Cabarrus County, NC - King Hagler King Hagler, Chief of the Catawba Indians is well documented in the Colonial Records of North Carolina and South Carolina. However, there is no documentation how or why he obtained my German surname. For many years I speculated about how he got the name supposedly BEFORE there ever was any Haglers in America. Back then the earlest record I could find on our immigrant ancestor was his land purchase in February 1765 on the east side of Dutch Buffalo Creek in what was at that time Mecklenburg County (that in 1792 became Cabarrus County.) Then I found documentation that our ol' John Hagler had filed for and had land surveyed for a grant from Lord Granville in 1752. The land was on the north side of the north fork of the south fork of the Catawba River. The north fork of the south fork is now the Henry River. After the Henry and Jacob Rivers flow together they then become the South Catawba River. Our ol' John Hagler was then obtaining land somewhere a little south of where Hickory is today on the north side of the Henry River. He and the early settlers were at that time way far beyond what was considered the frontier. He was trying to live in the territory of the hostile Cherokee Indians (who sided with the French in The French and Indian War.) Then more recently I found that he had been living and having land surveyed in 1749 on what was then the Collins River in the area of what is now Union County, SC. In 1749 the boundry had not been surveyed between the two colonies near that location. It is evident that those living in that area at that time thought they were in the Colony of North Carolina. The name of Collins River has been changed to the Enoree. And that general area was in the heart of the lands of the Catawba Indians. Acording to the plat of John's 1749 survey the land was along a bend in the river and as you know rivers were used as highways by the indians. Perhaps a group of indians were traveling on the river and they decided to camp for the night. They camped on land of John Hagler who treated them with hospitility. There is indication that King Hagler's Indian name was Arataswa or Oroloswa or Nopkehe but apparenly no one can now say with certanity what it was. In any event, he became Chief in 1750. And the Catawba Indian Nation was in the area of where Charlotte, NC is today and extended well south in the area of what is South Carolina. King Hagler was a "friendly indian" who tried to keep peace between his braves and the white people. He had a difficult time because the whites would often give his people whiskey and while under the influence they did all sorts of bad things. There is documented evidence he was known as King Hagler in 1751 when he attended a meeting in Albany, New York, with Lt. Governor William Bull of South Carolina. In a dozen years of research I have found no mention of our ol' John being in the area of Pennsylvania or in any of the northern colonies. I am certain now that he landed in Charleston which at the time was the second largest port in America. I have no documented proof because when General Sherman and his Union Army swept thru during the so called "Civil War" they burned the city and there went most all the early records. South Carolina did things differently than North Carolina. The surveys, plats and deeds for land was usually not kept in the counties or even in the districts, but were sent to Charleston for filing. In Colonial times the Europeans did not call the headmen of Indian tribes Chief. They called them King and there were several who somehow took European names possibly because the English speaking people had considerable difficulty in pronouncing the Indian names. Apparently the Chief of the Catawba's took the name Hagler because he and Johannes (John) Hagler had met and held one another in high esteem. Captain Hugh Waddell was sent by Governor Arthur Dobbs to erect a fort for the protection of those living beyond what was considered the frontier. Fort Dobbs was constructed in 1755 about 30 miles back east from where John Hagler lived on the Henry River in what is now Catawba County. Fort Dobbs is located a short distance north if I-40 where you turn off to go south into Statesville or north to Harmony, etc. There are extant records that reflect Hugh Waddell was acquainted with both King Hagler and John Hagler. King Hagler was ambushed and killed by Shawnees in 1763. King Hagler is commemorated by a weather vane atop of the Camden County, SC Court House and a historical marker on the street below. Another historical marker was erected on South Carolina State Road #5 near the Catawba River and the border with North Carolina where he was killed. Because of difficulties with the Cherokee Indians prior to and the beginnings of the French and Indian War, John Hagler and a number of others relocated back east to Salisbury and beyond. Salisbury was a community populated by a contingent of German speaking people and by being in Salisbury it offered a larger force of men for mutual protection. I found a a receipt with John Haglers signature in 1758 for the Sheriff of Rowan County for having been paid 11 shillings and 4 pence for having made 2 pair of "iron bolts" for the Salisbury goal (old spelling for jail.) A pair of iron bolts were the cuff links and leg irons for the criminals. It is thru that documentation plus what was in his estate records that I know in addition to being a farmer he was a blacksmith. It is obvious that my fourth great grandfather had difficulty holding the feather quill in his strong hand when he tried to spell his name in English script. He got somewhat mixed up and thought the umlat (two dots in German over the A) should go somewhere and he put them over the Y. Haygler! Umlats in German tell how names are pronounced. The name HAG (rhymes with RAG) LER should be pronounced more like Haigler and many in Mecklenburg and Union Counties in particular started spelling their name in that manner in the early 1900`s. The court officials including the Sheriff and his men were appointed solely by the Governor. And by and by this caused problems. Those who were in positions of authoruity in the Carolina backcountry began to charge exorbitant fees for recording deeds and other legal activites. And the people petitioned the Governor about the matter but it did no good because he was "in on the take." By and by the frontiersmen began calling themselves Regulators and eventually things became so bad that they took up arms and bodily threw out the officials at the court houses. Because of the number involved under arms the Sheriff and his men could not restore order. When news reached