REYNOL®S HISTORICAL GENEAUOGY COLLECTION.

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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

3 1833 01806 0563

GENEALOGY 975.6 N8181B, 190^-1905

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THE c •'■./••:: i \

North Carolina Booklet

GREAT EVENTS IN

NORTH CAROLINA HISTORY

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v^THg LORDS PROPRIETORS

OF CAROLINA,

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BY

KEMP P. BATTIvE, LL.D.

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THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.

GREAT EVENTS IN NORTH CAROLINA HISTORY. •

VOL. IV.

The Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina.

^ Kemp P. Battle, LL.D.

The Battle of Ramsour's Mill.

Major Wilb'am A. Graham.

Historic Homes in North Carolina — Quaker Meadows.

Judere A- C. Avery.

Rejection of the Federal Constitution in 1788, and its Subsequent Adoption.

Associate Jiistice Henry G. Connor.

North Carolina Signers of the National Declaration of Independence: William Hooper, John Penn, Joseph Hewes.

Mrs. Spier Whitaker, Mr. T. M. Pittman, Dr. Walter Sikea. ' Homes of North Carolina — The Hermitage, Vernon Hall. CkDlonel William H. S. Bur^wyn. Prof. Ck^llier Ck)bb.

Expedition to Carthagena in 1740.

Chief Justice Walter Clark, llie Earliest English Settlement in America. . • i

Mr. W. J. Pe«le. 'rr

The Battle of Guilford Court House. - ' 'V

Prof. D. H. HiU.

Rutherford's Expedition Against the Indians, 1775.

Captain S. A. Ashe.

The Highland Scotch Settlement in North Carolina.

Judge James C. MacRae.

Gk>vemor Thomas Pollock.

Mrs. John Hinsdale.

One Booklet a month will be issued by the North Cabolina Society OF THE Daughters of the Revolution, beginning May, 1904. Price, $1 per year.

Parties who wish to renew their subscription to the Booklet for Vol. rV are requested to no\ify at once.

Address MISS MARY HILLIARD HINTON,

"Midway Plantation,"

Raleigh, N. C. <

Arrangements have been made to have this volume of the Booklet bound in Library style for 50 cents. Those at a distance will please add stamps to cover cost of mailing.

EDITORS: MISS MARY MILLIARD HINTON. MRS. E. E. MOFFITT.

DL. IV MAY, 1904 ISo. 1

THE

^ORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET I

"CAROLINA! CAROLINA! HEAVEN'S BLESSINGS ATTEND HER ! WHILE WE LIVE WE WILL CHERISH, PROTECT AND DEFEND HER."

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RALEIGH E. M. UzzELL & Co., Printers and Binders 1904 . :

OFFICERS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION, 1903: .

BEG E NT :

MRS. THOMAS K. BRUNER.

VICE-BEGENT :

MRS. WALTER CLARK.

HONOKAUY BEGENTS:

MRS. SPIER WHITAKER, (Nee Fanny DeBerniere Hooper), MRS. D. H. HILL, Sb.

SECUETABY :

MRS. E. E. MOFFITT.

TliEASURER: •

MRS. FRANK SHERWOOD.

BEGISTBAB :

MRS. ED. CHAMBERS SMITH.

FOUNDEB OF THE NORTII CaBOLINA SOCIETY AND ReGENT 1896-1902:

MRS. SPIER WHITAKER.

Regent 1902: MRS. D. H. HILL, Sb. •

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PREFACE.

The object of the North Carolina Booklet is to erect a suitable memorial to the patriotic women who composed the ''Edenton Tea Party."

These stout-hearted women are every way worthy of admi- ration. On October 25, 1774, seven months before the defi- ant farmers of Mecklenburg had been aroused to the point of signing their Declaration of Independence, nearly twenty months before the declaration made by the gentlemen com- posing the Vestry of St. Paul's Church,' Edenton, nearly two years before Jefferson penned the immortal National Declaration, these daring women solemnly subscribed to a document affirming that they would use no article taxed by England. Their example fostered in the whole State a deter- mination to die, or to be free.

In beginning this new series, the Daughters of the Revo- lution desire to express their most cordial thanks to the for- jmer competent and untiringly faithful Editors, and to ask for the new management tlie hearty support of all who are interested in the brave deeds, high thought, and lofty lives of the North Carolina of the olden days.

Mrs. D. II. Hill.

THE LORDS PROPRIETORS OF CAROLINA.

By KEMP p. BATTLE. LL.D , (Professor of History, University of North Carolina).

The first Lord rr(;))rietor of tlie land now called North Carolina was the acooinplishcd courtier, daring .navigator, fieroe fighter, elegant ])oet and learned historian, Sir Walter Raleigh. His energy and lavish expenditures in settling his gi'and territory, and their dismal failure,- are known to all. Beyond the introdnctTon into civilized life of the ])otato, and giving to our State ca])ital his name, to the county of Robeson a claim to have among her half-breed Indians some dro])« of the blood of his "Ijost Colony," and to the State the senti- mental honor of the first white child born and the first Chris- tian, baptism, the first hord Proprietor of Virginia, extend- ing indefinitely southward, is only a tender and cherished memory.

Raleigh, having sold ])art of his rights and lost the residue by forfeitui-e for treason, James I. in KiOG regrauted the part of the land from the Cape Pear northward to Sir Thomas Gates and many lords and rich merchants, called Adventurers. Under this charter Jamestown was settled. It was vacated in 1624, and in 1G21) Charles I. granted to Sir Robert Heath, his Attoniev-Oeneral, all the land between '^\'' and 30° north

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latitude from the Afhuitic to the \vi'<t "as far a.s the continent extendeth."

This dc jure Lord l^ro])riotor was a man of mark in his day. lie wa:? an al)le hwvvcr and lifhl imj)ortant positions. He was mendx'V of Parliament, iicconk'r of London, then snccessivelv Solicitor-General and . Attornev-dencral, othees of much power in those arhitrary (biys. .\s a reward for his activity in advancinu' the ivinu's tyrannical measures, the grant of Carolina was nuulc to him. 11(^ was strini^ent against non-conforinists, ])rosecuted those who refused to pay forced loans, drew uj) an elaborate answer to the Petiti<ui of Eight, procured the conviction of Eliot, Holies, Selden and other patriots for tlwdr course in Pai'liament, conductcnl the prosecutioiys of the Star (^haud)er, which resulted in the atro- cious fines, mutilations and imprisonmeur of Leighton, Prynne, Ijostwick and others. So well satistied was Charles with his zeal that he was elevated to be Chief Justice of^ the Court of Common Pleas. He seems then to have become alarmed at the storm of hatred oatherinji; against the Crown. He was removed from the l)ench, but, when the King desired to placate his adversaries of the J.ong Parliament, he was created a Judge of rhe C<jui-t of King's Bench. When the breach between King and Parliament came he sided with the King, and was ap]winted to thi^ em})ty honor of (^hief Justice of tlie King's Bench in 1G42. He was impeached by the House of Commons, and excepted from the Act of 0]> « livion. He tied to France and died at Calais the same year

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in which hi^ royiil master kxst his hoad. 11 is i-oii Edward, afli'i' the K<'.-toiati<Jii, was restored to the family estates.

The only eti'urt of Sir Robert to procure settlei's for his province across the Atlantic was the sending of a ship-load of Huguenots in KJIU), but for some reason not kuown they were landed in Virginia. For tius breach of contract the owners of the vessel, named the Mai/fluiccr, possibly the same which carried the Pilgrims to Plymouth, were nia<le to pay about $3,000 damages.

Sir liobert lleatli sold his interests in lO.")! to Lord Mal- travers, and by several assignments they were vested in Dr. Daniel Coxe, to whom, l)y way of compromise, after many years, was given a tract of 10(),0()() acres in Western Xew York. Early after the Iv<'storation, however, the Heath patent was (h'chii'ed vacated and the territory, with the same name, was in IGGo grante<l to eight nobles, favorites of Charles Jl. Jt apjiears then that the "eponymous hero"N)f our State is Charles 1., a much more worthy man than his son, debauched in morals and a traitor to his kingdom. The old story that the infamous (Miarles IX. of France was so honored is disproved by the fact that only the fort at Port Royal in li'tVrl, and not the hnni, was called Carolina by the French emigrants.

Two years afterwards a new charter was issued to the same Lords Proprietors, including additional strijjs of land on the north and the south, i)ractically from the Virginia line to about the middle of Llorida.

Tho powers of these snb-kiiii»-s were to Ih' tin- saint- as exer- c'ised by tlie I)isliiji) of Durliaiii in liis eivil capaeity. What were tliosc ])owers ^ As in ancient Komi' the l\ing''s mansion on the Pahitinc hill was ealled j^alatinm, in the c(nirse of time ^'palatial" was eipiivalent to royal, and a County i*ahitine was one in whieli its i-liief lord had royal jxjwers. 'These eounties were on the borders of countries often hostile, and tlie lieu- tenant of the Kini;- must have extraordinary jjowers to mwt dangerous emcrgeneies. (Jn the continent the (jrernuin dis- trict horderinu' on France was called tlie Palatinate, and in Eaigland the Karl of Chester and Duke (jf Lancaster giuirded tlie west and I he l>isho]> of Durham the S<'oteh fi'ontier. Tlie Lords I^ropriejors, therefore, had jura rcjjalui, or royal rights, the legislation, however, to he sid)ject to the consent of the ))eo])le.

We now dc.-crilH' the "Proiierty Kings," as DeFoe ealled them, ill the order in which they are mentioned in the* two charters.

The first- was the great Edward Hyde, l^ivd High Chan- cellor and until 10(17 Prime ^linister, though not then so called. He was the son of Henry Hyde of Wiltshire, born February 10, lOOS, and was graduated at Oxford Univer- sity. He became a lawyer, anil his resolution to pursue steadily the dictates of his conscience on all ])ublic matters was strengthened by the earnesf injunction of his father, who, while charging him never to sacrifice tlie laws and lilK^rty of his country to his own interest, fell to the ground under a fatal stroke of ai)0])lexy. Accordingly, as a member of

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the Short and of tlu? Loiiu' Parlijimeiits which mot iu 1G40, he condemned the iniquitons proceedings of the Star Cham- ber, l[i«ili (\)mmissi()U Court, the Privy (\)uucil and the (Vnmcil of the ^»'orth, hut 0])])08ed the bill of attainder of Strafford, though he did not record his vote againt^t it. When Parliament began to raise the militia against the King and to dejH'ive the Bishoi>y of their votes in the House of Lords, his (conservative temperament led him to take the royal side, lie was soon knighted and was matle (^haueellor of the P^x- ehequer and Privy (\)uneillor. On the di'feat of the King- he retired with Prince Charles to Jersey. Here he began his History of the Oreat Relxdlion, which, after nniny inter- rn])tions, was conij)leted in KITT).

^>'otwithstan(ling his staunch ehnrclunanshij), which ad- mitted no eom])romise with R(muin Catholicism, he was a favorite with C^ueen Henrietta Alaria, and in 1048 was called by her to Paris, lie visited Spain as Ambassador to piK)- eiire aid for Charles, hut in vain. lie then resided at Ant- werp, constaiiJtly intriguing for the Restoration. He held the offices successivelv of Secretary of State and Lord High Ohajicellor in the little court of the exiled King. When the times were ripe for the Restoration he drew up the Declara- tion of Breda, and ])rocured the royal assent to" it, thus allay- ing the fears of a large nnijority of the ])eople of Llngland.

Honors fell thick and fast on Sir Kdward Hyde. He retained his |M)st of Lord Chancellor, was chosen Chancellor of the University of Oxford, was created a peer as Baron Hyde of Hindon, and in 10(11 received the titles of Lord

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Cornbiiry and Earl of (^laron.lun. .Moreover, the King- en- trusted to him tlie conduct of the government, in which he showed strong desire to be as moderate and prudent as was consistent with safety. What wvre considered by many as proofs of malignant hatred towards non-conformists, the so- called Clarendon Acts, namely, the Uniformity, Conventicle, Five Mile and CoriKDration Acts, were doubtless inspired largely by the fear lest the old soldiers who had once ruled the land might b<^ re-embodied for another civil war. He Avas in the sunshine of the royal favor wlieii he was named as first of the Proprietors of Carolina.

But the favor was evanescent. He lost the regard of the King and his male and female licentious associates. Kis severity of aspect excited their ridicule. He was called the royal school-master. As Charles and his wife had no chil- dren, the marriage of his (.Idest daughter Anne to the Duke of York brought his grandchildren near the succession to- the throne, and this aroused envy at his grand fortune. His building a lialaee costing about $200,000 increased this envy, especially when the foul whisperings began that bribes for the sale of Dunkirk to the French had furnished the funds. A libelous song, called "Clarendon's Hou.se Warming-,'' ^vas everywhere sung. He was accused of sacrilege for using in the building of his mansion stones dressed oi'iginally for St. Paul's, and no credit was given to the explanation that he had honestly bought them. He was held responsible for the dis- asters of the Dutch war. The cavaliers were dis))leased that they did not get more favors from the governmeni, the i)apists

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and iioii-foiifoiiiiists, Ixcan^c tlicir disaliilitics were imt niade li<ilircr. 'I lie ^rcat l^arl was removed from olliee, ami, l)y the l^iiijf's advice, retii'ed to l{(jiieii in Franee. Sndi w;i> llic jxipuiar liatreil <jt liijii that he was set upon hy some drunken Kni>;lish sailorH at lurenx, ti-('ale(| with mneli crncilj ami W(Mihi have hccn shiin hut for llic tiincly interfci'cncc (d their lieiitcnant.

Clarendon was an author of ability, his History of the ('ivil War l)eina; espeeiaily vahiahh,- lor the (hdineation of the eliai'aeters of tiie k-adin^' men of that imix)rtant period. He married, first, Anne, (hmaliter of Sir Gregory Aylolfe, who died without issue, and, secondly, Frances, daughter of Sir 'Jlnnnas Ayleshury, hy whom he; had four sons and two daugh- tei's. It is noticeahlc that he nam('(l his oldest daughter after his first wife-, and two of her daughters, xMary and Anne, ascended the throne after the expulsimi of their father. The Chaneelloi-'s two sons, Henry, Eiirl of Clarendon, and Lilw- renee, Earl of Koehester, were elevated to high office. Oov- ernor JCdward Hyde of North (^arolina, after whom a county is named, was probably a grandson.

The title of the noble earl is })er])etnated by the name of a comity in South Carolina. A large county un<ler the l)r<)- visions of the Fundamental (Vjnstitutions, with this name, stretching from the (\i]ie Fear southwest, was i)roj('cted but al>andoned. Cajjc iM-ai* riv(!r was (juce called Clarendon, 'ilic name is from Clarmddn l^irk in Wiltsliirc, luigland, in the '\\ew Forest," where the Plantagenets had a ))alatial hunting' lodge. Here were sonu'times h(dd (ireat (Voincils,

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and iu)ii-c(nit"(jriiiists, Ijccaiise tlicir (.lisabilities were not made ligliter. 1 lie jircat Karl was removed from oriice, ami, by the King-'s advice, retired to Kuueii in France. Sncli was the j>0])ular hatred uf him that he was set u}Hin hv some drunken Enalish sailors at lu'reiix, treated with mucli cruelty and would have heen slain but for tlie tiiiiely interference of their lieutenant.

(Marendon was an author of ability, his History of the Civil War IxBino; esj)ecially valuable for the delineation of the eliaracters of the leading men of that im|X)rtaut period. He married, first, Anne, daughter of Sir Gregory Ayloft'e, who died without issue, and, secondly, Frances, daughter of Sir Thomas Aylesbury, by whom he had four sons and two daugh- ters. It is noticeable that he named his oldest daughter after his first wife, and two of her daughters, Mary and Anne, ascended the throne after the expulsion of their father. The Chancellor's two sons, ITenry, Earl of Clarendon, and La.w- rence, Earl of Kochestei", were elevated to high oftice. Gov- eraor Edward Hyde of Xorth (^arolina, after whom a county is named, was probably a grandson.

The title of the noble earl is per])etuated by the name of a county in South Carolina. A large county under the J^ro- visions (tf the Fimdamental Constitutions, with this name, stretching from the (\i]ie Fear sotithwest, was projected but abandoned. Cape Fear river was once called Clarendon. The name is from Clarendon Park in Wiltshire, Kngland, in the "Xew Forest," where the Plantagcnets had a palatial hunting' lo<lge. IFere were sometimes held Great ( 'ouncils,

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which aclo])ted weighty ordinances, tliose in tlie days of Henry II. being callecl Constitutions of (Maroiidon. Th«3 pahice was about three miles from Salisbury.

The second named Pr(>])rietor was George Monk, or Monck, Duke of Alknnarle, wlio had a very eventful life. He was a Devonshire man, yoimger son of a icnight of slender fortune, Sir 1'liomas Monk. He volunteered to serve under Sir Rich- ard Grenvilh^ against Spain, and si)W-dily rose to the rank of captain in the war against France. He lu'canic a niasrcr in the military art, and, wlien ihe civil war broke out. took the side of the King. At tirst (\)lonel, he was appointed Briga- dier-General in the Irish l^rigade recently bruiiglit to Eng- land and engaged in the siege of Xantwicli. lie ai'rived just in time to U: present in 'its surjn'isal and defeat by Sir Thomas Fairfax. lie was contined in the Tower until No- vend>er, ir)4t), when he subscribed t(/ the Covenant and ac- ce)>ted service^ umler the Parliament. He was faithf\d to the King until his armies were destroyed and he was a captive?

Monk was given by Parliament the connuand of their forces in the north of Ireland, with the rank of JMajor-General. Afterwards, as Lieutenant-General of Artillery, he served against the Scots, and when Cromwell ])ur.-ue(l (^harles II. to his defeat at Worcester, General j\Ioid; was left in Scot- land as Conimander-in-Chief. He was then joinetl as Ad- miral with Dean in the Dutch war, and, after I)ean was killed in battle, continued the tight and gained the \ietory. Peace being declared, he was sent into the Highlands of .Scotland to quell disturbances, which he effected in for.i- numths. He

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resided in Scotland, near Edinburgh, for tive years, and l>c- canie tfo }R>|)\ilar as to incur the suspicion of Cromwell, it is said, altliou<»h created by liini a iiieniber of the House of Lords. When the nation was ripe for the restoration of Oharles to his kingdom, Monk effected it with consummate skill, for which he received many pensions and honors, lie was made Knight of the (Jrarter, a Privy (^nincillor, a Master of the Horse, Baron Monk of Potlieridge, Eeauchanip and I Tees, E^rl of Torrington, and Duke of Alluinarle, with a I • grant of about $U5, ()()() a year, besides other pensions. When I he went up to the House of Lords all the nieuibers of the ! Ilonse of (-onimous escorted liim to the door. His freedom from pride was observed by all. In the Dutch war of 1004 j he was placed at the head 'of the Board of Admiralty, and ! during the great plague was entrusted with the care of Lon- ! don. The saiue year he was appointed Joint Admiral with Prince Rupert and dis])layed his usual bravery and energy, gaining a great victory off North Foreland. He was recalled i to take charge of l^ondon after the great tire of 10 06. Such was his hold on the affections of the people that he was hailed { by the ory : "If you had l^een here, my lord, the city would not have l^een burned." Ho died in January, 1070, and was buried with distinguished honor in the cha])el of Henry VII. The title of the great Duke, Albemarle, was transferred to England from Normandy, corru}>ted from iVubemare Cas- tle. In France it took the fonn of Aumale and was borne by a brilliant son of King Tx>nis Philippe, the Due d'Aumale. It gives to Virginia the name of a county aud to North Caro-

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lina a sound of tlie Atlantic and a county :r-rat. Monk's Cor- ner in South T'arolina' may coinmeniorate his family name. The great county of Albomarlo, the first successful ])olitical organization in North Carolinu, comnoscd «jf the precincts of Currituck, Pas(|Uotank, Perquimans, Chowan and Tyrrell, was abolished in 173S and its pre^-incts changed into counties.

The third named Proprietor wa's William, Earl of Craven, bom in IGOG. lie was sun and heir of Sir William Craven, Jx)rd Mayor of lx)ndon, whose career resembled that of the more ancient Dick Whitt ington. (doming to the great city from Yorkshire an hund)U' apprentice, he losr {o its highest office and amassed large wealth. ITis motto was virtues in actione co-nsislit, and he lived up to it. Besides lending lavishly to tlie King wlien in need, lie endowed a large school in his native town, IJurnsall ; was president of the great (^rist lIosi)ita] in London and its munificent benefactor. His funeral was attended by five hundred mourners, llis second son, John, Baron Craven, endowed two scholarshjps, one at Oxford and one at Cambridge University, which to this day educate an aspiring youth in each.

William Craven, the younger, was of an adventurous turn. At the age of seventeen he fought under the gi'eat Maurice, Stadtholder of Holland, and Frederick Henry, his successor. On his return to England in 1627 he was knighted and then made a Baron.

The beautiful Elizabeth, daughter of James L, married the Protestant Frederick, the Elector of the Palatinate of the Rhine. ' Tlie Protestants of Bohemia chose liim the King of

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that country, while the Catholic Emperor of Austria, Ferdi- nand II., disputed his claim. In tlic war that ensued Fred- erick lost lK)th Bohemia and the Palatinate. His English father-in-law, notwithstanding* strong- pressure of his people, was slow and niggardly in aiding him. The ^larquis of Hamilton with a small force was sent over, and Craven was one of his officers. At the capture of Creuznach lie was the first to mount the breach, although wounded. He received a handsome compliment from the* lips of the great Gustavus Adolphus, which may be freely transhited: "Young man, you bid. your younger brother have fair play for your estate." While he was a reckless fighter, his generosity had no limits. He gave $150,000 (in our day equal to half a million) to aid in fitting out a Heet commanded by Charles Lewis, elder brother of Prince Hu])ert, "an act said by many to savor of prodigality, by most of folly." I'he Protestant army was beaten and Craven was wounded and captured. To the titular Queen of Bohemia, after her defeat, he was munifi- cent, advancing for her $100,000 at one time, and when^he Parliament discontinued her allowance of $50,000 a year he supplied her needs out of his own funds. He was espec- ially kind to her daughters, supplying them with jewelry, dresses and pocket-money, which they, among them Sophia, from whom comes the Hanoverian line of Kings of Great Britain, repaid with mirthful ridicule of "little Lord Cra- ven." He resided in Elizaheth's mansion at The Hague, holding the ofiice, then honorary, of Master of Horse. He is said to have privately married her, but of this there is no

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evidence, lie was a dcvuted royalist, and onco sui)j)lied Charles II. with a loan of £50,000, the I'Cpiivalcnt of ahoiit a million of dollars of our money. His projierty was confis- cated by J'arlianu'nt in 1(>40 because of his assistance to the 1 royal cause, but restored at the accession of (MiarKs II.

