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GAYLORD
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COLLECTIONS
GEORGIA
HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
VOL. II.
NON SIBI, SED ALUS'.
/
SAV'ANNAH:
PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY
MDCCCXLII.
CONTENTS.
I. Discourse delivered before the Georgia Historical Society, at
the celebration of their second anniversary, by William Bacon
Stevens, M. D., ........ 1
II. A New Voyage to Georgia, &c. — a curious account of the
Indians, by an honorable person, and a poem to Oglethorpe, 37
III. A State of the Province of Georgia, attested upon oath in the
Court of Savannah, ....... 67
IV. A Brief Account of the Causes that have retarded the progress
of the Colony of Georgia, ...... 87
.V. A True and Historical Narrative of the Colony of Georgia in
America, &c., by Pat. Tailfer, M. D., Hugh Anderson, M. A.,
Dr. Douglass and others, ...... 163
• VT. An Account, showing the Progress of the Colony of Georgia
in America, from its establishment, 265
VII. Appendix, - . . . . • . • 311
Entered according to the Act of Congress in the year 1842, by William B.
Stevens, in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the District of Massachu¬
setts.
BOSTON:
printed by freeman and boi.i.es
WASHINGTON STREET.
INTRODUCTION.
In presenting the second volume of its Collections to the
public, the Georgia Historical Society cannot but express
their satisfaction at the favorable reception vvhigh was given
to its first volume, and indulge the hope, that the present
will equal in interest the one which preceded it.
The former volume presented but one view of the infant
settlement of Georgia. It held up a picture, drawn by the
projectors and friends of the colony, in which they set forth,
with high eulogium, its value and prospective benefit, and
thus engaged for it the substantial interests and sympa¬
thies of the benevolent and philanthropic throughout Great
Britain.
The present volume exhibits the colony in another as¬
pect ; or, rather, there is brought together, in one work,
the descriptions of it by its friends and its enemies. The
first volume was mostly taken up in showing what the
Trustees designed Georgia should be ; the second? in show¬
ing what, during the first years of its existence, it actually
was; the structure of its government — the operations of
its principles, and the character and condition of its inhab¬
itants.
It was the intention of the editor of this volume to have
inserted, as part of its contents, a biography of the Hon.
James Habersham, for a long period President of his Ma¬
jesty's Council, and for two years the acting Governor of
Georgia, in the absence of Sir James Wright, Bart. As
his life, however,, embraced a period which terminated just
at the beginning of the Revolution, and would, therefore, in
its details, involve notices of comparatively recent events, it
was thought best to defer it for the present, and present
the public with the most important papers and documents
6
Introduction.
relative to the Trusteeship of the colony, before we came
down to the time of the royal governors and revolutionary
movements. The pamphlets in the former and present
volume of Collections, together with those republished in
the " Historical Tracts " of Mr. Force, constitute the most
interesting part of the printed materials relating to the
history of the operations of the Trustees. "Stephens's
Journal" is of course excepted, and so also are the severa1
publications made in reference to the military affairs o
Oglethorpe, during the Spanish war in Georgia and Florida,
There yet remain, however, valuable inedited materials ol
this period, which may perhaps occupy the next volume ol
Collections. In the mean time, the Society earnestly re¬
quests, that any who may be in possession of documents,
pamphlets, or papers of any kind, pertaining to Georgia,
will deposite them in the archives of the Society, or allow
copies of them to be made for its use.
The Society would acknowledge their obligations to
Col. Peter Force, of Washington city, for his kindness in
permitting them to republish, in this volume, the " True
and Historical Narrative" of Dr. Tailfer, &c., which it
was important to introduce, as showing, in connection with
the "Brief Account of the Causes which have retarded
the Progress of the Colony of Georgia," &c., the views and
dispositions of the discontented colonists. All the other
articles are republished from the original pamphlets.
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS.
DR. STEVENS'S DISCOURSE BEFORE THE GEORGIA
HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
February 12, 1841.
The period of our Revolution has been termed "The
heroic age of American history." The expression is beau¬
tiful and appropriate, but loses much of its adaptation, if re¬
garded as a mere classical allusion. In the mystic stories
of early Greece, this term was applied to a period memora¬
ble for the triumphs of physical strength ; it was an heroic
age of man, as a creature of prowess and of arms, and had
no reference to his nobler nature, that " bright image of eter¬
nity within." The epoch of the Revolution, however, rests
not its claims to this distinguishing epithet, upon the exhi¬
bition of any corporeal qualities, real or fabulous; but upon
that union of great natural endowments with the holy prin¬
ciples of religion; with high developments of mind ; and
with all the potent influences of a refining civilization.
* As the early events connected with the Revolution in Georgia, which are related
in this Discourse, have never before been published, it is proper to state, that the
authorities consulted are Colonial Documents from the Board of Trade, Plantation,
and State Paper offices; comprising the journals of the Assemblies, correspondence
of the Governor and his Majesty's Secretaries, and memorials and petitions from
agents and public bodies ; obtained by the State from England. Original letters,
and documents, furnished through the liberal courtesy of I. K. Tefft and William
N. Habersham, Esqrs. Manuscript notes to Ramsay's History of South Carolina
by General James Jackson, kindly loaned me by his son, Col. Joseph W. Jackson.
Files of the Georgia Gazette for 1774-5-G. Parliamentary Debates on the American
question, and a few'minor sources of information. Those who compare the state¬
ments here made, with those detailed in McCall's " Elistory of Georgia," will find
that we agree in scarcely a single date, or in the constituents of a single event;
sometimes differing four or five years as to the period of the same transaction. I
have endeavored to verify all the dates, statistics, and facts, introduced by a careful
reference to official papers, authenticated documents, and contemporaneous corres¬
pondence ; having several interesting letter-books of that period by me, where its
stirring scenes were noted as they transpired, and concerning the accuracy of which
there can be no mistake.
The Societies alluded to at the close of the Discourse, united with us in our anni¬
versary celebration. W. B. S.
vol. Jr 1
2
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
With this rare combination, then, how richly does the era
of our struggle for freedom merit the appellation of an
" heroic age for the spectacle then presented, of thirteen
colonies rising in unison against the oppressions of their
common mother, and by one long, sanguinary, but success¬
ful war, securing their independence, had never, till then,
been witnessed by the world. It required heroes, to con¬
ceive the design ; heroes, to execute it; and none but
heroes, after leading armies to victory, and a nation to free¬
dom, could resign in peace the laurels of war, and retire
from the scene of their glory, at the very moment of its
brightest lustre.
" Then, tell mc not of years of old,
Of ancient hearts and clime,
Ours is the land, the age of gold,
And ours the hallowed time."
From among the thronging incidents of colonial history,
I have selected for consideration, this day, the origin and
progress of revolutionary proceedings in Georgia. Upon
this topic, nothing comparatively is known, and while, in all
the older States, this period has been almost stripped of its
interest, through the diligent labors of orators and histo¬
rians, it has hitherto, for the want of authenticated docu¬
ments, been a blank page in our {vritten and traditionary
annals. In the only history of Georgia which has been
published, the momentous transactions consequent on the
passage of the Stamp Act in 1765 arc entirely unnoticed,
and the whole train of events in this province which fol¬
lowed, until the' commencement of hostilities, are scarcely
mentioned, or, when mentioned, are so erroneous in point
of time, place, and fact, as only to perplex and embarrass,
rather than instruct and enlighten. The perusal of the
interesting manuscript volumes, obtained through the muni¬
ficence of the State from England, together with a variety
of rare and original papers, both narrative and epistolary,
has induced me to attempt to supply, if possible, this defi¬
ciency, and exhibit to you, for the first time with the cer¬
tainty of documentary evidence, the position, sustained by
Georgia from the imposition of stamp duties, until she united
herself with the other colonies in the Continental Congress.
To trace the progress of free principles in America would
be to epitomize her whole history. From 1619, when the Vir-
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
3
ginians, under the wise administration of Sir George Yeardly,
gave the new world the first example of legislative liberty,
to 1776, the fundamental doctrines of freedom, were boldly
maintained, and rigidly supported. Of these doctrines, that
which recognised resistance to taxation without representa¬
tion, and which ultimately issued in the Revolution, was ear¬
liest developed, and earliest tested. Indeed, for more than
a century before the passage of the Stamp Act, the rapa¬
cious exactions of royal Governors presented numerous op¬
portunities for resistance on this very point, which were not
misimproved. The attempt of the West India Company, in
1654, to derive a revenue from the inhabitants of New Neth¬
erlands, (now New York,) the efforts to levy taxes in Vir¬
ginia in 1662, and the arbitrary tallage of Lovelace, on the
shores of the Delaware, in 1667; together with the insult
offered to popular opinion by burning publicly, before the
town-house, the votes of eight towns on Long Island against
the tyrannic imposts of the Governor in 1670 ; and the revo¬
lution in Massachusetts in 1689, created in part by the ex¬
tortionary measures of Sir Edmund Andros; combined to
radicate in the minds of the colonists the clearest idea of their
rights, as subjects and as men, and prepared the way for
resisting, on a broader arena, the flagitious schemes of the
Parliament of 1765.
One of the results of the English aristocratic revolution of
1688, was the general recognition of that unalterable law of
nature, which the Magna Charta of Runnymede, nearly five
hundred years before, had dimly shadowed forth, that pro¬
perty could not be taxed but with the consent of its proper
representatives; and the Royal Assembly of New York,
catching the spirit of this fundamental principle, resolved,
three years after, that " no tax whatever shall be levied on His
Majesty's subjects in the Province, or on their estates, on
any pretence whatever, but by the act and consent of the
representatives of the people, in general assembly con¬
vened." The act, indeed, was rejected by King Wil¬
liam, and severe task-masters sent over to discipline them into
obedience ; but the spirit of resistance, like the trees descri¬
bed by Pliny near the Red Sea, only took deeper root in
consequence of the storms designed to eradicate it.
In 1696, a pamphlet appeared in England, asserting the
power of the Parliament to tax the colonies, and recom-
4
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
mending the plan; but it was immediately answered from
this side of the Atlantic, by several replies, which denied
the right, and repudiated the design. It is indeed remark¬
able, when the tendencies of the Americans to self-govern¬
ment were so early discovered, and the indomitable spirit of
liberty so conspicuously manifested, that a different course
was not pursued, rather than the oppressive subjugating
measures which, the common experience of humanity should
have instructed the cabinet, could only ultimate in resist¬
ance and alienation.
As far back as 1701, the Lords of Trade publicly de¬
clared, " that the independency, the colonies thirst after,
is now notorious;" and in 1705, it was openly published
in England, that " the colonists will, in process of time, cast
off their allegiance, and set up a government of their own;"
and yet, that same year, a memorial urging a direct tax on
the colonists was transmitted by a Royalist to the Lords of
Trade, but both the Board and the Ministry wisely suffered
it to pass unnoticed.
In 1728, Sir William Keith suggested to the King the
proposition to extend the duties of stamps upon parchment
and paper already existing in England, to the plantations
in America; but the plan of the Ex-Governor, as also a
similar suggestion made to Walpole in 1739, received no
serious consideration from the high officers of the state.
In 1754 the commissioners assembled at Albany, to treat
with the Six Nations, proposed a plan of colonial .union,
the expenses of which, originally defrayed by the Treasury
Board, were to be reimbursed, by a tax levied on the Pro¬
vinces by an act of the Parliament. But the able letters
of Doct. Franklin to Governor Shirley, which this scheme
immediately elicited, stated so luminously the objections to
such taxation, that a parliamentary writer, in 1778, declared,
that those who read them attentively would find, that
scarcely any thing new had been advanced on the subject
since.
Towards the close of 1759, Mr. Pitt wrote to Governor
Farquier, of Virginia, that he designed to raise a revenue
from the Americans; but the Governor's reply, representing
the disturbance it would occasion, induced him to change
his opinions, and relinquish his design. The expensive
war with Spain, which Great Britain had engaged in at the
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
5
solicitation, and for the defence of the colonies, and in
which Georgia, through the military services of Oglethorpe,
had largely participated, rendered the state of the finances
desperate, and to replenish the treasury, Mr. Huske, a
native of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, insinuated to Mr.
Greenville the propriety of carrying into effect, what had so
long remained a mere speculative scheme; and during the
winter of 1764 and 1765 the bill entitled "an act for
granting and applying stamp duties," &c. was digested,
and on the 22d of March, 1765, received the assent of the
king. It was a fine sentiment of Edmund Burke, that " an
English government must be administered in the spirit of
one, or it will that moment cease to exist." The thirteen
American Colonies, at the ratification of peace in 1763,
were all loyal provinces, enjoying a high degree of com¬
mercial and agricultural prosperity, for they reposed in
peace, under the chartered rights of " an English govern¬
ment, wisely administered in the spirit of one." But their
quietude was of short duration; like the blissful dreams of
peace which visit the pillow of the soldier on the morn of bat¬
tle. They had hardly enjoyed the sweet vision, ere the clarion
trump of freedom's watchmen awoke them to their danger
and their duty. The Assembly of Virginia, the only provin¬
cial legislature in session when the news of the passage of
the act arrived, immediately passed resolves, denying the
right of parliament to tax the colonies, and nearly every
province echoed the spirit of the Old Dominion. Georgia,
then but thirty-two years old, felt keenly this flagrant breach
of that principle of the English constitution, which declared,
that no Englishman should be bound by any laws, to which
he had not consented; and, upon the reception of the Mas¬
sachusetts letter, proposing a convention of delegates at
New York, Mr. Alexander Wylly, speaker of the Commons
House of Assembly, despatched expresses to the members,
sixteen of whom, (about two thirds of the entire body,)
assembled in Savannah on the 2d September, 1765, and
responded, by a general letter intimating their hearty co¬
operation in every measure for the support of their common
rights. Through the influence of Governor Wright thpy,
like Virginia, and North Carolina, were prevented from
sending delegates. In a letter of Governor Wright to the
Lords of Trade, dated November 9th, 1765, he says, "I
6
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
am very sorry to acquaint your lordships, that too much of
the rebellious spirit of the northern colonies has already
shown itself hereand, on the 22d of the same month, he
writes, " I am still in a very perplexed situation with re¬
spect to the stamp duty, not yet having received the law,
or the scrape of a pen from any of his majesty's ministers,
or officers concerning it; nor is the paper or officer to dis¬
tribute it, yet come to this Province. Opposition from the
populace, I am apprehensive of, and, from what has hitherto
passed, my Lords,* f tfave too much reason to expect, that
whenever the officer arrives he will be intimidated from
acting, as the officers in the northern colonies have been."
Among the hosts of pamphleteers which this crisis ori¬
ginated, were William Knox, Esq., the Assembly's agent,
and Mr. Campbell, the Crown agent for Georgia. The
former published a letter addressed to a friend in America,
entitled " The claims of the Colonies to an exemption from
internal taxes, imposed by authority of Parliament, exam¬
ined and the latter, an octavo tract of one hundred and
fourteen pages, was styled, " Regulations lately made con¬
cerning the colonies, and the taxes imposed upon them,
considered." Both defended the stamp bill, and both gave
much umbrage to Georgians, who were especially incensed
at the over-zealous officiousness of their agent, in entering
the lists against the Americans. From the agent of the
Crown they expected nothing better; but they presumed
that Mr. Knox would at least have exhibited the prudence
of silence, whatever might have been his private views;
and therefore, at the meeting of the Assembly,-Nov. 15th,
1765, the House "resolved to give instructions to the Com¬
mittee of Correspondence to acquaint William Knox, agent
for this Province, that the Province has no further occasion
for his services."
In common with many others, Mr. Knox contended, that
the colonies were virtually represented, but the excellent
James Habersham, President of His Majesty's Council, a
true loyalist, but a true patriot, in his private reply to Mr.
Knox, dated 28th October, 1765, thus exposed the fallacy
of the assertion : "It appears to me, an insult on the most
common understanding, to talk of our being virtually repre¬
sented, and I must own, I cannot fix any precise idea to
the word virtual when we are speaking of the indefeasible
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
7
birthright of a British American subject. Surely our re¬
siding in a country and climate, where our persons and pro¬
perties are subject to a thousand casualties and inconven¬
iences (unknown to our fellow subjects in Great Britain,
and ultimately for their benefit,) should not deprive us of
being tried by a jury, or subject us to a taxation by two
Legislative bodies. One of them we indeed cheerfully
submit to, because chosen by ourselves to represent us,
and, as they know our situation and circumstances, they
are consequently best qualified to impose any necessary
burdens on us; but the other, cannot (I speak with sub¬
mission) surely think themselves possessed of those very
essential and absolutely necessary qualifications." " The
annual tax raised here for the support of our internal policy,
is full as much as the inhabitants can bear. And suppose
the stamps here produce only one eighth of what they
would in South Carolina, it would amount to as much in
one year as our tax laws will raise in three; and perhaps
we have not five thousand -pounds in gold and silver
come into the province in five years, though the act re¬
quires it in one. If this is really the case, as I really be¬
lieve it is, how must every inhabitant shudder at the thought
of the act taking place, which, according to my present ap¬
prehension, must inevitably ruin them."
Such were the calm and judicious views of this distin¬
guished man in reference to the operation of this law in
Georgia. It was not possible, therefore, for them to remain
passive under such exactions, and, in common with the
other colonies, they determined to check them in their inci-
piency. If the exercise of unjust power was submitted to
once, it would establish a precedent of the most hazardous
character, and the Stamp Act was opposed, not so much
from its intrinsic onerousness, as from its involving a ques¬
tion, on the issue of which, depended the liberty or the sla¬
very of America. Truly did the profound Locke say,
that "Men can never be secure from tyranny, if there be no
means to escape it, till they are perfectly under it, and there¬
fore it is, that they have not only a right to get out of it,
but to prevent it." And to prevent it they were deter¬
mined, or perish in the attempt.
On the evening of the 26th of October, the anniversary of
His Majesty's accession, there was a great tumult in the
8
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
streets of Savannah, and several effigies of obnoxious per¬
sons, after being paraded through them, were publicly burnt.
These transactions drew from Governor Wright a condem
natory proclamation, but it formed no barrier to the irrepres¬
sible excitement; it was but placing an obstruction in the
stream of popular indignation, which only deepened its
channel, and added impetuosity to its current. The Act
was to take effect from the 1st of November, 1765, yet, as
neither the papers nor the distributing officer had arrived,
the Governor, by advice of his Council, on the 31st of Octo¬
ber, stopped the issue of all warrants and grants for land,
and gave let-passes to the vessels, with a clause certifying
the non-arrival of any stamped papers, or officer, in the Pro¬
vince. On the 5th of December, His Majesty's ship of war
Speedwell, Capt. Fanshaw, with the stamps, arrived in the
River, and the papers were secretly transferred to Fort Hal¬
ifax, and placed under the care of the Commissary; for the
" Liberty Boys," as they were then termed, had entered
into an association to prevent the distribution of the papers,
and to compel the officer to resign as soon as he arrived.
To oppose these measures, Governor Wright summoned
all his energies, and labored day and night, in public and
in private, and by his commanding influence, ably seconded
by his Council, was temporarily successful. Secret meet¬
ings, however, were often held, all business was stopped,
and the Province remained in a state of anxious agitation.
On the 2d of July, about 3 P. M., Captains Milledgeand
Powell, informed the Governor that nearly two hundred
Liberty Boys had assembled together, threatening to break
open the Fort, and destroy the papers. The Governor,
arming himself, immediately ordered the two companies of
Rangers, numbering fifty-four men, to attend him, marched
with them to the Fort, took out the stamps, placed them in
a cart, and escorted by the military, conveyed them to his
mansion. The people looked on in sullen silence, but it
was a silence that gave the Governor so much alarm, that
for many days he kept a guard of forty men over his house,
and for four nights was in such anxiety and fear that he
never removed his clothes. The next day, about 1 o'clock,
the Governor, by preconcerted signals, was made ac¬
quainted with the arrival of Mr. Agnus, the stamp distrib¬
utor, at Tybee, and fearing the rage of the citizens, imme-
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
9
diately despatched an armed scout-boat with two or three
friends of the government, who, with much secrecy, and a
charge to allow him to speak to no one, brought him to the
city on the 4th, where he w7as received by the Governor at
his house, and that afternoon took the required oaths. But
a few days residence at the Governor's, even with a guard
mounted night and day, convinced him of his insecurity,
and in a fortnight he left the city. Nor were these feelings
confined to Savannah; the mountains echoed back the
voice of the sea-board, and every stream, as it rolled to the
ocean, bore a tribute of patriotism on its bosom. The,
whole Province was aroused ; parties of armed men assem¬
bled in various places; society was convulsed, and its tu¬
multuous heavings threatened general ruin and desolation.
Then was exhibited, in an eminent degree, the zeal and en¬
ergy of the Governor, and such was his resolution and
weight of character, that for a time, all rebellious proceedings
ceased, and he could write, on the 15th of January, 1766,
" every thing at present is easy and quiet, and I hope peace
and confidence will be restored in general." A few days
served to dissipate this hope. About the 20th, menacing
letters were sent to Governor Wright; President Habers¬
ham was waylaid at night, his new and well-stored house
threatened with destruction, and he was obliged to take re¬
fuge in the garrisoned mansion of the Governor.
Towards the close of January, a body of six hundred
men assembled within a few miles of the city, and intimated
to the Governor that unless the papers were removed from
the place, they would march thither, raze his dwelling to
the ground, attack the Fort, and destroy the Stamps. The
Governor immediately sent the papers down to Fort
George, at Cockspur, and placed them in charge of a Cap¬
tain, two subalterns and fifty privates of the Rangers. But
even this was not deemed a sufficient security, and on the
3d of February, they were once more removed, and finally
deposited on board the man-of-war which had brought
them to the colony.
On the 4th of February, the town was again alarmed by
the appearance on the common of between two and three
hundred men, with arms and colors, clamorous for the re¬
dress of their grievances. The company of Rangers was
ordered up from Cockspur, and all the regulars and volun-
VOL. II. 2
10 Dr. Stevens''s Discourse.
teers, (for the Governor dared not call out the militia, lest,
as he said, "he should arm more against than for him,")
together with a party of marines and seamen from the
Speedwell, under Captain Fanshaw, were marshaled for
its defence. The force of the assailants was larger, but
their numerical strength was more than counterbalanced,
by the superior discipline and equipments of the governor's
party. For several hours the aspect of affairs was critical,
and lowering, and suspense added its harrowing influences
to the trepidation of alarm. To the Provincials, the mo¬
ment was pregnant with the most solemn consequences.
Should they advance ! it would be rebellion. Should they
retire! it would consummate their subjugation. The more
daring and impetuous, urged them onward, but the cau¬
tious and discerning, counseled prudence, and after a few
hours' parley with the Governor, in which nothing material
was gained, they differed so much among themselves that,
by evening, nearly all had dispersed, though a few at night
burned an effigy of the Governor, holding in his hand the
offensive circular of secretary Conway, of October 24th,
1765.
The situation of Governor Wright was one of singular
trial and difficulty; the Province was on the verge of civil
war, and one act of indiscretion would have plunged it into
its most ensanguined horrors. The whole military force of
the colony, consisted of two troops of Rangers, of sixty men
each, and thirty of the Royal American Regiment, in all,
one hundred and' fifty men, officers and privates, who were
distributed in five forts, widely separated, with no possibility
of concerted action, and totally inadequate to sustain his
executive authority. With this handful of soldiers, he had
to contend with faction and disloyalty; and so inefficient
did he deem them, that he was on the point of writing to
General Gage, and Lord Colville for further support. On
the arrival of the stamps, there were between sixty and
seventy sail in port waiting for clearance. The whole ex¬
porting produce of the province was shipped on board
these vessels, and the necessities of the case seemed so
urgent, that though the people refused to use stamps for
any other purpose, they consented to employ them to clear
out their ships, by which means the port was opened,
though the courts remained closed, and every species of
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
11
judicial business was suspended. Such a course, gave
much umbrage to the other colonies, and particularly to
South Carolina. Governor Wright was termed by the
Carolinians " a parricide," and Georgia " a pensioned gov¬
ernment," which had " sold her birthright for a mess of
pottage, and whose inhabitants should be treated as slaves,
without ceremony." Nor did they stop at invectives, and
denunciations; they resolved," that no provisions should be
shipped to that infamous colony, Georgia;" " that every
vessel trading there should be burntand " that whoso¬
ever should traffic with them should be put to death
and these were not idle threats, for two vessels, about sail¬
ing for Savannah^ were captured before they had cleared
the Charleston bar, were taken back to the city, condemned,
and, with their cargoes, destroyed. But the injustice of
these measures towards Georgia, will be evident, when it
is remembered, that, through the irresolution of Governor
Bull, the port of Charleston itself was opened, under pre¬
tence that no stamped papers were to be had, when, in
fact, they were lodged by his authority, in Fort'Johnson ;
whence, overawed by the populace, he dared not remove,
or use them. Charleston, also, was a city of many thou¬
sand inhabitants, and its Governor, hesitating1 and timorous,
while Savannah had hardly as many hundreds, controlled
by a chief magistrate, whose energy and decision could
neither be wearied by importunity, nor daunted by danger.
Georgia did not deserve this reproach, for every thing
which a province similarly situated could do, was done, and
she rested not from her efforts, till the repeal of the act,
and a change of ministry brought with them a temporary
quiet and repose. In the great contest for popular rights,
which began in 1765, and continued until the formation of
the confederated government, every variety of character,
interest, and passion, was enlisted. The cause was just
and holy, but the instruments whereby it was achieved, too
often, like the sword of Turnus, were forged in the fires of
angry passion; and not, like the heaven-made weapon of
iEneas, tempered with virtue and patriotism. It is not ne¬
cessary, because we have secured our independence, that
we should sanction all the intemperate measures, which,
under the name of freedom, were enacted by the factious
turbulance of the populace. The principles, and the deeds,
12
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
of many of the sons of liberty, were far from harmonizing
with the spirit they professed, or the cause they espoused,
and they degraded that cause, when they made it a screen
for political licentiousness, for incendiary revenge, and for
exemption from every law, human and divine. Especially
was it to be deplored, when, as in the instance just recited,
neighboring colonies were arrayed against each other,
though both were struggling for the same end. While, in
the ardor of impassioned feeling, they exclaimed with St.
Paul, " I would they were even cut off, which trouble you,"
they forgot the injunction of the same Apostle, "Brethren,
use not liberty for an occasion of the flesh, but by love,
serve one another." Their malign anathemas and their
restrictive edicts, only evinced the tyranny of irresponsible
power, and were not the products of a liberal principle.
We love liberty, true, and righteous liberty; we love her,
as she sits enthroned on mind; dispelling its prejudices,
illuming its darkness, and enlarging its borders. We love
her, as she hovers over the press, unfettering its power,
enhancing its influence, and causing it, like the tree of life
planted in Eden, to " scatter its leaves for the healing of the
nations." We love her, as she stands by the altar of reli¬
gion, where, with one hand upon the scriptures of our com¬
mon faith, and the other upon the head of charity, she lifts
her eyes of hope to heaven, her bosom, unsullied by big¬
otry, heaving only to the pulsations of a catholic benevo¬
lence. We love her, as she presides, our guardian genius,
in the capitol of our nation ; a temple more glorious than
that erected to her by the Roman Gracchus, on the summit
of Aventine; her shield, the charter of our rights, her cap
and staff, the insignia of our independence. We love thee,
Liberty! We venerate thy glorious name ! Our fathers sealed
themselves as thine by a covenant of blood, and we, their
children, eschewing a saturnalian freedom, would each, like
another Hannibal, place his hand upon thy altar, and swear
eternal hate to despotism and tyranny.
The restoration of order by the repeal of the Stamp Act,
was, as Governor Wright well expressed it, "but a tempo¬
rary calm." On the 6th of January, 1767, Capt. Philips,
commanding the Royal Americans in South Carolina and
Georgia, wrote to the Governor, stating the barrack-neces¬
saries he required, and desiring to know where he could
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
13
procure them. The Governor sent the letter, with a mes¬
sage, to the Assembly, on the 20th, and on the 18th of Feb¬
ruary the House returned for answer, that " they humbly
conceive their complying with the requisition, would be a
violation of the trust reposed in them by their constituents,
and founding a precedent they by no means think them¬
selves justifiable in introducing and the Governor, finding
them inflexible, and that nothing was or could be done with
the terms of the " mutiny act," had only the mortification
to transmit their proceedings to His Majesty's ministers.
This act of Parliament, for quartering troops upon the
Americans, and making them responsible for the means
of subsistence and transportation, was but another phasis of
the plan of taxation, and under whatever form such a prin¬
ciple was avowed, it could never be countenanced or sus¬
tained. The British Constitution solemnly guaranteed to
every man the property which he had honestly acquired,
and left the disposal of it to his own election, with which,
neither corporations or government could at all interfere,
without his consent, expressed by himself or his accredited
representative. If the Americans could be taxed without
their agreement, by any laws of whatever name, or if sol¬
diers could be quartered in their houses without their con¬
sent, it was a palpable violation of the " indefeasible birth¬
right of a British subject," and justified the language of the
Massachusetts Assembly to their Agent, that if they were
taxed without representation they were slaves. It was in
truth, making the Americans " tenants at will of liberty,"
a tenure from which they were liable to be ejected at any
moment, and which reduced them from the condition of
free subjects, to the ignominious vassalage of bondmen.
Nor would the condition of things have been altered had the
King and Ministry been of a lenient temper. It was the
principle which the Colonists contended for, and they justly
reasoned with Cicero, that though the sovereign did not op¬
press and tyrannize, the condition of his subjects was still
miserable; that he had the power, if he but exercised his
will.
This repudiation of the mutiny act, was followed by a
refusal to comply with a clause suggested by the Governor
and Council, to be appended to two bills granting ferries,
providing for the free carriage of postmen, according to the
14
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
statute of 9th Anne, chapter 10, section 29, "because they
would not seem to adopt or submit to an act of Parliament."
On the displacing of Mr. Knox as Agent of the Col¬
ony by the Assembly, the Governor desired them to
appoint Mr. Cumberland, but they refused, and gave the
place to Mr. Samuel Garth, Agent for the Province of
South Carolina. But the Governor and Council declined
to recognise him as such, and used their private and cor¬
porate influence, to prevent his being accredited as Agent by
any of the Boards in London. In this, the Governor and
Council were right, and the lower House wrong; for, cer¬
tainly, it was impolitic to appoint the same Agent for con¬
tiguous provinces, between which causes of altercation
were frequently occurring, and in the present instance were
actually pending, who could not be impartial to either, with¬
out meeting opposition from both. But such was the zeal
of the commons for the sustainance of their prerogative,
that no consideration weighed, when a compromise of that
was required. Having thus thwarted the Governor, and
in a variety of ways evinced their contempt of the au¬
thority of Parliament, they presented a petition to the Gov¬
ernor, desiring " that he would dissolve them," the object
of which appears to be, that by the new election which
would ensue, a still larger majority of liberal delegates
would be returned: the political strength of the existing
House, being seven Royalists, and eighteen Liberty Boys.
These proceedings were immediately represented to the
King, and the Earl of Shelburne, His Majesty's principal
secretary for the southern colonies, wrote to Governor
Wright, that "it is scarce possible to conceive to what
motives to attribute a conduct so infatuated, in a province
lately erected, and which has been so singularly favored
and protected by the mother country." " And I have it,"
says the Earl, " in command from His Majesty, to inform
you that he expects and requires, that the Commons House
of Assembly of Georgia, will render an exact and complete
obedience in all respects whatever, to the terms of the
mutiny act." To punish the Assembly for their refusal to
comply with its requisitions, General Gage withdrew all the
troops from the Province, thus leaving the forts unmanned
and the settlements without defence. This was a chas¬
tisement as arbitrary as it was severe; but it was a two-
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
15
edged sword; for, while the people complained of it as ex¬
posing them to the mercy of their slave population, and the
attacks of Indians, whose hostile intentions had already
been strongly evinced, the Governor, also, lamented the
measure, as cutting him off from the only means whereby
to enforce his Majesty's authority ; and the matter, at the
next session, was mutually and happily adjusted.
While however Georgia experienced, in common with
the other colonies, the usurpations of Parliament, she had
grievances peculiar to herself which greatly increased her
opposition to the mother country. To facilitate the opera¬
tions of trade, provincial paper, to the amount of seven
thousand four hundred and ten pounds, had been issued by
act of the assembly, in 1761, which bills were current at
par both in Georgia and Florida. The merchants and
traders, finding this sum insufficient, for mercantile pur¬
poses, now petitioned both houses of assembly for relief
" from the want of a sufficient currency, in a province
where, by the peculiar situation of its commerce, and pro¬
duce, they are precluded from the advantage of receiving
any quantity of bullion, or retaining what little they may
receive." It was proposed, therefore, to recall the old
emission, and issue new paper to the amount of twenty
thousand pounds. In support of this measure, the growth
of the colony, and the increased demand for an augmenta¬
tion of its circulating medium were urged, with much zeal
and cogency. Within the previous seven years the Pro¬
vince had doubled its inhabitants. From forty-four vessels
loaded in 1760, there were 173 cleared in 1766. Property
had risen, and every thing bore a proportionable value.
But the Governor, though he thought the present bills of
credit too limited, conceived that the sum of twenty thou¬
sand pounds was too large, and supposed tfiat twelve thou¬
sand would meet the emergency. In this the Governor
was doubtless correct, for, as he justly observed, " every
hundred pounds more paper currency than is really neces¬
sary for the daily or common occurrences will prove injuri¬
ous," by depreciating its value, increasing the rate of ex¬
change, preventing the circulation of sterling money, and
producing a fictitious wealth which the intrinsic condition
of the colony could not by any means support. His coun¬
sel, however, was unheeded ; the question was made tribu-
16
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
tary to the absorbing theme of parliamentary wrongs, and
joined by the upper house, they presented a petition to the
king for the relief they desired, who, however, refused their
prayer.
On the 25th of March, 1765, the assembly passed an act
" for the better ordering and governing of negroes," See.
and on the 6th of March, 1766, " an act for encouraging set¬
tlers to come into the province." Both of these laws were
founded in strong necessity. The very existence of the
colony depended on the former, and its prosperity and
increase on the latter. Judge, then, of the dismay both of
the governor and assembly, when the Royal disallowance
to them arrived. They were astounded at the interference
of the prerogative to such wholesome and equitable meas¬
ures, and the Governor, who declared that " without the
negro law no man's life or property would be safe a mo¬
ment," was compelled to disobey his instructions, and frame
a new bill, with a different title, but of the same provisions.
Operating upon minds already excited, these refusals irri¬
tated the people to an intense degree, who felt with peculiar
poignancy such kingly vetoes. No wonder, then, that the
Governor said of the assembly, that " though he had hither¬
to kept them within tolerably decent bounds, yet that he
had lately discovered more than ever, a strong propensity
to be as considerable an independent, as they term it, of the
British Parliament or of the sovereignty of Great Britain, as
any of the northern colonies."
On the 11th of April, 1768, Benjamin Franklin was ap¬
pointed Agent, to solicit the affairs of this Province in Eng¬
land, and a committee of both houses selected to correspond
with him. This appointment was as honorable to those who
conferred, as to him who received it. The fame of Franklin
had extended over Europe. His dignified manners, his pro¬
found knowledge, his grand discoveries in physical science,
and his uncompromising support of colonial rights, conspired
to render him the noblest representative which Georgia
could select for that critical period; and he was pronounced
by Lord Chatham, in the House of Lords, "an honor not
only to Europe but to the age in which he lived." When
he appeared at the bar of the House of Lords, every gallery
and avenue was crowded with anxious listeners; at the
Privy Council, his earnest eloquence gained him respect and
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
17
admiration, and he, "who with the thunder talked as friend
to friend " and made the lightnings the garland of his fame,
could listen unmoved, to the .philippics of his enemies, and
fearlessly assert the claims of America amidst the lowering
frowns of nobles and princes. Despising every preferment
which royalty could offer, he devoted himself to the meliora¬
tion of his country's wrongs, saying to the distressed colo¬
nist, even in the midst of a popularity, such as no American
had ever before possessed, thy people shall be my people,
and thy cause my cause. Such was Georgia's Agent, who
for five years represented her at the offices in England, and
who ever stood forth her undaunted champion, in every hour
of danger and of trial. The onerous enactments of Parlia¬
ment called forth, from nearly every province, petitions, re¬
monstrances and addresses. On the 11 th of February, 1768,
the Massachusetts House of Representatives addressed a
letter to the various colonial assemblies, setting forth the con¬
dition of American grievances and soliciting a union of peti¬
tions to the King and the two Houses of Parliament. The
Georgia Assembly had adjourned when the circular arrived,
but Mr. Alexander Wylly, the speaker, replied to it " as a
private person," and stated, that "the Assembly had instruct¬
ed Doctor Franklin to join with the other agents in solicit¬
ing a repeal of these acts and in remonstrating against any
of like nature for the future." When the Assembly met,
this letter, and the Virginia Resolves, were taken into con¬
sideration, and, though Governor Wright used every means
to prevent their countenancing " the Boston Letter," as he
termed it, though he expostulated with the leading members,
and harangued the whole body in the council chamber,
and though, as he said, "he clearly convinced them of the
absurdity of it," yet the House, almost unanimously, passed
similar resolves, and so effectually did they steal a march
upon the wary Governor, that he himself says "every thing
was prepared and done before I could prevent it." In con¬
sequence of this, the Governor immediately dissolved the
Assembly, not however before warning them " that if Amer¬
ica was to become independent of the mother country, from
that day you may date the foundation of your ruin and
misery." Had he possessed the true spirit of vaticination,
instead of predicting misery and ruin as the consequences of
that independence, he would have foreseen peace and pros-
vol. ii. 3
18
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
perity ; and, in prophetic visions of our future greatness,
would have exclaimed with the son of Beor, " Blessed is he
that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee."
Finding all appeals to the throne unheeded, the Americans
determined to redress themselves, and one of the primary
measures adopted was, a suspension of all commercial deal¬
ings with Great Britain except for such articles as were ab¬
solutely and unequivocally necessary. Such non-intercourse
could not fail of producing the most disastrous results in the
mother country, whose prosperity was so intimately blended
with the colonial trade. Mr. Grenville, Lord of the Treas¬
ury, asserted, that <c every inhabitant of the colonies employs
four at home." " It was American trade," said the Earl of
Chatham to the Peers, " which triumphantly carried you
through the last war," and the eloquent Burke declared in
the House ef Commons, " that whatever England had been
growing to by a progressive increase of improvements brought
in by varieties of people, by succession of civilizing conquests
and civilizing settlements in a series of seventeen hundred
years, you shall see as much added to her by America in a
single life." It was hoped, therefore, that the withdrawal of
such important resources, and the misery consequent on such
a procedure, might work that change in the ministry, which
all the petitions and remonstrances had failed to effect.
This plan was suggested as early as April, 1768, by the
Boston merchants, but the Assembly of Virginia, in June,
1769, was the first legislative body which adopted resolves
of non-importation and which, ere long, were sanctioned by
the other colonies.
On the 16th of September, 1769, a meeting of the
merchants and traders of Savannah was held at the house
of Mr. Alexander Creighton, at which they resolved " that
any person or persons whatsoever importing any of the
articles subject to parliamentary duties, after having it
in their power to prevent it, ought not only to be treated
with contempt, but also as enemies of their country."
Three days after, a larger meeting was convened, with the
Hon. Jonathan Bryan, one of the Governor's Council, in the
chair; at which the same subject was renewedly canvassed,
and resolves of non-importation, mostly similar to the other
colonies, unanimously passed. One of the resolves, based
on the sentiments of the Bostonians in 1765, was, to abolish
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
19
mourning at funerals, as the black stuffs used for such pur¬
poses were of British manufacture. Yes, rather than submit
to an arbitrary taxation, the son could bury his father with¬
out the garments of the mourner, the bereaved husband
forego the weeds of his affliction, and the mother commit
her first born to the grave, with no habiliments of maternal
sorrow; the weeping eye, the widowed bosom, the break¬
ing heart, ay, even death, and the grave, could not separate
them from their beloved liberty ! Subdue such men ! Soon¬
er would the raging waves of the Hellespont be calmed by
the chains of Xerxes, than the spirit of freemen be lashed
into obedience by the iron thongs of a vindictive ministry.
For the part which Mr. Bryan took in this meeting, he was,
by command of the King, displaced from the council, and
thus became the first object of royal vengeance in Georgia.
Carrying out into detail the fundamental principle, that there
should be no taxation where there was no representation,
the Assembly, in 1769, inserted a clause in the annual tax
bill exempting the four southern parishes from taxation, be¬
cause they were allowed no members in the legislature, and
this decisive stand produced in due time the required writs
of election for the vacant parishes. There was a constant
struggle between the Governor and the Assembly, the former
asserting, that they arrogated to themselves the prerogatives
of Parliament, that they exercised indecorous privileges, and
usurped authority which the Royal instructions never vested
in that body. The Assembly, on the other hand, claimed to
be the sole legislative body, to be the only exponents of con¬
stitutional right, and the only depositary of political power;
that they would be under no executive dictation, and sub¬
mit to no infringement of their rights. Twice had the Gov¬
ernor dissolved the Assembly ; but the time had now arrived
when a new agent of royal power was to be employed in
humbling their pretensions to the supreme control of the
colony.
At the opening of the Assembly, in 1770, Doctor Noble
Wimberly Jones, one of the morning stars of liberty in Geor¬
gia, was unanimously elected Speaker; but the Governor
put a negative on his election, and sent the House back to
make a new choice. This proscription, which was designed
as a rebuke to Doctor Jones, was more honorable to him
than the commission which authorized it, and ranked him at
20
Dr. Stevens''s Discourse.
once, with Otis, negatived by Sir Francis Bernard ; and with
Hancock, negatived by Hutchinson. To them, the intended
stigma, though for the moment mortifying to personal pride,
was like the honorable wound of the soldier, the proud scar
of a contest, which rescued almost a hemisphere from thral¬
dom. The Assembly resented this insult to their elective
franchise, and passed a resolution complimenting Doctor
Jones, and declaring " that the sense and approbation this
House entertain of his conduct, can never be lessened by
any slight cast upon him in opposition to the unanimous
voice of the Commons House of Assembly in particular,
and the Province in general." And they furthermore re¬
solved, "that this rejection by the Governor of a Speaker
unanimously elected, was a high breach of the privileges of
the House, and tended to subvert the most valuable rights
and liberties of the people and their representatives." This
bold assertion was termed by the Council, a " most indecent
and insolent denial of his Majesty's authority;" and the
Governor at once dissolved the Assembly.
On the 10th of July, 1771, the Governor, availing him¬
self of his Majesty's leave of absence, returned to England,
and the administration devolved on James Habersham, the
President of the Council, whose thorough knowledge of the
Colony, whose long experience in public affairs, whose pure
and upright character, and whose Fabrician firmness, emi¬
nently fitted him for this responsible station. But the part
which he was called to act, by the royal mandate, was ex¬
ceedingly repugnant to his generous nature. His orders,
however, were imperative, and compliance was unavoidable.
In consequence of the resolutions of the last Assembly,
which denied the authority of the Governor to negative their
choice of a Speaker, the King commanded Mr. Habersham
to signify'his disapprobation of their conduct, and that he
should, for the purpose of renewedly testing the question
and to compel them to obedience, negative whoever might be
first chosen as their next Speaker. The Assembly met on
the 21st of April, 1772, and Doctor Jones was elected, who,
on being presented to President Habersham, was, by virtue of
his instructions, negatived. On a second ballot he was again
elected, and again rejected. At the third trial, he was still
their choice, but declining to serve, Archibald Bullock was
chosen, whom the President accepted. But when, on examin-
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
21
ing the journal of the House the next day, he ascertained
the third election of Dr. Jones, of which he was hitherto ig¬
norant, he sent them word to suspend all business until that
minute was erased; but as the House-resolutely refused to
expunge it, he ordered the Assembly to be dissolved.
These repeated interruptions in colonial legislation produced
serious and alarming consequences. The treasury was over¬
drawn, and no provision made to replenish it; statutes of
importance had expired, and no new enactments supplied
their places; the judiciary was deranged, and no means
were adopted to rectify it; and newr necessities, civil and
legal, had arisen, requiring legislative action, but the conven¬
tions of that body had been rudely dissolved, and the politi¬
cal existence of the colony was vitally endangered. These
oppressions increased the adherents of the colonial cause.
The flattering promises of the ministry to redress their griev¬
ances, had not been fulfilled, but new sources of distress had
augmented those already existing, and cloud upon cloud,
each darker and more foreboding than the former, was cast¬
ing its gloom over their firmament. The passage of the Bos¬
ton Port Bill, March 31st, 1774, by which Parliament pre¬
cluded all commerce with that city; followed by another
which deprived Massachusetts of its chartered privileges;
together with a law for sending state criminals to England
"to be butchered in the King's Bench," hurried on the ca¬
tastrophe of war.
The designs of George the Third were now unmasked,
and Lord North boldly declared that he would not listen to
the complaints of America until she was at his feet. The
words, indeed, were those of the favorite minister, but the
sentiment was the King's. " I attribute," said General Con¬
way, in the House of Commons, " the very disagreeable situ¬
ation we are now in, to the weakness of our counsels, and to
a series of misconductsbut he looked only to visible and
secondary causes ; he saw but the external machinery, and
not the motive power which originated its operations; for,
had the gallant soldier advanced one step beyond, he wmuld
have discovered the cause in the personal feelings of'his
Prince, wrought up to desperation by the oppugnation of his
prerogative, not only by the Americans, but also by the op¬
position he experienced in Parliament, where " that trumpet
of sedition," as he termed Lord Chatham, made the walls of
22
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
St. Stephens ring with the defence of oppressed millions.
"If the people will not stand by me," said he, not once, or
twice, or thrice, merely, when, stung almost to madness by
the conduct of the Whigs, he threatened to abdicate. " If the
people will not stand by me, they shall have another King."
And when Lord North, like a wise Palinurus, foreseeing the
danger, desired to retire from the helm of state, it was the
constraining importunity of the King, which alone kept him
at his post. The machiavelian fiction, which, making the
ministers amenable for political failures, asserts that " the
King can do no wrong," turned, indeed, the storm of a na¬
tion's wrath from this monarch, upon his officials; but it is
nevertheless true, that the severe measures pursued towards
America, originated oftener with the King than with the Pre¬
mier, and that the very effort to accomplish his absorbing
idea, " the preservation of the empire," resulted, through his
obdurate rancor, in its irretrievable disunion. Whatever
might have been the effect of conciliatory measures, had they
been pursued prior to the passage of these acts, it was now
too late. The favorable moment had passed, and the thir¬
teen colonies of America were lost to him forever. Remon¬
strances had failed; petitions had failed ; defensive measures
had failed; and, in common with the other Provinces, Geor¬
gia, the last settled, and the last to renounce allegiance to
the Crown, addressed herself to the sacrifice of every thing
but liberty.
On the 20th of July, 1774, a notice appeared in the Geor¬
gia Gazette, calling a meeting of the inhabitants for the 27th,
to take into consideration these and other proceedings of
Parliament, and John Glen was chosen Chairman. Letters
were read from the various committees of correspondence,
and resolutions discussed, of similar tenor to those of the
northern associations. But, in order that the whole Col¬
ony might be represented, and take part in this matter,
the meeting was adjourned to the 10th of August, when a
series of resolutions was unanimously agreed upon, declar¬
ing the Boston Port Bill, and other arbitrary enactments
"contrary to natural justice and the spirit of the English
Constitution." A committee was also appointed to receive
subscriptions for the suffering Bostonians, and such was the
ardor of their sympathy, that in a few hours, six hundred
tierces of rice were contributed, few subscribing less than ten
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
23
casks each. The question was also discussed at this meet¬
ing, whether deputies should be sent to join the deputies of
the other colonies, at the general Congress, which passed in
the negative, owing to the illicit voting of some of the gov¬
ernment officials. The parish of St. Johns, (now Liberty
County,) dissented from this negative, and on the 30th of
August resolved, " that if the majority of the other parishes
would unite with them, they would send deputies to join the
general committee, and faithfully and religiously abide by
and conform to such determination and resolutions as should
be then entered into, and come from thence recommended
and the articles of the Continental Association, emanating
frorh that body, were adopted by the St. Johns people, on
the 1st of December. On the 8th of December, fifteen
deputies were chosen in Savannah, to meet with those elected
from other Parishes, in Provincial Congress, on the 18th of
January, 1775. The General Assembly met also on that day,
and the critical situation of American affairs occupied a pro¬
minent place in the speech of the Governor, and the answers of
both branches of the Legislature. But though he urged
them to discountenance the resolutions of the other colonies,
the Assembly almost unanimously adopted those passed by
the Continental Congress, on the 14tnof October, 1774, set¬
ting forth, in the strongest light, the oppressive measures of the
ministry towards America.
While this body was thus engaged, the deputies to the
Provincial Congress had convened, and on the 23d of Jan¬
uary, forty-five of them entered into a non-importation, non-
consumption, and non-exportation association, to which they
solemnly bound themselves to adhere. On the same day,
Archibald Bullock, Noble Wimberly Jones, and John Hous¬
ton, were elected delegates to the General Congress, to
convene in Philadelphia, in May, 1775. To these proceed¬
ings the people of St. Johns took exceptions, because they
extended the time for closing the port from the 1st of De¬
cember to the 15th of March, which they declared contra¬
vened the purposes of the Association. The Committee of
that parish accordingly withdrew from the Provincial Con¬
gress, on the 21st of January, alleging that the committees
of the several parishes now sitting, are not, and cannot be
called a Provincial Congress, because the greater number of
parishes in this province are not represented therein; but.
24
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
this was erroneous, as seven of the twelve parishes sent del¬
egates to the meeting. On the 9th of February, therefore,
they addressed a letter to the General Committee in Charles¬
ton, praying to be received into their Association, and de¬
puted Daniel Roberts, Samuel Stevens and Joseph Wood, to
present the same. But the Carolinians refused the petition,,
on the ground of its militating with the 14th article of their
Continental Association, which precluded all intercourse with
a province, not acceding to the full terms of their Associa¬
tion. Baffled on this point, they determined to apply to the
Philadelphia Congress, and having the port of Sunbury in
their district, prohibited all dealings with Savannah, and on
the 25th of March, elected' Doctor Lyman Hall as a dele¬
gate to Congress, who, under certain restrictions, was ad¬
mitted into that august body.
At this period the parish of St. John possessed nearly one
third of the entire wealth of the province ; and its inhabit¬
ants were remarkable for their upright and independent char¬
acter. Sympathizing, from their New England origin, more
strongly with the northern distresses than the other parts
of Georgia, and being removed from the immediate supervi¬
sion of the Governor and his Council, they pressed on with
greater ardor and a firmer step than her sister parishes.
The time for action had arrived, and the irresolution of fear
had no place in their decisive councils. Alone she stood, a
Pharos of Liberty in England's most loyal province, renounc¬
ing every fellowship that savored not of freedom, and refusing
every luxury which contributed to ministerial coffers. With
a halter around her neck, and the gallows before her eyes,
she severed herself from surrounding associations, and cast
her lot, while as yet all was gloom and darkness, with the
fortunes of her country, to live with her rights, or die in their
defence. Proud spot of Georgia's soil! Well does it de¬
serve the appellation which a grateful state conferred upon
it, and truly may we say of its sons, in the remembrance of
their patriotic sacrifices, "nothing was wanting to their glory,
they were wanting to ours."
The hesitation on the part of the other parishes in Geor¬
gia to adopt all the measures of Congress, was the theme
of violent and unjustifiable denunciation. A momentary
glance at the condition of Georgia, will remove these un¬
founded aspersions. According to the returns of Governor
Dr. Stevensrs Discourse.
25
Wright to the Lords of Trade, the population of Georgia in
1774, was but seventeen thousand whites, and fifteen thou¬
sand blacks ; and the entire, militia, between the ages of six¬
teen and sixty, numbered only two thousand eight hundred
and twenty-eight, scattered from Augusta to St. Mary's.
Within her borders, and along her frontier, were the Creeks,
with four thousand gun men, the Chickasaws with four hun¬
dred and fifty gun men, the Cherokees with three thousand
gun men, and the Choctaws with two thousand five hun¬
dred gun men, comprising all together, over forty thousand
Indians, ten thousand of whom were warriors, and all, by
rneans: of presents and the influence of Captain Stuart and
Mr. Cameron, were firm in their alliance with the royal party,
and oonld he /brought in any numbers against the colony.
On the south, lay the garrisoned province of Florida with a
large- military force under Governor Tonyn, and hordes of
tory bandits waiting for the signal of the spoiler. On the
east was a long line of seaboard, with many fine harbors,
sheltered" bays, large rivers, well-stocked islands, and every
thing inviting for a naval depredation. And the Earl of Dart¬
mouth had directed General Gage and Admiral Graves, to
furnish Governor Wright with any force, military and naval,
which he might require. Besides these motives, which ad¬
dressed themselves to the fears of the colonists, there were
others, which partook of a moral character. Since its settle¬
ment, Georgia had received, by grant of Parliament, nearly a
million of dollars, in addition to the bounties' which had been
lavished on the silk; culture, indigo, androther agricultural
products. This consideration weighed with much force on
many minds, and on such, the Governor took every occasion
to impress the baseness of ingratitude towards a sovereign
whose paternal care had been -so largely exerted in their
behalf. Each of the other colonies also had a charter upon
which to base some right, or claim of redress, but Georgia
had none. When the trustees' patent expired in 1752, all
her chartered privileges became extinct. On its erection
into a royal province, the commission of the Governor was
her only constitution, she had no fixed and fundamental basis,
but lived upon the will of the monarch, the mere creature of
his volition. At the head of the government was Sir James
Wright, Bart., who, for fourteen years, had presided over it
with singular ability and acceptance. When he arrived in
VOL. II. 4
26
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
1760, the colony was languishing under the accumulated mis¬
management of the former trustees, and more recent Gov¬
ernors. But his zeal and efforts soon changed its aspect to
health and vigor. He guided it into the avenues of wealth,
he sought out the means of its advancement; his prudence
secured the amity of the Indians ; and his negotiations added
millions of acres to its territory. Diligent in his office, firm
in his resolves, loyal in his opinions, courteous in his manners,
and possessed of a vigorous and well-balanced mind, he ruled
the province more by suasion and argument than by menace
and force. Instead of being, like many of the royal. Gov¬
ernors, obnoxious, he was beloved by his people, and though
he differed from the majority of them as to the cause of their
distresses, and the means for their removal, he never allowed
himself to be betrayed into one act of violence, or into any
course of outrage and revenge. The few years of his ad¬
ministration were the only happy ones Georgia ever enjoyed,
until after the revolution; and to his energy and devoted-
ness, mainly, is to be attributed her civil and commercial
prosperity. With these obstacles within and around her, is
it to be wondered that Georgia hesitated and wavered ? that
she feared to assume a responsibility which threatened inevi¬
tably to crush her? Her little phalanx of patriots, but little
outnumbering the band of Leonidas, were men of Spartan
hearts; but Spartan hearts, even at Thermopylae, could not
resist the hosts of the Persians; and what had they to hope,
in her feeble state, her inhabitants rent with discord, her me¬
tropolis filled withigplacemen and officers, her seaboard guard¬
ed by a fleet, and ner frontier for t$nhundred and fifty miles,
gleaming with the tomahawk of the scalper, and the fires of
the warrior's wigwam ? If there ever was a time for Georgia
to falter, it was then ; and falter she did,—but only for a mo¬
ment, for, soon summoning her energies, she cast aside all
fear, and commending her cause to the God of battles, joined
in the sacred league of independence,
The attempted seizure of the military stores at Concord
and Lexington, and the battles consequent on that proce¬
dure, impressed the Americans with the necessity of securing
all provincial munitions, and preserving them for colonial use.
Accordingly, on the night of the 11th of May, 1775, the day
after the news of the first skirmish with the British troops
had arrived, Noble Wimberly Jones, Joseph Habersham, and
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
27
Edward Telfair, with a few others, broke open the King's
magazine, at the eastern part of the city, and took from it
over five hundred pounds of powder, part of which they
sent to Boston, where it was used in the battle of Bunker
Hill; thus uniting, on that field, the heroism of Massachu¬
setts and of Georgia, joining them, at the cannon's mouth, in
the first great contest of the revolution, to be disunited,—
never.
On Monday, the 5th of June, the first liberty pole was
erected in Georgia, and such was still the desire of the
people for reconciliation on constitutional principles, that
it was erected on the day celebrating His Majesty's birth;
and, at the dinner immediately after, amid the discharge of
artillery, under the fold of the liberty flag, the first toast
drank was, "the King;" the second, "American Liberty."
On the 22d of June, a Council of Safety was appointed,
and on the 15th of July, Archibald Bullock, John Houston,
Rev. John J. Zubly, D. D., Doctor Noble Wimberly Jones,
and Doctor Lyman Hall, were elected delegates to Congress,
four of whom presented their credentials to that body, Sep¬
tember 13th, 1775. Thus the confederation of the colonies
was rendered complete ; the first requisite for successful re¬
sistance.
The resolves of non-importation, passed by, the Provincial
Congress, on the 6th of July, 1775, were to take effect on
the 10th of September, by which all trade with Great Brit¬
ain, the West Indies, and every colony which had notagreed
to the rules of the Continental Associati^ ceased. By no
circumstance was the firmness of Georgia more tested, than
by the support of this Association. Nearly half of its pop¬
ulation were slaves, grouped in various numbers on scattered
plantations, dependent on their masters, whose supplies were
thus cut off without a possibility of present relief. Vessels,
indeed, frequently arrived with the necessaries required, but
the continental articles were rigidly enforced, and they de¬
parted without opening their cargo or coming up to town.
The self-denial of the Georgians was the more conspicuous,
in that they had none of the internal resources possessed
by the northern colonies. Their staple products were rice,
lumber, indigo, skins, &c., which found their market in the
West Indies, or Great Britain, and were there exchanged for
commodities needed at home; but this traffic was now closed.
28
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
Of bullion they had been nearly drained by northern traders
who would take only specie for their articles; and their
paper currency was daily depreciating. Manufactures
they had none, and the precarious trade on which they de¬
pended for supplies, was not at all adequate to their de¬
mands, for, in addition to the usual'dangers of the sea, their
proximity to the naval rendezvous of Bermuda, the refugee
province of Florida, and the fleet-covered Archipelago of the
West Indies, enhanced to such a degree the hazard of com¬
mercial intercourse, even with the parts which were open, that
twenty per cent, was often demanded for insuring vessels
bound to the southern provinces, and soon, no policy, at any
premium, could be obtained for a clearance to .Savannah.
The ships with their cargoes lay idly in our waters, or, at¬
tempting to run out, were seized by the enemy. The wheels
of the saw-mills stopped, because there was no demand for
lumber; the spade and the hoe rested in the field, for their
use, save for the purposes of domestic consumption, realized
no gains, and conferred no benefit: the whole industrial ma¬
chinery of the province was suddenly arrested, and distress
flung her tattered mantle over the once blooming fields, and
flourishing hamlets of Georgia. But patriotism hushed every
repining murmur, and they counted not their own lives dear
unto them, if they might but successfully maintain the cause
of freedom.
In June, 1775, Governor Wright wrote to the Earl of Dart¬
mouth, " a few troops twelve months ago would have kept all
the southern provinces out of rebellion and, according to
the direction of the noble Earl, the Governor, that same
month, wrote to General Gage and Admiral Graves, soliciting
immediate assistance, which would have been promptly ren¬
dered, but for the interception of the letters by the Commit¬
tee of Safety at Charleston, and their transmitting by the
post others, stating that Georgia was quiet, and no occasion
existed for the troops or vessels which they had been com¬
manded to hold subject to his order. The ships and soldiers
were consequently withheld, and it was not until Sir James
Wright, casually meeting General Gage in London, some
years after, inquired the cause of his non-compliance with so
pressing a request, that the forgery was revealed to them.
In consequence of the arrival of several men-of-war at
Tybee on the 17th, the Council of Safety, on the 18th of
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
29
January, 1776, resolved to secure the person of Sir James
Wright, to prevent his communicating with the officers on
board, and thereby assisting their operations against the
State. Joseph Habersham, a youthful patriot, undertook the
task. Proceeding that very afternoon to*the house of the
Governor, who had assembled a few officers at a dinner
party; he passed the sentinel at the €oor, centered the hall,
bowed politely to the company, then marched to the head of
the table, and laying his hand upon the shoulder of the Gov¬
ernor, said, " Sir, you are my prisoner." The party, aston¬
ished at his boldness, and supposing, from his firm manner,
that a large force was surrounding them, fled in the utmost
precipitation through doors and windows. The Governor
gave his solemn parole, but on the night of the llth of Feb¬
ruary, he escaped from his house, went in haste to Bona-
venture, and thence in an open boat to the Scarborough, of
twenty guns, Captain Barclay, where he arrived at three
o'clock in the morning. This deed was one of the most sig¬
nal instances of deliberate and daring prowess, in the history,
of the war. For a youth of twenty-four, unarmed and un¬
supported, to enter the mansion of the Chief Magistrate, and
at his own table, in broad day light, and amidst a circle of
officers, each of whom had some weapon of defence, and
place him under arrest, is an act of heroism ranking with the
most brilliant exploits of Roman or of Grecian fame. It was
the sublimity of courage. Some months previous to this,
Sir James Wright had asked leave to return to England, say¬
ing in his letter soliciting permission, " that a King's Gov¬
ernor has little or no business here," and this request had
been granted. Colonel Campbell being appointed to the
provisional magistracy, until the occupation of Savannah by
the British forces, under Provost, when, in 1780, Sir James
again assumed the government. From his retreat in the Scar¬
borough, he wrote to the Assembly, desiring them to procure
fresh supplies for the fleet,; but they refused, and the vigi¬
lance of the Council of Safety prevented its obtaining any,
except by rifling the vessels, which attempted to elude the
blockade. Pacific negotiations having failed, force was re¬
sorted to, for the purpose of capturing the eleven rice ships
which lay under the bluff", waiting to proceed to sea. On the
last of February, 1776, the Scarborough, Hiclinbroke, St.
John, and two large transports, with soldiers, came up the
30
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
river, and anchored at " five fathoms." This was a demon¬
stration not to be misunderstood. On the 2d of March, the
Council of Safety convened, and passed a resolution, " that
all the shipping in port be dismantled, and that the valu¬
ation of the houses of those appertaining to the friends of
America be taken, for the purpose of burning the same, ra¬
ther than suffer the British to possess them. And with a
devotion akin to that of Decius and Codrus, not one dissent¬
ing voice was raised against the measure, though the enforc¬
ing of it would make nearly every member of the Council a
'beggar. What said the Carolinians now ? They, who but a .
few years before, termed Georgia, " that infamous colony?"
and who scarcely a twelvemonth back had resolved " to hold
her inhabitants as inimical to the liberties of their country ?"
What thought they of those daring measures ? Their Pro¬
vincial Congress, in a letter signed by its President, Mr.
Henry Drayton, declared it " noble, patriotic, vigorous," and
that "it was an instance of heroic principle, not exceeded by
any, and equalled but by few, in history."
Having previously sounded Back river, two of the vessels
on the 2d of March sailed up that channel. One anchored
directly opposite the town, and the other grounded at the
west end of Hutchinson's Island in attempting to pass round
it and come down upon the shipping from above. During
the night, the troops from the first vessel under Majors Mait-
land and Grant, were silently marched across Hutchinson's
Island, and embarked in merchant vessels which lay on the
other side. When the morning of the 3d of March, 1776,
revealed the proximity of the naval and military force, the
inhabitants were filled with the utmost indignation. The
grounded vessel was immediately attacked by a company of
riflemen under Major John Habersham, who soon drove every
man from its deck, and would have made it his prize, but
having no boats to effect it, he had the mortification of see¬
ing her float off at high water and escape. In the mean
time General Mcintosh had collected a few troops, and^
despatched a flag of truce with several officers, to demand
why the soldiers had been brought up to town, and placed
in merchantmen in the river? The flag was detained ; an¬
other, sent to learn the cause of the detention, was denied
admittance; and firing upon the soldiers who had insolently
ordered it off, received in return a volley, which wounded
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
31
one man, and so shattered the boat that it with difficulty
reached the shore. Having no artillery of sufficient calibre
to dislodge them, an order was given to set the vessels on
fire. In the afternoon a few adventurers, among whom was
General James Jackson,—he, who was in the first and the
last battle in Georgia, proceeded to the ship Inverness, load¬
ed with rice, deer skins, &c., which they set on fire, and
slipping her cable, she drifted with the tide upon the brig
Nelly, which was soon wrapped in flames. The officers and
soldiers precipitately abandoned her, and in their confusion
threw themselves in the half-drained and uliginous rice fields,
whence they were extricated the next morning, with the loss
of their arms and ammunition. Two other vessels were also
consumed, and the invaders totally routed, not however
without the sacrifice of several^ valuable lives. The scenes
of that day and night were solemn and terrific. The sud¬
den marshalling of troops, the alarm of the people, the hur¬
ried death-volley, and the vessels wrapped in flames, every
mast a pinnacle of fire, their loosened sails fanning the ele¬
ment which was destroying them, and making the darkness
hideous with a lurid glare, combined to form a scene of
awful and soul-stirring sublimity. Hitherto, they had but
heard-of British aggression, but now, their own soil was moist
with the blood of their slain; their quiet homes had been
assailed; their property pillaged ; and their province threat¬
ened with devastation and ruin. The crisis had arrived,—
they met it like heroes.
Gentlemen of the Historical Society, I have thus in feeble¬
ness and brevity attempted to trace the progress of revolu¬
tionary proceedings in Georgia, from their incipiency, until
the first blood had been spilt in its borders. But the most
interesting part of that contest yet remains ; the sanguinary
scenes of New England were to find an answering token in
the gushing life-tide of our own citizens, the blazing horrors
of Charlestown and Falmouth, were met by the responsive
flames from our own dwellings; and the earthquake-voice
of misery, which rose from the suffering thousands of other
colonies, was echoed back by the wretched and destitute of
our own besieged and war-stricken province.
The revolution found Georgia the most defenceless, it
scourged her the severest, it left her the weakest of the thir-
32
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
teen colonies; but, though often cast down, she did not de¬
spond ; though overrun, she was not subdued ; " faint, yet
pursuing," she never relaxed her efforts, and never with¬
held her aid. The motto of her illustrious founder, "Nescit
cedere," was inscribed on every banner, and her soil, con¬
secrated by the blood of a Mcintosh, a D'Estaing, a Screven,
a Pulaski, was,—is,—and ever shall be,—the soil of pa¬
triotism.
It is well, in coming up to celebrate this birth-day of our
State, that we should gather together the several Socie¬
ties which this day honor us with their presence. A day,
whose thrilling associations should be hallowed in all coming
time, by the citizens of Georgia. United as we are, jn the
various relations of life, the ties of our union extend-even to
the earliest annals of this commonwealth.- We are con¬
nected by a long series of eventful and blending histories;
and though now arranged under the badges of} our- respect¬
ive associations, we are all protected by the same broad folds
whose stars and stripes have become the universal watch¬
word of the free.
Casting my eye in historic retrospect across the ocean,
and the "ocean-girted isle" into the heart of Europe, I see
an assemblage "of way-worn travellers enter a city of Nassau,
singing the songs of Zion as they walk. A rude cart con¬
veys their few worldly goods, and two covered ones help on
their toilsome journey ; the aged parent, the feeble wife, and
the helpless infant. The charity of the benevolent supplies
their wants, their confidence in God supports their strength;
the distant hills have shut out the last view of the homes of
their youth, and a wide ocean stretches its stormy waves
before them. Who are - these ? and where are they going 1
They are the exiled Saltzburgers journeying to the Ameri¬
can Canaan. They are the future settlers of Georgia, des¬
tined to give shape and tone to its whole character, who in
a few months pitched their tents in the squares of our city,
and who shortly ended their wanderings by the erection of a
village, to which, in the spirit of Samuel of old, they gave the
name of Ebenezer, feeling with the prophet, that hitherto
the Lord had indeed helped them. Gentlemen of the Ger¬
man Friendly Society, these were from your father-land, the
pious pilgrims of the old world, the noble and upright citi¬
zens of the new, whose industry, integrity and worth will
ever be conspicuous in the records of our State.
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
33
But the inviting voice of Georgia did not sound only in
the ancient feudatories of Germany. It echoed among the
castled crags and highland glens of Scotland, and the Gaelic
mountaineer paused in the chase to listen to its winning
tones. Nor did he listen in vain. Beneath his industry the
wilderness smiled in the gladness of habitable life, and the
town of New Inverness (now Darien) started up at his bid¬
ding. When hostilities began with Spain, it was a highland
band which marched to the walls of St. Augustine, and ex¬
hibited almost superhuman prowess at the surprise of Fort
Moosa; and when, in turn, the same foes invaded Georgia,
it was then, also, a highland regiment, which repelled their
chosen troops at the memorable battle of bloody Marsh, and
whose valor rescued both Georgia and Carolina from im¬
pending destruction. How appropriate, then, that the rep¬
resentatives of Scotia's sons, whose Claymores saved Geor¬
gia a century since, and whose Mclntoshes and Stewarts
were gallantly conspicuous in the revolution, should gather
with us this day, marshaled under the banner of their patron
saint, to recount the deeds of their countrymen and ours.
Attracted by the dazzling descriptions of Georgia, large
emigrations from Ireland hastened to the spot, which, in the
language of Waller, had been portrayed as "kept by heaven
uncurst, to show how all things were created first;" and
settled the villages of Highgate and Queensborough. But
waving the ties which thus early associated Georgia and Ire¬
land, and confining ourselves to the period of the revolution,
let us behold, there, the strong links which bound us to each
other. Shall I speak of Colonel John Dooley, the terror of the
tories, who was inhumanly butchered by a party of them in
the bosom of his family for his bold partisanship in the cause
of America ? of the well-known Paddy Carr, who himself
had killed over a hundred of the enemy, notching his rifle for
every victim of his aim, and who, on being complimented on
his conduct, replied, that "he would have deserved the
merit, but for his heart, which nature had made too tender
and compassionate for a soldier?" Shall I recall the memory
of Sergeant Jasper, whose name is but a synonyme of
bravery, and who fell gloriously at the siege of Savannah ?
Or shall I narrate the marvellous exploit of Colonel John
White, who, with only four companions, and by a stratagem
surpassing even the legends of chivalry, captured at Sun-
VOL. II. 5
34
Dr. Stevens''s Discourse.
bury, five British vessels; one mounting fourteen guns, the
others four guns each, containing one hundred and eleven
soldiers, forty seamen, and one hundred and thirty stand of
arms ? These, gentlemen of the Hibernian Society, were
all Irishmen, the generous sons of the shamrock-isle, who
nobly devoted themselves to the cause of the colonies, and
shed their blood in its defence.
Nor are there ties wanting to unite us with the worthy
fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons. He who founded
Georgia instituted the first Lodge within its borders. Its
brethren have been among the most illustrious of her sons.
Its spirit has saved the life of many a patriot from the torture
of the savage. Its symbols, like a rainbow of mercy, have be¬
tokened the covenant of peace even amidst the rudest scenes
of war; and the foes and the freemen have met under its
arch in security, and separated friends. Yea, more, gentle¬
men, that sacred volume which is borne with reverence be¬
fore you, is the gift of Oglethorpe. Precious relic of your
founder! holy memorial of his friendship! Long may it be
cherished by you as a thrice hallowed treasure; hallowed,
as the revelation of Jehovah; hallowed, as the corner-stone
of your institution; and hallowed, as the gift of him who
erected on this spot the first colony which charity ever
founded for the poor, the distressed, and the persecuted.
The retired sphere in which woman moves, affords but
few incidents to engage the pen of the historian. There are
periods, however, which call forth the strong characteristics
of her mind; which draw her from the restricted orbit of
domestic life and elicit those sublime traits of fortitude, cour¬
age and firmness, which make us acknowledge her superi¬
ority and her worth. Such a period was the American revo¬
lution when the fortunes of the colonist were shrouded in
gloom, and a night of despair at the failure of so many
schemes, was gathering its blackness around them, then it
was, that they developed those sterling attributes of patriot¬
ism and self-devotion which made even the " raven down of
darkness smile." It was a woman who gave to the patriots
of Boston the first intimation they ever had of the approach¬
ing hostilities of the 19th of April, 1775. It was a woman
whose vigilance saved the army of Washington at Valley
Forge, and throughout the seven long years of that struggle,
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
35
there were no higher instances of patriotism exhibited than
by those who had sent their fathers, their husbands, their
brothers, their sons to the battle field, and waited in their
desolate dwelling the sound of every footstep, lest it should
bring the intelligence of sorrow and bereavement. You,
daughters of America, who enjoy the broad sunlight of
liberty, little know the painful watchings, the pinching want,
the dismal wretchedness, the anguished bosoms, and the
breaking hearts of the heroines of the revolution. In this
province, owing to their proximity to the Indian territory,
their sufferings were peculiarly severe. Their husbands
were butchered by their sides; their dwellings committed to
the flames; the scalps of their sons strung around their
necks; their babes torn from their arms to be dashed against
the stones; exposed to every insult and brutality; the price
of blood upon their heads without, and famine staring at
them from their hearths within. Such was the price which
many a wife and mother and daughter paid for your freedom.
The record of their trials no pen can write, the worth of their
struggles no mind can conceive. Silent and unseen to mor¬
tal eye, their prayers craved blessings on their country's
arms, and their charities ministered to the suffering soldiery.
They were clad by the garments of their needles; fed by the
provisions which their jewels purchased ; cheered by the
encomium of their smiles; led to victory under banners
which their hands wrought; and, to their cooperation should
be ascribed an eminent degree of that glory which encircles
the name of "Time's last and noblest offspring."
This day completes one hundred and eight years since
Oglethorpe, with his little company, ascended in a few peria-
guas the Savannah, and landed on this bluff. They came,
but a handful of men, in feebleness and insecurity; they
pitched their large tent under the overshadowing pines, and
guarded by a few soldiers from Carolina, and the warriors of
Tomo Chichi, composed themselves to their first slumber on
the soil of Georgia. A century has passed ; and she who
was then almost a century behind the other colonies, has
now a proud eminence among her sister States, enjoying a
large domain, a teaming population, a productive agriculture,
a lucrative commerce, a flourishing literature, a noble scheme
of internaljjmprovement, and sharing largely those blessings
of civil and religious liberty, which she so largely contributed
36
Dr. Stevens's Discourse.
to secure. We are now reaping the fruits of the labors of
our fathers; the struggle is over—the conquest has been
achieved—the noble inheritance of freedom is ours. Let us
not separate this day without gathering from the past some
lesson of wisdom, which we can carry forward to the future.
When the son of Ulysses, in that beautiful fiction of Fenelon,
arrived at manhood, his guardian Mentor, throwing aside his
veil of flesh, and revealing to him his celestial form, said to
him, " I have guided you through rocks and quicksands,
through the ensanguined battle, and the various calamities
incident to the human species. I have taught you, through
forcible experience, the good and the bad maxims, by which
government may be carried on; it is now time that you
should be free. Love your fellow-creatures; endeavor to
renew the golden age; avoid effeminacy, profuseness, and
ostentation. Let simplicity b^your best ornament; on vir¬
tue and your own just action^ rest your chief security."
Practise these directions, fellow-citizens, and "pure liberty,
peace, delightful abundance and unsullied glory shall ever
attend you."
NEW VOYAGE TO GEORGIA.
BY
A YOUNG GENTLEMAN.
GIVING AN ACCOUNT OF HIS TRAVELS TO SOUTH CAROLINA,
AND PART OF NORTH CAROLINA.
TO WHICH iS ADDED,
A CURIOUS ACCOUNT OF THE INDIANS,
BY AN HONORABLE PERSON.
AND
A POEM TO JAMES OGLETHORPE, ESQ., ON HIS ARRIVAL
FROM GEORGIA.
THE SECOND EDITION.
LONDON : PRINTED FOR J. WILFORD, AT THE THREE FLOWER DE
LUCES, BEHIND THE CHAPTER-HOUSE, IN ST. PAUL'S
CHURCHYARD, 1737.
(Price One Shilling.)
NOTE.
This is a reprint of an extremely rare pamphlet. The first edition
was published in 1735.
It is a pleasing and simple narrative of the condition of the settlement,
and is full of romantic incidents, and personal adventures, through the
three lower colonies of the American continent.
At the end, is an account of the Indians in Georgia, written by Ogle¬
thorpe, forming part of a letter written by him from Savannah, 9th June,
1733, to a distinguished gentleman in London. It was first published in
the " Weekly Miscellany" for August 11, 1733, and was introduced into
the Gentleman's Magazine for the s$tme month, by the following preface.
" The writer of a letter in this paper (the Weekly Miscellany), highly ap¬
plauds the undertaking of establishing a colony in Georgia, bestows large
encomiums on the founders of it; and adds, that a subscription is now
opened by the trustees, for the religious uses of the colony. A church is
to be built and endowed at Savannah, and a clergyman, well recommend¬
ed, is sent over on the foot of an annual salary, to reside as the first min¬
ister of it there. These early expressions of zeal in the trustees, give us
just ground to hope that a better face of religion will be preserved in Geor¬
gia, than appears in many of our American settlements; and that many
obstacles which have hitherto defeated all attempts to gain the Indians
may be gradually removed ; and as a confirmation of his hopes the writer
gives the following part of a letter from James Oglethorpe, Esq."
