Travel Accounts

“THE MANNER OF LIVING OF THE NORTH CAROLINIANS,” BY FRANCIS VEALE, DECEMBER 19, 1730

TRANSCRIBED AND EDITED BY EDMUND AND DOROTHY S. BERKELEY^*

[Vol. 41 (1964), 239-245]

Official records of North Carolina trade during the early eighteenth century, represented by the detailed report which naval officers made to the Board of Trade, might be expected to be found in the archives of the Public Record Office in London. For reasons unknown, they do not seem to be there. The earliest surviving records are those of Port Brunswick for the years 1763-1775, and these are in rather poor condition. Christopher Crittenden, who called this problem to public attention, added that as a result, “a description of the commerce of colonial North Carolina can never be complete or perfectly accurate.”¹

It would seem to be especially important, in view of the lack of official records, for contemporary comment on the trade of this period to be made available, when found in unexpected places. In the Library of The Linnean Society of London, are the manuscripts of Peter Collinson (1694-1768). Collinson is a familiar figure to anyone interested in eighteenth-century science, especially botany. He was a very active member of the Royal Society of London, and carried on an extensive correspondence with scientists in many parts of the world, including Carolus Linnaeus in Sweden; John Bartram, in Philadelphia; and John Clayton, in Virginia. But Collinson was a Quaker merchant, a mercer and haberdasher, and interested in matters related to trade as well as science. Among his papers,² and in his unmistakable handwriting, the editors, concerned with his Clayton correspondence,³ found four sheets and a map. The first sheet is headed, “The Manner of Living of the North Carolinians.” At the bottom, in parentheses, appears the notation “Carolina December 19: 1730 from Francis Veale.” The second sheet is headed “Mr. Paine from Francis Veale Carolina December 19:1730,” and consists of one-third sheet of writing and two-thirds of map. The map portion is too faded for ready reproduction, but shows “Cape Hatteras, Neuse River, Pamlego River, Allagator River, Knott Island, North River, Little River, Paspatank River, Eddy Town” and several other points. The third and fourth sheets bear no headings, and the map is here reproduced.⁴

Mr. Paine cannot be identified, and not very much information can be found concerning Francis Veale. On June 18, 1736, Veale requested a patent for 640 acres on the southern bank of Old Town Creek, west of the Cape Fear River. Again, on May 7, 1742, he applied for a grant of 257 acres in Bladen.⁵ Despite this paucity of information about the man, his comments on North Carolina at that time are both interesting and amusing.

The First Commers had the advantage of takeing the best Land near att hand & most of them have so much Land that the High Rents as they Call them, Hurts their Circumstances very much being a[m]bitious to keep the whole and phaps don’t use above a 100 acres out of a 1000-⁶ I have seen as fine Orchards there & in Virginia as ever I saw in England but they have not the Method of Grafting but Letts all grow wild & yett some good fruits & Great Bearers, I have seen four Trees 5 years Old had apples Enough to make a Hhd Cider, so productive is the Soil that a Peach from the Stone will bear the Second year. Their Wheat Lands they dont throw into Ridges to Draine the Water as in England but plough it Rough like Summer fallow yett I have seen as good Wheat as any. Where & when it’s worn out, It’s turn’d down & they plough a fresh piece & in 6 or 7 years its as full of Wood as Ever-

They might Have the best pasture in the World but take no Care about It but Lett Cows Horses & Hoggs all Sorts feed together, they never Mow any of their Feilds to Raise fodder for their Cattle in the Winter, w^ch is sometimes pretty sharp. I saw Last Xmas 1729 snow a foot thick but when it is so severe they cutt down Trees for the Cattle to Browse on – they seldome Mind to Milk their Cows Regularly but one Sometimes in a Day or Two they never take their Calves from them but Lett them suck as Long as they Cann.⁷

Fish is Exceeding plenty I have seen a Hundred Mullets Catch’d att a Cast without weating ones foot & theres aboundance of Trout as big as Salmon with Great Variety of Other Fish & Oysters very Good-There is very good Hunting never Miss of Sport if you Miss the Deer the Dogs Soone find them & Drive them to the River where Some Lie Ready in a Boat to shoot them I have been att the Catching 2 or 3 a Day for severall Days togeather⁸ There’s plenty of Wild fowl, Swans, Geese, Duck, Wiggin & Teale & Wild Turkys a Lott is Call’d 640 Acres w^ch may be taken up only paying the Surveyor 5£ Sterling or a five pound Bill & you may do with it what you please⁹

Sr I have given you a Rough Draught of the Country & now I’ll proceed to Trade, From Eddey or Edey Town¹⁰ to Little River, Paspatank¹¹ to North River they Raise a great deal of Good Wheat they Reape the Latter End of June or beginning of July att that Time a Vessell of a 100 Tuns may Load in a Month they Raise abundance of Indian Corn & Pease, Pork, Beef, Wax, Tallow, & Hides Some Pitch Tarr & Turpentine, Many Sorts of Oke, Pine, Hickery & Cypress any Quantity may be had for Little or Nothing Oks 4 & 5 foot Diamr. 60 foot Long & Masts of any Size to any Length without Knott or ben’t any Quality may be had 1/4 Mile from the Water Side - Pamplico Cheife Trade is Pitch Tarr & Turpentine where any we sell may be Loaded att any Time, Nause [Neuse] being but now setling they’ve little besides Beef, Pork, Butter, & Cheese, there is plenty of Fodder in Winter.

