Y^e Countie of Albemarle in Carolina

DOCUMENTS

1. Peter Carteret’s appointment as Councillor and Assistant Governor, December 3, 1664

2. Peter Carteret’s appointment as Secretary and Chief Registrar, December 3, 1664

3. Sir John Colleton’s letters to Peter Carteret, September 9 and 26, 1665

4. John Whitty’s letter to Peter Carteret, November 2, 1665

5. Sir John Colleton’s letter to Peter Carteret, March 7, 1666

6. Proprietors’ commission to Governor Samuel Stephens, October 8, 1667

7. Proprietors’ instructions to Governor Samuel Stephens, October 8, 1667

8. Proprietors’ letter to Governor Samuel Stephens, May 1, 1668

9 & 10. Peter Colleton’s letters to Peter Carteret, October 22, 1668

11. Governor Stephens’ warrant to Peter Carteret as Lieutenant Colonel, October 28, 1668

12. Proprietors’ letter to Governor Samuel Stephens sending a copy of the Fundamental Constitutions [January, 1670]

13. Sir George Carteret’s warrant to Peter Carteret as his deputy, January 17, 1670

14. An act against engrocers [January 20, 1670]

15. Sir William Berkeley’s letter on the death of Governor Samuel Stephens, March 7, 1670

16. Albemarle Council’s appointment of Peter Carteret to be governor, March 10, 1670

17. Proprietors’ letter to Peter Carteret, September 5, 1671

18. Thomas Eastchurch’s letter to Peter Carteret, December 11, 1671

19. Council’s instructions to Peter Carteret, April 27, 1672 [x]

20. Council’s instructions to Peter Carteret, with John Harvey letter, April 27, July 11, 1672

21. Council’s letter to the Proprietors, April 27, 1672

22. Governor Carteret and Council to the Proprietors, May 16, 1671

23. Governor Carteret warrant to John Jenkins to be deputy governor, 1672

24. Financial accounts of Peter Carteret, 1673

25. Statement of John Buckworth concerning Peter Carteret’s accounts, 1673

26. Peter Carteret’s letter to [Sir George Carteret], [December, 1674]

27. Peter Carteret’s account of the years 1663-1673 in Albemarle, December 3, 1674

28. Peter Carteret’s letter to [Sir George Carteret], [January, 1675]

Original document on vellum with a portion of the Proprietors’ wax seal remaining. One page, 13 x 7½ inches,¹ plus a margin of 1½ inches turned up at the bottom.

Of the eight Lords Proprietors only seven signed this document. Sir William Berkeley was absent in Virginia, where he was governor.

EDWARD Earle of Clarendon Lord high Chancello^r: of England, George Duke of Albemarle Cap^t: Generall of all his Maj^ties: forces in the kingdomes of England Scotland and Ireland and Mast^r. of the Horse William Lord Craven John Lord Berkeley, Anthony Lord Ashley Chancello^r of his Ma^ties: Exchequer, Sir George Carteret Knight & Baron^t: vice chamberlaine of his Ma^te, household, S^r: William Berkeley Knight & S^r: John Colleton Knight and Baronett, The true and absolute Lords Proprieto^rs: of all the Province of Carolina,//.

TO OUR TRUSTY and well beloved Peter Carteret² Esquire Greeting &c. WEE being well assured of your wisedome prudence and [4] integritie, Have thought best and doe by these P^r.sents nominate, constitute and appoint you dureing our pleasure, to bee one of our Councello^rs: for the affaires of the county of Albemarle, and to bee Assistant to such person or persons as wee have nominated and appointed, or from time to time shall nominate and appoint to bee our Governo^r: or governo^rs: of our said countie for the time being: And by these p^rsents, Doe authourize and require you to putt in executõn and observe and follow such orders and directions as you shall from time to time receive from us As to the office and dutie of our Councello^r, and assistant to our said Governo^r: doth apperteine, and belong. Given under our great seale of our said Province, The Third -//-//-// Daye of December - in the yeare of our Lord 1664.

Clarendon E Albemarle Craven, Jo Berkeley Ashley

G Carteret Jn^o Colleton

Exon this 9^th of 7^ber 1665/¹          

M^r: Carterett

I have yo^rs: of y^e 6^th: of May last to my selfe & Yo^r: oth^r: to my Lord Berkeley & Compy: by w^ch: I pceave yo^u finde o^r: business in a very bad Condicon, for w^ch I am in a greate measure to bla[me] Cap^t: Whittie,² whoe made us pay for 100 breeding sowes, w^th piggs 10 boares 10 Cowes w^th calfe & a bull a horse & a mare, put on Colleton Island,³ W^ch it seems never came there, besides w^ch: wee p^d: to y^e ove^rseers frind heare, whoe hath played y^e Knave, & suffered all o^r: business to gee to wrack, y^e acc^ot: will show y^ou all this, of w^ch I hope yo^u will call for an acc^o: of y^e ov^rseer, left by Cap^t: Whittie, & pay nor y^e oth^s: imployees any thing, untill yo^u have a good acc^o: as for y^e Island I saw onely w^th Cap^t: Whitties eyes, heard with his eares, whoe p^rtendes he ha^h beene over it, & rendres it to me, & I suppose to yo^u to bee a most brave & ffertill Island, & I am Confident hee beleived it, for he prest for a vessell w^th Salt to fetch thence 30 tones of [7] hoggs flesh, w^th I put of desiring firs—to heare from yo^u, & now there is noe more, to bee thought of y^t: yet a whyle, In y^e meane time I hope yo^u. will inquire after y^e Stocke wee have paid for, & place on y^e Island if yo^u see reason for it, & more whereby wee may have a quantity of Hoggs flesh, w^ch will soonest come to bare to send to Barbados w^ch will pduce us Neagroes & Sarv^ts: to rayse a plantacon, wee y^e ptners are now devided into Sev^rll: Cuntryes, by reason of y^e Sickness, since yo^r depture, I thincke y^e Earle of Craven is added to us, see y^t wee cannot give yo^u a joynt ord^r: in our affaire, but I shall give yo^u my oppinion, w^ch is y^t yo^u doe y^t. w^ch yo^u conceave may bee most for o^r: advantage, in placeing the hoggs & Catle where yo^u thincke best, & makeing such Inclosyers as yo^u conceave fitt, unless y^e tobacco of these pts bee much better then y^t of Virginia, I conceave Little good will be done thereby, however yo^u may plant some amongst yo^r Corne, w^ch is done und^r: y^e same Clearing of grounds but y^t for a tryall, y^e hoggs flesh will bringe us p^rsent pfitt, if easye to be raysed, y^r vinnyard y^e next & mere advantagious, if yo^u have not to much raynes when y^e Grapes ripen, if y^t bee Natturall yo^u will make no good wine I feare, yo^u knew how Cap^t: Whittie magnified y^e Cuntry for all intent & purposes; I am troubled to finde/y^t yo^u, doe not enlarge upon y^e Comendacon thereof. If powells point⁴ bee soe good land as yo^u seeme to beleive it to bee, yo^u shall doe well to take it up, wee shall gett agrant from y^e Lorde, speake to y^e Govno^r: from me y^t it be reserved for ou^r: Comp^a: wee are now 4 ingaged viz^t: my Lord Craven my Lord Berkeley yo^r: unckle & my selfe, if it bee soe good & soe Convenient, sett a stop upon it, untill wee cann gett a grant from y^e Lord, w^ch we shall doe assoone as wee cann meete, y^e greate plague in & about London keeps us a Sund^r: as to y^e peoples complaynt of finding it hard, y^t they shalbe obliged to keep there pporcon of people on their land, I would fayne know wt there land signifies w^th out people, unlesse bee to lett to oth^rs: & is it reasonable y^t a few should take up all y^e Land, & become Lord & y^e Cuntry unstrenkthened & unpeopled, they wilbe poore Lord & w^th a greate deale of land [worth] nothing whereas if they will people as they goe, there Collony wilbe safe, it will bringe trade & shiping, & make Labor & land of vallew otherwayse come to nothing, beleive it S^r: y^e way of y^e Virginia Setlem^t: is pnissious to y^e planters of little good or advantage to y^e [8] kinge or his people, pray therefore thincke of y^e Barbadoe Industry there way and manner of liveing, workeing & Contriveing, they worke y^e yeare throughout, y^e Virginians as I am informed but halfe y^e yeare, when wee cann meete wee shall Indeavo^r: to give y^e Govno^r: Councell & assembly such Sattisfaccon to there demande as wee hope will pleas them, I am sorry to heare y^t Sickness takes of there Sarv^te: I hope they meane in Virginia & not in Carolina, for att Cape fare wee finde it a most healthfull Cuntry, & Whittie pclames y^e Cuntry yo^u are in to bee y^e most healthfulls in y^e world, I shalbe glad to heare yo^r oppinien of it, & to know w^t weath^r: you had this past season for yo^r grapes, y^e dryest weath^r: when they are rype, makes y^e best wine, if yo^u finde y^t by experience & Informacon, yo^u may goe boldly on w^th yo^r: Viniardes, I am Confident yo^u had of y^e seede of grapes from me w^ch are from y^e ryne, & will pduce rare Cannary, I am from my bookes & papers & cannot tell w^t yo^u had, but if you had not I shall pcure some, Powder & shott to bey pvisions shall send yo^u assoone as possible w^ch a Carpenter, if my ptners will stick to me yo^u- shall want nothing, but pray give an ample acc^o: of y^e Cuntrye; remember me kindly to M^r: Woodward⁵ to whome shall write p next not haveing time to write now; I am

Yo^r: Very Loveing frind—          

Bristoll y^e 26th of 7^ber 1665/.            

