Starting around 1744, the Lord Granville land grants of North Carolina show a surge of Virginians moving into newly-formed Edgecombe County, NC (formed 1741) and Granville (formed in 1746). The founding families of Granville County came together from York County, VA. However, the vast majority of other settlers in Edgecombe and Granville were descendents of English immigrants who came down from Prince George, Brunswick, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nansemond and Isle of Wight counties in Virginia.
Many families who were part of the southern migration did have ancestors who were involved in Bacon's Rebellion either as participants as part of Berkley's militia.
Virginia families involved in Bacon's Rebellion whose descendants migrated to Edgecombe/Granville/Bute North Carolina:
Some Virginian families are known to have settled directly on Fishing Creek where the Blackards appear. The names Langston, Ballard, Kimbrough, Brasswell are found near Blackard in NC. The Stokes married into the Surry VA Owen family, from which the wife of Willoughby Blackard may possibly have come.
Other Virginians recorded settling on Fishing Creek
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William Braswell, Jr (1734) |
Charles Coleman Moses Coleman Joseph Person |
John Cotten Richard Woodward John Williams |
In 1748 a J. Blacker was recorded on Fishing Creek in Edgecombe County. Along with him was James Lett whose brother John Lett was recorded with Charles Blackard in the same vicinity in 1755. It is very probable that he was a Blackard but he was recorded only once more.
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1748 Edgecombe County NC Fishing River District Land
Grant
----------------------------------------------------------------- PKB11-124 Robert Brinkley 24 June 1748 200 in Edge es Conway Crk adj Brinkley’s line Surveyed 2 Mar 1747 by James Connor Witn: J. BLACKER, Edwd Smithwick Cc James Lett, Wm Gilbert |
The 1754 Edgecombe militia list recorded his name as John Blackbond. His name appeared on the same page as some people who lived near Charles Blackard when he was first recorded in Edgecombe NC on Fishing Creek in 1755. In fact, his name appears immediately before John Haywood indicating that they were neighbors. John Williams was probably not related to the Samuel Williams, whose 1755 land Charles Blackard I helped survey. This John Williams was probably the John Williams from Prince George who became an important NC political figure. The surveyor John Haywood was born in Barbados. The Lett family may also have roots in Barbados and a Francis Blackard was recorded there as well. Also noteworthy is the name William Merritt as Charles Blackard I had a great grandson named William Merritt Blackard. Charles Blackard was later located near a Thomas Ownsby in Granville/Bute.
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1754-1755 Militia List of Edgecombe County NC, pg #9 William Baker |
William Eaton, born in Prince George, VA, organized the milita for the adjacent Granville County at that same time, but no Blackards were included indicating that Charles Blackard was possibly still in Virginia in 1754, or else too young (under 16) to have been listed.
The first record that we have of our Charles Blackard I was the next year in Edgecombe County, North Carolina in 1755 on the Edgecombe/Granville county line working as a Sworn Chain Carrier in a land survey for the wealthy Welshman Samuel Willams.
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Edgecombe Co, NC Miscellaneous Land Papers #2208
Samuel Williams survey ------------------------------------------------------------------ Warrant: 12 Nov 1755 To Colo John Haywood To surevey 640 acres in Edgecombe on both sides of Pine Branch And a line supposed to be Colo. Moseley's Entered: 15 July 1755 Back reads Deed 6 July 1760 Plat 21 April 1756 (Misc. L.O.P #2209) 570 Acres Edgecombe Co on the bs of Pine Branch on the ns of Little Fishing Creek Adjoining Capt. Jos. John Alston Colo Moseley's line Williams own line And various courses of the creek SCC CHARLES BLACKARD, John Lott Surveyor: Johy Haywood (MARS ID 12.12.24.49) |
John Blackbond and John Haywood were neighors in 1754 and Charles Blackard worked with Haywood as sworn chain carrier the next year in 1755. Many NC genealogists say that chain carriers were most often neighbors of someone on the survey, so this leads me to believe that John Blackbond and Charles Blackard were related. The presence of a member of the Lett family on the 1747 and 1755 documents provides another link to J. Blacker. Charles Blackard witnessed the 1762 will of John Lett in Granville which indicates that they were friends. All three references can be tied to the same neighborhood on Fishing Creek near the Granville/Edgecombe county line. John Blacker/Blackbond is never recorded again but Charles Blackard next appears in the 1757 Granville tax list and is recorded several times in the following years. But then he disappears from the record before the 1770 tax list and was never recorded again. Therefore, it appears that Charles Blackard I died before 1770 or else he reached the age of 60 at which age NC court records show that men were retired from tax listing. But this conflicts with the possibility of him being in NC in 1754 and under age 16 at that time. I have not resolved this conflict at this point.
One more piece of circumstancial evidence links our Charles Blackard I and Prince George, Virginia. This the presence of the Primitive Baptist Church in both places.
The 1766 Bute County NC tax list placed Charles Blackard in the Baptist District and various deeds place him near a Baptist Meeting House.
The first Baptist church in Virginia was formed in Prince George and the descendants of its founder, Robeson, also migrated to Granville/Bute County. Israel Roberson, son of Nicholas Roberson of Bristol Parish Prince George VA moved to Edgecombe NC and then to Granville NC by 1754.
The Blackard family is latter associated with Primitive Baptist churches as are several of the families that Blackards married including Humphries and Hargis. Later in Caswell/Person County, NC the Primitive Baptist held services at the Hargis Meeting House which later became Mt. Zion Methodist Church. Many Blackards are buried there. Nearby was another Primitive Baptist Meeting House.
Many of the Welsh immigrants in adjacent Surry County, VA also showed an affinity for the Primitive Baptist Church. However, church attendence in the Anglican Church was required in those days. These early Baptist were actually fined in court records for non-attendence in the Anglican church even though they were actually attending services in the early Baptist Church.