I will Now Just Mention Something of their Manners—& Religion theres not a Clergy man in the whole Government¹² but they that are Religiously Inclin’d getts a Tayler or Some old Pirate or Some Idle Fellow to Read the Service of the Church of England & then He Hacks out a Sermon made before my old Granum Some call themselves Baptists & some as thinks themselves prysbyterians but they all Live very Loving together & comes to Meetings att one anothers’ Houses, but never talks of Religion, I believe it is because they know not what it Is. There is a great Many Quakers att Paspatank but they are sometimes with a preacher & sometimes with out—I have often Inquird why there is no Clergyman in all the province & the Chief Reason I am told, Is, that y^e Goven^r has all the profett of Licences, & the Justices Marries - - -

There is Land Lotted out for the Ministers; but the profits of it now goes to mend these [?] ways, that the Great Ones think if they had Ministers amongst them that they Woud be Loosers by them, for if the Clergy shou’d take the 7^th or 10^th Hogg w^ch are in great plenty, but the Loss they would sustain Wou’d be so Regretting that they would saye to them as the Gadarens said to Our Savior Depart out of our Country & from Our Coasts --- I have been told the Last Parson as was amongst them being Fleshly Given Importun’d a Woman to give him a Nights Lodging but no sooner had the Parson his Cloths off but 3 or 4 Neighboruing Women came with Horse Whips & Chastized the poor naked Parson to that Degree that He took his Horse next Morning & has never been seen since, I think as the Lord Cartaret is one of the Cheif proprietors If He had sent Parson Paygen¹³ there, instead of giveing Him Bridgewater, by being Punish^d in the Flesh might have saved his soul & My Lord wou’d have shown some Regard to his province.-

What can Wee stanch Church men think, the Children here that aint Baptized must they be Lost nay Wee doubt are Lost, & they that don’t go to Church on Sundays what must become of them & they that don’t Receive the Sacrament won’t they be Dam’d, then what must become of these poor Souls. Not One in some Hundreds was Ever Baptized, Ever saw a Church or Receiv’d the Sacrament. Yett a Sensible people in all things but Religion.-

The Rich Mines are bacward in the Mountains.

Grapes grow Naturally Wild in abundance upraiding the Inhabitants that they don’t take Notice of them & Cultivate them & Make them into Wine of which profit must Ensue. I have Seen as fine & Large as Ever saw up the Straites there is a Sort of Tea Cassenna grows in abundance which y^e Indians Drink but they have not the Way of Cureing It after the East India Fashion.¹⁴ It’s now become a Common Drink amongst the Whites, its sold Cur’d att 2£ Barrell Sterling or 48 Bills.

Commodities Wanting -

Ordinary Bridles & Sadles, Pewter, Tinwares, Course Russia Cloth for Towells, Osombrigs,¹⁵ Kerling Garlick 7/8 & Little Holland¹⁶ the Coursest of printed Linnens & some finer, some Muslin & Course stockings all sizes from the Coasest to 2:9 pair Wax & Rowlers Hunting pipes, the Coasest of Kersies,¹⁷ to NannCloth¹⁸ att 11^d y^d Corusse Broad to 8 p y^d - threds. Mohair Buttons Trimings to, Duroyes¹⁹ no matter how Course & Ordinary, Womans Crapes and Persions, Ribons Handkerchiefs Callico, Cotton, & Silk, from 9/ to 20/. Empty Bottles Cases flask Bottles Pouder Shot Guns - 1/2 Tun of Iron, Hinges Locks & Latches, Nails, from Longs Tens to 3 penny, 6^d most for shingling Houses, Spurs, Buckles, Knives Forks, Midlin Pins, Combs, Rasers, Buttons for Shirts Beads for Indians Course Indian Cloths with stripes loose Blanketting, Ruggs, some Cordage for Sloops an Anchor or Two, Duck for Sails, Canvas, Bunting

Returns are Pitch, Tarr, Turpentine Deer skins and Furrs, Hides, Tallow, Wax, Snake Root, Pork & Beef salted and Wheate & Timber, Beaver, Rice & myrtle wax.²⁰

There is Neither Silver & Gold in this Country Butt Paper Money, a 100£ in Bill Money is but 25 in Virginia or Barbadoes.²¹ Trade is Carried on there principally by the New England Sloops, who, bring there Goods they can’t sell²² the Collector told Mee from June to Xmas 1729 there had Cleard att Edey Town above 60 sail from 30 to 40 to 60 & 70 Tunns besides whats Cleard att Currytuck & pamplico, they carry Pitch, Tarr & provisions, etc. there has not been a Ship from England In this Country these seven years.

Footnotes