M^r: Cartrett

Thebefore goeing is Coppy of my Last sent yo^u by way of Plym^o: in w^ch if there bee any error in transcribing, I pray exscuse y^e same, for I have not time to p use it, I have onely to add, y^t I have desired M^r: Sershio: Cary,⁶ to send from hence to [9] Virginia, a barrell of powd^r: & 400 of shott, & to consigne y^e same to Govno^r: Drummond⁷ in Virginia whence I have desired to Convey it to yo^u, I pray looke after it, & lett it bee imployed for y^e buying pvisions as yo^u in yo^r last Lett^r: pposed Where yo^u sow y^e seeds of Grapes, observe, w^t sort thrives best—in y^e Land yo^u sow it in, & continew y^t sort upon y^t ground, & plant y^e oth^r sorte in oth^r ground & where ever yo^u finde, they thrive best there continew them, w^ch will pduce y^e best wine, this I have had from an experianced pson y^t lived long in ^ye Cannaryes, I rest

Yo^r: Very Loveing frind               
Jn^o Colleton                                   

[Address]

     To M^r: Peter Cartrett
     att Colleton Island in y^e
     Countie of Albemarle

     There
     in
     Carolina

my service presented & am glad of your well being in allbemarle I hope the Contry is pleasing to you Though all things [10] was nott in order att Colleton Island according to your Expectation & merritt: if god bles me well to that Contry I will Call Those persons to acco^tt: that I left Intrusted — I have beene sufficiently plaid the Knave with uppon my owne acco^tt besides the Iland: by Crafford¹ & Bonnefeild² I hope to be there about y^e End of Aprill: I hope you finde my few freinds there Civell to you—

The King hath beene at Sallsbery and now att Oxford this 6 months by reason of y^e plague hath beene very much at london since Aprill:

S^r George Carterett is with y^e King we hope for his Comeing to hampton Court 8 days hence. Your younger Brother that was Leiuetenant in y^e straits is now Cap^t of a friggatt in y^e service mr Sherminton & his wife³are both dead of y^e sickness all y^e proprietors are with y^e King but my lord Duke of allbemarle whoe acts here in all things for the King Comit you to god & rest

S^r yo^r frind & servant          
Jno: Whitty                           

[Address]

     For peter Carterett
     Esq. Secretary of
     Allbemarle in y^e provñ

     of
     Carrolina

[11]

No. 5

MARCH 7, 1666. SIR JOHN COLLETON LETTER TO PETER CARTERET.

The year in the date of this letter is written 1665/6 because the new year in England began on March 25 at this time. Most European countries changed to begin the new year on January 1 during the sixteenth century and Scotland conformed to this practice in 1600. England, however, did not change until 1752. Many letters and other documents dated during the period January 1 through March 24 show both years. The letter of “y^e 26th of 7^ber” would be September 26, 1665, and it is the one in document no. 3.

St: Jameses¹ this 7^th: of March 1665/6          

M^r: Peter Carterett

My last Unto yo^u was from Bristoll of y^e 26^th of 7^ber Accompaning a barrell of powd^r: & 5^th: of shott, w^ch I ord^rd: M^r: Shershaw Cary to ship & Consigne Governo^r Drumond in Virginia to be sent yo^u: I hoape yo^u have rec^d: w^th my advice to plant y^e Grape seede in y^e ground it likes best, & when those seede pduce vynes to plant y^e slipps or cuttings of them; for some are of oppinion y^t y^e vyne w^ch y^e seede pduceth will not bare Grapes well but y^e slipps or Cutings will; when yo^u plant any vynes, plant sev^rll: sorte in sevrll: sorte of ground, & where yo^u finde any sort to exceede y^e rest in growing y^t is an Agum^t: y^t/^these vynes likes y^e ground well, upon w^ch yo^u are to Coutinew y^t sort of grape in y^t ground & soe eavery sort where y^e vynes thrive y^e: most; now to answr: yo^rs: of y^e 6^th: of May & 20^th: of June I say:

That wee desire yo^u to gett y^e Catle Hoggs horse & mare, & other things from those y^t ought to make them good unto us for wee have p^d: Cap^t: Whittye for them—& if you finde y^t Cap^t: Whittye ought to make good any thing let us know w^t it is y^t wee may demand & prcure its vallew heare I conceive it very necessary, [12] y^t wee have two or three stronge lusty mares put on o^r: ground & a lusty stoud horse for to breede, yo^u well know w^t a Comodity horses are at Barbados, if they be to be had Cheap at Virginia, yo^u may buy some there & draw upon us, but they must be stronge for worke; Its my oppinion y^t yo^u stocke Colleton Island^e w^th Cowes bulls horses & Mares to run & breede there; Cap^t: Whitty telling mee y^t its a very pper place for y^t purpose, & y^t there is exceeding good ground for them to feede on; & y^t yo^u plant yo^r: Corne on y^e Mayne land & likewayse yo^r: vinyarde; & y^t yo^u: place yo^r: hoggs on y^e poynt betweene y^e northriv^r:² & Pescoetanke³ river, where there is a Narrow of about 2 myles through w^ch yo^u may runn afence & keepe in yo^r: hoggs w^thin 10000 acres of land, yo^u know W^t a Comodity hoggs flesh is at Barbados & beefe Likewayse, & y^e lands being once stockt y^e: Increase wilbe greate, w^th Little Charge and troble, but y^e fencing of y^e poynt afores^d: y^e Island y^e Sea hath forced, then may y^e Imploy yo^r: strenkth about y^e vynyard & betweene y^e rowes of vynes plant tobacco & Corne, wee are heare in great distraccons by reason, of y^e warr w^th y^e French & Dutch otherwayse I would send yo^u 10 or 20 hands more, wherefore make sure ^of pvizions for more people, for its not safe to depend on beying, & wee shall when yo^u are ready send more hands w^th: Clothing & tooles necessary; Cap^t: Whitty tells me y^t hee hath a Carpenter & Cooper there, I mean in Albemarle: w^ch: yo^u may make use of: I desire yo^u to send a small Caske of wine of y^e grape of y^e Country assoone as possible, let it bee well made & have its Naturall & full workeing & lett it be put into avery sweete Tite Caske & y^t Caske put into another Caske - whereby it may not be abused at Sea; these grapes planted abroad & managed, will make asort of wyne now most in request heare viz^t: a rufe wyne, I desiring to heare from yo^u by all occations I Rest

My Service to Govno^r. Drumond to whome
I wrote at large y^e 23^th of 7^ber last &
sent answ^r: to y^e Assemblyes Petition/.

Yo^r. Affec^t: frind & Sarvant          
Jn^o Colleton                                     

[13]

[Address]

     To Peter Carterett Esq.^r
     in y^e County of Albemarle in
     Carolina

     There
     [at?] Bitt Hall⁴

OCTOBER 8, 1667. LORDS PROPRIETORS’ COMMISSION TO SAMUEL STEPHENS, GOVERNOR OF ALBEMARLE.¹

GEORGE Duke of Albemarle Master of his Majestyes Horses EDWARD Earle of Clarendon WILLIAM Earl of Craven JOHN Lord Berkley ANTHONY Lord Ashley Chancellor of the Exchequer S^r GEORGE Carteret Vice Chamberlaine of his Majestyes Houshold S^r WILLIAM Berkeley Knight And S^r PETER [14] Colleton² Baronet The true and absolute Lords Proprieto^rs of all the Province of Carolina

To our Trusty and Wellbeloved Samuel Stephens³ Esquire Governo^r of our County of Albemarle and the Isles and Isletts within Tenn Leagues thereof And to our Trusty and Wellbeloved our Councllo^r and Assistants to our Said Governo^r Greeting.

BEE IT KNOWNE unto all men That Wee the said Lords and absolute Proprieto^rs of the County within the Province aforesaid ffor divers good Causes and Considerations But most Especially out of the Trust and confidence reposed in yo^u our said Governo^r and Councello^r for the faithfull Management of the power and Authority by us to yo^u given to the best avaise and Improvement of our Interest and Dominion in the said County of Albemarle and Isles and Isletts aforesaid And for the best avaise and Improvement of the Interest Liberty Propriety and Defence of all Such as Shall Plant and Inhabitt there HAVE given graunted And by these presents doe give and graunt (during our pleasure) Unto yo^u our Said Governo^r. by and with the Consent of our Councell or any Three of the Six or ffoure of a greater Number full and absolute power and Authority for us and in our names to Lett Sett Convey and Assure Such Lands in our Said County to Such Person and Persons and for Such Estate and Estates and with Such Provisors Condicõns and Lymittacõns as wee by our [15] Instruccons and Concessions hereunto annexed have directed And as you Shall bee directed by such other Instruccõns and Rules as from tyme to tyme you Shall receive from us and not other wise Hereby Rattifying and Confirming whatsoever yo^u shall doe Pursuant to the said Instruccons and Concessions and to Such Instruccons Rules and Direccons as aforesaid HE ALSOE to make doe performe and Execute all and singular Act and Acts thing and things powers and Authorityes whatsoever which wee our Selves may can might or could doe in for concerning or Relateing unto the Government both Civill and Millitary of the Said County and Isles and Isletts aforesaid By virtue of the Letters Pattents of his most Excellent Majesty Charles the Second King of England Scotland ffrance and Ireland defender of the faith bearing date att Westminster the Twentyeth day of June in the Seaventeenth Yeare of his Reigne To bee exercised nevertheless according to Such Instruccõns and with Such Lymittacõns Restriccõns Condicõns and Provisoes as in these presents and hereafter contayned Hereby Rattifying Confirming and allowing all and every Such Act and Acts thing and things which our Said Governo^r and our Said Councello^r in our names Shall doe in the premisses Pursuant to the Authority hereby comitted PROVIDED and it is hereby declared That this present deed or any thing therein contersined doth not Extend nor shall it bee deemed or taken to Extend to give up to our said Governo^r or our said Councello^r or either or any of them any power or Authority to make any manner of graunts Conveyance devise or other like disposicõn of any Land lying within or being part of the said County Isles or Islets aforesaid But according to our Instruccõns and Concessions And reserving for every Acre English measure which by virtue of this Authority you shall Graunt to any Person or Persons One halfe penny of lawfull money of England Yearly Rent to bee payd to us our heires or Assignes upon every Twenty ffifth day of March According to the English Account The first payme^nt whereof to beginn on the Twenty ffifth day of March which shalbee According to the English Account in the yeare of our Lord One Thousand Six hundred and Seaventy PROVIDED ALSOE that noe order or lawes made or to bee made by virtue of this our Authority Shalbee in force as lawes for any longer terme then one yeare and a Halfe Within one yeare of which tyme then Shalbee Transmitted and reported to us for our Assent which being given they Shalbee in Continuall force till Expired by theire owne [16] Lymittacõn or by Act repealed PROVIDED ALSOE that the Executive part of all the Said Powers hereby given Shalbee made and exercised by yo^r own said Governo^r by and with the advice and consent of the Majo^r part of our Councell AND IF it shall happen that our said Governo^r or any of our Said Councell shall depart or bee absent att any tyme from our said County unless other Provision bee by us made That then it shall and may bee lawfull to and for our Governo^r and Councell or the Majo^r part of them Resident in our said County to Nominate Elect and appoint any such able Person or Persons as in theire discretion shall to them Seeme most fitt to Serve in and supply the places of such of the said Persons respectively during theire absence from our said County Giving and graunting unto him or them Soe Chosen during the absence of our said Governo^r or Councello^r as full large and ample Powers as wee by these p^rsents to our said Governo^r or Councello^r have given Any thing in this present Comission in anywise to the Contrary notwithstanding AND ALSOE in Case of death of the Governo^r or death or Removerall of any Member of our said Councell from tyme to tyme to Nominate and Elect fitt and able Persons in theire Steade or places respectively which Persons soe Nominated and Chosen shall Exercise all Powers to these said Officers respectively belonging till our pleasure bee Signifyed to the Contrary GIVEN under our Greate Seale of our Said Province this Eighth day of October Anno Dom 1667.