It is rather doubtful to whom belongs the authorship of the poem to
Oglethorpe, which concludes the pamphlet. A piece written on the same
occasion, and addressed to the same person, was published as original in
the Gentleman's Magazine, for September, 1734. The similarity of
ideas, and identity of lines prove that one is borrowed from the other;
and as the poem in the Gentleman's Magazine is not only superior to the
other, but apparently preceded it by nearly a year, there appears just
ground for the opinion, that the lines in the pamphlet are plagiarised from
those in the Magazine. As literary tributes to the benevolence of Ogle¬
thorpe, we publish both.
A
NEW VOYAGE TO GEORGIA.
I arrived safe at Charleston, in South Carolina, after a
long and tedious passage of three months from London, on
the 10th day of December, 1733, where I was handsomely
received the night of my arrival by his Excellency, Robert
Johnson, Esq., captain general, governor and commander
in chief in and over his majesty's province of South Caro¬
lina.
Charleston is very pleasantly situated on a point or neck
of land, about five miles long, between two rivers, the one
called Cooper river to the northward, and the other Ashly
river to the southward, so that there is but one way out of
the town by land. I stayed there till the 10th of January,
1734, when I set out with an intent to see the town Savan¬
nah, in the colony of Georgia, as likewise the new township
of Purysburg, in the province of South Carolina, accompanied
by several other gentlemen, in a schooner, belonging to cap¬
tain Colcock of Charleston. On the fourth morning, we came
within sight of the island of Tybee, which is a point of land
to the southward of the bar of Savannah ; we saw the pilot-
boat coming to fetch us in, but the wind being very fair at
E. by N. and E.N.E., and having at least three fathom at
low water, we ventured in without him: when we were
over the bar, we got the captain to order his boat to be
hoisted out, that we might take a view of the island of
Tybee, where we landed about ten the next morning.
Tybee is a very pleasant island, and has a beautiful creek to
40
A New Voyage to Georgia.
the westward of it, so that a ship of any burthen may lie
safe at anchor; we saw there a sloop for Barbadoes, which
was forced in by the badness of the weather. We stayed on
the island till about four in the afternoon, where we saw great
plenty of deer, j3ut_not being; acquainted with the nature of
dheywoodsj could not shoot any of them. Having got the
pilot on board, we went up to Savannah river, and about
eight at night reached the town of Savannah, which is about
ten miles from the bar, where we were very handsomely
received by the honorable James Oglethorpe, Esq., one of
the trustees for establishing that new colony, who is a worthy
gentleman, and one that has undergone a great many hard¬
ships in setting of it, and one that the English nation will
always be bound to pray for; it is to be wished, all other
gentlemen, especially those that have it in their power, would
have the good of their country, and of all his majesty's sub¬
jects as much at heart, as this honorable gentleman. Savan¬
nah is a very pleasant to^h, beftig situated on a beautiful
bluff, at least sixty feet high, on- the^said river; it is a fine
navigable river, so that ships of any burden may come up to
the town, and a great many miles above; the town is very
regularly laid out, and they have now at least forty houses in
it; they are at present obliged to have all their things up by
a crane from the water, but I understand Mr. Oglethorpe has
laid some scheme for another contrivance ; the houses are all
of them of the same size, that is twenty-two by sixteen.
There are still to be seen the four beautiful pines Mr. Ogle¬
thorpe first encamped under, with the first forty that went
over with him, and where he lay himself for near a twelve¬
month, till in short it was nothing but rags, though even now
he lays in a house without a chimney in it, and indeed much
harder than any of the people that are settled there. In the
middle of the town they have reserved a spot of land, which
they intend to build a church on, as soon as possible, though
they have a place, at present, set apart for public worship on
Sunday, where the children are educated all the rest of the
week ; they have likewise a very beautiful public store, full of
necessaries, as tools, &c. for the poor people that come over
there, as likewise provisions, which are delivered out to them
very regularly; they have likewise conveniences for all those
that come over there, till they have built them a house. The
honorable trustees have a beautiful garden there, consisting
A New Voyage to Georgia.
41
of ten acres, where are a great many white mulberry trees,
vines, and orange trees raised, on purpose for the poor peo¬
ple ; their lots in town consist of one quarter of an acre, but
they have other lots a small distance out of town, consisting
of five acres, which is designed for plantations. I do not in
the least question, but by the great assistance they have had
from England, which has been laid out to the best advantage,
and the good economy of the honorable trustees, it will, in a
few years time, become a flourishing country. The chief
manufacture they go upon is silk and wine, and it will not be
long before they will bring both to perfection. I think it is
the pleasantest climate in the world ; for it is neither too warm
in the summer, nor too cold in the winter. They have cer¬
tainly the finest water in the world, and the land is extra¬
ordinary good ; this may certainly be called the land of
Canaan. There is, at present, a small Indian town, within
half a mile of Savannah, where there are sometimes a great
many of the Creek Nation, but as the inhabitants of Savan¬
nah increase, they will be obliged to remove some small dis¬
tance farther, on some land they have reserved for their own
use. I stayed there five days, in which time I took a par¬
ticular view of every thing worthy of notice. They have a
large guard-house, where are several guns mounted, and
they keep watch night and day; they have likewise begun
building a large light house, that is to be upwards of fourscore
feet high, and is to be set upon the point of Tybee island for
directions for shipping ; on the sixth morning I set out from
thence, accompatiied by two other gentlemen in a canoe with
four oars, up the said river, and in the afternoon reached
Purysburg, which is about twenty-four miles from Savan¬
nah. On the other side of the river Purysburg is a very
pleasant place, being situate on the north side of Savannah
river, on a very pleasant bluff*, about twenty feet high. The
land thereabouts is, generally speaking, very good, but the
poor people have been unjustly cheated of the best part of it;
I mean that part lying between them and Savannah. It is
judged not to be above fourteen miles on a direct line from
thence, and it is supposed will not be long ere they have a
road cut: it is judged to be upwards of two hundred miles
at present by land from Charleston, and not above one hun¬
dred and sixty by water; but when the roads are made
passable, which they propose this next spring, it will then
vol. ii. 6
42
A New Voyage to Geoigia.
not exceed an hundred and twenty at most; they have
already built, at their own expense, a very pretty fort, and
can mount on occasion twenty-four guns. The town is at
least one mile and a quarter long, but they have at present
only barracks to lie in; but the people seem to be very
industrious, and had they but some small supply from Eng¬
land, it would shortly become a flourishing place. On the
23d of January, I left Purysburg, and reached Savannah by
dinner time, where I was again well received by Mr. Ogle¬
thorpe, who wTas pleased to keep open house for all gentle¬
men comers and goers, so long as the people had the hap¬
piness of his company there. On the 24th I set out in a
periauger from thence to Charleston, and the wind blowing
very hard when we came to the Daufisky Sounds, which is
the mouth of the Savannah river, we were obliged to put
into Tybee Creek, where we lay as safe as in a millpond all
that night, and the next morning crossed the Sounds, and
having a fair wind at south by west, and going within land,
we reached Port Royal that night, which is about forty miles
from Savannah; but the wind still continuing fair, and the
tide serving, we had not an opportunity to see that place:
the next night we reached Morton town or Bear bluff, which
is a pretty pleasant place, but not very thick of inhabitants,
passing by great bodies of good land on both sides of us,
and several beautiful plantations. On the 27th we reached
Charleston, which is about one hundred and forty miles
from Savannah, meeting with nothing material on our pas¬
sage.
I stayed in Charleston till the 1st of February, when I set
out with an intent to see the northern part of South Caro¬
lina by land, accompanied by two other gentlemen, one ser¬
vant and a sumpter horse : I gave thirty-five pounds for my
horse in Charleston, or five pounds sterling. We rode the
first night to a large tavern at Goose creek, kept by one
Keatingal, twenty-four miles from the town aforesaid, pass¬
ing by several beautiful plantations on each side of the road,
and mostly brick houses; about eight the next morning we
set out from thence, and about nine crossed Childsberry-
Ferry, alias the Strawberry or Cooper river; it is an exceed¬
ing pleasant place, being situate on the north side of the
river, on a fine bluff, so that ships of any bprthen may come
close up to the town: the men-of-war frequently come up
A New Voyage to Georgia.
43
here in the summer time, for fear of the worm : it is about
thirty miles by land from Charleston, and about sixty by
water. We stayed there about an hour and a half, and
then pursued our journey ; we rode about ten miles farther
on the road, through an open pine barren, without so much
as seeing any house, where we encamped to refresh our¬
selves, making a large fire with lightwood, and having plenty
of provisions with us, we stayed there till three in the after¬
noon, when we mounted our horses and pursued our jour¬
ney : we rode about four miles farther, when we came to a
small tavern on the road, which goes by the name of Wit-
ton's, where we drank one bowl of punch, and inquired how
far it was to the next house on the road, which they told us
was about ten miles farther, which was the place we intend¬
ed to sleep at that night. When we came within two miles
of the house, my horse made a full stand and immediately
dropped down dead under me, though he had no symptoms
in the least of anf distemper, till the moment he died.
We made shift as well as we could to reach the next house,
which proved to be one Captain Screen's, at French San tee
on Santee river, where we were kindly received by his wife,
he not being at home; the next morning I was obliged to
buy another horse of her to pursue my journey, which cost
me fifty pounds. The next morning, about ten, we left his
house, and crossed the Santee river, which is a very beautiful
river, but very liable to overflow, and the freshes being
then so very high, we were obliged to go at least two miles
in the ferry-boat, up a large cypress swamp, before we
could get to the landing, which is called Le Breys, or the
Ferry, though it seems it is sometimes so low, that it is not
above a quarter of a mile over. The land is exceeding good
thereabouts, but the people run great risks in planting, on
account of the freshes; we rode about two miles farther,
wThere we came to a large pine savannah, when it began to
rain very hard. When we were about in the middle of the
savannah, we saw several wild beasts, which we rode up to
as near as possible without danger, which proved to be four
tigers and six bears, which made off as fast as they could on
sight of us ; but being willing to be satisfied what might be
the occasion of their being there together in such an open
place, we rode up to the spot where we first saw them, and
found the remains of a young calf they had killed, and did
44
A New Voyage to Georgia.
imagine, by the trampling of the grass, they had been fight¬
ing about it. About a mile farther we came within sight of a
house at a distance, through a large cypress swamp, which
we were obliged to cross, but it raining very hard, and thun¬
dering very much, could not make any body hear us halloo;
so that we then concluded to take every one his horse, and
lead them over the best we could ; but sure, no men in the
world ever met with a worse place; sometimes our horses
would be over their backs, and sometimes ourselves up to
our necks, but by the providence of God, we got over safe
in about two hours' time, though the place was not above a
hundred yards through. It goes by the name of Cedar
creek, but they say it is not so bad at all times, only when
the freshes are up, as it is a creek out of Santee river; but
it is always bad at best. We slept there that night at one
Mr. Roberts's, who is the owner of it, who gave us a hearty
welcome. The next morning about ie$, we set out on our
journey, and having crossed over the six Causeways, which is
a very remarkable place, we came at last to one Lewis's,
about twelve miles from his house, and about fifteen miles
from Georgetown in Winneaw; it being a small tavern, we
called for some punch; but he had nothing to drink but a
little bumboe, which is rum, sugar, and water, and some
hominy and milk, and potatoes. Hominy is a sort of a meal
much resembling our oat meal in England, made of their
Indian corn; w& stayed there till three in the afternoon,
when we mounted our horses and reached George Fort the
same night. Georgetown is a very pleasant place, being
situated on a fine bluff on Sandpit creek, and abput ten
miles from the bar; the said creek heads about ten miles
above the town, but any ship that can come over the
bar, may come up to the town. The bar indeed, they say,
is not extraordinary good, but there has been several ships
of a hundred and fifty tons there and upwards. The town
is laid out very regular, but at present there are a great
many more houses than inhabitants; but do believe it will
not be long ere it is thoroughly settled, it being a place that
has a very good prospect for trade, though I must confess,
the land to the southward is much preferable, only this place,
they say, is not in much danger, in case of an Indian war,
which the people to the southward are in daily fear of;
though for my part, I think, without any reason. We stayed
A New Voyage to Georgia.
45
there two days, and on the 7th of February set out from
thence in a large canoe, leaving our horses behind us, with
an intent to take a view of the lands on Waccumaw river.
There are three rivers which vent themselves into one, which
make the bar of Georgetown, .which are Waccumaw on the
main, and P. D., out of which there are several cut offs
into Waccumaw, and Black river. The same night we
reached Mr. Gordon's on P. D., where we slept; it is about
ten miles from Georgetown. The next morning we set out,
accompanied by himself, to Major Pauly's, on Waccumaw,
and from thence proceeded up the said river, accompanied
by them both, and on which we found a great deal of good
land; but it is all entirely taken up for above forty miles.
We slept that night on a bluff belonging to one Captain
Matthews, in Charleston, about ten miles from the Major's,
passing by several pretty settlements on the main ; we found
there two half barrels of pitch, and being very cold, set fire
to them, and dressed some salt beef and rice for our sup¬
pers. We left that place about four the next morning, and by
eight came to a bluff belonging to one of the Major's sisters,
adjoining to which there was vacant land, which, after having
breakfasted, we took a view of; but it proving to be mostly
pine barren, and that is but very indifferent, and not fit for
any thing but tar and turpentine, we left it for the use of
others that might have occasion for it; from thence we came to
another beautiful bluff, but an island, and very small, not being
above one hundred acres at most, and inquiring the name of
it, found it had none; so one in our company named it after
his, by throwing a bottle of rum against the largest pine tree,
and it goes after his name to this day. We slept there that
night, and the next morning proceeded on our voyage, and
came to a beautiful bluff on P. D. side, about two miles from
the other of the opposite side, which we took a particular
view of, and liking the situation of the place very well, we
encamped there, and found a great deal of good oak and
hickory, and the pine land very valuable, and a great deal of
good cypress swamp, which is counted the best for rice ; and
having a surveyor with us, one gentleman in company con¬
cluded to run some out, which he did the next morning; but
in the interim, while we were running out the land, our com¬
panions went up the said river in the boat to look for more,
leaving only one bottle of punch, and a biscuit a piece, pro¬
mising to be back again in the afternoon ; but in short, they
A New Voyage to Georgia.
never came near us that night, nor the next day, in which
time we had like to have been starved, and not knowing
what might be the occasion of their stay, we concluded to
tie some trees together, and make a barque, as the Indians
call it, to ford over to the main, where we might possibly find
a house. But the next morning, when we were in the midst
of our work, our companions came back to us, but without
one morsel of provision, the oarsmen having eat it all up, so
that we were then almost as bad off as before, save only our
having our guns again, which we had unluckily left in the
boat. We made shift to shoot some crows and woodpeck¬
ers, which we lived on that day; but inquiring what might
be the occasion of their staying so long, they told us one of
the men had straggled out in the wood by himself a shoot¬
ing, and it was with great difficulty they found him again.
The next morning we went out with an intent to shoot some
venison; but having hunted a considerable time, and not
meeting with any, concluded to return to our camp; but in
our return met with a wolf in full chase after a deer, and had
the good fortune to kill them both; so that we had then pro¬
visions sufficient for two days longer, which time we spent
very pleasantly ; and finding by our companions that there
was still a better land higher up, we concluded to see it,
trusting to our guns to supply us with provisions, which they
did very plentifully.
The next bluff we came to was the bluff on which Kings¬
town is to be settled, but there are yet no inhabitants; the
lower part of the township is not above fifty miles from
Georgetown, but the tide runs seventy miles up; it is much
the boldest river in all South Carolina ; in a parallel line with
the sea coast, which runs north-east snd south-west, and is
not above two miles across to it in some places. But the
township is now settled on P. D. side, though it was first run
out, half on one side and half on the other. The people have
great advantage in settling in these townships, for they pay
no tax for ten years, nor quit rent, which those that settle out
of them are obliged to do the first year. The land hereabouts
is, for the generality, very good, and for the most part high
champaign land, and is not subject to overflow, as a great
many of the rivers do, particularly P. D. and San tee; this
river runs about two hundred and fifty miles up, and heads
in a beautiful lake. [Vide the particulars in my travels to
-Cape Fear.]
A New Voyage to Georgia.
The next night we encamped on Bear Bluff, about thirty
miles above the township: I think this tract is much the
finest on all the river; and, I believe, if we had had each of
us a warrant, we should have fell out about the choice of
it: but we had neither of us one with us, so were obliged to
leave it for some other. That night we had a very odd
affair happened. One of our men had killed a venison in
the evening, and about 12 o'clock at night as we were all of
us fast asleep, one of my companions was \ggked by a noise
he heard at a small distance from him, and as I lay the next
to him, he endeavored to wake me as gently as he could :
when I awaked, he bid me present my piece, for he had just
seen something not above six yards from him, which he did
imagine was a bear; we lay in that posture with our pieces
presented to the same place where we first saw him, for
near half an hour, when we heard him coming again, and
soon after saw him, when we both fired and shot him dead
on the spotr but instead of *a bear, it proved to be a wolf,
that had stole one quarter of venison before, and was just
then come for a second ; and, indeed, it was very lucky for
us that we killed him, or otherwise we must have come to
short allowance. On the 20th of February, we set out on
our voyage back again, and the first night reached Kingstown
bluff, where we had the good fortune to kill one bear, some
of which we barbicued for our suppers. ~^TKe~nexTmorning
we sat out from thence, and the same night reached Major
Pauly's, where I had the misfortune to lose my pocket-book,
with fifteen pounds in it, but could not find it again, though
I offered the negroes the money, so I could but have my
book. The next morning we set out from the Major's, and
reached Georgetown the same night, where we stayed two
days to refresh ourselves, after our fatiguing voyage. On the
20th of February, we set out on our journey to Charleston ;
one of our companion's horses having strayed away in our
absence, he was obliged to borrow another; the first night
we reached Captain Smith's, about ten miles from George¬
town, who is one of the Assembly in that province, who
told us he had got a warrant, and did intend to run out Bear
Bluff the next week, but was very much afraid lest we had
been beforehand with him, but having assured him to the
contrary, he entertained us very handsomely. The next
morning we left the house, and by noon reached Lewis,
48
A New Voyage to Georgia.
where there had been a very unhappy accident the night
before. Two men being in liquor, they quarrelled till they
came to blows, when one had the fortune to throw the other
down; the undermost, finding the other to be too strong for
him, bit off his nose, which made the other immediately let
him go ; upon which the fellow made his escape, and was
not then to be heard of. We stayed there two hours, and
hearing the freshes were risen very much, my companions
did not care to venture the same way back, but chose to go
over at Daubusk's ferry, about eight miles to the north east
of Le Brey's, but desired me, as 1 had the freshest and
strongest horse, and one that had been pretty much used to
those roads, to go the other way, in case his horse should be
gone that way, and so we miss of him, and to meet them
the same night at Captain Screen's, which I promised to do.
When I came to Cedar creek, the freshes were so very
high, that the people of the house desired I would not ven¬
ture over there ; for that it was'impossible without swimming
my horse, it having rose at least eight feet the night before,
but rather to go about two miles higher up the said creek,
where I might see a blind sort of a path, which they were
obliged to make use of sometimes themselves, and where I
might go over in safety; but, happening not to go high
enough up, mistook the path, and was. obliged to swim my
horse at last, and imagining by his treading on the stump of
a tree, that he had recovered ground again. The stump
broke, and the horse and myself tumbled in over head and
ears, and it was with great difficulty we both got out again.
I had at least five miles farther to Le Brey's, or the ferry,
and was obliged to ride that in my wet clothes. I reached
• there about six at night, when it was too late for me to go
over, it being very dangerous after sunset. But now comes
the worst misfortune of all; for after I had dried myself, and
began to examine my pockets, I recollected I had not one
farthing of money. In this condition I did not know what
to do, for I had ten shillings to pay for my ferriage, and horse,
lodging and punch, &,c. besides; but as fortune would have
it, there accidentally came in three country planters, who
proposed playing a game at whisk, but wanted a fourth to
make up a set, my landlord not being at home ; so they de¬
sired me to make one, which I did, remembering the old
proverb, "nothing venture, nothing have." We played till two
A New Voyage to Georgia.
49
o'clock in the morning, in which I made shift to win two
pounds, seventeen shillings, and six pence. In the morning,
calling to pay reckoning and ferriage, it came to two pounds,
so that I had then seventeen shillings and six pence clear.
I set out from thence about six in the morning, and at seven
landed on the other side, where I met one of my companions
coming to relieve me, imagining, as well they might, that I
had pawned myself, knowing I had not one farthing about
me; but when I showed them the money I hid, and did
assure them my ferriage, &c. was paid, they were agreeably
surprised, and could not imagine by what enchantment I
came by it. I told them the story, they were wonderfully
pleased, for money began to be short with us all. We set
out at ten from Captain Screen's, and by noon reached Wit-
ton's, where we dined about two in the afternoon; we set
out from thence, and by six reached Childsberry, where we
slept that night. The next morning about ten we crossed
the ferry, and reached Mr. Katirg's in Goose creek by noon,
where we spent the last of our money. We reached
Charleston the same night by twelve, calling at several
planters' houses by the way, where we were handsomely
received.
I stayed in Charleston till the 20th of April, 1734. Where
I set on my travels to the southern parts of South Carolina
by land, and after having crossed Ashley river, and two
branches of Stone river, took up my lodgings at one Major
Smith's, a very worthy gentleman, where I was handsomely
entertained. It is about thirty miles from Charleston, and
the land is, for the generality, very good, being most of it oak
and hickory, which is counted the best for corn and peas,
which they plant in great plenty hereabouts. The next
morning, about five, I left the Major's house, and by ten
crossed Edistow river in a little canoe, swimming my horse
on one side of it. The land is mostly thereabouts fine
cypress swamps, which they count the best for rice, which,
if it was well settled, would be very valuable. About two
miles after I crossed that river I lost my way, and came to a
place called Jackson's ferry. About six miles to the south¬
east of it I met with a beautiful plantation there, belonging
to Captain Peters, very much resembling a gentleman's
country seat in England; I there met with one Mr. John
Woodward, a young gentleman, that country born, who car-
VOL. II. 7
50
A Neiv Voyage to Georgia.
ried me that night to Captain Grey's, one who had formerly
been a Captain at Savannah garrison in that province, who
entertained us with the best he could afford, being hominy
and milk, and potatoes. The potatoes are not like our
English ones, some of them are so large they weigh three or
four pounds ; they eat, when baked, much like a roasted
chestnut. They feed their negroes there with nothing else
in the season, and in the summer with nothing but hominy ;
they count it very hearty food, and at most planters' houses
they eat nothing but one or the other in the room of bread.
We left his house about four the next morning, and reached
Mr. Woodward's by ten, where I made a hearty breakfast.
It is a fine old plantation, settled by his grandfather, on the
head of Ashepoo river, which is a branch of Edistow; but
being driven from thence in the Indian war in 1713, has
never been improved since, till this year.
Governor Craven kept a garrison there for a considerable
time in the Indian war, and the remains of it are to be seen
at this day. I stayed at his house three days, and met with
a very hearty welcome, and plenty of wine, punch, and good
English strong beer.
The gentlemen in general, in this country, are exceeding
civil to strangers, so that a man, if he knows but the nature
of the country, may go from one plantation to another, for a
year or two, and keep his horse, and never cost him a far¬
thing, and the gentlemen will be always glad of his com¬
pany.
On the fourth morning I left Mr. Woodward's, accompa¬
nied by himself, to a large savannah, called Godfrey's, where
he took his leave of me.
A savannah is a large spot of clear land, where there never
was any timber grew, and nothing but grass, which is ex¬
ceeding good for a stock of cattle, and on which they fre¬
quently settle their cow-pens. This savannah is about one
mile over, and several in lengthbut being obliged to cross it,
it was so very boggy that I could not ride, so was obliged to
drive my horse before me, and sometimes tumbling in almost
up to the middle. When I was got about half over, I over¬
took one Captain Macpherson, Captain of the Fort of Argyle,
on the Ogechee river, in the colony of Georgia, being near
to the Spanish settlement named Augustine. He was driv¬
ing one hundred and fifty cattle to Savannah, in Georgia, by
Mr. Oglethorpe's order, on the trustees' account.
A New Voyage to Georgia.
51
I rode in company with him for about six miles, when he
was so kind as to offer me a servant to show me the way to
a plantation of his about sixteen miles from thence, which he
had newly settled, and where his wife then was. About six at
night I crossed the salt-catchers, being the head of the Cam-
bake river, in a small canoe, swimming our horses on one side
of it. As soon as we crossed the river we came to a small
savannah, where we had once a terrible battle with the Indi¬
ans, and lost a great many of our men. There are several
large pine trees now to be seen, full of bullets. About half a
mile from thence I came to an old fort which has been demol¬
ished on account of setting the fort on Ogechee river, in the
colony aforesaid, and frorii thence to Captain Macpherson's
plantations, where I was handsomely received by his wife,
considering it is one of the out settlements. I lay at his house
two nights, and the next morning set out for Captain Bel¬
linger's cow-pen, which is about six miles from thence. 1
met with another very bad savannah, belonging to Captain
Bellinger, but not quite so bad as Godfrey's. I took a guide
with me from thence to conduct me the way to Purysburg,
which I judge to be sixty long miles through the woods,
without so much as seeing house or path. I had very good
fortune in crossing two rivers; the one called Chille Fenne,
and the other, Cocaettatche, which I forded without so much
as wetting myself, which I understand is not common. I
reached Purysburg the same night, without so much as rest¬
ing myself or horse, and was received there by Hector Ber-
renger Beaufin, Esq. a very worthy gentleman, and one that
was a fellow passenger with me from England. I met with
great plenty of deer, and plenty of wild turkeys, and six
bears in my passage, but having no gun, only pistols, could
shoot nothing. The next morning I took a second view of
the town, but it was surprising to see the improvement those
poor people had made, in such a short time; there was sev¬
eral families that had begun to make improvements on their
plantations; I understand they intend speedily to build
another fort at the upper end of the town, which will be a
great security to it. I stayed there three days, and from
thence proceeded on my journey by land to Georgia, having
a great curiosity to see as much of that new colony as pos¬
sible ; the same night I reached the Pallachuculas fort, which
is about thirty miles up the Savannah river, being obliged
52
A New Voyage to Georgia.
to go so high before I could find a fording place; I was well
received there by Captain Mackintosh, captain of the said
fort; the land thereabouts is but very indifferent, being
mostly pine barren.
The next morning I crossed Savannah river, and went
through a great body of very good land, being most of it
oak and hickory, and fine cypress swamps; as likewise a
great body of fine black walnut, and likewise a great num¬
ber of large laurel trees. I lay in the woods that night,
having nothing but my saddle for my pillow, and the next
morning early, came to an old Indian camp, in an open pine
barren, where I unkennelled a fox, and pursued him so close,
that I fairly run him down in about two miles riding: the
foxes here are not half so speedy as they are in England,
nor near so large, and if they are pursued and almost spent,
they generally run up a tree. I met with great plenty of
bears, wolves and tigers; about ten the same morning, I
met with an Indian fellow who had been out a hunting, and
had just then shot a young buck. I inquired of him how far
it was to Savannah, but he, not understanding me, held up
his two fingers, pointing a quite different way from my road,
which I knew by my compass, and gave me to understand,
he would be my guide* and that I should be welcome to
some of his venison. I followed him to the place he pointed
to, which I judged to be about two miles, when we came to
a little sort of a settlement,' which proved to be a cow-pen
belonging to one Musgrove, a half Indian, who is the inter¬
preter at Georgia, and a great trader among the Indians;
this cow-pen is about six miles from Savannah. I left my
horse there, and padded down from thence to Savannah by
dinner time, where I met with a kind reception from those
gentlemen Mr. Oglethorpe has left managers there. I think
I never in my life saw such a visible and surprising altera¬
tion as there was since I saw it, for the houses are not only
increased from forty to a hundred in the town, but they
have settled several villages some distance from the town, as
likewise several plantations on Ogechee river, and divers other
rivers. If it flourishes already so fast, what must it do in
ten years more ? There are several poor people from Purys-
burg here, who come down and earn two shillings a day,
and go up to their wives every Saturday night.
There never was any one place settled, which had ever
A New Voyage to Georgia.
53
the prospect of proving so advantageous to England as this.
They have the finest land on all the continent; and as it is
the farthest part to the southward on the continent,,it cer¬
tainly must be the finest climate. You may have at least
three crops in a year here by industry, which is more by
two than they have in a great many places on the Main.
I intend after my return to Charleston to take a journey,
by land, to Cape Fear in North Carolina, which I have heard
so much talk of, as likewise to the beautiful lake which is the
head of Waccumaw river. I left Georgia on the 9th of May,
and set out for Charleston in a canoe,- with four oars, having
sold my horse. We lay in the wood that night, at a place called
Bloody Point, which is on the north side of Sanfusky Sounds;
it is so named from the scout boats being cut off there in the
Indian war, by the Augustine Indians. I met with nothing
very material that night, except my sending one of the
oar-men for some fresh water to a spring about a stone's
throw from the camp, who came back in a terrible fright,
swearing he either saw the devil or some spirit, the vulgar
having a notion among them, that this place was haunted
ever since. We took each of us a stick of light wood in our
hands, and went to meet this spirit, which proved to be
nothing but a poor raccoon, which we killed and barbicued
for our supper with some oysters for sauce, there being great
plenty there, and I think much the finest in the whole pro¬
vince. About four the next morning, we set out from thence,
and about ten reached Port Royal'Sounds, where we had
very near been cast away by a sudden storm from the north¬
east ; but, by the providence of God, and the skilfulness of
the pilot,,happily escaped: those Sounds are about ten miles
over, and they say the bar is much the finest in South Caro¬
lina. We reached the town of Beaufort in Port Royal Island
that evening, by Frederick Fort, where his majesty's inde¬
pendent company is settled.
Beaufort is pleasantly situated, and would be much plea-
santer, would it admit of a large town; but the land round
it being got into the hands of a few gentlemen who have
other tracts elsewhere, there is no room for others who would
live there to settle it; so that the town in itself is but very
indifferent. We slept there that night, at one Mr. Richard
Woodward's, and the next morning set out for Charleston*
54
A New Voyage to Georgia.
and arrived there on the thirteenth morning with nothing
worthy notice.
I set out from Charleston on the 10th of June, on my
travels to Cape Fear, in North Carolina, in company with
thirteen more, and the first night reached Mr. More's, in
Goose creek. The next night we reached Captain Screen's,
at French Santee, and the third reached VVineaw ferry,
which is about one hundred miles from Charleston. There
we lay that night, and there being so many of us, it was
twelve the next day before we all crossed the ferry. We
dined there at one Mr. Masters's, on the fens on the other
side, and the same night reached one Muenly, who keeps
another tavern on the road, about twenty-two miles from
Masters's.
The next morning, about five, we left his house, and
about six came on the long bay, the tide just serving for us
to get over the swashes. We had twenty-five miles farther
to ride on the bay, or sea-shore, and five miles after before
we came within sight of a house, so that we were obliged to
ride gently for fear of our horses. When we got about fif¬
teen miles over the bay, my horse gave out, and I was
obliged to take one of the negro's horses, leaving him
behind to take care of mine. When we rode about two
miles farther, another of our companions' horses gave out,
and in short two more before we got to Ash's, or Little
river, which was the next house.
The next morning, just as we were setting out from
thence, our tired horses came in, when we ordered them to
be left there till further orders: we left the boys behind to
come after us as well as they could. We reached Little
Charlotta by dinner time, which is about fifteen miles from
Ash's, or Little river: we dined there, and in the afternoon
crossed the ferry, where we intended to sleep that night.
We reached there about eight the same night, after having
crossed the ferry.
It is named so after one Lockwood, a Barbadian, who
with several others attempted to settle it some time ago;
but, by his cruel behavior to the Indians, they drove him
from thence, and it has not been settled above ten years.
We left Lockwood's Folly about eight the next morning,
and by two reached the town of Brunswick, which is the
chief town in Cape Fear; but with no more than two of the
A New Voyage to Georgia.
55
same horses which came with us out of South Carolina.
We dined there that afternoon. Mr. Roger More hearing
we were come, was so kind as to send fresh horses for us to
come up to his housef which we did, and were kindly
received by him; he being the chief gentleman in all Cape
Fear. His house is built of brick, and exceeding plea¬
santly situated about two miles from the town, and about
half a mile from the river; though there is a creek comes
close up to the door, between two beautiful meadows about
three miles length. He has a prospect of the town of Bruns¬
wick, and of another beautiful brick house, a building about
half a mile from him, belonging to Eleazer Allen, Esq., late
speaker to the Commons House of Assembly, in the province
of South Carolina. There were several vessels lying before
the town of Brunswick, but I sh^ll forbear giving a descrip¬
tion of that place; yet on the 20th of June we left Mr. Roger
More's, accompanied by his brother, Nathaniel More, Esq.,
to a plantation of his, up the north-west branch of Cape Fear
river. The river is wonderfully pleasant, being, next to Sa¬
vannah, the finest on all the continent.
We reached the Forks, as they call it, that same night,
where the river divides into two very beautiful branches,
called the North-east and the North-west, passing by several
pretty plantations on both sides. We lodged-that night at one
Mr. Jehu Davis's, and the next morning, proceeded up the
north-west branch; when got about two miles from thence,
we came to a beautiful plantation, belonging to Captain Ga¬
briel, who is a great merchant there, where were two ships,
two sloops, and a brigantine, loading with lumber from the
West Indies: it is about twenty-two miles from the bar;
when we came about four miles higher up, we saw an open¬
ing on the north-east side of us, which is called Black river,
on which there is a great deal of very good meadow land,
but there is not any one settled on it.
The next night we came to another plantation belonging
to Mr. Roger More, called the Blue Banks, where he is a
going to build another very large brick house. This bluff
is at least a hundred feet high, and has a beautiful prospect
over a fine large meadow, on the opposite side of the river;
the houses are all built on the south-wrest side of the river,
it being for the most part high champaign land: the other side
is very much subject to overflow, but I cannot learn they
56
A New Voyage to Georgia.
have lost but one crop. I am credibly informed they have
very commonly four-score bushels of corn on an acre of their
overflowed land. It very rarely overflows but in the winter
time, when their crop is off. I must confess I saw the finest
corn growing there, that ever I saw in my life, as likewise
wheat and hemp. We lodged there that night at one Cap¬
tain Gibbs's, adjoining to Mr. More's plantation, where we
met with very good entertainment. The next morning we
left his house, and proceeded up the said river to a planta¬
tion belonging to Mr. John Davis, where we dined. The
plantations on this river are all very much alike as to the situ¬
ation ; but there are many more improvements on some than
on others : this house is built after the Dutch fashion, and
made to front both ways on the river, and on the land, he
has a beautiful avenue cut through the woods for above two
miles, which is a great addition to the house. We left his
house about two in the afternoon, and the same evening
reached Mr. Nathaniel More's plantation, which is reckoned
forty miles from Brunswick. It is likewise a very pleasant
place on a bluff upwards of sixty feet high. I forbore men¬
tioning any thing either as to the goodness or the badness
of the land in my passage from South Carolina, it being, in
short, nothing but a sandy bank from Winneaw ferry to
Brunswick ; and, indeed, the town itself is not much better
at present: it is that which has given this place such a bad
name on account of the land, it being the only road to South
Carolina, from the northern part of the continent, and as
there are a great many travellers from New York, New
England, &c., who go to Charleston, having been asked
what sort of land they have in Cape Fear, have not stuck
out to say, that it is all a mere sandbank; but let those gen¬
tlemen take a view of the rivers, and they will soon be con¬
vinced to the contrary as well as myself, who, must confess,
till then was of their opinion, but now am convinced by
ocular demontration, for I have not so much as seen one foot
of bad land since my leaving Brunswick. About three days
after my arrival at Mr. More's, there came a sloop of one
hundred tons, and upward, from South Carolina, to be laden
with corn, which is sixty miles at least from the bar. I never
yet heard of any man who was ever at the head of that
river, but they tell me, the higher you go up the better the
land, and the river grows wider and wider. There are peo-
A New Voydge to Georgia.
57,
pie settled at least forty miles higher up, but indeed the
tide does not flow, at the most above twenty miles higher.
Two days after, I was taken very ill of an ague and fever,
which continued on me for near a month, in which time my
companions left me, and returned to South Carolina. When
I began to recover my health a little, I mentioned to Mr.
More the great desire I had to see Waecamaw Lake, as I
had heard so much talk of it, and had been myself a great
way up the river, that I was sure by the course of the
country, I could not be above twenty miles from thence, he
told me he had a negro fellow, who he thought could carry
me to it, and that he would accompany me himself, with
some others of his acquaintance. On the 18th of July, we-
set out from his house on horseback, with every one his gun^
and took the negro with us. We rode about four miles on
a direct course through an open pine barren, when we came
to a large cane swamp, about half a mile through, which we
crossed in about an hour's time, but it was astonishing to
see the innumerable sight of musquetoes, and the largest
that ever I saw in my life, for they made nothing to fetch
blood of us, through our buckskin gloves, coats and jackets.
As soon as we got through that swamp, we came to another
open pine barren, where we saw a great herd of deer, the^
largest and fattest that ever I saw in those parts : we mad©*
shift to kjlLft-hrftftfi. nf thpm, which we made a hearty dinner'
on. We rode about two miles farther, when we came to
another cane swamp, where we shot a large, she-bear and
JwfiLCubs. It was so large that it was with great difficulty
we got through it. When we got on the other side, it began
to rain very hard, or otherwise, as far as I know, we might
have shot ten brace of deer, for they were almost as thick
as in the parks in England, and did not seem to be in th^
least afraid of us, for I question much whether they had ever
seen a man in their lives before, for they seemed to look on
us as amazed. We made shift as well as we could to reach
the lake the same night, but had but little pleasure ; it con¬
tinuing to rain very hard, we made a large fire of light wood,
and slept as well as we could that night. The next morn¬
ing we took a particular view of it, and 1 think it is the plea-
santest place that ever I saw in my life. It is at least eighteen
miles round, surrounded with exceeding good land, as oak
of all sorts, hickory, and fine cypress swamps. There is an
VOL. II. 8
58
A Neiv Voyage to Georgia.
old Indian field to be seen, which shows it was formerly in¬
habited by them, but I believe not within these fifty years, for
there is scarce one of the Cape Fear Indians, or the Wac-
cumaws, that can give any account of it. There is plenty
of deer, wild turkeys, geese, and ducks, and fish in abun¬
dance ; we shot sufficient to serve forty men, though there was
but six of us. We went almost round it, but there is on the
north-east side a small cypress swamp, so deep that we could
not go through it; we returned back again on a direct line,
being resolved to find how far it was on a straight course
from the north-west branch of Cape Fear river, which we
found did not exceed ten miles.
We returned back to Mr. More's that same night, having
satisfied our curiosity, and the next morning set out with an
intent to take a view of the north-east branch, on which
there is a great deal of good land, but not in my opinion, for
the generality, so good as on the north-west, but I think the
river is much more beautiful. We lay that first night at
Newtown, in a small hut, and the next day reached Rocky
Point, which is the finest place in all Cape Fear. There are
several very worthy gentlemen settled there, particularly
Colonel Maurce More, Captain Heme, John Swan, Esq., and
several others. We stayed there one night, and the next
morning set out on horseback to take a view of the land
backwards, imagining that ,there might be only a skirt of good
land on the river, but I am sure I rode for above twenty
miles back, through nothing but black walnut, oak and hick¬
ory; we returned the same night to Rocky Point,'and the
next morning set out for a plantation belonging to Mr. John
Davis, within six miles of Brunswick, where I was a second
time taken ill, so that I thought I should have died; but by
the providence of God, and' the care of good Mrs. Davis, I
recovered in a fortnight's time, so that 1 was able to set out
on my journey to South Carolina. I took leave of that
worthy family on the 10th of August, when she was so kind
as to force me to take a bottle of shrub, and several other
things with me. I reached Mr. Roger More's the same
night, where I was again handsomely received, but being re¬
solved to set out on my journey the next morning, he gen¬
erously offered me a horse to carry me to the house where I
was obliged to leave mine on the road, as likewise a servant
to attend me, which I refused. I left his house the next
A New Voyage to Georgia.
59
morning, being the 11th of August, at half an hour after
seven, and reached Brunswick by eight. I set out from
thence about nine, and about four miles from thence met my
landlord of Lockwood Folly, who was in hopes I would stay
at his house all night. About two I arrived there with much
difficulty, it being a very hot day, and myself very faint and
weak, when I called for a dram, and to my great sorrow
found not one drop of rum, sugar, or lime juice in the house,
(a pretty place to stay all night indeed,) so was obliged to
make use of my own bottle of shrub, which made me resolve
never to trust the country again on a long journey. About
five I ferried over in order to proceed to Captain Hernes's;
but about half way between that and Charlotte met him
going to Brunswick. About eight I reached little Charlotte,
where I waited for the ferry-boat till nine, in which time I
had like to have been devoured by musquetoes; about half
an hour after I arrived at Captain Hernes's, and, thank God,
met with good entertainment. 1 slept very well all the
night, and in the morning, about ten, set out on my journey
to Little river, and reached there about three. I met with
a very prating fellow there, that diverted me very much. I
immediately ordered my horse to be got up, but to my great
grief found him in a worse condition than when I left him,
the negroes having rode him to that degree without a saddle,
that he had a swelling in the middle of his back as big as my
double fist, which hindered my proceeding in my journey
that night as I intended; but by applying things to his back,
it broke before morning, which in some measure eased him.
At seven the next morning I left his house, and by eight
reached the Long bay. When I was about half way over the
bay, I intended to stop at the next spring and take a tiff of
punch; but by some unfortunate accident, I know not how,
when I came within sight of the spring, my bottle unluckily
broke, and I lost every drop of my shrub; but examining
my bags, I accidentally found a bottle of cherry brandy, with
some gingerbread and cheese, which I believe good Mrs.
More ordered to be put up unknown to me. 1 drank two
drams of that, not being willing it should all be lost in case
it should break, and mounting my horse, took some ginger¬
bread and cheese in my hand and pursued my journey, and
by eleven reached Bulloyns, or the end of the bay; by
eight I reached Murrels, where I met with plenty of rum,
60
A New Voyage to Georgia.
sugar, and lime juice, and a good pasture for my horse, but
no corn. The next morning I set out from thence, and by
noon reached Masters's, or Winneaw ferry; but the ferry-boat
being gone adrift, could not get over till near ten at night,
after I had supped upon a wild turkey. The next morning
I set out from Shingleton's, or the ferry on the other side,
and the same night reached Daubuth's. The next morning
I set out from thence, and about two miles from the house
met with a possum, which is very like a little pig; it has a
false belly, so that when they have young ones, if you fright
them, they immediately run into the bag, which closes up
immediately. I reached Witton's by noon, and had my pos¬
sum dressed for dinner; the same night I reached Mr. More's
in Goose creek, and the next night I arrived at Charleston,
on the 7th day of August, where I remained till the 23d of
November, when I set sail for England, and arrived safe in
London on the 3d of January, 1734-5.
A CURIOUS ACCOUNT OF THE INDIANS.
BY AN HONORABLE PERSON.
There seems to be a door opened to our colony, towards
the conversion of the Indians. I have had many conversa¬
tions with their chief men, the whole tenor of which shows
that there is nothing wanting to their conversion, but one,
who understands their language well, to explain to them the
mysteries of religion; for as to the moral part of Christianity
they understand it and do assent to it. They abhor adul¬
tery, and do not approve of a plurality of wives. Theft is a
thing not known among the Creek nations, though frequent,
and even honorable, amongst the Uchees. Murder they
look on as a most abominable crime, but do not esteem the
killing of an enemy, or one that has injured them, murder.
The passion of revenge, which they call honor, and drunk¬
enness, which they learn from our traders, seem to be the
two greatest obstacles to their being truly Christians. But
upon both these points they hear reason, and with respect to
drinking rum, I have weaned those near me a good deal from
it. As for revenge, they say, as they have no executive
power of justice amongst them, they are forced to kill the
man who has injured them, in order to prevent others from
doing the like; but they do not think that any injury, except
adultery or murder, deserves revenge. They hold that if a
man commits adultery, the injured husband is obliged to have
revenge, by cutting off the ears of the adulterer, which if he
is too sturdy and strong to submit to, then the injured hus¬
band kills him the first opportunity he has to do it with safety.
In cases of murder, the next in blood is obliged to kill the
murderer, or else he is looked on as infamous in the nation
62
A Curious Account of the Indians.
where he lives ; and the weakness of the executive power is
such, that here is no other way of punishment but by the
revenger of blood, as the Scripture calls it. For there is no
coercive power in any of their nations. Their kings can do
no more than to persuade. All the power they have is no
more than to call their old men and captains together, and to
propound to them the measures they think proper. After
they have done speaking, all the others have liberty to give
their opinions also; and they reason together with great tem¬
per and modesty, till they have brought each other into some
unanimous resolution : then they call in the young men, and
recommend to them the putting in execution the resolution,
with their strongest and most lively eloquence. And, indeed,
they seem to me, both in action and expression, to be thorough
masters of true eloquence. In speaking to their young men,
they generally address to the passions : in speaking to their
old men they apply to reason only. Tomo Chichi, in his first
set speech to me, among other things, said, here is a little
present; and then gave me a buffalo's skin, painted on the
inside with the head and feathers of an eagle. He desired
me to accept it, because the eagle signified speed and the
buffalo strength. That the English were as swift as the bird,
and as strong as the beast; since, like the first, they flew
from the utmost parts of the earth over the vast seas, and,
like the second, nothing could withstand them. That the
feathers of the eagle were soft, and signified love; the buf¬
falo's skin warm, and signified protection ; therefore he
hoped that we would love and protect their little families.
One of the Indians of the Cherokee nation being come down
to the governor, told him, that he need fear nothing, but might
speak freely. He answered smartly, I always speak freely;
what should I fear? I am now among my friends, and I
never feared even among my enemies. Another instance of
their short manner of speaking was, when I ordered one of
the Carolina boatmen, who was drunk, and had beaten an
Indian, to be tied to a gun, till he was sober, in order to be
whipped ; Tomo Chichi came to me, to beg me to pardon
him, which I refused to do, unless the Indian, who had been
beaten should also desire the pardon for him. Tomo Chichi
desired him so to do, but he insisted upon satisfaction ; upon
which Tomo Chichi said, 0 Fonseka, (for that was his name)
this Englishman being drunk, has beat you; if he is whipped
A Curious Account of the Indians.
63
for so doing, the 'Englishmen will expect, that if an Indian
should insult them when drunk, the Indian should be whipped
for it. When you are drunk you are quarrelsome, and you
know you love to be drunk, but you do not love to be
whipped. Fonseka was convinced, and begged me to par¬
don the man ; which, as soon as I granted, Tomo Chichi and
Fonseka ran and untied him, which I perceived was done to
show that he owed his safety to their intercession.
to
JAMES OGLETHORPE, ESQ.
on his late arrival from georgia.
The zeal that in thy god-like bosom glows,
The deeds of thy heroic life disclose.
Let Twickenham's bard, in his immortal lays,
Give thee the humble tribute of our praise.
No brighter scene his Homer could display,
Than that in thy adventures we survey.
In vain the sun, with his all-cheering light,
Draws back the sable curtains of the night:
A night of darkness, and a gloomy shade,
The drooping sons of Want still overspread.
Indulgent Providence has thee design'd,
Its blessings to diffuse on human kind.
From thee the happiness of numbers springs,
And Plenty o'er them broods with out-stretch'd wings:
Products a British colony can boast,
For which some foreign climes are envied most.
The merchant hence unwrought the silk imports,
To which we owe the blaze of queens and courts:
Here grows the vine as in its native soil,
To crown our banquets and reward thy toil.
We own thee great, and in the noblest sense,
The triumph of thy own benevolence.
Fading are all the laurels of the field,
Compared to those which thy campaign does yield.
Savannah does in smooth meanders glide,
And rolls within its banks a silver tide;
No verdant plains of Georgia we view
With blood discolor'd, or a purple hue;
But cities founded, and new conquests made,
Without the slain that Marlbro's triumphs shade.
On heathen savages thy virtues gain,
And to the gospel their assent obtain ;
No miracles they want, but have in thee
A living proof of its divinity.
Thy tongue their feeble arguments disarms,
And like an angel's their attention charms.
Lanes addressed to Oglethorpe.
65
The wand'ring emigrant* may now descry
A land that sacred is to liberty.
He '11 bless the men that did this port provide,
And to it safely then the shipwreck'd guide.
With such achievements't is thy generous strife
To fill the small circumference of life :
No pleasures thy superior mind can know,
But what from these, as from their fountains flow:
Dress, building, equipage, and gaudy state,
Ne'er can a true magnificence create ;
But solid piety and ardent love,
Are graces which adorn the saints above.
Thy great example will in story shine,
A favorite theme with poet and divine :
Posterity thy merits shall proclaim,
And heap new honors on thy deathless name.
(From the Gentlemen's Magazine for September, 1734.)
TO THE HONORABLE JAMES OGLETHORPE, ESQ.
ON HIS RETURN FROM GEORGIA.
Fading are laurels won in martial fields,
But thy campaign, the peaceful olive yields.
The deeds of thy heroic life disclose,
The zeal that in thy godlike bosom glows.
Let nervous Pope, in his immortal lays,
Recite thy actions, and record thy praise ;
No brighter scenes his Homer could display,
Than in thy great adventures we survey.
In vain the sun returns with cheerful light,
And drives the dusky horrors of the night,
If thousands wake but to renew their pains,
Pining with want, or, held in slavish chains;
For these thy gen'rous care redress provides,
And to a plenteous friendly country guides;
Where free from persecution's cruel zeal,
The exil'd emigrants in safety dwell;
Indulgent Providence through thee displays,
In darkened climes the gospel's heavenly rays.
No longer now on smooth Savannah's plain
Idolatry shall spread its savage reign,
* The persecuted Protestants of Saltzburg so called.
VOL. II. 9
Lines addressed to Oglethorpe.
But truth appear and useful arts prevail;
Hence annual vessels shall to Europe sail
With the gay treasures of the silky spoil,
And Georgian flow'rets bloom in Britain's isle ;
Or with rich juices which the vineyard yields,
That spreads luxuriant o'er uncultur'd fields.
Hail, happy clime ! whose plains no armies vex,
Nor purple gore with thy clear rivers mix,
But cities rise, and peaceful conquests spread,
And triumphs which no martial slaughters shade.
Hail, Oglethorpe! with nobler trophies crown'd,
Than ever were in camps or sieges found ;
On heathens wild thy powerful virtues gain,
And to the gospel quick ascent obtain,
No miracles they want, but view in thee
A living proof of its divinity.
Thy tongue their feeble arguments disarms,
And, like an angel, their attention charms ;
With such achievements't is thy gen'rous strife,
To fill the small circumference of life.
No pleasures thy superior mind can know,
But what from these, as from their fountains flow.
Dress, building, equipage and pompous state,
Can never true magnificence create,
But the rich virtues that thy bosom warm,
Are graces which the eyes of angels charm,
Thy great example shall through ages shine,
A fav'rite theme ! with poet and divine :
People unborn thy merits shall proclaim,
And add new honors to thy deathless name.
A STATE
OF THE
PROVINCE OF GEORGIA,
ATTESTED UPON OATH
IN THE COURT OF SAVANNAH,
NOVEMBER 10, 1740.
LONDON^'
PRINTED FOR W. MEADOWS, AT TJHE ANGEL IN CORNHILL.
MDCCXL1I.
NOTE.
This paper, drawn up at the suggestion of the Trustees, by William Ste¬
phens, Esq., secretary of the colony, for the purpose of vindicating them
from the aspersions, which some turbulent men had thrown upon them, was
designed to be read and signed in open court in the town of Savannah.
The following is secretary Stephens's account of the occasion : — " Mon¬
day, November 10th, 1740. The court met as appointed, when nothing
happened more than what I expected ; for it could not be, but those few
who remained among us, that were tinged with the same principles, and
disposition, wherewith our late club were actuated, would give all the
opposition they possibly could, to every thing that tended to vindicate the
Trustees from the foul reflections which they had been the occasion of being
thrown upon them ; thus prepared at a court holden this day, purposely
for the occasion, I was to see what would be the event of those matters,
which I had been so long collecting, to show what was the real present
state of this colony; wherein let what would happen, I could at least
have the inward satisfaction of mind, to acquit myself of any partiality,
or of attempting to impose upon any person's understanding, the least
tittle of what I was not in myself fully convinced either from my own
knowledge, or from the most certain information I could obtain from
others, was unquestionably true : nevertheless, I well knew, from what I
had observed before, that an opposition was ready, whenever I should
begin to lay open what I had to offer ; which I did, by reading as audibly
and distinctly as I could, those sheets of paper which were intended to
be sent to the Trust; containing what I had entitled, and what I firmly
believed was, the present state of the colony. After I had so done, and
a little pause thereon, Mr. Duchee stood forth, and the first complaint he
bestowed was, that he thought what I had read contained more oil than
corn ; that he expected to have heard the people's grievances set forth,
and remedies proposed for redressing them, &c., directing his discourse
to the assembly, and putting them in mind of what they ought to think
most valuable : whereupon 1 could no longer sit still, without telling him
that I thought it was not the present business of the court to attend all
controversy that might arise on such a subject: that I was determined
not to ask any one person to sign it, for unless they did it voluntarily, I
thought it of little value ; wherefore, after signing it myself, I should
leave it to every body to do as they pleased. Accordingly, I set my hand
to it, and immediately Mr. Parker, as first bailiff, did the same ; then it
was offered to the second, (Mr. Fallowfield), who, in a surly manner,
refused it; after which, the third bailiff, Mr. Jones, signed it, Noblp Jones,
and others, promiscuously, all being sworn as they signed the cpntents.
But Mr. Fallowfield, rising suddenly from the bench and going out with
Mr. Duchee, most of the common people, in a sort of confusion, went
also out of court (whether upon a signal given or not I could not tell);
about twenty only putting their hands to it and taking their oaths in
course. I took care notice should be given, that the book should lay open
at my house for a few days, tilt I found an opportunity of sending it to
the Trust, during which time, any person who had an inclination to join
us, and had any scruples about him, might freely read it, and be informed
by me in any thing concerning it, that was in my power to evince the
truth of; and so ended this affair for the present."
This account will give some idea of the contentions then existing, and
of the height to which they raged. Most of the gentlemen whose names
are affixed to this paper, were of great respectability, and undoubted in¬
tegrity, and so far as the partisans of any cause which excites violent
opposition can be trusted, their assertions are entitled to consideration.
A STATE
OF THE
PROVINCE OF GEORGIA,
ATTESTED UPON OATH IN THE COURT OF SAVANNAH,
NOVEMBER 10, 1740.
The province of Georgia lies from the most northern
stream of the river Savannah (the mouth of which is in the
latitude of thirty-two degrees) along the sea-coast, to the
most southern stream of the Alatamaha (the mouth of which
is thirty and a half degrees) and westward from the heads
of the said rivers, respectively in direct lines to the South
Seas.
This province was part of South Carolina; but the eastern
and southern parts of it, inhabited by the Creek Indians, the
northern by the Cherokees and Chickasaws, the western by
the Choctaws, the Bluemouths, and other Indian nations, to
the South Sea. The Creek Indians, who always acknowl¬
edged the king of England for their sovereign, yet made war
with the people of Carolina, to obtain satisfaction for injuries
done by their pedling traders. The war was concluded by
a peace, which obliged the people of Carolina not to settle
beyond the river Savannah ; and no Englishman was settled
within this district, that we know of, when the first colony of
Georgia arrived. The country was then all covered with
woods. Mr. Oglethorpe agreed with the Indians, and pur¬
chased of them the limits mentioned in the treaty.
The town of Savannah was laid out, and began to be
built, in which are now one hundred and forty-two houses,
and good habitable huts. The soil, in general, when cleared,
A State of the Province of Georgia.
is productive of Indian corn, rice, peas, potatoes, pumpkins,
melons, and many other kinds of gourds, in great quantities;
wheat, oats, barley, and other European grains, it is found
by divers experiments, may be propagated in many parts
(more especially in the uplands toward Augusta), with suc¬
cess. Mulberry trees and vines agree exceeding well with
the soil and climate, and so does the annual cotton, whereof
large quantities have been raised, and it is much planted;
but the cotton, which in some parts is perennial, dies here in
the winter, which, nevertheless, the annual is not inferior to
in goodness, but requires more trouble in cleansing from the
seed. Cattle, hogs, poultry, and fruit trees of most kinds,
have increased even beyond imagination.
Ships of about three hundred tons can come up to the
town, where the worm (which is the plague of the Ameri¬
can seas) does not eat; and the river is navigable for large
boats, as far as the town of Augusta, which lies in the lati¬
tude of 33 deg. 5 min., and is 250 miles distant from Savannah
by water; small boats can go three hundred miles further to
the Cherokees.
There is already a considerable trade in the river; and
there is in this town a court-house, a gaol, a storehouse, a
large house for receiving the Indians, a wharf or bridge, a
guard-house, and some other public buildings ; a public gar¬
den of ten acres cleared, fenced, and planted with orange-
trees, mulberry-trees, vines, some olives which thrive very
well, peaches, apples, &c.
It must be confessed that oranges have not so universally
thriven with us, as was expected, by reason of some severe
blasts by frosts in the spring; yet divers with proper care
have preserved them; and as we see them grow and thrive
well, with many of our neighbors of Carolina to the north¬
ward, we are convinced that they will with us also, as soon
as we are become more perfect in the knowledge of propa¬
gating them in a right manner; in order to which frequent
experiments are making; and we have already discovered not
only what kind of soil agrees best with them, but also that they
flourish most when they grow under forest trees, whereby
we imagine they are protected from blasts; and it is ob¬
served that they take no harm from the droppings of any,
except the pine, which suffers nothing to grow near it, unless
of its own kind.
A State of the Province of Georgia. 71
Notwithstanding the quantity of silk, hitherto made, has
not been great, yet it increases, and will more and more con¬
siderably, as the mulberry trees grow, whereof there are
great numbers yearly planted.
Vines likewise of late are greatly increased, many people
appearing to have an emulation of outdoing their neighbors;
and this year has produced a considerable quantity of very
fine grapes, whereof one planter in particular made a trial, to
see what kind of wine they would make, which he put into
a large stone bottle, and made a present of it to the General,
who, upon tasting, said he found it to be something of the
nature of a small French white wine, with an agreeable fla¬
vor ; and several persons here, who have lived formerly in
countries where there are a plenty of vineyards, do affirm,
that all young vines produce small wines at first, and the
strength and goodness of it increases as the vines grow
older.
Three miles up the river there is an Indian town, and at
six miles distance are several considerable plantations ; at ten
miles distance are some more, and at fifteen miles distance
is a little village, called Abercorn.
Above that, on the Carolina side is the town of Purys-
burg, twenty-two miles from Savannah; and on the Geor¬
gia side, twelve miles from Purysburg, is the town of Eben-
ezer, which thrives very much ; there are very good houses
built for each of the ministers, and an orphan house; and
they have partly framed houses, and partly huts, neatly
built, and formed into regular streets; they have a great deal
of cattle and corn ground, so that they sell provisions at
Savannah ; for they raise much more than they can consume.
Thirty miles above Ebenezer, on the Carolina side, lies
the Palachocolas Fort. Five miles above the Palachocolas,
on Georgia side, lies the Euchee town (or Mount Pleasant)
to which about a hundred Indians belong; but few of them
stay now in the town, they choosing rather to live dispersed.
All the land from Ebenezer to the river Briers belongs to
those Indians, who will not part with the same, therefore it
cannot be planted.
One hundred and forty-four miles above Mount Pleasant,
on the Carolina side, is Silver Bluff, where there is another
settlement of Euchee Indians : on both sides of the river are
fields of corn planted by them.
. z A State of the Province of Georgia.
Thirty miles above Silver Bluff is New Windsor, formerly
known by the name of Savannah town, or Moore's fort,
where there are but two or three families on the Carolina
side, and a small fort.
Seven miles above New Windsor, on the Georgia side,
lies the town of Augusta, just below the Falls ; this was laid
out by the trustees' orders in the year 1735, which has
thriven prodigiously; there are several warehouses thoroughly
well furnished with goods for the Indian trade, and five
large boats belonging to the different inhabitants of the town,
which can carry about nine or ten thousand weight of deer¬
skins each, making four or five voyages at least in a year to
Charleston, for exporting to England; and the value of each
cargo is computed to be from twelve to fifteen hundred
pounds sterling. Hither all the English traders, with their
servants, resort in the spring ; and it is computed above two
thousand horses come thither at that season ; and the traders,
packhorsemen, servants, townsmen, and others, depending
upon that business, are moderately computed to be six hun¬
dred white men, who live by their trade, carrying upon pack-
horses all kinds of proper English goods ; for which the In¬
dians pay in deer-skins, beaver, and other furs ; each Indian
hunter is reckoned to get three hundred weight of deer-skins
in a year. This is a very advantageous trade to England,
since it is mostly paid for in woollen and iron.
Above this town to the north-west, and on the Georgia
side of the river, the Cherokees live, in the valley of the
Appelachin mountains; they were about five thousand war¬
riors ; but last year it is computed they lost a thousand,
partly by the small-pox, and partly (as they themselves say)
by too much rum brought from Carolina. The French are
striving to get this nation from us, which if they do, Carolina
must be supported by a vast number of troops, or lost: but
as long as we keep the town of Augusta, our party in the
Cherokees can be so easily furnished with arms, ammuni¬
tion and necessaries, that the French will not be able to gain
any ground there.
The Creek Indians live to the westward of this town.
Their chief town is the Cowetas, two hundred miles from
Augusta, and one hundred and twenty miles from the near¬
est French fort. The lower Creeks consist of about a thou¬
sand, and the upper Creeks of about seven hundred war-
A State of the Province of Georgia.
73
riors, upon the edge of whose country, the French fort of
Albaraahs lies: they are esteemed to be sincerely attached
to his majesty's interest.
Beyond the Creeks lie the brave Chickasaws, who in¬
habit near the Mississippi river, and possess the banks of it;
these have resisted both the bribes and arms of the French,
and traders sent by us live amongst them.
At Augusta there is a handsome fort, where there is a
small garrison of about twelve or fifteen men, besides offi¬
cers ; and one reason that drew the traders to settle the
town of Augusta, was the safety they received from this fort,
which stands upon high ground on the side of the river Sa¬
vannah, which is there one hundred and forty yards wide,
and very deep ; another reason was the richness and fertility
of the land. The great value of this town of Augusta occa¬
sioned the General to have a path marked out, through the
woods, from thence to Old Ebenezer; and the Cherokee
Indians have marked out one from thence to their nation, so
that horsemen now can ride from the town of Savannah to
the nation of Cherokees, and any other of the Indian nations,
all on the Georgia side of the river; but there are some bad
places which ought to be causewayed and made good, and
which the General says he has not yet capacity to do. This
road begins to be frequented, and will every day be more
and more so, and by it the Cherokee Indians can at any
time come down to our assistance.
At Old Ebenezer there is a cow-pen, where the trustees
have a great number of cattle, and it is hoped with care they
will amount to six or seven hundred head in another year.
But they were much neglected, there not being horses or
men sufficient to drive up the young and out-lying cattle.
This is the situation of the settlements upon the river, at
the mouth of which lies the island of Tybee, with the light¬
house, which has been of the greatest use to all ships falling
in with this part of America. But from Savannah south¬
ward, there are several plantations, (besides the villages of
Hampstead and Highgate,) several of which are settled by
such of the inhabitants of the town, as being able to pur¬
chase cattle, have petitioned for leases of lands, and are
settled upon those lands by the General's permission, until
the trustees' pleasure be known concerning the leases. The
terms they propose, is the lease to be for twenty-one years,
VOL. II. 10
74 A State of the Province of Georgia.
renewable every seven years, upon paying one year's pur¬
chase of the improved value; the first seven years to be free,
and no fine paid for the first renewal. Besides these settle¬
ments, there are some others of five hundred acres per grant
from the trust, which extend as far as the Ogechee river;
upon which river lies Fort Argyle, in such a situation as is
intended thereby to command all the passes in that part of
the province.
The next is Darien, where the Scots Highlanders are set¬
tled ; the buildings are mostly huts, but tight and warm ; and
they have a little fort. They have been industrious in plant¬
ing, and have got into driving of cattle, for the supply of the
regiment, &c.; but this last year most of them going volun¬
tarily into the war, little was done at home, where there
families remained.
Below the town of Darien, is the town of Frederica, where
there is a strong fort, and store-houses, many good buildings
in the town, some of which are brick. There is a meadow
near adjoining that is ditched in, of about three hundred and
twenty acres, of which there is good hay made. The peo¬
ple have not planted much there this year, occasioned by the
war so near their doors, and being chiefly tradesmen, who
make more by working, or selling to the camp, than they can
by planting. There are some little villages upon the island
of St. Simons, and some very handsome houses built by the
officers of the regiment; and there has been pot-herbs,
pulse, and fruits produced upon the island, of great use to¬
wards supplying the town and garrison. But corn, beer and
meat they have from elsewhere.
Between this island and Jekyll island, is an inlet of the
sea, called Jekyll sound, which is a very fine harbor, and is
one of the best entries the English have to the southward of
Virginia. This is an excellent station for ships to cruise on
the Spaniards, it commanding the homeward-bound trade,
which must come through the gulf of Florida, and near St.
Simons; the entry lies in 31 degrees 10 minutes. The place
is barred, but upon the bar there is water sufficient every
tide to carry in twenty-gun ships; and taking the best op¬
portunity, forty-gun ships may be carried in to refit — a
great conveniency to a squadron in this place. Upon Jekyll
island there is but very little good land, not above three or
four hundred acres, the rest being sandy sea-beach. Mr.
A State of the Province of Georgia.
75
Horton has his lot upon this Island, and has made great im¬
provements there. To the southward of Jekyll lies the
island of Cumberland, aM the fort of St. Andrews, situated
upon a fine commanding ground ; and on the south-east of
the same island, is another strong-fort called fort William,
which commands Amelia sound, and the inland passage from
Augustine. The next island is Amelia; beyond that is St.
Johns, one of the Spanish outguards; and between forty
and fifty miles from that is Augustine.
We are now fully acquainted with the colony, and what it
will produce ; the inland part is hilly, till it rises into moun¬
tains, where all kinds of timber grow. Near the sea the
ground is more level and flat, where laurels, cedars, cypress,
bays, and live oak, are of the size of timber trees. Among
the shrubs, some of the principal are pomegranates, which
will grow well in hedges, myrtle, prickly pears, shumach, sas¬
safras, China root, several sorts of snake-root, &c. There
is commonly black mould in the low lands; the rising ground
is frequently clay, where oak and hickory mostly grow; as it
also does in a great part of the flat land that is dry, where
walnut, ash, gum-tree, oak of several kinds, hickory, beech,
wild cherries, &c., are in great plenty to be found. The
higher lands are of a sandy surface, where pines usually
grow, all parts producing trees of some kind or other, except
the savannahs and marshes, which bear grass ; and many of
the low land swamps covered with canes, which are excellent
feed for cattle in the winter. Where the oak and hickory
grow, the soil is in general of a strong nature, and very well
esteemed for planting, being found by experience to produce
the best crops of Indian corn, and most sorts of grain, except
rice, which thrives best in swampy ground. This is only
spoken of the lower parts of Georgia, which reaches from
the sea-shore to the foot of the hills, being a flat country of
sixty or seventy miles, or more, in breadth. The hill country
is very different, there being marble, chalk, gravel, rocks, and
all the same variety of soil that is in Europe. With respect
to the proportion of the different kinds of soil, it cannot be
given, unless the whole were surveyed ; but the American
dialect distinguishes land into pine, oak and hickory, swamp,
savannah, and marsh. Near the town of Savannah we have
found stone, which is dug for building; as there is also good
clay, whereof bricks are made ; and a pottery work is carried
76 A State of the Province of Georgia.
on with success, where common ware for most uses is made
in good plenty, and exported to the neighboring provinces;
and the master, who is of an enterprising genius, has under¬
taken, as soon as he has made proper furnaces, to make a
superfine sort, of such as shall not be inferior to porcelain
itself; but a little time will discover his further performances.
The coast is low, with a hard, sandy beach. When we
approach it, at twenty-five leagues distance, we find ground
in twenty-five fathom water, and it shoals gradually to the
shore; the sounding being so regular, makes it a safe coast
to fall in with, having good anchoring all along, and no rocks.
The mouths of the rivers Savannah and Alatamaha make a
great number of islands, and the entries between them form
good harbors. To the southward of Tybee are the following
entries, viz.: Wassaw, Ossebah, St. Catherines, Sapello,
Doboy, St. Simons, which is the north entry to Frederica;
Jekyll sound, which is the south entry to Frederica, to which
place the channel is navigable, from the ordinary place of
anchoring in the sound, for ships of a good burden up to the
town.
The staple of the country of Georgia being presumed,
and intended to be principally silk and wine, every year con¬
firms more our hopes of succeeding in those two, from the
great increase (as has been before observed) of the vines
and mulberry-trees, wherein perseverance only can bring it
to perfection. Several other things might be produced, and
perhaps more immediately profitable to the planters; but it
is apprehended, that it is not any business of this colony, nor
any benefit to the trade of England, to interfere with what
other English plantations have produced, such as rice, &c.
As the boundaries of the colony are now known, together
with the climate and manner of agriculture, more might be
done henceforward in one year than could in several years
before we attained to that knowledge; but our people are
weak, being decreased by great numbers, having been de¬
coyed away to other colonies. Many having taken to idle¬
ness, upon shutting up the store went away ; but those who
stayed, and now remain, are still a body of the most valua¬
ble people, that find means to live comfortably, some by their
trades, some by planting, and raising live stock, and some by
their labor, either by land or water; and one of those re¬
maining are worth three that left us, for such work. And if
A State of the Province of Georgia,
77
an embarkation was to come in with the next year, it would
be of great service to the colony, the Saltzburgers wishing
for more of their countrymen, and having been very indus¬
trious.
The persons sent from England on the Charity were of
the unfortunate, many of whom have, by their industry,
proved that they deserved better, and have thriven; many
also showed they were brought into those misfortunes by
their own faults; and when those who quitted their own
country to avoid labor, saw labor stand before their eyes in
Georgia, they were easily persuaded to live in Carolina
by cunning rather than work. This has been a great mis¬
fortune also upon many persons who brought over servants
indented to serve them, for a certain number of years, who
being picked up in the streets of London, or some such man¬
ner, their masters found them unfit for labor, and many of
them took such opportunities as they could get, to desert and
fly into Carolina, where they could be protected. Indeed,
good and bad which came from England, were mostly in¬
habitants of towns there; but such seldom turn out good
husbandmen with their own hands; yet some of them proved
very useful in a new colony, since they most readily com¬
pose towns, which is the first thing necessary to be a recep¬
tacle for new comers; and from thence, when all demands
of labor, for building and trade are supplied, the laborious peo¬
ple may enlarge into the country, and raise provisions for the
use of the towns. Whereas, if the first were all laboring
countrymen, they would naturally disperse to the most fertile
land, and perhaps succeed for a while; but for want of
neighborhood and markets, would force most of them to re¬
move, and the country remain little or nothing the better im¬
proved, as it happened in Virgina, till the government, with
great difficulty at last, raised towns in that province.
It ought not here to be passed over, Tow ready the coun¬
try is to receive a number of German families, accustomed to
husbandry, such as usually come once a year down the
Rhine to Holland, and embark thence for America or the
East Indies; some of these we have already had experience
of, insomuch that the people here would take off a good
number of them. And it would be of great service (as we
apprehend) to this colony, at present, to send a ship over,
laden with Germans, on the same terms Mr. Hope does to
78
A State of the Province of Georgia.
Philadelphia, only taking care that provisions for them on
their passage be more plentiful, and that they are less crowd¬
ed than on board his ships. The terms are, they pay half
their passage themselves on embarking, and six weeks after
their arrival, to pay the other half, which they generally do,
with private contracts to people; but in case they do not,
then they may be bound by the ship's master for four or five
years, if they are above twenty-one years of age; but if
under, they may be bound until the age of twenty-one, if
men, and eighteen if girls. It must be at the same time
confessed, that divers of these foreigners have, during the
time of their servitude, shown themselves of a dogged dis¬
position, surly and obstinate, discovering an averseness to
their masters' orders, which proceeds (as we imagine) from
a dislike of their being subject to strangers; whilst others
again have behaved well; but it may be alleged with truth,
that when, or wheresoever among us, any of them have
worked for their own benefit, they are indefatigable and out¬
done by none, which joined with great parsimony, fits them
for excellent settlers when free.
To enable the industrious English settlers to go on with
planting, who are truly desirous of cultivating land, we hum¬
bly conceive nothing could be a greater inducement to it, than
that the honorable trustees would please to import yearly, so
long as they see good, a number of English or Welch servants,
such as are used to hard labor in the country, and strangers to
London, to be contracted with in England, to serve the trus¬
tees for five years, from two to four pounds yearly wages, ac¬
cording to their ability, for finding themselves in apparel. Those
servants, on their arrival, to be hired by the inhabitants for
one year, the person hiring to pay over and above the con¬
tracted wages, one pound yearly to the trustees, so that in
five years the passage money will be paid. And to enable
the planters to pay the said wages, it is humbly proposed,
that a bounty be settled on every product of the land, viz.,
corn, peas, potatoes, wine, silk, cotton, flax, &c., to what
value the honorable Trust shall judge meet, to be limited in the
following, or any other manner, viz., for the first years
the said bounty to be payable for corn, peas, potatoes, &c.,
only, and thenceforward to cease wholly, and the residue of
years, wherein any bounty should be allowed, to be payable
only for silk, wine, oil, &c., by which means the planter, so as-
A State of the Province of Georgia. 79
sisted, might be able to live, whilst at the same time he propa¬
gates vines, mulberry trees, &c., from which he can expect no
immediate benefit before they come to some maturity. A rule
to be made, that they who hire the said servants shall employ
them only in plantation-work of their own, and not let them
out at hire to work at handicraft trades, or any other busi¬
ness, &c.; that each servant shall serve one whole year, and
if they part at the year's end, he shall find himself another
master within days, to serve for one year also, and so
on to the end of their respective times to serve, by which
means good masters will not want good servants, and it will
be a great means to make other masters become good, in
order to get good servants, or else be content with the bad,
or none. If any disputes arise between masters and ser¬
vants, such to be determined by the magistrates, according
to the laws of England, wherein the magistrate, concerned
as a party, shall not appear as a judge, or offer to interfere
with the opinion of the others, but adquiesce in their deter¬
mination, if it happens to be in favor of the servant, whom
they ought to defend from cruel usage, and where they find
such evil treatment, either through too severe correction, or
want of sufficient wholesome food, according to the custom
of the colony, the magistrates to have power of vacating
such services, and obliging the servants to find another
master.
The kind intention of the honorable trustees to extend
the tenure of lands in the manner proposed, (as signified to
their secretary here,) gave great satisfaction to all reasonable
persons, who seemed to desire no more, and only wish to
find that ratified, which they apprehend to be not yet done,
and that occasions some anxiety about it.
Whether these helps, or whatever other the honorable
trustees shall be pleased to afford us, the ability of the inhab¬
itants to support themselves must still in a great measure
depend on the industry and frugality of each. Divers in the
province who understand planting, and are already settled,
provided they can attain to some live stock, can and do sup¬
port themselves. Men working for hire, boat-men, pack-
horse-men, &c., support themselves very well, if they will
work; and more such would, were they to be found. Shop¬
keepers, tradesmen, and artificers, such as tallow-chandlers,
soap-boilers, brasiers, saddlers, shoemakers, tanners, &,c., live
80
A State of the Province of Georgia.
very well on their business here, and many more might, were
there more merchants to import goods for supplying the In¬
dian traders, which would increase the resort to Savannah,
whereas those traders are now obliged to get the greatest
part of what they want from Charleston, in South Carolina.
New planters, and such as go on upon particular improve¬
ments, such as wine, silk, &c., will need some assistance.
Magistrates, constables, tithing-men, and others whose time
is taken up in the public service, require some allowance for
the same. It is also needful for the well-being of the colony,
that roads should be maintained ; posts for communicating of
letters, and forts upon the frontiers, as well towards the In¬
dians as Spaniards, be supported. As likewise other public
works, which the people here are in no degree able to bear.
When the east part of the province of Georgia was taken
possession of under the trustees' charter by Mr. Oglethorpe,
according to the' limits of the British dominions in America,
forts were erected upon the extremities to keep up marks of
possession. The strength and materials were of such a na¬
ture, as the men he had with him could make, and sufficient
for defence against any strength that could be brought
against them by the neighboring Indians, or Spaniards in
Florida.
JThe first foundation of the colony was upon tenures, by
which each lot was to be occupied by a freeholder, obliged
to take arms for the defence of the colony; and this militia,
with the assistance of our friendly Indians, held the colony
against all attempts of the Spaniards from Augustine, who
alarmed them almost every spring, pretending a claim, and,
therefore, a right to invade, without being said to infringe
the peace, but did not take one foot of ground from us.
