Andersons of Colonial N. Carolina

This is Southampton County, VA… it was still considered Isle of Wight at this time. I am very confident of the placement of these patents. One title trail was found in the Isle of Wight books… the other was in the Southampton records. I have no way of knowing how much of Pearson’s Millpond has been altered over the years but this is pretty much on the money.

The original (new land) deed owners were William Kenney and Henry Powers. That is where Brantley obtained them.

The nitty-gritty detective work is in the below documents:

In 1739 John Brantley obtained a 3rd patent nearer to Emporia, VA for 350 acres… I have not determined how or when he disposed of it but it was a patent and not a “purchased” deed.

I’ll have to add this guy to my list of suspect Indian Traders… also, he has been just out of my radar range for years but has recently come to my attention. A John Underwood is noted as the father in law to a George Anderson who left a will in Granville, 1757… so I have been curious about him for a while but could never find a trail. But that will have to be put on a back burner and researched later… I do not know if this is the guy or not.

I found a deed for “a” John Underwood in the Southampton records… but he is buried up sort of like a tick inside the Nottoway Indian’s Six Mile Square “reservation”. What’s up with that, I mumble to myself. So I’ve been occupying myself with figgerin’ out this perplexity. We all know that Indian Land is, you know…”reserved” for Indians. So how did a white guy worm his way into the sacred bowels of the Square?

I’ve dealt with a number of these colonial era deeds … but this one has some strange terms. Like “to corner number thirteen” and what the hell is Barrow doing building a “Road” in and amongst the heathens? I mean, wouldn’t a road builder surely get his ass shot full of pointy arrows or bbbb..bullets? Tommyhawks for sure!

Heres a map… its what I do… the sumbitch usurper is lower right (I used red for the color…get it?)

So with my curiosity meter on high… I searched up an article by Dr. Helen Rountree and she was right on top of all my questions. She is also remarkably un-racist and un-bigoted… but then what do I know? Hell! I watched John Wayne right there on the Big Screen when he kilt all those Comancheros and Comanches what kilt hapless settlers and buried guys up to their necks in ant beds… I know how Injuns really are… well, except for that old commercial on TV that showed that Indian with a tear running down his cheek. I get choked up thinking about it until I remember he was an actor just, you know… acting. (Iron Eyes Cody… that Italian guy from Louisiana)

Seems like it was common knowledge the Nottoway Indians drank spiritous liquors to excess. Well not ALL of them of course… but enough … if I say the Indians were a bunch of drunks I would of course be a racist bigot asshole.

Those princes of men in the colonial Virginia Legislature (I guess you could call it that) wrote a damn law! about the Drunken Indians and how they could sell their land to solve their lack of sobriety problem. (They were Problem Fixers for true!) I am convinced without any doubt whatsoever that Lyndon B. Johnson would have approved this bill and be inspired to later initiate his own bill for a Great Society. I quote verbatim…

Here are a couple more deeds of the Nottoway Indians selling their land. I’m 70 years old now and have lost my youthful misconceptions. I study history as it was… not how we wish it was. I may return to this study later but I think I will take a breather for now… its hard for me to find any humor when it gets this sad…

Drink in moderation.

This Fort book is witty and well done… well worth the read. The authors are very thorough and resourceful.

There may be a better source online but this one will do in a pinch… it is cumbersome and slow on my computer.

On page 216 or so can be found this reference to the Andersons and Boons I am interested in…

Of particular interest is a listing of the Thomas Boon family of Isle of Wight of which he cites Mrs. Louise Apperson of Newport News, Virginia. It is in bold below. I leave it in context because his throw away lines have me glued to my computer screen.

