for Anson Co., NC. At the time of these baptisms, the church was only a small wooden chapel on the Pee Dee River.

This record of baptisms for three children indicates that Burlingham was in Prince Frederick Parish, South Carolina before he was in Anson Co., NC. So if he did enter at Virginia, he would have to either be taken down to South Carolina during his seven years of indenture or made his way down there after his indenture was completed. Since the record extract in Coldham’s book does not include the name of his convict ship nor the destination, that seems to indicate he was not transported out of London or Middlesex jurisdiction, but directly from Norfolk to the British colonies in America because, as we know, the 1718 Transportation Act also allowed for the Justices of each county to arrange transportation for those convicted during the Assizes sessions. Among the list of convict ships that Coldham provides in his book, there are a few that sailed to South Carolina, just not one listed for the period of time we know Burlingham would have been transported, but my best guess is Burlingham Rudd entered colonial America at South Carolina, most likely at Charleston Harbor.

Even though I’ve not found any evidence to support my best guess, I do know how the theory that Burlingham entered through Virginia came about and I know the John Rudd (who married Avis Whittaker) line that originated in Virginia is not our Rudd family. In addition, there are circumstances related to the history of South Carolina that support my best guess.

First, royal colonies were the designated markets for those sentenced to transportation. South Carolina became a royal colony in 1729, but the process of taking control from the Lords’ Proprietors began with a revolt in 1719 that ended with the colonists literally forcing out the Lords’ representative governor at the end of a musket and electing one of their own on December 21, 1719.

Second, according to Walter J. Frasier in his book, “Charleston! Charleston!: The History of a Southern City” 1726 had been the worst winter ever experienced in the colony. The small farmers were going bankrupt and organized an anti-tax committee to prevent the collection of debts and called for expansion of the currency. By June 1727 an armed mob of 300 took to the streets. The Assemble and Council could not agree on a tax bill and taxes went uncollected, the judicial system collapsed and the colony was on the brink of chaos. The next summer, 1728, was very hot and drought conditions caused ponds to dry up and livestock to perish, crops wilted in the fields, yellow fever returned with a vengeance and many people, black and white, died. Back country farmers who were fearful of contracting the disease would not bring their fresh produce to town so people went hungry and commerce ceased. Then in August a hurricane damaged the city and 23 ships in the harbor. A Charles Town merchant named Samuel Wragg and the former governor who had been forced out in 1719 made the Crown aware of the governmental crisis, natural disasters and the internal divisions. The conditions in the colony were at a crisis level and served as the impetus for the buyout of the proprietors by the Crown and at that time a plan was approved to ... increase the white population in the colony ... a moderate expansion of currency was endorsed and Robert Johnson was appointed as the first royal governor.

Third, remember, the Old Bailey website says that it was the overcrowded conditions in the gaols after the Jacobite uprising in 1715 that brought about the 1718 Transportation Act. The Scottish prisoners of war were exiled to Carolina, which at the time would have been Charleston. Also, Coldham lists in his book convict ships to South Carolina in May 1718, August 1718 and February 1724, no doubt there were more. So South Carolina was a destination for Transportation of convicts and prisoners of war.

In his book, “Charleston in the Age of the Pinckney’s”, George C. Rodgers describes for us on page 3 the sailing route from England and other European ports to the New World.

As long as the age of sail lasted, Charleston was on the main Atlantic highway which circumnavigated the Bermuda High. Vessels leaving England or leaving any European port for North America, generally sailed southwestwardly to the Azores, to catch the trade winds then with full sail made for the West Indies, Barbados standing out front like a doorman to welcome all to the New World. Next they made their way through the West Indies to the Gulf Stream. From the Florida Keys to Cape Hatteras they hugged the American coast before veering off to England and northern Europe. It was a great circle and Charleston was on its western edge.

The original English charter for the colony of Carolana was granted in 1629 by King Charles the First of England to Sir Robert Heath, but the name Carolana originates from the founding of the French colony of Charlesfort near present-day Parris Island in 1562 by Jean Ribaut for his king, Charles the Ninth of France. The colony was intended as an asylum for Huguenots from France, who were Protestants, but they abandoned the fort, some perished and others returned to France. In 1564 Rene de Laudonniere established Fort Caroline near the mouth of the St. Johns River in Florida. In 1565 Ribaut sailed to reinforce Fort Caroline and caused such alarm for the Spanish, who were colonizing at St. Augustine, that Catholic Spain dispatched Pedro Menendez de Aviles to drive out the Protestant French. Ribaut followed Menendez back to St. Augustine but his fleet of ships was wrecked in a hurricane. He and most of his men were captured and executed. Menendez took his men and marched overland to Fort Caroline and massacred most of the colonists. The threat of the Spanish in Florida to South Carolinians with episodes of invasion and fighting would last throughout the colonial period.

In 1663 Charles the Second changed the name to Carolina and granted the next charter to eight noblemen, some who had been supporters of his father, Charles the First and others who had assisted him in the Restoration of the English throne. All of them were handsomely rewarded with the new Carolina charter. But to understand the uniqueness of what will become the low country of South Carolina, we need to take a brief look back at England and these men who will become the Lords’ Proprietors.