The Lords Propryators of the Province of Carolina doe hereby graunt unto A: B: of the County of Albemarle¹ in the province [27] aforesaid, a plantation in the said County Contayning [blank] acres English measure, bounding (as in the said Certificate) to hold to him (or her) his (or her) heires or assignes for eaver, Yeilding and paying yearely to the said Lords Propryators their heires or assignes every five and twentith day of March according to the English acc^o: one halfe penny of Lawfull English mony for every of the said acres, to be holden of the Manor of [blank] in free and Comon Soccage, the first paym^t: of which rent to begin on y^e five and twentith day of March, which shalbe in the yeare of Our Lord One thousand Six hundred and Seaventy according to the English acc^o: Given under the Seale of the County of Albemarle the [blank] day of [blank] in y^e year of Our Lord [blank]

To which Instrument the Governo^r: or his deputy hath hereby full Authority to put the seale of the said County and to Subscribe his name, and alsoe the Councell or Maio^r: parte of them, and to Subscribe there names, and then the Instrewment or Graunt is to be by the Register, recorded in a booke of records for that purpose, all which being done according to these Instructions, wee hereby declare; that the same shalbe effectuall in Law, for the Inioyment of the said plantation, and all the bennifitts and profitts of and in the same, Except one halfe parte of Mynes of Gold and Silver, paying the rent as aforesaid; Provided that if any plantation soe graunted, shall by the space of three yeares, be neglected to be planted w^th a Suffitient Number of Servants, as is before mentioned that then it shalbe Lawfull for us otherwayse to dispose thereof, in whole or in parte, this graunt notw^thstanding;./.

Wee doe also graunt Convenient proportions of Land for highwayes and for Streetes, not Exceeding one hundred foote in breadth in Cittyes townes villages &e for Churches, forts, wharfes, keyes harbours, and for publicke howses, and to each parish for the use of their Ministers one hundred acres, in such places as the Generall Assembly shall appoint;./.

Item you are to take notice that all such lands leyed out for the uses and purposes in the next preceeding artickle shalbe free and Exempt from all rents taxes, and other Charges or dutyes whatsoever payable to us our heires or assignes ;./.

Item That in leying out lands for Cittyes, townes villages, Burroughs or other hamlets the said Lands be undecimally devided, one Eleaventh part to be by lott laid out for us, and the rest devided to such as shalbe willing to build thereon; they [28] paying after the rate of one halfe penny p acre yearely to us, as for there other lands as afores^d: which said lands in Cittyes townes &c is to bee assured to each possesso^r: by the same way and Instrewment, as is before Mentioned;./.

Item, That all rules relateing to building of each streete, and quantity of ground to be alloted to each howse, within the said respective Cittyes, Burroughs and townes, be wholy left by act as afores^d: to the wisdome and discretion of y^e Gen^rll Assembly;./.

Item, The Inhabitants of said County have free passage, through or by any Seas, Sounds, Creekes, Rivers, Rivelets &c in the said province of Carolina, through or by which they must necessaryly pass, to come from the Mayne Ocean to the County aforesaid or any parte of the Province aforesaid./.

Cockpitt¹ this 1⁰: of May 1668     

S^r:

In October last wee gave a Comission for yo^r: being Governor of y^e County of Albemarle to Cap^t: Langstone² to Convey unto yo^u: w^ch: wee hope yo^u have long since receaved; [29]

Since then wee have re^cd: a Petition from y^e Grand Assembly of y^t County signed by George Ketchmaid³ Speaker desiring y^t y^e Inhabitants of Albemarle may hold y^e land upon y^e same tearmes y^e people of Virginia hold theirs, to w^ch: wee have consented as by our Grant herewith sent yo^u: und^r: our hands and y^e Greate Seale of Our Province yo^u: will pceive;

One Inconveniene wee doe foresee will happen unto yo^u if some care be not by yo^u: taken to prevent it y^t is y^t men will ingrose great quantities of land y^t hath neither hands nor stocke of Catle to Manore it, w^ch: will make yo^r: habitation remote one from another & yo^u by Consequence more Lyable to receive mischeife from y^e Indyans, And y^e good lands being ingrosed It will alsoe hinder y^e peopleing of yo^r: County: Wherefore wee doe desire y^t yo^u: will amongst yo^r: selves make some Law for y^e preventing of this Inconvenience which wee leave to y^e Pticuler care of/^you Our Govno^r: to gett done;

Wee finde y^t y^e people complaine of an Inconveniency in y^e takeing up their Land by allotm^te: & are jealous y^t by our reserveing to our Selves y^e 11^th: pte of said grand allotm^t: of land some pte of their free hold is Indangered, to take of this complaint & Scruple, wee leave it to yo^r: selfe y^e Councell &/y^e Assembly to apoint such a Methood for y^e takeing up of Land as yo^u shall thincke most Pper for y^e Safety & conveniency of y^e Inhabitants;

And doe desire you forthw^th: to sett a Pte as much Land for our use as may amount unto y^e 11th: Pte of 1600 square miles (w^ch is y^e quantity of y^e whole County) in divers convenient places for planting yett such as may not incomodate y^e people, this Land wee desire may be registred as Ours, & y^t yo^u will assoone as possible give us an acc^o: where it lyes & how bounded wee are

your loving friends                         
Albemarle                                         

[30]

[Address]

To

     Samuell Steephens Esq
     Governo^r of the County of
     Albemarle
     In
     Carolina

Yo^rs of y^e 25^th of Aprill to my Father & of y^e 18^th to my selfe I have rec^d: by w^ch I pecive y^e people are well sattisfyed w^th m^r Stephens for theire governo^r: The Lords are at psent dispersed as soone as wee have a meeting I shall endeavo^r to Gett y^e L^ds to pass y^e act of yo^r assembly of y^e 18^th of Feb^ry: 1667/8 though we have under our Broad Seal granted y^e same thing already and sent it unto yo^u by John Nixon¹ Who went from hence bound directly to Albemarle & I hope is long since w^th. yo^u [31] I am glad yo^u have found out a Whale ffishing² I doe desire yo^u to Continue it ffor our Shipps y^t went to Greeneland tooke but one Whale last season soe that Oyle & Whalebone is at psent a great Comodity here & I conceive London is a better markett than Barbados, soe y^t I desire yo^u to send all yo^u take here, And consigne it to mee, all w^ch I shall Lay out in supplyes for yo^r plantacõn & return to yo^u. And when Si^r Geo: Carteret (who is at psent in Ireland but expected home in three weeks) comes to Towne I shall take care for sending yo^u some Cloathes &c Pray by y^e next lett me have an Inventory of all y^e Stock upon ou^r plantacõn both on Colleton Island & y^e Maine I wonder y^t vermine Should destroy y^r hoggs on y^e Island, - me thinks y^e Large Space of Water Should hinder their comeing over into y^e Island And that if those beasts of Pray that are there were once destroyed noe more Should come there I am

Yo^r loveing frend             
P Colleton                         

[Address]

     To
     M^r Peter Carterett
     These

______________

S^t James’es y^e 22^th Octob^r 1668          

Si^r/

Yo^rs of y^e 25^th. of Aprill to my Father & of y^e 18^th to my Selfe I have received by w^ch pecive y^e people are well - Sattisfyed w^th m^r Stephens for their Governo^r The Lords are att present dispersed as soone as we have a meeting I shall endeavo^r: the Lords to passe y^e act of yo^r Assembly of y^e 18^th of Feb^ry: 1667/8 Though we have under o^r broad Seale granted the same thing already & sent it unto you by John Nixon - who went from hence bound directly to Albemarle and I hope is Long since w^th yo^u —I am glad yo^u have found out a Whale fishing I do desire yo^u to Continue it for o^r Shipps - that went to Greenland tooke but one [32] Whale last Season soe that Oyle & whale bone is at psent a great Comodity here And I conceive London is a better Markett than Barbados soe y^t I desire yo^u to send all yo^u take here & Consigne it to me; All w^ch I shall Lay out in supplyes for o^r Plantacõn & returne to yo^u And when Si^r Geo: Carterett (who is at psent in Ireland but expected here in three weekes) comes to towne I shall take care for sending yo^u some Cloaths &c Pray by y^e next lett me have an inventory of all y^e Stock upon o^r: plantacõn both on Colleton Island & the maine I wonder y^t vermin Should destroy yo^r Hoggs on y^e Island me thinks y^e Large space of water Should hinder there Comeing over into y^e Island and that if those beasts of Prey that are there were once distroyed noe more Should come there. I Shall alsoe move that yo^u may keep yo^r place though yo^u doe remove into England for a time And shall consult w^th Si^r George & my lord Berkeley about a man to looke after o^r Plantacõn When yo^r time is out I am

yo^r loveing frend          
P Colleton                      

[Address]

     To
     M^r Peter Carteret
     These
     In the County of Albemarle
     In Carolina

