Th e
Proprietors
of Carolina
By
il iam P W l 3 . owell
Li N i brarian , orth Carolina Collect on , The University of N orth Carolina Library
A Publication of The Carolina Charter Tercentenary Commission
Box 1 88 1 N , Raleigh , orth Carolina 1 963
REPRIN TED B Y STATE DEPARTM EN T OF ARCHIVE S AN D HISTORY R N ORT C RO IN ALEIGH , H A L A 1 9 68 THE CAROLINA CHARTER TERCEN TENARY CO MMISSION
H n o . nc s E Cha irm an Fra i Winslow ,
He B e k " . o L nry l Mrs aun A. eh to
. o B ett e G. MacL Mrs D ris s Jam s W . am roc r G e . o Dr . Chalm s Davids n Mrs . Harry McMullan E e ett L P . u Mrs v r . Durham Dr . a l Murray F e W . P illiam C i lds Dan M . aul W to G e Ro tte . . e t H . S o illiam Carring n r r, Jr Dr b r pir , Jr . Grayson Harding David Stick
. P e . H e . St ot e Mrs Jam s M arp r, Jr J . . r h r
E es L . r . t I e M s . O . T . Mrs rn v s J . ally, Jr
W . o . H e Rt . ev T o t R . H W Dr nry J rdan h mas . righ
Ex - Ofiicio
F o . R e t L t e . o S Dr Charl s Carr ll , b r . allings, S e te e t of ecto e t e t of up rin nd n Dir r, D par m n Public Instruction Conserva tion and D evelopment
Dr . Christopher Cri ttenden ecto e t e t of Dir r , D par m n A c e H to r hiv s and is ry , Secreta ry
Th e Carolina Charter Tercentenary Commission was established by “ th e North Carolina General Assembly to make plans and develop ' a program for celebra tion of th e tercen tenary of th e granting of th e Carolina Charter of 1 663 As part of this program th e Com mission arranged for th e publication of a number of historical pamphlets for use in stimulating interes t in th e study of North a o to 1 6 - 1 T c t on is C r lina his ry during th e period 6 3 763 . his publi a i t of t t o par ha pr j ect .
R e No t o 1 963 al igh , r h Car lina , P TE BY TH HY RIN D LI OGRAP AND BOUND IN U . S . A. CON TEN TS
I : a I . ntroduction Why Carolina Was Gr nted to the Proprietors
II . Descent of the Title to Carolina
f I II . Biographies o the Eight Original Proprietors
IV . Biographies of the Later Proprietors
CHAPTER I
Introduction
W hy C arolina W as Granted
To the Proprietors
1 57 8 In June , , when Queen Elizabeth I made a generous N grant of ew World territory to Sir Humphrey Gilbert , she
included the area which has since become North Carolina .
’ In return for the Queen s bountiful gift , Gilbert was to lead an expedition to America to destroy hostile Spanish fishing
fleets , take the West Indies from Spain , seize the gold and h silver mines in the Spanis colonies , and make Elizabeth “ A monarch of the seas . On his first trip to merica , Gilbert
was rebuffed by the Spanish , and he never returned from his
second .
His wa s 24 1 584 grant renewed on March , , in the name of
- e his half brother , Walter Ral igh , who was given authority
to establish colonies and to govern them . Raleigh financed several expeditions to the N ew World including those which explored eastern North Carolina late in the sixteenth cen “ l tury . The famous Lost Colony at Roanoke Is and was
’ Raleigh s last attempt to plant a settlement in America . A charter was granted the Virginia Company of London in 1 606 permitting settlements to be made along a rather f narrow strip of the Atlantic seaboard . Included was a por
tion of what is now N orth Carolina . The first permanent
English settlement in America developed at Jamestown , less
than fifty miles north of the present - day N orth Carolina
Virginia state line . The more adventuresome Virginia colonists lost little
time in beginning to explore the countryside around them . 2 THE PROPRIETORS or CAROLINA
In 1 609 Captain John Smith Sent a soldier and two Indian guides to search for the colonists left at Roanoke Island . A little while later two other colonists set out on the same mis sion but without finding any trace of their missing country a 1 6 1 0 men . Willi m Strachey , secretary of the colony in and
1 6 1 1 h e - e , recorded that could l arn from the Indians about
h e e 1 6 t . 22 t rritory lying to the south Not until , however ,
r when John Po y, a later secretary , actually visited the region ,
’ a a s do we have a Virginian s ccount of the Albemarle , the
e earliest s ttled part of N orth Carolina came to be called .
’ e 1 624 The Virginia Company s charter was revok d in , and 3 . 0 the colony became the property of the crown On October ,
1 62 9 h is e e , King Charles I conveyed to attorney g n ral , Sir
e n . Rob rt Heath , the region immediately south of Virgi ia
Carolana While Heath held title to , as it was called for the
e e e e first time , no organized attempts w r mad to settl it from
England . When he finally abandoned any intentions he e might have had for colonizing his territory , he assign d his chart er to H enry Lord Maltravers who apparently made at
o least one unsuccessful effort to send over a col ny . But where fi of cials in England were failing , private citizens in Virginia
e 1 64 Vir inl ans . 8 S were succ eding About everal g , who had been in Ca rol a na while on an expedition to subdue the
al on th e Indians , purchased large tracts of land g Chowan
River from the natives . The first suggestion of a settlement in the Albemarle region
is 1 6 " found in a grant made in 53 to the Rev . Roger Green
o f of Nansemond , Virginia , for ten thousand acres land for the first hundred persons to s e ttle south of the Chowan A ff . s w River a special re ard for his own e orts , Green was to “ have a thousand acres for himself to b e located next to those l persons who have had a former grant . This phrase has ong been held to mean that a settlement existed here as early as 6 1 5 3 . W HY CAROLINA W AS GRANTED TO THE PROPRIETORS 3
‘ A steady stream of colonists app ears to have flo wed into
” this new settlement . A number of persons purchased land
' from the Indians , and the oldest grant still in existence for land In North Carolina is in the records of P erqu im ans t A 4 1 66 1 . Coun y bearing the date ugust , Such a flourishing and promising se t tlement did not escape the notice of prominent men in England in spite of their having so recently been in exile or Otherwi se occupied dur ’ N ing the Cromwells Commonwealth . ow they were con
- re . cerned with the establishment of the monarchy Indeed , t e f hese events loomed larg in the af airs of Carolina , though the new settler knew little or nothing of them . It was to reward a group of his most faithful followers and supporters
’ that the newly crown ed Charles II revoked his father s grant to Sir Robert Heath . After all , Heath had not made good 1 663 his intentions to settle the country . The King then , in ,
Claren granted this territory anew to Edward Hyde , Earl of don , Lord High Chancellor of England ; George Monck ,
’ o f Duke Albemarle , Master of the King s Horse and Cap
- tain General of all his forces ; William , Lord Craven , an old
’ friend l of his father s who had zealously and ably supported the royal family ;John , Lord Berkeley , who had defended the crown in ' the rebellion which overthrew Charl es I and had joined the royal family in exile ; Anthony Ashley Cooper , Chancellor of the Exchequer and afterward the Earl of
- Shaftesbury ; Sir George Carteret , Vice Chamberlain of the
’ King s household ; Sir William Berkeley , governor of Vir ginia who had induc ed the colony to adhere to Charles II as their sovereign even while he was in exile ; and Sir John
Colleton , who had supported the royal cause in Barbados . This grant of 1 66 3 included the area roughly from the present - day Georgia - Florida boundary northward to the mid dle of Albemarle Sound and from the Atlantic westward to 4 THE PROPRIETORS or CAROLINA
th e a in South Se s , some vague place the west not then
fully understood . N o Englishman had ever gone very far
f th e t e wa s inland rom Atlan ic , and Am rican geography not
e e e t o th e e cl ar v n best European mapmak r .
di d t e e e It not ak long for the ight eager Lords Propri tors ,
a s t e t e to s t th e e h y were designa d , di cover hat rich st j ewel of their new domain of Carolina ac tually was not wi thin their
Th t e domain at all . e s e tlem nts already made in the Albe marle region lay for the most part j ust a few miles nort h of the line marking th e northern limit of th e terri tory granted
o t 1 665 e h e i t . e e t e n hem In , th r for , Propri tors used their
flu enc e to secure a still larger t erritory . A second charter was
t t t ff e e th e issued wi h no impor an di renc s from first , save in ex t ending th e boundary northward t o the modern N orth
Carolina - Virginia l in e and southward into Florida almost to
Cape Canaveral .
t th e e t The char ers gave Proprietors pow r to plan colonies ,
to t t e a dm inis crea e and fill offices , to erec counti s and other
tra tiv e subdivisions , and numerous other rights and priv
il e s e e . g While very broad au thority was giv n the Proprietors ,
th e rights of the people w ere also s et fort h . They had then — and t hey continued to have or claimed to have right on — down to the Revolution the common rights of Englishmen .
Among other things , they were guaranteed the English per “ s t onal and property righ s , liberty of conscience , and all liber
’ t e e th e s u b i s , franchis s , and privileges enj oyed by King s
j ec ts actually r esiden t in England . Wi t h th e possibl e ex ep tions of B erkeley in Virginia and
e t e t th e Coll on who had sp n sometime in Barbados , Proprie t ors surely had sligh t understa nding of the colonial territory
e t ov r which hey held such power . I t may be that by sheer — — numbers e igh t Propri etors the problems were magnifi ed .
e n e At any rate , confusion r ig d in Carolina more or less con W HY CAROLINA W AS GRANTED TO THE PROPRIETORS 5 tinu a lly for as long as the Lords Proprietors remained in charge . An unsuccessful effort was made as early as 1 686 to trans th fer the colony back to ecrown . Officials and agents at home for the next forty years agitated for royal control of all
e a c proprietary coloni s in America . The Proprietors were cu sed of failing to enforce certain English laws designed to keep the coloni es subordinated to the mother country and of allowing laws to be passed in the colonies which were in d conflict with English laws . Piracy and smuggling flourishe , it was said . The currency had become almost worthless , manufacturing was flourishing to compete with English industry , and American defenses were neglected . A dark pic i ture indeed was painted of the Propr etors ; so in January ,
1 7 28 e ff in , seven of th m drew up an o er to surrender their teres ts in Carolina . An agreement was reached that year by 1 9 . 72 which all save Carteret sold out to the crown In , Caro lina became a royal colony . CHAPTER II
Descent of the Title to Carolina
Each of the eight Lords Proprietors was an able and ma ture statesman whose opinion was often sought in the high
of e e est councils the r alm . Six of them wer in their mid
fifties , while Anthony Ashley Cooper , the youngest , was
- forty two . All were men Of wealth and property and each
a h i In e had m naged to improve s station life . Within thr e years after the Carolina charter was granted there were
th e changes in the membership of proprietary , however , and
1 7 29 was by , when the Carolina charter surrendered , only three of the Shares were still held by the direct descendants
th - s ix e of e original eight Proprietors . During the sixty y ars of proprietary control nearly fifty diff erent persons served
a e s Propri tors or were entitled to do so . For long periods s everal of the shares were in dispute resulting in great con fusion as to which individuals were entitled to seats at the
proprietary tabl e . There were even s everal women who
owned or claimed to own shares .
Sir John Colleton , the early promoter of the Carolina 1 666 grant , died in , the first of the original Proprietors to n e . e so pass from the sc ne He was succ eded by his , Sir Peter
d son Colleton . When Sir Peter die in his minor and
heir , Sir John Colleton , acquired the family interest in Carolina and continued to hold ‘ it until it was sold to the crown in 1 7 29 The fate of th e Cartere t share was quite similar to that of
’ ’ e a e Coll ton s . On Sir George s death in 1 680 it w s inh rited by
e e . e e his grandson , G org The younger G org died fifteen years
e a s five later , l aving heir to his share of Carolina a year old
e e son , John , Lord Carteret . John , who subs quently b came DESCENT OF THE TITLE TO CAROLINA 7
— id ff e the Earl of Granville , d not o er to s ll his share to the
1 44 th e so - crown . In 7 called Granville District was laid off along the N orth Carolina - Virginia line as his one - eighth share h i 1 63 e of th e colony . At s death in 7 he was succeed d by n m Robert Carteret , Earl of Gra ville , who still held the fa ily interests in N orth Carolina at the time of the American
Revolution . Th e other share remaining in the family of one of the original Proprietors wh en it was sold in 1 729 was that of
e William , Earl of Crav n . He outlived all of the original Pro
rie tors a e - p by more than a decade , dying at the g of ninety one 1 6 ’ 97 . in A bachelor , Craven s holdings passed into the hands
e e - of William , Lord Crav n , the gr at grandson of his cousin ,
e e . Sir Rob rt Crav n Upon the death of the second William , 1 7 1 1 Lord Craven , in , his interest in Carolina was inherited by his son , also named William , who sold it to the crown in 1 9 7 2 .
