4 wORLD OF Toil and strife Community Transformation in untry South Carolina, 1750-1805 M785wo Peter N. Moore World of Toil and strife Community Transformation in Backcountry South Carolina, 1750-1805 Peter N. Moore ""'Sing the community of the Waxhaws as his proving ground, Peter N. Moore challenges the notion that the Carolina upcountry was a static, undeveloped backwater until entrepreneurial cotton planters entered the region after 1800. Moore looks through the lens of a single community—a predominately Scots- Irish settlement in the lower Catawba River val- ley in present-day Fairfield, Lancaster, York, and Chester counties—to document the social, eco- nomic, and cultural characteristics of a locale that was dynamic before planters set their sights on piedmont South Carolina. Moore shows that social tensions within the Waxhaw community drove its transformation, rather than the land-grabbing speculators and aggressive planters. He identifies the forces for change as immigration patterns, neighborhood rivalries, population growth, and developing markets for slaves and wheat. By 1 800 the Wax- haws bore little resemblance to the backcountry community of the late colonial period. Moore complicates the broader picture of the trans- formation of the southern interior. He also contributes to the debate over the rural transi- tion to capitalism and engages the literature of the evangelical Great Revival to demonstrate the influence of revivals, familial loyalties, and doctrinal differences on the region's religious culture. Telling a more inclusive story than many studies of the late-colonial piedmont, World of Toil and Strife points to the importance of Indian-white conflicts in shaping both the JUN 1 9 2007 Elon, North Carolina M 1S5 vjo Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014 https://archive.org/details/worldoftoilandstOOmoor World of Toil and Strife World of Toil and strife Community Transformation in Backcountry South Carolina, 1750-1805 peter N. Moore Ml The University of South Carolina Press —— © 2007 Peter N. Moore Published by the University of South Carolina Press Columbia, South Carolina 29208 www.sc.edu/uscpress Manufactured in the United States of America 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Moore, Peter N., 1961— World of toil and strife : community transformation in backcountry South Carolina, 1750-1805 / Peter N. Moore, p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN- 13: 978-1-57003-666-8 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN- 10: 1-57003-666-7 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Waxhaws (N.C. and S.C.)—History— 18th century. 2. Waxhaws (N.C. and S.C.)—Social conditions— 18th century. 3. Waxhaws (N.C. and S.C.) —Church history— 18th century. 4. Scots-Irish—Waxhaws (N.C. and S.C.) —History— 18th century. 5. Presbyterians Waxhaws (N.C. and S.C.)—History— 18th century. 6. Presbyterian Church—Waxhaws (N.C. and S.C.)—History— 18th century. 7. Catawba Indians—History— 18th century. 8. Catawba Indians—Social conditions— 18th century. 9. Revivals—United States History— 19th century. I. Title. F277.W39M66 2007 975.675502—dc22 2006032561 . This book was printed on Glatfelter Natures Natural, a recycled paper with 50 percent postconsumer waste content. To Mom and Dad 1 Contents List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction: William Richardson's World 1 Prologue: The Lower Catawba Valley, 1 540-1 750 1 Chapter i Communities, Colonists, and Conflict 18 Chapter 2 The Boundaries of Community 32 Chapter 3 Toil and Strife 44 Chapter 4 Home Front 60 Chapter 5 Beyond Competency: The Rise of the Slaveholding Class, 1785-1800 76 Chapter 6 New Light 90 Epilogue 106 Appendix 1 : Population 111 Appendix 2: Kinship and Migration Networks 115 Appendix 3: Marriages and Church Affiliation, 1745-1808 119 Appendix 4: Church Membership and Adherence, 1801 123 Notes 125 Bibliography 151 Index 169 About the Author 1 77 Illustrations Figures Following page 38 William Richardson's gravestone, Old Waxhaw churchyard Robert Crawford's 1775 tract Old Waxhaw meetinghouse Gravestone of Alexander Cams Maps Following page xii The Waxhaws and surrounding regions, 1 770 Settlement patterns, the Waxhaws, 1750-1765 Neighborhoods, ca. 1795 Tables Table 4. 