In the beginning of the year 1738, great preparations were
made at the Havanna, and troops were sent from thence and
old Spain to Augustine, for the taking possession (as they
called it) of that part of Carolina in which Georgia was com¬
prehended, and which they gave out belonged to them.
Upon the trustees having early notice of these great prepara¬
tions, they applied to his Majesty to take upon him the pro¬
tection of the colony, which in its infancy was unable to repel
so great a force. His Majesty thereupon ordered a reg¬
iment to be raised, and posted on the Spanish frontiers, since
which the war is broke out, and that regiment, with the as-
A State of the Province of Georgia. 81
sistance of troops and Indians raised in Georgia and Caroli¬
na,-in conjifnction with a squadron of men of war, attacked
Augustine, and after raising the siege of that place, remained
in the possession of the frontiers, as before the war; but for
the defence of the colony now, it is necessary to have ves¬
sels that can act in shoal water, on so large and extended a
frontier towards the sea, and rangers who can ride the
woods; as also artillery, and all other things necessarily
appertaining thereto, and means for augmenting our fortifica¬
tions equal to the increased strength of the Spaniards.
Savannah, Nov. 10, 1740.
•We whose names are hereunto subscribed, being duly
sworn in open Court, do declare, that the above state of the
province of Georgia is true, according to the best of our own
knowledge, and from the most certain informations we could
obtain from others; and do desire, that the seal of this Court
may be affixed thereto.
* Pat. Graham, George Johnson
* Jos. Fitzwalter, Samuel Parker,
* James Carwells, Thomas Palmer,
* Thomas Upton, William Stephens,
* Giles Becu, Henry Parker,
* Thomas Egerton, Thomas Jones,
* Thomas Cundell, Samuel Mercer,
Anthony Camuse, James Campbell,
John Burton, John Rae,
Jos. Pavey, Noble Jones,
Robert Hainks, Thomas Young,
John Mellidge, Thomas Ellis.
Tho. Bayley, (Smith)
N. B. Those seven marked with *, at their own volun¬
tary desire, were admitted to sign it, and were sworn before
the magistrates out of Court.
VOL. If. 11
82 A State of the Province of Georgia.
The Deposition of Lieutenant George Dunbar, taken upon
the Holy Evangelists, before the Recorder of the Town of
Frederica, Jan. 20, 1738-9.
This deponent says, that he arrived in Georgia the begin¬
ning of June last, with the first detachment of General Ogle¬
thorpe's regiment; and from that time to the beginning of
August, all the carpenters of the said three companies, and a
certain number of other soldiers were employed in building
clapboard huts for the said companies, and the other soldiers
were employed in unloading vessels and boats loaded with
clapboards, and other necessaries for building, and provisions
of different kinds, often up to their necks in water: they
were also employed in carrying clapboards, &c., upon their
backs to the camp, in clearing ground from roots of trees,
&c., for a parade, burning the wood and rubbish upon it,
carrying • of bricks, and burning lime ; and the artists who
were excused from these works, wrought at their own trades,
without standing still, by reason of heat. The hours of
labor were from daylight till between eleven and twelve; and
from between one and two, and sometimes between two and
three, till dark. All that time the men kept so healthy, that
often no man in the camp ailed in the least, and none died
except one man, who came sick on board, and never worked
at all; nor did I hear, that any of the men ever made the
heat a pretence for not working.
And this deponent further says, that he has been often in
America, and frequently heard, that in the negro colonies,
the hire of white men is more than that of negroes. And
this deponent knows, that in South Carolina white ship car¬
penters and caulkers have about one third more wages than
a negro of the same trade or profession, this deponent having
often paid wages to both ; and also knows there is the afore¬
said difference in many handicrafts, and verily believes it is
so in all; and affirms, that the same is owing to the white
men exceeding the negroes in the same .professions, both in
quantity and quality of their work.
George Dunbar.
Sworn before me the day and year above written,
Francis Moore.
A State of the Province of Georgia. 83
Extract of a Letter from Mr. Thomas Jones, at Savannah, in
Georgia, to the Trustees' Accomptant, dated July 1, 1741.
The trustees' German servants in general behave well,
and are industrious: of these, eight or ten families are more
remarkably so, and have this last year purchased a good
stock of cattle, some having six cows, the least two; and
each having a garden, where they raise some corn, peas,
pumpkins, potatoes, &c., which with the milk of their cows
is the chief part of their food: they are at little expense in
clothing; but this exposes them to the envy and hatred of
our negro-mongers, and such who seek the extirpation of
the colony, as well as of the drunken, idle sort amongst us.
I am informed by Francis Harris, and William Russell,
(who are very coversant with them, and can talk the Ger¬
man tongue,) that they have lately joined, in a letter writ
and sent to their friends and acquaintance in Germany, per¬
suading them to come to Georgia, where they may, by their
industry, live in greater plenty, and more comfortably than
they can elsewhere.
These servants are very desirous, that (when the time of
their service is expired) they may have lands allotted them
within twelve or fifteen miles of Savannah, where they may
bring things by land-carriage in a vicinage, and that they may
make one common fence (as the people of Ebenezer have
done) and be assisting to one another.
The Copy of a Letter from the Reverend Mr. Frederick
Michael Ziegenhagen, German Chaplain to his Majesty,
dated at Kensington, January 11, 1741-2, and sent to the
Trustees for establishing the Colony of Georgia in Ame¬
rica.
Gentlemen,—Having seen paragraphs in print repre¬
senting the Saltzburgers as being uneasy with their settle¬
ment at Ebenezer in Georgia, and desirous to remove there¬
from ; and fearing such reports (if credited) might give just
offence to your honors their guardians, as well as to their
benefactors in Germany, and thereby deprive them from
having yours and their favors continued.
84 A State of the Province of Georgia.
I thought it ray indispensable duty to acquaint your honors,
that by all the letters and journals I have received since their
settlement at New Ebenezer, they have expressed quite
different sentiments; and not to trouble you with many par¬
ticulars, I beg leave herewith to enclose you two extracts of
the latest accounts I received from them in November last.
Extract of a Letter from the Reverend Mr. Boltzias at Eben¬
ezer, dated the 23d of July, 1741, to the Reverend Dr.
Francke, Professor of Divinity at Hall.
"Together with these spiritual blessings, and the salutary
effect of the Word of God to the conversion of many souls,
we enjoy also this year, by the mercy of God, many tem¬
poral good things.
" The present war, and the burden of it, has not affected
us yet, and we do not feel the least of it; and in the great
dearness the colony suffered last year, we have not been in
want of necessary provisions. As to the present year, we
have a very hopeful prospect of a good harvest, every thing
in the fields and gardens growing so delightful, as our eyes
hardly have seen in this country before. * If Isaac, by the
blessing of the Lord, received from what he had sowed, an
hundred fold, I believe I dare say, to the praise of the great
mercy of God over us, our Saltzburgers will get thousand
fold, notwithstanding that the corn, when it came out of the
ground, was eaten quite up two or three times by the worms,
of which nobody can hardly form a right idea, except he
sees it with his own eyes. Wheat, rice, and other grain,
must be sowed very thin, because each grain brings forth
fifty, an hundred, or more stalks and ears. The land is really
very fruitful, if the sins of the inhabitants, and the curse of
God for such sins, does not eat it up, which was formerly the
unhappy case of the blessed land of Canaan.
" And I am heartily sorry to acquaint you, that I do not
find in some of 'the inhabitants of the colony, a due thank¬
fulness for, and contentment with the many benefits bestowed
on them for several years together ; although those who are
industrious, and will labor for their maintenance, may, as we
* Gen. xxvi. 12.
A State of the Province of Georgia. 85
do, live contentedly, and subsist under the blessing of God,
promised by St. Paul, Heb. xiii. 5 : I will never leave thee,
nor forsake thee. Which blessing the idle and unthankful
are not entitled to."
Extract out of the Journal of Mr. Boltzius, Minister of the
Gospel in Georgia.
"The 10th of August, 1741. We have this year plenty
of peaches, and as this fruit does not keep, some of our
people try to make a certain sort of brandy of them ; others
give them to the swine. This is more than any body could
have promised to himself, or others, some years ago. Even
at this time, when I am writing this, a man brings a large
dish of blue grapes to me, grown wild in the woods; they
are of a sweet taste, and pretty like our European grapes;
that I am very apt to believe', the wild vine trees, if properly
managed, would give good wine. Thanks to our gracious
God, who gives us here every good thing for our support.
"The 9th of September, 1741. Some time ago 1 wrote to
an honored friend in Europe, that the land in this country, if
well managed and labored, brings forth, by the blessings of
God, not only hundred fold, but thousand fold; and 1 this
day was confirmed therein. A woman having two years ago
picked out of Indian corn, bought at Purysburg, no more
than three grains of rye (called here German corn) and
planting them here, at Ebenezer, one of these grains pro¬
duced an hundred and seventy stalks and ears, and the three
grains yielded to her a bag of corn as large as a coat pocket,
the grains whereof were good and full grown ; and she de¬
sired me to send part of them to a kind benefactor in Europe.
One of our Saltzburgers brought to me, also, a like bag of
beans, all grown out of one bean.
" True it is, notwithstanding the fertility of the land, the
first tillagers of it must undergo and struggle with great
difficulties; but them that come after them will reap the bene¬
fit thereof, if they go on to do their labor in the fear of God.
" The land is able to provide every good thing, and more
particularly is pasturage very plenteous."
A
BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE CAUSES
THAT HAVE RETARDED
THE PROGRESS
OF THE
COLONY OF GEORGIA IN AMERICA;
ATTESTED UPON OATH.
BEING
A PROPER CONTRAST
TO
A STATE OF THE PROVINCE OF GEORGIA.
ATTESTED UPON OATH.
AND SOME OTHER MISREPRESENTATIONS ON THE SAME SUBJECT.
LONDON:
PRINTED IN THE YEAR MDCCXLIII.
NOTE.
The transmission of the former paper, " A State of the Province of
Georgia," &c., gave activity to those opposed to its statements, and re¬
sulted in the drawing up of the present account, designed to be sent also
to the trustees, and others, as a counter representation. We turn to
Stephens for an elucidation of its origin. By the 12th November, 1740,
says he, in his journal, " The whole talk of the town now was, about what
was done at the Court on Monday, and the opposition which some were
using their utmost efforts to give it. I now learned it was agreed on by
their new directors to prepare a counter representation, wherein the state
of the colony should be set forth in a different light, and it would be put
into proper hands to confront what we had been forming, or forging,
probably, as they might term it; for it was most scandalously and indus¬
triously given out by them, that all we who had already signed it were
perjured, and had set our hands to a pack of lies. All this I resolved
with myself to bear as patiently as I could, and by no means whatsoever,
to enter into any controversy, or disputation, with such a petty Crew,
whom I might expect no stronger arguments from, than foul language;
wherefore I kept myself as free as I could from company, not appearing
in the least solicitous who signed one or the other; but took what care
was proper, to get true information of what passed, that I might make due
use of it at a right season ; and I saw plainly three classes would arise,
viz. : pro, and con, and neuter; but well knowing how long time had been
taken up already in coming at those truths now attested, (whereof many
had lain undiscovered, and were the occasion of so much anger at present
for being made appear,) I must not procrastinate too far the sending what
was done to the trustees, to take its fate, whether with few hands or more,
not doubting but what is set forth upon the oaths of such a number of
volunteers, will have at least as much weight in another place, before
competent judges, as anything that may be boldly asserted to the con¬
trary, by very few men of character, with a set of people at their tails,
either misled through weakness, or some worse motive, which may better
be taken notice of at some other time. Two or three who were either
out of town, or happened unavoidably to miss attending the Court on
Monday, came to my house this day, and upon reading what had been
done, very readily desired to put their hands to it; which they did, and
were sworn before Mr. Jones." This document appears to have been
written, after several abortive efforts, by Thomas Stephens, and Sir
Richard Everhard. Thomas Stephens was the son of William Stephens,
Esq., late M. P., Secretary of the Colony, &c., and Sir Richard Ever-
hard was the son of Sir Richard Everhard, a former Governor of North Car¬
olina. He had travelled extensively through the Indian nations, and
reached Savannah in the spring of 1741. He early entered into the local
controversies then raging in the town, and hastily attaching himself to
the malecontents, lent himself to the advancement of their sinister designs.
This pamphlet was answered by Lord Percival, first Earl of Egmont, in
some remarks upon a scandalous piece entitled " A Brief Account of the
Causes that have Retarded the Progress of the Colony of Georgia," &c.
A BRIEF ACCOUNT.
The severe grievances and distresses of the inhabitants of
Georgia had been so frequently and fruitlessly represented
to the honorable body constituted, as they conceived, for the
very purposes of preventing and redressing them, that their
application to a higher power seemed the only* remaining
hope and dependence of the unhappy people. After the
proofs produced at the bar of the honorable house of com¬
mons, it can be thought no extravagant assertion that their
grievances and oppressions were thought to be such, as were
before unexampled under any British government. And, if
the inexperience of their agent in the conduct of that affair
(where the quality, interest and number of his opponents
might have discouraged a person much better qualified)
terminated, for that time, in some censure upon himself, with¬
out the complete relief of his unfortunate constituents; yet
his duty and their distresses stimulate him sufficiently, to
revive his application in their behalf, as he is satisfied that
the justice and compassion of a British parliament will be
extended to their present grievances after further information
and attention, and prevent, for the future, such oppressions
as they have so long and unjustly languished under.
It may well be thought amazing, at the first view, that a
colony, which has been erected at such a considerable pub¬
lic expense to Great Britain, and further encouraged by such
numbers of private donations, should be in a more indigent
condition than any of those which were settled at the ex¬
pense and risk of private adventurers, to the final satisfac¬
tion and happiness of multitudes, and the reciprocal benefit
vol. ii.
* Appendix, No. XXXIV.
12
90
A Brief Account, 8?c.
of their mother realms. And as it is impossible that any
settlement could ever be enterprised with greater professions
of humanity, compassion and disinterestedness, than were the
avowed views of sending a colony to Georgia, it may seem
as strange that the complaints they have proved were op¬
pressions of the most essential kind; and such as are really
incompatible with the nature or very existence of any British
government. But their experience has discovered the differ¬
ence of professions and performances to be as wide as that
of truth and error; and indeed were it possible to suppose
affluence, where property is unascertained and insecure,
mere abundance would never be deemed an equivalent for
the want of those rights and liberties which British subjects
consider as an unalienable inheritance and patrimony.
The wisdom and justice of the regulations they have
smarted under, are truly too profound for their comprehension.
If the liberties of former colonies had really prevented, or
even retarded their own increase and prosperity, or their
benefit and advantage to Great Britain, some political rea¬
sons, at least, might have been alleged for them; but when
the very contrary is self-evident, whatever may have been
the designs of the many discouragements they have felt, their
ill circumstances are too evidently owing, in a great degree,
to the want of that liberty which has enriched and estab¬
lished the neighboring colonies, and extended the British
trade and empire in proportion.
To complain has been always deemed the wretched privi¬
lege of the miserable: yet even this has been, as much as
possible, obstructed; insomuch, that the Georgians are in¬
debted to the justice and liberty of their neighboring province
for a seal to many of the annexed depositions, which they
could never obtain in Georgia. And indeed any magistrate,
who has an inclination to continue one, must be deaf to any
public complaint of the discontented ; which, it may be truly
affirmed, all the inhabitants, who are independent and out of
office, with great reason are, while they must be ever indus¬
trious to give a sanction to all such misrepresentations of the
state of things, as are contrary to fact, and insults on reason
itself. And under what influence such misrepresentations
have been procured, will best be evinced from some of the
following depositions.
Bitterness is too naturally the language of the injured;
A Brief Account, fyc.
91
but as their past sufferings are irrevocable, they are more
anxious to prevent their continuance than to perpetuate the
disagreeable remembrance of them, by an unavailing resent¬
ment ; and it is with such a view the following papers are
tendered to.the worthy and unprejudiced. If a fair account
of their hardships should inevitably infer any thing disad¬
vantageous to the characters of any other, it has been their
misfortune, that it is in their power to do it with justice, and
not in their power to omit it without being unjust to them¬
selves. They decline all aggravation, both as difficult and
unnecessary ; they leave the advantages of art and eloquence
to persons and things, which are better qualified to divert
than to bear inspection ; and rest the validity of their com¬
plaints upon the plain, but faithful depositions of men, who
have been made to feel what they may be unable to express
with the strictest method and propriety.
But before I proceed to these proofs, I shall take the
liberty to make a brief and plain inquiry into the principal
causes, that have either retarded, or totally prevented the
increase and establishment of Georgia, which indeed amounts
to a consideration, how far his Majesty's most gracious in¬
tentions, in the settlement of Georgia, have been accom¬
plished and fulfilled by those persons appointed for that pur¬
pose.
We find from the preamble to his Majesty's charter to the
trustees, that the professed designs of establishing the colony
of Georgia were for making provision for the industrious
poor, for strengthening South Carolina, and increasing trade
and navigation.
To which end, his Majesty was pleased to grant in trust
(not as proprietors) to several of the nobility and gentlemen,
all the soils, grounds, &,c., within the limits of Georgia, to¬
gether with all the privileges and preeminences, which his
Majesty by his letters patent might or could grant.
From which, it seems very natural to apprehend, that
nothing short of the rights and liberties of other British sub¬
jects or colonies, were intended to be allowed such settlers,
who certainly took the same for granted, before their leaving
Great Britain, to go to Georgia. But in consequence of
such his Majesty's gracious intentions, and from the situa¬
tion of that frontier they were to defend, rather expected
such further immunities and encouragements, as his Majesty,
92
A Brief Account, &c.
in his royal bounty and goodness, could and might grant a
colony, honored with his name, within the limits of a British
constitution and government, the only one they expected to
be regulated by, and subject to. It seems to them, that
the trustees, thus empowered and enjoined to confer all the
king's rights, expressed in the charter, could convey no
other rights, non no less ; and that every grant or tenure of
theirs, short of such, was contrary to the charter, and an
illegal and unconstitutional reserve. And that every other
act of theirs, and their magistrates there, contrary to the
laws and usages of Great Britain, and to the known rights
and liberties of English subjects, were oppressive and arbi¬
trary, and directly destructive of the express intentions of the
charter, and the settlement of the province, which has been
but too evidently demonstrated by the present condition
of it.
The only restraint the charter expresses, is with regard to
the quantity of land to be granted to any settler, which is
limited to five hundred acres. The wisdom and equity of
this limitation is undoubtedly very clear in the main, as it is
preventive of those unreasonable, and even impolitic mono¬
polies of land, which have greatly retarded the strength and
improvement of other places; and yet perhaps in some par¬
ticular cases, where a settler might be both able and willing
to cultivate and improve more, some further allowance, in
proportion to such circumstances, might neither be unrea¬
sonable nor impolitic. But notwithstanding this limitation of
the quantity, was the only limitation warranted by the char¬
ter ; one of the first things done was, reserving the very best
lands, under a pretence that they were kept for the vagrant
Indians,* who were brought over here, and imposed on the
public for kings ; and so circumscribing and restraining the
rights and titles of such others, as were not thought too good
or valuable for the people, as to extinguish every incitement
to industry and improvement: by which means, almost all
the best lands continue unappropriated, to any settler at least,
and uncultivated to this day. If this method of establishing
colonies has nothing else to recommend it, we must allow it
to be new at least, and acknowledge the inhabitants would
have been as unreasonable to expect any advantages from it,
* See the Report of the Committee of South Carolina, appointed to examine into
the Proceedings of Georgia.
A Brief Account, &c.
93
as to hope for miracles. But as if the difficulties arising from
indifferent lands, and discouraging tenures, were not suffi¬
cient to humble and prepare them for the other severities
they have met with, they were totally prohibited the impor¬
tation, use, or even sight* of negroes. In spite of all endea-"
vors to disguise this point, it is as clear as light itself, that
negroes are as essentially necessary to the cultivation of
Georgia, as axes, hoes, or any other utensil of agriculture.
So that if a colony was designed able but to subsist itself,
their prohibition was inconsistent; if a garrison only was in¬
tended, the very inhabitants were needless: but all circum¬
stances considered, it looked as if the assistance of human
creatures, who have been called slaves, as well as subject to
the treatment of such, were incongruous with a system that
proceeded to confer the thing, but to spare the odium of the
appellation. Experience would too soon have taught them
the parity of their conditions, in spite of a mere nominal dif¬
ference. The only English clergymen, who were ever coun¬
tenanced there, declared they never desired to see Georgia
a rich, but a godly colony ; and the blind subjection the poor
Saltzburgers are under to the Rev. Mr. Boltzius, who has
furnished such extraordinary extracts in some accounts of
Georgia, published here, will be too evident from some of
the annexed depositions to call for any descant.
The>pretended content and satisfaction of the people of
Ebenezer, without negroes, will plainlyf appear to be the
dictates of spiritual tyranny, and only the wretched acqui¬
escence of people, who were in truth unacquainted with the
privilege of choosing for themselves.
It is acknowledged indeed that the present war, and late
invasion, may furnish the enemies of the colony with the
most plausible objections that could occur, against the allow¬
ance of black slaves ; but these reasons have not always ex¬
isted, nor have the trustees ever declared any resolution to
admit them, at any other juncture. But if it plainly appears
that Georgia, as a colony, cannot barely exist without them,
surely an admission of them under limitations, suitable to .
the present situation of affairs, is absolutely necessary to its
support; since want and famine must be more dreadful and
insuperable invaders, than any living enemy: besides, the
11 Appendix, No. XXIX.
t Appendix, No. VIII. and IX.
94
A Brief Account, frc.
honorable trustees were informed by a letter from Mr. Stir¬
ling and others, of the falsehood, of the contented and com¬
fortable situation the people of Darien were affirmed to be
in ; and that they were* bought with a number of cattle, and
extensive promises of future rewards, when they signed their
petition against negroes.
It is established also by their charter, that the trustees
shall and may form and prepare laws, statutes and ordi¬
nances, fit and necessary for and concerning the govern¬
ment of the said colony, and not repugnant to the laws and
statutes of England.
But notwithstanding this, and although the trustees were
applied to by the peoplef for a body of laws for the govern¬
ment of the colony, as the want of them rendered it exceed¬
ing difficult, for either grand or petit juries to discharge in a
proper manner, the great duties incumbent on them by their
oaths ; yet they never received, or heard of any other laws
except the Salique law, one for the prohibition of negroes,
and a third, prohibiting the use and importation of spirituous
liquors ; any one of which was sufficient to prevent, or defeat
the settlement of a colony in their situation : neither would
the most judicious application of the money, advanced for its
establishment, have compensated for such fundamental errors
in the constitution. It seems a little odd* that three laws
should be formed, that had a visible tendency to distress
the colony, and not one fairly calculated for its increase and
encouragement; none that might make it seem related to
a British government. The intention of this omission I shall
not presume to explain, but it is certain that enacting and ex¬
ecuting of laws, not repugnant to the laws of England,
must have prevented a great deal of such government, as
the poor people have complained of; much indefinite and
unwarrantable imprisonment, fining, punishing and forfeit¬
ing.^
The trustees are further empowered by their charter, to
erect and constitute judicatures and courts of record, or
other courts, for the hearing and determining of all manner
of crimes, offences, pleas, processes, &,c. As well as to ap¬
point governors, judges, magistrates, &c., for the government
of the colony.
* Appendix, No. V. VI. and VII. t In a Representation from the Grand Jury.
A Brief Account, &c.
95
We may very naturally infer, that this power of consti¬
tuting courts of justice, implies a due and regular application
of that power, to be the duty of the trustees; and yet there
is not so much as a magistrate in two of the towns, (there
being but five in the province,) viz.: Darien and Ebenezer,*
though one of them is thirty, and the other above fifty miles
off any settlement, that has a magistrate. The populous
town of Augusta, which is said to furnish out two thousand
horses in the spring, and which, by the trustees' published
account, was resorted to by six hundred white men,f em¬
ployed on the Indian J trade, had none, till lately one Kent
was said to have a commission given him by the trustees,
when it was expected they would have punished him, for
having dared to act as a justice of peace, and imprison^ and
punish the people, without any but a verbal commission from
Mr. Oglethorpe, under whom he has a military command of
men. If they really believed this town to be so populous,
why was it without even one civil magistrate ? But for the
real state and poverty of this place, we refer to the affidavits
of Mr. O'Brien and John Gardner.
Savannah and Fred erica (the two principal towns,) must
be allowed to have had extraordinary magistrates indeed,
some of whom may not have wilfully injured the people;
though others have declared from the bench, that the laws of
England were no laws in Georgia; || made false imprison¬
ments,H discharged grand juries, whilst matters of felony
lay** before them,ff intimidated petit-juries ; in short, stuck
at nothing to oppress the people; neither has there been
any governor appointed, or any records rightly kept for the
people to appeal home from; which, whether it is so de¬
signed or not, prevents them from applying so regularly to
his Majesty, for the benefit and redress of his distressed sub¬
jects.
The charter also enjoins the training, instructing and ex¬
ercising the militia for the safety of the colony, the use of
martial law in time of actual war and invasion, and the erec¬
tion of forts for the defence of the colony; notwithstanding
* Appendix, No. VI. and VIII.
t See a state of the colony attested upon oath.
t Appendix, No. X. and XI. 1T Appendix, No. XXVI.
§ See petition of the Grand Jury, 1721. ** See petition of the Grand Jury, 1741.
|| Appendix, No. XVIII. tt Appendix, No. XVIII.
96
A Brief Account, &c.
which, it is said there has been no muster there these four
or five years, and that there is not a defensible* fort in the
province. The want of martial law they cannot, indeed,
justly complain of, since they have had nothing else but that,
or worse, in time of peace, which possibly may have been
one reason for no musters,! since it might be judged bad
politics to train a people up to the knowledge and use of
arms, who were to be ruled by nothing else. Besides, in¬
deed, frequent musters would have exposed the real scarcity
of people in a place that has been so diligently misrepre¬
sented, as populous, and what not.
It is said that the trustees have altered the tenures of the
lands; but are they yet so good as in any of the rest of his
Majesty's provinces, where lands are granted in free and
common socage ? Have any ill effects attended such full
tenures ? And have any good ones followed the want of
them? A sufficient term has been allowed for the experi¬
ment, and can the ill success of it be an argument for its
continuance in any degree, or shape, or upon any pretence
or color? And of the ill tendency of this destructive
tenure, the trustees had a very early warning from a gentle¬
man of undoubted integrity, and a member of their own
body, which we shall take the liberty to recite in his own
words.
Bight Honorable the Lords and other Honorable Trustees
for establishing the Colony of Georgia in America.
I conceive I am summoned hither at this time, with the,
other trustees, to hear and debate on one or two dangerous
mistakes, which have happened in the beginning of settling
the infant colony of Georgia; the goad and prosperity
whereof no man can have more at heart than I have,had.
But, as I have often with sorrow found at this board, my
want of eloquence hath caused the motions of my sincere
good intentions for the colony to pass unregarded, I hope
you will therefore excuse the liberty I now take, of delivering
in writing what I pray to say on those two pernicious mis¬
takes.
* Appendix, No. II.
t Appendix, No. XXXII.
A Brief Account, &c.
97
The first of those two evils is, concerning the portions of
the land granted, to each man, heads of the families sent
thither on the charity or otherwise; which land is of no value
now, nor ever can be, until cultivated and improved by their
great labor and expense. Yet that estate is limited to an
intail male, whereby, upon any failure of male issue, all the
females and their posterity are entirely cut off from all fruits
and advantages of their parents' labor and industry for one
or more ages; which is the children's natural right, and
ought in justice to be secured to them. Moreover the sub¬
jecting the same estate to so many terrifying forfeitures,
renders it the more precarious. There never was an in¬
stance of any lands^ever granted in the British plantations,
under such limitations and forfeitures, before this, which will
be attended with many evil consequences.
It will not only defeat the charitable intentions of those
many good and generous benefactors who have contributed
very liberally, and those who shall do so, for the comfortable
settlement, provision and support of many poor distressed
families and their children ; but also deprive the females of
their just right given them by God and nature. This extra¬
ordinary tenure will be a great means of depeopling the
colony as fast as you can people it; for those poor people,
who now gladly embrace any terms or conditions to be re¬
moved from their present distresses here, will, as soon as the
trustees have done feeding them in Georgia, remove them¬
selves into other plantations, where they may have lands
given them gratis, under the best tenure the crown could
ever grant, without paying any quit rent, or other considera¬
tion for it.
Much more might be said to show the mischievous effects
which that unreasonable tenure, by which the lands are now
granted to those who are settled in Georgia, will unavoida¬
bly have on that colony. But I beg leave to say something
of the Jews, who, to the number of between forty and fifty,
have procured themselves to be already settled there con¬
trary to the will, and without the consent of the trustees, and
there are more of their nation now going over to them.
I humbly conceive these shocking matters require your
most serious attention; for unless you speedily take some
vigorous resolutions to suppress effectually the two great
evils aforesaid, Georgia will soon become a Jewish colony,
VOL. II. 13
98
A Brief Account, frc.
for that all the Christians there will, for the reasons aforesaid,
fall off and desert it, as leaves from a tree in autumn, until
there will not be a valuable Christian remaining except some
few carpenters, sawyers, smiths, &c. whom the Jews will
find most necessary and useful, and encourage them to re¬
main to be employed in their buildings and otherwise, and
that all Christian benefactions for that colony will soon cease.
Therefore, for these considerations, I beg leave to recom¬
mend the speedy entering into proper measures for prevent¬
ing, as well the ruin of the colony of Georgia as the re¬
proach and scandal of the trustees.
I am, with the greatest respect, right honorable and hon¬
orable, your most obedient servant,
Thomas Coram.
Georgia Office, 27th March, 1734.
But it is farther to be observed, that many of the original
grants consist of one contraction, a figure, three words, and
the two initial letters of the General's name. And the man¬
ner of declaring lands forfeited, as well as taking from one,
and giving to another, is really incredible.*
It was the sense of the Commons of Great Britain, that
the Georgians ought to be allowed the use and importation
of rum, from which it seems a very natural inference, that
they meant the importation of it on the same terms, and
with no other restrictions or limitations than it was imported
into the other British colonies. What regard has been paid
to this opinion of that great body, such true friends to the
settlement, must best appear from the act of the trustees, in
conformity to that report, which is said to be loaded with
such restraints, difficulties and limitations, of which their
magistrates are to be judges, as to be little better in effect
than a prohibition, and has not been hitherto, as we are
informed, approved of by the Right Honorable the Lords of
Trade.
The trustees allege, in extenuation of many past abuses,
that they have altered the form of government, having ap¬
pointed a president and assistants. Whereas the charter re¬
quires the appointment of a governor to be approved by his
majesty, who is to give security for a due observation of the
* Appendix, No. XIX. and 11.
A Brief Account, &c.
99
several acts relating to trade and navigation, which has never
been complied with in any particular. And, as if this eva¬
sion were not sufficiently inexcusable, to complete the farce,
the magistrates, so very liable to be justly appealed from, are
the very assistants, who must be appealed to ; which, with¬
out the least reflection, sufficiently explains this notable
amendment both of the intention and mode of governing.
The administrators of such a polity should, in propriety,
be invested with some suitable resemblance of character and
equity. Mr. Thomas Jones,* who had not been a little
active in procuringf several informations against such male-
contents as they were called, (who must have been stupid to
have been otherwise) was one of the venerable bench ; and
Mr. Henry Parker another, who had signed a complaint, was
not restored, till he had contradicted the truths he subscribed
in it. Mr. Fallowfield was formerly a magistrate, but for
daring to feel, and to complain of it, and to allow others to
do the same, he was immediately deemed unqualified for
any part of the administration, and cast out as a malecontent,
as will appear from Mr. Verelst's very solemn notification of
it to him in the Appendix.!
It is said the trustees keep no store now, but it is an¬
swered, that their officers do in their names, that only the
name of their store Js changed into their magazine, by virtue
of the key of which, T. Causton has formerly commanded §
the whole colony, as it is feared Thomas Jones does still,
though it is reported the trustees lately removed him from
some of his employments, to appease the people with regard
to a felony, which produced an indictment against him ; but
from which his brother magistrates screened || him till he
went to Frederica (where the General is), for protection.
As the complainants of Georgia have been industriously
represented as a few clamorous, unreasonable people, spirited
up by one man, who styles himself their agent, their number
will best appear from the annexed list, which cannot be
equalled H by any catalogue of persons, the trustees could
reckon contented, though all their magistrates and depend¬
ants were to be included in it. As to his being able, or even
* Late high constable of, and well known in Holborn.
t See the secretary's journals printed by the trustees.
i Appendix, No. XXXVI. || Appendix, No XXIV. and XXV.
§ Appendix, No. XXIII. IT Appendix, No. XXXV.
100
A Brief Account, frc.
desirous to foment a clamor he has no particular interest in,
the absurdity is self-manifest, and sufficiently exposed, by
former complaints of the people,* when he was little known
among them, and when he was in England before.f His
joining the people, in opposition to his father's conduct, has
been thought a strong objection to his own, with many. To
this he takes leave to say, that while he is conscious of all
dutiful affection and regard for a parent, he can see no cause
for his being insensible to the suggestions of truth and rea¬
son, and of the hardships of his fellow sufferers. If his
father's great age, and several misfortunes, dispose him to be
contented with a poor provision for one, his son cannot dis¬
cover, that filial duty obliges him to think in the same man¬
ner ; but were his father's concurrence necessary on such a
score, he might even appeal to his own journals published
by the trustees, and to several extracts of letters to himself.
Much might be added, very pertinently, to furnish a more
strict and particular account of the real grievances of the
people of Georgia, and the insuperable impediments to its
ever deserving the name of a colony on the present founda¬
tion. In truth, it has the force of a thousand arguments to
reflect, that for four years past no person has attempted to
settle in Georgia at his own expense, which never is the case
of any new colony, where people are satisfied with the plan
and scheme of the conductors of it; ana it is utterly oppo¬
site to common sense, to conceive, that a people of depressed
circumstances, with very few of name or interest, can find
any pleasure or account, in complaining for the mere sake of
complaint, in opposition to persons of condition, opulence
and reputation. If they really enjoyed the common liberties
of their fellow subjects, and murmured under those circum¬
stances of government their fellow colonies are happy from,
such an unreasonable discontent might very justly be dis¬
countenanced. Let this one fair experiment be made, and
the people of Georgia little doubt, without being burden¬
some to their mother country, to subsist themselves, and by
degrees to become useful subjects to his majesty : whereas,
far from being benefited by any public contribution, on the
* A letter, in the year 1735, signed by the principal inhabitants of the colony ; s
representation, 1737 ; another representation, 1738, signed by one hundred and
seventeen.
t A petition, 1740, from the servants out of their time ; a remonstrance, 1740, from
the people ; a petition to his majesty, 1740 ; an address to his majesty, 1741.
A Brief Account, &c.
101
present footing, they can consider it as nothing, but strength¬
ening a sort of government, that is an insupportable plague *
and discouragement, instead of a support and protection.
And, it is but too evident, that all projects to devise a better
constitution of government than the British, for British sub¬
jects, has proved sad quack politics in the event, destroying
or torturing the patients, and disgracing the prescriber. The
people are convinced, with pleasure, that many gentlemen of
the Trust are far from intending the oppression of their fellow
creatures, or fellow subjects, and that some of them have
publicly expressed their aversion to all such measures, as
were injurious to the colony, and contrary to the charter.
But persons who have never been out of England, cannot be
perfect judges of the encouragements necessary to the estab¬
lishment of a new colony in that climate, nor easily discover
the truth at so great a distance, or they would no more con¬
tinue in a known error, than suffer such illegal excesses of
power to be exercised over the people, to whom they are
guardians, nor ever permit so injurious a trade to be carried
on with the public money, without giving the public credit
in their accounts, for what has been so extorted,f contrary
to their intention, from the poor people, for whose benefit the
money so employed was given. But how can the trustees
account to the publyp, unless their agents (whose accounts
were never made up) account to them ?' The only trustee
who is there, must be able, indeed, to form a pretty general
judgment of affairs ; but the people cannot forbear consider¬
ing him as the greatest enemy to the colony, who was called
the father of it, before the regiment was obtained, which
became necessary the sooner, from our imprudence in pro¬
voking and alarming the Spaniards in time of peace, by
erecting a fort, garrisoned with upwards of twenty men,
directly opposite to, and in sight of the Spanish look-out on
St. Juans, which is said to be without the limits assigned by
the charter. And since which appointment, there is scarcely
any species of oppression, short of life and limb, which may
not be unanswerably proved to have been arbitrarily exerted
by this gentleman, who has publicly appeared an invader of
the natural t rights of mankind, and the particular privileges
* Appendix, No. XV. XVI. XXVIII. and XXIX.
t Appendix, No. III. XVII. XX. XXI. XXII. XXIII.
t Appendix, No. I. II. IV. XXX. XXXI.
102
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of his fellow subjects; and if ever a colony is to be effected
under his auspices, it must never consist of Britons. The
lands must be interdicted to his majesty's subjects, and in¬
stead of preventing the importation of slaves, they must
import none but such. If these affirmations be thought se¬
vere, let the actual and lawless severities he has treated mul¬
titudes with, be duly pondered, and the unavailing privilege
of complaining must be thought a very poor recompense. If
it be said he is not present to defend himself, that is not the
least misfortune to the colony of Georgia where he is; they
will never revoke any thing they have hitherto affirmed and
proved against him, but have much more to add to it, when¬
ever they shall be so happy as to be called on for that pur¬
pose. Some light specimens will appear in the following
affidavits, voluntarily made, the effect of no art or manage¬
ment, collected with no view to disguise or amuse, but to
inform and convince, the natural and plain language of op¬
pressed men, to which we refer the reader.
APPENDIX.
No. I.
From Frederica.
Samuel Perkins, late inhabitant and second bailiff of Fred-
erica, in Georgia, aged thirty-nine years and upwards, makes
oath and says, that he lived there five years and upwards,
and cleared and fenced in five acres of land, whereof he
planted one acre and a half, built two good and habitable
houses in the town of Frederica, and one good and habitable
house on his five acre lot. That the produce of the land so
cleared, fenced in, and planted, was never sufficient to defray
the expense of maintaining his servant who was employed
thereon, and did well attend and keep clean the same, during
the season for planting, for four years together. That he
kept a store well furnished with goods from his first arrival,
but that James Oglethorpe, Esq., who was either intrusted
with, or took to himself, the sole command _of all, would not
allow this deponent to sell iron goods, because Mr. Lawley
sold such. That about two years after his arrival, he, this
deponent, sent James Shepherd to the guardhouse, for abus¬
ing this deponent and Mr. John Caldwell, third bailiff, in the
execution of their office, in order to be punished, unless he
repented, and asked pardon for his fault: but that Mr. Hor-
ton, then commander-in-chief at Frederica, (Mr. Oglethorpe
being absent), released the said Shepherd, and threatened
this deponent to lock him to an oar in the scout boat, and to
starve the said Caldwell, for securing the person of the said
Shepherd. That finding he could not live by cultivation,
and being bred a coach-maker, this deponent would have
104
A Brief Account, <yc.
wrought at his trade, and had chaises bespoke of him by
Lieutenant Colonel Cockran, and Captain Gascoigne, and in
Carolina; but that the honorable James Oglethorpe, Esq.,
Colonel of his majesty's regiment of foot, continuing still the
sole commander of all affairs in the southern division of
Georgia, as well civil as military, would not suffer him to
work at his trade ; and farther, that the said Oglethorpe, on
or about November, 1738, did say to this deponent, "By
G— I will burn the first chaise you makefor which reason
this deponent durst never make any during his stay in Geor¬
gia, nor so much as cart harness for his neighbors, that being
also forbid in the same manner, though a set was bespoke,
materials provided, and the work begun.
That at a court holden at Frederica, February 4, 1739-
40, a complaint was made by William Allen, that Mr.
Thomas Hawkins, chief magistrate, owed him eight shillings
and sixpence, which the said Hawkins acknowledged in
open court to be due, and promised to pay the same; but
the plaintiff's suit being renewed at sundry courts, and the
money not being paid, this deponent and Mr. Francis Moore,
recorder, on the 4th of February, 1740, did, in conjunction,
write a handsome letter to the said Hawkins, (who would
not appear that day either as defendant or magistrate,) desiring
him to show cause why his goods should not be distrained;
when he returned for answer, that his health would not per¬
mit him to come to court, and desired not to be condemned
unheard. But this deponent having seen him laughing and
very merry within an hour before, as the constable, by whom
the letter was sent, did inform the court, he was, when he
delivered it; it was the opinion of the court and every one
present, that a distraint should be granted, for satisfying the
said complainant, William Allen, which was done accordingly.
But upon the officer's putting the same into execution, the
said Oglethorpe sent for the said Caldwell, bailiff, when the
goods seized were replevied, and the said Hawkins did say
he should appeal to the trustees.
That the said Hawkins having, at times, done some very
wrong things in court, which had brought the authority of it
to a very low ebb, insomuch that the people were under no
government. As for instance, James Bland being taken into
custody, and kept a long while confined, for selling rum to
some soldiers who swam on board his master, Mr. Town-
Appendix.
105
send's vessel, and swearing they would have rum, took it by
force, drank thereof, and returned ashore; but afterwards
making a second attempt, two of the said soldiers • were
drowned. After a long confinement, the said Bland, at a
court held at Frederica aforesaid, did move for his trial, when
the said Hawkins answered, that he should not be tried, for
if the other magistrates had no bread to lose, yet he had, and
that he would not disoblige the General for any body;
wherefore, finding the said Oglethorpe did justify all such
proceedings of the said Hawkins, and condemned and vili¬
fied whatever was done by this deponent; he did, in August,
1740, lay down his commission, as did Mr. Francis Moore,
recorder, at the same time, and for the same reasons, as the
said Moore did tell this deponent and others.
That the said Oglethorpe did tell this deponent, that he
would ruin him for distraining the said Hawkins's goods,
were he Lord Chief Justice.
That David Fellows, coxswain of the said Oglethorpe's
boat, abused this deponent in his own house; whereupon a
constable was sent for, and the said Fellows striking the said
constable, who got a warrant for the said Fellows, and by
virtue of which did carry the said Fellows to the guard¬
house ; for which the said Oglethorpe broke the said con¬
stable.
That at a court held the 27th of August, 1740, Thomas
Herd and Samuel Davidson, returning Samuel Lee, John
Harding, Thomas Archer, John Shelleday, Richard Hart and
Samuel Gough, who cohabited each with his respective fe¬
male unmarried, the grand jury found a bill against them ;
and the said Hawkins did declare in open court, that the said
Oglethorpe had got the proceedings of the said court, and did
forbid the said Hawkins to proceed farther in that affair, add¬
ing, that the said General told him the constables were
indictable for returning, and the grand jury for finding a bill
against them, which violent proceedings of the said Ogle¬
thorpe were blamed, even by the said Hawkins.
That this deponent having lived in good repute among his
neighbors, and the officers of the regiment, was yet at last
abandoned by them all, and that by order from the said Ogle¬
thorpe, as Captain Desbrisay and several others did confess
to this deponent and his wife.
That in 1738 he received a German family, consisting of
VOL. II. 14
106
A Brief Account, &c.
W-fflan, his wife, son of nineteen, and daughter seven years
of age, for which he gave bond to the trustees' store for
seventeen pounds ten shillings sterling, in Captain William
Thomson's name, the same being to bear interest at ten per
cent, after the expiration of two years, if unpaid. That the
trustees being indebted to this deponent more than that sum,
he demanded the said bond, before he left the province, but
the said Oglethorpe refused to deliver him the same, though
he, the said Oglethorpe, did, at the same time, acknowledge
that the money for the said family was paid. That the said
bond is still out against this deponent, and ten per cent, for
the same running on. And moreover, the said Oglethorpe
having vowed revenge against this deponent for distraining
the said Hawkins's goods, would not see him, nor suffer his
account to be made up before he left the colony of Georgia,
though he did often apply to the said Oglethorpe, in order
thereto. And further, Mr. Thomas Jones did inform this
deponent, that the said Oglethorpe swore he should never be
paid one farthing, and that is due from the trustees;
and for boat-hire, and other services done at the late expe¬
dition against St. Augustine.*
That having eighteen tame hogs, the said Oglethorpe
issued an order, after the fortifications were begun, (and it
was said were to be carried on round the town,) that no
hogs should be kept within it, when this deponent sent his
hogs to his little plantation, from whence they strayed to
town in about six months thereafter; where, without any
notice given, three sows big with young, and three barrows,
were shot by one Pighly, a servant to the trustees, (as this
deponent has been informed) the said Pighly being appointed
for that purpose.
That as this deponent was getting the remainder of the
said hogs into his yard, Thomas Hunt, the General's servant
boy, did, at the same time, run with his gun in pursuit of
them, and say that he was ordered bythe General to shoot
them.
That notwithstanding he was unable to live by cultivating
lands, on which he has built without a proper title; that
promises made by the trustees of supplying the people with
servants, of a bounty on produces raised, &.c. were never
* 901, the whole.
Appendix.
107
fulfilled; and that the complaints of these and many other
things were universal; yet, from his hopes, that they might
reach his Majesty's ears, and the colony be under his royal
protection, he should not have forsaken his improvements
in Georgia so soon, could he have borne the said Ogle¬
thorpe's usage, who is become a terror not to evil doers, but
to innocent men.
Samuel Perkins.
South Carolina, ss.
Sworn before me, the 28th of Nov. 1741.
Othniel Beale, J. P.
No. 2.
From Frederica.
John Roberson, aged thirty-three years and upwards, and
Joseph Cannon, aged twenty years and upwards, late of
Frederica, in Georgia, do make oath and say, that in com¬
pany of forty families or more, commanded by James Ogle¬
thorpe, Esq., they did go to the said Frederica, at the first
settling thereof, which was in March, 1735-6; when the
said people did immediately build themselves palmetto huts,
by joint labor, to shelter themselves from the weather. That
in May, 1736, by command of the said Oglethorpe, twenty-
two of the said inhabitants of Frederica went to making of
bricks, sawing of timber, and providing other materials, in
order to build twenty-seven brick houses, which labor they
continued till December following, when they had built only
two houses, which were left unfinished, and the poor people
finding the task too heavy for them were obliged to leave
off, after having so lost thus much of their labor, and having
done nothing towards raising their own provisions, though
nine months of their one year's provisions promised them by
the trustees were expended. That then ten of the said
inhabitants of Frederica having petitioned the said Ogle¬
thorpe before he went for England, for one tithing of land
together, being a mile square, and obtaining the same in order
to cultivate it; they made an attempt to enclose the whole
with a worm fence of six feet high; and before it was fin¬
ished, there being an alarm that the Spaniards designed to
108
A Brief Account, §-c.
invade them, Mr. Horton, commander-in-chief, in the said
Oglethorpe's absence, ordered them not to go out of sight
of the town, which happening in February, 1736, hindered
their planting any thing considerable, or raising twenty
bushels of corn, within that tithing that year; nor did the
crop of all the other inhabitants far exceed that quantity.
That the said people did employ themselves in cultiva¬
tion and other improvements the next year, when their corn
was so destroyed by the drought, that it was the opinion of
every one, that the whole settlement did not raise one hun¬
dred bushels.
That the said inhabitants did still continue to plant with
great pains and industry in the year 1739, when the best
crop was raised of every sort, that was seen at the said
Frederica from the first settling of it; and then complaints
were universal among the said inhabitants, that it did not an¬
swer the expense of planting, and attending it.
That for the encouragement of planting this year, Mr.
Thomas Hird and Samuel Davison went from house to house
to acquaint the people, that General Oglethorpe said the
trustees had always allowed one shilling per bushel for any
sort of grain, &c. that was raised, and that he would allow
two that year, but that these deponents did never receive any
such bounty, nor hear of any that did.
That in the year 1740, being unable to support them¬
selves by cultivation, and complaining of the restraints they
were under, particularly the precarious titles of their lands,
the public debts not being duly paid, finding themselves de¬
pendent on the trustees for a support, Falconer's lot being
taken away, and a great, and the most valuable part of the
common belonging to the town; that many things were
promised by the General and trustees, whereof few were
accomplished, particularly mulberry trees; and the General
interfering with the magistrates, and obstructing the course
of their proceedings, with many instances of injustice and
oppression, to the great injury of the inhabitants, they began
now to drop off, and many being engaged in the expedition
against St. Augustine, very little planting was done this year,
and their crop again complained of.
That in the spring 1741, arbitrary power having raged to
a great degree, and the inhabitants in general having no
hopes of redress, many of them left the colony, as most of
Appendix.
109
the others have done since, and are doing daily, there being
not above twelve of the first settlers left, and none of them
planting, but Mr. Hawkins and another or two at the most.
That some of the lots of those gone off are filled with offi¬
cers of the regiment, and the General's servants.
That on or about August 1740, Mr. Hawkins, first magis¬
trate, being adjudged by the court to pay William Allen
eight shillings six pence, the said Allen went to him to de¬
mand the same, when the said Hawkins gave him abusive
language, which being returned by Allen, the said Hawkins
ordered the constable to carry him to prison, for such his be¬
havior; but the constable, as well as others, being wearied
out with that trifling debt, (which the said Hawkins would
not pay, though he acknowledged it in several courts to be
due) loitered, and not punctually obeying the said Hawkins's
command, where he was both judge and party, the said
Hawkins then applied to Major Cook to send a party of
soldiers, under pretence that the people were rising in a
mob, and threatened to break open the store; and accord¬
ingly a party of soldiers, consisting of thirty and upwards,
were sent by the said Cook, and quartered twenty-four
hours at the houses of Samuel Davison and widow Bennet;
for which the said Cook (finding that it was only a dispute
arising from the ill conduct of the said Hawkins) was very
angry, as was Ensign Sutherland, the officer sent with them.
And further, that the said soldiers wTere posted sentinels, t>vo
at a time, at the door of the court, which was then held by
the magistrates on affairs of the town.
That an order was made by the said Oglethorpe, and pub¬
lic notice given, that no hogs should come within the town
after the first of March, 1739-40 ; and some hogs belonging
to the inhabitants coming into the town afterwards, were
shot by his own servants, who did so by the said Ogle¬
thorpe's order, notwithstanding they were a great part of the
people's support; and farther, that by the said Oglethorpe's
orders likewise, demanded of Mr. Francis Moore and others,
who were proprietors of the said hogs, four-pence apiece
for shooting them, and the money was paid by the said pro¬
prietors. That the only pretence of some of them for so
destroying the people's stock was, that they spoilt the fortifi¬
cation, which was only a bank of sandy earth, with pun¬
cheons and facines, begun but never finished, and great part
110
A Brief Account, &c.
of it fallen down again. That Major Cook, the engineer,
gave it as his opinion that the hogs would do the fortification
no damage, though it were completed, as once it was said to
be intended. That the loss the people sustained hereby was
considerable, though not to compare with that of the soldiers
killing such as were in the woods. Daniel Cannon, who, it
is well known had a large stock of them, having lost fifty and
upwards, as have others in proportion, besides black cattle,
some of which being proved to be shot by the soldiers, there
is great reason to believe that all that were lost were so de¬
stroyed by them, because they were out with their guns;
and though application has been made to the said Ogle¬
thorpe, even by Mr. Hawkins and others, he rather seemed
inclined to justify than punish them, by saying, poor men!
they must have the liberty of going out with their guns in
this country ; and farther, that the said Oglethorpe did say
they had a title to come with their guns on any plantation
fenced in.
That complaints of grievances were universal and intolera¬
ble, or these deponents would not have left their improve¬
ments which have never answered the expense; nor, if they
are not seized by the General or trustees, they apprehend
will never be of any value to them now, unless his Majesty
would be graciously pleased to save his subjects from the
severities of the said Oglethorpe, and a multitude of evils
arising from a misconduct throughout the whole, by taking
them under his princely care.
John Roberson.
Joseph Cannon.
South Carolina.
Sworn before^me, this 29th day of Nov. 1741.
' Othniel Beale.
No. 3.
From Frederica.
Samuel Davison, late of Frederica, in Georgia, aged forty
years and upwards, maketh oath and saith, that whereas
there was a fort built on St. George's island, about the time
that Frederica was first settled, and (the said fort being then
Appendix.
Ill
garrisoned with twenty men and upwards,) that within ten
days after settling the said fort, which was on 6r about April
1736, Captain Ferguson, master of the scout-boat, employed
by James Oglethorpe, Esq., being sent by the said Ogle¬
thorpe to visit the said garrison, did, conjunctly with Captain
Harmsdorff, commander of the said garrison, withdraw the
said men therefrom, and bring them to the island of Amelia,
it being thought all the said men were in danger of their lives,
and therefore it was their request so to do, as this deponent
was by some of them informed ; as he was, that the said fort
was so near the Spanish look-out, on St. Juan's river, where
the Spaniards were much more in number than the said gar¬
rison, and that the two sentinels could see each other from
the said fort, to the said look-out. That the said Oglethorpe
being angry with the said Ferguson for having so done, he
did send for this deponent, then constable, to warn the people
at Frederica, and give them notice of the danger they were
in ; and did then say to this deponent, that the said Ferguson
was quite to blame, " For what are a hundred men's lives to
my honor."
That the said Oglethorpe did employ Henry Manly last
spring, as his overseer, at fifty pounds per annum, and four¬
teen servants or more, besides him, to plough a piece of the
common belonging to the inhabitants of Frederica, and which
he, the said Oglethorpe, did take from them in the year 1739.
And that the said piece so ploughed, being planted with
corn, pease and potatoes, and attended by the said men the
whole summer, did not produce twenty bushels of any sort
of corn or grain that was planted.
That a small time before he left the said Frederica, which
was in October last, the inhabitants thereof (who never did
raise their own provisions, and not being able to plant so
much this year as the two or three preceding years for want
of servants, and through other discouragements,) had nothing
to feed on but rice, brought from Carolina, which was sold
dear till a supply of eight steers and eight or nine barrels of
flour (which was sold at twenty-six shillings sterling per
hundred,) was brought thence and sold to the inhabitants.
Memorandum, on the twenty-sixth day of November,
one thousand seven hundred and forty-one, before me, Abra¬
ham Croft, notary public, in the province of South Carolina,
by lawful authority, admitted and sworn, personally appeared
112 A Brief Account, &c.
Mr. Samuel Davison, and did on his oath declare, that the
foregoing affidavit was just and true.
Samuel Davison.
Sworn before me the day
and year aforesaid. [L. S.]
Abraham Croft, N. P.
No. 4.
From Frederica.
John Roberson, late bricklayer in Frederica, in Georgia,
maketh oath and saith, that on or about the ninth of August
last, being at work on Mr. Davison's house, adjoining to Mr.
Hawkins's, at the said Frederica, on which the said Davison
was putting a new roof, he did propose to the said Hawkins,
to take up a few shingles, and a gutter belonging to the said
Hawkins's house, and put the said gutter on the party-wall,
to which the said Hawkins agreed ; saying that it would be
a benefit to him, because he must be obliged to alter the roof
of his own house soon ; and the said Davison being to lay
down a new gutter at his own expense, it would serve for
both houses, and which must save one half the expense of
the said gutter to the said Hawkins. But the said Hawkins
being out of town, a day or two after General Oglethorpe
sent to the said Davison, to forbid him to touch anything be¬
longing to the said Hawkins's house, though the said gutter
encroached fourteen inches on the said Davison's ground,
and the said Oglethorpe's own carpenter said it might be
done in a few hours, and without harm to the Doctor.* That
the said Oglethorpe did soon after, on the same day, stand
on the sill of the said Hawkins's window, and put his head
up betwixt the joists of the said Davison's house, and ordered
Mr. Cannon to build the said joists six inches lower; when
the said Cannon told the said Oglethorpe they were but six
inches deep; when the said Oglethorpe replied, he did not
care, they might take it down, and build the house six inches
lower; when the said Cannon said, that one roof would fall
lower than the other, and that therefore it would be impossi-
* Hawkins.
Appendix.
113
ble to make the said Davison's house tight, or keep it dry;
then the ,said Oglethorpe said, you might have thought of
that before. And further, that the said Oglethorpe did then
say to the said Cannon, if you touch a shingle of what the
Doctor (meaning Hawkins) has put down, I'll shoot you,
to which he added a great oath, for you have done more
than you can answer in building so high as to stop up the
Doctor's window. That the said Davison being thus hin¬
dered from finishing his house, was forced to remove his
goods from the said house, (which was quite open,) and had
only a stable for his family to be in, until this deponent left
the said Frederica, which was on the 29th of September,
1741.
john roberson.
South Carolina, ss.
Sworn before me, Nov. 28, 1741.
Othniel Beale.
No. V.
From Darien.
John M'Leod, late minister of Darien, maketh oath and
saith, that the people settled in Darien, in the province of
Georgia, January, 1735-6, expected something more than
being able barely to support themselves and families by clear¬
ing land, and planting it, or feeding of cattle. But in the
year 1738, they found, by experience, that the produce of
land in Georgia did not answer the expense of time and la¬
bor bestowed on it, either by themselves, who had taken
great pains, or, indeed, by any white men at all, even where
neither labor nor money were wanting, though it has always
proved ineffectual. Therefore, it was then the voice of the
said people of Darien, to leave the colony, though the im¬
provements they had made were considerable, and settle in
some; province to the northward, where they would be free
from such restraints, as rendered them incapable of subsist¬
ing themselves and families. That the petition signed by
some of them against negroes, and in opposition to the repre¬
sentation from Savannah, dated the 9th of December, one
thousand seven hundred and thirty-eight, (which was after-
vol. ii. 15
114
A Brief Account, frc.
wards signed by some of those who did sign the said peti¬
tion), was wrote by a person who had no lot in Darien, an
officer in General Oglethorpe's regiment, whom this deponent
has great reason to believe, to have been sent by the said
General to Darien on that purpose, knowing that the said
person had an influence on some of that people, he being
their countryman, and formerly master of the ship in which
the said people came to America. That when this deponent
left the said Darien, in May last, the widows and fatherless
children, then there, had a promise of a slender allowance of
provisions for some months before ; but not being punctually
given them, they were in a miserable condition. Nor were
they suffered to go and get a livelihood elsewhere, which
they were desirous of. That the indented servants, who sur¬
vived the unhappy action at Musa, when their time of servi¬
tude was expired, were under the necessity of listing in the
service of a bad paymaster, or starving, because there was a
land scout and water scout, to keep them from leaving the
place, by land or water, and there were no others in the
place to give them bread for their labor, being then but four
of the old settlers there; and these being wearied of culti¬
vating ground for its produce, planted none last season ; and
the others (being about twenty in number) were for the most
part servants, lately sent by the said General from another
part of the colony, the rest being servants to the trustees at
Darien.
That all the people at the said Darien are so strictly
watched, that this deponent could not get away to Frederica,
when he was coming off, nor from Frederica to Savannah
without a permit. And that the said General refused (as his
then secretary, Mr. Mariotte, told this deponent) to permit
his indented servant to row his boat from Frederica to Sa¬
vannah. And farther this deponent saith not.
John M'Leod.
South Carolina : —Personally appeared before me, Othniel Beale, )one of his
Majesty's assistant judges) the above-named John M'Leod, and made oath, that
the contents above and foregoing, to which he subscribed his name, are true.
Sworn this 12th Nov. 1741.
Othniel Beale.
Appendix.
115
No. VI.
From Darien.
Alexander Monroe, late of Darien, in Georgia, aged thirty-
five years and upwards, maketh oath and sajth, that he arrived
at the said Darien, together with his wife, and one child, in
company with near forty families more, in February, 1735-6.
That he cleared, fenced in, and planted five acres of land,
built a good house in the town, and made other improve¬
ments, such as gardening, &c. That he was never able to
support his family by cultivation, though he planted the said
five acres three years, and had a good crop. That he lived
at Darien three years, and might have continued there
longer, though he never heard that any white man was able
to gain a livelihood by planting, had it not been for the mis¬
management of some people in power, who exercised great
severity over the inhabitants. That John More M'Intosh,
who had the care of the trustees' stores kept at Darien for
the use of the people there, issued out the stipulated allow¬
ance from the trustees of corn-kind, such as was rotten,
though, at the same time, there was good and whole¬
some corn in the stores, which the said M'Intosh, not only
made use of for himself and family, but fed his own hogs
with the same, and this for two months together. That
their allowance of cheese was so bad, that the inhabitants
were obliged to throw it out to dogs, though they were starv¬
ing at the same time. That the said M'Intosh did employ
this deponent and others of the said inhabitants in making a
fort, making a landing-place, building a store-house, guard¬
house, and several other public works, promising in behalf
of the trustees, that they should be paid for the same, but
that this deponent did never receive any money, or other
consideration for such service; though he, together with the
others employed in the said works, applied to Colonel Ogle¬
thorpe in that behalf.
That in the year 1737, the inhabitants of Darien were
reduced to such distress for want of provisions, having neither
corn, pease, rice, potatoes, nor bread-kind of any sort, or fish,
nor flesh of any kind in store, after sending several times to
Mr. Horton at Frederica for a supply, without being able to
116
A Brief Account, $> c.
obtain it. That their necessity pressed so much, that they
were obliged, and did unanimously agree to go in a body
with the said M'Intosh More at the head of them, and make
a demand of the said Horton to relieve their wants ; and, it
being our last shift, in case we were not supplied there, to
go from thence to Savannah, where we were informed was
no want in their stores, and not to return empty, being
one and all determined, that if we should meet with a
denial there, to break open the stores in a public manner,
for hunger will break through even stone walls. But
the said Horton not supplying us, sent us to Captain ■
Gascoigne, commander of his Majesty's sloop the Hawk,
who spared us two barrels of flour, and one barrel of beef.
That Captain Hugh M'Kay having exercised an illegal
power there, such as judging in all causes, directing and
ordering all things according to his will, as did the said M'ln-
tosh More, by which many unjust and illegal things were
done. That not only the servants of the said freeholders of
Darien were ordered to be tied up and whipt; but also this
deponent, and Donald Clark, who themselves were free¬
holders, were taken into custody, and bound with ropes,
and threatened to be sent to Frederica to Mr. Horton, and
there punished by him : this deponent, once for refusing to
cry "all is well," when he was an out-sentry, he having be¬
fore advised them of the danger of so doing, lest the voice
should direct the Indians to fire upon the sentry, as they had
done the night before, and again for drumming with his
fingers on the side of his house, it being pretended, that he
had alarmed the town. That upon account of these, and
many other oppressions, the freeholders applied to Mr. Ogle¬
thorpe, for a court of justice to be erected, and proper magis¬
trates appointed in Darien, as in other towns in Georgia,
that they might have justice done among themselves, when
he gave them for answer, " that he would acquaint the trus¬
tees with itbut that this deponent heard no more of it.
That in December 1738, the said inhabitants of Darien find¬
ing, that from their first settling in Georgia, their labors turned
to no account, that their wants were daily growing on them,
and being weary of oppression, they came to a resolution to
depute two men, chosen from amongst them, to go to
Charleston in South Carolina, and there to make application
to the government, in order to obtain a grant of lands, to
Appendix.
117
which the whole settlement of Darien to a man were to
remove altogether, the said John M'Intosh More excepted ;
but that it being agreed among them, first to acquaint the
said Colonel with their intentions, and their reasons for such
resolutions, John M'Intosh L., was employed by the said
freeholders to lay the same before him, who returned them
an answer, "that they should .have credit for provisions, with
two cows and their calves, and a breeding mare, if they
would continue on their plantations." That the people
with the view of these helps, and hoping for the further
favor and countenance of the said Colonel, and being loth to
leave their little all behind them, and begin the world in a
strange place, were willing to make another trial, if they
could by any means make out a livelihood in the colony:
but whilst they were in expectation of these things, this de¬
ponent being at his plantation two miles from the town, in
December 1738, he received a letter from Ronald M'Donald,
which was sent by order of the said M'Intosh More, and
brought to this deponent by William, son of the said M'In¬
tosh, ordering him, the said deponent, immediately to come
himself, and bring William Monro along with him to town,
and advising him, that, " if he did so, he would be made a
man of, but that if he did not, he would be ruined for ever."
That this deponent coming away without loss of time, he
got to the said M'Intosh More's house about nine of the
clock that night, where he found several of the inhabitants
together, and where the said M'Intosh More did tell this
deponent, " that if he would sign a paper, which he then
offered him, that the said Colonel would give him cattle and
servants from time to time, and that he would be a good
friend to as many as would sign the said paper, but that they
would see what would become of those that would not sign
it, for that the people of Savannah would be all ruined, who
opposed the said Colonel in it." That this deponent did
not know the contents of the said paper, but seeing, that
some before him had signed it, his hopes on one side, and
fears on the other, made him sign it also. That upon his
conversing with some of the people, after leaving the house,
he was acquainted with the contents and design of the said
paper, which this deponent believes to be the petition from
the eighteen, which the trustees have printed, and that very
night he became sensible of the wrong he had done; and
118
A Brief Account, $*c.
that his conscience did thereupon accuse him, and does yet,
for having so done. That upon a promise from the said
Colonel, that he would give this deponent £12 currency per
month, he went to the late siege of St. Augustine, as did
sixty other inhabitants and servants of Darien, of which only
thirty-two escaped the massacre at Moosa. That their
allowance of provisions not being delivered as they ought,
this deponent, and the rest of their company were reduced
to the necessity of feeding on palmetto roots to keep them¬
selves from starving. That this deponent was almost fam¬
ished with thirst on long marches and counter-marches, and
not allowed even to quench it with water. That the said
Colonel had this deponent's boat on that service for three
months, promising him to purchase the same, but it was
returned him, and no pay at all allowed for that, nor his own
time, except one month's pay, though he was out three,
and had engaged, as others did, with the said Colonel for
four months certain; and was all he had to support his family,
his crop being lost by his being absent. That in November
1740, this deponent left the said Darien, and all his aforesaid
improvements, though not without hopes, that a power supe¬
rior to the trustees would take the deplorable condition of
these people into consideration, and give encouragement for
him to return and reap the benefit of his labors.
That he left only four of the freeholders, and about as
many of their servants there, besides a few servants of the
trustees, and the widows and orphans of those slain and
taken prisoners at Moosa, whom the said Colonel allowed
two pounds of beef and a peck of Indian corn a head per
week, and who were desirous of coming away, but were
unable; that this deponent never heard of their petitioning
the said Colonel, or any body else, for a supply of others of
their countrymen in the room of those lost at Moosa, nor
that they were desirous of it.
Alexander Monroe.
South Carolina :—Sworn before me this 29th day of November, Anno 1741,
(" the words ' and wholesome' in the first page, and ' two pounds' in the fifth
page, being first interlined.")
Othniel Be ale.
Appendix.
119
No. VII.
George Philp, late of the town of Savannah, in Georgia,
merchant, aged twenty-three years and upwards, maketh
oath and saith, that he this deponent has been twice in
Georgia in America: that the second time he arrived there,
which was in September 1738, he found the number of in¬
habitants decreased, and the people in general uneasy : that
the inhabitants of the south, both of Frederica and Darien,
notwithstanding some of the latter did send a, petition to the
trustees, as some of the others are said to have signed one,
which they did not send, yet they are as incapable of im¬
proving their lands and raising produces, as the people in
the northern division, as appears from the very small quan¬
tity of Indian corn which hitherto has been the chief and
almost only produce of the province, some few potatoes
excepted; and as a proof of which, this deponent says, that
he was in the south in May last, when the season for plant¬
ing was over, and much less was done at Frederica than in
former years: and that the people of Darien did inform him,
that they had not of their own produce to carry to market,
even in the year 1739, which was the most plentiful year
they ever saw there, nor indeed any preceding year; nor
had they (the people of Darien) bread-kind of their own
raising, sufficient for the use of their families from one crop
to another, as themselves, or some of them, did tell this
deponent: and farther, the said people of Darien were, in
May last, repining at their servants being near out of their
time, because the little stock of money they carried over
with them was exhausted on cultivation, which did not bring
them a return; and they were thereby rendered quite unable
to plant their lands, or help themselves any way : and fur¬
ther, that those of the inhabitants in the south, who did sign
the petition, counter to the representation of the 9th of De¬
cember 1738, were some of them ashamed and heartily
sorry for having so done, it being contrary to the true interest
of themselves and the whole country, as themselves did con¬
fess to this deponent; and that the said inhabitants in the
south, or some of them, did confess and voluntarily say to
him this deponent, that they were induced to sign the said
petition by promises of credit being given them by the store,
120
A Brief Account, &c.
for cattle, which they afterwards had, and gave bonds for
their value; and that those that refused to sign the said peti¬
tion praying against negroes, had no cattle given them, nor
credit for any, as some of the said people who did sign the
said petition, counter to the said representation, did tell this
deponent: and that in September last, Mr. John M'Intosh,
son of Mr. Benjamin M'Intosh, told him this deponent, that
his father, at the request of the few people then remaining
at Darien, was to go soon into South Carolina, to look out
for some new settlement there for the said people of Darien,
for that they did intend to leave their improvements in
Georgia, because they did not answer the expense; nor
were they able any longer to subsist themselves in Georgia:
that he never saw nor heard of the Saltzburgers at Eben-
ezer, their selling provisions in Savannah, nor elsewhere,
except a few calves ; though he lived, and, for the most part,
was in the most public part of the town, and near the place
where the provisions were commonly sold ; but that he has
often seen them fetch provisions for their own use, as sup¬
posed, from the public stores at Savannah, as also bread and
flour from other private stores in the town; that he has
seen and known a great many people in Georgia, and who
were reputed to be the most industrious, to be very labo¬
rious, and to take pains on their lands, the produce of which
does not answer the expense of a white man's labor, as they
themselves have told him ; that this deponent would not have
left the colony, had it not been so much upon the decline,
for that he liked the place so well, that he would have taken
up a lot in the town of Savannah, about the month of August
1739, but General Oglethorpe refused to grant him one;
because he said he would not have asked for one, had he
not hoped that the tenures would be altered.
George Philp.
Sworn at the public office, 16th February, 1740.
W. Spicek.
Appendix.
121
No. VIII.
From Ebenezer.
John Speilbeigler, late of Ebenezer, in Georgia, aged
twenty-nine years and upwards, maketh oath and saith, that
he arrived in Georgia on or about March 1735-6, and lived
there till March 1740-1. That soon after his arrival, his
countrymen, who were settled at Old Ebenezer, on their
first coming to Georgia, (upon a complaint, "that the land
did not answer the expense and labor bestowed on it,")
were removed several miles farther up the river Savannah, to
the place now called Ebenezer, and where he left them, or
the greatest part of them when he came away; that he built
a house, and fenced in his lot, and made other improvements
in the town, and cleared and planted four acres of land, on
which he never but once had so much as fifty bushels of
corn, and twenty bushels of potatoes, which was not suffi¬
cient to maintain himself and mother in the common neces¬
saries of life; (they have nothing to drink but water,) nor
did he buy any clothes, nor had he money or anything to
give in exchange for drink or clothes, the whole five years
that he lived in Georgia, except about thirty yards of ozna-
burgs, that made him ten shirts, and about ten pair of shoes,
which cost six shillings a pair; that he must have gone
naked, had not he hired himself by the month at Savannah,
which enabled him to buy the said shirts and shoes; that
the inhabitants of the said Ebenezer in general, have often
said to him, " that they could not live were it not for the as¬
sistance they received from their friends in Europe and the
trustees' store," which Mr. Boltzius, the minister, distributed
among them as he thought fit.. That the said inhabitants had
never corn, and rice, or any sort of bread-kind sufficient for
the use of their families from crop to crop; though last year
some of them gave in exchange a small quantity of Indian
corn for a little flour, and sometimes, (perhaps) twice the last
year, three or four fowls, a calf, or small pig among them.
That he never had his lands conveyed to him, nor a grant or
any sort of writing "to show for the same; and that all the
inhabitants of the said Ebenezer in general, were frequently
complaining that they had no sort of writing to show that
VOL. IT. 16
122
A Brief Account, #-c.
they had titles to their lands. That the inhabitants in gen¬
eral of the said Ebenezer, have often said to him, that they
wanted and would be glad of negroes, because they found
that they were unable to raise provisions for their support by
their own labor. That the said inhabitants were called to¬
gether by the said Boltzius to sign their petition, dated
March 13, 1739, and that they, or many of them, would not
have signed it, had they not been compelled to do it by the
said Boltzius, as they after told this deponent, and repenting
their signing it, did several of them leave the colony, as this
deponent believes the rest would do, were they able; for
they are very uneasy under the arbitrary government of the
said Boltzius, who judges in all causes, gives to and takes
from whom he pleases, the said inhabitants being deprived
the benefits of any courts of judicature, or magistrates,
having no such among them, except the said Boltzius, who
takes upon him to act as king, priest and prophet; and who
took this deponent's plantation tools from him, on his coming
away, without judge or jury, though he was nothing indebted
to the said Boltzius. And farther this deponent saith not.
South Carolina, ss.
Personally appeared the deponent, John Speilbeigler, who on oath declared,
that the contents foregoing are. true.
Sworn this 16th day of Dec. 1741, before me.
Othniel Beale.
I do hereby further certify, that I have employed the said John Speilbeigler at
his trade, being a bricklayer, and that he performed to my satisfaction, being
(as far as I could discover,) sober, diligent and faithful. Witness my hand
the day above mentioned. Othniel Beale.
No. IX.
From Ebenezer.
Whereas the inhabitants of Ebenezer, in Georgia, have
signed a petition, setting forth their dislike to negroes, sig¬
nifying that the produce of their lands answers the labor
bestowed on them, and that they are well pleased with their
condition ; These are to certify, to all whom it may concern,
that the subscribers hereof, who are of the oldest settlers in
the said Ebenezer, have never yet been able to support
Appendix.
123
themselves and families by cultivation ; nor do they know an
instance of it, among all the said inhabitants. And farther,
that the inhabitants in general think it hard, that they have
not free titles to their lands, nor a scrap of writing, showing
any title at all to their lands, which have cost them much
labor to improve. And further, that the inhabitants in gen¬
eral of the said Ebenezer, are desirous of negroes. That
they were called together to sign their said petition, and
many of them have been heard by us to say, that they would
not have done it, but that our minister would have been
angry with them, if they had refused to do so. That they
would yet sign a petition for negroes, were it not that Mr.
Boltzius, our minister, who exercises an arbitrary power over
us, might make them very uneasy.
Christopher Ortman.
John Michael Riser.
Thomas Bicher.
Ebenezer, 20th Oct. 1741.
No. X.
From Augusta.
A List of such Traders, Men, and Horses, as come from
other parts, and only pass through or by Augusta in their
ivay to the Creek Ration.
Messrs. Wood and Brown, from South Carolina
Daniel Clark, from ditto
Archibald M'Gilvray, from ditto
George Cossons, from ditto
Jeremiah Knott, from ditto
M ( Spencer, from Mount Pleasant
Messrs. \ n j'xj.
t Gil more, from ditto
M ( Barnett, from ditto .
essrs. | Lacjson? from
James Cossons, from South Carolina
George Golphin, from ditto
William Sluthers, from ditto .
Men. Horses.
8
60
4
20
3
18
4
30
4
30
3
16
4
20
3
20
3
20
5
30
4
25
4
25
49
314
124
A Brief Account, &c.
A List of the Whole Inhabitants of the Township of Au¬
gusta, in Georgia.
Mr. Kennedy O'Brien,
Thomas Smith,
Messrs. Mackenzie'and Frazer,
John Miller,
Thomas Goodale,
Samuel Brown,
Sanders Ross,
A Saddler,
A Tailor,
William Clark,
Henry Overstreet,
Locklan M'Bean, . ,
William Gray,
William Calahern,
Men
Wo.
Ch.
5
3
0
1
1
0
5
1
0
2
1
1
2
1
2 '
2
1
1
2
0
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
0
1
1
4
2
2
1
4
0
0
0
2
2
29
16
12
A List of Traders, Men, and Horses, employed from Au¬
gusta, in the Chickasaw and Creek Trade.
Men. Horses.
George Mackay, ....
4
20
Henry Elsey, .....
3
20
Messrs. Facey and Macqueen,
6
40
John Wright, . . .
4
20
John Gardner, ....
3
20
William Calahern, . . .
3
15
Thomas Andrews, in Creek and Chickasaw Nations,
8
70
Thomas Daval, ....
3
20
John Cammell, .....
3
20
Paul Rundall, ....
3
20
Nicholas Chinery, ....
3
20
William Newberry, ....
3
20
46
305
John Gardner.
Savannah, July 14, 1741.
The day above-written, John Gardner, of Augusta, Indian
trader, personally came and appeared before me, John Fal-
lowfield, one of the bailiffs of the town of Savannah, and
Appendix.
125
made oath, that the said several accounts of traders, horses,
and men, employed in the Creek and Chickasaw nations;
and also the list of the white persons, men, women, and
children, now living in the township of Augusta, are, to the
best of the said deponent's knowledge, just and true; and
that the persons residing in, and belonging to the fort of Au¬
gusta, are not contained in the said lists above, and on the
other side of this paper written.
John Gardner.
Sworn the day and year above-written, at Savannah aforesaid.
John Fallowfield.
No. XI.
From Augusta.
