The Quarterly
March 1990
York County Ancestry Of Charles Spittal Robb
Store Account Book Of J & E Springs, 1806-1834
The Descendants Of Matthew Irwin (Erwin)
Christopher And Margaret Mcknight Freeman
Catawba Indian Reservation Cemetery: Perspective & Roster
Jordans From York County Slain In Pike County, MO.
Securing Records From North Carolina
Silas Buckhannon V. John Campbell, Adm.
Before Pillsbury Or Aunt Jemima
"She Rode Away A Bay Horse...."
Roster Of Jasper Light Infantry, April 1861
Suggs-Hood Descendants Move To Oklahoma
First Settlements Of Scots-Irish
National Origins Of York County's Colonists
Old Nation Ford To Love's Ford
The Bethesda Circulating Library Society
YORK COUNTY ANCESTRY OF CHARLES SPITTAL
ROBB
Elizabeth Whitman Schmidt C.A.L.S.
During the American Revolution, the Johnston and McCaw families of York County, SCa were strong supporters of the colonial cause. This tradition of public service is carried on today by a descendant, Charles Spittal Robb, who is serving as a United States Senator from Virginia. Service as an officer in the United States Marine Corps, marriage to a daughter of a President and his election as Governor of Virginia have kept him in the public eye so it is surprising that there is anything left to discover about Charles Robb.
At the time of his marriage to Linda Bird Johnson, a good bit of attention was given to Senator Robb's SC connections. The Trenholms of the low country and De Graffenrieds of Chester Co. were featured in an article in the Washington Post prior to the wedding.1 His York Co. ancestors, however, were not included as part of his SC heritage. In order to acknowledge all of the Robb's origins in the Palmetto State, the following summary will identify the Senator as a descendant of two of the earliest families of the New Acquisition [York County].
Robert Johnston was the first Robb ancestor to settle in York Co. and he was living along Mill Creek by 1767 when he purchased 200 acres of land from Robert and Catherine Leeper2 A Johnston family bible appears in the Thomas Sumter papers of the Lyman Draper collection showing Irish origins and that several members of the family came to the NC-SC border regions.3 During the time of the American Revolution, Robert Johnston and his sons supported the cause of independence from Great Britain. The younger men saw actual military service.4 In 1786, Robert Johnston, Sr. was called to serve on the first Grand Jury of the County.5 His children married into local families and made homes of their own in the community. David Johnston married Sarah Neel, daughter of Thomas Neel, Colonel of the New Acquisition Militia, and his wife, Jean Spratt.6 Mary Johnston married as her first husband, Henry Gordon of Tryon Co., NC. After his death about 1780, she married John McCaw and from this couple descends the senator. Other Johnston children married into the Adams, Whyte and McCord families. A large monument, erected by the Kanawa Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, at the western approach to the Buster Boyd Bridge, tells of the activities of this family during the Revolution. Robert Johnston is buried in Bethel Cemetery. His estate papers are filed in York Co. records.
I. Robert Johnston, Sr.7 Born 11/8/1730, probably Ireland, died 4/18/1794, buried Bethel Cemetery, York Co., SC. Married ca. to Mary ______ who was living in 1792.
A. David Johnston.8 Born ca. 1753, died 12/15/1794, buried Bethel Cemetery. Married ca. 1779 to Sarah Neel9 who was born ca. 1759, died 9/1/1836 at 77 years, buried Bethel Cemetery.
1. Jean md. John Boyd....issue.
2. Mary md. John McGill...issue.
3. Elizabeth md. Joseph Wood...issue
4. David md. Mary Glenn...issue.
5. Sarah md. John Glenn...issue.
B. Rosanna Johnston, md. _____ Adams. She died by 1811 with heirs.
1. Alexander Adams.
2. Francis Adams.
C. _____ Johnston, md. _____ Whyte. She was deceased by 1814 with heirs.
1. Robert Whyte.
2. Elizabeth Puckett.
D. Mary Johnston. Born ca. 1759, died 12/ 7/1829, buried Beersheba Cemetery, York Co., S.C. Married 1) 9/10/1778, Tryon Co., N.C.10 to Henry Gordon who died ca. 1780.
1. Mary md. David Byers...issue.11
Md. 2) John McCaw, ca. 1781. John McCaw, died 8/13/1825, buried Beersheba Cemetery. John McCaw was a large land owner in York Co. and served as the first clerk of York Co.12 He also had interests in Chester Co. When he signed his will, 3/10/1821,13 he left bequests to his wife, Mary, her daughter, Mary Byers, three sons by name, and four other females with no relationship stated. Tradition places these girls as daughters.
2. Ann McCaw md. Robert Smith...issue.
3. Robert McCaw md. Agnes Bratton...issue.
4. William McCaw living in 1821.
5 John McCaw. Born 5/22/1791, York Co.; died 3/29/1880, Lexington, Ky. Married 9/10/1822 to Ceciley De Graffenried, born 7/10/1806, Chester Co., S.C.; died May 22, 1855, Lexington, Ky. Bible records for the family list 15 children. Among these children was Lucy McCaw, born 3/22/1844, died 3/15/1905. She married Frank Wooley and became the great- grandmother of Senator Robb.14
6. Elizabeth McCaw md. James Meek...issue.
7. Pamela McCaw md. John E. Gunning....issue.
8. Sarah McCaw md. William A.Sims...issue.
E. Robert Johnston, Jr. Born ca. 1760, died before 1/18/1825, place unknown. Married 8/29/1785, Tryon Co., NC15 to Mary McCord who died before 1825.
1. Thomas Johnston md. Mary Sugg...issue.
2. Nancy Johnston md. Reason Wood...issue.
3. Robert Johnston md. Mary _______...issue.
4. John Johnston md. Margaret _______...issue.
5. Evelina Johnston, unmd.
6. David Johnston, unmd.
7. Eliza M.Johnston, unmd.16
8. William Hunter Johnston md. _____.
1) Martha Jane Johnston...issue.
2) Zervia McGill
Notes:
1. Washington Post, 11/26/1967.
2. Mecklenburg Co., NC, DB I, pp. 410-13.
3. Calendar of the Thomas Sumter papers of the Draper Collection of Manuscripts.
State Historical Society of Wisconsin. (McDowell Publications, Utica, Ky.
