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A excerpt from
The American Indian in North Carolina
By Rev. Douglas L. Rights
(1947)
Decline of the Coastal Tribes
The Chowan Indians, whose name signifies “Southerners,” were still a strong tribe when the settlers began to move into the Albemarle region about 1650. Their name was well known, as the following references from early records of Virginia indicate.
On August 27, 1650, a Virginia exploring party set out from Fort Henry to reach the Tuscarora settlements. The company included Edward Bland, Abraham Wood, Sackford Brewster, Elias Pennant, two white servants, and an Appromattox Indian guide. On the way they secured a Nottoway Indian guide named Oyeocker. Some distance west of Meherrin River they came to an Indian trail. Their narrative states:
- At this path our Appamattuck Guide made a stop, and cleared the Westerly end of the path with his foote, being demanded the meaning of it, he shewed an unwillingness to relate it, sighing very much. Whereupon we made a stop untill Oyeocker out Other Guide came up, and then our Appamattuck journied on; but Oyeocker at his coming up cleared the other end of the path, and prepared himselfe in a most serious manner to require our attentions, and told us that many years since their late great Emperour Appachancano came thither to make War upon the Tuscarood, in revenge of three of his men killed, and one wounded, and brought word of the other three men murdered by the Hocomawananck Indians for lucre of the Roanoke they brought with them to trade for Otter skins. There accompanied Appachancano severall petty Kings that were under him, amongst which there was one King of a Towne called powhatan, which had long time harboured a grudge against the King of Chawan, about a young woman that the King of Chawan had detayned of the King of Powhatan: Now it happened that the King of Chawan was invited by the King of Powhatan to this place under pretence to present him with a guift of some great vallew, and they met accordingly, and the King of Powhatan went to salute and embrace the King of Chawan, and stroaking of him after their usual manner, he whipt a bowstring about the King of Chawans neck, strangled him; and how that in memoriall of this, the path is continued unto this day, and the friends of the Powhatans when they passe that way , cleanse the Westerly end of the path, and the friends of the Chawan the other. And some two miles from the path we come unto an Indian Grave upon the east side of the path: Upon which Grave there lay a great heape of stickscovered with greene boughs, we demanded the reason for it, Oyeocker told us, that there lay a great man of Chawan that dyed in the same quarrell, and in honor of his memory they continue greene boughs over his Grave to this day, and ever when they goe forth to Warre they relate this, and other valorous, loyall Acts, to their young men, to animate them to doe the like whan occasion requires.
In 1663 the Chowan entered into a treaty with the English and “submitted themselves to the Crown of England under the Dominion of the Lord Proprietors.” This treaty was faithfully observed for a decade, but in 1675 the Susquehanna War broke out in Virginia. Through incitement of the Indians of Virginia the Chowan violated their treaty. A year of warfare followed with serious loss to the settlers. Later the Chowan were forced to surrender all of their land on the south side of Meherrin River and were assigned a reservation on Bennett’s Creek. Here they struggled along for a hundred years. Many petitons were made to the council for a survey, but nearly fifty years passed before the request was granted. Their lands gradually dwindled from twelve square miles, as first assigned, to six square miles about 1707. At this time they had only one town with about fifteen fighting men.
They were allied with the colonists during the Tuscarora War. Chief John Hoyter petitioned the council in 1714 for a survey of the six-mile reservation, stating that the Indians had been fighting on Eight Expeditions agt the Indyan Enemy of this province and during the time they were in ye Countys Service they Suffered Considerable loss in their plantatios & Stocks loosing Seaventy five head of hogs a Mare & Colt their Corne destroyed by wch ye wearing out of their clothes they are reduced to great poverty, and asked that some allowance be made for their services and losses.
In 1712 Missionary Giles Rainsford of the English Church wrote:
- I had conference with one Thomas Hoyle King of the Chowan Indians who seem very inclinable to embrace Christianity and proposes to send his son to school . . . I readily offered him my service to instruct him myself . . . where I lodge being but three miles distant from his Town. But he modestly declined it for the present till a general peace was concluded between the Indians and the Christians. I found he had some notions of Noahs flood which he came to the knowledge of and exprest himselfe after this manner – My father told me I tell my Son.
Three years Rainsford reported: “I have been five months together in Chowan Indian Town & make myself almost a Master of their language.” In this same letter he offered to serve as missionary among them.
In 1718 and 1720 petitions were filed by Chief Hoyter complaining that the settlers were continually intruding upon the lands of the Indians and that the limits of the territory had never been determined. In the former petition he also asked for payment due one of his tribesmen by a settler for an Indian slave of the Core Sound region. In 1723 a reservation of 53,000 acres was laid out for the Tuscarora and the Chowan.
