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Taken from Map in Cari-cirs 
 SistDrical CoiUectioiis of Soufli Carolina.. 
 
 <7^M 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OP 
 
 THE OLD CHERA¥S: 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE ABOEIGINES OP THE PEDEE, 
 
 THE FIRST WHITE SETTLEMENTS, 
 
 THEIE SUBSEQUENT PR0GEE8S, CIVIL CHANGES, THE STRUGGLE OF THE 
 REVOLUTION, AND GROWTH OP THE COUNTRY AFTERWARD ; 
 
 EXTENDING FROM ABOUT A.D. 1730 TO 1810, 
 
 WITH 
 
 NOTICES OF FAMILIES AND SKETCHES OF INDIVlBtr^ 
 
 BT THE 
 
 Right Eev. ALEXANDER GREGG, D.D. 
 
 BISHOP OF THE P. E. OHURCH IN TEXAS, 
 FORMBBLT EBCTOE OF ST. DATID's OHUBOH, OHEBAW, BO. CA. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 RICHARDSON AND COMPANY, 
 
 14, BOND STREET. 
 1867. 
 
 
A 
 
 
 Entered, accoeding to Act op Congress, in the 
 Year 1867, by 
 
 RICHARDSON & COMPANY, 
 
 In the Clerk's OFricE of the District Court of the Southern 
 District of New York. 
 
 37-^7^ 
 
TO 
 
 THE DESCENDANTS OF THE FIRST SETTLERS ON THE UPPER PEDEE, 
 
 OP 
 
 THE WHIGS OF THE OLD CHERAW DISTRICT AND LIBERTY 
 PRECINCT, 
 
 WHEREVER THEY ARE TO BE FOUND: 
 THIS TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF THEIR FATHERS, 
 
 |s f csgutfnllg fjebitateb 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The Author was induced some years since^ at the instance of 
 the " Cheraw Lyceum/' to investigate the history of the 
 Indian trihes formerly inhabiting the valley of the Pedee. 
 
 In the course of his researches, some very interesting 
 documentary matter connected with the first white settlers 
 of this region was unexpectedly discovered, which led to 
 renewed effort in that direction, and resulted in the collec- 
 tion from various sources of an amount of matter far beyond 
 anything which the most sanguine hopes in the outset could 
 have anticipated. This was the more gratifying, inasmuch 
 as in the histories of the State and the published memoirs 
 of some of the distinguished leaders of the Revolution, the 
 region of the Upper Pedee, embraced within the limits of 
 the Old Cheraw District, had literally found no place. It 
 was far removed from Charles-town, as well as from the 
 main routes of emigration, travel, and the Indian trade, all 
 which tended to the west and north-westward, where the 
 Cherokees held sway. None of the important battles of the 
 Revolution were fought in this portion of Carolina, though 
 it contributed largely to the number of those who took an 
 active part in the strife. The operations of Marion were 
 confined chiefly to the parts lower down on the river. Even 
 Judge James, who served in early life under that dis- 
 tinguished partizan leader, remarks, in his " Life of 
 Marion \" — " As to the Old Cheraw District, where a 
 
VI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 sanguinary warfare was waged between the Whigs and 
 Tories under General Thomas, their leader, nothing is known, 
 and it will, perhaps, remain ever unrecorded." 
 
 It may, therefore, be readily imagined with what delight 
 the materials of this unwritten history were recovered, how 
 the desire was naturally excited to give it publicity, and the 
 pride justly felt by one in the region of his nativity, to 
 rescue the noble deeds of those who had long since passed 
 away, from oblivion. 
 
 After gathering the materials for his narrative from every 
 accessible source^ and carefully collating them, the Author 
 was called, in the providence of God, to make a permanent 
 removal from the State of his birth and the scenes of his 
 former labors. He has since found time to bring the work 
 to completion, esteeming it a tribute of affection due to those 
 ties and associations, ever so dear to man, which he has left 
 behind him. 
 
 Though in the main a local history, and for that reason 
 chiefly interesting to those who by nativity or descent are 
 more immediately connected with this portion of Carolina, 
 there is yet of necessity a close and continuous connexion 
 throughout with the history of the State at large — a history 
 which, except by the aid of such detailed accounts of par- 
 ticular localities, can never be fully written. Much, there- 
 fore^ of general interest will be found in the following pages, 
 more especially in the period which immediately preceded 
 the Revolution, and during the progress of that eventful 
 conflict. To the Whigs of the Old Cheraws, though with 
 very few exceptions hitherto unknown to fame, must a con- 
 spicuous place be assigned, for the part they took in pre- 
 paring the way for that early struggle for independence, and 
 in its prosecution afterwards. 
 
 If omissions appear in the account of families which came 
 at an early period to the Pedee, and are known to have taken 
 
INTRODUCTION. vii 
 
 an active and influential part in its subsequent history, it 
 is to be attributed to the fact, which none can regret more 
 than the Author, that after diligent and unremitting effort, 
 information was either not to be obtained, or failed, after 
 repeated application, to be procured from their descendants. 
 It is a melancholy fact, indeed, as has been painfidly experi- 
 enced here in not a few instances, how little is known by 
 their posterity of the third and fourth generations, of ances- 
 tors who are worthy of being held in honored remembrance. 
 In this connexion facts could be given which would scarcely 
 be credited. Too little attention has been generally paid to 
 the preservation of such ancestral accounts, and of documen- 
 tary matter, invaluable in connexion with the history of 
 communities and public events of importance. To a few 
 such collections which happily escaped the ravages of time, 
 the Author has been largely indebted in filling up some of the 
 links of his narrative. He is under weighty obligations to 
 those who kindly furnished information and materials within 
 their reach ; also to others who gave him access to public 
 libraries and the archives of the State, and desires in this 
 lasting form to give expression to his acknowledgments. 
 
 In a local history like the following, much of minute 
 detail as to persons and places is to be expected, constituting, 
 as it does, one of the chief attractions of such a narrative. 
 Where printed or documentary matter of permanent interest 
 and value could be given in full as recorded, the object has 
 been to present it literally in its original form, rather than 
 in the language of the Author. In this way only can the 
 materials necessary for general use in the future be preserved, 
 and the labor of those to come in more important paths of 
 historical inquiry be lightened. The hope is therefore 
 cherished that the intrinsic value of the matter collected, not 
 the style of its narration, may interest the reader. And if 
 a work, begun and prosecuted under the constant pressure of 
 
VUl INTRODUCTION. 
 
 other pursuits and labors, shall serve to make those for whom 
 he has chiefly written, better acquainted with the history of 
 their fathers, and do justice, though at so late a period, to 
 the memory of the noble men who have gone before, the 
 Author will feel that his effort is abundantly rewarded. 
 
 San Antonio, Texas, 
 April, 1867. 
 
HISTORY 
 
 THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Indian tribes in Carolina — Extent of their territory — Otlier tribes — Pedees — 
 Kadapaws — Localities of each — Their origin — Advent of the Catavvbas — 
 Their tradition — Subsequent relation to tribes on the Pedee — Lederer's 
 narrative — Localities identified — Sara, where — First mention in public records 
 of tribes on the Pedee — Visit of the Cheraws to Cliarlestown — Governor's 
 visit to the Congerees — Interview with Pedees — Governor Glenn writes to 
 Governor Clinton — Evans's Journal — Cheraws visit Charlestown — Small- 
 pox prevails — Removal of Cheraws and union with Catawbas — Catawba 
 History — Languages of tribes on the Pedee — Meaning of " Cheraw" — 
 "Pedee" — Indian remains on the Pedee — Indian habits and customs — 
 Lawson's narrative — Last of Cheraws and Catawbas. 
 
 There is a sad chapter in the history of the New World : 
 it is that relating to the Aborigines of America — a peoj^le^ 
 as all accounts agree^ distinguished for many noble traits^ 
 but invariably degenerating in character and habit as they 
 have come in contact with the " pale-faces/^ and taken 
 up their mournful line of march towards the setting sun. 
 
 When first known to the colonists, South Carolina is said 
 to have contained not less than twenty-eight tribes of 
 Indians, with settlements extending from the ocean to the 
 mountains. Of these tribes but a few names survive to 
 mark the localities they once inhabited ; and these, with 
 such scattered remains as the waste of time and the level- 
 ling work of the white man have spared, are the only memo- 
 rials left to tell of their early occupancy of the soil. Of the 
 tribes which dwelt upon the Pedee and its tributaries, the 
 Saras, or Saraws, as they were first called — afterwards 
 CharrowSj Charraws, and Cheraws — occupied the region still 
 
2 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 identified by the name : their territory extending thence to 
 the coast, and along the coast from the Cape Fear to the 
 Pedee. This extensive region has been assigned to the 
 Cheraws by one of the most eminent ethnologists of America, 
 as among the sites of the Indian tribes when first known to 
 the Europeans, about the year 1600, along the coast of 
 the Atlantic."^ 
 
 If such was the extent of their territory at that early 
 period, it would indicate a population which must have 
 been greatly diminished, when, upon the approach of the 
 Catawbas, a half century later, the supremacy of the Che- 
 raws over the smaller tribes around them, and even over 
 their own distinct nationality, would seem to have been lost, 
 or at least unacknowledged. Within these early territorial 
 limits of the Cheraws, and along the middle and lower 
 parts of the valley of the river, must be assigned the Pedees ; 
 and about the mouth of the river, the Winyaws. The 
 Kadapaws were found on Lynchers Creek, after the name of 
 which tribe that stream was called in the Indian tongue. 
 Of these, the Cheraws — however they may have been dimi- 
 nished in number by disease and war, or perchance by some 
 dismemberment of their nation, and the removal of many, 
 of which no record or tradition remains — continued to be 
 the dominant race on the Pedee ; the others having ever 
 been reckoned among the smaller and inferior tribes. Of 
 their origin nothing is known beyond the conjectures of 
 ethnologists. They have been assigned, but upon what 
 grounds does not appear, to the extensive family of Algon- 
 kins. These occupied that portion of North America on 
 the east extending from 35° to 60° N. latitude, and reaching 
 along the northern line of extension almost to the Pacific 
 on the west. Beyond this, as the track of aboriginal descent 
 and migration begins to be traced back, even conjecture is 
 lost in a sea of uncertainty. 
 
 The tribes on the Pedee continued in their feeble and 
 disconnected state (the Cheraws maintaining the supremacy) 
 until the arrival of the Catawbas from the north, with the 
 
 * See map annexed, by the late Albert Gallatin, vol. i. of "Transactions of 
 American Ethnological Society." 
 
' WITH SURROUNDING TRIBES, 
 TAKEN FROM ]NL\P IN VOL. I, 
 
 Traiisaclioiis ol' American 
 Elluiolt)piciLl Socielv. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 3 
 
 history of whom their own was ever after to be inseparably- 
 blended. 
 
 According to their tradition,'^ as it has been handed 
 down to very recent times, the Catawbas, at a period prior 
 or not long subsequent to the discovery and settlement of 
 North America by the whites, occupied a region far to the 
 northward, from whence, in course of time, they removed 
 to the south. Being a numerous and warlike race, they 
 vanquished the tribes with whom they came successively in 
 conflict on the way, until they met the Cherokees on the 
 banks of the river, afterwards called by their own name, 
 Catawba. 
 
 Here, as the tradition relates, a sanguinary battle ensued 
 between them, which lasted from morning until night, 
 darkness alone serving to put an end to the conflict. The 
 loss on both sides was heavy, though neither party gained 
 the victory. They slept on the field of blood among their 
 dead and wounded. With the approach of morning, pro- 
 positions of peace were made by the Catawbas, and accepted 
 by the Cherokees. According to the terms of the agree- 
 ment, the former were to occupy the country east of the 
 river, and the latter the territory on the west. Here they 
 solemnly agreed to live together as brothers ; and, after 
 burying their dead, and erecting piles of stones as monu- 
 ments alike of their common loss, and of the peace and 
 friendship established between them, returned to theu' en- 
 campments, ever afterwards sacredly observing the terms of 
 the compact. This tradition of the Catawbas is confirmed 
 throughout by the fuller details which ethnological research 
 has added to their history. They appear to have been a 
 Canadian tribe, and to have left their ancient home about 
 the year 1650, pursued by the Connewangas, a superior and 
 more warlike tribe, with whom they had come in conflict. 
 Forced thus to remove, they turned their faces to the south- 
 ward, and fought their way, when necessary to do so, until 
 they approached the head waters of the Kentucky River. 
 
 * For this interesting traditional account, as given by the Catawbas, the 
 author is indebted to W. H. Thomas, Esq., of QuuUa Town, No. Ca., who has 
 been intimately connected with them, as their head man, or chief, since their 
 removal to the western part of that State. 
 
 B 2 
 
4 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Here a separation took place^ tlie larger number becoming 
 absorbed in the great families of the Chickasaws and Choc- 
 taws. 
 
 The remainder of the tribe stopped in what was after- 
 wards known as Bottetourt County, Virginia, but without 
 making any permanent settlement. 
 
 They removed thence in the year 1660, continuing their 
 journey to the south, and, as Adair wrote, " settled on the 
 east side of a broad, purling river, that heads in the great 
 blue ridge of mountains, and empties itself into Santee 
 River, in Amelia township, then running eastward of Charles- 
 town, disgorges itself into the Atlantic.^^ 
 
 On the banks of this river, the Eswa Tavora (as it was 
 called in the Indian tongue), they met the Cherokees, 
 whose extensive territory ran thence to the westward, and 
 there followed the sanguinary conflict, of which some ac- 
 count has been given. 
 
 In this battle 1000 of the bravest warriors were lost 
 on each side, greatly reducing the force of the Catawbas, 
 and doubtless making a permanent impression on their spirit 
 as a warlike race, for which they had been so celebrated in 
 the earlier periods of their history. 
 
 How the approach of the Catawbas was regarded by the 
 Cheraws, and whether any conflict ensued between them, 
 tradition does not inform us. The approach of a strong 
 and formidable tribe was generally regarded by the Indians 
 as a hostile demonstration and claim to dominion. Already, 
 doubtless, the decline of the Cheraws had commenced and 
 made such progress as to unfit them for contesting the 
 claim to supremacy. It was to be the story of a continuous 
 decline, and of a race scattered or absorbed into another 
 superior to themselves, the beginning of the last and most 
 mom-nful chapter in their history. A portion of the 
 Cheraws, however, must have remained distinct and inde- 
 pendent for more than a century later, as will be found in 
 tracing their subsequent course. They were henceforth to 
 • be wanderer?, the remains of their once extensive dominion, 
 with those of the smaller tribes around them, having passed 
 away to the Catawbas. The territory of the latter was 
 placed in 34:° north latitude, being bounded on the north 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 5 
 
 and north-east by North Carolina ; on the east and south 
 by South Carolina; and about west and south-west by the 
 Cherokee nation."^ 
 
 The smaller tribes on the waters of the Pedee^ appear 
 after this period to have had but a nominal existence. 
 They had doubtless degenerated through the operation of 
 those wasting and destructive agencies at work in the his- 
 tory of the aboriginal races ; and, in addition, had under- 
 gone the process, common among the Indians, of becoming 
 absorbed in their conquerors or in the larger tribes around 
 them. 
 
 In this instance they were merged chiefly in the Cataw- 
 bas. About the year 1743, the language of the Catawbas 
 is said to have consisted of twenty different dialects, of 
 which the " Katahba^^ was the standard, or court dialect, 
 the "" Cherah" being another. Scarcely anything beyond a 
 bare allusion to them by name is found relating to the 
 tribes on the Pedee in the earliest accounts of the Indians 
 of Carolina. With the exception of the Cheraws, they were 
 reckoned among the smaller and inferior tribes, most of 
 whom had then greatly degenerated and were rapidly ap- 
 proaching extinction. Brief allusions are found at an early 
 period to the several tribes in the Acts of the Assembly, 
 passed for the regulation and support of the Indian trade. 
 The larger tribes on the northern and western boundaries 
 of the Province engaged the attention of the Government 
 almost exclusively. The Catawbas formed a sort of barrier 
 against their incursions, and of them there is frequent 
 mention. 
 
 Of the Cheraws the first distinct relation in any contem- 
 poraneous record, is found in the explorations of John 
 Lederer, " in three several marches from Virginia to the 
 west of Carolina and other parts of the Continent ; begun 
 in March, 1669, and ended in September, 1670.^'t 
 
 Such at least is the case, if we are to understand by 
 " Sara,''' as he writes it, the locality of the " Saraws,'' as 
 they were sometimes called, or Cheraw Indians. Thus, in 
 
 * Adair, p. 224. 
 t For a full account of this early American traveller, the reader is referred 
 to Dr. Hawks' " History of No. Ca.," vol, ii. pp. 43—63, with maps annexed. 
 
6 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 one of his journeys^ Lederer says, " I departed from Watery 
 the one-and-twentieth of June, and keeping a west course 
 for near thirty miles, I came to Sara. Here I found the 
 ways more level and easy. I did likewise, to my no small 
 admiration, find hard cakes of white salt among them ; but 
 whether they were made of sea-water or taken out of salt- 
 pits T know not, but am apt to believe the latter, because 
 the sea is so remote from them. From Sara I kept a south- 
 west course until the five-and-twentieth of June, and then I 
 reached Wisacky. This three days' march was more trouble- 
 some to me than all my travels besides, for the direct way 
 which I took from Sara to Wisacky is over a continued 
 marsh overgrown with weeds, from whose roots spring 
 knotty stumps, as hard and sharp as flint. 
 
 " I was forced to lead my horse most part of the way, and 
 wonder that he was not either plunged in the bogs or lamed 
 by those rugged knots. This nation is subject to a neighbor 
 king residing upon the bank of a great lake called Ushery, 
 environed of all sides with mountains and Wisacky marsh. '^^ 
 There is great difficulty throughout Lederer's narrative, 
 as Dr. Hawks more than once remarks, in determining the 
 routes by which he passed and the localities described. If 
 by " Watery,^' the Wateree of the present day is to be un- 
 derstood, he could not by going west thirty miles to 
 " Wisacky,'^ and thence three days' march by a south-west 
 course to " Ushery," have reached the Santee j for by 
 " Ushery'^ the Santee was meant, if the authority quoted by 
 Dr. Hawks is correct : Col. Byrd, he adds, says that the 
 Indians living on the Santee River were called " Usheries." 
 If, on the other hand, amid the confusion of names which 
 could not have been very well defined at that early period, 
 we may understand by " Watery" the Pedee of the present 
 day, a journey of thirty miles to the west would have 
 brought Lederer to Lynchers Creek, the " Wisacky," and 
 three days' march from thence south-westwardly along the 
 swamp of Wateree, would have enabled him to reach the 
 Santee, environed by the " High Hills" which have since 
 become so famous, called by this early explorer, " Moun- 
 
 * Hawks' " History of N. C," vol. ii. p. 49. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 7 
 
 tains/' and witli an almost impenetrable swamp of vast ex- 
 tent^ to which his description of a '' marsh overgrown with 
 reeds/' would very well answer. 
 
 In support of this view, we find in Oldmixon's " History 
 of Carolina/' published in 1708, reason for supposing that 
 the Pedee was then called by that name (Watery). De- 
 scribing the six counties into which Carolina, North and 
 South, was then divided, he begins with Albemarle, on the 
 borders of Virginia. Then follows an account of Clarendon 
 County, in which, he says, '^ is the famous promontory, called 
 also Cape Fear, at the mouth of Clarendon River, called 
 also Cape Fear River. The next river is named Waterey 
 River, or Wiuyan, about twenty-five leagues distant from 
 Ashley River : it is capable of receiving large ships, but in- 
 ferior to Port Royal, nor is yet inhabited. There is another 
 small river called Wingon River, and a little settlement 
 honoured with the name of Charles-town, but so thinly 
 inhabited that 'tis not worth taking notice of. We come now 
 to South Carolina, which is parted from North by Zantee 
 River. The adjacent county is called Craven County."* 
 
 It is evident that the '' Waterey" here spoken of, was 
 the Waccamaw, or the lower Pedee, and not the Wateree 
 of the present day. 
 
 The Pedee being a much longer stream than the Wacca- 
 maw, it is not impossible that though the latter was known 
 by the name of Waterey, or Winyan near its mouth, the 
 former being supposed to form its extension higher up, was 
 also in like manner designated. Dr. Hawks remarks, 
 " Watery, Sara, Wisacky, and Ushery, would all appear to 
 have been in South Carolina, the last directly west of 
 Charles-town. If he made his journey then, entering the 
 State somewhere in Robeson County, he must have crossed 
 in a south-western line, and passing through Robesou 
 County into South Carolina, must have traversed that State 
 also in its entire width. The time occupied would not have 
 been sufficient for it. Ledcrer's Itinerary presents difficul- 
 ties which we confess we cannot satisfactorily solve."t 
 
 * Oldmixon's " History," in Carroll's Collections, vol. ii. p. 446. 
 f Hawks' " History of N. C," vul. ii. p. 52. 
 
8 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 If, as is here conjectured_, Lederer passed through Robeson 
 County into South Carolina, the supposition we have made 
 will appear the more probable. And it brings to light the 
 fact never before suggested or imagined, perhaps, that the 
 Pedee, in the earlier days of aboriginal history, was known 
 as " Sara/^ If it was so, the time and reason of the change 
 to Pedee can be left to conjecture only. 
 
 It might have taken place after the advent of the 
 Catawbas, and been brought about by them in order that 
 such a standing memorial of the " Sara" dominion might 
 be for ever obliterated ; or, what is yet more probable, the 
 " Sara'' territory, once embracing the region higher up, but 
 afterwards confined to the coast, the Pedees, if succeeding 
 to it, would naturally have called the river after their own 
 name. 
 
 The earliest mention in the provincial records of any of 
 the tribes inhabiting the Valley of the Pedee, is found in 
 the proceedings of the Council or Upper House of Assembly, 
 December 15th, 1732.* It is in these words : — " Mr. 
 Sanders and Mr. Waties came from the Lower House with 
 the following message. We herewith send your Excellency 
 a letter of great moment to this Government, relating to 
 the murder of a Pedee Indian, by one Kemp. We desire 
 your Excellency to take the proper measures to prevent the 
 ill consequences of it, by causing the offender to be appre- 
 hended and brought to justice, or otherwise as your 
 Excellency shall see fit." 
 
 Upon I'eading the message from the Lower House of 
 Assembly, and likewise the letter therein mentioned, com- 
 plaining that one Kemp, or Camp, an overseer at Black 
 River, or Georgetown, has barbarously murdered one of 
 the Peedee Indians, 
 
 " Ordered, — That James Neale, Esq., Provost Marshal, 
 do immediately attach the said Kemp, or Camp, and bring 
 him before his Excellency, the Governor, in Charlestown, 
 to be dealt with according to law, and that all Constables 
 and other officers and subjects of his Majesty be aiding and 
 
 * "Council Journal," No. 5, p. 258, Secretary States Office, Columbia. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 9 
 
 assisting to tlie said Provost Marshal in tlie execution of 
 tliis order /^ 
 
 This proceeding of the House was based upon the 
 following facts : — " Appeared before this Board, Thomas 
 Burton and Wm. Kemp, and upon the affidavit of Thomas 
 Burton, and the information of Wm. Kemp concerning the 
 fact of an Indian fellow being killed, name Corn-White 
 Johnny, his Excellency issued the following order. On 
 the 17th January, 1733, in Council, upon hearing this day 
 the information of William Kemp, relating to the death of 
 Corn- White Johnny, and the aflSdavit of Thomas Burton, 
 it is ordered that King Harry, Captain Billy, George and 
 Dancing Johnny, and some of the relations of the deceased, 
 be and appear before me, the second Wednesday in February 
 next ensuing, to give an account of what they know of the 
 death of the said Indian, and that Wm. Kemp do attend 
 at the same time ; likewise that Mr. John Thompson, jun., 
 is desired to acquaint the said Indians of this order." 
 This record is of interest now as evincing the jealous care 
 exercised by the Provincial Government for the protection 
 of those scattered and defenceless remnants of the Indian 
 tribes whose domain was fast passing away from them, and 
 who continued faithful to the whites to the close of their 
 history. 
 
 Of the result of the proceedings referred to no further 
 account appears. 
 
 We have next a brief, but interesting notice* of a visit 
 made to Charles-town by a few of the leading men of the 
 Cheraw and Catawbas in July 1739 : — " On Saturday 
 last," said the Gazette of that day, " arrived in this town 
 eleven of the chief men among the Catawbas and Cheraw 
 Indians, who came to pay a visit to his Honour, the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor, and inform him that some time since a 
 party of their people went out to war, and not meeting 
 with their enemies, had cut off a white family on the 
 
 * South Carolina Gazette, June 30— July Vtli, 1739. For access to this 
 invaluable historical collection — a complete file of the old Gazettes, commencing 
 about 1730— the author is indebted to the courtesy of A. H. Mazyck, Esq., of 
 the Charleston Library. Only a few of the earlier numbers of the Gazette are 
 missing. At a later period a small portion was burned. 
 
10 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 borders of Virginia ; that upon complaint made to them of 
 the said barbarous murder^ they examined into the facts, 
 and had put five of the ringleaders to death ; and that they 
 were determined to prosecute in the same rigorous manner 
 any of their people who for the future should be found 
 guilty of the like cruel practices. They met with a kind 
 reception from his Honour the Lieutenant-Governor; and 
 ha^^ng received the usual presents from the country, they 
 set out this day on their return home, well pleased and 
 content/^ 
 
 The signal punishment visited by these tribes upon the 
 murderers of the whites, indicated their fidelity to the 
 Provincial Government, which continued to be as true as it 
 was lasting. 
 
 Of the Pedees mention is made a few years later. " In 
 Council, March 2nd, 1743, his Excellency, the Governor, 
 signed the following order to Mr. Commissary Dart, viz., 
 to provide for the Pedee Indians now in town, the follow- 
 ing particulars, viz. : — 
 
 " Presents. — To the three head men, each of them, a gun 
 and knife ; to the others, each of them, a knife. For the 
 three women, each of them, a looking-glass, twenty bullets, 
 half a pound vermillion to be divided among them. 
 
 " Also, an order on Col. Brewton, for ten pounds of gun- 
 powder for use of said Indians."^ The Pedees are men- 
 tioned again, with the Catawbas, in the following year. " In 
 Council, 25 th July, 1744, the Governor admitted four 
 Pedee Indians to an interview in the Council Chamber, 
 who infoi'med his Excellency that seven Catawbas had been 
 barbarously murdered by the Notchee Indians, who live 
 among them, which horrible deed having been confirmed by 
 Mr. Matthew Beard, who lives at Goose Creek, who had 
 certain intelligence of the same, saying, that the said Ca- 
 tawbas being drunk near Fuller Cowpen, near the four holes, 
 seven of them, while asleep, were murdered by the Notchees ; 
 which affair being taken into consideration, his Excellency, 
 by the advice of his Majesty^s Council, ordered the follow- 
 ing letter to be despatched away, relating to that subject : — 
 
 * " Council Jounml," No. 11, p. 133. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 11 
 
 " So, Ca., July 28, 1744. 
 " Sir^ — I have received information of an unlucky accident 
 which happened about a week ago^ at or near the store be- 
 longing to the late Major Fuller, somewhere about the Four 
 Holes, where some Notchee Indians have fallen upon and 
 killed five or six of the Catawbas, being instigated thereto 
 by a person who keeps that store. The Catawbas, as I 
 understand, have already set out to take their revenge, 
 which has obliged the Notchees and Pedees to come further 
 down among the settlements for shelter. I must therefore 
 desire the favor of you to interpose in this matter, and to 
 prevent, as far as you are able, any bloodshed, till this 
 matter is fully enquired into. Then the guilty may be 
 punished, and if you find it necessary, to interpose with the 
 Militia in your parts to keep the peace. This I write at 
 the desire of his Majesty^s Council. I hear they are at 
 IMr. Beard's Plantation, in the neighbourhood. 
 
 I am, with truth, yours, 
 "To Hon. Wm. Middleton, Esq." " JaMES GleN."^ 
 
 About two years after this, the Governor, as was usTial 
 when any difficulty occurred with the Indians, or to pre- 
 serve their friendship and maintain a due influence over 
 them, made a visit into the interior, at a certain place on 
 the Congarees, appointed by him for an interview with the 
 Catawbas, of which the following account was preserved. f 
 " The Governor arrived at Congarees 27 April, 140 miles 
 distance hence, where, on the bank of the Santee, the king 
 and a few of the head men met him. Yenabe Yalangway, 
 the King — the old leader. Captain Taylor, Naf kebee, and some 
 others awaited on his Excellency. The next day the Go- 
 vernor addressed them. A place being erected for the 
 Governor to sit under, and the Union Flag hoisted, our 
 men were drawn out in two lines, through which the Indians 
 marched, when they were received with drums beating and 
 colours flying, and saluted with some small pieces of cannon : 
 after they had all taken the Governor by the hand, and the 
 King with some of his head-men, had placed himself near 
 
 * " Council Journal," No. 11, pp. 413, 414. 
 f Gazette, June 2, 1746. 
 
12 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 his Excellency^ a person was sworn truly to interpret all 
 that should pass betwixt the Governor and the Indians ; 
 and then his Excellency addressed them in words^ the pur- 
 port of which was to dissuade them from agreeing to a 
 proposition which had been made to them by some of the 
 other Indian Nations to join in a French war against 
 the people of Carolina. After which, presents were dis- 
 tributedj consisting chiefly of powder, g^ns, pistols, paint, 
 &c. The Governor had that morning received an express 
 from Mr. Brown (who trades amongst the Catawbas) acquaint- 
 ing him that some of the Pedees and Cheraws (two small 
 tribes who have long been incorporated with the Catawbas), 
 intended to leave them, which might prove of dangerous 
 consequence at a time when they were so closely attacked 
 by their enemies, the Northern Indians. Mr. Brown there- 
 fore entreated that, if possible, such a separation might be 
 prevented. 
 
 The Governor ordered the rammers of all the pistols 
 which he had delivered to the Indians to be laid uj)on the 
 table, desiring that such as were Pedees and Charraws might 
 advance, and they, being in a body near him, he spoke to 
 them in these words : — " It gives me great concern, my 
 friends, to hear that you entertain the least thought of 
 leaving the Catawbas, with whom you have been so long 
 and so closely united. This union makes you strong, and 
 enables you to defend yourselves and annoy your enemies ; 
 but should you ever separate, you would thereby weaken 
 yourselves, and be exposed to every danger. Consider that 
 if you were single and divided, you may be broke as easily 
 as I break this stick" (at the same time breaking one of 
 the rammers) ; " but if you continue united together, and 
 stand by one another, it will be as impossible to hurt or break 
 you, as it is impossible for me to break these,'^ (his Excel- 
 lency then taking up a handful of rammers). 
 
 After this, they all promised to continue together in their 
 camp. The Governor then directed himself to the King of 
 the Catawbas, telling him that he would expect his answer. 
 To which the King replied at some length, assuring the 
 Governor of their continued friendship and fidelity. 
 
 The pledge of fidelity renewed on this occasion was 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 13 
 
 faithfully observed by these Indians throughout all their 
 subsequent history. Though often tempted by artful repre- 
 sentations and large promises to take up arms against the 
 people of Carolina^ they could never be persuaded to do so. 
 Throughout the Indian wars^ and the contest M-ith the 
 mother country, they continued steadfast in their devotion 
 to their early friends and allies, well meriting the aid and 
 protection extended to them by the State in the latter stages 
 of their decline and weakness. 
 
 That the Pedees owned slaves, will appear from the follow- 
 ing notice, published in the Gazette of the day, August 30 — 
 September 6, 1748 :— 
 
 " Taken up by Michael Welch, overseer to the Subscriber, 
 on an Island called Uchee Island, a Negro Fellow, who 
 gives the following account of himself, viz., that he belonged 
 formerly to JNIr. Fuller, and was by him sold to Billy, King 
 of the Pedee Indians ; that the Catawba Indians took him 
 from King Billy, and carried him to their nation ; and that 
 in endeavouring to make his escape from the Catawbas, he 
 was lost in the woods, and had been so a considerable time 
 before he was taken. He is a middle-sized Fellow, and a 
 little pot-bellied ; says his name is Fortune, but is suspected 
 to have another name which he does not care to own. Any 
 j)erson having any right or property in the said Fellow, may 
 apply to the Subscriber, now in Charlestown. 
 
 " Isaac Mauksdale." 
 
 The Pedees and other smaller tribes, who now led a 
 wandering life, were in constant danger of being enticed off 
 by the more powerful and hostile nations of Indians, to join 
 them in their predatory excursions. 
 
 The following letters indicate the anxiety felt on the 
 subject by the Catawbas, as well as by the Provincial Govern- 
 ment at this period. The first^was addressed by the King 
 of the Catawbas to his Excellency, James Glen, Esq. : — 
 
 " There arc a great many Pedee Indians living in the 
 settlements that we want to come and settle amongst us. 
 We desire for you to send for them, and advise them to 
 
 * " Indian Book," vol. iii. pp. 163, 164, in Secretary of State's Office, 
 Columbia, S. C. 
 
14 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 this, and give them this string of wampum in token that 
 we want them to settle here, and will always live like 
 brothers with them. The Northern Indians want them all 
 to settle with us ; for, as they are now at peace, they may 
 be hunting in the woods or straggling about, killed by some 
 of them, except they join us, and make but one nation, 
 which will be a great addition of strength to us. 
 
 his 
 The X King." 
 Catawbfts, 21st November, 1752." mark. 
 
 During the previous year — viz.. May 2i, 1751 — Governor 
 Glen had written to Governor Clinton, of New York, re- 
 specting the Congress of Indians to be holden at Albany, 
 for the purpose of uniting the different friendly tribes, and 
 preserving their friendship as a bulwark against the more 
 hostile. Of that letter, the following extract will suffice : — 
 
 '' Our first care," said Governor Glen, " ought to be to 
 make all Indians that are friends with the English friends 
 also among themselves ; and for that reason I hope you 
 and the other Governors and Commissioners will heartily 
 join your interest in removing all the obstacles to a peace, 
 in reconciling all the differences, and cementing together in 
 a closer union the northern and southern Indians, under 
 the name of Norw^' Indians. I include not only the six 
 nations, the .Delewares, and Susquehanna Indians, but all 
 the different tribes who may be in friendship with them, 
 particularly those on the Ohio River; as under the name of 
 Southward Indians, I comprehend the Cherokee s, the Ca- 
 tawbas, the Creeks (called sometimes Muscogee), the 
 Chickesaws, and such part of the Chactaws as are in our 
 interest, and all the tribes in friendship with these nations, 
 or that live amongst our settlements, such as Charraws, 
 Uchees, Pedees, Notches, Cape Fears, or other Indians ; 
 and I hope that all prisoners on each side will be mutually 
 delivered back."* 
 
 On the 14th of October, 1755, John Evans made a visit 
 to the Catawbas, by order of his Excellency, Governor 
 Glen. From his journal the folloAving extracts are taken. 
 
 * " Indian Book," vol. ii. p. 96. 
 
HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 15 
 
 and will be found chiefly interesting here^ as containing 
 some information respecting the Pedees : — 
 
 "October 17th. — Met a Catawba man and woman, and 
 informed by them, that in the summer, the Chcrrackees 
 and Notchees had killed some Pedees and Waccamaws in 
 the white people^s settlements. 
 
 "18th. — I got into the Catawbas. King Hazier was gone 
 a hunting the day before ; the next morning they sent for 
 him, and he came in that night. 
 
 " Before he got into the nation, I made it my care to 
 inquire of the Pedees if they could not tell what people 
 killed the Pedees at Goose Creek, where the boys were 
 that was taken prisoners : answered, ' They could not tell 
 who they were, but understood it was the Notchees and 
 Cherokees that did the mischief.^ 
 
 " 21st. — The king and head men met, and desired to 
 know what I was come for. I told them that there was 
 two Pedee women killed and scalped, and two boys carried 
 away from out of the settlements, and that it was done -by 
 some of their nation ; and one Notchee, which was called 
 the Notchee Doctor, and his Excellency, the Governor, had 
 sent me to demand the boys ; and I then and there de- 
 manded these boys. I further acquainted them that his 
 Excellency, the Governor, desired that they would not come 
 into the settlements without they were sent for. The white 
 people might mistake them, and do them a mischief, be- 
 lieving them to be enemy Indians. I further said, that it 
 was his Excellency, the Governor's pleasure, that the Catawba 
 people should not attempt to carry away any of the Indians 
 that are now living in the settlements up to their nation on 
 any pretence whatever without his permission first. Their an- 
 swer was, that old men should always speak truth ; and the 
 most of them were grey-headed ; and they, for their parts, did 
 not hurt the Pedees, and did not know or believe the mis- 
 chief was done by any belonging to that nation ; and 
 further said, that when the Northward Indians were in 
 their nation, they bound the same three women and two 
 men ; and the Catawbas released the three women, but the 
 Northern Indians carried the men away. 
 
 " 22nd. — I set out from the Catawba nation homeward, 
 
16 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 and at night came to a camp of Pedees. I acquainted 
 them with my errand to the Nation^ and desired them to 
 let me know, if they could, who it was that killed and 
 scalped the Pedee women, and carried the boys away. 
 Lewis Jones, their chief, answered, that soon after the 
 Pedees were killed, he went down from the nation to the 
 settlements to inquire what harm was done by Goose 
 Creek. He met a Pedee Indian, named Prince, who lived 
 in the settlements ; and Prince told him, that a day or two 
 before the mischief was done, there was five Cherokees and 
 one Notchee seen to go by Monck^s Corner, and Lewis 
 John said, he did believe they scalped the women, and car- 
 ried the boys away.^^^ 
 
 The Cheraws, following the example of the Catawbas, 
 were true to the English, as they continued to be to the 
 colonists throughout the Revolution and afterwards. 
 
 They cheerfully endured the hardships of distant jour- 
 neys when called upon for aid. In the South Carolina 
 Gazette of June 2, 1759, this account was given: — ^^ On 
 Tuesday last, 45 Charraws, part of a Nation of Indians in- 
 corporated with the Catawbas, arrived in Town, headed by 
 King Johnny, who brought to the Governor the scalp of a 
 French Indian, which he had taken near Loyal-Henning. 
 He and several others that are with him here, were with 
 Gen. Forbes during the whole expedition against Fort Du 
 Quesne. Their chief business seems to be, to see his 
 Excellency and receive presents." 
 
 In the latter part of this year the great scourge of the 
 red man appeared amongst them, and carried off many 
 Indians in this part of the Province. In the Gazette of 
 December 8th-15th, 1759, was this sad account of its 
 ravages : — " It is pretty certain that the small-pox has lately 
 raged with great violence among the Catawba Indians, and that 
 it has carried off near one half of that Nation, by throwing 
 themselves into the river as soon as they found themselves ill. 
 This distemper has since appeared among the inhabitants at 
 the Charraws and Waterees, where many families are down, 
 so that unless especial care is taken, it must soon spread 
 
 * " Indian Book," vol. v. pp. 94, 95. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 17 
 
 through the whole eountry, the consequences of which arc 
 much to be dreaded. The smallpox went almost through 
 the Province in the year 1738, when it made prodigious 
 havoc, and has ever since been kept out of it by the salu- 
 tary laws enacted for that purpose." So destructive and 
 rapidly exterminative had been this disease among the 
 Indians from its first introduction, that its appearance 
 brought on a spirit of phrenzy and desperation. Ignorant 
 and grossly superstitious, they regarded it as a visible em- 
 bodiment of the Spirit of Evil — the sentence of wrath from 
 heaven let loose upon them, from which there was no 
 escape. In this state of mind the disease found abundant 
 food for keejjing itself alive and completing the work of 
 destruction. The white families at the " Charraws " and 
 " Waterees," who appear to have suffered severely at this 
 period, were doubtless unprepared for such a visitant, and 
 having not the means of prevention or cure at command, 
 yielded for a time, like their savage neighbours, to the fell 
 destroyer. At a later period, about the time of the Revo- 
 lution, some of the Catawba warriors having visited Charles- 
 town, there contracted the disease again, and returning, 
 communicated it to their Nation, which, according to con- 
 temporaneous accounts, came well nigh being exterminated. 
 It was after this, having been sorely thinned by disease, 
 that they were advised by their friends to invite the Che- 
 raws to move up and unite with them as one tribe. The 
 Cheraws here spoken of by the writers of the day, must 
 have been a part of the tribe which had maintained its inde- 
 pendence probably in the region lower down the Pedee or 
 on the coast, where they led a proud but feeble existence. 
 That some of them should have refused to submit to what 
 must have seemed to be the yoke of a foreign invader, is 
 not surprising. But their doom was scaled. No longer 
 able to maintain their isolated sway, or to resist the destruc- 
 tive agencies at work among them, a weak and declining 
 remnant, like the Catawbas themselves, they gladly ac- 
 cepted the invitation to unite their future with that of their 
 brethren who had gone before them. 
 
 And now was seen their last journey as the representa- 
 tives of a nation of ancient renown. 
 
18 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Mournful as it was shorty the marcli was soon ended ; 
 and henceforth these broken fragments were to constitute 
 but one nation, under the name of Catawbas. For a while, 
 as at the first, the Cheraws retained their own language, 
 though ordinarily using the Catawba. 
 
 They lived in harmony together, their early feuds for- 
 gotten, and the jealousies of other days obliterated by those 
 common wants and saddened recollections which were 
 henceforth to mark their declining history. "Within the 
 memory of persons now liAdng, a few of the Cheraws have 
 visited the upper Pedee, to take a last look at the localities 
 which their own traditions had identified as the homes of 
 their fathers. About the year 1700, the Catawbas num- 
 bered 1500 warriors. Only a half century later this proud 
 band had dwindled away to 400. Their principal settlement 
 about this latter period was on the Wateree, where their 
 country was described as being '' an old waste field, seven 
 miles in extent, with several others of smaller dimensions ; 
 which shows,'' it was added, " that they were formerly a 
 numerous people, to cultivate so much land, with their dull 
 stone axes, before they had an opportunity of trading with 
 the English, or allowed others to incorporate with them.''* 
 In 1787 they were the only organized tribe, under a 
 distinct name of its own, in South Carolina. 
 
 Their town, *' Catawba," contained then about 450 in- 
 habitants, of which not more than 150 were fighting men. 
 In 1798 they are said to have been in the habit of holding 
 an anniversary meeting of a sadly interesting character. It 
 was intended to commemorate their former greatness, by 
 recounting the numbers and deeds of their ancestors, of 
 which tradition had kept them informed. f Well might the 
 Catawbas have been proud of that history. And well may 
 South Carolina cherish the memory of a people who main- 
 tained their friendship and their active devotion inviolate 
 throughout the long and trying period of conflicts waged 
 successively with savage foes, and those of the same language 
 and blood who came to reduce their American brethren to a 
 state of worse than colonial vassalage ! 
 
 * "Adair." + "Barton's New View," p. 51. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 19 
 
 Of the liberal provision made for the Catawhas in later 
 times by the Legislature of South Carolina, it is unnecessary 
 to speak. 
 
 A portion of them had removed at an earlier period to 
 Buncome county. North Carolina, west of the Blue Ridge, 
 and thither the miserable remnant, with few excejitions, 
 followed a few years since. Reduced in numbers by disease 
 and intermarriage, by the contracted territory to which they 
 had been confined while yet unfitted by the slow process, 
 through which the Indian must always pass, for agricultural 
 pursuits ; and withal, by those habits of idleness and dissi- 
 pation which the custom of leasing their lands to the whites, 
 and the consequent want of employment had subjected them ; 
 drunken and wandering from place to place, their condi- 
 tion became as abject as it had once been elevated among 
 the red men of Carolina ! " In this rapidly declining tribe,^^ 
 says an eminent authority of recent times, " we behold the 
 remnant of the defeated, long-lost, and celebrated tribe of 
 the Eries.^' It is hoped that their history, in the materials 
 of which the public records of the State abound, will one 
 day, as it deserves, be fully written. 
 
 Of the languages of the Indian tribes once inhabiting the 
 valley of the Ped«e, scarce a vestige is left, except the 
 names of the rivers and a few localities. The same remark 
 may be made of all the tribes which were found at the first 
 approaches of the white man on the coast of Carolina, from 
 Cape Hatteras to the Savannah.^ 
 
 Of the meaning of " Cheraw,^^ reasoning from the affi- 
 nities of the Indian tongues, a probable conjecture may be 
 hazarded. In Cherah, or Chera, as it seems at certain 
 periods of Indian history to have been called, is found a 
 close affinity with Chera-kee. In the language of the 
 Chera-kees, Cherah, or Chera, means fire. If, then, as seems 
 highly probable, Cherah is identical with Serah, or Saraw, 
 or Sara — as Lederer called it — now Cheraw, it may be con- 
 jectured to have meant the fire town. The site of the 
 present town of Cheraw, which has retained the name, with 
 slight changes, from an early period, may have been the 
 
 * " Transactions of American Ethnological Society," vol. ii. p. 115. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 scene of an extensive conflagration when occupied by the 
 Indians ; or, being situated on a high blufl'^ and visible as a 
 point of observation and alarm for miles across, it may have 
 been a signal station, as such prominent localities often 
 were, to gain the knowledge of an enemy's approach, or 
 other danger, and hence may have been called Cherah ; in 
 Cherokee, the fire-town : or, as may seem yet more probable, 
 in another view ; if, about the period of their first distinct 
 existence as a tribe, being possibly an off'shoot from theChera- 
 kees, at the era of some internal struggle and partial dismem- 
 berment of that once powerful and widely extended nation, 
 the Cherahs, or Cheraws, were noted as fire-eaters, as some 
 of the Indian tribes have been, the original of the name may 
 be found in this circumstance — Cheraw meaning fire-eaters. 
 After all, however, it is one of those points, the original 
 of language in the aboriginal races, which, without the light 
 of contemporaneous history, must ever remain involved in 
 more or less of darkness and uncertainty. 
 
 Of the meaning of " Pedee," nothing is known. It has 
 even been made a question whether the name is of Indian 
 origin ; aild the opinion has been advanced that it is not, on 
 the ground that it appears to have been unknown prior to 
 the English colonial settlements. Hence it is conjectured 
 that it was of subsequent origin, having had its beginning, 
 perhaps, in the initials of a white man's name, as of Patrick 
 Daly, for example — P. D. — first carved upon a tree, then 
 Indianized, and so changed into Pedee, as we now have it. 
 This theory, however, is wholly untenable. 
 
 That the name is not mentioned by the earliest writers, is 
 readily accounted for by the fact that the Pedees, if ever a 
 people of any note, had then become an insignificant tribe ; 
 whereas only the more powerful nations of Indians engaged 
 attention at first, or were so much as known by name. The 
 earliest mention of Pedee is found in the account of the 
 Eleven Townships, one of which was to be laid out on that 
 river. This was about the year 1731-32.^ But then it was 
 spoken of as having already been in familiar use. It was 
 spelt, too, not as if it had come from two capital letters, the 
 initials of a proper name. 
 
 * Carroll's " Historical Collections," vol. ii. p. 124. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 21 
 
 Both the analogy aud euphony of the Indian tongue in- 
 dicate, beyond all doubt, that Pedee had the same original 
 as Santee, Congaree, Wateree, Uchee, and Sewee, all of 
 unquestionable Indian birth, and the names of neigh- 
 bouring aud cognate tribes. That the name Pedce does 
 not appear in the earliest published accounts of Carolina 
 may be attributed to the fact that for a considerable time 
 after the first settlement of the Province, scarcely anything 
 Avas known of that part of the State, because out of the 
 line of the main route of travel, far in the interior, and at a 
 later period only coming into notice. 
 
 Of the Indian remains on the Pedee which are still to be 
 seen, though but little trace is left, there is nothing dis- 
 tinguishable from those in other parts of the State, of 
 which full accounts have been given. In some instances 
 these remains are so numerous as to indicate the existence 
 of once populous settlements. These settlements, as 
 usually the case with the aborigines, were made upon the 
 banks of rivers and other large streams, on account of the 
 fertility of the soil, for fishing purposes, and other facilities 
 thereby afforded. 
 
 In most instances ou the Pedee where these remains are 
 yet to be seen, are found large collections of fragments of 
 pot-ware of varied shapes, sizes, and devices. It is difficult 
 even to conjecture why such quantities of these were de- 
 posited at points not far removed from each other. They 
 could scarcely have been the result of large accumulations 
 in those places where the pot-Mare was made, for they are 
 generally found to be well-finished specimens of their kind, 
 and evidently parts of vessels which were once in use. Nor 
 does it appear to be a well-founded opinion, sometimes 
 advanced, that upon the sudden breaking up of the Indian 
 settlements, for whatever cause, these vessels of ornament 
 or use were heaped together in one confused mass, and 
 with such other chattels as could not be removed, aban- 
 doned for ever. Their appearance indicates that they were 
 broken by violence ; and what is more remarkable, of all 
 the specimens taken up at random in any single locality, 
 scarcely any two are found to be exactly alike in outward 
 device and finish. 
 
22 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 The ornamental lines and figures on the exterior are in 
 many cases well executed, and for the untutored savage, ex- 
 hibit a high degree of art. The questions, how they were 
 broken, why collected in such strangely-mingled masses, 
 and why other remains, as the pipe, the arrow-head, the 
 stone axe, &c., are not generall}'^ found among them, will 
 remain unanswered; and like so much else we would fain 
 know respecting these early occupants of the soil, continue 
 perhaps among the secret things of their history. 
 
 A large vase or jar,* of three gallons' capacity, was washed 
 up a few years since by the waters of a freshet on the east bank 
 of the Pedee, in Marlborough district, near Spark's Ferry. It 
 is in a state of almost entire preservation, but not so highly 
 finished as are many of the broken specimens which have 
 been recovered. Like those to which Lawson alludes, in 
 his account of the Congerees, this jar has a hole in the 
 bottom, not smoothly cut, but roughly and irregularly 
 made, as if punched through by some blunt instrument 
 after the vessel was finished. Lawson supposes that they 
 were sometimes used for burial purposes, and that the holes 
 were made in the bottom to let off the morbid juices of the 
 body going to decay. Some of the specimens of pot-ware 
 found are highly finished ; and, upon the whole, appear to 
 warrant the conclusion arrived at by the first and most 
 thoughtful travellers among our Indian tribes, and since 
 clearly demonstrated by the results of later explorations, 
 that those whom the Europeans found, on their first 
 discovery and settlement of the country, were not the 
 ancient dwellers in this part of the new world. 
 
 " The earthen pots,'' says Lawson, '' are often found 
 under ground, and at the foot of the banks, where the 
 water has washed them away. They are for the most part 
 broken in pieces ; but we find them of a different sort, in 
 comparison of those the Indians use at this day, who have 
 had no others ever since the English discovered America. 
 The bowels of the earth cannot have altered them, since 
 they are thicker, of another shape and composition, and 
 
 * This vessel was presented to the Cheraw Lyceum, by Col. J. D. Wilson, of 
 Darlington. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 23 
 
 nearly approach to the urns of the ancient Romans/^''^ We 
 are told that they made earthen pots of very different sizes, 
 so as to contain from two to ten gallons ; large jntchers to 
 carry water, bowls, dishes, platters, basons, and a prodigious 
 number of other vessels of such antiquated forms, that it 
 would be almost impossible to describe them. 
 
 Some of the specimens, in a fragmentary form, and 
 others in a state of preservation, which were found on the 
 Pedee, are of different shapes, and curiously finished. Of 
 these one is very small, not holding more than a gill, and 
 seems to have been used for paint, or some other valuable 
 liquid. 
 
 Another,t of which the lower portion only is left, has the 
 exact shape, the outward finish, and as much the appearance 
 of a pineapple as if it had been carefully fashioned after that 
 as a model. The process of glazing was simple, and con- 
 sisted in placing the vessels over a large fire of smoky pitch 
 pine, which made them smooth and shining. " Their lands 
 abounded in proper clay for that use, and even with porce- 
 lain, as has been proved by experiment.^^ "WTien first dis- 
 covered on the coast, the Indians were found to cultivate a 
 variety of grains and vegetables. The process of clearing 
 their lands has been minutely described. Their stone axes, 
 of which specimens have been found on the Pedee, resembled 
 a wedge or smithes chisel, and weighed from one to two or 
 three pounds. They twisted two or three tough hickory slips 
 about two feet long round the notched head of the axe, and 
 by means of this simple contrivance deadened the trees by 
 cutting through the bark, after which they fell by decay, or 
 having become thoroughly dry, were easily burned. 
 
 With these trees they kept up their annual holy fire. In 
 the first clearing of their plantations they only barked the 
 larger timber, cut down the saplings and underwood, and 
 burned them in heaps. As the suckers put up, they chopped 
 them off close by the stump, and so made fires to deaden 
 the roots, till in time they also decayed. The burning of 
 the grass and underwood in the forests is said to have been 
 an ancient custom of the Indians. This may account for 
 
 * Lawson, pp. 169, 170. 
 f This was also presented to the Cheraw Lyceum by Col. Wilson. 
 
24 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 the fact which has been mentioned in connexion with the 
 first settlements by the whites in the interior, that in many 
 places the woods were found open to such an extent that 
 even small objects could be seen to a great distance. These 
 burnings were practised by the Indians, as we are told, " in 
 order to allure the deer upon the new grass, as also to dis- 
 cover the impressions of their enemies^ tracks in the new 
 burnt ground, distinguishable to their women and children, 
 in case the raven should be sick or out of the way (thus they 
 call the look-out, whose business it is to recognise the 
 avenues of their towns), who, as well as any other Indian 
 (as they all apply themselves to hunting) are by practice so 
 keen and precise, that they can distinguish and follow a 
 track, be it of a white man, negro, Indian, or be it of a bear, 
 deer or wolf, horse or cow, even on hard bottom, not ad- 
 mitting of impression so as on soft ground, although covered 
 all over with leaves, so that the ground itself is not visible, 
 and even bare of any grass or bushes, which by their irregular 
 bend may indicate a creature — human or animal — having 
 trod upon or brushed by it/^^ Having cleared their lands 
 in the primitive manner before described, the Indians used, 
 in planting and tilling, their own made instruments. After- 
 wards a common hoe was the only implement employed in 
 the cultivation of the soil. They prepared their corn for use 
 by beating it till the husks came off, then boiling it in large 
 earthen pots. For pounding the corn, mortars were made 
 by cautiously burning a large log to a proper level and 
 length, then placing a fire on the top and wet clay around 
 it in order to give the interior a proper shape. When the 
 fire was extinguished, or occasion required, they chopped the 
 inside with their stone instruments, patiently continuing the 
 process until they finished the vessel for the intended 
 purpose. 
 
 In certain localities on the Pedee, which appear to have 
 been the centresf of their once extensive settlements, many 
 tumuli were once to be seen. 
 
 * B. R. A., H. M.'s Philosophico-Historico-Hydrogeography of South Caro- 
 lina, Georgia, and East Florida, 1751. Edited and republished by Plowden, 
 C. J. Weston, 1856. P. 189. 
 
 t The plantation of the late James M'Call, Esq., in Darhngton District, on 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 25 
 
 Tliey were similar to some of those described by Bartram* 
 in East Florida, near the river St. Juan ; " where/^ he ob- 
 serves, " I found the surface of the ground very uneven by 
 means of little mounts and ridges. I had taken up my 
 lodging on the border of an ancient burying-ground ; 
 sepulchres or tumuli of the Yamassees, who were here 
 slain by the Creeks in their last decisive battle. These 
 graves occupied the whole grove, consisting of two or three 
 acres of ground.^^ 
 
 During a visit of the author in 1859 to the upper part of 
 Marlborough District, near the North Carolina line, a 
 mound was pointed out to him which is related by tradition 
 to have been the scene of an Indian battle. On a subse- 
 quent occasion it was visited for the purpose of exploration. 
 It appears to have been raised originally but a few feet 
 above the surface of the adjoining level, and had been almost 
 entirely washed down. Its dimensions were about ten by 
 fifteen feet. Many years before, a partial excavation had 
 been made, and in digging down on this occasion for a short 
 distance small pieces of bone were found mixed with the 
 earth throughout, so that no opinion could be formed as to 
 the depth of the first layer of bodies. Four feet below the sur- 
 face a point was reached where the soil had not been disturbed, 
 and a little below this were found from four to six skele- 
 tons, lying regularly, in a horizontal position, with the feet 
 to the east, having evidently been placed in two layers. The 
 larger bones were in a comparative state of preservation, and 
 one of the jawbones with the teeth entire, apparently of a 
 person about middle age. With the bones were found a 
 stone hatchet, a beautiful arrow-head, and a pipe, and strange 
 to relate, the smell of tobacco about the pipe was perceptible 
 for several hours after the exhumation. The tradition re- 
 lating to the battle and the burial was well founded, and 
 carried them nearly a century back. 
 
 As to tobacco, the Indians affirmed, as some of the 
 earliest travellers among them inform us, that the use of it 
 
 the Pedee, is an instance of this, wheve many remains of the kind were once 
 visible, though now for the most part levelled by the plough. 
 
 * Bartram's "Travels in the Curolinas, Georgia, East and West Florida," 
 1773-74. 
 
26 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 was known to them before the Europeans discovered the 
 continent. The skill of the Indians in medicine^ in certain 
 diseases, was remarkable, the process of cure being simple 
 and expeditious. The knowledge of some of the most 
 valuable plants now in use was derived from them.* 
 
 Some of the customs of the Indians of Carolina indicated 
 a degree of kindness and social affection, as well as an ap- 
 preciation of duty, of which they are not generally supposed 
 to have been possessed. When, for example, one of their 
 own nation had suffered any loss by fire, or otherwise, he 
 was ordered to make a feast, to which all the tribe was in- 
 vited. After they had partaken of the feast, one of their 
 speakers, generally a grave old man, delivered a harangue, 
 informing them of the particulars of the loss sustained, and 
 of their duty under such circumstances. After which, every 
 man, according to his quality, threw down some present 
 upon the ground, of beads, skins, furs, or other valuables, 
 which often amounted to treble the loss incurred. 
 
 So, if one wished to build a canoe, or make a cabin, 
 they rendered him assistance, saying, "There were several 
 works which one man could not effect, and that therefore 
 they must help him ; otherwise their society would fall, and 
 they would be deprived of those urgent necessities which 
 life requires.'^ If a woman lost her husband, and had a 
 large family of children to maintain, she was always assisted. 
 The young men of the tribe were made to plant, reap, and 
 do anything she was not capable of doing herself. At the 
 same time they would not suffer any one to be idle, but 
 compelled all to employ themselves in some work or 
 other.f 
 
 As to religion, they believed generally that the world was 
 round, and that there were two spirits, the one good and 
 the other bad. The good spirit they reckoned to be the 
 author and maker of everything. It was He, they said, 
 who gave them the fruits of the earth ; and taught them 
 to hunt, fish, and be wise enough to overpower the beasts 
 of the wilderness and all other creatures, that they might 
 be assistant and beneficial to man. They did not believe 
 
 * Lawson, p. 172. f Lawson, pp. 178, 179. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 27 
 
 that the good Spirit punished any man in this life, or that 
 to come, but that he delighted in doing good, and in making 
 his creatures wise and happy. The bad Spirit (who lived, 
 as they thought, separate from the good spirit) they made 
 the author of sickness, disappointment, loss, hunger, travail, 
 and all the misfortunes that human life is incident to. 
 Some of our aborigines were found to have traditions of the 
 great Deluge, and of this event they gave a curious descrip- 
 tion. Of some of their practices, and one in particular, 
 Lawson gives a singular account. He says : " Several 
 customs are found in some families, which others keep not ; 
 as, for example, the families of the Mach-a-pangas use the 
 Jewish custom of circumcision, and the rest do not ; neither 
 did I ever know any other amongst the Indians that prac- 
 tised any such thing ; and perhaps if you ask them what is 
 the reason they do so, they will make you no manner of 
 answer : which is as much as to say, I will not tell you.^^* 
 They seemed to have been unwilling, for the most part, to 
 give any account of their customs, particularly those of a 
 religious character. 
 
 And so, the same writer remarks, that he knew them, for 
 days together, to be amongst their idols and dead kings, 
 though he could never get admittance to their sacred places 
 to see what they were doing. The fact of their practising 
 idolatry at all has been positively denied by other travellers, 
 who profess to have informed themselves of all that relates 
 to their habits and customs. It is likely that the different 
 tribes, remote from each other, and possibly of different 
 origin, differed much in their customs and traditional obser- 
 vances, and hence the conflicting accounts which have been, 
 given. Of one custom, remarkable as it is suggestive, which 
 Lawson affirms to have prevailed among the Indians of Carolina, 
 and of which no other writer is believed to give any account, 
 it may gratify the curiosity of the reader to be informed. 
 It is very certain that it must have nipped the risings of 
 aboriginal Young Americanism in the bud, leaving to a far 
 superior race to exhibit, in the management of their youth, 
 much more indecision and weakness. 
 
 * Lawson, pp. 210, 211. 
 

 >4 
 
 •>0 
 
 *v- ■ ■; 
 
niHTOItV OK IMK Of,J> MfKI.'A WH. 'J;i) 
 
 (iwiiy (it. llidl liiric. Jo fiv»»i(l i(.. ,\i(w, llir pii.vii./i-.R miy, jf it 
 wfiH ii(»l for t.liin, tlicy could not keep l,lii;ir yoiitii in niib- 
 jcclioii : IteMidcH tlifil' il lifinlchN (.licio after to iJic i'nlmm-.n 
 of wfir, iitiritiii^, utid nil riMi>itM-r <>i liurdRJiip, wlileli Uieir 
 way (»r living expoM-.H llicin |,o, I'cMidcH, tliey add, tliat it 
 rarrics oil' tliour; inHnri, w<Mik liorliew, that, w<;idd liavc liccn 
 only a Nnrdcn and (Wn^^rncr, to i\n;\r nation, and ttfivcn the 
 vicf.iMiIrt nnd (iloat.liitij^ for hcttcr (leoplc, that would have 
 l)(( n (•x|>cnd<;d on Ndch iinrdenn ereatnren."*'' 
 
 LaWRon in the. otdy one; of tin; early Indian traveJIerw in 
 South (.'andina, (;X(t(;|)t Lederer, wIki ))aNHed thn>n^h thoM; 
 |inrt>i of the Stiitt; inhahitfd hy the, aneiefit dw(-JlerN on the 
 l'< dec. A larj^e part of IiIh ho<;k, however, in taken up 
 with the niilural hintory of North (Carolina. ile e"(;rnrn(;ne<;d 
 a journey IVoni ( MinrlcMtown, l)e(!(!rnhr;r 2Htli, 1700, paHH<;d 
 up tlu; Santee aiul Wn.t( ree IMverM, arul thenee ()rrdiahly 
 aeroHM to the Yadkin, nnd Ihrou;^!! North ('arolitia into 
 Vir;^inia. Anion;.^ (Im; (!iitavvhaM he fnUMt have met with 
 the ('heniWH nnd I'rdceM, if not in the partn hi{.;h<:r up on 
 oio' own river, lli()U^';li he does not mention them hy name, 
 III Hpeidun;.; therciore of the ('arolina IndiiuiH (.generally, 
 Ihh riiniirkM will ii|»|ily to IIicmc, aH well as otIierH m(>i'e par- 
 tieultii ly nicnl ioiicd. 
 
 A lew yearn niter he wiut put to death in a most harha- 
 rouH ninuner hy the liidiniiH in j'la'ttern North ('aiolina; to 
 which Sliilc he li.'id n'iHl( red moHt important Hcrvicc at* 
 Siuviyor ( Icnci III, as well as hy his int(;i'eMtin^ account of 
 the Niiliiral llisloryof thnt re;^ion. 
 
 The iiiillHir III, one limit cherished the hope (tf [iroeurillfj 
 HOinc! viiliinhlc Iraditionnl niiiltcrnHto the ('heraws, throu^^h 
 Win. il, 'rhomtiH, i'lHij., of North ('arolina, of whom nu:ri- 
 tioil luiM iilreinly heeti iiiiiilc. It was tliou;^lit not unlikely 
 that during his Inn^ nnd fiuuiliar intercoiirHe with tin; ('a- 
 tawhiiM, Mr. 'riionins mi;;ht havit leathered from their tradi- 
 tioiiM Mometliiiiff of llic hisloiy of tiie (-lieraws heforc the 
 Uiiiiui of the IrilicN ; hut tliir hope wns disajipointt^d. The 
 tradition of the ('atawhas, already related, scciim tu be all 
 
 liiiwMDii, ])|>. 2:)n-ni. 
 
30 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 they have preserved. Every other source of information, 
 now accessible, has been exhausted. And with the account 
 here given, meagre and unsatisfactory as it is, we must be 
 content, leaving these early occupants of the soil, proud and 
 valiant and numerous as they once were, in that darkness 
 and oblivion, to which the red man, as he has receded west- 
 ward before the advancing tide of civilization, has ever been 
 consigned. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 31 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 First settlements in the province — Establishment of counties — Craven County 
 
 Some account of it — The boundaries and extent^DifBculty as to dividing 
 line between Craven and Berkeley — Province divided into ten parishes — 
 First parocliial organization in Craven County — St. James' Santee — Its 
 extent — Prince George — Its boundaries — Prince Frederick next established 
 — Settlement of line between Prince George and Prince Frederick — Letter 
 of Col. Pawley — Petition and counter-petition to Council on the subject — 
 Pedee not known in early history of province — History of dispute as to 
 dividing line between North and South Carolina on the north-east and north 
 — Some account of the survey — Conclusion. 
 
 Many years passed away after the first settlements on 
 the coast of Carolina before they began to extend very far 
 into the iiiterior. The country had not been explored, and 
 the Indian, jealons of encroachment upon his hitherto un- 
 interrupted domain, was hovering with murderous design 
 upon the borders of civilization. It was necessary, there- 
 fore, for their own protection, that the whites should remain 
 together, and cautiously advance, as accessions were made 
 to their numbers, in search of richer lands towards the 
 middle and upper parts of the province. In the meantime 
 the people, who had hitherto lived under a kind of military 
 government, now began to form a legislature for establish- 
 ing civil regulation. Accordingly, the first parliament (as 
 it was styled) held in South Carolina, was called together 
 in 1674 ; and at this meeting acts were passed, which were 
 ratified by the proprietors, and preserved in the records of 
 the colony.* 
 
 In 1682, it was found necessary to divide the inhabited 
 parts of the province into counties, of which three were 
 laid out — Berkeley, embracing Charlcstown, and the space 
 around the capital, extended from Sewee on the north to 
 Stono Creek on the south ; beyond this to the northward 
 was Craven county ; and to the southward Colleton county, 
 all extending within the land to a distance of thirty-five 
 
 * Hewitt's " History of S. C." in 1st Carroll, p. 59. 
 
32 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 miles from tlie sea-coast."^ Shortly after^ Carteret county 
 was added to the numiber. These counties were subdivided 
 into squares of 12,000 acres each, for the several shares of 
 the proprietors, land-graves, and cassiques.f 
 
 Craven, formerly denominated Clarendon county, em- 
 braced in its subsequent extension a much larger territory 
 than the other counties. From Berkeley, on the south, it 
 reached towards Cape Fear on the north, and with North 
 Carolina for one boundary on the north and north-east, and 
 the Santee and its branches on the other sides, it extended 
 through a wide belt of country from the sea-coast to the 
 mountains. 
 
 At the time of the division into counties. Craven was so 
 sparsely settled as not to be politically considered. But, 
 twenty years afterwards, it was described as being pretty 
 well inhabited, the Huguenots having settled on the Santee, 
 about which time it sent ten members to the Assembly. It 
 took its name from William, Earl of Craven, one of the 
 first lord proprietors, and long retained it. 
 
 This county embraced the region of the Pedee through- 
 out its course, from the North Carolina line southward. 
 Some account, therefore, of its political divisions will be 
 given, extending down to the period of those settlements in 
 the upper parts of the Pedee country, to which attention is 
 to be directed. 
 
 Not long after the di\dsion, some disputes appear to have 
 arisen as to the dividing line between Berkeley and Craven 
 counties, and an Act of Assembly J was passed in 1733 to 
 settle the same. 
 
 The first parochial organization in Craven County was 
 under an Act of Assembly of 1706, commonly called the 
 Church Act, passed for the establishment of religious wor- 
 ship according to the Church of England, and for erecting 
 churches. 
 
 It divided the Province into ten parishes, of which Craven 
 County constituted one, by the name of St. James, Santee. § 
 
 * Rivers' " History S. C." p. 134. 
 ■f" Oldmixon in Carroll's " Collection," vol. ii. p. 409. 
 X " Public Laws of So. Ca." p. 176. 
 § " Statutes at Large of S. C." vol. ii. p. 330. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 33 
 
 By a further declaratory Act passed in 1708, the bounds of 
 the several Parishes were defined, and those of St. James, 
 Santee, were restricted as follows : — " To the N.E. by 
 Santee River, to the S.E. by the Sea, and to the S.W. by 
 Berkeley County/^ In 1721* the Parish of Prince George, 
 Winyaw, was established, — bounded " on the S.W. by San- 
 tee River, on the N.E. by the Cape Fear River, on the 
 East by the Ocean, and on the West as far as it shall be 
 inhabited by his Majesty's subjects.^' Up to this time, 
 however, the settlements had not extended far to the north 
 and north-westward. 
 
 They were gradually going up along the line of the 
 rivers, with their rich alluvial bottoms. The population of the 
 Province receiving constant accessions from abroad, began 
 at length to find its way into the interior ; and the need of 
 extending organizations was felt, with the privilege of repre- 
 sentation and other facilities for progress which would be 
 thereby aflbrded. In 1 731, this need of a portion of the 
 inhabitants of Craven County was recognised, and a further 
 division took place ; the Parish of Prince Frederick being 
 established, and taken from that of Prince George, Winyaw, 
 embracing, according to the terms of the Act, ,the region of 
 the Upper Pedee on the West.f 
 
 It was soon after found, however, that this division was 
 not sufficiently definite as to the Northern line. Accordingly 
 in the following year, 1735, the Act was so changed as to 
 make the said line extend due North over Pedee River to 
 the utmost bounds of the Province, it being provided " that 
 the tract of land to the East of the said line, between that 
 and the Sea, should be deemed as part of the Parish of 
 Prince George, Winyaw, and on the other side of the said 
 line to the West, a part of the Parish of Prince Frederick." J 
 
 Of the existence and operation of this amending Act, 
 there appears to have been a singular oversight at a later 
 period, as will be seen hereafter. 
 
 Dissatisfaction still continued to exist as to the dividing 
 line between the two Parishes, on account of its extension 
 
 * 3 " Statutes," p. 171. t 3 " Statutes at Large," p. 374. 
 
 ;J; " Public Laws," p. 141. 
 
34 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEKAWS. 
 
 across tlie Pedee. The foUowiug letter of Colonel Greoi^e 
 Pawley brought the matter to the notice of Council : — 
 
 " June 7th. 1739. 
 
 " Please your Honour. — I think it my duty to inform 
 TOUT Honour that the dividing line of Prince George and 
 Prince Frederick's Parishes is not yet iinished according to 
 the additional Act made, which vas to cross Pedee River, 
 and continue a North course till it touch the Provincial line ; 
 which, if it is done, will, in my humble opinion, break that 
 small company as is of late erected on that Xeck lying be- 
 tween Great Pedee and Little Pedee rivers : also, it will 
 cross some part of Queensborough Town-ship, which is a 
 Parish of itself. Therefore, if your Honour pleases to think 
 on it, I don t doubt but you will be of the opinion to have 
 Great Pedee the boundary of the Parish upward from where 
 the line is marked and strikes the said River : for as it now 
 stands, there is a confusion among the Inhabitants, not 
 knowing in what Parish they belong; also, the Surveyors 
 know not how to certify their Plots, some for one Parish and 
 some for the other. Therefore, if the river be the Bounds, 
 the work is done, and no charge to the Publick ; and that 
 your Honour may have a better idea, I have drawn a small 
 Draft of the Rivers in these Parts : so I beg your Honour will 
 be so good as to forgive, if I have done amiss, for it is not 
 my intent so to do, but the hearty desire for the good of 
 the place. So beg leave to subscribe myself your Honour's 
 most obedient, himible servant to command, 
 
 " George Pawlet.'^ 
 
 " To tlie Hon-Wm. BolL' 
 
 Whereupon, it was " Ordered, that the Clerk do draw out 
 two copies of Mr. George Pawlevs letter, with the Draft of 
 the Rivers, one of them to be sent to the Parish of Prince 
 Frederick's, the other to be sent to the Parish of Prince 
 George, to know whether they have any objection to make 
 to the proposals contained in the said letter, for settling the 
 Boundary of these Parishes, aud to return an answer.'' 
 
 The matter having thus been referred to the inhabitants, 
 
 • "Cooncil Joomal," No. 7. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 35 
 
 action was taken by them ; and on the 25th of January, 
 174.2, a Petition from sundry inhabitants of Prince George 
 was laid before Council,^ praying that the Great Pedee 
 might be made the dividing line between the parislies ; 
 " because, as it was to be seen by the Act of 1734-35, it 
 would divide the narrow strip of laud between Great and 
 Little Pedee rivers, and run alternately in the swamp of 
 one or the other, which Avould be impracticable to run, and 
 the branches of Little Pedee would sometimes make it dif- 
 ficult to distinguish that river, the lakes, &c/^ This petition 
 was signed by George Pawley, John Woodbury, David 
 Cherrey, and thirty-eight others. 
 
 A counter petition was at the same time presented by 
 John Avant, and nineteen others, inhabitants of Prince Fre- 
 derick's, praying the line should not be so run : 
 
 " 1st. Because the Inhabitants residing between the said 
 rivers are twelve miles and upwards nearer to our Parish 
 Church than to George -town. 
 
 "^ 2ud. The major part of the abovesaid inhabitants must 
 go through our Parish and pass by our Church to public 
 worship, and other religious duties, and other officers to 
 George-town. 
 
 " 3rd. Because the said inhabitants humbly pray to be 
 included in the River. 
 
 '' 4th. Because the Town-ship of Queensborough is laid 
 on both sides of Great Pedee river; and 
 
 " 5th. That whenever the Legislature shall be pleased to 
 erect the Town-ship of Queensborough and Williamsburg 
 into separate Parishes, this of Prince Frederick's being the 
 oldest Parish (from which Prince George was divided), will 
 be confined to narrow limits, and consequently for ever 
 remain one of the smallest, if not poorest. Parishes in the 
 Province, if so valuable a branch as that of Pedee be taken 
 from it. 
 
 " We further presume to acquaint your Hon''^ that the 
 North line appointed by Act of Assembly to be run from 
 John Bogg's plantation, on Black River, was supposed and 
 intended (by our Representatives) to make Pedee River at or 
 
 * " Council Journal," No. 8, pp. 454, 455. 
 
 o 2 
 
'SQ HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 below the plantation, Euhanej^, belonging to Mr. Percival 
 Pawley, about eighteen miles distant from said Bogg's plan- 
 tation ; but we now find that a North course excludes fi'om 
 this Parish sundry families residing on Pedee River, near 
 the line as it is now marked, who constantly attend divine 
 service in this Parish, being about twelve miles distant from 
 our Church, and at least twenty-two miles from George- 
 town. 
 
 " We therefore pray your Hon'^ to relieve the Inha- 
 bitants by ordering the dividing line to be run on a straight 
 course, which shall be done on our own proper charges, 
 from Bogg's plantation to EuLauey, that the Pedee River 
 be the boundary to the mouth of Little Pedee, Avhich is 
 about fifteen miles above said Euhaney, and that Little 
 Pedee river and the main branch thereof be the natural 
 bounds up to the Provincial linc.^' 
 
 The Petitions were ordered to lie on the table. 
 As, according to the original term of extension, when 
 the Parish of Prince George, Winy aw, was created, so now 
 Prince Frederick was made to embrace a large part of the 
 hitherto uninhabited and valuable region stretching out to 
 the North-westward. 
 
 More than twenty years after, in 1757, the Parish of 
 Prince Frederick was divided; " the inhabitants of the upper 
 parts of the same by their Petition to the General Assembly 
 having represented many inconveniences they labored under, 
 for the want of such a di\asion." An Act was therefore 
 passed, dividing Prince Frederick into two Parishes, " by 
 continuing the North-westernmost line of Williamsburg 
 Township to Pedee and Santee rivers ; all the lands to the 
 Southward of the said line, constituting a distinct Parish by 
 itself, separate from the other part of Prince Frederick, and 
 thereafter to be known as St. Mark's." The Parish of St. 
 Mark's therefore embraced that portion of Craven County 
 which was west of the Pedee and north of said line. But, 
 returning to the Parochial organization as it was in 1734r, 
 and following up the valley of the Pedee through the then 
 Parish of Prince Frederick's, a distance of about fifty miles, 
 the traveller would have entered at what is now ^Nlariou 
 District, with Darlington and Chesterfield above on the 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 37 
 
 west, and Marlborough on the east of the Pedee, the terri- 
 tory, to the early settlement and subsequent progress of 
 which attention is to be given. 
 
 Though more than seventy miles in length, from its 
 southern bounds to the line of North Carolina above, and 
 in width from thirty to fifty, abounding in every variety of 
 soil, and presenting no mean facilities for transportation by 
 water, this inviting region, until within a few years before, 
 had remained entirely unexplored. 
 
 There is nothing to indicate that any settlements had 
 been made previous to the year 1730. 
 
 Indeed, little was then known of this part of the Pro- 
 vince. In some of the descriptions of Carolina, written not 
 many years before the time referred to, the Pedee is not so 
 much as mentioned by name. And in an account published 
 as much as a half century later, after the mention of seve- 
 ral rivers of importance, among which the Pedee is not 
 classed, it is simply added, " There are many other Rivers 
 and Creeks of lesser note.""^ 
 
 Before any settlements were made in the upper part of 
 Craven County, some difficulty had occurred in determining 
 the line between South and North Carolina, which line 
 bounded Craven on the north and north-east. After the 
 resignation of the Lord's Proprietors, in July 1 729, and the 
 consequent change of Government, the Province of Carolina, 
 hitherto one, was divided, by order of the Council, into 
 North and South Carolina.f That part of the Province, 
 described generally as lying south and west of Cape Fear, 
 became South Carolina. The exact limits of each were now 
 to be defined, and, as was to be expected, disputes arose 
 respecting the boundary line, before it was finally settled. 
 In 1732 appeared the first public communications of a con- 
 flicting character between the Governors of the respective 
 Provinces. This controversy led to instructions from the 
 king to the Governor of North Carolina, in which it was 
 said : " in order to prevent any disputes that may arise 
 about the Southern boundaries of our Province under your 
 Government, we are graciously pleased to signify our plea- 
 
 * 2 Carroll, p. 263. t "Statutes," pp. 405-6. 
 
38 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 sure that a line shall be run by Commissioners^ appointed 
 by each Province^ beginning at the sea^ thirty miles dis- 
 tant from the mouth of Cape Fear river, on the South-West 
 thereof, keeping at the same distance from the said river, 
 as the course thereof runs to the main source or head 
 thereof, and from thence the said boundary line shall be 
 continued due west as far as the South Seas/'* 
 
 Agreeably to these instructions, the first survey was made 
 in 1735, under the authority of the Royal Government. It 
 commenced at the mouth of Little River, on the sea-shore ; 
 was extended in a north-west direction 64^ miles, to a point 
 two miles north-west of one of the branches of Little 
 Pedee. In 1737, the line was extended in the same direc- 
 tion 22 miles, to a stake in a meadow, which was erro- 
 neously supposed to be at the point of intersection with the 
 35th degree of north latitude. The entire length of the 
 two lines is 86 miles 174 poles. In 1764, 24th September, 
 James Moore, George Pawley, Samuel Wiley, and Arthur 
 Mackay, under the direction of Governor Dobbs, of North 
 Carolina, and Governor Bull, of South Carolina, extended 
 the boundary due west from the stake at which the line of 
 1 737 terminated, the distance of 62 miles ; intersecting the 
 Charles-town road at 61 miles, to a point near the Washaw 
 Creek. In 1772 the line was extended from this point, 
 imder the authority of Governor Trj^on, to the Tryon 
 Mountain ; and the controversy, which commenced with the 
 formation of our constitution, and was unsettled until 
 1813, between North and South Carolina, grew out of it.f 
 
 Afterward, a part of the line of 1772 was re-run, and the 
 line then extended to the westward until it reached a point 
 of intersection with the boundary of Georgia. 
 
 In a description of South Carolina, supposed to have 
 been written by Governor Glen about the year 1761, this 
 subject is referred to, and certain reasons are there assigned 
 for the continuance of the dispute. He says : " The Northern 
 boundary of South Carolina is not so well agTced upon as 
 
 * 1 Statutes, p. 406. 
 t Governor Swain's " Letter to Dr. Cooper, 27th March, 1835," 1 " Statutes 
 at Large," p. 409. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 39 
 
 might be expected, which is owing to the dishonest inten- 
 tions of many lawless people, settled in those parts without 
 legal titles, and not to any want of lattentioa in Govern- 
 ment, nor to any difficulty in the thing itself; but these 
 people, by keeping up a dispute about the boundaries of 
 North and South Carolina, evade paying quit-rents for their 
 lands, &c. ; and so long as they can enjoy the protection of 
 Government without contributing their quotas towards the 
 expenses of it, they will be keeping up the dispute about 
 boundaries. This they have hitherto done in such manner 
 as to defeat the good intentions of all the Orders and 
 Instructions from time to time given for terminating these 
 disputes and ascertaining the Boundary, which, in his 
 Majesty^s Instructions, is directed to be done by running 
 a line thirty miles to the southward of Cape Fear River, 
 parallel to, and observing the course of^j that River to its 
 head, for the Boundary on that side ; and though this order 
 is not only too explicit to be mistaken, but hath been put in 
 execution, or at least is said to have been so, the good 
 intention of it nevertheless continues to be evaded/^"^ 
 
 A part of the line on the north-east and north, 
 constitutes that portion of the present boundaries of Marl- 
 borough and Chesterfield Districts, once embraced in 
 Craven County. The tradition has been handed down, that 
 the Commissioners appointed to make the survey, besides 
 being ignorant of or inattentive to the difference between 
 a statute and a geographical mile, were not at all times in a 
 fit condition for the work, and that they took advantage of 
 each other in behalf of their respective States, as oppor- 
 tunity offered, or over-excitement, on one side or the other, 
 in the course of their gleeful expedition, happened to pre- 
 vail. The truth of the matter, as those who have had 
 occasion in later times, in surveying lands, to follow the 
 track which the Commissioners pursued, agree in stating, 
 appears to be this, — that its irregular, zigzag course indi- 
 cates either gross carelessness in all the parties concerned, 
 or, that the work was beg-un and ended in a common frolic, 
 at the expense of both States. 
 
 * 2 Carroll, pp. 178-9. 
 
40 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 But tlius it liappeneclj tliat the dispute "which took its 
 rise prior to the year 1732, was not adjusted in all its de- 
 tails until near a eentury after ; the Act for ratifying and 
 confirming the joint work of the Convention of Commis- 
 sioners, appointed for the establishment of the dividing line 
 between the two States, not having been passed by the 
 Legislature of South Carolina until the year 1815. In 
 addition to the causes alluded to by Governor Glen, and 
 whicli were doubtless operative in protracting the contro- 
 versy ; it is to be remarked, that there is a feeling of State 
 pride likely to be excited by the continuance of such dis- 
 putes, a feeling often as influential with States as with 
 individuals. There are also peculiar difficulties in the way 
 of adjusting such disputes, growing out of the extensive 
 and somewhat unwieldy organization of States, and of the 
 necessary agency of intermediate and often irresponsible 
 parties. 
 
 Acting, too, at long intervals, it happens that errors, 
 which miglit at first have been readily exposed, become 
 deeply rooted with the lapse of time, and matters, trivial in 
 themselves, are so magnified, that the controversies respect- 
 ing them become in the end exceeding difficult of adju^st- 
 ment. It is to be hoped, that these States, originally but 
 one Province, under the common name of " Caroliua,^^ and 
 bound together by many affecting associations as well as 
 local ties, will never again have their good understanding 
 and harmony distiu'bed by conflicting claims or border diffi- 
 culties ; and with their last dispute buried along the line of 
 the now established boundary, will remain one, and only 
 one in every element of common peace and common pros- 
 perity hereafter. 
 
 Returning to the year 1734', when the Act was passed 
 for establishing the parish of Prince Frederick, we find in 
 that, and also Prince George, Winyaw previously embrac- 
 ing that part of Craven County to the northward, the 
 parochial organizations within the bounds of which the 
 first settlements were made in the upper parts of the Pedce. 
 
 It is a pleasing task, in tracing the early history of any 
 region, to contemplate the change from a state of unde- 
 veloped resources in the hands of the wandering savage, to 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 41 
 
 the first triumphs of civilization by a superior race, how- 
 ever feeble and unpretending their efforts. This, for a time, 
 will be our employment. Of the early settlements on the 
 Pedee, extending through a period of more than thirty 
 years, some account will be given. 
 
 Through the aid of a few individuals, who having a taste 
 for such inquiries, had gathered some information as to the 
 history of families, and of valuable manuscript matter for- 
 tunately discovered here and there, with the more impor- 
 tmt light thrown upon the early emigration to this part of 
 the State by its public records, the author succeeded be- 
 yond his most sanguine expectations at the first, in collect- 
 ing material for his work. 
 
 If nothing more shall be accomplished, it will serve at 
 least to rescue for those who cannot fail to cherish it, much 
 that would otherwise have passed into oblivion. 
 
42 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Inducements held out to Settlers in the Province — Progress of Population — The 
 Plan of Townships — Its effect in inducing Immigration — Location of Town- 
 ship on the Pedee — Proceedings of the Council respecting it — Draft of 
 Queensborough Township — The Welch Tract — Proceedings of Council on 
 the subject — The Survey — Its Limits — Why enlarged — The Welch — 
 Other Settlers— The Welch Neck — The Welch Colony — Church Organiza- 
 tion — Continued Immigration — Names of Settlers — Term of Welch Grant 
 extended — Immigration direct from Wales — Bounties offered by Govern- 
 ment — Names of Grantees — Difficulties encountered by the Welch — Petition 
 for Relief — Bounties continued — Notice of other early Settlers — Their Diffi- 
 culties with the Welch— Exclusive Policy of the Welch — Accounts of diffe- 
 rent Families — The Welch Settlement— Its Progress — Welch Traits. 
 
 From the time of its first settlement, it was esteemed a 
 matter of the utmost importance for the safety and prospe- 
 rity of the Province that its population should increase as 
 rapidly as possible. 
 
 To this end, every inducement was held out to immigra- 
 tion. The royal bounty was promised, in various forms, to 
 the poor and oppressed of other lands to make America 
 their home. 
 
 The unoccupied territory of the New World, fair and 
 fertile, and teeming in boundless resources, was declared to 
 be open to the over-burdened industry and fruitless enter- 
 prise of the densely populated States of Europe. Thus 
 encouraged, large accessions were made, at successive 
 periods, to our infant settlements. 
 
 From 1696 to 1730, although its population gradually 
 increased, no large addition was made, at any one time, 
 to the inhabitants of Carolina. About the latter year, a 
 new scheme was adopted to promote the settlement of the 
 province, which proved successful beyond the most sanguine 
 expectations of Government. Governor Johnson was in- 
 structed " to mark out eleven Townships, in square plots, on 
 the sides of rivers, consisting each of twenty thousand 
 acres, and to divide the land within them into shares of 
 fifty acres for each man, woman, and child that should come 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 43 
 
 over to occupy and improve them. Each township was to 
 form a Parish^ and all the inhabitants were to have an equal 
 right to the river. As soon as the Parish should increase to 
 the number of a hundred families^ they were to have the 
 right to send two members of their own election to the 
 Assembly, and to enjoy the same privileges as the Parishes 
 already established. Each settler was to pay four shillings 
 a year for every hundred acres of land, excepting the first 
 ten years, during which term they were to be rent free. 
 Governor Johnson issued a warrant to St. John, Surveyor- 
 General of the Province, empowering him to go and mark 
 out these townships ; but he having demanded an exorbitant 
 sum of money for his trouble, the members of the Council 
 agreed among themselves to do this piece of service for their 
 country. Accordingly, eleven townships were marked out 
 by them in the following situations : — Two on the River 
 Alatamaha, two on Savanna, two on Santee, one on Pedee, 
 one on Waccamaw, one on Wateree, and one on Black 
 River.''* 
 
 The township on the Pedee was called Queensborough ; 
 and to the time of its being marked out — 1731-32 — or a 
 period but little subsequent, is to be assigned the date of our 
 first settlements. There was no delay in the execution of 
 this work (of marking out the townships), which had been 
 committed to the Governor by his Majesty's Government, 
 for building up its waste places, and the more speedy settle- 
 ment of the Province. 
 
 The first proceedings with reference to the laying out of 
 the townships was in meeting of the Council on Friday, 
 March 16th, 1731, in Charles-town ; his Excellency the 
 Governor, the Hon. Lieutenant Governor, Messrs. Arthur 
 Middleton, Robert Wright, Thomas Waring, John Fenwick, 
 and William Bull, being present. It was resolved, " That 
 the Hon. Mr. Chief Justice Wright and Alexander Skeene, 
 Esq., do mark out three Townships, pursuant to his Majesty's 
 instructions for that purpose, a copy of which is to be given 
 them, with this resolution — one upon Black River, one upon 
 Pedee River, and the other upon Waccamaw River — that 
 
 * 1 Carroll : " Hewitt's History," p. 196. 
 
44 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 tlicy return Plots of the same to this Board, and that they 
 be allowed £500 curreney for each Township out of the 
 Public Treasury for marking out the same/'^ Other per- 
 sons were also appointed on this occasion to mark out 
 townships on other rivers, according to instructions. In 
 the followiug year — ^dz., March 1732 — the township on the 
 Waccamaw appears to have been laid out, and called Kings- 
 ton. " We are assured/' said the Council, in reply to a 
 message on the subject from the lower House, " that at 
 the time of marking the said Township, there were no set- 
 tlements made witliin the same, except one, then begun by 
 Jennour, who claimed 700 acres, but by what title M'e 
 could not learn, he then being in North Carolina; nor 
 were there any other claims made to any lands within the 
 Township, that we could hear of, save only by jNIr. William 
 Watties, of 500 acres, at a place called Pond Bluff", but not 
 then settled/'t 
 
 On the 2nd of June, of the same year, the Commissioners 
 made full returns of the plans of the towns and townships, 
 which they had marked out, pursuant to a resolution in 
 Council, of the 20th of March previous, on AYaccamaw, 
 Pedee, and Black Rivers, and were ordered to be paid ac- 
 cordingly. From the annexed plot or draft, Queeusborough 
 Township appears to have been laid out on the Great Pedee, 
 but a short distance above the mouth of Little Pedee lliver, 
 embracing a part of what has since been known as Britton 
 Neck (a narrow strip of land between the two rivers), and 
 extending also on the west side of the Pedee. But for this 
 Plot, most unexpectedly found,J the exact location of the 
 Township of Queeusborough could not have been deter- 
 mined. It was probably a part of the return made by the 
 Commissioners, or may have been the " Draft of the Rivers,'' 
 accompanying the letter of Colonel Pawley, to Council, of 
 
 * " Council Journal," No. 5. 
 + " Council Journal," No. 5, p. 202. 
 J It was discovered by mere accident by the author, on a loose piece of 
 paper, on turning over the leaves of what appeared to be the oldest record- 
 book in the Secretary of State's office, Columbia, and which was being examined 
 as a curious relic of the past. Its contents related to other matters of anterior 
 date. 
 
t'Ei^ >* simn or g ii 
 
 Tovvi. 
 T O W X S itsi 
 
 A DRAFT OF 
 
 Ti\KE.\ FROM OLD RECORD BOOK, 
 
 in Secretary of States' Offiee, 
 
 COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 45 
 
 June 7th, 1739, in connexion with the dividing line between 
 Prince George and Prince Frederick's, which has already 
 been given. 
 
 No settlements appear to have been made up to this 
 time within the limits of Queensborough Township. To 
 encourage such settlements, generally, further action was 
 taken by Council. 
 
 On the 14th of February, 1734, it was ordered, '' That 
 the several persons who have laid out the several Town-ship^, 
 do prepare a rough draft, or plan of a Town, to be layed out 
 in each Town-ship, containing about 800 acres, out of which 
 a common of 300 acres, to be laid out in the back part, and 
 the remaining 500 acres to be lay*^ out in half-acre lots, to 
 ])e at a convenient distance from the river, which rough 
 Draft or Plan, is to be lay'^ before this Board for their con- 
 sideration.'^^ 
 
 In accordance with these instructions, the draft or plan 
 of a town in Queensborough Townshipf was made, as ap- 
 pears from a notice in the Gazette, as late as June 3rd- 
 10th, 1751, advertising Lot No. 64, in Queensborough Town. 
 There is, however, no evidence remaining to show that the 
 town, as such, was ever settled. Its location appears to 
 have been on the west bank of the river. The inducements 
 held out in connexion with the townships appear to have 
 led to a visit of some of the Welch from Pennsylvania for 
 the purpose of exploration and settlement, and to the re- 
 moval, very shortly after, of the colony, which was destined 
 to form so important an element in the history and progress 
 of the region of the Upper Pedee. The emigration from 
 
 * " Council Journal," No. 6, pp. 41, 42. 
 ■|- The Form of a Grant for Lots in the Townships, was as follows: — 
 
 So. Carolina. 
 
 By his Excellency, Esq., Governor, Captain-General and 
 
 Commander in Chief, in and over the Province of So. Carolina. 
 
 To , Esq., Surveyor-General. 
 
 You are forthwith required to admeasure and lay out unto , 
 
 a lot in the town, as also acres in the Township of Queensborough, on the 
 
 Pedee River, in Craven County, observing to lay the same out agreeable to the 
 
 Plan or Model thereof. 
 
 Given under my hand and seal, the day of , Anno Domini 
 
 (Council Journal, No. 5, p. 257.) 
 
46 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Wales to Pennsylvania^ from wliicli this to Pedee proceeded^, 
 " had its beginning/^ we are told^ in the following manner, 
 '^ In the spring of 1701, several Baptists in the counties of 
 Pembroke and Cairmarthen, resolved to go to Am.erica ; and 
 as one of the company, Thomas Griffith, was a minister, 
 they were advised to be constituted a Church. They took the 
 advice, and the instrument of their confederation was in 
 being in 1770, but is now lost or mislaid. The names of 
 the confederates were as follows ; viz., Thomas Griffith, 
 Griffith Nicholas, Evan Edmond, John Edward, Elisha 
 Thomas, Enoch Morgan, Richard David, James David, 
 Elizabeth Griffith, Lewis Edmond, Mary John, Mary 
 Thomas, Elizabeth Griffith, Tennet David, Margaret Mat- 
 thias, Tennet Morris. These sixteen persons, which may 
 be styled a Church emigrant, met at Milford Haven, 
 in the month of June, 1701, embarked on board the good 
 ship William and Mary ; and on the 8th of September 
 following, landed at Philadelphia. The brethren there 
 treated them courteously, and advised them to settle about 
 Pennepec ; thither they went, and there continued about a 
 year and a half, during which time their Church increased 
 from sixteen to thirty- seven. 
 
 But, finding it inconvenient to tarry about Pennepec, 
 they, in 1703, took up land in Newcastle County, from 
 Messrs. Evans, Davis, and Willis, who had purchased said 
 Welch tract from William Penn, containing upwards of 
 30,000 acres, and thither removed the same year, and built 
 a little meeting-house on the spot where the present stands. 
 This house was a neat brick building, forty feet by thirty. 
 
 The Welch tract was first in the province of Pennsyl- 
 vania, afterwards, upon the change of boundaries, in the 
 State of Delaware. This will account for the fact, that the 
 Welch were sometimes spoken of as being come from Penn- 
 sylvania, at other times from Delaware.'^ 
 
 Some of those who were members of the colony on Pedee 
 must have followed the first emigration from Wales to 
 Pennsylvania, as their names do not appear in the foregoing 
 list. 
 
 * Benedict's " History of the Baptists," p. 4. 
 
HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 47 
 
 The first visit of the Welch to Pedee appears to have 
 been made in the latter part of 1735, or early in the follow- 
 ing year. It led to a remarkable act of favour on the part 
 of the Council, to induce the colony to come. Wishing, on 
 their arrival, to settle in a body, and be possessed of ample 
 and exclusive privileges as to the occupancy of the soil, they 
 petitioned the Government that an extensive tract of land 
 might be appropriated to their sole benefit for a certain 
 period. This appears from a message of the Lieutenant- 
 Governor to the Lower House of Assembly, 2nd February, 
 1737, in which he said: — "The late Lieutenant-Governor, 
 with the advice of his Majesty ^s Council, thought it 
 would greatly tend to the service and strengthening of this 
 Province, to grant the petition of several natives of the 
 Principality of Wales, in behalf of themselves and others of 
 their countrymen, who intended to settle in this Province 
 from Great Britain and Pennsylvania, praying the lands 
 near the Forks above the Township on Pedee River might 
 be reserved and set apart for their use, and Mr. John Ould- 
 field, being thought a very proper person, was employed for 
 that service. ^^"^ 
 
 The petition here referred to bore date August 13th, 
 1 736 ; and having been favourably received by the Council, 
 his Majesty^s Surveyor-General, James H. St. John, Esq., 
 was instructed to have the said tract laid out. Accordingly, 
 he directed a precept to John Ouldfield, bearing date Nov. 
 16th, 1736, " to admeasure and lay out, for the Welch 
 families that were to be imported to this Province a tract of 
 land, containing in the whole one hundred and seventy-three 
 thousand eight hundred and forty acres, situated and being 
 in Craven County. Ten thousand acres, being part thereof, 
 lying within the limits of the Township of Queensborough, on 
 the north side of Pedee River, the remainder of said tract 
 lying on the south side of said river, and butting and bound- 
 ing to the south-east on the reserved lands of the said Town- 
 ship of Queensborough, and all other sides on vacant lands 
 as are supposed. ^^ 
 
 The survey was made, and a plot thereof returned 29th 
 
 * " Council Journal," No. 5, pp. 51, 52. 
 
48 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Nov. 1736, of which a copy is annexed.^ With reference to 
 this plot, the Lieutenant-Governor sent a message, 2nd 
 February, 1737, to the Lower House, saying : — " I send it 
 for your satisfaction and perusal, also his (Ouldfield^s) ace* 
 which I think so very reasonable, hope you^ make provision 
 to pay the same, as the sinking fund is so far short of answer- 
 ing the engagements already entered into/^f 
 
 The House replied the next day as follows : — " In answer 
 to your Honour's message just now received, with the ac- 
 count of Mr. John Ouldfield, for surveying the Welch Tract 
 of land on Pedee River, we beg leave to inform youi* 
 Honour, that we have perused the said account, and we are 
 very much concerned to find, as the ace* is so yexy 
 moderate and reasonable, that there should not be money 
 sufficient in the Town- ship Fund to discharge it. But we 
 hope your Honour will concur with us in oi)inion, that it is 
 by no means necessary, nor would be justifiable in us to Tax 
 our Constituents to pay any such expence, especially as it 
 may be so much more justly and reasonably done by the 
 duty on Negroes, should it be thought proper by your 
 Hon'', in conjunction with the two Houses of Assembly, 
 to revise and continue that Duty, without which we cannot 
 foresee any method by which this ace*, or any other of 
 the same sort, can, with justice to the People of this Pro- 
 vince, be provided for. 
 
 " By order of the House, 
 
 "Charles Pinckney, Speaker.^ 
 " Feb. 3, 1737-8." 
 
 The tract thus surveyed, and extending up the river but 
 a short distance above Mars Bluff, seems not to have been 
 adapted to the wants of the Welch, or to have been a com- 
 pliance by Council with their petition of the August previous, 
 as was intended. They consequently petitioned again for 
 such an extension of the tract as Avould answer all their 
 purposes, and enable them to select their lands to advau- 
 
 • 'I'he original Plot was found, in a good state of preservation, among the old 
 Township Plots, in the Office of the Secretary of State, Charleston. 
 
 •j- " Council Journal," No. 7, pp. 51, 52. + Ibid. 
 
A TLOT OF THE 
 
 r jliIjV am. \^K\x%^ 
 CONTAINING 173,840 ACRES 
 l^ovEinber 16^1730. 
 
 ,SWilr of Original Plot ii'> ChxiiiiK perltLcIv. 
 A Scale of Copy of Tlxji 320 Ounn.t per Inch. 
 
 ^^v^^- 
 
 Jsynches Creek, huthytiteitdxan 
 name Signifies LitteUHiver. 
 
 l^.W. 4B^__]280 Chacns 
 
 South CorollTia , ^ ^ „ , , , r ^i t 7 t- rr n-i. 
 
 My vuizte orrrecept to me (Vrectcd by ■lames Jl.Mms,Ks(f~ msMafeslys-mrreyor 
 QeneruL leariiuf date the Sixteenth of November. 1736. 1 have admeasurcel and laid out fhr the. Welch fatiuhs tlint 
 lUx to be£}ifiorteil tvtkisTrovuiee, a. TrOjdofLnnd contniiunq vi the whole One Amdi'eA aii-d Seventy Hiree... . 
 Ilioii.(and,Ili<jhtMimdred and Fort\' Arrs, sihuited ajidieinjj vi (raven ('otutty.Jfn Ihoasanji Acts, beirujpart 
 thereof Lying within thje tiiniis of the Hiwnslup of QueeiihornaxilL on theNortli side ofFedej^ Biver,t]u'Se/nAniider 
 of Said Tract lymxj on hotii sidvs of said River, Batting & Boiindiruf tv the South Hast oji llw Keservitl l.ajuls 
 of the saiil ToivnsJup of (fiteaijfliorottqh .and all other steles on vnc(adLaJtd.s eis is suppo.wd.S hatli sudi 
 shape, lonn and mai-ks as aj-e Stpresmteel hythisDeluuut/cd Plot, tliereof given under my htutd, 
 '29'.'])iiyofNovenihcr.l736. per me, t Siarhed ) 
 
 Dejiufy Surveyor. 
 JSbte.^ This Copy ntade May 22^:1859, -from. Orufin^d Tlot irv Secretarv of Stage's Office . 
 
 Jlepitiy Surveyors. ^ 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 49 
 
 tage. Their request was favourably regarded, as appears 
 from the following Proclamation : " By the Hon. Thomas 
 Broughton, Esq., Lieut. -Governor, and Commander-in- 
 Chief, in and over his Majesty's Province of South 
 Carolina. 
 
 '' Whereas, I have this day received information in Coun- 
 cil, from Dan^' James, that the Lands which David Lewis, 
 Sam^" Wild, and the said Dan^" James, prayed for in 
 their petition of 13th August last, to be set apart for the 
 Welch Families mentioned therein, were the vacant Lands 
 they viewed, and desired might be reserved for them, lying 
 on each side of Great Pedee River, and up to the two Main 
 Branches thereof, and that the Lands set forth, and pre- 
 scribed in the order of Council of the 21st January last, 
 are not the Lands they desired, and were assigned them 
 agreeable to the said Petition ; nor will these Lands suit 
 their intention of planting Hemp and Flax ; and whereas I 
 have also received information from the said Dan^' James, 
 that several of the said Families, on the encouragement they 
 had from the first Order of Council, have sold their Posses- 
 sions in Pennsylvania, some being arrived, and others on 
 their way to this Province, I have therefore thought fit, by 
 and with the advice and consent of his Majesty's Hon. 
 Council, to issue this, my Proclamation, to give Notice, 
 that I have (with the advice and consent aforesaid) refused 
 the said last order of Council of the 21st of January last, 
 and confirmed the said first order of the 13th of August ; 
 and have ordered that the Lines be run parallel, as near as 
 may be, with the course of Great Pedee River ; and further 
 to give Notice, that the Surveyor-General is ordered and 
 directed to instruct his Deputies not to survey, (for any other 
 Persons than the said Welch people) any more of the said 
 Lands above Pedee Township, lying within eight miles on 
 each side of the said River, and so up to the Branches afore- 
 said. Given under my hand and the Great Seal of this 
 his Majesty's Province, this 8th day of February, in the 
 10th year of his Majesty's reign, Annoque Domini, 1737."'^ 
 
 This extension of the Welch Tract up the Pedee to the 
 
 * Gazette, Feb, 5-12, 1737. 
 
50 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 two main brandies thereof^ gave the infant Colony exclusive 
 privileges over a large territory^ embracing for more than 
 one hundred miles by the course of the river^ its rich 
 alluvial bottom^ and a valuable class of lands in proximity 
 to the swamp. The two main branches referred to, must 
 have been the Yadkin and Uwhare, or Yadkin and Uocky 
 Rivers — most probably the latter ; in either case, a point 
 (their junction) something considerably abovethepresent boun- 
 dary line between South and North Carolina, — the Rocky and 
 Yadkin Rivers uniting twenty- five miles above the said 
 State lines, and the Yadkin and Uwhare not less than fifty. 
 With such inducements to emigrate to the Pedee, the Welch 
 were not slow in making their way to the Province. The 
 first visit of exploration by a few of their number was 
 made not later than the spring of 1736. They appear, 
 however, to have been preceded by some other settlers. The 
 first name of which any record has been found, was Joseph 
 Dopson. He was a. grantee of 130 acres of land, in what 
 was afterwards the Welch Tract, as early as lltli May, 
 1733. 
 
 This fact appears in a petition to Council by Jacob Kolb, 
 in 1753, for the said land, the Petitioner stating ' therein 
 that the said grant was still in the Surveyor-GeneraFs 
 Office. The name of Dopson seems to have disappeared not 
 long after from the country. He may have been a squatter, 
 or merely in search of land, not making any permanent 
 settlement. The earliest grants on the west side of the 
 river, in the upper part of what is now Darlington District, 
 go back to the year 1734."^ Of the names of the Grantees 
 no record perhaps remains. Lands were surveyed for 
 Richard Barrow in what was called, soon after, the Welch 
 Neck, as early as January 1736. f Nothing is known of 
 him, the name ha\'ing soon after disappeared from this 
 region. This was the case with many others of the first 
 comers. They probably belonged to that class of people 
 who live on the outskirts of civilization, leading the way as 
 
 * On tbe authority of the late Hon. Josiah J. Evans, in a letter to the Author. 
 Judge Evans was proverbially accurate in his recollection of such matters, 
 f Of this fact the original evidence is in the Author's possession. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 51 
 
 hunters, and keeping in the van of permanent settlers. 
 They are not unfrequently men of enterprise, but with a 
 roving disposition, and distaste for those wholesome restraints 
 which society imposes on its members. Exploring the way 
 that others may follow, they have often rendered essential 
 service in the settlement of new regions, without being 
 generally appreciated, however, or taking any place, as they 
 have deserved, in the history of man. Thus it was with 
 many, whose names appeared in the first record, only to be 
 known for a short time afterward.* 
 
 In 1736, or early in the following year, a company of the 
 Welch settled on Cat Fish, a stream in what is now Marion 
 District, in the tract first assigned them. Among these were 
 Jenkin and Owen David. t They remained there a short time, 
 and then removed higher up the river to the neighbourhood of 
 the Welch Neck. As appears from the petition which led to 
 the extension of the Welch Tract much above its original 
 boundary, the lands on the upper Pedee seem to have suited 
 their agricultural purposes better, being well adapted also to 
 settlements immediately contiguous to the river. To that 
 rich and compact body of land, embraced in a bend of the 
 river, opposite the present village of Society Hill/ and called, 
 from an early period, the " Welch Neck,''^ the attention of 
 these prudent settlers appears from the first to have been 
 directed. And there they began to gather in a body. 
 The " Welch Neck^^ extended from Crooked Creek above 
 (on its outer line), to the " Red Bluff''' below, a distance of 
 about six miles, embracing the rich lands of the swamp, 
 several miles across. During the Revolution, or about a 
 
 * In the letter of Judge Evans, already referred to, and written March 29, 
 1858, but a short time before his death, he remarks in confirmation of tlie fact 
 stated above, " that of the 8 to 10 grants of which his plantations on Crooked 
 Creek, Marlborough District, was made np, the name of not a single 
 one of the original grantees was known, at a period long antecedent, in tiie 
 country." 
 
 ■\ Jenkin David died before the Revolution. He had three sons — Joshua, 
 Josiah, and Benjamin. Of these, Joslma lived to take an active pai-t in the 
 Revolution. He died in 1822, and was the father of the late Captain Joshua 
 David, of Marlborough. 
 
 Owen David had four sons — John, Azariah, Owen, and Jenkin. Of these, 
 John was the only son who remained on the Pcdee, the otliers having left the 
 country at an early period. From these two progenitors the extensive and re- 
 spectable connexion of the name in Marlborough has descended. 
 
 E 2 
 
52 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 generation after the first settlement, the " Company which 
 mustered at the M'C-dW ohl fiehl/' numbered from 130 to 
 140, all of them said to he Weleh. Between the years 1736 
 and 1746, almost all the lands in the Welch Neck were 
 granted.* By the latter part of 1737 most of the families 
 from Pennsylvania had arrived, and the infant Colony began 
 to assume an organized and permanent character. Under 
 its leader, James James, Esq.,t were laid the foundations of 
 future growth and prosperity. Mr. James was possessed of 
 larger means than any of his companions, and the most pro- 
 minent individual among them. 
 
 At this time a respectable portion of the Colony consisted 
 of the following persons, viz., James James and wife, Philip 
 JamcsJ and wife, Daniel Devonald and wifl", Abel James 
 and wife, Daniel James and wife, Thomas Evans and wife, 
 John Jones and wife, Thomas Harry and wife, Daniel Harry 
 and wife, John Harry and wife, Samuel Wild and wife,§ 
 Samuel Evans || and wife, Griffith Jones and Avife, David 
 Jones and wife, Thomas Jones and wife. 
 
 There were also others whose names appear at the same 
 period, viz., Thomas James, Griffith John, "William James, 
 
 * Oil the authority of Judge Evans's letter. 
 
 t Mr. James owned the hinds on both sides of tlie river, at what is now 
 known as Spark's Ferry. Tlie first public Ferry in this region was established 
 hero in I7ti8. He died at Cat Fish, Nov. 21, 1769, where he had probably 
 gone on a visit. 
 
 J Philip .James was a son of James James, Esq., and the first Pastor of the 
 Welch Neck Church. Ho was born near Pennepec, in Pennsylvania in 1701. 
 He removed to Carolina, in 1735, and was onlaimd at the Welch Neck, 
 April -1, 17-13, His death took place in 1753. " In the latter part of his life," 
 said a subsequent writer, " his mind was full of heavenly joys, and attentive 
 only to spiritual concerns." — A\'ood Furmau's " History of the Charleston Asso- 
 ciation," p. 70. 
 
 § M'ild was a name ever atYer to be proiuinently connected with the history 
 of the Pedee. The first settler appears to have had two sons, John and Abel. 
 Abel was known afterwards and before the Revolution as Old Colonel Wild. His 
 residence was on the cast bank of the river, nearly opposite the Long Bluff. 
 His widow was a lady noted in her day for excellence and strength of chai-acter. 
 Colonel Wild had four sons — John, Samuel, .lesse, and George. John Wild, the 
 other brother, was the father of .lohn and Samuel. The latter of these beciune 
 distinguisheil as J udge AN'ild, and was a man of very remarkable character. His 
 brother John, who died jirematurely, is said to have been even more talented. 
 
 II Evans, like Wild, was a name destined to become distinguished. From these 
 first settlers, Thomas and Samuel, sprang the large and highly respectable con- 
 nexion on the Pedee. The late Judge Evans was a descendant — being a great- 
 grandson of Thomas Evans. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 53 
 
 John Newberry, Evan Harry, Henry Oldacre, Hasker New- 
 berry,* William Eynon, James Roger, David James, Daniel 
 Dousnal, Samuel Sarance (Sorrency and Dc Sorrency as it 
 was sometimes written), Evan Yaughn, William Tarellf 
 (Terrell.) 
 
 The first-mentioned company J were, in January, 1738, 
 " organized into a society of the Baptist faith,^^ and erected 
 a house of worship on the east bank of the river, a short 
 distance above the ferry. § 
 
 There they long continued to worship God after the 
 manner of their fathers, and in that consecrated spot, w^here 
 some monumental remains are yet to be seen, their dead 
 repose, awaiting the last summons. This party, with others, 
 appear to have moved in a body from the Welch Tract in 
 Pennsylvania and Delaw^are to the Pedee during the pre- 
 vious year, if not a little earlier. Many sore lets and hin- 
 drances awaited the progress of their settlements. 
 
 Of one of these grievances complaint was made to Go- 
 vernment, as appears from the following message, sent by 
 the Upper House, or Council, January 26th, 1737, to the 
 Commons House of Assembly : — 
 
 " Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen, — Some of the Welch 
 Settlers on Pedee have lately complained to me that they have 
 sufficient reason to believe that the Indians will molest and 
 disturb them in settling the Lands run out for the Welch, 
 intimating that one Thompson, a trader, has bought a great 
 quantity of that Tract, and pretends to hold it by an Indian 
 right, which, as I apprehend this practice may be attended 
 
 * In his " Annals of Newbury District," in attempting to trace the origin of 
 the name, Judge O'Neall says : " Certain it is that a family of that name once 
 lived beyond Pedee, in that section now called Marlborough District " — p. vii. 
 It is not improbable that some member of this family may have removed to that 
 part of the State, and hence the name, afterward given to the district. 
 
 t The grandfather of the late Captain John Terrell, of Marlborough, a worthy 
 descendant of the old Welch stock, and one of the best men of his day and 
 generation. Captain Terrell's father, William Terrell, was engaged in the 
 public service before the Revolution, but did not survive that period. 
 
 X This list of names was taken, with other information, from the records of 
 the Welch Neck Church, the most of which, however, were unfortunately de- 
 stroyed by fire or otherwise many years since. The earlier records now remain- 
 ing are very meagre. 
 
 § Now known as Spark's — on the road leading from Society Hill to 
 Bennetsville. 
 
54 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Avith fatal consequences, I desire you^ appoint a Committee 
 of your House, to join a Committee of his Majesty's 
 Council, to consider of the most effectual method to prevent 
 any private contracts with Indians for the land. 
 
 «Wm. Bull/'* 
 
 A few days after. Committees were appointed to consider 
 the subject, and measures were adopted to prevent such diffi- 
 culties in the future. 
 
 The tide of immigration had now set in, and constant 
 additions were made to the population on the Pedee. " At 
 a Coimcilt held at Ashley Ferry, Sep* 16th, 1738, the Hon. 
 W^ Bull, President, signed the following grants for land 
 in Queensborough ToAYUship, viz. : — 
 
 " Jacob Buckholt . .250 acres. 
 
 Jeremiah Pickling . 450 „ 
 
 Richard Thompson . 400 „ 
 
 Joseph Jolly . . 600 acres.'' 
 
 The Government continued to manifest a due concern for 
 fresh accessions to the Welch population. 
 
 In the Council Chamber, 11th May, 1739, it was ordered, 
 " That the Term for reserving the Welch Tract upon Pedee 
 River for the sole benefit of the Welch and Pennsylvanians, be 
 prolonged for the space of two years from the expiration 
 thereof, in the month of August next, and all Persons are re- 
 quired to take Notice thereof at their Peril. By order of his 
 Honour the Lieu* Governor, and his jMajesty's Hon^ Council. 
 
 " Alexr. Cramahe, C.C'J 
 
 This was a liberal policy on the part of Government, and 
 an act of great favour to the Welch. 
 
 The spirit of speculation began to show itself as to landed 
 estate even at this early period. On the 25th of July, 1739, 
 1,000 acres were advertised in Queensborough Township, 
 but by whom does not appear. 
 
 The removal of the Welch from Pennsylvania and Dela- 
 ware, and the reports made to their countrymen in Wales, 
 seem to have excited a spirit of emigration thither from that 
 
 * " Council Journal," No. 7, p. 38. 
 t Gazette, Oct. 5, 1738. J Gazette, May 12-19, 1739. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 55 
 
 country. The colonial authorities, having received some 
 tidings of this kind, held out additional inducements to them 
 to come over. The following announcement was made in 
 the Gazette of the 7th and 14th July, 1739 : — " In council, 
 the 7th day of July, 1739. There being great reason to 
 believe that many poor People of the Principality of Wales 
 would remove into this Province, provided they could be 
 sure of having the same Bounty (over and above the Land 
 allowed by his Majesty) as other poor Protestants have 
 heretofore had who have become settlers in his Majesty's 
 Townships, — Resolved, that the sum of Six Thousand 
 Pounds shall be reserved out of the Township Fund, to be 
 appropriated as a Bounty to the first two hundred People 
 above twelve years of age (two under twelve years of age to 
 be deemed as one) who shall arrive here from the Principality 
 of Wales, and become settlers upon the Welch Tract upon 
 Pedee, within the Space of Two Years from hence, the said 
 Bounty to be proportioned as follows, viz. : — 
 
 " To each Head above twelve years of age, twelve bushels 
 of Corn, one Barrel of Beef, Fifty w*. of Pork, one hundred 
 w*. of rice, one Bushel of Salt. 
 
 " To each Male above twelve years of age, also, One Axe, 
 one Broad Hoe, one Cow and Calf, and one Young Sow. And 
 the charge of measuring out and the Fifty acres of Land per 
 head allowed by his Majesty. A true copy. 
 
 "Alexander Cramahe, Q.C" 
 
 The inducements here offered are supposed to have en- 
 couraged and increased the emigration direct from Wales. 
 By the year 1746, as already remarked, almost aU the lands 
 in the Welch Neck were granted, having been taken up ex- 
 clusively by the Welch. 
 
 The number of settlers had largely increased between 
 1740 and 1743. The following list of names and of the 
 quantities of land, respectively allotted, with the dates of 
 entries, will convey some idea of the progress made down to 
 the year 1743. The list did not embrace the names of all 
 who had arrived, but only of those who had neglected to 
 comply with the requirements of the law respecting the 
 Township Settlers, and whose neglect operated to the preju- 
 
56 
 
 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 dice of others who might wish to come in. It is taken from 
 the Gazette of August, 1743. 
 
 " A list of Township Plots (on the Bounty) in the Sur- 
 veyor-General's Office, August 15th, 1743 : — 
 
 Queensborough Township. 
 
 Thomas James 
 
 650 acres . 
 
 October 
 
 3, 
 
 1738. 
 
 Griffith Jones 
 
 300 
 
 }) 
 
 }} 
 
 4, 
 
 j> 
 
 Griffith John 
 
 100 
 
 3) 
 
 September 
 
 1, 
 
 33 
 
 William James 
 
 400 
 
 }) 
 
 }} 
 
 33 
 
 33 
 
 John Newberry 
 
 350 
 
 }} 
 
 )) 
 
 2, 
 
 33 
 
 Henry Oldacre 
 
 50 
 
 )) 
 
 » 
 
 4, 
 
 33 
 
 Hasker Newberry 
 
 300 
 
 }} 
 
 }} 
 
 5, 
 
 33 
 
 Evan Harry 
 
 100 
 
 )> 
 
 }) 
 
 30, 
 
 33 
 
 William Eynon 
 
 500 
 
 }} 
 
 August 
 
 23, 
 
 33 
 
 James Roger 
 
 50 
 
 )} 
 
 )} 
 
 26, 
 
 33 
 
 David James 
 
 400 
 
 }} 
 
 3i 
 
 27, 
 
 33 
 
 Thomas Evans 
 
 400 
 
 }) ' ' 
 
 }> 
 
 33 
 
 33 
 
 Daniel Dousnal 
 
 200 
 
 }> 
 
 » 
 
 33 
 
 33 
 
 John Jones 
 
 250 
 
 » 
 
 }) 
 
 28, 
 
 33 
 
 Sam\ Sarance 
 
 100 
 
 y} 
 
 )i 
 
 29, 
 
 33 
 
 Richard Barrow 
 
 150 
 
 >} 
 
 }> 
 
 33 
 
 33 
 
 Evan Vaughn 
 
 350 
 
 }} 
 
 1) 
 
 30, 
 
 33 
 
 Abel James 
 
 300 
 
 }) 
 
 )> 
 
 31, 
 
 33 
 
 William Tarell 
 
 200 
 
 }} 
 
 }) 
 
 33 
 
 33 
 
 Thomas Walley 
 
 50 
 
 }) • 
 
 May 
 
 18, 
 
 1740 
 
 Philip James 
 
 250 
 
 }) 
 
 )) 
 
 21, 
 
 33 
 
 Sampson Thomas 
 
 400 
 
 }} 
 
 3) 
 
 23, 
 
 33 
 
 Jacob Buckles 
 
 250 
 
 }) 
 
 3) 
 
 24, 
 
 33 
 
 Peter Kishley 
 
 400 
 
 )} 
 
 June 
 
 2, 
 
 33 
 
 John Evans 
 
 200 
 
 }) 
 
 February 
 
 6, 
 
 33 
 
 John Newberry 
 
 100 
 
 }} 
 
 November 
 
 22, 
 
 1741. 
 
 Wm. Tarell 
 
 100 
 
 }} 
 
 December 
 
 9, 
 
 33 
 
 Thos. Evans 
 
 250 
 
 }> 
 
 3) 
 
 10, 
 
 33 
 
 }) )} 
 
 75 
 
 )} 
 
 33 
 
 14, 
 
 33 
 
 Abel Evans 
 
 100 
 
 }) ' 
 
 33 
 
 11, 
 
 33 
 
 John Evans 
 
 100 
 
 }} 
 
 33 
 
 33 
 
 :3 
 
 Mary Evans 
 
 300 
 
 }) 
 
 33 
 
 13, 
 
 33 
 
 John Jones 
 
 100 
 
 }} • 
 
 33 
 
 1, 
 
 33 
 
 Jeremiah Rowell 
 
 150 
 
 }) • 
 
 3> 
 
 16, 
 
 33 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 57 
 
 Queensborough Township 
 James Rowland 150 acres 
 
 Evan Vaughn 
 
 100 
 
 John Westfield 
 
 300 
 
 Thomas Elleby 
 
 250 
 
 Simon Parsons 
 
 TOO 
 
 John Carter 
 
 100 
 
 Wm. Evans 
 
 50 
 
 Job Edwards 
 
 200 
 
 Daniel James 
 
 350 
 
 John Jones 
 
 500 
 
 David Harry 
 
 125 
 
 j> )} 
 
 }) 
 
 Philip James 
 
 100 
 
 Philip Douglas 
 
 300 
 
 William Carey 
 
 300 
 
 Mary Evans 
 
 200 
 
 David Malahan 
 
 150 
 
 Thomas Moses 
 
 220 
 
 William Jones 
 
 400 
 
 Nicholas Rogers 
 
 350 
 
 Thomas Evans 
 
 100 
 
 )i )} 
 
 125 
 
 William James 
 
 200 
 
 -{continued). 
 
 December 
 
 14, 1741 
 
 }} 
 
 17, „ 
 
 » 
 
 }) )) 
 
 }) 
 
 )) jj 
 
 }) 
 
 18, „ 
 
 }) 
 
 22, „ 
 
 » 
 
 23, „ 
 
 )) 
 
 28, „ 
 
 )) 
 
 24, 1742 
 
 23, 
 
 }> 
 
 27, „ 
 
 }} 
 
 29, „ 
 
 }) 
 
 31, „ 
 
 January 
 
 1, 1743 
 
 }i 
 
 4. ., 
 
 )) 
 
 5, }, 
 
 }} 
 
 » >) 
 
 » 
 
 6, „ 
 
 }) 
 
 15, „ 
 
 }} 
 
 28, „ 
 
 >f 
 
 29, „ 
 
 " Upon perusing and considering the Memorial of George 
 Hunter, Esq., Surveyor-General, relating to several Plots 
 of land returned into and now lying in the Office of the 
 said Surveyor-General, and which have remained in the 
 said Office for many years, mthout any applications from the 
 Persons in whose names the same are run, to have them 
 taken out of the said Office, whereby other Persons are pre- 
 vented from taking up the said Lands, and becoming Tenants 
 to his Majesty for the same: It is Ordered that the said List 
 be published in the Gazette, to the intent that the several 
 Persons interested in or claiming the same may apply for, 
 and take out the said Plots, on or before the 1st day of 
 January next; and in case of their neglecting so to do, their 
 failure therein will be taken as a Disclaimer of their Rights 
 to the said Lands ; and the same Lands may and shall be 
 
58 HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 
 
 granted to any otlicr persons "who shall duly apply for the 
 same. A true copy. 
 
 "Alexander Gordon, C.C.'^ 
 
 The neglect of most or all of those mentioned in the 
 foregoing list to take out their plots^ &c., may doubtless he 
 owing to the fact that they Avcre too poor to do so, or that 
 the lands first granted were in the lower part of the Welch 
 Tract, and taken out before its extension ; and having de- 
 termined to go liiglicr up the river, some of them may have 
 abandoned their claims below, where their places were soon 
 taken by others. 
 
 In common with other settlers, the Welch had many dif- 
 ficulties to contend against. The means of most of them 
 were, no doubt, exhausted by the expense of the removal to 
 Pedee. After their arrival, the distance from Charles-town, 
 the seat of Government, where all public business had to be 
 transacted, perplexed them no little. The following extracts 
 from the Council Journals will show the mode of proceeding 
 with reference to land, and the sore extremities to which 
 these poor settlers were often driven. 
 
 " In Council Chamber, Jan. 2G, 1742-43. Read the 
 Petition of part of the Inhabitants of the Welch Tract, as 
 also the Petition of Sam^ Sorrency, as follows, viz. : To 
 the Hon. Wm. Bull, Lieu^-Gov"" and Commander-in-Chief 
 of his Majesty's Pi'ovince of S. C, and to the rest of the 
 Hon^ Members of his Mjijesty's Council. 
 
 " The Petition of Samuel Sorrency Humbly shewetli. 
 That your Petitioner at his first arrival in this Province 
 obtained a Warrant for 100 acres of land, to be laid out in 
 the Welch Tract, whereon I now live, — That your Peti- 
 tioner hath since two children come from Pennsylvania to 
 this place, which I have made oath of before Wm. James, 
 Esq., who informs me that it Avill not do without my proving 
 my right in the Council Chamber ; but as I am but low in 
 the world, and live at so great a distance from Charles-town, 
 and not having a horse to ride nor money to bear my ex- 
 penses, and the Bearer, Thomas Boweu, can prove, if need 
 be, that I have such children — Your Petitioner therefore 
 humbly prays your Honours to take my case into considera- 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 59 
 
 tlon, and grant me a warrant for 100 acres of his Majesty's 
 land, to be laid out in the "Welch Tract, and your Petitioner, 
 as in duty bound, &c. 
 
 " The above and Samuel James swore to his family right 
 before Wm. James, Esq., one of his Majesty's Justices 
 assigned to keep the Peace in Craven County aforesaid. 
 The Prayer of said Petition was granted, and it was ordered, 
 that Mr. Secretary Hammerton do prepare a warrant ac- 
 cordingly. 
 
 " Read also the Petition of Daniel M'Daniel, for a war- 
 rant of 100 acres, for himself and wife, to be laid out in the 
 Welch Tract, which was granted 
 
 " Read also the Petition of several other Inhabitants of 
 the Welch Tract, as follows : — 
 
 " The Petition of part of the Inhabitants of the Welch 
 Tract humbly sheweth : That we have left Pennsylvania and 
 have transported ourselves to this Province by the encou- 
 ragement given to settle this aforesaid Tract of land ; but as 
 some of us had our lands run out, and the Plots put into 
 the Surveyor-GcneraFs office 4 years ago, and as we are 
 so poor that we cannot get money to pay the charge of sur- 
 veying and granting it, has discouraged many from coming 
 over; and we are afraid the discouragement being so great, 
 we not being sure of our grants, by reason of our poverty, 
 that some that have come over will return from us again. 
 So we, your Humble Petitioners, hope your Hon"* and Hon'^ 
 will take it into your serious consideration, what satisfaction 
 it is to every man to have his titles to land secure, and will 
 fulfill the encouragement given us that we should have our 
 lands granted us free from all charge of surveying and grant- 
 ing; and, as we are in duty bound, we shall ever pray, &c. 
 "Philip James Abel James Peter Roblyn 
 
 Jeremiah Rowell Tho'* Evans Creen Vaughn 
 
 Philip Douglass John Evans Nicholas Rogers 
 
 Daniel Devonald John Evans Simon Parson 
 
 David Harry John Carter David Lewis 
 
 Tho' Evans W"* Kirby Sam^ Sorrency 
 
 Tho^ Moses Griffith John W" Terrell 
 
 Mary Evans Dan^ Houehorn John Jones 
 
 Jobe Edwards Walter Downe Abel Evans 
 Nathan' Evans David James W"* James. 
 

 H-^. 
 
 >».lklVAk 
 
 -*i:' 
 
 ^ V 
 
 >s 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 »4 
 
 
 'fr 
 
 'A 
 
 
 >.i.»*j;>«!«*C 
 
t^t*rf wrtJft t^ic/se #>♦'/ ftiWrt* \iK^0t t^^^-m^ 0rtm *!aywryi*^ tm 
 
 I. /^, %«A nx\^\\\\u% %/* «-. 
 
 •If*#»jl(/rf« t// ('//HiP, Mtitrti% t$imn. (Jf th^, fif^, elaww ftwnri- 
 i^fmt'A, ^m fruft/^ y-- ■ - 'r(\^, fA tla*', f.ftfiU-?^ w:ttk^n 
 withKt tit*; UmftA tA ' yffi\<m <A tf»^ Wftk^f^ 'tityc-x 
 
 tA ^ymt iM\tf r*'///r4 rt^nntnn. He i* ivn^i^A t/> h*v* 
 ^Kiu's^thU'A frt/tn iff'Jptfifi. ht t)te (U/nrua\ Jf/nrnni, *^h >»•'/- 
 
 1 Ti4) HiiirfM fA la#»/l »r» t);**; VffX^h 'ttftt-t tyn t>»« vmth «kte of 
 t.h^r rirftr, Umti/Wtif^ ffci,wf-' - '-^ - T)w>'maiir'« Jir^e aRF»d <>»« 
 Vfinf(int\ I»ri/I ; a/t/I tlift i' • *t tfi^ f»aww5 tJKKW; prO' 
 
 <lfi/^!/l * f'^KfiWu-'/tU', fA hm h'A,^\n% IhfA therfi h*Af/tt the 
 %*i^xUvUit';Ttt fA iUt', Vff\f}tt nu^ut-A hy twf/ ixt>(tu-j^ fA the^ 
 f^?ft/^, in thstt plft/'j',. Up, 'd,y\)f,MfA in \yfif^m, »fA J«« peti^ 
 i'um v>'f%H ft/fidUA/' 
 
 Afifdit4;r MMlf^r, a-fy/nt ihf, %'a,ni(', t\uit;, t}t^, f»r»t of a name 
 whl/;h ha* n'tttfA', \>P4',rt wfM kfxmtt fm tfw^ VcAcj;, was Jamfs* 
 ('mU-^nj. Ut; infu\f, A HuuWfir ftypVu^Htum , I'/nt wa« not »^> 
 ifftiuuhU',, (fff A t'tmc, fit ]('.ftAt, M tf} the rcAvH. 
 
 On tht; numt', flay, j^fch N</vfnrn^j*nr, 1743, ''was rea/l the 
 fV.t»ii//fi fA ShUif'A (/fiU'Apy, shewing that thf; Petitioner, 
 \t{ivitti( *'tx ^tt'T'^mn in thmWf, ftrr whom, a« yet, he has not 
 l»a/l any \huf\% mn\yiu(A him, hnmhiy prays that a warrant 
 </f nurvtry ftn" ?/)() fuirfA hf, f/rmttUA hirn in the Welch Tract, 
 fifjt, not ap|)/',arinj( t/; swear t/» his family right, his pfrtition 
 was orrlere^l t/» lie orri the tahle/^ 
 
 f/Fllc»wifi(< trtMrt rif pr')^,^ f»f(p^f»rwl in thft fJa)^,i^it of t\^ day, 
 
 (Ihiirli'^hriiy/i., Nwnmh*^ \, MVa, (JhfvrUnUmn, >Jn,J/y 16, 1741. 
 
 f!i/A /t2*. t/» Va». j.*r ftvvt. fMcft 3/. p^r cwfc,; Skim, 16». 6«?.per IK 
 
 V^M^, \tu.; 'rricpf-rit.infi, 2f>#, FiU-h, ,'5*. pCT baTTftl. 
 
 Tdf, 'Mill, i KVirm, IM*. f/» \<Ai>. Tar, 4r>*. ; Indian corn, 30«, per bodieL 
 
 In/linf» <w»rri, 1». Cid. t/> J(>*, per hnnhel. Turpfsntin*;, 22?. M-. 
 
 IndkiB peas, 30«. per bushel. 
 
62 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 At tlie same time^ Henry Roach made a similar application 
 for 100 acres of land in tlie Welch Tract; but not appearing to 
 be a Welchman, or of Welch extract^ the consideration of his 
 case was postponed. James Galespy came from the North 
 of Ireland. He was a man of energy and enterprise. In 
 connexion with General Christopher Gadsden, of Charles- 
 town, he was engaged in boating on the Pedee many years 
 before the Revolution, and is believed to have been the first 
 person who ever brought a boat to Cheraw. The difficulty 
 with the Welch doubtless led to his removal higher up the 
 river, to the neighbourhood of the present town of Cheraw. 
 He settled on the west side of the river, a short distance 
 below the town, and entered on a successful career as a 
 trader. He married a daughter of Francis Young. James 
 Galespy died before the Revolution. He left two sons to 
 inherit his name,'^ and two daughters. 
 
 The Welch did not extend their settlements much, if any, 
 above the mouth of Crooked Creels^ or the upper limits of 
 the Welch Neck. Of those who were induced to enter 
 upon the Welch Tract was Thomas Elerby, the first of that 
 name who emigrated to the Pedee. He came soon after 
 the first of the Welch, as appears from the following record 
 of Council :t—" July 5th, 1742. Read the Petition of 
 Thomas Elerby, setting forth that he and his family, con- 
 sisting of eleven persons, came from Virginia about five 
 years past, and settled and cleared land near Pedee river, . 
 and obtained a warrant for his family right ; but happened 
 to be within the limits of the Welch Tract, and at a conve- 
 nient place to fix a water-mill. When the Welch inhabi- 
 
 * The name was soon after changed to its present spelling, Gillespie. The 
 sons of James Galespy were Francis and James. The former died before the 
 Revolution. James was born in 1754, and was therefore of age when that 
 stormy period commenced. He took an active part on the Pedee throughout 
 the struggle, and was prominently connected with St. David's Parish. He 
 settled on the east side of the river, on lands now owned by his son. General 
 James Gillespie, of Marlborough. He married a Miss Wild, aunt of the late 
 Judge Samuel Wild, of Darlington. The fruits of this marriage were Francis, 
 Samuel, and James, and two daughters — Sarah and Mary. 
 
 James Galespy, senior, had also two daughters. Of these, one married John 
 Westfield, one of the early emigrants from Virginia to Pedee. He lived on the 
 west side of the river above Cheraw. John \^'estfield, with his wife, subsequently 
 returned to Virgiaiia and died there. Westfield Creek, in Chesterfield District, 
 took its name from him. Obedience, the other daughter, married Thomas 
 Elerby, from whom a numerous progeny sprung. 
 
 f " Council Journal," No. 8, p. 97. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 63 
 
 tants came to settle, above four years past, one Daniel 
 James persuaded the Petitioner to remove peaceably from 
 that place by the run of water, and gave the Petitioner and 
 his family liberty to settle and cultivate any other vacant 
 land which he should find within the limits of the "Welch 
 Tract ; and did also himself get a special warrant for 250 
 acres of land, which is run out for the Petitioner and 
 returned : whereupon he begs for a grant for the same, 
 ha\dng lived ever since thereon, and now wants more land 
 in the same, or adjoining thereto, to cultivate and settle, his 
 family being increased to 20 and 2 persons, he having six 
 persons lately purchased or born, for which, as yet, he has 
 had no warrant. He therefore prays for a warrant of 
 survey for laying out 300 acres of vacant land, and a special 
 warrant of survey for running out 550 acres of vacant land 
 more, within the limits of the said Welch Ti'act, in the lieu 
 of his common warrant. Resolved : that the consideration 
 of the said Petition be deferred until the Petitioner appear 
 personally before the Board.'''' Mr. Elerby was doubtless 
 successful in the end, as he remained in that neighborhood 
 and became the owner of extensive landed possessions, a 
 large portion of which has remained in the family to the 
 present day.^ John Elerby, a brother of Thomas, came 
 Avith him to Pedee, and settled on the east side of the river. 
 He either returned to Virginia or removed elsewhere at an 
 early period. Thomas Elerby brought a good property with 
 him, and was probably the first slaveholder on the Upper 
 Pedee. Some years prior to the Revolution he had a large 
 number — at least for that day. This family emigrated from 
 England to Virginia. 
 
 The name is still known in England, and is spelt as it 
 appears in our early records. 
 
 Not long afterwards, however, as was often the case, it 
 was changed to its present form, Ellerbe.f Thomas Elerby, 
 
 * The mill site referred to in the petition of Thos. Elerby, was doubtless that 
 on Juniper Creek, of which some signs yet remain near the road leading from 
 Cheraw to Society Hill. 
 
 A grist and saw mill, at all events, were there, and in successful operation 
 some time before the Revolution. 
 
 •f This change, it is said, took place soon after Thos. Elerby's death, while 
 his two sons were yet young, and was made by their teacher, the name not 
 having yet become familiar. 
 
64 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 who married, as already stated, Obedience Gillespie, had two 
 sons, Thomas and William, from whom the extensive family 
 connexion on the Pedee have descended.* Of the Evans,* 
 who were among the Welch settlers, a branch of the family 
 went first, or soon after their arrival removed, to what is 
 now Marion District. From Thomas and Samuel Evans, 
 who were members of the Welch colony, the extensive con- 
 nexion in Darlington and Chesterfield Districts descended. 
 
 With the main body of the Welch, or soon after came 
 John Brown. He was born near Burlington, New Jersey, 
 and brought up at Frankfort, in the neighbourhood of Phila- 
 delphia. Mr. Brown was ordained May 7th, 1750, and 
 succeeded the Rev. Philip James in the charge of the Welch 
 Neck Church, but did not continue long in that position. 
 After this he continued to preach the gospel in different 
 places until his death. 
 
 It is supposed that he was its founder, and gave name 
 to the old Brownsville community, twenty miles lower 
 down on the east side of the river. 
 
 About the years 1738-39, Robert Williams, then a young 
 man, emigrated to Pedee. He was born at Northampton, 
 North Carolina, in 1717. Mr. Williams settled on the 
 west side of the river, opposite the lower part of the Welch 
 Neck, and became, eventually, the owner of a large landed 
 
 * The widow of Thomas Elerby married Charles Bedingfield (called Benny- 
 field by the old people), a man of some note, but of unprincipled character. 
 While his stepsons, William and Thomas Ellerbe, were yet young, he ran off 
 with all the moveable property to Georgia, the West of that period, leaving them 
 only the landed estate of their fother with which to make their way in the 
 world. This was before the Revolution, and the name of Bedingfield was not 
 known in this region afterwards. 
 
 The children of William Elerby were — Esther, who married Erasmus Powe ; 
 William F., who married Miss Ann Robinson (this lady subsequently married 
 Clement Prince) ; Elizabeth, who married Joseph Ellerbe ; Martha E., who 
 married Tliomas Powe ; Zachariah, who married Obedience Ellerbe ; and Thomas 
 F., who married Rebecca Ellerbe. 
 
 The children of Thomas Ellerbe were — William E., who married a Miss 
 Crawford ; James, who also married a Miss Crawford ; Thomas, who married 
 Miss Leslie Prince ; Jane, who married George Strother ; Joseph, who married 
 EUzabeth Ellerbe ; Mary, who married Alexander McQueen ; Rebecca, who 
 married John M'Farland ; and John Ellerbe, who married Martha Powe, and 
 afterwards Mary, her sister. Of these large families there is now not one 
 survivor. 
 
 William and Thomas Ellerbe were prominently connected with St. David's 
 Parish, aud worthy Whigs in the Revolution. 
 
HISTORY or THE OLD CHEllAWS. 65 
 
 estate in this neighbourliood, most of which has remained 
 in the family since. 
 
 In 1752, he was ordained at the Welch Neck, and be- 
 came the pastor of that Church, retaining the position, 
 however, but a short time afterwards. Robert Williams 
 had two children — a daughter, who married Arthur Hart, 
 and afterwards, Moses Murfec ; and a son, David Wil- 
 liams. The latter was born on Pedee, February 1st, 1739, 
 received his education in Charles-town, and after a brief but 
 amiable and useful career, died January 1st, 1776.* He 
 married a sister of Arthur Hart, and the fruits of this 
 marriage were two children — a daughter, Mary Ann,t and 
 a son, David Rogerson, who subsequently became distin- 
 guished as a member of Congress from the Pedee district, 
 and Governor of South Carolina. 
 
 Robert Williams died April 8th, 1788, and had the fol- 
 lowing character given him : '' He was kind to the poor, 
 and remarkably so to the afflicted ; a man of excellent 
 natural parts, and a minister Avho preached the gospel to 
 the edification and comfort of souls.^'J 
 
 Another name which appears among the grantees of 
 land in the Welch Neck, in 1743, was Nicholas Rogers. 
 He was one of the Welch settlers, and died in 1759. He 
 left a son, Benjamin,§ the father of the late Colonel Ben- 
 jamin Rogers, of Marlborough. 
 
 * The Rev. Evan Pugli officiated on the occasion of David Williams' funeral, 
 preaching fi-ora John xi. 11, 12. 
 
 t Mary Ann, daughter of David Williams, was born April 16th, 1772, and 
 married John M'lver. The fruits of this marriage were four sons — John E., 
 Alexander, David Rogerson Williams, and Thomas ; and one daughter, Eliza, 
 who married John Davis. Mrs. M'lver died November 18th, 1834, having 
 long survived her husband. 
 
 David Rogerson was born March 8th, 1776 ; and married, first, a Miss Powers, 
 of Providence, Rhode Island, by whom he had one child, the late Col. John 
 N. Williams, of Society Hill, a man of uncommon purity and excellence of 
 character. His second wife was Elizabeth Witherspoon, who survived him 
 many years. She was a lady of remarkable traits, and universally beloved. 
 
 General Williams, as he was afterwards known, was possessed of superior 
 talents and extraordinary energy of character. After an active and useful life, 
 both as a private citizen and public man, he came to his end November l7th, 
 1830, by the falling in of a bridge which he had had erected over Lynche's 
 Creek, on the George- town road. 
 
 X From a funeral discourse by Mr. Pugh, who performed the last rites for 
 the father as he had done for the son. 
 
 § Benjanun Rogers lived on tlie hill below Juniper, on what has since been 
 
 F 
 
06 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Allusion has l)ron made to the course pursued by the 
 AVelchj M'ith refercnee to others coming in among them. 
 The feeling was a natural one, and under the cireumstanees, 
 in such a chaotic state of society, when people of different 
 nations^ and many of them doubtless of bad character, 
 were flocking in as squatters and traders, not to be con- 
 demned. The subsequent history of their colony, strongly 
 and jiccnliarly nuirkcd as it Mas in all the elements of 
 substantial growth ami virtuous progress, will be found to 
 have fully justified their exclusive policy. They planted 
 themselves, in most instances, immediately on the river, 
 and made locations of lauds in small parcels. 
 
 The country being in a Avilderness state, their position 
 isolated, and their means limited, they selected such quan- 
 tities of land as suited their present necessities, influenced 
 also, to some extent, by the consideration of compactness, 
 which gratified their social propensities, and enabled them 
 besides to concentrate against the sudden incursions of the 
 Indians, by whom they were surrounded. Here, on a virgin 
 soil, they peacefully pursued their agricultural employ- 
 ments, being richly rewarded for the common toils and 
 hardships endured. 
 
 In their new and yet wilderness home, drawn together 
 more closely than by the common ties of friendship and of 
 blood, surrounded by common dangers, against which they 
 vig-ilantlv guarded, with common wants and necessities suf- 
 fieiently supplied, and meeting weekly around one conse- 
 crated altar to worship the God of their fathers, a more 
 perfect unity, or virtuous and manly life can scarcely be 
 conceived. 
 