1986)
4. Stub Entries to Indents; Book I, p. 58, #321. SC Archives.
5. Laurence K. Wells, York Co., SC, Minutes of the County Court, 1786-1797.
(n.p. 1981), p. 4.
6. York Co. SC, DB A, pp. 1-3.
7. York Co. SC, Probate Records 58-2614.
8. York Co. SC, Probate Records 65-3084.
9. York Co. SC, Probate Records 5-201.
10. Curtis Bynum, Marriage Bonds of Tryon and Lincoln Counties, NC (Southern
Historical Press, Easley, SC, reprint, 1982), p. 51.
11. York Co., SC, DB C, pp. 66-68.
12. York Co., SC, Will Book G, p. 185.
13. Wells, York Co., SC, Minutes...., p. 1.
14. Mrs. W. B. Ardrey, comp. Kentucky Records (Southern Book Co., Baltimore,
1958.), pp. 182-83.
15. Bynum, Marriage Bonds...., p. 71.
16. York Co., SC, Probate Records. 26-1082.
STORE ACCOUNT BOOK OF J & E SPRINGS, 1806-1834
We are excited that we are able to print the following valuable and fascinating store ledger dating from early last century. It is very likely the oldest York County store account book in existence. The first entry is in 1806. The next-oldest one known was kept in the 1840s.
John Springs, III (1782-1853) kept the book for a store he owned at Springfield plantation in the Fort Mill area with his brother Eli until Eli's death in February 1833. The last entry is in 1834 when the business was known as "Springs and Dinkins." Springs kept a very careful and precise record in a neat hand-writing that makes it possible to read in spite of the crossing through of accounts when they were paid. While the book only shows those items charged and not those for which the customer paid cash, it reveals in general what wares were carried, what customers most often purchased, and the extent of barter.
The number one item sold was whiskey. Springs had a tavern license and built a Still House (listed in the book). Frontiersmen (and York District had the characteristics of a frontier before the 1830s) were heavy consumers of whiskey. Probably the second most frequently entered item on the books was salt.
John Springs had a cotton gin and he purchased a considerable amount of cotton in the seed. These transactions are shown in the book. While the date of the invention and the name of the inventor of the cotton gin is controversial, the usual date given is 1794. Springs and his customers obviously at the beginning stages in the development of the cotton ginner-cotton grower relationship.
Ginned cotton sold for high as 25 cents a pound. The high price of cotton made men wealthy and created a demand for more slave labor. Subsistence farming with its reliance on a variety of grains and root crops is replaced by a single crop--cotton. This shift in labor and the uses of land will also spur a westward migration small farmers lacking the capital to purchase slaves and higher-priced land. The insights gained from Springs' account book are particularly valuable in helping us to understand what was happening in York County in the first quarter of the nineteenth century.
It is interesting that there is not a single mention of linen cloth. Many of John Springs' customers wove cloth and spun thread which they brought to him to pay for their purchases. He entered the amounts, the price, and the nature of the product. It appears that cotton was being woven to a greater degree, and earlier, than we have previously thought.
John Springs wore other hats, or "Hatts," than a ginner and cotton buyer. The account book reveals he was a banker for his neighbors. He contracted labor and services for "halling," splitting rails, furnishing plank, shingles and stonework, as well as hiring the labor for the building of their houses. He handled matters at court for his neighbors--paying their taxes for them and, in at least two cases, handling their estates. The estate records of William Pettus and Federick Dinkins were entered in detail. Because some of the estate records are repetitious and may be found elsewhere in York County Estate Records, we have not copied all of the detail but have abstracted the most interesting and informative parts. The store accounts are given in full. That which follows is published by courtesy of Close family descendants of John Springs, III.
1806 John Thomson :
Feb. 28,1 To 3 pints Whiskey $ .37 1/2
Mar. 12, To 3 1/2 pints Whiskey .43 1/4
Mar. 27, To 3 1/2 pints Do .43 1/4
May 2 To 3 1/2 pints Do .43 1/4
June To two purges of Gallop .37 1/2
July To quart Whiskey .25
Aug. 15 To six pints of Whiskey .62 1/2
1806 Allen Freeman
May 3 To pair shoes $ 1.25
Do. 15 To pair overalls 1.25
June To pair overalls 1.25
July 8 To 1 wool Hatt 1.50
July 14 To pair overalls 1.25
July 20 To Weast coat .75
Do. To cash let you have at Charlotte .50
Do. To pair socks and Great Coat 6.75
1806 William Pettus
May 31 To Six Dollars let Thos. your son have $ 6.00
July 1 To quart whiskey .25
July 4 To quart whiskey .25
Nov. 22 To quart do .25
Nov 27 To Bushel of Salt 2.00
Nov. 26 Debtor to William H. Smith 50.00
1806 Carpenter Sam Dr. to Wm. Pettus
Mar. 8 To cash paid you $ 2.00
To quart Whiskey .25
May 9 To one Dollar for to get Tobo 1.00
Do 16 To let you have of Alexr Faris Note 58.31
17 To 9w of nails 1.55
-- To half gallon of whiskey 50
22 To one dollar let you have 1.00
June 6 To two dollars let you have 2.00
18 To cash let you have 1.00
23 To cash paid you by hands of 15.00
Thos. Knox
July To Weastcoat pattern to John Wilson .75
Sept. 20 To cash paid you by hands of Thos Knox 69.64
