W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2007 Tuscarora trails: Indian migrations, war, and constructions of colonial frontiers Stephen D. Feeley College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Indigenous Studies Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Feeley, Stephen D., "Tuscarora trails: Indian migrations, war, and constructions of colonial frontiers" (2007). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623324. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-4nn0-c987 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Tuscarora Trails: Indian Migrations, War, and Constructions of Colonial Frontiers Volume I Stephen Delbert Feeley Norcross, Georgia B.A., Davidson College, 1996 M.A., The College of William and Mary, 2000 A Dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of the College of William and Mary in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Lyon Gardiner Tyler Department of History The College of William and Mary May, 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Stephen Delbert F eele^ -^ Approved by the Committee, January 2007 MIL James Axtell, Chair Daniel K. Richter McNeil Center for Early American Studies 11 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Volume 1 Acknowledgements iv Abbreviations v Abstract ix Introduction 2 Chapter I. Restless Neighbors: Contact Between Tuscaroras and Europeans, 1670-1711 14 Chapter II. “Neighbours to a Govmt Jealous of Indians”: Tuscaroras and Plans for Colonial Frontiers 66 Chapter III. A Storm on the Frontiers 134 Chapter IV. Efforts at Diplomacy: Virginia and the Upper Towns 180 Chapter V. Dangerous Trails: Facing South Carolina and Slavery 209 Volume 2 Chapter VI. Reconstruction in the Tuscarora Borderlands 270 Chapter VII. Trail to the Iroquois 317 Chapter VIII. Sixth Nation 405 Chapter IX. Roads Between: Shaping Tuscarora Identities and the Backcountry in the Eighteenth Century 483 Conclusion 546 Bibliography 555 Vita 583 iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Researching and writing often feel like solitary pursuits, but this project was really a collective enterprise. Even at my most monkish moments I was never truly alone. I would like to thank all of the people who read and commented on this work. Throughout my time at The College of William and Mary, my advisor Jim Axtell provided support, advice, and a deft editor’s pen. It would be difficult to calculate the debt of gratitude that I owe to him as a mentor. Likewise, the other members of my dissertation committee, Kris Lane, Paul Mapp, and Dan Richter, all improved this dissertation through their insightful comments. Their suggestions will continue to shape this project as it takes different forms in years to come. Many individuals and institutes have assisted my research. In addition to providing a supportive environment in which to work, The College of William and Mary provided graduate assistantships, grants, and fellowships that allowed me to travel to archives and conferences. Archivists, librarians, and staff members provided guidance through the rich collections at the American Congregational Archives, the Hamilton College Library, the Massachusetts Historical Society, the New York State Historical Association, the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, the Earl Gregg Swem Library, and the North Carolina State Archives. George Stevenson at the Special Collections of the North Carolina State Archives gave many invaluable suggestions during the early stages of my research. The scholars and researchers at the 2003 Conference on Iroquois Research warmly welcomed me as newcomer into the field, offering many suggestions and much encouragement. There, and as a commentator for a paper presented at the American Historical Association Conference, Timothy Shannon offered thoughtful comments. I would like to thank Bernard Bailyn and the members of the 2004 Harvard Atlantic History Seminar who encouraged me to think of the Tuscaroras’ experiences within a broader perspective. Many friends and colleagues made this a better work through their contributions. Throughout this project, Blair Rudes offered his expertise and passion on Tuscarora history and culture. Marjory Hinman provided materials on Oquaga history. Brett Rushforth kindly allowed me to sit in on his course on Indian Slavery. I would like to thank my friends who