Since o^r last to yo^u haveing upon mature deliberation fixed upon a forme of Goverment for o^r Province of Carolina w^ch Shall be unalterable & Wherein as we have invested the people w^th a Greater Share in the Goverment then they had in o^r fformer way soe have we also made such provision for an equall distribution of power and Interest to y^e Pespective Proprieto^rs: that we doubt not but hereby every man will be kept inviolated in his property & liberty and y^e whole Country be kept in a lasting quiet Condition w^ch in themselves And though this Goverment was principally intended for Port Royall w^ch we have sent to plant this yeare,¹ & is designed y^e Cheife seat of o^r Province yet we intend as much as we cann to put it in practice in all y^e rest of o^r Collonys, & by this Conveyance have sent yo^u Comissions & Instructions w^th a Coppy of o^r fundamentall Constitucoñs & forme of Goverment w^th we designed to send in Parchm^t: to have remained as a Charter amongst yo^u but being scanted in time we must doe it by y^e next,² & desire yo^u for y^e present to use this Coppy for yo^r direction The Duke of Albemarle who was o^r first Palatine of Carolina being departed this life & the Lord Berkeley being y^e Eldest in yeares of y^e surviveing Proprietors sucseeded to that dignity he hath appointed yo^u m^r Stephens to be his Deputy & Governo^r of y^e County of Albemarle in w^ch Imploym^t: we hope yo^u will Continue yo^r wonted care & dilligence w^ch: we shall not faile in due time to Requite. We have here w^th sent yo^u back severall of yo^r acts³ past drawne up in another forme but agreeing in substance And when yo^u: send us y^e rest drawne in this forme we shall passe them alsoe for we desire [35] that all yo^r acts may be past in this forme for the future And whereas we are of opinion that yo^u will never be in a happy & safe posture till yo^u have some Townes amongst yo^u Wee desire yo^u in o^r names to propose to y^e Assembly to Choose some fitt place in every Precinct whereon to Erect a publick storehouse from whence all y^e Growths of that precinct that is transported may be shipped And that every mans re^asons for y^e place & against it may be transmitted us in Wrighting that we may be able to Judge w^ch place is fittest to Erect theise storehouses on And for as much as we out of o^r abundant desire to have y^e County of Albemarle in a safe & flowrishing Condition are Resolved w^th y^e first money that we shall receive of our quitt rents fines or forfeitures to Erect a State house⁴ for reception of y^e Goveno^r: Councell & assembly in their times of meeting alsoe a prison & a Church w^ch being placed whereone of yo^r publick storehouses is we Judge will conduce much to y^e speedy building of a Towne; - We desire that yo^u will alsoe as above send us the opinions of yo^r: selves & the Assembly in what place it is most Convenient for the Country to have theise buildings erected & that we may not be failing in y^e meanes we desire that yo^u will cause the Sherriifs of the Precincts to Collect the Quitt rents that will be come due to us the next yeare And that yo^u will take care to have the same deposited in y^e hands of some trusty pson to lye in Banke against y^e time yo^u shall receive o^r: Orders for y^e Erection of the buildings above mentioned; By the next we shall send yo^u: some powder we Rest

Yo^r loveing frends               

[Address]

     To
     Samuell Stephens Esq
     Governour & the proprietary
     Deputies of the County of
     Albemarle

     These

[36]

[January 20, 1670.] AN ACT AGAINST ENGROSERS.¹

AN ACT AGAINST ENGROCERS.²

Whereas divers adventurers have transported Comoditys into this Country w^ch hath binn Engrosed by Some pticuler persons to retaile againe at unreasonable Rates to the inhabitants of this [37] County to prevent which inconvenience for the future. It is Enacted and be it Enacted by y^e Pallatine and proprietors, by and with the advice and Consent of this present Grand Assembly and the authority thereof That any person whatsoever within this County that Shall after the publication hereof presume to Engrose any quantity of Goods from any Adventurer to sell and retaile againe at unreasonable Rates to the Inhabitants -Shall forfeit for every such offence tenn thousand pounds of Tobacco the One halfe to y^e Informer the other halfe to the use of the Lords Propieto^rs: And it is hereby further declared and Enacted by the authority aforesaid That any person or persons That Shall buy Goods of any Adventurer and Retail the same Except he cann in tenn dayes produce to the Vallew of the said Goods soe purchased of his owne proper Tobacco or Estate according to the Bargaine in kinde he Shall be deemed an Engrocer & proceed against as in this Act for that case is provided. Provided - nevertheless that this act Shall not extend to y^e prohibiting any one that Shall keep Shopp or Retaile any Sort of Comoditys in any Towne that is or Shall be [erec]ted by the Lords Proprietors or /^by their Order

          this enacted witnessed hands & seals

WHEREAS it hath pleased God by Death to take away our Governor Samuell Stevens Esq^r: and Comander in Cheife; Wee therefore: John Jenkins.¹ John Harvey;² [blank] Richard ffos [40] ter;³ ffrancis Godfrey;⁴ and John Willoughby⁵ Councell^r: to walke Regulerly by our Authority accordinge to the Instructions of our Right Honorable the true and Absoelute Lords Proprietors: of all the Province of Carolina; have made Choyce of Peter Carteret Esq^r: Our Sole Governor; and Comander in Cheife him Impoweringe by Commission under written;

WEE In the name of the Right Honoble: the Lords Proprietors: Doe hereby constitue: and appoint you Peter Carteret Esq^r: Governor and Comander in Cheife; Dureing the pleasure of the said power to whome wee are subordinate Governo^r of the county of Albemarle; as alsoe of all Iles; Islets; Rivers; and Seas w^thin the Bounds of the said County; togeather w^th: the Iles; and Islets w^th :in tenn Leagues thereof w^th: power to nominate appointe; & take to you Twelfe able men at most six att least to be your coun^cil: or Asistance; or any even number betweene six Twelfe; untill the Right Hono^ble: Lords Proprieto^rs: make choyce of all or any of them And wee doe; further constitute; and appoint you to be commander in cheife Dureing the Lords pleasure of all [41] the forces raised: and to be raised w^th: in the said county Iles; and Islets aforesaid: for the securitye of the same; & the parts adjacent within the said Province; over which fforces you are to place officers; & to cause them to be Duely exercised in Armes; & doe all; and every other thing: and things w^ch unto the charge of a commander in cheife of any Army belongeth or hath accustomed to belong COMMANDING: all Inferior officers: and Souldiers of the said fforces you to obey as there commander in Cheife acording to this commission; and the powers herein given unto you; and according to the Lawes; and Discipline of warr; and you your self alsoe are to observe; and follow such orders; and directions as from tyme to tyme you shall receive from the Right Honoble Lords Proprieto^rs: And in all things to Governe your selfe as unto your duty and place of Governo^r: of the said county; and Commander in cheife of all the fforces there, doth belonth; Given under our hands and the Seale of the county the Tenth Day of March Anno: Domo: 1669/70:⁶

     John Jenkins     John Harvey      Richard ffoster      Francis Godfrey     John Willoughby

By M^r Nixon we sent yo^u severall Comissions & Instructions w^ch we hope came safe to yo^r hands,¹ and y^t yo^u have also received [42] those papers y^t were sent the Lady Berkeley² y^e late wife of yo^r Gov^r Stephens of w^ch pray informe u[s]

Request haveing been unto us made by M^r. Robart Holden³ that he may ha[ve] Confirmed unto him Six Hundred and Sixty acres of Land bounding on the Land of the late Governo^r Stephens & Surveyed by Benjamin Swerin⁴ w^th: Convenient time to Plant y^e Same & also y^t he may have libertye w^th: goods to enter into the Indians Territory in Order to y^e discovery of a Passage to our late begun setlem^t at Ashley River⁵ w^th requests we being willing to grant doe require yo^u (if shall find y^t no other pson hath a precedent claime unto y^e said land, & that it be not a publick damage unto our Collony; that yo^u according to y^e fomme by us p^rscribe passe a grant of y^e said Land unto y^e said Holden & his Heyres for ever; and that yo^u doe as much as in yo^u lyes encourage this discovery of a passage by Land to our other Setlem^t by granting leave to him & those y^t shall accompany him to enter into those parts not yett discovered w^th trade suf [43] fitient to p^rsent the indians & bear y^e Charges of him the said Holden & his Company; & w^ch: we y^e. more recomend unto yo^u in regard we judge it will be of great Convenience unto yo^r selves; as well as those of River Ashley, who wanting stocks of Cattle will be enabled to come & buy of yo^u: & we had much rather yo^u should be inriche^d. by furnishing them; than [New] Yorke or Virginia; we desire yo^u by all Conveneyances to give us accomp^t what progresse is made herein and also of all other affaires of our County wee rest

White Hall this 5^th: of Sep^t 167[1]

Yo^r loveing ffreinds             

Copi^a: Vera

Thomas Harris⁶ Cl Con

[No address]

Nansamum¹ 11^th dec: 1671

Tho: Eastchurch²                          

[Address]

     for y^e Hon^ble Peter
     Carterett Esq^r Gov^ernor of
     Albemarle

John Jenkins James Blount¹ Edmund Chancy⁴

Richard ffoster Thomas Jarvais² Thomas O Pearse⁵

Jno: Willoughby William WI jenings³ Valentine Bird⁶ Speaker

[Endorsed]

     Instructions from the
     People of Albemarle to —
     Peter De Carteret Esq their
     Governor to y^e Lords in England
     Owners of y^e Said Plantation

[46]

<Copia¹>

Right Hono^ble:

Whereas by the Generall assembly at Albemarle It was concluded y^e honor^ble: peter Carteret Esq^r Governo^r should treat with yo^r Lordshipps as by his Instructions & y^t I John Harvey should bee with y^e said Governo^r his assistant in those maters wherin I have in some measure proceeded I being by more then Ordinairie accident & Ocassion of busisynes ne^cesistated to returne whome againe forthwith - doe theirfore leave the psecution of those Instructions to y^e care of o^r said Governo^r Wittness my hand this 11^th of July 1672 at New Yorke

[49]

[Endorsed]

Instructions to
Peter de Carteret Esq.
Governour of Virginia
in 1672.

Yo^r Lordshipps from White hall of the 18^th Octobr: in the yeare 1670, haveing received Imediatly to y^t end being Summoned & Serious wayinge y^e Charge & momentt thereof did address our selves by letter^s to yo^r Lordshippe y^e Coppy of the same beinge hereinclosed,¹ in order to y^e Psecution of what we therein express wee by writt beinge thereunto Summoned and Convened in forme accordinge to yo^r Lordshipps instructions in y^e fundamentall Constitutiones Informe yo^r Lordshipps y^t accordinge to y^e best of our understandings in y^e view & review of all the Laws & bindinge observations y^t have passed since y^e first Seatinge this Countrey by yo^r Lordshipps Instructions we have extracted the best and as wee Conceive y^e most usefull of w^ch as our p^rsent rule till better knowledge of yo^r Hono^bl: aprobation wee need not Informe yo^r Lordshipps how week & uncapable wee are of managinge things of so high Concerne as y^e well layinge a foundation of a Country by wholesom Law w^thout advertisement; & Direction from yo^r Lordshipp and the distance of us from yo^r Lordshipps being such as by many Casualltyes [50] may p^rventt us of receiveing light & Instrucoñs from yo^r Lordshipps hath Caused us by y^e goodness of our Governo^r by whos^e prudence and Integrity God hath blessed us since his receiveing y^t charge w^th. more unity & tranquility than ever before to make further use of him to p^rsent our Letter to yo^r Lordshipps by whose desire and aprobation wee have likewise joyned M^r John Harvey in our steed w^th him to represent to yo^r Lordshipps y^e true sence & hum^ble: desires of us the whole people a thing Impossible to bee done by a Thousand epestles; & in whome wee have freely Imposed our trust and shall rest content as Sattisfyed in their Declarations to y^r Lordshipps as if wee had had y^e Conveneince & happines to have Spoken Man by Man to y^r Lordshipps; and soe much y^e rather beecause that expereince wee have had of them both in their severall capasities hath been such as hath demonstrated their asertion to y^e well being of this Countrey as there Integrity to yo^r Lordshipps & by whose meanes wee doubt not to receive y^e returnes of yo^r Lordshipps favour in yo^r Hono^rs ap^rhentions of our faithfulnes & Stabillity y^e knowlidge of w^ch to us will ever engadge to remaine in the pseverance of all faithfullnes & obedience;

Yo^r Lordshipps Most Hum^ble: & ffaithfull Serv^ts

Albemarle the 27^th: of Aprill 1672.

