Marlboro County ScArchives History - Books .....Chapter VII Industrial Affairs Of The Early Settlers 1897
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Book Title: A History Of Marlboro County

CHAPTER VII.
INDUSTRIAL AFFAIRS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS.

  Coming from different parts of the earth, some for the sake of larger
religious liberty, some for the love of adventure, and all with a desire to
better their financial circumstances, there was everywhere dependence upon
individual exertion as well as generous co-operation. The country, wild and
uncleared abounding in forests of splendid timber, affording material for
building and fencing purposes, a fertile soil, especially upon the banks of the
river, with an abundance of fish and game. There was much to do, and much
promise of reward to industry and skill. Fortunes were to be made by dint of
perseverance and toil; various industries were pursued to meet the necessities
of the times, and the sturdy settlers were equal to the situation. Some of those
who emigrated from provinces further north are said to have driven their
domestic animals across the country to their new homes, where abundant pasturage
was found in the lowlands upon which their stock could graze. Large droves of
cattle and horses ran wild through the forests and stock raising was at once a.
profitable business. Entrapping wild cattle and horses was an exciting yet
profitable sport. A large, strong pen constructed in the fork of two branches or
creeks, into which the frightened beasts were driven and caught, was a simple
and favorite plan. Across the public road leading from Bennettsville to
Blenheim, and a mile above the latter place, there flows a branch called "Horse
Pen," which, according to the statement of the late venerable Daniel John, who
was born, lived, and died near its confluence with the Three Creeks, got its
name from a pen which was located at the fork and used for the purpose of
entrapping wild horses in those early days. In other portions of the country
immense herds of cattle were kept; vast numbers of hogs were raised largely upon
the mast that fell from the trees, and driven to Charleston and other markets
and sold for the best price that could be obtained, and supplies for the family
at home brought back. It is not surprising, if exercise and hardship, in the
saddle, upon the road, in the woods, amid peril and exposure, should develop the
daring, enduring and faithful class of men who shared the dangers and honors of
Marion, and such as he, amid the swamps of the Pee Dee and Santee in times a
little farther on in the history of the country. It will be remembered, of
course, that slavery was an institution of the times, and these early settlers
sometimes bought and sold servants. It is told of one of these old stock men
that he "gave seventy-seven seven-year-old steers for one woman."

  Wheat and corn, especially the latter, was soon raised in abundance, and many
a boat laden with corn floated down the Pee Dee to the towns on the coast; and
bacon went to the markets by the same means, or was hauled across the country in
wagons. Great rafts of timber and boards were floated on the same stream, so
that the Pee Dee became a common channel of communication between the people on
the coast and those in the interior, long before the age of cotton and steam,
many obstructions to safe navigation being removed by private, and some by
public enterprise. At an early period indigo became a profitable crop. The rich
alluvial bottoms near the banks of the river were especially productive. Indeed,
the plant grew wild in the woods, and as there was much demand for the dye in
the markets of the world, and the plant a natural growth of the soil, it is not
strange that it should soon become a principal article of export to the mother
country. Parliament encouraged its cultivation; a bounty was allowed for the
indigo raised in the British American plantations, and tons of the precious
stuff found its way to England. Fortunes were made in its cultivation and
manufacture. And so by one means and another the settlements on the Pee Dee,
almost from the beginning, were prosperous and encouraging, honest labor meeting
a rich reward. As in the settlement of all new countries, difficulties and
embarrassments had to be overcome, taking time and labor hardly appreciated by
the residents in long-settled localities. Highways for travel and
transportation, in a land as this was, of dense forests and streams, was a
matter of serious concern. But "necessity is the mother of invention," and our
fathers were equal to the exigencies of the situation. The first roads they
opened were made just wide enough to admit the passage of a rough "sled," simple
in construction but answering the purpose when wheels were not at hand. Two
side-pieces of oak, with the front ends turned upward to reach the horse's
shoulders, fastened together at the lower ends about three and a half or four
feet apart, by cross bars, securely tenanted or pinned, it was ready for use.
Fence rails were dragged, and fuel was drawn; a box added, and corn could be
moved to the barn. Of course, wheels, better conveyances, and better roads had
to be, and were provided as soon as concert of action and the necessary means
were to be had. And as early as 1747 commissioners were appointed by the
authorities of the province "to have the highways and causeways better
attended," and the presumption is that about this time the "public road" that
has long been known as the "River Road," taking the same general course as the
stream, was opened. Then, after a few years, a public ferry was established by
law, crossing the river at the mouth of Cedar Creek, a stream flowing in from
the west side just above the present Society Hill bridge; and roads were opened
out on either side the river, connecting with those running down the country.
Thus it will be seen that the public spirited fathers were interested in
measures contributing to the public welfare; and as the population increased,
conveniences and comforts were also enlarged, and there is evidence that social
and religious progress was not neglected. The planters had their meetings for
consultation and social intercourse; and the old church at Welsh Neck had its
pulpit regularly supplied by able, godly men, who went out after the increasing
population, at points as remote as Cheraw, Cashway and elsewhere, as occasion
offered, for preaching the Gospel.