At the Kestoration he received many hon(u-.>. He was made ]>>rd Lieutenant of Middh'sc.x ami Southwark, (V)lonel I of the Cold Stream Guards of the Iteg'ular Army, and Lieu- tenant-Genera 1. IK' was also llii;li Steward «>f ('ainhridi^e, I and a Privy Cuuneillor, and in l(i(14 created X'i.-coiiut Craven j of Utlinglon, an<l Karl (^-avcn. When the su-callcd (^ueen 1 of Bohemia returned to London, tlie Karl, secini; that the King, her nei»liew, delayed assianing her a nsidence, i^ave up to her his town mansion-, Drury House, which he after- wards rebuilt (Ui a grander scale and nanu'(l Craven House. She died at Leicester House in H)(»2,. leaving a tender mem- ory by reason of lier virtues and winning manners amid many trials, the ancestress of the good Queen \'ict(3ria. The constant devotion and generosity, to her of the Karl of Cn\,ven are worthy of all praise, whether or not she rewarded him with a morganatic marriage. At^her funeral he and his brother, Sir Iiol>ei't, supi^orted the heralds-at-ai'ius in the pro- cession. She bequeathed to him all her pictures and papers, which were jjreseiTcd in his country mansion, (^ombe Abb<?y. The mutual friendship between him and her family continued to his death. ]n truth, it was Ixdieved by many that his love was given to her oldest daughter, Elizal)eth, and the imiH)S- sibility of marrying her led to his celibacy, llis old com-

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paiiioii in ariiis^ Prince Knpert, niaile liini iiuai'diini »)i his illof^itimatf bnt ac'l\nmvlc(lii('(l dauuliter, Ivnjxita.

Dnrini^ the; i;TC'at tii'c in London Karl ('raven was very active in proservinii' order and extin^inisliinu- ilu Hanu^. Tlicre is a euriouii story tliat evi-r aftcM'wards the horse then ri<hloii by liini wouhl smell tire at a iireat distanee and e<uild with difficulty be restrained from -running- to it at tiili speed. . In fC85 lie was nuuie Lieutenant-(Jeneral niider dames II., and was ehar/^'ed with the prciteetion of the palace of White- hall. \Vlien William 111. entered London in triumph the bturdy old' soldier refnsed to surrender his })<jst until he re- ceived orders from dames. IFe survived the fiiuht of his Stuart master only tw(j years, spending- his last days in build- ing; and landscai)e i^ardenino; and in the eonu-enial companion- ship of the learned mendjcrs of the Royal Society. It is fortunate that we have the memory of one m> ^ood and true ])erpetuated in the name of one of our counties.

The fourth Pro|)rietor was John, lx)r(l li^'rkeley, first Baron of Stratton, youn«>-est son of Sii^ ]\raurice Berkeley of Sofner- setshire, a distant relative of the Pearls of Berkeley, wlujse ancestors -came to Eng'land with t\fe CVjnqueror, Ife was an ardent member of the King's jjarty, and was apjiointed Am- bassador to Sweden. On his return in lO'JS he was knighted, then a memlxn* of Parliament, but was exjielled for cons])ir- acy. Tie of course was a royalist in the civil wai', distin- guished himself nndei- Uopton at Stratton, was ( Nuinnander- in-Chief of Devonshire and captured Kxeter. lie was chosen to be present at the ba])tism of the child of C^ueen Henrietta

■? :;<.

Maria in that city. lie was beaten at Aylesbury, succeeded in taking Wellington House, was made Colonel-General of Devonshire and Cornwall and lost Ivxeter. He then escaped to Paris in the suite of the Queen, witli whom he was a favor- ite. One of his foibles wns an exaggerated Ixdief in his power of influencing others, lie was busy in acting as mediator between the King and " Parliament, but etl'ected nothing. He lied with the Ivinjj and joined in the fatal counsel to surrender to (\>l()nel Hammond, whom he t'Xj)ectod to win to the royal cause. WhiK; Cromwell was supreme he served under Turenne in the war against Spain and C'onde. In H)5S he was created, by Charles 11., liaron l>crkeley of kStratton, and was })lace<l on tlie Admiralty iJoard. He was then made Lord l^resident of Connauglit in Ireland. After the ]\estoration he was api)ointed in the Privy Council. His Tx)ndon house, wdiich cost $150,000, 'was burnt, and on its • site is now tlu- mansion of the Duke of Devonshire. He became the purchaser of Twickenhani Park, and in 1G70 received the great oliice of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland,', in which he favored the Roman Catholics as much as was in his power. In negotiating the important treaty (»f Ximuegen he was a commissioner on Ix^half of the English, together with Sir William Tem])le and Sir T^oline Jeid^ins. He died August 20, 1678. HisVife was Christian Piccard. described as being ''of large dowry and yet larger graces and virtue:.", Sir John Berkeley was a good soldier, faithfid to his con- victions, but with the. defects of "vanity, want of tact, and iomorance of human nature." His oldest son, Charles, died

19

without issue and was succeeded by bis brotber, tbe second Jolin, lx>rd Berkeley, who died in I OUT, after distiuguislied naval services as \'iee-Adniiral of tbe lied, N'ice-Adiiiii'al of tbe Blue, and coinniander of tbe lleet.

The fifth Proprietor of Carolina was a man of varied for- tunes, of commanding intellect, of winning manners, ca))able of great things, but of evil moral^ — Anthony Asidey ("'ooj)er, Lord Ashley, and Earl of Shaftesbury, lie was bom in 1021, the son of Sir John (^0(»i)\'r c»f Soutbam{>ton county, and Anne, daughter of Sir Anthony Ashley of Dorsetshire. He was very jjrecocious and of a bold temper. When a boy at school he organized the young(M- boys and successfully re- sisted the vile cu.stom of fagging. He entered Oxford at the age of fifteen, but did not graduate. He read law at Linex)ln's Inn, with great ardor. He was, before reaching maturity, elected a niember of Parliament and served through- out the civil war. At first he offered his services to the Jving, but finding himself out of sympathy with the haughty cava- liers, he joined tbe Parliament, .and, accepting a commission, did some brilliant fighting, lie was a member of the legis- lative body called the Barebones Parliament, and afterwards of the Parliament of 1654. He bitterly opfX)sed tbe despotic government of CromAvell, but accepted the position of Privy Councillor under Picljard Oomwell. Fearing the domina- tion of the army, he was active in the restoration of Charles II., and being returned a member of the Convention Parlia- ment, was a])pointed one of the twelve commissioners to bring over the Kinii'. While in Holland his carriaut* was over-

20

turaed, by which he rcroived ;i woiiiid iK'twicii the ril)s which caused ail incurable uU'cr.

At the Kestoration he was sworn a Privy (VnuiciUor, cre- ated IJaron Ashley, and was one <»t* the connnissioners for the trial of the re<;i('i(U'S. He was also made (Miancellor of tho Exehetjuer and one of the eoinniissioiiers fm executing the office of High 'J'reasurer. \\v was afterward- L<ii<l LieiUeu- ant of the county of Dorset, and in ItiTi^ cj-eated Baron Cooper and Kai'l of Shaftesbury, and the sauit- year was elevated to the office of I>ord High Chancelloi-. in this })osi- tion, notwithstanding he luul no cx]H'rience as a practicing lawyer, he ])roved to be a very able officer, and in all resjiects impartial and just. He was from 1()(>7 to 1()T."> a nieinber of tlie Cabal ministry, and su]>ported the King in his futile efforts to procure indulgence tor iKui-eouforniists and (/atlio- lics. But he was utterly hostile \o .the ruin of Protestant Holland, to a close alliance with France, and to ])lacing Eng- land under Catholic rule. He aidcnl in })rocuring the jiassage of the Test Aet, which drove CaJ^holics from office and broke up the Cabal, for which he was dismissed from his Chancellor- ship. The King was forced to withdraw from the Prench alliance and end the Dutch war.

Shaftesbury was a leader in organizing the ''Country Party," as opposeil'to the ''Court Party," and which after- wards develoix^d into the great Whig i)arty. It is to the dis- grace of his memory that he also fanned tiie hatred to ihc^ Catholics, especially the Duke of ^'(jrk, by cniintenaneing the infamous perjuries of Gates and Dangerfiehl. He was nnnle

21

President of tlio slioj-t-lived (^onncil vli tliiity, oruaiiizccl uiuler tlie :i<lvic'c of Sir Willia'iiL 'rciiiplt'. lie ]>rc)fiir('(l llie jjassa^e of the groat iiiunimiiit of lilK.'rtv, rlio Ilalx-as Corjjus Act, Avliicli ])rovido(l tlio judicial iiiachiiiorv hy wliicli unlawful iini)risonincnt might he remedied, lie was ]>r<iminent in the endeavor to force through Parliament the hill for excluding Pa}>ists, including the Duke of York, from the thn)nc, which, after })assing the Ooinmons, was defeated in the House of Ixrds. He then engaged in intvignies in favoi- (if tlu' Duke of Monmouth, a fatal ste);, hecause he therehy alienated the sup- porters of William and Mary of Orange, Mary iK'ing the heir pre'snmptive, as tlie Duke of York had then no son. The ])eople, too, iuui not lost their dread of civil war, and when Shaftesbury hoasted of his jxnver over his "hrisk ))0vs" of rx)n(lon, and embodied them for terrorizing the Court party, tliere was a reaction against him. This was increased by the growing conviction that innocent men had fallen victims to whol^ale perjury. He was imprisoned in the Tower, invoking in vain his own Habeas Corpus- Act, but was released by the grand jury of ^Middlesex ignoring the bill against him. The King then, by resort to his cca"rupt courts, succeeded in annulling the Ix^ndon charter, rephicing it witli a new charter, in which the Tones had control; whereupon Shafteslmry fled to Holland and died in a few montiis, in January, 1783. Dryden, tlu^ court ])oet, satirized him under rlu- character of Achitoj)hel : ^

i ^

^

A/irr ihr )>iil>U«-atj*Ni u( tiic Uiiiik Milin* ol AluMiloiii aii>: Arbilo|^«<! tnt M*)K»Ur»hi|i in lUi* 4*liin(rlMiiim* tclxiul

of «hi<^i iiM r «ri wan (fovrrnuf, wat «t hl» tlis|iiMUil. U tc»lu«r\l (I ut) |^>«irtrt ■111) uitbt'Ut »'lictt«(i«ai nf uiiy oli< Tbc purl WAS |U U**>Vi«i tllSf III ^ M-Ciillll oJidoli )i.- a.l.lt«l .,

%mc ci«-trri|»liTc ••( tb*- Karl a* |j»n< Otatt<vllur :

la laTttfli • Tviwrt i.c«»t •«! •!« N-

t'a^tlml. iiaiingiii. liia srHrWa u> r^rr«N »««n •« 4l^«lH> attl m»y ol •<«««• "

Sbaftrtbiirir kiati maiiY vtiiur* ami cuiM^Hcuoiia vicvu. When tMit in hot purtuit of ^nnr t4»jrrt itf iniibition, i»r of rrvrn;:< for fanrir«l iii)ur>. hr waa iHHiorablr in hi* (i«*aliii|^, aniial>l< mikd |Crurn>u«. Wbrti naiani liv atiihition i»r rnMiitinnit, lie wfiiilj rr^urt ty aii> iiM-a»urr«, K*i^\ <»r rvil, ni'^^'^'tiiry !«• altuin 111* i<b)«Yl. Ilr had nti n lifHoiit prinriiiliHi. \ri was a stoiif • •|»|unml uf |ka|ut-y for |H»litiral craMinn. Ilr wan inci>r rupliUr bv niufkcv. yd «•» an iinblii«liinp IiIh rtitie. It w«t to him that the Kiiiir. who wouM U»lli lake lilaTtiea and l>rar thmi, ID rrfrniicr lo Sliafli-mbiiry'i* anioiim, Miid: **l U*licvr SiiaftraUiry, iIkiu art flic \Tirkr«ie»l fellow in my «loininion-».' With a low buM llie hMt] re|«littl: "May it |ileti*« y.-ur Maj wly, of a •ubjeet I hrlii'Vp I •iii." The Kini: Inu^hrd beartiW.

QO

"For close deriigns and ciookcHl couusels fit, Sagacious, bold and turbulent of wit: Rastless, unfixed in principles antl place. In i>o\ver displeased, impatient of disgrace."

After the publicatiuu of the bitiiiti; satire of AUsaloiu and Achitophel, a vacant schohirship in ilie Chai'terhouse school, of which the Earl was Governor, was at his disposal. He bestowed it on Dryden's son without solicitation uf any one. The poet was so moved that in ^i second edition lie added a verse descriptive of the Karl as I>ord Chancellui-:

"In. Israel's court never sat an Abethdin With more discerning eyes or hands more clean, Unbribed, unsought, the wretched to redress, Swift of dispatch and easy of access."

Shaftesbury had many virtues and conspicuous vices. When not in hot pursuit of some object of alnbition, or of revenge for fancied injury, he was honorable in his dealings, amiable and generous. When roused bv ambition or resentment, he would resort tp any measures, good or evil, necessary to attain his object. He had no religious principles, yet was a stouts opponent of papacy for political reasons. He was incor- ruptible by money, yet was an unblusliing libertine. It was to him that the King, who would lx)th take liberties and bear them, in reference to Shaftesbury's amours, said: '*T believe, Shaftesbury, thou art the wickedest fellow in my dominions," With a low bow the P^arl re])lied: ''^lay it ])lease your -Maj- esty, of a subject I believe I am." The King laughed lieartily.

mrmk

^•1

2'S

The gieat author. J«^hii Lcicke, was his private s<*cretary. He aided his patruii iu devising the elaborate hut fantastic Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, whose con.^])ieuous failure illustrates the great }M3litieal truth that ^ucvessful governments are the product of growtli, not theory. The two rivers around Charleston in S<nitli Carolina, Ashley and Cooper, are named in his honor, and Currituck county was onoe called Shaftesbury precinct. The tuwn which gave the title to his earldom has about' twr. thousand ti\e hundred inhabitants, is in Dorsetshire, England, and is tlie burial- place of King Canute and Edward the Martyr. It is gen- erally called Shasbury, but locally Shaston.

The next named Proprietor is Sir George Carteret, Knight and Counsellor, Vice-Chainberlain of the royal household. He Avas of an ancient Norman family, which settled in Jersey and Guernsey. , His father, Helier Carteret, at the time of his birth in 1599, was Deputy Governor of Jersey. He early entered the sea service, and by his skill and daring soon rose to be a captain. When twenty-seven years old he was ap- pointed joint Governor with Tord Jennyn of Jersey and Comjitroller of his ^lajesty's ships. He was so successful in procuring arms and ammunition for the Cornwall army that the King conferred on him the honor of Ivnight and a Baronet. He then returned to Jersey and vnla] it so sternly that in all the fruitless negotiations with tlic King he was excepteil from pardon. In 1(540 he enteriiiine^l most lavishly the Prince of Wales and his suite at his own ex]Knise, whidi , was repeated three years afterwards. When (^harlt s I. was

23

The gi-eat autlior, John Ixtcke, vva> his i>riviUe secretary. He aided his patruii in devising the ehiborate but fantastic Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, whose couspieuuus failure illustrates the great ])olitieal trutli rliat successful governments are the product of growtli, not theory. The two rivers around Charleston in Soutli Carolina, Ashley and Cooper, are named in his honor, and Currituck county was onoe called Shaftesbury ])recinct. The tcjwn which gave the title to his earldom lias about* two thousand ti\^e hundred inhabitants, • is in Dorsetshire, Enghuid, and is the burial- place of King Canute and Edward the Martyr. It is gen- erally called Shasbury, but locally Shaston.

The next named Proprietor is Sir George Carteret, Knight and Counsellor, ViceChamberlain of the royal household. He was of an ancient N'onnan family, which settled in Jersey and Guernsey. , His father, Helier Carteret, at the time of his birth in 1599, was Deputy Governor of Jersey. lie early entered the sea service, and by his skill and daring soon rose to be a captain. When twenty-seven years old he was ap- pointed joint Governor with T^rd Jermyn of Jersey and Comj^trolle'r of his ^NLajesty's ships. He was so successful in })rocuring arms, and ammunition for the Cornwall army that the King conferred on him the hon<u- of Ivnight and a Baronet. He then returned to Jersey and ruled it so sternly that in all the fruitless negotiations with tlie King he was excepted from ])ardon. In 1G4G he entertained most lavishly the Prince of Wales and his suite at his own expense, which , was repeated three years afterwards. Wlien Cliarles I. was

24

executed lie iiii(l:mnro(lly prwlaimod (^'liarUs II. Kiiii;', and held tlie island for two years against tlie forces of tlic C'oiii- nionwealth. He liad or<j;aiiized a litllc navy of small frigates and privat<jers, wliieli j!;ave his adxersarii's luiieli annoyance. : Such was his }>lnck that after tlic island was all lost except

I EJizabeth Castle, he fon<iht stontly hchiiid its walls until the

I supply of provisions was exhaustctl, and Ucinii,- so instructed

! by Charles II., he lowered the last r(»yal baiinci" and made an

I honorable capitulation to Admi,ral Illake and (rcncral Ibdnies.

I Repairing to Paris, he angered Cromwell by organizing a

i plan to ca])ture English vessels, and pressure was brought on

(*ardinal Mazarin, then governing France, to in<lnce him to iinj)rison Carteret in the Bastile. After his release he joined Charles II. at Bnissels and then at lireda. At the .. Restoration he rode with the King in his tri\un])hant entry into London. Ite was nnide \''ice-Chand)erlain, Privy Coun- cillor and Treasurer of the N^avy, and was an active member of the House of Commons. He was also, after the resigna- : tion by the Duke of York of the office of fligh Admiral, made ' one of the Commissioners of Admiralty. Afterwards he was a Lord of the Committee^ of Tradt- and N'ice-Treasurer Qf Ireland. While the King was pre]>aring to confer a peerage on him he died, in 1070, and, in recognition of his great ser- vices, the King authorized his wi<l()W and youngt^st children to "enjoy their precedency and ])re-eminency as if Sir Oiiorge had actually been created a Baron."

, Besides being a Lord Proprietor of Candina, Sir George Carteret and John, Lord Berkeley, were, by the gift of the

25

Duke of York, Proprietors of ]^[e\v Jersey, so called in recog- nition of the gallant defense of the Island (if Jersey.

The wife of Sir George Cartei-et was a daughter of his uncle, Sir Philip Carteret. She was a nohle wunian. When, ou a visit to London, she saw the vileness of the society ahout the court, she at once turned her hack on its \vicke<luess and retired to the purer air of her Channel, island. Her name, Elizabeth, was given to a flourishinii, city iu*Xe\v Jersey. Their oldest son, Phili]), was a brilliant sohlier for the King in the civil war. lie married Jemima, dauglitcf of the illustrious Edward Montague, the first Karl of Sandwich, and served under him in the Dutch war. In the great sea fight in 1672, in Southwold Bay (Solbay), he refustnl to desert his father-in-law's shi]) and died with him. His eldest son, I-X)rd George (^arterct, married Grace, daughter of John Gran- ville, Earl of Path, and was the father of Sir John Carteret, Earl of Granville.

Sir George Carteret was a strong, true, brave man, loyal to his convictions through all vicissitudes.'

The seventh Proprietor was Sir John (\)lleton, Knight and Baronet. He was a valiant fighter /or the King in the civil war, reaching the rank of colonel of a regiment, which he raised in ten days. He expended out of his own means $200,000, and lost more than this amount by seijucstration. After the ruin of the royal cause he emigratcHl to Harbadoes, and for some time aided in keeping the island true to the King. At the llestoration he rei'eived the iionor of knight- hoo<l. He did not live long after the sec-ond charter was

26

granted, dying in 16G0, the first of all his eo-Pro]n'ietur.<, and was succeeded by his son, Sir Peter. Another sun, Thomas, Avas a prominent mercliant of Barbndoes and aided in the settlement of South Carolina. Still another sou was Gov- ernor of Carolina in 10S(>. iV sea-coast county S(mth of Charleston and an obscure post-othce in A'orth Carolina per- petuate the name of the gallant soldier and muniticent royal- ist, the seventh Lord Proprietor.