[Endorsed]

From y^e Inhabitants
of Carolina

[51]

Yo^r Hono^rs letter of the 18^th of Octob^r: 1670¹ ffrom Whitehall with Instructions & fundementall Constitutions for the perpetuall Governemt. of the people of this province under charge & protection of y^r Lordshipps wee have received & (beinge to that End Convened) to havinge seriously wayed the method & Concernes theirof must need with all humility acknowledge (as yo^r <Copia> Lordshipps wisdome & moral prudence) yo^r care of and Goodness toward us, the whole Intent & ground wherof wee beinge Confident in effect is to make us a free happy & florishinge people butt in as much Right Honorable as things of Soe high Concernes exposed & Exhibited in Such unacustomed termes cañott on a Sudein make a Cleare Impression, on Such meane Capacityes as wee are Endowed with yeet that wee may Nott bee backward, to demonstrate o^r Integrity & fidelity wee Shall Only flye to yo^r Lordshipps to be Inluminated in what at p^rsent to us may Seemes Obscure, in Order wherunto wee most humbly Informe yo^r Lordshipps that wee conceive that the layinge Outt of the Land in Squares of tenne thousand acres accordinge to yo^r Lordshipps Instructions Contained in the Sixth paragraph (to answer the Intent & meaninge wee aprehend in the fundementall Constitutions to bee withoutt prejudce to persones alredy seated—wee Conceive Impossible & further whereas yo^r Lordshipps pleasur is to require of us On halfe peny p acre for o^r Lands under favo^r: wee humbly conceive is to take from us that freedome yo^r Lordshipps formerly gave us by yo^r former Instructions, manifested that wee should hold o^r Land as they did in [52] Virginia, especially wee beinge Nott capable to understand how any man may bee deemed an Ingrosser of Land whoe posseseth Noe more than hee hath right unto by Seatinge persons upon it, or that the possesour Should bee weakned butt undeniably Stronger, for his people beinge Contracted, and ffurther that clause in the fundamentall Constitutions restraininge persons chosen by the people from a freedom of ppossall will bee deemed in the people a Compelled unnessarie Charge, by these Expressions Right Honorable wee would Nott bee thought Seditious or unreasonable persones butt that yo^r Lordshipps might throughly & truly understand the true state of thinges wherin wee Judge wee doe more Christianlicke than by fawninge & disemblinge p^rtences informe yo^r Lordshipps of what will never bee found truth Such & Soe many are the Juglinge devices & Stratagemes of Some enemies to the Seatings of this Contrey withoutt us, Such the weakness of Some & wickednesse of Other within us, that will bee apt to conceive & make mole hills mountaines of Discouradgm^ts: to Say of o^r Selves that Nottwithstandinge the many & various Comotions disorders & irregularities wee have Only beene Instrum^ts of appealinge & Compossinge, was butt in efect <Copia> to Declare what was o^r Dutie to performe & might Seems boastinge, butt reather that the effects of o^r future Indevo^rs: may pduce Such thinges may Confirme to yo^r Lordshipps o^r ffidelity by the Hono y^t will acrue to to yo^r Lordshipps, & fflourishinge & happie Estate & Increase of people in this place the meane thinge to further which wee humbly conceive will be yo^r Lordshipps answer to this letter the Only Stop of many persones Intendinge for this place (being Now fully Sattisfied with the Teñour of o^r Lands) beinge the Rent nott to Exceed that of Virginia and untill the returne therof wee have Restrained the Callinge of an assemblie which when called wee hope to Send yo^r Lordshipps Such ample acco^t: of all things with the whole State of thinges Lawes & rulles by which wee walke as will both Satisfie yo^r Lordshipps of o^r care & rendre us to yo^r hono^rs aceptable persones, & wherin wee shall Debate of the most Convenient place for the Erectinge of a towne a thinge which we conceive absolutly nessesarie to the well beinge of this place, To Exp^rse o^r whole hartes in few lines (which wee desire yo^r Lordshipps Should See & Know to the botome) is beyond o^r Skill & ability, & large Espistles to persones of hono^r & much busignes may seeme Irksome & tedious, wee shall theirfore till then leave o^r [53] Selves and these o^r lines to the favourable Constructions of yo^r Lordshipps & ever remaine in all putuall Observation -

Albemarle the 16^th May 1671

[Address]

[Line illegible]
To the Right Hono^ble: [illegible word]
and Absolute Lords and
Proprietors
of the Province
of
Carolina.

                            : :accompt foll (7) tob. at 16 ^s. P Cent................: 084    17   11 :

                            : :accompt foll (8) tob. at 16^s. P Cent..................: 005    14    10 :

                            :-: To Eight years Service at 20^£ P yeare is.......: 160    00    00 :

                                                                                                             : 548   13   11

                                                                                                             :  £     /s      d :

                            :-: Due to meet as P the above accompt...........: 330    04    02 :

                            :-: Due to three Servants for their Salleries      :                       :

                            : : & freedom Clothes for this                             :                       :

                            : : yeare w^ch. will bee Expired the 25^th                :                      :

                            : : Feb. next, as P the Generall acco^tt- ...............: 018   04   00  :

                            : : Due to Ditt^o. Servants being (3) for )            :                      :

                            : : their next years Sallery w^ch. will bee )           :                      :

                            : : Exprired the 25^th. Feb: 1673/4: )                      :                      :

                            : : 3000 ^lb. tob. att 16^s: P Cent. . . . . )                  :  024   00   00:

                                                                                                            : £: 372 08 02 :

                            :-: Due to y^e Said Servants being (3) )               :                      :

                            : : for this yeare Service Expired y^e )                  :                      :

                            : : 25^th of febr 1674/5 3000^£ tob at 1/s )              :                      :

                            : : P Cent is ²...........................................................:  24   00   00  :

                                                                                                         : £: 396   08   02 :

[57]

London Anno-1664-      :          :

Contra is Credito^r.         : £    /s   d   :

                            :-: By Sir George Carteret for monney :

                            : : received of him............................................... : 020   00   00 :

                            : : & Comp.^e                                                           : 096   06   00 :

                            : : Colliton & Comp^e............................................ : 083   15   00 :

                            :-: By M^r Harbin³ for Monney received............: 007   08   06 :

                            :-: By M^r Harbin for Monney received..............: 011   00   03 :

                                                                                                             : 218   09   09 :

                            :-: By Ballance Due on this Accompt................ : 330   04   02

                                                                                                             : 548   13   11 :

London 1672/3 : : Abstract of Severall goods houseings           :                    :

                            : : Cattell as P the Generall Accompt that           :                    :

                            : : are on the Plantations of Colliton Iland          :                    :

                            : : Powells point, for accompt of my                    :                    :

                            : : Lord the Earle of Craven & Company-           :                    :

                            :1: Impr. On Powells Point; A Dwelling)             : £    /s    d    :

[58]

No. 25

[1673.] JOHN BUCKWORTH STATEMENT TO THE LORDS PROPRIETORS CONCERNING PETER CARTERET'S ACCOUNTS. POSTSCRIPT BY CARTERET.

May it please yo^r Lordshipps -

According to yo^r Lordshipps desire I have considered & Examined the severall perticulars in certaine acomp^ts produced to mee by m^r peter Carteret relating to yo^r Lordshipps & Comp^a: conserne in yo^r plantations in yo^r province of Carolina in America & theirby find y^t yo^r Expences in yo^r said plantations & profitts arissing theirby to be as Followeth:

£ /s d                                             

above mentioned Sums of 1171^£ :17/^sl0^d:

the Said plantation wilbe debito^r to

yo^r Lordshipps the Sume of 605^£: 16/^s: 10^d: and towards Satisfaction whereof the Said m^r Carteret afiermeth y^t yo^r Lordshipps have about 70: or 80 Acres of Cleared ground: upon the whole matter and considering that plantations are nott usually beneficiall to the first undertakers & the great losses the plantation sufered in the time of m^r Carterets being their as he aleageth by haericanns & great Stormes and Seing yo^r Lordshipp Intrusted the Said m^r Carteret to manadge yo^r Interest theire I doe conceive with Submision to yo^r Lordshipp that his acompts being reasonable are to be allowed unlesse yo^r Lordshipps can make [60] them appeare other waise all which neverthelesse I submitt to yo^r Lordshipps Grave Consideration and remayne

This is as neere as I could gather it a Copy
of m^r Buckworth report that I gave Seald up to
my Lord Craven for m^r Buckworth denied mee a Copie
Only read it to mee before hee Seald it upp -

[Endorsed]

Copy of
Mr Buckworths Report

[DECEMBER, 1674.] PETER CARTERET LETTER TO [SIR GEORGE CARTERET].

