.JkritkUlnn
Portion of Price-Strother 1808 map showing section of eastern North
V„^ Carolina and sites mentioned in the Pettigrew Papers. From W. P. dim-
ming, North Carolina in Maps (Raleigh: State Department of Archives
and History, 1966), Plate IX.
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THE PETTIGREW PAPERS
The Reverend Charles Pettigrew (ca. 1747-1808), Episcopal clergyman,
Edenton. Photograph from the files of the State Department of Archives
and History, Raleigh; copied from a photograph owned by Allen P. Petti-
grew of Raleigh.
SNorth Carolina State Library
Raleigh
N. C.
Doc.
The Pettigrew Papers
Volume I
1685-1818
Edited by
Sarah McCulloh Lemmon
Raleigh
State Department of Archives and History
1971
Copyright, 1971, by the North Carolina State Department of Archives
and History
STATE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Josh L. Home, Chairman
Miss Gertrude Sprague Carraway Fletcher M. Green
Gordon S. Dugger Hugh T. Lefler
T. Harry Gatton Edward W. Phifer, Jr.
H. G. Jones, Director
CONTENTS
List of illustrations, charts, and maps vii
Foreword ix
Introduction xi
Listing of letters and documents, 1685-1795 xxv
Listing of letters and documents, 1796-1806 xxviii
Listing of letters and documents, 1807-1818 xxx
The Pettigrew Papers, 1685-1795 1
The Pettigrew Papers, 1796-1806 176
The Pettigrew Papers, 1807-1818 400
Appendix A: A calendar of manuscripts in the Pettigrew family
papers in the Southern Historical Collection, Library of the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, for the period
1685-1818, which have been omitted from this volume 665
Appendix B : A calendar of manuscripts in the Pettigrew family
papers in the North Carolina State Department of Archives
and History, for the period 1685-1818, which have been omitted
from this volume 669
Index 671
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, CHARTS, AND MAPS
Charles Pettigrew Frontispiece
Pettigrew Family Chart xiv
Blount Family Chart xvi
Lockhart Family Chart xix
St. Paul's Church, Edenton 31
Josiah Collins 63
A Page of Poetry in the Pettigrew Papers 108
Map of Land Surveyed for Charles Pettigrew 181
"Belgrade" 287
First Pettigrew Chapel 310
St. David's Church 310
James Iredell, Jr 319
"Mulberry Hill" 388
Charles Pettigrew Marker 410
View of Scuppernong River 661
FOREWORD
Documentary volumes tend to be long-term projects, but the
papers of the Pettigrews have required more time than usual
to reach the stage of publication. In 1940 Dr. J. Carlyle Sitterson
of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reviewed the
Pettigrew collections and an agreement was reached whereby he
would edit the papers for publication by the State Department
of Archives and History. Dr. Sitterson, in 1949, relinquished the
job of editing to Dr. Bennett H. Wall, then of the University of
Kentucky. Dr. Wall found the lack of time for editing to be a
problem, and a decade later the job was assumed by Dr. C. 0.
Cathey, also of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dr. Cathey obtained funds for the typing of a significant amount
of material during the years he worked on the papers. Ad-
ministrative duties encroached on his editorial time, however,
and he also felt it necessary to give up the job. Dr. Sarah M.
Lemmon of Meredith College began working on the Pettigrew
family papers and correspondence in the fall of 1965. The State
Department of Archives and History wishes to acknowledge the
preliminary work by Drs. Sitterson, Wall, and Cathey and to
express appreciation to Dr. Lemmon for bringing to completion
the first volume in the series. Additional volumes will be pub-
lished in future years.
Included are papers of Charles Pettigrew, a teacher, planter,
and Episcopal minister; Ebenezer, his son, a planter and con-
gressman ; and James Johnston, a grandson, who practiced law
in South Carolina and died of wounds received in the Civil War.
The list of correspondents is extensive, and the papers provide
an excellent study of North Carolina life over a period of many
years.
Except where otherwise noted, illustrations are from the files
of the State Department of Archives and History. All pictures
were reproduced by Mrs. Madlin Futrell of the staff of the
Division of Museums. Mrs. Brenda S. Stott and Mrs. Mary
Reynolds Peacock, editorial assistants in the Division of Publica-
tions, prepared the copy for the printer; Mrs. Peacock assumed
responsibility for seeing the volume through the press.
February 1, 1971 Memory F. Mitchell
Historical Publications Editor
INTRODUCTION
The Pettigrew Family
According to the traditional family history,1 James Pettigrew
lived near Glasgow, Scotland. Because he fought on the side of
William of Orange in the Battle of the Boyne, he was rewarded
with an Irish estate in County Tyrone, where he removed. James
was the father of James Pettigrew III, born in 1713 in County
Tyrone. Sent to college to study medicine, he married Mary
Cochran while he was still in school. The couple, together with
at least four children, migrated to the New World and settled
at the present Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in November, 1740.
Charles Pettigrew was born March 20, (1744?), in Pennsyl-
vania. Little is known about his early life. In 1757 James Petti-
grew took his family and moved south, probably in search of
more land for his numerous children, who eventually numbered
thirteen. He stopped for three years in Lunenburg County, Vir-
ginia, where he rented a farm and practiced medicine. In those
days it was not disgraceful to call oneself a "quack," as both
he and his son Charles did. Charles here attended a local
classical school. Around 1760 the family crossed into Gran-
ville County, North Carolina, and James bought three hundred
acres of land in 1767 from Hornel Lewis. At this time a Pres-
byterian, James gave the land on which the first Presbyterian
church in North Carolina is reputed to have been erected. Charles
completed his education here under the Reverend Henry Pattillo,
who became a lifelong friend.2 In 1766 Charles was engaged as
a tutor for the children of the Hawkins and Macon families in
Warrenton ;3 he remained in Warrenton when in 1768 his father
once again moved south to Abbeville District, South Carolina,
1 This paragraph is summarized from "Traditional Family History" in
"Genealogy," Pettigrew Papers, Southern Historical Collection, University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, hereinafter cited as Pettigrew Papers,
UNC.
3 Bennett Harrison Wall, "Charles Pettigrew" (unpublished master's
thesis, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1940), 2-3, hereinafter
cited as Wall, "Charles Pettigrew." See also the letter from James Waddel
to Charles Pettigrew, February 10, 1804, Pettigrew Papers, UNC.
3 William E. Dodd, The Life of Nathaniel Macon (Raleigh: Edwards and
Broughton, 1903), 4, hereinafter cited as Dodd, Nathaniel Macon; Charles
Pettigrew to Benjamin Hawkins, December 16, 1802, in this volume (the
term "in this volume" refers to The Pettigrew Papers, Vol. I).
N.C. Department of Archives and History
where he died in 1784.4 Charles Pettigrew corresponded at
intervals with his family in South Carolina, the last letter
exchanged being in 1806 when his nephew William wrote of
his father's death and spoke of a desire to move to another
state. Other family members with whom he corresponded were
a brother Ebenezer, a brother William, a sister Mary Verner,
and a nephew John Witherspoon. A chart of Pettigrew family
members mentioned in this volume follows, based on informa-
tion given in the letters themselves.5
Charles Pettigrew moved to Edenton in 1773 following his
appointment by Governor Josiah Martin as schoolmaster.6 Al-
though still a Presbyterian, he was required as part of his
position to be lay reader at St. Paul's Anglican Church, of
which the Reverend Daniel Earle was rector. Whether self-
taught or tutored by Earle, he studied for the ministry, sailed
to London in the winter of 1774, and was ordained in 1775 by
the Bishops of London and Rochester.7 He returned to Edenton
and, as far as can be ascertained, never resided outside its
vicinity for the remainder of his life.
Charles Pettigrew appeared singularly untouched by the
Revolutionary War. He preached to the Senate of the state in
1777, but the House twice refused to approve a bill remunerating
him for the sermon.8 This was usually a sign of mistrust. When
drafted into service in the militia in 1780, he reported for duty
but soon found a substitute9 — although this could well have
been occasioned by the fact that he was but recently a father.
This appears to be the sum total of the war's impact upon him.
In 1778 Mr. Earle resigned his pastorate, possibly under
political pressures caused by the Revolutionary War, and
* Wall, "Charles Pettigrew," 4.
6 Ebenezer Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, February 22, 1789 [copy] ;
Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, May 25, 1789; William Pettigrew
to Charles Pettigrew, April 27, 1795; Charles Pettigrew to Mary Verner,
May 26, 1800; John Witherspoon to Charles Pettigrew, August 5, 1802;
Charles Pettigrew to John Witherspoon, September 22, 1802; John Wither-
spoon to Charles Pettigrew, March 4, 1803; William Pettigrew to Charles
Pettigrew, November 26, 1806; David Witherspoon to Ebenezer Pettigrew,
August 2, 1817, all in this volume.
8 Charles Pettigrew Appointed Schoolmaster, June 23, 1773, in this volume.
7 Wall, "Charles Pettigrew," 6-7. Upon his return to Edenton, Charles
Pettigrew received an annual salary of £20 from the Society for the Propa-
gation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts in addition to his other salaries.
8 Walter Clark (ed.), The State Records of North Carolina (Winston and
Goldsboro: State of North Carolina, 16 volumes, numbered XI-XXVI, 1895-
1914), XII, 149, 155, 159, 321, 322, hereinafter cited as Clark, State Records.
9 Charles Pettigrew Discharged from Military Service, June 27, 1780, in
this volume.
xii
The Pettigrew Papers
Charles Pettigrew was chosen rector with a salary of £100
per year, paid by subscription.10 In the same year, on October
29, he married Mary Blount, daughter of John and Sarah
Blount, both of whom were then deceased. Charles Pettigrew
was at that time thirty-four years of age and Mary Blount was
twenty-eight.11 A chart of this branch of the Blount family
follows.12
10 Subscription List for Sunday Services of Charles Pettigrew at Edenton,
May 1, 1778, Pettigrew Papers, UNC.
11 Blount-Pettigrew Genealogy in the handwriting of William S. Pettigrew,
"Genealogy," Pettigrew Papers, UNC, hereinafter cited as Blount-Pettigrew
Genealogy.
"This chart is based on information found in: Deposition by Mary Lock-
hart Pettigrew, undated but apparently around 1819, Pettigrew Papers,
UNC, hereinafter cited as Deposition by Mary Lockhart Pettigrew; Minute
Docket of the Chowan County Court of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions,
1812-1827, State Archives, State Department of Archives and History, Ra-
leigh, 24, hereinafter cited as Chowan County, Minute Docket, which indi-
cates that Frederick, Clement H., and Sarah P. Blount proved the division
of their inheritance from their father Frederick Blount at the September
term of the court, 1812 (this repository will hereinafter be cited as State
Archives) ; Marriage Bonds, Craven County, for Frederick Blount to
Rachel Bryan, October 1, 1807, and Ebenezer Pettegrew [sic] to Ann B.
Sheppard [sic], May 13, 1815, arranged alphabetically, State Archives
(unless otherwise noted, all further marriage bonds will be found in the
State Archives) ; Marriage Bonds, Pasquotank County, for William Shepard
to Mary Blount, May 12, 1794; Heads of Families at the First Census of
the United States Taken in the Year 1790: North Carolina (Baltimore:
Genealogical Publishing Company, 1966), 34, 134, for Charles Pettigrew,
Edenton District, Tyrrell County, and Wilson Blount, Newbern District,
Craven County; John Blount's will in J. Bryan Grimes, North Carolina
Wills and Inventories (Raleigh: Edwards and Broughton, 1912), 61; Dr.
Frederick Blount's will, September 23, 1822, in Craven County Records,
Wills 1775-1860, I, 75, State Archives (unless otherwise noted, all wills can
be found in the State Archives) ; Beasley Family in "Genealogy," Pettigrew
Papers, UNC, although there is apparently a substitution of the name
Joseph for that of Frederick; Blount-Pettigrew Genealogy for the marriage
of Elizabeth Blount to John Beasley, although he is mistaken for his son
Dr. John Beasley; Marriage Bonds, Chowan County, for John Beasley to
Sarah Liles, September 30, 1752, and Charles Pettigrew to Mary Blount,
October 28, 1778; inscriptions on tombstones in the Blount family cemetery
at "Mulberry Hill" plantation near Edenton; John Blount's will, December
8, 1753, in Chowan County Records, Wills 1694-1808, I, 46; and the follow-
ing items in this volume: Frederick Beasley to Charles Pettigrew, May 8,
1796; Frederick Beasley to Elizabeth Beasley, May 28, 1799; John Beasley
to Charles Pettigrew, September 21, 1799; Frederick Beasley to John
Beasley, April 11, 1805; Ann Beasley to John Beasley, June 10, 1805; Will
of Charles Pettigrew, January 26, 1806; Wilson Blount to Frederick
Blount, November 1, 1809; and Will of John Beasley, November 23, 1814.
There is an error in J. R. B. Hathaway (ed.), North Carolina Historical
and Genealogical Register, I (January, 1900), 132, hereinafter cited as
Hathaway, Historical and Genealogical Register, which has Frederick
Blount marrying Rachel Bryan, who was actually the wife of his nephew
Frederick Blount.
xm
N.C. Department of Archives and History
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The Pettigrew Papers
Charles and Mary Blount Pettigrew had five children : John,
born August 2, 1779, who died of a fever September 24, 1799;
Mary, born January 5, 1781, who died the following September;
Ebenezer, born March 10, 1783, who was the only one to reach
maturity; and twins, Mary and James, born prematurely on
March 7, 1786, who died within twelve hours. Mary Pettigrew
died March 16, following.13
The Pettigrews first lived on a plantation about a mile from
Edenton, possibly "Mulberry Hill," moving in 1786 to "Bel-
grade" on Harvey's Neck just a month before Mrs. Pettigrew
died. Two years later the father and two little boys moved
across Albemarle Sound to the vicinity of Scuppernong River
in Tyrrell County,14 where Charles had first acquired land in
1782. Here he began to develop a plantation.15 When the Eden-
ton consortium of Collins, Allen, and Dickinson connected Lake
Phelps with the Scuppernong River by means of Collins Canal,
Charles Pettigrew expanded his holdings down to the lake and
began to grow rice. This plantation he named "Bonarva" ; later
his son Ebenezer resided there.16
Until he moved to the Scuppernong, Pettigrew had remained
connected, if loosely, with St. Paul's Church in Edenton. Be-
tween 1790 and 1794, he associated himself with a handful of
clergy who were trying to organize the Episcopal Diocese of
North Carolina and to affiliate with the General Convention of
the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States. Upon
the fourth attempt to hold a convention at Tarborough, a con-
stitution was drawn up and Pettigrew was elected bishop. After
his intentions of journeying to Philadelphia for his consecra-
tion were thwarted by yellow fever in 1795 and again in 1798,
he gave up the effort and quietly conducted services, weddings,
and funerals as requested. He built two chapels on his own land
and preached in one or the other nearly every Sunday.17
13 Blount-Pettigrew Genealogy.
14 Memoir by Ebenezer Pettigrew, August 4, 1842, Pettigrew Papers, UNC.
Ebenezer gives a moving description of a small boy's reaction to a strange
new home.
15 Land Grants to Charles Pettigrew, October 29, 1782, May 18, 1789, and
November 30, 1795, Pettigrew Papers, UNC.
18 Wall, "Charles Pettigrew," 52-62.
17 Sarah McCulloh Lemmon, "The Genesis of the Protestant Episcopal
Diocese of North Carolina, 1701-1823," North Carolina Historical Review,
XXVIII (October, 1951), 456-457.
xv
N.C. Department of Archives and History
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XVI
The Pettigrew Papers
On June 12, 1794, Charles Pettigrew, then fifty years old
and father of two boys of fifteen and eleven years of age,
married Mary Lockhart, a maiden lady of forty-six who lived
with her widowed mother at "Scotch Hall" near Edenton.18 A
chart follows of the Lockhart family and some of its connec-
tions.19
Charles and Mary Lockhart Pettigrew continued to live at
her home, "Scotch Hall," for three years. The two boys were
sent to the newly opened University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, although their father constantly worried about the
morals of the students there and eventually withdrew his sons
in 1797. That same year, following Mrs. Lockhart's death, the
family moved to Tyrrell County where Charles first bought a
home and then in 1799 erected a larger one. Here he remained
until his death. Upon his recall from the university the older
son John, or Jackie, was sent to Nixonton to study medicine
under Dr. Andrew Knox, but he died in 1799. Ebenezer was sent
to the Edenton Academy where he made a lifelong friendship with
James Iredell, Jr., and Thomas B. Haughton.20
In 1803, however, Ebenezer, then twenty, was called home
by his father to take charge of the plantation on Lake Phelps.21
The family lived a busy life, managing their slaves, cultivating
rice and wheat, developing irrigation ditches and threshing
machines for both grains. Ships from Edenton, Plymouth, and
18 No marriage bond has been found for Charles Pettigrew and Mary
Lockhart. Wall erroneously gives the year as 1795; the correspondence in
this volume clearly indicates that it was prior to September 13, 1794. The
Lockhart Genealogy, undated papers, Pettigrew Papers, UNC, hereinafter
cited as Lockhart Genealogy, gives the date as June 12, 1794, but there has
been an erasure.
19 This chart is based on information found in: Deposition by Mary
Lockhart Pettigrew; Marriage Bonds, Bertie County, for George Ryan to
Elizabeth Lockhart, December 11, 1763; Lockhart Genealogy, although it
erroneously shows Elizabeth Lillington Lockhart as the daughter rather
than the sister of General Alexander Lillington (both of whom were chil-
dren of Major Alexander Lillington), and it also shows a Reverend Ebe-
nezer Pettigrew instead of Reverend Charles Pettigrew; and the following
items in this volume: Will of James Lockhart, December 7, 1753; Elizabeth
Lockhart Appointed Guardian, April 27, 1756; James Lockhart to Elizabeth
Lockhart, March 9, 1772; Alexander Lillington to Elizabeth Lockhart,
December 12, 1779; Will of Elizabeth Lockhart, January 10, 1791; Rebecca
Barnes to Mary Lockhart, August 6, 1792; William Clements to Charles
Pettigrew, September 13, 1794; David Lockhart to Charles Pettigrew,
August 24, 1796; Charles Pettigrew to Mrs. Tunstall, June 22, 1803; and
six letters from George L. Ryan to Mary Lockhart Pettigrew, June 3,
1807— August 19, 1811.
20 This is summarized from letters contained in this volume.
21 Ebenezer Pettigrew to Thomas B. Haughton, August 11, 1803, in this
volume, p. 312.
xvii
N.C. Department of Archives and History
Scuppernong sailed for the West Indies or for New York bear-
ing cargoes to various merchant firms and returning with fine
goods ordered by the planters. The chief New York firms dealt
with by the Pettigrews were Kelly & Mollan, Mollan & Rankin,
and Mollan, Rankin & Gallop. Upon occasion Ebenezer went to
New York to attend to business.22 Most of the time the Petti-
grews had no overseer ; and although Charles never wrote about
engaging in physical labor, Ebenezer frequently described sow-
ing wheat, building a barn, digging drainage ditches, and the
like.
On April 8, 1807, Charles Pettigrew died at the age of sixty-
three.23 Mrs. Pettigrew remained at "Belgrade" ; Ebenezer ap-
peared devoted to her and ran both plantations from "Bonarva."
Mrs. Elizabeth Pambrun was a companion to his stepmother
for many years.24 Although Ebenezer grieved that his friends
James Iredell and Thomas Haughton led a gay city life while
he was a hardworking farmer, he built up a valuable property.
In 1815 he owned 309 acres in Tyrrell County, 385 acres in
Washington County, and 17 slaves; although the acreage
was relatively small, the high tax valuation placed on it indi-
cated the excellence of his development of the property.25 After
a long courtship, Ebenezer married his cousin Ann (Nancy)
Blount Shepard of New Bern on May 17, 1815, and built a new
home for her that year, purchasing the furnishings from New
York.26 Nancy spent the summers at "Bonarva" and the winters
in New Bern, while Ebenezer managed the plantations. His
father-in-law, William Shepard, and Thomas Trotter, of Wash-
ington, North Carolina, were both important business associates
of his at this time. The couple had three children up to the end
of 1818: Charles Lockhart Pettigrew, born February 21, 1816;
22 See, for example, Ebenezer Pettigrew to Thomas B. Haughton, March
18, 1804, p. 338 in this volume.
23 Blount-Pettigrew Genealogy.
24 Elizabeth Pambrun, daughter of John Vail and Elizabeth Swann of
Chowan County, "lived many years in and about Edenton in a state of
widowhood." Deposition by Mary Lockhart Pettigrew.
25 Tax lists for Tyrrell and Washington counties, 1815, in Treasurer's and
Comptroller's Papers, County Settlements with the State, Tax Lists, Ruther-
ford-Wayne, 1786-1830, State Archives, hereinafter cited as Tax List for the
respective county.
26 Marriage Bonds, Craven County, for Ebenezer Pettegrew [sic] to Ann
B. Sheppard [sic], May 13, 1815; Carolina Federal Republican (New
Bern), May 30, 1815; Blount-Pettigrew Genealogy; Ebenezer Pettigrew
to Ann Shepard Pettigrew, November 21, 1815, and December 2, 1815,
pp. 497, 500, in this volume.
xviii
The Pettigrew Papers
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XIX
N.C. Department of Archives and History
William, born July 21, 1817, who died three days later; and
William Shepard, born October 3, 1818.27
The later history of the family will be continued in Volume II.
A Survey of the Papers
From 1685 to 1795 the chief correspondent was Charles Petti-
grew. Certain old family documents were kept by each of his
two wives, but the body of the papers pertains to the life of
Charles Pettigrew. A clergyman, his personal friends were
largely clergymen also. His old teacher and mentor, Henry
Pattillo, a Presbyterian clergyman, kept in touch with him.
During the 1780s a number of itinerant Methodist preachers
exchanged encouraging letters with Pettigrew: Caleb B. Peddi-
cord, Henry Metcalf, Beverly Allen, and Edward Dromgoole.
However, after the Methodists separated from the Anglican
communion, Pettigrew abandoned them and worked with the
Episcopal clergy of the state — Nathaniel Blount and Solomon
Hailing in particular — to establish a diocese in North Carolina,
climaxing with the correspondence relative to Charles Petti-
grew's unconsummated consecration as bishop. The papers
relative to this effort are almost entirely contained within the
Pettigrew collection and are published in this volume. Not much
of Charles Pettigrew's personal life is reflected here: only scat-
tered letters to his brother in South Carolina and a few to his
second wife and to his sons in school at the new University of
North Carolina.
The letters and documents from 1796 to 1806 end with the
death of Charles Pettigrew. Failing to be consecrated as bishop
of North Carolina, he wrote fewer letters of a religious nature
during this time, although he never lost interest in the con-
troversy over infant baptism. Correspondence with Nathaniel
Blount continued on a high literary and intellectual plane, with
a number of comments on Napoleon, Federalist and Republican
politics, and the wars in Europe. In 1800 a violent controversy
erupted between Charles Pettigrew and Amariah Biggs over the
veracity of each; the correspondence provides some amusement
to the present-day reader. An important group of letters per-
tains to college life at this time : John and Ebenezer not only
wrote lengthy letters home during their attendance at the uni-
27 Blount-Pettigrew Genealogy.
xx
The Pettigrew Papers
versity but continued to hear from friends following their with-
drawal; in addition, Frederick Beasley, John B. Haughton, and
James Iredell, Jr., attended Princeton and described their
studies and social life in letters to the Pettigrews. Finally, busi-
ness matters of the period received increasing attention from
the senior Pettigrew. He dealt with merchants in both Edenton
and New York; he began to develop two plantations south of
the sound ; he became involved in problems with land he had
bought in Tennessee; and he was several times in court con-
cerning debts owed his second wife or himself.
Between the years 1807 and 1818 the chief correspondent is
Ebenezer Pettigrew. A bachelor for eight years of this period,
he worked hard to continue the development of his two planta-
tions, to prevent encroachment on his lands, to build and furnish
a new house, and to care for his stepmother's affairs. His chief
New York factor was Stuart Mollan, who, combined with vari-
ous partners, sold Ebenezer's rice, wheat, and barrel staves,
and shipped him blankets, tombstones and millstones, iron,
machinery, and horses in return. Commerce between Edenton
and New York was considerable at that time. Thomas Trotter,
a remarkable Scotsman, was a frequent correspondent and re-
vealed much of the small manufacturing procedures of the
period. Another business friend was William Shepard of New
Bern, a Blount connection and man of many affairs — land, bank
stock, shipping. Several interesting references are made to the
Embargo Act, the Non-Intercourse Act, and events of the War
of 1812. Ebenezer Pettigrew, like his father, struggled with his
Tennessee lands and finally decided to sell them. The other
person most frequently included in the letters in this section is
Ann (Nancy) Blount Shepard, who married Ebenezer Petti-
grew. Their love letters reveal a beautiful and tender affection,
as well as a sense of humor on both sides.
The collection is so voluminous and continuous that it forms
an almost complete narrative account of the family's history and
can be read as such.
The entire collection contains a wealth of information on
religious life and affairs; on health and medicine; on daily life
in Edenton, New Bern, and on neighboring plantations ; and on
modes of travel. The student of the postal system will find
the complete addresses on the originals of much interest, espe-
cially the notations as to routes, costs, and dates of delivery.
The decision to conclude this volume with 1818 was entirely
XXI
N.C. Department of Archives and History
arbitrary, based on size. Between 1815 and 1830 there is no
natural break in the events covered by the papers.
Methodology
The Pettigrew Papers are deposited in the State Department
of Archives and History at Raleigh, North Carolina, and in the
Southern Historical Collection, Library of the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Following the caption of each
document, its location is indicated thus: A&H for Archives and
History, and UNC for the Library of the University of North
Carolina.
The Pettigrews did not use letter books, but they kept a large
number of their drafted letters and documents. As these are
in their own handwriting, they are authentic rather than copies.
Such documents have been marked with an asterisk (*) in the
caption. Only two letters are copies made by another person;
these are so indicated.
Spelling, or rather misspelling, varied greatly. The editor has
interpreted in brackets those words which are grossly mis-
spelled ; others which can be corrected by the addition of a letter
or two in brackets have been so treated ; still others which might
be interpreted as typographical errors have been marked sic;
the remainder, if pronounceable, have been left untouched. Ex-
cessively long dashes and flourishes have been reduced or elimi-
nated. If necessary for clarification, punctuation has been
inserted in brackets.
Indentation of salutations, closings, addresses, and paragraphs
has been made consistent throughout. Irrelevant notations or
those which are uninformative have been deleted. These are
chiefly scribbles on the backs of letters or remarks by the
postmaster through whose hands they have passed.
An effort has been made to identify as many persons and
places as possible, with the exception of presidents of the United
States, contemporary governors of North Carolina, Napoleon
Bonaparte, and other prominent persons. Where the writer has
given only one name, the first or last name where known has
been added in brackets with sufficient frequency to keep the
reader informed. Yet because of certain factors, such identifi-
cation has been at times impossible. The writer of the letter
may use only a common last name or a common first name.
At other times, the records of the period may be missing for
that very month or year. The editor has searched newspapers,
marriage bonds, county tax lists, censuses, minutes of the court
xxii
The Pettigrew Papers
of pleas and quarter sessions, civil action papers, wills, docu-
mentary volumes, memoirs, and genealogies. Except in cases
where the author of a letter remains unidentified, no notation
has been thought necessary to that effect.
In addition to the index, many footnotes also contain refer-
rals where the editor felt they were immediately valuable.
Special thanks are extended to Dr. C. 0. Cathey of the Uni-
versity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who directed the
original copying of the Pettigrew Papers before the pressure of
a deanship compelled him to abandon the enterprise; to the
staff of the search room at the State Department of Archives
and History ; to my good friend Dr. Carolyn A. Wallace, curator
of the Southern Historical Collection at UNC, who positively
delights in unearthing an obscure reference; and to my mother
who assisted in the wearing task of proofing typescript against
the original manuscripts. The editor also appreciates the en-
couragement, advice, and work of Mrs. Memory F. Mitchell,
head of the Division of Publications of the State Department of
Archives and History, and her staff (particularly Mrs. Brenda
S. Stott and Mrs. Mary R. Peacock, who saw the book through
the press) ; the late Dr. Christopher Crittenden, former director
of the State Department of ArcYves and History; and Dr. H. G.
Jones, director of the department.
Sarah McCulloh Lemmon
Meredith College
Raleigh, North Carolina
xxm
The Pettigrew Papers
PETTIGREW FAMILY PAPERS (1685-1818) INCLUDED
IN THIS VOLUME
Letters and Documents, 1685-1795
1. Will of James Blount, March 10, 1685
2. Will of James Lockhart, December 7, 1753
3. Elizabeth Lockhart Appointed Guardian, April 27, 1756
4. James Lockhart to Elizabeth Lockhart, March 9, 1772
5. Charles Pettigrew Appointed School Master, June 23,
1773
6. James Lockhart to Elizabeth Lockhart, May 17, 1774
7. Charles Cupples to Charles Pettigrew, June 16, 1776
8. Alexander Lillington to Elizabeth Lockhart, December
12, 1779
9. James Lockhart to Elizabeth Lockhart, December 16, 1779
10. Richard Templeman to Charles Pettigrew, January 10,
1780
11. Henry Pattilo to Charles Pettigrew, June 21, 1780
12. Charles Pettigrew Discharged from Military Service,
June 27, 1780
13. Devereux Jarratt to Charles Pettigrew, August 13, 1782
14. Caleb B. Peddicord to Charles Pettigrew, December 29,
1782
15. Caleb B. Peddicord to Charles Pettigrew, April 2, 1783
16. Henry Metcalf to Charles Pettigrew [August, 1783?]
17. James Campbell to Charles Pettigrew, April 7, 1784
18. Charles Pettigrew to Francis Asbury, May 1, 1784
19. James H. Thomson to Charles Pettigrew, May 18, 1784
20. Anthony Walke to Charles Pettigrew, August 12, 1784
21. Peter Singleton to Charles Pettigrew, August 16, 1784
22. Edward Dromgoole to Charles Pettigrew, September 6,
1784
23. William White to Charles Pettigrew, October 18, 1784
24. Philip Bruce to Charles Pettigrew, November 8, 1784
25. Beverly Allen to Charles Pettigrew, November 17, 1784
26. Peter Singleton to Charles Pettigrew, December 30, 1784
27. John Smith to Charles Pettigrew, January 10, 1785
28. Charles Pettigrew to Mary B. Pettigrew, January 24, 1785
29. Charles Pettigrew to Mary B. Pettigrew, March 11, 1785
30. Charles Pettigrew to Mary B. Pettigrew, March 11, 1785,
No. 2
XXV
N.C. Department of Archives and History
31. Peter Singleton to Charles Pettigrew, March 21, 1785
32. Charles Williamson and John Cornick to Charles Petti-
grew, May 6, 1785 [with enclosure]
33. Peter Singleton to Charles Pettigrew, May 7, 1785
34. William White to Charles Pettigrew, May 7, 1785
35. Charles Pettigrew to Charles Williamson and John Cor-
nick, May 9, 1785
36. William White to Charles Pettigrew, June 6, 1785
37. Beverly Allen to Charles Pettigrew, June 11, 1785
38. James H. Thomson to Charles Pettigrew, February 19,
1786 [with draft of reply]
39. Wilson Blount to Charles Pettigrew, April 25, 1786
40. Peter Singleton to Charles Pettigrew, April 26, 1787
41. Charles Pettigrew to William White, July 3, 1787
42. Receipt from Penelope Barker for Attendance at a Fu-
neral, February 27, 1788
43. Peter Singleton to Charles Pettigrew, June 10, 1788
44. Charles Pettigrew to Peter Singleton, July 14, 1788
45. Henry Pattillo to Charles Pettigrew, December 13, 1788
46. Charles Pettigrew to Henry Pattillo, January 9, 1789
47. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, February 22,
1789 [copy]
48. Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, May 25, 1789
49. Charles Pettigrew to the Edenton Printers, July 16, 1789
50. Charles Pettigrew to Leo. Cutting, November 9, 1789
51. Charles Pettigrew to [ ] Macdougall, November 9,
1789
52. Leo. Cutting to Charles Pettigrew, November 28, 1789
53. Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew, January 29, 1790
54. Charles Johnson to Charles Pettigrew, May 22, 1790
55. Charles Pettigrew to the Committee of Correspondence,
June 5, 1790
56. Proceedings of the Convention of the Clergy at Tar-
borough, June 5, 1790
57. Charles Pettigrew to Reverend Doctor William White,
June 6, 1790
58. Charles Pettigrew to John Leigh, June 16, 1790
59. Charles Pettigrew to John Leigh, June 29, 1790
60. Nathaniel Allen to Charles Pettigrew, July 25, 1790
61. James L. Wilson to Charles Pettigrew, December 30, 1790
62. Will of Elizabeth Lockhart, January 10, 1791
63. Charles Pettigrew to Nathaniel Allen [March 2, 1791?]
XXVI
The Pettigrew Papers
64. John Leigh to Charles Pettigrew, March 29, 1791
65. Nathaniel Allen to Charles Pettigrew, April 25, 1791
66. Charles Pettigrew to Nathaniel Allen, May 19, 1792
67. Charles Pettigrew to Thomas Littlejohn, June 18, 1791
68. Reverend Doctor William White to Charles Pettigrew,
August 8, 1791
69. James L. Wilson to Charles Pettigrew, March 10, 1792
70. Charles Pettigrew to Reverend Doctor William White,
March 12, 1792
71. Charles Pettigrew to John Leigh, April 5, 1792
72. Henry Pattillo to Charles Pettigrew, April 6, 1792
73. Charles Pettigrew to Henry Pattillo, May 12, 1792
74. Episcopal Gentlemen to Charles Pettigrew, July 15, 1792
75. Charles Pettigrew to Thomas Harman, July 16, 1792
76. Rebecca Barnes to Mary Lockhart, August 6, 1792
77. Rebecca Barnes to Mary Lockhart, July 6, 1793
78. Bill of Lading for Charles Pettigrew's Rice, August 6,
1793
79. Charles Pettigrew to Mary Lockhart, October 6, 1793
80. Solomon Hailing to Charles Pettigrew, October 28, 1793
81. Circular Letter to Members of the Protestant Episcopal
Church [December, 1793?]
82. Solomon Hailing to Charles Pettigrew, December 15, 1793
83. Receipt for Tuition for John and Ebenezer Pettigrew,
December 19, 1793
84. Sally Clements to Mary Lockhart, December 19, 1795
[1793]
85. Account of Charles Pettigrew with Charles F. Jandres,
January, 1794
86. Charles Pettigrew to Solomon Hailing, February 2, 1794
87. Charles Pettigrew to Andrew Knox, April 22, 1794
88. Journal of the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal
Church Held at Tarborough, May, 1794 [copy]
89. Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church in North
Carolina, May 29, 1794 [copy]
90. William Clements to Charles Pettigrew, September 13,
1794
91. Robert S. Smithey to Charles Pettigrew, November 1, 1794
92. Joseph Bryan to Charles Pettigrew, January 21, 1795
93. Charles Pettigrew to Mary L. Pettigrew, March 15, 1795
94. John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, April 5, 1795
95. Charles Pettigrew to Mary L. Pettigrew, April 8, 1795
XXVll
N.C. Department of Archives and History
96. William Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, April 27, 1795
97. John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, May 4, 1795
98. Robert Johnston Miller to Charles Pettigrew, May 6, 1795
99. John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, May 25, 1795
100. Charles Pettigrew to Reverend Doctor William White,
June 9, 1795
101. Invoice for Eighteen Casks of Rice, June 26, 1795
102. Reverend Doctor William White to Charles Pettigrew,
July 6, 1795
103. John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, July 7, 1795
104. Charles Pettigrew to Mary L. Pettigrew, July 8, 1795
105. Tuition Receipt for John and Ebenezer Pettigrew, July
15, 1795
106. Charles Pettigrew to Mary L. Pettigrew, August 29, 1795
107. Charles Pettigrew to Reverend Doctor William White,
September 5, 1795
108. Charles Pettigrew to John and Ebenezer Pettigrew, Sep-
tember 19, 1795
109. Charles Pettigrew to Mary L. Pettigrew, October 1, 1795
110. John and Ebenezer Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, Octo-
ber 3, 1795
111. Charles Pettigrew to Mary L. Pettigrew [October 8,
1795?]
112. Charles Pettigrew to Mary L. Pettigrew, October 9, 1795
113. Draft of Circular by Charles Pettigrew Requesting Elec-
tion of Vestries, October 10, 1795
114. Charles Pettigrew to Charles Moore, November 2, 1795
115. Marriage License for Robert Whyte and Pheddy Shep-
pard Glasgow, November 7, 1795, with marriage notation
of November 8, 1795
Letters and Documents, 1796-1806
1. John and Ebenezer Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, Feb-
ruary 23, 1796
2. Tuition Receipt for John and Ebenezer Pettigrew, Feb-
ruary 24, 1796
3. Charles Pettigrew to Frederic Beasley, March 1, 1796
4. Fragment of a Letter by Charles Pettigrew Pertaining
to a Civil Suit, March 27, 1796
5. John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, April 12, 1796
6. Solomon Hailing to Charles Pettigrew, April 19, 1796
7. Charles Moore to Charles Pettigrew, April 21, 1796
8. Frederic Beasley to Charles Pettigrew, May 8, 1796
XXVlll
The Pettigrew Papers
9. Elizabeth Pugh to Mary L. Pettigrew, June 17, 1796
10. John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, August 23, 1796
11. David Lockhart to Charles Pettigrew, August 24, 1796
12. F. P. Lennox to Mary L. Pettigrew, September 11, 1796
13. Charles Pettigrew's Account with William Littlejohn,
September 17, 1796
14. John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, September 29, 1796
15. Robert Whyte to Charles Pettigrew, September 30, 1796
16. Receipt for a Negro Boy, November 16, 1796
17. Frederic Beasley to Charles Pettigrew, December 12, 1796
18. Frederic Beasley to Charles Pettigrew, February 6, 1797
19. Howell Tatum to Charles Pettigrew, February 7, 1797
20. John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, March 22, 1797
21. Sally Clements to Mary L. Pettigrew, April 10, 1797
22. John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, May 27, 1797
23. John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, June 27, 1797
24. A Speech to be Delivered by Ebenezer Pettigrew, August
4, 1797
25. John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, August 29, 1797
26. Tax Receipt for Charles Pettigrew, September, 1797
27. Charles Pettigrew to John Pettigrew, October 8, 1797
28. Charles Pettigrew to Joseph Caldwell, November 10, 1797
[copy]
29. Thomas G. Amis to Ebenezer Pettigrew, June 25, 1798
30. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Thomas G. Amis, August 6, 1798
31. Reverend Doctor William White and William Smith to
Charles Pettigrew, August 8, 1798
32. John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, September 4, 1798
33. Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew, September 15,
1798
34. John London to Ebenezer Pettigrew, December 11, 1798
35. Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew, January 17, 1799
36. John Little to Charles Pettigrew, March 12, 1799
37. Frederic Beasley to Charles Pettigrew, March 8, 1799
38. Charles Pettigrew to John Pettigrew, May 18, 1799
39. Frederic Beasley to Elizabeth Beasley, May 28, 1799
40. Ebenezer Pettigrew to John London, July 15, 1799
41. Charles Pettigrew to Andrew Knox, August 20, 1799
42. John Beasley to Charles Pettigrew, September 21, 1799
43. H. Hooker to Charles Pettigrew, September 7 [27?], 1799
44. John London to Ebenezer Pettigrew, September 28, 1799
45. William Albertson to Charles Pettigrew, January 20, 1800
XXIX
N.C. Department of Archives and History
46. A Circular Requesting Support for Edenton Academy,
February 15, 1800
47. Arbitration Decision in the Case of Pettigrew v. Oliver,
May 1, 1800
48. Depositions Concerning Glebe Lands, May 7 and 8, 1800
49. Charles Pettigrew to Amariah Biggs, May 11, 1800
50. Charles Pettigrew to Mary Verner, May 26, 1800
51. Amariah Biggs to Charles Pettigrew, May 28, 1800
52. Charles Pettigrew to Amariah Biggs, June 7, 1800
53. Amariah Biggs to Charles Pettigrew, June 15, 1800
54. Charles Pettigrew to Amariah Biggs, July 3, 1800
55. Charles Pettigrew to Amariah Biggs [July, 1800?]
56. John Little to Charles Pettigrew, July 16, 1800
57. Howell Tatum to Charles Pettigrew, September 11, 1800
58. William Slade to Charles Pettigrew, January 2, 1801
59. Alexander Millen to Charles Pettigrew, January 22, 1801
60. Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew, May 21, 1801
61. Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew, January 23, 1802
62. Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, April 10, 1802
63. Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew, May 4, 1802
64. Charles Pettigrew to Nathaniel Blount [May, 1802?]
65. Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, May 19, 1802
66. Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, June 21, 1802
67. Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, June 30, 1802
68. John Witherspoon to Charles Pettigrew, August 5, 1802
69. Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, August 13, 1802
70. Charles Pettigrew to John Witherspoon, September 22,
1802
71. Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 17,
1802
72. Charles Pettigrew to Benjamin Hawkins, December 16,
1802
73. Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, December 16,
1802
74. Thomas B. Haughton to Ebenezer Pettigrew, January 2,
1803 [1804]
75. John Witherspoon to Charles Pettigrew, March 4, 1803
76. Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew, May 9, 1803
77. Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, May 19, 1803
78. Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, May 22, 1803
79. Charles Pettigrew to Nathaniel Blount, June 6, 1803
80. Phillis Jennings to Mary [B.] Pettigrew, June 10, 1803
XXX
The Pettigrew Papers
81. Charles Pettigrew to Rebecca Tunstall, June 22, 1803
82. Charles Pettigrew to Amariah Biggs, June 23, 1803
83. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Thomas B. Haughton, August 11,
1803
84. Thomas B. Haughton to Ebenezer Pettigrew, August 15,
1803
85. Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew, August 16, 1803
86. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James Iredell, Jr., August 17, 1803
87. Charles Pettigrew to Amariah Biggs, August 20, 1803
88. James Iredell, Jr., to Ebenezer Pettigrew, August 23, 1803
89. Charles Pettigrew to Nathaniel Blount, August 23, 1803
90. Charles Pettigrew to Howell Tatum, September 12, 1803
91. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James Iredell, Jr., October 15, 1803
92. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Thomas B. Haughton, October 16,
1803
93. James Iredell, Jr., to Ebenezer Pettigrew, November 11,
1803
94. James Iredell, Jr., to Ebenezer Pettigrew, December 16,
1803
95. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James Iredell, Jr., December 26,
1803
96. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James Iredell, Jr., December 31,
1803
97. James Iredell, Jr., to Ebenezer Pettigrew, January [26?],
1804
98. [Ebenezer Pettigrew] to James Iredell, Jr. [1804]
99. Charles Pettigrew to Nathaniel Blount, February 22, 1804
100. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James Iredell, Jr., March 15, 1804
101. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Thomas B. Haughton, March 18,
1804
102. James Iredell, Jr., to Ebenezer Pettigrew, March 28, 1804
103. Thomas B. Haughton to Ebenezer Pettigrew, April 4, 1804
104. Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew, May 7, 1804
105. Thomas B. Haughton to Ebenezer Pettigrew, May 19,
1804
106. James Iredell, Jr., to [Ebenezer Pettigrew], June 4, 1804
107. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Thomas B. Haughton, July 4, 1804
108. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James Iredell, Jr., July 4, 1804
109. Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew, August 20, 1804
110. Thomas B. Haughton to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 7,
1804
111. James Iredell, Jr., to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 16,
1804
N.C. Department of Archives and History
112. Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 25,
1804
113. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Thomas B. Haughton, December
8, 1804
114. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James Iredell, Jr., December 13,
1804
115. James Iredell, Jr., to Ebenezer Pettigrew, January 11,
1805
116. Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew [February, 1805?]
117. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James Iredell, Jr., March 20, 1805
118. Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, March 21, 1805
119. Thomas B. Haughton to Ebenezer Pettigrew, April 9, 1805
120. Frederic Beasley to John Beasley, April 11, 1805
121. James Iredell, Jr., to Ebenezer Pettigrew, April 25, 1805
122. Invitation to a Ship Launching, May 18, 1805
123. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James Iredell, Jr., May 25, 1805
124. Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew, May 25, 1805
125. Charles Pettigrew to [ ] Ross, May 29, 1805
126. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Thomas B. Haughton, June 6, 1805
127. Ann Beasley to John Beasley, June 10, 1805
128. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, August 17, 1805
129. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James Iredell, Jr., September 26,
1805
130. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James Iredell, Jr., January 6, 1806
131. Will of Charles Pettigrew [January 26, 1806]
132. James Iredell, Jr., to Ebenezer Pettigrew, February 13,
1806
133. Wills & Beasley to Charles Pettigrew, March 12, 1806
134. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James Iredell, Jr., April 18, 1806
135. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Thomas B. Haughton, April 24,
1806
136. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Stuart Mollan, May 7, 1806
137. Thomas B. Haughton to Ebenezer Pettigrew, June 7,
1806
138. Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, June 15, 1806
139. James Iredell, Jr., to Ebenezer Pettigrew, June 18, 1806
140. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James Iredell, Jr., August 6, 1806
141. Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, September 2,
1806
142. William Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, November 26,
1806
XXXll
The Pettigrew Papers
143. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James Iredell, Jr., December 31,
1806
144. Fragment by Charles Pettigrew [1806]
Letters and Documents, 1807-1818
1. Howell Tatum to Charles Pettigrew, February 26, 1807
2. John Popelston to Ebenezer Pettigrew, April 30, 1807
3. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Tredwell & Thorn, May 25, 1807
4. George L. Ryan to Mary L. Pettigrew, June 3, 1807
5. George L. Ryan to Mary L. Pettigrew, August 10, 1807
6. William Shepard to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 24, 1807
7. Stephen R. Hooker to Ebenezer Pettigrew, November 10,
1807
8. George L. Ryan to Mary L. Pettigrew, December 6, 1807
9. George L. Ryan to Mary L. Pettigrew, March 2, 1808
10. George L. Ryan to Mary L. Pettigrew, April 6, 1808
11. Stuart Mollan to Ebenezer Pettigrew, August 11, 1808
12. Stuart Mollan to Ebenezer Pettigrew, November 28, 1808
13. Ebenezer Pettigrew's Account with Joseph Christopher
for 1808
14. Henry A. Donaldson to Ebenezer Pettigrew, May 10, 1809
15. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Stuart Mollan, May 29, 1809
16. John Armistead to Ebenezer Pettigrew, May 31, 1809
17. Ebenezer Pettigrew's Account with Kelly & Mollan, June
16, 1809
18. Kelly & Mollan to Ebenezer Pettigrew, June 19, 1809
19. James Norcom to Ebenezer Pettigrew, July 20, 1809
20. Thomas Trotter to Ebenezer Pettigrew, July 24, 1809
21. Ebenezer Pettigrew's Account with Kelly & Mollan,
August 5, 1809
22. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Stuart Mollan, August 20, 1809
23. Receipt for Purchase of Blankets, October 23, 1809
24. Stuart Mollan to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 25, 1809
[?]