Alice Fort and The Clerk. The will of Elizabeth Anderson, Bertie Precinct,
North Carolina, made November 5, 1732 and recorded August Court, 1733,
was witnessed by “Elias Fortt” and what appears to be “Eaker Fort.”
Thinking this latter a variation of “Eliezer,” the authors ransacked counties
in North Carolina looking for this lost Fort. Hugh B. Johnston, Jr., of Wilson,
North Carolina, then suggested that the name might be “Alice.” Study of
the photostat shows that the Bertie clerk had a habit of putting an
unnecessary curlicue on his final “e”, and that the name is actually “Ealce.”
The person was a woman: “her mark.”
Phillis Fort. The name in George’s 1719 will is “Fybash.” Robert Simms’
will in Bertie Precinct, February Court of 1729, lists among others “John
Fybash.” William Boon, Elias Ford (Fort), and Nathaniel Cooper were
witnesses. Mourn1ng Barnes, daughter of Edward and Sarah (Pope) Barnes,
had married a John Fiveash prior to 1761; because of the name’s rarity we
can assume this was Phillis’s son. The authors do not know if there were
descendants by this marriage, but at least one branch of the Fiveash family
is known to be living in Georgia. A Georgia local history-the “Coweta
County Chronicles”-contains a sketch on the Simms family and mentions
that Phillis married Rowland Williams as her third husband. No other source
for this marriage is known, so the authors cannot put it in the category
of “Proved.” Abstracts of Northampton County, Virginia, deeds in the period
17 41-1759 show many deeds in which Rowland and Phillis are parties. Some
show ties to the Simms and Boon families, but none prove the wife had been ·
Phillis Fort. The last of the Williams abstracts in Northampton is in 1754-c
The Fort-Boon Mystery: There is no known direct proof of a Fort-Boon
marriage, but the number and kind of documents coupling the families make
it seem likely. William and Nicholas (“Niccolis”) Boon were witnesses to
George’s 1719 will. Elias and Benjamin had lands joining William Boon. Boon
was a witness to Elizabeth Anderson’s 1732 will along with Elias. William
Boon and Elias Fort witnessed the will of Robert Simms in 1729. Thomas
Boon, father of William, witnessed a sale of land to Elias by Samuel Canady
in 1723; in 1728 he witnessed another sale to Elias, this time by his son,
Thomas, Jr. Most persuasive, however, is the power of attorney given by
Elizabeth Boon, to “my trusty and well beloved friend Elias Fort . . . to
relinquish my right of Dower . . . in a Parcell of Land sold by aforesaid
Husband to John Bryan … 15th day of July, 1720,” Witnessed by Samuel
Peacock and John Bryan. (Chowan County, Deed Bk. F, Pg. 54) N9nnally
in those days powers of attorney were given only to relatives. The authors
think it probable, therefore, that Elizabeth Boon was the daughter of George
Fort. They are indebted to Mrs. Louise Apperson of Newport News, Virginia,

for this listing of the children of Thomas Boon of Isle of Wight County,
Virginia, who married Ziltha (:): William ( who is believed to have married
Elizabeth Fort); Mary (married Joseph Boon); Martha (married Mr. Gay);
Lela (married Mr. Wheeler); Nicholas (married Susannah Edmunds);
James; John; Jesse; Thomas, Jr.; Henry. There are Fort-Boon documents in
the records of Northampton County, North Carolina, at later dates.

This genealogy breaks down thusly:

Thomas Boon m. Ziltha

William m. Elizabeth Fort

Joseph m. Mary

Nicholas m. Susannah Edmunds

James, John, Jesse, Thomas Jr. and Henry

Mr. Gay m. Martha

Mr Wheeler m. Lela

Hopeless sceptic that I am, I am not sold on this scenario. For instance, I think the Thomas married Ziltha “may” be the son of Thomas Boon who married Elizabeth Strickland.

William Boon who married Elizabeth may be the daughter of George Fort.

And since I am of a theorizing nature, I think it possible Elizabeth Anderson d. 1732 may be a sister of George Fort. I just threw that in to stir the pot a bit. If one is not thinkin’ one is sitting on one’s brain. Prove me wrong.

I worked on this last year and have pigeon-holed it for now… but I have seen some interest in my Edgecombe map lately. This is full of errors but I see no way to avoid the fact that any mapper will have to show his trials and errors to find out where the puzzle pieces fit correctly… I doubt this will ever be finished but it offers many clues…

With that in mind, here is my attempt to map the Swift Creek area of Edgecombe County from its start roughly in 1723 to roughly the Revolutionary years… see what you think…

Marc