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During the Age of Discovery, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Spain had emerged as the global empire by circumnavigating the globe, founding far reaching trade routes and claming discovered lands by establishing colonies, not only as commercial ventures, but also as a means of spreading Catholicism. By the early 17th century, the Spanish Empire stretched from the tip of the South American coast, up through Central America, including much of the Caribbean island chains, to Florida in North America. So when it came to establishing colonies in North America, England had better success than Spain, or France. But in the Caribbean, it was another matter, Spain had the strong hold. In the mid to late 1600s, England and France, as well as, the Dutch, fought Spain and each other for every tiny island and in some cases, shared islands.

In 1607 on the way to establishing the Jamestown colony in Virginia, the Virginia Company shipwrecked on the island of Bermuda and claimed the island for England. Later, English Adventurers established colonies on the Lesser Antilles islands of St. Christopher, Barbados, and Nevis during the 1620’s. While St. Christopher, which England shared with France, was settled first in 1624, Barbados which was settled in 1627 would become the cultural hearth, the model for the rest of the British West Indies and for South Carolina.

The Caribbean islands were “beyond the line” of concern for the European powers since events there had no effect back in Europe and it became pretty much a no-man’s land. There was no restraint of any kind. The pursuit of pleasure and what it could buy was the rule of the day. In Barbados, from the beginning, whites were used as the labor force. It became common practice for those who were the labor supplies to kidnap young men off the streets and sell them off to the colony while no one questioned the legality of the practice. As Walter B. Edgar writes in “South Carolina – a History”

“Barbadosed” in the 17th century was the same as being “Shanghaied” in the 19th century.

For the first fifteen years, the Barbados colony struggled. The work of clearing the thick underbrush was grueling and labor needs were very high. They experimented with tobacco and cotton but neither became a “cash crop” and a white labor force was proving more and more difficult to sustain. Then in the 1640s, sugar cane from Brazil was introduced. Sugar, molasses and rum dramatically changed the economy. Small plantation owners and tenant farmers were bought out or pushed out, the price of land skyrocketed and the labor force was wholly inadequate. The “Brazilian Model” that was brought into Barbados with the cultivation of sugar cane was based on African slave labor and eventually, white slave labor was replaced with African slave labor as a matter of economics rather than race. The developing culture bred a social order that was exploitive, materialistic, individualistic and highly competitive, and turned its eyes from the dark underside of society. In Barbados, the planter was the head of the family and responsible for keeping order. His white laborers were considered part of his family and when they were replaced with African laborers, that concept did not change. The interaction between the English and Africans produced a mixture that became the Creole culture. This culture was institutionalized on Barbados and between 1640 and 1670, there evolved a powerful local culture whose institutions would spread throughout the English-speaking Caribbean and was about to be exported to South Carolina.

Back in England, under Queen Elizabeth the First, unsuccessful attempts had been made to establish a permanent colony at Roanoke in 1585 and 1587 in present-day North Carolina by Sir Walter Raleigh. By 1590 the settlement had disappeared and is known in American history as the “Lost Colony”. Queen Elizabeth’s successor, James the First, was on the throne when the Virginia Company of London succeeded in establishing a colony at Jamestown in 1607. England had long desired to establish an outpost on the North American continent from which they could challenge Spain’s hold on the Caribbean islands. Under his reign, colonies in Virginia 1607, Massachusetts 1620 and New Hampshire 1623 were established.