 Such was the scene presented by this infant band of 
 brothers in the early days of their history ; with no court 
 
 tlio main mad loaiUnp from Choraw to Loiii^ Hluff. He was a man of much 
 excellence, and hii.hly esteemed — an ardent Whiir, l)ut too old to take an 
 active part in the Revolution. His name appears among the early records of 
 St. David's parish. His son, the late Colonel Benjamin Rogers of Marlborough, 
 was yet a mere youth in the Revolution ; but yielding to the impulses of his 
 nature, and contrary to the more prudent counsels of his father, drew his 
 sword on more than one occasion in the cause of liberty. 
 
 The sons of Col. Kogei-s arc among the worthy aud most respectable citizens 
 of Marlborousrh and Darlington districts. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 67 
 
 of justice in their midst to which conflicting claims and 
 angry disputes might be referred, and no frowning gaol for 
 the reception of the criminal. Nor were they needed. 
 Few contentions, probably, were known, and the voice of 
 society, though newly formed in this southern home, was 
 potent enough to silence the voice of the blasphemer and 
 make the evil-minded man pause in his ways. 
 
 Simplicity of character appears to have been one of the 
 most marked traits of this people — a virtue which has been 
 transmitted, through succeeding times, to their descendants. 
 They were open and sincere, making no profession of feel- 
 ing which did not exist. 
 
 For sobriety and moderation, also, with what was more 
 essential as the foundation of all virtue, a deep religious 
 feeling, they were distinguished. These virtues were strongly 
 impressed upon the community they established, presenting 
 in subsequent times a striking contrast to some other 
 neighbourhoods on the Pedee, where dissipation and irre- 
 ligion so much prevailed. The Welch brought with them 
 to a new country those marked features for which their 
 ancestors had been noted long before. The Welch are 
 said to have been more jealous of their liberties than even 
 the English, and far more irascible, though their jealousy 
 soon abated. They were, from an early period, fond of car- 
 rying back their pedigrees to the most remote antiquity, 
 and some of their manuscripts they make to be coeval with 
 the Incarnation.^ 
 
 But few relicsf remain among the descendants of the 
 early Welch settlers on the Pedee. 
 
 Intermingled, as they subsequently became with other 
 races, their national peculiarities, except in a few instances 
 of striking constitutional descent, gradually disappeared. 
 
 And of their names, as connected with the localities they 
 inhabited, but a memorial is here and there left to tell of 
 the first cultivators of the soil. 
 
 * Guthrie, p. 39. 
 •|- There is now, in the possession of a family descended from the Welch, and 
 living in the neighbourhood of their first settlement, a Welch Bible, of the 
 edition of 1676, which is supposed to have belonged to tlie leader of the colony, 
 as it contains a record of the births, marriages, and deaths of the James 
 family. 
 
 F 2 
 
()8 HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIEKAWS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Scttlcinciils lower down on the river — One of the first comers — His family — 
 History of the colony in l^ritton's Neck — The families composing- it — Their 
 history — The churcli huihling — Its subsequent history — The settlement at 
 Sftiuly Bluff — The locality — Their church buililing — Accounts of the mem- 
 bers of this connnunity and their descendants — Incidents connected with 
 dill'erent individuals — Irish Protestants — Who they were — Irish-town — 
 Its locality — Other settlers in this region — Their history — Close of this 
 period. 
 
 About tlic time of the Welch emigration to Pedee^ settle- 
 ments were made lower down the river in what was after- 
 ward Liberty Precinct, now jNIarion District. John God- 
 bold was among the first who came to this region. 
 
 He was an Englishman, and had been long a sailor in the 
 l^ritish service. Thongh advanced in years at the time of 
 his arrival, snch was his enterprising energy, that he suc- 
 ceeded in accumulating what, for that day, was a large 
 property. 
 
 He settled in 1735 about a half mile below the site of 
 the present village of !Marion, being the lirst adventurer to 
 that immediate locality. 
 
 The most profitable business at that time was stock 
 raising, Chai'les-town^ aflbrding a good mai'ket for all the 
 industrious settlers could carry thither. Diiring the French 
 and Indian wars, ^Mr. CJodbold was plundered of almost all 
 the personal property he had gathered. Of thirty negroes, 
 twenty-two were taken from him and never recovered. A 
 trunk of guineas, the fruits of many years' labour, was 
 rifled. 
 
 He married, after his arrival on Pedee, Elizabeth M'Gur- 
 ney, by whom he had three sous — John, James, and Thomas ; 
 and two daughters — Elizabeth and Anne ; from whom the 
 extensive connexion in Marion have descended. t 
 
 * ^lany of the early settlei-s drove their stock as far as Philadelphia, 
 •j- Of his sons, John, the eldest, married Priscilla Jones, and had three sons 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEllAWS. G9 
 
 John Godbold was a member of the Church of England, 
 and died in 17G5, at the advanced age of more than one 
 hundred years, in the faith of his fathers. About the time 
 John Godbold came to Pedec, two important settlements 
 were made in that region. One of these was in Britton's 
 Neck, twenty miles below Mars Bluff,* and forty miles above 
 George-town. 
 
 It was composed of the families of Britton, Graves, 
 Fladger, Davis, Tyler, Giles, and others. They came 
 directly from England, as one colony ; and being members 
 of the Established Church, one of their first acts was to 
 erect a housef for the worship of God. Their minister, 
 Dr. Robert Hunter, came with them, and is supposed to 
 have died there. He was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. 
 Allison. 
 
 — Z ichariiib, .John, and Jesse. Of these, ZiichariaVi was a captain in the Revo- 
 lution. 
 
 James, the second son, married Mourning Elizabeth Baker, by whom he had 
 six sons — lobn, James, Zacbariah, Cade, Abram, and Thom-is. Of these, John 
 and Zacbariab were lieutenants in the Revolution. Tbom-.is, the youngest son, 
 was the father of the late Hugh Godbold,* of Marion. 
 
 Thomas, the third son, married Martha Herron, and had four sons — Stephen, 
 David, Thomas, and Ely. Of these, Thomas was the father of Asa Godbold, of 
 Marion, and Ely, who left a son bearing his name. 
 
 * Mars Bluli" took its name from an early settler, Maers (pronounced Mars). 
 He left at an early period, and the name, except as marked by that locality, 
 disappeared with him. 
 
 t This building was of black cypress, with a brick foundation, and is still to 
 be seen, or was a few years since, in a good state of preservation, on the road 
 leading from Port's Ferry to Potatoe Ferry, on Little Pedee. About the year 
 1780, the congregation having been long without a minister, and doubtless very 
 much broken up by the troublous times of the Revolution, united with the 
 Methodists, and the building passed into the hands of the latter, by whom it 
 has since been retained. Charles Wesley is said to have once preached in it. 
 
 * To this gentleman, the late Hugh Godbold, the author was indebted for a 
 large and valuable fund of information as to the early settlements on the Pedee 
 and their subsequent history. To a memory of extraordinary tenacity (in 
 genealogical details unequt\lled by any with which the author has ever met) was 
 added a remarkable precision, and tender regard for truth, which gave his 
 statements high authority, and made him always a witness of importance in 
 (»urts of justice. He had, from early life, great fondness for everything con- 
 nected with the local history of the region of his nativity, and having bad inter- 
 course with many of the old people of the second generation of those who first 
 came to the Pedee, be collected a large fund of interesting matter, none of 
 which seems ever to have escaped him. A man of general intelligencu and 
 sterling traits of character, his real worth was appreciated by few of his con- 
 temporaries. He died in 1859. Peace to his ashes. 
 
70 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 The name of one of these families subsequently became 
 distinguished in the person of Colonel Hugh Giles^ who took a 
 prominent part in this region during the Revolution. He 
 was the son of Robert Giles. The other settlement referred 
 to was made at a point on the east bank of the river^ called 
 Sandy Bluff, '^ two and a half miles above Mars BluflP. A 
 few traces of it are yet to be seen at several points, imme- 
 diately on the high bank of the river. The families of 
 Crawford, Saunders, Murfee, Crosby, Keighly, Berry, and 
 shortly after the Gibson^s, made up this community. Sandy 
 Bluff extended up the river about three miles. With the 
 fertile uplands running out for some distance, and a rich 
 swamp on the opposite side, and supplied, too, with nume- 
 rous springs of good water, this locality was in many 
 respects admirably adapted to the wants of the infant 
 colony. 
 
 The chief drawback was its growing unhealthfulness, until 
 the long process was passed through, of clearing the lands and 
 draining the contiguous bottoms. These settlers built their 
 houses, as did the Welch above, immediately on the river, 
 and in close proximity to each other, for the convenience of 
 water, of social intercourse, and their mutual protection 
 against the Indian. It was also more healthy than loca- 
 tions further out from the river, as experience has proved. 
 
 They were from England and Ireland, and having landed 
 at Charles-town, found their way to George-town, and thence 
 up the river, attracted by the bounties which the Govern- 
 ment had offered. Like their neighbours in Britton's Neck, 
 they erected a building for public worship, according to 
 the rites of the Established Church. Faint traces of this 
 early structure were to be seen a few years since. The 
 bricks used for the foundation were brought up the river in 
 boats (the settlers thus transporting themselves and their 
 stores), and were of a most superior quality. 
 
 The Rev. Wm. Turbeville came with this colony, and 
 was their pastor. He was a well-educated man, and had a 
 high reputation as a preacher. 
 
 * The Wilmington and Manchester R. R. crosses immediately below this 
 point. 
 
HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 71 
 
 Eminent also for piety and devotion to his work^ lie 
 retained the confidence and affection of the people in an ex- 
 tensive region of the country, to the close of a long life. 
 One of the incidents related in connexion with him, is sin- 
 gularly illustrative of this feeling. Such was the general 
 conGdence in his piety and the efficacy of his prayers, that 
 he was sent for from considerable distances, during the 
 pressure of any general calamity, to make intercession to 
 God in behalf of the people. On one occasion, about the 
 year 1760, during the prevalence of a fearful drought, there 
 was a general meeting at Basses INIills to pray for rain. Mr. 
 Turbeville was sent for. He answered the summons, and 
 as tradition relates, before the sufferers had reached their 
 homes, the heavens were opened and copious rains came 
 down. Mr. Turbeville had no children. Several brothers 
 came with him, of whom some descendants are now to be 
 found in Marion. 
 
 He lived at Sandy Bluff until after the year 1 800, then 
 removed to the west side of the river, near Mars Bluff", 
 where he married a second time, and died about 1810, at 
 the advanced age of one hundred and three years.* 
 
 Of the settlers at Sandy Bluff, the Murfees, Saunders, 
 Gibsons, and Crawfords accumulated the largest properties, 
 and became most prominent. John Crawford, the first of 
 that name, had three sons — James, John, and Hardy. 
 
 James, the eldest of them, amassed a large fortune for 
 that day, and maintained through life a high character for 
 integrity. He was a captain in the Revolution, and a 
 valiant soldier in the cause of liberty, f 
 
 Of the Murfees J there were four brothers, Mosesj Malachi, 
 Maurice, and Michael. 
 
 * Mr. Turbeville was a poor man through life. It ia said that Win. 
 Allston, grandfather of Gov'. Allston, who lived at that time near the 
 Warhees (a few miles below Mars Bluff) complained to Mr. T. on one occasion 
 of his wearing such coarse garments. Mr. T. told him, he got but little for 
 pi'eaching, and could not afford to dress better. 
 
 Whereupon, Mr. Allston gave him a black siiit and silk gown, on condition 
 that he was not to use them except in preaching, and on other public oiRcial 
 occasions. 
 
 t He was the grandfather of the late Chapman Crawford, of Marion. 
 
 X Thus the name appears in the lirst records. It was afterwards changed 
 to its present spelling, Murphy. 
 
72 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 
 
 Of these, Malaclii'^ became the wealthiest. He is said to 
 have given one hnndred slaves to each of three sons. He 
 died before the Revolution. 
 
 Maurice had a son, bearing his name, who was destined 
 to occupy a prominent place in the subsequent history of 
 the Pedee. 
 
 Some notice of Michael Murfee appears in the records of 
 Council: — "At a Meeting, 13th Ap\ 1744, Avas read the 
 Petition of Michael Murfee, an Inhabitant of the Welch 
 Tract, shewing that about nine years ago, before the settling 
 of the Welch, he purchased part of a Warrant of one 
 Howard, since dead, for 300 acres of land in the Welch 
 Tract ; but the said Warrant for running out the same being 
 afterwards lost or mislaid, never was returned into the 
 Office ; notwithstanding which, he built a house on the same, 
 settled there, and made other considerable improvements, 
 and cleared above 400 acres thereof, and is well liked as a 
 neighbour by all the Welch Famylies _ there. That the 
 Petitioner, having since a considerable increase of fourteen 
 persons in his family, for whom he has not as yet obtained 
 any land, nor hath he any other land than as above said 
 within the said Province, Prays a warrant of survey for 
 seven hundred acres in a Tract or Tracts of vacant land, and 
 then the said Tract of land whereupon the Petitioner is 
 
 * His sons were James, Malachi, and Moses. James, tlie eldest, died 
 young, leaving three daughters, — Hannah, who married Moses Saunders, of 
 Darlington ; Catharine, who married Nicholas Bedgegood, and afterwards 
 J. B. Billingsby of Marlboro'; and Mary, who married Jordan Saunders. 
 Malachi, the second son, married first a Miss Knight, by whom he had two 
 sons, — and afterward, Mary Hicks. The fruits of this marriage were — 
 Nathanael, Maurice, James, Elizabeth, and Sally. Elizabeth married a Rawls, 
 and Sally married Wm. Johnson, of Sneedsboro, No. Ca. Malachi Murphy 
 was a captain in tlie Revolution, and was killed at Bass's Mill. 3Ioses, the 
 third son, married a daughter of Robei-t Williams. 
 
 Of the daughters of Malachi Murfee, sen., Elizabeth married Wm. Pegnes, 
 of Chesterfield ; another married the Rev. Nicholas Bedgegood, one of the 
 early pastors of the Welch Neck Church ; and Marcia married Claudius 
 Pegn(;s, of Marlborough. 
 
 Malachi Murfee, sen., married the widow of George Saunders. She was a 
 sister of Gideon Gibson. 
 
 A female descendant, living a few years since in the neighbourhood of the 
 original settlement, was the only representative left in that region, — such ai-c 
 the sad changes which time brings with it, causing the name of the most 
 extensive liimily connexion, in a few generations, to pass entirely away, leaving 
 scarce the memory of their former existence behind them. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 73 
 
 settled as above, or so much thereof as shall appear, upon a 
 re-survey, to be vacaut, to be part of the same, which land 
 is butting on or near Col. Pawley^s land, and to the west of 
 John Browu^s. 
 
 '^ The Petitioner appearing in person, and swearing to 
 the allegations of his said Petition, It was ordered, 
 that 500 acres of land only be granted him, and the 
 Secretary was accordingly ordered to prepare a warrant for 
 the same/' 
 
 The statement in the foregoing petition indicates a rapid 
 increase of slave property for that early period. John, 
 George, and William Saunders appear to have been the first 
 of that name. In a list of grants in the Surveyor- GeneraFs 
 Office (as to which notice was given to the parties to apply 
 for and take out their plots), appear the names of George 
 Saunders for 300 acres. May 24th, 1735 ; and John Saunders 
 for 200 acres, May 12, 1736. They came from England. 
 John Saunders had two sons, George and Thomas. George* 
 was the father of Nathanael Saunders, who became a man 
 of some note, and was the father of the late Moses and 
 Jordan Saunders, of Darlington. The sons of Thomas 
 Saunders removed at an early period to Tennessee. 
 
 Of the Gibsons, Gideon and Jordan were brothers. The 
 latter went to the West as a companion of Daniel Boone. 
 Gideon Gibsonf came with his father from Virginia to 
 Pedee. There is a public record of a grant to him for 550 
 acres of land as early as April, 1736. He settled at a place 
 calleQl Hickory Grove, five miles from Sandy Bluff, on a 
 large and fertile body of land, long after noted as the most 
 valuable in that region. 
 
 * George Saunders came to an untimely end, in connexion with which a 
 singular incident is related. He was engaged on a Sunday in cutting down a 
 bee tree, a cypress, in the swamp on the opposite side of the river. As the 
 cypress fell, the limb of an ash was broken off, and being thrown with violence 
 on the head of Saunders, killed him instantly. An ash afterwards came up at 
 the head of his grave and grew to a large tree, being regarded by the people as 
 a standing monument of the judgment sent upon him for the violation of the 
 Loi'd's Day, which led to his end. 
 
 It is but a few years since that the last vestige of this famous ash was to be 
 seen. Near the spot are faint traces of the burial ground of the Sandy Bluff 
 Settlement. 
 
 t He was the grand-uncle of the late Captain John Gibson, of Darlington. 
 
74 HISTORY OE THE OLD CHEUAWS. 
 
 He had three sons. Of these, Stephen^ became wealthy, 
 and removed to Georgia about the year 1800. Roger, 
 another son, removed to the West before the Revolution. 
 Gideon Gibson was a man of very marked character, of 
 commanding influence, and prominently connected with the 
 leading events of the region in which he lived. His death 
 took place during the Revolution, Of the circumstances 
 attending it some account will be given hereafter. 
 
 The settlement at Sandy Bluff was broken up at an early 
 period, though some traces of it are yet to be seen.f 
 
 The following extract from the Council Journal of 
 January 26th, 1737, is supposed to have related to a com- 
 pany of settlers on the west side of the river : — 
 
 " Read the Petition of several poor Irish Protestants, lately 
 come in, setting forth that they had transported themselves 
 and families into this Province, being induced thereto by 
 the encouragement of having lands granted to them in 
 Town-ships, which his Majesty has been graciously pleased to 
 order to poor Protestants, importing themselves into this 
 Province, and likewise the bounty of provisions, and there- 
 fore praying warrants of survey for the lands on either side 
 of the Town-ships on Pedee River, and provisions, &c., ac- 
 cording to the number of their families, as has been usually 
 given to other poor Protestants. Recommended the same 
 to the Commons House of Assembly. ''"'J 
 
 The townships referred to here as being on the Pedee, 
 were doubtless Queensborough and Kingston, the latter 
 being on the Waccamaw. Who the petitioners were is not 
 known. A notice of the first advertisement for the sale of 
 lands in this region may throw some light on the locality 
 of these poor Irish Protestants. This notice appeared in 
 the Gazette of June 1, 1738, in these words : '•' To be sold. 
 
 * The Hon. Thomas Butler King, formerly of Georgia, married a daughter 
 of Stephen Gihson. 
 
 t The author visited this interesting locality in company with the late Hugh 
 Godbold, who took great pleasure in pointing out different points of interest. 
 The visit was hurried and no careful examination made. 
 
 A more thorough exploration, particularly about the site of the old church , 
 would doubtless bring some interesting relics to light. Mr. Godbold had an 
 antiquarian taste, and an appreciation of the past which is seldom met with. 
 ;|: " Council Journal," No. 7, p. 37. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 75 
 
 a Tract of land^ of 100 acres; excellent good Land^ fronting 
 upon Pcdee River^ and back on Jeffrey^s Creek ; also, one 
 Tract of 500 acres, in Irish-town." Of tlie locality of Irish- 
 town, we are left to conjecture. It was probably on 
 Jeffrey^s Creek, and its inhabitants the Irish Protestants 
 referred to. 
 
 A few other names appear in the records of this region. 
 As early as 1735, Walter and Ralph Izard settled on the 
 east side of the river, not far below Mars Bluff. They 
 removed lower down a few years after. About the same 
 time (1735), a family of Jamesons made a settlement at 
 Little BluflP, in what is now Marion district. 
 
 In that, or the subsequent year, land was granted to a 
 Colonel Jameson. 
 
 Nathan Evans* was a Welchman, and settled on Cat 
 Fish. He either came from the Welch Neck above, soon 
 after his arrival there, or was one of those who went first 
 to the lower part of the Welch Tract, and remained there. 
 Lands in the neighbourhood of Tart^s Millf were granted to 
 Nathan Evans, 
 
 David Evans, a son of Nathan, was a captain in the 
 Revolution, and a man of note. He died childless. About 
 the same time, two families of James"* and Lucas^ came 
 down the river, and settled on Cat Fish. With the latter of 
 these, the Crawfords and Evans' intermarried. 
 
 Soon after, a family of Baker's came from Newbern, 
 N.C., to Pedee. One of this name married a daughter of 
 Nathan Evans. William Baker was prominent in the 
 Revolution, and marked for his devotion to the cause of 
 liberty. 
 
 The first settlements on Little Pedee were made a few 
 years later (about 1740) by emigrants from Virginia and 
 North Carolina — a lower class of people, many of whom 
 became noted for their opposition to the cause of their 
 country during its subsequent history. 
 
 The name of Buckholdt, known among the earliest set- 
 
 * Nathan Evans was the grandfather of the late Thomas Evans, and Gene- 
 ral Wm. Evans, of Marion. The father of General Evans was also named 
 Nathan, and was a man of upright character through life. 
 
 t Tart's Mill is about six niiks above Marion, C.H. 
 
76 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS.- 
 
 tlersj afterwards became prominent. Of this family were 
 Abraham^ Jacobs and Peter. They settled on Cat Fish and 
 in Cashway Neck. Major Abraham Biickholdt attained some 
 distinction. This family were from Prussia. They were 
 men of enterprise^ but of a roving disjDosition^ and left the 
 Pedee at an early period."^ 
 
 Thus closed the history of the first settlements on the 
 Pedee. They were made between the years 1734 and 1740, 
 the Welch element greatly preponderating. The river 
 afforded facilities for transportation, of which advantage 
 was taken. Stock raising was the most jjrofitable business, 
 and laid the foundation of fortunes, which rapidly in- 
 creased. The Indian gradually retreated; Providence 
 favoured the white man with good seasons and a fertile 
 soil ; and the tide of emigration thus begun, continued to 
 flow^ in, until the troubles with the mother country, long 
 gathering before the storm, at length burst upon the heads 
 of a devoted people, put a temporary period to its pro- 
 gress. 
 
 * Soou after the Revolution the name disappeared. About that time 
 Major Bucktioldt removed to Georgia, and subsequently to Mississippi, from 
 whence two of his grandsons found their way to Texas. They are the only 
 representatives of the name surviving, and are now respectable citizens of 
 Milam County, Texas — worthy descendants of a trfie Whig stock. 
 
 The only local trace of the name left in So. Ca. is in that of a Creek 
 (Buekholdt's), four miles below the village of Society Hill in Darlington 
 district. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 History of settlements continued — In neighbourliood of Welch Neck, above 
 and below on the river — Petitions of settlers — Tlieir fiimilies and descen- 
 dants — Certificates of character given — Battle of Culloden followed by tran- 
 sportation of rebels to America, and emigrations to Pedee — Valuable addi- 
 tions from this source — Settlers from No. Ca. — Huguenot element coming 
 in — Braddock's defeat (1755) followed by emigrations from Pennsylvania 
 and Virginia — Other settlers — Settlements on Lyche's Creek — Later addi- 
 tions — Continued to opening years of Revolution, 
 
 The history of the settlements on the Pedee has been 
 brought down through what may be termed its first period, 
 viz., from 1734 to 1740. During these years only occurred 
 the emigration of such bodies of persons to certain locali- 
 ties as could properly be termed colonies, as of the Welch 
 above, and the Irish and English lower down on the river. 
 There were also, as we have seen, individuals from different 
 ]"egions, who constituted valuable elements in the infant 
 communities. From 1740 to 1760 large and important 
 additions were made to the settlements, continuing, indeed, 
 until the threatening difficulties with the Mother Country 
 put a stop for the time to the increase of population from 
 abroad. 
 
 About the year 1740, came the family of Lide. There 
 were three brothers of this name — John, Thomas, and 
 Robert. They were of Welch origin, and came to Carolina, 
 from Roanoke, Virginia. After the emigration of this 
 family from Wales, the name was Anglicized, and assumed 
 eventually its present form. In Welch it was written 
 Llhuyd,* in subsequent records, Loyd, which spelling was 
 found in some branches of the family down to a compara- 
 tively recent period. 
 
 Of the three brothers who came to Pedee, John, the 
 eldest, left an only son, William, tlie father of John Wild 
 Lide (who removed to and died in Tennessee), and of the 
 late Mrs. Rebecca Punch, of Clieraw. 
 
 * MiU's "Statistics of S. C," p. 618. 
 
78 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Thomas, the second son, settled on the river, at Cheraw 
 Hill.^ He was educated in the Church of England, and 
 took an active part in the organization of St. David^s Parish, 
 having been a large contributor to the building of the 
 church and the pecuniary resources of the parish afterwards. 
 He married three times. By his fiist wife, who was a 
 Miss Kimbrough, he had an only child, a daughter, the 
 mother of the late Governor John Lyde Wilson, of So. 
 Ca. By his second wife, a Miss Foster, he had five sous — 
 John, Thomas, Charles Motte, Robert, and James ; also 
 a daughter. t Of these sons, Charles Motte was a man of 
 remarkable parts. His name will appear hereafter. Col. 
 Lide was a man of high character, and died in 1787, uni- 
 versally esteemed. 
 
 Robert, the youngest brother, was born on Roanoke, Va. 
 in 1734, and brought to Pedee, by a maternal uncle, Craw- 
 ford. He settled on the west side of the riverj above, and 
 afterwards near Cashway Ferry, § in what is now Darlington 
 district, and became the head of an extensive family con- 
 nexion. He was a prominent actor in the subsequent 
 history of that region, and took an influential part among 
 the Whigs of Pedee in the Revolution. He was at one 
 time a Major under INIarion. Robert Lide married first, 
 Sarah Kolb, by whom he had three sons — James, Hugh, and 
 Peter. He afterwards married Mrs. Fort, and subsequently 
 contracted a third marriage. || The second sou, the late 
 Hugh Lide, of Darlington, was a man remarkable for 
 
 * Colonel Lide, as he was afterwards kuown, settled on the plain, between 
 the site of St. David's Church and the river. He gave the land on which St. 
 David's Church was built. 
 
 He subsequently became a prominent and influential Baptist, and donated 
 the ground on which the first Baptist Church, at Cheravv Hill, was erected. 
 This was between St. David's Church and the river, on the old road as it came 
 up from the ferry. 
 
 Of the original deed, executed in 1785, the author has a copy. 
 
 t This lady became Mrs. Twitty, and afterwards Mrs. Burn. 
 
 J The lands first settled by Major Lide, were in that large bend of the river 
 below Sugar Loaf (a well-known point on Pedee), afterwards the property of 
 the Saunders', and subsequently belonging to the late Colonel Bright William- 
 son, of Darlington. 
 
 § This ferry took its name from having been called by one of the first owners 
 of it, " Cash-way," meaning that all persons who crossed were to pay cash. 
 
 II The fruits of this marriage were the late Mrs. James Lide, Mrs. Cyms 
 
HISTORY or THE OLD CHERAWS. 79 
 
 strength of character and solidity of understanding ; of re- 
 tiring disposition^ however, he sought not publicity, and 
 passed away, after a useful life, little known beyond the 
 limits of his native district. 
 
 The name of Baxter appeared on the Pedee as early as 
 1740. About this time lands were granted to James 
 Baxter on the west side of the river, on Poke Swamp, in 
 what is now Marion district. He was probably the father 
 of Colonel John Baxter, a man of note in civil and military 
 life in that region. 
 
 After the Revolution the family moved lower down the 
 river. 
 
 In September, 1743, 400 acres of land in the Welch 
 Tract were granted to John Luke. The name continued to 
 be known many years after on Pedee. 
 
 About this period William Colt and Abraham Colson 
 settled on the east side of the river, below the Welch Neck. 
 The name of Colson was long known, while that of Colt 
 disappeared not many years afterward. 
 
 In 1744, John Wilks obtained a grant for 748 acres of 
 land in Craven county. He was the ancestor of a worthy 
 family, whose descendants are yet found in Darlington and 
 Chesterfield districts. From 1747 onwards, the influx of 
 population was more rapid, and continued to increase. In 
 the latter part of the year previous came George Hicks, 
 from Virginia. The family was of English descent. Being 
 a man of means and influence, Mr. Hicks induced a number 
 of his own relatiA^es and others also to come with him. He 
 became the head of a large connexion on the Pedee. The 
 flrst record of his name is in a grant for land, in the 
 Welch Tract, January 22nd, 1747. He had probably made 
 a visit the year before. On the 18tli of November, 1747, 
 as appears from the records of Council, " was j^resented 
 the humble Petition of George Hicks ; setting forth, that 
 
 Bacot, ami Mrs. James Pugli, of Darlington ; also John W. Lide, and Hannah, 
 who married Thi)mas Hart. 
 
 After her husband's death, Mrs. Lide married a Mr. HoUoway, of whom the 
 late Jesse Holloway, of Darlington, was a son, a man of unassuming parts, but 
 esteemed by all who knew him for his purity and excellence of character. 
 
80 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 he lately arrived from Virginia, witli a family consisting of 
 nine whites and eleven blacks ; that he is willing to settle 
 and cultivate a part of his Majesty's lands, — Praying, that 
 he may obtain grants in proportion to the said numbers ; 
 and being informed that a tract of land, containing 4,000 
 acres, was surveyed in the Welch Tract for James Griffith, 
 by virtue of a warrant, dated December 6th, 1745, requiring 
 the same to be returned into the Secretary's Office for a 
 grant in 13 months, a Plot of which has passed the 
 Surveyor-Generars Office above a year ago, but no return 
 made thereof into the Secretary's Office ; and the said 
 Griffith having some time ago left this Province, and as has 
 been reported, and is generally believed, has since come to 
 an untimely end. Wherefore, the Petitioner prays his 
 Excellency & Hon% to direct the Surveyor- General to cer- 
 tify the said Plot in his name, and that he may obtain a 
 grant thereof, though previously certified by him for the said 
 Griffith ; and also that the said Surveyor-General may be 
 directed to certify for the Petitioner two Tracts of land in 
 the Welch Tract, — one containing 200 acres, the other 100 
 acres, — surveyed for James Jones, by virtue of a Warrant, 
 dated February 12th, 1745, requiring a return into the Secre- 
 tary's Office in 1 2 months ; which said Plots were returned 
 into the Surveyor- General's Office, March 9th, 1746, where 
 they now lie, no application having been made for the same. 
 Your Petitioner further prays, that, in your order to the 
 Surveyor, you may direct him to admeasure and lay out 
 300 acres of land in the Welch Tract, being in the whole 
 1000 acres. 
 
 " Upon examining the said Petition, and enquiring into 
 his Family right, it appearing that three in whose right he 
 had petitioned were not of his own family, being his Sister's 
 children, and the third, his Overseer, it was Ordered, that 
 the Surveyor-Gen' do certify the Plots prayed for in the 
 name of the Petitioner, and that 150 acres may also be 
 surveyed for him in the Welch Tract," 
 
 Having thus secured a sul^stautial landed estate, George 
 Hicks began a successful career, and amassed a large for- 
 tune. He married a widow, Mrs. Sarah Gardiner (a 
 daughter of the Rev. Philip James, first pastor of the 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 81 
 
 Welch Neck Cliurcli), and raised a large family, from whom 
 a numerous progeny sprang. 
 
 Mrs. Gardiner, at the time of her marriage with Mr. 
 Hicks, had a daughter, Sarah, who became the second wife 
 of William Pegnes, of Chesteriield. The fiaiits of her 
 marriage with Mr. Hicks were five daughters and two sous. 
 Of the latter, Benjamin died young ; George married a 
 Miss Hicks, and moved at an early period to the West. 
 The daughters'^ were Mary, Elizabeth, Nancy, Lucy, and 
 Charlotte. Colonel Hicks, as he Avas afterwards known, 
 was a man of high character and extensive influence. His 
 name will frequently appear in connexion with St. David^s 
 parish, and the opening scenes of the Revolution. 
 
 Of those who are known to have emigrated to the Pedee 
 with Colonel Hicks, was a brother, William. He had three 
 sons — Charles, Benjamin, and Daniel. 
 
 Daniel Hicks lived in Bichmond County, N.C., near the 
 State line, and was an active Whig in the Revolution. His 
 family, after his death, removed to Georgia. The family of 
 Benjamin Hicks also left Carolina at an early period. 
 
 In the year 1747, other names appear as grantees of 
 land in the Welch Tract. Among these were John 
 Powell, Alexander Staples, John Singleton, and Edward 
 Boyakin. 
 
 In March, 1748, John Purvis petitioned Council for 150 
 acres of land on Thompson's Creek, f Pedee River, stating 
 
 * Mary married Malachi Murphy, and had several children, of whom aecomit 
 has been given. 
 
 Elizabeth married a cousin, Benjamin Hicks, who removed to the West. 
 
 Nancy married Thomas Godfrey. The children of this mairiage were Sophia, 
 Harriet (afterwards Mrs. Samuel Gillespie), Mary (Mrs. Saunders), Ehzabeth, 
 William, Samuel, Wilson, George, Richard, and Thomas. 
 
 Lucy mai'ried George Strother, and was the mother of Elizabeth (who married 
 Robert Gregg), Mary (afterwards Mrs, Deer), Harriet (Mrs. Broucjhton), and a 
 son, George. Charlotte, the youngest daughter, mirricd John Wilson. 
 
 Of this marriage the sons, Benjamin and George, died young. The daughters 
 were Eleanor, afterwards Mrs. James A. Harrington ; Sarah J., who married 
 Oliver H. KoUock ; and Anne, who became the wife of James A. Hart. Of 
 this large number, but few survive. And such have been the changes of time, 
 that not one of the name of Hicks is now known on the Pedee, though there 
 are many descendants. 
 
 ■f The descendants of John Purvis, as has not very often been the case in this 
 country of change, have continued in possession, as is supposed, of the land first 
 granted, and remain there, some of them at least, to the present day. 
 
 O 
 
82 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 that lie had a wife and one child ; that he came from Vir- 
 ginia the year previous, and had no land assigned him. His 
 petition was granted. 
 
 About the same time was presented the petition of John 
 Rushing, stating that he came from Virginia with a wife 
 and one child, and had made a settlement in the Welch 
 Tract on Thompson's Creek. A grant of 150 acres was 
 made to him. 
 
 In 1749, Joshua Edwards emigrated to the Pedee. He 
 was born in Pembrokeshire, South Wales, February 11th, 
 1703-4, and removed before his maturity to Pennsylvania, 
 or the Welch Tract in Delaware, as it afterwards became. 
 Here he remained about thirty years before following his 
 countrymen to Carolina. He petitioned for land in 1751, 
 stating that he was a settler in this Province, having come 
 nearly two years since from Philadelphia, and that he had a 
 wife and one child. His petition was granted. By his first 
 wife, Joshua Edwards had two soos,^ Thomas and Abel, and 
 two daughters, Rachel and Phoebe. By his second wife, 
 three sons,t Henry,Elijah, and John, and one daughter, Mary. 
 
 Joshua Edwards was ordained in 1751, and became the 
 third pastor of the Welsh Neck Church. This connexion 
 ceased after six years. He then took charge of the Mount 
 Pleasant congregation, near Cashway Eerry, an ofF-shoot 
 from the Welch Neck Church ; and, resigning this, con- 
 tinued his work on Little Pedee, where he remained until 
 1768. Mr. Edwards was a man of ardent piety and great 
 purity of character. He lived to see of his posterity eighty- 
 two, and died August 32nd, 1784.| 
 
 * Thomas, the first son, married Sarah Roblyn, the fruit of which marriage 
 was but one child, Joshua Edwards, jun. Abel, the second son, married Sarah 
 Harry; and afterward Sarah Douthel (Dousnol, as it appears in the earliest 
 records). His children were Catharine, who married Thrashley Chapman ; 
 Edward, who married Mary Dewitt ; and Sarah, who married John McDonald. 
 
 Rachel, the elder daughter, married Roderic Mclver. Phoebe, the younger 
 dauo'hter, married Josiah Evans. Abel Edwards lived on the north side of 
 Cedar Creek, near the crossing of the Cheraw and Darlington R.R. 
 
 + Of the sons of Joshua Edwards by his second marriage, John married 
 
 Elizabeth Bevil, Henry married Elizabeth Oliver, Elijah , and Mary, 
 
 the daughter, John Rodgers. Henry Edwards is remembered by some persons 
 of the present day as an old revolutionary soldier. He was a man of stout 
 frame, and told of many a hard-fought battle through which he had passed. 
 
 J Wood Furman's " History of Charleston Association," pp. 70, Vl. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 83 
 
 Abel, his second son, was a useful man, and a liigldy- 
 esteemed member and deacon of the Welch Neck Church. 
 He died in 1793. His son, the late Major Edward Edwards, 
 of Chesterfield district, was the father of a large family, of 
 which there are many descendants. Tbomas Edwards re- 
 ceived his education at the North. He died in Charles- 
 town at an early age, January 1st, 1776. 
 
 In 1751, a name appeared for tbe first time in the history 
 of settlements on the Pedee, which was destined to become 
 distinguished in its future history. On the 2nd of April of 
 that year, Henry Kolb petitioned Council for land, in or 
 near the Welch Tract; stating that he was a settler in the 
 same, with three in family, himself and two negroes, and 
 that he was willing to cultivate the soil. He obtained a 
 grant for 150 acres. Two years later, Peter Kolb also 
 petitioned for land, stating that he had for some years been 
 a settler in the Welch Tract ; also Jacob Kolb, who ap- 
 peared, from his petition, to have had then a plantation on 
 the Pedee. He asked for more land. Martin Kolb was 
 another settler of the name. They came from Pennsylvania. 
 Peter Kolb married Ann, the eldest daughter of the Rev. 
 Philip James. The fruits of this marriage were five chil- 
 dren — Abel,* who became so distinguished, married Sarah 
 James ; Ann James, who married Joshua Edwards jf Han- 
 nah, who married Joseph Dabbs;J Benjamin,§ who married 
 Elizabeth Murphy; aiid^Sarab^wIm luarried Evander M'Iver.|| 
 
 * Tlie fruits of this marriage were Ann, who married the late Major James 
 Pouncey, of Marlborough, of venerable memory, from whom a large connexion 
 have descended ; Sarah, who married first Benjamin David, and afterward 
 Philip Pledger ; and a son, James, who died young. 
 
 t Joshua, the grandson of Rev. Joshua Edwards, had four children— Sarah, 
 who married James Hart, and afterwards .John Mcintosh ; Thomas, who died 
 at manhood ; Peter, who married Jame Draughton ; and Ann James, who 
 married John Kirven, and afterwards Daniel Dubose. 
 
 X The children of Joseph Dabbs were — Nancy, who married Benjamin 
 Williams ; Samuel, who married Sarah Grove ; and William, who married 
 Martha Elison. 
 
 § The children of this marriage were — Nancy, who married David Arclier ; 
 Harriet, who married James Holloway ; Abel, who married a Miss Meigs; 
 Sarah, who remained single; Betsey, wlio married a Mr. Mctjuirt; and Mary, 
 who married Thomas Meigs. 
 
 II Evander Mclver had ten children — Catharine, who married Samuel Ev;ins ; 
 Nancy J., who remained single ; Rachel, who married Jesse Holloway ^jLuUj" 
 Kolb, who married Sarah Marshall; Evander, who married Eliza Cowan -Abel, 
 
 ' G 2 .. 
 
84 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 The late Jehu Kolb, of Darlington, was a collateral relative 
 of Abel Kolb,* probably the grandson of one of the first 
 settlers of the name already mentioned. He was a man of 
 unassuming character and retiring virtues, but bold and 
 fearless when occasion demanded. He rendered effective 
 service in the Revolution, carrying the marks of serious in- 
 juries received to his grave, and died some years since, uni- 
 versally respected. 
 
 In May, 1751, Anthony Pouncey obtained a grant for 
 land in the Welch Tract. He petitioned for and obtained 
 a grant for 800 acres on the Wateree, April 6th, 1749, 
 where he probably settled first. In this petition he stated 
 that he had a wife, six children, and eight slaves. The name 
 of William Pouncey appears about the same time. The 
 former was probably the father of Williamf and Roger. J 
 
 In 1751, the name of John Todd appears as a grantee of 
 
 who married Ann Chapman, and subsequently Eachel Love ; Peter Kolb, who 
 married Elizabeth Chapman, and afterwards Mrs. Maria Nettles ; Thomas A., 
 who married Nancy Howard, of Alabama ; Eliza, who married Thomas Griffin; 
 and Mary Ann Williams, who married Horatio Cannon. 
 
 Mrs. Joshua Edwards, who survived her husband, married Enoch Evans. The 
 fruits of this marriage were six children — Margaret James, who married William 
 Kirven ; Thomas, who married Mary Brooks ; John, who married Mary Craig ; 
 Hannah Kolb, who married John F. Wilson ; Enoch, who married Ann Pegnes ; 
 and Benjamin, who died at an early age. 
 
 * Through his wife Abel Kolb became possessed of the plantation at the 
 public ferry (Sparks') near Society Hill. His residence was a two-story brick 
 building, immediately on the east bank of the river, a short distance above the 
 ferry. The cellar-walls of this dwelling were brought to view a few years 
 since by a freshet in the river breaking over the embankment, and interesting 
 relics were obtained. 
 
 f William Pouncey died when quite young, leaving one son, the late Major 
 James Pouncey — and a daughter, who married Alexander Peterkin, the father 
 of Jesse and James Peterkin of Marlborough, well known to the present 
 generation in that district. Major Pouncey married Ann Kolb, and reared a 
 large family. His sons were William, who married Sarah Sparks; James, 
 who married, first, Mary Pledger, and afterward, Mary Forniss ; John A., who 
 married Miss Armstrong, of N. C. ; and Peter A. K., who married Miss Ade- 
 laide Hodge. 
 
 His daughters were Sarah, who married U. M. Crosland; 
 
 Mary, „ Dr. Robert S. Thomas ; 
 
 Eliza, „ Win. Crosland ; 
 
 Ann Jane, „ John Smith, of N. C. 
 
 J Roger Pouncey had two sous — Anthony and William — and three daugh- 
 ters — Mary, Lucy, and Delilah. 
 
 Anthony Pouncey died in Marlborough early in the present century. His 
 wido^ afterwards married, and removed with her family to the West. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 85 
 
 land on Pedee. This name continued to be known long 
 after in Chesterfield District. 
 
 In ] 752, an important addition was made to the settle- 
 ment above the Welcli Neck, on the east side of the ri^^er. 
 Philip Pledger came from Virginia during that year, on a 
 visit to the Pedee, as appears from the following certi- 
 ficate : — 
 
 '' Amelia County : I, Charles Irby, one of bis Majesty's 
 Justices of the Peace of the said County, do bereby certify, 
 that the Bearer, Philip Pledger, is and has been an Inhabi- 
 tant of this County 12 years, and behaved well, and has 
 published his intention of travelling into Carolina, There- 
 fore I desire all Persons to permit the said Philip Pledger to 
 pass and repass upon his lawful affairs, as he may have oc- 
 casion. Given under my hand and seal, this 17tb of March, 
 1 752. " Chakles Irby." 
 
 This interesting relic* indicates how closely the traveller 
 was watched, and the importance attached to character at a 
 time when any new comer was closely scrutinized by those 
 among whom he was to settle. Having selected a valuable 
 body of land on Pedee, Mr. Pledger returned for his family, 
 with whom he also brought back other emigrants. Among 
 these was a family of Councill, closely connected with the 
 Pledgers ; and afterwards numerous, but which, in name at 
 least, has long since disappeared. Philip Pledger married 
 a Miss Ellis, of Va. He had two sons, Joseph and John, 
 and two daughters ; one of these married James Hicks, the 
 other married, first, a Councill, and afterward Wm. Ter- 
 rill, a son of one of the Welch settlers. Joseph and John 
 were old enough to take part with their father in the Revo- 
 lution. Philip Pledger, though advanced in years when 
 the war commenced, was active notwithstanding, and ren- 
 dered efficient service. In 1754 he received a commission 
 
 * This document was found at the house of Philip Pledger, Esq., of Marl- 
 borough, a great-grandson of the first settler. 
 
 He resides at the old family seat on the lands originally purchased, and which 
 have remained in the family ever since. Here the author found the largest 
 and most valuable collection of early manuscript matter anywhere met with, 
 to which Mr. Pledger kindly gave him free access to use as he might desire. 
 
86 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 as Captain of Militia in his Majesty's service. Capt. Pledger 
 was a man of high character and generous traits. Possessed 
 of large means^ he was able as he was willing to contribute 
 to the public welfare. 
 
 In the beginning of the troubles with the Mother Country 
 he received the highest marks of confidence from his fellow- 
 citizensj and faithfully discharged the important trusts com- 
 mitted to him. He died at an advanced age. 
 
 About this time, valuable additions were made to the 
 settlements on Little Pedee in the upper part of what is 
 now Marion District. Among these were the Betheas, of 
 whom William Bethea was one of the first and most promi- 
 nent. He was an active Whig. A large and respectable 
 connexion of this name are yet found in Marion. Another 
 settler at this period, still lower down on the Pedee, was 
 Jacob Grice. He came from North Carolina. The family 
 has been well known in Marion. 
 
 In 1752, the name of Gregg first appeared on the Pedee. 
 This family was of Scottish origin. Not long after the time 
 of Cromwell a part, if not all of them, removed fi'om the 
 North of Scotland to Londonderry, Ireland, from whence 
 the emigration to America took place. On 3rd July, 1752, 
 John Gregg petitioned Council, stating, that he was desirous 
 of settling himself and family in this Province — that his 
 family consisted of himself and wife, one Dutch servant, and 
 five negroes, for whom no grant had been obtained, — and 
 that he was desirous of getting two plots of 500 acres each, 
 which had been surveyed for Mr. John Atkins about 1735- 
 36, and were still lying in the Surveyor-GeneraFs ofiice. 
 He obtained grants for 1350 acres. At the same time Dr. 
 John Gregg"^ petitioned for land lower down, in the fork of 
 Black River and Pedee. 
 
 With John Gregg came a brother, Joseph. They were 
 known, as were many others who came to the Province 
 about the same time, as Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. Such 
 was the Colony in Williamsburg. From these brothers, 
 John and Joseph, descended the large connexion of the 
 
 * Dr. John Gregg was probably a near relative of John and Joseph, but of 
 his subsequent history nothing is known. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 87 
 
 name, most numerously represented in Marion. Branches 
 of the family settled also in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, 
 and Virginia. 
 
 The children^ of John Gregg and Eleanor, his wife, were 
 James, John, Margaret, Robert, Mary, William, and Jennet. 
 James, the eldest, married Mary Wilson, of the Presbyte- 
 rian Colony in Williamsburg, and reared a large family. 
 James Gregg lived on the west side of the river, on Poke 
 Swamp. He was a captain in the_Revolution, and with 
 his brothers, who were of age, rendered efficient service in 
 the cause of liberty. Joseph Gregg was also the father of 
 a large family.f He was a brave and valiant Whig. John 
 Gregg died about the latter part of the year 177^,- having 
 lived long enough to see the beginning of the troubles that 
 were to come upon his children. 
 
 In Nov. 1753, John Stubbs obtained a grant for lands on 
 Cat Fish. He was probably the ancestor of the large con- 
 nexion of that name, since known in Marlborough District. 
 
 The battle of Cvilloden, which occurred in April 1746, led 
 to the removal of many families to America. Among those 
 who were ranked as rebels in that conflict and afterward, 
 were several names which appeared about this time on the 
 Pedee. Of these were M^Iver, Mcintosh, and Cusack. 
 
 The accounts of the battle were received in Charles-town, 
 and published in the July following. 
 
 * The children of James Gregg, were Jeijnefc, who married James Hudson ; 
 Mary, who married Adam Marshdl : Sarali, Vho married a Mr. Jones, and re- 
 moved to the west at an early period ; Margaret, who married Samuel Hall, of 
 No. Ca. ; John, who married his cousin, Je'Jinet Qregg ;- David, who married 
 Athalinda Brocky ; James, who married -Cornelia M-axcyj Ehzabeth, who married 
 W. Davidson Hall, of No. Ca. ; and Elias, who never married. 
 
 John Gregg married Eleanor McKnight, and had ten children — Jane, John, 
 Alexander, Jennet, William, Samuel, James, Margaret, Robert, and Elizabeth. 
 
 Margaret married a Mr. Scott. The fruits of this marriage were six cliildreu 
 — Elizabeth, Rebecca, Mary, Samuel, John, alnd William. 
 
 Robert had but one child, a daughter. 
 
 Mary married Mr. Askins, and had four children — Samuel, John, Robert, 
 and William. 
 
 William was the father of nine children — Robert James, William Gordon, 
 Eliza, Gadsden, Levi, Wilds, Boyd, William, and Susannah. 
 
 Jennet married Mr. Bingham, and had several children. 
 
 t The children of Joseph Gregg were Alexander, Robert, Joseph, Jennet, 
 Mary, Margaret, and Sarah. The descendants of most of these remain in 
 Marion. 
 
88 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Among the ladies in custody, the Laird of M'lntosh^s 
 wife is mentioned, and Col. and Ensign M'Intosh were 
 among the rebel officers slain. The names of Cusack and 
 Murphy were among the prisoners. 
 
 A correspondent of the Charles-town Gazette, writing 
 from London, May 10, said, " we are assured that his 
 Majesty has been pleased to order such of the Rebel private 
 men as his Royal Highness shall think proper objects of 
 his clemency, to be transported to some of his Majesty's 
 American Colonies." 
 
 Soon after this his Majesty's Council in this Province 
 congratulated his Excellency, the Governor, on the glorious 
 defeat of the rebels at Culloden. To some of these rebels 
 and their children America was afterwards largely indebted 
 for valiant services in the cause of freedom. 
 
 In 1756 the names of M'lver and M'Intosh appear 
 among our early records. In this year Sarah M'lver was 
 a grantee of land on Lynches Creek. Roderick M'lver was 
 one of the first of this family. He came directly from 
 Scotland. His first wife was Anne Rogerson. Soon after 
 his arrival he married Rachel, daughter of Rev. Joshua 
 Edwards, and had three children, Evander, John E., and 
 Catharine. Evander M'lver married Sarah Kolb, as already 
 related, from whom a large family have descended. He 
 was long and prominently connected with the Welch Neck 
 Church. John E. married Mary Anne Williams."^ Catharine 
 married first Josiah Evans, . and aftterwards the Rev. Edmond 
 Botsford,t a Baptist Minister of high standing and great 
 excellence. Roderick M'lver died in March, 1768; of that 
 branch of the family (if they were connected) represented 
 by Sarah M'lver, nothing is known. 
 
 In the year 1756 John M'Intosh obtained a grant for 
 land on Black River. He probably came soon after to the 
 
 * The fruits of this marriage were John E., who died at manhood ; Ann 
 Eliza, who married Jolm W. Davis ; Catharine, who died in infancy ; David 
 Rogerson AVilhams, who married Caroline Wilds, and afterwards Martha E. 
 Grant; Thomas E., who married EHza iVMntosh, and suhsequently Sarah Bacot ; 
 and Alexander, who married Mary Haiiford. 
 
 t Mr. Botsford's second wife was Catharine Evans, by whom he had one 
 child, Catharine, who married Moses Fort. He contracted afterwards a third 
 and fourth marriage. The children by his first marriage died in infancy. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 89 
 
 neigliborhood of the Welch Neck, on Pedee. John and 
 Alexander, two brothers, were the first of this name. John, 
 the elder of the two, settled about two miles below Long 
 Bluff, on the west side of the river.* He married a 
 Miss Mikell, and had five sonsf — Alexander, John, Loch- 
 lin, William, and James. John M'Intosh died in 177 4>. 
 
 The name, in only two branches of his family, is now 
 represented on the Pedee. 
 
 Alexander, the younger brother, settled on the east side 
 of the river, a few miles below Long BluflF, in the Welch 
 Keck. He married a Miss^James, and had three children J ^^ 
 — Catharine, John, and Eleanor. 
 
 Acquiring probably a good property by his marriage, he 
 subsequently amassed a large fortune, and was prominently 
 connected with the history of the Pedee in civil and military 
 affairs. He was of handsome and commanding person, and 
 possessed of a better education than was common in that 
 day. His name will often appear in the following pages. 
 He is said to bave been the first of the early planters Avho 
 brought the native African to this region. 
 
 The family of Mikell came about this time to Pedee. 
 There were two brothers, John and William, and a sister. 
 The latter, as has been stated, married John M'Intosh. 
 John, the elder brother, settled on the west side of the river, 
 a few miles above Long Bluff.§ He became a Major in the 
 
 * On tlie public highway, leading to George-town, just above Cock -run (a 
 small swainp stream), where the traces of an ancient settlement are still to be 
 seen. 
 
 t Of these Alexander, the eldest son, well known afterwards as Captain 
 M'lntosh, served actively in the Revolution. John, the second son, married 
 a Miss Mikell, and died early : Locldin, a Miss' Vereen, near George-town; 
 William, a Miss Mikell, daughter of John Mikell (the late Mrs. F. C. Watson, 
 of Chesterfield, was a child of this marriage) ; James, the youngest son, married 
 a Miss Lucas, and was the father of the late J times H. M'Intosh, of Society Hill. 
 The father died early. His widow, a lady of advanced years, died in 1862. She 
 was one of the few links left connecting the present v. ith that generation. 
 
 X Catharine married, and moved away at an early period. 
 
 John married, and died prematurely, leavirg two children — Alexander and 
 Eleanor. The latter became the wife of Alexander Norwood, formerly of Dar- 
 lington. 
 
 Eleanor M'Intosh married a Mr. Bembridge, who removed to Maryland. 
 
 § This was on the first sand hill, near the river swamp, at what has in 
 later years been known as the Falconer-place, on the old road from Cheraw 
 HiU to Long Bluff. 
 
90 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Revolution^ and was a man of decided character and in- 
 fluence. William, the younger brother, was killed by the 
 Tories. 
 
 These settlers soon became thoroughly identified with 
 the Welch. Intermarriages speedily took place, and re- 
 ligious differences were eventually laid aside for the bonds 
 of a common faith, which were long after to unite them. 
 The M'IntosVs and Mclver's were Presbyterians in the 
 Mother Country. 
 
 In May, 1761, a formal covenant and confession of 
 faith was signed, and Alexander Mcintosh and Roderick 
 M'lver were received into union with the Welch Neck 
 Church. 
 
 About this time (1756), the names of Joseph Brocking- 
 ton, John Kimbrough, Abraham Odam, John Holloway, 
 James Sweeney, Charles Lowder,* (or Lowther), Samuel 
 Windes, James and Alexander M'Kown, and (in the follow- 
 ing year) George Nettles, are found among the records of 
 our early settlements. 
 
 The most of these appear to have taken lands in the 
 middle and lower parts of what is now Darlington District. 
 
 Joseph Brockington probably settled lower down on 
 the river. This family was of English descent. The first 
 of the name who came to the upper Pedee was Richard 
 Brockington. He remained a short time in Charles-town, 
 then purchased lands on the Pedee above George-town, and 
 subsequently moved up the river. He had two sons and a 
 daughter. William, the eldest, married Penelope Benton, 
 who afterwards became Mrs. Bishop ; Richard married 
 Mary Hartjf and Rebecca, the daughter, married James 
 Pawley. 
 
 John Kimbrough came from Wake County, N"- C^- He 
 settled about ten miles below Long BluflP, on the west side 
 
 * From this name came that of the lake (supposed to be the ancient bed of 
 tlie river) so well known in Darlington. Charles Lowder probably settled in 
 that neighborhood. The name, other than in this locality, disappeared at an 
 early period. 
 
 i" The late Mrs. Brockington, of Darlington District, whose mansion was 
 for so many years the seat of the most generous hospitality. The chief delight 
 of this excellent lady seemed to consist in ministeriug to the happiness of 
 others. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 91 
 
 of the river, and became a man of prominence in that 
 region. He married Hannah Kolb, and had a daughter, 
 Elizabeth, who became the wife of Lemuel Benton, a name 
 destined to become distinguished in the history of the Pedee. 
 Major Kimbrough was a staunch Whig, but too advanced in 
 years when the war began to render active service. 
 
 His death took place in August, 1796. Of the other 
 names mentioned as having appeared about this time, the 
 Nettles^ and M^Kown^s have continued to be known in Dar- 
 lington and Marion as large and respectable connexions. 
 James Sweeney is supposed to have been the progenitor of 
 the present family of Henegan. 
 
 It is known that this was called the Sweeney family at 
 an early period. When or why the change took place, is 
 not known to the present generation. 
 
 Barney, who was probably the son of James Sweeney, 
 had two sons. Darby and John. Darby was the father of 
 the late Dr. B. K. and Ephraim L. Henegan, of Marlborough. 
 His daughters were Drusilla, who married L. E. Stubbs, 
 and Lucretia, who married Alex. McCoUum. 
 
 John Sweeney married a Miss Ridgel, and died young. 
 John S. Henegan was the first of that name. The families 
 became connected, and two generations back, took the name 
 of Henegan. They lived first in Marion, where a portion of 
 their descendants'^yet reside ; the other, a highly respectable 
 branch of the family, being in Marlborough. 
 
 About this period, came a family, in numbers and in- 
 fluence, prominently connected with Darlington District 
 from an early period. John Du Bose was the first of the 
 name who removed to this region. He was of Huguenot 
 descent, and came from that settlement on Santee to Lynchers 
 Creek. His sons were Isaac, Elias, Daniel, and Joseph. 
 These brothers lived in the same neighborhood,^ were 
 men of property before the Revolution, and took an active 
 part in that struggle. Daniel was a captain, and Isaac 
 
 * This settlement was on the east side of Lynche's Creek, at a point just 
 above the crossing of the Wilmington and Manchester, R. R. ; a^neighborhood 
 in which a sanguinary struggle was carried on with the Tories, and in which 
 the Du Bose's took a decisive part. 
 
92 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 bore honorable office. Elias^ the second son, was prominent 
 for character and influence. He was a magistrate of note 
 before and after the war. He married Lydia Cassels, of 
 Sumpter_, and reared a large family.* A sister, Rebecca, 
 married her cousin, Andrew Du Bose,t vvhose name will 
 ajjpear in a prominent connexion in the history of the 
 Revolution. Another sister, Margaret, married W™' Dick. J 
 Mr. Dick was an active Whig, and noted for strength and 
 courage. He removed, after the war, to Darlington. 
 Peter Du Bose, one of the earlier of the name, was of re- 
 spectable revolutionary memory. 
 
 Soon after Braddock^s defeat, the frontier inhabitants of 
 Virginia and Pennsylvania began to move further south ; 
 and the region of the Pedee was settled by a few of them. 
 The progress of population was slow previous to the Indian 
 Treaty, in 1755 ; after which it began to increase. 
 
 John Donaldson was an early settler in what is now 
 Marlborough District. He removed soon after to Richmond 
 County, N. C, and there became a Col. of Militia. He 
 died during the war. 
 
 Charles Irby came from Virginia, and settled in the 
 neighborhood of Philip Pledger, on the east side of the 
 river. In October, 1768, he married Mehitabel Kolb, and 
 became a prominent and influential character. Col, Irby, 
 as he was afterwards known, was the progenitor of a large 
 family connexion. § He died shortly after the Revolution. 
 Edmond Irby, a brother or near relative of Charles Irby, 
 took an active part as Captain in the revolutionary 
 struggles. 
 
 In 1758, Thomas Ayer emigrated to Pedee. He came 
 
 * Jesse, Isaiab, and John Du Bose were sons of Elias. 
 
 ■j" The sons of this marriage were Benjamin, Samuel, and Joshua, who lived 
 on Lynche's Creek. 
 
 J The mother of the late John D. Witherspoon, of Society Hill, was a Miss 
 Dick. 
 
 § Of the children of Colonel Irby, Charles married Rebecca Evans, sister of 
 the late Hon. Josiah J. Evans. 
 
 James married a Miss Wright, of Marlborough. 
 
 Elizabeth became the wife of William Pledger. 
 
 Anne married Thomas Lide, and another daughter married a Forniss. 
 
 The family of Charles Irby, after his death, removed to Alabama, and are 
 well known in that State. The name was spelled Yerbcy in some of the 
 earlier records, and was thus pronounced by many for a long time after. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 93 
 
 from Ireland to Virginia, and from thence to Carolina. He 
 settled on the east side of the river, a few miles below 
 Hunt^s Bluff, set up a trading establishment, and amassed a 
 comfortable property. Of an ardent temperament, and en- 
 thusiastic in his love of liberty, Thomas Ayer would cheer- 
 fully have sacrificed life and fortune had it been necessary 
 for its advancement. Of his children, were Lewis Malone, 
 born in 1769, the head of a large and respectable family in 
 Barnwell District ; and the late Hartwell Ayer, of Marl- 
 borough, from whom a most worthy family have descended.* 
 
 About this time came a family whicli was to contribute a 
 large and valuable element to the population of Marlborough. 
 Tristram Thomas, from whom this family is descended, 
 emigrated from Wales to the Province of Maryland in the 
 early part of the last century. He died February 11th, 
 1746, leaving a numerous family, of whom a portion re- 
 mained in Maryland, and others emigrated, it is said,, to 
 Pennsylvania and Virginia. His eldest son, Stephen, emi- 
 grated to North Carolina, about the year 1750, and died 
 there, leaving a large family. Several of his sons and 
 daughters subsequently came to the Pedee, of whom a por- 
 tion removed, soon after the Revolution, to the then North- 
 West Territory. This family was originally, and long con- 
 tinued to be, of the Society of Friends. While in Marl- 
 borough, they worshipped near Adamsville.f 
 
 Stephens's children were, Sarah, Robert, Stephen, Mary, 
 William, John, Susan, Elizabeth, Lewis, Tristram, Phile- 
 mon, Benjamin, and James, born between the years 1731 
 and 58, inclusive. 
 
 Of these, Robert, the eldest son, married Mary Sands in 
 
 * To tliis venerable gentleman, through the kind assistance of liis son, 
 General L. M. Ayer, of Barnwell, the author is indebted for a thrilling narra- 
 tive of scenes connected with the revolutionary struggle on the Pedee, and 
 much other information of interest. Mr. Ayer, though quite a youth at the 
 time to which his narrative refers, retained a distinct recollection of the most 
 important events which fell under his observation. After liis majority he left 
 the Pedee, and settled in Barnwell. He died at his residence in Barnwell 
 District in 1863, at the advanced age of 93, the last link which connected the 
 present with the revolutionary era of the Pedee. 
 
 ■j* Now known as Piney Grove. The original house of worship, having been 
 purchased by Christians of different denominations, was long free to all, but 
 ultimately fell into the hands of the Methodists, the Baptists building at 
 Beaver-dam. 
 
94 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 1756. They reared a large family.* The Eev. Eobert 
 Thomas was for fifty years a faithful minister of the gospel, 
 laboring with his own hands for the support of his house- 
 hold. The old Churches at Beaver-dam and Salem, in Marl- 
 borough, Avere established through his instrumentality He 
 abandoned the faith of his fathers at an early period, and 
 united himself with the Baptists. He was preaching when 
 the Revolution began, and gave his eldest surviving son to the 
 service of his country. He died at Britton^s Neck, Marion 
 District, at the advanced age of 84, while on a missionary 
 tour to the destitute in that region. 
 
 Lewis, the second son, married a Miss Breeden, a name 
 long known in Marlborough. Many of their descendants 
 yet remain in that district. 
 
 Tristram, the seventh son, was born July 28th, 1752. 
 He married a Miss Hollingsworth, of one of the Welch 
 families. Though but a few years past his maturity when 
 the Revolution commenced, he embarked actively in that 
 trying contest, and became a prominent character. 
 
 William Thomas, of another branch of the same family, 
 emigrated about this time from Maryland. He came as an 
 adventurous youth, and found a kind friend in Col. George 
 Hicks. While living with Col. Hicks, he married his niece, 
 a Miss Little, who was possessed of a good property. He 
 settled on the east side of the river; a few miles above 
 Cheraw, and amassed a large fortune. He had one child, a 
 son, William Little, who married Clarissa Benton. The 
 fruits of this marriage were two sons,t William L. and 
 Alexander. The father, William L. Thomas, was a man of 
 brilliant talents. The name of this branch of the family 
 has become extinct. 
 
 About the year 1760, Claudius Pegnes came to Pedee. 
 He settled on the east side of the river not far below the 
 State line. This family was of French descent. The father 
 
 * The children of Robert Thomas were Tristram, Elizabeth, Nathan, Sarah, 
 John Sands, Lucy, Robert, H. Elijah, William, Jesse, Eli, and Benjamin. 
 
 The last of this large family, Eli, died in 1854. Many of their descendants 
 are scattered through the West. 
 
 f Alexander died young. William L. married Jane M'Qneen, of Chester- 
 field, and died childless. This lady afterwards married the late Hon. John 
 Campbell, of Marlborough. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 95 
 
 of Claudius Pegnes is supposed to have left France after 
 the Revocatiou of the Edict of Nantes, and with his wife, a 
 Swiss lady, settled in London. Claudius, their son, emi- 
 grated to Carolina, and married a Miss Butler, in Charles- 
 towTi in 1748-9. He removed thence to George-town, 
 where his children were born. After his settlement on 
 Pedee he was prominently connected with St. David^s 
 Parish. He died in 1790. Of his children, only two sons, 
 William and Claudius, reached maturity. William mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Murphy, and settled on the west side of the 
 river above Cheraw, and near the N. C. line. The fruit of 
 his first marriage was a daughter, Harriet, who married 
 William Powe. His second wife was Sarah Gardiner, a 
 step-daughter of Col. George Hicks. Wm. Pegnes was a 
 man of more cultivated tastes^ than was usual at that day. 
 He was a staunch Whig, aud with others in this region, as 
 will be seen hereafter, suffered severely from the depreda- 
 tions of the Tories. 
 
 Claudius, the younger son, married Marcia Murphy, and 
 settled near his father, in the upper part of what is now 
 Marlborough District. 
 
 A daughter, Henrietta, and other children died young. 
 Of his four sons who grew up, William married JNIiss Speed 
 (of N°- C), and late in life Maria Punch of Cheraw ; James 
 married Jane, a daughter of Wm. Johnson, of Sneeds- 
 borough, N. C. ; Malachi married Charlotte, another 
 daughter ; and Christopher married Eliza, a daughter of Col. 
 Thomas Evans. f These brothers all reared large families, 
 from whom a numerous and highly respectable connexion 
 have descended. 
 
 Claudius Pegnes, their father, was an active Whig, and a 
 man of great usefulness in his day. 
 
 * The remains of a very excellent library were seen by the author a few years 
 since in the neighborhood of Mr. Pegnes's former residence. 
 
 ■f Colonel Evans was the father of the late Hon. Josiah J. Evans, of Dar- 
 lington. He niai'ried Elizabeth Hodge, and had five children, viz. : — 
 
 Thomas, who married a daughter of Harris Evans ; Josiah James, who married 
 Dorothy Dewitt; Abel; Rebecca, who married Charles Irby ; and Eliza, who 
 married Christopher Pegnes. Colonel Evans lived a little out from the Welch 
 Neck, near the public road leading from Long Bluff to the Old Marlborough, 
 C. H. 
 
96 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 In 1759 the Rev. Nicholas Bedgegoocl came to Pedee, 
 having been called to the charge of the Welch Neck Church. 
 This charge was not assumed, however, until the following 
 year. He succeeded E,ev. Robert Williams. Mr. Bedgegood 
 was born at Thornbury, in Gloucestershire, England, January 
 30, 1731.^ He came to America in 1751, and was for 
 some time connected with Mr. Whitfield, in the Georgia 
 Orphan House. He became a Baptist in 1757, and not 
 long after received the call to the Welch Neck. He re- 
 turned in 1767 to the lower part of the Province, in the 
 neighborhood of Charles-town, but having received a second 
 call to the Welch Neck, came back and made a permanent 
 settlement in this region. In 1769 he married a Miss 
 Murphy. A son, the late Nicholas Bedgegood, of Marl- 
 borough, was his only child. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Bedgegood was a good classical scholar,t 
 and is said to have been an accomplished speaker. " Calm, 
 however, and didactic, rather than impassioned in his style 
 of preaching, his efforts were calculated to instruct rather 
 than to move the feelings. But few were added to the 
 church during his Ministry. ^^ J His death took place in 
 1774, and on 1st February following, this entry was made 
 on the records of the Welch Neck Church : " The Rev. Mr. 
 Nicholas Bedgegood died near fifteen years after his first 
 call to this place ; and almost seven years after his return, 
 from which time he ministered here until his death. He 
 was regarded a good scholar and a sound divine, an eloquent 
 preacher, and a polite gentleman ; and well beloved by his 
 acquaintance : yet, notwithstanding all his ability and 
 endowments, he was never very successful, especially in the 
 latter part of his life ; none being baptized after his return." 
 
 * The following is a copy, as preserved by himself, of the original record of 
 his baptism -. — 
 
 " NiLholas, Son of Nicholas and Anne Bedgegood, Gent., Baptized Feby. y° 
 22nd, 1731. 
 
 " This is a true Copy of y'^ Eegister at Thornbury. 
 
 "Ja*. Rtjtter, Curate. 
 
 " Born January y<= 30th, 1731." 
 
 f He owned a large and valuable library. A few volumes from this library, 
 with a private journal of Mr. Bedgegood, were presented to the author some 
 years since by the late Mrs. Catharine Billingsly, of Marlborough. 
 ^ Wood Furman's " History," pp. 75, 76. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD GHERAWS. 97 
 
 To this statement it ought to be added, that from 1767 
 to 1774, when Mr. Bedgegood finished his course, the 
 spirit of the time and disturbed state of the country were 
 most unfaA^ourable to general religious progress or the 
 growth of any congregation. 
 
 Not later than 1760, Martin Dewitt emigrated to the 
 Pedee from Fredericksburgh, Virginia. He settled on the 
 lower part of Black Creek, in what is now Darlington Dis- 
 trict. He married Ellen Douthel. His sons, who came 
 with him, were William, Harris, Thomas, and John. He 
 took part in the Revolution, though advanced in years, and 
 died in the place of his first settlement. William, the eldest 
 son, married Mary, the daughter and only child of Daniel 
 Devonald, one of the Welch settlers."^ Harris married 
 Elizabeth, a daughter of Richard Brockington, and after- 
 wards a Miss Pawley, and removed to the West at an early 
 period. Thomas married and died early. John was the 
 father of the late Martin Dewitt, of Darlington ; a man who 
 maintained a most unblemished character through life. 
 
 William Dewitt, afterwards well known as Cap°' Dewitt, 
 settled in the upper part of the present district of Darling- 
 ton. t His sons were John, Charles M., and Daniel, who 
 died when a boy. John, the late Major Dewitt of Society 
 Hill, married Nancy, daughter of Thomas Powe. Charles 
 never married. He was a man of superior talents. The 
 daughters of William Dewitt were Mary, who married 
 Edward Edwards ; Sarah, who married a Mr. James, and 
 subsequently Sam'' Ervin; Eleanor,J who married Allen 
 Chapman ; Elizabeth, who married Sam'' Wilds, and after- 
 wards Dr. Thomas Smith ; Margaret, who married Enoch 
 Hanford, and Dorothea, who married Josiah J. Evans. 
 Harriet, another daughter, died at an early age. Cap. 
 Dewitt was a man of strongly marked character, and an 
 
 * Her mother was long a widow, of good property for tliat day, and lived a 
 sliort distance above the old Welch Neck Church, on the east side of the river. 
 
 -|- On Cedar Creek, near the village of Society Hill, where the late Judge 
 Evans resided. 
 
 X This excellent lady, the last of her father's family, and almost of her own, 
 died in 18G0. The writer was indebted to her tor much interesting in- 
 formation. 
 
 H 
 
98 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 active and devoted Whig. He survived his wife, and died 
 about 1812. 
 
 Another branch of the family came from Virginia about 
 the same time, and settled lower down on the river, in what 
 is now Marion District.* Thomas Dewitt, the father of this 
 connexion, was probably a brother, or other near relative of 
 Martin Dewitt, His sons were Thomas, William, and 
 Charles. Charles married a Miss M'Call in 1771. The 
 name is yet known in Marion. Many other settlers came 
 about this time to Pedee. Among these was Elisha Parker. 
 He purchased lands on the east side of the river, just below 
 the State line. Here a public ferry was established soon 
 after, known as Parker's Ferry. Elisha Parker died at an 
 advanced age. His son, Stephen, who came with him, was 
 a ship-builder, and before the Revolution built boats for the 
 navigation of the river. Stepheu Parker accumulated a 
 good property, and died about 1810. Some of his descen- 
 dants are now living in Chesterfield District. 
 
 Hewstiss was another name early known. Tliis family 
 contributed its quota to the cause of liberty. Of the Tur- 
 nages, who emigrated to what is now Chesterfield District, 
 William served his country faithfully. He died at an ad- 
 vanced age about 1823. A son, John Turnage, yet survives, a 
 worthy citizen of Chesterfield. With the Turnages came the 
 Ruthvens, some of whom are yet found in Chesterfield. 
 
 The name of Sparks goes back to this period, on the 
 Pedee. There were four brothers who came from Virginia, 
 viz., Daniel, Charles, Samuel, and Harry. Of these, Charles 
 and Samuel went to sea. Harry, a noted Whig, was killed 
 by the Tories. Daniel, the eldest brother, settled first at 
 what has long been known as the Beauty Sj)ot, in Marl- 
 borough District. The family afterwards resided at the " Red 
 BlufF,^^ in the Welch Neck. 
 
 Daniel Sparks married Martha Pearce,t and had three 
 sons — Alexander, Samuel, and Daniel. Alexander married 
 
 * This place of settlement was called afterwards Dewitt's Bluff, and is 
 still known by this name on the river. 
 
 "I" This excellent and venerable lady died a few years since, near Society 
 Hill, at a very advanced age. She retained her physical vigour and mental 
 faculties to the last to a very remarkable degree. Her life was one of many 
 trials, having embraced the stormy years of the Revolution. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 99 
 
 Jeanette M'^Kearly; Samuel married Ann Hurry; and Daniel, 
 a French lady in Louisiana. The daughters were — Martha, 
 who died single ; Polly, who married John Crosland ; Lucy, 
 who married Alexander Stubbs, and subsequently Thomas 
 Stubbs ; and Sarah, who married William Pouucey. 
 
 Daniel Sparks, the father, was a noted Captain of Militia in 
 the Revolution, and rendered valuable service to his country. 
 
 Edward Crosland, who was thrown upon his own resources 
 as an orphan boy, came about the year 1760 from Virginia 
 to Carolina. 
 
 The tradition has been handed down in the family, that 
 he joined a company of adventurers of about thirty persons, 
 near the middle of the Province, some time before the Re- 
 volution, for the purpose of exploring and hunting in the 
 South- West. The company, it is said, went through North 
 Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky, to the Ohio River, 
 thence to the Mississippi ; and after exploring that stream to 
 the mouth of the Missouri, retraced their steps, and descended 
 the Mississippi to New Orleans. A part of the company re- 
 turned, leaving their companions behind. 
 
 After returning to North Carolina, Edward Crosland 
 married a daughter of Samuel Sneed, of that State, and 
 settled near the boundary line ; acting chiefly in South Ca- 
 rolina during the Revolution. Subsequently, he removed to 
 Santee, and after a few years, settled on the Pedee, near 
 Gardiner's Bluff, in what is now Marlborough District, where 
 he reared a large family. His sons were, John, Samuel, 
 Daniel M., Israel, David, George, Philip, and William. His 
 daughters were. Temperance, Mary, Sarah, Elizabeth, Re- 
 becca, and Ann. Not a few of the descendants of this 
 family are now numbered among the respected citizens of 
 Marlborough. 
 
 The Websters, Adams, and Fletchers, came about this 
 time from Virginia and Maryland to Pedee. 
 
 These families have extensive connexions in Marlborough. 
 Emanuel Coxe settled lower down on the river. He reared 
 a large family, from which many of the citizens of Marl- 
 borough have descended. Several of this name were among 
 the soldiers of the Revolution. William Coxe was parti- 
 cularly noted. 
 
 h2 
 
100 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Settlements were made about this time on Lynchers 
 Creek; in what is now Chesterfield District. 
 
 Among the first who came here, were Charles and George 
 Evans, of the Welch stock on Pedee ; and John Blakeney. 
 The latter came from Ireland, and established himself as a 
 trader. He had two sons — William and John. William 
 was the father of the late Gen' J. W. Blakeney of Ches- 
 terfield ; and from these brothers, the large connexion in 
 that District have descended. John Blakeney was an active 
 Whig in the Revolution. His name appears in the records 
 of St. David^s Parish. Lower down on Lynche's Creek, in 
 what is now Darlington District, were the Huggins, Carters, 
 and others, well known since in that region. This settle- 
 ment extended from the Effingham Mills, a point of note in 
 those days, towards the Fork of Lynchers Creek. 
 
 The names of Cannon, Hunter, Williamson, Coker, and 
 Pawley, appear here. They settled on Black Creek, in Dar- 
 lington, and were active Whigs. 
 
 Colonel George Pawley was prominent in the neighbour- 
 hood of George-town at an earlier period. He is supposed 
 to have removed subsequently higher up the river, having 
 become the owner of lands on the east of the Pedee, above 
 Mars Bluff. James Pawley was probably a son or colla- 
 teral relative. He married Rebecca Brockington, and after- 
 wards a Miss Hunter. Cusack was also a name of a still 
 earlier settler, and destined to become sadly noted in the 
 trials that awaited these infant settlements. Lower down 
 on Jeffrey^s Creek, was Wm. McDowell. He emigi'ated 
 from Ireland to North Carolina, and subsequently to this 
 region, bringing a family with him.^ He was a stanch 
 friend of his country, and suffered much from the Tories, 
 who made frequent forays in this neighbourhood. Simon 
 Council was one of his companions, and a name which ap- 
 pears in favourable connexion with the struggles which 
 shortly followed. He was killed by the Tories. 
 
 On Cat Fish, in what is now Marion District, were the 
 
 * Mary, a daughter of William McDowell, born in 1769, was surviving in 
 1859, near Florence (Wilmington and Manchester R. R.). She married Wm. 
 Britt soon after the Revolution. Her husband was in the battle of Guilford 
 Court House. He died at an advanced age. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 101 
 
 CheiTys. George Cherry was noted in the revolutionary 
 struggle. 
 
 Higher up were the Hodges, than whom few families 
 gave a larger number of soldiers to the cause of 
 liberty. The late Cap"^ Geo. Hodge/ of Marlborough, 
 was the last connecting link with that generation. He 
 married a daughter of George Cherry. Townsend was an- 
 other family known at this period. The name of Light 
 Townsend appears among the records of the Revolution. 
 The family has become extensively connected in Marl- 
 borough. William Forniss was advanced in years when the 
 war began^ and an ardent Whig. The late venerable James 
 Forniss, of Marlborough, was a lineal descendant. This family 
 settled in the upper part of the Welch Neck, on the river. 
 In the same neighbourhood were the Downes ;t and farther 
 out, on Crooked Creek, were Samuel and Joseph Dabbs, the 
 first of that name on Pedee. Joseph Dabbs married Han- 
 nah Kolb. His devotion to liberty was sealed with his 
 blood. His descendants are found now in Darlington. In 
 the neighbourhood of Hunts Blufi*, on the east side of the 
 river, were the Sweats, a worthy family, and devoted Whigs. 
 
 Wm. Sweat, the father, was an old man when the 
 Revolution began. His sons, James and Nathan, were 
 young men at that time. This was probably a branch of 
 the family which came with Gideon Gibson from Virginia. 
 
 The Quicks, higher up the river, are worthy of mention 
 among the early settlers of that region. They came from 
 Bertie County, North Carolina, where the family resided in 
 1742. J Thomas Quick was one of the brave Whigs of the 
 Upper Pedee. 
 
 * Captain Hodge was the maternal uncle of the late Judge Evans. 
 
 f This name has long since disappeared. 
 
 j The following is a copy of one of the relics of those days : — 
 " North Carolina, At a Court begun and held for said County at the 
 Bertie County. House of John CoUins, near Red Bird, on tuesday, the 
 
 9th Day of Noveniher, Anno Dom' 1742 ; 
 
 Present, His Majesty's Justices of the Peace &c. Personally came Thomas 
 Quick of this County, and in open Court made oath on the Holy Evangelists, 
 that his family consists of six persons ; — viz., Thomas Quick, Ruth Quick, Bertha 
 Quick, Anne Quick, Willis Quick, & Rachel Quick : which is Ordered to be Certified. 
 
 " Witness George Gould Esq', Chairman of the said Court at Bertie, the 
 20th Day of November, Anno Dom', 1742. 
 
 " Dated at the Clerk's Office the 20th " Geo. Gotrm. 
 
 Day of November, Anno Dom', 1742. " Henet De la Claspee." 
 
102 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 In 1762, Evan Pugh emigrated to the Pedee. His an- 
 cestors came from TTales to Peuusylyania, where he was 
 boru. Thev were associated with the Quakers, and pro- 
 bably constituted a part of the colony of William Penn. 
 While he was yet a boy, his father removed to Winchester, 
 Virginia. Upon arriving at manhood, !Mr. Pugh became a 
 teacher, and acted in that capacity on the Yadkin River, 
 Xorth Carolina. While there he became a Baptist. In 
 1762 he pursued his studies at Long Bluff, and was ordained 
 two yeai^s afterwards. 
 
 Subsequently he removed to Cashway, and took charge 
 of the ^Moimt Pleasant congregation in that neighbourhood. 
 Mr. Pugh married Martha McGee. 
 
 By this marriage he had two sons and a daughter. James, 
 the elder son, was the father of the family in Darlington. 
 Ezra, the younger son, died prematurely just after com- 
 mencing life as a lawyer at George-town. Elizabeth, the 
 daughter, married Hugh Lide, of Darlington, Of the life 
 and character of Rev. Evan Pugh, account will be given 
 hereafter. He died in 1802. 
 
 About this time,. Dr. James P. Wilson came to Pedee, 
 and settled at Long Bluff. He was a native of Buck^s County, 
 Pennsylvania, and educated at Carlisle, in that State. 
 
 He settled first as a physician at Winchester, Virginia, 
 and remained there several years. During his residence at 
 that place, he married Martha Jamison. 
 
 His children were the late John F. Wilson, of Society 
 Hill, who married Hannah Evans ; Mary, who married Ed- 
 wai'd Burch ; and Martha, who maiTied John Sweeney. 
 Dr. Wilson, for many years, had a large practice on the 
 Pedee, and was surgeon in Marion^s Brigade. 
 
 Virginia continued to furnish valuable elements to the 
 growing population on the Pedee. Thomas Powe emigrated 
 from that State about this period. He married a Miss 
 Allen, of Virginia. His children were William, who mar- 
 ried Harriet Pegnes; Erasmus, who mamed Esther Ellerbe; 
 Mary, who married William Falconer ; Rachel, who married 
 Allen Chapman ; Nancy, who mamed John Dewitt ; Alex- 
 ander, who married Miss Spencer ; and Thomas, who mar- 
 ried Martha Ellerbe. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 103 
 
 Mr. Powe settled first on Cedar Creek, near the present 
 village of Society Hill, and afterwards removed to the 
 neighbourliood just above Cheraw Hill, where he lived and 
 died. Thomas Powe was a magistrate of note after the 
 E/Cvolution, and was an active and useful man on the 
 Pedee. His second son, Gen^ Erasmus Powe, of Ches- 
 terfield, was also a man of much excellence and useful- 
 ness in his day. The widow of Thomas Powe married 
 Calvin Spencer, whom she survived many years. 
 
 The Godfreys were of English descent. This name ap- 
 pears in the early history of Carolina. 
 
 Richard Godfrey died some years before the Revolution, 
 in the neighbourhood of Cheraw. He probably removed to 
 that locality late in life. His sons were, WilKam, Wilson, 
 Richard, and Thomas, aU of whom were old enough to take 
 part in the struggle for liberty. William married a Miss 
 Eritton, in what is now Marion district ; Richard, a ]\Iiss 
 Davis ; Wilson also married, and died in Marion ; Richard 
 lived on the river, at the place since known as Godfrey's 
 Ferry. He was active in the Revolution. He held several 
 public offices in INIarion, and died about 1821. 
 
 Thomas lived in the neighbom-hood of Cheraw. He 
 married Nancy, a daughter of Col. Geo. Hicks, from 
 whom a large family descended, and of which account has 
 been given. Thomas Godfrey was long connected with St. 
 David^s parish. 
 
 John Wilson emigrated from Maryland to Pedee when 
 quite a young man. He settled on the east side of the 
 river, opposite Cheraw, and entered upon a successful career 
 as a planter. His first wife was a daughter of Col. 
 Thomas Lide. The only surviving child of this marriage 
 was the late Governor John Lide AVilson.^ The other 
 children died young. Of Mr. Wilson's family by his 
 second wife, Charlotte Hicks, account has been given. He 
 was an active Whig, and prominently connected with St. 
 Da\id's Parish. His death took place in January, 1823, 
 Mrs. Wilson following him in August of the same year. 
 
 * Governor Wilson married, first, Charlotte, a sister of Governor Joseph 
 AUston. His second wife was a Miss Eden, of Philadelphia, a ward of Aiirou 
 Burr. 
 
104 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Lemuel Benton emigrated from Granville County, Nortli 
 Carolina, to Pedee. He settled in the neighbourhood of 
 Major Kimbrough, and soon after married his daughter, 
 an only child. The fruits of this marriage were four sons — 
 John, Lemuel, Buckley, and Alfred. The daughters were, 
 Clarissa, who married William L. Thomas; Charlotte, who 
 married Laurence Prince ; Grilly, who married Isaiah Du 
 Bose; and Elizabeth, who married George Bruce. Of the 
 sons, John and Alfred died young. Lemuel came also to 
 an untimely end. Buckley reared a family. The father, after- 
 wards known as Colonel Benton, was a man of very strongly 
 marked character, and will appear prominently hereafter. 
 
 In 1766, the lands on which the present Town of Cheraw 
 was built, were granted to Eli Kershaw. With a brother, 
 Joseph, he set up a large trading establishment at this 
 place. They removed, a few years afterward, to Camden, 
 where the name has been well known since. 
 
 William Henry Mills, an Englishman, came, about this 
 time, to Pedee, and settled in the neighbourhood of Long 
 Bluff. He was a physician, and a well-educated man, and 
 for a time a prominent citizen. 
 
 John Manderson lived in the lower part of what is now 
 Chesterfield District, and was a man of large means. He 
 left soon after this period. 
 
 About this time came Samuel Wise. He emigrated from 
 England to Charles-town, where he was residing as a mer- 
 chant in 1766. A year or two after, he settled on the 
 Pedee, on the east side of the river, a short distance below 
 the State line. Mrs. Wise, who came with him, was a 
 woman of marked traits. Their only child, a daughter, 
 married Joseph Ball, from the lower part of Carolina. 
 Samuel Wise was a man of high character, and took a pro- 
 minent place in the public service. He removed, during the 
 Revolution, to the Wateree, where he owned a valuable pro- 
 perty. His career ended during the war. 
 
 Henry William Harrington emigrated from England to 
 the West Indies. After remaining a short time at Jamaica, 
 he came to South Carolina, and settled on the Pedee. He 
 took up his residence first on the river, opposite Cheraw 
 Hill, but soon after went down to the Welch Neck. While 
 
HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 105 
 
 living there, he married Rosanna, daughter of Major James 
 Auld, of Anson County, North Carolina. The fruits of 
 this mari'iage were, Rosanna, who married Robert Troy ; 
 Henry William ;* James Auld, who married Eleanor Wilson ; 
 and Harriet, who married Belah Strong. In 1776, Mr. 
 Harrington removed to Richmond County, North Carolina, 
 where he continued to reside through life. Of his name 
 frequent mention will be made in connexion with his emi- 
 nent public service, and devotion to his country. f 
 
 Arthur Hart, a relative of General Harrington, emigrated, 
 about the same time with the former, from England. He 
 settled first in Virginia, and there married, remaining, how- 
 ever, but a short time. From Virginia he came to Pedee, 
 and settled on lands on the east side of the river, in the 
 neighbourhood of the Welch Neck. His second wife was 
 Elizabeth, a daughter of Rev. Robert Williams. This mar- 
 riage took place in 1771. His third wife was Miss Irby, a 
 sister of Colonel Charles Irby. The fruits of this marriage 
 were three children, James, Mary, and Sarah. 
 
 James Hart married Sarah Edwards, of whom were born 
 two sons, James and Thomas Mary, the eldest daughter, 
 married Richard Brockington. Sarah married Nicholas 
 Rogers. James Hart died in 1797. 
 
 Arthur Hart was a man of good property and high re- 
 spectability. He was an ardent Whig, but died before the 
 thickest of the strife, in 1777-1 
 
 Samuel Bacot came to the neighbourhood of what is now 
 Darlington District in 1769. His grandfather, Pierre Bacot, 
 was a native of Rochelle, France, from whence he fled, with 
 other Huguenots, in 1694, to Charles-town. Samuel Bacot 
 married a Miss Allston, and with her brother, Peter Allston, 
 came to the Pedee, settling himself on Black Creek, not far 
 
 * To Colonel H. W. Harrington, of Richmond County, the author is indebted 
 for much interesting traditional matter, and for valuable manuscripts iu con- 
 nexion with the family and the Revolutionary era. 
 
 f The larger part of the private journal and other papers of General Har- 
 rington were unfortunately destroyed by the Tories in one of their plundering 
 forays to the neighbourhood of his residence. A few manuscripts of interest 
 were preserved. 
 
 X Arthur Hart owned the site of the factory near Society Hill, and was 
 residing there at the time of his death. 
 
106 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 from the present village of Darlington. Mr. Allston soon 
 removed to Waccamaw Lake,, North Carolina. 
 
 Samuel Bacot was a man of energy, a useful citizen, and 
 ardent patriot. The late Samuel Bacot and Cyrus Bacot, 
 of Darlington, were his sons. 
 
 William and Calvin Spencer emigrated from Connecticut 
 to the Pedee a few years before the Revolution. William 
 settled in Anson County, North Carolina, and rose to dis- 
 tinction in that State. 
 
 Calvin Spencer was an active Whig and useful man. 
 Chesterfield was his permanent residence. 
 
 About the year 1770, the name of Charles Augustus 
 Steward, appeared on the Pedee. He married* a daughter of 
 George Gabriell Powell, a name destined to become pro- 
 minently connected with the early history of the Pedee. 
 Captain Steward removed to the neighbourhoodt of Cheraw, 
 where he became a prominent character, and continued to 
 reside. 
 
 John Mitchell was another name familiar at this period. 
 He was a successful trader at Meldrum,J near Cheraw, but 
 left soon after, and the name disappeared with him. His 
 sympathies were not with his adopted country, and the dif- 
 ficulty growing out of this fact led to his removal. 
 
 The tide of emigration was stopped by the troublous 
 times immediately preceding the Revolution, and the trials 
 of that struggle. Additions were made to the population 
 on the Pedee after the establishment of peace, of which 
 some account will be given. 
 
 The history of oiu* settlements has been brought down 
 
 * This announcement appeared in the Caze^^e, Charles-town, June 27, 1769: — 
 " On the 15th inst., was married, Charles Augustus Steward, Esq., tirst Captain 
 in his Majesty's 21st Regiment, to Miss Sally Powell, Daughter of George 
 Gabriell Powell, Esq., of Prijice George Parish." 
 
 ■f This was the plantation immediately below the town of Cheraw, and called 
 Fairy Hill. 
 
 t Of the locality of Meldrum, mentioned in the papers of the day as being 
 " near the Cheraws," the author, after every effort, has been unable to obtain 
 any information whatever. 
 
 Mr. Mitchell is known to have owned lands and a plantation on Thompson's 
 Creek. Meldrum was probably in this neighbourhood, and the name given to 
 his place of residence. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 107 
 
 through a period of about thirty-five years, during which, 
 with very varied and valuable elements, were laid the foun- 
 dations of future growth and progress. The reader will 
 now be carried back to take a survey of other matters of 
 interest connected with this stage in the history of the 
 Pedee. 
 
108 HKSIOKY OF TllK 0M> CUKIJAWS. 
 
 (MIATTKU M 
 
 Crtuoaainn nxiv ^nvijrosslvo — Vsiviovl olouionts of poinilution on I'otloo— .\ii»;1o- 
 Jjisixoiv pnnlownnawt — First wunts ot" sottloi-s — StiH'k raisini;' — Wild 
 Sttvk- -Kii-st \\\!\rkots — -How ivuohod— Othor urtiolos oxportod — I'nHlviots 
 of tl\o soil — ln>liii\> — Its oiiltmv niul history — Trsulioij ost:»Misl\(\uM»ts - 
 Kaviij-utivMi ^if tlio rivor — lu^uls suul oavlv tvnvoysuuvs — K>vul ilist riots 
 ostj»Misl(iHl l^\Wio lorry uml its rojjulatious — First grants of land — Kosor- 
 vutions !U\d ta\os — lV>i;ross of tho lVniniv--Ot' tliis portion t^f it — lu- 
 oivaso ot' sl;vvos — First sottlon\onts — Whoro tnsvdo - Pisoasos — l.oi\ir HlnlV — 
 Its history — Choraw Uill — Its sottloiuont — Flantoi-s" Olnb Militia of 
 Oravon l^'v^nnty — .lusti>vs of Foaot> — Sivial lit\' — Uoligious oloniont on IVloo 
 •^l?i\^\vth of spirit of inilopo»\doiKH<^ — Oausos qjt" it — Foolin^j towartls Karl of 
 Ohrtthuin by tho ivlonios — Mis statuo — OKI \nt\lal — Its histv^ry — A Faiwhittl 
 itrgAuiiMUon at hand IMio dawn of a hriijhtor day tor tho 1\hIiv. 
 
 TtiK hist Of} o( tlio C\uii';\sian or uhito fuoo has boon oiio of 
 ^>voj;foss. 
 
 liilikootluM' anoioitt ami poptiloiis ilivisioiis of tho family 
 ol' man. \>hioh havo i\o\or ailvanooil hovoml a oortaiii point 
 oi' iniin'ovomotit. not always ivitiainiiii;- at that. thiv< has 
 uovor i.\Mitii\iiod statiiHiary. 
 
 Mtioli of oonrso liopoiids on tlto poonliav iMinbination oi' 
 tho ohMnonts o( whioh tho whito raoo is ooniposod — loading 
 oithor to a gvnoral ilotorioi-ation. ov to a pooplo. in thoir 
 divei"sity singularly tit toil to advanoo in ovofv dopavtinont 
 of human pi\\oivss. Siu'h is tho .Vuglo-Saxon, whioh has 
 boon most romarkablo in its dovolopmonts. and is dostiiunl 
 to till so largi^ and oommanding a plaoo in tho lattor stages 
 o( tho world's history. 
 
 In tho tirst sottlomonts on tho IVdoo. oxtonding through 
 about ono-third of a oontuiy . various typos o( raoo aiid oha- 
 raotor woro roprosotitod. Krauoo. F.nghiud. AValos. Irolaud, 
 Sootland. liornumy. ami tho moro northorn proviuoos of 
 Amorioa, whoso iivhabitauts had boon ohioHy drawn tnnu 
 tho sattu' soiuvos, all amtributod ii\ thoir ujoasim^ — tho 
 Welch elemout pivi^uderaiiug in the central kvality, and 
 
IIIBTOIiy OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 109 
 
 (Icstiricdj UH will he; found, to ^\vv, character to the commu- 
 niticH around it. 
 
 With our (larly Hcttlcrn th(T(5 was every stlmuluH to exer- 
 tion. Their f'ortuneH were yet to Le built up, hut little 
 rri(;ans, for the rno.st part, havinf^ Ijeen hrouf^ht with them. 
 They found in the fertile lands to which th(;y came, with 
 rich pasturage ami luxuriant forests, all that nature could 
 j)rovi(lc for the Hupply of their first necessities, and on the 
 bosom of the river was presented an outlet f(jr their multi- 
 plying ])r(jductions, as well as a channel of conveyance for 
 njinistering in turn to their increasing wants. Attention 
 was first to be turned to their immediate necessities, and to 
 the means of intercorrununication with each other, and 
 facilities for trade. Lands were to be cleared, enclosures 
 made, and the soil developed. Already premiums liad been 
 offered by (lovcrnmcnt to encourage the cultivation of cer- 
 tain crojjs, and a ready market on the ccjast awaited their 
 superabundant stores. Some of those who came from the 
 more northern provinces drove their horses, cattle, and 
 hogs, over land with them.* 
 
 Large numbers of wild horses and cattle in addition 
 were f(jun(l by the first settlers in the woods of Carolina. 
 Many were caught and domesticated, and stock-raising at 
 once bef;ame a jirolifie source of wealth. Most of the early 
 fortunes on the Pedee were maxle in this way. Energy, 
 ratlier than capital, was required in the first instance, and 
 but little labour dem.'indcd afterward. Everywhere in those 
 days, on the hills and in the valleys, the best ranges were 
 found, and it was only necessary to drive the stock from 
 place to j)lace in search of fresh pasturage, as the supply 
 became exhausted. The numbers owned by single indivi- 
 duals, and thus driven about, were very large, almost 
 incredibly so to those accustomed to the condition of 
 things in this respect now existing in the older States. It 
 was in this kind of life, habituated to the use of the saddle 
 in th(; woods for days and weeks together, often in the dan- 
 gerous adventures of the chase, that our early settlers 
 became such expert horsemen, and so inured to expo- 
 
 * IlainHajr'8 " Hiatory of So. Ca,," vol. ii. p. 274. 
 
110 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 sure and hardship as to meet successfully the extraordinary 
 demands of that protracted struggle which was soon to 
 overtake them. 
 
 The wild stock was captured by the simple contrivance 
 of a large and well-secured pen in the fork of two branches, 
 or larger streams, into which the frightened and over- 
 powered animal was driven. In some cases, where the 
 branches were boggy, and could not be entered, a fence 
 was built across, some distance above the point of junction, 
 and this was the only enclosure required. Some of our 
 smaller streams are yet found to retain the name, " horse- 
 pen," indicating that they were made to subserve the pm'- 
 pose mentioned. The stock was driven to Charles-town 
 and other places on the coast, as well as to more distant 
 markets. Large numbers of cattle were sent from Pedee 
 to Philadelphia.^ 
 
 Pork soon became a valuable article of export. In the 
 course of time, " Cheraw bacon " was destined to be famous 
 in distant parts of the country. Lumber was also sent off 
 in large quantities, saw-mills having been erected at different 
 points soon after the first settlements. f 
 
 The " Effingham Mills," in what is now Darlington 
 District, are mentioned early, as well as others more imme- 
 diately contiguous to the river.J 
 
 * It is related of Malachi Murphy, who drove many beeves annually to 
 Philadelphia, that on one occasion was a famous beast, called " Blaze Face," of 
 great size and unusual sagacity, which he sold in Philadelphia. 
 
 On the night of his return home to Pedee, and soon after his arrival, he heard 
 the low of Blaze Face. He had escaped and followed close upon the ti'ack of 
 his owner, swimming rivers and distancing all pursuers. Mr. Murphy drove him 
 a second time to Philadelphia, and again he returned. Such a spirit was worthy 
 of a better fate, but did not shield the bold rover. He was taken a third time 
 to Philadelphia, and came back no more. This was related to the author by the 
 late John D. Withirspoon, of Society Hill. 
 
 + The prices of some leading articles of trade in Charles-town at this 
 period will give some idea of the remuneration received by the settlers : — 
 (From Gazette of the day.) Nov. 1, 1739. 
 Rice, 32s. to 33s. Qd. per cwt. Pitch, 40s. per cwt. 
 
 Turpentine, 20s. per cwt. Tar, 30s. per cwt. Skins, 18s. to 19s. per cwt. 
 
 Indian corn, 7s. Gd. to 10s. per cwt. 
 July 16, 1741. 
 Rice, 3^. per cwt. Skins, 16s. Gd. per lb. Pitch, 55s. per barrel. 
 
 Tar, 45s. per barrel. Indian corn, 30s. per bushel. 
 
 Turpentine, 22s. Qd. per bushel. Indian Peas, 30s. per bushel. 
 
 X The following notices, which appeared in the Gazette, Charles-town, a 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. Ill 
 
 Hemp and flax did not prove to be such profitable crops 
 as the Welch at first anticipated, and were not much raised. 
 Neither the soil nor climate were well adapted to their pro- 
 duction. For hemp, particularly, very rich land, of a 
 peculiar quality, was required. Wheat and corn were 
 found more valuable, especially the latter. Indigo, how- 
 ever, proved to be the most lucrative crop. The rich lands 
 on the river were admirably adapted to its production, more 
 so than those in the lower parts of the Province near the 
 coast. 
 
 " About the year 1745," we are informed, " the fortu- 
 nate discovery was made that this plant (indigo) grew spon- 
 taneously in the Province, and was found almost everywhere 
 among the wild weeds of the forest." 
 
 As the soil naturally yielded a weed which furnished the 
 world with so useful and valuable a dye, it loudly called for 
 cultivation and improvement. 
 
 For this purpose, some indigo seed was imported from 
 the French West Indies, where it had been cultivated with 
 great success, and yielded the planters immense profit. At 
 first the seed was planted by way of experiment, and it was 
 found to answer the most sanguine expectations. In conse- 
 quence of which, several planters turned their attention to 
 its culture, and studied the art of extracting the dye from 
 it. Every trial brought them fresh encouragement. In the 
 year 1747, a considerable quantity of it was sent to Eng- 
 
 few years after, will give some idea of the progress which had been made in 
 this department of industrial enterprise : — 
 
 " Notice by John Manderson. 
 " To be sold at Private Sale, the Subscriber's three saw-mills and grist mill 
 on Big and Little Cedar Creek, 60,000 feet lumber hav^ been carried by 
 2 hands on one raft to George-town — most populous part Cheraws District — 
 15 hands of the Chickasaw and English breed. 
 
 « Sept. Wth, 1777." 
 
 " May 6th, 1778. Valuable Saw and Grist Mills on Juniper Creek, 4 miles 
 below Cheraw Hill, with a bolting mill — also a bolting mill, distance 2 or 3 
 miles to Cheraw, where the Clmrch is. 
 
 " Timber may be rafted from pier head of lowest mill in small Kafts to the 
 River, it being not more than 4 miles from the mill to the River down the 
 Creek, and 3 by land, — where the rafts are joined to carry down to George- 
 town, and has generally been done in Rafts containing from 30 to 40,000 feet 
 in 5 days, the distance from George-town by land is 90 miles,— by Jacob 
 Valk, Charles-Town." 
 
112 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 land, whidi induced the merchants trading to Carolina to 
 petition Parliament for a bounty on Carolina indigo. This 
 petition from the merchants was followed by another from the 
 planters and inhabitants of Carolina. Accordingly an Act 
 of Parliament was passed, about the beginning of the year 
 1748, for allowing a bounty of sixpence per pound on all 
 indigo raised in the British American plantations, and im- 
 ported directly into Britain from the place of its growth."^ 
 It was sent by our farmers to Charles-town, and sometimes 
 to London,t and occasionally to markets in the neighbouring 
 colonies. The amount of indigo exported from South Ca- 
 rolina, in 1754, was 216,924 pounds. J 
 
 Fortunes were made rapidly by its cultivation. § It 
 brought at one time from four to five dollars per pound. 
 Traces of the old indigo vats are to be seen here and there 
 on the Pedee. Its cultivation ceased about the close of the 
 century, or soon after. 
 
 Higher up the river, in North Carolina, it was followed 
 by tobacco, which became the principal export, and, for a 
 time, the chief circulating medium. || 
 
 Some of the first settlers established themselves as 
 traders, chiefly on the river. Cheraw Hill, Long Blufi:, and 
 Hunt^s Blujff were points of note for trade. The navigation 
 of the river commenced with the arrival of the colonists, as 
 at Sandy Bluff, who are said to have come up in boats. As 
 early as 1740, the navigation was open from Cheraw down. 
 There were serious obstructions, however, which became the 
 subject of legislation in after years, and with the aid of 
 individual energy and enterprise, were gradually removed. 
 The sul)ject of roads, bridges, and ferries claimed the early 
 
 * Rainsay's " History S. C." vol. ii. pp. 138, 139. 
 
 f The account sales of one cask indigo shipped to London from the Pedee 
 in 1766, shows that it commanded 2s. 3d. per pound, amounting to 371, 4*. 3d. 
 The bounty on it was 3/. 12*. id. The total expense of the shipment from 
 Charles-town was 31. ds. 4d. 
 
 J Ramsay's " History," p. 191. 
 
 § As an illustration of the value of the crop, it may be mentioned that 
 General Harrington sent three four-horse waggon loads to Virginia, and with 
 the proceeds of the sale bought from fifteen to twenty negroes. 
 
 II Where it was raised above the head of navigation on the river, tobacco was 
 carried off to market in hogsheads, weighing fi-om 1000 to 1400 lbs. The hogs- 
 heads were strongly hooped, and with an axle and felloes of pine to prevent the 
 middle from being injured, drawn by two horses. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 113 
 
 attention of the settlers. Highways were to be established 
 for travel and transportation. The first roads, rough cor- 
 duroys, were just wide enough to admit the passage of a 
 kind of vehicle common then, called a sled. It was of 
 simple construction, but indispensable at that early day, 
 when something better was not to be had. It required but 
 two side pieces of oak, with the ends turned up in front, 
 and confined together, about four feet apart, by cross pieces 
 securely tenanted into them. Thus, rough-hewn and expedi- 
 tiously put together, this simple conveyance was ready for use. 
 With it, rails were hauled for fencing, wood for fuel, and 
 logs and other materials for cabins. By the addition of a 
 box for a body, the corn and other products of the field were 
 carried to the barn, and families often to places of gather- 
 ing. But these could not long continue to supply the 
 growing demands of an advancing population. Better roads 
 and better conveyances were to be provided. Accordingly, 
 in 1747, we find the first effort made in this direction.* An 
 Act was passed in that year by the Commons House of 
 Assembly, of which the preamble was in these words : — 
 " Whereas the Upper Settlements on Pedee, Waccamaw, 
 and Black Bivers are very extensive and remote from each 
 other, by reason whereof it will be convenient to divide the 
 same into several districts, under several sets of Commis- 
 sioners, to the end that the making and repairing of high- 
 ways and causeways in those parts may be better attended 
 to and performed," &c. 
 
 It was accordingly enacted, " That the Parts situate upon 
 or near to Pedee, Waccamaw, and Black Bivers,'" should be 
 divided into five districts. Of these, the third district was 
 to embrace the settlements on the eastern side of Great 
 Pedee River, extending from the Province line south-east- 
 ward to Cat Fish Creek ; and William Colt, William James, 
 Abraham Col son, Malachi Murphy, and Jacob Buckholt, 
 were appointed Commissioners of Highways for the said 
 district. The fourth district embraced the lands " situate 
 on the south-west side of Great Pedee River, from Lynchers 
 Creek south-westward to the bounds of the Province ; and 
 
 * " statutes at Large of So. Ca.," vol. ix. p. 144. 
 
114 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 James Gillespie^ Prancis Young, Jolin Dexter, Samuel De 
 Sorrency, and Thomas Elleby, were appointed Commis- 
 sioners/^ 
 
 By the same Act, the Commissioners were directed to 
 meet at such places in their respective districts as the 
 majority should appoint, twice a year — viz., on Easter 
 Monday and the first Monday in August, for the despatch 
 of business. 
 
 They were to establish ferries as well as highways. For 
 some years after this, no further legislation was needed. It 
 was not until 1768 that another Act was passed, establish- 
 ing a public ferry '' at the lands of James James, in the 
 Welch Tract, on the South East side of Great Pedee River, 
 in the Parish of Prince George, opposite to Cedar Creek, 
 which is on the South "West side of the said river, in the^ 
 Parish of St. Mark, on the lands of the said James James, 
 and to land on either side of the said creek ;" " the said 
 ferry to be vested in the said James James, his heirs, &c., for 
 the term of fourteen years.^^ The rates of ferriage were : 
 " For every single person, one shilling and three pence ; for 
 a horse and chair, or a horse and cart, five shillings ; for a 
 four wheel carriage, with five horses, twenty shillings ; for 
 neat cattle, ferried or swum, seven pence half penny in the 
 current money of the Province.^' 
 
 " All Ministers of the Gospel, all persons going to and 
 from Church Service, and muster of Militia, and all persons 
 in time of alarm, and all Expresses or Messengers sent in 
 the service of the Government, and free Indians in amity 
 with the Government,^^ were to be free from toll. 
 
 " Abel Wilds, David Evans, James James, Alexander 
 Mackintosh, John Kimbrough, Thomas Evans, George 
 Hicks, Thomas James, and John Mackintosh, were ap- 
 pointed Commissioners for laying out, making and keeping 
 in repair, a road from the North-east side of the above- 
 mentioned ferry, to lead down the country into the public 
 road ; and likewise a road to lead from the upper side of 
 the above-mentioned creek; and also a road to lead from 
 the lower side of the above-mentioned creek, into the public 
 road which leads down the country .^^ 
 
 This was the second Act passed on the subject of roads 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 115 
 
 and ferries for this part of the Province, and no other ap- 
 pears for sixteen years following. 
 
 Some of the earlier land grants contained several curious 
 privileges^ reservations, and conditions. 
 
 In a grant of land in the Welch Tract, dated 1750, after 
 the usual form, &c., it is added ; " together with privilege 
 of hunting. Hawking, and Fowling, in and upon the same, 
 and all Mines and Minerals whatsoever ; Saving and Reserv- 
 ing, nevertheless, to us, our Heirs and Successors, all white 
 Pine Trees, if any there should be found gi'owing thereon : 
 and also Saving and^Reserviug to us, our Heirsand Successors, 
 one-tenth part of Mines of Silver and Gold only." Also it 
 was provided, that the grantees " should clear and cultivate at 
 the rate of one acre for every Five Hundred Acres of Land, and 
 so in proportion according to the quantity of Acres contained 
 therein ; or, build a Dwelling House thereon, and keep a stock 
 of Five Head of Cattle for every Five Hundred Acres, upon the 
 same, and in Proportion for a greater or lesser quantity." 
 
 It was also provided, that " on every Twenty Fifth Day of 
 March, the said Grantee, his Heirs, &c., should pay to the 
 Receiver- General of the Pro\ance, or to his Deputy, or 
 Deputies, for the time being, at the Rate of Three Shillings 
 Sterling, or Four Shillings Proclamation Money, for every 
 Hundred Acres, fcc." 
 
 This was one of the tokens and acknowledgments of a 
 subjection under which the Colonists had even now become 
 restive. As a source of revenue to the Crown"^ simply, it 
 was less objectionable. 
 
 " Few countries," it is said, " have at any time exhibited so 
 striking an instance of public and private prosperity as ap- 
 peared in South Carolina between the years 1763 and 1775. 
 The inhabitants of the Province were in that short space of 
 
 * The following is a specimen of the payment, by way of crown tax, thus 
 required : — 
 
 " South CaroUna. 
 
 " Received, the Thirteenth Day of August, in the year 
 of our Lord one Thousand seven Hundred and Sixty four, of Philip Pledger 
 and Jesse Councill, the sum of Ten pounds, sixteen shilhugs. Proclamation money ; 
 being for Eighteen years quit-rent due to the Crown, the Twenty Fifth Day of 
 March last, for Three hundred Acres of Laud held by them, and situated in 
 Craven County. I say, received for the use of his Majesty, by 
 
 " Alex. Mackintosh, 
 " £10 16s. Od." " Deputy Receiver. 
 
116 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 time more than doubled. Wealth poured in upon them 
 from a thousand channels. The fertility of the soil gene- 
 rally repaid the labour of the husbandman, making the poor 
 to sing, and industry to smile through every corner of the 
 land. None were indigent but the idle and ucfortunate. 
 Personal independence was fully within the reach of every 
 man who was healthy and industrious. The inhabitants, at 
 peace with all the world, enjoyed domestic tranquillity, and 
 were secure in their persons and property. They were also 
 completely satisfied with their Government, and wished not 
 for the smallest change in their political constitution.^^* 
 This glowing account of the general condition of the Pro- 
 vince was literally true of the upper parts of the Pedee. 
 Nowhere else were the leading elements of prosperity 
 more vigorously operative. As an illustration of the pro- 
 gress made by the settlers in these parts in manufactures, 
 the following extract will suffice. It appeared in the 
 Gazette, Charles-town, Dec. 32, 1768. 
 
 "A gentleman of St. David's Parish, in this Province, 
 writes to his correspondent in Charles-town : ' I expect to 
 see our own manufactures much promoted in this part of 
 the Province. I send you some samples of what hath been 
 already done upon this River and in this Parish. The 
 sample of white cotton was made in the proportion of 
 twelve yards to one pound of cotton. Hemp, Flax, and 
 Cotton may be raised here in any quantity ; as to wool, one 
 cannot have much of it.' " 
 
 To this, the Editor of the Gazette added : — " The num- 
 ber of samples mentioned above is eleven, which the curious 
 may have an opportunity of seeing, by enquiring of any 
 one of the young men, at the Great Stationery and Book 
 Shop." Where, or by whom, these samples were produced, 
 is not known. Cotton was not much cultivated for many 
 years after this. Another notice appeared in the Gazette 
 of March 2, 1769, to this effect : — " Many of the Inhabitants 
 of the North and Eastern Parts of this Province have this 
 winter clothed themselves in their own manufactures ; many 
 more would purchase them if they could be got, &c." 
 
 * Ramsay's " History Revolution in So. Ca.," vol. i. p. 7. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 117 
 
 One of the drawbacks experienced, was in the droughts 
 which sometimes prevailed for months together, and with 
 great severity. This was the case in 1752, and again in 
 1769, as was stated in the Gazette of July 5th of that 
 year, viz. : — " That there was a great drought in the Pro- 
 vince, and to the North-Eastward, as far as Virginia — none 
 such having been known since that of 1752. Drivers of cattle 
 to Charles-town have to dig fifteen feet for water." Mention 
 has been made of the increasing number of slaves. This 
 began to be the case almost immediately after the first 
 settlements. The prices paid about this time indicate the 
 extent of the demand. In 1762, a woman, with two chil- 
 dren, a girl and boy, sold for 477 pounds current money. 
 In the following year, the same prices were given. Some 
 of the first settlers brought their slaves with them. The 
 labour of the negro was found to be indispensable on the 
 river low-lands to which the first clearings for a time were 
 almost exclusively confined. The first settlements were for 
 the most part made immediately on the banks of the river, 
 at elevated points, where good springs of water were to be 
 found. Such a position experience has proved to be 
 healthier than the intermediate swamps between the river 
 and the high land, or even than the latter, when contiguous 
 to the swamps. At first the emigrant from more northern 
 latitudes, or healthier climes, did not experience any serious 
 effects from a residence in the miasmatic regions of the 
 south. It was only after the clearings began, that diseases 
 appeared, except the fever and ague, which were known from 
 the first. This, however, was more troublesome and enervat- 
 ing than dangerous. When openings were made, and the 
 rich alluvial soils and stagnant waters became exposed to 
 the sun, the inhabitants began to suffer more severely from 
 bilious and other more fatal forms of fever. The planters 
 were consequently driven from their swamp homes to 
 healthier localities. 
 
 In addition to all this, it is a well-established fact in the 
 history of the diseases incident to rich alluvial bottoms, that 
 a season marked by certain atmospherical changes, or other 
 unusual atmospheric phenomena, may give rise to types of 
 fever of the most malignant character. During the months 
 
118 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 of June, July, and August, 1752, the heat in Carolina is 
 said to have been oppressive to a degree never felt before.'^ 
 Such seasons, doubtless, had much to do, when recurring, 
 with changes of residence. The removal of the planters from 
 the east side of the river in the Welch Neck formed the germ 
 of a settlement at the Long Blufff on the west, in what is 
 now the District of Darlington, As early as 20th Dec., 
 1748, Saml. Wilds, who had settled a little below on the 
 opposite side of the river, petitioned Council " for 100 acres 
 of land across Pedee, stating he was a settler in the Welch 
 Tract, on lands he purchased about five years ago, which is 
 low and often overflowed — that there was a Plot of vacant 
 land opposite his across the River Pedee, which was high 
 land, and which, for the health of his family, he desired to 
 settle." His petition was granted. The land here referred 
 to is situated a little below the Long Bluff. To this period 
 we may refer the beginning of the community at the latter 
 point, which continued to increase, with accessions to its 
 population from other quarters. In a few years it became 
 a place of some importance. It had the advantage of being 
 central and accessible. It was immediately on the river, 
 and though exposed to the miasma from the extensive swamp 
 across, continued for many years to be comparatively 
 healthy. The public highway leading from Cheraw Hill to 
 George-tow^n passed near it. J 
 
 The settlement at Cheraw Hill also continued to advance 
 for the like reasons in part, but chiefly because of its note 
 as a point for trade. Being at the head of na^dgation on 
 the river, with an extensive and fertile country to be de- 
 veloped, and mainly dependant on it for supplies, its location 
 was peculiarly advantageous. The land on which the town 
 is built was granted to Eli Kershaw in 1766. 
 
 About the same time it was laid out by the Kershaw8,§ 
 
 * "Ramsay," ii. p. 179. 
 
 f So called from its being one of the longest bluffs on the river, extending 
 without break for about three miles. 
 
 X The Cheraw and Darlington R. R. runs for a short distance along this old 
 track, from a point opposite Long Bluff, up. 
 
 § The following notice, which appeared in the Gazette, Charles-town, shows 
 that the Kershaws left a few years after this : — 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 119 
 
 Eli and Josepli, with others. It was a few years after, proba- 
 bly in 1775 for the first time^ called Chatham, in honour of 
 the first Earl of that name, which it bore until its incorpo- 
 ration long afterward. It did not advance much 'in growth, 
 but few families being attracted to it as a place of residence. 
 As late as 1792 it is said to have contained not more than 
 a dozen dwelling-houses. 
 
 Among other signs of progress was the formation, as 
 early at least as 1768, of the "Planter's Club," or '' Society,'' 
 as it was otherwise called. It was often alluded to in a 
 private journal of the time, and is supposed to have em- 
 braced the principal planters on the river above the Welch 
 Neck. 
 
 It was probably formed for social purposes chiefly, after 
 the manner of the " Clubs" which had been in existence 
 before, and were then so well-known in the lower parts of 
 the Province. Committees were appointed for the transac- 
 tion of business, and meetings frequently held. On one 
 occasion — an anniversary, perhaps — a sermon was preached 
 before it by the Rev. Nicholas Bedgegood. It continued in 
 existence until the Revolution. 
 
 Not much attention had yet been paid to military mat- 
 ters in the interior of the Province. A small banding 
 together of neighbourhoods against the Indians, appears to 
 have been all that was demanded. George Pawley was 
 Colonel of the Craven County Regiment in 1744. Soon 
 after this militia companies were formed in the upper parts 
 of the Pedee. Philip Pledger was commissioned Captain 
 
 « Sale. 
 " 1774. On Wednesday, the 16th day of Nov. next, and the following days, 
 at the Court House, at Long Bluff, will be sold, 
 
 " That valuable Plantation, called Liberty Hill, and all their other Lands, at 
 and near Cheraw Hill, on Pedee River, together with their Store Houses, Mills, 
 remaining stock of store goods, and about fifty valuable negroes, employed in 
 carrying on their business at Chatham, under the firm of Eli Kershaw and Co. 
 The whole being to be sold in order to make a final settlement of the copartner- 
 ship which lately subsisted between the subscribers. Twelve months credit will 
 be given, if required, upon all sums above one hundred pounds, on paying in- 
 terest from the day of sale, giving such security as shall be approved of by 
 
 " Joseph Keksuaw, 
 " John Chesnut, 
 " Eli Keeshaw, 
 •' William Anckum, 
 " Aabon Loooock." 
 
120 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 in his Majesty's Service in 1756. George Hicks and 
 Thomas Loycl were Captains in 1762, and Alexander Mack- 
 intosh in 1765. In January 1748 the Craven County 
 Regiment consisted of 1200 men. The first General 
 Militia Review for the upper Pedee was ordered in 1759 by 
 George Pawley, Adj*' Gen^', beginning with George-town, 
 Oct. 4th ; Mars Bluff, Oct. 11th, and AVestfield on Pedee* 
 Saturday, October 15th. The only military organization in 
 the Province prior to this time, and going back as far as 
 1703, consisted of companies, battalions, and regiments. 
 The Act of 1747, which was continued by Act of 1753 for 
 two years, and revived and continued by Act of 1759, pro- 
 vided for the calling and assembling of all persons from six- 
 teen to sixty years of age, and to be formed into companies, 
 troops, and regiments. It was not until 1778 that brigades 
 were established. 
 
 The earliest list of Justices of the Peace, embracing the 
 upper part of Craven County, appeared in 1756, when George 
 Hicks and Abraham Buckholts were appointed. In 1761 
 Alexander Mackintosh Avas added, and in 1767 Claudius 
 Pegnes. 
 
 A generous hospitality and unrestrained social intercourse 
 were strikingly characteristic of this period. The sparse- 
 ness of the poj3ulation and the few public occasions which 
 there were to bring the people together, made our early 
 settlers more dependent on each other for whatever of 
 pleasure and excitement social intercourse could afford. 
 Hence, every house was open. A cordial greeting awaited 
 the visitor. He might prolong his stay without danger of 
 becoming an annoyance. A social bore was scarcely known. 
 The news, from whatever quarter, when it reached the 
 settlements, was thoroughly discussed and well digested. As 
 we look back upon them from a more conventional age, we 
 are temj)ted to exclaim, Happy were the days of which 
 so much in this respect could be said. It was fortunate 
 for the healthy progress of the settlements on the Pedee, that 
 in the central and most important of them all, the religious 
 element so largely prevailed. 
 
 * This was near Cheraw Hill. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 121 
 
 There the simple and unobtrusive, yet sturdy and manly 
 ■virtues which the Welch Christians brought Avith them, 
 were found in active operation. How much, in the end, 
 other neighbouring communities were indebted to their 
 salutary influence, it would be difficidt to estimate. 
 
 That they continued to operate, and to form a public 
 sentiment of a sound and elevated character, there is abun- 
 dant evidence. And in this, as in the virtuous influence 
 brought to bear upon the mingled elements of population 
 from whatever sources entering in, was found the germ of 
 that steady intellectaal and moral advancement, of which 
 the happiest indications afterward appeared. 
 
 Even the troublous times of the Revolution could not 
 altogether repress this spirit, as will be found in tracing 
 the subsequent marks of its progress. 
 
 Another feeliug, however, was now beginning to take 
 possession of the hitherto peaceful dwellers on the Pedee. 
 Attached as the people of the Province had ever been to 
 the Crown, they still rejoiced in their connexion with the 
 Mother Country, and in being subjects of the same king. 
 
 Up to this time there had been no special cause, except 
 the want of courts of their own, for dissatisfaction with the 
 Royal Government on the part of the people of Carolina, as 
 was the case in some other of the colonies. Though essential 
 changes had been made in the commercial system of the 
 colonies for preventing a contraband trade with the French 
 and Spaniards, and for enlarging the powers of the Courts 
 of Admiralty, creating great uneasiness in some parts of 
 the continent ; the Carolinas, whose commerce was carried 
 on agreeably to the British laws of trade and navigation, 
 were very little affected by these innovations. Until the 
 accession of George III., Great Britain, in time of war, 
 had been in the habit of making requisitions for supplies to 
 the Provincial Assemblies. These were so liberally granted 
 by many of them, and particularly by that of South Caro- 
 lina, that the Parliament of Great Britain had sometimes 
 reimbursed them for their extraordinary expenses.* 
 
 Some of our wealthier planters had been in the habit of 
 
 * Ramsay's " History Revolution in So. Ca.," vol. i. p. 9. 
 
122 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 sending their sons abroad to be educated. As a whole, 
 the colonists were as loyal as any of the subjects of the 
 Crown at home. But, in 1763, when the scheme of an 
 American revenue was laid before Parliament, to be col- 
 lected in the colonies without the consent of their local 
 legislatures, the first shock was given to that loyalty which 
 had never before been seriously disturbed. How that first 
 shock soon after settled down into a feeling of dissatisfac- 
 tion, which continued to increase, with an occasional strug- 
 gle of the old attachments of birth and association, and at 
 length attained complete ascendancy, are among the records 
 of history. The people on the Pedee, from the first, par- 
 ticipated deeply in the feeling of resistance against that, 
 which in common with their countrymen elsewhere, they 
 regarded as the encroachments of oppression at the expense 
 of that well-regulated liberty which they had been accus- 
 tomed to enjoy. They were, moreover, active and stead- 
 fast throughout the great controversy and struggle which 
 were at hand. 
 
 As yet, they could scarcely be said to have a voice of 
 their own in the Provincial Assembly, where the first notes 
 of opposition were to be heard. Though nominally em- 
 braced in parochial organizations, which were influential, 
 they were virtually unrepresented. But little intercourse 
 had yet been established with the parishes lower down; 
 and no member of Assembly had appeared from the Upper 
 Pedee. For this and other reasons, much anxiety was felt 
 to have a distinct organization of their own, through which 
 their sentiments might become known, and their influence 
 be felt beyond the boundaries of their settlements, which 
 were remote, and, as yet, comparatively unknown. One 
 relic remains, identifying them with the general feeling 
 which pervaded the people of the Province at this period — 
 a relic connected with the immortal Pitt. It was after 
 the repeal of the " Stamp Act,^^ when the difficulty with the 
 Mother Country was thouglit for a time to have been happily 
 adjusted, that so large a debt of gratitude was felt by the 
 colonists to be due to Lord Chatham, the fearless and 
 eloquent defender of the oppressed people of America, In 
 Great Britain, the repeal of the " Cider Act " helped also 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 123 
 
 to swell tlie feeling of enthusiasm wliich moved the hearts 
 of that great people. 
 
 In the South Carolina Gazette and Country Journal, of 
 Charles-town, July 22ndj 1766, appeared this item of news 
 from the British correspondent : — " There is a handsome 
 medal struck and distributed, about the size of a crown- 
 piece, on which is the head of Mr. Pitt, with his name; 
 and for the reverse, the following inscription : ' The Man, 
 who, having saved the Parent, pleaded with success for her 
 children.^ " It was also added : " A great number of rings, 
 set with the head of Mr. Pitt, is intended to be sent, as 
 presents, to some of the principal merchants in America, 
 by their correspondents in this country .^^ One of these 
 medals was found a few years since in an ancient clearing^ 
 at Cheraw Hill, in a good state of preservation. It is a 
 handsome piece of work, the face being well executed, with 
 the inscription, " Gulielmus Pitt ;" and on the reverse the 
 words already quoted. 
 
 The repeal of the Cider and Stamp Acts, in which Pitt 
 took so prominent a part, produced a general and extra- 
 ordinary outburst of enthusiasm. " The Irish,^^ it was said, in 
 the Account already noticed, " are going to erect his Statue 
 in every City in the Kingdom, as the Man who first saved 
 the Mother, and after that her children, from ruin !" allud- 
 ing to Great Britain and the colonies. Statues were ordered 
 
 * It was picked up by a child on the surface in an old field near St. David's 
 Church, and given to the author. No clue was found as to its history, until the 
 account of it was met with in the old Gazette. 
 
 The woodcut annexed represents it correctly. 
 
 THE MAN 
 WHO -HAVING 
 SAVED THE 
 
 [PARENT-PLEADEDJI 
 ^WITH SUCCESS 
 FOR HER 
 CHILDREN. 
 
124 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 this year by tlie Commons House of Assembly of Maryland 
 to the honour of this noble defender of the rights of man. 
 The Assembly of New York also ordered an elegant statue 
 of brass from England. " They have also ordered/' it 
 was said^ " that a piece of Plate, value 100 pounds 
 sterling, be presented to John Seargant, Esq., of the City 
 of London, with the thanks of the House, for his having 
 cheerfully undertaken at their request, and to their great 
 satisfaction faithfully discharged, the trust of special agent, 
 and liberally declined any allowance for his trouble. June 
 30th, 1766.^' 
 
 The language inscribed on the medal appears to have 
 been quite in vogue at the time. 
 
 In the Gazette of July 8th, of the same year, it was 
 said : " In the House of Commons, the entire illegality of 
 General Warrants, was determined 25th April, even without 
 a Division ; upon which occasion, that great Man, ' who 
 saved the Parent, and pleaded with success for her chil- 
 dren,' exerted himself in a remarkable manner." Occa- 
 sionally the British papers contained happy hits at the 
 opponents of American Rights, of which the following was 
 a specimen : — 
 
 "London, March 1. 
 " Intelligence extraordinary. 
 " A person of considerable eminence is said to be pre- 
 paring the heads of a bill, to be laid before a great, august 
 Assembly, in which, among other things, it will be proj)osed 
 to be enacted, that no American shall presume to eat, drink, 
 or sleep for the space of one whole year.'' 
 
 The feeling in Carolina, after the repeal of the Stamp 
 Act, was intense. A marble statue of Pitt was ordered fi'om 
 England, to be executed in the highest style of art. "When 
 received in Charles-town, the enthusiasm of the people knew 
 no bounds. The principal men of the city, unwilling for 
 the precious burden to be borne by other hands, drew it 
 themselves, amid the firing of cannon and other demonstra- 
 tions of admiring affection, to the spot selected for its erec- 
 tion, the intersection of Broad and Meeting streets. The 
 subsequent history of this statue was remarkable. The 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 125 
 
 right arm J raised in eloquent attitude^ was shot off by a 
 cannon-ball discharged from a British Fort on James Island, 
 during the siege of Charles-town, in 1780. And such is the 
 fickleness of popular feeling, that a few years after, the ex- 
 citement against the son of Mr, Pitt, who was then direct- 
 ing the war against France, was as great with some at the 
 South as it had been enthusiastically warm for the father. 
 In consequence of which, it is said that the statue in being 
 taken down for a change of place, was allowed to fall, and 
 in its broken and mutilated state put away among some 
 old rubbish, where it remained for years uncared for and 
 forgotten.* Until, at length, the noble impulse that had 
 prompted its execution in the first instance, once more 
 attained the ascendancy, and the valuable relic was carefully 
 placed where it now stands, in front of the Orphan House 
 in Charleston, an ornament to the city which should hold 
 it dear to the latest generation. 
 
 Such had been the progress of the settlements on the 
 Pedee in all the elements of prosperity, that a distinct 
 organization of their own, the want of which had been long 
 felt, was now imperatively demanded. And happily for 
 them, their claims in this behalf, could no longer be over- 
 looked. It will be seen how a new impetus was thereby 
 given to their hitherto steady progress, and an opportunity 
 afforded them of taking their proper place in the affairs of 
 the Province, to the advancement of which, in their mea- 
 sure, as good citizens, they had faithfully contributed. 
 
 The time withal was at hand, when their voice was of 
 right to be heard ; and their efforts, as an organized body, 
 to be acknowledged, who, having once been as loyal as any 
 other subjects of the British Crown, were now to be as 
 prompt and decided in throwing off the yoke which a mis- 
 guided government, as an unnatural parent, would fain have 
 put upon them. 
 
 * Drayton's " Memoirs," v. 1, p. 60, and note, giving an interesting account 
 of this statue. 
 
126 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Judicial history — Only Courts held in Charles-town — Evils resulting — Lynch 
 law — Disturbances in North Carolina — Similar troubles in this Province-r- 
 How remedied by the people — Regulation movement — First expression of 
 the popular voice by petition for Circuit Courts — Action of Council thereon, 
 and of Commons House of Assembly — Nothing done — People discouraged 
 and disaffected — Acts of Regulators — Government aliirmed — Accounts 
 from Back Country — Proclamations of Governor to quiet disturbances — 
 Further accounts from interior — Action of Council — Legal proceedings 
 instituted — Disturbances continue — People await the fate of Circuit Court 
 Act — Disturbances in neighbourhood of Mars Eluif — Colonel Powell — 
 Companies from Long Blufl" — Accounts of the conflict — Its end — Govern- 
 ment alive from the first to the serious nature of the troubles — Regu- 
 lators meet — Account of them — New election of Members of Assembly 
 ordered — General meeting of Regulators — Precautions to preserve quiet at 
 elections — Assembly meets — His Excellency's address — Assembly's reply — 
 Domestic manufactures — Efforts to promote them — Subscription in St. 
 David's — Assembly esi^ouses cause of colonists — Concluding reflections. 
 
 Toward the close of the period of which some account has 
 been given, events were transpiring, important beyond all 
 others in their bearing upon that decisive change which the 
 conflict with the Mother Country was soon to bring about. 
 An alarming state of affairs had existed in the interior and 
 more remote parts of the Province. Prior to the year 1769, 
 the General Court was holden in Charles-town. This had 
 supplanted the County and Precinct Courts which were ap- 
 pointed in 1725 ; and being the only Court of Criminal and 
 Civil jurisdiction in the Province (except the Courts of Jus- 
 tices of the Peace, which had jurisdiction in all civil causes 
 as high as twenty pounds current money), great oppression 
 and inconvenience were felt by the people living remote 
 from the seat of justice — by parties, witnesses, and jurors, 
 who were obliged to attend the court ; and especially by 
 suitors and prosecutors, who were often worn out by the 
 law's delay, insulted by the insolence of office, and ruined 
 by costs and expenses, most unreasonably incurred and 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 127 
 
 cruelly exacted."^ The delay of suits, in many cases, in 
 consequence of the distance from Charles-town, was very 
 great, and the cost and inconvenience of such attendance 
 exceedingly burdensome and detrimental. The business of 
 the Provost Marshal was much too extensive to be duly 
 executed, and his fees, by reason of the extent of his office 
 throughout the Province, often more than half the amounts 
 sued for. The expense of recovering small debts frequently 
 exceeded their whole sum. In consequence of this state of 
 things, numbers of people, it is said, were deterred from 
 becoming inhabitants of the Province, and many large and 
 valuable tracts of land continued to lie uncultivated, to the 
 injury of the public revenue and the trade with Great Bri- 
 tain. And yet greater evils prevailed, so as seriously to 
 affect the inhabitants of the interior, because unprotected to 
 a great extent in their persons and property by the strong 
 arm of the law. They were too remote to think of carry- 
 ing thieves and other offenders, except in extraordinary 
 cases, to Charles-town. Hence the most unhappy facilities 
 were afforded to the worst classes of people to escape the 
 punishment due to their crimes, and the payment of their 
 just debts. This state of things drove the inhabitants of 
 the middle and parts of the upper county, then the frontier 
 settlements, into the most disorderly and violent measures. 
 The laws, which were found ineffectual to restrain and 
 punish horse thieves and other notorious offenders, were also 
 disregarded by good and honest men, who undertook to do 
 themselves justice, and to punish the guilty by arbitrary 
 measures. The authority of the civil magistrate was held 
 in contempt, because insufficient for the maintenance of 
 order and the regular execution of the laws. Some efforts 
 were made to repress these disturbances, but they were 
 found unavailing.* 
 
 The evil, which had been of long standing and grown 
 with the increase of population, at length became intoler- 
 
 * Introduction to Brevard's "Digest," vol. i. p. 14. Tliis introduction is of 
 great value in connexion with the Judicial History of this period. Though 
 brief, it is a very able and comprehensive exposition of those evils which drove 
 the people to desperation, and of the changes imperatively demanded, 
 t Brevard, vol. i. p 14. 
 
128 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 able. Such was the distance to Charles-town, the seat of 
 justice ; such the difficulty, nay, the impossibility in most 
 instances, of securing the attendance of necessary parties, 
 and the great expense withal, that redress was literally out 
 of the question — redress according to the forms of law. 
 This, indeed, has been the case in the first settlement of all 
 our western states at later periods.* To increase the difiS- 
 culty in Carolina, a certain class of ofienders now abounded. 
 There was a floating element — men of lawless character, who 
 lived by their wits, and infested every community. Horse 
 thieves and negro stealers, highway-robbers and abandoned 
 trespassers had to be dealt with. Signal and summary 
 punishment, though often demanded by the atrocious cir- 
 cumstances attending particular cases, was not to be had 
 according to the established course of justice. However 
 heinous their offences had been, criminals could not ordi- 
 narily be brought to a legal condemnation. They came in 
 strongly organized bands, and by their mutual support, false 
 swearing, and intimidation of prosecutors, either caused the 
 law to be ineffectual, or the guilty entirely to escape. 
 Having in vain sought relief from the Government, the vir- 
 tuous inhabitants had but one alternative left — to take the 
 administration of remedial measures into their own hands. 
 
 They called themselves " Regulators ;" and thus " Lynch 
 law^^ had its origin at this period. 
 
 The Regulators consisted of respectable planters and 
 others, who demanded a better system for the more regular, 
 equal, and vigorous, as well as prompt administration of jus- 
 tice, f Such was the character of the actors, and of the 
 movement made on the Pedee. The Regulators maintained 
 for some time a vigorous and efiective organization, not 
 abusing the powers they assumed, or exercising them beyond 
 the exigences of their unhappy condition. On the other 
 hand, the Government, instead of giving ear to their timely 
 and respectful complaints, and providing some redress, em- 
 ployed as instruments to subdue the spirit of rebellion, as it 
 
 * Remarkably so in Texas, where the history of Lynch Law, or the Regu- 
 lators, has been one of a peculiar and most instructive character, 
 ■f Brevard's " Introduction," p. 14. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 129 
 
 was called, and enforce the existing system, men of little or 
 no character or respectability, the obsequious tools of those 
 in power, who abused their authority and fattened on the 
 general distress. This was more or less the case in all the 
 interior jjarts of the Province, and especially in the western 
 district, where a man of low character, named Scovill, was 
 employed to enforce the law among the self-coastituted 
 Regulators.'^ In executing his commission he adopted very 
 severe measures, and came into serious collision Avith num- 
 bers of the better classes among the people, involving mul- 
 titudes in great distress. All this led, in that part of the 
 Province, to very grave difficulties and disturbances at the 
 commencement of the Revolution. 
 
 In North Carolina also serious troubles now existed. 
 The first complaints there arose from oppressive exactions 
 laid by government officials in the shape of exorbitant fees 
 and otherwise upon the people. 
 
 As early as 1766, these disturbances, beginning in Gran- 
 ville, extended into Orange and Anson Counties. Up to 
 April, 1768, those who had taken part in these proceedings 
 in North Carolina were designated by thg appellation of the 
 " Mob/' and seem to have adopted il themselves.^ On xhe 
 4th of April they changed it tc that of " Regulators."! 
 Oppressed with the malpractices of some avaricious indivi- 
 duals, they forcibly opposed the administration of civil 
 government under the officers of the Crown. These insur- 
 gents, though numerous, being undisciplined, and for the 
 most part without arms, were easily dispersed by Gov''- 
 Tryon at the head of the incorporated militia of the country. 
 Some of their leaders were killed in action, others were 
 hanged, and all of them were involved in distress. J Three 
 hundred of their number were left dead upon the field. It 
 might have been expected that those in either Province, who 
 were thus ready to resist the constituted authorities, on 
 account of oppressions, or to take the law into their own 
 hands in order to bring the guilty to condemnation, would 
 
 * Ramsay's " History of Revolution in So. Ca.," vol. i. p. 63. 
 
 t Martin's " History of No. Ca.," pp. 215-217. 
 
 J " Ramsay," vol. i. p. 213. 
 
 K 
 
130 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 be true to their country in the great conflict then approach- 
 ing. These were in reality the first revolutions in America,^ 
 and those who assumed therein the attitude of open resis- 
 tance were the first rebels. But, disappointing public ex- 
 pectation^ many in North Carolina afterwards joined the 
 royal party. 
 
 As it was with those between the Broad and Saluda 
 Rivers in S°' C- who came in conflict with Scovill^ having 
 suffered so severely for opposing regular government^ they 
 could not be persuaded afterward to co-operate with their 
 countrymen in the support of congresses and committees 
 raised for purposes of resistance. f And thus^ a spirit true 
 to the instincts of liberty in the inception of the struggle, 
 though to some extent misguided^ was crushed by the dis- 
 asters it encountered, and turned at last against that cause 
 which it might so nobly have sustained. Such, however, 
 was not the history of the Regulation Movement on the 
 Pedee. It began not so much in the shape of open resis- 
 tance or opposition to Government, as in the assumption of 
 authority within certain limits, which the best citizens 
 deemed essential to the public welfare and to individual 
 safety. The most respectable and influential inhabitants 
 were found chiefly on the river, where the first settlements 
 were made, and these were all united in their respective 
 neighbourhoods, as committees of vigilance, for the detection 
 and punishment of offenders. With them no stigma 
 attached to the name of Regulator. They were actuated by 
 good motives, and only sought to efi'ect, by a summary 
 process of their own, what the law, as then administered, 
 had signally failed to accomjjlish. Violent measures were 
 only resorted to as a temporary expedient. Under the 
 extraordinary circumstances of the time, the course of these 
 Regulators cannot be condemned. It furnishes, however, 
 no precedent for a similar line of conduct in others who 
 live in a more advanced and better regulated state of society, 
 with the important privilege, moreover, of courts of their 
 own, which to our early settlers was denied. 
 
 * Sabine's " American Loyalists," p. 27. 
 t Ramsay's " Revolution in So. Ca.," vol. i. p. 64. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 131 
 
 The position taken by the Regulators on the Pedee, and 
 the conflicts to which it led with the royal authority, un- 
 doubtedly nursed the spirit of liberty, preparing the way for 
 that early and bold declaration of their rights, as well as 
 for those heroic sacrifices and unflinching struggles in the 
 cause of independence, for which the Whigs of the Old 
 Cheraws were to be afterward distinguished. 
 
 The first expression of the popular voice, with reference 
 to the evils of which we have spoken, is found in the records 
 of the Upper House of Assembly, or Council, March 16th, 
 175.2. On that day, this entry was made : — " Read the 
 petition of the Inhabitants on Pedee River, about the mouth 
 of Lynchers Creek, Humbly setting forth : That the Humble 
 Petitioners reside in the remotest parts of this Province, 
 having 200 miles to travel to the seat of Government ; and 
 that trade and commerce among us are greatly obstructed 
 for want of a County Court appointed to hear and deter- 
 mine all causes, as well civil as criminal, in the same 
 manner as every Court in each Province to the Northward, 
 has power to hear and determine all such causes. We find 
 the frontier here to be a place of refuge for many evil- 
 disposed people and those of the meanest principles, crowd- 
 ing in amongst us — such as Horse Stealers and other 
 Felons, having made their escape from North Carolina, and 
 other parts — others cohabiting with their neighbor's wives, 
 and living in a most lascivious manner, while we have no 
 way or means to suppress them. We therefore humbly 
 pray, that an Act be passed, dividing Craven Couuty ; and 
 that that part from the mouth of Lynchers Creek upward, 
 to the extent of this Province, on both sides of Great 
 Pedee River, bounding Southwardly by Lynchers Creek, 
 Northwardly by the Province line, which we pray may be 
 further extended ; and likewise by a North line from oppo- 
 site to the mouth of Lynchers Creek to the Province line — 
 be one distinct County, in which we may have twleve or 
 more Justices appointed and authorised, without fee or 
 reward, to hear and determine all causes, as well civil as 
 criminal, without having their jurisdiction limited — any 
 person supposing himself aggrieved, to be redressed by ap- 
 pealing to a Superior Coui't in Charles-town. We likewise 
 
 K 2 
 
132 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 humbly pray^ that in consequence of the great expense 
 which our County will be at in building a Court House, 
 prison, pillory, and stocks, we may be exempt from paying 
 such public taxes for some few years, as in your wisdom you 
 shall think lit. And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, 
 &c., 
 
 " John Crawford, 
 
 " Owen David, 
 
 " Wm. Summer, 
 " And about 60 more subscribers/^ * 
 
 This timely and earnest appeal could not be altogether 
 slighted. The better classes of people were groaning under 
 the evils of which they here complained. 
 
 " The said Petition," as the Records of Council further 
 inform us, " being considered ; it was Ordered, that the 
 same be sent down to the Commons House of Assembly by 
 the Master in Chancery." On the following day, the 
 House " Resolved to appoint a Committee to take the same 
 into consideration, consisting of Mr. Trapier, Mr. Powell,t 
 Mr. Lynch, Mr. Dart, and Captain Buchanan." 
 