The descent of the five remaining shares is much more in
e . e volv d When G orge Monck , Duke of Albemarle , died in
1 670 h e e e , l ft his interest to his son , Christopher , s cond Duke 1 6 4 e e 1 688 . 9 of Alb marl , who died childless in In , after a
e lengthy legal battle to determin the heir of Monck , the estate was awarded to John Grenville , Earl of Bath and
a e 1 70 1 su c B ron Wh n the Earl died in , he was ceeded by his second son , John Grenville who was created
Po th rid Baron Granville of e ge in 1 703 . Lord Granville died
1 707 b h is e in and was survived only y wife , R becca , daughter " John Grenvill e chose th e spelling Granville for his ti tle because
” i t wa s a o m a o e b hi a n o e i i ho a was f r f v r d y s cest rs . Sp ll ng n t se d ys a om i o m a nd i t wa s not u u ua for a ma to e hi f r fr un f r , n s l n sp ll s ame one wa one da a a h h x Th G i e ti t e n y y nd not er t e n e t . e ranv ll l emai e i th e ami th u h a i en It the r n d n f ly ro g two gener t o ns of m . n a e to a au h te of th e fi t a o G a e G e i e wh o be am e p ss d d g r rs B r n , r c r nv ll , c ou te G a i Sh e ma i e G o a e a th ou h h er e . e e t et C n ss r nv ll rr d rg C r r , nd r g th e Granville ti tl e descended to th e Carteret family . 8 THE PROPRIETORs OF CAROLINA of Sir Josiah Child and the widow of the eldest son of the L . son Duke of Beaufort ady Granville had had one , Henry ,
h a d by her first marriage . This son succeeded to the Beaufort dukedom upon the death of his grandfather . After the death of her second husband , Lady Granville transferred the share in Carolina acquired from him to this son , Henry Somerset , 1 1 4 7 . Duke of Beaufort . He held it until his death in It was
h is then left in trust for two young sons , Henry and Charles N m f oel Somerset , who beca e in turn the third and ourth
h r dukes of Beaufort . When the c arter was su rendered , the Albemarle share was transferred to the crown in the names of these two brothers who held it jointly . Although the Albemarle share did not remain in the
Monck or even in the related Grenville family , it was never d . e e a n sold The original shar s of Cooper , the two B rkeleys ,
d . Hyde , however , passe by sale through a number of hands Cooper ’ s share was held by the original Proprietor until
1 683 . his death in when it passed to his only son , Anthony
’ At the latter s death in 1 699 it was inherited by his eldest s on re re , Anthony, but a younger son , Maurice Ashley , p
’ e t ff 1 7 1 3 s n ed him in Carolina a airs . At Anthony s death in Maurice acquired the share which he held until 1 725 when 1 he sold it to Sir John Tyrrell . In 727 Tyrrell disposed of 1 729 the share , and in the original Cooper interest was sold
to the crown by Archibald Hutcheson , who held it in trust
for John Cotton .
The original share of John , Lord Berkeley , was bought
th e s on at time of his death by John Archdale for his minor ,
Thomas . When young Thomas Archdale came of age in 1 696 , despite the objections of his father , he sold his share
while in Carolina . It was purchased by Joseph Blake , a 1 700 prominent South Carolina planter . When Blake died in DESCENT OF THE TITLE To CAROLINA 9 it was inh erited by his son of the same name who continued to hold it until it was sold to the crown in 1 729 .
Th e fate of the two remaining shares , those of Edward ‘ H de Ea rl e y , of Clar ndon , and Sir William Berkeley , were to become so confus ed and involved in lawsuits that it was difli cu l t e at times to know j ust who own d them . Clarendon 1 667 was exiled from England in , as will be seen in the following chapter . The administration of his share thereupon passed to his son , Henry , Viscount Cornbury . Upon the death
1 674 son of the original Proprietor in , his , now the second
Earl of Clarendon , appears to have acquired the title in his A 1 6 i own right . bout 7 7 he sold h s interest in Carolina to Seth 1 694 Sothel who held it until h is death in Carolina early in .
’ So th el s heirs in England took over his title to a share in Carolina and eventually sold it to James Bertie early in the eighteenth century .
Since Sothel left no children , the other Proprietors claimed
1 697 A . his share and in September , , gave it to Thomas my
son - in- Amy in turn gave the share to his law and daughter , 2 1 N icholas and Ann Trott , as a wedding gift on March , 1 700 . The Carolina interests of Lord Proprietor Sir William
Berkeley became even more involved . Upon his death in 1 67 7 , his share was inherited by his wife , Lady Frances
Berkeley . Four of the Proprietors purchased her share in 1 683 through a trustee , the same Thomas Amy noted above .
1 704 h is A When Amy died in son and heir , Thomas my ,
a s claimed the share his own , and at the death of the younger
Amy three years later his Sisters , Elizabeth Moore and Ann
Trott , claimed it . Elizabeth transferred her interest in this share to her sister and her husband , the Trotts .
In the meantime , the four Proprietors who had purchased 1 683 A the Berkeley share in and conveyed it in trust to my , 0 m u 0 o n 7 c c s o a o u 3 u 2 c u 6 o u u h u 2 z 2 e o u h 5 a o k O n u r c n f mo « a 5 o v e c E o m 0 . a v o o u £ 0 n o n n g 0 u o ; n b v 2 2 3 a u L m o 0 s z m 9 2 o b w 4 » W : "mw a
£ u f E3 B p o £ o 2 s d 3 3 5 a 5 5 o . 6 0 c s 3 v o 3 c = 5 2 S a 8 0 u = w3 0 8 d S
0 h s h M u o o p x E o " 5 c 3 w 3 o " 7 o 3 c u 0 0 n m o o J 5 0 o n n C e m u u o a 0 4 0 oa B p P o s n 0 0 J 2 fl a . a e fi fl £ v o 0 n s n o 3 3 e o n d o o 5 a o 5 o . 5 w u v n m n h n o u P I r- -a - 2 J a 5 E a o u fl 0 2 0 7 " 2 a c 3 u e B n u o E : . o o -A 5 2 m n o c c o n o 5 " am < wo m0 d mI t 5 0 o <
n o 0 w e 0 o P u -n 5 O s a E e 3 h -A e n u 1 . v I 2 » o 0 d 5 3 5 5» k g 0 a o « 7. 2 Ve n c u a 5 v n n o v u v a 6 m5 a c s : 0 ~ c » 5 e o o o E a o 2 o z s h s g wfl o 5 fi 0 o a — a d u o mn n 0 mw0 t. n . DESCENT OF THE TITLE To CAROLINA 1 1
" A sold their title in this share to John rchdale . The new owner acted as a Proprietor until he gave his share to his h daug ter , Mary , and her husband , John Danson , in October ,
1 708 . To clear up “ the question of ownership of this share in
Carolina , N icholas and Ann Trott entered a suit in court against John Danson in the late summer of 1 720 . Evidence presented in court supported the Danson claim , and the Trotts agreed to give up their claim if the Dansons paid all
. e expenses involved Befor the matter was settled , John Dan son died and Mary Danson fled rather than pay the high amount required to clear her claim . The court then ordered the sale of - both the Clarendon and Berkeley shares with
e which Thomas Amy had been connect d . The highest bidder
as e was Hugh Watson , acting agent for two brothers , H nry
. h ad and James Bertie Thus , James Bertie , who already
- purchased the Clarendon Sothel share once , purchased it
-A a second time in order to establish his title . In mid ugust , 1 726 n , Watson conveyed the Clarendo share to James and 1 8 . 7 2 the Berkeley share to Henry Bertie James , in , con
ve ed H y his share in trust to Edward Bertie , Samuel orsey ,
Henry Smith , and Alexius Clayton . Mary Danson returned to London to object to the sale
of the Berkeley share , and at the time of the surrender of the charter in 1 729 the matter was so much in doubt that
Henry Bertie , Mary Danson , and Elizabeth Moore (as sister A and heir of nn . Trott) were all made parties to the Deed of
Surrender . As a means of cutting through the red ta pe o f
e a a ct tracing the own rship of the various disputed shares , n
e l c of Parliament was secur d to confirm the sa e of the harter . CHAPTER III
Biographies of the Eight Original Proprietors N N EDWARD HYDE , EARL OF CLARE DO
1 609 - 1 674 H H Edward Hyde , son of enry and Mary (Langford) yde , was born at Dinton near Salisbury , Wiltshire , on February i 1 8 1 609 . h s , There is some doubt about the exact location of birthplace , but the general area of the village is now pointed A H out to tourists . t the age of thirteen yde entered Magda 1 6 6 2 . len College , Oxford , from which he was graduated in
“ He r th en undertook the study of law but devoted more time i to literature and history than to law . Among his fr ends he
’
. F numbered England s leading poets and playwrights inally, 1 633 in , he began to devote himself seriously to the law and soon built up a good practice .
1 634 a om ted of In December , , Hyde was pp to a position r r esponsibility in the law courts , and he se ved with such satisfaction that his servic es as a lawyer were soon in great
and ad demand . His income grew steadily by purchasing joining land he enlarged the estate which he had inherited
had from his father . His long and important political career
e . begun , and he was a m mber of the popular party In the ” 1 640 Short Parliament of , in which he served , he was a m ember of seven important committees As a member of the “ Long Parliament which began late 1 640 in , Hyde busied himself on matters connected with the administration of the law . He was an active and popular member of many committees , but Church questions led him
1 4 THE PROPRIETORS or CAROLINA BIOGRAPHIES OF THE EIGHT ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS 1 5
re - At the establishment , Hyde entered London with the King and as his most trusted counsellor he was well - nigh
h e head of t government . He also continued as Chancellor of th e 1 66 1 Exchequer until May , . o 1 660 Hyde was honored in N vember , , with the rank of
e Six Baron Hyd of Hindon , and less than months later was made Viscount Cornbury and Earl of Clarendon . He con tinu ed to advise the King and was responsible for many of his policies . As a believer in law , and as a Strong and devoted
Churchman , the Earl of Clarendon disliked , and was in turn
e . dislik d by , both Roman Catholics and Puritans That phase of his government which tried to reconcile the defeated party to th e new order in England earned for him the resentment
e h is t of the cavali rs , while policy wi h regard to the Estab lish ed Church brought him th e hard feelings of the other
’ e l Side . Clar ndon s insistence upon honesty and fair p ay was far out of line with th e code Of many other members of the gay court which developed around Charles 1 1 . As a man of — action one who developed policy and s a w that it was put — into Operation Clarendon naturally was blamed for nearly e verything that went wrong . Even the marriage of his
’ d th e e aughter , Anne , to King s brother , the Duk of York , brought him no advantage although he became the grand father o f two future queens of England (Mary and Anne) . Clarendon was eventually overthrown by secret plotting among his enemies and by the hostility of Parliament , whose 1 66 e . 7 authority he had tried to r strict In August , , Charles dismissed him from office and shortly afterward charges of
e treason wer drawn up by th e House of Commons . The Lords
e e r fused to hold him , how ver , Since the charges as drawn
e were general rather than sp ecific . Fe ling between the two
houses ran high and the government was paralyzed . Charles persuaded Clarendon to leave the country and h is flight to 1 6 THE PROPRIETORS or CAROLINA
France convinced the House of Lords of his guilt . They then passed an act for his banishment .
’ r The emainder of Clarendon s life was spent in exile . He a ttempted to learn French and Italian , and he was busy com
H i tor t Re e o pleting and revising his s y of h e b lli n . Twice he
s tried to secure permission to return to England , but his plea
e went unanswered . After more than seven years in exile th
9 1 674 was Earl of Clarendon died on December , . He buried
in Westminster Abbey early in January . Both of his wives and a s on and a daughter preceded him
e in death . Two Sons , howev r, survived and one of them was
H i tor responsible for having his s y printed . Profits from it were used to provide a building for the University Press at
Oxford which is Still standing . The former Clarendon County in the area now known
a s r w the Lower Cape Fea region was named for Ed ard Hyde ,
e 1 664 - 1 665 Earl of Clarendon , and it was the sc ne in of
e Its o s everal attempt d settlements . t wn was called Charles Town and was near the present ruins of the old town o f
Brunswick . At that time the present Cape Fear River was
th known as e Clarendon .
s et 1 7 1 2 e Hyde County , up in , was named for Edward Hyd who was governor of th e Albemarle region of N orth Carolina
His at that time . exact relationship to the Earl of Clarendon
e is not known , although he encouraged the b lief in Caro l ina that it was close .