When James the First died, the throne passed to his second son, Charles the First in 1625 who continued to establish colonies in America. Religious conflicts and concerns that Charles the First was secretly a Catholic were heightened when he married Henrietta Maria of France, a Catholic, and they produced an heir to the throne, Charles the Second. During his reign, Charles the First and Parliament fought over the role of the monarchy and the role of Parliament which eventually led to an English Civil War, 1642-1651. In 1649, Charles the First was charged with treason and executed by Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protectorate. His son, Charles the Second, was banished into exile with his mother. As a result, Royalists fled England; some went to other European countries, some to the colonies in America, but others to the English-speaking Caribbean islands. One of those Royalists was John Colleton who established himself as a planter in Barbados. Of the eight noblemen, Colleton was the visionary behind the Carolina Charter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~Sir John Colleton, 1608-1666 – A Royalist who served as a colonel under John Berkeley, Baron Berkeley of Stratton. He rose in rank during the English Civil Wars and spent a small fortune in the service of Charles the First. His property was seized by Parliament. He retired to Barbados where he became a successful planter and became embroiled in a series of political intrigues between royalists and Parliamentarians. After the Restoration of 1660, he returned to England to claim his reward and was knighted by Charles the Second. He was a member of the Council for Foreign Plantations and the Royal African Company which introduced African slavery into British possessions. As one of the most enterprising of the Barbadian planters, he was the driving force behind the Carolina charter and actively interested in the successful development of the colony. He had excellent connections in London; several relatives were London merchants, his close friend was Lord Berkeley and his distant cousin was George Monck, Duke of Albemarle. He was the first Proprietor to die.
~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~William, Lord Craven also the Earl of Craven, 1608-1697 – A Royalist during the English Civil Wars who provided substantial financial support for both Charles the First and Charles the Second. He had a distinguished military career in Germany, was a patron of the arts and letters and an early member of the Royal Society for Scientific Research. He outlived all the other Proprietors and died a bachelor, at the age of almost 90.
~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~George Monck, Duke of Albemarle, 1608-1670 – He was a professional soldier and skilled politician who had served with distinction in the Parliamentary army and under the Commonwealth, Cromwell’s regime. But after Cromwell died, Monck understood that it was to be Charles the Second back to the throne or chaos. He was instrumental in reconciling the army to the growing sympathy for the restoration of the Stuart monarchy and for his service he received the title of Duke of Albemarle, was appointed gentleman of the bedchamber, privy councilor, master of the horse, and commander of all military forces, as well as, granted estates and a pension.
~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftsbury, 1621-1683 – During the early years of the English Civil Wars he supported the Crown until 1644. He then joined the parliamentarians and became a member of the Commonwealth council of state and supporter of Oliver Cromwell until 1654. He turned against the Protectorate because of his distrust of autocratic rule and later supported George Monck in the Restoration of Charles the Second as a means of national peace. He became a member of the Privy Council and knighted as Baron Ashley in 1661. The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina were the work of his friend and secretary, the philosopher John Locke, which produced the greatest measure of political and religious freedom in British North America. He was a part owner of a sugar plantation in Barbados and a shareholder in the Hudson Bay Company. During the reign of Charles the Second, he became growingly concerned about the absolute rule of the monarchy and the possibility of Protestantism becoming extinct in England if Charles’ brother, James the Second, should succeed the throne which caused him to fall out of favor with the throne and was exiled to Holland where he died.
~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, 1609-1674 – A one time supporter of the rights of Parliament against Charles the First, he later joined forces with him when the Parliament Party, which was mostly made up of Puritans, attacked the established Church of England. He became one of Charles’ most distinguished and wise councilors and followed Charles the Second into exile. In 1658 he was appointed Chancellor to Charles the Second while in exile and following the Restoration he was made Baron Hyde of Hindon, Viscount Cornbury and then Earl of Clarendon and Chancellor of Oxford University. In 1667 his political enemies at court succeeded in undermining him and he was driven from office into exile. He was the father of Anne Hyde who married the Duke of York who became James the Second, a future king. He died in 1674.
~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~John, first Baron Berkeley of Stratton, 1607-1678 – He was a Royalist and English army officer who was a fanatical follower of the Stuarts. Trusted by Charles the First, he provided safe haven for the Queen who was expecting a child during the English Civil Wars. As a skillful politician, he was president of the Council for Foreign Plantations and made many of the decisions affecting the British colonies in America and elsewhere. He served as one of the Lords’ Proprietors of New Jersey in 1664 and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1670-1672.
~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~Sir William Berkeley, 1606-1677 – The youngest brother of Lord John Berkeley, was an uncompromising Royalist who was appointed colonial governor of Virginia in 1641, arriving in 1642 he made Virginia a haven for supporters of Charles the First by driving out the Puritans. He was deposed by a Puritan force from England in 1652 and retired to his plantation in Virginia until the Restoration in 1660 when he once again was appointed governor of the colony. In 1676 he put down Bacon’s Rebellion with such brutal force that he was recalled to England where he died the following year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~Sir George Carteret, 1615-1680 – Born of French ancestry, he held the Channel Island of Jersey as the last stronghold for King Charles the First against Oliver Cromwell’s army. He died before he received the patent of nobility from the monarch. He was a distinguished naval officer but not a business man and had little education. For a while he and Lord Berkeley were the Lords’ Proprietors of New Jersey, which he named for his home island.

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In “South Carolina – a History”, Walter B. Edgar provides us with a very good description of the relationships between these eight Lords' Proprietors on pages 38-39.

One Englishman who was familiar with Barbados was John Colleton, a royalist exile. When the Puritans triumphed in England, he and other monarchists had escaped to the island. There he established himself as a planter and witnessed first hand the fortunes made from sugar. He also witnessed the colony’s relative economic decline as sugar spread to the other English islands and the cost of production increased. In addition, he was aware of the steady exodus of the white colonists as the slave population increased. Where some might have seen problems and been discouraged, Colleton evidently saw opportunities.

With the Restoration in 1660, Colleton returned to London to seek reward for his support of the royalist cause. Through the intervention of an old friend, John Berkeley, Baron Berkeley of Stratton and member of the Privy Council, Colleton received a knighthood and an appointment to the Council for Foreign Plantations. Membership on the council brought him in contact with Sir William Berkeley, governor of Virginia; Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper (later the Earl of Shaftsbury), Chancellor of the Exchequer; Sir George Carteret, vice chamberlain of the household and treasure of the navy; Edward Hyde, Earl of Claderon, who was the King’s first minister. In addition to these new and powerful acquaintances, Colleton’s cousin was General Monck, Duke of Albemarle.