 On the 22nd of April, the Committee reported, " That 
 they have, pursuant to the Order of the House, examined 
 the matter of the said Petition ; and are of opinion, 
 that it will be no wise to the advantage of the Petitioners 
 to have the County of Craven divided, as j)rayed for by 
 their Petition, — because there is no town or other place 
 proper for holding Courts of Judicature in that part of the 
 Country which the Petitioners pray may be established a 
 separate and distinct County. But the Committee are of 
 opinion, that it is absolutely necessary that a Court be 
 established, to be holdeu at George-town, Winyaw, in the 
 
 * From two of the names subscribed to this petition — viz., John Craw ford 
 and Owen David, it is manifest tliat the petitioners were not confined to the 
 country about the mouth of Lynche's Creeli, but extended much higher up the 
 river. Tlie distance stated to the seat of Government (Charles-town) being 
 double the distance from Lynche's Creek, would also indicate that the more 
 remote parts of Craven County were actually embraced in those taking an active 
 part in the movement. 
 
 f This was George Gabriell Powell, a member from Prince George, Winyaw, 
 with whose name we are to become so familiar, as connected with the region 
 ■ibove. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEEAWS. 133 
 
 said County, for hearing, trying, and determining all 
 actions, causes, and crimes whatever (capital crimes ex- 
 cepted), that may arise or happen in the said County ; 
 And humbly recommend that a bill be brought in for that 
 purpose, and that a Message be sent to the Governor by 
 this House, to desire that his Excellency will be pleased to 
 appoint Justices of the Peace in that Part of the Province, 
 agreeably to the prayer of the said Petition/'' This Report 
 was read, considered, and duly agreed to by the House ; 
 and a Committee appointed to prepare and bring in a Bill 
 for establishing Courts of Justice at George-town, in Craven 
 County, and at Beaufort, in Granville County. A Message 
 was also Ordered to be sent to his Excellency, requesting 
 him to appoint Justices of the Peace in the distant Parts 
 of the Province. 
 
 And thus the matter ended, except that additional Jus- 
 tices of the Peace were appointed. But their powers were 
 too limited to afford such relief as the inhabitants de- 
 manded. No distinct county organization, such as was 
 prayed for, being provided, the consequence was they were 
 deprived of whatever benefit even a County Court of in- 
 ferior jurisdiction would have brought with it. No court 
 was established at George-town, as recommended by the 
 Committee. The Kepresentatives of the people felt the 
 necessity of such measures, but the Government, actuated 
 by a most mistaken policy, was unwilling to lend any en- 
 couragement. 
 
 The inhabitants were consequently forced, either to sub- 
 mit to the grievous delay and ruinous expense of prose- 
 cuting their claims there, and carrying criminals to 
 Charles-town, or to take the redress of their grievances 
 into their own hands. Finding their efforts for relief in- 
 effectual, they appear to have made no further attempt in 
 that direction for years to come. In the meantime the 
 evils of which they had complained continued to increase, 
 and at length become insupportable. The Provincial Go- 
 vernment, reflecting the wishes of that of the Mother 
 Country, was unwilling, as will be found in thiS sequel, to 
 establish Courts in the interior. These once secured, other 
 privileges, it was thought, would be demanded, gradual en- 
 
134 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 croachments be made on the established order of things^ the 
 influence of the Government in Charles-town lessened, and 
 by degrees the way prepared for the spirit of liberty, and the 
 assertion of their rights by the people of Carolina. It was 
 a short-sighted and fatal policy. For the people who were 
 thus aggrieved began to feel at length, that those who ought 
 to have been most deeply alive to their suflerings, and who 
 had the power to give redress, were willing to sacrifice them, 
 if need be, to the interests of the Crown. 
 
 Of the history of the efforts made by the back settlers, 
 during the nearly quarter of a century which followed before 
 they became their own masters, to rid themselves of the 
 evils mentioned, no record remains. The earliest account 
 left to us was of a similar state of things in another part 
 of the Province. In the Gazette of May 26th, 1767, ap- 
 peared the following extract of a letter from Pine Tree Hill 
 (Camden), dated May 14th, 1767 :— " On the 6*^ in'*, a 
 number of armed men, being in search of Horse Stealers, 
 robbers, &c., discovered a parcel of them in camp on Broad 
 River, where an engagement soon ensued, and the Thieves 
 were put to flight ; and though none of them were taken, 
 it is reasonable to suppose, from the quantity of blood on 
 the ground, that some of them were killed. They left 
 behind them ten horses, thirteen saddles, some guns, &c.^^ 
 
 This was but the commencement of troubles. The great 
 evils complained of began to appear in a thoroughly orga- 
 nized, and, to the Government, very alarming form. The 
 Gazette of July 27th — August 3rd following, made this 
 statement : — " The gang of Villains from Virginia and North 
 Cp-rolina, who have for some years past, in small parties, 
 under particular leaders, infested the back parts of the 
 Southern Provinces, stealing horses from one, and selling 
 them in the next, notwithstanding the late public examples 
 made of several of them, we hear are more formidable than 
 ever as to numbers, and more audacious and cruel in their 
 thefts and outrages. ^Tis reported that they consist of more 
 than 200, form a chain of communication with each other, 
 and have places of general meeting ; where (in imitation of 
 Councils of War) they form plans of operation and defence, 
 and (alluding to their secrecy and fidelity to each other), 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 135 
 
 call their places Free Mason Lodges. Instances of their 
 cruelty to the people in the back settlements, where they 
 rob or otherwise abuse, are so numerous and shocking, 
 that a narrative of them would fill a whole Gazette, and 
 every reader with horror. They at present range in the 
 Forks between Broad, Saludy, and Savannah Rivers. Two 
 of the gang were hanged last week at Savannah, viz., Lundy 
 Hart and Obadiah Greenage. Two others, James Fergu- 
 son and Jesse Hambersam, were killed when these were 
 taken. ^' Soon after this, other alarming accounts reached 
 Charles-town from the interior, for the back settlements 
 were now in a state of general commotion. At a Meeting 
 of Council, October 5th, 1767, " His Excellency informed 
 the Board that he had received information that a consider- 
 able number of the Inhabitants between Santee and Wateree 
 rivers had assembled, and in a riotous manner gone up and 
 down the country, committing riots and disturbances, 
 and that they had burnt the houses of some persons who were 
 reported to be Harbourers of Horse Thieves, and talk of 
 coming to Charles-town to make some complaints. The 
 Board gave it as their opinion to his Excellency that to 
 prevent the mischief such commotions would be attended 
 with, it would be proper for his Excellency to issue a Pro- 
 clamation, commanding them to disperse, and enjoining all 
 officers to take care to preserve the public peace.'^ How 
 unfeeling must have been a Government which had no sym- 
 pathies for the troubles of its unoffending subjects ! and 
 how blind to imagine that proclamations could quiet the 
 public mind, and restore tranquillity among those whose 
 persons and property were endangered by outlaws, who were 
 running at large, the enemies of mankind ! 
 
 In November following, a petition* from the upper and 
 interior parts of Craven County, for the redress of grie- 
 vances, was presented to Government. 
 
 In reply to this, and as touching the fearful state of 
 things of which accounts were now frequently coming in, his 
 
 * It is a source of much regret to the author that he was unable, after 
 diligent search, to discover any further trace of this petition. It was not copied, 
 as was usual in the proceedings of Council, and was nowhere else to be found 
 among the public records of the time. It came from the Upper Pedee. 
 
136 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Excellency Lord Charles Grevill Montagu^ on 5tli of No- 
 vember;, made the following address to both Houses of 
 Assembly : — 
 
 " Hon. Gen*° : I should think myself equally negligent in 
 the duty I owe to my King and this Province, if I did not 
 recommend to you an early and serious consideration of the 
 unhapjDy situation of the Back Parts of this Country. The 
 various acts of villainy committed there, in contempt of all 
 laws, human and divine, we have too frequent accounts of, 
 and too recent proofs of, in the late trials of the unhappy 
 convicts now under sentence of death. Far remote from the 
 seat of Justice, they are daily exposed to misery and dis- 
 tress. These are objects that require redress, and are 
 worthy the care of the Legislature. Tumultuous risings of 
 any people, if not properly attended to, are of dangerous 
 tendency, and they are a disgrace to a country, and particu- 
 larly pernicious to a commercial and newly settled colony. 
 The means to suppress those licentious spirits that have so 
 lately appeared in the distant parts of the Province, and, 
 assuming the name of Regulators, have, in defiance of Go- 
 vernment, and to the subversion of good order, illegally 
 tried, condemned, and punished many persons, require an 
 attentive deliberation." 
 
 To this the Upper House of Assembly made the follow- 
 ing reply : — 
 
 " The Humble Address of his Majesty^s Council. We, 
 his Majesty^s dutiful and loving subjects, the Council of this 
 Province, beg leave to return our thanks to your Excellency 
 for your speech delivered yesterday to both Houses of 
 Assembly. It is with the utmost concern that we behold 
 the distracted state of the Frontier Settlements of this Pro- 
 vince, where force and rapine, riot and disorder, supersede 
 the temperate provisions of law and justice ; but, tumultuous 
 examples never fail to multiply those evils which it is the 
 policy of well-regulated States to prevent by proper laws. 
 The great objects proposed to our consideration deserve the 
 most serious and deliberate attention, and we assure your 
 Excellency that we shall, on our part, most heartily concur 
 in every measure calculated to advance the public good, to 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 137 
 
 compose the minds and remove the distresses of our fellow 
 subjects." 
 
 The Government, as is here manifest, did not comprehend 
 the real nature of existing evils, or the remedies necessary 
 to be applied. It is also e^adent from the Governor's 
 language, that there was not only no sympathy with them, 
 but that a feeling of very decided opposition had been 
 excited against the Regulators. 
 
 As an evidence of the feeling entertained by the Govern- 
 ment, the fact may be mentioned that in March following 
 (1768), a Petition fi'om the Back Settlers for a Circuit 
 Court Bill, as a measure of relief, was disposed of by 
 Council, " after mature deliberation, by determining ' that 
 it would not be necessary to take any notice of the same.' " 
 This, of course, only led to more desperate measures on the 
 part of the suflferers. 
 
 In less than a month, however, the authorities in 
 Charles-town were induced to change their minds, and 
 pursue a different policy, such were the indications of ap- 
 proaching difficulties, threatening to bring the people at 
 once into an attitude of open rebellion, and perchance to 
 overthrow the Government itself. On the 18th of April, 
 a Circuit Court Act was passed, but afterwards failed to 
 become a law. On the next day, April 19th, at a Meeting 
 of Council, " His Hon'"' the Lieut. -Gov""' observed to his Ex- 
 cellency, that a great number of Prosecutions were now being 
 carried on against the people who had committed several 
 outrages in the Back Country, and went by the name of 
 Kegulators, that several of the delinquents were very poor, 
 and would be much harassed by them, and they had been 
 unhappily deluded by some, who were ring-leaders in these 
 riots, the punishment of whom, he apprehended, would 
 answer the end of public justice, and vindicate the honor 
 o^ Government; and therefore mentioned it as his opinion, 
 that it would be proper to give directions to the Attorney- 
 General, after a sufficient number of the most considerable 
 were convicted, to enter Nolle Prosequis on the remaining 
 prosecutions. The Board agreeing in opinion with his 
 Honor, his Excellency was pleased to direct, that the 
 
138 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Attorney-General^ after such a number as he should think 
 convenient, not to exceed eight of the Principal Rioters, 
 were convicted, to stop further proceedings against the rest/^* 
 Little did his Excellency, his Honor, and the Council un- 
 derstand the real state of the case. United as the sturdy 
 yeomen of the Back Country were, and far removed from 
 the coast, what cared they for prosecutions commenced in 
 Charles-town? Having in vain petitioned for redress, no 
 alternative was left them but to enter boldly upon the con- 
 flict now at hand. In less than three months they were 
 found at work, as appears from the following remarks in 
 the Gazette of June 13th. " It seems hardly probable that 
 the disturbances in our back settlements will entirely sub- 
 side, notwithstanding all the prudent steps that have been 
 taken, or can be taken, by the Government to suppress them, 
 until the late Act of the General Assembly of this Province 
 for establishing Circuit Courts, takes effect : for we daily 
 hear of new irregularities committed by the people called 
 Regulators, who, seeming to despair of rooting out those des- 
 perate villains that remain among them any other way, still 
 take upon themselves to punish such offenders as they can 
 catch. We hear, that within this month, one Watts and one 
 Distoe, have received 500 lashes each by their direction ; and 
 that an infamous woman has also received corporal punish- 
 ment. We hear, also, that one John Bowles has lately lost 
 his life in attempting to take Mr. Woodward, one of the 
 leaders of the people called Regulators. According to our 
 account. Woodward, refusing to surrender himself, Bowles 
 fired at, and would have killed him, but the ball struck the 
 barrel of a gun which he held across his breast, upon which, 
 some people in company with Woodward, fired, and killed 
 Bowles.'' •" 
 
 It seems that up to this time, the authorities in Charles- 
 town were not apprized of the fact that the regulation 
 movement embraced the most respectable and influential 
 element in the Back Country. At a later period even, a 
 most singular misapprehension will be found to have pre- 
 vailed on the subject. The crisis on the Pedee was now 
 
 " Council Journal," No. 34, pp. 118, 119. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 139 
 
 rapidly approaching. The next intelligence of which any 
 account remains, though not directly from that quarter, in- 
 dicates what was going on there. 
 
 "At a Meeting of Council, July 5th, 1768, his Honor 
 communicated to the Board a letter he had rec*'" from 
 Tacitus Galliard, Esq., to whom he had sent an express, 
 desiring him to use his endeavours to appi'ehend the 
 Deserters from the Regulars in Charles-town, in which 
 Mr. Galliard informed his Honor, that the Back parts of 
 the Country were far from heing quiet, and that those 
 people called Regulators, continued still to assemble together; 
 but, as few members were present, the further consideration 
 of what might be proper to be done, was adjourned over 
 till next Friday morning.'^"^ 
 
 At that meeting, however, no action appears to have 
 been taken. On 25th July, the following intelligence was 
 given in the So. Ca. Gazette. " The last accounts from the 
 Back Settlements say, that the People called the Regula- 
 tors were to have a meeting at Lynchers Creek, on last 
 Friday, where it was expected 1200 would be assembled. 
 The occasion of this meeting is said to be, a Party of them 
 lately ha\ang been roughly used by a Gang of Banditti, 
 consisting of Mulattoes, Free Negroes, &c., notorious 
 Harborers of runaway slaves, at a place called Thompson's 
 Creek, whom they ordered, to remove. It is added, they 
 anxiously wait to hear the fate of the Act for establishing 
 Circuit Courts in this Province, sent home for the Royal 
 approbation, which, if it obtains, will restore good order in 
 those parts. '■' It may surprise the reader to find that so 
 large a number of the classes here mentioned, Mulattoes, 
 Free Negroes, &c., had collected at this early period in the 
 settlement of the Province. Such a meeting of the in- 
 habitants would indicate a formidable band of desperadoes. 
 A more serious conflict was now to begin on the River. 
 In Council, August 2nd, " His Honor communicated to the 
 Board a letter from Col. Powell, and another from Robert 
 Weaver, Esq., a magistrate for Craven County, and an affi- 
 davit taken by Mr. Weaver from some of the people who 
 
 • Council Journal," No. 34, pp. 174, 175. 
 
140 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 live upon the Pedee ; from which it appeared that a Con- 
 stable having a Warrant of Distress to execute' on the 
 Chattels of some of the Regulators, had called to his 
 assistance 13 other men ; that this party had fallen in 
 with a considerable number of the Regulators, under Gideon 
 Gibson, an Inhabitant of those Parts, when a skirmish was 
 begun by the Regulators, in which one of the Constable's 
 party was killed ; that the Regulators then overpowered the 
 Constable's party, and whipt some of them in a most cruel 
 manner, and threatened to hang one of them, in case one 
 of their party, a brother of the said Gibson, who was 
 "wounded in the affray, should die. It also appeared that 
 Mr, Weaver, the Magistrate who had issued the warrant, 
 and was obnoxious to them because he declared his disap- 
 probation of their proceedings, lived in the greatest terror 
 and danger of his life and property, and that all that part 
 of the Country was a scene of riot and disorder/'' 
 
 " His Honor, by the advice of the Board, sent for Mr. 
 Camjjbell, the Clerk of the Crown and Peace, and directed 
 him to lay those papers before the Judges, and to inform 
 them that he earnestly recommended to them to take such 
 steps as would enforce obedience to the laws, quell the 
 disorders in the Back Country, and bring some of these 
 atrocious offenders to condign punishment ; and to assure 
 them of his readiness to give all assistance in his power to 
 accomplish these ends.''* 
 
 This disturbance near Mars Bluff thus begun, proved to be 
 of most important consequence in alarming the Government 
 on the one hand, and rousing and uniting the better class 
 of inhabitants in the interior on the other. Gideon Gibson, 
 though of violent and perhaps turbulent character, was a 
 man of property and influence, an acknowledged leader in 
 that part of the Country, and as bold as he was intent upon 
 vindicating the rights of the people. It was necessary, 
 therefore, if a Government whose authority was now on 
 the wane, was to be supported, that prompt and stringent 
 measures should be adopted. In Council, August 3rd, 
 " His Honor observed to the Board, that his Majesty had 
 
 * " Council Journal," No. 34, pp. 194, 195, 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 141 
 
 published a very strong Proclamation in England on 
 account of the late riots near London, and desired the 
 opinion of the Board if it might not be proper to issue some- 
 thing similar to it here, on account of the Riots in some of 
 the Back Settlements. The Board were of oj)inion that it 
 would be proper; and the following draught of a Proclama- 
 tion being approved of, it was ordered to be prepared." 
 
 " South Carolina. 
 " By the Hon^- W™- Bull, Esq., Gov'- and Commander- 
 in-Chief in and over the said Province . 
 
 " A Proclamation. 
 
 " Whereas, it has been represented to me, that divers 
 dissolute and disorderly persons have of late frequently 
 assembled themselves together in the North- Western Parts 
 of this Province, in a riotous and unlawful manner, to the 
 disturbance of the public Peace, and in particular have, in 
 the most illegal manner, taken upon them to whip and con- 
 fine several persons, under the pretence of punishing them 
 for crimes which they have charged against them, instead of 
 delivering them into the hands of public Justice, and have 
 daringly resisted the execution of the King^s Process ; 
 and that these acts of violence have been accompanied with 
 threats of still greater outrages, which have spread terror 
 and alarm amongst those most likely to be affected thereby ; 
 and that some of those dissolute and disorderly persons have 
 audaciously attempted to deter and intimidate the Civil 
 Magistrates from doing their duty — I have taken the same 
 into serious consideration, and being duly sensible of the 
 mischievous consequences that may ensue from the con- 
 tinuance and repetition of such disorders, have thought fit, 
 by and with the advice of his Majesty's Hon^' Council, to 
 issue this my Proclamation, hereby strictly requiring and 
 commanding all the Justices, the Provost Marshal, and all 
 other the Peace Officers of this Province, that they do 
 severally use their utmost endeavours, by every legal means 
 in their power, effectually to prevent and suppress all such 
 tumults and unlawful assemblies, and to that end to put 
 in due execution the laws for preventing, suppressing, and 
 
142 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 punishing the same, and that all his Majesty ^s dutiful and 
 loyal subjects be aiding and assisting therein : And further, 
 that the Magistrates and all others acting in obedience to 
 this my Proclamation, may rely on the protection and sup- 
 port of the law in so doing, as they shall answer at their 
 peril for the neglect thereof. Given under my hand and 
 the great seal of his Majesty^s said Province, at Charles- 
 town, this third Day of August, 1768, and in the eighth year 
 of his Majesty's reign. « William Bull. 
 
 " By bis Honor's command, 
 
 " Tlio" Skettowe, Sect^. 
 
 " God save the King.^^"'^ 
 
 This measure, however, being deemed insufficient, further 
 action was taken. In Council, August 5th, " His Honor 
 the Lieu*" Gov''" observed, that several of the People who had 
 associated with the Regulators had been unwarily led into 
 the tumultuous proceedings they had been engaged in, and 
 had also been greatly provoked thereto by the repeated 
 losses they had sustained from the villainous gangs of Horse- 
 Thieves that infested those parts; and that he was of 
 opinion that if a promise of a free pardon was to be offered 
 to them for outrages already committed, it would probably 
 disperse them and restore peace and tranquillity to the 
 Back parts of this Province ; and a majority of the Board 
 agreeing with his Honor in opinion that the effect of such 
 a Proclamation should be tried ; the following draught of a 
 Proclamation being approved of, it was ordered to be pub- 
 lished. 
 
 " A Proclamation. 
 
 " South Carolina, 
 
 « By the Hon'" W"- Bull, &c. 
 
 " Whereas, by the advice of his Majesty's Hon^' Council, I 
 did, on the 3rd day of August ins*" issue my Proclamation, 
 reciting, that it having been represented to me that divers 
 dissolute and disorderly persons had of late frequently 
 assembled themselves together in the North-Western parts 
 of this Province, in a riotous and unlawful manner, to the 
 disturbance of the public Peace ; and particvdarJy had, in 
 
 * " Council Journal," No. 2i, pp. 203-204. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 143 
 
 the most illegal manner, taken upon themselves to whip 
 and confine several persons, under pretence of punishing 
 them for crimes which they had charged against them, 
 instead of delivering them into the hands of Public Justice, 
 and had daringly resisted the King's Process, and that their 
 acts of violence had been accompanied with tlireats of still 
 greater outrages, which had spread terror and alarm amongst 
 those most likely to be immediately affected thereby ; and 
 that the said disorderly persons had audaciously attempted 
 to deter and intimidate the Civil Magistrate from doing his 
 duty; and I, having taken the same into my serious con- 
 sideration, did think proper thereby strictly to enjoin and 
 command the Justices, Provost Marshal, and all other the 
 Peace Officers of this Province, to use their utmost endea- 
 vom^s, by every legal means in their power, to prevent and 
 suppress all such tumults and unlawful assemblies ; and to 
 that end to put in due execution the laws for preventing, 
 suppressing, and punishing the same, assuring them and all 
 others acting in obedience thereto, of the protection and sup- 
 port of the law in so doing : But forasmuch as it has also 
 been further represented, and appears unto me, that very many 
 of the persons concerned in the said acts of violence, have 
 unwarily been drawn in, and even provoked thereto by the 
 great and repeated losses they have sustained from the 
 gangs of Robbers and Banditti who infested those parts, and 
 who were become the more dangerous and daring by being 
 confederated in numerous bodies, and it Avas thereby ren- 
 dered difficult to bring them to Public Justice : I, there- 
 fore, taking the same into my serious consideration, and 
 being willing, under such circumstances, rather to prevent 
 than to inflict the punishment due to such outrageous and 
 illegal proceedings, do, by and with the advice of his 
 Majesty's Hon' Council, issue this my Proclamation, hereby 
 strictly commanding and requiring all persons so unlaw- 
 fully assembled to disperse themselves and repair peaceably 
 to their respective homes and occupations, and forbidding 
 them and all persons hereafter, at their utmost peril, so to 
 assemble again ; and I do promise his Majesty's most gra- 
 cious Pardon for the misdemeanors by them committed at 
 any time before the date hereof in so unlawfully assembling. 
 
144 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 whipping or confining any person or persons as aforesaid^ 
 to all such as shall forthwith pay due obedience to this my 
 Proclamation^ excepting to those j)ersons concerned in the 
 outrages and daring violences committed by Gideon Gibson 
 and others upon George Thompson^ a lawful constable, and 
 his party, in the actual execution of a legal warrant, at or 
 near Mars Bluff, in Craven County, upon the 25th day of 
 Jiily last. Given under my hand, and the Great Seal of the 
 Province, &c.j this 6th August, 1768. 
 
 "Wm. Bull.''* 
 
 This was followed, two days after, by the following state- 
 ment in the South Carolina Gazette : — " Tuesday last, the 
 Proclamation inserted in the first page of this paper was 
 published in the usual manner ; and on Saturday there was 
 another, which is not come into our hands. A variety of 
 reports continue to be circulated in different ways, and no 
 dou.bt with different views, of the Proceedings and Inten- 
 tions of the People called Regulators, in the North Westernf 
 part of this Province, some of them very alarming : amongst 
 others, that 2 or 3000 of them were to assemble on Thurs- 
 day, at the Congarees, for very unjustifiable purposes ; but 
 we are assured, that the People so met, or to meet, are not 
 so considerable a body, and have only in view to be in- 
 formed of the Bounds of the Respective Parishes to which 
 they belong (the lines of which have been but lately run), 
 that they may not lose the right of voting for Representa- 
 tives of their own nomination, at their next general election, 
 whenever the law gives it them.''' 
 
 August 15th, the Gazette said : — "The outrageous oppo- 
 sition lately offered to the Civil authority near Mars Bluff, 
 on Pedee River, being at present a general subject of con- 
 versation, and by many attributed to the People called 
 Regulators, it may not be amiss to lay before the public the 
 following information, viz. : That there are two parties so 
 called, and the proceedings of the one frequently con- 
 founded with those of the other. That the first (called the 
 Honest party) consists in general of people of good prin- 
 
 * " Council Journal," No. 34, pp. 208-211. 
 •j- It should rather have been " North Eastern," &c. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 145 
 
 ciples and projDerty, who have assembled chiefly about the 
 Cougarees, the Ridge, &e., professedly with the view of 
 dri\-iug all horse thieves, with their harbourers, abettors, 
 and other vagabonds, from amongst them; and that the 
 other (called the Rogues^ party) are a gang of banditti, a 
 numerous collection of outcast Mulattoes, Mustees, Free 
 Negroes, &c., all horse thieves from the borders of Virginia 
 and other Northern Colonies (the very people whom the 
 Regulators would have expelled the Province, or brought to 
 Justice), and have taken up arms to carry on their villainy 
 with impunity. The last accounts we have received of both 
 are. That the former, on the \6^^ past, took up one Charles 
 Sparks, of infamous character, on Pedee, and ordered him to 
 receive 500 lashes and quit the Province : and of the latter, 
 that an armed company of them, headed by one Gideon 
 Gibson, on the 25^^ past, near Mars-bluflP, surrounded a 
 Constable and 12 men, who were sent to bring one of the 
 villains before a magistrate, and after a smart skirmish, ' 
 wherein two of the Constable's party were mortally wounded, 
 and one shot through the shoulder, took the rest Prisoners, 
 whom he discharged, after ordering them 50 lashes each. In 
 the skirmish, Gibson had one of his sons killed, and another 
 wounded in the neck. Proper measures are taken to bring 
 the principals of this desperate gang to Justice." 
 
 On the 22nd August, the Gazette said : — " We are sorry 
 that we cannot have the pleasure of informing the public, 
 that either of the Proclamations issued by his Honor the 
 Lieu* Gov^ on the S""*^ and 6"* ins*^, are likely to produce the 
 desired eflFects ; Gideon Gibson declining to surrender on 
 any terms ; having put himself under the protection of 
 people that do not at present seem disposed to give him up. 
 This man's character, we are told, always stood fair, till he 
 lately became the tool of a Party, who committed the out- 
 rages near Mars-bluff, mentioned in our last." 
 
 The Gazette, from which the preceding extracts are taken, 
 was in the interest of the Government, and therefore dis- 
 posed to cast as much odium as possible on every proceeding 
 in which the people arrayed themselves against the consti- 
 tuted authorities of the Province. At first the Regulators 
 were spoken of in terms of unmcasiu'cd condemnation ; but, 
 
 L 
 
146 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 as the fact became known that they embraced the best people 
 in the interior settlements^ the tone of the press^ as well as 
 of the Government^ became very much softened. To Gibson^ 
 however, no mercy was to be shown. He was made to 
 appear as one of the Rogues' party. How far this was from 
 being the case will appear in the sequel. 
 
 Immediately after the receipt of the intelligence in 
 Charles-town, Col. Powell, of the Pedee Regiment, with the 
 Provost Marshal, was despatched to the interior to quell 
 the disturbance. In Council, 26th August, His Honor, 
 Wm. Bull, informed the Board, that Roger Pinckney, Esq., 
 the Provost Marshal, had returned from the Northward, for 
 which place he had set out with warrants against Gibson, 
 one of the Regulators, and that he had, by him, received 
 the following letter from Col. Powell : — 
 
 « To the Hon^ W"^ Bull, &c. 
 « Hon^ Sir, 
 
 " On the 9th ins* I set out with Mr. 
 Pinckney for Mars-bluff, and reached Lynchers Creek, dis- 
 tance 42 miles, that night, where we were joined by about 
 25 of the Posse Comitatus ; and the following evening 
 arrived at Mars-bluff, distance 30 miles ; at which place we 
 found 15 men of Capt. Weaver''s company, and were the day 
 following reinforced by 20 men of Capt. Thomson^s com- 
 pany. It appeared to us, by all accounts, that Gibson was 
 guarded by a large body of men, and could in an hour raise 
 300 more. Mr. Pinckney and myself thought it prudent 
 that I should send orders to the Captains, Pledger, Hicks, 
 and M'Intosh, and to the Lieutenants, Clary and Michael, 
 to join us with 20 men of each of their Company s,"^ at Mars-- 
 bluffy the 15th ins*, under the hopeful expectation of being 
 able to prevail on these gentlemen to assist us readily in 
 
 * In the private journal of Rev. Nicholas Bedgegood, then pastor of the 
 Welch Neck Church at Long Blufl', this entry appears during the year 1768 : — 
 " Sunday, 14th August. No sermon, on acct. of march of ye Companies to 
 Mars-hluff." 
 
 Until the letter of Colonel Powell was found, the author had no clue to the 
 purport of this entry, and was for a time wholly at a loss to explain it, not having 
 heard of the tradition which had come down in the neighhorhood, of Gibson's 
 fight at Bass's Mills, &c. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 147 
 
 taking Gibson, Lance, &c. Mr. Pinckney being informed 
 that Gibson would surrender himself, and desirous of accom- 
 plishing his purpose in the most prudent manner, nor will- 
 ing to risk the lives of those of the Kiog^s subjects he had 
 Avith him, by opposing them against such unequal numbers, 
 agTced with me in opinion, that my inviting Gibson to meet 
 me in a certain place in the woods, where he and I might 
 be alone, and there talking the matter calmly over with him, 
 might perhaps have a good effect. I wrote to Mr. Gibson, 
 and met him accordingly, on Sunday, the 14th, where, after 
 an hour and an halFs conversation, he solemnly promised 
 to deliver himself up to Mr. Pinckney the following Mon- 
 day, 8 o^ clock in the forenoon ; and, indeed, I had not the 
 least doubt but that the man would have fulfilled his pro- 
 mise. However, when the •time came about, I found myself 
 egregiously mistaken ; for, instead of coming, he wrote me 
 a letter, signifying that he had altered his resolution, and 
 would not surrender himself. About 10 o'clock, that day, 
 Monday the 15th, Mr. Claudius Pegncs came to Mars-bluff, 
 and assured me he would render all the service in his 
 power, seemed to know nothing of Gibson's measures, nor 
 the intentions of the Captains,"^ Pledger, Hicks and M'ln- 
 tosh, and Lieutenants Clary and Michael, who arrived about 
 noon; drawing up their company in the woods at half a 
 mile's distance from AVeaver's house. Mr. Pegnes then told 
 us, they did not intend to advance any further. Whei'e- 
 upon, Mr. Pinckney and myself, together with Pegnes, went 
 to meet them ; where, to our surprise, we found, instead of 
 100, 300 men and ujjwards. I acquainted the officers with 
 the occasion of my calling upon them, and the service ex- 
 pected from them. 
 
 " Mr. Pinckney also acquainted them with his errand in 
 these parts, read to them his authority, and your Honor's 
 Proclamation, and demanded their aid accordingly. Which, 
 instead of paying any regard to, they absolutely refused, as 
 
 * These were John Pledger, George Hicks, and Alexander M'Intosh, among 
 the most prominent and influential men on Pedee, in the neighbourhood of Long 
 Bluff, as was John Mikell — and all distinguished afterwards in the Revolution. 
 Mr. Pegnes was the first member elect to the Assembly, li'om St. David's, 
 showing the estimation in which he was deservedly held. 
 
 L 2 
 
148 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Gribson, they said, was one of them (Regulators), and had 
 applied to them for protection. 
 
 " They said much about certain grievances which they 
 conceived themselves labouring under, for the want of County 
 Courts, and the exorbitant expense of the Law, as it now 
 stands. It was with the greatest difficulty we could per- 
 suade them to march to Weaver's, against whom they ex- 
 press much resentment. However, as victuals were pro- 
 vided for them there, and I was in hopes of bringing them 
 into better temper, by taking opportunity of conversing 
 with the leading men singly, I put myself at the head, as 
 their Colonel, and marched them to Weaver's house, where 
 both Mr. Pinckney and myself took great pains to point out 
 to them the mistakes they were running into, prompted, as 
 it appears evidently to us they ^ere, by some turbulent, de- 
 signing persons. Mr. Pegnes seemed to be an active man 
 amongst them, and is a person pitched upon to represent 
 them in the next General Assembly ; for which purpose, a 
 subscription is already set on foot to bear his expenses. To 
 enter into a detail of their unprecedented behaviour, would 
 be drawing this letter to too great a length, and I must beg 
 leave to refer your Honour to Mr. Pinckney. 
 
 " Only I would observe that, notwithstanding T had heard 
 much of the notorious behaviour of the Regulators in gene- 
 ral, yet, as several of them are men of good property, I 
 flattered myself they might be open to conviction, and in- 
 duced to admit that the method they were pursuing was 
 not the proper mode to bring about their wished-for pur- 
 pose; but, to my astonishment, I fouiid all arguments lost 
 upon them, and I am ashamed to tell your Honor, that if 
 there had not been left amongst them some faint regard 
 for their Colonel, the Provost Marshal would have been 
 grossly abused, a scheme having been laid for that purpose. 
 
 " These people proposed to Alran,"^ his releasement ; and 
 
 * Of Alran, to whom Colonel Powell here refers, nothing is known. In the 
 journal of Mr. Beilgegood, this entry is found : — 
 
 [1768.] " Sunday, 5th June, Mr. Alran taken by the Regulators." 
 If he had, prior to this time, made himself obnoxious to the civil authorities, 
 and been rescued by the Regulators, it would seem that he was seized a second 
 time, and would have been released again had he desired it. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 149 
 
 it was only owiug to himself, the Provost INIarshal could 
 bring him to town. 
 
 " Upon the whole, Sir, these disturbances seem to have so 
 dismal a tendency, that I am at a loss to guess where they 
 may terminate, and I think I may now say with safety, that 
 unless some speedy measures are fallen upon to put a stop 
 to them, the consequence will be very shocking. I cannot, 
 with any propriety, continue to be Colonel of a Regiment 
 of Militia, amongst whom I have the mortification to find 
 myself of so little weight as not to have been able to per- 
 suade them to do the duty they owe to their King and 
 Country. I must therefore beg leave to resign my commis- 
 sion, and I would have enclosed it to your Honor, but that 
 I lost it on my return from Keeowee, in fording Broad 
 River. In consequence of my promise, I enclose to your 
 Honor a letter from the Officers of the Regiment respecting 
 Captain Weaver. 
 
 " I am, with great respect, 
 
 " Honorable Sir, 
 '^ Your most obedient, humble Servant, 
 
 " G. G. Powell. 
 « Weymouth, 19th August, 1V68." 
 
 "■ His Honor also informed the Board that he had re- 
 ceived a copy of a letter, directed to the Provost Marshal, 
 which was delivered him by a waggoner in the Back Coun- 
 try, threatening his Deputies, if they offered to serve any 
 process in those parts, and advising them not to send them 
 up, as they were determined to pay no obedience to any 
 process issued from Charles-town. His Honor informed 
 the Board that he had written an account of these matters 
 to his Excellency, the Governor, and that he proposed, in a 
 week or ten days^ time, to dissolve the Assembly, and to 
 call a new one, which would be ready to meet about the 
 time his Lordship might be expected to return into the 
 Province.^''* 
 
 The interesting letter of Colonel Powell discloses the fact, 
 how much deceived and disappointed he was as to the fcel- 
 
 * " Council Journal," No. 3i, pp. 219-225. 
 
150 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 ing of the officers and companies from Long Bluff, with 
 respect to Gibson and his proceedings, as well as to the 
 course of the Government in general. Loyal yet in his 
 own sentiments, and not haiing felt, perhaps, as others had 
 done, the grievances of which they so justly complained, he 
 was at a loss to account for their conduct. His visit to 
 Broad Biver was probably made in the service of the Go- 
 vernment, to assist in quieting disturbances in that region. 
 He appears, after all, to have retained his commission ; and 
 what is more remarkable still, not to have forfeited the con- 
 fidence and affection of the people on the Pedee, having 
 been afterward, for several years in succession, the Repre- 
 sentative from St. David^s Parish* in the Commons House 
 of Assembly, and cherishing himself, to the close of his 
 useful life, the deepest interest in all that related to the 
 welfare of that Parish. 
 
 Colonel PowelFs letter also corrects the tradition,! as it 
 had come down in a most distorted shape, in the immediate 
 neighborhood of the fight, in which Gibson bore so pro- 
 minent a part. 
 
 The result, upon the whole, as the aflPair ended, was of 
 much importance. The popular feeling became deeper and 
 more determined than ever. The line was now, as it was 
 henceforth to be, distinctly drawn. And the Government 
 
 * St. David's Parish had been established in April of this year (1768). 
 
 f The tradition was related to the author by the late Hngli Godbold, of 
 Marion District, as he had heard it in his younger days from some aged 
 persons who were cotempor.iries of Gibson. According to that account, the 
 Regulators came down from North Carolina, increasing in numbers as they 
 came, and headed by Weaver, White, and Gurley. Crossing the river at 
 Mars Ekiff, they went up to what has since been known as Bass's Mill, on 
 Naked Creek, where an island was formed by a bend in the Creek, and a 
 channel cut across the mouth of the bend for mill purposes. 
 
 On the island they found Gibson strongly posted, at the head of the 
 citizens. He defeated them, killing several, taking the rest prisoners, and o-iviii<T 
 them fifty lashes a])iece. There is no doubt but that a conflict took place at the 
 point described, which was not far from Gibson's residence j but it was that 
 between Gibson's party and the Constable's, confounded by the tradition with the 
 march of the companies afterward to Mars Bluff, as it was also erroneously 
 related that the companies had come down from above under Weaver, Gurley, 
 &c. This spot was but a few years after the scene of a bloody conflict between the 
 Whigs and Tories in the Revolution, of which some account will be given. The 
 author visited the locality in company with Mr. Godbold. The facts above 
 related show how, even in a generation or two, past events may be perverted 
 by tradition. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CllERAWS. 151 
 
 was from the first, perhaps_, fully aroused to the magnitude of 
 the issues involved^ as well as the futility of the measures 
 which had been adopted to quell the rising spirit of oppo- 
 sition throughout the back parts of the Province. 
 
 His Honor and his Majesty^s Council must have felt 
 grave apprehensions now, if never before, that Proclama- 
 tions, prosecutions, and official action of whatever kind, 
 would be unavailing, if timely concessions were not made 
 to the just and long-continued demands of the people. The 
 necessity for Circuit Courts could no longer be denied. The 
 Government at home, yielding to the pressure which it had 
 been unable to resist, lent its active aid in effecting so de- 
 sirable an object, and in less than a year, a Bill to that 
 effect became law. In the meantime, the Regulators con- 
 tinued to meet, and to keep up their organization.^ On 
 the 2nd of September, there appeared in the Gazette, the 
 following ''extract of a letter from a Gentleman at Pedee, 
 to his friend in Town " : — " I wish you would inform me 
 Avhat is generally thought in town of the Regulators, who 
 now reign uncontrolled in all the remote parts of the Pro- 
 vince. In June, they held a Congress at the Congarees, 
 where a vast number of people assembled; seyeral of the 
 principal settlers on this River^ men of property, among 
 them. When these returned, they requested the most 
 respectable people in these parts to meet on a certain day ; 
 they did so, and, upon the report made to them, they 
 unanimously adopted the Plan of Regulation, and are now 
 executing it with indefatigable ardour. Their resolution is, 
 in general, effectually to deny the Jurisdiction of the 
 Courts holden in Charles-town over those parts of the Pro- 
 vince that ought to be by right out of it ; to purge, by 
 methods of their own, the country of all idle persons, all 
 that have not a visible way of getting an honest living, all 
 that are suspected or known to be guilty of malpractices, 
 and also to prevent the service of any writ or warrant from 
 Charles-town ; so that a Deputy Marshal would be handled 
 by them with severity. Against those they breathe high in- 
 
 * In Mr. Pugh's journal the following and like entries are found : — " Aug. 
 16th. Went over the Marsh to a meeting of the Regulators." " Septr. 12. 
 Went to Murphee's. Regulators met there." 
 
152 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 dignation. They are every day, excepting Sundays, employed 
 in this Regulation work, as they term it. They have brought 
 many under the lash, and are scourging and banishing the 
 baser sort of people, such as the above, with universal 
 diligence. 
 
 " Such as they think reclaimable, they are a little tender 
 of; and those they task, giving them so many acres to tend 
 in so many days, on pain of flagellation, that they may not 
 be reduced to poverty, and by that be led to steal from 
 their industrious neighbours. This course, they say, they 
 are determined to pursue, with every other effectual mea- 
 sure, that will answer their purpose ; and that they will 
 defend themselves in it to the last extremity. They hold 
 correspondence with others in the same plan, and are engaged 
 to abide by and support each other whenever they may be 
 called upon for that purpose. This, it seems, they are to 
 continue till County Courts, as well as Circuit Courts, 
 shall be rightly established, that they may enjoy, by that 
 means, the rights and privileges of British subjects, which 
 they think themselves now deprived of. They imagine that, 
 as the Jurisdiction of the Courts in Charles-town extends all 
 over the Province, Government is not a protection, but an 
 oppression ; that they are not tried there by their Peers ; 
 and that the accumulated expenses of a law-suit, or prosecu- 
 tion, puts justice out of their power ; by which means the 
 honest man is not secure in his property, and villainy be- 
 comes rampant with impunity. 
 
 " Indeed, the grievances they complain of are many, and 
 the spirit of Regulation rises higher and spreads wider every 
 day. What this is to end in, I know not ; but thus matters 
 are situated; an account of which, I imagine, is not unac- 
 ceptable, though perhaps disagreeable to hear.^'* 
 
 This letter, singularly calm in its tone for a time of such 
 general and intense excitement, appears to have been Avritten 
 by some one who was yet loyal in his feelings toward the 
 Mother Country. 
 
 It may be regarded, upon the whole, as an impartial 
 account of the Regulation movement, and exhibits the 
 
 * Gazette, August 26, September 2, 17 
 
 68. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 153 
 
 character of those who were taking the lead in the matter, 
 as well as the laudable objects they proposed to accomplish. 
 A few days after, September 12th, we find this account in 
 the Gazette : — " On Thursday last, the General Assembly of 
 this Province was dissolved by Proclamation, and writs for the 
 General Election of new Representatives, we hear, will be 
 signed and issued on Thursday next : so that it is probable the 
 election days may be fixed for Tuesday and Wednesday, the 
 4*^ and 5*^*, and the day for the meeting of the next General 
 Assembly, for Monday, the 25*^ of next month. The People 
 called Regulators have lately severely chastised one Lum, 
 who is come to Town ; but we have not yet learnt the real 
 cause for this severity to him. A letter from Pine Tree 
 Hill (Camden), dated the 6*^ ins*, contains the following 
 intelligence, viz. : The Regulators have fixed upon the 5*'* of 
 next month to have a meeting here, to draw up their grie- 
 vances, in order to be laid before the new Assembly. 2500 
 or 3000 of them, from St. Mark's and St. David's Parishes, 
 are to rendezvous, on the 10th, at Eutaw, and thence pro- 
 ceed to Charles-town, to pursue the proper measures for 
 Redress. The Regulators from the Congaree, Broad, and 
 Saludy Rivers, are not to proceed to Town, unless sent for by 
 their bretliren ; but 1 500 of them are to hold themselves 
 in readiness, in case they should be wanted. They do not 
 intend the least injury to any person in Town, desiring only 
 provision and quarter till their complaints shall be heard. 
 The confusion in North Carolina is still greater than in 
 this Province ; where the People of Orange County again 
 threaten Col. Fanning, and refuse paying any Taxes, till an 
 Act, granting an enormous sum for building a House for the 
 Governor, be repealed ; so that Gov' Tryon has been obliged 
 to draught 2000 men from Mecklenburgh and Dobbs 
 Counties, to overawe them, who are to march from the Town 
 of Mecklenburgh the 12th ins*. Two of their Leaders have 
 been secured, but it's apprehended they will be released before 
 they can be brought to Trial, as the People in general com- 
 plain loudly of the above-mentioned Act, as a Great Grie- 
 vance, as well as of that laying a Duty on Paper, Glass, &c., 
 which will soon drain from them what little specie they 
 have. Their paper Currency being mostly sunk, and a Poll 
 
154 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Tax of eleven shillings Proclamation money^ does not fail to 
 add to the distresses of that Country/^ 
 
 The next intelligence from the interior was of a more 
 cheering character. The Gazette of September 26th says : 
 " The People in the Back Settlements of this Country, we 
 hear, are now perfectly quiet, having almost thoroughly 
 expelled the dangerous set of Horse Thieves and Vagrants 
 that were becoming formidable amongst them ; and they 
 will probably continue so (his Honor the Lieutenant Go- 
 vernor's Proclamation of the 3'''^ ul*°, having had a very good 
 effect), until the important crisis of the next General Elec- 
 tion, which takes place throughout the Province on Tuesday 
 and Wednesday next week ; or, until the Meeting of the 
 General Assembly, when, they say, they will, in a Constitu- 
 tional way, not only have their Grievances heard, bvifc also 
 redressed, so far as it may appear to be in the Power of the 
 Legislature. But, the Disturbances in North Carolina have 
 not subsided, according to our last accounts from the Back 
 Counties in that Province, dated the \Q^^ ins*, his Excel- 
 lency, Gov"" Tryon, was then there, and to proceed from 
 Salisbury to Orange County, the 22"*^ ins*, but not likely 
 to succeed, the People seeming almost iinanimous in refus- 
 ing to submit to any Laws that seemed to them oppressive 
 or unconstitutional. Further particulars must be deferred 
 till our next.'' 
 
 The election for General Assembly was now drawing near, 
 and much trouble apprehended by the authorities. But, 
 the opportunity being therein presented to the people of 
 expressing their own will, such apprehensions proved to be 
 groundless. The Gazette of October 10th, said, as to this 
 matter : — " Great disorder was apprehended in several 
 Country Parishes, at the General Election of Representa- 
 tives on Tuesday and Wednesday last, from numbers of the 
 People called Regulators coming down from the Back Settle- 
 ments to vote, where it appeared to them they had a right ; 
 but, we are informed, that they behaved everywhere with 
 decency and propriety. 
 
 " They mentioned many intolerable grievances they had 
 long laboured under, and seemed to have most immediately 
 in view, a more equal Representation in Assembly; the ob- 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 155 
 
 tainingj without loss of time, an Act for ascertaining and 
 better regulating public officers^ fees, especially in law mat- 
 ters ; and, another for establishing County Courts, if the 
 Precinct Court law lately sent home, should fail to receive 
 the royal approbation." 
 
 The real objects of the Regulators were now understood, 
 and justice was at length to be meted out to their motives 
 and conduct. The elections had passed oflF quietly, not- 
 withstanding the fears of disorder and violence. 
 
 In the Parish of St. David's, recently organized, and 
 where the polls were opened for the first time, militia com- 
 panies were detailed for each election precinct, to preserve 
 the peace, and other precautions used to prevent disturbance. 
 But, no disposition was evinced by the people to resort to 
 any improper measures. 
 
 The elective franchise was one of those rights which they 
 wei'c most anxious to exercise. They were satisfied it would 
 result in still more favourable changes. The struggle for 
 constitutional liberty thus commenced, was destined, how- 
 ever, to continue, and to encounter, at every step of its pro- 
 gress, the most determined opposition. 
 
 The news now on the way from England, was to be by 
 no means cheering, so misguided was the policy persisted in 
 by the Mother Country towards her aggrieved and petitioning 
 Colonists. 
 
 The Gazette of October 10th, gave the following informa- 
 tion to the public : — " Last Thursday, arrived here the ship 
 Beavfain, Cap'' Da^dd Curling, in 45 days from the Downs, 
 by whom we have not received a single article of agreeable 
 news for North America. Our Circuit Bill, passed the 12th 
 of April last, was not likely to receive the Royal assent ; so 
 that the Back Settlers, or People called Regulators, in this 
 Province, may, in all probability, obtain what they seem 
 more anxious to obtain, a Bill for establishing County 
 Courts.'' 
 
 " We are informed that the People called Regulators, 
 have lately brought back five mortgaged Negroes from North 
 Carolina, which were carried ofi" by an absconding debtor 
 from Pedee : that, if any creditor is doidjtful of a debt due 
 there, and will come amongst them, they have offered to 
 
156 HISTORY OE THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 protect and assist liim in procuring good security for "what- 
 ever may be owing ; and, if that cannot be obtained (pro- 
 vided he brings a blank writ up), to deliver the debtor 
 into the common Gaol : that the alBFair of Gibson^s party in 
 July last, has been grossly misrepresented : and that they 
 did not rendezvous^ as it was proposed, at Eutaw^ on the 
 10th inst." 
 
 Having elected Representatives of their own choice, the 
 Regulators were satisfied to leave the redress of grievances 
 to them in Assembly, and hence the failure to meet at 
 Eutaw, as was intended. The public statement, that the 
 affair of Gibson had been grossly misrepresented led to the 
 following account in the Gazette of October 24th : " If we 
 are to credit the Depositions of George Thompson, William 
 Loving, James White, Stephen Sebastian, Godfrey Kerfey, 
 John Holloway, Reuben White, and William White, pro- 
 duced to us by Robert Weaver, Esq. of Mars-Bluff, the 
 conduct of Gideon Gibson was not misrepresented in this 
 Paper of 15th August last, unless by the omission of some 
 aggravating circumstances.'^ 
 
 So well had the facts of the case been established, how- 
 ever, that Gibson and his friends deemed it unnecessary to 
 reply to this. Comparative quiet was at length restored. 
 The claims of the Regulators were respected and their power 
 acknowledged. A general desire was now felt to comply 
 with their just demands^ which had been so long urged in 
 vain. 
 
 On the 15 th November, the General Assembly met, and 
 the inhabitants of St. David's Parish were represented for 
 the first time by one of their own choice, in the person of 
 Claudius Pegnes, Esq. On 17th Nov'' his Excellency, C. G. 
 Montagu, made an address to the Commons House of 
 Assembly, of which the following is an extract : — " I shall 
 now only recommend to your attention, the falling upon some 
 method to retrieve the distresses of your fellow subjects in 
 the remote parts of this Province, and, at the same time, to 
 discharge, and, if possible, entirely to prevent, for the future, 
 such illegal insurrections as have for some months past ap- 
 peared in those parts. In every constitutional measure to 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 157 
 
 promote these purposes, I shall cheerfully concurj and will 
 strenuously exert myself/' 
 
 In the conclusion of their address, the Assembly made 
 this reply : — " Your Excellency may depend on our doing 
 everything in our power, to relieve the distresses of our 
 fellow-subjects, in the remote parts of this Province, and 
 thereby prevent future insurrections ; not doubting of your 
 Excellency's cheerful concurrence in every constitutional 
 measure that may be thought necessary to answer these good 
 purposes : though, at the same time, the House cannot but 
 lament, the very little power that is left, by ministerial in- 
 structions, in the Legislature of this Province, to remedy the 
 capital grievances which these people labour under; parti- 
 cularly, the want of Courts of Justice amongst them, the 
 want of an equal representation in Assembly, and the exces- 
 sive fees of office, and charges of the law." 
 
 This portion of the Assembly's address, while respectful 
 in tone, was decided in sentiment, and gave token of the 
 last days of Royalty in Carolina. Here was to be seen the 
 germ of a spirit which continued to grow, until, a few years 
 later, it assumed the form of open opposition and revolu- 
 tionary conflict — the Assembly of the Province having 
 boldly espoused the cause of his Majesty's injured subjects. 
 
 " The little power left in the Legislature, in consequence 
 of ministerial instructions, to remedy the capital grievances 
 of the People," was felt more and more,. until these instruc- 
 tions ceased to be regarded, and the Governor himself, the 
 last vestige of the power of the throne, was forced to fly 
 from the City, to a British Man-of-War in the harbour of 
 Charles-town. 
 
 The people were not only determined to be independent 
 as to Courts of their own. There was a general disposition 
 to throw ofi" the yoke, and cherish the spirit of a timely 
 self-reliance. This was the case as to many articles of 
 manufacture which had been supplied to the Colonies from 
 the Mother Country. It will be remembered, that as early 
 as December 22nd, 1768, the letter from a gentleman on 
 Pedee, to his correspondent in Charles- town, related to this 
 matter. He said, '' I expect to see our own manufactures 
 
158 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 mucli promoted in this part of tlie Province/^ and samples 
 of white cotton cloth^ wLicli had been produced in that 
 region, were sent to Town for inspection. 
 
 It was stated in the Gazette of March 2nd, 1769, that, 
 " Many of the Inhabitants of the North, and Eastern parts 
 of this Province have this winter clothed themselves in their 
 own manufactures ; many more would purchase them if 
 they could be got ; and a great reform is intended in the 
 enormous expense attending funerals, for mourning, &c., 
 from the patriotic example lately set by Christopher 
 Gadsden, Esq., when he buried one of the best of wives, 
 and most excellent of women. In short, the generality of 
 the People now seem deeply impressed with an idea of the 
 necessity, and most heartily disposed, to use every means to 
 promote industry, economy, and American Manufactures, and 
 to keep as much money amongst us as possible/' 
 
 The next allusion to the subject is found in December of 
 the following year (1770), when a most important plan was 
 set on foot for promoting the objects just referred to. The 
 Gazette of the 29th of Dec""" contained this intelligence : 
 " The Committee to consider the ways and means for esta- 
 blishing and promoting such manufactures as this Province 
 is capable of producing, have already had several meetings. 
 It consists of fifteen gentlemen, who have determined to 
 begin, by setting forward a General Subscription to raise a 
 Fund of Money, towards which themselves have collectively 
 subscribed upwards of 2200/. They have chosen Henry 
 Laurens, Esq., for their Chairman and Treasurer : and 
 Subscription Papers are forthwith to be printed, Avhich, with 
 a Circular Letter, are to be despatched to all Parts of the 
 Province. This is one of the measures which an unkind 
 mother and false brethren have given rise to." 
 
 A non-importation agreement had very generally been 
 entered into, and pledges or articles signed, and great dis- 
 satisfaction was felt now towards the Northern Colonies, in 
 departing from their non-importation agreement — hence the 
 action above. 
 
 A meeting was held in Charles-town on the IStli inst. 
 (Dec.) and a sub-committee appointed, by the General Com- 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 159 
 
 mittee of the friends of liberty^ to consider of every means 
 for the encouragement of domestic Manufactures and non- 
 impoi'tatiou of tea and various articles of luxury. 
 
 Of the Circular Letter, to be despatched to the different 
 parts of the Province^ no trace has been found. But, of 
 the Subscription Papers, which were also to be printed and 
 sent with the Letter, the following relic appears in a memo- 
 randum book^ of the day, viz. : — 
 
 " Subscribed for the Papers : 
 
 £ s. 
 
 Thomas Evans 15 
 
 *Jame8 Hicks 10 
 
 Willi'am Coward (paid £3 5*.) 5 
 
 James Shields 10 
 
 John Adam 10 
 
 *Daniel Walsh 5 
 
 *John Hodges 5 
 
 Philip Singleton 100 
 
 Claudius Pegnes, jun'" 10 
 
 Benj"- Rogers 12 
 
 William Thomas, paid , 20 13 
 
 Charles Sparkes 10 
 
 Fran^- Gillespie 5 
 
 John David 5 
 
 *Charles Mason 150 
 
 ■^Thomas Ellerbe 120 
 
 William Ellerbe 7 10 
 
 Isham Hodges 5 
 
 Joseph Dabbs 5 
 
 James Gregg 5 
 
 Moses Murphy 10 
 
 Duke Glen 10 
 
 John Brown 5 
 
 John Hodge (Cashway) (paid £1 17s. Qd.) . 10 
 
 Daniel Sparks 7 
 
 * This old book was found, contnining also other valuable matter, among the 
 collection of papers in the possession of Philip Pledger, Esc]., in Marlborough 
 District, already referred to. 
 
160 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 £ s. 
 
 ^Thomas Powe 5 
 
 George King 5 
 
 John Hire 5 
 
 Tristram Thomas 5 
 
 ^Ben"- James, Cons^^"' 10 
 
 Nathaniel Saunders (paid j69 155.) . . . 15 
 
 *John Thomson 10 
 
 ■5^ John O'Neal, paid 10 
 
 Aaron Daniel 100 
 
 Auth"- Pouncy 10 
 
 Rob*- Witherspoon 10 
 
 Thos'- North -50 
 
 Stephen Ford, Jun''- 20 0/'* 
 
 This was, doubtless, but one of the lists of subscriptions 
 in the Parish of St. DaAdd. 
 
 The prompt and liberal response of the inhabitants in 
 this matter was only one of the many indications of that 
 determined spirit by which they were now actuated in the 
 struggle for independence. 
 
 Defensive^ not less than offensive, measures were thus set 
 on foot for their protection and support. To the latter 
 they had become accustomed, and were ready for any fur- 
 ther conflict ^hich time might bring about. 
 
 We have sefen how the years 1767 and 1768 were among 
 the most eventful in preparing the minds of the people for 
 Revolution. In bringing this result to pass, the regulation 
 movement and the conflict to which it led, were largely 
 instrumental. Though an extreme measure, it must be 
 sanctioned by the verdict of history, inasmuch as those, 
 who, in the character of humble and loyal subjects of the 
 Crown, began to petition as early as 1753 for the redress of 
 their grievances, but in vain, were justified in the use of the 
 means to which they were driven by necessity. 
 
 * For some time after the discovery of this interesting record, the author 
 was greatly at a loss to explain it, the simple heading, " Subscribed for the 
 papers" furnishing the only clue to its history. Upon the subsequent dis- 
 covery, in the old Oazette of the day, of the plan of the " Circular Letter and 
 Subscription Papers," &c., the difficulty was at once removed. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 161 
 
 It was not until every constitutional method was ex- 
 hausted, that they were induced to fall back upon those 
 rights of man which are inalienable. 
 
 The descendants of the Regulators on the Pedee may 
 revert, with honest pride, to this unequal, but finally success- 
 ful struggle of their fathers. 
 
 M 
 
162 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The name of St. David — Some account of it — Welch names — Necessity for n 
 parochial organization — Provisions of the Act establishing the Parish of 
 St. David — What it contemplated — The first records of the parish — Pro- 
 ceedings of Commissioners — Names of voters for parish officers — Election 
 of Representative to Assembly— Names of voters — Previous proceedings — 
 Second election — ^Names of voters — Colonel G. G. Powell — Account of him — 
 Appointment as Judge — Proceedings of Commissioners for building a church 
 — Church officers — Efforts to procure a clergyman — Progress of Church 
 building — History of it afterward — Successive elections for Representative to 
 Assembly — ^Church officers and other officers from year to year — Proceed- 
 ings of vestry — Notice of individuals — The close of the parish history — 
 Concluding reflections. 
 
 In the year 1768, a name appears for the first time among 
 its records, which was ever after to be identified with the 
 history of the Pedee. This was St. David,'^ the Tutelar 
 Saint of the Welch, given to the first parochial organiza- 
 tion which was here established. The '' Welch Neck'' is 
 the only other name remaining, to indicate the origin of the 
 Colony that led the way in the settlement of this region. 
 Unlike the English, French, and Spaniards, who, in their 
 first discoveries and settlements in the West, failed not to 
 leave many of their distinctive national appellations behind 
 them, the Welch were satisfied to give to one locality a 
 name that would link it perpetually with the land of their 
 
 * St. David was the most fiimous of all the Welch names. He was a Bishop 
 of Wales in the sixth century, celebrated for his learning and piety, and a 
 patron of those schools of literature which flourished there at an early period. 
 He is supposed to have been, by the mother's siile, of regal descent. His con- 
 secration took place at Jerusalem, it being a distracted time at home, and the 
 Britons, who were most inclined to devotion, preferring to go thither. His 
 domestice ducation is said to have been under Paulinus, a disciple of St. Ger- 
 man, in Whlteland, Caermarthenshire. Soon after his return from Jerusalem, 
 he attended a famous synod of bishops, abbots, and others, held at a place 
 called " Llandein-Brevi," the church of St. David at Brevi ; and here, by his 
 authority and eloquence, put an eflcctual stop to Pelagianism, and before the 
 end of tlie synod, it is said, was chosen, by general consent. Archbishop of 
 Caerleon, and so continued in the exercise of his episcopal functions to the close 
 of an honoured life. His day, as a tutelar saint of the Welch, is 1st March. — 
 Stillingfleet's " Antiquities," vol. ii. pp. 515-523. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 163 
 
 fathers. They left, however, a better memorial in those 
 virtuous princii^les and sturdy traits of character which 
 were transmitted to their descendants. 
 
 The population of the upper parts of the Parishes of 
 Prince George and St. Mark's, extending on both sides of 
 the river to the line of North Carolina, had now reached a 
 point demanding a distinct organization of its own. The 
 inhabitants of these parts, remote from the parochial centres 
 below, could no longer endure the disadvantages and hard- 
 ships which their present condition involved, without being 
 seriously affected. Application was accordingly made to 
 the Assembly, and an Act passed, April 12th, 1768, ''for 
 establishing a Parish in Craven County^ by the name of 
 St. David, and for appointing Commissioners for the High 
 Eoads in the said Parish." 
 
 The Preamble to the Act was in these words : " Whereas, 
 the inhabitants residing on Pedee River, in the Parishes of 
 St. Mark's and Prince George, in Craven County, have 
 represented many inconveniences which they are under for 
 want of having a parish laid out and established in the said 
 County, and prayed that a law may be passed for that pur- 
 pose :" it was therefore enacted — 
 
 " I. That a Parish shall be laid out and established in 
 Craven County aforesaid, bounded in the following manner 
 (that is to say) by a North-West line to be run from the 
 northward-most corner of Williamburg Township to Lynche's 
 Creek, and from thence by that Creek to the provincial 
 line ; and that the line dividing St. Mark's from Prince 
 Frederick's Parish, be carried on in the same course from 
 the Great Pedee, where it now ends, to the provincial line 
 aforesaid ; by which, together with lines aforesaid, and 
 Lynche's Creek, the new Parish shall be bounded, and that 
 the said Parish shall hereafter be called and known by the 
 name of St. David. 
 
 " II. That a Church, Chapel, and Parsonage house shall 
 be built at such places, within the bounds of the said Parish, 
 as the major part of the Commissioners hereafter named 
 shall order and direct. 
 
 " III. That the Rector or Minister of the said Parish, 
 for the time being, shall officiate in the said Church and 
 
 M 2 
 
164 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Chapel alternately, and shall be elected and chosen in the 
 same manner as the Rectors or Ministers of the several 
 other parishes in the Province are elected and chosen, and 
 shall have yearly paid to him and his successors for ever, 
 the same salary as is appointed for the Rector or Minister 
 of any other Parish in this Province, (the Parishes of St. 
 Philip and St. Michael excepted,) out of the fund appro- 
 priated, or to be appropriated for payment of the salaries of 
 the Clergy of this Province ; and the public Treasurer, for the 
 time being, is hereby authorized and required to pay the 
 same, under the like penalties and forfeitures as for not 
 paying the salaries due to the other Rectors or INIiuisters of 
 the several other parishes in the Province ; and the said 
 rector or minister of the said Parish shall have and enjoy 
 all and every such privileges and advantages, and to be 
 under such rules, laws, and restrictions as the rectors or 
 ministers of the other parishes in this Province have and 
 enjoy, or are subject and liable unto. 
 
 " IV. That Claudius Pegncs, Philip Pledger, Alexander 
 M'Intosh, George Hicks, Thomas Ellerbe, Robert Allison, 
 Thomas Lide, Charles Bedingficld, James James, Robert 
 Weaver, Thomas Crawford, James Thompson, Thomas Port, 
 and Bcnjamiu Rogers, be, and they are hereby appointed. 
 Commissioners, or supervisors, for the building of the said 
 Church and Chapel, and parsouage-hoiise in the parish of 
 St. David ; and they, or a majority of them, are fully 
 authorized and empowered to purchase a glebe for the said 
 parish, and to take subscriptions, and to receive and gather, 
 collect and sue for all such sum or sums of money, as any 
 pious or -well-disposed person or persons shall give and con- 
 tribute for the purposes aforesaid ; and, in case of the 
 death, absence, or refusing to act of any of the said Com- 
 missioners, the Church wardens and Vestry of the said 
 Parish of St. David, for the time being, shall and may 
 nominate and appoint another person or persons to be Com- 
 missioner or Commissioners, in the place of such so dead, 
 absent, or refusing to act, as to the said Church wardens 
 and Vestry shall seem meet, which Commissioner or Com- 
 missioners, so to be nominated and appointed, shall have 
 the same powers and authorities for putting this Act into 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 165 
 
 execution, to all intents and purposes, as the Commissioners 
 herein named. 
 
 " V. That from and immediately after the passing of 
 this Aet, the Commissioners herein appointed, &c., do eall 
 the inhabitants, &c., together, to choose parisli officers, and 
 fix on the most proper places for building the Church and 
 Chapel. 
 
 " VI. That from and after the dissolution of the present 
 General Assembly, the inhabitants of the parish of St. 
 Mark^s (which heretofore chose two members of Assembly), 
 and the inhabitants of the Parish of St. David, qualified by 
 law for that purpose, shall choose and elect one member 
 each, and no more, to represent the said parishes respec- 
 tively in General Assembly; any law, usage, or custom, to 
 the contrary in any wise not^rithstanding ; and that writs 
 for electing members to serve in General Assembly for the 
 said parishes, shall be issued at the same time, and in the 
 same manner as for the several other parishes in this Pro- 
 vince, according to the directions of the Act of the General 
 Assembly in that case made and provided. 
 
 " VII. That Claudius Pegnes, Philip Pledger, Alexander 
 M'Intosh, George Hicks, Thomas Ellerbc, Robert Allison, 
 Thomas Lide, Charles Bedingfield, James James, Robert 
 Weaver, Thomas Crawford, James Thompson, Thomas Port, 
 and Benjamin Rogers, shall be, and they are hereby ap- 
 pointed Commissioners for the high roads in the said parish 
 of St. David ; and the said Commissioners, or a majority of 
 them, shall have the same power and authorities for laying 
 out, and making and keeping in repair, the roads in the said 
 parish, and shall be subject and liable to the like penalties 
 and forfeitures as the Commissioners for the high roads in 
 the other parts of this Province have, or are subject and 
 liable unto by the laws of this Province ; and in case any of 
 the Commissioners appointed by this Act, sliall happen to 
 die, depart the Province, or refuse to act, it shall and may 
 be lawful for the remainder of the Commissioners, or a 
 major part of them, to nominate or appoint another Com- 
 missioner or Commissioners, in the room of him or tlicm, 
 so dying, departing the Province, or refusing to act, and the 
 Commissioner or Commissioners, so nominated and appointed. 
 
166 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 shall have the same power and authorities^ and be subject to 
 the same penalties and forfeitures as the Commissioners ap- 
 pointed by this Act/'* 
 
 The organization here contemplated^ was ecclesiastical, 
 according to the Act of 1706^ commonly called the Church 
 Act, for the establishment of religious worship, according to 
 the Church of England, and for erecting Churches, support- 
 ing ministers, &c. It also embraced, in part, the manage- 
 ment of the civil affairs of the Parish, as it was made the 
 duty of the Vestry, by Act of 1712,t to nominate yearly 
 Overseers of the poor of the Parish, as well as to exercise 
 other functions strictly civil. The Overseers of the poor, 
 Avith the Churchwardens, were to have the ordering and 
 relieving of the poor committed to them, out of such monies 
 as might be given for that purpose, or raised by assessments 
 laid on the inhabitants of the Parish. The Vestry was also 
 to bind out orphan children as apprentices ; and by Act of 
 1721, J it was made the duty of Churchwardens to provide 
 for the election of Members of Assembly. 
 
 This was the only parochial organization known at the 
 time, and was therefore so ordered as to provide for all the 
 wants and exigencies of the Parish. 
 
 The first record following the passage of the Act, esta- 
 blishing the parish of St. David, opens the journal§ of the 
 proceedings of the Vestry, and is in these words ; " The 
 General Assembly of the Province of South Carolina having 
 passed an Act, bearing date day of , for 
 
 making a new Parish out of part of the parishes of St. jNIark, 
 Prince Frederick, and Prince George; || the following gentle- 
 
 * " Statutes at Large," vol. iv. p. 300. 
 t " Public Laws," p. 104. J " Public Laws," p. 113. 
 
 § Tbe old Parisli Book, of later years among tbe records in possession of the 
 vestry, was found by the late Rev. Andrew Fowler at the residence of Mrs. 
 Sarah Pegnes, of Chesterfield District, whose husband was a son of one of the 
 fii'st vestrymen. 
 
 Mr. Fowler made a visit to St. David's as a missionary, in December, 1819, 
 and was afterwards appointed for a longer perio<.l. On one occasion, while 
 searching among the old books and papers at Mrs. Pegnes's this interesting and 
 valuable record was found. Mr. Fowler was a faithful and devoted minister of 
 (,'hrist, planting the Church and building it up in not a few places where it had 
 gone to decay. He died at a very advanced age, a few years since. 
 
 II It will be observed, that the Act is here said to have been passed for 
 making a new parish out of part of the parishes of St. Mark, Prince Frederick, 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 167 
 
 men were, by the said Act, appointed as Commissioners for 
 the said Parish, which, by the Act, is appointed to go by the 
 Name of the Parish of St. David'"' — and the list of names 
 is then given. 
 
 On Monday, August 1st, the Commissioners met, accord- 
 ing to public notice, at the house of Charles Bediugfield ;^ 
 when Alexander M'^Intosh, James James, and Robert Alli- 
 son, declined acting in the affairs of the Church. f The 
 following parish officers were elected, viz. : Claudius Pegnes, 
 Philip Pledger, William Godfrey, Charles Bediugfield, Thomas 
 Lide, Thomas Ellerbe, and Thomas Bingham, Vestrymen; 
 Alexander Gordon and Benjamin Rogers, Churchwardens ; 
 Durham Hitts was appointed Clerk. The oath of office was 
 administered the next day. 
 
 The names of those who voted for Vestrymen and Wardens 
 were as follows, viz. : " William Hardwick, Duke Glen, John 
 Mackintosh, John Jenkins, Edward Ellerbe, John Hus- 
 bands, Thomas Boatwright, Sen., John Pledger, Robert 
 Anderson, Robert Clary, Benjamin Jackson, James Knight, 
 Samuel Wise, James Thorsby, Thomas Williams, Thomas 
 Wade, and Leonard Dozier — in all 18.^' 
 
 The next matter which engaged attention was the elec- 
 tion of a Member to the Commons House of Assembly, as to 
 which the following entries appear upon the Journal of the 
 Vestry : — 
 
 " Monday, September 26th, 1768. 
 "The writs of election of a Member of Assembly for 
 the Parish of St. David having been sent up from Charles- 
 town, twenty-six advertisements were sent to the different 
 parts of the Parish, requiring the ajjpearance of the inha- 
 bitants of the said Parish at Mr. John Mackintosh's,^ on 
 
 and Prince George. From tbis it would appear tbat, according to tbe under- 
 standing of tbe inhabitants at tbe time, " Prince Frederick" did extend over, 
 forming a part of tbe territory east of tbe Pedee. Tbe confusion on this subject 
 in tbe Acts of Assembly has been mentioned. 
 
 * Tbis was at what is now known as Irby's Mills, in Marlborough District, on 
 tbe public road from Cbcraw to BennettsviUe, and three miles from tbe former place. 
 
 t These gentlemen lived some distance below on tbe river, and two of them 
 were of other religious connexions. 
 
 J This was just above Cock Run, about two miles below Long Bluff, on the 
 public road leading thence to George-town, called long afterward tbe " Old 
 River Road," where the traces of the first settlement are BtiU to be seen. 
 
]G8 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Tuesday ; and at Mr, Cliarles Bodingficld's, on AVcdncsday, 
 tlic fourth and filtli days of October, ensuing ; Heing the 
 Days appointed for tlie Election of a Member to represent 
 the Parish in the Commons House of Assembly. 
 
 " Likewise, Circular JjeUers were writ to the Captains, 
 James Knight, James Thomas, Thomas (yonner, and ]ien- 
 jamin Jackson ; and to INIcssrs. John Kind)rough, William 
 AVatkins, Ivobert Lide, and (lideou (Jibson, with two or three 
 of the Advertisements of the Election enclosed in each, to 
 put up at the most Public Places in their respective Districts, 
 and a desire to bring their Comi)auies, under their proper 
 leaders, to the Places of Election, to prevent confusion/'* 
 
 The Advertisement was as folloAvs : 
 
 " The Inhabitants of the Parish of St. David arc required 
 to meet on Tuesday, the Fourth Day of October, ensuing, 
 at the House of Mr. John IVtackintosh, and on AVcdnesday, 
 the fifth day of the same mouth, at the House of Mr. Charles 
 Bcdingfield, in order to Elect a JMcmbcr of Assembly for 
 the said Parish. The Hours of Election to be from ten in 
 tlie forenoon to four in the afternoon. 
 
 " By Order of the Church wardens, 
 
 " DUKIIAM HiTTS, C.P. 
 " September 26th, llG8." 
 
 The Circular Letter was as folloMs : 
 
 " Sir, — You liave Enclosed Advertisements, for Electing 
 a Member of Assembly for this Parish. Please to circulate 
 them to the most convenient Places. Yon are desired by 
 tlie Captains, Pledger, Hicks, Lide, &c., for the Honor of 
 the Parish, to bring as many Voters as you possibly can to 
 the Place of I'.lcction, where they will meet you with each 
 of their Companies. 
 
 " They also desire that you will keep and bring up the 
 People under their proper Leaders, in order to prevent con- 
 
 * This prooantioii, it will be reinonibered, resulted from the apprehension 
 on the ])art of the (loveriimeut that ilistvirbancos might eiisiio in consequence 
 of the previous lu-tiou of the Regulators, and t/ie fear, in particular, that 
 nunjbers of tlunn might come down from North Carolina to overawe the law- 
 abiiling citizens, as these last were esteemed, and thus the general state of 
 iilarm and confusion be increased. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 169 
 
 fusion. They hope that you will, on this occasion, exert 
 yourself to the utmost of your power. 
 " I am, Sir, 
 
 " Your humble Servant, 
 
 " Durham Hitts, C.P. 
 « September 26th, 1768." 
 
 The foregoing Circular Letters were directed for forward- 
 ing to Mr. John Kimbrough, as follows : 
 
 " Sir, — As the time is so short between our receiving the 
 writs of Election, and the time for Electing of a Member 
 for this Parish (as you will see in the Letter directed to 
 you), you will do a good piece of service to the Public, in 
 causing the Letters enclosed, directed to the Captains, 
 Thomson and Knight, and to Mr. Watkins and Mr. Gibson, 
 to be conveyed to them as speedily as possible. 
 " I am. Sir, 
 
 " Your humble Servant, 
 
 '' DUKHAM HlTTS, C.P.'^ 
 
 " September 2fith, 1768." 
 
 '^ Tuesday, October the Fourth, 1768. The Poll for the 
 Election of a Member of Assembly for the Parish of St. 
 David, in Craven County, South Carolina, was opened at 
 the House of Mr. Mackintosh, and the following Persons 
 voted, viz. : 
 
 " Bartholomew Ball Bichard Pouder 
 
 Simon Holmes Francis M^Call, Jun. 
 
 John Benynolds Thomas Harry 
 
 William Reeves John Mackintosh 
 
 John Holley Charles M'Call 
 
 William Lucas Roderick M'lver 
 
 John Jamieson John Evans 
 
 Robert Clary Daniel Devonald 
 
 Samuel Sparks Thomas James 
 
 Lewis Rowan Alexander Mackintosh 
 
 Charles Strother Philip Howell 
 
 John Davis Edward Lowther 
 
 John Courtney Francis M'Call 
 
 Malachi Newberry Gideon Parish 
 
 Thomas Evans William Edwards 
 
170 
 
 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 John M'Call 
 Jolin Cheeseborough 
 Richard Blizard 
 Nathaniel Douglass 
 Thomas Davidson 
 John Prothero 
 Evans Prothero 
 James Knight 
 James Rogers 
 Joseph Dabbs 
 Peter Kolb 
 John Kimbroiigh 
 John Cooper 
 David Harry 
 William Dewitt 
 William Allen 
 Andrew Hunter 
 John M'Call 
 Christopher Teal 
 George King 
 Josiah Evans 
 Joseph Luke 
 Samuel Wilds 
 John Rowell 
 Dennis Galphin 
 Benjamin Pruiel 
 Thomas Edwards 
 John Griffith 
 John Knight 
 Philip Pledger 
 James James 
 Daniel Man 
 Magnus Corgill 
 William James 
 John Dyer 
 John Marsha 
 Thomas Levy 
 Robert Blair 
 Lewis Blalock 
 
 Daniel Luke 
 David Harry 
 Joshua Douglass 
 Jacob Lamplugh 
 Howel James 
 Joseph Barker 
 Isam Ellis 
 William Tyrrell 
 Abel Edwards 
 James Bruce 
 Wilham Pouncey 
 John Jackson 
 Joshua Edwards 
 John Brown 
 Enoch Luke 
 Jenkin David 
 Richard Allen 
 Philip Rob] and 
 Abel Wilds 
 Edward Jones 
 Benjamin Wright 
 Gilbert Moody 
 Thomas Lane 
 William Megee 
 Samuel Evans 
 Martin Kolb 
 Robert Lide 
 Joseph Alison 
 John Alran 
 John Brown 
 John Flanagan 
 Job Edwards 
 Richard INIc La More 
 Anthony Pouncey 
 Duke Glen 
 Joshua Hickman 
 David Evans 
 Walter Downes 
 Aaron Daniel 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 171 
 
 John Bruce Martin Dewitt 
 
 James Dozier John Darby. 
 
 " Number of Voters this Day, 113/' 
 
 '' Wednesday, October 5th, 1768. The Poll for Electing 
 of a Member of Assembly for the Parish of St. David, in 
 Craven County, South Carolina, was opened at the House 
 of Mr. Charles Bedingfield, and the following Persons voted, 
 viz. : — 
 
 '^ Thomas Boatright 
 Lewis Gardiner 
 William Carter 
 Benjamin James 
 John Purvis 
 Charles Bedingfield 
 Enoch James 
 Jesse Counsell 
 William Gardiner 
 John Pledger 
 John Williams 
 John Jenkins 
 Abraham Colt 
 William Ellerbe 
 Thomas Ellerbe 
 Enoch Thomson 
 Edward Ellerbe 
 Charles Irby 
 Alexander Gordon 
 Peter Heathy 
 John Frazier 
 Thomas Sommerlin 
 John Williams 
 William Hardwicke 
 Thomas Lide 
 John Husbands 
 
 Samuel Hatfield 
 John Jones 
 William Johnson 
 Thomas Williams 
 William Hicks 
 John Beverley 
 George Hicks 
 John Lyons 
 John Sutton 
 Edward Bryan 
 Benjamin Rogers 
 Thomas Bingham 
 William James 
 Thomas Conner 
 Kedar Keaton 
 William Godfrey 
 George Sweeting 
 John MofiTatt 
 John Westfield 
 Jonathan Wise 
 John Shumake 
 John Hicks 
 Thomas Rogers 
 Samuel Williams 
 John Pow 
 William Hernsworth 
 
 Jonathan Williams 
 
 " Number of Voters this Day, SS.-" 
 
 Claudius Pegnes, Esqr., was unanimously elected a 
 
172 HISTORy OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Member of Assembly for tbe Parish of St. Da\"i(l^Sj all the 
 Votes for both Days being for him. 
 
 " The Votes for the first Day were . .113 
 
 y, the second Day . . 53 
 
 The full number of Votes were . . 166"^ 
 
 To have been elected their first representative by a 
 unanimous vote, was a singiJar mark of the esteem and 
 confidence entertained for Mr. Pegnes by his fellow-citizens, 
 and more particularly so as he had not been very long a 
 resident among them. He came to Pedee about eight years 
 before, and was now in his forty-ninth year — an active, 
 prudent, and useful man. Retiring in his disposition and 
 habits, he withdrew, after serving one term in Assembly, to the 
 more congenial pursuits of private life — continuing, however, 
 as he had ever been, faithful and untiring in his devotion to 
 the public good and the rights of the people. 
 
 With the account of this election closes the Parish record 
 for 1768. The proportionate numbers, voting respectively 
 at the two polls, indicate a large preponderance of popu- 
 lation in the lower parts of the Parish. These embraced 
 the two principal settlements of the Welch, near Long 
 Blufi", and the Sandy Blufi" neighbourhood below, which 
 continued for many years after, to maintain the ascendancy. 
 The record of the year 1769 opens with the order for the 
 election of a new Member of Assembly, " the last Assem- 
 bly, '■' it was said, " having been dissolved by his Excellency, 
 the Governor of South Carolina, almost as soon as called.^' 
 New writs of election were sent up to the churchwardens, 
 February 25th, and the election ordered for the 7th and 8th 
 of March, at the same places as in the former year. At the 
 lower poll, 98 votes were cast, and among them were the 
 following names which did not appear at the former elec- 
 tion, viz. : — 
 
 Daniel Saunders Jordan Gibson, jun. 
 
 — Saunders Reuben Gibson 
 
 John Rothmahler Nathaniel Hunt 
 
 Nicholas Bedgcgood Daniel Sparks 
 
 Daniel jSIonahan Thomas Avery 
 
 John Crawford Charles Sparks 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEKAWS. 
 
 173 
 
 James Mikell 
 Solomon Staples 
 Robert Moody 
 Moses Bass 
 Joshua Lucas 
 Malaclii Murphy 
 Arthur Hart 
 William McTierre 
 Stephen Sebastian 
 Edward Owens 
 •Samuel Haselton 
 At the upper poll 59 votes were cast^ and among them^ 
 certain names for the firsts viz. : — 
 
 Walter Owens 
 Harrison Lucas 
 Charles Lisenby 
 John Hitchcock 
 John Crews 
 Blundell Curtis 
 John Mikell 
 William Floyd 
 
 George Booth 
 Jacob Baxter. 
 
 Rebecca Lide 
 Catharine Little 
 Francis Benton 
 Simon Lundy 
 Cornelius Acmens 
 Robert Westfield 
 John Perkins 
 Elizabeth Coansell 
 Michael Griffith 
 Samuel Hards 
 W"" Gardiner, jun. 
 Silas Harandine 
 Francis Gillespie 
 James Salmons 
 James Lundy 
 Jacob Johnson 
 Richard George 
 
 Daniel Lundy 
 Benjamin Ladd 
 William Lankford 
 Sarah Booth 
 Abel Wilds 
 William Crowley 
 Thomas Wade 
 William Prestwood 
 Soloman Holmes - 
 Frederick Kimbell 
 Joel Yarborough 
 William Jackson 
 Thomas Tomkins 
 David Davidson 
 Joseph Parsons 
 Thomas Williams on 
 
 William Hayes.'^ 
 At this election, Col. George Gabriel Powell received 154 
 of the 157 votes cast, and was consequently returned as the 
 new member for St. David^s. It is the first time that the 
 name of Col. Powell appears in connexion with the Parish of 
 St. David, though shortly afterwards to become so promi- 
 nent in all the leading events of its history. He had been 
 for some time in command of the Craven County Regiment. 
 On the 1 0th of August, of this year, he was appointed one 
 of his Majesty^s Judges for the Courts of General Sessions 
 and Common Pleas, and took his seat on the Bench the 16th 
 
174 HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 October following, retaining it until 1773, when he \vas 
 superseded. 
 
 The change was then doubtless made in consequence of 
 his manly independence and unflinching devotion to the 
 rights of the Colonists. He did not sympathize sufficiently 
 Avith the Crown, though a loyal subject, as his course with 
 reference to the difficulty at Mars Bluff, of the prcAious 
 year, very clearly indicated, as it did also a want of co-ope- 
 ration on his part with the Regulators and a misunderstand- 
 ing of their movement. 
 
 His first charge from the Bench was spoken of in' the 
 public Prints of the day, as having given universal satis- 
 faction. 
 
 On Easter Monday, March 27th, at a meeting of the fi'ee- 
 holders of the Parish, at the house of Charles Bedingfield, 
 the church officers of the previous year were re-elected. It 
 was not until the 23rd of September following (1769) that the 
 Commissioners appointed under the Act of Incorporation, 
 for that purpose, held a meeting with reference to the erec- 
 tion of a Church Building. In consequence, however, of 
 some informality in the notice calling them together, there 
 was not a full attendance, and nothing was done. It was 
 agreed by those present, viz., Claudius Pegnes, Robert Alli- 
 son, Benjamin Rogers, Philip Pledger, Thomas Lide, Thomas 
 Ellerbe, and Charles Bedingfield, that the Commissioners 
 should meet again on the 25th of October ensuing; but, 
 owing probably to the engrossing events of the time, or dif- 
 ferences of opinion as to the location of the Church, no 
 meeting was held, or at least no farther entry appears on 
 the records of the Parish, until Feb. 1st, 1770. 
 
 On that day, at a meeting of the Vestry and Wardens, Ely 
 Kershaw was appointed a Commissioner in the place of Robt. 
 Allison, deceased. And on the 22nd of the same month, 
 an agreement was executed in due form, between Thomas 
 Bingham, of the one part, and Ely Kershaw, Philip Pledger, 
 George Hicks, Thomas Lide, Benjamin Rogers, Charles 
 Bedingfield, Thomas Ellerbe, and Claudius Pegnes, Commis- 
 sioners, of the other part, for the building of the Parish Church. 
 It was to be erected on the south-west side of Pedee River 
 (at Cheraw Hill), upon land given for that purpose by Ely 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 175 
 
 Kershaw, and completed on or before the first day of March, 
 1772. In consideration whereof, the said Commissioners 
 agreed to pay the sum of Two thousand six hundred pounds 
 currency, one half when the building should be raised, en- 
 closed, and covered ; and the other half upon its completion. 
 
 It was also provided, by additional agreement, that alter- 
 ations might be made in the stipulated plan, if agreeable to 
 both parties. 
 
 It does not appear that a Glebe was ever set apart, or any 
 steps taken towards the erection of a Parsonage. This was 
 doubtless owing to the failure to procure a settled clergyman. 
 
 On the 30th of April, of this year (1770), at a meeting 
 of the Freeholders of the Parish, the following gentlemen 
 were elected Church officers, viz. : — John Kimbrough, Ely 
 Kershaw, Jesse Counsell, Samuel Wise, Henry William Har- 
 rington, John Pledger, and William Ellerbe, Vestrymen : 
 William Godfrey and William Pegnes, Wardens. 
 
 The important subject of procuring a Parish Clergyman 
 had already engaged attention. 
 
 During a part of this year, the Rev. James Foulis"^ offi- 
 ciated, but remained a short time only in the Parish. " The 
 Rev. Mr. Hogart, of England, was next invited to this Cure ; 
 but not accepting it, application was made, in 1772, to the 
 Rev. Mr. Robinson to officiate, and if approved of, the Vestry 
 would recommend him for Holy Orders,^' It is probable 
 that this gentleman was a minister of some other communion. 
 The Journals are silent as to the result. f 
 
 The church building Avas not completed until some time 
 subsequent to the spring of 1774, as appears from the fact 
 that its unfinished state was made the subject of present- 
 ment by the grand jury of Cheraw District, as will be seen 
 hereafter. 
 
 It was opened, however, for public worship as early as 
 December 1772, J and continued to be used in common by 
 
 * Mr. Foulis had charge of St. Helena parish, Beaufort, durinpf the latter 
 part of lV78. It is not known how long he remained, or what became of him 
 afterwards. 
 
 t Dalcho's " Church of So. Ca." p. 327. 
 
 X The Rev. Evan Pugh speaks in his private journal of having officiated there 
 ill the parish church. 
 
176 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 the denominations around^ as religious ministrations could 
 be had at that early period. 
 
 It was almost a half century afterward before it was 
 restored to its original use and design as an Episcopal 
 Church. During its common occupancy the burden of its 
 repairs was borne by the inhabitants generally ; and as a 
 consequence, when an exclusive claim was set up in the year 
 1819 to its possession, no little feeling was aroused, and 
 there was for a time a determination to resist it. The 
 original Act for the Organization of the Parish and the 
 proceedings under it, were either unknown or lost sight of, 
 and having been so long occupied and repaired in common, 
 it is not surprising that a feeling of strong opposition was 
 excited. The discovery, however, of the old Parish records 
 and subsequent investigation, cleared the whole matter up, 
 and the claim was fully established. It was described 
 many years after as a neat church, " a frame building, on a 
 brick foundation, 53 feet long, 30 wide, and 16 high in the 
 clear, with a cove ceiling, and arched windows. The chan- 
 cel 10 feet by 6." Subsequently to the year 1819 the 
 interior arrangements were materially altered, the chancel 
 being removed from the side, as it was at first, to the east 
 end, and other changes made. A porch was also added, 
 with a beautifully proportioned steeple. 
 
 For a short time, during the summer of 1781, it was 
 occupied by British soldiers, and not a few of them, it is 
 said, who fell victims to the climate, lie buried in one com- 
 mon grave under the shadow of its portals. 
 
 Unharmed by the ravages of time, the venerable building- 
 still remains, one of the few material relics left us of that 
 era. It was erected by the sturdy men of that day with 
 the care befitting such a work, and upon a sure foundation. 
 There has been wonderful progress since in every depart- 
 ment of human labour — but a progress rather in matters of 
 outward adornment than in those durable elements and 
 that thorough finish which are calculated for lasting use. 
 
 The affairs of the Parish continued to be administered 
 with regularity, though becoming more local and circum- 
 scribed than was anticipated at the time of its organization. 
 After the appointment of Col. Powell as one of the Assis- 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 177 
 
 tant Judges, there appears to liave been no further election 
 for Members of Assembly until March, 1772, when Col. 
 Charles Augustus Steward was returned. A new election 
 having been ordered in September following, for the 
 Assembly, which was to meet in Beaufort, 8th Oct., Col. 
 Stewart was again successful, after an exciting contest. 
 There was now a deepening conviction in the minds of the 
 people, that their representatives would shortly be called to 
 contend in a decisive struggle for every constitutional right. 
 The powers of Royalty and of popular sovereignty were 
 being rapidly arrayed. There was a premonitory feeling, in 
 short, though with no clear conception as to the course 
 events would take, that momentous changes were approach- 
 ing. 
 
 Col. Stewart retained his seat but for one session. In 
 December Col. Powell was again returned. He was re- 
 elected the following February. Up to this time, and for a 
 year later, the Commons House of Assembly consisted of 
 48 members. It was summoned to meet, February 23rd, 
 1773, and dissolved for the last time by Royal authority 
 1st Sept. 1775. During the intervening period Col. Powell 
 continued to represent the Parish of St. David, and was the 
 able and faithfid guardian of its rights. He is supposed to 
 have practised at the Bar of Cheraw District ; but, though 
 owning property in it, never had his residence within its 
 limits. With his name closed the list of Representatives 
 of St. David under the old regime.* 
 
 At a meeting of the Freeholders of the Parish, April, 1771, 
 the following officers were elected, viz. : Jesse Counsell, 
 Ely Kershaw, Charles Bedingfield, Samuel Wise, Thomas 
 Wade, William Godfrey, and John Westfield, Vestrymen : 
 Thomas Lide and Thomas Ellerbe, Wardens : George Hicks, 
 Daniel Lundy, and John ISIitchell, Overseers of the poor. 
 The list of paupers was increasing, and their support formed 
 the chief biu'den of the Parish. At a meeting of the war- 
 dens and vestry, Feby. 18th, 1772, it was agreed that the 
 inhabitants should be taxed 2s. 6d. for every 100 acres of 
 land, and the same amount for all negro slaves, free- 
 
 * Drayton's " Memoirs," vol. i. p. 102. 
 
178 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 ncgrocSj Mulattoes, and Mestizoes, to defray the expense of 
 nuuutainin^- the pooi* of the Parish. William Godfrey and 
 Charles liodiugfield were appointed to eollcct the same. 
 The surplus, if any, was to he paid into the hands of the 
 churclnvardens. The following Church Offieers were 
 elected, April .'20th, 1772, viz. : James Kelly, Daniel Lundy, 
 Jacob Johnson, John Kimhrongh, William White, William 
 Dewitt, and John Jackson, A'estrymen : Thomas Wade and 
 AV'"' Henry jSlills, AYardcns : George Ilicks, ]\Ialachi INInrphy, 
 and llohert Anderson, Overseers of the poor. Nothing of 
 special interest appears among the Parish records of this year. 
 Public aflairs were becoming more and more the engrossing- 
 topic of thought and conversation, the Parochial Officers 
 giving their attention only to the care of the poor, and the 
 appointment of assessors and collectors of the Parish taxes. 
 
 On Easter INIonday, April l.'2tli, 1773, were elected, 
 Charles Augustus Steward, Claudius Pcgnes, Ely Kershaw, 
 Jesse Counsell, Thomas Lidc, Thomas Ellerbe, and William 
 Dewitt, Vestrymen : Philip Pledger and Samuel W^ise, 
 Wardens : Alexander Gordon, Malachi INInrphy, and John 
 Blakcncy, Overseers of the poor. The meetings of the 
 vestry Avere more frequent than during the previous year, 
 the care of the poor increasing upon them. The sum of 
 357/. 13*. was expended in 1772; and in more than one 
 instance 60/. had been appropriated to a single individual — 
 a liberal amount for a sparse population, with limited means 
 at their command. 
 
 On Easter INIonday, April Ith, 1774, the Church Officers 
 elected were as follows, viz. : Henry Counsell, John Andrew, 
 Thomas Bingham, Burwell Boyakin, Aaron Daniel, John 
 Hewstess, and AVilliam Henry Harrington, A'^estrymcn : 
 Claudius Pcgnes and Ely Kershaw, Wardens : John Kim- 
 broiTgh, Charles Evans, jnn., and Thomas Conner, sen.. 
 Overseers of the poor. 
 
 Thomas AVilliams, George Ilicks, and William Ellerbe, 
 wei'e appointed Parish Assessors, to defray the expenses of 
 the preceding year. The name of Thomas Lide was sub- 
 sequently inserted in the place of George Ilieks. A tax of 
 3a'., current money, Avas laid on every 100 acres of land ; 
 also, for all negro slaves, free negroes, Mulattoes and Mes- 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 179 
 
 tizoes. Philip Pledger and Samuel Wise were appointed to 
 collect the same. 
 
 The same tax was levied the next ycar^ and Claudius 
 Pcgnes and Ely Kershaw were appointed Collectors. At a 
 meeting of the Vestiy on this occasion (April, 1775), the 
 name of Cliatham, instead of " Chcraw " and '' Charraws/^ 
 as heretofore, appears for the first time in ' the Parish re- 
 cords. The change was made in honour of the Earl of 
 Chatham, the eloquent advocate of American rights. 
 
 The following Church Officers were elected April 24th, 
 1775, viz. : Aaron Pearson,"^ William Dcwitt, William 
 Ellerbe, William Strother,t John Westfield, John Jackson, 
 and Charles Irby, Vestrymen : Heniy William Harrington 
 and William Pcgnes, Wardens : Daniel Sparks, Robert 
 Lowry,J and William Allen, Overseers of the poor. 
 
 After this time, scarcely anything more than the annual 
 election of officers, the provision for the Parish taxes, and 
 the care of orphans, appears in the records. 
 
 In 1776, the officers elected were, William Ellerbe, 
 Francis Gillespie, Capt. John Blakeny^ Thomas Powe, Mat- 
 thew Saunders, Capt. Lafayette Benton, and Buckley Kim- 
 brough, Vestiymen : Col. George Pawley and Claudius 
 Pegnes, Wardens : Alexander Deau Bois and Peter Roach, 
 Overseers of the poor. 
 
 For 1777, the following : John Kimbrough, Thomas Lide, 
 James Hicks, Thomas Powe, William Pegnes, Joseph Grif- 
 fith, and Robert Lowry, Vestrymen : John Andrews and 
 Charles Irby, Wardens : Benjamin Jackson, John Pledger, 
 and John Jackson, Overseers of the poor. 
 
 At a meeting of the Wardens and Vestry, 21st June, 
 1777, it was resolved, "That a letter should be written to 
 
 * The Pearsons settled on the east side of the river, in what is now Murl- 
 borough District, on a valuable tract of land, known afterwards and from an 
 early day as the " Big Plantation." Moses Pearson was a noted captain in 
 the Revolution. 
 
 ■j- William Strothcr, whose name ajipears here for the first time, was a son 
 of Charles Strother, who emigrated from Virginia to Charles-town, and died 
 there. William Strothcr moved to Cheraw not long before this period. He 
 married, first, a iMiss Rogers, daughter of IJenjamin Rogers, and afterwards, 
 Lucy Iliclis, a daughter of Colonel Clcorgc Hicks. 
 
 + The Lowrys settled in the ujjpcr piirt of what is now Chesterfield Dis- 
 trict, — a name long and respectably known in its history. 
 
 N 2 
 
180 HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 tte Rev. Mr. Winchester^* to preach a sermon^ on Satur- 
 day^ the 28th instant^ on the happy deliverance of the State 
 from our cruel and oppressive enemies^ 28th June, 1776." 
 
 It was the first anniversary of that auspicious event, and 
 the hearts of the people were full of gratitude to Him, who 
 rided the destinies of nations, and in the hour of their first 
 great conflict had given them the victory. 
 
 In the spring of the following year, the same tax as be- 
 fore was laid, and Charles Irby and William Pegnes were 
 appointed Collectors. 
 
 The Church Officers for 1778 were, Benjamin Hicks, sen., 
 Claudius Pegnes, jun., William Thomas, Francis Gillespie, 
 Thomas Ellerbe, William Ellerbe, and John Speed, Vestry- 
 men : Benjamin Hicks, jun., and William Lide, Wardens : 
 Benjamin Rogers, Tristram Thomas and William Blassin- 
 game, were appointed Overseers of the Poor. The foregoing 
 continued in ofiice until the spring of 1780. 
 
 The following was the record of Parish Officers until 
 1785 :— 
 
 For 1780. 
 
 Wm. Pegnes and Benj. Hicks, Sen. . Wardens. 
 Claudius Pegnes, Jr., Thos. Powe,' 
 
 Charles Irby, John Westfield, John 
 
 Andrews, John Wilson, and Holden 
 
 Wade . . . . ^ 
 
 John Husbands, Guthridge Lyons.) „ „ _ 
 
 1 T, . . T 1 r Overseers of Poor, 
 
 and iienjamm Jackson . .] 
 
 Jesse Baggette .... Clerk. 
 
 1781. 
 
 Wm. Pegnes, and Benj. Hicks, Sen. . Wardens. 
 Charles Irby, Claudius Pegnes, Jr.,] 
 
 John Westfield, Holden Wade, and [Vestrymen. 
 
 John Wilson . . . .J 
 
 Guthridge Lyons . . . . Overseer of Poor. 
 
 1782. 
 Thos. Ellerbe and Wm. Strother . Wardens. 
 
 Vestrymen. 
 
 * Mr. Winchester was the pastor of the Welch Neck Church, and an ardent 
 friend of his country. 
 
-Vestrymen. 
 
 Vestrymen. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 181 
 
 Charles Irby, Claudius Pegnes^ Jr.,] 
 
 John Westfield, John Wilson, Wm. [Vestrymen. 
 
 Lide, Wm. Dewitt, and Wm. Pegnes j 
 
 1783. 
 Thomas Powe, and Claudius Pegnes, Jr., Wardens. 
 Charles Irby, John Andrews, Thos. 
 
 Ellerbe, Benj. Hicks, Jr., Robert 
 
 Pasley, Jas. Gillespie, and Lemuel 
 
 Benton . . . . 
 
 1784. 
 Benj. Hicks, Sen., and Wm. Pegnes . Wardens. 
 Thos. Ellerbe, Wm. Strother, John\ 
 
 Westfield, Claudius Pegnes, Jr., John 
 
 Wilson, Benj. Hicks, Jr., and Wm. 
 
 Ligate . . . . .^ 
 
 1785. 
 Col. Lemuel Benton, and Capt. Calvin] .^ , 
 
 Spencer . . . . .] 
 
 Thos. Powe, Wm. Ellerbe, Sen., John] 
 
 Andrews, Holden Wade, Wm. J- Vestrymen. 
 
 Pegnes, and Morgan Brown . . ) 
 
 With this year (1785), upon the division of the Parish* 
 into Counties, and the establishment of County Courts, the 
 parochial organization ceased to exist. No further records 
 appear until after the year 1819, when the Parish was 
 revived as before mentioned, under Rev. Mr. Fowler. Upon 
 the prorogation of the Assembly in April, 1770, a Bill was 
 under consideration for altering the bounds of St. David^s 
 Parish. It appears to have been subsequently abandon ed, 
 and of its provisions nothing is known. 
 
 Amid the changes of time and civil rule, only the old 
 Parish Church remained to tell its tale in the associations 
 and traditions connected with its earlier days. It had been 
 polluted by the tread of invading foes, and resounded with 
 the shock of arms. Around it lie the dead of successive 
 generations. But a year or two more, and its first century 
 will be completed. 
 
 Long may it stand, a touching relic of the past, tlie 
 spiritual home and joy of many in the present, and to be 
 open, as of old, to others yet to come ! 
 
182 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Parochial organization inadequate — Disturbances continue — The Moderators 
 and Regulators — Circuit Courts growing in favour — Governor's address on 
 the subject — Circuit Court Bill passed by Assembly — Governor refuses his 
 sanction — Again passed and made a law — Its provisions — Boundaries of 
 Cheraw District — Times for holding courts — Commissioners for building 
 court house and gaol — Their proceedings — Cheraw Hill selected — Petition 
 of Freeholders, &c., against it, and in favour of Long Bluff — Counter peti- 
 tion — Memorial of commissioners to Assembly sustaining their action — 
 Assembly decides for Long Bluft" — Lieutenant Governor's order to Commis- 
 sioners — Their error — p]ffect of Courts — The buildings progress — Distur- 
 bances revived — Last affair of the kind on Pedee — Court house finished — 
 Account of it — Officers, how appointed — Persons selected — Opening of 
 Court at Long Bluff — Presentments of grand jury, November, 1772 — Pre- 
 sentments in April, 1773 — Reflections on same — Presentments in Xovember, 
 1773 — Published accounts — Presentments April, 1774 — Early history ot 
 Bar of the Old Cheraws. 
 
 Going back to the beginning of the year 1769^ it will be 
 found that the parochial organization^ established a short 
 time before, did not meet, in some very important respects, 
 the wants of the people. Though affording partial relief in the 
 provision made for a Representative of their own in Assembly, 
 and the care of the poor, it left one of the chief grievances, 
 of which they had long complained, remaining in full force. 
 They were yet without a Court of their own, easy of access, 
 and in which rights could be enforced, and crime punished, 
 without the intolerable burden of long delays and ruinous 
 expenses. Comparative quiet, indeed, had been restored 
 through the effective measures of the Regulators, and yet 
 the disturbances continued to threaten the public peace and 
 safety. In the South Carolina and American General 
 Gazette of 27th March, 1769, it was said: — "Various 
 accounts continue to be received from the back country. 
 A new set of people, who call themselves Moderators, have 
 appeared against the Regulators. These two parties mutually 
 accuse each other. What justice they have on either side, 
 time will discover.'^ 
 
 The plan of a Circuit Court Act was gaining ground 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 183 
 
 daily. On tlie 29th June, the Governor, in his address to 
 the Assembly^ said : " Although there are several matters 
 that well deserve your serious consideration, I cannot help 
 mentioning to you the grievances that your fellow- subjects 
 suffer in the interior parts of this Province, from the want 
 of an equal distribution of justice, as a matter that claims 
 your immediate attention and regard. As I have lately 
 been an eye-witness to the distresses they labour under, I 
 earnestly recommend to you, to pursue such measures as 
 will tend to relieve them ; and, in order to ease your delibe- 
 rations on this point, I will lay before you copies of the 
 Report of the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Planta- 
 tions, on the Bill for establishing Circuit Courts in this 
 Province ; passed some time since, wherein you will see 
 stated, the reasons that operate against that Act's receiving 
 the Royal aj)probation.^^ 
 
 This timely and urgent recommendation of his Excellency 
 had the desired effect, though the Assembly needed not any 
 new arguments to lead them to speedy action on the subject. 
 
 The result was, that on the 5th of July following, a Cir- 
 cuit Court Bill was brought into Assembly, and passed its 
 first reading. It was also stated in the public prints of the 
 day, " that, in consideration of the great inconveniences 
 and grievances to which the back settlers are subject, as 
 soon as the Circuit Court Bill is gone through, another Bill 
 will be presented to the House for establishing temporary 
 County Courts.^' On 27th July, the Circuit Court Bill, having 
 been passed, was presented to the Governor, who refused his 
 sanction. On what ground, after his own urgent recom- 
 mendation for some measure of relief, does not appear. 
 
 There may have been, in his view, some particular feature 
 of the Bill of an objectionable character. It passed the House 
 again, and on the 2nd of August received the Governor's 
 approbation. 
 
 And thus, the long-fought battle ended in victory for the 
 people. Popular rights, enforced by the strong arm of po- 
 pular sovereignty, came out of the conflict triumphant. 
 
 It was thought advisable by the Government at this cri- 
 tical juncture, to adopt, in addition, a precautionary mea- 
 sure for preserving the public peace on the Pedee and in 
 
184 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHEKAWS- 
 
 neighbouring parts of the Province. The Gazette of Augufit 
 10-17th, said: "His Honor the Lieut.-Gov. has been 
 pleased to appoint George Gabriel Powell, Esq., Colonel of 
 the Militia in the North Eastern parts of this Province, to 
 be one of his Majesty^s assistant Judges ; an appointment, 
 which, it is thought, will give general satisfaction, particu- 
 larly to the back settlers, by Avhom that gentleman is much 
 and deservedly respected/^ 
 
 The Circuit Court Act was passed, " for laying off several 
 Districts or Circuits, and authorizing the holding of Courts 
 of General Sessions and Common Pleas twice a year, for the 
 trial of causes criminal and civil, arising within the same 
 respectively, as nearly as may be, as the Justices of Assize 
 and Nisi Prius do in Great Britain. Circuit Courts were, 
 by this Act, to be held at Orangeburg, Ninety- Six, the Che- 
 raws, George-town, Beaufort, and Charles-town" — to sit 
 six days each. The Courts to be held in Charles-town, 
 however, were not strictly speaking Circuit Courts ; but, like 
 those of Westminster Hall, in England, alone possessed of 
 complete original and final jurisdiction, all writs and other 
 civil processes issuing therefrom and being made returnable 
 thereto. 
 
 The provision made for the interior Districts, was not, for 
 this reason, altogether complete, though a signal advance 
 for them, on their previous condition. Henceforth, Govern- 
 ment became more efficient, and justice was brought nearer 
 the habitation of each individual.* 
 
 And withal, as their own rights would thus be made to 
 pass in review before them, as also the wrongs and oppres- 
 sions of Government, if any there were, a decided impetus 
 would thereby be given to the progress of enlightened senti- 
 ments, and the expression of them, in a bold and indepen- 
 dent manner by the people. 
 
 " By the Circuit Court Act, the Judges were authorized 
 to determine, without a Jury, in a summary way, on peti- 
 tion, all causes cognizable in the Circuit Courts for any sum 
 not exceeding twenty pounds sterling ; except when the title 
 of land should be in question. But each party might claim 
 
 * Brevard's " Digest," vol. i. p. H. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 185 
 
 to have the benefit of a Jury trial. The office of Provost 
 Marshal was abolished, and Sheriffs and Clerks were ap- 
 pointed."^ 
 
 The Judicial District of Cheraws " was to be bounded by 
 the course of Lynche's Creek north from the point where a 
 north-west line from the northernmost corner of Williamburg 
 Township reached the said Creek, to the Provincial line, by 
 the Provincial boundary, and the line dividing St. Mark^s 
 and Prince Frederick's Parish, which shall be continued till 
 it intersects the northern Provincial line.^f 
 
 These boundaries were identical with those of the Parish 
 of St. David, created by Act of the previous year. The 
 Courts were to be holden " on every 15th day of April and 
 November, at the Cheraws, for the District of Cheraws." 
 And, by the Act, the Judges of the Courts of Common 
 Pleas were authorized and directed, " to contract and agree 
 with proper persons, for the building and erecting Court 
 Houses and Gaols, in places most convenient for holding 
 the said Courts, and to purchase land for that purpose." 
 
 George Hicks, Thomas Lide, Jonathan Wise, Benjamin 
 Rogers, and Eli Kershaw, were appointed Commissioners 
 for building the Court House and Gaol in the Cheraw Pre- 
 cinct. 
 
 Agreeably to the instructions sent them by the Lieute- 
 nant-Governor, 22nd March, 1770, they met on 13th April, 
 and contracted for one and a half acres of land on Cheraw 
 Hill, whereon they proposed to have the said buildings 
 erected ; as they judged that the most convenient and pro- 
 per place, from its being the most public and healthy 
 situation on the Pedee, 
 
 Active steps were taken to carry their resolution into 
 effect. It excited, however, very decided opposition on the 
 part of many, who thought the neighbourhood of Long 
 Bluff a better location for the Court House. 
 
 The result was, that a petition for the change, and a coun- 
 ter-petition were sent up to the Assembly, and action taken 
 thereon. 
 
 * Brevard's " Digest," vol. i. p. 15. 
 f " Statutes at Large," vol. vii. p. 199. 
 
186 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 The following extracts, from the Journal of the House, 
 will explain the whole proceeding : 
 
 " August 17th, 1770. 
 
 ^' A Petition of the Freeholders and Electors of the Parish 
 of St. David^s and the Cheraw District^ was presented to the 
 House and read, in the words following, viz. : ' That, where- 
 as an Act of Assembly, passed the 29th July, 1 769, for 
 establishing Courts, &c., for the more convenient adminis- 
 tration of Justice in this Province, and for the ease and 
 advantage of the Inhabitants thereof; And, whereas, there 
 is another Act passed at the last Session of Assembly, 
 nominating the Long Bluff as the place for building the 
 Court House and Gaol for the Cheraw District ; which Acts 
 your Petitioners humbly conceive perfectly answer and con- 
 firm the purposes of the first (to wit)_, the convenience, ease, 
 and advantage of the Inhabitants ; for your Petitioners think 
 the Long Bluff' not far from the real centre of the District ; 
 at least the nearest to it of any place they know suitable 
 for the Court House on Pedee River. These Acts, so wisely 
 calculated to answer many of the greatest and best pur- 
 poses, must, under the i)resent House of Representatives, 
 ever dear to their constituents, and especially to the grateful 
 Inhabitants of St. David, be enforced. Nevertheless, it is 
 with the deepest concern, your Petitioners find themselves 
 under the disagreeable necessity of remonstrating to this 
 Honorable House against the joroceedings of a majority of 
 the Commissioners relative to the Court House, they being 
 acquaintances and neighbours of your Petitioners, a conduct 
 your Petitioners apprehend, tending altogether (as far as in 
 them lies), to defeat the good intention of the Legislature, 
 they having appointed the Cheraw Hill (as it is lately 
 called), or a place at or near INIr. Kershaw^s Store, for the 
 Court House, in direct opposition, as your Petitioners appre- 
 hend, to the Act of Assembly : Because, a very worthy 
 Member of the House, of the first character, Thomas Lyuch, 
 Esq., informed them there was an Act for having the Court 
 House and Gaol at the Long Bluff, which information was 
 given before they had contracted for any part of the mate- 
 rials ; and soon afterwards, our own worthy and honorable 
 Representative also acquainted them with the certainty of 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 187 
 
 the Act, and even sent them a copy thereof, before it was 
 printed, certified by the Secretary, to convince the Commis- 
 sioners they were acting wrong : Yet they have contracted 
 for, drawn on and received from the Public Treasurer, three 
 thousand pounds, in order to build a Court House at Cheraw 
 Hill. This appropriation of the public money is, your 
 Petitioners huml^ly conceive, altogether contrary to the in- 
 tention of the Legislature, and tending to retard the work, 
 which will be a prejudice to the whole Province, if, as your 
 Petitioners are told, the Judges do not ride the Circuit till 
 the Court Houses are all finished according to law. If the 
 proceedings of the Commissioners were not contrary to the 
 Act of Assembly, yet, the ill consequences of their conduct 
 to the inhabitants of this Parish, will be obvious to all 
 who consider, that Mr. Kershaw^s store is seventeen or 
 eighteen miles from the Long Bluff, which consequently en- 
 hances the cost of every precept, as well as the expense and 
 fatigue of travelling an vmnecessary distance ; all which, 
 your Petitioners conceive, the poor people will be the like- 
 liest to suffer, as, in all probability, they will be the most 
 liable to actions of debt. If the intention of the Legisla- 
 ture, in passing the Act, was partly to encourage trade, as 
 some of the Commissioners say, yet, their wanting the 
 Court House at Mr. Kershaw^s store, within eight or nine 
 miles of the Province line, would, we think, only encourage 
 the inland trade of that part of North Carolina next to the 
 Court House. There is not an argument which your 
 Petitioners ever heard advanced in favor of Cheraw Hill, 
 nor, any produced against the Long Bluff, why (for con- 
 venience, agreeableness of the place, as well as its central 
 situation) it should not answer all the salutary purposes in- 
 tended by the Act, but what your Petitioners are willing, 
 if called upon, and think themselves perfectly able to con- 
 fute : and, although two of the Commissioners very candidly 
 confessed they are interested in having the Court House at 
 Cheraw Hill, viz., Messrs. Eli Kershaw and Thomas Lide, 
 — "^for then we will sell grog and osnaburgs,' as Mr. 
 Kershaw expressed it ; yet, your Petitioners with confidence 
 hope, this Honorable House will always protect the public 
 welfare of this Province against all private interests, and we 
 
188 HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 think we have reason to snspect, that the Commissioners 
 concerned in the Draft npou the Table, intend to use their 
 own and their friends^ interest to haA^e the Act repealed at 
 the next meeting of Assembly, in order to carry their point 
 of having- the Court House at Cheraw Hill ; but, should 
 such a motion be made in the House by Petition or other- 
 wise, your Petitioners humbly pray this Honorable House 
 maturely to consider of it, and to repeal or continue the 
 Act, as to you in your great wisdom, shall seem meet/^* 
 
 " 21st August, 1770. 
 " A Petition of a considerable part of the Free-holders 
 and Inhabitants of the Cheraw Precinct, in the Parish of 
 St. DaAdd, was presented to the House, and read in the 
 words following, Aiz. : ' That your Petitioners have always 
 entertained the highest regard for the Legislature, and were 
 never so sensible of its wisdom and equity as when an Act 
 was passed for the more easy and convenient administration 
 of justice ; nor, did j^our Petitioners fail of paying due 
 respect to that impartial regard to the general good Avhich 
 appointed this populous part of the country to be a Precinct, 
 by which salutary measure, your Petitioners will be de- 
 livered from innumerable grievances and enjoy one of the 
 best privileges of the British Constitution. That your 
 Petitioners had an additional prospect of felicity by the 
 Commissioners having appointed the Cheraw Hill as the 
 most proper place for the Court House and Gaol to be built 
 on, agreeably to the trust reposed in them, before they were 
 informed of a different appointment made by the Legisla- 
 ture. That your Petitioners (paying the greatest deference 
 to the wisdom which originated the choice of the Long 
 Bluff, in preference to the said Cheraw Hill, on account of 
 the former being nearer to the centre of this Precinct), pray 
 for leave to represent, that, from a personal knowledge of 
 both places, they humbly conceive it would better answer 
 the beneficent intention of the Legislature, if the Courts of 
 Justice should be held at the place nominated by the Com- 
 missioners ; because your Petitioners apprehend, that the 
 
 * "Journal of House of Assembly," No. 38, pp. 407-409. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 189 
 
 centre will certainly be removed a considerable distance 
 higher up, when the error which was made in removing the 
 Provincial line shall be rectified : and, more especially, be- 
 cause your Petitioners conceive from the situation of the 
 Clieraw Hill, with respect to the country round about it, 
 and also from the apparent circumstances of trade now 
 existing, and very likely to flourish, that place will always 
 undoubtedly be the Capitol of the Precinct, and therefore, 
 every encouragement given to it, will, in the same proportion 
 as it promotes commerce, encourage industry in general, but 
 particularly the poor families on the frontier of this Pro- 
 vince, who are now very numerous, and daily increasing 
 by emigrations from the Northern Colonies, and whose lands 
 are capable of the best improvements; but_, were it not for 
 the encouragement given them by the Stores at the Cheraws, 
 their valuable lands would be in a manner lost, on account 
 of the great distance they are situated from market, which 
 circumstance alone has been introductory of some of the 
 worst consequences. Your Petitioners therefore humbly 
 pray, that such instructions may be given to the Commis- 
 sioners as in your wisdom you shall deem most prpper/ 
 " Ordered to be taken into consideration to-morrow/^* 
 
 " 22nd August, 1770. 
 
 " When the House (according to order), proceeded to 
 take into consideration the Petitions of the Free-holders and 
 Electors of the Parish of St. David^s and Cheraw District, 
 which was presented to this House on the 17th inst., and 
 also the Petition of a considerable part of the Free-holders 
 and Inhabitants of the Cheraw Precinct, in the Parish of 
 St. David, which was presented to this House yesterday, 
 and the Petitions were severally read, and a memorial of 
 George Hicks, Thomas Lide, Jonathan Wise, Benjamin 
 Rogers, and Ely Kershaw, commissioners appointed for 
 building the Court House and Gaol in the Cheraw Precinct, 
 presented to the House, and read in the words following, 
 viz. : ' That they, the subscribers, being appointed commis- 
 sioners to contract for, and superintend the building a 
 Circuit Court House and Gaol at Cheraw, in the Parish of 
 
 * " Journal of the House/' No. 38, pp. 415, 416. 
 
190 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 St. David, by an Act of the General Assembly, passed the 
 29th July, 1769, did agreeably to the instructions sent 
 them by the Lieut. -Gov., the 22nd March last, in obedience 
 thereto, meet on the 13th April, and contracted for one and 
 a half acres of land on Cheraw Hill, whereon they proposed 
 to have the said buildings erected, as they judged that the 
 most convenient and proper place, from its being the most 
 public and healthy situation on Pedee River ; Public notice 
 was also given, that they proposed to meet again at Cheraw 
 on the 10th of May, at which meeting they received a letter 
 from George Gabriell Powell, Esq., wherein he informed 
 them, that a bill for removing the Court House and Gaol 
 to Long Bluff had been framed, but had not passed ; that, 
 therefore, the commissioners were left at liberty to have 
 the said buildings carried on with all possible despatch, at 
 any place they thought proper : they, therefore, agreeably 
 to this letter, and the instructions sent them formerly, con- 
 tracted for the materials, the chief of which are now ready 
 upon the land above mentioned. 
 
 " ' But, since our agreeing for the said materials, your 
 memorialists have been informed that the General Assembly 
 had thought proper to have the said buildings at Long Bluff 
 — a place which^ they humbly conceive, is not so convenient 
 as the above, being a low situation, surrounded with low, 
 flat laud, and subject at some seasons of the year to be in 
 a manner surrounded with water, and not likely ever to be 
 a town, or place of trade. 
 
 " They would also beg leave to observe, that though the 
 Long Bluff, as the Pi'ovincial line now runs, is nearer to 
 the centre of the Cheraw District, yet they are informed 
 the north Provincial line is likely to be extended higher up ; 
 but, even if it never should, ^tis their opinion that the 
 Cheraw Hill will be as central to the majority of the people, 
 and they conceive it would have been as convenient to 
 have placed the Court Honse and Gaol for George- town 
 District in the centre of that Precinct, as to place the 
 Court House and Gaol for Cheraw District at Long Bluff. 
 And they further beg leave to observe, that the Cheraw 
 Hill is at present, and has been for many years past, the 
 most public and the greatest place of trade upon Pedee 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 19i 
 
 River. Tliey, therefore, hope this Honorable House will 
 take the premises into consideration, and get such informa- 
 tion of the situation of both places as to your Honors shall 
 seem meet ; and they have agreed, in order that the public 
 may not be disappointed, to continue to forward the work 
 ah'eady contracted for, at Cheraw Hill, Avith all expedition, 
 so as to have them ready as soon as the other Court Houses 
 and Gaols. And, after this Honorable House hath con- 
 sidered the matter, and obtained such information of both 
 places as you may judge necessary, should it then be deter- 
 mined by your Honors to have the said buildings erected 
 at Long Bluff, the frame and other materials might be 
 removed thither by water, though at a very considerable 
 expense. Your memorialists, therefore, thought it neces- 
 sary to lay their proceedings before this Honble. House for 
 their inspection, and at the same time to give their oijinion 
 respecting both places, in order that they might not be 
 reflected upon hereafter, should this Honorable House be 
 imposed on and persuaded to place the buildings at an im- 
 proper place. 
 
 " ' And it is not their intention to contract for anything 
 further, until they receive positive orders at which place 
 they can with safety have the said buildings erected.^ 
 
 " And a debate arising thereon, a motion was made, and 
 the question being put, that the said Petition and Memorial 
 be referred to a committee, the House divided, and the 
 yeas went forth. 
 
 Teller for the Yeas, ] Teller for the Noes, ] „ 
 
 Mr. M'Kenzie. J Mr. Lowndes. J 
 
 " So it passed in the negative. 
 
 " Ordered, 
 
 " That a Message be prepared to be sent to the Lieut. - 
 Gov., to desire, that his Honor will be pleased to give 
 positive directions to the Commissioners appointed for build- 
 ing the Court House and Gaol at the Chcraws District, to 
 cause the said Court House and Gaol to be erected and 
 built at the Long Bluff. 
 
 " According to Order, the following Message was pre- 
 pared, to be sent to the Lieut. -Gov. ; which, being read a 
 
192 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 second time, was agreed to, and Mr. Speaker ordered to 
 sign the same, viz. : — 
 
 " May it please your Honor, 
 
 " It appearing to this House, that some doubts 
 have arisen with the Commissioners for building the Gaol 
 and Court House in the Cheraw District, about the proper 
 place for erecting the same, and the House being of opinion 
 that it is clearly fixed by an Act passed, the 7th of April 
 last, to be at a place called the Long Blufi": we humbly 
 desire that your Honor will be pleased to give positive 
 directions to the Commissioners, appointed for that purpose, 
 to cause the said Gaol and Court House to be immediately 
 erected on the spot appointed by the said Act, that there 
 may be no delay in carrying into execution the good pur- 
 poses intended by the Circuit Court law. 
 " By order of the House, 
 
 " Peter Manigault, Speaker."* 
 
 '' A Message from the Lieut.-Gov., by the Clerk of the 
 Council : — 
 
 " Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen, 
 
 " According to your desire, I have given 
 positive orders to the Commissioners for building the Gaol 
 and Court-house in the Cheraws District, to erect the same 
 at the Long Bluff, and to proceed in the finishing these 
 buildings with the utmost expedition. 
 
 "Wm. BuLL.t 
 
 " August 23rd, 1770." 
 
 The subject was thus very properly disjjosed of by the 
 House without debate. And though the Act in favour of 
 Long Bluff had not been previously passed, the fact would 
 yet have remained obvious, that the reasons in favour of 
 that location greatly preponderated. The counter petition 
 in support of Cheraw Hill, sounds very much like the pro- 
 duction of a Lawyer paid for the work, and the Memorial 
 signally failed to establish its case. The interest of a por- 
 
 * " House Jouruivl," No. 38, pp. 417-420. f Ibid, pp. 421, 422. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 193 
 
 tion of the Commissioners, who were influential, doubtless, 
 gave shape to the proceedings of the Board ; and the struggle 
 ■was between the interests of a few and the convenience of 
 many. It is a sad illustration, often furnished in the history 
 of human affairs, how men of probity may thus be uncon- 
 sciously biased. Long BluflP itself was almost too high up, 
 could an eligible location below have been made available. 
 Under all the circumstances, it was by far the best point 
 that could have been selected, and there ought not to have 
 been a moment^s hesitation on the part of those entrusted 
 with the work. In the subsequent division of Cheraw Dis- 
 trict into Counties, this was the point most central to them 
 all. It never, indeed, became a place of any commercial 
 note, and was eventually abandoned, or its immediate site, 
 at least, as a place of residence. And yet it was at that 
 time the most central and accessible point for the District 
 generally, and withal, a place of some importance, as it con- 
 tinued to be for many years afterward. 
 
 Henceforth, Long Bluft' was to become the resort of judges 
 and lawyers. There, deeds of blood were to meet with 
 their reward, and rigid justice was to be meted out. There, 
 a people, hitherto practically debarred by the circumstances 
 of their position from the exercise of some of the dearest pri- 
 vileges of free-men, were no longer to look upon the admi- 
 nistration of justice and the adjudication of their rights 
 from afar. The law was now to come nigh them, and trial 
 by jury to be their immediate prerogative. 
 
 Public wrongs, as well as private grievances, were to be 
 the subjects of their investigation and complaint. Answer- 
 able themselves to the Government under which they had 
 been reared, that power, venerable and august as it was, 
 was to become amenable to them in turn for its abuses. 
 
 And but a few short years were to pass away ere Long 
 Bluff was to become a name, indissolubly associated with 
 all that was lofty and ennobling in the first developments 
 and commanding power of the spirit of independence on the 
 Pedee. 
 
 The dispute about the location, and the transportation of 
 the materials from Cheraw Hill, caused some delay in the 
 prosecution of the work. It became necessary therefore to 
 
194 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 use all possible despatch, so as not to be behind the other 
 Judicial Districts in the erection of their Court Houses and 
 Gaols. As early as April 12th, 1770, it was said in the 
 Gazette, " We are advised, from different parts of the country, 
 that the utmost despatch is used by the several Boards of 
 Commissioners for building Precinct Court Houses and 
 Gaols, to complete the same during the course of the present 
 year ; especially in the frontier Districts, which again begin 
 to be infested with great numbers of Horse Thieves and 
 other Vagabonds, from whose depredations and outrages they 
 fear they can never be completely relieved till a Vagrant 
 Act is passed/^ 
 
 The partial calm which followed the determined action of 
 the Regulators during the previous year, was seriously dis- 
 turbed again. Old oflFenders, who had been di'iven off, 
 returned once more. 
 
 The Gazette of April 5th said : " We are informed that 
 a great number of Horse Thieves, and other Banditti, who 
 fled from the back parts of this and the neighboring Pro- 
 vinces quite to West Florida, while the regulating scheme 
 prevailed, after having sold the horses they rode off, are 
 returned and returning, in small parties, by sea, to different 
 sea-ports on this continent, perhaps to play their old game 
 over again ; but they will be narrowly watched, and "'tis 
 not very unlikely that some of these gentry may furnish the 
 first business of our new Circuit Courts.""^ 
 
 More than a year subsequent to this time, a serious dis- 
 turbance occurred on the Pedee. 
 
 Of the last notable affair of the kind, the Gazette of 
 October 3rd, 1771, contained the following account: — 
 " Winsler Driggcrs, a notorious villain, who escaped out of 
 Savannah Gaol about thirteen months ago, under sentence 
 of death, and for the taking of whom a reward of fifty 
 pounds sterling was offered, has at length met with his 
 deserts. He was taken about a month ago, near Drowning 
 Creek, in the Charraw Settlement, proved to be a Mulatto, 
 tried under the Negro Act, and hanged. It seems he had 
 been in those parts some months, collected a gang of other 
 desperate -sdllains, in number near fifty, who committed all 
 manner of depredations. Capt. Philip Pledger, with a 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 195 
 
 number of his neighbors, at length made an attempt to 
 take or drive them out of the settlement. As soon as Capt. 
 Pledger's party appeared, the villains fired, and Driggers 
 wounded Capt. Pledger in one of his arms, so that he has 
 since lost it (it was amputated). Pledger's party returned 
 the fire, killed one William Hodge and one Johnston, 
 wounded Driggers in one arm and the back, who neverthe- 
 less escaped, but was afterwards taken.''* 
 
 Depredations were committed after this, but by smaller 
 parties and by stealth, until the troubles of the Revolution 
 came on, when this class of people, under the wing of the 
 Tories, renewed their outrages more boldly than ever. 
 
 The Court House and Gaol at Long Bluff, now rapidly 
 approaching completion, were built after the substantial 
 manner of those days, when appearance was less consulted 
 than strength and durability. With massive walls and 
 heavy oak frames, carefully selected and well put together, 
 the Court House continued to stand for many years, and 
 until the ancient village, in the next century, had become 
 ' deserted. It stood on the right of the main street, or road, 
 as it approached the river, and about three hundred yards 
 from the latter. It was taken down about the year 1817. 
 
 The Parish of St. David, except as to the elective fran- 
 chise, was henceforth to be overshadowed by the more 
 imposing judicial organization now established, and the 
 story of the '' Old Cheraws " to become the subject of his- 
 toric renown. 
 
 The offices created by the Circuit Court Act, of SheriflF, 
 Clerk, &c., were to be filled by appointment of the Crown. 
 The only popular election yet provided for, in addition to 
 Parish officers, was the Member of Assembly. The Sheriff 
 was to be appointed every second year, the Court nominat- 
 ing three proper persons, freeholders, and residents of the 
 District or Precinct, whose names were to be presented to 
 
 * The tradition of tliis fight was handed down in the neighborliood, and 
 in a correct shape as to many of the particulars, except that it purported to 
 have been an affair between Captain Pledger and the Tories. 
 
 It was related to the author by the late Captain John Terrell, of Marl- 
 borough, a grandson of Captain Pledger. The fight occurred near the place 
 where Captain 'i'errell lived and died. J)riggers was hung near Muddy Creek, 
 on the Old River Rt)ad, six miles below Cheravv. The spot is yet pointed out. 
 
 o 2 
 
196 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 the Governor^ Lieatenant-Governor, or Commander-in-Chie f 
 for tlie time being, and from wliom one was to be selected 
 and commissioned. 
 
 The names of Charles Augustus Steward, Alexander 
 Mcintosh, and William Henry Mills, were presented to his 
 Excellency the Governor in June 1772, as suitable persons 
 for Sheriff of Cheraw District. As was to be expected, from 
 what was already well known of these gentlemen in con- 
 nexion with their political sympathies, the latter was 
 selected and commissioned. He retained his place until a 
 change of Government in 1776, On the 3rd of November 
 (1772), the Ga;2ette said: "Since our last, their Honors, 
 the Judges, set out to open and hold the Circuit Courts for 
 the several Districts in this Province, which began the 5th 
 inst., and is the first since the passing of that Act.'^ Chief 
 Justice Gordon and Justice Murray took the " North- 
 Circuit,^'' as it was then called. They were to sit first in 
 George-town. On Monday, the 16th November, henceforth 
 to be a day memorable in the history of the Pedee, the 
 Court was to open at Long Bluff. 
 
 Imagination may picture to itself the interest with which 
 the people looked forward to the consummation of their 
 long-cherished wishes, and the triumph of the hard-fought 
 battle for their rights. 
 
 Happily for them and for their children, the administra- 
 tion of justice in their midst on so august an occasion was 
 not to commence without invoking first the blessing of 
 Heaven, and recalling the sanctions of that Holy Religion, 
 established by Him who is the Lord and Judge of all the 
 earth. In accordance, therefore, with the pious custom of 
 the time, a " Sessions Sermon" was preached on the morn- 
 ing of the 16tli, ])efore the opening of the Court, by the 
 Rev. Nicholas Bedgegood, Pastor of the Welch Neck 
 Church. The duties and responsibilities of those in 
 authority, as well as of the subjects of the state of every 
 degree, were doubtless enforced, and the thoughts of all 
 alike directed to a judgment in the end of the world, from 
 which there is to be no appeal. 
 
 The Presentments of the Grand Jury for Cheraws Dis- 
 trict, made on Monday the 16th, were ordered to be pub- 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 197 
 
 lished in the general Gazette of the Provmce^ and were as 
 follows : — 
 
 " I. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Law to 
 cleanse the River of the great number of trees and logs 
 which interrupt the na\agation. 
 
 " II, We present, as a grievance, the want of a Bridge 
 over Thompson's Creek, near Yorkshire Mills ; and another 
 over Black Creek, a small distance above the Ferry, known 
 by the name of Douglass Ferry. 
 
 '' III. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Free- 
 school in the District. 
 
 " IV. We present, as a grievance, that neither the Laws 
 of this Province, nor the Statutes of Great Britain, now in 
 force, are printed or published in such a manner as to be 
 procured by the inhabitants of this District. 
 
 '^ V. We present Edward Williams, late a constable, for 
 suffering Ralph Sutton, charged with Felony, and John 
 Williams, the Prosecutor, to escape from him, — by the infor- 
 mation of Col. Charles Augustus Steward. 
 
 " Charles A. Steward, Foreman. L.S. 
 
 Abel Edwards. , L.S. 
 
 Thomas Edwards. L.S. 
 
 Henry William Harrington. L.S. 
 
 Robert Blair. L.S. 
 
 William Godfrey. L.S. 
 
 Richard^ Carter. L.S. 
 
 Samuel Chandler. L.S. 
 
 Peter Kolb. L.S. 
 
 John Hodges. L.S. 
 
 William Dewitt. L.S. 
 
 George Hicks. L.S. 
 
 Benjamin Rogers. L.S. 
 
 Arthur Hart. L.S. 
 
 Thomas Evans. L.S. 
 
 Robert Clary. L.S. 
 
 William Pegnes. L.S. 
 
 John Perkins. L.S." 
 
 The attention given by the Grand Jury on this occasion 
 to the important subjects of internal improvements, Educa- 
 
198 HISTORY OF TIIK OLD CIIERAWS. 
 
 tion, and tlic Publication of the Laws of tlic Province, waa 
 timely. They were nuitters of serious regard, and failed 
 not afterward to be brought to public notice as occasion 
 demanded. In the Gazette of 15th December following 
 tliis account appeared, viz. : " At Cheraws seven Bills were 
 given out, and four found. Jacob Tilley, convicted of 
 Horse-stealing, was sentenced to receive thirty-nine lashes, 
 and to have his right car cut off; llandall Johnson, con- 
 victed of Larceny, was burnt in the hand.^' 
 
 On the approach of the April Assizes, 1773, Justices 
 Savage and Fewtrcll chose the Northern Circuit. The 
 Court opened for Cheraws, April 15th. The Presentments 
 of the Grand Jury, ordered to be printed, were as follows : — 
 
 '' I. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Law for 
 cleansing Pedce River. 
 
 "11. We i)rescnt, as a grievance, the want of a Bridge 
 over Thompson's Creek,"^ and also over Black Creek, on the 
 road between the Cheraws and George-town. 
 
 " 111. We j)resent, as a grievance, the want of a Free- 
 school in the District. 
 
 " IV. We present, as a grievance, the general neglect of 
 the Militia and Patrol Acts, and recommend that they may 
 be amended. 
 
 " V. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Vagrant 
 Act, the District boiug infested with many idle and disor- 
 derly persons, who haviug no visible means of subsistence, 
 either plunder the industrious inhabitants, or become 
 chargeable to the Parish. 
 
 " VI. AVe present, as a grievance, the want of a Chapel 
 of Ease in the lower part of the District. 
 
 *' VII. AVe present, as a grievance, that the lines of the 
 District arc not now ascertained. 
 
 " VIII. We recommend that a Law be passed, obliging 
 Persons not resident in the Province, or their agents, to 
 give security, iipon commencing any Suit in the Courts 
 of Common Law, to pay the costs thereof, if a verdict 
 shall pass for the defendant ; and also obliging Prosecutors, 
 
 * This was doubtless at the point referred to in the former Presentment as 
 near Yorkshire Mills ; and was on the road from Chernw to Long Blull". 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 199 
 
 on behalf of the Crowiij for misdemeanor, to pay the 
 costs where the defendant shall be acquitted, or not prose- 
 cuted to trial. 
 
 " IX. We present, as a grievance, that witnesses attend- 
 ing the Sessions on behalf of the Crown are not allowed 
 their expences. 
 
 " X. We present, as a grievance, that neither the Laws of 
 this Province, nor the Statutes of Great Britain, made of 
 force therein, are printed or published. 
 
 " XI. We present Edward Jones, Constable, for a wilful 
 neglect of his duty, on the information of Unity Hunter. 
 
 " XII. We present Joseph Gourly, Esq., one of the 
 Justices for the District, as a common drunkard, a pro- 
 fane swearer, and disturber of the peace, on the infor- 
 mation of Robert Dowling. 
 
 " XIII. We present, as a grievance, the want of a wall 
 to enclose the Gaol and the yard round the same, it being 
 at present entirely open, by which means, persons from 
 without can reach instruments to the prisoners within, to 
 facilitate their escape ; and also the want of a well for the 
 use of the same. 
 
 Alexander Mackintosh, Foreman. L.S. 
 
 Claudius Pegnes. L.S. 
 
 William Johnston. L.S. 
 
 Samuel Wise. L.S. 
 
 Thomas Lide. L.S. 
 
 Thomas James. L.S. 
 
 Robert Lide. L.S. 
 
 John Kimbrough. L.S. 
 
 Martin Kolb. L.S. 
 
 John Mikell. L.S. 
 
 Thomas Burton. . L.S. 
 
 Thomas Ayer. L.S. 
 
 John Hewstess. L.S. 
 
 Malachi Murfee. L.S. 
 
 William Dewitt. L.S. 
 
 Thomas Ellerbe. L.S. 
 
 Martin Dewitt. L.S. 
 
 John Hitchcock. L.S. 
 
 John Wilds. L.S. 
 
200 HHTOEY 05 THE OLD CHEBAW5, 
 
 AaroTi Darnel. L.S, 
 
 ^la^us Coi'orilL L-S. 
 
 Al)el WiMs. ' LS.'' 
 
 The effect ttpoa tlic minds of the people of having Courts 
 of their own, holden among them, was now becoming ap- 
 parent, Bespect for the constituted authorities of the 
 Province was partially restored, and the majesty of the law 
 vindicated. 
 
 Secure in the feeling that the guilty would not go un- 
 punished, attention was naturally turned to those important 
 subject** connected with the general welfare and progress of 
 society, and hence the several matters brought to public 
 notice by the Grand /uries, both for Legislative action, and 
 district regulation and controL 
 
 It is somewhat singular, as appears from Presentment 
 fourth, that after such recent disturbances and in so un- 
 settled a state of the country, there should have been a 
 general neglect in enforcing the i'lilitia and Patrol Acts, 
 It was doubtless attributable in part to the sparsity of the 
 population, as well as to the difficulty ever existing in the 
 early stages of society, of securing thoroughly organized 
 sfcud constant effort for the removal of public evUs, or the 
 enforcement of the laws of the land. A Vagrant Act was 
 now imperatively demanded. The public expression by a 
 Grand Jury of the want of a Chapel of Ease (as it was 
 called in the language of the time, being an ad_pinct of the 
 parish church), was a happy omen for the religious senti- 
 ment and public opinion of the day. The country was 
 very scantily supplied with religious services, and the want 
 of additional facilities for public worship was sorely felt. 
 In this connexiorr, the presentment of a Justice of the 
 Peace, as a drunkard and profene swearer, is worthy of 
 notice, aiid is au. esaxx^ple which their posterity might well 
 follow SMxre sccbdoa^ tlem they do, as to the hi^ataadani 
 of character wl^aA tm^t ever to be required in those who 
 aspire to oSeea of pnUic trust. The irxactiaoA g£ a Grand 
 Jury, as the high inqnert of the State, asid a» bcxe faatidalikf 
 discharged, have been too much ignored in latw i^attM, To 
 such a body the looftt aolemxi tnut ia c u oi iittwi ; and 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 201 
 
 l)ol(lly brought to bear upon society, its influence would 
 l)c largely felt. The conduct of tlie Grand Juricss of the 
 Clicraws District in the early days of its history is worthy 
 of perpetual remembrance. 
 
 At the November Term, 1773, Chief Justice Gordon and 
 Justice Savage presided. U[) to this time, the name of 
 Thomas Turner ajjpears as Clerk for Cheraw District, and 
 James Johnston dei)uty-Clerk. The latter place was filled 
 on this occasion by Henry Wm. Harrington. 
 
 The Presentments of the Grand Jury were as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 "I. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Vagrant 
 Act in this Province, this District in particidar ])eing in- 
 fested with many Vagrants, who do great damage!, particu- 
 larly by fire hunting. 
 
 " II. We present, as a grievance, tliat the; division line 
 lately run between this ])istrict and the District of (jcorge- 
 town, does not extend lower dowii Pedee River than sixteen 
 or seventeen miles from the Court House : which, wc 
 hund)ly ap[)rehend, was not originally interuled in the 
 division of the Districts in this Province, and therefore do 
 rccomnunul that this matter be taken into consideration by 
 the Ij(!gishitiire. 
 
 " III. We present, as a very great grievaru;e, the want of 
 a Free School in this District. 
 
 " IV. We present, as a grievaiuic, the want of a Law for 
 cleansing Pedee River, its navigation at present being very 
 unsafe. 
 
 " V. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Bridge 
 over Thompson's Creek, near Col. Steward's Mill, iind another 
 over JJlack Creek, near the present Ferry. 
 
 "VI. AVe present, as a grievance, the prescmt iiisiiflieieney 
 of the Gaol of this District, by which persons confined 
 therein are enabled to make their escape ; and we do recom- 
 mend that it be surrounded by a sufficient wall, at a con- 
 venient distance therefrom, to prevent the confedc^rates of 
 the Prisoners from furnishing them with implements for 
 breaking the same. 
 
 " \l\. We present, as a grievance, tlu; want of a new 
 Jury list in this District. 
 
202 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 " We recommend that these our Presentments be pub- 
 lished in the several Gazettes of this Province. 
 
 " John Kimbrough^ Foreman. L.S. 
 
 George Hicks. L.S. 
 
 William Pegnes. L.S. 
 
 Malachi Murfee, Sen. L.S. 
 
 Robert Lide. L.S. 
 
 Thomas Ayer. L.S. 
 
 John Hodge. L.S. 
 
 Abel Wilds. L.S. 
 
 Thomas Ellerbe. L.S. 
 
 Joshna Hickman. L.S. 
 
 Robert Blair. L.S. 
 
 Arthur Hart. L.S. 
 
 William Godfrey. L.S. 
 
 Alexander Mackintosh. L.S. 
 
 Martin Dewitt. L.S. 
 
 Robert Clary. L.S. 
 
 Elias DuBose. L.S. 
 
 John Mikell. L.S. 
 
 James Kelly. L.S. 
 
 Thomas James. L.S.^^ 
 
 On 21st December, the following notice appeared in the 
 Gazette, viz. : " At Cheraws, twelve bills of Indictment 
 were given out, of which nine were found. Samuel Winds, 
 convicted of Horse-stealing, was sentenced to lose his right 
 ear, and be publickly whipt. John Odom, Sen., Alexander 
 Purvis, and James Wright, convicted of Petit Larceny, 
 were sentenced to be whipt. William Lewis, alias John 
 Macallister, found guilty of Forgery, was sentenced to 
 stand in the Pillory, and be publickly whipt. Samuel 
 Winds, Alexander Purvis, and James Wright have been 
 pardoned by his Honor, the Lieutenant-Governor.^' 
 
 Notwithstanding the urgent recommendations of the 
 Grand Juries from time to time, nothing was done by the 
 Legislature to improve the navigation of the river. The 
 matter was not acted upon until some years subsequent to 
 the Revolution. Nor were any steps taken for the estab- 
 
HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 203 
 
 lishment of Free Schools. Difficult as it has been since to 
 make any adequate proAdsion of the kind, the difficulty was 
 much greater then in consequence of the low state of the 
 public funds and the sparseness of the population. 
 
