Nash County NcArchives - Early County Roads and Overseers, 1778 ************************************************ 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: Mark Hedgepeth 1778 Overseers: EARLY COUNTY ROADS BUILT BY RESIDENTS By Joseph W. Watson Nash County Historical Notes: A Bicentennial Tribute, Editor T. E. Ricks Nash County Bicentennial Commission, 1976 - Nash County (N.C.) - 347 pages https://books.google.com/books/about/Nash_County_Historical_Notes.html?id=J9WwGAAACAAJ A very popular misconception concerning Nash County after its formation from Edgecombe in 1777 is that it was a wilderness with no roads and little travel except by boat. Settlement began in the eastern area about 1729 and much of the land in the western part was patented by 1745. The population increased rapidly and, in the Census for North Carolina taken in 1786, there were 3,769 whites and 1,508 blacks in Nash County, with a total population of 5,277. At the first meeting of the first court held April 1, 1778, the first order of business was to swear in the justices appointed by Richard Caswell, Governor, and then other public officials. Next was the appointment of road overseers and the persons designated to work under them. At this time, Nash County included about one-fourth of what is now Wilson County, which was formed in 1855. ROADS BUILT BY PETITION The county roads at that time were built only after a petition to the county court by inhabitants of the area involved and if approved the court then appointed the jury mentioned earlier who subsequently took an oath to survey this road in the best and most convenient way, with as little damage to anyone as possible. Then an overseer was appointed and all the inhabitants in the area between the ages of sixteen and sixty, both white and black, were assigned to work on that particular road. When new roads were built, some of these workers were taken off crews for existing roads and reassigned to the new ones. The length of a road to be maintained by an overseer and his company varied, depending on the terrain. Most of the assignments covered an area of about three miles to ten miles. Sometimes overseers petitioned for their work distances to be shortened because it was too great a burden for the company. In the earlier days, the bridges were also built and maintained by these workers, but by 1778 most of these bridges were contracted by men appointed by the county court, usually with a bond to guarantee maintenance for a period of seven years. Most of the bridges replaced were lost to the spring freshets, however. The road overseers were appointed every year but many were continued from year to year. Many of those appointed at the first court held in Nash County were continued from their Edgecombe County appointments. OVERSEERS LISTED In order to comprehend the great amount of settlement and distribution that had taken place by 1778 we are going to list the overseers appointed in that year and the roads for which they were responsible. Most of those roads probably exist today, if one is able to recognize them. 1. Dempsey Barnes--road which is the county line from the Widow Rowe’s to the county line. 2. Jethro Harrison--road from Williamson’s Bridge to the Widow Rowe’s on Contentnea Creek. 3. Joseph Crowell--that part of the main county road leading from Tarboro to Duncan Lamon’s, to wit, from Dorman’s Branch to the foot of Dew’s Road. 4. William Horne--road leading from the county line by his house to the lower bridge on Stony Creek. 5. Benjamin Boon--road leading from the lower bridge over Stony Creek into Lamon’s Road. 6. Nicholas Skinner--road leading from Jacob Horne’s to Col. Hunter’s. 7. William Richardson--road leading from the Rock on Peachtree Creek to Samuel Bridger’s 8. Arthur Westray--road leading from Duncan Lamon’s Ferry to Stony Creek Bridge at Hunter’s Mill. 9. Thomas Viverett--Dews Road from the forks of the same to Toisnot. 10. Richard Thomas--road leading from Micajah Thomas’ to Benja. Denson’s. 11. Wilson Vick--Lanes Road from William Ricks’ to down to the fork. 12. Francis Rose--road called Jeffreys Road from the Great Swamp Bridge to Swift Creek, including the bridge and causeway on both sides. 13. Richard Deere--road leading from the Rock on Peach Tree Creek to Crossroads near William Andrews’. 14. Jones Williams--part of the Tar River Road from the fork at Benjamin Thorn’s to Jacob Strickland’s. 15. Edward Purcell--the Crossroads from William Andrews’ to Simon Williams’ on Tar River. 16. Thomas Warren--road from Little Sapony to Samuel Bryant’s on Tar River. 17. Mark Mason--road from Culpepper’s Bridge to the Beaver Dam Swamp. 18. Benjamin Merritt--road from George Powell’s at Swift Creek to Thomas Hunters on Stony Creek. 19. Hardiman Pope--road from the county line up to the forks of the road at Sam’l Sorsby’s. 20. Lazarus Whitehead--road from Swift Creek down to the county line. 21. Isaac Bass--road leading from the Micajah Thomas place to the bridge on Peachtree Creek. 22. Hermon Strickland--road leading from Tar River Road towards the State Hill upon Moccasin Creek. 23. Henry Atkins--road leading from Lanes Road to Sapony Creek. 24. Moses Stallings--road leading from Jacob Strickland’s to Reuben Williams’. 25. John Chapman--road leading from Reuben Williams’ to the Bute (Franklin) County line. 26. Francis Parker--road leading from Jeffreys Road to the White Stone Branch. 27. Jethro Denson--road leading from Culpeppers’ Road to Whittington’s Road. 28. John Jones (pocosin)--that part of the Tarborough Road leading from Jeffrevs Road to Thomas Horne’s. 29. John Eatmon--road leading from Nellum’s to the Fox Branch. 30. James Brown--road leading from the Fox Branch to Moccasin Bridge. 31. Matthew Council--road leading from John Webb’s to the Wombwell field. 32. Benjamin Bridgers--the old road leading from John Webb’s to Jumping Run. 33. Peter Hedgepeth—the road leading from the fork at Thomas Walker’s to the Bute (Franklin) County line. 34. William Braswell, Junr.--road leading from Thomas Road to the White Stone Branch. 35. William Drake--that part of Jeffreys Road leading from Griffin’s Bridge to Jumping Run. 36. Brinkley Gandy--road from Little Sapony Bridge to the Crossroads at William Ricks’. 37. Samuel Braswell--road leading from Nicholas Skinner’s to the Folsom Road. 38. Willis Curl--road leading from the Edgecombe County line to Dorrnan’s Branch. 39. Archibald Lamon--road leading from Lamon’s Landing to Green Leaves; also, a piece of road that strikes out near Dormnan’s Branch to the county line called the Cody Road. 40. William Vester--road called Andrews Road from Lains Road to the Bute (Franklin) County line. 41. Matthew Council--both pieces of road leading from the Bute (Franklin) County line beginning at John and Stephen Webb’s, leading to the Womble place. 42. Henry Atkins--road leading from courthouse of this county to Tar River, at or near Edward Clinches’ Mill. 43. Thomas Adkinson--road leading from Stony Creek Bridge to Compass Creek. 44. Benja. Merrill--road leading from Compass Creek to the Swift Creek Bridge. There were many other roads for which no change in appointments were made. For instance, no overseer was appointed for the Thomas Road which is the present Hunters Hill Road, nor for Folsomes Road which is the present N.C. Highway 43 North. However, additional appointments were made in 1779 and later. All county courts were lax in their yearly appointments. On the other hand, few complaints were made concerning the poor condition of the roads and of the absenteeism in the work companies. [Scanned from book in DAR Library by Mark Hedgepeth, Jul 2005]