I^lie last named Lord Pro])rietor was Sir William Berkeley, a younger brother of John, I^rd Berkeley. Lie obtained the degree of faster of Arts at Oxford Univerjiity, and, after traveling on the continent, became an ofticer in the household of King Charles I. lie became a devotee of the muses, pub- lishing a tragi-comcnly called ''The Lost Lady." lie was sent to Virginia as Governor in 1041, and during the civil war kept his province so loyal to the King that it gained the title of "Old Dominion." After the execution of the King he offered Charles 11. an asylum in the wilds of the new world. When forced to surrender to the power of the Commonwealth he lost his office but was permitted to reside in Virginia. At the Kestoration he was again made Governor. As he Ixjcame older he became stern and severe, writing to Lord ArlingtiDn in 16G7 that age and infirmities had withered his desires and. hopes. lie suppressed the "Bacon Bebellion" with cruelty, the first Governor of the Albenuirle country, William Drum- mond, being one of his victims. The oft-tpioted saying of Charles li., "The old fool has taken more lives in that naked eounti7 than I for the murder of my father," is accepted as

27

authentic. A royal proclamation was issued censuring his conduct. He was of autocratic temjDer. He allowed no criti- cism of his conduct. His opponents charged that he was too fond of gain — that he refused to tight with hostile Indians l>ec^iuse war interfered with a profitable fur trade iu which he had a pecuniary interest. After the colhqjsc of ihe rebel- lion he returned to England, was refused an autiieiice with the Iving, and his brother, John, Ix)rd Berkeley, stated that the insult contributed to his death in 1GT7. He was en- tombed, as we see in Haywood's excellent history of Governor William Tryon of North Carolina, in a vault in a church in Twickenham, about twelve miles from I>)ndon. In an ad- joining church are the tombs of Governor and J.ady Mar- garet Tryon, his wife. It is remarkable that when his vault was opened the body of Sir William Berkeley was not in a coffin but enclosed in lead beaten into the shape of his body, showing the form of his features, hands, feet, and even nails. This is stated* on the authority of Oobbett's iMemorials of TAvickenham.

Notwithstanding that in his old age his rage at being ignorainiously driven from Jamestown^ his capital, and at its destruction by fire by the forces of Bacon, drove hiiu, to what in our age is considered unnecessary cruelty, Berkeley had many good qualities. Governor Ludwell wrote of him: ''He was pious and exemplary, sober in conversation, prudent and just in peace, diligent and valiant in war." The honor of knighthood was bestoM-ed on him for his success in sub- duing the Indians. His hatred of Quakers was in accord-

28

ance with tlie ideas of his age, because they revolted against all clnircJi establishments, and tlie Chureli was part of the State. The laws rt^onnnended by him were as a rule wise and just. For a short while, under a})[X)intnient of the I>ords Proprietors, he was ])laced in charge of the inhabitants of the Albemarle country, and there was no complaint of his administration. In distrusting ])ul)lic schools and the print- ing press he was not behind his age. "Freedom ai the ])ress" in England did not exist until al>out twenty years after he wrote his thanks that Virginia was free fioin that jjcst. lie never lost his taste for ])olite literature, in his desk was found the manuscript of an un])nblished phiy calknl ''Cor- nelia."

Sir William had little rehitiunship to tlie Earls of Berke- ley, the owners of the famous Berkeley Oastle, where Edward II. was imprisoned and slain. They were of the Fitzhar- dinge family. The name in i*»[orth Carolina was given to a precinct of Allx^marle county, afterwards Percpiimans. Bisho|>elect Pettigrew, grandfather of General J. J. Petti- gTew, wrote about "old i^arkley," as the name was ])ronounced in old times, about a hundred years ago. The brothers, Jolm and William, were likewise honored by the name of counties in South Carolina and West Yirg-inia.

Under the Fiuidamental (N)nstitutions the Projn'ietors were to organize a Palatine's court. The Duke of Albemarle was, on 21st October, IGGl), elected the first Palatine, the highest officer, and afterwards, in order, John, Lord Berkeley ; Sir George Carteret; William, Earl of Craven; John, Earl of

29

Bath; John, \jon\ Cirauville; William, I»r(l Craven; Henry, Duke of Beaufort; J(.lin, Lord (\irteret, the hist Ixigiuning August 10, 1714.

The devolution of the shares of the eii^ht l^ords Proprietors M'ill now l)c traced, a task made easy by the researches of i\Ir. !Mc('rady, as will Ix^ seen in the twelfth chapter of his '\South Carolina under the Proprietary Government."

Clarendon's share was, after his exile and until his death, 111 1()T4. r(^presented hy his oldest son, Henry, Lord Corn- bury, who sueeeeded his father as seeond Karl of Cilarendon. lie sold it to Scth Southwell, jironouneed and <>enerally writ- ten Sothel, in KiSL On his death, in 101)4, by virtue of the })rovisions of the Fundamental Constitutions, the other Pro- ]>rietors sequestered his share and assigned it to Thomas Amy, who had been an active ai;ent in inducing settlers to emigrate to Carolina. Amy gave it to Nichoks Trott, who married Amy's daughter. Under the decree of the Court in (>1iancery, this share, and also that which once belonged to Sir William Berkeley, was sold, the two bringing al>out $4,500, to Hugh Watson as tnistee of Henry and James Ik^'tie. Clarendon's share was allotted to ''Honorable Javi<?s Bertie."

The Ihike of Albemarle, by his Avife, Anne, daughter of John enlarges, a farrier, left Christopher, a son, who died' in Hi88 without issue. John Granville, Earl of Bath, who acquired his share, died in 1701, and was succeeded by his son, John, b)rd Granville. Afterwards, in 1701>, Somerset, the Duke of Beaufort,, acquired the share and devised it to James Bortic and Doddington Greville, trustees for his .sons,

:^0

Henry Somerset, sl-coiuI Duke of Hcaufort, and (Mia]'l(\< Noel Somerset, a minor.

The Earl of Craven died in Kl^T witliout issue, and Wil- liam, Lord Craven, Ins iirand-ne})lie\v, succeeded liim, and left as his siieessdr \Villiani, I.»»rd Cj-aveii, his son.

Jolm, Lord Berkeley's, share (h'scended to his son, Cliarles, M'ho. died withoiu is.-ne, and then r.i lii> .>-ec(;nd sun, John, an admiral of great merit, \v1k» died at sea. As he trailed t»j pay his (]UOta accordioii,' to aiirecment lie forfeited his share to the other Proprietei-.-, who sold ii to dosejili lilakc, the (dder. On his ileath his stui. of the same name, sneeeeded to his rights.

The Karl et Sliafle.-hnry diid in exile in HIT'.) and was sueceedeil hy his son, Anlliony Ashley, the seeond Karl, who died in l(»i);> and wa.-^ sneeeeded hy the third Karl of the same name. The >hare aftt-rwards ve.^ted in his lirolher, ^lanriee, and after his death in Arehihald Ilntcheson, trustee for Tohn ("^otton. Jt a))}H'ai's from the Aet of Surrender that vSir John Tyrrell was likcAvise onee owner of this ])roj)rietorshi]).

The share of Sir (jlH>riie C^arteret descended in lOTi^ to his grandson of the .-ame name, who married Grace, daughter of John Granville, Karl of Bath. After his death in 1095 he was succeeded hy his minor son, Jolm, Lord C^irteret. Until the maturity of this son his share was represented hy hi^ grandfather, the h^arl of Bath.

Sir John Colleton's share (h'seended in KlOii to his son.. Sir Peter, who died in 1(!5M, and was sneeeeded \)\ his son. Sir John Colk-ton, tlj(-n under age.'

i

31

Tlicrc was iniicli dii^pute about Sir William Berkeley's sjiare. Ife devised it, in 1077, to liis wiili'W, who had been the wife of Goveraor Samuel Stevens, and wiiu afterwards married Governor Philip i.udwell. Before the latter mar- riage, however, she sold it, in 1081, to Th<jmas Arehdale, son of John Arehdale. After her marriag-e she and her hus- band eonveyed it Hgnin, in 1GS2, tliis time -to Thomas Amy, in trust for four Pro]>rietors, Allx>marle, CarK-ni, Craven and Colleton. In 101)7 these four, or their sueecssors, re- quested William Thornburg to take the ])la('e of Amy, whieli was done, although Amy hail the legal title, and in 1705 sold it to John Arclulale. Arehdale eonveyed it to John Danson. Litigation ensued, resulting in the sale of this sliai'c, together with that of Clarendon, to Hugh Watson, as trustee for Henry and dames Bertie, as has been explained Ik retofore. After over sixty years of eareless, -neghcvf ul and ever bad government by the Lords Proprietors, having reeeived little profit, the owners of seven of the shares determined to sell all their intere*sts to the Crown for £2,500 eaeh, and £500 each for arrears of rent due by those who had purchased land from them. The sale was perfected by act^of Parliament in the sec- ond year of King George II., A. D. 1729, entitled **Au act for establishing an agreement with seven of the Loi'ds Proprie- tors of Carolina for the surrender of theii' title and inter(?st in that ]m)vince to his Majesty." In thi> tlic uiantors and their interests are thus described: The j)art, share, interest and estate <'f the Earl of Clarendon is vestc(l in Honorable James I^ertie of the county of ]yiiddle>ex; tliat of iln- Duke of

i

OS

Allx'iiiarlo in Henry, Duke of Hcant'ort, and tlic said James Bertie, and Ilomtrable Doddington Oreville of tlie county of Wiltz, devisees of the late Duke of l>eaufort, in trust for the present Duke of J3!eaufort an«l liis infant brother, (^harles Noell Somerset; tliat of the Earl of Craven in tlic present William, Earl of Craven; that of riohn, I^ord Berkeley, in Joseph lilake of the })rovinee of Sonth C^u'ijlina ; that of Lord Ashley (Earl Shafteshury) in Archibald Ilutcheson of the Midillt Temple, l»nd(m, in trust for .John (\)tton (4" the ]\liddle Temple; that of the late Sir John ('olietou in the present Sir .John (\)lleton of Exmouth of the county of Devon ; that of Sir William Berkeley iii the Honorable Ifenry Bertie of the county of Bucks, Estpiire, or in J\Iary J)an- son of the county of ^liddlesex, widow, or in Elizaln'th jVIoor of Tendon, widow, some or one of them. It thus ap])ears that the share of the doughty warrior, Sir William Berkeley, gave as much trouble to the lawyers as he did to the fidlowers of Bacon.

John, Jjord f\irteret, re-fused to surrender his share, but became tenant in common with tlfe King, owuing one-eighth undividwl interest. The right of government was, however, conceded to the (Vown. • *

Some of the successors to the first lx)rds Pro])rietors de- sei*ve special notice.

Henry Hyde, b:>rd Cornbury, the second Earl of (^laren- don, was son of the great Earl and brother-in-law of James II. He was elevated to the office of Lord l^rivy Seal in 1085, and then of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Being, like

38

his father, a staunch lueniber of the (/hiucli of Kii^h^nd, he siirroiulored all his opiiartunities foi- jiTcatiicss by rctusing to aid Jaincs II. in piittiiig Eiig-laiid luidcr Roiiian Catholicisiii. lie ^vas dismissed from all his oHiecs. He iutri^uiied, however, for the restoration of James, and was thrown for awhile into the Tower by William III. He never held otfiee afterwards. Southwell (Sothel) was of excellent faniily, came to the Albemarle country, was made GuveriK.r, hut behaved so ne- fariously that he was banislu'd by the As.M"nd>ly. lie then was Governor of Carolina lOUO-'iH hy virtiu^ of h\> Proprie- torship, and displayed much exe^-utivc ability, a.^ Mr. Mc- Crady shows.

Nicholas Trott was ])robably father of tin- very able but rather un])riuci])led Chief Justice of Carolina of the same name.

Henry and James B;'itie were of noble blood, near rela- tives, probably sons, of the Karl of Abiniidon.

John Granville, PTarl of l>ath, was sncceetled by his son, John, l>ord Granville, in 1701, who was a strong (;hnrclanan, and as Palatine endeavored ineli'ecttndly fo exclude from the Legislature all except members of the Ghui-ch of Kngland. He must not be confounded with Jfthn, \j)V(\ Carteret, after- wards Earl Granville, s<m of his sister, Lady (iracc, wife of the second Sir Gtorg-e Carteret.

Henry Somerset, first Duke of Beaufort, was a royalist in the civil war, but after the death of (Miarles I. retained good relations with Oomwell He was made Manpiis of Worces- ter and Privy Councillor, and afterwanls Dnkc of Ik'aufort.

il

of Ik

I>

34:

He was descendod from Edward III., tliroujili doliii of Gaunt, and lived in most ])rincely style. Two Imndrcd jteojde were feasted at bis nine tables every day.

T^rd Jolin Tyrrel is said to bave Ik'Cmi a lineal deseendant of the Walter Tyrrel \vlio was accused of sbootinir Kiuii Wil- liam Eufus.

The second E^rl of Shaftesbury was of no force. The tliird was a distina'uisbed scholar, and author of ''Characteristics."

Joseph l^lake was probably of the family of one of Eng- land's most eminent and worthy seauieu, TJi^bert lilakc. lie was Governor of Carolina in 1G1)4 f(u- a fi'w mouths, and Deputy Governor under Archdale in KiUO to bis death in 1700. The surrender to the (^rown was uuide i)\- bis sou of the same name.

John Archdalewas appointed by the Proprietors Governor of Carolina in 1004 and continued actively in otHce for two years. He published a Ixjok entitled ''A New Description of that Fertile and Pleasant Province of Carolina, with a Brief Account ftf its Discovery and Settling, and tlie Govern- ment thereof to the Time, with several UemarkabU- Passages of Divine Providence during my Time. By John Archdale, late Governor of the same. London. vPrinted in 1707. '' It is not of much value. His Quaker ])rinci])les did not ])revent

lis acceptance of a barony

)f 48,000 acres and the titles of

Landgi'ave and Governor. He was diligent in bis office and a good man of business. The laws which were |)as«ed at his instance appear to have been wise. Some of his posterity are citizens of North Carolina, descended from bis datighter Ann,

34

He was descended from Edward III., throiigli dolin of Gaunt, and lived in most princely style. Two Inmdrcd })eople were feasted at bis nine tables every day.

Lord Jolm Tyrrel is said to liave been a lineal descendant of the Walter Tyrrel wlio was accused of sliootinir Iving Wil- liam Eufus. i The second Earl of Shaftesbury was of no force. The tliird

I was a distinguished scholar, and author of ''Characteristics." [ Joseph Blake was probably of the family of (n\v of Eng-

I land's most eminent and wonhy seamen, IJobert 15hike. lie I was Governor of Carolina in 1G94 for a few months, and i Deputy Governor under Archdale in ll)9() to his death in I 1700. The surrender to the C^rown was imide In- his son of I the same name.

John Archdale was appointed by the Proprietors Governor L of Carolina in 1094 and continued actively in otlice for two years. He published a Ixjok entitled "A New Description of that Fertile and Pleasant Province of Carolina, with a Brief Account of its Discovery and Settling, and tlie Govern- ment thereof to the Time, with several Uemarkable Passages of Divine Providence during my Time. By John Archdale, ' late Governor of the same. London. ^Printed in 1707.'' It is not of much value. His Quaker ])rinciples did not prevent his acceptance of a barony of 48,000 acres and the titles of Landgi-ave and Governor. He was diligent in his office and a good man of business. The laws Avhich were passed at his instance appear to have been wise. Some of his posterity are citizens of North Carolina, descended from his daughter Ann,

who married Eiiiiiiainiel Lowe. Anioiiii- tlioiii was tlu- wife of William Hill, for many years Secretary of State.

Tlie most conspienous of tlie later Pro])rietors was Jolm, J.ord (\irteret, who, on the death of his mother, Grace, ^'is- eoiiiitess of Carteret and Countess oi Clranvillc, in 1744, he- came E^rl of GranviUe and Viscount Carteret.

He was a man of hrilliant talents and \'aricd acquirements. His knowledge of the classics was so extensive and thorough that Dean Swift said that he carried away fi'om Oxford more Greek, L,atin and philosojthy than ])roi)erly hecanie a jx-rson of his rank. He was distingui>lied for his hrilliant speeches in behalf of Whig doctrines and the Hanoveritm dynasty. He was thoi-onghly versed in the hist(jry of luir()])e and the political questions of his day. As Amhassadur to Sweden in 171i>, Secretary of State in 1721 and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1724-';30, he had eminent success. He joined the party opjiosed to Walpole, consisting of William Pitt, PuL teney and others, and was for ten years a thorn in his side. On Walpole's fall,* in 1742, he became again Secretary of State nnder I^rd Wilmington, but resigned in 1744. Two years later he was offered the chief })lace in the ministry, but was nnable to form a government able to comnnunl a majority in the House of Commons. In 1751 he Nvas Pr(-i(l( nt of tlie Privy Council, and so continued until his death in 17()->.

The greatness of Earl (iranville was marred by want of steadiness of purpose, the consequence of deep drinking, a ., vice carried away from Oxford with his (4re(4; and Latin

3G

and practiced ever afterward, r'liesterfield says that ho ''made himself master of all the modern hmgna^'es. " ^ His character may he summed U]) in nice precision, (piick decision and nnbonnded ])resnm])tion." lie professed t(j he a ^'ood Chnrclnnan, init looked on Chrisianity merely as a civil institution. For exani])le, he was o])})<'.sed to the conversion of negroes because they would not he ohedi(Mit slaves, and ar<i;ued that it uould he a calamity to the tish interests of England for the PojK' and Italians iivnerally to heconic Protes- tants. He deprecated higher learning in the coh»nies hicause it W(mld fill the minds of the youth with notions of inde- ]iendenee.

Karl Granville married Frances, only daughter of Sir Rob- ert Worsley, by whom he had tliree sons tmd live <langhters, and after her death. Lady Sophia, daughter of Thomas, Karl of Pomfret, by whom he had one daughter.

His refusal to sell his share to the (Vown could not have been caused by tinancial ccmsiderations, as he was notoriously contemptuous of money. The distinction of lu'lng lord of a territory as large as England prt>l)ably fascinated him.

. Probably because; he was 0]i]X)sed to the Prinu^ Minister, Walpole, his share was not laid off in severalty to him until 1744, after he succwded to the Karldom, when he was a member of the Government as Secretai-y of State. To him was allotted in severalty all the territory fnnn the Atlantic to the Mississippi, from the latitude of 35° 34' to the Vir- ^ ginia line, excepting, of course, what had been already sold. This princely domain was confiscated at the Revolution.

3'

After the Treaty of Peace and tlie adnption of the C'onstitu- tion of tlie United States liis lieirs bi-ouij,ht a test suit in the f'ircuit (^ourt against William Ivichardson Davie and Josiali Collins for the establishment of iheir title. They failed and the appeal to the Sn])reme (^)urt of the United States was dro])ped. Ft is said that they received tVcim the British Gov- ernment compensation amounting to tdxtut $1^50,000.

References:— Dictionary of National Biography; Chalmers' Dictionary vf Biography; English Histories; Haywoo<l's Life of Tryon; McCrady's History of South Carolina; North Carolina Colonial Records; Second Revised Statutes.

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North Carolina Bookllet

GREAT EVENTS IN • NORTH CAROLINA HISTORY

THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.

GREAT EVENTS IN NORTH CAROLINA HISTORY.

VOL. IV.

The Lords Proprietors of the Province' of Carolina.

Kemp P, Battle. LL.D.

The Battle of Ramsour's Mill.

Major William A. Graham.

Historic Homes in North Carolina — Quaker Meadows.

Judge A- C. Avery.

Rejection of the Federal Constitution in 1788, and its Subsequent

Adoption. ^ Associate Justice Henry G. Connor.

North Carolina Signers of the National Declaration of Independence: William Hooper, John Penn, Joseph Hewes.

Mrs. Spier Whitaker. Mr. T. M. Pittman. Dr. Walter Sikes. Homes of North Carolina — Tlie Hermitage, Vernon Hall.

Colonel William H. S. Burgwyn. Prof. Collier Cobb. Expedition to Carthagena in 1740.

Chief Justice Walter Clark. ITie Earliest English Settfement in America.

Mr. W. J. Peele.

The Battle of Guilford Court House.

Prof. D. H. HilL

Rutherford's Expedition Against the Indians, 1775.

Captain S. A. Ashe.

The Highland Scotch Settlement in North Carolina.

Judge Jamea C. MacRae.

Governor Thomas Pollock.

Mi^. John Hinsdale.

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VOL. iV JUNE, 1904 No. 2

THE

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PREFACE.

The object of the Nokth Carolina Booklet is to erect a suitable memorial to the patriotic women who composed the ''Edenton Tea Party."

These stout-hearted women are every way worthy of admi- ration. On October 25, 1774, seven montlis before^the defi- ant farmers of Mecklenburg had been aroused to the point of * signing their Declaration of Independence, nearly twenty months before the declaration made by the gentlemen com- posing the Vestry of St. Paul's Church, Edenton, nearly ! two years before Jefferson penned the immortal National I Declaration, these daring women solemnly subscribed to a I document affirming that they would use no article taxed by England. Their example fostered in the whole State a deter- mination to die, or to be free.

In beginning this new series, the' Daughters of the Pevo- lution desire to express their most cordial thanks to the for- mer competent and imtiringly faithful Editors, and to ask for the new management the hearty support of all who are interested in the brave deeds, high thought, and lofty lives of the North Carolina of the olden days.

Mrs. D. H. Hill.,'

CONTENTS VOLUME IV.

The Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina^

Kemp P. Battle. LL.D.

The Battle of Ramsour's Mill.

Major William A. Graham.

Historic Homes in North Carolina — Quaker Meadows.

Judge A. C. Avery. .»

Rejection of the Federal Constitution in 1788, and its Subsequent Adoption.

Associate Justice Henry G. Connor.

North Carolina Signers of the National Declaration of Independence: William Hooper, John Ponn, Joseph Hewes.

Mrs. Spier WhiUker. Mr. T. M. Pittman, Dr. Walter Sikes.

Homes of North Carolina — The Herinitage, Vernon Hall. Colonel William H. S. Burgwyn. Prof. Collier Cobb.

Expedition to Carthugena in 1740.

Chief Justice Walter Clark.

The Earliest English Settlement in America.

Mr. W. J. Peele.

The Battle of Guilford, Court House.

Prof. D. H. Hill. . ■

Rutherford's Expedition Against the Indians, 1775.

■ Captain S. A. Ashe.

The Highland Scotch Settlement in North Carolina.

Judge James C. MacRae.

Governor Thomas Pollock.

Mrs. John Hinsdale. » '

THE BATTLE OF RAMSAUR'S MILL.

JUNE 20, 1^60.

BY WILLIAM A. GRAHAM, (Major on Staff of Adjutant General of North Carolina).