  From an early date attention began to be given to military affairs; indeed,
from the first, some banding together of the people was needed for police
regulations, and as a precaution against the raids of unfriendly Indians. So
that as early as 1744 we read of the "Craven County Regiment, George Pawley,
Colonel." And in 1756, Philip Pledger, a citizen of Marlboro, was "commissioned
captain in His Majesty's, service," and six years later, George Hicks, another
resident of Marlboro, was also commissioned; and it is stated by the same
authority (Gregg) that in January 1748, the Craven County regiment consisted of
twelve hundred men, and that a general review of militia (the first in Marlboro)
took place at Westfields, not far from Cheraw, Oct. 11, 1759. Up to this time
very little dissatisfaction was felt in this southern province with the parent
government, except the want of courts of justice, that were conveniently
accessible. The people were happy in the enjoyment of each other's society on
the few occasions when thrown together, and had a little world of their own
where their intercourse was neighborly, hospitable and unrestrained. The
influence of the sturdy, honest colony that planted itself upon either bank of
the Pee Dee, at Welsh Neck, was the ruling element in society, and was felt for
many miles around, and for many a year; and had the provincial Governors and
Councils and parent government but consulted the native love of liberty and
sense of justice that rests in the bosom of the true and brave, and fostered
rather than repressed the desire for just and equal rights, in their subjects,
we might have waited till now to set up for Independence. But the time was
coming, and causes were beginning to operate, which in a few years more must
lead up to open rupture.

  Prominent among those causes was the difficulty of having their grievances and
legal wrongs redressed. Except the courts of justices of the peace, which only
had jurisdiction in minor causes, there was no tribunal to which they could
appeal nearer than Charleston. The great distance, with the expense and
inconvenience of travel made it exceedingly burdensome to jurors, witnesses and
parties to suits who had to attend Court. Consequently many a man preferred to
endure the wrong rather than seek redress at such cost and trouble; and the evil
disposed took liberties and committed crimes, with but little fear of
punishment. As the population increased, causes of complaint multiplied. The
people petitioned the provincial authorities for redress time and again, but all
in vain. They asked for courts to be established at more accessible points, but
no relief came in that way till a few years before the war began. It was not
surprising, therefore, that driven to extremities, the better class of citizens
should take affairs into their own hands, and devise means of their own for
preserving peace and securing their just and equitable rights. Bands or clubs of
men were organized calling themselves "Regulators." At the outset, composed as
these bodies were, of conservative, prudent men, cautious in the exercise of an
assumed authority, the effect may have been good in restraining the lawless and
promoting good order and justice, not abusing the powers they had assumed. But
their action received no favor from the government; on the other hand, they were
regarded as prompted by a spirit of rebellion, and instead of listening to their
complaints, and providing redress, the government sought to repress these
disturbances, and too oft employed instruments of little character—obsequious
tools of power, who could command no respect, but rather increased the
irritation among the people by their insolence, and still further weakened their
regard for a government represented so unworthily. But these contests between
the Regulators and the minions of the government, were preparing the way for
that greater contest which was to end in the independence of the Colonies. If
the actions of the Regulators displeased the government, no less were the
Regulators exasperated by the coldness and indifference with which their appeals
were treated, culminating in opposition and reprehension and commands from the
government to disperse. No marvel if "horse thieves" and harborers of rogues
should meet with more stripes and severer punishment from men, not only provoked
by these crimes, but angered by the opposition of the government that sought to
hinder what they deemed an indispensable remedy. Nor is it strange that, under
such circumstances, another and unlawful party should be banded in opposition to
the Regulators—that thieves and robbers should unite to resist self-assumed
authority, to arrest and lynch them for their crimes. Such a state of things
could not long exist without ending in open rupture, and the government appears
to have foreseen yet greater trouble ahead if some concessions were not made.
Therefore in 1768, by an act of the Assembly the "Parish of St. David" was
organized. It was to embrace a vast extent of country in what was then called
Craven county, on both sides of the Great Pee Dee river. Of course, this
organization was in part designed to be ecclesiastical, but civil as well,
Church and State united. Commissioners were "appointed for the building of the
church chapel and parsonage house," and to otherwise inaugurate the affairs of
St. David's church. By the same act the inhabitants of the Parish were entitled
to elect one member to the General Assembly, to open and keep in repair the
public roads, and the "church wardens and overseers of the poor," were
authorized to levy taxes to relieve the poor committed to their charge. And it
may be stated that the following citizens of Marlboro had appointments on this
first board of commissioners—Claudius Pegues, Philip Pledger, George Hicks,
Robert Allison and Charles Bedingfield. This was not all the people asked for;
but it was something gained. With a member in the General Assembly, chosen by
their own free ballot, they indulged the hope that farther relief might be
obtained. On the fourth and fifth days of October, 1768, an election was held
and Claudius Pegues, by a vote of 166, was unanimously elected the first
representative of St. David's, or of Upper Pee Dee in the General Assembly of
South Carolina. He had been but about eight years in the country, and it is
greatly to his credit that so brief a residence among his people should have so
impressed them with a sense of his worth as that they should commit to his
charge interests that were so precious; and yet he is described as "retiring in
disposition and habits," He must have been known to be capable, faithful,
devoted to the public welfare, and the sacred rights of his countrymen.