GEORGE MON CK , DU KE OF ALBEMARLE
1 608 - 1 670
e 6 1 608 G orge Monck was born December , , near Torring
ton in Devonshire in a mansion whose ruins still Stand . He BIOGRAPHIES OF THE EIGHT ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS' 1 7
T was the second son of Sir homas Monck and his wife , Eliza
beth , daughter of Sir George Smith . We know nothing of
’ Monck s early formal education , but j udging from his writ
ings he left school at an early age . When he was seventeen he enlisted for service in an expedition to Cadiz under com
r mand of his relative , Sir Richard Grenville , g andson of the man of the same name who commanded the fleet for the early English attempts at ex ploration and settlement on
r Roanoke Island . For valuable se vice performed with great ” hazard to h is life Monck seems to have been awarded an
’ ensign s commission . When he was twenty- one he entered the service of the
Dutch whom he served well for nearly ten years . A scheme underway in England about the time he returned , for the colonization of Madagascar by a group of men who formed
h is a company , attracted attention for a time , but the out break o f trouble in Scotland soon drew him back into mili
tary Service . He became a lieutenant colonel in the foot regi ment of the Earl of N ewport . At the outbreak of the Irish rebellion he was placed in 64 command of a regiment which landed at Dublin in 1 2 . Following a series of brilliant victories during the next
e Sixteen months , Monck r turned to England upon the death
of his father . He was highly praised and received in high u circles , even tho gh he had refused to take the oath of fealty to Charles I which was required of members of the Irish
v army returning to England . He had an inter iew with the King at which he frankly criticized the way the war had
been planned and conducted . Monck returned to the army j ust before it suffered defeat
N a ntwi at ck early in 1 644 . In the summer he was brought e H b fore the ouse of Commons , charged with high treason , and imprisoned in the Tower of London where he remained 1 8 THE PROPRIETORS OF CAROLINA
£ 1 00 . t for two years While there the King sent him , a gif which he later mentioned often when recalling the occasion with gratitude .
i ts a Parliament , having taken the Irish war into own h nds , sought the service of Monck who knew the country and had
is e had experience there . H fri nds persuaded him to accept and Parliament was convinced that he would serve faith
h aV e fully . Monck seems to e drawn a distinction betw en bearing arms against the Irish rebels and bearing arms
against the King . At any rate , he was serving in Ireland
against the Irish during the civil war in England . Once in
r the se vice of Parliament , however , military honor led him
to be faithful to the governme nt whose pay he took . In a
o was few sh rt months after going to Ireland , Monck placed in charge of the government of one of the two parts into
wa h e wa which Ireland s divided . Later s made governor of
r Ca rickfergus . The execution of the King in 1 649 led to divisions among the followers of Parliament Scottish settlers in Ireland ” (whose descendants were the Scotch - Irish who later settled much of piedmont North Carolina) declared against Parlia ment and called upon Monck to join them in support of
1 wa Charles 1 . Large areas fell into their hands and Monck s m fi h t obliged to withdraw , at the same ti e concluding the g
e o ing for a tim . He appears to have bargained with his p
onents h is p , but actions , while not pleasing to Parliament ,
h is did not bring about downfall .
When Cromwell invaded Scotland , Monck accompanied
e e e 1 650 him . The troops which w r enlisted at Coldstr am in
’ to form Monck s army later were designated the Coldstream
Guards , the same unit that today forms the royal guard at
Buckingham Palace . After numerous minor victories which brought him to the favorable attention of Lord P roctector BIOGRAPHIES OF THE EIGHT ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS 1 9 2 0 THE PROPRIETO RS or CAROL INA
li er ll was t in tl a as m m a O v Cromwe , Monck lef Sco nd co nder
- in chi ef . Se v eral remarkable vic tori es earn ed hi m th e th anks
rli m n t b u t ea s c hi s t rn of Pa a e , ill h lth oon for ed re u to Eng
a l nd . In 1 65 2 Monck was appoin ted a gen era l of t h e flee t and as s t s n i t s a a ns th e uch won hree out ta d ng ba tle g i t D utch ,
ri i i t her eby b ng ng t o an end th e wa r wi th them . Parl ament vot ed hi m a go ld ch a in val u ed at £ 300 and a m eda l c el ebra t i n i c a g h s vict ori es. Mon k decl r ed tha t h e merely w as protect in i t r a ai n i h s c s t it s e e es s ea . t 1 g oun y g n m at On Oc ober ,
1 65 3 bec e b th e s s fe r , he ame a m m er of Hou e of Common
D e r vonshi e . XVi th t h e comi ng of s pri n g he re turn ed to command t h e
rm t an d e e n s a y in Sco l . Th r h e fou d numerou supporters of th e i n a i i t c ss h im to s et t K g, m k ng ne e ary for abou at once l mi i i d i t o i t the r nfluence . His a mini s trat on of th e l ocal gov
nm en t w e er as us rt e s and el e i e . As s j t, nev hel s , w l r ce v d a re ult, he ga in ed cons i derabl e personal popul ari ty amon g the people
e i tan th re for h s s d on ma ny import ant ques tions . In 1 655 Ch arl es s en t Monck a lett er expressing the belief t ha t he s til l h eld th e old a ffection for th e monarchy and a skin hi m ai e t e rv i g to rem n r ady for fu ur s e ce . Monck for warded a copy of th e le t t er t o Cromwell with whom b e re
ai n e ri l r m d on f end y te ms .
At e t i v r l e e h i s s u the d a h of Ol er C omwe l , Monck pl dg d p
t t o hi s son i r th e r te as th e th e por R cha d , new P o ctor , head of
rnm t w as c l e t e r gove en a l d now . A let r to Richard shortly afte
e am o r t h c e t power car ied advice on a number of ma ters . M onck as sert ed confidence in h is ability to s uppress bo th th i i e r s ng support ers of th e Ki n g and mili tary r evol ts . Rich
’ ard e i u t him in th e , r ly ng on Monck s s ppor , offered a seat
se r s bu t as th e Hou of Lo d , he had done when same honor was re i c e l n e t offe d by Ol ver Cromwell , Mon k d c i d, s ating
22 THE PROPRIETORS or CAROLIN A
il l th e e i l e r t e e s , x d monarch w o , for you hav no rea on to do so ; and th e goo d I expe ct from you wil l bring s o great
e t t o r an d s f t t b nefi your count y your el , hat I cannot hink i i you w ll d ecli n e my n t eres t . If you once resolve to take
in t e es t e t w ll e th e wa an d e my r to h ar , I i l ave y mann r of
c la i n tir own de r ng it e ely to your j udgement , and will comply w i m i th th e advice you shal l g v e e .
i s t s e e c and bu t e The v i or w r re eived heard , Monck k pt
h is s t o i s e H e we e e deci ion h m lf. did , ho ver, d clar privately th a t he fav ored a full and free Parliam ent and th e know n
a an d i e t i l ws l b r es of th e nation . When a Short while later he ann oun ced h is s tand on th e Side of Parli am e nt rather than
th th e e s l e t e hi m m e - in wi army l ader , Par iam n mad co mand r
e chi ef of th e army . Monck promptly s cured large areas of Sc o tl and for th e caus e of Parliament as oppos ed to t hose who l l fa vored mi itary ru e . In a littl e more t han a month after
ss m n th e th e s s Monck a umed com a d of army, garri on of Port mou th declared for th e r et urn of Parliam entary ru le ; within
t en a s t h fl et th e d y e e made a similar pledge . A revolution in Iris h army plac ed th e governm en t t h ere in the hands of
’ M o t s o s e s e s t n e onck s supp r er . Tro p in London c a d resi a c and
s ubmi t t ed t o Parli amen t .
o M onck n ow proc eeded to adv anc e in to England . Opp si — ti n ru e d as h e ou e u 3 1 660 o c mbl approached and F br ary , , he
ll t h i e w e h is en t er ed London . A e t me he v ry isely k pt own
c ou ns e l concerni ng his feelings about th e King . Thi s s ilence
an c on fus ed even th e ke enes t observers . Hyde d the royalist
’ a gen ts in England could not de termine wheth er Monck s
H h is s rea l goal was th e sa m e as theirs . is actions and word — i or l a ck of th em w er e compl etely contrad ctory . No one kn ew whe th er h e m ean t to serve Ki ng or Parliament
’ Cromw ell s Parli am en t .
e e s t h is e th e s u s Parliam nt, p rhap cour ing favor becaus of BIOGRAPHIES OF THE EIGHT ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS 23
ic ion p with which they certainly regarded him , heaped hon
n H re ors upo him . e was elected to the Council of State , ceived official approval of all his past actions , was given a ffi grant of £ 1 000 a year and an honorary o ce in London . At the same time he was ordered to put down certain rebellions among the people of London . He carried out a part of these orders but failed to comply with those instructions which seemed unfair to him and to the men in his command .
Parliament insisted upon the execution of its orders . Monck submitted , knowing quite well that this action would turn his troops against Parliament . This , he told a member of “ Parliament , was a trick you knew not of, and I assure you that I could not have done my business so soon without it , and possibly not at all . With the army wholeheartedly be hind him , Monck was now in a position to dictate to Parlia ment . He ordered the seating of those members who had been driven out in 1 648 at the time of the downfall of
1 Ol Charles . He then ordered the dismissal of the d Parlia ment , the calling of a new one , and the appointment of a new Council of State to govern for the time being . Monck , as might have been expected , headed the new Council . — Sometime while these events were taking place we do not know just when—Monck entered into direct communication with Charles . He made certain recommendations such as a plan for a general pardon , the guarantee of all land sales made during the Protectorate , and a promise of freedom to worship . The King accepted these proposals almost as Monck had laid them down .
2 1 660 . 1 On April , , the new Parliament met On May , it was voted to restore the King and on the 25 th Charles landed at Dover . He was met by Monck with expressions of friendship and devotion . At Canterbury the following day
Monck was knighted and awarded other honors . The follow 2 4 THE PROPRIETORS OF CAROLI NA
was P oth erid e ing July he made Baron Monck of g , Beau
Te es b champ , and y , Earl of Torrington , and Duke of Al e marle . He also received a pension of £ 700 a year and th e
t t s e es a e of N ew Hall in Es ex . Monck us d his influence with
an l caution d seems generally to have been well liked . A
th e i of m w as though rema nder the ar y disbanded , his own
’ i th e d s was as reg ment , Col stream Guard , retained the King s
u g ard .
1 665 t th e e In , despi e plagu , Monck remained in London
in h is capacity as a mili tary officer to maintain order . Wi th
t h e ss is t er th e s a ance of William Craven , he sup vised mea ures
taken t o ch eck th e spreading diseases . During 1 666 Monck aga in pu t to s ea to fight in th e war
th t h a e . e ag inst Du ch Following a defeat in June , won a
r t t t h e fire t h im g ea vic ory . N ews of e gr at brough back to London wh ere h e w as extremely valuable in restoring order
in th e city .
In 1 667 w as o a r Monck app inted First Lord of the Tre su y , b u t ill health short ly forced h is return to N ew Hall where
3 1 670 . s he died on January , An eyewitnes recorded that “ e a he di d like Roman general and soldier , standing almost
h is h i s up in chair , chamber open like a tent , and all his th ffi . e o cers about him The King took charge of funeral ,
and Monck was buried in Westminster Abbey .
’ s s as Thoma Grumble , Monck s chaplain , de cribed him of
e h is a very comely p rsonage , countenance very manly and
t th e e h i s o . maj es ic , whol fabric of b dy very strong Just “ b efore h is death an I ta lian recorded that Monck was of
th e and - middle size , of a stout square built make , of a com pl exion par tly sanguine and partly ph l egrna tic his face
i s s w w ; , fair , but ome hat rinkled wi th age his hair is grey
and his features n0 t particularly fine or noble .