I , Sir Henry Clinton, after the surrender of Charleston in I May, 1780, regarded the Royal autliority as restored in |- Georgia and South Carolina, and, leaving Lord Cornwallis in ! command with a force, which was regarded, with the antici- j pated re-inforcements from friends in upper South Carolina I and North Carolina, as sufficient to subdue North Carolina, 1 sailed with his main army to New York. I Lord Cornwallis' plan of campaign was to move with the

main body of Regulars by a central route through Charlotte I and Salisbury, and to send a small force under a competent I commander to his right to organize his friends in the upper I Cape Tear section, and another force to his left to embody the adherents of Britain in upper South Carolina and in Tryon County; to re-inforce his main anny and also to protect his outposts from the attacks of McDowell, Cleavland and others aided by the "over the mountain men," as those beyond the Blue Ridge were called. The crops of the previous year being consumed, he delayed his movement until that of 1780 could be harvested and threshed. Tl\e section around Ramsaur's Mill was then, as it is now, very iine for wheat. He sent

M

('-,

IE?'

.«r

11

IIISTOJ^Y OF lUvVTOX COUNTY

213

\v(l. ;it Chairipion Hills, printd. sergeant, then second lieuttnant June ]0, lSt;-i. printd. tirst lieutenant September 23, 1864, \vd. at battle of Cedar Creek, Vii-ginia,

Seeond Lieutenant John Logan, e. first sergeant August 1. 1862. prmtd. secojid lieutenant :\[areh 10, 1863, kid. battle of Chani- piun Hills. Mny 16. 18b3.

Seeond Lieutenant Abraham Rose, e. as sergeant August 8. 1862, pnntd. seeond lieutenant June 10. 1863, disd. July 1^, 1863 as first sergeant.

Seeond Lieutenant Wm. 11. ^lurlin. e. as private August 8.

1862, wd. Cedar Creek, Virginia, eom. seeond lieutenant Jidy 18. 1865, m. 0. as. first sergeant.

Sergeant Chas. I. Barbour, e. August 8. 1861, di.sd. Julv 13.

1863. disab.

Sergeant A. V/. Franeis. e. xXr.gust 9. 1861.

Sergeant Jos. White, e. August 5. 1861, kid. September 19. 1861. at battle of VTinchester, Vii-giiiia.

Corporal James Lehew, e. August 10, 1861, disd. December 8. 1863. . . ,

Corporal E. F. :\lurphy. e. -July 26. 1861. died July 4. 1863. at I\h*mpliis.

Corporal Geo. P>. ilatlield. e. August 11. 1861, di.sd. .March 2, 1863.

Corpoj'al E. Smelser. e. August 4. 1861.

Corporal Wm. L. Parmet(>i-. e. Aug-ust 8. 1861. wd. at Champ- ion Hills.

Corpoi-al A. G-. Green, e. xXugu.st 8, 1861. died at ^lempliis. June 30, 1863.

Corporal A. Vi . Doaj'e. e. July 31. 1^61. wd. at Cedar Creek.

Cor]>oral E. Ellysou. e. July 21. bStil. died at Helena, Arka.n- sas. :\rareh 29. lSii3.

Corporal E. 1>. Felker. e. August 6. 1861. wd. at Cedar Creek.

Corporal H. M. AVorth. e. August 5. 1^61. wd. at Champion ]][]]<. Winehestei- ;iiid Cedar Creek.

^ru.^ieian l^it. H. Skitlington, e. July 26. 1861.

:Musirian AVm. P. .McGiiir.-. e. .)uly 12. 1861, died at Carrol- t(»i!. Louisiana, August 28. 1863. • ,

Anderson, Jolni. e. August 10. 1862, di^-d at St. Louis. June 23. 1863.

Rutterfield. Jolui. e. Aul'u^I 7. 1862.

6

Colonel John Moore into this country to inform the people that he was coming and would reward and protect the loyal, but would inflict dire punishment ui)on his opponents; for them to secure the wheat crop and be in readiness, but to make no organization until he should direct.

THE TOKIES.

Moore had gone from this section and joined the British anny some time previous and had been made Lieutenant-Colo- nel of Hamilton's Tor^^ regiment. He had been an active 'Tory and committed many depredations upon the Whigs before his departure, and is es|x^cially na;ned.\vith others in Laws of 1771), chapter 2, and of 1782, chapter G, as one ^vhose property was to be confiscated. In those days there were no post-offices or countiy stores for the congregating of the people. The flouring mills were tlie points of assembling, and the roads usually named for the mills to whicli they led.

Derick Ramsaur, who was among the first Gennan (gen- erally called Dutch) emigrants to Tryon County, erected his mill prior to 1770 on the west bank of Clark's Creek, where the Morganton road bridge at Lincolnton now spans the stream.

The German population in North Carolina, who mostly came here from Pennsylvania, were, during the Revolution- ary war, generally favorable to Great Britain. Some have attributed this to the fact that the "reigning" family (Bruns- wick) was Geraian and that George was King of Hanover as well as of Great Britain. However this may have been

in the lievoliition, it does not seem to have been in evidence during the liegulation troubles. After the battle of Ala- mance, Governor Tryon wrote th3 Secretary of State that the counties of Mecklenburg, Tryon and western liowan beyond Yadkin were contemplating hostilities and that he had sent General Wadell with the militia of those counties and some other troops to require the inhabitants to take the oath of allegiance. One of the points at which they were arssembled for this puriK)se was Ramsaur's Mill. This would hardly have been the case if the people of this region had not been in sympathy with the Regulators. Having taken the oath of allegiance to King George, it was not strange that they should have felt inclined to regard its obli- gations, especially when those who were urging them to t^ke up arms against tlie King were the very men who had admin- istered the oath to them. General Rutherford, Colonel ISTeal, Captains Alexander, Shaw and others were at that time offi- cers of the militia. They had sympathized with the Regula- tors on account of conmion wrongs and. oppressions which they suffered, and kiiew^ what the evils were which they wished remedied. JSTow the cause of action is taxation, about which they had little interest and perhaps less knowledge. The Ger- mans, as a race, are a confiding, trusting people to those in whom they have confidence and who act candidly with them, but they seldom live long enough to forgive any one who deceives them or who acts so as to forfeit their confidence. At this time the cause of Amenca was in a depressed state, and many loyal hearts lost hope. It is not improbable that

at least some of these people anticipated ^vith pleasure the time they should behold Griffith Ivutherford and his comrades with bared heads and uplifted hands affirming their loyalty to King George and repeating the role they had compelled them to act in 1771; at any rate, they Avore not inclined at their behest to violate the oath they had forced them to swear. The friends of Britain in Tryon County were not confined to the Germans; there were probably as large a per cent, of the English Tories. Neither ]\loore nor Welch were Gennan. Colonel Moore returned to the vicinity and appointed a meet- ing for June 10th at his father's (Moses Moore) residence on Indian Creek, seven miles from Ramsaur'g. The place of the "Tory Camp" is still pointed out, and is on the Gaston side of the county line on the plantation Avhich Avas owned by the late Captain John II. Roberts. Forty men met him on that day. He delivered Lord ComwalH.s' message, but before they dispersed a messenger informed them that Major Joseph McDowell (who was' one of the most ubiquitous officers of the North Carolina militia during the* Revolution) was in the neighborhood endeavoring to capture some of the men who w^ere present. Moore, having a force double in number to that of McDowell, sought him and followed him to South Mountains, but did not overtake him. He then dismissed the men with directions to meet at Ramsaur's Mill on the 13th of the month. About two hundred assembled. Nicholas Welch, who had lived just above Moore on Indian Creek, went from this vicinity eighteen months prior to this and joined the British army. He appeared dressed in a new unifoknn

and exhibiting a considerable quantity of gold coins, repre- senting himself as Major of Hamilton's Regiment. He urged the men to embody at once, telling' of the fall of Charleston, Buford's defeat and the bad condition of affairs for the Ameri- cans everywhere. By his narratives and judicious use of his guineas he prevailed over Moore and it was determined to organize at once. Eleven hundred men had assembled at Bamsaur's, to which Ca])tains Murray and Whitson of Lower Ci'eek, Burke (Caldwell) (^ounty, added two hundred on the 18th. Colonel Moore, although the embodying was contrary to his advice, assumed command. He led a force to capture Colonel Hugh Brevard and Major Jo. ]\IcI>owell, who came into the vicinity with a small company of Whigs, but they evaded him. On the 19th, with his command of thirteen hun- dred men, he occupied a ridge three hundred yards east of the mill and which extended east from the road leading from Tuckasegee Ford to Ramsaur's Mill, wdiere it joined the road from Sherrill's Ford, and placed his outposts and pickets in advance, the pickets being six hmidred 'yards from the main force, and upon the Tiiskasegee Road. The ridge had a gentle slope and was open, except a few trees, for two hundred yards; its foot was bounded by a glade, the side of which was covered with bushes. The glade was between the Tuckasegee and Sherrill's Ford Roads.

THE WIIIGS.

(

j General Rutherford, learning of the advance of Lord Raw- I don to Waxliaw Creek, ordered a portion of his command, the ^ militia of the Salisbury District, Rowan, ^Mecklenburg and

10

Tryon Counties, into service for ti tour of three months. Tliia force rendezvoused at Keese's plantation, eighteen miles north- east of Charlotte, June 12th. Learning that the British had returned to Hanging Rock, General Eutherford advanced ten miles to Mallard Creek, and on the l-ith organized his forces for the campaign. This point on Mallard Creek is several times mentioned in Revolutionary pajiers as occupied hy Whig forces. Ilearinii' that the Tories Avere embodying in Tryon County, he ordered Colonel Francis Locke, of Rowan, and Major David Wilson, of Mecklenburg, to raise a force in northern Mecklenburg and west Rowan to disperse the Tories, as he did not think his present force coftld undertake this task until Lord ]{a\vdon's intentions were developed. On the 18th Major Wilson, with sixty-tive men, among whom were Captains Patrick Knox and \yilliam Smith, crossed the Catawba at Toole's Ford, about fourteen miles from Charlotte, near where ]\Ioore's Ferry was for many years and Allison's Ferry is now\ The ford has been seldom used since 1865, and has been abandoned' as a crossing for many years. It is three miles below Cowan's Ford. Taking the Beattie's Ford Road, he soon met Major Jo. McDowell with twenty-five men, among whom were Captain Daniel McKis- sick and John Bowman. [Major ^IcDowell, who had been moving about the country awaiting re-inforcements, probably' informed him of the position occupied by the Tories. These troops, in order to unite with the forces being raised by Colo- nel Locke, kept the road up the river, passing Beattie's Ford, and three miles above. Captains Falls, Houston, Torrente,

11

Reid and Caldwell, who had crossed at McEweii's Ford with forty men, joined them. JMoEwen's Ford was near where McConnell's Ferry \\as, up to 1870, but kith ford and ferry have long been abandoned.

Marching the road that is now the Xewton Road, past Flem- ing's Cross Roads, they camped bn Mountain Creek at a place called the ''Glades," sixteen miles from Ramsaur's. Here, on the 10th, they received additional forces under Colonel Locke, amounting to two hundred and seventy men, among whom were Captains Brandon, Sharpe, William Alex- ander, Smith, Dobson, Sloan and Hardin. Colonel Locke had collected most of this force as he procopded up the river and had crossed with them at Sherrill's Ford, which is used to this day, and where General ^lorgan crossed the following January. The whole force now amounted to about four hundred — McDowell's, Fall's and Brandon's men (perhaps one hundred) being mounted. A council of war was con- vened to determine plan for action. The proximity of the Tories and the small number of the Whigs made it necessary for quick movemeiat, as the Tories would probably move against them as soon as they learned the true condition. Some proposed to cross the river at Sherrill's Ford, six miles in the rear, and to hold it against the Tories. It was replied to this that a retreat would embolden the Tories and that the re-inforcement to the Tories, who already outnumbered them three to one, wonld probably be greater than to them. Then it was suggested to move down the river to join Rutherford^ mIio was about forty-five miles distant. It Vv'as objected to

20

IIISTOKY OF I5ENT0N COUNTY

tuwiisliii). and also (»!i \hv rond crossing the iniddl(,' of section 24, of till' lownslii}) of Towa.

Ahnndanec of sand, well adapted for use in mortar, eeinent or plasle]'. occurs at a number of {ilarcs in the county. Larjie ([uantitii's are aniuially talicn froin the Hood plain of the Cedar river, nv.n the larjz'er of its trihutai-y streams. At Vinton the supply for Iniildinf; purposes is drawn almost exclusively from tlie rive7''s bed v.ithin its limits. Hills of sand of requisite purity and quality for general ])urposes occur in Polk, Taylor, Harrison, Iowa and Leroy to\ms}ii])S. The sand used at Shellsburj; is taken from the chaimel of l>'-;ir cT-eek close at hand. Tlie beds of the Iowa ri^er and of Prairie creek contain a large auKnuit of com- mon, clean sand, which supplies the demand of a large area in the southern portion of th'^ county.

Clays .vxd Co.\h.

Clays siiilabh' foi- IIm- ma]uifa<'ture of comuinu brick and draiii tile are widely di-.tri})ut(Hl ovcj th'^ are;! under diseu.^sion. The only deposits utilized aie the loess and alluvium. For the production of the ch'^'apcr grades of conujion cla>' iroods these beds fui-nihh a suppl\ of raw material that is e.\cellent in quality, inexhaustible in ([uanti^y. arid inexpeiisivily workeil. Tlie common kinds of clay wares fi'OTn clay have been produced on a small scale at Vinton, ShelLsbiU'g. Cai'i'ison. Norway, lielle Plaine and Newhrdl, but probal)]y at no tinie has the total output of bri('k and tile in Benton, county exceeded ^roO.OOO annually. The only considerable factory now in operation is tliat at Gai-rison. the clay being taken from the ilood plain of IJinkle creel;. In this case, as at other points, the output is solely foi' local consumption.

Although it is imj'ossible to find any de{)osits of coal that would be ('f eonunercial importance, in Benton couiity. about ten years ago a shaft was sunls' by a ])rospector in section 14 of Bentou township, on the south bank of the Cedar j'iver at a ]H)int locally known as Barr's BlutV. It is reported by local authorities that a little coal v.as actually found at a dc])th of some tliirt}- feet ; but the enterprise was soon abandoned. Of course there is no possibility of tinding seams of workal)lc coal in strata of Devonian age. ■ ■ . , ' -

n I.;,. ^'

12

this that nearly all the serviceable Whigs of this section were with them or llutherford, and this would leave their families unprotected and exposed to pillage by the Tories ; also the Tories might be in motion and they encounter them on the march. Then came the insinuation that these suggestions came from fear, or at least from unwillingness to meet the Tories, and a proposition to march during the night and attack the Tories early next morniug, as they would l)e igno- rant of their numbers and could be easih^^ routed. This had the usual effect; not many soldiers or other people can stand an imputation of cowardice. So this plan was adopted. Colonel James Johnston, who lived in Tryo« (Gaston) County neai' Toole's Ford, and who had joined Major Wilson when he crossed the river, was dispatched to inform General Ruther- ford of their action. Late in the evening they marched down the south side of Anderson's Mountain, "and taking the ''State" Road, stopped at th© Mountain Spring to arrange a plan of battle. It was agreed that Brandon's, Fall's and McDowell's men, being mounted, should open the attack, the footmen to follow, and every ihan, without awaiting orders, govern him- self as developments might make necessary as the fight pro- ceeded. The British having retired to Camden, General Rutherford determined to give his attention to Colonel Moore, On the 18th of June he marched to Tuckasegee Ford, twelve miles from Charlotte and twenty miles from liamsaur's. ' He dispatched a message to Colonel Locke, directing him to meet him with his couimand at General Joseph Dickson's, three miles from Tuckasegee (and Avhere Mr. Ural ^L Johnston,

13

a great gTandson of James JohiLston, now lives), on the even- ing of tlie lOth or morning of the :20th. That afternoon he moved to the Dickson phiee. The morning of the I'.tth was J wet, and fearing the anns might be ont of condition, at mid- day, when it cleared off, ho ordered them to be diseJiarged and examined. The tiring was heard in the adjacent county; the people thinking that the enemy were endeavoring to cross the river, volunteers came to re-inforce the Whigs. At the Catawba, Colonel William Graham, with the J.inculn County Kegiment, united with General Rutherford, whose connnand now numbered twelve hundred. Colonel Johnston reached General Rutherford about ten o'clock at night, who, thinking hi^ courier had informed Colonel lA)cke, waited until early next morning before moving, when he marched for Ramsaur's.

THE BATTLE, .

Leaving the mountain, Colonel Locke's force would follow the "State" Road until they came into what is now Buffalo ^ Shoal Road, then into Sherrill's Ford Road as it ran to Ram- i saur's ]\Iill. A mile from the mill they were met by Adam Reep with a small company, perhaps twenty. Reep was a noted ^Vliig, and although his neighbors generally were loyal to King George, he was leader of a few ]iatriots who were always ready to answer his call to arms. The story which tradition tells of his acts would make a base for a fine nar- rative of Revolutionary times. lie gave full account of the " Tory position, and further arrangements were made as to plan of attack. There are two roads mentioned iu General Gi;^-

14

ham's account of tliis battle in ''General Joseph Graham and his Eevolutionary Papers." He speaks of the roa.l, I. e„ Tuckasegee Road, and this road, /. e., the old or Slierrill's Ford Road, the track of which is still visible. They united at the western end of the ridge and just beyond the glade, l^e road at the right of the Tory position is now a cut eight feet or more deep; then it was on top of the ground. The Tories were on the right of the cavalry, who came the old road, and left of the infantry, who came the Tuckasegee Road— the center of the line being between the attacking parties. There seems to have been three attacking piirties : First, mounted • men, probably un<ler ]\rcDowell, on the qjd road; second, mainly infantry, under J.ocke, on the Tuckasegee Road, upon Avhich the Tory j)icket was placed, near where the I'iurton residence is now; third. Captain Hardin, who came over the hill where Lincolnton now stands, th^i through the ravine near McLoud's house and gained position on the right flank of the Tories.

^ The central party was formed, cavalry in front, infantry in two ranks in the Vear— they moved by flank. The cavalry

. discovering the picket, chased them to camp. :\rcDoweirs men had paished on and reached the enemy about tlie same time, and both parties, leaving the road, rode tip within thirty steps of the enemy and opened fire. The enemy were considerably demoralized at first, but seeing so few (not over one hundred) in the attacking party, rallied and poured such a volley into them that they retired through the infantry, some of whom

, joined them and never returned. .Most of the cavalry re-.

15

formeil and returned to the contest. Captain Bowman had been killed. Captain Falls, being mortally wounded, rode some two hundred yards and fell dead from his horse where the Sherrill's Ford Road turned down the liill. This s|X)t is still noted. The infantry, nothing daunted, pushed for- ward, and, coming to the end of the glade, began to form by what is now called "'by the right, front into line," and to open fire as each man Ciime into ixjsition. The six hundred yards pursuit had much disorganizeil their line: The Tories advanced down the hill and endeavored to disperse them before they could form. As the Whigs came on they filled gaps and ex- tended the line to their right and made it so hot that the enemy retreated to the top of the hill and a little beyond, so as to partly protect their bodies. The Whigs pursued them, but the fire was so deadly and their loss so heavy that they in turn retreated down the hill to tlie bushes "at the edge of the glade. The Tories again advanced half way down the ridge. In j the midst of the fight at this time Captain Hardin arrived

I at his position behind the fence on the right flank of the

j Tories and opened fire. Captain Sharpe had extended the

» line until he turned the left of the enemy, and his company

began firing from that direction (about where Mr. Roseman's barn now stands). The Tories, hard pressed in front, fell back to the top of the ridge, and, finding that they were still exposed to Hardin's fire on the right, as well as to that of Sharpe on the left, broke and fled down the hill and across the creek, manv beinc,- shot as thev ran.

When the Wliigs gained the hill they saw quite a force^of

16

the enemy over the creek near the mill and supposed the attack would he renewed. Formini^ line, they could only master eighty-six, and after earnest exertions only one hun- dred and ten could be paraded. Major Wilson and Captain William Alexander, of Tiowau, were dispatched to hurry General Rutherford forward ; they met his forces about where Salem Baptist Church now stands, six and a half miles from Lineolnton, on the old narrow-gaug"e railroad; Davie's Cav- alry was started at a tiallop and the infantry at quick-step. Within two miles they met men from the field, who told them the result. Wien the battle began tlie Tories who had no arms went across the creek. Captain Murray was killed early in the action; his and Whitson's men immediately fol- lowed. Colonel ^Aloore made his headquarters behind a locust- tree near the road. Upon his right flank becoming exposed to the galling fire of Hardin, he did not wiiit to see the end, and was joined by Major Welch in his change of base.

Captain Sluirixi's men, in deploying to the right, went be- yond the crest of the ridge (below the present Tioseman bam). Here, exposed to the deadly aim of the enemy's rifles, they advanced from tree to tree until they obtained a position en- filading the enemy, and with unerring aim picked olf their boldest officers. Captain Sharpe's brother placed his gim against a tree to 'Mraw a bead" on a Tory captain ; his arm was broken by a shot from the enemy and his gun fell to the ground. A wedl-directed shot from the Captain felled the Toi-y captain and contributed much to the speedy termination of the battle. General Graham says that at this end of the^

mttm hwm9

.t«

j]f

>

Tory line "one tree at the root of which tvvo brothers lay dead was grazed by tliree balls on one side and rwo on the other." Colonel Mo'j're. fearing pursnit. sent a dag of truce to pro- pose suspension of hostilities to bury the dead and care for the wounded; but ordered all footmen and poorly-mouuted men to leave for home at once. Colonel Locke, not wishing the oiemy to discover the paueirv- of his forces, sent Major James Rutherford (a son of the General, and who was killed at Eutaw) to meet the flag. In answer to the request of Moore, he demanded surrender in ten minutes ; the Jlag re- turned, when M«x^re and the fifty who remained with him immediately fled. Moore reached Comwalljs with about thirty followers, was put under arrest, threatened with court-martial for disobedience of orders, but was finally released.

In some instances this was a fight between neighbors and kindred, although there were not many Whigs in the Lincoln forces — the militia of the county being with Co-ionel Graham, who was with liUtherford.