It is probable that Colleton turned first to his cousin and his old friend, Lord Berkeley, for assistance for his scheme for a colony between Virginia and Spanish Florida. Four other fellow members of the Council for Foreign Plantations (Berkeley, Ashley Cooper, Carteret, Hyde) and William Craven, the Earl of Craven, were soon party to the plan. It was a powerful group, and everyone had a claim on Charles the Second. Their request was successful, and on the 24 March 1663 the King granted a charter for the colony of Carolina that made the eight petitioners the “true and absolute lords and proprietors” of the province. While the proprietors were interested in promoting the expansion of the empire, it is also quite evident they were interested in making money. The charter certainly gave them every opportunity to do so.

It surely was filled with just about everything a capitalist’s heart could dream of! The charter granted the eight noblemen the rights to make war and peace, create towns and ports, grant “titles of honor”, raise and maintain an army, collect taxes and custom duties, impose the death sentence and issue pardons. Income could come from fees for the establishment of towns and fairs, taxes and custom duties. Control over all veins, mines and quarries, trade with Native Indians and fishing rights, including whales, sturgeons and all other royal fishes, a list of commodities that could be imported duty-free to England for seven years … and hundreds of thousands of acres of land. Since most of the proprietors were experienced in colonial matters, they felt that not only would the colony pay for itself, but it would also make them a very handsome profit.

Remember the Carolina charter included what today is North and South Carolina. The Virginia colony had been in existence for about sixty years when the Carolina charter was granted and settlements had migrated across the designated border into the upper area of what would become North Carolina. Sir William Berkeley had been returned as governor of the Virginia colony by Charles the Second and was now a member of the group of eight, so the original plan was based on the idea that colonists could be enticed into the northern portion of the Carolina colony from Virginia, as well as, the New England colonies. A group of New Englanders had explored around the Cape Fear area in 1662 but had left and returned to New England after six months. In 1663 a group called the Barbadian Adventurers commissioned William Hilton to explore the Carolina coast but the Adventurers and the proprietors could not reach an agreement. In 1665 the proprietors attempted to encourage settlement by issuing a document called “Concessions and Agreements”. Sir John Yeamans was one of the Adventurers and had been involved in the drafting of the “Concessions” part of the document which allowed for self-government, freedom of religion and generous land grants. A company of Barbadians led by John Vassall had established Charles Town on the Cape Fear River and Yeamans and another rival group had joined the settlement and it grew to about 800 in population. Another settler was Robert Sandford who had been a planter in Surinam and Barbados. In June of 1666, he undertook exploration of the coast south of the northern colony and reported back to the Lords’ Proprietors in glowing terms that the area was better than anything in the West Indies. However, the Barbadians were not impressed and by summer of 1667 they had abandoned the Cape Fear colony citing hostile Indians and lack of support from the proprietors as the reasons. But it was likely events back in England that were the reasons for the lack of attention by the proprietors. Albemarle was Admiral of the Royal Navy and England was involved in a second naval war with Holland and he was responsible for keeping order in London after the plague and Great Fire. His health failed and he withdrew from public life and died in 1669. Clarendon had finally accumulated enough enemies in government that he was held responsible for failure to win the war, was impeached by the House of Commons and went into exile. Sir John Colleton died in 1666 and his heir, Sir Peter Colleton, was in Barbados. Sir William Berkeley was in Virginia being governor. So the plans to develop the Carolina colony had been put on the back burner until 1668 when Lord Ashley instigated a plan to secure a grant for the Bahamas and other unnamed and unclaimed Caribbean islands which involved six of the group of eight. Ashley was invested in the slave trade, held part ownership in plantations in Barbados and was invested in several overseas trading companies so he believed that the Bahamas and Carolina would be mutually supportive and profitable. It was through his persistence that Carolina became a reality. He convinced the others that they would have to make significant investment in order to make Carolina a success, and they agreed the plan would require experienced settlers like those in Barbados, but they also wanted emigrants from the mother country to be among the first settlers.

In ninety days, Ashley bought and supplied three ships, commissioned Captain Joseph West as commander of the fleet for the expedition, enticed about one hundred English men and women to immigrate to Carolina, and worked with his friend, John Locke, to draft the first version of the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina. In mid-August 1669 three ships, the Carolina, the Port Royal and the Albemarle under the command of Captain West set sail on the first leg of the journey. The first stop was in Ireland where Captain West hoped to take on more settlers but the opposite happened when several on board jumped ship. The fleet then set sail for Barbados. They arrived in October and remained on the island until February. While in Barbados, the Albemarle was wrecked in a tropical storm and was replaced by a Barbadian built sloop called The Three Brothers. On February 26, 1670 they set out for Carolina and while sailing through the eastern Caribbean they encountered a storm that ran the Port Royal aground in the Bahamas. The remaining two ships headed for Bermuda but another storm drove The Three Brothers into Virginia. Only the Carolina with most of the settlers on board made land fall on March 15, 1670 at Bull’s Bay, about thirty miles north of Charleston. The Three Brothers passengers later joined them.