’ i was Cl ar es Monck s w fe Anne g , daughter of a London BIOGRAPHIES OF THE EIGHT ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS 25
1 6 3 . 3 sh e blacksmith In had married Thomas Radford , a hat and perfume - seller and afterwards a s ervant to Prince
1 649 e Charles . Although she was separated from him in , th re is no record of Radford ’ s death before her marriage to Monck 3 1 65 3 2 . on January , Monck and his wife were the parents
: 1 4 1 653 s u c of two sons Christopher , born August , , who ceeded A wh o his father as the second Duke of lbemarle , and 1 688 died childless in Jamaica , in , where he had served as
’ governor-general ; and George who died an infant Monck s wife was described as an extreme good woman , and in connection with the return of the King , a happy instrument in this glorious work . She died less than a month after A Monck and also was buried in Westminster bbey . 1 663 Albemarle County in Carolina , created in and for
’ a number of years the colony s leading section , but now abolished , was named for George Monck , Duke of Albemarle .
r The city of Albemarle in Stanly County , N o th Carolina , a
o c unty in Virginia , and one of the main streets of London also were named for him .
A A N A N WILLI M CR VE , E RL OF CRAVE
1 606 - 1 697
William Craven , son of Sir William Craven , Lord Mayor
1 606 . of London , was born in Young Craven is said to have t attended Trinity College , Oxford , but at the age of six een he entered the service of the Prince of Orange and distin
u ish ed ffi g himself as a military o cer . After his return to
h 1 627 . England he was knighted by C arles I in March , Shortly thereafter he was made Baron Craven of Hampsted
Marshall , Berkshire , and a short time later was named a
u member of the permanent co ncil of war . 2 6 THE PROPRIETORS or CAROLI NA
Craven was one of th e comm anders of th e Englis h forces sent to Germ any early in 1 632 in an a t t emp t t o re turn th e King and Queen of Boh emia to the t hr on e t hey had l ost in th e course of th e Thir ty Y ears War th en in progress in
e Th e e w as li e t d t r Europ . Que n of Bohemia E zab h , augh e
i t e ha e t e Geo e . of Jam s I , s s r of C rl s I , and grandmo h r of rg e I
e w as ll e s t h is ti in th e Crav n , who eventua y to sp nd mo of me s er e th e h e a t w as th is in t s ti l e to vic of roic Eliz be h , at po l abl I 1 6 w return to Englan d from tim e to t im e . n 33 h e as placed on the council of Wales an d des ign at ed a Mas t er of Art s by
1 t Trinity College . By 63 7 he w as again ac ive in th e se rvice of th e Qu e en of Bohem ia and con t inu ed so for th e nex t
e r ani ed h er sons to lan quart r centu y . He accomp two Hol d h w from Engl and and in to ba t tl e on t e Lo er Rhi n e . He and
’ e on e Of i et s s ns e e t Prince Ru p rt , El zab h o , w r cap ured, and
e e s e t wo s I Vh en w as Craven r main d a pri on r for year . he rel eas ed h e vis i t ed Qu een Eliz ab e th a t Th e Hagu e before
t l a t e h e et rn e an d b cam e going on o Eng nd . La r r u d e a per
a h e e w as s t s m n en t m emb er Of r c our t . Crav n mo generou
t h is e s t n an d h a d to l e ex t e t fi a wi h p r onal for u e a arg n n nced
t h e e o i h er s is ta exp diti n wh ch went to a s nce . When her pen s i on w as cut off by th e En glish Parl iam en t at th e ex ecu t ion
o f l es I h e s e e s t o av e t t e ee t o Char , m h con ribu d fr ly her
’ i a t . een s a t e in es o financial suppor The Qu d u gh r , Pr c s S ph ,
’ (mo ther of George I ) readily acc ep ted Crav en s ai d while
ungrate fully ridiculing him .
th e l in l a e w as e u all During civi war Eng nd , Crav n q y gen erous toward Charl es I ; i t h as be en es tima t ed that he
T r “ e th e con t ibut ed as much as t o h is cause . h n exiled Charl es II was vis i t ed by th e Qu een of Bohemi a and
r a It w as a t t i s h e e a e t . d ughters , Crav n accomp ni d hem h t im e that Craven is said to hav e offer ed h is s ervices t o Ch arles
a ert o b i s s ag ins t Parliament . He al so und ok a num er of m sion BIOGRAPHIES OF THE EIGHT ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS 27 in the King ’ s service and was later declared by Parliament to be an enemy of the Commonwealth . Much of his property in
England was seized and sold but Combe Abbey , his beautiful home near Coventry , was spared and still stands . For a num ber of years Craven , although still at The Hague , tried to recover his property ;many of his friends , taking his part , did
re all they could to save his estates . It was not until the turn
1 1 h is to power of Charles , however , that Craven regained property , but whether all was returned we do not know .
’ With Charles return to England , Craven also crossed the
Channel and was given many honors and high positions . He became lord lieutenant of Middlesex and Southwark , colonel of several regiments including the Coldstream v Guards , a lieutenant general , and a member of the Pri y Council ; and he was created Viscount Craven of Uffi ngt on
‘ who arra n ed th e and Earl of Craven . It was he g return to
England of the Queen of Bohemia and , when Charles offered his aunt no place to live , Craven made his own London
house available to her . During nearly all of the remainder
’ Of Elizabeth s life sh e was his guest and he frequently a c
companied her in her public appearances . Many persons have since believed that Craven was privately
married to the Queen of Bohemia , but no evidence to
h as support this belief ever found , not even so much as a
rumor at the time . It was said then that Craven wished to
’ r ma ry the Queen s daughter , also named Elizabeth , who was
only seven years younger than he . The Queen left her col
lection of portraits and her papers to Craven . The portraits
still hang at Combe Abbey . During the plague and the great fire in London in 1 665
’ Craven was especially active . It was said that Craven s horse could smell a fire from a great distance and would immediate
l off y gallop with him to the spot . 28 T HE PROPRIETORS OF CAROLINA
30 THE PROPRIETORS OF CAROLINA
’ tered Queen s College , Oxford , the college which their father and two older brothers had attended .
When Berkeley was about thirty , King Charles I sent him as ambassador to Queen Christina of Sweden to propose a j oint effort by the two rulers to return the Elector Palatine H of the oly Empire to the throne of Bohemia from which ,
a s n . I 1 637 we have see , he had been deposed n July , , Berkeley returned from Sweden and sometime later became an ofli cer in the army raised for the purpose of fighting the 1 6 1 640 . 39 Scots In July, , he was knighted at Berwick and in was seated as a member of Parliament representing Heytes
bury , Wiltshire . Soon afterwards Berkeley was accused in Parliament of taking part in the conspiracy to sway the
’ a rmy s support from Parliament to the King . He was ex pelled from the House of Commons and imprisoned in the
Tower of London . Edward Sackville , Earl of Dorset , and - ~ H G Of £ 1 0 000 enry rey , Earl Stamford , posted , bond for his
release , however , and the early outbreak of fighting prevent 1 64 . 2 ed further action against him In , with the rank of com
- missary general , he was dispatched to Cornwall for service
under Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Hopton . Berkeley won
1 643 s u great honor for himself in May , , when the forces p
of a l porting the King defeated the Earl Stamford who ,
a r though then serving as parliamentary general , late
publicly supported Charles 1 1 . Berkeley now became com
mander - in- chief of all royalist forces in Devonshire which he 1 644 ff managed to hold for a time , but in he su ered defeat while trying to halt a westward advance of the parliamentary 1 64 u forces . In 5 he S cceeded Sir Richard Grenville as
- colonel general of Devonshire and Cornwall , but early the following year he was forced to surrender Exeter (though
on honorable terms) where he had chosen to fight . He fled to Paris as a personal aid to the Queen with whom he seems BIOGRAPHIES OF THE EIGHT ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS 3 1
’ to have been a favorite . Upon the Queen s recommendation , Berkeley returned to England to use whatever influence he had in the King ’ s behalf in working out terms with Crom
I 1 64 a c . 7 well and other leaders n July , , the King refused to cept a se t of propositions submitted to Settle the differences
between the two groups trying to win control in England . N In ovember the King took flight , escaping to the Isle to
Wight in the company of Berkeley .
was The King soon taken into custody , however , where upon Berkeley Openly went to London to plead for h is fi safety . Certain army of cers received Berkeley coolly , and
s Parliament took action to try him as an enemy . With thi tu rn of events he had no choice but to flee to Paris where he
became temporary governor to James , Duke of York . In 1 652 Berkeley took control of the Duke ’ s finances and other
a s . affairs well , it seems He tried without success to arrange a financially desirable marriage for the Duke . Then , in Spite
of his failure on behalf of the Duke , Berkeley set about to make a suitable match for himself, but the Countess to whom he proposed marriage declined to accept him . It is said that Edward Hyde advised the Countess on this course
inspiring in Berkeley a deep and abiding dislike . For several years Berkeley served with the Duke of York
in the fight against the Spanish in the Low Countries . In 1 657 he accompanied the Duke on a tour of the N etherlands
1 658 was and in May , , named Baron Berkeley of Stratton , in Cornwall .
e 1 1 a When Charl s returned to the throne , Berkeley c me home to England and was at once placed on the staff of the 1 66 1 admiralty . In he was appointed lord president of Con naught for life ; with a deputy assigned to act for him in Ire
in . land , however , Berkeley remained London In fairly rapid succession he was given other posts of honor and responsi 32 THE PROPRIETORS OF CAROLINA BIOGRAPHIES OF THE EIGHT ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS 33
ili t : b y he became a member of the Privy Council , a master
'
e . of the ordnanc , and one of the committeemen of Tangier
a s e Following two years in Ireland Lord Lieutenant , Berk
’ ley wa s appointed in 1 67 5 one of England s three ambassadors e e f N im e u en xtraordinary to the Congr ss o g , a great peace congress call ed to end t h e wars which had involved most of
1 11 t 1 677 Europe for years . health forced his re urn home in ,
e wher he died the following year . John , Lord Berkeley , was
h is buried in the parish church of Twickenham near brother ,
’ e h is Sir William . Shortly aft r death Berkeley s interest in
to Carolina was sold John Archdale .
e e Riccard Berk ley had marri d Christian or Christiana ,
t e Ricca rd e . daugh er of Sir Andr w , a w althy London merchant
At h is She had been married twice previously . death Berkeley
e e ee e t l ft three sons , ach of whom succ d d in turn to the ti le h (which became extinct in and one daug ter . In addition to b e ing o ne of th e Lords Propri e tors of Caro
e e wa s e e lina , Berk l y also a Propri tor of N ew J rsey which he
e e e and Sir G orge Cart r t obtained from James , Duke of York , in 1 664 .
N A THONY ASH LEY COOPER , EARL OF SHAFTESBURY
1 62 1 - 1 683
e son Anthony Ashley Cooper , eld st of John Cooper of
Roc kborne e e in Hampshire and Ann Ashl y , daughter of Sir
’ h is Anthony Ashley , was born in grandfather Ashley s home
St . e e t e 2 2 1 62 1 . at Wimborne Gil s in Dors shir , on July , The
h is t e wa s e th e following year fa h r giv n rank of baronet , which
h is son wa s h soon to inherit . By t e tim e young Cooper was
t e n e a both his parents wer de d . He became the second 34 THE PROPRIETORS OF CAROLINA
s a t baronet and inherited large estates in four countie , pl n a
an in th e tions in Barbados , and interest in a Ship engaged
Guinea trade .
1 637 Ex e t In Cooper entered eter College , Oxford, but l f
’
law Inn . early the next year to Study at Lincoln s , London l 1 640 t He was chosen a member of Par iament in , al hough
. a not yet of age In the contest between King and Parli ment ,
1 643 o e Cooper was slow to take sides ;by , however , he supp rt d the royal cause by raising a regiment of infantry and a tr0 0 p
. a of cavalry , both of which he commanded He seems to h ve
t h is s realized , never heless , that own interest and eventually those of the King might best be served in other ways . B e
’ fore long he was made sheriff and president of th e Ki ng s council of war for Dorsetshire .
e a re For r asons which not fully known , Cooper suddenly gave up all of his appointments under th e King and switch ed
h i an e . s over to the side of Parliam nt At the time , expl ation
’ was that he felt King Charles goals would lead to th e down fall of both religion and government in England but h is friends then (and historians later) have suspected there were other reasons Command of parl iamentary forces in Dorsetshire was given
1 644 es to him in , and he led his troops in a number of succ s
e ful engagements during the next several months . In th late
1 646 h is th e spring of military service came to an end , and for next seven years he occupied himself with private and local
e c affairs . During the period he held a numb r of local politi al
O e 1 65 th e ffic s . In 2 he was a member of a commission for reform of the laws and the following year again became a
’ member of Parliament as well as a member of Cromw ell s
council of State . Cooper was a moderate in Parliament and seems to have been able to prevent certain violent and harm o t fu l actions on the part of other members . He st od wi h BIOGRAPHIES OF THE EIGHT ORIGINAL PROP RIETORS 35
Cromwell so long as he appeared to be attempting to esta blish a genuine parliamentary government , but when he sa w that Cromwell was determined to rule alone , Cooper 1 656 broke away. When a new Parliament met in , Cooper Opposed Cromwell as head of a group of Presbyterians and
. so republicans He spoke frequently and well , well , in fact , that li e was accused of being in touch with the exiled King
Charles in Paris . This charge Cooper denied , and being cleared by Parliament , he again took up the fight for the rights of that body .