Nov. 17 To cash paid you by hands of John 15.00
Merret
Nov. 22 To 16w Brown Sugar 2.40
24 To cash paid Robert Franklin for you 16.00
Dec. 2 To 574w pork at $6 per 100w 34.44
Dec.8 To cash paid Thos. Farris for you 25.25
Dec. 22 To cash paid you per the hand of 40.75
1806 John Merret
July 14 To 4 pair Shoes at 1.25 C per pair $ 5.00
To cash recd 1.00
Sep 26 To pair Shoes & Curring & drying Leather 2.50
1806 David Garrison
July 12 Let David Garrison have one Dollar
1806 Benjamin Thomson Dr Wm. Pettus
July 26 To 3 Gallons Whiskey $ 3.00
Nov. By picking out Cotton 15.00
By Making 1200 rails 6.00
Nov. 24 To Bushel of Salt 2.00
Dec. To 2 1/2 days waggoning 5.00
To Side of Leather 2.50
1806 Robert Saville
Aug. 25 To half gallon Whiskey $ .50
Nov. 10 To Side of Shoe Leather 2.50
1806 Thomas Hardgrove
Oct. 17 To 5w Tobo bought you $ 1.00
Oct. 18 To cash paid you 5.00
Nov. 28 To cash paid you 27.00
May To 27 Dollar 25 C for Stonework 27.25
Dec. 19 To cash paid your Son for you 14.00
Dec. 23 To side of leather 2.50
To two stacks Fodder 5.00
To halling one stack Fodder 2.00
1806 Moses Losson
Dec. 2 By 1294w Pork at $5 5/8 per 100w $72.78
By 574 Do at $6 to B. Sam 34.44
1806 Thomas Hardgrove
Dec. 19 Paid Thomson Hardgrove 2 Dollars towards the Still House
1806 John Wallis
Dec. 25 Load plank--656 feet
Dec. 31 Do Do 594 feet
1807 John Wallis
Jan 1 John Wallis halled load 607 feet [plank]
Step-- 716 feet
2 Step 454 feet
5 John Wallis 415 feet
28 John Wallis 400 feet
1807 Thomson Hardgrove
Feb 26 Agreeable to settlement with Thomson Hardgrove ballance in his favour
$19.12 1/2
June 17 To 2 Bushels Wheat 2.50
Sept 24 To 2 Bushels Wheat 2.50
To 3 Bushels Do 3.00
1807 Per Contra
Sept. 12 By settlement on that William Pettus Dr to Thomson Hargrove 84.87 1/2 By ballance of old account .12 1/2
1807 William Smith
Mar 5 Agreeable to settlement with William H.Smith ballance due from the sd Smith to William Pettus $28.19 Recd at York Court of the above acct .25
1807 Davis Collins
June 30 To Bushel Wheat $ 1.25
Oct. 6 To 34 lb. Beef at 4 cts per lb. 1.36
Dec. To 2 gall & 3 quarts Whiskey 2.20
1807 William Jackson
Dec. 12 William Jackson brought to gin cotten2 4945w
(To be Continued)
THE DESCENDANTS OF MATTHEW IRWIN (ERWIN)
by Mrs. Addie S. Mayfield and William B. White, Jr. (continued)
V. Nathaniel Irwin. Born ca. 1743. Died in York Co., S. C., in 1794. Married (1) Mary ________, believed to be the mother of five of his children. Issue:
A. Mary Irwin. Born ca. 1770. Married Abraham Roach. Born about 1768-69, of York Co., S. C.
B. Abigail Irwin. Born ca. 1772. Married Thomas Polk, uncle of James Knox Polk, President of the United States. Resi- dent of Tennessee.
C. Alexander Irwin. Born ca. 1774.
D. Susannah Irwin. Born ca.. 1776. Married Samuel Johnston. No issue.
E. William Irwin. Born ca. 1778
Nathaniel Irwin married (2) Leah Julian, by whom he had the remaining children.
F. Nathaniel Irwin, Jr. Born ca. 1783. Died 1804. Married Mary Erwin, daughter of his uncle John Erwin. Buried in McNairy County, Tennessee.
G. Sophia Irwin. Born ca. 1785. Married (1) John Darnell, (2) Franklin Graham.
H. James Irwin. Born ca. 1787.
VI. John Erwin. Born ca. 1745. Married ________. Issue:
A. Mary Erwin. Married Nathaniel Irwin, Jr.
VII. Susanah ("Susan") Erwin. Born ca. 1747. Married John Graham, an uncle of Governor Graham of North Carolina.
VIII. Alexander Erwin. Born in Bucks Co., Pennsylvania, on 2/12/1849. Died in Burke Co., NC on 10/16/1829, aged 80 yrs, 8 mos, and 4 days. Married (1) Sarah Robinson, supposedly a daughter of James and Catherine Robinson of Lancaster Co., SC. Sarah Robinson was born in 1750 and died in 1785. Alexander Erwin was a Revolutionary soldier, a legislator, and first clerk of Burke Co. Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions. Issue:
A. Catherine Erwin. Born 1771. Died 1820. Married in 1790 to John Erwin, son of her uncle Arthur. John Erwin was born in 1768 and died in 1824.
B. Mary Erwin. Born 1773. Married the Reverend John Makemie Wilson, well-known Presbyterian minister. Issue:
1. John Wilson. Presbyterian minister.
2. Alexander Erwin Wilson. Presbyterian minister in Africa. He married Jane Smithey.
3. Margaret Wilson. Married John Means.
4. Joseph Harvey Wilson. Married (1) Rose Patton. Married (2) Mary L. Phifer.
5. Sarah Robinson Wilson. Married William Elliott White, of Fort Mill, York District, SC. They were parents of a large family, among whom was Samuel Elliott White, who was the founder of the textile mill that eventually grew into Springs Industries.
C. James Erwin. Born 1775. Died 1848. Married in 1808 to Margaret Locke Phifer. James built the beautiful country seat Bellevue, Burke County, N. C. Margaret Phifer was the daughter of Captain Martin Phifer, Jr. and Elizabeth Locke, his wife. Issue:
1. William C. Erwin. Married (1) Matilda Walton. Married (2) Mrs. Loretta Gaston.
2. Joseph J. Erwin. Born 1/27/1811. Married Elvira Jane Holt, of Lexington, NC, daughter of Dr. William P. Holt and Mary G. Allen, his wife.
3. George Erwin. Married Margaret Henson. Moved to Tennessee.
4. Martin Phifer Erwin. Married Jane Hull. Moved to Tennessee.
5. Alexander Erwin. Died young.
D. Margaret Erwin. Born 1777. Married Hugh Tate. Issue.
E. Hannah Erwin. Born 10/15/1779. Married Major Zebulon Baird. Their daughter Myra Margaret Baird married David Vance, Jr., & they were the parents of Zebulon Baird Vance, twice governor of NC & also US Senator from NC.