May it please Yo^r Hono^r -

The Only reason that I have adresed this my most humble request in writting is because yo^r hono^r may more Pticularly take it in yo^r most serious consideration the urgent necessity of puten an end to the busisgnes that concernes the plantations Setled by mee in Albemarle for yo^r hono^r & Comp^a accomp^t as ffoloweth -Soe may it please yo^r hono^r I have been from thence aboutt two yeares and yo^r hono^r & Compa: have Nott appointed any men as yett there to manidg the plantations or Look after the Stocke Only those that my Attorney by my order there hired the Last yeare whose time will Sudenly bee Expired

I Undoubtedly if the plantation & Stock bee neglected the catle will groe wild the houses & fences probably burnt for the Railes it beinge usuall with the Indgians & others Soe to doe Soe that [61] Consequently in leass then three month time all will be ruined for having these two yeares paid those mens wages upon my Owne accompt, And nott having as yett received any thing from yo^r hono. & Comp^a. it is imposible for mee any Longer to Subsist to pay them Soe that an unavoidable ruine wilbe the Imediat Isue, & myselfe Left unpaid for all my Services & disboursements --

May it please yo^r hono^r that you & the Lord theirein concernd to whome Shall after yo^r hono^rs approbation mak the Like request seinge the appearant Necessity of maken an end of that busisgnes to avoid that which undoubtedly will folow if nott theirby prevented I their fore humbly begg that yo^r hono^r will be Graciously pleased that I may have yo^r favo^r: & assistance in the getting of my just due from the Lords with yo^r Hono^r Concerned Soe that their may bee a finall end as Soone as possible (for I am heere at great Expensive charge) And if their Lordshipps bee Nott please to disbourse any money that then they bee please to leave mee their pticular pts of the plantations & what Stock belongs to them although it will be to my Lost) as my Lord Berkley did often propose to mee for his Pticular Pt I am redy to acquise to yo^r hono^r pleasure (Concerning yo^r Pticular) with a most humble Submission cravinge yo^r hono^r pardon for my proxility praying to God for yo^r hono^r health & happinesse which Shall alwaies bee the dayly prayers of

[No address]

Wee cleered fenced & planted what ground we could wee built a hogg howse of 80 foot Long & 20 broad with nessesarie partitions on powells pointe & gott the hoggs theire which I received that trived very well at first butt by the Last of October I had los neere a third pt of them Nottwithstanding I Kept a man to look after them & corne to give them this yeare wee have made aboute 150 bars¹ of Corne-.

Wee planted what corne & tob: wee could & made what preparations was nessesarie for to make Oile August y^e 27^th heere happened a great storme or reather haricane that destroyed both corne & tob: blew downe the roof of the great hogg howse that I had built the yeare before caried away the frame & boards of two howses soe that I was forced to bee at the charges of getting of other timber this yeare wee have made about 30 bar of Oile butt could nott gett fright for it that yeare soe y^t their was great Lakages -

Wee cleered more grownd and repaired o^r fences planted both corne & tobacoe butt Such a great Drough happened for about 3 month y^t burnt up all the tob. & stented the corne that it produced litle y^e 30^th: July the raignes begone & continued untill the Later End of August soe y^t the great abundance of raignes [63] did as much hurt as the drough had before we made 5 hod^s of tob & about 80 bars of of Oile -

Wee repaired o^r fences planted both corne & tob: which was very hopfull the 2^d of August wee howsed a bout a hod of tob y^e 18 ditto a violent haricane as bad as the former Only did nott last soe Long destroyed what tob was out broke & spoiled most of the corne this yeare wee have made 1 hod^e of tobackoe and aboutt 52 barrels of Oile/.

Wee planted both Corne & tob: proportionable to the Number of Servants that I had left the 6^th of August wee had a violent haricane that Lasted 24 howers broke downe timber trees blew downe howses destroyed both corne & tob: soe that it was Lick to bee a famine amongst us corne was sold in virginia for 3^£ sterling a barell & with us at 250^£ of tob: it blew downe to the ground the hogg howse & a howse on the South side of the Inlette wher was aboutt 30 barells broke & spoiled & caried away a small howse On the North P^t of the Inlette where was 4 tunes of corke redy trimed for to putt in On aboutt y^e begininge of Septemb^r we had an other storme but nott altogether soe violent as the former this yeare Very few whales came On Shoare wee made aboutt 38 bar’s of Oile -

Wee planted corne & Looked after the Stock of Catle -

When I came away my Order to them was to look after the Stock, corn beinge then planted two of the three Servants being hyred by mee -

turn Over -

I have Send Order to my Attorney their to hyre the Same Servants or three Others & to plant corne & Look after the Stock their time wilbe Expired the 25^th of Febr: 1674/5./.

[64] May it please Yo^r Lordshipps -

I have given you a true & perfect acomp^t by which I doe plainly demonstrate to yo^r Lordshipps the reasons wherfore I could nott make those returnes & profitts y^t yo^r Lordshipps did Expect which proably in time if suplyed & well manidged may answer yo^r Lordshipps Expectations butt if Neglected Soone ruined yo^r Lordshipps may plainly apperceive y^t my Industrie Labour & paines have Nott in the Least beene wanting And that it hath pleased God of his providence to Inflict Such a Generall calamitie upon the inhabitans of these countreys that for Severall yeares they have Nott Injoyed the fruitts of their Labouns which causes them Generally to growne under the burtyn of poverty & many times famine thus my Lord^s I have given yo^r Lordshipps as plaine a demonstration as my weak capacity hath Enable mee humbly humbly creaving pardon for my proxility & to Subscribe my Selfe

Decemb^r y^e 3^d 1674

I need noe stronger motives to Induce mee to writte but the remembrance of yo^r honors many fold favo^rs: and Kindnesses manifested to me while I was in Albemarle hath made soe deep an Impression in me that I cannot Omitt, butt to present my most humble service to yo^r hono^r and am very Joyfull to understand [65] that the rest of the Lords proprieto^rs have quited to yo^r hono^r their respectives Interest of the province of Albemarle which undoubtedly will much Incoridge those alredy Seated and others to come I hope by the Grace of god to be their next yeare I had beene their this yeare butt busisgnes happening that hath prevented me &c when I comes their if yo^r [Excellency] Judges mee capable and soe worthy to be honored with yo^r hono^r comand the true Observation wherof shall be the highes of my ambition desiring yo^r hono^r to continue me in the Secretairies place as before S^r as to Inland newes wee are at p^rsent barren of them the Earle of Clarendene died aboutt 3 weeks Since at roan¹ & was brought over and buried in Westminister Abey Lef^t: Admirall Vantromp² is come over heere and hath beene feasted by the King and Duke very magnificiently, yet it is thought that he is come heere reather as a privat persone then a publicq minister aboutt tenn dayes Since was putt in the tower Coll Lovelace³ the form’er Governo^r of New Yorke for New Yorke busisgness as for Out Landish Newes yo^r hono^r wilbe please to peruse the within Inclose gazett having noe more at p^rsent I creave Leave to Subscribe myselfe

Ce 25^eme Jan. 1674 de Londres Ma Tante Il vous
plaira que de deliverer au Cousin Pré v^tr fils
mon Chevall avec son Equipage lequel Je vous
laisse en v^tr garde a mon depar de Jersey et
dautant que Je vendu le tout amon d^te Cousin
dequoy Ii ma satisfaict et payé et cette present
ordre vous servira de descharge vers celuy
qui est &c

[66] Por Famille Rachel Mad^lle laCloche
A St Pe^tr Jersey⁴

[No address]

FOOTNOTES

¹ In these dimensions the first one given indicates the width of the page.

² Peter Carteret was related to Sir George Carteret, the Proprietor, whose deputy he was at a meeting of the Lords Proprietors on January 20, 1670. In 1664, as indicated by these documents, he was appointed assistant governor and member of the council, and secretary of the County of Albemarle. On February 23, 1665, (see document no. 27) he reached Albemarle. Governor Stephens, on October 28, 1668, appointed Carteret to be lieutenant colonel “of all the forces” of the County of Albemarle. After Stephens’ death he was appointed governor and served from March 10, 1670, the date of his appointment, until the spring of 1672, when he returned to England. A contemporary noted that he “left y^é Governm^t there [Albemarle] in ill order & worse hands.” For other references to Carteret see documents no. 2, 3, 4, 11, 16, 27, and 28.
The exact relationship of Peter Carteret to the Proprietor, Sir George Carteret, has remained something of a mystery, but from the best evidence it now appears that they were fourth cousins. In Document no. 3 Sir John Colleton speaks of the Proprietor as the uncle of Peter. In Document no. 28, however, George Carteret refers to Peter’s mother as “my Aunt.” Mr. A. S. H. Dickinson, Librarian of the Public Library, Jersey, where the Carteret family lived, writes that the only Peter Carteret he has been able to trace was born in 1641, the son of Helier de Carteret and Rachel La Cloche Carteret. It is Rachel whom Sir George addressed as “my Aunt,” a title which Mr. Dickinson thinks was a sort of courtesy title particularly if she were older than Sir George. Helier and Sir George were third cousins. Peter’s brother, Philip, was governor of New Jersey, 1665-1682.

¹ Exeter, September 9, 1665. For an explanation of the date see the preface to document no. 5.

² Captain John Whitty, possibly a member of the Whitty family of Sedbury, Devonshire. On November 24, 1653, by an order of the Council of State in England, “John Whitty, Master of the John and Thomas” was among those receiving warrants “to transport servants and passengers to Virginia, and 150 dozen of shoes in each ship.” In September, 1663, he brought over to Sir William Berkeley, governor of Virginia and one of the Lords Proprietors of Carolina, a copy of the Carolina charter of 1663. He also had informed the Proprietors about how to get from Virginia to the Chowan both by land and water, so he apparently had been in the vicinity earlier. In the winter of 1664-1665 he sailed through Roanoke Inlet to bring in “commodities.” He submitted a series of “proposals” to the Lords Proprietors in 1667 “for the inhabiting of Carolina and for buildings of cities and towns.” Whitty apparently was in the service of the Proprietors to transport people and stock to Albemarle, and he sometimes took back tobacco from Virginia and perhaps also from Carolina.

On April 22, 1670, the minutes of the council in Virginia record the fact that Whitty was dead and his widow already married to William Cocker. Thomas Ludwell was agent for his estate against which William Drummond and others entered claims. For other references to Whitty see documents no. 4, 5, and 25.

³ Colleton Island is now known as Collington Island, in Dare County. It was granted before September, 1663, to Sir John Colleton by Sir William Berkeley, governor of Virginia and one of the Lords Proprietors. Earlier the island had been known as Carelyle Island. Colleton Island is also mentioned in document no. 24.

⁴ Powells Point is the peninsula extending into Albemarle Sound, now a part of Currituck County. Powells Point is also mentioned in document no. 24.

⁵ From Albemarle in June, 1665, Thomas Woodward acknowledged his appointment as surveyor. He must have been well educated as he quoted from Bacon’s “Essay on Plantations” and a Spanish proverb in Spanish. On October 17, 1666, he and Governor Drummond represented Carolina at a council held at St. Mary’s, Maryland, concerning the growing of tobacco in Maryland, Virginia, and Carolina.