’ r When Monck s commissioners arrived in London , Coope
was was one of those dealing with them . A little later he one of eight members of the now - dissolved council of state A assuring Monck of their cooperation . few days later they gave Monck a commission as commander - in-chief of all forces in England and Scotland . Cooper , himself , held a com mission to command the troops in London , which it was hoped would revolt , and he and two others secured a pledge
e of support for Parliament from the fleet . The complete r turn of power to Parliament was to be the first step in restoring
’
. T the King his now became Cooper s aim , for which he worked with all his might . Cooper was one of a dozen men sent by Commons in the 1 660 Spring of to invite Charles to return . When the King h . t e returned to England , Cooper met him at Canterbury At suggestion of Monck , Cooper was made a member of the
Privy Council . 1 66 1 At the coronation in April , , Cooper was created
Baron Ashley of Wimborne St . Giles . (He took the name
Ashley now instead of Cooper . ) Lord Ashley was soon named
Chancellor of the Exchequer and a lord of the treasury .
Despite these honors , however , he vigorously opposed two of the leading measures favored by the King . A short while 36 THE PROPRIETORS or CAROLINA
38 THE PROPRIETORS OF CAROLINA
’ This action eventually led to Sh a ftesbu ry s arrest and im prisonment in the Tower of London . The j ury before h o whic he appeared refused to find any cause for h lding him ,
was . however , and he released on bail While thus temporarily r free , the e was a change in the local administration and men
Wh o . surely would convict him , guilty or not , came to power
Fearing for his life , Shaftesbury went into hiding and later
fled the country . Reaching Amsterdam early in December , 1 682,h e found a welcome in the home of an English merchant . Before many weeks had passed , however , he fell
1 e 1 683 . . 2 ill On January , , the Earl of Shaftesbury di d
Shaftesbury , who had been married three times , was sur
- vived an n son . by o ly of the second marriage This son , the
’ second Earl of Shaftesbury , took over his father s share in
C arolina . The form er Shaftesbury Precinct in old Albemarle County was named to honor the Lord Proprietor .
SIR GEORGE CARTERET
- c . 1 6 1 5 1 680
l George Carteret was the son of H de Carteret of St . ‘ e ier O uen , Isle of Jersey , whose home , dating from the thirteenth c of u m entury , is Still standing . The exact date his birth is
‘ h is t — known , but paren s his mother was Elizabeth Dumaresq
- 1 6 1 64 were married in 08 . In 2 the inhabitants of Jersey complained that George , acting as governor in the absence I ' o f de his uncle , Sir Philip Carteret , was too young for such a position .
’ Carteret s A education seems to have been brief . s might have been expected of a young man living on one of th e
C I 1 63 is . 2 hannel Islands , he went to sea quite early n he BIOGRAPHIES OF THE EIGHT ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS 39
listed as a lieutenant of the Ship Convertive . Ten years later he was captain of a Ship and in turn commanded a number 6 in of vessels in the royal navy . In 1 37 he served as second command under William Ra inborrow in an expedition N against the Sal"pirates of orth Africa . He reached the rank of comptroller of the navy two years later and in 1 642 was selected for the post of vice admiral to Sir Robert Dudley,
Earl of Warwick , but other commands from the King pre vented his acceptance . When the civil war began in England he attempted to
to raise troops in Cornwall , but was persuaded instead
’ supply arms and ammunition for the King s followers in th e west of England . Using his own credit and influence , he sup plied munitions not only for these forces , but those holding the fortresses of the Channel Islands as well . In 1 643 Carteret inherited the position of bailiff of th e Island of Jersey and shortly afterward was appointed lieu ten ant governor by the King . From Jersey he conducted an active privateering war against ships supplying the armed H forces of Parliament . e was , of course , declared a pirate and a law was passed to cancel all the commissions granted by him . Later he was excluded from pardon in treaties made with the King . Jersey became the home of many of those loyal to the King wh o h a 4 d been forced to flee in 1 6 6 . Prince Charles landed in the spring of that year and rewarded Carteret by creating n him knight and baro et . At one time Carteret even moved his own family out of their house to make room for Charles
’ Carteret unselfish ness and his friends . s won the gratitude of
s both Charles and the Duke of York . Carteret , Charle later wrote , I will add this to you under my own hand that I can never forget the good services you have done to my father and to me and if God bless me you shall find I do remember them 40 THE PROPRIETORS o r CAROLINA
- to the advantage of you and yours ; and for this you hav e th e
word of your very loving fri end Charl es R .
a e e e Edw rd Hyd , aft rwards Earl of Clar ndon , spent two
’ e a s C artere t e He wa s years in Jers y s gu st . truly a worthy
t e e e and mos xcellent p rson , Hyde recorded , of xtra ordinary merit towards th e crown and nation of England ;
e e the most generous man in kindness , and the most d xt rous man in busin ess ever known ;a nd a most prudent and skilful
- e e e e e lieutenant governor , who r duced J rs y not with gr at r
h e e skill and discretion than kept it . And b sides those other
e n e parts of honesty and discr tio , undoubt dly as good , if not
the best seaman of England . When Charles returned for a Second visit to J ersey in “ 1 649 1 650 e e n and , he grant d to Cart ret a certai island a nd adjacent islets in Am erica in p erpetual inh erit
a at £ 6 a e nce , to be held an annual rent of y ar to the
e e t crown . Charles later follow d this patt rn of gran ing land
h i e t in America to reward s fri nds . In his instance he was
th e e e e rewarding the man who , on Island of J rs y immediat ly
th e e e e e . after x cution of Charl s I , proclaim d him Charles II 1 e 1 65 . A parliamentary army land d in Jersey in Carteret ,
d e h is l t l e etermin d to make the last roya S rongho d to surrend r , Sh u t himself up in Elizab e th Castl e wi th a garrison of 340
men . They held fast for three months in the face of the
’ a ttacks of Cromwell s forces . Finally , powerful artillery was brought up and from a n eighboring h eight poured forth on
’ C arteret s l cast e . In December he was forced to surrender, but h e and his men were allowed to make an honorable de
e partur . Carteret joined the royal family in France . 1 660 In , when the King was restored to his throne , Car teret b ecame a m ember of the Privy Council and treasure r
o f the navy . He also occupied the post of vice Chamberlain BIOGRAPHIES OF THE EIGHT ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS 4 1 42 THE PROPRIETORS OF CAROLINA
' of the household , a position to which he had been appointed by Prince Charles in 1 647 In 1 66 1 Carteret was el ected a member of the House of
C AS ommons for Portsmouth . treasurer of the navy , however , m he was ost active . His personal credit enabled him to
o 1 665 e b rrow in , during the plague , to ke p the fleet ffi abroad . Two years later di culties stemming from the Dutch war forc ed him to relinqu ish his post for one as deputy C treasurer of Ireland . ommissioners appointed for the pur pose of investigating accounts of the navy had discovered evidence of serious errors there during the war , although
their report found no fault with Carteret . The House of e 1 00 97 Commons , neverthel ss , by a vote of to found him
guilty of a misdemeanor and took the post from him .
e A few years later , in spite of this s tback , Carteret became n e one of the commissio ers of the admiralty , a m mber of the
and Tangiers committee , a member of the committee of
trade and plantations . In addition to holding these posts , he was one of the early supporters of the Hudson ’ s Bay Com L pany . He and John , ord Berkeley , were Proprietors of N ew
wa s e 1 664 . Jersey which , as we have seen , given to th m in
’ Carteret s a e de th , which occurr d two days after papers
n e had bee prepared raising him to the p erage , was announced
L ondon aze tte 1 4 1 680 . in the G on January , He was reported “ to have b een near eighty years old . Shortly afterwards Charles granted the same honor planned for Carteret to his
widow , who was his first cousin , Elizabeth , daughter of Sir
n e Philip de Carteret . Their oldest so had be n drowned in 1 67 2 fighting the Dutch in , leaving his son , George , to 1 4 1 68 1 become Baron Carteret of Hawnes on October . This Sir George Carteret inherited h is grandfather 5 share in
Carolina . He married Lady Grace Granville of the family of BIOGRAPHIES OF THE EIGHT ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS 43
Sir Richard Grenville who visited Roanoke Island and the coast of Carolina several times in the sixteenth century . When the other shares of Carolina were purchased by the
’ 1 729 Ca rteret s crown in , heir demanded and was assigned
“ ’ a large tract of land which came to be known as Granville s
Grant , or the Granville District . N orth Carolina ’ s Carteret and Granville counties were named for this family .
SIR WILLIAM BERKELEY
1 606 - 1 677
son e William Berkeley , of Sir Maurice Berk ley and broth
of er John Berkeley, was born probably in Bruton , Somer
’ s etsh ire 1 606 H , in . e attended Queen s College , Oxford , and in 1 629 received the degree of Master of Arts from Merton
College . As a very young man he was popular in court circles where quite soon he became a trusted adviser to
to Charles 1 . During the same period he was also considered
Th e L os t L a d be a playwright of some ability . y was published
1 638 r in , and an unpublished play , Co nelia , is believed to have come from his pen . He was knighted at Berwick on 1 29 639 . July ,
A 9 1 64 1 nr On ugust , , Berkeley was commissioned gover o
ofli ce of Virginia , an which he assumed the following year
l - A and held for near y thirty five years . t the outset he appears
be to have been an able governor , having established peace tween the Opposing groups he found on his arrival . He per m i tted the general assembly to act as a final court of appeal even where the general court over which he presided had pre v iou sl y tried the case . The new governor encouraged the people to grow a variety of crops and set an example by 4 4 THE PROPRIETORS OF CAROLINA
A n . S growing flax , cotton , and rice on his own la ds were so
was e many Virginians of the period , he especially inter sted u 300 in prod cing silk , and in one year sent pounds of it as a gift to the King . To encourage manufacturing he s et up his own looms to weave material for clothes for his own family and for his Slaves . Berkeley encouraged and directed attempts to explore the s urrounding country and to find an easy route through the 1 644 mountains into the western country . In , following the second great Indian massacre of the whites in Virginia , he raised a small force which he led to the frontier wh ere the
Indians were completely subdued . The peace with them
h irt which followed lasted for more than i y years . Because of
’ Berkeley s advance preparation , the colonists were also able to halt a threatened invasion of Virginia from the s ea by 1 665 the Dutch in . During the early years of his administration Berkeley v igorously opposed the Quakers and Puritans . In later years he was equally outspoken against education . Referring to “ Virginia , he said , I thank God there are no free schools nor l printing, and I hope we sha l not have these hundred years ; for learning h as brought disobedience and heresy and sects W into the orld , and printing has divulged them , and libels
e . against the best governments . God k ep us from both firm When the civil war began in England , Berkeley was
‘ in his opposition to Parliament and exerted his infl u ence on
the English Cavaliers to get them to come to Virginia . The colony also became a haven for the persecuted clergy of the
’
homeland . Berkeley s expression of fury at the execution of Charles 1 caused Parliament to call for his submission to its
. authority , but the Virginia governor refused A small Com
m onweal th fleet sent to the colony was met with force , with Virginia surrendering only after a compromise had been
46 THE PROPRIETORS OF CAROLINA
a reached . Berkeley w s allowed to remain on his own planta
e tion as a privat person .
e C s 1 1 e e e Aft r harle r turn d to the throne , B rkeley visited
England bri efly . When he sailed for Virginia again he went
e th e not only as gov rnor of that colony , but also as one of o eight Propriet rs of Carol ina . He was instructed by the oth er
“ Proprietors to take charge of their business in the proprietary , Of including the appointing a governor and council , the
granting of land , and the collecting of rents . In October ,
1 664 e , he select d William Drummond as governor of the
e e County of Alb marl which had b een created in Carolina . After Berkeley ’ s return from England he showed himself
b ff e m to e quite a di rent governor than formerly . His ad i ni
s tra tion was th e efli d ent no longer organization of old , and
e e h i s . e
th j g neral assembly did bidding in abj ect fashion Ther had been no election for Burgesses for a long time and
’ e o ffi through the gov rnor s p wer to appoint o cials , formerly i ndependent county governments fell under h is control as
did also the council and general court of the colony . Oth er
important causes of discontent developed . There was a serious Indian uprising and the people soon took up arms a ’ gainst Berkeley s government . The rebellion forced Berkeley
fl ee to to the Eastern Shore of the colony . It was not until the
f - ’ e e in 1 676 e death of Bacon , the rebels l ad r , , that B rkeley was
f f able to return to his o fice . H e set out on a program of re
prisal , executing many former rebels , and taking over their property in such ruthless fashion as to cause the English gov ernm ent to take steps to remove him from office King Charles is credited with remarking of Berkeley that the old fool h as killed more people in that naked country than I ” have done for the murder of my father . Berkeley eventually gave up h is office and in 1 676 returned to England where l I6 H 9 77 . e he died on July , is buried at Twickenham near BIOGRAPHIES OF THE EIGHT ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS 47
th e e grav of William Tryon , a governor of N orth Carolina a century later , who was also faced with rebellion in the colony which he govern ed .