1 : Comparison of time of enlistment with length of residency in the Waxhaws 64 Table 4.2: Comparison of time of enlistment with place of residence in the Waxhaws 65 Table 4.3: Average family landholdings of enlistees, 1780 66 Acknowledgments This book began as an effort to understand the ordeal of Agnes Richardson, a young widow, who in 1771 was suspected in the murder of her husband and was forced to prove her innocence (or so I then believed) by touching his decomposing corpse. I have taken Agnes through many interpretive twists and turns since the initial semi- nar paper in 1999, and I have accumulated a great many debts along the way. Michael Winship originally steered me toward Agnes and the Waxhaws and has provided invaluable comments ever since, especially relating to religion and importance of eth- nicity. John Inscoe's enthusiasm for the project never wavered. He challenged me to place Agnes's ordeal in its local context, and he gave me the tools I needed to develop her story into the full-blown community study presented in this book. Charles Hud- son and Claudio Saunt reminded me of the significance of Native Americans to the story of this white immigrant community. And Peter Hoffer shepherded this project from seminar paper to book. Always engaged, available, supportive, and ready with an honest, yet constructive, critique, he has been an ideal guide and an expert book doctor. This study has further benefited from the helpful suggestions of numerous col- leagues and friends. My thanks to Allan Kulikoff, Gregory Nobles, John Boles, Cathy Matson, Chris Schutz, Evan Ward, Todd Bennett, Richard Byers, John Keeling, Matt Hale, and Randolph Scully, along with the anonymous reviewers at the University of South Carolina Press. I have also had the good fortune to work with such an enthu- siastic and supportive editor as Alex Moore. I would also like to thank the many people who worked hard on my behalf to locate and retrieve source materials. The interlibrary-loan staffs at the University of Georgia and Texas A&M—Corpus Christi have been exemplars of professional cour- tesy; their patience knows no bounds. The archival staffs at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, the Presbyterian Department of History- Montreat, the South Caroliniana Library, the North Carolina State Archives, the Southern Historical Collection, and the Camden Archives were always eager to help. In addition two outstanding local historians, Louise Pettus and Nancy Crockett, provided friendly advice and source materials in the latter stages of my project. Ms. Crockett is a direct descendent of Agnes Richardson and cares about her historical xii Acknowledgments fate far more than I do; I only regret that I did not work more closely with her in the early stages of my research. Financial and in-kind support from several sources enabled me to finish this proj- ect in a timely fashion. A year-long dissertation-writing fellowship from the Univer- sity of Georgia permitted me to set aside my teaching responsibilities and focus on research and writing. The UGA history department, Center for Humanities and Arts, and graduate school also provided generous support, as did the Georgia Chapter of the Colonial Dames of America. In addition Dan Richter and the McNeil Center for Early American Studies provided the warmth of office space and good conversation during this southerner's cold winter stay in Philadelphia. My father did not live to see the final product, but his spirit runs through these pages. He was a product of the South Carolina upcountry, having grown up in the barren sand-hill country just east of the Waxhaws. He passed along to me his erudi- tion and his fascination with the Souths rural and agrarian past. I cannot deny that this book is in part an effort to connect with him. It is to him and my mother that it is dedicated. Finally, this book would not have been possible without the love, encouragement, patience, and not least of all the financial support of my long-suffering wife and best friend, Kim, who believed in me when I doubted myself and postponed her dreams so I could pursue mine. Her tolerance and unwavering faith made the ordeal of re- turning to school and shifting careers in midlife bearable; her companionship and friendship made it a joy. The Waxhaws and surrounding regions, 1770 Settlement patterns, the Waxhaws, 1750-1765. The lightly shaded area shows white settle- ment between 1750 and 1761 as colonists moved outward into the creek bottoms. Note the trend toward compactness after 1761, as shown in the darkly shaded area. Drawn by AH McKenzie Neighborhoods, ca. 1795. Drawn by AH McKenzie Introduction William Richardson s World He lived to purpose; He preached with fidelity; He prayed for his people; And being dead he speaks. Inscription on William Richardson's headstone, Old Waxhaw churchyard 1759 the Reverend William Richardson came to the Waxhaws, a newly Insettled, predominately Scots-Irish community in the lower Catawba River valley of South Carolina's remote upcountry. At thirty Richardson still had much of his youthful idealism intact, and he was surely ambivalent about the prospect of a settled ministry. According to Samuel Davies, Richardson's mentor and Virginia's leading Presbyterian divine, Richardson's heart was primarily set on Christianizing the "Indi- an Savages." Accordingly Davies dispatched Richardson on a missionary tour to the Cherokee in 1758. It was a bitter and disheartening ordeal punctuated by fever, hung- er, exposure, and delays.