  But the parochial organization was not adapted to meet the wants of the
growing country; the people "were yet without a court easy of access," where
justice could be administered. The necessity for some local tribunal was more
and more imperative, and after the most urgent and persistent entreaties, a bill
was passed July 27, 1769, and signed by Governor Bull, Aug. 2d, organizing
"circuit or district courts to be held at Orangeburg, Ninety-Six, the Cheraws,
Georgetown, Beaufort and Charleston, to sit six days each, and to be held twice
a year, for the trial of causes criminal and civil." This was a large and
satisfactory concession to the people, and quieted for a time the apprehensions
of a general collision, and promoted the prosperity and peace of the country.
The Cheraw District embraced that region included within St. David's Parish and
what subsequently became Darlington, Chesterfield and Marlboro. "George Hicks,
Thomas Lide, Jonathan Wise, Benjamin Rogers and Eli Kershaw were appointed
commissioners to build a court-house and jail." This work, however, was delayed
by an unfortunate controversy as to the location. Cheraw was growing as a place
of trade; there St. David's, the State church, was being established; it was at
the head of navigation, considered healthy and accessible, and Cheraw very
naturally wanted the court-house of the District of Cheraw. Long Bluff, on the
west side of the river, near Society Hill, was a contestant. It, too, was a
place of trade, near the sacred spot where the first ancient colony of Welsh
first built their altars surrounded on both sides of  the river by a thrifty,
intelligent population, nearer the center of the district and therefore more
convenient to the great body of the people. Owing to this controversy, the work
of building was hindered until August 1770, when, by an act of the General
Assembly, the commissioners were ordered to build at Long Bluff. After some
delay substantial buildings were erected, and on Monday, Nov. 16, 1772, the
long-sought privilege of a suffering people was enjoyed of seeing a court open
upon their own ground, where causes criminal and civil were to be settled by
judges "learned in the law," and by "juries of their peers." The administration
of justice was introduced by invoking the favor of Heaven, and the direction of
Infinite wisdom. Rev. Nicholas Bedgegood, a man long known and honored in
Marlboro, the pastor of Welsh Neck church, preached what was termed a "sessions
sermon/'enforcing the duties and responsibilities of those in authority, as well
as. those devolving upon the subjects of law in every condition of society, and
directing the thoughts of all to a judgment yet to come, when the Judge of all
the earth should fix unalterably the destiny of His creatures. From that day
Long Bluff became the resort of lawyers and judges; and a center of influence
and interest to an extensive territory. Dark deeds of crime were there to meet
due reward; and stern justice be meted out to all classes, and for a time, at
least, became a forum for legal lore and contest. Justices Gordon and Murray
were the first to preside, and Wm. Henry Mills was the first sheriff in Cheraw
District. It is not known if there was a resident lawyer in the district for a
number of years, but such men as Powell, Waties and Brevard are supposed to have
practiced in the courts at this place. About the close of the war, in
consideration, it is presumed, of the efficient services rendered the cause of
liberty by Gen. Greene, the name of the little court-house village was changed
to Greeneville. But the formation of three judicial districts, Darlington,
Chesterfield and Marlboro, out of the old Cheraw district, caused, of course,
the removal of the records and all legal business to other localities, and the
town gradually went to decay. And the plowshare was ultimately driven through
the streets and public ground, upturning the very soil on which the public
buildings stood. The long high bluff making the western bank of the Pee Dee yet
lifts its front to greet the rising sun, but no longer is the historic ground
called Greeneville. Society Hill, a mile or two from the river, a place of
considerable trade, the home of a cultivated, intelligent people, has long been
the center of influence and resort for the surrounding country.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

A HISTORY OF MARLBORO COUNTY,
WITH
TRADITIONS AND SKETCHES OF NUMEROUS FAMILIES.

REV. J. A. W. THOMAS, AUTHOR.

A wonderful stream is the river Time
  As it runs through the realms of tears 
With a faultless rhythm and a musical rhyme,
And a broader sweep and a surge sublime
  As it blends with the ocean of years.
                        —TENNYSON.

ATLANTA, GA.:
THE FOOTE & DAVIES COMPANY,
Printers and Binders.
1897.


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