North Carolina Pioneers to Alamance County
Stories from the Diary of John Lawson's Visit in 1700.
The story of Alamance County begins in 1700, when John Lawson, an Englishman, set out to see the world and landed in Carolina. His party passed up the Santee country into South Carolina, before crossing over the line into North Carolina territory.
One cannot read the Lawson diary without realizing that the Carolinas were occupied by many Indian villages.
His diary described his journey north of the Sapona Indians, crossing several creeks, and the Rocky River that had a ridge of high mountains running from its banks to the eastward, and disgorging itself into the Sapona River. “You can scarce go a mile without meeting with one of these small, swift currents, there being no swamp to be found, but pleasant, dry roads all over the country.” The following day they traeledd fifteen miles to the Keyanwee Indians. The land is more mountainous, but extremely pleasant. The valleys are very rich. At noon we passed over another stony river called Hilhwaree affording as good blue stone for mill stones as that from Cologne. The veins of marble are very large and curious on this river. Five miles to the northwest stands the Keyanwee's town." (Southwest of Alamance).
Note: The Keyanwee Indians are not otherwise mentioned in history. However, old Indian maps reveal many tribal towns spread across the American Continent.
Lawson wrote of his journey to the Haw River, by some called Reatkin, where he met the Sissepahaw Indians and described the river as being similar to the Sapona River, both seeming to run a vast way up the country. They were about half way to Ochonechy town when they saw at a distance thirty loaded horses coming onto the road with four or five men. “They were from Virginia. The leader's name was Massey born near Leeds in Yorkshire, after a few questions he gave us two wheaten biscuits and a little ammunition, and advised us to strike down the country for Ronoack, and not think of Virginia because of the Sinnagers (Indians), of whom they were afraid, though so well armed and numerous. They persuaded us also to call upon one Will Enoe, as we went to Adshusheer (Indian village), for that he would conduct us safe among the English, giving him the character of a very faithful Indian.”
"The next morning we set out with Enoe Will (a friendly Indian guide) towards Adshusheer, leaving the Virginia path, and striking moreto the eastward for Ronoack. Several Indians were in our company belonging to Will's nation, who are the Shoccories, mixed with the Enoe Indians, and those of the nation of Adshusheer. Enoe Will is their chief man, and rules asfar as the banks of Reatkin or Haw river. It was a sad,stony way to Adshusheer. (Indian town southwest of Durham, east of Chapel Hill on New Hope Creek). We went over a small river by Ochonechy and, in this fourteen miles, through several other streams which empty themselves into the branchesof Cape Fair."
“The stony way made me quite lame, so that I was an hour or two behind the rest; but honest Will would not leave me, but bid me welcome when we came to his house, feasting us with hot bread and bear's oil. There runs a pretty rivulet by this town. They brought us two cocks and pulled their larger feathers off, never plucking the lesser, but singeing them off. I took one of these fowlsin my hand to make it cleaner than the Indian had, and dressing it which they never do, but cook the fowl whole. It kept up such a struggle for a considerable time thatIhad much ado to hold him in my hands. The Indians laughed at me and told me that Enoe Will had taken the cock of an Indian that was not at home, and the fowl wasdesigned for another use. I conjectured that he was designed for an offering to their god, who, they say hurts them—which is the devil."
"Our guide and landlord, Enoe Will, was one of the best and most even tempered that ever I met with in an Indian,being alway ready to serve the English, not out of gain but real affection; which makes him apprehensive of being poisoned by some wicked Indians and was therefore very earnest with me, to promise him to revenge his death, if necessary.”
Note: The name of the Sapona River was later changed to the Yadkin-Pee Dee River.
The first permanent settlement in North Carolina was made about the year 1660, by emigrants from Virginia, on the northside of Albemarle Sound, and on Durant's Neck in Perquimans County.
Exactly when the earliest settlers came to Alamance is unknown, but he Alamance region was one of the first settlements in Middle Carolina. In 1744, there was a steady stream of emigration pouring from Pennsylvania, mostly Quakers. About 1740, Gilbert Strayhorn came to Haw Fields where other settlers were Craigs, Blackwoods, Kirklands, Freelands, and perhaps Mebanes, Tates, Harts, Nelsons, Mitchells, and Johnstons. The Craigs, Blackwoods and Kirklands crossed the Atlantic Ocean together, first settling in Pennylvania, then to North Carolina after passing through Virginia during the dead of winter. They reached HawFields about 1736-1740. These families were connected with the first church at Haw Fields. They were Scotch and Scots-Irish.
The monthly meeting of the Quakers was at Cane Creek in 1752.
Nathaniel Woody, when 88 years old, said South Alamance was settled in 1700. He said, also, the people then were quite as well off as they are now, or better. He had heard William Johnson, an ordinary farmer and blacksmith, complaining that he only had ninety-nine sheep. On Nov. 6, 1728, ten thousand acres of land in Haw's Old Fields were patented by E. Moseley and conveyed to Governor George Burrington on March 3, 1730. Nash purchased land from Moseley on April 10, 1754. About the time Haw Fields was growing into a populous civilized community, Earl Granville became involved for debt by gambling to Lord Barrington of London. He paid his debts with that large tract of land lying on the Cape Fear River and adding in that part on Haw River.
Many squatters lived all along the Haw River. Litigation in the courts was necessary to have them removed from the Strudwick land. A member of the Ashe family, for his services in these law suits, received a large tract of land, now known as the Austin Quarter. Mr. J. A. Long's large farm embraced part of the land where the old Ashe graveyard was found.
On May 16, 1771 Governor Tryon met about two thousand Regulators on the plains of Alamance. Thus, the Battle of Alamance, North Carolina was the first blood shed for freedom on American soil and the first open resistance against the oppression of King George's rule!
The residents at that time were situated on the west side of the Haw River or Saxapahaw River and were the families of Houltz, Strolingers, Longs, Stockards, Trowsdales, Freelands, Albrights, Shavers or Shepherds, Whitesides later Whitsetts, Thompsons, Newlins, Grimes later Grahams, Isleys, Sharpes and Hornadays.
The people on the east side of the river were Binghams, Mebanes, Whites, Glasses, Dixons, Dishongs, Griffises, Scotts, and Hornaday . The story of the Hornaday name includes how a ship, while crossing the ocean, was detained and the supply of drinking water became low. The little fellow who carried around the drinks gave each a horn a day. So while he gave them drinks, they gave him a name that stuck—" Horn-a-day." The Strolinger or Trolinger families onboard were noblemen from Albrecchtsberg—the name of their castle in Germany. The word Houltz is kin to the word Holstein, a German word meaning Woodstone.
Source: The History of Alamance by A work for the degree of M. A. at the University of North Carolina by Miss S. W. Stockard. (1900).