25. Wilson Blount to Frederick Blount, November 1, 1809
26. George L. Ryan to Ebenezer Pettigrew, November 1,
1809
27. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Stuart Mollan, February 2, 1810
28. Stuart Mollan to Ebenezer Pettigrew, February 14, 1810
29. Thomas Trotter to Ebenezer Pettigrew, August 21, 1810
XXXlll
N.C. Department of Archives and History
30. Ebenezer Pettigrew's Account with Mollan & Rankin,
August 29, 1810
31. Thomas Trotter to Ebenezer Pettigrew, August 30, 1810
32. Thomas Trotter to Ebenezer Pettigrew, September 13,
1810
33. Thomas Trotter to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 2, 1810
34. Thomas Trotter to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 28, 1810
35. Mollan & Rankin to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 29, 1810
36. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Harriet [Slade] Langley, Novem-
ber 4, 1810
37. Thomas Trotter to Ebenezer Pettigrew, December 5, 1810
38. Invitation to Ebenezer Pettigrew, December 8, 1810
39. Introducing Ebenezer Pettigrew, December 24, 1810
40. Thomas Trotter to Ebenezer Pettigrew, January 31, 1811
41. Reuben Carnal to Ebenezer Pettigrew, February 1, 1811
42. J. W. Littlejohn to Ebenezer Pettigrew, March 5, 1811
43. Ebenezer Pettigrew to John Armistead, March 14, 1811
44. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Mollan & Rankin, March 14, 1811
45. Ebenezer Pettigrew's Receipt for Purchase of Two Mules,
May 4, 1811
46. Thomas Trotter to Ebenezer Pettigrew, June 20, 1811
47. James Hoskins to Ebenezer Pettigrew, June 28, 1811
48. Mollan & Rankin to Ebenezer Pettigrew, August 5, 1811
49. George L. Ryan to Mary L. Pettigrew, August 19, 1811
50. Thomas Trotter to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 28, 1811
51. Stuart Mollan to Ebenezer Pettigrew, February 4, 1812
52. Frederick W. Hatch to Ebenezer Pettigrew, April 17,
1812
53. Frederick W. Hatch to Ebenezer Pettigrew, May 16, 1812
54. Thomas Trotter to Ebenezer Pettigrew, July 8, 1812
55. Thomas Trotter to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 26, 1812
56. Thomas Trotter to Ebenezer Pettigrew, December 25,
1812
57. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Moses Fisk, January 24, 1813
[with copy of letter to Moses Fisk, November 6, 1811]
58. Moses Fisk to Ebenezer Pettigrew, May 17, 1813
59. Thomas Trotter to Ebenezer Pettigrew, June 1, 1813
60. Benedicta Smith to Mary L. Pettigrew, August 18, 1813
61. Stuart Mollan to Ebenezer Pettigrew, November 3, 1813
62. John Haughton to Mary L. Pettigrew, January 20, 1814
XXXIV
The Pettigrew Papers
63. Clement H. Blount to Ebenezer Pettigrew, January 30,
1814
64. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Frederick Blount, March 18, 1814
65. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Frederick Blount, May 26, 1814
66. Moses Fisk to Ebenezer Pettigrew, June 6, 1814
67. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Frederick Blount, J[uly?] 17, 1814
68. Ebenezer Pettigrew to William Shepard, September 6,
1814
69. Clement H. Blount to Ebenezer Pettigrew, September 18,
1814
70. Ebenezer Pettigrew's Tax Receipt for Land in Tennessee,
October 24, 1814
71. Moses Fisk to Ebenezer Pettigrew, November 15, 1814
72. Will of John Beasley, November 23, 1814
73. Ebenezer Pettigrew to William Shepard, December 17,
1814
74. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann B. Shepard, December 17,
1814
75. William Shepard to Ebenezer Pettigrew, December 22,
1814
76. Frederick Blount to Ebenezer Pettigrew, December 23,
1814
77. William Shepard to Ebenezer Pettigrew, February 6, 1815
78. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann B. Shepard, April 14, 1815
79. Ebenezer Pettigrew to William Shepard, April [14], 1815
80. Frederick Blount to Ebenezer Pettigrew, April 17, 1815
81. Ann B. Shepard to Ebenezer Pettigrew, April 17, 1815
82. William Shepard to Ebenezer Pettigrew, April 17, 1815
83. Ebenezer Pettigrew to [Thomas Trotter], April [n.d.],
1815
84. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Mollan & Rankin, May 1, 1815
85. Ann S. Pettigrew to Hannah Shepard, May 29, 1815
86. Ebenezer Pettigrew to John Shepard, July 18, 1815
87. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann S. Pettigrew, October 10,
1815
88. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 15, 1815
89. Sheriff's Conveyance to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 16,
1815
90. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, November 5,
1815
91. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann S. Pettigrew, November 10,
1815
XXXV
N.C. Department of Archives and History
92. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann S. Pettigrew, November 21,
1815
93. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, November 30,
1815
94. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann S. Pettigrew, December 2,
1815
95. Moses Fisk to Ebenezer Pettigrew, December 14, 1815
96. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann S. Pettigrew, January [n.d.],
1816
97. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, January 22,
1816
98. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, February 1, 1816
99. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann S. Pettigrew, February 9,
1816
100. William Shepard to Ebenezer Pettigrew, February 18,
1816
101. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Stuart Mollan, February [n.d.],
1816
102. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, March 14, 1816
103. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann S. Pettigrew, March 15, 1816
104. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, March [n.d.],
1816
105. William Shepard to Ebenezer Pettigrew, March 19, 1816
106. Will of William Shepard, April 4, 1816
107. Ebenezer Pettigrew to [William Shepard], April 8, 1816
108. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, April [n.d.],
1816
109. Thomas Trotter to Ebenezer Pettigrew, April 15, 1816
110. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Stuart Mollan, June 13, 1816
111. Ann S. Pettigrew to Hannah Shepard, June 26, 1816
112. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James Iredell, Jr., July 5, 1816
113. Ann S. Pettigrew to Mary Shepard, July 7 [1816]
114. Moses Fisk to Ebenezer Pettigrew, July 17, 1816
115. William Shepard to Ebenezer Pettigrew, August 21, 1816
116. Agreement between Moses E. Cator and Ebenezer Petti-
grew, August 30, 1816
117. Ebenezer Pettigrew to William Shepard, September 2,
1816
118. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Mary L. Pettigrew, September 4,
1816
119. Ebenezer Pettigrew's Bill of Lading for Wheat, Septem-
ber 9, 1816
XXXVI
The Pettigrew Papers
120. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Stuart Mollan, September 10, 1816
121. William Shepard to Ebenezer Pettigrew, September 30,
1816
122. William Shepard to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 1, 1816
123. John Haughton to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 11, 1816
124. William Shepard to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 14, 1816
125. Moses Fisk to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 25, 1816
126. Ebenezer Pettigrew's Power of Attorney to Moses E.
Cator, November 2, 1816
127. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, December 27,
1816
128. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann S. Pettigrew, December 31,
1816
129. Ebenezer Pettigrew Appointed Justice of the Peace,
[n.d.], 1817
130. Statement of the Cost of a Negro Man for One Year,
[n.d.], 1817
131. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Moses E. Cator, January 7, 1817
132. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann S. Pettigrew, January 7,
1817 [with enclosure]
133. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, January 17,
1817
134. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann S. Pettigrew, January 20, 1817
135. Snoad B. Carraway to Ebenezer Pettigrew, January 28,
1817
136. Moses Fisk to Ebenezer Pettigrew, January 28, 1817
137. John Haughton to Mary L. Pettigrew, January 30, 1817
138. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Mollan, Rankin & Gallop, March
1, 1817
139. Eliza Hooker to Mary L. Pettigrew, March 4, 1817
140. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, March 4, 1817
141. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, March 11, 1817
142. Mollan, Rankin & Gallop to Ebenezer Pettigrew, March
14, 1817
143. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Moses Fisk, March 15, 1817
144. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann S. Pettigrew, March 22, 1817
145. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, March [n.d.],
1817
146. Thomas Trotter to Ebenezer Pettigrew, March 28, 1817
147. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James C. Johnston, March 29, 1817
xxxvn
N.C. Department of Archives and History
148. Snoad B. Carraway to Thomas Trotter, April 2, 1817
149. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James C. Johnston, April 18, 1817
150. William B. Shepard to Ebenezer Pettigrew, April 18, 1817
151. Ebenezer Pettigrew to David Witherspoon, April 24, 1817
152. George L. Ryan to Mary L. Pettigrew, April 26, 1817
153. James B. Fuller to Ebenezer Pettigrew, May 15, 1817
154. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James C. Johnston, May 19, 1817
155. John Vail to Ebenezer Pettigrew, May 19, 1817
156. Ebenezer Pettigrew's Bill of Lading for Corn, May 28,
1817
157. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Mollan, Rankin & Gallop, May 28,
1817
158. William Shepard to Ebenezer Pettigrew, July 1, 1817
159. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Moses Fisk, July 7, 1817
160. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Mollan, Rankin & Gallop, July 17,
1817
161. Judgment against William Claughs and John Morrimer,
July 18, 1817
162. Ebenezer Pettigrew to William Shepard, July 28, 1817
163. Snoad B. Carraway to Thomas Trotter, August 1, 1817
164. David Witherspoon to Ebenezer Pettigrew, August 2,
1817
165. Moses E. Cator to Ebenezer Pettigrew, August 5, 1817
166. Mollan, Rankin & Gallop to Ebenezer Pettigrew, August
8, 1817
167. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Mollan, Rankin & Gallop, August
31, 1817
168. [Mollan, Rankin & Gallop] to Ebenezer Pettigrew, Sep-
tember 5, 1817
169. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Mollan, Rankin & Gallop, Septem-
ber 7, 1817
170. William Shepard to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 1, 1817
171. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James C. Johns [t] on, October 16,
1817
172. Ebenezer Pettigrew's Note to Mary L. Pettigrew, October
23, 1817
173. George L. Ryan to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 23, 1817
174. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James C. Johnston, October 27, 1817
175. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Moses E. Cator, November 1, 1817
176. George Witherspoon to Ebenezer Pettigrew, December 7,
1817
XXXVlll
The Pettigrew Papers
177. Hannah B. Shepard to Ann S. Pettigrew, December 10,
1817
178. Josiah Collins, Jr., to Ebenezer Pettigrew, December 10,
1817
179. Moses E. Cator to Ebenezer Pettigrew, January 9, 1818
180. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, January 22, 1818
181. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann S. Pettigrew, January 25, 1818
182. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, February 1, 1818
183. William Shepard to Ebenezer Pettigrew, February 6, 1818
184. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann S. Pettigrew, February 12,
1818
185. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, February 20,
1818
186. Account of Ebenezer Pettigrew with Mollan, Rankin &
Gallop, February 27, 1818
187. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann S. Pettigrew, March 6, 1818
188. William B. Shepard to Hannah Shepard, March 8, 1818
189. William Shepard to Ebenezer Pettigrew, March 9, 1818
190. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann S. Pettigrew, March 10, 1818
191. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, March 12, 1818
192. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, March 17, 1818
193. Moses E. Cator to Ebenezer Pettigrew, March 21, 1818
194. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann S. Pettigrew, April 19, 1818
195. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, April 20, 1818
196. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James C. Johnston, May 1, 1818
197. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann S. Pettigrew, May 1, 1818
198. Moses Fisk to Ebenezer Pettigrew, May 29, 1818
199. Thomas Trotter to Ebenezer Pettigrew, May 31, 1818
200. Mary Shepard to Ann S. Pettigrew, June 4, 1818
201. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James C. Johnston, June 6, 1818
202. William Shepard to Ebenezer Pettigrew, June 26, 1818
203. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Mollan, Rankin & Gallop, July 11,
1818
204. Bill of Lading of Ebenezer Pettigrew to Mollan, Rankin &
Gallop, July 11, 1818
205. Account of Sales of Ebenezer Pettigrew's Wheat, July 23,
1818
206. George Witherspoon to Ebenezer Pettigrew, July 24, 1818
207. Stuart Mollan to Ebenezer Pettigrew, July 25, 1818
208. Bill of Lading of Mollan, Rankin & Gallop to Ebenezer
Pettigrew, July 25, 1818
209. William Shepard to Ebenezer Pettigrew, August 2, 1818
XXXIX
N.C. Department of Archives and History
210. Frederick Blount to Ebenezer Pettigrew, August 5, 1818
211. William Shepard to Ebenezer Pettigrew, August 5, 1818
212. Mary Shepard to Ann S. Pettigrew, August 5, 1818
213. James Moffatt to Ebenezer Pettigrew, August 6, 1818
214. James Hoskins to Ebenezer Pettigrew, August 7, 1818
215. M. C. Sawyer to Ebenezer Pettigrew, August 13, 1818
216. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Moses E. Cator, August 13, 1818
217. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Moses Fisk, August 13, 1818
218. Ann S. Pettigrew to Mary Shepard, August 14, 1818
219. David Goodmers to Ebenezer Pettigrew, August 18, 1818
220. Moses Fisk to Ebenezer Pettigrew, September 10, 1818
221. Richard Wood to Lois Bateman, September 13, 1818
222. Thomas Trotter to Ebenezer Pettigrew, September 21, 1818
223. Bill of Sale to Ebenezer Pettigrew, September 21, 1818
224. George L. Ryan to Ebenezer Pettigrew, September 25, 1818
225. J. and J. N. Gordon to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 2, 1818
226. Ebenezer Pettigrew to William Shepard, October 3, 1818
227. George L. Ryan to Ebenezer Pettigrew, October 17, 1818
228. Account of Ebenezer Pettigrew with Moses Fisk, Novem-
ber 6, 1818
229. James C. Johnston to Ebenezer Pettigrew, November 15,
1818
230. Ebenezer Pettigrew to William Peace, November 15, 1818
231. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Mollan, Rankin & Gallop, November
15, 1818
232. Moses E. Cator to Ebenezer Pettigrew, November 21, 1818
233. Ebenezer Pettigrew to James C. Johnston, November 27,
1818
234. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann S. Pettigrew, December 9, 1818
235. Ann S. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, December 16, 1818
236. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Stuart Mollan, December 18, 1818
237. Ebenezer Pettigrew to Ann S. Pettigrew, December 18, 1818
238. Ebenezer Pettigrew's Method of Making Leather Impervi-
ous to Water, December 20, 1818
239. Ebenezer Pettigrew to William Shepard, December 25, 1818
240. Bill of Sale for a Slave, December 30, 1818
xl
THE PETTIGREW PAPERS
Letters and Documents, 1685-1795
Will of James Blount**1
[March 10, 1685]
In the Name of God, Amen! I James Blount of Chowan Pre-
cinct In the County of Albemarle In the Province of Carolina
Esq1", well knowing the uncertainty of this life doe make ordain
and Appoint this to bee my Last will & Testament hereby re-
voking & annulling all former wills by me made, & this only to
be taken and reputed as my Last will.
Imp8., I Bequeath my Soul to God who gave it & my Body to
the earth to be decently enterred, & as for that worldly
Estate which it hath pleased God to bestow upon me
in this Life, my Just Debts funeral expences & legacyes,
being first paid I give & bequeath as followeth —
Item., I give unto my Son James Blount one Shilling in
Country comodities to be paid him by my Executrix
hereafter named within one yeare after my Decease.,
Item., I give unto my sonn Thomas Blount & to my two
Daughters Ann Slocumb & Elizabeth Hawkins each
of them twelve pounds a pece in Country Comodities
to be paid them within one yeare after my Decease.,
Item., I give & bequeath to my grand Children James Sarah
& Ann Blount the Children of my Sonn Thomas
Blount & to Ann Slocumb the child of my Daughter
Ann Slocumb & to John Hawkins the sonn of My
Daughter Elizabeth Hawkins Each of them a Cow &
Calfe to be paid to their several parents within three
yeares after my Decease in some sort of Stock to run
for the use & behoof of the said Children till they
severally come of age or by marriage capacitated to
receive the same.,
Item., I give & bequeath all the remainder part of my Estate
reall & personall whether it consists in Lands Houses
negroes servants Stock household goods or any other
kind or Specie whatsoever unto my loving Wife Ann
Blount for her to have hold occupy & enjoy during her
natural Life without Lett or controule and at her
1 James Blount was the great-grandfather of Mary Blount, first wife of
Charles Pettigrew. See the introduction for an account of the family.
2 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Death to dispose out of the same to the value of sixty
pounds in Country comodities to whomsoever she shall
think fitt and after her my said wifes decease I give
the whole remainder of my Estate to my sonn John
Blount & his heirs forever and I do hereby appoint &
ordaine that my said Sonn John shall be decently
maintained out of the Estate during his minority and
in Case my said wife Ann should live till after my
said Son John should come of age, then if he should
happen to marry, or to go live in some other place from
my said wife, then she to pay him thirty or forty
pounds (which she pleaseth) in Country Commodities.,
Lastly I appoint my Loving Wife Ann Blount my whole &
sole Executrix of this my Last Will & Testament de-
siring her to be careful in every article & clause thereof
& for conf ermation of the same I hereunto set my hand
& seal this ninth Day of July in the year of our Lord
God one thousand six hundred & eighty five March
the 10th 1685.,
Before signing sealing or publication I do hereby appoint,
that in Case my sonn John should dye without heir male, then
I give & bequeath all my Lands & houses to the heir male of
my son Thomas Blount, & so successively doe entail the same
on the heirs of my said Thomas forever. But in case the heirs
male of my said John & Thomas should both fail, Then I entail
the same on the heirs general of Son John, first then, of my son
Thomas, and if both should fail, then of the heirs of my Daugh-
ters Ann Slocum & Elizabeth Hawkins
Signed sealed & James Blount
published, as his Last will &
testament in presence of
her
Jane x (her mark) Miller
mark
John Hall
William Dobson
John Wettinhall
[Notation on the back:]
(The above was proved & registered a Copy — )
The Pettigrew Papers 3
Will of James Lockhart*2 unc
December 7th. 1753
In the name of God Amen
I James Lockhart of Bertie County in North Carolina being
very low and weak in Body, but in perfect mind & memory
make this my last will and Testament Revoking all other here-
tofore made; first; I recommend my Soul into the hands of
Almighty God who Gave it in hopes of a Joyfull Resurriction —
Imprimus my will is that my Dear & loving Wife — Elizabeth
Lockhart live on and enjoy all the Priviledge of the plantation
where I now live and at her decease I give it to my son Lillington
Lockhart to him and his heirs forever — My two Plantations at
Cashock I give to my son George Lockhart to him and his heirs
forever — All the rest of my lands I give to my Son James
Lockhart to him and his heirs forever and after all my Just
Debts is paid the remainder of my Estate my will and desire
is that it be equally divided to my dear wife and among my
Children each one an Equal Share —
If it Should please God that either of my children Should die
before they marry or come of age their Share to be equally
divided as before mentioned — And further I desire that my son
Lillington Lockhart have my hourse Stousey — My will and disire
is that my dear wife Elizabeth Lockhart my Son Lillington
Lockhart and my friend Michael Coutanch3 act as Executors to
this my last Will and Testament —
Signed & Sealed Jas. Lockhart Seale
in presence of us
Edward Bryan
John Burn
Thos Jacox
Andrew Burn Jun'r
2 James Lockhart was the father of Mary Lockhart, second wife of
Charles Pettigrew. See the introduction for an account of the family.
3 Michael Coutanch was apparently a resident of Beaufort County, where
a Michael Cotanche was named executor for the estate of John Peyton
Porter in 1755, and a Mitchell Courtanch was executor for the estate of
James Brown in Bath Town in 1746. J. Bryan Grimes, Abstract of North
Carolina Wills Compiled from Original and Recorded Wills in the Office
of the Secretary of State (Raleigh: E. M. Uzzell & Co., 1910), 50, 295,
hereinafter cited as Grimes, Abstract of Wills. Captain Michael Coutanche
built the house known as the Palmer-Marsh House in Bath about 1744.
Historic Bath (Raleigh: State Department of Archives and History
[1963]), passim. Undoubtedly all of the names used refer to the same
person.
4 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Bartie [sic] County May Court 1754
The last will and Testament of James Lockhart Decd. was
Echepted into Court by Lillington Lockhart one of the Executors
appointed by the sd. Will & was proved by the Oath of Andrew
Burn one of the Subscribing witnesses thereto. At the Same
time the Said Lillington Quallefied himself by taking the oath
of an Executor ordered that the Same be certified
Copy Sam'l Armes CI Cur.
J Speight Cro. sec
Elizabeth Lockhart Appointed Guardian* UNC
[April 27, 1756]
North Carolina
Bertie County
At a Court Begun and Holden for Bertie County on the xxviith
Day of April Anno Dom. MDCCLVI
Present His Majestys Justices.
ordered that Elizabeth Lockhart be and she is hereby ap-
pointed guardian to Mary Lockhart (orphan or minor of James
Lockhart Deced) under the age of fourteen years, She Giving
Secu[ri]ty in the sum of Three hundred Pound Proclamation
money : and Thereupon Edward Rasor4 Esquire and David Ryan5
appeared in Court and offered themselves as Secu[ri]ty, who
was approved off.
It is also further Ordered that the said Elizabeth Lockhart
take into her Possession all the Estate Belonging to the said
4 Edward Rasor was apparently a prominent citizen of Bertie County to
judge by the frequency with which he served as executor of estates and/or
as witness to wills. Grimes, Abstract of Wills, 87, 280, 306, 331, 367.
6 David Ryan was the son of Thomas Ryan of Bertie County, a man of
some property, who died in 1753 leaving to David land on Cashy (Cashie)
Neck and to another son, George, two plantations in Chowan County, a
water mill, and 150 acres of land on the Cashy River. A daughter, Eliza-
beth, married Cornelius Campbell, thus making a connection with another
family which is frequently mentioned in the letters which follow. Thomas
Ryan's will is in Grimes, Abstract of Wills, 323.
The Pettigrew Papers 5
Orphan and an Inventory thereof to Return (on oath) to this
Court at next Sitting.
Benj". Wynns Cler Cut
Guardianship of Mary Lockhart.
Order.
Copy
1756
James Lockhart 6 to Elizabeth Lockhart a&h
On board the Snow 7 Hope Teaches Hole 8
9th March 1772
My Dear Mother
I acquainted you the 5th. Instant under cover of Col0. [Ed-
ward?] Vail9 of our arrivall here to which please be Referred
Since which I mett with one Mr. Francis Dawson who lives
in the Mouth of Neuse River about 30 Miles below Newbern
and 70 or 80 from Uncle Lillington's he has given me a kind
Invitation to his House and the Lent of a Horse to carry me
to Capefear without any veiw [sic] of gain he is a Man of
a Considerable property and has offered his house as long as I
find Convenient, he is gone home himself and shall in a few
days proceed after him as I hope to get an Opportunity then
whereof shall acquaint you, remaining here for a Short time to
Recruit myself and am thank God bravely & hope to Continue
so — I am very happy with Cap1. Sharkey who Insists on my
9 James Lockhart was the son of James Lockhart and Elizabeth Lillington
and brother of Mary Lockhart. See the Will of James Lockhart, December
7, 1753, in this volume. James married Mary Crotah (Cratch?) and they
had four children: James, Lillington, Elizabeth, and Mary. It is not
known, however, where they finally settled. Lockhart Genealogy.
7 A snow was a type of sailing ship, being a two-masted square-rigged
vessel.
8 Teaches Hole was an anchorage at Ocracoke Inlet where ships waited if
necessary to cross the bar into the ocean. It is shown on the Price and
Strother map of North Carolina, 1808. Price and Strother Map, Plate IX,
in William P. Cumming, North Carolina in Maps (Raleigh: State Depart-
ment of Archives and History, 1966), hereinafter cited as Price and
Strother Map.
6 No Colonel Vail has been identified. A General Vail is mentioned by
William S. Pettigrew as having "some family connection" with Colonel
John Blount, father of Mary Blount Pettigrew. He also mentioned Benners
Vail of New Bern, who was of Ebenezer Pettigrew's generation. William
S. Pettigrew to Joseph Blount Cheshire, Jr., September 13, 1890 [copy],
"Genealogy," Pettigrew Papers, UNC. The mother of Mary Blount Petti-
grew was Sarah E. Vail, but the names of the latter's parents are not
known. Hathaway, Historical and Genealogical Register, I, 132.
6 N.C. Department of Archives and History
remaining in his Ship as long as I stay here he has given me
a very warm state Room & the Benefit of a Good stove in the
Cabbin & no Vessell here besides with one; I shall take a Good
time for Mr Dawsons about 40. or 50 miles from hence & then
write by Post under Cover of Edw'1. Vail, This goes by the
Unfortunate Cap1. Towers who goes up with what goods he has
saved out of his Schooners lost on the Swatch near this another
Schooner recd. great Damage same place & is going up the
Country to repair, this Snow was in great dainger and not-
withstanding two [ ?] Thumps is light & not hurt
I have Disposed of my Stock for I declined going out for the
reason in my first having Several invitations to a Passage &
have got the prices above I now have good twenty four pounds
and upwards in Dollars wrh. with Oeconomey hope to do very
well with and shall greatly acknowledge your favors — my
Brother will excuse my not writing at this time as I shoud
only repeat this letter wch. Serves for your his, & all the
Famileys Information. I recommend you & they to Divine Pro-
tection being with love to them & with particular Affection
remain Loving Mother Your ever affr. Son,
Jas. Lockhart
Charles Pettigrew Appointed School Master UNC
[June 23, 1773]
North Carolina
By His Excellency
Josiah Martin Esquire His Majesty's Captain General and Gov-
ernor in Chief in and over the said Province.
To M'. Charles Pettigrove [Pettigrew] greeting, out of the
confidence I have in your Loyality, skill and Ability, and in
virtue of an Act of Assembly of the Province aforesaid, I do
hereby Licence and Appoint You the said Charles Pettigrove
Master of the Publick school in Edenton During my Pleasure,
you having been recommended to me according to Law
Given under my hand and seal
at arms, at Edenton the twenty third
of June, Anno domini one thousand
seven Hundred and seventy three.
Jo. Martin.
The Pettigrew Papers 7
James Lockhart to Elizabeth Lockhart a&h
Linestone on the N°. East river
of Capefear
Duplin 17th. May 1774
My dear Mother
My last to you was dated in Wilmington early in April by
A stranger for Halifax who was to deliver it to Mr. Andrew
Miller to whose care it was addressed, w(h. hope you have
received e're now, to wch. refer, & pray God that & this may
find you alive and well, my Brother Sisters, & theirs the same,
Not having heard one single sentance from you nor they since
I left Bertie which I [illegible] to hope you are all alive & well
(wch. I pray God may be the Case) as I have not heard a word
to ye Contrary, — The Bearer Samuel Sanderlin I have hired
to go in with Greasar to you (whom I told) that you had Com-
plimented me with but I Chosed to return him expecting you
stood in need of him, & as I had another horse. I wish it has
not been too much the Case, and assure you the detention of
him has given me a vast deal of uneasiness but as I expected
to have had the [illegible] to have done myself the happiness of
seeing you was partly the Case may not sending him sooner wch.
I hope my Dear Mother has not been of any great Injury to
you, Nor do I think I can till late in the summer do myself
that happiness being so engaged in Business that I must attend
to having opened a spring assortment of ab1. 2000 £ worth of
Goods & expect in Octor. to open a fall Store of ab1. 3000 £ having
the run of the Custom of this place and the Good Opinion of my
Customers Insomuch that I am not affraid of any Rival expectin
to enter into Copartnership with Messr\ George & Thos. Hooper
of Wilmington whose dealing is extensive from London where
they have last month wrote to for a large Qty. of winter Goods
& if I do not Chose to be concerned with them I still will be
supplyed with any Qtv. of Goods I can dispose of at a reasonable
advance for Commodities wch. I can send down from this to
Wilmington either in Boats or Rafts having the Last Season
purchased ab1. 350 £ worth of pork [?] besides Deerskins &c to
the son1, of 150 more & balance due me before I opened the spring
assortment of ab*. 350 £ in Good hands — these Circumstances
I commit to your own Breast, & hope in God if he spares you
& me a few years longer to have it in my power to render
you more happy than you have been of late, wch. has given me
8 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Inexpressible concern; I left Wilmington abl. a fortnight ago
(& expect to be there & back before the Bearer returns) & I
[?] always make my Uncles10 House (abfc. 35 miles below this)
a stage going down & coming up, he was then my Aunt &
Cousins pretty well he has been almost at Deaths Door this
last winter having an Imposthume11 in his Stomack &«s. but
has got the better of it & has been a long time on the Recovery
but I doubt he never will get as well as he has formerly been
Old M'. Swann & Mr. Jones his Bror. in Law died this Spring, — It
has been a little surprizing to me the Power of Atty. never was
forwarded me for by this time (if any thing was to be recovered
it might have been sent) I wrote Col. Harvey12 who wrote me he
never saw it nor heard a word abl. it since he saw the execution of
it at his House my motive was purely to serve the distressed if
in my Power to get any thing as no Body knew so much of the
matter as myself & the person impowerd would I believe do
the best he coud to serve the distress'd, however its never being
forwarded me can't but be a Matter of surprize, God knows it
is my Utmost desire to do a relation in particular a Service
if in my power especially a sister & Niece in distressed Cir-
cumstances if their has been any Collution in preventing their
sending it to me they have only done themselves & Injury &
not me for I can get any Goods I please, I dont imagine my
Dear mother you nor know [ no ] near relation cou'd advise
them therefrom As my Sister Polly [ Mary ] 13 is The Com-
10 Alexander Lillington was a brother of James's mother, nee Elizabeth
Lillington. He was a brigadier general of the North Carolina militia during
the American Revolution; he died in 1785. Samuel A. Ashe and others
(eds.), Biographical History of North Carolina: From Colonial Times to the
Present (Greensboro: Charles L. Van Noppen, 8 volumes, 1905-1917), I,
363-365; III, 261-269; VI, 399, hereinafter cited as Ashe, Biographical
History. According to inscriptions on tombstones in the cemetery of St.
Paul's Episcopal Church, Edenton, his father was Major Alexander Lil-
lington.
11 An imposthume was an abcess.
12 Both a Colonel Miles Harvey and a Major Thomas Harvey of Per-
quimans County have been found. John Hill Wheeler, Historical Sketches
of North Carolina from 158 U to 1851 (Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo
and Co., two volumes in one, 1851), II, 341, hereinafter cited as Wheeler,
Historical Sketches. The title of colonel was frequently awarded in local
usage, so that is is not always possible to make a positive identification,
especially without a given name. This is true for most of the other colonels
referred to in letters in this volume. Miles Harvey was the son of the
Revolutionary patriot John Harvey. Ashe, Biographical History, I, 163.
In 1758 Miles Harvey was clerk of court in Perquimans County. Grimes,
Abstract of Wills, 317. However, in a letter from Peter Singleton to
Charles Pettigrew, June 10, 1788, in this volume, there is a reference to
"our Worthy and mutual Freind [sic~\ Col". Thomas Harvey."
13 Polly was Mary Lockhart. See Charles Pettigrew's letter to her, April
8, 1795, in this volume, p. 143, beginning "My dear Polly."
The Pettigrew Papers 9
panion of your old age I wou'd recommend it to you whatever
please God you may be possess'd of you wou'd please to bestow
her & my Poor Sister Williams14 God knows my heart is too
enlarged to say much on this Subject but wish my Circum-
stances was such as I cou'd tistify my desposition to render
all my needy relations relief I wou'd be content with a Com-
petancy, & I hope in God in a few months to wait on you &
make good my engagemts. & shall not be happy thill then [.]
I have never got my Chest yet therefore I shall be obliged to
you to write Mr. Rob1. Wister [?] to send it to Edenton & that
you will see him paid the principal and interest & open it for I
doubt the things are mostly distroyed —
Means has never paid any Thing to me & if I can get the notes
up from Mr. Muter shall make an example of his perfidy &
want of gratitude — the Money shall be sent you very soon &
I dare-say if you write Col". Riddick he will be of service when
1 come in I will endeavor to take one or two of my Poor Sister
Bryans1"* Boys & try to get Messrs. Hooper's to take one of them,
please to remember me in The Most affectionate Manner to my
Bror. & his & tell him to have a little Longer patience, my reason
in not coming in is partly as I am not yet ready but hope it
will not long be the Case [.] Baily deceived me after all by
addressing the ship to Others however upon the whole it has
exposed the Villain & done me no great injury. I dare say he
has sunk above 600£ by it & I pray God grant you felicity in
this world, & eternal happiness in the next in due time wch.
Blessing I wish to my Bro1. Sisters & theirs & am my Dear
Mother
Your affte. Son in haste,
Jas. Lockhart
P.S—
Please accept the follg.
yourself. & Sister Williams
five pounds Green T
2 y'ds Cambrick Sister Polly
2V2 y'ds Lawn — D°.
14 James's sister Sarah was married three times; her second husband was
Fully Williams. See the Lockhart family chart in the introduction.
15 Sister Bryan was Catherine Lockhart, who married David Bryan. Their
children were Joseph and David, both lost at sea, Elizabeth, Mary,
Margaret, Rebecca, and John. See the Lockhart family chart in the intro-
duction.
10 N.C. Department of Archives and History
6 Childrens Handkichiefs to be distributed [illegible] by you
to my Little Nieces — I have not to add only wishing this may
find you my Bror. Sisters, thiers [sic] & all Other friends well,
& that you will affectionate remember me to them all & acquaint
me with all the News your way and recommend you to the
devine protection & am Dr. Mother yr affte. Son
Jas. Lockhart
Charles Cupples1® to Charles Pettigrew UNC
June 16th. 1776
Rev'1. & dear, Brother
I acknowledge the Receit of both your letters, the first I
answered and inclosed to Mrs Pattillo 17 to be in readiness for
the Gentleman you directed, and gave it to Col°. Johnson to
convey, but by some unknown fatality it never reachd the
appointed place. Your Second Came too late to hand to make
any Return by the delegates, having now the Opportunity of
Colo Persons, at whose house I am now at in my way to the X
roads, I embrace it to let you know that yesterday we were all
well, that is, all that is now living; for my darling daughter
Jeanny departed this life April 29th. in the morning; She had
given herself unto the Lord above two years ago, was remark-
ably Pious, Dutiful to the highest degree to us her Parents had
the tenderest affection for her Sister and Brothers, Benevolent
to all, and from a Love to God performed every Duty incumbent
18 Charles Cupples was an Anglican clergyman who became a patriot
during the Revolution. He served as a chaplain to the North Carolina
Senate in 1779 and 1780. Clark, State Records, XIII, 788, 789, 815; XVII,
705, 782. He died in 1785 after serving in Granville County following the
war. Walter Stowe and others, "The Clergy of the Episcopal Church in
1785," Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, XX (Sep-
tember, 1951), 273-274, hereinafter cited as Stowe, "The Clergy in 1785."
17 This is the wife of Henry Pattillo, a Presbyterian clergyman in Gran-
ville County who taught the young Charles Pettigrew. The two men cor-
responded for a number of years after Pettigrew moved to Edenton. See
letters between the two men dated December 13, 1788, January 9, 1789, April
6, 1792, and May 12, 1792, in this volume. Wall, "Charles Pettigrew," 3-4.
For a biography of Pattillo, see William Henry Foote, Sketches of North
Carolina, Historical and Biographical (New York: Robert Carter, 1846),
213-224, hereinafter cited as Foote, Sketches; and Durward T. Stokes,
"Henry Pattillo in North Carolina," North Carolina Historical Review,
XLIV (Autumn, 1967), 373-391.
The Pettigrew Papers 11
upon her to Superiors, Inferiors or Equals; bore Reproach or
Scandal, (from which her most Steady walk and youth could
not exempt her,) with patience and Resignation; and yet, tho
conscious of her Innocence, and the testimony or approbation
of all her intimates, she sufferd it to prey upon her Spirits in
such a manner that it threw her unto an hysterical disorder,
which, tho. it never Confined her, yet She always complained
of a Lassitude upon the least Exercise, and mention'd her
approaching dissolution every now and then for above three
months before it happened; which we always endeavoured to
divert 'till on Saturday the 27th. of April She was takin with
a vomiting, which I encouraged with warm water, and left her
asleep, went to tar river Church, and thinking of no danger
Stay'd out all night, mr milles came to Church next morning
and told me she was very sick, but did not apprehend her in
danger; however I only read a few of the morning prayers,
preach'd and administred the Sacram[ent] hurryed home, and
found her Speechless, tho' Sensible for when I spoke to her
she lift up her Eyes and endeavour'd to speak, She continued
to all appearance Sensible for about five hours before She died
She laid her Hands upon her Breast, Streetched [sic] herself
on the bed in the Same manner as dead people are laid out —
and Continued in that posture till munday 5' after 9 in the
morning when without a frown she fell asleep in the Lord.
But Knowing heaven her home to shun delay, She leapt o're
age & took the Shortest way. Excuse my being So particular,
for I have done it with a view to excite you to earnest prayer
that this great affliction may be Sanctified to us. Indeed I was
unworthy of So great a Blessing being Continued with me: 0!
What a Soul destroying thing is Sin, it deprives us of all
Earthly Comforts, as well as Eternal happiness. I must refer
you to the public for news of the Country, Indeed you are at
the fountain head: Mr Fleeming teaches aside us, Strangely
altered! prayers in his family and school, his moral character
good — and all by the Instrumentality of the Methodist.
I long to see you and hope when you come you will go round
our Church [ torn ] least once, As I know my little [ torn ]
12 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Sentiments concerning you I [torn] with myself in wishing
you [ torn ] and Eternal happiness, and beleive [ sic ] [ torn ]
Revd. Bro [torn]
Your affect Brother
in the Gospel
Cha*. Cupples
[ Addressed : ]
The Revd.
Mr. Chas. Pettygrew
To the Care of
Col0. Edward Veal [Vail]
Edenton
Alexander Lillington to Elizabeth Lockhart a&h
[December 12, 1779]
My Dr. Sister—
I can not Omitt this Opportunity of writing these few lines
to you As my Kinsman James Lockheart, who is here at this
time, & is so Kind as to promise me, he will see that it shall
be sent you by a safe hand, it is with great pleasure & Joy that
I hear by yr. Son & Mr. I. hope that you still Enjoy yr. health,
God Grant it may Continue wth. yr. self [illegible], I have
been poorly my self [torn ], that & these troublesome times has
prevented my doing myself the pleasure of seeing you long
before this, to morrow I shall set of[f] for Charles Town
with the Army,18 & if God grant me life, & health to come back,
Nothing shall prevent my going in to see you, the girls & yr.
Nephew George they are very desirious of going in to see you
& there Cousins, I Shall positively take them in with me if we
All live when I get back, to Convince you that I have not forgot
you As you were pleased to say to Mr. Leake, there is Nothing
in this life my Dr. Sister could give me more pleasure than
once more to have the pleasure of seeing yr. Self & Family wch.
I pray God to grant you & them, all health & happiness — yr.
18 Brigadier General Lillington led the militia of the Wilmington district
to aid in the defense of Charleston, South Carolina, against the British
in 1779. Arriving there early in 1780 he joined General Benjamin Lincoln.
The term of enlistment of the militia expired just before the fall of
Charleston, and although some North Carolinians remained and were
captured, most of them, including General Lillington, returned to North
Carolina before the surrender. Ashe, Biographical History, III, 261-269.
The Pettigrew Papers 13
Nephew Jack Lillington & George & the Girles all Joine me In
our best wishes to yr. self & Family & [ torn ] Dr. Sister
yr. aff1. & Loving
Alexr. Lillington
Decemr. 12th. 1779
James Lockhart to Elizabeth Lockhart A&H
N^E1 Capefear, 16th. Dec 1779
My Dear Mother
This sarves [ sic ] to acquaint you that I returned on the
Thursday after I had the Happiness of Seeing you and my
Other Relations in Bertie after an agreeable Interview at my
Aunt Wilson's whom I had the pleasure to see the Monday
evening after I left you, It gave me pleasure to see her in so
good health her Son & Cousin Polly Bryan1 !) who is a very
promising Girl, my Wife 20 & Children I met well except our
Youngest Girl who is still ailding with the fever and ague, but
hope in god it will shortly leave her she is Notwithstanding
very Lively — my wife returns you many thanks and to my sister
for your favor — and to the Little Girls for their present to the
Children, God send this may find Beckey Recovered — & that you
may Dear Mother may be in health which I pray God to Con-
tinue to you my Sisters and all Relations & that my Brother
may by this or shortly after — Return safe to his Family — I
was last Week in Wilmington I returned & went by the way
of Uncle Lillington, he and Family is well & himself was to
set off a few days ago to take the Command of the forces for
Georgia.21 Inclosed you have a Letter8 from him his Daughter
purposed each to have sent a Letter to you by a Negro Lawyer
I hired at Rockey Point who is not come up yet which prevents
my Inclosing them also, Ben behaved very well, I brought him
home much better then I expected and Shorter time upon that
10 Possibly Cousin Polly Bryan was Mary (for which Polly was a common
nickname), the daughter of James's sister, Catherine Lockhart Bryan. While
this was actually his niece, there are instances in which the term "cousin"
seems to have been applied to other relatives. See the Lockhart family
chart in the introduction.
20 James Lockhart married Mary Crotah (Cratch?). See footnote 6,
p. 5, and the Lockhart family chart in the introduction.
21 This is an error — it was not Georgia but South Carolina. See the pre-
ceding letter, Alexander Lillington to Elizabeth Lockhart, December 12,
1779.
14 N.C. Department of Archives and History
acct, the Children seems much pleased with him & he with them,
I have the happiness to Inform you that I have that B — up now
in Possission — I did intend to have wrote my Sister Polly by
this oppty & Mr. Ryan, but it was suddener than expected the
Person now waiting but shall another time write you and them
very fully — and by all opportunities & hope some of the family
will Correspond with me in the name of the whole which will
give me Infinite pleasure — this goes inclosed by Peter Clifton
whom I've requested to forward to you — pray tell my Brother
to write me on his Return remember me to his wife & Children,
my Wife Joins in Duty to you, & Love to my Sisters & Nieces
whom I heartily wish all happiness & am Dear Mother yr
aff* Son till Death
Jas. Lockhart
My Wife returns also many thanks to sister Ryan 22 & Polly.
NB. I have just making a beginning to sell Lumber I shall do
all I possibly can as I can now dispose of it to advantage & if
it pleases God no accident happens to the Dam (wch. I think
is pretty secure now) may be enabled to get a head yet by
[ illegible ]
Richard Templeman2* to Charles Pettigrew a&h
[January 10, 1780]
Dr Sir
I rec(1. your kind favr. by M1. Banburys boy the contents
whereof affected me. I did not imagine Col Blount24 would
carry his Vindictive disposition so far — but be it with him — I
hope, as you are determined to march with the militia, youl
meet every indulgence thats in the power of Gen1. [Isaac]
^Elizabeth Lockhart married George Ryan; their children were Cor-
nelius, David, James, George, Thomas, Mary, Winifred, and Elizabeth. See
the Lockhart family chart in the introduction.
23 Richard Templeman was a family connection of both Mary Blount
Pettigrew and Mary Lockhart Pettigrew. Sarah Lockhart's second husband,
Fully Williams, was first cousin to Mary Williams, whose second husband
was Frederick Blount, brother of Mary Blount Pettigrew. Following the
death of Frederick Blount, Mary Williams's third husband was Richard
Templeman. Deposition by Mary Lockhart Pettigrew.
84 James Blount of Chowan County, builder and owner of "Mulberry Hill"
on the estate of his great-grandfather James Blount (see the latter's will,
March 10, 1685, in this volume), was a lieutenant colonel of the North
Carolina militia in 1775. William L. Saunders (ed.), The Colonial Records
The Pettigrew Papers 15
Gregory2"* or the commanding officer to afford you, and that
youl act the philosopher in parting with your family and
going thro, the fatigues of a Summers Campaign in a Southern
Climate, but poor Mrs. Pettigrew I pity her much her tender
nature will illy brook the parting and her anxiety will
be great for your welfare and safty could you not prevail on
her to spend some of the time in Pasquotank it might relieve
her a little, you have the prayers & wishes of my family for
your Safe return — I am not without my misfortunes — I lost
my Servant Jess who died a few days ago he was all my depen-
dence in taking care of my Covering horse &c. I have not another
to Supply his place and altogether ignorant my self, my over
seer is also drafted and will march directly I shall cut a fine
figure in the farming way no doubt — but this you may Judge
of when you next Visit Pasquotank, Mrs. Templeman & Miss
Brough begs to be rememberd to Mrs. Pettigrew & your Self
& am
I am now going to spend a few
days at the banks,26 having
been rather unwell since
my fall
Dr. Sir
Yr most Ob*. Ser*.
Richd. Templeman
Jany 10. 1780
[ Addressed : ]
Revd. Charles Pettigrew
Chowan
of North Carolina (Raleigh: State of North Carolina, 10 volumes, 1886-
1890), X, 205, hereinafter cited as Saunders, Colonial Records. James
Blount was the oldest brother of Mary Blount Pettigrew, who was living at
"Mulberry Hill" at the time of her marriage. His wife was Anne Hall,
daughter of the colonial clergyman Clement Hall and a signer of the Tea
Party resolutions at Edenton in 1774. [Edenton Woman's Club], Historic
Edenton ayid Countryside, Incorporated 1772 [Edenton, North Carolina:
Privately printed by the Choivan Herald, 1959] unpaged, sketch No. 37 on
"Mulberry Hill," hereinafter cited as Historic Edenton.
25 General Isaac Gregory lived in Pasquotank County prior to the Revo-
lution. He was commissioned a brigadier general of the Edenton district
in 1779 and was defeated at the battle of Camden, August 16, 1780. Follow-
ing the Revolution he lived in Camden County. Ashe, Biographical History,
IV, 139-145; W. L. Grissom, History of Methodism in North Carolina from
1772 to the Present Time (Nashville: Methodist Publishing House [pro-
jected two volumes, but only one published], 1905), I, 102, hereinafter cited
as Grissom, Methodism in North Carolina.
28 This is an obvious reference to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, a
vacation area even in the eighteenth century.
16 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Henry Pattillo to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Grassy Creek27 21st June 1780
Revd. Dear Sir,
If harry should see you when down, it will shorten my letter.
He was preparing for a Journey down, when I came from a
long one to the westward, so I have no time to write, & am
besides; very much indisposed. I therefore just propose a few
questions. What are you doing in your ministry? Are there
any hopeful appearances of strangers to Jesus, being brought
nigh, & christians growing in Grace? Is it as easie to live the
Gospel, as to preach it? Are you yet a father, & do you prove
a kind Husband? How fare you in temporalities Have you
still Mr. Pollock's receipt?
I am extremely frail, and I judge the frame incapable of
reparation, until sown a natural, & raised a spiritual body. I
& mine salute you & yours, & send our good wishes. Yr. truly
affec1. &c
Henry Pattillo
[ Notation on back by Charles Pettigrew : ]
Henry! thou good! — that great Divine!
Thy Gifts with Heavenly luster shine!
And as the Sun his genial Rays
Shoots forth in full meridian Blaze,
Just so, the labours of thy hand
Have reachd us in this distant Land
And shed their cheering Lustre bright
The gladning beams of gospel light
Our Darkness to dispell
And save our Souls from Hell
The Regions of eternal night.
Thou bright efulgents eastern star
Jesus, the God, thou dost declare
The saviour of our ruin'd Race
The perfect man the God of Grace,
And to his Cross thou dost allure
27 Grassy Creek is located in Granville County and is shown on the Price
and Strother Map.