The deposition of Kennedy O'Brien, of Augusta, in the
colony of Georgia, merchant, one of the first inhabitants of
the said township, and a constant resident therein, ever since
the first settlement thereof, who being duly sworn on the
holy Evangelists of Almighty God, saith, That whereas he
has been informed, that a representation has lately been
made and transmitted to the honorable the trustees for estab¬
lishing the said colony of Georgia, setting forth the flourish¬
ing state and condition of the said colony in general, and of
the said township of Augusta in particular; and the said de¬
ponent, being willing to undeceive any, or all, who may be
thereby induced to give credit to the said representation,
doth voluntarily, and of his own accord, declare and maintain
the following truths to be strictly just.
1. That there are not more than forty white men, inhabit¬
ants and residents of the said township of Augusta, save
only the soldiers in garrison there, which are about fifteen or
twenty more.
2. That all, or most of the corn that hath been made and
raised there, hath been wrought and manufactured by ne¬
groes, belonging to the said inhabitants, and those opposite
to them on the north side of the river in South Carolina.
3. That, at least, one third part of the corn reported to
be raised in Augusta is raised in South Carolina, hard by the
said township.
126 A Brief Account, fyc.
4. That there are not more than five hundred horses em¬
ployed in the Indian trade, that resort to Augusta, although
it is esteemed the key to the Creek, the Chickasaw, and
the Cherokee nations; and that the most of those horses
and persons employed about them, and interested and con¬
cerned in them, do as often go to New Windsor in South
Carolina to trade as to Augusta.
5. That there are now in Augusta but three trading
houses, and those in a state of decay and languishing condi¬
tion ; and that through the ill regulation of the Indian trade.
And this deponent further saith, that no oil, wine, nor
olives, hath ever been produced at Augusta, or hath ever
been attempted to be raised or cultivated there, to the best
of this deponent's knowledge. And further this deponent
saith not.
Kennedy O'Brien.
Subscribed and sworn to before me,
this 9th day of July, 1741.
John Pte, Recorder.
No. XII.
The deposition of Sir Richard Everard, Bart, who, being
duly sworn, saith, that some time about the evening of (to
the best of this deponent's memory) the tenth of this present
month of July, he, this deponent, had some discourse with
Mr. Samuel Mercer, of the town of Savannah, in the said
province of Georgia, in the square of the said town ; amongst
other discourse this deponent asked the said Samuel Mercer,
how he could join in swearing to, and signing a representa¬
tion of the state of the colony, when the said representation
contained many things, of the truth of which he could be no
ways certain; and other things which were in themselves
absolutely (as this deponent had been informed) false. The
said Mercer said, that the number of men and horses at Au¬
gusta were easily to be accounted for, that I counted only
the exact number of men and horses said to be there, which
would not amount to near the numbers mentioned in the
representation, but that he apprehended, that they had been
counted every man and horse, as often as ever they went
from, or came to Augusta, which would (he said) amount to
Appendix.
127
the numbers mentioned to be in the representation. I told
him, that they might have taken a shorter method of count¬
ing, and not wait the trouble of the traders coming down
from the nation; that they had nothing more to do, but to
make Capt. Kent, commander of the fort of Augusta, to march
his men in and out, as often as they pleased to count them,
and they might make what numbers they thought necessary
for the service of their cause at any time, or to that effect.
And this deponent saith, that to the best of his memory, this
is the substance of the conversation he had at that time with
the said Samuel Mercer. And he, this deponent, further saith,
that on Monday the 13th of this instant, being in company
with several gentlemen at the house of Pfeter Morrell, in the
town of Savannah, in Georgia, John Ray, (who this deponent
was informed was) a subscriber and swearer to the above-
mentioned representation, being then and there, he was
asked how he came to swear to and subscribe the said rep¬
resentation ; after many weak and frivolous excuses and jus¬
tifications, finding, himself unable to defend the said action,
he said, and swore by God, that the honorable the trustees
owed him one hundred pounds sterling, and that he swore
to, and signed that representation, in hopes to get his money
from them, otherwise he never would have sworn to or signed
the same; adding, that he hoped to have his hundred pounds
out of the ten thousand pounds said to be voted by the par¬
liament for the support of Georgia.
R. Eyerard.
Sworn before me, this 14th day of July, 1741.
John Fallowfield.
No. XIII.
Savannah, ) n n j
in Georgia. 1 from bavannah.
Andrew Neilson, chief mate, and Thomas Conn, one of
the mariners of the sloop Oglethorpe, belonging to St.
Christophers, being duly sworn on the Holy Evangelist of
Almighty God, jointly and severally make oath and say,
that on or about the fourth day of May, one thousand seven
hundred and thirty-nine, these deponents were taken up by
a warrant; and by virtue thereof, brought before and ex-
128
A Brief Account, &c.
amined by Henry Parker and Robert Gilbert, two of the
bailiffs of Savannah aforesaid, touching a report that had
been spread in the camp of St. Simons, in this province. To
wit, that General Oglethorpe was under confinement in
Charleston, which the soldiers were glad of; and that the
soldiers should say, that if he should return to St. Simons
he would be shot; and that if one would not shoot him,
another would; and that when they had done it, they would
fly to St. Augustine; all which words and report the said
Henry Parker and Robert Gilbert charged these deponents
with, as the authors; which charge these deponents utterly
denied, and petitioned the said bailiffs that they might have
liberty to go to the "camp at St. Simons aforesaid, to answer
to the said charge before General Oglethorpe, which was ac¬
cordingly granted ; and these deponents were next day sent
thither, under the care of Lieutenant William Horton. And
these deponents further say, that some few days after, they
were brought before and examined by the said General
Oglethorpe, at Frederica, on the said island of St. Simons,
concerning the said report; the first part of which, to wit,
that General Oglethorpe was under confinement in Charles¬
ton, these deponents acknowledged themselves to have
uttered, and said in vindication thereof, that so much of the
said report as last mentioned, was current in the camp, and
that these deponents first heard it there; and as to the other
part of the said report, these deponents utterly denied to
have ever so much as heard of the same, till they were
charged therewith; whereupon the said General Oglethorpe
examined these deponents separately. And this deponent,
Andrew Neilson, for himself saith, that the said General
Oglethorpe asked this deponent, if he never heard his owner,
Mr. Robert Williams, spread the said report, which this de¬
ponent denying, the said General Oglethorpe then insisted
that the said Robert Williams must have persuaded this de¬
ponent to have spread the said report, which this deponent
again utterly denied, and said it was hard to accuse an inno¬
cent man. And this deponent, Andrew Neilson, for himself
further saith, that the said General Oglethorpe, after having
endeavored to induce this deponent to accuse the said
Robert Williams, as the author of the said report, by several
cross questions, he then told this deponent, that he, the said
General Oglethorpe, had been endeavoring to plead for him,
Appendix.
129
this deponent, and would put words into his mouth if he had
a mind to save himself. But this deponent still denying to
accuse the said Robert Williams, the said General Ogle¬
thorpe then endeavored to intimidate this deponent by sev¬
eral threats; and among others, told this deponent that
unless he would say that the said Robert Williams had spoke
or raised the aforesaid report, he, the said General Ogle¬
thorpe, would order the soldiers to be under arms, and would
turn this deponent loose among them, and leave him to their
mercy. And this deponent, Thomas Conn, for himself saith,
that the said General Oglethorpe asked this deponent the
same questions, or to the same purpose; and endeavored to
persuade this deponent to accuse the said Robert Williams,
as the author of the said report, by fair words and threats,'in
the manner as the other deponent, Andrew Neilson, hath
before deposed, or by words to the very same effect and
meaning. And these deponents both say, that after the said
General Oglethorpe had examined them separately, they
were both brought before him together, and he then again
told them, that he would order the soldiers to be drawn out
under arms, and would turn these deponents loose among
them, and leave them to their mercy; for there was not a
man among them but would die for him. And lastly, these
deponents say, that the said General Oglethorpe cast several
reflections on the said Robert Williams about cattle stealing ;
and a short time afterwards, Lieutenant William Horton ad¬
vised these deponents to petition General Oglethorpe to be
discharged, which they accordingly did; and soon after the
said Lieutenant William Horton came and told them, that
the said General Oglethorpe ordered that they should make
the best of their way to Savannah ; and that the said Lieu¬
tenant William Horton provided them a passage in the scout-
boat ; and further these deponents say not.
Andrew Neilson.
Thomas Conn.
Sworn this 20th day of May, 1739, before me.
Thomas Christie, Recorder.
vol. ii.
17
130
A Brief Account, &c.
No. XIV.
From Savannah.
The deposition of John Pye, of the town of Savannah,
who being duly sworn on the Holy Evangelist of Almighty
God, saith, that sometime in the year 1739, the honorable
the trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia, sent over
by Captain Thompson into this colony, twenty casks of cop¬
per half-pence, weight two hundred and thirty pounds each;
in all about four hundred pounds sterling. And this depo¬
nent further saith, that he believes and is persuaded that the
said sum of four hundred pounds aforesaid, was sent over
into this colony for change to the inhabitants. And this de¬
ponent further saith, that sometime after, John Provoost came
into Savannah writh a cargo of provisions, which said pro¬
visions Mr. Thomas Jones, store-keeper to the honorable
the trustees, purchased and paid down the value in copper;
and that the whole quantity of goods amounted to fourteen
or fifteen casks of copper, which this deponent saw delivered
on board Provoost's sloop; and further this deponent saith
not.
John Pye.
Sworn before me, this 24th day of July, 1741.
John Fallowfield.
No. XV.
From Savannah.
John Scott, late of Savannah, in the province of Georgia,
but now of Charleston, South Carolina, maketh oath and
saith, that he went to work, and got up a house and work¬
house, and was building a forge; but John West, the then
bailiff, came to this deponent, and told him that he should
not build a forge, that he would pull it down again, for that
there should be no forge in town but his, he being by trade
a blacksmith. John Scott.
Charleston, South Carolina.
Sworn before me, this 30th day of April, 1740.
Thomas Dale.
Appendix*
131
No. XVI.
From Savannah.
James Oglethorpe, &c., to John Lyndall.
By virtue of powers granted from his Majesty, George the
Second, by the grace of God, King of Great Britain, France,
and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &,c., 1 do appoint you,
John Lyndall to be tithing-man of the lower new-ward ; to
train and exercise the militia of the said tithings, and to keep
the peace, and obey all such orders as you shall receive from
the constable of the said wards, or from such other person
or persons as I shall appoint to command, train and exercise
the militia. And this shall continue in full force until I, or
such as shall succeed to my commands, shall recall the same,
and then it shall cease and determine. Given under my
hand and seal at Savannah, in Georgia, the 19th day of Oc¬
tober, 1739.
James Oglethorpe.
This is a true copy, examined the 26th of October, 1741, by us. Witness our
hands.
John Lyndall.
Thomas Ormston.
No. XVII.
Andrew Grant, late of the province of Georgia, maketh
oath, that he hath paid fourteen shillings and three-pence per
hundred for flour, which he bought out of the trustees' store¬
house in Savannah, which flour he believes cost the trustees'
store-keeper no more than ten shillings per hundred, that
being the common price in Carolina at that time. And
further he saith, that he hath paid eight-pence per pound for
New York or Rhode Island cheese, which he believes cost
but five-pence per pound, or six-pence at the highest rate ;
and he hath likewise paid four shillings per gallon for Madeira
and Vidonia wines, which cost, to the best of his knowledge,
not more than three shillings per gallon, that being the high-
132
A Brief Account, &c.
est rate given for such wines in Georgia or Carolina, a great
deal being bought much cheaper. And this deponent saith
further, that those extraordinary prices exacted from the
people for provisions, and all other necessaries, occasioned
(by the trustees' store-keepers and their agents,) many and
continual complaints from the whole inhabitants, for the space
of six years and upwards, that this deponent lived in that
province. And this deponent saith further, that to the best
of his knowledge, he never bought any provisions from the
store aforesaid, but a considerable advance was made on the
same, generally not less than twenty-five per cent., neither
doth he remember any other that ever did.
Andrew Grant.
Sworn at the public office, the 4th of January, 1742, before
E. Sawyer.
No. XVIII.
From Savannah.
Joseph Summers, late of Savannah town, in the province of
Georgia, now of Mount Pleasant, in South Carolina, planter,
maketh oath, that in March, 1734, he became a freeholder
in Georgia aforesaid, and continued there till February, 1738,
at which time he came away, and left his property there by
reason of the very unjust and bad treatment to the generality
of the inhabitants and himself; that he was well acquainted
with Capt. Joseph Watson, who he always thought to be a
sober, honest gentleman, and no ways inclinable to lunacy;
he this deponent knew that the said Watson was settled,
and kept a store with John Musgrove, at Yamacraw Bluff,
whereon he had made great improvements, and also that he
was in possession of lands at Grantham, whereon he had
built a good house and several improvements. ^
This deponent also was in court in November, 1734,
when on the trial of the said Joseph Watson, Thomas Caus-
ton (who acted as chief judge) came off the bench, to be¬
come an evidence against the said Watson, and treated him
and the jury with very indecent language And this depo¬
nent well knows, and remembers, that the said Joseph Wat¬
son was kept in confinement under a strong guard for
Appendix.
133
upwards of two years, but the exact time this deponent
cannot be certain to, not having kept any minutes of the
same.
This deponent further saith, that he has heard Mr. Thomas
Causton, when sitting on the bench as judge, declare, that he
had no business, nor would be governed by the laws of Eng¬
land ; but pulled out of his pocket a book, and said, " here
are the laws of Georgia, which I have from Mr. Oglethorpe,
by which you are to be governed," or words to that effect.
And this deponent further saith, that he verily believes the
said Captain Joseph Watson was a well-wisher, and would
have been of great benefit to the Georgia colony, and doth
not think he ever had any evil intention against it.
Joseph Summers.
Sworn at Beaufort, Port Royal,
the 1st of March, 1739, before me,
Thomas Wigg, J. Peace.
To the Bailiffs and Recorder of the Town of Savannah in
the Province of Georgia in America.
The trustees very much approve of your conduct in Mr.
Watson's last affairs, and will always support those who act
with justice and intrepidity, in putting the laws in execu¬
tion, for the good of the province, and Mr. Causton acted
very judiciously in regarding the general interest and safety,
preferable to any private consideration, in justly confining
one man rather than risking the safety of the whole. Mr.
Watson's behavior has been so cruel, and has shown so
much premeditated malice, that his destroying Skee with
rum, and the bragging of it, appears to the trustees murder;
for killing a man upon a forethought, and with a malicious
design by means of any dangerous liquor, is as much murder,
as killing him with any- sort of weapon. But as the jury
have brought him in lunatic, and therefore incapable of
making his defence, the trustees direct that he shall be con¬
fined as a lunatic, and proper care taken for his recovery,
until he shall be in a condition to take his trial; for which
trial, a special commission will be sent over; and you at your
perils must take care that he shall be forthcoming, when such
commission shall arrive; and no other proceeding must be
134
A Brief Account, &c.
had on his affair until the arrival of the said commission.
The trustees are apt to impute the death of Skee (which
has been a very great detriment to the province by the loss
of so bold a warrior, who both had been, and would have
continued of the utmost service, upon the Spanish frontiers,)
to the consequence of too great a mildness, or rather injustice,
in letting Mr. Watson go off with so slight a fine when he
was first convicted for the assault on Esteeche. You know,
that the Indians are very nice in point of honor, and that
they are not to be insulted. Had Mr. Watson at that time
been severely fined, and bound to his good behavior, it had
very probably prevented him from running into those ex¬
travagances by which he lost his senses, and from commit¬
ting this murder; and in the consequence thereof, had pre¬
vented Justus, the servant of Mr. Musgrove, from being
killed. You see by this, a foolish tenderness is the greatest
of cruelties ; it hath occasioned the death of two men, and
if that kind of spirit continue of not punishing the guilty,
you will destroy yourselves. It is very surprising to the
trustees, that any magistrate could think of bailing a mur¬
derer, for murder is not bailable, and bailing#! a lunatic is
an act of lunacy; for his distemper makes his confinement
necessary to mankind. The nSw-started opinion, that it is
cruel to imprison on account of an Indian, is itself very cruel
and pernicious; for if injustice is done to an Indian, the
person who does it should be more severely punished, for
doing it to one who is helpless, from his ignorance of our
language ; and because it is a breach of treaty, and an act of
ingratitude to the first possessors of our land, who have
always been exceeding friendly, and kind to the colony in its
first weakness and necessities. And as for the opinion that
it is right, to let a guilty man go out of the province without
punishment, that is giving up at once those valuable privi¬
leges of trying all facts committed in it, and declaring your¬
selves incapable of supporting a civil government. If a man
is guilty, you should punish him in the province, according to
his deserts, and if he is not guilty, you should acquit him.
But you have no such thing as a power of banishing a man
from the colony, nor ought you to let a criminal escape to
another colony in safety. The expenses arising by Mr.
Watson's confinement, and also for the taking care of him
and having a proper keeper to watch him, will be defrayed
Appendix.
135
by the storekeeper at Savannah, till such time as they can
be. defrayed out of his own estate, and he being a lunatic,*
it is impossible for him to carry on the Indian trade, the
trustees hereby recall his license, and continue the license to
Mr. and Mrs. Musgrove.
Signed by order of the Common Council of the trustees
the 17th of March, 1734-5.
Benjamin Martyn, Sec.
Joseph Watson niaketh oath, that the above is a true
copy examined by himself with the original letter,
which he, this deponent, sent to England by the
Rev. Mr. John Wesley.
Joseph Watson.
Sworn April 10, 1740, before me,
Thomas Dale.
From Savannah.
Savannah, Oct. 20, 1737.
Whereas on this day a court was holden at Savannah, in
the province of Georgia, by virtue of an order from the hon¬
orable the trustees, to pass sentence on Joseph Watson,
gentleman, in pursuance of a verdict said to be given against
him on November 20, 1734. And whereas the said Joseph
Watson had a right, by the laws of England, to be heard as
to what he could offer, why sentence should not be passed
according to that verdict: this is to certify the honorable the
trustees, that we, whose names are underwritten, were then
present in the said court; and that the said Joseph Watson
then offered to prove by witnesses then in court, who were
of the said jury, that the said verdict had never been given,
and that the verdict delivered to the court on November
20th aforesaid, was written in these and no other words,
" guilty of unguarded expressions." And we do further cer¬
tify, that the said court did absolutely refuse to permit those
witnesses to give their evidence. Witness our hands.
John Coates, Henry Garrat, his
Walter Fox, John Clark, Hen. H Manly,
John Lyndall, J. Fallowfield, mark
* There are no less than eight affidavits from Georgia, besides living witnesses, to
prove that he was not a lunatic.
136
A Brief Account, &c.
William Francis,
Henry Lloyd,
John Burton,
Benj. Adams,
John Wesley, min¬
ister of Savan¬
nah,
George Row,
Robert Potter,
Robert Hows,
Samuel Mercer,
W. Brownjohn,
Joseph Stanley,
Richard Turner,
James Hears,
Will. Aglionby,
Edward Bush,
James Burnside,
Is. King Clark,
William Rigden,
Richard Davis,
John Smith,
his
Ja. j S. Smith.
mark
Ja. Cawpwell,
George Buncle,
Thomas Neale,
William Elbert,
James Carwele,
Gilbert Becu,
John Kellay,
Joseph Wardrop,
John Davis,
W. Wood rose,
Will. Bradley,
James Bland,
Jacob Watts,
David Snook,
John Goldwire,
Hump. Bright,
Thomas Salter,
his
G. IT Waterman,
mark
Georgia, Savannah, Sept. 12, 1737.
We, whose names are underwritten, do assert, that being
on the petty jury, Nov. 20, 1734, in Joseph Watson's cause,
we brought by our foreman, (Elisha Dobree), our written
verdict, "guilty of unguarded expressions;" what else was
added was extorted by menaces from Thomas Causton,
bailiff, and not assented to by us. Witness our hands.
Jos. Stanley, John Clark,
Walter Fox, R. Lobb.
No. XIX.
From Savannah.
Thomas Neale, late of Savannah in Georgia, aged thirty-
two years and upwards, maketh oath, and saith, that he lived
in the colony four years and upwards, that holding a lot in
right of Katrine his wife, late widow of Paul Amatis, who left
a son about sixteen months old, who was heir to the said
lot; this deponent did on the decease of the said infant, ap¬
ply to General Oglethrope for a right to the said lot in his
own name, which the said General complying with, he
ordered Mr. John Fallowfield, first constable of Savannah, to
give this deponent possession thereof; and the said Fallow-
field, taking Joseph Fitzwalter, a landholder of Savannah,
for a witness, did, in the year one thousand seven hundred
Appendix.
137
and thirty-eight, give this deponent possession of the said lot
accordingly. That the said General did order William Ste¬
phens, Esq., secretary for the trustees' affairs in Georgia, to
register it in this deponent's name. That being to clear the
five acre lot belonging to the same within three years there¬
after, he agreed with a person to do so, upon consideration
that this deponent should pay him ten pounds sterling for his
labor, but not being able to get it done then, he did fully in¬
tend to clear it the next spring, being one thousand seven
hundred and thirty-nine, had he not been dispossessed
thereof by order of the said General: that he had fenced in
the town lot, and built a good habitable hut on the back of
the same, and made other improvements: that he intended
to build a large house on the front: that he did both watch
and ward, mustered, and attended the courts: that he paid
arrears for guard duty for the said lot before he came to it:
that, when he was out of the province, Joseph Stanley un¬
dertook to do the said duty, for which this deponent paid the
said Stanley: that he never heard any complaint made of
neglect, but has been well informed that the said Stanley was
punctual in so doing. That soon after he had possession
given him in his own name, he put the widow Hughes into
the said hut which he had built. That the said widow leav¬
ing the colony, he did then leave Mr. Martin in it, who had
cohabited with her in possession thereof, and did agree with
him that he might live in the said hut, upon condition that
he looked after it, and took care of it in his absence, and
likewise did guard duty for the same: but that after some
months absence, having been sick in Carolina, where he
went to buy provisions for the colony, he did, on his return
to Savannah, find the said Martin, the tenant, turned out,
and Peter Jermain in the possession of the whole ; and that
the said Jermain had put in a tenant of his own. That he
was then informed by Mr. Samuel Mercer, constable, and
others of Savannah, that he, the said Mercer, had given the
said Jermain possession of the said lot, in the manner that
possession had been given to this deponent by Mr. Fallow-
field aforesaid ; and that he did so by order of the said Gen¬
eral. That he instantly applied to Mr. Henry Parker, and
the other magistrates, for recovery of the said lot; when
they told him it was not in their power to help him. That
in March last he made a demand of the same from the said
VOL. II. 18
138 A Brief Account, &c.
General, who only told him, that he ought to be there him¬
self, when the said Jermain was put in possession. That he
had not deserted the colony, though he was obliged to go to
Carolina ,and trade betwixt the two provinces, or do any
thing for an honest livelihood, not being able to support him¬
self by cultivation under the restrictions in Georgia, which
have been too severely felt by people in general, as he can
witness. And farther this deponent saith not.
Sworn to before Thomas Wigg, one of his majesty's
justices assigned to keep the peace, in Granville
County, South Carolina, this 26th day of January,
1741-2. Tho. Wigg.
No. 3. South.
SAMUEL DAVISON.
J. O.
Mr. Bromfield to put Mr. Amatis into Home's lot, which
is forfeited. J. Oglethorpe.
The lot, late William Home's, is now granted to Paul
Amatis, by order of James Oglethorpe, Esq.
The house lot in Jekyll Tithing, Derby Ward, No. 4.
The garden lies south-east from the town, No. 59.
The farm is in the same ward and tithing of farms, No.
5, letter B.
Witness, John Brownfield, Register.
Savannah, June the 16th, 1736.
No. XX.
Joseph Watson, late of Grantham, bailiff, in the province
of Georgia, aged forty years and upwards, maketh oath and
saith, that in the year seventeen hundred thirty-four, he
bought some cheese from the store-house, commonly called
the Trustees' Store, in the town of Savannah, in the said
province. That he was charged in his account with the
Appendix.
139
trustees for establishing the said colony, one shilling sterling
per pound for the said cheese. That he believes it was
what in London is commonly called Cheshire cheese. That
the inhabitants in general in the said town and neighborhood
thereof, often complained that they paid the same price for
the same sort of cheese; and that the said inhabitants did
complain continually, that high prices wrere advanced on all
sorts of provisions, and other necessaries, sold at the said
store. And farther this deponent does not say.
Joseph Watson.
Sworn at the Public Office, 31st December,
1742, before R. Edward.
No. XXI.
Sarah Turner, late of the colony of Georgia, maketh oath
and saith, that she arrived at Savannah, in the said province,
in December 1733, with her husband Richard Turner, where
she resided till March, 1739-40.
That from the time of her arrival, to June 1738, Mr.
Thomas Causton, late magistrate, store-keeper and cashier
. to the trustees for Georgia, had the sole disposal of the shop,
commonly called the Trustees' Store; where was always
kept a large supply of all provisions, clothing, working tools,
and other necessaries. That she has heard and doubts not,
but that cheese has been sold from the said store, for one
shilling by the pound; that she has herself bought Cheshire
cheese (as she thinks it) of the said Causton's wife, (who
kept a chandler's shop, which was generally thought, and she
has great reason to believe, was supplied with goods out of
the said store) for which she paid at the same time, in paper
money of South Carolina, after the rate of eight-pence ster¬
ling per pound: that neither her husband (as she knows of)
nor herself, did ever receive any part or share of the presents
of cattle, provisions, &c. made to the first settlers of Georgia,
by the provinces of South Carolina, Pennsylvania, &c. That
neither she or her husband (as she ever knew of) did ever
receive a cow or sow, as promised to the said settlers by the
trustees: that she has heard frequent complaints among the
first settlers (to whom such presents were said to be made)
that they were made to pay for the same, as well as all other
140
A Brief Account, &c.
sorts of provisions and necessaries received at the hands or
by the order of the said Causton; and that they paid most
extravagant prices for the same.
That on the removal of the said Causton, Mr. Thomas
Jones was first made store-keeper, and then magistrate;
which gave him an opportunity of exercising cruelties on the
people, as Causton had done, and which were complained
of by the people. That she has heard that the said Jones
would allow one Parker, and other poor people, made ma¬
gistrates by the trustees, no provisions, whenever they differed
in opinion with him, in a case of justice ; and he also sold all
sorts of provisions from the said store at extravagant prices;
that he would not pay laborers, and others employed in the
public service, in money, but in provisions at a dear rate.
That John Graham having sawed some boards, the said
Jones would pay him in provisions only, which were not only
dear, but unwholesome; and that she saw stinking flour
which was damaged, being black and full of grubs, that had
been delivered to others, for which they paid ten shillings
per hundred pound ; the price of the best flour being com¬
monly about ten shillings in the merchants' ware-houses.
That on her leaving the province in March, 1739, the
people in general were complaining as much of the cruel
usage of the said Jones, as before they had been of the said
Causton's ; and further this deponent saith not.
Sarah Turner.
Sworn the 6th day of January, 1742,
in Lincoln's-Inn, before
E. Sawyek.
No. XXII.
Extract of a Letter from Mr. Lobb.
Chelmsford, Dec. 1, 1742.
Sir. I send you a list of some goods, with the prices we
were charged at the trustees' store-house in Savannah.
Coarse blue Duffles, at 4s. per yard.
Cheese, 8^. per pound.
Molasses, 2s. per gallon.
Appendix.
141
Beef, at 2d. per pound.
Biscuit,' at 2d. per pound.
Osneburgs, at 10d. per yard.
Rice, 3/.* currency per cent.
These prices are what I can prove by their bills. Beef
about that time, viz., 1736, I bought in Charleston, the very
best the market afforded, at 9t?.f their currency per pound ;
biscuit much about the same difference; and osneburgs at
the meanest retailers in Charleston, might be bought at 8d.
or under; the blue duffles, I am informed, I might have for
almost half price in Charleston. I am, sir,
Your humble servant,
R. Lobb.
No. XXIII.
Extract oj a Representation of the Grand Jury of Savannah,
to the Honorable the Trustees.
That the said Thomas Causton, by his office of store¬
keeper, hath the dangerous power in his hands, of alluring
weak-minded people, to comply with unjust measures ; and
also overawing others, from making just complaints and rep¬
resentations to your honors ; and the known implacability of
the said Causton, and his frequent threatening of such people,
is to many weak-minded, though well-disposed persons, a
strong bulwark against their seeking redress, by making
proper complaints and just representations to you, their ben¬
efactors, patrons and protectors.
That the said Causton has made great advancements on
provisions and goods sold out of the trustees' store, to the
inhabitants, contrary to Mr. Oglethorpe's promise when he
first settled this colony; and contrary, as we apprehend, to
your honors' good intentions, and greatly detrimental to the
prosperity of the colony; and that he hath refused to pay
the public debts, otherwise than in provisions at those dear
rates, and sometimes bad and unwholesome, out of the
* Seven shillings and six-pence sterling ; prime cost about five shillings,
t One penny and one-eighth sterling.
142
A Brief Account, &c.
public store, whereby the inhabitants were greatly distressed,
and some have been obliged to leave the province.
In witness, &c. This first day of September, 1737.
Signed by the whole grand jury of forty-four persons.
No. XXIV.
A Representation from the Grand Jury to the Court of
Savannah.
Savannah, May 20, 1742.
The grand jury impanelled the 18th of this instant May,
for the town and county of Savannah, humbly beg leave to
offer the following reasons to this court, why they think
themselves obliged to present Mr. Thomas Jones, the second
bailiff of this town and county, and to examine witnesses
duly sworn thereon.
Imprimis. That in pursuance of the oath, which they, as
grand jurors, have solemnly taken, they are obliged to pre¬
sent all such matters and things as shall come before them,
and that they shall leave no one person unpresented, through
fear, favor, or affection.
2dly. That the matter of complaint against the said Mr.
Thomas Jones, now before them, is (as they humbly con¬
ceive,) a crime of a very heinous nature, and (if not duly in¬
quired into by them,) may be attended with very bad conse¬
quence, highly detrimental to the liberties and properties of
his Majesty's liege people, inhabiting this colony.
3dly. We humbly are of opinion, that the president and
assistants taking cognizance of any crime or misdemeanor,
and representing the same to the honorable the trustees, can¬
not discharge the grand jury from making due inquiry into
such matters and things as shall come before them, notwith¬
standing the said president and assistants have cognizance
thereof; for if such things should be once allowed, we
humbly are of opinion the course of justice would be diverted
from its usual channel, and thereby render grand and .petty
juries entirely useless, contrary, as we humbly conceive, to
the rights and privileges of our mother country.
4thly. We humbly are of opinion, that the court refusing
Appendix.
143
to swear such evidence, as the grand jury shall offer, in
order to their further inquiry into such matters and things, as
are lying before them, will prevent them discharging that
duty incumbent on them by their oath ; whereby the greater
offenders may escape the punishment due to their offences.
5thly. We humbly are of opinion, that if the matter now
before us relating to Mr. Thomas Jones be put off till the
next court, no witnesses being examined upon oath thereon,
some unforeseen accident (as the death or absence of one,
perhaps the chief evidence,) may happen, whereby a
thorough inquiry into that matter by the next grand jury
may be rendered ineffectual.
Lastly. We humbly beg leave of this court (if the afore¬
said reasons shall not be allowed sufficient,) that it may be
recorded, and laid before the honorable, the trustees.
Samuel Mercer, Foreman.
Thomas Salter,
John Wright,
John Sellie,
Thomas Bailie,
James Billou,
William Mears,
John Lyndale,
John Penrose,
James Dormer,
John Brownfield,
James Burnsides,
Peter Morell,
Edward Bush,
William WoodroofFe,
James Carweles,
James Papott.
No. XXV.
Extract of a Letter from Mr. William Ewen to Mr. Thomas
Stephens.
Savannah, May 23, 1742.
Mr. Thomas Jones was at the southward when he was
indicted by the grand jury, and on the 3d of this-instant
there was a court to be holden at Savannah, and Mr. Jones
came, in order to have taken his place, on the bench ; which
thing would have been objected against by all the people in
the town ; neither would any* man serve as grand or petty
jurors while Mr. Jones sat on the bench, till he had first
* Three persons were sent to jail for refusing to act on the grand jury while Jones
sat on the bench without taking his trial, and were fined 13s. id. each.
144
A Brief Account, &c.
taken his trial, and cleared himself of the charge laid against
him. Mr. Jones told the General that there were Spanish
emissaries at Savannah, and that he went in danger of his
life. This was done under a false color, in order to intro¬
duce soldiers into the town and enslave the people. General
Oglethorpe, in order to protect the civil power, (though the
magistrates and other officers here, knew nothing of the
matter, nor that there was any such occasion,) sent Lieuten¬
ant Hugh M'Kay, Anthony Willy, and William Finley with
Mr. Jones. Lieutenant Hugh M'Kay had orders in writing,
signed by the General, for to protect the civil power; and,
for his assistants, he was to take all the forces that were at
fort Argyle, Captain Matthews, and what men he had with
him at Savannah ; Captain Wiggan at Palachocolas, and his
men, and if these were not sufficient, for to send to fort
Frederick at Beaufort, to fetch Lieutenant Sterling and all
the men under his command. I need not mention to you
what concern the inhabitants were under, to find their liber¬
ties so closely attacked; it was reported that these forces
were to assist Mr. Jones for to sit on the bench; but Mr.
Parker and Mr. Fallowfield, in order to prevent any noise or
disturbance, adjourned the court to the 17th following. Mr.
Jones then went back to Frederica, and told Colonel Ste¬
phens that the General and himself would be at Savannah
before the court sat again.
No. XXVI.
From Savannah.
The deposition of John Pye, recorder of the town of Sa¬
vannah in Georgia, who being duly sworn, saith, that on
Thursday, the tenth day of July, 1741, he, this deponent,
was at the house of Colonel Stephens, secretary to the hon¬
orable the trustees for the establishment of this colony, Mr.
Henry Parker, first bailiff of the said town being then present,
the said Parker did say to Mr. Thomas Jones, another of the
bailiffs, then also in company, that he (the said Henry Par¬
ker) understood that the grand jury (who were then sitting)
were about to present the representation of the state of this
Appendix.
145
colony, sent home to the-trustees by them, some time in the
month of December last: and this deponent further saiih,
that Mr. Thomas Jones said to Henry Parker, that .the said
grand jury ought by all means to be discharged; and the
said Henry Parker replied to the said Jones, that the said
grand jury had already concerned themselves in things they
had nothing to do with, or words to that effect; and (here¬
upon the said Henry Parker consented to discharge the said
grand jury: and this deponent further saith, that the mem¬
bers of the said grand jury were men of the best circumstan¬
ces, characters, and fortune, that could be found within this
county of Savannah, and summoned by vifjtue of a warrant
for that purpose, issued by the said Henry Parker, and Mr.
John Fallowfield, two of the bailiffs, in which said warrant
the names of the said grand jurymen were expressly men¬
tioned, and further this deponent saith not.
John PYE.
Sworn before me this 24th day of July, 1741.
John Fallowfield.
No. XXVII.
Extract of a letter from Mr. Patrick M'Kay, to Mr. Thomas
Stephens, December, 1741.
Sir,—Of the state of Ebenezer, it is my opinion they
scarcely raise provisions to supply their own necessities and
wants, were they not supported by the charities of the pious
in Europe: it confirms me much in this opinion, that Mr.
Boltzius, even in May last, asked to buy corn and rice of
me; which, as I had not to spare, he commissioned me to
buy for him at Charleston, for the supply of Ebenezer;
though Gen. Oglethrope told me in February preceding, that
Mr. Boltzius had sent him fine Indian corn flour, and told
his Excellency that he would supply his regiment with what
quantities he pleased; and withal, that he thanked God he
could now subsist five hundred more of his brethren, if they
should be imported into Georgia. I mentioned this to Mr.
Boltzius, wrhen he wanted to buy corn and rice of me, but
he absolutely denied that he had ever said or wrote so to the
vol. ii. 19
146
A Brief Account, &c.
General. Whether the General or the parson is to be believ¬
ed, I leave it with you to determine.
You have yourself seen most of the settlements in Geor¬
gia this year, and what great matters are done there; in a
word, laying aside Augusta, where planting is carried on by
negroes, I dare affirm I have raised more provisions on my
plantation in the township of Purysburg, with twenty slaves
only, than all the colony of Georgia has done; including
Ebenezer and the General's own farm, which, after an ex¬
pense (as I am told) of sixty or seventy pounds sterling, re¬
turned him ten or fifteen bushels of corn, no pease or potatoes.
I jim, sir, your very humble servant,
Patrick Mackay.
No. XXVIII.
Charleston, South Carolina, Oct. 12, 1741.
Dear Brother,—1 take this opportunity of acquainting
you that 1 have left Georgia, and come to Charleston, South
Carolina, where I am settled in my own business. I have
been here about four months, and (I thank God) am got into
very good trade.
Georgia is very much deviated from what it was when I
first went there, especially in the government of affairs. I
have told you that at my first arrival I was appointed a ma¬
gistrate, in which office I continued till it was a crime to do
justice; upon which, I begged leave of our General to be ex¬
cused, for that I would act no more, since to act according
to my oath and conscience was displeasing to him; upon
which he made one of his waiting boys a magistrate in my
stead; a boy that was not nineteen years of age: after
which the General turned my utter enemy, hindering me, in
every shape, of getting my livelihood, which he has not only
done by me but by all those who will not consent to wash
their hands in such water as he thinks proper. I left
but two people behind me that were of my disposition, and
they are both coming away, and then, at Frederica, they will
be like my Lord Thomound's cocks. In short, his magis¬
trates durst not decide a cause without first going to him to
ask which party is to suffer; and those that happen to be
Appendix.
147
most in his favor at that time, are sure to get the better on it,
right or wrong. There is also a set of people now left, that,
if any paper is drawn up, and contains the greatest of falsi¬
ties, (in order to keep still in darkness the parliament, the
trustees, and the people of England) are all ready to sign,
nay even to make oath to the truth of it; and those that
cannot digest those hard pills, must not stay there.
I have also an account of one hundred thirty-nine pounds
sterling, which, when settled, there will be due to me be¬
tween ninety and one hundred pounds. " He swore the
account should not be settled, neither would he ever pay me
a farthing." But I intend to send my casi home by a gen¬
tleman who is now gathering up the true state of Georgia
(much against his Excellency's inclinations), in order to lay
it before this next sitting of the parliament, who, the whole
colony expects, will relieve them from tyranny and oppres¬
sion, and arbitrary government, which is too much practised
there, and consequently v£ry disagreeable to so young a set¬
tlement. However strange these things may appear to you
people of England, I do assure you they are nothing but
truth. Nay, a whole volume might be filled with worse re¬
lations of that place than I have mentioned ; which made me
think sometimes we had lost our way, and come to the
wrong Georgia, and had not got to that fine place so much
talked of in England some years ago. Neither law nor gos¬
pel find any encouragement there; our minister (who is a
very worthy gentleman), was obliged, (through ill treatment
from the General), to leave the place, and return home. You
may perhaps wonder why I did not give you so just an ac¬
count of these proceedings before; the answer to which is,
that it is too common a practice to open all letters that are
sent from thence; and such as speak well of the place may
perhaps get a passage according to their superscriptions, and
those that speak ill of the place are committed to the mercy
of the flames. What emboldens me now to speak the truth
is my being arrived in a land of liberty; but there (if it
please God to keep me in my right senses) they never shall
get me again, unless there is an alteration in the government,
not even to view of my estate, which is now let for fifteen
pounds a year sterling. When I left England, I intended
(if it pleased God) to have returned in ten years; but mak¬
ing my first voyage to the mistaken Georgia, where I lost a
148
A Brief Account, frc.
good part of the time, 1 believe I must intrude upon your
patience two or three years longer, in order to retrieve the
lost time before-mentioned.
Your ever loving brother,
Samuel Perkins.
No. XXIX.
Extract of a letter from General Oglethorpe's Secretary.
Frederica, Sept. 13, 1741.
Dear Sam,—I would have wrote to you by Lullams, had
I not at that time been very busy in writing letters for the
General, which I am determined never to do again, unless he
will pay me a pretty sum of money, which, last night I wrote
to him for; and to which I have -not yet received any an¬
swer. I am tired of this way of living; and am only em¬
ployed when his other secretaries* are ill, which often hap¬
pens after their frequent debauches.
I am weary of this cursed place, and will endeavor to get
out of it as soon as I can, for it looks as though I was marked
out for a sacrifice, in not being able to receiver farthing of
my salary, when there is so much due to me.
Every thing here goes on as usual, that is to say, with the
utmost confusion. The other day, whilst the General was
gone on a cruise, I happened to hear one of our worthy jus¬
tices! cursing and swearing " that the General had used him
ill, and that unless he would recall some words, which he
had publicly spoken, he never more would be a tool to him
as he had been, in receiving instructions privately, how to
behave with regard to the unhappy Mrs. Norbury in .particu¬
lar, and then publicly denying that the General knew any
thing of their proceedings, but that they went according to
law and their own reason." He also came over to a great
many people who were with Davidson in his bed stable,J
and seeing the constable there, he ordered him to bring no
more affairs before him as a justice, for that he would act no
more ; and accordingly the constable gave him no more trou-
* Marriott, whom the General lately made magistrate,
t Dr. Hawkins. t See No. IV.
Appendix.
149
ble, but carried all affairs before Mr. Marriott. When the
General returned to Frederica, the justice returned to his
duty; in which he and his wife have been very assiduous,
insomuch that they caused a negro on board Mrs. Wood's
schooner to be seized, which was accordingly done. That
occasioned two of Mr. Jenys's also to be seized, as would a
girl also of Mrs. Lyford's, $ho was too cunning for them,
and had sent it away. However a petty (pretty) sessions
was held, when the masters of Jenys's and Mrs. Wood's
boats having sworn, that they would not have brought any
negro, could they have got white men to hire; and also, that
they would not have been in this province at the time the
negroes were seized, had it not been for a violent storm or
hurricane, that we have lately had; and producing their
clearances, Jenys's signed by Patterson, and Mrs. Wood's
by his excellency, they thereupon in form, cleared the ne¬
groes under their handwriting. However, it was reported,
that the slave on board Mrs. Wood, was not Colonel Flow-
ers's, as had been sworn to, but belonged to Mrs. Wood,
and by her hired for the service of the schooner; upon which
another warrant was issued by the triumvirate,* (after a long
advice given by the dictator) to take up the negro on board
Mrs. Wood, under a pretence, that he was cleared by a
wrong name: He is now in our guard-house,f and next
week, I believe, will be sold at vendue; notwithstanding
Captain Lyford, and some other persons, will swear that the
said negro was employed not long since, (for some months
on board the same boat, and by the said name that he always
went) in going up and down the river for oyster shells, for
tappy-work.
Thus stands the case with Mrs. Wood and our civil power,
whose character is already known so well abroad, that every
one almost is afraid to come near us; and we, who are on
the spot, want to be out of the reach of it. Last time Mrs.
Wood was here, she had a servant (Willy Cormach) taken
from her in a more unjust manner (if possible) than her ne¬
gro was this voyage. I hope this and several other instances
of the usage of Georgia will not escape young Stephens,
who, if he has authority, will, I dare say, not want matter
* The three magistrates.
t The soldier's guard.
150
A Brief Account, fyc.
of fact to be laid before him. You, to be sure, will quietly
sit down, and not speak a word against this place! How
ungrateful must you be, if you are not sensible of the good
usage you received here ? Mr. Davidson is now sending
his family to Port Royal, along with Mrs. Wood; as he de¬
signs to follow, I will not trouble you with an imperfect ac¬
count of the cause of his so sudden departure, when you will
soon have the satisfaction of hearing it from his own mouth;
I will only say, that "his case is a perfect Georgian ;" and
will, I hope, come under the cognizance of Mr. Stephens, to
whom I cannot give my reasons for leaying the colony; but
should be very glad to acquaint him with the reasons, of my
design to get out of this destructive place as soon as I can.
It is currently reported here (and I know part of it to be
true) that one or two children have died here for want of
medicines, which were refused them ; and Mrs. Hawkins
ordered her husband's mates, at their peril, not to deliver a
bit out of the chest. If that W—n is to be punished in this
world, for her wickness, how dreadful will the example be?
I grow sick with the thoughts of her, and must therefore
conclude, desiring your frequent correspondence, than which
nothing can be more agreeable to, dear Sam,
Thy trusty friend, well-wisher, and faithful humble servant,
F. Moore.
To Mr. Samuel Perkins.
No. XXX. "
A Letter from the Magistrates of Frederica to the Command¬
ing Officer at the Camp, on St. Simonds.
Frederica, May 5, 1740.
Sir,—The reason of our troubling you is this. Jonathan
Edge, having been this day convicted of breaking the king's
stores, breaking open a lock of a trunk, and stealing <£17 in
money; and having received sentence of death for the same;
and we having no place proper for the confinement of a per¬
son in his condition, beg leave to desire your help, in order¬
ing him to be taken due care of, (so as he might not escape)
Appendix. 151
until such time as the General is pleased to order him to be
executed.
We are, sir, your obedient humble servants,
Samuel Perkins,
Francis Moore.
To the officer commanding General
Oglethorpe's Regiment at St. Simonds.
No. XXXI.
Sir, — Jonathan Edge was lately executed here, for break¬
ing open and robbing of John Dick's house. He confessed
the fact, and was very sorry that he should come to so un¬
happy an end. I am sorry to tell you, that he declared at
the same' time, that <{ if the General had paid him what he
owed him, he should have had no occasion for to have done
it." Whether this is true or not, that the General owed him
the money, I can say, that I heard the rest of those that
were employed with him at the same time, complain of their
not being paid. From your assured friend,
Joseph Cannon.
Frederica, September the Stb, 1740.
To Mr. Henry Buckley, in Carolina.
No. XXXII.
Extract of a Letter from Mr. William Eiven* to Mr.
Thomas Stephens.
Grange, Aug. 21, 1742.
Sir, — I shall give you an account of the present deplora¬
ble state of Savannah ; every one was in the utmost confu¬
sion, for to carry his wife, family and goods out of the town ;
some to Ebenezer, some to Abercorn, some to Purysburg,
and some to Captain Mackay's plantation. Our council did
not talk of fighting, neither did they take one step for the
defence of the place; but on the contrary, had concluded,
* One of the correspondents appointed by the people.
152
A Brief Account, &c.
when they heard the Spaniards were coming, for to have
tumbled the great guns into the river, and then to have gone
away on horseback. They kept their horses ready bridled
and saddled all the time. Mr. Boltzius offered his people to
come down, which if they had, and joined the English and
Dutch that were in Savannah, they would have made about
two hundred men ; who, under the conduct of a good com¬
mander, might have repulsed six or seven hundred of the
enemy, if any had come. They wrere so far from defending
the town, that in the midst of the alarm, there was no guard
kept for two nights. What little substance the people had,
is now exhausted ; nor is there any business going on, either
public or private; so that the people are now in a very low
state; many of them are dead, and more, I am apt to think,
will die, for several people are now dangerously ill. Mr. Fal-
lowfield, Mr. Ormston, Mr. Penrose, Mr. Townsend, Mr.
Elbert, and several others, including men, women and child¬
ren, to the number of thirty-five persons, have already left
the colony, besides several of the Dutch; many others are
also intending to go very soon. Sir,
Your most humble servant,
William Ewen.
No. XXXIII.
Sir, — We should be wanting in point of gratitude did we
not, in behalf of those we* represent, as well as of ourselves,
thankfully acknowledge your unwearied endeavors for the
public welfare of those who can no other way repay you
than by putting up their prayers to the Almighty, to reward
and bless you in all your generous undertakings in their be¬
half; and though our circumstances are such as give us little
hopes of staying here to see the accomplishment of your
negotiations ; yet It is our earnest request that you still con-i
tinue to solicit our affairs in such a manner as (with the
blessing of the Almighty,) may be the means of settling this
unhappy colony upon a firm and lasting basis, which will
* These gentlemen are three of the correspondents appointed by the people.
Appendix.
153
transmit your name to posterity, as the restorer of civil rights
and privileges, and thereby render your name ever dear.
Whatever you may think necessary to be done in our be¬
half, we must leave to your discretion, hoping you will do
nothing therein but what is consistent with your character as
our agent. We are, sir,
Your most humble servants,
William Woodrooffe,
William Ewen,
John Lyndall.
Savannah, 21st August, 1742.
To Mr. Thomas Stephens.
No. XXXIV.
Appointment for an Agent on Behalf of the People of
Georgia.
Georgia.
At a meeting of Landholders, Settlers, and Inhabitants at
Savannah, the seventh day of October, in the fifteenth
year of, the reign of our Sovereign Lord, George the
Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France,
and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &-c., Anno-
que Domini, one thousand seven hundred and forty-one.
Whereas many of his Majesty's subjects, who are settled
in, and are belonging to the province of Georgia, have, as
well singly as in joint numbers, from time to time presented
to the trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia, divers
remonstrances, representations, and petitions, with repeated
complaints of grievances which have never been effectually
redressed. And whereas, for want of timely remedies to the
evils set forth in the said representations, &c., being applied,
the said province is greatly deserted by many of her inhab¬
itants, by reason of the restrictions that render them wholly
incapable of raising provisions for their support; and whereby
those who still remain in the said province are unable to
subsist themselves and families by cultivation, as are some of
them barely in any shape; — We, whose names are hereunto
subscribed, being settlers and inhabitants of the said province,
vol. ii. 20
154
A Brief Account, &c.
are unanimously of opihion, that, in order to the effectually
settling and establishing the said province, and to remove all
those grievances and hardships we now labor under, it is ex¬
pedient for us to appoint an agent for representing, transact¬
ing and soliciting in Great Britain those affairs of so great
importance. Wherefore, Mr. Thomas Stephens being thought
by us to be a person fitly qualified for the said purpose, in
behalf of ourselves, and many others of his Majesty's poor
distressed subjects, now residing in, and belonging to the
said province, we do hereby constitute and appoint the said
Thomas Stephens. And he is hereby nominated and de¬
clared agent, to represent and transact the affairs aforesaid.
And further, it being necessary that we, the said inhabitants,
or some of us do correspond with the said Thomas Stephens,
we do, in behalf of ourselves and others aforesaid, hereby
nominate and appoint William Woodrooffe, Thomas Ormston,
Peter Morell, John Lyndall, and William Ewen, or any three
of them, to correspond with the said agent; and he is hereby
impowered and authorized to pursue such instructions as he
shall from time to time receive from the said persons, hereby
appointed to correspond with him in relation to the complaints
of grievances of the people in the aforesaid colony of
Georgia; and this appointment to remain in full force and
virtue during the pleasure of the said inhabitants. Given
under our hands, at Savannah, the day and year above
written.
Signed by landholders, 123
Letters from those absent at the time, 18
141
Instructions to Mr. Thomas Stephens, Agent for the People
of Georgia in America.
We do, in behalf of ourselves and the rest of his Majesty's
subjects, w7ho have settled in this province, request and de¬
sire that you, Mr. Thomas Stephens, will, on your^ arrival in
England, apply, petition, and solicit for redress of grievances,
in such manner as you shall think most advisable, (applica-
Appendix.
155
tion t@ the trustees only excepted,) and in particular for ob¬
taining the following articles, which we apprehend to be
necessary in order for the more effectually establishing this
province; and which the charter granted by his Majesty to
the trustees impowers them to give us, viz.:
That a regular government be established in Georgia, as
in others of his Majesty's provinces in America.
That upon consideration, that Georgia is intended as a
barrier to South Carolina, all grants of lands be at least as
extensive, and not inferior in any respect to those of that
province.
That the quit-rents in Georgia be not greater than in
others of his Majesty's provinces, the land being in no kind
better than in South Carolina.
That the use of negroes, under such restrictions as shall
be thought proper, be allowed for cultivating our lands.
That encouragement be given for the making pot-ash,
silk, wine, oil, indigo, hemp, flax, or other commodities that
might be raised in Georgia, in America, and greatly increase
the trade and navigation of Great Britain.
That, if you should not obtain such an alteration in the
constitution, as shall enable the inhabitants to support them¬
selves by cultivation, to pray, "that the money, which may
hereafter be granted for the use of the colony, may be ap¬
plied for removing them to some other part of his Majesty's
dominions, where they may be able to support themselves
and families, and be of use to the public, instead of a bur¬
then to it, as they are now."
William Woodrooffe,
Thomas Ormston,
Peter Morell,
William Ewen,
John Lyndall.
Savannah, 27th Oct., 1741.
No. XXXV.
A (List of Complainants, who are styled a few Clamorous
Malecontents.
A. Thomas Andrews,
John Amory, Thomas Atvvell,
Benjamin Adams, Thomas Antrobus,
A Brief Account, &c.
James Anderson,
Gasper Aughester,
Hugh Anderson.
B.
John Brownfield,
John Burton,
Charles Britain,
James Burnside,
Francis Brooks,
Matthew Bright,
Robert Bradley,
William Bradley,
Mich. Burghalter, sen.
James Bland,
William Barbo,
Peter Baillou,
Edward Bush,
Giles Becu,
James Baillou,
George Buncle,
Peter Beller,
Michael Burghalter,
Thomas Bailey,
Andrew Bell,
Thomas Baillie,
Harry Buckley,
John Brown,
William Blechman,
Ambrose Barr,
Thomas Bicher.
C.
Willim Calvert,
William Carter,
James Carwels,
Thomas Cross,
William Colthred,
John Clarke, sen.
Philip Courtney,
John Cundale,
William Cooksey,
Isaac King Clark,
James Collyer Collins,
James Campell,
Jacob Curl,
Anthony Camuse,
Thomas Clyatt,
Joseph Cannon,
James Corneck,
John Cuthbert,
Isaac Coin,
Tho. Christie, Recorder,
John Clark.
D.
James Dormer,
John Desborough,
Richard Davis,
John Desborugh, jun.
Francis Dalgrass,
Edward Desborough,
Andrew Duche,
Thomas Dawson,
James Dodds,
John Dudding,
David Douglass,
Samuel Davison,
William Davy,
James Dean,
Ph. Delegal, jun.
Edward Davison,
James Dodds,
Christian Dasher.
E.
William Elbert,
Thomas Eggerton,
John Evans,
William Ewen,
Thomas Ellis,
Peter Emery,
William Evans.
F.
Hugh Frazer,
Joseph Fitzwalter,
Henry Fletcher,
William Francis,
John Fallowfield,Magistrate,
Walter Fox,
Elisha Foster,
Thomas Fraser,
John Foulds.
G.
Robert Gilbert, Magistrate,
Peter Gordon, Magistrate,
Patrick Grhame,
John Grhame,
David Guinder,
William Greenfield,
Christopher Greenfield,
James Gallway,
Appendix.
157
Archibald Glen,
Michael Germain,
James Gould,
John Grinter,
George Gorsand,
Thomas Gantlett,
Samuel Goff,
William Grickson,
Henry Green,
Charles Grimaldi,
Andrew Grant,
John Goldwire.
H.
Robert Howes,
Samuel Holmes,
James Haslefoot,
Theop. Hetherington,
Robert Hainkes,
John Hetrinmam,
James Houston,
Gasper Herbough,
Jacob Herbough.
J.
James Jeansack,
Peter Joubert,
Ldward Jenkins,
Edward Jenkins, jun.
K.
John Kelly,
William Kennedy.
L.
Samuel Lacey,
Richard Lobb,
Richard Lawley,
Henry Lloyd,
John Lyndall,
James Landree,
Samuel Lyon,
John Landry,
Thomas Lee,
Adrian Loyer,
Adrian Loyer, jun.
M.
Samuel Mercer,
Stephen Marrauld,
Henry Manley,
Stephen Mountford,
Thomas Mellichamp,
John M'Donald,
Peter M'Kay,
Benjamin M'Intosh,
John M'Intosh,
Daniel M'Kay,
James Mure,
John Miller,
Anthony M'Brid,
Jacob Matthews,
Henry Moulton,
Peter Maillier,
William Meers,
Farguhar M'Guilvery,
Peter Morel 1,
Richard Mellichamp,
Thomas Morris,
Daniel M'Donald,
John M'Leod, minister of Da-
rien.
Alexander Monro,
James Miller,
James Marsh,
John M'Intire,
Owen M'Leod,
Matthew Mauve,
Peter Miller.
N.
Thomas Neale.
O.
Thomas Ormston,
Christopher Ortman,
Kenedy O'Brien.
P.
Henry Parker, Magistrate,
William Parker,
Samuel Parker,
John Priestwood,
John Pye, Recorder,
Robert Parker,
John Penrose,
William Pendricke,
James Papot,
Jean Pirebreton,
Samuel Perkins,
George Philp.
• R.
Simon Rieuwere,
Richard Rogers,
John Robe,
158
A Brief Account, frc.
George Rush,
John Rae,
Alexander Rose,
John Roberson,
Alexander Rantowle,
William Rigden,
Hugh Ross,
Alexander Reynolds,
John Michael Riser.
S.
Lewis Stamon,
William Starflitchet,
Joseph Stanley,
Donald Stewart,
James Smith,
Alexander Simes,
Joseph Summers,
John Smith,
John Sellie,
Thomas Salter,
James Scott,
John Smalley,
Thomas Sparnell,
David Snook,
George Stephens,
Joseph Stringer,
John Scott,
William Sterling,
John Speilbeigler,
Joseph Smithers,
William Stenhouse.
T.
Peter Tector,
Edward Townsend,
George Tyrrel,
Stephen Tarrian,
If it be asked, why all these did
the answer is, a few of them are d
John Teasdale,
Jacob Truan,
Thomas Tripp,
Thomas Tebbut,
Patrick Tailfer,
Alexander Taylor,
Samuel Teasdale.
U.
Thomas Upton,
Oliver Upsall.
W.
James Williams,
Jacob Watts,
Samuel Ward,
George Waterman,
James Willson,
William Williamson,
William Wood,
James White,
Thomas Wattle,
Andrew Walker,
William WoodroofFe,
Thomas Webb,
Joseph Wardrope,
John Warwick
Joseph Watson,
John Wackfeld,
Robert Williams.
Y.
Isaac Young, sen.
Isaac Young, jun.
John Young,
Thomas Young, sen.
Thomas Young, jun.
sign the appointment for an agent,
, and many deserted.
A List of those who were deemed the Body of the People, and
who were either bribed or compelled to sign Petitions in
opposition to those styled Malecontents.
From Ebenezer.
John Martin Boltzius,
Israel Christian Gronau,
Bartholomeus Rieser,
Bartholomeus Zant,
Appendix.
159
Thomas Gsohwandel,
Gabriel Maurer,
John Maurer,
George Kogler,
Paul us Zittrauer,
Peter Renter,
Stephen Rottenberger,
Ambrosii Zubli
John Jacob Zubli,
*Christopher Ortmann,
Ruprecht Kalcher,
Leon hard Rauner,
Christian Riedelsperger,
Fridrick Willhelm Moller,
Martin Hortzug,
Christian Hessler,
John Pletter,
Frank Sigismund,
John Hernberger,
George Bruckner,
Carl. Sigismund Ott,
Matthias Zettler,
Rupretch Eischberger,
John Peter Arnsdorff,
Simon Reiter,
Matthias Brandner,
Christian Leimberger,
Martin Lackner,
Lupretcht Steiner,
Yeit Lemmenhoffer,
John and Car. Floerel,
Rupretch Zimmerman,
Simon Steiner,
George Schwaiger,
John Schmidt,
Leonhard Crause,
Peter Gruber,
Jacob Schartner,
Joseph Leitner,
John Cornberger,
Andreas Grimmiger,
Matthias Burgsteiner,
Yeit Landselder,
Joseph Ernst,
*John Michel Rieser,
*Thomas Pichler,
*John Spielbiegler.
From Darien.
John Mackintosh Moore,
John Mackintosh Lynvilge,
Ranald M'Donald,
Hugh Morrison,
John M'Donald,
John Maclean,
John Mackintosh, son to L.
John Mackintosh Bain,
James M'Kay,
Daniel Clark, first
Alexander Clarke,
Donald Clark, third
Joseph Burges,
Donald Clark, second
Archibald M'Bain,
*Alexander Munro,
William Munro,
John Cuthbert.
A List of those who signed a State of the Province of
Georgia, attested upon Oath.
fPatrick Graham, apothecary to the trustees,
f Joseph Fitzvvalter, gardener to them.
tJames Carwells, jailer.
*Thomas Upton, commands a garrison of five men.
*GiIes Becu, baker to the trustees' store-keeper.
*Thomas Egerton, grandson of the trustees' wheelwright.
160
A Brief Account, &c.
Thomas Cundell, a boy under age.
*Anthony Camuse, silkman.
tJohn Burton, a town officer in the pay of the trustees.
Joseph Pavey, in pay at fort Augusta.
*Robert Hainks, a town officer.
John Millidge, one of the General's servants.
*Thomas Bayley, smith to the trustees.
George Johnson, sawyer to the trustees.
fSamuel Parker, son-in-law to Samuel Mercer.
Thomas Palmer, sawyer to the trustees.
"William Stephens, the trustees' president and secretary.
tHenry Parker, a magistrate and assistant to the president.
Thomas Jones,(l) magistrate, assistant, accomptant, overseer, store¬
keeper, and cashier to the trustees,
Samuel Mercer,(2) constable and assistant.
*James Campbel, late jailer.
John Rae,(3) scout boat-man.
Noble Jones, commands a garrison near Captain Upton.
*Thomas Young, wheelwright to the trustees.
*Thomas Ellis, surveyor,
Those marked f signed the representation of 117 in 1738.
Those marked * have since repented, and signed the agent's appoint¬
ment, and the rest have ever been dependent
N. B. The state of the colony attested by the above twenty-five, only
shows how far the people have gone towards improving the colony, and
what it may be made capable of, but does not show the present real and
true state of it, since it has made no mention of its ruinous and deserted
plantations.
No XXXYI.
Georgia-Office, Westminster.
Sir, — Your forgetting the duty of a magistrate, to pre¬
serve peace, and authority of government, and heading a
discontented party to become petitioners with yourself,
against the trustees' conduct, setting up yourselves as dic¬
tators, and prescribing rules to bring all order into confusion,
is an offence of that nature to the trustees, who appointed
you a magistrate for other purposes, that they thought fit to
discharge you from the office of second bailiff, and one of
(1) App. No. XXIV. XXV. XXVI. &c. (2) App. No. XII.
(3) App. No. XII.
Appendix.
161
the assistants at Savannah, and have sent over their consti¬
tution for another person in your room.
Persons not content with government, are equally unable
to govern themselves, as choose their own governors; and
the trustees having no farther service for you, who take upon
you thus to act, directed my acquainting you therewith.
I am, sir,
Your most humble servant,
Harman Verelst, Accomptant.
Feb. 16, 1741.
To Mr. John Fallowfield.
FINIS.
vol. ii.
21
A TRUE AND HISTORICAL NARRATIVE
OF THE
COLONY OF GEORGIA,
I N AME R I C A,
FROM THE FIRST SETTLEMENT THEREOF UNTIL THIS PRESENT PERIOD :
CONTAINING
THE MOST AUTHENTIC FACTS, MATTERS, AND
TRANSACTIONS THEREIN:
TOGETHER WITH
HIS MAJESTY'S CHARTER, REPRESENTATIONS OF THE PEOPLE, LETTERS, ETC.,
AND
A DEDICATION TO HIS EXCELLENCY GENERAL OGLETHORPE.
B Y
PAT. TAILFER, M. D., HUGH ANDERSON, M. A., DA. DOUGLAS,
and Others, Landholders in Georgia, at present in Charleston, South Carolina.
Qui Deorum
Muneribus sapienter uti,
Duramq ; callet Pauperiemq; pati,
Pejusq ; Letho Flagitium timer,
Non ille pro caris Amicis
Aut Patria timidus Perire. H. 4 O.
■ CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA:
PRINTED BY P. TIMOTHY, FOR THE AUTHORS.
1741.
NOTE.
We know but little of Dr. Tailfer, except what we find in Stephens's
journal, whose representations of him, though highly colored, show that
he was one of the prominent agitators of the disturbances which rent the
colony, an invincible enemy of Stephens, and a defamer of Oglethorpe.
He appears to have been a man of violent and excitable passions, for
in 1734 he was charged with killing his servant, William Douglas, and
also with being excessively cruel to all his servants. The report of the
coroner's inquest was, " we believe that the death of William Douglas,
late servant of Patrick Tailfer, was caused by violent blows and bruises,
received from his said master, Patrick Tailfer." The grand jury pre¬
sented him as guilty of manslaughter, but the laxity of the law enabled
him to escape with impunity. The deceased, it was said, " had a liberal
education, and was bred a surgeon." One of the causes which probably
embittered his feelings towards General Oglethorpe, was the fact that in
September 1739, himself, with five or six others, endeavored to form an
independent company " for defence of the country, &c., but exclusive of
any commands from the standing militia of the town where they lived."
Tailfer was chosen Captain, about a dozen men volunteered, and they
petitioned the General to be received and acknowledged as a part of the
colonial force. This the General not only refused, but expressed his in¬
dignation at their presumption, and rebuked their proceedings. Dr. Tail¬
fer left Savannah for Charleston in September, 1740.
Mr. Anderson, on his removal to Charleston, opened a school, and sub¬
sequently became master of the free school of that city. He died in
Charleston, Nov. 21st, 1748.
David Douglas was, like the two former, from Scotland, and the inti¬
mate associate and partisan of Tailfer. He was one of the " Juntillo,"
or " club," so often commented on by Stephens, and had, so far as we
can ascertain, no other character than that of an active and somewhat
influential demagogue.
In perusing this narrative, it should also be borne in mind, that there
was at that period, a rupture of the former amicable relations between
Georgia and Carolina, which, from little bickerings of provincial authority,
swelled out into angry crimination after the loss at fort Moosa, and the
failure of the siege of St. Augustine in consequence of the partial defec¬
tion of the Carolina troops. Dr. Tailfer, therefore, but ministered to a
popular feeling, when he denounced the operations of the trustees, and
pampered the malignity of the envious by defaming the character of
Oglethorpe. The style of the narrative shows the intemperate spirit in
which it was written, while the veiled personalities which it tolerates, but
evince the cowardice and the meanness of the detractor.
TO HIS EXCELLENCY
JAMES OGLETHORPE, ESQ.,
General and Commander in Chief of His Majesty's Forces in
South Carolina and Georgia ; and one of the Honorable
Trustees for establishing the Colony of Georgia in Amer¬
ica, $-c.
May it please your Excellency,—
As the few surviving remains of the colony of Georgia find
it necessary to present the world (and in particular Great
Britain) with a true state of that province, from its first rise
to its present period; your Excellency (of all mankind) is
best entitled to the dedication, as the principal author of its
present strength and affluence, freedom and prosperity : and
though incontestable truths will recommend the following nar¬
rative to the patient and attentive reader, yet your name, sir,
will be no little ornament to the frontispiece, and may possi¬
bly engage some courteous perusers a little beyond it.
That dedication and flattery are synonymous, is the com¬
plaint of every dedicator, who concludes himself ingenuous
and fortunate, if he can discover s. less trite and direct method
of flattering than is usually practised; but we are happily
prevented from the least intention of this kind, by the repeat¬
ed offerings of the Muses and news-writers to your Excel¬
lency, in the public papers: 'twere presumptuous even to
dream of equalling or increasing them ; we therefore flatter
ourselves, that nothing we can advance will in the least shock
your Excellency's modesty ; not doubting but your goodness
will pardon any deficiency of elegance and politeness, on ac¬
count of our sincerity, and the serious truth we have the
honor to approach you with.
166
Dedication
We have seen the ancient custom of sending forth colonies,
for the improvement of any distant territory, or new acquisi¬
tion, continued down to ourselves ; but to your Excellency
alone it is owing, that the world is made acquainted with a
plan, highly refined from those of all former projectors. They
fondly imagined it necessary to communicate to such young
settlements, the fullest rights and properties, all the immuni¬
ties of their mother countries, and privileges rather more ex¬
tensive : by such means indeed, these colonies flourished
with early trade and affluence; but your Excellency's con¬
cern for our perpetual welfare, could never permit you to pro¬
pose such transitory advantages for us ; you considered riches
like a divine and philosopher, as the irritamenta malorum, and
knew that they were disposed to inflate weak minds with
pride; to pamper the body with luxury, and introduce along
variety of evils. Thus have you protected us from ourselves,
as Mr. Waller says, by keeping all earthly comforts from us:
you have afforded us the opportunity of arriving at the integri¬
ty of the primitive times, by entailing a more than primitive pov¬
erty on us : the toil that is necessary to our bare subsistence,
must effectually defend us from the anxieties of any further
ambition : as we have no properties, to feed vainglory and
beget contention, so we are not puzzled with any system of
laws to ascertain and establish them: the valuable virtue of
humility is secured to us, by your care to prevent our pro¬
curing, or so much as seeing any negroes (the only human
creatures proper to improve our soil) lest our simplicity might
mistake the poor Africans for greater slaves than ourselves:
and that we might fully receive the spiritual benefit of those
wholesome austerities, you have wisely denied us the use of
such spirituous liquors, as might in the least divert our minds
from the contemplation of our happy circumstances.
Our subject swells upon us ; and did we allow ourselves to
indulge our inclination, without considering our weak abilities,
we should be tempted to launch out into many of youv Excel¬
lency's extraordinary endowments, which do not so much re¬
gard the affair in hand; but as this would lead us beyond the
bounds of a dedication, so would it engross a subject too
extensive for us, to the prejudice of other authors and pane¬
gyrists ; we shall therefore confine ourselves to that remarka¬
ble scene of your conduct, whereby Great Britain in general,
and the settlers of Georgia in particular, are laid under such
inexpressible obligations.
Dedication.
167
Be pleased then, great sir, to accompany our heated ima¬
ginations, in taking a view of this colony of Georgia! this
child of your auspicious politics! arrived at the utmost vigor
of its constitution, at a term when most former states have
been struggling through the convulsions of their infancy. This
early maturity however, lessens our admiration, that your Ex¬
cellency lives to see (what few founders ever aspired after) the
great decline and almost final termination of it. So many
have finished their course during the progress of the experi¬
ment, and such numbers have retreated from the phantoms of
poverty and slavery which their cowardly imaginations pic¬
tured to them, that you may justly vaunt with the boldest
hero of them all,
Like Death you reign
O'er silent subjects and a desert plain. Busjris.
Yet must your enemies (if you have any) be reduced to
confess, that no ordinary statesman could have digested in the
like manner, so capacious a scheme, such a copious jumble of
power and politics. We shall content ourselves with observ¬
ing, that all those beauteous models of government which the
little states of Germany exercise, and those extensive liberties
which the boors of Poland enjoy, were designed to concentre
in your system; and were we to regard the modes of govern¬
ment, we must have been strangely unlucky to have missed of
the best, where there was the appearance of so great a vari¬
ety ; for under the influence of our perpetual Dictator, we have
seen something like aristocracy, oligarchy, as well as the tri¬
umvirate, decemvirate, and consular authority of famous re¬
publics, which have expired many ages before us ; what won¬
der then wre share the same fate 1 Do their towns and vil¬
lages exist but in story and rubbish ? We are all over ruins;
our public works, forts, wells, high-ways, light-house, store and
water-mills, &c. are dignified like theirs, with the same ven¬
erable desolation. The log house indeed, is like to be the
last forsaken spot of your empire ; yet even this, through the
death or desertion of those who should continue to inhabit
it, must suddenly decay ; the bankrupt jailor himself, shall be
soon denied the privilege of human conversation; and when
this last moment of the spell expires, the whole shall vanish
like the illusion of some Eastern magician.
But let not this solitary prospect impress your Excellency
with any fears of having your services to mankind, and to the
168
Dedication.
settlers of Georgia in particular, buried in oblivion ; for if we
diminutive authors are allowed to prophesy (as you know po¬
ets in those cases formerly did) we may confidently presage,
that while the memoirs of America continue to be read in Eng¬
lish, Spanish, or the language of the Scots Highlanders, your
Excellency's exploits and epocha will be transmitted to pos¬
terity.
Should your Excellency apprehend the least tincture of
flattery in anything already hinted, we may sincerely assure
you, we intended nothing that our sentiments did not very
strictly attribute to your merit; and in such sentiments, we
have the satisfaction of being fortified by all persons of impar¬
tiality and discernment.
But to trespass no longer on those minutes, which your
Excellency may suppose more significantly employed on the
sequel, let it suffice at present, to assure you, that we are
deeply affected with your favors ; and though unable of our¬
selves properly to acknowledge them, we shall embrace ev¬
ery opportunity of recommending you to higher powers, who
(we are hopeful) will reward your Excellency according to
your merit.
May it please your Excellency,
Your Excellency's
Most devoted servants,
The Landholders of Georgia,
Authors of the following Narrative.
PREFACE.
The colony of Georgia has afforded so much subject of
conversation to the world, that it is not to be questioned but
a true and impartial account of it from its first settlement to
its present period, will be generally agreeable; and the more
so, that the subject has hitherto been so much disguised and
misrepresented in pamphlets, poems, gazettes and journals.
If it be asked, Why this Narrative has not been published
to the world sooner ? we assign two reasons, which (we doubt
not) will be satisfactory.
First, a number of honorable gentlemen accepted the
charge of trustees for executing the purposes in his Majes¬
ty's most gracious charter: gentlemen, whose honor and in¬
tegrity we never did, or yet do call in question ; but, to our
great misfortune, none of that honorable body, (excepting Mr.
Oglethorpe) ever had opportunity of viewing the situation
and circumstances of the colony, and judging for themselves
as to the necessities thereof. How far Mr. Oglethorpe's
schemes were consistent with the welfare or prosperity of it,
will best appear from the following Narrative.
When experience gradually unfolded to us the alterations
we found absolutely requisite to our subsisting, we made all
dutiful and submissive applications to these our patrons, in
whom we placed so much confidence. This course we judg¬
ed the most proper and direct, and therefore repeated these
our dutiful applications, both to the body of the trustees and
to Mr. Oglethorpe ; but alas! our miseries could not alter his
views of things, and therefore we could obtain no redress from
him ; and the honorable board we found were prejudiced
against our petitions (no doubt) through misinformations and
vol. ii. 22
170
Preface.
misrepresentations ; and this (we are confident) a further in¬
quiry and time will convince them of.
The inviolable regard we paid to the honorable board, kept
us from applyingto any other power for redress, whilst the
least hopes could be entertained of any from them ; and we
make no doubt, but that our moderation in this respect, will
recommend us to all persons of humanity.
A second reason is, that as we had daily occasion of seeing
our supreme magistrates, who ruled over us with unlimited
power, exercising illegal acts of authority, by threatenings, im¬
prisonments, and other oppressions; therefore we had just
reason to apprehend, that any further steps to obtain -relief,
might subject us to the like effects of arbitrary power; so,
until now, that a handful of us have made our escape to a
land of liberty (after having made shipwreck of our time and
substance in that unhappy colony) we had it not in our power
to represent the state of that settlement to the world, or make
our application to higher powers for redress.
We are hopeful, that the perusal of the following sheets
will rectify two sorts of readers in their surprise in relation to
the colony of Georgia, viz. those of Great Britain, who have
never known this part of the world but by description, and
those of America. The first are no doubt surprised, to think it
possible, that so pleasant and temperate a clime; so fruitful a
soil; such extensive privileges, all which were publicly given
out ; and such considerable sums of public and private
benefactions, have not satisfied and enriched us: them we
refer to the following Narrative for satisfaction. The Amer¬
ican reader, on the other hand, must be equally surprised to
find that such numbers should have been so fooled and blind¬
folded, as to expect to live in this part of America by cul¬
tivation of lands without negroes, and much more without
titles to their lands, and laid under a load of grievances and
restrictions: and though these were redressed, how could
persons in their senses ever imagine, that fifty acres of pine-
barren, not value fifty six pences in property, (and whereof
many thousands might be purchased at half that rate in the
neighboring province) could maintain a family of white peo¬
ple and pay such duties and quit rents in a few years, as the
richest grounds in Carolina, or other provinces in America
will never bear? To these last we shall only beg leave to
observe that such fatal artifice was used, (we shall not say by
whom) such specious pretences were made use of, and such
Preface.
171
real falsities advanced, and the smallest foundations of truth
magnified to hyperbole ; that we, who had no opportunity of
knowing otherwise, or means of learning the real truth, and
being void of all suspicion of artifice or design, easily believed
all these, and fell into the decoy.