’ e e Berkel y s wife was Franc s Culpeper , widow of Samuel
o 1 667 1 669 . re Stephens , governor of Car lina from to She i ’ ce ved her husband s share in Carolina at his death .
SIR JOHN COLLETON
1 608 - 1 666
th e so n e e h is John Colleton , of P t r Colleton and wife ,
1 608 o f Ursula Hull , was born in , probably in the west England sinc e h is father was Sheriff of Exeter in Devonshire ten years later . During the civil war he served faithfully on the side of the King , first as a captain of infantry and later a s a colonel . Sir John Berk eley authorized Colleton to enlist
’ a regiment for the former s army in the west , a task which
h is Colleton accomplished in ten days . He spent of own fortune as well in the royal cause . Probably late in 1 650 or early in 1 65 1 Colleton described as a man of considerable wealth and influence , journeyed th to the Island of Barbados in the West Indies . He won e
e W illou h confidence of the gov rnor of that colony , Francis g by , Lord of Parham , who confided in him concerning many of the problems facing the governor . Colleton appears to
e e 1 652 hav return d to London for a brief time in , but was soon back in Barbados where he continued active in behalf “ th e H e of King . is described by various persons as a mer ” “ chant and promoter , a Barbadian financier , and simply “ a s e Th a plant r . e latter appelation would appear to be " e most accurat , but at any rate Colleton held a high position
e 1 658 in the governm nt of the island where , in , he occupied 48 THE PROPRIETORS OF CAROLINA
ffi a . wa s M od ford j udicial o ce He related to Sir Thomas y ,
e th e at one tim governor of island , to whom George Monck ,
e e e e e e Duke of Alb marle , also was r lat d . S veral m mb rs of the Colleton family were prominent in the early his tory of
Barbados .
e h is About the time Charles II r gained throne , Colleton
r returned to England , neve again to visit Barbados . Upon his departure h is property on th e island was taken over by
’ C son e olleton s , James , who marri d Ann , daughter of James
h a e e t e . Kendall , governor of isl nd M anwhile , John Berk ley ” e a pres nted memorial to the King in favor of Colleton , and
1 66 1 e e e in February , , he was knight d along with a doz n oth r a men , including John Yeamans who took an early p rt in the
settlement of Carolina and who also had lived in Barbados .
“ e e e th e Colleton , who had be n mad a memb r of very impor tant Council for Foreign Plantations of which B erk eley was
e wa s e e . pr sident , now appoint d to m mbership in the Royal
African Company . Th e idea of obtaining a grant from the King for the region lying south of Virginia seems to have occurred first to
Colleton . I t is likely that he had heard attractive accounts of this extensive unoccupi ed region from captains who had
- sailed their ships along th e coast and noticed the rivers and sounds and inviting shore with tall cedars growing at many
e e e in places very near the oc an . Th ir accounts would hav teres ted a Barbadian planter such a s Colleton whose planta
e tions were being crowded out by large sugar growers . Aft r t h e grant of Carolina was made in 1 663 to th e eight Lords
e e e e e Proprietors , Coll ton appears to hav tak n a Sinc re int rest
th e n th e e e in territory , attending meeti gs of Propri tors r gu
l a rly . A grant for the island h eretofore call ed Carlyle Island BIOGRAPHIES OF THE EIGHT ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS 49 now Colleton Island lyeing nea re the mouth of Ch owa ne now Albemarle river was made to Sir John Colleton in 1 6 63 . September , The name of this island in Kitty Hawk
Ba d to y, west of the Wright Memorial , became transforme
Collington Island with the passage of time .
1 665 ad Thomas Woodward , surveyor of Albemarle in , “
a neere . dressed letter to Colleton St Jameses , London , 1 666 where he apparently was then living . The next year , , — he died the first of the original Lords Proprietors to be taken by death . 1 9 1 634 On N ovember , , Colleton had married Katherine daughter of William Amy of Exton , Devonshire . They had
da u h four sons , Peter , Thomas , John , and James , and one g
’ ter . Colleton s share in Carolina passed to his eldest son ,
Peter , at his death . CHAPTER IV
Biographies of the Later Proprietors
AMY ' THOMAS , (died probably was a relative b y marriage of original Lord Proprietor Sir John Colleton . 1 634 o In C lleton married Katherine , daughter of William
Amy of Exton , Devonshire . The Amy family may have been L ’ Am related to Hugh y, one of the French Huguenot lead e rs interested in Carolana colonization under the Sir Robert a 1 6 Heath gr nt of 29 .
Four of the Proprietors , among them Sir Peter Colleton , purchased the original Sir William Berkeley Share from his widow in 1 68 3 and conveyed it to Thomas Amy in trust for
’ e A th mselves . ( t Amy s death this Share was claimed by his
s on r . e 1 707 his Sis , Thomas , J , who , at his d ath in , left it to l ters , Elizabeth Amy Moore and Ann Amy Trott . ) Amy a so ” ’ e Soth el A was concerned with S th s share in Carolina . t
’ So th el s 1 694 h is was e death in , share claimed by the oth r i 1 0 d Proprietors who assigned t to Amy . In 70 Amy conveye
h er l this Share to his daughter , Ann , and husband , N icho as
n l e Trott . Sothel heirs in E g and , how ver , also claimed it , and
’ they sold their interest to H ugh VVa tson in trust for James a nd Henry Bertie . ’ 1 68 Little is known of Amy s life . In 2 he was described as “ ” a London dru gs ter when the Lord Mayor appoi nted him 1 700 " to examine lists of the livery companies , and in he is m entioned as one of the “ chief managers ” of the Bahama
Islands for the Proprietors of that territory .
AMY , THOMAS , JR . (died claimed the Sir ’ William Berkeley share in Carolina which was in his father s BIOGRAPHIES OF THE LATER PROPRIETORS 5 1
1 04 A e hands when he died in 7 . Young my died within thre
h is s years before perfecting his claim , which he left to isters ,
rs Elizabeth and Ann . The question of their owne hip had not been settled when the charter was sold to the crown in 1 729 , and their names , together with other doubtful claim
record o f . ants , appears in the those taking part in the sale
A HN 1 642P H ARCHD LE , J O ( of igh Wycombe ,
Buckinghamshire , purchased (in the name of his son ,
Thomas) the share of John , Lord Berkeley, one of the ori m 6 1 05 1 7 8 . 7 gi al Lords Proprietors , after his death in In , after the younger Archdale had come of age and sold his
Carolina share , John Archdale purchased the former William Berkeley share which had been conveyed to Thomas Amy
wa in trust for four of the other Proprietors . Archdale s in Maine as an agent for the government during the period
1 664- 1 666 . Maine at that time was owned by the Gorges A family to whom rchdale was related by marriage . I t is inter esting to note that a member of this family , Edward Gorges , had been among the explorers of the Roanoke area in th e 1 67 3 1 68 1 sixteenth century . Some time between and Archdale came under the influence of George Fox and be
1 a s came a Quaker . In 682 he accepted an appointment collector of rents in Carolina and arrived in Albemarle the 1 694 following year . Archdale served as governor from to 1 696 , during which period the colony enjoyed an unusually 1 698 A good government . Returning to England in , rchdale was elected to Parliament but was denied a seat when he 1 707 refused to take an oath . In London in a small book , A N ew D es cription of Th a t Fertile a nd P leas a nt P rov ince of
Ca ro lina . T , by John Archdale , was published he following
r year his Sha e in Carolina was transferred to his daughter , 5 2 THE PROPRIETORS or CAROLINA
Mary , and her husband , John Danson . Archdale died in 4 1 7 1 7 England on July , , survived by several children , some of whom lived in North Carolina . A town laid off on Archdale property in Pasquotank
1 708 was Precinct in to be known as Low Wickham , a com
’ Arch dal e s son- in- bination of the name of law and daughter ,
Emanuel and Ann Lowe , and the name of the family home in England , Wycombe Abbey in High Wycombe . Although
’ Arch da l e s the town did not develop , it is possible that
e e humor in naming it was r cognized by his contemporari s .
1 67 6- 1 7 1 1 e ARCHDALE , THOMAS ( ) own d the original
e Carolina Shar of John , Lord Berkeley , which his father,
h is J ohn Archdale , purchased in name after the death of
h e 1 6 8 t original Proprietor in 7 . Young Archdale sold his 1 696 share in to Joseph Blake . Following his education at
VVa dh a m College , Oxford , Archdale and a servant were i licens ed to travel in Holland in 1 7 03 . He s buried in the
c . hurch at High Wycombe , where the Archdale family lived
AS h is wa s a youth , while father governor of Albemarle ,
Archdale lived in Carolina .
1 675 - 1 7 s on ASHLEY, MAURICE ( of Anthony Ashley r Cooper, second Earl of Shaftesbu y , and younger brother of
h is the third Earl , represented brother at meetings of the 6 Lords Proprietors after the death of their father in 1 99 .
e a The eld r brother actually inherited the Share in Carolin , b u t ill health and other interests prevented h is taking any a s ctive part in its management . Maurice A hley acquired the
’ s h is 1 7 1 3 hare in own right after his brother s death in , and 1 709 i n 1 7 25 . sold it to Sir John Tyrrell From , or earlier,
5 4 THE PROPRIETORS or CAROLINA
wa s ate of Christ Chruch , Oxford . An attorney , he a member
’ o f Gray s Inn and was one of the four persons to whom h is — f e i 1 ather convey d his Carolina Share n trust in 7 2 8 . The elder Bertie apparently took this means of turning over his i nterests to a group of qualified men who would drive the best bargain in his behalf when the Carolina charter was s old to the crown . In 1 7 25 the Lords Proprietors appointed
e Edward Bertie Secretary and R gistrar of South Carolina .
1 675 son o f BERTIE , HEN RY ( was the third A ff h . t e James Bertie , first Earl of Abingdon t di erent times
. e r Hon H nry Bertie had an interest in two Shares of Ca olina . The heirs of Seth Sothel sold their claim to the Edward
' Hyde Share to Hu gh Watson in trust for young James and
Henry Bertie ; this share was later assign ed to James alone . W atson also acquired , the original Sir William Berkeley Share from the Dansons in the name of the two Bertie
brothers , and this one was subsequently allotted to Henry 1 08 a lone . In 7 Henry Bertie married Arabella Susanna
o Hamilton , daughter of Hugh Hamilton , first Bar n Hamil
of Gl ena wl e e ton y, and widow of Marcus Tr vor , third Vis e count Dungannon , but she di d before the end of the
co- s year . He later married Mary , daughter and one of the heir
o f son of Peregrine Bertie , of Montague Bertie , second Earl
Lindsey , and widow of Anthony Henly . They had one child ,
. a daughter , who married her first cousin , Charles Bertie Henry Bertie continued to hold his Carolina Share until i t
was sold to the crown .