The Pettigrew Papers 17
The high, the low, the rich, the poor,
And 0 that all
Would hear thy call
And make their calling sure
[ Addressed : ]
Rev. Mr. Pettigrew
Chowan
By Harry Pattillo
Charles Pettigrew Discharged from Military Service UNC
Camp near X [Cross] Creek28 27 June 1780
These may Certify that the Reverend Charles Pettigrew a
Draft from the County of Chowan is hereby discharged from
his Tour of Duty he having produced Zachariah Carter an
able bodied man in his Room —
By order the Hon'ble Major General [ Richard ] Caswell 29
Jno. Sitgreaves30 A D Camp
[Notation on back by Charles Pettigrew:]
A 7500 Dollar Touch—
The price of a Clergiman's exemption from Military Service
in North Carolina
28 Cross Creek, the present-day Fayetteville, was where the North Carolina
militia camped preparatory to joining General Horatio Gates at the Battle
of Camden in 1780. Ashe, Biographical History, III, 75.
29 Major General Richard Caswell, who, together with his son, Brigadier
General William Caswell, was in command of the North Carolina militia
in 1780. He was present at the defeat of the Americans at Camden on
August 16, 1780, and because of official criticism resigned his commission
on October 26, 1780, as did his son. Ashe, Biographical History, III, 74-75;
Allen Johnson, Dumas Malcne, and others (eds.), Dictionary of American
Biography (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 20 volumes, 1928-1958,
index and updating supplements), III, 571, hereinafter cited as Dictionary
of American Biography.
30 John Sitgreaves was born in New Bern in 1757. After his service in the
Revolutionary War he served in the Continental Congress during 1784-1785
and was later appointed a federal judge by President George Washington.
He died in 1802. Ashe, Biographical History, II, 398-400.
18 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Devereux Jarratt*1 to Charles Pettigreiv UNC
Virginia. August 13, 1782
Revd. & dear Sir
It has been observed, the Men of our Order are but thinly
scattered at this Time, in the united States of America; that
there is a consumption of the Few every Year, and the small
Remains do not seek to strengthen each others Hands & to
encourage each other to hold by and support the tottering Ark,
as could devoutly be wishes. — What can this be owing to?
Perhaps, to a too great Disunion of Heart & Sentiment among
ourselves. Once I had a Brother or two, who were very closely
connected in Love and Opinion — but one of these is gone into
Eternity & the other turned Dissenter from the Church. In
my present State of Bereavement, being happy in hearing of
your Labours in the Cause of God & Truth, I have turned my
Eyes toward you, with an Intention, if you be likeminded, of
entering upon & maintaining a close Connection & Correspon-
dence from this Time. If I mistake not, you are like minded
with myself. — I was glad to hear of your attendance at a
late Quarter-Meeting & of the Friendship you shew & the
Assistance you give to the Methodists. — They are the only
People, that I know of, whose Labours are considerably blest
to the Salvation of Souls ; & they have given the most striking
& indubitable Testimonies of their Love & Adherence to that
Church of which you & I have the Honour to be Ministers.
They therefore claim a Right to our Patronage, Countenance &
Assistance. — Some, no doubt, may view us with an evil Eye
for so doing, & we may Forfeit the good Opinion of the worldy
wise & great — But what of this? — If we seek to please Men,
we are not the Servants of Christ. — If we can do good — or
be a Means by our Counsel, Direction, or Aid of helping others
to be useful in the work & promoting the best Interest of Man-
kind— can we live to better purpose? For my Part, I would
desire to seek Nothing but God, & to promote his glory & to
please all Men to their Edification only. —
31 The Reverend Devereux Jarratt was a Church of England clergyman
in the vicinity of Petersburg, Virginia, who was sympathetic with the
Methodists. He began a great revival in 1770 in that area which lasted two
years. Grissom, Methodism in North Carolina, I. 8, 41, 44; Francis Asbury,
The Journal of the Rev. Francis Asbury, Bishop of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church, from August 7, 1771, to December 7, 1815 (New York: N.
Bangs and T. Mason, 3 volumes, 1821), I, 338, 344-345, 356, hereinafter cited
as Asbury, Journal. The Journal contains a wealth of information on early
Methodism, people, and places.
The Pettigrew Papers 19
I shall expect to hear from you — The Preachers have such
Connection that you might send me a Letter at any Time by
putting it into one [ of ] their Hands — I conclude Your sincere
Friend & Brother in Christ
[ Devereux ] Jarratt
[ Addressed : ]
The Rev'1. Charles Pettigrew
Carolina
To the Care of Mr.
Peddicord 32
Caleb B. Peddicord to [Charles Pettigrew'] UNC
[ December 29, 1782 ]
Revd. Sir/
Your friendly Letter, came soon & safe to hand. I have read
it with pleasure and profit. And feel thankful that I have
those who administer suitable instruction, and naturally care
for my soul, welfare & usefulness. How good a thing it is to
have union and Fellowship tho only by Letter, it is but a
little while & we shall meet I trust to superior advantage,
to rest together in the Paradice of God above in glory. Since
my last, I have been rather poorly in health but have continued
to fill up my appointments, and labour tho with weakness,
yet I hope with a measure of sincerity & fidelity. I have the
comfort to see and feel Religion is still upon the advance. The
Wills of some who were obstinate are conquor'd by grace, and
others are swiftly won over to our Emanuel, upon the whole
good is doing. To him be the glory. Mr. [Francis] Asbury is
lately from the North, a man, full of faith & the Holy Ghost,
he enjoys health of body, and is intent upon bringing extensive
glory to the Redeemer. He brings the comfortable news of the
work of God prospering, and in every Northward Circuit Sin-
ners are awakened to feel their guilt and wretchedness, and
mourners comforted with pard[on]ing love, whilst Believers
are looking for purity & holy love, & a renewal through out,
pleading the rich & precious promises, & longing to feel his
grace circulating, through-out their Sanctified Powers. I lately
32 Caleb B. Peddicord (or Pedicord) was a leading Methodist in eastern
North Carolina and lower Virginia, being the presiding elder in 1782.
Grissom, Methodism in North Carolina, I, 99.
20 N.C. Department of Archives and History
saw Mr. Allen,33 who enjoys more health than formerly, he
rides over Loan Oak in this State. I am very glad that Mr.
Dromgolde34 met with desired success. I have no doubt but
that his Tour was by Divine appointment, and under Super-
natural direction. — I do believe Dear Sir that it would be
pleasing to God, & a great benefit to the people, if you are
enabled to visit a few of the many vacancies, in any State.
It is a great pity that your usefulness in general should be
confined to the small Circle of a Neighbourhood, when there
are so many sheep without a Shepherd "wandring upon the
dark mountains" ! — I am authorised from Mr. Asbury to give
you an affectionate invitation to our Conference in the Spring,
his modesty prevents him from writing to you. He has heard
of your disinterested acts of Friendship ; & your labours among
us, which gives him great satisfaction. He is the person refer'd
to in the begining of Mr. Magaws35 Letter to Mr. Jarratt. —
(He wishes, and has it in contemplation to introduce a cor-
respondance between Mr. Pettigrew & Mr. Magaw.) As he
labours 6 months in the North & 6 in the South, & our Preachers
passing & repassing. —
I feel great tenderness towards you, and desire & pray for your
health, & usefulness. — My kind love to Your Amiable consort.
I remain Your Friend & Hble Serv1.
Caleb B. Peddicord
Bartie County. Dec 29, 1782
(Col Campbells)
— Your former friendship encourages me to hope, that you
will please to give us your attendance (if Convenient) at our
Quar1. Meeting at S*. Johns Chappell, February 1-2 days being
Sat. & Sun. (Excuse Mistake).
33 Beverly Allen, a Methodist, began to preach in the New Hope circuit in
1778 and was assigned to Salisbury in 1783. Although he became an elder,
he "fell from grace," was expelled from the society, killed a marshal, and
fled to Kentucky. Asbury, Journal, I, 298, 300, 301, 365, passim; Grissom,
Methodism in North Carolina, I, 94, 98, 104, 123, 216.
34 Edward Dromgoole was one of the first three Methodist preachers in
North Carolina, where he began preaching in 1776. After 1788 he settled in
Virginia. Grissom, Methodism in North Carolina, I, 49-52, 102; Asbury,
Journal, I, 238, 294, 340, passim. General Isaac Gregory entertained him in
1782 at his home. Grissom, Methodism in North Carolina, I, 102.
35 [ ] M'Gaw was an Episcopal clergyman, apparently in Philadel-
phia. Francis Asbury called him "a kind, sensible, friendly minister."
Asbury, Journal, I, 236. In 1779 Asbury heard him preach once on the
theme "Thy kingdom come" and also an "excellent sermon on hypocrisy."
Asbury, Journal, I, 240, 241. Charles Pettigrew mentions him in a letter to
Francis Asbury, May 1, 1784, in this volume, p. 25.
The Pettigrew Papers 21
Caleb B. Peddicord to Charles Pettigrew UNC
[April 2, 1783]
Revd. Sir,
Gratitude of duty forbids my omitting any opportunity of
writing to you. And altho I have nothing worth writing, yet
as a manifestation of my unalterable respect and affection, I
have taken up my pen.
After leaving your house, I travelled through Gates County,
where for a year or two past, the Lord hath wrought great
things. A goodly number have obtained pardoning mercy, and
are striving for the fulfilment of all the rich & precious
promises. Others brought to know their duty and feel their
danger, and are longing to know that the Son of Man hath
power on earth to forgive sins. Some are measureably awakend
and too, too many who are carnal, careless, & confident.
I have the pleasure to inform you, that the work of God
deepens in the hearts of professors, in this Circuit. By the
ardent labours of Brother Allen & others, many were brought
under tender impressions and as I among others succeeded
them, it cost me tears of fear least the travel of the souls of
my Brethren the Preachers, Should miscarry in my hands, and
through my great Ignorance and weakness. But blessed be God.
His hand is made bare, and you know Sir when he will work
who shall [ illegible ] it. Hitherto the Lord hath helped me &
others. As the residue of the Spirit is with him may he pour
it out, & claim the whole world for his ransomed ones. — I
think I can say my heart is engaged with God and in his work
but never felt myself more needy, I am brought to feel my very
foolishness. 0 that I could do something for that Great Supreme,
to whom I owe my all, yea more than all!
I am now at Col0. [James] Campbells (A Family I hope who
are desirous of adorning the Gospel, & shewing forth the
praises of him who has called them to obtain precious salvation)
and intend to Continue in this side of the river till Conference.
I should be very much rejoiced & feel it my duty to give
you an invitation to our Quarter Meeting; but do hope your
health will admit, and that you will please to attend our Con-
ference. I think I could venture to say it would give you
pleasure, as will [sic] as do us honors. —
I can only add, I want to be an humble, holy, man of God.
0 Sir help me by your prayers. That I may meekly bear up
under all the Shocks, that necessarily attack a person, who
22 N.C. Department of Archives and History
acts in a publick capacity & endeavours to weaken the Kingdom
of darkness. My natural cast & temper are much against me,
being timid & fearful. — 0 that I may weather the Storms of
this painful state of trial, and at last obtain an humble mansion
among the blood washd throng above. — I feel great tenderness
for you & family. Whilst I write it moves upon my heart. There
are also a few Names in Edonton [sic ] who I hope will never
quit their Confidence, or slacken their diligence. I felt great
union with them as Christians, 0 that the Lord may not cut
Israel Short in their Teachers, but spare you Sir to be useful
to them. My hearts desire is to see a revival of the work of
God; & altho I can do little in furthering so good and great
a work Yet notwithstanding, I can look on & rejoice at the
success of others. — May the dew of heaven, water your Minis-
terral Labours, and overflowing comfort fill the heart of your
Amiable Consort, May your children become a lasting comfort,
And finally may the bleassed God receive You all to glory — Is the
fervent prayer of
Your Friend & Servant
Caleb B. Peddicord
April 2nd 1783
Bartie County. (Col0. Campbells)
I am but poorly in health but can rejoice that you enjoy again
a measure of that distinguishing blessing health. I expect an
healthy body & an holy Soul are rare
[ Notation on back by Charles Pettigrew : J
from Mr. Peddicord
M[ethodist] Preacher
Henry Metcalf36 to Charles Pettigrew UNC
[August 1783?]
Dear & Reverend Sir,
Your kind favour came to hand with the other letters inclosed,
for which I desire to return my humble thanks. Also would
acknowledge your friendship in the advice given me, therein;
36 Henry Metcalf was admitted to the Methodist clergy in 1783 and
preached in Pasquotank County before his death in 1784. Grissom, Method-
ism in North Carolina, I, 147. Francis Asbury called him "a man of a
sorrowful spirit, and under constant heaviness." Asbury, Journal, I, 364.
The Pettigrew Papers 23
requesting you to take the like freedom when you may see
course, not only with me, but with any of our Preachers. I am
now on my passage from the Banks to Ronoak Island where
I have been some over a Fortnight, and I have cause to bless
God for the reception met with among the people who express
desires to have Preaching among them, which if continued I
hope will be blest unto them, as their seems every Circumstance
concurring, to hope the same, such as they're being a poor
people, for such receive the Gospel, as also chiefly brought up to
the Church of England, and having their minds freed from
that prepossession found among the Anabaptist Presbyterians
&c. — I have met with a degree of Friendship from Mr. Sam1.
Midyett 37 on Ronoak Island, as also from Cap. Jacob Farrow
& his brother Hezikiah, but Mr. Payne has behaved with coldness
not Changing ten words with me, but may I not regard the
favour of a Man, if such is the divine will. I expect to stay
on Ronoak Island a few days and then to cross over to Currituck,
in order to attend a Quarter meeting of Mr. Martin's one [of]
our Preachers who rides in Pasquotank, Currituck &c. after
which him or myself will return to Ronoak, & the Banks (The
Lord willing) . As to the people on Ronoak I am glad to inform
you that they seem very desirous of the Gospel. I have preached
four times to them; and once to those on the Northern Banks.
Dr. Sir Let me beg your Continual prayers for me, that I may
as a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly divide the
word of truth; and be enabled to save myself and them that
hear me. For 0! Who is sufficient to be a savour of life unto
Life, or of death unto Death; none without Divine Aid, and
that in a great degree to be eminently useful which is what we
that act in the important Character of Ambassadors of Christ
should constantly aspire after, in order [ illegible ] much Prayer,
Self Denial & dilegence is necessary. To conclude may the
Divine blessing attend you in all your endeavors for God's
glory, and give you to see more fruit of yr. Labours than ever
heretofore, and may the prosperity of his cause be more to you
than thousands of Gold and Silver also may it be on your
Partner & Children, yea Servants. — I am Revd. Sir
Your hb1. Obedient Serv1.
for Christ's Sake
Henry Metcalf
37 A Midyett family lived in Currituck County. One Samuel Midyett, son
of Matthew, inherited land on Albemarle Sound in 1735. Grimes, Abstract
of Wills, 248.
24 N.C. Department of Archives and History
P. S. Would acknowledge the favour of a line from you when
opportunity might offer —
[Notation on back by Charles Pettigrew:]
The author of the above letter, was, I verily believe a Man
of very great piety & zeal. He did not last long, but died in
Bartie, in the full assurance of faith, as I was inform'd — July
19th, 17883*—
Charles Pettigrew
[ Addressed:]
The Revcl. Mr. Charles Pettigrew
near
Edenton
Favour
M1*. George Pugh
James Campbell S9 to Charles Pettigrew UNC
April 7th. 1784
Dear Sir.
I receiv'd a Letter this morning directed to you which I
herewith forward you, & thought to have had the pleasure of
Delivering it myself but am Just now recover'd from a severe
Disorder & am now just able to be about again & can say the
Bless'd Lord has wonderfully deliver'd me, even from the brink
of Death, 0! that I could requite his favours & Blessings, in
praise & thanks giving but I find myself deficient & cannot
love enough that Gracious Loving, & merciful God, who daily
is bestowing his Blessings & favours on so unworthy a Worm
as I am. My severe affliction he made easy to me by his com-
fortable spirit of love. & now am Learn'd to say "The Lord
giveth & the Lord taketh away. Bless'd be his holy Name.
— On Monday last Departed this life our friend & Brother
Henry Metcalf at Joshua Freemans after a short Illness. & I
trust is only left his friends below to Join his friends above
in Celestial Glory, as the latter part of his life I believe was
truly devoted to the service of his Lord & Master, as he lived
38 This is apparently the date of the notation rather than the date of
Metcalf's death.
39 The contents of the letter would seem to identify James Campbell with
the Colonel James Campbell mentioned in Caleb B. Peddicord's letter to
Charles Pettigrew, April 2, 1783, in this volume, p. 21. No further identi-
fication has been made.
The Pettigrew Papers 25
nearest the life of a Christian than ever I saw one in my life,
& hope is now Enjoying the Portion of the Righteous in his
Master's Kingdom & He and his fellow Labourer desired me to
write you requesting the favour to attend our Quarter Meeting
to be held at Winton on the 22d. & 23d. days of April which I
hope if God permits you will do, pray let me know by a Line
your Sentiments on this head, they would have write but friend
Metcalf was then unwell, We have had a sickly famely this
fall & Winter but thank God all on the recovery & Join me in
our best respects to you & yours & am Your affect, friend
Ja8. Campbell
[ Addressed : ]
The Rev'1. Charles Pettigrew
near Edenton
Charles Pettigrew to Francis Asbury* UNC
Edenton 1st May 1784
My dear Sir,
Your friendly letter 18th March claims my grateful acknowl-
edging, and with pleasure I reecho your introductory sentiments
of congratulation on the grateful Return of Spring.
The little Birds, now on the wing
From Spray to spray
While in sweet artless notes they sing
Their maker's praise:
But man delays
His Tribute to th'eternal King
I am happy to find that with unwearied zeal & patience you
have completed so large a Circuit, & hope your Labour hath
not been in vain in the Lord —
I should be glad of a personal acquaintance with the Rev.
Mr. Blount40 from the Character I have also had of him, but
he seems to be too remote for an interview, & I have allways
laboured, under perhaps a culpable backwardness with regard
to introducing myself — Yet on your Reasonable hint, I think
of writing to him, that I may learn how he stand affected to
40 Nathaniel Blount, a native of Beaufort County, was ordained in 1773.
He served churches in Chocowinity, Bath, and Washington. Saunders,
Colonial Records, X, 64, 122; Clark, State Records, XII, 675. He corre-
sponded extensively with Charles Pettigrew until the latter's death in 1807.
Blount died in 1816. Joseph Blount Cheshire, Jr. (ed.), Sketches of Church
History in North Carolina (Wilmington: DeRosset Printers, 1892), 262,
hereinafter cited as Cheshire, Sketches of Church History.
26 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Religion, as the Clergy, it must be owned, are not allways the
most pious men; nor even friends to vital, & experimental
Godliness.
I had a great Desire of being at your Conference, & to have
taken a small circuit some farther to the northward in quest
of a more healthy situation, as I am determined to leave this
place — I think of going soon for Norfolk whence I have had an
invitation — You observe as an argument for my moving 'That
neither Reason nor Religion allowed self murder.' — Granted
Sir — and if they did, I believe my zeal & resolution would
not be equal to such an undertaking. On the Contrary
I am for living as long as I can, & wish I could live to better
purpose — Eut alas I find that in the midst of Life I am in
Death — Divine goodness has now been long dig[g]ing about,
manuring & pruining & I am affraid to very little purpose if
a judgement is to be formed by the apparent fruits of personal
holiness — I am shocked when I think of the command given
with regard to such a Barren Tree — Pray for me that thro
the powers of divine grace I may be made to bring forth much
fruit — & the happy instrum*. of turning many to righteousness.
I have it in contemplation to go a Voyage to Sea before I
move to which my Yokefellow has been much averse till lately,
& now the great obstacle will be that of geting my own consent,
which I find will be very Difficult — parting with my family is a
most Disagreeable thought — Should I go to England, I would
certainly wait on the good Mr. Westley [Charles Wesley], &
persuade him, if possible, to visit his Children on this side the
Atlantic — you'll please to present my Complimts. to Doctr.
Megaw of Philadelphia, when you have the happiness of seeing
him next — I have lately been very ill of a Cold, but thank God
am better Just now. Mrs. Pettigrew presents her best wishes for
your health & usefulness in y1' Cause of God — The Children
are pretty well — and I am with very great respect & esteem
Very dear Sir— Yr. frd. & Hble Serv*.
Chs. Pettigrew
[ Addressed : ]
Mr. Francis Asbury
To be forwarded
by the preacher
[Notation on back by Charles Pettigrew:]
A letter wrote but never sent to Mr. Asbury
The Pettigrew Papers 27
James H. Thomson*1 to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Charleston 18th, May 1784
Revd. & D1. Sr.,
I should have given you a letter some time ago had any thing
of sufficient importance occurred either in public or in what
relates more particularly to myself. What induces me at present
to write is, to ask the favour of you to accept Dr. Blair's lectures
upon Rhetoric & the Belles Lettres as a small token of my
unfeigned respect & affection to you as my friend & as a sincere
& zealous Minister of Christ. Upon this footing I hope you will
give it a place in your Collection. The entertainment & improve-
ment which you may derive from it will I hope make it a fa-
vourite volume with you. I have also to request that you will
engage young Mr. [Josiah?] Collin's attention to peruse it.
He has genius & a fondness for literary exercises, & nothing
can prevent his making a respectable figure, if every thing
great & noble in him be not swept away by the rapid torrent
of dissipation in the place where he lives. Mrs. Thomson still
continues up. She joins me in presenting to yourself & Mr8.
Pettigrew respectful compliments. I am Revd. Sir yours with
every Sentiment of respect
James H. Thomson
[ Addressed : ]
The Rev*1. Charles Pettigrew
Edenton
favored
by Cap. Bateman
with Dr. Blairs
Lectures —
[ Notation on back by Charles Pettigrew : ]
A Letter from James Thomson A. M. of Charleston South
Carolina
Ant0. Walked to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Currituck 12th. Aug*. 1784.
My dear & worthy friend
I have put off writing to you some time, what with my closely
u James H. Thomson has not been identified.
42 This is probably Anthony Walke who was living in Kempesville,
Virginia, in 1785. See the enclosure in William White to Charles Pettigrew,
May 7, 1785, in this volume, p. 46. In a letter from Peter Singleton to
Charles Pettigrew, June 10, 1788, in this volume, p. 57, Walke is reported
to have gone to Philadelphia to be ordained.
28 N.C. Department of Archives and History
attending the Preaching of the Gospel & business I have had
but very little time to spare, however Rev'1. & Dr. sir beleive
[ sic ] me I have very often though of you wth. great respect
Love & Reverence & I think I Shou'd leap for Joy were I to hear
of you to preach in my reach, I have twice sat with great delight
hearing the precious truths that dropt from your lips & I most
humbly desire to be one that praises God for sending such
Messengers to declare glad tidings to a lost world.
I have had the privilege of being at two Qtr. Meetgs. lately,
one at Nixonton & the other at N°. W. Church, at both places
we had a great good time of it several very powerful alarming
sermons & at the Love feasts many bold & bright testimonies for
God, especially at Nixonton, for all which I humbly beseech the
blessed lord to make me truly thankful — I conceive Dr. sir that
it's the greatest curse that almost can befal[l] one here, to
be insensible of the Blessed Lord's amazing mercies, & to have
an unthankful & an ungrateful heart, the Lord be pleased to
deliver me from such a curse for Christ's sake, amen — on the
other hand it is inexpressible sweet & transporting to be deeply
sensible of all the instances of God's goodness & loving kindness
Lord fill my heart wth. Gratitude & thankfulness I most humbly
beseech thee — amen —
I hope Worthy sir you enjoy Peace & happiness in your soul,
& that any tryals or hardships you may meet with thro' this
veil of tears works for your sanctification & that you see it more
& more your duty to warn every man & teach every man, so
that you may be the means of keeping many souls from dropping
into eternal misery, the blessed Jesus grant that you may have
the great comfort of seeing much fruit of your labour, may the
unworthiest of Christ's despised followers say to you go on in
the name of the Lord, and oh! that you may be endued wth.
wisdom & righteousness from above, that your tongue may
be as the pen of a ready writer at all times, & may you have
a double portion of the spirit of the Blessed Lord poured out
powerfully on you, & may you be abundantly comforted by
seeing the good pleasure of the Lord to prosper in your hands
in all your undertakings, is the hearty prayers of the meanest
of the despised Methodists —
I humbly beg to have the pleasure of a few lines from you —
be pleased to remember poor unworthy me in your nearest
accesses to the throne of Grace, I have hard tryals & great
difficulties, but if I know any thing of my own heart, I love
The Pettigrew Papers 29
the Blessed Lord & his ways & my delight is with them that
love & fear him — I think, I believe that the Lord will deliver
me out of all my difficulties & make my tryals & temptations
work for my Soul's good & for his Honor & Glory — I feel willing
to lay at the feet of any of Christ's followers & be taught,
humility is what I want, it's what I love and am happiest when
I feel it most, I think,
My wife Joins me in respects & Love to you & Mrs. Pettigrew
& I am
Dear & Worthy Sir with great
Respect & Reverence
Your affectionate tho' very
Unworthy Christian friend
Ant°. Walke
Peter Singleton to Charles Pettigrew** a&h
Virginia Princess Anne, Aug1. 16th., 1784.
Rev*. Sir,
I shou'd have wrote you ere now but notwithstanding my
utmost endeavours to get in the Subscriptions have not yet been
able to get in more than three of them, but from what I can
understand of their amount, I hope we shall at least raise One
Hundred & Fifty Pounds from them, and make no doubt it will
exceed that Sum as soon as 'tis certainly known that you are
determined to take this Parish, as many People are backward
in subscribing 'till they are convinced of that. There is a small
House about two miles from Kempsville that may be got for
you to live in 'till Mr. Sayers Year is out, at the late Mr. Dicksons
donation : and the Plantation you went to view is still for Sale,
and doubt not (as I observed to you before) if that shou'd
not suite you, that in a Year or two a Place may be got that
will suite you. I shall be glad to know your determination by
first Oppty, and am very Respectfully with the Complimts. of
Mrs. Singleton to your Lady & Family
Dr. Sir
Your Most Obed1. Serv*.
Peter Singleton
43 This letter is the beginning1 of an extensive correspondence concerning
Charles Pettigrew's call to a Virginia parish. It concluded, much to his
regret, with his staying in Edenton. Nine letters in this volume are related
to this event and shed light on the difficulties in procuring clergy as well
as the financial problems of such clergymen.
30 N.C. Department of Archives and History
N.B. Mr. White presents his most Respectful
Complimts. to you & he with most of the People
of this County (Baptists excepted) earnestly
wish to get you settled in this County. wch. [blot]
hope will be the case & that your expectations
will be fully answer'd.
[ Addressed : ]
The Revd. Mr. Pettigrew
near
Edenton
Fav*1. by
Edward Rice Esqr.
Edward Dromgoole to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Col0. Campbells
Septr. 6th 1784
Revd. and dear Sir
Yesterday your kind Letter came to my hands, which was
thankfully received, and look upon myself by no means worthy
of the notice of the Servants of God. I have sometimes [torn]
deep sense of my very great unworthiness, that I feel myself
sunk below my fellow creatures, and then every mercy is great
in my eyes ; if I am at any time grateful it is then.
I wished to have seen you at our Q Mg. but can by no means
indulge a hard thought, or impose it in the least degree to the
want of Affection. Now I could alledge several things to prevent
your coming, and know this world we live in so well, that I am
convinced, we are often crossed in those things we most desire.
Br. Ivey & Ogburn attended, and I trust the Lord was in a
measure with us. His holy Name be praised.
It is matter of thanksgiving to me, to hear from the lower
Circuit, especially, to hear that the Work of God prospers among
them. I felt a longing desire for the Salvation of them People,
and was in hopes from the first time I went among them, they
would receive the Truth in the love thereof. I should be glad,
was it in my power, to visit them frequently but my distance
from them, renders it impracticable, however, I hope they have
those that are more faithful and useful. I was thankful to hear
that you made a Tour thro' those parts in the Spring. I have
The Pettigrew Papers
31
St. Paul's Church, Edenton. Charles Pettigrew was associated with St.
Paul's until his second move to Scuppernong in 1797. Photograph from the
files of the State Department of Archives and History, Raleigh.
no doubt but the good Effects of it will be seen "after many-
days. " I desire to go once more round that Circuit, either this
Fall or in the Winter.
Should a convenient opportunity offer, I should be [torn]
to see the Magazines, and peruse them before [torn] thro* these
parts, which will be about Christmas; that is if you have done
with them ; otherwise, I am quite contented not to have them.
Our next Qr. Meeting I expect will be at Outlaws Chappel,44
on the 30th. & 31st. days of October, which place is about 12 or
14 miles from Col°. Campbell's ; if your health and other business
should permit you to attend, I hope it would be for the Glory
of God, and the advancement of the dear Redeemer's Kingdom.
The Work here wants a great deal of nursing, the most so of
any place, I think, that ever I travelled; there are many weak
and sickly among us, and some I fear are fallen asleep; but
still there is a good Work begun ; I hope many adorn the doctrine
44 Outlaw's Chapel is in Bertie County near Windsor and is shown on the
Price and Strother Map.
32 N.C. Department of Archives and History
of God our Saviour. I fear I shall weary your patience with
this uncouth Epistle.
I often think of the few at Edenton, who loved the Gospel,
and should be glad to hear from them, and whether they still
continue in Town, and love the Word of Life. I must conclude,
after begging an interest in your Prayers. I am with real love
and much respect
Yours in the Gospel
Edw1. Dromgoole
My kind respects to Mrs. Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
The Reverend Mr. Charles Pettigrew
near
Edenton
To be forwarded
by Mr. Campbell
William White to Charles Pettigrew a&h
Kempesville [Virginia]45 Octr. 18th. 1784
Revd. Sir,
I have had the pleasure of communicating the contents of
your Letter of 8th. Septr. to Mr. Singleton, to a Majority of the
Vestry, and have now the Honour to inform you, that they
are unanimous in your favour, and as far as I can collect, it is
also the Sentiments of all true Church-men in this County —
Permit me Sir to assure you that I verily believe, a very genteel
Subscription will be compleated, as soon as you are inducted,
as many People refuse to sign, 'till they are convinced, that
will be the Case; & that I shall take a pleasure in rendering
you every Service in my power. The Vestry will convene on
the 29th. Instant, when I mean to move that the Houses on Mr.
Dickson's Donation be put in repair for your Reception, &
doubt not, it will readily meet their approbation. That the
Voyage you are about undertaking may answer your most
45 Kempsville is located in Princess Anne County, near Norfolk, and was
sometimes called Kemps Landing. It is shown on the Price and Strother
Map. William White was a member of the same vestry as Peter Singleton.
See Peter Singleton to Charles Pettigrew, August 16, 1784, in this volume,
p. 29.
The Pettigrew Papers 33
Sanguine expectations, & that this County may long have the
happiness of entertaining yourself and Family in health and
felicity, is the sincere wish of —
Rev*. Sir,
Your mo : obed*. Serv*.
William White
[Addressed:]
The Rev*. Mr. Charles Pettigrew
near.
Edenton
Philip Bruce*6 to Charles Pettigrew a&h
[November 8, 1784]
Rev*. Sir
The distance of time since I saw you, & the small acquaintance
you had with me, I imagine has Nearly Eras'd me from your
memory.
The reason why I have not wrote to you before, was not the
want of regard to so aimable a friend; but partly a sense of
my weakness, partly the want of Opportunity.
These Six Months past, I have been riding among the Moun-
tains : and have the pleasure to inform you, that religion gains
ground in these back parts; but not so fast as I could wish to
see it; the greatest difficulty, that seems to stand in the way,
is the want of the Ordinances, by reason of which our people
are Oblidg'd to go to the presbyterians ; who sometimes refuse
to Baptise their Children. Indeed there are Number of Families
Unbaptis'd in those parts [.]
While I rode in those parts, I had the happiness to get
acquainted with your Sister Weatherspoon,47 We preach at her
46 Philip Bruce was born in 1755 near Kings Mountain. He was a patriot
in the Revolutionary War and also a Methodist preacher. Grissom,
Methodism in North Carolina, I, 79-82, 321; Asbury, Journal, I, 343.
47 Martha, sister of Charles Pettigrew, married John Witherspoon of
Wilkes County, who died in 1778. His surviving children included four sons
— David, Thomas, John, and James — and six daughters. Fred A. Olds
(comp.), An Abstract of North Carolina Wills from about 1760 to about
1800, Supplementing Grimes' Abstract of North Carolina Wills, 1663
to 1760 (Baltimore: Southern Book Co., second edition, 1954), 326. David
and John served with Colonel Benjamin Cleveland during the Revolutionary
War. Wilkes County men had contact with Ninety-Six, South Carolina,
near which Charles Pettigrew's father had settled after leaving North
Carolina, so perhaps the Witherspoons and Pettigrews met in this way.
Wilkes County was noted for stock raising before the Civil War, which is
confirmed in a letter from David Witherspoon to Ebenezer Pettigrew,
34 N.C. Department of Archives and History
house; She Expresses the Greatest desire to see you at her
House, & believes it would be the greatest advantage to your
health, for the Springs Near her house have cured several of
your disorder, & was Never known to fail in one case[.]
And I am sure, it would be attended with a great Advantage
to the people in those parts; Your Sister sends her Respects,
to you, Informs you her family is well; & begs your prayers.
I am Revd. Sir Your Very Humble Serv*.
Philip Bruce
November 8th. 1784
I must preach on these words
Heb. XII. 1, 2, 3. Wherefore seeing we are compassed
about or
Heb : XIII. 14. For here we have no continuing City, but we
seek one to come.
XL 10. For we look for a city which hath foundations,
whose builder & maker is God.
Heb. X. 31. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of
the Living God.
[Addressed :]
Rev'1. Charles Pettigrew
Edenton
[Notation on back by Charles Pettigrew:]
a Letter from Mr. Philip Bruce
a Methodist Preacher
Beverly Allen to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Halifax Nov™, the 17th. 1784
My dear Mr. Pettigrew,
I have been long waiting for an agre[e]able opportunity to
make my small returns of Gratitude, for your last favour — And
August 2, 1817, in this volume, p. 579, concerning the sale of horses by the
former. John Crouch, Historical Sketches of Wilkes County (Wilkesboro,
North Carolina: John Crouch, 1902), 25, 26-27, 81. David Witherspoon
served in the General Assembly in 1795-1796, as did John Witherspoon, a
nephew, in 1817-1818. R. D. W. Connor (comp. and ed.), A Manual of
North Carolina . . . 1913 (Raleigh: North Carolina Historical Commission
[State Department of Archives and History], 1913), 852, 853, hereinafter
cited as Connor, Manual, 1913.
The Pettigrew Papers 35
altho I have not had the pleasure of hearing from you of late
by Letter: yet was fortunate enought to hear of your Welfare
by a Gentleman from Edenton — And was Heartily Glad to hear
from one I so affectionately esteem —
I have also had the pleasure of a small personal acquaintance,
with the Rev(1. Mr. Blunt [Blount] — who favourd me with his
company at my last Quarterly Meeting. — And I was much
pleas11, to find one more, hearty friend to the religion of Jesus
Christ, — And it yealded me no small share of consolation; to
hear that you had opend. the way to a Letter, & perhaps in time,
to a personal corespondence with Him. — His solemn countinance ;
& serious deportment — gave considerable weight to the Gospel
Truths He delivered: and upon the whole; I have reason to
think He is a liveing witness, of the power of true religion —
Blessed be the most high God — there are yet some of the
Lords prophets, who have not bowed their knees to the Image
of Baal — would God their number were much Larger — The
Harvest is truly plentious, but alass the Labourers are few! —
As for my own part, sometimes I am ready to think my work
is nearly finishd. — at least I am convinced that my Strength is
well near exha[u]sted — my Constitution is very much shat [tier-
ed And my lungs exceedingly weakend. insomuch, that without
immeadate help, must dessist Traveling. — However, am willing
to spend my last breath, in sounding the gospel Trumpit — Ah
my Dr. Sir, I can now sympathise with you.
But time has been, when I scarce knew the Value of strength
of Lungs. — But now I am something like Samson when his
hair was lost — Yet blessed be my kind benefactor — He waters
my soul with the sweet streams of consolation — And many
times my will is above my strength — But a Lass ! at other times,
I am heavy with dejection — And much discorag*1. with a sight
and sense of my own Vileness & Great Ignorance [.]
Pray for me, my dear brother — for I feel you very near my
heart as one of Gods dear afflicted Children ; and faithful Servant
— And it would rejoice my Heart to see you possessed of great
bodily strength: that you might Labour more for God — I am
convinced that it would be a means of refreshing your own
Soul; as well as benificial to others. —
I have long comforted myself with the hopes of seeing you
face to face — And have been so often disappointed, that I am
afraid to engage — However, should Heaven indulge me with
health I promise myself the pleasure of meeting you & Mr.
Asbury at Edenton on Wensday the 22d. of December — perhaps
36 N.C. Department of Archives and History
shall be there on Tuesday, but if not, please to give my respects
to Mr. Asbury — & accept the same yourself, from yours affec-
tionately
Beverly Allen
[Addressed:]
Revd. Charles Pettigrew
Edenton
Peter Singleton to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Virginia, Prs. [Princess] Anne Decern1". 30th., 1784.
Revd. Sir
Your favour of the 8th. of Septemr. I duly Recd. and as soon,
as cou'd be made convenient, a Vestry was call'd & your Letter
laid before them, who unanimously agreed to Receive you, and
directed our Church Wardens immediately to Write you to that
purpose; Since wch. I have not had an Oppoty of Writing you
& now only by a negro going to Pasquotank. In consequence
of the Resolution entered into by the Vestry in your favour,
our late Incumbents Donation is Reserved for you as well as
the Glebe Land, both of wch. have for some years past been Rented
out, and I sincerely hope we shall have you ere long an Inhabi-
tant of this County. I am really sorry to hear, that you have
suffer'd so much in your Health, but hope the Winter Air (which
is with us & I believe with you, the most healthy) has restored
you to a much better State of Health, and shall be glad to hear
from you by first Oppoty, w<h. I imagine may be had almost at
any time, by way of Norfolk. The Church Wardens have for
some time past expected your Answer, but have not been
f avour'd with it yet ; and whether you persevered in your inten-
tion of taking a Voyage to the West Indies or declined it, I have
not been able to learn, tho' I have of every probable Pe[r]son
enquired. Since my last two or three Clergymen have Offer'd,
the last of wch. is now in this County, but he was immediately on
his Arrival here, made acquainted with our Engagem*. wth. you,
and I am determined (as I believe most of the Vestry are) to
adhere strictly to our agreement with you & shall be happy to
hear that you can Move soon. I am pretty certain that our late
Incumbents Plantation will be Sold in the course of Twelve
Months, a Place that I think will suite you & the time of Pay-
ment we will make so, as the Credit may be as long as you
please. Pray excuse the great hurry I Write this in, I have a
Houseful of Company & the Poor Negro impatiently waiting
The Pettigrew Papers 37
that carries this to Pasquotank. My Family, I thank God, enjoy
good Health & am with my best wishes for your Health & wel-
fare, with Mrs. Singletons Complimts. to your Lady & Family
Dr. Sir
Your Most Obed*. Serv*.
Peter Singleton
N.B. Mr. White & Cap1. Kellam Present their best Respects to
you
[Addressed:]
The Rev1. Mr. Charles Pettigrew
Near
Edenton
To the Care of
Densey Conner Esqr.
Pasquotank.
John Smith to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Ports™. Jan*. 10th., [17] 85
Revd. Sir
The Vestry of this Parish at their last meeting were very
desierous that You should be made acquainted of the Parish
being Vacant and in want of a Church Minister, and they under-
standing You had a mind to apply for the same have Order'd
that I should inform You of their Intention, If You think
proper to apply for the same, their has been a Gentleman apply-
ing but as You have been Mentioned in the Vestry; they could
not give any encouragement untell they had Your Answer —
Therefore I give You this information for Your Reflection —
from
Rev1. Sir
Your Hum1. Serv*.
John Smith, C. V.
[Clerk of the Vestry]
N. B. the Vestry Meets the Last Thursday in Feby. J.S.
[Addressed:]
Reverend Mr. Pettigrewe
Edenton
North Carolina
38 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Charles Pettigrew to Mary B. Pettigrew UNC
[January 24, 1785]
My dear Polley —
We are got down to Occacock [Ocracoke] at last — The time
since I left home has been very tedious & has afforded but small
satisfaction. Indeed I have been much indisposed the greatest
part of the time I have been on board — but seem to feel myself
strong & hearty this morning & hope to be at sea in three or
four Days — We find Phillis48 useful in waiting & tending. When
I was sick, from a Cold I had taken, soon after I came on Board,
she was very attentive.
I hope to return in a much better state of Health than when
I left you through the blessing of God — The Death of our friend
Cap. Bateman cost me a Tear of sympathy & Regret — I hope
before he was taken down that he sent you out his Note of
Hand for the Corn Twenty Barrels at twenty shillings a Barrel
which he promised me he would do just as we parted, on my
telling him that I had forgot to make an accompt of it. You
need not however My Dear be under the smallest uneasiness
for I believe the Estate is very Clear — I have not heard a word
from you since I left Home — However, I endeavour to Comfort
myself in an unshaken & firm persuasion that you & the Children
are under the Direction & Protection of that never failing
providence under which I have allways found myself safe &
happy — I hope my absence will not be attended with so many
disagreeable sensations, as my return will be with those of the
Contrary nature, which I know will be Mutual & happy — Be
assured that you & the Children have been, & are still much
on my Heart —
I expect to go on shore by & by to Occacock & to stay while
our Brig receives the remainder of her Cargo from her lighter —
I know the Occacockers will be glad to see me as they will be
ready freighted with Children to baptize — & I hope I shall be
able to give them a Lecture, & to gratify them in that partic-
ular—
Philis & Ben have allways been able for their allowance, only
when sea-sick for we have had some very blowing weather,
During which Time & the whole passage down I have not felt
the smallest qualm of sea-sickness — The Captain tells me that
43 Phillis and Ben were two slaves whom Charles Pettigrew took to the
West Indies and sold. Wall, "Charles Pettigrew," 53-54. See also Phillis
Jennings to Mary Lockhart Pettigrew, June 10, 1803, in this volume, p. 306.
The Pettigrew Papers 39
he does not expect I shall be much sea-sick — Mr. Blounts Will
is still on Board & Ben & He are made to stir their stumps,
& to work much harder than either of them has done lately.
We are new, & have a great deal to do on Board & Cap. Scher-
merhorn lets nothing be idle but myself & his little Dog —
I wish you could get Herry Bond or some friend to buy you
a few hundred more of pork for I don't love the thought of
buying Bacon for the negroes, & pork I am affraid will not
be to be purchased at any Rate. Eight hundred or a thousand
weight of pork if fit for Bacon would do — I send you inclosed
£5 five pounds which may be of some service to you — Dont look
for me till you hear We are arrived, for you need not doubt I
shall be home again as soon as possible — I find myself respect-
fully treated on Board, by Cap. Schermerhorn & his Officers,
& have a good State-Room to lodge in. I expect not to write
again till we arrive, & I have an Opportunity from Hatia
[Haiti], or some other port, & you may be assured I shall lose
none that offers of sending you a Line —
Please to give my respectful Complemts. to My good Neigh-
bours on both sides of the Mill as if named particularly — And
also to those whom you know to be my friends in Town when
you have an Opportunity — Kiss the Boys, Jack & Ebenezer49
for me, and believe me to be My Dear Polley,
Your ever Const. & faithful
Loving & tender Husband
Charles Pettigrew
Monday 24th
January 1785
[Addressed:]
Mrs. Mary Pettigrew
near Edenton
The Care of Wm. Bennett Esqr.
Charles Pettigrew to Mary B. Pettigrew UNC
Hatia [Haiti] 11th March 1785
My dear Polly —
I catch this first opportunity since my arrival, to tell you I
49 These were the two sons of Charles and Mary Blount Pettigrew. John,
called Jackie, was born August 2, 1779, and Ebenezer was born March 10,
1783. "Genealogy," undated document, Pettigrew Papers, UNC.
40 N.C. Department of Archives and History
find myself much better in health than when I left you, & hope
two or three weeks longer on this Island will make a very
great alteration for the Better — We had a long passage & did
not make this port till last Saturday this being just two months
since we embarked at Edenton.
I find it is not a good place to sell Negroes — they are too
suspitious of their Morals, when brought from the Continent —
Ben & Philis I have out with the principle Gentm. of ye. Island
on tryal & am to get an Answer to Day or tomorrow — I pur-
pose to replace them in New Negroes if I can — I am to preach
in Town During my stay at the request of the Governor & the
principal gent", by whom I find myself very politely treated.
No Doubt they will make me a complim1. equal to my expences.
I am invited to Dine out among them almost every Day — I
find great Cause to bless God that strangers are my friends,
go where I will— Living is high but I am favoured — I have
taken a private Lodgings upon a hill above the town which lyes
on the Bay wch. I found too sultry —
Capn. Bunker in Mr. Egan's Brig is to sail for Edenton in two
or three weeks, & with him I intend to take a passage — Cap.
Schermerhorn is gone for the Ocays,50 & had recovered his
Health. As I seem to regain my health I think I must
stay a while longer as I am loth to return without my errand —
Yet I am anxious about moving to princes Anne, & particularly
about a Crop as I am affraid I shall miss one — I wish you could
get Joe Wilkins to take George & fortune51 & go to Mr. White
at Kemp's Landing & I am persuaded he will set them to work
planting Corn & find them till such times as I shall return &
move down — I will sufficiently reward Mr. Wilkins or any good
Man that will agree to go for you — I will inclose a Letter for
Mr. White requesting him to give them possession & find them
— They must take Horses &c to plow — It would be a Bad Time
to return in this Month as our Coasts are Dangerous —
I intend to bring you a silk exactly the Colour of the one you
had dyed & sundry pretty things besides. The silk I have chose
60 The State Gazette of North-Carolina (Edenton), March 3, 1796, re-
ported the fever raging at Aux Cayes, Haiti, also called Lucayos and
Caycos. A Complete Historical, Chronological, and Geographical American
Atlas (Philadelphia: Carey & Lee, 1827), Plate 39.
51 George and Fortune are two of the Pettigrew slaves who are frequently
mentioned along with Pompey and who were apparently good workers and
trustworthy.
The Pettigrew Papers 41
already — I have the pleasure my Dr. Polly to subscribe myself
your ever loving Husband
Charles Pettigrew
N.B. Seal Mr. Whites Letter before you send it
[Addressed:]
Mrs. Mary Pettigrew
Near Edenton
N. Carolina
The Care of Mr.
Rumbough in Town
Charles Pettigrew to Mary B. Pettigrew UNC
S*. Eustatia 11th March 1785
My Dear Girl —
I send enclosed a letter to yourself, & one to Mr. White at
Kemp's Landing, princes Anne — you will find it open — Read it
— & try to get Joseph Wilkins to go with it to him, with George
& fortune to begin a Crop — I know Mr. White or Mr. Singleton
will furnish them with hoes at cheaper rates than ours will sell
for — plows can also be made down there, & I can sell our Iron
of that kind for more than they will cost there — I shall be
home in April unless prevented by accidents — They must Carry
two horses able to plow — perhaps Tom & quaker will do —
Please to remember me affectionately to my good Neighbours
both of Town & Country — You know them — & kiss our Dear
little Boys which I will repay with Compound interest at my
return — I am My Dr. Girl your ever Const.