In the thickest of the fight a Dutch Tory, seeing an ac- quaintance, said : '*How do you do, Pilly l I have knowed you since you was a little poy, and never knew no harm of you except you was a rebel.'' Billy, who was out for business and not to renew acquaintance, as his gun was empty^ clubbed it and made a pass at his frieid's head, who dodged and said : "Stop ! Stop ! I am not going to stand still and be killed like a damn fool, needer," and immediately made a lick at Billy's head, which he dodged. A friend of Billy whose gun was loaded put it to the Dutchman's side and shot him dead.

17

Toi"}' line ''one tree at the root of which two brothers lay dead was gi-azed by three balls on one side and two on the other." Colonel Moore, fearing pursuit, sent a flag of truce to pro- pose suspension of hostilities to bury the dead and care for the wounded; but ordered all footmen and poorly-mounted men to leave for home at once. Colonel Locke, not wishing the enemy to discover the paucity of his forces, sent Major James Rutherford (a son of the General, and who was killed at Eutaw) to meet the flag. In answer to the request of Moore, he demanded surrender in ten minutes; the flag re- turned, when Moore and the fifty who remained with him immediately fled. Moore reached Cornwalljs with about thirty foHow^rs, was put Tinder arrest, threatened with court-martial for disobedience of orders, but was finally released.

In some instances this was a fight between neighbors and kindred, although there were not many Whigs in the Lincoln forces — the militia of the county being with Colonel Graham, who was with Ivutherford.

In the thickest of the fight a Dutch Tory, seeing an ac- quaintance, said : '''How do you do, Pilly ? I have knowed you since you was a little poy, and never knew no harm of you except you was a, rebel." Billy, who was out for business and not to renew acquaintance, as his gun was empty, clubbed it and made a pass at his friend's head, who dodged and said : "Stop ! Stop ! I am not going to stand still and be killed like a damn fool, needer," and inunediately made a lick at Billy's head, which he dodged. A friend of Billy whose gun was loaded put it to the Dutchman's side and shot him dead.

18

Captain McKissick, who was shot through the slioulder early in tlie action, went over towards Lincolnton en route to a friend's. He met Abrani Keener, a Tory captain, but per- sonal friend, with ten companions, who had been to a neighbor- ing farm, and were returning to camp. His companions would have treated Captain McKissick badly, probably killed him ; but Keener took him prisoner and protected him. On reaching tlie camp, and seeing a good many strange faces with his acquaintances, who were prisoners. Keener said : ''Hey, poys, you seem to have a good many prisoners." The Whigs, by his speech, knew he was a Tory, and were going to shoot him and his companions, but Captain McKissick interfered, and by earnest appeal saved their lives.

Adam Keep, as part of the history of the battle, was accus- tomed to tell that the Tories took all his cattle, including his bull, and drove them to their camp ; that when the firing began the Tories soon began to pass his house, which was some three miles away, and it was not long Ix^fore "old John" ai)peared in the procession bellowing: '^'Lib-er-ty ! Lib-er-ty ! ! Lib- er-ty ! ! !" ''

There was no official report of the battle, consequently the exact niunber of casualties was never known. The badge of the Tories was a green pine twig in the hat. In the heat of battle some of these would fall out and others were thrown away, so that it could not be told to whicli side many belonged.

Fifty-six dead lay on the face of the ridge, up and down which the forces advanced and retreated. Thirteen of these

19

were of Captaiu Sharpe's Fourtli Creek (Statesville) Com- pany. ^Maiiy lx»dies lay scattered over the hill. The killed were seventy or more, forty of \vhom were Whigs. The "svounded were one hundred on each side, some of whom after- wards died from their wounds. iVmong the Whij^s killed were Captains Dobson, Falls, Armstrong, Smith, Sloan and Bowman. Captains McKissick and Jlouston were wounded. Some of the Whigs wore a })iece of white paper in their hats as a badge. Several of them were shot through the head. Many of the dead were buried on the lield. Wives, mothers, daughters and other kindred of the contestants came that afternoon and next morning to inquire for their friends. As they discovered them among the dead and dying, tliere were heart-rending scenes of distress and grief. Mrs. Falls came twenty-five mih^s on horseback, accompanied by her negro cook. Finding her gallant husband dead, she obtained a quilt from Mrs. lleinhardt, whose husband lived near the battle-ground, and carried his body across Sherrill's Ford and buried it with his kindred.

The troops engaged, except' Keep of Lincoln, and Major Wilson, Captains Knox and Smith of Mecklenburg, were from (what to 1777 had been) Rowan County. The officers' surnames were found among the militia officers of the coimty in the proceedings of the "Committee of Safety," of whicli many of them were members. Captain John Hardin's beat was along Lord Granville's line from Silver Creek in Burke to South Fork, and from these two points to the Catawba Biver. Captain Joseph Dobson was within it^ bounds. Much

20

the largest portion of the troops was from what is now Iredell County. Captain John Sloan was from Fourth Creek. I do not think all who are mentioned as captains held that position at this time; some may have been prior to and some became so aftenvard. No account was written until forty years had elapsed. There seems to have been but few com- mands given in the engagement; officers and privates acted as occasion required, and Ijoth sutfered severely.

This was a battle between the ancestors of the North Caro- lina Confederate soldier, and taking armament and surround- ings into consideration, is about a sample of what would have been witnessed in North Carolina in 18G1-'G5 if those who be- lieved the proper co\irse to pursue for redress of wrongs was to ^'fight in the Union" had refused to fight outside, or if Pet- tigrew's and Cooke's forces had been pitted against Lane's and McRae's. Tradition says Locke's" men got some liquor at ''Dellinger's Tavern" as they were going into the fight. This tavern stood on the present Eobinson block in Lincoln- ton. At that time Henry Dellinger kept a tavern seven miles from Lincolnton at a cross-road, where John B. Smith now lives. It was probably Rutherford's men en route to the battlefield w-ho ''took courage" at Bellinger's Tavern.

IMPORTANCE OF THE BATTLE.

This battle is but little known in history, yet is one of the most important in results and best fought of the Revolution. King's Mountain^ and Ramsaur's Mill at that time M'ere both in Lincoln County, and not twenty miles apart. If Moore

21

had oWyed Lord ('«ini\valli<, and delayed Qi'<raiiization imtil ' Ferguson advanced, he eouhl have re-iiiforecd liiiii with two thousand men. If the Whius had been defeated matters '• would have been in even worse condition. Ramsaur's Mill i was the first and most important ''act" in Kiiii>'s ^lountain. ' It destroyed Toryism in that section and causecJ Bryan, with his followers, to leave the "forks of the Vadkiii" and not ve- I turn until Cornwallis came. The Unteh, as they had kept t the oath to King George, kept their **|)ai'(jle" to the Ameri- can cause. Cornwallis marched throiiuh this country the i following January and camped at Ilamsaur's Mill, lie lost more by desertion than he gained in recruits. When he was ] hero, Morgan })assed the present site of ^laiden, nine miles I distant, and. for five days was not twenty miles from him. I A messenger on any of . these days would have enaldcd Corn- i wallis to place his army between ]\Iorgan and the Catawba ' River. 1 do not think, in killed and wounded, in i)ioportion I to numbers engaged, the battle is equalled in the P.evolution. I Forty killed and one hundred wounded, out of four hundred engaged, is high class, even in Confederate annals. The \ defeat and rout of three times their number is certainly wor- thy of note. No attempt has been made to preserve the fea- ;. tures of this battle-gi'ound ; to-day it is tilled by the \)\ow of the farmer, and but slight mementoes of the battle can be j seen. On the highest point of the ridge is a head-st<jne mark- ing three Tory graves. One at the foot «)f the hill marks another. A brick wall near where the hcvere-t fighting was done contains the remains of (\iptain Dubson where he fell;

22

also the remains of his daughter and lier husband, Wallace Alexander, \yho were l)uried beside him some years after the Revolution. The battle-field is now \vithin the corporate limits of Lincolnton.

I vie's Cavalry and other tri)ops tlirouoh the conntry arre^tii Tories, who were nearly all "jiaroled'' ; a few who had coi

AKTEK THE BATTLE.

General Tvutherford remained here two days, sendinu' Da-

ing com- mitted serious depredations beini>- sent to Salisbury jail to await trial at next term of court, lieing informed that Col- onel Bryan, the noted Tory, had organized his forces in the ''forks of the Yadkin," he determined to give him attentien. On mustering his trmips, he found he had only two hundred men of the sixteen hundred ])resent two days before. 'Jdns iS'a fair sample of the t-onduct of the ^Mecklenburg and Iiowan militia in the lievolution. They w(juld answer all calls to fight, but when the battle was over, or while })reparation was being made, they declined to undergo the wearisomeness of camp-life. General "^liutherford did not, as would l>e done now, send details to bring the absentees back, but sent mes- sengers ahead along the road he would march, and before he reached the vicinity of Bryan he had S'ix hundred men. Bryan immediately fled, and most of liutherford's men again sought their fire-sides — this time by his ])ermission.

When these people accom])lished the object f'-r whi(di they had been called into service, or when the cause fnr the call

23

di.sai7i)eared, they regardc'd the piirj)oses for which they wer . wanted as fulfilled, and went home ready to answer wl ; again called for. General Graham, who was one of them, I called General Davie's attx'nti..n to this trait of character . when General Davie was collecting- a i,n\X' to attack liocky . Mount.

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OFFICERS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION, 1903:

REGENT:

• MRS. THOMAS K. BRUNER.

vice-ui;ge.nt: MRS. WALTER CLARK.

IIONORAUY HECiENTS:

MRS. SPIER WHITAKER,

(Nee Fanny DeBerniere Hooper), MRS. D. H. HILL, Sr.

SECRETARY :

MRS. E. E. MOFFITT.

TREASURER:

MRS. FRANK SHERWOOD.

REGISTRAR:

MRS. ED. CHAMBERS SMITH.

..:/:-. Fo^J^DEfc ou' VHE North Carolina Society and Regent 1896-1902: -'-:;■:.-"-/'•,-' . MRS. spier WHITAKER.

Regent 1902: : :':' 'r:' "; .-^ MRS. D. H. hill, Sr.

. N "g* 7

PREFACE.

Tlie object of the North Carolina Booklet is to erect a suitable memorial to the patriotic women who composed the "Edenton Tea Party."

These stout-hearted women are every way worthy of admi- ! ration. On October 25, 1774, seven months ])efore the defi- ant farmers of Mecklenburg had been aroused to the point of signing their Declaration of Independence, nearly twenty months before the declaration made by the gentlemen com- posing the Vestry of St. Paul's Church, Edenton, nearly two years before Jefferson penned the immortal National Declaration, these daring women solemnly subscribed to a document affirming that they would use no article taxed by England. Their example fostered in the whole State a deter- mination to die, or to be free.

In beginning this new series, the Daughters of the devo- lution desire to express their most cordial thanks to the for- mer competent and untiringly faithful Editors, and to ask for the new management the hearty support of all who are interested in the brave deeds, high thought, and lofty lives of the North Carolina of the olden days.

Mrs. D. H. Hill.

HISTORIC HOMES OF NORTH CAROLINA-PLEASANT

GARDENS AND QUAKER MEADOWS,

IN BURKE COUNTY.

BY ALPHONSO C. AVERY, (Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina).

The historic interest of lionies centers in the families who found, occupy and adorn them, and connect them with the stirring legends and important events in the annals of a coun- try. Amongst the earliest settlers in the valley of the upper Catawba, in the old county of Burke, were Joseph McDowell the elder, a gTandson of E})hraim, the founder of the family in Virginia, Kentucky and our own State, and his cousin^ known as '"Hunting John," who was near the same age. They migrated, somewhere about the year 1760 and during the French-Indian war, from the old home of Ephraim McDowell, in Rockbridge county, Virginia, and, because the country west of the Catawba was rendered unsafe by roving bands of Cherokee and Catawba braves, went with their families through Rowan and Mecklenburg counties to some point in South Carolina, near the northern boundary line. Their sturdy Scotch-Irish friends had already drifted from Pennsyl- vania, where they, with the thousands of Germans, were first dupiped by the English land-agents upon American soil, to upper South Carolina, and had commemorated their first American home bv namini>- the three nortliern cuunties of that

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State York^ Chester and Lancaster. Ephraim McDowell was born in the north of Ireland. When only sixteen years old he distinguished himself as a soldier in the siege of Londonderry. He emigrated to America at the age of sixty-two, and, after a short sojourn i^ Pennsylvania, moved with his sons to the old McDowell home in Kockbridge county, Virginia. He was descended from Someril, Lord of the Isles, through his son Dougald, who founded the clan of McDougald. Ephraim married ^largaret Irvine, also of JScotch descent. His son, Captain John McDowell, fell in i-epelling a Shawnee incursion, and was the first white man killed by the Indians in the Valley of Virginia. His daughter ]\Liry married James Greenlee and was the mother of Grizzell or Grace Greenlee. She first married Captain Bowman, who fell at Ramseur's Mill, and, after the war, her cousin, General Charles McLtewcll of Burke, who had inherited Quaker Meadows in 1775, at the death of his father, Joseph McDow- ell the elder, the first settler on that place.

"Hunting John" McDowell, so called because of his ventur- ing into the wilderness so far from the white settlement in pursuit of game, probably first took possession of his beautiful home, Pleasant Gardens, in the Catawba Valley, in what is now McDowell county, about the time when his cousin Joseph settled at Quaker Meadows. I have not been able to ascertain the maiden name of the wife of ''Hunting John," nor of the lady who married Josej)!! Mcl>owell the elder; but there is abundant evidence that both had im])roved the advantages of being raised near Lexington, the Scotch-Irish educational cen-

ter of tlie Valley of Vir«^inia, and made their homes attractive to the most refined and cultured people of their day. They were doubtless religious, for Ave find that the first Presb}i:e- rian minister who ever made his home in old Burke reported to Synod in 1777 as the pastor at two points, Quaker Meadows and Pleasant Gardens.

According to tradition the Quaker Meadows farm was so called long before the IMcDowells or any other whites estab- lished homes in Burke county, and derived its name from tlie fact that tlie Indians, after clearing parts of the broad and fertile bottoms, had suffered the wild grass to spring up and form a large meadow, near which a Quaker had camped be- fore the French-Tudian war and traded for furs. On the 19th of November, 17rj2, Bisho}) Spangenburg recorded in his diary (Vol. V. Colonial Becords, p. 6) that he was encamped near Quaker ^leadows, and that he was "in the forest 50 miles from all settlements." The Bishop desribed the low- lands of John's RiA'er as the richest he had seen anywhere in Carolina. But, after survevin<? a larsre area, he abandoned the idea of taking title for it from Lord Granville, because the Indian war began in 1758, the next year, and lasted nom- inally seven years, tliough it was unsafe to venture west of the Catawba till after 1763, and few incurred the risk of doing so before 1770.

"Hunting John" ^IcDowell first entered "Swan Ponds," about three miles above Quaker ]\readows, l)ut sold that place, without occupying it, to Colonel Waightstill Avery, and estab- lished his home where his son James afterwards lived and

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where still later Adolplius Envin lived for years before his death. His home is three miles north of Marion on the road leading to Bakersville and Burnsville. The name of Pleasant Gardens \vas afterwards ajjplied nut only to this home but to the place where Colonel John Carson lived higher up the Catawba Valley, at the mouth of Buck Creek.

The McDowells and Carsons of that day and later reared thorough-bred horses and made race-paths in the broad low- lands of every large farm. They were superb horsemen, crack shots and trained hunters. John McDowell of Pleasant Gardens was a Nimrod when he lived in Virginia, and we learn from tradition that he acted as guide for his cousins over his hunting ground when, at the risk of their lives, they with their kinsmen, Greenlee and Bowman, traveled over and insj^ected the valley of the Catawba from^Morganton to Old Fort, and selected the large domain allotted to each of them. They built and occupied strings of cabins, because the few plank or boards used by them were sawed by hand and the nails driven into them wore shaped in a blacksmith's shop. I have seen many old building-s, such as the old houses at Fort Defiance, the I^'uoir home, and Swan Ponds, where every plank was fastened by a wrought nail with a large round head sometimes half an inch in diameter. From tliese homes the lordly old proprietors could in half an hour go to the water or the woods and provide fish, deer or turkeys to meet the Avhim of the lady of tlie house. They combined the pleasure of sport with tlie protit of jjroviding for their tables. The old Quaker Meadows home is two miles from Morganton, but

the eastern boundary of the farm is the Catawba, only a mile from the court-house. From the northwestern portion of the town, since the land along the river has been cleared, this magnificent and lordly estate is plainly visible, and the valley and river present- a charming view for a landscape painter.

From his house on a hill on the eastern bank of the river, Peter Brank and his son-in-law, Captain David Vance, the grandfather of Z. B. Vance, could see the home of the Mc- Dowells. The place in the early days was surrounded by the newly-found homes of the Greenlees, Erwins and Captain Bowman, whose only daughter by his marriage with Grace Greenlee was the grandmother of ]\Irs. Harriet Espy Vance, first wife to Govenior Vance. She was married to Governor Vance at Quaker Meadows — in full view of his grandfather's first home in Burke. ^

"Hunting John" must have died during the early part of the war for independence — probably near the time his cousin Joseph died — in 1775.

THE COUNCIL OAK.

On the 29tli of August, 1780, Colonel Ferguson moved into Tryon (now Kuthei-ford county) and camped first at Gilbert- town, three miles north of Rutherfordton, with the purpose of capturing Charles McDowell and destroying his command and ultimately crossing into Washington and Sullivan counties (now Tennessee) and dealing with Shelby and Sevier of the Watauga settlement. Ferguson left Gilberttown with a de- tachment, in search of Charles McDowell, but McDowell laid

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in ambush at Bedford Hill, on Crane Creek, and fired upon his force while crossing the creek at Cowan's Ford. Major Dunlap was wounded and Ferguson was forced to retire to ' Gillx-rttown.

x\fter this affair Charles McDowell retreated across tlio mountains to warn Shelby and Sevier of the threatened desolation of their country and to invite their co-operation in an attack on Ferguson. It was agreed that the transmontane men should be gathered as expeditiously as possihle, while Mc- Dowell should send messengers to Colonels Cleveland and Ilemdon of Wilkes county and Major Joseph Winston of Surry. The energies of Shelby, of Sullivan and Sevier of Washington county, North Carolina, then embracing the present State of Tennessee, were quickened by a message, which Ferguson had released a prisoner to conv^', to the effect that he would soon cross the mountain, hang the leaders and lay their country waste with fire and sword.

The clans were summoned to meet at Quaker Meadows on the 30th of Septemher, 1780. Meantime Charles ]\IcDowell returned to watch Ferg-uson, protect cattle by assailing for- aging parties and give information to Shelby and Sevier of Ferguson's movements.

Rev. Samuel Doak invoked the blessings of God upon the Watauga men, as they left for King's Mountain to meet Fer- guson, whose blasphemous boast had been that God Almighty could not drive him from his position. Those trustful old Scotchmen afterwards believed in their hearts that the hand

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of God was in tlie movement which cost him his life and destroyed his force.

On September 30th, Shelby, Sevier, Cleveland, Winston and the three McDowells (Charles, Joseph of Quaker Mead- ows, and Joseph of Pleasant Gardens) met at Quaker Mead- o^vs, and on October 1st held a council of war under the shade of a. magnificent oak which stood near a spring on the Quaker Meadows farm. This old tree, known as the Council Oak, had weathered the storms of more than a century when it was killed by lightning a few years since. At this historic spot these intrepid leaders agTced upon the plan of campaign against Ferguson. The fruit of their council was a victory, which was the turning point of the war for independence.

This venerable tree has been visited by scores of persons, and Burke takes pride in perpetuating the memory of the fact that there the old pioneer patriots, including three of her own sons, laid plans that turned the tide of war and possibly deter- mined the destiny of the continent. The local Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution has already bought what is left of the old oak to be converted into souvenirs, and it has been proposed that the Chapter purchase a little spot, including the site of the oak, with the right of way to a road leading to it, and erect upon it a pavilion where visitors may rest

THE McDowells at king's mountain.

Charles McDowell had organized the clans into a compact, foi-midable force. The proposed scene of conflict was in his district, and, under military rules then in force, he was en-

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titled to conunand. When, however, it became apparent that jealousy might impair the efficiency of the little army, he cheerfully agreed to go to Mecklen]}urg or Rowan and invite • General Davidson to take charge. After he had left on this mission it was deemed by the council of war best to attack Ferguson before- his force could be strengthened by Corn- wallis, and the result indicated the wisdom of this conclusion. Governor Shelby published an account in 1823, in which, after lauding General Charles McDowell as a patriot and a brave and able officer, he said that after it was decided by the council to send to headquarters for a general officer to take command, Charles McDowell requested, as he could not com- mand, to be allowed to take the message, and added that "he accordingly started immediately, leaving liis men under liis brother, ]\[ajor Joseph McDowell." (Wheeler's History, Part II, page 59). It was Shelby who next day made the generous move to place Campbell in connnand to obviate the danger of delay. Within the next twenty years some of the lineal descendants of Joseph McDowell of Pleasant Gardens have insisted that the command of the Burke men at King's Mountain devolved on their ancestor, not on his cousin Joseph of Quaker Meadows. The writer would be rejoiced to be convinced that this contention is well founded, but is con- strained to conclude that it is not. Shelby had come over with Sevier, at the instance of Charles ^[cD<jwcll, under whose command he had previously fought with all three of the j\Ic- Dowells at Musgrove's Mill and other places. He must have k]iown whether the brother or the cousin of Colonel Charles

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McDowell was next in rank to liini, and he said it was the brother.