 On Friday^ April 14th, 1774, the following Presentments 
 were made by the Grand Jury of Cheraws, and ordered to 
 be published, viz. : — 
 
 '' I. We present, as a grievance, the want of a new Jury 
 list. 
 
 " II. We present the Commissioners appointed for build- 
 ing the parish church of St. David, for not having it com- 
 pleted in proper time, the money having been granted by 
 the Commons House of Assembly near four years, for 
 that purpose, — by the information of Charles Augustus 
 Steward, Esq. 
 
 Alexander Mcintosh, Foreman. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 John Hodges. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 William Hardwick. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Wm. Henry Harrington. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Malachi Murfee 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Joshua Hickman. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Thomas James. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 John Wilds. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Robert Clary. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Robert Blair. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Abel Wilds. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Thomas Ayer. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Moses Speight, 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Robert Lide. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 William Godfrey 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Martin Dewitt, 
 
 L.S. 
 
 William Pegnes. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Elias DuBose. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Martin Kolb. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Alexander Gordon. 
 
 L.S.'' 
 
 Calvin Spencer was deputy Clerk at this term of the 
 Court. 
 
 The parish church had been used in December, 1772, as 
 
204 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 already stated, though doubtless in an unfinished state, as 
 this Presentment would indicate. Of the early history of 
 the Bar of the Old Cheraws very little is known. 
 
 Of its learned arguments, its eloquent appeals, and bril- 
 liant conflicts, no tradition even remains. Up to this time 
 and for years subsequent, there was no resident lawyer in the 
 District. Colonel Powell was doubtless a regular attendant 
 and leading advocate there from the first, as were some of 
 the eminent members of the Bar of Charles-town, with 
 Judges Waties and Brevard, before their promotion to the 
 Bench. 
 
 The records which remain are silent on the subject, and 
 no tongue is left to tell of the stirring scenes which were 
 enacted there. For many years past every material vestige, 
 except a few scattered bricks, has disappeared. 
 
 The plough, for more than a generation, has made deep 
 furrows over the ground on which the old Court House 
 stood. We can only wander back in imagination to its 
 earlier days, and sadly muse on the past. 
 
 Another chapter will open, and burning words come 
 back — the opening chapter of the manly declaration of their 
 rights and of their country's wrongs, by the sturdy patriots 
 of the Old Cheraws. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 205 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A general Congress of the colonies proposed — Scene thereupon in Assembly of 
 South Carolina — Action of the Assembly — South Carolina takes the lead — 
 Repeal of the Stamp Act — Declaratory Act — Claim of taxing the colonies 
 asserted — East India Company imports tea — Course of Soutli Carolina — 
 Cargo restrained from sale — Course of other colonies — Town meetings called 
 — Circular letter from Massachusetts — Arrival of it in Charles-town — Ex- 
 citement — Circular letters sent through the Province — General meeting in 
 Charles-town — St. David's represented — Action of meeting — Provincial 
 Congress called — Deputies from St. David's — Action of the Congress — 
 November courts — William Henry Drayton appointed judge — Account of 
 him and his appointment — Presides at Long Bluff — His charge to the 
 grand jury — Address of petit jury in reply — Presentments of the o-rand 
 jury — Reflections — Account of Judge Drayton — Subsequent career and 
 death — Action of general meeting in Charles-town as to the poor of Boston 
 — Province sends relief — Subscription in St. David's parish — Reflections^ 
 Close of year 1V74 — Concluding remarks. 
 
 As early as 1765, the passage of tlie memorable Stamp Act 
 by the British Parliament roused the American Colonists 
 generally to opposition. To make this feeling effective, it 
 was necessary that some common plan of co-operation should 
 be adopted. Among other propositions offered to secure 
 such a uniform line of conduct in the several colonies, was 
 that of a general Congress of Deputies to be elected from 
 each. When this measure was first proposed in the Assembly 
 of South Carolina, there were not wanting, as in all revo- 
 lutions, those who were disposed to frown it down. It was 
 ridiculed by a humorous member, on that occasion, in words 
 to the following effect, viz. : " If you agree to the proposi- 
 tion of composing a Congress of Deputies from the different 
 British Colonies, what sort of a dish will you make ? New 
 England will throw in fish and onions. The Middle States, 
 flax-seed and flour. Maryland and Virginia will add to- 
 bacco. North Carolina, pitch, tar, and tur})entiue. South 
 Carolina, rice and indigo ; and Georgia will sprinkle the 
 whole composition with saw-dust. Such an absurd jumble 
 will you make, if you attempt to form an union among such 
 discordant materials as the thirteen British Provinces/' To 
 
206 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 which^ a shrewd country member replied : " He would not 
 choose the gentleman who made the ohjection for his cook ; 
 but, nevertheless, he would venture to assert, that if the Co- 
 lonies proceeded judiciously in the appointment of Deputies 
 to a Continental Congress, they would prepare a dish fit to 
 be presented to any crowned head in Europe."^ 
 
 This reply was worthy of Carolina, and equal to the occa- 
 sion that called it forth. The Commons House of Assembly 
 was prepared for decided action ; and having passed resolu- 
 tions, strongly affirming their rights as British subjects, pro- 
 ceeded to the election of Deputies to the Congress which 
 was to meet the following October. South Carolina was 
 the first of the colonies, out of New England, to take this 
 step towards a Continental union. The effect of the meet- 
 ing of the Congress, and of the decided stand taken by the 
 Colonies, was a repeal of the Stamp Act. The repeal was 
 accompanied, however, by an Act, commonly called the De- 
 claratory Act, which affirmed, "that the Parliament of Great 
 Britain had a right to bind the colonies in all cases what- 
 soever.^^ In pursuance of this right, thus unconstitutionally 
 claimed, the experiment of taxation was renewed in 1767, 
 though more artfully than before, in the shape of small 
 duties on glass, paper, tea, painters^ colors, &c. Again the 
 Colonies petitioned, and agreed, moreover, among themselves, 
 to import no more British manufactures. 
 
 The Government, alarmed once more at this general and 
 decided manifestation of the spirit of intelligent resistance 
 and revolt, repealed all the odious duties except that of 
 threepence a pound on tea. 
 
 In the mean time, the East India Company, in order to 
 take advantage of this state of things, adopted the scheme 
 of exporting large quantities of tea, to be sold on their 
 account in the several capitols of the British Colonies. This 
 increased the jealousy of the Colonies, and made them more 
 determined than before to resist the encroachment on their 
 rights. Accordingly, combinations were entered into to 
 obstruct the sales of tea thus sent out by the East India 
 
 * Ramsay's " Revolution in So. Ca." vol. i. p. 13. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 207 
 
 Company. A cargo sent to South Carolina was stored, tlie 
 consignees being restrained from exposing it to sale. In 
 other colonies similar measures were adopted. In Boston 
 a few men in disguise threw overboard 340 chests of tea, 
 the proportion sent by the East India Company to that 
 Province. This led to a retaliatory Act by Parliament, 
 blocking up the Port of Boston, and was followed by other 
 Acts of a similar kind. One of these was called an " Act 
 for the better regulating the Government of Massachusetts,^' 
 the effect of which was to alter essentially the Charter of 
 that Province, taking the executive control out of the hands 
 of the people, and vesting it in the King or his Governor. 
 Other abuses of the most offensive and alarming character 
 speedily followed. 
 
 The colonists generally took the alarm. The inhabitants 
 of Boston were thrown into the utmost consternation. 
 Town- meetings were called; and at one of them. May 13th, 
 1774, a resolution was passed, calling upon the other Colo- 
 nies in the most earnest manner to put a stop at once to 
 all importations from Great Britain and the West Indies 
 until the Act for blocking up Boston Harbor should be re- 
 pealed, or else there would be reason to fear "that fraud, 
 power, and the most odious oppressions would rise trium- 
 l^hant over justice, right, social happiness, and freedom. '^ 
 A copy of this vote was immediately forwarded to the other 
 Colonies. On its arrival in Charles-town, intense feeling 
 was excited ; and in order that it might be submitted to 
 the general voice of the people, some of the principal 
 gentlemen of the town caused circular letters to be sent 
 out by express, to every Parish and District in the Province, 
 calling a general meeting of the inhabitants. The sum- 
 mons was urgent, and met with a hearty response. 
 
 Everywhere the people assembled, and appointed Depu- 
 ties to meet in Charles-town on the 6th of July ensuing. 
 When that day arrived, " Charles-town was filled with per- 
 sons from the country. One hundred and four Deputies 
 represented all parts of the Province, except Greenville 
 County, St. John's, Colleton, and Christ Church Parish, 
 which were without delegations. In behalf of Charles-town, 
 
208 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 the General Committee appeared/'* Col. George Gabriel 
 Powell was one of the Deputies from St. David's Parish^ 
 and took a conspicuous part in the proceedings of the 
 meeting. 
 
 Of the names of the other deputies from this Parish no 
 record remains. No complete list^ indeed, of all those in 
 attendance, appears in the published accounts of the time. 
 
 The meeting was held under the Exchange, July 6th, 
 and a crowded assemblage it was. 
 
 At 9 o'clock in the morning, Col. Powell took the chair; 
 and it was carried, " that votes should be given by each 
 person present, and not by Parishes" — and also, " that who- 
 ever came there might give his vote." The business of the 
 day then opened with the reading of the communication 
 from the Colony of Massachusetts. Afterwards resolutions 
 were considered, touching American rights and grievances. 
 A resolution was passed, providing for the safety and wel- 
 fare of the Province, by the appointment of a Committee 
 of ninety-nine persons, to act as a General Committee, to 
 correspond with the Committees of the other Colonies, and 
 to do all matters and things necessary to carry these reso- 
 lutions into execution ; and that any twenty-one of them, 
 met together, may proceed in business, their power to con- 
 tinue till the next general meeting."t 
 
 The General Committee was accordingly appointed by 
 the meeting, and consisted of fifteen merchants and fifteen 
 mechanics to represent Charles -town; and sixty-nine planters 
 to represent the other parts of the Province. J 
 
 This proceeding, though not strictly authorized by the people 
 in the action taken at their primary meetings, was acquiesced 
 in, as being demanded by the extraordinary circumstances 
 of the time, and manifestly intended for the public good. 
 
 After a session of three days the meeting adjourned. 
 Thus matters went on, the members of the General Com- 
 mittee attending to their several duties throughout the 
 Province. In the fall, it was determined by the Com- 
 mittee to convene a Provincial Congress, by the election of 
 
 * Drayton's " Memoirs," p. 126. 
 
 ■j- Ramsay's "Revolution in So. Ca." vol. i. p. 22. 
 
 X Drayton's " Memoirs," vol. i. p. 131. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEIIAWS. 209 
 
 Representatives from every District and Parish in the 
 Province, to meet in Charles-town early in the ensuing 
 year. The designs of the British Government^ in the 
 meantime, had been more fully developed, and the neces- 
 sity for increased energy and more perfect union among 
 the colonists Avas most apparent. 
 
 By means of the Congress of delegates it was thought 
 the public arm would be strengthened, and the sentiments 
 of the people better known and more firmly established. 
 For this purpose, on the 9th of November, the Committee 
 issued Resolutions, providing for the general election of 
 Deputies throughout the Province, by appointing the time, 
 describing the Districts and Provinces, and fixing the num- 
 ber of Representatives for each. As before, in fixing the 
 ratio of the General Committee, thirty were allowed for 
 Charles-town, ten to each of the four large Districts of 
 Ninety-six, of those between the Broad and Saluda, the 
 Broad and Catawba rivers, and that eastward of the 
 Wateree ; and six Representatives to each of the Parishes, 
 — making in all one hundred and eighty-four, neaidy four 
 times as many as constituted the Commons House of 
 Assembly. 
 
 The Resolutions required the Representatives elected to 
 assemble in Charles-town on the 11th of January, 1775 ; 
 and also set forth the objects of the meeting, viz., to receive 
 an account of the proceedings of the late Continental Con- 
 gress, to elect delegates for another Congress, to be held in 
 the ensuing May, to elect a new General Committee, and 
 to establish such regulations as the exigences of the times 
 might render necessary. 
 
 The following gentlemen were elected from St. David's 
 Parish, viz.. Honorable George Gabriel Powell, Claudius 
 Pegues, Henry Wm. Harrington, Alexander M'Intosh, 
 Samuel Wise, Esq., and Col. George Pawley. 
 
 In the meantime, the people on the Pedee, fully alive 
 to the critical state of affairs and prepared for every emer- 
 gency, had spoken in language of no doubtful import on 
 those exciting topics which now agitated the public mind. 
 The November Courts (1774) having come on, the Honor- 
 able Wm. Henry Drayton, one of his Majesty's Assistant- 
 
210 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Judges,, and Mr. Justice Fewtrell, took the Northern Cir- 
 cuit, embracing the Districts of Camden, Cheraws, and 
 George-town. Of all the public men of the Province at 
 that time, no one was better qualified, in every respect, than 
 Judge Drayton, to stir up the minds of the people and keep 
 alive in them the spirit of liberty. 
 
 He had been appointed to the Bench the previous winter 
 in the place of Mr. Justice Murray, deceased. Prior to 
 this time the Bench seems to have been filled with Assistant- 
 Judges of independence and property in the Colony, who 
 served the public in that capacity without fee or reward. 
 Upon the death of Justice Murray, his Majesty^s Council 
 found some difficulty in getting a gentleman of proper mark 
 and character to take his place, in consequence of the 
 inadequate inducement, and the probability, moreover, that 
 the appointee would be superseded by a Barrister sent from 
 England. The case seemed difficult to the Council, yet a 
 Judge must of necessity be appointed. After some time 
 spent in agitating the subject, Mr. Drayton (being one of 
 the Council) offered his services until some one should be 
 selected by the King ; which public-spirited behaviour was 
 very readily and unanimously approved by the Lieut.- 
 Governor and Council. This was in January, 1774. Not 
 long after a Pamphlet appeared, under the signature of 
 " Freeman,^^ stating the grievances of America, and present- 
 ing a bill of American rights. It was addressed to the 
 Congress at Philadelphia, and excited general attention. 
 Being understood to have come from the pen of Mr. Dray- 
 ton, it gave great offence to the Royal officers and friends 
 of the Crown. 
 
 Some strictures were also made in it, respecting the 
 writs of assistance to the Customs, granted by the Judges. 
 These last fancied the thrust was aimed at them. 
 
 Whereupon, the Chief Justice, Thomas Knox Gordon, and 
 one of the Assistant- Judges, Charles Matthew Cosslet, pre- 
 sented a remonstrance to the Lieut. -Govr., complaining of 
 the publication of " Freeman," charging it to Mr. Drayton, 
 and submitting, whether such a person was fit to hold the 
 office of Assistant-Judge. To this Judge Drayton replied, 
 and before the dispute was settled, the November Circuits 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 211 
 
 came on. Judge Drayton had scarcely left Charles-town 
 when Mr, Gregory arrived from England to take his place 
 on the Bench.* It would have been a signal gain for the 
 Crown^ and as great a loss to the cause of Independence, if 
 the last circuit of this illustrious patriot had been pre- 
 stalled. 
 
 He appeared at Long Bluff upon the opening of the 
 Court, on Tuesday, November ISth^ and delivered the fol- 
 lowing charge : — 
 
 " Gentlemen of the Grand Jury, 
 
 " You are now met to 
 discharge one of the most important duties in society, for 
 you are assembled arbiters of the innocence or guilt of those 
 of your fellow-citizens who are so unfortunate as to have 
 afforded occasion, however slight, for the laws to take cog- 
 nizance of their conduct. 
 
 " You are authorized to pass judgment, in the first 
 instance, upon the apparently guilty wretch, and by your 
 acquitting voice, to shield apparent innocence from a mali- 
 cious prosecution. Such powers have the constitution of 
 your country vested in you ; powers no less important than 
 truly honorable, when exercised with a fearless integrity. 
 
 " It is your indispensable duty to endeavour to exercise 
 those powers with propriety ; it is mine, concisely to point 
 out to you the line of your conduct — a conduct, which the 
 ■^nerable constitution of your country intends, by protect- 
 ing the innocent and by delivering the guilty over to the 
 course of law, should operate to nourish, in its native vigour, 
 even that constitution itself, from whose generous spirit we 
 have a title to call ourselves free-men, an appellation which 
 peculiarly distinguishes the English subject (those imfortu- 
 nately disappointed fellow-citizens in Quebec excepted), and 
 ranks them above all the civilized nations of the earth. 
 By as much as you prefer freedom to slavery, by so much 
 ought you to prefer a generous death to servitude, and to 
 hazard everything to endeavour to maintain that rank which 
 is so gloriously pre-eminent above all other nations. You 
 
 Drayton's " Memoirs," vol. i. pp. 151-161. 
 
 p 2 
 
212 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 ought to endeavour to preserve it, not only for its inesti- 
 mable value, but from a reverence to our ancestry from whom 
 we received it, and from a love of our children, to whom 
 we are bound, by every consideration, to deliver down this 
 legacy, the most valuable that ever was or ever can be 
 delivered to posterity. It is compounded of the most 
 generous civil liberty that ever existed, and the sacred 
 Christian Religion, released fi^om the absurdities which are 
 inculcated, the shackles which are imposed, the tortures 
 which are inflicted, and the flames which are lighted, blown 
 up and fed with blood, by the Roman Catholic doctrines, 
 which tend to establish a most cruel tyranny in Church and 
 State — a tyranny under which all Europe groaned for many 
 ages. 
 
 ^' And such are the distinguishing characters of this legacy, 
 which may God, of His infinite goodness and mercy, long 
 preserve to us, and graciously continue to our posterity ; 
 but, without our pious and unwearied endeavours to preserve 
 these blessings, it is folly and presumption to hope for a 
 continuance of them ; hence, in order to stimulate your exer- 
 tions in favour of your civil liberties, which protect your 
 religious rights, instead of discoursing to you of the laws 
 of other States, and comparing them to our own, allow me 
 to tell you what your civil liberties are, and to charge you, 
 which I do in the most solemn manner, to hold them dearer 
 than your lives ; a lesson and charge at all times proper 
 from a Judge, but particularly so at this crisis, when 
 America is in one general and generous commotion touching 
 this truly important point. It is unnecessary for me to 
 draw any other character of those liberties, than that great 
 line by which they are distinguished ; and happy is it for 
 the subject, that those liberties can be marked in so easy 
 and in so distinguishing a manner. And this is the distin- 
 guishing character : English people cannot be taxed, nay, 
 they cannot be bound by any law, unless by their consent, 
 expressed by themselves, or their Representatives of their 
 own election. This Colony was ssttled by English subjects ; 
 by a people from England herself; a people who brought 
 over with them, who planted in this Colony, and who trans- 
 mitted to posterity the invaluable rights of Englishmen — 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 213 
 
 rights which no time, no contract, no climate, can diminish. 
 Thus, possessed of such rights, it is of the most serious 
 importance that you strictly execute those regulations which 
 have arisen from such a parentage, and to which you have 
 given the authority of laws, by having given your constitu- 
 tional consent that they should operate as laws ; for by your 
 not executing what those laws require, you would weaken 
 the force, and would show, I may almost say, a treasonable 
 contempt of those constitutional rights out of which your 
 laws arise, and which you ought to defend and support at 
 the hazard of your lives. Hence, by all the ties which 
 mankind hold most dear and sacred ; your reverence to your 
 ancestors ; your love to your own interests ; your tenderness 
 to your posterity ; by the lawful obligations of your oath ; 
 I charge you to do your duty; to maintain the laws, the 
 rights, the constitution of your country, even at the hazard 
 of your lives and fortunes. 
 
 '' Some courtly judges style themselves the king's servants 
 — a style which sounds harshly in my ears, inasmuch as the 
 being a servant implies obedience to the orders of the 
 master ; and such judges might possibly think that, in the 
 present situation of American affairs, this charge is incon- 
 sistent with my duty to the king. But, for my part, in my 
 judicial character, I know no master but the law ; I am a 
 servant, not to the king, but to the constitution ; and, in 
 my estimation, I shall best discharge my duty as a good 
 subject to the king, and a trusty officer under the constitu- 
 tion, when I boldly declare the law to the people, and in- 
 struct them in their civil rights. 
 
 "' Indeed, you, gentlemen of the Grand Jury, cannot pro- 
 perly comprehend your duty, and your great obligation to 
 perform it, unless you know those civil rights from which 
 these duties spring, and by knowing the value of these 
 rights, thence learn your obligation to perform these 
 duties. 
 
 " Having thus generally touched upon the nature and im- 
 portance of your civil rights, in order to excite you to 
 execute those laws to which they have given birth, I will 
 now point out to you the particular duties which the laws 
 of your country require at your hands. 
 
214 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 " Unbiassed by affection to^ and unmoved by fear of, any 
 man^ or set of men, you are to make presentment of every 
 person, and of eveiy proceeding militating against the public 
 good. The law orders me particularly to give in charge, to 
 watch carefully over our Negro Act, and our Jury Law — a 
 law which cannot be too highly valued, whether we regard 
 the excellency of its nature, or the importance of its object. 
 This law carries in itself an indelible mark of what high 
 importance the Legislature thought it, when they enacted 
 it ; and it carries in itself, also, a kind of prophecy, that its 
 existence, in its native vigour, would in after times be en- 
 dangered, and therefore it is that the law orders the Judge 
 ever to charge the Grand Juries to watch over it with care ; 
 indeed, you ought to do so with the most zealous circum- 
 spection. A learned judge says ; ' Every new tribunal 
 erected for the decision of facts, without the intervention of 
 a jury, is a step towards aristocracy, the most oppressive of 
 absolute governments ; and it is therefore a duty which 
 every man owes to his country, his friends, to posterity, and 
 himself, to maintain to the utmost of his power this valua- 
 ble constitution in all its rights j to restore it to its ancient 
 dignity, if at all impaired ; to amend it wherever it is de- 
 fective ; and, above all, to guard with the most zealous 
 circumspection against the introduction of new and arbitrary 
 methods of trial, which, under a variety of plausible pre- 
 tences, may in time imperceptibly undermine this best 
 preservative of English liberty.^ 
 
 " Mr. Justice Blackstone terms the English Trial by Jury, 
 the glory of the English law. Let me tell you, our trial 
 by jury is that land of glory in full meridian lustre, in com- 
 jmrison of which the English mode appears only with 
 diminished splendor. But let not your care of this great 
 object occupy all your attention. You are to find all such 
 Bills of indictment, as the examination of witnesses in sup- 
 port of them, may induce you to think there is a probability 
 that the fact charged is true ; for you are not to exact such 
 circumstantial and positive evidence as would be necessary 
 to support the indictment before a Petit Jury. 
 
 " To make these Presentments, and to find these Bills, it 
 is not necessary that you all agree in opinion, twelve united 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 215 
 
 voices among you are sufficient to discharge the duties of a 
 Grand Jury; but it is absolutely necessary that twelve of 
 you agree in opinion upon every point under your consider- 
 ation ; and happy, happy, thrice happy are that people who 
 cannot be made to suffer under any construction of the 
 law, but by the united voices of twenty-^four impartial men, 
 having no interest in the cause, but that the laws be exe- 
 cuted and justice administered. In short, that you may 
 discharge your duty with propriety, and that you may pursue 
 that course of conduct which the law requires, let me, in 
 the strongest terms, recommend to you, that you keep con- 
 stantly in your mind the nature and particulars of the oath 
 which you have just taken. To you, this oath is of as much 
 importance as the mariner's compass is to those who sail on 
 the ocean ; this points out the course of their voyage ; your 
 oath as clearly points out to you the course of your conduct. 
 I dare say you are willing to discharge that duty which you 
 owe to society. I make no doubt but that you will dis- 
 charge it with advantage to the public, and therefore with 
 honor to yourselves.''"^ 
 
 This able and eloquent vindication of their rights, and 
 spirited appeal to his fellow-citizens, both as Americans and 
 British subjects, appears to have been carefully prepared for 
 the occasion, and delivered by the Judge at the other 
 Courts on the Circuit. It was a most critical juncture in 
 the affairs of the Colonies. The lines were being drawn, 
 and the people were ranging themselves on one side or the 
 other, for the rapidly approaching struggle. And then it 
 was, that no more timely or influential voice was heard 
 among them than that of WiUiam Henry Drayton. Whether 
 here, or during his subsequent mission, with Rev. Mr. 
 Tennent, among the disaffected in the Ninety- Six District, — 
 or in his charges afterwards to .the Grand Juries of Charles- 
 town, as Chief Justice, or in the Continental Congress — 
 wherever he appeared, the same thrilling tones were heard 
 in behalf of liberty. 
 
 The Petit Jury were so much roused by the charge on 
 
 * " American Archives," vol. i. pp. 959-1)02 ; also. So. Ca. and American 
 General Gazette, December 16-23, 1774. 
 
216 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 this occasion tliat they were induced to present (though a 
 most unusual course for such a body), a formal address in 
 reply, breathing throughovit the lofty spirit of constitutional 
 obligation and patriotic devotion to liberty, which his Honor 
 had impressed upon them. It was in these words : 
 
 " May it please your Honor, 
 
 " As your Charge at the 
 opening of the Sessions contained matters of the highest 
 importance to every individual in this Colony, as well as to 
 the Grand Jury, to whom in particular it was delivered, we, 
 the Petit Jury for the District of Cheraw, beg leave to 
 testify our great satisfaction, and to return your Honor 
 our warmest acknowledgments for so constitutional a 
 charge at this alarming crisis, when our liberties are at- 
 tacked, and our properties invaded by the claim and 
 attempt of the British Parliament to tax us, and by their 
 edicts to bind us in all cases they deem proper; a claim to 
 which we will never submit, and an attempt which we are 
 determined to oppose at the hazard of our lives and property ; 
 being fully convinced, that by the Constitution of this 
 Country, we owe obedience to no human laws but such as 
 are enacted with the consent of our Representatives in 
 General Assembly. These being our fixed sentiments, we 
 take this opportunity of publicly declaring them ; and we 
 would esteem it a particular favor conferred on us, if your 
 Honor would direct your Charge to be printed, that the 
 benefit arising from it may be as diffusive as possible, and 
 that it may remain as a pattern of that constitutional lan- 
 guage which a Judge should deliver, who is above Ministerial 
 influence, and knows no Master but the Law."^ 
 
 " Claudius Pegues, Foreman. 
 , William White. 
 
 William Hardwick. 
 
 Zachariah Nettles. 
 
 Benjamin Williamson. 
 
 Benjamin Rogers. 
 
 * "American Archives," vol. i. p. 959. This invaluable collection of the 
 records of the few years preceding the Revolution is to be found in the Charles- 
 ton Library. 8. C. Gazette, December 16-23, 1774.. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 217 
 
 Enoch James. 
 William Hickman. 
 Jacob Bruce. 
 Benjamin Davis. 
 Stephen Jackson. 
 Joseph Parsons.'^ 
 
 This early declaration of their rights^ as American free- 
 men^ and of determined resistance to the encroachments of 
 the British Crown to the last extremity, reflected immortal 
 honor upon the bold and inflexible patriots of the Old 
 Cheraws ! Carolina sent forth no timelier or more fearless 
 voice from her borders. Nor were the Grand Jury, to 
 whom the charge of his Honor was more specially directed, 
 wanting in the spirit befitting such a crisis. They took 
 the matter into anxious consideration, and on the 19th of 
 November, the day following the address of the Petit Jury, 
 made their Presentments in these words (relating first to 
 local matters) : — 
 
 '' I. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Law for 
 clearing Pedee River, and to prevent trees being felled 
 therein, its navigation at present being unsafe. 
 
 " II. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Law to 
 prevent the hunting of deer by fire in the night time, by 
 which means many horses and neat cattle are destroyed, to 
 the great damage of the owners. 
 
 " III. We present Andrew Gibson for wilfid and deli- 
 berate perjury ; by the information of George Cusack. 
 
 " IV. We present, as a grievance of the first magnitude, 
 the right claimed by the British Parliament to tax us, and 
 by their acts to bind us in all cases whatsoever. AYhen we 
 reflect on our other grievances, they all appear trifling in 
 comparison with this j for if we may be taxed, imprisoned, 
 and deprived of life, by the force of edicts to which neither 
 we or our Constitutional Representatives have ever assented, 
 no slavery can be more abject than ours. 
 
 " We are, however, sensible that we have a better secu- 
 rity for our lives, our liberties, and fortunes, than the mere 
 will of the Parliament of Great Britain ; and are fully con- 
 vinced that we cannot be constitutionally taxed but by Re- 
 
218 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 presentatives of our own election, or bound by any laws 
 than those to which they have assented. 
 
 " This right of being exempted from all laws but those 
 enacted with the consent of Representatives of our own elec- 
 tioUj we deem so essential to our freedom^ and so engrafted 
 in our Constitution, that we are determined to defend it at 
 the hazard of our lives and fortunes ; and we earnestly re- 
 quest that this Presentment may be laid before our Consti- 
 tutional Representatives, the Commons House of Assembly 
 of this Colony, that it may be known how much we prize 
 our freedom, and how resolved we are to preserve it. 
 
 " We recommend that these Presentments be published 
 in the several Gazettes of this Province.* 
 
 Alexander M'Intosh, Foreman. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Henry W. Harrington. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Thomas Ay res. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Robert Blair. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 William Pegues. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Robert Lide. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 George Hicks. 
 
 LS. 
 
 John Hodges. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Arthur Hart. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Elias Du Bois. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Robert Clary. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Martin Dewitt. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Thomas EUerbe. 
 
 LS. 
 
 Martin Kolb. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 John Kimbrough. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Moses Speight. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Thomas Lide. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Thomas James. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 John Wilds. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Thomas Edwards. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 " Whereupon the following order was passed, viz. : — 
 
 " South Carolina, 
 
 " Cheraws District. 
 " At a Court of General Sessions of the Peace, Oyer and 
 
 * "American Archives," vol. i. p. 959 ; S. C. Gazeite, Dec. 16-2.3, 1774. 
 
HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 219 
 
 Terminer,, Assize and General Jail Delivery, begun and 
 holden at CherawSj on tlie 15tli day of November, in the 
 year of our Lord, 1774, before the Honorable William 
 Henry Drayton, Esq., one of the Justices of our Sovereign 
 Lord the King, Ordered, that the Charge of his Honor, the 
 Judge, together with the address presented to his Honor by 
 the Petit Jury, immediately before their discharge on the 
 18th inst., and the Presentments of the Grand Jury, the 
 next day, at the present Sessions, be published in the seve- 
 ral Gazettes of this Province. 
 
 " By the Court, 
 
 " Calvin Spencer, 
 " D.C.C. & P.'' 
 
 Thus, in language as manly as had been previously 
 uttered, did the Grand Jury give expression to those lofty 
 sentiments which had taken deep hold of the hearts of the 
 people. In doing so, they gave utterance to those convic- 
 tions which repeated acts of oppression had only served to 
 strengthen. The idea of a true constitutional representa- 
 tion was now as thoroughly comprehended, as the determi- 
 nation was fixed to secure it, or perish in the attempt. 
 
 It is questionable, whether any earlier or bolder declara- 
 tion of rights is to be found in our Provincial records. 
 
 The Charge of Judge Drayton, delivered at the Cheraws, 
 and other Courts of the Circuit, with the Presentments of 
 the several Grand Juries, was laid by the Ministers before 
 the two Houses of Parliament, and made the subject of ex- 
 citing and indignant comment."^ 
 
 In his celebrated Charge to the Grand Jury of Charles- 
 town, in April, 1776 — a charge "replete with patriotism, 
 reasoning, and learning" — Judge Drayton, then Chief Jus- 
 tice, alluded to this subject, saying : " The British Ministers 
 already have presented a Charge of mine to the notice of 
 the Lords and Commons in Parliament ; and I am nothing 
 loath that they take equal resentment against this Charge. 
 Por, supported by the fundamental laws of the Constitution, 
 and engaged as I am in the cause of virtue, I fear no con- 
 sequences from their machinations.''''t 
 
 * " Drayton's Memoirs," vol. i. p. 216. f Preface to ditto, p. xvi. 
 
^20 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 It was to be expected^ that a Judge, who could speak in 
 tones of such eloquent defiance, would be speedily removed 
 from the Bench ; and accordingly, he was superseded the 
 next month (December), by a more subservient suc- 
 cessor. 
 
 The important part performed by Judge Drayton in pre- 
 paring the way for Independence, has not in later times 
 been fully estimated. 
 
 He left a kingly bench only to shine with more brilliant 
 lustre, if possible, as Chief Justice of a Republican Court ; 
 and from that high position to be transferred to the Conti- 
 nental Congress by the united voice of his countrymen. 
 Wliile engaged in the active labors of that body in Phila- 
 delphia, in Sept. 1779, his honored life was prematurely 
 brought to a close, not having completed by a few days his 
 thirty-seventh year. Seldom indeed has such a man, at so 
 early an age, gone down to the grave, after a career of 
 labour and a reputation like his. The sounds of universal 
 mourning were heard, and Carolina grieved as a mother for 
 her favorite son ! 
 
 In the midst of the excitement to which the discussion 
 of the momentous questions of political rights and con- 
 stitutional liberty gave birth, the debt of charity which 
 common sufferings in a common cause created, was not. 
 overlooked. 
 
 One of the resolutions passed at the General Provincial 
 Meeting in Charles-town, in July (1774), was in these 
 words, viz. : — 
 
 " Resolved, That while the oppressive acts relative to 
 Boston are enforced, we will cheerfully, from time to time, 
 contribute towards the relief of those poor persons there, 
 whose unfortunate circumstances may be thought to stand 
 in need of most assistance.^' 
 
 Before this time, indeed, subscriptions had been opened 
 in Charles- town to relieve the suffering poor of Boston, 
 who had been usually employed in the trade of that town, 
 and were now by the acts of the British Government de- 
 prived of employment. On the 29th of June, 204 barrels 
 of rice were sent from Charles-town for their support, while 
 the subscription was still promoted, as a source of future 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 221 
 
 supply.^ There was a general response throughout the 
 Province. 
 
 The following interesting record remains to do honor to 
 the patriotic sympathies of the people of the Pedee. The 
 list embraces the names chiefly of persons in the middle 
 and upper parts of St. David^s Parish. Other similar sub- 
 scriptions were doubtless circulated. 
 
 Account of Cash received for the Poor of Boston, by 
 Henry W. Harrington. 
 1774. Dec. 27. 
 
 Of Philip Pledger 
 Of Arthm- Hart . . 
 Of H. W. Harrington 
 Of John Warden, 
 Of Abraham Parks, 
 Of Noble Barnard, 
 Of George Wright, 
 Of Ethelred Rogers, 
 
 1774. Dec. 30. 
 
 Of Walter Downs 
 
 by Mr. Hart 
 by ditto 
 by ditto 
 by ditto 
 by ditto 
 
 1775. Jan. 2. 
 
 Of Henry Councel . 
 
 Of Claudius Pegues, 
 
 Of Thomas Lide, 
 
 Of Nathanael Saunders, 
 
 Of Malachi Murfee, Jun., 
 
 Of James Reed, 
 
 Of Thomas Williams, 
 
 Of John Andrews, 
 
 Of Burrell Boykin, 
 
 Of William Pegues, 
 
 Of James Sanders, 
 
 Of David Roche, 
 
 Of George Hicks, 
 
 by Mr. Hicks 
 by ditto 
 ditto 
 ditto 
 ditto 
 ditto 
 ditto 
 ditto 
 ditto 
 ditto 
 Self 
 ditto 
 
 by 
 by 
 by 
 by 
 by 
 by 
 by 
 by 
 by 
 
 by 
 
 £ 
 
 s. d. 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 15 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 1 
 
 12 6 
 
 1 
 
 12 6 
 
 1 
 
 12 6 
 
 1 12 6 
 
 1 
 13 
 13 
 
 8 
 8 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 3 
 7 
 
 10 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 12 6 
 
 
 5 
 2 6 
 
 12 6 
 
 12 6 
 
 5 
 7 
 
 
 12 G 
 
 
 £125 11 6 
 
 Paid this sum to Col. G. G. Powell. 
 
 * " Drayton's Memoirs," vol. i. p. 113. 
 
222 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 1775. Jan. 27. £ s. d. 
 
 Of Daniel Sparks, by self 1 12 6 
 
 1775. Feb. 7. 
 
 Of Thomas Ellerbe 6 
 
 Of William Hardick 1 12 6 
 
 Of Thomas Bingham 1 12 6 
 
 Of Francis Gillespie 3 5 
 
 Of John Donaldson 5 
 
 Of Magnus Corgill, 5 bush, corn, at 12s. 6d. 3 2 
 
 1775. May 23. 
 
 Of Abel Edwards 2 10 
 
 24 15 
 Of the Council of Safety, agreeably to an 
 
 order of the Committee 27 
 
 £51 15 
 Cr. 
 
 1775. May 20. £ s. d. 
 By cash paid by H. W. Har- 
 rington to Pike Johnson, for 
 bringing an express . . . 27 
 
 1776. Nov. 2. 
 
 By cash paid to the Committee 
 
 by H. W. Harrington . . . 24 15 
 
 51 15 0^ 
 
 Thus the year, 1774, in its eventful progress, drew to a 
 close — a year for ever memorable in the history of St. 
 David's Parish and the " Old Cheraws." 
 
 To the first appeals in behalf of liberty, a hearty response 
 was made by their inhabitants. 
 
 * The original book of entry, with this subscription and other interesting and 
 very valuable matter, was found among the papers of Philip Pledger, Esq., of 
 Marlborough, alreiuly referred to, and though subsequently used for common 
 purposes of memorandum and account, happily escaped the ravages of time, 
 and remains, in all probability, the only relic of the kind connected with the 
 efforts made by the patriots of Carolina, under the action of the Provincial 
 Congress, for raising funds for the suffering poor of Boston — the saddest com- 
 mentary, it may also be added, furnished by the history of that era, on the 
 changes that have taken place since ! 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 223 
 
 The approaching crisis found them ready, intelligent, 
 watchful, and unyielding defenders of every sacred right. 
 Among the first to make known their political sentiments 
 to the world, they were not behind the foremost in the 
 vigor and boldness of style in which those sentiments were 
 expressed. The documents which have been given, will 
 compare favorably with any of a similar kind to which this 
 eventful era gave birth ; and were only surpassed, if at all, 
 as to a spirit of lofty defiance, by sentiments subsequently 
 uttered by the patriots of the Pedee themselves. 
 
 And yet, so slow are mankind to relinquish long-existing 
 habits of thought and feeling, and so deeply rooted is the 
 attachment toforms of Government immemorially established, 
 that even at this point, far as they had gone, any reason- 
 able concessions on the part of the Crown and the repeal of 
 a few odious acts of Parliament, with the exhibition of a 
 spirit of justice and consideration for the Colonies, might 
 have turned back the rising tide of rebellion, and secured 
 for the king once more the affection of his faithful subjects. 
 
 But such concessions were not to be made. The suicidal 
 policy of the Government was pursued with a strange in- 
 fatuation. The die had been cast. The hand of Provi- 
 dence was in the work ; and many tribes and tongues who 
 looked from afar upon the unnatural conflict, deeply in- 
 terested in its issues, anxiously waited for their final de- 
 liverance, and rejoiced as the end came, to call the patriots 
 of America blessed ! 
 
224 HISTORY OF the old ciieraws. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 T>nst days of Royalty in So. Ca. — List of appointees of the Crown published — 
 Object of publication — Mapjistrates for Cheraws District — Regimental officers 
 of militia for Cheraws — Meeting of Provincial Congress — Account of it — 
 Members fm- St. David's — District committees appointed — Connnittce of St. 
 David's — Duties of committees — Their powers — Additional power given — 
 Inhabitants to arm themselves — Circuit Court for Cheraws — His Majesty's 
 Justices appear for last time — Presentment of grand jury of Cheraws — 
 Attempt of Court to quash cliief presentment — It appears in the papers — 
 Reflections on these proceedings — Grand jury exponent of popular sentiment 
 — Congress called together before time fixed for meeting — Ch'cular letter 
 on subject — Articles of Association adopted — Other resolves — Military ardour 
 of people — Provincial officers elected by Con^rress from St. David's — Names 
 of persons added to Committee of Observation for St. David's — Action of 
 committee as to Colonel Steward and John Mitchell — New election for 
 Congress ordered — Spirit of volunteering — William Henry Harrington 
 commissioned Captain — Stockade Fort at Cheraws — History of it— Volun- 
 teering increases — Commissions issued for St. David's parish — Dissatisfac- 
 tions — Captain Wise resigns — His charai.-ter — Congress meets — Its action 
 as to St. David's — Detachment from Colonel Powell's regiment ordered to 
 join Colonel Richardson — Major Thomas m.irciies — Colonel Hicks stopped — 
 Conflict with Tories on Pedee — -Concluding remarks. 
 
 "With the opening of the year 1775, everything indicated 
 the approach of the hist days of Royalty in South Carolina. 
 There was an evident effort on the part of the officers of 
 the Crown, if not to assume more authority, at least to 
 make the most, by public demonstrations, of Avhat they had. 
 Their object was to impress and overawe the people. The 
 tiiiie, however, for effect, by means like these, had passed. 
 The charm which Majesty had carried witli it Avas gone. 
 The insignia of office did not attract as heretofore, while 
 promises and threats, though in the name of the King, 
 were stript of their ancient powers. 
 
 There was in the popular mind a growing consciousness 
 of right, and of the strength which a righteous cause im- 
 parts. Names now passed for what they were worth, and 
 things were rated according to their intrinsic value. 
 
 So it has ever been in the history of those great revolu- 
 tions in human opinion which have overthrown successive 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 225 
 
 dynasties^ or Imrled the mightiest monarchs from their 
 thrones. Once the veil is taken away and the bonds are 
 cast asunder, the progress of liberal thought becomes hence- 
 forth as rapid as it had been fixed, or even retrograde in 
 its state of unnatural bondage. Men wonder then that 
 they did not discover the right or see the wrong before, 
 and wondering thus, are not unfrequently impelled to 
 hasty, and as a consequence, unhealthy action. The de- 
 cline of royalty from what it had been in the American 
 Colonies before the opening stages of the Revolution, is 
 in some respects a sadly touching story. So much was 
 there on the one hand to be lost and such wondrous 
 pomp to be brought low, with so many long-existing ties 
 on the other to be rudely severed, that the heart cannot 
 remain unmoved at the recital. 
 
 The year 1775 opened with an order on the part of 
 Government, the object of which seems to have been, in 
 part at least, to recall the leading inhabitants, by the 
 very fact and public declaration of official position, to a 
 sense of their allegiance to the king ; and also to impress 
 the people, by such an exhibition of royal prerogative, with 
 the vigor and determination of the existing rule. 
 
 This action was as follows, viz. : — 
 
 " South Carolina, Jan. 9tb, 1775. 
 
 "It is ordered by his Honor, the Lieutenant-Governor, 
 in Council, that the names of the Magistrates for the several 
 districts in this Province be printed in the several Gazettes.'"^ 
 
 The names of the Magistrates for Cheraw District, as 
 published, were these, viz. : " William Arthur, Thomas 
 "VVade, James Lindlay, Henry Patrick, Claudius Pegues, 
 Charles Augustus Steward, Thomas Turner, John Perkins, 
 Arthur Hart, Alexaader M'Intosh, Philip Pledger, and Wm. 
 Henry Harrington." In this list of his Majesty's Justices 
 for Cheraws, are found the .uames of some who had already 
 become conspicuous from their opposition to the encroach- 
 ments of the C ">wn. It may have been a stroke of policy 
 as to them ; but if so, it seems to little purpose that the 
 
 * So. Ca. Gazette, January G-13, 1775. 
 
226 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 effort was made. These devoted Mends of liberty never 
 faltered in the course they had begun. They were true 
 indeed to their king^ as far as he would allow them to be, 
 but not less true to themselves, as the first instincts of 
 nature prompted them. 
 
 The names of the officers of the Provincial Militia were 
 likewise published in the early part of this year. The 
 militia at this time consisted of twelve regiments of foot 
 and one of horse. The Regiment of Cheraws District was 
 the 7th of Foot, with the following officers, viz. : George 
 Gabriel Powell, Colonel ; Charles Augustus Steward, Lieut. - 
 Col., and Abraham Buckholdts, Major.* These officers 
 were all of royal appointment, and hence the appeal to 
 their fidelity, and the stigma, as it was thought, which 
 might thus be made to attach to their desertion from their 
 sovereign's cause. If the Government, long established, 
 was to continue undisturbed in the exercise of its authority, 
 the increasing pressure of the time called for redoubled 
 efforts, and made it necessary for the prerogatives of the 
 king to be stretched to their utmost bounds. 
 
 The delegates elected by the several districts and parishes 
 in November, were to meet in Charles-town on the 11th of 
 January of this year. 
 
 This new representative body was destined to give shape 
 and effectiveness to the ri:>ing spirit of discontent through- 
 out the colony, and to mark an era in its history. 
 
 The following notice of its first assembling appeared in 
 the papers of the day. 
 
 « Cbarles-town, Jan. 13th, 1775. 
 " On Wednesday last the gentlemen chosen by the 
 several parishes, &c., in this Province, convened here in a 
 general meeting, and elected Charles Pinckncy, Esq., Chair- 
 man. The meeting has been continued every day since, 
 and is now sitting. We have been favored with the fol- 
 lowing list of the gentleme^ elected.^'f Of these, the 
 names for St. David were those already given, viz. : Hon. 
 George Gabriel Powell, Samuel Wise, Claudius Pegues, 
 
 * Drayton's " Memoirs," vol. i. p. 352. 
 f Qazetie, January 13, 1775. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 227 
 
 Alexander M'lntosh,, Henry William Harrington, Esqrs., 
 and Col. George Pawley. During the session the members 
 resolved themselves into " a Provineial Congress/^ and the 
 body was thus designated afterward. The proceedings of 
 the Continental Congress, which had adjourned in October 
 previous, were submitted to its consideration. One of the 
 Articles of Association, adopted by the Continental Congress 
 on the 26th October, was in these words, viz. : " Eleventh — 
 That a Committee be chosen in every county, city, and 
 town by those who are qualified to vote for Representatives 
 in the Legislature, whose business it shall be attentively to 
 observe the conduct of all persons touching this association ; 
 and when it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of a 
 majority of any such Committee, that any person within 
 the limits of their appointment has violated this association, 
 that such majority do forthwith cause the truth of the case 
 to be published in the Gazettes, to the end that all such 
 foes to the rights of British America may be publicly 
 known and universally contemned as the enemies of Ameri- 
 can liberty ; and thenceforth we j'espectively will break off 
 all dealings with him or her.^'^ In accordance with this 
 recommendation, it was resolved by the Provincial Congress, 
 on the first day of its sitting, that the following gentlemen 
 be the committees for the several districts and parishes 
 hereinafter mentioned, for effectually carrying into execu- 
 tion the Continental Association, and for receiving and 
 determining upon applications relative to the law processes, 
 &c. The committee under this resolution for the Parish of 
 St. David consisted of the following gentlemen, viz. : Henry 
 William Harrington, George Pawley, Alexander Mcintosh, 
 Claudius Pcgues, Burwell Boyakin, George Hicks, Phili}) 
 Pledger, and John Donaldson. According to the system of 
 Government and its subordinate authorities for the Colony, 
 established by the Congress, the rcpi'csentatives of the 
 parishes and districts respectively composed their local 
 committees ; and they were also assisted by Committees of 
 Inspection. The Provincial Congress made all these 
 appointments in the first instance ; and even filled up the 
 
 * Ramsay's " Revolution in So. Ca.," vol. i. p. 25S. 
 
 q3 
 
228 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 double returns of representatives, in order that no time 
 should be lost in giving a complete appearance to the body 
 politic and the greatest energy to their operations ; but all 
 future vacancies were to be filled up by the respective dis- 
 tricts and parishes in which they should occur. 
 
 By these arrangements an independent authority virtually 
 arose ; while the Royal Government retained little else than 
 public officers without power, and a show of government 
 •.without the means of supporting it.* This plan seems not 
 to have been carried out fully as to St. David's Parish, so 
 far as the committee being identical with its delegates in 
 the Congress. 
 
 The Committees of Inspection were distributed through- 
 out the district or parish, so as to secure a thorough over- 
 sight in every part. The central or executive committee 
 was to meet twice a month for consultation and despatch 
 of business. The system was admirably arranged, and gave 
 unity and efficiency to the general efforts to prepare the 
 way for revolution and a change of government. 
 
 It was further resolved, " That it is the unanimous 
 opinion of this Congress, that no action for any debt shall 
 be commenced in the Court of Common Pleas of this 
 colony, nor any such action pending there, which was com- 
 menced since last September return, be proceeded in, 
 without the consent of the committee of the parish or 
 district in which the defendant resides, until it shall be 
 otherwise determined in Provincial Congress — That the said 
 committees respectively, or a majority of such of them as 
 shall meet (provided they are not less than three, in the 
 country parishes and districts), do, upon application, give 
 permission for the bringing or proceeding in such suits, in 
 the following cases — that is to say, where the debtors re- 
 fused to renew their obligations, or to give reasonable 
 security, or are justly suspected of intending to leave the 
 Province, or to defraud their creditors, or where there shall 
 appear to the majority of such committees, as aforesaid, 
 any other reasonable cause for the granting such permis- 
 sion ; which committees shall meet and sit on the first and 
 
 * Drayton's *• Memoirs," vol. i. p. 175. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 229 
 
 third Saturdays in every month, at twelve o^clock at noon, 
 or oftener, as it shall be found necessary, for the purposes of 
 hearing and determining on such applications. That seizures 
 and sales upon mortgages shall be considered on the same 
 footing as actions for debt. That it be recommended to 
 the committees for each parish and district, that they use 
 their best endeavours to prevent any debtors from removing 
 their effects out of the colony, without the knowledge and 
 consent of their creditors. That the Congress will in- 
 demnify the committees for so doing. And that no sum- 
 mons shall be issued by any magistrate in small and mean 
 causes, without the like consent.^""^ 
 
 A resolution passed at a subsequent meeting of the Con- 
 gress in June, conferred additional powers on the committees, 
 and was in these words : — " Resolved, that any person having 
 violated, or refused obedience to the authority of the Pro- 
 vincial Congress, shall, by the committee of the district or 
 parish in Avliich such offender resides, be questioned relative 
 thereto; and upon due conviction of either of the offences 
 aforesaid, and continuing contumacious, such person shall, 
 by such committee, be declared and advertised as an enemy 
 to the liberties of America, and an object of the resentment 
 of the public ; and that the said committee shall be sup- 
 ported in so doing.^^t 
 
 The committees w«re requested to use their utmost en- 
 deavors to obtain liberal subscriptions for the suffering- 
 people of Boston. 
 
 Eesolutions were also passed, recommending that all the 
 inhabitants of the colony should be attentive in learning 
 the use of arms ; and tliat their officers should train and 
 exercise them at least once a fortnight. 
 
 The Congress then adjourned, January 17th, until it 
 should be called together by the Charles-town General Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 Such was the state of things now, that those who werc; 
 not well affected began to be seriously alarmed, and, doubt- 
 less, to organize as well as they could for the approaching 
 
 * " American Arcliives," vol. i. p. 1109. 
 ■j- Ibid., p. 953, and " Journal of the Congress.' 
 
230 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 conflict. Some evidences of this will be found towards the 
 close of the year. Others, not willing to take up arms 
 against their adopted country, arranged their affairs so as to 
 go abroad. Events were transpiring in rapid succession, 
 startling to the officers of the Crown, and committing the 
 rising sons of liberty more unchangeably to the lofty and 
 unyielding position they had taken. 
 
 Once more were the people of Cheraws District, in the 
 highest capacity known to the law, to make a public decla- 
 ration of their sentiments, but not, as before, in the presence 
 of one who had encouraged them, by his own fearless bear- 
 ing and eloquent tones, to resistance. 
 
 His Majesty^s Justices made their last circuit in the 
 spring of 1775. The successor of Judge Drayton, Justice 
 Gregory, with Justice Savage, appeared on the Northern 
 Circuit. The course of Judge Drayton had equally alarmed 
 and offended the Royal Government, and it was doubtless 
 arranged for his successor to preside in this part of the 
 Province for the first time, so as to efface to some extent, if 
 possible, the impression which had been made, and stem at 
 the outset the tide of independence. 
 
 Some e^ddences of such an attempt, though worse than 
 fruitless, will be found in the conduct of the King's Judges 
 on this occasion. 
 
 The action of the Grand Jury, so far as it was published 
 by order of the Court, was as follows, viz. : — 
 
 " The Presentments of the Grand Jurors for the District 
 of Cheraws, &c., at Long Bluff, Saturday, the 15th day of 
 April, 1775. 
 
 " I. We present, as a grievance, the want of a new Jury 
 list in this district. 
 
 " II. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Law for 
 cleansing Pedec River, and to prevent trees being felled 
 therein, its navigation at present being extremely dan- 
 gerous. 
 
 " III. We present, as a grievance, the want of a Bridge 
 over Thompson's Creek, on the road from the Cheraw Hill 
 to the Court House ; and another over Black Creek, at or 
 near the present ferry. 
 
 " IV. We present, as a very great grievance, the want of 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 231 
 
 a Vagrant Act in tins Province ; this district in particular 
 being much infested by many idle people, who have no 
 visible way of obtaining an honest livelihood. 
 
 '' We present, as a grievance, the little notice generally 
 taken of the Presentments of the Grand Juries of this 
 district. 
 
 " Lastly. We recommend that these, our Presentments, 
 may, by order of the Court, be laid before the Commons 
 House of Assembly of this Colony, and be made public in 
 the Gazettes. 
 
 Thomas Lide, Foreman. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Samuel Wise. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 John Kimbrough. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 John Ellerbe. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Charles M'Call. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 William Dewitt. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Peter Kolb. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Moses Speight. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Aaron Daniel. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Magnus Corgill. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Zachariah Nettles. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Benjamin Jackson. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Claudius Pegues. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 William Pouncey. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Benjamin Rogers. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Thomas Bingham. 
 
 L.S. 
 
 Unfortunately for the cause of royalty, the additional 
 matter was published, viz. : — 
 
 " The Grand Jury likcAvise offered the following as a Pre- 
 sentment, but it was quashed by the Court : ' We present, 
 as an enormous grievance, the power exercised by the 
 British Parliament of taxing and making laws, binding 
 upon the American Colonies in all cases whatsoever, such 
 power being subversive of the most inestimable rights of 
 British subjects — that of being taxed by their consent only, 
 given by their Representatives in General Assembly, and 
 that of trial by jury — both which are evidently inherent in 
 every British American, and of which no power on earth can 
 legally deprive them : We, well knowing the importance of 
 
232 HISTORY OF TUB OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 these rights^ in securing to us our liberties^ lives, and 
 estates, and conceiving it to be every man^s indispensable 
 duty to transmit them to his posterity, are fully determined 
 to defend them at the hazard of our lives and fortunes. 
 
 " ' At the same time that we thus openly declare how 
 highly we prize our rights, we beg leave to assure your 
 Honor that we have a due sense of that allegiance, so 
 strongly recommended to us by your Honor in your charge ; 
 and that while our Sovereign adheres to his part of that 
 original and reciprocal contract made with his people, and 
 expressed in his Coronation Oath, none of his subjects shall 
 exceed us in constitutional submission and fidelity. 
 
 " ' As your Honor, on the second day of the Sessions, was 
 pleased, not only to acquaint us your Honor had been 
 informed, " that some of the magistrates of this district 
 had declared to the people that there was no law," but also 
 to recommend to us, '^ to make strict inquiry, and to present 
 all such magistrates, that they might be deservedly struck 
 out of the commission of the peace : " we think it incum- 
 bent on us to assure your Honor that, notwithstanding we 
 have made all possible enquiry, we have not received the 
 least information, except from your Honor, in the general 
 terms above expressed, of any of the magistrates having 
 acted so exceeding indiscreetly ; and therefore, we cannot 
 but conceive, that some wicked, malicious persons, enemies 
 to the happiness and prosj)crity of this country, have en- 
 deavored, by false and secret accusations, to prejudice your 
 Honor against some of the magistrates in this district; 
 but, as the informers have not thought proper to support 
 their accusations in public, which they venture to advance 
 in private, we trust that your Honor will transfer your dis- 
 pleasure from the innocent accused, to the base accusers.^ "* 
 
 It is manifest, from this bold and spirited document, 
 which the Court very unwisely and vainly attempted to sup- 
 press, that the people of Cheraws District, instead of rece- 
 ding from the position taken the year before, had gone 
 further in the fearless expression of their sentiments, and 
 in commenting on the remissness of the Government. It 
 
 * Gazette, June 9-16, 1775. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 233 
 
 had not yet become customary to call public meetings, except 
 in the larger towns, as a means of giving expression to the 
 opinions of the people on questions of political moment. 
 The settlements in the interior were too remote from each 
 other to render it practicable. The Grand Jury was there- 
 fore made the exponent of the popular sentiment, as the 
 most authoritative and imposing organ by which tlie feel- 
 ings of a people, under such circumstances, could be 
 expressed. Though the Court could quash, the Press could 
 not be silenced. And Avhat his Majesty's Justice would not 
 allow to be entered on the records, was given shortly after, 
 in a more public form, to the world. The Grand Jury of 
 Cheraws is believed to have been the only one in the Pro- 
 vince which made the wrongs inflicted by the Crown the 
 subject of presentment during the Spring Assizes."^ 
 
 Their vindication of the magistrates, t upon whom the 
 Court reflected with so much severity, was as bold as the call- 
 ing attention to the fact " of the little notice generally taken 
 of the Presentments of the Grand Juries of this District.^' 
 
 The issue was now made with the King by his loyal 
 subjects, on the ground of his own solemn coronation oath, 
 the principle being, " that protection and subjection are 
 reciprocal ; and that these reciprocal duties form the original 
 contract between King and people"J — a contract which is 
 broken if the Sovereign oppresses on the one hand, or fails, 
 through any fault of his, on the other, to afford due protec- 
 tion. 
 
 The tide of events was rolling on. The Provincial Con- 
 gress had adjourned to meet on the 20th of June. 
 
 But intelligence of the battle of Lexington, which had 
 taken place on the 19th of April, reached Charles-town, and 
 was laid before the General Committee on the 8th of May. 
 Upon which a vote was passed to summon the Congress to 
 meet on the first day of June. For now that hostilities had 
 
 * The Courts of Charles-town, George-town, and Beaufort, at least, were 
 silent, and the silence of the press leads to the inference that others were also. 
 
 t The list of magistrates, as given on a foregoing page, embraced some of the 
 most prominent and influential men in the district. They had doubtless made 
 themselves obnoxious to the Crown. 
 
 X Judge Drayton's charge to Grand Jury of Charles-town, " Ramsay," 
 vol. i. p. 114. 
 
234 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 actually commenced, immediate and decided measures were 
 deemed necessary for promoting the public welfare. One of 
 the Circular Letters sent out to call the Congress together, 
 was as follows, viz. : — 
 
 " To the Committee for the Parish of St. Da\T.d. 
 
 " To the care of Henry Wm. Harrington, Esqr. 
 
 " On the Public Service. 
 
 " Charles-town, May 8th, 1775. 
 " Gentlemen, — We enclose you a newspaper, giving an 
 important account of an action between the British Troops 
 and the Bostonians. Upon this interesting event, the 
 General Committee have thought it absolutely necessary to 
 call the Provincial Congress to meet at an earlier day than 
 the 20th of June. They have therefore resolved that the 
 Congress shall meet in Charles -town on the 1st of June. 
 
 We hereby transmit a proper notice of this new appoint- 
 ment, and hope you will punctually attend at the appointed 
 time. The General Committee have also given in charge 
 to us, to recommend in the strongest terms to you, to cause 
 the patrols to ride often and diligently, as we have intelli- 
 gence of exciting the slaves to revolt has been laid before 
 Administration ; and you are desired to keep this intelli- 
 gence relating to the slaves as secret as may be. 
 "■ We are Gentlemen, 
 
 '' Your most obedient servants, 
 Wm. Henry Drayton. 
 Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 
 Wm. Tennent. 
 Arthur Middleton. 
 John Lewis Gervais. 
 
 " P.S. — You will give as general notice to the Members of 
 the Congress as you possibly can." 
 
 Of the diabolical plan here alluded to, for exciting the 
 slaves to revolt, no further notice appears in the histories of 
 the day. If conceived at all, it was doubtless foynd to be 
 either imj)racticable, or calculated to drive the inhabitants 
 to desperate measures of revenge, and hence abandoned. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 235 
 
 On the 1st of June, one hnndred and seventy-two mem- 
 bers of the Congress met, and such was the zeal of the people 
 and alarm felt throughout the Province, that on the second 
 day, an Association was considered and passed, to be entered 
 into by the inhabitants of the colony, to which the mem- 
 bers forthwith affixed their names. It was in these words, 
 viz. : — 
 
 " South Carolina. 
 
 " The actual commencement of hostilities against this 
 continent by the British Troops, in the bloody scene on the 
 I9th of April last, near Boston, the increase of arbitrary 
 impositions from a wicked and despotic ministry, and the 
 dread of insurrection in the colonies — are causes sufficient 
 to drive an oppressed people to the use of arms. We, 
 therefore, the Subscribers, inhabitants of South Carolina, 
 holding ourselves bound b}'' that most sacred of all obliga- 
 tions, the duty of good citizens towards an injured country, 
 and thoroughly convinced, that under our present distressed 
 circumstances, we shall be justified before God and man in 
 resisting force by force ; do unite ourselves, under every 
 tie of religion and honor, and associate as a band- in her de- 
 fence against every foe; hereby solemnly engaging that, when- 
 ever our Continental or Provincial Councils shall decree it 
 necessary, we will go forth and be ready to sacrifice our 
 lives and fortunes to secure her fi'eedom and support. 
 This obligation to continue in full force until a reconcilia- 
 tion shall take place between Great Britain and America, 
 upon Constitutional principles, an event which we most 
 ardently desire. And we will hold all those persons in- 
 imical to the liberties of the colonies who shall refuse to 
 subscribe this association.^' 
 
 Non-subscribers were made amenable to the General Com- 
 mittee and by them punishable, according to sound policy. 
 
 It was also resolved, " That all absentees holding estates in 
 the colony, except those who were abroad on account of 
 their health, and those above 60 years, and those under 21, 
 ought forthwith to return ; and that no persons holding 
 estates in this colony ought to withdraw from its service, 
 without giving good and sufficient reason for so doing, to 
 
236 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 the Provincial Congress ; or, during its recess, to the General 
 Committee.""^ On the 5th day of the session, the Congress 
 resolved to raise 1500 Infantry, rank and file, in tvro regi- 
 ments ; and 450 Horse Rangers, constituting another regi- 
 ment. Proper pay, clothing, and provisions were assigned 
 them ; and the troops so raised were to be subjected to 
 military discipline and the articles of war, in like manner 
 as the British troops were governed. 
 
 So great, we are told, was the military ardor among the 
 gentlemen of the Province, that the candidates for com- 
 missions in the proposed regiments were four times as nume- 
 rous as could be emj)loyed ; and in their number were many 
 of the first families and fortune. In making a selection 
 among the numerous candidates that offered, care was taken 
 to choose men of influence, decision and spirit, residing in 
 different parts of the Province, so as to unite all its energies 
 in the common cause. 
 
 Four or five had the recommendation of having served 
 in the war of 1756; but the other candidates were pre- 
 ferred solely on the ground of their possessing the natural 
 qualifications requisite for making good officers, in addition 
 to their holding an influential rank among their fellow 
 citizens. t 
 
 Soon after the resolution passed for raising the regi- 
 ments, a ballot for officers was held. Of these, Alexander 
 Mcintosh, of Cheraws, was elected Major of the 2nd Regi- 
 ment. He had held the commission of captain some years 
 before. His decision and energy, with a commanding 
 person and ample fortune, gave him a peculiar fitness for 
 the position. Of the Regiment of Rangers, Samuel Wise 
 and Eli Kershaw, from the Cheraw District, were elected 
 Captains, and John Donaldson, a First Lieutenant. On the 
 18th of June, Isaac DuBose, received the commission of 
 Second Lieut, in the 2nd Regiment of Foot. Major 
 M'Intosh was soon after promoted, and continued in active 
 service. Captain Wise Avas also promoted to the rank of 
 Major in the same Regiment. 
 
 * Drayton's " Memoirs," vol. i. pp. 255, 256. 
 ■j" " Ramsay," new edition, p. 135. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 237 
 
 In meeting of the Council of Safety in Charles-town, 
 23i'd June, 1775, it was resolved, "That, in prosecution of 
 the Resolution of the ProA'incial Congress of the 19th inst., 
 the Committee of Observation for the Parish of St. DaWd, 
 do allow INIr. John Mitchell, of Meldrum, the sum of seven- 
 teen shillings, sixpence, per pound, for three hundred and 
 ninety-two pounds weight of gunpowder, bought of him, and 
 that they do draw for payment thereof, upon this Council. 
 
 " Resolved, That the said gunpowder do remain in the 
 hands of the said committee, for the public service, and that 
 they do account for the same with this Council. ^^"^ 
 
 On the 22nd of June, the Provincial Congress Resolved, 
 " That the following gentlemen be added to the Committee- 
 of Observation for the Parish of St. David, viz., Messrs. 
 David Williams, Ely Kershaw, William Dewitt, Thomas 
 Ellerbe, John A Iran, John Kimbrough, William Pegues, 
 Elias Du Bois, Charles Evans, Juur., Benjamin Rogers, 
 Arthur Hart, Robert Lide, Aaron Daniel, Francis Gillespie, 
 Thomas Powe, Thomas Lide, Henry Counsel, Thomas 
 Edwards, Benjamin Jackson, and Abel Kolb.^f 
 
 The duties of the committee were most responsible and 
 arduous, and the number first appointed, doubtless, proved 
 too small to take due oversight of the extensive territory 
 embraced within the limits of St. David's. Of those here 
 added, there was about an equal distribution among the 
 different sections of the parish. 
 
 It was not long before they were called to take decisive 
 action as to two of their fellow- citizens, who had hitherto 
 maintained a highly respectable position as neighbors and 
 friends. 
 
 The following record of their proceedings remains. J 
 
 " In Committee of Observation. 
 
 " St. David's Parish, August 7tli, 1775. 
 
 " Charles Augustus Steward, Esq., having counteracted the 
 Resolves of the Provincial Congress in frequently issuing 
 
 * " Collections of Historical Society of So. Ca.," vol. ii. p. 27. 
 t Supplement to Carolina Gazette of September 7tb, 1775. 
 X So. Ca. Gazette, October 3, 1775. 
 
238 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 summons for debt, was this day caused to appear before tbe 
 committee for said Parish, aud being questioned relative 
 thereto, acknowledged that he had so done, and, if applied 
 to, should again. 
 
 " Resolved, thereupon, that the said Charles Augustus 
 Steward, Esq., is an enemy to the liberties of America, and 
 an object of the resentment of the public. Ordered, that 
 the same be publicly advertised on the morrow. 
 " By order of the Committee, 
 
 ^' George Hicks, 
 
 " Chairman." 
 
 Colonel Steward appears not to have receded from the 
 position thus rashly and boldly taken ; and from that 
 moment, advertised and regarded as an enemy to the 
 liberties of America, his career was decided, and took a 
 downward turn, ending a few years after in a decline of 
 fortune, a broken spirit, the confiscation of his estate,^ and 
 a premature close of his life. 
 
 Another case also engaged the attention of the Com- 
 mittee, and seemed for the time at least to have been 
 happily disposed of. 
 
 " In Committee of Observation. 
 
 " St. David's Parish, August 8th, 1775. 
 " Mr. John Mitchell having signed the under- written 
 advertisement, it was ordered that the same be immediately 
 published in the several Gazettes of this Province. 
 " By order of the Committee, 
 
 " Henry William Harrington, 
 
 " Chairman." 
 
 " St. David's Parish, August Sth, 1775. 
 
 " Whereas, I, John Mitchell, of Meldrum, in the said 
 parish, merchant, having sent three judgment bonds to 
 Thomas Phepoe, Esq., to be by him entered up, and having 
 received three executions of the said gentleman in May 
 last, one of which has been since personally served by the 
 Sheriff' on John and Bartholomew Hodges, and one other 
 
 * His estate was relieved from the penalties of confiscation, as will be seen 
 hereafter. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEKAWS. 239 
 
 on Enoch James, contrary to the Resolves of the first ses- 
 sion of the Provincial Congress,, for which I am truly sorry, 
 and humbly ask pardon of the said Congress, and of their 
 constituents, sincei«cly promising never to act in the least 
 contrary to the Resolves or orders of the Honorable Conti- 
 nental Congress, or of our Provincial Congress, being fully 
 convinced that every friend to America ought religiously to 
 observe the Resolves and Orders of the said Congress and 
 Councils. 
 
 " Given under my hand, the day and year above written. 
 
 " John Mitchell/^* 
 
 Notwithstanding this timely warning aud seemingly 
 penitent resolve, Mr. Mitchell, though never in arms, took 
 sides against his country, in the contest which soon came 
 on. His estate was afterwards confiscated. It will be 
 remembered, that the notice of his departure from the Pro- 
 vince, already given, was in March of this year. 
 
 A new general election for members of the Provincial 
 Congress was appointed to take place in the Country Dis- 
 tricts and Parishes on the 8th of August, after which the 
 Congress adjourned. 
 
 Much of its authority was delegated to the Council of 
 Safety and General Committee. 
 
 The most effectual methods were adopted to have the 
 Association generally signed throughout the colony, and to 
 require from non- subscribers the reasons of their refusal. 
 Every effort was also made to put the Province, exposed as 
 it was, in such a state of defence as the exigences of the 
 times demanded. ' The more effectively to carry out the 
 recommendations of the Congress, volunteer companies were 
 formed, and the whole Province presented one unbroken 
 scene of military preparation. f 
 
 On the 3rd of August, Wm. Henry Harrington received 
 a commission^ as Captain of a Volunteer Company in St. 
 David^s Parish. 
 
 * Gazette, October 3, 1775. f S. C. Gazette, June 23-30. 
 
 I The commission ran as follows, viz : — 
 
 " South Carolina. 
 
 "In the Council of Safety. 
 " In pursuance of the power in us vested by the Provincial Congress, begun 
 
240 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 In the mean time, the several committees in the interior 
 were actively engaged in the discharge of their responsible 
 duties. In August, the elections took place for members 
 of the second Provincial Congress. 
 
 In September, matters having become so threatening in 
 Charles-town as to make it hazardous for the Royal Gover- 
 nor, Lord William Campbell, any longer to remain, he took 
 flight, precipitately, on 15th Sept., on board the Tamer sloop 
 of war, and dissolved, for the last time, the Commons House 
 of Assembly of South Carolina. George Gabriel Powell was 
 then the member for St. David^s. Col. Powell had taken 
 an active and prominent part in the proceedings of the 
 Council of Safety, and as one of the Commissioners ap- 
 pointed to supervise the military works then in progress 
 about Charles-town. Attention had also been directed to 
 other points which were likely to be exposed to the assaults 
 of the enemy, from whatever quarter. The neighborhood 
 of the upper Pedee was not overlooked. 
 
 The stand early taken by the inhabitants in this region, 
 seems to have developed a spirit of opposition in places not 
 very remote, and to have led to the opinion that they would 
 be much exposed to hostile demonstrations from the Tories 
 and others on their borders. The feeling already prevailing 
 in some of the neighboring communities of North Carolina, 
 along the line of Little Pedee, was well known, and led to 
 the apj»reliension of the bloody struggle which actually 
 ensued during the progress of the Revolution, and deluged the 
 valley of the Pedee with blood. Hence it was, that some 
 time about the latter part of October of this year, " at the 
 request of Col. Powell and others, a detachment of fifty men 
 was sent to the Cheraws, to garrison a fort that was to be 
 built there, for the protection of the families of the well- 
 
 to be holden on the first day of June last, we do hereby appoint Henry William 
 Harrington, Esq., to be Captain of a Volunteer Conip:niy of Foot, in the 
 militia of St. David's Parish, Craven County. Dated in the Council of Safety, 
 the third day of August, 1775. 
 
 Thomas Heywaed, Jun., Raws. Lowkdes, 
 
 Thos. Feeguson, Ben. Elliott, 
 
 Tno. Bee, Henry Laiteens, 
 
 Chaeles C. Pincknet, M. Beewstee, 
 
 J. A. Hugee, Jas. Paesons, 
 
 Wm. Williamson, Aethub Middleton. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 241 
 
 affected, against the Tories, who were very numerous in that 
 part of the country ; this was an expensive work and of very 
 little consequence/^* 
 
 The history of this matter, to which Moultrie thus refers, 
 will be fully explained by the following extracts from the 
 Journal of the Commons House of Assembly. No allusion 
 is made to it in any other history of the time. 
 
 " Sfcockado Fort at Cheraw, 23rd September, 1776. 
 
 "' Message from the President by the Clerk of the Legis- 
 lative Council : 
 
 " Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen, 
 
 " Col. Powell having represented the necessity of 
 a Stockade Fort at the Cheraw Hill, I gave him directions 
 some time ago (by advice of the Privy Council) to have one 
 built there. But, on receiving from him the petitions and 
 estimates herewith laid before you, some of which petitions 
 prayed that it might be built at that place, and others at 
 Long Bluff; and being informed by several inhabitants of 
 St. David's Parish, that a fort at either of those places was 
 altogether unnecessary, I thought it proper (the time of 
 your meeting being then not very distant) to suspend the 
 matter till I could have your opinion respecting it, and I 
 now refer this subject to your consideration. 
 
 " John Rutledge. 
 
 "The petitions &c. being read, it was 
 
 " Ordered, that the message, with the papers accom- 
 panying the same, be referred to a committee. And they 
 are referred to Mr. Harrington, Major Hicks, Mr. Pcgues, 
 Capt. Withers, Capt. White, Mr. Young, and Capt. Tra- 
 pier.'^t 
 
 " 25tb September, 1776. 
 
 " Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen, 
 
 " I send you some other petitions which have 
 
 * Moultrie's " Memoirs of tbe Revolution," vol. i. p. 92. 
 f "House Journal," No. 40, p. 145. 
 
 R 
 
242 HISTORY OF THE OLD CUERAWS. 
 
 been lately presented to me relative to a fort at the Cheraw 
 HiU. 
 
 " John E-utledge. 
 
 '' The petitions were read and referred to the same com- 
 mittee.^^ 
 
 On the following day^ Mr. Harrington^ from the com- 
 mittee, reported : ^' That they, having examined the petitions 
 for and against building a Stockade Fort at the Cheraws, 
 are of opinion, that a fort in that secure part of the country 
 is entirely useless. 
 
 " And are further of opinion, that the keeping a guard of 
 300 men in June and July last, and of 50 men in August 
 and the present month, at tlie said place, was a measure not 
 only unnecessary and expensive to the State, but detrimental 
 and destructive to the crops of many of the poor inhabi- 
 tants. They therefore recommend, that the said guard of 
 50 men be immediately discharged. 
 
 " And whereas a quantity of gunpowder and lead was, by 
 order of Congress, lodged in the hands of the Committee 
 for St. David^s Parish, for the use of the militia, part of 
 which powder and lead has been drawn out of their hands 
 by order of the Commanding Officer : 
 
 " Your Committee therefore recommend, that orders be 
 given to the said Commanding Officer, to return the said 
 powder and lead to the aforesaid Committee.""^* 
 
 The report was ordered to be taken into consideration 
 on the morrow, but postponed to the following day, Sept. 
 28th, when it was taken up, and being read, the first clause 
 was agreed to by the House. 
 
 A motion was then made and seconded, " That the 
 further consideration of the report be postponed, and that 
 a message be sent to the President, requesting that his 
 Excellency will be pleased to lay before this House, the 
 reasons for ordering and keeping a guard of 300 men at the 
 Cheraws in June and July last, and of 50 men in August 
 and the present month, at the same placc'^t 
 
 * " House Journal," No. 40, pp. 164, 165. f Ibid., pp. 172, 173. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 243 
 
 The message was accordingly sent to his Excellency^ and 
 the following reply made, October Tst, viz. : — 
 
 " Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen, 
 
 " On the 17th of May, I was informed by a 
 letter from the Committee of Secrecy, War, and Intelli- 
 gence in North Carolina, of their having received advices 
 that the enemy, who then lay on Cape Fear River, had 
 planned a descent at the mouth of Little River, near the 
 borders of this colony, in order to attempt a passage into the 
 back country of that by the Lake of Waccamaw. Having 
 occasion to confer with the Hon. Col. Powell on this sub- 
 ject, he urged very strongly the absolute necessity of build- 
 ing a Stockade Fort and keeping a garrison at the Cheraw 
 Hill, as a security against incursions of the disaffected about 
 Cross Creek, and for preventing or suppressing insurrections 
 which they might occasion amongst our own people, near 
 the North Carolina line — events which might be feared, 
 especially if the intended junction between the British 
 forces and the malcontents in that Province, had taken 
 place. 
 
 " I thought so much attention and respect due to the 
 representation of a gentleman in his station, who was well 
 acquainted with that part of the country, and had the com- 
 mand of a large regiment there, as to lay it before the 
 council for their advice, which I did. 
 
 " He attended them, and, on consideiing what he offered 
 on this head, they were unanimously of opinion, that it was 
 necessary to erect such a fort and keep such a garrison, in 
 consequence of which, I gave orders for that purpose. 
 
 " John Rutledge. 
 
 " Sept. 30th, 1776." 
 
 On the next day, it was ordered, " That the Report of the 
 Committee to whom the President's Message and other 
 papers, relative to the building of a Fort on Cheraw Hill, 
 were referred, be recommitted; that the President's Mes- 
 sage of yesterday, upon the same subject, and Col. PowcIPs 
 Letter^ be referred to the same Committee ; and that Major 
 Huger, Major Simmons, Mr. Cantey, and Capt. Roger 
 Smith, be added to the said Committee." 
 
 R 2 
 
24-4 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 On the 4th of October, Mr. Harrington made a report, 
 which, having been amended and agreed to^ was as follows, 
 viz. : — " That they, having examined the petitions for and 
 against building a Stockade Fort on Cheraw Hill, are of 
 opinion that a fort in that secure part of the country is 
 entirely useless. That they have heard Col. Powell on the 
 subject of keeping a garrison at Cheraw, and on full consi- 
 deration of the matter, are of opinion, that a garrison in 
 that part of the country is unnecessary. 
 
 " And whereas, a quantity of gunpow^der and lead, was, 
 by order of Congress, lodged in the hands of the Com- 
 mittee of St. David^s, for the use of the militia, part of 
 which powder and lead has been drawn out of their hands 
 by order of the Commanding Officer, the Committee do 
 therefore recommend, that orders be given to the Command- 
 ing Officer to return such part of the said powder and lead 
 as remains unused, to the aforesaid Committee. ''^'^ 
 
 Whereupon, the following message was sent to the Pre- 
 sident, a few days after, October 18th, viz. : — 
 
 " May it please your Excellency, 
 
 " This House, having resolved that a fort and 
 guard at the Cheraws are unnecessary, request that your 
 Excellency will be pleased to give orders to discontinue the 
 building of the said fort, and for the discharge of the guard 
 now there ; and that such part of the powder and lead which 
 the colonel of the regiment of that district had received 
 for the use of said guard as remains unused, be delivered 
 to the care and custody of the Committee for St. David^s 
 Parish.^^t 
 
 Of the exact locality of the fort, nothing is known ; even 
 the knowledge of the fact that such a work was once begun, 
 appears to have passed away, no tradition of it having been 
 handed down. 
 
 Many volunteer companies of militia were organized about 
 this time throughout the Province. 
 
 In St. David's Parish were the following, in September 
 and October of this year, as shown by the date of the com- 
 
 * "House Journal," No. 40, pp. 193, 191. f Ibid., p. 221. 
 
HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 245 
 
 missions^ though these were suhsequently made out. The 
 uumber indicates the alacrity with which the inhabitants on 
 the Pedee responded to the call to arms. 
 
 " Council of Safety, Feb. 20th, 1776. 
 " The following commissions were made out_, signed and 
 dated as here entered^ for officers in Col. PowelFs Regi- 
 ment of Militia, St. David^s Parish : — 
 
 Captain Abel Kolb, | ^g^j^ g , ^^^^ 
 
 Jhinsign Aaron Daniel, j 
 Volunteer fCapt. John Dozier, 
 
 „ •] 1 st Lieut. Henry Britton, Y ,, 
 
 ^ ' [2nd „ Joseph Graves, J 
 
 [Capt. Luke Prior, ] 
 
 „ J 1st Lieut. Da^dd Davis, [ 26th Sept., 1775. 
 
 [2nd „ Samuel Smith, J 
 
 (Capt. James Ford, ) 
 1st Lieut. Benjamin Harlow, v „ 
 
 2nd „ Charles Moody, j 
 
 [Capt. Luke Whitfield, j 
 
 „ ■] 1st Lieut. Isaac Neavill, [ „ 
 
 [Ensign William Johnson, j 
 
 iCapt. W^illiam Davis, ] 
 
 1st Lieut. Henry Davis, [ „ 
 
 2nd „ Wright W^all, J 
 
 (Capt. George King, \ 
 
 1st Lieut. Amos Windham, V 28th Sept., 1775. 
 
 2nd „ George Spivey, ) 
 
 [Capt. Thomas Hardyman, "j 
 
 „ -1 2nd Lieut. James Galloway, V „ 
 
 [Ensign Joseph Hardyman, J 
 
 ,T ■ . TA -n/r T. )Capt.Thos. Lide^s 
 
 j Lieut. Duncan McKae, [ p 
 
 " 1 Ensign John Sutton, f „ i <-» / i«l-e 
 
 ^ ^ ^ J 3nd Oct., 17/5. 
 
 i Captain Charles Evans, jun.,1 
 1st Lieut. Matthew Holding, h „ 
 
 2nd „ Elisha Magee, j '' 
 
 Additional companies having soon after been formed in 
 St. David's Parish^ their officers were nominated and ap- 
 
246 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 pointed by the Provincial Congress on 16tli of November ; 
 and on the 30th their commissions were applied for and 
 granted^ as follows^ viz. : 
 
 " Daniel Britton, 1st Lieut., ] Of Capt. Thos. Port's 
 
 Richard Reynolds, 2nd Lieut., I Company of Volunteers 
 
 John Witherspoon, Ensign, ) in St. David's Parish. 
 
 John Kimbrough, Esq., Capt., \ r^i? xi /-i 
 
 „ , _, ® ' J^- Or another Company 
 
 oamuel Benton, 1st Lieut., /. -tr i , • \li 
 
 , T^ • 1 « 1 T • r 01 Volunteers in the 
 
 James Knight, 2nd Lieut., ■ ^ t^ • i 
 
 -„.„. c. 1 T T^ . said Parish. 
 WiUiam Standard, Lnsign, 
 
 John Blakeney, Esq., Capt., \ ^„ ,, ^ 
 
 T 1 T> 11 -. T • Oi another Company 
 
 John Reynolds, 1st Lieut., ^ ^r ^ j. • ^^ 
 
 mi ^«- n/r r. 1 T • , r 01 Vomnteers m said 
 
 Ihomas McManess, 2nd Lieut., p ' i, ^^ 
 
 John Ewbank, Ensign, j 
 
 On the 23rd of January following, Thomas Williamson 
 was Commissioned Captain in Colonel Powell's Regiment ; 
 and on 2nd February, Maurice Murphy was also Commis- 
 sioned Captain in the same Regiment.^ 
 
 Thus thoroughly and extensively organized were the in- 
 habitants of St. David's Parish at this early period for 
 military service. Along the river, and from the extreme 
 upper parts of Lynch e's Creek to the neighborhood of its 
 mouth, did the spirit of volunteering extend. The people 
 were roused to the highest pitch of jjatriotic ardor. 
 
 Some dissatisfaction, however,, had existed among the 
 vokmteer companies soon after their organization in Sep- 
 tember, owing probably to the fact, that their services were 
 not at once accepted, and their officers commissioned. And 
 hence, doubtless, the action of the Council of Safety, as it 
 has been given. About this time. Captain Samuel Wise, of 
 the Regiment of Rangers, was induced, for some reason, to 
 resign his commission, as appears from the following 
 letter : — 
 
 " To the Honorable, the Council of Safety. 
 
 " Honorable Gentlemen, — I am extremely sorry any in- 
 
 * The lists of Commissions here given, were taken from manuscript papers 
 of the Council of Safety, known as the " L:\urens Papers," now in possession of 
 the Historical Society of South Carolina, and kindly sliown to the author hy F. 
 A. Porcher, Esq., corresponding secretary. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 247 
 
 cident should have arisen that would oblige me to send the 
 commission you were pleased to honor me with unto Mr. 
 Drayton ; for, having entered into the service with a heart 
 full of zeal for the legal freedom of myself and fellow sub- 
 jects of this Province in particular, and the constitutional 
 rights of America in general ; so, nothing less than being 
 dishonored by a suspicion of want of integrity to the great 
 cause of constitutional liberty, would have induced me to 
 have taken this step ; and I hoije your Honors will be 
 pleased to consider the bitterness of my feelings, when Mr. 
 Drayton refused to tell me the name of the man who had 
 thus disgraced me. But, as my friends here seem to think 
 that I have been rather hasty, if your Honors, too, should 
 be of that opinion, I shall be exceedingly grieved ; for it 
 was never my intention to give the least oflFence, and do 
 beg leave to submit myself and cause to your Honors' judg- 
 ment. 
 
 '' I am, with great respect, 
 
 " Yoiu' Honors' most obedient, 
 
 " humble Servant, 
 " Samuel Wise."'^ 
 
 « Cliarles-town, Sept. 30th, 1775." 
 
 Captain Wise was a man of the nicest sense of honor, 
 and doubtless betrayed a morbid sensibility under the wound 
 which had been unjustly inflicted on his reputation. He 
 was induced to withdraw his resignation, probably by the 
 Council of Safety, as well as his immediate friends, and 
 continued in the active service of his country, for which he 
 Avas eminently fitted. The Provincial Congress was called 
 together on the 1st of November. The former members for 
 St. David's were re-elected, and with the exception of 
 Claudius Pegues, Esq., appeared and took their seats. 
 
 Col. Powell was also elected a member for St. Philip's 
 and St. Michael's, but declined that position in favour of St. 
 David's Parish. Mr. Harrington was one of a committee 
 appointed to report upon the state of the colony, and the 
 proper measures which ought to be pursued for putting the 
 
 * Manuscript papers of Council of Safety. 
 
248 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 same into the best posture of defence. On Monday, Nov. 
 6th, it was ordered, ^' That Mr. President be requested to 
 direct Lieut. -Col. Thompson, of the Rangers, to send Isaac 
 Jordan, a private in his Regiment, charged with horse- 
 stealing and breaking gaol at Cheraws, and cause him to be 
 delivered to the Slieriff of Cheraws District, or his deputy, 
 or to the keeper of the Common Gaol." 
 
 A new Council of Safety having been elected on 16th Nov., 
 a committee was appointed the following day, of which 
 Mr. Harrington was one, to " consider of, and bring into 
 one view, the powers and authorities proper to be vested in 
 the Council of Safety.''"^ On the 28th of Nov., it was 
 resolved, " That the Committee of St. David^s Parish be 
 authorized to purchase what lead they can get, on the 
 public account." On the same day it was also resolved, 
 " That 600 men from Col. PowelFs Regiment should forth- 
 with be detached, and directed to rendezvous at the Conga- 
 rees." And the following letter was thereupon written : — 
 
 " By authority of the Congress. 
 
 " Charles-town, Nov. 25th, 1775. 
 " Sir, — You are hereby ordered, with all possible de- 
 spatch, to detach six hundred men of your Regiment, to 
 rendezvous at the Congarees, to act under the orders of 
 Col. Richardson. 
 
 " I am. Sir, 
 
 " Your most humble servant, 
 
 " Wm. Henry Drayton, 
 " To Col. Powell." '' President. 
 
 This action was taken in consequence of difficulties at 
 Ninety-six. There had been a recent skirmish between 
 Patrick Cunningham, Jacob Bowman, and others, on the 
 one side, and a body of militia under the charge of Andrew 
 Williamson, on the other. 
 
 On the 27th of Nov., Col. Richardson was in camp at 
 the Congarees, and about 1st Dec. crossed Saluda river into 
 the Dutch Fork. A few days after, he was joined by several 
 
 * Drayton's "Memoirs," vol. ii. pp. 61-77; and "Journal of the Congress.' 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEUAWS. 249 
 
 detachments. After advancing southward and eflFecting the 
 object of the expedition, the troops were disbanded the 
 latter end of December, and returned to their respective 
 homes. A detachment had started from Pedee under 
 Major George Hicks, but was stopped by the following 
 order from the Council of Safety : — 
 
 " Wednesday evening, Dec. 20th, 1775. 
 
 " Gent., — Intelligence which we have just received from 
 Col. Richardson, induces us to believe that he will be able 
 to accomplish the business upon which he was ordered by 
 the Congress, without further aid; and as Col. Powell has 
 intimated, that the detachment from his regiment was 
 either not marched, or if marched, might soon be overtaken 
 by orders : "We desire you will take the proper steps for re- 
 calling or stopping the detachment, and directing the officer 
 in command to dismiss the men until further orders — after 
 which, he will transmit a proper account of the time of 
 actual service performed by that detachment. 
 
 " By Order of the Council of Safety, 
 " Henry Laurens, 
 
 " President.'^ 
 
 " On Colony Service. — Recommended to the Committee 
 of George-town to be forwarded if needful by express. The 
 expense will be paid by the Council of Safety. 
 
 " To the Committee of the Parish of St. David.'' 
 
 On the 29th of Nov. it was ordered by the Congress, 
 " That three hundred pounds weight of gunpowder be 
 delivered out of the public stock, reserved for the aid and 
 defence of this colony, to the order of the Committee of 
 St. David's Parish, to be distributed among such of the men 
 in Col. Powell's Regiment as are unprovided, to be by them 
 reserved for public uses only." 
 
 One of the chief difficulties now was to get ammunition 
 as it was wanted, such was the limited supply. After a 
 Session of the most important and decided character, the 
 CoDgress adjourned, November 29th. The die was cast. 
 The struggle had begun. The people were everywhere in 
 
 " Laurens Papers" of Historical Society of So. Ca. 
 
250 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 arms. The selfish, it is said, among the merchants and 
 planters, whose gains were lessened by the cessation of 
 trade, wished for the return of business ; but the main body 
 of both classes most heartily concurred in the popular 
 measures. No revolution was ever effected with greater 
 unanimity, or with more order and regiilarity. 
 
 A great majority of the people determined to sacrifice 
 ease, pleasure, and fortune, and to risk life itself to obtain 
 permanent security for American rights. 
 
 They believed their liberties to be in danger. Roused by 
 this apprehension, they were animated to the most self- 
 denying exertions."^ Such was the feeling on the Pedee. 
 
 With very few exceptions, the intelligent and influential 
 inhabitants were the ardent friends of their country. They 
 had already taken a conspicuous stand, and to every appeal 
 in behalf of liberty had made a hearty response. 
 
 Peculiarly exposed to the worst of enemies, they were 
 called, from the first, to bear the heat and burden of a 
 sanguinary conflict with the Tories on Lynchers Creek and 
 the Little Pedee. But tried to the uttermost, they never de- 
 spaired. Among the first to make a public declaration of 
 their rights, they were among the last to lay down their 
 arms, when further resistance seemed more than futile, and 
 for a time overpowered, not conquered, they were forced to 
 take protection, but only to throw off every vestige of sub- 
 mission, and, with the returning hope of liberty, to submit 
 to the oppressor no more. 
 
 * "Ramsay," vol. i. p. 79. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 251 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Opening of the year l77t) — Charles-town threatened — Council of Safety writes 
 to Major M'Intosh — Response from Pedee — Difficulties in Civil Administra- 
 tion — William Strother writes to Council of S;ifety — Tl)e Council provides 
 ammunition for Sfc. David's — The Congress meets — Mr. Harrington's return 
 as to member in place of Claudius Pegues — Action of Congress — Payments 
 ordered to certain persons in St. David's — Congress takes action as to a 
 "form of government" — Other proceedings — Pay to Major Hicks refused 
 — Additional forces raised — Major M'Intosli elected Lieutenant-Colonel — 
 " Form of government " adopted — Officers elected, and appoinlinents for 
 St. David's — Colonel Powell and Speaker Parsons' address to the President 
 — Colonel Powell elected assistant-judge — Declines — Address of Baptist 
 Churches, by Ruv. Messrs. Hart and Winchester to Vice-President Laurens 
 — His reply — Courts opened — Presentments of grand jury of Cheraws— 
 Whigs and Tories — Latter compared with Loyalists — Conflict with Tories 
 on Pedee — Connnittee of St. David's continues to meet — Abel Kolb — His 
 cliaracter — David Williams dies — Major Wise on Sullivan's Island — Letters 
 to Henry William Harrington — Captain Harrington at Haddrell's Point — 
 Prisoners sent to gaol of Cheraws District — Election of two members from 
 St. David's to Assembly — Charges against Colonel Powell — His letter on 
 subject — Action of Assembly — Affair dropped — Salt provided for St. David's 
 — Act passed as to places of election for the parish — First courts after Declara- 
 tion of Independence — Chief Justice Drayton's charge in Charles-town — 
 Presentments of grand jury of Cherav\s — Reflections on ' same — Quiet 
 restored — Commerce revives — Death of Arthur Hart — Letter of Major 
 Wise — Member elected for St. David's — Educational wants sorely felt. 
 
 The year 1776 was ushered in inidcr the most threatening 
 aspects for the Province. In the eai^y part of January, the 
 inhabitants of Charles-town apprehended an attack by sea. 
 The Council of Safety acted with the utmost decision. 
 Having made arrangements with Colonel Moultrie for pro- 
 tecting the town, attention was turned to the subject of 
 collecting an adequate militia force from the country. 
 Though the enemy soon after withdrew, the apprehension 
 of an attack still continued, and the more solicitude was 
 felt as the militia came in slowly. The following letter from 
 the Council of Safety to Major Alexander M'^Intosh, at this 
 alarming juncture, shows the state of feeling in Charles-town. 
 
 " In Council of Safety. 
 
 " Charles-town, Jan. 13th, 1776. 
 " Sir, — Three ships of war appear at anchor near our 
 Bar, and will probably come within to-morrow. 
 
252 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 
 
 " One, said by a lieutenant who lias been in a 10 oar'd 
 barge as high as Rebellion Road^ and spoke from Fort 
 Johnson, the crew of which passed upon him for simple 
 fishermen, to be of 50 guns — but, we believe only 36 — the 
 other two of 20. They have detached a sloop, probably 
 for the Tamar and Cherokee. The lieutenant was greatly 
 mortified at finding they w^ere not here. The alarm Avill be 
 fired through the colony to-morrow (Monday). Your pre- 
 sence, and the presence of every provincial ofllicer, is re- 
 quired here. You will therefore repair to your regiment 
 with all possible despatch, after giving pressing orders to 
 the commanding officer of Col. PowelFs Regiment of 
 militia, to detach to our assistance with all possible expedi- 
 tion, as many officers and men as will voluntarily come^ in 
 small parties of 20 or 50, as they can be collected. 
 
 *' This is the time for evincing our professions and de- 
 clarations of love of liberty and the righteous cause of 
 America. Words are not necessary to influence those who 
 are sincere, to fly to the banner of their country. Order all 
 provincial officers you may meet with, to their duty here 
 immediately. 
 
 " By Order of the Council of Safety, 
 
 "Henry Laurens, President."^ 
 
 " Major Mcintosh.'' 
 
 To this spirited appeal. Major M'Intosh, with other 
 officers, and many of the militia from the Pedee, responded. 
 Major George Hicks went down in command of a detach- 
 ment, and Captain Samuel Wise also commanded a com- 
 pany. On the 6th of February, it was said, three hundred 
 volunteers of Richardson's and PowelFs Regiments, Avho had 
 been down on duty, being willing to remain, were kept until 
 the 1st of March, the rest of the country militia being dis- 
 charged. This was the first important military service 
 rendered to the Province by the inhabitants of the Upper 
 Pedee. 
 
 In the present unsettled state of affairs, serious difficulty 
 was experienced in matters of ordinary civil transaction and 
 
 * Manuscript papers of Council of Safety. 
 
HISTORY OF TPIE OLD CHERAWS. 253 
 
 adjudication. The want of some established authority was 
 sorely felt^ as in the management of estates and the case of 
 orphans. 
 
 The following letter was addressed to the Committee in 
 Charles-town on this subject, from St. David's Parish : — 
 
 " January 11th, 1776. 
 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " On the death of sundry persons in the district 
 where I live, application has been made to me to know how 
 to proceed, or how they should obtain Letters of Adminis- 
 tration ; and not knowing what has been resolved by the 
 Congress on such occasion, I beg to be informed, as some 
 of the orphans must suffer greatly in their estates if not 
 shortly secured. 
 
 " Your answer will much oblige, 
 
 " Your humble servt., 
 
 " Wm. Strother.* 
 " To the Honorable Council of Safety, 
 Charles-town." 
 
 The Parish of St. David's was not yet adequately sup- 
 plied with war stores, and the Council took further action, 
 as follows : — 
 
 " Wednesday, January 24th, 1776. 
 
 " The Congress at the late session, ordered three hundred 
 Aveight of gunpowder to be issued for the use of St. David's. 
 The order was brought to us yesterday under many indorse- 
 ments ; as we think it will save trouble, expense, and risk, 
 we desire you will, upon sight of the order which we have 
 referred to you for that piirjose, direct a compliance with 
 the contents from the public store of gunpowder under your 
 care, and transmit the order to us. 
 
 " By order of the Council of Safety, 
 
 " Henry Laurens, President. 
 " The Committee for George-town." 
 
 No time was lost in complying with this direction, as 
 appears from the following receipt : — " Received of the 
 Committee at George-town three hundred pounds weight of 
 
 * Manuscript piipers of Council of 8afety. 
 
254 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEI^AWS. 
 
 gunpowder^ from the public stocky by direction of the Council 
 of Safety^ for St. David's. 
 
 " Aaron Daniel.^ 
 
 " George-town, Jany. 26th, 1776." 
 
 On the 1st February^ the Congress, which had adjourned 
 29th of Nov. previous, met again in Charles-town. 
 
 On the 3rd, Mr. Harrington made this special return, 
 addressed to the President : — 
 
 " Charles-town, Feby. 2, 1776. 
 
 ''Sir, 
 
 " Claudius Pegues, Esq., one of the six deputies 
 duly elected to represent the Parish of St. David's in Con- 
 gress, signified by letter, addressed to the Committee of the 
 said Parish, that he declined serving the said Parish in Con- 
 gress. He delivered the letter to me to lay before the 
 Committee, who were not to meet till the 19th of last 
 month; and as the Congress was to sit on the 1st instant, 
 I, as church warden, and not recollecting the resolve of 
 the last Congress relative to elections, advertised the 23rd 
 of January as a day of election for a deputy to Congress 
 instead of Mr. Pegues, when it appeared that William Henry 
 Mills had a majority of votes, of which I acquainted him 
 by letter. 
 
 " I am. Sir, your most obedient, humble servant, 
 
 " Henry William Harrington.'' 
 
 " Whereupon, it was resolved. That a Member of Con- 
 gress cannot resign his seat during the continuance of the 
 Congress in which he took his seat as a member ; and, there- 
 fore, as Claudius Pegues, Esq., could not decline his seat in 
 the present Congress, the election of William Henry Mills, 
 Esq., as a member of Congress in the room of Claudius 
 Pegues, Esq., was null and void."t 
 
 On Tuesday the 6th of February, the Council issued orders 
 on the Treasury for the payment of the following sums, 
 among others, viz. : — 
 
 * Manuscript Papers of Council of Safety. 
 ■J- " American Archives," vol. v. p. 566. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 255 
 
 £ S. d. 
 " To Major George Hicks, for pay and rations 
 to the detachment from Col. PowelPs Re- 
 giment of Militia, ordered to join Col. 
 Richardson, to be placed to account of 
 Col. Richardson's expedition .... 8567 12 6 
 "To H. W. Harrington, Esq., so much ad- 
 vanced by him for two expresses,"^ from 
 
 Charles-town 43 
 
 " To Calvin Spencer's order for his service as 
 
 messenger to the Committee of St. David's 50 
 " For ferriage of Capt. Wise's Company over 
 
 Pedee, to John Eddens 10 0" 
 
 On the 8th of February, a Committee was appointed by 
 the Congress, consisting of the Council of Safety, together 
 with others, of whom Col. Powell was one, " to take into 
 consideration the following resolution of the Continental 
 Congress, passed the 4th of Nov. last, viz. : ' Resolved, that 
 if the Convention of South Carolina shall find it necessary 
 to establish a form of governmeut in that colony, it be re- 
 commended to said Convention to call a full and free repre- 
 sentation of the people ; and that the said representatives, 
 if they think it necessary, establish such form of govern- 
 ment as, in their judgment, will best promote the happiness 
 of the people, and most eft'ectually secure peace and good 
 order in the colony during the continuance of the present 
 dispute between Great Britain and the colonies.'' "f 
 
 A few days after, a Committee of eleven was appointed 
 to prepare and report such a plan or form of government as 
 would best promote the happiness of the people. 
 
 On the 12th, a committee, of which .Mr. Harrington was 
 one, " was appointed to consider and report upon the best 
 method for promoting the manufacture of saltpetre in the 
 colony."! 
 
 The want of ammunition began to be sorely felt, and the 
 
 * This was the item, as a credit, in the account of Mr. Harrington, of receipt 
 for poor of Boston. 
 
 ■\ Drayton's " Memoirs," vol. ii. p. I7l. 
 J " American Archives," vol. v. pp. 569, 570. 
 
256 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEEAWS. 
 
 necessity became more apparent daily for relying upon 
 themselves for its production. 
 
 On the 14th of February , a motion was made, " that the 
 Congress do order payment of certain expenses, amounting 
 to 234/., incurred by a detachment of militia under the 
 command of Major Hicks, lately marched to this town, 
 for camp utensils and other articles. A debate ensued, and 
 the question being put, it was carried in the negative.^^^ 
 
 On the 18th, Col. Powell and Cap. Harrington, with 
 others, were placed on a committee to report upon the 
 militia, its division, regulations, &c. This important subject 
 urgently demanded attention. The haste with which it had 
 been necessary to devise certain measures for defence, had 
 involved the military affairs of the colony in more or less 
 confusion. 
 
 The situation of Charles-town, as was now most apparent, 
 demanded immediate aid from the country for its protection. 
 And notwithstanding the difficulties attending such a step, 
 the Congress voted on the 19th of February, that 1050 men 
 of the country militia should be immediately drafted and 
 marched down. And three days after, the military estab- 
 lishment was augmented by the resolution to raise two Rifle 
 Regiments, one of seven, and the other of five hundred men. 
 The field officers were to be elected by a majority of the 
 ballots of the Avhole number of members present in the 
 Congress. Of the first Regiment, Alexander M'Intosh was 
 elected Lieut. -Colonel. 
 
 From this time Col. Mcintosh was engaged in constant 
 service. 
 
 On the 5th of March the Committee on '' a form of 
 Governments^ reported. On the 8th the Congress resolved 
 itself into a committee of the whole, to take the same into 
 consideration. After several days^ deliberation it was turned 
 over to the Congress for final disposal ; and from the 15th 
 to the 26th of March, carefully weighed in its details, well 
 adjusted in every part, and on the latter day, under the 
 title " of a Constitution or Form of Government," adopted. 
 A Legislative Council of thirteen, to be elected by ballot 
 
 * " American Archives," vol. v. pp. 569, 570. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 257 
 
 from the members of Assembly, for two years, was substi- 
 tuted in the place of the " King's Privy Council/' as for- 
 merly, the Vice-President being ex-officio a member and 
 President of the same. The legislative authority was vested 
 in the General Assembly and Legislative Council ; both of 
 which were to be elected every two years. The General 
 Assembly was to consist of the like number of members as 
 the Congress had done, each district and parish having the 
 same representation as was then present. 
 
 This gave to St. David's six members. Justices of the 
 Peace were to be nominated by the General Assembly, and 
 commissioned by the President and Commander-in-Chief, 
 during pleasure. All other judicial officers were to be 
 elected by joint ballot of the Assembly and Council. 
 
 All persons chosen and appointed to any office, or place 
 of trust, before entering upon the execution of the same, were 
 to take the following oath, viz. ; " I, A.B., do swear that I 
 will to the utmost of my power, support, maintain, and 
 defend the Constitution of South Carolina, as established by 
 Congress on the 26th day of March, One Thousand Seven 
 Hundred and Seventy-six, until an accommodation of the diffi- 
 culties between Great Britain and America shall take place, 
 or I shall be released from this oath by the Legislative 
 authority of the said colony, so help me God." Such were 
 some of the featiu'cs of the " Constitution, or Form of 
 Government," thus adopted. An accommodation of the 
 difficulties with the Mother Country seemed yet to be looked 
 forward to as an event not impossible; aud therefore this 
 provision made for regulating the affairs and promoting 
 the welfare of the Province was so far only temporary. On 
 the day of its adoption, the election of officers took place 
 under the Constitution. George Gabriel Powell, one of the 
 members for St. David's, was made Speaker of the Legisla- 
 tive Council. Henry William Harrington was elected Sherifi' 
 for Cheraws District, and the following gentlemen were 
 nominated as suitable persons to fill the office of Justices of 
 the Peace for the same, viz. : 
 
 John Alran, Henry Wm. Harrington, George Pawley, 
 William Dewitt, Arthur Hart, Claudius Pegues, Elias 
 DuBosCj John Kimbrough, William Pegues, Charles Evans, 
 
 s 
 
258 HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 
 
 Thomas Lido, Pliilip Pkid^or, Rol)ort Gray, Wm. Henry 
 Mills, and (Icorj^C! Hicks.* 
 
 In tlu; proscMit critical state of i)ublic affairs, this office 
 was one of ninch inipoi'tancc, and licin^c m(!n of intcllif^ence, 
 inlhicnee, and well-known principle were selected for the 
 post. 
 
 On the 3rd of April, Mr. Spciaker Powell and James Par- 
 sons, Ksq., 8[)eaker of Assemhiy, niad(! the following 
 address U) the l'n;Hi(leiit, John Rntledge, Esq. 
 
 " May it please your Excelleticy : 
 
 " We, the Legislative Council and General 
 Asseinl)ly of South ('arolina, convened under the authority 
 of the ecpiitahle ('onstitution of Oovernnuint established by 
 a fVe(! people, in (Congress, on the 2Gth ult,, beg leave, most 
 respectfully, to addres.s your Excellency, Nothing is better 
 kn(nvn to your J']xc(;lleney than the utuivoidable necessity 
 which iiulueed us, as members of Congress, on the part of 
 th(! jjcople, to resume the powers of Government ; and to 
 estal)lish some mode for r(;gidating tin; int(;rnal polity of 
 this colony ; and, as members of the Legislative Council 
 ami General Assembly, to vest you, for a time limited, with 
 the executive authority. Such constitutional })roceedings 
 on our own part we make no doubt will be misconstrued 
 into acts of the greatest criminality by that despotism which, 
 lost to all s(;nHe of justice and humanity, has already pre- 
 tended that we arc in actual rebellion. But, Sir, when we 
 rellect upon the unprovoked, crucd, ami accumulated oppres- 
 sions under which Am(;rica in general, and this country in 
 particular, has long continued ; oppressions, which gra- 
 dually increasing in injustice and violence, are now by an 
 in(!X()rable tyranny jjcrpetuated against tlu; United Colonies, 
 under the various forms of robbery, conflagration, massacre, 
 breach of the public faith, and open war — conscious of our 
 natural and inalienable rights, and det(U'miiied to make 
 every efl'ort in our power to retain them ; we sec your Ex- 
 cellency's elevation, from tin; midst of us, to govern this 
 country, as the natural consecpience of such outrages. 
 
 * " Auiericaii Areliivcs," vol. v. p. 620. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 250 
 
 " By the sufTnigos of a free people, you, Su', have heeii 
 chosen to hokl the rcius ofCjoveriimeiit ; an event, as honor- 
 able to yonrself, as it is bcuefieial to the public. 
 
 " We firmly trust, that you will make the Constitution the 
 great rule of your conduct, and, in the most soleuni manner, 
 we do assure your Excellency, that, in the diseharj^e of 
 your duties under that Constitution, which looks forward to 
 an accommodation \\'\i\i tJrcat Britain (an event which, 
 though traduced and treated as rebels, we still earnestly 
 desii'c), we will support you with our lives and fortunes. ''* 
 
 To this address the President nnide a l)rief and happy 
 reply. After putting;- the Cit)verument in operation and 
 transacting other important business, the Clenei-al AsscMubly 
 adjourned, to meet the first of October foUowiiii;-, ii aving 
 the administration of affairs in the mean time to the Presi- 
 dent and Council. 
 
 On the 27th of March, the day after the adoption of the 
 Constitution, Col. Powell was elected one of tiie Assistant 
 Judges, but requested leave to resign, and giving sneh 
 reasons as were satisfactory to the House, his request was 
 granted. It was the second timc^ this honor had been (!on- 
 ferred upon him, the iloyal (lovernment having previously 
 elected hira to the same position. 
 
 Col. Powell was highly esteemed, and had been for years 
 pi'Ominent in the alfairs of the Provinee. 
 
 That he should have persistently retained his connexion 
 with St. David's Parish, though not a residcMit, and declined 
 the representation of such Parishes as St. Philip's and St. 
 Michael's, is a fact of which \vc. can give no ex[)lanation ; 
 unless it was, that having l)e(!onu! inlcrcsled in the Upper 
 Pedee by his attendamie at tlie Bar of ('beraw, and the 
 purchase of lands, and honored with the conlich'iicc of the 
 people from the first, a feeling of gratitmle [)romi)t(Ml him 
 to remain in their service to tlu; close of his carcn-r. 
 
 The rising spirit of liberty and the present alarming 
 crisis affected all classes. 
 
 Religious bodies were roused to take a decided stand, and 
 
 " Tray ton." vol. ii. p. 201. 
 
 S 2 
 
260 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 by their encouragiug toues of approval^ to stimulate the 
 public men of the clay in their eflorts for the country. 
 
 The following address is expressive of the feeling that 
 prevailed : — 
 
 " To the Honorable Henry Laurens, Esquire, 
 Vice-President of the Province of South 
 Carolina. 
 " The address of the Baptist- Congregations in said 
 Pro\dnce. 
 
 " May it please your Honor, 
 
 " We can truly say, we rejoice in the 
 present happy form of government established among us ; 
 and beg leave to assm'e you. Sir, that we are filled with the 
 most sensible pleasure on your Honor being chosen Vice- 
 President, as it is well known that you are a most hearty 
 friend to liberty, and have managed the many important 
 trusts committed to you with fidelity. It gives us joy, that 
 you. Sir, are still continued in the important service of your 
 country at this critical juncture ; and we do most heartily 
 congratulate you on this happy occasion. We hope yet to 
 see hunted Liberty sit Regent on the Throne, and flourish 
 more than ever under the administration of such worthy 
 patriots -, may we not hope that the time is come, in which 
 our rulers may be men fearing God, and hating covetous- 
 ness, a terror to evil-doers, and a praise to them who do 
 well ! We bless God that he hath begun our de- 
 liverance ; and that he will complete it, shall be our 
 constant prayer. 
 
 " And now, wishing yoiu' Honor all peace, happiness, 
 and prosperity upon earth, and everlasting happiness above, 
 we subscribe ourselves, your Honoris most obedient and 
 most humble servants, 
 
 Oliver Hart, Pastor of the Baptist 
 
 Church, in Charles-town. 
 Elhanax Winchester, Pastor of the 
 
 Baptist Church, at the Welch Neck, 
 
 on Peclee. 
 
 " Signed in behalf of tlie Baptist Congregations 
 in general, this 30th day of March, 1776."'^ 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 261 
 
 To this Mr, Laurens replied as follows : — 
 
 " Gentlemen^ 
 
 " I receive your address on belialf of the 
 Baptist Congregations with the same cordiality of affection 
 in which, I am persuaded, it was made, although it becomes 
 me to acknowledge, that you have done me an honor which 
 I had no ground to expect. 
 
 " The persecution against the liberties of American sub- 
 jects, which, immediately after the death of his late 
 INIajesty, of glorious memory, was devised at the Court of 
 St. James, and which, at different periods, has been 
 revived, rendered it necessary to make occasional and suit- 
 able opposition. 
 
 " Hence the appointment of Committees in every town 
 and district from New England to Georgia; hence the 
 assembling of that august body, the Representatives of the 
 Thirteen United Colonies, in Congress, at Philadelphia, and 
 of the Congress and Council of Safety in this colony ; 
 hence also those numberless humble Petitions and Ad- 
 dresses to the Thi'one, and to both Houses of Parliament, 
 which have in every instance been most ungraciously 
 spurned, and treated with disdain by the King and his 
 Ministers. 
 
 " The high hand with which that persecution hath lately 
 been carried on by imprisonments, bloodshed, confiscations, 
 plunder, and barbarous devastation of cities and toAvns by 
 fire, hath at length impelled the colonists to make a solemn 
 appeal to the King of kings, and to resist by force and 
 arms. One obvious measure in the plan of oiir enemies 
 and cruel persecutors, Avas to drive the peaceable and de- 
 fenceless inhabitants of the Colonies into a state of confu- 
 sion, by depriving them of the benefit of legislation, and the 
 ordinary mode of representation by assemblies. This fact 
 is incoutestably proved by those repeated prorogations and 
 dissolutions which blot the pages of every journal where the 
 King^s ministers could extend and exercise their master's 
 prerogative. 
 
 " South Carolina had in an eminent degree suffered by 
 this species of revenge, which has been aggravated of late 
 
262 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEKAAVS. 
 
 by daily menaces of attacks by British, soldiers and ships of 
 war, by instigated insurrections of negroes and inroads by 
 savage Indians ; and by what was more to be dreaded, fire 
 and sword in our very bowels, by the hands of false brethren; 
 in a word^ ' the sword without and terror within, threat- 
 ened to destroy both the young man and the virgin, the 
 suckling also, with the man of grey hairs/ But, through 
 the special protection of Divine Providence, a happy union 
 of the principal inhabitants was formed, aud we have 
 hitherto miraculously escaped. This metropolis, since the 
 late Governor's desertion, has been kept in a state of quiet- 
 ness and good order unknown in almost every former 
 period. After long suffering and forbearance, the people of 
 this country, seeing the noble lord who had been sent to 
 be their Governor, although he had abandoned his post, 
 still continuing in this and the next neighboring colony, 
 exercising and encouraging every hostile and injurious act 
 against them, judged it indispensably necessary to resolve 
 upon the present form, as a temporary expedient for govern- 
 ment, until an accommodation of our disputes with Great 
 Britain and a redress of grievances can be obtained. 
 
 " I had the honor of being one among many who framed 
 that Constitution. It therefore makes me happy to learn 
 that those respectable bodies, the Baptist Congregations, are 
 satisfied and pleased with the important event. I esteem, 
 as equally friendly and obliging, their particular gratula- 
 tions upon my being called by my country to act in the 
 honorable station of Vice-President of the Colony, and I 
 accept them with thankfulness. 
 
 " Let each man among us, whether in the State or in the 
 Church, whether in public or in private life, by example, by 
 precej)t, by every becomiug act, persevere, and be ready 
 with his life and fortune to defend the just cause in which 
 God has been pleased to engage us. 
 
 " We shall, weak as we are, succeed against those who 
 have assumed to themselves the powers of Omnipotence, 
 who trust in fleets and armies to determine the fight. We 
 shall be the happy instruments of establishing liberty, civil 
 and religious, in a wilderness, where towns and cities shall 
 grow, whose inhabitants to the latest posterity will look 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 263 
 
 back to tliis tappy epoch, and celebrate and bless the me- 
 mory of this generation. In order effectually to accom- 
 plish these great ends, it is incumbent upon us to begin 
 wisely, and to proceed in the fear of God ; and it is espe- 
 cially the duty of those who bear rule, to promote and 
 encourage piety and virtue, and to discountenance every 
 degree of vice and immorality. 
 
 " I have the honor to be, Reverend Sirs, 
 " Your faithful, affectionate, 
 
 *' and obliged humble servant, 
 "March 30th, 1776. '' HeNRY LauRENS.^ 
 
 " To the Rev. Oliver Hart, M.A., Pastor of the Baptist 
 Church in Charles-town, and the Rev. Elhanan Winchester, 
 Pastor of the Baptist Church at Pedee, on behalf of the 
 Baptist Church Congregations in South Carolina.'^ 
 
 The establishment of the new Government, the first 
 organized in any of the colonies, inspired fresh confidence 
 and gave increased strength to the union of the people for 
 the defence of their liberties. 
 
 Order followed confusion, and a uniform conduct in those 
 who governed took the place of the uncertainty and capri- 
 ciousness that had prevailed before. The State and District 
 officers entered upon the discharge of their respective duties, 
 and the courts of law, which had been suspended for nearly 
 twelve months, were opened on the 23rd of April (1776), 
 " with great solemnity ; to the infinite joy of the well- 
 disposed, and the discomfiture of those whose ofiences 
 called for punishment. "f 
 
 It Avas on this occasion that Chief Justice Drayton, in 
 language similar to that he had held eighteen months 
 before, dehvered his first charge to the Grand Jury of 
 Charles-town District. 
 
 And again did the Grand Jury of Cheraw District, par- 
 taking in the general feeling of enthusiasm which now 
 prevailed, give expression to their deep convictions as to 
 the just and righteous cause of their oppressed and bleeding 
 country. 
 
 * So. Ca. Gazette. f " Draytou," vol. il. p. 253. 
 
264 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 At a Court for said district^ holden at Long Bluff, on 
 Monday, May SOth^ Mr. Justice Matthews presiding, the 
 following presentments were made : — 
 
 " I. When a people born and bred in a land of freedom 
 and virtue, uncorrupted by those refinements which eflPemi- 
 nate and debase the mind, manly and generous in their 
 sentiments, bold and hardy in their nature, and actuated by 
 every principle of liberality, from too sad experience are 
 convinced of the wicked schemes of their treacherous rulers 
 to fetter them with the chains of servitude, and rob them of 
 every noble and desirable privilege which distinguishes them 
 as freemen ; justice, humanity, and the immutable laws of 
 God, justify and support them in revoking those sacred 
 trusts which are so impiously violated, and placing them in 
 such hands as are most likely to execute them in the 
 manner and for the important ends for which they were 
 first given. 
 
 " II. The good people of this colony, with the rest of 
 her sister colonies, confiding in the justice and merited 
 protection of the King and Parliament of Great Britain, 
 ever signalized themselves by every mark of duty and affec- 
 tion towards them ; and esteemed such a bond of union 
 and harmony as the greatest happiness. But, when that 
 protection was wantonly withdrawn, and every mark of 
 cruelty and oppression substituted ; when tyranny, violence, 
 and injustice took the place of eqiiity, mildness, and afiec- 
 tion ; and bloodshed, murder, robbery, and conflagration, 
 and the most deadly persecution stamped the malignity of 
 their intentions ; self preservation, and a regard to our own 
 welfare and security became a consideration both important 
 and necessary. The Parliament and Ministry of Great 
 Britain, by their wanton and undeserved persecutions, have 
 reduced this colony to a state of separation from them, un- 
 sought for and undesired by her : a separation which now 
 proves its own utility, as the only lasting means of future 
 happiness and safety. What every one once dreaded as the 
 greatest misery, they now unexpectedly find their greatest 
 advantage. Amidst all her sufferings, and the manifold 
 injuries which have been done her, this colony was ever 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 265 
 
 ready, witli her sister colonies^ to ask for that reconciliation 
 which showed every mark of forgiveness and promise of 
 future harmony. But how were they treated ? Each token 
 of submission was aggravated into usurpation ; humble 
 petitions styled insults ; and every dutiful desire of accom- 
 modation treated with the most imj)lacable contempt. Cast 
 off, persecuted, defamed, given up as a prey to every 
 violence and injury, a righteous and much-injured people 
 have at length appealed to God ; and trusting to His divine 
 justice, and their own virtuous perseverance, taken the only 
 and last means of securing their own honor, safety, and 
 happiness. 
 
 " III. We now feel every joyful and comfortable hope that 
 a people could desire in the present Constitution and form 
 of Government established in this colony : a Constitution 
 founded on the strictest principles of justice and humanity ; 
 where the rights and happiness of the whole, the poor and 
 the rich, are equally secured ; and to secure and defend 
 which, it is the particular interest of every individual, w^® 
 regards his own safety and advantage. 
 
 " IV. When we consider the public officers of our present 
 form of Government now appointed, as well as the method 
 and duration of their appointment, we cannot but declare 
 our entire satisfaction and comfort, as well in the character 
 of such men, who are justly esteemed for every virtue, as in 
 their well-known abilities to execute the important trusts 
 which they now hold. 
 
 " V. Under these convictions, and filled with these hopes, 
 we cannot but most earnestly recommend it to every man, 
 as essential to his own liberty and happiness, as well as that 
 of his posterity, to secure and defend with his life and for- 
 tune, a form of government so just, so equitable, and promis- 
 ing; to inculcate its principles upon his children, and hand 
 it down to them unimpaircKl, that the latest posterity may 
 enjoy the virtuous fruits of that work, which the integrity 
 and fortitude of the present age had, at the expense of their 
 blood and treasure, at length happily effected. 
 
 " VI. We cannot but declare how great is the pleasure, 
 the harmony and political union which now exist in this 
 
266 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 district affords ; and having no grievances to complain of, 
 only beg leave to recommend that a new ' jury list ' be 
 made for this district, the present being insufficient. 
 
 " And lastly, we beg leave to return our most sincere 
 thanks to Mr. Justice Matthews for his spirited and patriotic 
 charge ; at the same time requesting, that these our Present- 
 ments may be printed in the public papers, 
 
 " Philip Pledger, Foreman. 
 
 Abel Edwards. 
 
 John Hewstis. 
 
 Charles M^Call. 
 
 John Wilds. 
 
 Thomas Lide. 
 
 Martin Dewitt. 
 
 John Mikell. 
 
 Benjamin James. 
 
 Magnus Corgill. 
 
 Thomas Bingham. 
 
 Peter Kolb. 
 
 Benjamin Rogers. 
 
 Thomas Ellerbe. 
 
 Moses Speight.'^ 
 
 These spirited Presentments,* not unmeet to be placed 
 side by side with those which had been made before by the 
 Grand Juries of Cheraw District, were republished in full 
 in England the following winter. 
 
 The "harmony and political union^' referred to as existing 
 in the district, continued throughout the Revolution to be 
 strikingly characteristic of its inhabitants, except in the 
 outskirts, and in the case of a few individuals here and 
 there on the river. 
 
 No other part of the Province was more united in patriotic 
 feeling. 
 
 The distinction of Whig and Tory took its rise during 
 
 * They ajjpeared in the " Remembrancer ; or, Impartial Repository of PubHc 
 Events. Part iii. for the year 1776. London, 1777." A copy was first placed 
 in the hands of the autlior by Mi\ Hugh Godbold, of Marion, ah-eady referred 
 to ; and the volume containing them, with others of the series, a valuable 
 collection, was afterwards presented to the author by Mr. G. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 267 
 
 the previous year. Both parties in the interior country 
 were then embodied, and were obliged to impress provisions 
 for their respective support. The advocates for Congress 
 prevailing, they paid for articles consumed in their camps ; 
 but as no funds were provided for discharging the expenses 
 incurred by the Royalists, all that was consumed by them 
 was considered as a robl)ery. This laid the foundation of a 
 piratical war between Whigs and Tories, which was pro- 
 ductive of great distress, and deluged the country Avith 
 blood. In the interval between the Insurrection of 1775 
 and the year 1780, the Whigs were occasionally plundered 
 by parties who had attempted insurrections in favor of 
 Royal Government."^ 
 
 This testimony of a contemporary writer was emphatically 
 true of the struggle on the Pedee, but was far from repre- 
 senting all that marked the conflict in this region. The 
 Whigs of Cheraw District were subjected to frequent pre- 
 datory inciirsions by the Tories from the neighboring parts 
 of North Carolina towards Drowning Creek and Little 
 Pedee. These were Scotch settlements chiefly, and were 
 capable of sending out large parties to plunder the patriotic 
 inhabitants along the valley of the Pedee. 
 
 There were undoubtedly many worthy persons among the 
 loyalists — men who were actuated by noble feelings and 
 generous sentiments, and who would have sacrificed them- 
 selves and all that they had in the cause of the King. With 
 the mass of the Tories it was very different. They acted a 
 despicable part, being influenced chiefly by motives of in- 
 terest or fear. The bloodiest and most relentless characters 
 of the Revolution were found in their ranks. The best 
 illustration, indeed, of their character was furnished in the 
 desperate means used, by way of retaliation, to which the 
 Whigs were not unfrequently driven. 
 
 On the 31st of December, 1775, the Rev. Evan Pugh 
 made this entry in his private journal : " Called at Mr. 
 Lide's,t who was just come home from the camp, having 
 been against the Tories.^^ 
 
 * " Ramsay's Revolution," vol. ii. p. 269. 
 j" Robert Lide, afterwards kuown as Major Lide. 
 
268 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 It was a record of the time which might have been often 
 made. 
 
 The Committee of Observation for St. David's Parish 
 continued to meet. On the 1th of May^ ]\Ir. Pngh says : — 
 " Went to Abel Kolb's'^ to the committee.'' Similar entries 
 are fonnd in his journal in June, August, and October fol- 
 lowing, and for some time subseqiieut. Mr. Kolb, a man 
 of retiring disposition, but of ardent patriotism and fearless 
 spirit, was now coming rapidly into notice. He appears 
 not to have had the advantages of education possessed by 
 some of his contemporaries. This circumstance, together 
 with his natural modesty, probablj^ kept him at first from 
 taking a prominent part in the public affairs of the time. 
 His superior qiialities of head and heart, however, could not 
 remain unknown to or unappreciated by the people. With 
 the gi'owing exigences of the times, the popular instinct 
 turned at once to those who were fitted by nature to be 
 military leaders during so stormy a period. Of these, Abel 
 Kolb was soon to take a conspicuous place. 
 
 On the 1st of January of this year, Cheraw District lost 
 a worthy and useful citizen in the death of David Williams. 
 Cut off prematurely in his thirty-sixth year, his country 
 could illy afford to be deprived of his services. He had 
 been added, Avith others, the year previous, to the Committee 
 of Observation for St. David's. His untimely end was much 
 lamented. 
 
 With the approach of summer the conflict off the Bar of 
 Charles-town drew near. Many of the Whigs from Pedee 
 responded to the call from the coast. 
 
 Major Samuel Wise was in command of troops on Sul- 
 livan's Island, and engaged Avith all his enthusiastic ardor 
 in the preparations made for the approaching struggle. 
 
 On the 7tli of June he wrote to his friend, Henry Wil- 
 liam Harrington, Esq., of Pedee, giving some account of 
 the state of things up to that date. 
 
 " I am now," he said, " at the lower end of the island 
 with 210 men, while fifty vessels are so nigh that we can 
 see their men ; and since I began to Avrite, they have got 
 
 Mr. Kolb resided at a point central and important. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 269 
 
 under way, and arc apparently intending to come in. It 
 gives mc pleasure to inform you our men are in the highest 
 spii'its. Let the event be what it will, our regiment wishes 
 to engage. The shipping are wdthin random shot, and 
 certainly coming in. It positively gives me fresh spirits." 
 
 On the 22nd of June he wrote again : — 
 
 " I dou^t know, if I am right in my conjecture, but 
 I do conceive the longer we are kept in the face of 
 an enemy, the less we dread fighting them ; but, as 
 our situation here is looked on by every officer in our 
 case as desperate, and that we must certainly fall a sacri- 
 fice, I expect we shall either fight like a tiger pent up, or 
 take the marsh for it. However, our officers chiefly 
 declare the first will be their choice, and that they would 
 not quit the island were they certain of death. But it is 
 my hope that our Great Creator, wdio has appeared so evi- 
 dently in the behalf of America, will not desert us, though I 
 assure you, it is clear to me we caunot prevent their landing 
 without a direct interposition of heaven. My opinion has 
 been, and still is, that they Avill land on the lower point of 
 this island from Long Island. 
 
 " They have two pieces of cannon mounted, and are this 
 day mounting three more, which will cover their landing in 
 spite of all we can do. 
 
 " I did not get over, however, before yesterday morning. 
 I was appointed officer of oiir advance-guard, and my lieut. 
 was kind enough to officiate for me until I landed. 
 
 " Between Long Island and Sullivan's there is at low 
 water a circular sand bar or island about 200 yards across. 
 On this side the creek is not fordable. On the other side 
 I am told it is. Here I went with a canoe yesterday, with 
 Lieut. Smith, and walked to the farther side of the sand- 
 bar, and was there within shot of the enemy. I took one 
 Regiment to be Highlanders and the other to be Cornwallis' 
 (common slaves), with some artillery. After I returned, 
 Smith, with Wra. Jordan, one of my privates, went over 
 again, which brought on a small skirmish, seven or eight of 
 their Highlanders running down as fast as possible towards 
 them, with a view of getting between them and the canoe. 
 Smith fired at them without effect. Jordan likewise fired, 
 and his man fell, but whether to dodge, or because wounded, 
 
270 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 I know not. The enemy fired fourteen guns witliout 
 effect^ crying to Smith in Scotch^ ' Stop, you cowardly ras- 
 cal ;' on which he, suiting his actions to his words, said, I 
 retreat like a Guinea Lion. He deigned not to run, which 
 made me uneasy for him. He likewise had a private of 
 the artillery with him, without arms, who fell down at every 
 shot, and caused much laughter to the enemy, as they 
 thought they had killed him. 
 
 " We fired five shots from our two field-pieces, which were 
 very well directed, and nearly reached their main body, but 
 did no damage. 
 
 " One of the enemy's bullets came very nigh me. I really 
 wished to engage them, the more so when I found them to 
 be a set of people who have ever been friends to tyrants. 
 
 " The enemy have just now sent an armed schooner oppo- 
 site our two field-pieces at the point of the Island (she came 
 down the creek from Dewees Inlet), and anchored her 
 within point-blank shot of the same. On which, our two 
 field-pieces are just ordered to be removed. Their guns 
 fight under deck, consequently our rifles cannot touch them, 
 and a number of flat-bottomed boats, it is said, are follow- 
 ing her, in which we are ordered to the point of the Island. 
 I expect their next movement, after landing their men, will 
 be along the creek to the bridge. 
 
 " I have sent Bob with this letter and the gun I promised 
 you. I am rather afraid of losing him. I could wish him 
 to stay with you a day or two, I value not myself, but 
 want not to hurt my child ; and from the enemy's prepara- 
 tion I expect our fate on Sullivan's Island will be deter- 
 mined in two days at most. I surely think Mr. Chesnut 
 will come down. I have therefore sent on my papers, for 
 should I be unfortunate, you will want them. If you do 
 but escape, my dear friend, I shall be well satisfied, for I 
 am not doubtful of your care of my child.* 
 " I am most sincerely, 
 
 " Your affectionate friend, 
 
 " Saml. Wise." 
 
 * This was an only child, a daughter, afterwards Mrs. Ball, who was sent to 
 England to be educated. Upon the death of Major Wise, his executors. General 
 
HISTOTIY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 271 
 
 Under date again of June 27th, he addressed his friend 
 as follows : — 
 
 " Why, my dear Sheriff,"^ were I to give you an account 
 of our little skirmishes, I might write daily, for we have 
 had it these two days ; but do excuse me if my ability is 
 not equal to my inclination, for I describe it the best I can. 
 
 " On Monday morning the enemy brought an armed 
 schooner within seven or eight hundred yards of the point 
 of the island. The ensuing night we carried an 18-pounder 
 and two field-pieces to the point, and attacked her early in 
 the morning, and out of eleven shots fired at her, I believe 
 three struck her. Finding we could not destroy her, the 
 firing was discontinued, and at eleven o^clock, about twenty 
 of the enemy, ■ seemingly American renegade Tories, came 
 down to the Oyster Bank with clubbed muskets, and took 
 shelter behind it, at which time the Indians were on the 
 return in a string from the point of Sullivan, and your 
 humble servant was Avalking along the open beach to the 
 point of Sullivan. At this instant the enemy began to fire, 
 and aimed their shot directly at the Indians, who caused us 
 to laugh heartily by their running and tumbling, several of 
 them whooping and firing their muskets over their shoulders 
 backward. I confess, though the bullets poured round me, 
 I laughed against my inclination. I walked up to our 
 slight breast-work, where I sheltered myself and happened 
 to be the oldest oflficer. The enemy really aimed well. 
 Their shots went excessively nigh us, and very often struck 
 the top of our breast-work, and frequently dropped close 
 over it within a few yards of us. 
 
 " I cannot help doing justice to the superiority of their 
 musketry, for I could not observe that our shot in the least 
 affected them ; and I believe they might have been blazing 
 away at us yet, had it not been for our artillery, which was 
 loaded by Lieut. Spencer (a brave officer) with grape and 
 other shot, and dislodged them, it is supposed, with the loss 
 of two or three men; but this is only supposition. Bvit 
 
 Harrington, and Messrs. Boulk and Hayne, found the estate nearly insolvent. 
 Mr. Ball was not satisfied, and brought suit against them, but recovered 
 nothing. 
 
 * It will be remembered Mr. Harrington was now Sheriff of Cheraw District. 
 
272 HISTOUY OF THE OLD CHEUAWS. 
 
 they by no means behaved like eowards^ for tliey turned and 
 fired in their retreat, and gained the end, I suppose, they 
 desired, to haul oft' the schooner while they amused us. 
 Last niglit they threw up two entrenchments behind the 
 Oyster Bank, and attacked us with howitzers, field-pieces, 
 au4 musketry from the same, and one 8-pounder from South 
 Island. Being ordered on business to the fort, I was ab- 
 sent at the time of the fray ; but was informed by every 
 officer the firing was not near so sharp as yesterday. That 
 of yesterday continued incessantly from musketry from 25 
 to 30 minutes. This morning it was much longer, but very 
 few muskets were fired, being at about one hundred yards 
 greater distance. Indeed, on our side, only two rifies were 
 fired, and the 1 8-pounder about three or four times; after 
 which our ai"tillery was hauled ott, and are now placed at 
 about a quarter of a mile from the point of Sullivan's Island, 
 where the hills begin. We, fortunately, had nobody killed 
 or wounded either day ; but had blaidcets, &c., shot through, 
 and the stock of a gun broke in a man's hand. We picked 
 up many of their bullets, for they fell so nigh us we saw 
 their whiz in the sand. 
 
 " I must to you do justice to Capt. F. Boyakin — (nay, 1 
 am in conscience bound to do it). He came down to us in 
 the very hottest of the fire yesterday. I believe there were 
 about sixteen to twenty guns on our side. The enemy are 
 now busy improving their entrenchments. 
 
 " I suppose we shall have another brush to-night or to- 
 morrow. Several of our people have, with them, mutually 
 laid down their arms, and walked to the edge of the creek 
 and conversed — a proceeding highly criminal, and now put 
 a stop to. The Highlanders in these conversations always 
 asked after, and sent their compliments to their country- 
 men. They likewise fre([uently give us scurrilous language. 
 Their sentries were so nigh us last night, that we could hear 
 them hail quite distinctly, and their drums &c. are almost 
 as familiar to us as our own. 
 
 " 1 am afraid I shall have some uneasiness about Bob. 
 Our field-officers objected to my having so much pay for 
 liim, and I did not propose taking any more for him as that 
 was the case, after the last return, which was the 2Uth 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 273 
 
 instant. But he certainly was a slave to the regiment, and 
 the best drummer in it. lie is consequently now missed 
 and inquired after, and I have told them I never intend to 
 take any more pay for him, as they grumbled at it. But 
 tliey tell me I have no right to withdraw him, and I really 
 think their reply is reasonable, as I have received pay for 
 
 him. You know the number belonging to J . I think 
 
 there is really great risk in his being here ; and you, as 
 his parent by adoption, and guardian by my choice, will 
 do as justice directs you about him, for he is now in your 
 hands. 
 
 " I am, my dear Captain, 
 '' Your ever sincere and affectionate friend, 
 
 " Saml. Wise. 
 
 " P.S. Remember me to every inquiring friend, particu- 
 larly the two Mrs. Pegues. 
 
 " N.B. I might have informed you that a report prevails 
 there is a larger fleet off* than that already here, which [ 
 believe not ; — that our regiment have never pulled off* their 
 clothes by night since we left Haddrell's Point; — that we 
 have been constantly up for several nights past from 12 or 
 1 o^clock to sunrise, and on guard, fatigue, or alarm all day. 
 But we are still Rangers, and must do everything, and yet 
 are not worth our rations, though masons, &c., from town, 
 &c., say, they are sure we may easily kill five hundred of 
 the enemy before they reach the fort. Pretty language this, 
 to troops tliey despise ! Remember, we are here three 
 hundred and ten privates, and are to kill five hundred by 
 task work. Adieu ! My patience bears no more; but place 
 me where they will, 1^11 go. I hate to be tasked. We arc 
 now in the hands of Omnipotence, and to this must we look 
 for redress through our own endeavours, and not to our 
 own ability; and may the Sovereign of the universe pro- 
 tect and defend you, my dear friend ! I might have told 
 you our brave Rangers hauled off the three pieces of artil- 
 lery to-day, in spite of their musketry and bombs; but to- 
 day they Avere Highlanders that engaged us. I may like- 
 wise inform you a large vessel is this instant run aground 
 in coming over the bar." 
 
 T 
 
274 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 This letter''^ was addressed to " H. W. Harrington, Esq., 
 HaddrelFs Point, or elsewhere/^ Captain H. had come 
 down since the early part of June, in command of a com- 
 pany of volunteers from St. David^s Parish, and was now 
 at Haddrell's Point ; Major Wise, as it appears, not having 
 been informed of his arrival, or exact locality. He did not 
 take part, however, in the action of the following day, 
 Friday, 28th June — a day rendered ever memorable for the 
 signal victory obtained over a proud and powerful foe ! 
 
 This repulse of the enemy led to a state of comparative 
 repose for the inhabitants. 
 
 There were many suspicious characters, however, to be 
 looked after, and not a few had to be confined. 
 
 The following order was issued soon after, viz. : — 
 
 " The Sheriff of Cheraw District will receive and detain 
 in the Gaol of said District, Henry Machie, John Champ- 
 neys, and James Carson, whose going at large is dangerous 
 to the liberties of America and the safety of the colony. 
 
 " J. RUTLEDGE. 
 
 " Charles-town, August 2nd, 1776." 
 
 A few days after, another order was also despatched with 
 reference to the same matter, to this effect : — 
 
 " The State Prisoners sent to Cheraw Gaol are to be 
 treated with humanity and kept only under the restraint 
 necessary to prevent their escape — their confinement being 
 intended only to secure them and prevent their going at 
 
 "J. RuTLEDGE. 
 
 "August 6th, I776."f 
 
 On the 5 th of August, President Rutledge issued a Pro- 
 clamation, requiring the Legislative Council and General 
 Assembly to meet at Charles-town, on Tuesday, 17th of 
 September, for the despatch of divers weighty and impor- 
 tant affairs. An election having been ordered, to fill two 
 
 * The letter of Major Wise forms a part of the collection of General Harring- 
 ton, in possession of his son, Colonel H. W. Harrington, of Richmond County, 
 No. Ca., who kindly gave the author access to the whole. 
 f Harrington manuscripts. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 275 
 
 vacaucies for the Parish of St. David's, Heury Wm. Har- 
 riugtou and George Hicksj Esqrs., were duly returned, and 
 V ith Col. Powell took their seats. Mr. Pegues appeared on 
 the 19th. Col. George Pawley and Col. M'Intosh, the other 
 members for St. David's, were absent, the latter doubtless 
 being engaged in military service. 
 
 On the 30th of Sept., " the Speaker laid before the 
 House a letter, which he had received from George 
 Gabriell Powell, Esq., and the same being read, was as 
 follows : — 
 
 " ' Sir, — I understand there are charges of an extraordi- 
 nary nature against me, laid before your honorable House. 
 I humbly request, therefore, that I may be heard in my 
 defence by a committee, before any resolution is taken 
 thereupon, trusting that I shall be able so to acquit myself, 
 as to stand fair in the opinion of my country, which is 
 above all things desirable, to 
 
 " ' Honorable Sir, 
 
 " ' Your most obt. humble servant, 
 " ' Cbarles-town, Sept. 30th, 1776. " ' G- Cj- PoWELL.' 
 
 " Whereupon, it was ordered, that the consideraition of the 
 said letter be postponed.'"' 
 
 Of the character of the charges referred to, nothing is 
 known. The subsequent records of the House make no 
 mention of the matter ; and the probability is, that having 
 l)een found to be a groundless slander or the work of some 
 malicious enemy, no further notice was taken of the affair. 
 There is at least no evidence that Col. Powell sufl'cred at all 
 in the public estimation. 
 
 On the 10th of October, it was resolved by the House, 
 "that the Committee of St. David's Parish do take into 
 their custody the salt now in Mr. John Mitchell's store, at 
 Clieraw Hill, paying for the same at the rate of fifty shil- 
 lings currency per bushel." " And that they sell and dis- 
 tribute the said salt to and amongst such of the inhabitants 
 of this State, as have not lately received a dividend of the 
 salt in Charles-town, or at Winyaw, who shall apply for the 
 same, in the proportion of one half bushel to six white 
 
 T 3 
 
276 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 persons in a family/' This action indicates the extreme 
 scarcity of this article, and to what shifts the distressed 
 inhabitants were driven_, alike destitnte to a great extent of 
 the means of defence and necessaries of life. 
 
 At this Session of Assembly, an Act was passed, making 
 a change as to the places of election for St. David's. The 
 preamble was in these words : — " Whereas, the great extent 
 of the Parish of St. David's renders it exceedingly incon- 
 venient for all the inhabitants thereof to attend the elcctious 
 at the parish chnrch, and it would greatly conduce to their 
 ease if the election was held one day at the court house in 
 the said parish, and the other day at the parish churcli 
 thereof," &c. : and thus it was arranged. 
 
 After the adjoiu'nment of the Court for Charles-town 
 District in October, Chief Justice Drayton presidiug, the 
 Judges commenced their circuits throughout the state. 
 
 The charge of the Chief Justice to the Grand Jury of 
 Charles-town was marked by learning and patriotic ardor, 
 and published in the Gazettes, producing, as on former 
 occasions, a decided effect upon the public mind. The 
 Court for Cheraws District was opened on Tuesday, 15th of 
 Nov., and the following presentments were made by the 
 Grand Jury : — 
 
 " I. When we reflect on the many grievances that the 
 good people of North America have long labored under 
 from the numerous oppressive and unconstitutional acts of 
 the British Parliament, but more particularly some that 
 have been passed since the conclusion of the late war ; and 
 at the same time consider, that their most humble and 
 dutiful petitions and remonstrances against these acts have 
 been always answered by a repetition of similar, nay, some- 
 times greater injuries and oppressions ; we find them justi- 
 fied by the laws of God and Nature, and compelled by the 
 dictates of reason and humanity, to dissolve their union 
 with that Government, and to renounce all allegiance thereto. 
 It is, therefore, with the highest pleasure, that the Grand 
 Jury for the District of CheraAvs embraces this first oppor- 
 tunity of congratulating our fellow-citizens and American 
 brethren on the late declaration of the Constitutional Con- 
 gress, constituting the United Colonies of North America 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 277 
 
 free and independent States, and the inhabitants thereof 
 totally absolved from any allegiance to the British Crown, 
 that being the only means now left of securing to them- 
 selves and their posterity the inestimable blessings of 
 liberty and happiness, and which we, as freemen, are re- 
 solved to support and defend at the hazard of our lives and 
 fortunes. 
 
 " II. We present the want of a new jury list in this 
 district, and recommend that a law may be passed for that 
 purpose. 
 