F. Joseph Erwin. Born 1782. Moved to Camden, S. C., and died young.
Alexander Erwin married (2) Margaret (Crawford) Patton. Issue:
G. Sophia Erwin. Married William Alexander of Charlotte, N.C.
H. Cynthia Erwin. Married Dr. Stephen Fox of Charlotte.
I. Sarah Myra Erwin. Married Freeland Benson.
J. Abdiah Hiempsel Erwin. Died unmarried.
K. John Makemie Wilson Erwin. Died unmarried.
L. Milton Pinckney Erwin. Died unmarried.
M. Ulysses Stanhope Erwin. Married Eliza G. Tate.
N. Harriet Dorcas Erwin. Married Lewis Dinkins. They were the grandparents of Charles Betts Galloway, distinguished Methodist bishop in Mississippi.
It should be noted here that Joseph J. Erwin, second son of James and Margaret Locke (Phifer) Erwin, was an ancestor of the late US Senator from NC, Samuel James Ervin, Jr. This ancestry comes through the Powe family and Erwin connections. It is also true that W. A. Erwin, late president of the Erwin Cotton Mills of Durham, N. C., descended from this James Erwin line.
Bibliography:
Brunson, Charlotte B. Salmond. Kershaw Co. Cousins. Columbia, 1978.
Chesnut, Mary Boykin. A Diary from Dixie (Ben Ames Williams, ed.). Boston,
1949.
Deed Book C-1. Anson Co., N. C.
Gibson, Julia Amanda. Lineage & Tradition of the Family of John Springs
III (Maud Craig Mathews, ed.). Atlanta, 1921.
Guardian Files 66-3016, 66-3216, 66-3217. York Co., S. C.
Hart, Joseph E., Jr. "Erwin" (typescript at the Nan Weller Carson Room of
the York Co. Library, Rock Hill, SC).
Holcomb, Brent H. Abstracts of Early Wills of Mecklenburg Co., North Carolina,
1749-1790.
_______________. Anson Co., NC, Wills and Estates, 1749-1795.
Howe, George. History of the Presbyterian Church in SC. 2 vols. Columbia,
S. C., 1870, 1883.
Kirkland, Thomas J., & Robert M. Kennedy. Historic Camden. 2 vols. Columbia,
SC, 1905, 1926.
Langdon, Barbara R. Fairfield Co. Marriages, 1775-1879, Implied in Fairfield
Co., SC, Probate Records.
Marriage Agreements. Deed Books D and E. Kershaw Co., S. C.
Moore, Maurice Augustus. Reminiscences of York (Elmer Oris Parker, ed.).
Greenville, SC, 1981.
Personal Papers of William Erwin (1735-1814). Manuscript Division, Caroliniana
Library, University of SC, Columbia.
Records of the Court of Equity, Camden District, SC. Mary Irwin vs. James
Irwin et al., 1804-1810.
Wells, Lawrence K. (ed.). Minutes of the Co. Court, York Co., SC, Minute
Book A and Minute Book B.
Western Carolinian. Salisbury, N. C., 1829.
CHRISTOPHER AND MARGARET MCKNIGHT
FREEMAN
by J. H. Freeman
Christopher "Chris" Freeman was born in 1748, died in York Co. in October, 1803. He served in the SC Militia in the War, and participated in the battle of Biggin Church under Capt. Bratton, and the siege of Ninety-Six under Major J. N. Wallace (Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution by Bobby Gilmer Moss.)
Margaret McKnight, as an eleven-year old, sailed from Northern Ireland in the Brigantine Free Mason arriving in Charleston in 1772. Her parents were John McKnight and Margaret McClellan McKnight. They settled in York County. South Carolina was at the time encouraging Protestant immigration and the father (John McKnight) was given 350 acres and each of the three children (Margaret being one) 100 acres each. John McKnight died in York County in 1789, and his wife's will was probated June 26, 1801 in York County.
Christopher and Margaret were the parents of the following children, all born in York County.
1. Margaret (no date available)
2. Sarah (born 1783), married to Silas Stealing
3. Eleanor (born June 1794), married to Robert M. Hoggue, moved to Texas
4. William (born 1796), moved to Blount Co., Alabama
5. Robert C. (born 1798), an M. D. and married to Elizabeth Yielding. He moved to Blount Co., Alabama.
Chris Freeman died in October 1803, age 55. Margaret died in 1813, age 52. They are buried at Bethesda Presbyterian Church Cemetery, York Co.
(Mr. Freeman, a direct descendant, sent the above in response to our request for information on first families of York Co. and for more information on Revolutionary War veterans. He understands that Chris Freeman had a brother who also served in the Revolutionary War and would like to hear from anyone who knows the name of the brother or of their parents. Write: J. H. Freeman, Baker & Botts, One Shell Plaza, 910 Louisiana, Houston, Texas, 77002-4995.)
CATAWBA INDIAN RESERVATION CEMETERY: PERSPECTIVE AND
ROSTER
Compiled with historical notes by Thomas J. Blumer
Kings Bottoms in Lancaster County is the location for one of the oldest Catawba cemeteries. Still highly revered by the Catawbas, the Kings Bottoms Cemetery was originally linked to the Catawbas last traditional population center. Through the Treaty of Nation Ford (1840), the Indians were deprived of both Kings Bottoms and their ancient cemetery. Little is known of those buried at Kings Bottoms, but it probably contains the unmarked graves of such illustrious Catawba rulers as King Frow, General New River, General Jacob Scott, General Jacob Ayers, and many Catawba veterans of the Indian Wars and the War of the American Revolution.
For the Catawbas, the decade following the Treaty of Nation Ford was dominated by confusion. The Indians were surprised to learn that Kings Bottoms was no longer theirs. We have no idea if the Indians ignored legal issues and continued to visit the cemetery to bury their dead. We do know that their access to the bottoms to dig clay has never been interrupted by the succession of non-Indian landowners who have farmed the land since 1840. It may well be that early into the decade of the 1840s the Indians did use the Kings Bottoms Cemetery. Perhaps some of those Catawbas who died between the Treaty and the purchase of the reservation on the west side of the Catawba River were buried in Kings Bottoms.
By 1843 the State of SC despaired of removing the Catawbas from York District and purchased a reservation for the homeless Indians. Although the historical documentation is silent, it is safe to assume that the Reservation Cemetery was established as soon as a community of Indians gathered on the reservation. This settlement was established at the end of the decade following the Treaty of Nation Ford.