Accounts vary as to the number and make-up of the first group of settlers, but they were mostly English and a few from Barbados with one family from Nevis. The majority were indentured servants who had indentured themselves out of England to the people of wealth who had joined the expedition. Here you will find a list of those who are recorded as being onboard the Carolina. Among the arrival party was ship’s master of the Carolina, Henry Brayne, who had previously explored the area, Colonel William Sayle who was the official governor for the expedition, Captain Florence O’Sullivan for whom Sullivan’s Island will eventually be named and Captain Joseph West who will become the second governor of Carolina. Over the next few years about half of the whites and over half of the African slaves came from the islands. Some of the family names of the early settlers will be familiar to those of you who have ancestors in the low country of early South Carolina. They were not just of English descent; they were English-West Indian: Allston, Beadon, Beresford, Colleton, Daniel, Drayton, Fenwicke, Gibbes, Godfrey, Ladson, Logan, Middleton, Moore, Schenchingh and Yeamans from Barbados; Amory, Parris, Pinckney and Whaley from Jamaica; Lucas, Motte and Perry from Antiqua; Lowndes and Rawlins from Saint Christopher’s; LaMotte from Grenada; Woodward from Nevis.

These were the offspring of those planters who had made their fortunes in the Caribbean. They had learned from their parents how to develop a prosperous colony, economically, socially and politically. They brought with them the Barbadian cultural model and looked at Carolina as their opportunity to make their fortunes. Among them were servants, merchants and the younger sons of planting families. Eighteen of the biggest planting families and thirty-three of the middle size planting families of the English Caribbean sent representatives or families members to the colony of Carolina. These were not the “gentlemen” of Virginia or New England. Because the Barbadians, as all of the islanders came to be called, became the majority of the white population within two years of settlement, they defined the culture of the colony, the life-style of the settlement, and those who came from Old and New England learned quickly to assimilate into the culture or move on. The Barbadians brought with them the slave code that had been developed on Barbados. It became the model for the Carolina slave laws. Their society combined the old world elegance with the boisterousness of the frontier. They were ostentatious in dress, dwellings and furnishing; had the tradition of large mid-day meals and light suppers. They used military titles like captain and colonel and enjoyed hunting, guns and dogs. Most of them were Anglicans, members of the Church of England, ex-patriot British Royalists. Their interest was in prosperity, their own. The prosperity of the proprietors was never their consideration. Many of them settled around the area of Goose Creek and developed large plantations; after all, their families had been in the plantation business for decades. They quickly dominated the seats of government and made many attempts to exclude non-Anglicans from elected positions in the Assembly and on Council. If they believed the designated colonial governor appointed by the Proprietor’s was not supportive of their agenda, then they took action to have him removed and often manipulated the legislative process to usurp his authority. They began to deal in the Native Indian slave business, selling kidnapped Indians to New England and West Indies plantations. They also dealt in trade with pirates who raided ships along the Atlantic coastline and paid them in gold and silver coins. These things didn’t set well with the Lords’ Proprietors, living thousands of miles away, who were attempting repeatedly to get the colonists to accept the Fundamental Constitutions for Carolina. So the proprietors set about advertising the colony in London with glowing rhetorical flourishes intended to entice those looking for health, wealth and freedom of religion, which did succeed in encouraging immigration and boosting the population during the 1680’s.

In 1680 a group of Dissenters arrived. The Lords’ Proprietors had hoped that by encouraging Dissenters to immigrate to the colony they would help to neuter the growing control and influence in the Council and Assembly by the Anglicans. Dissenters were a diverse group of Protestant denominations who were non-conformists. They refused to accept the doctrines of the Church of England. This brought Presbyterians, Baptists, Quakers and Congregationalists to the colony from England, Scotland, Ireland and other European counties. In April of 1680 forty-five French Huguenots arrived aboard the sailing vessel Richmond. Over the next decade an estimated 1500 Huguenots fleeing France migrated to South Carolina when King Louis the Fourteenth of France revoked the Edict of Nantes. They mostly settled in Craven county in an area along the Santee River which became known as the French Santee. Among those family names were; Bonneau, Cordes, DeSaussures, Deveaux, DuBose, Fort, Gaillard, Gendron, Guerard, Horry, Huger, Laurens, Legare, Manigualt, Marion, Peyre, Porcher, Prioleau, Ravenal, Simmons, and Timothy. In 1695 a group of Puritans from Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay relocated and founded the town of Dorchester. But after two decades of trying to adjust to the Barbadian culture, they decided to relocate and the entire congregation moved to Medway (Midway), Georgia.

The Barbadians seemed to have had the attitude that they were there first, their plantations were the basis for the economy, and they would make the rules. They had been relentless in their drive for control of the government and the Protestant Dissenters had been just as relentless in pushing back the Anglican Barbadians. At one point the Barbadians conspired with the colonial governor to call for the Assembly to meet before the scheduled meeting and before the Dissenters could organize. They then passed legislation allowing only members of the Church of England to be elected to the Assembly. Then they passed legislation which made the Church of England the established church of the colony and imposed a tax on the colonists to provide financial support only for their Church. Then they told the French Huguenot minister that any marriages he performed were not legal. This pushed the line and the legislation was overturned. During the chaos that was created, Queen Anne authorized the Catholics the right to vote in 1702. Up until this time, Catholics had been forbidden in the colony and if there were any, they kept their religion to themselves. The first Anglican Church was St. Phillips built in 1683. The French Huguenot Church was built in 1686 and the Baptist Church with William Screven as minister was built in 1690. The Quakers arrived about 1682 and met in private homes. The White Meeting House of the Presbyterians and Congregationalists also was built between 1680 and 1690. As you can see the colony was quite diverse religiously, and that was an important selling point to the Proprietors because religious tolerance was one the magnets that drew people from Europe.