⁶ Shershaw Cary (1615-ca.1681), son of a Bristol draper, served an apprenticeship to a local merchant and became a burgess in 1641. As a sugar refiner his name occurs with regularity in the pages of the Bristol port books. He was Master of the Society of Merchant Venturers, 1671-1672. His death in Lisbon occurred about 1681. This same transaction between Colleton and Cary is mentioned in document no. 5.

⁷ William Drummond, first governor appointed under the Lords Proprietors, was born in Scotland and settled in Virginia before 1659 where he was an attorney. His appointment, at the recommendation of Sir William Berkeley, governor of Virginia and one of the Lords Proprietors, as governor of Albemarle for a term of three years seems to have been made in October, 1664. When his term expired in 1667 he returned to Jamestown and the practice of law. He took part in Bacon’s Rebellion, largely as an advisor, however, but for his part in the uprising he was hanged by Berkeley in 1677. His widow, Sarah, and five small children survived him. Drummond is also mentioned in document no. 5.

¹William Crafford or Crawford, described as a New England man, became one of the leaders in Culpeper’s Rebellion. He was a member of the Assembly in 1677 and in 1680 was a member of the governor’s council under John Jenkins, acting governor. At one time he lived in “Pascotank,” and in 1679 “sundry” hogsheads of tobacco were shipped from his plantation. A record dated 1682 indicates that his wife was named Margaret. The following year he must have held some official position in Albemarle County, as the will of Thomas Keile is noted as having been proven before him in March, 1683. He may have removed to Virginia, as one Captain William Crawford represented Lower Norfolk County in the House of Burgesses in 1688.

² I have been unable to identify Bonnefeild.

³ I have been unable to identify Mr. and Mrs. Sherminton, undoubtedly London victims of the plague.

¹ The year before Colleton was addressed “neere St. Jameses, London” by Surveyor Thomas Woodward. It is assumed, therefore, that Colleton’s home was in the vicinity of St. James’s Palace. This occurs also in documents no. 9 and 10.

² The point of land between North River on the east and Pasquotank River on the west is now in Camden County.

³ Pasquotank.

⁴ This may have been the name of Carteret’s home and if so, located on Colleton Island. John Colleton’s letter of September 26, 1665 (document no. 3) was addressed to him on the island. Apparently “[at?] Bitt Hall” was added in Colleton’s hand.

¹ Stephens’ commission is printed in William L. Saunders, editor, The Colonial Records of North Carolina (Raleigh: P. M. Hale, Printer to the State, 1886), I, 162-164, from an undated copy in the Public Record Office, London, and the Instructions are on pages 165-175. This volume is cited hereafter as Colonial Records.

² Sir Peter Colleton was the eldest son and heir of Sir John Colleton (1608-1666), one of the original eight Lords Proprietors of Carolina and the first to die. In 1669 Sir Peter was “first High Steward” among the Proprietors; the following year he was advanced to the post of chancellor, succeeding John Berkeley who had become Palatine on the death of the Duke of Albemarle. In 1668 he was one of the grantees of the Bahamas and adjacent islands. For other references to him see documents no. 8, 9, and 24.

³ Samuel Stephens was the son of Richard Stephens of London who settled at Jamestown in 1623. His mother was Elizabeth Peirsey, daughter of the cape-merchant Abraham Peirsey. (Her second husband was Governor Sir John Harvey.) Stephens was born about 1629 and in 1652 he married Frances Culpeper. His land in Virginia was “Bolthrope” plantation on the Warwick River. On October 9, 1662, the council in Virginia issued a commission to Stephens, who was called Captain, to be “commander of the southern plantation [and] authorizing him to appoint a sheriff.” In October, 1667, he was appointed governor of Albemarle County by the Lords Proprietors and these documents set forth his rights and duties. On January 20, 1670, Sir William Berkeley as a Proprietor, commissioned Stephens to be his deputy in Albemarle. Stephens died in office before March 7, 1670. By the end of June his widow was married to Sir Willam Berkeley. (For a note on her see document no. 17.)

The Great Deed of Grant (see Colonial Records, I, 175-176) giving the people of Albemarle the same terms and conditions for holding lands as those in force in Virginia, was issued to Stephens as governor on May 1, 1668. As late as 1754 we find evidence that colonial officials in North Carolina were citing records dating back to Stephens’ administration. For other references to him see documents no. 9, 11, 15, and 16.

¹ Here “Clarendon” has been crossed out and followed by “Albemarle.”

¹ A part of Whitehall Palace in London.

² Anthony Langston, who brought over Governor Stephens’ commission in October, 1667, had formerly been an Ensign in Prince Maurice’s Regiment. Afterwards he lived in Virginia for fourteen years but returned to England in 1662. He killed a man in a brawl and was found guilty of manslaughter but pardoned. He then had an outstanding career at sea and in 1666 captured a ship which was awarded to him as a “prize.” In May, 1667, he captured another worth £900 (at a time when the governor of Albemarle received an annual salary of £20). His ship in December, 1667, and for the next two years was named the Princess; it probably was the one he sailed bringing over Stephens’ commission. In 1668 he is recorded as captain of one of the King’s frigates. He held over 2,000 acres of land in Virginia acquired for bringing over colonists.

³ George Catchmaid is described in land grants as a “gentleman” he was a member of the Catchmaid family of Trelleck, Monmouthshire, several of whom attended Oxford, and he possibly was related to the Berkeley family. In 1659 he was a clerk of the court in Virginia and in 1660 represented Upper Norfolk in the House of Burgesses. He received an early grant for 3,333 acres from the governor of Virginia, including the land on which George Durant was already settled (in what was soon to be called Carolina) under a deed from the Indians. In March, 1663, Catchmaid deeded to Durant that portion he was then occupying; this appears to be the third oldest land conveyance in the colony. Catchmaid was speaker of the assembly of 1666. He and his wife Mary returned to Virginia, and he became clerk of Nansemond County. By March 26, 1684, he was dead.

¹ Whether Nixon had been in the colony before we do not know. This may have been his first trip to Carolina. By 1673 he was a magistrate in Albemarle, and in 1677 he was appointed deputy for Sir Peter Colleton in the colony. The same year he was a member of the governor’s council when Eastchurch held the appointment. Leaders of Culpeper’s Rebellion accused him of treason. He was a member of the “Grand Councell for y^e County of Albemarle” at Durant’s house, November 6, 1679, when he was reported to be 54 years of age. His will, dated February 4, 1688, was probated August 8, 1692, in Pasquotank. He was survived by his wife, Em, and a daughter, Ann. Document no. 17 also mentions Nixon.

² The Fundamental Constitutions, put into effect nine months after this letter was written, provided that all whale fishing should “wholly belong to the Lords Proprietors.” In 1681, however, “for the incouragement of Carolina,” the inhabitants of the province were authorized to take “what whales they can and convert them to their own use” for the next seven years. Document no. 24 has a reference to whale oil.

¹ A colony under Sir John Yeamans sailed from England late in August, 1669, intending to settle at Port Royal (near modern Beaufort, S. C., some fifty miles down the coast from Charleston). They reached Port Royal River the last day of March, 1670, but remained in the area only a short while before removing to the south bank of the Ashley River, opposite present-day Charleston.

² The better copy perhaps was sent on October 18, 1670. See document no. 22.

³ Perhaps one of them was the act included here as document no. 14.

⁴ This is one of the earliest if, indeed, it is not the first reference we have to the erection of a capitol building and perhaps the first use of the term “State house.” “Tryon’s Palace” in Newbern, completed exactly a century later, was North Carolina’s first capitol.

¹ This document is printed in Colonial Records I, 185, and Walter Clark, editor, The State Records of North Carolina (Goldsboro: Nash Brothers, 1906), XXV, 120.

² Those who purchase the whole or large quantities of goods or land to control the market, enhance the price, or make a monopoly; a criminal offense at common law. The term occurs again in document no. 19.

¹ One John Jenkins was graduated from Clare College, Cambridge, in 1642. Eleven years later John Jenkins patented land in Northumberland County, Virginia, but did not settle it. In September of the same year, 1653, he was licensed by the Council of State in England as master of a ship to carry 23 men and 100 dozen pairs of shoes to the Bermudas. About 1658 we find John Jenkins settled in the Albemarle, and in 1663 he witnessed a deed from George Catchmaid to George Durant. On September 5, 1663, Jenkins received a grant from Sir William Berkeley of 700 acres with the Perquimans River as a northern boundary. He became deputy in Albemarle for the Earl of Craven in January, 1670, and served as a member of the governor’s council. Two years later he is listed as a member of the assembly and, as a lieutenant colonel, appointed acting governor during the absence of Governor Peter Carteret. Jenkins was a member of the council in 1670 under Governor Stephens, in 1677 under Governor Eastchurch, and in 1679 under Governor John Harvey. By virtue of his office as President of the Council, he was acting governor from 1672 to 1676, and from 1679 to 1681. Between his terms as acting governor he took a leading part in Culpeper’s Rebellion. His death occurred on December 17, 1681. Jenkins’ name appears in connection with several of the following documents.

² John Harvey came to the Albemarle from Virginia about 1658 and brought in seventeen persons. He had a grant of land on what has since been known as Harvey’s Neck. As indicated here, he was a member of the council in 1670 under Governor Stephens, and assistant to Governor Peter Carteret in 1672. He seems to have taken no part in Culpeper’s Rebellion, and from February, 1679, until his death in August he served as governor of the colony by appointment of the Lords Proprietors. Their instructions to him have been printed (Colonial Records, I, 235-239). His wife was Dorothy Tooke of Isle of Wight County, Virginia, who may have been related to Thomas Tuke one of a group of men who bought land from the Indians in 1648 between the mouth of the Roanoke River and Weyanoke Creek.

³ Richard Foster appears in records of Lower Norfolk County, Virginia, as early as 1641; a member of the House of Burgesses from that county in 1655-1656 with the title of captain; and still living in Virginia in 1659. By 1670 he was in Carolina and a member of the governor’s council under Samuel Stephens; he held the same position under Peter Carteret (1670-1672), John Harvey (1679), and John Jenkins (1680). In 1675 he held the rank of lieutenant colonel. His home seems to have been in the “Lower Precinct of y^t County called Corrituck.” He was the only Proprietary Deputy to take part in Culpeper’s Rebellion, the records of which indicate that he was a level-headed advisor who was referred to as “thier cheefe Judge.” His name appears in several of the following documents.