The mind of man is naturally curious and enterprising ; we
easily feed our wishes into realities, and affect and look upon
every novelty in the most favorable light; how easy then is
it, for cunning and artifice to lay hold on the weak sides of
our fellow-creatures, as we catch fish with a hook baited to
their particular gout 1
To prove this charge, we shall only transcribe some passa¬
ges from a piece of prose, and some ftpm a piece of poesie ;
by which specimens, the reader may judge of some consider¬
able number which were dispersed and vended of the same
stamp. 3
The first are from a pamphlet printed at London, lTao, en¬
titled, A New and Accurate Account of the Provinces of South
Carolina and Georgia. The author has not thought fit to
favor us with his name; but it is easy to conceive that we,
who suspected no artifice or design, must conclude that it
came from the best authority, from the circumstances of its
being dispersed publicly, and not being contradicted, and
from the author's intimate acquaintance (at least so pretend¬
ed) with all the trustees' measures and designs. After a
high encomium upon the trustees, page 7, he says: " The air
of Georgia is healthy, being always serene and pleasant, never
subject to excessive heat or cold, or sudden changes of
weather; the winter is regular and short, and the summer
cooled with refreshing breezes; it neither feels the cutting
north-west wind that the Virginians complain of, nor the in¬
tense heats of Spain, Barbary, Italy and Egypt. The soil
will produce anything with very little culture." Page 19:
"All sorts of corn yield an amazing increase; one hundred
fold is the common estimate; though their husbandry is so
slight, that they can only be said to scratch the earth, and
merely to cover the seed: all the best sort of cattle and fowls
are multiplied without number, and therefore without a price:
vines are natives here." Page 21 : "The woods near Sa¬
vannah are not hard to be cleared; many of them have no
under-wood, and the trees do not stand generally thick on
the ground, but at considerable distances asunder; when you
fall the timber for use, or to make tar, the root will rot in four
172 Preface.
or five years; and in the mean time you may pasture the
ground ; but if you would only destroy the timber, it is done
by half a dozen strokes of an axe surrounding each tree alit-
tle above the root, in a year or two the water getting into
the wound rots the timber, and a brisk gust of wind fells ma¬
ny acres for you in an hour, of which you may make one bright
bonfire. Such will be frequently here the fate of the pine,
the walnut, the cypress, the oak and the cedar. Such an air
and soil can only be described by a poetical pen, because
there is no danger of exceeding the truth ; therefore take
Waller's description of an island in the neighborhood of Car¬
olina, to give you an idea of this happy climate:
"The Spring which but salutes us, here,
Inhabits there, and courts them all the year :
Ripe fruits and blossoms on the same tree live ;
At once they promise what at once they give.
So sweet the air, so moderate the clime,
None sickly lives, or dies before his time ;
Heav'n sure has kept this spot of earth uncurst,
To shew how all things were created first."
Page 27 : " The Indians bring many a mile the whole deer's
flesh, which they sell to the people who live in the country,
for the value of sixpence sterling; and a wild turkey of forty
pounds weight, for the value of two pence." In page 32, the
author when recommending the Georgia adventure to gen¬
tlemen of decayed circumstances, who must labor at home
or do worse, states the following objection, viz. " If such peo¬
ple can't get bread here for their labor, howr will their condi¬
tion be mended in Georgia 1" Which he solves in the fol¬
lowing manner: "The answer is easy; part of it is well
attested, and part self-evident; they have land there for noth¬
ing, and that land so fertile, that as is said before, they receive
an hundredfold increase, for taking a very little pains. Give
here in England ten acres of good land to one of those help¬
less persons, and I doubt not his ability to make it sustain
him, and by his own culture, without letting it to another;
but the difference between no rent and rack'd rent, is the
difference between eating and starving." Page 32 : " These
trustees not only give land to the unhappy who go thither,
but are also impowered to receive the voluntary contributions
of charitable persons, to enable to furnish the poor adventur¬
ers with all necessaries for the expense of their voyage, occu¬
pying the land, and supporting them till they find themselves
comfortably settled; so that now the unfortunate will not be
obliged to bind themselves to a long servitude to pay for ther
Preface.
173
passage; for they may be carried gratis into a land of liberty
and plenty, where they immediately find themselves in the
possession of a competent estate, in a happier climate than
they knew before, and they are unfortunate indeed if here
they cannot forget their sorrows." Nay, as if such assertions
as these were not powerful enough to influence poor people,
calculations are subjoined, to demonstrate, that a family con¬
sisting of one poor man, his wife, and child of seven years old,
may in Georgia earn sixty pounds sterling per annum, and this
abstracted from silk, wine, &c. Page 41: "Now this very
family in Georgia, by raising rice and corn sufficient for its
occasions, and by attending the care of their cattle and land
(which almost every one is able to do in some tolerable degree
for himself) will easily produce in gross value the sum of
sixty pounds sterling per annum ; nor is this to be wondered
at, because of the valuable assistance it has from a fertile soil
and a stock given gratis, which must always be remeimbered
in this calculation,
The calculation of one hundred such families when for¬
mally extended, stands thus, — Page 43.
In London one hundred
poor men earn,
I. s. d.
500 00 0
. 500 00 0
1000 00 0
In Georgia an hundred families earn,
One hundred men for labor,
Ditto for care of their stock
1200 00 0
. 1200 00 0
at leisure hours,
One hundred women and
2400 00 0
one hundred children,
Land and stock in them¬
selves,
. 1200 00 0
Total,
6000 00 0
Q. E. D.
But we must conclude this head, lest we tire the reader.
We shall now beg leave to quote a few poetical accounts ot
this paradise of the world, and of the fatherly care and pro-
174
Preface.
tection we might depend on from Mr. Oglethorpe. An hun¬
dred hackney Mus5fe might be instanced ; but we shall confine
ourselves to the celebrated performance of the Rev. Samuel
Wesly, where we might well expect a sufficient stock of truth
and religion, to counterbalance a poetical license. Vide a
poem entitled Georgia, and verses upon Mr. Oglethorpe's
second voyage to Georgia. Printed London, 1736.
" See where beyond the spacious ocean lies
A wide waste land beneath the Southern skies;
Where"kindly suns for ages rolled in vain,
Nor e'er the vintage saw, or rip'ning grain ;
Where all things into wild luxuriance ran,
And burthened Nature asked the aid of man.
In this sweet climate and prolific soil,
He bids the eager swain indulge his toil;
In free possession to the planter's hand,
Consigns the rich uncultivated land.
Go you, the Monarch cries, go settle there,
Whom Britain from her plenitude can spare ;
Go, your old wonted industry pursue ;
Nor envy Spain the treasures of Peru.
But not content in council here to join,
A further labor Oglethorpe, is thine :
In each great deed thou claimst the foremost part, i
And toil and danger charm thy gen'rous heart:
But chief for this thy warm affections rise ;
For oh ! thou view'st it with a parent's eyes :
For this thou tempt'st the vast tremendous main,
And floods and storms oppose their threats in vain.
He comes, whose life, while absent from your view,
Was one continued ministry for you;
For you were laid out all his pains and art,
Won ev'ry will and softened every heart.
With what paternal joy shall he relate
How views its mother isle your little State ;
Think while he strove your distant coast to gain,
How oft he sigh'd and chid the tedious main !
Impatient to survey, by culture graced,
Your dreary wood-land and your rugged waste.
Fair were the scenes he feigned, the prospects fair j
And sure, ye Georgians, all he feigned was there.
A thousand pleasures crowd into his breast;
But one, one mighty thought absorbs the rest,
And gives me Heaven to see, the patriot cries,
Another Britain in the desert rise.
Again,
With nobler products see thy Georgia teems,
Cheered with the genial sun's directer beams ;
There the wild vine to culture learns to yield,
And purple clusters ripen through the field.
Now bid thy merchants bring thy wine no more,
Or from th' Iberian or the Tuscan shore :
No more they need th' Hungarian vineyards drain,
And France herself may drink her best Champaigne
Behold ! at last, and in a subject land,
Nectar sufficient for thy large demand ;
Preface.
175
Delicious nectar, powerful to improve
Our hospitable mirth and social love :
This for thy jovial sons. — Nor less the care
Of thy young proVince, to oblige the Fair ;
Here tend the silk worm in the verdant shade,
The frugal matron and the blooming maid."
From the whole, we doubt not the reader will look upon
us as sufficiently punished for our credulity. And indeed,
who would not have been catched with such promises, such
prospects ? What might not the poor man flatter himself
with, from such an alteration in his situation 1 And how
much more might a gentleman expect from a plentiful stock
of his own, and numbers of servants to set up with ? Could
a person with the least faith, have questioned the committing
his interests to such guardians, and such a tender father as
Mr. Oglethorpe was believed to be ? Whether he has acted
that generous, that humane, that fatherly part, the following
narrative must determine.
As for those poetical licenses touching the wine and silk,
we do not transcribe them as a reflection upon the author,
but as a satire upon the mismanagement of those manufac¬
tures, since no measures were taken that seemed really
intended for their advancement.
We no wise question the possibility of advancing such
improvements in Georgia, with far less sums of money,
properly applied, than the public has bestowed. But not
even the flourishing of wine and silk, can make a colony of
British subjects happy, if they are deprived of the liberties
and properties of their birthright.
We have endeavored to the utmost to be tender of char¬
acters ; but as we undertake to write an account of facts and
truths, there is no help for it, when those facts and truths
press home.
It is a common satisfaction to sufferers, to expose to the
public, the rocks upon which they split, and the misfortunes
by which they suffered; and it may well be allowed us, to
publish the causes to which we attribute the ruin of that set¬
tlement and ourselves ; and more especially as we are pros¬
ecutors for justice from higher powers, which we doubt not
receiving as the case deserves.
We hope the truth of the following narrative will recom¬
mend itself to the perusal of the candid reader. The fatal
truths of this tragedy hath already been sealed with the
176 Preface.
death of multitudes of our fellow-creatures ; but still (thanks
to the providence of the Almighty,) some survive to a es
and confirm the truth of what is herein contained, against
any persons or names, however great, however powerlul.
Our circumstances and sincerity will excuse our want ol that
politeness and accuracy of style which might have repre¬
sented our case to greater advantage to the courteous
reader, whom we shall no longer detain trom the subject in
hand.
a
TRUE AND HISTORICAL NARRATIVE.
Nothing is more difficult for authors, than to divest them¬
selves of bias and partiality, especially when they themselves
are parties or sufferers in the affair treated of.
It is possible, this may be supposed the case with us, the
publishers of this narrative; it may be imagined that the
hardships, losses and disappointments we have met with in
the colony of Georgia, will naturally sour our humors, and
engage us to represent every thing in the worst light.
As the probability of those surmises is very obvious to us,
we have, to the utmost of our power, guarded against the
weak side of ourselves; and to convince the world of our
sincerity, shall no further descend into the grievances of par¬
ticular persons, than is absolutely requisite for making our
general narrative intelligible; and to a faithful detail of public
vouchers, records, extracts, missives, memorials, and repre¬
sentations, shall only adjoin so much of history as may be
necessary to recount the most material events, and complete
the connexion.
We are hopeful, that an information founded upon the
strictest truth, will effectually introduce any further steps that
Providence shall enable us to take towards procuring the re¬
dress of our grievances. While we had the least hopes of
redress from our immediate superiors and patrons, we would
not, and when we began to despair of relief by that channel,
we durst not, make application to any other tribunal, unless
we would expose ourselves to the dreadful effects of the re¬
sentment of those who had before reduced us to poverty by
oppression. And indeed, in all the applications we made for
redress, we were brow-beat, obstructed, threatened, and
branded with opprobrious names, such as proud, idle, lazy,
discontented, and mutinous people, and several other appel-
vol. ii. 23
178 A True and Historical Narrative, $-c.
lations of that kind ; and were always afterwards harassed
by all means whatsoever, several instances of which will ap¬
pear to the reader in the sequel.
Our late retreat from that confinement, to a land of liberty,
puts it in our power to speak the truth ; and though our
endeavors are too late to relieve the dead, the dying, and
those many now dispersed in all the corners of his Majesty's
dominions, yet they may be the means of ushering in sym¬
pathy and assistance to the survivors, and. to multitudes of
widows and orphans of the deceased, from the humane and
generous.
As our sole design is to give a plain narrative of the estab¬
lishment and progress of the colony of Georgia, from its rise
to its present period, we shall court no other ornaments than
those of truth and perspicuity, and shall endeavor to carry
the reader's attention regularly, from the first to the last mo¬
tions we make mention of.
In the year 1732, his Majesty was pleased to erect, by his
royal charter, into a separate province, distinct from South
Carolina, that space of land lying between the rivers Savan¬
nah and Alatamaha, under the name of Georgia.
As this gracious charter is the basis and foundation of all
the transactions relating to this province, which have so much
amused and perplexed the world, and which our endeavor is
to set in a true light, we cannot dispense with inserting the
charter at large, which we are confident, for many reasons,
will be acceptable to the reader.
" George the Second, by the grace of God, of Great
Britain, France, and Ireland,King,Defender of theFaith,&c.
To all to whom these presents shall come, gieeting. Whereas
we are credibly informed, that many of our poor subjects are,
through misfortunes and want of employment, reduced to
great necessity, insomuch as by their labor they are not able
to provide a maintenance for themselves and families; and if
they had means to defray their charges of passage, and other
expenses incident to new settlements, they would be glad to
settle in any of our provinces in America; where, by culti¬
vating the lands at present waste and desolate, they might
not only gain a comfortable subsistence for themselves and
families, but also strengthen our colonies, and increase the
trade, navigation, and wealth of these our realms. And
whereas our provinces in North America have been fre-
A True and Historical Narrative, &c.
179
quently ravaged by Indian enemies; more especially that of
South Carolina, which in the late war, by the neighboring
savages, was laid waste by fire and sword, and great numbers
of the English inhabitants miserably massacred ; and our liv¬
ing subjects who now inhabit there, by reason of the small-
ness of their numbers; will, in case of a new war, be exposed
to the late calamities ; inasmuch as their whole southern fron¬
tier continueth unsettled, and lieth open to the said savages;
and whereas we think it highly becoming our Crown and
royal dignity, to protect all our loving subjects, be they never
so distant from us; to extend our fatherly compassion even to
the meanest and most infatuate of our people, and to relieve
the wants of our above mentioned poor subjects ; and that
it will be highly conducive for accomplishing those ends,
that a regular colony of the said poor people be settled
and established in the southern territories of Carolina; and
whereas we have been well assured, that if we would be
graciously pleased to erect and settle a corporation, for the
receiving, managing and disposing of the contributions of our
loving subjects; divers persons would be induced to contri¬
bute to the purposes aforesaid. Know ye therefore, that we
have, for the consideration aforesaid, and for the better and
more orderly carrying on the said good purposes, of our spe¬
cial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, willed, or¬
dained, constituted and appointed, and by these presents, for
us, our heirs and successors, do will, ordain, constitute, declare
and grant, that our right trusty and well beloved John Lord
Viscount Purcival, of our Kingdom of Ireland, our trusty and
well beloved Edward Digby, George Carpenter, James Ogle¬
thorpe, George Heathcote, Thomas Tower, Robert Moor,
Robert Hucks, Roger Holland, William Sloper, Francis Eyles,
John Laroche, James Vernon, William Beletha, Esqrs., A. M.,
John Burton, B. D., Richard Bundy, A. M., Arthur Beaford,
A. M., Samuel Smith, A. M., Adam Anderson, and Thomas
Coram, gentlemen, and such other persons as shall be elect¬
ed in the manner herein after mentioned, and their success¬
ors to be elected in the manner herein after directed, be, and
shall be one body politic and corporate, in deed and in name,
by the name of The Trustees for establishing the Colony of
Georgia in America; and them and their successors by the
same name, we do, by these presents, for us, our heirs and
successors, really and fully make, ordain, constitute and de-
180 A True and Historical Narrative, frc.
clare, to be one body politic in deed and in name forever;
and that by the same name, they and their successors, shall
and may have perpetual succession ; and that they and their
successors, by that name, shall and may forever hereafter, be
persons able and capable in the law, to purchase, have, take,
receive and enjoy, to them and their successors, any manors,
messuages, lands, tenements, rents, advowsons, liberties, priv¬
ileges, jurisdictions, franchises, and other hereditaments what¬
soever, lying and being in Great Britain, or any part thereof,
of whatsoever nature, kind or quality, or value they be, in fee
and in perpetuity ; not exceeding the yearly value of one
thousand pounds, beyond reprises ; also estates for lives and
for years ; and all other manner of goods, chattels and things
whatsoever they be; for the better settling and supporting,
and maintaining the said colony, and other uses aforesaid ;
and to give, grant, let and demise the said manors, messua¬
ges, lands, tenements, hereditaments, goods, chattels and
things whatsoever aforesaid, by lease or leases, for term of
years, in possession at the time of granting thereof, and not in
reversion, not exceeding the term of thirty-one years, from the
time of granting thereof; on which in case no fine be taken,
shall be reserved the full ; and in case a fine be taken, shall
be reserved at least a moiety of the value that the same shall
reasonably and bona fide, be wrorth at the time of such de¬
mise ; and that they and their successors, by the name afore¬
said, shall and may forever hereafter, be persons able, capable
in the law7, to purchase, have, take, receive and enjoy, to them
and their successors, any lands, territories, possessions, tene¬
ments, jurisdictions, franchises and hereditaments whatsoever,
lying and being in America, of what quantity, quality or value
whatsoever they be, for the better settling and supporting,
and maintaining the said colony; and that by the name afore¬
said they shall and may be able to sue and be sued, plead
and be impleaded, answer and be answered unto, defend and
be defended in all courts and places whatsoever, and before
whatsoever judges, justices and other officers, of us, our heirs
and successors, in all and singular actions, plaints, pleas, mat¬
ters, suits and demands, of what kind, nature or quality so¬
ever they be; and to act and do all other matters and things
in as ample manner and form as any other our liege subjects
of this realm of Great Britain, and that they and their suc¬
cessors forever hereafter, shall and may have a common seal
A True and Historical Narrative, fyc. 181
to serve, for the causes and businesses of them and their suc¬
cessors ; and that it shall and may be lawful for them and
their successors, to change, break, alter and make new the
said seal, from time to time and at their pleasure, as they shall
think best. And we do further grant, for us, our heirs and
successors, that the said corporation and the common coun¬
cil of the said corporation hereinafter by us appointed, may
from time to time, and at all times, meet about their affairs
when and where they please, and transact and carry on the
business of the said corporation. And for the better execu¬
tion of the purposes aforesaid, we do, by these presents, for
us, our heirs, and successors, give and grant to the said cor¬
poration, and their successors, that they and their successors
forever, may upon the third Thursday in the month of March
yearly, meet at some convenient place to be appointed by the
said corporation, or major part of them who shall be present
at any meeting of the said corporation, to be had for the ap¬
pointing of the said place; and that they or two thirds of
such of them that shall be present at such yearly meeting, and
at no other meeting of the said corporation, between the hours
of ten in the morning and four in the afternoon of the same
day, choose and elect such person or persons to be members
of the said corporation, as they shall think beneficial to the
good designs of the said corporation. And our further will
and pleasure is, that if it shall happen that any person herein¬
after by us appointed, as the common council of the said cor¬
poration, or any persons to be elected or admitted members
of the said common council in the manner hereafter directed,
shall die, or shall by writing under his and their hands re¬
spectively resign his or their office or offices of common
council man or common council men; the said corporation,
or the major part of such of them as shall be present, shall
and may at such meeting, on the said third Thursday in
March yearly, in manner as aforesaid, next after such death
or resignation, and at no other meeting of the said corporation,
into the room or place of such person or persons so dead or
so resigning, elect and choose one or more such person or
persons, being members of the said corporation, as to them
shall seem meet: and our will is, that all and every the per¬
son or persons which shall from time to time hereafter be
elected common council men of the said corporation as afore¬
said, do and shall, before he or they act as common coun-
182 A True and Historical Narrative, ^c.
cil men of the said corporation, take an oath for the faithful
and due execution of their office ; which oath the president
of the said corporation for the time being, is hereby author¬
ized and required to administer to such person or persons
elected as aforesaid. And our will and pleasure is, that the
first president of the said corporation is and shall be our
trusty and well-beloved, the said John Lord Viscount Purci¬
val ; and that the said president shall, within thirty days after
the passing this charter, cause a summons to be issued to the
several members of the said corporation herein particularly
named, to meet at such time and place as he shall appoint,
to consult about and transact the businesses of the said corpo¬
ration. And our will and pleasure is, and we, by these
presents, for us, our heirs and successors, grant, ordairt and
direct, that the common council of this corporation shall con¬
sist of fifteen in number; and we do, by these presents,
nominate, constitute and appoint our right trusty and well-
beloved John Lord Viscount Purcival, our trusty and beloved
Edward Digby, George Carpenter, James Oglethorpe,
George Heathcote, Thomas Laroche, James Vernon, Wil¬
liam Beletha, Esqrs., and Stephen Hales, Master of Arts, to
be the common council of the said corporation, to continue
in the said office during their good behavior. And whereas
it is our royal intention, that the members of the said corpo¬
ration should be increased by election, as soon as conven¬
iently may be, to a greater number than is hereby nominated;
Our further will and pleasure is, and we do hereby, for us,
our heirs and successors, ordain and direct, that from the
time of such increase of the members of the said corpora¬
tion, the number of the common council shall be increased
to twenty-four; and that the same assembly at which such
additional members of the said corporation shall be chosen,
there shall likewise be elected, in the manner herein before
directed for the election of common council men, nine per¬
sons to be the said common council men, and to make up
the number twenty-four. And our further will and pleasure
is, that our trusty and well-beloved Edward Digby, Esq.,
shall be the first chairman of the common council of the said
corporation; and that the said Lord Viscount Purcival shall
be and continue president of the said corporation ; and that
the said Edward Digby shall be and continue chairman of
the common council of the said corporation, respectively,
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 183
until the meeting which shall be had next and immediately
after the first meeting of the said corporation, or of the com¬
mon council of the said corporation respectively, and no
longer: at which said second meeting, and every other sub¬
sequent and future meeting of the said corporation, or of the
common council of the said corporation respectively, in order
to preserve an indifferent rotation of the several officers of
president of the corporation, and of chairman of the common
council of the said corporation; we do direct and ordain,
that all and every the person and persons members of the
said common council for the time being, and no other, being
present at such meetings, shall severally and respectively in
their turns, preside at the meetings which shall from time to
time be held of the said corporation, or of the common
council of the said corporation respectively. And in case
any doubt or question shall at any time arise touching or
concerning the right of any member of the said common
council to preside, at any meeting of the said corporation, or
at the common council of the said corporation, the same shall
respectively be determined by the major part of the said cor¬
poration, or of the common council of the said corporation
respectively, who shall be present at such meeting. Pro¬
vided always, that no member of the said common council
having served in the offices of president of the said corpora¬
tion, or of chairman of the common council of the said cor¬
poration, shall be capable of being or of serving as president
or chairman at any meeting of the said corporation or com¬
mon council of the said corporation, next and immediately
ensuing that in which he so served as president of the said
corporation, or chairman of the said common council of the
said corporation respectively ; unless it shall so happen, that
at any such meeting of the said corporation there shall not
be any other member of the said common council present.
And our will and pleasure is, that at all and every of the
meetings of the said corporation, or of the common council of
the said corporation, the president or chairman for the time
being, shall have a voice, and shall vote and shall act as a
member of the said corporation, or of the common council
of the said corporation, at such meeting; and in case of any
equality of votes, the said president or chairman for the time
being, shall have a lasting vote. And our further will and
pleasure is, that no president of the said corporation, or
184 A True and Historical Narrative, &c.
chairman of the common council of the said corporation, or
member of the said common council or corporation, by us by
these presents appointed, or hereafter from time to time to
be elected and appointed in manner aforesaid, shall have,
take or receive, directly or indirectly any salary, fee, perqui¬
site, benefit or profit whatsoever, for or by reason of his or
their serving the said corporation, or common council of the
said corporation, or president, chairman, or common council
man, or as being a member of the said corporation. And
our will and pleasure is, that the said herein before appointed
president, chairman or common council men, before he and
they act respectively as such, shall severally take an oath for
the faithful and due execution of their trust, to be adminis¬
tered to the president by the Chief Baron of our Court of
Exchequer, for the time being, and by the president of the
said corporation to the rest of the common council, who are
hereby authorized severally and respectively to administer
the same. And our will and pleasure is, that all and every
person and persons who shall have, in his or their own name
or names, or in the name or names of any person or persons
in trust for him or them, or for his or their benefit, any office,
place or employment of profit, under the said corporation,
shall be incapable of being elected a member of the said
corporation; and if any member of the said corporation,
during such time as he shall continue a member thereof,
shall in his own name, or in the name of any person or per¬
sons in trust for him, or for his benefit, have, hold, exercise,
accept, possess or enjoy any office, place or employment of
profit under the said corporation, or under the common
council of the said corporation; such member shall from the
time of his having, holding, exercising, accepting, possessing
and enjoying such office, place and employment of profit,
cease to be a member of the said corporation. And we do,
for us, our heirs and successors, grant unto the said corpora¬
tion and their successors, that they and their successors, or
the major part of such of them as shall be present at any
meeting of the said corporation, convened and assembled for
that purpose by a convenient notice thereof, shall have power
from time to time and at all times hereafter, to authorize and
appoint such persons as they shall think fit, to take subscrip¬
tions, and to gather and collect such moneys as shall be by
any person or persons contributed for the purposes aforesaid,
A True and Historical Narrative, &c.
185
and shall and may revoke arid make void such authorities
and appointments as often as they shall see cause so to do.
And we do hereby, for us, our heirs and successors, ordain
and direct, that the said corporation every year lay an account
in writing before the chancellor or speaker, or commissioners
for the custody of the great seal of Great Britain, of us, our
heirs and successors, the Chief Justice of the Court of King's
Bench, the Master of the Rolls, the Chief Justice of the Court
of Common Pleas, and the Chief Baron of the Exchequer,
of us, our heirs and successors, for the time being, or any
two of them, of all moneys and effects by them received or
expended for the carrying on the good purposes'aforesaid.
And we do hereby, for us, our heirs and successors, give and
grant unto the said corporation. and their successors, full
power and authority to constitute, ordain and make such and
so many by-laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances, as to
them or the greater part of them, at their general meeting for
that purpose, shall seem necessary and convenient for the
well ordering and governing of the said corporation, and the
said by-laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances, or any of
them, to alter and annul as they or the major part of them
then present shall see requisite; and in and by such by-laws,
rules, orders and ordinances, to set, impose and inflict rea¬
sonable pains and penalties upon any offender or offenders
who shall transgress, break or violate the said by-laws, con¬
stitutions, orders and ordinances, so made as aforesaid, and
to mitigate the same as they or the major part of them then
present shall think convenient; which said pains and penal¬
ties shall and may be levied, sued for, taken, retained and
recovered by the said corporation and their successors, by
their officers and servants from time to time to be appointed
for that purpose, by action of debt, or by any other lawful
ways or means, to the use and behoof of the said corpora¬
tion and their successors; all and singular which by-laws,
constitutions, orders and ordinances, so as aforesaid to be
made, we will, shall be duly observed and kept, under the
pains and penalties therein to be contained, so always, as the
said by-laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances, pains and
penalties, from time to time to be made and imposed, be
reasonable, and not contrary or repugnant to the laws or
statutes of this our realm ; and that such by-laws, constitu¬
tions and ordinances, pains arid penalties, from time to time
vol. ii. 24
186 A True and Historical Narrative, &c.
to be made and imposed; and any repeal or alteration there¬
of, or any of them, be likewise agreed to, be established and
confirmed by the said general meeting of the said corpora¬
tion, to be held and kept next after the same shall be re¬
spectively made. And whereas the said corporation intend
to settle a colony, and to make an habitation and plantation
in that part of our province of South Carolina, in America,
herein after described ; know ye, that we, greatly desiring
the happy success of the said corporation, for their further
encouragement in accomplishing so excellent a work, have,
of our 'foresaid grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion,
given and granted, and by these presents, for us, our heirs
and successors, do give and grant to the said corporation and
their successors, under the reservation, limitation and decla¬
ration hereafter expressed, seven undivided part§, the whole
in eight equal parts to be divided, of all those lands, coun¬
tries and territories situate, lying and being in that part of
South Carolina, in America, which lies from the most north¬
ern part of a stream or river there, commonly called the Sa¬
vannah, all along the sea coast to the southward, unto the
most southern stream of a certain other great water or river
called the Alatamaha, and westerly from the heads of the
said rivers respectively, in direct lines to the South Seas; and
all that share, circuit and precinct of land within the said
boundaries, with the islands on the sea lying opposite to the
eastern coast of the said lands, within twenty leagues of the
same, which are not inhabited already, or settled by any au¬
thority derived from the crown of Great Britain, together
with all the soils, grounds, havens, ports, gulfs and bays,
mines, as well royal mines of gold and silver as other mine¬
rals, precious stones, quarries, w7oods, rivers, waters, fishings,
as well royal fishings of whale and sturgeon as other fishings,
pearls, commodities, jurisdictions, royalties, franchises, privi¬
leges and preeminences within the said frontiers and pre¬
cincts thereof, and thereunto in any sort belonging or apper¬
taining, and which we by our letter patents may or can
grant; and in as ample manner and sort as we may, or any
our royal progenitors have hitherto granted to any company,
body, politic or corporate, or to any adventurer or adven¬
turers, undertaker or undertakers of any discoveries, planta¬
tions or traffic of, in, or unto, any foreign parts whatsoever,
and in as legal and ample manner as if the same were herein
A True and Historical Narrative, &e. 187
particularly mentioned , and expressed : To have, hold, pos¬
sess and enjoy the said seven undivided parts, the whole into
eight equal parts to be divided as aforesaid, of all and singu¬
lar the lands, countries and territories, with all and singular
other the premises herein before by these presents granted or
mentioned, or intended to be granted to them the said cor¬
poration and their successors, for ever, for the better support
of the said colony; to be holden of us, our heirs and suc¬
cessors, as of our honor of Hampton Court, in our county of
Middlesex, in free and common soccage, and not in capite ;
yielding and paying therefor to us, our heirs and successors,
yearly for ever, the sum of four shillings for every hundred
acres of the said lands which the said corporation shah
grant, demise, plant or settle ; the said payment not to com¬
mence or to be made until ten years after such grant, de¬
mise, planting or settling, and to be answered and paid to
us, our heirs and successors, in such manner, and in such
species of money or notes as shall be current in payment by
proclamation from time to time in our said province of South
Carolina ; all wThich lands, countries, territories and premises
hereby granted, or mentioned and intended to be granted,
we do, by these presents, make, erect and create, one inde¬
pendent and separate province, by the name of Georgia, by
which name, we will, the same henceforth be called; and
that all and every person or persons who shall at any time
hereafter inhabit or reside within our said province, shall be
and hereby are declared to be free, and shall not be subject
to or be bound to obey any laws, orders, statutes, or consti¬
tutions which have been heretofore made, ordered and en¬
acted, or which hereafter shall be made, ordered or enacted
by, for or as the laws, orders, statutes or constitutions of our
said province of South Carolina (save and except only the
command in chief of the militia of our said province of
Georgia, to our governor for the time being, of South Caro¬
lina, in manner hereafter declared) but shall be subject to
and bound to obey such laws, orders, statutes and constitu¬
tions as shall from time to time be made, ordered and en¬
acted, for the better government of the said province of
Georgia, in the manner herein after declared. And we do
hereby, for us, our heirs and successors, ordain, will and
establish, that for and during the term of twenty-one years,
to commence from the date of these our letters patent, the
188 A True and Historical Narrative, &c.
said corporation assembled for that purpose, shall and may
form and prepare laws, statutes and ordinances, fit and ne¬
cessary for and concerning the government of the said colo¬
ny, and not repugnant to the laws and statutes of England,
and the same shall and may present, under their common
seal, to us, our heirs and successors, in our or their privy
council, for our or their approbation or disallowance ; and the
said laws, statutes and ordinances being approved of by us,
our heirs and successors, in our or their privy council, shall
from thenceforth be in full force and virtue within our said
province of Georgia. And forasmuch as the good and pros¬
perous success of the said colony, cannot but chiefly depend,
next under the blessing of God and the support of our
royal authority, upon the provident and good direction of
the whole enterprize; and that it will be too great a burthen
upon all the members of the said corporation, to be con¬
vened so often as may be requisite to hold meetings for the
settling, supporting, ordering and maintaining the said col¬
ony : therefore we do will, ordain and establish,, that the
said common council for the time being, of the said corpo¬
ration, being assembled for that purpose, or the major part of
them, shall from time to time and at all times hereafter, have
full power and authority to dispose of, extend and apply all
the moneys and effects belonging to the said corporation, in
such manner and ways, and by such expenses as they shall
think best to conduce to the carrying on and effecting the
good purposes herein mentioned and intended: and also,
shall have full power, in the name and on the account of the
said corporation, and with and under their common seal, to
enter under any covenants or contracts for carrying on and
effecting the purposes aforesaid. And our further will and
pleasure is, that the said common council for the time being,
or the major part of such common council which shall be
present and assembled for that purpose, from time to time
and at all times hereafter, shall and may nominate, constitute'
and appoint a treasurer or treasurers, secretary or secretaries,
and such other officers, ministers and servants of the said
corporation, as to them or the major part of them as shall be
present shall seem proper or requisite for the good man¬
agement of their affairs; and at their will and pleasure to
displace, remove and put out such treasurer or treasurers,
secretary or secretaries, and all such other officers, ministers
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 189
and servants, as often as they shall think fit so to do, and
others in the room, office, place or station of him or them so
displaced, removed or put out, to nominate, constitute and
appoint; and shall and may determine and appoint such rea¬
sonable salaries, perquisites and other rewards for their labor,
or service of such officers, servants and persons, as to the
said common council shall seem meet; and all such officers,
servants and persons shall, before the acting their respective
offices, take an oath, to be to them administered by the chair¬
man for the time being of the said common council of the
said corporation,' who is hereby authorized to administer the
same, for the faithful and due execution of their respective
offices and places. And our will and pleasure is, that all
such person and persons who shall from time to time be chosen
or appointed treasurer or treasurers, secretary or secretaries
of the said corporation, in manner herein after directed, shall,
during such times as they shall serve in the said offices re¬
spectively, be incapable of being a member of the said cor¬
poration. And we do further, of our special grace, certain
knowledge and mere motion, for us, our heirs and successors,
grant, by these presents, to the said corporation and their suc¬
cessors, that it shall be lawful for them and their officers or
agents, at all times hereafter, to transport and convey out of
our realm of Great Britain, or any other our dominions, into
the said province of Georgia, to be there settled, and so many
of our loving subjects, or any foreigners that are willing to
become our subjects and live under our allegiance in the said
colony, as shall be willing to go to inhabit or reside there,
with sufficient shipping, armor, weapons, powder, shot, ord-
nance, munition, victuals, merchandise and wares, as are es¬
teemed by the wild people, clothing, implements, furniture,
cattle, horses, mares, and all other things necessary for the said
colony, and for the use and defence, and trade with the people
there, and in passing and returning to and from the same.
Also we do, for ourselves and successors, declare, by these
presents, that all and every the persons which shall happen
to be born within the said province, ^nd every of their child¬
ren and posterity, shall have and enjoy all liberties, franchises
and immunites of free denizens and natural born subjects,
within any of our dominions, to all intents and purposes, as
if abiding and born wdthin this our kingdom of Great Britain,
or any other dominion. And for the greater ease and en-
190 A True and Historical Narrative, fyc.
couragement of our loving subjects, and such others as shall
come to inhabit in our said colony, we do, by these presents,
for us, our heirs and successors, grant, establish and ordain,
that for ever hereafter, there shall be a liberty of conscience
allowed in the worship of God, to all persons inhabiting
or which shall inhabit or be resident within our said pro¬
vince, aqd that all such persons, except papists, shall have
a free exercise of religion; so they be contented with the
quiet and peaceable enjoyment of the same, not giving
offence or scandal to the government. And our*further
will and pleasure is, and we do hereby, for us, our heirs
and successors, declare and grant, that it shall and may be
lawful for the said common council, or the major part of them,
assembled for that purpose, in the name of the corporation,
and under the common seal, to distribute, convey, assign
and set over such particular portions of lands, tenements and
hereditaments by these presents granted to the said corpora¬
tion, unto such of our loving subjects naturally born or
denizens, or others, that shall be willing to become our sub¬
jects, and live under our allegiance in the said colony, upon
such terms, and for such estates, and upon such rents, reser¬
vations and conditions as the same may be lawfully granted,
and as to the said common council, or the major part of them
so present, shall seem fit and proper. Provided always, that
no grants shall be made of any part of the said lands unto
any person being a member of the said corporation, or to
any other person in trust for the benefit of any member of
the said corporation ; and that no person having any estate or
interest in law or equity in any part of the said lands, shall
be capable of being a member of the said corporation, during
the continuance of such estate or interest. Provided also,|
that no greater quantity of lands be granted, either entirely
or in parcels, to or for the use or in trust for any one person
than five hundred acres; and that all grants made contrary
to the true intent and meaning hereof, shall be absolutely null
and void. And we do hereby grant and ordain, that such
person or persons for the time being, as shall be thereunto
appointed by the said corporation, shall and may at all times,
and from time to time hereafter, have full power and author¬
ity to administer and give the oaths appointed by an act of
parliament made in the first year of the reign of our late
royal father, to be taken instead of the oaths of allegiance
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 191
and supremacy; and also the oath of abjuration, to all and
every person and persons which shall at any time be inhabit¬
ing or residing within our said colony; and in like cases to
administer the solemn affirmation to any of the persons com¬
monly called quakers, in such manner as by the laws of our
realm of Great Britain the same may be administered. And
we do, of our further grace, certain knowledge and mere
motion, grant, establish and ordain, for us, our heirs and
successors, that the said corporation and their successors,
shall have full power and authority for and during the term
of twenty-one years, to commence from the date of these
our letters patent, to erect and constitute judicatures and
courts of record, or other courts, to be held in the name of
us, our heirs and successors, for the hearing and determin¬
ing of all manner of crimes, offences, pleas, processes, plaints,
actions, matters, causes and things whatsoever, arising or
happening within the said province of Georgia or between
persons of Georgia; whether the same be criminal or civil, and
whether the said crimes be capital or not capital, and whether
the said pleas be real, personal or mixed; and for awarding
and making out executions thereupon; to which courts and
judicaturies, we do hereby, for us, our heirs and successors,
give and grant full power and authority, from time to time, to
administer oaths for the discovery of truth, in any matter in
controversy or.depending before them, or the solemn affirma¬
tion to any of the persons commonly called quakers, in such
manner as by the laws of our realm of Great Britain the same
may be administered. And our further will and pleasure is,
that the said corporation and their successors, do from time
to time and at all times hereafter, register or cause to be re¬
gistered all such leases, grants, plantings, conveyances, set¬
tlements and improvements whatsoever, as shall at any time
hereafter be made by or in the name of the said corporation,
of any lands, tenements or hereditaments within the said
province; and shall yearly send and transmit, or cause to be
sent or transmitted, authentic accounts of such leases, grants,
conveyances, settlements and improvements respectively,
unto the auditor of the plantations for the time being, or his
deputy, and also to our surveyor for the time being of our
said province of South Carolina, to whom we do hereby grant
full power and authority from time to time, as often as need
shall require, to inspect and survey such of the said lands and
192 A True and Historical Narrative, fyc.
premises as shall be demised, granted and settled as aforesaid,
which said survey and inspection, we do hereby declare
to be intended to ascertain the quit-rents which shall from
time to time become due to us, our heirs and successors,
according to the reservations herein before mentioned, and
for no other purposes whatsoever; hereby, for us, our heirs
and successors; strictly enjoining and commanding, that
neither our or their surveyor, or any person whatsoever, un¬
der the pretext and color of making the said survey or in¬
spection, shall take, demand or receive any gratuity, fee or
reward of or from any person or persons inhabiting in the
said colony, or from the said corporation or common council
of the same, on the pain of forfeiture of the said office or
offices, and incurring our highest displeasure. Provided
always, and our further will and pleasure is, that all leases,
grants and conveyances to be made by or in the name of the
said corporation, of any lands within the said province, or a
memorial containing the substance and effect thereof, shall
be registered with the auditor of the said plantations, of us,
our heirs and successors, within the space of one year, to be
computed from the date thereof, otherwise the same shall be
void. And our further will and pleasure is, that the rents,
issues, and all other profits which shall at any time hereafter
come to the said corporation, or the major part of them which
shall be present at any meeting for that purpose assembled,
shall think will most improve and enlarge the said colony,
and best answer the good purposes herein before mentioned,
and for defraying all other charges about the same. And our
will and pleasure is, that the said corporation and their suc¬
cessors, shall from time to time give in to one of the principal
secretaries of state and to the commissioners of trade and
plantations, accounts of the progresses of the said colony.
And our will and pleasure is, that no act done at any meeting
of the said common council of the said corporation, shall be
effectual and valid, unless eight members at least of the said
common council, including the member who shall serve as
chairman at the said meeting, be present, and the major part
of them consenting thereunto. And our will and pleasure is,
that the common council of the said corporation for the time
being, or the major part of them who shall be present, being
assembled for that purpose, shall from time to time, for and
during and unto the full end and expiration of twenty-one
A True and. Historical Narrative, &c.
193
years, to commence from the date of these our letters patent,
have full power and authority to nominate, make, constitute,
commission, ordain and appoint, by such name or names,
style or styles, as to them shall seem meet and fitting, all and
singular such governors, judges, magistrates, ministers and
officers, civil and military, both by sea and land, within the
said districts, as shall by them be thought fit and needful to
be made or used for the said government of the said colony;
save always and except such officers only as shall by us, our
heirs and successors, be from time to time constituted and
appointed, for the managing, collecting and receiving such
revenues as shall from time to time arise within the said
province of Georgia, and become due to us, our heirs and
successors. Provided always, and it is our will and pleasure,
that every governor of the said province of Georgia, to be
appointed by the common council of the said corporation,
before he shall enter upon or execute the said office of gov¬
ernor, shall be approved by us, our heirs, or successors, and
shall take such oaths and shall'qualify himself in such man¬
ner in all respects, as any governor or commander in chief of
any of our colonies or plantations in America, are by law re¬
quired to do; and shall give good and sufficient security for
observing the several acts of Parliament relating to trade and
navigation, and to observe and obey all instructions that shall
be sent to him by us, our heirs and- successors, or any acting
under our or their authority, pursuant to the said acts, or any
of them. And w?e do, by these presents, for us, our heirs
and successors, will, grant and ordain, that the said corpora¬
tion and their successors, shall have full power for and during
and until the full end and term of twenty-one years, to com¬
mence from the date of these our letters patent, by any com¬
mander or other officer or officers by them for that purpose
from time to time appointed, to train, instruct, exercise and
govern a militia for the special defence and safety of our said
colony, to assemble in martial array the inhabitants of the
said colony, and to lead and conduct them, and with them to
encounter, expulse, repel, resist and pursue, by force-of arms,
as well by sea as by land, within or without the limits of our
said colony; and also to kill, slay and destroy, and conquer,
by all fighting ways, enterprises and means whatsoever, all
and every such person or persons as shall at any time here¬
after in any hostile manner attempt or enterprise the de^
vol. ii. 25
194
A True and Historical Narrative, &c.
struction, invasion, detriment or annoyance, of our said colony;
and to use and exercise the martial law in time of actual
war and invasion or rebellion, in such cases where by law the
same may be used or exercised; and also from time to time
to erect forts and fortify any place or places within our said
colony, and the same to furnish with all necessary ammunition,
provisions and stores of war, for offence and defence, and to
commit from time to time the custody or government of the
same to such person or persons as to them shall seem meet;
and the said forts and fortifications to demolish at their pleas¬
ure ; and to take and surprise, by all ways and means, all and
every such person or persons, with their ships, arms, ammu¬
nition and other goods, as shall in an hostile manner invade
or attempt the invading, conquering or annoying of Our said
colony. And our will and pleasure is, and we do hereby, for
us, our heirs and successors, declare and grant, that the gov¬
ernor and commander in chief of the province of South {par-
olina, of us our heirs and successors, for the timeTiemgrshall
at all times hereafter have the" cHief-command "of the militia
of our said province, hereby erected and established; and
that such militia shall observe and obey all orders and direc¬
tions that shall from time to time be given or sent them by
the said governor or commander in chief, any thing in these
presents before contained to the contrary hereof in any wise
notwithstanding. And, of our more special grace, certain
knowledge and mere motion, we have -given and granted,
and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do
give and grant unto the said corporation and their successors,
full power and authority to import and export their goods at
and from any port or ports that shall be appointed by us, our
heirs and successors, within the said province of Georgia for
that purpose, without being obliged to touch at any other
port .in South Carolina. And we do, by these presents, for
us, our heirs and successors, will and declare, that from and
after the determination of the said term of one and twenty
years such form of government and method of making laws,
statutes and ordinances, for the better governing and order¬
ing the said province of Georgia, and the inhabitants thereof,
shall be established and observed within the same, as we,
our heirs and successors, shall hereafter ordain and appoint,
and shall be agreeable- to law; and that from and after the
determination of the said term of one and twenty years, the
A True and Historical Narrative, $-c. 195
governor of our said province of Georgia, and all officers, civil
and military, within the same, shall from time to time be nom¬
inated and constituted and appointed by us, our heirs and
successors. And lastly, we do hereby, for us, our heirs and
successors, grant unto the said corporation and their succes¬
sors, that these our letters patent, or the enrollments or exem¬
plification thereof, shall be in and by all things, good, firm,
valid, sufficient and effectual in the Law, according to the
true intent and meaning' thereof, and shall be taken, con¬
strued and adjudged in all courts and elsewhere, in the most
favorable and beneficial sense, and for the best advantage of
the said corporation and their successors, any omission, im¬
perfection, defect, matter or cause or thing whatsoever to the
contrary in any wise notwithstanding. In witness we have
caused these our letters to be made patent. Witness ourself
at Westminster, the ninth day of June, in the fifth year of
our reign.
By writ of privy seal.
COOKS.
The gracious purposes and ample privileges contained in
the foregoing charter, are so obvious to every reader, that
we need only say, they were suitable to a most generous and
humane British monarch; and had the settlement of the col¬
ony of Georgia been carried on conformable thereto, and no
other restrictions or reservations made, than what are therein
mentioned, then would the colony at this time have been in
a flourishing condition, answerable to all those glorious ends
that were proposed and expected from it. But on the con¬
trary, laws and restrictions being made, such as were never
heard of in any British settlement, the colony is brought to
the present melancholy situation. But we shall say no more
at present on this head, than what Mr. Oglethorpe said in
Parliament relating to the charitable corporation, viz.:* The
better the design was, the more those deserve to be punished
who have disappointed the public of reaping the benefits that
might have accrued from it.
Inhabitants of all sorts, Roman Catholics only excepted,
from all parts of the world, were invited to possess this prom¬
ised land ; and large sums of money from the Parliament, as
* Vide Lond. Mag. p. 379.
196 A True and Historical Narrative, $-c.
well as contributions from private and public charity, were
collected ; the county was laid out as an earthly paradise ;
the soil far surpassing that of England ; the air healthy, always
serene, pleasant and temperate, never subject to excessive
heat or cold, nor to sudden changes.
It was particularly set forth, and with a show of reason,
enough, that this proposed settlement could not fail of suc¬
ceeding, when the nation was so bountiful; the King so
gracious ;* the trustees so disinterested and honorable, who
had, for the benefit of mankind, given up that ease and indo¬
lence to which they were entitled by their fortunes and the
too prevalent custom of their native country; and withal,
being able, by seeing the mistakes and failures of other col¬
onies, both to avoid and rectify them ; and lastly, the univer¬
sal report of Mr. Oglethorpe's matchless humanity and gen¬
erosity, who was to conduct the first embarkation, and who
was, in all appearance, to undergo the greatest hardships,
without any other view than to succor the distressed ; and
despising interest or riches, was to venture his life, his all, in
establishing the intended settlement. Glorious presages of
the future happiness of that colony ! Irresistible temptations
to those whose genius or circumstances led them to leave
their native country !
No wonder then, that great numbers of poor subjects, who
lay under a cloud of misfortunes, embraced the opportunity
of once more tasting liberty and happiness; that Jews,
attracted by the temptation of inheritances, flocked over; that
Germans, oppressed and dissatisfied at home, willingly joined
in the adventure, some as settlers, and others as servants to
the trustees; and lastly, that great numbers of gentlemen of
some stock and fortune, willingly expended part of the same,
in purchasing servants, tools, commodities and other necessa¬
ries, to entitle them to such respective proportions of land, as
the trustees had thought proper to determine, and such liber¬
ties and properties as they had reason to expect from his
majesty's most gracious charter: but how much they were
all disappointed the sequel will show. The first thing that
was done, was the circumscribing the rights and titles given
by his majesty, and making many other various restrictions,
services and conditions, impossible for any human person to
* Vide a pamphlet, entitled, A New and Accurate Account of the Provinces of
South Carolina and Georgia.
A True and Historical Narrative, frc. 197
perform; a few of which we shall here enumerate : In the first
place, there was an excessive quit-rent laid upon the land,
being a great deal more than his majesty's subjects in the
other British colonies pay, viz.: twenty shillings sterling for
every hundred acres, to be paid yearly; and if it, or any part
thereof, should be behind and unpaid by the space of six cal¬
endar months next after any day of payment on which the
same became due, then the land was forfeited and returned
to the trustees; as it likewise did upon failure in any of the
following conditions, viz.: one thousand mulberry trees al¬
ways to be growing on every hundred acres; no partnership
or company to be entered into for making pot-ash; not to
assign or transfer the land, or any part or parcel thereof, or
any estate or interest in the same, for any term of years; not
to hire, keep, lodge, board or employ, within the limits of the
province, any black or negro; and if the person holding land
should die without issue male, or his heirs at any time should
die without issue male, in that case likewise, the whole land
was forfeited and reverted to the trustees; and if any part or
parcel of any of the five hundred acre tracts, should remain
not cultivated, cleared, planted and improved after the space
of eighteen years, such part to return to the trustees. These
were the chief restrictions in all the grants of lands, which
appeared very hard even to strangers, who had not yet felt
them, and who were ignorant of the climate and nature of the
place; but when any one complained of the hardships of
them, to palliate the matter, it was given out, that negroes
were entirely useless and unprofitable; wine, silk, olives, gar¬
dens and manufactures for women and children, were the
intended improvements of the colony; that the restriction of
the rights of lands, were only temporary, to prevent the bar¬
tering or selling them by the unthinking people, at an under¬
value ; and concerning the want of male issue, it was assert¬
ed, that the trustees being duly petitioned, would grant con¬
tinuation of the land to the eldest daughter, if any, &c., upon
their good* behavior: that the laws of England, and the ad¬
ministration of justice, in the most impartial manner, and most
adapted to the nature of a free British government, should be
ever secured to the inhabitants.
The first of February, 1732-3, Mr. Oglethorpe arrived at
* How precarious must this security be to such unfortunate persons, when their
behavior must be judged of by information and representation?
198 A True and Historical Narrative, &c.
Georgia with the first embarkation, consisting erf forty fami¬
lies, making upwards of one hundred persons, all brought
over and supported at the public charge. The first thing he
did after he arrived in Georgia, was to make a kind of solemn
treaty with a parcel of fugitive Indians, who had been formerly
banished their own nation for some crimes and misdemeanors
they had committed, and who had, some months before this,
got liberty from the governor of South Carolina, to settle
there.* Some of these he afterwards carried home with him
under the title of kings, &c., and all of them have been ever
since maintained at the public charge, at vast expense, when
many poor Christians were starving in the colony for want of
bread; and we may safely affirm, (and appeal to the store-
books for the truth of it) that a larger sum of money has been
expended for the support of those useless vagrants, than ever
was laid out for the encouragement of silk, wine, or any other
manufacture in the colony.
Secondly, he prohibited the importation of rum, under pre¬
tence that it was destructive to the constitution, and an incen¬
tive to debauchery and idleness. However specious these
pretences might seem, a little experience soon convinced us,
that this restriction was directly opposite to the well-being of
the colony : for, in the first place, we were cut off from the
most immediate and probable way of exporting our timber,
(the only poor prospect of export that we could ever flatter
ourselves with) to the sugar islands, rum being the principal
return they make. In the second place, the experience of
all the inhabitants of America, will prove the necessity of
qualifying water with some spirit, (and it is very certain, that
no province in America yields water that such a qualification
is more necessary to than Carolina and Georgia) and the use¬
fulness of this experiment has been sufficiently evident to all
the inhabitants of Georgia who could procure it, and use it
with moderation. A third reason which made this restriction
very hurtful to the colony, was, that though the laws were in
force against it, (which put it in the power of magistrates to
lay hardships upon every person who might be otherwise un¬
der their resentment,) yet great quantities were imported,!
only with this difference, that in place of barter or exchange,
* They built a Bmall number of huts on a bluff called Yamacraw. Savannah now
stands on the same bluff.
t Viz.: from Carolina and New England, who would take money only.
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 199
the ready money was drained from the inhabitants: and
likewise, as it is the nature of mankind in general, and of the
common sort in particular, more eagerly to desire, and more
immoderately to use those things which are most restrained
from them; such was the case with respect to rum in Geor¬
gia.
The third thing he did was regularly to set out to each
free-holder in Savannah, lots of fifty acres, in three distinct
divisions, viz.: the eighth part of one acre for a house and
garden in the town; four acres and seven-eighths, at a small
distance from town; and forty-five acres at a considerable
remove from thence. No regard was had to the quality of
the ground in the divisions, so that some were altogether
pine barren, and some swamp and morass, far surpassing the
strength and ability of the planter: and indeed, what could
be done at any rate, with such small parcels of land separate
from one another. These lots were likewise shaped in long
pointed triangles, which considerably increased the extent of
inclosure, and rendered great part of each lot entirely useless.
But these and many other hardships were scarcely felt by
the few people that came there, so long as Mr. Oglethorpe
staid, which was about fifteen months. They worked hard
indeed, in building some houses in town ; but then tbey la¬
bored in common, and were likewise assisted by negroes
from Carolina, who did the heaviest work. But at* Mr.
Oglethorpe's going to England, the growing fame of the col¬
ony was thereby greatly increased, so that as it has been be¬
fore observed, people, in abundance, from all parts of the
world, flocked to Georgia. Then they began to consider,
and endeavor, every one according to his genius or abilities,
how they might best subsist themselves. Some, with great
labor and expense, essayed the making of tar.f This, as it
is well known to the trustees, never quitted costs. Others
tried to make plank and saw boards; which, by the great
price they were obliged to sell them at, by reason of the
great expense of white servants, was the chief means of ruin¬
ing those who thought to procure a living by their buildings
* Before he departed, a vessel with about twenty families of Jews arrived, all of
whom had lots assigned them; and likewise a vessel with forty transported Irish
convicts, whom he purchased, although they had been before refused at Jamaica, and
who afterwards occasioned continual disturbances in the colony.
t Mr. Causton, the trustees' store keeper, mostly at their charge, made a tar kiln,
which turned out to no advantage.
200 A True and > Historical Narrative, fyc.
in town ; for boards of all kinds could always be bought in
Carolina, for half the price that they were able to sell them at;
but few were capable to commission them from thence, and
those who were so, were prevented from doing it, upon pre¬
tence of discouraging the labor of white people in Georgia.
Those who had numbers of servants and tracts of land in
the county, went upon the planting of corn, peas, potatoes,
&lc., and the charge of these who succeeded the best, so far
exceeded the value of the produce, that it would have saved
three fourths to have bought all from the Carolina market.
The falling of timber was a task very unequal to the strength
and constitution of white servants; and the hoeing the
ground, they being exposed to the sultry heat of the sun, in¬
supportable ; and it is well known that this labor is one of
the hardest upon the negroes, even though their constitu¬
tions are much stronger than white people, and the heat no
way disagreeable nor hurtful to them; but in us it created
inflammatory fevers of various kinds, both continued and in¬
termittent ; wasting and tormenting fluxes, most excruciating
colics, and dry belly-aches; tremors, vertigoes, palsies, and
a long train of painful and lingering nervous distempers,
which brought on to many a cessation both from work and
life; especially as water without any qualification was the
chief drink, and salt meat the only provisions that could be
had or afforded. And so general were these disorders, that
during the hot season, which lasts from March to October,
hardly one half of the servants and working people, were
ever able to do their masters or themselves the least service;
and the yearly sickness of each servant, generally speaking,
cost his master as much as would have maintained a negro
for four yeas. These things were represented to the trus¬
tees in the summer 1735, in a petition for the use of ne¬
groes, signed by about seventeen of the better sort of people
in Savannah. In this petition there was also set forth the
great disproportion betwixt the maintenance and clothing of
white servants and negroes. This petition was carried to
England and presented to the trustees, by Mr. Hugh Stirling,
an experienced planter in the colony, but no regard was had
to it, or to what he could say, and great resentment was even
shown to Mr. Thompson, the master of the vessel in which
it went.
Whilst we labored under those difficulties in supporting
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 201
ourselves, our civil liberties received a more terrible shock;
for instead of such a free government as we had reason to
expect, and of being judged by the laws of our mother coun¬
try, a dictator* (under the title of bailiff and store-keeper,
was appointed and left by Mr. Oglethorpe, at his departure,
which was in April, 1734) whose will and pleasure were the
only laws in Georgia. In regard to this magistrate, the oth¬
ers were entirely nominal, and in a manner but ciphers.
Sometimes he would ask in public their opinion, in order to
have the pleasure of showing his power by contradicting
them. He would often threaten juries, and especially when
their verdicts did not agree with his inclination or humor.
And in order the more fully to establish his absolute authority,
the store and disposal of the provisions, money, and pub¬
lic places of trust, were committed to him; by which altera¬
tion in his state and circumstances, he became in a manner
infatuated, being before that a person of no substance or
character, having come over with Mr. Oglethorpe amongst
the first forty, and left England upon account of something
committed by him concerning his majesty's duties. How¬
ever, he was fit enough for a great many purposes, being a
person naturally proud, covetous, cunning and deceitful, and
would bring his designs about by all possible ways and
means.
As his power increased, so did his pride, haughtiness and
cruelty; insomuch that he caused eight freeholders with an
officer, to attend at the door of the court every day it sat,
with their guns and bayonets, and they were commanded,
by his ordersTto rest their firelocks as soon as he appeared;
which made people in some manner afraid to speak their
minds, or juries to act as their consciences directed them.
He was seldom or never uncovered on the bench, not even
when an oath was administered; and being perfectly intoxi¬
cated with power and pride, he threatened every person
without distinction, rich and poor, strangers and inhabitants,
who in the least opposed his arbitrary proceedings, or claimed
their just rights and privileges, with the stocks, whipping¬
post and log-house, and many times put those threatenings
into execution ; so that the Georgia stocks, whipping-post
and log-house, soon were famous in Carolina, and every
VOL. II.
* Mr. Thomas Causton.
26
202 A True and Historical Narrative,
where in America, where the name of the Province was
heard of, and the very thoughts of coming to the colony be¬
came a terror to people's minds. And now the province of
Carolina, who had, in private and public donations, given us
upwards of 1300/. sterling, seeing these things and how
the public money was thrown away, began to despise
the colony, and out of a regard to the welfare of their fel¬
low creatures, persuaded everybody they could from settling
in it. That this absolute power might be exercised without
the least interruption, the other magistrates were such, that
they either were unable or incapable to oppose it. It is true,
in December 1734, Mr. Causton met with a little interrup¬
tion ; for the Trustees then sent over to Savannah one Mr.
Gordon as chief magistrate, who being a person of a very
winning behavior, affable and fluent in speech, soon got the
good will of every body, and a great many of the people laid
their grievances and hardships open to Him, which seemed a
little to eclipse Mr. Causton; but he soon found out an expe¬
dient to remove this adversary, viz., by refusing him provis¬
ions from the store, which in a little time rendered him inca¬
pable to support himself and family, whereby he was obliged,
after about six weeks' stay, to leave the place, in order, as he
said, to represent our grievances to the Trustees, and soon
after returned to London; but he did not perform his prom¬
ise, for what reason we shall not pretend to determine; and
some time thereafter he either resigned or was dismissed
from his office of first bailiff, and Mr. Causton was appointed
in his stead. As to Mr. Henry Parker, who was appointed
third bailiff when Mr. Gordon came over, he was in the first
place, a man who had nothing to support himself and large
family but his day labor, which was sawing, and consequently
as soon as his time was otherwise employed, he must be
entirely dependent on the store for his subsistence. In the
second place, he was a man of no education, so that Mr.
Causton soon moulded him to his own liking, and infused
into him what notions he pleased. Thirdly, he was and is an
absolute slave to liquor, and he who plies him most with it
(which Causton always took care to do, and whose example
has been since followed by his successor Jones) has him,
right or wrong, on his side. As to Mr. Christie the recorder,
he was easily overruled by the other two; and the same
practice was always continued; for he who was appointed
A True and, Historical Narrative, &c. 203
third bailiff after Gordon's dismission or resignation, was one
Darn, nigh seventy years of age, crazed both in body and
mind, who died not long after his appointment, and his suc¬
cessor, R. Gilbert could neither read nor write; so that Caus-
ton had never after Gordon's departure, any opposition made
by the other magistrates to his arbitrary proceedings. If we
should allow ourselves to enter into a detail of the particular
instances of such proceedings, we should exceed much our
proposed bounds; we shall therefore confine ourselves to
two only, which may serve as a specimen of the many oth¬
ers. One is, that of Captain Joseph Watson. This person
having incurred Mr. Causton's displeasure, was indicted for
stirring up animosities in the minds of the Indians, &c. tend¬
ing to the ruin and subversion of the colony. Upon his
trial, the jury in their verdict found him guilty only of some un¬
guarded expressions, (although twice returned and hectored
by Mr. Causton, who acted both as witness artd judge in the
matter) and verbally recommended him by their foreman to
the mercy of the court, imagining or supposing he might be
a lunatic; however, as it afterwards appeared, it was repre¬
sented to the trustees that the jury found him guilty of lunacy
in their verdict) whereupon he was immediately confined
by Mr. Causton, (although sufficient bail was offered) and
kept prisoner near three years, without any sentence. But,
as we are informed this affair now lies before a proper judi¬
cature, we shall say no more of it.
The other instance is that of Mr. Odingsell, who was an
inhabitant of Carolina, and had been a great benefactor to
the infant colony of Georgia, having given several head of
cattle and other valuable contributions, towards the promo¬
ting it. This person having come to Savannah to see how
the colony succeeded, after he had been there a few days,
being abroad some time after it was night, as he was going
to his lodgings was taken up in the street for a stroller, car¬
ried to the guard-house, and threatened with the stocks and
whipping-post; the terror and fright of which (he being a
mild and peaceable man) threw him into a high fever with a
strong delirium, crying out to every person who came near
him, that they were come to carry him to the whipping-post;
and after lying two or three days in this distracted condition,
he was carried aboard his boat in order to be sent home, and
died in the way somewhere about Dawfuskee Sound.
204 A Tme and Historical Narrative, $-c.
Thus, while the nation at home was amused with the fame
of the happiness and flourishing of the colony, and of its
being free from lawyers of any kind, the poor miserable set¬
tlers and inhabitants were exposed to as arbitrary a govern¬
ment as Turkey or Muscovy ever felt. Very looks were
criminal, and the grand sin of withstanding, or any way op¬
posing authority, (as it was called, when any person insisted
upon his just rights and privileges) was punished without
mercy. Nevertheless, we bore all these things patiently, in
full hopes that the trustees' eyes would soon be opened, and
then our grievances be redressed, and still continued ex¬
hausting our substance in pursuing an impracticable scheme,
namely, cultivating land to advantage in such a climate with
white servants only, not doubting, but that the Parliament,
who yearly repeated their bounty, would make up our dam¬
ages : but alas! their bounty was applied in Georgia, rather
to the hurt than benefit of the colony, as we shall here
briefly relate. First, a light-house was set about; but before
the frame was erected it was almost half rotten, and has not
been carried on any farther, nor never even covered, which
has likewise greatly contributed to its decay ; and now that
lofty fabric, so highly useful to vessels which make that coast,
is either fallen or must fall very soon. Log-houses and pri¬
sons of various sorts, were built and erased successively, and
most part of them were fitter for dungeons in the Spanish
inquisition than British goals. Irons, whipping-posts, gib¬
bets,* &,c. were provided, to keep the inhabitants in per¬
petual terror; for innocence was no protection : and for some
time there were more imprisonments, whippings, &,c. of
white people, in that colony of liberty, than in all British
America besides. Corn-mills, saw-mills, public roads, trus¬
tees plantations, (as they were called) wells and forts, in
different places, were all set about, but, as is evident from
the event, with no design to serve the public, but only to
amuse the world, and maintain some creatures who assisted
in keeping their neighbors in subjection ; for few or none of
these things were ever brought to perfection ; some of them
were left off half finished, and of those that were finished,
some were erased (being found of no service,) and others fell
of themselves for want of proper care. To carry on the
* It was a very usual thing with General Oglethorpe, when any persons had
incurred his displeasure, to threaten to hang them.
A True and Historical Narrative, &c.
205
manufactures of silk and wine, a garden was planted with
mulberries and vines, which was to be a nursery to supply
the rest of the province. But this was as far from answering
the proposed end, as every thing else was; for it is situated
upon one of the most barren spots of land in the colony, be¬
ing only a large hill of dry sand. Great sums of money were
thrown away upon it from year to year, to no purpose ; this
was remonstrated to the trustees, and they seemed to be
sensible of the error, and gave orders to choose another spot
of ground ; but the ruling powers in Georgia took no notice
thereof. And now, after so great time and charge, there are
not so many mulberry trees in all the province of Georgia, as
many one of the Carolina planters have upon their planta¬
tions ; nor so much silk made there in one year, as many of
those planters do make : nor could they ever in that garden,
raise one vine to the perfection of bearing fruit. And here it
may be observed, that the silk Mr. O -pe carried over
for a present to Queen Caroline, was most of it, if not all,
made in Carolina. Though no proper measures were ever
taken for advancing the silk and wine manufactures, yet pri¬
vate persons made several assays towards the culture of Eu¬
ropean grapes; but even such attempts met with no suitable
encouragement from Mr. Oglethorpe, as will appear from the
following fact. Abraham De Leon, a Jew, who had been
many years a vineron in Portugal, and a freeholder in Savan¬
nah, cultivated several kinds of grapes in his garden, and,
amongst others, the Porto and Malaga to great perfection; of
this he sent home an attested account to the Board of Trus¬
tees, proposing further, that if they would lend him, upon
such security as he offered, two hundred pounds sterling, for
three years without interest, that he would employ the said
sum, with a further stock of his own, in sending to Portugal,
and bringing over vines and vinerons ; and that he should be
bound to repay the money in three years, and to have grow¬
ing within the colony forty thousand such vines, which he
would furnish the freeholders with at moderate rates.
The trustees were satisfied with the security, and accepted
the proposal, and wrote him, that they had remitted the two
hundred pounds by Mr. Oglethorpe for his use; which he
did not deny, when applied to by the said Leon for the same,
but said that he could not advance more than tw-enty or thirty
pounds, in regard he had other uses for the money; and so
that design dropped.
206 A True and Historical Narrative,
In February, 1735-6, Mr. Og pe arrived in Georgia,
for the second time, with great numbers of people, in order
to settle to the southward, where he soon after carried them.
Upon the Island of St. Simons he settled a town, which he
called Frederica; and about five miles distance from thence,
towards the sea, he placed the independent company which
he removed from Port Royal in Carolina, their former station.
On one of the branches of the Alatamaha he settled the High¬
landers in a village which was called Darien. Then he set-
tied a fort on Cumberland, which he named St. Andrews;
and some time after he caused a garrison of about fifty men
to be placed upon a sandy island (without fresh water) in
the mouth of St. John's River, opposite to a Spanish look¬
out, where possession was kept for about six months, and
several fortifications built; but at last he was obliged to aban¬
don it, after several people had lost their lives by the incon¬
veniences of the place, besides great sums of money thrown
away in vain.
Whilst things thus passed in the southern part of the pro¬
vince, Mr. Causton was not idle at Savannah ; and one would
have thought, that he made it his particular design further to
exasperate the people of Carolina. He stopped their boats
who were going up to New-Windsor; and not content with
that, he caused them to be searched, and whatever rum was
found therein, was directly staved, in pursuance of an Act,
as he alleged, entitled, An Act against the importation of rum
into the colony of Georgia. To complain of this, and to
represent the bad state of the Indian trade, a committee from
the Assembly of South Carolina arrived at Savannah in July
1736, where Mr. Og pe then was. But their coming
was of little consequence; for after this the differences and
animosities betwixt the two provinces rather increased than
diminished; and we shall only observe, that one thing is
certain, that ever since Mr. Ogle pe intermeddled in the
Indian trade, it has decayed apace, and at this time is almost
entirely good for nothing either to the one or the other
province.
Thus while the province of Carolina resented the bad
treatment they had met with from the leading powers in
Georgia against the colony in general, the poor inhabitants
were doubly unfortunate, being ill looked upon by their
nearest neighbors and friends, for the actings of their Gov-
A True and Historical Narrative, 8fc. 207
ernors, while they themselves were still the greatest sufferers
by those very actings.
Whilst Mr. 0 pe staid in Georgia, great complaints
were made against the arbitrary proceedings of Mr. Causton ;
but to no purpose: likewise several persons endeavored to
show the impossibility of the colony's succeeding, according
to its then present constitution : but if this was done in his
hearing, he either always browbeat the person or evaded the
discourse ; if by letters, he never made any answer to them,
even although he had given public orders, that every person
should give in their grievances and complaints to him in
writing, and that he would consider and answer the same.
But that we might not be entirely ignorant of his thoughts,
Mr. Causton, who always spoke his sentiments, publicly de¬
clared that we had neither lands, rights or possessions; that
the trustees gave and that the trustees could freely take away.
And again, when he was told that the light-house wanted a
few spike nails to fasten some of its braces which were loose,
and which might occasion the downfall of the whole fabric,
he answered that he would say as Mr. Oglethorpe said, it
might fall and be d d. Mr. Oglethorpe staid in Georgia
until November 1736, most of which time he spent to the
southward, and then embarked for England, leaving Mr.
Causton with the same authority he had formerly invested
him with and in the same power he then exercised, and the
colony under the same difficulties and hardships.
In March thereafter we had advice of the Spaniards' in¬
tentions of attacking the colony from the Havana. This put
the whole province in great- consternation, especially the
town of Savannah; they having neither fort, battery, or any
other place to shelter themselves in, in case of any actual
attack; therefore they immediately set about building a
wooden fort, and all sorts of people labored continually until
it was in some measure finished ; only Mr. Causton never
came to the work, but did all he could to retard it, making
light of the information, although it was sent express by
Commodore Dent, with a letter directed to the commander
in chief of Georgia ; and has since been put out of all manner
of doubt, the Spaniards having at that time four thousand
men embarked and ready to sail, if an extraordinary accident
had not prevented them.* People now seeing the little care
* They were detained eight days at the Havana, by contrary winds; (the land
forces being on board all that time) at the end of which there came orders from Old
Spain to forbear hostilities, the Convention being then agreed upon.
208 A True and Historical Narrative, tyc.
that was likely to be taken in case of a real attack ; and like¬
wise finding, to their cost, that the improvement of land was
a vain and fruitless labor with white servants only, and with
such restrictions and precarious titles, many began to with¬
draw and leave the colony, and very little was planted this
season.
And now to make our subjection the more complete, a new
kind of tyranny was this summer begun to be im¬
posed upon us; for Mr. John Wesley, who had come
over and was received by us as a clergyman of the Church
of England, soon discovered that his aim was to enslave our
minds, as a necessary preparative for enslaving our bodies.
The attendance upon prayers, meetings and sermons incul¬
cated by him, so frequently, and at improper hours, inconsis¬
tent with necessary labor, especially in an infant colony,
tended to propagate a spirit of indolence and of hypoc¬
risy amongst the most abandoned; it being much easier
for such persons, by an affected show of religion, and adhe¬
rence to Mr. Wesley's novelties, to be provided by his pro¬
curement from the public stores, than to use that industry
which true religion recommends; nor indeed could the rev¬
erend gentleman conceal the designs he was so full of, hav¬
ing frequently declared, that he never desired to see Georgia
a rich, but a religious* colony.
At last all persons of any consideration came to look upon
him as a Roman Catholic, for which the following reasons
seemed pretty convincing. 1st, Under an affected strict ad¬
herence to the Church of England, he most unmercifully
damned all dissenters of whatever denomination, who were
never admitted to communicate with him until they first gave
up their faith and principles entirely to his moulding and di¬
rection, and in confirmation thereof declared their belief of
the invalidity of their former baptism, and then to receive a
new one from him. This was done publicly on the persons
of Richard Turner, carpenter, and his son. Another instance
was that of William Gaff, who had once communicated, and
always conformed to his regulations, but was at last found
out by Mr. Wesley to have been baptized by a Presbyterian
dissenter; the same thing was proposed to him, but Mr. Gaff
not inclinable to go that length, was ever thereafter excluded
from the communion.
* According to his system.
A True and Historical Narrative, fyc.
209
2dly, While all dissenters (whereof a considerable number
was in the colony) were thus unmercifully damned, and shut
out from religious ordinances, contrary to that spirit of mod¬
eration and tenderness which the Church of England show
towards them; persons suspected to be Roman Catholics
were received and caressed by him as his first rate saints.
3dly, A third confirmation of this suspicion arose from his
endeavors to establish confession, penance, mortifications,
mixing wine with water in the sacrament, and suppressing
in the administration of the sacrament, the explanation ad¬
joined to the words of communicating by the Church of
England, to show that they mean a feeding on Christ by
faith, saying, no more than " the body of Christ; the blood
of Christ;" by appointing deaconesses, with sundry other
innovations, which he called apostolic constitutions.
4thly, As there is always a strict connection betwixt
Popery and slavery; so the design of all this fine scheme
seemed to the most judicious, to be calculated to debase and
depress the minds of the people, to break any spirit of lib¬
erty, and humble them with fastings, penances, drinking of
water, and a thorough subjection to the spiritual jurisdiction
which he asserted was to be established in his person; and
when this should be accomplished, the minds of people would
be equally prepared for the receiving civil or ecclesiastical
tyranny.
All jesuitical arts were made use of to bring the wTell con¬
certed scheme to perfection ; families were divided in parties;
spies were engaged in many houses, and the servants of
others bribed and decoyed to let him into all the secrets of
the families they belonged to; nay, those who had given
themselves up to his spiritual guidance (more especially wo¬
men) were obliged to discover to him their most secret ac¬
tions, nay even their thoughts and the subject of their dreams:
at the same time he gave charge to juries ; gave his opinion
in all civil causes that came before the court: nor could we
imagine what all this would end in: complain we might;
but to no purpose: and Mr. Causton and he went hand in
hand.
But the merciful providence of God disappoints frequently
those designs that are laid deepest in human prudence.
Mr. Wesly at this time repulsed Mrs. Sophia Williamson,
niece to Mr. Causton, from the sacrament. This young
vol. ii. 27
210 A True and Historical Narrative, fyc.
lady was by her friends put under the ghostly care of Mr.
Wesly; who was pleased to make proposals of marriage to
her: these she always rejected ; and in some little time mar¬
ried Mr. William Williamson, of Savannah, much contrary to
Mr. Wesly's inclinations ; after the said marriage, Mr. Wesly
used all means to create a misunderstanding betwixt Mrs.
Williamson and her husband, by persuading her, that Mr.
Williamson had no right to regulate her behavior as to con¬
versing with him, or attending meetings as formerly ; but at
last finding he could gain nothing upon her, and that Mr.
Williamson had forbade him any conversation with his wife
out of his presence, he took the aforesaid means, by repelling
her from the Holy Communion, of showing his resentment.
Mr. Williamson thought himself well founded in an action of
damages; and Mr. Wesly (being no longer supported by
Mr. Causton, who was highly nettled at the affront put upon
his niece, and could now declaim as fluently against spiritual
tyranny as any person) was indicted before a grand jury of
forty-four freeholders, and thirteen indictments were found
against him ; one concerned Mr. Williamson and his spouse;
the others concerning the grievances we felt by his measures,
and the exercise of his ecclesiastical functions, as above re¬
lated : these last were given in to the magistrates, to be by
them laid before the trustees, that these our grievances might
in time coming, be properly redressed, (we having no other
jurisdiction, either civil or ecclesiastical, that we could make
application to;) then the grand jury began to consider and
think, that as it was not probable a greater number of the
better sort of people could ever be legally met together; so
this was a fit time to represent their grievances and hard¬
ships to the trustees : which they did in the following manner.
" An Abstract of the Representation of the Grand Jury of
Savannah, to the Honorable the Trustees.
"We the grand jury, duly sworn on the 22d of the last
month, and having divers matters laid before us, which we
humbly conceive cannot properly be presented to this court,
because several of the said matters touch the proceedings of
the magistrates of the said court, and contain sundry articles,
setting forth many public necessities and hardships, which
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 211
can only be remedied by your honors' authority: Therefore,
we the said grand jury having examined several witnesses,
do, upon our oaths, represent to your honors the following
grievances, hardships and necessities.
" That as the inhabitants of this town and county have
been and are still subject to many inconveniences, for want
of a body of the laws and constitutions of this province; it
being exceeding difficult in many cases, both for grand and
petit juries, to discharge in a proper manner the great duties
that are incumbent on them by their oaths ; so we hope your
honors will assist us, that we may be enabled well and truly
to execute our duties as aforesaid.
" That Thomas Causton, by his arbitrary proceedings, hath
endeavored to render the power and proceedings of grand
juries ineffectual, especially this grand jury, by intruding
upon it when inclosed and about business, and using the
members thereof, with great haughtiness and ill nature, and
threatening to dissolve them.