& loving Husband
Charles Pettigrew
You will not forget to seal Mr. Whites Letter before you send
it. Should not Wilkins agree to go, try to get another or speak
to Mr. Blount to assist you his Negro Cap. Schermerhorn has
carried to the Ocays to sell — please to give him my kind
respects &
I have wrote you also by another Capt., belonging to Bartie
this morning, which I hope you will get — This is a very sudden
42 N.C. Department of Archives and History
call of Cap*. Nathanea, who does not stay two hours on the
Island — I would not grudge my Dear Girl should opportunity
offer to write you twice every Day, for be assured you employ
my happyest thought — The greatest pleasure I have enjoyed
since I left you, has been in presenting you & my dear little
boys together with myself at the throne of grace, & figuring
to my immagination the happiness of our meeting, which must
be greatly increased by this anxious & painful separation — I
often anticipate the pleasing moment when I shall see you, &
enjoy the mutually fond embrace. But I must have done — God
almighty bless & protect us, & bring us together by his provi-
dence agreeable to our mutual wishes & expectations; my dear
girl —
I am yours as before
Chs. Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
Mrs. Mary Pettigrew
near Edenton
North Carolina
Favrd. by Capt.
Nathanea —
To the Care of
Mr. Rumbough
Peter Singleton to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Virginia, Prs. Anne, March 21*., 1785.
Dear Sir
Agreeable to your favor of the 10th. of Janry last past, wch.
I recd. ab*. three Weeks ago, that it shou'd not be said by a single
individual that you was Recd. into this Parish, without giving
the Revd. Mr. Simpson a chance of a Vote of the Vestry, who I
conceived a competitor for the Parish, notwithstanding he was
inform'd immediately on his arrival in this place of our en-
gager*^, with you a second Vestry, on that matter, was calFd
& met the 16th. Instant & confirm'd their first Resolution in
favour of you, as will appear by the inclosed Letter from our
Church Wardens [.]
The Vestry has no further meaning, that I know of, by in-
closing you a Copy of an Act of Assembly incorporating the
Church &c, and of fixing the time you shall be here to the 1th,
The Pettigrew Papers 43
of May, than to expedite your Removal, as the succeeding
Vestry may complain, shou'd the Parish in consequence of our
engagem*. be kep't too long without a Minister, and I hope the
time will be very sufficient for you to move in your Family &c.
Mr. Sayer has on the Plantation of the late Revd. Mr. Dickson,
ah*. Fifty barrels Corn for Sale, wch. cou'd be now bought a[t]
15s A Bl [A Barrel] & imagine it will not be higher with us in
any short time, however the sooner you can give directions about
it, the better lest it shou'd rise or be Sold to some other Person.
I hope before this you have return'd from the West Indies &
that your Voyage has prove' d very Salutary, and am with the
Complimts. of Mr\ Singleton to Your Lady and Family
Dr. Sir,
Your Most Obed*. Serv*.
Peter Singleton
N.B. Mr. White presents his most
respectful Complimts. to you.
[Addressed:]
The Revd. Mr. Charles Pettigrew
Near
Edenton
To the Care of
Nath1. Allen Esqr.52
Charles Williamson and John Cornick to Charles Pettigrew
A&H
Princess Anne, May 6th. 1785
Revd. Sir,
In Consequence of your not coming here on or before the
first Instant, the Vestry of Lynhaven Parish came to a Determi-
nation to vote for a Minister, & have this Day elected The Revd.
James Simpson to fill the sacred Office.
The Vestry order'd that we should give you Information of
52 Nathaniel Allen was a merchant and businessman of Edenton. A
nephew of Joseph Hewes, he owned the Joseph Hewes House on West King
Street in Edenton from 1794 to about 1804. Historic Edenton, sketch No.
16 on the Joseph Hewes House. See also footnote 80, p. 91.
44 N.C. Department of Archives and History
this as soon as possible, that you might not be at farther
Trouble & Expence — We are,
Rev*1. Sir,
Yr. mo. Obed*. Servts.
Charles Williamson \ Church
John Cornick J Wardron
[Addressed:]
The Revd. Mr. Chs. Pettigrew
Near Edenton
[Notation on back by Charles Pettigrew:]
The Vestry's final Letter
from Princess Anne
Dirty Dirty Dirty
Peter Singleton to Charles Pettigrew a&h
Virginia, Princess Anne, May 7th. 1785.
Revd. Sir
I am extremely sorry to inform you, that the Vestry of this
Parish, contrary to their engagem*. with you & to every particle
of honour, Yesterday came to a determination in favour of a
certain Mr. Simpson for their Minister, who by some secret &
undue mean's has prevailed on a set of Men, say a majority
of the Vestry, to forfeit their engagem*. with you & consequently
their honour &c:1. notwithstanding it was sufficiently demon-
strated to them by Mr. White, myself & others, that the said
Simpson was unworthy their choice, and such reasons given
& proof of our assertions, as were undeniable, yet to my aston-
ishment I found a majority in his favr.53
I am really very sorry for this dishonourable treatment, which
no doubt must in many respects be to your disadvantage, and
that your Negro's lose no more time here, Mr. White & myself
have thought it best to send them home immediately; they have
behaved exceeding well & wou'd in a few Days have had you
about 70M Corn hills Planted. The Thirty Bis Corn I bought
for you, I will dispose of, which I believe I can immediately do
for the price I gave. No doubt you must resent & very justly
the behaviour of the Vestry (wch. I myself so far resented as
53 For the outcome of Simpson's ministry see Peter Singleton to Charles
Pettigrew, April 26, 1787, in this volume, p. 53.
The Pettigrevv Papers 45
did your Freind [s/c] Mr. White, as to tell them that they had
acted an ill & infamous part by you) yet I hope, my Dear Sir,
that you'll believe & be assured, you have many Freinds [sic~\
here, who sincerely regret the disappointm1. of not get you as
our Minister. I hope if ever you come this way, that you will
do me the Pleasure of your Company, and if at any time it shou'd
be in my Power to serve you, I beg you'll freely command, &
believe me to be with the Complimts. of Mrs. Singleton & my
Daughters, to your Lady, Self & Family, with real Esteem &
Regard
Dr. Sir
Your Most Obed. Serv*.
Peter Singleton
[Addressed:]
The Rev^. Mr. Charles Pettigrew
Near
Edenton.
& Negro's
George & Fortune
wth. a Horse
William White to Charles Pettigrew a&h
Princess Anne May 7th. 1785
Revd. Sir,
Your favours of 10th. Janry, 11th. & 23d. March, came all duly
to hand, the two first I have at different times laid before the
Vestry, and the other I received only last night, which was too
late to be of any Service, as a Majority of that Body after a
severe debate, contrary to my expectation, & I think to every
sentiment of honour or generosity, came yesterday afternoon,
to a determination, to receive a certain Mr. Simpson for their
Minister, who by some secret manuver, & not by his Superiour
[torn] influenced them in his favr. ; notwithstanding he said,
on his coming into this County, & being told that the Vestry
had pawn'd their honour to you, that he never shou'd have any
pretentions that wou'd in the least interfeer wth. your Interest
— I am extremely sorry for this unkind determination, on more
accots. than one; principally on yours, for fear it may put you
to inconveniencies at this Season of the year, that it might not
at any other. Mr. Singleton [& m]yself have thought it best
to hurry your Negroes home as quick as possible, as we presume
46 N.C. Department of Archives and History
they will be wanted about another Crop, & I beg leave to inform
you that they have behaved in an unexceptionable manner here.
As I conceive the whole of the Vestry are liable to your dis-
pleasure 'till you can discriminate them, I therefore inclose you
an Extract from the Journals for your perusal, & am with real
[esteem]
Your most obed*. Serv*.
[torn] White
[Addressed:]
The Revd. Mr. Charles Pettigrew
near
Edenton —
p Negroes George
& Fortune with
a Horse —
[Enclosure:]
At a meeting of the Vestry for the Parish of Lynhaven at
Kempseville the 6th. Day of May 1785
Present
Anthony Walke,54 Edwd. Hack Moseley
James Henly. Joel Cornick Wm. White Gen1. Vestrymen
Francis Land & John Hancock
& John Cornick & Chs. Wmson. Ch[urch] Wr. [Wardens]
It was determined this day by a Majority of the Vestry viz1'. A
Walke, E. H. Moseley, John Cornick [,] Chs. Williamson, Francis
Land & John Hancock that they shou'd immediately proceed
to induct a Minister. The Revd. James Simpson is inducted
Minister of the Parish, he promising to produce his Credential
Letters of ordination, to The Church Wardens within ten days,
by a Majority of the Vestry vizr. Anthy. Walke, Edwd. H Moseley,
John Hancock, Joel Cornick, Charles Williamson & Francis
Land —
Charles Pettigrew to Charles Williamson and John Cornick *
A&H
Near Edenton 9th May 1785
Gentlemen, —
Your Letter of ye 6th inst*. tells me the disagreeable Con-
sequence of my not being able to comply with your Limitation
54 This is probably the same Anthony Walke identified in footnote 42,
p. 27.
The Pettigrew Papers 47
respecting the Time of my removal to your parish. It found
me destitute of either House or home, or ground in the County
for a Crop the Cur1. Year, & using all the industry I could to get
away, agreeable to my engagemt with you, which engagemt
was mutual, & without Limitation as to Time, & made with
this reserve on my part, "that I should not remove to ye Charge
'till I had returned from a Voyage to sea, for the Benefit of my
health. — And I beg leave to observe, that I am not conscious
of such guilt, incur [r]ed by my unavoidable noncomplyance, as
deserved final Rejection, after two orders of Vestry in my
favour, & without any thing having been alledged, whereon you
could rationally found a Doubt of my integrity, — & more espe-
cially, as your Determination must necessarily subject me to
many inconveniencies at this season of the Year.
Be assured, I did not once conjecture that any other would
be prefer [r]ed, but upon the Liberal principles I had propossed
[sic] in my Letter of 10th. Jan. viz, (if I mistake not) "It being
the Desire of a Majority of the people at large, & also of the
Vestry in particular, from a Conviction of his being better
quallified for usefullness in the parish"; as I still aver, that I
never wish to stand in ye. way of a more worthy person. If
these latter were the Motives from which you have acted, I
have nothing to say more than to Wish, that the gentn.
you have prefered, may Always deserve that preference, by
exhibiting himself to the world, in every point of view, The
venerable pat[t]ern & Zealous Advocate of true Virtue & piety,
— and if your zeal for the Devotional part of Religion was so
ardent, as not to suffer you to wait a few Days longer; May He
be so fortunate, as to keep it Always alive, & active in per-
forming the Duties of Christian Charity & Benevolence. I am
Gent.n—
Your friend & serv*.
Charles Pettigrew
A True Copy —
Messrs. Chs. Williamson
& John Cornick
Church Wardens
Princess Anne
48 N.C. Department of Archives and History
William White to Charles Pettigrew a&h
Kempesville. June 6th. 1785.
Revd. Sir,
Permit me to congratulate you, on your safe arrival at home,
and on the salutary effects you have experienced by the Voy-
age— It gives me pain when I reflect on the late proceedings of
our Vestry, in favour of (I think) an unworthy Man, & I doubt
not, but I shall 'ere long, enjoy the satisfaction of seeing them
on the Stool of repentance; his orders have been examined, and
approved of by two Clergymen at Richmond, but I must confess
I have yet some doubts, for I think a Man in his sphere of life,
that is capable of supplanting another by undue advantages,
wou'd not hesitate to impose on mankind in general. — If I have
had it in my power, to render you any Service, I receive amply
compensation for it, by my conducts meeting your approbation,
& give me leave to say it will always afford me the highest
satisfaction to know that in the List of your Friends you have
placed —
Revd. Sir,
Your mo : obed*. Serv*.
William White
[Addressed:]
The Revd. Mr. Charles Pettigrew
near
Edenton
favour'd by
Col1. Harvey
Beverly Allen to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Charleston June 11th. 1785
Honoured, & very dear Sir,
The Generous Sentiments with which your mind is adorn'1,
will not suffer any unkind, or uncharitable feelings to have
place in your Heart — I am ready to dispair of haveing the
pleasure of a personal interview with you very shortly. — but
have had the pleasure to hear of your safe return from the
West Indies. — And have imbraced this oppertunity of leting
you see that my real esteem for you runs as high as ever- —
No doubt you have heard of the Late Step that hath been
interduced in respect of Ordination.55 — And whether you ap-
55 This is a reference to the Methodist decision to abandon Apostolic
Succession in the consecration of the bishops. From this time on Charles
The Pettigrew Papers 49
prove of it, or not, be assured that I neither sought nor expected
the Method. — However hope you will not set yourself at a dis-
tance from me on that account. — For as I have ever found you
sir, a Man of honourable & truly religious Sentiments, have
reason to think that you will not do or say anything either
directly, or indirectly, contrary to your own Conscience — You
will therefore please to look on Mr. Wesley's Letter, wrote on that
occation, and also, read Docter [sic] Coke's Sermon, published
on the same — And after this should receive your opinion as a
mark of your friendship. — mean time please to favour me with
a line by the first oppertunity —
I have fell in where James Troyfoot hath very much imposd.
on the people, and have thought it my duty to let him be known,
by reading your Letters concerning him. — And for fear he may
deny your handwriting & say the letters are forgd.[?] would
thank you for something more. — He has soothed the matter to
the people, when they had him up & demanded his Liceance,
by laying his hands on his head & swearing that he had them
once but was rob[b]ed of them. — And further, hath pretended
to send home for a Coppy of his ordination, — (this is what I
hear for have never seen him yet) — There seems to be a pros-
pect of many Sinners being converted to God in this City & also
in the C[o]untry — I am obliged to leave the City as the small
pox is broken out in this place — Tomorrow I purposed to set
out for Georgia — but have a few hours passd. recieved [sic]
intilegences, that the small pox is broke out both in Savannah
& also in Augustia [sic] —
Therefore purpose to spend some time in South Carolinia —
The Harvest truly is great but the Labourers are few[.]
Have reason to be thankful for the measure of health which I
enjoy; and hope these will find you enjoying the same, or greater
blessings — And forget not to pray for; and suffer me, now as
ever to subscribe myself your
respectful friend, & Ser*. in the gospel
Beverly Allen
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
Alas! Poor Allen!
[Addressed:]
The Revd. Charles Petigrew
Edenton
Favd. by Mr. Malory
Pettigrew lost all interest in Methodism and remained faithful to the
Anglican communion.
50 N.C. Department of Archives and History
James H. Thomson to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Charleston 19th. Feb*. 1785 [1786 ?]'6
Revd. & Dr. Sir,
Your letter dated Dec1". 13th I have often read — with surprise
& pleasure. Now I am seated to give it an answer, I feel a
propensity, like a legitimate son of our revolted ancestor, to
answer a paragraph in it first, which in your order comes in
towards the last. This paragraph respects myself & considers
me as invested with holy orders. What gave occasion for it I do
not know; but the intelligence is wholly without foundation.
I still remain the plain untitled Schoolmaster I was when we
parted. And I expect shall continue so to the end of my days.
Tho' were a proper opening to be made I might adopt the other
character in addition to the present.
Whatever alterations may be made in your Chh still the
idea of uniformity, that infernal leaven, seems to accompany
them.57 This has been the abominable root of discord & mischief
& will be more or less so forever, till utterly exterminated.
Among your Brethren there are some whose hearts are panting
for the Lawn & their heads aching for the mitre [of a bishop]
or a more compromising system would have been adopted. They
would have accepted the dissenting plan of ordination or one
very near it, with the administration of the sacraments used
by their Presbyterian Brethren especially that of the last
supper, in which according to your form, scarce a semblance
of the original institution is preserved, while on the dissenting
plan every strong circumstance is presented to view, & brotherly
love, benevolence & equality among the disciples of our great
divine benevolent Master thro the whole is inculcated with energy
& propriety. Let your Book of common prayer remain as it
is; recommend it as an excellent formulary to be used entirely
or in part at the discretion of the minister, expunge all human
articles of belief, the bible is enough, for if God has not re-
vealed himself clearly & intelligibly, I cannot conceive how
man who is a worm, can give precision clearness & force to
58 Charles Pettigrew's draft of his reply is dated March, 1786, indicating
that this date should also be 1786.
67 The discussion in this paragraph refers to the action of the 1785 Epis-
copal convention in Philadelphia which approved a revised liturgy and a
constitution for the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States.
William Stevens Perry, The History of the American Episcopal Church
(Boston: James R. Osgood & Co., 2 volumes, 1885), II, 26-32, hereinafter
cited as Perry, History of the American Episcopal Church.
The Pettigrew Papers 51
the expression ; when you shall have done this, I persuade myself
you will have laid a foundation broad as Christ himself has
marked out; & all of his solid well informed followers would
have shouted a blessing to its corner stones. You will take none
of my freedom amiss I am persuaded. You have taught me to
think aloud upon these subjects in writing to you by your
Catholicism & liberality so often displayed in conversation for-
merly. So that whether my remarks be or be not well founded
I am sure to give you no offence by them.
That you should be still at Edenton is to me astonishing.
If I believed in spells & incantation I could account for it; but
now cannot do it any More than yourself. Mrs. Thomson & Cross
unite in desiring to be respectfully remembered to yourself &
Mrs. Pettigrew. Our children are well. Cap Cross about sailing
I expect this day for Dublin from Wilmington in your State.
I beg you will remove & remove soon I consider your talents
as not employed for the general interests so well in Edenton
as they probably would be elsewhere ; were the people to support
you decently & liberally. And when you are settled I shall be
glad to hear from you again, that I may know how to direct in
future. The packet for your Brother I forwarded agreeably to
Direction. I am Sir
with esteem
& respect yours &a
James H. Thomson
[Addressed :]
The Reverend Charles Pettigrew
near Edenton
North Carolina
Favoured
by
Cap Conger
[Notation on back by Charles Pettigrew:]
The love of Truth a virtue most sincere
[Draft of a reply by Charles Pettigrew, written on back:]
Dr Sir—
Yours of 19th of Feb. I reed. 2 Days ago — It found me at the
House of Mourning, & incapable of comfort from any thing
of a temporal Nature. I had just accompanied the breathless
52 N.C. Department of Archives and History
remains of my dear, dear, dear companion to the House ap-
pointed for all living at an old burying ground where she now
sleeps wth. her fathers— She died the 10th Day after being
delivered of twins whose birth was premature, perhaps the
8th month of gestation.58 The fevers so incident to the Climate
had in the run of 18th months past much impaired her strength
so that on taking violent cold on my removing out of Edenton
to a House a good deal out of repair (for I could not live there
any longer) she was taken with a kind of pluracy, & her fever
was such that 7 Blisters could not break it— The infants both
died after a few hours — Two survive — the oldest of wch is not
7 & the youngest about 3 years old —
I have thought much of Georgia, as a climate better suited
to a weak & debelitated Constitution as the weather is undoubt-
edly less variable from its proximity to the Tropics I should be
glad of your advice— Yet tho' alas, I am not doing much good—
I wish to live on acct. of my Children —
March 1786.
Wilson Blount to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Newbern 25th. April, 1786
Dear Sir.
I have just recd. from my friend Mr. Littlejohn™ the acco*.
of the Death of my Dear Sister [Mrs. Mary Pettigrew]. I [torn]
express to you the distress I feal on this unhappy event. I have
been for this long time coming to Edenton, for a visit, for no
other purpose but to see my friends there, the Situation of my
58 Mary Blount Pettigrew died on March 16, 1786, following the birth of
the twins on March 7. Blount-Pettigrew Genealogy. The following notation
presumably composed by Charles Pettigrew, is also found in the Genealogy:'
"Mary Pettigrew, one of the most worthy of her sex, departed this
life on the 16th March, 1786 — and was laid in one tomb with her twins.
With modest lustre all her goodness shone,
The wife, the mother was excelled by none;
Was loved thro life, lamented in her end.'
0 Tomb! much honored, keep thy three fold Trust!
'Till the last Trump demand their precious Dust."
59 There are three Littlejohns connected with Edenton during this period,
all of them merchants. William Littlejohn and his wife, Sarah Blount, were
living in the Littlejohn House on West Eden Street in 1791. Sarah was a
signer of the Tea Party resolutions. Historic Edenton, sketch No. 23 on the
Littlejohn House. Thomas B. Littlejohn and John W. Littlejohn were also
merchants, as evidenced by letters in this volume. See, for example, Charles
Pettigrew to Thomas Littlejohn, June 18, 1791, p. 103. See also footnote 86,
p. 103. '
The Pettigrew Papers 53
affairs has render'1, it as yet, out of my power to effect it, after
our next court which is now [torn] at hand, and had promisd.
myself much pleasure in seeing her together with her little
family, for whoom [sic] I had the greatest [torn].
I have always understood she was happy as to her situation
in life, & of yr. kindness & attention to her, which affords me
great Consolation for which I shall always consider myself
under every tie of friendship & respect to you. I am sorry so
Melancoly a Subject should be the occation of my addressing
you for the first time but real[l]y business & the continual
expectation of seeing you myself has ever prevent'1, me. I have
heard you have one Daughter,60 be there more or less, if you
think proper to commit them to the care of Mrs. Blount &
Myself you may depend on our parental attention to them, as
I shall always take a pleasure in doing [torn] anything of her.
You will oblige me by letting me know, the names & ages of
the Children, & shall be happy at all times to hear of yr. Welfair
I remain very respectfully,
Dear Sir
Your m°. Ob*, serv*.
Wilson Blount
[Addressed:]
The Revd. Charles Pettegrew
Perqs. County
Peter Singleton to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Kempsville Apr1. 26th. 1787.
Dear Sir
Your Favour of the 22d. Instant, I recd. by Mr. Harvey and
am happy to hear that you & your little Sons are well & sin-
60 Wilson Blount's information was incorrect — there were two sons but
no daughters. This letter indicates some of the difficulties of communication
at that time. He had not seen his sister or written to her husband in nine
years, although the families lived only a hundred miles apart. Wilson
Blount and his wife Ann had a house in New Bern and also a plantation
near the town. Alice Barnwell Keith and William H. Masterson (eds.), The
John Gray Blount Papers (Raleigh: State Department of Archives and His-
tory, 3 volumes, 1952, 1959, 1965), I, 4 n. 8, 457 n. 88, passim; II, 89 n. 145,
passim, hereinafter cited as Keith, John Gray Blount Papers, I, II, or as
Masterson, John Gray Blount Papers, III. Wilson Blount was living in
Edenton in 1772 when he bought the site of the West Custom House on
Blount Street, and it is believed he built the house presently standing there.
Historic Edenton, sketch No. 22 on the West Custom House. Exactly when
he and his wife moved to New Bern has not been established. Judging from
letters in this volume, it appears that they had no children.
54 N.C. Department of Archives and History
cerely wish you & them a long continuance of Health & happi-
ness. Some time ago I recd. the disagreeable News of your late
Worthy Lady Mrs. Pettigrews death, and hartily sympathize
with you, on the lost of so valuable a Partner, and doubt not
your affliction must have been great, but as I am writing to a
Divine & a man who's Prudence & Rectitude I have a great
opinion of, it wou'd be but waste of time, to recommend resig-
nation &ca., for sure I am You'll say, as did good Old Eli, it
is the Lord, let him do what seemeth to him good, and I am
really pleased that you must no doubt often have the pleasing
Reflections, that each had assisted the other in the mutual duty
of Husband & Wife in striving together for your Spiritual &
temporal welfare, weh. made your love perfect & gave that
Worthy Lady a right, as a good Christian, to cry out wth. her
last breath "Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit."
Your intention of going to the Springs 61 will I hope prove
salutory, but my Dear Freind [sic'] wou'd not a shorter jaunt
answer your purpose? as I presume you mean chiefly, to be
from Carolina the Sickly Season, & therebye escape the dis-
orders incident to your place; if so, might not a trip to this
County answer a good purpose, and shall be glad if you deter-
mine on the latter, that you'll make my House your home during
your stay. You hope that Mr. Simpson has behaved well &
secured the Esteem of his Parishioners, I am sorry to say he
has not, and had not a general dissolution of the Vestry's of
this State taken place by a late Act of our assembly, I am well
assured the Vestry of this Parish wou'd have met on Mr.
Simpsons conduct & he must have been cited as an improper
Man to be continued in the Parish as the encumbent thereof &
as he has but few hearers and have lost ground with those
Friends of his that unfairly got him inducted, shou'd not be
surprised if his stay shou'd be short with us, his School I con-
ceive the only thing worth his staying for, as his Subscription
is hardly worth mentioning. Mrs. Singleton Joins with my
Daughters in their most Respectful Compliments to you & re-
turns you her thanks for the Eligy you was pleased to send
her, on the Death of a Lady, who she flatter'd herself with the
pleasure of an intimate Freindship [sic] with, while we had the
61 Possibly this is either Shocco Springs or Sulphur Springs in Warren
County. Both areas were popular resorts for many years, and neither was
a great distance from Edenton. Guion Griffis Johnson, Ante-Bellum North
Carolina: A Social History (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina
Press, 1937), 188, hereinafter cited as Johnson, Ante-Bellum North
Carolina.
The Pettigrew Papers 55
pleasing prospect of having you to reside among us, and I can
assure you she was one of a great number that regret [t]ed the
disappoinm*. we met with in loosing you. I am pleased with
the Epitaph on your Ladys Tomb & now to my self say how
happy wou'd it in the end be, if every Man & Woman wou'd
so live in this World, that they might, after Death, deserve the
same. I thank God that my Family & my self have been in
good health for some time past, 'till a few Days ago, when Mrs.
Singleton, myself & youngest Son were taken unwell with Chilli-
ness & Fevers, brought on, I imagine from Colds, but as we
find ourselves much better, I hope we shall soon be restored
to good health, and am
Dr. Sir
Your Mo. Obed*. hble Serv*.
Peter Singleton
Charles Pettigrew to William White* a&h
Perqs. 3d. July 1787
Dear Sir —
Your very friendly letter, together with one from Mr. Single-
ton, by Mr. Harvey came safe to hand — Either of the two would
have given me singular pleasure, but both at once, & both con-
curing to speak the same grateful sentiments, like a personal
visit from my friends, seem'd to dispel the gloom of solitude
& contribute real happiness. I have often read your Letter, &
as often derived sensible pleasure. — I thank you for your
sentiments of condolence, so happily express'd. — They did not
fail to command the tribute of an additional Tear to the memory
of my Dear Deceased Companion — Yet while I mourn my loss,
I bless the indulgent father of Spirits, who hath called her home,
I trust, to one of those many mansions where Peace, & Love,
harmony & uninterrupted Joy eternally reign. You ask your
friend, "What has he to fear, whose heart is fix'd on the solid
& permanent Joys of eternity"? I wish I could appropriate the
sentiment according to your charitable application — But alas!
I am constrained to own that the world with its alluring pros-
pects is still a dangeous enemy — And when it shall cease to
be so, xtianity will cease to be a warfare. But so it is, that we
have principallities & powers & spiritual wickednesses in high
places, to encounter, & to overcome, while we contend for the
56 N.C. Department of Archives and History
prize of eternal Life — May you & I, my Dr. friend, be found
at last more than Conquerors, thro' the might of Him who hath
loved us, & washed us from our Sins, in his own blood. The
longer I live, the more intimately I am convinced, that there is
no true happiness abstracted from vital religion & virtue. It is
from These sources, that the mind is fortified, so as without
a shock, to be able to meet the last enemy of nature, & even view
him (namely Death) with the aspect of a friend, sent to open
the gate of everlasting Life, & introduce us into the society
of the blessed.
I was happy to hear by Mr. Newton that you, with Mrs. White,
are well. Long may you enjoy that Blessing! I had like to have
forgot to thank you for your very kind invitation to princess
Anne, during the sickly season here, which I most cordially
do; & at the same time feel the weight of an additional obliga-
tion. But beg leave to observe, that I cannot take that rout. I
feel too much abash'd, on a recollection, of my being reprobated
by the Vestry. I wish I had more fortitude of mind, but I must
ingenuously own to you as a friend, that I have not so much as
I seem to have. God bless them ! I heartily forgive them, & even
the man who circumvented me. Were I to push myself into his
Company, in case of Difference in sentiment I migh[t] find
the Repertee returned from the mought [sic~\ of one of his
pious pistols. For from what report, says of him, He seem^
to be fallen on a very uncommon method of religious constraint.
If they will not agree to be priest-ridden all the way to heaven,
— He undertakes with his own hand to give them an im-
mediate] passage to Hell: — but at the same time not being so
good proof himself as he thought, against fire & brimstone (or
gunpowder) he had like, of late, with all his divinity to have
shot the impassible Gulf himself while indeavouring to shove off
his parishioners.
Please to make my Compliments to MIS. White, & believe me
to be with sentiments of the truest gratitude & esteem
Dr. Sir—
Your most ob*. H-ble Serv*.
Charles Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
W1". White Esquire
Princess Anne
The Pettigrew Papers 57
Receipt from Penelope Barker UNC
[February 27, 1788]
Feb. 27th 1788 — Received of Mrs. Penelope Barker Ten Pounds
for attendance at the Funeral of Mr. Barker.
Charles Pettigrew
Peter Singleton to Charles Pettigrew a&h
Kempsville June 10th., 1788.
Dear Sir,
Your Favour of the 13th. Janry last past, I recd. some time
ago, giving me the melancholy news of the Death of our Worthy
and mutual Freind [sic] Col°. Thomas Harvey; whos Death
to all who had the Pleasure of an intimate acquaintance with
him must be truly disagreeable, consequently I most sincerely
sympathize with you for the loss of that good man. — Poor Mrs.
Harvey ! his worthy & amiable Relict, inconsolable ! — how I pity
her; — for her grief must have been great. The loss of such a
Husband render'd it unavoidable; but in the midst of my un-
easiness for the loss of my Freind [sic~\ & his distressed Lady
& Family, I have this consolation; that you my Worthy Freind
[sic] & theirs, being at hand will I have not a doubt, give your
best advice & that you'll soon be able to bring a Lady of her good
sense & goodness, to submit with becoming Resignation to the
direction & will of divine Providence. I have made every exer-
tion in my Power to collect the balance due from Mr. Tabbs
Estate to Col0. Harveys for Rent of Saunders's Land, and find
myself at length in a fair & I think sure way of getting it by
the 10th. of next month, by that time an Execution now in the
Hands of our Sheriff must be pd. off and shall be glad that an
Oppty may then offer for me to send it in & shou'd also be glad
to be furnish'd as soon as possible with my late Worthy Freind
[sic] Ace*, ag*. me that it may be adjusted. The new federal
Governm*. is now under the Consideration of the Convention
of this State, and I am inform'd by Letters from some of my
Freinds [sic] members of the Convention, that they are delib-
erating on, and discussing every Paragraph; but no Question
is to be offered, until they have gone through the whole. The
Governor has expressed himself in Favour of the general Union,
wch. hath occasioned a Pensiveness, not to say Gloominess, in
58 N.C. Department of Archives and History
a part of the House, whose sentiments do not accord with his;
and has explained his Conduct with considerable address 'If,
says he, I had signed the proposed Constitution, I feared, judg-
ing from very recent Circumstances, that it would have wanted
that best Sanction, the Hearts of the People : If I had absolutely
rejected it, the Union would have been endangered. — But now
when seven States have agreed to it, I act under very different
Impressions. I mean not to apologize to any Individual, to the
House, or to the People. — I am to answer for my Conduct only
to my own Conscience & my God.' — South Carolina I have a
few Days ago heard, makes the 8th. State in the Union & I expect
that Virginia will soon be added to the number But I cannot
speak with Certainty as there are many adversaries to it &
not inconsiderable ones. I have been anxious for an Oppty to
have answer'd your Letter ere this, but none offer'd & I now
embrace the only one that has offer'd since Janry last, except
one by a Young Man, near Hartford a Brother of Mr. Fras.
Newby by whom (it being our Court) I had not time to write,
I hope therefore that you'll acquit me of neglect on that head.
Mr. Simpson has resign'd his Office as Minister of this Parish
and the Vestry have agreed to Induct Mr. Anthony Walke into
the same, as soon as he obtains Letters of Ordination, which I
suppose he has obtained ere this as he went some time ago to
Philadelphia for that purpose.
Mrs. Singleton is not so well as I cou'd wish, the rest of my
Family, I thank God, are well as are all your other acquaintances
— With Sentiments of Respect for the County of Perquimons
& Compliments to all Enquirers, I am
Revd. Sir,
Your sincere friend & Serv*.
Peter Singleton
[Addressed:]
The Revd. Mr. Pettigrew
Perquimans
Charles Pettigreiv to Peter Singleton* a&h
Perq. 14th July 1788
Dear Sir —
Your very friendly Letter in answer to mine of Last January
is Just come to hand. The appology for delay is perfectly satis-
The Pettigrew Papers 59
factory; and I most heartily thank you, — particularly for the
trouble you have taken, at my request, to secure a Debt in favour
of a most worthy family. But as Virtue is indeed its own Re-
ward, I am Persuaded that the pleasure which has resulted from
the success of your exertions, has been adequate at least to the
trouble that has attended them — Had I not known from the
most convincing proofs, that you delight to act on Liberal
principles, I might not have been so forward to request; but
such ivas our decd. friend, & such is his family, in the esteem
of their Acquaintance, that I could not hesitate a moment.
That amiable & good Lady has, under the most afflictive
Ber[e]avement, behaved with a prudence & Decorum perfectly
consistent with her Character. — The Daughter she has had since
that distressful period, is now perhaps about three months old —
& a very engaging child of her age, but is just now recovering
from a short spell of sickness — The Mother is still pensive &
sensible of her forlorn situation, but I hope time will erase
the impression.
In respect to the new federal Constitution, I have had the
pleasure to see that your Convention have adopted & ratified
it, but with a caution which does them honour, for I still think,
though a friend to it upon the whole,62 that the rights of the
people might have been better guarded from the future en-
croachments of ambition, when stimulated by the infatuating
influence of power —
Our Convention has not yet met, but will it is expected in a
few Days. The result of their deliberations will be, I expect, a
concurrence with the other States who have adopted it; for
although opposition is threatened, it will not be so powerful
as that which it met with in Virginia — Besides they will not
choose to risk the Consequences of rejecting it63 —
I am very sorry to find that Mrs. Singleton is indisposed,
but glad that the rest of your family, & my other friends, if I
have any, are well — Also that your Parish is likely to be sup-
plied with a Gentleman of unexceptionable Character — May the
Blessing of Heaven concur with his ministry, to render him
still more the object of popular Esteem, as a zealous, useful &
62 Later letters written by Charles Pettigrew, especially those to
Nathaniel Blount, reveal that he was a Federalist rather than a Jeffer-
sonian.
83 The first convention at Hillsborough in July, 1788, rejected the new
constitution; a second convention at Fayetteville in November, 1789, rati-
fied it.
4f
60 N.C. Department of Archives and History
humble Minister of the meek & Lowly Jesus! Be so obliging
as to present my Complimts. to him though are utter strangers,
— also to Mrs. Singleton & family, Mr. White and his Lady —
and believe me to be with very great Esteem & the truest
regard
Dr. Sir
Your most ob1. & H-ble Serv*.
Charles Pettigrew
N.B. This is the first Rough Draft of the Letter I sent. C. P.
[Addressed:]
Peter Singleton Esqr.
Kempsville
Favor'd by
Mr. Dameson
Henry Pattillo to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Granville [County] 13th Decern 1788
Rev41, dear Sir,
I owe you a long letter, but shall fall as far short of that, as
of some other debts. I recd. your ace*, of your distressing be-
reavement, Epitaph &c. Your last by Master Harvey anticipates
providence; for through the great goodness of God, my dear
old companion is sitting by me, and, to me, as lovely & beloved
as she was thirty years ago. Your ace1, of your health, or rather
of your sickness, alarmed us ; but I still hope I am writing to an
inhabitant of earth, for I have but too little correspondence in
the skies.
How can you avoid an autumnal trip among your old connec-
tions in Granville &c? We had Mr. Craig at Mr. Penn's funeral
last Wednesday. He is still a son of thunder, and insists on the
necessity of regeneration, tho' I never heard him attempt a
description of that work of GOD. Our Episcopalians are getting
Mr. Micklejohn64 to N[ut] B[ush], once in the month. I heard
him last visit. He is an artist at avoiding Jesus Christ, both
64 The Reverend George Micklejohn lived in Granville County from 1779
until 1818 when he moved to Mecklenburg County, Virginia, where he died
in 1811. His career as a colonial clergyman was a stormy one. Saunders,
Colonial Records, X, 560, 646, 917, 932; Clark, State Records, XXIV, 297;
Stowe, "The Clergy in 1785," 273-274.
The Pettigrew Papers 61
name and substance. The first thorrough [sic] deistical sermon
I ever heard. I have invited out Mr. Jarratt, to sow some good
seed with the tares, before Christianity is totally eradicated.
We have had President Smith65 of P[rince] Edward two or
three times among us. What a clear head; what an elegant &
ready tongue, and what a glow of religion attends that little
Seraph in all his motions! And how greatly are his labours
blest! I sometimes attend and assist at his sacraments; & if a
man is not made of ice, he must be warmed, animated, trans-
ported. I know not which is the most animating, the minister or
the people. Such crowds of attentive hearers collect, that they
seem to forget all distinction of professions, & throng to the
table, of all Denominations among us. Religion is but low
amongst us: tho' blessed be GOD, I could perhaps name half
a score of young people, that have set out promisingly, & bear
the fruits of holiness ; & you know we have some old professors
whose light has shone for many years. But how small the num-
ber; and what a piece of useless lumber have I been in the
creation, & now in my grand climacteric!
I have ventured to appear in print,66 and I fancy Harvey has
one or two of the books along. Accept one of the pamphlets. I
cannot pardon my own forgetfulness in not sending you one
some months ago. If after perusal you judge they would be of
demand among your connections, I could spare 2 or 3 doz of
the bound book, and 80 or 100 pamphlets. The book is a dollar,
with one bit expence, the transportation from Delaware to my
house ; and the errors of the press shall be corrected in at least
one of each: the pamphlet a quarter dollar, but I take [torn]
at the exchange.
Our little school goes on smooth & clever. Mr. Campbell is very
attentive, and always there — My attendance is more transient,
and less necessary, as he is very able, and meets with ready as-
sistance, if the classes press too close upon him. But we are so
like Father & sons, I love to be among them when I can. But our
house not being finished, we are at some inconveniences this
winter ; but our prospects brighten the coming year. Our young
friend Harvey,67 is very deficient in Grammar; and still more
so in words, than in Syntax. This is a part of education we
85 John B. Smith was president of Hampden Sydney College in Prince
Edward County, Virginia. Foote, Sketches, 222.
96 In 1787 Henry Pattillo published a book of three sermons and "An
Address to the Deists." Foote, Sketches, 222.
67 Apparently this is the son of the deceased Colonel Thomas Harvey.
62 N.C. Department of Archives and History
labour at with great assiduity, as you know its importance re-
quires. He is a slow, solid well behaved youth, and his friends
must give him his time to do business as his genious [sic] will
conduct him, or it never can be done.
Will you give me your sentiments on my book after an atten-
tive perusal, by the return of the boys. You will greatly oblige
me; as we are not so happy as European authors, who can cir-
culate their manuscripts among a hundred friends, previous to
their publication and profit by their remarks & friendly
criticisms.
Please present my Salutations to Mr. Blount, & let him know
that his son behaves well, and promises to be a credit to his
family ; but that an education is not the work of a day or year.
My wife joyns in best wishes for yr. happ. & to see you in
Granville.
Yr. most Ob*. Serv1. & Brother
Henry Pattillo
[Addressed:]
The Revd. Mr. Pettigrew
Perquimans
Charles Pettigrew to Henry Pattillo* UNC
Congressmans — 9th Jan. 1789
Rev'1, and dear Sir,
I return you my grateful acknowledgments for your friendly
letter, & Pamphlet, by Mastr. Harvey, & beg leave, with the
utmost sincerity to observe, that it gives me great pleasure to
find that the good Mrs. Pattillo still lives to bless you; & that
she is still as lovely, in your view as ever. It only confirms the
Justness of the ideas which I have alway entertain'd of your
mutual felicity, since I first had the pleasure of an acquaintance
in your Family. May divine indulgence protract it to a late
period ; & then comfort the mourner, till also called to a happier
World, there to reunite in the bond of celestial Amity, no more
again to feel the pang of separation forever!
In point of health you are blest in a situation; & had I the
wings of a swan, I believe I should often visit you: but my
family requires too much of my attention to admit of my being
long absent. I am just about to settle some of my Land on Lake
Phelps in Tyrrell. I can have no idea of a more fertile soil. Since
The Pettigrew Papers
63
Portrait of Josiah Collins (1735-1819) by an unidentified artist and
owned by Mrs. Frank Williams of Edenton. Collins was an influential
landowner in eastern North Carolina and a neighbor of the Pettigrews.
Photograph reproduced by the courtesy of the Photographic Service,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
the year [17] 79 I have been a proprietor there, which has con-
fin'd me to this part of the state. The Circumjacent Lands are
possess'd by Three able Gent\ in Co. namely, Mesrs. Collins
Dickinson & Allen. They have now completed a Canal near 6
miles, being a communication between it & Scuppernong River,
which promises infinite advantage.68 They are erecting Mills on
it. It is 20 feet wide, & runs parallel with one Tract of my Land
within about 150 yards. They have generously given by Deed of
Gift, every priviledge I could wish, to me my Heirs & assigns
forever. This renders my Lands of much greater value, although
68 The canal, called Collins Canal, was on the boundary between Tyrrell
and Washington counties and connected Lake Phelps with the Scuppernong
River. It is shown on the Price and Strother Map.
64 N.C. Department of Archives and History
I have not expended a farthing, & they perhaps thirty M. £.
An Overseer, whom they got from South Carolina, says that it
is equal in every respect, to the best plantations there. And we
know their best Lands sell for above thirty guineas an Acre.
I think of moving over the ensuing summer or fall, to live at
the Canal, as I shall not only be more convenient to my Lands
in cultivation, but that side of the sound is found much more
healthy than this.
Now I wish I could inform you as much in respect to spiritu-
als. But I can only say, I am not troubled with sectaries. The
Anabaptists have dwindled to nothing, & I do not know that
there has ever been a Methodist Resident in Choivan or Per-
quimans. I preach chiefly at home, to a few attentive hearers,
with almost no exertion. When I used to preach to great Crouds
I generally incurred a fever. If I do little good, I am content
to receive nothing for it. However I sometimes find myself
very happy in a kind of unstudied paternal address, & seeing
the appearance of correspondent sensations excited in my
Hearers. They are generally good Morallists, & good Neighbours.
Perhaps if I had more Life in religion it would diffuse itself.
But alas ! I find myself too cold to be an instrument of diffusing
much vital warmth to others.
You request to have my sentiments on your publications, after
Deliberate perusal. I have read them, but perhaps too cursorily
— Not with ye Eye of a Critick but of a friend; and beg leave in
that Character to observe, with all due Defference to better
Judgment, that I cannot think you quite happy in the Choice
of 2 of your Subjects, namely your 1st. & 2d., on Divisions, &
predestination. The latter of which I wish'd never to have seen
revived, & the former, being chiefly local, I am affraid it may
seem too uninteresting to many of your Subscribers. Besides,
taking public notice of Sectaries, is paying them such a Com-
pliment as may be flattering to their vanity, by giving them a
kind of importance, which tends to keep them alive, & to
strengthen their Opposition. The advice of Gamaliel will ever
hold good, Acts X. 38. If the interesting Truths of the Gospel,
published in thier simplicity & plainness, will not avail to recon-
cile Differences, & unite Xtians in speculative points, I am apt
to think that disputation will never prove effectual: for the
human passions generally take so great a share in Controversy;
that Disputants, like Combatants, are found to study more to
an[n]oy one another, than to investigate & defend the Truth.
The Pettigrew Papers 65
When they praise an opponent, it is but too often to lay him open
to a mortal thrust, from the Disguise of Xtian friendship &
Charity. And when this is not really the Case (which I admit
in respect to my friend) yet it gives ground for suspicion, to
such as may not be disposed to think so charitably as your
friend does.
With regard to the Doctrine of Election, & Reprobation its
inseparable adjunct, Pardon me Dr. Sir, when I say, that I have
never known it productive of any real good; but I have, in my
Opinion, know it productive of real evil, by being preach'd.
Particularly on the principles & practices of a man in the
Vicinity of Edenton. He had been to all appearance a thoughtful
& attentive Hearer at Church, till Childs the Anabaptist
Preacher, came athwart him, & fill'd his head with predestination
& which for some time throw'd him into violent agitation of
mind. Hearing that he was desparate, I went to see him, con-
versed & pray'd with him; but his mind was too strongly im-
press'd with Reprobation, for any thing else to take place. Upon
THAT He settled himself down, & acted up to the Character, De-
serted the Church & meeting both had a Child by his sister in law,
& grew daily more extravagantly wicked & profane, till siezed
[sic] with sudden illness, he made his Exit as he lived. He had
said, if he was elected, shalU-come would take him in hand, &
change his Q? by constraint, & if reprobated (as he still urged)
it was in vain to strive against the Devil of Reason, & when in
fact there was no saviour provided for Him. Now this Man, as
far as I ever heard, had lived a sober moral Life, till he imbibed
those principles & turned Reprobate. But this is agreeable to the
observation of S*. Peter, who, notwithstanding the assistance
he had from inspiration, confessed the Doctrine hard to be
understood &c (1 Ep. 111. 6.) Permit me therefore, after this
Apostle, not only to say it is hard, but that it is too difficult for
my Comprehension, with the help D1. Edwards,69 Elisha Cole,
& all that I have ever read upon the subject. And why should
Heads as weak as mine, be puzzled about it, as it is noway
essential or conducive to Salvation; And when there are so
many plain & important Doctrines that are, & that, as such, call
for their attention.
As to Your Sermon on Regeneration, although the subject is
89 Undoubtedly this is a reference to Edwards, History of Redemption,
which is often mentioned as a "textbook" for theology students. Johnson,
Ante-Bellum North Carolina, 444.
66 N.C. Department of Archives and History
abtruse & mysterious, yet it is of the last importance; & I beg
leave to say, that you have, in my Judgment, handled it with a
great Degree of sprightliness & perspicuity, which, I hope,
through the concurrent blessing of God, will render it useful
to many of your Readers.
I cannot help thinking your addresses to the Deist, & the
planter, also the Catechisms, ought to have been publish'd
separate — The prayers in that case might with propriety have
been annexed to your Address to the planter. I think you have
been peculiarly happy in your Conclusion to the Deists. This
brings me to a Conclusion, after beg[g]ing pardon for my
tediousness & freedom. Please to present my most respectful
Complemts. to Mrs. Pattillo & believe me to be with very great
Esteem & Regard
Revd. Dr. Sir
Your most ob*. Ser*. & brother
Charles Pettigrew
N. B. Excuse interliniation as my letter is too long to transcribe.
P. S. The people in this part of the state do not seem to be very
Bookish — it is therefore out of my power to say what Demand
there would be for new publications — Had you publish'd your
pieces, as above, separately, I am persuaded they would have
found more Readers, & been more useful, as being in more hands
at once.