Unfortunately, no records exist concerning the first burial on the reservation. Lacking funds for memorial markers, the Catawbas simply marked each grave with large stones, one at the head and the second at the foot of the plot. As the years passed, the identities of these graves were forgotten Although John Brown(d. 1867) was certainly not the first Catawba to be interred in the Reservation Cemetery, he was the first Catawba to receive an inscribed marker. According to tradition, he was wounded in the Confederate service. The next grave to be given an historical marker was that of James Harris, a Confederate veteran who died in 1874. Although the number of graves marked with inscribed stones increased in the 20th century, a number of important Catawbas who died in this century rest in unmarked graves. Among them are Archie Wheelock(Oneida), Rosie Wheelock, Epp Harris and Martha Jane Harris. It is interesting to note that there are no inscribed stones for members of the Ayers and Canty families. Only 42 of more than 70 identified graves have inscribed markers, but many more than 70 were buried in the Reservation cemetery. An accurate grave count would require that archaeologists be called in to strip away the vegetation to scientifically survey the area. In all likelihood, several hundred Catawbas are buried in the Reservation Cemetery.
In the late 1940s it became clear that the knoll on which the Reservation Cemetery was located was nearly full of graves and could not be easily expanded. The Catawba Church, located some distance away, was also at this time unusable for services. When plans were made for the construction of a new church, a cemetery was added. The first burial in the Church Cemetery was that of an infant, John Potts, who died in 1951. The new church was dedicated on May 6, 1952, and it was assumed that new burials would be made in the church yard. Yet, in spite of the attractiveness of the Church Cemetery, a number of Catawbas wanted to be buried with their ancestors in the Reservation Cemetery. The survey shows that a number of Indians were buried in the Reservation Cemetery after 1952. The last Catawba to be interred in there was John Idle Sanders who died in 1973.
(To be Continued)
JORDANS FROM YORK COUNTY SLAIN IN PIKE COUNTY, MO.
In our September 1989 issue of The Quarterly we had a story on the makeup of early York County juries. In response to this article, Thurlo V. Byers of St. Louis, Mo. has sent us the following interesting information. Robert Jordan, the foreman of the York County petit jury in the year 1800, moved to Pike County, Missouri and on March 30, 1813, he and his son, James, were killed by Indians three miles south of Louisiana, Missouri in Pike County. They are buried in the Buffalo Cemetery on the spot where they were slain. A 20-foot monument is erected at the entrance in honor of those pioneers who came from York County, S.C. and Lincoln County, N.C. in 1809 and to others who came from Kentucky at a later date. Robert Jordan married Elizabeth Carson and his brother, John Jordan, married Grizella Carson. The Carson sisters were daughters of the widow, Sarah Carson, who married David Byers in York County. James Jordan, another brother, married Mary E. McElwain in Union County and settled in St. Clair County, Ill. Other Pike County pioneers from York County were Samuel, David, and John Watson, William McConnell, Alexander Allison, James Templeton, James Mackey, John Farmer, Thomas Cunningham, Brandons and Henrys.
SECURING RECORDS FROM NORTH CAROLINA
We recently wrote the North Carolina Archives seeking a copy of a will. In the process we discovered a new (to us) name for the records center and an increased fee. In case our readers aren't up to date either, the fee is now $5 "for each inquiry about one record or one person's record in one letter." If Archives staff find that they have the item sought they will respond with a statement of the copying costs. They stress, as always, that the Archives cannot respond to requests for genealogical research and general research. The address is: Department of Cultural Resources, Division of Archives and History, Archives and Records Section, 109 East Jones Street, Raleigh, N. C., 27611.
SILAS BUCKHANNON V. JOHN CAMPBELL, ADM (Continued)
(From York County Court of Equity Journal, 1848, pp. 162 ff. We print this court case because it is instructive both in depicting ordinary behavior and values in the 1840s and in revealing the operations of the court system. The clerk's original spelling and punctuation is retained.)
Hugh Campbell testifies. He is the nephew of John Campbell. In 1841 went to school in Providence in N.C. Returned in the fall to John Campbells. From that time remained until the spring of 1843--from the spring of 43 was absent until fall, when returned to Campbells, where he remained at home until the death of Mary Buckhannon....Mary was an unhealthy girl according to his opinion. Drinking water was one cause of her unhealthiness and thinks he has seen her drink a half gallon at once. Says her habit of drinking water was to go before sundown to the spring. Then she would drink a half gallon of water and bring a half bushel pail home for self....In the morning as soon as she rose she would go to spring again, and take another draught, and bring home a pail home for herself....She was a good deal of trouble....She spun some for herself. J. Campbell furnished cotton. J. Campbell's wife done the weaving. From what he saw don't think that her services were worth her trouble, extra trouble. At the time he boarded at Campbells, paid $6.00 per month.
Never saw Mary do anything for John Campbell. Never saw her set the table or assist in anything about it that he recollects. Never sweeping her house but her bedroom. Never saw her go to the kitchen and bring in victuals. Never saw her spinning for John Campbell nor sewing. She was generally occupied in spinning or sewing for self....Mary was not very industrious--but generally engaged in working for self. Never heard Mary refuse to do anything for John Campbell & never heard her asked to do anything....Did not know whether she was considered as a boarder or received as a niece of John Campbells. Says his sisters left boarding at John Campbells. Can't say why they left. Don't know the cause....
Compt offers in evicence the record in the case John Campbell & Others vs. M. Williams and J. K. Key.
Verdict against defts $25.00
Attys Cost 19.00
Clerk 6.62 1/2
Shff 16.28
Continued until Saturday
P. 174 Silas Buckhannon vs. John Buckhannon Adm. Bill for Account Relief. Referenced June 10, 1848.
Deft. offers in evidence the Ex parte Settlement of John Campbell as Adm. of Elizabeth Campbell dated 25 Feby 1841.
In the settlement the balance which amounts to $420.52 3/4 offers as evidence the final settlement of John Campbell as Exor made 25 Feby 1842 in which the balance is struck and a division of the Estate made by the Ordinary.
