The Homestead
The Lost Colony of Roanoke
The Charter
- The Edgecombe County Homestead of Nathan Whitehead, Sr., and Rachel Rahab Culpepper Whitehead: Deed to the Land on Fishing Creek
The Fishing Creek in Edgecombe County, today, during a flood
(Photo from U.S. Geological Survey, North Carolina District Water Resources Division)Deed, 1746
"Arthur Whitehead of Isle of Wight, Va., to Nathan Whitehead of Edgecombe County, NC, 28 May 1746. 25 pounds current money of Va., 400 acres on the South Side of Fishing Creek at Pollock's Beaver Dam. Wit. John Pope, William Whitehead. Reg. Edge. Co. August ? 1746. R. Forster C. Ct."
--in Hoffman, Margaret M. (1987), Abstracts of Deeds, Edgecombe Precinct, Edgecombe County, North Carolina, 1732-1758, Book 5 (Weldon, North Carolina: The Roanoke News Company).Mapping the Land
Mosley Map of North Carolina: Edgecombe and Surrounding Areas
(For more deeds, see:
Excerpts from the Mid 18th Century Nash and Edgecombe County Deed Books)
Halifax County (which was part of Edgecombe County for at least half of the 17th century) at Albemarle-nc.com
(The clickable map at this site shows Halifax County; Edlgecombe County--directly below it--appears also on the map, but is not part of the Albemarle Sound Region and so not labelled.)An Edgecombe County Plantation Home
The Grounds of a Large Plantation in Catawba Indian Territory--Near Randolph County--that once belonged to the Birkhead family
Question for Thought:
- What size was Nathan and Rachel Whitehead's plantation? How does it compare in size with the Birkhead Plantation?
"Read the Petition of Sundry Inhabitants, etc. for a Bridge over Fishing Creek at or near Culpepers; Granted, Order'd that the same be Built that Wallace Jones, Nathan Whitehead and Thoms. Floyd, be Commissioiners for Building the Same, and that the Expence thereof Except 20 pounds Proclamation be paid by this County, and that 20 pounds, to be pd. by Mr. Osborn Jeffries who hath a Subscription for that purpose."
--Minutes of the Edgecombe County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, August 1757, State Archives; cited in Alan D. Watson (2000), "Travel," in Society in Early North Carolina: A Documentary History (Raleigh: North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources/Division of Archives and History): 211. - The Lost Colony of Roanoke
"Our boats and all things filled again, we put off from Hattorask, being the number of nineteen persons in both boats; but before we could get to the place where our planters were left it was so exceeding dark that we overshot the place a quarter of a mile, when we espied towards the north end of the island (Roanoke) the light of a great fire through the woods, to which we presently rowed. When we came right over against it, we let fall our grapnel near the shore and sounded with a trumpet a call, and afterwards many familiar tunes and songs and called to them friendly; but we had no answer; we therefore landed at daybreak, and coming to the fire we found the grass and sundry rotten trees burning about the place. From hence we went through the woods to that part of the island directly over against Dasamonguepeuk, and from thence we returned by the waterside round about the north point of the island until we came to the place where I left our colony in the year 1587. In all this way we saw in the sand the print of the savage's feet of two or three sorts trodden in the night, and as we entered up the sandy bank, upon a tree in the very brow thereof, were curiously carved these fair Roman letters, C. R. O., which letters presently we knew to signify the place where I should find the planters seated, according to a secret token agreed upon between them and me at my last departure from them, which was that in any way they should not fail to write or carve, on the trees or posts of the doors, the name of the place where they should be seated; for at my coming away they were prepared to remove from Roanoke fifty miles into the main. Therefore at my departure from them in Aug., 1587, I willed them that if they should happen to be distressed in any of those places that they should carve over the letters or name a cross † in this form, but we found no such sign of distress. And having well considered of this we passed through the place where they were left in sundry houses, but we found the houses taken down and the place very strongly enclosed with a high palisade of great trees with curtains and flankers, very fortlike, and one of the chief trees or posts at the right side of the entrance had the bark taken off, and five feet from the ground, in fair capital letters, was graven "Croatoan," without any cross or sign of distress.