[Addressed:]
The Revd. Mr. Pattillo
Granville
favor'd by Mr. Harvey
[Notation on back by Charles Pettigrew:]
The Copy of a Letter To
The Pettigrew Papers 67
[Brother] Ebenezer Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew
[Family copy of a letter now missing'] unc
Charleston [S.C.] 22 of Feby 1789
To the Rev. Mr. Charles Pettigrew
Near Edenton, North Carolina
to the Care of Dr. [Luther] Dickinson,
in Edenton
Dear Sir —
This day being the Sabath, & a very raina day I find myself
somewhat unwell. I do not intend to go to church but retire to
convirse awhile with you. Having wrot a few days ago in answer
to 2 letters I received I come to town. Being a member of the
house of representatives I have been in town since the 7th Jny.
We have had a great debate about the Instalment law that
was passed last Oct. More than 2000 names were at petition
from the interior parts of this state for the repeal of that law,
but the question being put whether the Instalment law shoud
be repealed there were 60 for the repeal & 96 against it. I ex-
pect the house will [meet] til the 2 week in March.
Last evening I received a letter from Mrs. Pettigrew she
informs me they are well, she wishes for nothing more than
my return home & I assure you, Sir, I am tired of staying so
long from my dear companion & family. And next to my anxiety
on that account, is my desire to see you & your dear little boy
& I am the more concerned on account of being fully persuaded
we will never meet again. You are so wedded to that country
I expect you will never leave it, as long as you live which I really
believe will not be long. I experienced the bad effects of them
unholsom swamps it is long since I expected to receive a line
from some faithful friend full of the mornful news of your
death. I can assure if I was sircumstanced so that I could take
a jurney I would enjoy great pleasure in a visit to your country.
I seen brother James and his wife since I have been in town —
They are porely & I believe without the [y] come up the country
they will not live long. He told me that a parson of the name of
Twifoot ( the same you wrote me about some years ago) came
from you to Georgetown where he showed a certificate sined by
you. That was the best recommendation he had. They soon after
received information from you that he was an imposter. He
has done some things lately so bad they have turned him off.
Some of the people reflect on you for giving him a recommenda-
68 N.C. Department of Archives and History
tion, and afterwards contradicting it. Bro. James lives about
40 miles from Georgetown — and requested to mention the cir-
cumstance to and request you to write him. He is a [illegible]
in Georgetown District.
Our Bro. Will is married to a fine little girl. Hir name is
Gabart. He has got something perty clevir with hir.
Bro. George lives in Georgia. He is living 40 miles up Savanah
River. His two sons are married & has several children & are
well.
Bro. Jn. & family are well his son James is married and has
two children.
Sister Jane is living at Jas. Verner's old place. She & family
are well.
Sister Witherspoon's son Jn. was at my house about the time
I left home. He told me that Sister and all our friends are well
and thriving in the world. Thomas is a class leader in the
Methodist Church.
The Methodist make a great appearance of zeal and piety at
first & in Georgia make a great number of proselites, but they
seem to swindle away and Baptist take the lead. I would rather
be a Baptist than a Methodist was I to change my principles
tho' I hope never to change my processions. I believe it is
nearer to the sacred directions than any I am acquainted with,
Tho' I may seem to boast of my principles, & believe I am right,
yet in point of practice I have great cause to lament my igno-
rance. My hardness of hart, obstancy of my corrupt and vetious
[vicious] inclinations. I am often left without a gleam of light
let into my soul to guide on the narrow path that leads to joys
on high. Sometimes I have hope that one day I shall see our
tender parents, and receive there harty welcome to joy of which
1 have no doubt but they are in possession of, other times I view
the Dismal Reverce & see the Just God increase my torment for
neglecting there holsom Councel & advise.
Your sister of hirs of the 14th instant requests that her and
her babes be remembered to you & all inquiring friends, dear
brother to be sincerely yours.
Ebenr Pettigrew.
N. B. Myself & family have enjoyed a good share of health these
2 or 3 years, except our little daughter had something of the
ague this faul. Our youngest is named Sarah Brown for her
grandmother that left us the house in this City.
I am
E. P.
The Pettigrew Papers 69
Charles Pettigrew to [Brother] Ebenezer Pettigrew* UNC
May 25th 1789
Dear Ebenezer —
Being quite at leisure, & in a serious humour, I have set down
to give the Religious parts of your two letters, which you wrote
me from Charleston in January last an answer.
In your first you combat a Sentiment which I wish'd, in one
of mine, on the subject of our good old Mother's death; which
is as follows, "I doubt not that the souls of our dear dec'1, friends
may in a separate state act sometimes as guardian Angels to
their survivors, & even supplicate the Throne of grace for us."
At this you say you are startled. Give me leave to say that I
think it is rather at the newness of the thought, than any
absurdity you find in it, after mature consideration. You direct
my attention to the Conduct of Abraham, & his entire want
of Compassion for his miserable supplicant Dives in torment.
That parable Sir, does not at all apply in disfavour of the
sentiment, as you will see, if you will please to consider — Dives
was then in Hell. — His fate was fix'd & determined by an un-
alterable Decree, which as an impassable gulf, precluded all
possible relief — perfect submission & acquiscence was therefore
Abraham's duty. But blessed be god, this is not our case. We are
still in a state of probation, we are still favour'd with the means
of grace, and the alluring calls of divine Mercy & Love, with
which I think we may reasonably admit that the spirits of the
Just made perfect chearfully concur — And if you will not
allow them to join with the Captain of their salvation in his
intercessions as our Mediator, you will not I hope deny them
the pleasure of a hearty Amen! which amounts to the same
thing.
Now Sir, permit me to direct your attention for a moment
to that spirit of Benevolence which Christ represents as still
existing in the Bosom of Miserable Dives for his surviving
brethren, which prompts him to solicit the sending of a Mis-
sionary from Heaven to preach repentance to them, in order to
prevent their sharing his miserable fate. And shall such a
spirit of good-will exist in the Bosom of the Damned, and be
totally extinguish'd in the Bosoms of the Blessed? Must they
be rendered so unlike their adorable Redeemer, & our Merciful
Mediator, in order to be happy? must there necessarily exist
70 N.C. Department of Archives and History
such a want of harmony in Heaven betwixt the Redeemer, &
his redeemed? Do you believe the Angels are happy? I know you
do — though "They are all Ministering spirits to the Heirs of
salvation" Heb: XIII. 14. And shall they rejoice in the con-
version of a Sinner, while the beatified kindred spirit is incap-
able of deriving any such Joy from the happy incident? Perhaps
you think that in heaven they are to possess none of those
passions from which they derived pleasure in the Church mili-
tant? But perhaps I am saying more than is necessary, & a hint
would have been sufficient.
In respect to the happyfy'd spirits' Residence till the resur-
rection & its reunion with the Body, let it suffice to say it is
with the omnipresent God — In whose presence there is the full-
ness of Joy, & at whose right hand are pleasures forever more.
In his presence is the Heaven of the rightious, & there also is
the Hell of the conscious Sinner, immediate on His Dissolution,
and that without the formallities of a Tryal. This perhaps is
reserved for the final consummation, when a reunion shall take
place, and X*. shall descend in his own & in his father's glory,
& the glory of the holy angels to Judgment, agreeable to his
own appointment. Before that union, I confess I can have no
satisfactory Idea of a spirit, an immaterial essence, being cir-
cumscribed within the Limits of Locallity. — And why may they
not associate wth. our guardian Angels, & concur in the service
which they are appointed to do for us as the "Heirs of salvation."
But these are matters which revelation had left us in the dark
about: — every one therefore is left to his own most probable
conjecture —
In your next you express your strong predilection in favour
of presbyterianism — In this you are perfectly at liberty — But
I would wish you to beware of their contracted & uncharitable
spirit, which is ever unfriendly to the Life of God in the Soul.
I am affraid too many of them place Religion in a certain move-
ment of the passions, & some religious affections for a time;
from which they think it blasphemy to admit that they can
finally fall & be lost. When indeed true religion consists in an
humble walk with God, & a constant endeavour after higher
degrees of personal holiness — this would obviate all those doubts
& fears you mention, & keep your mind calm & serene. With
The Pettigrew Papers 71
Love to my Dear Sister & the Children I am Dear Ebenezer,
ever your's sincerely.
While [sic] Charles Pettigrew
NB. If you are very busy, lay this
long epistle aside till Sunday.
Ebenezer Pettigrew Esq.
District of ninety six
S. Carolina
Charles Pettigrew to the Edenton Printers70 UNC
To the Printers
Gates 16th July 1789
Gentlemen,
Having read the four numbers of the long winded Aratus,
& particularly his Appendix to the fourth, I am induced to think,
that, had its Author no more Vanity than that production has
merit, he could not feel so much Chagrin, on its being attack' d
under a fictitious signature; much less would he have been so
absurd, as by way of Rodomontade, to propose a personal inter-
view with its opponents, who, having but little to hope, have
certainly as little to fear, on the Occasion.
Has the Opinion he entertains of his learning abilities &
address ensnared him? Did it present him with the pleasing
Idea of still swaggering the unprovoked Champion of the News-
paper; so that the mock-modesty of a fictitious signature, has
been rendered unavailing to conceal him, while he had a tongue
in his head? And has he indiscreetly brought the attack upon
himself, with the disagreeable addition of a sneer from his
friends & Confidents? If so, He, & He only is culpable. Let it
teach him never to boast trifles, & to keep his own Counsel. For
my part, I dont pretend to know such an Author. I designedly
70 This paper reflects the issue of judicial reform which was much dis-
cussed at this time. A summary is in Hugh Talmage Lefler and Albert Ray
Newsome, North Carolina: The History of a Southern State (Chapel Hill:
University of North Carolina Press, 1954), 291-292, hereinafter cited as
Lefler and Newsome, North Carolina.
72 N.C. Department of Archives and History
keep him out of sight. Aratus alone is my Antagonist. Nor can
this Angry Author expect me to ride from the verge of the
state to Edenton, for the hopeful purpose of deliberating with
him, on a plan of accommodation betwixt his little delicate
Aratus, & my old Rustic Flagellator Scurvarum. I will rather,
though the task is Disagreeable, undertake to favour him with
a cursory Review of his learned performance.
Having taken sufficient notice weeks ago of the first Number
of Aratus, I proceed to the second. It gives us a picturesque
Discription of our Worthy Governor [Samuel Johnston]. The
portrait is just. It is well drawn. Nor could it incur the impu-
tation of flattery, & the danger of abashing, rather than obliging
his Excellency, had it not been intended immediately for his
inspection. But effects have their Causes. And while the pencel
displays those noble & masterly traits, Who but discovers the
motives which strongly predominate in the bosom of the painter?
We see his little faculties feast on the hope, that people will be
so charitable as to conclude, that he himself has those virtues
inherent; and that he would be the Original he Describes, were
he but vested with the Office. But another Idea seems still more
strongly to prevail, viz, that (as the wisest have their weak
sides) This may be the readyest way of finding Access to his
Excellency's heart, in hopes it will be in his power to inspire
him with a spirit of opposition to the Legislature, which may
finally bring about a repeal of that nefarious, but useful Act
[Judiciary Act of 1777], which gives the Justices of the peace
so extensive a jurisdiction.
In his third number Aratus tells us that Our State Constitu-
tion (though thought by Judges to be the best of thirteen) has
not a trait of Legislative knowledge in its composition. And
although he had told us in his second number, that his Excel-
lency had ably aided in framing it, he here takes him in with
the group, & with his usual modesty & consistence, says that its
worthy Composers were but unfledged polititions. He also in-
sinuates that through their want of prudence & foresight, our
state is now without honor, or credit, and our Laws without the
very appearance of honesty or Common sense, all which we may
set down, as but the mutterings of a factious spirit. He farther
says those worthies had nothing in view, but to repel the Rex
Basilieus of Great Britain. Wonderful Discovery ! how his learn-
ing breakes out! — He also attributes what ever Merit that
Constitution & its composers may claim, to the aid derived from
the english Bill of rights & habeas Corpus act. All this however,
The Pettigrew Papers 73
he varnishes over with the blandishments of Blarney.
After a few strokes of his Machiavilian policy, to grate upon
the Ears of our Assembly, which he insinuates is composed of
Demagogues of power; that is, factious Ringleaders of the
Rabble ; He charges it with unhinging the principles of common
Law. Nay, worse, He impeaches those Demagogues, with having
overturned This great ill-framed Chart of our State Constitu-
tion, and its whole freight of unfledged policy, with as little
regret; we may suppose, as a mischievous Boy capcises an old
Woman's Huckleberry Cart, & spills the precious deposit in the
sand. A sad Catastrophe to be sure!* Riseanteneatis amici? But
how have these Demogogues capcised our Constitutional Chart?
Why he condescends to tell us ; — By mounting those poor illiter-
ate Creatures, the Justices, upon stilts, both within & out of
Court. That is, by putting it in their power to render Justice
to their poor neighbours without the trouble or expence of his
aid, — Also to take Cognizance of rudeness from the Bar to the
Bench, — And for a limitted space, to degrade the avaricious
violator of the Laws of their Country.
This number he concludes with an addulatory libation to our
honest Judges, — a practice founded on both antient & modern
usage amongst pagans, who hope to propitiate those powers
they are affraid of, by such peacula. As Sincerity, that loviliest
of all the sister graces, is now politely sacrificed, — So Homer
tells us, the Blooming Iphigenia was offered, in all her Charms,
at the Shrine of blustering Boreas.
Aratus's fourth Number consists chiefly of quotations, which
he warps to the purpose of another modest kick at the shins
of our poor Justices. Such are the pains that men of importance
absurdly take to render themselves popular. His appendix I
have honour'd with my first attention. And now have the honor
finally to subscribe myself his most ob1. Hble Serv*.
Flagellator Scurvarum
If young gentlemen will write for the purpose of displaying
the prettycisms of pedantry, they must expect to meet with
severity when answer'd by men of years & experience, who have
got over those puppyistical whims of Fancy.
*
My friends could you forbear laughing.
His 5tb. N°. Is a most finished Example of baggatelle, & leaves
nothing for Flagellator to do; for it is of itself a flagellation
74 N.C. Department of Archives and History
of more than nine & thirty to its Author, & must have blasted
the Reputation of a Blackstone, could such a nonsinsecal per-
formance have dropt from his pen.
[Notation on back:]
Mr. Searl will be so obliging as to have this business completed
as soon a [s] conveniency will admit — nor let the grave be more
secret or silent. This will be considered an additional obligation
confer' d on —
[Addressed:]
The Printers at Edenton
Charles Pettigrew to Leo. Cutting71 a&h
Perquimans 9th Novr. 1789
Rev11. & dear Sir,
His Excellency Governor Johnston informs me that he has
been wrote to by the Right Revd. Dr. White12 of Philadelphia,
who expresses a desire that the Clergy of the episcopal Church
in this State, should meet, in order to consult on such Measures
as may tend to promote the declining interests of their Church.
I flatter myself that the striking necessity of this step will
appear to each individual of us at first view. I confess that I
The Reverend Doctor Leo[nard?] Cutting came to New Bern from
Philadelphia in 1788. William Attmore mentions hearing him preach.
William Attmore, "Journal of a Tour to North Carolina, 1787-1790," un-
published manuscript in the Southern Historical Collection, UNC, 55,' here-
inafter cited as Attmore, "Journal of a Tour." Portions of this manuscript
have been published as William Attmore, Journal of a Tour to North
Carolina, 1787 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press [Volume
17, No. 2 of the James Sprunt Historical Publications], 1922). Un-
doubtedly discouraged by the lack of local interest and also by poor health,
Cutting did not return to North Carolina after serving as secretary to the
House of Bishops at the 1792 General Convention in New York. See the
journal for 1792 in Journals of the General Conventions of the Protestant
Episcopal Church in the United States of America; from the year 17 8 U to
the year 1814, inclusive (Philadelphia: John Bioren, 1817), hereinafter
cited as Journals of the General Conventions of the Protestant Episcopal
Church.
"William White, bishop of Pennsylvania, was chosen as the first pre-
siding bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Perry, History of the
American Episcopal Church, II, 66-125, contains valuable background ma-
terial on efforts to organize a diocese in North Carolina during Charles
Pettigrew's lifetime.
The Pettigrew Papers 75
have long seen with most sensible regret, the smallness of our
number, whilst the opposing Enemies of our Church are so
numerous, & indefatigable in their Exertions to weaken our
hands, & seduce her Members to their different Communions.
Now my Dr. Sir, as it does not consist with the governor's
Duty as a politian [sic], to interfere in ecclesiastic affairs,
permit me as a Brother, & fellow Labourer in the Vineyard
(though an entire stranger to you) to propose our meeting at
Tarborough, on the 2(l. Thursday in May next; as the weather
will then, in all probability, be so favourable as not to prevent
those who live at a remote Distance, and the place I believe is
Centeral.
I have wrote in like manner to the Rev'1. M1. Macdougall,7:!
above Halifax, & requested him to communicate it to th[e]
Rev'1. Messrs. Mucklejohn [sic], & George1* at Warrenton — I
shall also write in a similar manner to the Rev'1. Mr. Blount on
Tar River, also to the Rev(1. Mr. Wilson77' of Martin, who has
lately returned from Philadelphia, where he obtained his
Orders. These are all the clergy of the episcopal order that I
have heard of in the State. Should you know, or hear of any
to the southward of Newbern, I must request the favour of
you to acquaint them wth. this matter. — Should you disapprove
of either the time or place of our meeting, you will be so obliging
as to inform me, as we have time to make any necessary altera-
73 McDougall or McDougald lived in western Halifax County in 1790-1791.
There is no record of his ordination, and Robert Johnston Miller (identified
in footnote 98, p. 131, declared him a fraud. He did not attend any of the
four organizing conventions in North Carolina. Clark, State Records, XX,
124; Stuart Hall Smith and Claiborne T. Smith, Jr., The History of
Trinity Parish, Scotland Neck, [and] Edgecomb Parish, Halifax County
(Scotland Neck, North Carolina: [Christian Printing Company, Durham],
1955), 26, hereinafter cited as Smith and Smith, Trinity Parish and Edge-
comb Parish.
74 Marcus George was associated with the Warrenton Academy; he was
named principal teacher in 1807. Charles L. Coon, North Carolina Schools
and Academies, 17 90-18 UO (Raleigh: Edwards and Broughton [North
Carolina Historical Commission (State Department of Archives and
History)], 1915), 577-580, hereinafter cited as Coon, North Carolina
Schools and Academies; Elizabeth Wilson Montgomery, Sketches of Old
Warrenton, North Carolina (Raleigh: Edwards and Broughton, 1924),
113-118, hereinafter cited as Montgomery, Old Warrenton.
75 James L. Wilson was ordained in 1789 by Bishop William White at the
General Convention of that year. He practiced medicine and preached near
Halifax. William White, Memoirs of the Protestant Episcopal Church in
the United States of America (New York: Swords, Stanford & Co., second
edition, 1813), 172. Wilson opened a Latin school in 1795 near "Conoconary
Church." He is believed to have died soon after 1801. Smith and Smith,
Trinity Parish and Edgecomb Parish, 27-28.
76 N.C. Department of Archives and History
tion ; and should any objection be made to the westward, I will
communicate it to you by the first opportunity.
With sentiments of fraternal regard & esteem I am
Rev*1. & Dr. Sir
Your freind [sic] &
Brother in the Gospel
Charles Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
The Revd.
Doctr. Cutting
at Newbern
Favor' d by
Mr. Blount
Charles Pettigrew to [ ] Macdougall A&H
Perquimans 9th Novr. 1789
Revd. & dear Sir,
His Excellency Governor Johnston informs me that he has
been wrote to, by the Right Revd. Dr. White of Philadelphia,
who expresses a Desire that the Clergy of the protestant Epis-
copal Church in this State should meet in order to consult on
such measures as may be conducive to the declining interests
of their Church. I flatter myself, that the striking necessity of
this step will appear to each individual of us at first view; and
as the Governor cannot consistently with the principles of sound
policy interfere in Eclesiastic affairs, that my brethren will not
think that I take too much upon me when I venture to propose
our meeting at Tarborough on the 2d. Thursday in May next.
The weather will then probably be so favourable as not to pre-
vent the attendance of such as live at the remotest distance, &
I presume the place will be thought centeral [sic~\.
The smallness of our number has I doubt not been a subject
of sensible regret to each individual of my Brethren, who must
also have seen the increasing number of our Opponents, who
are endeavouring by the most indifatigable exertions to weaken
our hands, & to seduce the members of our Church to their
sundry communions.
Should you approve of this proposition together with the
time & place for our convention I must request it as a favour
that you will in like manner write to the Revd. Mr. Mucklejohn
The Pettigrew Papers 77
[sic] & the Revd. Mr. George at Warrenton, if of the episcopal
Orders, & write me the result by the first opportunity; as I
have wrote simillarly to the Revd. Doctr. Cutting at Newbern
also to the Rev(1. Messrs. Blount on Tar-River, & Wilson of
Martin, & purpose communicating to you the purport of their
Answer.
I presume I need not inform you that there has been a Con-
vention of the protestant episcopal Clergy, from the united
States, at Philadelphia, from the 8th of July to the 8th of august
last — & that they have appointed in one of their Canons, such
a meeting again, on the first Tuesday in Aug*. 1792 & succes-
sively on that Day in every third year afterwards.
With sentiments of the truest respect & Esteem I am
Revd. & dear Sir,
Your af*. Friend
& Brother
in the Gospel
Charles Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
The Rev*.
Mr. Macdougall
Halifax County
The care of
Mr. Bond
Leo. Cutting to Charles Pettigrew a&h
Newbern Novbr. ye. 28th. 1789
Reverend & Dear Sr.
Your Favour of ye. 10th. Ins*. I received Yesterday With a
peculiar Pleasure, & Satisfaction, as it is the first Opportunity
of a Correspondence With any of my Brethren that has pre-
sented since I have been in N : Carolina, I did not ever know
certainly Where any were [illegible] settled except Mr. Blount,
to Whom I wrote some Time ago, on the Same Subject with
yours, & transmitted to him a Copy of a Letter I received from
the Committee of Correspondence at Philadelphia to be by him
Communicated to the rest of our Brethren but I have as yet
heard nothing from him — The Expediency, & Utility of a Con-
sociation of the Episcopal Church in the United States, is uni-
versaly allowed, and eagerly desired by every Friend to Order,
78 N.C. Department of Archives and History
& Religion, & every Exertion, & every decent Means conducive
to so desirable an End is truly laudable ; consequently Sr. I most
cordialy agree to your Proposal of Meeting at Tarborough ye
1st. Thursday in June next, & if no unforseen Accident prevents
will most readily attend: — I could Wish the Clergy could each
bring a Lay-Member With him as it Would render the Meeting
more respectable, be greatly beneficial to the Church, & be more
conformable to the Annual State Conventions Which in general
consist, of nearly an equal Number of Clerical & Lay-Members
chosen from each Parish ; I will (if approved of by my Brethren)
endeavour to bring some Gentleman of the Congregation with
me from Newbern — You will give me leave Sr. : as it is neces-
sary to our future Proceedings to mention something of the
State of the Church at Newbern: how it may be in other,
Parishes, or Congregations in this State I know not; but here
by the Expiration of an old Law a few years ago, We have no
Church-Wardens, Vestry Men, nor any Officer to take any
Charge, or Care of the Church, Whatever Meetings therefore
We may hold will be spontaneous unbacked by proper Author-
ity— this is a Defect much lamented here, but Which cannot
be remedied Without an Application to the Assembly — I re-
ceived the Letter from the Committee of Correspondence [of
the Protestant Episcopal Church] on y°. 2nd. : of September last
(too late to propose any Thing to be done against their meeting
ye, 29th. : of Sepbr.) I immediately convened some of the principal
Gentlemen of the Congregation; they were anxious for some-
thing to be done to enable us to Join in Union With our Sister
Churches. — but I was then unhappily afflicted with Sickness,
& have been nearly confined to my House ever since, Which
prevented my exerting my-self, so that Nothing effectual was
done: — but I hope this will be properly considered at the
Meeting next June at Tarborough: & if some lay Gentlemen
attend, a Petition then (if thought necessary) may be presented
to the Assembly With Stronger Influence, & greater Hopes of
Success. — I herewith Sr. transmit to you a Copy of the Letter
from the Committee of Correspondence, Which I hope You will
communicate to What Brethren You can. You will by that,
Observe that lay, as well as clerical Members are necessary for
a Seat in the general Convention, & of Consequence I should
think equally so in a private State Convention: Three of the
Committee of Correspondence at Philadelphia are Laymen —
The Letter from the Committee to the Clergy, & Vestries of
The Pettigrew Papers 79
this State, you will note was from the Convention in July, is
that Which met y1' 29th. of September, ten of the States were
represented, that is every State then in the Political Union ex-
cept Georgia. — I have also received a private Letter from
Bishop White, strongly Urging us to Join the general Conven-
tion— I am still so Weak that it is With the utmost Difficulty I
can write, & I am afraid you will be puzzled to read it.
One Thing I had almost forgot, you will I make no doubt,
think it right, & decent, that we should as soon as possible send
a respectf ull Answer to the Committee at Philadelphia : I should
be glad of Your Sentiments on this, and some other Points in
this Letter —
Believe me to be Revd. & Dear Sr.
yr. Affectionate, Hule. Servt.
& Brother
Leod: Cutting
P:S: I shall certainly on my own Account Write to Bishop
White and diligently enquire Whether there are any of our
Episcopal Brethren to the Southward of Newbern. —
[Addressed:]
The Reverend Mr. Pettigrew
Perquimans
Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Beaufort County Janr^. 29th. 1790
Revd. dear Sir.
Your Letter dated the 10th. Novr. last, I received sometimes
early in Decr. please if possible, be so indulgent, as to excuse
my not answering it sooner.
Early in Nov1-. (I believe the 2d.) I received a Letter from
the Rev*1. Mr. Cutting of Newbern, with the Copy of a Letter
from the Committee of Correspondence appointed at the Epis-
copal Convention that met in Philadelphia in July last, and
also a Journal of the proceedings of said Convention. — if you
have wrote to Mr. Cutting I expect it probably that you have by
this time, seen a Copy or heard of the Letter from the Com-
mittee intended for Mr. Cutting and the rest of the Clergy of
our Church in this State ; did I not expect that this has, or soon
80 N.C. Department of Archives and History
will be the Case, I cou'd inclose a Copy.
In your proposition you seem to have meant to want a meeting
of the Clergy only; — but if we have a State Convention which
seems by all means to be requisite, ought there not to be Laymen
also, and ought there not to be a Deputy or Deputies from every
County; Clergymen when there is any, if the people thought
proper to choose them? Could there not be Notice given by a
Circular Letter, or Letters, or some other way, in the several
Counties, and let there be an Election or some other kind of
appointing in the different Counties on a particular day, or days,
the ensuing Spring, or forepart of Summer, & an appointing
for a Convention in the Fall, at some particular time & place?
(Tarborough if approv'd of.) as the State is large, it would be
best, if there is a State Convention, to give Sufficient time. Or
would it be best if there was to be a Meeting of the Clergy first,
in order to Consult & fix upon a time and place for a State
Convention? if this was to be the Case, wou'd it not be too long
a time before we could be in the Union, or this State could be
represented in General Convention, if, there should be one
Calld in any Short time? but if it is thought best that there
should be a Meeting of the Clergy first, I have no objection to
the time and place you Mention'd. I wish to Concur with you
and Mr Cutting in any way that may be thought proper;
— please therefore let me know your Sentiments upon the Matter
as soon as may be Convenient; & Shall expect the opinion of
Mr. Cutting.
May you and I dear Sir, never be forgetful Whose Service we
ought to be employ'd In, — and May Our Holy and Divine
Master, The Great Saviour of sinners And Judge of the Quick
and Dead, Be Most Graciously Pleased To Enable you, & me
His most unworthy servant, Truly to consider, ourselves, and
to press with the greatest earnestness on our hearers, The
Things That Belong to our, and their Everlasting Peace.
I have the pleasure to be, Rev'1. Sir, with unfeigned regard,
Your Brother
& very Sincere Wellwisher
N Blount
Pray dont let my delaying to write, be an example for you &
Cause you to retaliate.
I think your observation upon the Methodists is very just.
The Pettigrew Papers 81
indeed who can hear of their Conduct, and think them unblame-
able, with respect to their present separation, and former pre-
tensions.—
Rev: Mr. Pettigrew.
Charles Johnso7i1Q to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Strawberry-hill 22d. May 1790
Dear Sir
Your very agre[e]able favors of the 3d. & 6th. I have had the
pleasure of receiving, the former only reached me to day, the
latter date a few days ago. I have yet brought no herrings down
here, but shall in a few days, & shall reserve the number of
barrels you want or send them by first oppv. ; the price will be no
more than the common price 24/.
You ask me if it does not seem strange that man fond of
society, should fly it, & endure solitude? If you had not the
laudable motives you mention; It would not be at all strange
to me. Nothing that man, can do is surprizing to a reflecting
mind. Is not his whole life a contradiction? The first & only
certain knowledge he has, is, that he was but born to die, yet
he acts as if he were to live for ever — busy [illegible] bustling,
toiling, fretting, watching, anxious, hoping, fearing, pleased
only with future ideal prospects, totally disregarding, or insen-
sible to what he possesses — constantly disappointed, but never
undeceived, ever aiming at some distant good, which he fondly
imagines, when obtained, would content his utmost wishes;
though when attained, it brings him no gratification. His whole
life realizes the fable of Sisiphus. — Such is man! Happy for
him that he has been so formed. Were it not for those propen-
sities, How weary dull & tedious would this world seem? All
created beings, must of necessity be imperfect; & consequently
liable to weaknesses, in consistencies & wanderings ; for although
76 A resident of Chowan County, Charles Johnson declined to run for
Congress in 1790, but later was a United States senator during Thomas
Jefferson's administration. He served in the North Carolina Senate in
1780-1781, 1783, and 1789-1793, holding the office of speaker in 1789. In
1787 he was elected to the Council of State. Keith, John Gray Blount
Papers, II, 1; Connor, Manual, 1913, 424, 556-557. The son-in-law of
Par?on Daniel Earle, Johnson built the residence on Bandon Plantation
north of Edenton around 1790. It remained in his family for three
generations. Historic Edenton, sketch No. 41 on Bandon Plantation.
82 N.C. Department of Archives and History
you divines teach that the souls of just men are made perfect;
It must be evident that they can only be relatively so. Were
they to become really perfect, they would be equal to their
creator; omnipotent — omnipresent & possessing all his attri-
butes, which leads to the grossest absurdities. Therefore, as men,
we must reconcile our selves to our station, and be satisfied with
sometimes reflecting & resolving wisely — but generally acting
inconsistently —
Your description of the Lake [Phelps] is truly romantic,
poetic & [illegible]. I conceive it to have been impossible for
you to have viewed those scenes without feeling something of
the diving [sic] enthusiasm of poetic inspiration and I make
no doubt but the waters of Lake Phelps may produce all good
effects as those of Helicon & I flatter myself with the pleasure
of hearing something remarkably sublime from their inspiration
[illegible] not the Muses your constant companions? I should
have wished you some of the water of Lethe to banish the
thoughts of Cocytus, [illegible] & solitude from your imagina-
tion. As to news — The Emperor Joseph [Joseph II of Austria]
& Doctor Franklin are dead — the assumption of the state debts
is negatived, & the Committee of Congress upon them discharged
— This body is now busyely employed in laying additional duties
— & [illegible] to raise funds for the interest of the Foreign &
domestic continental debts — S [illegible] Roberts was married
a few days ago — [illegible] given all the news I know, and
conclude with assuring you that I am sincerely & respectfully
Dr. Sir—
Your most Ob1.
Chas. Johnson
Mr. James Smith is arrived from N York, & Miss has declined
his voyage to Engld.
[Addressed:]
The Reverend Mr. Charles Pettigrew
Lake Phelps
favored by Doctor Dickinson
The Pettigrew Papers 83
Charles Pettigretv 77 to the Committee of Correspondence*
A&H
Tarborough, N. Carolina, 5th June 1790
Right Reverend, Reverend Brethren, & Gentlemen of the Laity —
In answer to your zealous & friendly Letter of last fall ad-
dressed to the episcopal Clergy of this State, We beg leave to say,
in behalf of ourselves & absent Brethren, that there is nothing
we more ardently wish than strict union with our Brethren, the
Clergy of the protestant episcopal Church in America. — But
your Letter reached the hand of Doctr. Cutting too late to pro-
cure that representation of our Church, which would have been
highly proper, at your Convention of last Septr. in Philadelphia.
We have seen your Journals, & have the pleasure to say, that
We highly approve of the Business done on that & the preceding
Occasion; particularly of your Constitution, & Cannons, and
chearf ully subscribe & accede to the union. The necessity of this
our accession, is to us so obvious, that we reflect with pain on
the non-attendance of some of our clerical Brethren, who were
to meet us in convention at this Juncture ; particularly the Rev*1.
Mr. Cutting, from whom we expected your Letter & necessary
information — but we charitably conclude that indisposition, or
some unavoidable accident must have prevented. This puts it
out of our power to answer the particulars in your Letter, with
that precision we could wish, which we hope your Candor will
excuse.
We transmit you a Copy of our imperfect proceedings, in
which you will find we have resolved on an Election of members
for a more general Convention, for the purpose of choosing a
Deligate to represent our Church constitutionally at the next
general Convention to be held in your City. —
The state of our Church in this common wealth is truely de-
plorable, from the paucity of its Clergy, & the multiplicity of
opposing sectaries, who are using every possible exertion to
seduce its members to their different communities. This griev-
ance however, we hope will be redressed in time, by the encrease
of its faithful Labourers. And we esteem it a most fortunate
Circumstance, that providence has advanced a gentleman of so
wellknown integrity & Zeal for the interest of the Church, &
77 Although this letter is unsigned, it is in the handwriting of Charles
Pettigrew.
84 N.C. Department of Archives and History
of Religion in general, as the Right Reverend Doctor White of
Philadelphia, to preside in the Episcopal Chair.
We have the honor to be with sentiments of the truest respect
& Esteem Right Revd., Rev'1. Brethren, & gentlemen
Your sincere friends & Brethren
[Unsigned]
[Addressed:]
The Right Reverend
The Chairman of the
Committee of Correspondence
at Philadelphia
The Proceedings of the Convention of the
Clergy at Tarborough78 A&H
[June 5, 1790]
At a meeting of the protestant episcopal Clergy & Laity of
north Carolina, held at Tarborough on the 5th of June 1790,
pursuant to a previous agreement entered into by the Clergy
of said State, & in consequence of a Circular Letter addressed
to them, from the Committee of Correspondence at Philadelphia,
the following proceedings were entered into.
1. Resolved that we do approve of, and accede to the Con-
stitution adopted by a convention of the protestant episcopal
Church held at Philadelphia in the year 1789.
2. Resolved that the Revd. Charles Pettigrew the Revd. James
L. Wilson & John Leigh Esqrs. be, & they are hereby appointed
a Committee to draw up & send forward an answer to the
Circular-Letter written by the corresponding Committee of
Philadelphia to the Episcopal Clergy of this State, expressing
the high sense we have of the proceedings of the last general
78 The major documents relative to the organization of an Episcopal
diocese in North Carolina are included in this volume as follows: Proceed-
ings of the Convention of the Clergy at Tarborough, June 5, 1790; Journal
of the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church Held at Tarborough,
May, 1794; Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church in North
Carolina, May, 1794. These papers were published in pamphlet form by
Joseph Blount Cheshire (comp.), The Early Conventions, Held at Taw-
borough Anno Domini 1790, 1793, and 179 4 (Raleigh: Spirit of the Age
Press, 1882), hereinafter cited as Cheshire, The Early Conventions, but
the pamphlet is a rare item and is difficult to obtain.
The Pettigrew Papers 85
Convention of the protestant episcopal Church held in that
City.
3. Resolved that the Laity of the protestant episcopal Church
in this State, are entitled to elect & send one member from each
of their respective Counties, to represent them at a general
Convention of the protestant episcopal Clergy & Laity of this
State
4. Resolved, that where there is a regularly ordained Clergy-
man of the protestant episcopal Church, he shall represent the
County in which he resides, & produce his Orders at Convention,
But where there is no such Resident in a County a Layman shall
be chosen by the people as their Representative.
5th. Resolved, that the Clergy & Laity thus elected shall
convene on the 12th of November next at Tarborough to de-
liberate on the affairs of their Church, & to choose a representa-
tive to the next general Convention of the protestant episcopal
Church in America to be held at the City of Philadelphia.
6. Resolved, that the Revd. James L. Wilson and John Leigh 79
Esqrs. be & are hereby appointed to make the same known by
Advertisements in the public papers printed in this State ; fixing
the time & mode for electing such representatives of the
people —
William Clements CC. Charles Pettigrew Chairman
[Notation on back by Charles Pettigrew:]
The proceedings
of the Convention
of the Clergy &c
at Tarborough
first Convention
Charles Pettigrew to Rev. Dr. William White* a&h
Tarborough 6th June 1790
Right Reverend Sir —
I recollect to have had the pleasure of an introduction to you,
78 A physician, John Leigh practiced both medicine and politics in Edge-
combe County. He served in the General Assembly from 1790 to 1796 and
was speaker in 1795 and 1796. Connor, Manual, 1913, 458, 459, 600.
86 N.C. Department of Archives and History
by the then deservedly famous, but since unfortunate Mr. Duche,
near fourteen years ago ; But the remoteness of that period, the
vicissitudes of providence, & the numerous occurrences of Life,
must long since have erased from your mind the memory of that
short interview. However, permit me now Sir, to congratulate
you & the Churches on your advancement to your present Station
in the Scale of ecclesiastic preferment. This I most cordially do.
And I reflect with pleasure, that an address so conciliatory as
that with which Nature has distinguished you, now extends its
happy influence from so elevated a Sphere, to abash the un-
reasonable oppositions of Bigotry & party Spirit. Pardon this
seeming freedom, which results from a persuasion that your
mind is superior to any undue influence from the just attribu-
tion of those gifts for which you are indebted to the peculiar
indulgence of Heaven —
As a convention could not be called by the governor, con-
sistently with the principles of our free republican government,
which his Excellency was pleased to communicate to me, I
entered into a literary correspondence with my clerical Brethren,
in which I proposed a meeting at this Village on the third in-
stant.— My proposition met their general approbation, so that
I expected our small Body to have been present, which would
have consisted of only Six individuals ; but to my great mortifi-
cation, I have been met by only one of them. Yet as my own
situation was the most remote (I believe) of any, & the pressing
necessity of our Church urged us to do something, we proceeded
to Business, by way of beginning, with the joint aid of two
lay gentlemen, of distinguished merit & reputation; and hope
our proceedings will meet with at least the indulgence of your
Committee.
The clergy of this State find it necessary to engage in the
Business of farming, for the support of their families, as con-
tribution has ever been found so precarious a Dependance; &
this is perhaps the most busy season of the year, which I did not
attend to when I made the appointment. This is perhaps a prin-
cipal Reason why our Convention has been so small.
The Pettigrew Papers 87
I have the Honor to be with every sentiment of respect, & the
highest esteem
Right Reverend Sir,
Your most humble
and devoted Servant
in the gospel
Charles Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
The right Reverend
Doctor White
of Philadelphia
Charles Pettigrew to John Leigh* A&H
Tyrrell 16th June 1790
Dear Sir —
The next morning after I parted with you, I had the pleasure
of meeting with my Rev'1. Brother Wilson, at Williamston. We
deliberately perused our conventional proceedings, and agreed
that some small alterations would help the reading & consistency
of our Resolves which I promised him to make previous to their
publication. This I have done, wch. extends but to the minutiae,
— except the insertion of one article, which we had agreed to
in Convention, but in our hurry forgot, namely, "That the
Clergy represent their respective Counties, & produce their
Orders before they take their seats."
The time we employed in that Business was too short, & our
hurry too great, to prepare any thing for the public Eye; at a
period too, when there are so many Would be Critics, still a
gape for something to fault. And to be candid, there is nothing I
dread more than the severe tribunal of the public. I am there-
fore sorry that the Copy of our proceedings, which I suppose
was sent on without delay to the Committee at Philadelphia, had
not been kept a while, for the exercise of that discretionary
power which I have ventured to use in the revisal of the one I
have draw'd off for the press. But I hope that Committee will
not let it out.
Should not your & my Rev*1. Brother's advertisement be pub-
lished in the sundry papers printed in the State? I could wish
it as concise & expressive as possible. As to the expense that
must necessarily accrue, I'll tell you how we can command that.
88 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Tis true, the Clergy are generally said to be hard & mercenary;
but I'll enter into a conspiracy with you against my Brn. of the
same order, should it be necessary; & there is no doubt, but we
shall wring it from the hand of even the closest Clinch-fist
among them, by the cogent pleas of justice, good humour &
honour.
I write you from Bonarva — a name I have given my situation
on the Lake. I sit under the shade of three beautiful Holleys.
The surrounding Scene is truely romantic. On the one side, the
prospect toward the water is very beautiful & extensive, while
the gentle breezes play over the surface of the crystal fluid, and
render the air grateful for respiration, now when the Sun sheds
his warmest influence upon the earth — it being the meridian
hour. On three angles of the improvement, ye woods are luxuri-
antly tall, & dressed in a foliage of the deepest verdure, while
the cultivated field exhibits the utmost power of vegetative
nature, and arrests my eye from every other object.
Let me then, pursuant to the suggestions of gratitude, lift
my Eyes, & my heart, in a devout aspiration of thanksgiving
& praise to the indulgent author of my existence & of those
Blissings [sic] of which I am an unworthy partaker in common
with my Species.
But am I not growing too serious for you? I hope not. We
have our troubles. This never was designed to be a Heaven for
us. — We are therefore Crossed, that we may extend our views
to a brighter world, where there is an inheritance incorruptable
undefiled & unfaiding in reserve for him y*. overcometh —
What? The World, the flesh & the Devil. — Two heavy crosses
I have are, a poor crazy constitution, & a miserable Clump of
an Overseer, whom I am obliged to oversee. With sentiments
of the sincerest respect & esteem I have the honor to be Dr. Sir —
If my letter is too long Your most ob*. Serv*.
retaliate upon me. Charles Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
Doctor John Leigh
at Tarborough.
Copy
The Pettigrew Papers 89
Charles Pettigretv to John Leigh* a&h
Lake Phelps 29th June 1790
Dear Sir —
In the situation I have placed myself to converse with my
friend, I am strongly induced to begin my Letter with something
of the descriptive. Where I am seated before the Door of my
Cottage, three beautiful Holleys defend me from the rays of
the sun with their grateful shade, and at the same time as
Ever-greens furnish a fit Emblem of the permanency of pure
friendship, which, though begun in this state of mutability and
imperfection, shall be perfected in the Regions of supreme
Beatitude, and assume a celestial verdure, which the rolling
years of Eternity shall never either fade or terminate. To this
happy period let us look forward ; — and while we anticipate, let
us wait with resignation for the call of Heaven, to join our
dear departed friends, no more again to feel the pang of separa-
tion forever.
In this abstracted situation, the surrounding Scene is truely ro-
mantic & beautiful while I enjoy the gentle Breezes, which are so
grateful to resperation. On my right is the Lake, which gives an
extensive prospect, & presents me with a fine southern & western
Horizon over the tops of a circular streak of woods, apparently
much diminished by distance. To this a hazyness in the at-
mosphere may contribute in a certain degree. — A vast plain
of water fills the intermediate space; which, in respect to the
time, & the manner of its formation into so large & beautiful
a Reservoir, must ever be a subject of conjecture only, as neither
tradition nor history afford any assistance to the curious en-
quirer.
On my left, the Scene is agreeable reversed. The trees are
luxuriantly tall & shady, being dressed in a foliage of the richest
verdure, while the fertile field, which lies extended along the
verge of the Lake eastward, exhibits the vegitative power of
nature in such a degree as arrests the attentive Eye from every
other terrestrial object. And shall it not thence be elevated to
the God of nature, accompanyed with an aspiration of grateful
praise?
Does my description seem extravagant? permit me to say it
does not exceed the Limits of caution. Yet this world being
a place of probation, — of suffering, — & of temporary residence
only, it furnishes no spot, however improvable or improved,
90 N.C. Department of Archives and History
that may with justice be caled a paradice [sic] to any individual
of our lapsed Race. Is the soil fertile to produce the necessary
support of man & beast? That fertility renders it equally pro-
ductive of noxious weeds, to obstruct the growth of what is
planted, & to extract the sweat which drops from the Brow of
the Labourer while he endeavours to eradicate them. So the
Lake is not without its counterpoise of inconveniencies. And
although the soil is uncommonly fertile, 'though the Lake affords
a beautiful prospect, & is an unfailing source to overflow our
Rice-Lands, there being a declivity of several feet, perhaps not
less than six, in the distance of 90 pole back from the water,
yet when warmed by the genial heat of the Sun in summer, it is
rendered so prolific of flies & insects of every species, that it
becomes intolerable to horses & horned cattle. The latter how-
ever, have the advantage, from a more copious sweep of Tail
for their Defence.
Thus men & beasts have their infelicities. "The whole crea-
tion groaneth," to use the apostolic phrase. And should any
individual, — any highly favoured transgresser against Heaven
expect entire exemption? Who can stand before immaculate
purity & holiness, & plead the merit of his rectitude for exemp-
tion from a share in the common lot of humanity? Is it not
enough that we are distinguished by the paternal indulgence
of the Almighty, beyond, infinitely beyond thousands of our
species? And should not this divine assurance silence every
murmur? "Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, & scourgeth
every son whom he receiveth" Heb. XII. 6. — The great Doctor
Young could say, "Amidst my list of Blessings infinite, stand
this the foremost, that my S? has bled. Should sinners com-
plain they are sufferers? And should they add to demerit, by
arraigning the conduct of unerring wisdom? gratitude, nay
more, Reason & Christianity forbid it. — Let us, then my Dr. Sir,
never forget that we are Christians, but learn from both the
precepts & example of the innocent Redeemer, who set us a
divine Pat[f]ern of patience & equanimity when suffering for
us; and let us above all things, support the dignity of our pro-
fession, by fighting faithfully under his Banner against the
united powers of Darkness, & we shall thro' grace be made more
than Conquerers, & finally rec[e]ive the Victor's "Crown of
Life." Pray excuse the preacher, & forgive the unreasonable
The Pettigrew Papers 91
length of his Letter, which allows him scarce room to say that
he is with the most unfeigned esteem & regard —
Dear Sir sincer[e]ly your's
Charles Pettigrew
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
The first hasty draught of a Letter to Doctor Leigh & very
imperfect.
Nathaniel Alien*0 to Charles Pettigrew a&h
Edenton Sunday Morn*. 25th. July, [1790]
Dear Sir
Mr. Trotter81 handed me your favour of yesterday for which
I am greatly obliged to you, he also delivered me four Spanish
Pistoles (not quarter [illegible] ) these I shall dispose of as you
have directed.
I expected to have had the pleasure of dining with you to day
at the Lake, but the favourable account you give me of our mat-
ters there, with the confidence I have in Mr. Trotter have in-
80 Nathaniel Allen of Edenton was associated with Josiah Collins and
Luther Dickinson (whose son is mentioned in various letters written by
Ebenezer Pettigrew which are included in this volume) in the formation
of the Lake [Phelps] Company. Wall, "Charles Pettigrew," 58-59. In
1795 the General Assembly elected Allen to serve on the Council of State,
and in 1802 he represented Edenton in the General Assembly. Connor,
Manual, 1913, 426, 556. Josiah Collins of Edenton was a wealthy mer-
chant, shipper, and land speculator. In 1779 he was judge of the ad-
miralty for the port of Edenton, and in 1802 he was nominated for
governor. His only daughter, Nancy, married Jacob Blount. His son, Josiah,
Jr., was also a merchant. Keith, John Gray Blount Papers, I, 177
n. 30. Among the Edenton properties owned at one time or another
by the Collins family are "The Homestead" and "Pembroke Hall." Historic
Edenton, sketches No. 11 on "The Homestead" and No. 20 on "Pembroke
Hall."