By the year 1731 the tribe had dwindled to less than twenty families. Two years later the council gave them permission to be incorporated with the Tuscarora. In 1752 Bishop Spangenberg wrote from Edenton, “The Chowan Indians are reduced to a few families, and their land has been taken away from them.” A report of Governor Dobbs in 1755 stated that the tribe consisted of two men and five women and childres who were “ill used by their neighbors.”
Dr. Richard Dillard has described a shell mound in the former Chowan region:
- One of the largest and most remarkable Indian mounds in Eastern North Carolina is located at Bandon on the Chowan, evidently the site of the ancient town of Chowanokes which Grenville’s party visited in 1585, and was called Mavaton. The map of James Winble, made in 1729, also locates it about this point. The mound extends along the river bank five or six hundred yards, is sixty yards wide and five feet deep, covered with about one foot of sand and soil. It is composed almost exclusively of mussel shells taken from the river, pieces of pottery, ashes, arrowheads and human bones . . . Potery and arrowheads are found in many places throughout this county, especially on hillsides, near streams, etc.
Katfish;37144 wrote: My connection to the Chowan comes through my third great Grandmother America Baker. Her third great Grandfather is the John Freeman mentioned below. John Freeman married the daughter of Chief Thomas Hoyter, Tabitha Hoyter. This marriage into the tribe, apparently, gave John the ability to sell Chowan land.
In 1751, the headmen of the tribe, James Bennett and John Robbins, Indians, and John Freeman, planter sold the Chowan land to Richard Freeman, in the following deed:
Chowan County – To all to whom these presents shall come we James Bennet & John Robins Chowan Indians & John Freeman Planter of the County and Province aforesaid Know Ye that we the aforesaid James Bennet, John Robins & John Freeman for and in consideration of the sum of Twenty Pounds Lawfull money of Great Britain to us in hand paid by Richard Freeman of the county and Province aforesaid, Planter, the receipt of which we do hereby acknowledge have granted bargained sold conveyed confirmed & deliver and do by these presents grant Bargain Sell Convey Confirm and Set Over unto the aforesaid Richard Freeman one certain tract or parcel of land & pocoson lying on the No. side of Bennets Creek commonly called & known by the name of the Chowan Indian Land Two Hundred acres by Estimation beginning on Blanchards Line running then west … together with all and singular the appurtenances thereunto belonging unto the said Richard Freeman, his heirs and assigns forever hence they yielding and paying to our Sovereign Lord the King the yearly quit rents of and by(?) required for every hundred acres hereby granted by the said James Bennet, John Robins and John Freeman as aforesaid to the said Richard Freeman his heirs..the aforesaid James Bennet, John Robins, & John Freeman and do bind ourselves and each of our heirs and by these presents to forever warrant and defend unto the said Richard Freeman his heirs and the above mentioned tract or parcel of land and pocoson from all manner of persons whatever…whereof we the aforesaid Ja. Bennet, Jn Robins Chowan Indians and John Freeman, Planter have hereunto set our hand and seals this — of January, 1751
Signed & Sealed & Delivered in the presence of Richard Garret, Reuben Hinton, George S. Outlaw – Chowan County for January County Court 1751
These may testify that the within Deed of Sale of Land from James Bennet, John Robins, & John Freeman to Richard Freeman was duly proved in open Court by the oath of Richard Garret and on motion is ordered to be registered. Registered January 23, 1751
Signed Sealed & Delivered in the presence of:
Richard Garret, James B. Bennett, Reuben Hinton, John R. Robins, George S. Outlaw, John Freeman
Chowan County January County Court 1751
Present His Majesties Justices These may codify that the within Deed of Sale of Land from James Bennet John Robins & John Freeman to Richard Freeman is hereby proved in open Court by the oath of Richard Garret & on Motion is ordered to be Registered. Registered Jan 23, 1751
Good researching here. This does make you Chowan/Chownoke just as my family also. When they were defeated by the North and South Carolina militia in order to obtain land in Gates County NC then it was decided that selling was a better deal than being killed as well. This land was sold in the face of tribal genecide as was most indian land sales. Good thing was the tribe were adopted into the Creek Indians of SC(Catawabas,Beaver Creek Cheraws)
Black Dutch;33546 wrote: My 4th Great Grandfather, William Benton is listed on an Anson Co., N.C. Regulator Petition (ca. 1767) along with George Skipper. Skipper was the last chief of the Nottoway and he and part of the remainder of the tribe moved into N.C.