⁴ Francis Godfrey may have been the one of that name of Suffolk who was graduated A.B. from Peterhouse, Cambridge University, in 1629. As indicated here, he was a member of the council under Governor Stephens. His will, dated October 20, 1675, was proved in November, and he left a widow, Joane, and two sons. John Culpeper, later leader of the rebellion, was one of the witnesses to his will.

⁵ At a time when Francis Willoughby, Lord Willoughby of Parham, was “Lieutenant General of the Caribbee Islands” and Lord William Willoughby was governor of Barbadoes, John Willoughby was active in Carolina. What the relation was among these men, if any, has not been traced. In 1670 Willoughby was deputy in Carolina for the Earl of Shaftesbury as well as “Regester publique of the Country.” He was a member of the council in 1670 under Stephens, in 1679 under Harvey, and in 1680 under Jenkins. Between 1693 and 1705 his name appears frequently on Perquimans jury lists.

As a judge he was described as arbitrary and having “a natural habit of pride or ambition.” He once defied a summons to court, beat the officer delivering it, and fled the colony to return only at the time of Culpeper’s Rebellion in which he played a leading role. He is said to have gone with George Durant to England as an agent following the rebellion “to cover all their actions over in England that truth might not come to light.”

In January, 1681, he was said to be 60 years of age. He and his wife Deborah were the parents of twins, John and Deborah, born March 13, 1686.

⁶ For a contemporary copy of a document dated May 16, 1671, which falls chronologically between this document and the next one, see document no. 22. This is a copy prepared in April, 1672, to be sent to the Proprietors.

¹ See document no. 9.

² Frances Culpeper, widow of Governor Samuel Stephens who died before March 7, 1670, was married later that year to Sir William Berkeley, governor of Virginia and one of the Lords Proprietors. After Berkeley’s death in 1677 she married Col. Philip Ludwell who later became governor of Carolina with residence in Charleston. As the widow of Governor Stephens, she owned Roanoke Island, and at Berkeley’s death she received her husband’s Proprietary share in Carolina.

³ Robert Holden may have been the one of this name from Kent admitted to Pembroke College, Cambridge, in 1654 at the age of 16. This document is our earliest reference to him in association with Carolina. He seems to have reached Virginia by early December, 1671, if he is the same Holden referred to in the next document. By 1675 he was Secretary in Albemarle, a position he apparently held until 1677 and occupied again from 1679 to 1684. He also was a member of the governor’s council in 1679 and 1680. Apparently he was in and out of the colony a number of times; a contemporary report says he was a “Ringleader” in Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia. He was in Boston in the late spring of 1679, having recently arrived from England. It was he who brought over the commission from the Proprietors making John Harvey governor; at the same time he, himself, was appointed collector of customs for Albemarle, a position he seems to have filled to the satisfaction of all concerned. In February, 1679, he was commissioned by the Proprietors to be commander in chief of a body of men to explore parts of the province not already discovered “either on this side or beyonde the Apaletean Mountaines.” At the same time he also held authority to “looke after Receive and Recover all Wrecks Ambergrice or any other Ejections of the Sea.” In the spring of 1707 he was living in London and wrote a brief statement on Carolina for the Proprietors. It was during the same year that the Proprietors sought royal approval of Holden’s appointment to be governor of the Bahamas, though it is doubtful that he ever served.

⁴ I have been unable to identify Benjamin Swerin.

⁵ The Ashley River settlement (originally intended to be made at Port Royal—see document no. 14) was at this time on the south side of the river opposite modern Charleston, S. C. In 1680 the colonists removed to Oyster Point at the junction of the Ashley and Cooper rivers and, by direction of the Proprietors, named the place Charles Town.

⁶ Thomas Harris apparently was clerk to the council. He was in the colony as early as 1665 when he was clerk of the court in Albemarle County, a position he also held in 1673 and 1675. One of this name died in September, 1679, in Berkeley (later Perquimans) Precinct.

¹ Nansemond was the Virginia county directly north of the Chowan River region of Carolina.

² Perhaps the Thomas Eastchurch of Devon who was graduated from Queen’s College, Oxford, 1628. This letter indicates that he had been in Albemarle County in 1671 or earlier; he certainly was there in 1673 when he was appointed guardian of three Albemarle County orphans. In 1675 he was speaker of the assembly and the following year went to England where he met some of the Lords Proprietors. They found him to be “a gentleman of a very good family and ... a very discreet and worthy man and... very much concerned for your prosperity and welfaire,” they wrote the Albemarle County assembly. Eastchurch is said to have been related to Thomas Clifford who was Lord High Treasurer in 1672, and the Proprietors saw fit to make him governor of Albemarle and “all such settlements as shall be made upon the Rivers Pampleco and Newse.” He returned to America by way of Antigua and Nevis. On the latter island, “lighting upon a woman y^t was a considerable fortune [he] took hold of the opportunity [and] married her.” He sent Thomas Miller ahead to be deputy governor until he arrived in Albemarle. Eastchurch reached Virginia in the summer of 1677, but armed participants in Culpeper’s Rebellion prevented his going into the colony he was to govern. About five weeks after reaching Virginia he developed a fever and died there.

¹ James Blount was living in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, as early as 1660 but moved to Albemarle in 1669. As indicated here, he was a member of the council by 1672, and a record of January 31, 1679, indicates that he was a member of the assembly. In spite of his being a member of the “Great Councill or Assistant to the Deputies” he was one of the leaders of Culpeper’s Rebellion. His will, dated March 10, 1685, was proved before Seth Sothel in July, 1686; he was survived by his wife, three sons, and two daughters. His wife, Anne Willis of Ipswich, Massachusetts, had been previously married, and after Blount’s death she married Seth Sothel.

² Thomas Jarvis settled in the Albemarle before 1663, perhaps as early as 1658. This document, of course, indicates that he was a member of the council in 1672; he also was in the assembly in 1677. He may have returned to Virginia briefly, as one Thomas Jarvis was a member of the House of Burgesses there in 1682. From 1691 to 1694 he was governor of Carolina “north east of the Cape Fear.” A will dated 1682 indicates that his wife was named Dorcas. Jarvis has been described as a man “of sterling character and sound judgment.”

³ In 1657 William Jennings patented 350 acres in Surry County, Virginia, and in 1663 patented 550 acres on New Begun Creek in the Albemarle settlement. In 1672 he was a member of the council and in 1677 of the assembly. In the latter year he also was a leader in Culpeper’s Rebellion. He was spoken of as “old Wm. Jennings” in 1679, and his house was at “y^e upp^r ende of Pasquotanck River.” His will, dated January 24, 1687, from Pasquotank, was probated in April; he left property to two daughters, a son, and a son-in-law. The WI symbol with his name undoubtedly is his mark.

One “Wm. Jennens” arrived at Plymouth, England, in October, 1675, but whether it was this one we do not know.

⁴ Edmund Chancy probably was quite young when he served on this council in 1672. In 1714 one Edmund Chancy (presumably the same) patented 553 acres at Knobbes Creek, Pasquotank Precinct, but it was not settled in 1720 when it was declared “lapseable.” Four years later, however, he was able to redeem a portion of it. In 1735 it was reported that he owned 1,031 acres in Pasquotank. Chancy must have been in the neighborhood of 100 years of age at the time of his death in 1753. His will dated that year left extensive property, both real and personal, but he apparently outlived his wife and several children as most of his wealth was left to grandchildren.

⁵ At the time of this document Pearce or Pierce apparently could not write his name, although a member of the council. The O between his given and surnames appears to be his mark. The will of John Pierce of Perquimans Precinct in 1682 lists a son, Thomas. In 1685 Thomas was a collector of quit rents in Albemarle, and between 1693 and 1705 his name appears as a jury member in Perquimans. In 1694 he proved that he had brought nine people into the colony, and before the end of the century he owned 200 acres of land. He was living as late as 1712 when he was executor of the will of Francis Petit, his wife’s brother. By his wife Mary he had a son John, born July 30, 1691, and another, Thomas, born November 24, 1693.

⁶ Valentine Bird, speaker of the council in 1672, was appointed collector of customs by the council in 1675. The following year a duly appointed collector, bearing proper credentials from England, arrived, but Bird refused to yield the office peaceably. He was one of the leaders in Culpeper’s Rebellion and spoken of at this time as Captain. Bird died before January 31, 1680, and his estate was inventoried at £583/1/3 on August 2 of that year.

¹ This is in the same hand and applies to the Instructions above. The Harvey letter, added at the bottom of the page, is an autograph letter signed by Harvey.

¹ See document no. 22.

¹ See note 2, document no. 12.

¹ I have been unable to identify Medgeley.

² This last entry appears to be in Carteret's hand.

³ I have been unable to identify Harbin. He perhaps was a merchant.

¹ John Buckworth was a London merchant of some prominence. In 1664 he was appointed to a commission to buy tin from Cornwall and Devon mines. He was knighted at Windsor Castle in 1681.

¹ Barrels.

¹ Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, died on December 9, 1674, at Rouen in Northern France where he was living in exile.

² Cornelius Van Tromp (1629-1691) was a Dutch naval commander from the age of 19 and frequently fought against the English. He was, however, received with honor by Charles II when he visited England in 1675.

³ Francis Lovelace (c.1621-1675), was the second English governor of New York. His mother was a sister of Sir Edwin and George Sandys of the Virginia Company, and his brother was Richard Lovelace, the poet. New York fell to a Dutch naval squadron, July 30-August 9, 1673, while he was in Connecticut. In January, 1675, as a result of the loss of New York and for other reasons, he was imprisoned in the Tower.

⁴ This 25^th Jan. 1674 from London My Aunt will you please deliver to Cousin Pré your son my horse with his equipment which I left in your safekeeping at my departure from Jersey and as much as I have sold the whole thing to my said Cousin for which he has given me satisfaction and paid and this present order will serve you as a discharge toward the one who is &c

Your very obliged

For family Rachel Miss laCloche nephew &c

at St. Pe^tr Jersey Geo Carterett

For an explanation of the apparent relationship between Sir George Carteret and Peter Carteret see note 2, document no. 1. Mr. A. S. H. Dickinson, Librarian of the Public Library, Jersey, thinks that “Cousin Pré” undoubtedly is a contraction for Cousin Pierre—Peter. Rachel La Cloche was the mother of Peter Carteret, and St. Peter, one of the twelve Jersey parishes, was the home of Peter’s parents.