1 67 3 BERTIE , JAMES ( was the second son of
AS James Bertie , first Earl of Abingdon . we have seen , Henry BIOGRAPHIES OF THE LATER PROPRIETORS 55
Bertie and his brother, James , were joint owners of Shares in
Carolina for a time , and later each became sole owner of a single Share . James Bertie represented the County of Middle s ex in Parliament for a number of years . He married Eliza
G e beth , daughter of eorg Willoughby , seventh Lord
Willoughby of Parham . They were the parents of fourteen
“ son children . Their second , Edward , was one of the four persons to whom Berti e conveyed his Carolina Share in trust 1 in 7 28 . For a time James Bertie represented Henry and Charles N oel Somerset , the minor sons of the late Duke of Beaufort , at meetings of the Lords Proprietors .
A 1 645P- 1 700 BL KE , JOSEPH ( ) member of a Somerset
“ family, purchased the original John , Lord Berkeley , Share in 1 696 Carolina in from Thomas Archdale . One Joseph Blake , perhaps this one , was educated at Wadham College (as was Thomas Archdale) which he entered in 1 662 at the age of 1 A 7 It is probable that Blake was a nephew of John rchdale .
1 683 h is He came to South Carolina in when father , Ben jamin (brother of the famous admiral , Robert Blake) , led a group of Dissenters to settle there . Blake was a prominent
e South Carolina planter , served the Archdale interests ther
1 694 - 1 695 as a deputy , and was governor of the colony in
1 6 6 - 1 and 9 700 . In 1 695 he purchased land in Charleston which he gave to the Presbyterian Church . His first wife ,
W hom he apparently married in England , was Deborah
Morton , daughter of the first Landgrave Joseph Morton , but
e . e 1 698 th y had no children In Dec mber , , he married second l e da u h y, Elizabeth Axt ll , the widow of Francis Turgis and g ter of Landgrave Daniel Axtell , formerly a London merchant before his removal to South Carolina . At the time of his 5 6 THE PROPRIETORS OF CAROLINA
d e eath , Blak and his second wife were the parents of a
e son r. daughter , Rebecca , How ver a , Joseph Blake , J , was
’ e 27 1 699 born posthumously . Blake s will , dated Decemb r , , “ left his Propriety to ye one eighth part of ye Province of
th e Carolina to his daughter , but reference was made to n expected s econd child . Since the so was born before the
w e ill was proved in court , the Carolina Shar went to him
instead .
1 700 BLAKE , JOSEPH , JR ( who inherited his ’ 1 700 father s share in Carolina in , was a Proprietor at the
AS h is- u time the Charter was sold to the crown . g ardian , his mother a pp o inted M a u rice Ashley in 1 709 or earlier to
r epresent him at m ee tings of th e Lords Propri e tors. Ashley
continued to s erv e in this capacity until Blake cam e of age . Young Blak e was a m ember of th e Council in Sout h Carolina
H a in 1 724 . e lived t N ewington and became one of the
m en wealthi est in the col ony .
T CARTERE , GEORGE , Baron Carteret of Hawnes
’ ( 1 667 inherited h i s grandfather s share in Carolina
1 680 e e u e e in . He s rv d in the Ho s of Lords and vot d with the
e Whigs . He married Grace Grenvill , daughter of John
G e renvill , first Earl of Bath , who was also one of the Lords
was e o . Proprietors of Carolina . He succeed d by his son , J hn
N 1 690 e CARTERET , JOH , Earl Granville ( cam 5 into poss ession of the Carteret interest in Carolina in 1 69
th e e h is . at d ath of father , George , first Baron Carteret He
w as educated at Westminster School and Christ Church , BIOGRAPHIES OF THE LATER PROPRIETORS 57
Oxford , where he , was a good student in Greek , Latin , and H 1 7 1 1 philosophy . He took his seat in the ouse of Lords in and became a champion of the Protestant succession . He was lord lieutenant of Devonshire in 1 7 1 6 - 1 7 2 1 and of
- 1 4 1 30 - 7 7 . Ireland in 2 Between these two periods , during
’ Walpole s administration , he was a Secretary of State .
G e Carteret was a favorite of eorg I and George I I , partly
1 744 h is because of his ability to Speak German . In , at ’ 1 5 1 n . 7 u mother s death , he became Earl of Granville From til his death he was President of the Council . Carteret was the only one of the Lords Proprietors u n willing to sell his Share in Carolina to the crown in 1 7 29 .
AS a e a s th e e r sult , a portion of Carolina known Granvill
was l District or the Granville Grant , laid off for him a ong
- the N orth Carolina Virginia line .
R l 1 7 2 1 CA TERET , ROBERT , Ear of Granville (
’ ’ became heir to h is father s share in Carolina at the latter s 1 6 ’ 3 . 7 . death in He was educated at St John s College ,
W as e I l Oxford , and a member of Parliam nt for Yarmouth , s e
1 744 1 4 l fli t h e 7 7 . o ce of Wight , from to He he d a local on
1 6 He Isle of Jersey from 7 3 until h is death . married a woman , said to be French , named Elizabeth , whose last name i s . e not now known Since Carteret left no children , the titl became extinct at his death . A contemporary described him “ ” c h is as rather defi ient in intellects , and he is said to have
‘ wi th a n r associated undesirabl e class of people . His fathe disowned him , we are told , at the time of his marriage .
X CLAYTON , ALE IUS (died one of four persons to whom James Bertie conveyed his Carolina share in trust
1 7 28 . in , was the eighth and last child , all sons , of the Rev 58 THE PROPRIETORS OF CAROLINA
1 7 05 e e James Clayton , who died in . H is mother was Cath rin
. e e r James The Claytons w r of an old Yo kshire family . Alexius became an attorney and Deputy Steward of West
e minist r; and was a member of the Middle Temple . At his
e h e v e d ath was survi ed by a daught r , Mary , who married
t first , Thomas Bowser , and after his dea h , Thomas Purchas .
N 16 69 x COLLETO , JOHN ( of E mouth , Devon s 1 679 hire , inherited the Colleton Share in Carolina in at the
death of his father . Until he came of age he was represented
at meetings of the Propri e tors by William Thornburgh . For a Short time after 1 7 1 4 Sir John Colleton lived in South
1 7 2 6 e e s e Carolina , but in he divid d his state , Slav s , and other
e h is . property there betw en two sons , John and Peter At one
e e time a John Coll ton , pr sumably this man , was the sixth
‘
wealthies t citizen of Ex e t er where h e was a merchant .
t e Colleton married Elizabe h , daughter of John Snell . Th y
e e h e had thre sons , all of whom died before th ir father , and
wa s e n succe ded by a grandson . John Colleto was a Carolina
Proprie tor at th e tim e of the sale of the colony to the crown .
’ T 1 635 h is COLLETON , PE ER ( inherited father s
s hare in Carolina at the death of the original Lord Proprietor,
1 666 . Sir John Colleton , in For a time Sir Peter represented
B ossine l y, Cornwa l , in Parliament . He married Elizabeth
e Lesli of Barbados , the widow of William Johnston , and they
had a s on and a daught er . Colleton was a member of the
Royal African Company , interested in a Barbados colony ,
and active in the affairs of Carolina . BIOGRAPHIES OF THE LATER PROPRIETORS 5 9
Sh a ftes COOPER , ANTHONY ASHLEY , second Earl of bury ( 1 652 inherited a share in Carolina from his
one t h e e . father , of original Lords Propri tors He was
e e educat d at Trinity College , Oxford , and s rved in Parlia 1 670 ' 1 683 ment from until . He was vice admiral of Dorset
i Hi a in 1 679 and again from 1 685 until h s death . s wife w s
Dorothy Manners , daughter of the Earl of Rutland , by whom he had three sons and four daughters . He was succeed ed by his eldest son who bore h is name .
t Sh a ftes COOPER , AN TH ONY ASHLEY , hird Earl of bury ( 1 67 1 - 1 7 1 3) inherited the family Share in Carolina in
1 699 wa s h iIOSO at the death of his father . Cooper a noted p p her , and his writings were collected and published as
Ch a ra cteris ticks o M en o f f in 1 7 1 1 . In poor health for much 1 698 his life and especially after , he was represented by his
e brother, Maurice Ashley , at m etings of the Carolina Pro
ri f p e tors . Cooper was nevertheless an active memb er o
Parliament and held office in the County of Dorset . He was survived by an only son who became the fourth Earl o f
h is Shaftesbury , but his Share in Carolina was acquired by brother, Maurice .
COTTON , J OHN , owned the original Anthony Ashley Cooper Share in Carolina in 1 729 when the charter was t surrendered to the crown . Cotton , who lived in East Barne
e near London , was an attorney and a member of the Middl
Temple . He acquired his Carolina share in 1 727 from his
- in- 1 725 son law , Sir John Tyrrell , who had purchased it in and vested it in Archibald Hutcheson in trust for Cotton . 60 THE PROPRIETORS OF CAROLINA
e e 1 668 CRAVEN , WILLIAM , s cond Lord Crav n (
' was a distant cousin and successor of the original Lord
’ t e e th e Proprie or of the same nam . He inherit d Proprietor s in terest in Carolina in 1 697 and took h is s eat in th e House o f Lords at that t ime . H e became lord li eu tenant of Berk
in 1 702 1 7 06 th e ee f shire . In he was granted degr of Doctor o
e C ivil Law by Oxford University . He marri d Elizabeth ,
d e 1 697 e aught r of Humberston Skipwith , in , and they wer
th e e par nts of three sons .
1 7 00 CRAVEN , WILLIAM , third Lord Craven (
’ inh erited h is fa ther s share in Carolina in 1 7 1 1 which he
Fu lwar held un t il 1 7 2 9 when i t was sold to the crown . Skip
t e a n e wi h , p rhaps uncle , Signed docum nts on Carolina mat t ers a s th e represen t a t ive of Craven from as early as 1 7 1 2
’ 1 1 6 wa t s . un il 7 . Craven educated at Rugby and at St John s
e 1 3 was e . 7 9 Coll g , Cambridge In he governor of a foundling
1 te . 1 7 2 e hospital In he marri d Anne , daugh r of Frederick
u Tilney , who died fo r years later . Lord Craven , who never
e v . remarri d , was sur ived by an only daughter
DAN SON , JOHN (died about married Mary ,
d e 1 08 aughter of John Archdal . In 7 Archdale deeded his
C arolina share to Danson and his wife . The earliest docu ment known to have be en Sign ed by Danson as a Proprie tor
i s e 9 1 7 08 a dat d December , , and he is last mentioned as
2 8 1 7 2 3 . Proprietor in a document of N ovember , In May ,
1 7 09 wa s , he commissioned to be Receiver General of Caro
o l ina by the other Lords Proprietors . Pr perty purchased in Pasquotank Precinct by Archdale in 1 696 in the name of
’ John and Mary Danson was called Danson s Manor , although
the Dansons never visited it .
62 THE PROPRIETORS OF CAROLINA
first out of fa vor with King James II but later was restored to his position at court . Although initially Slow in acting, he declared himself in favor of William and Mary whose acces
’ sion to the throne in 1 688 did not prej udice Grenv ille s situa a t ion . N e r the end of his life Grenville willingly gave up a t number of his positions , among them that of lord lieutenan of Cornwall and Devonshire , but continued to hope that he would be named Duke of Albemarle , since the court decision 1 694 in had declared him the heir of the Monck estates . In h e this aspiration , however , was disappointed and at his
W as death it discovered that he was really quite poor . Gren ’ h im ville s oldest Son , who succeeded as the second earl ,
e e e S kill d hims lf within two w eks because , it was aid at the time , of his disappointment over his small inheritance . The
son . second , John , then succeeded to the title and property
th e 1 654 A daughter of first earl , Grace ( was the wife of Sir George Cartere t upon whose death Sh e be came Vis countess Carteret in addition to her title as Countess Gran ville .
1 665 - 1 707 a c GRENVILLE , JOHN , Baron Granville ( )
’ quired his father s Share in Carolina after the death of his father and older brother in 1 70 1 . He was born in London
be and educated at Christ Church , Oxford . At various times tween 1 685 and 1 703 Grenville represented several cities in
Parl iament . He became a lieutenant general , privy council lor, and lord lieutenant of Cornwall . Grenville married
Rebecca Child , widow of Charles Somerset . They had no children , but her son by her first marriage inherited the
Grenville Carolina interest through his mother . BIOGRAPHIES OF THE LATER PROPRIETORS 63
N L 1 666 GRE VI LE , REBECCA CHILD SOMERSET ( 1 7 1 2 C ) inherited the arolina interest of her second husband , 1 707 John Grenville , Baron Granville , when he died in with
wa s out children . She the daughter of Sir Josiah Child of
c th e Wanstead , a noted mer hant and governor of East India
of Company , and the widow Charles Somerset , son and heir of the Duke of B eaufort whom sh e married in 1 682 but who died before his father . She afterwards married John Gren ville , and gaining the Grenville Carolina interest at his death ,
son she immediately transferred it to Henry Somerset , her
e by her first husband , who had becom the Duke of Beau fort . Lady Granville died suddenly while playing cards with the Duchess of Ormonde at Richmond , near London .