81 Thomas Trotter, a Scotsman, supervised the operations for the Lake
Company. He also planned the gardens at "Bald-Grey" and "Scotch Hall"
plantations near Edenton. Bennett Harrison Wall, "Ebenezer Pettigrew"
(unpublished doctoral thesis, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,
1947), 21-22, hereinafter cited as Wall, "Ebenezer Pettigrew." Prior to
July 24, 1809, Trotter had moved to the vicinity of Washington, North
Carolina, where he built a home named "Prospect Hill" and engaged in the
invention and manufacture of farm and mill machinery. He gave much
sound advice to Ebenezer Pettigrew following the death of the latter's
father. In 1817 Trotter's nephew, Snoad B. Carraway, became associated
with Ebenezer in some of his business affairs and in looking after Trotter's
business in Washington County. See Ebenezer Pettigrew's business cor-
respondence for 1808-1818, in this volume, pp. 409-665 passim.
92 N.C. Department of Archives and History
clined me to postpone that happiness 'till this day week, when I
shall be glad to see you at our lower habitation.
I am much pleased that the Ram answers so well, the purposes
of its maker, and I am apt to believe the complicated Machine
called man, does the very same, there is to be sure in this latter
machine, sometimes a difference in the structure, There is also
a vast difference among them, in the inside work, the little
wheels that actuate the machine, and direct its operations,
consequently some are better than others; it is the very same
with the rams; so that, take either in the aggregate, and it
answers every purpose it was intended for — Poor [Dr. Samuel]
Dickenson is much as he was when you left us, I am really
apprehensive it will be a long time before he recovers the use of
his limbs, there is nothing in my opinion short of a trip to the
Springs can restore him to health, and he is too unwell at
present to undertake such a Jaunt — Mrs. Allen desires me to
present her best respects to you and I am with the most sincere
esteem
Yrs.
Nath1 Allen
[Addressed:]
Reverend Mr. Pettigrew
Lake Phelps —
favd. by
M\ Trotter
James L. Wilson to Charles Pettigrew A&H
[Williamston], Decemr. 30th: [17] 90
Rev*1. & Dr. Sir/
I acknowledge, with gratitude the reception of your two
letters of the same tenour & would have answered them, im-
mediately; but waited to receive the F'yatte [Fayetteville]
paper in which our procedings in Convention82 were published,
that I might inclose them to you. Numbers who were appointed
to meet us, were elected for in the Assembly & sent on their
certificates to us. Our Convention was small, & proposed more
business than we could go thro' with; which was laid over for
our next meeting.
82 Apparently this was the second Episcopal convention held in November,
1790, in Tarboro and presided over by Micklejohn, a "westerner." Cheshire,
The Early Conventions, 13-15.
The Pettigrew Papers 93
The Western Members had like to carry our next meeting to
Hillsboro. I expect some things will then be proposed of a
nature, which will require much wisdom & prudence to effect.
I must take more time to ansr. you than I have a present, as
T am preparing to set off early in the mor[n]ing up the River [.]
I conclude by commending yu. to the good providence of God,
for necessary health & assistance in all things. Your sincere &
affectionate Br. in X*.
James L. Wilson
[Addressed:]
The Revd. J. L. Wilson To—
The Revd.
Charles Pettigrew
Dr. Dickerson [Dickinson] Bonarva
Will of Elizabeth Lockhart8* UNC
In the Name of God, Amen. —
Jan. 10, 1791
I Elizabeth Lockhart of Bertie County and State of North
Carolina, being far advanced in years, but of sound mind and
Memory, and knowing that it is appointed for all the human
Race to die, Do make & ordain this my Last Will & Testament,
hereby revoking & disannulling all Will or Wills heretofore
made, & this to be my last Will & Testament.
Imprimis, First, I give & commend my soul unto God my
Creator, — My Body to the Earth from whence it was taken, to
be buried in a decent christian manner — and touching such
worldly property as it hath pleased God to give unto me, after
my Just Debts are paid, I give and dispose of in the manner
following —
Item, I give & bequeath to my grand daughter Elizabeth Bryan
my negro Girl named Bet, to her & her Heirs forever.
Item, I give & bequeath to my grand daughter Margaret Bryan
a negro Boy named abb to her & her heirs forever.
Item, I give & bequeath to my Grand Son Lillington Lockhart a
young negro Man named Ben, to him & his Heirs forever.
83 Elizabeth Lockhart was the mother of Mary Lockhart, Charles Petti-
grew's second wife. See also the Will of James Lockhart, December 7, 1753,
and Elizabeth Lockhart Appointed Guardian, April 27, 1756, in this volume,
pp. 3, 4. As following letters indicate, Elizabeth Lockhart and her daughter
Mary lived together at "Scotch Hall" near Edenton until Mrs. Lockhart's
death in 1796, two years after Mary's marriage to Charles Pettigrew.
94 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Item, I give & bequeath to my Grand Daughter Sarah Nicoll one
Bed & furniture, & one Horse to her & her Heirs forever.
Item, I give & bequeath to my Daughter Sarah Nicholl a Suit of
mourning.
Item, I give & bequeath to my Daughter Elizabeth Ryan A
Suite of mourning.
The Remainder of my Estate, of what name or kind so ever,
I give & bequeath to my Daughter Mary Lockhart, to her & her
heirs forever [.]
Lastly, I nominate & appoint my Daughter Mary Lockhart
Executrix of this my last Will & Testament — In Testimony
whereof I have hereunto set my hand, & affixt my Seal this
10th Day of January one thousand seven hundred & ninety one.
Signed sealed & pronounced & declared
to be her last will
& Testament in presence of us
Edward Bryan
Jas. Turner
Alexr. Hopkins.
her
Elisabeth E. L. Lockhart
mark
[Notation on back:]
A Copy of Mrs. Lockhart' s Will.
Charles Pettigrew to Nathaniel Allen* a&h
[March 2, 1791?]
Dr. Sir—
I have long wished to hear from Edenton, but as I have not a
friend there, who is possess'd of so much Leisure or condescen-
sion, as to gratify my friendly wishes so far, I now set down to
give you a little of the Lake-News.
We have for some time past seen fire-Lights toward the New
land, also the Little Lake, & to the southward, — That to the
southward probably came from Pungo.84 It had, night before
last, got round to the Eastward, as far as the burnt grounds,
& looked dreadful. It was met yesterday by a fire, which some
84 Pungo Lake is located just south of Lake Phelps. It is shown on the
Price and Strother Map.
The Pettigrew Papers 95
body at the instigation of the Devil, had set out from Indian-
Town.
I shall not attempt a full Description of the fire, & the Thunder
& smoke that issued from it. It would seem to be borrowed from
some of our travellers, who have undertaken to describe the
Bursting of a Volcano from some of the burning mountains.
It appeared yesterday as if every thing but the Lake itself,
would be drawn into the general Conflagration. We seemed to
be the Centre where the fires were aiming to unite from every
quarter.
The atmosphere you know was clear, & the wind from north
west — But when the fire got into the Cypress Grounds, it
announced its own approach, by such cracking & thundering
& Columns of Smoke as were truly frightful. The Cloud grew
very heavy. The air grew Dark. I can compare it to nothing but
the total Eclypse of the Sun which we had a few years ago.
The ashes & coals from the burning Reeds, & other combustable
matter, were scattered every where so that Mr. Trotter thought
it advisable to throw water over the Roof of the Mill & all about
it — The Cloud at last became so thick & ponderous to the east-
ward that its pressure on the Atmosphere gave us ye wind out
from thence, which rendered it still more alarming, & re-
doubled our apprehensions — But divine providence which so of-
ten signalizes itself in wisely bringing good out of evil interposed
in the article of extreme Danger & checked its progress by a
Shower of rain, just when it had got nearly thro' to my high
grounds. The Shower is very propitious to our planting business
this morning for we were very dry.
I am too busy to set out to see w*. is done — but your lands have
I verily believe been swept fore & aft as with the Besom of
Destruction. There seemed to be a very great flame in the
Orchard & garden yesterday, & on both sides of the Canal, so
that you may guess of the effects. —
Now Sir, all the Compensation I wish for so long a scribble is,
that you will by the next opportunity give me a phylosophic
reason for the water that went up from the fire so black & dirty
coming down again in an hour or 2 as clear as crystal; also in-
form me what became the Dirt If you please —
I have the honor to be
Dr. Sir—
Your most Ob1.
H.ble Serv*.
Charles Pettigrew
96 N.C. Department of Archives and History
[Notation No. 1 on back by Charles Pettigrew:]
Social Life affords the sweetest Joys But
Taxable negroes
George Charlotte
Tom Gilley
Cambridge Judith 12
Anthony 50
Amilia 56 Manor
Clarissa 7
Anne 65%
Cloe 178i/2
Amy 41
2191/2 [Acres?]
[Notation No. 2:]
The Lake 2d. March 1791
Dear Sir —
I have parted this morning with Mr. Lightfoot85 — & he is just
setting out — I allowed him a fifth, agreeable to our Articles,
without putting in any Claim for what assistance I furnished
in the Summer [incomplete]
John Leigh to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Tarboro 29th. March [17] 91
Dear Sir
If I were not conscious of having comply'd fully with my part
of the contract enter'd into between us, shou'd feel the force of
your Censure sensibly; yet conscious as I am must confess that
I am not perfectly easy — My Letter in answer to your first &
only one — previous to ye 15th. Feby, cannot have reached you[;]
had it, you wou'd have acknowledged the same[.] This being the
case your observations are perfectly applicable — If however
you wou'd have considered with how much eagerness I intro-
duced this business, how much anxiety I discovered when solicit-
ing a frequent literary Intercourse, reasons to suggest some
mis-hap to my Letters rather than Inattention on my part, must
85 Possibly Mr. Lightfoot was an unsatisfactory overseer. See the letter
from Charles Pettigrew to Rebecca Tunstall, June 22, 1803, p. 307, mention-
ing the difficulty of obtaining good overseers.
The Pettigrew Papers 97
have occurred — Correspondents like yourself are so rare to be
found in this State, that nothing cou'd induce me to forego the
advantages which I well know will result from attention thereto
— If at any time I shou'd become apparently inattentive, for
so it will never be in fact, you must apply the most favorable
construction — This Day the Physician, Tomorrow the Lawyer,
the Third Day the Justice & fourth Politician — I'm often too
much involved the scenes of these different avocations to pay
that attention to my Friendly Correspondents, which Inclination
wou'd prompt me to — Your Situation is different; possessed of
an ample Fortune, Independent of the World, you can enjoy
yourself in the Shades of retirement, free from all Wordly
concern ; Your mind is perfectly at rest, quiet tranquility, like
the Muses, dance around you, all things are pleasing — I must
plod the wearied Way, I must be the slave to whim & caprice;
things that are not easily satisfy'd — The description which you
give me of your Lake has often induced me to wish that I
cou'd visit it — When I can so far indulge myself, is now un-
certain, perhaps in the month of April, as at that time, I shall
take a trip to Norfolk [J I agree with you in part as to your
observations respecting a Bishop ; I think it is a business which
may be deferred for some time yet; but shou'd it become neces-
sary, I see no reason why we cannot appoint, or recommend,
one of those now in the State; If the appointment of a Bishop
will tend in any degree to raise once more the fallen state of our
Church, I'm clearly convinced that it shou'd be done — This is
the Object to which the attention of the Clergy as well as
Laity shou'd be drawn — Every exertion is now called for
alou'd; the different persuasions of Religion, which have much
for their Object the destruction of the Church, are growing
into greatness daily; & altho' their Doctrines are absurd, altho'
the Supporters are among the most Illiterate yet no attack is
made on them, nor are attempts made to lead into the rational
way, [torn] who are deluded — You will pardon [torn] when
I say, that no Apology can be sufficient to exonerate your
Brothers — Religion of whatever kind, can only be supported by
the Zealous Exertions of its Supporters; this is evinced by the
Conduct of the Dissenters — I fear that the mode adopted by our
last Convention will be productive of no good — no Subscription,
or Donations have yet reached me or have I heard of any one
promised; altho' I had reasons to expect some aid for the
98 N.C. Department of Archives and History
members appointed — Will you make my Compt to Mr. Johnson
— You will believe me Yours
with sincerity.
J Leigh
[Addressed:]
The Reverend
Charles Pettigrew
near
Edenton
Care of
Dr. Dickerson [Dickinson]
Nathaniel Allen to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Edenton 25th. April 1791
Dear Sir
I had the pleasure to receive your favour of the 15th. present
only a few minutes ago (It has lain at the ferry I suppose, all
this time) and as it is most natural to attend to the most in-
teresting part first, I shall begin with answering it and then,
merchant like, I shall proceed to the others in course —
Mrs. Allen has indeed been very ill ; every body except myself,
dispair'd of her recovery, but I have experienced the kindness
of Heaven too often, ever to despair, whilst there is one breath
remaining; She is now I thank God, on the mending hand, but is
still so very weak, as not to be able to set up even for a moment ;
She is frequently attack'd by most violent fitts of the Cholick,
which keep her back, in spite of all medical assistance ; As soon
as she is able to set up a little, I propose paying you a visit —
I perceived about ten days ago that, The Prince of the powers
of the air, had been let loose upon you ; my Garden was covered
with the burnt tops of reeds, which I was very confident came
from your quarter ; but it never once enter'd my head that, this
Enemy to human repose, could have got so much the better of
the piety of my friend, and the industry of Mr. Trotter — There
is not my dear Sir a man on Earth, who has more reliance on
the divine Will, than I have, but I have ever been of opinion that,
when once providence has placed the means in our hands of
avoiding any calamity, and we do not make use of them, It
concerns itself very little more about us; Now in the present
case, I do not for my part see the necessity of the interference
The Pettigrew Papers 99
of the Supreme Being; the fire was burning all before it, it is
true; from the South it could not approach you until it had
consumed the Lake, and as Miracles have long ceased it was by
no means probable, that would be the case ; from the other three
quarters it might have attacked you, if you chose to stand as
idle spectators of its ravage, without using any exertions to
extinquish it ; but when you had the direct and immediate means
of stopping its progress and advance, in your own hands, and
would not use them, you deserve to have been burnt out; dont
say again my dear Sir that, providence intervened and saved
your fence, by sending a shower of rain; it is no such thing
believe me; had the fire never taken place, or had you never
been born, it would have rained that very day ; It is the highest
presumption to suppose, that the almighty Ruler will watch
over our fences, if we will not do it ourselves; what was the
reason pray, that you and Trotter, did not let the water out of
the Lake; and cover all the face of the Earth with it, to the
Northward, Eastward, & westward, a temporary dam thrown
across the Canal, would have effected this in the twinkling of an
eye, and the work would not have cost the labour of an hour;
then, the fire might have raged in its utmost fury, and you might
have looked on, contemplated, and admired ; It would have been
of service rather than an injury ; however, the work is done, and
I will say no more about it, I will only remind you of a fable
I read at School when I was quite a boy; A fellow, a waggoner
it seems, had got his waggon fast in a bad part of the Road, (a
Quagmire I suppose) what does he do to extricate it? why he
fell on his knees and pray'd to Jupiter to descend and help his
waggon out ; Jupiter came down, and after upbraiding him with
his want of industry, and telling him that, he who would not
help himself, deserved help from nobody, bid him clap his
shoulder to the wheel, and whip his Horses; he did so, and the
waggon was out immediately — This is not (I think I hear you
say) the purpose for which I wrote you; it was to obtain "a
philosophic reason for the rain water being so clear when it
came down again, altho' it had but just gone up so black and
dirty to form the Cloud, also, what is become of the impure
part." granted, this was indeed the purpose of your letter, but
in this Land of Liberty, when any one takes up the pen, he has
a right to say what he pleases, provided, there be no harm in
it ; Your question puts me in mind of an anecdote I have read, I
think it is of Charles the second ; that Monarch, wished to know
100 N.C. Department of Archives and History
of the Royal Society of Arts & Sciences in London, what was the
reason that, when a live Salmon of fifty weight, was put into a
Tub of water, the whole should weigh no more than, the Tubb &
water (without the Salmon) did before, and he desired that he
might have their different oppinions (If ther[e] should be any
difference among them) in writing — A meeting extraordinary
was called for the purpose, and after many very learned debates
on the subject, each gave his opinion to his Sovereign; Some
accounted for it this way; some that way, and some I suppose,
no way at all; after Charles had collected in this manner, the
wisdom of this venerable Body, he asked them, if they had
tryed the experiment by weighing the Salmon & water; They
had not; he desired it might be done, when, behold, the Salmon
& water weighed more together than the water did by its self;
It was Charles's opinion that, before men went about to discover
the cause, the Effect, ought to be axcertain'd — This Sir I intend
as an answer to your questions; If you could have examined
the water as it went up, you would have found it pure, for except
in the case of a water Spout (and I suppose the fire did not
create one of them) all the fluid drawn up must be pure, the
muddy or Earthy particles being heavier than the water, re-
main'd below.
I shall be very happy to hear from you again, with a full
account of what mischief the fire may have done ; If it has not
injured the Soil, I care nothing about it — I conceive a body
might very readily at this time (before the reeds grow up
again) take a peep at the so much talk'd about, rich Lands
to the westward ; Give me you [r] opinion on this head.
I am with the most sincere esteem
Dear Sir
Yr. m°. Hble Servant
Nath1. Allen
[Addressed:]
Revd. Mr. Charles Pettigrew
Lake Phelps
The Pettigrew Papers 101
Charles Pettigreio to Nathaniel Allen* UNC
Bonarva 19th May 1792 [1791]
Dear Sir —
Your favour, of 25th ultimo, I recd. four Days ago. It was a
very great one ; & requires one of equal magnitude in return :
I have therefore borrowed two sheets of paper, as it found me
without a scrap, & am now set down to retaliate.
Your account of Mrs. Allen's being on the Recovery, I read
with a great deal of pleasure; and I most heartily congratulate
you on so happy a circumstance ; Long may she live to bless you
& her little Daughter!
Now, if you are not very much at Leisure, you may postpone
reading any farther till you are, & then take it up again.
I give you credit for the jocularity with which you have played
me off in the subsequent part of your Letter. It was far from
disagreeable ; neither was it altogether unexpected, as I knew
that I had touched you in a particular vain [sic~\. However, I
beg leave to observe, that, If I mistake not, I ascribed the rain,
that providentially quenched the fire, to a natural cause, & not
any miraculous interposition of Heaven, whereby the regular
Laws of nature must have been suspended in their operation.
And If you will please to give that part of my Letter a second
reading, I am persuaded you will find that I attributed it to
the natural Consequence of so great a quantity of exhalation
taken up from those moist grounds, in so short a time, by the
force of fire. And pray who established such Laws in nature?
was it not the God of nature? Well if He provided such a con-
catination of Causes in the system of nature, are we not to
ascribe the happy effects to him also? Most surely, or we must
deny a general providence; which Lord Chesterfield says, Lord
Bolingbroke even admitted. But you desire me to believe you, &
say "Had the fire never taken place — it would have rained on
that Day." In order to gratify you in this, I would stretch my
Credulity, had not the immediate Cause been no less visible and
undenyable than the Effect. It would indeed be miraculous for
it to rain on a clear Day, with the wind at norwest, & the air
strong & buoyant, without such an immediate & extraordinary
Cause. But you agree that "Miracles have ceased."
With regard to the means which providence has put into our
Hands, & the absolute necessity of our strenuous exertions in the
102 N.C. Department of Archives and History
use of them, in order to secure to ourselves its numerous bless-
ings, It is what I religiously believe; But think that the means
that you prescribed, to stop the progress of the fire, ought, in
my humble opinion, to be the last Resort. The letting water over
your fields at that Juncture, would have put a stop to the
planting Business, for some time; then, without a miracle, an
early frost might have put in for a considerable part of your
Crop. Advantages & disadvantages are best seen on the spot.
But you exhibit in a very striking light, what amazing feats &
miracles a sprightly immagination can perform, "In the twink-
ling of an Eye." Even "Cover the face of the Earth with Water,"
& sat, Trotter & me, then as cool Spectators; to look on, to
contemplate & admire the fire raging in its utmost fury.
Had we been inactive, your Fable, which is a very good one,
would have been well applied.
Your Anecdote applies with very great propriety, & I am
indeed highly pleased with your humour in expressing it. But
you did not examine the Effect or you could not have subscribed
to the purity of the Cause, namely the Exhalation, when it was
accompanied with even burnt reeds, & combustible matter,
which you acknowledged reached as far from the Scene, in their
Descent, as your garden. Although the Water, as it ran from
the E[a]ves, appeared clear, yet I am persuaded, had it been to
have stood a while, it would have shewn a great deal of sediment.
Was not every Drop & particle component parts of the Cloud
which went up to the view as black as midnight, till it overpow-
ered ye strength of the atmosphere, & sunk so low, till it dis-
charged itself, that the use [of] candles became necessary an
hour before sundown : could it then be composed of water pure &
clear of sediment? surely no. However upon the whole my Dr. Sir
I am sensibly pleased with your way of answering me, & hope
those little animadversions, I have taken the liberty to make,
will not be considered as unfriendly: for I declare in the most
serious manner, that I take no liberties with my friend that I
do not allow him to take in turn.
I wish Mrs. Allen would make haste & get well, that we might
see you again on the Lake. I trust in providence, which you know
is an article in my Creed, that she will, to which she has my
hearty prayers. Did you my Dr. Sir think with me, & with multi-
tudes of much wiser men than your friend, that it extends to
the falling Sparrow, & the cry of the young Ravens, I am
persuaded you would pray for her too. Nay I am persuaded you
The Pettigrew Papers 103
did pray for her, when she was so very ill. Did not you? If so,
don't deny your belief in providence, however secret it is, any
more. But enough of this — I hope to see you a Christian yet.
I have been hitherto so closely confined to the Overseeing
Business that I have never yet seen the effects of the fire. It
could not however at so early a season hurt the soil. Had you
been over about a fortnight ago, I am apt to think you might
have travelled over your western grounds with dry feet, unless
wet by accident. Since that we have had several Rains, which
might render such an expedition less agreeable. Your presence
however, is wished; & by none more than myself. I thought to
have seen Town before this time, but I find it very disagreeable
to leave every thing to the management of careless negroes,
yet. I beg leave to conclude now, without the introduction of the
other sheet, for I begin to grow tired. When you have proceeded
this far, I presume you will adopt the Sentiment, & say so too.
My most respectful salutations, & [illegible] wishes for her per-
fect recovery, wait on Mrs. Allen. With sentiments the truest
friendship & Esteem I am, my Dr. Sir
Your most obedient
Humble Serv*.
Charles Pettigrew
[Notation on back by Charles Pettigrew:]
The copy of a Letter in answer to Major Nath1. Allen of Edenton
Charles Pettigreiv to Thomas Little john*8Q A&H
Edenton 18th June 1791
Dr. Sir—
I expect you will receive a circumstantial account of the
Melancholy accident that happened a few Days ago in your
family, from your worthy father, & hope that you will bear it
86 Wall, "Charles Pettigrew," 56-57, 76, believes Thomas Littlejohn to be
the son of William Littlejohn, an Edenton merchant and a partner in the
factoring firm of Littlejohn & Bond. Thomas was certainly in business for
himself in 1796 when an advertisement for dry goods at Thomas B. Little-
john & Co., as well as one for William Littlejohn, appeared in the State
Gazette of North-Carolina (Edenton), October 27, 1796. William Littlejohn
also owned a herring fishery on the Chowan River. State Gazette of North-
Carolina (Edenton), February 17 and May 21, 1795. At the date of this
letter Thomas may have been representing his father on business in New
York.
104 N.C. Department of Archives and History
with becoming Fortitude — Your Dear Sister Jean has paid the
Debt of mortallity. We hope her Exit was happy 'though un-
timely, & that she is now the Inhabitant of a better world, where
she is happily secured from contingent misfortune forever. May
I not flatter myself, my Dr. young friend, that you will prepare
by a Life of virtue & piety, to meet her there, no more to feel
the pang of a Separation? I need not tell you, nay it is impossible
to tell you how much her fate has been the subject of Lamenta-
tion— Your parents were at first quite overwhelmed, but begin
to be a little better reconciled, — and bear it with becoming
fortitude —
I have taken the Liberty to send 13 Dollars & a Spanish pistole
which I beg the favour of you to lay out for me to the best
advantage on as good a Saddle & a plain 2 check Bridle together
with a pound of peruvian Bark. The saddle-Cloth may be such
as the Sadler has generally furnished for the Clergy — I mean
good without gayety — The Lether I wish to be thick & good —
Your Complyance with this request will be acknowledged a
singular favor Conferred on Dear Sir,
Sincerely Your's
Charles Pettigrew
[Notation on back by Charles Pettigrew:]
The Copy of a Letter
To
Mr. Thomas Littlejohn
at New York
Rev. Dr. William White to Charles Pettigrew a&h
Philad*. Aug*: 8. 1791
Rev*. Sir,
I should sooner have acknowledged your Favor of June last
Year; but that, as it came to hand about the Time when your
next Convention was to be held, I thought it would be soon
followed by a Communication of your further Proceedings,
which I might have acknowledged by the same Opportunity. I
now learn from your late Governor Johnston, that the intended
Convention has been held ; & that they have appointed Deputies
to the next General Convention, to be held in N. York, next
Year.
The Pettigrew Papers 105
I communicated to the Committee your enclosed Resolves; &
they were happy to find, that the Church in N. Carolina so
readily acceeded to the Association of the general Body.
Accept, Sir, of my Thanks, for your Congratulations & good
Wishes. I am not sure that I recollect the Occasion you allude,
to at my Friend Mr. Duches; but it will probably recur to me,
whenever I shall have ye Pleasure of a personal Interview
with you.
We were here well aware of the Circumstance, that the Church
in your State was almost destitute of Clergy; & we expected,
that this would occasion your being later than some others, in
getting into an organized State. But, as our Communion generally
throughout the Country seems recovering from ye Condition
in which ye War had left us, we hope, that this is, in some
Measure ye Case with you.
Wishing you Health & Happiness with Success in your Min-
istry, I am Revd. Sir,
Your affte. : Brother,
Wm: White—
[Addressed:]
Rev^.
Charles Pettigrew
North Carolina
[Notation on back:]
Forwarded by
Sir your Obedient Servant
Saml Johnston
James L. Wilson to Charles Pettigrew a&h
Williamston 10th. March [17] 92
Revd. & Dr. Sir
Yesterday yours came to hand. In ansr. accept this — The
irony, for which you give so much Cr. was not nat1. but the
effect of disappointment. I could not admit the thought of going
to [the Episcopal] Convention without you, & much less, the
reasons, mentioned, for your declining, nor could I in Convention
offer them in your vindication. Every idea of Coldness, in my
letter is more applicable to my self than any other, — What is
called a Genteel subsistance for a Minister I never expected — &
106 N.C. Department of Archives and History
for that reason wished to support my family some other way —
studied physic 12 years ago, Quacked with great success for
nothing, & have been soliceted [sic] by men of learning &
physical Abilities to practice professionally. If this can be
effected, the main object I hope to keep in view, "to be the
means in Gods hand to alarm souls of their danger & bring
them to X*. Mr. Whitefield & all other Ministers were no further
successful than as God blessed their labours — of matter & the
same variously dressed may please a curious Auditory, but a
real Xtian must have food, & it is this only that will endear a
Minister of approved fidelity, to his people. With respect to my-
self I am, I trust, wholy resigned, to the divine disposal. I feel for
the distressed & afflicted in body or mind & that feeling cannot be
eased, but, by trying to afford them relief. If I have applyed,
my attention closely to the study of physic, I would never do it at
the expence of my other studies & practice but solely to prevent
the charge of preaching for money which misers bring in to
justify the painful thought of parting with it. You will say, I've
exhibited a mixture of faith & unbelief of the one by, my
resignation, & of the other by my physical mode of subsistance,
which I have proposed to follow. I will not quote predcedents to
this purpose for my justification, nor pretend to give the reason
why Paul continued to make tents after his conversion, when his
faith was as great as any of the Apls.
As to contributions I shall be well supplied [.] Thank you for
your poems — The subject is moving, the mode & stile poetical.
I am loath to stop, but must set off to Windsor, before it
be too late in the day.
May you enjoy all that, health & religion can afford
Your ob*. hume. serv*.
& br in the Gospel &c
James L Wilson
[Addressed :]
The Revd. Charles Pettigrew
Edenton
Charles Pettigrew to Rev. Dr. William White* UNC
Edenton 12th March 1792
Right Reverend Sir,
At this length of time, permit me to return you my grateful
acknowledgement of your Favor, of last August. I am indeed
The Pettigrew Papers 107
ashamed that so much time has elapsed, — and beg leave to offer
something in excuse for my seeming negligence.
I had determined to be at our next episcopal Convention,
which was not far off when I received your Letter; I therefore
defer'd answering it, in hopes that would furnish some new
Communication, which might render my Letter more acceptable.
But being seized with a tertian Ague, two or three Days before
I was to have set out, I found it out of my power to give my
attendance, as the Distance was about an hundred miles. I soon
after wrote to one of my Brethren, to know what was done on
that Occasion, that I might transmit you the particulars. But
his Letter having fallen into the hand of some careless person,
I received it but a few Days ago. It informs me that there did
not convene Members sufficient to proceed to Business.
Agreeably to your information by our late worthy Governor,
Deputies have been appointed for the general Convention to be
held at New- York in August. I wish they may attend. Of some
I am doubtful, as the Distance is great, & the Journey must be
attended with both fatigue & expence. Besides, it is at this time,
very difficult to get money, from its great scarcity in circulation,
— & the Clergy are generally indigent. I have a great desire to
attend, but I am also importuned to be at Hil [1] sborough at
yt very Juncture, at the meeting of a Board of Trustees for a
University in this State. The Business that claims my presence
there is particularly fixing on the place where sd. University
shall be situated; and unless the eastern Members generally
attend, it will probably be carried too far Westward. This is an
object wch. I feel myself also a goodeal [sic] interested. So that
I am at present in a kind of Dilemma. As to trouble, & expence
that may attend, I would as soon attend at one place as the
other, & rather at New York provided an agreeable passage by
water should offer.
Our Church in this State is indeed at a very low Ebb, & could
I see how my attendance at Convention should be promotive
of its interest in any degree, I am sure no consideration of a
temporal nature should preponderate. I am however, at present
unable to determine whether I shall be at New York or Hil [1] s-
borough. Added to our almost total want of episcopal Clergy
in this State, the indefatigable industry of the Methodists &
Anabaptists is constantly imployed to seduce to their different
Communions, those who would gladly continue in the Communion
of the episcopal Church, had they preachers of that Denomi-
nation.
108
N.C. Department of Archives and History
Accept Revd. Sir my sincere thanks for your kind wishes in
respect to my Health happiness & the Success of my Ministry —
And believe me to be with Sentiments of the truest Esteem
and regard
Your most Obedient
And most Humble
Servant
Charles Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
The Right Rev^
Doctor William White
Philadelphia
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A page of poetry found in the Pettigrew Papers. Photograph from the
files of the State Department of Archives and History, Raleigh.
The Pettigrew Papers 109
Charles Pettigrew to John Leigh* UNC
Edenton April 5th. 1792
Dear Sir,
Report informs me that you have entered again into the social
State [marriage] ; permit me therefore to catch this earliest
opportunity of congratulating you on so pleasing a union. May
it be lasting, and your felicity uninterrupted. —
Fond man seek happiness in wedded Life,
And to his Bosom clasps the lovely Wife:
Is she a tender, a prolific Vine?
And do her Virtues with a lustre shine?
Are they with sense & cautious prudence blest?
And of an easy competence possest?
In their Religion, do they harmonize?
And that sincerely, — not in fair Disguise.
Do soft sensation glow in each the same,
And mingling burn in the Chaste nuptial flame,
Consuming harsher Tempers from each mind,
While all the passions are by Love refin'd?
Thrice happy doth their Social union prove
And Hymen tryumphs in their mutual love.
Still to maintain their social joys they give
Attention due, — And for each other Live.
To please is Amoroso's steady Aim,
While fair Amanda's virtues fan the flame
The pleasure He derives from his success,
He recommunicates, in soft address,
And she, with fond endearment, all repays
In cordial Love's insinuating ways,
So two Rattans with tender Spires ascend,
And close entwin'd, to perfect union bend,
To part no more, till vegetation end.
Pray excuse this poetical start. Poetry is better adapted to the
purposes of Love than of domestic Economy. However as you
have little else to do now, but cultivate the softer passions, Give
me leave to hope it will procure a Poetical return, by the first
opportunity. Do not misunderstand me, Sir, I don't mean a
return in Ryme. That is very often the least Poetical. And I
very often find more real Poetry in prose than in verse. —
I am told you have taken leave of Politics. From this I con-
ceive you have found, if not the Philosophors Stone, yet some-
110 N.C. Department of Archives and History
thing at least equivalent, which secures to you that content &
felicity, which still engages the restless & unweary pursuit of
the World. After the sincerest wishes that your mutual happi-
ness may extend to a very late period, & the most respectful
Compliments to your Lady, I have the Honour to be
Dr. Sir
Yr. most ob*.
H-ble serv*.
Ch8. Pettigrew
N B. the poetical part is taken from a piece of about 400 lines
which will probably never see the light unless [illegible] should
after my Death.
[Addressed :]
Doctr. John Leigh
at Tarborough.
Henry Pattillo to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Williamsbor0. 6th Apr. 1792
Dear & Rev*1. Sir,
Yours came to hand with your Elegy, for both which I thank
you. Being now in the school-house, & a hasty note from Col°.
Burton informs me that Col°. Moore, just ready to start, passes
thro' Edenton, I have not yours before me, but have made a few
remarks. 1. That you have not observed the usual measure of
elegy, which consists of four lines of ten syllables each, rhyming
alternately. 2. That you have not trammell'd yourself with uni-
formity, nor confined yourself to any particular measure. 3. That
you have not mentioned to any of us the name of the family;
nor 4. The happy effects that might be expected to follow so
remarkable a dispensation.
You talk of being at Hillsbor0. may we not make sure of a
visit? Col0. Moore waits. We are yet crawling the surface. I am
all day long confined to School — Anderson my assistant. The old
lady has about 20 boarders to do for, so she is as busie as I am.
God grant we may renew our strength, & that you & we may
finish our course with joy. Expect a longer letter when time
permits.
The Pettigrew Papers 111
My wife sends her best Salutations, & please present hers and
mine to Mr. & Mrs. Pollok, Mr. & Mrs. [William?] Littlejohn &
sons.
Your affect hum Servant
Henry Pattillo
[Addressed:]
The Rev. Mr. Pettigrew
Edenton
Charles Pettigrew to Henry Pattillo UNC
Edenton 12th May 1792
Revd. & Dr. Sir—
Your favor by Col. Moore was short, but very grateful. Your
apology is, therefore, more than sufficient. The Business in
which you imploy [sic] yourself so closely, requires not only
uncommon strength of Cons [t] itution, but a great deal of
christian philosophy, & the truest regard for the interest &
welfare of Society. And I beg leave, Sir, to say, that in this
favourable Light I view my friend, & hope that after genera-
tions will derive advantages from his unwearied endeavours to
diffuse useful knowledge.
Should I go to Hillsborough, I will certainly gratify myself
so far as to call, & spend what Time I can with you ; as there is
indeed nothing I am more sincere in, than the few Testimonials
I have it in my power to make, of the immutability of my esteem
& affection for both you & your's.
Your Observations in respect to the Poem are Just. It is indeed
somewhat singular as to verse & Measure. The reason is, I have
never been fond of that kind of verse commonly used in elegy.
Niether [sic] am I pleased with systematical Representations of
grief, or of any of the passions: But rather with spontaneous
effusions, in whatever kind of poetry the thoughts most naturally
flow. When I set down to write, I did not spend a thought on
the particular kind of verse I should adopt. It was the next
morning, after I had attended the Children to their grave, that
I wrote the first part — And as the subject in the manner I
afterwards pursued it, was grave & less elevated, I adopted what
I thought the most suitable kind of verse, in which my periods
112 N.C. Department of Archives and History
would not be limitted to Just so many Lines, which always
renders a poem to me, heavy & disagreeable. These notions, may
however be as improper as they are singular. I by no means
insist on their Rectitude.
The parents were Col. Thomas Harvey & his Lady — The
impressions made by the awful & sore Ber [e] avements were
very serious & solemn. He is since dead. I was a near neighboor,
& constantly with him in his Last illness. He died very hopeful
after calling his Children to him, & giving a last advice that
would have done honour to the memory of the most pious
Clergyman. When he thus took leave his family, the Scene was
truely solemn. You have had a Son of his under your Tuition,
namely Charles Harvey. He lived at Col. Burtons. He is now
studying the Law.
I am Returned from my Farm at the Lake, & resident in
Edenton. They have contributed an annual provision for my
Life or During my stay among them. I would prefer the
farmer's Life, but when on the farm, I found my attention
wholely engross'd, — so that it became necessary that I should
either quit the farm or the pulpit; For I found it impracticable
to serve both God & Mam [m] on. —
I feel for Mrs. Pattillo. I am sensible her fatigue must be great,
having to do for so many Boarders. Please to present her with
my kindest sallutations, & pray don't forget the Long Letter
which you promise me in the Conclusion of your Last. I have
the honor to be
Revd. & Dr. Sir
Your sincere friend
& Ob*. Servant
Charles Pettigrew
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
This was wrote in haste to be sent by the Revd. Mr. Boman, but
being obliged to be abroad again when he returned through
Town it was not given to him —
[Addressed:]
The Revd. Mr. Henry Pattillo
at Williamsborough.
The Pettigrew Papers 113
Episcopal Gentlemen to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Edenton 15 July 1792
Reverend Mr. Pettigrew
Sir
A letter from you to M'. Littlejohn or Mr. Blount of this date
has been communicated by those Gentlemen to us ; not as to the
leading men of the Town of Edenton, but as member of the
Episcopal Church ; The Contents of this Letter has greatly Sur-
prised us indeed, and we find ourselves very much at a loss to
know, who those very influential Characters are, for our part, we
have never been Consulted in the matter, and untill the perusal
of your letter, we never knew that any Matter of the kind was
in contemplation. We are but private Citizens, and have no abso-
lute possession in the Church, more than our being members of
it as above, but as far as we hav[e] anything to say; we do in
the most absolute manner reject Mr. Harmons proposals for the
use of this Church for himself & the other ministers of his
persuatio?i.81 We are in hopes that while you live amongst us,
we shall be at no loss for a Clergiman of our own way of
thinking, and Should we be unfortunate enough to be deprived of
your Ministry, we still indulge a hope, that we shall always be
able to procure an Orthodox Minister to fill the Episcopal Chair.
We are Sir with great
respect
Yr. Mo. obed. Servts.
P.S. We wish these Senti-
ments Communicated to Mr. Harmon
Wm. Lowther Nath1. Allen
Ramsay S: Dickinson
John Little88 Mich1. Payne
Madett Engs E Norfleet
L. Ware
87 This letter reflects the quarrels between the former Anglicans and the
Baptists over the use of chapels erected during the period of the established
church. Insofar as possible, Anglicans tended to deny use of such chapels
and churches to sects practicing closed communion and opposing infant
baptism. See also the Will of Charles Pettigrew, January 26, 1806, in which
he denies the use of a chapel on his land to the Baptists, and his reply to
Thomas Harman, July 16, 1792, in this volume, pp. 119, 378.
88 John Little was a merchant of Edenton. He advertised "a general as-
sortment of GOODS, suitable for the season" in the State Gazette of North-
Carolina (Edenton), October 25, 1795.
114 N.C. Department of Archives and History
15th. July 92
Reverend Sir
In answer to your Letter of this date, you will find our Senti-
ments fully Expressed, in the within Letter, had we A little more
time, we Should have Shewn your Letter to a number of other
Members of the Episcopal Church, who we make no doubt would
have Coinsided with us in opinion.
We are with Great respect
Yr. M°. obed. Servts.
Wm. Littlejohn
Jos. Blount
[Addressed:]
The Reverend Mr. Charles Pettigrew
Charles Pettigrew to Thomas Harman* A&H
Edenton 16th July 1792
Dr. Sir-
Yesterday after Church I recd. a Line from you expressive of
a Desire that you, & those who are of your persuasion may be
permitted to preach in the Church. Agreeable to your Desire, I
instantly forwarded it, together with a Line, to Mr. Littlejohn,
or Mr. Blount, supposing one or the other of those gentlemen to
be a Commissioner. It was accordingly communicated to others,
so that in about a couple of hours, I received an Answer, which
I herewith transmit you, at their request — But wish you to
return it to me again.
And now Sir, in addition to their answer, I beg leave candidly
to observe, that, in my opinion, the Spirit & mode in which the
Doctrine of Anabaptism has too generally been propagated and
defended, does not admit of that cordiallity which ought ever to
subsist between those who preach from the same pulpit. And
although you may be disposed to liberallity both of sentiment
& expression, I am persuaded you would not undertake to
answer for all those who may be of a more conceited & petulent
disposition, whom you wish also to enjoy that priviledge, in
common with yourself. "Can two walk together except they are
agreed"? no surely. And why should we make the unnecessary
The Pettigrew Papers 115
tryal? Contention, & more especially contention about religious
opinions, is to me of all others the most disagreeable. Not that
I think it at all difficult to defend the Doctrines & Usages of that
Church whereof I am a Minister; but because it is far more
pleasing to me, as well as far more edifying & profitable I hope
for my hearers, to dwell on the uncontraverted Doctrines of
experimental & practical Divinity.
I shall be happy to see you at all times, & to converse with you
seriously on such Subjects, when it will suit you to give me a
friendly Call. With sentiments of due regard and esteem I am
Dr. Sir
Your sincere friend
& Serv*.
Charles Pettigrew
Mr. Harman —
Rebecca Barnes89 to Mary Lockhart a&h
[No salutation] Pious Hall August 6 1792
last ev [e] ning I thought I should not have time to write a few
lines to my dear Aunt as Mr. Turner seemd. to be in such a hurry
betwe[e]n sunset and dark — I scratch over a line or two to
Cous [i] n Talley but it is so bad she must not let you see it — I am
very glad to hear my dear Aunt that Grand11', and your selfe are
better then you ware when I heard from you last Brit sayed you
both ware very sick and could not tell what was the matter — it
was much the case by my being Sick I suppose he told a dredfull
tail about my being sick I suppose — I was taken with a swing-
ing and gidyniss in my head an was oblidge to git up from
Breakfast and lay down but thank god it went off in a little
time I have felt my selfe much better ever since — I never got
bled untell last week — Mr. Barnes tryed twice an fetch no blud
the D0,t. fetch a plenty at once tryin say"1, the Blud look very
well — nex Sunday my dear Aunt we intend seting off as it will
be most conveinant — I think it will be as well to go in time as
I have been all my life time with you I suppose you will keep
me a little longer apon occashion as Old Mr. W — says I could
write you a very long Letter my dear Aunt as long as my Arm
88 Rebecca Bryan was the daughter of Catherine Lockhart and David
Bryan and the niece of Mary Lockhart Pettigrew. She married Thomas
Barnes on August 15, 1791; her husband died on March 12, 1795. "Geneal-
ogy." Pettigrew Papers, UNC.
116 N.C. Department of Archives and History
if I had time as I hope to be with you all in so short a time if
nothing hapens — Sister desird. her kind love to you all my dear
Aunt say'1, she would willingly have went down to see you if it
had been in her power it was such worm [sic'] weather an so
short a time to stay she could not — no perticular buisness [sic]
brought her only to see us — as I told her I should go in may to
see them an never hearing from me she was affraid somthing
was the matter if you should see Miss Talley C give my comp to
her tell her Mr*. Baker was very well when sister saw her an look
quite grand — I must conclude my dear Aunt Breakfast is reddy.
Mr. Barnes joynes me in kind love to your selfe G — Sister and
all every one that ask after me in perticular Aunt Neeham and
Aunt Ryan Beleive [sic] me ever to be my dear Aunt your
dutifull Neice [sic] Rebecca Barnes
P.S. give my love to Mrs. Pamboune90
Mr. Turner tells me she is at scotch H[all]
I am much oblidge to you Aunt for the limes
Rebecca Barnes to Mary Lockhart a&h
[No salutation] July 6th. 1793
Suearly [sic] sorry was I My dear Aunt to hear you was so
near us an could not Cross the River they misinformed you at
Acrey about the River, it has not been so full but what you could
hav[e] Crossed yet you cant think My dear Aunt how I was
mortified when I heard you had been so near me an went back —
we have sent down the horse an Chair for Sister an if she can
stay Untell September Mr. Barnes an Myselfe will Return with
her for it is such a busy time of the Year it would be inposible
[sic] for us to leave home before that time. Mr. Barnes has not
wanted the horse [illegible] within this day or two it has been
so wet for plowing that he would not have used him much
if he had been at home — Mr. Barnes is much as he was when
I wrote you my dear Aunt his legs is swell yet but thank
god they dont git no worse we intendd. to have gon[e]
"" Elizabeth Vail Pambrun, daughter of Elizabeth Swann and John Vail
of Chowan County, was a companion to Mrs. Elizabeth Lockhart. She was
remotely connected with Mary Lockhart Pettigrew's sister Sarah, and she
lived with the Pettigrews after Mrs. Lockhart's death. Deposition by Mary
Lockhart Pettigrew.
The Pettigrew Papers 117
down with you an tryed Dolt. Ramkee if his legs did not git any
better — he is trying a bath now which has don[e] him more
good then any thing he has tryed yet I think 0 my dear Aunt
when I think you was so near me an I could not see you I could
cry my selfe to death for I shant see you untell the Fall an it
seems if that was seven years Off — if Sister was not a coming
I should be very Uneasy for I am very anshious to see som [e] of
you my dear Aunt for it seem an age since saw any of you for
Mr. Barnes has been so unwell this long time an I here so far
Off all of you all that it made me very Unhappy for fear any
thing should hap [p] en to him but I hop[e] in god he will git the
better of it before long — well my dear Aunt I could write you a
long Letter but have not time Mr. Barnes desir if Sister can
posible bring them things up the Books an the Watch an my
hat should be very glad for it will put him to a great dele of
trouble to git them home do Sister com[e] as soon as you can
for the horses is wanting I shall expect you up Tuesday for
you must not think to com[e] up in One day as the weather is
so very worm [sic] Mr. Barnes says you had better stay all
night at Mr. D Stones — A due [adieu] my dear Aunt Mr. Barnes
joyns me in love to Our dear Grandma your Selfe an Sister
Betsey — an all my Relations — I still Remain my dear Aunt
your Affectionate Neice [sic]
Rebecca Barnes
P. S. excuse hast my dear an blunders Mr. B and myself e desire
Our love to Mrs. Turner when you see her do Sister bring up
a Sleave pattron for I have a habbit to make I have cut the
other pattrons out I could not cut a Sleave to please an a little
cambreck thread if you have it to spair for I cant git any a bout
hear you must send me somthing my dear Aunt for I long to
see somthing from Scotch Hall do burn this Letter as soon as
you read it if you can Read it
Once more [illegible] dear
Aunt
Reb Barnes
[Addressed:]
Miss Mary Loekhart
Scotch Hall
118 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Bill of Lading for Charles Pettigrew' s Rice UNC
[August 6, 1793]
Shipped in good order, and well conditioned, by
Charles Pettigrew — in and upon the good
Brig called the Governor Johnson whereof is
Master for this present voyage, Tho\ Andrews
and now lying at Edenton and bound for St.