" That the said Thomas Gauston, by his office of store¬
keeper, hath the dangerous power in his hands of alluring
weak-minded people to comply with unjust measures, and
also overawing others from making just complaints and rep¬
resentations to your honors; and the known implacability of
the said Causton, and his frequent threatening of such people,
is to many weak-minded, though well disposed persons, a
strong bulwark against their seeking redress, by making
proper complaints and just representations to you their ben¬
efactors, patrons and protectors.
" That the said Causton has made great advancements on
provisions and goods sold out of the trustees' store to the
inhabitants, contrary to Mr. Oglethorpe's promise when he
first settled this colony, and contrary, as we apprehend, to
your honors' good intentions, and greatly detrimental to the
prosperity of the colony; and that he hath refused to pay
the public debts otherwise than in provisions at those dear
rates, and sometimes bad and unwholesome, out of the public
store, whereby the inhabitants were greatly distressed, and
some have been obliged to leave the province.
" That whereas one John White, who had been committed
for felony, at the suit of William Aglionby, and he the said
Aglionby was bound to prosecute the same at next
court: notwithstanding he the said White was removed be-
212 A True and Historical Narrative, $-c.
fore that time by a warrant under the hand and seal of
Thomas Christie, and as we think, by the advice and com¬
mand of Thomas Causton ; by which means we imagine the
criminal has escaped justice, to the great encouragement of
enormous offenders, contrary, as we conceive, to the laws of
our country, the peace of our sovereign lord the king, his
crown and dignity, and particularly to the welfare of this
your colony.
" That the said Causton did greatly discourage the inhabit¬
ants of this town and county, in the measures they had
taken for the defence and safety of this place in the late
alarm from the Spaniards; for although almost every body,
masters and servants, labored continually in making a fort to
defend themselves, in case of necessity; yet he the said
Causton never came nigh the work, but by his words and
behavior did all he could to prevent it; until at last the peo¬
ple were obliged to leave off the work unfinished, contrary
to the welfare and safety of this colony.
" That the said Causton hath greatly prevented and dis¬
couraged the cultivation of lands, by his hindering people to
settle on the tracts that were allotted to them by the trus¬
tees ; whereby several people have been greatly distressed,
and some almost ruined, contrary (as we humbly conceive)
to your honors good intention, and the principal part of your
glorious undertaking.
" That the said Thomas Causton, in order to color his ille¬
gal proceedings, hath uttered words to this or the like pur¬
pose : —' We do not stand upon our feet; we do not know either
our laws or liberties, nor what the trustees intend ; a magis¬
trate cannot act to strict forms, but may dismiss matters of
petty felony in the easiest manner;' thereby claiming to him¬
self (as we humbly conceive) a dispensing power, fatal to the
liberties of British subjects, and contrary, &c.
" The want of public roads hath been greatly detrimental
to many who have settlements at any distance from this
place ; and some have lost, and are still liable to loose great
part of their crops, through the difficulty of passing to and
from their plantations.
" That the great want of servants in this town and county
doth render the freeholders thereof incapable of proceeding
with proper vigor in the cultivating their lands; and as the hon¬
orable James Oglethorpe, Esq. did generously promise, that
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 213
your honors would be pleased to give this colony continual
assistance, by sending over servants to the said freeholders
at reasonable rates: therefore, we do, with all humility, lay
before your honors the great and general want of servants in
this town and county ; not doubting your timely assistance
therein.
" That the town of Savannah stands in the utmost need
of having a good wharf and crane, for the conveniency of
both strangers and inhabitants, they being at double pains
and costs in landing and getting their goods up the bluff.
" That the light-house of Tybee, which with great labor
and (as we humbly conceive) vast expense to your honors,
remains unfinished and uncovered ; by reason of which, that
most necessary and lofty structure is subject to all the inju¬
ries of weather, and may totally decay if not in time pre¬
vented, which will be greatly detrimental to the trade, navi¬
gation and welfare of this colony.
" That the inhabitants of this town and county are at vast
expense in time of sickness, especially they who have most
servants ; it being a general misfortune, that during the hot
season of the }^ear, hardly one half of the servants are able
to do their masters any work, by reason of the violent sick¬
nesses; which hath very much prevented the inhabitants
from making improvements.
"It is without the least personal resentment to Mr. Caus-
ton, or any other person that we do, with the most profound
respect and duty, lay before your honors the foregoing
grievances, hardships and necessities; and it is not the per¬
sons or personal infirmities of any of the magistrates we
blame; but such of their actions and words as (we humbly
conceive) tends to the subversion of our laws and liberties;
and we are firmly persuaded, that Mr. Causton would not
have impaneled this grand jury, on an affair that so nearly
concerned him as that of his niece's did, if he had not be¬
lieved the several persons of this grand jury to be men of
strict integrity, and no way prejudiced against him; and as
we the said grand jury are, for the time being, appointed for
the solemn representation of truth, we humbly hope your
honors will consider this our representation, as proceeding
from a strict, impartial and sound inquiry.
- "In witness, &,c. This first day of September,
1737."
214 A True and Historical Narrative, fyc.
The original of this was signed by all the forty-four, and
sent home; but was taken no notice of by the trustees for
anything ever we heard; and we hope it will appear evident
to every judicious reader, that this jury was neither biased
nor intimidated by Causton, to the prejudice of any person
whatsoever, as Mr. Wesly asserts in his Journal, printed at
Bristol, 1739. He likewise says, there were a professed
atheist and deist in the number; but for our parts we know
of neither. But a man of Mr. Wesly's principles, who
makes no scruple of writing wilful falsehoods (as may be
seen by any body that compares this narrative with his Jour¬
nal,) and of damning every person of a contrary opinion
with himself, may, without hesitation, give people what ap¬
pellations come in his head. However, this put an end to
any further prosecution of Mr. Wesly's schemes, for soon
after this he departed the colony privately by night, and went
to Charleston, and from thence to England.
Mr. Wesly had address enough (as he says in his fore-
mentioned Journal,) to persuade several persons who were
members of the grand jury, to retract, (by some paper which
he drew up for them to sign,) their former sentiments; but
this, if it was at all, proceeded entirely from the solemn as¬
surances which he gave them, that his main design home
was to represent the grievances and oppressions which the
poor colony labored under; and upon this account was
charged with divers letters and papers from private persons,
relating to the colony ; which he undertook faithfully to de¬
liver. But as we have since found, that all Mr. Oglethorpe's
interest was employed to protect Mr. Wesly, it is no won¬
der those promises were never fulfilled ; nor indeed could it
ever be ascertained, that even the private letters which he
carried, were so much as delivered.
On the other hand, Mr. Causton ever after bore a mortal
hatred to the members of this grand jury, and took every op¬
portunity to show his resentment; and we doubt not but he
prevailed upon three or four of them to a recantation, having,
either terrified or starved them into a compliance. But we
bore these things the more patiently, as being satisfied the
trustees were gentlemen who had our interest at heart, and
who would hear and redress our gievances in due time; and
that Mr. O pe might still be a friend to the colony;
but at last we heard he had procured a regiment for its de-
A True and Historical Narrative, 8fc. 215
fence, of which he was made Colonel; and that he was like¬
wise made General and Commander in Chief over all his
Majesty's forces in South Carolina and Georgia. This news
was confirmed by William Stephens, Esq., who was'sent
over as trustees' secretary, to represent the state and condi¬
tion of the colony as it really was, and to assist and consult
with the magistrates. But Mr. Causton soon found the
means to bring over the old gentleman to his interest, or at
least to acquiesce in every thing he said or did ; for he had
still the command of the cash and stores, and Mr. Stephens
had nothing to live upon but his salary, which he could stop
the payment of at pleasure ; so our secretary remained pas¬
sive until Causton's government ended.
At last Mr. Oglethorpe comes over for the third time, in
September, with the remainder of his regiment; the other
part having come with Colonel Cochran, in May. But alas !
this regiment was of no service, otherwise than to strengthen
us in case of an attack ; for we could neither furnish them in
clothes, provisions, nor any one thing they wanted. And to
put us out of all hopes of bettering our condition, Mr. Ogle¬
thorpe was pleased to declare in the court-house of Savan¬
nah, that as long as he had any thing to do with the colony,
there should neither be allowance of negroes nor alteration
in the titles of land; and if any such thing should happen,
he would have no further concern with it. The people thus
seeing there was no hope of redress, left the colony daily;
and the trustees' credit receiving a great shock by their re¬
fusing Mr. Causton's certified accounts, and an entire stop
being put to the public store, many poor wretches died of
hunger. For at this time Mr. Causton was turned out of
all his places, and the store was ordered to be sold, in order,
as was said, to pay off the trustees' debts. One Thomas
Jones, a favorite of Mr. Oglethorpe, whose character we shall
have occasion to give afterwards, was put in his place, as
cash and store-keeper, only with a different title, viz., that of
magazine-keeper; for none but the trustees' servants were
to be supplied from it. But the contrary soon appeared ; for
the Sola bills that were sent over, were ordered to be issued
out in the names of William Stephens, Esq., Mr. Thomas
Christie, and Mr. Thomas Jones, or any two of them; but
the other two agreeing together, entirely excluded Christie,
and paid them to whom and for what purpose they thought
216 A True and Historical Narrative, fyc.
convenient, They bought New York cargoes, and any
other commodities that could be got in quantities, and put
them into the magazine, where they were sold out by Jones
in wholesale and retail, for ready money, at exorbitant rates.
This trade they have carried on ever since, to their vast ad¬
vantage ; but to the no small distress of the poor people, who
are obliged to give at the rate almost of cent, per cent, for
their provisions. Thus under the color of no store, these
two keep as open a one as ever Causton did; and by having
the public money at their disposal, the payment of all sala¬
ries and pensions coming through their hands, they are be¬
come as absolute; with this difference, that Mr. Causton's
power, in every respect, extended over the whole colony
when it was most populous, and money most plenty; but
theirs seems only to affept the wretched remains of Savan¬
nah.
We might have imagined, that the trustees were some¬
what moved with our repeated complaints, and that Mr.
Causton's removal was owing thereto. But alas ! in this we
were mistaken. Nothing (as ever we could understand,)
was laid to his charge on our account; and it was of small
benefit to us,.whether the mismanagement of money, which
was the reason of his dismission, lies at his or Mr. Ogle¬
thorpe's door. And we cannot but here take notice that
Mr. Causton's case fortifies the common observation, that
those who prostitute themselves to carry on illegal and op¬
pressive schemes, when they have once stuck in the mire,
they are forsaken by their employers, and despised by all the
world besides.
Mr. Oglethorpe staid not long at Savannah, his common
residence being at Frederica, where they had, in imitation of
us, built a few houses, and cleared some land ; but finding
planting not answer, they left it off, and as soon as the regi¬
ment came, almost every body betook themselves to the
keeping public houses; and in this manner do the few that
now remain live.
All the public work being put a stop to, and clearing of
land being found impracticable, by which most of us had
ruined ourselves, we were in a miserable condition; and all
hope from Mr. Oglethorpe being at an end, we could hardly
tell what to do. But still thinking the trustees might be
ignorant or misinformed of the present condition of the col-
A True and Historical Narrative, frc.
217
ony, we at last resolved to set forth our grievances in a short
and general representation, to be signed by all the freehold¬
ers in the colony, of which the following is an exact copy.
" To the Honorable the Trustees for Establishing the Colony
of Georgia in America.
" May it please your Honors;
" We whose names are underwritten, being all settlers, free¬
holders and inhabitants in the province of Georgia, and being
sensible of the great pains and care exerted by you in en¬
deavoring to settle this colony, since it has been under your
protection and management, do unanimously join to lay be¬
fore you, with the utmost regret, the following particulars.
But in the first place, we must beg leave to observe, that it
has afforded us a great deal of concern and uneasiness, that
former representations made to you of the same nature, have
not been thought worthy of due consideration nor even of
an answer. We have most of us settled in this colony in
pursuance of the description and recommendation given of
it by you in Britain; and from the experience of residing
here several years, do find that it is impossible that the
measures hitherto laid down and pursued for making it a col¬
ony can succeed. None of all those who have planted their
land have been able to raise sufficient produce to maintain
their families in bread kind only, even though as much ap¬
plication and industry have been exerted to bring it about, as
could be done by men engaged in an affair on which they
believed the welfare of themselves and posterity so much de¬
pended, and which they imagined required more than ordi¬
nary pains to make succeed; so that by the accumulated
expenses every year, of provisions, clothing and medicines,
for themselves, families, and servants, several hath expended
all their money, nay even run considerably in debt, and so
been obliged to leave off planting and making further im¬
provements ; and those who continue are daily exhausting
more and more of their money, and some daily increasing
their debt, without a possibility of being reimbursed, accord¬
ing to the present constitution. This being now the gen¬
eral state of the colony, it must be obvious that people can¬
not subsist by their land, according to the present establish-
vol. ii. 28
218 A True, and Historical Narrative, $~c.
ment; and this being a truth resulting from trial, practice and
experience, cannot be contradicted by any theoretical scheme
or reasoning. The land, then, according to the present con¬
stitution, not being capable to maintain the settlers here, they
must unavoidably have recourse to and depend upon trade.
But to our woful experience likewise, the same causes that
prevented the first, obstruct the latter; for though the situa¬
tion of this place is exceeding well adapted for trade, and if
it was encouraged, might be much more improved by the
inhabitants, yet the difficulties and restrictions which we
hitherto have and at present do labor under, debar us of that
advantage. Timber is the only thing we have here which
we might export, and notwithstanding we are obliged to fall
it in planting our. land, yet we cannot manufacture it for a
foreign market but at double the expense of other colonies;
as for instance, the river of May, which is but twenty miles
from us, with the allowance of negroes, load vessels with that
commodity at one half of the price that we can do; and
what should induce persons to bring ships here, when they
can be loaded with one half of the expense so near us;
therefore the timber on the land is only a continual charge
to the possessors of it, though of. very great advantage in all
the northern colonies, where negroes are allowed, and conse¬
quently, labor cheap. We do not in the least doubt but
that in time, silk and wine may be produced here, especially
the former; but since the cultivation of land with white ser¬
vants only, cannot raise provisions for our families as before
mentioned, therefore it is likewise impossible to carry on
these manufactures according to the present constitution. It
is very well known, that Carolina can raise every thing that
this colony can, and they having their labor so much cheaper
will always ruin our market, unless we are in some measure
on a footing with them ; and as in both, the land is worn out
in four or five years, and then fit for nothing but pasture ; we
must be always at a great deal more expense than they in
clearing new land for planting. The importation of the
necessaries of life come to us at the most extravagant rate;
merchants in general, especially of England, not being willing
to supply the settlers here with goods upon commission, be¬
cause no person here can make them any security of their
lands or improvements, as is very often practised in other
places to promote trade, when some of the employer's money
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 219
is laid out in necessary buildings and improvements fitting
for the trade intended, without which it cannot be carried on.
The benefit of importation, therefore, is all to transient per¬
sons, who do not lay out any money amongst us, but on the
contrary, carry every penny out of the place ; and the chief
reason for their enhancing the price, is because they cannot
get any goods here, either on freight or purchase, for another
market. If the advantage accruing from importation centered
in the inhabitants, the profit thereof would naturally circulate
amongst us, and be laid out in improvements in the colony.
Your honors, we imagine, are not insensible of the numbers
that have left this province, not being able to support them¬
selves and families any longer; and those still remaining,
who had money of their own and credit with their friends,
have laid out most of the former in improvements, and lost
the latter for doing it on such precarious titles. And upon
account of the present establishment, not above two or three
persons, except those brought on charity and servants sent
by you, have come here for the space of two years past,
either to settle land or encourage trade, neither do we hear
of any such likely to come until we are on better terms. It
is true, his Majesty has been graciously pleased to grant a
regiment for the defence of this province and our neighbor¬
ing colony, which, indeed, will very much assist us in defend¬
ing ourselves against all enemies; but otherwise does not in
the least contribute to our support; for all that part of their
pay which is expended here, is laid out with transient people,
and our neighbors in Carolina, who are capable to supply
them with provisions and other necessaries at a moderate
price, which we, as before observed, are not at all capable to
do upon the present establishment. This, then, being our
present condition, it is obvious what the consequences must
be.
"But we for our parts have entirely relied on and confided
in your good intentions, believing you would redress any
grievances that should appear; and now, by our long expe¬
rience, from industry and continual application to improve¬
ment of land here, do find it impossible to pursue it, or even
to subsist ourselves any longer, according to the present
nature of the constitution; and likewise believing you will
agree to those measures that are found from experience ca¬
pable to make this colony succeed, and to promote which
220 A True and Historical Narrative, &c.
we have consumed our money, time and labor; we do, from
a sincere regard to its welfare, and in duty both to you and
ourselves, beg leave to lay before your immediate considera¬
tion, the two following chief causes of these our present
misfortunes, and this deplorable state of the colony, and
which, we are certain, if granted, would be an infallible
remedy for both.
" 1st. The want of a free title or fee-simple to our lands;
which if granted, would both induce great numbers of new
settlers to come amongst us, and likewise encourage those
who remain here, cheerfully to proceed in making further
improvements, as well to retrieve their sunk fortunes as {p
make provisions for their posterity.
" 2d. The want of the use of negroes, with proper limita¬
tions ; which if granted, would both occasion great numbers
of white people to come here, and also render us capable to
subsist ourselves, by raising provisions upon our lands, until
we could make some produce fit for export, in some measure
to balance our importation. We are very sensible of the in¬
conveniences and mischiefs that have already, and do daily
arise from an unlimited use of negroes; but we are as sensi¬
ble, that these may be prevented by a due limitation, such as
so many to each white man, or so many to such a quantity of
land, or in any other manner which your Honors shall think
most proper.
" By granting us, gentlemen, these two particulars, and such
other privileges as his Majesty's most dutiful subjects in
America enjoy, you will not only prevent our impending ruin,
but, we are fully satisfied, also will soon make this the most
flourishing colony possessed by his Majesty in America, and
your memories will be perpetuated to all future ages, our
latest posterity sounding your praises, as their first founders,
patrons and guardians; but if, by denying us these privileges,
we ourselves and families are not only ruined, but even our
posterity likewise, you will always be mentioned as the cause
and authors of all their misfortunes and calamities; which we
hope will never happen. We are,
with all due respect,
Your Honors' most dutiful
and obedient servants.
" Savannah, 9th December, 1738.
A True and Historical Narrative, &c.
Henry Parker, 1
His I c§
Robert R G Gilbert, y
mark j a
Thomas Christie, J P
John Fallowfield,
John Brownfield,
William Woodroofe,
Patrick Tailfer,
Andrew Grant,
Robert Williams,
Samuel Mercer,
Patrick Grhame,
David Douglass,
Thomas Bailie,
Hugh Anderson,
James Williams,
Edward Jenkins,
Thomas Ormston,
Joseph Wardrope,
George Bunckle,
Adam Loyer,
Peter Joubart,
John Burton,
Robert Hows,
William Meers,
Thomas Salter,
James Bailow,
James Anderson,
William Greenfield,
Christopher Greenfield,
Thomas Young, sen.
Henry Green,
Peter Tector,
Hugh Frazer,
John Sallie,
James Carwells,
John Lyndall,
Joseph Fitzwater,
Elisha Foster,
Walter Fox,
John Penrose,
David Snook,
Edward Townsend,
John Desborough,
Gorsand,
Andrew Duchee,
James Gallway,
John Kelly,
Joseph Stanley,
Thomas Young,
Thomas Cross,
Thomas Trip,
Samuel Holms,
James Muer,
William Parker,
John Grhame,
James Papot,
John Smith,
William Calvert,
Stephen Marrauld,
Richard Mellechamp,
Isaac Young, sen.
James Dormer,
William Carter,
Henry Moulton,
Jacob Watts,
Henry Manley,
Samuel Parker,
Stephen Mounfoord,
David Gender,
James Chainsae,
James Landry,
Lewis Stamon,
William Starflichet,
Simon Rieuwere,
John Young,
Samuel Lacy,
Peter Baillow,
Peter Emry,
William Elbert,
James Houston,
Isaac Young,
Robert Hanks,
Archibald Glen,
Thomas Neal,
Stephen Tarrien,
James Smith,
Samuel Ward,
Pierre Morelle,
John Desborough, jun.
Edward Bush,
Benjamin Adams,
Charles Britain,
John Rae,
William Coltbred,
Thomas Wattle,
Thomas Bailie,
James Corneck,
James Burnside,
John Teasdale,
Giles Becou,
Francis Brooks,
John Clark,
222 A True and Historical Narrative, frc.
Richard Davis,
Thomas Tibbet,
James Dean,
George Rush,
Andrew Walker,
John Miller,
Donald Stewart,
John Dudding,
William Ewen,
Henry Loyd,
Thomas Andrews,
William Sterling,
Thomas Gantlet,
Richard Rogers.
John Amory,
In all 117.
This representation was signed with the greatest willing¬
ness by the above one hundred aud seventeen freeholders
in the county of Savannah, and only a very few of the Gen¬
eral's favorites declined to subscribe the same, so strong ap¬
peared to all of them the truths therein contained, and the
absolute necessity of such an application. The Jews applied
for liberty to sign with us ; but we did not think it proper to
join them in any of our measures. We likewise did not
allow widows and orphans to subscribe; because, as the
representation contained the absolute necessities of the col¬
ony, it might be objected to us, that they were no proper
judges. As for the people of Ebenezer, the subscribers did
particularly appoint some of their number to wait upon Mr.
Boltzius, their pastor, and to show him the representation,
which was done; and Mr. Boltzius declared, that the Saltz-
burghers were equally dissatisfied with their rights and re¬
strictions as the other freeholders, and he doubted not their
willingness to join in petitioning for redress, engaging to con¬
sult them, and to bring their answer, which he never did;
and being thereafter questioned thereupon by Mr. Anderson,
(one of the persons commissioned to commune with him as
is above related,) in the presence of several gentlemen, he,
the said Boltzius, after some frivolous excuses, confessed,
that the honorable Mr. Oglethorpe had both given them sat¬
isfaction, and engaged him to write home to Germany for a
further supply of his countrymen.
This gentleman (we observe it with regret,) has been
made the instrument of imposing upon many British subjects,
by publishing journals and letters (to which we refer,) most
inconsistent with truth.
Neither did we admit of servants to sign the same, lest it
should be objected, that they were under the influence of
their masters. By this our conduct it will appear to every
A True and Historical Narrative, frc. 223
person of impartiality, how far we were from using arts* to
extort by clamor a redress of our grievances.
A copy of the representation was immediately sent to
Frederica, and another to Darien. The last was sent to Mr.
John More M'Intosh, and under the same cover a letter to
Mr. Benjamin M'Intosh. But the first kept up the other's
letter, and sent his own with the representation to the Gen¬
eral, who immediately despatched Lieutenant George Dunbar
(who speaks the Highland language, and has a very fluent
and artful way of talking,) who, with the assistance of More
M'Intosh, and promises to the poor people of cattle, (which
they afterwards got,) with several other considerations, soon
persuaded them to sign a paper, the design of which, they
were told, was to oppose the people of Savannah, who being
enemies to the General, were petitioning against him. As
for their leader M'Intosh, he was immediately set up in a
store, and plentifully supplied with all kinds of goods, and
has often declared, that if, by acting as he did, he could live
well himself, he did not care what became of the rest of the
colony; and as for his children, they might go wander in the
woods with the Indians. As soon as it was heard that the
representation was come to Frederica, the inhabitants were
called together, and told that the people of Savannah were
going to throw off the government of the trustees, and had
associated together for that purpose; and therefore advised
them to beware of any snare that might be laid by these
people, which if they were caught in would ruin them. And
thus was the design of the representation quashed both in
Darien and Frederica. Some time after this a copy of the
representation was sent to Mr. Oglethorpe, together with the
following letter, which was wrote by an anonymous author,
which we think is partly an explanation of the representation,
and likewise a true view of the situation of the colony at that
time, with the character Mr. Oglethorpe then bore in it; and
for these reasons we here insert it. It was directed,
" To the Honorable James Oglethorpe, Esq., General and
Commander in Chief over all his Majesty's Forces in South
Carolina and Georgia, &c. at Frederica.
" Sir,—It is the common misfortune of all who act in the
* Vide trustees' answer.
224 A True and Historical Narrative, fyc.
higher stations of life, to be surrounded with flatterers, who
consult rather the humors, passions and prejudices of their
patrons, than their honor and interest. This should induce
every person in such station, who regards his own honor,
interest or fame, to lend an open and attentive ear to truth,
in whatever shape, or from whatever hand delivered. I who
use this freedom with your Excellency, being an anonymous
author, have no other bias, motive or interest in view, further
than as I am a member of the colony, and a well-wisher to
the happiness of society, unless a real and sincere regard to
your honor and welfare, and an earnest desire to restore you
to that quiet of mind and the now suspended affections of
the people, which the present state of affairs must necessa¬
rily deprive you of; it is not, therefore, of consequence to
inquire who writes, but what is wrote. I am, sir, a plain
dealer, and shall, with the greatest respect, use you with
more sincerity than ceremony; and if my arguments can
attain the desired effect, you will, I doubt not, think me your
and the colony's real friend. When a skilful physician would
relieve his patient of a disease, he traces it from the begin¬
ning, and examines the sources and progress of it, in order
that by finding out the cause, he may the more certainly
apply a remedy. In the body politic the same process is
necessary to effect a cure. The present languishing and
almost desperate condition of the affairs of this province, is
too obvious to your Excellency to need a description. Be
pleased then, laying aside prepossession and prejudice, to re¬
tire unto yourself, and examine impartially whence the
present misfortunes take rise, in order to which, let me pre¬
sent your Excellency with a view of the nation's designs in
establishing this colony; and indeed they were and are
nothing unsuitable to a British or Roman spirit, to wit; the
establishing a strong and numerous settlement as a barrier
and safeguard of British America; to employ those persons
in effecting this end who were least useful at home, and
others who from the reasonableness of the proposals, should
voluntarily proffer their service; to restore liberty and hap¬
piness to those who, oppressed by the common misfortunes
of mankind, were groaning under the consequences of those
misfortunes, and incapable to serve themselves or country at
home; and lastly, to set afoot such new manufactures as
might be most useful to support the colony, or tend to rectify
A True and Historical Narrative, fyc. 225
the balance of trade of Great Britain with neighboring na¬
tions. A design truly great, founded on the justest policy,
and practicable. To suggest that any low private design
was ever laid down, that might tend to make the adventur¬
ers slaves, or, at best, tenants at will; or that it was a concert
to leave the industry and substance of the settlers exposed
to satisfy the ambition or covetousness of an after governor,
or any particular courtier or party; or to imagine that the
honorable board of trustees, or any of them, could be capa¬
ble of such a concert; I say, sir, that such a thought were
impious. What wonder then, if numbers of persons, en¬
couraged by his Majesty's most ample rights and privileges
granted in his royal charter to the honorable trustees, for the
behalf of the inhabitants ; from the beautiful description of
•the fertility of the soil, and happiness of the climate; and
lastly, from a view that Mr. Oglethorpe, a gentleman of the
greatest humanity and generosity, was willing to sacrifice his
ease, and all those pleasures and enjoyments which his easy
circumstances of life entitled him to, in order to be the pa¬
tron and father of the distressed, and the distinguished friend
of his country, society and human nature; I say, sir, no
wonder if numbers, upon those views, embarked their per¬
sons, families and fates in such an adventure. Shall any
thing then intervene to render such a noble design abortive,
and frustrate those of their expected happiness, or your Ex¬
cellency of your deserved honor 1 God forbid!
" This colony consists of two sorts of people; either those
whom the public sent over and supported, or volunteers,*
who were not burthensome to the public; both now I look
upon in the same light; as either party have exhausted their
support or private stocks, in endeavoring to prosecute the
intended plan ; but it shall suffice for my argument, that so
many of each kind have applied themselves to this purpose,
as are sufficient to confirm the experiment, that it is impossi¬
ble for us with British or foreign servants, to afford the lowest
necessaries of life, much less to increase our stocks, or defray
the many exigencies and disappointments that this soil and
climate are inevitably exposed to. This I take to be granted;
and would to God the success of the colony depended on the
laying the most satisfying proof of it ! And as for persons
* By this word was meant those persons who settled in Georgia upon their own
expense.
vol. ii. 29
226 A True and Historical Narrative, &-c.
who, from selfish views, have imposed upon the credulity of
the honorable trustees, by representing things in colors dis¬
tant from truth, it were superfluous to curse them. I do not
say, but in time manufactures may be founded more suitable
to the strength and constitution of British servants, that
might support and enrich the colony ; I heartily pray for that
happy period; and should then condemn and dissent from
any who would not be content with the present regulation;
but as in the interim production of necessaries is absolutely
requisite, and under the present establishment impracticable,
it follows of course, that either the scheme must be altered,
or the design abandoned. At the first it was a trial, now it
is an experiment; and certainly no man or society need be
ashamed to own, that from unforeseen emergencies their
hypothesis did misgive ; and no person of judgment would
censure for want of success where the proposal was proba¬
ble ; but all the world would exclaim against that person or
society who, through mistaken notions of honor or positive-
ness of temper, would persist in pushing an experiment con¬
trary to all probability, to the ruin of the adventurers. How
many methods may be found out by the wisdom of the trus¬
tees, for remedying this inconvenience, I know not; one only
occurs to me, which is, the admitting a certain number of
negroes, sufficient to ease the white servants from those la¬
bors that are most fatal to a British constitution. I am very
sensible of the inconveniences of an unlimited use of them
in a frontier colony; but am as sensible, that those incon¬
veniences may be prevented by prudent regulations; and
their admission for executing the more laborious parts of cul¬
ture made the means to attract numbers of white servants,
who would otherwise fly the place as a purgatory or charnel-
house. If our labor and toil is not capable of producing
mere necessaries by cultivation of land, much less by trade;
for as all the neighboring colonies, by reason of their ne¬
groes, prosecute all branches of it at a sixth part of the
expense we can, they would forever preclude us of any
benefit therefrom. And supposing, what cannot be admitted,
that the nation would consent to give a perpetual fund for
making up all those deficiencies, what benefit could ever ac¬
crue to the nation ? or what to the settlers but a present bare
sustenance ? and what the certain consequence but the be¬
queathing a numerous legacy of orphans to the care of
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 227
Providence, since no period of time can be affixed when such
a support would enable us to provide for ourselves 1 A
second reason which disables us to improve either by land
or trade, is our want of credit. You know very well that both
the mercantile and the mechanic part of mankind, live more
by credit than stock ; and the man who has a probable
scheme of improving credit, is naturally entitled to it. As we
have no stock further to dispense, either in cultivation or
trade, we are reduced to need the support of credit; which
the present restrictions of our legal rights and titles to our
land deprive us of. It is true, indeed, the trustees have assured
us, that those and other restrictions are only temporary, and
for the welfare of the first settlement, until a proper body of
laws, which was upon the carpet, should be perfected ; and
I am far from disputing the reasonableness of that resolution,
while either the public support or private stocks kept us from
needing credit; but that now the case is altered, the neces¬
sity of removing those restrictions is arrived, to preserve the
remains of the colony not yet dissolved, and far too late for
hundreds wrhom necessity has dispersed in other corners of
the world: this is a truth, sir, too obvious to need further
enlargement.
" Hence it is clear, we can insist on demanding our privi¬
leges as British subjects, from the trustees' promises; but we
likewise claim them as law, justice and property. Your Ex¬
cellency was pleased in the court house of Savannah to use
a comparison to satisfy the minds of the people, of a man
who would lend his horse but not his saddle, which one re¬
fusing another accepted of. This, I humbly take it, no ways
meets the case ; the king's majesty was owner both of horse
and saddle, of lands and rights, and gave us both in his
charter; we ask but what is there given us. The reliance
on the public faith brought us to this colony : and to en¬
deavor to obviate or disappoint the effects of those promises
which tempted us here, were to justify the decoying us to
misery, under the sanction of the royal authority, than which
nothing could be more injurious to the fountain of honor. I
shall suppose, that were full and ample rights given, that
some idle persons, who had no judgment to value, or incli¬
nation to improve their properties, no affections for their fam¬
ilies or relations, might dispose of their rights for a glass of
rum; but I absolutely deny, that the colony could lose by
228 A True and Historical Narrative, $*c.
such an exchange. I own such persons were much
safer if bound, than at liberty; but where the affection of
the parent and the reason of the man die, the person is a
fitter inhabitant for Moorfields than Georgia. I must notice
further, that not only are parents incapable, for want of
credit, to provide for themselves, being necessitated to dis¬
pose of their servants for want of provisions; but if they
could, only their eldest son could reap the benefit; their
younger children, however numerous, are left to be fed by
Him who feeds the ravens ; and if they have no children,
their labor and substance descends to strangers. How, sir,
could you, or indeed any free-born spirit, brook such a tenor?
Are not our younger children and daughters equally entitled
to our bowels and affections 1 And does human nature end
with our first-born, and not extend itself to the rest of our
progeny and more distant relations ? And is it not inverting
the order of nature, that the eldest son should not only enjoy
a double portion, but exclude all the younger children? and
having an interest independent of the parents', h(*w natural
is it he should withdraw that obedience and subjection which
proceeds from paternal authority and filial dependence! The
trustees are but a channel to convey to us the king's rights,
and cannot in law or equity, and, I dare say, will not abridge
those rights. Can we suppose that we are singled out for a
state of misery and servitude, and that so many honorable
personages are instruments of it? Far be the thoughts from
us ! The genius of the British nation, so remarkably zeal¬
ous for liberty and the rights of mankind, will never suffer
British subjects, who have not fled their country for crimes,
but voluntarily proffered their service, and risked their all,
upon the confidence of the public faith and the trustees'
honor, to accomplish a settlement upon the most dangerous
point of his majesty's dominions. I say, it will never allow
such to be deprived of public promises of the natural liber¬
ties of British subjects. As we are on a frontier, where
our lives-and fortunes may more frequently come into dispute
than other people's ; our privileges and supports should be
proportionably greater; for who would venture his life to
secure no property, or fight to secure to himself poverty and
misery; and no doubt our cunning and vigilant adversaries,
the French and Spaniards would know how to make their
own advantage. The king has been very gracious, and your
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 229
endeavors generous and useful, in procuring a regiment for
our protection ; but let me add a truth equally certain, that
only the flourishing of the colony can support that regiment;
and not only the support of the soldiers, but your own honor,
glory and reputation are intermixed with the fate of the col¬
ony, and must stand or fall with it.
" To come closer to the point, please to consider the con¬
sequences of refusing the representation of the colony,
whereof your Excellency as one of the honorable board will
be furnished with a copy, and how these consequences may
affect the colony, the nation, the trustees, the military es¬
tablishment in this province, the Indians and your Excel¬
lency.
"As to the colony, the deferring hitherto the necessary
relief, has already too tragically affected it, by dispersing a
great part of the inhabitants; the remainder, in a languishing
condition, supported more with faint hopes and a continued
reliance on the honor of the nation and trustees, than vict¬
uals ; while want and meagre famine guard the door of
many, and render them equally incapable to stay or go. The
town, so beautifully situated to the honor of the contriver,
bearing the most visible signs of decay and mortality before
it is fully born ; and the once cultivated plantations now over¬
grown with weeds and brush, are so many hie jacets of such
and such persons and families ! I wish it were possible to
draw a veil over this tragic scene! But, sir, our case is more
clamant than a thousand tongues, and will reach the ears
and pierce the hearts of every true Briton. If such the
effects of delay, what will the total dissolution of the colony
produce ? Such a body of miserable people, orphans and
suppliants, will be heard by the justice of the nation ; and if
it shall appear, that the too positively adhering to an imprac¬
ticable scheme, and the refusing those obvious means that
would answer the proposed end, or withholding those just
rights which we are entitled to, have been the cause; we
should have right to recover damages from the authors of our
miseries. In all places where settlements were attempted by
the English, and found untenable, the settlers were taken
home upon public charge, their losses recompensed, and they
made otherwise useful to the community; while we are
neither allowed to do for ourselves here or elsewhere. As to
the second point, how the nation would be affected by it; it
230 A True and Historical Narrative, frc.
is first obvious, that all the noble ends and advantages they
proposed are lost, and suras of money expended to no pur¬
pose but to inform the French and Spaniards of the import¬
ance of a pass which they would not fail to possess. It were
impossible to make a second settlement upon the present
plan ; and if it is to be altered in the favors of others, why
not of us who have risked and spent our all in the adventure?
How the trustees may be affected by it in all respects, I shall
not say; a parliamentary inquiry into their management, I no
ways question but they could entirely satisfy; but all good
men will regret, that so honorable a body should lose that«
glory and fame which the prosperous success of the colony
would have crowned them with. I have •formerly asserted,
that only the flourishing state of the colony can support the
military; and indeed without a colony, it were easier to
maintain a garrison in Tangier, on the coast of Africa, than in
the south of Georgia. One regiment would little suffice to
withstand the enemy; and yet so small a handful may be
reduced to discontent, straits and wants, notwithstanding all
the bounty of a king or prudence of a general. As to the
Indians; what could we expect less than being scorned and
despised ? That they should immediately fall in with the
tempting proffers of the French and Spaniards, and so Great
Britain cut off" from that valuable branch of the Indians'
trade? For how indeed could they expect execution of
treaties or protection from people who, without the force of
any enemy, could not preserve their own schemes of govern¬
ment from falling to pieces ? How the tragedy must affect
your Excellency would be presumption in me to determine:
I only know, that to see those you honor with the name of
children, in want and misery; that settlement which should
have perpetuated your name to posterity with the greatest
honor; become the foil of all your great undertakings; and
the expectations of all the world, from your promising en¬
deavors, setting in a cloud and obscurity ; must affect your
Excellency in a way suitable to your human and generous
disposition.
" Sir, we still love, honor and respect you, (whatever low,
selfish-minded persons, the bane of society, may surmise to
the contrary) and will continue to do so, while we can have
any hopes of your pursuing measures consistent with our
prosperity. But, sir, smiles cannot be expected amidst dis-
A True and Historical Narrative, fyc. 231
appointments and wants; and there is no altering the course
of nature. Love and gratitude are the tribute of favors and
protection, and resentment the consequence of injuries re¬
ceived ; and in disappointments of this nature much more
reasonably than in those of love, do the contrary passions
take place in the same degree. What then remains,
but that you embrace those obvious measures, that will re¬
trieve our desperate affairs ; restore to us, in Mr. Oglethorpe,
our father and protector; whose honor and affection were de¬
pended upon; secure to yourself a society that love and
honors you, and who will always be ready to sacrifice both
life and .fortune to your honor and protection; and your
name with blessings will be perpetuated. If in this I have,
by a sincere and well-meant freedom, given offence, I heartily
ask pardon ; none was intended: and I only request, that,
while truth keeps the stage, the author may be allowed to
remain incog, behind the scenes.
" I am, sir, your, ,&c.
"THE PLAIN-DEALER."
This year there was promised a bounty of two shillings
sterling on every bushel of corn, and one shilling on every
bushel of pease and potatoes, raised in the county of Savan¬
nah : this induced some few to plant; but they were miser¬
ably deceived ; for few or none of them ever received their
full bounty, and not many any part thereof, (although if they
had received it twice over, it could not have answered the
end.) People being thus by a chain of disappointments and
miseries, most of them rendered incapable to subsist, and to¬
ward the end of this summer, beginning to despair of having
any favorable answer to their representation, or hopes of re¬
dress, left the colony faster than ever; and when the answer
(or rather denial) came over, they went in such numbers
that the whole province of South Carolina was overspread
with them, and in and about the town of Charleston alone,
this autumn, above fifty Georgians died in misery and want,
most of whom were buried at the public charge.
In September, a printed paper, entitled, an Answer to the
Representation, &c., was sent over, and arrived at Savannah:
and of which this is an exact copy.
232
A True and Historical Narrative, $*c.
" The Answer of the Trustees fox establishing the Colony of
Georgia, in America, to the Representation from the in¬
habitants of Savannah, the 9th of December, 1738, for
altering the tenure of the lands, and introducing negroes
into Georgia.
" To the Magistrates of the town of Savannah, in the province of Georgia.
" The trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia in
America, have received by the hands of Mr. Benjamin Ball •
of London, merchant, an attested copy of a representation,
signed by you the magistrates, and many of the inhabitants
of Savannah, on the 9th of December last, for altering the
tenure of the lands, and introducing negroes into the pro¬
vince, transmitted from thence by Mr Robert Williams.
" The trustees are not surprised" to find unwary people
drawn in by crafty men, to join in a design of extorting by
clamor from the trustees an alteration in the fundamental laws,
framed for the preservation of the people, from those very
designs.
" But the trustees cannot but express their astonishment,
that you the magistrates, appointed by them to be guardians
of the people, by putting those laws in execution, should so
far forget your duty, as to put yourselves at the head of this
attempt.
" However they direct you to give the complainants this
answer from the trustees, that they should deem themselves
very unfit for the trust reposed in them by his majesty on
their behalf, if they could be prevailed upon, by such an ir¬
rational attempt, to give up a constitution, framed with the
greatest caution for the preservation of liberty and property;
and of which the laws against the use of slaves, and for the
entail of lands, are the surest foundations.
" And the trustees are the more confirmed in their opinion
of the unreasonableness of this demand, that they have re¬
ceived petitions from the Darien, and other parts of the pro¬
vince, representing the inconvenience and danger, which
must arise to the good people of the province from the in¬
troduction of negroes. And as the trustees themselves are
fully convinced, that besides the hazard attending that intro¬
duction, it would destroy all industry among the white inhab-
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 233
itants; and that by giving them a power to alien their lands,
the colony would soon be too like its neighbors, void of white
inhabitants, filled with blacks, and reduced to be the preca¬
rious property of a few, equally exposed to domestic treach¬
ery, and foreign invasion ; and therefore the trustees cannot
be supposed to be in any disposition of granting this request;
and if they have not before this signified their dislike of it,
this delay is to be imputed to no other motives, but the hopes
they had conceived, that time and experience would bring
the complainants to a better mind. And the trustees readily
join issue with them in their appeal to posterity, who shall
judge between them, who were their best friends; those, who
endeavored to preserve for them a property in their lands, by
tying up the hands of their unthrifty progenitors; or they,
who wanted a power to mortgage or alien them. Who were
the best friends of the colony, those who with great labor
and cost had endeavored to form a colony of his majesty's
subjects, and persecuted protestants from other parts of Eu¬
rope, had placed them on a fruitful soil, and strove to secure
them in their possessions, by those arts which naturally tend
to keep the colony full of useful and industrious people, ca¬
pable both to cultivate and defend it; or those, who, to
gratify the greedy and ambitious views of a few negro mer¬
chants, would put it into their power to become sole owners
of the province, by introducing their baneful commodity;
which, it is well known by sad experience, has brought our
neighbor colonies to the brink of ruin, by driving out their
white inhabitants, who were their glory and strength, to
make room for black, who are now become the terror of their
unadvised masters.
" Signed by order of the trustees,
this 20th day of June, 1739.
"Benj. Martyn, Secretary."
We shall not in this place detain the reader, to show the
absurdity and insufficiency of the reasons made use of in the
above paper, or how improperly it is called an answer to the
representation; but refer them to the whole tenor of this
narrative. With this paper came over new commissions for
magistrates, viz. Messrs. Thomas Christie, first, John Fal-
fowfield, second, and Thomas Jones, third, bailiffs, and Mr.
William Williamson, recorder. And, as if the inhabitants
vol. ii. 30
234 A True and Historical Narrative, 8fc.
had not been sufficiently punished before, by the arbitrary
government of Causton, the two offices of store-keeper and
magistrate were again joined in one person, which infallibly
renders him (whoever he is) absolute in Savannah ; and in¬
deed, if the miseries and hardships of the people could have
received any addition, they must have done so from the per¬
son appointed to execute those offices, namely, Mr. Thomas
Jones, third bailiff, as before mentioned, who surpassed Mr.
Causton in every thing that was bad, without having any one
of his good qualifications ; and that he might the more easily
govern at pleasure, Mr. Oglethorpe thought proper to super¬
sede the commissions of Messrs. Thomas Christie and Wil¬
liam Williamson, and continued Mr. Henry Parker as first
magistrate, being sure he was a person that would always be
in the interest of whoever was store-keeper, and having no
other magistrate to cope with but Mr. Fallowfield, they were
certain of overruling him, though his sentiments were never
so just; and when the General heard that some people
justly complained, that the trustees' commissions were of
none effect, he threatened an armed force if they refused to
comply.
William Stephens, Esq.; Messrs. Thomas .Christie and
Thomas Jones, were likewise appointed to inspect into Caus-
ton's accounts; but Christie Was altogether rejected by the
other two ; nor did they ever do any thing to the purpose;
indeed, Jones would sometimes hector and domineer over
Causton, in as haughty a manner as ever he had formerly
done over the meanest person in Savannah.
Although the trustees say in their answer to the represen¬
tation, that they should think themselves very unfit for the
trust reposed in them, should they by an irrational attempt
alter the entail of lands; yet not one month after we had
received the aforesaid answer, over comes the following pa¬
per, viz.
" The Resolutions of the Trustees for establishing the Colo¬
ny of Georgia, in America, in Common Council assem¬
bled this 28th day of August, in the year of our Lord
1739 ,* relating to the grants and tenure of lands within
the said Colony. (')
" Whereas the common council of the said trustees, as-
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 235
sembled for that purpose, in the name.of the corporation of
the said trustees, and under their common seal, have, in
pursuance of his majesty's most gracious letters patent, and
in execution of the trusts thereby reposed in them, granted
and conveyed divers portions of the lands, tenements and
hereditaments in the said letters patent mentioned, to many
of his majesty's loving subjects, natural born, and denizens,
and others willing to become his subjects, and to live under
allegiance to his majesty in the said colony, to hold to them
respectively, and to the heirs male of their respective bodies,
lawfully begotten, or to be begotten, under the several rents,
reservations, conditions and provisos therein contained; and
whereas it hath been represented to the said trustees, that
many of the persons to whom such grants have been made,
have no issue male of their respective bodies, and that an
alteration in the grants and tenure of the said lands, upon
failure of such issue, and likewise a known certain provision
for the widows of tenants in tail male, would not only en¬
courage all such persons cheerfully to go on with their seve¬
ral improvements, but also be an inducement and -means of
inviting divers other persons to resort to, and settle in the
said colony, and greatly tend to the cultivation of the lands,
the increase of the people, and the defence, strength and
security of the said colony; which the said trustees most
earnestly desire to promote, as far as in them lies: ft is
therefore this day unanimously resolved by the common
council of the said corporation, assembled for that purpose,
that the grants of lands or tenements within the said colony
heretofore made and hereafter to be made by the said trus¬
tees to any person or persons whatsoever, shall be altered,
made and established in manner and form following; that is
to say, that
" If tenant in tail male of lands or tenements in the said
colony, not having done or suffered any act, matter or thing,
whereby his estate therein may be forfeited or determined,
shall happen to die, leaving a widow and one or more child
or children; that then, and in such case, the widow of such
tenant shall hold and enjoy the dwelling-house and garden
(if any such there be) and one moiety of such lands and
tenements for and during the term of her life; the said
moiety to be set out and divided, in case the parties inter¬
ested therein do not agree within the space of three months,
236 A Tnie and Historical Narrative, &c.
by the magistrates of the town-court in Georgia nearest
thereunto, or any one of them. And in case such division
be made by one of such magistrates only, then any person
or persons finding-him, her or themselves aggrieved thereby,
may, within the space of three months, appeal to the other
three magistrates of the said town-court, whose determina¬
tion thereof shall be final. And if such tenant shall happen
to die, leaving only a widow, and no child or children, then
that such widow shall hold and enjoy the said dwelling-
house, garden, and all such lands and tenements, for and
during the term of her life. And in case the widow of any
such tenant, whether he die without issue by her or not,
shall marry again after his decease, then such person to
whom she shall be so married, shall, within the space of twelve
months after such marriage, give security to the said trus¬
tees, and their successors, whether personal or otherwise,
agreeable to such instructions as shall be given by the com¬
mon council of the said trustees, for maintaining and keeping
in repair, during such marriage, the said dwelling-house,
garden, and other the premises to which she shall be so en¬
titled in right of her former husband: and if such security
shall not be given in manner aforesaid, within the space of
twelve months after such marriage, that then, and in such
case, the provision hereby made, or intended to be made for
the benefit of such widow, shall cease, determine and be ab¬
solutely void, to all intents and purposes ; and the said
dwelling-house and garden, and all and singular the prem¬
ises, shall be and enure to such child or children or to such
other person or persons, who would be entitled to the same,
in case the said widow was naturally dead.
" And if tenant in tail male of lands or tenements in the
said colony, not having done or suffered any act, matter or
thing, whereby his or her estate therein may be forfeited or
determined, shall happen to die, leaving one or more daugh¬
ter, or daughters, and no issue male; then that such lands
and tenements, if not exceeding eighty acres, shall be holden
in tail male by any one of the daughters of such tenant; and
if exceeding eighty acres, by any one or more of the daugh¬
ters of such tenant in tail male, as such tenant shall by his or
her last will and testament in writing, duly executed in the
presence of three or more credible witnesses, direct and ap¬
point ; and in default of such direction or appointment, then
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 237
that such lands and tenements shall be holden in tail male by
the eldest of such daughters ; and in default of issue male
and female, either born in the life-time of such tenant in tail
male, or within nine months after his decease, then that such
lands and tenements, if not exceeding eighty acres, shall be
holden in 'tail male by any one such person; and if exceed¬
ing eighty acres, by any one or more such person or persons,
as such tenant in tail male by his or her last will and testa¬
ment, in writings executed as aforesaid, shall direct and ap¬
point, and in default of such direction or appointment, then
that such lands and tenements shall be holden in tail male by
the heir at law of such tenant; subject nevertheless, in all
and every the said cases, to such right of the widow (if any)
as aforesaid ; provided that such daughter or daughters, and
all and every such person or persons so entitled to hold and
enjoy any such lands and tenements, do within the space of
twelve months after the death of such tenant, personally ap¬
pear, if residing in America, and claim the same in any of the
town-courts in Georgia; and if residing out of America, then
within the space of eighteen months next after the death of
such tenant. And provided also, that no devise or appoint¬
ment shall be. made by any such tenant of lands exceeding
eighty acres, in any lesser or smaller portion or parcel than
fifty acres to any one daughter, or other person. And that
no daughter, or other person shall be capable of enjoying any
devise, which may thereby increase his or her former posses¬
sion of lands within the said colony, to more than five hun¬
dred acres; but such devise to be void, and the lands there¬
by given, to descend in such manner as if no such devise had
been made. And in default of such appearance and claim,
as aforesaid, that all and singular the said lands and tene¬
ments shall be and remain to the said trustees, and their
successors for ever. Provided also, that all and every such
estates hereby created or intended to be created, shall be
subject and liable to the several rents, reservations, provisos
and conditions, as in the original grants thereof are particu¬
larly mentioned and contained; save and except so much
thereof as is hereby altered, or intended to be altered, in
case of failure of issue male, and the provision hereby made
or intended to be made for widows.
"And that in every grant hereafter to be made by the
said trustees or their successors, of any lands or tenements
238 A True and Historical Narrative, $-e.
in the said colony, all and every grantee therein named, not
doing or suffering any act, matter or thing whereby his or
her estate therein may be forfeited or determined, shall have
good right, full power, and lawful authority to give and de¬
vise the same by his or her last will and testament in writing,
duly executed in the presence of three or more credible wit¬
nesses, in manner and form following; that is to say, every
grantee of lands not exceeding eighty acres, to any one son
or any one daughter in tail male; and every grantee of lands
exceeding eighty acres, the whole, or any part thereof, but
not in lesser lots or portions than fifty acres to any one de¬
visee, to his or her son or sons, daughter or daughters in tail
male; and in default of such devise as aforesaid, then that
such lands and tenements shall descend to the eldest son in
tail male ; and in default of issue male, to the eldest daugh¬
ter in tail male; and in default of issue male and female,
then that such lands and tenements shall be holden in tail
male, if not exceeding eighty acres, by any one such person;
and if exceeding eighty acres, by any one or more such per¬
son or persons, but not in any smaller lot or portion than
fifty acres to any one person as such grantee shall by his or
her last will and testament in writing, executed as aforesaid,
direct and appoint; and in default of such direction or ap¬
pointment, then that such lands and tenements shall be holden
in tail male by the heir at law of such grantee; subject nev¬
ertheless to such right of the widow (if any) as aforesaid,
provided always, that no son, daughter or other person shall
be capable of enjoying any devise which may thereby in¬
crease his or her former possession of land within the said
colony, to more than five hundred acres; but such devise to
be void, and the lands thereby given, to descend in such
manner as if no such devise had been made. Provided
also, that such son or sons, daughter or daughters, and all
and every such person or persons entitled to hold and en¬
joy any such lands and tenements, do within the space of
twelve months after the death of such grantee, or of those
under whom they claim, personally appear, if residing in
America, and claim the same in any of the town courts in
Georgia; and if residing out of America, then within the
space of eighteen months next after such death; and in de¬
fault of such appearance and claim as aforesaid, that all and
singular the said lands and tenements shall be and remain to
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 239
the* said trustees and their successors forever. And provided
also, that all and every such estates shall be subject and liable
to the like rents, reservations, provisos and conditions, as in
the former grants of lands heretofore made, save and except
so much thereof as is hereby altered, or intended to be
altered, upon the failure of issue male.
" And it is hereby required, that public notice of these
resolutions be forthwith given by the magistrates of the re¬
spective town courts in Georgia, and also by the Secretary
of the said trustees in London, that all and every the grantees
of lands or tenements within the said colony, may enter their
respective claims, either at the Georgia office, near Old
Palace Yard, in Westminster, or in any of the town courts in
Georgia, within the space of twelve months from the date
hereof, to the end that they may receive the benefit hereby
intended, and that proper grants and conveyances in the law
may be forthwith prepared and executed for that purpose.
And it is hereby expressly declared, that no fee or reward
shall be taken for the entering of any such claim, directly or
indirectly, by any person or persons whatsoever.
" Signed by order of the said common council.
"Benjamin Martyn, Secretary A
We believe this paper will perplex most people, who have
not thoroughly studied the law, to make sense of it; and as
there were no lawyers in Georgia, it would seem as if it had
been sent over with no other end, than that it should not be
understood; and, indeed, it rather tended to add to the con¬
fusions in the colony, than to promote the benefit of it. We
can only assure the reader, that it had no good effect in
Georgia, and that it was kept up there as much as possible
from the people, only a fictitious abridgment thereof, with
the same title and the same way signed, being publicly ex¬
hibited in writing; but this was a needless caution, for not
one in twenty of them would have understood any one par¬
agraph of it. In October, 1739, the General issues out his
proclamation for granting letters of marque and reprisals;
and the inhabitants being called together, in the court house,
he there makes them a very elaborate speech, and, amongst
other things, tells them, that he was designed against St.
Augustine, and if he did not take it, he would leave his bones
before the walls thereof. But he is now at Frederica, and,
240 A True and Historical Narrative, &c.
as we have too much reason to believe, this castle is still in
the hands of the Spaniards. A little after this we had
another instance how much our benefactors had our interest
and welfare at heart; for at this time it was given out, that
all the cattle that were unmarked, belonged to the, trustees
as lords of the manor; and orders were given that they
should be marked accordingly ; but people strenuously insist¬
ing to the contrary, the design was dropt for that time. On
the 4th of November, Mr. Oglethorpe departed from Savan¬
nah, and he now seems to have entirely forgot it; and it is
certain, that ever since the affair of the representation, ac¬
cording to his own words, the very name of the place is be¬
come hateful to him, as are all those who he thought were
ringleaders in that affair; some of whom he endeavored to
threaten and bribe to a recantation, but to little purpose; two
or three being the most (to the best of our knowledge,) that
he could gain, and even those, we believe, never gave any¬
thing under their hands. One flagrant instance of the indi¬
rect practices he used to draw people into his measures was
as follows: *In summer, 1739, (when it was thought the
representation would have succeeded, Messrs. Grant, Doug¬
lass, Stirling and Bailie, who had been old settlers in the
colony, and who had in a manner ruined themselves, as others
had done, either by planting or building, wrote to the trustees
for an island, and at the same time applied to Mr. Oglethorpe
for it; he appeared mighty glad at their resolution, and told
them, that if they would agree to what he had to propose,
the granting of an island should be nothing in respect to
what he would do for them. They told him they would
do anything that was consistent with their knowledge and
conscience. Then they were dismissed, and the next day
they were to know his mind; that being come, two of his
emissaries were sent separately with proposals, which they
afterwards wrote in order to be signed, but refused a copy
thereof. These proposals were to the following effect, viz.:
To acknowledge they were in the wrong for having any hand
in the making or signing the representation ; to ask the Gen¬
eral's pardon for so doing; and to assert, that they believed
the colony might flourish according to the then present con¬
stitution. These things complied with, they should have
* There are particular affidavits to prove this whole affair.
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 241
what money they were pleased to ask for, with horses, cattle,
and every thing else they wanted, together with the Gen¬
eral's perpetual friendship and assistance. If not complied
with, they might expect nothing but his highest resentment.
They answered, that they never expected, nor did they
think they ever asked for any favors, from the General, and
as for his resentment, they believed they had already felt the
utmost of it. In whatever shape the General wrote home of
this affair, is not known; but however, from what he wrote
the trustees thought fit, at first, positively to deny their re¬
quest, in a letter which came to their hands in July, 1740, of
which this is an exact copy.
" To Messrs. Grant, Douglass and Bailie, at Savannah, in
Georgia.
" Georgia-Office, March 25, 1740.
" Gentlemen;,—The trustees for establishing the colony of
Georgia, have received and read your letter of May 26,
1739, by which they find you have abandoned your settle¬
ments upon the Ogechee river, for the following reasons;
because you are not allowed to have black servants to culti¬
vate your lands, and because you disliked the tenure of
your grants.
" As to the first, you must have seen by the trustees' an¬
swer to the representation of some of the people, that they
cannot and will not break into the constitution of the pro¬
vince, by such an introduction of slavery in blacks ; and that
upon the most mature deliberation, and for the strongest
reasons; which, indeed, are obvious to every considering
man, and which they are confirmed in by the danger which
has lately threatened South Carolina by the insurrection of
the negroes,, and would be more imminent in Georgia, it be¬
ing a frontier.
" As to the last, relating to the tenure of lands, the trus¬
tees suppose you may have seen the alteration which they
have made since the writing of your letter, and they have no
doubt but you are satisfied therewith, as the rest of the col¬
ony are.
" The trustees have likewise received and considered your
petition to General Oglethorpe, for a settlement on Wilming-
vol. ii. 31
242 A True and Historical Narrative, $*c.
ton island, and his answers thereto, which they think are of
great force, and therefore they cannot make you a grant
there, but hope you will go on improving your settlements on
the Ogechee river, which they perceive by your letter May
26, that you had made a great progress in.
I am, gentlemen,
Your very humble servant,
Benj. Martin, Secretary
To this they returned the following answer.
u To the Honorable the Trustees for Establishing the Colony
of Georgia, in America, at their Office near Old Palace
Yard, Westminster.
" Honorable Gentlemen,—We have received a letter
signed by" your secretary, of the 25th March last, owning
the receipt of ours to the trustees for establishing the colony
of Georgia, dated the 26th May, 1739, in which we set forth
the expense we had been at in prosecuting our settlement on
the Ogechee river, together with the impossibility of carrying
on any settlement with success in this colony, according to
the present constitution; as an additional confirmation of
which, we then presented your Honors with an account cur¬
rent, carried on from the commencement of our settlement
on the Ogechee, and continued till we were drove thence by
the strongest appearances of destruction, arising from the
having expended our all in the strenuous prosecution of an
impracticable scheme. And here we must beg leave to ob¬
serve, that it appears to us, you have neither considered our
letter or account; otherwise you never would have advised
us to return to a place on which we have already in vain
consumed so much time and money.
"We have seen and seriously considered every paragraph
of a printed paper, entitled, 4 The Answer of the Trustees for
establishing the Colony of Georgia in America, to the Rep¬
resentation from the Inhabitants of Savannah ;' which, in our
humble opinion, is no answer at all; but rather an absolute
refusal of demands to which we are legally entitled, under
the specious pretences of guardianship and fatherly care;
without having answered one sentence, or confuted by
strength of argument, any part of our assertions.
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 243
44 Because our neighboring province (of which you are
pleased to take notice,) has, by an introduction of too great
numbers, abused the use of negroes; or, because an un¬
doubted property in our land possessions might prove detri¬
mental or hurtful to idle, profligate or abandoned people, it
does not at all follow that we should be debarred the use of
negroes for the field, or the more laborious parts of culture,
under prudent limitations, or that sober and virtuous men
should be deprived of just titles to their properties.
" We are surprised that your Honors mention the repre¬
sentations of the people of the Darien, as a confirmation of
the unreasonableness of our demands. For did your Honors
know the motives by which these people were induced to
present you with one or more petitions, contradictory to our
representation, the welfare of the colony, and their own con¬
sciences ; we are persuaded you never would have offered
them as reasons for rejecting the representation from Savan¬
nah. They were bought with a number of cattle, and ex¬
tensive promises of future rewards; a little present interest
made them forget or neglect their posterity; whereas the
people of this place, duly sensible of the miseries and calam¬
ities they have suffered, and do still labor under, freely and
voluntarily put their hands to the representation of this part
of the province. No artful means were used to induce them
to it; no artful man or men, negro-merchants or others, per¬
suaded them to it. Dismal poverty and the most absolute
oppression were the true fountains from whence our com¬
plaints proceeded. But how miserably were these inconsid¬
erate deluded wretches rewarded ? They were soon after
carried against St. Augustine, placed on a dangerous post,
where they were all or most of them cut off or taken pris¬
oners by the enemy ; which has put a period to the settlement
of Darien, of which so many great things have been falsely
reported.
" With regard to our representation, we shall only beg
leave to make one supposition, which it is almost impossible
can have happened, viz., that this and all the other repre¬
sentations, letters, suits or petitions, made to the trustees by
private or a joint number of persons, have been entirely false
and groundless. What can have reduced the colony to the
situation in which it now is 1 What can have reduced its
inhabitants to one sixth part of the number which we have
244 A True and Historical Narrative, fyc.
known to reside here 1 Or, lastly, to what is the starving
and despicable condition of the few that are now left owing ?
Is it not, as well as every other matter which we have before
urged, owing to and occasioned by the unanswerable reasons
at different times given and laid before your honors, by
honest men, (independent of you) who were and are the
chief sufferers in this colony ; and who could not be bribed
to conceal, or terrified from declaring their sentiments ?
"Your honors may readily and safely join issue with us in
our appeal to posterity, who were their best "*friends, &,c.,
for it is certain and obvious, that if the trustees are resolved
to adhere to their present constitution, they or their succes¬
sors are in no great danger of being called to any account by
our posterity in Georgia.
"We have likewise seen and read the alterations Mr.
Martyn mentions to have been made by your Honors, with
regard to the tenure of lands; together with a fictious
abridgment of the same affixed to the most public places at
Savannah.
" Mr. Martyn, in his letter, is pleased to tell us, that your
Honors imagine we are satisfied therewith, as the rest of the
colony are! Some few, perhaps, may have expressed them¬
selves satisfied; but we will say no worse of such few, than
that your Honors will soon be sensible, that even they are
deceivers. It is true, such alterations, and the paper, entitled,
An Answer to our Representation, above mentioned, are art¬
fully penned, and will doubtless, for a time, amuse even men
of the best sense in Europe, or elsewhere, who are strangers
to the colony of Georgia; but any man of common under¬
standing, or the least penetration, who by an unfortunate ex¬
perience, has been well acquainted with that colony, can
easily demonstrate, that those very papers are further snares
to increase our miseries ; as it is impossible we can be enabled
by these alterations to subsist ourselves and families any more
than before, far less to put us in a capacity of recovering our
already sunk fortunes and loss of time. Some time in the
summer 1739, (whilst we still expected agreeable altera¬
tions to have succeeded our representation) we applied more
than once to General Oglethorpe, as one of the trustees, for
the same tract of land which we have since been refused by
* Vide answer to the representation.
A True and Historical Narrative, 8fc. 245
your Honors: but our petitions and applications were re¬
jected ; and for what reason ? Because indeed we refused to
contradict what we had before set forth in our representation,
so and become villains, as (we have too much reason to be¬
lieve) some others on the same occasion were. We would
not accept of settlements, sums of money, horses, cattle and
Other valuable considerations, at the expense of betraying our
country, and contradicting our consciences, by signing a pa¬
per, which was prepared and offered to us, purporting a re¬
pentance of the measures we had taken for our own and the
relief of other distressed British subjects; and consequently
an approbation of a scheme which, by all appearance, seems
to have been calculated and prepared to form a colony of
vassals, whose properties and liberties were at all times to
have been disposed of at the discretion or option of their
superiors.
" Such and many other methods of corruption have been
too often practised in this colony ; but we refused and scorned
such actions, from principles of which every honest man
ought to be possessed.
" We are not surprised to find, that we have in vain ap¬
plied to your Honors in several affairs, when we see you have
been hitherto prepossessed by a gentleman of superior in¬
terest, with informations and assertions full of resentment, and
which we well know cannot stand the test of an impartial
examination ; but we are amazed and sorry to find, that he
has had for so many years together, the interest of nomina¬
ting those, who have been appointed from time to time, for
the administration of justice, and making an impartial inquiry
into and informing your Honors of the real situation of the
colony of Georgia; we say, such who have been implicitly
obedient in carrying on his arbitrary schemes of government,
and oppressing the inhabitants, as well • as conniving at the
deceiving your Honors and the nation !
" Gentlemen, as we have no favors to ask, or resentments
to fear, we may with the greater freedom observe, that we
are in full hopes, that all we can justly ask, will be granted
us by a British Parliament, who we doubt not, will soon make
an inquiry into the grievances of oppressed subjects, which
have formerly inhabited, or do now inhabit the colony of Geor¬
gia ; that colony which has cost so great an expense to the
nation, and from which so great benefits were promised and
expected!
246 A True and Historical Narrative, fyc.
"We are sensible of the freedoms which have been used
with our respective characters, in the misrepresentation sent
your Honors by partial men : nor are we less sensible, that the
majority of the trustees have been kept in the dark, with re¬
gard to our just complaints and representations; or that such
complaints have been communicated to them in lights distant
from truth; in'somuch that, we have reason to believe, two
thirds of the honorable board are either misinformed of or
are entire strangers to the barbarous and destructive schemes
carried on in this miserable colony.
"We hope it will ere long appear to your Honors and the
world (whatever has been advanced to the contrary) that we
are honest men, free from any base design, free from any
mutinous spirit; who have only stood firm for the recovery
of our lost privileges, which have been secretly and under the
most specious pretences withdrawn from us by some de¬
signing and self-interested men.
"We should be sorry to write disrespectfully of any one
of the trustees; but when distressed and oppressed people
arrive at the last extremities, it must be supposed, they will
neither be ashamed to publish their misfortunes, or afraid of
imputing their calamities to the fountain from whence they
spring.
"Far be it from us in any shape to reflect in general on
the honorable board, who we still believe are gentlemen of
honor and reputation, who would not be accessory to any
sinister or base designs; but we can't help thinking, that
they are deluded, and brought to pursue measures incon¬
sistent with the welfare and prosperity of the colony, by some
who of the whole corporation are only acquainted with the
particular situation of it; and who must therefore wilfully and
from design, form and prepare destructive schemes for the
perishing inhabitants of Georgia; and by unfair representa¬
tions of persons and things, draw the approbation of the
greater part of the honorable board, to such measures for the
oppression of his Majesty's subjects, which they would, if
they were impartially informed, scorn to think of, far less
agree to.
" General Oglethorpe with all his forces has been obliged
to raise the siege of St. Augustine, and we have reason to
believe the impending ruin of this colony will be thereby de¬
termined ; for the Spaniards are reinforced; the General's
A True and Historical Narrative, &c.
247
army harassed and weakened, and the Indians provoked and
discontented ; so that every thing looks with the most dismal
aspect. But as his conduct in, and the consequences of
these affairs, will be soon published to the world ; and as we
doubt not we have already incurred your Honors' displeasure,
by reciting thus freely the many hardships which we have
here and formerly asserted to have been the causes pf our
ruin, we shall now forbear and conclude by adding, that the
extremity of our misfortunes has at last rendered us utterly
incapable of staying here any longer; and though all the
money we have expended on improvements in the colony is
now of no advantage to us here, nor can be elsewhere; yet
poor as We are, we shall think ourselves happy when we are
gone from a place where nothing but poverty and oppression
subsists. Therefore we hope, if ever this or any other paper
or letter of ours shall appear in public, your honors will im¬
pute such publication to have proceeded from no other mo¬
tives, besides a thorough knowledge of our duty to ourselves,
our fellow subjects and sufferers, and to prevent others for
the future from being deluded in the same manner as we
have been, who are, with the greatest respect,
" Honorable Gentlemen,
Your most humble servants,
(Signed) Da. Douglass,
Wm. Stirling,
Tho. Baillie.
"Georgia, Savannah, 10th August, 1740."
About the latter end of May, 1740, Mr. Oglethorpe set
out with his regiment for Florida, and soon after the Caro¬
lina forces (consisting of about six hundred men) joined him,
with about three hundred Indians and sixty Highlanders,
volunteers from Darien, who were buoyed up by the General
with the mighty hopes of reward, besides several stragglers
and boatmen from other parts of the province and elsewhere;
so that, exclusive of six men of war, there might be about
fifteen hundred effective men assisting at the siege (as it was
called) of the castle of St. Augustine. But we shall take no
further notice of this affair, than as it has affected or may still
affect the colony of Georgia. The place being alarmed, the
Highlanders, with some others, making in all one hundred
and forty-one men, were posted at Musa, (this was a small
248 A True and Historical Narrative, $*c.
fort about a mile distant from the castle, which had been
abandoned by the Spaniards at the General's first approach)
where they were soon after attacked by a superior force of
the enemy, and a miserable slaughter ensued, scarcely one
third of the number escaping, the others being either killed
or taken prisoners. Thus these poor people, who, at the
expense of their consciences, signed a representation contrary
to their own interest and experience, and gave themselves
entirely up to the General's service, by their deaths at once
freed his Excellency from his debts and promises, and put an
end to the settlement of Darien ; for there are now in that
place not one quarter part of the number who settled there
at first, and that is made up chiefly of women and children;
and a scout boat is stationed before the town to prevent any
of them from going off.
This siege was raised about the latter end of July; the
General with the remainder of his regiment returned to Fred-
erica ; the Carolina forces were shipped off for that province;
the few Georgians that were left repaired, as soon as they
were allowed, to their several homes in a miserable condition;
and the Indians marched towards their respective countries,
very much weakened and discontented; the Cherokees re¬
turned (as they came) by Savannah, and of one hundred and
ten healthy men, only about twenty got to their nation, the
rest either perished by sickness or were slain; and thus
ended the campaign in Flbrida.
During these transactions, Savannah decayed apace, and
in August and September the same year, people went away
by twenties in a vessel, insomuch that one would have
thought the place must have been entirely forsaken ; for in
these two months about one hundred souls out of the county
of Savannah left the colony ; many others have since left it,
and, we believe, more will leave it very soon.
The boats with their hands which the General employed
at that unfortunate expedition, he neither will pay, subsist or
let depart from that place; however, they are stealing away
October ^ degrees ;* and at this time, of about five thou-
174o' San(^ sou^s ^ad, at various embarkations, ar¬
rived in the colony of Georgia, (exclusive of the
regiment) scarce as many hundreds remain ; and those con-
* We are now informed, that they all got away, some of them being paid and some
not.
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 249
sist of the Saltzburgers at Ebenezer, who are yearly sup¬
ported from Germany and England ; the people of Frederica,
who are supported by means of the regiment; the poor re¬
mainder of the Darien ; a few orphans, and others under that
denomination, supported by Mr. Whitefield; together with
some Dutch servants maintained for doing nothing by the
trustees, with thirty or forty necessary tools to keep the others
in subjection; and those make up the poor remains of the
miserable colony of Georgia! *
Having now brought down this work to the month of Oc¬
tober, 1740, being about the time most of the authors of this
narrative were obliged to leave that fatal colony, we shall
conclude the whole with a geographical and historical ac¬
count of its present state.
Georgia lies in the 30th and 31st degrees of north latitude.
The air generally clear, the rains being much shorter as well
as heavier than in England; the dews are very great; thun¬
der and lightning are expected almost every day in May,
June, July and August; they are very terrible, especially to
a stranger. During those months, from ten in the morning
to four in the afternoon, the sun is extremely scorching ; but
the sea-breeze sometimes blows from ten till three or four.
The winter is nearly of the same length as in England; but
the mid-day sun is always warm, even when the mornings
and evenings are very sharp, and the nights piercing cold.
The land is of four sorts; pine barren, oak land, swamp,
and marsh. The pine land is of far the greatest extent,
especially near the sea-coasts. The soil of this is a dry
whitish sand, producing shrubs of several sorts, and between
them a harsh coarse kind of grass, which cattle do not love
to feed upon; but here and there is a little of a better kind,
especially in the savannahs, (so they call the low watery
meadows which are usually intermixed with pine lands.) It
bears naturally two sorts of fruit; whortle-berries, much like
those in England, and chinquopin nuts, a dry nut about the
size of a small acorn. A laborious man may in one year
clear and plant four or five acres of this land; it will produce
* It is here to be observed, that we have excluded the settlement of Augusta, it
being upon a quite different footing.
vol. ii. 32
250 A True and Historical Narrative, Sfc.
the first year from two to four bushels of Indian corn, and
from four to eight of Indian pease per acre ; the second year
it usually bears much about the same ; the third, less; the
fourth, little or nothing. Peaches it bears well; likewise the
white mulberry, which serves to feed the silk worms; the
black is about the size of a black cherry, and has much the
same flavor.
The oak land commonly lies in narrow streaks "between
pine land and swamps, creeks or rivers. The soil is a black¬
ish sand, producing several kinds of oak, bay, laurel, ash,
walnut, sumach and gum trees, a sort of sycamore, dog trees,
and hickory. In the choicest part of this land grow parsi-
mon trees, and a few black mulberry and American cherry
trees. The common wild grapes are of two sorts, both red;
the fox grape grow two or three only on a stalk, is thick-
skinned, large stoned, of a harsh taste, and of the size of a
small cherry ; the cluster grape is of a harsh taste too, and
about the size of a white currant. This land requires much
labor to clear; but when it is cleared, it will bear any grain,
for three, four or five years sometimes, without laying any
manure upon it. An acre of it generally produces ten
bushels of Indian corn, besides five of pease, in a year; so
that this is justly esteemed the most valuable land in the
province, white people being incapable to clear and cultivate
the swamps.
A swamp is any low watery place, which is eovered'with
trees or canes. They are here of three sorts, cypress, river
and cane swamps. Cypress swamps are mostly large ponds,
in and round which cypresses grow. Most river swamps
are overflown on every side by the river which runs through
or near them ; if they were drained they would produce good
rice ; as would the cane swamps also, which in the meantime
are the best feeding for all sorts of cattle.
The marshes are of two sorts ; soft wet marsh, which is
all a quagmire, and absolutely good for nothing, and hard
marsh, which is a firm sand ; but, however, at some seasons
is good for feeding cattle. Marshes of both sorts abound on
the sea islands, which are very numerous, and contain all
sorts of land ; and upon these chiefly, near creeks and runs
of watar, cedar trees grow.
We shall only add to the above, that considering no land
can be sowed (or at least what is sowed preserved,) till the
same is inclosed, that five acres is the utmost a very able and
A True and Historical Narrative, 8fc. 251
laborious man can propose to manage; this being the quan¬
tity allotted for the task of a negro in the neighboring pro¬
vince, which negro works four hours each day more than a
white man can do.
It must next be noticed, that with regard to the above re¬
turns, (suppose a prosperous season without disappointments,
which is not the case in such small improvements as can be
expected in an infant colony one year in five,) either drought,
burns, or rain drowns the corn, and makes the pease fall out
of the pod. Deer (which no fences can exclude) devour
those little settlements in a night; rats and squirrels do the
same; birds eat the seed out of the ground, and dig up the
blade after it is spired; and variety of worms and insects
devour the one half of it. But let us suppose none of those
evil^ happened; let us view the amount of the produce
valued at the highest rate.
The produce of five acres of pine land raised by one hand
the first year.
Indian corn, 20 bushels at 105. I. s. d.
currency per bushel. 15 0 sterling.
Indian pease, 40 bushels at ditto. 2 10 0
Total of first year's produce, 3 15 0
The second year the same; the third less, the fourth little
or nothing. -
Best oak land, five acres, at 15 bushels of corn and
pease per acre, is seventy-five bushels, at ditto price, is Al.
135. 9d. sterling.
Let us next consider the maintenance of every single white
servant per annum, at the lowest rate, and then the reader
will be able to judge whether white people can get their live¬
lihood by planting land in this climate without negroes ? And
the allowance to the trustees' Dutch servants being the least
at which any white servant could be maintained in Georgia,
we shall therefore take our estimation from it, which is eight
pence sterling per day or 12/. 35. Ad. sterling per annum ; so
that at a medium, the expense is three times greater than
the produce, besides tools, medicines and other necessaries.