''Poor's Sketches of Congressmen" states that Joseph Mc- Dowell, who was born at Winchester, Va., in 175(J, and died in 1801, was elected a member of the third and also of the fifth C'ongress; had commanded a portion of the right wing of the anny that stormed King's Mountain. In a subsequent sketch of Joseph J, McDowell of Ohio he says that he was bom in Burke county, N. C, November 13, ISOO, was a son of Joseph McDowell, member from North Carolina, and was himself a member from 1843 to 1847. The widow of Joseph ]\[oDowell of Quaker Meadows left North Carolina with her little children and wTnt to Kentucky soon after her husband's death. His home was on the banks of John's^ River, near where Bishop Spangenburg must have encamped when he de- clared that the land was the most fertile he had seen in Caro- lina. These sketches have always been prepared after consul- tation with the member as to his previous history, and we must conclude that both fatiier and son bore testimony to the truth of history — the father that he was in command, the son that such was the family history derived from his mother. Dr. Harvey McDowell, of Cynthiana, Ky., who presided over the first Scotch-Irish Convention at Nashville, Tenn., and who died at the ripe age of fourscore, a year or two since, had devoted much of his life to the study of family history, and had convexsed with members of the family who knew Joseph of Quaker Meadows and Joseph of Pleasant Gardens and were familiar with their history.

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Speaking of the agreement of Colonel Charles McDowell to goto headquarters, Dr. Harvey McDowell says:

'^Ile thereupon tunied over the command of liis regiment to his brother Joe of Quaker Meadou:s, who was thus promoted from the position of Major, which he had held in this regi- ment, to that of acting Colonel, and in the regular order of promotion. Captain Joe of Pleasant Gardens (the cousin and brother-in-law of tlie other Joe) became Major Joe, he havin^. been senior Captain of the regiment." *

With the rank, one of Colonel and tlie other of Major these cousins of the same name led the brave sharp-shooters who fought so heroically at Cowpens and in the mauv lights of less consequence. 8arah McDowell, a daughter of (^.ptain John, who was killed by the Shawnees, married C\jlfenel Georo-e Moffitt, a wealthy and distinguished officer in the war for indl pendence. His accomplished daughter Margaret married Joseph ]\IcDowell of Quaker Meadows, and her younger sister Mary became the wife of Joseph of Pleasant Gardens. The cousins served Burke county acceptably both in the House of Commons and Senate of the State Legislature and in tlie Con- vention at Hillsboro, as they had both won distinction while fighting side by side on a number of battlefields. The writer has inclined to the opinion that l>oth served in (^noress Joseph McDowell, Jr., of Pleasant Gardens, from 17^3 to 1795,. when ho died, and Joseph, Sr., of Quaker Meadows, from 1797 to 1709. But tliis is still a debated question.

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THE TWO JOSEPHS.

Josepli McDowell ui Quaker ]\[eadows was a handsome man, wonderfully mao-uetic, universally popular, and of more than ordinary ainlity. He was a born loader of men and was represented by the old men of the succeeding generation to have retained- till his death the unbounded confidence and affe^rtion of his old soldiers. ]\rargaret Mofiitt was a woman of extraordinary beauty, as was her sister ^^lary.

After the battle of King's Mountain, in October, Joseph McDowell of Quaker Meadows remained in the field with 190 mounted riflemen, including the younger Joseph as one of his officers, until he joined ]\[organ on December 29th and partici- pated in tlie battle of Cowpens.

Joseph of Pleasant Gardens was a brilliant ihan of more solid ability than his cousin of the same name. The late Silas McDowell, who died in Macon county, but lived during his early life, first in Burke and then in Buncombe, in discussing in an unpublished letter, of which I have a copy, the prominent men who lived 'Svest of Lincoln county," reaches the con- clusion that, prior to the day of D. L. Swain, Samuel P. Carson and Dr. Robert B. Vance, no man in that section had, according to tradition, towered far above his fellows intelleo- tually except Joseph McDowell of Pleasant Gardens, whose "light went out when he was in his noonday prime, and in the last decade of the eighteenth century." He was borii February 26, 1758, and died in 1795. His widow married Colonel John Carson, whose first wife was the daughter of ''Hunting

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John." Samuel P. Carson, the oldest son by the second mar- riage of Mary Moflit McDowell, was a member of the Senate of North Carolina in 1822, and was bom January 22, 1798. (See Wheeler's lieminiscences, page 89). Joseph of Quaker Meadows was born in 175G, was two years older, and therefore must have been Joseph, Sr. Wheeler records the name of Joseph McDowell, Jr., as having served successively from 1787 to 1792, inclusive, as a. member of the House of Com- mons from Burke county, but not after the latter date. (See list of Burke Legislators, Wheeler's History, Part II, page 62). Joseph McDowell, according to same authority, was a State Senator, succeeding General Charles, from 1791 to 1795, inclusive, and during that time did not serve in Con- gress, though he \mquestionably served later. ^ These and other facts have led the writer to believe .Toseph, Jr., served one term in Congress, from 1793 to 1795, when he died, and that afterwards, and up to the time of his death, the elder cousin was a member. Joseph McDowell, Jr., was not in public life after 1792, unless he served one tei*m in Congress before his death. It is not probable that he lived from 1792 to 1795 without holding an official ixDsition.

THE Mcdowell women— mrs. grace greenlee mcdowell, mrs. margaret moffitt mcdowell, mrs. mary isioffrit Mcdowell.

Mrs. Margaret Moffitt McDowell, says Dr. Harvey Mc- Dowell, was a beautiful and charming woman. After the death of her husband she'returned to the Valley of Virginia and went thence to Kentucky. Amongst her descendants

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was a son, Joseph J., already mentioned, a member of Con- gress, and many other people prominent in public or social life, both of Kentucky and Ohio.

Mrs. Mary Moflltt McDowell was the mother of Mrs. Mar- garet McDowell, who- married her cousin, Captain Charles McDowell, a son of General Charles, and was the mistress at the Quaker Meadows home, where she kept a house always open to her friends till her death in 1859. Her oldest daughter, Mary, first married General John Gray Bynum in 1838, and subsequently became the second wife of Chief Jus- tice Pearson in 1859. The late Judge John Gray Bynum was the only son. Another daughter, Eliza, was the wife of Nicholas W. Woodfin, one of the ablest lawyers of his day, and another, Margaret, married W. F. McKessoij, and was the motlier of the first Mrs. F. H. Busbee and of C. F. McKesson. Another daughter married John Woodfin, a prominent lawyer, who fell at the head of his battalion, re- sisting Kirk's invasion at Warm Springs. The only son who survived Mrs. Annie McDowell was Colonel- James C. S. McDowell. He married Miss Julia, daughter of Grovernor Charles Manly. His first service was when, as Second Lieu- tenant of Company G of the Bethel Regiment, he partici- pated in the first battle of the war. Later he became Colonel of the Fifty-fourth North Carolina Regiment, and fell gal- lantly leading it in a charge on Marye's Heights in 18G3. James McDowell, his oldest son, married ^largaret Erwin, and was the father of Dr. Joseph ]\[cDowell of Buncombe and Dr. John C. McDowell of Burke, both of whom were

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members of the Secession Convention of 18C1, and of Colonel William, who was Caj^tain in the Bethel Kegimont and after- wards Colonel of the Sixtieth North Carolina. Another son, John McDowell, was the father of Colonel Jolni of Ruther- ford County.

After the death of her husband, Mrs. Mary McDowell mar- ried Colonel John Carson, and made her home at his mansion near the mouth of Buck Creek, on the Catawba. The name of Pleasant Gardens followed her and was ajjplied to her new as well as her old home. Iler oldest son by the second mar- riage. Colonel Samuel P. Carson, after serving in the Legis- lature of the State, served four tenns in Congress. lie was at first a favorite of Old Hickory, and was selected as the readiest debater in the House to defend the administration on the floor of that body. He afterwards became the friend of John O. Calhoun, and his defense of nullification estranged Jackson and led to Carson's retirement from Congress. The last service of Carson to the State was as one of the members from Burke of the Constitutional Convention 'of 1835. His father had been one of Burke's members of the Convention of 1789, 'when the Constitution of tlio United States had been ratified by the State.

In the writer's Iwyhood older men spoke of Sam Carson as the most eloquent speaker and the most fascinating gentleman they had known.

In the early part of the year 1835, Samuel Carson went, with the view of finding- a home, to the republic of Texas, then struggling with Mexico for independence. It was dur-

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ing his absence that he was elected a member of the Coustitu- tional Convention of 18)35, Ke migrated to Texas in 183G, and soon after his arrival was chosen a meniljer of the Con- vention of 1836, which framed a Constitution, and, upon the election of General Samuel Houston to the presidency of tlie young republic, was made Secretary of State. The efforts of Carson to secure recognition of the Jxtne Star State were potent in l>oginning tlie agitation, which culminated in 1845 in recognition and annexation.

TJIE CARSON-VANCE DUEL,

Stung by defeat in 1825, Dr. "Robert B. Vance determined to break him down in 1827. He believed, it is supposed on account of Carson's great amiability, that Carson \\as a cow^- ard, though a more fatal mistake was never made, and, acting upon that belief, charged in a public discfussion at Morgan- ton that Colonel John Carson, the father of his opponent, and who has already been mentioned as a member of the Conven- tion which adopted the Constitution of the Uiiited States, at Fayetteville, was a Tory, and took protection when Ferguson invaded Burke. Colonel Carson rose and denounced Vance as a liar. Vance tauntingly said to him : "You are too old. You have a gallant son, whose duty it is to fight your bat- tles." I am reliably informed that Vance did not believe that Samuel Carson would resent this insult, and he knew that if he should not he could never be elected again after the election which was to take place in a few days.

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To sliow how widely mistaken Dr. Vance was in his esti- mate of Carson, the writer has heard from his father that on the night after this discussion, Samuel P. Carson, his six brothers and his father met at the old family home, at the mouth of Buck Creek, and though the old Colonel insisted upon sending a cliallenge, his sons overruled him, and agreed that after tlie approaching election Samuel should challenge Vance, and should Samuel fall, each of the brothers, begin- ning with the oldest, Joseph ^IcDowell Carson of liuther- ford, should -challenge him in succession. The Colonel was appeased by an agreement that should Vance kill all of his boys he should then have the ©importunity to avenge the insult. All of the brothers were cool and courageous and were crack shots. Soon after the election Carson crossed thoi Tennessee line to avoid a violation of the laws of his own State, and sent by Colonel Alney Burgin of Old Fort an invitation to Vance to come over to Tennessee and discuss the grievance com- plained of. Carson, with the distinguished Warren David of South Carolina as a second, and accompanied by David Crockett as a friend, met and mortally wounded Vance at Saluda. Just Ijefore taking his place, Carson, who was as kind as he was courageous, said to Warren David : "I can hit him anywhere I choose. I prefer to inflict a wound that will not prove fatal." David said: "Vance will try to kill you, and, if he receives only a flesh wound, will demand another shot, which will mean another chance to kill you. I will not act for you unless you promise me to do your best to kill him." Carson promised, and Vance fell mortally wounded.

I

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Carson's heart was tender, and lie died lamenting that the demands of an imperious custom had forced him to wreck his own peace of mind, in order to save the honor of his family and remove the reproach ujibn his name.

The oldest son of (\jlonel ("arson, Joseph McDowell Car- son, was a prominent lawyer, and represented Kntherford county in the Convention of 1835, and frequently in the Leg- islature. He was the grandfather of Captain Joseph Mills of Burke and of Mrs. Frank Coxe of Asheville, as well as of Ealph P. Carson, a prominent lawyer of South Carolina.

One of the Daughters of ^'Hunting John" married a Whit- son, and her descendants for a century have heen honored citi- zens of ]\IcDowell and Buncoml)e counties. One of them married the only daughter of Samuel P. Carson. Joseph McD. Burgin of Old Fort, a son of Greneral Aln^y Burgin, who bore the message to Vance, is another of his worthy de- scendants, and the accomplished daughter of Captain Burgin is the wife of the golden-tongned orator of the West, Hon. Locke Craig.

Colonel William Carson, second son of Mrs. Mary Moffitt Carson and J. Logan Carson, third son of her marriage with Colonel John Carson, both lived and died on one of the farms known as Pleasant Gardens. W^illiam married twice, and amongst his descendants are many prominent men and esti- mable and accomplished ladies. William Carson Ervin of Morganton is a grandson of William Carson, and J. L. Car- son was the grandfather of ^Irs. W. McD. Burgin and Mi*s. P. J. Sinclair of Marion. C. Manly McDowell is the

0 0

Sheriff of Burke county, and her most popular citizen. He is a son of Colonel Janies C. S. McDowell of the Fifty-fourth North Carolina, who fell at Marye's Heights, and the grand- son of Captain Charles, son of General Charles and of Annie, daughter of Jose^jh of Pleasant Gardens and jMary Moffitt. William Walton, a grandson of Colonel James and a gradu- ate of the University, won a commission as Lieutenant in tlie Philippines hy his gallantry and good conduct, and, thanks to his university training, stood the examination for the regu- lar army.

THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THESE OLD HOMES.

The sacredness of home to all of us is horn of its associa- tion with loved ones who have entered into our lives. So we listen to historical legends which connect homes with people who have won a place in history.

The Quaker j\Ieadows of the Revolutionary era was known historically as the ])lace where patriots rallied and where the chiefs, under the old C^ouncil Oak, laid the foundation stone of our independence, l^ater it was known to visitors as the home where Grace Greenlee McDowell dispensed a lavish hospitality to her friends and to the old comrades of her hus- band. She was known as the cultured w^oman who (with an infant in her arms, the grandmother of Mrs. Harriet Espy Vance) rode to Ramseur's Mills to nurse her wounded hus- band, and who afterwards went into a cave to aid in the secret manufacture of powder. To her family she was the lovely Christian mother wlio whispered into infants' ears the

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story of the Cross, and taught lier children, growing into manliood and womanhood, how, though remote from towns, to be cultured ladies and gentlemen.

It seems sad to those who have inherited the old English idea of establishing and maintaining family ancestral homes that descend from sire to son for ages, that these old dwell- ings have passed into the hands of good people outside of the I families who founded them. Though their connection with family names has ceased^ it is a i)atriotio duty of all who love their country and appreciate the blessings of liberty to ]jer- petuate the history of these 'old homes as the scenes of great events. I have tried to show that many good and true and some great people trace their ovigin to the founders of these homes that in the last century were nurseries of the courage and fortitude that caj-ried King's ^[ountain. ^

MRS. C. A. CILLEY, MRS. MARGARET BUSBEE SHIPP, MISS MARGARET McDOWELL AND MRS. LEE S. OVERMAN.

It is not inappropriate to mention a few of the McDowell

.; women of to-day who are well known in ]^orth Carolina by

[ other names.

i The names of Mrs. C. A. Cilley, Mrs. ^fargaret Busbee

Shipp, Miss Margaret McDowell of Morganton and Mrs. Lee S. Overman are living rei)resentatives of the Pleasant Gar- dens and Quaker Meadows stock, who show that the families

i

I have not degenerated in learning or culture. Mrs. Cilley is I the great-granddaughter of Charles jMcDowell and Grace j Greenlee. Mrs. Shipp i$ a descendant, one degree furtlier

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removed, of Charles McDowell and Grace Greenlee, and also of Joseph McDowell of Pleasant Gardens. Miss Margaret McDowell is a great-granddaughter of Joseph McDowell of Pleasant Gardens. Mrs. Lee S. Overman is the great-great- granddaughter of General Charles McDowell and Grace Greenlee. She is the wife of Senator Overman and the daughter of the late distinguished Chief Justice Merrimon and the niece of Judge James II. Merrimon, the two ablest and most distinguished of the descendants of General Charles McDowell. All of these ladies contribute interesting articles for the press. Mrs. Shipp is the widow of Lieutenant W. E. Shipp, who fell at Santiago. North Carolina is proud of him as a son and the nation of his career as a soldier.

REM

Aboot'

k»rmi

Urn

D.C.

' (

READING FOR SCHOOLS

Old TJine Stones

of the

Old Xorth State

Bj L. A. SfcCORKLE A book which eTerr child in Xorth Carolina chould read.

Prntt'>i Jmerica's Story for : Anisicicii'ii Children v

^J^'^<a WtattmiTHl &a,dfa%mdapuafaK th^ exriier grades. wioAmtt fnrth M am imiiartwl yirit mad im a ttxtmg nd fetrmatiiy strle dae ■MMCadaof thecarljrlu.stor]roroQreouAtzT. (ftvx Ych^-hes).

Home nnd School Chtssics

mm wakmtea umliJ f cr aO bcIwcIe lad

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VOL. IV

AUGUST, 1904

THE

No. 4

/i

North Carolina Booklet

GREAT EVENTS IN

NORTH CAROLINA HISTORY x;

.:i

THE CONVENTION OF 1 788-' 89 AND THE FEDERAL CONSTI-

,TUTION— HILLSBOROUGH AND, FAYETTEVILLE.

ENTERED AT THE POST-OFFICE AT RALEIGH, N. C, AS SECOND-CLASS MATTER.

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THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.

GREAT EVENTS IN NORTH CAROLINA HISTORY.

VOL. IV.

The Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina. ^ ' Kemp P. Battle. LL.D.

The Battle of Ramsour's MilL

Major William A. Graham.

HistoHc Homes in North Carolina — Quaker Meadows.

Judge A. C. Avery.

' Rejection of the Federal Constitution in 1788, and its Subsequent Adoption.

Associate Justice Henry G. Connor.

North Carolina Signers of the National Declaration of Independence: ~ William Hooper, John Penn, Joseph Hewes.

Mrs. Spier Whitaker, Mr. T. M. Pittman, Dr. Walter Sikes.

Homes of North Carolina — The Hermitage, Vernon Hall. Colonel William H. S. Burgwyn, Prof. Collier Cobb.

Expedition to Carthagena in 1740.

Chief Justice Walter Clark. ^

ITie Earliest English Settlement in America.

Mr. W. J. Peele. *

The Battle of Guilford Court House.

Prof. D. H. miL

Rutherford's Expedition Against the Indians, 1775.

Captain S. A. Ashe.

:-;.^;The Highland Scotch Settlement in North Carolina.

r; •*. Judge James C. MacRae.

■Governor Thomas Pollock.

Mrs. John Hinsdale.

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VOL. IV AUGUST, 1904 No. 4

THE

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PREFACE.

I The object of the North Carolina Booklet is to erect

a suitable memorial to the patriotic women who composed I the "Edenton Tea Party."

j These stout-hearted women are every way worthy of admi-

I ration. On October 25, 1774, seven months before the defi- 1 ant farmers of Mecklenburg had been aroused to the point of t signing their Declaration of Independence, nearly twenty \ months before the declaration made by the gentlemen com- posing the Vestry of St. Paul's Church, Edenton, nearly [ two years before Jeiferson penned the immortal "^National Declaration, these daring women solemnly subscribed to a I document affirming that they would use no article taxed by ! England. Their example fostered in the whole State a deter- j mination to die, or to be free.

In beginning this new series, the Daughters of the Pevo- lution desire to express their most cordial thanks to the for- mer competent and untiringly faithful Editors, and to ask for the new management the hearty support of all who are interested in the brave deeds, high thought, and lofty lives of the North Carolina of the olden days.

Mrs. D. H. Hill.

THE CONVENTION OF i?8S-'89 AND THE FEDERAL CON- STITUTION-HILLSBORGUGH AND FAYETTEVILLE.

By henry groves CONNOR,

(Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina).

The General Assembly of North Carolina, at an adjourned session in JaniiarVj 1787, appointed Governor Caswell, Alex- ander Martin, General W. R^ Davie, Kichard Dobbs Spaight and Willie Jones delegates to the Convention which had been called to meet at Philadelphia on May 14, 1787, for the pur- pose of proposing amendments to the Articles of Confedera- tion. Willie Jones and Governor Caswell could n>9t attend, and pursuant to the power vested in him the Governor ap- pointed Hugh Williamson and William Blount. On the first day of tlie Convention Messrs. Martin, Spaight, Davie and Williamson were present. Mr. Bloubt took his seat June 20, 1787. After a session of four months, the Convention, on September 17, 1787, reported to Congress a plan of gov- ernment which, when ratified by nine of the thirteen States, was to become "between the States so ratifying the same the Constitution of the United ■ States." A government was to be organized pursuant to its provisions. The Convention adopted a resolution expressing the opinion that, after being submitted to Congress, tlie Constitution should be submitted to a convention of delegates chosen in each State by the peo-

6

pie thereof "under the recommend jition of its Legislature." Accompanying the Constitntiou was an open letter signed by George Washington, President.

Messrs. Blount, Spaiglit .and Williamson signed the Con- stitution in behalf of this State. General Davie left Phila- delphia for his home upon the final vote, and before the Con- stitution was prepared to be signed. ]\Ir. ]\Iartin was also at home, as we learn from a letter to Goveniur Caswell, in which he says that he is com^ielled to be at Salisbui^ Supe- rior Court.. lie furtlier says: "^ly absence may, I think, be the more easily dispensed with when I have the pleasure to inform your Excellency the Deputation from the State of North Carolina have generally been nnanimous on all great questions." In the same letter he explains to th^ Governor the reason why he has not had "particular information re- specting the Convention," etc. On September 18, 1787, Messrs. Blount, S})aight and Williamson sent to the Governor an interesting letter regarding the several j^arts of the Con- stitution in which the State was specially interested.

In accordance with the recommendation of the Conven- tion, the proposed Constitution Avas submitted to the Legis- latures of the several States. On JSTovember 21, 1787, the Governor sent to the Legislature of North Carolina a message with certain "Papers respecting the Federal Convention." The two Houses of the General Assembly fixed the 5th of December as "a time at which they will enter on the impor- tant business of the Federal Constitution." On that day a message was sent to the Senate by the House announcing that

j they were ready to meet in conference "on this bnsiness in I the Commons room immediately." The Senate being ready, I the two Houses met in conference and resolved themselves I into a Committee of the Whole "to take into consideration the I proposed Federal Constitution." The Connnittee. after some I debate, adjourned, reporting progress. On the next day the Committee again met and adopted a series of resolutions rec- ommending that a Convention be called for the purpose of "deliberating and determining on the said Constitution," etc. Provision was made for the election of five delegates for each county and one from each borough town. The third Mon- day of July, 1788, was fixed as the time of meeting. The place was afterwards agi-eed upon at Hillsborough. The Convention was also authorized to fix upon a place for the Capital of the State. The delegates were elected on the last Friday and Saturday in Marph, 1788.