The balance due to each heir $65.40 3/4, of the 64.40 due to Eliz. Buckhannon, Silas Buckhannon was entitled to 1/3 in right of his wife and the remaining two thirds divided equally between Alexander C. Buckhannon and Mary P. Buckhannon. A. C. Buckhannon died and the one half of his part was given to Silas and the other half to Mary Buckhannon. Amount due for said settlement to Mary P. Buckhannon $42.95.
J. Campbell & Others vs. M. Williams and J. K. Key on the record is endorsed the following way: "We find for the Plff the lands included in the lines represented A, J, N, K., L, M, F, M. in a plat of survey made by Mr. Campbell, deputy surveyor, and $25 damages. Signed Jas. Johnson, Foreman. The platt accompanying the verdict certified by his honor J. S. Richardson. The plat contains 403 3/4 acres. The land belonged to the heirs of Elizabeth Campbell.
James Brian, sheriff. Testifies that Matthias Williams is insolvent and always has been since he sold him out. Was sheriff in 1840 until August. Matthias was Ca. Fa'ed & put in jail, under a schedule and was convicted of fraud and in jail, and afterwards discharged because he was unable to pay jail fees. Says that he sold all Matthias Williams property when he was sheriff, previous to his rendered his schedule. There is executions now in sheriffs office--don't think he had any property in 1840 after he sold him out and don't know that he has any now. Has frequently sent Execution down by deputies, who report to him that he has no property. Don't recollect the time he sold him out--whether in 1839 or 1840....
Matthias Williams petition for benefit of Prison Bonds filed April 20, 1840--discharge on Nov. 30, 1840. Taxed cost on the case of John Campbell vs. M. Williams and others, $41.87.
Order for sale of land of Elizabeth Campbell Estate made by Ordinary 3 day of August 1840, purchased by John Campbell at $1.57 per acre.
In the suit of Campbell & Others vs. Williams, Mary P. Buckhannon is made one of the plaintiffs.
In the petition for sale of Elizabeth Campbell Estate, Mary P. Buckhannon's name does not appear.
Compt. proposes to strike out the testimony of the witnesses in relation to the bad treatment of A. C. Buckhannon, on the ground that the Com ruled that unless the testimony was made competent by subsequent testimony it was to be striken out and on the ground that the testimony is incompetent and irrelevant.
Motion Refused
Because the Comm. conceives that the testimony has been made competent.
(To be continued)
At least one member of YCGHS is the editor of a family surname newsletter. Nathan L. Barlow (Star Route 2, Box 359, Rison, AR 71665) is the editor of "Kirkpatrick Newsletter," and sent us a copy of his second issue. We were interested in his ancestor chart which pointed out his York County origins: Sherer, Robinson, Minter, Gilham, Kirkpatrick, Craig, Rainey, and Tipping. Most of these lived in the Bullocks Creek area.
In his letter to his subscribers, Mr. Barlow pointed out the problem of all such endeavors--his and ours--especially the mailing costs and the red tape of permits from both the U. S. Post Office and the Internal Revenue Service. It is not easy to prove that one has a non-profit-making organization these days. It is not easy, either, to provide all of the services to our members we would like. We can only hope that in time The Quarterly will have enough accumulated capital to allow us to expand. Any additional contribution you add to your regular subscription (June 1 is the due date for the second year) will be greatly appreciated.
BEFORE PILLSBURY OR AUNT JEMIMA
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
Our mills, known as the Washing-ton Flouring Mills, York District, South
Carolina, are now in full blast. They having undergone THOROUGH REPAIRS within
the past year. We have obtained the services of J. A. Hill, who is an experienced
Miller and practical Millwright.....
Come one, come all, and try James A.Hill Who will ever be found at the above
named mill.
STOWE & PEGRAM
Jan. 30, 1868 (Yorkville Enquirer)
FLOURING AND CORN MILLS
The undersigned respectfully informs the public that his WHEAT AND CORN MILLS,
situated two miles west of Yorkville, are now in full operation, and he is
ready to receive wheat and corn to be ground.....
He has secured the services of Mr. Joseph Wood, who as a Miller, is without
a superior in this section of the country.
JOSEPH HERNDON
Jan. 23, 1868 (Yorkville Enquirer)
"SHE RODE AWAY A BAY HORSE...."
NOTICE: Whereas my wife Elizabeth has left my house and home and abandoned my bed and board without cause or provocation---this is to notify all persons not to harbor or entertain the said Elizabeth, or the law will be enforced against them. I will pay no debts that she may contract. She rode away a bay horse above sixteen hands high belonging to me and also carried off a side saddle my property; any person who trades for, uses, or in any manner interferes with said horse and saddle, I will hold responsible.
Ezekiel Gillham
York District, June 15, 1840
(Notice in the Yorkville Compiler, June 27, 1849.)
ROSTER OF JASPER LIGHT INFANTRY, APRIL 1861
Officers: C. A. Seabrook, Capt.; I. N. Withers, 1st Lt.; E. B. Clinton, 2d Lt.; S. B. Meacham, 3d. Lt.; James Mason, 1st. Sgt.; S. C. Sadler, 2d. Sgt.; W. B. Smith, 3d. Sgt.; H. J. Allison, 4th. Sgt.; W. W. Patterson, 5th. Sgt.; Corporals: R. P. Smith, William Dickson, J. R. Witherspoon, J. D. McConnell, D. C. McKinney, William W. East.
Privates: J. M. Adams, R. B. Adams, H. M. Asher, N. B. Bratton, E. G. Beatty, James Black, J. W. Beard, G. R. Burris, Robert M. Burris, J. T. Burris, J. A. Brown, J. W. Carroll, J. E. Caldwell, R. F. Clark, T. Crawford, J. J. Coward, W. J. Cornwell, P. P. Darwin, W. F. Davidson, L. M. Elliott, W. B. Enloe, I. Enloe, A. R. Erwin, J. M. Farley, L D. Goore, L. H. Gwinn, O. J. Gwinn, T. M. Gwinn, J. S. Gourley, F. Happenfield, W. G. Harrington, F. Hethrington, T. D. Harris, J. L. D. Horten, C. W. A. J. Hood, J. M. Howle, A. Hope, R. M. S. Hopper, S. A. Hoey, L. Jones, John Jackson, G. W. Jeffers, R. C. Kuykendal, E. M. Kirkpatrick, M. Luck, Pink Logan, M. S. Lindsay, W. E. Love, J. W. Love, D. M. Love, S. M. Love, E. M. Lockhart, W. K. McNeill, J. H. McKinney, James McLean, R. N. McElwee, J. E. McKnight, J. T. McKnight, E. F. Meek, W. S. Moore, D. L. Morrow, F. H. Mullinax, R. F. Morris, Amzi Minter, J. A. Neill, W. A. Neill, G. H. O'Ferrell, H. J. Parker, J. T. Parker, R. R. Parrish, T. C. Pinckney, B. C. Pressley, Pat. Palmer, R. Y. Russell, E. G. Russell, R. Robinson, W. C. Rives, J. G. Steele, H. Sarratt, L. Smith, J. B. Smith, S. Simmons, J. E. Strain, J. J. Sutton, J. Walsh, O. L. Wallace, C. K. Williams, J. P. Wilson, M. M. Whitesides, J. M. Whitesides.