Bartholomew, To say, Thirteen Tierces Rice ....
Being marked and numbered as in the margin,
and are to be delivered in the like good order and
well conditioned, at the aforesaid port of St
Bartholomews (the dangers of the Seas only ex-
cepted) unto Thomas Andrews or to his assigns,
he or they paying freight for the said goods
three dollars [illegible] with primage and aver-
age accustomed, in witness whereof the Master
or Purser of the said Brig hath affirmed to two
bills of lading, all of this tenor and date ; the one
of which two bills being accomplished, the other
one to stand void. Dated in Edenton this 6th. day
of August 1793
Thomas Andrews
Charles Pettigrew to Mary Lockhart UNC
Plymouth 6th Octbr. 1793
My dear Girl —
I am this far on my way back from Tarborough — There was
no [Episcopal] convention — I returned by Greensville — Your
friends there are generally well — Some of them talk of being
in to see you soon ; — They proposed setting out next Saturday —
Mrs. Holland I was told would accompany some of the young
Gentleman provided she could get a Chair to her mind — I did
not see her.
As I pursued the rout from Tarborough to Greensville, I
found that Mr. Benjamin Evins was at Town, but when I ar-
N°. 1.
595
2.
629
3.
563 1/2
4.
600
5.
587
6.
594%
7.
621
8.
587 M>
9.
588
" 10.
586
" 11.
576 1/2
" 12.
580 1/2
" 13.
616
Lb. [torn]
78241/2
The Pettigrew Papers 119
rived at Town he had just set out for his Brother's plantation
again, yet was expected to return in the evening, which he did.
— I therefore saw him, & proposed a purchass of the Land,
which he seemed to be pretty cassy about selling, saying that he
had not yet set a price, but had been offered a half Jo. an Acre,
by Mr. Jaycocks, — & two hundred pounds of the money in hand.
This I told him appeared to me very extravagant, considering
the circumstances in which it stood, & that If I purchased, it
would be for you, — that you would be obliged to rent it annually
from your Mother — and that it was not improbable that she
might outlive us all, at the same time, adding a prayer for the
long continuation of her Life, telling him that I expected she
would surpass a hundred. I also observed that if you married,
the addition of a Dozen of hands more, would soon render the
purchase very dear to any one else who might purchase it. I told
him I could not think of giving more than 800£ which he
seemed to think very far below his reasonable expectation. He
did not say what he would take, I suppose that among so many
competitors he expects perhaps about £120.
The gap between us was so wide, we could not talk long on
the subject, & I came off — You will see him before I can have
the pleasure of seeing you, & must do as you think best, without
having any regard to me. Could I raise the money, I might on
your account be induced to give a thousand pounds, which would
far ex[c]eed its worth, but does not I believe near come up to
his expectation.
After I left you I got quite well, & used none of my medicine
— I however, find myself a good deal fatigued — I flatter myself
you continue well, & that I shall find you so when I shall have
the pleasure of making my next visit to S. H. [Scotch Hall] —
What I saw of your southern friends, did not carry more of
the looks of cordiallity & friendship than your Bertie friends
towards me — George has a public House, at which I took break-
fast & dined, but tho' he was there till we [torn] down to
Dinner, he did not dine with me, but went I suppose to where
his wife stays at Mrs. Hollands, & having but little conversation,
& no invitation I did not go there.
I cannot tell when I shall have the pleasure to see you, but
as soon as I can — I am not very well to day — but must preach
at Col. Mackeys fun1, on my way to the Lake.
120 N.C. Department of Archives and History
God almighty bless & direct both you & me! With every
sentiment of the truest esteem and regard I am My dear Girl,
Your most ob*. Serv1.
Charles Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
Miss Mary Lockhart
Scotch Hall
By Col. Crooks
Ferryman
Solomon Hailing91 to Charles Pettigrew a&h
Newbern 28th. October 1793
Reverend Sir,
It is with sincere pleasure I acknowlege the receipt of your's
of the 5tb. instant, — accept my warmest thanks for your fra-
ternal congratulations and pious wishes, and I earnestly pray
God that I may serve Him, in my vocation and ministry, with
diligence and faithfulness. —
I feel hurt at your disappointment, as considering myself in
some measure the cause of it — but from want of communication
with the Revfl. Mr. Wilson, knew not of any fixed time, to meet
in convention, and feared this necessary business would have
been delayed at least 'till next year. —
I cannot express how much it gratified me, that a meeting of
those who have the interests of the church at heart, was re-
quested at a more early period. —
I have procured the insertion of the advertisement in the
Newbern paper; — and expect a lay deputy will attend from this
parish, — if no unforseen event prevents me, I hope to have the
pleasure of a personal interview with You, on the day ap-
pointed.—
My friend Dr. Leigh has forwarded the notice to Fayetteville,
for insertion in Mr. Sibley's papers, — whether this has appeared
— in Mr. Hodge's, which is published at Halifax, I know not —
01 Dr. Solomon Hailing, who succeeded Dr. Cutting in New Bern, was a
leading figure in attempting to organize the diocese of North Carolina. He
accepted a call to St. James Parish in Wilmington in 1795, where he served
until 1811. In that year he moved to Prince George Winyah Parish in
Georgetown, South Carolina, where he died in 1813. Ashe, Biographical
History, VII, 130-136. This letter refers to the third Episcopal convention
at Tarboro.
The Pettigrew Papers 121
He mislaid the former advertizement ; — and I beleive [sic] a
new copy was not sent, — as it was not printed. —
I have seen the Revd. Mr. Blount, — He has promised to be of
our number, if his own and the health of his family permit. —
The situation of the Protestant episcopal church in this State
is truly deplorable — and there is so little sense of religion among
the people generally, who profess themselves of this com-
munion,— that at times, I despair of our success. — If we were
to follow the example of those who have seperated [sic] them-
selves,— there would be some room for hope. — But yet my duty
will ever oblige me to exert my feeble endeavors to promote,
what appear to me to be, the interests of our holy religion, than
which, I am assured, there is none more pure. —
May God prosper our exertions! — wishes and prays.,
Dear & Rev*. Sir,
Your's with all due
respect and esteem
S. Hailing
[Addressed:]
The Reverend
Charles Pettigrew
near
Edenton
pr post
Circular Letter to Members of the
Protestant Episcopal Church (Printed) a&h
CIRCULAR.
Dearly Beloved,
The Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of America,
for the State of North-Carolina, at their Meeting held at Tar-
borough on the 21st day of November, 1793, Resolved, That in
consideration of the great apparent decay of Virtue and vital
Religion, every exertion was necessary to awaken and annimate
the Zeal of those Professors of Christianity, who call themselves
Members of the said Church ; have therefore thought proper to
address a Circular Letter to those of the same persuasion in each
County in the State, and request you would convene at some
public place, as the Church or Court-House on an early day,
those of the Inhabitants who are desirous of Worshiping God
122 N.C. Department of Archives and History
according to the Rules and Ceremonies as set forth in our Book
of Common Prayer; and that order and good government may
be restored, it is warmly recommended by the Convention to
You, to select from among yourselves Persons of good Morals
and unexceptional Characters to act as a Vestry, whose duty
it shall be to procure a neighbouring Clergyman who has been
regularly Ordained according to the form of the Protestant
Episcopal Church, to Preach as often as convenient for the
distance he may reside at from you, and Administer the Holy
Ordinances at proper Times, but particularly the Blessed Sacra-
ment of the Lord's Supper, at least thrice every year, and on
those Sabbaths on which he cannot attend in consequence of his
other appointments, indisposition or any other cause, that one
of the Vestry read the Service of the day, and some religious
Discourse to the People — By this means it appears probable the
Members of our Church may again be collected, many of whom
it is to be lamented, wTander as sheep without a Shepherd.
And may Almighty God in his mercy, bless your endeavours,
that the happy purpose, the salavation of souls, for which we
recommend these things to your practice, may be effected.
We commit you to the safe keeping the kind protection of
our Heavenly Father, and shall always present our humble but
fervent addresses to the Throne of Grace for your temporal
prosperity and everlasting happiness.
With sentiments of affection and charity, we are your Brethren
in Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Signed in behalf of the Convention of the P. E. C. for the
State of North Carolina,
James L. Wilson, President.
Solomon Hailing to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Newbern 15th. Decbr. 1793
Revd. and Dear Sir,
Your's by Doctor Leigh came to hand, when I arrived at
Tarborough, and I have also to acknowledge the receipt of your
last by Mr. Shepard.92 — It was to me one of the greatest dis-
02 William Shepard of New Bern was a wealthy landowner and promoter.
He was married to Mary Blount, the daughter of Frederick Blount and
Mary Swann Blount and the niece of Mary Blount Pettigrew. During the
Revolution William Shepard's sister Hannah married Captain Charles
The Pettigrew Papers 123
appointments that You could not meet with Us in Convention,
and I am sincerely sorry for the cause of your non attendance.
— It will exceed the bounds of a letter to acquaint You with all
the business we went through; but I hope the following short
abstract of our proceedings, will afford You some idea of our
transactions. — I am sorry to inform You that only six persons
formed the Meeting — Three of the Clergy, viz : Mr. Gurley93 of
Murfreesborough, Mr. Wilson & Myself; On the part of the
Laity, Mr. Clements & Dr. Leigh of Tarborough, — the former of
the Presbyterian Church, & who was our Secretary, and Mr. F.
Green, — whom I desired the Vestry of Newbern, to appoint as a
Deputy for Craven County. — You may reasonably suppose that
it would have been unadvisable in Us to appoint a Bishop elect,
— the smallness of our Number — would have subjected Him to
reproach & our Church also, — if any thing possibly can, after it
has evidenced such a want of zeal; — for the professors of our
religion have not on this occasion even shewed themselves to be
lukewarm. — I proposed we should send another Advertisement
accompanied with a circular letter to one or more reputable and
popular characters in every county, recommending in the most
earnest manner a convention of the people who professed the
protestant episcopal religion, of the American Church, & to
choose immediately a vestry — to appoint readers where a regular
ordained clergyman could not be procured — and we resolved that
this Vestry, the Readers, & whoever they might elect in addi-
tion as Deputies should meet at Tarborough the last Wednesday
in May 1794 — to form a constitution and elect one of the Clergy,
to be consecrated as Bishop of this State. —
This is the sum of our proceedings, when the advertizement
& Letter are printed You will, I make no doubt, my Dear Sir,
be furnished with them ; — and perhaps some copies to disperse.
— I have preached — and read this to our Congregation and have
declared myself a volunteer in this sacred cause, & purpose to
do the same, in every part of this County, where I can collect
the people together.
Biddle of Philadelphia, and the Biddle name appears in the name of the
elder Shepard's son, William Biddle Shepard. A daughter was also named
Hannah after her aunt. Ashe, Biographical History, VII, 421-422; Attmore,
"Journal of a Tour," 20 n. Charles and Hannah Biddle were the parents
of Nicholas Biddle.
63 Joseph Gurley came from Virginia in 1793 and stayed briefly in
Murfreesboro. In the Edenton Gazette, March 2, 1793, he advertised that
he had opened a school. He is believed to have died about the beginning" of
the nineteenth century.
124 N.C. Department of Archives and History
May Our merciful GOD restore You to perfect health, & pro-
long your life to be useful in this dark land. I beleive [sic]
it will be the general wish that You should be elected to the
Episcopacy of North Carolina — My exertions shall not be spared
on this occasion; — and You must not refuse; — consider it is a
call from Heaven; and reflect on your former vows — Excuse
me, if I speak freely, — but my whole soul is engaged in this
important business. —
May GOD, in mercy to our country, preserve You, to over-
look & bless HIS little flock.—
This is the ardent wish & prayer of my Dear and Revd. Sir,
Your unworthy Brother
in our LORD JESUS,
Solomon Hailing
[Addressed:]
Revd. Charles Pettigrew
Near
Edenton.
Receipt for Tuition for John and Ebenezer Pettigrew UNC
[December 19, 1793]
Recd. Charles Pettigrew
To Lem1. Lewis Dr.
1793
Dec. 19th To Tuition of his two Sons
6i/2 Months £ 9-0-0
Dec. 19th
Recd. the above Sum of Mr. John Beasley
Lem1. Lewis
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
Lem1. Lewis's
Receipt in full
£ 9-0-0
The Pettigrew Papers 125
Sally Clements'34 to Mary Lockhart A&H
Tarborough Decr. 19th. 1795 [1793] 9*
My Good Friend
This is the second letter unanswer'd I dont doubt but you will
be a little surprised at recieving [sic] a letter from me again af-
ter writing you once by one and never recieving [sic~] a line in re-
turn I suppose you dont care any thing about me now, out of
sight out of Mind but I will Assure you Miss Polly that is not the
case with me for their is no one that I have more friendship for
than you [.] I always thought I had a share in your good Wishes
but I am afraid It is all vanished now never hearing one word
from you [.] but If it is true what I hear I will excuse you that is
that you are shortly to enter into Hymens bands If that is the case
I wish you all the happiness this life can afford you I hear It is
to Mr. Pet[t]igrew[.] I think you will be happy for he is good
man[.] I think Aunt Molly you will say It is the happiest life
in the world when you come to expersience [sic] It — their is
nothing new this way worth relating only we lost one of our
Neighbours this week Mrs. Murray the Inhabitants of the town
is getting much better — Mrs. Hensehan from Washington was
here the other day she was enquiring after you all she told me
that Miss Peggy Bryan was Married and that Mrs. Holland was
shortly to be Married — Mr. Clements Joins me in Respect to your
self and Family
And Believe Me to be
Miss Polly Yours very
Affectionately
Sally Clements
Account of Charles Pettigrew with Charles F. Jandres A&H
[January, 1794]
Mr. Charles Pettigrew
1792 For Charles F. Jandres Lb
December 2th To 13i/3 Coffee @ 3/ £2 0 0
64 Sally Clements was the wife of William Clements of Tarboro. Clements
served as clerk for the Episcopal convention held there.
Bo This letter could not have been written in 1795. Mrs. Clements refers
to Mary Lockhart's engagement ("shortly to enter into Hymens bands"),
and since Mary Lockhart and Charles Pettigrew were married in 1794, the
date of this letter would have to be 1793. In addition, the Pettigrews stayed
with the Clementses in Tarboro in 1794.
126 N.C. Department of Archives and History
1793
October 30th To 16 Yards Linen 5/6
To 8 hanks Thread /3
4 8
2
0
0
6.10
0
1792 Supra
July 1th By Preaching the Gospell from
the 1th. July 91 Untill the
1th. July 92 2 0 0
1793 By Preaching the Gospell
from the 1th. July 92 Untill
The 1th. July 93 2 0 0
4 0 0
2 10 0
Received Edenton / January 1794 —
The above acct in full
Charles F. Jandres
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
Jandas's Receipt
in full
Charles Pettigrew to Solomon Hailing* a&h
Edenton 2d. February 1794
Reverend & dear Sir, —
Accept my grateful acknowledgement of your favour 16th
Decr. It was to me very grateful, as it brought the only intelli-
gence, with which I have been favoured, from your Convention.
I had wrote to our worthy Brother Wilson, but had recd. no
answer. I suppose his attention is engrossed by avocations of a
more important nature, to the Church, — to himself, — & to his
family.
Your disappointment from my not attending at convention,
was not dissimilar to my own. For I had flattered my self with
the pleasing idea of an interview with my brethren, & of
commencing a personal intimacy with my correspondent in
particular.
Your account of the business done in Convention, is to me
highly satisfactory. And I ardently wish, that your indeavours
The Pettigrew Papers 127
may succeed to your most sanguine expectations. But such is the
coldness, & such the inattention of those in general, who profess
themselves members of our Church, with respect to things of
a religious nature, that I am affraid your so laudible exertions
to draw together a full convention, will not be Crown'd with
suitable success. As you very Justly observe, they are not even
Lukewarm. From this, together wth. a number of concurrent cir-
cumstances, it appears to me in the clearest light of demonstra-
tion, that our Church requires a head. Misunderstand me not —
I believe Christ to be the great Head of his Church universal ; —
but for the sake of regularity, good Order, & respectability,
there certainly ought to be one vested with authority to preside,
as primus inter pares. However, I would not wish the power to
ordain, to sensure, to suspend or degrade, to be vested in him
alone, but only to be exercised by him, with the concurrence
of his brethren, the Clergy, met in convocation.
Such an authority exercised with discretion & zeal, for the
interests of religion, either in ordaining, or calling to a strict
account, such disorderly Ministers as are indeed the enemies of
the Cross of Christ, would surely give respectability to our
Church. And when parents had their Children Confirmed, &
those who think that baptism ought to be delayed on account of
the child's apparent incapacity to transact for itself, heard them
when arrived to years of discernment, solemnly taking those en-
gagemts. that were entered into for them by Sponsors, upon them-
selves, by their own personal act, would it not tend greatly to
remove that objection?
I was told a few Days ago, by a Gentleman who took a tour
thro' some of the northern States, for his health, last fall, that
the episcopal persuation gains ground fast in some of the
eastern States ; — & that a perfect harmony subsists between the
Church & the presbyterian meeting. He says that very frequent-
ly, where you find a meeting -House, you will also find an eligant
Church with a good Steeple & Bell, close in its vicinity. This
we must ascribe to the concurrent blessing of heaven upon their
late regulations.
The anabaptists are the most inimical to our Church. They
divide Congregations, & seduce the most serious & thinking
people, by a variety of artifice. There are none, perhaps, less
acquainted with those evidences which are satisfactory of the
truth of a religion, then those who have been brought up
128 N.C. Department of Archives and History
& educated in that religion, & therefore never dobted its truth &
authenticity; there is therefore perhaps none so easily imposed
upon, by the designing & crafty. And it is therefore the ana-
baptists have it in their power to make such inroads. I think
episcopal Ordination has descended, in that succession which
Christ evidently established, in his Church to continue 'till the
final consummation, Mat: XXVIII. 18, 19, & 20th. As for the
anabaptist-ordination, if they will trace it back to about 1580,
they will find it terminate with the mad men of Munster.96 To
say the least, they seem to me, to be a most uncharitable society.
The sympathy which you so generously express in respect to
my indisposition, & your benevolent wishes for the restoration of
my health, together with the prolongation of my Life, have not
failed to awaken a grateful sensibility, which breathes itself out
in aspirations for similar Blessings to descend upon the Head of
My friend who so disinterestedly prays. Your zeal for the de-
clining interests of religion, I wish rather to emulate than praise.
But as my abilities are circumscribed within so narrow Limits,
& my strength so far short of my inclination, I despair of it
being ever in my power to make a useful minister of Jesus.
What you write me in reference to myself, respecting the
choice of a person for consecration to the Office of a B p
[Bishop], is so far from flattering, that, to me it is truely
mortifying. It turns my thoughts inward upon myself, & awakens
a painful consciousness of my being far, — very far from ade-
quate to the due & proper discharge of the duties of that humbler
Office, with which I have the honor to be already vested, —
and much more, alas, how much more ! unfit for the discharge of
a more awful Trust, with the additional Duties of a spiritual
Overseer in the Church & Household of God. Believe me my
friend, although there is nothing earthly, I so ardently wish,
as to be useful to the world, in the exercise of the sacred
function, — Yet my great inferiority, in every view, to the idea,
which I concieve, [sic] of ivhat a B p ought to be, does not
suffer me once to think of aspiring to the Office, lest that emi-
nence of station should but expose me to contempt, & thereby
06 From 1534 to 1535 the city of Munster in Germany was in the hands of
a group of Anabaptists whose philosophy of anarchy degenerated into
murder, polygamy, and general crime. It was the result of a psychological
hysteria rooted in a controversy over infant baptism. James Hastings,
John A. Selbie, and others (eds.), Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics
(New York: Charles Scribner's Sons and Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 13
volumes, 1924-1927), I, 409.
The Pettigrew Papers 129
bring disgrace upon the Church, together with a sacred & im-
portant Office. You must therefore never expect me to offer as a
Candidate. Let me request your prayers in unison with mine,
that unerring wisdom may direct, & overrule the choice, when-
soever made, in such a manner that it may terminate in the glory
of god, & the advancement of his Church.
I have just wrote to our friend Doctor Leigh, on the subject
of dispondency — I thought his Countenance seem'd to wear that
Cast, when I had the pleasure to see him last — I wish you
would also endeavour to cheer & support his mind. I am affraid
he indulges it, by dwelling upon the gloomy side of human events.
Pray excuse so long a letter — My pen is worn out, & my
spirits I find also flag. With every sentiment of fraternal
esteem & regard, I am
Reverend & dear Sir
Your sincere friend
and Brother
Charles Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
The Reverend
Doctor Solomon Hailing
at Newbern
Charles Pettigrew to Andrew Knox97 UNC
22d. April 1794
My dear Sir —
Your's of the 16th, announcing the Death of the good Mrs.
Knox, your very worthy Aunt, — I received at Church on Sun-
day— I read the account of her decease, with a mixture of the
sincerest sympathy & regret — and, as haveing experienced a simi-
lar misfortune, I can, — & do most sincerely condole with her
disconsolate survivor. I know those tender sensibilities, which
so great a loss, & so afflictive a beravement [sic~\ must have
awakened in his Soul; but such the fate of man! — Friends
meet in the social state, — but to part in Death — And in propor-
tion to the happiness of that tender & endeared union, is the
97 Andrew Knox was a physician and family connection at Nixonton in
Pasquotank County. John Pettigrew was later sent to study medicine under
him. See John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, September 4, 1798, in this
volume, p. 224.
130 N.C. Department of Archives and History
pungency of our grief, & the redoubled distress which is oc-
casioned by the final separation — Let my friend derive comfort
from this consideration — that the Separation is but temporary,
& that, pursuing the path of piety, we shall meet again in a
happier world, no more to feel the pang of separation forever.
I have lately had a very great cold, from which I have been
considerably indisposed — I have at the same time had too heavy
Duty on hand. The Sunday before Easter I had to preach fore
& afternoon — on good friday also, & on last Sunday namely
Easter I preached & administered the Sacrement in Church, &
then had to cross the Creek & preach at the funl of Doctor
Hosmar — next friday & Sunday I am to preach again —
I was so much indisposed when I recd. your Letter, & so
extremely sensible of fatigue the next Day, that I found neither
genius nor spirit for any thing like Composition — I however,
added a Sentiment in prose which I thought your Letter would
justify, & also one in poetry which I hope my friends will ap-
prove—
I should be very happy to take a Jaunt with one, or both my
sons to Pasquotank — but I am under the necessity of going to
the Lake the ensuing week — If possible I will try to carry them
down to see their friends before I carry them to the Westward
— With my best respects to your Uncle & my worthy friends, as
tho' named, at the Elm, I am My Dr. Sir with the truest esteem
& regard your invariable friend & Serv*.
Charles Pettigrew
[Notation on back by Charles Pettigrew:]
The rough of a letter to Doctor Andrew Knox at Nixonton
The Journal of the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal
Church Held At Tarborough in May 179 U* a&h
(Copy)
The Episcopal State Convention of North Carolina convened
in the Town of Tarborough on the last Wednesday in May
1794. agreeably to Adjournment.
Present
The Revnd. Charles Pettigrew
Ja8. L. Wilson
The Pettigrew Papers 131
Solomon Hailing
Rob1. J. Miller98
on the part of the Church.
Present on the part of the Laity
Leonard Depeaux — for Beaufort County-
Joseph Perkins — for Lincoln —
Isaac Guion" — for Newbern
John Leigh one of the Standing Committee
The necessary Certificates were produced by the Lay Deputies
of their Appointments
The Revn(1. Mr. Gurley who was appointed by the last Conven-
tion to open the business of the present by Preaching a Sermon
having failed to appear; The Revd. Mr. Charles Pettigrew was
Appointed by the Convention to Officiate in his place. —
Adjourned untell 4 0. Clock p.m.
The Rev1. Mr. Pettigrew Officiated in the Afternoon according
to the Appointment of the Convention: —
Mr. Robert Whyte appeared and produced a Certificate of his
Election, as a Lay Deputy to represent the Town of Tarborough
The Revd. Messrs. Wilson & Hailing on the part of the Clergy
and Mr. Whyte on the part of the Laity, were appointed a Com-
mittee to draw up a Constitution for the Govr. of the P. E.
Church of this State and report the same to morrow. —
Resolved, that the Convention proceed tomorrow at the Hour
of Twelve for the purpose of taking into consideration that part
of the Public Advertisement of the late Convention which relates
to the Appointment of a Bishop Elect for this State. — The
Convention then Adjourned till 9 0. Clock tomorrow. —
88 Robert Johnston Miller was ordained as a Lutheran minister in 1794
because no Episcopal bishop was available to perform the rite, but he al-
ways regarded himself as an Episcopalian. Of all the clergy present at the
Tarboro convention in 1794, he alone lived to see the diocese of North
Carolina established. In 1821 he was finallv ordained in the Episcopal
clergy. Ashe, Biographical History, IV, 325-328; Cheshire, Sketches of
Church History, 379-397; Jacob L. Morgan and others (eds.), History of
the Lutheran Church in North Carolina (N.p., United Evangelical Lutheran
Synod of North Carolina, 1953), 25.
09 Dr. Isaac Guion was surgeon for the First North Carolina Regiment
during the Revolutionary War. He represented Craven County in the
General Assembly in 1789, 1790, 1793, and 1795. North Carolina Daughters
of the American Revolution, Roster of Soldiers from North Carolina in the
American Revolution (Durham: Seeman Press, 1932), 36; Connor, Manual,
1913, 567; Keith, John Gray Blount Papers, II, 274.
132 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Thursday May 29th. 1794.
The Convention met according to Adjournment, and the Morn-
ing Service was read by the Revd. Mr. Miller.
On motion, Resolved that the business of each day commence
with Prayer. —
On motion Resolved that Mr. William Clements be appointed
Secry. of the Convention. —
The Rev*1. Mr. Blount produced his Orders and took his Seat. —
Mr. Wood, a Member of the Standing Committee Appeared
this Morning, produced his Certificate and took his Seat.
Mr. Robert Godley, Lay Deputy from Beaufort County ap-
peared, produced his Certificate and took his Seat.
The Committee appointed yesterday for drawing up a Con-
stitution for the Government of the Church delivered their
report.
On Motion the Convention formed itself into a Committee
of the Whole, to take into their Consideration the Constitution,
as reported by the Committee ; Doctr. Guion in the Chair ; After
some progress made the Committee rose. —
Mr. James Adams, Lay Deputy for the County of Edgcomb,
produced his Certificate and took his Seat Accordingly. —
The Convention conceived it necessary to proceed to appoint
a Bishop Elect.
Resolved that this Convention do proceed on Saturday next, to
appoint by Ballot, a Bishop Elect. —
The Convention then adjourned till 4 0. Clock p.m.
Thursday 4 0. Clock p.m.
The Convention met according to adjournment.
The General Constitution and Canons, as published by Order
of the Gen1. Convention, were on Motion read. —
The Convention Adjourned untill tomorrow Morning at 8
O.Clock.—
Friday 30th. May 1794
The Convention met according to adjournment, and opened
with Prayer by The Revd. Mr. Blount. —
Mr. Grimis a Member of the Standing Committee from Pitt
County appeared this Morning and took his Seat. —
The Pettigrew Papers 133
The Revd. Messrs. Blount, Wilson, and Hailing were appointed
a Committee to draw a form of recommendation for the Bishop
Elect, to the Gen1. Convention. —
The Convention resolved itself into a Committee of the whole,
Doctr. Guion in the Chair. —
The Convention reported progress, and ask'd leave to sit
again. —
The Convention Adjourned untill 4.0. Clock P.M. —
Friday 4 0. Clock p.m. The Convention met according to Ad-
journment, and resolved itself into a Committee of the whole
Doctr. Guion in the Chair. —
The Committee rose, and the President resumed his Seat.
The Chairman of the Committee reported progress, and ask'd
leave to sit again. —
The Convention adjourned untill tomorrow Morning at
7.o.Clock.—
Saturday 31st. May 1794: The Convention met according to
adjournment. Prayers being read by the Revd. Mr. Gurley, The
Committee presented a form of recommendation for the Bishop
Elect.—
The Convention adjourned to meet at 12 0. Clock
The Convention met at 12 0. Clock according to Adjourn-
ment.—
The Appointment of a Bishop Elect, agreeable to a resolution
entered into on Thursday last took place, when it appeared that
the Revd. Mr. Pettigrew was duly elected. —
Resolved that the Clergy choose Lay-Members of the Stand-
ing Committee, and that the Laity choose the Clerical Members ;
And in consequence of this resolution the following persons
were choosen Viz. —
The Rev1. Mess". Nath1. Blount
James L. Wilson
Rob1. J. Miller
Solomon Hailing
Joseph Gurley
George Micklejohn of the Clergy. — And of the Laity
Messrs. W. Kinzie
Moore
Hardy Murfree100
100 Hardy Murfree of Hertford was a veteran of the Revolutionary War.
He moved to Tennessee in 1807. Ashe, Biographical History, II, 307-314.
134 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Doctor Guion
David Turner
Joseph Blount.
The Revd. Messrs. S. Hailing & J. L. Wilson were appointed as
Clerical Deputies; and Messrs. J. Leigh, Thomas Guion, and
W. Clements as Lay Deputies to the next Gen1. Convention of
the P. E. Church.—
Resolved that the thanks of the Convention be rendered to the
President and Secretary.
The Convention then Adjourned to meet in Tarborough on the
Third Wednesday in October 1795.
[Addressed:]
The Revd.
Mr. Charles Pettigrew
Scotch Hall
Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church
in North Carolina* A&H
(Copy)
Preamble.
Whereas there are numbers of good People in this State, who
have been educated in the faith of the P.E.C., and many other
Religious and well disposed persons, who appear to be desirous
to Worship God according to the forms used in Said Church ; We
the Clergy & Lay deputies in Convention met, have thought
it adviseable to frame a Constitution for the future Government
of said Church; And humbly pray at the throne of heavenly
grace that our indeavours may prove effectual to the promotion
& extension of Virtue and true Religion. —
Article 1st.
That the Church be denominated "The Protestant Episcopal
Church in the State of North Carolina." —
Article 2nd.
That there shall be a Bishop in the said Church, who shall be
elected by Ballot, by the Convention, and that two thirds of
the Members present, at the time of election shall be a Majority
for that purpose. —
The Pettigrew Papers 135
Article 3rd.
There shall be a Convention of the Protestant Ep1. Church
of the State of N.C. on the 3rd Wednesday in Octr. Annually,
in such place as may be determined upon by every preceeding
Convention. —
Article 4th.
That the Convention shall or may consist of the Clergy regularly
Ordained, & settled in this State, of the Members of the Stand-
ing Committee, one of the Vestry of each Parish, two delegates
from each County, and one for each Town in this State, to be
elected by the People. —
Article 5th.
One third of the Clergy and an equal number of Lay deputies
shall constitute a Quorum, for transacting business, but a
smaller number may adjourn. —
Article 6th.
A Standing Committee consisting of twelve persons shall be
chosen, or appointed by the Convention, whose Office it shall
be, to perform the duties laid down in the Canons and General
Constitution of this Church, and their Vacancies shall be filled
up during the recess, by the Bishop, which Appointment Shall
continue untill the Meeting of the next Convention. —
Article 7th.
That as Speedily as possible, after it is known in each County,
what numbers are desirous of becoming members of the P.E.C.
they be convened and elect a Vestry consisting of twelve per-
sons to form the people into a regular Society, and to procure
a Clergyman, who has been regularly Ordained according to the
rites & Ceremonies of said Church, to Officiate among them as
frequently as it is in his power, and duly to Administer the holy
Ordinances; and the Vestry shall be chosen Annually.
Article 8th.
That there shall be no fees or rewards demanded for the Ad-
ministration of the holy Ordinance of Baptism.
Article 9th.
All the Clergy shall be amenable to the Convention for any
Immorality, or misbehaviour, and for Countenancing and en-
couraging any doctrines contrary to the holy Scriptures, Com-
prehended in the Articles of our Church. —
136 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Article 10th.
Any Church or Parish in this State not represented at the time
of Ordaining this Constitution shall be entitled to the benefit
thereof, as soon as the Members shall signify their ratification
in writing or by a Deputy to the State Convention. —
Article 11th.
That no person professing himself to be a Clergyman of the
P.E.C. shall be permitted to Preach in any of the Churches or
Chapells in this State, untill he shall produce his Orders unto the
Rector or Minister of said Church or Chapel, or to the Vestry. —
Article 12th.
The Bishop or President, during the recess of the annual Con-
vention, shall have the power of calling an especial Convention,
on any urgent Occasions, at such time as to him shall appear
most convenient, and at the place to which the preceeding
Convention adjourned itself. —
Article 13th.
This Constitution shall remain permanent untill it may be
deemed necessary by three fourths of any future Convention
to alter or amend the same. —
Done and ratified in Convention in Tarborough May the 31st.
1794. Signed,
Charles Pettigrew
Presid1. of the Convention
Nathaniel Blount
of the Clergy Joseph Gurley
James L. Wilson
Solomon Hailing
R. Johnston Miller
J. Leigh
Is. Guion
R. Whyte
Benj\ Woods
Lay deputies. Joseph Perkins
L. Desseaux
Wm. Grimes
Rob*. Godley
W. Clements
The Pettigrew Papers 137
The Names of the Clergy, — & places of their Residence
The Revd. Nathaniel Blount — Pit, & Beaufort
Revd. George Micklejohn — Granville —
Revd. Joseph Gurley — Hertford —
Revd. Stephen Johnston101 — Northhampton.
Revd. James L. Wilson — Martin & Edgecomb. —
Revd. Solomon Hailing — Craven — Newbern —
Revd. Mr. Dent,102 near the Yadkin River —
Revd. Robert Johnston Miller — White haven parish, Lincoln
a Lutheran Minister —
1 Revd. Robert Johnston Miller
Lincoln County, White haven parish
2 Revd. Soln. Hailing Rector of Xt,s Church Newbern
Craven County —
3 Revd. James L. Wilson
of Martin & Edgecomb —
4 Revd. Nathaniel Blount
of Pit & Edgecomb —
5 Revd. George Micklejohn
of Granville.
6 Revd. Joseph Gurley
of Hertford.
7 The Revd. Stephen Johnston
of Northhampton.
[Addressed:]
The Revnd. Charles Pettigrew
Bertie
pr boy
101 Stephen Johnston is erroneously listed here as being a North Carolina
clergyman. The Journals of the General Conventions of the Protestant
Episcopal Church, appendix for 1792, assign him to Virginia, though he
probably conducted services in North Carolina upon occasion.
102 Hatch Dent came from Maryland to Rowan County in 1795 (1794?)
with a group of settlers, but he was back in Maryland in 1799. Journals of
the General Conventions of the Protestant Episcopal Church, appendix for
1799.
138 N.C. Department of Archives and History
William Clements to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Tarborough 13th. Septr. 1794
Revd. & Dear Sir
With this you will receive a Copy of the Journals of the late
Convention of the P. E. Church held at this place. As I con-
ceived it was my business only to Copy, and not attempt to
rectify, the Minutes, you will discover a number of Inaccuracies
in them. — I am sorry it was inconvenient for me to furnish you
with a Copy before this time; and shall always consider myself
gratified in having it in my power to answer your Commands in
any instance whatever. —
I had the pleasure, about a fortnight ago of writing you
by Mr. Harvey; And must again be permitted to express my
gratitude for your friendly concern for the Wellfare of my
Family, of which you gave an Ample proof in your excellent
letter to Mrs. Clements, which ar[r]ived at a seasonable time,
and which I have reason to believe had a very happy effect:
She still continues in more than tolerable health & Spirits, for
which, as well as every other blessing of Indulgint Providence,
I trust we are both thankfull; I expect She will be deliver'd
about the last of this, or first of next Month, to which time I
look forward with some anxiety, notwithstanding the present
flattering prospects.
Mrs. Clements writes to Mrs. Pettigrew;103 Please to make my
respectfull Complements to her, and I am, Dear Sir
With much respect
Your very Hble Servant
W. Clements
P.S. Inclosed you have agreeable to your request, the Accounts
of Doctr. Leigh & myself against the Convention.
W. C.
[Notation:]
Mrs. Clements has not written as I expected.
W. C.
[Addressed:]
The Revd.
Mr. Charles Pettigrew
103 The marriage bond for Mary Lockhart and Charles Pettigrew has not
been found, but a copy of the genealogy in the Pettigrew family Bible gives
the date as June 12, 1794. "Genealogy," Pettigrew Papers, UNC; Ashe,
Biographical History, VI, 399. Wall, "Charles Pettigrew," 65, erroneously
gives the date as June 12, 1795.
The Pettigrew Papers 139
Robert S. Smithey104 to Charles Pettigrew a&h
Boston. Novr. 1st. 1794—
Dr. Sir
I hope you will pardon the liberty I am going to take by
addressing these few Lines to you, the inclosed which my friend
W. S. Parker was so kind as to give me I not having the pleasure
of your acquaintance make bold in his name to request a favor
from you which I make no doubt when you hear my situation
you will grant it. — I was bound from London to Baltimore in the
Brig called the Brothers of Philadelphia which after being at
Sea near eleven Weaks [sic] we were captured by a French
Privateer105 called the San Parrele who stript all the Passengers
of their Cash & every thing else they thought fit I my self was left
destitute, I now have an opportunity of situateing myself greatly
to my advantage if I can find a friend to assist me with about
forty dollers & may depend on it being repayed either to any
Person in London or has [sic] soon as I can get a remittance
from then to B your early Answer to these few Lines diricted
to me at Mr. Rob*. Spear ; Fore S*. Boston will ever oblige.
Yr. Most ob*. hble Servant
Rob. S. Smithey
NB. I would not be so troublesome but being a Stranger in the
Country & not having any Cloaths to appear suitable to the
situation I wish to fulfill
[Addressed :]
Rev'1. Mr. Pettigrew
Edinton
North Carolina
104 Robert S. Smithey has not been identified.
io5 This was one of the hazards of the war between France and the First
Coalition. Since Edenton was an important port during the Federal period,
mercantile and shipping news was always of great interest.
140 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Joseph Bryan10Q to Charles Pettigrew unc
Brest Fr 21st Jany— 1795
Mr Charles Pet[t]igrew
Dear Sir
I am sorry to inform you that I have been detained for three
months in this place by An Embargo but Vessels bound to
America is permited to sail this day I am bound to Liverpool
& Expect to be permited to sail in three or four days from
thence I return to Norfolk or Baltimore I go to Edenton by land
where I hope to find all Friends in perfect health — We wait
the return of the French Fleet that saild from this ye last day
of Decemb1'. [17] 94 consisting of thirty seven sail of the Line &
about twenty Frigat[e]s — the Armys Are in Winter quarters
And doing little, please make my Duty to my Grandmother my
Aunt Pet[t]igrew and compts to all the rest of my relations my
sisters I Expect will hear of me as I have wrote Mr. Barnes the
boys are in health and desire to be remembered to Grandmother
& Aunt Pet[t]igrew.
I Remain Dear Sir
Yours Sincerely
Jos. Bryan
[Addressed:]
Rev*1. Charles Petegrew
Edenton
Nth. Carolina
P Brig Maria
Cap11. Green
[Notation on back by Charles Pettigrew:]
From Capt. Joseph Bryan
Charles Pettigrew to Mary L. Pettigrew UNC
Mrs. Barns's 15th March 1795
My dear Girl —
We arrived here yesterday evening, after a very cold days
ride, from Mr. Thomas Clarks, where we stay'd the night we left
you. We found agreeably to expectation Mr. Barns was no more.
106 As indicated by the text, Joseph Bryan was Mary Lockhart Pettigrew's
nephew, the son of her sister Catherine Bryan.
The Pettigrew Papers 141
He died the Night Mr. & Mrs. Turner got up, before Day.
Mrs. [Rebecca] Barns was in great agitation I am told, but
seems this evening much better reconciled to her misfortune. I
preached a funeral sermon to Day on the occasion, & he was
buried. — His fun1, was attended by a considerable concourse,
considering that the notice was given only yesterday evening.
Mrs. Barns & Miss Betsey [her sister] are very well, in respect
to health. They request me to give their Love to you & Mrs.
Lockhart. The Child is also very well, & seems to be in a very
thriving condition, as I would ever wish to see one of his age — I
propose calling in my return, & bringing them all down with
me together, but I have not yet got their promise; — however
I will bring them along if possible. The Boys & I, also my
brother107 are well. We have stood the Cold to admiration
hitherto, & I hope will.
Mr. Turner is anxious to have two hands to saw, to wit Peter
& Boson four or five days for the present, Just to saw out his
stuff for the pannels of his Doors &c and as he is so obliging to
us, I wish to oblige him, & I hope it will make no great Differ-
ence to let them go that long. Should you think so too, you will
send them.
The flax, you may rely on it, is entirely cut off by the frost;
for I never saw it freeze much harder. The ground will require
to be plowed & sowed again. Mr. Turner thinks he can help us
to seed, & says it is very good — you will also try Cap*. Ryan,
should he not have enough to spare, for we should make a
poor shift without flax.
I find the university will be about an 100 miles from Here.
I hope therefore to get home in Time.
All I have now to request, my dear Girl, is, that you en-
deavour to keep your mind as easy under your Difficulties as
possible. We must not expect to pass thro' Life without rubs, &
the better & the more cheerfully we bear them, the less they will
hurt us. Commit yourself to God, & aim at contentment. If
others are discontented it is no reason that you & I should be
so too. The fretful are properly self-punnishers. It would there-
fore be wrong to be angry with them. — They suffer enough.
God almighty bless you my Dear Girl — My Brother & the boys
107 Apparently William Pettigrew of South Carolina had been to see
Charles. See William Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, April 27, 1795, in this
volume, p. 144, in which William announces his safe arrival home.
142 N.C. Department of Archives and History
send their Love & best respects back to you — I am with very
great esteem & regard your Loving husband, (with Compli-
ments to Mrs. Lockhart)
Charles Pettigrew
— Sunday evening 10 o'Clock —
— In haste —
[Addressed:]
Mrs. Mary Pettigrew
Scotch-Hall
Honor'd by
Mr. Turner
John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Orange County University108 5th April 1795
Dear Father
Permit me to say there is nothing I undertake with as much
real pleasure as wrighting to you which is a duty I owe as a
son for the tender affections you have had in raising me up to
this period of life, and I hope by our good conduct and be-
haviour to make a double compensation for all your cares and
trouble concerning us.
We are both well at present, the splean is much as usual but
I am about to use a method which I am in hopes will be of
some benifit, which is starroot steept in spirits that I am to
take twice or three times a day which is said to be very good.
Mr. & Mrs. Kimbel are kind.109 I like my teachers Mr. Rex and
Mr. Herras [Harris] very well. I have got a quire of paper and
a paper of inkpowder, I have not got my shoes halfsoaled yet,
as shew makers are very scarce at present but I expect one in
town shortly.
We are now going through the grammar and have had a great
many of the notes to learn, and the rules to pars which makes it
midling difficult, but We are almost through it, and have had
108 Charles Pettigrew entered his two sons, John and Ebenezer, in the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Orange County, in March,
1795.
109 John and Ebenezer at first boarded with the Kimbels instead of living
in the dormitory. Wall, "Ebenezer Pettigrew," 13.
The Pettigrew Papers 143
but three Scholars since I came, but I expect ther[e] will be
five or six by the latter part of this week ; I hear no strange news
except that Colonel [Joel] Lane in Rolley [Raleigh] is dead, do
not recollect an [y] thing more at present.
We both, give our love to our mother and grandmother, and
to all that ask after us. brother Ebby sends his love to Miss Mary
Turner also,
We remain your dutiful Sons,
John & Ebenezer Pettigrew
NB I saw Mr. Daniel who told me you staid at his house untill
the evening and that his wife and you wer[e] intimate ac-
quaintance he also said he was going to send his Son to School
and board him at Mr. Kimbels but he has not sent him yet.
The 10th Day of Thermidor anno Domini 1795
[Addressed:]
Chapel-hill 7th. Ap1. 1795
The Revd. Mr. Pettigrew
Near Edenton
Bertie County
By Post
Charles Pettigrew to Mary L. Pettigrew UNC
April 8th 1795— Wednesday.
My dear Polly
My suit has not yet come on,110 nor am I certain whether it
will my [sic] this Term — I am very well, & hope you are equally
so — you will receive this by way of Mr. Bryan's — I send it by
Doctor Ramcke — a while ago, I purchased a piece of Linen at
auction — I think it good enough for your humble servant, should
110 Charles Pettigrew became involved in the management of his wife's
property. He sued Cornelius Ryan for a debt Cornelius's deceased father,
George Ryan, had owed Mary Lockhart Pettigrew, the elder Ryan's sister-
in-law. District Court Records, Edenton District, Records of the Superior
Court, State Archives, April 5, 1795, in the 1794 records and two documents
dated April 9, 1795, in the 1795 records, hereinafter cited as Edenton
Superior Court Records. The case was finally settled in 1799 for £44.
Edenton District, Execution Docket, April 1794-April 1800, October term,
1799, entry No. 54, George Ryan's Admr. by George Lockhart's Exor.
By a North Carolina statute of 1777, Edenton was one of the court towns
where court was to be held twice yearly.
144 N.C. Department of Archives and History
you think proper to compliment him with less or more of it —
Judge Ashe is very well, & promises to honor us with a Call,
next week, but I shall be home before then, and should be glad
that the Canoe111 were sent over very early on monday morning,
as I wish to take over some Salt with me — With love to Mrs.
Lockhart, I am my Dear Wife
Your affectionate husband
Charles Pettigrew
NB. If you can — visit Mrs. Bryan?
[Addressed:]
Mrs. Mary Pettigrew
Bertie
Favor'd by
Doctor Ramcke
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
I should be glad you would send over
by the Canoe a Barrel of Cyder to
Mrs. Rombough for vinegar
CP
William Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Abbeville County [S.C.] 27th. April 1795
Revd. & very Dr. Sir
After a fatteaguing Jurney I arrived Safe at home on the
2d. of this instant, & had the happiness to find my famaly in
health, — But got the Mellancholy account of My Sister in laws
death (Mrs. Finley) who died a few days before my return. Her
complaint was supose'd to be consumtive. She live'd but a few
days after being confined to bead. Nothing meterial has turn'd
up Since I saw you, — the Georgia Spaculation has not met with
the approbation of Congress & of Consequence will not Suckseed
at present, So that my Prospects from that quorter are at an
end[.]
111 Various means of water transportation were needed to cross from
Edenton to the Pettigrew lands on the south side of Albemarle Sound.
Letters in this volume contain references to canoes, ferrymen, sudden
dangerous storms, and delays due to bad weather (one crossing mentioned
took five hours).
The Pettigrew Papers 145
I intend moveing in the faul from whare I now live but am
altogather undetermined to what part of the world; a new
Country is an object with me bouth on the account of health &
precuring land for my little Boys for I am clearly of opinion that
Land will be the principal object in this Country in a very few
years [.]
I injoied a good degree of health after we parted till I got
home but I was taken with a bad cold Soon after which has
held me almost ever Since indeed my famaly have all had it very
ill but we are gitting better of it. I call'd by Mrs. Witherspoons
found and left them well but was very little the better for ride-
ing so fare out of my way &c [.]