We must likewise observe, that the proportion of pine bar¬
ren to either good swamp or oak and hickory land, is at least
six to one; that the far greater number of the small lots have
none or very little oak land; and if they had swamp that
would bear rice, white people are unable to clear them if they
252 A True and Historical Narrative, &c.
are covered with trees, and though only with canes, which is
the easiest to cultivate; it were simply impossible to manu¬
facture the rice by white men; the exercise being so severe,
that no negro can be employed in any other work or labor
comparable to it, and many hundreds of them (notwithstand¬
ing all the care of their masters,) yearly lose their lives by
that necessary work.
Savannah stands on a flat bluff, (so they term a high land
hanging over a creek or river,) which rises about forty feet
perpendicular from the river, and commands it several miles,
both upwards and downwards, and if it was not for a point
of woods which, about four miles ^own the river, stretches
itself out towards the south-east, one might have a view of
the sea, and the island of Tybee. The soil is a white sand
for above a mile in breadth south-east and north-west; be¬
yond this, eastward, is a river swamp; westward, a small
body of wood-land, (in which was the old Indian town,)
separated by a creek from a large tract of land, which runs
upwards along the side of the river, for the space of about
five miles; and being, by far, the best near the town, is re¬
served for the Indians, as General Oglethorpe declares, as
are also some of the islands in the river Savannah, and the
three most valuable islands upon all the coast of that province,
viz.: Ossiba, St. Katherine and Sapula. South-west of the
town is a pine barren that extends about fourteen miles to
Vernon river.
On the east side of the town is situated the public garden,
being ten acres enclosed, on a barren piece of land, where
it is hardly possible for what is planted to live, but impossible
to thrive; and from this garden were all the planters to have
been furnished with mulberry trees, &c.
The plan of the town was beautifully laid out in wards,
tithings, and public squares left at proper distances for mar¬
kets and public buildings; the whole making an agreeable
uniformity.
The public works in this town are, 1st, A court house,
being one handsome room, with a piache on three sides.
This likewise serves for a church for divine service, none
having been ever built, notwithstanding the trustees in their
public acts, acknowledge the receipt of about seven hundred
pounds sterling from charitable persons, for that express pur¬
pose.
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 253
2dly, Opposite to the court house stands the log house or
prison, (which is the only one remaining of five or six that
have been successively built in Savannah,) that place of ter¬
ror and support of absolute power in Georgia.
3dly, Nigh thereto is a house built of logs, at a very great
charge, as was said, for the trustees' steward ; the foundation
below ground is already rotten,* as the whole fabric must be
in a short time; for the roof being flat, the rain comes in at
all parts of it.
4th, The store-house, which has been many times altered
and amended at a very great charge; and it now serves as a
store, for the private benefit of one or two, as before men¬
tioned.
5th, The guard-house, which was first built on the bluff,
soon decayed; as did a second through improper manage¬
ment ; this now standing being the third. Several flag-staffs
were likewise erected, the last of which, according to com¬
mon report, cost 50/. sterling.
6th, A public mill for grinding corn, was first erected at a
considerable expense, in one square of the town; but in
about three years time (without doing the least service) it fell
to the ground. In another square of the town a second
was set up, at a far greater expense, but never finished, and
is now erased and converted into a house for entertaining the
Indians, and other such like uses.
7th, Wells and pumps were made at a great charge ; but
they were immediately choked up, and never rendered use¬
ful, though this grievance was frequently represented both to
the General and magistrates ; the want of wells obliging the
inhabitants to use the river water, which all the summer over
is polluted with putrid marshes and the numberless insects
that deposite their ova there, together with putrified car¬
casses of animals and corrupted vegetables; and this no
doubt occasioned much of the sickness that swept off many.
Several of the houses which wTere built by freeholders, for
want of heirs male, are fallen to the trustees (even to the
prejudice of the lawful creditors of the deceased) and are
disposed of as the General thinks proper.
At least two hundred lots were taken up in Savannah,
about one hundred and seventy of which were built upon;f
* In August, 1740, a new foundation was begun,
t Several of these had more than one house ypon them.
254 A True and Historical Narrative, fyc.
a great many of these are now ruinous, and many more shut
up and abandoned; so that the town appears very desolate,
scarce one quarter of its inhabitants being left, and most of
those in a miserable condition, for want of the proper neces¬
saries of life.
St. Simon's island, having on the east the gulf of Florida,
on the other sides branches of the Alatamaha, is about one
hundred miles south of Savannah, and extends in length
about twenty, in breadth from two to five miles. On the
west side of it, on a low bluff, stands Frederica, having
woods to the north and south, to the east partly woods,
partly savannahs and partly marsh.
The soil is mostly blackish sand ; the fortifications are
augmented since the retreat from Augustine, and here lie
most of the remains of General Oglethorpe's regiment.
Frederica was laid out in form of a cresent, divided into one
hundred and forty-four lots, whereof fifty were built upon;
the number of the inhabitants, notwithstanding of the circu¬
lation of the regiment's money, are not above one hundred
and twenty, men, women and children, and these are daily
stealing away by all possible waysf On the sea point, about
five miles south-east of the town, were three companies of
the soldiers stationed before the attempt upon St. Augustine;
several pretty houses were built by the officers, and many
lots set off to the soldiers and entered upon by them; most
if not all now desolate. Several of the officers of the regi¬
ment brought over servants to cultivate land ; Col. Cochran,
twenty servants; Lieut. Horton at Jekyl, sixteen servants;
Capt. Gascoign at least as many; all gone; and, according
to the best of our information, about two hundred of the
regiment are diminished.
About twenty miles north-west from St. Simons, is Darien,
the settlement of the Scots Highlanders ; the town is situate
on the main land, close to a branch of the Alatamaha river,
on a bluff twenty feet high; the town is surrounded on all
sides with woods; the soil is a blackish sand. Here were
upwards of two hundred and fifty persons settled, who in
Spring, 1736, built a large fort for their own protection ; and
the poor remains of these are now no more than fifty-three
(above two thirds of which are women and children) besides
eleven of the trustees' servants enlisted as soldiers, and sta¬
tioned there under the command of an officer in order to
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 255
keep the others from going away, who ar.e nevertheless
making their escape daily.
The southernmost settlement in Georgia, is Fort St. An¬
drews, fifty miles south from Frederica, on the south-west
side of Cumberland island, upon a high neck of land which
commands the river both ways ; the walls are of wood, filled
up with earth, round which are a ditch and pallisade; two
companies of General Oglethorpe's regiment were formerly
stationed there, but are now mostly drawn to Frederica.
Opposite to Frederica, on the main, were settled Messrs.
Carr and Carteret, with above twenty servants, where they
cleared, a considerable tract of land; but that plantation is
now quitted, and their servants either dead or dispersed.
We have lately heard from Frederica, that the General hav¬
ing stationed ten or twelve men upon this place, they were
attacked by Spaniards or Spanish Indians, foiir were killed,
four carried off, and two left wounded.
New Ebenezer, to which the Saltzburgers removed from
their former habitation at Old Ebenezer, consists of about
one hundred persons, under the government of Mr. Boltzius,
their pastor; they live and labor in a kind of community, and
never commix or associate with strangers; they have been
hitherto liberally supported both from Germany and England,
and their rights and privileges have been much more exten¬
sive than any others in the colony. This town lies six miles
eastward from the old, on a high bluff upon the side of Sa¬
vannah river, and forty miles from Savannah. Near to this
place on a creek of the same river, was built a saw mill,
which cost of the public money above 1500/. sterling, but,
like most other public wrorks, is now entirely ruinous.
About ten miles east of Ebenezer, on a creek three miles
from the river, was the village of Abercorn. In the year 1733,
there were ten families settled there, and several afterwards.
In the year 1737, Mr. John Brodie, with twelve servants,
settled there : but all those are gone, and it is now a heap of
ruins.
Four miles below Abercorn, upon the river side, is Joseph's
Town, which was the settlement of some Scots gentlemen,
with thirty servants; but they have now left it, most of their
servants having died there.
A mile below, on the river side, is the settlement where
sir Francis Bathurst, with twelve in family and servants, was
placed, now in ruins, without an inhabitant.
256 A True and Historical Narrative, &c.
A quarter of a mile below was the settlement of Walter
Augustine, with six in family. Within this settlement was
another mill, erected, at the charge of above 800/. sterling, all
now in ruins, without an inhabitant.
A mile below is Landiloe, the settlement of Mr. Robert
Williams, with forty servants, who made large improvements
there, and continued for the space of four years planting each
season with great industry in various shapes, still expecting
(with the other settlers) an alteration in the constitution ; but
at last having sunk a great deal of money, he was obliged
to leave it, with the loss of above two thousand pounds ster¬
ling ; and it is now uninhabited, and very much decayed.
Next below that is the five hundred acre tract belonging to
Dr. Patrick Tailfer; which was settled, but found impracti¬
cable to proceed upon, by reason of the hardships and re¬
strictions in the colony. Next to that is Mr. Jacob Mathews's
plantation (formerly Mr. Musgrove's) called the Cow-pen,
who lived there some time with ten servants; but has now
left it, and keeps only two or three to look after his cattle.
Adjoining to this was Mr. Cooksey's settlement, with five in
family ; now entirely abandoned. Next to this was captain
Watson's plantation, with a good house, now in ruins. All
these lie upon the side of the river. And upon the east and
southward, were the settlements of Young, Emery, Polhil
and Warwick; all forsaken. Next upon the river side is the
Indian land before mentioned, separated from the foregoing
settlements by a creek, and running all along to the town.
A little below this creek is a place called Irene, where Mr.
John Wesly built a pretty good house for an Indian school;
but he soon wearied of that undertaking, and left it. A little
below this is the Indian town called New-Yamacraw, where
the remainder of Tomo Chichi's Indians reside.
Five miles south-west of Savannah, on a small rise, stands
the village of Highgate. Twelve families were settled here
in 1733, mostly French, now reduced to two. A mile east¬
ward of this is Hampstead, where several German families
were settled in 1733, and some others since, now reduced to
none.
Five miles south-east of Savannah, is Thunderbolt, where
there was a good timber fort, and three families with twenty
servants were settled; but it is now all in ruins and aban¬
doned.
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 257
Four miles south of this is the island of Skiddoway, on
the north-east point whereof ten families were settled in
1733 ; now reduced to none.
A creek divides Skiddoway from Tybee island, on the
south-east part of which, fronting the inlet, the light-house is
built. Twelve families were settled here in 1734, who have
now forsaken it.
Twelve miles southward by land from Savannah, is Mr.
Houston's plantation, kept with one servant. And,
About thirty miles from that, up the river Ogechee, was
the settlements of Messrs. Stirlings, &c., with twenty-five
servants. This place, when they went there, was the south¬
ernmost settlement in xhe colony, and very remote ; * so that
they were obliged to build, at their own expense and at a
considerable charge, a strong wooden fort for their defence.
And the said Messrs. Stirlings having resided there about
three years with the servants, they were obliged to leave it
after having exhausted their fortunes to no purpose in the
experiment.
Twenty miles above this, on a high bluff on the same
river, stands fort Argyle: f it is a small square wooden fort,
musket-proof. Ten families were settled here and about it;
now all gone; and the fort itself garrisoned by one officer,
one Dutch servant, and one woman, who were lately sur¬
prised in the officer's absence, by two prisoners that broke
out of the log-house in Savannah, and both murdered.
Near the mouth of Vernon river, upon a kind of an island
(which is called Hope isle) are the settlements ofi Messrs.
John Fallowfield, Henry Parker and Noble Jones. They
have made some improvements there, but chiefly Mr. Fallow-
field, who has a pretty little convenient house and garden,
with a considerable stock of hogs, and some cattle, &c., and
where he generally resides with his family. Near adjoining
to this upon a piece of land which commands the Narrows,%
is a timber building called Jones's fort, which serves for two
uses, namely, to support Mr. Noble Jones, who is com-
* This was the only spot allowed them to settle upon, any other place being re¬
fused.
t This is the place where a body of horse called the Southern Rangers, under the
command of captain James Macpherson, were stationed for several years. They were
paid by the government of Carolina; but have been discharged for some time by past.
t This is a narrow passage through which boats are obliged to pass aed repass in
going to and from the southard.
vol. ir. 33
258 A True and Historical Narrative, frc.
mander of it, and to prevent the poor people of Frederica
from getting to any other place, where they might be able to
support themselves.
About three miles south-east of Savannah, upon Augustine
Creek, lies Oxstead, the settlement of Mr. Thomas Causton,
improven by many hands and at a great charge, where he
now resides with a few servants. Between Oxstead and
the town of Savannah lie, 1st, Hermitage, the settlement of
Mr. Hugh Anderson, who had seventeen in family and ser¬
vants ; but he was obliged both to leave that and retire from
the colony, about two years ago, upon account of the general
hardships. 2dly, the settlements of Mr. Thomas Christie,
and six others belonging to the township of Savannah: all
now forsaken. 3d, the settlements of the Germans of Count
Zinzendorff, who were twenty families; which are likewise
now entirely abandoned, they having all gone to other colo¬
nies.
Upon the west side of Savannah, lie the township lots of
the Jews, now deserted, (they having all gone to other colo¬
nies, except three or four) as are all others on that quarter,
excepting one or two.
About three miles from Savannah oft the south, the settle¬
ment of Mr. William Williamson is in the same condition:
and also, the settlement belonging to the trustees adjoining
to Mr. Williamson's; which was committed by them to the
care of Mr. Williarft Bradley, their steward, to be cultivated
and improved by him at their charge, as an example to oth¬
ers, and to satisfy themselves what improvements in land
were practicable by white servants. The event might have
opened the eyes of any that would see. Upwards of twenty,
sometimes thirty servants, were employed ; above two thou¬
sand pounds sterling expended in the experiment, and never
so much of any kind of grain raised from it, as would have
maintained the numbers employed about it six months. It
now lies on a par with the most ruinous plantation in Geor¬
gia. Part of their Dutch servants have been employed last
year by Mr. Thomas Jones, upon a new plantation about a
mile to the southward of Savannah. They were twenty-five
in number, and maintained at the expense of eight-pence
sterling each per diem ; and we have lately been credibly
informed, the whole produce did not exceed one hundred
bushels of corn.
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 259
The Orphan-House is situated about fourteen miles south¬
east of Savannah. This famous work was begun in March,
1740 ; and during the space of six months, there were about
one hundred people, men, women and children, maintained
and employed about it; and according to their own calcula¬
tion, they have expended near four thousand pounds sterling.
But ever sinc£ Mr. Whitefield left Georgia, the latter end of
August in the same year, it has decayed apace ; for, besides
those he then carried to the northward with him, a great
many have since left them; and their money growing short,
they were soon obliged to discharge most of the workmen;
besides, of late, many divisions have arisen amongst them. In
short, the design seems to be drawing near a period, al¬
though at this time, the house itself is scarcely half finished.
It is built upon a low pine barren, surrounded on one side
with a large tract of salt marsh, extending to Vernon River,
to which they have a passage by water, when the tides are up,
for small craft; on the other side it is surrounded with woods.
They have cleared about ten acres of ground, and have built
several houses and huts. The frame of the Orphan-House
is up, the roof shingled, and the sides weather boarded. It
is sixty feet in length, forty feet wide. It has two stories,
besides cellars and garrets; the cellars are built of brick,
which likewise serves for a foundation to the whole building.
It would certainly be a fine piece of work, if finished; but if
it were finished, where is the fund for its support? and what
service can an orphan-house be in a desert and a forsaken
colony.
About three or four miles from the Orphan-House, on the
side of Vernon River, William Stephens, Esq., (formerly
mentioned) has a plantation with five or six servants, who
have cleared about seven or eight acres. However, if he
reaps no benefit from them, he is at as little charge to main¬
tain them.*
As it would be too tedious to mention particularly the
township or five and forty-five acre lots, being in all about
one hundred that were settled, we need only, therefore, in
general, say, that there are few or none of them but what
are in the same condition with those before specified, viz.:
ruinous and desolate.
* The trustees allow him so many servants, and their maintenance.
260 A True and Historical Narrative, &c.
The last place we shall mention is Augusta, distant from
Savannah two hundred miles up the river, on the same side.
It was founded in 1737, at a considerable charge, under the
direction of one Mr. Roger Lacy, being at that time agent to
the Cherokee nation. It is principally, if not altogether, in¬
habited by Indian traders and store-keepers ; the number of
whom may now be about thirty or upwards; and a consider¬
able quantity of corn has been raised there. To account for
this singular circumstance, we shall only assign two reasons;
the first is the goodness of the land, which at so great a dis¬
tance from the sea, is richer than in the maritime parts; the
second and chief one is, that the settlers there are indulged
in and connived at the use of negroes, by whom they exe¬
cute all the laborious parts of culture; and the fact is un¬
doubted and certain, that upwards of eighty negroes are now
in the settlements belonging to that place. We do not ob¬
serve this as if it gives us any uneasiness, that our fellow
planters are indulged in what is so necessary for their well-
being ; but we may be allowed to regret, that we and so
many British subjects, who stood much more in need of
them, should have been ruined for want of such assistances.
Having now taken a survey of the colony of Georgia, we
shall conclude this treatise by taking notice of two or three
of the most remarkable transactions in it since October last.
On the tenth day of November, a court was called at Sa¬
vannah, where Col. Stephens read a paragraph of a letter,
which he said was from the trustees, desiring the inhabitants
to set forth their miseries, hardships and difficulties in writing,
in order to have the seal of the colony annexed^thereto, and
so transmitted to the trustees. Whereupon Mr. Stephens
gave the recorder a paper to read, in which the colony was
represented in a most flourishing condition, (in the town of
Augusta alone, there were represented to be white
people, and pack-horses belonging thereto, who were
employed in the Indian trade) enumerating the many useful,
fine and curious productions of it, such as hedges with pome¬
granates growing upon them, wine, silk, oil, wheat, &,c., with
many other hyperboles. This paper Mr. Stephens said he
had been at great care and pains about, and which he took
to be a just answer to the trustees' letter, with the true state
of the colony. But the poor people, seeing the absurdity
A True and Historical Narrative, 8fc. 261
and falseness of it, soon discovered their dislike thereof by
their leaving the court house; and only eighteen persons
signed the same, every one of whom were supported in one
shape or other by the public ; Mr. Fallowfield, then on the
bench, used what arguments he could to persuade him, that
it was reasonable every person should represent his own case
to the trustees, and he apprehended the design of the trus¬
tees was such ; but Stephens in a passion said, except they
would sign this, they should have the public seal to no other
paper; so it was to no purpose what either he or the re¬
corder Mr. John Py could urge, who very soon left the court,
declaring their dislike and abhorrence of such proceedings;
but immediately they, with the rest of the inhabitants, to the
number of above sixty, drew up a remonstrance to the trus¬
tees, in which they fully set forth the true state of the col¬
ony, with their own miserable condition in it. This paper,
and soon after a petition to the king and council, &c., were
lately transmitted to the authors hereof, who immediately
forwarded them for London ; but as the issue thereof is now
depending, we do not think it proper to expose them to the
public.
On the 2d of April last a fire broke out by accident in a
smith's forge in Savannah, which consumed almost one whole
square; and in the highest rage of the devouring flames, Mr.
Thomas Jones stood an idle spectator with his hands in his
bosom, and with the utmost unconcernedness, insomuch, that
when he was applied to by several of the miserable people
for a small quantity of gunpowder to blow up an adjoining
house, in order to prevent the fire from spreading, his an¬
swer was, I can do nothing in it, I have no orders concerning
such matters.
We have lately been informed from Frederica, that the
General, having stationed twelve men upon the place which
was the settlement of Messrs. Ker and Carteret before men¬
tioned, they were attacked by Spaniards or Spanish Indians,
and four were killed, four carried off", and two wounded.
A good many of the people have come away from Fred-
erica lately, and in order to get off were obliged to make use
of stratagems, such as going a hunting upon the islands, &c.
We are informed, that some differences have happened be¬
twixt the General and some of the magistrates there, and
that in the place of one of them he has appointed one of his
262 A True and Historical Narrative, 8fc.
waiting boys. Several of the poor remainder of the Darien
people have likewise escaped, notwithstanding the body of
forces stationed there to prevent them.
Having thus brought this Historical Narrative within the
compass proposed, and endeavored to dispose the materials
in as distinct a method and series as the necessary concise¬
ness would allow; we readily admit that the design is far
from being complete. To have acquainted the world with
all the hardships and oppressions which have been exercised
in the colony of Georgia, must have required both a larger
volume than we were capable of publishing, and more time
than we could bestow. We therefore satisfy ourselves, that
we have, with care and sincerity, executed so much of the
design, as may pave the way to any others who can descend
more minutely to particulars; and those who are best ac¬
quainted with the affairs of that colony, will be most capable
of judging how tenderly we have touched both persons and
things.
It only remains, that we in a few paragraphs endeavor to
exhibit to the view of the reader, the real causes of the ruin
and desolation of the colony ; and those briefly are the fol¬
lowing :
1. The representing the climate, soil, &c. of Georgia in
false and too flattering colors ; at least, the not contradicting
those accounts when publicly printed and dispersed, and
satisfying the world in a true and genuine description
thereof.
2. The restricting the tenure of lands from a fee simple to
tail-male, cutting off daughters and all other relations.
3. The restraining the proprietor from selling, disposing of,
or leasing any possession.
4. The restricting too much the extent of possessions ; it
being impossible that fifty acres of good land, much less pine
barren, could maintain a white family.
5. The laying the planter under a variety of restraints in
clearing, fencing, planting, &c. which was impossible to be
complied with.
6. The exacting a much higher quit-rent than the richest
grounds in North America can bear.
7. But chiefly the denying the use of negroes, and persisting
in such denial after, by repeated applications, we had humbly
A True and Historical Narrative, &c. 263
remonstrated the impossibility of making improvements to
any advantage with white servants.
8. The denying us the privilege of being judged by the
laws of our mother country; and subjecting the lives and
fortunes of all people in the colony, to one person or set of
men, who assumed the privilege, under the name of a Court
of Chancery, of acting according to their own will and fancy.
9. General Oglethorpe's taking upon him to nominate ma¬
gistrates, appoint justices of the peace, and to do many other
such things, without ever exhibiting to the people any legal
commission or authority for so doing.
10. The neglecting the proper means for encouraging the
silk and wine manufactures, and disposing of the liberal
sums contributed by the public, and by private persons, in
such ways and channels as have been of little or no service
to the colony.
11. The misapplying or keeping up sums of money which
have been appointed for particular uses, such as building a
church, &c., several hundreds of pounds sterling (as we are
informed) having been lodged in Mr. Oglethorpe's hands for
some years by past for that purpose, and not one stone of it
yet laid.
12. The assigning certain fixed tracts of land to those who
came to settle in the colony, without any regard to the qual¬
ity of the ground, occupation, judgment, ability or inclination
of the settler, &c. &c. &c.
By these and many other such hardships, the poor inhabi¬
tants of Georgia are scattered over the face of the earth; her
plantations a wild; her towns a desert; her villages in rub¬
bish ; her improvements a by-word, and her liberties a jest;
an object of pity to friends, and of insult, contempt and ridi¬
cule to enemies.
THE END.
AN ACCOUNT,
SHOWING THE PROGRESS
OF THE
COLONY OF GEORGIA.
IN AMERICA,
FROM ITS
FIRST ESTABLISHMENT.
Published per order of the Honorable the Trustees.
LONDON: Printed in the year M.DCC.XLI.
MARYLAND : Reprinted and sold by Jonas Green, at his
Printing Office, in Annapolis. 1742.
VOL. II.
34
NOTE.
This account was drawn up by Benjamin Martyn, Esq., secretary of
the trustees.
The Preface, alluding to the foregoing pamphlet, and vindicating
Oglethorpe from its aspersions, was written by a gentleman of Georgia,
and defends Oglethorpe with much zeal and ability. Dr. Tailfer, and
his associates erred too much in their prejudices. Martyn and the trus¬
tees were under a more pardonable error in their too sanguine prepos¬
sessions. However logically the trustees, or their secretary, might rea¬
son in the abstract, as to the operation of their favorite theories of gov¬
ernment, the daily experience of the settlement, militated with nearly
every deduction, and one scheme after another of their Utopian system
was abandoned, until their charter reverted to the crown.
Mr. Martyn was never in Georgia and knew nothing of the practical
operation of the trustees' laws. He lived in the midst of the sanguine
hopes, and fond expectations of the council at home. He looked at
Georgia, through the flattering representations of those, who described,
rather what they desired, than what actually existed, and was incompe¬
tent, therefore, to delineate the real state and situation of the colony.
The minute and chronological character of the account, give it a peculiar
interest; and though the picture is too flattering, it is far more true than
the wilful perversions of the enemies of the colony.
THE PREFACE.
In the year 1741, there was printed and published by P.
T., in Charleston, in South Carolina, for the authors, P.
T r, M.D., H. A n, M. A., D. D -s, and others,
landholders in Georgia, (at that time in Charleston) a
pamphlet, entitled, A True and Historical Narrative of the
Colony of Georgia, in America, &c., dedicated to his Excel¬
lency, James Oglethorpe, Esq., General and Commander-in-
Chief of his Majesty's forces in South Carolina and Georgia,
&c. The Dedication seems a very just introduction fo such
a narrative, and both the one and the other, the real offspring
of such factious and turbulent authors ; being a mean, low-
witted sneer, a malicious ill-natured invective, against that
honorable gentleman, wherein the authors, without any re¬
gard to good manners or common civility, treat his Excellency
(as it were to his face) with such rudeness as ill becomes
any person to use even to an inferior: However, I cannot
say but a very fit prelude to such an inconsistent, spiteful,
false narrative as is subjoined to the dedication ; a narrative
founded in lies and misrepresentations, projected and pub¬
lished by a few persons of no estate, and as little character,
persons soured in their tempers, because not humored in
their endeavors of subverting, or at least altering the consti¬
tution of a new settled colony, even in its infancy, and before
any great experiment was made of advancing and, improving
it; persons, who were under a necessity of banishing them¬
selves from a colony, where, for their seditious and rebellious
practices, and turbulent restless spirits, they were every day
268
The Preface.
in danger of being called to account as stirrers up of discon¬
tent, and as incendiaries against the peace of the govern¬
ment ; persons who had shared deeply in his Excellency's
favors, and therefore guilty of the most monstrous sin in na¬
ture, viz. ingratitude ; for si ingratum dixeris, omnia. In
short, they are persons to whom do most justly belong the
character given by the Right Honorable Sir William Young,
in a debate concerning the printer of a seditious paper, " that
they are men whose daily employment has been, for some
time, to misrepresent the public measures, to disperse scan¬
dal, and excite rebellion ; who have industriously propagated
every murmur of discontent, and preserved every whisper of
malevolence from perishing in the birth."—Gent. Mag. Sup¬
plement to 1741, p. 682. B.
These are the mighty authors and publishers of the scur¬
rilous narrative! the design of which seems to be pointed
chiefly towards obstructing the peopling, and further settling
the colony of Georgia, and sullying the character and admin¬
istration of a gentleman, who may (without flattery or false¬
hood) be justly termed the Romulus, father, and founder of
Georgia; a gentleman who, without any views but that of
enlarging his Majesty's dominions, propagating the Protestant
religion, promoting the trade of his country, and providing
for the wants and necessities of indigent christians, has vol¬
untarily banished himself from the pleasures of a court and
exposed himself to the repeated dangers of the vast Atlantic
Ocean, in several perilous and tedious voyages; instead of
allowing himself the satisfaction, which a plentiful fortune,
powerful friends and great merit, entitle him to in England,
he has inured himself to the greatest hardships that any the
meanest inhabitant of this new colony could be exposed to;
his diet has been mouldy bread, or boiled rice instead of
bread, salt beef, pork, &c., his drink has been water, his bed
the damp earth, without any other covering than the canopy
of heaven to shelter him ; and all this to set an example to
this new colony, how they might bear with such hardships in
their new settlements.
His conduct in war falls nothing short of his prudence in
private life, and policy in public stations, however the same
might have been misrepresented to the world with respect to
the miscarriage before St. Augustine, the true causes of which
are justly to be laid at the door of two sorts of men, con-
The Preface.
269
cerned in that expedition ; first those under a command dif¬
ferent from the General, upon whose assistance the success
of that expedition chiefly depended, but who entirely left him
when their assistance was most wanted. The second sort
were those out-guards, who were to give the alarm to the
main guard when the Spaniards advanced; but, who, instead
of firing their pieces and giving the alarm, flung down their
arms and ran away; by which means the slaughter of the men
at Musa happened; and yet, ill-nature will lay the blame of all
to his Excellency, when indeed the miscarriage was occa¬
sioned by either neglect of, or disobedience to, the military
orders that his Excellency had given ; or by not being sup¬
ported by those under a different command, on whom he
chiefly depended for success of that attack; but (to his Excel¬
lency's great surprise) instead of sending their boats and men
ashore, according to a result of a council of war, held on
board one of his Majesty's ships, to assist in order to destroy
the six galleys wherein the Spaniards' greatest safeguard lay,
and which continually fired from under the walls over the
river on the land forces, hoisted their sails and went away,
without giving the least notice of their departure, by which
means the garrison was relieved with provisions through the
Metanges, a small inlet about four leagues to the southward
of the bar, which might have been prevented, had those of a
different command done their duty. Thus I leave any im¬
partial man to judge the consequence of their departure at so
critical a juncture, and the fatal event it produced to his
Majesty's land forces. However, his Excellency's conduct
has been approved of at home, and will soon appear in such
a light that his enemies will be ashamed of their impudent
lies, and perhaps pay for their own folly; and how far the
ill-nature and impotent malice of the authors of the narrative,
have carried them beyond the bounds of truth or good man¬
ners, will appear in the following sheets, which give a true
and authentic account of the progress of that colony, from its
first establishment to the year 1741, which being published
by the order of the Honorable the Trustees, and printed in
London, Anno 1741, is now reprinted here, with no other
view than to obviate the prejudices which may be raised in
the minds of people by that scandalous narrative, and so may
be a means of delivering that new settlement from the ill
effect of such misrepresentations as are handed about by that
270
The Preface.
libel, to deter his Majesty's subjects from settling in that fron¬
tier colony, so necessary for advancing and protecting the
trade of this and our mother country, on the southernmost
part of North America, and extending our colonies both on
the Gulf of Florida and the Bay of Mexico.
Magna est Veritas, & prevalebit.
AN ACCOUNT,
SHOWING THE PROGRESS OF THE
COLONY OF GEORGIA,
IN AMERICA,
FROM ITS FIRST ESTABLISHMENT.
His majesty, King George the Second, by his letters pa¬
tent, bearing date the 9th day of June, one thousand seven
hundred and thirty-two, reciting amongst many other things,
that many of his poor subjects were through misfortunes and
want of employment reduced to great necessities, and would
be glad to be settled in any of his majesty's provinces of
America,, where by cultivating the lands waste and desolate,
they might not only gain a comfortable subsistence, but also
strengthen his majesty's colonies, and increase the trade,
navigation and wealth of his majesty's realms, and that the
provinces in North America had been frequently ravaged by
Indian enemies, more especially that of South Carolina,
whose southern frontier continued unsettled and lay open to
the neighboring savages, and that to relieve the wants of the
said poor people, and to protect his majesty's subjects in
South Carolina, a regular colony of the said poor people
should be settled and established in the southern frontiers of
Carolina, did, for the considerations aforesaid, constitute a
corporation by the name of the Trustees for Establishing the
Colony of Georgia, in America, with capacity to purchase
and take lands, to sue, and to be sued, to have a common seal,
and to choose members of the said corporation on the third
Thursday in March, yearly, with restraining clauses, that no
272 An Account showing the Progress
member of the said corporation should have any salary, fee,
perquisite, benefit or profit whatsoever for acting therein, or
have any office, place, or employment of profit under the
said corporation, with a direction for the said corporation
every year to lay an account in writing before the Lord
Chancellor, Chief Justice of the King's Bench, Master of the
Rolls, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and Chief Baron
of the Exchequer, or any two of them, of all moneys or
effects by them received or expended for carrying on the
good purposes aforesaid, with a power to make by-laws, con¬
stitutions, orders and ordinances; and granted amongst other
things to the said corporation and their successors under the
reservations therein mentioned, seven undivided parts (the
whole into eight equal parts to be divided) of all those lands,
countries and territories, situate, lying and being in that part
of South Carolina, in America, which lies from the most
northern stream of a river there commonly called the Savan¬
nah, all along the sea coast to the southward, unto the most
southern stream of a certain other great water or river, called
the Alatamaha, and westward from the heads of the said
rivers respectively in direct lines to the South Seas, to have
and to hold the same, to them the said corporation and their
successors forever, for the better support of the said colony
under the yearly rent of four shillings proclamation money of
South Carolina, for every hundred acres of the said lands
for ever, which the said corporation should grant, demise,
plant or settle, but not to commence until ten years after
such grant, demise, planting or settling; and erected and
created the said lands, countries, and territories into one in¬
dependent and separate province by the name of Georgia,
and made the inhabitants who should reside therein, free and
not subject to any laws, orders, statutes, or constitutions of
South Carolina, except the commander-in-chief of the mi¬
litia, and authorized the said corporation for the term of
twenty-one years from the date of the said letters patent to
form and prepare laws, statutes and ordinances for the gov¬
ernment of the said colony, not repugnant to the laws and
statutes of England, to be presented under their common
seal, to his majesty in council, for his approbation or disal¬
lowance, and that the said laws so approved of should be in
full force and virtue within the said province. And empow¬
ered the common council for the time being of the said cor-
of the Colony of Georgia.
273
poration, or the major part of them, to dispose of, expend
and apply, all the moneys and effects belonging to the said
corporation, and to make contracts for carrying and effecting
the good purposes therein intended, and that they should,
from time to time, appoint a treasurer, secretary, and such
other officers, ministers, and servants of the said corporation
as they should see proper, for the good management of their
affairs, and at their pleasure to remove them and appoint
others in their stead, and that they should appoint reasonable
salaries, perquisites and other rewards for their labor or ser¬
vices, and that such officers should be sworn before they act,
for the faithful and due execution of their respective offices
and places; and declared, that the treasurer and secretary
for the time being should be incapable of being members of
the said corporation; and granted to the said corporation
that it should be lawful for them, their officers or agents, to
transport and convey into the said province,' such of his
majesty's subjects and foreigners as were willing to go and
inhabit and reside there; and declared all persons born within
the said province, and their children and posterity, to be
free denizens as if they had been born within any of his
majesty's dominions. And empowered the said common
cauncil in the name of the corporation and under their com¬
mon seal, to distribute, convey, assign, and set over such
particular portions of the said lands, tenements and heredita¬
ments, unto such of his majesty's subjects and others willing
to live in the said colony, upon such terms, and for such es¬
tates, and upon such rents, reservations and conditions, as
the same might lawfully be granted, and as to the said com¬
mon council, or the major part of them, should seem fit and
proper, provided that no grant should be made of any part
of the said lands, unto, or in trust for, or for the benefit of
any member of the said corporation, and that no greater
quantity of the said lands be granted either entirely or in
parcels, to or to the use of, or in trust for, any one person,
than five hundred acres; and declared that all grants made
contrary to the true intent and meaning thereof should be
absolutely null and void. And granted that the said
corporation for the term of twenty-one years from the
date of the said letters patent should have power to erect
and constitute judicatures and Courts of Record, or other
courts, to be held in his majesty's name, for the hearing and
vol. ii. 35
274
An Account showing the Progress
determining of all manner of crimes, offences, pleas, pro¬
cesses, plaints, actions, matters, causes and things whatso¬
ever, arising or happening within the said province, or be¬
tween persons inhabiting or residing there, and for awarding
and making out executions thereupon ; and directed the said
corporation to register or cause to be registered, all leases,
grants, plantings, conveyances, settlements and improvements
whatsoever, as should at any time be made of any lands,
tenements or hereditaments within the said province, and
yearly transmit authentic accounts thereof unto the auditor
of the plantations, or his deputy, and to the surveyor of South
Carolina, to inspect and survey the same, to ascertain thq
quit-rents that should become due according to the reserva¬
tion before mentioned ; but not to have, or take any gratuity,
fee or reward for such survey or inspection, on forfeiture of
their office; with a proviso, that all leases, grants and con¬
veyances to be made, of any lands within the said province,
or a memorial containing the substance or effect thereof,
should be registered with the auditor of the plantations within
one year from the date thereof, otherwise that the same
should be void. And directed, that all rents, issues or
profits which should come to the said corporation, issuing or
arising out of, or from the said province, should be laid out
and applied in such manner as would most improve and en¬
large the said colony, and best answer the good purposes
therein mentioned, and for defraying all other charges about
the same; and directed the said corporation from time to
time to give in to one of the secretaries of state, and to the
commissioners of trade and plantations, accounts of the pro¬
gress of the said colony ; and directed that the said common
council should from time to time for the said term of twenty-
one years from the date of the said letters patent, have
power to appoint all such governors, judges, magistrates,
ministers, and officers, civil and military, both by sea and
land, within the said district, as they should think fit and
needful for the government of the said colony (except such
officers as should be appointed for managing, collecting, and
receiving such of his majesty's revenues, as should arise
within the said province) with a proviso, that every governor
so appointed, should be approved by his majesty, and qualify
himself as other governors in America are by law required
to do, and give security for observing the acts of parliament
of the Colony of Georgia.
275
relating to trade and navigation, and obeying all instructions
from his majesty, or any acting under his authority, pursuant
to the said acts. And granted, that the said corporation for
the said term of twenty-one years, from the date of the said
letters patent, should have power, by any commander or
other officer for that purpose appointed, to train, instruct, ex¬
ercise, and govern a militia for the special defence and safety
of the said colony, to assemble in martial array, and put in
warlike posture, the inhabitants of the said colony, and in
time of actual war, invasion or rebellion, to use and exercise
the law martial, and also to erect forts and fortify any place
or places within the said colony, and the same to furnish with
all necessary ammunition, provision, and stores of war for
offence and defence, and from time to time to commit the
custody and government of them to such person or persons
as to them should seem meet, declaring that the governor or/
commander-in-chief of South Carolina should have thA
chief command of the milrfia~of"*Georgia, and that they
should observe his orders; and granted that the said corpo^
ration should have power to import or export their goods, at
or from any port or ports that should be appointed by his
majesty within the said province for that purpose, without
being obliged to touch,at any other port in Carolina. And
declared, that after the end of the said twenty-one years,
such form of government, and method of making laws,
statutes, and ordinances for the government of the said pro¬
vince, and its inhabitants, should be observed and established
within the same, as his majesty, his heirs and successors
should ordain and appoint, and should be agreeable to law;
and that after the end of the said twenty-one years, the gov¬
ernor, and all officers civil and military, within the said pro¬
vince, should be appointed by his majesty, his heirs and
successors. In pursuance of his majesty's charter, and in
order to fulfil the good intents and purposes therein ex¬
pressed, it was thought necessary for the trustees to send
over such poor people and foreign protestants as were willing
to live in Georgia, not only to cultivate the lands, but at the
same time to strengthen his majesty's colonies. For which
pjirpoae. they considered each inhabitant both as a planter
and a soldier; and they were therefore to be provided with
arms for their defence, as well as tools for their cultivation,
and to be taught the exercise of both, and towns were to be
276
An Account shotting the Progress
laid out for their settlements, and lands allotted to each of
them for their maintenance as near to those towns as con¬
veniently could be, that they might never have occasion to
be too far distant from their towns which were to be regarded
as their garrisons.
And as the military strength of the province was particu¬
larly to be taken care of, it seemed necessary to establish
such tenures of lands as might most effectually preserve the
number of planters, or soldiers, equal to the number of lots
of land, and therefore each lot of land was to be considered
as a military fief, and to contain so much in quantity as
would support such planter and his family; and fifty acres
were judged sufficient and not too much for that purpose,
and provision was made to prevent an accumulation of sev¬
eral lots into one hand, lest the garrison should be lessened,
and likewise to prevent a division of those lots into smaller-
parcels, lest that which was no more than sufficient for one
planter, when entire, should, if divided amongst several, be
too scanty for their subsistence.
And in the infancy of the colony, the lands were granted
in tail male, preferable to any other tenure, as the most likely
to answer these purposes ; for if the grants were to be made
in tail general, it was thought that the strength of each town¬
ship would soon be diminished, inasmuch as every female
heir in tail, who was unmarried, would have been entitled to
one lot, and consequently have taken from the garrison the
portion of one soldier; and by intermarriages several lots
might have been united into one ; and if such tenant in tail
general had had several daughters, his lot must have been
divided equally amongst them all as co-partners.
Nor were these the only inconveniences which were
thought likely to arise from estates in tail general. For
women being equally incapable to act as soldiers or serve on
juries, these duties, and many others, such as watchings and
wardings, &c., would return so much oftener to each man, in
proportion as the number of the men in the township was
lessened, and by that means become very burthensome to
the remaining male lot-holders, and in case of any attack
from the Indians, French, or Spaniards, the township would
be less able to make a defence.
And as it was not thought proper to grant estates in tail
general, it appeared to be more inconvenient to grant them
of the Colony of Georgia.
277,
in fee simple; which estate would have been attended with
all the objections before mentioned incident to estates in tail
general,.and to several other besides; for the right of alien¬
ation being inseparable from an estate in fee, the grantee
might have sold, mortgaged, or aliened his lands to whom¬
ever he thought fit, which was a power not to be intrusted
with the people sent over, for the following reasons:
1. From considering their condition.
2. From considering the purposes they were sent for.
3. From considering the persons to whom lands might be
alienated. And,
4. From considering that it might occasion a monopoly of
land contrary to the intent of the charter.
As to the first, the persons sent over were poor indigent
people, who had, for the most part, so indiscreetly managed
what they had been masters of here, that it did not seem
safe to trust so absolute a property in their hands, at least in
the infancy of the colony, and before they had, by a careful
and industrious behavior, given some reason to believe they
would prove better managers for the future.
As to the second, they were sent over to inhabit, cultivate
and secure, by a personal residence, the lands granted to
them within the province, and they voluntarily engaged so
to do; and in expectation that they would perform those
engagements, they were maintained at the expense of the
public during their voyage, and their passage was paid for
them, and they were provided with tools/lirrnk, seeds, and
other necessaries, and supported from the public store, many
of them at least for four years together from their first land¬
ing, in which respect the public may be said to have pur¬
chased those people for a valuable consideration, their per¬
sonal residence, and all the industry and labor they could
bestow in the cultivation of this province, and to have given
them even pay for the hazard they might run in the defence
of it.
As to the third, it was thought unsafe to grant them such
an estate as might be the means of introducing such sort of
people as might defeat what the trustees had always at
heart, viz., the preservation of the Protestant religion in that
province, which was necessary to be taken care of, both on
a political and religious account, the French lying to the
west, and the Spaniards to the south of the province of
Georgia.
278
An Account showing the Progress
As to the fourth, a monopoly of several lots into one hand
would necessarily have been the consequence of a free liberty
of buying and selling lands within the province, which would
have been directly contrary to the intent of the charter,
whereby the grant of lands to any one person is limited not
to exceed five hundred acres.
A further inconvenience seemed likely to arise in every
case where the tenant in fee died without any children, or
without having disposed of his lot by will; for the heir gen¬
eral who might have the right to it might not happen to be
found out for many years after, especially if it was one of the
foreign Protestants, and all that time the house would have
run to decay, and the land remain uncultivated and become
a harbor for vermin, to the great annoyance and damage of
the neighboring lots.
But though the before mentioned restraints were intended
for the good of the whole, yet whenever particular cases re¬
quired it, they were taken off and dispensed with. And
upon any application for leave to alienate lands, licenses
were always granted for that purpose; and when the succes¬
sion of females became less dangerous to the province, by
the growing strength and increase of the people, and by the
security provided for it by his Majesty's forces there, the
trustees resolved to enlarge the tenures of the lands to estates
in tail general.
The tenures being thus settled, it was thought necessary
to require the inhabitants to cultivate their lands within a
limited time, and in order to raise raw silk, which was in¬
tended to be one of the produces there, a certain proportion
of white mulberry trees were to be planted, and in their re¬
spective grants ten years were allowed for the cultivation,
and one hundred white mulberry trees were to be planted
on every ten acres of land when cleared ; with a power for
the trustees to reenter on the parts that should remain un¬
cultivated.
But as the people were not able to cultivate their lands
within the time required by their grants, by reason of the
alarms from the Spaniards, the droughts in that part of Amer¬
ica, and other unforeseen accidents, the trustees resolved to
release all forfeitures on that account, and to require the cul¬
tivation of no more than five acres of the said fifty acres
within the remainder of the said term of ten years.
of the- Colony of Georgia.
279
And as other persons applied to the trustees for grants of
land, in order to go over and settle there at their own ex¬
pense, particular grants were made under, the same tenure,
and on the following conditions, viz.: That they should
within twelve months from the date of their grants, go to
and arrive in Georgia,, with one man servant for every fifty
acres granted them, and should with such servants abide,
settle, inhabit and continue there for three years. That they
should within ten years clear and cultivate one fifth part of
the land granted them, and within the next ten years clear
and cultivate three fifth parts more of the said lands, and
plant one thousand white mulberry trees upon every one
hundred acres thereof when cleared. And that they should
not at any time hire, keep, lodge, board, or employ any ne¬
groes within Georgia on any account whatsoever, without
special leave. Which conditions were readily approved of,
and counterparts executed by them all. And to those who
desired to name their successor on failure of issue male,
special covenants were entered into by the trustees for that
purpose, agreeable to their own propositions. And for an
encouragement for their men servants to behave well, like
covenants were entered into, to grant to every such man ser¬
vant, when requested thereunto by any writing under the
hand and seal of the master, twenty acres of land under the
same tenure.
The trustees were induced to prohibit the use of negroes
within Georgia, the intention of his Majesty's charter being
to provide for poor people incapable of subsisting themselves
at home, and to settle a frontier to South Carolina, which
was much exposed by the small number of its white inhab¬
itants. It was impossible that the poor who should be sent
from hence, and the foreign prosecuted Protestants, who must
go in a manner naked into the colony, could be able to pur¬
chase or subsist them if they had them, and it would be a
charge too great for the trustees to undertake; and they
would be thereby disabled from sending white people. The
first cost of a negro is about thirty pounds, and this thirty
pounds would pay the passage over, provide tools and other
necessaries, and defray the charge of subsistence of a white
man for a year, in which time it might be hoped that the
planter's own labor would grant him some subsistence, con¬
sequently, the purchase money of every negro (abstracting
280
An Account showing the Progress
the expense of subsisting him as well as his master) by being
applied that way, would prevent the sending over a white
man, who would be a security to the province, whereas the
negro would render that security precarious.
It was thought the white man, by having a negro slave,
would be less disposed to labor himself; and that his whole
time must be employed in keeping the negro to work, and in
watching against any danger he or his family might appre¬
hend from the slave, and that the planter's wife and children
would by the death, or even the absence of the planter, be
at the mercy of the negro.
It was also apprehended, that the Spaniards at St. Augus¬
tine would be continually enticing away the negroes, or en¬
couraging them to insurrections. That the first might easily
be accomplished, since a single negro would run away
thither without companions, and would only have a river or
two to swim over, and this opinion has been confirmed and
justified by the practices of the Spaniards, even in times of
profound peace, amongst the negroes in South Carolina,
where, though at a greater distance from St. Augustine, some
have fled in periaguas and little boats to the Spaniards, and
been protected, and others in large bodies have been incited
to insurrections, to the great terror, and even endangering
the loss of that province, which, though it has been estab¬
lished above seventy years, has scarce white people enough
to secure her own slaves.
It was also considered that the produces designed to be
raised in the colony would nbt require such labor as to make
negroes necessary for carrying them on ; for the province of
Carolina produces chiefly rice, which is a work of hardship
proper for negroes, whereas the silk and other produces
which the trustees proposed to have the people employed on
in Georgia, were such as women and children might be of
as much use in as negroes.
It was likewise apprehended, that if the persons who
should go over to Georgia at their own expense, should be
permitted the use of negroes, it would dispirit and ruin the
poor planters who could not get them, and who by their
numbers were designed to be the strength of the province;
it would make them clamorous to have negroes given them,
and on the refusal would drive them from the province, or at
least make them negligent of their plantations, where they
of the Colony of Georgia.
281
would be unwilling, nay would certainly disdain, to work like
negroes ; and would rather let themselves out to wealthy
planters as overseers of their negroes.
It was further thought, that upon the admission of ne¬
groes, the wealthy planters would, as in all other colonies,
be more induced to absent themselves and live in other
places, leaving the care of their plantations and negroes to
overseers.
It was likewise thought, that the poor planter sent on
charity, from his desire to have negroes, as well as the
planter who should settle at his own expense, would (if he
had leave to alienate) mortgage his land to the negro mer¬
chant for them, or at least become a debtor for the purchase
of such negroes; and under these weights and discourage¬
ments would be induced to sell his slaves again upon any
necessity, and would leave the province and his lot to the
negro merchant. In consequence of which, all the small
properties would be swallowed up, as they have been in
other places, by the more wealthy planters.
It was likewise considered, that the admitting of negroes
in Georgia would naturally facilitate the desertion of the
Carolina negroes through the province of Georgia, and con¬
sequently this colony, instead of proving a frontier and add¬
ing strength to the province of South Carolina, would be a
means of drawing off the slaves of Carolina, and adding
thereby a strength to Augustine.
From these several considerations, as the produces to be
raised in the colony did not make negro slaves necessary, as
the introduction of them so near to a garrison of the Span¬
iards would weaken rather than strengthen the barrier, and
as they would introduce with them a greater propensity to
idleness among the poor planters, and too great an inequality
among the people, it was thought proper to make the pro¬
hibition of them a fundamental of the constitution.
When the trustees had made these dispositions, and were
enabled by benefactions from several private persons, on the
3d of October, 1732, it was resolved, to send over one
hundred and fourteen persons, men, women and children,
being such as were in decayed circumstances, and thereby
disabled from following any business in England, and who, if
in debt, had leave from their creditors to go, and such as
were recommended by the minister, church-wardens and
vol. ii. 36
282
An Account showing the Progress
overseers of their respective parishes. And James Ogle¬
thorpe, Esq., one of the trustees, went with them at his own
expense, to settle them.
On the 24th of the same month the people were all ex¬
amined, whether any of them had any objections to the
terms and conditions proposed to them, which they all de¬
clared they had not, but that they were fully satisfied with
them, and executed articles under their hands and seals, tes¬
tifying their consents thereto, which are now in the public
office belonging to the trustees.
But four of them desiring that their daughters might in¬
herit as well as sons, and that the widow's dower might be
considered, the trustees immediately resolved, that every
person who should desire the same, should have the privi¬
lege of naming a successor to the lands granted to them, who
in case the possessor should die without issue male, should
hold the same to them and their heirs male forever; and that
the widows should have their thirds as in England, with
which resolutions the people being all acquainted, were very
well satisfied.
The trustees prepared forms of government agreeable to
the powers given them by their charter ; they established
under their seal a court of judicature for trying causes as
well criminal as civil in the town of Savannah, (the name
which was given to the first town to be raised) by the name
and style of the town court. They also appointed magis¬
trates there, viz., three bailiffs and a recorder; and inferior
officers, viz., two constables and two tithingmen. They
chose for magistrates such as appeared to them the most
prudent and discreet, but amongst a number of people who
were all upon a level at their first setting out, it was impossi¬
ble to make, any choice or distinction which would not create
some future uneasinesses among them.
On the 16th of November, 1732, when the one hundred
and fourteen persons, and with them the Reverend Mr. Her¬
bert, a clergyman of the Church of England, and a man from
Piedmont, (engaged by the trustees to instruct the people in
the art of winding silk) embarked on board the ship Anne,
Captain Thomas ; several of the trustees went to Gravesend,
called over the people, and made a strict inquiry into their
accommodations and provisions, and left the people very well
satisfied. Soon after fifteen more persons were sent, eleven
of the Colony of Georgia.
283
of whom were sawyers, in order to assist the people in build¬
ing their houses.
At the time of the embarkation, five thousand acres of
land were granted to three of the colonists, in trust for them
or the survivors of them, to make grants from time to time to
every man of twenty-one years of age or upwards, (who
should arrive in Georgia and desire the same) fifty acres of
land to hold to him and his heirs male.
The common council of the trustees (in whom by the
charter the disposal of money was lodged,) did resolve at
their first meeting, that the Bank of England should be de¬
sired to keep the money belonging to the trust, which the
bank accepted, and have continued so to do, paying no sums
but by draughts signed by five of the common council.
The trustees desired by a letter, Sir Thomas Lombe's
sentiments of the goodness of the raw silk produced in Car¬
olina, and the proper methods of carrying on that undertak¬
ing with success, on which they received* from Sir Thomas
Lombe great encouragement to proceed in it, by his appro¬
bation of the silk produced in that climate, of which he had
made experiments.
On the 28th February, 1732, the trustees received a letter
from Mr. Oglethorpe, dated the 13th January, 1732, on board
the ship Anne, of Charleston, in South Carolina, giving an
account of his safe arrival there with the people, with the loss
only of two children.
On the 18th of July, 1733, they received another letter
from him, which is here inserted at length, as it gives an ac¬
count of the situation where he planted the people.
From the Camp near Savannah, the 10th February, 1732-3.
Gentlemen,—I gave an account in my last, of our ar¬
rival at Charleston. The Governor and assembly have given
us all possible encouragement. Our people arrived at Beau¬
fort on the 20th of January, where I lodged them in some
new barracks built for the soldiers, whilst I went myself to
view the Savannah river. I fixed upon a healthy situation,
about ten miles from the sea; the river here forms an half
* Appendix, No. 1.
284 An Account showing the Progress
moon, along the south side of which the banks are about
forty feet high, and on the top a flat, which they call a bluff"j
the plain high ground extends into the country about five or
six miles, and along the river side about a mile. Ships that
draw twelve feet water can ride within ten yards of the
bank. Upon the river side, in the centre of this plain, I have
laid out the town, opposite to which is an island of very rich
pasturage, which I think should be kept for the trustees' cat¬
tle ; the river is pretty wide, the water fresh, and from the
key of the town you see its whole course to the sea, with
the island of Tybee, which forms the mouth of the river, for
about six miles up into the country. The landscape is very
agreeable, the stream being wide, and bordered with high
woods on both sides. The whole people arrived here on the
1st of February ; at night their tents were got up. Till the
10th we were taken up in unloading and making a crane,
which I then could not get finished, so took oft" the hands,
and set some to the fortification and began to fell the woods.
I have marked out the town and common ; half of the former
is already cleared, and the first house was begun yesterday
in the afternoon. A little Indian nation, the only one within
fifty miles, is not only in amity, but desirous to be subjects
to his Majesty King George, to have lands given them
among us, and to breed their children at our schools; their
chief, and his beloved man, who is the second man in the
nation, desire to be instructed in the Christian religion.
I am, gentlemen, &,c.
In this month of April, the trustees in another embarkation
of seventeen persons, sent some Italians whom they had pro¬
cured from Piedmont, in order to promote the silk business.
They received another letter from Mr. Oglethorpe, dated
the 20th February, 1732, of which the following extract gives
a further account of the people and their situation.
" Our people are all in perfect health. I chose the situa¬
tion for the town upon an high ground, forty feet perpendic¬
ular above high water mark; the soil dry and sandy, the
water of the river fresh, springs coming out from the sides
of the hill. I pitched upon this place not only for the pleas¬
antness of the situation, but because from the above men¬
tioned and other signs, I thought it healthy ; for it is sheltered
of the Colony of Georgia.
285
from the western and southern winds (the worst in this
country,) by vast woods of pine trees, many of which are
an hundred and few under seventy feet high. There is no
moss on the trees, though in most parts of Carolina they are
covered with it, and it hangs down two or three feet from
them. The last and fullest conviction of the healthfulness of
the place was, that an Indian nation, who knew the nature
of this country, chose it for their.situation."
The trustees endeavored very .early to secure the friend¬
ship of the Indians, who by ranging through the woods would
be capable of giving constant intelligence to prevent any sur¬
prise upon the people, and would be a good out-guard for
the inland parts of the province. For this purpose they were
treated with all possible candor and gentleness. They were
acquainted that the English had no intention to hurt or dis¬
tress them, but would be ready to assist and protect them on
all occasions. They received several presents from the trus¬
tees, and were promised, that if any of the people of Georgia
injured them, they should upon their complaints and proof of
it find a ready redress. For which, in return, the Indians
engaged never to take any revenge themselves, as it might
breed ill blood between the English and them. And as they
have since found, that justice has been always done to them
upon proper complaints, they have been true to their en¬
gagements.
The Indians made a formal and voluntary cession of that
part of the country to Mr. Oglethorpe for the king of Great
Britain, by which a further right and title to it was acquired
and added to that of the first discovery and cultivation ; and
a treaty of friendship and commerce with them was settled,
which was soon after sent over to the trustees for their rati¬
fication.
In the month of May, 1733, the trustees sent over six per¬
sons more.
The number of people sent on the charity from the be¬
ginning to the 9th June, 1733, (on which day of the month
the trustees' account is yearly made up, which is directed to
be delivered to the Lord Chancellor and the other persons
named in the charter) amounted to one hundred and fifty-
two, of whom one hundred and forty-one were Britons, and
eleven were foreign Protestants, and sixty-one were men.
286 An Account showing the Progress
The lands granted in trust this year in order to be granted
out in smaller portions in Georgia, were the aforesaid five
thousand acres.
The lands granted within this year to persons going at
their own expense, were four thousand four hundred and
sixty acres.
The money received from private persons this year
amounted to 3723I. 13s. 7d., whereof the trustees applied
2254I. 17s. 9d. of which they exhibited an account to the
Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice of the Common
Pleas, pursuant to their charter, and carried the remainder
into their succeeding account.
From the 9th June, 1733, to the 9th June, 1734.
Besides the several works on which the people were em¬
ployed at Savannah, as pallisading the town, clearing the
place from pine trees, &c. and building of houses, some other
works were carried on, viz. a public garden was laid out,
which was designed as a nursery, in order to supply the
people for their several plantations with white mulberry trees,
vines, oranges, olives, and other necessary plants. A gar¬
dener was appointed for the care of it, and to be paid by the
trustees. A crane was made for landing of goods upon the
bluff; a battery raised which commands the river some dis¬
tance below the town, and on the island of Tybee at the en¬
trance of the river, a beacon was erected ninety feet high,
which has been of great service not only to the ships enter¬
ing the river Savannah, but to those likewise which sail by
the coast, there being none like it all along the coast of
America.
A fort was likewise built at the narrow passages of an in¬
land river (called Ogechee) in order to protect the settlement
from any inland invasion from Augustine. Two little villages
were laid out and settled at about four miles distant from Sa¬
vannah, inland from the river, and a mile from each other,
which were called Hampstead and Highgate.
In the Carolina Gazette,* dated the 22d March, 1732, a
* Appendix, No. 2.
of the Colony of Georgia.
287
further account was given of the settlement at Savannah,
which was written by a gentleman of Charleston, who with
some others went thither out of curiosity.
The Parliament having granted out of money arisen from
the sale of the lands at St. Christopher, ten thousand pounds
for the further settling and securing the colony, the trustees
resolved to lose no time in strengthening it with people, and
accordingly in the months of September and October, 1733,
they sent over two embarkations of persons, whose numbers
are entered at the end of this year's proceedings, and of
whom many were persecuted Protestants from Saltzburgh.
As very pleasing accounts of the country and settlement
were sent from several of the people there to their friends, the
trustees were informed that some persons had gone about in
several parts of England offering money and land in their
names (but without their knowledge or authority) to any who
should be desirous of going to Georgia: therefore they pub¬
lished an advertisement in some of the newspapers, in order
to prevent the ill consequences of drawing laborious people
out of the country with such expectations, and they declared
that they had never given such power to any persons what¬
soever, and that they never used any solicitations to induce
people to go over.
Number British. Foreign Pro- /Men.
The persons sent ) sent- testants.
on the charity this > 341 whereof 237 and 104 and in 135
year were - )
Those in the for- j whereof 141 and 11 and in 61
mer year were )
The number of per- )
sons sent in the |
two years to the j>493 whereof 378 and 115 and in 196
19th June, 1734, |
were J
The lands granted in trust this year in order to be granted
out in smaller portions in Georgia were eight thousand and
one hundred acres.
The lands granted this year to persons going at their own
expense were five thousand seven hundred and twenty-five
acres.
The money received this year pursuant to Act of Parlia¬
ment was 10,000/., and from private persons 1502/. 19s. 3d.
288
An Account showing the Progress
whereof the trustees applied 6863/. 05. \0d. of which they
exhibited an account to the Lord Chancellor and Master of
the Rolls, pursuant to their charter, and carried the remain¬
der into their succeeding account.
From, the 9th June, 1734, to the 9th June, 1735.
In the month of June, 1734, Mr. Oglethorpe arrived from
the colony, and with him came some of the principal Indians
of the Lower Creek Nation who live nearest to Savannah.
When these Indians were in England, they desired of the
trustees that the measures, prices and qualities of all goods to
be purchased by them with their deer-skins, might be settled,
as likewise the weights; that nobody might be allowed to
trade with the Indians in Georgia without a license from the
trustees, in order that if they were in any respect injured or
defrauded by the traders, they might know where to com¬
plain ; and they further desired there might be but one store¬
house in each Indian town for supplying them with the goods
they might want to purchase, from whence the trader should
be obliged to supply them at the first prices.
The reason which the Indians gave for this application,
was, because the traders with them had often in an arbitrary
manner raised the prices of goods, and defrauded them in the
weights and measures, and by their impositions had often
created animosities between the English and Indians, which
had frequently ended in wars between them prejudicial to both.
The trustees having considered of their request, and being
informed that the Council and Assembly of Carolina had
passed an Act the 20th August, 1731, entitled, An Act for
the better regulation of the Indian trade, and for appointing
a Commissioner for that purpose ivith regulations, which the
trustees hoped might be effectual in Georgia, prepared an
Act, entitled, An Act for maintaining the peace with the In¬
dians in the Province of Georgia, with the same regulations
and provisions as were in the Carolina Act ; which Act
ceased to be in force in Georgia since it was erected into a
distinct independent province not subject to the laws of
Carolina
The trustees receiving frequent informations from the
of the Colony of Georgia.
289
colony of the pernicious effects of drinking rum and other
spirituous liquors, by not only creating disorders amongst the
Indians (who had been plentifully supplied with it by the
traders) but also destroying many of the English, and throw¬
ing the people into various distempers, prepared an Act, en¬
titled, An Act to prevent the importation and use of rum and
brandies in the Province of Georgia, or any kind of spirits or
strong waters whatsoever. At the same time they endeavored
to supply the stores with strong beer from England, molasses
for brewing beer, and with Madeira wines, which the people
might purchase at reasonable rates, and which would be
more refreshing and wholesome for them. The magistrates
of the town of Savannah were likewise empowered to grant
licenses to private persons for retailing beer, ale, &c.; and
the trustees have great reason to believe that the remarkable
healthiness of Ebenezer in the northern part, and Frederica
in the southern part of Georgia, is very much owing to the
prohibition of the use of rum : for in those parts where rum,
in defiance of the Act, has been introduced, the people have
not in general been so healthy and vigorous.
At the same time the trustees, taking into consideration the
many inconveniences which would attend the introduction of
negroes in a frontier, for the several reasons before specified,
prepared an Act for rendering the colony of Georgia more
defensible by prohibiting the importation and use of black
slaves or negroes into the same.
These three Acts were laid before the King in Council, in
the month of January, 1734, and after a report from the
Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations to the Com¬
mittee of Council, that they were proper to receive his Ma¬
jesty's royal approbation, they were ratified by his Majesty
in Council.
Though the lands granted by the trustees were to revert
to them on failure of issue male, in order to be re-granted for
keeping up a number of men; yet the trustees as guardians
of the people when any such failure happened, resolved that
the value of the improvements upon the lands of the late oc¬
cupiers, should be valued and paid to or for the benefit of the
female issue or near relation, and the first issue of such a
failure being on the death of Mr. De Farren, the value of the
improvements he had made upon his estate was on the 5th
Feb. 1734, ordered and paid for the use of his daughter in
vol. ii. 37
290 An Account showing the Progress
England, who being destitute would have been absolutely-
unable to proceed in the cultivation of her father's lot.
Two embarkations were made this- year, whose numbers
are hereafter mentioned, which consisted chiefly of Saltz-
burgers, who with the Saltzburgers that went before, were
settled in a town called by them Ebenezer, upon the river
Savannah, at some distance above the town, and by the so¬
briety and industry of the people they prove a very thriving
settlement.
The persons sent on N"e™ter British' profJstanV Men'
the charity this > 81 whereof 23 and 58 and in 43
year were . . . )
Those in the former j f d d
years were . . . )
The number of per- 4
sons sent in 1.574 whereof 401 and 173 and in 239
three years to the j
9th June 1735 were J '
The lands granted in trust this year in order to be granted
out in smaller portions in Georgia, were two thousand five
hundred acres.
The lands granted this year to persons going at their own
expense, were one thousand nine hundred acres.
The money received this year in benefactions amounted to
5416/. 7s. 7d. whereof given in South Carolina, 464/. 18s.
2d. the afinount in sterling money and in England 4951/. 9s.
5d. which the trustees applied, as also part of their former
balance to the amount of 11,194/. 9s. 2d. of which they ex¬
hibited an account to the lord chancellor, and master of the
rolls, pursuant to their charter, and carried the then remainder
into their succeeding account.
From the 9th June, 1735, to the 9th June, 1736.
That all persons who should be desirous of going to
Georgia might be apprised in time of the several conditions
they were to perform,* rules were drawn up and printed for
those who should be sent on the charity, as well as those
* Appendix, No. 3, and 4.
of the Colony of Georgia. 291
who should go on their own expense, in which the conditions
were specified as well as the necessaries for their subsistence
and labor.
The parliament having in the year 1735 granted twenty-
six thousand pounds for the further settling and securing the
colony of Georgia, the trustees thought it prudent to
strengthen the southern part of the province by making a
settlement on the Alatamaha river, to which they were
strongly induced by a memorial * sent to his majesty from
the governor and council of South Carolina, dated the 9th
April, 1734, wherein, after thanking his majesty for his pecu¬
liar favor and protection, and especially for his most benign
care so wisely calculated for the preservation of South Caro¬
lina, by his royal charter to the trustees for establishing the
colony of Georgia, and after representing the practices of
of the French to seduce the Indians in amity with South
Carolina, the attention of the French to the improvement of
their settlements, and their late enlargement of them nearer to
Carolina, the defenceless condition of their province, and the
danger of the inhabitants from their own negroes, and the
ruinous situation of the West India trade in case the French
should possess themselves of Carolina; they add, that the
harbors and ports of Carolina and Georgia f enable his
majesty to be absolute master of the passage through the
gulf of Florida, and to impede at his pleasure the transpor¬
tation home of the Spanish treasure, which, should his ma¬
jesty's enemies possess, would then prove so many convenient
harbors for them to annoy a great part of the British trade to
America, as well as that which is carried on through the gulf
from Jamaica.
Upon which inducements the trustees resolved to make
embarkations for strengthening the southern part of Georgia,
and to obviate any objections which might be made by send¬
ing over any of our useful poor from England; and as the
* Appendix, No. 4.
t The harbor in the southern part of Georgia, the nearest to the gulf of Florida
which has yet been sounded, has been proved by affidavits of three captains of ships
who have been there, viz., captain Thomas Shubrick, captain George Dymond, and
captain William Thomson, to be capable of receiving ships of forty guns, and to be
safely land locked. And by the affidavit* of Thomas Pearce, mariner, who was on
the coast of Georgia near four years, it appears that ships in this harbor may in
twenty-four hours from the bar, run into the gulf stream of Florida, through which
stream the Spanish galleons (when not passing the windward passage) always come.
* Appendix, No. 5.
292
An Account showing the Progress
trustees found that many of the poor who had been useless
in England were inclined to be useless likewise in Georgia,
they determined that these embarkations should consist
chiefly of persons from the highlands of Scotland, and per¬
secuted German protestants.
While these embarkations were preparing, the trustees
made preparations for the new settlements. They estab¬
lished the civil government for the new town (which was
called Frederica) in the same manner as they had before at
Savannah.
In the month of January, 1735, the Highlanders arrived in
Georgia, (and with them several of the same country as ser¬
vants to private grantees) they were settled on the Alatamaha
river, about sixteen miles distant by water from the island of
St. Simons (which is at the mouth of the river), they soon
raised convenient huts till their houses could be built; and
the town at their own desire was called Darien, which name
still remains to the district, but the town is since named by
them New Inverness.
On the 6th February, 1735, the embarkation under the
conduct of Mr. Oglethorpe arrived in Georgia, they were
settled upon St. Simon's Island, the town called Frederica
was soon laid out, and the people were set to work in build¬
ing their houses. The Creek Indians who went thither upon
occasion of this new settlement, agreed that the English
should possess St. Simon's Island, with the others contiguous
to it. The land of the island is very fertile, chiefly oak and
hickory, intermixed with savannahs and old Indian fields, and
according to a survey made of it, it is about forty-five miles
in circumference.
For a communication between the settlements in the north¬
ern and southern parts of the province by land, a road was
soon afterwards opened.
The persons sent ) Nuj£er British- FStsPro' Mcn-
on the charity 470 whereof 341 and 129 and in 224
this year were
574 whereof 401 and 173 and in 239
Those in the for¬
mer years were
The number of>
persons sent in
the four years 1044 whereof 742 and 302 and in 463
to the 9th June
1736, were
of the Colony of Georgia.
293
The lands granted in trust this year in order to be granted
out in smaller portions were twenty thousand acres; and in
trust for religious uses, to be cultivated, with the money
arising from private benefactions given for that purpose, in
order to settle a provision upon a clergyman at Savannah, a
catechist and a schoolmaster, three hundred acres.
The lands granted this year to persons going on their own
expense were nine thousand three hundred acres.
The money received this year pursuant to Act of Parlia¬
ment was £26,000, and in benefactions 2164/. 195. 6d. 3q.,
whereof in South Carolina 411/. 15. 1 d. 3q. the amount in
sterling money, and in England 1753/. 185. 5d., whereof the
trustees applied 22,697/. 5s. 5d. 3q. of which they exhibited
an account to the Lord Chancellor and Master of the Rolls,
pursuant to their charter, and carried the remainder into
their succeeding account.
From the 9th June, 1736, to the 9th June, 1737.
For the security of the people (who were settled the last
year on St. Simon's Island) and the southern part of the
province, several forts were built this year, viz. :
One at Frederica, with four regular bastions and a spur
work towards the river, and several pieces of cannon were
mounted on it.
About ten miles from Frederica a large battery is built
commanding the entrance into the sound, where ten or
twelve forty gun ships may safely ride, there being sufficient
water on the Bar called Jekyll for such ships to go over,
which Bar lies in 30d. 40m. and behind Jekyll Island there
is water and room enough for shipping for ten miles up.
The battery is enclosed within a strong wall, and has a
guard-house within the wall capable of holding twenty-four
men.
Another fort was built on the south-west part of the Island
of St. Peters (now called Cumberland,) which lies in 30d.
30m. under which fort, on which are mounted several pieces
of ordnance pointed towards the river, all sloops and boats
in the inland passage to this island must come. Within the
pallisade round the fort there are fine springs of water, and
294 An Account showing the Progress
there is a well framed timber log house, thirty feet by
eighteen, with a magazine under it both for ammunition and
provisions. A scout boat is stationed at this island.
As these precautions were taken for the southern part of
the province, directions were given for a fort to be built for
the security of the northern part, by way of an out-guard
against any invasion by land. This was at a place called
Augusta, which has proved a very thriving town, it being
now the chief place of trade with the Indians, and where the
traders of both provinces of South Carolina and Georgia re¬
sort, from the security they find there. Augusta is about
two hundred and thirty miles by water from the town of Sa¬
vannah, and large boats, which carry about nine thousand
pounds weight of deer-skins, can navigate down the river
Savannah. The town, which stands upon a high ground
near the river, is well inhabited, and has several warehouses
in it furnished with goods for the Indian trade. A road has
been likewise made, so that horsemen can now ride from this
town to Savannah, as likewise to the Cherokee Indians, who
are situated above the town of Augusta, and trade with it.
A garrison has been kept at this fort at the trustees expense
till the arrival of the regiment his majesty since ordered for
the defence of the cojony.
Whilst these dispositions were making for the security of
the province, the parliament gave ten thousand pounds this
year for the further settling and securing the colony; but as
the expenses of the forts and the supplies which were sent
for the support of the colony were very great, and as many
people in the northern part of the province were as yet unable
to subsist themselves, and out of compassion to them and
their families a store was still kept open for their subsistence,
the trustees sent over but few persons-this year.
In the beginning of the year 0737, the Spaniards at
Augustine made preparations for attacking the colony of
Georgia; they laid in quantities of corn and provisions,
bought up a great number of fire-arms, and large bodies of
regular troops were sent thither from the Havana.
~f The Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina informed the
^Magistrates of Savannah of these preparations. This advice
and the frequent alarms which were otherwise given, drew
the people off from their labor in the sowing season, and their
improvements in their plantations were neglected, and they
were obliged to make preparations for their defence.
of the Colony of Georgia.
295
Number British. Foreign Pro- Men.
sent. testants.
At the same time the Highlanders at New Inverness, who
were exposed to danger, built a fort there, and twelve
pieces of cannon were mounted on it.
Though the people at Savannah were not so immediately
exposed to danger, they began to build a large fort at their
town of pallisade work with bastions ; but as the trustees
perceived this took off the people from their cultivation, that
the work would be very chargeable, and they had not money
to support the expense, they found themselves under a
necessity to put a stop thereto,
The persons sent
on the charity V 32 whereof 32 and and in 19
this year were )
Those in the for > whereof 742 and 302 and in 463
mer years were )
The number of ^
persons sent in |
the five years > 1076 whereof 774 and 302 and in 482
to the 9 th June
1737, were
The lands granted in trust this year in order to be granted
out in smaller portions in Georgia were three thousand acres,
and in trust to be cultivated, with the money arising from
private benefactions given for that purpose, in order to raise
a maintenance for a minister and schoolmaster at Frederica,
and other religious uses, three hundred acres.
The lands granted this year to persons going on their own
expense were four thousand three hundred acres.
The money received this year pursuant to Act of Parlia¬
ment, was £10,000, and in benefactions 3627/. 185. 7d.,
whereof in South Carolina the amount in sterling money
333/. 195. 6d. and in England 3293/. 195. Id. which the
trustees applied, as also part of their former balance to the
sum of 17,239/. 195. 5d., of which they exhibited an account
to the Lord Chancellor, and Master of the Rolls, pursuant to
their charter, and carried the then remainder to their suc¬
ceeding account.
From the 9th June, 1737, to the 9th June, 1738.
The Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina having ac¬
quainted the trustees by a letter dated from the Council
Chamber the 7th February, 1736-7, that he had received
296
An Account showing the Progress
advice from Commodore Dent, of preparations made by the
Spaniards at Augustine and the Havana, in order to make
an attack on the colony of Georgia, and the trustees having
in a ^memorial to his majesty set forth the inability of the
colony to protect themselves against such a force as was pre¬
paring at the Havana and Augustine, his Majesty was gra¬
ciously pleased to order a regiment of six hundred effective
men to be raised and sent to Georgia for the defence and
protection of it.
And as an encouragement for the soldiers' good behavior,
the trustees resolved to give each of them a property in the
colony; they therefore made a grant of land in trust for an
allotment of five acres of land to each soldier of the regi¬
ment to cultivate for his own use and benefit, and to hold the
same during his continuance in his majesty's service; and
for a further encouragement, they resolved, that each soldier,
who at the end of seven years from the time of his enlisting
in the regiment, should be desirous of quitting his majesty's
service, and should have his regular discharge, and would
settle in the colony, should on his commanding officer's cer¬
tificate of his good behavior, be entitled to a grant of twenty
acres of land.
The Parliament having taken into consideration the great
expenses which the trustees had been at in making roads
through the province, and the several fortifications in it, and
the presents made to the Indians to engage them firmer in
the British interest, and likewise the preparations which were
making by the Spaniards in order to take or destroy the
colony, and having granted this year a sum of twenty thou¬
sand pounds for the further settling and securing the colony,
the trustees made another embarkation, which consisted
chiefly of persecuted German Protestants
The persons sent on
the charity this V 298 whereof 135 and 163 and in 152
year were . . . )
Those in the former
years were . .
The number of per¬
sons sent in the six
years to the 9th
June 1738 were
Number British. Foreign Pro- Men.
sent. testnnts.
1076 whereof 774 and 302 and in 482
1374 whereof 909 and 465 and in 634
* Appendix, No. 6.
of the Colony of Georgia.
297
By accounts received from the colony before the end of
this year, there appear to have been one thousand one
hundred and ten persons in Georgia, besides those at Tybee,
Skidoway fort, Argyll, Thunderbolt and Augusta, in the
northern part, and those at St, Andrews and Amelia in the
southern part.
The lands granted in trust this year in order to be granted
out in smaller portions in Georgia were three thousand acres.
The lands granted this year to persons going on their own
expense were one thousand acres.
