Columbus-Bladen County NcArchives Biographies.....Lydia Foscue, Duncan King & ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/ncfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Dennis Rogers n/a March 17, 2014, 1:47 pm Source: Dennis Rogers Author: Dennis Rogers Columbus County History of Real-Life Tale of Romance Whiteville - Did you ever read a bodice-ripper, one of those steamy historical potboilers that have an undraped heroine and a broad-chested hero displayed in vivid color on the cover? You don't have to admit it out loud, but if you've perused at least the cover blurbs you've probably thought they were great fun, but no way could they ever be true. Or could they? Duncan King was everthing you would want in a fictional hero. A dashing Scotsman, he sailed the Spanish Main as a privateer pirate in service to the English crown. It was in the fall of 1752 when he sailed his ship "Adela" to the North Carolina shore bringing a precious cargo. Her name was Lydia Fosque and she was about five years old. Capt. King had rescued Lydia from a Spanish pirate ship in the Caribbean. Her French parents had been killed by Spanish pirates when they raided the merchant ship on which they were sailing. Capt. King defeated the Spanish briggands and brought the young girl ashore at Fort Johnson, an outpost on the Cape Fear River. There he found a group of French-speaking settlers and placed young Lydia Fosque in the care of a Mrs. Holmes who promised to care for her. Duncan King went back to sea. His travels for the next few years are unknown but he did serve in the British army that fought the French for possession of Canada during the Battle of Quebec. Young Lydia grew up in North Carolina and by all reports became a stunningly beautiful woman. Her guardian, Mrs. Holmes, decided to move to Savannah and booked passage on a ship. In 1761, nine years after Lydia had arrived in North Carolina, she and Mrs. Holmes were down to the Fort Johnson docks to await the arrival of the ship that would take them to Savannah. And in the best tradition of romantic novels, who should come down the gangplank but Duncan King. Weary of war and of the sea, he had come to settle and wanted to check on Lydia. He was stunned when he saw her. In his mind she was still a little girl, but before him stood a beautiful young woman. He fell in love with her immediately. But there was a problem. The only real home Lydia had ever known was with Mrs. Holmes and she was moving to Savannah. How could he convince Lydia to saty behind with him? History does not record how he wooed the beautiful girl but woo her he did, and before she left for Savannah, Mrs. Holmes officially gave Lydia in marriage to her savior. Duncan King had become a wealthy man. Among his riches were land grants in New England, given to him by a grateful Crown for his services. But Duncan decided he did not want to live in such a cold place, so he bought several thousand acres of virgin land in what is now Columbus County. There he built a magnificant plantation where he and Lydia raised their family. Duncan had been a loyal British officer, and when the American Revolution broke out he was immediately suspect by his Patriot neighbors. But he was through with fighting and announced to all that he would remain neutral. But the Patriots were still leery of him. Part of the legend of Duncan and Lydia shows her spunk. One day, returning from religious services, she was stopped by a Patriot band who demanded to know the whereabouts of her husband. She spurred her horse and headed home to warn her unsuspecting husband. She raced across the flat land of Columbus County with the Patriots giving chase. She arrived home minutes ahead of the patrol, just in time to warn her husband to flee. The Patriots arrived and demanded to know why she had fled. She very sweetly told them that she assumed they would be staying for dinner and had hurried home to make sure everything was ready. Duncan and Lydia lived long and full lives. He was a successful plantation owner and she was instrumental in establishing the Methodist Church in the area. Duncan died in 1793 and Lydia lived to 1819. An 8-foot-tall monument in the cemetery of Shiloh Methodist Church celebrates their lives. [Columbus County was formed in 1808 from Brunswick & Bladen counties} File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/columbus/bios/lydiafos204bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/ncfiles/ File size: 4.6 Kb