Upon the adjournment of the Philadelphia Convention, the friends and opponents of the new Coustitution began a spir- ited and, in some States, a bitter controversy in regard to its merits, etc. The conditions are well described by Mr. Fiske. He says : "And now there ensued such a war of pam- phlets, broadsides, caricatures, squibs and stump speeches as had never yet been seen in America. Cato and Aristides, Cincinnatus and Plain Truth were out in full force. What was the matter with the old Confederation ? asked the Anti- Federalists. Had it not conducted a glorious and successful war ? Had it not set us free from the oppression of En- gland ? That there was some trouble now in the country

8

could not be denied, but all would ,be right if people would only curb their extravagance, wear homespun clothes and obey the laws. There was government enough in the country already. The Philadelphia Convention ought to be distrusted. Some of its members had opposed the Declaration of Inde- pendence," etc. Complaint was made that Hamilton and Madison were ''mere boys," while Franklin was an "old dotard," a man in his second childhood. Washington, they said, was "doubtless a good soldier, but what did he know about politics f Some went so far as to say that he was a "born fool."

Thomas Iredell, in a letter to his brother. May 22, 1788, says that '']\Ir. Allen read me a part of a letter he received from a' gentleman of his acquaintance, who mentions a con- versation he had with General Person, the substance of which was 'that General Washington was a damned rascal and trai- tor to his country for putting his hand to such an infamous paper as the new Constitution.' " ♦

"Letters from a Federalist Farmer," by Pichard Henry Lee, pointed out that the author saw "seeds of an aristocracy and of centralization" in the Constitution. That it cre- ated "a National J^egislature in which the vote was to be by individuals and not by States."

Many of those who o})posed the proposed Constitution ad- mitted the necessity for amendment to the Articles of Con- federation, but saw in the new plan danger to the integrity of the States and the ^ destruction of local self-government. The defenders of the Constitution were by no means silent

9

or idle. Hamilton, Madison and Jay published over the name *'Publius" a series of essays explaining and defending the Constitution, which, when bound in a volume, were known as -The Federalist." Mr. Jjodge says: "The 'Federalist' throughout the length and breadth of the United States did more than anything else that was either written or spoken to secure the adoption of the new scheme." Mr. Fiske says: "The essays Were widely and eagerly read and probably ac- complished more toward insuring the adoption of the new Constitution than anything else that was said or done in the eventful year." Mr. McEee, in his "Life of Judge Iredell," which Mr. Bancroft says "for instruction is an invaluable work," says : "Contemporaneous with the meeting of the Con- vention at Philadelphia, the two great parties into ^Vhich the people were divided began to be known as 'Federalist' and 'Anti-Federalist/ or 'Republican.' The former in favor of a more intimate union of the States, and fully prepared to receive the new i)lan of government; fhe latter either content with the Confederation, or content to submit to slight or par- tial amendments alone." William Dickson, a very intelli- gent and observant man, living in ])u]din County, gives us a very clear and interesting description of conditions in the State. On November 30, 1787, he writes: "During the coarse of the last summer a grand (Convention of delegates from the several States were assembled at Philadelphia. The only production of their councils which I have yet seen pu])lished is a Constitution for .the United States of America to be submitted to the legislature of each State for their appro-

M-lWFi

It:

tit! IT-

iii

or idle. Hamilton, Madison and Jay published over the name *'Publius" a series of essays explaining and defending the Constitution, which, when bound in a volume, were known as ^'The Federalist." Mr. I>odge says: "The 'Federalist' throughout the length and breadth of the United States did more than anything else that was either written or spoken to secure the adoption of the new scheme." Mr. Fiske says : "The essays were widely and eagerly read and probably ac- complished more toward insuring the adoption of the new Constitution than anything else that was said or done in the eventful year." Mr. McRee, in his "Life of Judge Iredell," which Mr. Bancroft says "for instruction is an invaluable work," says : "Contemporaneous with the meeting of the Con- vention at Philadelphia, the two gTcat parties into ^Vhich the people were divided began to be known as 'Federalist' and 'Anti-Federalist,' or 'Republican.' The former in favor of a more intimate union of the States, and fully prepared to receive the new plan of government; fhe latter either content with the Confederation, or content to submit to slight or par- tial amendments alone." William Dickson, a very intelli- gent and observant man, living in l)u})lin County, gives us a very clear and interesting description of conditions in the State. On November 30, 1787, he writes: "During the course of the last suuiuier a grand Convention of delegates from the several States were assembled at Philadelphia. Tlie only production of their councils which I have yet seen published is a Constitution for .the United States of America to be submitted to the Legislature of each State for their appro-

10

bation and concurrence, a copy or a pamphlet of which, for amusement, I herewith enclose you. Our General Assem- bly for this State htq now convened and have it \uider consid- eration. We hear that debate runs high concerning it, also the populace in the country are divided in their opinions concerning it. For my own paj't, I am but a shallow poli- tician, but there are some parts of it I do not like."

Judge Tredell published in 17S8 an ''Answer to ^Ir ^[a- son's Objections to the New Constitution," signed "Marcus." In this very able paper he states Mr. Mason's objections and proceeds to answer them seriatim'. This paper was published in connection with an "Address to the People," by Mr. Mac- laine, signed "Publicola."

That the "Federalist" was circulated. in this State is shown by letters referring to it from Davie and Maclaine to Iredell. But Iredell was unanimously elected a delegate from Edenton to the Convention, Davie secured a seat from the to^\^l of Halifax, and Maclaine, Oovernor Johnston and Spaight were also selected. The election in a large majority of the counties showed much hostility to the proposed Con- stitution. "William Hooper writes Iredell from Hillsborough: "I'fear those who favor the new Constitution will be far out- numbered by their adversaries. The Western Country in general is decidedly opposed to it. Mr. ]\loore and myself essayed in vain for a seat in the Convention. Our sentiments had transpired before the election." ^laclaine writes that while he hears that many of the people are changing their opinions in favor of the Con.stitution, that it is ii<»t xcry good

11

sign that such men as General Allen Jones, William Blount, Mr. Hooper, Mr. Moore, General Martin and Judge Wil- liams have been rejected

The Convention met in the Presbyterian Church at Hills- borough on July 21, 1788, with two hundred and eighty-four members. Governor Johnston, although a strong supporter of the Constitution, was unanimously elected President. Mr. John Hunt and ]\Ir. Joseph Taylor were elected Secretaries. Among the delegates, besides those named, were John Steele of Rowan, "laborious, clear-sighted and serviceable for his knowledge of men"; General Davie, who had won renown as a soldier in the Revolutionary War, served many times in the Legislature, a man of eminent ability and destined for high honors in the service of the State aiul nation.

Of James Iredell, Mr. Bancroft says: ''Foremost among the Federalists, the master, mind of the Convention was James Iredell, who before he was forty years old was placed by Washington on the Supreme Bench of the United States." He was at that time thirty-six, and had not before served in a parliamentary body. Moore says: ''He was as ready in debate as he was profound in legal and constitutional knowl- edge."

Archibald Maclaine was a learned and able lawyer and ardent patriot, and had rendered eminent service in the Cape Fear section in the struggle for independence. He was strong in debate, but impatient and at times gave way to a hasty 'temper

Richard Dobbs Spaight had been a memlx^r of the Phila-

12

delphia Convention. He was a man of ^reat ability, and was afterwards Governor of the State

Among the leaders in the opposition, by far the nioat influ- ential was Willie Jones of Halifax. Of this remarkable man, Mr. McKee says : "Willie Jones was the most influential politician in the State. Although democratic in theory, he was aristocratic in habits, tastes, pursuits and prejudices; he lived sumptuously and wore fine linen ; he raced, hunted and played cards. He was proud of his wealth and social posi- tion and fastidious in the selection of associates of his family. A patriot in the Revolution, he was now the acknowledged head of a great party. * * * Jje was a loving and cherished disciple of Jefferson, and was often taunted with his subserviency to Virginia 'abstractions.' He seldoih shared in discussions. His time for action was chiefly during the hours of adjournment; then, it was that he stimulated the passions, aroused the suspicions and moderated the ardor of his followers ; then it was that, smoking his pij)e and chatting of ploughs, stock, dogs, etc., he stole his way into the hearts of honest farmers and erected there thrones for himself."

Judge Spencer, of Anson, was probably the ablest debater in the ranks of the opponents. He spoke more frequently and at greater length than any other on that side. While he strongly advocated guarantees against ap})rehended dan- gers, he recognized the necessity for a stronger and closer union of the States. His temper was good and his language moderate.

Timothy Bloodworth was one of the most interesting men

la

in the body. McKee says of him: "By no means one of the least among them, he was one of the most remarkable men of that era, distinguished for the versatility of his talents and his praetieal knowledge of men, trades, arts and sciences. The child of ])overty, diligence and ambition had supplied the place of patronage and wealth. Preacher, smith, far- mer, doctor, watch-maker, wheelwright aud politician. * * In the social circle, good-humored, gay and full of racy anecdotes, as a politician he was resolute almost to fierceness and almost radical in his democracy, lie was a member of Congress and United States Senator.

Dr. Caldwell, a Presbyterian minister, was learned and intelligent. Among his jDcople ''he discharged the triple func- tion of preacher, physician and teacher, and for all these vari- ous offices his industry and sagacity had so qualified him that he had no rival."

McDowell had won distinction at the battles of King's Mountain and Cowpens. lie was a strong man, and always spoke with clearness and vigor. "He was throughout his life the idol of the people of Western Xorth Carolina."

General Thomas Persons strongly supported Willie Jones in his opposition to the Constitution. Like him, he spoke but seldom.

Among other names prominent in our State's history were Elisha Battle, Stephen Cabarrus, Josiah Collins, John Sit- greaves, William Barry Grove, Thomas Owens, Thomas Brown, Joseph Winston, John Macon (brotlier of Nathaniel),

14

William Lenoir, James Kenan, John Branch, Joel Lane, Mat- thew Lockes,

Bancroft says: ''The Convention organized itself with tran- quility and dignity and proceeded to discuss the (Constitu- tion clause by clause." ^Iclvee says: ''A Mr. Robinson at- tended as stenographer. The Federalists were desirous that the debates should be })ublished, trusting that their dissemi- nation would j)ro<luce a salutary change in the opinions of the people. At tiieir instance, Iredell and Davie assumed the responsibility and care of their publication. The debates are to be seen in Elliott's collection, and do so much honor to the State and compare so well with the debates on the same subject in other States, that no North (Carolinian can fail in grateful recollection of the energy and iudustry of the two eminent men to whom he is indebted for their preservation." They lost money on their publication. The usual Commit- tees on Rules and (Credentials were apjjointed and reports adopted. The eU-ction in J)obbs (-ouhty was declared invalid because of a riot and disturbance, the box being taken away by violence. After hearing the proposed Constitution and other papers read, Mr. Galloway moved that the Constitution be discussed ''clause* by clause." This was jjromjjtly opposed by Willie Jones and General Person, both of whom said that they supposed ever}' delegate was prepared to vote at once; that the condition of the public treasury was such that no more expense should be incurred than was necessary. Judge Ire- dell said that he was "astonished at the proposal to decide immediately, without the least deliberation, a question which

15

was perhaps the greatest ever submitted to any body of men." He said that the Constitution was formed after much delibera- tion by honest and able men of '^probity and understanding" ; that ten States had ratified it. He urged with much ability and in excellent spirit a full consideration. Mr. Jones said that he was prepared to vote and supposed others were, but if gentlemen differed with him he would suhmit. The Conven- tion, without coming to a vote, adjourned The next day, upon the suggestion of Mr. Galloway, the members of the Con- vention went into Committee of the Whole for the purpose of discussing the Constitution, JMr. Elisha Battle presiding, Mr. Caldwell submitted some ''fundamental rules or princi- ples of government" and proposed that the Constitution be compared with them. This proposition was rejected as impracticable. The preamble being read, Mr. Caldwell at once opened the discussion by attacking the language "We the People," saying "if they mean by 'We the People' the people at large, that he conceived the expression was improper." He contended that the delegates who formed the Constitution represented the States and had no power to act for "the people at large." Mr. Maclaine, admitting that they were "dele- gated by the States," insisted that when ado])ted the Consti- tution became the work of the people. General Davie said that he was called upon to speak because it was charged that the delegates had exceeded their powers, which he denied. Judge Iredell came to General Davie's aid, but neither of these able men could satisfy the troubled mind of the Presby- terian preacher, who, at the conclusion, simply said that "he

16

wished to know why the gentlemen wlio were delegated by the States styled themselves 'We the People' ; that he only wished for information." j\Ir. Taylor, in a remarkably clear and forceful manner, expressed the thonght of the Anti-Federal- ists. He said that by the use of the words '"We the people" the delegates assumed a ])ower not delegated. "Had they said 'We the States,' there would have been a federal intention in ( it, but it was clear that a consolidation was intended." He said that he was ''astonished that the servants of the Legisla- ture of ]Srorth Tarulina should go to Philadelphia and instead of speaking of the State of North ('arulina blicndd speak of the people. T wish to stop power as soon as ])ossible." ^fr. ]\[aclaine expressed ''astonishment" at tlie (ibjection. He showed impatience by referring to it as "tritling," but the harddieaded Scotch preacher mildly said that he ''<»nly wished to know why they had assumed the name of the ])eo- ple."

Although, during the century or more that has passed since these men in Hillslx)rough, Patrick Henry and George ^lason in Virginia, and others who were inquisitive in regard to the use of the expression, demanded an answer to their question, high debate, learned discussion and long treatises have been had and written, and grim war has played its part in the argument, it has not l)een answered satisfactorily to the minds of men like ^Ir. Caldwell. It certainly Avas not answered to the satisfaction of Willie Jones and his discci- ples.

The first section of article one, vesting all legislative power

17

in Congress, was read and passed over with but little discns- sion, My. j\laclaine making some observations in regard to biennial elections. Mr. Shepherd remarked that he could see no propriety in the friends of the Constitution making objections when none were made by the opponents, where- upon Mr. Jones said that he would suggest that one of the friends of the measure make oljjections and another answer. General Davie said that he ho})ed personal reflections would be avoided as much as possible, that he was sorry to see so much impatience "so early in the business." Mr. Jones made no reply and said nothing until the end of the discus- sion. Mr. Hloodworth spoke for the first time, saying that any gentleman had a right to make objections, and that he was sorry to hear reflections made.

The satus of negroes in making up the basis for represen- tation was discussed by ]\[r. Groudy, who '^did not wish to be represented with negroes." General Davie said that they were an unhappy species of population, but they could not then alter their situation ; that the Eastern States were jealous in regard to giving the Southern States representation for their slaves. He expressed the hope that the gentleman from Guilford "would accommodate his feelings to the interest and circumstances of his country." Mr. Spaight and Gov- ernor Johnston spoke with much good sense and temper.

"The sole jxjwer of impeachment" conferred upon the House of Representatives was objected to and fears were expressed that it might be construed to include the impeach- ment of State officers. Judge Iredell and Governor Johnston

18

fully answered the arguments of ^Ir. Blood worth and Mr. Taylor, while ]\lr. ^laclaine referred to them as ''silly."

Mr. Cabarrus and Judge Iredell discussed the term of Senators, and explained the reason why they were fixed at six years The sixth section, or clause, gave rise to an acri- monious debate, in which ^Ir. jMacluine referred to the objec- tions as displaying "horrid ignorance." j\rr. Taylor said : "If all are not of equal ability with the gentlenum, he ought to possess charity towards us and not lavih^h such severe reflections upon us in such a declamatory manner." This brought from the rather impatient gentleman a ])rompt ex- pression of regi'ct, etc. Mr. Eloodwortli observed tliat he was obliged to the gentleman for his construction, but ex- pressed the a])prehension that tlie same construction might not be put upon tlie clause by Congress. lie sai<l were he to go to Congress, he would put that construction on it. ISTo one could say what construction Congress would put on it. "I do not distrust liim, but I distrust thoni. I M'isli to leave no dangerous latitude of construction."

The first clause of the fourth section being read. Judge Spencer spoke for the first time, expressing ai)prehension that the power given to Congress to fix the time, jdace and manner of holding elections for members of Congress did away with the right of the j)eople to elect their re])ros('iitatives every two years. He wished the matter exphiiucd. (Governor Johnston frankly said: "I confess that I am a v(Ty great admirer of the new Constitution, but I cannot com]»r(h('nd the reason of this j)art." After some discussion, he said that

10

every State which had recommended amendments had given directions that the ])rovision be removed, and he hoped that this State would do the same, durlgc Spencer here s])oke at some length with force and in excell(!nt spirit. He admitted that the Constitution had a "grciit deal of merit in it." lie thought this clause ''reprehensible." "It apparently looks forward to a consolidation of the government of the United States, when the State Legislatures may entirely decay away." He regarded the State governments as the ''basis of our hap- piness, stH!urity and prosj^erity." Mr. Iredell said that he was ''glad to see so nmch candor and moderation. The liberal sentiments expressed by the honorable gentleman" commanded his n^spect. He proceeded to show that this power given to CongTess was "both necessary and useful to the continued existence of the government," but conceded that great jealousy existed in regard to it, saying: "I should, therefore, not object to the recommendation of an amendment similar to that of other States, that this power in Oongi-ess should only be exercised when a State legislature neglected or was disabled from making the regulation required." After other remarks by several delegates. General Davie made an extended argument in defense of the power, to which Mr. Caldwell remarked "those things which can be and may be," ])rotesting strongly against the clause. iVIr. iMuclaine entered the list witli tiie somewhat testy observation that the objection made by the reverend gcntleimm from Guilford "astonished him more than anything he had heard. After making some criticisms u])on references to the history of Kngland, he con-

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th^ exteikijre pOTrer •^rjo^'erred ujxjsi Co««Ere«ft v thi^ Statifre cf sdj tfmr^ of reT«?2.*je. Tl.1^ Ajcd-I intiMXjfA that Con/rrest ibcrald "aot Itrre p^wer t« ie* v Lt-Sti in the firrt iruEtanae, but slaiOTild i ■ :- tine Sta.t€au sW ia

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vovld meet the oTdinsrj exprTr^»Es of the ^. ^i Gcr-

emcrr Johnstcm led in tlxe debate for tiie T"ed«*ai]SH, li^ied tv a strong speech In- Mr. HIIL vbo spote for rbe fT=^ taut. Mr. Iredell ?poke briefl j.

Mr. McDowell objected to li* ^ftaae reaardin^ lie ingwr- tation of slares and the po-ww oosiferred upcai C\mrres ^

CTTIT^

20

eluded : "It cannot be supposed that the representatives of our general government will be worse than the members of our State government. Will we be such fools as to send our greatest rascals to the general government ?" Mr. James Gal- loway and Mr. Bloodworth spoke strongly against the clause, while Mr. Steele, speaking for the first time, presented the other side with gi-eat clearness and power. Among other things, he said : ''If the Congi'ess make laws inconsistent with the Constitution independent judges will not enforce them, nor will the people obey them." The debate on this clause elicited more learning and ability than any which preceded it, the opposition getting rather the better of the argument.

The clause empowering Congress ''to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts," etc., elicited considerable debate. ^Ir. Spencer opened the discussion, expressing apprehension that the extensive power conferred upon Congress would deprive the States of any source of revenue. The Anti-Federalists insisted that Congress should "not have power to levy taxes in the first instance, but should apply to the States, and in case of refusal then direct taxation shall take place." The friends of the Constitution contended that direct taxation would not be necessary ; that custom duties and excise taxes would meet the ordinary expenses of the government. Gov- ernor Johnston led in the debate for the Federalists, aided by a strong speech by Mr. llill, who spoke for the first time. Mr. Iredell spoke briefly.

Mr. McDowell objected to the clause regarding the impor- tation of slaves and the power conferred u\)on Congress to

21

restrict it after the year 1808. Mr. Spai^zlit, who was a member of the Pliih'idelphia Convention, exphiined that this section was the result of a compromise. ]\lr. Iredell said if it were practicable it would give him the greatest pleasure to put an end to the importation of slaves immediately. lie said: ''When the entire abolition of slavery takes place it will be an event that must be pleasing to every generous mind and every friend of lunnan nature ; but we often wish for things that are not attainable." Mr. Galloway was not satisfied with the explanation. He said : "I wish to see the abomin- able trade put an end to." In conclusion, he asked the oft- repeated, never-answered question : ''I apprehend it means to bring forward manumission. If we manumit our slaves, what country shall we send them to ? It is impossible for us to be happy if, after manumission, they are to stay among us." With a few explanatory remarks, this ended, for the time, the discussion. Whether it will be ended in ''the tide of time" is one of the unsolved problems — unanswered questions.

When the second article, without further discussion, was reached, General Davie, evidently understanding the tactics of Willie Jones and his followers, expressed his astonishment at the ''precipitancy with which the Convention was proceed- ing." j\lr. Taylor thought it a waste of time to make trivial objections.

The several clauses in regard to the manner of electing the President and the powers conferred upon him were read and debated at considerable length, Mr. Iredell making an able and exliaustive defense of the mode of elwtion, etc. The power to

22

make treaties with the concurrence of two-tliirds of the Senate, was strongly objected to by Mr. S})encer and ^Mr. Bloodworth • and defended by General Davie and Mv. Iredell.