The money received this year pursuant to act of Parlia¬
ment was £20,000, and in benefactions, 909/. 195. 10d. 2q.
whereof the trustees applied 18,870/. 135. 3d. 2q. of wffiich
they exhibited an account to the Lord Chancellor, and
Master of the Rolls, pursuant to their charter, and carried the
remainder into their succeeding account.
From the 9th June 1738, to the 9th June 1739.
As several merchants and captains of ships had for their
own interest carried into the colony from New York and
other places, large cargoes of provisions, &,c., great part of
which (to save the merchants from losses,) was taken in at
the store without a proper authority from the trustees, and
an expense created thereby which the trustees could not
estimate, nor have ability to discharge, and for which certified
accounts were returned to them; the trustees published an
advertisement in the London Gazette, and ordered it to be
published in the South Carolina Gazette, and to be affixed
upon the doors of the store-houses at Savannah and Fred-
erica that out of a due regard to public credit they had re¬
solved, that all expenses which they had ordered or should
order to be made in America for the use of the colony,
should be defrayed and paid for in Georgia, in Sola bills of
exchange only, under their seal; and they gave notice, that
no person whatsoever had any authority from them, or in
their name, or for their account, to purchase or receive any
cargoes of provisions, stores or necessaries, without paying
for them in the said Sola bills.
vol. ii. 38
298
An Account showing the Progress
Upon the petition of one Abraham De Lyon, a freeholder
of Savannah, in Georgia, that he had expended a great sum
in the cultivation of vines, which he had carried from Portu¬
gal, and had brought to great perfection; and several cer¬
tificates being produced of his improvements in cultivating
them, and of the goodness of the grapes, and of their thriv¬
ing in the most barren lands of the province, the trustees
assisted him to proceed in his improvements.
The security of the colony being provided for by the reg¬
iment sent over by his Majesty, the Parliament gave eight
thousand pounds for the further settling the colony. There¬
fore the trustees sent over an estimate of all the expenses
they allowed to be made in the province, by which several
military expenses, which they had been engaged in for the
defence of the colony, and which were very great, were re¬
duced.
The trustees this year sent over the Reverend Mr. Norris
to reside at Frederica, with a salary of fifty pounds a year,
ordered a house to be built for him, and another for the
inhabitants to perform divine service in till a church could
be built there.
The assembly of South Carolina having in the last year
passed an ordinance for raising a sum to indemnify their
traders in opposition to the act which was approved of by his
Majesty in council for maintaining the peace with the Indians
in the province of Georgia, upon a memorial from the trus¬
tees complaining of the said ordinance, and upon a petition
of the council and assembly of South Carolina against the
said act, there was a solemn hearing before the Lords Com¬
missioners of Trade and Plantations, and afterwards before
a committee of the Lords of his Majesty's Privy Council.
Whereupon his Majesty was pleased to order, that the said
ordinance of the assembly of South Carolina should be re¬
pealed and declared void, and was pleased to send an
instruction to the trustees to prepare a proper act or ordi¬
nance for settling the trade carried on by the provinces of
South Carolina and Georgia with the Indians, on such a
footing as might be for the mutual benefit and satisfaction of
both provinces. And his Majesty at the same time was
graciously pleased to give an instruction to Samuel Horsey,
Esq., Governor and Lieutenant General of South Carolina,
of the Colony of Georgia.
299
to recommend to the council and assembly there to pass a
law for the like purpose in that province. But Samuel Hor¬
sey, Esq., dying soon after, and no other Governor having
since gone to South Carolina, that affair remains unsettled.
The trustees immediately sent to Colonel Oglethorpe a
copy of his Majesty's instructions, and desired that he would
consult with Lieutenant Governor Bull, in South Carolina,
that plans of proper acts might be prepared and sent over to
the trustees for their consideration, in order to answer the
purposes of his Majesty's instructions, and that in the mean¬
time the commissioners of South Carolina and the commis¬
sioners of Georgia, might proceed in their respective pro¬
vinces in concert with each other to carry on a mutual trade
to the Indians in both provinces.
Mr. Stephens, Secretary in Georgia, having informed the
trustees that the grand jury at Savannah claimed a right of
administering oaths, and making inquiry thereon into all such
matters as they should think fit, and the trustees having per¬
ceived that in a representation of the said grand jury they
had pretended to such right, sent a letter to Mr. Stephens to
acquaint him, that the trustees were sensible great mischiefs
might be done by ill-designing men who might procure them¬
selves to be put upon the panel, if this claim of the grand
jury was allowed of, and therefore the trustees ordered him
to acquaint the people that the grand jury had no such right,
and that their claim was entirely illegal.
As the trustees both by their letters and instructions to the
magistrates, had constantly exhorted and encouraged the
people to a cultivation of their lands on which they were to
depend for their support, and as they found that many (as
well of those whom they had sent over as objects of charity,
as of others who at different times had gone into the colony
from other plantations for a temporary maintenance,) still
continued in their idleness, and were a burthen upon the
trust, they gave orders for striking off the store all such as
having had time to cultivate their lands had neglected it.
This carried from the colony many of those who had gone
thither or joined it from any parts of America to gain a sub¬
sistence for a year or two, and of others who had not con¬
sidered the hardships of attending the first settlement of a
country, and were tired of their labor.
300 An Account showing the Piogress
The trustees receiving an account dated the 12th Febru¬
ary, 1738, from their Secretary in the province, of an un¬
easiness amongst several persons upon the tenures of their
lots being confined to the heirs male, and they considering
that the colony had been for some time established, and the
people grown more numerous, and a regiment being stationed
in it for its defence, whereby the former tenures became less
necessary, did on the 15th March following, at their anniver¬
sary meeting, resolve, that in default of issue male, any legal
possessor of land, might by a deed in writing, or by his last
will and testament, appoint his daughter as his successor, or
any other male or female relation, with a proviso, that the
successor should in the proper court in Georgia, personally
claim the lot granted or devised within eighteen months after
the death of the grantor or devisor.
This was soon after extended to every legal possessor's
being impowered to appoint any other person to be his suc¬
cessor.
But whilst the trustees were taking these steps for the sat¬
isfaction of the people, and whilst those in the southern part
of the province (though exposed to greater danger,) were
industrious and easy in their settlements, many of those in
the northern part, who had neglected the cultivation of their
lands, drew up a representation dated the 9th December,
1738, setting forth the want of a fee simple to their lands,
and negroes to cultivate them ; but they were far from being
seconded or supported by the people in the southern parts of
the province in this representation, who not only refused to
sign it, but petitioned the trustees against the use of ne¬
groes, setting forth the danger they should be in from the
Spaniards, who had proclaimed freedom to all slaves who
should resort to them, and that by this means they should be
exposed to an,enemy without and a more dangerous one in
their bosoms.
The industrious Saltzburgers also at Ebenezer, (who are
in the northern part of the province, not far from Savannah)
petitioned against negroes, and set forth their satisfaction
and happiness in their settlement; that they had raised in
the last season, more rice, pease, potatoes, pumpkins, cab¬
bage, corn, &c., than was necessary for their consumption,
and that they did not find the climate so warm but that it
was very tolerable for working people.
of the Colony of Georgia.
301
The persons sent on) Nsue^er British- FSIStf.r0" Me"'
the charity this > 9 whereof 2 and 7 and in 4
year were . . . )
f°rmer | 1374 whereof 909 and 465 and in 634
years were . . )
The number of per- )
sons sent in the |
seven years were J-1383 whereof 911 and 472 and in 638
9th June 1739
were .
The only return from Georgia this year, was an account
of the people at Savannah, who were one hundred and nine
freeholders, besides their wives and children, and besides
inmates and servants, of the latter of which there were a
great number, part of whose passages were paid for in the
next year on representations made to the trustees for that
purpose.
The lands granted in trust this year to be cultivated for
the maintenance of an orphan house in Georgia, were five
hundred acres.
The money received this year pursuant to act of parlia¬
ment, was T8,000, and in benefactions 473/. 95. 4c?. which
the trustees applied, as also part of their former balance to
the amount of 10,347/. 4s. lcZ. of which they exhibited an
account to the lord chancellor, and master of the rolls, pur¬
suant to their charter, and carried the then remainder into
their succeeding account.
From the 9th June, 1739, to the 9th June, 1740.
At the time that some of the people at Savannah were so
clamorous for negroes (for seventy-five land and freeholders
of whom fifty-two were freeholders, did not apply for them)
the province of South Carolina was under frequent alarms
on account of their negroes there. They had intelligence
that a conspiracy was formed by the negroes in Carolina to
rise and forcibly make their way out of the province, to put
themselves under the protection of the Spaniards ; who had
proclaimed freedom to all who should run away to them from
their owners. That this conspiracy was discovered at Win-
302 An Account showing the Progress
yar, the most northern part of that province, from whence as
the negroes must bend their course, it argued that the other
parts of the province must be privy to it, and that the rising
was to be universal. Whereupon the whole province was
upon their guard; the number of negroes in South Carolina
being computed toTe about forty thousand, and the number
of white men at most not above five thousand. As several
negroes who were employed in periaguas and other like
craft (which they carried off with them) had taken the ben¬
efit of the Spaniards' proclamation and gone to Augustine,
the government of South Carolina sent a solemn deputation
to demand their slaves; this deputation consisted of Mr.
Brathwaite, a member of the council, Mr. Rutlidge, one of
the assembly, and Mr. Amian, clerk of the assembly; but
the governor of Augustine, though in time of profound
peace, peremptorily refused to deliver them up, and declared
he had orders to receive all such as should come there and
protect them.
Upon this, and the petition which was sent from the High¬
landers at Darien, and the Saltzburgers at Ebenezer, repre¬
senting the danger and inconvenience of the introduction of
negroes, the trustees sent under their seal answer to the
representation of some of the inhabitants of Savannah.
Among the persons to whom grants of land were made in
order to their settling at their own expense in the colony,
some never went over; others were gentlemen of Carolina
who neglected to take up their lands, or even desire to have
them laid out; and others who quitted their plantations, and
went to reside at Savannah as shop-keepers. One man in
particular, an apothecary surgeon, from the beginning neg¬
lected his grant and followed his practice in the town; an¬
other quitted his plantation and betook himself to selling of
rum. To these two almost all the town of Savannah were
indebted for physic or rum, and they first raised the clamor
that lands might be alienable, and negroes admitted, which
would have made them possessors of the chief part of the
lots. To these some others who had gone at their own ex¬
pense, and had employed their covenanted servants on their
plantations joined themselves, taking their servants from their
labor and letting them out to hire in the town for the sake of
an immediate profit, on which they lived in an idle and riot¬
ous manner; and even at the time when their servants were
of the Colony of Georgia.
303
taken off from their proper labor in their plantations, they
fomented the clamor for negroes in order to carry them on.
The spirit of idleness which was very early introduced in
the town, many of the people were too ready to follow;
constant clubs have been held, and horse races kept up by
them to amuse and divert the people from their labor. And
delinquents (who have insulted the laws even in the courts
of justice and declared they would do their utmost to destroy
the colony) have, when committed to prison, been abetted
and supported by them. By these the beforementioned
representation was formed, and many of the people by their
own inclination to idleness, by the power the others had
over them as creditors, and by hopes being given them that
if they stuck together the trustees must grant them negroes,
or see the colony abandoned, were thus drawn in to sign the
same, in which they in a manner demanded the permission
of negroes and an alteration of their tenures.
The trustees to make all the people as easy and contented
as they could, published an advertisement in the London
Gazette, the 8th September, 1739, and other papers, which
was continued for several days, and ordered it to be pub¬
lished in the South Carolina Gazette, that they had resolved
to enlarge their grants on failure of issue male, and to make
a provision for the widows of the grantees in the following
manner, viz., that the lands already granted should on failure
of issue male descend to the daughters of such grantees,
and in case there should be no issue male or female, that the
grantee might devise such lands, and for want of such de¬
vise that such lands should descend to their heirs at law;
with a proviso that the possession of the person who should
enjoy such devise should not be increased to more than five
hundred acres, and that the widows of the grantees should
hold and enjoy the dwelling-house, garden, and one moiety
of the lands their husbands should die seized of for and
during the term of their lives.
The trustees directed, in the advertisement, that those who
intended to have the benefit given them should enter their
respective claims, in order that proper grants and convey¬
ances in the law might be forthwith prepared and executed
for that purpose; and that no fee or reward was to be taken
for the entering of any such claim directly or indirectly by
any person or persons whatsoever.
304
An Account showing the Progress
In the month of August, 1739, the trustees received ad¬
vice from General Oglethorpe, that he had frequent intelli¬
gence of the Spaniards endeavoring to bribe the Indians,
and particular the Creek nation, into a rupture with the
English, which made it necessary for him to go to the gen¬
eral assembly of the Indian nations at the Coweta-Town,
about five hundred miles distant from Frederica, in order to
prevent such designs and seditions among them, and that he
had been obliged to buy horses and presents to carry up to
this meeting, where the Choctaws (who are upon the fron¬
tiers between the English and French Settlements) and the
Chickasaws were to send their deputies.
This journey of General Oglethorpe's has since appeared
to be of great service to.the public ; for on the 26th August,
1739, Mr. Stephens received an express from Col. Bull,
lieutenant governor of South Carolina, that he had intelli¬
gence from lieutenant governor Clarke, of New York, con¬
cerning the French marching from Montreal, near Quebec,
with a body of about two hundred regular troops and five
hundred Indians, who were to be reinforced by French and
Indians in their journey. That this army was designed
against the Indians in friendship with his Britannic majes¬
ty's subjects of Carolina and Georgia, who are situated near
some branches of the Mississippi river. Col. Bull added,
that he should immediately despatch an express to the Creek
nations with advice to General Oglethorpe of the contents
of lieutenant governor Clarke's letter, and that it was neces¬
sary that both the provinces of Carolina and Georgia should
be on their guard, though if the Creek Indians should prove
true, the danger would not be great; General Oglethorpe by
his treaties with the Indians in this journey has confirmed
them in the British interest, and made a new treaty with
them whereby their former concession of lands to Great
Britain was confirmed and extended.
A parcel of raw silk was brought this year from Georgia
by one Mr. Samuel Augspourguer, who made an affidavit
before a master in chancery, that he received it from the
hands of Mr. Thomas Jones, the trustees' storekeeper at Sa¬
vannah, who told him it was the produce of Georgia, ancty
the said Samuel Augspourguer, who resided in the southern
part of the province said, that when at Savannah, he saw
the Italian family there winding off silk from the cocoons.
of the Colony of Georgia.
305
The silk was showed at the trustees' office to Mr. John
Zachary, an eminent raw silk merchant, and Mr. Booth, one
of the greatest silk weavers in England, who declared it was
as fine as any Italian silk, and that it was worth at least
twenty shillings a pound.
This Mr. Samuel Augspourguer, who joined the colony in
the year 1736, left it in July, 1739, with two men servants
and their children on his plantation, and came over to obtain
a grant of five hundred acres of land, and to get some of
his own countrymen from the canton of Beam in Switzer¬
land to go with him as servants on his return to Georgia, in
order to proceed more effectually in the cultivation of his
lands.
charity were .
The persons sent on )
the charity in the > 1383 whereof 911 and 472 and in 638
former years were )
The number of per-"
sons sent in the
eight years to the } 1521 whereof 915 and 606 and in 687
9th June, 1740, |
were J
The lands granted this year to be cultivated at the ex¬
pense of the Incorporated Society in Scotland for promoting
christian knowledge in order to raise a maintenance for the
Scots minister at New Inverness in Georgia, were three
hundred acres.
The lands granted this year to be cultivated by a person
at his own expense were five hundred acres.
The lands granted in trust in the said eight years in order
to be granted out in smaller portions in Georgia, were forty- i
one thousand six hundred acres; to be cultivated for relig- i
ious uses were nine hundred acres, and to be cultivated for 1
the maintenance of an orphan house were five hundred
acres.
The lands granted in the said eight years to persons who
were to cultivate them at their own expense were twenty-
seven thousand one hundred and eighty-five acres.
The money received this year pursuant to act of Parlia-
vol. ii. - 39
The persons whose ~
passages were
paid for on the
> 138 whereof 4 and 134 and in 49
Number
sent.
British. Foreign
Protestants.
Men.
306
An Account showing the Progress
ment was £20,000, and in benefactions 181/. 4.9. 3d. 2q.
whereof in South Carolina the amount in sterling money
86/. 6s. 11^. 2q. and in England 94/. lis. 4d. whereof the
trustees applied 16,614/. 2s. 5d. 2q. of which they exhibited
an account to the Lord Chancellor, and the Lord Chief
Justice of the court of the King's Bench, pursuant to their
charter, and the remainder of all the money they ever re¬
ceived being 5917/. 7s. Id. will be carried into their succeed¬
ing account.
From the 9th June, 1740, to the present time.
The trustees this year took further methods for the satis¬
faction of the people in the province; they extended the
tenures by which a daughter of a grantee, or any other per¬
son, was made capable of enjoying by devise or inheritance,
any quantity of lands which did not increase her or his pos¬
session to more than two thousand acres.
A license was likewise granted to all the present posses¬
sors of land in Georgia, to make leases of any parts of their
lots for any term not exceeding three years to any person
residing in Georgia and who should reside there during the
term of such lease.
A general release was likewise passed, by which no ad¬
vantage was to be taken against any of the present pos¬
sessors of land in Georgia for any forfeitures incurred at any
time before Christmas, 1740, in relation either to the tenure
or cultivation of lands, and the possessors of fifty acres of
land were not obliged to cultivate more than five acres
thereof in ten years from their grants, and those under fifty
acres in proportion. And the possessors of five hundred
acres of land were not obliged to cultivate more than one
hundred and twenty acres thereof in twenty years from
their grants, and those of under five hundred acres and
above fifty acres in proportion, in order to prevent any for¬
feitures for want of cultivating the quantities required.
Under these circumstances it is presumed that no com¬
plaint can now with reason be made against the tenure by
which the inhabitants at this time hold their lands, since they
have more power than is generally given by marriage settle-
of the Colony of Georgia.
307
ments in which the grantees* are only tenants for life, incapa¬
ble of mortgaging or aliening or making any disposition by
their last will, whereas the freeholders in Georgia are now
become tenants in tail general, and may, with the license of
the common council of the said trustees upon application
made to them for that purpose, mortgage or alien, and
further without that license, have it absolutely in their
power on failure of issue in tail to dispose thereof by their
last will.
By an account received from the Secretary in the province
it appears, that on the 1st August, 1740, about seventy free¬
holders of the northern part of the province, delivered in the
town court of Savannah their claims of lots under the tenures
which were advertised the last year in the South Carolina
and London Gazettes.
That on the 15th of the same month, as many or more
appeared in the said town court of the said occasion, and
that on the 27th of the same month divers more delivered in
their claims likewise.
The trustees are informed by their Secretary in the pro¬
vince, that in pursuance of their orders he had just finished
an authentical account of the state of the colony with respect
to the number of inhabitants in the several towns and vil¬
lages, the number of houses and the settlements made, the
progress which the several people had made in the cultiva¬
tion of their lands, and their ability or inability to support
themselves, and in case were the last appeared the reason of
it; the proportion of the different sorts of soil as near as
could be computed, and an account of the several produces
which by experience or appearance could or might be raised
for trade. And the trustees are daily in expectation of re¬
ceiving from him the said account. But by the several
accounts before received, they are enabled to give, though
an imperfect one, the following state of the settlements, viz.:
The town of Savannah is about ten miles up the river
Savannah, where are (besides warehouses and huts) at least
one hundred and thirty houses in the town; as these for the
sake of air, and to prevent the spreading of any fire, are
built at some distance from each other, they make several
spacious squares and wide streets. There is a regular mag¬
istracy settled in the town, which the trustees are obliged to
be at the expense of supporting till the colony arrives at
308
An Account showing the Progress
sufficient strength to do it. There are in the town a court
house, a store house, a gaol, a house for the trust servants, a
wharf, a guard-house, and some other public buildings; a
church is at present building, and a clergyman is settled
there. The town is excellently situated for trade, the navi¬
gation of the river being very secure, and ships of three
hundred tons can lie within six yards of the town, and the
worm does not eat them.
About four miles from Savannah, inland from the river,
are the two villages Highgate and Hampstead, which lie at
about a mile distant from each other. The people settled
there apply themselves chiefly to gardening, and supply the
town of Savannah with quantities of greens and garden
stuff.
By the account of Mr. Thomas Stephens, who at his
father's request was sent over to assist him in his business of
Secretary in the province, and continued with him there
some short time, he states that there are twenty plantations
within twenty miles round Savannah, which have each of
them from five to thirty acres of land cleared.
About fifteen miles from Savannah is a village called Aber-
corn ; about twenty miles further up the river is the town of
Ebenezer, where the Saltzburgers are settled, with two min¬
isters, one of whom computed that the number of his con¬
gregation in June 1738 consisted of one hundred and forty-
six. Therefore, as the infants could not be reckoned in the
computation, and as seven more have since been sent and
settled with them, it is believed the number has been in¬
creased ; especially since the town is so healthy, that by a
letter sent to the Society for Propagating Christian Know¬
ledge by the Reverend Mr. Boltzius, one of the ministers at
Ebenezer, dated the 26th June, 1740, he declared, that in a
year's time one person only had died, which was a child of
four years old. The people are industrious and sober; they
raise not only a sufficient quantity of corn and other pro¬
duces for their own subsistence, but they sell great quantities
to those at Savannah who have not been so careful of their
own plantations; they have great herds of cattle, and are in
so thriving a condition, that not one person has abandoned
his settlement, or sent over the least complaint about the
tenures or the want of negroes. On the contrary, they in a
body petitioned against the use of negroes, and their minis-
of the Colony of Georgia.
309
ters have declared, that their signing that petition was a vol¬
untary act. And at their desire another embarkation of their
countrymen, who are willing to go from Germany and join
them, is designed to be sent with all convenient speed.
About ten miles from hence, and upon a river running into
Savannah, is a place called Old Ebenezer, where is a cow-
pen, and a great number of cattle for the use of the public
and for breeding.
At a considerable distance from hence is the town of
Augusta, before described, which, with the great resort of
traders and Indians, is in a thriving condition, and is and will
be a great protection to both the provinces of Carolina and
Georgia against any designs of the French.
In the southern part of the province is the town of New
Inverness, upon the river Alatamaha, where the Highlanders
are settled.
And about twenty miles from hence, on the island of St.
Simons, near the sea, is the town of Frederica, with a regu¬
lar magistracy, as at Savannah, supported at the expense of
the trust; strong fortifications round the town are almost
finished, and at the south-east point of the island are barracks
for three hundred and thirty men.
There are settlements on the islands of Jekyll and Cum¬
berland, which lie at a small distance from each other to the
southward of Frederica, and on the last, two forts are built,
one of which was described before, and the other was fin¬
ished in April, 1740, upon the south end of the island. It
commands the inlet of Amelia sound, is strongly palisaded
with flankers, and is defended by eight pieces of cannon.
Barracks are built upon this island for two hundred and
twenty men, with store-houses, which were finished in Octo¬
ber, 1738.
There are six forts in the province, and a battery of can¬
non erected to secure the harbor of St. Simons, under which
ships may safely lie.
The Indians, from the presents which they have annually
received from the trustees, and from the justice and humanity
with which they have been treated, are secured in the British
interest, notwithstanding the arts both of the French and the
Spaniards to seduce them. By this South Carolina has been
free from those wars, in which (as the preamble of his Ma¬
jesty's charter sets forth,) they had frequently suffered, and
310 An Account shoivmg the Progress, $-c.
so late as in the year 1715, had been laid almost waste with
fire and sword, and by the security which South Carolina
received by such a frontier as Georgia is to it, very large
tracts of land have been cultivated in the southern part of
that province, which no person would venture to settle on
before, and a great quantity of rice raised thereon.
As the people in Georgia sent on the charity were sup¬
ported to enable them to raise their own provisions in the
first place on the lands they should clear, and to convert the
timber they should cut down in clearing those lands into
lumber, which they might to their great advantage transport
to the sugar colonies, and further to raise silk, wine and oil,
for which the climate was very proper, it was hoped from
thence they would gain a comfortable subsistence, and be of
service to their mother country in raising such produces,
which at present are purchased from foreigners with ready
money.
Having thus stated the plan laid down for the trustees by
his Majesty's charter, the several steps taken by them for the
execution of that plan, with their yearly progress therein, the
several obstructions from unforeseen accidents which have
checked that progress, with the present condition of the
colony, according to the latest and most authentic accounts
from thence, they submit the whole to the wisdom of this
honorable House, being entirely disposed to follow any di¬
rections that shall flow from thence. And as they have no
other view but the service of their country, by making this
colony as useful to the interest of Great Britain, as by its
situation and climate it is capable of being, they heartily wish
the trust in abler hands, that those important services might
not be defeated through their inability.
By order of the trustees,
Benjamin Martyn, Secretary.
APPENDIX.
No. I.
To the Trustees for Establishing the Colony of Georgia.
Gentlemen—In writing this answer to a letter I had the
honor to receive from you, dated the 29th instant, wherein
you desire to know my sentiments of an undertaking to raise
raw silk in your new settlement in Georgia; of the proba¬
bility of succeeding therein; the proper steps to be taken to
bring that work to perfection, and my opinion of the nature,
quality and use of the raw silk produced in Carolina: It is
a great pleasure to me, that from experiments which I made
some years ago, I can now, besides my opinion, give you
some information concerning that silk which may be de¬
pended on.
The value and usefulness of the undertaking will appear
as soon as we consider that all the silk consumed in this
kingdom is now of foreign growth and manufacture, which
costs the nation very great sums of money yearly to pur¬
chase ; and that the raising our supply thereof in his ma¬
jesty's dominions in America would save us all that money,
afford employment to many thousands of his majesty's sub¬
jects, and greatly increase the trade and navigation of Great
Britain.
It appears to me as beneficial to the kingdom, attended
with as little hazard or difficulty, as much wanted, and
which may as soon be brought to perfection in a proper cli¬
mate as any undertaking so considerable in itself, that I ever
heard of. I therefore think that there is a very great proba-
312
Appendix.
bility of its succeeding, if such proper methods are pursued,
and such assistance afforded to the poor people at their first
setting out, as are necessary to settle, instruct and encourage
them.
The silk produced in Carolina has as much natural strength
and beauty as the silk of Italy (which is commonly called fine
silk,) and by the several experiments I have tried with it, I
am satisfied that it might be made to answer the same pur¬
poses that Italian silk now does, if it be reeled in short skeins,
a fine clean and even thread. To effect which, if some ex¬
perienced persons are at first sent to teach the people, the
work will soon be made easy to the meanest capacity, and
the value of the silk will be thereby greatly increased.
As for my own part, if at any time you should think I can
be of use to promote so good a work, I shall be ready to
execute your commands as far as I am able; and always
remain,
Gentlemen,
Your most obedient humble servant,
Tho. Lombe.
Old Jaory, Jan. 31, 1732.
No. II.
Extract of a letter from South Carolina Gazette, dated at
Charleston, 22c? March, 1732.
On Tuesday, the 13th instant, I went on board a canoe in
company with Mr. Geo. Ducat aad Mr. John Balantine, with
four negroes, and about 10 o'clock we set out from Mr.
Lloyd's bridge for Georgia, and passing by Port Royal on
Wednesday night, we arrived on Friday morning an hour
before day at Yamacraw, a place so called by the Indians,
but now Savannah, in the colony of Georgia. Sometime
before we came to the landing the sentinel challenged us,
and understanding who we were, admitted us on shore.
This is a very high bluff, forty feet perpendicular from high
water mark. It lies, according to Capt. Gascoigne's Obser¬
vation, in the latitude of 3Id. 58m. which he took off Tybee,
an island that lies at the mouth of the Savannah river. It
Appendix.
313
is distant from Charleston S.W. according to course and
windings of the rivers and creeks about 140 miles, but by a
direct course 77, allowing Suillivant's Island to be in the lati¬
tude of 32d. 47m. from Augustine N.E. and by E. about 140
miles, and by the course of the rivers is distant from Fort
Moore 300 miles, but upon a direct line but 115 miles N.W.
and by W. This bluff is distant 10 miles from the mouth of
the rivers on the south side, and Purrysburg is 24 miles
above it on the' north, and is so situated that you have a
beautiful prospect both up and down the river. It is very
sandy and barren, and consequently a wholesome place for
a town or city. There are on it 130 odd souls, and from the
time they embarked from London to the time I left the place,
there died but two sucking children, and them at sea.
When they arrived, there was standing on it a great quantity
of the best sort of pine, most of which is already cut down
on the spot where the town is laid out to be built. The land
is barren about a mile back, when you come into very rich
ground ; and on both sides, within a quarter of a mile of the
town, is choice good planting land. Col. Bull told me that
he had been seven miles back and found it extraordinary
good.
Mr. Oglethorpe is indefatigable, takes a great deal of pains,
his fare is but indifferent, having little else at present but salt
provisions. He is extremely well beloved by all his people;
the general title they give him is father. If any of them is
sick he immediately visits them and takes a great deal of care
of them. If any difference arises he is the person that de¬
cides it. Two happened while I was there and in my
presence, and all the parties went away to outward appear¬
ance satisfied and contented with his determination. He
keeps a strict discipline; I never saw one of his people drunk
nor heard one of them swear, all the time I was there; he
does not allow them rum, but in lieu gives them English
beer; it is surprising to see how cheerful the men go to work
considering they have not been bred to it. There are no
idlers there—even the boys and girls do their parts. There
are four houses already up but none finished, and he hopes
when he has got more sawyers, which I suppose he will have
in a short time, to finish two houses a week. He has
ploughed up some land, part of which he has sowed with
wheat, which is come up and looks promising. He has two
vol. ii. 40
314
Appendix.
or three gardens which he has sowed with divers sorts of
seeds, and planted thyme and other sort of pot-herbs, sage,
leeks, skellions, celery, liquorice, &c. and several sorts of
trees. He was pallisading the town round, including some
part of the common, which I do suppose may be finished in
about a fortnight's time. In short, he has done a vast deal
of work for the time, and I think his name justly deserves to
be immortalized.
Mr. Oglethorpe has with him Sir Walter Raleigh's written
journal, and by the latitude of the place, the marks and tra¬
ditions of the Indians, it is the very first place where he first
went on shore, and talked with the Indians, and was the
first Englishman they ever saw; and about half a mile from
Savannah is a high mount of earth, under which lies their
chief king : and the Indians informed Mr. Oglethorpe that
their king desired before he died, that he might be buried on
the spot where he talked with that great, good man.
The river water is very good, and Mr. Oglethorpe has
proved it several ways, and thinks it as good as the river of
Thames. On Monday, the 19th, we took our leave of Mr.
Oglethorpe at nine o'clock in the morning, and embarked for
Charleston ; and when we set off he was pleased to honor
us with a volley of small arms and the discharge of five can¬
non : and coming down the rivers we found the water per¬
fectly fresh six miles below the town, and saw six or seven
large sturgeon leap, with which fish that river abounds, as
also with trout, perch, cat and, rock fish, &c., and in the
winter season there is variety of wild fowl, especially tur¬
keys, some of them weighing thirty pounds, and abundance
of deer.
No. 3.
To such persons who can carry ten men servants, and
settle with them in Georgia, at their own expense, and whose
characters the trustees, upon inquiry, shall approve of, will
be granted five hundred acres of land in tail male, and de¬
scend to the heirs male of their bodies for ever, under the
yearly rents of twenty shillings sterling money for every
hundred acres, for the support of the colony, the payment of
which is not to commence until ten years after the grant.
Appendix.
315
And the land is so granted upon the following conditions
and covenants.
That such persons do pay the rent reserved as the same
shall become due, and no part to be unpaid for six months
after due.
That they within a month of the grant shall register the
same, or a memorial thereof with the auditor of the planta¬
tions.
That they within twelve months from the grant, shall go
to and arrive in Georgia, with ten able bodied men servants,
being each of the age of twenty years and upwards.
That they shall abide in Georgia with such men servants
three years from the registering the grant there, building
their houses and cultivating their lands.
That they shall clear and cultivate within ten years from
the grant, two hundred acres of land, part of the said five
hundred acres, and plant two thousand white mulberry trees
or plants thereupon, and on every hundred of the other three
hundred acres, one thousand white mulberry trees or plants
when cleared, and preserve the same quantity from time to
time thereupon, the trustees obliging themselves to furnish
the plants.
That they do not alienate the said five hundred acres of
land or any part thereof, for any term of years, or any estate
or interest in the same, to any person or persons, without
special leave.
That they do not make potash in partnership without
leave, but may make it themselves not in partnership.
On the determination of the estate in tail male, the land
to revert to the trust.
That they shall not depart the said province without li¬
cense.
All forfeitures for non-residence, high treason, felonies,
&,c., are to the trustees for the use and benefit of the colony.
If any part of the said five hundred acres of land shall not
be cultivated, planted, cleared and fenced round about with
worm fence or pales six feet high, within eighteen years from
the grant, all and every such part shall revert to the trust,
and the grant as to such part be void.
And the common council of the trust at the expirations of
the terms such men servants shall be severally bound for,
(being none less than four years) when requested by the
316
Appendix.
grantee, will grant to each of such men servants twenty
acres of land in tail male, under such rents, conditions, lim¬
itations and agreements, as shall have been then last granted
to any others men servants in like circumstance.
When the land reverts to the trust on the determination
of the estate in tail male, it is to be granted again to such
person as the common council of the trust shall think most
for the advantage of the colony, and the trust will have a
special regard to the daughters of such who have made
improvements on their lots, not already provided for by hav¬
ing married or marrying persons in possession or entitled to
lands in the province of Georgia, in possession or remainder.
And the wives of such persons, in case they should survive
their husbands, are, during their lives, entitled to the mansion
house and one half of the lands improved by their husbands,
that is to say, inclosed with a fence six feet high.
Negroes and rum are prohibited to be used in the said
province, and trade with the Indians unless licensed.
No. 4.
To the King's most excellent Majesty.
The humble Memorial and Representation of the state and
condition of your Majesty's province of South Carolina,
from the General Assembly of the said province.
Your majesty's most dutiful subjects of this province,
having often felt with hearts full of gratitude, the many sig¬
nal instances of your most sacred majesty's peculiar favor
and protection, to those distant parts of your dominions, and
especially those late proofs of your majesty's most gracious
and benign care, so wisely calculated for the preservation of
this your majesty's frontier province on the continent of
America, by your royal charter to the trustees for establish¬
ing the colony of Georgia, and your great goodness so timely
applied, for the promoting the settlement of the Swiss at
Purrysburg; encouraged by such views of your majesty's
wise and paternal care, extended to your remotest subjects,
and excited by the duty we owe to your most sacred ma¬
jesty, to be always watchful for the support and security of
Appendix.
317
your majesty's interest, especially at this very critical con¬
juncture, when the flame of a war breaking out in Europe,
may very speedily be lighted here in this your majesty's
frontier province, which, in situation, is known to be of the
utmost importance to the general trade and traffic in Ameri¬
ca. We therefore, your majesty's most faithful governor,
council and commons, convened in your majesty's province
of South Carolina, crave leave with great humility to repre¬
sent to your majesty the present state and condition of this
your province, and how greatly it stands in need of your
majesty's gracious and timely succor in case of a war, to as¬
sist our defence against the French and Spaniards, or any
other enemies to your majesty's dominions, as well as against
the many nations of savages which so nearly threaten the
safety of your majesty's subjects.
The province of South Carolina, and the new colony of
Georgia are the southern frontiers of all your majesty's do¬
minions on the continent of America, to the south and south¬
west of which is situated the strong castle of St. Augustine,
garrisoned by four hundred Spaniards, who have several
nations of Indians under their subjection, besides several
other small settlements and garrisons, some of which are not
eighty miles distant from the colony of Georgia. To the
south-west and west of us the French have erected a con¬
siderable town near Fort Thoulouse on the Mobile river, and
several other forts and garrisons, some not above three hun¬
dred miles distant from our settlements: and at New Or¬
leans, on the Mississippi river, since her late Majesty Queen
Anne's war they have exceedingly increased thteir strength
and traffic, and have now many forts and garrisons on both
sides of that great river for several hundred miles up the
same ; and since his most Christian Majesty has taken out of
the Mississippi Company, the government of that country
into his own hands, the French natives in Canada come daily
down in shoals to settle all along that river, where many
regular forces have of late been sent over by the king to
strengthen the garrisons in those places, and according to our
best and latest advices, they have five hundred men in pay,
constantly employed as Wood-Rangers, to keep their neigh¬
boring Indians in subjection, and to prevent the distant ones
from disturbing the settlements; which management of the
French has so well succeeded, that we are now very well
318
Appendix.
assured they have wholly now in their possession and under
their influence, the several numerous nations of Indians that
are situate near the Mississippi river, one of which, called the
Choctaws, by estimation consists of about five thousand
fighting men, and who were always deemed a very warlike
nation, lies on this side the river not above four hundred
miles distant from our out-settlements, among whom, as well
as several other nations of Indians, many French Europeans
have been sent to settle, whom the priests and missionaries
among them encourage to take Indian wives, and use divers
other alluring methods to attach the Indians the better to the
French alliance, by which means the French are become
thoroughly acquainted with the Indian way, warring and
living in the woods, and have now a great number of white
men among them, able to perform a long march with an army
of Indians upon any expedition.
We further beg leave to inform your majesty, that if the
measures of France should provoke your majesty to a state
of hostility against it in Europe, we have great reason to ex¬
pect an invasion will be here made upon your majesty's sub¬
jects by the French and Indians from the Mississippi settle¬
ments. They have already paved a way for a design of that
nature, by erecting a fort called the Albama Fort, alias Fort
Lewis, in the middle of the upper Creek Indians, upon a
navigable river leading to Mobile, which they have kept well
garrisoned and mounted with fourteen pieces of cannon, and
havejately been prevented from erecting a second nearer to
us on that quarter. The Creeks are a nation very bold, ac¬
tive and daring, consisting of about thirteen hundred fight¬
ing men (and not above one hundred and fifty miles distant
from the Choctaws) whom, though we heretofore have traded
with, claimed and held in our alliance, yet the French on
account of that fort and a superior ability to make them lib¬
eral presents, have been for some time striving to draw them
over to their interest, and have succeeded with some of the
towns of the Creeks; which, if they can be secured in your
majesty's interest, are the only nation which your majesty's
subjects here can depend upon as the best barrier against
any attempts either of the French or their confederate Indians.
We most humbly pray leave farther to inform your ma¬
jesty, that the French at Mobile perceiving that they could
not gain the Indians to their interest, without buying their
Appendix.
319
deer-skins, (which is the only commodity the Indians have
to purchase necessaries with) and the French not being able
to dispose of those skins by reason of their having no vend
for them in old France, they have found means to encourage
vessels from hence, New-York, and other places (which are
not prohibited by the acts of trade) to truck those skins with
them for Indian trading goods, especially the British woollen
manufactures, which the French dispose of to the Creeks
and Choctaws, and other Indians, by which means the In¬
dians are much more alienated from our interest, and on every
occasion object to us that the French can supply them with
strouds and blankets as well as the English, which would
have the contrary effect if they were wholly supplied with
those commodities by your Majesty's subjects trading with
them. If a stop were therefore put to that pernicious trade
with the French, the Creek Indians' chief dependence would
be on this government, and that of Georgia, to supply them
with goods; by which means great part of the Choctaws,
living next the Creeks, would see the advantage the Creek
Indians enjoyed by having British woollen manufactures
wholly from your Majesty's subjects, and thereby be invited
in a short time to enter into a treaty of commerce with us,
which they have lately made some offers for, and which, if
effected, will soon lessen the interest of the French with
those Indians, and by degrees attach them to that of your
majesty.
The only expedient we can propose to recover and con¬
firm that nation to your majesty's interest, is by speedily
making them presents to withdraw them from the French
alliance, and by building some forts among them your ma¬
jesty may be put in such a situation, that on the first notice
of hostilities with the French, your majesty may be able at
once to reduce the Albama fort, and we may then stand
against the French and their Indians, which, if not timely
prepared for before a war breaks out, we have too much
reason to fear we may be soon overrun by the united strength
of the French, the Creeks and Choctaws, with many other
nations of their Indians allies: for, should the Creeks become
wholly enemies, who are well acquainted with all our settle¬
ments, we probably should also be soon deserted by the
Cherokees, and a few others, small tribes of Indians, who,
for the sake of our booty, would readily join to make us a
320
Appendix.
prey to the French and savages. Ever since the late Indian
war, the offences given us then by the Creeks have made
that nation very jealous of your majesty's subjects of this
province. We have therefore concerted measures with the
Honorable James Oglethorpe, Esq., who, being at the head
of a new colony, will (we hope) be successful for your ma¬
jesty's interest amongst that people. He has already by
presents attached the Lower Creeks to your majesty, and
has laudably undertaken to endeavor the fixing a garrison
among the Upper Creeks, the expense of which is already in
part provided for in this session of the General Assembly of
this province. We hope therefore to prevent the French
from encroaching farther on your majesty's territories, until
your majesty is graciously pleased further to strengthen and
secure the same.
We find the Cherokee nation has lately become very in¬
solent to your majesty's subjects trading among them, not¬
withstanding the many favors the chiefs of that nation re¬
ceived from your majesty in Great Britain, besides a consid¬
erable expense which your majesty's subjects of this pro¬
vince have been at in making them presents, which inclines
us to believe that the French by their Indians have been
tampering with them. We therefore beg leave to inform
your majesty, that the building and mounting some forts
likewise among the Cherokees and making them presents,
will be highly necessary to keep them steady in their duty
to your majesty, lest the French may prevail in seducing that
nation, which they may the more readily be inclined to from
the prospect of getting considerable plunder in slaves, cattle,
&c., commodities which they very well know they have
among us; several other forts will be indispensably necessary,
to be a cover to your majesty's subjects settled backwards
in this province, as also to those of the colony of Georgia,
both which in length are very extensive; for though the
trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia, by a partic¬
ular scheme of good management painfully conducted by the
gentleman engaged here in that charitable enterprise, has
put that small part of the colony which he has not yet been
able to establish, in a tenable condition against the Spaniards
of Florida which lie to the southward; yet the back expo¬
sition of those colonies to the vast number of French and
Indians which border on the westward, must, in case of a
Appendix.
321
war, cry greatly aloud for your Majesty's gracious and timely
succor. The expense of our safety on such an occasion, we
must, with all humility, acquaint your Majesty, either for men
or money, can never be effected by your Majesty's subjects
of this province, who, in conjunction with Georgia, do not in
the whole amount to more than three thousand five hundred
men, which compose the militia, and wholly consist of plant¬
ers, tradesmen, and other men of business.
Besides the many dangers which by land we are exposed
to from so many enemies that lie on the back of us, we
further beg leave to represent to your Majesty, the defence¬
less condition of our ports and harbors, where any enemies of
your Majesty's dominions may very easily by sea invade us,
there being no fortifications capable of making much resist¬
ance. Those in Charleston harbor are now in a very ruinous
condition, occasioned by the late violent storms and hurri¬
canes, which already cost this country a great deal of money,
and now requires several thousands of pounds to repair the
old and build new ones, to mount the ordnance which your
Majesty was graciously pleased to send us, which, with great
concern, we must inform your Majesty we have not yet been
able to accomplish, being lately obliged for the defence and
support of this your Majesty's province and government, to
raise, by a tax on the inhabitants, a supply of above forty
thousand pounds paper currency per annum, which is a con¬
siderable deal more than a third part of all the currency
among us; a charge which your Majesty's subjects of this
province are but barely able to sustain. Since your Majes¬
ty's royal instruction to your Majesty's Governor here, an
entire stop has been put to the duties which before accrued
from European goods imported ; and if a war should happen,
or any thing extraordinary, to be farther expensive here, we
should be under the utmost difficulties to provide additionally
for the same, lest an increase of taxes with an apprehension
of danger, should drive away many of our present inhabi¬
tants, as wrell as discourage others from coming here to settle
for the defence and improvement of your Majesty's province,
there being several daily moving with their families and
effects to North Carolina, where there are no such fears and
burdens.
We must therefore beg leave to inform your Majesty, that,
amidst our other perilous circumstances, we are subject to
VOL. II. 41
322
Appendix.
many intestine dangers from the great number of negroes
that are now among us, who amount at least to twenty-two
thousand persons, and are three to one of all your Majesty's
white subjects in this province. Insurrections against us
have been often attempted, and would at any time prove
very fatal if the French should instigate them, by artfully
giving them an expectation of freedom. In such a situation
we most humbly crave leave to acquaint your Majesty, that
even the present ordinary expenses necessary for the care
and support of this your Majesty's province and government,
cannot be provided for by your Majesty's subjects of this
province, without your Majesty's gracious pleasure to con¬
tinue those laws for establishing the negroes and other
duties for seven years, and for appropriating the same, which
now lie before your Majesty for your royal assent and ap¬
probation ; and the further expenses that will be requisite for
the erecting some forts and establishing garrisons in the
several necessary places, so as to form a barrier for the se¬
curity of this your Majesty's province, we most humbly sub¬
mit to your Majesty.
Your Majesty's subjects of this province, with fullness of
zeal, duty and affection to your most gracious and sacred
Majesty, are so highly sensible of the great importance of
this province to the French, that we must conceive it more
than probable, if a war should happen, they will use all en¬
deavors to bring this country under their subjection ; they
would be thereby enabled to support their sugar islands with
all sorts of provisions and lumber by an easy navigation,
which, to our great advantage, is not so practicable from the
present French colonies, besides the facility of gaining then
to their interest most of the Indian trade on the northern con¬
tinent; they might then easily unite the Canadees and Choc-
taws with the many other nations of Indians which are now
in their interest. And the several ports and harbors of Car¬
olina and Georgia which now enable your Majesty to be ab¬
solute master of the passage through the gulf of Florida,
and to impede at your pleasure the transportation home of
the Spanish treasure, would then prove so many convenient
harbors for your Majesty's enemies, by their privateers or
ships of war to annoy a great part of the British trade to
America, as well as that which is carried on through the gulf
from Jamaica ; besides the loss which Great Britain must feel
Appendix.
323
in so considerable a part of its navigation, as well as the ex¬
ports of masts, pitch, tar and turpentine, which, without any
dependence on the northern parts of Europe, are from hence
plentifully supplied for the use of the British shipping.
This is the present state and condition of your Majesty's
province of South Carolina, utterly incapable of finding funds
sufficient for the defence of this wide frontier, and so desti¬
tute of white men, that even money itself cannot here raise
a sufficient body of them.
With all humility we therefore beg leave to lay ourselves
at the feet of your Majesty, humbly imploring your Majesty's
most gracious care in the extremities we should be reduced
to on the breaking out of a war; and that your Majesty
would be graciously pleased to extend your protection to us,
as your Majesty, in your great wisdom, shall think proper.
Robert Johnson.
In the council chamber of South Carolina, 9th April, 1734.
Tho. Broughton, President.
Paul Jenys, Speaker.
No. 5.
Thomas Pearce, aged forty years and upwards, of the
Dover man of war, mariner, having been at Georgia in
America, on board the Peter and James, Captain George
Dymond, in the year one thousand seven hundred and thirty-
five; and, from that ship, on board the Hawk sloop, stationed
at Georgia, until the beginning of the year one thousand
seven hundred and thirty-nine; and having sounded every
inlet from the sea, all along the coast of Georgia, from Jekyll
sound to Tybee sound, maketh oath and saith, that the said
coast four leagues from the land, is all even ground, not less
than seven or eight fathom water, and any ship keeping in
that depth of water may steer along the same with the
greatest safety, and anchor if they have occasion. That on
the bar at Jekyll there is at least thirteen feet and a half, at
low water, and at high spring tides twenty-lour feet; and on
the bar at Tybee there is at least sixteen feet and a half at
324
Appendix.
low water, and at high water spring tides twenty-five feet
and a half; and the difference between the spring and neap
tides is generally between three and four feet.
And this deponent farther saith, that he is well assured,
and would undertake, by sounding with a boat, even at neap
tides, to carry in forty gun ships over either of the said bars;
and saith, that he hath seen in the sound at St. Simon's,
from Jekyll bar, ten sail of ships at one time, and that ten or
twelve forty gun ships may safely ride there; but behind
Jekyll island there is water and room enough for shipping for
ten miles up; and that the sound at Tybee is large enough
to hold with safety seven or eight forty gun ships.
And this deponent farther saith, that ships in Jekyll sound
may in twenty-four hours, from the bar, run out into the
gulf-stream of Florida, through which stream the Spanish
galleons (when not passing the windward passage,) always
come.
Thomas Pearce.
No. 6.
To the King's Most Excellent Majesty.
The humble Memorial of the Trustees for Establishing the
Colony of Georgia in America.
Humbly showeth,
That they being entrusted by your Majesty with the care
of the colony of Georgia, which was formerly part of your
Majesty's province of South Carolina, and your Majesty's
colony of Georgia being very much exposed to the power of
the Spaniards, and become an object of their envy, by
having valuable ports upon the homeward passage from the
Spanish West Indies, and the Spaniards having increased
their forces in the neighborhood thereof, the trustees, in con¬
sequence of the great trust reposed in them by your Majesty,
find themselves obliged, humbly to lay before your Majesty,
their inability sufficiently to protect your Majesty's subjects
settled in Georgia, under the encouragement of your Ma¬
jesty's charter, against this late increase of forces, and there-
Appendix.
325
fore become humble suppliants to your Majesty, on the
behalf of your subjects settled in the province of Georgia,
that your Majesty would be pleased to take their preserva¬
tion into your royal consideration, that, by a necessary sup¬
ply of forces, the province may be protected against the
great dangers that seem immediately to threaten it.
All which is most humbly submitted to your Majesty's
great wisdom.
Signed by order of the trustees, this 10th day of August,
1737.
Benj. Martyn, Secretary.
APPENDIX.
ACCOUNT OF THE GEORGIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The necessity of some historical institution had long been felt by literary
men, but no regular effort had ever been made for its establishment. The
splendid Autographical Collection of I. K. Tefft, Esq. together with the
many valuable documents in his possession pertaining to the colonial and
revolutionary history of Georgia, suggested the importance of such a so¬
ciety, and it was immediately determined by Mr. Tefft, and William B.
Stevens to proceed without delay in its formation. This measure was first
decided on towards the close of April, 1839, and at the suggestion of Mr.
Tefft, the latter endeavored to prepare the way and awaken attention to
the subject by two articles on this topic which appeared in the Savannah
Georgian of May following. These individuals were now joined by a third,
Richard D. Arnold, M. D., and after many conferences as to the best
method of procedure they resolved to address the following Circular to a
few gentlemen whom they thought would be interested in their design.
" Savannah, May 22, 1839.
" Dear Sir, — You are respectfully requested to attend a meeting to be
held at the Savannah Library Society's Room, on Friday evening next,
at 8 o'clock, for the purpose of devising measures to organize a Georgia
Historical Society. As an efficient beginning is of the utmost importance,
you are earnestly desired to be present if compatible with your engage¬
ments. An answer addressed to either of the undersigned would oblige,
yours, &c. I. K. Tefft, R. D. Arnold, Wm. B. Stevens."
This Circular was sent to fifty-one individuals, and in evidence of the
cooperation of those invited, it may be stated, that forty-nine replies were
received, all highly commending the effort and promising a cordial sup¬
port. A meeting was held at the place appointed and was organized by
calling Judge C. S. Henry to the chair, and electing I. K. Tefft, Secretary.
The Chairman briefly explained the object of assembling, after which
Judge James M. Wayne offered the following resolution, which was unan¬
imously passed.
" Resolved, That we will associate ourselves for the purpose of form¬
ing an Historical Society, the primary object of which shall be to collect
and diffuse information in relation to the history of Georgia and of Ameri¬
can History generally." On further motion of the same, it was proposed,
that if any one had prepared a constitution, it should be submitted without
Appendix.
327
the usual formality. Whereupon, Dr. R. D. Arnold stated, that Mr. Tefft,
Dr. Stevens and himself, who had called the meeting, had prepared a con¬
stitution to be submitted to its action. He accordingly laid it before the
meeting, and it having been considered article by article, was, on motion
of Judge J. C. Nicoll, referred to a committee of six for revisal, whose
further duty it should be to report by-laws for the government of the Soci¬
ety. The chair appointed as that committee, Judge John C. Nicoll, Dr.
R. D. Arnold, Hon. J. M. Berrien, I. K. Teft't, M. H. McAllister and Dr.
William Bacon Stevens. On motion of Judge Wayne, seconded by Col.
Myers, it was resolved, that this committee be requested to report at an
adjourned meeting to be held in this place on Tuesday evening, 4th of
June, at 8 o'clock. Agreeably to this resolution, another and still larger
meeting was held, before which^body the committee made the following
report of Constitution and by-Laws.
CONSTITUTION.
Art. I. The society shall be called, The Georgia Historical Society.
Art. II. Its object shall be, to collect, preserve, and diffuse information
relating to the History of the State of Georgia, in all its various depart¬
ments, and of American History generally.
Art. III. This Society shall consist of Resident and Honorary Members
— Resident Members embracing those within the State — Honorary Mem¬
bers, those distinguished for their literary attainments, particularly in the
department of History, throughout the world.
Art. IV. The officers of the Society shall be a President, two Vice
Presidents, Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, Treasurer,
Librarian, and seven Curators ; who shall be elected by ballot, at each
annual meeting. Should a vacancy occur in any of said offices, by death,
resignation, removal, or otherwise, it may be filled up by ballot, at the next
regular meeting of the Society, and if it shall happen in an office other
than that of President or Vice President, it may be filled up until the next
regular meeting, by the presiding officer, and the Curators, or a majority
of them.
Art. V. The annual meeting of the Society shall be held on the 12th
day of February, and on the second Monday of every other month a
Monthly meeting shall be held.
Art. VI. The President, or in his absence, either of the Vice Presidents,
may call an extra meeting of the Society, upon the request of the major¬
ity of the Curators present in the city, or of five Resident Members.
Art. VII. The admission of members shall be by ballot — their names
having been first propounded at a previous meeting — and a majority of
two-thirds present, shall be required to elect; the Resident Members pay¬
ing ten dollars for the first year, and a subsequent annual contribution of
five dollars.
Art. VIII. Seven Resident Members, including at least two of the offi¬
cers, shall constitute a quorum, and be empowered to transact the regular
business of the Society, except at the annual meeting, when fifteen shall
constitute a quorum.
Art. IX. This Constitution can be altered or amended only by a vote
of two-thirds of the Resident Members present at the annual meeting,
and a notice to that effect having been made at a previous meeting.
328
Appendix.
BY-LAWS.
1. The President, or in his absence, the highest officer present, shall
preside at all meetings of the Society — regulate the debates, give, when
required, the casting vote, preserve order, and be ex-officio, Chairman of
the Board of Managers.
2. The Corresponding Secretary shall conduct all the correspondence
of the Society, his letters having previously received the sanction of the
presiding officer. He shall preserve on file the originals of all commu¬
nications addressed to the Society, and keep a fair copy of all his letters,
in books furnished for the purpose. It shall furthermore be his duty, to
read at each meeting the correspondence, or such abstracts from it, as thq
President may direct, which he has sustained since the previous meeting.
3. The Recording Secretary shall keep the minutes of all meetings of
the Society, and at the opening of each one, shall read those of the pre¬
ceding one. He shall have the custody of the Constitution, By-laws, and
Records of the Society ; and shall give due notice of the time and place
of all meetings of the Society.
4. The Treasurer shall collect, receive, and disburse all moneys due
and payable, and all donations and bequests of money, or other property,
to the Society. He shall pay, under proper .vouchers, all the ordinary
expenses of the Society, and shall deposite all its funds in one of the
Banks of the city, to the credit of the Society, subject to his checks, coun¬
tersigned by the presiding officer ; and at the annual meeting shall make
a true report of all moneys received and paid out by him, to be audited
by the Committee on Finance, provided for hereafter.
5. It shall be the duty of the Librarian, to preserve, arrange, and keep
in good order, all books, MSS., documents, pamphlets and papers, of every
kind, belonging to the Society. He shall keep a catalogue of the same,
and take especial care, that no book, MS., document, paper, or any pro¬
perty of the Society, confided to his keeping, be removed from the room.
He shall also be furnished with a book, in which to record all donations
and bequests, of whatsoever kind, relating to his department, with the
name of the donor, and the time when bestowed.
6. The Curators, with the President, Vice Presidents, Corresponding
and Recording Secretaries, Librarian and Treasurer, shall constitute a
Board of Managers, whose duty it shall be, to superintend the general
concerns of the Society. The President shall, from this Board, appoint
the following Standing Committees, viz : — On the Library, on Printing
and Publishing, and on Finance.
7. The Committee on the Library shall have the supervisory care of
all the printed publications, manuscripts, and curiosities. They shall, with
the Librarian, provide suitable shelves, cases and fixtures, by which to
arrange and display them. The printed volumes and manuscripts shall be
regularly numbered, and marked with the name of the " Georgia Histor¬
ical Society." They shall propose at the regular meetings, such books or
MSS. pertaining to the object of the Society, as they shall deem expedient,
which, when approved, shall be by them purchased, and disposed of as
above directed. They shall be required to visit the Library at least once
each week, officially — and shall provide a book or books, in which the
Librarian shall keep a record of their proceedings — and be entrusted, in
Appendix.
329
general, with the custody, care and increase, of whatever comes within
the province of their appointed duty.
8. The Committee on Printing and Publishing, shall prepare for publi¬
cation whatever documents or collections shall be ordered, by the Society
—shall contract for, and supervise the printing of the same, and shall
furnish the Recording Secretary and Librarian, with such blank notices,
summonses, labels, &c. as may be deemed requisite.
9. The Committee on Finance shall consist of at least one member of
each of the former Committees, and shall have the general oversight and
direction of the funds of the Society. They shall once in three months
examine the books of the Treasurer, vouch all accounts of moneys ex¬
pended, and audit his annual report.
10. The order of proceeding at the regular meetings shall be as follows :
— 1st. Reading the Minutes of the last meeting, and confirming them. 2d.
Reading the correspondence of the Corresponding Secretary. 3d. Nom¬
ination of new members. 4th. Ballotting for those already propounded.
5th. Overtures or reports from the Board of Managers, or from the Stand¬
ing Committees. 6th. Communications or addresses from members. 7th.
Miscellaneous business.
11. The Board of Managers shall appoint one of the Resident or Hon¬
orary Members of the Society, to deliver an historical discourse, at each
annual meeting, together with such other exercises as shall be appropriate
to its celebration.
12. Any failure on the part of the members, after due notice from the
President, to pay their annual dues, for two consecutive years, shall be
considered a forfeiture of membership. And no person thus expunged,
can be eligible to readmission, without the strict payment of his arrears.
Their report having been adopted and signed by the gentlemen present,
the balloting for officers took place and resulted as follows.
Officers of the Georgia Historical Society, elected June, 1839.
President — John Macpherson Berrien. Vice Presidents — James M. Wayne,
M. H. M'Allister. Corresponding Secretary — I. K. Tefft. Recording Secretary
— William B. Stevens. Treasurer — George W. Hunter. Librarian — Henry
K. Preston. Curators — William Thorne Williams, Charles S. Henry, John
C. Nicoll, William Law, Robert M. Charlton, Richard D. Arnold, A. A.
Smets.
Standing Committees.
On the Library — J. M. Wayne, William Law, J. C. Nicoll, R. M. Charlton,
William B. Stevens, and Henry K. Preston. On Printing and Publishing— W.
T. Williams, I. K. Tefft, R. D. Arnold. On Finance — M. H. M'Allister, C.
S. Henry, William Law, William T. Williams, A. A. Smets, and George W.
Hunter.
Thus was constituted the Georgia Historical Society, and we trust that
it will long continue in its high and useful career. The meetings of the
Society have generally been quite interesting, and have elicited much
information relative to the historical materials of the State. The Library
already contains many rare and choice works and a number of very val¬
uable manuscripts, constituting the nucleus of what we hope will ere long
be a rich historical collection. In the cabinet are some interesting curiosi¬
ties and a few coins and medals.
vol. ii. 42
330
Appendix.
It would naturally be expected that in a state which dates its origin but
one hundred and seven years back, ample materials might be found to
illustrate its early history, and form a regular documentary series from
the landing of Oglethorpe to the present time. But such unfortunately
is not the case. The harassing disturbances, and often the actual war¬
fare, of this most southern colony, with the Spaniards, and the Indians,
from its settlement, until the breaking out of the war of the Revolution ;
together with the belligerent attitude which it maintained during that mem¬
orable contest, as a frontier State, scattered the principal families, and the
burning, plundering and confiscation consequent on this condition, caused
the destruction of many private and public records, and strewed ruin and
devastation throughout the province. There yet remain with some indi¬
viduals, papers of great worth and interest, which in time will probably
be deposited in our library. In the archives of the State are many mis¬
cellaneous documents, the casual survey of which encourages the hope
that from this source much information may be gleaned. By a reference
to the last section of our charter, it will be seen that the legislature, with
a liberality worthy of all praise, have confided to our care the invaluable
documents obtained in England by Rev. Charles W. Howard, at a large
expense to the State. These are comprised in twenty-two volumes, folio.
Fifteen are from the records of the Board of Trade ; six from the State
Paper Office, and one from the King's Library, forming a body of histori¬
cal information full of the most interesting statements, letters, and reports,
relating to the colonial period of Georgia.
An Act to incorporate the Georgia Historical Society.
Whereas, the members of a Society instituted in the city of Savannah
for the purpose of collecting, preserving, and diffusing information relating
to the history of the State of Georgia in particular, and of American his¬
tory generally, have applied for an Act of Incorporation,
Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
State of Georgia in general assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the
authority of the same, That J. M. Berrien, James M. Wayne, M. H. Mc¬
Allister, I. K. Tefft, Wm, B. Stevens, Geo. W. Hunter, H. K. Preston,
Wm. T. Williams, C. S. Henry, J. C. Nicoll, Wm. Law, R. M. Charlton,
R. D. Arnold, A. A. Smets, J. W. Anderson, Wm. B. Bulloch, J. H. Bur¬
roughs, J. Balfour, Wm. H. Bulloch, T. B. Bartow, Jas. Barnard, Morgan
Brown, G. B. Cumming, Solo. Cohen, Jos. Cumming, D. C. Campbell, J.
H. Couper, W. A. Caruthers, W. H. Cuyler, Edw. Coppee, Wm. Crab-
tree, Jr., Arch'd. Clarke, Wm. Duncan, Wm. C. Daniell, George M. Dud¬
ley, J. De La Motta, Jr., J. S. Fay, S. H. Fay, W. B. Fleming, J. F.
Griffin, Robt. Habersham, W. Neyle Habersham, J. C. Habersham, E.
J. Harden, S. L. W. Harris, Geo. Jones, J. W. Jackson, P. M. Kollock,
G. J. Kollock, Raj^h King, T. B. King, Wm. McWhir, J. B. Mallard,
John Millen, W. tfte.--J-ler, J. S. Morel, M. Myers, J. F. O'Niell, E. Neu-
ville, E. A. Nishet, A. Porter, Thos. Paine, Willard Preston, Edw.
Padelford, Thos. Purse, R. W. Pooler, Win. Robertson, L. O. Reynolds,
Appendix.
331
J. Bond Read, R. H. Randolph, F. M. Robertson, George Schley, James
Smith, Wm. H. Stiles, B. C. Stiles, J. L. Shaffer, Chas. Stephens, Wm,
P. White, Jno. E. Ward, George White, and such other persons as now
are and may from time to time become members of said Society, be and they
are hereby declared and constituted a body corporate and politic, by the name
of the " Georgia Historical Society," and by that name shall have perpetual
succession and be capable to sue and be sued, to plead and be impleaded,
answer and be answered unto, defend and be defended in all courts or
places whatsoever, to have a common seal, and the same at pleasure to
change or alter, to make, establish, and ordain such a constitution and
such by-laws not repugnant to the constitution of this State or of the
United States, as shall from time to time be necessary and expedient, and
to annex to the breach thereof such penalty, by fine, suspension, or expul¬
sion as they may deem fit, and to purchase, take, receive, hold, and enjoy,
to them and their successors, any goods and chattels, lands and tenements,
and to sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of the same, or of any part there¬
of, at their will and pleasure. Provided, that the clear annual income of
such real and personal estate shall not exceed the sum of five thousand
dollars, and provided also that the funds of the said corporation shall be
used and appropriated to the purposes stated in the preamble of this Act
and those only.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the
said Society shall have power to elect and qualify such officers as may by
them be deemed necessary, to be chosen at such time and to hold their
offices for such period as the Constitution or By-Laws of said Society shall
prescribe, and that if the election of said officers, or any of them, shall
not be held on any of the days for that purpose appointed, it shall be law¬
ful to make such elections on any other day.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that it shall
be the duty of the governor of the State to transmit or cause to be trans¬
mitted to it a set of the Acts and also of the Journals of the present and
future sessions of the Legislature, and also copies of all the documents,
papers, books, and pamphlets that shall hereafter be printed under, or by
virtue of, an act of legislature, joint resolution of both branches thereof,
unless such act or resolution shall otherwise provide, and that the said
Society may, by their agent or agents, have access at all reasonable times
to the several public offices of this State and of the corporate towns and
cities thereof, and may cause such documents to be searched, examined,
and copied without paying office fees as they may judge proper to pro¬
mote the object of said Society.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, that this Act shall be and is hereby
declared to be a public Act, and shall be construed benignly and favorably
for every beneficial purpose therein intended, and that no misnomer of the
said Corporation in any deed, will, testament, devise, gift, grant, demise,
or other instrument of contract or conveyance, shall vitiate or defeat the
same, provided the Corporation shall be sufficiently described to ascertain
the intention of the parties.
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, that the go*' 'or be and he is here¬
by authorized and requested to confide to the care .w keeping of the pro¬
per officers of said Society the transcript of the colonial records lately
233-
Appendix.
taken by the Rev. C. W. Howard in London, until further disposition of
the same shall be made by the General Assembly.
Joseph Day, Speaker of House of Representatives.
Robert M. Echols, Pres. of the Senate.
Assented to, 19th Dec. 1839.
Charles J. McDonald, Governor.
The following Circular, issued by the Library Committee, is here in¬
serted, on account of its valuable suggestions to individuals and societies
engaged in historical researches.
Savannah, June 26, 1839.
Sir — The Library Committee of the Georgia Historical Society,
beg leave respectfully to request of those interested in itp design, to trans¬
mit to the Corresponding Secretary, as soon as convenient, whatever of
the following books or documents they may be disposed to contribute to
the archives of the Society.
Journals of the Provincial Congress, and Colonial and State Legisla¬
tures ; Records of the proceedings of Conventions and Committees of
Safety ; Journals of the King's Council ; original and later Statutes of
the Province and*State ; Treaties with any Indian Tribes, or with any
State or Nation.
Reports of Boards of Health ; Statistics of births, deaths, the deaf,
dumb and blind; accounts of special Epidemics; copies of Medical
Journals ; Catalogues of Medical Colleges ; and members of the profes¬
sion are earnestly requested to prepare reports on the Medical topography
of the various places where they may be located.
Sketches of the Histories of Cities, Towns, Counties ; for whom named,
together with Maps, Surveys, Charters, and whatever relates to the civil
history of the State.
Meteorological observations ; Reports of Geological and Mineralogical
Surveys, and every thing relating to the Natural History of the State.
The earliest notices of Indian tribes within our boundaries, their man¬
ners and customs, their battles and skirmishes ; the adventures and suffer¬
ings of captives and travellers in their territories ; the Indian name of
rivers, hills, districts, islands, bays, and other places, with the traditions
attached to the same, together with their monuments and relics.
Sketches of the lives of all eminent and remarkable persons who have
lived in the State, or were connected with its history ; original journals,
letters, documents and papers, illustrating the same, or of our ancestors
generally.
All works relating to the History of Georgia, its Colleges, Academies,
and Seminaries ; minutes and proceedings of scientific and literary asso¬
ciations, orations, sermons, addresses, tracts, essays, pamphlets and poems,
delivered or written on any public occasion, or commemorative of any
remarka&le event; magazines, almanacs, reviews, and newspapers from
their first introduction into the colony.
Appendix.
333
Tables of exports and imports, price currents, reports of railroads,
canals, banks, and insurance offices; proceedings of chambers of com¬
merce, registers of vessels and steam boats, notices of the rise and pro¬
gress of agriculture, and manufactures of every kind, and the nature and
amount of fisheries.
Militia returns and regulations ; the number, location, and date of incor¬
poration of volunteer corps ; the names of field, staff and general officers ;
description of all fortifications that have been, or now are in existence ;
notices of battles and battle fields, and of the invasions, and depredations,
and skirmishes, by and with foreign nations, from the first settlement of
the colony.
Proceedings of conventions, assemblies, synods, presbyteries, confer¬
ences and religious associations of all kinds ; sketches of the origin and
progress of individual churches, names of the officiating clergy, with the
date of their settlement, the sect to which they belong, and the time of the
removal or death of all such as have left their charge, or have deceased.
The Committee would respectfully state, that while in the above speci¬
fications, they have regarded merely their own State, "yet they by no
means wish to limit the donations to, or collections of the Society, to top¬
ics purely local in their interest. They solicit contributions of books, manu¬
scripts, pamphlets, newspapers, and every thing which can elucidate the
history of America generally, as well as Georgia in particular; and they
sincerely hope that this call upon the liberality of all who love the honor
of our commonwealth, and desire to perpetuate the faithful records of her
existence, will be responded to, with an ardor that will insure the complete
success of the Georgia PIistorical Society.
N. B. — Whenever private conveyance can be obtained, for the trans¬
mission of books, documents, &c., it would be preferred to forwarding
them by mail.
OFFICERS
GEORGIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
ELECTED FEBRUARY, 1842.
Hon. JAMES M. WAYNE, President.
M. HALL M'ALLISTER, Esq., lsf Vice President.
Hon. WILLIAM LAAV, 2d "
I. K. TEFFT, Esq., Corresponding Secretary.
HENRY K./PRESTON, Esq., Recording Secretary.
SOLOMON COHEN, Esq., Treasurer.
WILLIAM BACON STEVENS, M. D., Librarian.
William Thorne Williams,
Hon. Charles Seton Henry,
" John C. Nicoll,
" Robert M. Charlton, ^ Curators.
Richard D. Arnold, M. D.
A. A. Smets,
Rt. Rev. S. Elliott, Jr., D. D. J
STANDING COMMITTEES.
J. C. Nicoll,
R. M. Charlton,
William B. Stevens,
-Henry K. Preston,
Stephen Elliott, Jr.,
Solomon Cohen,
On the Library.
William T. Williams,
I. K. Tefet, J On Printing and Publishini
R. D. Arnold,
C. S. Henry",
W. T. Williams,
A. A. Smets,
George W. Hunter,
Solomon Cohen,
Richard D. Arnold,
1
On Finance.
Appendix.
335
List of the Resident Mem bers of the Georgia Historical
Society.
Arnold, Richard D., M. D.
Anderson, John W.
"Billing', Rei*JilSOpli Of
-Bulloch, Wm. B. - "
Bulloch, Wm. H.
Bulloch, Wm. G., M. D.
—"Burroughs, Joseph H-.~
yib'
■UuWeM,"U"m.' r.
Bartow, Rev. T. B.
Barnard, James
Berrien,'John M. ¬
Bulloch, N. W. J.
Bartow, Francis S.
Bayard, N. J.
- Barclay, Anthony
Barnard, Timothy G., M. D.
^iBii 1 lyi jiUwsnyi
j^tflourke, Thomas
CfiaTItoTT,- Robert -Mr—
Cumming, George B.
■Ou i liming) liwapdi
Cohen, Solomon
Campbell, D. C.
Couper, James H.
yU'ni. iV.j'Tit. 3>.
Cuyler, Wm. II., M. 1).
" "Coppee,-Edward, M. D.
■Wini liiji n1 imliili ihl>
■■Olincli, •Puiu.uivfc.
" ClUy,-d'h-etrraS'S?
Crawford, Joel
Duncan, William
Daniell, Wm. C., M.D.
Dudley, Geo. M.
VDcblnaniuttny Janob, 'Jr.
D'Lyon, Levi S.
Jiiosii") Ohuilagp
—**Pawiuii)»Wiuii' C>
Fay, Joseph S.
Fleming, Wm. B.
dBiiintiiiii') Wlunnn i»H
Freeman, llenry K.
Goodwin, Robert M.
"Gli n,' Orovgc"
■HtniKir, t.dhlgu VY»
Henry, Charles Feton
Habersham, Robert
Habersham, Wm. Neyle
»illiil)L,ij,li1iLii,"JriL.uitll (j* 'MfB.
Harden, Edward J.
Harding, George S.
rtlsiiite'g.T.rTt'.
hi I li 11 iiy i' il l'f
House, Samuel C.
Hill, H. F.
Hansell, Wm. Y.
Hamilton, Thomas, M.D.
Jones, George
Grant, Charles
Grant, Hugh Fraser
Goulding, Rev. F. R.
TTBErai dy RoticrrCT*
Gardner, Stephen
f |d#L.
^IubImBII ')"d I'.ih fill "tiff
Jones, Moses L. gk
Jones, Rev. John"
Jackson, Henry R.
Kollock, P. M., M.D.
•"Khnttfif-'isuiJiiiy J:~
King, Thomas Butler
King, Ur.il.himi
King, Y. 1'.
h
Law, William
Lamar, G. 1!.
Lewis, John N.
Locke, J. L.
Low, Andrew, Jr.
Law, Win. Fabian
LeConte, John, M. D.
McAllister, M. II*
Mallard, John B.
-grfJJaUgssiUbP
Morel, James S., M. D.
^ Mgl C 1*0j -h |l—. ^
Milledge, John
McAllister, George W.
McAllister, Joseph L.
1,1 lvrillcin.Andi'uiH1 ly
• Mongiii) Wiiiii-llcnr}h
McConnell, Wm. 1'., M. D.
-Nicoll, John C.
Nisbet, E. A.
Neyle, G. N.
*0 ''NietiyRt; v
■cnni=iimi,",Juii'Mhffli
OuiTr;yi><..w.-
^Bic'itanyHewryKi
Porter, Anthony
^Preston,1 Adt1.' Will.nd, DrD.
Padelford, Edward
Purse, 'J'homas
•"■Poult; i1, luiuurrWr
»i,niiin,n.ik"ii.ii|iiiit.4
I'omUctuii) PiiU.
Potter, James
Potter, Thomas F,, M. D.
Pynchon, Edward E.
Polhill, 'J'homas 11.
Preston, James VV.
** Pi tiiin j Inrrpti 1' j "r-|'n
Robertson, William
J.1PH .i llUllU'Tdl D.
—Rolrertaon, F. M.¬
Rabun, John W.
**C't.li'ley j'6tui'g»
—£ri]iitl7».frrin<.i
til Inn: ) 4 \ <i 11 j»U.
Ftiles, Benj. E.
Flintier, Joseph II.
"'."UTpiiem.1; LimnR*
Fine's, A. A.
Forrel, Francis
Ftevens, Wm. Bacon, M. D.
Founders, H. M., M.D.
**■ ii]nl'iirJli'« woiiii
Stoddard, John
^'itrnetl'j'Jusiah—
Tedt, I. K.
Turner, Wm.
♦"Jilaiuhmjillwi'Wiwi -V.
Varnedoe, Samuel M.
White, Wm. P.
Ward, John E.
Wayne, James M.
Williams, Wm. Thorne.
White, Rev. George
Warner, Hiram
Wallace, Norman
■ 'VVahlirtirgi f.'u<u Mi
Waldburg, Jacob
yC 11,i i i 111 111 ii111 tain
Wingtield, John
Wingtietd, Junius
Williams, Henry
Wilson, Edward G.
Woodbridge, Wylly
Honorary Members.
• Adams, Hon. John CI., LL. D. Ex. Pres. U. S., Mas.
*Adams, Rev. Jasper, I). D., South Carolina,
^llston, Washington, Esq., Cambridgeport, Mass.
Andrews, James O., D. D., Covington, Ga.
Bancroft, George, Esq., Boston, Mass.
Bacon, Rev. Leonard. Leonard, New Haven, Ct.
Barnard, llenry, 2d, Esq., Hartford, Ct.
Bartlett, John R., Esq., New York.
jMlurges, Hon. Tristram, Providence, R. I.
jfcBradford, Hon. Alden, LL. IX, Boston.
Bethune, Rev. Geo. W., D. D., Philadelphia.
Bachman, Rev. J., D. D., Charleston, S. C.
Cass, Hon. Lewis, LL. D., Minister to France.
Cambreling, Hon. C. C., New York.
Carroll, B. R., Esq., Charleston, S. C.
Cheves, Hon. Langdon, LL. D., South Carolina.
Church, Alonzo, 1). D., Pres. Frank). Univ., Ga.
Clarke, Matt. St. Clair, Esq., Washington, IK C.
Cogswell, Rev. Wm., D. I)., Hanover, N. II.
Cooper, J. Fennimore, Esq., New York.
Couper, John, Esq., Georgia.
I.e Conte, .Major John, Georgia.
Day, Jeremiah, D. D., LL. D., Pres. Yale College,
New Haven, Ct.
* Deceased.