 " Lastly. We return our thanks to his Honor, the Judge, 
 for his most excellent charge delivered the first day of this 
 sessions. 
 
 ''Claudius Pegues, Foreman. L.S. 
 
 Charles M'Call. L.S. 
 
 Thomas EUerbe. L.S. 
 
 John Wilds. L.S. 
 
 Zachariah Nettles. L.S. 
 
 Thomas Ayer. L.S. 
 
 Martin Kolb. L.S. 
 
 Abel Edwards. L.S. 
 
 Philip Pledger. ' L.S. 
 
 Robert Lide. L.S. 
 
 John Kimbrough. L.S. 
 
 Thomas Lide. • L.S. 
 
 William Pouncey. L.S. 
 
 Moses Speight. L.S. 
 
 John Mikell. L.S. 
 
 Martin Dewitt. L.S. 
 
 Magnus Corgill. L.S. 
 
 Aaron Daniel. L.S. 
 
 Hichard Curtis. L.S. 
 
 Abel Wilds. L.S. 
 
 Thomas James. L.S.'^* 
 
 The occasion, memorable as the first presented to the 
 people of Cheraws, since the 4th of July previous, for the 
 expression of their sentiments, was hailed with delight, and 
 rendered worthy, in the improvement made of it, to be 
 
 * Gazette. 
 
278 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 placed side by side with others that had gone before. No- 
 thing could be added to give weight to what the Grand 
 Jury here declared to the world, but the redeeming the 
 pledge of " life and fortune." This had already been done 
 in part, and was within a few years following to be com- 
 pleted by the costliest oblations on the altar of freedom. 
 
 In consequence of the unsettled state of affairs, the Court 
 for Cheraws District did not sit again until the fall of 1778, 
 and after that no more until the war was over. 
 
 For more than two years to come, the British confining 
 their operations chiefly to the northward, South Carolina 
 enjoyed a state of profound repose. 
 
 A lucrative trade was carried on by waggons with the 
 States south of New Jersey. Commerce flourished and 
 f)lenty abounded. With the exception of occasional incur- 
 sions by the Tories along the border, there was little to 
 mar the pleasures of the calm which thus succeeded the 
 opening storm. And even the spirit of the Tories was 
 crushed by the brilliant victory of Fort Moultrie, and the 
 departure of the enemy. 
 
 Liberty had risen to the ascendant. And until Carolina 
 became again the scene of hostile operations, no incident of 
 special interest transpired in connexion with the struggle 
 on the Pedee. So long as the Whigs could remain at home, 
 domestic enemies kept at a distance. 
 
 On the 18th of Feb., 1777, the parish of St. Da^dd lost a 
 prominent man and useful citizen, Arthur Hart, Esq. He 
 died at his residence on Pedee, having served his country 
 faithfully from the commencement of the struggle for inde- 
 pendence, leaving a son, James Hart^ to transmit his name 
 and spirit to his descendants. 
 
 We hear again from Major Wise, now of the Continental 
 line, in the following letter to Capt. Harrington ; — 
 
 " Nelson's Ferry, 1st March, 1777. 
 
 '' My dear Friend, — We are once more ordered to Georgia, 
 that State being actually invaded, and a whole companj^ 
 of our regiment at Fort M'Intosh* taken prisoners. Samuel 
 
 * Fort M'Intosh is a stockade on the St. Jues. Winn, our captain, behaved 
 well. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 279 
 
 Williams was with the party that took our people. To- 
 morrow we leave, and I shall have the command of the main 
 detachment on the march. Col. Thompson goes ahead with 
 a few horse, and Col. Mayson is absent. 
 
 " I have no papers to send you. We are out of the lati- 
 tude of news here. 
 
 '' Believe me, my dearest Friend, 
 
 " Your ever well wisher, 
 " H. W. Harrington, Esq. " Sam. Wise. 
 
 '' Pedee.^' 
 
 On the 9th of April, writs of election were issued for fill- 
 ing up vacancies in the General Assembly. 
 
 One member was returned for St. David's, in the room 
 of the Hon. Alexander M'Intosh, who had been elected a 
 member of the Legislative Council. 
 
 Thus the year 1777 passed on and drew to a close. 
 Attention began to be turned to other matters, now that 
 comparative quiet was restored, and the public mind to some 
 extent relieved from the long-continued agitation to which it 
 had been subjected. 
 
 The education of the young, in consequence of the troubles 
 of the past, had been sadly neglected. The evil was sorely 
 felt, and a general determination manifested to provide 
 against its continuance. 
 
 Of the efforts made in this direction, in St. David's, some 
 account will be given in the next chapter. 
 
280 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 St. David's Society — Its organization — First members — Others added — Original 
 subscription paper — Incorporation of the society — Its subsequent history — 
 Origin of " Society Hill " — Cliaracter of the community — Military organi- 
 zation on Pedee — Military Acts — Alexander M'Intosh a brigadier general — 
 Letters of Major Wise — Oath of allegiance — Account of it — Original record — 
 Letter of Major Wise — Presentments of grand jury of Cheraws — Represen- 
 tatives elected for St. David's — Letter of Henry William Harrington — Of 
 ]\lajor Wise — Death of Colonel Powell — Account of him — State of public 
 affairs — Colonel M'lutosh in service — Correspondence with General Moultrie 
 — Movemeuts of the army — M'Intosh's reply to the enemy — General alarm 
 through the State — Armies in motion — Siege of Charles-town — Colonel 
 M'Intosh a commissioner to treat with the enemy — Siege raised — Public 
 rejoicings — Extracts from Pugh's journal — Attack on Savannah- -Major 
 Wise killed — His character — Loss of others from Pedee — Captain Harring- 
 ton removes to No. Ca. — His promotions — Judge Pendleton elected repre- 
 sentative in place of Major Wise — Extracts from Journal of Assembly on 
 subject — Tories in gaol — Maurice Murphy a colonel — Gloomy prospects for 
 the State. 
 
 About this time appears the first mention of a society 
 which Avas destined to exert an important influence on the 
 welfare of the communities bordering on the Upper Pedee. 
 
 But little attention had hitherto been given to the sub- 
 ject of education. With a country recently settled^ and 
 most of the inhabitants poor, it was to be expected that 
 matters of material interest would first engage the thoughts 
 of the people. For some years past, too_, the public distur- 
 bances, so deeply afiecting the peace and prosperity of the 
 infant settlements, had seriously retarded their progress. 
 
 Being now, however, in a state of comparative repose, and 
 with brighter prospects for the future, the welfare of the 
 rising generation was no longer overlooked. 
 
 On the 13tli of December, 1777, this entry appears in 
 the Kev. Mr. Pugh's Journal : — " Assembled at the Meeting 
 House, in Society, to promote learning ;" and on the 20tli, 
 " went to Dr. Mills', about the Society's rules." On the 31st, 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 281 
 
 also, " went to the Neck,* to the Society, signed the rules, 
 chose officers, &c/^ 
 
 The Hon. Alexander M'Intosh was elected president, and 
 George Hicks and Abel Kolb, wardens. 
 
 The society took the name of " St. David's,'^ and by that 
 lionored appellation continued afterwards to be distinguished. 
 
 The names of those who jjarticipated in the organization 
 were as follows, viz. ; — 
 
 Gen. Alexander M'Intosh 
 Col. Thomas Lide 
 Wm. Henry Mills 
 Abel Wilds 
 Major Robert Lide 
 Capt. Daniel Sparks 
 Rev. Elhanan Winchester 
 Capt. William Dewitt 
 Rev. Evan Pugh 
 
 Col. George Hicks 
 Capt. Thomas Ellerbe 
 William Terrel 
 Thomas Evans, sen. 
 Joshua Edwards 
 Col. Abel Kolb 
 Nathanael Saunders 
 Thomas James 
 William Pegues, Esq. 
 
 Benjamin Rogers 
 
 On the 31st of January, 1778, were added to the list of 
 members, — 
 
 Capt. Philip Pledger 
 Abel Edwards 
 Thomas Powe 
 AVilliam Ellerbe 
 Charles Mason 
 Jeremiah Brown 
 Joshua Terrel 
 Benjamin Williamson 
 Capt. Edward Jones 
 John Wilds 
 James Hicks 
 John Thompson 
 William Blassingame 
 Capt. Charles Gee 
 John Hodsre 
 
 Richard Hodge 
 
 Col. George Pawley 
 
 John O^Neall 
 
 William Thomas, Esq. 
 
 Edward Irby 
 
 Major John Kimbrough 
 
 Peter AUston, Esq. 
 
 Captain Simon Connell 
 
 Cap. George King 
 
 Philip Singleton 
 
 Capt. Benjamin Hicks 
 
 Charles Irby 
 
 Capt. Claudius Pegues, Jr, 
 
 Edward Blake. 
 
 The organization of the society excited much interest 
 among the inhabitants of St. David^s Parish. 
 
 An original subscription paper of the date just mentioned, 
 
 * The Welch Neck. 
 
282 HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 
 
 with a preamble^ lias siirvivcd tlie ravages of time, and is 
 in these words, viz. : — 
 
 " As the endowing and establishing public schools and 
 other seminaries of learning has ever been attended with the 
 most salutary cfleets, as well by cultivating in youth the 
 principles of religion and every social virtue, as by enabling 
 them afterwards to fill with dignity and usefnlness the most 
 important d(;partinents of the State ; who that is a lover 
 of his country, as he looks around him, can fail to deplore 
 the great want of this necessary qualification in our youth, 
 especially in the interior parts of it, at this early })cri()d of 
 our flourishing and rising state. In the future, when we 
 shall be at liberty to make our own laws without the con- 
 trol of an arbitrary despot, what heart would not glow with 
 pleasure to sec a senate filled with learned, wise, and able 
 men, for the want of whom the most flourishing republics 
 have become the tools of arbitrary despots. vVnd whereas, 
 there is a society established in the Parish of St. David, 
 by the name of the St. David's Society, purposely for 
 founding a public school in the said parish for edueating 
 youths in the Latin and Greek languages, mathematics, and 
 other useful branches of learning, by those who are not of 
 ability, without assistance, to carry so useful and necessary 
 an effort into effect : 
 
 " Wherefore, in order to contribute to so laudable and 
 benevolent an undertaking, we, whose names are hereunto 
 subscribed, do promise to pay, or cause to be paid into 
 the hamls of the Secretary of the said Society, the respec- 
 tive svuns subjoined to each of our names, whenever the 
 same is called for by the said Secretary or his order. 
 
 " Witness our hands, the 31st day of January, 1778. 
 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 
 £ 
 
 *. 
 
 William Lide 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 Charles Irby . 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 John Wilson . 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 Joseph Johnson . 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 Phihnnon Thomas 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 John Manderson 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 Duke (lien 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 John Ogle 
 
 500 
 
 
 
 John Jenkins 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 Joseph Pledger . 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 William Jones . 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 John Pledger 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 John Speed . 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 Benjamin James 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 Nathan Savage . 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 Isaiah Frisbc 
 
 50 
 
 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEUA.WS. 
 
 283 
 
 Joseph Dabbs 
 
 50 
 
 s. 
 
 
 Jethro Moore 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 Charles Evans . 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 Joseph Gourlcy . 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 Nathanael Sanders 
 
 TOO 
 
 
 
 Tristram Thomas 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 Charles Sparks . 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 John Thompson . 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 Edmnnd Irby 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 John Lueas . 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 Samuel Dc Saureney 13 
 
 10 
 
 Andrew Dick 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 M 
 
 s. 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 Q»^ 
 
 Moses Fort . . 
 John Mikell . . 
 William Forniss . 
 David lloaeh 
 William Vann 
 Enoch Kvans, Jnn. 
 Etheldrcd Clary . 
 Aaron Daniel 
 Samuel Winds . 
 Baily Clark . . 
 Thomas Deane . 
 Thomas Ayer 
 
 In the sentiments expressed, and the laudable interest 
 taken in so timely and noble an undertaking, this paper 
 docs honor to the early days of the Pedee. The most of 
 the subseribcrsf lived in other parts of the parish, at some 
 distance from Long Bluff. 
 
 On the 7th of May, a few names were added to the list 
 of members, viz., James Blassingamc, Adam Cusack, John 
 M^Call, Hugh Jones, and Rev. John Cowen. 
 
 At a meeting of the society, July 27th, were added the 
 names of David Roach, Alex. Craig, Jethro Moore, Robert 
 Gibson, and Henry Clark ; and on 14th September, Rev. 
 John Brown. 
 
 In December of this year (1778), St. David^s Society was 
 incorporated. The Preamble to the Act was in these 
 words : — '^ Whereas, sundry inhabitants of tlie Cheraw Dis- 
 trict have formed themselves into a society by the name of 
 the ' Saint David's Society,' for the express purpose of insti- 
 tuting and endowing a seminary of learning in tlic District 
 of Cheraw, to instruct and educate youth in the necessary 
 and useful branches of knowledge, and have made humble 
 application to the General Assembly of this State to be in- 
 corporated, and invested with such powers and privileges as 
 may most effectually advance the views of the said Society : 
 
 £100, 
 
 * £100, depreciated in May, 1778, was equivalent to £30 8*. 9|rf. 
 old currency in sterling, to £14 5.v. ^\d. 
 
 \ Some of the niuncs on the subscription list iii)])car here for tlie first and 
 liist in the records of the time, as in the case of Dr. John Ogle, the largest 
 subscriber. 
 
284 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Therefore,, be it enacted, That the Honorable Alexander 
 Mcintosh, Esq., President of the said Society, and George 
 Hicks and Abel Kolb, Esqrs., the present Wardens, and the 
 several persons who now are, or who shall hereafter be, 
 members of the said Society, shall be a body incorporate."^ 
 
 Subsequent to this time, no further progress appears to 
 have been made, until the troubles of the Revolution were 
 over, when the society was reorganized, and went into 
 vigorous operation. 
 
 The first school- house was erected a few yards from the 
 spot where the building known to the present generation 
 was used as an academy until within a few years since. It 
 was near the brow of the first commanding eminence above 
 the river, about three quarters of a mile distant. 
 
 Of the first teachers nothing is known. For moi'e tlian 
 a half century after, the academy of St. David^s was of dis- 
 tinguished note in the eastern section of the State. Many 
 were prepared within its walls for a more thorough course 
 of study abroad ; and others, not less eminent in after years, 
 looked back to it as their only Alma Mater. 
 
 About this time, settlements began to be made still fur- 
 ther out from the river, along the line of the present vil- 
 lage, and from the society then established, the infant com- 
 munity took the name of " Society Hill."" 
 
 Formed of planters in easy circumstances, though for the 
 most part yet of small estates, but who continued to grow 
 in wealth and refinement, this community became noted for 
 the intelligence and virtue of its members, and in all the 
 essential elements of character and progress changed less 
 than almost any other to be found. It presented no attrac- 
 tions to men of enterprise from abroad, and opened but 
 little field for the spirit of adventure or speculation to those 
 in its midst, and continued, as a consequence, to be marked 
 by those quiet and conservative traits which an agricultural 
 people, with a sound religious sentiment pervading them, 
 might be expected to display. Since the early part of 
 1775, the military organization on the Pedee had undergone 
 important changes. At that time, as will be remembered. 
 Col. G. G. Powell was in command of the Cheraw Regi- 
 ment, one of the thirteen into Avhich the militia of the State 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 285" 
 
 was then divided, with Charles Augustus Steward, Lieut. - 
 Colonel, and Abraham Buekholts, Major. In the latter 
 part of 1777, Geo. Hicks was Colonel, Abel Kolb, Lieut. - 
 Col., and Lemuel Benton, Major. Col. Hicks probably 
 sticceeded Col. Powell. 
 
 The Militia Act of March, 1778, which repealed all 
 former Acts, as well as the '' Resolves of the late Provincial 
 Congress,^' provided for a division of the militia into three 
 brigades, for each of which a brigadier-general and major of 
 brigade were to be appointed. Prior to that time, as already 
 mentioned, the only organization was that of companies, 
 battalions or troops, and regiments. 
 
 Under the Act of 1778, no volunteer company was to be 
 formed, and those previously existing were to be disbanded 
 whenever there should cease to be fifty effective men on 
 their muster rolls. No regiment was to be divided unless 
 containing more than twelve hundred men. Lieut.-Colonel 
 Alexander M'^Intosh was appointed to the command of the 
 brigade, embracing the eastern portion of the State. 
 
 This position he maintained till his death, as appears 
 from the private records and public journals of the day. 
 
 Major Wise continued to write to his friend, Capt. Har- 
 rington, giving some account of matters as they transpired 
 in other parts of the State, and in Georgia : — 
 
 " My dear Friend, " Charles-town, January 22, 1778. 
 
 " You herewith receive the last paper printed, 
 or likely to be for some time, on account of the fire which 
 happened here on the morning of the 15th inst., which 
 burned down all along the Bay, from Queen^s Street to 
 Stol's Alley and back in a parallel line to Church Street, 
 except a few scattering houses. The Tories have been by 
 some few accused of it, but the real cause was, I believe, 
 accidental in Union Street, and an excessively high Avind. 
 Indigo is very dull sale, at 606^,, and rice at 70s. — the 
 embargo still continuing. We have a report of a French 
 war, but nothing certain. 
 
 "The Assembly have granted a million to purchase pro- 
 duce to ship for dry goods, to be sold to the public at 25 
 per cent, profit ; and chose the following delegates, viz.. 
 
286 HISTORY or the old cheraws. 
 
 Christoplier Gadsden^ A. Middleton, Wm. H. Drayton, H. 
 Laureus, and J. jNIattlicws, The last wanted a few votes, 
 but I am sure will be chosen to-morrow. 
 
 " Three companies of our regiment and myself are ordered 
 to town to do duty, with Col, Pinckney. Therefore I shall 
 be stationed here, probably for some time. I have sent for 
 the Georgia Constitution for you, and hope to get it. 
 
 " 24th. Since writing the above, a report prevails that an 
 engagement happened on Christmas-day between Generals 
 Washington and Howe — the particulars unknown. Some 
 say Washington was defeated. 
 
 " I am, dear Sir, 
 
 " Your ever afft. friend, 
 
 " S. Wise. 
 
 " Henry Wm. Harrington, Esq., Pedee.^^ 
 
 " My dear Sir " Charles-town, 12 April, 1778. 
 
 " The General having ordered me with 200 men 
 to Georgia (notwithstanding he had given me leave to come 
 up), prevents my attending Court, and I fear will be of bad 
 consequence to you in your trial with James. I will be 
 greatly obliged to you if you will deliver the enclosed to 
 Col. Hicks. The Tories here are of opinion they will 
 govern before the summer is over. 
 
 " Indeed, Col. Powell told me yesterday he would not go 
 off, for we should have enough on our hands without 
 troubling them. 
 
 " Gen. Howe writes from Georgia, that the enemy are 
 collecting at St. Augustiue from West Florida and every 
 other quarter, to attack Georgia ; and that this affair of the 
 Tories from the back country marching, is a plan settled 
 some time ago. I know it will by the ignorant be attri- 
 buted to the oath. I don^t expect to see you before July, 
 even should we not be attacked. 
 
 " I promised myself much satisfaction from this intended 
 jaunt to Pedee, for my wife and son-in-law were coming 
 with me. 
 
 " However, you know a soldier ought to be patient under 
 disappointments. 
 
 " I understand Hodge brought in several letters and gave 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 287 
 
 them to Wiley, but none of them have reached me. Were 
 it not that I knew of this circumstance, I might suspect my 
 friends on Pedee had forgotten the man who is resolved 
 never to forget them, or the place where the partner of his 
 heart is deposited. 
 
 " We have great hopes of peace from the accounts re- 
 ceived from the Southward. God speed it, I say. 
 " I am, with the most sincere regard, 
 
 " Dear Sir, ever your affect, friend, 
 
 " S. Wise. 
 " Henry Wm. Harrington, Esq., Pedee.^^ 
 
 The oath referred to in this letter in connexion with the 
 Tories, was that enacted by the Assembly in March of this 
 year, as an oath or affirmation of allegiance, to be taken by 
 every adult male, in the following words, viz. : '' I, A. B., 
 do swear or affirm that I will bear true faith or allegiance 
 to the State of South Carolina, and will faithfully support, 
 maintain, and defend the same, against George the Third, 
 King of Great Britain, his successors, abettors, and all 
 other enemies and opposers whatsoever; and will, without 
 delay, discover to the Executive Authority, or some one 
 Justice of the Peace in this State, all jjlots and conspiracies 
 that shall come to my knowledge, against the said State, or 
 any other of the United States of America. So help me 
 God.^^ 
 
 Those who refused this oath were obliged to depart the 
 country, being permitted to leave their families if they 
 desired it, and also to sell or carry off their estates. 
 
 It is not surprising that the disaffected were excited by 
 it to the bitterest resolves. 
 
 An original certificate* in the printed form, which appears 
 to have been distributed throughout the State, is in these 
 words, viz. : " I do hereby certify, that Thomas Quick hath 
 taken and subscribed the Oath of Allegiance and Fidelity, 
 as directed by an Act of the General Assembly of the 
 State of South Carolina, entitled, " An Act to oblige every 
 free male inhabitant of this State, above a certain age, to 
 
 * 111 the author's possession. It was found among the papers of Thomas 
 Quick. 
 
288 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 give assurance of Fidelity and Allegiance to the same, and 
 for other purposes therein mentioned, 
 
 '' James Hicks, Capt. 
 
 " May, the 29th day, 1778." 
 
 Again Major Wise writes : — 
 
 « Charles-town, 18th April, 1778. - 
 
 "My dear Friend, 
 
 '' I wrote you by Mr. Strother of my 
 being ordered to Georgia, for which place I set off to- 
 morrow, with 150 rank and file of ours — 58 of the 1st and 
 50 of the 6th, under command of Col. C. C. Pinckney — a 
 circumstance I like much. The Tories are said to be 
 assembled there to the number of 500 — nay, some accounts 
 say, 1700. 
 
 " Remember me to all your family, and believe me, 
 
 " Your ever sincere Friend, 
 
 '' S. Wise. 
 " Henry Wm. Harrington, Esq., Pedee.^' 
 
 The Court for Cheraw District opened on the 16th of 
 November. The Grand Jury made the following present- 
 ments : — 
 
 " I. We present, as a great grievance, the number of 
 Representatives in the General Assembly, humbly appre- 
 hending that thereby the State is put to an unnecessary 
 expense, and that if the representation was smaller it would 
 be thereby more respectable, and the public business be 
 done with facility. 
 
 " II. We present, as a grievance, the want of a public 
 post throughout this State. 
 
 "III. We present, as a grievance, f.io want of a bridge 
 over Black Creek, and over Thompson's Creek, near Roger's 
 Ferry, and over Crooked Creek. 
 
 " Lastly. We recommend that these presentments may 
 be published in the Gazettes. 
 
 "William Henry Mills, jPorew an. L.S. 
 George Hicks. L.S. 
 
 John Hodge. L.S. 
 
 Peter Roach. L S. 
 
 -' 1 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 289 
 
 Thomas Ellerbe. L.S. 
 
 William Dewitt. L.S. 
 
 Claudius Pegues^ sen. L.S. 
 
 Benjamin Hicks. L.S. 
 
 Thomas Hicks. L.S. 
 
 Thomas Ayer. L.S. 
 
 John Pigot. L.S. 
 
 Joseph Pledger. L.S. 
 
 William Blassingame. L.S. 
 
 Claudius Pegues, jun. L.S. 
 
 Henry Council. L.S. 
 
 Joshua Edwards. L.S. 
 
 " Ordered that the said presentments be printed and pub- 
 lished. 
 
 " By the Court, 
 
 " Thomas Powe, C.C.T.'' 
 
 By the Constitution, adopted in March previous, the 
 representation had been reapportioned, and provision made 
 for the election of senators. The parishes retained, in most 
 instances, the number of rej)resentatives they had before. 
 No change was made in the case of St. David^'s, which was 
 now entitled to one senator and six representatives. The 
 grand jury called in question the wisdom or expediency of 
 this feature of the new Constitution, and were bold enough 
 to recommend a change. Elections were ordered for the 
 last Monday in November ; and for St. David^s, Hon. 
 Alexander M'Intosh was returned as senator ; for repre- 
 sentatives, William Standard, Charles Evans, Wm. Henry 
 Mills, William Pegues, and Abel Kolb, Esquires ; leaving a 
 vacancy, which was subsequently filled by the election of 
 Major Wise, 
 
 The Legislature was to meet on the first Monday in 
 January ensuing, in Charles-town. 
 
 The following letter will convey some idea of the trying 
 wants of this period, as experienced by the people of the in- 
 terior : — 
 
 " Colonel Joseph Kershaw. 
 Dear Sir, — Our friend, Claudius Pegues, Esq., is so greatly 
 distressed by an unfortunate accident that happened to his 
 
290 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 eldest son last Tuesday, that he cannot write on the subject ; 
 but well knowing your friendship for him, has desired me to 
 beg the favor of you, Sir, to give Mr. John Wright, the 
 bearer of this, all possible assistance in obtaining amputating 
 instruments at or near Camden. Tlie young man received 
 a load of Bristol shot, from his own gun, in his right arm, 
 just above the wrist, by which both bones are much shat- 
 tered ; and notwithstanding the immediate assistance of two 
 doctors, we, from certain appearances, are apprehensive of 
 mortification ; and our doctors having no instruments, in 
 order to be prepared for the worst, we now make this appli- 
 cation to our fi'iend to assist us in obtaining an amputating 
 saw for the arm, and a needle. Your brother. Sir, has been 
 so good as to write on our behalf in a pressing manner to Mr. 
 Duncan McRae ; but our fears suggest to us, as there is a 
 possibility of that gentleman^s being from home, that that 
 may now be the case ; and as a disappointment of this nature 
 may greatly endanger the life of my young friend, permit 
 me, Sir, to entreat you to interest yourself in this matter; 
 and then, if instruments are to be had, I doubt not but we 
 shall be so far happy as to obtain them. 
 '' I am, with high regard, 
 
 " Your most humble and 
 
 " Most obedient Servant, 
 
 " Henry Wm. Harrington. 
 " Deer. 13, l7V8." 
 
 Soon after this. Major Wise writes from Purysburg. The 
 conflict was waxing warm in that quarter. 
 
 " Head- quarters, Purysburg, 18tli January, 1779. 
 
 "Dear Harrington, — I write you merely because, when an 
 opportunity offers, I. wish it not to escape me. We gather 
 here pretty fast ; but you know what militia are, no sooner 
 come, than for going again. We may have here now nearly 
 or quite 3000, and expect 1500 more in two or three days 
 from your State.* Our back country militia has not yet 
 joined us. Howe is gone, regretted by none. Our present 
 
 * Captain Harrington had removed to North Carolina. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 291 
 
 general (Lincoln) seems to command for himself, and I hope 
 will do better. 
 
 " The living was never so well found. He lets us want 
 for nothing that is necessary to be had. Nor are we turned 
 out and harassed for every trifle. The army is as little 
 fatigued as possible. The enemy have their full swing in 
 Georgia, and are in possession of all the ferries, which, I 
 apprehend, will make it very difficult re-entering Georgia. 
 The Georgians have joined them in shoals, and have taken 
 arms against us. Yet I am satisfied it is more through ne- 
 cessity than choice, for we really abandoned them and their 
 property to the enemy. And should we now leave this 
 place (such is our present situation), and march up the 
 country to cross the river high up, the enemy might, in the 
 interim, enter Carolina here, and take the two remaining 
 galleys, which have been warped up here just above the tide- 
 way. We lost in Sunbury Fort, which is taken, upwards of 100 
 more prisoners, with the cannon and everything there. I 
 never before could imagine it possible that such showers of 
 bullets could have been fired without doing more execution. 
 The enemy fired on us thirty-eight minutes in flank, front, 
 and rear ; and so nigh as to abuse us with their tongues ; 
 and we scarcely ever returned the fire, and had to retreat 
 over a causeway across an impassable swamp a full quarter. 
 
 Of our regiment, we had but one sergeant killed, and 
 four privates wounded, and sixty-four made prisoners. 
 '' I am, my dear friend, 
 
 " Yours most sincerely, 
 
 " Samuel Wise. 
 
 " Remember me to your family. 
 
 " The enemy and we are frequently corresponding by way 
 of flags, and they seem in this respect more ready than is 
 judged expedient. It is suspected they send, through this 
 means, to gain intelligence. 
 
 However, they are polite, and it is said, use our prisoners 
 well.^' 
 
 The parish of St. David was now to mourn the loss of 
 one who had been long and prominently connected with its 
 history. 
 
 u 2 
 
292 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 No man of the time had oceupied a more conspicuous 
 or honorable phice in all connected with the public interests 
 of the Pedce than George Gabriel Powell. On the 21st of 
 January his useful life was brought to a close in Christ 
 Church Parish. Having early won the confidence and affec- 
 tion of the people on the Pedce, he retained his place in 
 their esteem with singular uniformity through years of 
 eventful changes, relinquishing at times, in their behalf, 
 positions of more commanding influence, returning to their 
 service as his first love, and devoting to it his maturest 
 labours to the end of his career. 
 
 His memory should never cease to be cherished with 
 admiring gratitude by the descendants of those whom he so 
 faithfully served. 
 
 The Legislature was now in session in Charles-town, and 
 in February elected William Strothcr Sheriff of Cheraws 
 district. 
 
 Attention, however, was now to be turned from civil 
 affairs to the rcapproaching struggle for liberty and life, 
 and the comparative calm which had been enjoyed for two 
 years past was to be no more known until the close of the 
 war. 
 
 After the failure of the British Commissioners to effect 
 a reunion of the Colonies with the Mother Country, the 
 struggle was recommenced on a new system. The order of 
 procedure was changed, ar)d the South became henceforth 
 the principal theatre of offensive operations. 
 
 The close of 1778 saw more active and vigorous prepara- 
 tions than before for a decisive blow upon the South. In 
 December of that year Savannah was taken, and South 
 Carolina became a frontier state, calling for redoublcl efforts 
 on the part of her people. The public spirit* was roused to 
 the highest pitcli, and everywhere military movements were 
 being made. The churches were deserted, and the inhabi- 
 tants generally in a state of commotion and alarm. Lieut. - 
 Col. M'lntosh was now actively engaged in the service of 
 the State. After the evacuation of Augusta ])y the enemy, 
 he was detached, in command of a company of regulars, 
 with a party of militia under Col. Howard, in all about 200, 
 to follow the enemy and harass them in the rear. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 293 
 
 Col. M'Intosli appears to have possessed^ in an eminent 
 degree, the confidence and affection of Genl. Moultrie. 
 About this time the following correspondence took place 
 between them. 
 
 " (Sent by express). 
 
 « Black Swamp, Apl. 29, 1779. 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " You must endeavor to join us, if you can 
 Avithout any great risk. I wish you could have given me 
 an account of the enemy^s number. I could better judge 
 how to act ; the light horseman informs me you imagine 
 them upwards of three hundred men. I think you were 
 right to retreat in time, as your force would not be equal 
 to theirs by any means. I expect soon to have accounts 
 from you and more particulars ; as you have no baggage, 
 you may cross the country to this. 
 '' I am, &c., 
 
 "William Moultrie. ^^* 
 
 To this letter, Col. M'Intosh replied'as follows : — 
 
 " Coosabatchie, Apl, 30th, 1779. 
 
 " Dear General : 
 
 " Last night two deserters from the 
 enemy came to Bee's Creek ; they were of the light infantry. 
 They say Col. Maitland commanded yesterday, that he had 
 the light infantry, and the 2nd battalion of the 71st regi- 
 ment, amounting to eight or nine hundred men ; that they 
 were to send for three field-pieces and three six-pounders, 
 with a reinforcement to make them up 1500 men; that 
 they did not know the Colonel's plan, but that they heard 
 it said that he intended to proceed to Charles-town, and 
 that he had thirty or forty Indians with him. I have given 
 Genl.Bidl and Col. Skirving information of these particulars ; 
 the men are so lame that I cannot be up before to-morrow 
 night. We are all safe. 
 
 " I am, &c., 
 
 " Alexander M'lNxosH.f 
 
 " Brig.-Genl. Moultrie." 
 
 * Moultrie's " Memoirs," p. 389. f Ibid., p. 401. 
 
294 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 On his retreat from Black Swamp immediately after, 
 having learned that the enemy had crossed the river at the 
 Two Sisters in great force, General Moultrie marched with 
 all possible expedition to Coosahatchie, giving notice to 
 Colonel M'lntosh^ who was posted at Purysburg^ to march 
 immediately, so as to join him, which he did that night. 
 
 Colonel Mcintosh gained no little note upon the open- 
 ing of the campaign in Georgia, by a reply to the enemy, 
 which became a well-known saying in the army. It 
 was in February, 1777, when a body of British troops, arriv- 
 ing at Sunbury, a party of them were detached to demand 
 the surrender of the fort, of which M'Intosh was in com- 
 mand. His answer was, " Come and take it •/' which they 
 deemed it expedient not to attempt to do. 
 
 The militia were now marching to Charles-town from dif- 
 ferent parts of the back country. 
 
 Captain James Gregg, among others, went down on this 
 occasion, in command of a company from " Old Liberty,^^ 
 just below the line of St. David's, on the west side of the 
 river. 
 
 General Prevost was now in pursuit of General Moultrie 
 with an army of 4000 men, General Lincoln marching 
 with hasty strides to come up with the British, Governor 
 Eutledge hurrying down from Orangeburg with about 600 
 militia, hastening to get to town, lest he should be shut 
 off. 
 
 Never was there such consternation and confusion, five 
 armies moving through the lower parts of the State at the 
 same time, and all for different purposes. 
 
 A large proportion of the militia of the State had been 
 drafted, put under the command of Colonel Richardson, 
 and marched for the American head-quarters.* A portion 
 of this draft doubtless formed the expedition from Pedee, 
 long after spoken of as the " Black Swamp Voyage. ''f 
 Its destination was Black SAvamp, Beaufort District, or the 
 neighborhood, toward which a general movement had been 
 made. The term " Voyage '' was used by writers of a pre- 
 vious age for expeditions either by land or sea, and being 
 
 Ramsay's " Revolution," vol. ii. p. 12. f Ayer's " Narrative." 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 295 
 
 gradually adopted into the spoken language of the day, was 
 retained for a long period after, as in this instance, though 
 it had become obsolete with contemporary writers. 
 
 The retreating and invading forces concentrated towards 
 Charles-town, and but for a remarkable delay on the part of 
 General Prevost, when not far from the city, it would, as 
 all accounts agree, undoubtedly have been taken. In the 
 disposition of the troops for the defence of the town, 
 Colonel Mcintosh, with the 5th Regiment, was commanded 
 to take post in the redoubt, on the right side of the line.''^ 
 On the 12th of May, when the question was carried for 
 giving up the town on a neutrality, a respectable merchant 
 and citizen of Charles-town was affected to tears at the 
 humiliating spectacle. 
 
 Colonel John Laurens was requested to carry a message 
 from the Governor and Council to General Prevost, but 
 begged to be excused, saying, that though he would do any- 
 thing in his power to serve his country, he could not think 
 of carrying such a message as that. General Moultrie then 
 sent for Colonel Mcintosh, and requested he would go with 
 Colonel Roger Smith, who had been called on by the 
 Governor with the message. They both begged to be ex- 
 cused, but were at length pressed into compliance. Colonel 
 Prevost acted on the part of the British. 
 
 The message was to this effect : to propose a neutrality 
 during the war between Great Britain and America; and 
 the question, whether the State should belong to Great 
 Britain or remain one of the United States, was to be de- 
 termined by the treaty of peace between the two powers. 
 The commissioners held their conference a quarter of a mile 
 from the American gate. The enemy would accede to no 
 other terms but the surrender of the Americans as prisoners of 
 war. The result was speedily known, and at daylight the 
 next morning, the joyful report was spread along the lines 
 that the enemy had gone.f 
 
 The news of the siege was carried rapidly through the 
 State, and many were filled with alarm and gloomy fore- 
 bodings. 
 
 * Moultrie's " Memoirs," p. 412. t Ibid., p. 431. 
 
296 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 
 
 This entry occurs iu the journal of the Rev. Evan Pugh^ 
 under date of May 11th: "Have news of Charles- town 
 being besieged by the enemy. I feel melancholy about the 
 fate of Charles-town and my friends." 
 
 Sounds of rejoicing, however, were soon to follow. On 
 the 14th of July, Mr. Pugh preached a thanksgiving sermon 
 for the signal deliverance from the foe. But the joyous 
 respite was of short duration. 
 
 With the approach of October, preparations were made 
 for an attack on Savannah by the combined forces of the 
 French and Americans. On the 9th of that month the 
 assault was made, and many sealed their devotion to liberty 
 with their blood. Among the number of these was Major 
 Samuel "Wise, a gallant soldier of freedom and a cherished 
 son of Pedee. He served the country of his adoption with 
 enthusiastic ardor, and was ever true to those instincts 
 which he brought with him from the land of his birth. 
 Major Wise Avas possessed of a generous disposition and 
 high sense of honor. Scrupulous himself in his dealings 
 with others, he exacted a like course of conduct in return, 
 which iuA'olved him at times in serious difficulties. His 
 last years were saddened by reverse and bereavement. His 
 end was such as he desired it to be, at the post of duty and 
 in the thickest of the strife. 
 
 Leaving no son, his name disappeared, except in its re- 
 cords, from the history of Carolina, but will ever be cherished 
 as one on that extended roll of patriot wortliics which these 
 stirring times produced. The death of this good soldier 
 was not the only one for which the inhabitants of the Pedee 
 were called to mourn on this occasion. 
 
 In his journal, November 9th, with reference to the siege 
 of Savannah, Mr. Pugh wrote: " We lost many youth ;" and 
 on the 21st, preached (Job. xiv. 1,2) "A funeral for those 
 youths lost at Savannah, 9th October past, from these 
 parts." 
 
 Captain Harrington, having removed some time previous 
 to this from the Welch Neck on Pedee, to llichmond 
 County, North Carolina, was, on the 25tli of November, 
 commissioned colonel of the militia of that county ; and, in 
 June of the following year, promoted to the brigadier- 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 297 
 
 generalship of the Salisbury District, which embraced an 
 extensive territoiy. His head-quarters afterward were 
 chiefly at Cross Creek ; a part of the time also at Haley's 
 ferry, and for a short period near Cheraw Hill. 
 
 The Legislature was now in session in Charles-town, 
 giving all the aid in its power to the defence of the State. 
 The death of Major Wise created a vacancy in the represen- 
 tation from St. David's, which was filled by the election of 
 the Hon. Henry Pendleton. Judge Pendleton had been on 
 the Law Bench since April, 1776; but at this time, and 
 until the adoption of the Constitution of 1790, a judge was 
 eligible to a seat in the Legislature. He was, however, not 
 a resident of St. David's Parish, and the Constitution of 1788 
 made the ownership of a settled estate and freehold in his 
 own right, of the value of three thousand four hundred 
 pounds currency, clear of debt, in the parish or district for 
 which a non-resident should be elected, necessary to his 
 eligibility. Whether he actually owned such an estate, or 
 was made for the time a nominal possessor, is not known. 
 There was a difficulty, however, connected with the election, 
 as appears from the following proceedings in the House of 
 Representatives, Jan. 24th, 1780, viz. : — " Mr. Justice Burke 
 presented to this House a Petition of the Hon. Henry Pen- 
 dleton, Esq., and the same was received and read, setting 
 forth, that the Petitioner is informed by several inhabitants 
 and freeholders of the Parish of St. David's, that he was 
 unanimously elected by a majority of the electors of the 
 said parish, to be their representative in the General 
 Assembly, and that, by some accident or neglect, the writ 
 of election has never been returned. The Petitioner there- 
 fore prays that he may be admitted to his seat, and that the 
 right of representation may be reserved to the said parish, 
 notwithstanding any accident that may have befallen the said 
 writ. Sec. 
 
 " Read also the following affidavit, which was presented 
 with the said Petition, viz. : — 
 
 " South Carolina. 
 
 " George Cogdell maketh oath, that he was at the 
 election in St. David's Parish for a member to serve in the 
 
298 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 General Assembly in the room of Major Wise, deceased, 
 about the latter end of November, held in consequence of a 
 writ issued for that purpose, when the Hon. H. Pendleton, 
 Esq., was, as he understands, unanimously elected, and sup- 
 poses the said writ, if not returned, must have been lost or 
 neglected.^' 
 
 The campaign of 1779 ended without any decisive result 
 on either side. The Tories, as usual, had been actively at 
 work, the Whigs having been called away from their homes, 
 and some of the former were now paying the penalty, as 
 the following record shows : — 
 
 " Received of Thomas Powe, Commissary of my Regi- 
 ment, 10 lbs. corn flour, 750 lbs. beef, and 450 lbs. corn flour, 
 for use of my Regiment, guarding the Tories in jail. — Oct. 
 30th, 1779. Geo. Hicks, Colonel.^'* 
 
 This was the jail at Long Bluff', and these Tories had 
 doubtless been engaged in some attack or plundering expe- 
 dition, and captured. 
 
 Maurice Murphy was now in command as acting Colonel 
 in the lower part of St. David^s Parish, on the east side of 
 the river, embracing probably a portion of Liberty Precinct. 
 He was a man of reckless daring and ardent patriotism, and 
 performed a most influential part throughout the war. Every 
 available resource of men and means was now called into 
 requisition. 
 
 The prospect was most inviting for the enemy. 
 
 The French had taken their departure ; and no sooner 
 was this known, than a grand expedition was set on foot 
 from New York, under Sir Henry Clinton, for the reduction 
 of Charles-town, and the subjection of the State. The Con- 
 tinental Regiments in South Carolina had been greatly re- 
 duced by the casualties of war and the expiration of their 
 terms of service. From twenty-four hundred in 1777, the 
 number was diminished to eight hundred in 1780. The 
 future was full of gloom for the Whigs. Nevertheless, the 
 resolution was adopted, iu full House of Assembly, to de- 
 fend Charles-town to the last extremity. 
 
 * Comptroller's office, Coluuibia, S. C. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 299 
 
 The militia were ordered to rendezvous, and every man 
 who could to take up arms. There was an ominous calm, 
 now that the conflict of 1779 had passed away; and every 
 one felt that the last and decisive struggle was soon to begin. 
 The T\Tiigs of Pedee were prepared for the strife, and an- 
 other chapter will show how nobly they responded to the 
 call of their country. 
 
300 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Opening of year 1780 — Response from Pedee for defence of Chai-les-town — 
 Movement of forces — No. Ca. militia under Colonel Harrington — The colonel 
 leaves for Newbern — His letter — Eflects of fall of Charles- town on the 
 people — Incidents connected with it — Extracts from Pugh's Jom'ual — 
 Peeling of the British — Wemys's Expedition up Pedee — Houses burned — 
 Adam Cusack hung — Reaches Cheraw — Extracts from Pugh's Journal — 
 Oath of allegiance — Incidents connected with it — Wemys returns — Indul- 
 gence^shown him afterwards by General Sunipter — Extract of letter of Sir 
 H. Clinton — Cornwallis takes command — Disposition of British troops — 
 M'Arthur sent to Cheraw — Cornwallis's despatches — Account of Harrison, 
 a Tory colonel — M'Arthur at Cheraw — Letter of General Caswell — 
 M'Arthur at Long Bluff — Attempt to capture Thomas Ayer — The result — 
 ytirring scene — Capture of Nathan Sweat — His escape — M'Arthur returns 
 to Cheraw — Plundering parties at General Harrington's and Thomas 
 EUerbe's — Colonel Bryan, a Loyalist, marches to Cheraw — Enemy alarmed 
 — M'Arthur to fall back — Cornwallis and Tarleton on subject — General 
 Gates arrives at Pedee — Proclamation — M'Arthur leaves — Expedition down 
 the river — Its failure — Whig exploit — Major Thomas distinguishes himself 
 — Colonel Mills escapes — Cornwallis's and Tarleton's accounts of it — Sick- 
 ness of British at Cheraw — Account of 71st Regiment — Safe conduct for 
 Mrs. Harrington — Skirmish in Anson County — Remarkable negro — 
 Letter of J. L. Gervais — Letter of Spruce M'Macay — Accounts preceding 
 battle of Camden — Effects of Gates's defeat — Extracts from Pugh's Journal 
 — George M'Call — Movements about Long Blufl' — Colonel Ivolb — Samuel 
 Bacot's adventure with Tories — Elias Du Bose's capture — Tories plunder 
 Mrs. Harrington — Subsequent flight — General Harrington marches to Pedee 
 — Letter of Colonel Nicholas — Of General Gates — Notice of Wemys — Letter 
 of J. Penn — -Of Colonel Brown from Beauty Spot — Of General Gates — Of 
 Colonel Martin — General Harrington reaches Haley's Ferry — Marches to 
 Cheraw — General Smallwood's letter — Letter of Colonel Brown — Account of 
 MajorBarfield — Colonel Davidson's letter to General Harrington — Colonel 
 Brown's letter to same — Extract from Gazette — General Smallwood to 
 General Harrington — Colonel Marion's letter — Colonel Ivolb's — Return of his 
 regiment — Cornwallis's letter to Sir H. "Clinton — List of negroes in British 
 service — General M'lntosh's death — Account of him — Colonel Donaldson to 
 General Harrington — Arrival of General Green at Charlotte — Divides his 
 forces — Marches to Pedee — Position there — Cornwallis to Tarleton — 
 Tarleton's view of American movements — Close of 1780. 
 
 The year 1780 opened upon Carolina under the most threat- 
 ening aspects. The approach of a greatly increased force of 
 the enemy filled the inhabitants with dire apprehensions^ 
 which^ notwithstanding the most heroic efforts for their"' 
 defence^ were soon to be realized. Promptly responding to 
 the call from Charles-toNvn, all the available troops from 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 301 
 
 Pedee were soon in motion, as from other parts of the 
 State. The first division of Col. Hick^s regiment, under 
 the command of Lieut. -Col. Kolb, was on the march."^ The 
 second division, under Col. Hicks, moved in February. 
 Tristram Thomas was major in this command,, and John 
 Andrews, adjutant. Edmund Irby, Thomas Ellerbe, Stephen 
 Jackson, and Maurice Murphy commanded companies. 
 
 Capt. James Gregg's company formed part of a detach- 
 ment under Major Thornby. They remained at the Ten 
 mile House (near Charles-town), two months, when their 
 term of service expired. Just then Sir H. Clinton 
 approached the city, when Major Thornby and other officers 
 proposed to their men to volunteer for its defence. They 
 did so unanimously, and marched in and remained in the 
 city until the capitulation. The late George M'^Call,t of 
 Darlington District, then quite a young man and active 
 in every patriot service, was a member of Capt. Gregg's 
 company. He was also under his command in Charles- 
 town during the previous year. 
 
 On the 6th of April, a body of North Carolina 
 Militia imder Col. Henry Wm. Harrington, reached the 
 city, having entered by way of Addison's Ferry. Major 
 Lemuel BentonJ appears to have remained on the Pedee, with 
 a sufficient force for the protection of the inhabitants against 
 the Tories. Col. Harrington left Charles-town before the 
 fall of the city for urgent public reasons, as appears from 
 the following letter to Mrs. Harrington. 
 
 " George-town, 30 April, 1780. 
 
 " I am now in George-town, sixty miles nearer 
 than I was last Friday morning, at which time I left Charles - 
 
 * The following record remains : — " Reed, of Thomas Powe, Commissary of 
 Colonel Hick's Regiment, 1600 pounds of corn flour, three large steers, 200 lbs. 
 of pork, 20 busls. of corn, for the use of 1st division of said Regt., on march to 
 Charles-town. "Abel Kolb." 
 
 f George M'Call was born on Lynche's Creek, in 1760. Immediately after 
 the Revolution, he removed to Georgia, and remained until 1789, when he re- 
 turned to South Carolina, and settled in Darlington District, vvhei'e he resided 
 until his death. 
 
 X In Rev. Mr. Pugh's journal, April lOth, 1780, appears this entry, viz. : — 
 " Preached at the Lake, Zach. ix. 12, to army under Major Benton." This was 
 doubtless Lowder's Lake, in Darlington District. 
 
302 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 town^ with the advice and unanimous consent of the 
 Lieut.-Governor and Council, and by Genl. Lincoln's order, 
 and am now on my route for Newbern, there to take my 
 seat in Assembly ; and to request^ in behalf of South Caro- 
 lina^ a large and immediate aid of North Carolina Militia. 
 
 " H. W. Harrington/' 
 
 The news of the fall of Charles-town spread rapidly 
 through the State, causing the wildest alarm among the 
 desponding, and for a time almost despairing inhabitants. 
 Families were thrown into a state of the deepest anxiety for 
 their absent members, not knowing what had befalleii them, 
 or how, though their lives had been spared, they would be 
 treated by the foe. The most exaggerated reports were put 
 in circulation, growing as they went, which added much for 
 a short time to the general distress. As an example of this, 
 the case of Major Robert Lide may be mentioned. He had 
 been hurried with a detachment from Pedee at the last 
 moment, for the relief of the beleaguered city ; but, before 
 reaching it, the capitulation took place. 
 
 His anxious wife was walking out when the news reached 
 her of the sad reverse; and with a feeble constitution 
 already giviug way under the burden of previous suspense, 
 she passed into a swoon, was borne insensible to the house, 
 and never recovered from the shock. 
 
 In the journal of Mr.Pugh, the following entries appear: — 
 
 " May 17. Had the news of Charles-town taken. 
 
 " May 18. Preached at Cashway — a fast day. 
 
 " May 22. At home — much terrified about the English 
 Light Horse coming. 
 
 " May 23. Had certain news of Charles-town being in the 
 hands of the British army. Our men came up. Mr. Hart up.'' 
 
 The report of the Light Horse coming was but too well 
 founded. It proved to be the rapid and devastating march 
 of Major Wemys, to reap the first fruits on the Pedee of 
 the recent success, and to fasten upon the popular mind the 
 idea that the State was lost beyond recovery. The British 
 conceived themselves in possession of the rights of sove- 
 reignty over a conquered country, and that therefore the 
 efforts of the citizens to assert their independence auy fur- 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 303 
 
 ther, was chargeable with the complicated guilt of ingrati- 
 tude, treason, and rebellion. 
 
 Influenced by these opinions, and transported with indig- 
 nation against the inhal)itants, they violated rights which are 
 held sacred between independent hostile nations. In almost 
 every district their progress was marked with blood, and 
 with deeds so atrocious that they reflected disgrace on their 
 arms. This was emphatically true of Major Wemys, of the 
 63rd regiment. He marched, soon after the fall of Charles- 
 town, from George-town to Cheraw, on the west side of the 
 river, destroying property of every description, and treating 
 the inhabitants with relentless cruelty. 
 
 The dwellings of Nathan Savage at the mouth of Lynchers 
 Creek, of Jordan Gibson at Little Bluff, or Wiggin's Land- 
 ing, and of Moses Murphy in the same neighbourhood, with 
 many others, were burned. Among the first to feel the 
 efiects of the fury of this merciless officer, was Adam Cusack, 
 a noted Whig, who had rendered himself particularly ob- 
 noxious to the enemies of his country. He had neither 
 taken parole as a prisoner nor protection as a British sub- 
 ject ; and was charged with no other crime than refusing to 
 transport some British officers over a ferry, and shooting at 
 them across a river. "^ Another account states that he had 
 shot at the black servant of a Tory officer, Jolin Brockington, 
 whom he knew, across Black Creek. He was taken prisoner 
 soon after, and for this offence tried by a court martial, and, 
 on the evidence of the negro, condemned. f His wife and 
 children prostrated themselves before Wemys as he was on 
 horseback, for a pardon, who would have ridden over them, 
 had not one of his own officers prevented the foul deed. 
 From this scene he proceeded on to superintend the execu- 
 tion. Cusack was carried to Long Bluff' and hung.t 
 Dr. James P. Wilson made an earnest effort to save his life, 
 and came very near involving himself in a serious difficulty 
 with the British officer. Wemys lost no time in pursuing 
 
 * Ramsay's " Revolution," vol. ii. p. 156. 
 ■j" James's " Life of Marion," p. 58. 
 t He was hung about the spot first occupied by the depdt of the Cheraw and 
 Darlington Railroad, at the foot of the hill, below the village of Society Hill, 
 then on the public road leading from Cheraw to George-town. 
 
304 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 his way^ and calling the people to submission. He reached 
 Cheraw early in Jnne. 
 
 The following extracts from Mr. Pugh^s journal will give, 
 in few words, the sad picture of the conqueror's progress. 
 
 '' June 1 1 . Went up to the Cheraws to surrender myself 
 to the British ; lodged at Col. Lide's. 
 
 " Monday, 12th. Signed parole, as a Prisoner of War.'' 
 
 Agitated and distressed, and scarcely knowing what to do, 
 he appears to have repented of his course, as a subsequent 
 entry indicates. 
 
 "Thursday, 22. Went to the Court House in order to 
 give up my parole, but could not do it. 
 
 " Thursday, 29th. Went to Dr. Mills's, took the Oath of 
 Allegiance to the King ; and home. 
 
 " Saturday, July 2. Went to preach at Cashway, began 
 my sermon, but the congregation broke up by the re (bels!) 
 taking the horses." 
 
 Dr. Mills had either not sympathized heartily with his 
 country at the first, or was possessed of one of those easy 
 consciences which adapts itself with facility to a change of 
 circumstances. He gave in his adhesion at once to the 
 enemy; and from that time became a determined foe to 
 the American cause. He was an evil counsellor for every 
 desponding patriot within his reach, but, in dne season, 
 paid the penalty of his guilt. . The declaration of allegiance 
 imposed upon many of the people, was in these words : — 
 " I, A. B., do hereby acknowledge and declare myself to be 
 a true and faithful subject to his Majesty, the King of 
 Great Britain, and that I will at all times hereafter be obe- 
 dient to his government ; and that whenever I shall be 
 thereunto required, I will be ready to maintain and defend 
 the same against all persons whatsoever." 
 
 While Wemys was in the neighbourhood of Long Bluff, 
 Dr. Wilson's house was burned, and such of his property as 
 came within reach of the enemy, was destroyed. His wife 
 was forced to seek shelter at Charlotte, North Carolina. 
 
 The dwelling of Capt. Wm. Dewitt,"^ on Cedar Creek, on 
 
 * About the spot where the late Judge Evans resided. Tlie late Major 
 John Dewitt, of Society Hill, was a lad of fourteen or fifteen, and went with 
 his father's family to Guilford. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 305 
 
 this, or a subsequent occasion, was also destroyed. On the 
 approach of the British, Capt. Dewitt took his family to 
 Guilford, N. C, but immediately returned himself, and took 
 an active part to the close of the war. 
 
 When called upon to take the Oath of Allegiance to the 
 King, he is said to have drawn with his sword a circle on 
 the ground, indicating that spot to be his country, and 
 standing thereon, to have uttered words of proud defiance 
 to those who would thus have prohibited him from his sacred 
 fealty as an inhabitant of Carolina and an American citizen. 
 Similar to this in tone, was the spirited reply of Thomas 
 Ayer, who, when urged by Magnus Corgill and other neigh- 
 bours to take protection, and told, that if he refused, his 
 property would be confiscated, warmly replied, " the ques- 
 tion was not one of property, but liberty !" 
 
 Many of the inhabitants submitted, others yielded nomi- 
 nally, intending to resist upon the first opportunity, while 
 not a few hurriedly removed with their families, servants, 
 and other personal effects, to places of safety, leaving their 
 dwellings to the mercy of the enemy, but returning them- 
 selves to repel the foe. 
 
 Those of the Whigs who so far submitted as to take the 
 oath, intending not to keep it, felt, that being forced upon 
 them, it was not binding. John Wilson and James Gilles- 
 pie, then young men, with a neighbour, had been to 
 Cheraw to swear allegiance. After crossing the river on 
 their return, they rode for some time in silence, as if 
 absorbed in thought, and afraid to utter their sentiments ; 
 at length one of them said, " Well, I don^t think that 
 amounted to much^^ — and thereupon, all joined in a hearty 
 laugh, finding a perfect agreement of opinion on the 
 subject. 
 
 The atrocities perpetrated by the British and Tories, for 
 the latter gladly followed in the train of the conqueror, only 
 served to drive the Whigs to desperation, and led to a 
 terrible revenge when the time arrived for throwing off the 
 yoke. And that time was not long in coming; for no 
 sooner had the British withdrawn, than the spirit of 
 liberty, crushed, but not subdued, began to rise to the 
 ascendant. 
 
306 HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIEEAWS. 
 
 On the 25tli of July, Mr. Pugli wrote these few but 
 pregnant words : " The people in arms against the English/' 
 Major Wemys, after accomplishing the objects of his 
 bloody visit, returned to George- town, to pollute no more 
 the upper parts of the Pedee with his presence. And yet, 
 this man, who had been guilty of so many atrocities, was 
 made the recipient of that generous return which the in- 
 jured people of Carolina so often extended to their heartless 
 oppressors.* On the 12tli of the following November, in 
 attempting to surprise General Sumptcr, near Fish Dam Ford, 
 on Broad River, he was taken prisoner, having been severely 
 wounded in tlic engagement. He had in his jDocket a list 
 of the houses he had burned at Williamsburgh and Pedee : 
 with great trepidation he showed it to Sumptcr, and begged 
 he would protect him from the militia. Notwithstanding 
 his atrocities, he was treated Avith indulgence, but became a 
 cripple for lifc.f 
 
 Up to this time, the nearest posts to the Cheraw District 
 held by the British, were George-town and Camden. A 
 position was now to be taken on the Upper Pedee, to add 
 to the lengthening and tightening chain, and to the alarm 
 and suffering of the inhabitants. 
 
 The following extract from a letter of Sir Henry Clinton, 
 of June 4th, 1780, to the Hon. George Gervain, one of his 
 Majesty's principal Secretaries of State, Avill convey some 
 idea of the condition of things in Carolina, as viewed at 
 least by the British Commander, and the feeling of the 
 enemy : — 
 
 " With the greatest pleasure," he said, '' I farther report 
 to your lordship, that the inhabitants from every quarter 
 repair to the detachments of the army, and to this garrison 
 (Charles-town), to declare their allegiance to the King, and 
 to ofler their services in arras for the support of the Go- 
 vernment. In many instances they have brought in as 
 prisonei'S their former oppressors or leaders ; and I may 
 venture to assert, that there are few men in South Carolina 
 who are not either our prisoners or in arms with us. "J 
 
 * Ramsay's " Revolution," vol. ii. pp. 188, 89. 
 t James's " Lite of Marion," p. 73. 
 J Tarleton's " Memoirs/' p. 80. Tliis interesting work, and one indis- 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEKAWS. 307 
 
 Sir Henry Clinton now left for the North, and his com- 
 mand devolved on Lord Cornwallis. A temporary period 
 seems to have been put to any organized resistance in Caro- 
 lina. A partisan warfare, however, was here and there kept 
 up, especially with the Tories, who were now bold and con- 
 stantly marauding, wreaking their vengeance with bitter 
 malignity on the Whigs of Pedee. 
 
 Emissaries were despatched by Lord Cornwallis to North 
 Carolina, with instructions to some of the leading Royalists 
 of that State, to " attend to the harvest, to prepare provi- 
 sions, and to remain quiet till the King's troops were ready 
 to advance, about the latter part of August or early in Sep- 
 tember ; that interval of time being deemed indispensably 
 requisite for the construction of magazines, with propc;rly 
 secured communications, for a clear establishment of the 
 militia, and for a final adjustment of their civil and military 
 regulations which in future were to govern Georgia and 
 South Carolina/'* 
 
 Early in June, Lord Cornwallis made such a disposition 
 of the British troops as to establish a thoroughly organized 
 line of posts upon the frontiers of the State. 
 
 " Major M'Arthur, with the 71st Ilcgimejit (Highlanders), 
 was stationed at the Cheraws, in the vicinity of the Pedee 
 River, to cover the country between Camden and George- 
 town, and to hold correspondence with a friendly settlement 
 at Cross Creek,t in North Carolina.'"" It was also said, 
 " Besides the defence of the frontiers, another material ad- 
 vantage resulted from this disposition of the king's troops. 
 The officers and men of the different regiments and corps 
 were supplied by the flour and cattle, whilst the horses were 
 foraged by the produce of the country ; any expenditure of 
 the provisions brought across the Atlantic was unknown, 
 except in Charles-town and Savannah. "| 
 
 In a letter of the 30th of June, to Sir H. Clinton, Lord 
 
 pensable to a thorou;,'h understanding of the Revolution in Carolina, is written 
 in tlie best style of milltiiry history, and throws much light, not otherwise to 
 be had, on all connected with the movemenls of the British forces, and the 
 general plan of their campaigns. 
 
 * 'J'arleton's " Memoirs," p. 85. f Now Fayetteville. 
 
 X " Tarleton," pp. 87, 88. 
 
 X 2 
 
308 IIISTOKY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 
 
 CormvalHs said : " I have agreed to a ])roposal made by Mr. 
 Harrison, to raise a j)r()vineial eorps of tive lumdred men, 
 witli the rank of Major, to he conii)osed of the natives of 
 the conntry between the Pedee and Wateree, and in which 
 it is extremely probable that he will succeed/'"'^ 
 
 The Tories on Lynchers Creek, in the neighbourhood of 
 M'Callum's Ferry, eon\niitted many mnrders and depreda- 
 tions. They were headed by the two Harrisons, to one of 
 whom Cornwallis refers. It was he, doubtless, who was 
 afterwards a eolonel, the other becoming a major, in the 
 Hritish service, and both called by Tarleton, men of fortnue. 
 They were, in fact, two of the greatest banditti that ever 
 infested the country. The })roposed plan of a provincial 
 corps was never carried out. 15cfor(^ the lall of Charles- 
 town these brothers lived iu a wretched log hut, by the road 
 near M'Callnm^s, in which there was no bed covering but 
 the skins of wild beasts. During the contest the majDr 
 was killed ; after it was over, the colonel retired to Jamaica, 
 ■with much wealth, acquired by depredation. f 
 
 M'Artluir reached Cheraw some time during the month 
 of June. The parish church was called into requisition for 
 a portion of his ^rce, and traces arc yet to be seen some 
 distance otit on the sonthern line of the town of the tempo- 
 raiy barracks erected. According to tradition, M^ Arthur 
 and other ofKcers were not wanting in courtesy to the ladies 
 of the vicinity, and as a consequence were treated with such 
 a degree of civility as the necessities of the case made im- 
 perative. The soldiers, however, Averc not restrained ; and 
 many persons in the neighbourhood were plundered and 
 treated with indignity. 
 
 Numerous incidents are related of the suflerings and 
 losses of the inhabitants during the brief sojourn of the 
 enemy. 
 
 The report reached Western South Carolina, at Camp Ca- 
 tawba,J Old Nation, about the Ith of July, that Gen. Caswell, 
 
 * Tnrlctoii p. 117. f Jaiues's " Million," p. 45. 
 
 X Letter from a Mr. WiUimiis to liis wife, of Itli July, from Camp Catawba. 
 Gibbe's " Docmnentary History," 177G 62, p. 135. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 301) 
 
 of the North Carolina line, had defeated the British at the 
 Cheraws, and eut off the 71st Regiment entirely. But this 
 was a mistake. The enemy was yet to remain there for a 
 brief season triumphant. 
 
 On the 5th of July, General Caswell wrote to General 
 Harrington from " Camp ten miles south of Ramsay," as 
 follows : — 
 
 '' Dear Sir, 
 
 " I had your favor from Chatham Court House, 
 and also one from Col. Collier, and am much obliged by 
 your information. 
 
 " Nothing new has happened in this part of the country 
 since your departure. Donaldson's party left him at Cole's 
 Bridge last Friday night, on the approach of 400 horse, they 
 say from the Cheraws, 200 of which were British; since 
 which I have heard nothing from that quarter. I shall 
 wait on the Baron de Kalb to-day, and will fix the time and 
 place of our joining. He is to be this day at Wilcox's Iron 
 Works. If it will not be attended with danger to the troops 
 to move from Salisbury, I presume Gen. Rutherford will 
 join me, in consequence of my letter by your favor, on the 
 upper part of Deep River. Pray present my compliments 
 to the General, and let him know I expect to hear from him 
 on that subject daily. 
 
 " From you, I flatter myself I shall frequently hear. 
 " I am, with great esteem, dear Sir, 
 
 '' Your most obedient servant, 
 
 " R. Caswell. 
 
 " Brigadier-General Harrington.'^ 
 
 Soon after M'Arthur's arrival at Cheraw, he went down 
 the river with a detachment, and made his head-quarters for 
 a short time at Long Bluff. His force was large enough 
 to admit of division, and to keep the country in awe. 
 
 While at Long Bluff, he offered a handsome reward for 
 the capture of Thomas Ayer. Ayer had made himself con- 
 spicuous a short time before, as the leader of a company 
 which had been sent out to take some bold and mischievous 
 
310 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 persons^ wlio had rendered themselves obnoxious to the 
 inhabitants by their lawless depredations. 
 
 Having succeeded in capturing a portion of the band, he 
 secured the country against any more of their ravages by 
 hanging them all. 
 
 The effect of the reward offered for Ayer, was his cap- 
 ture by a party of Tory neighbours. They kept vigilant 
 watch for him, and caught him while on a brief and 
 cautious visit to his family. He came up at night, and 
 keeping close during the day, intended to leave for camp the 
 following night ; but, late in the afternoon, sixteen Tories 
 galloped up to the house and secured him. They tied him 
 with buck-skin strings, furnished by old Magnus Corgill for 
 the purpose, and hurried him off toward the river, intending 
 to take him immediately to M'Arthur. But, by the time 
 they reached Hunt^s Bluff, a terrific thunderstorm had blown 
 up, and fearing to cross the river and prosecute their jour- 
 ney through the swamp in the darkness of such a night, 
 they concluded to keep their prisoner in an old unoccupied 
 house on the bank until morning. George Manderson, the 
 leader of the party, apprehending no danger from any 
 quarter, left Ayer in charge of the others, and went down 
 with one of his companions, Tom John, to get supper and 
 sleep at old Jonathan John's. Relief was soon to overtake 
 the now despairing Ayer. A few hours after the Tories left 
 his residence, his elder brother, Hartwell, with five Geor- 
 gians, rode up very unexpectedly to the family. The names 
 of these timely visitors were — Willinm Cooper, James 
 Nephew, Charles Tharj), John Tharj), and Joseph Plummer. 
 
 Upon being informed of what had occurred, Hartwell Ayer 
 and his companions set out in immediate pursuit, and took 
 the Tory party completely by surprise. They approached 
 imder cover of the darkness and tempest, and were at the 
 door before being discovered. Most of the party within 
 were asleep. Shooting first those who were up, they con- 
 tinued to fire and despatch with the sabre and bayonet until 
 all were killed, except A sal John. Being a son of his old 
 neighbour, who was a peaceable man, Thomas Ayer pro- 
 tected him with his own body, and induced the captors to 
 
niSTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 311 
 
 spare his life. Then mounting the horse of Dick Owen, 
 one of the Tories just killed, he returned with all possible 
 speed to his family, not knowing what might have befallen 
 them. Upon learning the whereabouts of George Man- 
 derson and Tom John, Hart well Ayer and his companions 
 went off in pursuit. Riding up cautiously to old John's 
 residence, they civilly inqixired for Captain Manderson,"^ 
 who, as he appeared at the door, was salvited with a shower 
 of bullets. Though struck by several balls, the wounds 
 inflicted were slight ; and springing through the back door 
 of the house, he made his escape to the swamp, which was 
 near at hand. Tom John was not so fortunate. He was 
 knocked down with the butt of an old musket, and then 
 pinned to the floor with the hayonet, remaining in that 
 condition as the gun was jerked ofi", and supposed to be dead. 
 But, on the bayonet being removed, he arose, and proved to 
 be not seriously injured. He lived several years afterwards. 
 When informed of the rescue of Ayer, and the slaughter of 
 the Tories, M'Arthur was more enraged than ever. He 
 determined to go in person and take vengeance. Cross- 
 ing the river with a strong party, he came very near 
 surprising the family, then at home, consisting of Mrs. 
 Ayer and her' sons, Lewis Malone and Zaccheus, both 
 of whom were lads. They made a timely escape, how- 
 ever, to the swamp, which was near by, and there remained 
 in concealment several weeks, being supplied with food by 
 their good neighbour, James Sweat. f M'Arthur took pos- 
 session of the deserted premises, killed the stock, destroyed' 
 most of the fencing, and burned all the buildings except a 
 large crib, which he spared on account of the corn it con- 
 tained, meaning to appropriate it to the use of his troops. 
 
 * Captain Manderson removed after the Revolution to Georgia, and settled 
 on the Savannah River. He died about the year 1794. William Cooper and 
 James Nephew, of the band of Georgians, were half brothers. They lived at 
 Sapello, Georgia, long after the war was over. 
 
 f Mr. Sweat was then quite a young man. He afterwards became a Bap- 
 tist preacher, and removed to the south-western part of the State, where some 
 of his descendants are still living. 
 
 Nathan, an elder brother of William Sweat, was a brave and active Whig. 
 Their father, who was then au old man and uitirm, lived quietly, and was un- 
 disturbed by any one. 
 
312 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 It was, however, subsequently taken off and secured by the 
 friends of the family. Every valuable negro was carried 
 away, with others belonging to different persons in the 
 neighbourhood. The now empty crib became the dwelling of 
 the family to the close of the war. 
 
 Nathan Sweat was captured by M' Arthur's party, and 
 carried to their quarters on the west side of the river above. 
 He remained long enough with them to discover their 
 fleetest horse ; aiul, watching a favorable opportunity, 
 mounted the animal and bade his captors adieu. He was 
 pursued, but succeeded in reaching the swamp below, and 
 made his escape. On the following morning, while sitting 
 on his horse at his mother's door, and in the act of receiving 
 food from her hands^ the old lady discovered the approach 
 of a hostile party, and cried out, " Nathan, the enemy are 
 upon you.'' Again putting spurs to the noble steed, which 
 had outstripped his pursuers the day before, he made good 
 his escape, congratulating himself, doubtless, as the distance 
 widened between them, on his correct judgment of a horse, 
 to wliich he owed his life. 
 
 After his return to Chcraw, M'Arthnr sent a detachment 
 up the river on a plundering expedition. On their approach- 
 ing the residence of General Harrington,' in Richmond 
 county, Mrs. H., who was at home, discovered them in time 
 to have a horse secreted in an out-building, which, for- 
 tunately, was not disturbed. Such of the negroes as did 
 not escape were taken, and carried, with the live-stock, to 
 Cheraw. The overseer was tied, and made to accompany 
 them. Mrs. Harrington, who was most distressed at the 
 capture of the servants, fearing they would be carried en- 
 tirely away, followed on, to recover them, if possible. 
 M'Arthur told her she could have them if they would go 
 with her. But, being probably captivated with the idea of 
 freedom, they preferred remaining where they were, with 
 the exception of a woman and her family, who went back 
 with their mistress. 
 
 The most of these and other negroes taken by the enemy 
 were recaptured upon the breaking up of the British post 
 at Cheraw. The difficulty in the way of the enemy was to 
 get any considerable body of slaves to the coast. The oidy 
 
IIISTOHY OK TIIIO OM) CIIKIiAWS. 3K^ 
 
 a[)i)Jircntly feasible rn(!!uiH wuh ])y tlu; rivci- in ljr);Us, uud the 
 aUctiipt lliiiHto transport them proved to be; inelleetual. A 
 few ncf^ro rn(;ii wc^re carried olV with tlie troops, and nev<;r 
 recovered.* (Japtain Thomas Mlierbe, wlio lived a few miles 
 below Clicraw, sufl'ercd severely in the loss of ])ro{)erty. 
 Manyliorses were Uikcn from him, of whieh h(; had a large 
 number. Having beeome obnoxi(jus as an active Whig, he 
 was obliged to seerete himself from the enemy. As ma- 
 rauding ])arti(!H would go to the house to demand a fresh 
 suj)ply oi' horses, Mrs. I'^Uerbe, who would not have dared 
 flatly to refuse, was sometimes relieved by the faithfulness 
 and sagacity of one or two servants, who kept tlu; horses in 
 the recesses of the swamp, driving them from place to 
 I)lace, their mistress not being informed of their movements ; 
 she could only pl(!ad ignorance, and thus her husband's 
 [)i'op(!rty was saved. Captain MUerbe lost ru>t a few negroes. 
 Claudius I'egues had also a number taken by the enemy 
 while; at (Jheraw, the most of whom escaped, and subse- 
 (pu'ritly returned to their mastcir. Oru; of these was treated 
 with gntat (U'uelty by the British. His account was, that 
 tli(!y (ji'dered him to ride, arul because he fell off several 
 times, they hacked him with their swords, leavihg him, as 
 they supposed, dead by the road-side. He managed to 
 crawl home, and eventually rec(JV(;rcd, though sh(j(;kingly 
 mangled. 
 
 The form of legality was sometimes given t(j acts of 
 plundering. An originalf receipt or certificate is in these 
 wo I'd H : — 
 
 " Got at Philip Pledger's house, (;ight h(jrs(;s (or his 
 Majesty's service. 
 
 " liy TnoiwAK Hamilton, 
 ".July 2:i. 1780. " fiieut. 71st Regt." 
 
 * Of those taken off on thi« occiision, was a Hcrvant of General Ifarringtoii, 
 niimeil Cud'ee. He wuh not,crl for his reinarkiibly valuable traifH of cliarsuiter. 
 Hit WUH KUI)])0«C'<1 to have been carried with tin; JJiitisli on their return to (-'um- 
 (leri. He BubHeqnently i)aHH(!(l into the liandw of Captain Ciinij(bell, a Uritish 
 ofheer, wlio Kettl(;(l after thi; Hevohjtion on I'edee. 
 
 General Harrin(,'ton broii;,'ht a Huit in (,'herawH DiHtrict for IiIb recovery. 
 The dain.i^(!s found were lar^e, and only to be diwhar^ed by the delivery (jf the 
 negro. Kather than pay the amount, (Jajttain Campbell sent to .Jamaica for 
 (Jnffee, where he h:id been trauHported, and delivered him to his nniHter. 
 f The original in iu the Aulhor'w poHKcwion. 
 
314 IIISTOUY OF TlIK OLD ClllQRAWS. 
 
 Hiii (lu> \\'liij;s in lliis si'('(u)ii wrrc not to contiibuto 
 imifli l()ii<;(<i' to an impiM-ions and uuspariuf»' too. A (^lumgo 
 Aviis rjijjitlly ii|)|)roacliiii^-. 
 
 In a It'ttcr (o Sir lIiMirv (Minion, dated Cliarli's-town, 
 July Mill, I7S0, Ia>i(I Cornwallis said : " Tho (lovornmcut 
 of Noi'th Carolina is likt>\viso niakinj;' j^roal t'xrrtions [ho 
 had rolrnt>d to ^'irginiaJ to raisi> troops, and persecuting 
 our tVi(Muls in tlu> most crui-l n>anin>r; in consequcnuie of 
 which, (\)lon(>l Hi-yan, altiiouj;h he had pron\ise(l to wait 
 for n>y orders, lost all patience, and rose with about 800 
 nuMi, on the ^ adkin ; and by adiilicidt and (hmgerous nnir(!li, 
 jt)ined M" Arthur on the borders of Anson (\)uuty. About 
 two-thirds only t)f his people were arnuMl, and these, 1 be- 
 lieve, but indilltMvntly."^" 
 
 (\)loui>l ih'yau was a noted loyalist, and great thiu};s were 
 e\[)ei'ted oi' hiui ; but, being of a timorous and undecided 
 sj»irit, he accomi)lished little. On the imireh to C'heraws, 
 he was actively pursued by (leneral Hnthiu'tord, but had 
 the address to elude him f 
 
 " The news brought by tlu\se loyalists created some 
 astouishnuMit in the n\ilitary, anil ditVused uuivtMsal con- 
 sternation auuiug the inhabitants oi' South (^arolina. Tlu^y 
 reported that Major- General l\' Kalb, a French otlicer iu 
 th(> American service, >vas advancing fron\ Salisbury w ith a 
 large body of C'ontiueutals ; that Colonel Porterlicld was 
 bringing State troops from ^'irginia; that (leneral C^aswell 
 luul raised a jiowerful force iu North (^ircdina ; and that 
 Colonel Sumptcr had already entered the Catawba, a settle- 
 ment contiguous to ihc Wacsaws. These accounts being 
 propagated and artfully cxaggiM-atcd by the cucuiies within 
 the IVovince, caused a winultM-ful feruientation iu the nunds 
 of the Anun'ieans, which neitlu-r the lenity of the British 
 CovernnuMit, the soliMunity of their [)aroles, by which their 
 persons and property enjoyeil protection, ncu- the memory 
 of the undeserved pardt)n so lately exteniled to many of 
 them, had sntVicient striMigth to retain in a state of submis- 
 sion or neutrality, ^^'hilst the Amciicans were eolleetiug 
 
 • " 'riirli'ton's " iMoiniiirs," p. lit), 
 t Loo's " Monioirs of Soutliorn Oaniiiaign," vol. i. pp. 158, 15t). 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 315 
 
 their forces, Lord Rawdon made occasional alterations upon 
 the frontier, in order to confirm the adherence of the loyal 
 inhabitants, and to obviate the designs of the enemy. . . . 
 Some detachments were sent out ; others drawn in. . . . 
 Major M'Arthur's position in the Cheraws was deemed 
 too forward, and he was desired to retire some miles into the 
 Province.''* 
 
 So Tarleton afterwards wrote. The subject of M' Arthur's 
 position and movements was now exciting no little anxiety 
 at head-quarters. On 15th July, Lord Cornwallis wrote to 
 Sir H. Clinton : " I. have just received intelligence from 
 Lord Rawdon that I)e Kalb has certainly joined Caswell at 
 Coxe's plantation on Deep River; his lordship in conse- 
 quence has withdrawn Major M'Arthur's detachment over 
 the Black Creek, where he means to join him with two 
 battalions, and post Lieut. -Col. Webster on Hanging Rock 
 Creek. This will make his situation pretty compact, but I 
 fear the enemy will make incnrsions into the country. "f 
 Appearances were daily becoming more threatening for the 
 enemy. A considerable number of the militia of North 
 Carolina had taken the field, and agreed to rendezvous at 
 Anson Court House on the 20th of July, that they might 
 1)0 in readiness to co-operate with the Continental army.J 
 Anson Court House was about tliirty miles above Cheraw 
 on the river. 
 
 '' On the 21th of July General Gates arrived in the 
 American camp. His name and former good fortunes re- 
 animated the exertions of the country ; provisions were 
 more amply suj)plied by the inhabitants ; and the Con- 
 tinental troops now reached the frontiers of South Caro- 
 lina. § 
 
 It was now manifest that M^Arthur would be forced to 
 make a precipitate retreat from Pedee. The inhabitants 
 were greatly encouraged, and ripe for revolt. The advance 
 of Gates was rousing into activity all the latent energies of 
 the State. The most resolute of the militia, indignant at 
 the treatment they had received, and convinced by Sir 
 
 * "Tarleton," pp. 91, 92. f Ibid., p. 120. 
 
 X Ramsay's " Revolution in S. C," vol. ii. p. 139. § "Tarleton," p. 97. 
 
316 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Heury Clinton's proclauKition, M'liii'li had been fjiithfully 
 acted ou by Lord Coruwallis, that rci)ose during the war 
 was a chimerical expectation, determined from concealed 
 enemies to become open foes. On the day that the liritish 
 relinqnished their post at Chcraw, the inhabitants, distressed 
 by their previous depredations and disgusted Avith their con- 
 duct, took up arms. Preparatory to his departure, JVl' Arthur 
 had made an arrangement for transporting a niunber of his 
 sick, with the captured negroes, by boats to George-town. 
 They were to be under the care of Lord Nairne, and the 
 whole under the new-made British colonel, \Villiam Henry 
 Mills,* with a militiuy escort, composed of a portion of the 
 militia of the country who had taken the oath of allegiance. 
 • Hearing of the projected expedition down the river, a 
 party of neighbouring "Whigs, under tlic lead of James 
 Ciillespic, collected at Bedingtiehrs,t a short distance from 
 Chcraw, and determined to gather a larger force and sur- 
 prise the enemy. As they Avent on their numbers increased, 
 and the command was assigned to Major Tristram Thon\as. 
 In the meantime, with the departure of the boats, ^PArthnr 
 commenced his retreat towards Black Creek. 
 
 The ^Vhigs fixed upon Hunt's Bluff as the most favor- 
 able point for intercepting the expedition. x\. battery of 
 wooden guns was hastily constructed, and placed inune- 
 diately on the bank, in a sudden bend of the river. In due 
 season, as the slowly-moving flotilla appeared, the most im- 
 posing demonstration that they could present was made by 
 the command of the gallant Thomas, and an unconditional 
 surrender demanded. It is not improbable that there was 
 a secret understanding with some of the leading nuMi of the 
 militia under Colonel ^lills. However this may have been, 
 no resistance was attempted, and the surprise was complete. 
 At the sanu^ time, a large boat coming up from George-town, 
 well stored with necessaries for ^Slajor j\i' Arthur's force, 
 was seized for the use of the American army. Colonel Mills 
 succeeded in getting away, and made his escape to George- 
 town. J The other new-made British otUccrs of the militia 
 
 Lcc's " Memoirs of tlio Soutliorn Ci»nipni<;ii," vol i. p. 162. 
 t Now Irbv's Mills, throe miles iVom Cheraw. 
 J lliimssij 's " Kovolutioii in S. C," vol. ii. p. 140. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 317 
 
 were taken prisoners by the party under Major Thomas, 
 and with some of their men and the sick, more than a 
 hundred in number, carried prisoners into North Carolina. 
 The British Commander, and Tarlcton also, as will be seen, 
 spoke of it afterwards as a mutiny, making no allusion to 
 the well-planned surprise by the Whigs, but for which the 
 expedition might have; reached George-town in safety. The 
 negroes, of course, Avere recaptured and returned to 
 their owners. This effective blow struck inf-reased terror 
 into the enemy, already alarmed, and encouraged the in- 
 habitants to more determined and unyielding resistance. It 
 was the first brilliant exploit yet achieved upon the Pedee, 
 and occurred just at a time when the most important moral 
 effects were likely to follow in its train. 
 
 Lord Cornwallis, deeply chagrined, very naturally at- 
 tempted to give the most favorable version of the affair. 
 In a letter to Sir H. Clinton, from Charles-town, August 
 6th, he thus wrote : — " The general state of things in the 
 two Provinces of North and South Carolina, is not very 
 materially altered since my letters of the 14th and 15th of 
 last month were written."*' Alluding to matters in other 
 parts of the State, he proceeds : " In the eastern parts of 
 tlie Province, Major M 'Arthur, seeing the great importance 
 of the post at Cheraw Hill, and finding himself perfectly 
 secure from any attack of the enemy, desired to continue 
 there longer than it was intended he should, when I had 
 the honor of writing to you on the 15th. At last, however, 
 the 71st Regt. grew so exceedingly sickly, that he found it 
 absolutely necessary to move, and marched on the 24th to 
 the east branch of Lincoln's (Lynchers) Creek. Gates, who 
 had taken the command of De Kalb's Corps, was still on Deep 
 River ; and Rutherford no farther advanced than Rocky 
 River, Pedee. Knowing of no enemy within many miles, he 
 ventured to send about 100 sick in boats down the Pedee 
 to George-town. Col. Mills, who commanded the Militia 
 of the Cheraw District, though a very good man, had not 
 complied with my instructions in forming his corps ; but 
 had placed more faith in oaths and professions, and attached 
 less to the former conduct of those he admitted. The in- 
 stant the militia found that M'Arthur had left his post, and 
 
318 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 were assured that Gates would come the next day^ they 
 seized their own officers and the hundred sick, and carried 
 them all prisoners into North Carolina. Col. Mills with 
 difficulty made his escape to George-town.'"'* In his 
 memoirs of the time, Tarleton says : " The approach of 
 Gen. Gates with an army of six thousand men, induced 
 Lord Rawdon gradually to contract the posts upon the 
 frontier, in order to assemble his forces. Major M^ Arthur 
 was directed to draw nearer to Camden ; the two battalions 
 of the 71st Regiment, under his orders, were at this period 
 considerable sufferers by the unhealthy climate of Carolina. 
 To disencumber himself for movement, he collected some 
 boats on the river Pcdee, and committed upwards of one 
 hundred sick men to the care of Col. Mills, to be escorted 
 to George-town by the militia under his command. After 
 the sick were embarked. Major M^Arthur commenced his 
 march. In less than ten days the militia mutinied, and 
 securing their own officers and the sick, conducted them 
 prisoners to Gen. Gates, in North Carolina. This instance 
 of treachery in the east of the Province followed the per- 
 fidious conduct of Lieut. -Col. Lisle, on the western border, 
 and strongly proved the mistake committed by the British, 
 in placing confidence in the inhabitants of the country where 
 acting apart from the army. The only probable Avay to 
 reap advantage from the levies made in Carolina, would 
 have been to incorporate the young men, as they were raised, 
 in the established provincial corps, where they could be 
 properly trained, and formed under officers of experience. 
 By such a line of conduct, all the British regulars would 
 have been saved, the king's troops in general would have 
 been augmented, and considerable service might have been 
 derived from their additional numbers. ^'f It is not sur- 
 prising that such free comments on the British movements 
 in Carolina, which Tarleton could very well make by the 
 light of experience after the war was over, drew down the 
 severest strictures upon his work. Such was the result of 
 the freedom, altogether proper on the j)art of a historian, 
 in which he indulged. It was manifestly a most hazardous 
 
 * « Tarleton," pp. 137, 138. f Ibid., pp. 97, 98. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 319 
 
 step to have entrusted tlie fate of such an expedition to the 
 militia of the country, most of .whom were burning with 
 long-smothered feelings of revenge. It taught the enemy 
 a lessoUj however, which was not afterwards forgotten. In 
 his letter of August 6th, already quoted, Lord Cornwallis 
 went on further to say : " The wheat harvest in North 
 Carolina is now over, but the weather still is excessively 
 hot ; and, notwithstanding our utmost exertions, a groat part 
 of the rum, salt, clothing, and necessaries for the soldiers, 
 and ammunition for the troops, are not very far advanced 
 on their way to Camden. However, if no material inter- 
 ruption happens, this business will be nearly accomplished 
 in a fortnight or three weeks. 
 
 " Our assurances of attachment from our distressed friends 
 in North Carolina, are as strong as ever. And the patience 
 and fortitude with which these unhappy people bear the 
 most oppressive and cruel tyranny that ever was exercised 
 over any country, deserve our greatest admiration.^ 
 The reader of these latter days, will form his own opinion 
 upon the remarks of his lordship in the closing paragraph 
 above. That the Loyalists and Tories of North Carolina at 
 this time suffered much, there can be no doubty and that 
 they deserved to suffer, is quite as certain. But, that they 
 groaned under the most oppressive and cruel tyranny ever 
 exercised over any country, few now will be prepared to 
 admit. But, thus the mortified Commander wrote. 
 
 The allusion made both by Cornwallis and Tarleton to 
 the sickness from wdiieh the British suffered while at Cheraw 
 was sadly true. Tradition tells how the soldiers, unaccus- 
 tomed to a southern climate, sickened and died. And the 
 spot is now pointed out, quite a perceptible sink in the 
 earth, in front of the parish church of St. David, where many, 
 placed, it is said, in one common grave, lie buried. 
 
 The number of sick sent off on the breaking up of the 
 post indicates a season of unusual fatality. The return of 
 the 71st regiment also on the 15 th of August, the eve of 
 the battle of Camden, about three weeks after it left Cheraw, 
 told how their ranks had been thinned by death. Of the 
 
 Tarleton," p. 128. 
 
320 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 1st battalion, the return was, 2 captains, 4 lieutenants, 1 
 ensign, 1 adjutant, 1 quarter- master, 1 mate, 14 sergeants, 
 6 drummers, 1 14 rank and file. Of the 2nd battalion, 
 1 captain, 3 lieutenants, 3 ensigns, 9 sergeants, 94 rank and 
 file.* 
 
 Leaving Cheraw, the tide of war turned rapidly towards 
 Camden. The accounts given by the British commander at the 
 time, and subsequently by Tarleton, of that conflict, of such 
 tragic consequence for a season to the American cause, are 
 of exceeding interest, and form a thrilling chapter in the 
 history of the war in Carolina. 
 
 After the loss sustained by the ravages of M'Arthur's 
 plundering party in the neighbourhood of her husband^s 
 residence, Mrs. Harrington took refuge with her fi'iends in 
 South Carolina. General Harrington was then in camp at 
 Cross Creek, and wishing to have her there, an escort was 
 sent to conduct her thither, as the following record shows : — 
 
 " State of North Carolina, 
 
 " The Honorable Richard Caswell, Esquire, Major- 
 General and Commander-in-Chief of the militia of the said 
 State, in service, 
 
 " To the Commanding Officers of his Britannic Majesty^s 
 Forces, in South Carolina, and all others whom it may 
 concern. 
 
 " These are to certify, that Col. John Donaldson and 
 Lieut. Reuben Wilkinson are permitted to proceed with a 
 flag of truce to South Carolina, in order to conduct the lady 
 of Henry Wm. Harrington, Esquire, and her family to the 
 interior parts of this State. All officers, civil and military, 
 in this State, and others concerned, are requested to take 
 notice thereof, and govern themselves accordingly. 
 
 " Given under my hand and seal, in the camp at the Cross 
 Roads, near Deep River, the 21st day of July, 1780. 
 
 " R. Caswell. 
 
 " By his Honoris command, 
 
 " John Sitgreaves, A.D. Camp.'^ 
 
 Tarleton," pp. 137, 138. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEKAWS. 321 
 
 Upon his arrival Col. Doualdson probably found the 
 enemy breaking up, or already gone. His mission was sue- 
 cessfully accomplished.* 
 
 During the struggle on the Pedee Gen. Harrington sent 
 a detachment of Whigs to Anson County in charge of a negro. 
 He was the property of Michael Crawford, of Anson, had 
 been in the service of Col. Donaldson, and was exchanged 
 for one of the general's servants. Shortly before they 
 reached the river the Whigs were surprised by a party of 
 Tories, who lay in ambush ; and upon the first fire were 
 dispersed. The negro was taken off by the Tories and lost. 
 The Whigs soon rallied, and returned boldly to the conflict. 
 
 The Tories, satisfied with their booty, retreated after a 
 brief skirmish. They were pursued, and a riderless horse, 
 with a bloody saddle, was captured. Of the Whigs, one 
 named Curtis was killed, and Daniel Hicks wounded in the 
 thigh, from which, however, he afterwards recovered. After 
 the war Crawford brought a suit against Gen. Harrington 
 for the negro, but recovered nothing. 
 
 The scattered W^higs kept up an occasional correspondence. 
 On the 26th of July, John Lewis Gervais, then at Williams- 
 burg, Virginia, wrote to his friend. Gen. Harrington, as 
 follows : — 
 
 " Dear Sir, — After a fatiguing journey I have at last 
 joined my family here, who have undergone great hardships 
 and difficulties. John and Sinclair have both been sick, 
 but are better. I have not heard from your quarter since 
 I left it, and am anxious to know the fate of our friends 
 at Pedee. Mrs. Gervais wishes to hear if the articles she 
 sent up in the boat are safe, and begs you to have them 
 secured in some safe place till we return. Gov. Rutledge 
 I found gone to Philadelphia, and I have not heard from 
 
 * Colonel Dotialdson was accompanied on this occasion by Toney, the body 
 servant of General Harrington throughout the war, a negro of remarkable 
 character, honest and faithful in the highest degree. He was the father of 
 Cuffee, of whom mention has been made. General Harrington purchased him 
 from John Mitchell, about 1776. After the Revolution, he was sent by his 
 master on horseback from Pedee to Newbern, N. C, with 1500 Spanish silver 
 dollars, to pay for a tract of land which General H. had bought. The money 
 was delivered in safety. The British had no conception of such devotion in a 
 slave. 
 
322 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 him since. I should be glad to hear from you, and the 
 situation of our affairs to the southward, if we have any 
 prospect to return soon to Carolina, &c. Mrs. Gervais joins 
 me in best regards to you and Mrs. Harrington ; and we 
 most sincerely wish to assure you by word of mouth of the 
 perfect esteem with which we are 
 
 Your most obliged and most obedient Servants, 
 
 " John Lewis Gervais. 
 
 " Please to direct any letters to the care of Col. Griffin, at 
 Williamsburg.^^ 
 
 On the 27th of July Gen. Gates arrived at the Pedee 
 from the northward, and on the 4th of August issued a pro- 
 clamation, inviting the patriotic citizens of Carolina to 
 assemble under his auspices and vindicate the rights of 
 America ; holding out an amnesty to all who had subscribed 
 paroles imposed upon them by the ruffian hand of conquest ; 
 and excepting only those who, in the hour of trial, had 
 exercised acts of barbarity and devastation upon the persons 
 and property of their fellow-citizens. To this appeal there 
 was a general and hearty response. New life was infused 
 into the lately desponding patriots, and many came forward 
 without delay to join the advancing army. On the 28th of 
 July, Major Spence Macay, aide-de-camp of Gen. Rutherford, 
 addressed Gen. Harrington as follows : — 
 
 « Camp at Clarke's, July 28, IVSO. 
 " Dear General, — Last night Gen. Rutherford received 
 a letter from Gen. Caswell, informing him that Gen. Gates 
 desired Gen. Caswell, Gen. Rutherford and yourself to meet 
 27th instant, at Cox^s Mills, in order to settle a plan of 
 future operations to the southward. The general says ' that 
 he is happy to acquaint Gen. Caswell that the Virginia 
 Militia, with such continental corps of cavalry and infantry 
 as Congress have allotted to serve with the Southern Army, 
 are in full march, and will speedily join it ; and has also 
 the satisfaction to think that the measures taken by the 
 Executive Council of Virginia in conjunction with that of 
 this State, will shortly relieve our distresses, and put it 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 323 
 
 amply in our power to push the enemy from their advanced 
 posts even to Charles-town. 
 
 " Governor Nash has written to Gen. Rutherford, re- 
 quiring the attendance of all the members of General 
 Assembly at Hillsbrough, on the 20th of August next, and 
 especially those who are in the army. The Governor's letter 
 is big with caution, the enemy numerous, and much danger 
 is to be apprehended from them. 
 
 " I am, dear General, 
 '' Your most obedient and humble Servant, 
 
 " Spence Macay. 
 " To Brig.-Gen. Harrington, 
 " Richmond County. '^ 
 
 Gen. Gates, confident of victory, lost no time in advan- 
 cing toward the enemy near Camden. Lord Cornwallis's 
 account of preliminary movements and the fortunes of that 
 ill-fated day for the American cause, forms an interesting 
 link in the chain of events at this period. On the 21st of 
 August he wrote from Camden to Lord George Germain : — 
 
 " It is with great pleasure that I communicate to your 
 Lordship an account of a complete victory, obtained on the 
 16th instant, by his Majesty's troops under my command, 
 over the rebel Southern Army, commanded by Gen. Gates. . 
 . . On the 9th instant, two expresses arrived with an account 
 that Gen. Gates was advancing towards Lynchers Creek, 
 with his whole army, supposed to amount to six thousand 
 men, exclusive of a detachment of one thousand men under 
 Gen. Sumpter ; who, after having in vain attempted to force 
 the posts at Rocky Mount and Hanging Rock, was believed 
 to be at that time tiying to get round the left of our posi- 
 tion, to cut off our communication with the Congarees and 
 Charles-town ; that the disaffected country between the Pedee 
 and Black Rivers had actually revolted ; and that Lord Raw- 
 don was contracting his posts, and preparing to assemble 
 his forces at Camden. In consequence of this information, 
 after finishing some important points of business at Charles- 
 town, I set out on the evening of the 10th, and arrived at 
 Camden on the night between the 13th and 14th, and there 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 found Lord Rawdon with all our force^ except Lieut. -Col. 
 TurnbulFs small detachment, which fell back from Rocky 
 Mount to Major Ferguson's posts of the militia of Ninety- 
 six, on Little River. . . . After consulting with some in- 
 telligent people, well acquainted with the ground, I deter- 
 mined to march at 10 o'clock on the night of the 15th, and 
 to attack at daybreak, pointing my principal force against 
 their Continentals, who, from good intelligence, I knew to 
 be badly posted close to Col. Rugeley's house. Late in the 
 evening, I received information that the Virginians had 
 joined that day ; however, that having been expected, I did 
 not alter my plan, but marched at the hour appointed, 
 leaving the defence of Camden to some provincials, militia 
 and convalescents, and a detachment of the 63rd regiment, 
 which, by being mounted on horses they had pressed on the 
 road, it was hoped would arrive in the course of the night. 
 I had proceeded nine miles, when, about half an hour past 
 two in the morning, my advanced guard fell in with the 
 enemy. By the weight of the fire, I was convinced they 
 were in considerable force, and was soon assured by some 
 deserters and prisoners that it was the whole rebel army on 
 its march to attack us at Camden. I immediately halted 
 and formed, and the enemy doing the same, the firing soon 
 ceased.''"^ 
 
 Tarleton says, " On the 15th, the principal part of the 
 King's troops had orders to be in readiness to march ; in 
 the afternoon Earl Cornwallis desired Lieut.- Col. Tarleton 
 to gain circumstantial intelligence by intercepting a patrol, 
 or carrying off some prisoners from an American picket. 
 About ten miles from Camden, on the road to Rugeley's 
 Mills, the advanced guard of the Legion in the evening 
 secured three American soldiers. The prisoners reported 
 that they came from Lynche's Creek, where they had been 
 left in a convalescent state, and that they were directed to 
 join the American array, on the high road, that night, as 
 Gen. Gates had given orders for his troops to move from 
 Rugeley's Mills to attack the British camp next morning 
 near Camden. The information received from these men 
 
 * " Tarleton." pp. 128-131. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CKERAWS. 325 
 
 induced Tarleton to countermai'ch before lie was discovered 
 ])y any patrol from tlie enemy^s outpost. 
 
 " The three prisoners were mounted behind dragoons, 
 and conveyed with speed to the British army. When ex- 
 amined by Earl Cornwallis, their story appeared credible^ 
 and confirmed all the other intelligence of the day. Orders 
 were immediately circulated for the regiments and corps 
 designed for a forward move, to stand to their arms. 
 
 " The town, the magazine, the hospital, and the prisoners 
 were committed to the care of Major M' Arthur, with a small 
 body of provincials and militia, and the weakest convales- 
 cents of the army. . . At 10 o^clock the King^s troops moved 
 from their ground, and formed their order of march on the 
 main road to E-ugeley's Mills. Lieut. -Col. Webster com- 
 manded the first di^dsion of the army. . . At 12 o^clock, the 
 line of march was somewhat broken in passing Saunders^s 
 Creek, five miles from Camden. A short halt remedied this 
 inconvenience, and the royal army proceeded in a compact 
 state with most profound silence. A little after two, the 
 advanced guard of the British charged the head of the Ame- 
 rican column ; skirmishing followed ; but, except a few 
 occasional shots from the sentries of each army, a silent 
 expectation ushered in the morning. At dawn, the two 
 commanders proceeded to make their respective arrange- 
 ments for action. ^^^ 
 
 Before the close of that eventful day, the American army 
 was routed, the unhappy Gates escaped by a hasty flight 
 into North Carolina, and general consternation again seized 
 the minds of the inhabitants. 
 
 Many of the most devoted Whigs removed their families 
 Avith haste to North Carolina and Virginia, returning them- 
 selves to the conflict. The Tories were more emboldened 
 than ever, and from this time on was waged a sanguinary 
 and desperate warfare on the Pedee. From Drowning 
 Creek and the Little Pedee, from certain neighbourhoods 
 on Lynchers Creek and the parts lower down, marauding 
 bauds were ever and anon pouring in on the river settle- 
 ments, which were true almost to a man. A spirit of 
 
 " Tarleton," pp. 103-105. 
 
326 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 unsparing revenge took possession of the Whigs, and many 
 a plain from the line of North Carolina above to the upper 
 limits of Marion's field of action below, were to be watered 
 with blood. 
 
 In the brief entries made in his Journal, the Rev. Mr. 
 Pugh doubtless gave expression to feelings which very gene- 
 rally prevailed : — 
 
 " Friday, 18th August. Got the news of Gates's defeat ; 
 moved to Lide's quarter. 
 
 " Saturday, 19th. About in great trouble. 
 
 " Sunday, 20th. Over the river, moved home my goods. 
 
 " Tuesday, 22nd. Bad news. 
 
 " Sunday, Sept. 3rd. Went to Kolb's ; men met there 
 upon a scout after Tories. 
 
 " Saturday, 16th. Had news of the British at Black 
 Creek. 
 
 " Sunday, 17th. At home; melancholy day. Am plun- 
 dered severely; but, blessed be God, am spared yet. 
 
 "Tuesday, 19th. At home; all day full of trouble. 
 
 "Thursday, 21st. At home; went to Lide's in great 
 trouble. 
 
 "Monday, 25th. Went to Mr. Kimbrough's; sorrowful. 
 
 "Wednesday, 27th. At home; British left the Long 
 Bluff. 
 
 " Thursday, 28th. At home, after my cattle. 
 
 " Tuesday, 10th Oct. Whigs flying, or retreating from 
 here." 
 
 The approach of Gates to Pedee, as already remarked, 
 was hailed with delight by every ardent patriot. George 
 M^Call and four youthful companions, upon hearing that 
 Gates had crossed the Yadkin, started up the river to join 
 the army and take part in the expected conflict at Camden. 
 They had proceeded but a short distance, when intelli- 
 gence reached them that Col. Giles was raising a volunteer 
 force below to swell the columns of the American com- 
 mander. Hastening back, they found the colonel with his 
 party at Giles's Bluffs, some distance below on the Pedee. 
 They remained in that locality two weeks or more, and were 
 joined during the time by Colonel Marion with an addi- 
 tional force. Having collected a few old field-pieces, Marion 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 327 
 
 crossed the river and commenced a redoubt. While en- 
 gaged upon this work^ where a temporary stand was in- 
 tended to be made, the news reached them of Gates's defeat. 
 As a consequence, the plan of operations previously agreed 
 upon was broken up; and the brilliant career in which he 
 was to become so distinguished as a partisan leader, already 
 successfully commenced, now opened in larger outline and 
 bloodier prospect upon Marion. With the force hastily col- 
 lected and now under his command, a few sallies were made 
 against the Tories in Williamsburg and the region east of 
 the Pedee. Col. Giles received orders to march with such 
 a volunteer force as would accompany him, to Long Bluff, 
 there to join Col. Kolb, for a retreat into North Carolina, 
 or any other movement which the course of events might 
 determine. The result was, that Col. Kolb remained in the 
 neighbourhood of Long Bluff, for the protection of the lives 
 and property of the inhabitants there against the Tories. 
 Young M'Call, who met Col. Marion for the first time on 
 the occasion alluded to, was so deeply impressed with his 
 superior military sagacity, that he determined to join his 
 command, and share the fortunes of the future with him to 
 the close of the war. Col. Hicks had gone with his family 
 to Virginia, leaving the active command of the forces on the 
 Pedee to Lieut.-Col. Kolb, a position which the latter ap- 
 pears to have retained until his death, in the early part of 
 the following spring. 
 
 The depredations by the Tories were secretly committed, 
 except in those cases where they had the advantage of over- 
 powering numbers, or the Whigs were absent from their 
 homes. 
 
 Samuel Bacot was one of many sufferers, though some- 
 times eluding the enemy, or sharing wdth others the benefit 
 of their cowardly fears. On one occasion, a party of Tories 
 were seen approaching his house. He seized a well-charged 
 musket, and, giving a few hasty du'cctions, was in the act of 
 escaping, when the distress of a favorite child detained 
 him for a moment, and until the enemy were dismounting ; 
 a little more, and it would have been too late. He succeeded 
 however, in reaching a thick covert in the rear of the dwel- 
 ling in safety. His directions were observed by the family, 
 
328 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 and as the Tories entered and were about to make search^ 
 the loud report of a musket was heard, and the clatter of 
 shot against the walls and door facings as they came through 
 the open passage from the rear, confirmed the impression of 
 a murderous surprise. A panic followed, and the cowardly- 
 wretches ran for their lives, leaving even their horses 
 behind them, to the amusement and relief of the family. 
 
 On another occasion, Mr. Bacot was taken prisoner and 
 carried to Camden, where he suffered much from a cruel 
 confinement. About thirty others w.ere at the same time 
 imprisoned, and it was determined to send them all to 
 Charles-town, for safe keeping, in charge of a detachment 
 double their own number. His companions were known to 
 Mr. Bacot, and a few of them as determined spirits on 
 whom he could rely in effecting an escape by the way. 
 
 To these his plans were communicated soon after the 
 march commenced. They were to take advantage of any 
 favorable circumstance which might occur, for effecting 
 their liberation. A long and wearisome day passed away, 
 the party halting in the evening near a deserted log house 
 by the road side, which was to be occupied during the night. 
 The arms were stacked in front, near the steps. There were 
 two apartments, separated by a thin partition. In the one 
 which opened on the piazza, the guard took lodging, placing 
 the prisoners in the other, with which they communicated 
 by a doer. From the latter room, a window opened upon 
 the road. 
 
 The weary captives had now a better opportunity for 
 consulting together, and it was soon determined to carry 
 their plans into execution, " Saturday night " was agreed 
 upon as the watchword and signal for action. To take pos- 
 session of the guns, when the main body were asleep, was a 
 matter of the first importance. About midnight, Mr. Bacot 
 tapped at the door, and upon its being opened, begged the 
 captain for a drink of brandy, a ready excuse being given 
 for the request at so unseasonable an hour. He perceived 
 at a glance that the moment for action had come ; and 
 taking the glass which was handed him, said, as he raised it, 
 with emphasis on the last words, " Here is success to 
 Saturday night," and dashed the liquor in the officer's face. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 329 
 
 As the words were uttered, his eager and impatient com- 
 rades riished out, and seizing the arms, were opposed by the 
 nearest sentinel, who was speedily overpowered. The rest 
 of the prisoners, not understanding the cause of the confu- 
 sion, and thinking it a suitable time for escape, began to leap 
 out of the window. The whole guard being roused, their 
 surrender was peremptorily demanded, and so sudden and 
 complete was the surprise, that they yielded at once. They 
 were then paroled and dismissed ; and the captives, once 
 more at liberty, lost no time in finding their way home- 
 ward."^ 
 
 Elias DuBose, on Lynchers Creek, had many adventures 
 with the Tories. On one occasion, before the removal of 
 his family to Virginia, he had returned from the camp on 
 furlough. The Tories, being apprised of his movements^ 
 approached his house in the dead of night, and demanded 
 admittance. Well knowing their designs, Mr. DuBose pre- 
 sented himself, gun in hand, with a heroic wife by his side, 
 also armed, and refused them admittance, threatening to 
 shoot the first man who made the attempt to enter, and 
 adding that he would sell his life as dearly as possible. They 
 then threatened to burn them, and made preparation to 
 carry the threat into execution. In this desperate emer- 
 gency, no alternative was left but a compromise ; the 
 dauntless "Whig proposing to surrender, on condition that 
 they would not tie or confine him, but that he should be 
 carried to old Mr. "Wilson, a neighbouring magistrate and 
 friend of the King, who resided on the opposite side of the 
 creek, and by whose sentence he consented to abide. 
 
 Supper was then provided for them. Upon arriving at 
 Mr. "Wilson^s, and submitting the case to him, he said such 
 a neighbour should not be injured, and told his friend Du 
 Bose to go at large ; upon which he returned to his family 
 the same night. 
 
 The warfare with the Tories extended up into the neigh- 
 bouring counties of North Carolina. 
 
 Some time after Gates's defeat, Mrs. Harrington had an 
 adventure with a band of marauders, some of the conse- 
 
 * In an account of this incident given in Johnson's " Traditions of the Re- 
 volution," the name of Peter incorrectly appears, instead of Samuel Bacot. 
 
330 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 queuces of which she had reasou to deplore to the end of 
 her life. The general, then absent on duty, had sent an 
 UT^nt message to her to take the negroes and such other 
 moveable property as eonld be transported, and start imme- 
 diately for Maryland. She did so with all possible expedi- 
 tion ; and bidding adieu to home, had proceeded as far as 
 Mountain Creek, in Richmond County, when she was met 
 by Captain John Leggett, a noted Tory, of Bladen County, 
 near the line of Robeson, with his party. They at once 
 began their work of plunder, destroying such of the pro- 
 perty as they coidd not take with them. Some of the negroes 
 made their escape, and remained under cover until all 
 danger was past. 
 
 The books, and a valuable Kbrary which Greneral Harring- 
 ton was particularly aniious to preserve, were scattered 
 along the road, and not a few, with mauy valuable papers, 
 were lost or destroyed. The horses were all taken. Fearing a 
 pursuit, the Tories soon took to flight. One of them, named 
 M'Koy. received a young negro man as his share of the 
 spoils, and fled by way of the Grassy Islands. In crossing 
 the river at that point, the horse stumbled, throwing the 
 negro oft\ who was drowned. After the war, judgment was 
 obtained agtunst this man, but nothing recovered. Mrs. 
 Harrington made her way back as well as she coidd to her 
 father. Major James Auld, in Anson County. Her brothers, 
 John and Michael Aidd, started with a company in pursuit 
 of the Tories, but did not overtake them or succeed in 
 getting any of the property back.* Some time before the 
 march of General Gates to the South, General Harrington 
 had his head-quarters at Cross Creek. The object of his 
 position there was to keep the Tories in awe, and protect 
 the public stores, collected and sent forward from time to 
 time. On the advance of Gates to Camden, he scmiraoned 
 
 * After the war, Gsneral Harrington brocght 5mt aguinst Leggett, and 
 obtained judgment. Leggett, in the meantime, had transferred his lands to 
 another to prevent their being taken. ITjion its becoming knowrn, they es- 
 cheated to the State. An Ace was afterwards passed by the Leg^attire of X. 
 C. giving General H. title to these knv.!s. Upon going to Bladeii, he foond two 
 daughters of Leggett, and gave them deeds tor their homestead. Leggett, 
 with others, had escaped to Nova Scotia, bnk had uow retoraed. General H. 
 received vi^ little in the end — bat a tev Inadied doBus for van or two tracts 
 of land. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 331 
 
 General Harrington from Cross Creek with all despatch to 
 his assistance. The latter immediately took up the line of 
 march ; but, upon arriving at Haley^s Ferry, on the Pedee, 
 received intelligence of the disastrous defeat and general 
 dispersion of the American forces. His head-quarters for a 
 time were in this neighbourhood. 
 
 On the 18th of August, Colonel Nicholas, of the Virginia 
 Militia, wrote to General Harrington as follows : — 
 
 "Mark's Ferry,* Aug. 18th, 1780. 
 
 " Sir,— As I command at this point, I took the liberty 
 of opening your letter to General Stevens. My orders from 
 Colonel Harrison were to stay and command this pass, in 
 order to enable the stragglers of our army to cross the river ; 
 and I doubt not, on your considering the necessity of rally- 
 ing our men, who generally seem to pass this way, and 
 which would be rendered entirely ineffectual by giving up 
 the ferry to the command of the disaffected people, you will 
 render me all the assistance you can, both by giving me 
 advice and falling on some plan for the safety of the troops 
 here and at Colons Bridge, the former consisting of about 
 300 men badly armed. Colonel Harrison directed me to 
 march on for Hillsborough as soon as I supposed the men 
 had all passed that were likely to come this way. 
 
 " P.S. I just saw a letter from General Caswell to Colonel 
 Seawell, which I have forwarded to him, and which will put 
 it out of his power to act with me, I expect. 
 " Sii', I am, with respect, 
 
 '' Your most obedient servant, 
 
 "J. Nicholas, 
 " Lieut.-Col. V. Militia. 
 
 " Brig.-Gencral Harrington, on Pedee.'^ 
 
 On the 10th of September Gen. Gates, now on his re- 
 treat through North Carolina, wrote to Gen. Harrington. 
 
 '•' Hillsborough, 11 in the forenoon, 10th Septr., 1780. 
 
 " Dear Sir, — This momen\; I received your letter, dated 
 the 6th inst!, 8 p.m., from CrOss Creek. I am much pleased 
 
 * Mark'? Perry was fifty miles above Cheraw. 
 
332 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 with the good news it contains, and hope it will prove true ^ 
 in the mean time it is our duty, by every means, to know 
 with certainty if the fleet of our allies is_, or is not, upon 
 this coast. I desire you will immediately do every thing in 
 your power to satisfy me in that particular. Such necessary 
 and unavoidable expense as is incurred in procuring this 
 intelligence, I will cheerfully pay. 
 " I am, dear sir, 
 
 " Your affectionate, humble Servant, 
 
 " Horatio Gates. 
 " Brigadier-General Harrington. 
 
 " P.S. — Continue your spies toward Camden and dow^n 
 Pedee." 
 
 The enemy were now much emboldened, and renewed 
 their plundering expeditions, as they had done after the fall 
 of Charles-town, in the spring and early part of the summer. 
 Again Major Wemys made his presence felt in the country 
 above George-town. The South Carolina atid American 
 General Gazette of September 20th, contained an extract of 
 a letter from that place of the 16th, saying : " Maj<n' Wemys 
 has been scouring the country to the northward of this. 
 Several of the inhabitants who, after giving their paroles, 
 joined ]\Iarion and Horry in their late incursion, have gone 
 off with them. Some of their houses, &c., ha^ e been des- 
 troyed in terrorem. The persons of others, equally culpable, 
 are secured, as they have, by their recent base conduct, 
 shown themselves unworthy of being allowed to go at large.^' 
 
 Soon after this, the Board of War of North Carolina ad- 
 dressed to Gen. Harrington the following communication: — 
 
 "Hillsborough, Octr. 1st, 1780. 
 
 " Sir, — Gen. Gates will give you directions how you are 
 to conduct yom-self in your military operations. As he 
 understands that business much better than I do, you will 
 obey his orders. There are a number of militia at Col. 
 Scamlock's, in Chatham, left by Gen. Sumner, many of 
 them unable to do duty. I have written to the colonel to 
 send all that appear able to go to you, to Cross Creek, as 
 they may act as a guard — those that are unwell, to be dis- 
 charged, as they are only an incumbrance. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEKAWS. 333 
 
 *^ You will give sucli orders relative to any that joiii you 
 as you tliiuk proper. 
 
 " I am, your obedient servant, 
 
 " J. Penn." 
 Gen. Gates also wrute on the same day : " As the enemy 
 are advancing by the route of Salisbury, I recommend it to 
 you, to collect your force immediately at Cross Creek, and be 
 prepared to march by Chatham Court House the moment 
 you receive orders.'^ 
 
 By order of the Governor of North Carolina, Col. Thomas 
 Brown, of that State, had marched to Pedee, and soon after 
 his arrival wrote to General Harrington, informing him of 
 his movements. 
 
 " Camp at the Beauty Spot, 10th Octr., 1780. 
 
 " Dear Sir, — I have, agreeably to your order, marched as 
 far as this place, eiglit miles below Hick^s Mills; but meet- 
 ing with a letter here, informing me of your retreat back 
 to Cross Creek, I conclude to proceed no farther ; but shall, 
 as directed by his Excellency, Gov. Nash, drive off all the 
 beef cattle that I can possibly collect. I have received no 
 orders from you since the 3rd inst., which, together with 
 your unexpected retreat,"^ has left me so much in the dark 
 how to act, as to determine me as above. The inhabitants 
 about this place seem perfectly still, except about ninety, 
 who are said to be collected at Spike^s Mill, on Jeffrey's 
 Creek ; but we learn there is a party gone out this day in 
 order to dislodge them, under the command of Capt. Delany. 
 Captains Murphy and Council, with their companies, are 
 ranging up and down this river in order to keep the Tories 
 in awe. I hope shortly to hear from you ; and am, 
 " Dear sir, with much respect, 
 
 " Your most obedient, humble Servant, 
 
 " Thos. Brown. 
 
 " P.S. — Since I concluded I have been lucky enough to 
 meet with the person who furnishes the following deposition. 
 He is a son-in-law to Capt. Henry Council, and is said to 
 have been compelled into the British service, and has re- 
 turned home in consequence of Ford's orders. 'Tis confi- 
 
 * The unexpected retreat here lelerved to, was from Halej's Ferry, ou I'edee, 
 to Cross Creek. 
 
334 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 dently asserted by a person lately from Georgia, that six 
 thousand French are lauded there, and have taken Suus- 
 bury. We further learn that the Tories about Little Pedee 
 are summoned to meet on Thursday next, by one Jesse 
 Barfield. I shall endeavor to watch their motions, and if 
 possible, disperse them. 
 
 " I am, as before, yours, &c., 
 
 '' T. B. 
 " To Brig.- Gen. Harrington, 
 
 '' at or near Cross Creek. ^' 
 
 It appears from this letter, that the Whigs on Pedee were 
 now rendering effective service against the Tories. This 
 conflict was fiercely waged, and only to close with the ter- 
 mination of the war. 
 
 On the 11th of October, General Gates wrote to General 
 Harrington as to a change of position. 
 
 " Hillsborough, Octr. 11, 1780. 
 
 " Dear Sir, — Last night I received your letter from 
 Cross Creek, dated the 6th instant. Colonel Kolb was 
 then here. He is of opinion that you might securely take 
 post with your brigade upon the Pedee, opposite the Cheraws; 
 to this, if it meets with your approbation, I have not the 
 smallest objection. On the contrary, I recommend to you 
 to do it immediately. I desire you will acquaint Colonels 
 Marion and Giles with your intentions, and recommend it 
 to them to make diversions against the enemy^s posts below. 
 It is not improbable but you may, soon after your arrival 
 upon Pedee, hear something from General Sumpter. You 
 may, thereupon, with proper caution being taken, corre- 
 spond and co-oj)erate with him. But this information must 
 be kept a profound secret to every one but yourself. 
 
 " I am, Sir, 
 " Your affectionate, humble Servant, 
 
 " Horatio Gates. 
 
 " Brigadier-General Harrington, 
 " near Cross Creek. ^"^ 
 
 On the day this letter was written. Colonel Martin, in 
 behalf of the Board of War of N.C., addressed General 
 Harrington on the same subject. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 335 
 
 It was a matter of great importance to the inhabitants 
 on the Pedee. 
 
 " War Office, Hillsborough, Octr. 11th, 1780. 
 " Sir, — General Gates^s orders for your retreat from the 
 Pedee were unknown to the Board of War until your arrival 
 at Cross Creek ; a post so essential to be kept up for the 
 support of this State^ and protection of our neighbouring 
 friends in South Carolina, that the Legislature had this ob- 
 ject particularly in view, 
 
 " On the remonstrance of the Board, General Gates has 
 countermanded your orders, which you will receive with 
 this. As Mark's Ferry seems rather too high up the river 
 for the purposes intended, you will therefore please to exer- 
 cise your own discretion as to your main post on the Pedee, 
 so that it be not far above or below the boundary, and your 
 particular detachments. The army stand in great need of 
 provisions, particularly cattle. 
 
 " Colonel Brown hath a particular command from the 
 Governor, by direction of the Assembly, to collect all the 
 cattle on or near Pedee, so as not to distress private families 
 or indi\dduals^ and have them driven into ihp interior parts 
 of this State. You, Sir, will have the superintendence of 
 Colonel Brown and all other officers serving in your quar- 
 ter, to direct their particular movements, and detachments 
 to join you or otherwise. 
 
 " Other officers and men from you may be employed in 
 the like service, which is so importunate and pressing at 
 this juncture. 
 
 " Mr. Amis is directed to attend and receive the cattle, 
 and have them driven to this post. You have a hint dropped 
 you from General Gates, which perhaps may shortly be car- 
 ried into execution. 
 
 " General Small wood has accepted the command of our 
 militia, with whom you will please to correspond. He, with 
 Colonel Morgan, has marched for Salisbury. 
 " I am, with respect, 
 " Your most obedient, humble Servant, 
 
 " Alexander Martin. 
 " Brigadier- General Harrington, 
 " Cross Creek." 
 
336 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEIlAWS. 
 
 The movements of the British were at this juuoture a 
 subject of much uncertainty with the American commanders. 
 As a consequence, counter-orders were constantly being 
 given. Soon, however, this state of things was to pass 
 away, and the plans of the enemy to be more clearly de- 
 veloped. About the latter part of October, General Har- 
 rington reached the Pedee with his command, and took 
 post at Haley's Ferry, but soon removed to a point on the 
 river, immediately opposite Chcraw. He was kept in con- 
 stant connnunicatiou with the Board of War of North 
 Carolina, as well as with the commanders of the South 
 Carolina forces lower dowu the Pedee. General Small- 
 wood addressed him soon after. 
 
 "Camp New Providence, 31st Oetr., 17S0. 
 
 " Sir, — Since my acceptance of the command of the 
 militia, I have not had an opportunity of writing you, and 
 am still at a loss to know your position, or where to direct 
 for yon. I am apprehensive the particular quarters to 
 which our militaiy operations have been confined, have 
 jointly obstruQl;ed this, as the intermediate country has been 
 in possession of the enemy. 
 
 " It is necessary I should know your strength, resources, 
 and views, before I could Mith propriety point out any par- 
 ticular mode to govern your conduct, or regulate it viuder 
 the general scale or system to be adopted in our future 
 operations. I have taken this opportunity, therefore, by 
 Colonel Davie (who is ordered for particular purposes to 
 that part of the Tory country lying between us), to write 
 you, to be transmitted, if necessary, by a few horsemen, 
 upon whose return you 'will be so obliging as to favor me 
 with the necessary information above required. 
 
 " The British, two days ago, were encamped at or near 
 Lee's Mill, said to be fifteen or twenty miles below the 
 eross roads from that place. Roads lead to the westward 
 — Congarce, Charles-town, and Camden — so that no just 
 conclusion can be drawn of their next movement or 
 views. 
 
 " Our strength is so smnll here, and without artillery, 
 that nothing can be attempted against them, especially as 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 337 
 
 we should have a river in our rear, and our supplies princi- 
 pally to be dravi^n from this side ; but I shortly expect 
 General Gates on with the concentrated troops, when per- 
 haps something may be effected. We have just received 
 advices from Governor Jefferson, of the arrival of a large 
 fleet of the enemy within the Capes of Virginia, that they 
 were debarking on the 22nd instant ; but he does not men- 
 tion their number, or where they were landing, though, I 
 imagine, at Portsmouth, and the number to be the same 
 lately embarked at New York, and recently destined against 
 West Point ; but the capture of Andre, the British Adju- 
 tant-General, who acted as a spy, and the discovery of 
 Arnold^s treachery, changes their course for Virginia. 
 
 " You have no doubt heard of Arnold's perfidy, and the 
 deep plot laid by him and Andre of trepanning our excellent 
 Commander-in-Chief, and betraying the forts at West 
 Point, with 4000 men. 
 
 " The conquerors of Ferguson and his party I expected 
 to join me here, but they have generally dispersed. 
 " I am, very respectfully, 
 
 " Sir, your obt. humble Servant, 
 
 " W. Smallwood, Secretary. 
 
 " Gen. Harrington." 
 
 Colonel Brown was still on the Pedee, rendering effective 
 
 service against the Tories. He wrote again to the general, 
 
 from 
 
 " Camp, Bear Swamp, Novr. 4tb, 1780. 
 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " I received your favor of the 26th 
 of October, dated near Haley's Ferry. It gives me plea- 
 sure to hear you have marched to a part of the country that 
 so much wanted your assistance ; and I can assure you, I 
 have been ever since I received your first orders, upon the 
 march after those scoundrels, and can inform you the report 
 concerning Capt. Moore is partly false, as he did not lose 
 one man, and but one slightly wounded. But Barfield did 
 surprise him and took several of his horses ; but I have paid 
 them tolerably well for it. I have killed Miles Barfield, 
 wounded two others of the Barfields ; and, it is said, Jessie 
 
 z 
 
838 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Barfield is shot thnnigh the hand, but the oertaiutv I cannot 
 tell. I have got four more of the Barfields well ironed 
 and iiuder guard, whom I am rery choice of. You men- 
 tioned YOU would be glad to know how I came on in collect- 
 ing cattle. I have girt 25i> head and sent them to Head- 
 quarters, aud have just got to collecting agttin, as Barfield 
 hath prevented me for a fortnight past. I hope tou will 
 write to me by every opportunity, and I will not fail. 
 " And am. Sir, with respect, 
 
 " Your himible Servant. 
 
 " Thos Browx. 
 
 " Greneral Harrington, near Haley's Ferry .^' 
 
 The family of Barfield, to several of whom Col. Brown's 
 letter refers, lived on Little Pedee, and had now become 
 notorious. 
 
 The history of their leader. Major Barfield, the most 
 prominent among them, was one. unhappily for them- 
 selves and the country, not \mfrequeut in the days that 
 tried men's soids ; furnishing a sad illustration of the fact, 
 how tri^-ial causes are permitted to lead to a decisive and 
 fetal change in the conduct of life. Majoy Barfield is said 
 to have been a captain in the American service at the first 
 siege of Charles-town. Some indignity was ofiered him by 
 a superior officer, and he appealed for redress to the general 
 in command. 
 
 It was not granted : and becoming morbidly affected, he 
 toc^ revenge by deserting the cause of his country, carry- 
 ing a niunber with him, and proving himself ever after, a 
 bitter and relentless foe. He was possessed of superior 
 abilities, with a commanding person and respectable fortune, 
 and became the acknowledged leader of the disaffected in- 
 habitants between Great and Little Pedee. 
 
 IHiring the course of the war, he took refuge on some 
 occasion in the British camp, was seized with the small- 
 pox aud died. The predatory warfare between the ^Vhigs 
 and Tories was actively carrievl on in the adjoining parts of 
 North Carolina. 
 
 The following letter of Colonel Pavison to General 
 Harrington refers to the subject. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 339 
 
 " On Brown Creek, near Lanier, 6th Novr., 1780. 
 
 "Dear General^ 
 
 "■ I proceeded according to your 
 orders^ and on Brown Creek we took a grand Tory by the 
 name of Thomas Blake. I put him under a guard and 
 sent him off to James Boggin^s ; but before they got there, 
 the prisoner endeavoxired to make his escape. The guard 
 fired at him and killed him. 
 
 '^ Horses are very scarce in this quarter. I have collected 
 a few very good beef cattle, and put them in my own field 
 about three miles from where the river road crosses Brown 
 Creek. I think I can gather a good many beef cattle in 
 this country, by the information I have. John May came 
 in to me, and promised to be of all the service he can to 
 his country ; and, indeed, he has been very useful to me 
 since I have been in these parts ; but, as I heard you men- 
 tion something about him in your camp, I have ordered 
 him down to you. 
 
 '' Dennis M'Clendon was taken yesterday morning and 
 brought to me by Major Miller, &c. By the best authority, 
 the old man intended to come in as soon as he could find 
 some of his own county oflficers. We have several Tories 
 laying out yet, though I think all will come in except those 
 who have gone to the British. 
 
 " Our general muster is on Thursday next, at May's 
 Mill. And then the militia of this county is to be stationed 
 at Lanier^s plantation on Brown Creek ; and then we will 
 proceed immediately to gather all the beef cattle in these 
 parts, except you order otherwise. 
 
 " The bearer hereof waits on you for your orders. Please 
 to send me some salt if possible. I have sent Dennis 
 M'Lendon and Stephen Murphy under a guard, in the 
 care of Lieut. Colter. I have no news worth writing to 
 you. I am just setting off to the head of Brown Creek 
 and Lane Creek, and shall not be back until the muster. 
 "^ I am, dear General, 
 
 " Your most obt. Servant, 
 
 " Geo. Davison. 
 
 " N.B. — I beg to be excused for not writing to you 
 sooner/' 
 
 z 2 
 
340 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 On the Pedee occasional reverses were experienced, but 
 not of very serious consequence. Barfield was roaming 
 through the country, plundering and killing as opportunity 
 offered, though forced to be cautious in his movements. 
 Col. Brown continues the narrative : — 
 
 " Camp near Caird's Mill, the 9th of Novr., 1780. 
 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " I this evening received yours, dated 
 this day, near Charraw Ferry, with the disagreeable news of 
 Capt. Murphy's defeat, and highly approve of your plan, 
 and will do everything in my power to put it in execution, 
 as it is a most dreadful affair that such a set of scoundrels 
 should be allowed to exist upon earth. I have 162 men, of 
 whom I have about 45 horse, fit for duty. I expect to be 
 to-morrow at Caird's Mill ; and would recommend it to the 
 officers commanding your posts, to meet me on Sunday at 
 Jonathan Miller's, as Barfield resorts near that place. 
 Your troops can cross Little Pedee at Gibson's, and then 
 there is a direct road to Miller's. Yesterday, Barfield fell 
 in with 5 of your men that left your camp on Monday, by 
 the names of Robert Vernon, Matthew White, Theophilus 
 Eavens, — Hadley (the other name I cannot tell), and kept 
 them till about midnight, and then took all their horses and 
 arms, paroled them and let them go. 
 
 "^ I would recommend it to you to send a formidable 
 troop of horse, as Barfield can raise 70 or 80 horse himself, 
 and is determined to prevent any cattle being collected 
 amongst them ; and, I imagine, there might be two or three 
 hundred head of good cattle got, if they could be once 
 broken up. 
 
 " Barfield attacked my regiment last Monday week, at 
 night ; but they did us no damage, only slightly wounded 
 two men. I wrote to you a few days ago by Cross Creek, 
 and hope to hear from you by every opportunity. And am. 
 Sir, with respect, 
 
 " Your humble Servant, 
 
 " Thos. Brown, C.T.T." 
 
 Cautious and rapid in their movements, approaching by 
 stealth and generally under cover of darkness, it was difli- 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 341 
 
 cult for the Whigs to capture the marauding parties of 
 Tories. Under Barfield, the orgauization was effective and 
 formidable. 
 
 The South Carolina Gazette and American Journal, 
 Charles-town, of Nov. 15th, contained the following intelli- 
 gence : — " We are authorized to inform the public that 
 about 200 of the inhabitants near Pedee River, over whom 
 Mr. Marion and his associates for some time past have ex- 
 ercised the most despotic and cruel tyranny, lately collected 
 together in arms, and fell in with a gang of banditti, whom 
 they routed and entirely dispersed. The leader of the rebels, 
 a Col. Murphy, was amongst the killed. 
 
 " A few days since, the victorious Loyalists joined the 
 King's forces posted at George-town. The accounts from 
 that part of the country represent the people eagerly dis- 
 posed to contribute their assistance towards preventing any 
 future inroads of the rebels. '^ 
 
 Fortunately for his country, the report of Col. Murphy's 
 death was false. He survived this and many other bloody 
 conflicts, to see both foreign and domestic foes subdued. 
 " Mr. Marion,^' so contemptuously alluded to, had already 
 become a terror to the enemy, and was yet to see many a 
 proud officer, with once victorious soldiers, suppliants before 
 him. 
 
 Gen. Smallwood continued to write, giving an interesting 
 account of the general progress of events. 
 
 " Camp, November 15th, 1780. 
 
 " Sir, — I received your two favors of the 28th October 
 and 5th inst., some time after I wrote you on the 31st 
 ultimo. They were delivered by some militia from Gen. 
 Butler's camp, and had been delayed on the road. The 
 expresses you sent never came fiu'ther than Salisbury, which 
 prevented my writing as I could have wished. 
 
 " I must request you in future to direct the expresses to 
 deliver their despatches in person, that they may be im- 
 mediately answered on their return ; but I hope our com- 
 munication shortly maj'^ be opened upon a more direct route 
 through Lynche's Creek. 
 
 " I daily expect the arrival of General Gates with the 
 
342 HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 
 
 Continental troops, when our strength will enable us to ad- 
 vance lower down, and it then may be necessary for you to 
 advance across the country, to co-oporate with us ; and, in 
 the interim, as I am unacquainted with the country, I could 
 wish you would point out, or give your opinion upon the 
 propriety of taking a position somewliere upon Black River, 
 or Lynchers Creek. If such a position could be taken with 
 security, it would have a happy tendency in several respects, 
 particularly in facilitating some plans in view — tlie suppres- 
 sion of the Tories, and securing supplies^ which are much 
 exhausted in this quarter. You will also be so obliging as 
 to favor me with returns of your strength, resources, and 
 views, as I requested in my last. We now draw supplies 
 of forage and provision from the upper part of Lynchers 
 Creek, and the Tory part of tlie Waxsaw settlement ; and I 
 am now extending my views lower down in these quarters 
 and across the Catawbas. 
 
 "LordCornwallis remains at Wynsborough inactive, Tarle- 
 ton below on the Sautee, wasting and destroying all before 
 him, which indicates an evacuation of Camden. This place, 
 I think, might have been reduced ere tliis, and Turleton 
 circumscribed in his depredations, had the Continental troops 
 been forwarded ; but in our present weak state, Lord Coru- 
 wallis has taken so judicious a position, either to cut off our 
 retreat or aid his parties, that these enterprises could not 
 be risked. 
 
 " I think something may shortly be effected, unless the 
 enemy should be reinforced, which I really am apprehensive 
 of, and that the arrival of the French fleet you mention in 
 yours of the 5th inst. is premature. I wisli they may not 
 prove to be British, with a reinforcement, and the firing, 
 salutes or signal guns, as we have no intelligence of a 
 French fleet from the latest accounts from the northward ; 
 but 1 am informed of a late embarkation from New York, 
 conjectured to be destined to Charles-town ; and also that 
 some part of the fleet and forces from Portsmouth had sailed 
 for that place. 
 
 " Sumpter has lately defeated a party of two hundred Bri- 
 tish cavalry and infantry mounted, and a small number of 
 Tories, who attacked him at Fish Dam Ford, at 3 o^clock on 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 343 
 
 the morning of the 9th instant. The commanding officer, 
 Major Wemys, a surgeon, and sergeant-major^ were taken 
 wounded, with upwards of twenty more prisoners, some valu- 
 able horses and arms. Seven were killed and more wounded, 
 who were carried off. Sumpter^s loss was only four killed 
 and two wounded. 
 
 " I am, with very great regard and esteem, 
 
 " Sir, your obedient, humble Servant, 
 
 W. Smallwood. 
 '^ Brigadier-General Harrington, 
 Kershaw "Ferry. ""^ 
 
 For several months past^ Marionf had been actively en- 
 gaged with the enemy in the parts below, and shortly before 
 this, made an unsuccessful attempt upon George-town. He 
 gave the following account of it to Gen. Harrington. 
 
 " Blackmingo, l7th Novr., 1780. 
 
 " Sir, 
 
 " Since my last to you, Colonel Tarleton retreated 
 to Camden, after destroying all the houses and provisions in 
 his way. By information, I was made to believe there was 
 but fifty British in George-town, and no militia, which in- 
 duced me to attempt taking that place. But, unluckily, 
 the day before I got there they received a reinforcement of 
 two hundred Tories under Captains Barfield and Lewis from 
 Pedee. The next day the Tories came out and we scummaged 
 with them. 
 
 " Part I cut off from the town, and drove the rest in, 
 except the two men killed, and twelve taken prisoners. Our 
 loss was Lieutenant Gabriel Marion, and one private killed. 
 These two men were killed after they surrendered. We had 
 three or four wounded, one since dead of his wound. 
 
 " Captain Barfield was wounded in his head and body, but 
 got off. Captain James Lewis, Commonly called ' Otter Skin 
 Lewis,^ was one killed. I stayed two days within three 
 
 * Kershaw Ferry was that at Cheraw, so called then, 
 •f Marion is supposed to have been at this time a colonel, though previously 
 called general. In August, he was commissioned by Governor Rutlodge to 
 take command of the post at Lynche's Creek, but not appointed general until 
 some time after that, as James says in his " Sketch," p. 46 (note). 
 
344 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 miles of tlie town^ in which time most of the Tories left 
 their friends and went home. 
 
 " Finding the regulars in the town to be eighty men, 
 besides militiaj strongly entrenched in a redoubt, with 
 swivels and cohorns on their parapet, I withdrew my men, 
 as I had not six rounds per man, and shall not be able to 
 proceed on any operations without a supply of ammunition, 
 which I will be obliged to you to furnish me with by Captain 
 Potts, who commands a detachment to guard the prisoners 
 taken. I have not heard anything from General Gates 
 since the letter you sent me. 
 
 " A man from the high hills of Santee, within eight miles 
 of Camden, says that Washington^'s Horse is at Rugely^s 
 Mill, one mile from there. I beg to know where our army 
 is, and what news from them. 
 
 " I am, with esteem, your most obedient Servant, 
 
 " Feancis Marion. 
 
 " Hon. Brig.-General Harrington, Pedee.^'' 
 
 Colonel Kolb was now in command in the neighbourhood 
 of Long Bluff, and the acknowledged leader on the Upper 
 Pedee. 
 
 In reply to a call from General Harrington, he made the 
 following return of his force : — 
 
 " To Brig.-Gen. Harrington. 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " You last wrote that you wanted 
 to see me, with a return of my regiment this day in camp. 
 I should be happy in waiting on you at any time after to- 
 day. I think to ride up to-morrow, if I should not be sick. 
 " Sir, you wanted to ascertain the number of men I had 
 in the regiment. 
 
 " Agreeably to my returns, I have but 233 men, besides 
 officers. I shall send you the part of my regiment you 
 require to-morrow, or next day. I shall have them marched 
 up under command of some one captain. 
 
 " I am. Sir, your most humble Servant, 
 
 " Abel Kolb. 
 
 " 27th of Novr., 1780." 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 345 
 
 The number here returned was small indeed, having 
 doubtless been much reduced by disease aud the sword. The 
 exposure and privation endured in the kind of warfare now 
 carried on must have been very great, wasting away im- 
 perceptibly what was not at once destroyed. 
 
 The spirit of revolt on the Pedee gave much concern to 
 the enemy, particularly in connexion with the holding their 
 post at Camden. On the 3rd of December, Lord Cornwallis, 
 from his camp at Wynsborough, wrote to Sir H. Clinton on 
 the subject. He said : — " Colonel Marion had so wrought 
 on the minds of the people, partly by the terror of his 
 threats and cruelty of his punishments, and partly by the 
 promise of plunder, that there was scarcely an inhabitant 
 between the Santee and Pedee that was not in arms against 
 us. Some parties had even crossed the Santee, and carried 
 terror to the gates of Charles-town. My first object was to 
 reinstate matters in that quarter, without which Camden 
 could receive no supplies. 
 
 '' I therefore sent Tarleton, who pursued Marion for 
 several days, obliged his corps to take to the swamps, and 
 by convincing the inhabitants that there was a power superior 
 to Marion, who could likewise reward and punish, so far 
 checked the insurrection that the greatest part of them have 
 not dared to appear in arms against us since his expe- 
 dition.''* 
 
 Notwithstanding the tone of this communication, Corn- 
 wallis had sad forebodings of the future that awaited him, as 
 his correspondence shows. He was much deceived in the 
 opinion, if in reality it was entertained, that the patriots 
 were convinced of a power superior to Marion. The British 
 had exercised so much oppression and rapacity over all those 
 who would not join them, and so much insolence over those 
 who did, that the people of Carolina found there was no 
 alternative between a state of downright vassalage on the 
 one hand, and of unyielding warfare on the other. The 
 men of principle already had done so, or were prepared to 
 take up arms ; and in general, only the unprincipled remained 
 with the enemy in expectation of plunder, or from motives 
 
 * " Tarletou," p. 200. 
 
346 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 of fear. They had now learned^ besides^ that the country 
 might be overrun with more facility than kept in subjection 
 by the necessarily divided forces of the enemy, and that a 
 partisan warfare, such as Marion had now begun, was the 
 best that could be carried on against a foe superior in force 
 and discipline to themselves.^ 
 
 In common with the inhabitants of other parts of the 
 State, the Whigs of Pedee had been made to contribute 
 their faithful slaves to the working force of the enemy. 
 Among the returns of negroes in the different departments, 
 were the following in the published records of the day : — 
 " Novr. 1780. t Negroes in the engineer department, that 
 joined the army since the landing under Sir H. Clinton, in 
 1780. 
 
 " Sam, taken from Colonel Hart 
 Dick, „ „ „ Kolb 
 
 James, „ „ „ „ 
 
 Simon, „ „ „ „ 
 
 Pompey, „ „ „ „ 
 
 '' In Barrack Master^s department : — 
 
 " Abraham, taken from Colonel Kolb, 
 Jupiter, „ „ General Harrington.^^ 
 
 On the 18th of November, the Pedee country and the 
 State at large sustained a heavy loss in the death of Gen. 
 Alexander M'Intosh.J 
 
 In every relation of life, this patriotic and honored 
 citizen had ever maintained the most exemplary character. 
 A member of the Provincial Congress and one of the Com- 
 mittee of Observation for St. David^s Parish ; a representa- 
 tive successively, and the first senator elected, for St. David^s ; 
 the President of St. David^s Society from its organization ; 
 appointed first Major, then Lieut. -Colonel in the Provincial 
 service, afterwards Brigadier- General of Militia, and member 
 of the Legislative Council, as first established — it was his 
 
 * James's " Sketch of Marion," p. 84. f Gazette of November, 1780. 
 
 X This entry appears in the journal of Mr. Pugh : — 
 
 " Sunday, 19th Novr. preached Gen. M'Intosh's funeral, at the Welch Neck, 
 on 2 Timothy, iv. 7, 8." 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 347 
 
 happiness to fill every position to which he was called with 
 fidelity and honor. Of superior mental endowments, and 
 well-balanced character, commanding in person, and pos- 
 sessed of an ample fortune, he was enabled to exert a degree 
 of influence beyond most of his contemporaries in the ser- 
 vice of his country, in which he was active and prominent 
 from the commencement of the struggle for liberty. Nor, 
 in the midst of so troublous a period did he forget the chief 
 duty of man. In war, he meekly served the Prince of 
 Peace, and died the death of the righteous. 
 
 General Harrington was still on the Pedee,* and continued 
 to hold that position until some time in December. He 
 then moved up the river, and was shortly after at Grassey 
 Creek, Roanoke, where he received the following letter from 
 Col. John Donaldson : — 
 
 " Richmond County, Pedee, 30th Deer., 1780. 
 
 " Dear General, 
 
 " This will serve to acknowledge the receipt of 
 yom' favors, dated the 11th and 19th inst., for which I am 
 much obliged to you. Your order on me by W. Hardick 
 shall be answered the first opportunity. As to news, I am 
 at a loss to inform you of any. As to the enemy's move- 
 ments, was last night informed that Lord Cornwallis had 
 retreated to Camden, but am not certain as to the truth. 
 Before this reaches you, I imagine you will hear of the Hon. 
 Major-General Green's marching here with a number of 
 Continentals, Virginia Militia, and some cavalry ; but as to 
 real number, am not acquainted, for I have never been in 
 camp yet, which is on Hicks's Creek. 
 
 * The following is one of many accounts of articles furnished General 
 Harrington's forces on Pedee : — 
 
 " State of South Carolina. 
 
 " To George Hicks. 
 Novr. 6, 1780, 1921 Ihs. of pork @ 32.y. U. per 100, £31 7 6 
 „ 15, „ 100 bundles corn blades, @ 70c?. per 100, 15 6 
 „ 29, „ 180 busls. corn, @ 3*. Qd. 31 10 8 
 
 £63 13 8 
 
 " The above mentioned pork, corn blades, and corn were impressed for use of 
 N. C. militia, in this State, under command of Brig.-Gcn. Harrington, who at 
 that time had the command of the S. C. militia on both sides of the Pedee." 
 
348 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 " Brigadier-General Morgan is left with some chosen 
 troops on the Catawba River. Where General Sumpter is, 
 I cannot say. General Marion has had two small skir- 
 mishes with the Tories and British, at or near Nelson^s 
 Ferry. The enemy retreated towards Camden. He took 
 some prisoners and killed some, the number not known. 
 His Excellency, John Rutledge, Esq., of South Carolina, 
 General Huger, and some other officers belonging to that 
 State, are in camp, 
 
 " I am told his Excellency is going to camp at the Che- 
 raws. I hope he will transmogriphy the Northern Tories, 
 and make them know that liberty has not declined altogether 
 her friendship for that State. Col. Thomas Wade has got 
 an appointment to act as Commissary for the South State. 
 He speaks of building 300 flat-bottomed boats, as to the 
 use of which many are the conjectures. I hope for the 
 best. 
 