By the dawn of the 18th century there were four major cities in colonial America; Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Charleston. The port was emerging as a shipping capital and was filled with merchant ships during the peak shipping season from December to March. It was strategically located to harbor English ships during those times when England was at war with one or more of the other European powers who shared the continent and the Caribbean. During these times the city was flooded with marines and sailors … and drunks, prostitutes, gamblers, trappers, beggars and others from the lower classes of society. Charleston had endured reoccurring epidemics of yellow fever and malaria, floods, droughts, hurricanes, fires and an earthquake in 1698, invasions and attacks by the Spanish from St. Augustine, marauding Indians and plundering pirates with still more to come.

In August of 1712 a yellow fever epidemic and this time a small pox epidemic fell on the colony until about February the following year, 1713. It is said to have been the worst in history and one-quarter of the population died, black and white, which appears to have been somewhere between 1000 to 1200 people total.

Then in the summer of 1713 a hurricane raged for twelve hours. It flooded the city carrying away houses and businesses and about seventy people drowned.

Then about two years later, in 1715, the Yamassee joined with the Creeks, Choctaws and Catawbas for a surprise attack that slaughtered about 100 people in the area of Beaufort. As the Indians moved towards Charleston murdering, pillaging, burning houses and crops, slaughtering livestock and destroying everything in their path along the upper reaches of the Ashley, Cooper and Santee rivers, the surviving settlers fled into Charleston looking for protection. The colonists eventually succeeded in pushing back the Indians, but not until they had to resort to arming African slaves to assist the men in fighting. The sight of armed slaves was very unnerving to the white colonists. The Yamassee were not halted until the Cherokee agreed to assist the colonists in putting them down in 1716. It was one of the bloodiest and most costly Indian wars in colonial history, killing about 400 of the Carolinians.

In June 1718 the notorious pirate, Edward Teach otherwise known as Blackbeard, with four ships and 400 men plundered ships in Charleston Harbor and kidnapped some of the passengers who he held for ransom … demanding a chest of medicines. He promised to send the heads of Samuel Wragg, a merchant and a member of Council, and his four year old son if his demands were not met. Blackbeard and his men paraded through the streets of Charleston while the governor contemplated his response. He eventually complied with 400 pounds of medicines to which Blackbeard responded by stripping his captives almost naked and sending them ashore, leaving Charleston inhabitants humiliated and angry. The colonists appealed to England for help, but none was to come. Then in August the black flag of the pirates again appeared on the horizon of Charleston Harbor seizing and plundering merchant ships waiting to dock and unload. This time the merchants enlisted William Rhett who organized a fleet and captured the notorious pirate Stede Bonnet, his sailing master David Herriot, and about thirty-nine pirates on the Cape Fear River. While awaiting trial, some of those (Anglican Barbadians) who had traded with the pirates were afraid the testimony might tie them to the crimes so, the guard posted to secure Bonnet and Herriot was bribed and a small boat was provided for their escape. Colonel Rhett organized a posse and two pirate ships were seen off the harbor which motivated about 300 men to volunteer. Rhett eventually captured Bonnet and retuned him to Charleston for trial where he was found guilty and eventually hanged. In all, about forty-nine pirates were hanged and after that, those few who appeared on the horizon of Charleston Harbor … did not stay very long.

All of these events, disease, Indians, pirates and natural disasters came one upon the other and were having a detrimental effect on the economy. There was a growing concern among the colonials that they had been left to fend for themselves and resentment for the Lords’ Proprietors was growing among the people who increasingly felt that men who lived thousands of miles away had no right to tell them what they could and could not do if they were not financially responsible of their security and infrastructure. In early 1719, the Assembly met and passed new import duties to help defray some of the cost of the war and rebuilding the town. They presented to the Proprietors a list of requests that they felt would help improve the economic situation. The response from the Proprietors was … no to the new import duties … no to the issuance of land grants to new settlers … no to the expansion of currency … no to the idea of a new settlement on the lands confiscated from the Yamassee after the war, the Proprietors wanted that land for themselves. They went even further, in June that year the Proprietors order the colonial governor, Robert Johnson, to reorganize the Council, dissolve the Assembly and hold new elections. Then in November that same year came the rumors that the Spanish Armada was planning an invasion of Charleston. The influential citizens beseeched England to send troops to protect the colony and warned if England did not come to their aid, they would seek independence. In early December that year the Assembly met and voted to make themselves the government until the King’s wishes were known. They appointed governor, Robert Johnson, refused to accept the Assembly’s decision, but they would not back down, so they elected their own provisional governor, General James Moore, Jr. who was a popular son of an unpopular former governor and who had also led successful raids into Florida against the Spanish and the Indians. The Assembly set December 21st which was a muster day for the militia as the date of inauguration for the new government. During the muster, Governor Johnson ordered the militia to disperse the crowd attending the ceremony but Colonel Parris ordered the militia to point their muskets at Governor Johnson and “bid him stand off”. Later Johnson’s attempt to regain control failed and he returned to England. The “Charles Town Revolution” was effectively the beginning of the end of proprietary control over the colony and South Carolina would soon become a royal colony by default until the last Lords’ Proprietor was bought out in 1729.

