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http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/hp/colonial/Bookshelf/Moravian/diary.htm
Records of the Moravians in North Carolina
edited by Adelaide L. Fries and others
THE SPANGENBERG DIARY
Edenton, Sept. 10, 1752, new style. [Official copy.] Yesterday we arrived in Carolina. On the entire journey from Bethlehem the Lord has kept us in good health, and has guided us with His eye.
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one interesting line from the above link says —
A man marrying a negress, indian, mulatto, or any one of mixed blood, is fined £50; the minister or justice performing the ceremony must also pay £50.
end of quote —
this was in Wilkes County, NC — might expolain why some ancestors marriages were not recorded.
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and . . .
Edenton, Sept. 15th. [Spbg. Diary.] The Indians in North Carolina are in a bad way. The Chowan Indians are reduced to a few families, and their land has been taken from them. The Tuscaroras live 35 miles from here, and are still in possession of a pretty piece of land. They are the remnant of that tribe with which Carolina was formerly at war, and part of them went to the Five Nations,18 and united with them. Those that are still here are much despised, and will probably soon come to an end. The Meherrin Indians, living further west, are also reduced to a mere handful. It looks as if they were under a curse, that crushes them. Still further west live the Catawbas, who will probably be our neighbors. They are still at war with the Six Nations. (Marginal note, written Nov. 4th. The Catawbas and the Five Nations have made peace.)
South-west from here, behind South Carolina, are the Cherokees, a great Nation. I cannot ascertain definitely whether there is peace or war between them and the Six Nations. (Marginal note. The Tuscaroras say the Cherokees have made peace with the Five Nations, and the Cherokees say the same. I asked one whether the Five Nations were their brothers, and he crooked two fingers, linking them together like a chain. Br. Antes asked the same question of others, and one of them crooked his arm and linked it into that of the other, and then embraced him,—so is it between them and the Five Nations!) The Cherokees are in league with South Carolina, and once each year go to Charlestown to receive their presents
. . .
So soon as we settle in North Carolina we will have to pay Poll Tax. It is required from all white men, masters or servants, from 16 to 60 years of age. Poll Tax must be paid on all negroes, male and female, from their twelfth year. If a man marry a Negress, Indian, or Mulatto, or anyone of mixed blood, his children to the fourth generation must pay the Tax from the 12th year on, and the Indian or Mulatto wife is also taxable.
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have to go, just read about 1/4th of the article. Will finish it later.
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Vance,
Thank you for posting this. I’ve been meaning to look into Moravians more, but haven’t had much time at the computer. This is a great article, though long! I didn’t read the entire thing yet. But I promiss to come back and do so. Thank you for posting the link. Love & Light, Lynella.
Excerpts from the same link —
We also visited the Tuscaroras, who live on the Roanoke. They have a tract of good land, secured to them by Act of Assembly; I should judge that it contains twenty or thirty thousand acres. It is twelve miles long, but not wide.
Their Interpreter, Mr. Thomas Whitemeal, was kind to us, took us to them, showed us their land, and introduced us to them. He was at one time a Trader among them, understands their language fairly well, and speaks it with ease. Now he is one of the richest men in the neighborhood, and is respected by everybody.
The Indians have no king, but a Captain elected from among them by the whites. There are also several Chiefs among them.
The Tuscaroras are few in number, and they hold with the Six Nations against the Catawbas, but suffer much on this account. They live in great poverty, and are oppressed by the whites.
Mr. Whitemeal is their Agent and Advocate, and stands well with them.
. . .
They told us that if we saw the Catawbas we should tell them that there were plenty of young men among the Tuscaroras who knew the way to the Catawba town, and that they could go and return in about twenty days. That so far they had kept quiet and had not gone into the Catawba country except to hunt a little, and they would do no more unless they were disturbed,—then they knew the way to the Catawba town.
We were courteously treated by the Indians, and they sent greetings by us to the Shawanos on the Susquehannah.
. . .
Another point mentioned for information.—When the Brethren come they would find it useful to employ the hunters, whom we have with us to carry the chains and to furnish us with game. These men could conduct them to this and the other tracts, and show them where our land lies. They are Henry Day, who lives in Granville Co., near Mr. John Sallis; John Perkin, who lives on the Catawba, and is acquainted with Andreas Lambert, a well-known Scotchman; and John Rhode, who lives about twenty miles from Capt. Sennett, on the road to Atkins. [note: this is mentioned because it mentions a Henry Day employed as a hunter.]
. . .
First, there are the Indians. Our land lies in a region much frequented by the Catawbas and Cherokees, especially for hunting. The Senecas, too, come here almost every year, especially when they are at war with the Catawbas. The Indians in North Carolina behave quite differently from those in Pennsylvania. There no one fears an Indian, unless indeed he is drunk. Here the whites must needs fear them. If they come to a house and find the man away they are insolent, and the settler’s wife must do whatever they bid. Sometimes they come in such large companies that a man who meets them is in real danger. Now and then a man can do as Andreas Lambert did:—A company of Senecas came on his land, injured his corn, killed his cattle, etc. Lambert called in his bear hounds, of which he has eight or nine, and with his dogs and his loaded gun drove the Indians from his place.
Every man living alone is in this danger, here in the forest. North Carolina has been at war with the Indians, and they have been defeated and have lost their lands. So not only the tribes that were directly concerned, but all the Indians are resentful and take every opportunity to show it. Indeed they have not only killed the cattle of the whites, but have murdered the settlers themselves when they had a chance.
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more later
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More from the same link —
Our surveyor and his men met a party of six Cherokee Indians, and were stopped by them, but they soon became friendly. The woods here are full of Cherokees, and we see their signs wherever we go. They are out hunting.
The Indians have certainly lived here, perhaps before the war with the white settlers in North Carolina. There are remains of an Indian Fort, grass still grows on the site of dwellings, and the trees show also that men have lived here, but it may be fifty or more years ago. * * *
. . .
One man in Edenton suggested the Tuscarora land, which lies about 35 miles from Edenton, and introduced me to the Interpreter, Mr. Whitemeal. I took his suggestion into consideration, notwithstanding the Act of Assembly of which I send you a copy.
The land lies on the Roanoke, and can be reached by fairly large boats. * * * It is about 12 miles long, and of varying width, Mr. Whitemeal told me the greatest width was 6 miles. It probably contains 30,000 to 40,000 acres, though one estimate was 70,000 acres . . . It is said that the Indians are tired of living there, and not many of them are left. Many have gone North, and live, I understand, on the Susquehanna; others fell before the Catawbas, who some time ago attacked and killed many of them; others are scattered, as the wind scatters the smoke. A few people have grants from the Lord Proprietor, but Mr. Whitemeal says only to one or more small pieces.
end of direct quote
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note: here is a description of Tuscarora Indians scattering “as the wind scatters the smoke”. This is in 1752. I have a feeling many tribes were dissapearing about this same time, and scattering. I think they reappeared not as Tuscarora or Catawba or Saponi, but as “Melungeons, Black Dutch and similar terms in the 1790s.
Between the 1750s and the 1790s were the french and Indian War, Lord Dunsmore’s War, the American Revolution, and the Cherokee/Shawnee wars ending in 1794. They were also at war withthe Seneca,or the Tuscarora and the Catawba were at war — I think they were just tired of war and traumatized by it, and just wanted a place to find peace.
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