Some information that I recently found in a document sent to
me by my 5th cousin, Howard Douglas “Doug” Land, Jr., was of great
interest to me. The article, entitled “A
History of Alexander County, North Carolina,” was written by William E. White. It was copied from a scrapbook owned by Mrs.
Bynum D. Deal of Davidson, North Carolina.
Mr. White published the document in the Taylorsville Times in 1926. As I read the document, my interest was
immediately stirred by my paternal West family surnames of West and Carlton and
by my maternal Hughes family surnames of Hughes and Honeycutt.
As I read further, I discovered notations about Alexander
West, who, I assume, was my 5th great grandfather, Alexander West
(born about 1730), and his son, Alexander West (born in 1751). Before I address the information found in the
article, I would like to revisit the historical and political events that were
occurring during those turbulent years of the 1760s and 1770s.
Western North Carolina was experiencing corruption,
tyrannical power, and excessive taxation at the hand of the Colonial
government, namely that of provincial governor, William Tryon. The events leading up to the rebellion began
as early as 1765. Those living in the back country of Western North Carolina
were “freeholders peacefully living in a frontier paradise.” In 1766 due to the political unrest
developing in the back county, the Sandy Creek Association, the first Regulator
group, was organized. Political instability in the backcountry came to a head
when Governor Tryon decided to build “his palace” in New Bern, for which large
sums of money were appropriated by the colonial government. To the Regulators, this proposed building
represented the corruption of government that they believed existed. Likewise, the Regulators were suspicious that
the government was conspiring to take away their liberties, threaten their
property, and restrict their rights as Englishmen. As a result, additional Regulator
organizations were established in Western North Carolina. In 1768, Governor Tryon ordered them to disband,
and militia units from coastal counties were sent to Orange County.
On May 16, 1771, the Regulators respectfully petitioned
Governor Tryon to hear their grievances.
Tryon rejected their request, ordered them to lay down their arms, and
gave them only one hour to meet his demands.
The Regulators were enraged, dared the governor to “fire and be damned,”
and the battle of Alamance on Great Alamance Creek near Hillsborough, then
known as the “capitol of the backwoods,” began.
The numbers of militia who were killed and wounded are debatable. However, the Regulators sustained heavy
causalities including several others who were hanged. In 1775 with the Revolution underway,
Governor Martin, with the King’s permission, granted full pardons to all of the
Regulators with the exception of Herman Husband, the organizer of the first
group. This was done with hopes of
enlisting support for the British cause.
The pardon, however, did not rally great support for the British cause.
The Regulator movement was centered in the counties of
Anson, Dobbs, Halifax, Rowan, and Orange. Western North Carolinians wanted a
new political system. Even though it was
squelched, the Regulator movement was a rehearsal for revolution and was
clearly a forecast of the revolutionary events to come.
My fifth great grandfather, Reverend George McNeil
(1720-1805), was affiliated with the Sandy Creek Baptist Association. In my blog post of August 30, 2012, I stated
the following about Reverend George McNeil:
He was affiliated with
the famous Sandy Creek Baptist Association which Shubal Stearns started with
six local Baptist churches. This
organization was likely the same as the Sandy Creek Association, a precursor of
the Regulator Movement that protested government oppression and abuse of
funds. After the battle between the
Regulators and the English militia in 1771 in the outskirts of Hillsborough at
Alamance Creek, Governor William Tryon assumed that the Baptists were
Regulators and concentrated over 3,000 soldiers in their areas to harass and
terrorize them. In the letter of May
28, 1898, G. W. McNeil, Sr. states that “he [George McNiel] joined the Regulators
and after the battle of Alamance and fled for safety into Virginia where he
lived for a time in Grayson County.”
And now to my West ancestors…
As I have lamented so many times, I have reached a “brick
wall” in my search for my fifth great grandfather, Alexander West, who was born
about 1730. Research indicates that he
was associated with individuals who lived in Orange, Surry, and Wilkes
Counties. In Orange County I have found him connected
with John West, Sr. and with John West, Jr., in 1752-1768 and in 1754 with William
Mills and William Mills, Jr. He is found
in an early North Carolina census in 1755 in Orange County. In
Surry-Wilkes County in 1771-1777, he was mentioned with his son, Alexander
West. In 1778 in Wilkes County he or
his son, Alexander West (1751-1834) was noted in association with William
Triplett on the Yadkin River and James Tugman on Glady Branch, with John
Ferguson, William Brown, and Daniel Johnson in 1779, with Isaac West and Bray
Crisp on Glady Fork in 1782, and with Daniel Sutherlin on Glady Fork in 1784.
In the article, “A History of Alexander County, North
Carolina,” the following statement was made about Alexander West who, I presume, was the Alexander West born about
1730:
“Also
there is documentary evidence that Alexander
West assisted in building houses in Hillsboro after it was laid off on the
lands of the great surveyor, William Churton.”
In
another section of the document, Alexander
West, who, again, I presume to be
the Alexander West who was born about 1730, is described as “a refugee,”
implying that he was one of the many who left the Hillsborough area of Orange
County sometime prior to 1771 due to the tyranny of Governor Tryon. This section is quoted below as follows:
“Alexander West was another refugee; a large
muscular man, of prodigious strength and physical powers and at the same time a
man of excellent judgment and undoubted integrity. Nelson A. Powell, the
historian of Caldwell County, leaves the record that Alexander West assisted in
building the first houses in the town of Hillsboro. He first settled on lands
between Barrett's Mountain and Lower Little River, but after the Revolutionary
War, sold out there, and moved to lands on Upper Little River, in what is now
Caldwell County. His descendants still live in Caldwell. It is told of him that
he would not use dogs in the capture of game, but depended upon his complete
knowledge of the habits of the wild animals and was entirely successful.”
A
third reference to Alexander West concerned
the establishment of an iron works by Andrew Baird sometime after 1788. Baird was given a grant for 18,000 acres in
Whittenburt Township of Alexander County.
Some tracks of land belonging to other individuals within those 18,000
acres were excepted from the grant. However,
a prior land grant to Alex West,
which lay within Baird’s grant, was not “excepted.” The reference to this Alexander West may have
been the son of Alexander West born about 1732.
Other
West relatives…
In addition
to the Alexander Wests, two distant cousins were mentioned in the article. Brothers, J. [James] Harvey West and Hiram
West, who were my 2nd cousins 4 times removed, served at the
Bethlehem Church in 1871. Hiram West was
the pastor from 1872 to August 1878. H.
[Hiram] West was listed as the pastor at Dover Baptist Church in what was then
Burke County on April 9, 1864. J. H. [James Harvey] West served at Center
Church from December 3, 1865 to the “5th Saturday” in January 1876.
Another
relative…
Henry Carlton “of the Yadkin settlers from
Virginia entered and located at the Hickory Knob in the pioneer days. The Knob in its primeval condition was an
ideal mountain home, but Henry drifted back to his old settlement and finally
emigrated to the west.” I assume that
this Henry Carlton was the son of Thomas Carlton and Mary Land, my 4th
great grandparents.
Even
though these are “tidbits” of information, those small pieces add to the
completion of the larger puzzle. Thanks,
Doug, for sharing this article and for all of the materials that you so
graciously share.
Sources:
- McNeil, George W., Sr. Personal Letter Describing His Grandfather, Reverend George McNiel, for a Memorial Booklet, May 28, 1898.
- Mobley, Joe A., ed. The Way We Lived in North Carolina. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 2003.
- Ready, Milton. The Tar Hill State, A History of North Carolina. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina, 2005.
- White, William E., “A History of Alexander County, North Carolina,” Taylorsville Times, 1926.