There were also some Lowery’s mentioned on land deeds (Anson Co.) with my Benton line so it would appear that there was some connection by marriage or blood to Indian families and they often relocated in groups at the same time.
I see that you already found the information on Epaphroditus Benton who had an Indian wife. Also our Bentons lived in Ahoskie area of Hertford County, which had several mixed blood Indian families as neighbors.
Tom K.
Tom,
I am descended from the Elder Epaph. Benton. Do you know of where I can find more info about him and his family? What tribe is his wife from?
Tomehawk
Steve-o;33435 wrote: Simple French to English translation. The answer is staring you right in the face, as-it-were. The spelling of “Chowanoc” comes from the French
Chowanoc is pronounced Shawan-oh in French. Shawanoe = Shawnee.
More and more researchers are finally picking up on this. The “CH” is pronounced “SH” in the French language. The “C” at the end is not pronounced at all…is silent.
Steve-O
I don’t know about Chowan vs Shawnee. But I do speak some French, et en français le ‘oc’ n’est past silent. In French it would be pronounced [Shawanuwk]. Words like troc – as in ‘Nous voulons faire un troc avec vous’. troc is pronounced [truhk]. Think of other words like électrochoc – sounds almost the same as electroshock in English. Or the name of the province Québec [Kaybeck]. If it were spelled Chowaneaux it would be pronounced Shawanoe, but not with a c on the end.
johntwohawk;37153 wrote: Good researching here. This does make you Chowan/Chownoke just as my family also. When they were defeated by the North and South Carolina militia in order to obtain land in Gates County NC then it was decided that selling was a better deal than being killed as well. This land was sold in the face of tribal genecide as was most indian land sales. Good thing was the tribe were adopted into the Creek Indians of SC(Catawabas,Beaver Creek Cheraws)
Do you know if anyone has traced the descendants of this John Robbins? I would be very interested especially if those descendants relocated to Ohio.
Tomehawk;37200 wrote: Tom,
I am descended from the Elder Epaph. Benton. Do you know of where I can find more info about him and his family? What tribe is his wife from?
Tomehawk
I am still trying to find out the tribal affiliation of Epaph. Benton. I found that my King family married into the George Skipper and Thomas Quick families, not my direct line, and they are Nottoway. I also find King cousins on the Indian Woods reservation with Pugh, Williams, Thompson, etc.
Thomas Robbins
GGM_Robbins;38285 wrote: Do you know if anyone has traced the descendants of this John Robbins? I would be very interested especially if those descendants relocated to Ohio.
There is a ton of research on John Robbins descendants. Go to the Chowanoke Descendants Community website, the Meherrin Chowanoke, and Chowanoke Research group led by a descendant of him.
Tomehawk;38287 wrote: There is a ton of research on John Robbins descendants. Go to the Chowanoke Descendants Community website, the Meherrin Chowanoke, and Chowanoke Research group led by a descendant of him.
Thanks, Tomehawk!!! I wasn’t aware of this site. Great information!
Tomehawk;37200 wrote: Tom,
I am descended from the Elder Epaph. Benton. Do you know of where I can find more info about him and his family? What tribe is his wife from?
Tomehawk
Some claim Cherokee but don’t believe there is any documentation.
shoshone;33542 wrote: Just getting back on here after a long time away. Catching up. I am a direct descendant of the Chowanoc Indians through my Mothers line on the Bennett’s line. I also know several others that are directly descendant from the Chowanoc including the Robbins family. Some of the Chowanocs were absorded into surrounding tribes, some were listed as free people of color and fought in the revolutionary war while others migrated further south down into Anson county with Indian Trading white families of similar surname and wound up as Indentured servants, farmers or midwives on plantations. Some further down into the Pee Dee area such as my ancestors intermingling with other Indians who where in the company off or living with Indian traders. I have someone of the Benton Line that can possibly give you some information on this. If you want to see some photos of the Chowanocs descendants look at my photo album on my profile.
Shoshone,
I just stumbled upon this old post and it caught my attention. I have Robbins in my ancestry. On nativeheritageproject.com a John ROBINS, Chowan, is mentioned as the signer of several deeds. This John may or may not be my family. I have a John Robbins who has been a brick wall for me for years. He was born about 1801 in Northumberland county, PA, now Columbia county. I know by at least 1850 he was in New Albany, Franklin county, OH, and raised his family there. Family tradition states that John married the daughter of a Wyandot chief as his 2nd wife and later her sister as his 3rd wife.
Also, by any chance are you Shon S on Gedmatch? If so, we share 26.3 cMs on chromosome 3 and I would love to share information with you. My alias is Traxie.
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