". . . although it grieved me much to see such spoil of my goods, yet on the other side I greatly joyed that I had safely found a certain token of their being at Croatoan, which is the place where Manteo was born, and the savages of the island our friends." --Governor White, describing his voyage with Sir Walter Raleigh in search of the earliest colony, Chapter III, in McPherson, Orlando M. Indians of North Carolina: Letter from the Secretary of the Interior, Transmitting, in Response to a Senate Resolution of June 30, 1914, a Report on the Condition and Tribal Rights of the Indians of Robeson and Adjoining Counties of North Carolina: 43-44."A farther confirmation of this [the settlements of Raleigh] we have from the Hatteras (Croatan) Indians, who lived on Ronoack Island, or much frequented it. These tell us that several of their ancestors were white people and could talk in a book as we do; the truth of which is confirmed by gray eyes being frequently found amongst these Indians and no others. They value themselves extremely for their affinity to the English, and are ready to do them all friendly offices."
--Lawson, John, in McPherson, pp. 65-66.McMillan (Walter Raleigh's Lost Colony, by Hamilton McMillan) describes the Indians:
" They are found of all colors from black to white, and in some cases can not be distinguished from white people. They have the prominent cheek bones, the steel-gray eyes, the straight black hair of the Indian." (P. 61 of MacMillan.)
McMillan reports of Captain John Smith's efforst to locate a group of people who often dressed like Europeans:
" Captain Smith says in his 'True Relation' that Opechancanough, one of the Indian kings, informed him "of certaine men cloathed at a place called Ocanahonan, cloathed like me." "The people cloathed at Ocamahowan, he also confirmed." Again: "We had agreed with the king of Paspahegh to conduct two of our men to a place called Panawicke, beyond Roonok, where he reported many men to be apparelled. (Smith's Works, Arber's edition, 1884, pp. 17-23; cited in MacMillan.)
" The map [on p. 83] illustrating this 'Relation' shows three rivers which are probably intended to represent the Roanoke, the Tar, and the Neuse. On the south side of the Roanoke is a place called Ocanahowan. On the upper waters of the Neuse is Pakrakanick, and near it the legend 'Here remayneth 4 men clothed that came from Roonock to Ochanahowan.' The peninsula known to the explorers of 1585 as 'Dasamonguepeuk' is called 'Pananiock,' . . ." (pp. 61-62 in MacMillan). - The Charter
1663. "Charles II granted a charter to eight English gentlemen who had helped him regain the throne of England." These gentlemen came to be known as "the Lords Proprietors." "The charter document contains the following description of the territory:"
All that Territory or tract of ground, situate, lying, and being within our Dominions in America, extending from the North end of the Island called Luck Island, which lies in the Southern Virginia Seas and within six and Thirty degrees of the Northern Latitude, and to the West as far as the South Seas; and so Southerly as far as the River Saint Mathias, which borders upon the Coast of Florida, and within one and Thirty degrees of Northern Latitude, and West in a direct Line as far as the South Seas aforesaid; Together with all and singular Ports, Harbours, Bays, Rivers, Isles, and Islets belonging unto the Country aforesaid;
And also, all the Soil, Lands, Fields, Woods, Mountains, Farms, Lakes, Rivers, Bays, and Islets situate or being within the Bounds or Limits aforesaid; with the Fishing of all sorts of Fish, Whales, Sturgeons, and all other Royal Fishes in the Sea, Bays, Islets, and Rivers within the premises, and the Fish therein taken;
And moreover, all Veins, Mines, and Quarries, as well discovered as not discovered, of Gold, Silver, Gems, and precious Stones, and all other, whatsoever be it, of Stones, Metals, or any other thing whatsoever found or to be found within the Country, Isles, and Limits ...."
1665. Second charter was granted to clarify territorial questions not answered in the first charter.
All that Province, Territory, or Tract of ground, situate, lying, and being within our Dominions of America aforesaid, extending North and Eastward as far as the North end of Carahtuke River or Gullet; upon a straight Westerly line to Wyonoake Creek, which lies within or about the degrees of thirty six and thirty Minutes, Northern latitude, and so West in a direct line as far as the South Seas; and South and Westward as far as the degrees of twenty nine, inclusive, northern latitude; and so West in a direct line as far as the South Seas.
--From Encyclopedia of the State Library of North Carolina.
Questions for Thought:
Who granted the charter for the land? To whom? How much land? By what rights was this granted?