read and commented on various drafts: Brian Geiger, David Preston, Jim Piecuch, Sharon Sauder Muhlfield, Amy Speckart, Mike Hoak, Rob Nelson, Amy Nelson, Nicole Cloeren, Buddy Paulette, David Corlett, Lauri Bauer Coleman, Andrea Westcot, Tim Barnard, and Dan Ingram. I wish to thank my family for their encouragement and their willingness to spend holidays reading through and commenting on drafts. They never realized that my graduate studies would be a family affair, and yet never wavered in their support. Finally, to my wife, Tricia— at times my editor, my chauffer, and my muse—I dedicate this to her. iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABBREVIATIONS BAE Bureau of American Ethnology, Washington, D.C. [defunct, collections now part of National Anthropological Archives, Washington, D.C] Barnwell, “Journal” Barnwell, John, "Journal of John Barnwell," VMHB 5, no. 6 (1898): 391-402 and 6, no. 1 (1898): 42-55 BPRO British Public Record Office, Kew, England Colden, ContinuationCadwallader Colden, "History of the Five Indian Nations, Continuation, 1707-1720," in The Letters and Papers o f Cadwallader Colden, Vol. 9, New York Historical Society Collections (New York: New York Historical Society, 1937), 357-434 Cooper, SC Statutes, Thomas Cooper, ed., Statutes at Large of South Carolina, 10 vols. (Columbia, S.C.: A. S. Johnston, 1836-1841) CRNC William S. Price et. al., ed. Colonial Records of North Carolina Second Series (Raleigh: North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, 1974) CSP Karen Ordahl Kupperman, ed. Calendar o f State Papers, Colonial Series, America and the West Indies, 1574-1739. CD- ROM Windows version 1.0 (London: Routledge: Public Record Office, 2000). Cited using volume and page numbers that correspond with W. Noel Sainsbury, et al., eds., Calendar o f State Papers, Colonial Series, America and the West Indies, 39 vols. (London, 1860-1969) CVSP William P Palmer, ed. Calendar of Virginia State Papers and Other Manuscripts, 1652-1781, 11 vols. (Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1875-1893) Doc. Hist. N.Y., Edmund B. O'Callaghan, ed., Documentary History o f the State o f New York, 4 vols. (Albany: Weed, Parsons & v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Company, 1848-51) EJCCV Henry. R. Mcllwaine., ed. Executive Journals o f the Council of Colonial Virginia, 6 vols. (Richmond, V a.: Virginia State Library, 1925) Graffenried, Account, Vincent H. Todd, ed., Christoph Von Graffenried's Account of the Founding o f New Bern (Raleigh: North Carolina Historical Commission, 1920) Hawley Papers Gideon Hawley Papers, Congregational Library, American Congregational Association, Boston, MA. Hening, Statutes William Waller Hening, The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection o f All the Laws o f Virginia, from the First Session of the Legislature in the Year 1619. 13 vols. (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1969) HNAI Bruce G. Trigger ed., Northeast, vol. 15 of Handbook o f North American Indians (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian, 1978) Iroq. Doc. Hist. Iroquois Indians: A Documentary History of the Diplomacy of the Six Nations and Their League (microfilm, 50 reels, Woodbridge, Conn.: Research Publications, 1985) (documents are cited in the format in which they appear in this collection) Jelles Fonda Jelles Fonda Collection (1750-1791), New York State Collection Historical Association, Cooperstown, New York JHBV Henry R. Mcllwaine, ed. Journals o f the House of Burgesses o f Virginia, 12 vols. (Richmond, Va.: The Colonial Press, E. Waddey Co., 1910) [Volumes are cited by years covered] Johnson, Papers James Sullivan et. al. eds., The Papers o f Sir William Johnson, 14 vols. (Albany, NY: U. of the State of New York, 1921-65) JR Reuben Gold Thwaites, ed., Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents: Travels and Explorations o f the Jesuit Missionaries in New France, 1610-1791, 73 vols. (Cleveland, Ohio, 1896-1901) Kirkland Letters Samuel Kirkland Papers, Archives of Hamilton College, Clinton, NY. Lawson, New Voyage John Lawson, A New Voyage to Carolina (Chapel Hill: U. of North Carolina Press, 1967) vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. McDowell, Journals W. L McDowell, ed., Journals o f the Commissioners o f the 1710-1718 Indian Trade, September 20, 1710- August 29, 1718, Colonial Records