1721 brought the arrival of the Crown’s appointed provisional governor, Francis Nicholson, sixty-six years old, a profane, passionate, headstrong, religious zealot, with deep interest in science and education, an experienced professional soldier who had served as England’s representative governor in the American colonies since 1686 and was fervently pro-Anglican. The Anglican community which was largely the plantation class cheered him; the others who were largely the merchant class despised him. He attempted to change the name to Charles City and Port, he appointed a mayor, six aldermen and twelve councilmen who would serve for life and appoint their successors. The Carolinians successfully petitioned the Crown and he was overturned. Then he attempted to exclude the Dissenters from the Assembly, told their ministers any marriages they preformed were not legal and in 1724 chased three newly arrived Presbyterian ministers out of the colony. His governorship ended in 1725. Then came the series of events I mentioned earlier, freezing winter, spring and summer drought, yellow fever and another devastating hurricane; these would provide the impetus for the last of the Proprietors to sell his charter back to the Crown and complete the process of turning South Carolina into a royal colony.

Walter J. Fraser in his book, “Charleston! Charleston!: The History of a Southern City”, does an excellent job in describing the situation in Charleston by 1728 on pages 43 and 44. But in a few words he sums it up:

The colony seemed to be on the brink of anarchy.

Burlingham likely arrived in the spring of 1729 and this is the condition the colony was in when he arrived. The colony was roughly sixty years old. For perspective, the colony of Virginia was roughly 120 years old. There were only twelve colonies at the time of Burlingham’s arrival. Georgia would not be founded until 1733.

A unique aspect of South Carolina in relation to the other colonies in America is that its origins came from a colony, Barbados. So it was a colony born from a colony. The colony was populated in the early years by more planters from the Caribbean who brought their slaves with them. It also was the only colony to have used African slave labor from the inception. Early in the developmental years, the population was twice as many slaves as whites and that only increased with time. The influence that those who came from the Caribbean had on shaping the psyche of the low country in South Carolina was passed from generation to generation. The fear of a slave uprising was a constant among the settlers, as was the fear of the Spanish in Florida and the Indians. Almost on a regular basis, each summer an outbreak of yellow fever and malaria killed a good percentage of the population, as well as, the occasional outbreak of small pox and whooping cough. Then there was hurricane season!

We can only imagine what Burlingham Rudd experienced when he was taken from his transport ship to the auction block. I think it is a safe assumption that he had never seen an Indian or an African in his life and now, he stood there among them, being sold to the highest bidder. I also think it a safe assumption based on what we know about the development of the South Carolina colony that Burlingham was most likely bought by a plantation owner, and many of those families were settlers in the area of Goose Creek. Such irony.

We know that Burlingham was sentenced in the summer of 1728 and he likely arrived in Charleston by the spring of 1729 since as the history tells us shipping season generally ended in March. He was sold for seven years, and that brings us to about 1735-36 assuming he did not have any additional time added to his sentence. The baptisms recorded in the Prince Frederick Register date the first child, Martha, as born in 1738/9. So we have about a two year span between the completion of his sentence and the first record of the birth of a child which gives time for marriage. The last child listed, Walter, was born in 1743/4 and the baptisms are in 1745. Burlingham’s Anson Co., NC grant is dated 1748 and was first recorded in Bladen Co., NC, the mother county for Anson which would be founded the following year. So this gives us a timeline:

1728 Sentenced
1729 Sold
1736 Freed
1737 Married
1738 Martha born
1741 Burlingham 2nd born
1743 Walter born
1745 Baptized three children
1748 NC Crown Grant

Burlingham would spend the next two decades in the low country of South Carolina. It appears that shortly after his arrival an economic boom was in the making because of the changes that were made when the Crown reached an agreement for the buy out of the charter from the last Lords’ Proprietor. In September 1730 the British government removed the export restrictions on Carolina rice which opened up foreign markets. Heretofore, the restrictions limited the sell of rice only to British colonies and the British mainland. That spurred a scramble for land and more slaves. While they waited for the 1731 crop, other exports began a steady increase that lasted a few years. In late summer 1731 the currency was stabilized which in turn stabilized the financial sectors which created an even larger market for land throughout the low country adding about one million acres to the tax base. In 1732 rice sold for six shillings per 100 pounds, in 1738 it sold for 10 shillings. The rich were getting richer and a second class of wealthy families began to emerge. The power struggle between the Anglicans and the Dissenters had ebbed to some extent. The plantation families and the merchant families began to integrate with arranged marriages and a plutocracy was emerging. The improved economy was a draw for new immigrants from Europe, many whom were poor and seeking health, wealth and prosperity, but the increase in the number of slaves limited the employment opportunities for these new immigrants. Mr. Fraser tells us that in the mid 1730’s many white people were begging door to door and dependent on the benevolent societies that had been established by the various ethnic-religious groups.