’ th e fo u r HORSEY , SAM UEL (died was one of persons to whom James Bertie conv eyed his Carolina share in trust in 1 7 28 . In documents drawn up in connection with the sale of the charter to the crown the following year . “ as Horsey is described being of Mortlake , Surry , but died 1 7 1 7 38 l suddenly on August , , at Whiteha l , one of the gov ernm ent 1 0 1 03 buildings in London . In 7 2 and 7 he is de scribed as being a li e utenant of Foot Guards and of Hors e
. 1 722 Guards , respectively By he was a lieutenant colonel
0 0 t of the Fourth Tr p of Horse Guards , so we may assume tha 1 7 29 he was a professional soldier . It was reported in that Horsey resigned his commission in 1 7 22 in expectation of an appointment in the government of South Carol ina , and that he th e n a pplyed himself to the knowledge of the ff 1 6 a airs of the Province for several years . In 72 the Lords
Proprietors appointed him governor of South Carolina , but a year later the crown had not approved this action . After the surrender of the charter he was still seeking appointment to that post . 64 THE PROPRIETORS OF CAROLINA
Horsey Stated that he was the first proposer of the sur
’ e of M rend r Carolina to H . . , and procured a petition to be Signed by s ix of the Lords Proprietors to the King for that purpose . After which he did by the mediation of the Earl of Westmoreland negotiate and settle the terms of th e said surrender: He is said to have been at great pains and ex pence in carrying on and effecting this agreement which is a llowed to be a very beneficial one to the publick . Horsey was one of the Trustees named in the Act of Parliament for executing the surrender of the charter .
’ Horsey s ambition to be governor of South Carolina was
’ entlem a n s M a a zine not realized , but the G g published in
1 7 32 e London in September , , reported that he had b en “ elected Governor at a General Court of the York - Building ” Company . At various times Hors ey was occupied with a variety of
“ t proj ects . One of them was the making of perfumed toile soap and Shaving soap . These he tried to market in the West
I e to t ndies , but his pric s were too high compe e successfully with Castile soaps .
th e H UTCHESON , ARCH IBALD (died took over original Cooper share from Sir John Tyrrell in 1 7 2 7 a nd held it in trust for John Cotton . Hutcheson was an attorney
1 688 h e a t with wide experience . In had been appointed e a c torney general of the L eward Islands , and he continued 1 1 69 1 tive in affairs concerning them at least until 1 70 . In he took part in a military ex pedition from Barbados to
Guadeloupe . About this time he was accused of using dis “ loyal language ” about King William and of being a con 1 1 4 a . 7 firmed Jacobite In , nevertheless , he was appointed u m ember of the Board of Trade . H tcheson was the author BIOGRAPHIES OF THE LATER PROPRIETORS 65
e Som e Ca lcu la of a numb r of published works , among them tio ns a nd Rem a rks Re la ting to th e P res ent Sta te of th e P u b lich D e bts a nd Fu nds ( 1 7 1 8) and A Co llec tion of Trea tis es Re la ting to th e N a tiona l D e bts a nd Fu nds Samuel Hors ey accused Hutch eson of being th e occasion
ffi e th e e of many di culties , which obstruct d agreem nt "to surrender t h e Carolina charter to th e crown"for some time .
1 638 HYDE , HEN RY , second Earl of Clarendon (
’ succ eeded his father a s a Proprietor of Carolina at the latter s death in 1 674 . His interest in Carolina must have b een
e 1 67 7 slight , howev r , for about he sold his proprietary rights
e 1 6 to Seth Sothel . Hyde was a m emb er of Parliam nt from 6 1 1 674 1 680 until , and in , through the influence of his brother
in- r law , the Duke of York , he became a member of the P ivy
His to Council . opposition William and Mary resulted in his imprisonment in the Tower of London in 1 690 for
e He wa l e re s veral months . s re eased on bail and sp nt the
m a inder h is s on 1 66 1 of days in the country . His Edward (
e e r who succe ded him , was gov rnor of N ew Yo k and
1 - 1 0 N ew Jers ey during the period 1 7 0 7 8 .
MON CK , CH RISTOPHER , second Duke of Albemarle
1 65 3 - 1 688 Son ( ) was the only surviving of George Monck ,
one of the original Lords Proprietors . He succeeded his
’ In 1 67 3 h e e father at the latter s death in 1 670 . was appoint d
e e colon l of an infantry regim nt , and two years later became a m emb er of th e Privy Council and lord li eutenant of Devon
shire and Ess ex . He was designated chancellor of Cambridge Universi ty and a member of the Board of Trade and Foreign 1 68 e Plantations in 1 682 . Late in 7 Monck was made gov rnor 6 6 THE PROPRIETORS OF CAROLINA
gen eral of Jamaica wh ere h e died early in th e fall of t h e
His e f e following year . wife wa s the daught r o Henry Cav n
of e e e e e dish , Duke N ewcastl , but ther w re no childr n . Aft r
th e e a e wa s a lengthy court hearing st t given to his kinsman ,
e John Grenvill , Earl of Bath .
" MOORE , ELI ABETH AMY , was the daughter of
t r . . Thomas Amy and sister of Thomas , J , and Ann Amy Trot Th e Amys were probably related to the Colletons a s th e
e original Lord Proprietor , Sir John Colleton , was marri d to
Katherine , daughter of William Amy , of Exton , Devon
e e e th e e e shire . Elizab th and her Sist r claim d Shar of th ir
e h is e t 1 0 1 9 th e e th e 7 7 . 7 2 broth r at d a h in In , at tim of sale
th e e t o t h e wa s e of chart r crown , She d scribed simply as a l widow iving in London .
wa s . SMITH , HEN RY , one of the four persons to whom
e e e e h i 8 Jam s B rti conv yed s Carolina share in trust in 1 72 .
th e th e e 1 7 2 9 On occasion of the surrender of chart r in , he
is e e a s e f e e a re d scrib d b ing of Caversham , Ox ordshir . Th re num erous references to p ersons nam ed Smith in the rec
th e t e is e e e ords of im , and it impossibl to d t rmine which of
wa s th e them holder of the Carolina Share .
1 684 SOMERSET , HEN RY , second Duke of Beaufort ( acquired th e original Monck Share in Carolina from
h is e e was mother whos s cond husband John Grenville , Lord
G His e W orces ranville . fath r , Charles Somerset , Marquis of
1 698 e e h is e ter died in . Young Henry succe d d grandfath r , the
e . e e first Duke of B aufort Since his St pfather l ft no children , BIOGRAPHIES OF THE LATER PROPRIETORS 67 the latter ’ s Share in Carolina was immediately transferred A to the young Duke by his mother . S a youth he became ac
u a i nted e 1 705 q with Que n Anne at Oxford , and in he took h is seat in the House of Lords . He later became lord lieu
of tenant Hampshire , of Gloucestershire , and of the cities
" l 1 1 wa of Bristol and Glou ces ter . n 7 2 he s made a Knight of h . W riot es the Garter By his second wife , Rachel , daughter of le y Baptist N oel , Earl of Gainsboro , he had three sons , two
to of whom succeeded his titles and property .
N 1 707 SOMERSET , HE RY third Duke of Beaufort ( inherited his father S share in Carolina in 1 7 1 4 jointly with his brother , Charles N oel Somerset . Soon after reach
- firs t ing his twenty birthday , young Henry took his seat in
e e the Hous of Lords . In 1 7 29 he was elect d high steward of the city of Hereford and in the same year married Frances , d daughter of Sir James Scu amore , Viscount Scudamore , in
Ireland . They had no children .
N SOMERSET , CHARLES OEL , fourth Duke of Beau fort ( 1 709 held his father ’ s Share in Carolina j ointly ’ 1 745 l with his brother , Henry . At Henry s death in , Char es
N oel succeeded to his title . Charles was only twenty when their Carolina interest was sold to the crown . Before taking his seat in the House of Lords he was a member of Parlia “ His ment for the town of Monmouth . Steady opposition to unconstitutional and corrupt measures is said to have en deared him to his fellow countrymen . By his wife , Elizabeth ,
' daughter of John B erkeley of Stoke Giff ord in Gloucester
h he da u h t s ire , had one son and five g 68 THE PROPRIETORS OF CAROLIN A
E e - in SOTHEL , S TH (di d purchased the Hyde
i t 1 677 e teres in Carolina abou from H nry Hyde , second l Ear of Clare ndon . As early as 1 67 5 Soth el was recommended by one of the Lords Proprietors as a sui ta ble person to be l appointed governor in Caro ina . At that time he was gran t ed e a th e xtensive l nd in colony . The appointmen t to this po s t
1 6 7 8 e came in , but on the way to Am rica from England ,
e Sothel was captured by pirates and tak n to Algiers . He gain ed h is a t t 1 68 e freedom leng h and in 3 reach d Albemarle . His term of office was a time of unrest and dissatisfaction in
h He t e colony . antagonized local l ead ers who accuse d him
s . 1 689 wa s e b of various crime Finally , in he tri d y the Gen n eral Assembly which ord ered him to leave the colo y . Sothel proceeded to Charleston but re turned to the northern co lony 4 later where he died early in 1 69 . He was survived by his
W illix e H m s widow , the former Anna of Exet r , N ew a p hire ,
’ l t h n l SO Lh el s but ef no children . Legal eirs in E g and sold proprietary share in Carolina to Hugh Watson in trust for
e I t so e re James and H nry Bertie , but was al claim d by the mai ning Lords Proprietors and by them wa s assigned in 1 69 7 to Thomas Amy .
AN N e TROTT , AMY (died befor daughter of
Am T r. Thomas y and sister of homas , J , and Elizabeth Amy
Moore . Through her father , Ann was probably a relative of
l t . the Co le ons Sir John Colleton , an original Proprietor ,
Am . we have seen , married Katherine y of Devonshire The
’ Amy sisters claimed th eir brother s s hare in Carolina at h is
wa a d eath in 1 707 . This s the original share of Sir Willi m 1 7 00 Berkeley . In her father had conveyed his claim to the o riginal Edward Hyde share to Ann and her husband ,
N t icholas Tro t .
STATELIBRARY OF NORTHCAROLINA
3 30 9 1 00 7 67 50 69
‘ N 1 685 H r and TYRRELL , SI R JOH ( of e on
s u as th e Woodham Mortimer, E sex , p rch ed original Anthony Ashley Coope r sh are in Carolina from Maurice Ashley prior 1 2 8 1 7 2 5 . 7 2 7 h is to May , In he vested share in Archibald
- - t in . Hutcheson in trust for John Cotton , his fa her law Tyr
n w a so as c . rell , of Sir Charles Tyrrell , edu ated at St C th
’ ’ C r h is e t arine s College , amb idge , and inherited father s s ate
’ th e 1 1 r at latter s death in 7 5 . Heron had been the Ty rell home since the time of Ri chard II when Sir James Tyr rell
ri i had mar ed Margaret , daughter and heir of Sir Will am
H . e r eron , of Heron Sir John Tyrrell marri d Ma y, daughter
D olliffe r of Direc of Sir James , of Mitcham , Su rey , one the
r of s to s the South Sea Company . They were the parent of
’
. h is s four daughters After wife s death he married econdly,
e 1 7 2 5 i d in or b fore , El zabeth , aughter of John Cotton , of
s . East Barnet , Middle ex
' W ATSON HU GH a n , , held two shares in C roli a in trust
a for Henry and J mes Bertie . The Hyde share , acquired from
t t was the heirs of Se h So hel , later allotted to James Bertie , e 1 7 25 f while the Sir William Berkel y share , acquired in rom
r w as e rt . s Ma y Danson , later allott d to Henry Be ie Wat on , 1 6 was e th e . 7 2 an attorney , a memb r of Middle Temple In he gave notice that he was abo ut to petition for th e hearing of complain ts against Governor N icholson of South Caro
lina .