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Tar River Blounts and a Transitional Maritime Cultural Landscape, 1778-1802

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Tar River Blounts and a Transitional Maritime Cultural Landscape, 1778-1802 TAR RIVER BLOUNTS AND A TRANSITIONAL MARITIME CULTURAL LANDSCAPE, 1778-1802 by Justin Randolph Edwards February 2015 Director of Thesis: Dr. Wade G. Dudley Program in Maritime Studies, Department of History This thesis analyzes John Gray Blount and his associates’ roles in the post Revolutionary War development of North Carolina’s Tar-Pamlico maritime cultural landscape. After discussing the business interests and political connections of John Gray and his brothers, it will show the relationship between these men and the Tar-Pamlico’s ports and waterways. Controlling and developing these areas was vital to the Blounts’ business strategy. As a result, the Blounts became major shapers of the Tar-Pamlico maritime cultural landscape, contributing to internal improvements and the growth of Washington and other ports on the trade route. The thesis focuses on Washington as the center of John Gray’s “burgeoning empire” and a transitional maritime landscape, connecting eastern North Carolina with broader maritime and Atlantic communities. 1 Utilizing The John Gray Blount Papers , The State and Colonial Records of North Carolina, and other primary sources, this thesis applies Christer Westerdahl’s concept of the maritime cultural landscape to a political and economic investigation. Subject matter includes 1 David S. Cecelski, The Waterman’s Song: Slavery and Freedom in Maritime North Carolina (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2001), 77. shipping, lighthouses, naval stores, tobacco, fisheries, land speculation, slavery, the United States Constitution, and Federalism. Key Words: North Carolina, Merchants, Shipping, Maritime Cultural Landscape, Slavery TAR RIVER BLOUNTS AND A TRANSITIONAL MARITIME CULTURAL LANDSCAPE, 1778-1802 A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History East Carolina University In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in History By Justin Randolph Edwards February 2015 © Justin Edwards, 2015 TAR RIVER BLOUNTS AND A TRANSITIONAL MARITIME CULTURAL LANDSCAPE, 1778-1802 by Justin Randolph Edwards APPROVED BY: DIRECTOR OF THESIS____________________________________________ Dr. Wade G. Dudley, Ph.D. COMMITTEE MEMBER___________________________________________ Dr. Bradley A. Rodgers, Ph.D. COMMITTEE MEMBER___________________________________________ Dr. Brenda Lynn Harris, Ph.D. COMMITTEE MEMBER___________________________________________ Dr. Donald Collins, Ph.D. CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY________________________ Dr. Gerald J. Prokopowicz, Ph.D. DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL________________________________ Dr. Paul J. Gemperline, Ph.D. Table of Contents TITLE PAGE ................................................................................................................................... i COPYRIGHT PAGE .................................................................................................................... ii SIGNATURE PAGE ..................................................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... vi 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 1 Theoretical Base and Research Questions ............................................................................ 1 The Limitations of Geography in eastern North Carolina .................................................... 4 Research .................................................................................................................................. 6 Research Limitations ............................................................................................................ 11 2. BLOUNT BROTHERS AND AN EMERGING BUSINESS ................................................. 14 Tar River Blounts ................................................................................................................. 14 John Gray and Thomas Blount, Merchants ........................................................................ 16 Speculation: Currency, Land, and Commodities ................................................................. 30 Diversification ....................................................................................................................... 33 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 35 3. TAR RIVER BLOUNTS AND THE POLITICS OF CHANGE .......................................... 38 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 38 State Politics .......................................................................................................................... 38 Constitutional Politics .......................................................................................................... 48 Federal Politics and Maritime Development ....................................................................... 54 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 61 4. THE TAR-PAMLICO: A TRANSITIONAL MARITIME CULTURAL LANDSCAPE ............................................... 63 The Emergence of Washington, North Carolina ................................................................. 63 Tar River Trade ..................................................................................................................... 67 Maritime Slavery on the Tar-Pamlico .................................................................................. 72 The Privilege of Wealth and Mercantile Connections ........................................................ 81 Growth and Maritime Industry in Washington and the Pamlico ....................................... 85 Shell Castle: A Profitable Transit Point .............................................................................. 97 5. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................ 104 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 111 LIST OF TABLES 1. Free and Slave Populations of Beaufort, Edgecombe, Hyde, and Pitt Counties, 1790-1810 .................................................................................................................77 2. Free and Slave Populations of Washington, North Carolina ..............................78 LIST OF FIGURES 1. The State of North Carolina from the Best Authorities, 1795 ..............................7 2. Jacob Blount’s four oldest sons .............................................................................13 3. Portion of a map sketch used in George Washington’s 1791 tour of North Carolina ...................................................................................................................20 4. Portion of a 1783 Map of North Carolina .............................................................21 5. Close-up of lighted beacon at Shell Castle from Shell Castle Pitcher ................59 6. Bellefont Plantation House, Beaufort County, NC ..............................................84 7. Blount- Bridgers House, Tarboro, NC ..................................................................85 8. The Plan of the town of Washington, comprised of the original 60 lots, ca. 1779...........................................................................................................................87 9. The Plan of the Town of Washington, 1794 ..........................................................88 10. Shell Castle Pitcher ...............................................................................................101 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Theoretical Base and Research Questions This thesis explores the role of John Gray Blount and his associates in the development of North Carolina’s Tar-Pamlico maritime cultural landscape in the first two decades of American independence. Maritime archaeologist Christer Westerdahl defined the maritime cultural landscape as “human utilization (economy) of maritime space by boat: settlement, fishing, hunting, shipping and its attendant subcultures , such as pilotage, lighthouse, and seamark maintenance.” 2 Westerdahl also referred to shorelines as “transitional zones,” a term perfectly suited for John Gray’s center of business in Washington, North Carolina. 3 John Gray Blount and his brothers established a presence at the Tar-Pamlico’s major points of transition. Washington and Shell Castle, the two most important locations to the Blount shipping business, were transit ports. The International Maritime Dictionary defines a transit port, or transshipment port, as “a port where goods received are merely en route and from which they have to be transferred and dispatched to their ultimate destination by coasters, river craft, barges, and so on.” 4 John Gray Blount was the head of John Gray and Thomas Blount, Merchants; a mercantile firm
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