(The above list appeared in the Yorkville Enquirer on April 25, 1861. The name was chosen to honor Sergeant William Jasper, hero of the American Revolution in the Battle of Fort Moultrie at Charleston. The blue flag with its palmetto tree and crescent moon that Sergeant Jasper so gallantly raised became South Carolina's state flag.)
SUGGS-HOOD DESCENDANTS MOVE TO OKLAHOMA
(The following is copied from a biographical sketch of Col. Sidney Suggs of Ardmore, Oklahoma, and was printed in Indian Territory--Descriptive Biographical and Genealogical...The Lewis Publishing Co., New York and Chicago, 1901. Thanks to Dr. Mel Meek for sharing it with us.)
....The [Suggs] family is of Dutch and Welsh lineage and the ancestry can be traced back to George Sugg the great-grandfather of our subject. Before or about the time of the Revolutionary War he and his brother Harbard added the "s" to the name. George Suggs served his country in the war for independence and was an army officer, probably a colonel. After the successful establishment of the republic he built his house on the boundary line between North and South Carolina. He married Miss Katherine Sanders, and they became the parents of three sons: Laban, the grandfather of our subject, Thomas E., and John, known as Jack Green. The last named was never married. The daughters of the family were Luvenia, Mary and Ione. The first named married Joseph Kendrick and reared a large number of children, some of their descendants now being residents of Texas. Mary, who was called Polly, married Tom Johnson, and Ione became the wife of Jacob Harry and had three children--Amanda, Ione and John. After the death of his first wife, George Suggs married a Miss Ward and had four children: George, William, Wiley and Mulvina. The father of these children was either English or Scotch, and it is believed that he was reared in England, near the Scotch border. After coming to America he prospered, and in his life followed the Presbyterian Church, of which he was a member.
On the maternal side Colonel Suggs, of this review, traces his ancestry back to Captain John Hood, one of his great-grandfathers and a native of Ireland. Having come to this country in early life, he was sixteen years of age at the time when the war with England was inaugurated. He joined a cavalry company and was soon afterward elected captain, serving with that rank until after the cessation of hostilities. After his return to civil life he married Mary Wallace, whose acquaintance he had made in rather a romantic way. While stopping at her father's house for a meal one day he met the little maiden, then twelve years of age. She cooked his dinner for him and his men, and his attention being attracted, on leaving the place he told her that he would return for her after the war; which he did and she became his wife. She was Irish or Scotch and of a noble family. She performed some noble deeds, and at one time was instrumental in securing the arrest of a band of Tories. About fifteen in number, they called at her father's home and demanded dinner. They also made free to feed their horses, and finding some apple brandy they became very drunk. When little Mary's mother was apparently cheerfully preparing their dinner, the daughter ran as fast as she could to a swamp to notify a little band of Whigs, who made a rush on the place and captured the entire number of Tories, two of whom they hung for having previously committed a murder.
Captain Hood put up the first cotton gin in the York district of South Carolina, and while at work at his bench after the war he one day heard some men who were standing on the other side of the bench discuss the war. One of them called out, "Hurrah for King George!" Whereupon Captain Hood jumped across the bench, siezed the man by the hair, jerked him down and with a handsaw commenced to saw off his head. The fellow begged and pleaded for mercy, and finally took the oath never to mention the name of King George again long as he lived. His neck was badly cut with the saw, but his patriotic assailant nursed him well again and the man became a good neighbor. Captain Hood was a member of the Seceder or Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church, to which his wife also belonged. She died in Texas at the age of ninety-two years, and was buried at Mount Vernon. She was blind for several years before her death. Her physician said that she could repeat about one-half of the Bible, and this was a great comfort to her, and she died in the firm belief in an immortality.
Laban Suggs, the grandfather of our subject, was married at the age of eighteen years to Ione Hood, the daughter of the worthy couple mentioned above. She was then sixteen years of age. They bought a tract of land five miles north of Yorkville, South Carolina, and there Laban Suggs developed a fine farm. In their family were fourteen children, of whom two died in childhood, while twelve reached maturity, namely: George, John, Isaac, Andrew, Green, William, Sylvanus, Josiah, Mary, Katherine, Martha and Clementine....
Dr. Isaac T. Suggs, the father of our subject, was born and reared in South Carolina, and near Yorkville married Miss Jane Fullwood. Her grandmother was born while her parents were on the ocean, probably at the time when they were emigrating to America. The ancestors came from Holland. Robert Fullwood, the grandfather of Colonel Suggs, married a Mrs. White, a widow, who had one son, Joe, who was the owner of a fine estate in the Sumter District of South Carolina, and afterward removed to Georgia. After the death of his first wife Robert Fullwood married a Miss McGee, a daughter of Colonel McGee, of a good family of York District. Soon after their marriage Dr. Suggs and his wife removed to Mississippi, in 1838, remaining there until 1866, when they went to Texas, settling in Mount Pleasant, where they spent their remaining days, the Doctor's death occurring in September 1877, when he was seventy-four years of age, while his wife was called to her final rest in January, 1891, when seventy-one years of age. He was a post surgeon and had charge of the hospital at Tupelo, Mississippi.
[The last part of the article told of Sidney Suggs' highly successful business career. With his brother, Hugh, he operated a cotton gin, corn and flour mills, a saw-mill and lumber yard, and they had a herd of high-grade cattle. Sidney Suggs also published a newspaper in Ardmore, Oklahoma.]