 " If our allies are but near Bermuda, I should think 
 Lord Cornwallis will draw near to Charles-town for support 
 of that place. It was almost without necessary guards a few 
 days ago, as report goes. 
 
 " I have spoken to Col. Medlock as to your request, but 
 he says he has not received any satisfactory answer from the 
 Board of War ; but as he is coming to the Assembly in the 
 course of the week, he may settle that matter. 
 
 "He was appointed, at our Court, Commissioner, and 
 gave security for the same. How far we are justifiable in 
 holding Court, I cannot say. Some necessary things were 
 done — for particulars, shall refer you to Col. Medlock. 
 
 " Col. Wade was at my house a few days ago, and hinted 
 he would be willing to be done with the Light Horse Regi- 
 ment for the three counties. He told me he would Avritc to 
 you on the subject. If so, and any party of horse or foot 
 should be thought proper to be raised, and that for a cer- 
 tain time, not less than six or twelve months, if thought 
 best, and that proper arms might be had for them ; then, 
 if you should think that my weak abilities could be of any 
 service to my country, I shall be willing to serve, so that 
 strict discipline may be allowed, when on duty. But shall 
 refer the whole to your good judgment. I rest fully assured 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 349 
 
 of your doing everything in your power for your much- 
 injured country, and remain, dear General, 
 " Your most obedient, and 
 
 " Very humble Servant, 
 
 " John Donaldson. 
 
 " To Hon. Brigadier- General Harrington, 
 " Grassey Creek, Roanoke. 
 
 " P.S. — Sir, please to present my compliments to Mrs. 
 Harrington, and all inquiring friends, — 1 am yours, &c. 
 
 " J. D. 
 
 " N.B. — I am in great want of a good sword. In case 
 of employment, will pay any expenses. — I am yours, 
 
 " J. D." 
 
 General Green, who had been sent to take charge of the 
 Southern Department, arrived at Charlotte, North Caro- 
 lina, December 2. But, in consequence of the scarcity of 
 food, that region having been greatly plundered, he divided 
 his forces. Gen. Morgan was sent with a strong body to 
 the western parts of South Carolina, while General Green, 
 with the main column, marched on 20th December for Pedee. 
 His force now consisted of not more than one thousand Conti- 
 nentals, and about as many militia. He was bare of 
 ammunition and clothing, and had no money to pay for 
 them.* 
 
 He pitched his camp on the southern bank of Husband's 
 Creek,t three miles from Cheraw, on the east side of the 
 river, but moved almost immediately after to a position on 
 Hicks's Creek, a mile higher up. 
 
 Lord Cornwallis, in a letter to Col. Tarleton, dated Wyns- 
 borough, Dec. 26th, 1780, thus wrote : — " A man came this 
 morning from Charlotte-town ; his fidelity is, however, very 
 doubtful. He says, that Green marched on Wednesday last 
 towards the Cheraws, to join Gen. Caswell ; and that 
 Morgan, with his infantry, and one hundred and twenty- 
 four of Washington's Light Horse, crossed Biggin's Ferrv 
 
 * .James's " Sketch of Marion," p. 85. 
 ■j- Some remains of his first encampment were to be seen a few years since. 
 
350 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 on Thursday and Friday last, to join Lacy.* I expect more 
 certain iuforinatiou/' 
 
 Of the luovcments luadc abt)ut this time, Tarlcton wrote 
 al'terwai'ds : — " During the preparation for the second inva- 
 sion of North Carolina, emissaries liad been despatched into 
 that Pro^■ince to obtain intelligence of the force and designs 
 of the enemy. 
 
 " Near the end of December information was received that 
 Gen. Green had made a division of his troops, which did 
 not exceed one thousand four hundred men, exclusive of 
 the militia ; and that he had committed the light infantry 
 and Col. Washington's cavalry to Gcu. INIorgan, with direc- 
 tions to pass the Catawba and Ih'oad Kivcrs, in order to 
 collect the militia in the districts through which he 
 nuu'chcd, and afterwards threaten Ninety-six ; whilst lu^ con- 
 ducted the other division of the Continentals to Haley's 
 Ferry, on the River Pedee, to form a junction with Gen. 
 Caswell, and give jealousy to Camden. This appeared to be 
 the outline of the iVnierican design previous to the arrival 
 of Gen. Leslie's reinforcements. The intelligence Gen. 
 Green had procured siiu>e his appointment to the southward, 
 and the calculations of his own and the British force, might 
 suggest the propriety of attempting to distress the frontier 
 of South Carolina by a desultt)ry war, till he could acquire 
 a connnand suiliciently numerous and well disciplined to 
 conduct more decisive operations. 
 
 " There could not be an arrangement better chosen, pro- 
 vided the Royalists were not joined by any additional regi- 
 ments ; but the increase of the English army would certainly 
 frustrate such a disposition. 
 
 " It is not to be supposed that Gen. Green would have 
 adopted the liazardous plan of dividing and advancing his 
 troops, if he had received authentic information of Gen. 
 Leslie's command being withdrawn from \ irgiuia and 
 united to the force in South Carolina ; because such an 
 accessit)u of strength woidd luiturally produce a nunement 
 from Wynsborough, which, if executed with tolerable 
 rapidity, might separate the two divisions of the American 
 
 " Tarleton," p. 207. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 351 
 
 army, and endanger their being totally dispersed or de- 
 stroyed/^"^ 
 
 The disposition of his forces made by Gen, Green may 
 have been hazardous, and was doubtless done in ignorance 
 of the transfer of Leslie ; yet the enemy failed to take 
 advantage of it, so as to accomplish the results most confi- 
 dently anticipated. 
 
 The advance of Green to Pedee inspired general confidence 
 in that part of the State, and gave a new impetus to the 
 partisan warfare already successfully waged. Thus the year 
 1780 drew to a close, victory, in the main, having followed 
 the invadcr^s steps. And yet the spirit of liberty had 
 revived ; the division of the British forces to keep the State 
 in subjection, only develoj)ed the weakness of the enemy, 
 and pointed out the way, by such a conflict as Marion, 
 Kolb, and others were now carrying on, of ensuring a cer- 
 tain and not very remote victory in the end. 
 
 * " Tarleton," pp. 207, 208. It would seem, from wliut Tarleton here says, 
 that General Green's first design might have been to go to Haley's Ferry, or 
 possibly that report was circulated to mislead the enemy. His movement was 
 directly to Cheraw. 
 
352 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 General Green on Pedee — His retreat into North Carolina — Progress of British 
 arms — Extracts from Pugh's journal — Colonel Murphy and the Tories 
 — Gideon Gibson's death — Difficulty and correspondence between Captain 
 Snipes and Colonel Kolb — The latter writes to General Marion — Whigs 
 surprise the Tories on tlie Three Creeks — Harry Sparks killed — Tories 
 routed — Whig expeditions against them to Drowning Creek and Cat Pish — 
 Tories retaliate on Colonel Ko'.b — His death — Adventures of Lewis Malone 
 Ayer — Other scenes of that day — Outrages by the Tory party — Kolb's 
 character — Account of Captain Jones, the Tory leader, and others — Cartel 
 for exchange of prisoners between General Green and Cornwallis — Corn- 
 wallis's movements — His declining fortunes and his correspondence — Colonels 
 Benton and Murphy, and other leaders on Pedee — Extracts from Pugh's 
 journal — Murphy's fight with Tories at Bass's Mill — Derangement of civil 
 affairs — Ordinary appointed for Cheraws — Gainey's difficulty with Murphy 
 — Treaty between Gainey and General Marion — Gainey's character — Inci- 
 dent connected with battle of Eutaw — Legislative elections for Cheraws — 
 Colonel Steward's case — Mrs. Steward's petition — Steward's character and 
 death — Confiscation Bill — Extract from Royal Gazette — Citizens of Cheraws 
 included in the Bill — Extracts satirical from Royal Gazette — General Pinck- 
 ney's letter to General Matthews. 
 
 The year 1781 opened upon strangely varied scenes through- 
 out the State. The enemy was confident^ though suffering 
 from reverses, and preparing for decisive movements. The 
 presence of Gen. Green on the Pedee kept the disaffected 
 in awe during his brief stay, and brought with it a state of 
 comparative repose to the inhabitants in the adjacent region. 
 Col. Kolb was now in the full tide of his successful career 
 as the honored champion of the cause of America in the 
 Cheraw District. Col. Murphy was doing valiant service in 
 the parts lower down on the east, Major Benton had his 
 post on the west of the river, while Marion was actively 
 engaged from Lynchers Creek to George-town. 
 
 The wearied army was recruiting in camp on Hicks^s 
 Creek. John Wilson, then a young and active Whig, was 
 appointed captain of a small company of trusty men, called 
 the " Munchausen Corps," as a light troop, to scour the 
 country around during Green's sojourn on the Pedee. 
 This, however, was to be of short continuance. The pur- 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 353 
 
 suit of Morgan by Cornwallis, after the battle of Cow-pens, 
 of which Gen. Green received early intelligence, induced 
 him to break up his encampment on the Pedee and move 
 with all possible despatch in order to join Morgan.* He 
 went in advance, with a small party, lea^dng the main body 
 to follow on. The march commenced on the 28th of 
 January, 1781. Of the almost incredible hardships endured 
 during the rigors of this memorable winter, and particularly 
 on the retreat from Guilford Court House, the historians 
 of the time have written. Nothing of special interest 
 occurred during the month's stay of Green on the Pedee. 
 The only remains of his correspondence while here which 
 have appeared, are a few brief letters to Marion, Sumpter and 
 others. 
 
 His departure tlu'ew the Whigs of Cheraw District once 
 more upon their own strong arms for protection, and the 
 warfare with the Tories was renewed with unsparing fero- 
 city. 
 
 Called off, as many of them were to the assistance of 
 Marion, advantage was taken of their absence by marauding 
 parties to ravage the country, and plunder their defenceless 
 homes. Alarming accounts were also spread abroad of the 
 progress of the British arms, keeping the public mind in a 
 state of constant agitation. Mr. Pugh's journal furnishes 
 some extracts descriptive of the time. 
 
 " Thursday, 25th January. At home all day. Had certain 
 news of Tarleton's defeat at Broad River. Many people 
 here all day. 
 
 " Saturday, 3rd February. Went to the Mill,t and Lide's. 
 Met Lee's horsemen at the Mill. 
 
 " Thursday, 22nd. Murphy's company ran from the 
 Tories. 
 
 " Wednesday, 28th March. Had the news that Marion's 
 camp was taken. 
 
 " Thursday, 29th. Camp not taken. The British at 
 Burch's.^' 
 
 * James Gillespie, a staunch and active young Whig, who resided near 
 Green's Camp, acted as guide to the general on liis march fi-om Pedee. 
 
 ■j- Long after known as Gibson's Mill, on the road from Long Bluff to 
 George-town. 
 
354 HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Lower down, on the east side of the river, the Tories 
 made frequent incursions from Little Pedee, finding ready 
 co-operation on the part of some in that immediate region. 
 
 The Whigs were driven in some cases to acts of cruel 
 retaliation. One instance of this kind is related of Col. 
 Maurice Murphy. He was a man of ungovernable passion, 
 which was often inflamed by strong drink. On the occa- 
 sion alluded to he went to the house of a noted Tory, named 
 Blackman, then somewhat advanced in years, and inoffen- 
 sive. He had several sons, however, who were active against 
 the Whigs. Murphy ^s real object, doubtless, was to disco- 
 ver where these and others of their companions were. 
 Having tied Blackman, he asked him who he was for; and 
 upon his replying, " for King George," gave him fifty lashes. 
 The question was repeated with the same reply, and the 
 like punishment inflicted, until the fourth time, when, upon 
 finding the old man unyielding, Mm-phy was compelled to 
 desist. Blackman lived on Cat Fish, and the place is yet 
 called " Tory's Camp." 
 
 Gideon Gibson, the uncle of Murphy, blamed him for 
 his conduct on this occasion. 
 
 Subsequently Murphy stopped with his company at Gib- 
 son's for breakfast, and while there the subject was resumed. 
 A quarrel ensued, and as Murphy mounted his horse to start 
 off, Gibson followed him to the door and said something 
 offensive, whereupon Murphy shot him dead. Three of 
 Gibson's sons were present in INIurphy's company, and were 
 men of undoubted courage ; but knowing his violent temper 
 and desperate resolution, did not interfere. Nothing was 
 done to Murphy afterwards. 
 
 In the early part of the year Capt. William Clay Snipes, 
 from the Lower Pedee, applied to Gov. Rutledge for permission 
 to raise an independent company to operate westward of the 
 Santee. The Governor wrote to Gen. Marion, 28th January, 
 from Cheraw, on the subject, giving his sanction to the 
 undertaking, and Gen. Sumpter subsequently issued instruc- 
 tions to the same effect. 
 
 In raising his company, Captain Snipes induced some of 
 the men under Col. Kolb's command to join him. This led 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 355 
 
 to a correspondence and protest on the part of the colonel 
 against such a proceeding. 
 
 " Sir J — I am informed you are taking all the young men 
 that I have ordered to join Gen. Marion with you to the 
 southward. I must now beg leave to inform you of Gen. 
 Marion^s orders against such proceedings^ which I have just 
 received^ forbidding any person leaving his brigade without 
 his leave. " I am^ sir, 
 
 " Your most obedient, humble Servant, 
 
 " A. KOLB. 
 
 '' To Capt. Snipes." 
 
 To this the following tart reply was made : — 
 
 "April 16th, 1781. 
 " Sir, — I received yours, and this will inform you that I 
 have instructions from Gen, Sumpter, who commands Gen. 
 Marion, to raise men where I can ; and as to Gen. Marion's 
 orders, in this case it avails nothing. 
 " I am, sir, 
 
 " Your most humble Servant, 
 
 " William Clay Snipes.''* 
 
 Two days after this Col. Kolb wrote to Gen. Marion on 
 the subject, complaining of Captain Snipes' course. 
 
 " April 18th, 1781. 
 
 " Dear Sir, — Through much difficulty I have sent you 
 Captain John Wilds with a few men, though not the num- 
 ber you expect. 
 
 " I expressed a few days ago the opinion that I should 
 not be able to send you a single man, for as soon as the 
 men were ordered to join you. Snipes and some officers 
 whom he had appointed out of this regiment, endeavored 
 to prevent their joining you, by telling them some fine 
 stories, and speaking rather disrespectfully of you, as I have 
 been informed, to prevent their joining you. 
 
 " As soon as I received your last orders I immediately 
 
 * Gibbes's " Documentary History," 1781-82, pp. 52, 53. 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 informed Lieut. Lyons^ whom I had ordered to join you 
 with the young men that were to have been continued with 
 you^ of your orders^ informing him that I thought the 
 young men that were ready in turning out with him to join 
 Gen. Sumpter would receive the same advantage by joining 
 you^ but this did not avail anything. 
 
 " When I found this to be the case, I wrote him again, 
 also wrote Captain Snipes, a copy of which I have enclosed 
 you ; also Snipes'' answer. I saw Lyons yesterday myself. 
 I asked him about the men that he had raised ; he said he 
 had sent them to General Sumpter, and that he would send 
 every other man of the regiment that he could recruit, to 
 him, notwithstanding they were ordered other ways. He 
 damned himself if he would serve under any officer but 
 «rliom he pleased ; that he disregarded any orders that 
 might be issued to the contrary. As soon as I received 
 your orders, I ordered my men to have half of their men 
 in readiness to join you, by a certain time. Just as they 
 were ready to march, the said Lyons immediately impressed 
 several of their horses, and sent them off, which prevents 
 many of them coming to you, and the scarcity of horses at 
 this time and place, prevents their being replaced. 
 
 " I should be glad to know what method you would have 
 me to take with such persons. I shall endeavor to send 
 some few men on to you as soon as horses can be had, as 
 we are obliged to stop ploughs to get horses at this time to 
 do patrol duty. We have no news, only of a party of 
 Tories, who have been in Captain Murphy^s company, com- 
 manded by a Captain John Brockington. 
 " I am, dear Sir, 
 
 " Your most humble Servant, 
 
 "Abel Kolb.^-^^ 
 
 General Marion wrote to General Sumpter immediately, 
 and in reply, General Sumpter said : — " You gave your 
 opinion in that [a previous letter], it is true, with respect to 
 raising troops upon the State establishment, which opinion 
 it appears you have resumed, not from the ill policy of the 
 
 * Gibbes's " Documentary History," 1781-72, pp. 54, 55. 
 
HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 357 
 
 measure, but because Major Snipes might have disobliged 
 you. Whether he gave a cause of umbrage I know not ; 
 he was acting by no particular direction of me. If he has 
 transgressed, he is amenable, and may, as an officer, be 
 punished with great propriety, notwithstanding there is 
 neither executive nor legislative body in the State; yet I 
 think their powers exist, and whoever denies it is dilating 
 the almost mortal wound our laws have received, and 
 directly admits what Major Snipes may have done to be 
 just, or that what he prevented another from doing, was 
 unjust. I revere the citizen who is tenacious of the laws 
 of his country. I lament their being so much abused. If 
 I have done* it, I think myself accountable, and shall no 
 doubt be called upon by the gentleman to whom you say 
 you shall represent the matter ; and if he is unacquainted 
 with my motives and the step I have taken, should be happy 
 to have his opinion upon that head. To his judgment and 
 authority, I pay the greatest respect ; but I have not a 
 doubt but that he and all impartial men, will applaud an 
 undertaking which promised so much good to the United 
 States, and this in particular ; especially as it was the last 
 and only measure that could be adopted for its security, or 
 possession of even the least part of it. As to the powers 
 by which I act, they ought not to be called in question by 
 any man, until gentlemen whom it might con-cern had used 
 proper means to obtain information.^''^ Here th^e discus- 
 sion of the matter appears to have dropped. Even before 
 these lines of General Sumpter were penned. Col. Kolb was 
 no longer among the living. One of those bloody acts of 
 the Tories, so characteristic of this period, led to a series of 
 retaliations on the part of the Whigs, which ended in a 
 mournful catastrophe for the inhabitants of the Pedee. 
 
 A party of Whigs, shortly before this, went out in search 
 of a noted band of Tories who w^ere known to occupy a 
 stronghold in the swamp of the Three Creeks, from which 
 frequent incursions had been made into the river settlements. 
 At that time, the swamp was an almost impenetrable 
 morass^ rendering it a secure retreat for such outlaws. 
 
 * Gibbes's " Documentary History," 1781-82, pp. 64, 65. 
 
358 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Upon approaching its border, the Whigs remained quiet for 
 some time, hoping to discover some sign of the enemy ; but 
 in vain. To penetrate it in a body, not knowing the exact 
 location of the Tory camp, would have been a most hazard- 
 ous undertaking. They were at a loss what to do, and as 
 painfully impressed with the necessity of striking an effec- 
 tive blow. At length, after a tedious delay, oue of their 
 number, Harry Sparks, noted for his activity and courage, 
 volunteered to go in alone and bring back a speedy report 
 to his companions. He succeeded in reaching the camp ;* 
 and after a careful inspection, was in the act of retreating, 
 when he was discovered and captured. His protracted ab- 
 sence excited alarm, and at length, becoming desperate at 
 the thought of Sparks^ fate, the whole party dashed into 
 the swamp together, determined to rescue him, if alive, or 
 perish in the attempt. 
 
 Following his trail, they succeeded without difficulty in 
 reaching the spot, and there found the camp deserted, and, 
 to their horror, the lifeless body of their comrade hanging 
 from a tree. A cry went up for vengeance, and not long 
 after retribution came. Captain Daniel Sparks, a brother 
 of Harry, succeeded in capturing subsequently one of the 
 ringleaders of the Tory gang. Upon being charged with 
 the act, which he promptly acknowledged. Captain Sparks 
 told him he should be hung. " Very well,^^ said the un- 
 daunted fellow, " as soon as you please. '^ 
 
 Sparks ordered his men to proceed with the execution 
 of the prisoner, who assisted with apparent cheerfulness in 
 adjusting the rope about his neck, sprang on the back of 
 the horse brought to elevate him from the ground, asked if 
 the rope was well secured to the limb, and upon being told 
 it was, kicked the horse, making him move suddenly from 
 under him, and swung off into eternity with an oath upon 
 his lips. After hanging Sparks, the Tories fled, fearing the 
 proximity of a large and hostile party, well knowing that 
 instant pursuit would be made. They were followed with- 
 out delay by Col. Kolb, in command of a chosen band. 
 
 * The locality of this once celebrated hiding place is now pointed out near 
 the " Mineral Spring " in Marlborough District, seven uiiles below Bennetts- 
 ville, a favourite resort of some of the planters of the neighbourhood. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 359 
 
 among whom were James Gillespie and Josiali Cantey, and 
 were overtaken on Drowning Creek_, in the neighbourhood 
 of a famous Tory rendezvous. On their way, while passing 
 a house a short distance from the road, Cantey rode up to 
 inspect the premises. As he approached, a large mulatto, 
 a noted outlaw, left the house, and mounting his pony, 
 started off at full speed. Soon overtaking him, Cantey 
 rather jokingly said he would shoot him if he did not stop. 
 Without slackening his pace, the fellow discharged his gun 
 at Cantey, who was partially in the rear, striking him in 
 the breast. Cantey fell from his horse, and as others of 
 the party came up, exclaimed, " I am mortally wounded.^' 
 It proved, however, to be nothing serious. The mulatto 
 was at once overtaken and shot. Another like him was 
 soon after despatched. The expedition ended in a general 
 rout of the Tories, but nothing more. 
 
 Soon after his return from Drowning Creek, Colonel 
 Kolb went down the river on the east side, to the neigh- 
 bourhood of Cat Fish, with a more formidable party. Major 
 Lemuel Benton, Capt. Joseph Dabbs, and John Coxe were 
 among the number who accompanied him. Some daring 
 outrages had been committed -in this quarter, and it was 
 necessary to proceed with a strong and well-organized 
 body. 
 
 Nothing of importance occurred until they reached Ru- 
 lings Mill.* Here they surprised two notorious Tories, John 
 Deer and Osburn Lean. The latter was shot in attempting 
 to make his escape into Cat Fish Swamp, and got off with a 
 broken arm. Deer was overtaken as he reached the swamp, 
 and killed. It was on this occasion, or shortly before, that 
 Caleb Williams, a desperate marauder, noted especially for 
 house burning, was taken by Kolb's party and hung. After 
 proceeding further, capturing other guilty parties, and 
 punishing or discharging them on promise of good behaviour. 
 Colonel Kolb returned home, and dismissed his party, feel- 
 ing secure for a time at least in the thought that the Tories 
 
 * This was the site of the mill owned by the late Joseph Bass, ten or twelve 
 miles above Miirion, C. H. Hulin was a neutral characttT. Many persons, 
 actuated by politic motives, found it to their interest to take such a position. 
 They were generally Loyalists at heart. 
 
360 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 had been overawed, and would not soon renew their depre- 
 dations. In this, however, he was most sadly deceived. It 
 was natural that such acts of retaliation on the part of the 
 Whigs should excite a desperate spirit of revenge in the 
 Tories. In this instance their fury Avas directed chiefly 
 against Colonel Kolb, who had rendered himself most ob- 
 noxious hy his repeated successes in capturing and punishing 
 some of their most active and notable men. And they 
 were particularly excited against him, now that his path in 
 the late expedition had been marked by the blood of several 
 of their favourite companions. Nothing, as subsequently 
 appeared, was to satisfy them short of his life. No sooner 
 had he departed from the neighbourhood of Cat Fish, than 
 a plan was set on foot to surprise him in the bosom of his 
 family, and put him to death. Knowing that his men 
 would be disbaiided for a short time after his return, they 
 determined to follow on without delay, and make sure of 
 their prey. 
 
 Accordingly, a company of about fifty Tories collected at 
 the place now known as Tart^s Mill, six miles above Marion 
 Court House. 
 
 Their leader was Captain Joseph Jones,"^ a native of that 
 neighbourhood. No time was to be lost. The more rapid 
 their movements, the more certain would be the surprise. 
 A few hours' hard riding would take them to the object of 
 their revenge, about thirty-four miles distant. It was ar- 
 ranged that they should reach Colonel Kolb's at a late hour 
 of the night. 
 
 Riding up rapidly under cover of darkness, the surprise 
 was complete. The high qualities of the gallant Kolb, sud- 
 denly roused from sleep, with his loved ones around him, 
 and a brutal foe thirsting for blood at his door, were now 
 to be put upon their last and severest trial. His family 
 consisted of Mrs. Kolb, an only daughter,t then a child, 
 
 * James, in his " Life of Marion," speaks of Gibson and his party as having 
 gone on this occasion against Colonel Kolb. Gibson may have been a pro- 
 minent character in connexion with the attiur, but Jones was unquestionably 
 the acting captain of the Tory party. 
 
 f The late Mrs. Anne J . Pouncey, wife of Major James Pouncey, of Marl- 
 borough, then but eight years old. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 361 
 
 and two sisters.* Two young men, Evans', were also with 
 the family. They had probably accompanied the colonel 
 on his late expedition, and were members of his staff. The 
 house was well secured, and the inmates doubly armed. Well 
 knowing the bloody purpose and desperate character of the 
 foe. Colonel Kolb's first impulse was to sell his life as 
 dearly as possible. A determined resistance was accordingly 
 made, though in the face of overpowering numbers, and 
 as some accounts represent, but incorrectly perhaps, several 
 of the Tory party were killed. Not knowing the number 
 within, and excited to desperation by the resistance offered, 
 if not the havoc made in their ranks, the Tories threatened 
 to burn the dwelling with its inmates, if Colonel Kolb did 
 not at once surrender. It is said by one authority, the 
 house was actually fired, Reduced to the last extremity, 
 and moved by the entreaties of the ladies, whose consterna- 
 tion must have been great, the colonel agreed to deliver 
 himself up as a prisoner of war. The proposition was ac- 
 cepted ; and he went forth, accompanied by his wife and 
 sisters, and when almost in the act of presenting his sword, 
 was treacherously shot on the spot. This deed was perpe- 
 trated, without the captain's orders, by Mike Goings, a pri- 
 vate in the Tory ranks. On some former occasion, Colonel 
 Kolb had excited this man's special hostility, and hence his 
 perfidious revenge. Thomas Evans, upon this murderous 
 breach of faith, attempted to escape, but was shot, and died 
 soon after from the cflFect of the wound. f The dwelling was 
 then plundered,^ and after setting it on fire, the Tories made 
 a hasty retreat. 
 
 Between the dwelling of Colonel Kolb and the ferry, a 
 few hundred yards below, stood a block house which had 
 been erected by the Whigs for the safe keeping of their 
 
 * These sisters were Ann James, who married Joshua Edwards, and Sarah 
 who married Evander M'lver, as heretofore stated. 
 
 f Thomas Evans succeeded in reaching a house on Spot Mill Creek (on the 
 west side of the river), near a point where it is now crossed by the Cheraw and 
 Darlington R. R., and died a few days after. Some authorities state that 
 another person named Evans, a brother probably, was shot on the spot and 
 killed. 
 
 ;}; John Jones, a brother of the Tory captain, was seen on the return of the 
 party, as they passed old John Bethea's, riding Colonel Kolb's horse and saddle, 
 with a feather bed tied before him. 
 
362 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 prisoners. It was called the " Bull Pen." On tliis occasion 
 a mimbcr were confined within its walls, among tliem two. 
 British officers, and several soldiers. Simnltanconsly with 
 the assault on Colonel Kolb, the small guard which kept 
 watch at the " Bull Pen" were surprised, and the prisoners 
 turned loose. Two of the soldiers, on their release, went 
 down the river to the residence of old Mrs. Wilds, opposite 
 Long Bluft', in search of the treasure, which by some means 
 they had learned she kept on her person. Finding her unpro- 
 tected, they made a rude search and took her gold away. 
 At this stage in the history of this calamitous day, the 
 thrilling narrative of an eye-witness continues the story. 
 Lewis ]\Ialone Ayer,^ the second son of Thomas Ayer, of 
 Hunt^s Bluff, then a lad of twelve or thirteen years of age, 
 was on a visit with his mother to the family of John Downes, 
 a brother-in-law, who lived about three miles above Colonel 
 Kolb's on the river. INIr. Downes having died in the course 
 of the night, young Ayer was despatched at an early hour 
 in the morning to inform the colonel of the sad event. 
 
 He had proceeded about half way, when he was startled 
 by the firing of guns in the direction of Col. Kolb^s resi- 
 dence. Upon going a short distance further, and alarmed 
 at the unusual sounds he had heard, he saw an old man, 
 William Forniss, riding out from his house to the road. 
 They were well acquainted ; and upon coming up, he ac- 
 costed the youth in an excited, hurried manner, saying, 
 " Lewis, what firing of guns was that a while ago?" Ayer 
 replied, " I do not know ;" and just then, upon looking in 
 that direction, they saw Colonel Kolb's residence in fiames. 
 Young Ayer then related the errand on which he was going, 
 and the old man replied, *' Come along, let us go and see 
 what is to pay there. I will not lead you into danger." 
 
 On approaching tiie path which led out from Colonel 
 Kolb's to the main Welch Neck road down the river, they 
 saw, from a number of fresh tracts, that a company of horse- 
 men had passed rapidly on but a short time before. " Who- 
 ever they are," said Forniss, " they are gone, and we may 
 
 * The venerable Lewis Malone Ayer, of Baruwell, to whom reference hu3 
 already been made. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 363 
 
 now approach without fear/' Upon riding up, a mournful 
 spectacle was presented to their view. The dwelling was 
 enveloped in flames, and about to tumble in ; and a short 
 distance off were Mrs. Kolb and her two sisters-in-law weep- 
 ing over their dead. 
 
 They told the sad story of the surprise and resistance, of 
 the final capitulation and the closing scene ; and how, not 
 satisfied with blood, the Tories had rifled the house of every 
 valuable, set it on fire, and fled. The bleeding corpse the 
 agonized females had been forced to remove beyond the 
 reach of the burning timbers. The lapse of nearly eighty 
 years had not dimmed the eye of memory as the once 
 youthful Aver loolced back from old age upon the shocking 
 scene. His day's adventures had now just begun. Forniss, 
 well aware of the danger to which all those who might come 
 in the way of the retreating Tory party would be exposed, 
 informed young Ayer that a brother-in-law of his (Ayer's), 
 named M'Gee, was that day to come up to Col. Kolb's on 
 business, that he must hasten on, get around and ahead of 
 the Tories, so as to intercept M^Gee and apprize him of the 
 danger, or he would certainly be killed. 
 
 The youthful rider was mounted on a beautiful animal, a 
 piebald mare, with flaxen mane and tail, and noted for her 
 fleet ncss. He was confident she could bear him away un- 
 harmed from any pursuit that might be made, having out- 
 stripped the Tories on several previous occasions when they 
 had chased him to eff'ect her capture. Excited by the scene 
 just witnessed, and alarmed at the prospect of the imminent 
 peril to which M'Gee would be exposed, he started at once 
 on the hazardous mission, secure, however, in the watchful 
 eye above that guided him, and the fleetness of his mare, 
 which had often eluded the pursuer before. After proceed- 
 ing a short distance, he met an old man, Willis by name, 
 small of stature, and a shoemaker by trade. Willis lived 
 out in the marshes, and being old and feeble, was allowed 
 to occupy ostensibly the position of a neutral. His heart, 
 however, was with the Whigs, and, as opportunity offered, 
 he rendered faithful service to the cause of liberty. On this 
 occasion he rode a shaggy pony, corresponding in age with 
 himself, and carried on his shoulder an old-fashioned, long- 
 
364 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHBRAWS. 
 
 barrelled fowling-piece, wliicli he affectionately called " Old 
 Sweet-lips." Upon meeting young Ayer, lie asked what all 
 that shooting was he had heard above. In a few words the 
 story was related to him, and that of the errand upon which 
 the youth had started. " Very well/' said he, " hurry on ; 
 you will see two of the red-coats lying in the road ahead of 
 you.'' His words proved true, for a little further on the 
 youth found two British soldiers dead in the road, who had 
 bled profusely. They had paid the penalty of an untimely 
 plundering sally with their lives. 
 
 How the old man, feeble as he was, managed to kill them 
 both, he did not relate. Observing that their shoe-buckles 
 had been taken out, young Ayer concluded that they were 
 also stripped of every valuable about them. Hearing a few 
 days after that old Mrs. Wilds had been robbed by two of 
 the soldiers who escaped from the " Bull-pen," the old man 
 went down to see her, and found that they had taken from 
 her person one hundred and one guineas, which she had 
 kept for a long time concealed, supposing that no one out 
 of her own immediate family knew anything of it. Willis 
 then produced the package of coin, which she recognised as 
 her own. On opening and counting it out, not a piece was 
 found missing. She offered a portion to the honest reco- 
 verer, which he magnanimously refused to receive, saying it 
 was hers, and he was sufficiently rewarded in being able to 
 restore it to her. From the spot where the soldiers had 
 fallen, young Ayer pursued his way, the road running along 
 a ridge flanked on either side by swamp or boggy marsh 
 land. He hastened on, for there was no time to be lost. 
 A few miles below, at a point where an abrupt turn was 
 made by the road to avoid the marsh, it reached the house 
 of a man named M'Daniel. Riding at a rapid pace, for he 
 expected not to overtake the Tories so soon, he was almost 
 upon them before he could rein his mare in. Some of the 
 party were on the piazza, but most of them within the house. 
 He was immediately discovered and pursued with a shout, 
 the Tories halloing at the top of their voices to the flying 
 youth to stop. Several shots were fired at him, but with- 
 out effect, having been aimed high, as he supposed, not to kill 
 his mare. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 365 
 
 After wheeling round, young Ayer struck out of the 
 main road into a narrow cow-path, which crossed a large 
 and very boggy marsh. 
 
 It was so narrow and obscure that his pursuers did not 
 observe it, though he knew, being familiar with the locality, 
 that it was the only track by which a safe crossing could 
 be effected. Seeing him dash through, they attempted to 
 do the same, and by going directly across, hoped to get 
 ahead of him, as the path led around by an angle. But, 
 in this they were sadly disappointed. For as he reached 
 the opposite ridge, and looked back, lying close on the off- 
 side of his mare, the result was what he anticijmted. The 
 whole party were in full view, riders and horses floundering 
 in the mud, in hopeless confusion. The chase was at an 
 end, the despicable pursuers deeply chagrined to have 
 been thus out-witted by a boy, and glad to get back to 
 the quarters they had left. The flying youth pursued his 
 way through the woods for several miles, until he reached 
 the road leading from Pledger's Mill* to the Welch Neck 
 road, with which it formed a junction near a house owned 
 by a Mr. Cogdell, but then occupied by a man named 
 Cotton. The Tories, as young Ayer afterwards learned, 
 supposed his object was to pass them in order to give infor- 
 mation of their coming to a party of Col. Murphy's men, 
 then at Brown's Mill, on Muddy Creek, and whom the 
 Tories intended to surprise. They hastened on therefore at 
 greater speed, after the escape of Ayer. 
 
 The latter had taken a somewhat circuitous route, to 
 elude them the more surely, and in that way the Tories got 
 ahead of him. 
 
 After leaving M^Daniel's, they wantonly killed a mulatto 
 man, the slave of Capt. Daniel Sparks, whom they found on 
 the way ; and Cotton, taken by surprise, was despatched at 
 his house. A few moments after they left Cotton's, young 
 Ayer came into the Welch Neck road again, but knowing 
 the party had passed the point where M'Gee would enter it, 
 he turned off into the road by which the latter was to come, 
 and after going a short distance, met him on his way. 
 
 * Since known as tbe Old Saw Mills, in Marlborough District. 
 
366 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 The greater speed of the Tories after the chase of young 
 Aycr, was the means of M'Gce being saved. 
 
 The most of Col. Murphy's men had left the post at 
 Brown's Mill some days before. 
 
 A feWj however, remained ; and of these, who were sur- 
 prised, Capt. Joseph Dabbs,* a useful eitizen and well-tried 
 Whig, was killed. Another, Ned Threwitts, escaped with a 
 bullet in his shoulder. 
 
 After returning from this bloody expedition, the Tories 
 dispersed, taking .refuge, doubtless, for a time in their 
 hiding places, knowing full well the vengeance with which 
 they would be visited by the Whigs. Thus ended for the 
 region of the Upper Pedee, the 28th of April, 1781, one of 
 the saddest days in its history. The leader, to whom all 
 eyes had proudly looked, was no more. Cut off in the 
 prime of his manhood and in the midst of a career of use- 
 fulness for his country, before his noble qualities had yet 
 been fully developed, lie would doubtless have reached much 
 higher distinction as a partisan leader, had his life been 
 
 spared. t 
 
 He was a man of retiring disposition, but firm and un- 
 yielding where principle was involved, decided in his views, 
 and of the highest order of courage. His education was 
 limited ; but a sound and discriminating mind made amends . 
 for the want of early cultivation. He had amassed a com- 
 fortable fortune, and contributed liberally in means as well 
 as personal eflbrt, to the cause of independence. In person 
 he was of medium size, and comely, though not striking in 
 ai)pearanee. His d(>ath, at such a juncture, was well cal- 
 culated to fill the minds of the Whigs of Pedee for a time with 
 despondency. A worthy successor, however, was at hand, to 
 revive the public spirit, and nerve those, who had already 
 suffered much, for other conflicts. His command devolved 
 on Major Lemuel Benton, who as Lieutenant-Colonel, nobly 
 sustained it to the close of the war. In a letter to Marion, 
 of the 6tli May following. General Green alluded to the death 
 
 * Captain Dablis lived on Crooked Creek, on lands near the site of the 
 mill owned in later times by .Judge Evans. 
 
 t The widow of Ci)lonel Kolb subsequently married Jesse Wilds, a son of the 
 old Mrs. Wilds of whom mention has been made. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 367 
 
 of Col. Kolbj with unaffected sorrow. Ramsay^ the first 
 historian of the Revolution in Carolina, recorded it briefly. 
 On the hearts of his sorrowing countrymen, who knew him 
 best, his real worth was impressed in characters which time 
 could never efface. Tradition has assigned him the first 
 place, perhaps, in the confidence and affection of the people, 
 among the military men of that day. 
 
 Captain Jones,* the leader of the Tory party which sur- 
 prised Col. Kolb, was a man of some note. He possessed 
 a good property, and was ingenious to a remarkable 
 degree. He is said to have made the first surveyor's com- 
 pass ever used in Marion District. Notwithstanding his 
 course during the Revolution, he continued to live on Cat 
 Fish until about 1802, and then removed to Colleton Dis- 
 trict, where he died not very many years since. Old 
 Willis, the shoemaker, an Irishman by birth, lived to a 
 very advanced age, and died, where he had lived, in the 
 marshes. 
 
 Prior to these events on the Pedee the shock of arms 
 had been felt again in North Carolina. Shortly before the 
 battle of Guilford Court House, after the two armies had 
 approached each other, and had some skirmishing, and one 
 or two engagements, Lord Cornwallis and General Green 
 entered into a correspondence for the exchange of prisoners 
 belonging to the Southern armies. Captain Broderick, who 
 was empowered to treat by the former, on account of some 
 difficulties which arose, could not bring the business to a 
 conclusion ; and being afterwards revived, it was finished by 
 Captain Cornwallis on the part of the British, and Colonel 
 Carrington as agent for the Americans, when the customary 
 tariff was signed and executed. It was done at the house 
 
 * Some years after the Revolution, Captain .Tones was on his trial at George- 
 town for passing counterfeit money. Samuel Wilds, afterwards so distinguisiied, 
 but then quite a young man, and not yet at the IJar, was present, and proposed 
 to raise a company, take .Tones out and hang him, saying he deserved to die for 
 his connexion with the murder of Colonel IColb. This incident was related to 
 the author hy the late John D. Witherspoou, of Society Hill. It seems hardly 
 in keeping, however, witli that kindness ofhe.irt and noble generosity for which 
 Judge Wilds was so remarkable. He was young, however, and the feeling 
 yet intense against the Torio-^. Mr. W. also stated that he once spent the ni^-ht 
 with Kirbv, the murderer of .Toseph Dabbs. 
 
368 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 of Claudius Pegues, on Pedee, May 3rd, 1781.^ The de- 
 clining fortunes of Cornwallis, after the battle of Guilford, 
 as related by Tarleton, is a sad story. It touches the 
 heart even now to look back upon the scene, and contem- 
 plate the agonizing trials as he went down, of one who was 
 actuated by generous impulses and sentiments of patriotic 
 devotion to his king and country. After the close of the 
 winter campaign in North Carolina, Cornwallis withdrew 
 his forces into South Carolina, followed by Green. Soon 
 after he advanced to Cross Creek, and then to Wilmington. 
 " The aspect of affairs at this juncture,'^ said Tarleton, " pre- 
 sented various and opposite designs to the noble earl at 
 Wilmington. Upon the different investigations of the 
 subject it was too successfully described, that the country 
 between Cape Pear River and Camden was barren, and 
 intersected with creeks and rivers ; that the road to George- 
 town was replete with the same difficulties, that an embark- 
 ation for Charles-town was disgraceful, and would occasion 
 delay whilst the transports were coming round ; and that 
 Virginia was more accessible, where Gen. Phillips com- 
 manded a respectable force."t The noble earl was evidently 
 looking with wistful eye toward South Carolina. There he 
 had fondly hoped to maintain undisj)uted sway, and it was 
 hard to give up the cherished design. 
 
 " Hearing of Green's approach. Lord Rawdon, who com- 
 manded the frontiers of South Carolina, was greatly alarmed, 
 fearing a total defection of the inhabitants, an interruption 
 of all communication with Charles-town, and the attack of 
 a continental army, superior to his own in numbers.^' 
 " Though the expresses from Cross Creek did not reach their 
 destination, he gained by some other means such early in- 
 telligence of the approach of Green, that he made judicious 
 arrangements to counteract the designs of the enemy, and 
 to advertize Earl Cornwallis of his embarrassed situation at 
 Camden." His leader, however, could render Rawdon no 
 assistance. The unhappy earl was himself in a position of 
 the most trying embarrassment. He knew not where to 
 
 * Moultrie's " Memoirs," vol. i. p. l78. 
 f Tarletou's " Memoirs," p. 283. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 3G9 
 
 look for reviving prospects. On 23rd of April he wrote 
 -from Wilmington to Lord George Germaiue^ as follows : — 
 '' Although the expresses I sent from Cross Creek to inform 
 Lord Kawdon of the necessity I was under of coming to 
 this place, and to warn him of the possibility of such an 
 attempt of the enemy, had all miscarried, yet his lordship 
 was lucky enough to be apprized of Gen. Greenes approach, 
 at least six days before he could possibly reach Camden ; 
 and I am therefore still induced to hope, from my opinion 
 of his lordship^s abilities, and the precautions taken by him 
 and Lieutenant-Colonel Balfour, that we shall not be so unfor- 
 tunate as to lose any considerable corps. The distance from 
 hence to Camden, the want of forage and subsistence on the 
 greatest part of the road, and the difficulty of passing the 
 Pedee, when opposed by an enemy, render it utterly impos- 
 sible for me to give immediate assistance, and I apprehend 
 a possibility of the utmost hazard to this little corps, without 
 the chance of a benefit in the attempt ; for, if we are so 
 unlucky as to suffer a severe blow in South Carolina, the 
 spii'it of revolt in that Province would become very general, 
 and the numerous rebels in this Province be encouraged to 
 be more than ever active and violent. This might enable 
 General Green to hem me in among the great rivers, and, 
 by cutting off our subsistence, render our arms useless ; and 
 to remain here for transports to carry us off would be a 
 work of time, would lose our cavalry, and would be other- 
 wise as ruinous and disgraceful to Britain, as most events 
 could be. I have, therefore, under so many embarrassing 
 circumstances (but looking upon Charles-tow^n as safe from 
 any immediate attack from the rebels), resolved to take ad- 
 vantage of General Greenes having left the back parts of 
 Virginia open, and march immediately into that Province, 
 to attempt a junction with Gen. Phillips. ^^"^ Broken in 
 spirit, threatened on all sides, knowing from recent expe- 
 rience the strength of Green, and fearing him as an antago- 
 nist, Cornwallis, in his desperate extremity, decided upon a 
 step which soon led to his ruin. He was evidently afraid 
 to risk a passage through the country bordering on the 
 
 * Tarletou's " Memoii-s," pp. 325, 326. 
 
 B fi 
 
370 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Pedee. For the same expresses which had brought him the 
 disagreeable news alluded to in the opening of the foregoing' 
 extract, also informed him " that the upper parts of South 
 Carolina were in the most imminent danger from an alarm- 
 ing spirit of revolt among many of the people." His star 
 was now on the wane, and soon to go down. His favorite 
 legion leader thus commented on the earFs resolution to go 
 to Virginia. " Happy would it have been, as far as general 
 probability can be determined, had Earl Cornwallis directed 
 his chief attention to the critical state of South Carolina, 
 and commenced his return by any route to secure it.""^ 
 
 On the 24th of April, Cornwallis wrote thus to Gen. 
 Phillips : — " My situation here is very distressing. Green 
 took the advantage of my being obliged to come to this 
 place, and has marched to South Carolina. My expresses 
 to Lord Rawdon, on my leaving Cross Creek, warning him 
 of the impossibility of such a movement, have all failed ; 
 mountaineers and militia liaA^e poiired into the back parts 
 of this Province, and I much fear that Lord Rawdon^'s posts 
 will be so distant from each other, and his troops so scat- 
 tered, as to put him into the greatest danger of being beat 
 in detail, and that the worst of consequences may happen to 
 most of the troops out of Charles-town. 
 
 " By a direct move towards Camden, I cannot get time 
 enough to relieve Lord Rawdon ; and, should he have fallen, 
 my army would be exposed to the utmost danger from the 
 great rivers I should have to pass, the exhausted state of 
 the country, the numerous militia, the almost univei'sal spirit 
 of revolt which prevails in South Carolina, and the strength 
 of Greenes army, whose continentals alone are at least as 
 numerous as I am ; and I could be of no use on my arrival 
 at Charles-town, there being nothing to apprehend at present 
 for that post; I shall, therefore, immediately march up the 
 country by Duplin Court House, pointing towards Hills- 
 borough, in hope to withdraw Green ; if that should not 
 succeed, I should be much tempted to form a junction with 
 you.'' 
 
 The stratagem as to Green failed most signally, and 
 Virginia became the theatre of Cornwallis's final overthrow. 
 
 The partisan warfare on the Pedee continued now to rage 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 371 
 
 with unabated fury. Colonel Benton_, wise in counsel and 
 efficient in action^ possessed of those peculiar qualities calcu- 
 lated to inspire confidence in all who were associated with 
 him^ or under his command, was equal to the trying emer- 
 gencies of his position. Colonel Murphy, on the eastern 
 side of the river below, was battling valiantly ; while Major 
 Thomas, and the Captains Sparks, Pledger, Council, M'^Intosh, 
 Ellerbe, Pegues, Jackson, and others, on both sides of the 
 river, were doing gallant service for their country. A strong 
 guard had been placed at Kolb's Ferry, an important point 
 on the river, under command of Captain Edward Jones,* 
 and continued there until the close of the war. 
 
 The " Bull Pen,^' which stood very near the Ferry, an- 
 swered the purposes of a substantial prison house. It was 
 often in use. A stockade was also erected at the gaolf on 
 Long Bluff, and a guard kept there as occasion demanded. 
 
 In a letter to Marion, of May 1st, Gen. Green cautioned 
 him to keep a good look-out for Tarleton, saying : — 
 " I think it probable he is in the George-town route ; but 
 it is possible he may be on the upper route, as I hear of a 
 guard being lately surprised near the Cheraws.^''J Gen. 
 Sumpter was then at the Congarees, M'Arthur on his way 
 to Camden, and the gallant Lafayette, with a large detach- 
 ment from the Northern Army and Pennsylvania line, on 
 the march to join the Southern forces. 
 
 Mr. PugVs Journal contains a few brief entries at this 
 period : — 
 
 " Tuesday, 17th of April. Had news of the Tories in 
 Cashway. 
 
 * The following was one of many accounts rendered in after the warj — 
 " State of South Carolina. 
 
 " March 3rd, 1781. Received of Wm. Dewitt, 480 lbs. of pork for use ot 
 guard at Kolb's Ferry. 
 
 "Edwaed Jones, 
 
 " Captain of Guard." 
 ■f- " State of South Carolina, Cheraw District. 
 
 " This raay cei'tify that William Dewitt, Esq., furnished a guard of uiy regt., 
 at the Cheraw Gaol, with 2 hogs, 126 lbs. 
 
 " Lem. Benton, 
 " Lieut.-Colonel Commandant of Militia. 
 " 20th Deer., 1782." 
 
 X Gibbes's " Documentary History," 1781-82, p. GG. 
 
 B B 2 
 
372 hist(>i;y ov 'imik old cukkaws. 
 
 " Satunlay. :JSth. WtMit to llu> Mill. CVl. Kolh is 
 killiHl, !iu(l () or 7 \\\cu by ihc 'I'orirs. 
 
 " I'VldiiY, May -Itli. All ihc nuMi conw home IVodi Cimi. 
 Marion's ramp. 
 
 "Tucsilay, 15(11. \Vr lirar (\imiKMi is burnt. British 
 pnio." 
 
 'rin> rojHM't of six or sc^vrn intMi kilK-d. bcsicU^s Vo\. Kulb, 
 if it uas true, must havr ini'huUul otluTs whowtM'i* nninlrrcil 
 by tlio Tmy party on tlu-ir ri-tnrn down the rivor. 
 
 Ill Anj;ust oi' this yiMr. (\)h)ui'l Mur[)hy was stationed, 
 with a small tinvo, near tlu> uu)uth of Hhick Civi'U. \\c 
 sent word to old Mosrs Bass, \vho ki>pt a noted publii'-honse 
 at the mill on IS'aked (^ivek, aeross the river and aln)ut four 
 miles distant, that he wonUl be tlu-re with his miMi on a eer- 
 tain day, and to have a j;ood dinniM-, with pliMity ot" eider, 
 in readiness. By some mi>ans, the Tories in the nei^hl)our- 
 hood wen> iul"oruu"d oi' the i>\peeted visit, and made prepa- 
 rations lor attai'kiuji: Murphy at Bass's. The house stood 
 on a small island, made by a snddiMi bend ot* the ereek, 
 forming" almost a circle, and a eanal cut aeross the neek of 
 hnul leading out to the main road ni\ir by. 
 
 On the appointeil ilay, Murphy and iiis party went over, 
 suspeetiug no danger. 
 
 AVhile at dinner, they were siuldeidy snr[n'ised by the 
 enemy's approach. Two men came rapidly up on horseback, 
 and were in the act of I'lossing the creek by a causeway when 
 first disctncriHl. They wimv followinl by the main body, 
 under !Majt)r Bariield. 
 
 Some of the AVhigs, who happened to be on the piazza, 
 were tired npim, and tor a moment all was confusion. l^y 
 this tinie, the Tories hail approached within tighting distance, 
 and the eontlict bigan. 
 
 The Whigs having the benetit of a cover, soon gained a 
 decided advantage, killing several of the enemy, with the 
 loss, however, of two of their own innnber. Harper and 
 Mi\on. C Jiving way under the ett'ective fire from the house, 
 the Tories were in the act of retreating, Avhen one of ^Murphy's 
 men, named Hanicl, who had a stentorian voice, cried out, 
 " (jood Heavens! what shall we ilo? the powder is out." 
 Upon lieaving this, the Tories returned to the light ; and the 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 673 
 
 Whigs, no longer able to keep up an equal fire, were foreed 
 to eseape in every direction across the creek, to the cover 
 of the tliiek timber )>eyond. It ran but a short distance 
 in the rear of the dwelling. Reaching it by a few bounds, 
 they tumbled down the steep bank, and got off without fur- 
 ther loss. 
 
 One of their number, a man named T}iompsf>n, from the 
 Poke Swamp settlement, on the west side of the river, as he 
 jumped the fence near the creek, found a large and powerful 
 mulatto, Shoemakc by name, pressing closely upon him, 
 with his rifle aimed and in the act of firing. Ilajipily for 
 Thompson, the rifle mis.sed fire, and before it couM be re- 
 afljusted, he made his eseape. Twenty years after, Thomp- 
 son heard of Shoemakers going to Camden, caught him on 
 his return, and inflicted severe punishment. Peter JJoze- 
 man, a valiant soldier of liberty, who afterwards settled and 
 died in Darlington District, Avas one of Murphy's party. 
 
 Malachi Murphy was another, and received a wound in 
 the shoulder as he reached the creek, which disabled him for 
 the time. He fell down the bank, and crawling under a 
 large log, remained there undiscovered, though the Tories 
 several times passed near him. Daniel, whose unfortunate 
 exclamation led to the disaster, was a man of powerful frame, 
 and carried Murphy on his shoulders to liJack Creek, making 
 some amends thereby for his untimely blunder. 
 
 Thus ended their day's frolic for the Whigs, teaching them 
 the lesson which so many have learned too late, that vigi- 
 lance is the price of liberty. 
 
 The civil affairs of the country were now sadly deranged. 
 
 No Circuit Court had been hold(;n on the Pedee since 
 November, 1778, nor had any district officers been ap- 
 pointed. The estates of deceased persons were neglected, 
 and for orphans no legal provision was made. On the 13th 
 of August, Governor Kutledge wrote to General Marion, and 
 in the course of his letter alluded to this subject. He said: 
 " I think of appointing immediately an ordinary in each 
 flistriet, by whom wills may be proved, and letters testa- 
 mentary and administration granted ; and other business 
 with the ordinary jurisdiction transacted. The Constitution 
 directs that this shall be done ; and I think it is a measure 
 
374 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 absolutely necessary for a number of reasons. I wisb you 
 would recommend proper persons, who are able to undertake 
 the ofiFice of ordinary for George-town, Cheraws, and Charles- 
 town Districts." 
 
 By proclamation of 13th September, appointments were 
 made, Claudius Pegues being commissioned ordinary for 
 Cheraws District. The Royal Gazette, as it was called, of 
 Charles-town, made merry over this business. On the 3rd 
 November, it said : " The following proclamation, appointing 
 ordinaries in the several districts of the Province, has been 
 lately received from the country." Here followed the pro- 
 clamation, with these comments : " Most of the persons 
 appointed ordinaries are commanders of parties of rebel 
 mounted militia. They, and their followers, have, by the 
 murders they have committed, afforded sufficient business 
 for a Court of Ordinary. Mr. Rutledge seems to think it 
 but fair that they should enjoy the fruits of their own labor." 
 The time was not far distant when words of bitter sarcasm 
 were to be heard in reply ! 
 
 Colonel Murphy, in his active and vigorous movements, 
 was giving much trouble to Major Gainey and the Tories 
 under his command. The latter addressed General Marion 
 on the subject, as follows : — 
 
 " Pedee, September 8th, 1781. 
 
 " Sir, — Your answer of the 5th of September came to 
 hand this day, and in perusing the same, I understand that 
 your honor wrote to the North Carolinians concerning our 
 truce, which I never received or heard of before ; it has mis- 
 carried by some means or other. My full desire, Sir, is to 
 be at peace with all parties, if they will with me. I am very 
 sorry. Sir, to acquaint your honor that I am under the dis- 
 agreeable necessity of complaining to you of Colonel Murphy. 
 I wrote several orders to him to restore their plunder, which 
 they refused to do, except such as is of no service to them- 
 selves ; all that is of value they keep, so that I found there 
 a stumbling block. The way, just about the time that 
 Murphy first broke out and ruined me, and broke me up, 
 for which reason, I first revolted my constancy to my 
 country, was — he took some horses from me, one of which he 
 has yet in his possession ; then I wrote an order, and sent to 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 376 
 
 him for said horse^ whicli he refused to send, without I would 
 hunt up and get all his horses which he has lost, wliich was 
 six or seven head, he sajs ; and I dou^t know his horses ; 
 I never saw them ; and in like manner, they detain several 
 horses and negroes, and a number of cows. 
 
 " I have no reason to complain of any of your men, save 
 that same regiment of Murphy^s. The list you wrote to me 
 about, you shall faithfully have given up very shortly to 
 Colonel Irvin's order. 
 
 " I am, with respect. Sir, 
 
 " Your very humble Servant, 
 
 " MiCAJAH GaINEY.'' 
 
 The truce alluded to in this letter grew out of articles of 
 agreement concluded on the 17t]i June previous, between 
 Colonel Peter Horry, in behalf of General Marion, and Major 
 Gainey, commanding officer of the Tories, or King's svibjects 
 — inhabitants lying between Great Pedee River and North 
 Carolina.^ By these articles, Gainey and his officers agreed 
 to lay down their arms and remain neutral, to deliver up 
 all those who refused to comply with the treaty, and all 
 deserters from the Americans, and also to restore- all negroes 
 and other plundered property. The terms of the agreement 
 were not strictly complied with by Gainey, and hence the 
 course pursued by Colonel Murphy. The continued non- 
 observance of their solemn stipulations led to a projected expe- 
 dition in June of the next year, concerted between Governor 
 Matthews, of South Carolina, and Governor Martin, of 
 North Carolina, to subdue Gainey and his party, who were 
 marauding in both States. General Marion was to have the 
 command ; and as soon as it became known, it brought 
 Gainey to terms. At Burch^s Mill, on Pedee, a treaty was 
 signed (June, 1782), by which the Tories agreed to lay down 
 their arms as enemies of the State, to demean themselves 
 thereafter as peaceable citizens, to deliver up all stolen 
 property, to apprehend all who did not accede to the 
 treaty then made, to take all deserters from the American 
 army and deliver them up, to return to their allegiance, and 
 
 * Gibbes's "Documentary History," 1781-82, p. 98. 
 
376 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 abjure that of his Britannic Majesty. From this treaty, 
 Gibson, who killed Colonel Kolb, and Fanning and his party, 
 were excepted, but they escaped.* 
 
 In his letter to Marion, Gainey gives a reason for having 
 taken up arms against his country. If that which he as- 
 signed was the leading motive, and was founded in truth, 
 it only proved that, like others, he allowed feelings of 
 resentment against an individual, to extinguish every 
 patriotic impulse. But his heart was not right in the 
 matter, and an excuse was readily framed for his traitorous 
 course. As a reward, and because of his influence, doubt- 
 less, he was promoted by the British to the position of 
 major, which he subsequently filled. He lived six miles 
 below the site of the present village of Marion, between 
 Cat Fish and the river. His father, Stephen Gainey, was 
 an Englishman, and emigrated at an early period to this 
 part of Carolina. In person. Major Gainey was large and 
 powerful, and in mind above the ordinary standard. He had 
 a respectable property, and might have made, if so disposed, 
 a most efficient champion of liberty. He was, however, a 
 man of violent passions and overbearing disposition, and 
 before the Revolution, had made himself obnoxious to many 
 of his neighbours. After the war, the feeling against him 
 was so strong, that he was compelled to leave, and removed 
 to Richmond County, North Carolina. It is said, that fifty 
 years after the struggle of the Revolution had ended, there 
 were men in Marion who would have killed him on sight. 
 
 An incident may be mentioned in connexion with a mem- 
 ber of this family, illustrative of the summary method of 
 ending disputes, and of the bloody spirit that marked these 
 days. 
 
 Stephen, a brother of Major Gainey, was killed by 
 William Dewitt of the same neighbourhood. They had 
 agreed upon a race with two noted steeds. The winner 
 was to take the horse of his competitor. Gainey won the 
 race, and carried off the stakes. Dewitt claimed and took 
 back his horse with violent hands, on the ground of some 
 unfairness in the race. Gainey succeeded in recovering 
 
 * James's " Life of Marion," pp. 123, 166. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 377 
 
 him, and at the same time took Dewitt, carrying him bound 
 to his house. He went to sleep, leaving his prisoner tied. 
 Dewitt managed to get loose (by the aid, it was said, of 
 his captor's wife), took down Gainey's own gun, and shot 
 him dead on the spot. 
 
 In the battle of Eutaw, fought on the 8th of September 
 of this year, some of the militia from Pedee took part. 
 Among them was Captain Claudius Pegues with his com- 
 pany. 
 
 Joshua David, a private, was badly wounded in the hand, 
 and permanently disabled, Thomas Quick, also a private, 
 a brave and active Whig, was a near neighbour of his cap- 
 tain, and warmly attached to him. Before the battle com- 
 menced, it was agreed between them, that if either should 
 be wounded or killed, the other would take special care of 
 him. During the engagement. Captain Pegues was wounded 
 in the leg, but continued for some time to maintain his 
 ground, seemingly unconscious of the injury he had sus- 
 tained. But, bleeding profusely. Quick discovered his con- 
 dition as he was about to fall, and with the aid of Nero, a 
 faithful body servant of the captain, bore him from the 
 field. Quick then requested permission to return, if to take 
 only one shot more at the enemy, and resumed his place in 
 the ranks. Thomas Quick lived many years after the war, 
 and left a son, bearing his name, who was long a worthy 
 citizen of Marlborough District. 
 
 On the 17th of September, Governor Kutledge wrote to 
 General Marion, informing him that Benton's regiment had 
 been allotted to his brigade."^ This jaosition the regiment 
 continued to hold to the close of the war. Subsequent re- 
 cords show that most of the militia from Pedee were more or 
 less in constant service under Marion. On the 23rd of No- 
 vember, the Governor inclosed to General Marion writs of 
 election for Members of the Senate and House of Repre- 
 sentatives, as embraced within the limits of his brigade. 
 Some difficulty was felt in determining upon the best places 
 for holding the elections, in the then unsettled state of the 
 country. It was left by the Governor to Marion and the 
 
 * Gibbes's "Documentary History," 1781-82, p. 214. 
 
378 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 managers appointed, to decide. Tristram Thomas, Philip 
 Pledger, William Dewitt, and William Pcgues, were four of 
 the six representatives elected for St. David's, and took their 
 seats in the House, at Jacksonborough, on the 18th of Janu- 
 ary following. On the 30th of January, John Wilson was 
 appointed Sheriff for Cheraws District. Owing to some 
 accident or oversight, he did not receive his commission for 
 some time afterwards. In a letter to General Marion, Go- 
 vernor Matthews alluded to the subject, saying, " I sent 
 Mr. Wilson, the Sherift' for Cheraws, his commission three 
 months ago, and am surprised to find he did not receive it. 
 Tt must be lying somewhere at George-town; but if he can- 
 not get it, I will send him another. However, his not 
 having the commission need not prevent him from acting. 
 The appointment by the Legislature is the substantial part ; 
 the commission is now a matter of form.^'* Among the 
 matters to be disposed of at this session of the Legislature, 
 was that relating to the banishment of certain persons, and 
 the confiscation of their estates. 
 
 On this proscribed list, was the name of Charles Augustus 
 Steward. While a bill was pending on the subject, the 
 wife of Colonel Steward presented the following petition, 
 viz. : — 
 
 " To the Honorable, the Senate of the State of South 
 Carolina : 
 
 " The humble petition of Sarah Steward, humbly sheweth : 
 That your petitioner is the wife of Charles Augustus 
 Steward, of the District of Cheraws, whose name, she is 
 informed, is inserted in a list of persons whose estates are 
 to be confiscated, and themselves to be banished from this 
 State, by a bill now before your Honorable House. Your 
 petitioner begs leave to set forth, that her husband, about a 
 year ago, returned to South Carolina from Great Britain, 
 where he went in the year 1775, with leave of the Honor- 
 able House of Assembly ; that ever since the Revolution, he 
 has entertained the most warm and friendly attachment to 
 the American cause, and on all occasions done every friendly 
 
 * Gibbcs's " Documentary History," 1770-82, p. 191. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 379 
 
 office in his power to relieve American prisoners distressed 
 in England, Avliich he has the evidence here to prove. Your 
 petitioner assures your Honors, that after her husband^s 
 arrival in Charles-town, the Commandant offered him a 
 military commission, supposing, from his extensive acquaint- 
 ance in the district where he lived, and having been formerly 
 a colonel of the militia, that he might have had considerable 
 influence over the inhabitants ; but, that he peremptorily 
 refused to take up arms against the Americans. 
 
 '^ She also declares, that on his refusal to take a com- 
 mission, he was summoned to mount guard as a private in 
 the garrison of Charles-town; but he refused this, and said 
 he would rather be sent to the Provost ; and that, from 
 time to time, he has been, and is now, not only suspected to- 
 be an enemy to the British Government, but is shaken off 
 by all his acquaintance ; he not only lives retired from 
 society in town, but he has been so much distressed 
 for want of the necessaries of life, that your petitioner, 
 though brought up in ease and affluence, has been for 
 months past obliged to the necessity of making shirts, and 
 even submitting to drudgery, in order to maintain herself, 
 her child, and husband, whose low state of health could not 
 permit him to come out of town. 
 
 " Your petitioner now comes before this Honorable 
 House, to beg that he and his family may be restored to the 
 bosom of this country ; and she implores the mercy and 
 protection of her countrymen, in behalf of a husband, who 
 has never done a single act of hostility against a country 
 that is dear to him, and of which his Avife and child are 
 natives. 
 
 " And your petitioner, as in duty bound, &c. 
 
 " Sarah Steward. 
 
 " Jacksonborough, 18tli Feby., 1782." 
 
 The touching appeal of Mrs. Steward was successfid. Her 
 husband, once prominent and highly esteemed, but now 
 broken in spirit and health, was relieved from banishment, 
 and his estate from confiscation. Colonel Steward appears 
 to have been possessed of an amiable character and excellent 
 traits. 
 
380 HISTORY or THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 His unfortunate error in setting at defiance the resolves 
 of the Provincial Congress^ prohibiting the collection of debts, 
 Avas the turning point in his political career. The fact of 
 his departing soon after for England, and on his return of 
 remaining in Charles-town until action was about to be 
 taken by the Legislature, doubtless tended to confirm the 
 suspicions of the public as to his fidelity to the American 
 cause. He again took up his residence on his plantation 
 near Cheraw Hill, and died in less than three years after.* 
 
 The Royal Gazette of March 26th, contained the follow- 
 ing notice of the action of the Legislature on the Confisca- 
 tion Bill, &c. : — 
 
 « Charles-town, March 20th, 1782. 
 
 " The following has been sent to us from the country, 
 as a correct list of those persons whose estates have been 
 confiscated by an Act of the rebel Assembly at Jackson- 
 borough ; — 
 
 " They are divided into six classes. 
 " Class I. — Comprehends all British subjects who have pro- 
 perty in this country — that is to say, such 
 persons as never have submitted to the 
 American Government. 
 " Class II. — Such of the former inhabitants of this country, 
 as presented congratulatory addresses to Sir 
 Henry Clinton and Admiral Arbuthnot. 
 " Class III. — Those who petitioned to be armed in defence 
 of the British Government, after the con- 
 quest of this Province. 
 " Class IV. — Those who congratulated Earl Cornwallis on 
 
 the victory gained at Camden. 
 " Class V. — Those who have borne commissions, civil or 
 military, under the British Government, since 
 the conquest of this Province. 
 " Class VI. — Obnoxious persons.^^ 
 
 Under Class V., the names of Daniel Clary, Robert Gray, 
 and William Henry Mills, citizens of Cheraw District, were 
 
 * The following notice appeared in the Columbian Herald ; or, Fairiotic 
 Courier of North America, of January 13th, 1785 : — 
 
 " Lately died, at his seat at Fairy H ill, Cheraws, Charles Augustus Steward, 
 Esq." 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 381 
 
 included. The latter was banished, and his estate confis- 
 cated. He was, years after, known to be in Jamaica, engaged 
 in the manufacture of sugar. It is somewhat remarkable, 
 up to how late a period he appears to have retained the 
 confidence of the people. Before his banishment he became 
 very obnoxious. 
 
 The Royal Gazette sometimes made a show of merriment 
 at the expense of the Whigs. 
 
 On other occasions, it indulged in bitter sarcasm, as in 
 the following announcements of 13th March, 1782, under 
 the head of " intelligence extraordinary from Philadel- 
 phia " :— 
 
 " The following books are in press there, and will speedily 
 be published ; — 
 
 " A Treatise on Bills of Exchange, with observations on 
 Protests, according to the newest and most approved methods, 
 by Robert Morris, Esq., Financier to the United States. 
 
 " A Dissertation on the difference between Mexican and 
 Spanish Milled Dollars, by the same. 
 
 " Killing Tories, no Murder. Embellished with a beau- 
 tiful Frontispiece, representing the death of Mr. Dawkins, 
 and dedicated, by permission, to his Excellency, General 
 Green, by Colonel Wade Hampton. 
 
 " The Sacred Obligation of a Military Parole, stated and 
 illustrated, by Brigadier-General Pickens. 
 
 " Ways and Means for the year 1782, by a Member of 
 the Assembly at Jacksonborough, with a Supplement by 
 John Rutledge, Esq., on the Advantages of Converting 
 Indigo into Paper Certificates. 
 
 " A Topographical Description of the Northern Parts of 
 South Carolina betwixt Pedee and Santee, illustrated with 
 a Map, wherein are accurately delineated all the Thickets 
 and Swamps in that Country from an actual survey, by 
 Brigadier- General Marion. 
 
 " Select Manoeuvres for Cavalry, to which are added Prac- 
 tical Observations on the most soldier-like manner of swim- 
 ming rivers on a route, by the same. 
 
 " Description of the Strong Brick Castle at the Eutaws, 
 by General Green.'"' 
 
 Had these choice volumes been republished a little while 
 
382 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 after^ it would liave been with very marked notes and 
 emendations,, and a terrible significance. The delay in 
 getting them out of press was fortunate indeed ! 
 
 The Government was forced to keep a watchful eye on 
 the retention^ for its own use, of the supplies furnished 
 within the limits of the State. The removal of cattle had 
 excited attention, when Colonel Brown, of the North Carolina 
 Militia, was stationed on Pedee for that purpose. On the 
 19th of May General Pinckney wrote to General Matthews 
 on the subject. 
 
 " Pon Pon, May 19tli, 1782. 
 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " By a letter this moment received from General 
 Huger, dated the 10th of this month, he desires me to in- 
 form your Excellency that a Colonel Perkins, a trader from 
 Virginia, has contracted for five or six hundred head of 
 cattle on Pedee and Cheraw, and which, in a few days, will 
 • ' -off for Virginia if not immediately stopped. The 
 ^sequences of such a speculation (for our Commissioners 
 have it not in their power to go to market with ready 
 money), are truly alarming. 
 
 " I am, 
 " Your Excellency's most obedient Servant, 
 
 " Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.^' 
 
 The result of the information that was thus given is not 
 known. The trial of the Whigs of Pedee, and the story 
 of their conflicts with the Tories by day and by night would 
 fill a volume, could it be written out in full. The sufferers 
 and actors, however, in these scenes have long since passed 
 away ; and amid the uncertainties of tradition but little 
 which is reliable can be collected. Enough remains to con- 
 tinue the narrative through another chapter, and to the 
 commemoration of the terrible strife that chapter will be 
 devoted. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 383 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Depredations of Tories on Poke Swamp, Jeffrey's, Black, and Lynche's Creeks 
 — James Gregg and Chirles Evans among the sufferers — Duke Glen's en- 
 gagement — Daniel Hicks's encounter — William Pegues' losses — -John 
 Wilson's escape — Skirmishes of Benton's forces — Alexander M'Intosh's 
 adventure — His prowess — Close of 1782 — Colonel Benton commands on 
 Pedee — His letters to Governor Matthews and General Marion — Marion's 
 Brigade — State of feeling between Whigs and Tories — Whigs attack Tories 
 between Lumber River and Little Pedee — Colonel M'Ree's adventure — 
 William and John Bethea and the Tories — Hawthorne's revenge — Jef. 
 Butler, the Tory Captain — Account of him and his punishucient — Andrew 
 Hunter's escape from Fanning — Their meeting in Charles-town — Fanning's 
 attack on Robert Gregg — Fanning's character and end — Adventure of 
 General Harrington — Curious sequel of the same — General Harrington's 
 character and death — Singular end of Claudius Pegues — Maurice Murphy — 
 Incidents connected with him — His character and end — Tristram Thomas 
 —Some account of him — Lemuel Benton — His character delin' ' 
 course after the war — Colonel Geoi'ge Hicks — Joshua Amnions — His . 
 markable career — His meeting with Lafayette — Jacob Brandler — His un- 
 equalled gift to his country— Notice of William Shaw — The close of the 
 Revolution — List of some of those from Pedee engaged in active service, 
 
 "Wherever a few defenceless Whigs could be found, or 
 superior numbers seemed to promise the foe an easy victory, 
 there the Tories hovered around. From the lower settle- 
 ments on Lynche's Creek up to the North Carolina line 
 above, depredations were committed. 
 
 Among others, Captain James Gregg had been forced, 
 for a considerable time, to conceal himself in Poke Swamp, 
 where he slept in a hollow log, fed by his family, occasionally 
 visiting his residence under cover of darkness. His house 
 was eventually burned, his property destroyed, and his wife 
 and children turned out of doors. 
 
 Along the borders of JeflFrey^s and Black Creeks many 
 similar scenes were witnessed. Those neighbourhoods which 
 were remote from the river settlements, and consequently 
 weak and exposed from their isolated position, suffered most. 
 In these instances a few persons here and there, of property 
 and proniinence in the straggle for liberty, were made the 
 special objects of this retaliating warfare. The Blakeneys 
 
384 HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 and Evans' on Lynchers Creek, in what is now Chesterfield 
 District, had made themselves particularly obnoxious. 
 Charles Evans^ was possessed of a good property, and noted 
 for his fine stock. On one occasion the British and Tories 
 surprised and captured him. His best horses, with other 
 property, were taken. Evans himself was securely tied, 
 put upon an inferior animal, and carried a prisoner to 
 Charles-town, where he remained in confinement until the 
 war was over. Near the North Carolina line, bordering 
 upon the Cheraw District, many bloody conflicts took place 
 with the Tories. Duke Glen, whose name appears before 
 the Revolution as a resident of St. David's Parish, removed 
 to Anson County, and settled near the mouth of Mill Creek, 
 on Pedee. He was a noted captain of the Whig forces in 
 this partisan strife, and especially inimical to the Tories. 
 The latter had been for some time on the look-out for him, 
 and hearing on one occasion of his return, collcc:ted a party 
 to surprise and capture him at his own house. 
 
 Fortunately, Glen heard of their plan, and prepared for 
 them by gathering a tried company of Whigs. He divided 
 his force into three parts, taking the main body into the 
 dwelling under his immediate command. One portion was 
 stationed in the loft of a stable near the path by which he 
 knew the approach would be made, and the rest in ambush. 
 They were to let the enemy pass, and upon a signal, to be 
 given by Glen, rush up and surround the Tory party. The 
 plan was well laid. Of those in the stable loft, the late 
 Colonel Benjamin Rogers, of Marlborough, was one. The 
 Whigs became so impatient for the attack, as to fire too 
 soon, which enabled the Tories to escape in time to save 
 themselves from serious loss. Only one of their number 
 was wounded ; and he managed to get off a little distance 
 and conceal himself through the night. The next morning 
 he was followed by his bloody track, found alive and begged 
 
 * Charles Evans was the first husband of the late Mrs. Mary Blakeney, of 
 Chesterfield, who continued to reside in that immediate neighbourhood. She 
 lived to a very advanced age, and was remarkable for her physical and mental 
 vigor and activity to the last. When past eighty, she rode over her plantation 
 daily, and superintended in person her own business. Such were the hardy 
 characters formed in the_ cradle of the Revolution and the times preceding it. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 385 
 
 for his life^ but William Pratt^ of Anson, seized a gun and 
 shot him dead. On the eastern side of the river, near the 
 dividing line between Richmond County and what is now 
 Marlborough District, lived tAvo young men, named Skipper, 
 of mixed blood, but peaceable and inoffensive. They had 
 taken parol, however, and for no other offence, were seized 
 by the AA^higs on both sides of the line, and hung. Such a 
 course was well calculated to excite a feeling of bloody re- 
 taliation, and thus the murderous conflict continued. Daniel 
 Hicks, a staunch Whig, married the widow of Colonel John 
 Donaldson, already mentioned, who died about the year 
 1781. Hicks had excited the special hostility of the Tories, 
 who laid many plans to capture and kill him. In one 
 instance, they collected a party to surprise him at his own 
 house, at night. Having notice of their approach, he 
 directed his wife to say, that no one was at home but her- 
 self. They Avere satisfied Hicks was there, however, and 
 threatened to break the door open if she did not admit 
 them. It was a desperate emergency, but the fearless 
 AA^hig, brave and collected, was equal to it. Directing his 
 wife to open the door, and stand behind it, as she did so, 
 there was Hicks with his gun ready, but so as not to be 
 perceived in the darkness. As the party advanced, he shot 
 a Tory, named Brigman, who first presented himself, inflict- 
 ing a desperate wound. Suspecting thereupon, that they 
 were about to be set upon by a party concealed in the house, 
 the wretches immediately fled. Hicks gathered a company 
 of his neighbours forthwith and pursued, but not in time 
 to overtake them. Brigman was found in the morning, and 
 put to death. 
 
 AVilliam Pegues, was an ardent Whig, and suffered 
 much from the depredations of the Tories. On one 
 occasion as a party of them approached his house, he 
 succeeded in making a hasty retreat to the river, and was 
 pursued, but by means of a canoe, effected his escape. After 
 plundering the dwelling, they set it on fire, and went off, 
 taking forty negroes with them, of whom, only a few were 
 afterwards recovered. Mrs. Pegues, then in delicate health, 
 had to fly with two little children, an infant but a few 
 weeks old, and a young negro girl. She remained some 
 
 c c 
 
386 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 time on the banks of the river, crying for help^ until some 
 one from the family of her husband^s father came to her 
 relief, taking her helpless party across to a place of safety. 
 
 John Wilson, while on a Whig excursion into North 
 Carolina, was taken by the Tories. They started down 
 with him from Haley ^s Ferry, having given him the benefit 
 of riding an inferior horse. 
 
 After proceeding some distance, he pretended to have 
 been hurt in the leg, and putting it across the saddle, rode 
 on for some time, apparently in great agony. His guard 
 having become careless, allowed him to fall someAvhat be- 
 hind, which he soon managed to increase to a respectable 
 distance, when, putting spurs to his horse, he succeeded in 
 making his escape. 
 
 The troops under Colonel Benton were engaged at diffe- 
 rent times in skirmishes with the Tories on Black Creek. 
 On one occasion, a detachment of Benton's forces, and those 
 of a Captain Baker, of Georgia, united against the foe. 
 The former happening to be sick, requested Baker to take 
 command. The Whigs were at breakfast when the enemy 
 came upon them near the ferry on Black Creek, on the 
 George-town and Cheraw Bead. Thrown for a moment 
 into confusion, they soon rallied, and forced the Tories to 
 retreat, pursuing them some distance. Several of the 
 latter were killed, and some wounded too severely to escape. 
 Among the killed, was a DuBose, the only one of a very 
 large connexion who took sides against his country. A 
 noted Tory, Hughes, was one of the wounded. When the 
 Whigs returned from the pursuit, and were about to des- 
 patch him, he pleaded for mercy, and urged that he had often 
 fed the Whigs. The commanding officer replied, that if he 
 could prove this, he would be spared. Peter DuBose con- 
 firmed the statement, but added, that he had fed them with 
 the provisions of the Whigs. The old offender was spared- 
 his age probably touching the hearts of his captors. He 
 had been shot on former occasions, and several times left 
 for dead. He was once hung by a Whig, named Baxter, 
 at Daniel DuBose's, to a gate-post. Thus left suspended, 
 his wife came to the rescue, and finding him still alive, cut 
 the rope and saved his life. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEEAWS. 387 
 
 Another skirmisli took place about this time^ higher up 
 on Black Creek^ Colonel Benton commanding. The Tories 
 "svere routed and fled^ but being overtaken and surrounded, 
 were forced to make a hand to hand fight, suflFering very 
 severely. Colonel Benton had no fire arms except his 
 pistols. One man, pressed by the colonel, turned about, 
 and was in the act of firing his musket, but, before he could 
 do so, Benton discharged his pistol at him, missing him, 
 however, then thi'ew it at him and knocked him from his 
 horse to the ground. 
 
 In another skirmisli on Black Creek, at a point nearest 
 Society Hill, Captain Alex. M'lntosh,"^ then a young man, 
 commanded the Whigs. A brother of Mcintosh was 
 wounded, and the latter, excited to desperation, killed every 
 Tory he caught. On this occasion, Hughes was wounded. 
 M'Intosh comiDg up, fired his pistol at him, but did not 
 kill him, and desisted from any fiu'ther attempt upon his 
 life. Captain M'^Intosh was a man of large size, and ex- 
 traordinary strength and activity. He is said, in one 
 instance, when hotly pursued by the Tories, to have leaped 
 his horse across Black Creek. Many incidents have been 
 handed down of his personal prowess, some of them in this 
 age almost passing the bounds of credibility. A noted 
 character, known long after as Old Mrs. Croly, lived about 
 this time two miles below Society Hill, afterwards in 
 the flat woods on Black Creek. She often harbored the 
 Tories. John Lucas and a few other Whigs once found a 
 party of Tories at her house, who managed to escape. Lucas 
 took her out, and was about to hang her, when Captain 
 iM'Intosh and Major John Mikell came up, and by their 
 intercession, caused her to be released. Thus the year 
 1782 opened, and advanced. The region of the Pedee was 
 left open to the incursions of the Tories ; but, unsupported 
 as they were by any neighbouring British force, their allies, 
 were for the most part unsuccessful, and gradually the 
 light began to dawn upon Carolina, which was soon to grow 
 into a bright day of emancipation from a foreign yoke, 
 
 * Captain M'lutosh held many offices of trust in after life, but was not a good 
 manager. He lost his property and died about the year 1828. He was the 
 executor of General M'Intosh. George M'lutosh, formerly of Marlborough 
 District, was his only surviving son. 
 
 c c 3 
 
388 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHEEAWS. 
 
 and of a government of their own. Lieut. -Colonel 
 Benton was now the principal leader on the Pedee. He 
 had many difficulties to contend against^ some of which 
 were pressing him sorely. In the following letter to Gov. 
 Matthews^ while he pays a justly merited tribute to the 
 inhabitants of St. David's, touching allusion is made to 
 certain evils from which they were now suffering. 
 
 " St. David's, Great Pedee, August 20th, 1782. 
 "Sir, — Though I have not the honor of a personal acquain- 
 tance with you, I am now under the necessity of humbly 
 addressing you on this manner, in behalf of the Parish and 
 Regiment I have the honor to represent and command ; a 
 people that have ever stood among those who are foremost 
 for their inflexible attachment to their country; suffered 
 many capital distresses, nor have ever despaired of success 
 in our greatest extremity. Although we have so long been 
 at such a distance from the enemy's lines, and stiffering every 
 murder, plundering, and cruelty that could be perpetrated by 
 a banditti of the most desperate villains and mulattoes, im- 
 mediately bordering on our settlements, we have, on all 
 occasions, turned out, and kept in General Marion's camp 
 equal numbers with any in his brigade. Part of those who 
 were under a truce that have not surrendered, and many 
 other villains in this part of the country, that still continue 
 tlieir outrages, render the lives and property of the good 
 citizens very unsafe ; and this disorder, in all probability, 
 must continue, and the re-establishment of good order and 
 civil law be hindered, except you, in your goodness, will in- 
 dulge my regiment with a sufficient guard to the gaol, 
 as it is insufficient for its use ; with orders for supplies of 
 provisions for that and the poor inhabitants ; and an armed 
 party to detect and bring to punishment the refractory and 
 disobedient, which my warm desire for that purpose will in- 
 duce me to engage to have punctually performed, with all 
 due moderation, for the good of this country, and agreeably 
 to any instructions you may think proper to give me ; which 
 I could do, and keep one-fourth on the field on common 
 occasions, and on extraordinary emergencies with cheerful- 
 ness turn out one-half. My feelings will not let me omit 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 389 
 
 mentioning to you some characters, among them, of Mr. 
 Gainey^s truce men, who have been received by General 
 Marion as citizens, and are now doing miHtary duty, and 
 enjoying equal privileges with youi* best soldiers and citi- 
 zens, who have borne the burden and heat of the day. 
 Such, I mean, as were meant to be exempted by an Act of 
 the late General Assembly at Jacksonborough — men, who 
 have burned, plundered, and in cold blood (after many of 
 our worthiest men had surrendered as prisoners of war), in 
 the most ignominious and cruel manner, taken their lives, 
 particularly Colonel Abel Kolb^s, my worthy predecessor, 
 and a gentleman formerly a member of the Assembly, a 
 justice of the peace, a good officer, and a useful citizen, and 
 capital loss to this part of the country : and the very vil- 
 lains that perpetrated this wanton, horrid murder, burning 
 and plundering, are now, in the face of his distressed family 
 and friends, received and restored to equal privileges with 
 the men who have suffered everything by them that it was 
 in their power and savage disposition to inflict. 
 " I am. Sir, 
 " Your most obedient and very hvimble Servant, 
 
 " Lemuel Benton, 
 " Lieut.-Col. Commanding Cheraw Militia. 
 
 " N.B. — Your answer and instructions I shall hope to 
 receive by the bearer. Mi*. Vinow, in regard to the above. 
 I do not doubt but General Marion will acquiesce in it, as 
 I mentioned the matter to him not long since, about provi- 
 sions, men, and ammunition. 
 
 '• If you will be so kind as to furnish us with the Militis 
 laws, passed by the last Assembly, it will be of singular ser- 
 vice, and the people and myself will be instructed."* 
 
 Governor Matthews appears to have been sufficiently im- 
 pressed by this letter to address the following brief note to 
 General Marion : — 
 
 " Uxbridge, August 24th, 1782. 
 
 " Sir, — I enclose you a letter I have just received from 
 
 * Gibbes's " Documentary History," 1776-82, pp. 207-203. 
 
390 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Lieut. -Col. Benton, and wish you to take such orders therein 
 as you shall think proper. 
 
 " I am, Sir, 
 " Your most obedient, humble Servant, 
 
 " John Matthews.^^* 
 
 What specific orders, if any, this communication of Col. 
 Benton induced, is not known. Doubtless Gen. Marion did 
 all in his power for the inhabitants of the Upper Pedee. 
 
 A few days after. Col. Benton addressed the general 
 again : — 
 
 " St. David's, August 29th, 1782. 
 
 " Sir, — Yours from Watbo, of the 18th inst., I received, 
 and in answer, I assure you, that I have constantly been, 
 since my arrival at home, and still am, using my utmost 
 endeavors to send you the full one-third of ray regiment. 
 
 " The twenty men with whom I had your permission to 
 guard the jail, have been constantly on hard duty, catching 
 and bringing in the disobedient ; so that, inclusive of what 
 you have lately ordered and the guard will bring you, in 
 addition to Major Thomases class, there will be at least fifty 
 men ; and I hope to have it in my power, about the 3rd of 
 next month, to send you some more, as I expect by that 
 time to have another squad gathered. 
 
 " But, without this armed party to be constantly on duty, 
 and monthly relieved, I cannot do anything ; for the dis- 
 trict is so extensive, the duty so hard, and the distance to 
 your camp so great, that it can^'t be expected that the men 
 who have just been discharged from your camp can perform 
 that duty. This mode would have been better executed if 
 the commanding officer of my regiment at home, when I 
 was in the camp, had not have hindered part of my orders 
 (that was in his power) for that purpose. There are but 
 fourteen of the twenty men mentioned that are at this time 
 fit for duty, six of whom I send with the party, and the 
 others will come with the next I have mentioned ; though, 
 I hope, you will send them back, as the law cannot be en- 
 forced without them. The people are, at this time, very 
 
 * Gibbes's " Documentary History," 1776-82, p. 214. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 391 
 
 sickly about home, as has appeared by the trials of a num- 
 ber of men by a regimental court I lately ordered, and held 
 four days, when I used every lawful and reasonable method 
 in my power to turn out the men. There are several men, 
 whom the guard will bring down, sentenced to some 
 extraordinary duty, a list of whose names, and their term of 
 service, I will send to Major Thomas. 
 
 " I am. Sir, with all due respect, 
 
 " Yoiir obedient, humble Servant, 
 
 " Leml. Benton, 
 
 ' " Colonel.* 
 
 " N.B. — If you permit me to continue the guard at the 
 jail, please to give some instructions about salt, &c., for 
 them, as it is scarce here.''^ 
 
 To what commanding officer reference is made in this 
 letter, is not known. Petty jealousies doubtless affected 
 some who were otherwise patriotic. It was a happy cir- 
 cumstance for the people of this region, that a man of the 
 firmuess and unfaltering devotion of Benton was left to 
 plead and defend their cause. 
 
 Again he writes to Marion a letter of the san^e date with 
 the foregoing : — 
 
 « St. David's, August 29tli, 1782. 
 
 " Sir, — Yours from Watbo I answered, and expect it will 
 be handed you with this, as also yours from Lind's Ferry, 
 of the 26th, which is just come to my hands. 
 
 " One-third of my regiment I have under orders to join 
 you, aud expect with this will come in about fifty men, in 
 addition to Major Thomases division ; and those that may 
 remain behind I will send with all possible expedition, so 
 that if in my power the public service may not be hindered. 
 As to the men being relieved monthly, it is so late now 
 that it will be impossible for me to get them in camp until 
 near the middle of the ensuing month. 
 
 " I am very sensible that it will make a considerable 
 confusion in the regiment, as the men do not look upon 
 themselves liable to go to camp yet, and the law will not 
 
 * Gibbes's "Documentary History," 1776-82, pp. 214, 215. 
 
392 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 oblige tliem until each division does two months^ duty agree- 
 ably to law ; therefore^ I must beg to be excused in that 
 particular, and I will send relief early in October, when their 
 tour will be out, according to law. 
 
 " I remain, with all due regard, 
 " Your most obedient Servant, 
 
 " Leml. Benton, 
 " Lieut.-Col. Commandant.''^ 
 
 " N.B. — Excuse my paper, &c., which hindered me from 
 writing more fully. 
 
 " L. B.^' 
 
 Marion^s brigade consisted about this time of the follow- 
 ing regiments : Lieutenant-Colonel M'Donald^s, Cols. Rich- 
 ardson's, Irvin's, Benton's, and the regiment formerly 
 Maybank's. 
 
 Of the efficient service it performed in the closing work 
 of the Revolution it is needless to speak. Upon Colonel 
 Benton's command devolved the additional duty of pro- 
 tecting an extensive territory from the incursions of the 
 Tories. 
 
 The Whigs, however, were not to suffer much longer, for 
 the protracted struggle of the patriots of Carolina was now 
 drawing rapidly to an end. The evacuation of Charles-town, 
 though officially announced by General Leslie as early as 
 the 7th of August, was not to take place until the 13th of 
 December, 1782. 
 
 Nothing of special note occurred on the Pedee during the 
 remainder of the year. The conflict with the Tories did not 
 cease at once with the withdrawal of the British forces. 
 The state of feeling was too intense, the animosities which 
 had been engendered were too deadly to be suddenly done 
 away. 
 
 Old feuds were to be settled and retaliations inflicted, 
 until, by degrees, a state of internal peace and quiet was 
 restored. In the skirmishes which subsequently took place, 
 the Tories were the sufferers. Of these some traditional 
 accounts remain. 
 
 * Gibbes's " Documentary History," 1776-82, p. 216. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 393 
 
 In the fork between Lumber River and Little Pedee was 
 a noted band of Tories, who continued to hold out against 
 the Government, even after it became firmly established. A 
 party of Whigs, consisting, with others, of Jordan Gibson, 
 William and Thomas Neville, Enos Tart, John Bethea, sen., 
 John Bethea, jun., and Levi Odom, banded together to 
 bring these outlaws to terms. A man named Courtney, who 
 had acted as commissary for the enemy in these parts, was 
 particularly obnoxious to the Whigs. They had often tried 
 to take him, but in vain. He was in the habit of going to 
 old Shoemakers, a noted Tory, and at length, this Whig 
 party in passing found him there. Shoemake lived in an 
 open field, and in order to make sure of Courtney, his pur- 
 suers stationed themselves at some distance around. Court- 
 ney, seeing their approach, attempted to escape on his horse, 
 which was a very fleet animal. He came first upon Gibson, 
 who fired, but missed him. He then approached Tart, who 
 took better aim, and broke his leg, bringing him to the 
 ground. As they gathered around him, Odom, who was a rela- 
 tive of the Betheas, and had served as a soldier in Virginia, 
 called on the Nevilles to shoot the wounded man, but they 
 refused. He then said if no other would he would shoot 
 him himself, and did so, putting an end to his life. Long 
 afterwards, when sick and in delirium, Odom was seen to 
 exhibit the utmost terror at the vision of the bloody victim 
 of his revenge. 
 
 Proceeding from this place, the Whigs, having reached 
 the neighbourhood of the Tories, succeeded in capturing 
 several, and determined to execute them without delay. 
 But, the alarm being given, a sufficient number gathered 
 from the adjacent country to rescue the prisoners, and bring 
 their captors to treat with them. The result was that the 
 Tories, satisfied by this demonstration of the fate that 
 awaited them should they persist in their course of opposi- 
 tion, agreed to submit to the Government of the State, and 
 henceforth keep the peace. The agreement continued to 
 be observed, and no further difficulties of consequence oc- 
 curred in this locality. 
 
 On the east side of the river, in the neighbourhood of 
 Poke Swamp, Colonel M^Ree resided after the war. In 
 
394 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 company with two others, he succeeded in capturing one 
 Bradley, a Tory, who had been guilty of notorious depreda- 
 tions. M'Ree tied him, and carried him to his house. Soon 
 after their arrival, a party approached for the purpose ot 
 rescuing Bradley, one of them^ Lewis Johnson, firing upon 
 M'Ree as he sat in his door, but without effect. M^Ree, 
 immediately closing the door, seized his guu^ and from a 
 window shot Johnson and killed him. 
 
 Bradley was taken the next day to George-town gaol, 
 but afterwards escaped. He was subsequently arrested and 
 hung. During the war several Tories, hearing that William 
 Bethea, who lived near the present dividing line between 
 Marlborough and Marion Districts, had a large quantity of 
 money concealed in his house, set out for the purpose of 
 securing the treasure. They found Bethea at home ; but 
 he had taken the precaution to select some other place of 
 security for the fruits of his labor. They used every means 
 to extort the secret from him, and as a last expedient, poured 
 melted pitch upon his head, but all in vain. They found 
 he would pay the penalty with his life, and left without 
 further molestation. Some time after, and when the revo- 
 lutionary struggle was over, John, a son of William Bethea, 
 met Snowden, who was one of this marauding party, in the 
 woods, and without difficulty overpowered him. With a 
 loose bridle w^hich he happened to have, he attempted to 
 hang his victim, but was not able to get him suspended high 
 enough. He then broke his legs, and carried the murderous 
 design into execution. Bethea, commonly known as " Sweat 
 Swamp John,^^ because of his residence thereon, was a man 
 of remarkable strength and activity. On a previous occasion, 
 he met at night a Tory, who was also a man of much 
 physical power, but, after a short struggle, succeeded in 
 tying him, putting him on his horse, and carrying him as 
 a prisoner to Colonel Hicks. 
 
 Another singular instance of revenge is related as having 
 occurred in this neighbourhood. A Whig, named Hawthorne, 
 was plundered and murdered by a party of seven Tories. 
 His son took a vow that he would not sleep on a bed or 
 eat at a table until he had killed five of the seven. He 
 pursued them for years, and followed one or more of them 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 395 
 
 to Tennessee^ and is said actually to have fulfilled his vow 
 to the letter. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of the DuBoses, on Lynchers Creek, 
 was a famous Tory captain, Jef. Butler. He had been guilty 
 of many acts of plunder, and at different times treated the 
 family of Elias Du Bose with great rudeness and cruelty. 
 William Dick, a brother-in-law of Mr. Du Bose, who moved 
 to that neighbourhood after the war, went to Butler's with 
 a small party, and found him on the ridge pole of a corn 
 crib which he was covering. Dick ordered him down, and 
 upon Butler's refusal to obey, knocked him off" with an ear 
 of corn. He was then tied and carried to DuBose's resi- 
 dence, and upon being confronted with Mrs. DuBose, denied 
 having ever seen her. She knew him, however, too well. 
 He was then taken out, tied up, severely whipped, and told 
 if he did not leave the country in a given number of days, 
 he would be dealt with more severely. Knowing what the 
 result would be, he went off* without delay, and was never 
 heard of afterwards. As a Tory leader, the courage and 
 ferocity of Butler were well known on the Pedee. 
 
 " During the Whig ascendancy," says Sabine, " in that 
 part of South Carolina, he went into Marion's camp at 
 Birch's Mills, and submitting himself, claimed the protection 
 which the Whig officer had granted to some other Loyalists 
 who had preceded him. 
 
 " Against this some of Marion's officers, whose friends had 
 suffered at Butler's hands, protested. But Marion took the 
 humbled Butler to his own tent, and declared that he would 
 protect him at the hazard of his own life. The officers, 
 still determined to indulge their hatred, sent their com- 
 mander an offensive message, to the effect that Butler should 
 be dragged from his tent, and that to defend such a wretch 
 was an insult to humanity. Marion was not to be intimi- 
 dated ; and though the meeting among his followers threat- 
 ened to be formidable, he succeeded in conveying Butler, 
 under a strong guard, to a place of safety."* 
 
 How far the account of this partial writer is to be relied 
 upon is very questionable. One thing, at least, the course 
 
 * Sabine's " American Loyalists," p. 189. 
 
;>|)l) iiisr(>UY ov riiK o\.v cukuaws. 
 
 o{ rviMits suhscMHUMitly provcnl, that iMitliM" was not so 
 fortiMKiti^ upon tiillinj;- into tlu> liaiids of llu" A\ liij;s o[' 8t. 
 Ujvvid's, who. hut tor liis tiiiudv riMiioval, wouhl have niado 
 him pay the t'ortiMt of his Hfi\ 
 
 Towanls ihv hittor part of the war, Andn^w llunti-r, of 
 St. havid's. was tho i'hii>f actor in coniuwion with tlir wrll- 
 Ivuoun advcntiirr whiih i;avi' him rrU4)rity. Iluntrr was a 
 ht)hl juid ihuiiii;' spirit, aiul had {i'onr on the ofi'asion ro- 
 ftMM'inl to, with a small fori'O. in st^arch of tho notorious 
 l'\iuninj;', on Orownini;" Crock, North (\u'oliiia. l-'anninj;- 
 uiot him with a uuu'li hu'i;or party than lie was supposi>il to 
 have at tin* tinu\ Tlu" Whijjs wore soon routed, and then 
 eommem'Oil the menu)rahK' llii^ht. Ilnnti'r roih^ a tavtirite 
 mare, ami relied on her tleetm>ss to save hin\. Ihit Kauniufj;, 
 moui\ted on as fast a horse, and with better hottoiu, as the 
 result proviul. sinj;liHl out Hunter as his special object of 
 pursuit. The chase was loufj;, and exeitiui;' in the extreme. 
 At hMii^th the mare failed, and Fanninj; overtook and cap- 
 tuied her riiler. SmiM'al of his men soon i\unc up, and all 
 ilismounting, maile themselves luiMi-y at the e\|)euse of the 
 discomtitiul NVhi^", who hail en,:;aiii>d in the luckless adven- 
 tun\ The whole jiarty sat carelessly about for souu> 
 tinu\ restiuii; themselves aud their horses. At hMi<;th 
 Hunter, who knew it to be a ease o( life or death with him, 
 haviuii" watcheil his oppiu'tunity . mana-icd to p-t m>ar iMiouiih 
 to leaji astride the horse of Fanuinir, and put tiuii; spurs, very 
 uneerenji>uiimsly bade his eapti>rs adiiMi. A t'cw shots were 
 tired at him. but without etlect, as they were ainuHl hii;h in 
 i>rder to save the Imrse. 
 
 Hunter had I'alled his mare the Hcil noi\ aud ever after 
 the luu-sc was known by the nanu' t»f the IuhI Huek. After 
 the war, Hunter aud Fanning nu>t in Charlcs-towu. Fauuing 
 ilemandcd his horse, which Hunter hail ridden down, aud 
 high words passed befwecu them. .Fanning clialhM\ged 
 Hunter to tight. The latter, having choice of wcainms and 
 the n\0{\c oi' combat, agreed to meet his adversary the next 
 morning, on horseback, with swords, on the green near the 
 city. It was so(.>n noised about, and many persons assembled 
 the following day to witiu^ss the novel encounter. Hunter 
 rode out on the Hed Buck. But Fanning^ afraid at heart 
 
IIISTOIIY OF THE OLD ClfKIlAWS. 397 
 
 to meet one wIkj was as active and powerful as he was fear- 
 less, (11(1 not make liis ap[)earan(.*e, and kept out of sight 
 (hiriuf^ Ilunter^s stay in town. Afterwards, Fanning brouglit 
 an action, in Darlington, for the horse, hut failed to g(it a 
 verdict. Hunter was suhse(juently elected a member of 
 the Legislature from Darlington. He died in liis sixty- 
 second year. 
 
 On one of his expeditions for the recapture of his liorse. 
 Fanning made not a few of the scattered VVliigs along his 
 route feel the effects of his vengeance. Jiobert Gregg, a 
 bnjther of Captain James Ciregg, was on(5 of tlie sufferers. 
 Upon Fanning's approach to his house, Ciregg attempted to 
 shoot him, but his gun snaj)p(id. He then endeavoured to 
 make his escape to the swamp, which was near by, but 
 was finjd upon and sevepijty wounded in the hip. He fell, 
 and being covered with blood, [jiayed his part so well as tlie 
 Tories eame up, that they supposed him to be dead, and left 
 without further molestation. He continu(;d a erip|)le for life. 
 
 Fanning was a notorious marauder, of considerable 
 talent, but reckless and sanguinary in disposition. When 
 Marion admitted Major (Jainey and the band of fjoyalisls 
 and Tories under him to terms. Fanning was s-pecially ex- 
 cluded. Jiut both he and his wife succeeded in reaching 
 Charles-town, which was tlien in possession of the Royal 
 troops, in safety. IVevious to his flight to the coast, he 
 made a fruitless attempt to reanimate the friends of the 
 Crown, with whom he possessed influence. There was, in 
 the region to which he bekjnged, no m(jre determined enemy 
 of the Whigs and the cause of liberty. He lived to a great 
 age, and died not very many years since, it is believed, in 
 Canada.''*' 
 
 A singidar incident is related (jf General Harrington. 
 He had been on a visit to his family in Richmond County, 
 and was returning with his aids to his command at Cross 
 Creek. When not very far from the end (/ his journey, 
 and within a mile or two of M'Kay^s, a place (jf public en- 
 tertainment, he directed his aids to go on there, turning ofl' 
 himself from the main road, to spend the night with an old 
 
 * Sabine'B " Americun LoyaliatH," p. 2S2. 
 
398 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 friend. Early the next morning, while on the way to 
 M'Kay^s, and alone, he was suddenly accosted by a man, 
 very near him, who, protected by a tree, should the general 
 attempt to discharge his pistol, presented his gun, and 
 ordered him to dismount. Thus taken by surprise, and 
 completely in the power of the robber, there was no alter- 
 native but to obey the command. 
 
 The general accordingly dismounted, and asked what was 
 wanted. He was told to deliver up his money. The general 
 put down five guineas ; and being questioned, assured him 
 it was all he had on his person. Upon which, having eyed 
 alternately for a moment or two the general and the money, 
 turning the latter about in his hand, he returned three of 
 the guineas, with the remark, that their owner looked like a 
 man who would need some money to get along with. He 
 then told the general to walk off, and not attempt to mount 
 his horse or touch his holsters until he had gone more than 
 a hundred yards, or he would shoot him on the spot. Sub- 
 sequently, on the removal of his quarters to a point near 
 Wilmington, this individual, with others, was brought in a 
 prisoner to General Harrington's camp. They immediately 
 recognised each other, but without any expression of the 
 fact, until after this man, with several other of the pri- 
 soners, had been tried and condemned to death. 
 
 General Harrington, thinking from what had transpired 
 on the road, that there were some peculiar circumstances 
 connected with him, and that he was not the abandoned 
 villain which such an act of highway robbery would seem 
 to indicate, took him aside and questioned him closely. In 
 explanation of his course, he said that he lived in a neigh- 
 bourhood where all had taken British protection, or were 
 Tories, and that it was impossible for him to remain there 
 and be anything else, pleading extreme necessity for the 
 robbery. Upon being asked if he was willing to swear 
 allegiance to his country and serve under General Harring- 
 ton throughout the war, on condition of his life being 
 spared, he replied that he was ; and thereupon took the 
 oath, and proved himself ever after faithfully devoted to the 
 general, and a true soldier of liberty. 
 
 After the war, General Harrington was elected a member 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 399 
 
 of the Legislature of North Carolina^ and in that and other 
 positions of trusty served his adopted State with unswerving 
 fidelity. Strongly inclined, however, to retirement, he 
 rather avoided than sought the excitements and distinctions 
 of public life, and gave his latter years to the peaceful pur- 
 suits of agriculture, the cultivation of the social relations, 
 and the sweets of domestic life. Happily constituted for 
 contributing to the endearing pleasures of home, he was 
 peculiarly blessed in having to share with him in those de- 
 lights, one who was not more admired for her understanding 
 and excellence of character, than beloved universally for 
 those beautiful traits by which the life of woman in every 
 relation is adorned. 
 
 In person. General Harrington was small, but well 
 formed and handsome. His education was good, and his 
 mind highly cultivated. After a life of eminent public ser- 
 vice and private virtue, he died at his seat in Richmond 
 County, on the 31st of March, 1809, in the sixty-second 
 year of his age ; spoken of in the papers of the day, " as an 
 active and useful officer, who had acquired honor in the 
 Revolution, which secured to this country its indepen- 
 dence.^^ 
 
 One of the friends of his earlier and later years, Claudius 
 Pegues, of Marlborough, preceded General Harrington to 
 the tomb. Mr. Pegues was too advanced at its commence- 
 ment to take an active part in the war, presenting to his 
 country, however, a son, who bore his name, to render gal- 
 lant service in that cause to which he was ardently devoted. 
 A singular circumstance is related in connexion with his last 
 moments. Residing at the time alone, he sent for both of his 
 sons, and told them he would die that day, although walk- 
 ing about the house, and apparently in his usual health. 
 After conversing with them some time, and while they were 
 talking together on the subject, he took up an arm-chair, 
 moved it a little, and seating himself, quietly breathed his 
 last. 
 
 Colonel Maurice Murphy, of whom such frequent and 
 honorable mention has been made, continued, after the Re- 
 volution, to serve his country, as opportunity offered, to the 
 close of his life. He was a bad manager, and never pos- 
 
400 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 sessed mucli property. On one occasion^ when in Charles- 
 town, he was arrested for debt^ and while in jail-bounds^ met 
 on the streets one Harrison^ who had taken many negroes 
 from the region of the Lower Pedee during the French and 
 Indian war, and was then a resident of St. Augustine, 
 Colonel Murphy rushed on him with his sword^ saying that 
 he had taken from him property to a larger amount than 
 the debt for which he was then confined, and that if he did 
 not pledge himself to cancel the debt and costs, he would 
 kill him on the spot. Well knowing Murphy's determina- 
 tion, the alarmed and con science- stricken Harrison at once 
 acceded to the demand, and forthwith carried his promise 
 into execution. In passing Jeffrey's Creek, on his return 
 from Charles-town, it happening to be a muster-day. Colonel 
 Murphy saw in the ranks one who had been a noted Tory, 
 and by whom he had probably been made to suffer. Excited 
 by the recollections of the past, he leaped from his horse 
 and made rapidly towards him, the man only escaping from 
 severe chastisement or death by instant flight. These in- 
 stances show that Murphy was of quick and ungovernable 
 passion ; and yet, notwithstanding the violence of his 
 temper and occasional dissipation, he maintained a cha- 
 racter for generosity and integrity, commanding always the 
 confidence of the people, and ever retaining a high place in 
 the popular regard for his active and devoted services 
 throughout the war. There was no more gallant or devoted 
 Whig on the Pedee. In person he was straight as an arrow, 
 rather bald, and of great physical strength. His end was 
 a sad one. Imprisoned for debt, he died in the jail at 
 Long Bluff; a touching example of the charge often made, 
 of the ingratitude of Republics ! 
 
 Tristram Thomas was a name respected and honored by 
 all classes on the Pedee. General Thomas was modest and 
 retiring in disposition, but firm and decided whenever prin- 
 ciple was involved in the conduct of life. Sturdy by habit, 
 and resolute in character as circumstances might demand, 
 he was happily fitted by nature for the perils and labors of 
 the Revolution. The discouragements to which the actors 
 of that stormy period were often subjected, never unnerved 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 491 
 
 or intimidated his soul. Possessed of a solid understanding, 
 a practical turn of mind, and virtuous principles, he faithfully 
 discharged the duties incumbent uj)on him in every station 
 to which he was called in the administration of the affairs 
 of his own district and the councils of the State. He was 
 the first Brigadier-General on the Pcdee after the war. He 
 lived to a good old age, uni^ ersally esteemed, and died at 
 his residence* in Marlborough District, in 1817. 
 
 Lemuel Benton, the compeer of Thomas, and the succes- 
 sor of Kolb as commander of the forces on the Pedee, was 
 a man of very marked character. His early opportunities 
 of improvement were quite limited, but with talents of a 
 superior order, and an energy that flagged under no diffi- 
 culties, he rose by the native force of mind and character 
 to a position of commanding influence. Ardent in feeling, 
 and of strong and violent passions, he was a bitter enemy 
 and as fast a friend. He had the peculiar faculty, which 
 few possess, of gaining the confidence of the masses and 
 leading them at will. As a stump-speaker he had no 
 superior in his day. On more than one occasion he con- 
 ducted his own defence in Court with signal success. This 
 talent as a speaker, with his efficient military services, was 
 the means of securing him a seat in Congress as the first 
 member from the Pcdee District. He encountered a strons: 
 opponent in a Mr. Wilson of Williamsburg, a gentleman of 
 popular manners and influential connexions, but unequal 
 to Colonel Benton before the people, and hence doomed to 
 defeat. Previously to this election Colonel Benton had 
 been returned as one of the first two members of the Legis- 
 lature from Darlington. At the next canvass for Congress, 
 tAvo years after, he was opposed by Benjamin Huger, of 
 George-town, and defeated. The fact that he had opposed 
 Mr. Adamses administration probably contributed to this 
 result. His career as a public man was now closed. 
 Colonel Benton was about six feet in height, stout, but well 
 formed, and of handsome and commanding person. He 
 died at his residence in Darlington about the year 1819. 
 
 * General Thomas lived at the place now known as EUerbe's Mills, near the 
 public road leadmg from Society Hill to Beunetsville. 
 
 D D 
 
402 HisroivY (>K ruK o\ai cukuaws. 
 
 Colom^l (uHn'j;o Hii'ks sucvivinl tlu> lu>\ t>luti()n scviM'iil 
 voivrs, tlu>ui;li !ul\;im"i>(l in iii;i". I'lom iUc (iim* (>t" liis iMui- 
 jjratioii ti) iUc W'iU'c he ti>ok i» luj;l» position in (!u> couli- 
 (Umut ami I'sti-iMH o( i\\v \)vo\Ac. lit' uas tlistini;uislu>il for 
 piiritv, luMirvoliMUw siml i^riirral lAcollriu't' oi' cliariu'tcr. 
 luMiiaikablv cousidiM'ato and liinuaut\ I'ousi'itMitious and t'aitli- 
 t'ul ii\ till' disrhari;i' t)t" I'ViM'v trust, his iHMirsi> tl\i'o»ii;li lilo 
 was sui'li as to inspire universal rouani, and to call t'ortli 
 tlio uuatUH-tcd roi;rots of all riassi's at his di>|)artuii' fVotn 
 t'arth. llis uanit' never (vasi>d to hr iniMitioniHl with atliH'- 
 tionate veni'iation bv those ot" his eonten>|HU'aries who snr- 
 vivtHl hin»- an example ot" thi' kimi ^hieh has si-UK>»n hei-n 
 known. 
 
 A name >\hieh should ever he rtMuendxM'eil with respect 
 by the ilcscemlants o[' the \N hii;s oi' St. PaAid's, is that of 
 Joshua Amuu)ns. Ot" humble [>rctcusii)us thn>Uiih life, tliis 
 man won t'i)r himselt" a |H>siti(>n seeiuul to no othei' t"or ai'tive 
 and um'casiui;- dcvt)tiou to tlu> cause ot" libiM'ty. lie emi- 
 ^rateil t"rom Maryhuul and settled before the war in what 
 is m»w M«rlboit)Uiih IHstrict. but a feu miles t"iom tlu' [)re- 
 seut county seat. Tv'o tmo on the I'edcc, perhaps, took u 
 uu>re varied part, ov at uuu'c distant points in the revolu- 
 tionary stvujiji'lc. Ill' appears to have been almost ubiqui- 
 tous. Kuiiaii'cd actively in the partisan Avarfarc under 
 Marion; then in the Continental lino ; in most of the battles 
 oi' Carolinii, and under Lafayette's commaiul when hasten- 
 ing; to join AVashiniitou before \ ork-town, he was continu- 
 inisly in the tield, actinj;' n\ost of the tinu' as (>rderly-scr- 
 gount. It was while on the march of Tjafaycttc, between 
 (^harlottesville ami Scottsville, \ iri;inia, when he eiu'ountered 
 the Uritish army which had been stationed on the route to 
 iuteivept his proi;ress, that the gallant Frenclnuan received 
 a severe wound. Mr. .Vmmons happened to be near the 
 person of the j;eucral when he f'ell, and was the lirst to 
 reach him. lie bore his I'ommandcr from the lield, placiui; 
 him under the shade of a tree. In IS.'Jt, when Lat"ayette 
 visited .Vmerica us the nation's j»;uest, and journeyed to the 
 southward, Joshua Aninunis, with many otheis, hastened 
 to the North Carolina line to meet the noble old chief. 
 llo was introduced to Ijafavette as ti soldier of the Kevolu- 
 
HISTORY OF TUM OLD CIIKUAVVS. -lO.'J 
 
 tioii, !ui(l one wIh) liad horin; liirri fV<jrri ilic, ("n-ld wlicii Ik; 
 was wounded near ScottHvillc. TIh; mumk; w;is slill familiar 
 to liis car/ but tlio [x^rsoii of the lnunljli; tsoldier (orj^ottcii. 
 Milt this (lid not niatt(;r. 'i'he past rushed ii|)on him in an 
 instant and thrilled his soul. ireeof^iiisin^ in the lowly 
 indi\idiial heCoi-e him the hold and faithful su|)|)orter on the 
 battle-field, he {imbraec-d him as a friend, and invited hirn 
 to li(!ad-quarterH. Tlw^n;, doubtless, tluty eommuruid in 
 s[)irit, eallinj^ iij) stirring- r(;ininiseenees of the times that 
 tried men's souls, and passinj^- aj^ain, thou{^h 'in tlu; eveniri}^ 
 of life, throuf-h the; throes of stiuf^gliiig liberty in which 
 tliey had partieipat(;d as youthful eombatants. '^I'he expioitH 
 of Joshua Amnions would mak(; un extended narrative if 
 vvritt(;n out in full. ]Jaring almfjHt to a fault, lie shrank 
 from no danger, nor Hhunned any responsibility. I'rison 
 ships presented no terrors to his dauntless kouI, nor did a 
 view (jf the gallows adeet his nerves. lie iivt^d to a very 
 advanced aj^e, and j)assed away amid tiie grateful benedic- 
 tions of the descendants of those with whom lie iiad foiiglit 
 in unwavering devotion to his country.^' 
 
 Anotlicr name which has no place in liistory, and is now 
 unknown in the region where he lived, deserves, in one 
 respect at least, tlie first place in the annals of the I'edee, 
 ifn<;t in the story of the Revolution throughout the thirteen 
 (;olonies. Jmio]) JJrawlcr gave his own life and the lives of 
 twenty-two sons to the cause of liberty in Carolina. lie 
 removed from Tar llivcr, North Carolina, to Liberty Pre- 
 cinct, and settled on Cat Fish, sixteen miles below the 
 present village of Marion. He was married twice, and had 
 large families hy hoth wives, of wliorn all were sons, except 
 one, a daughter. After th(; fall of (Jharles-town, some of 
 his sons were drafted; but the old man said there sli(nild 
 
 * Wlien Loe'o " MomoirH of tlifi Southern Carnpaign " first apfioarrwl, Mr. 
 AininoiiH read the hook witli iihHorhiri;^ iiit(;rt'Ht. Iliw ruriniii^^ oominciiiH are 
 haid, hy an hiLclligciit (VkiiiiI and ncighhour, wlio waH ofU-n with him at the time, 
 to liav(! hecn extremely IntercHtrii^ and itmtnictive. Many Hl,ateinent» h<; cor- 
 reeted, tlie ir)cinory of numerouh incidentH wan recaUed, and the moHt varied 
 cinoLionH were excit(;d hy the perusal. It Heenied to reviv«;, an an expiriri^^ (lamo, 
 tlie Hpirlt of '7fJ — a (lame whidi continued to hnrn in him with enthuHiahtic 
 devotion to liherty, dear in the recollection of itH early conllictH, until ex-, 
 tinguiuhcd in death. 
 
 I) I) 2 
 
404 HISTORY OF THE OLD CMERAWS. 
 
 be no division among them^ that if one went, all should go, 
 and that he would accompany them. Twenty-four in all, 
 they embarked in the strife, and almost incredible. to relate, 
 but one of the sons returned to tell the tale of their 
 slaughter. Overwhelmed by the calamity, the frantic wife 
 and mother went off, not knowing whither, in search of her 
 loved ones, but only to return, after a fruitless search, a 
 broken-hearted mourner. She was eventually put upon the 
 parish, and lived to old age. The surviving sou, who was 
 of weak mind .and body, died a few years after, and the 
 name became extinct in Marion.^ 
 
 With the close of 1782, the Revolution may be said to 
 have ended in Carolina. The long and anxious struggle 
 was then over. And, with returning peace, prosperity came. 
 Again attention was to be turned to the material develop- 
 ment of the State, to the subject of education, and other 
 departments of progress. The halls of justice, long silent, 
 were to be re-opened ; and now that those who had been 
 sorely oppressed, were to be henceforth free and independent, 
 they were to feel, in the work and fruits of peace, the full 
 measure of the responsibilities assumed, when they solemnly 
 pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes, and their 
 sacred honor. 
 
 The following very imperfect list collected from the 
 Archives of the State, will give, in addition to those already 
 mentioned, embracing also some of them, the names of not a 
 few others on the Pedec, who took part in the war, and may 
 
 * This account, wbicli may appear almost incredible, was related to the Autlior 
 by the late Hugh Godbold, of Marion, and confii'med, in every particular, by 
 William Shaw, a humble but worthy and respectable man, who was of age at 
 the time, lived in the same neighbourhood, and knew the family of Brawler well. 
 Mr. Shaw was born in March, 1759, and in the spring of 1859, when the Author 
 spent a night with him at the house of Mr. Godbold, was possessed of astonishing 
 vigor of body and mind for one of his years. Neither his siglit nor hearing was 
 very seriously impaired. He sat up to a late hour, listening with unabated in- 
 terest to a conversation about the early days of the Pedee, taking part himself, 
 and was as cheerful as a man in his prime. He said a red oak was then living 
 which stood in Brawler's yard. Brawler was poor, but ingenious. He adopted 
 the following method of catching bears : — Driving sharp nails, pointing down- 
 ward, in a bee-gum, he baited it at the bottom, having secured it well. The 
 bear, putting his head down, would be caught beyond the possibility of extrica- 
 tion. William Shaw had passed his hundredth year when the Author saw him for 
 the first and last time ; and, considering his activity, was one of the most re- 
 markable cases of longevity on i-ecord. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 405 
 
 fitly bring this narrative of the Revolution to a close. 
 Other services were doubtless rendered by most^ if not all 
 of those included in this list. Many either neglected or 
 declined, after the E-evolution, to present any account 
 against the State ; while a large number of those who lost 
 their lives during the struggle, were not afterwards repre- 
 sented. The records of the Continental line, had they been 
 accessible, would have added many more names. Frac- 
 tional as it is, the list here given is well worthy of pre- 
 servation. 
 
 Allen, Jeremiah, lieutenant of Militia, in . , . 1782 
 Ammons, John, private in Capt. Thos. Parrot^s 
 
 Company of Horse ^ . . „ 
 
 Ammons, Thomas, private, in „ 
 
 Andi'cws, John, adjutant of Col. Hicks's Regt. from 
 
 - Feb. to Nov 1780 
 
 Arnold, William, private, in ] 782 
 
 Askew, John, „ under Marion .... „ 
 
 Ayer, Hartwell „ in 1778 
 
 Bacot, Samuel, 1st Lieut, in Marion's Brigade, in . 1783 
 
 Benton, Lemuel, private in Benton's Regt. „ . „ 
 
 Beasley, Daniel „ 
 Beasley, William „ 
 
 Berry, Wm., sergeant, in „ 
 
 Bird, Wm., private „ „ 
 
 Blackwood, Abram, private, in „ 
 
 Blakeney, John, sergeant in Marion's Brigade . . „ 
 
 Blakcney, Robert, private „ . ^ „ 
 
 Blakeney, Thomas „ „ »• ,, 
 
 Bozeman, John >j ;> 1783 
 
 Bryant, Gray „ ,, Benton's Regiment . . 1781 
 
 Bryant, Hardy „ „ „ . „ 
 
 Biu'kitt, Ephraim „ „ „ . „ 
 
 Burkitt, Samuel „ „ „ . ,, 
 
 Butler, John, Captain 
 
 Campbell, James, sergeant, in 1782 
 
 Cassity, Zachariah, private in Benton's Regiment . „ 
 
 Champ, Richard „ „ „ 
 
 Cherry, William „ „ Marion's Brigade . . ,, 
 
406 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Clarkj Harman, private in Marion^s Brigade . . . 1782 
 
 Clayton^ Lawrence „ „ ,, 
 
 ClementSj Joseph „ ,i i> 
 
 Coker, Benjamin „ i, a 
 
 Coker, Nathan „ „ „ 
 
 Coker^ Thomas „ „ 1781 
 
 Cole, James, sergeant and private 1782 
 
 Coleman, James, private, in „ 
 
 Coleman, John „ „ ....... „ 
 
 Collier, John „ „ „ 
 
 Conn, Thomas, adjutant and private in Benton's 
 
 Regiment 1781 
 
 Cone, Matthew, private, in 1782 
 
 Conner, James >} 33 33 
 
 Cook, William, sergeant and private in Continental 
 
 line „ 
 
 Council, William, private under Marion .... „ 
 
 Courtney, Stephen „ in „ 
 
 Coward, William „ „ 1780-81-83 
 
 Cox, Emanuel ,,. „ „ 
 
 Cox, James „ „ „ 
 
 Cox, John „ „ Capt. Standard^'s Com- 
 pany, Benton's Regiment 1781 
 
 Cox, Josiah, private in Capt. Moses Pearson's Comp. 1782 
 Cox, Samuel, ,, „ „ „ „ „ 
 
 Cox, William „ „ „ „ „ „ 
 
 Croker, James „ „ 1780-82 
 
 Daniel, Aaron „ „ „ 
 
 Daniel, John „ „ „ 
 
 Darby, Jacob „ 3, •' « 
 
 David, Azariah „ „ 1782-83 
 
 „ Ezekiel „ „ Marion's Brigade .... 1782 
 „ John, sergeant and lieutenant alternately 1779-82 
 „ Joshua, private, Capt. Thomas Ellerbe's Com- 
 pany, Hicks's Regiment 1780 
 
 Davis, John, private^ in 1782-83 
 
 Davis, Thomas „ „ 33 3, 
 
 Davis, William „ „ 1782 
 
 Dewitt, Charles, second-lieut. in Marion's Brigade 1781-82 
 Dewitt, Martin 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 407 
 
 Dial, John, private, in 1782 
 
 Doney, Peter, private, in „ 
 
 Douglass, Jesse „ „ 1781-82 
 
 Douglass, Joshua „ „ » „ 
 
 Du Bose, Andrew „ „ Benton^s Regiment in 
 
 1780, and captain, in 1781 
 
 Du Bose, Daniel 
 
 Du Bose, Elias, lieutenant and private 
 
 Du Bose, Isaac, pri vate, in Mahan^s Cavaby Regiment 1782 
 Du Bose, Samuel 
 
 Du Bose, William, sergeant, Benton^s Regiment, 
 Marion^s Brigade 
 
 Duling, James, private, in 1782 
 
 Duling, John „ „ „ 
 
 Ellerbe, Thomas, captain, in 1781-82 
 
 Ellerbe, William, private, „ 1782 
 
 Evans, Benjamin „ under Major Amos Wind- 
 ham 
 
 Evans, Burwell, private, in „ 
 
 Evans, Enoch, first-lieut., Capt. Irby^s Company, 
 
 Hicks^s Regiment, siege Charles-town . . . 1780 
 Evans, Ezer, private, in Captain Irby^s Company, 
 
 Hicks's Regiment, siege Charles-town ... „ 
 
 Evans, George, lieut., in 1781-82 
 
 Evans, John, private, in 1782-83 
 
 Evans, Josiah „ „ Benton^s Regiment , 1781-82 
 
 Evans, Thomas „ „ Hicks^s Regiment, siege 
 
 Charles-town 1780 
 
 Evans, William 
 
 Fort, Moses, private, Irby's Company, Hicks^s Regi- 
 ment, siege Charles- town „ 
 
 Faulkner, John, private, under Marion 
 
 Fountain, William, private, in ...... . 1783 
 
 Flowers, John „ „ 1782 
 
 Fitzpatrick, James „ ,, „ 
 
 Ford, Albert „ „ 1781-82 
 
 Frasher, — „ „ « 
 
 Fuller, John „ „ „ 
 
 Farmer, Zachariah „ , „ 
 
 Gardner, Stephen „ „ „ 
 
408 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Gardner, William, private in . . . • . . . . 1782 
 
 Gay, — , lieutenant „ 1781-83 
 
 Gibson, Thomas, sen., private, in „ 
 
 Gibson, Thomas, jun. ,> )> « 
 
 Gillespie, James, sergeant, Martin's Troop, Sumpter's 
 
 Brigade 
 Gillespie, Samuel, private, Robuck's Regiment 
 
 Goodson, Arthur „ in 1782 
 
 Goodson, Thomas „ „ „ 
 
 Goodwyu, Britain „ „ „ 
 
 Goodwyn, David „ „ „ 
 
 Goodwyn, Lewis „ ,, „ 
 
 Gregg, James, captain, Britton's Neck Regiment, 
 
 Colonel Ervin 
 Griffith, Joseph, captain 
 
 Grimes, James, private, Irby's Company, Hick's Re- 
 giment, siege Charles-town 1780 
 
 Hagin, David, private, in Benton's Regiment . . 1782 
 
 Hales, Silas „ „ „ 
 
 Harrall, Levi „ „ „ 
 
 Harrington, Wm. Henry, commanding South Caro- 
 lina Militia, both sides of Pedee, November . 1780 
 
 Harrison, Henry, private, in 1782 
 
 Hendley, Jesse „ „ „ 
 
 Hendricks, William, caj)tain, Marion's Brigade . . „ 
 
 Hewstess, James, sergeant „ 
 
 Hicks, George, colonel ...;... 1779-80-81 
 
 Hickson, John, private, in 1782 
 
 Hindley, Edward „ „ Benton's Regiment 
 
 Hinds, John, lieut. and private, in „ 
 
 Hincs, Samuel „ >} „ ,, 
 
 Hinson, Clayburn, commanding detachment pri- 
 soners to Long Bluff April, 1781 
 
 Hinson, William, private. Round O Company Militia 1779 
 
 Hird, John, lieut., in 1782 
 
 Hodge, Elias, private, in 1779 
 
 „ Isham, private under Major Tristram 
 
 Thomas, Ilicks's Regiment 1780 
 
 „ James, private under Lieut. John Pledger, 
 
 Murphy's Regiment 1782 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 409 
 
 Hodge, John, private in Capt. Standard's Company, 
 
 Hicks's Regiment 1780-81 
 
 „ Joseph, private under Major Thomas, and in 
 
 Hicks's Regiment, in 1782 
 
 „ Robert, sergeant. Captains Standard's and 
 
 Pearson's Companies, Benton's Rcgt. 1780-82 
 
 „ Thomas, private, in 1782 
 
 „ Welcome, sergeant, Benton's Regiment, 
 
 siege Charles-town 1780 
 
 Hollis, Moses, lieut., in 1783 
 
 Hnhbard, Noah, private, in . . ; 1782 
 
 Huckaby, Ishara, sergeant and private, in . . . „ 
 „ Samuel „ „,>■••'» 
 
 „ Thomas, private, in ...... • „ 
 
 Huggins, John, captain. Col. Hugh Giles' Regt. . 1779 
 
 Hunt, Criswell, private, Benton's Regiment 
 
 Irby, Edmund, captain, Hicks's Regt., INI'^Intosh's 
 
 Brigade, siege Charles-town 1780 
 
 Irby, Charles, commissary 1782 
 
 Jackson, John, lieutenant, in „ 
 
 „ Stephen, captain, Kolb's Regiment . . . 1780 
 
 „ Stephen, junr., private, in ..... 1782 
 
 „ WiUiam „ „ „ 
 
 James, Alexander, lieut., in „ 
 
 „ . George, private „ „ 
 
 „ James „ ,, ,j 
 
 Jenkins, Charles „ „ „ 
 
 „ J ames „ „ „ 
 
 „ Reuben, lieutenant and private .... „ 
 Jinkins, James, lieutenant in Benton's Regiment . „ 
 John, Azel, private, Benton's Regiment .... 1782 
 „ Jesse „ „ .... 1783 
 „ Thomas „ . „ .... 1782 
 Johnson, John „ Capt. Standard's Company, Ben- 
 ton's Regiment . 1781 
 
 Johnston, John, private 1782 
 
 Jolley, Joseph „ „ 
 
 Jones, Edward, Captain of Guard, Kolb's Ferry 1780-83 
 
 „ James, private 1782 
 
 William „ „ 
 
410 HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Keil, William, private 1782 
 
 Keith, Cornelius „ „ 
 
 Kennedy, Stephen _,, „ 
 
 Kilgore, Henry „ „ 
 
 Kirby, James „ „ 
 
 Knight, Niglet „ „ 
 
 Kolb, Benjamin, Benton^s Regiment 1781 
 
 „ John, sergeant and corporal 1780-81 
 
 „ Peter, private, in 1782 
 
 Large, David „ „ „ 
 
 Lee, William „ „ „ 
 
 Lide, Robert, Major, Marion's Brigade 
 
 Lowther, Edward, private in 1781-82 
 
 Lowry, Robert . „ „ Marion's Brigade . „ „ 
 
 Luke, Owen „ „ „ 
 
 Lundy, Drewry „ „ 1781 
 
 „ John „ „ 1781-82 
 
 Lyons, Guthridge, captain, Benton's Regiment . . 1781 
 
 „ William, private 1781-82 
 
 Mario, James „ 1782 
 
 Mannings, James „ „ 
 
 Marsh, John Lewis „ Benton's Regiment . 1781 
 
 Martin, Jeremiah „ „ „ . „ 
 
 „ William „ „ „ . „ 
 
 Mason, Charles, commissary under Marion, and private 1782 
 
 „ Joseph, private, in „ 
 
 M^Call, George „ under Marion .... „ 
 
 „ Henry, sergeant of horse ] 782-83 
 
 „ John, lieut. and private, Marion's Brigade 1781-82 
 
 „ William, private in 1782 
 
 M^Carter, James „ „ „ 
 
 M'Cullogh, George, captain, in „ 
 
 McDonald, John, private ........ „ 
 
 McDowell, Samuel „ „ „ 
 
 M'Gee, James „ „ „ 
 
 M'lntosh, Alexander, captain, Benton's Regiment 1781-82 
 
 " Lacklin, private, in 1782 
 
 „ William „ Captain Nelson's Com- 
 pany, Marion's Brigade 1781-82 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 411 
 
 M^Iver, Evander, private and clerk in Captain Irby^s 
 
 Company, Hick^s Regiment, M^Iutosh^s Brigade 1780 
 
 M'^Muldrough, Andrew, private, in 1782 
 
 „ Hugt, sergeant-major, in ... . 
 
 „ J ames ,, ,,.... 
 
 „ William, lieutenant „ . . . . 
 
 M'Natt, Joel, private, Murphy^s Regiment, Marion's 
 
 Brigade 
 
 „ Mackey, private 
 
 Mikell, James „ 
 
 „ John, jnn., lieut. and private, Marion's Bri- 
 gade 1780-82 
 
 Miles, William, private, in 1782 
 
 Mixon, Maraday „ under Lieut. John Rushing, 
 
 Benton's Regiment, at Long Bluff, in . . . 1783 
 
 „ Samuel, private in 1782 
 
 Moody, Andrew „ Captain Standard's Com- 
 pany, Benton's Regiment 1781 
 
 „ Roderick, private in Captain Standard's Com- 
 pany, Benton's Regiment „ 
 
 Moore, Gully, private, in 1782 
 
 „ Jeremiah „ „ „ 
 
 Munnerlyn, James, lieutenant 
 
 Murphy, Maurice, captain in Hick's Regiment, in 
 1779-80, major, in 1780-81, and lieut. -col. com- 
 manding, in 1781-82 
 
 Murray, William, private, in 1782 
 
 Nettles, George „ „ Pedee Regiment, Ma- 
 rion's Brigade 1780-83 
 
 Nettles, Joseph, private, in 1779-82 
 
 „ Robert „ „ Marion's Brigade 
 
 Noland, William „ „ 1782 
 
 Northent, William „ „ ,, 
 
 Norwood, John, captain in Marion's Brigade, in . „ 
 
 „ Samuel, private, in „ 
 
 Nugent, Thomas n » }> 
 
 O'Neal, John, commissary of detachment under 
 
 Col. Benton, in „ 
 
 Outlaw, Benjamin, private, in „ 
 
 Parker, Moses „ „ 1781-82-83 
 
412 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Parrottj Thomas, Captain of Horse, in .... 1 782 
 Pasley, Robert, captain, in ........ 1781 
 
 Pearson, Aaron, private „ 1782 
 
 „ Moses, lieutenant in Hick^s E-egiment, in 
 1780, and captain in Benton's Regiment, Ma- 
 rion's Brigade, in 1781-82 
 
 Perkins, David, private, in 1782 
 
 „ Isaac, sergeant „ ,, 
 
 ,, Lewis, private „ „ 
 
 „ William „ „ „ 
 
 Pigot, John, sergeant, in „ 
 
 „ Nathanael, private, in „ 
 
 Pledger, John, lieutenant in Marion's Camp, 1781- 
 82, and lieutenant commanding in Murphy's 
 
 Regiment, in July, 1782 
 
 Poke, Daniel, private, in „ 
 
 „ John „ .......... „ 
 
 „ Luke „ „ „ 
 
 Pouncey, Anthony, quarter-master, in - ... . 1780 
 Powe, Thomas, commissary, Hick's Regiment . . „ 
 
 Powers, Nicholas, private, in 1782 
 
 Preswood, Jonathan, sergeant, in „ 
 
 „ Thomas, private ,, „ 
 
 Purvis, Alexander „ „ „ 
 
 „ Gilbert „ „ 
 
 „ John, lieut.-col., in 1780 
 
 Raburn, John, private. Captain Daniel Spark's Com- 
 pany 1779-80 
 
 Raspberry, John, private, in 1782 
 
 Rasher, Michael „ „ 
 
 Rawlinson, John „ „ Benton's Regiment 
 
 Rivers, Fredei-ick „ ,, 
 
 Roan, William >, ,> 
 
 Roberts, Philip >, » 
 
 Rogers, Edward ,, „ 
 
 Rouse, Neal „ „ 
 
 Rushing, John, lieutenant, Benton's Regiment, at 
 
 Long Bluff, in 1782-83 
 
 Russell, Stephen, sergeant and private, in . . . 1782 
 Sansbury, Dauiel, private, in 1781-82 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 
 
 413 
 
 SaunderSj Natlianael^ lieutenant and private under 
 
 Benton, in 1780-81 
 
 Sellers, AYilliam, private, in 1782 
 
 Sexton, Edward, „ ,, . 1782 
 
 Shoemake, Samuel „ „ 
 Simons, David, sergeant, in 
 „ Samuel, private „ 
 Smith, Charles „ „ Capt. Thomas Ellerbe^s Comp. 
 „ John, private 
 „ Richard „ 
 „ Jeremiah, private, in Andrew Du Bose^s and 
 Thos. Ellerbe^s Companies, Benton^s Regiment „ 
 
 Sparks, Daniel, captain, in 1781-82 
 
 Spears, David, private, in „ 
 
 Standard, William, captain in Benton^s Regiment 1781-82 
 Spencer Calvin, assistant quartermaster-general, 
 
 June to August 1780 
 
 Stanley, Shadrack, private, in 1782 
 
 Starks, Henry „ „ ,^ 
 
 Stephens, John „ „ ^^ 
 
 Strother, George, lieutenant, in ^, 
 
 Teal, Edward, private, in - . ^^ 
 
 Terrell, Edward „ „ ^, 
 
 _,, James, lieutenant, Benton^s Regiment at 
 
 Long Bluff 
 
 1783 
 
 „ Samuel, lieutenant, in 1781-82-83 
 
 Thomas, Tristram, captain in Hick^s, Kolb's, and 
 Benton^s Regiments, 1780-81, and major in Ben- 
 ton's Regiment 1781-82 
 
 Thorp, Eleazer, private, in 1782 
 
 Tootles, Obcd ,, „ „ 
 
 ToAvnsend, Light „ „ Benton's Regiment . „ 
 
 Veal, John „ „ . . „ 
 
 Vickers, Jacob „ „ „ 
 
 Vining, Jesse „ „ 1782-83 
 
 Waddell, Abel „ „ 1781 
 
 Warwick, Abraham, private, in 1 782 
 
 Watkins, Samuel „ under Capt. Amos Windham 
 
 Weaver, Hartwxil, private, in „ 
 
 White, James, private, in 1 782 
 
414 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 
 
 Wliittiiigton, Baructt^ private, in 1782 
 
 „ Epliraim, licut., Benton's Rcgt., in 1781-8.2-83 
 
 „ Francis, private in 1 782 
 
 „ Levi „ „ )^ 
 
 „ Natlianael „ „ „ 
 
 „ llicliard „ >, « 
 
 Wilds, Abel, private, in „ 
 
 „ Jesse, lieutenant, in „ 
 
 „ Samuel, private, in 1782 
 
 Williams, Daniel, captain in Benton's Bcgiment^ in . 1781 
 
 Williamson, Jesse, private, Marion's Brigade . . 1782 
 
 „ Sliadracli, lieutenant and private^ in . „ 
 „ Stephen 
 
 ,, Sterling, private, in „ 
 
 „ William „ „ „ 
 
 ,• Willis „ „ „ 
 
 Wingate, Edward „ }> „ 
 
 Wii)dliam, Amos, captain under Kolb, and major, in „ 
 „ Jesse, private 
 
 William „ 1782 
 
 Wise, James „ „ 
 
 ,, William „ „ 
 
 Wood, Benjamin „ „ 
 
 Woodward, Thomas „ „ 
 
 Wright, Amos, private, Capt. Amos Windham's Com- 
 pany „ 
 
 „ Gillis, private „ 
 
 „ Joseph „ „ 
 
 ,j Solomon, private, Capt. Windham's Com- 
 pany „ . 
 
 Yates, William, private „ 
 
 Youngblood, David, private „ 
 
 „ Peter, captain ,, 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 415 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Afembers of Legislature elected for St. David's Parish — Petition of Elizabeth 
 Mitchell, and action of Legislature thereon — Petition of Robert Allison — 
 Relief extended — Elections for Cheraws District — First Circuit Court at 
 Long Bluff after the Revolution — Charge of Judge Griinke — Presentments 
 of grand jury — Tobacco inspectors appointed for Cheraws — Ordinance for 
 opening navigation of the Pedee — Commissioners appointed — Ordinance of 
 following year — Commissioners — Course of Legislation on the subject — 
 Elections to Legislature for St. David's — Captain Devvitt resigns his seat — 
 Re-elected — County Court Act — St. David's Parish divided into three counties 
 — Boundary lines — Provisions of the Act — County Justices for Marlborough, 
 Chesterfield, and Darlington — Locations made for the several county sites — 
 Prevailing crime at that day — Presentment of County Court for Chester- 
 field — Burning of records in Darlington County — Practising lawyers in St. 
 David's — Names of counties — Greenville, why so called — St. David's Society 
 revived — Its history — Teachers — Thomas Park — Life and character — 
 Members of St. David's Society — Notices of Welch Neck Church — Removal 
 of church building — Account of William Falconer — Other settlers in Cheraw 
 District after the Revolutiou. 
 
 The state of public affairs urgently demanded the atten- 
 tion of the Legislature, which was to meet in January, 
 1783. At an election holdcn for members on the 25th and 
 26th of November, Major Tristi'am Thomas was returned 
 Senator; and Lemuel Benton, Thomas Powe, William 
 Pegues, William Strother, William Dewitt, and Claudius 
 Pegues, jun., Members of the House for St. David's. 
 
 " On the I5th of February, Avas received the petition of 
 Elizabeth Mitchell, widow of John Mitchell, in behalf of 
 herself and the heirs and devisees of her deceased husband, 
 setting forth, that he had been dead almost two years, and 
 left his estate, real and personal, to herself and children — 
 that she had observed, with concern, that his estate was con- 
 fiscated by an Act of the General Assembly, and begged 
 leave to state, that for many years preceding his death, her 
 husband was of very distracted mind, and if he had been 
 guilty of any acts to occasion the disj)leasure of the Legis- 
 lature, such misconduct must have been the result of his 
 insanity — that he was confined frequently as an absolute 
 
416 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 madman — that lie never held any commission under the 
 British — -that herself and the heirs are well affected to this 
 State; and one of the heirs, though a youth of tender 
 years, had lately turned out a volunteer in the State ser- 
 vice ; and she therefore prayed relief from the said Act of 
 Confiscation, &c/' The petition was favorably received, 
 and relief extended, except as to such part of the estate as 
 would descend to a daughter who had married Captain 
 Campbell, a British officer. 
 
 On the 24th of February, the petition of Robert Ellison 
 was read, setting forth " that he was an officer in the 
 militia before the fall of Charles-town, and always exerted 
 himself in the service of America — that he was made a pri- 
 soner in Camden, and confined on Jameses island under 
 very unhappy circumstances, and therefore prayed relief 
 fi'om the penalties of an Act for amercing certain persons 
 therein mentioned, &c/^ The case of Mr. Ellison seems to 
 have been misunderstood. He was consequently relieved, 
 and continued to enjoy the confidence and esteem of his 
 fellow-citizens to the close of his useful life. 
 
 At this Session of the Legislature, Claudius Pegues, jun., 
 was elected Ordinary for Cheraws District, and William 
 Dewitt, Sheriff. The latter having accepted the appoint- 
 ment, vacated his seat as a member of the House. A new 
 election was ordered for 24th and 25th of March, and Peter 
 Allston returned. 
 
 The first court holden at Long Bluff, after the Revolution, 
 was on the 15th. of November, of this year. It was an oc- 
 casion of unusual interest. 
 
 Judge Grimke, who had been appointed on the 20th of 
 March previous, appeared for the first time on the Northern 
 Circuit, and made it the occasion of a timely and eloquent 
 charge to the grand juries which came before him. The 
 feelings of animosity, so recently cherished towards the 
 Tories, were deeply rooted iu the hearts of the people ; and 
 a disposition was manifested on the part of many to keep up 
 the distinction, chiefly for the sake of appeals to popular 
 feeling in connexion with elections. 
 
 .Judge Grimke did not shrink from what he conceived to 
 be his duty under the circumstances, and gave expression to 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 417 
 
 such "wise counsels, mingled with patriotic sentiments, as 
 tended much to quiet the public mind, and convince the re- 
 flecting classes of the error and excess into Avhich many 
 had fallen. The Charge, together with the Presentments of 
 the Grand Jury of Cheraws, was published in the Gazettes 
 of the day. 
 