the Governor he called out his militia and they all began heading west to put down the riots and rebellion. But before leaving the Governor sent word to Hugh Waddell, who by then was the General of the backcountry militia, to ENLIST men to go with him to meet the Governor and his forces at Hillsborough (which is now Hillsboro) at a specified time. The records reflect that Waddell's forces were a day late for the Battle of The Alamance. By the time he and his men got there the Regulators had been defeated and scattered. The battle was on May 13, 1771. It is apparent that John Hagler had known the great Indian fighter, Hugh Waddell, since he was a Captain back in the 1750's. And Waddell owned in excess of 700 acres of land in southern Rowan County which was not far from where John lived. They therefore were acquainted with one another for some twenty years. So! When Waddell was enlisting men to go with him ol' John Hagler joined his forces. I know this to be true! Apparently John had second thoughts after all was said and done and decided he had been on the wrong side. He became afraid what might happen to himself by those fellow countrymen who were Regulators or sympathetic to the cause of the Regulators. And so he decided he ought to have a will made. John knew that he shouldn't go to Charlotte because of what might happen if he went there. He knew that the area of Charlotte was heavily populated by Scotch/Irish and likely they wouldn't be able to understand his broken English. So! Thirteen days after the battle John had his will made in Salisbury where he was well known and it was then sent to Charlotte for filing. In his will John said that he was of a sound mind, in perfect health and had been involved in putting down the riots and rebellion by those called Regulators..... Apparently, John Hagler worried himself into an early grave as he was dead before May 1772. It seems quite amazing to me to see all the things that John owned at the time of his death that were sold, as was the custom, in order that his heirs could be provided for. His estate records show what he owned, who purchased each item and the amount paid. Among the things listed was a "cutlass." Another name for cutlass is sword. And this is important because in colonial times the way that the rank and file could tell who their officers were was by their wearing or displaying a sword. Paul Barringer was according to Hagler's will his "loving friend" who John appointed to be a co-executor along with Barbara who was John's wife. John's land was left to his widow but should she remarry or die the land was to be sold and the proceeds divided among all his heirs (he had nine but he only named two in his will.) Barbara did in fact remarry in March 1776 to the widower Phillip Herhardt/Earnhardt who lived along Dutch Second Creek in southern Rowan County. Paul Barringer sold the Hagler land in 1777 to Charles Derr (anglicized Dry/Drye.) Of late I have become interested in tracing exactly where the Hagler land was located that John purchased in 1765, that was sold in 1777. According to my research, Governor Arthur Dobbs made a trip to the Carolina backcountry to see the territory that he governed. It was at that time that he saw that a goodly number of people were coming down the Great Wagon Road from Pennsylvania seeking good land and at a fair price. So! Dobbs saw an opportunity to make some extra money. He purchased two 100,000 acre tracts of land "to sell to the new arrivals from the northwards." Tract #1 commenced immediately south of the Rowan County line and extended 12.5 miles south in portions of what is now Cabarrus and Stanly Counties. Tract #2 commenced where tract #1 ended and extended southwards crossing Rocky River into northern Union County. Each tract of 100,000 acres was 12.5 miles x 12.5 miles square. I found that "Butch" Barringer of New Port News, VA. made a plat of the first lands that Paul Barringer purchased from Dobbs in 1762 and 1763. That property commenced well below and extended northwards across the Cross Creek Road and a portion took in present Dutch Forest housing development. That road went thru about the middle of the Barringer property. (Fayetteville previously was known as Cross Creek.) The Cross Creek/Fayetteville Road is today Barrier Store Road. Leonard Hirzel/Hertzel/Hartsell purchased 182 acres of land on both sides of Dutch Buffalo Creek in 1764 which he and Esther, his wife sold to Paul Barringer in 1770. Leonard died in the spring of 1774. In August 1779 the widow Esther Hartsell filed on 100 acres of land on Paul's Run between Jacob Hagler, Randolph Shoffner, Andrew Slough and improvements widow Hagler made. In another record Andrew Slough was in reality Andrew Stough. Apparently no one knows the name of the little branch that heads south of Bowman Barrier Road west of Hahn-Scott Road flows under Long Run Farm Road to empty into the Dutch Buffalo immediately north of the former Cross Creek - Fayetteville Road that is now known as Barrier Store Road. The only stream in the area that possibly could be Pauls Run/Paul Barringers Run/Barringers Meadow Branch is the branch just mentioned. I don't quite understand why in 1779 the land of the widow Hagler's was mentioned since she remarried in 1776 and the land was sold in 1777. But be that as it may, Shoffner's land was along the north side of the road, Jacob Haglers land was next going up the branch and then Esther Hartsell's and on the eastern side of her line was the property of my immigrant Hagler ancestor. Jacob Hagler was a son of John and was mentioned in his father's will. He sold his 121 acres of land and relocated into the western edge of what was Montgomery County. His wife was Elizabeth the daughter of Rebecca and George Cagle. About 1816 Jacob and wife relocated to Henry County, GA. in order that Elizabeth could be near her favored brother who was David Cagle. Jacob and Elizabeth were the parents of Elizabeth who was the first wife of Rev. George Boger. The other son of John's that was mentioned in his will was John who was a cripple who married Catherine Seitz, anglicized Sides. There is an extant record in German that they were members of Cold Water Lutheran Reformed congregation in 1766. They lived on the north side of Rocky River and east side of what was the Dutch Road that commenced in Salisbury and ended at Charleston. The Dutch Road at that location is now the South Mount Pleasant Road and where it crosses the river was Haglers Ford. ______________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by John Blair Hagler - johnblair69@msn.com ______________________________________________________________________