FIRST SETTLEMENTS OF SCOTS-IRISH
Agricultural and frontier historians agree that Scots-Irish settlers in the New World tended to carry on the same settlement patterns, livestock practices and cultural attitudes that they had held in Scotland and transplanted to northern Ireland.
John Solomon Otto has described the clachan settlement of Ireland in this way: "Clachans were clusters of related farm families that communally worked a piece of ground. They continuously cultivated the best lands, or "infields," maintaining soil fertility by manuring. On the poorer lands or "outfields," they practiced shifting cultivation, cropping temporary fields that were returned to fallow pasture when yields declined. Beyond the outfields lay the unclaimed wastes that served as common grazing land for livestock."
When the Scots-Irishmen came to York County, did their settlements closely resemble the "clachans" of northern Ireland?. Only partially. The land that would become York County, South Carolina was much more fertile and the population more sparsely settled than that of northern Ireland. The first settlers here, naturally seeking the best land possible, were far more scattered--sometimes a mile or more separated homesteads. But the settlers usually came south from Virginia or Pennsylvania with kinsman and tended to settle as near them as possible. Neighbors helped each other clear the land for crops, building houses, and harvesting crops.
It was the early practice to fence the crops and let the animals graze freely. Bottomlands along creeks became the York County version of "infields". The "outfields" were the forested upland areas that had to be cleared for crops which when worn out became pasturelands.
Many early plats have notations such as "old field" with some saying "Indian old field." Occasionally a corner of a survey might be a "lick," or "stony lick." These were naturally-occuring salt licks which attracted deer and cattle. If there were no natural licks, the farmers put out salt in order to keep their animals tame.
Because the cattle roamed the countryside, it was important to brand the animals. Nicking the ears in a special pattern was practiced, just as in northern Ireland. Each fall there were roundups for branding the calves and to cull the surplus animals. The farmers often drove the surplus to market or hired drovers to drive them as far away as Philadelphia.
Unlike the situation in northern Ireland, the hated English people and the detested Anglican Church were far enough away from the Scots-Irish Presbyterians of York County to not disturb them to any degree but the English form of government, which was head-quartered in Charleston, was imposed on the area. The county, with the sheriff as chief officer, was English in origin. The court's judges and the justices of the peace were appointed by the Royal Governor. It was an alien system to the Scots-Irish who hated it--especially the power of the sheriff to collect taxes.
An old undated clipping from the Fort Mill Times :
"The C & C & A [Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta] Rail Road arrived in 1852....The first house was built in January 1851 by William E. White and occupied as a place of business by Barnhardt, Coltharp & Co., now known as the White old store and occupied by K. Shannon, merchant; Drs. Masseyand Kirkpatrick as an office; the post office and the printing office of J. S. Drakeford.
The next house was built in 1852 by Owen Matthews as a residence, now owned by Mr. Seth Hotchkiss. Next place of business was located in 1852 where P. K. Mull now is, and operated by Capt. John D. White, who moved to Texas and was murdered by highwaymen sometime before the late war. Dr. B. M. Cobb next built a residence on the corner of Trade and Booth Streets, known as the Young House. The next house was a store where Stewart & Co. are now, operated by Morrow and Potts. Afterwards Patterson, Morrow & Co. It was burned in 1854. The next residence was built by B. J. Patterson which has since been renovated into the Methodist parsonage (on the corner of Booth and Spratt St.). T. G. Culp and his brother William also carried on a wagon and carriage business near Patterson, Morrow & Co. and were burned out in 1858. They built houses for themselves. About 1855, the store-house on the west side of the railroad, occupied now by W. R. Leonard was built by Hugh M. White."
NATIONAL ORIGINS OF YORK COUNTY'S COLONISTS
An early historian was quoted by Dr. David Bigger as saying that in the pre-Revolutionary War era the ethnic mix of York area people was: "Scotch 70 per cent; English 20 per cent; the other 10 per cent composed of Welsh, Huguenot and native Irish. The native Irish constituted less than 1 per cent."
(Evening Herald, Oct. 30, 1931)
OLD NATION FORD TO LOVE'S FORD
Whereas, a public road has been laid out by the county courts of York and Chester, from the Old Nation Ford, on Catawba river, to Love's Ford, on Broad river. And the said road has been opened in both counties, to the plantations of Alexander Moore and David Beard, adjoining each other, on and near the York and Chester line. Be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid, That William Dale, John Murphy, and Francis Joiner, or any two of them, be, and are hereby appointed, commisioners to lay out and open the said road through the plantations of the said Alexander Moore and David Beard.--STATUTES AT LARGE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 1797.
THE BETHESDA CIRCULATING LIBRARY SOCIETY
The Bethesda Circulating Library Society was organized in August 1810 and dissolved in August 1816. The books were purchased in Philadelphia and Charleston and divided into lots of one to four books. Each quarter the 50 members exchanged the lots. The books were mostly history, philosophy and religious in nature, with a few travel books and books of essays. The fifty members, listed below, were from all over York County. It would be interesting to know who led this pioneer movement for a "general diffusion of divine and natural knowledge." Was it the Rev. R. B. Walker whose name headed the list? The subscribers of the Bethesda Circulating Library Society in 1810: Rev. R. B. Walker, Dr. James Simpson, Thomas Black, Sr., James Black, Thomas & James Clendennan, William Leech, David Sadler, Robert Love, George Davis, John Starr, Sr., Robert Hanna, Nathan Moore, Samuel Williamson, Samuel Givans, Joseph Sadler, Allison Hope, Elias Davidson, John S. Moore, Samuel Rainey, James Grier, John Black, Alexander Aiken, James Wallace, Robert Davidson, James Moore, John King, John Anderson, Jr., James Williamson, Richard Sadler, R. E. C. Daugherty, Joseph Douglass, James Mitchel, J. Michael Love, Thomas Robertson, Benjamin Powell, James Sadler, Robert Miller, Alexander Moore, Robert Cooper, Henry Grier, George Ross, John Crockett, Jonathan Beattie, William Watson, Capt. J. Martin, William roberson, Philander Moore, Philip Sandifer, and Joseph Ardrey.
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