In 1730 Colonel John Barnwell came up with the idea to develop townships in a ring around the populated areas near Charleston in order to encourage Europeans to settle. Governor Robert Johnson took the idea to the Board of Trade who approved the plan. The idea was to build a defensive buffer between the population and the Indians and Spaniards that allowed for orderly settlement of the back country by white immigrants that would also counteract the increasing slave population. A headright system was created and economic incentives were given to new settlers and they came in droves. Most of the new townships developed into ethnic enclave and between 1730 and 1740 Charleston doubled in size, property value rose 500% and hundreds of structures went up, quickly and cheaply.

Then on Sept 9, 1739, one of Carolinian’s worse fears came to pass. The Stono Rebellion, the bloodiest slave rebellion in American history began at Stono River Bridge, twenty miles south of Charleston. A group of slaves murdered about thirty whites, looted a store, burned houses and set out for Spanish Florida. They were intercepted at Jacksonbrough Ferry by a posse of planters, who shot fourteen of them, questioned the other captives and shot them. About thirty escaped into woods. About forty were seized and killed. Next year a group of slaves at Goose Creek planned to take the city. About sixty-seven were tried and punished or killed. As a result the importation of slaves was shut down for a period of time. On Nov 18, 1740 the great fire of Charleston raged for four hours and destroyed 300 houses, many business, wharfs and warehouses storing export and import goods, as well as, the security fortification along the Cooper River causing many of the weapons to become useless. This caused commerce to cease and an economic depression.

The threat of Spanish invasion heightened in 1739 when war broke out between Spain and England. It widened to include several of the European powers followed by France declaring war on England in 1744. It became known as the Great War for Empire as the continental powers fought for control of North America. This brought British troops who were barracked at Charleston, British warships to Charleston Harbor and French prisoners of war from Canada into the colony until the war ended in 1749. As a result of the long war and the previous fire, the export of rice suffered greatly. It was during this time that indigo was introduced and slowly replaced rice as the main export.

So we see that the two decades following Burlingham’s arrival at Charleston, the town grew in size, the colony developed a back county with thousands of new immigrants from all over Europe, the economy ebbed and flowed, the slaves rose up in rebellion, a fire destroyed most of Charleston and their defenses, the Spanish threatened invasion, and from about 1742-49 the town was occupied by British soldiers and sailors with warships in Charleston Harbor. Burlingham was probably primed for migration!

One of the things that stands out about Burlingham Rudd, and something I will talk more about when we get to Anson Co., NC, is that his land documents bear his legal signature, not his mark. So he had the ability to write his name. We don’t know if he came to South Carolina with that ability or if that was something he learned prior to migration to North Carolina, but I think it very likely he had that skill before he was transported. And if he could write, he could probably read. For his time period back in England, that would not be unusual. It would be unusual in the American colonies for quite a while. That might have been to his benefit when he was auctioned. The fact that he had been convicted of stealing a horse might also indicate for us another skill he brought with him. NO.. not as a horse thief, but as a horseman. It’s possible that back in Norfolk he worked with horses; that might be how he ended up with a horse. If so, that skill would have been to his benefit also.
~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~Once an English friend jokingly said to me that it was very rude of us Americans to enshrine the whooping we Yanks gave to the Brits in the War of 1812 by singing about it in our National Anthem. I told him that it was very foolish of the Brits to stock the American colonies with convicts and political adversaries and prisoners of war.

Most all those who have researched the number of convicts who were transported to the American colonies by the British agree that the estimate is about 50,000 up until the Revolution, which they tell us would be about 25% of the total population that came to the American colonies. But as you can see from the documentation, the practice of emptying the gaols of England and selling off the convicts to the plantations in the British colonies goes way, way back. Then there are all those Irish Catholics and Scottish Presbyterians, orphans and stolen children, poor peasants and vagrants. My guess is the percentage of those who came to the colonies involuntarily is much higher.

White slavery was used on the plantations in British colonial America and the British Caribbean before African slaves. That’s just a fact.

We have a tendency in America to begin our history with the Revolution, and rightly so, the history of the United States does begin with the Revolution, but the history of America begins with Jamestown in 1607, one hundred and sixty-nine years before the Declaration of Independence. That means that in 2011, the United States of America is only sixty-six years older than the colony of Virginia was at the time of the Revolution.

Perspective.
~~~~~~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~~~~~~
Resources used for this narrative:

Caribbean History
Carolana - One Vision - Many Dreams!
Charleston! Charleston!: A History of a Southern City, by Walter J. Fraser
Charleston in the Age of the Pinckney’s, by George C. Rogers
Colonial South Carolina- a history, by Robert M. Weir
Early American Crime › Convict Transportation to America
Irish Slave Trade
National Humanities Center
South Carolina: a History, by Walter B. Edgar
South Carolina Department of Archives and History
South Carolina GenWeb, Ship’s lists
The Internet Archive
White Slavery, What the Scots Already Know
Wikipedia: Plantations of Ireland