 The most interesting chapter in our annals, perhaps, ex- 
 cept the account of the struggle itself, is that of the few 
 years preceding the Revolution, and next, the narrative of 
 the times immediately succeeding. 
 
 The charge of Judge Grimke was as follows : — 
 
 " Gentlemen of the Grand Jury : 
 
 " This being the first time that I have had the honor of 
 addressing the grand jury of this district in my judicial 
 capacity, I must confess I feel myself impressed with an 
 anxious awe, the offspring of diffidence ; and when I reflect 
 upon the respect due to this place, upon the merits and 
 dignified stations of the gentlemen to whom I am delivering 
 my sentiments, upon the honor conferred on me by the 
 voice of my country, and upon the important trusts com- 
 mitted to my charge, the consciousness of my inexperience 
 to perform the momentous duties of my office rushes in 
 upon my mind, and almost overpowers my senses. But, 
 persuaded of this distinguished mark of my country^s favor, 
 of the dignity of the office, aud of the importance of its ob- 
 ligations, I perceive myself bound by the indissoluble ties 
 of honor to merit the confidence that has been reposed in me. 
 " I will endeavor to regain those moments which the 
 service of my country employed during the late Avar, in the 
 military line, and by the most unwearied assiduity, render 
 myself competent to appear in this capacity. It shall be 
 my pride, always to make the law of the State my rule in 
 the administration of justice, and to aim at the most im- 
 partial and punctual, though merciful execution of them. 
 And the contemplation of the present situation of this 
 country, excites an ardor in forming such resolutions, and 
 of carrying them, without delay, into execution. For the 
 war which has for so many years suspended our power of 
 opening the courts, has delayed justice to the good citizens 
 of this State ; and has protected many daring offenders in 
 
 E E 
 
418 HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 the outrages they have committed on the public tranquillity, 
 in their violation of the security of property, and in the 
 repeated insults which they have offered with impunity to 
 our inhabitants. This intermission in the public proceed- 
 ings of courts of judicature, has been of so long a con- 
 tinuance, and the offences committed since the capitulation 
 of Charles-town so seldom punished, that the idea of the 
 penalties affixed to the crimes, has been absorbed by the 
 familiai'ity and frequency of their occurrence. Our be- 
 wildered minds seemed no longer alarmed at the commission 
 of crimes of the first magnitude ; and carnage, and all the 
 havoc of war let loose upon our unfortunate country, had 
 in some degree hardened the heai'ts of the most compas- 
 sionate amongst us. But I hope the barbarous mode in 
 which the enemy carried on their war, and which of neces- 
 sity produced several instances of retaliation on our part, 
 has not totally annihilated the merciful dispositions of our 
 nature, and irremediably tempered our minds to violence, 
 cruelty, and oppression. True it is, that men have long 
 exercised a habit of consulting their own bosoms, their own 
 resentments, and their own arms, for a redress of injuries ; 
 but the impolicy and injustice of such appeals are too evi- 
 dent to need a comment thereon. 
 
 " At that period, indeed, when such unnatural and alien 
 principles were forced upon us for our creed, and when we 
 were compelled to adopt as the only means of probable 
 salvation (the means which in some instances were used), 
 perhaps we might stand exculpated before God and the 
 nations of the earth. The convulsions of our country, the 
 desolation of our farms, the conflagrations raging through 
 our settlements, and all the ravages of our moveable pro- 
 perty, presented a scene capable of agitating the minds of 
 men who were not even sufferers in so general a calamity. 
 But, when the cruelties of these refined barbarians extended 
 themselves to the families and relatives of our countrymen 
 — when women were upbraided and accused as guilty of a 
 crime for the loyalty of their husbands and sons to our 
 great and just cause — when they were turned out of their 
 hospitable dwellings, deprived of every comfort and con- 
 veniency of life, robbed of their personal clothing, and even 
 
HISTORY OV THE OLD CHERAWS. 419 
 
 of the necessary covering to intercept the intemperate ardor 
 of the sun, or the mighty falling dews of an inclement sky, 
 "without any refuge or asylum than the wild and desolated 
 plains of their country ; when their cattle, the only resource 
 of sustaining themselves and infant families, during the exile 
 or captivity of those to whom they looked for succor, were 
 cruelly driven into their barns, and inhumanly consumed by 
 fire with the buildings ; when men, whose age and infirmi- 
 ties alone should have been their protection, and who were 
 rather subjects even of an enemy's sensibility and com- 
 passion ; I say, when such men, who were but lingering out 
 the glimmering remains of a painful life, without the addi- 
 tion of any sharper misery, became the objects of the 
 indignation of an enemy, powerful and in arms, were 
 dragged from their homes, and thrust into the sepulchres of 
 our forefathers ; when our brave citizens, who had become 
 captives by the fortune of war, were not allowed the usual 
 privileges annexed to this unfortunate condition, but were 
 daily perishing for the absolute want even of the common 
 necessaries to sustain their miserable lives ; when the most 
 repeated and violent infringements of the capitulation of 
 Charles-town were not only practised, but impudently 
 avowed; when British faith had become as proverbial with 
 us, as that of the ' Carthaginians was amongst her con- 
 temporary nations •/ when even the puerilities of our 
 children could excite the malice of these heroes ; when the 
 disgrace and disappointment of the panic-struck Rawdon, 
 flying before the terror of our arms, had instigated them to 
 give a loose to their fury, and to sacrifice, though not even 
 by their mock forms of justice, by an ignominious execution, 
 a martyr to oui' glorious cause ;^ when their impious hands 
 were not restrained from pillaging the temples of the 
 Almighty; from disturbing the* ashes of the dead, who 
 ought to be in peace ; or from polluting the sacramental 
 pales of the Holy Communion, which it is sacrilege to 
 violate ; — then were the banners displayed, which aroused 
 men's souls into action. Then it was, that we girded on 
 our swords, and couched our quivering lances. Then it 
 
 * The noble and devoted Hayne. 
 
 £ £ 2 
 
420 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 was that we became familiar with the din of arms^ embraced 
 the fatigues of marches and of the camp, and courted the 
 dangers of the field. These were the alarms that roused 
 our drooping spirits, and quickened our hearts with an 
 enthusiastic spirit of opposition. At this moment, to have 
 remained indifierent or neutral ; to have artfully reasoned 
 from moderate, peaceable times, to times which were not 
 moderate, and could not be peaceable ; or to repose our fears 
 on the soft lap of hope, would have been deceiving ourselves. 
 Por no other alternative (so dreadful was our situation) re- 
 mained for us, but to await the assassinating arm of our 
 perfidious foe, or resorting to the conditions of a state of 
 nature, to assert the vindication of our wrongs by our own 
 hands. To have been weak enough, affecting the hypocriti- 
 cal mask of moderation, to have silently and obediently 
 acquiesced under such enormities, would have left it pro- 
 blematical to posterity, whether our early and national 
 character was stamped with cowardice or treachery. But 
 now, the scene is changed ; the ravages of our country and 
 the afflictions of our friends no longer excite the tumultuous 
 passions of the mind. Our foe is fallen, and hath retired 
 with envy and disgrace to the dominions of their tyrants. 
 Our mighty adversary has been compelled to acknowledge 
 our freedom, our sovereignty, and independence ; and we 
 now behold him an humbled solicitor at the throne of the 
 dignity of our State for a return of our commercial favors. 
 Pause, therefore, at this important and critical juncture, 
 and contrast your present situation with that from which 
 you are but just emerged. Behold the olive branch of 
 peace extended wide o'er your towns and fields, and all 
 your country reviving under its genial influence. Our 
 citizens can now in tranquillity enjoy the sweet converse of 
 their families and their connexions, and find a peaceable 
 and safe asylum at their own farms. They are no longer 
 alarmed by terror or suspense, but exercise their different 
 vocations without interruption. No longer are their abodes 
 infested by the bloody-minded ruffian, nor our temples 
 turned into a den of thieves ; but benevolence and hospitality 
 mark again our plantations, and respect and piety our places 
 of public worship. 
 
HISTORY or THE OLD CHERAWS. 421 
 
 " Were I, gentlemen, to pursue this theme, and enter 
 upon a description of the relative and exalted station you 
 stand on with the other powers of the earth, it is a subject 
 yielding so much rapture to the mind of the Americans, I 
 fear I should be tempted to deviate from my original design. 
 With what transport should I relate the admiration which 
 our success has created in the minds of the distant nations ! 
 Behold the honor you are held in by them, and with Avliat 
 ardor they gaze upon the new constellation with which you 
 have enriched the political firmament ! See their glorious 
 contention ; see how they press to your hospitable shores. 
 Look forward to the immense empire, the work of your 
 hands, that you are creating, and hearken to the loud accla- 
 mations of your posterity, re-echoed to you by the azure 
 vault of applauding heaven ! These are prospects that 
 attract as they dazzle our fascinated attention. These are 
 scenes that the intenseness of reflexion can never be wearied 
 with ! These, these are the rewards of your virtue and 
 bravery ! 
 
 " But I must leave this subject, though with reluctance, 
 and call your attention to an object of more immediate and 
 of very considerable importance. I have described to you 
 the necessity there was of our citizens assuming the reins 
 of justice, and of inflicting punishment upon the unconvicted 
 ofiender. I have shown you what your situation is at pre- 
 sent compared with a former, and reminded you that peace 
 was once more difl'used through our commonwealth. This, 
 then, is a conjuncture in which it is incumbent on us to 
 exert our abilities. Here is room for the heart to conceive, 
 and the understanding to direct. It would be a worse than 
 perfidy united with timidity to desert the state vessel which 
 we have anchored in a safe haven after the perils we have 
 voluntarily endured for her sake, and negligently to suffer 
 her to perish by a fatal indifference to her interests. Should 
 we grow remiss in our duty at this period to the Republic, 
 we sacrifice the dignity of our country, and disgrace will be 
 brought upon us for ever. 
 
 " The distressed condition of this country calls loudly for 
 the assistance of its individuals, and we have it now in our 
 power to prevent a longer delay of justice, and the conse- 
 
422 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 quent relaxation of our laws. Therefore it becomes the 
 pointed and indispensable duty of each of our citizens to 
 endeavor to re-establish the harmony and order of our 
 community _, and to revive the good discipline of its members. 
 We must resolve^ then^ to renounce the empire of the pas- 
 sions^ to correct that licentiousness which has pervaded the 
 State^ to resign ourselves to the calm operations of our 
 judgment^ and to embrace the temperate admonitions of our 
 reason. 
 
 " The distempered emotions which alarmed our breasts, 
 like the threatening meteors of the heavens, shall disappear, 
 and our hearts resume their wonted serenity. But, in a more 
 particular manner does it become you, gentlemen of the 
 grand jury, to second and support the judicial departments 
 in the attainment of this important and desirable end. For 
 you are selected by your country for the rank you hold 
 amongst her citizens, and for the superior understanding 
 attendant on your enlightened stations of life. You officially 
 compose the grand inquest of your district, and are here 
 the representatives and guardians of its inhabitants. It is 
 to you that these, our covmtrymen, look up for advice to 
 pursue, and for patterns to imitate. Wherefore it lies 
 much in your abilities, as I make no doubt you are excited 
 thereto by your inclinations, to divest them of prejudice, to 
 instil into their minds just and constitutional principles, to 
 hold up examples which may deter them from evil, and to 
 impress them with a proper sense of the duty they owe to 
 their magistrates, and of the implicit obedience they should 
 pay to the laws of their country. Were I to undertake 
 the task of pointing out to you minutely, the respective 
 duties of your office as grand jurors, I should enumerate 
 almost all the civil obligations of society ; but, as I am per- 
 suaded it will be unnecessary for me to detail these exhor- 
 tations to you, I will leave you to your own hearts and 
 consciences ; the^ best directors, the most irreproachable 
 monitors of mankind. Nevertheless, there is one division 
 of the duties which fall to your lot, which I must request 
 you to consider with me in the most impartial and dispas- 
 sionate manner. Let us not deceive ourselves, and vainly 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 423 
 
 imagine, because our enemy is fled, tliat our dangers are 
 over. I fear we have an enemy of a more pernicious ten- 
 dency amongst us, whom it will require the most obstinate 
 resolution to overcome. I mean the dominion of the pas- 
 sions, the gratification of our private resentment. It is 
 time^ however necessary and politic it was lately to draw a 
 bold and visible line of discrimination between the inhabi- 
 tants of this country, that such a distinction should now be 
 obliterated, wholly and irrecoverably. The terms of Whig 
 and Tory are no longer useful, and the commotions of our 
 country, which gave rise to and supported these denomina- 
 tions, having subsided, these popular characteristics must of 
 course be sunk also into oblivion. I will contend, that 
 there cannot at this moment exist such characters as Tories 
 amongst us ; for however willing some men, inveterate in 
 folly, might be, even as yet to be considered in that light, 
 the variation of the condition of our State will not any 
 longer justify the appellation. For that person alone, in 
 my idea, may justly be stigmatized with toryism, who 
 basely taking advantage of the subjugation of the govern- 
 ment under which he lived, during the suspension of the 
 laws and the jurisdiction of the criminal and pivil courts, 
 who joined the enemies of his country, and revelling in its 
 calamities, being sensible of his security from punishment, 
 exercises a wild and brutal dominion over his fellow-citizens, 
 depriving them illegally of their property, and according to 
 the intemperate dictates of his passions, of their precarious 
 lives. Wherefore, then, since our Government is re-estab- 
 lished, our laws in full force, and offenders presented to 
 you for punishment, should we cherish so idle, so unprofit- 
 able a discrimination ? Is it the quality of a good citizen, 
 or the policy of a wise administration^ to render the inha- 
 bitants of their country inimical to their Government ? 
 Surely not ; but if you were industriously to keep up the 
 idea that certain persons amongst you are Tories, what is it 
 but declaring that such men are out of the protection of 
 your laws, and that a citizen would be justified in putting 
 them to death without the ceremonies of a trial ? Were 
 this the case, in vain have we contended for the sovereignty 
 
424 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 of this country, in vain have we attained the independency 
 of our State, for the will of each individual is the sovereignty 
 and independency thereof. 
 
 " It may be inquired here, and with propriety, what right 
 have we, as individuals, to inflict punishment upon those 
 who have violated the laws, or have injured us in our per- 
 sons or property ? None but a bad citizen would revolt at 
 the idea of appealing to the laws of his country ; they are 
 our protection and redress. And whoever infringes them, 
 be he distinguished by the title of Whig, or stigmatized with 
 that of Tory, can find no refuge from their justice, no escape 
 from the punishment annexed to their off'ence. Surely 
 there can be no just distinction drawn between those who 
 violate the laws of a country ; but the inhabitants thereof 
 must be subject to their operation equally as to the certain 
 and immutable stroke of death. 
 
 '^ To hear the language which has been held forth upon 
 this subject, one would be naturally led to believe that none 
 but Tories could commit crimes, or, at least, that the same 
 actions, if committed by Whigs, are not only pardonable, 
 but commendable. Away with such trivial distinctions, and 
 let us learn again to consider the transgressor of our laws as 
 the only enemy of our State. Let us reflect calmly and 
 deliberately upon the offences of which these persons stand 
 accused. Black as the catalogue is of rapine and murder, 
 I see no offence which did not exist before the commence- 
 ment of the present war. And were men, who were 
 familiarly guilty of these crimes, branded at that period 
 with the appellation of Tories ? What ! were murder and 
 the various offences composing our calendar of felonies, 
 deemed Toryism in that age ? And were criminals punish- 
 able unheard and uncondcmued, by the fiat of an individual, 
 barbed, perhaps, with private revenge ? No, gentlemen, 
 however illegal their conduct, however enormous their 
 offences, they still had the benefit of a fair trial. The only 
 reason, the impracticability of making examples of offenders, 
 which could justify the conduct of our citizens during the 
 war, exists no longer. If, therefore, notwithstanding this 
 manifest alteration in our circumstances, there are any who 
 still dare industriously to irritate men's minds by this dis- 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 425 
 
 crimination, I sliall class them with those offenders^ artful 
 knaves, who, despairing of mining our commonwealth by 
 the force of arms, sow the secret and insidious seeds of 
 jealousy and suspicion amongst us. These are the detestable 
 weapons of designing men, whose ambition or avarice is not 
 yet sated. They but make a plea of this cant language to 
 embroil again in civil discord our peaceable citizens, that 
 they, forsooth, may once more reap the harvest of our con- 
 fusion. I cannot take my leave of this subject without re- 
 minding you that many of the persons hitherto designated 
 by the title of Tories, and remaining amongst us, have 
 thrown themselves upon the mercy of their country, and are 
 entitled to the benefit of our laws. 
 
 "In future, therefore, if any man commits murder, or 
 robs a citizen, or perpetrates any other enormous offence, 
 let him be apprehended, examined before a magistrate, and 
 committed to gaol. Let him take his trial by his compeers, 
 and be condemned by the justice, as well as by the voice of 
 his country. But, if there is any one so lost to his duty as 
 to seek for redress by an extra-judicial vindication of his 
 wrongs, or by any other mode of proceeding more summary 
 than a trial by jury, I will not hesitate to affirm that he is 
 in effect a more dangerous enemy to the constitution of this 
 State than the implacable adversary we have just driven 
 from our shores. But here, then, I must beg leave to assure 
 you that if any citizen has been injured during the late 
 British usurpation over this country, although I will dis- 
 countenance any man's arrogating satisfaction to himself by 
 force of arms, that I will use every encouragement in my 
 power to bring the offender to trial, and cause him to make 
 exemplary compensation for the injury committed. For the 
 pardon, which such men may have received from the Legis* 
 lature, extends only to offences against the Government, and 
 by no means to injuries done to individuals. But, above all, 
 let us recollect our national characteristic of humanity, and 
 preserve it untainted in the bosom of peace. The enemy, 
 because we woidd not rival or countenance them in their 
 barbarities, during the course of a long and bloody war, 
 have uniformly charged us with a want of spirit. And 
 should we not give them just reason to suppose that the 
 
426 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 charge was well grounded, if, as soon as they who pretend 
 to have been a restraint upon our inclinations, have re- 
 treated, we give a loose to the wanton dictates of our passion 
 and revenge ? Let us examine what we owe to ourselves 
 as men of sense and humanity, and what is due to the dig- 
 nity of the State, rather than what such offenders deserve 
 to suffer from our hands for their manifold misdeeds. 
 
 " I have already, gentlemen, taken up so much of your 
 time, that I vrill not delay you longer than to take a cur- 
 sory view of the duties incumbent on you as a grand jury, 
 and to recapitulate the offences cognizable by you. 
 
 " You are entitled, according to the uniform and estab- 
 lished custom of this State, to the privilege of first enquiring 
 into the crimes committed within the jurisdiction of this 
 Court. And the oath which has been just administered to 
 you, requires your diligence and activity in investigating the 
 truth of all such matters and things as shall be given you 
 in charge, or shall come to your knowledge, in examining 
 the evidences which are brought against the accused, and in 
 forming a conscientious decision, after mature deliberation, 
 upon the testimony supporting these allegations, or upon 
 the knowledge which you yourselves have respecting the 
 subjects of your inquiry. 
 
 " It is then prescribed to you to make a true and just 
 report thereof, for your determination (formed privately 
 amongst yourselves, and in which tweh^e of your number 
 must indispensably concur to give weight and effect to the 
 indictments) is the great spring that sets in motion all the 
 wheels of prosecution. Your reports furnish the Court with 
 subject-matter to proceed on, are the first means of intro- 
 ducing the citizen into a secure situation, and lay the foun- 
 dation of bringing offenders to their merited punishment. 
 But it is not to be understood that you are to make so 
 minute an investigation into such matters as are the proper 
 subjects of your inquiry, as to establish the fact itself. You 
 are to find the bill, though founded only on probable grounds 
 of suspicion, that the accused is guilty. For, notwithstand- 
 ing the Petit Jury cannot exceed the crime laid in your 
 indictment, yet they have the power, nevertheless, of ex- 
 tending it to the least degree of offence that can be in that 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 427 
 
 kind. Your report, therefore, is an information or declara- 
 tion in favor of the State (founded upon an ex parte inquiry 
 against the accused, which precludes the least possible chance 
 of an offender escaping without punishment. And in 
 conformity to that wise maxim which declares, that it is 
 better that ten guilty men should elude the justice of the 
 courts of law, than that one innocent person should suffer 
 unmeritcdly, it is likewise preferable that ten guiltless per- 
 sons should undergo the inconvenience of an examination 
 before you, than that one offender should triumph in his 
 crimes with impunity. Since, therefore^ you are authorized 
 to examine only the e\ndences against the prisoner, and that 
 your verdict can neither acquit nor convict, it is not neces- 
 sary that you should find the specific crime of which the 
 prisoner stands accused. For instance, if one has by acci- 
 dent killed a person, it does not lie with you to discriminate 
 the degree of offence. 
 
 " You are further, gentlemen, obliged by virtue of your 
 oath, to be secret in your councils, and silent upon the rea- 
 sons of your decisions ; unless the Court demand some 
 questions of you. You should not divulge whatever has 
 been debated upon in the course of your business, nor the 
 sentiments which are delivered ; nor make public the per- 
 sons who made use of these arguments, nor the opinions 
 which you yourselves held in discussion of the point in 
 question : for certain it is, that such discovery is accompa- 
 nied by perjury. The remainder of the oath illustrates with 
 what integrity you ought to conduct yourselves in the execu- 
 tion of your duty. 
 
 " You must not suffer your minds to be clouded by the 
 passions, but suppress all emanations of prejudice or malice, 
 and give a full and absolute sway to the dictates of reason 
 and justice. You must not omit presenting for punishment 
 offenders against the law, either through partiality, favor, 
 love, reward, or any expectation thereof. 
 
 " Tliis, I confess, is a very difficult task ; but, notwith- 
 standing the repugnant impulses of our tender nature, be 
 assured that your oath will cause you to make a free inquiry, 
 and to deliver a just account of the result. For it is also 
 enjoined you to present the truth, the whole truth, and 
 
428 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHEEAWS. 
 
 notliing but tlie trutli, according to the best of your skill 
 and knowledge. If, therefore, there is any mental reserva- 
 tion, any concealment of the truth, or any part thereof, any 
 suppression of facts which have come within your own 
 knowledge, you betray the trust which your country has 
 generously committed to your prudence, fidelity, and in- 
 tegrity. 
 
 " But, at the same time that you are required to present 
 all that you shall learn relative to the subject of your inqui- 
 ries, you shall not report anything but what is true ; that is, 
 no known falsity, no unjust accusation, which might be the 
 occasion of drawing on an innocent person the suspicion of 
 being criminal, and of subjecting him to the reproaches of 
 his fellow- citizens. For it is as much incumbent on you 
 to protect the virtuous, as to accuse and bring to trial the 
 guilty transgressor. 
 
 " If, therefore, it appears to you that the evidences are 
 false, or that the charges appear founded in prejudice and 
 malice, you ought to present such notorious offender. The 
 consideration of this part of your duty, is a sufficient com- 
 pensation to the generous and humane, for the disagreeable 
 office imposed upon you of pointing out the wicked for the 
 animadversion of the Court, since nothing surely can yield 
 a more substantial gratification to virtuous minds, than the 
 reflection that, besides being naturally possessed of the 
 inclination, the laws of the country have invested them with 
 the power of shielding the weak, unprotected, and honest 
 from the calumnies and unmerited aspersions of the base 
 and flagitious. 
 
 " The crimes which are cognizable by you are two-fold : 
 the first are capital, for which the ofiiender loses his life ; the 
 second are tineable, to answer which the goods and lands of 
 the guilty are subject, and to the fine is sometimes annexed 
 corporeal punishment. 
 
 " It will be sufficient, at present, that I only mention to 
 you in general terms, the denominations of the crimes which 
 comprise many more of an inferior degree. The capital 
 offences are felony ; the fineable off'ences are those com- 
 mitted against the public justice, against the public peace, 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 429 
 
 against the public profit, against the public health, and also 
 such as introduce nuisances to the damage and destruction 
 of the property of the good citizens of this State. 
 
 " And now, gentlemen, I take my leave of you, congra- 
 tulating you on the great event, which we have been so 
 instrumental in accomplishing by the succor of divine Pro- 
 vidence. 
 
 " It is with pleasure we look back upon the difficulties 
 and dangers we have been obliged to undergo in the esta- 
 blishment of our independence, and our perils and labors 
 for the sake of our country, will render it dearer to us. Let 
 us therefore exert ourselves to cherish and preserve that 
 freedom, which has cost us such an expenditure of blood and 
 treasure. Let us emulate those martial efforts of which we 
 now are experiencing the benefits, and endeavor to secure 
 the civil peace, order, and tranquillity of the State. The 
 former have made us a free people ; the latter will render us 
 for ever happy." 
 
 This charge, in the generous feelings and moral courage 
 exhibited, was highly honorable to the character of the 
 judge ; and thoiigh doubtless, with other efforts of the kind, 
 productive of beneficial results, could not allay , the deep 
 feelings of animosity and revenge which had taken posses- 
 sion of many of the people, or save society from the unhappy 
 scenes attending the redress of a varied class of wrongs 
 sustained during the war, which the ordinary administration 
 of justice could not possibly reach. Only the lapse of time 
 could extinguish resentment, and the passing away of the 
 actors in other days, bring repose. For more than a gene- 
 ration the evil was sorely felt. 
 
 The grand jury made the following presentments : — 
 
 " State of South Carolina. — We, the Grand Jurors for 
 the District of Cheraws, present, as a grievance, the want of 
 a road leading from the Long Bluff Court-house, the most 
 direct way to Camden ; also, another road, leading from the 
 Long Bluff Court-house to Murray ^s Ferry on Santee ; like- 
 wise, another road leading from Kolb^s Ferry to Raines Bridge 
 on Gum Swamp, to meet a road leading from Cross Creek 
 to that place. 
 
430 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 " II. We present, as a grievance, the want of a bridge 
 over Black Creek, on the road leading from the Long Bluff 
 to George-town. 
 
 " III. We present, as a grievance, the dangerous naviga- 
 tion of the River Pedee, arising from the great number of 
 logs lodged in the different parts of the same. 
 
 " IV. We present, as a very great grievance, the want of 
 the laws now in force in this State to be printed, and the 
 magistrates and other officers to be furnished with the 
 same. 
 
 " V. We return our most hearty thanks to his honor, the 
 judge, for his learned charge delivered to the grand jury, 
 and request that it, together with these, our presentments, 
 be printed in the Gazettes. 
 
 " George Hicks, Foreman. 
 
 Morgan Brown. 
 
 Moses Pearson. 
 
 Richard Brockington. 
 
 Thomas Lide. 
 
 Tristram Thomas. 
 
 Philip Pledger. 
 
 John Pledger. 
 
 Thomas Ellerbe. 
 
 Aaron Daniel. 
 
 Joseph Ellison. 
 
 John Andrews. 
 
 William Ellerbe. 
 
 John Westfield. 
 
 John M^Call.'' 
 At the following Session of the Legislature, January, 
 1784, Thomas Powe was appointed Commissioner of Loca- 
 tion for Cheraw District. Under an Act passed to regulate 
 the inspection and exportation of tobacco, the growth and 
 produce of this State, and for other purposes, a warehouse 
 or warehouses were ordered to be established at Cheraw 
 Hill ; and Benjamin Hicks, jun., John Westfield, and Wil- 
 liam Pegues appointed inspectors. The presentments of the 
 Grand Jury of Cheraws, the November previous, called the 
 attention of the Legislature to the important subject of 
 naaking some provision for improving the navigation of the 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 431 ' 
 
 Pedee. The matter had been pressed upon it before, but no 
 relief yet afforded. In an ordinance passed on the 26th of 
 March of this session, for appointing commissioners to clear 
 out certain streams, the Great Pedee was included. Ben- 
 jamin Hicks, sen., George Hicks, Thomas Powe, William 
 Kershaw, and William Pegues, were the commissioners ap- 
 pointed under the same for Cheraws District, and empowered 
 to contract for the removal of all obstructions in the Pedee 
 as high up as the North Carolina line ; and for that pur- 
 pose were authorized to draw on the Treasury for any sum 
 of money not exceeding 300/. sterling. ^ 
 
 Of the action of the commissioners, nothing is known. 
 The same subject, as will be seen, continued to receive the 
 attention of the Legislature ; but, either from the want of 
 adequate appropriations, or the inefficient execution of the 
 work, or other causes perhaps beyond the control of those 
 entrusted with it, the navigation of the river continued to 
 be seriously obstructed until a period long subsequent. By 
 an ordinance passed the following year, for clearing out 
 certain rivers, Benjamin Hicks, sen., George Plicks, Thomas 
 Powe, William Pegues, Captain William M'Cotry, James 
 Grier, Francis Greaves, Colonel John Er\in, Colonel Hugh 
 Giles, Henry Davis, sen., and Archibald Odom, were ap- 
 pointed commissioners for making navigable the Great 
 Pedee from Euhany to the North Carolina line. To defray 
 the expense thereof, they were authorized to assess what fur- 
 ther sum might be requisite on all lands, in proportion to 
 their value, as assessed for the payment of the general tax, 
 situated within six miles of the said river, from Euhany to 
 the Warhee Bluff, and within ten miles of said river, from 
 the said Bluff upwards ; and on all male inhabitants, from 
 sixteen to fifty years of age, li^dng within six miles of the 
 river, from Euhany to the Warhees, and within ten miles 
 from the Warhees upwards. They were also authorized to 
 make the like assessment afterwards, from time to time, to 
 keep the river navigable. The history of the legislation of 
 the State on this subject, like that of some of its judicial 
 decisions, will be found to have gone through a certain 
 course of changes, returning at last to the plan first adopted, 
 as the courts have done to principles, once established, then 
 
432 HISTOEY OE THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 modified^ and finally made the settled rule of law. Com- 
 missioners were first appointed to improve the navigation of 
 the river, then a board of public works, than a general 
 superintendent, and at length, after the failure of these 
 plans to a great extent, commissioners, as at the beginning, 
 the system of all others that has proved most effective. 
 
 At an electionfor the Legislature, held on the 29thand 30th 
 of November, 1784, William Dcwitt was returned Senator, 
 and Morgan Brown, Elias Du Bose, Colonel Lemuel Ben- 
 ton, William Pegues, Thomas Powe, and Calvin Spencer, 
 Representatives for St. David's Parish. One of the seats 
 having been subsequently vacated, Tristram Thomas was 
 elected a member for the session of the following year. The 
 Legislature met on the 20th of January. On the 29th of 
 that month, Captain Dewitt, who was sheriff" of Cheraws at 
 the time of his election, appeared, and having taken the 
 oath, informed the House of the fact ; upon which, it was 
 resolved, that, agreeably to the constitution, he was not 
 qualified to take his seat. Having returned home, and re- 
 signed the office of sheriff, he was re-elected, and took his 
 seat in March. Allen Chapman was elected Sheriff, and 
 George Hicks, Robert Lide, and William Thomas, Commis- 
 sioners of Caveats for Cheraw District. 
 
 The Session of 1785 was rendered memorable by the 
 passage of the celebrated County Court Act. As the 
 population of the country extended, the Circuit Court 
 system, established in 1769, Avas found inadequate to the 
 due and equal administration of justice. To remedy this 
 evil, it was proposed to establish Courts of Inferior Jurisdic- 
 tion, after the model of the County Court system of 
 Virginia and North Carolina. Mr. Justice Pendleton, one 
 of the Associate Judges, and an active member of the 
 House of Representatives (for these offices were not then 
 incompatible) was the able advocate of this scheme. By 
 his influence and strenuous exertions, it was adopted."^ 
 
 By this Act, it was provided " that the District of 
 Cheraws should be divided into three counties, that is to 
 sav, — one county lying and being on the south-east side of 
 
 * Introduction to Brevard's " Digest," p. xvi. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 433 
 
 Pedee River, bounding on the said river on the one side, 
 the district line of George-town on the other side, 
 and on the other side, the North Carolina boundary, and 
 shall be called and known by the name of Marlborough 
 County ; one other county, beginning at the mouth of 
 Cedar Creek, on Pedee River, thence up to the head of the 
 southernmost branch of the said creek, and thence by 
 direct line to the fork of Lynchers Creek, being the upper 
 county of the said northern division of the District, and 
 shall be called by the name of Chesterfield; one other 
 county, beginning at the mouth of Cedar Creek, thence 
 down Pedee to the District line, thence along the said line 
 to Lynchers Creek, thence up the same to the fork, being 
 the lower county of the said division, and shall be called 
 Darlington County/' By the 11 sec. of the Act, the Justices 
 of the said counties were empowered to build Court 
 Houses, &c., to cause taxes to be laid for the erection of 
 public buildings, and to select for the same the most con- 
 venient part of each county. The County Courts, thus 
 established, were to be held once in every three months, by 
 the justices of the peace of the several counties respec- 
 tively ; and their jurisdiction extended to the hearing and 
 determination of all causes at common law, to any amount 
 where the debt was liquidated by bond or note of hand, or 
 where the damages in certain actions did not exceed fifty 
 pounds, and in other personal actions where the damages 
 did not exceed twenty pounds, or where the titles of land 
 did not come in question. In criminal cases their jurisdic- 
 tion was exti'emely limited. The modes of proceeding were 
 prescribed, the forms of process, and the manner of trial. The 
 right of appeal to the superior, or Circuit Courts was j)rovided."^ 
 
 On the 21st of March, the joint committee of the Senate 
 and House, appointed for that purpose, reported a list of 
 justices for the several counties. For Marlborough, Claudius 
 Pegues, sen., Geo. Hicks, Morgan Brown, Tristram Thomas, 
 Claudius Pegues, jun., Moses Pearson, and Thomas Evans. 
 
 For Chesterfield County, Thomas Powe, William Pegues, 
 Benjamin Jackson, William Strother, Calvin Spencer, Joseph 
 Pledger, and Charles Evans. 
 
 * Introduction to Brevard's " Digest," p. xvi. 
 
434 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 For Darlington County, William Dewitt, Lemuel Benton, 
 Zachariali Nettles, James P. Wilson, Elias Du Bose, Robert 
 Lide, and Charles Dewitt. 
 
 The office of justice, under this Act, was one of high 
 trust, and much importance. Men of experience and posi- 
 tion were selected. The school of the Revolution had 
 brought out conspicuously not a few citizens of solid judg- 
 ment and unblemished integrity on the Pedee. At no 
 period since, perhaps, in proportion to the population, have 
 as many such characters been known. 
 
 For the Court Hovise of Marlborough, a location was first 
 made near Gardner's Bluff, the most of the settlements 
 being then on the river, or in the region adjacent. After- 
 wards, it was removed lower down, to the site of the old 
 Court House, as it has since been known, on the main 
 river road, above Crooked Creek ; and there continued until 
 the extreme unhealthiness of that locality rendered a change 
 necessary, the population also having extended out from the 
 river into the pine lands ; and the present country seat, 
 Bennettsville, was selected. For Chesterfield, the site of 
 the present Court House was chosen. For Darlington, 
 there was some difficulty in effecting an agreement among 
 the justices. Col. Benton made strenuous eflbrts to have 
 the location fixed at Mechanicsville. Elias DuBose, an in- 
 fluential justice, was as anxious to have Coffee Town, a point 
 on Swift Creek, six miles above the present Court House, 
 selected. As a compromise, the present site, nearly midway 
 between the other two, was chosen. So sparse were the 
 settlements in that neighbourhood, that only a few years 
 before, nothing but an old Indian trail led from that point 
 to Camden. The Courts for Marlborough were to be liolden 
 on the 1st Mondays in March, June, September, and Decem- 
 ber. For Chesterfield, on the 2nd Mondays of the same 
 months ; and for Darlington, on the 3rd Tuesdays in January, 
 April, July, and October. 
 
 Sui.'h records of the County Courts as have been pre- 
 served, exhibit but little matter of interest. The country 
 was sorely embarrassed with debt, and suits Avere numerous. 
 There were many prosecutions in the County Courts, par- 
 ticularly for cow stealing, which appears at that period to 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 435 
 
 have been the most frequent crime. The only presentment 
 w hich has been found, was one made in Chesterfield, March 
 13, 1787; and the only subject matter of it, certain per- 
 sons therein named, as having been guilty of offences 
 against the public morals. The grand jury on this occa- 
 sion, so far as the names appear on the records, consisted 
 of the following persons : — 
 
 Thomas Ellerbe, Foreman. 
 
 Wm. Lyons. 
 
 Ephraim Home. 
 
 Abraham Cook. 
 
 John Evans. 
 
 Thomas Leonard. 
 
 Benjamin Outlaw. 
 
 Jason Meadow. 
 
 Joel Yarborough. 
 
 Joseph Booth. 
 
 Joseph Powell. 
 
 John Blakeney. 
 
 Moses HoUis.*^ 
 
 John Carter. 
 
 Many of the records of Chesterfield County remain in a 
 good state of preservation. But few are to be found in the 
 public offices of Marlborough, and unfortunately for the 
 history of justice as administered in Cheraws District, all 
 the Circuit Court records, with those of Darlington County, 
 were destroyed by the burning of the Court House about 
 1804.* The fire occurred during Court week, and an old 
 woman, who was party to a cause then pending, and whose 
 interest it was to get rid of the records of the Court, was 
 suspected of having been privy to the burning. Beyond 
 this suspicion, however, no clue was ever discovered as to 
 the origin of the conflagration. 
 
 * A strong wind blew in the direction of tlie gaol, carrying a burning shingle 
 to the roof and setting it in a blaze. The late John U. Witberspoon, of Society 
 Hill (who related the circumstances to the Author), was present, and being then 
 a young man, and of great activity and decision, rendered very efficient service 
 on the occasion. There being no ladder at hand, he ascended by a smooth pole 
 to the roof of the gaol, and saved it, with the prisoners in it, from destruction. 
 The loss of documentary matter, connected with the history of the Pedce, was 
 irreparable. 
 
 P F 2 
 
436 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 The Circuit Court for Cheraws District continued to sit 
 at Long Bluff. The lawyers whose names appear in the 
 records of this period at the Cheraws Bar, were Elihu Hall 
 Bay, Joseph Brevard, Thomas Waties, and Thomas Parker ; 
 a few years later those of William Falconer and John 
 Dibble are frequently mentioned, and John Caulkins. By the 
 close of the century a number of others were added to the list. 
 
 In 1785 there was no resident lawyer within the bounds 
 of Cheraw District. 
 
 The three counties are supposed to have been named, 
 respectively, in honor of the Duke of Marlborough, the 
 Earl of Chesterfield, and Col. Darlington, who distinguished 
 himself in the war of the Revolution.^ By the County 
 Court Act, that portion of the Judicial District of George- 
 town, now constituting Marion District, was formed into a 
 county under the name of Liberty Precinct, and the site of 
 the present Court House selected. The name was most 
 appropriately given, as in that region, under Marion, the 
 struggle for liberty on the Pedee was chiefly waged. 
 
 About this time the name of Greenville appears for the 
 first in the records of the day instead of Long Bluff as 
 before. It was so called in honor of Gen. Green, to whom 
 South Carolina was largely indebted for the successful issue 
 of the struggle which secured her independence. 
 
 The St. David^s Society, which had been suspended 
 during the latter yeai^s of the war, was now revived, and 
 immediately took rank among the most distinguished schools 
 of learning in the State. 
 
 From its walls, in subsequent years, went forth those 
 who were to fill the highest positions of usefulness and dis- 
 tinction in Carolina. 
 
 The following notice appeared in the South Carolina 
 Gazette and Public Advertiser of Aug. 13, 1785 : — 
 
 " The St. David's Society met on the 23rd ultimo, at 
 Greenville, in the District of Cheraw, and chose the follow- 
 ing gentlemen as officers for the year then commencing : — 
 James P. Wilson, Esq., President; William Dewitt, Esq., 
 Vice-President ; Thomas Powe, Esq., Treasurer ; and Evan- 
 
 * Mill's " Statistics of So. Ca.," p. 512. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 437 
 
 der M'lver, Secretary. They also appointed the foUowiug 
 gentlemen a committee to superintend the erection of suit- 
 able buildings, engage tutors, &c. Thomas Powe and Wil- 
 liam Dewitt, Esqrs., Rev. Edmund Botsford, Mr. Abel 
 Edwards, and Mr. Evander M'lver, This laudable society, 
 formed for the benevolent purpose of erecting an academy, 
 was instituted in the year 1778 ; but, owing to the calamities 
 of the late war, had been entirely neglected. However, we 
 hope, from its happy revival, and the very liberal subscrip- 
 tions already made, that it will soon flourish, and that their 
 intended plans may be prosecuted and carried into effect.^' 
 In the following year William Pegues, Esq., was elected 
 President, Samuel Wilds, Treasurer, and Enoch Evans, senr., 
 Secretaiy ; which offices the two latter continued to hold for 
 years afterwards. 
 
 Andrew M'Culley took charge of the academy in the 
 early part of 1786, and taught until October of the follow- 
 ing year. Of Mr. M'Culley nothing more is known than 
 that he appears to have discharged his duties to the satis- 
 faction of the society. He was succeeded for a short time 
 by Ezekiel Hitchcock, who had probably been his assistant. 
 
 Eli King was Principal for three years, beginning with 
 1788. He was from New England, and a friend of Thomas 
 Park, who succeeded him in 1791. Samuel Wilds assisted 
 Mr. King in 1788, and was afterwards, for a time, the Prin- 
 cipal. Mr. King, after giving up the school, embarked in 
 mercantile pursuits. Thomas Park had charge of St. David's 
 from 1791 to 1800. About that time he engaged with Mr. 
 King in business. Better fitted, however, for teaching 
 than merchandizing, their enterprise proved a failure. Mr. 
 Park then took charge of the academy at Ebenezer, in the 
 lower part of Darlington, and was transferred from that 
 position, upon the organization of the South Carolina College, 
 to the Professorship of Languages, having been elected in 
 November, 1806. There he continued in the uninterrupted 
 discharge of duty until 1831-5. He was then elected 
 Treasurer and Librarian of the College, and faithfully dis- 
 charged the duties of these offices until his death in 1844, 
 in the 79th year of his age. Mr. Park was a native of 
 Uxbridge, Massachusetts, and graduated at Brown Univer- 
 
438 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 sity, Providence^ R.I., in 1791. In the latter part of that 
 year he came to the Pedee. Without experience as a 
 teacher^ but with a well-trained mind^ correct scholarship^ 
 particularly in the ancient classics^ and a conscientious 
 devotion to duty never surpassed^ he entered at once upon 
 that highly useful and most successful career as a teacher 
 of youthj which was only to terminate with his declining 
 strength more than forty years afterwards. With neither 
 genius nor learning, few men did more than Thomas Park for 
 the education of the youth of Carolina, and no one ever 
 retired from a position so difficult to fill, whether in the 
 academy or the college, with a larger share of the confi- 
 dence and affection of those with whom he had been con- 
 nected. A just and beautiful tribute has been paid to his 
 character and services by Professor Laborde in his History 
 of the South Carolina College. It was a tribute richly 
 deserved, and touchingly rendered by the writer of that work. 
 Mr. Park was succeeded in St. David^s by the Rev. Fi'ame 
 Wood, who continued in charge until 1804. He was fol- 
 lowed by Enoch Hanford in 1804-5, and the latter by Elias 
 Jones in 1806-7. 
 
 After the revival of St. David^s, in 1785, it continued to 
 flourish. Public examinations were held annually, and com- 
 mittees appointed to act on such occasions. The exhibitions 
 of the jmjDils excited much interest in the country around 
 for a considerable distance, and were numerously attended. 
 The records of its early history would serve as a model for 
 many of the academies of more recent times, which, though 
 more pretentious, are not so thoroughly conducted as was 
 this noted school of old. 
 
 In 1795, an Act was passed by the Legislature, providing 
 that all the confiscated property to which the State was 
 then entitled in the Circuit Court District of Cheraws, as 
 also all the property already escheated, or which might there- 
 after escheat, should be invested in the incorporated society 
 of St. David's. 
 
 Death had already made sad havoc among the members 
 of the society. Between the years 1780 and 1788, the fol- 
 lowing, as entered on the records, had died, viz. : — General 
 Alexander M'lntosh^ Colonel Thomas Lide, Abel Wilds, 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 439 
 
 William Terrell, Thomas Evans, sen., Joshua Edwards, 
 Colonel Abel Kolb, Thomas James, Captain Philip Pledger, 
 Richard Hodge, Charles Mason, Joshua Terrell, Captain 
 Edward Jones, Philip Singleton, William Blassinganie, Rev. 
 John Conner, Adam Cusack, Hugh Jones, Benjamin William- 
 son, Captain Edmvmd Irby, Charles Irby, Captain George 
 King, Captain Simon Council, and John Thompson. 
 
 The following members were dismissed from the society 
 at their own request, for the most part, doubtless, because 
 of the distance at which they lived, rendering it incon- 
 venient to attend the meetings : — May 3rd, 1787 — Benjamin 
 Rogers, Colonel George Hicks, Colonel Lemuel Benton, 
 Captain William Pegues ; May 1st, 1788 — Major Robert 
 Lide, Captain Thomas Ellerbe, William Ellerbe, Captain 
 Benjamin Hicks, Josiah Evans; May 6th, 1790 — Alexander 
 Craig, David Roach, Jesse Wilds ; June 18th, 1791 — William 
 Thomas; August 6th, 1792 — Rev. Evan Pugh, and Major 
 John Kimbrough. 
 
 The following were members after 1788 : — Daniel Sparks, 
 Rev. Elhanan Winchester, William Dewitt, Rev. Evan Pugh, 
 Nathanael Saunders, John Hodge, Abel Edwards, Thomas 
 Powe, John O'Neal, William Thomas, Jerepaiah Brown, 
 John Kimbrough, Peter Allston, Charles Gee, Claudius 
 Pegues, James Blassingame, John M'Call, David Roach, 
 Jethro Moore, Alexander Craig, Robert Gibson, Moses 
 Pearson, Rev. Edmund Botsford, Morgan Brown, Evander 
 M'lver, James P. Wilson, Maurice Murphy, Peter Kolb, 
 Benjamin James, Tristram Thomas, Jesse Wilds, Benjamin 
 Kolb, Thomas Evans, Enoch Evans, sen., Enoch Evans, 
 jun., Samuel Wilds, Edward Duke, Henry Clark, and William 
 Falconer. 
 
 The cause of religion partook largely of the general de- 
 pression caused by the troubled state of things during the 
 Revolution. After the resignation of Mr. Winchester, in 
 September, 1779, the Rev. Edmund Botsford took charge 
 of the Welch Neck Church. Mr. Botsford was very highly 
 esteemed. He remained until the 1st June, 1780, when, 
 upon the threatened approach of the British troops, he went 
 to Virginia; returning to Pedee, however, in 1782. Diu'ing 
 his absence, the church was supplied a part of the time by 
 
440 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 the Rev. Joshua Lewis, an excellent man, who long con- 
 tinued his faithful labors in this region. It is mentioned 
 in the records of the church, that of the 220 white members 
 left by Mr. Winchester in September, 1779, only 48 re- 
 mained in March, 1793, showing the sad havoc of death, 
 and the unhappy results of a protracted war. 
 
 In 1798, the inhabitants on the river very generally gave 
 up their plantations as residences, and retired to the hills in 
 the neighbourhood of the present village. About the same 
 time, a movement was made to abandon the spot which had 
 been consecrated as a place of religious worship for nearly 
 three quarters of a century, and erect a suitable building 
 on Society Hill. 
 
 Before the close of the century it was probably done. 
 The records of the church, for a few years following 1798, 
 were lost or destroyed, and no account remains of the com- 
 pletion of this design. 
 
 The first building erected after the removal was near the 
 St. David^s Academy, and remained for almost half a century. 
 The more imposing structure of the present day is upon a 
 spot very near the original site. Sad are the changes which 
 time brings with it. The signs of progress are linked with 
 the memorials of decay. The associations of the past it is 
 well to cherish — and let the earlier days of the old Welch 
 Neck never be forgotten. 
 
 Shortly before, and soon after the Revolution, some 
 valuable accessions were made to the population of Cheraw 
 District. 
 
 The Rev. Timothy Dargan settled on Jeffrey's Creek, 
 in charge of a church there, prior to the year 1780.^ He 
 was a native of Virginia, but came to South Carolina in his 
 youth, and in the early part of his life bore a commission in 
 the Provincial troops, which were raised for the defence of 
 the Province during the French and Indian wars. He re- 
 mained on Jefirey's Creek until his death, in 1783. He was 
 the grandfather of the late Chancellor Dargan, of Dar- 
 lington. 
 
 Colonel John Smith settled in Darlington District after 
 
 * Wood Furman's " History of the Charleston Association," p. 78. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 441 
 
 the war. He was a native of Maryland^ and served during 
 the Revohitiou in the Maryland line. He distinguished 
 himself in the battles of Monmouth and Hobkirk^s Hill, 
 and in the disastrous conflict at Camden, where he was 
 taken pi'isoner with De Kalb. When General Washington 
 accepted the command of the army, in 1798, during the im- 
 pending difficulties with France, Mr. Smith received the 
 appointment of colonel, which he accepted at the earnest 
 solicitation of the commander in chief.^ Colonel Smith 
 filled several offices of honor and trust in Darlington, and 
 was highly respected to the close of his life. He left no 
 descendants bearing his name. Andrew and Ralph, two 
 brothers, followed him to Pedee. Colonel Andrew Smith 
 also served in the Maryland line. He was a prominent 
 merchant in the early history of the town of Cheraw, and 
 died there. Ralph Smith settled and died in INIarion. 
 
 Captain Campbell, who had been an officer in the British 
 service, settled in Marlborough, and continued to reside 
 there until his death. The family became prominently con- 
 nected with this region. His sons, Robert and John, who 
 were gentlemen of amiable traits and large popularity, be- 
 came distinguished, having both been members of Congress 
 from the Pedee District. 
 
 Gavin Witherspoon removed, after the war, to Darling- 
 ton. He was a true soldier of the Revolution, having 
 served under Marion. Many incidents are related of his 
 prowess. The late John D. Witherspoon, so well known in 
 Darlington, was his son. 
 
 The name of William Falconer, afterwards so distin- 
 guished on the Pedee, appears about this period. He was 
 a native of Scotland, and educated in or near Glasgow. 
 Mr. Falconer came first to Charles-town, as amanuensis for 
 a Scotchman, Dr. Black, a man of some literary attainment, 
 but blind. In 1785, William Falconer advertised in the 
 Charles-town papers as writing master, not, as it would be 
 now-a-days, a professor of penmanship. His aspiring genius, 
 not content with such a position, soon looked in another 
 direction, and in 1787 his name appears as an attorney in 
 
 * Mill's " Statistics of So. Ca.," p. 517. 
 
442 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 the records of Cheraw District. He settled first at Long 
 Bluff, and soon afterwards married a daughter of Thomas 
 Powe, selecting a home four miles above Society Hill, in 
 Chesterfield, where he continued to reside. Mr. Falconer 
 became a prominent member of St. David's Society, and 
 the leader of the Bar on Pedee. His career as a lawyer 
 and public man was one of marked success, as will appear 
 hereafter. 
 
 Major Drury Robertson came to Marlborough after the 
 war, and was prominent there for many years, taking a 
 leading part in the affairs of that district. He was a ma- 
 ternal grandfather of the late Colonel William T. Ellerbe, of 
 Marlborough. 
 
 The name of Alexr. Craig appears in the records of Ches- 
 terfield during the Bevolution. His brother, John Craig, 
 then quite young, was long after known as a worthy man 
 and useful citizen, having been connected for many years 
 with the Court of Common Pleas, and Ordinary for that 
 district. He married a Miss Chapman, and reared a large 
 family, the most of whom, or their descendants, yet reside 
 in Chesterfield. 
 
 Allen and John Chapman emigrated shortly after the 
 Bevolution, from Westmoreland, Virginia, to Chesterfield. 
 The former was a trooper in the Virginia line during the 
 war. He settled first in the lower part of the district, and 
 afterwards moved a few miles above Cheraw, where he lived 
 and died. His first wife was a daughter of Thomas Powe. 
 He afterwards married Eleanor, a daughter of Captain 
 William Dewitt, and reared a large family, as did his 
 brother John. They were useful and respected citizens. 
 
 Baron de Poelnittz, moved by the spirit of his distin- 
 guished countrymen, Kosciusco, Pulaski, and others, came 
 from Poland, to join the American standard in the cause of 
 freedom. He made a large purchase of land on the Pedee,^ 
 and soon after the war, settled on the east side of the 
 
 * The nut-grass, now so formidable an enemy of many of the planters in this 
 region, is said to have been first brought by William AUston, to the place which 
 Baron de Poelnittz afterwards purchased. 
 
 The firstEnglish settlers brought the hawthorn with them for hedges. Some 
 remains of it are yet to be seen in certain localities on the river. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 443 
 
 river, in the lower part of Marlborough. He came up the 
 river, with his effects, in a boat from George-town. The 
 baron had three sons — Charles, Alexander, and John. The 
 first died early. His only daughter, Elizabeth, is said to 
 have been a very beautiful and accomplished lady. She 
 married, first Charles Stuart, then Colonel Thomas Evans, 
 and finally became the wife of Robeson Carlos. Mr. Carlos 
 emigrated from Virginia to Pedee about- 1790, and was a 
 prominent and useful man. Baron de Poelnittz died about 
 the close of the century. None of his descendants, who 
 bear the name, remain on the Pedee. 
 
 William Harllee, the first of the name who came to 
 Carolina, was, in early life, a captain in the British navy. 
 He took an active part in the rebellion of the Stuarts in 
 1745, and was forced to emigrate to America. He settled 
 in Richmond County, North Carolina, near the State line. 
 His son Thomas came to Marion about the close of the 
 century, and was the father of the late Colonel David S. 
 Harllee, of Cheraw, and other members of the family, who 
 have been prominent citizens of Marion. 
 
 Soon after 1790, Adam Marshall settled at Long Bluff. 
 He had previously taught school on Poke Swamp^ in Marion, 
 He married, in May, 1791, Mary, a daughter of Captain 
 James Gregg. Mr. Marshall entered upon a successful 
 career as a merchant, and amassed a large fortune. He 
 died in Charles-town, where he had gone on a visit of 
 business. 
 
 John Punch, in 1 793, and Drs. Oliver Hawes and Miles 
 King, were soon after added to this community. Dr. Hawes 
 came from Wrentham, Massachusetts, and married Mary 
 Lee, of George-town. He secured an extensive practice, 
 and was esteemed for all those virtues which adorn the life 
 of the man and citizen. A Federalist by early sympathy, 
 he took an active part in the political excitements which 
 followed this period. Dr. Hawes was for years President of 
 the St, David's Society. His useful life was brought to a 
 close in 1821. 
 
 After the war, George and "William Strother settled near 
 Cheraw Hill. They were sons of Charles Strother, who 
 emigrated, at an early period, from Virginia to Charleston, 
 
444 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 where he continued to reside, though interested in, and 
 giving some assistance to, St> David^s Parish. During the 
 Revolution, George Strother was an officer in Capt. Thomas 
 EUerbe's company. Soon after, he married a daughter of 
 Captain Ellerbe. Mrs. Strother survived her husband many 
 years. William, the other brother, after residing some time 
 in Charles- town, moved to Cheraw, and married a third 
 wife, Lucy Hicks, -who survived him. She afterwards went, 
 with her children, to Alabama. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 445 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Senators and i*epresentatives elected for St. David's—Justices appointed for the 
 three counties — Other elections — Ordinance for opening navigation of 
 Lynche's and Black Creeks — Commissioners for same — Results of these 
 efforts — Number in Pedee and Cheraw Regiments — Delegates from St. 
 David's to Convention in Charles-town to ratify Federal Constitution — Vote 
 of St. David's — Petition to Legislature from Chcraws for a circulating 
 medium — Senator and representatives elected for St. David's, October, 1788 
 — Petition from Cheraws for light troop of horse — Proceedings thereon — 
 OflScers of same — Delegates from St. David's to Convention for framing new 
 State Constitution — Elections, and justices appointed, for Cheraws District — 
 Senators and representatives elected — County Court system re-modelled— 
 County Court Judges appointed, and Justices of Peace — Act for opening 
 navigation of the Pedee, and Lynche's and Black Creeks — Commissioners for 
 same — Exhibition of St. David's Academy — Death of Dr. James P. Wilson 
 — Equity circuits established — That for Cheraws — Population of Cheraws 
 District — Representatives elected for the three counties — Petition as to the 
 paper medium, and action thereon — County Judges elected, and other officers 
 — Colonel Benton in Congress — Tristram Thomas elected brigadier-general 
 — Colonel Benton resigns in consequence — Inhabitants of Cheraws meet 
 about Jay's Treaty — Great freshets in Pedee — Emb.ankments on the river 
 — Representatives elected — Petition for navigation of Lowder's Lake — 
 Commissioners — Results — Regiments of Cheraw Brigade^^Petition as to 
 inspectors of beef, &c., at George-town, and result — County Judges elected — 
 Pftition for canal from Roger's Lake to Pedee, and result — Petition of Robert 
 Ellison — Elections for Cheraws District — Legislative canvass in D.arlington 
 — Elections for Legislature — William Falconer — County Courts abolished 
 — Circuit Courts established— Officei's elected for the three districts — 
 Dividing line between Chesterfield and Darlington — Canvass for Legislature 
 in Darlington — Samuel Wilds — Elections for Legislature — Chesterfield 
 regimental return — Cheraw Brigade — Colonel Spencer — Account of, and 
 anecdote — Town of Cheraw — History of — Name of Chatham dropped — Its 
 later history — Population of Cheraws District — Citizens commemorate 
 death of Washington — Account of Mr. Pugh — Cheraws District passes away 
 — William Falconer, notice of, letter to Alexander Craig, and death. 
 
 Amid the blessings of peace and returning prosperity^ the 
 country -^as henceforth to progress^ and a settled course 
 of legislative administration to be adopted. The preceding 
 forms of government having been of a temporary character, 
 important constitutional changes were to be made. In 
 November, 1786, William Thomas was elected Senator; and 
 Calvin Spencer, Robert Baxter, Morgan Brown, Andrew 
 Hunter, Lemuel Benton, and William Strother, Representa- 
 tives for St. David's. Mr. Thomas was opposed for the 
 
446 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Senate by Dr. James P. Wilson. With the exception of 
 Morgan Brown^ the members elect took their seats in 
 January following. In March, the following justices were 
 appointed, viz. : — for Marlborough, Hon. William Thomas, 
 Colonel Thomas Lide, William Easterling, and Samuel 
 Brown ; for Chesterfield, Thomas EUerbe, Samuel Taylor, 
 Robert Lowry, and David Perkins ; for Darlington, John 
 M'Call, Robert Brounfield, Albert Fort, Robert Allison, and 
 Enoch Evans. Some of the justices, formerly aj)pointed, 
 retained their positions. At this session, Benjamin Rogers 
 was elected Sheriff for Cheraws District, and Lemuel Ben- 
 ton, Escheator. A petition was presented to the House 
 from sundry inhabitants in the Counties of Marlborough 
 and Chesterfield, for the establishment of a ferry between 
 Long Bluff and Cheraw Hill. An ordinance was passed, 
 March 27, for opening the navigation of Lynchers and 
 Black Creeks. Eor the former, James Marshall, John 
 Dick, Elias Du Bose, Roger Wilson, Daniel Du Bose, John 
 Smith, Zachariah Nettles, Robert Ellison, John Day, Josiah 
 Cookfield, Lewis Harall, James Brown, Austin Stone, John 
 James, John Piggott, Robert Carter, James Snow, and 
 William Goddard, were appointed Commissioners. For 
 Black Creek, Henry Cannon, John Peoples, James William- 
 son, Michael Russell, William M'Muldrough, Andrew 
 Hunter, Albert Fort, John Powell, William Williams, John 
 King, and Edward Cooper. In the absence of better 
 facilities for transportation, especially in the case of the 
 inhabitants residing on Lynchers Creek, the navigation of 
 these streams, it was supposed, would be a great public 
 benefit. No important advantages, however, were obtained. 
 This and other efforts in the same direction, show, at least, 
 that the work of internal improvements was not neglected. 
 
 According to the general return of the militia of the 
 State, as reviewed in 1787 and 1788, of the brigade, em- 
 bracing Berkeley and Craven Counties, the Pedee Regiment, 
 Colonel John Baxter, numbered 1000, and the Cheraw Re- 
 giment, Colonel Lemuel Benton, the same. 
 
 At the session of the Legislature, January, 1788, the 
 same members appeared as the year previous for St. David's. 
 The most important subject brought up for consideration at 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 447 
 
 this session Avas the ratification of the Federal Constitution, 
 adopted in September of the previous year by a convention 
 of delegates assembled in Philadelphia for that purpose. 
 
 It was resolved, that elections should be held in April, 
 for delegates (to consist of a number equal to that of the 
 senators and representatives from the several districts and 
 parishes respectively), to meet in Charles-town the following 
 May. ' For St. David''s Parish, the following gentlemen 
 were elected delegates to this convention, viz. : — Colonel 
 Lemuel Benton, Major Tristram Thomas, Captain William 
 Dewitt, Captain Calvin Spencer, Captain S. Taylor, Doctor 
 R. Brownfield, and Benjamin Hicks, jun.* The Legislature 
 adjourned on the 29th of February, to meet in Charles-town 
 7tli of October. 
 
 The delegates met in convention the 12th of May. On a 
 motion for the ratification of the Federal Constitution, it was 
 carried by a vote of 149 to 73 — the delegates from St. 
 David's voting in the aflSrmative. Major Thomas was 
 absent. On a motion made by Mr. Justice Burke, and 
 seconded by Major Snipes, to restrict the re-eligibility of 
 the president of the United States after the first term, the 
 vote of St. David^s was in the negative. 
 
 At the meeting of the Legislature in October, Major 
 Thomas presented a petition, signed by John Pledger, Wil- 
 liam Standard, and many others, in these words, viz. : — " The 
 petition of the inhabitants of Cheraws District, humbly 
 sheweth, that your petitioners labour under many and 
 great grievances, for the want of a circulating medium to 
 enable us to discharge our debts ; for the want of which, 
 many of our fellow-citizens have had their property seized 
 and sold at sheriff^s sale, not to the amount of one- tenth of 
 its value, and many others are expecting the same fate. We, 
 your petitioners, therefore humbly pray, that your honora- 
 ble body will take our distresses into your serious consider- 
 ation, and pass a law, that the creditor shall take the 
 
 * The election was held for St. David's on the 10th April, at Kimbrough's Mill, 
 afterwards known as Gibson's Mill, on the road from Society Hill to George- 
 town ; on 11th April at Chesterfield, C.H. ; on the 12th at Marlborough, C.H. 
 William Pegues, Lemuel Benton, and Tristram Thomas were the managers 
 appointed to conduct the election at the several places named. 
 
448 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 property of liis debtor at its value; or strike a circulating 
 medium, and exchange it for indents, and that the medium 
 shall be received by sheriffs at their sales ; or that you will 
 grant us such other relief, as to you, in your wisdom, shall 
 seem meet, &c/' 
 
 The Act which had been passed in 1785, to establish a 
 medium of circulation by way of loans, afforded only tem- 
 porary advantages. It caused the ruin of many, and the 
 public suffered seriously in the end.* Hence the petition 
 of the inhabitants of Cheraws. 
 
 At the November election, 1788, for St. David^s, Morgan 
 Brown was returned Senator ; and Robert Ellison, Charles 
 Evans, Thomas Evans, Robert Brownfield, Drury Robert- 
 son, and Henry Cannon, Representatives, The Legislature 
 met in January, and continued to sit about three months. 
 During the session, a petition was presented to the Governor 
 from several of the inhabitants of Cheraws District, setting 
 forth, " that the good citizens in these extreme parts of the 
 State are much exposed to the depredations of horse-thieves, 
 and otlier violaters of the laws, which are thereby rendered 
 less vigorous, and are more contemned than is consistent 
 with the welfare and safety of those who live under their 
 protection. That infantry, of whom the militia is com- 
 posed, have, from the tardiness of their motions, been found 
 by the experience of many years, insufficient to apprehend 
 and bring to justice many depredators, who therefore act 
 almost at discretion, with impunity; that there are several 
 instances of notorious offenders, after search warrants and 
 other precepts have been issued against them, exulting, 
 nevertheless, in their crimes, and openly threatening the 
 murder and destruction of peaceable citizens ; who yet, for 
 want of a force sufficient to apprehend them, elude the 
 punishment which, in such cases, the law provides. That 
 your petitioners humbly conceive, that an independent, 
 volunteer troop of horse, composed of the inhabitants, pro- 
 perly accoutred, subject to the command of their own 
 officers, and commissioned by the Commander-in-Chief, 
 would contribute much to remove, if not entirely to pre- 
 
 * Introduction to Brevard's " Digest," p. xvii. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 449 
 
 vent, the aforesaid grievances, and others of the lilvc nature. 
 That several of the principal inhabitants have agreed to form 
 themselves into such a troop, to consist of a captain, two 
 lieutenants, a cornet, and forty privates ; and have elected 
 Samuel Taylor, captain^ to command them ; and have also 
 agreed, that from and immediately after their officers sliall 
 have been commissioned, as aforesaid, they will, with all pos- 
 sible despatch, co-operate with and assist within their own 
 district, each and every officer of this State in the legal 
 discharge of his or their duty, when thereunto required. 
 Wherefore, your petitioners humbly pray your Excellency 
 to establish the said troop of horse, by the name of the 
 Chatham Light Horse ; to commission the aforesaid Samuel 
 Taylor, captain ; Holden Wade, 1st lieutenant; Benjamin 
 Hicks, sen., 2nd lieutenant; and Thomas Godfrey, cornet, 
 to command the same, &c." 
 
 Signed by 
 
 Thomas Powe Lcml. Cox Jepson 
 
 Samuel Taylor Nathan Leavensworth 
 
 Holden Wade Benjamin Rogers, jun. 
 
 Benjamin Hicks Alexander Powe 
 
 Thomas Godfrey William Powe 
 
 William Pegues George Hicks 
 
 Allen Chapman Claudius Pegues, sen. 
 
 William Falconer Claudius Pegues, jun. 
 
 Frederick Fort Duncan M'Rae 
 
 Erasmus Powe Thomas Ellerbe 
 
 Benjamin Hicks, jun. William Ellerbe. 
 Alexander Craig 
 
 Whereupon, the Governor, Thomas Pinckney, made the 
 following communication to the Upper House : — 
 
 " Mr. President, and Honorable Gentlemen of the 
 " Senate. 
 
 " Honorable Gentlemen : 
 
 " As it does not appear to me that the Executive is vested 
 
 by the existing militia law, with power to grant the prayer of 
 
 the petition, which accompanies this communication, and as 
 
 I think the establishment desired would be beneficial, I 
 
 6 G 
 
450 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 have referred the matter to the determination of the Legis- 
 latiire. 
 
 "Thomas Pinckney. 
 
 " Charles-town, 17tli Jany., 1789." 
 
 The foregoing was referred to a committee, consisting of 
 Mr. Brown, Mr. Walker, and Colonel Hampton ; and in the 
 House, to a committee, consisting of Mr. Justice Grimke, 
 Mr. Waties, Dr. Irvine, with the members for St. David^s. 
 Favorable action was taken, and the troop organized, 
 much, doubtless, to the relief of the good citizens of Pedee, 
 and the increase of the military ardor of the people. 
 
 Another matter, aflFecting the interests of some of the in- 
 habitants of Clieraws, as well as the public at large, came 
 before the Legislature, under a petition, setting forth, " that 
 a tobacco inspection, on the north-east side of the Pedee 
 River, about ten miles above Clieraw Hill, at the head of 
 navigation, would be a considerable advantage to the State, 
 there being a large quantity of tobacco made on that side 
 of the river ; and the inconveniency of crossing to the 
 Cheraw Hill, occasions it to be carried to Cross Creek. We, 
 therefore, recommend Parker's Ferry as a convenient place, 
 and William Pegues, Thomas Powe, and Claudius Pegues, 
 jun., Esqrs., for commissioners ; and as the proprietor will 
 build warehouses, and furnish scales and weights at his own 
 expense, we hope that your honorable body will establish 
 it there, &c.^^ 
 
 Signed by 
 Thomas Powe George Hicks 
 
 William Pegues Tristram Thomas 
 
 Allen Chapman Samuel Taylor 
 
 Claudius Pegues, sen. Lemuel Benton 
 
 Claudius Pegues, jun. William Thomas. 
 
 The committee reported favorably, and an Act was 
 passed accordingly. At this session, the important subject 
 of a new State Constitution was agitated, resulting in the 
 determination of the Legislature that an election should be 
 holden on the 26th and 27th of October ensuing, for delegates 
 to a convention, to meet in Columbia, on the 2nd Monday 
 in May, 1790, to consider the matter of the said Coustitu- 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 451 
 
 tion. For St. David^s Parish, Calvin Spencer, Benjamin 
 Hicks, Lemuel Benton, Robert Ellison, Charles Evans, 
 Morgan Brown, and Rev. Evan Pugh were duly elected 
 delegates. 
 
 At the session of 1789, Lemuel Benton was elected 
 SheriflF for Cheraws District, and Benjamin Hicks, Clerk of • 
 the Court of Common Pleas. And the following Justices, 
 viz. : — for Marlborough, Drury Robertson ; for Ches- 
 terfield, Duncan M'Rae and John Brown ; for Darlington, 
 Alexander M'^Intosh and Absolom Sauls. Robert Baxter, 
 one of the Representatives from St. David^s, died during the 
 session. 
 
 At a meeting of the Legislature, Jan. 1790, Henry 
 Cannon and Charles Evans ajapear to have been the only 
 members present from St. David^'s. On the 20th of Jan. the 
 following County Court Justices were appointed : — for 
 Darlington, Samuel Mathis, Henry Cannon, and Dr. Robert 
 Norris, 
 
 The Convention met in Columbia in May. The Con- 
 stitution was adopted on the 3rd of June. It gave the 
 Counties of Marlborough, Chesterfield, and Darlington two 
 representatives each, and for the three, two senators. At 
 the ensuing election, Morgan Brown and Robert Ellison 
 were returned Senators. Thomas Evans and John Jones 
 James, Representatives for Marlborough. Thomas Powe 
 and Charles Evans for Chesterfield. John Huggins and 
 Moses Fort for Darlington. John M'Ree was elected 
 Representative for Liberty. The Legislature met on the 
 4th Monday in Nov. Under the classification of the Senators 
 elect, which had been adopted, Morgan Brown took his seat 
 for four, and Mr. Ellison for two years. During this 
 session, an Act was passed, remodelling the County Court 
 system. " Three Judges or Justices of the County Courts 
 were chosen for each county, by joint ballot of the two 
 Houses of the Legislature, to preside in the respective 
 Courts, which were held semi annually for the trial of causes ; 
 but they were allowed no compensation for their services. 
 Two intermediate courts were holden annually, for the 
 transaction of business relating to roads, taverns, and the 
 
 poor. 
 
 G G 2 
 
452 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 " Although the administration of justice in these Courts 
 tvas irregular, and in many instances unequal, owing chiefly 
 to the want of legal information in those who were aji- 
 pointed to preside therein, yet they were a great convenience 
 to the community, considering the defects of the Circuit 
 Court system of that day ; and much good, as well as some 
 evil, resulted from their establishment. It was an im- 
 portant step towards the attainment of that improved sys- 
 tem which afterwards existed.""^ 
 
 The number of justices for each county, being now 
 limited to three, the position became correspondingly re- 
 sponsible and important. 
 
 In Jan. 1791, the Legislature elected, as County Court 
 Judges, for 
 
 Marlborough, Morgan Brown, Tristram Thomas, and 
 William Thomas. 
 
 For Chesterfield, Wm. Pegues, Thos. Powe, and Calvin 
 Spencer. 
 
 For Darlington, Hobert Ellison, Lemuel Benton, and John 
 Smith. 
 
 And as Justices of Quorum and the Peace, 
 
 For Marlborough. 
 
 Geo. Hicks Samuel Brown 
 
 Thos. Evans Wm. Easterling 
 
 Drury Robertson Richard Brockington 
 
 Moses Pearson William Legg 
 John Wilson 
 
 For Chesterfield. 
 
 Samuel Taylor Christopher Vernon 
 
 Charles Evans Thos. Blakeney 
 
 Wm. Strother Wm. Powe 
 
 Robert Lowry Benjamin Rogers 
 David Perkins 
 
 For Darlington. 
 
 John B. Turner Alexander M'Intosh 
 
 Absolom Sauls Wm. M^Muldi'ough 
 
 John M'Call L. Stanley, jun. 
 
 Albert Fort Wm. Dewitt 
 Henry Cannon 
 
 * Brevard's " Introduction," p. xvi. 
 
HISTORY *0F THE OLP CHERAWS. 453 
 
 On the 15th of January, the House was informed by Thos. 
 Powe, one of the members elect for St. David^s, that he 
 declined taking his seat ; and a new election was thereupon 
 ordered. Lemuel Benton was elected Sheriff for Cheraws 
 District. At this session, an Act was passed for improving 
 the navigation of certain streams. Among others, Great 
 Pedee Eiver, and Lynchers, Black, JefFrey^s and Cat Fish 
 Creeks. Tristram Thomas, Morgan Brown, Wm. Pegues, 
 Baron de Poelnittz, Alexander MTntosh, Moses Pearson, 
 Wm. Strother, Nathanael Saunders, Samuel Benton, Thomo.s 
 Evans, and Richard Brockington, were appointed Commis- 
 sioners for the work on the Great Pedee, from the North 
 Carolina line down to the mouth of Black Creek, under the 
 name of the Upper Board of Commissioners on Pedee. 
 The Lower Board, from the mouth of Black Creek to 
 Euhaney Ferry, consisted of William Wilson, John M'Kee, 
 Moses Mm-phy, Gavin Witherspoon, John Witherspoou, 
 John Dozier, John Porter, Shadrach Simons, John Gregg, 
 Thos. Benton, Abel Goodman, and Jas. Green. 
 
 For Black Creek, from its mouth up to the Fork, the 
 Commissioners appointed, were Lawtermore Edwards, Wm. 
 M'Muldrough, Andrew Hunter, Henry Cannon, John King, 
 John Saunders, and Albert Fort. For Lynchers Creek, 
 from the plantation of Capt. Charles Evans, down to the 
 Effingham Mills, to be known as the Upper Board ; Need- 
 ham Lee, Daniel Du Bose, John Castle, John Huggins, 
 James Marshall, Charles Evans, George Evans^ John Pigot, 
 Elias Du Bose, and Absolom Sauls, And from the Effing- 
 ham Mills to the mouth of the Creek, as the Lower Board, 
 were William Goddard, Austin Stone, John Saunders, Lewis 
 Harrall, John Smith, Robert Ellison, John James, James 
 Brown, Isaiah Cookfield, Zachariah Cato, and Zachariah 
 Nettles. 
 
 Saturday, 18th of June, of this year, was a day famous 
 in the history of the St. David's Society. The exhibition 
 of the students attracted a very large audience, gathered for 
 a distance from the country around, and was said to have 
 surpassed any ever witnessed before. On the 27th of July, 
 this society lost one of its active and prominent members, 
 and Cheraw District a useful citizen, in the person of Dr. 
 
454 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 James P, Wilson. He died at his residence. Long 
 Bluff.* 
 
 In 1791;, the Circuit Court for the District of Cheraws, 
 was, by Actf of Assembly, ordered to be holden at " The 
 Cheraws.''^ This, however, was not done. The Court con- 
 tinued to sit at Greenville, as before. In the same year, it 
 was enacted,! that the Court of Equity, hitherto sitting in 
 Charles-town, should be held at Columbia, for the Districts 
 of Camden, Orangeburg, and Cheraw. In 1799, the State 
 was divided into four Equity Circuits. Of these, the 
 Northern was composed in part of Marlborough, Chester- 
 field, and Darlington, the Court for which was to be held 
 at Greenville. At the meeting of the Legislature in No- 
 vember, the following Justices of the Peace, &c., were ap- 
 pointed, viz. :-^for Marlborough, Geo. Cherry ; and for 
 Darlington, Robert Lide, John Huggins, Evander M'lver, 
 and Elias DuBose. The census of the State was taken in 
 1792; and the return of population for Cheraw District, 
 was as follows : — 
 
 Free white males of 16 years and upwards . 1779 
 
 „ „ „ under 16 years .... 1993 
 
 „ „ females, including heads of families 3646 
 
 All other free persons 59 
 
 Slaves 3229 
 
 Total 10,706 
 
 In October of this year, Robert Ellison, whose term as 
 senator had expired, was re-elected. And, as Represen- 
 tatives, for 
 
 Marlborough, 
 John Jones James, Benjamin Hicks. 
 
 Chesterfield, 
 Wm. Falconer, Wm. Pegues. 
 
 Darlington, 
 Alexander Mcintosh, John Smith. 
 
 * The funeral of Dr. Wilson took place on Sunday. The Rev. Edmund 
 Botsford preached, on the occasion, an appi-opriate discourse, from 1 Cor. vii. 29. 
 t "Statutes at Large," p. 26L % Ibid., p. 288. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 455 
 
 The Legislature met on the 4th Monday in November^ and 
 on the 3rd of December, Mr. Ellison presented a Petition from 
 sundry inhabitants of Cheraw District, praying the passage 
 of a law, for extending the time limited for the payment of 
 the paper medium loaned to the petitioners, who had 
 suffered so much in their crops by the extraordinary 
 drought and freshets which had prevailed during the pre- 
 vious summer, as to deprive them of the means of discharg- 
 ing the same. It was referred to a Committee, consisting 
 of Mr. Ellison, General Barnwell, and General Pinckney, 
 who reported favorably ; and a bill was .introduced and 
 passed accordingly. At the session of the following year, 
 1793, the same members appeared for St. David's, and took 
 their seats. For Liberty, John Baxter, and Gavin Wither- 
 spoon for west part of Liberty. Alexander Craig was 
 elected County Judge for Chesterfield in place of Samuel 
 Taylor, who had left the country ; and Wm. Falconer, in 
 place of Chi'istopher Vernon, who declined serving. For 
 Marlborough, Benjamin Hicks, in the room of Morgan 
 Brown. Robert Ellison was elected Sheriff, and Alexander 
 M'^Intosh, Commissioner of Locations for Cheraws. 
 
 Col. Benton was now in Congress, the first representa- 
 tive in that body from the Pedee District. His political 
 sentiments were very decided, and honestly and fearlessly 
 maintained on all occasions. In certain traits of character 
 he was not unlike his near relative, the late Senator Benton, 
 of Missouri. Col. Benton was one of the party violently 
 opposed to the administration of John Adams. He returned 
 from Philadelphia in the latter part of April, 1794, to be- 
 come involved for a time in a warm personal controversy. 
 An extra session of the Legislature had been called to meet 
 in Charleston, in May. A few days after it opened 
 Major Tristram Thomas was elected General of the Cheraw 
 Brigade. Col. Benton felt this very keenly, his friends 
 attributing it to the fact of his absence, and to the use of 
 unfair' means on the part of his opponent. General Thomas, 
 however, was worthy of the position and of all honor, 
 receiving a reward justly due for his past services. It was 
 a matter deeply to be regretted, that these gentlemen, Avho 
 had so lately fought side by side for their country, should 
 
456 HISTOEY OJF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 thus have been broug'ht into antagonism^ and especially as 
 to a point so deeply touching the sensibilities of an old 
 soldier as that of military precedence. Col. Benton resigned 
 his command of the Cheraw Regiment, and was succeeded 
 by Calvin Spencer. An election having been ordered, 
 April 30th, to fill the place of senator, made vacant by the 
 resignation of INIr. Ellison, who had been elected sheriff. 
 Thomas Powe was returned, and took, his seat at the meet- 
 ing of the Legislature in Charleston.^ 
 
 On the 8th of August a large number of the citizens of 
 Cheraws District met at the Court House, to consider the 
 matter of jNIr. Jay^s celebrated treaty. Of the result of 
 their action no record remains. 
 
 On the 18th of August there was a destructive freshet in 
 the Pedee. The river was higher than had been known 
 since 1776. In the latter part of May of that year many 
 of the inhabitants were forced to abandon their residences 
 in tlie SAvamp, and fly for safety to the highlands. That 
 rise was the greatest known since the settlement of the 
 country, of which traditional accounts were handed down 
 to a recent period. There has been some like it since. 
 In January, 1796, another memorable rise occurred. It 
 was not until a period long subsequent that attention began 
 to be turned to the important subject of embankments. 
 The means of the earlier settlers, however, were not equal 
 to works of that kind on a large scale. The late Gen. D. 
 R. Williams, of Darlington, is believed to have led the way 
 in this kind of enterprise. He constructed very extensive 
 embankments, which have proved of incalculable value since. 
 
 In October of this year (1794) some very serious trouble 
 (probably insurrectionary) was anticipated, and a strong 
 guard stationed at Long Bluff. Of the histoiy of it, how- 
 ever, nothing more is known. 
 
 At the Full elections the following representatives were 
 returned, viz. : for 
 
 Marlborough, Chesterfield, Darlington, 
 
 John Jones James. Wm. Falconer. Richard Brockington. 
 Drury Robertson. James Blakeney. Ezckiel DuBose. 
 
 At the ensuing session of the Legislature Gen. Thomas 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 457 
 
 presented a petition fi'om sundry inhabitants of Darlington, 
 for opening and making navigable Lowder^s Lake, from 
 Herring Creek to the month thereof. A favorable report 
 was made on the subject, and an Act passed appointing 
 Richard Brockingtou, Wm. Brockiugton, George ]\l'Call, 
 and Charles Dewitt, commissioners for carrying the same 
 into effect. This legislation resulted in no material benefit. 
 The work, if begun, is supposed to have been abandoned 
 soon after. At this session £1000 were appropriated for 
 repairing the Court House, and the erection of a new gaol 
 at Long Bluff. 
 
 Thomas Evans was elected County Judge for Marlborough 
 in place of Wm. Thomas, resigned. 
 
 Of the militia of the State, now di^dded into nine brigades, 
 that of Cheraw, being No. 9, consisted of three regiments, 
 viz. : — 
 
 The 37th, Col. Thomas Evans. 
 „ 38th, Col. Robert Ellison. 
 „ ^9th, Col. Calvin Spencer. 
 
 At the session of the Legislature of the following year 
 the same senators and representatives appeared for Cheraw 
 District and the three counties. 
 
 At this session Gen. Thomas presented a petition from 
 sundry inhabitants of Cheraw District, praying that the 
 House would not grant the petition of the inhabitants of 
 George-town, respecting the appointment of commissioners 
 to elect a Measurer of lumber and an Inspector of beef, 
 pork, and flour for said town. The petition from Cheraws 
 was successful, as no act appears to have been passed on the 
 subject. County Ji^dges were elected as follows : — for 
 oNIarlborough, John Jones James, in place of Benj. Hicks, 
 who had left the country ; and for Darlington, Alex. 
 M'^Intosh, in place of Robert Ellison, who had been elected 
 Sheriff for Cheraws. 
 
 At the election holden in October, 1796, the same repre- 
 sentatives were returned, with the exception of Richard 
 Brockington, who was succeeded by Andrew Huntei", for 
 Darlington. For Liberty were returned John M'Ree and 
 Thomas Wickham. Wm. Thomas appeared as senator in 
 place of Thomas Powe, and with. Gen. Thomas, took his 
 
458 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 seat. At this session a committee was appointed, consisting 
 of Drury Robertson^ Joslma Saxon^ and Mr. Nott, to report 
 how the amount appropriated for repairing the Court House 
 and building a new gaol at Long Bluff had been expended. 
 William Thomas was chosen one of eight electors to cast a 
 vote for President of the United States. Sundry inhabi- 
 tants of Marlborough had petitioned the Legislature for a 
 canal to lead from Roger's Lake into Pedee River, and an 
 Act was passed for that purpose, ajspointing Robert Allison, 
 Edward Croslin, and Tristram Thomas commissioners, who 
 were authorized to " open and keep in repair a canal of not 
 more than fifty feet in width, to lead from any part of the 
 said lake to such point on the river as they might deem fit,^^ 
 and also, " to stop up Naked Creek at any point deemed 
 most convenient, diverting the waters of the same through 
 the said lake and canal, provided the expense should be 
 defrayed by voluntary subscriptions, and the canal, when so 
 opened, be free to all citizens and the country at large. ^' 
 The proviso of the act probably led to the failure of the 
 scheme. 
 
 At the meeting of the Legislature in November, 1797, the 
 same members appeared from Pedee. A petition was pre- 
 sented from Robert Ellison, to be allowed to erect mills on 
 Black Creek. A counter petition was also offered, object- 
 ing to the same, on the ground that it would obstruct the 
 navigation of said creek. The matter was referred to a 
 committee, who recommended that the petition of Mr. 
 Ellison should be granted, but with such restrictions and 
 limitations as would obviate the objections raised. 
 
 Alexander M'Intosh was elected ^eriff for Cheraws in 
 the place of Robert Ellison, resigned, and Drury Robertson 
 a County Judge for Marlborough. 
 
 In the memorable canvass of 1798, in Darlington, for the 
 Legislature, a name appeared which was destined to become 
 distinguished in South Carolina. Samuel Wilds was one of 
 four candidates. His competitors were Andrew Hunter, of 
 revolutionary note, Ezekiel DuBose, just of age, and Wm. 
 Zimmerman. Mr. Wilds was then in his twenty-third year. 
 His early struggles against what seemed to be the most 
 adverse fortune (for he was very poor, and left in charge of 
 a large family of younger children, for whom their mother 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 459 
 
 could not otlierwise proAdde)^ had of necessity kept the 
 sphere of his labors and acquaintance alike limited. He 
 was scarcely known beyond his immediate neighbourhood;, 
 and to the few who had learned to appreciate him^ only 
 known as a young man of promising parts, of noble cha- 
 racter and high aspirations. Mr. Zimmerman was already 
 a public man of prominent position, and young DuBose, in 
 addition to attractive personal traits, had the advantage of 
 a very extensive family connexion in his favor. He led the 
 ticket, followed by Mr. Zimmerman. Young Wilds de- 
 feated, but not disheartened, for he was moved by an emu- 
 lation worthy of his future success, was soon to take the 
 lead in turn, and reach the high position he attained, with a 
 rapidity unprecedented, perhaps, in the history of the State. 
 
 The former members, William Falconer and James 
 Blakeuey, were returned for Chesterfield, and Drury Robert- 
 son for Marlborough. William Whitfield appeared as a new 
 member for the same county, in the place of John Jones 
 James. For Liberty, John Ford and Lewis Harralson were 
 elected. Captain John M'lver was returned a senator in 
 place of General Thomas. 
 
 Mr. Falconer, who for several sessions had been a mem- 
 ber of the House from Chesterfield, now occupied a leading 
 position in that body. Well educated and thoroughly 
 trained, cool and fearless, shrewd as he was sarcastic, and 
 ready and powerful withal in debate, he had few equals, and 
 no superior in these respects, perhaps, in the halls of legis- 
 lation or the forum. He was the acknowledged head of the 
 Cheraw Bar, and was henceforth to have his name indis- 
 • solubly connected with the most important change in the 
 system of judicature of the State which had yet taken place. 
 '•'At this time," says Judge Brevard, " the administration of 
 justice was extremely tedious and defective. The jurisdic- 
 tion of the County Courts was very limited, and in many of 
 them justice was dispensed in a very loose and imperfect 
 manner. The accumulation of business in the Circuit Courts 
 had greatly increased, and the manner of despatching it was 
 not always the best that might be practised to answer the 
 purposes of public justice, and give satisfaction to the 
 people. 
 
 " In order to establish a uniform and more convenient 
 
460 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 system of judicature^ a bill was brought forward in the 
 Legislature for instituting District Courts, in the several 
 counties of the State, and in small sections of that part 
 wherein County Courts were not established, and to arrange 
 those Courts into several circuits or ridings. 
 
 " The most zealous and able advocates of this project, were 
 William Falconer, Esq., a member of the House of Repre- 
 sentatives, from Chesterfield, and William Marshall, Esq., 
 late one of the Judges of the Courts of Equity, a member of 
 the Senate. It was carried, and passed into a law."^* 
 
 At the following session, the same members appeared 
 from Pedee. The Circuit Court Act of the previous year 
 was revised and amended, and the County Courts, which 
 had been retained in it — with very limited powers, however 
 — were now for ever abolished. The system for the ad- 
 ministration of justice, thus essentially changed, was to be 
 carried into efi^ect as speedily as possible. 
 
 Sheriffs were to be elected for them, and Courts of 
 Ordinary also established in the several districts, and other 
 important regiilations adopted. 
 
 The term county was now laid aside, and that of district 
 took its place, which has since been retained. The following 
 gentlemen were elected sheriffs, viz : — For Marlborough 
 District, Robert Allison ; for Chesterfield, Joel Bullard ; 
 for Darlington, Alexander M'^Intosh. The Commissioners 
 appointed for building and repairing the several Court Houses 
 and gaols, were : — 
 
 For Marlborough, 
 William Thomas, Thomas Evans, 
 
 Tristram Thomas, Benjamin Rogers. 
 
 Drury Robertson, 
 
 For Chesterfield, 
 William Falconer, Thomas Powe, 
 
 Calvin Spencer, Robert Lowry. 
 
 William Pegues, 
 
 For Darlington, 
 Robert Ellison, Andrew Hunter. 
 
 William Zimmerman, 
 
 * Erevard's " Digest," Introduction, p. xix. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 461 
 
 The dividing line between Chesterfield and Darlington 
 had not, up to this time, been run out. 
 
 An Act was accordingly passed at this session, appointing 
 Alexander Craig, William Falconer, and Erasmvis Powe, 
 Commissioners on the part of Chesterfield ; and Robert 
 ]llllisou, William Zimmerman, and D. R. Williams for Dar- 
 lington, to establish said line. For some reason the work 
 was not done ; and a second Act was afterwards passed, 
 appointing for Chesterfield, William Falconer and Major 
 John Dewitt, and for Darlington, John Norwood and 
 Alexander M'Intosh, to run out and mark the line, as fixed 
 by law. 
 
 On the 11th of April, 1800, a very considerable shock of 
 an earthquake was felt by many of the inhabitants on Pe- 
 dee, the weather at the time being cloudy and warm for the 
 season. 
 
 In the canvass of 1800 for the Legislature, another ex- 
 citing contest took place in Darlington. The same candidates 
 appeared as in the fall of 1798 ; also Richard Brockington. 
 Samuel Wilds, having been since at the Bar, was becoming 
 more widely known, and being superior as a speaker to all 
 his competitors, was elected without diflSculty. William 
 Zimmerman retained his seat. In the canvass of 1802, 
 which was also warmly contested, such was the popularity 
 of Mr. Wilds, that he received the unanimous vote of the 
 district, with but one exception, and that the vote of a man 
 whom he had severely, and, doubtless, very justly scourged 
 in Court. The same members were returned for the other 
 districts, except Drury Robertson, of Marlborough, who was 
 succeeded by David Stewart. For Liberty, Philip Bethea, 
 sen., and James Ervin were elected. Alexander M'^Intosh 
 was returned for the Senate, in the place of William Thomas, 
 of Marlborough. William Zimmerman was elected sheriff, 
 in place of Alexander M'Intosh, now in the Senate. 
 
 About the year 1800, the total militia of the State, ac- 
 cording to the most reliable returns, was supposed to be 
 35,785. The Cheraw brigade. No. 9, numbered 2224. On 
 the 29th of November, of this year, the following return 
 was made of the Chesterfield regiment. Colonel Spencer 
 commanding, viz. : — 
 
462 
 
 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
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HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 463 
 
 Colonel Spencer became actively connected with St. David's 
 Parish before the war. During the Revolution^ he served 
 in several military capacities. About the commencement 
 of the struggle, he contracted an engagement with Rebecca 
 Ford, of the neighbourhood of George-town, and saw her 
 but once while the conflict continued. It was on this occa- 
 sion that the British, then in possession of that region, 
 hearing he was to be at the family residence, laid a plan for 
 his capture. Coming suddenly up, they surrounded the 
 dwelling; the active lover, however, managing to escape in 
 time to reach a mill-pond near by, into which he plunged so 
 as to swim across and elude his pursuers. He was as swiftly 
 followed and fired upon, and so pressed, that, finding escape 
 hopeless, he surrendered himself, and was kept in confine- 
 ment until a final exchange of prisoners at the cessation of 
 hostilities. Soon after this, he married Miss Ford, and set- 
 tled in Chesterfield District. After a long life of private 
 virtue and public service, having filled various positions of 
 honour and trust, his career was finished in January, 1801.^ 
 Mrs. Spencer subsequently married Thomas Powe, the friend 
 and companion, in peace and war, of her late husband. She 
 survived Mr. Powe many years, and died about 1844, at an 
 advanced age. 
 
 The town of Chcraw was laid out, as heretofore men- 
 tioned, about the year 176B. Called Chatham soon after, 
 it seems, even in the popular language of the day, not long 
 to have retained it. The name does not often appear among 
 the records of the country immediately succeeding that 
 period. An attempt was made many years after to revive 
 
 * Among tlie effects of Colonel Spencer were several trunks of papers, among 
 which were many letters and other manuscript matter of an early date, and 
 beyond doubt of much historical value. Mrs. Spencer, during her widowliood 
 and afterwards, to the close of her life, preserved these papers with scrupulous 
 care. 
 
 Soon after her deatli, the trunks, the contents of vvhieli seem never to have 
 been carefully examined, were opened by her representatives. Such land papers 
 as were supposed to be of value were taken out, and the rest destroyed. 
 
 To much disa])pointment of this kind was the Author doomed, in his search 
 among family records for documentary matter connected with the history of the 
 Pedee, but in scarce another instance, to one like this, with the exception of 
 Colonel Bentou's, the most valuable collection, perhaps, in this region. 
 
4(54 IIISTOKY OK Til 10 OM) OlIEUAWS. 
 
 and conliniu' il, but failed. It Mas };(Mirnilly called Chcraw 
 .11 ill, and \\\v VUcvuwh. 
 
 It was supposcul at lirst, by tlu; iiiliahitaiits of llu^ lUMj^li- 
 hoiiriiifjj country, that on account of its jjosition, bcinj^ at 
 the head of navigation on the riv(>r, and its proximity to a 
 larji^i^ and fertilt> region in North Carolina, it •would become 
 a place of piM'nianei\t and increasing comnicri'ial im- 
 p()rtane(\ It was, from an early piM'iod of its history, the 
 s(>at of s(»veral cxtcnsivi* trading (>stablislnncnts ; but the 
 expectation of tlu^ public was in the end, or for a longtinu> at 
 least, disappointcnl. Having failed to become the scat of 
 justice for (Micraws District, though strcnTU)Us ellorts were 
 made to havi' it so, and jjroving at times vcM'y unhealthy; 
 neither its ])opulation nor coinnu'rcc increased as rapidly as 
 Avas anticipat(>d. It was described by oiu^* who rcnunnbcrcd 
 it, as it was about 1793, to have contained then not more 
 than a do/iMi houses. Tn 1802, a writer of that day, allud- 
 ing to Chatliaui, said : " It is a small village, situated on 
 (^licraw Hill, at \\\c head of navigation of PimIco K-iver. It 
 contains a few stores, and givt>s encouragement to th(> trade of 
 that part of this State, which is partly drawn from Is'orth 
 Carolina, by the Yadkin river. When the navigation of 
 this river bi^ciMucs open, it is probabh* .this scttlenuMit will 
 seenre advantagi>s from the additional trad(> which will th(>n 
 be carried on.'^f Tlu^ niuigation of the ri\(>r, for the im- 
 proviMucnt of which si>veral acts had at dilleiHMit times been 
 passed by the lj(>gislature, was not elVeetually opened, until 
 tlie work was subscciucntly nmlcrtakcn by General P. R. 
 AVilliams, and thi> lal(^ Havid (ircgg, of Society Hill, who 
 carried it sueeessfnly into (>\c>eution. There were not only 
 formidable obstructions in the shape of logs, often of vc>ry 
 large size, the accumulation of ag(*s ; but in many plaei's 
 the channel had to be turntul or cut di^cpcr, with a bottom 
 somiMinu>s alnu)st as hard as rocU. A\'ith the iujprovcd 
 navigation of the river, the town n^vived, and continued to 
 advance until it reached a consid(>rablc di'grt>c of couuuercial 
 importance^ for the interior. The ellorts which had been 
 
 • Tho lute Lewis Mnlono Aycr, nlrondy nicnt.ionod. 
 f Drayton's " View of Ciu'oliim," p. 212. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 
 
 4G5 
 
 made, by means of a canal a part of tlic way, to open the 
 navigation of the river above the town, and through the 
 Yadkin, into North Carobna, liad faih;d of sueeesH, and the 
 waggons from that region continued to be the only means 
 of transportation. 
 
 In 18:20-21, the town was incorporated, and chiefly 
 through the exertions of the late Governor John Lidc 
 Wilson, then a mend)er of tlie L(!gislature, and (hx^ply in- 
 terested in this as the region of his nativity, retained its 
 early name of Cheraw instead of Chatham, as some desired, 
 and to a certain extent it had been called. The first line of 
 hills'^' rising above the river bottom were unfortunately 
 cleared and built upon in the early settlement of the place, 
 increasing its unhcalthfidness ever after. 
 
 In 1800, the population of Cheraw District, accoiding to 
 the returns of a Federal census then taken, showed an in- 
 crease of n(;arly one hundred per cent, over that of 1792. 
 It was as follows : — 
 
 Free White Males. 
 
 _, , ,^ Of 10, and or 10, ami 
 Under 10. , i ^ i .„• 
 
 under lo. uiidiT 2t). 
 
 Marlborough, 839 3.31 299 
 
 Chesterfield, 889 3G7 201 
 
 Darlington, 1086 440 423 
 
 Marlborough, 
 
 Chesterfield, 
 
 Darlington, 
 
 26 to 15. 
 
 Over 45, 
 
 3il 
 
 184 
 
 371 
 
 178 
 
 493 
 
 2G4 
 
 328 
 
 158 
 
 3G9 
 
 144 
 
 499 
 
 IG8 
 
 Free White Females. 
 
 700 270 427 
 
 71 G 335 3G5 
 
 1001 435 454 
 
 Entire White Population. 
 Marlborough, 3880; Chesterfield, 3995; Dar- 
 lington, 52G3 13,138 
 
 Colored. 
 Marlborough, 1393; Chesterfield, 1148; Dar- 
 lington, 2336. 4877 
 
 Total . . . 18,015 
 
 * One of these, many years since abandoned, lias been lonj^ luiovvn ns 
 "Yankee Hill." Among the early settlerw, many came from the nortli for pur- 
 poses of trade. Few of these, liowever, were very successful in Ixisiness. 
 
 H II 
 
466 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 The year 1799 was rendered memorable in the history of 
 the country as the last in the life of Washington. The 
 event which plunged a nation into mourning was com- 
 memorated by the citizens of Pedee^ the Rev. Evan Pugh 
 having preached to a large concourse of people at Darling- 
 ton Court HousCj a discourse appropriate to the occasion."^ 
 
 Mr. Pugh himself, after a long life of useful and honor- 
 able service for his fellow-men and his country, was two 
 years after to follow the way of him to whom he had paid 
 so just a tribute. Not more quiet in manner and unob- 
 trusive in character, than assiduous in the discharge of duty 
 and efficient in action, he was highly appreciated and 
 revered, wherever known. t 
 
 With its division into the three judicial districts of 
 Marlborough, Chesterfield, and Darlington, the name of the 
 Old Cheraw District was to pass away, and the stirring in- 
 cidents and exciting scenes connected with its earlier history 
 to be forgotten. J Long Bluff continued to be the seat of the 
 
 * The text of this discourse was from 2 Timothy, ix. 7, 8, showing that this 
 venerahle divine entertained no doubt as to the fact, which some of late years 
 have made a question, whether Wasliington was a Christian. 
 
 ■f The following obituary, which appeared at the time, paying a just and 
 truthful tribute to the memory of Mr. Pugh, will fitly give the closing chapter 
 of his history : — 
 
 " George-town, Wednesday, Jany. 19, 1803. 
 
 " Died, on the 26th December last, at his plantation on Pedee River, Dar- 
 lington District, in the 7lst year of his age, the Rev. Evan Pugh, A.M., pastor 
 of the Baptist Church at Mount Pleasant. This venerable divine was a native 
 of Pennsylvania, and educated in the principles of the Quakers ; but when he 
 arrived at the years of manhood, and experienced what he believed to be a 
 renovation of heart, by divine grace, he became a member of the Baptist Church. 
 Soon after this, on his coming to this State, he engaged in a course of private 
 studies for several years ; and having acquired a good acquaintance with the 
 dead languages, and the most useful arts and sciences, but especially with 
 theology, he entered on his ministerial labors in the year 1763, so that he had 
 been nearly forty years in the public character of a gospel minister, and the whole 
 of the time resident in this State. He was a man of sound judgment, of plain, 
 unaffected manner, and of a cheerful, entertaining conversation. His character 
 was imimpeached and amiable, his benevolence extensive, and his piety fervent. 
 
 " He uas an affectionate relative, a good citizen, and an evangelic, excellent 
 divine. ' Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright ; for the end of that 
 man is peace.' " 
 
 ;J; It is almost incredible how entirely the knowledge of the leading events in 
 the earlier history of the Pedee country, especially those inimediately preceding 
 the Revolution, and of the judicial history of Clieraw District, had passed away. 
 They are believed to have been entirely unknown to the older and more intelli- 
 gent citizens. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 467 
 
 Court of Equity " for the Cheraw Equity Circuit/' until the 
 year 1824^ when the Court was ordered to be holden at 
 Darlington Court House. 
 
 A few years after the breaking up of the Cheraw District, 
 its most distinguished advocate, William Falconer, was to 
 pass away also. Mr. Falconer had acquired a large and 
 lucrative practice. He was the terror, however, of the 
 younger members of the Bar, as well as a formidable adver- 
 sary of the more able and experienced. Astute and learned, 
 unsparing and sarcastic, he was well qualified to take ad- 
 vantage, as a special pleader, of every defect or informality, 
 and to make the most of the weak points in his opponent's 
 case."^ 
 
 The advantages taken in this way, especially of the younger 
 lawyers, led to a general combination against their common 
 enemy, to which he was at length forced to succumb, so far, 
 at least, as to change his practice essentially in the par- 
 ticulars mentioned. The justice of the charge, so often 
 made of latter days, against the system of special plead- 
 ing, as contracted and dishonorable, may well be ques- 
 tioned. 
 
 A strict adherence generally to this system, would doubt- 
 less have led to a more thorough training for the Bar, a 
 clearer conception of cases, and with the narrowing of the 
 issue by such a process, to a sharpening of the intellect, and 
 a corresponding development of the logical j)owers, as 
 well as a great saving of time and expense, by the exclu- 
 sion of irrelevant evidence in the administration of justice. 
 The social life of the Bar seems to have had no charms for 
 Mr. Falconer. His friends and intimate companions were 
 confined chiefly to the clients whom he faithfully served. 
 
 * Mr. Falconer is said, by those of late years who remembered him, to have 
 been overbearing, as well as morose. He could not brook opposition. Some- 
 times he had to give way, when prudence dictated it. An anecdote is related 
 illustrative of this. On one occasion, on his way to Camden, he met on the 
 highway an up-country waggoner, of unpretending appearance, and a poor turn- 
 out withal. The road was narrow, and the dignified attorney pursuing his 
 course in his sulkey, was not disposed to give way. They met, :ind not a word 
 passed. Mr. Falconer then ordered his servant to hand him his holsters, 
 whereupon the waggoner, quietly reaching back, brought forth his rifle ; and 
 Mr. F., not willing to give battle, turned out of the road, and allowed the 
 stranger to pass ou. 
 
 H II 2 
 
468 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 
 
 To an incident which occurred in his private history, soon 
 after his settlement at Long Bhiff, the moroseness of his dis- 
 position afterwards has been in part attributed. The respect 
 and confidence of the public, however, he never lost, and his 
 talents and acquirements were brought into constant requi- 
 sition in the service of society and the State, until the close 
 of his career. The chairman for years of the Examining 
 Committee of St. David^s Society, he was the terror of the 
 young, and not less held in awe by the teachers of his day. 
 Such was the appreciation of his attainments, that he was 
 elected a member of the first Board of Trustees of the South 
 Carolina College in 1801. Of his leading position in the 
 Legislature, and the part he took in effecting a change in 
 the system of judicature of the State, mention has been 
 made. The following letter, written on his return from the 
 Legislature in 1800, will give some idea of his style and 
 business habits, as well as furnish an interesting relic of that 
 
 period. 
 
 "Montrose, 25tli December, 1800. 
 
 ■■:.. "Dear Sir, — Upon my arrival at home, I hasten to give 
 you such information, concerning our public affairs, as I 
 think may contribute either to your information or amuse- 
 ment. For this purpose, I submit the inclosed papers and 
 remarks. The democratic ferment, concerning which I shall 
 have the pleasure of remarking personally to you, having, in 
 some degree, after the elections, subsided, a strict and 
 laborious investigation of the state of our finances occupied 
 the attention of the Committee of Ways and Means. We 
 scrutinized the report of the Comptroller General (marked 
 No. 1), and the reports contained therein of both the 
 Treasurers of the State. We personally examined those 
 officers, fully and minutely ; and observed on the subject 
 matter, and on their conduct, respectively, in our report of 
 Ways and Means (marked No. 2). 
 
 " Appropriate clauses for carrying into effect the spirit and 
 intention of the said report of ways and means, have been 
 inserted in the Act for raising supplies for the year 1800. 
 The reason of my mentioning the contingent fund is to 
 meet a variety of unforscen, small demands, continually 
 incident to the executive department, which might be more 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 469 
 
 easily and advantageously discharged with ready cash than 
 by contracting, as heretofore, on credit ; and, that the appli- 
 cation of that fund might, in future, undergo legislative 
 examination. The inclosed papers exhibit a more correct 
 statement, and a more comprehensive view of our fiscal 
 arrangements than any heretofore which I have seen. And 
 I notice, not without pleasure and becoming pride, how far 
 the upper exceeds the lower division of the State in punc- 
 tuality in the collection and due arrangement of the taxes. 
 (See Nos. 3 and 4.) 
 
 " In the Lieutenant-Governor's message (No. 2) herewith 
 sent, you may perceive the correspondence which passed 
 between him and the Governor of North Carolina on the 
 subject of boundary. In consequence of the said message 
 our Legislature resolved. That our State now, as heretofore, 
 and particularly as expressed in a resolution on that sub- 
 ject, in the year ] 792, professing the utmost readiness to 
 appoint commissioners with full powers, to terminate, in a 
 speedy and friendly manner, all differences with her sister 
 State so soon as North Carolina shall appoint commissioners, 
 with similar powers, to meet the commissioners of our 
 State for that purpose ; will, and hereby does, the more to 
 manifest her said intention, authorize and direct the Gover- 
 nor of this State to invite the Government of North Caro- 
 lina, in the event of that Government still adhering to her 
 Bill of Rights, to meet our State in the Court of the 
 United States, where the claim of territory may be consti- 
 tutionally examined and adjusted : and to inform the 
 Government of North Carolina that this State has appointed 
 commissioners to take care of her interest, and to defend 
 her claims in the said court. But, as it appeared from the 
 documents which accompanied the said message, to be the 
 intention of North Carolina, to open only that part of the 
 line which is to the westward of the Catawba River j the 
 commissioners of our State are authorized to commence and 
 prosecute, in the said court, such process as may effect an 
 adjustment of the whole line. The above is, as nearly as 
 I can recollect, the substance of the adopted resolution. It 
 is generally believed that this State will, along that part of 
 the line which lies to the eastward of the said river, gain 
 
470 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 territory : for it is said that tlie commissioners wlio origi- 
 nally made the last-mentioned part of the line, among other 
 mistakes, were either ignorant of, or inattentive to, the 
 difference between a statntc and a geographical mile. 
 
 " The taxes this year are fifty cents per centum ad valorem 
 on land, and fifty cents per head on slaves. The debt, for 
 which one quarter dollar was separately imposed on slaves, 
 is fully provided for, and the act imposing it is, therefore, 
 repealed. The next payment of the paper medium is, again, 
 as usual, transferred. That money is now in such good 
 credit that a great part of the interest of last year was paid 
 in specie. This money ought never to be destroyed, for it 
 may produce a fund which may, after some time, be suffi- 
 cient to pay, without the aid of taxes, the whole expenses 
 of Government ! 
 
 " I applied so intensely to the business before the Legis- 
 lature, that, during its session, I could not find time to 
 detail the proceedings thereof. 
 
 " I am, with great regards, 
 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " Wm. Falconer. 
 
 " Alexander Craig, Esquire." 
 
 The " democratic ferment," to which allusion is made in 
 this letter as " having subsided, in some degree, after the 
 elections," was a subject touching Mr. Falconer sorely. 
 Decided in their maintenance, and active in the propagation 
 of his political sentiments, it was his lot, with many others, 
 to fall with the Federal party in South Carolina in the 
 final contest of that period. 
 
 An eminent measure of success continued to reward his 
 efforts at the Bar. But, after his political disappointment, 
 his habits became dissipated. In May, 1805, he drove from 
 his residence in Chesterfield to Camden, a distance of more 
 than fifty miles, as counsel in the case of Henry Bochelle, 
 indicted for murder, and returned home the same night. 
 This extraordinary effort brought on a fever, from which 
 he died.^ 
 
 * This day's work not only ended in Mr. Falconer's death, hut killed the 
 niare he drove, which was ii remarkable animal. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 471 
 
 " Thus perished/' as Judge O'Neall justly remarks in 
 his interesting sketch,"^ " one of the early luminaries of the 
 law /■" and, as may with equal truth be added, the most 
 distinguished advocate and public man, Samuel Wilds,t per- 
 haps, excepted, who had yet appeared upon the Pedee ! 
 
 * O'Neall's " Bench and Bar of South Carolina," vol. ii. p. 344. 
 "I" Samuel Wilds was now much younger, and could hardly, therefore, be 
 compared as a public man with Mr, Falconer. 
 
472 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Closing chapters — Pupils of St. David's afterwards distinguished — Ezra Pugh — 
 His brilliant prospects and premature end — Charles Motte Lide — His early- 
 life — Preparation for the Bar — Application for admission — Obstacle in the 
 way — Speech on the occasion — Subsequent success — Removal to Georgia as 
 a planter — His account of the undertaking, and locality there — Farewell — 
 Return to Carolina — Memorable suit growing out of his father's will — Ex- 
 tracts from speeches during progress of the case — Memorial to the Legisla- 
 ture for relief — Appearance before a joint committee — Efliects of his speech 
 — Disappointment and death — His habits and tastes, and opinions respecting 
 him. 
 
 With the close of the century the concluding chapters of 
 this history must begin. Already much protracted beyond 
 the design with which the work was originally undertaken, 
 it cannot be pursued further (even did the continuous 
 course of events on the Pedee abound in matter of sufficient 
 interest to the present generation to invite to the task), than 
 the presenting sketches of a few of those who, having been 
 pupils in the Academy of St. David's prior to the year 1800, 
 gave promise of a brilliant future, but passed away before 
 most of those now living appeared upon the stage. 
 
 Of others who subsequently emerged from the walls of 
 that early school of learning, and rose to high distinction, 
 filling a large place during the greater part of the first half 
 of the present century in the history of the State, it will be 
 unnecessary to speak. Their names, for there were not a 
 few of these identified with the Pedee, can never be forgot- 
 ten. With their marked traits of character, the results of 
 their labors, and the leading incidents of their lives at the 
 Bar, on the Bench, in Legislative Councils, in professional 
 pursuits, and in other branches of the public service, we are 
 yet familiar. While of others, who preceded them in the 
 paths of usefulness or the race for fame, but little is now 
 generally known. The first of these, in the order of time, 
 was Ezra Pugh. He was the second son of the Rev. Evan 
 Pugh, and born on Pedee in the year 1771. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 473 
 
 As a youth, he was not more remarkable for amiability 
 and excellence of character, than for those intellectual en- 
 dowments which inspired the hope of a high degree of 
 usefulness and success in life. One of his early companions 
 in the school of St. David's, who was afterwards distin- 
 guished for solidity of understanding, was often heard to 
 say, that when students together, while he was applying 
 himself closely, young Pugh, either unengaged or reading 
 some other work, would, at the last moment, take up the* 
 text-book, glance over the subject matter of the lesson, 
 and grasp it as if by intuition ; and that with slight effort, 
 he would readily solve the most difficult mathematical 
 problems. 
 
 Dr. Park, who was his early instructor, and afterwards 
 associated during their college career with many of the 
 most distinguished men of the State^ frequently remarked 
 of Mr. Pugh, that he was, intellectually, the most remark- 
 able young man he had ever known. After liis graduation, 
 he appears to have devoted himself for some time to literary 
 pursuits, preparatory to a profession, then studied law, was 
 admitted to the Bar, and settled at George-town. The 
 fond hopes of his friends, however, and the well-founded 
 anticipations of the public, were blasted by his premature 
 death, on the 29th of January, 1802, in the 31st year of 
 his age. 
 
 In a notice published at the time of this sad event, it 
 was said : " a love of literature induced him, while young, 
 to turn his attention to the study of a profession. This he 
 accomplished with but very little pecuniary aid ; and by un- 
 wearied diligence, he acquired a fund of useful informa- 
 tion, which would have done honor to better circumstances. 
 
 " A benevolent disposition, added to a strong memory and 
 sound judgment, qualities rarely united in the same person, 
 caused him to be esteemed by all who knew him, and be- 
 loved by his more particular acquaintance.'^ 
 
 Another, to whom tradition has assigned the highest 
 place as a genius, though in its erratic form, was Charles 
 Motte Lide, the third son of Col. Thomas Lide. 
 
 He was born in what is now Marlborough District, during 
 the times which preceded the Revolution, and seems to 
 
474 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 have exhibited in liis character and subsequent career the 
 impress of that unsettled period. After an academical 
 course in St. David's, he determined to apply himself to 
 the study of the law, and remained in the office of Judge 
 Brevard of Camden eighteen months. Intense application, 
 with sedentary habits, led to a serious decline of health, 
 which made it necessary for him to suspend his studies for 
 three years. With returning strength, he went to Litch- 
 field, Connecticut, and attended a full course of law lectures 
 under the celebrated Judge Reeve. Returning to Sontli 
 Carolina, he entered and remained nine months in the office 
 of Thomas Parker, Esq., one of the leading lawyers of 
 Charleston, with the intention of applying, at the end of 
 that time, for admission to the Bar. But, an unexpected 
 obstacle to the immediate accomplishment of his long 
 cherished Avishes, was here interposed. For, after the com- 
 mencement of his legal studies (in the year 1796), an Act 
 was passed by the Legislature, requiring of every citizen of 
 the State, who had not graduated in some college or uni- 
 versity of the State or of the United States, or in some 
 foreign university, to have served ^ regular clerkship, and 
 read law in the office of a regular practising attorney of 
 this State four years, as an indispensable preliminary to ad- 
 mission to the Bar. With this exacting requisition, young 
 Lide could not comply, without a more protracted pre- 
 liminary confinement in some law office than he was now 
 willing to undergo. For, deducting the time of his sick- 
 ness, he had studied but three years and a half, of which 
 one was spent out of the State. In this dilemma, he 
 claimed admission as a matter of right, under the Act of 
 1785, during the operation of which he had entered the 
 office of Judge Brevard, and which prescribed no time. In 
 deference to this claim, it was proposed by John B. Holmes, 
 Esq., one of the gentlemen appointed on the examining 
 committee, that Mr. Lide should argue the point before the 
 Court. The suggestion of a proceeding so novel, doubtless 
 originated, in part, in the desire to hear this gifted aspirant 
 for legal honors, whose peculiar powers were already known. 
 He cheerfully acceded ; and in the course of a week pre- 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 475 
 
 pared an elaborate speech^* which was delivered before the 
 Court, composed of Judges Waties, Bay, Johnson, and 
 Trezevant. 
 
 The exordium and other portions of this speech, delivered 
 under such extraordinary circumstances, as to clothe it with 
 peculiar interest, were as follows : — 
 
 " May it please the Court : — Plutarch informs us, that 
 the first appearance of Demosthenes at the bar, was in his 
 own cause. In this respect, may not I, without vanity, 
 note the similarity of fortune. ' Kindred objects kindred 
 thoughts inspire.' The same may be said of kindred situations. 
 Oh, that I could feel the sympathy of situation so strongly, 
 as to catch but a faint spark of that sublime fire which in- 
 flamed the breast of this illustrious prince of eloquence, 
 and gave to his tongue that vehemence of speech, which 
 seldom fails to impart the persuasion of the soiil. 
 
 " After serving a faithful apprenticeship to the common 
 law, after persevering in my legal pursuits through diffi- 
 culties and trials the most severe and afflictive — through 
 poverty, through sickness, and almost through death — and 
 having at length arrived at the gates of the court — at 
 length presented myself at the portals of the law — does the 
 iron finger of technical construction point my inadmissi- 
 bility? Am I told of an intervening statute, which operates 
 as a complete foreclosure on all the equities of my situation 
 — confines me to a state of sub-infeudation, without hope of 
 ever aspiring to the dignity of a tenant in capite — that this 
 imaginary stumbling block which lies in limine, at the thres- 
 hold of the Court, must be removed, before I am permitted 
 to take a seat with the venerable fathers and worthy sons of 
 the Common Law — that this supposed Chinese wall must 
 be scaled on the ladders of reason, argument, and law, 
 before I can be entitled to a passport to the temple of legal 
 science ? This is literally and empliatically my situation ; 
 and it is for this purpose, to remove this stumbling block. 
 
 * For the manuscript papers of Mr. Lide, embracing liis speeches, with much 
 other matter of interest, all prepared with much care, and as would appear, 
 originally designed for publication in boolv form, the author is indebted to the 
 kindness of a relative, a Mr. Lide, of Alabama. 
 
476 HISTORY OF TIIK OLD CIIERAWS. 
 
 to scale this ideal wall, that I now appear, for the frst time, 
 before the awful brow of a Court of Justice. I crave an 
 indulgent hearing. I crave a respect for my feelings on 
 this delicate and interesting occasion ; those feelings of imj 
 nature wliich constitute the acme of my happiness or 
 misery. 
 
 " Previous to the Act of 1785, the admission of attorneys 
 to the Bar depended on a rule of court. By that Act, 
 examination is the only preliminary to the admission of 
 natives. Under that statute I claim admission, and con- 
 tend, that as I commenced my legal studies while it was 
 in full operation and vigor, a right, a perfect right of ad- 
 mission attached instanter, indefeasible by any subsequent 
 Act of the Legislatui'c, This point, I hope to render 
 luminous to the court, by the clearest rays of legal de- 
 monstration. And though it is a question of immediate 
 personal concern, I trust I shall be able to forget my own 
 interest in it, and moving out of myself, found my argu- 
 ments on the true explanation and sound exposition of the 
 doctrine of ex post facto, and tlie principles of analogy, 
 adopted by the English courts of justice, and recognised by 
 our own in a great variety of cases. The definition which 
 Judge Blackstone gives of an ex post facto law, relates only 
 to crimes, notwithstanding the term itself is general and 
 comprehensive, and ex vi termini embraces all acts as well civil 
 as criminal. Making of law ex post facto, he tells us is — 
 ' when after an action (indifferent in itself) is committed, 
 the Legislature then for the first time declares it to have 
 been a crime, and inflicts a punishment upon the person 
 who has committed it.^ But, immediately after remarking 
 on the cruelty and injustice of such laws, more cruel and 
 unjust thau even the laws of Caligula, he forgets the par- 
 ticularity of his definition and draws his inference generally 
 in the following words: 'all laws,^ mark the change of his 
 language, ' all laws should be therefore made to commence 
 in future and be notiKed before their commencement ; which 
 is implied in the term prescribed.' It would be no ditfieult 
 task, were it necessary, to point out other instances in 
 Avhich even Judge Blackstone himself, this most learned 
 and eloquent expounder of the law, has fallen into cou- 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 477 
 
 tradictions. Let me, therefore, a stripling, a little David, 
 when compared to this Goliath of the law, be ou my guard. 
 This will also serve to show, that I am not deterred by- 
 high-sounding names, from a thorougli investigation of legal 
 principles. But to return, I lay it down in as general 
 terms as any rule can be laid down, that all laws, whatever 
 may be the subject matter of them, should have a prospec- 
 tive, and not a retrospective operation. It is easy to show,- 
 that in those few instances in wliich there have been de- 
 viations from this sacred principle of all legitimate legisla- 
 tion, they have been bottomed, either upon principles of 
 policy, or upon the broader and more benevolent principles 
 of humanity. They have been temporary and partial sacri- 
 fices of principle to principle. Shall I say that I have in 
 my eye, the two principal cases of limitation and bankruptcy? 
 Abstractly and independently considered, these laws and 
 others of a similar nature are a direct violation of the prin- 
 ciples of natural justice ; but in their general tendency, 
 are salutary, equitable, and beneficial. The first is founded 
 on the maxim, interest respublica ut finis sit litrum. The 
 last is a noble sacrifice of justice at the shrine of humanity ; 
 or to speak with more propriety, justice is of a composite 
 nature, and includes necessarily iu itself the principles of 
 humanity. They are a sine qua nou to each other, con- 
 stituent parts of the same unity. In Great Britain, if no 
 period is fixed for the commencement of a statute's opera- 
 tion, it is of course considered binding from the first day of 
 that session in wdiich it was enacted.'^ 
 
 After arguing the point, he proceeds : — " I repeat it again 
 and again : there is but one tense in legal philology, and 
 that is the future ; there is but one vision, and that is pros- 
 pective. The eye of the law, like that of the eagle, should 
 be fixed on the sun, not on the earth — should look straight 
 forward, taking no note of anything behind. If laws are 
 allowed to have a Janus form — to have a double aspect, 
 looking before and after, we may bid a final and mournful 
 adieu to life, liberty, property, justice, and all those rights 
 which mankind have hitherto ludd in the high(!st veneration, 
 and pui'chascd at an inealcnlal)le expense of blood and trea- 
 sure Was it possible for my dim eyes to penetrate 
 
478 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 the sliades of time and discover that Act, rising on the sur- 
 face of futurity ? Is not prescience an acknowledged and 
 essential attribute of the Deity — of that awful Being, with 
 whom time and eternity are the same, and all knowledge 
 merely intuitive ? Present circumstances are the only data 
 of civil, as well as moral action. We must, from the very 
 constitution of our frame, predicate all our hopes and all 
 our plans, of whatever nature, upon what is, and not ujaon 
 what is to be. This is the only firm basis of action, and 
 those who do not build upon this rock will find themselves 
 and all their works, sooner or later, involved in one large, 
 promiscuous ruin. 
 
 " ' Oh blindness to the future ! kindly given. 
 
 That each may till the circle marked by heaven.' 
 
 . . . . " If they can divest the student of a right of ad- 
 mission at one time, they can surely do it at another ; if at 
 one stage of his legal progress, at any and always. Where, 
 then, is his security, — where his guarantee, — where the 
 rock of his legal salvation ? 
 
 '^ At the very instant he fancies himself standing on terra 
 firma, — behold ! the ground, by the magic touch of a legis- 
 lative wand, in the twinkling of an eye, converted into a 
 Serbonian bog, in which he is awfully sunk, swallowed up 
 and lost for ever, — 
 
 " ' And in the lowest depth, 
 
 A lower deep still opens to devour him.' " 
 
 Having argued the legal point at length, he concludes : — 
 " Standing, as I conceive I do, upon an unshaken basis, 
 and girt with the double belt of principle and precedent, I 
 might now enjoy the calm serenity of a mind confident of 
 success, w^ere I not too sensible that all human confidence 
 is vain. Let me therefore earnestly and pathetically entreat 
 the Court, to give this question the most mature considera- 
 tion before they make a decision, Avhich^ if in the negative, 
 involves consequences to me of the most serious import, 
 and will give an entirely new modification to my situation, 
 hopes, and future prospects." 
 
 This efibrt of Mr. Lide was unavailing. For, on the 
 day after the delivery of the speech, Judge Waties, calling 
 
HISTORY or THE OLD CHE RAWS. 479 
 
 him up to the bench, politely complimented him, and pri- 
 vately delivering the opinion of the court, expressed regret 
 that they could not comply with the prayer of his petition. 
 He observed, that some of the judges refused to pay any 
 attention to the Act of 1796, — Judge Burke, in particular, 
 having publicly declared, that he would not be bound by 
 that Act. Accordingly, after the passing of that statute, 
 admissions had been made to the Bar of students who could 
 not comply with its requisitions ; several having been ad- 
 mitted but a short time previous to the application of Mr. 
 Lide. Judge Waties declared, that, as to himself, he revolted 
 at the idea of disregarding a solemn act of the Legislature. 
 Mr. Lide then entreated the judge to bend the law so as 
 to accommodate it to the peculiar circumstances of his case, 
 urging that the long suspension of his legal studies by sick- 
 ness, was the only thing which brought him under its 
 operation ; that this was the visitation of Providence, and 
 the maxim would appl^^. Actus Dei nemini facit injuriam. 
 
 " ^\y," said Judge Waties, in reply, with some degree 
 of resentment, " we do not grant favors.^^ " Sir,"^ replied 
 Mr. Lide, " I am better acquainted with the office and duty 
 of a judge, than to ask them. All I request, is, that the 
 Court Avill bend, not break the law : the expression is legal 
 and proper, and frequently used by the judges of Eng- 
 land.^^ 
 
 " At this stage of the conversation,^' continues Mr. Lide 
 in his narrative, " Judge Bay, with that natural goodness 
 and politeness which sometimes outstrip his understanding, 
 expressed to me his regret that I had not made my appli- 
 cation for admission sooner. Upon which, I observed that 
 the law and the circumstances were the same ; that I knew 
 there was a tide in human affairs, but had no conception 
 that it extended to and influenced courts of justice. This 
 was decisive, and admitted of no reply. ^' Perceiving the 
 inflexible determination of the Court, Mr. Lide retired, both 
 mortified and disappointed ; but feeling, as he said, that it 
 was one of the proudest days of his life. He was not only 
 complimented by the Judge, but immediately after the 
 delivery of the speech, John Julius Pringle, one of the most 
 distinguished advocates of Charleston, who was present 
 
480 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 and attentive throughout, approached the youthful pleader, 
 and entering into conversation, very familiarly and oblig- 
 ingly asked him several questions respecting his future 
 intentions and prospects, adding, that in consequence of 
 some expressions used in the exordium of the speech, the 
 gentlemen of the Bar stood ready to furnish him with any 
 pecuniary means which might be needed to prosecute his 
 legal studies, and had requested him (Mr. Pringle) to com- 
 municate their disposition in this respect, but that he had 
 informed them there was no occasion for it, as Mr. Lide^s 
 means were fully sufficient. After quitting the office of 
 Mr. Parker in the spring of 1800, j\Ir. Lide went to 
 Columbia as a student, and soon after, on his own affidavit, 
 covering the deficiency as to time, was admitted to the Bar 
 during the same year. He had intended settling in Colum- 
 bia as a lawyer, but during the delay caused by the unex- 
 pected obstacle thrown in his way, another gentleman came 
 in and established himself there in full practice, marring 
 the prospect, as Mr. Lide feared, for his own early success. 
 He, therefore, unfortunately determined, after remaining at 
 the Bar twelve months, to relinquish the pursuit, and estab- 
 lished himself as a planter on Crooked Kiver, Camden 
 County, Georgia. This, as he says, " was an enterprise of 
 the most arduous, romantic, and alpine nature. But in- 
 dustry and perseverance conquered every difficulty. I 
 called the tract of land which I purchased of Mr. James 
 Seagrove, ' the Asylum.^ Shortly after my arrival there, 
 in a letter to a friend, I thus correctly depicted the exist- 
 ing scenery: ' On my first debarkation at this place I 
 found it completely under the dominion of nature. The 
 hand of culture had not presumed to intrench on her rights, 
 nor the axe to violate the long and sacred silence of the 
 forest. Here the owl has long maintained his ancient and 
 solitary reign, and from his nightly court still issues dread- 
 ful proclamations to warn me against encroachments on his 
 territory. I pitched my tent of moss under a large white 
 oak, which afforded me a kind and protective shelter till a few 
 days ago, when I decamped under my present habitation. 
 In gratitude I have suffered him to retain his ancient and 
 venerable seat, though his neighbours have long since fallen 
 
HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 481 
 
 around him. When he does fallj he shall fall with all the 
 leafy honors of the forest at his side/' 
 
 " After transforming a wild wood into a cultivated field, 
 in the fall of 1803/^ he afterwards wrote, having remained 
 there only eighteen months, " I disposed of land, negroes, 
 and crops to Messrs. Wood and Drysdale, two gentlemen 
 from the Bahama Islands. When the sale was completed 
 my spirits underwent a remarkable and visible depression ; 
 and in this melancholy mood I composed the following 
 valedictory, which breathes something of the tenderness of 
 Ossian. 
 
 " Farewell, sweet Asylum, which received me into your 
 friendly bosom at a time when anxiety and despondency 
 corroded my health, and jjoverty grinned upon my heels. 
 Farewell, ye lovely flowers, ye golden blossoms,"^ which daily 
 expand your little bosoms to kiss the mid-day sunbeam. 
 Farewell, thou surrounding forest, that hast so long darkened 
 my solitude, and cast a browner horror on my cares. How 
 often have you listened with anxious dread to the cry of my 
 axes and the crash of your cotemporary trees ! You, too, 
 must soon yield to the persevering vigor of the axe. You, 
 too, must soon lay your tall heads low and moulder into 
 dust ! And thou, majestic and venerable White Oak, under 
 whose protective wing, on the broad platform of nature, I 
 have so often reposed, adieu ! 
 
 " It is true that I have stript you partially of your 
 leafy honors jf but it was done from a benevolent motive, 
 to extend your branches, and to clad you with more luxu- 
 riant foliage. Farewell, thou meandering stream, on whose 
 silent, sacred banks I have so long lived. How often have 
 I floated on the full swell of your rapid, boiling tide \ 
 Once did I sleep upon your bosom. No longer will you 
 contribute to my health, convenience, or repose. No longer 
 will you pass in sympathetic silence the door of my moss- 
 stuffed hut. And thou, good genius of the hommock who, 
 after witnessing all my cares, and all my toils, hast at 
 length smiled upon my labors and crowned them with suc- 
 cess, farewell, a long farewell ! 
 
 * " Cotton blossoms." •{■ " I had it topped.'* 
 
 I I 
 
482 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 " Think not tliat I am ungrateful for your favors. No, 
 far be it from me. Necessity alone has compelled me to 
 renounce my allegiance to you, to withdraw from your soli- 
 tary domain, and to relinquish the cultivation of your 
 favorite plant. Be still propitious. Let your smiles 
 accompany me while I go to revisit friends who have long 
 known and loved me, and scenes which have been familiar 
 to my earliest youth V 
 
 The profession of the law not appearing to Mr. Lide, as 
 he says, " to promise a remuneration by any means ade- 
 quate to the great sacrifices of time, of property, and above 
 all, of health, that he had made in order to qualify himself 
 for it,^^ he resolved to abandon it. " At that time," he 
 remarks, " the long staple or black-seed cotton was held in 
 high estimation, and generally regarded as the shortest and 
 surest road to wealth. The South of Georgia was consi- 
 dered by Col. Hampton and myself the finest theatre of 
 success." Col. Hampton furnished him with letters, advice, 
 &c. Accordingly, in the early part of the following year, 
 1802, he went to Virginia to purchase negroes, and soon 
 after removed to Georgia. But having invested a part of 
 his funds in another undertaking, it led to financial embar- 
 rassment, and the breaking up of the cotton enterprise just 
 as it had progressed to a point to become remunerative. 
 
 In the fall of 1803 he returned to Carolina, and resumed 
 the practice of the law, but irregularly and without that 
 spirit and determination which alone could ensure success. 
 The memorable and protracted suit, growing out of the will 
 of his father. Col. Thomas Lide, from its beginning in 1806, 
 appears to have absorbed all his energies and called forth all 
 his powers. 
 
 Col. Lide had contracted a third marriage with Mrs. 
 Mehitabel Irby. By a will, executed during his last illness, 
 provision was made for an annuity to his widow. It was 
 alleged that this was done on the ground there would be a 
 posthumous heir, which proved not to be the case ; and 
 that false representations had been made, and undue in- 
 fluence brought to bear upon the testator when in a very 
 weak state of mind, to that end. The representatives of 
 Mrs. Lide afterward claimed the annuity, with interest, for 
 
HISTOEY 0¥ THE OLD CHKRAWS. 483 
 
 a term of years. The claim was resisted by the heirs of 
 Col. Lide, chiefly on the grounds mentioned^ and hence the 
 suit. Charles Motte Lide was^ therefore^ personally and 
 deeply interested in the result. During the progress of the 
 case he delivered the most elaborate speeches, fidl of legal 
 learning and abounding in classical lore, rising at times to 
 a degree of pathos, which, with his peculiar manner and 
 brilliant powers, made a deep and lasting impression on 
 those who heard him. The extracts already given from 
 his pen, with those of the speeches which are to follow, will 
 convey some idea, though of course imperfectly, of what he 
 was at the Bar. Contemporaneous testimony, as well as 
 tradition, assign him a very high place in point of oratorical 
 power, not only before the juries of the country, but the 
 more enlightened audiences of the day. As often the case 
 with those who have been highly gifted, the most brilliant 
 flashes of his wit and eloquence were doubtless called forth 
 under the stimulus of the occasion, and hence not pre- 
 served. 
 
 In June term, 1814, he pronounced before Judge Thomp- 
 son, and a deeply interested and profoundly attentive 
 audience, a speech, of which the following Was the exor- 
 dium : — 
 
 " May it please your Honor : after revolving like a planet, 
 and like this case, through all the signs of the zodiac, after 
 experiencing all the changes of changeful fortune, after 
 passing through a vast variety of untried being and of woe, 
 I am at length, through the capricious revolution of time 
 and of accident, reluctantly driven back to the ' dull debate, 
 the noisy bar,^ and placed in this forum in order to raise 
 my hand and voice in a cause, in which I would cheerfully 
 expend the last cent of my property, and heartily shed the 
 last drop of my blood. 
 
 " Fortunate, indeed, is the coincidence, and singularly 
 happy is the man, though the necessity in this particular 
 case is ever and deeply to be regretted, in whose favor duty 
 and inclination are thus made, providentially, "to unite and 
 co-operate. In this arrangement and concurrence I see 
 distinctly the hand of Providence. Cui bono, for what good 
 end, or for what wise purpose, have I been protected and 
 
 I I 2 
 
484 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 preserved through unparalleled difficulties^ through unprece- 
 dented afflictions^, misfortunes and trials but for this high 
 argument,, this unattempted theme. Kely upon it, 
 
 " ' Tliere is a Providence that shapes our ends. 
 Rough hew them as we will.' 
 
 " To correct injustice is at all times and on all occasions 
 to discharge a pleasing, a beneficent^ and even a god-like 
 office. In this instance it is also to perform a moral and a 
 political duty. It is a duty I owe to myself, it is a duty I 
 owe to the other devisees and co-defendants^ it is a duty I 
 owe to my country. But a stronger, a higher, a more 
 sacred motive animates me. Filial piety demands it of me. 
 Methinks I see the shade of my father looking down with 
 indignation on the ungrateful ruin and unmerited devasta- 
 tion of his family, frowning upon me for imavoidable inat- 
 tention and delay, impatiently beckoning, and imperatively 
 demanding of me to make this exertion, in order, to use the 
 forcible language of Judge Buller, to ' blot out the blot' 
 which has been so unworthily affixed by the decree now to 
 be reviewed, to his memory and understanding ; and as far 
 as possible to mitigate and to correct the calamitous effects 
 which it has so unjustly wrought and accomplished. '^ 
 
 " On this solemn occasion," he subsequently exclaimed, 
 " I act a far more interesting and important, though less 
 conspicuous part, than the eloquent Symmachus when he 
 pled before the throne of the Emperor Valentinian for the 
 Gods of Rome. He advocated the cause and reign of poly- 
 theism ; / advocate the cause and dominion of justice and 
 of law. He prayed and entreated for the restoration of the 
 altar of victory ; / supplicate for the restoration, or rather, 
 recognition of the remedies by rehearing or bill of review. 
 He plead for the continuance and preservation of an idle 
 superstition, already undermined by the then new-light of 
 Christianity; I plead for the conservation and perpetuation 
 of our whole system of eqiiity. It is not, then, my cause 
 alone which I this day plead ; it is the cause of my family, 
 it is the cause of justice, it is the cause of the constitution 
 and laws, it is the cause of the entire mass of the commu- 
 nity. ' Whatever, therefore/ in the words of a memorable 
 and distinguished orator, ' can best encourage and animate 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CllERAWS. 485 
 
 to diligence and to energy ; whatever is most powerful and 
 influencing upon a mind not callous to every sentiment of 
 gratitude and honor, demand at this moment the exercise 
 of every function and faculty that I am master of.^ '^ 
 
 The counsel for the defendants having given up all 
 hope of success in consequence of an adverse decision 
 previously made, and virtually abandoned the cause, he 
 proceeds to comment upon their course : " under this 
 chilling impression, after the second verdict in the Court 
 of Common Pleas, and the consequent decree in Equity, 
 both of which were adverse, their counsel imprudently 
 and suicidally abandoned the cause in despair. Never, 
 surely, was there less room for the indulgence of this 
 last freezing sentiment of the human heart. On the con- 
 trary, their motto or principle of inspiration should have 
 been that which encircles the arms of the State, Dum spiro 
 spero. Most unfortunately, however, the breasts of the 
 defendants' counsel did not glow with this noble, manly, 
 soul-inspiring, magulinimous, and Spartan-like sentiment. 
 Just in this awkward, timorous, and short-hand way, was 
 the best and most hopeful cause in the world cruelly, un- 
 naturally, completely, and prematurely butchered and sacri- 
 ficed by those who were entrusted with its defence, and who 
 should have cherished and sustained its precious being to 
 the last period of its legal existence. To the bright morn- 
 ing of its commencement, there unexpectedly succeeded a 
 long and dreary night of terrible gloom, of clouds and 
 thick darkness. 
 
 " Had the counsel for the defendants, instead of being 
 struck with dismay, have again carried the case up, in their 
 turn, to the Constitutional Court, as in this mode of pro- 
 cedure they ought to have done, the good nature, if not 
 the good sense of the Court, there being verdict against 
 verdict, and the scales of justice, abstractedly considered, 
 hanging in equipoise, would, upon mere motion and as a 
 matter entirely of course, have granted a second new trial. 
 In fact, it is reasonable to suppose, that they would have 
 exulted in the opportunity of reviewing their former decision. 
 
 " But, instead of this having been done, the cause was, as 
 just stated^ horribly smothered and strangled to death in its 
 
486 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 cradle. During the whole of these latter proceedings I was 
 at a distance from the scene of decision, and in absolute 
 ignorance of them. For, after the first verdict, I had sup- 
 posed on good authority that the cause was at an end. 
 Nor was I awakened from this state of tranquil ignorance 
 and agreeable delusion until the execution against myself 
 arrived at Laurensville, near to which place I at that time 
 resided, and announced to me the mournful result of the 
 contest. I immediately determined on resistance ; but 
 owing to pecuniary embarrassments, was compelled to post- 
 pone it to a more convenient time. In confirmation of this 
 assertion I shall make an extract from a letter, a copy of 
 which I preserved, addressed, very shortly after the arrival 
 of the execution, to Duncan M'Rae, Esq., the administrator, 
 cum testamento annexo, of the estate of the devisor, in which 
 I distinctly and strongly announced this resolution and in- 
 tention. It is in these words : ' This business,'' alluding 
 to this suit, ' shall not stop here ; these waters must be 
 troubled ; and, if necessary, it shall be4he occupation of the 
 remaining part of my life, to keep them in constant and 
 boiling agitation.^ . . . Having finished the woeful, 
 Romeo and Juliet tale of this short-lived and luckless case, 
 thus prematurely terminated, I will now attempt to give, what 
 should have been, according to my ideas, its actual history. 
 This will be best accomplished by a criticism on the pro- 
 ceedings both at law and in equity, which have just been 
 briefly narrated. 
 
 " Disdaining then all idle ceremony and the vain imperti- 
 nence of forms, let us utter our sentiments with freedom 
 but not without respect.''^ 
 
 He then proceeds to a most detailed, elaborate, and able 
 examination of the facts of the case from the beginning, 
 with the principles of law and equity involved, citing with 
 learned comments, a vast array of authorities, occasionally 
 digressing, as in the following instance. Referring to 
 Blackstone, he adds : — " Having frequently had occasion to 
 cite this great authority, I can no longer refrain from giving 
 expression to those strong and ardent feelings of gratitude, 
 which arc so justly and eminently due, not only from my- 
 self, but from the whole legal corps, to this illustrious 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 487 
 
 author, for the immeuse advantages derived, and to be de- 
 rived, ' to the last syllable of recorded time/ from his toil- 
 some labors and erudite lucubrations. As Mr. Cumberland 
 observes of Dr. Johnson, Etiam mutuas loquitur, I take no 
 notice of the labors or attempts of Sir Matthew Hale, 
 though they are not without their value or utility. The 
 incomparable Blackstone first educed order out of chaos, 
 and elevated the study of law to the rank and dignity of a 
 science. His successors, and they are many, and great, 
 and learned, are only treading in his footsteps. 
 
 " He first, a poor orphan boy — let not the great and 
 wealthy plume themselves too much; this orphan boy, I 
 say, first erected this vast, magnificent pile, and they, his 
 successors, are merely adding the superficial ornaments. 
 
 " ' With nice distinctions glossing o'er the text. 
 Obscure in meaning, and with words pcrplext; 
 With subtleties on subtleties refin'd, 
 Meant to divide and subdivide the mind ; 
 Keeping the frowardness of youth in awe. 
 The scowling Blackstone bears the train of law.' " 
 
 He finally concludes in these words : — 
 
 " ' There is,' says a feeling orator, ' a principle of re- 
 sistance in mankind, which will not brook ^ucli injuries, 
 and a good cause and a good heart, will animate men to 
 struggle in proportion to the size of their wrongs, and the 
 grossness of their oppressors. On this principle, like 
 Hamlet, I have pried with an eager, inquisitive, insati- 
 able, and unsatisfied curiosity, into the most obscure, hidden, 
 and minute circumstances of this cause 
 
 " On this principle, I have attempted faintly to imitate 
 the sublime conduct, the exalted and devotional patriotism 
 of Curtius, and have leaped into, in order to close for ever, 
 this dreadful, yawning gulf to the best hopes, interests, 
 and prospects of myself and family. On this principle, I 
 have struggled, and on this principle, will I continue to 
 struggle, till the last, expiring, convulsive gasp of this 
 singularly unfortunate cause. I will exhaust, before I have 
 done, all the resources of which I am possessed, of informa- 
 tion and learning, of genius and judgment, of invention and 
 argument. If possible, I will, as far as relates to this 
 cause^ exhaust even the legal and equitable codes. I will 
 
488 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 exert every nerve, strain every muscle^ rouse and display 
 every power and every principle of energy which exist in 
 me, whether corporeal or mental. 
 
 " In this case,, 1 am a torrent shooting down the sub- 
 lime slope of the Andes, a mighty river overwhelming its 
 grand and elevated banks, and pouring its accumulated 
 flood into the capacious and expansive bosom of the ocean. 
 To arrest such a torrent, to oppose such a river, would be 
 almost as idle and vain, as to stop the sun in mid-career, or 
 nature in her rapid and majestic course. To fall by such 
 proceedings and decisions as I have exhibited to your honor, 
 would indeed be to be ' brained by a lady's fan,^ and to 
 perish in the style of the mock-heroic. Such a contempti- 
 ble denouement of this drama, would completely take 
 away all dignity from distress, would be not less ridiculous 
 than calamitous. To avoid this fate, to prevent such a 
 ' heel and catastrophe' to this wretched cause, are the true 
 objects of that unwearied industry, of that patient toil, of 
 that midnight research, to which I have so long and 
 cheerfully submitted, in its investigation and development. 
 But, if after all shall have been said and done, I cannot 
 ultimately command, it must, at least, be universally ad- 
 mitted, that I shall have deserved the most rare, the most 
 signal, and the most glorious success." 
 
