Andersons of Colonial N. Carolina

I get absorbed in these early maps.  Over a 5am coffee this morning and marveling over the 1751 map by Fry and Jefferson, I re-examined this old map:

The orientation of the map is a bit startling…  we simply do not look at maps that way… well, unless you drop it on the floor and pick it up I suppose.

There staring me in the face, is the only map reference I have ran across which shows the Indian Branch or Indian Creek in IOW. (just under the name NANTEMOND).   Also note they were still referring to the bay as “Warwickqueke”.  This was the “frontier” of the time.  The old boys were simply ignorant of what was beyond the Blackwater River.  Hell, the map does not even show the Blackwater River.  20 years earlier a venture was made to the falls of modern Roanoke River but they quickly turned tail and scurried back to modern Petersburg.

“The Land between James River and Roanoke River is for the moft parts Low Suncken Swampy Land not very well paffable but with great dificulty.  And therein harbours  Tygers  Bears and other Devouringe Creatures”

Somewhere around “DURANDS” place was the actual Part of Roanock River. But… but… that “fact” was relayed “by others relation”… which I take to mean “someone told us that”.

So they mapped the “falls of the real Roanoke River” as Morattok River.  And so it was known for DECADES.

Such was on my mind as I wrote this post a while back…

https://andersonnc.wordpress.com/?s=walking+the+bog

Good fun… here is the link:

http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/media_player?mets_filename=evm00003216mets.xml

The Fry-Jefferson map is here… the history of the map is fascinating.  It was the go-to map all the way to the American Revolution.  And it was pretty damn accurate in my opinion. (don’t miss the Indian Path in N.C.)

http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Fry-Jefferson_Map_of_Virginia#start_entry