The article establishing and defining the jurisdiction of the Federal judiciary gave rise to a spirited and able discussion. The strong men on both sides took part, putting forth their best efforts. Judge Spencer opened the discussion, stating very clearly his objections to the article, lie thought the jurisdiction conferred ujKjn the Federal courts too extensive; that they would absorb the power of the State courts, leaving them nothing to do. lie well understood the tendency of courts to extend by construction and implication their juris- diction, lie objected that men would be taken long distances from their homes to attend upon the courts, and there would be a horde of otHcers. He said: "If we consider nothing but the article of taxation, duties and excises, and the laws which might be made with reference to these, the cases will \ye almost infinite." lie strongly protested because of the absence of any provision requiring trial by jury in civil cases. In the course of this discussion the objection tliat the Constitution contained no Bill of Kights was first made. Judge Spencer said: "There ought to be a Bill of Rights in order that those in power may not step over the boundary between the powers of govenmient and the rights of the people." lie was strongly supported by ^Ir. Bloodworth and iMr. ^IcDowell. The friends of the Constitution joined in defending it and answer- ing the objections. Judge Iredell, General Davie and their supporters were at their best, and Judge Iredell frankly

23

said : ''T am by no means surprised at the anxiety which is expressed by gcntloineii on this siiljject. Of all the trials that ever were instituted in the world, this, in my opin- ion, is the best, and that which I ho])e will continue the longest.'' He thought the right sufiiciently guarded. The seventh amendment to the Constitution not ouly vindicated the wisdom, but removed the objection of Judge Spencer and his associates.

To the demand for a Bill of Ivights, it was answered by Judge Iredell and General Davie that, as our government was based upon the principle that all political power was vested in the peojjle, and that the government possessed only such as was expressly granted, it was unnecessary and would be incongruous to have a declaration or Bill of Bights. That in this respect our government essentially dilfercd from the English, wherein all power was vested in the King and the people possessed only such rights as were expressly granted them. Theoretically, Iredell was correct, but practically and in tlie light of the struggle for the protection and preservation of civil and religious liberty, Blood worth and Spencer were right in demanding that nothing, in this respect, be left to ''mere construction or opinion." Bloodworth said: 'T still see the necessity of a Bill of Rights. Gentlemen use con- tradictory arguments on this subject, if I recollect right. Without the most express restrictions. Congress may tramjilo on your riglits. Iwery possible i)recaution ought to be taken when we grant powers. Itulers are always disposed to abuse them." j\]r. Bass, who spoke but once, said that he considered

tlifO()«:.rri.:

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loiinHi. Hi

iifliiilhiM

24

the Constitution neither necessary nor ])roper ; that gentlemen of the \'d\v ditforcd about its meaning; that he eouhrnot untlerstand it, although he had taken great pains to do so, and flattered himself M'itli the possession of common sense and reason. He said that from the contrariety of opinion, he thought "the thing was uncommonly difficult or absolutely unintelligible." Jle apologized for his ignorance by observ- ing "that he never went to school, and was bom blind." He wished for information.

In regard to the fourth article there was no discussion, Mr. Iredell simply observing that the expression "persons held to service or labor" was used because the Xorthorn delegates had scruples on the subject of slavery and objected to the use of the word slave.

Article five, in regard to the manner of making amend- ments, was passed over without discussion.

Section two of article six elicited much discussion. Mr. Iredell said that the declaration that the Constitution and laws of tlie United States should be the supreme law of the land was no more than saying "that when we adopt the gov- ernment we will maintain and obey it." ^fr. Blood worth said this explanation was not satisfactory to him ; that it seemed to him to "sweep ofi" all Constitutions of the States." Just here was the pivotal ]X)int upon which the Federalists and Anti-Federalists diilcrcd in regard to the kind of Con- stitution they desired. One side saw in the supremacy of the national government the destruction of the States; the other side recognized it as essential to the maintenance of the

r.*i

UMl

24

the Constitution nGitber necessary nor })roper ; that gentlemen of tlie law ditt'ercd about its meaning; that he could 'not understand it, although he had taken great pains to do so, and flattered himself with the possession of common sense and reason. He ^^^aid that fi'om the contrariety of opinion, he thought "the thing was uncommonly ditlicult or absolutely unintelligible." He apologized for his ignorance by observ- ing "tliat he never went to school, and was born blind." He wished for information.

In regard to the fourth article there was no discussion, Mr. Iredell simply observing that the expression "persons held to service or labor" was used because the Xorthern delegates had scruples on the subject of slavery and objected to the use of tlie word slave.

Article five, in regard to the manner of making amend- ments, was passed over without discussion.

Section two of article six elicited much discussion. Mr. Iredell said that the declaration that the Constitution and laws of tlie United States should be the supreme law of the land was no more than saying "that when we adopt the gov- ernment we will maintain and obey it." Mr. Bloodworth said this explanation was not satisfactory to him ; that it seemed to him to "sweep off all Constitutions of the States." Just here was the pivotal }X)int upon which the Federalists and Anti-Federalists diil'ered in regard to the kind of Con- stitution they desired. One side saw in the supremacy of the national government the destruction of the States; the other side recognized it as essential to the maintenance of the

f-A'

24

the Constitution neither necessary nor ])roper ; that gentlemen of the law differed about its meaning; tliat he could 'not understand it, although he had taken great pains to do so, and flattered himself Avith the possession of common sense and reason. He said that fi'om the contrariety of opinion, he thought "the thing was uncommonly difficult or absolutely unintelligible." He apologized for his ignorance by observ- ing ''that he never went to school, and was bom blind." He wished for information.

In regard to the fourth article there was no discussion, Mr. Iredell simply ol)serving that the expression ''persons held to service or labor" was used because the Xorthern delegates had scruples on the subject of slavery and objected to the use of tlie word slave.

Article five, in regard to the manner of nuiking amend- ments, was ])assed over without discussion.

Section two of article six elicited much discussion. ^Ir. Iredell said that the declaration that the Constitution and laws of tlie United States should be the supreme law of the land was no more than saying "that when we adopt the gov- ernment we will maintain and obey it." ^fr. Bloodworth said this explanation was not satisfactory to him ; that it seemed to him to "sweep off all Constitutions of the States." Just here was the pivotal |X)int upon which the Federalists and Anti-Federalists diil'ered in regard to the kind of (Con- stitution they desired. One side saw in the suj)remacy of the national government the destruction of the States; the other side recognized it as essential to the maintenance of the

.-.J

Ir.

24

^Wi

the Constitution neither necessary nor ])roper ; that gentlemen of the law dilforcd about its meaning; that he could' not understand it, although he had taken great pains to do so, and flattered himself with the possession of common sense and reason. lie said that from the contrariety of opinion, he thought "the thing was uncomniouly difficult or ahsolutely unintelligible." lie apologized for his ignorance by observ- ing ''that he never went to school, and was born blind." lie wished for information.

In regard to the fourth article there was no discussion, Mr. Iredell simply observing that the expression "persons held to service or labor" was used because the Xorthern delegates had scruples on the subject of slavery and objected to the use of the word slave.

Article five, in regard to the manner of making amend- ments, was passed over without discussion.

Section two of article six elicited much discussion. Mr. Iredell said that the declaration that the Constitution and laws of tlie United States should be the supreme law of the land was no more than saying "that when we adopt the gov- ernment we will maintain and obey it." ^Ir. Bloodworth said this explanation was not satisfactory to him ; that it seemed to him to "sweep off all Constitutions of the States." Just here was the pivotal ]X)int upon which the Federalists and Anti-Federalists differed in regard to the kind of Con- stitution they desired. One side saw in the supremacy of the national government the destruction of the States; the other side recognized it as essential to the maintenance of the

25

Union. The question of ultimate sovereignty, ultimate allegi- ance remained open until settled hy a four years' bloody war, resulting in amendments to the (Constitution, ^[r. Blood- Vv'orth touched the sensitive ]Joint and expressed the appre- hensions of Southern men by saying: "The Northern States are much more poi)uh)us tlian the Southern ones. To the north of the Susquehanna there are thirty-six representatives and to the south only twenty-nine. They will always out- vote us." In the same connection he stated the fears and feelings of his people on another then vital question. ''We ought to be particular in adopting a Constitution which may destroy our currency, when it is to be the supreuje law of the land and prohibits the emission of paper money." Mr. Ban- croft says of Timothy Bloodworth, that "as a preacher he abounded in ollices of charity; as a politician, dreaded the subjection of Southern to Northern interests." He says of this State, "towards the general government it was a delin- quent, and it had not yet shaken from itself the bewildering influence of paper money."

There was grave apprehension that the then existing pub- lic and private debts would be made payable in gold and silver. .Much was said about assi.o^iing securities to citizens of other States and suits being brought in the Federal courts. Mr. Cabarrus made a strong speech showing that this could not be done, and ]!klr. Galloway called attention to the fact that our securities were at a low ebb; that they were taken as specie and "hung over our heads as contracts." If Congress

26

should make a law requiring them to be paid in specie, they would be purchased by speculators at a trifling cost, lieneral Davie said tliat no such construction could bo ])ut ujjon that clause.

A very singular and spirited discussion arose over the clause prohibiting religious tests for holding oiKce. ^Ir. Abbott had grave fear that the Pope of Rome might become President; while J\Ir. Caldwell thought there was danger that ''Jews and heathens" would acce]jt the invitation to come here and ^'change the character of our govemincnt." Some said that under the power to make treaties Congress might make a treaty "engaging with some foreign powers to adopt the Koinan Catliolic religion in the United States"; that all sorts of infidels "could obtain office/' and that "the Senators and Representatives might be all pagans." Mr. Iredell said: "Nothing is more desirable tlian to remove the scruples of any gentleman on this interesting subject. Those concerning religion are entitled to particular regard." Tie spoke at length and with much ability. Among other things, he said : "There is a danger of a jealousy Avhich it is impossible to satisfy. Jealousy in a free government ought to be respected, but it may be carried to too great an extent" He said that he had seen a pamphlet that morning in which the author stated as a very serious danger that the Pope of Rome might be elected President. With the only language ap])roaching humor, coming from this virtuous, wise and thoroughly good man, he remarks: "I confess this never struck me before." In response to a request from Mr. Abbott he gave an interesting

27

history of tlie various forms of oatlis. Jiidi-e Spencer agi-eed with Judge Iredell in regard to this question, and said that he wished that every other part of the Constitution "was as good and proper."

^ The reading and discussion of each clause of the Constitu- tion being completed, Governor Johnston moved that the com- mittee, having fully deliberated, etc., report that though cer- tain amendments may be wislied for, that they be proposed subsequent to the ratification and that the committee recom- mend that the Convention do ratify the Constitution. This motion precipitated a general discussion, opened by Mr. Ix^noir, who charged that the delegates who were commis- sioned to amend the Articles of Confederation "proposed to annihilate it." He reviewed its different parts, and in con- clusion said: "As millions yet unborn are concerned and deeply interested, I would have the most positive and pointed security." He urged that amendments be proi)osed before ratification. The discussion continued until July 31st, sev- eral delegates, who haM not theretofore spoken, taking 'part. At the conclusion of quite a long speech by Mr. Lancaster, Mr. Willie Jones said that he was against ratifying in the manner proposed. lie had, he said, attended with patience to the debate. "One party said the Constitution was all per- fection; the other said it wanted a great deal of ])erfection." For his part, lie thought so. After s,.nie furher remarks he moved the previous question be put, upon a resolution which he held, expressing a purpose, if carried, to introduce certain amndments which he held in his hand. Govenun- Johnston

28

begged the gentleman to remember that the proposed amend- ments could not be laid before the other States unless we ratified and became a part of the Union. Mt. Iredell wished the call for the previous question should be withdrawn. Mr. Jones declined to withdraw it. He said the argument had been listened to attentively, but he believed no person had changed his opinion. Mr. Person and Mr. Shepherd sus- tained Mr. Jones. General Davie, referring to a remark reflecting uix)n the minority, said that "the gentleman from Granville had frequently used ungenerous insinuations, and had taken much ])ains out of doors to incite the minds of his countrymen against the Constitution, lie called upon gentlemen to act openly and above-board, adding that a con- trary conduct on this occasion was extremely despicable." He criticised the call for the previous question and pointed out the danger of a conditional ratification. Mr. Jones said that he had not intended to take the House by surprise. He had no objection to adjourning but his motion would still be before the House. "Here there was a great cry for the ques- tion." "Mr. Iredell (the cry for the question still continu- ing) : Mr. Chairman, I desire to be heard notwithstanding the cry of Hhe question' — 'the question.' Gentlemen have no right to prevent any member from speaking to it if he thinks proper. Unimportant as I am myself, my constituents are as respectable as those of any member of this House." He con- tinued speaking with much spirit and ability. At the conclu- sion of his speech the previous question was ordered by a majority of 99. On the next day the debate continued with

29

much spirit, as to whether the Committee would recommend adoption suggesting amendments, or postpone adoption until amendments were made. Governor Johnston led in the dis- cussion. ]\lr. Willie Jones in his reply gave out the plan which he, as the leader of the majority, had mapped out in advance. Said he: "As great names have been mentioned, I heff leave to mention the authority of j\lr, Jefterson, whose abilities and respectability are well known. When the Con- vention sat in Kichmond, Virginia, Mr. Madison received a letter from him. In that letter he said he wished nine States would adopt it, not because it deserved ratification, but to preserve the Union. P)ut he wished the other four States would reject it, that tliere might be a certainty of obtaining amendments." Mr. Jones, concluding that it would take eighteen months to adopt amendment^, said : ''For my part, I would rather be eighteen years out of the Union than adopt it in its present defective form." Mr. S])encer concurred with Mr. Jones. It was now evident that the end was draw- ing near and the result certain. Judge Iredell and General Davie made one last appeal to save the Constitution, but Willie Jones and General Person were the victors. The Committee rose and made its report to the (convention.

On Friday, August 1, 1788, the Convention met. Mr. Iredell arose and said : "I believe, sir, all debate is now at an end. It is useless to contend any longer against a major- ity that is irrcsisliblc. We submit, with the (k'ferenee that becomes us, to the decision cf a majority; but myself and my friends are anxious that something may ai>}jear on the Jour-

30

nal to show onr sentiments on tlie subject." He then offered a resolution wliieh he had in his hand^ and moved tliat the consideration of the report of the (Committee be postponed in order to take np the resolution, which he read and delivered to the Clerk. Mr. McDowell and others most strongly ob- jected to the motion. They thought it improper, unprece- dented and a great contempt of tlie voice of the majority. Mr. Iredell defended his motion and was supported by Mr. Maclaine and Mr. Spaight. Mr. Jones and Mr. Spencer insisted that the motion was irregular. They said that he could protest. General Davie criticised the course of the majority. After a warm discussion, it was agreed that Judge Iredell withdraw his motion that the resolution of the Com- mittee be entered on the Journal, which had not been done. The resolution of the Committee of the Whole was then read and entered as follows :

"Resolved, That a declaration of rights, asserting and securing from encroachment the great principk?s of civil and religious liberty, and the unalienable rights of the people, together with amendments to the most ambiguous and excep- tionable parts of the Constitution of government, be laid be- fore Congress and the Convention of the States that shall or may be called for the purpose of amending the said Consti- tution, for their consideration previous to the ratitication of the Constitution aforesaid on the pifrt of the State of North Carolina."

Then followed a Bill of Rights containing the essential principles of the Bill of Rights contained in our State Con-

31

stitution, with twciity-six proposed amendinents to the Con- stitution.

Mr. Spencer moved that the report of the Committee be concurred in. Mr. Iredell again endeavored to get a vote upon his resolution. '^This gave rise to a very warm alter- cation on both sides, during which the House was in great confusion," Mr. Willie Jones, Mr. Spaight and Mr. Hill tak- ing part. The latter "spoke with great wannth and declared that, in his o])inion, if the majority persevered in their tyran- nical attempt the minority would^ secede." After some fur- ther discussion, the motion of Mr. Spencer was withdrawn, whereupon ]\Ir. Iredell offered his resolution, which ratified the Constitution, and offered certain amendments, which was defeated by a nuijority of one hundred. The Convention adjourned for the day.

On Saturday, August 2, 1788, the Convention, by a vote of 184 to 84, adopted the report of the Committee, which was a practical rejection of the Constitution. Eleven States hav- ing, at this time, ratified the Constitution, the organization of the new government was assured. North Carolina was, upon the dissolution of the Confederation, a sovereign, inde- pendent republic, having no federal relations with other States. Her ])olitical organism was intact and in full vigor. She therefore took no part in tlie first election or the organiza- tion of the new government.

At tlie session of 1788 (November 17lh) the Legislature adopted a resolution calling a ''New Convention" for the ''purpose of reconsidering the new Constitution held out by

32

the Federal Constitution as a government of the United States." Provision was made for liolding an election in each county, at which three, instead of five, delegates were to be elected, each horough town to send one. Fayetteville was named as the y)lace and the third ^londay in November, 1789, the time for holding the Convention. Of the leaders in the first Convention, Governor Johnston, General Davie, ^John Steele, Judge Spencer, Bloodworth, McDowell, Cabar- rus, Thomas Person, Mr. Goudy were i)resent. J\idge Ire- dell was not a candidate for a seat in the Convention. Neither Willie Jones, Archibald Maclaine or Richard Dobbs Spaight were members. Dr. Hugh Williamson was a mem- ber. The I^egislature being in session at Fayetteville on the day appointed for the meeting of the Convention, took a recess or adjournment during its session. Several gentlemen were members of both bodies.

The Convention organized by electing Governor Johnston President and Charles fFohnston Vice-President. Tlie sec- retaries who served the first Convention were elected. After the organization, Mr. Williamson introduced a resolution ratifying the Constitution. This being objected to, the Con- vention went into Committee of the Whole, ^Ir. John B. Ashe presiding. The resolution of ^Ir. Williamson, together with all ])ap(*rs relating to the new Constitution, were re- ferred to the Committee. After some discussion, on Novem- ber 20th the Committee reported to the Convention that it "had gone through the reading of the Constitution, or plan of government, and had come to a resolution thereon." On

33

the 21st day of November, General Davie moved that the Convention concur in the resolution. Mr. Galloway objected and oifercd a resolutiun reciting that although the amend- ments proposed by Congress ''embrace in some measure, when adopted, the object this State had in view in a Bill of Rights and many of the amendments pro])osed by the last Conven- tion, and although union with our sister States is our most -earnest desire, yet as some of the great and most exceptional parts of the said pro]X)sed Constitution have not undergone the alterations which were thought necessary by the last Con- vention,

"Resolved, That previous to the ratification in ])ehalf of and on the part of the State of North Carolina the following amendments be proposed and laid before the Congress, that they may be adopted and made a ])art of the said (Constitu- tion."

Following this were four amendments. The resolution was rejected by a vote of 82 to 187. The Con/ention there- upon considered the report of the Committee of the Whole. "Whereas, the General Convention which met in Philadel- phia, in pursuance of a recommendation of (\)ngrcss, did rec- ommend to the citizens of the United States a Constitution, or form of government, in the following words (here follows the Constitution) ; Itesolved, That this Cunvention, in be- half of the freemen, citizens and iidiabitants of the State of North Carolina, do adojjt and ratify the said Constitution and form of government." General Davie moved the adop- tion of the resolution, which motion was, upon a call of the

34

members, adopted by a vote of 195 to 77. General Davie completed the work by moviiijr that the Tresident of the Convention transmit to the President of the United States a copy of the ratification, etc. Mr. Galloway introduced a resolution recommendiuo- that certain amendments be sent to Congress, whieli was rejected. It was thereupon ordered by the Convention that the resolution offered by ]\rr. Gallo- ^way be referred to a committee and that the committee pre- pare and lay before the Convention such aniendmenls as they deemed necessary. General Davie, Mr. Smith, Mr. Gallo- way, Mr. Blood worth, Mr. Stokes and Mr. Spencer M-ere named as the committee. The committee, on the next dav made a unanimous report recommending certain amendments which was adopted.

The Convention, after adopting- an ordinance giving to Fayetteville .representation in the General Assembly, and thanking the presiding oiiieers "for their able and faithful services in the arduous discharge of their duty,'" adjourned. Judge Iredell was not there to witness the successful com- pletion of his labors to bring the State into the Union ; nor was Maclaine to give the opposition a parting shot. Judge Spencer, Uv. Bloodworth and General Person left their tes- timony on record, voting at all times against the Constitu- tion.

On December 4, 1780, Samuel Johnston, President of the Convention, sent a letter to "The President of the United States," transmitting the resolution, etc. It was filed Janu- ary 12, 1790. The length of this paper precludes any com-

35

merits upon the record which it has uiidei'taken to set out. Samuel Johnston was one of tlie first Senators sent from this State. Benjamin Hawkins was his colleague.

Notwithstanding^ the adoption of the Constitution by so largo a majority, the sentiment of the State in its favor was far from unanimous. We get from .Mr. Dickson's letters a fair view of the way it was regarded by many. He says, referring to the (^'onstitution : "I will readily agree witli you that a better could not be formed for the United States in general. I think it is formed so as to lay the foundation of one of the greatest empires now in the world, and from the high opinion I have of the illustrious characters who now hold the reigns of government, 1 have no fear of any revolu- tion taking place in my day. * * * it was a matter of necessity ralher than choice when the Convention of North Carolina received it about twelve months a20 * ^ * It appears to me that the Southern States Mill not receive equal benefit with the Northern States. * * * I'lie Southern States will have their vote, but will not be able to carry any point against so powerful a party in eases where either gen- eral or local interests are objects," etc.

Governor Ixnoir, in a letter to John C. Hamilton, written in 1834, says: "Our State had once rejected the Federal Constitution and had finally adopted it only as an alternative less fatal than absolute severance from tlie adjoining States. Those who had from necessity yielded their objections to the new plan of Federal Union si ill regarded it with gi-eat jealousy."

36

The most serious fears entertained by the people were in regard to slavery, which has happily passed away. Time adjusted the question of paper money. While the State has Eot kept her relative position in population or wealth, in the light of to-day we see in the views and opinions of James Iredell, General Davie, Governor Johnston and those who followed them a larger wisdom and clearer view than in Wil- lie Jones, Judge Spencer, Timothy Bloodworth and Kev. Mr. Caldwell. They all served their day and generation with the lights before them, and we are their debtors for faithful ser- vice and wise foresight.

READING FOR SCHOOLS

Old Time Stories

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By L. A. McCORKLE A book which every child iu North Caroliua should read.

PriiWs Amenca's Story for America's Children

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