MCCARTNEY, SARAH ELLEN, Ph.D. ‘O’er Mountains and Rivers’: Community and Commerce in the Greenbrier Valley in the Late Eighteenth Century. (2018) Directed by Dr. Greg O’Brien. 464 pp. In the eighteenth-century Greenbrier River Valley of present-day West Virginia, identity was based on a connection to “place” and the shared experiences of settlement, commerce, and warfare as settlers embraced an identity as Greenbrier residents, Virginians, and Americans. In this dissertation, I consider the Greenbrier Valley as an early American place participating in and experiencing events and practices that took place throughout the American colonies and the Atlantic World, while simultaneously becoming a discrete community and place where these experiences formed a unique Greenbrier identity. My project is the first study of the Greenbrier Valley to situate the region temporally within the revolutionary era and geographically within the Atlantic World. For many decades Greenbrier Valley communities were at the western edge of Virginia’s backcountry settlements in what was often an “ambiguous zone” of European control and settlers moved in and out of the region with the ebb and flow of frontier violence. Settlers arriving in the region came by way of the Shenandoah Valley where they traveled along the Great Wagon Road before crossing into the Greenbrier region through the mountain passes and rivers cutting across the Allegheny Mountains. Without a courthouse or church, which were the typical elements of community in eighteenth- century Virginia society, until after the American Revolution, Greenbrier settlers forged the bonds of their community through other avenues, including the shared hardships of the settlement experience. Beginning in 1771, a store established by brothers Sampson and George Mathews, who were merchants in Staunton, Virginia, in partnership with Greenbrier settler John Stuart formed a hub around which community developed as the store served as a place for Greenbrier settlers to exchange goods as well as a place to meet for social gatherings. Greenbrier settlers were active participants in the 1774 frontier expedition known as Lord Dunmore’s War as the Greenbrier Valley served as the rendezvous point for the army before they marched across miles of Appalachian terrain and faced the Shawnees on the banks of the Ohio River at Point Pleasant. Although Dunmore’s War strengthened settlers’ connections to place, the years of the American Revolution further cemented their communities as they sought to defend the region physically from the threat of Native American and British foes. The experience of violence and warfare during the Revolutionary War reinforced the bonds of community as settlers embraced an identity as Americans in addition to being Greenbrier settlers and Virginians. In the midst of the American Revolution, the process of community formation also resulted in settlers seeking legal recognition and protection for their homes as they petitioned to be recognized as a new Virginia county, named Greenbrier, which allowed them easier access to county courts where they could legitimize their land claims. At the end of the American Revolution, Greenbrier was still considered a backcountry; however, much had changed as a result of the revolutionary era and the region became a gateway for America’s western expansion. ‘O’ER MOUNTAINS AND RIVERS’: COMMUNITY AND COMMERCE IN THE GREENBRIER VALLEY IN THE LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY by Sarah Ellen McCartney A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Greensboro 2018 Approved by _____________________________ Committee Chair © 2018 Sarah Ellen McCartney To my Parents and Grandparents I am eternally grateful for the love, encouragement, and support you have given me in every task I have undertaken and every new adventure on which I have embarked. Thank you for helping develop in me a love of learning and a love of history. ii APPROVAL PAGE This dissertation written by Sarah Ellen McCartney has been approved by the following committee of the Faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Committee Chair________________________________ Committee Members________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ____________________________ Date of Acceptance by Committee __________________________ Date of Final Oral Examination iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people supported me during the research and writing of this project, and without them it would not be complete today. While there are far too many to acknowledge individually, I hope to begin to express my appreciation here. I am truly grateful for my committee and their support and encouragement throughout this process. My advisor Greg O’Brien offered direction and enthusiasm for my project, as well as the camaraderie of being a Virginian living in North Carolina. Mark Elliott helped me to see the interconnectedness between my topic and the broader world and pushed me to better articulate the significance of my work. Linda Rupert’s enthusiasm for my scholarship encouraged me as she consistently challenged me to grapple with my sources and ask deeper questions. Lisa Tolbert provided an ah-ha moment for me as a new instructor, and I owe much of my approach to teaching, which overflows into research, to her as well as the reminder to “imagine Sisyphus happy.” Beyond my dissertation committee, numerous faculty in the UNCG History Department encouraged me along the journey. Special thanks also go to Kristina Wright, Laurie O’Neill, and Dawn Avolio for knowing the answers to all of my questions and for everything they do to keep the UNCG History Department running smoothly. This research would not have been possible without funding, and I was grateful to receive an Allen W. Trelease Graduate Fellowship and Graduate Student Travel Grants from the UNCG History Department. I am also grateful for support from the Virginia Museum of History and Culture (formerly the Virginia Historical Society) for a Betty Sams Christian Fellowship. iv In Lewisburg, West Virginia, Larry Heffner, Greenbrier Historical Society volunteer, was one of my greatest cheerleaders. He helped me sort through boxes of uncatalogued documents and track down pertinent locations on the landscape, while he and his wife Loretta opened their home to me during my research trips. Greenbrier Historical Society archivists James Talbert and Samuel Hale were enthusiastic about my project, directed me to sources, and kept me abreast of the latest archival findings. Archaeologists Stephen and Kim McBride were incredibly generous with their time and extensive knowledge of the Greenbrier Valley as they helped plot land surveys and toured me through the region’s revolutionary-era forts. Beyond Greenbrier County, archivists, librarians, scholars, and friends across several states have been vital to this project. The Augusta County Genealogical Society oriented me to the Augusta County Clerk’s Office in Staunton, Virginia. Neal Hurst, a Journeyman Tailor and Associate Curator of Costume and Textiles at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and public historians Anna Gruber Kiefer and Jason Melius answered long-distance questions about the practical side of clothing and supplying a backcountry militia. Scot and Connie Daniels, Jason and Katelyn Burton, Felicia Abrams, and Alaina Guerry, opened their homes to me during research trips. James Whittenburg, Carolyn Whittenburg, David Corlett, Jennifer Fox, Julie Richter, and myriad instructors and staff at the National Institute of American History and Democracy’s Pre-College Summer Program at the College of William and Mary have provided a yearly reminder of why I study and teach history in the first place. v I appreciate the support and encouragement of many colleagues at UNCG. I am deeply grateful to Jamie Mize for her friendship and support, as well as her willingness to read chapters and offer feedback. Justina Licata, Eric Oakley, and Hannah Dudley Shotwell were some of my first friends at UNCG, and I am thankful for their friendship over many years and their camaraderie through the writing process. Jeff Colbert and the lunch group were faithful supporters who made me laugh and kept things in perspective. I am also grateful for Laura-Michal Balderson, James Findley, Brian Lee, Ian Michie, Steven Peach, Robin Ritter, Joseph Ross, Deborah Russell, Jason Stroud, Virginia Summey, Jess Usher, Monica Ward, and Margaret Williams Carmack. Friendships that began during my Master’s degree at the College of William and Mary provided a sounding board for both research and life throughout this project. Elizabeth Cook went through the entire graduate school experience with me, beginning with our Master’s coursework and apprenticeships in the Colonial Williamsburg archaeology lab. Words cannot express my appreciation for her friendship through the years as well as her insights in research and writing. Drew Gruber and Katherine Egner Gruber are two of the most supportive people I know, and I am grateful for their friendship as well as their extensive expertise in many topics relevant to this project. Kaitlyn Gardy and Kathryn Lasdow cheered me along the journey and were only a text or email away for a quick brainstorm or question. Kristina Poznan and Leslie Waters were wonderful housemates for many summers, and discussions of research and