 This speech, of which only a few extracts have been given, 
 must have occupied the greater part of the day in its de- 
 livery. Major Blanding, afterwards so distinguished at the 
 Bar, was the opposing counsel. The decision of the Judge 
 was adverse, ordering and decreeing that the application for 
 a rehearing be rejected. In the delivery of the opinion, 
 however, the Judge admitted •' that a bill of review would 
 lie, provided a case was made out, competent to warrant and 
 sustain it.'^ This Mr. Lide considered a " great point 
 gained," in the final prosecution of the cause. " It gave 
 mc," as he said, "what Archimedes wanted for his instru- 
 ments, in order to move the earth — a place on which to 
 plant my legal and argumentative machines before the Court 
 of Appeals in Equity." 
 
 To this last appeal to the courts of the country, he now 
 applied himself with unwearied and extraordinary assiduity. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 489 
 
 knowing tliat if against liim, the decision would be final. 
 The result of his preparatory labors in the effort made^ was 
 an enduring monument to his patient research, his sleepless 
 application, his inventive power, and legal erudition. 
 
 The cause was argued before the Appeal Court in Equity, 
 at Columbia, on the 25th and 26th of November, 1814. 
 " It is with a mixed feeling of pride and gratitude,^^ Mr. 
 Lide remarks, " that the Equity Chamber was crowded and 
 adorned with the wisdom and gravity of age, as well as with 
 the sprightly intelligence and laudable curiosity of youth." 
 
 The argument was introduced by a few observations, 
 
 which he deemed appropriate, as follows : — " ' We 
 
 hold it,' says Junius, addressing himself to Dr. Blackstone, 
 ' that the cause of an injured individual,' and I may pre- 
 sume to add, much more that of an almost ruined family, 
 ' is interesting to the public' I recall to the recollection 
 of your Honors this just, wise, politic, and truly patriotic 
 sentiment, because I am extremely anxious to secure to 
 myself the attention and respect of the Court. For on this 
 occasion I am sadly serious. Pardon then, in the course of 
 this great struggle, something to my feelings. My old 
 literary friend, Burke, has taught me, that such is the com- 
 plexity of human afiairs, that men sometimes unavoidably 
 find themselves in strange situations ; ' but the Judges,' says 
 he, ' should always be the same.' And Curran has also in- 
 formed me, ' that had it not have been for the boldness of 
 Nathan's parable, his candor might have cost him his head.' 
 But truth speaks with such a lofty warning voice, in accents 
 so strong and so awe-inspiring, that she astounds the callous 
 front of guilt, disarms the hand of power, and places con- 
 science at pleasure, and in submissive acquiescence, under 
 the mighty sway of her awful sceptre. 
 
 " Besides, may it please your Honors, I am about to con- 
 tend for all which can interest me, whether considered as an 
 isolated being, or as a member of a private family, or, of 
 that greater family of my fellow-citizens, the community. 
 
 " And therefore, I shall follow an example, which on no 
 other occasion would I even think of following — the example 
 of Richard the Third, and mount ' black Surrey for the field 
 to-day.' 
 
490 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 " I took the liberty to allude to my family. One member 
 of that small family has fallen, partly, I think, under the 
 corroding effects of this decree, and is now sleeping with 
 his fathers. Peace be to his ashes, and eternal rest to his 
 soul. Another member of that unfortunate family still 
 survives, on whom Providence, in his mysterious and in- 
 scrutable dispensations, for wise purposes, no doubt, hath 
 grievously inflicted his chastening rod. It is on his account 
 that I am chiefly solicitous. For myself, I am under no 
 apprehensions. That Being who feeds the raven, yea, even 
 the young raven, will take care of me. For we are assured 
 that a sparrow falls not to the ground, unnoticed by his 
 vigilant and parental eye. 
 
 " ' Oh, for a mnse of fire. 
 To ascend the brightest heaven of invention. 
 An empire for a stage, heroes to act, 
 And princes to behold, the swelling scene.' 
 
 " May it please your Honors : 
 
 " From the great importance and extreme length of this 
 case, it was absolutely necessary to follow the rules of the 
 dramatic art, and to distribute into three acts this vast and 
 tragic drama. Already, twice in valiant conflict have I en- 
 countered the foe. Once, at Chambers, did I startle and 
 touch him with the point of IthurieFs spear. The argument 
 in the Circuit Court of Equity, at Cheraw, appalled the ad- 
 verse counsel and his client. This worthy duumvirate 
 
 looked like wretches, smitten and blasted by the lightning 
 of heaven. They trembled ! good God, how they trembled ! 
 It was the couching of the Norman lance, before the de- 
 generate Greeks, of the Roman-Eastern empire. Again I 
 enter the lists, with my loins girt about, and my lamp 
 trimmed and burning — emaciated, it is true, but not ex- 
 hausted. No, may it please your Honors, my genius for 
 legal warfare is not yet exhausted, nor will it be, nor can it 
 be, so long as a single patch, or thread, or particle is left of 
 this Sybilline record — so long as a single question out of it 
 starts up, dares to raise its hydra head, to be cut ofi" by the 
 giant arm of law and logic. This well-fought field is not 
 yet abandoned with dismay and despair, the hostile armor of 
 attack and defence is not yet broken to pieces and cast away 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 491 
 
 by either conflicting party, nor will it be until tbis honorable 
 Court shall interpose, and by its decision put a final period 
 to the contest. Twice, I repeat, have I already, at great 
 length, argued this cause, and this is my third, formal, 
 and I trust last effort. Under this cheering hope, I do 
 therefore enter this Court, with the heart-felt joy of a sailor, 
 ' long tossed at sea and all his viands spent,^ on the dis- 
 covery of land, of terra firma, and with the buoyant prospect 
 of a speedy termination to his rough and toilsome voyage. 
 Incessantly agitated, and wearied in mind and in body, it 
 may readily be supposed and believed that I enter this 
 august hall of justice with the ecstasy and fluttering wings 
 of the stray dove, in its return to Noah^s Ark, to find a 
 resting place, a home and a nest, in the fond wish and ex- 
 pectation of final dismission hence, with lightsome heart, 
 with my ' crest elevated by hope and heightened by joy,' and 
 my temples bound around and decorated with the laurel 
 wi'eath of victory, won in all ' the pride, pomp, and circum- 
 stance of glorious war ' — to pursue, in peaceful silence and 
 improAdng solitude, that plan of legal studies which I have 
 crayoned out for myself. Should this, however, not be the 
 case, and this ray of hope be dashed to the ground — but I 
 will not anticipate the judgment of the Court. 
 
 " ' The dawn is over-cast, the morning lowers. 
 And heavily in clouds 
 
 Brings on the day, the great, the important day — 
 Big with the fate of Cato, and of Rome.' 
 
 " I cannot help reflecting on the peculiarity of fortune, 
 which perpetually imposes on me the necessity of appearing 
 and re-appearing, in my own case. With Burke, I may 
 truly say, Nitor in adversum is the motto for a man like 
 me. I am not, however, without consolation and encou- 
 ragement from high examples. Demosthenes and Cicero 
 were both subjected to the same fortune, though, I believe, 
 not in so great degree. Cicero pleaded pro domo, for his 
 own house, burned down by a faction ; and Demosthenes 
 made a noble stand in persona, against his guardian, who 
 had defrauded him of part of his estate. I, too, may pre- 
 sume to venture on the same ground, and draw my weapon, 
 in self-defence, surely, — 
 
492 HISTOKY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 " ' Unless self-cliarity be some time a vice. 
 And to defend ourselves it be a sin. 
 When violence assails us.' 
 
 " This circumstance reminds me of my professional debut 
 in Charleston, some ten_, or twelve, or more years ago, 
 when one of your Honors, whom I have in my eye,* was 
 then and there, one of my judges. And although I was 
 defeated, and hardly defeated, still, I retain a vivid recollec- 
 tion of the dignified sympathy and sensibility of his Honor, 
 Judge Waties, on that trying occasion. His Honor, Judge 
 de Saussure also, then at the bar, at the instance of my friend 
 Lightwood, alas ! since dead and gone to his account, had 
 the goodness, with the kindest promptitude and alacrity, to 
 make some introductory and very favorable observations on 
 my subject. And I hope, their Honors will not be displeased 
 at the liberty I take in presenting to their minds, this, to 
 me, at least, pleasing image of agreeable reminiscence. I 
 know where I am. I understand perfectly well the genius 
 of this Court. Nothing burns here, but the lamp of legal 
 science. Lighting, then, my slender taper at this glorious 
 fountain of illumination, and holding it in my hand, I pro- 
 pound for the consideration of the Court the following 
 questions, namely : — 
 
 ." First, whether a will or devise may be revoked or in- 
 validated pro tanto, or in part only ? 
 
 " Secondly, whether the one or the other may be re- 
 voked or invalidated, in whole, or in part, by importunity or 
 undue influence alone ? 
 
 " Thirdly, if neither can be so revoked or invalidated by 
 importunity, singly, whether, if with this strong circum- 
 stance of improper influence, there be connected facts or 
 transactions indicative of fraud, a will or devise may not be 
 in whole, or in part, revoked or invalidated? 
 
 " Fourthly, whether, for this purpose, parol evidence may 
 be admitted to prove fraud, or undue influence ? 
 
 " The fifth and last question which I shall propose, arises 
 out of the construction of the Act of eighteen hundred and 
 eight, — the institutional and organic Act of this Court. 
 It is this : whether upon a fair, rational, and correct con- 
 
 * Bowing to Judge Waties. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 493 
 
 struction of that Statute^ the old, firmly established, long 
 practised remedies by re-hearing or bill of review, should 
 be considered and adjudged to be abolished, and the right 
 or privilege of appeal to this Court substituted in loco, or in 
 place of those remedies ? 
 
 " Numerous other questions, out of this case, might no 
 doubt be raised and suggested by subtle and learned inge- 
 nuity, — for what subject may not be infinitely ramified ? — 
 but these, and particularly the last, as being a preclusive 
 question, if decided against the remedies by re-hearing or 
 bill of review, appear to me to be the principal or most 
 important/' 
 
 After treating, these questions at great length, in which 
 not only many legal authorities, but other authors, as Shak- 
 speare, are learnedly discussed — he goes on to notice in 
 much detail, and expose the many errors connected with 
 the previous proceedings both at law and in equity, and 
 concludes in the following strain : — 
 
 " May it please yo^^r Honors, — Shall I be permitted to 
 subjoin a few words more, on my OAvn little subject ? Yes. 
 Ipse de me scribam. Inheriting a very delicate constitution, 
 suffering almost perpetual ill-health, possessing a disposition, 
 not of the most Soeratic kind, and a temper not formed of 
 the sternest stuff, — subjected before twelve years of age to 
 that orphanage which springs from the grave, — cast out, at 
 this late day, from the moorings of the hearth, and dis- 
 missed from the ' mild majesty of private life,' — is it a 
 matter of the smallest wonder that I should have run into 
 some eccentricities ; that I should have indulged in some 
 little aberrations from the strict line of perfect rectitude ; 
 that I should have yielded for a moment to those amiable 
 frailties, those ' sweet follies, which should be known to 
 friends alone, and men of generous minds ?' Have not 
 some of the finest and fairest characters in history, been 
 guilty of still stranger deviations from the rigid rules of 
 morality ?'' 
 
 {Collateral Remarks.) — " May it please your Honors, in 
 making this observation I did not intend, merely to appeal 
 to the general reading and opulent memory of the Court. 
 But, passing by the case of Caesar, who wept before the 
 
494 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 statue of Alexander, because, at his age, Lc had performed 
 110 action m orthy the pen of the historian ; and descending 
 a long tract of time, I cannot refrain fi'om citiug, as a most 
 signal instance, the character and conduct of Charles James 
 Fox. W'ith him, as with most other elevated souls, pru- 
 dence was not the favorite virtue. Nor is this to be wondered 
 at ; for genius, generally built on strong passions, is the most 
 sublime and eftervescent principle in nature. 
 
 " That great and amiable man, after having lost and won, 
 and lost again, his immense patrimonial estate, — after having 
 been abandoned by all his friends as a \dctim to his vices, — 
 possessed so much sensibility, so much fortitude, so much 
 intelligence, such a just and manly confidence in his many 
 virtues, in his fascinating manners and his gigantic talent, — 
 that, recalling his rooollection, and shaking himself into 
 returning energy, — like another phoenix, he arose out of his 
 own ashes, and presided over the destinies of a great empire. 
 Acliillcs was vulnerable in the heel. Nations are subject 
 to strange and frightful ebullitions. Nature herself is 
 irregular. A superior influence, irresistibly, and at will, 
 guides and controls the destinies of the physical and moral 
 world. The lofty stem of the pine yields like a sapling to 
 the force of the tempest. The robust poplar, Avith his 
 Aagorous roots, also bows before the overruling energies of 
 nature. So, even so, it is with man. The great Napoleon 
 himself, — that unrivalled master of the si;blinie science of Avar, 
 that moral volcano, which has thrown out such bitter substance, 
 — submits, with profound and dignified humility to a ruthless 
 climate, — fairly and greatly acknowledges, in the face of 
 Europe, and of the world, the imperious poAver of inveterate 
 circumstances. At a still later period, on the final catas- 
 trophe of the grand tragi- comic drama of France, and of 
 Europe, this distinguished personage, this modern Ca^sai', 
 exhibited no less stiikingly and gloriously for himself, the 
 fortitude, combined with the sensibility of a man, and of a 
 hero. But to return — As for myself, may it please your 
 Honors, in the peaceful, noiseless tenor of my way, I ha\'e 
 been for years rolling the stone of Sisy[)hus. Once did I 
 flatter myself, that I had securely planted it on the summit 
 of the mountain, and assumed a commanding attitude. 13ut, 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 495 
 
 fortiiue frowned, the political horizon thickened and blackened, 
 this disastrous case, like the ghost of Brutus, stalked Ijcforc 
 me, — these successive causes, eventually combining and co- 
 operating, with united and irresistible energy seized me by 
 the top, and again hiirlcd me to the bottom. In this humble 
 and prostrate posture, whilst I feelingly own with Cardinal 
 Wolsey, — making all due allowance for comparative elevation 
 and depression, — ' the blessedness of being little/ — let me, at 
 the same time, surpass in religious resignation that ambitious 
 prelate, and submit to the revengeful reverses of fortune, 
 with manly dignity and philosophic fortitude. The master 
 orator of the French Revolution, no less forcibly than 
 beautifully observes that, ' reputation is the flame upon the 
 5iltar ; cease to feed it, and it expires/ Sincerely penetrated 
 and deeply impressed with this great truth, — it is my firm and 
 fixed resolution to weave up all my follies, and in future, to 
 hold, if possible, my ' course unfaltering, up the steep ascent 
 of virtue/ and manfully and steadily to direct all the energies 
 of my mind and body, to the enviable acquisition of a ' local 
 habitation and a name/ 
 
 " With this view, and for the accomplishment of this high 
 purpose, I should have selected, had health permitted, this 
 city, on account of its many great and singular advantages, 
 as the place of my permanent residence, and the theatre of 
 my future exertions. The College Library, of itself, would 
 have been a great consideration and inducement. That 
 superb and spacious accommodation of science, which reflects 
 so much honor on the wisdom and liberality of the State, 
 is destined, in a few years, to produce a wonderful revolution 
 in the state of society and of literature in our infant 
 Republic. No longer will the eye of liberal curiosity and 
 anxious inquiry be directed to a particular city, or a particular 
 section of the State, in search of men of genius and of 
 learning. They will be found here; they will be found 
 everywhere; they will be found seated at the foot, and under 
 the black and frowning brow of bald and sterile mountains, — 
 contemplating the sublime beauties of nature, and causing 
 her to startle at the vast penetration of man, which can lay 
 open and reveal her own mighty and occult secrets, and even 
 probe her to the quick. 
 
496 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 " May it please your Honors : after this exertion^ may I, 
 dare I, lay hold of a small corner of the skirt or robe of 
 fame, and holding that in my hand, and following the high 
 example, and supporting myself by the great name and 
 authority of Montesquieu, assume and repeat, with him, and 
 after him, the lofty scutimeut of Corrcggio, — ' And I also am 
 a painter V 
 
 " INIay it please your Honors : I elose in the style — 
 excuse the association — of Sheridan, and of our Saviour : ' I 
 have done ' — ^ It is finished/ '^* 
 
 To this speech Major ^landing replied, and Mr. Hooker 
 concluded the pleadings for the appellants. 
 
 On the last day of the term, the opinion of the Court, 
 adverse to INIr. Lide, >vas pronounced by Chancellor de 
 Saussure — precluding all further appeal to that tribunal. 
 This was in December, ISIA. As a last alternative, Mr. 
 Lide presented a memorial to the Legislature during the 
 session of 1816 — setting forth briefly the history of the 
 cause from its beginning — urging the errors into which the 
 Courts had fallen, ami the example of a celebrated ease in 
 England, in which, the parties having failed in the Covirts, 
 Parliament granted relief. Referring to this precedent^; he 
 says in conclusion : " That Avas nobly done. Now, I ask, 
 will a republic be less generous than a monarchy ? Surely 
 not. Your memorialist, therefore, in honest confidence, 
 respectfully prays this honorable body, to refund to him out 
 of the treasury of the State, in imitation of the British 
 example, the amount of which your memorialist has been 
 thus wrongfully deprived by a Court of ulterior decision, — 
 or to grant him such other relief as to your wisdom shall 
 seem meet. 
 
 " And your memorialist further suggests, that before such 
 a state of things should any longer be suffered to exist, 
 
 * " The concliuliiigr scntoiicos," Mr. Liilc adds in a note, " from their brevity, 
 and from a niitural wish to ddse with dignity, were pronouni'od recitatively ; 
 but 1 WHS not a little mortified on being informed th:it that tone of voice, 
 between common speech and song, should have been mistaken by the audience, 
 respectable and enlightened as it was, for actual singing. Considering the 
 greatness and solemnity of the occasions on which these expressions were used, 
 and also their conciseness, I am, myself, convinced that 1 acted with taste and 
 judgment." 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 497 
 
 your memorialist, for one, would rejoice to see the proud 
 temples of legal science topple on their warders^ heads, 
 thorns and thistles grow and flourish on their consecrated 
 foundations, and the mournful turtle-dove utter her melan- 
 choly note, where the goddess of justice should have sat 
 enthroned." 
 
 The memorial was referred to a special joint committee 
 of both Houses, of which the late Governor John Lide 
 Wilson was one. Mr. Lide was requested to appear and 
 plead his cause before the committee. He did so ; and 
 came in a costume as singular,* as his appearance was wild 
 and haggard. Every exertion of his genius and eloquence 
 had hitherto failed. Breaking forth, as a final effort, with 
 expiring splendor, his varied powers were all brought into 
 commanding requisition. It was to be the triumph, or the 
 failure of his life. The committee gave him a long and 
 patient hearing, for the case had now become one of peculiar 
 and mournful interest, — added to which, his character, his 
 genius, his declining fortunes, and previous efforts in the 
 cause, had given him a sad celebrity. With the progress of 
 his s[)eeeh, the excitement, even with that select body of 
 legislators, became painfully intense, and when he closed, in 
 the words and recitative style of his last effort before the 
 Court — " I have done — It is finished," — every member of 
 the committ 3 was bathed in tears. f 
 
 Though the personal interest he excited was deep and 
 universal, relief was not granted ; and shortly after, the 
 flickering taper, which had thus been kindled by the stimulus 
 of the occasion into a flame of unearthly brightness, was 
 extinguished in death ! 
 
 It was equally a misfortune for himself and the State, 
 that adverse circumstances at an early period should have 
 given a morbid direction to Mr. Lide's character and subse- 
 quent course. Continued disappointment only served to 
 increase this disposition and, as a fatal canker, it ate out his 
 
 * He appeared in a blanket, as his outer garb, with hair dishevelled, sunken, 
 piercing tyes, find huge folios of the law in strong array. 
 
 •f Governor Wilson described it to the Author, with evident emotion even 
 then, though nearly forty years had passed away, as a scene surpassing the 
 power of language to pourtray. 
 
 K K 
 
498 HISTOEY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 life. It led to an irregularity of habit and unsteadiness of 
 purpose, whicli precluded the possibility of success. 
 
 He was not more fond of the law as a study, than devoted 
 to literary pursuits. His speeches throughout abound with 
 allusions indicative of a richly stored mind. Shakspeare, 
 of all others, was his text-book, and in the depths of that 
 universal genius, few, perhaps, have ever been more pro- 
 foundly versed. His familiarity with, and command on all 
 occasions of this great author, are said by those who remem- 
 ber him, to have been extraordinary. 
 
 The late Hugh S. Legare, of Charleston, the Cicero of 
 Carolina, who heard him on one of the memorable occasions 
 connected with the case to which attention has been given, 
 is reported to have said, that Mr. Lide Avas the greatest 
 genius he had ever seen ! A similar remark was also made 
 by the celebrated Dr. Maxcy. In his death Pedee mourned 
 her most erratic, but one of her most gifted sons. His 
 mantle, rare and peculiar as it was, has ^llen upon no other 
 since. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 499 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Samuel Wilds — His early life — Filial devotion — Admission to the Bar — Un- 
 bounded popularity — His election to the Legislature — Made Solicitor — Pro- 
 motion to the Bench — Impression made upon the people — Charge to the 
 Grand Jury of Abbeville District — Peeling expressed by the Grand Jury — 
 Sentence on Slater — Sentence on John Tollison — His last Court in Charleston 
 — His death — Its effect on the public mind— Proceedings of Bar of Charles- 
 ton — Proceedings at Sumpter — Obituary notices — Lines suggested by his 
 death. 
 
 Mention has been made of a few of the more distin- 
 guished of those who had been among the early pupils of the 
 academy of St. David^s. There was another^ the brightest 
 of the rising stars in her firmament when the sun of the 
 last century went down on the Pedee. 
 
 Samuel Wilds is a name, in the language of the late 
 venerable Chief Justice of South Carolina, " which chal- 
 lenges respect even after he has rested in the silence of the 
 grave for nearly fifty years.^^ He was the second son of 
 John Wilds, and born March 4th, 1775, in that part of 
 Cheraw District which subsequently became Marlborough 
 County.* His father died early, leaving a large family, 
 whose support devolved chiefly on Samuel, who was then 
 a youth. 
 
 In mind and character his mother was no common 
 woman, and from her, doubtless, the superior traits of the 
 son were inherited. Her virtues inspired respect in all 
 who knew her, and commanded, on the part of her noble 
 son, the most affectionate and touching veneration. She is 
 said by one who knew her, to have been " a distinguished 
 lady for her day.'''' His brother, John, was a young man 
 of remarkable promise, but died just as he had prepared 
 himself, as a physician, for entering on the work of life. 
 
 * Judge O'Neall is mistaken in suppot^ing Darlington the place of bis 
 nativity. 
 
 K K 2 
 
500 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 To his education and advancement^ the subject of this 
 notice had devoted himself with unsparing solicitude. 
 
 The early life of Samuel Wilds was a period of sore and 
 continuous struggle against seemingly adverse fortune. 
 The fruits of his youthful labors were mainly devoted to 
 the support and comfort of his mother and her helpless 
 family. But a portion of his time and slender means, as a 
 consequence, could be devoted to his own improvement. 
 He acted, when quite young for such a position, as local 
 deputy sheriflF of the district, was also assistant for a time 
 under Thomas Park, in the academy of St. David^s, and 
 afterwards became the Principal. This school was his 
 only alma mater. The filial devotion which he exhibited 
 with unwavering constancy, through years of trying priva- 
 tion, w^as the most beautiful trait in the character of young 
 Wilds, and continued to be its brightest ornament, after 
 he had reached his maturity and was crowned with the 
 lustre of august position and distinguished fame. It was a 
 solid basis for greatness, other elements of strength being 
 added, and a model for the young of every generation. It 
 was not until his twenty-third year, every difficulty having 
 been surmounted, that the first summit in his nobly aspiring 
 career was reached, in his admission to the Bar, of which he 
 was soon to become the ornament and pride. During the 
 same year, he became a candidate for popular favor, but 
 being yet comparatively unknown, and with strong influences 
 opposing him, lost his election to the House of Bepresenta- 
 tives by a small minority. About this time he married 
 Elizabeth, daughter of Captain Wm. Dewitt, who contri- 
 buted largely to his happiness, and survived him many 
 years.'^ One of his first speeches was made at the Bar of 
 Sumpter, in a case for which he had been retained by Daniel 
 Du Bose. His success was complete. It was in the early 
 stage of the court; and such was the effect of his eloquence, 
 that many clients came to him at once and secured his 
 services, giving him a good practice at the start, and an 
 
 * This excellent lady subsequently married Dr. Tliomas Smith, of Society 
 Hill ; a pattern of the wife, mother, friend, and Christian. Dr. Smith yet 
 remains, after a long life of usefulness and honor, one of the very few left of 
 that generation. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 501 
 
 establislied reputation as a laAvycr throughout the circuit. 
 It was an almost unexampled instance of the kind. His 
 popularity, the spontaneous tribute paid to his exalted worth, 
 was now so great, that in the election of 1802, as already 
 stated, he was triumphantly elected to the Legislature. 
 
 In December of that year, he was made solicitor of the 
 Northern and Eastern Circuit. This position gave him a 
 wider field for the display of his peculiar powers, and 
 brought him more generally into notice. The result was, 
 that two years after, he was elected judge, and took his seat 
 on the bench before the completion of his thirtieth year. 
 He had then been but six years at the Bar, to which he 
 was admitted with slender opportunities for preparation. 
 Yet, so rapidly had he mastered that system and those 
 principles which he was now to administer and elucidate, 
 that the ermine sat as easily and gracefully upon him as if 
 he had passed through the most thorough course of study 
 and a practice of many years. A deep impression was 
 made upon the people of the State wherever he travelled 
 his circuits for the first. To a commanding and handsome 
 person were added a dignity and simplicity, with a winning 
 ease and grace of manner,* which inspired profound respect 
 and captivated every heart. 
 
 His charges were learned and instructive, and his sen- 
 tences pathetic and eloquent. Of the former, one specimen 
 is fortunately yet extant. It appeared in the Charleston 
 Courier, of May 5, 1807, with some prefatory remarks by 
 the Editors, showing the iuipression made upon the public 
 mind at the time. 
 
 * It is related of him, that while holding his first Court in Charleston, a 
 large ball was given, to which, with other dignitaries. Judge Wilds was invited. 
 
 He was not provided with the usual dress for such an occasion, and pleaded 
 that as an excuse for not attending. His friends, however, furnislied from their 
 own wardrobes what was wanting, and no alternative was left but to make his 
 debut. Chancellor De Saussure, himself a model of elegance, felt some ap- 
 prehension how his brother, for whom he had a high regard, and raw, as he 
 thought, from the country, would sustain himself, and with another friend, kept 
 near him for a while as a support. He was introduced to a lady, who complained 
 that the lights were not burning brightly. He instantly replied, in his happiest 
 manner, " that with such brightness as he saw beaming Irom the beautiful eyes 
 around him, the light could not grow dim ;" upon whicl), the Chancellor re- 
 marked to his companion, " That is enough ; Wilds can take care of himself, 
 and we may go about our business." 
 
502 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 The estimate placed upon it by the grand jury, to whom 
 it was addressed^ is sufficiently indicated by the language 
 of the presentment and the request appended to the charge. 
 
 " We call the attention of our readers to the very excel- 
 lent charge of Judge Wilds^ which occupies so large a part 
 of this day^s paper. The good sense, sound policy, and 
 genuine patriotism which it contains, render it deserving of 
 the most attentive and serious perusal. 
 
 " We sincerely hope that his liberal sentiments may be 
 productive of all the good they are so well calculated to 
 produce. 
 
 " Charge delivered by Judge Wilds to the Grand Jmy of 
 Abbeville District, on Monday, 16th of March last, and pub- 
 lished at their request. 
 
 " ' Gentlemen of the Grand Jury : 
 
 " ' You have so often, I apprehend, had your duties 
 as grand jurors explained to you, and the regular organiza- 
 tion of our courts has given such frequent occasions to the 
 exercise of these duties, that perhaps it may be unnecessary 
 for me, at this time, to address you on that subject ; however, 
 as I consider them of great importance, both to the commu- 
 nity and to yourselves, and believe it impossible that their 
 nature and extent can be made too familiar to your minds, 
 I claim the indulgence of a few observations. 
 
 " ' The great outlines of your duty are strongly marked in 
 the solemn and impressive oath which has been just admi- 
 nistered to you. " You shall diligently inquire and true 
 presentment make of all such matters and things as shall 
 be given you in charge. You shall present no one from 
 envy, hatred, malice, or ill-will ; neither shall you leave 
 any one, unpresented, from fear, favor, affection, or hope of 
 reward.'^ 
 
 " ' As the Grand Inquest of your District you are charged 
 with the inquiry, whether the laws have been faithfully 
 observed and executed ; and this delicate trust you are 
 sworn impartially to discharge. Upon your accusation alone 
 will the Court entertain even the suspicion of guilt against 
 the most obscure individual : and, on the other hand, when 
 once you have preferred such accusation, neither the most 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 503 
 
 dignified station, nor the most exalted endowments, can 
 screen the person accused from the necessity of publicly 
 vindicating his innocence, or of submitting to the penalties 
 prepared for guilt. Under this stern despotism of the law 
 are completely levelled all those artificial distinctions which 
 the refinements of civil society are continually imposing on 
 mankind. 
 
 " * It is, after all, gentlemen, in the temple of justice alone 
 that the high and the low, the rich and the poor, are 
 brought to feel their original equality. Well has the 
 patriot and philanthropist regarded the trial by jury as one 
 of the strongest evidences of national freedom ; for so long 
 as the benefits of this mode of decision are within reach, 
 neither the bold attacks nor the secret approaches of lawless 
 power can long opj)ress with impunity. In proportion, 
 then, to the importance of your present functions, should 
 be your exertions for their faithful discharge. Whilst, on 
 the one hand, no artifice should secure the guilty from 
 your animadversion, your cautious scrutiny, on the other, 
 should form a rampart of security around the innocent. 
 
 " ' It is no apology for an over-hasty and groundless accu- 
 sation preferred by a grand jury, that the person accused, 
 before he can be made liable to the penalty of the law, 
 must be again found guilty by another jury after a more 
 strict and solemn inquiry j for besides the expense and 
 vexation which it may occasion to procure a discharge, an 
 acquittal by the petit jury will not entirely wipe away 
 the reproach of having been esteemed guilty by a grand 
 jury, equal at least in number and equally bound to do 
 impartial justice. You all know and feel the value of 
 character, and I can recommend no better rule by which 
 you should discharge your present duties than that which 
 should influence the discharge of every other duty, namely, 
 " do unto others as you would have them do unto you." . 
 
 " ' Besides the examination of such bills as shall be laid 
 before you by the attorney on behalf of the State, there are 
 a variety of other matters subject to your cognizance and 
 animadversion ; and though this power, in its first exercise, 
 be merely censorial, not of itself subjecting those against 
 whom it is directed to legal punishment, I will venture to 
 
504 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEEAWS. 
 
 promise^ should your investigations present to view offences 
 requiring corrections more forcible than censure, such cor- 
 rections will not be withheld. 
 
 " 'Everything relating to the internal policy of your district 
 is properly a subject of your inquiry; such, for instance, 
 are your public roads, highways, and bridges. The great 
 importance of good roads to every country none will deny. 
 But, to a country situated like yours, remote from every 
 advantage of water carriage, good roads are all-important. 
 The widely-spreading progress of population and agricul- 
 tural improvement in your district, well adapted by nature 
 to the cultivation of our staple commodity, renders inex- 
 cusable the present state of your public roads. Perhaps 
 there is no circumstance which so strongly marks the pro- 
 gress of a country in civilization as attention to their public 
 highways. We find amongst the first objects which have 
 attracted the attention of nations but just emerging from 
 barbarism, some rude attempt to facilitate their intercourse 
 by roads ; and it is one, among the first instances, in which 
 the solitary, selfish indej)eudence of the individual is brought 
 to yield something for the public good. But, were this the 
 only test by which to ascertain the advancement of a 
 country in civilization, I should greatly flatter you, gentle- 
 men, did I not tell you your progress was small indeed. 
 
 " ' If you should think as I do, that those to wdiom the 
 laws have confided this branch of police, have shamefully 
 neglected their duty, it becomes yours to say so ; and upon 
 your presentment, the Court will direct such measures as 
 will, in all probability, occasion more attention to this sub- 
 ject in future. Such, also, are the laws relative to the 
 performance of patrol duty, and the government of slaves. 
 These laws are strict, and policy requires they should be 
 strictly observed ; and it will be a departure from duty in 
 you to suff^er any known violation of them to pass unno- 
 ticed ; and such are all offences against the laws, either of 
 omission or commission, either in any of your public func- 
 tionaries, or in private individuals, which may come to 
 your knowledge, and which have not otherwise been brought 
 to the view of the Court. Another branch of jurisdiction 
 which I hold to be legitimately yours, is the office of Censors, 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHE RAWS. 505 
 
 exercised by grand juries^ over the private vices and im- 
 moralities of individuals. It is my duty^ however, to inform 
 you, that this power, as incidental to your body, is ques- 
 tioned by many, and denied to you by some. Under 
 institutions like ours, resting entirely upon public opinion, 
 wdiere so much depends upon public virtue, I consider its 
 existence somewhere of first necessity. The spiritual cen- 
 sures to which, in other countries, many of these offences 
 are consigned, in a country like ours, where every person 
 worships his Maker as he pleases, or impiously refuses to 
 worship him at all, w ould indeed be feeble ; and I am 
 aware of no rule, legal, political, or moral, Avhich denies to 
 you the right to express, either as a body or individuals, 
 either privately or publicly, to individuals, to the Court, to 
 the Legislature, or to the world, your abhorrence of Adce 
 and its perpetrators. There are a great variety of duties 
 which society imposes on us, upon the performance of which 
 its welfare very much depends; and as many vices, de- 
 structive of its interests, which should be prevented, that 
 acknowledge not the coercion of municipal law. The im- 
 possibility of reaching the evil by legal remedy has left the 
 performance of these duties, and the prevention of these 
 vices, entii'cly dependent upon moral rule. That drunken- 
 ness, lying, duplicity, ingratitude, lewdness, and debauchery, 
 amongst a variety of other offences of the same descrip- 
 tion, are evils seriously injurious to society, none will deny ; 
 and that any adequate punishment is provided for them 
 by the laws, none will pretend. They can only be pre- 
 vented, then, by their strong repugnance to the moral sense 
 of the community, and by the reprobation of the influential 
 and virtuous. The dread of being dragged into public 
 view by the penetrating scrutiny of an impartial grand 
 jmy, and of having their vices exposed to the animadver- 
 sion of the world, will prevent many from offending. Should 
 you feel it your duty to exercise this power, you will at 
 once see the importance of proceeding with great delicacy 
 and caution. Grand Juries frequently exercise the privilege 
 of expressing, as a body, their opinions on matters of public 
 concern ; and Legislatures, as far as I have observed, 
 uniformly treat such opinions with respect. As from the 
 
506 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS, 
 
 manner of their organization^ grand juries have every 
 opportunity of expressing the public sense of their respec- 
 tive districts, it would, indeed, be a very great want of 
 wisdom in Legislatures to preclude themselves from such 
 correct sources of information. 
 
 " ' Should you be of oj)inion that any particular vices stalk 
 with impunity through the land for want of legal power to 
 punish them — should you be of opinion that any of your 
 rights, either public or private, are not sufficiently acknow- 
 ledged and protected by the laws of your country, you have 
 the privilege to tell the Legislature so. 
 
 " ' In making you acquainted with your privilege in this 
 respect, I have done my duty ; to attempt to direct the 
 exercise of this privilege, would be a departure from it. 
 Should you conclude to address the Legislature, there is 
 one subject, however, to which I will venture to invite your 
 attention, particularly as it is not likely to awaken any of 
 those discordant passions which so often convulse the social 
 fabric, and render man the enemy of man, but will more 
 likely soothe existing asperities, by producing one honorable 
 instance at least, in which the enlightened and virtuous of 
 every party do cordially unite. 
 
 " ' The subject to which I allude is education ; and I sug- 
 gest to you the propriety of recommending to the Legisla- 
 ture the adoption of some general system by which the 
 blessings of information may be widely disseminated through 
 our country. This interesting subject has, for a considera- 
 ble time past, deeply occupied the public mind ; and though, 
 from the novelty of the thing, and the particular local cir- 
 cumstances of our country, difficulties have arisen which 
 have not been obviated, yet I am confident they must shortly 
 yield to reflection, experience, and perseverance. The pros- 
 perous situation of our finances invites to the present as an 
 auspicious time for effecting some arrangement of this sort ; 
 and the warm recommendation of grand juries will keep 
 alive the generous propensity for some time entertained on 
 the subject by the Legislature; and receive the support of 
 every enlightened patriot and good man. The importance 
 of knowledge, particularly in a government like ours, is felt 
 by all ; for besides ameliorating the affections of the human 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 507 
 
 lieart, and amplifying the range of social enjoyment, know- 
 ledge is the only sure correction of the diseases to which 
 our body politic is ever liable. The abuse of public confi- 
 dence will be best prevented by enlightening the public 
 mind. The great bulk of the people, in matters of public 
 concern, always act from honest motives, and never do 
 wrong but in the endeavour to do right. General informa- 
 tion, by enabling them to discriminate the modest preten- 
 sions of merit from the hollow professions of the designing 
 demagogue, by discovering to them that, in political philo- 
 sophy, there is a point in improvement at which abstract 
 speculation should yield to practical experiment, would cer- 
 tainly prevent many improprieties into which they are un- 
 intentionally, but sometimes unavoidably led. 
 
 " 'The important stations which the individuals of our 
 community occupy, render it not only a matter of humanity, 
 but of sound policy, to extend to those who lack the means 
 of acquiring information, the public assistance. Born every 
 man in a measure his own legislator, the public bounty 
 surely could not be better employed than in qualifying each, 
 as far as practicable, for the exercise of such dignified pri- 
 vileges. 
 
 " ' However the sports of fortune, or the tendency of civil 
 institutions, have rendered unequal the conditions of men ; 
 as to political rights all are equal. The arrogant preten- 
 sions of rank and the haughty domination of hereditary folly 
 are not acknowledged in our system of government. The 
 highest offices are open to the claims of the most obscure 
 individuals ; and you need not be told, gentlemen, that upon 
 such individuals a generous public have sometimes bestowed 
 their confidence, even in advance. There is, therefore, every 
 inducement to direct the public patronage towards the edu- 
 cation of our youth. Much, very much, it must be con- 
 ceded, has already been done by the Legislature establish- 
 ing, under their own immediate auspices, at the seat of 
 Government, a seminary of the first respectability. From its 
 central situation, its benefits are equally accessible to every 
 part of the State ; and from its liberal support, an education 
 may be finished here with equal advantage, in my opinion, 
 and perhaps with less expense, all things considered, than at 
 
508 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 any institution of equal rauk on the Continent. Placed under 
 tlie immediate direction of the principal officers of Govern- 
 ment, with other trustees of equal responsibility, its success 
 and their reputation are closely united. The sons of this 
 institution enjoy the singular advantage of exhibiting to 
 their countrymen^ annually assembled, from every part of 
 the State, the earliest testimonies of their talents, and of 
 having ascertained, before they step forward in the theatre 
 of life, their probable success on it. 
 
 " ' The child of but yesterday, nursed but a short time by 
 the public affection, the South Carolina College, rises 
 rapidly into eminence^ exhibiting a success which its ene- 
 mies never feared, and its most sanguine friends scarce 
 ever hoped. 
 
 " ' The probable consequences resulting from this institu- 
 tion, render its establishment, in my estimation, amongst 
 the most important acts of our State Legislature. Here, a 
 liberal education may be acquired, without contracting 
 habits and sentiments not native to our clime, nor congenial 
 to its interests. Here, the young men of our State are 
 formed, as it were, into one large family, and the early 
 friendships contracted will unite them through life as bro- 
 thers, without regarding the places of each others^ residence; 
 and the present jarring suspicions and supposed contrariety 
 of interests between different parts of the State will be found 
 to yield to offices of mutual kindness and more enlightened 
 policy. Intellectual worth will no longer be ascertained by 
 geographical boundaries, weakly conceived, and wickedly 
 marked out ; nor political rights depend upon propinquity to 
 the sea, the sand-hills, or the mountains. Few, I appre- 
 hend, who possess the means, will neglect the present favor- 
 able opportunity of educating their sons, and fitting them for 
 future usefulness. 
 
 " ' But, Tmfortunately, gentlemen, even in our own favored 
 country, a very large portion of its citizens are not possessed 
 of these means ; poor and friendless, they aspire not to the 
 procuring for their sons blessings never enjoyed by them- 
 selves. And shall these numerous children of misfortune be 
 entirely excluded from those dazzling meeds with which 
 science rewards her votaries ? Shall our country be de- 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CIIERAWS. 509 
 
 prived of the intellectual services of that class of our fellow- 
 men on whom genius is most apt to lavish her favors ? 
 
 " ' Policy and humanity forbid it. Those astonishing en- 
 dowments of mind which exalt the human character are, 
 perhaps, oftener found beneath the humble cottage than in 
 the stately mansions of the great. A very large proportion 
 of those sages and heroes who have adorned the ages in 
 which they lived, were educated in the schools of adversity. 
 A benevolent Providence is, by this means, continually 
 levelling down those haughty arrangements which the pride 
 of families, and vanity natural to man, are ever willing to 
 raise up. 
 
 " ' You are called together, gentlemen, for the purpose of 
 punishing vice and protecting virtue. You are intended to be 
 a terror to those who do evil — a praise to those who do well. 
 It cannot, I hope, be necessary to remind you to act worthily 
 of the character you have assumed ; and that it would be un- 
 pardonable in you to neglect those virtues which you have 
 promised to promote, or to practise those vices which you 
 have sworn to punish.' " 
 
 The Grand Jury, having made presentments on education, 
 roads, &c., as suggested by his Honor, concluded with these 
 words : — " We beg leave to return our thanks to his Honor, 
 Judge Wilds, for his deliberate and punctual attention to 
 the business of this Court, so far as it has progressed. 
 
 '' We sincerely reciprocate his sentiments, delivered at its 
 commencement, so strongly expressive of his wish for the 
 promotion of the harmony and happiness of our common 
 country. We hope we may be permitted to request a copy 
 of his charge to our body ; and recommend that it, together 
 with the foregoing presentments, may be published in some 
 public newspaper in this State. 
 
 " John Arnold, Foreman. 
 
 " Abbeville, March Term, 1807." 
 
 The utterance of such sentiments, so well expressed, as 
 were those of this charge, was well calculated to touch the 
 popular heart, and lead the public mind aright. When it is 
 remembered how limited his own opportunities of education 
 had been, the few years of study which had followed his 
 
510 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 admission to the Bar, and tlie yet comparatively early age 
 of Judge "Wilds, this production, both as to excellence of 
 matter, and correctness and dignity of style, is worthy of all 
 praise. 
 
 The famous sentence* passed upon Slater for the murder 
 of his own slave, gave to the name of Judge Wilds a world- 
 wide celebrity. It made a deep impression, not only in this 
 country, but in England. It appeared soon after its delivery, 
 or portions of it, in the books of oratory of the day ; and as 
 Judge O^Neall justly remarks, " is a beautiful and eloquent 
 specimen of his powers." It was in these words : — 
 
 " John Slater ! 
 
 You have been convicted by a jury of your 
 country for the wilful murder of your own slave ; and I am 
 sorry to say, the short, impressive, uncontradicted testimony, 
 on which that conviction was founded, leaves but too little 
 room to doubt its propriety. 
 
 " The annals of human depravity might be safely chal- 
 lenged for a parallel to this unfeeling, bloody, and diabolical 
 transaction. 
 
 " You caused your unoffending, unresisting slave, to 
 be bound hand and. foot, and by a refinement in cruelty, 
 compelled his companion, perhaps the friend of his heart, 
 to chop his head with an axe, and to cast his body, yet 
 convulsing with the agonies of death, into the water ! And 
 this deed you dared to perpetrate in the very harbor of 
 Charleston, within a few yards of the shore, unblushingly, 
 in the face of open day. Had your murderous arm been 
 raised against your equal, whom the laws of self-defence and 
 the more efficacious laws of the land unite to protect, your 
 crime would not have been without precedent and would 
 have seemed less horrid. Your personal risk would at least 
 have proved, that though a murderer you were not a coward. 
 But you too well knew that this unfortunate man, whom 
 
 * It is not a little singular that this production is not to be found in the 
 newspapers of Charleston of the time. The Author, at least, after a diligent 
 search, failed to find it, or any allusion to it, in the files of newspapers in the 
 Charleston Library. It was found by Judge O'Neall in the " Key to Uncla 
 Tom's Cabin," after a vain search elsewhere. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 511 
 
 chance had subjected to your caprices, had not, like your- 
 self, chartered to him by the laws of the land the same 
 rights of natui'e ; and that a stern but necessary policy had 
 disarmed him of the rights of self-defence. Too well you 
 knew that to you alone he could look for protection, and 
 that your arm alone could shield him from oppression or 
 avenge his wrongs ; yet that arm you cruelly stretched out 
 for his destruction. 
 
 " The counsel who generously volunteered his services in 
 your behalf, shocked at the enormity of your offence, 
 endeavored to find a refuge, as well for his own feelings as 
 for those of all who heard your trial, in a derangement of 
 your intellect. Several witnesses were examined to establish 
 this fact ; but the result of their testimony, it is apprehended, 
 was as little satisfactory to his mind as to those of the jury 
 to whom it was addressed. I sincerely wish this defence 
 had proved successful ; not from any desire to save you from 
 the punishment which awaits you, and which you so richly 
 merit, but from the desire of saving my country from the 
 foul reproach of having, in its bosom, so great a monster. 
 
 '^ From the peculiar situation of this country, our fathers 
 felt themselves justified in subjecting to a very slight punish- 
 ment him who murders a slave. Whether the present state 
 of society requires a continuation of this policy, so opposite 
 to the apparent rights of humanity, it remains for a subse- 
 quent Legislature to decide. Their attention ere this would 
 have been directed to this subject, but, for the honor of 
 human nature, such hardened sinners as yourself are rarely 
 found to disturb the repose of society. The grand jury of 
 this county, deeply impressed with your daring outrages 
 against the laws of both God and man, have made a very 
 strong expression of their feelings on the subject to the 
 Legislature, and from the wisdom and justice of that body, 
 the friends of humanity may confidently hope to see this 
 blackest in the catalogue of human crimes pursued by appro- 
 priate punishment.* 
 
 • Judge O'Neall adds the following note (see his " Bench and Bar of S. C," 
 vol. i. p. lO-i) : — "The punishment under the Act of 1740, § 38, under which 
 Slater was convicted and sentenced, was a fine of £700, currency — equal to £100 
 sterling — which, at 4*. M. to the dollar, is |428, 57-100 — and incapacity to 
 
512 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 " In proceeding to pass the sentence which the law pro- 
 vides for your offence, I confess I never felt more forcibly 
 the want of power to make respected the laws of my country, 
 whose minister I am. 
 
 ^' You have already violated the majesty of those laws. 
 You have properly pleaded the local law, under which you 
 stand convicted, as a justification of your crime. You have 
 held that law in one hand and brandished your axe in the 
 other, impiously contending that the one gave a licence to 
 the unrestrained use of the other. 
 
 " But though you will go off unhurt in person, by the 
 present sentence, expect not to escape with impunity. Your 
 bloody deed has set a mark upon you which I fear the good 
 actions of your future life will not efface. You will be held 
 in abhorrence by an impartial world, and shunned as a mon- 
 ster by every honest man. Your unoffending posterity will 
 be visited for your iniquity, by the stigma of deriving their 
 origin from an unfeeling murderer. Your days, which will 
 be but few, will be spent in wretchedness, and if your con- 
 science be not steeled against every virtuous emotion — if you 
 be not entirely abandoned to hardness of heart — the mangled, 
 mutilated corpse of your murdered slave will ever be present 
 in your imagination, obtrude itself into all your amusements, 
 and haunt you in the hours of silence and repose. 
 
 " But, should you disregard the reproaches of an offended 
 world — should you hear with callous insensibility the guaw- 
 ings of a guilty conscience — yet remember that an awful 
 period is fast approaching, and with you it is close at hand, 
 when you must appear before a tribunal whose want of 
 
 enjoy or receive the profits of any ofBce, place, or employment, civil or military, 
 and if unable to pay this fine, then imprisonment for seven years. The Act of 
 1821 charged this trifling punishment for what Judge Wilds justly called ' the 
 hlaclcest in the catalogue of human crimes,' to death." His eloquent tongue had 
 been silent in death nearly eleven years, when the " wisdom and justice " of the 
 Legislature yielded to the " hopes " of the " friends of humanity." " At my 
 instance," continues the judge, " my friend Daniel Horlbeck, Esq., caused the 
 records to be examined, to ascertain when the above sentence was pronounced, 
 and strange to say, nothing can be found. There is no Sessions docket or journal, 
 until 1833, now extant. No indictment against Slater can be found. I presume 
 the sentence was pronounced in 1807." This is confirmatory of the fact stated 
 in the preceding note, that the sentence was not published in the city papers of 
 the time. ., 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 513 
 
 power can afford yoii no prospect of impunity — when you 
 must raise your bloody hands at the bar of an impartial, 
 omniscient Judge. 
 
 " Remember, I pray you remember, whilst you yet have 
 time, that God is just, and that His vengeance will not 
 sleep for ever/' 
 
 An occasion like this called forth the peculiar powers of 
 Judge Wilds, touching, as it did, the tenderest sensibilities 
 and stirring up the emotional depths of his nature. The 
 sympathies of the man were not swallowed up in the stern 
 sense of duty in the upright judge. It was here that he 
 appeared good as he was great. 
 
 Another production, and the last of those emanating from 
 him which has been preserved, though it seems not to have 
 attained such celebrity, deservedly takes rank with the sen- 
 tence passed on Slater. It was published in the South 
 Carolina Gazette, of Wednesday, May 3rd, 1809, with the 
 following remarks prefixed, viz. : — 
 
 " Eloquent and Impressive. 
 
 " At the Court of General Sessions of the Peace, holden 
 at Union Court House, in INIarch Term last, before the 
 Honorable Judge Wilds, John ToUison was tried and found 
 guilty of the wilful murder of John Mathis ; and when the 
 unhappy criminal was brought to the bar, to receive the 
 sentence of the law, the following eloquent and impressive 
 address was delivered by the judge. The serious impression 
 it made on all who were present, — the faithful, correct, and 
 forcible view it exhibits of the awful and terrific situation of 
 the wretch, who, abandoned to the feelings of humanity, 
 imbues his hand in the blood of his fellow-creature — induced 
 the members of the Bar attending that Court, earnestly to 
 request the honorable judge to commit it to wanting, and 
 favor them wdth a copy ; which request he politely complied 
 with, and by those members of the Bar it is now ofi'ered to 
 the public : — 
 
 " John Tollison : 
 
 " The duty which yet remains to be performed 
 towards you, of all others to me the most awful and distress- 
 
 L L 
 
5J4 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 iug^ it is my misfortune to be obliged to perform alone. The 
 laws of our common country have commissioned me to 
 announce to you your doom : I hold your death-warrant in 
 my hand. Death^ the great destroyer of man, is terrible 
 even in its mildest forms ; though we behold its destructive 
 ravages spread wide around us — though we behold the 
 rich, the poor, the old, the young, the virtuous, the vicious, 
 fall indiscriminately before its deadly scythe, and feel our 
 own fate inevitable, — still we cannot contemplate its frightful 
 approaches, but with the most fearful apprehensions. The 
 awful uncertainties of a future state, the untried vicissitudes 
 of an unknown world, whence noue who have gone, have 
 ever returned, appal the strongest hearts ; and like cowards, 
 we groan under the pressure of lifers many ills, fearful to 
 draw aside the veil which hides the future from us. But, 
 though death be always dreadful, it is not always equally so. 
 To yield our lives to Him who gave them ; to wait the dread 
 moment on our beds of sickness, surrounded by those we 
 love, whose affectionate concern, whose sympathizing tears, 
 soften the anguish of expiring nature — to die for our native 
 land, to guard its honor on the field of danger, and meet the 
 grim tyrant at the cannon's mouth, though not enough to 
 make him welcome, robs him of half his terrors. But, 
 unfortunately for you, these are consolations which will not 
 support you in your approaching doom. The life which God 
 hath given you, you have yourself most wickedly destroyed — 
 the tender love, the sympathetic tear which would have 
 cleaved to your departing spirit, and winged it for its flight, 
 you have banished by your public disgrace, to pine in hope- 
 less solitude over your untimely fate ; and to the offended 
 justice of that country, for whose honor to have died would 
 have been heroic, you fall a victim. Hung up between the 
 heavens and the earth, — heaven's oldest, greatest curse 
 stamped on the deed you have done ; no friendly voice to bid 
 a long farewell; no friendly hand to close your eyes in 
 death ; you will exhibit an awful, but instructive spectacle 
 to the world, and prove that the arm of avenging justice is 
 swift to overtake him who sheds a brother's blood. 
 
 " I need not remind you, for you cannot have forgotten the 
 circumstances which led to this fatal catastrophe. Your hands 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 615 
 
 yet smoke with the blood of murder^ and Mathis^s uew-made 
 grave makes an impressive appeal to your memory. . Think 
 not to find a palliation for your oflence in the intoxication 
 under which it is said you labored ; nor hope to extenuate 
 its horrors^ in the irritation of passion which you endeavored 
 to establish. Your drunkenness but aggravates your crime ] 
 the diabolical fury which drove you on to perpetrate this 
 fatal deed, seems not to have had any exciting cause ; and the 
 insidious, cowardly manner in which you made the attack, 
 the deadly weapon which you wielded, and your unmanly 
 perseverance in inflicting the deepest injuries on an adversary, 
 who had not made the slightest resistance, nay, who was 
 even unable to raise his hand against you, argue a most 
 savage temperament of soul — a heart black with malevolence, 
 and more than ordinarily depraved. You have had a fair 
 and impartial trial by juries of your own choice, in the 
 selection of whom, even your caprice has been tenderly 
 indulged : you have had the benefit of able counsel, whose 
 manly address to the understanding, whose eloquent appeals 
 to the heart, must have saved you, if even a doubt of your 
 guilt could have been excited ; but alas ! it has all been in 
 vain; you have been pronounced guilty of the horrid crime 
 of murder, for which you die unpitied. 
 
 " It will be hardly generous to remind you, for it can now 
 only aggravate your distress, of the many strong inducements 
 which you had to a different conduct. Living in a land of 
 light and liberty,where every right is securely protected, every 
 virtuous exertion liberally rewarded, — in the vigor of health 
 and prime of manhood, and surrounded by all the means of 
 honest enjoyment, life was surely worth preserving. You 
 have, but my heart sickens at the thought, a wife, who tenderly 
 loves you — you are a father of children, who look to you for 
 bread ; for them at least you ought to have lived. Cruel, 
 thoughtless man, what have you done ? Besides robbing these 
 objects, justly dear to your heart, of their only protection and 
 support ; besides turning them on a wide and friendless world, 
 exposed to all the buffetings of scoff and adversity, you have 
 unkindly loaded them with disgrace, which, though they do 
 not merit, they must for ever feel. 
 
 " But, if the laws of your country, and your coimtry's 
 
 L L 2 
 
516 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 God ; if the love of life, aBd its va7"ied enjoyments ; if the 
 distress and disgrace of a family you love^ were unable to 
 withhold your murderous arm ; yet, believe me, when I 
 assure you, a reason yet more powerful than all, ought to 
 have made you pause ! You have an immortal soul at 
 stake, and have,, by this fatal deed, to the manifold trans- 
 gressions of an ill-spent life^ added a mountain of guilt. 
 
 " Your days on earth are now numbered. The sword of 
 death, which hangs uplifted over the frail thread of your 
 existence, ready to drop, will quickly cut it in twain, and 
 those who have known you, will know j^ou no more ! But, 
 though you feel the fatal stroke, hope not in it to find a 
 termination of your woes. It will be the mere prelude to 
 another trial, awfully terrific. Again you will be arraigned 
 at the bar of justice, and the black record of a thousand 
 crimes spread in your view. Again you must raise your 
 trembling hand, but before a Judge, whose penetrating eye 
 will spy the secret corners of your soul, whose power is 
 fearful indeed ! Again you will be confronted with wit- 
 nesses — and, horrible thought, the bleeding, murdered 
 Mathis, probably dragged from the howling regions of 
 despair, will appear in the number ; should you again be 
 found guilty, your doom will be interminable woe ! Let me 
 conjure you by every tie which yet has a hold upon your 
 heart, to devote the scanty remnant of your days to serious 
 preparation for your apj)roaching doom ! Strive importu- 
 nately, I beseech you, to secure that Advocate, whose 
 merits are all powerful, whose services alone can save you ; 
 for in the exhaustless fountain of redeeming grace, even the 
 foul stain of murder may be washed clean ! 
 
 " The sentence of the Court is, that you be now carried 
 from hence to the place from Avhence you came, and that 
 on the last Friday in May next, between the hours of eleven 
 in the forenoon and two in the afternoon, you be carried to 
 the place of public execution, in the district of Union, there 
 to be hanged by the neck until your body be dead, and 
 may the Almighty God have mercy on your soul V 
 
 The end of a brilliant career was now rapidly approach- 
 insr. It is needless to remark, how much was crowded into 
 a life not more brief than successful, not more singularly 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHEKAWS. 517 
 
 marked by its rapid rise to emiueucc, than the manner in 
 whieh the highest honors thus early \von were borne ! It 
 Avill suffice to say, that no man was ever more deservedly 
 popular, more universally beloved, or more profoundly re- 
 gretted iu his departure from earth than Samuel Wilds. 
 
 There was, as we must conclude from tradition and con- 
 temporary testimony, a charm in his manner and conversa- 
 tion — in his countenance, his words, his actions, his life — 
 about the whole man, in short, which has seldom, if ever, 
 had a counterpart in any public character. 
 
 Taken altogether, judged by what he was and what he did, 
 for his life was short — he had scarcely completed his 35th 
 year when death overtook him — it may well be questioned 
 whether his native State has ever produced a better or a 
 greater man. 
 
 His last Court was held in Charleston. It was a most 
 laborious session, tasking his vigorous powers to the utter- 
 most. The work, however, was faithfully done, seventeen 
 hundred suits having been disposed of, to the satisfaction of 
 every party interested. To the last a brighter lustre was 
 being added to his name. But, his race was finished ! The 
 first intelligence received in the city fi'om the home to 
 whieh he had returned with fond anticipations, was the 
 announcement of his death. The blow was deeply felt. In 
 all parts of the State his name had become a household 
 word, and was gratefully and admiringly cherished. Adapt- 
 ing himself, without effort, to all classes, he commanded the 
 love and the homage of all. In Charleston, the seat of 
 intelligence and refinement, where he won every heart from 
 the first, the feeling produced by the tidings of his sudden 
 and untimely end, was intense, and the public manifesta- 
 tions of regard, affecting and impressive. In the country, 
 meetings were also held, and every demonstration of respect 
 and sorrow was made for one who was, in truth, a universal 
 favorite. 
 
 Of the action of the Charleston Bar on this melancholy 
 occasion, the Courier of March 21st, 1810, contained the 
 following notice : — 
 
 " At a meeting of the gentlemen of the Bar in Charles- 
 ton, convened on ]\Ionday forenoon, for the purpose of 
 
518 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 expressing tlieir respect for the memory of the Honorable 
 Judge Wilds^ recently deceased, Timothy Ford, Esq., was 
 called to the chair, and a committee appointed to frame 
 resolutions, expressive of the object of the meeting, consist- 
 ing of the following gentlemen, viz. : — The Hon. Langdon 
 Cheves, William Loughton Smith, Esq., Keatiug L. Simons, 
 Esq., and Charles Eraser, Esq., who reported the following 
 resolutions, which were unanimously adopted, viz. : — ^ The 
 members of the Bar of Charleston, being convened on the 
 melancholy occasion of the death of the Honorable Samuel 
 Wilds, one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas and 
 Sessions of this State, have entered unanimously into the fol- 
 lowing resolutions : — Whereas, the Bar of Charleston have 
 received with emotions of heart-felt sorrow the mournful in- 
 telligence of the death of Judge Wilds, and deplore this sad 
 event, not only as a calamity to the public, who are thereby 
 bereaved of an able, upright, and assiduous minister of jus- 
 tice, but as being particularly afflicting to themselves, who 
 were personally and cordially attached to him, as well from 
 a high sense of his professional merit, as on account of his 
 numerous private virtues, and of an uncommon amiableness 
 of disposition and suavity of manners, happily blended with 
 the dignity of deportment suitable to his high station : — 
 Therefore, resolved, that they do, in testimony of theiv 
 sentiments, most sincerely entertained by them, and as a 
 tribute of affection and respect for his memory, wear crape 
 on the left arm one month from the date of this resolution. 
 
 " ' Resolved, that the Rev. Mr. Flinn be requested to 
 deliver a sermon^ on the melancholy occasion, and that the 
 members of the Bar do attend the same.^ '■* 
 
 The Carolina Gazette of April 6th, 1810, published the 
 following proceedings in Sumpter : — 
 
 " Sumpter Court House, March 16th, 1810. 
 
 " The gentlemen of the Bar at Sumpter Court, having 
 
 heard of the death of the Honorable Judge Wilds, called a 
 
 meeting of the members present, to take into consideration 
 
 in what manner they should express their regret for his loss, 
 
 * Mr. Fliiin preached au admirable discourse, as requested, which was after- 
 wards published. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 519 
 
 and their respect for his memory. The Honorable Judge 
 Brevard was pleased, at their request^ to attend the meeting, 
 and preside, when they came to the following resolution : — 
 ' We, the members of the Bar of South Carolina, convened 
 at Sumpter Court House, dee^^ly impressed with the loss we 
 have sustained in the death of the Honorable Judge Wilds, 
 deem it equally a privilege and a duty to give expression to 
 our feelings by some public mark of the respect we entertain 
 for his memory ; to mingle our tears with those of his 
 family and relatives, to sympathize with his friends, and to 
 deplore, with our fellow-citizens at large, the calamity which 
 has befallen the State, in the loss of one of its greatest 
 ornaments. As a faint emblem, therefore, of the tribute 
 due to departed merit, we do hereby resolve, that we will 
 testify the grief which we feel at the loss of a man so 
 virtuous and beloved, of a judge so able and so distinguished 
 in the discharge of the duties of his office, by wearing crape 
 on the left arm until after the next sitting of the Constitu- 
 tional Court. 
 
 '' Abraham Nott J. G. Mathis 
 
 John S. Richardson Abraham Blanding 
 
 John D. W^ithei'spoon James Ervin 
 
 James S. Dees John B. Miller 
 
 E. L. Witherspoon Thomas B. Mitchell 
 
 James Caldwell James G. Spann." 
 
 William Grant 
 
 The 'Raleigh Star, of March 22nd, 1810, contained the 
 following truthful and touching obituary notice : — 
 
 " Died, at his seat near Cheraw Court House, on Friday, 
 the 9th of March, the Honorable Samuel Wilds, one of the 
 Associate Judges of the State of South Carolina. In this 
 gentleman, his family, his friends, and his State have sus- 
 tained a loss which will be as deeply regretted as it is 
 irreparable. 
 
 " He seemed formed by nature to conciliate affection and 
 excite admiration ; for such was the benevolent sunshine of 
 his countenance and the fascination of his manners, that to 
 know him was to love him ; and such was the strength and 
 disinterested liberality of his mind, that to converse with 
 
520 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 him was to receiA^e edification and feel the admiration due 
 to superior intellect. He possessed a vis vivida animi, a rich- 
 ness of imagination^ which_, while it decked with eloquence 
 whatever it touched, displayed with better energy and grace 
 the offspring of his judgment. His progress in life was 
 proportioned to the superiority of his endowments. Holding 
 the first place in the friendship of all who knew him, and 
 the idol of his fellow-citizens, he rose with rapid strides, 
 though still in his youth, to the first honors of his profes- 
 sion. But, inscrutable are the ways of Providence. He was 
 permitted to rise like the sun, enough above his horizon to 
 give anticipations of the splendor of his meridian elevation, 
 when the dark cloud of death passed over his face, and 
 wrapt him for ever from our view. But he lives, and long 
 will live in the fond and disconsolate affection of his amiable 
 consort and connexions, in the admiration of his friends, 
 and his State will long deplore the loss of the most pro- 
 mising of her sons.''^ 
 
 The fullest tribute to the memory of the departed jurist, 
 who was, indeed, one of the noblest of men, appeared 
 in the Carolina Gazette, of Charleston, March 30, 1810. 
 It will aptly close the brief sketch of his life which has 
 been given. 
 
 " Sic transit gloria mundi." 
 
 " Died, on Friday, the 9th inst., after a short and violent 
 illness,^ the Honorable Samuel Wilds, one of the Judges of 
 the Court of Common Pleas, and Sessions of this State ; 
 within a few hours of the day which would have completed 
 his thirty-fifth year. The death of this amiable gentleman 
 and excellent citizen, was as unexpected aud afflicting, as 
 his elevation to public esteem and distinction, had been 
 rapid, brilliant and well merited. Some account of the rise 
 and progress of a man, so deservedly esteemed and generally 
 lamented, cannot but be acceptable to the community he hath 
 so well served, and particularly to the inhabitants of this 
 city, who have been so recently benefitted by the able and 
 assiduous discharge of his public functions, as a minister of 
 justice. 
 
 * The disease was pneumonia. 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 521 
 
 " He was born in Marlborougli District, in this State, of 
 parents, who were of Welch extraction ; and was the eldest 
 of a numerous family of young children, whom his father 
 left, at a tempestuous season, to the care of a fond and 
 exemplary mother, with little other inheritance than his own 
 honest fame; with scarce other bequest than a parent's 
 blessing ! But these were enough for the lamented subject 
 of our remarks. A shrewd, sagacious boy, — a docile, 
 obedient child — ere long he began to divide with his mother, 
 the cares of her family, and by a degree of diligence and 
 good management, seldom found in one of his age, be con- 
 tinued to regulate the affairs of their narrow fortune, so as 
 to lessen the toils of his surviving parent, and to augment 
 the sum of her comforts. Yet, he was not contented. 'The 
 young idea beginning now to shoot,' his ardent mind parched 
 with the thirst of knowledge. Alas, his parent had not 
 withal to sustain its appetite. Too kind, however, not to 
 sympathize, too generous not to fan its noble flame, her 
 maternal love, by dint of frugality and privation, found the 
 means of gratifying the longings of her darling boy. He 
 was placed by her at the St. David's School, in Cheraws, 
 under the tuition of Mr. Park, a learned and respectable 
 gentleman, now one of the Professors at the College at 
 Columbia. His aspiring and teeming genius at once carried 
 him ahead of all his young companions, in so great and 
 rapid a proficiency, in all the branches of his studies, that 
 he was soon, under the liberal patronage of his preceptor, 
 promoted, with the allowance of a small salary, to the place 
 of an assistant teacher. An incident here occurred, of which 
 he ever spoke to his friends with delight. It was his lot to 
 educate the lady who afterwards became his wife, and to 
 whom, during a happy union of near twelve years, it may be 
 truly said, he never gave ' a pang, but when he died.' Thus 
 advanced, his pittant salary glowed like a mine in his eyes. 
 'It now aiforded him the means for which he had often sighed, 
 of opening the spring from whence he had tasted, with so 
 much pleasure, to an only and beloved brother, a boy of 
 promising parts. John Wilds was accordingly put to school 
 by his brother. Some time afterwards, the latter succeeded 
 to Mr. Parkj as principal teacher. His mind, now expanding 
 
522 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 as he advanced in years^ began to explore the path he 
 was to tread in his walk through life. Endowed with an 
 uncommon share of sagacity, with a sound judgment, a quick 
 discrimination, and a large fund of native elocution, he 
 selected the profession of the law, as the best theatre for his 
 talents, and as presenting the readiest course, under the 
 genius of our government, for his rise to distinction. 
 
 " He accordingly entered on the study of the law, with the 
 late Wm. Falconer, Esq. Still more the favorite of genius 
 than of fortune, he was not enabled to devote his time and 
 thoughts entirely to the study of his profession, but was 
 obliged to divide them between that and the economy of the 
 little patrimony which sustained his mother and sisters, and 
 the duties of a place in the sheriff^s office of the district of 
 his residence, from whence he derived a maintenance for 
 himself and his brother. The time at length arrived for his 
 entering upon the career which he hath run with so much 
 honor to himself and usefulness to his country. 
 
 " He was called to the Bar in the spring of ^98. It is 
 needless to state that he was, immediately after his admis- 
 sion to the Bar, engaged in every cause of importance in the 
 districts adjacent to the place of his nativity. He had been 
 so long and so much a favorite in these, that this circum- 
 stance affords no test of his professional merit. In the 
 remote districts of his practice, he quickly ranked among 
 the most eminent in his profession ; and by the unaffected 
 simplicity of his manners, and the native amiableness of his 
 disposition, became in them as much beloved as among his 
 own neighbours. 
 
 '^ His first and most earnest wish now, was to establish and 
 bring forward his brother. The latter being inclined to the 
 study of physic, was, after having received the rudiments of 
 his profession from Dr. Hawes, a gentleman of science 
 resident in his neighbourhood, and a friend to the family, 
 sent by his brother to Newport, in Bhode Island, to com- 
 plete his professional education, under the late Dr. Seuter, 
 and was also supplied by him with the means of occasionally 
 attending the lectures of Dr. Rush, at Philadelphia. Having 
 finished his studies, he returned home, and commenced the 
 practice of physic. The fondest wishes of his brother's 
 
HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 523 
 
 heart were now about to be consummated. This promis- 
 ing plant, cultivated with so much labor and anxiety, put 
 forth its tender buds, — fair to the eye ; but there came ' a 
 frost, a killing frost,^ that nipt it in the flower. The 
 amiable subject of our notice derived consolation from pre- 
 serving his memory in honorable recollection. 
 
 " Having unavoidably incurred some debts in beginning 
 the practice of his profession, which he had done on the 
 faith of the brightest prospects, now closed in the grave too 
 soon for the performance of his engagements, it was felt by 
 his brother as a sacred duty, to see them discharged ; and 
 this he did in the spirit with which he accomplished all his 
 duties. This rude shock, which closed for ever the channel 
 wherein the benevolence of him who is our theme had 
 delighted to flow, did not, however, dry up or impoverish its 
 abundant source. It became, as soon as his pecuniary 
 resources would admit, a maxim with him, to which he 
 strictly conformed in practice, always to have flourishing 
 under the genial warmth of his bounty and patronage, 
 some tender shoot of genius that had been exposed to 
 the frost of poverty. 
 
 " Honored by the virtuous, and blessed by the poor, he still 
 pursued the track of his bright destinies. In the autumn 
 of 1800, he was unanimously elected a member of the House 
 of Representatives of the Legislature of this State, from the 
 district of Darlington. 
 
 " Unbending, yet liberal in his public principles, it was his 
 uncommon felicity to be cherished with pride and delight 
 by his own party, at the same time that he enjoyed tlie 
 general esteem and confidence, and in numerous instances, 
 the cordial affections of his political opponents. 
 
 " Under such circumstances, it could not be long ere his 
 influence Avould become important and distinguished in the 
 body of which he was a member. He accordingly enjoyed 
 this distinction, not only with the consciousness of deserving 
 it, but the heartfelt satisfaction of knowing, that the sense 
 of this merit was a universal sentiment. This honorable 
 height he reached, as well by an instinctive repugnance to 
 all the bubbling devices of popular intrigue, as by the noble 
 independence of his character, the abundant resoiu'ces of his 
 
524 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 Biind^ and an upright^ direct, manly pursuit of the measures 
 lie believed to be connected with the public advantage ; 
 Avhich held out to all that marked his course, ' the assurance 
 of a man/ bent only on the welfare of the State. 
 
 " In aid of those excellent qualities, and so estimable a 
 character, w^ere a frankness of mind, without the least mix- 
 ture of guile — an openness of heart, without the slightest 
 tincture of bitterness or acrimony — a fascinating playful- 
 ness of temper, that banished all semblance of harshness or 
 austerity, and a presence beaming with the most happy 
 mixture of benignity and sense — while withal, he carried 
 himself with so modest a port, and with so much native, 
 unassumed dignity, that he was wont, at the first introduc- 
 tion, to seize upon the esteem and regards of his acquaint- 
 ance, and bind them to him with a gordian knot. 
 
 " Indeed, such was the unatfected simplicity of his manner 
 and lively ' sunshine^ of his countenance, that he could, at 
 the same moment, win the esteem of hoary age and draw 
 lisping infancy to his bosom. 
 
 '' Nor shall it be forgotten, that his eloquence, like the 
 herald of the morn, precursed his race to the bright meridian 
 of his public honors. His eloquence owed much to uature; 
 as much to the care with which lie cultivated it. Ready, 
 perspicuous, manly, and flowing, its general type partook of 
 the amiableness of his disposition, being inclined, ' by 
 winning words to conquer willing hearts^ — although it was 
 susceptible, when he pleased, of a degree of elevation and 
 energy, that stamped on it the features of a commanding 
 character. 
 
 " It shone most in a chaste and nervous expression of 
 sentiment, imbibing nourishment rather from the passions 
 than the fancy, and delightiug more in the glowing regions 
 of the heart, than the serene fields of the imagination; 
 though even hence it were wont to inhale many a fragrant 
 breath, and to weave many a graceful wreath. It was, 
 however, only the dress and ornament to his masculine 
 reason. Endowed with a vigorous and ample understand- 
 ing, which had surmounted every difficulty in its way, and 
 profited by every occasion of enriching itself with precious 
 lore — and being no less delighted with the fruit of logic, 
 
HISTORY or THE OLD CHE RAWS. 525 
 
 than charmed with the flowers of rhetoric — he exhibited in 
 discursive power^ a degree of strength and solidity, that 
 was unrivalled by the flight of his elocution, 
 
 " His mind always embraced a clear and comprehensive 
 view of his subject, and his ratiocination was generally con- 
 ducted from cause to consequence, by a beautiful and 
 regular concatenation, though sometimes, it must be owned, 
 its method was disturbed by an overruling bias to decla- 
 mation — the eloquence of which, hoAvever, never failed to 
 atone for his transgression of order. His moral excellences 
 are sufficiently portrayed in the traits that have been given 
 already of his character. The sentiments of filial piety and 
 affection (it shall still be remarked), could but have deep 
 root*; in a heart of so soft and generous a mould. One 
 habit, which was fixed with him, will suffice to show this. 
 It was his custom, ever, on returning home from a journey, 
 especially after he had risen to distinction, at whatever 
 hour of day or night it happened, immediately to visit his 
 mother, who resided at a short distance from his own dwel- 
 ling, that he might taste the joy his dutiful and aff'ectionate 
 demeanor was wont to kindle in her aged bosom, and feast 
 his soul with a parent's blessing. 
 
 " Possessed of the qualities of mind above noticed, it would 
 seem that a popular assembly had been a better theatre for 
 his talents than the solemn bench of justice, and that they 
 would have been attracted to the national councils as their 
 most suitable sphere of action ; but his destiny ruled other- 
 wise. 
 
 " After having served for two years as Solicitor of the 
 Northern Circuit, to which post he was almost unanimously 
 elected, in December, 1802, and faithfully discharged the 
 duties thereof — in fulfilling which he combined the softest 
 feelings of humanity with an inflexible adherence to the 
 claims of public duty — he was, in the year 1804, elected a 
 judge of the Court of Common Pleas and Sessions of this 
 State. 
 
 " Seated now on a noble eminence, his mind seemed tc 
 grow to the prospects around him, and although the cast of 
 it may have appeared better adapted to another, but no less 
 distinguished part, it was, nevertheless, here that it displayed 
 
526 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 its highest energies. How well he discharged the duties of 
 this important station, may be seen in the records of our 
 Courts, and will be read hereafter, in the juridical history 
 of our State. How happily he performed them, may be read 
 now in the sorrowful countenances of his brethren of the pro- 
 fession, in the effusions of their grief, and in the public honor 
 they have conferred on his memory. 
 
 "^ It seemed, indeed, the pleasure of Providence, that this 
 favored genius should mount to the skies, clothed in the 
 radiance of a star. 
 
 " ' Within a month, a little month,' after having accom- 
 plished important services for the State, as a minister of 
 justice ; after having displayed the powers of his mind, and 
 the resources and readiness of his learning, during a long 
 and laborious term, in examining and determining, with the 
 soundest judgment and most accurate discrimination, the 
 multifarious topics springing out of seventeen himdred suits, 
 in which, though many were not litigated, many were, and 
 some involving questions of a complicated and difficult 
 nature ; after having sealed his labors with the affectionate 
 adieus of his fellow-laborers, while yet on every tongue the 
 living theme of praise, his soul rushed from its abode of clay, 
 and sought its native heaven. 
 
 " Oh, where is now the light of those eyes that beamed 
 with so lovely a lustre ? Where that benignant smile ? 
 Where the ' sunshine ' of soul that for ever played on 
 that manly face ? Cease weeping, folly ! — they have fled 
 with his spirit from the circles of men to the spheres of 
 angels. 
 
 " Yet it were allowable to shed on their departure some 
 natural drops. Their image yet lives with us : it is engraven 
 on the hearts of his numerous acquaintance ; it is embalmed 
 in the tears of his mourning friends and relatives.^'* 
 
 To this touching record of departed worth, watered with 
 the tears of him from whom it emanated, may be added the 
 
 * This tribute of affection was doubtless from tlie pen of that noble man 
 and distin2:uished lawyer, Keating L. Simons, Esq., of Charleston, between 
 whom and Judge Wilds the truest syinpathy and most cordial and endearing 
 iriendship existed. 
 
mSTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 527 
 
 effusion of another J* who born and reared in the same 
 region with Judge Wikls, and probably his pupil in St. 
 David's^ knew and loved him in his earlier years, and now 
 joined, with all the generous ardor of his nature, in the 
 general grief over his untimely end ! 
 
 "FOR THE COURIER. 
 
 " Lines occasioned hy the lamented death of the Hon. Judge Wilds. 
 
 " Come, grief, with thy funereal train, 
 'J'hy heart-afflicting sigh, 
 And pity's elegiac strain. 
 
 And sorrow's swollen eye. 
 Cease pleasure's g:ty, deceitful sound, 
 Our brows with cypress leaves be bound. 
 As bending sad o'er virtue's bier, 
 We wake the plaintive song, and shed the sorrowing tear. 
 
 " With ceaseless hate, terrific foe. 
 Death wields his vengeful arm j 
 He lays the pride of valor low, 
 
 And rifles beauty's charm. 
 Yet why, insatiate tyrant, why 
 A mark so noble and so high. 
 To strike with vent'rous arrow dare. 
 And folly's giddy tribe with cruel fondness spare ? 
 
 " Virtue in vain her boast would save. 
 And shield her favorite son ; 
 Alas, he sinks into the grave. 
 
 Heaven's holy will be done ! 
 The wreath that learning had prepared, 
 The patriot's brightest, best reward. 
 Torn from his living brow, shall bloom 
 A laurel ever green around his grassy tomb. 
 
 " Though here his silent relics sleep. 
 Cold in the chill embrace of earth, 
 His early fate shidl genius weep. 
 
 And justice tell his worth. 
 Where shall his mourning country find 
 So good a heart, so strong a mind ? 
 A life so pure, such honorable fame. 
 As that which shed its beams 'round Wilds' modest name ? 
 
 " Ah ! why in quest of classic lore. 
 Does wisdom idly toil ; 
 The flow'ret scarcely blooms, before 
 
 It withers in the soil. 
 Yet still its fragrance shall survive, 
 And still the fame of genius live. 
 While fond remembrance on her gratefid breast. 
 Its various worth records vvith deathless force imprest. 
 
 Supposed to be John Lide Wilson, then in his twenty-sixth year. 
 
528 HISTORY OF THE OLD CHERAWS. 
 
 " There still his voice shall charm the ear, 
 And still in memory's tearful eye 
 His form shall to his friends appear. 
 
 And wake the mournful sigh. 
 From earth removed, his manly soul. 
 Far, far above the earth's control. 
 On seraph's wings to heaven has flown. 
 And joys in vu'tue's meed, religion's sacred crown ! 
 
 "W. 
 
 " March I7th, 1810." 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Adams, among settlers on Pedee, 99 
 Allison, Kevr. Mr., notice of, 69 
 
 ,, Dr. Robert, elected Sheriff for Marlborough, 460 
 AUston, Peter, settles on Pedee, 105; his removal, 106 
 
 ,, Peter, Representative for St. David's, 4 16 
 Ammons, Joshua, notice of, and meeting with Lafayette, 402-403, an! note 
 Andrews, John, Adjutant under Kolb, 301 
 Assembly, Commons House of, elects deputies to Congress, 206 
 
 ,, General, under new form of government, convened, ■258 
 „ Address of Speaker of House and Council to President, 258 
 ,, Summoned to meet in Charles-town, 274 
 
 ,, Vacancies in, for St. David's tilled, 275 
 ,, prescribes Oath, its effects, original certificate of, 287-288 
 Auld, John and Michael, pursuit of Tories, 330 
 Ayer, Thomas, settles on Pedee, his family, 93 and note 
 
 ,, ,, reply when asked to ta^e oath of allegiance, 305 
 
 ,, ,, reward offered for by M "Arthur, 309 
 
 ,, „ capture of, and escape, 309-311 
 
 ,, Lewis Maloue's narrative of Kolo's death, and of pursuit by Tories, 
 
 362-368 
 ,, ,, removal to Barnwell, and death, 93, note 
 
 Bacot, Samuel, settles on Pedee, origin, and family, 105-106 
 ,, ,, adventure with Tories, 327-328 
 
 „ ,, imprisonment and escape, 328-329, and note 
 
 Baker, notice of family, 75 
 
 ,, Captain, of Georgia, skirmish with Tories, 386 
 ar of Cheraws, 204 ; Lawyers at, 436 
 Barheld, noted Tories of the name, 337 
 
 ,, Major, account of, and his perfidy, 338 
 
 ,, fight with Murphy at Bass's, 372-373 
 „ notices of, 334, 337-338 
 Baxter, James, settles on Poke Swamp, 79 
 ,, Colonel John, distinguished, 79 ; Representative for Liberty, 455 
 ,, one of the name hangs a Tory, 386 
 
 ,, Robert, Representative for St. David's, 445 ; his death, 451 
 Bedgegood, Rev. Nicholas, notice of, and family, 96 and note, 97 
 
 ,, ,, preaches Sessions sermons at Long Bluff, 196 
 
 ,, ,, extract from his journal, 96, wo<e 
 
 Benton, Lemuel, settles on Pedee, marriage, his family, 104 
 ,, a Major in command on Pedee, 352 
 
 ,, with Kolb after Tories on Cat Fish, 359 
 
 ,, Lieutenant-Colonel, 371 
 
 ,, his regiment allotted to Marion's Brigade, 377 
 
 ,, on Black Creek, skirmish of his force with Tories, 386 
 
 ,, another skirmish on Black Creek, 387 
 
 ,, writes to Governor Matthews, 388-389 
 
 SJ M 
 
530 INDEX. 
 
 Eenton, Lemuel, writes to General Marion, 390-391, 391-392 
 
 ,, „ opposed successively by Mr. Wilson and General Huger for 
 
 Congress, 401 
 ,, „ Representative for St. David's, 415, 43-2, 445 
 
 ,, ,, County Court Justice for Darlington County, 433, 452 
 
 ,, ,, Escheator for Cheraws, 446 
 
 ,, ,, delegate to Convention in Charleston, 447 
 
 „ ,, „ ,, „ „ Columbia, 451 
 
 ,, „ Sheriff for Cheraws, 451, 453 
 
 ,, ,, in Congress, and diflSculty with Major Thomas, 455-456 
 
 ,, ,, resigns commission as colonel, 456 
 
 „ „ traits of character, 371 ; sketch of, and death, 401 
 
 Bethea, William, settles on Little Pedee, his family, 86 
 ,, ,, attacked by Tories for his money, 394 
 
 ,, John, sen., and jun., after Tories, 393 
 ,, ,, punishes Snowden, a Tory, 394 
 
 ,, Philip, Representative for Liberty, 461 
 Blackman, a Tory, punished by Colonel Murphy, 354 
 Black Creek, Acts to improve navigation of, and commissioners, 446, 453 
 Blakeney, John, settles on Lynche's Creek, his family, 100 
 „ „ family of, suffer from Tories, 383-384 
 
 „ Mrs. Mary, notice of, 384, note 
 
 „ James, Representative for Chesterfield County, 456, 459 
 Boundary line between North and South Carolina, 37-41, 469 
 Botsford, Rev. Edmond, notice of, his marriage, 88, note 
 
 „ ,, removes his family to Virginia, 439-440 
 
 Braddock's defeat, followed by removals to Pedee, 92 
 Bradley, a Tory, taken and killed by Colonel M'Ree, 394 
 Brawler, Jacob, unequalled gift to his country, 403-404, and note. 
 Brevard, Joseph, at Cheraw Bar, 436 
 Brigman, a Tory, killed by Daniel Hicks, 385 
 Brockington, Richard, his settlement and family, 90 
 ,, Mrs. Mary, 90, note 
 
 ,, Richard, Representative for Darlington, 456 
 Brown, Rev. John, comes to Pedee, notice of, 64 
 ,, Colonel Thomas, ordered to Pedee, 333 
 
 ,, „ writes to General Harrington, 333, 334, 337-338 
 
 ,, John, County Court Justice for Chesterfield, 451 
 ,, Morgan, Representative for St. David's, 432, 445 
 ,, „ Senator for St. David's, 448 
 
 ,, ,, County Court Justice for Marlborough, 433, 452 
 
 ,, ,, delegate to Convention in Columbia, 451 
 
 Brownfield, Doctor Robert, delegate to Convention in Charleston, 4 47 
 
 „ „ Representative for St. David's 447, 448 
 
 Bryan, Colonel, a Loyalist, notice of, 314 
 Buckholdts, Jacob, mention of, family, 54, and note 
 „ Creek, 76 
 
 „ Abraham, Major of Cheraws Regiment, 226 
 
 Bull Pen, notice of, 361-362, 364, 371 
 Bullard, Joel, Sheriff for Chesterfield, 460 
 
 Butler, Jef., "Tory Captain, notice of, adventure with Whigs, 395-396 
 „ „ protected by Marion, 395 
 
 Campbell, Captain, settles on Pedee, 441 
 
 ,, ,, his sons, Robert and John, notice of, 441 
 
 Cannon, Henry, Representative for St. David's, 448 
 
 ,, ,, County Court Justice for Darlington, 451 
 
 Cantey, Josiah, adventure with Tories, wounded, 359 
 Carlos, Robeson, settles on Pedee, 443 
 Cashway, origin of name, 78, note 
 Caswell, General, writes to General Harrington, 309 
 Cat Fish creek, Act to improve navigation of, and commisaioners, 453 
 
INDEX. 531 
 
 Caucasian race, progressive, io8 
 Cauliiins, at Cheraws Bar, 436 
 Chapman, Allen, settles in Chesterfield, 442 
 ,, ,, Sheriff of Cheraws, 432 
 
 ,, John, settles in Chesterfield, 442 
 
 Charge of Judge Drayton, 2 1 1 -2 1 5 
 ,, of Judge Grimke, 416-429 
 ,, of Judge Wilds, 502-509 
 Charleston exposed to attack by sea, 251 
 
 ,, siege of, incidents o?, etfects on State, 295 
 
 ,, fall of, effects, and incidents, 302 
 
 Charles-town, evacuation of, 392 
 Chatham, when and why so called, 119, 179 ; origin and history of, as name 
 
 of town, 463-465 
 Cheraw settled, towB laid out by Kershaw, 118, 1 19 
 ,, when and why called Chatham, 119, 179 
 ,, commissions for erecting Court House, &c., 185 
 „ petition and counter-petition, as to location, and action of assembly, 
 
 185-192 
 5> progress of buildings at Long Blufif, 194 
 ,, regiment, officers of, 135 
 „ officers elected by Provincial Congress, 236 
 ,, Stockade Fort at, history of, 240-244 
 ,, prisoners sent to gaol of, 174 
 ,, sickness of British soldiers tliere, 319, 320 
 ,, Circuit Court for, continues to sit at Long Bluff, 436 
 „ district, population of, 454, 465 
 ,, town of, its history, 463-465 
 Cheraws, judicial district, bounds of, 185 
 Cherrey, George, settles on Cat Fish, 10 1 
 Chesterfield County, boundaries of, 433 
 
 ,, ,, after whom named, 436 
 
 ,, „ site of Court House, 434 
 
 „ ,, Courts, when to be liolden, 434 
 
 „ „ County Court, justices for, 433, 446, 451, 452, 455 
 
 „ ,, presentment of grand jury for, 435 
 
 J, „ representatives elected for, 454, 456, 457, 458, 459, 460 
 
 ,, ,, dividing line with Darlington run, 461 
 
 Circuit Court continues to sit at Long Blufif, 436 
 Circulating medium, petition for, 447, 448 ; time extended, 455 
 Civil affairs, derangement of, 373 
 
 ,, ,, Marion writes to Governor Matthews about, 373, 374 
 Clary, Daniel, estate confiscated, 380 
 Clinton, Sir Henry, writes to Honorable Geo. Gervain, 306 
 
 „ „ goes to the North, 307 
 
 Colt, William, a settler, 79 
 Colson, Abraham, early settler, 79 
 
 Commerce, state of^ in province, 121 ; revived in 1776, 278 
 Commissary receipts for provisions furnished during war, 298, 301 note, 347 
 
 note, 371 notes 
 Confiscation of estates to be made, 378 
 
 „ Mrs. Steward petitions in behalf of her husband, and result, 378, 
 
 379 ; notice of by Royal Gazette, 380 
 ,, Mrs. Mitchell petitions for husband, 415, 416 
 
 Convention in Charleston to ratify Federal Constitution, 447 
 „ ,, election for, where held, 447 note 
 
 „ „ delegates from St. David's, their votes, 447 
 
 ,, in Columbia for State Constitution, delegates from St. David's, and 
 
 their votes, 450, 451 
 CJorawallis, Lord, succeeds Sir H. Clinton, 307 
 ,, ,, disposition of troops, 307 
 
 „ „ writes Sir H. Clinton, 308, 314, 315 
 
 M M 2 
 
532 INDEX. 
 
 Cornwallis, Lord, account of failure of expedition on river, 317, 318 
 ,, ,, his prospects in Carolinas, 319 
 
 ,, ,, writes Honorable Geo. Gervain of Gates's advance, 323, 374 
 
 ,, ,, account of opening of battle of Camden, 324 
 
 ,, „ writes Sir H. Clinton of spirit of revolt in State, 345 
 
 ,, ,, feelings and prospects, 345-346 
 
 ,, „ writes Taileton about Green, 349, 350 
 
 ,, ,, cartel witli Green for exchange of prisoners, 367 
 
 ,, ,, declining fortunes, retreat to Wilmington, 368 
 
 „ ,, account of his embarrassed situation, 369 
 
 ,, ,, writes General Phillips, 370 
 
 Cotton, its cultivation, 116; specimens of cloth, 116 
 Council, Captain, commands on Pedee, 333, 371 
 Counties, first in Carolina, 31, 32 
 
 ,, Marlborough, Chesterfield, and Darlington, boundaries of, 433 
 
 ,, origin of three names, 436 
 
 ,, sites selected for Court Houses, 434 
 
 County Court Act, provisions of, 432, 433 
 
 ,, ,, system remodelled, 450-452 ; abolished, 460, 461 
 Court District, system established, account of, 459-460 
 Court of Equity, how arranged, where to sit, 453 
 Courtney, a Torj, killed by Whigs, 393 
 Courts, want of, sorely felt, 121 
 
 ,, held only in Charles-town, evils of, 126, 127 and mo^e, 128 
 ,, first petition for from Pedee, 131-132, and note 
 ,, ,, „ action of council thereon, 132-133 
 
 ,, second petition for, from Pedee, and account of, 135 
 ,, next petition for, how disposed of, 137 
 ,, Circuit Court Act passed, account of, 137, T38 
 „ ,, „ progress of bill in Parliament, 155 
 
 ,, ,, ,, gaining ground, Governor's address, 182-183 
 
 ,, ,, ,, provisions of and benefits, 184,185 
 
 ,, ,, ,, officers created, and appointments, 195, 196 
 
 ,, opened at Long Bluff, the occasion, 196 
 
 ,, last circuit of his Majesty's Justices, 230 
 ,, opened under New Constitution, 263 
 ,, suspended by war, 278 ; re-opened, 288 
 ,, closed again, 373 ; opened after war, 416 
 ,, ordered to be holden at Cheraws, not done, 454 
 Coxe, Emanuel, notice of family, 99 
 
 ,, John, with Kolb after Tories, 359 
 Craig, Alexander, notice of, 442 
 
 J, ,, County Court Justice for Chesterfield, 455 
 
 ,, John, in Chesterfield, marriage, &c. , 442 
 Craven County, its limits and settlement, 32 
 
 ,, ,, first parochial organization in, 32, 33 
 
 ,, ,, Prince George Winyaw, 33 
 
 „ „ Prince Frederick's, 33 
 
 ,, „ line between two parishes, Act of, 33-35 
 
 „ ,, St. Mark's, its limits, 36 
 
 J, ,, line between St. Mark's and Prince Frederick's, 36 
 
 J, ,, Regiment of, 120 
 
 ,, ,, extent of Prince Frederick's and St. Mark's, 166, 167 
 
 Crawford, John, notice of, and the family, 71 and note 
 
 ,, James, captain in Revolution, 71 
 
 Croly, old Mrs. spared by Whigs, 387 
 Crosland, Edward, notice of, family tradition, 99 
 CuUoden, batt.e of, followed by emigration to Pedee, 87, 88 
 Cusack, Adam, his execution by Wemys, 303 and note 
 
 Dabbs, Joseph, on Pedee, marriage and descendants, loi 
 ., „ with Kolb after Tories, 359 
 
INDEX. 533 
 
 Uabbs, Joseph, killed by Toiies, 366 
 
 JJaniel, a Wbi;^', blunder at Bass's, 372 ; atones for it, 373 
 Dargan, Mr. Timothy, settles in Darlingtun, 440 
 Darlington County, iis boundaries, 433 ; the name, 436 
 ,, ,, site of Court House, 434 
 
 ,, „ Courts when to be holden, 434 
 
 „ ,, lire at C. H., account of, 453 and note 
 
 ,, „ County Court Justices for, 434,446, 451, 452, 457 
 
 M ,, Justices of Peace for, 433, 452, 454 
 
 ), ,, Representatives for, 454, 456, 457, 458, 459, 460, 461 
 
 ,, ,, dividing line with Chesterfield, 461 
 
 David, first of this name, account of family, 51 and note 
 
 ,, Joshua, wounded at Eutaw, 377 
 David St., account of name, 162 and 7iote 
 David's St., Parish established, 163-165 
 
 „ „ nature and objects of organization, 166 
 
 „ ,, some of Commissioners decline acting, 167 
 
 ,, ,, Journal of Vestry, organization, 166-167 
 
 „ „ action as to church building, 174-175 
 
 ,, ,, officers elected, 175; subsequent elections, 177-181 
 
 ,, ,, efforts to procure a clerttyman, 175 
 
 ,, ,, church occupied by British, 176 
 
 ,, ,, taxes laid on Parish, 177-178 
 
 „ „ parish expenditure, 178, r8o 
 
 ,, ,, organization ceases, iSi 
 
 ,, ,, ,, fails to meet wants of people, 182 
 
 ,, „ notice of Bill altering bounds of, 181 
 
 „ „ church building, 181; grand jury presents it, 203 
 
 ,, ,, subscription in, for poor of Boston, 220-222 and note 
 
 „ „ Committee of Observation for, their duties, 227-228, 229 
 
 „ „ Members added to Committee, and duties, 237 
 
 ,, ,, action of Committee as to Col. Steward and John Mitchell, 
 
 237-239 ' 
 
 ,, „ Commissions issued for Volunteer Companies in, 244-24O 
 
 „ „ ammunition provided for, and want of, 244, 219, 253, 254 
 
 ,, ,, entitled to six representatives under new Constitution, 357 
 
 ,, ,, salt provided for inhabitants, 275 
 
 ,, ,, retains former number of representatives, 289 
 
 ,, ,, change in places of election, 276 
 
 Davison, Colonel George, writes to General Harrington, 339 
 Delaney, Captain, ooni'iands company on Pedes, 333 
 Djwitt, IMartin, settles on Pedee, his family, 97 
 ,, Thomas, settles lower down, his family, 98 
 ,, ^VilliaIn, notice of, and family, 97 and note 
 „ „ his house burned by British, 304 and note 
 
 „ „ removes his family, 305 
 
 ,, ,, conduct as to oath of allegiance, 305 
 
 ,, ,, representative for St. David's, 378, 415 
 
 „ „ Senator, 432 ; Sheriff for Cheraws, 416 
 
 „ ,, County Justice for Darlington, 434 
 
 „ ,, delegate to Convention in Charleston, 434 
 
 „ Charles, County Justice for Darlington, 434 
 „ William, kills Stephen Gainey, 376-377 
 Dibble, John, at Cheraw Bar, 436 
 
 Dick, William, notice of, 92 ; punishes Jeff. Butler, 395 
 Diseases, which first known on Pedee, effects of climate, &c., 117, 1 18 
 Donaldson, John, ist Lieutenant of Hangers, 236 
 
 „ ,, escorts Mrs. Harrington to Cross Creek, 320 
 
 „ ,, writes to General Harrington, 321 
 
 Dopson, Joseph, first settler on Upper Pedee, 50 
 Drayton, William Henry, account of appointment as Judge, 200 
 „ „ ,, presides at Long Bluff, 209, 210 
 
534 INDEX. 
 
 Drayton, William Henry, charge to grand jury, 2 1 1-2 15 
 
 ,, ,, ,, its effectsonpetitjuryandtheircharge, ^ij-^iy 
 
 „ ,, ,, in Cljailes-town noticed in Parliament, 219 
 
 ,, ,, „ to grand jury in Charles-town, 263, 276 
 
 ,, ,, character, public service and death, 220 
 
 Droughts, remarkable instances of, 117 
 
 DuBose, John, first of name on Pedee, family, &c., 91 Rnd note, 92 
 ,, Elias, notice of his family, 92 
 
 ,, ,, adventure with Tories, 329 
 
 „ ,, „ with Jeff. Butler, 395 
 
 ,, ,, Representative for St. David's, 432 
 
 ,, ,, County Justice for Darlington, 434 
 
 ,, ' Jsaac, 2iid Lieutenant in Regiment of Foot, 236 
 ,, Ezekiel, Representative for Darlington, 456, 459 
 
 Earthquake, felt on Pedee, 461 
 
 Education, sons of planters sent abroad, 122 
 ,, want of, sorely felt, 299 
 
 Edwards, Rev. Joshua, emigrates to Pedee, notice of and family, 82, 83 and notes 
 
 Elections, for Assembly, trouble at, apprehended, 154-156 
 „ „ action of Vestry of St. David's, 167 
 
 „ ,, elections held, and names of voters, 169,170,171,172, 
 
 173 
 
 „ „ within limits of Marion's Brigade ordered by Governor, 
 
 377 
 Ellerbe, Thomas, petitions for land, difficulty with Welch, 62, 63 
 
 ,, ,, account of name and family, 63 and 7iote, 64 and note 
 
 ,, Thomas, a captain under Kolb, 30J. ; under Benton, 371 
 ,, „ suffers from British, 313 
 
 ElHson, Robert, petitions for relief under Amercing Act, 416 
 
 ,, „ Representative for St. David's, 448 ; senator, 454 
 
 ,, ,, delegate to Convention in Columbia, 451 
 
 „ ,, County Court Justice for Darlington, 452 
 
 ,, ,, elected sheriff, 456 ; resigns seat in Legislature, 456 
 
 „ ,, petitions for mills on Black Creek, and result, 458 
 
 Embankments on river, 456 
 Ervin, James, Representative for Liberty, 461 
 Evans, notice of family, 52 a,ndnote, 64 
 ,, Nathan, his family, 75 and note 
 „ Charles and George, settle on Lynche's Creek, 100 
 ,, Thomas, wounded at Kolb's, dies, 361 and note 
 ,, Charles, carried prisoner to Charles- town, 384 
 ,, ,, County Court Justice for Chesterfield, 433 
 
 ,, „ Representative for St. David's, 447 
 
 „ ,, delegate to Convention in Columbia, 451 
 
 ,, Thomas, County Court Justice for Marlborough, 433, 457 
 „ ,, Representative for St. David's, 447 
 
 Export, first articles of, no 
 
 Falconer, Wm., at Cheraws Bar, 436, 441 ; sketch of, 44 r, 442 
 ,, ,, Representative for Chesterfield, 454, 456, 459 
 
 ,, „ C. C. Justice for Chesterfield, 455 
 
 ,, ,, connexion with District Court system, 459, 460 
 
 ,, ,, letter to Alex. Craig, 468-470 
 
 ,, ,, character, anecdote, and death, 467 and note, 468. 470 and note, 
 
 471 
 Fanning, the Tory, excepted from truce, 376, 397 
 
 ,, adventure with Hunter, 396, 397 
 
 ,, character and subsequent liistory, 397 
 
 ,, attack on Robert Gregg, 397 
 Ferries, petitions foi-, 446 
 Flax, why abandoned, in 
 
INDEX. 535 
 
 Fletchers, the family, 99 
 
 Forniss, William, notice of, 10 1 
 
 Ford, John, Eepresentative for Liberty, 459 
 
 Fowler, Rev. Andrew, visits Cheraw, notice of, 166, note 
 
 Foulis, Rev. Mr., notice of, 175 aad 7iote 
 
 Freshets, in Pedee, 456 
 
 Gainet, Major, difficulty with Murph}-, 374 
 
 ,, „ writes to Marion on subject, 374, 375 
 
 „ ,, truce with Marion, 375, 376 
 
 ,, ,, defection, character, and history, 376 
 
 ,, Stephen, killed by Wm. Dewitt, 376, 377 
 Galespy, James, petitions for land, his family, 61, 62 
 „ ,, jun., anecdote of, 305 
 
 „ ,, „ raises a force against expedition on river, 316 
 
 ,, „ „ guide for Green, 353, note 
 
 Gates, General, arrives at Pedee, proclamation, 322 
 ,, „ advances towards Camden, 323 
 
 ,, ,, Cornwallis's account of the movement, 323, 324 
 
 ,, ,, defeat and flight, 325 
 
 ,, ,, writes to Gen. Harrington, 331-334 
 
 Gazette, Royal, merry over Governor's proclamation, 374 
 „ ,, notice of Confiscation Act, 380 
 ,, ,, merriment at expense of Whigs, 381 
 
 ,, ,, sarcastic notice of books to be published, 381 
 
 Gervais, John Lewis, writes Gen. Harrington, 321, 322 
 Gibson, Jordan, his removal, 73 
 
 ,, Gideon, notice of, and family, 73, 74, and notes 
 ,, ,, connexion with trouble at Mars Bluff, 139, 140, 145, 146 
 
 ,, „ killed by Murphy, 354 
 
 „ Jordan, after Tories, 393 
 
 ,, alleged murder of Kolb, excepted from truce, 376 
 Giles, Col. Hugh, notice of, 70 
 
 ,, ,, raises volunteer force, 326 
 
 Glen, Duke, adventure with Tories, 384, 385 
 Godfrey, Richard, notice of, and famdy, 103 
 Godbold, John, early settler, notice of, and family, 68, 69 and note 
 
 ,, Hugh, notice of, 69 and note 
 Goings, Mike, murderer of Kolb, 36 1 
 
 Government retains supplies, 382 ; Gen. Pinckney's letter on subject 382 
 Governor, Royal, flight from Charles-town, 374 
 Grand Jury, first presentment at Cheraws, 196-198 
 
 „ ,, subsequent presentments, 198, 199, 201-203, 217, 218, 230-233 
 
 ,, ,, of Cheraws, only one making presentment, 233 and note 
 
 „ „ presentments under new Constitution, 264-266, 276, 277, 288, 
 
 289, 429, 430 
 ,, ,, efiects of presentments on people, 200, 277, 278 
 
 Grants, earliest to lands on Pedee, 50 ; others made, 54, 56, 57, 73, 8r 
 
 ,, curious reservations in, 115 
 Gray, Robert, estate confiscated, 380 
 Gregg, John, petitions for land, notice of, and family, 86, 87 , and note 
 
 „ Joseph, his family, 87, and note 
 
 ,, Captain James, marches to Cliarles-town, 294, 301—- 
 
 ,, ,, ,^ suffers by Tories, 383 
 
 ,, Robert, attacked by Fanning, 397 
 Green, General, movements of, marches to Pedee, 349 
 
 „ ,, efifects of presence there, 351, 352 
 
 „ ,, leaves Pedee, his march, 353 ; effects on people, 353 
 
 ,, „ cartel with Cornwallis, 367 
 
 „ ,, cautions Marion against Tories, 371 
 
 Greenville, time and origin of name, 436 
 Grimke, Judge, charge at first court after war, 416-4:9 
 
536 INDEX. 
 
 Hanford, Enoch, teacher in St. David's, 438 
 Harrallson, Lewia, Kepresentative for Liberty, 459 
 Harllee, William, emigrates to America, 443 
 
 „ Thomas, settles in Marion, 443 
 Hart, Arthur, account of and family, 105, and note 
 
 ,, ,, his death, 278 
 
 Harrington, Henry William, emigrates to Pedee, his family, 104, 105, and note 
 „ „ ,, commissioned captain, 239, and note 
 
 ,, ,, ,, at Haddrell's Point, 274 
 
 „ „ ,, elected Member of A-semb^y, 275 
 
 ,> ,, ,, writes to Oolonel Kershaw, 289, 290 
 
 ,, ,, ,, military promotions, 296, 297 
 
 ,, ,, ,, head-quarters, where, 297 
 
 „ ,, ,, marches N.C. Militia to Charles-town, 301 
 
 „ ,, ,, writes to Mrs. Harrin^ion, 302 
 
 ,, ,, ,, loss of and notice of valuable negro, 313, wofe 
 
 „ „ ,, suit after war for negro, 313 7io<e 
 
 „ ,, ,, sends detachment witb negro to Anson, 321 
 
 ,, ,, ,, account of his servant, Toney, 321, note 
 
 ,, ,, ,, movements after Gates's defeat, 330, 331 
 
 „ ,, ,, arrives at Haley's Ferry, and Clieraw, 336 
 
 ,, ,, ,, moves up river, and to Grassy Creek, Hoanoke, 347 
 
 ,, ,, ,, adventure with robber, 397-399 
 
 ,, ,, ,, character and death, 399 
 
 ,, Mrs., adventure with Briti-h, 312 
 
 ,, ,, ,, with Tories, and suit, 329, 330, and note 
 
 ,, ,, ,, safe conduct to Cross Creek, 320 
 
 ,, ,, notice of, 399 
 
 larrison, two brothers, Tories on Lynclie's Creek, 308 
 
 ,, Major, adventure with Murphy in Charles-town, 400 
 Hawes, Dr. Oliver, settles at Society Hdl, notice of, 443 
 Hawthorn, brought to Pedee, ^^2, note 
 
 Hawthorne, murdered by Tories, his son's revenge, 394, 395 
 Hemp, cultivation of abandoned, 1 1 1 
 Hewstiss, name known early, true Whigs, 98 
 
 Hicks, George, petitions for land, notice of and family, 79, St, and note 
 ,, ,, captain in King's service, 119 
 
 ,, ,, as major starts with detachment to Congarees, 249 
 
 ,, ,, marches to Charles-town, 256 
 
 ,, ,, Chairman of Committee of OiiservMtion for St. David's, 23S 
 
 ,, ,, Warden of St. David's Society, 281 
 
 ,, ,. removes with family to Virginia, 327 
 
 ,, ,, Commissioner of Caveats for Cheraws, 432 
 
 ,, ,, 0. C. Justice for Marlborough, 433 
 
 ,, ,, sketch of, 402 
 
 ,, Daniel, adventure with Tories, 385 
 ,, Benjamin, jun.. Inspector of Tobacco at Cheraws, 430 
 ,, ,, ,, delegate to Convention in Charles- town, 447 
 
 ,, ,, ,, delegate to Convention in Columbia, 451 
 
 ,, ,, ,, Representative for Marlborough, 454 
 
 ,, ,, ,, C. C. Justice for Marlborough, 455 
 
 Hodge, notice of family, 101 
 Horse-pen, origin of name, no 
 Hughes, a Tory, spared by Whigs, 386 
 Hunter, Dr. Robert, notice of, 69 
 
 ,, Andrew, adventure witli Fanning, 396, 397 
 
 ,, ,, Representative for St. David's, 445 ; for Darlington, 457 
 
 Indian tribes in Carolina, i 
 
 ,, territory, of tribes on Pedee, 2; language, 19 
 ,, remains in Pedee, 21, 22, 23 
 ,, mode of clearing lands, 24; grave opened, 25 
 ,, habits and customs, 23, 26-29 
 
INDEX. 537 
 
 Indians, Catawbas, tradition, 2 ; origin, 3, 19 
 
 ,, ,, removal, settlement, territory, and language, 3-5 
 
 ,, ,, visit to Charles-town, with Cheraws, 9 
 
 ,, ,, murder of some by NotchebS, 10,11 
 
 ,, ,, Governor's visit to them and others, 11, 12. 
 
 ,, ,, their effort for union with other tribes, 13, 14 
 
 ,, ,, visited by John Evans, 15, 16 
 
 ,, ,, smallpox among them, its effects, 16, 17 
 
 „ „ union with Cheraws, 18 ; their town, 18 
 
 ,, ,, decline and number, 18 
 
 ,, ,, removal to North Carolina, 19 
 
 ,, Cheraws, how name called at different times, i 
 
 ,, ,, their territory, 2 ; first mention of, 5 
 
 ,, ,, advised to unite with Catawbas, 17 
 
 ,, ,, meaning of Cheraw, 19,20 
 
 ,, Kadapaws, where found, 2 
 
 ,, Pedees, locality, 2 ; first mention of in public records, 8 
 
 „ ,, murder of one by Wm. Kemp, 8, 9 
 
 ,, ,, visit to Charles-town, and presents to them, 10 
 
 ,, „ addressed by Governor at Congarees, 12 
 
 ,, ,, owners of slaves, 13 
 
 ,, „ urged to settle among Catawbas, 13, 14 
 
 ,, ,, murder of some by Notchees, 15, 16 
 
 ,, ,, meaning of Pedee, 20,21 
 
 ,, travellers among them, Lederer, 5-8 
 
 „ „ ,, ,, Bartram, 2,5; Lawson, 26-28; his end, 29 
 
 „ ,, ». ). Adair, 5 
 
 ,, Sara, its locality, 6-8 
 
 ,, Winyaws, their locality, 2 
 Indigo, account of, iii, 112, and. note 
 Insurrection of slaves, 234, 456 
 Internal improvements, necessity for, 109 
 
 ,, ,, roads, bridges, and ferries, 112, 113, 114 
 
 „ ,, ,, ,, grandjury notice them, 197, 19S, 201 
 
 Irby, Charles, notice of, family, 92, and note 
 
 ,, Edmund, commander under Kolb, 301 
 Irish Protestants, their petition and locality, 74, 75 ; Irish town, 75 
 Izard, Walter and Ralph, early settlers, removal, 75 
 
 Jackson, Stephen, captain under Kolb, 301 ; under Benton, 371 
 
 ,, Benjamin, C.C. Justice for Chesterfield, 433 
 James, James, leader of Welch colony, 52 
 
 ,, Eev. Philip, account of, 52 • 
 
 ,, John Jones, Representative for Marlborough, 454, 456 
 ,, „ ,, C.C. Justice for Marlborough, 457 
 
 Jamieson, Colonel, early settler, 75 
 Jay's treaty, meeting at Darlington to consider, 455 
 Jeffrey's Creek, act passed for navigation of, and commissioners, 453 
 J oily, Joseph, early grantee of land, 54 
 
 Jones, Captain Joseph, leads Tory party against Colonel Kolb, 360 
 „ ,, ,, subsequent history, 367, and note 
 
 ,, John, one of party at Colonel Kolb's, 361, and note 
 ,, Captain Joseph, commands guard at Kolb's Ferry, 371 
 ,, Elias, teacher in St. David's, 438 
 Justices of Peace, first appointments of, 133 
 
 „ for Cheraws, under new Constitution, 257-258 
 
 „ for three counties, 433, 452, 454 
 
 „ importance of office under C. C. Act, 434 
 
 KiiRSHAW, Eli and Joseph, settle at Cheraw, 104 
 
 „ ,, elected captain of rangers, 236 
 
 ,, „ advertises property, removal, 119, note 
 
 Kimijrough, John, notice of, and family, 90-91 
 
538 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 King, Eli, teacher in St. David's, 437 
 
 ,, Dr. Miles, settles at Society Hill, 443 
 Kolb, Jacob, petitions for land, 50 
 
 Henry, petitions for land, his family, 83, 84 and note 
 Jehu, his character, 84 
 Abel, family and residence, 84 note, 268 
 ,, Warden of St. David's Society, 281 
 ,, marches troops to Charles-town, 301 
 ,, commands at Long Bluflf, afier Gates's defeat, 327, 344 
 „ return of his force to General Harrington, 344 
 ,, in full tide of .success on Pedee, 352 
 
 ,, difficulty and correspondence with Captain Snipes, 354-355 
 ,, writes to General Marion, 355-356 
 ,, pursues Tories to Drowning Creek, 358-359 
 ,, goes to Cat Fish after Tories, 359-360 
 „ surprised by Tories, his death, 360-361, 363 
 „ character, effects of his death, 366, 367 
 
 Lafayette, General, marches to join Southern forces, 371 
 
 ,, interview with Joshua Ammons, 402-403 
 
 Lands, first advertisements for sale of, 54, 74, 75 
 Legislature, canvass for, in Darlington, 458-459, 461 
 Lewis, Kev. Joshua, pastor at Welch ISfeck, 440 
 Lide, notice of, family, 77 
 John, his family, 77 
 
 Thomas, his character and family, 78 and note 
 Robert, settles on Pedee, his descendants, 78, 79, and note 
 ,, marches detachment to Charles-town, 302 
 ,, incident of Mrs. Lide, and death, 302 
 ,, Commissioner of Caveats for Cheraws, 432 
 ,, C, C. Justice for Darlington, 434 
 
 Charles Motte, notice of, 473 
 
 ,, seeks admission to Bar, speech on occasion, 474, 480, 482 
 
 ,, goes to Columbia, admitted to Bar, 480 
 
 „ removes to Georgia, account of enterprise, 480-482 
 
 „ farewell, on departure from, 481-482 
 
 „ suit growing out of his father's will, history of, 482-483 
 
 1, speech in 1814, 483-488 
 
 ,, „ before Appeal Court in Equity, 480-496 
 
 ,, ,, remarkable peroration, 496 and woie 
 
 „ memorial to Legislature, 496-497 
 
 „ appearance, and speech before joint committee, 497 and 
 
 note • 
 i> ,, chnracter, genius, and end, 497-498 
 
 Light Horse Troop, petition for, action thereon, and officers, 448-449 
 Long Bluff, origin of settlement there, why called so, 118 and note 
 ,, Court House there, 193 
 
 ,, stockade, with guard there, 371 
 
 ,, appropriation for public buildings at, 457 ; repaired, 458 
 
 Lowder's Lake, petition for opening, and commissioners, 457 
 Lowry. notice of family, 179, note 
 Loyalists, character of, 267 
 
 Lucas, John, adventure with old Mrs. Croly, 3S7 
 Luke, John, grantee of land in Welch Neck, 79 
 Lynche's Creek, Acts to improve navigation of, and commissioners, 446, 453 
 
 Macay, Major Spence, writes General Harrington, 322, 323 
 Magistrates for Cheraws District, 225; why names published, 225, 226 
 
 ., vindication of by grand jury, 232, 233 
 
 Manderson, Capt. George, escape at Hunt's Bluff, 311 and note 
 
 ,, John, notice of, 104 
 Manufactures, first specimen of, and prospects for, 116 
 
INDEX. 
 
 539 
 
 Manufactures, domestic, efforts to promote, 157, 158 
 ,, notice of Christopher Gadsden, 1 58 
 
 ,, subscription for papers in St. David's, 159 and no<e, 160 endnote 
 
 Marion, Col. Francis, operations before and after Gates's defeat, 326-3'2 7 
 notice of his defeat in Royal Gazette, 34! 
 attempt on George-town, 343 
 his military status at this time, 343, note 
 writes to General Harrington, 343, 344 
 writes General Sumpter about Capt. Snipes, 356, 357 
 con-espondence with Major Gainey, 375, 376 
 troubled about writs of election in brigade, 377 
 regiments composing liis brigade, 392 
 Markets, for first settlers, no 
 Mars Bluff, origin of name, 69, note 
 Marshall, Adam, settles at Long Bluff, 443 
 
 Marlborough County, its boundaries, 433 ; after whom named, 436 
 ,, ,, site for Court H*6use, 434 
 
 „ ^ ,, Courts, when to be holden, 434 
 
 ,, „ C. C, Justices for, 433, 446, 451, 452, 455, 457. 45^ 
 
 ,, ,, justices of peace for, 433, 452, 454 
 
 ,, „ representatives for, 454, 456-461 
 
 Martin, Col. Alex., writes Gen. Harrington, 334, 335 
 Matthews, Governor, writes Marion in reply to Benton's letter, 389, 390 
 Matthis, Samuel, C. C. Justice for Darlington, 451 
 M'lntosh, John, settles on Pedee, his family, 88, 89 and note 
 ,, Alexander, notice of him, his family, 89 and note 
 „ ,, union of family with Welch, 90 
 
 ,, ,, captain in King's service, 119 
 
 .,, ,, elected major by Provincial Congress, 236 
 
 ,, „ receives letter from Council of Safety, 251, 252 
 
 ,, ,, elected lieutenant-colonel, 256 
 
 „ ,, Member of Legislative Council, 279 
 
 ,, ,, President of St. David's Society, 281 , 
 
 „ ,, made brigadier-general, 285 
 
 „ ,, commands in Georgia, 292 
 
 ,, ,, reply to Gen. Moultrie, 293 
 
 ,, ,, celebrated reply to enemy, 294 
 
 ,, „ commissioner at Charles town, 295 
 
 ,, ,, his character and death, 346, 347 
 
 ,, Capt. Alexander, commands under Benton, 371 
 
 „ ,, in skirmish on Black Creek, 387 
 
 ,, ,, notice of him, 387, note 
 
 „ ,, C. C. Justice for Darlington, 451, 457 
 
 „ ■ „ , Representative for Darlington, 454 
 
 ,, ,, Commissioner of Locations for Cheraws, 455 
 
 ,, „ ' Sheriff for Cheraws, 458; for Darlington, 460 
 
 M'lver, Roderick, notice o^ his family, 88 undmote 
 ,, Sarah, early settler, 88 
 ,, union of family with Welch, 90 
 ,, John, elected senator, 459.. 
 M'Arthur, Major, reaches Cheraw, 308 
 ,, „ goes to Long Bluff, 309 
 
 ,, ,, offers reward for Thomas Ayer, result, 309-311 
 
 ,, ,, at Cheraw, sends party to General Harrington's, 312 
 
 ,, ,, retreat from Pedee, 315-318, 371 
 
 „ ,, sends expedition down the river, 316, 317 
 
 M'Dowell, William, notice of, 100, and note % 
 
 M'Call, George, notice of, 301, and note 
 
 ,, ,, joins Marion, impression of Marion, 326, 327 
 
 M'Rae, Duncan, C. C. Justice for Chesterfield, 451 
 M'Ree, Colonel, adventure with Bradley, 393, 394 
 ,, „ Representative for Liberty, 457 
 
540 INDEX. 
 
 M'Culley, Andrew, teacher in St. David's, 437 
 Medal of Pitt, account of, 122, 123, and note 124 
 
 M _ statues and rings, and statue in Cliarles-town, 124, 125, endnote 
 Mil's, earliest in Pedee country, 63, note; no, iii, note; 118, 119, note 
 Militia, first review on Pedee, officers, 120 ; from Pedee in constant service, 377 
 
 ,, returns of, 446, 457, 461 
 
 ,, return of Colonel Spencer's regiment, 462 
 Military condition of Province, 119, 120; organization, 120 
 
 ,, further Acts on organization of, 285 
 
 ,, ardor in Province, 2.^6, 292 
 
 ,, strength in Carolina at close of 1779, 298 
 Mills, William Henry, elected to Provincial Congress, 254 
 )> )t M takes sides with British, 304 
 
 )» >) „ made colonel by Royal Government, 316, 318 
 
 I) }, „ escapes to George-town, 316 
 
 .5 M ,, estate confiscated, banishment, and history, 380, 381 
 
 Mikell, John, notice of and family, 89 and note, 90 
 Mitchell, John, a trader, 106 
 
 „ Mrs. Elizabeth, petitions for her husband, result, 415, 416 
 
 Moultrie, General William, writes to Cdonel M'Intosh, 293 
 Murphy, first of the name, and its change, 71, and note 
 
 ,, Malachi, notice of, and family, 71, 72, and note 
 
 „ Maurice, and his son, 72 
 
 ,, Michael, petitions for land, 72, 73 
 
 ,, Colonel Maurice, commands on Pedee, notice of, 298, 333, 352, 371 
 
 J) ,, ,, punishes Blackman, a Tory, 354 
 
 ,) ,, ,, kills Gideon Gibsnn, 354 
 
 „ ,, ,, adventure wi h Tories at Bass's, 372, 373 
 
 ,, ,, ,, difficulty with Gainey, 374 
 
 ,, ,, ,, attacks Harrison in Charles-town, 400 
 
 ,, ,, ,, attacks Tory at Jeffrey's Creek, 400 ; his end, 400 
 
 ,, Malachi, wounded and escapes at Bass's, 373 
 
 Navigation of Pedee, earliest account of, 62 
 
 ,, ,, Acts passed on subject, and commissioners, 43O; 431, 
 
 . 446, 453 . . 
 
 ,, ,, history of legislation on subject, 431, 432 
 
 ,, ,, effectually opened, 464 
 
 Negros, remarkable, instances of, 313 note, 321 note,^'j'j 
 
 ,, returns of, in British service, 346 
 Nett'es, Zachariah, C. C. Justice for Darlington, 434 
 Neville, William and Thomas, after Tories, 393 
 Newberry, District, why so called, 53, note 
 Nicholas, Colonel, writes to General Harrington, 331 
 JJorris, Dr. Robert, C. C. Justice for Darlington, 451 
 Nut Grass, notice of, 442, note 
 
 Oath of allegiance after fall of Charles- town, 304 
 
 ,, ,, course of people in connexion with, 305 
 
 ,, ,, incidents connected with, 304, 305 
 
 Odom, Levi, a Whig, kills Courtney, 393 
 
 Paeish organization, want of, felt, 125 
 
 I'ark, Thomas, teacher in St. David's, 437 ; subsequent history, 437, 438 
 
 Parker, Elisha, notice of, family and descendants, 98 
 
 ,, Thomas, at Cheraws Bar, 436 
 Pawley, Colonel George, notice of the family, 100 
 Pearson, family settlement, 1 79, note 
 ,, Moses, a noted captain, 79, note 
 „ „ C.C. Justice for Marlborough, 433 
 
 Pegues, Claudius, his arrival, settlement, and account of family, 94, 95, and 
 note 
 . ,, ,, active in affair at Mars Bluff, 147 
 
INDEX. 541 
 
 Pegues, Claudius, elected to Assembly from St. David's, 171 
 ,, ,, declines seat in provincial Congress, 254 
 
 ,, ,, suffers from Biiiish at Clieraw, ^[-^ 
 
 ,, ,, C.C Justice for Marlborough County, 433 
 
 ,, ,, his singular end, 399 
 
 ,, William, Represeutaiive for St. David's, 378, 415, 432 
 ,, ,, suffers from British, Mrs. Pegues' escape, 385, 386 
 
 ,, ,, inspector of tobacco at Cheraw, 430 
 
 ,, ,, C.C. Justice for Chesterfield, 433, 452 
 
 ,, ,, Repiesentalive fur Chesterfield, 454 
 
 ,, Claudius, jun., captain under Benton, 371 
 ,, ,, ordinary for Cheraws, 374, 416 
 
 ,, ,, incident at Eutaw, 377 
 
 ,, ,, Representative for St. David's, 415, 432 
 
 ,, ,, C.C. Justice for Marlborout;h, 433 
 
 Pendleton, Honorable Henry, elected Representative for St. David's, account 
 of, 297, 298 
 ,, ,, ,, active in passage of C lunty Court Act, 432 
 
 Penn, J , writes to General Harrington, 332, 333 
 Petitions for Ferries, 446 ; for tt)bacco inspection at Cheraw, 450 
 ,, for circulating medium, 447, 448 ; for its extension, 455 
 ,, for troop of light horse, action thereon, 448, 449 
 
 ,, for opening Lowdei's Lake, 456, 457 
 ,, against meisurer of lumber, kc, at G-eorge-town, 457 
 ,, for canal from Roger's lake to Pedee, 458 
 
 ,, from Robert Ellison, for mills on Black Creek, 458 
 Piney Grove, where, 93 
 Planter's club, notice of, 119. 
 
 Pledger, Philip, arrival, notice of family, 85 and note, 86 
 „ „ captain in king's service, 119 
 
 „ ,, adventure witli Driggers and his gang, 194, 195, and note 
 „ ,, horses taken by British Lieutenant, 313 and note 
 
 ,, ,, Representative for St. David's, 378 
 ,, John, captain under Benton, 371 
 ,, Joseph, CX . Justice for Chesterfield, 433 
 Poelnittz, Baron de, settles on Pedee, his family, 442, 443 
 Populatitm of Clieraw District, 454, 465 
 Posts, British, nearest to Charles- town, 306 
 Pouncey, William, his family. 84, and note 
 Powe, Thomas, account of, and family, 102, 103 
 
 ,, ,, Representative for St. David's, 415, 432 
 
 ,, ,, Commissioner of Location, 430 
 
 ,, ,, C.C. Justice for Chesterfield, 433, 452 
 
 ,, ,, declines seat for St. David's, 453 
 
 Powell, Colonel G. G., visit to iMars B uff, and letter, 146-149 
 ,, ,, visit to Broad River, 150 
 
 „ ,, member of Assembly for St. David's, 173, 177 
 
 ,, ,, appointed Judge, 173, 184 
 
 ,, ,, deputy from St. David's in Provincial Congress, 20S 
 
 „ ,, Colonel of Clieraws Regiment, 226 
 
 ,, ,, in Provini'ial Congress, 240 
 
 ,, ,, declines seat for St. Philip's in favor of St. David's, 247 
 
 ,, ,, ordered with regiment to Congarees, 248 
 
 ,, ,, elected judge under new Constitution, 259 
 
 ,, ,, retains seat for St. David's, 259 
 
 ,, ,, letter to Assembly as to charges against him, 275 
 
 ,, ,, character and death, 292 
 
 Pratt, Wm., with Duke Glen, against Tories, 385 
 
 Presentments of Grand Jury, 196-198, 198-199, 201-202, 203, 217-218, 2 ^c- 
 233, 264-266, 276-277, 288-289, 429-430, 435 
 ,, of Petit Jury, 216 
 Prices, early notice of, 60, 61, and note 
 
542 INDEX. 
 
 Prices of slaves, 117 
 
 Province, general prosperity of, 115, 116 
 
 Provincial Congress, first meeting, account of, 207-208 
 
 ,, second meeting, and objects, 208-209 
 
 ,, deputies from 8t. David's, 209 
 
 „ meeting ist January, 1775, action of deputies of St. 
 
 David's, 226-227 
 ,, circular letter to St. David's, 234 
 
 ,, Association formed, other action, 235-236 
 
 ,, military organization by, 236 
 
 ,, meeting, Nov. 1775, and action, 247-249 
 
 ,, orders payment to Major Hicks, and others, 255, 256 
 
 „ action for defence of colony, &c., 255, 256 
 
 ,, oath prescribed, effects on people, 263 
 
 Public Buildings, appropriation for, 457 ; repaired, 458 
 
 ,, Commissioneis for building, &c., in three districts, 460 
 
 Pugh, Rev. Evan, notice of, and family, 102 
 
 ,, ,, officiates in St. David's Church, 175 
 
 ,, ,, extracts from Journal of, 267, 268, 296, 301 note, 302, 304, 
 
 306, 326, 346 note, 353, 371, 372 
 „ ,, preaches thanki^giving sermon, 296 
 
 ,, ,, elected delegate to Convention in Columbia, 451 
 
 ,, „ preaches sermon commemorative of Washington, 446 Jioie 
 
 „ ,, character and death, 466 and note 
 
 „ Ezra, notice of, talents and death, 472-473 
 Punch, John, settles at Society Hill, 443 
 Purvis, John, petitions for land, and settles, 81-82 
 
 Quick, notice of the family, loi and note 
 ,, Thomas, a gallant Whig, loi 
 ,, „ incident of at Eutaw, 377 
 
 Regulators, origin andhistory of their movements, 128, 129, 157, 155, 160, 161 
 
 ,, troubles in North Carolina, 129, 153, 154 
 
 ,, in other parts of South Carolina, 130, 135 
 
 ,, about Camden, 134 
 
 ,, notice of outlaws, &c., 134, 135 
 
 ,, Governor's address about, and Assembly's reply, 136, 137 
 
 ,, Lieut.- Governor's remarks about, 136, 137 
 
 ,, accounts of from back country, 138, 139, 144, 149, 151, 152, 153, 
 
 154- i55> 182, 194 and note 
 
 ,, character of leaders, 138, 146 
 
 ,, accounts of affair at Mars Bluff, 139, 140, 144, 145, 155, 156 
 
 ,, traditional account, 150 and note 
 
 ,, Governor's proclamations and effijrts, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145 
 
 „ Col. Powell's mission and letter, 146-149 
 
 „ demands of the people, 154, 155 
 
 ,, Governor's address and Assembly's reply, 156, 157 
 
 Revolution, incipient causes of, 122, 126, 127, 128 
 
 ,, progress of feeling, 205, 206 
 
 ,, effects of repeal of Stamp Act, 206 
 
 „ Scheme of East India Company, and course of Parliament, 206, 207 
 
 ,, Town Meeting called, 207 
 
 ,, list of some from Pedee in service, 404-414 
 
 Roach, Henry, petitions for land, 62 
 Robertson, Major Drury, settles in Marlborough, 442 
 
 ,, „ Representative for St. David's, 448 
 
 ,, „ County Court Justice for Marlborough, 451, 458 
 
 ,, ,, Representative for Marlborough, 456, 459 
 
 Rogers, Nicholas, grantee of land, family, 65, 66 and 7iote 
 „ Benjamin, one of Glen's party, 3S4 
 „ ,, Sheriff for Cheraws, 446 
 
INDEX. 543 
 
 Royalty, last days of, in Carolina, 224 
 ,, Royal Governor's flight, 240 
 Rushing, John, notice of, 82 
 
 Rutledge, Governor, writes to Marion about Benton's Regiment, 377 
 ,, „ sends Marion writs of election, 377 
 
 Sandy Bluff Settlement, account of, 70 
 
 ,, subsequent history of, and visit there, 74 and note 
 
 Sauls, Absolom, County Court Justice for Darlington, 451 
 Saunders, one of families at Sandy Bluff, 7 1 
 ,, John, notice of, and family, 73 
 ,, George, his untimely end, 73 note 
 Settlements, made first on coast, and extension, 31 
 
 „ where first made in interior, 51, 66, 70, 117 
 
 „ inducements held out to emigration, 42 
 
 ,, in lower part of Welch Tract, 69 
 
 ,, settlers and church building, 69 and note 
 
 ,, on Little Pedee, 86 
 
 ,, on Lynohe's Creek, 100 
 
 ,, whence their elements derived, 108 
 
 ,, on Black Creek, 100 
 
 Shaw, William, notice of, 404 note 
 Shoemake, a Tory, notice of, 373, 393 
 Slaves, increase of among first settlers, 73 
 
 Smallwood, Gen., writes to Gen. Harrington, 336, 337, 341-343 
 Smith, Col. John, settles in Darlington, 440 
 ,, Andrew and Ralph, notice of, 441 
 
 „ John, C. C. Justice for Darlington, 452 ; Representative, 454 
 ,, Dr. Thomas, notice of, 500, note 
 Snipes, Capt. Wm. Clay, difficulty and correspondence with Kolb, 354, 355 
 Snowden, a Tory, punished by John Bethea, 394 
 Society of St. David's, organization and history of, 280-284 
 ,, „ subscription paper in aid of, 282, 283 
 
 ,, „ first school-house, 284 
 
 „ „ revived after war, 436 ; officers, &c., 436, 437 
 
 „ ,, escheated property given to, 438 
 
 ,, ,, deceased members of, 438, 439 
 
 „ „ members dismissed, 439 ; added, 439 
 
 ,, ,, academy building, 440 
 
 „ „ famous exhibition, 453 
 
 ,, ,, later pupils of, alluded to, 472 
 
 Society Hill, origin of, 440 
 Soldiers, list of, in war, 404-414 
 Sorrency, Samuel, petitions for land, 58 
 Sparks, four brothers, account of, 98, 99 
 
 ,, Daniel, his cliaracter and family, 98 and note, 99 
 ,, Harry, hung by Tories, and fate of one of Tories, 358 
 ,, Daniel, captain under Benton, 371 
 Spencer, William and Calvin, notice of, 106 
 
 „ Calvin, Representative for St. David's, 432, 445 
 ,, ,, C. C. Justice for Chesterfield, 433, 452 
 
 „ ,, delegate to Convention in Chailes-town, 447 
 
 ,, „ delegate to Convention in Columbia, 451 
 
 „ ,, colonel of Chesterfield Regiment, 461 
 
 „ ,, notice of engagement, marria-e, and death, 463 and 7iote 
 
 Stewart, David, Representative for Marlborough, 461 
 Steward, Charles Augustus, settles near Cheraw, 106 and note 
 „ ,, elected to As.sembly, 177 
 
 „ ,, lieut.-col. of Cheraw Regiment, 226 
 
 ,, „ before committee of St. David's, 237, 238 
 
 ,, Mrs. Sarah, petitions for her husband, &c., 378, 379 
 ,, „ his character, 379 ; error, and subsequent career, 
 
 380 and note 
 
544 INDEX. 
 
 Stock raising, most jirofitablo business, 76 
 
 ,, wild, 1'oiuui l>y sotlU-rs, how ttikt'ii, 109, no 
 ,, roMinrluililo ini'iiient rolatoii of Maiachi Murphy, no, note 
 Strotlior, noiioo of, family, \'ji.) vote 
 
 ,, (iforijo anil Williaiu settle near Olioraw, 443, 444 
 ,, William writes to Coumil of Safety, 253 
 ,, ,, Sheriff of flieraws, H)i 
 
 ,, ,, Kopresontativo for St. navitl's, 415, 445 
 
 ,, ,, V. 0. .lustiee for Cliestertielil, 4,^3 
 
 Stulihs, John, settles on Cat Kisli, 87 
 Sumpter, (.Jeneral, writes to Maiion, 35f> 357 
 Sweat, Wni., notii'o of, 101 
 
 ,, Janies, aecount of, 311 iiml Hii^r 
 ,, Nathan, eaptiire ami eseapp, 31 2 
 Sweeney, notice of the, family, 91 
 ,, Barney, liia ilesceuilants, 91 
 
 Tarlkton, Colonel, account of affairs in Carolina, 314, 315 
 
 ,, „ „ failure of expedition on river, 318, 319 
 
 ,, ,, ,, r>ritish niovements before Canuien, 324, 325 
 
 ,, ,, ,, Ameiiean movements and Greeu's advance, 350, 
 
 35 1 and note 
 ,, „ ,, Cornwaliis's situation, &c., 368 
 
 ,. .. M M eiior, 370 
 
 Tart, Enos, alter Tories, Tii)^\ 
 Taxes, notiee of, n^ and note 
 Taylor, Captain S., delegate to Convention in Charleston, 447 
 
 ,, „ leaves the country, 455 
 
 Terrell, account of the family, ■;3 and note 
 Thomas, Tristram, emis;rates to America, 93 
 
 ,, ,, remtnal of his family to Pedee, 93 and note, and 94 
 
 ,, l\ev. Robert, notice of, 04 
 
 ,, Tristram, notice of, 94, Major umler Kolb, 301 
 
 „ ,, commands party on river against, boats, 316,317 
 
 ,, ,, his active service on Peilee, 371 
 
 ,, ,, Kepreseiitative fcr St. David's, 388, 442 
 
 ,, ,, Senator for St. Davit's, 415, 459 
 
 ,, ,, C. V. Juds;e foi- Marll oroui^h, 433, 452 
 
 ,, ,, dele^aio to Convention in Charleston. 447 
 
 ,, ,, tlitbculty with Colomd IVnton, 455-4.S6 
 
 ,, ,, sketch of, and death, 400, 401 and note 
 
 ,, William, settles on redeo, marriage and family, 94 and note 
 
 ,, ,, Commissioner of Caveats for Choraws, 432 
 
 ,, M senator, 44,^ 
 
 ,, ,, C. C. .lustiee for Marlborough, 452 
 
 Thornby, M:ijor, con\mnnds detachment to Charlcs-towu, 301 
 Tobacco, its cultivation, 1 1 '2 and note 
 
 „ inspection at Cheraws, 430 
 Tories on Pedee, and punishment, 298 
 
 ,, pursued by Kolb, 358 359, 359-360 
 
 ,, revenge on Kolb, 3()0-362 
 
 ,, on Jeffrey's and IMack Creeks, 3S3 
 
 ,, between Lumber Uiver and Little Pedee, pursued by Whigs, 393 
 Townsend, notice of, 101 
 Township, plan of, 42, 43 
 
 ,, on Pedee, name and locality, 43, 44 
 
 ,, proceedings of Comicil, 43, 44, 45 
 
 ,, first settlement in IJueensborousli, 44, 45 
 
 ,, locality of the town, 45 
 
 ,, form of grant for plots in, 45 note 
 
 Trade, pinnts of noie tor, 1 1 2 
 Troops, Hritish, sickness at Cheiivw, 176, 319, 320 
 
INDEX. 645 
 
 Turbevillo, Rev. William, notice of, 70, 71, and note 
 Turnage, William, 98 
 
 Voyage, use of term, 299 
 
 Waties, Thoma8,at Cherawa Bar, 436 
 
 Webster's, notice of, 99 
 
 Welch emigration to America, 46 
 
 ,, remove from Pennsylvania to Delaware, 46 
 ,, first visit to Pedee, wlien and wliy made, 45, 47 
 ,, tract assigned tlieni, 47, 48 ; its extension, 48-51 
 ,, settlement on Cat Fish, 51 
 „ Neck, its locality, why selected, 5 1 
 ,, account of colony in Welch Neck, 52, 53 
 „ organization of first cliurch, 53 
 ,, records of church, 53 note; many lost, 440 
 „ appeal to Council for protection against Indians, 53 
 ,, inducements held out \>y Covernment to others to come, 54, «i5 
 ,, increase of settlers, lint of grants, action of Council thereon, 55-5S 
 ,, difficulties in their way, 58 
 
 ,, petition to have lands surveyed and granted free of expense, 59 
 ,, action of Council on petition, 60 
 ,, upper limits of their settlement, (n 
 ,, exclusive in their feeling and itolioy, 61, 66 
 ,, relics, 67, and note ; a few names only left, i6a 
 ,, their first articles of cultivation, 1 1 1 
 
 „ encouraged by Government to produce certain exports, 60 
 ,, removal of their church building to Society Hill, 440 
 Wemys, Major, his march up Pedee, incidents of, 302, 303, 304 
 ,, returns to George-town, 306 
 ,, indulgence shown him by General Sumpter, 306 
 ,, again on Lower Pedee, 332 
 Westfield, John, notice of, O2 note 
 
 ,, Tobacco Inspector at Cheraw, 430 
 
 Whigs and Tories, when the distinction between them tfjok its rise, 266, 267 
 „ ,, conflicts between, 257, 298, 305, 3251 32^ 
 
 357. 358, 370, 37'. 3«2, ?,H?„ 387, 39> 
 Whitfield, William, Representative for Mari borough, 459 
 Wickham, Thomas, Representative for Liberty, 457 
 Wilds, notice of family, 52 note 
 
 ,, Samuel, petitioiiH for land, 118 
 
 ,, Mrs., robbed by liritish soldiers, 362 • 
 
 ,, Samuel, birth and early years, 499-500 
 „ ,, teacher in St. David's A<;Hdemy, 437, 521 
 
 jj ,, candidate for legislature in Darlington, 458, 459 
 
 ^, ,, Representative for Darlington, 461, 501 
 
 ,j ,, •inarriage, success at iiar, 500, 501 
 
 J, ,, anecdote of, 501, note 
 
 ,^ ,, elected solicitor, then judge, 501 
 
 j^ „ charge to Grand Jury of Abbeville, 502-509 
 
 ,, „ sentence on Slater, 510, and note, .513 
 
 „ „ „ John J'oUison, 513-516 
 
 ,j ,, holds last court in Charleston, 517 
 
 jj „ his death, and feeling produced by it, 517 
 
 jj ,, proceedings of Bar in CharlesUjn, 517, 518 
 
 „ „ ,, „ at Sumpter, 518, 519 
 
 ,, ,, obituary notices of, 519-526, and no<e 
 
 ,, ,, lines commemorative of, 527, 528 
 
 Wilkfl, John, grantee of larjd, 79 
 
 Williams, Rev. Robert, notice of, and account of family, 64, 65, and note 
 ,, David, his death, 2O8 
 
 „ General D. R., notice of, 65, note 
 
 N N 
 
546 INDEX. 
 
 Willis, Old, kills British soldiers, and returns money to Mrs. Wilds, 363, 364 
 Wilson, Dr. James P., notice of, and family, 102 
 
 house burned by British, removes his family, 304 
 effort to save Cusack, 303 
 C.C Justice for Darlington, 434 
 opposes Wm. Thomas for senate, 446 
 his death, 453, 454, and note 
 ,, John, settles on Pedee, his family, 103, and «o<e 
 ,, ,, feeling after taking oath of allegiance, 305 
 
 ,, „ commands Munchausen corps, 352 
 
 ,, „ Sheriff for Cheraws, 378 
 ,, „ taken prisoner and escapes, 386 
 Wise, Samuel, settles on Pedee, 104 
 
 elected captain by Provincial Congress, 236 
 elected major, 236 
 resigns conmiission, 246, 247 
 marches to Charles-town, 252 
 
 writes to Gen. Harrington, 268-273, 278, 279, 285-287, 289- 
 291 
 ,, „ his character and death, 296 
 Winchester, Rev. Elhanan, pastor of Welch Neck church, 180 note 
 
 „ „ preaches anniversary sermon in St. David's church, 
 
 180 
 „ ,, addresses, with Rev. Mr. Hart, President Laurens, 
 
 and President's reply, 261-263 
 ,, ,, resigns his charge, 439 ; state of church, 439, 440 
 
 Witherspoon, John D., active at fire in Darlington, 435, note 
 ,, Gavin, settles in Darlington, notice of, 441 
 
 ,, ,, Representative for West Liberty, 455 
 
 Wood, Rev. Frame, teacher in St. David's, 438 
 
 Yankee Hill, 465 note 
 
 Young, Francis, account of, petitions for land, 61 
 
 Zimmerman, Wm., Representative for Darlington, 459, 461 
 „ „ Sheriff for Darlington, 461. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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