I have Seen all our friends Since I came home thay are hearty
& nothing new amongst them each professes a desire to see you
which I would be very happy you would gratify & I think it in
your Power &c[.] My Louisa Joins with me in presenting our
best wishes to you & Sister may your happiness and Friendship
for each other increase with your years till time has wore you
out & you have no further ralish for the transitory injoyments
of time and fully Prepare'd for entering into that happiness that
await the Just[.]
you will Please give my Compliments to Mrs. Lockheart your
Sons & all who think of inquering for me[.]
I hope you will write to me by all oppertunitys as it will ever
be a real Pleasure to me to hear of the welfare of yourself
Sister & Famaly.
I hope you will beleve me to be with
the truest Esteam your
affectinate Brother
Wm. Pettigrew
NB Derect your Litters to the post office at Cambidge other
ways 96 [Ninety-six, South Carolina]
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]112
This may Certify that I was present at the taking a great
part of the subscriptions, & that no Deception or Collusion was
used or permitted to be used, but that they were fairly taken —
112 This notation is unrelated to the letter and was probably drafted about
1800 during the Biggs controversy on the first piece of paper at hand.
146 N.C. Department of Archives and History
And this I enjoined on those who superintended the business
when I was not present —
[Addressed:]
The Revd. Mr. Charles Pettigrew
Bertie County
North Carolina
For the postoffice in Edenton
John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Orange County University May 4th. 1795.
Dear Father,
This being a day of rest I thought there was nothing I could
engage in that would give me so much pleasure as in wrighting
to so good a Father, which I conceive is the most we can add
to your happiness now, with close attention to our studies, and
hope you may never have to say that you wish you had never
had a Son, as I dare say many have, but to the contrary I hope
we shall live to be a pleasure to you in time. We have been
as well as common except the splean which is as bad as ever,
untill within this few days I think it is some better, I swing by
my hands every morning and knight ; also have been taking the
Steel Dust steept in Brandy for better than a week but cannot
perceive whither it has done me any good or not yet ; last week
I was troubled very much with a griping but I am quite clear
of it now and am in hopes I shall be able to give a better account
of it the next time I wright.
I shall inform you of something that may perhaps seem
strange at first, that is Mr. Kimbel is going to move to Caintucky
and that we shall have to board at commons though he is not
to sett off untill the first of September, but he says that he and
Mrs. Kimbel are going from home and will not return in less than
a Month : and that his other business is so that he cannot
attend to boarders, and he intends if he can to get Mr. Taylor
to board us if he will trust you untill you come up as he generally
has a quarter or half at entrance, he is not at home at present
if he had been I should have known whither he would have
taken us or not ; he went away a day or two before I knew any
thing of this, and I don't expect him back in less than eight or
The Pettigrew Papers 147
ten days but I dont doubt he will comply with the offer. I expect
you will be up about the end of August, or the first of September
however it will be necessary you should come by that time, on
sundry occasions, first that Mr. Kimbel will be going away and
will want to settle with you for the bed and bedcloathes which
he says he will let us have untill that time, and also for our
washing which Mrs. Kimbel says she will have done at the rates
of three pounds a year, and I suppose we shall have to take a
room in the Colledge which will amount to 5 dollars a year each.
I for my part am very sorry we did not board at commons
first, I thought there was no certainty nor regularity in such
Cabbins: there is not one Student except Mr. Daniels Son and
ourselve but what board at Commons. Mr. Yergans family was
taken sickly and his two boarders that he had boards now at
the Colledge. I believe there is 21 Studying Latin, and 5 or
six English. Mrs. Kimbel has been very sick this few days and
I have been obliged to stay at Mr. Puckits ther[e] being but
one room in the house. He has not done anything attall to the
house that he told you he was going to finish and has advertis'd
his lot for sale.
Genral Dave [Davie]113 and some others of the Trustees were
here about a fortnit ago, and he told me that he intended to
wright to you to come up and exammine [sic] the Students and
get a place for us in the Colledge, as there is to be an examina-
tion and vacation of one week, and that is to set in on the first
monday after the tenth day of July, but I expect that the
wether will be so excessively warm that you cannot come up
then, I should be very glad to know if you intended going to
Philidelphia this sum[m]er114 if you do I sup[p]ose perhaps
that would intefere with the concern. We are now in the Cordeiry
[Corderius] and I think we both understand more of it than we
ever did, the masters are very capable of their business, I hope
we shall get perty far advanced in Cornelius nepos by the
113 William Richardson Davie, a veteran of the Revolution, was a promi-
nent politician in the state following independence; he served as governor
in 1798-1799. Davie led the Federalist efforts in the 1789 General Assembly
which resulted in the establishment of the University of North Carolina.
Ashe, Biographical History, VI, 188-196; Lefler and Newsome, North
Carolina, 247-248.
114 Charles Pettigrew was to have been consecrated a bishop at the 1795
session in Philadelphia of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church.
See the Reverend Doctor William White to Charles Pettigrew, July 6, 1795,
and Charles Pettigrew to the Reverend Doctor William White, September 5,
1795, in this volume, pp. 156, 162.
148 N.C. Department of Archives and History
examination, we have four boys in the class with us. We are
very much in want of some English Books, we read every
Saturday fournoon. We have only Saturday evening and Sunday
to refresh ourselves; before sunrise in the morning we have to
attend prayers and study untill eight, & then eat brakefast and
go in again at nine, study untill twelve, we dine and go in at
two, we study untill five, then we have nothing appointed for
us to do untill next morning: On Sunday we have pray[e]rs in
the morning as usual at twelve we have a Sermon re[a]d, and at
four we are questioned uppon religus questions. The books I
reckon we most want is the Pantheon and some Roman Histories.
As soon as I consult Mr. Taylor, I will let you [know] how it
is, I should be glad you would not be uneasy about it for I
shall do the best I can. I wrote you the sixth of last month and
have been waiting with great impatence for an answer, as I
supose mine has reached home long ago, the next time I wright
I shall acquaint you of some particulars we shall want.
Please to give our duty to our Mother and Grandmother, to
our Aunt and Cousins, Mrs. Barns, Miss Betsy, and every one
that asks after us,
We remain your dutiful Sons,
John & Ebenezer Pettigrew.
NB You will recieve [sic] a letter from Mr. Kimbal inclosed in
mine.
NB I received you[r] letter last knigh[t] by the Post and had
not time to wright another, the Post going back to day.
[Addressed:]
The Revd. Mr. Pettigrew.
Near Edenton,
Bertie County.
By Post.
Robert Johnston Miller to Charles Pettigrew a&h
Whitehaven 6th. May 1795.
Reverend and dear Sir,
I have the Satisfaction to inform you that your esteemed
favour of march last come Safe to my hand. And I have reason
The Pettigrew Papers 149
to hope that your pieous wishes and charitable suppositions
will be verified in the Revd. Mr. Dent, although I have not had an
opportunity of a personal acquainance with him, as yet, but those
who have assured me that he is generally esteemed as a man
of piety and learning, which to us in our present Situation is,
I hope, no Small acquisition.
The Situation of the Lutheran Clergy in this quarter in my
opinion, demands immediate attention, they have, since my last
to you, lost their Senior member the Revcl. Mr. A. Nussman a
truly worthy, learned and Godly man, although bred a Fran-
cisian \_sic~], some of them have expressed a desire of sending
foreward a member of their body to our Convention in order to
form Some bonds of coalescency, and I have reason to believe
that should such a circumstance take place, and the end accom-
plished with propriety that it would be beneficial to both parties,
but of this you would be a much better Judge of, were you to
visit this quarter in your official character, and you will permit
me to hope that the period is not far distant.
I beg you to believe, Dear Sir, that it gave me the Sincerest
pleasure to hear how happy you have been in your Selection of a
companion for your remaining days on earth, and the wish of
my heart is, that they may be many and fraught with all those
pleasures that the love of God, and the congenial affection and
friendship of such a partner can inspire, I beg the favour of you
present my humble respects to her and my kindest wishes for
her health and happiness.
And as for myself and flock, I have abundant reason to be
thankful to God, for health of body and peace of mind, although
my progress in the knowledge, love, and service of Him is far
too torpid, but with Some of my charge at least, I hope it is
otherwise, and may God of his infinite mercy grant that it may
soon be generally So. The return from the Register of Baptisms
from Easter nin[e]ty four [1794] to Easter nin [e] ty five [1795]
is eighty five infants and nine adults, and the Deaths are three
venerable and Godly old men from eighty seven to nin[e]ty
five years of age, one woman of about twenty three or four years
of age and her infant of a few days old both inter [r]ed in one
coffin, and a man about forty six years of age Son to one of the
old men named above. As I suppose you are to attend the general
Convention in New-York this fall, and the deputies from ours,
to acknowledge our acceptance of the general constitution and
to represent us there will draw away a majority of our members
150 N.C. Department of Archives and History
and thereby prevent us from meeting in Convention for this year,
therefore I shall not attend unless I receive information that I
am mistaken in Such a Supposition, Should that be the case
I beg you will take the earliest opportunity to give me infor-
mation thereof. We Suffer much for a sufficient supply of prayer
Books here, and its a great bar to uniformity in our public assem-
blies, in the outward mode of worship, and I sincerely wish that
some effectual means could be devised to remedy this evil.
I am
my dear and Reverend
Sir,
your Son and very aff ectionat [e]
Friend in the Gospel R J Miller
[Addressed:]
The Right Revd. Charles Pettigrew
Bishop-Elect of the Protestant
Episcopal Church in the State
of North Carolina,
Bertie County
John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Orange County, University May 25 [17] 95.
Dr. Father, —
We received your affectionate letter about three weeks ago,
and was extremely glad to hear that you had got home safe,
and that all the family were well. We are both extremely sorry
upon Mr. Bryans account, but if he should not be spar'd any
longer We are in hopes he will go to a much better world than
this. We have been midling hearty, except the splean which is as
bad ever ; it is a good-ways round my knavle [sic] . I do not know
how it will end, if I do not do something more than I have yet,
and shortly, I have been taking steeldust but I dont suppose long
enoug[h] to have done me any good, it is steeped in brandy,
and the brandy is so dear, that I cannot afford to buy it, it is
5 shillings a quart.
I shall now inform you of something that will perhaps seem
strange, that is that brother Ebenzer & myself now stay at the
Colledge, and bord with Mr. Taylor; we came here about a
The Pettigrew Papers 151
fortknight ago, our reasons for moving are these that Mr. & Mrs.
Kimbal are going a distance from home, and do not expect to
return in a good while ; they do not expect to keep house when
they return, but they expect to set off for Caintuck about the
first of September. We have had a bed and beadcloaths of him
which he said he would let us have cheap because it was not
in his power to keep us, and that he would settle with you when
you came up. We have got Mrs. Puckit to wash our Cloaths on
the same terms that Mrs. Kimbal did, and Mrs. Puckit is nex[t]
door neighbour, so that is very convenient.
Mr. Taylor generally has a quarter or one half at entrance,
but when I spoke to him he seemed very willing to trust you
untill September. Roomrent five dollars each. I think it will be
highly necessary you should come up about that time, that you
may settle with Mr. Kimbal & Mr. Taylor that is by the last of
august or the first of September. Mr. Kerr115 [sic] said he
thought it best that we should come to the Colledge to stay &
this made us come sooner than we should, for this reason that
Mrs. Kimbal was sick and there being but one room in the house
we were obliged to go to Mr. Puckits and sometimes at Mr.
Kimbals, this manner of living became very tiresome to us &
we therefore concluded to move to the Colledge his Child was
taken very sick at the same time and died.
Genral Dave [Davie] & some others of the Trustes were here
about a month ago, and he told me that he intended to wright
you to come up and examine the students. As there is to be an
Examination and vacation of one week which will set in on
the 13 of July, we should be extremely glad if you could come
up, but I expect the weather will be so extremely warm that
you cannot come up. We should be extremely glad to know
whither you intended going to Philidelphia this summer or not.
We are both in Cordeiry [Corderius] at present & I think
we have learnt more Latin since we have been here than we
115 David Ker was a Presbyterian clergyman who came from Dublin, Ire-
land, to the United States in 1791. He preached in Fayetteville before
being named presiding professor at the new university. After a short stay,
however, he changed his profession to law and migrated to Mississippi.
Foote, Sketches, 533-534; Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of
North Carolina from Its Beginning to the Death of President Swain, 1789-
1868, Volume I; From 1868-1912, Volume II (Raleigh: Edwards and
Broughton, 2 volumes, 1907, 1912), I, 61, 104-105, hereinafter cited as
Battle, History of the University. Battle drew heavily on the Pettigrew
letters for his descriptions of student life in the opening years of the
university.
152 N.C. Department of Archives and History
ever did before, we have four boys besides ourselves in a class
along with us who are midling attentive.
A singing school will begin next Saturday which I have entered
for one quarter. Brother Ebenezer has not for this reason that
we are very much in want of some money, we have but two
dollars and a half now, we had a great many things to buy
more than we thougt we should have had, you may be shure
we have not spent it foolishly. We should be very glad if you
would wright us shortly and enclose a forty shilling bill or two
which I dont doubt will arrive safe and that perhaps will last
us untill you come up. I have not time to mention particularly
some things which I wish you to bring up with you when you
come concerning some bedcloaths, and English books ; but I will
wright shortly & mention them particularly.
We have wrote but one letter since we have been here, before
this, you may perhaps have thought they were miscarried. I
wrote a good many to send but something continually prevented,
I remember nothing more at present but that you would give
our compliments to our Mother & Grandmother & every one
that asks respectfully after us. We remain your dutiful Sons
John, & Ebenezer Pettigrew
NB you paid 12/2 for the letter
you wrote, and they made me pay as much more.
[Addressed:]
To the Revd Mr. Pettigrew.
Near Edenton
Bertie County
Charles Pettigrew to Rev. Dr. William White* a&h
Bertie, Edenton District, 9 June 1795
Right Reverend & dear Sir,
It was thought advisable at our Episcopal Convention in this
State, for last year, to frame a Constitution for the particular
government of the Church in this State, which was accordingly
The Pettigrew Papers 153
done. By the 1st. Article of said Constitution, The Church is
denominated 'The protestant Episcopal Church in the state of
North Carolina." The 2d. Article says, 'There shall be a Bishop
in said Church, — who shall be elected by ballot, and that two
thirds of the Members present in convention shall be a Majority
for that purpose. ["]
Having finished the Constitution, agreeably to this 2d. Article,
the Convention thought it also advisable, to elect one of her
clerical Members, & to recommend him for consecration to the
Office of a Bishop. But the distances at which the Clergy and
Laity, who composed the Convention, live from each other, being
so remote as to deny them such a personal acquaintance, as
would Justify their adopting that form of recommendation pre-
scribed & enjoined by the general Constitution, they laid it
aside, and appointed a Committee to draw up one, such as they
could conscientiously & with propriety subscribe. This Recom-
mendation convention adopted; but (as I am the person, on
whom the Lot fell) I am Affraid that my Right Reverend
Fathers may not think fit to admit such a deviation from the
general Canon, & that the Convention, at Your City, in Septr.
next, may refuse to rescind or alter the form already prescribed
for that purpose. Should such be the Case my feelings would be
very sensibly hurt on the Occasion. Permit me therefore, Right
Reverend Father, to request your Opinion, and advice in this
Matter.
The Recommendation of our Convention, I have thought fit
to send you a Copy of, on the 3d. page of my Letter, that you may
be the better able to make up your mind on the subject — I could
add a Testimonial or Certificate from the good people of the
District of Edenton, where I have lived & preached now about
twenty years, should you think it necessary.
I should be happy to be informed of the particular Qualifica-
tions that may be required, or what kind of Examination I
should be required to undergo. I must beg your pardon for not
writing soonner. But as our Convention has enjoined my attend-
ance at the General Convention in Sept1"., at Philadelphia, should
you think proper to encourage me, I may have it in my power to
154 N.C. Department of Archives and History
plead something in extinuation of my too apparent negligence.
A Line in Answer to this will be exteemed a very great favor
conferred on Right Reverend & Dr. Sir,
Your most obedient
and humble Serv*.
Charles Pettigrew
We the subscribers having met in Convention at Tarborough,
in North Carolina, on the 20th Day of May one thousand seven
hundred & ninety four, for the purpose of considering the de-
clining situation of the protestant episcopal Church in this
state, and having chosen the Revd. Charles Pettigrew as a
person fit to be our Bishop, & worthy to be recommended for
consecration to that holy Office; — But being sensible that the
great Distance at which the Laity as well as the Clergy of this
State live from each other deprives us of sufficient personal
acquaintance with one another to subscribe a Testimonial in the
words prescribed by the general Convention of the protestant
episcopal Church have thought it necessary & proper to make
some deviation therefrom, which we presume to hope will be no
obstacle to our laudable pursuits. We therefore do hereby recom-
mend to be consecrated to the Office of a Bishop the said Rever-
end Charles Pettigrew; whom, from his morallity, Religious
principles, piety of Life, — from his general reputation in a
clerical Character, — from the personal knowledge we have of
him, & from his sufficiency in good Learning, and soundness in
the faith, WE are induced to believe worthy of being conse-
crated to that important Office, — We hereby promise & engage
to receive him as such when canonically consecrated & invested
therewith, and to render that canonical Obediance which we
believe to be necessary to the due & proper discharge of so
important a Trust in The Church of Christ. And we now address
the Right Reverend Bishops in the Several United-States, pray-
ing their united assistance in consecrating this our said Brother
& canonically investing him with the Apostolic Office & powers.
The Pettigrew Papers
155
— In Testimony whereof we hereunto subscribe our Names the
Day & year above written.
The Reverend
Laity
Nathaniel Blount
James L. Wilson
Joseph Gurley
Solomon Hailing
Rob*. Johnston Miller
of the Clergy
A. D. \
116 M. DJ
John Leigh M
James Guion
William Clements
R. Whyte )
Ben. Woods /
Joseph Perkins
L. Desseaux
William Grimes
Robert Godley
[Addressed:]
The Right Reverend Doctor White
at Philadelphia
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
A transcript of this Letter & recommendation was
sent me & an answer Obtained —
Lawyers
Invoice for Eighteen Casks of Rice
A&H
[June 26, 1795]
Invoice of 18 Casks of Rice delivered for Mr. Samuel Dickinson
belonging to Mr. Charles Pettigrew —
N°.
1 __ 589cw
10 — 539LW
2 — 588
11 — 554
3 — 566
12 — 551
4 — 536
13 _ 564
5 — 569
14 — 564
6 — 554
15 — 561
This should read Isaac Guion. See footnote 99, p. 131.
156 N.C. Department of Archives and History
7 _ 533 16 — 589
8 — 596 17 — 561
9 _ 551 18 — 554
5082 5037
5082
10119
Thos. Trotter
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
The Rice which Dr. Dickinson cheated me out of by cunning,
getting it for 3% $ when it was 7 $ at N.York
P [ettigrew]
Receipted Accts.
& Receipts
18 Tierces of
Rice I was
cheated out of
by Dr. S. D n.
£ 11119 nett
Reverend Doctor William White to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Philad\, July 6. 1795.
Revd. & dear Sir,
I rec(1. your Letter of June 9th., a few Days ago; & give it as
early an Answer, as is consistent with a Wish I entertained, of
communicating ye Contents of it to some of my Brethren in this
City.
On ye reading of ye Certificate of your Convention, ye Idea oc-
curred to me, that they had never seen ye 9th. additional Canon
passed in N York, in Sepr: 1792, which is as follows: "In
regard to ye first Certificate required in Favor of a Bp : elect by ye
second Canon of ye last general Convention, & ye Certificate re-
quired in Faver of a Candidate for Priests or Deacons Orders,
by ye 6th. Canon; if there be any Members of ye Bodies respec-
tively concerned, who have not ye requisite Knowlege of ye
Parties, such Persons may prefer yG following Declaration to
their Signatures:
The Pettigrew Papers 157
"We believe ye Testimony contained in ye above Certificate; &
we join in ye Recommendation of A B. to ye Office of , on
sufficient Evidence offered to us, of ye Facts set forth.
"Provided, that in ye Case of a Priest or Deacons, two at least
of ye standing Committee sign ye same, as being personally
acquainted with ye Candidate."
On comparing ye Certificate of your Convention with ye 2d.
Canon of 1789, taken in Connection with that recited, it appears
to me, that ye Testimony given amounts, as to Sense, to ye
Testimony required: And therefore I think there can be no
Mistake in ye Conjecture, that ye Cannons passed in N. York had
not reached you, & that this only is ye Cause of ye Testimony's
varying in Form.
If I am right in this Supposition, it will be a fit Circumstance
to state to ye Convention, which, it is expected, will be assembled
in this City, on ye 2d. Tuesday in next September. It would be
rash in me to undertake to say, what will be the Determination
of that Body on the Point; any further, than that we may
presume on their entertaining an Inclination to do whatever is in
their Power, for the increasing of ye Respectability & ye pro-
viding for ye further Increase of our Church.
In regard to Literature, ye Bps : of our Church have pursued ye
same Line of Conduct as that of ye English Bps, towards such of
us as went to England for Consecration. That is, they earnestly
recommended, that due Regard should be paid to this Qualifi-
cation, in ye Choice of Bps; but from Respect to the Persons
choson, did not subject them to an Examination.
With Assurances of my Dispesition [sic] to promote ye Cause
of Religion in your State; With my best Wishes for your Use-
fulness in ye Ministry; & at ye same Time hoping to see you at
ye ensuing Convention, I am, Revd. Sir,
Your affte. Brother,
Wm: White.
[Addressed:]
Revd. Charles Pettigrew
near Edenton
North Carolina
158 N.C. Department of Archives and History
John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Orange County, University. July 7, 1795
Dr. Father ; —
Your two letters came to hand safe, one last week, and the
other this week, we were extrem[e]ly glad to hear that you got
home safe, & that our mother and the family were well.
I heard of the flux & small-pox soon after your return, but
have heard nothing concerning it since, so that I suppose it is
done. —
I have continued the use of the bark & snake-root, as men-
tioned in my letter, which I sent by the mail about three we[e]ks
ago, & am in hopes you have got it before now. You wrote me
that you and my Mother had be[e]n dreaming that you saw us
sick; but I am glad that dreams are not always true; and that
you are mistaken; for we are very well, & have been so, ever
since your return, it was remarked the other day, that I looked
better than I had done since I have been up here. I think the
spleen seems softer than it did, and not so far round me. my
appetite is very good, and I eat very harty, & my Brother
Ebenezer also. Mr. Hegan has not set off yet, but expects to set
off towards the latter part of this Month; Mr. Kimbal has de-
clined going untill the next fall, as he expects there will be some
brickwork, & is in hopes of getting imployment; he expects
within a few weeks to move into the Town. I spoke to him the
other day concerning his bed, whither he would let me have
it untill the vacation or not; he said that he would let us have it,
but did not say upon what terms; but that I suppose is im-
material at present.
We are now both in Co[r]nelius Nepos, & expect we shall be in
Caesar, by the vacation. Mr. Harris & Mr; Kerr [sic] are both
very well. There are at present 52 students at the Coledge, &
all dine at the stewards except, five, or, six who stay in the
neighborhood. They have been very well in general, except four
or five, who have had the ague & feever.
I think it would be best to send the boy off time enough to get
here two or three days before the Vacation takes place, that the
horses might rest a while. I suppose the vacation will set in
on the 15th. of the month, but I will write you more particularly
concerning it. I recollect nothing more at present, therefore
please to give our duty to our Mother, our compliments to our
The Pettigrew Papers 159
Grandmother, and also to Mr. Bryan, & to every person who
asks after us in a respectful manner.
Therefore we remain
your dutiful Sons
John & Ebenezer Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
The Reverend
Mr. Pettigrew By the Post.
Bertie —
To be left at the
post office
Windsor
Charles Pettigrew to Mary L. Pettigrew UNC
Wednesday 8th July 1795
My dear Girl, —
It seems late in the Day for you & me to write love-letters to
one another — I must however send you one, by Luten who is to
be here tomorrow or next Day, by way of a Journal of my
Travels this far.
I write you from Mrs. Barns's. I stayed last night at Mr.
Stones above Windsor, and arrived here today about 1 o'clock,
— and now have the pleasure to inform you that I found our
Children (God bless them!) namely Miss Betsey & Mrs. Barns,
also Master Tommey all well, and nothing now is wanting but
your Company to make us not only well, & pleased, but quite
happy —
Mrs. Barns got her feet wet in crossing the river or rather the
low grounds, last thursday, so that she has had a short visit
& shake from the hand [of] Mr. Ague & fever — But, thank God,
she is got pretty well again, & has a pretty good apetite. I would
recommend a little physic but I hate to make well-people Sick,
and particularly my friends, — so that I will put it off untill I
return, when I am in hopes to find her restored to a confirmed
state of health — but should she seem to require something to
cleanse her Stomach, I will (if she should be agreed) undertake
160 N.C. Department of Archives and History
to be her Doctor — The little widow got her feet wet, but was too
hardy to recieve [sic] any injury; — I am affraid she will be too
tough for our old Cousin Pugh — Don't you think so? Apropo[s],
He escorted them from Acreys home, & was of very essential
service to them, which lays us under an Obligation.
Miss Betsey does not say she will have him yet, — but who
can tell the results? — a constant drop will wear a stone, — and
even homeliness puts on the form of comelyness, if not of beauty
itself, by growing familiar to us — This I dare say you can attest
from experience, & our long acquaintance prior to our happy
union —
The little Boy continues to be ducked, & to grow stout, ruddy
& heavy. — I almost wish when I look at him, that I were his
father, & you his Mother. But it is I hope best as it is: I am
contented to have no more, as it will be Easier for you not to
have any —
I feel myself quite well, and our horses have stood it to
admiration, particularly the Colt — I give him nothing to carry
but Cambridge. The saddlebags I take in the foot of the Chair.
I have either left my Cay in the Desk, or lost it. — Pray en-
quire for it.
Mrs. Barns & Miss Betsey present their Love & Duty to their
Grandmother, & to yourself, as their Aunt. — And now what re-
mains of this long scrall [sic] , but to tell you I will be home as
soon as I conveniently can, & that I will not forget you in my
prayers, or any other way you would wish to be remembered,
while I am my Dear Girl, your affectionate husband,
Charles Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
Mrs. Mary Pettigrew
Scotch-Hall
The care of
Mr. Turners
The Pettigrew Papers 161
Tuition Receipt for John and Ebenezer Pettigrew UNC
[July 15, 1795]
Reed from the Revd. Mr. Pettigrew fifteen Dollars 84 Cent
for Room rent & tuition for his two sons during the remainder
of this Year
David Ker
University of N. Carolina
15th July 1795
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
University Receipt
in full for the last half
of 1795
15 Dols. & 84 Cts.
Charles Pettigrew to Mary L. Pettigrew UNC
Edenton 29th August 1795
My dear girl —
We got over without any rain but it pursued us close to the
wharf —
I got my money from Dickinson, also thirty four pounds from
Mr. Hare, but he had not sold but about half of the Corn, by
reason of 30 Barrels that had been brought from the Bar &
Dammaged which sold very Low — But I believe that is gone. He
says if he should have a chance of selling more he'll write over
to you — but as 10 or 12 Barrels is so small a quantity he is
affraid he cannot get any Craft to fetch it, he thinks however
that Capehart might fetch that much over in a good canoe, if it
could be borrowed — Crooks canoe would carry one half of it, &
perhaps they might sell the other half at Plimouth —
I forgot to leave my Tax Lists at David Bryan's — He was not
at home nor his wife either, I therefore enclose it & request you
to send it.
The yellow fever they say is not at Portsmouth & Capt. Clarke
says we have no business at Norfolk117 — Should I find it in the
Pettigrew was en route to Philadelphia to attend the General Conven-
162 N.C. Department of Archives and History
way any where, I will, you may depend on it, stop short ; & be it
as it may, I will make all possible dispatch to get home again —
I forgot my umbrella but Mrs. Horniblow118 has lent me a very
good one unasked — Poor Mrs. Rumbough is near her end to all
appearance — But she says she is perfectly resigned & willing to
depart —
With best respects to Mrs. Lockhart & sentiments of the truest
affection I am my Dear Polley yours
inalterably
Charles Pettigrew
NB. I have enclosed my Tax list to Mr. Bryan in a Line myself —
[Addressed:]
Mrs. Mary Pettigrew
By Pompy —
Bertie
Chaises Pettigrew to Reverend Doctor William White* A&H
District of Edenton, Bertie County.
[September 5, 1795]
Right Reverend & dear Sir,
Your Letter of the 6th of July, in answer to mine of the
9th of last June, lays me under an additional Obligation;
particularly for the liberallity & indulgence which you have
therin manifested: and I expected to have returned you my
sincere acknowledgements, when I should have the pleasure to
meet you at the general Convention.
That I might be at Philadelphia in good time, I set out about
five days ago, & had got well on towards Norfolk, where I
tion of the Episcopal Church when he wrote this letter to Mary Lockhart
Pettigrew. A usual route from Edenton was by land to Portsmouth, by boat
to Baltimore, and by land again to Philadelphia. See also Charles Pettigrew
to the Reverend Doctor William White, September 5, 1795, in this volume,
p. 162. Ebenezer Pettigrew followed this route when he returned from a
visit to his friend James Iredell, Jr., at Princeton.
u8Mrs. Horniblow was proprietress of a respectable tavern in Edenton
which was located on the present site of the Hotel Joseph Hewes near the
courthouse. Wall, "Ebenezer Pettigrew," 20. The Hotel Joseph Hewes, now
used as an office building, is No. 1 on Historic Edenton and other maps at
historic sites and walking tours published by Historic Edenton, Inc., and
the Edenton Chamber of Commerce.
The Pettigrew Papers 163
intended to take the Packet for Baltimore, & so on, to the head of
Elk. But I met with such reports of the yallow fever, & the
mortallity which attended it, at Norfolk, that I thought it the
most prudent to return home.
Had I proceeded, it is probable I should have found the
Packet stopt, — if otherwise it would been very dangerous to
have gone on board with passengers flying from the Disorder,
after taking the infection perhaps, — and could I have got on
board of a Vessel bound for either Philada. or Newyork, the
danger would have been equal, besides being obliged to perform
quarrentine after our arrival, which would have defeated my
intention of being at the Convention. The Journey by land would
not be much short of five hundred miles — besides it is the most
sickly season of the year, so that It is probably I might not
arrive before the rising of the Convention. From all these
considerations I have concluded to post pone it, for a more
favourable time. — I must make use of the small influence I
have, under my present appointment of B-p Elect, to have
Vestries Chose in the different Counties where they have not
yet been chosen, & to have new elections where that regulation
has taken place & their year is expired.
This is agreeable to an Article of our Constitution. There are
none however, who do not profess themselves members of our
Church, that can either elect, or be elected to serve as Vestrymen.
I most sincerely wish that some Episcopal Clergyman of
eminence, would come into our State. I would very cheerfully
resign my appointment in his favor. We are but few, & the
vacancies very numerous. Our names & Counties are as follow.
The Rev*1. George Micklejohn, of Granville County.
The Revd. Nathaniel Blount, of Pit & Beaufort Counties.
The Rev'1. Joseph Gurley, of Hertford County.
The Revd. Js. L. Wilson, of Martin & Edgcomb Counties.
The Rev*1. Sollomon [sic] Hailing, of Craven & Newbern.
The Revd. Mr. Dent, near the yadkin River — and myself in
Bertie County —
I am told there is another, namely, the Revd. Stephen John-
ston, in Northhampton, but I have not yet seen him. At our
Convention there was a gentleman who had been ordained
in the Lutheran Church [Robert Johnston Miller], & wished
his ordination could be recognized in our Church; & in-
deed signified, that if it was considered as invalid, he would
164 N.C. Department of Archives and History
submit to a reordination — He appears to be a decent man — He
has since our Convention wrote me, that he thinks that Society
would wish (of which there are a number of respectable Clergy)
a coalision with our Church.
Earnestly wishing that unerring wisdom may so influence your
conventional deliberations, that all may terminate in the Glory of
God, & the promotion of true religion & Virtue, I am Right
Revd. & Dr. Sir
Your affect friend & Servant
Charles Pettigrew
Sepf. 5th 1795 —
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
The Copy of a Letter to ye Right
Revd. Dr. White
at Philadelphia
Charles Pettigrew to John and Ebenezer Pettigrew UNC
Mr. Lennoxe's Bertie 19th Sept r. 1795
My dear Boys,
I wrote you last Monday from Edenton, which was my third
letter since my return from the University, and find myself
again under the agreeable constraints of "paternal affection to
take up my pen again, in order to answer your's of the 16th
ultimo, which I had the happiness to recieve [sic] as I came
thro' Windsor, at the Post-Office.
Be assured my dear Boys, that I read it with a pleasure,
which I can compare to nothing, but the degree of anxiety with
w ch. I went to the Post-Office, & the flattering hopes & fears
which then alternately prevailed in my mind with respect to it.
I am very glad to find you have been so attentive to my
directions, which I left with you, respecting the use of the
Bark &c And I hope the salutory Effects you have experienced,
will be a sufficient inducement for you to continue. But you may
be assured, you would probably have rec d. much greater benefit,
had you not been so confined to a sedentary Life. It is, however,
to continue but so much the longer in the use of medicine, —
which If you do not, you will lose all you have done, & by degrees
relapse into a much lower state of debility, which might in the
end prove fatal.
The Pettigrew Papers 165
Your expectations in respect to the fresh in Roanoak, were
fully answered, by the reallity, which took place, & has been very
destructive to the Crops. The Storm, of which I inform'd you
in my last, has destroyed I verily believe, on the most moderate
calculation, one half of the corn in this lower part of the Country
in general, but with me, I think it has taken nearly 2/3d.s — Yet
we shall I hope have enough, as at my Lake plantation my corn
was more forward, & out of the way of so much injury.
I am happy to find that M r. Ker & his Lady & family are
well — also that M r. [Charles Wilson] Harris keeps his health,
& I flatter myself that you will all by & by prove that to be a
healthy situation. Present them respectively with my best
respects —
I set out a fortnight ago to meet the general Convention at
Philadelphia, agreeably to my appointment, — But when I had
got well on in my Journey towards Norfolk, where I intended
to go on board the Packet, the reports of the yallow fever, & the
mortallity which attended it were such, that I concluded it the
most prudent to return, — so that I have declined going at this
time — if ever —
In respect to the Bed, I feel myself under very great Obliga-
tions to M r. Kimbel — But suppose you have lost it by this
time. — I must therefore urge the necessity of your trying to
procure one till the vacation if possible, as should you lie cold,
after lying all summer on a Bed, it may fix very bad & danger-
ous colds upon you, — and you may assure yourselves of some
very cool weather before the 15th of Dec r. — If Ebenezer con-
tinues in a debilitated state he ought to Join you in taking
the Bark —
You wish to have Horses, rather than a chair sent — I think it
will be best to send the double Chair, because I can send a Bed
up in it, which would be better than to abuse it upon a horse —
The shoes I will send, agreeable to your Desire — With regard to
other Clothes we will adjust such matters after you come down —
I am happy to find that the Boys you have taken into your
Room are sober & discreet; & hope they will continue so. And
flatter myself, my dear Boys, that you will be to them examples
of what you wish them to be to you — you certainly have had
superior Opportunities to acquire the knowledge of your duty,
both in a civil & a religious point of view. Let it be seen in your
behaviour, — & don't disgrace your father, & render abortive the
166 N.C. Department of Archives and History
pains he has taken to make you useful, praise-worthy & inimit-
able characters. Above all things, as there are so many of you
in the same Room, beware of differing among yourselves. This
would be very disgraceful. Quarrels generally begin about the
merest trifles. Permit me therefore to hope you will not be
triflers, but men in respect to close application to your studies, —
men — In prudence, — men in patience & christian benevolence
towards one another —
Endeavour to be at all times superior to such little resentments,
as are generally excited in little minds, by the indiscretions of
such as are not happy enough to know any better, & are indeed
objects of pity rather than of resentment, [torn] any one be
rude & unmannerly, teach him better behaviour by your Example
of decency & moderation, & he will be ashamed & reform.
Your Mammy wishes often to see you, & would send her Love,
I am sure, were she here — She is pretty well. She has proposed
to give each of you a young Alley, to breed for you 'till you
leave school — Miss Lenox desires me to present her Compliments
to you — M rs. Lockhart is often complaining, — Thank God, I
have had no sickness since you saw me. —
From, my Dear Boys, your ever affectionate father while
— in haste —
Charles Pettigrew
Masters John & Ebenezer Pettigrew Windsor 2d Oct — [17] 95
[Addressed:]
Master John Pettigrew
at the University
of N. Carolina
Charles Pettigrew to Mary L. Pettigrew UNC
Bonarva 1st. Octr. 1795
My dear Polley,
I am very well & have been so ever since I left you, — but I
find it would be imprudent for me to return on Friday as I
expected.
When I arrived I found the negroes had been cutting Rice
almost all the week — we finished reaping yesterday, & there is
a good deal down which I must see put up in stacks before I
The Pettigrew Papers 167
leave them, which I expect we can have done by Saturday
evening. Indeed if I could I would have the corn got into the
Crib before I quit — But I purpose to leave the Lake on Sunday
morning, & to get up to M rs. Hackey's on Sunday evening so that
you need not send over again before Monday, as I purpose to
take ride with M '. Lee over his land. I mean the Land that
M r. Pollock sold him some time ago. I flatter myself that I
shall make a purchase, if he will sell what I shall think good
& reasonable —
I called on him the morning I left you, but then he seemed
to insist on selling me the whole or one half at least. But I
told him that I would not make any extensive purchase, & that
300 Acres was as much as I wished to buy, & that must be good.
He askes 5 Dollars an acre for whole or half, but I hope to
get the compliment I want for that, as it is nearly double what
he gave Pollock.
There has nothing hapened extraordinary since my arrival —
The negroes are troubled much with the fever & ague Pompey
& Charles have both had it, & I gave them a Dose of Tartar each —
Ch s. seems to have got pretty well over his but Pompey has
not. Mela has it.
The negroes had done just nothing from the time I had left
them last. The fodder hangs all dead on the stalks except about
a couple of cart loads of Blades, and they can offer very little
in excuse. Allen & Dickinson have a quarter of negroes below
them on the Lake & an Overseer, which seems to be as much of
a negro in principle as is a one of them ; so that the chief they
had done was to weed a broad road down to that delightful spot
called the Bee-Tree.
Thus I have in a long talk given you all the news of the
place except, that M r. Trotter is but in an indifferent state of
health & presents his respectful compliments.
You will if convenient send over on Monday afternoon to
Lee's* as I dont know but I shall fetch over some of the negroes
with me to gather the corn — Please to present my best respects
to M rs. Lockhart & believe me to be with the sincerest esteem &
affection inalterably yours
Charles Pettigrew
^Pollock's place — [asterisk and identification are in a different
handwriting]
168 N.C. Department of Archives and History
[Addressed:]
M rs. Mary Pettigrew
Bertie
John and Ebenezer Pettigretu to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Orange County, University Oct 3, [17] 95
D r. Father ;—
We had the pleasure of receiving your letter within eight
days from the date, & were very happy to find that all were
well ; and that M r. Bryan was able to go about.
I wrote you about four weeks ago, and informed you that
we had the promice of M r. Kimbal's bed, but, he now says
that he is in great want of it, but that he cannot bear the
thought of our laying on the floor; and said that he would
endeavour to pr[o]cure one for us. I applyed to M r. Daniel
the other day, & he said that he had a spare bed, & that he
would speak to M rs. Daniel concerning it ; and if she was
willing he would let us have it; he said that he was not ac-
quainted with the terms that beds hired at. M r. Taylor has
several hired to the students, & his price is twelve pounds a
year ; That is, full as much as the beds are worth ; but, I do
not suppose this would be near as much, as we shall have nothing
but the bed ; however, I hope you will not make yourself un-
easy, for I am shure we can get one of some person, as the
time is but short that we shall want one —
We have read since the vacation three books in Eutropious,
five books in Cornelius Nepos, & expect to read about five more,
& then to go into Caesars Commentaries, which, I suppose will
be about the last of this Month, I reckon we can get them at
Hil[l]sborough, as there is a very good assortment of latin
books there ; there are here also, but no Caesars ; we might
borrow, but not with translations. —
We are both very well. I have not taken bark for this ten
or twelve days ; my reason was, becaus [e] I had no snakeroot.
I spoke to M r. Hardin to get some for me, but it has not been
in his power yet.
There is to be a quarterly examination the last of this week,
& a good many of the trustees are to be here. I expect there
will be a very good opportunity of wrighting by General Davie,
The Pettigrew Papers 169
as I suppose he will return to Hallifax, within two or three
weeks ; and after he gets there, he can send it to Windsor by
the post.
We have not yet began to study the English Grammar, but
M r. Kerr [sic] intends that we shall begin it after the exami-
nation. I bought a couple of Grammars of M r. Kerr [sic] , as
he has a large supply of them.
I am very sorry that you got disappointed in going to the
general convension, but am very glad that you returned when
you heard of the yallow fever, it has not come this way as I
have heard.
There are now 60 Students, & they are all very well, except
one who had a fit or two of the ague and fever. I shall now
inform you of an affair that happened last week, which I am
very sorry for, that is that one of the students was banished ;
it was for going to a cotten picking after eight at knight;119 he,
with some others, had left the Colledge before, after eight, &
received private admonition by the Faculty: after that two of
them went to this cotten picking. Those two were Francis
Burton & Joseph Green. M r. Kerr [sic] intended to admonish
them before the whole University ; but M r. Green thinking that
he would get off clear, he went away and after he was gone,
was banished by the faculty.
The steward provides very sorrily. There is not one in Colledge
that does not complain, for this long time, the bread has not
been I am shure, near as good as Fillis bakes for herself to
eat; it is impossible to discribe the badness of the tea and
coffee, & the meat generally stinks, & has maggots in it.
I shall not omit getting a list of the books we shall want next
year.
Our shoes are very bad, but we shall endeavor to make them
hold out, as it is a very hard matter to get, up here. I could not
get a pair for myself for less than eighteen schillings. I think
it would be proper to send up a couple of pairs for us to wear
down, as I suppose ours will be wore out. I have taken the full
measure of our feet, & you will see a couple of notches on the
side of the paper. That is the full measure, please to give our
compliments to our Mother & Grandmother
119 A cotton picking was an evening frolic at which young people picked
enough seeds out of the cotton staple to fill his or her shoes. Battle, History
of the University, I, 90.
170 N.C. Department of Archives and History
We remain your dutiful Sons John & E Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
The Reverend By Post
M r. Pettigrew
Bertie
To be left at the Post
Office Windsor
Charles Pettigrew to Mary Pettigrew UNC
Thursday [October 8, 1795?]
My dear Polly,
I have put off writing untill the last moment in hopes to
inform you something about our suit — M r. Baker is in hopes
that an alteration will be admitted by the Counsel on the opposite
side & that the suit may go on without taking it out of Court
& bring it again in another form as this has been done at New-
bern & Wilmington — but it has not been spoken on yet — I intend
to go down to Harveys & to preach there next sunday & so
return as quick as possible — Eagan has very good sugar &
Coffee, and as I return I intend to get him to set me over and
to bring them with me Monday or Tuesday as I concieve [sic~\ it
will not be in my power to return before. I must request it as
a favor that you will not think it Long —
Should that fellow be caught120 pray have him put in the
Stocks & kept securely —
I am My Dear Girl as ever your ever Loving Husband
Charles Pettigrew
Excuse haste as M r. Pugh waits —
[Addressed:]
M rs. Mary Pettigrew
Favor'd by
M r. Pugh
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
I am very well —
This is probably a reference to a runaway slave.
The Pettigrew Papers 171
Charles Pettigrew to Mary L. Pettigrew UNC
Friday 9th Oct r. 1795
My dear Polley,
Our affair has not come on yet, but I expect it will to Day.
Baker tells me, we must suffer a non-suit, and be obliged to
commence a new one, in another form, as an action of Debt, in
order to recover. This will throw the costs upon us again — so
that we shall be obliged to take the 3 d. heat, or loose the stake,
agreeably to the rules raceing.
I have been pretty well since I came over.
M r. West is so obliging as to take you over a few Oysters,
by way of novelty.
Mackinzy will not be tryed it is said before this Day week121 —
There seems to be nothing new in Town — a few sick, many
complaining & some well —
I am with Compliments to M rs. Lockhart & Capt. Bryan my
Dear Girl ever your's.
Charles Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
M rs. Mary Pettigrew
Scotch— Hall
Favor'd by
M r. West
Draft of Circular by Charles Pettigrew
Requesting Election of Vestries A&H
[October 10, 1795]
The 3d. Article in the Constitution of the protest *. episcopal
Church in N. Carolina as passed by the last Episcopal Conven-
tion at Tarborough is as follows,
121 George McKenzie, a merchant, was indicted for the murder of "a
certain Samuel Smith" during an altercation on William Armistead's
wharf at Plymouth. Smith called McKenzie a "damned Scotch buggar,"
pushed him into the water, and then followed him home and beat him.
McKenzie finally pulled a knife and killed Smith, claiming self-defense.
He was acquitted and was living in Edenton in 1801 when his house was
advertised for sale. Edenton Superior Court Records, 1795, June 13 and 26,
and July 8, 1795; Edenton Gazette, April 9, 1801.
172 N.C. Department of Archives and History
'There shall be a convention of the protestant episcopal
Church of the State of N. Caro. on the 3 d. Wednesday in Oct r.
Annually, in such place as may be determined upon by the
preceding Convention."
4th Article —
"That the Convention shall or may consist Of the Clergy
regularly ordained, & settled in the State; of the members of
the Standing Committee, One of the Vestry in each parish, two
Deligates from each County & one from each Town in this State
to be elected by the people."
Agreeably to the above articles, it is requested that the good
people of this State, who profess themselves to be of the
protestant Episcopal Church, will without Delay Elect Vestries
in their respective Counties & parishes, whereby their Society
may be brought into an Organized State & readers be employed
in the Different Churches & Chapels as heretofore untill a
regular Ministry may be procured — And that they also elect
Lay Deputies for the Ensuing convention, viz, on the 3 d.
Wednesday in this month —
Charles Pettigrew
B[isho]pE[lec]t
10th Oct r. 1795—
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]122
Begining & runing W \ 220 pole Gatlings Corner then S °.
along Gatlings Line 179 pole his Corner, then W l. 180 pole
along S d. Gatlings Line runing W t. While Crosses Roaring
Creek 221 pole to Gatlings Corner, then along Gatlings Line
S °. 179 pole another of his Corners, then W l. still along s d.
Gatlings line 179 pole to another of his Corners to Where it
takes into the patent Line then S °. 221 pole to a Stake — agree-
able to the patent then E K Crossing s d. Roaring Creek 400
poles to a Stake, then N °. 400 poles to the first Station [incom-
plete]
V1'2 This is another example of an unrelated notation being made on the
most convenient piece of paper at hand.
The Pettigrew Papers 173
Charles Pettigrew to Charles Moore12* A&H
Bertie 2 d. Nov r. 1795
D r. Sir,
Had your Letter 5th of August arrived in time, & had I been
able to attend at the general Episcopal Convention at Philad a.,
I would with pleasure have complyed with your request, respect-
ing the Papers you allude to, had the Rev d. M r. Bisset been at
Convention ; & shall always be happy render your Parish any
service that may lie in my power. But the truth is, I did not
attend. I set out with that intention, & with a view of taking
the Packet from Norfolk to Baltimore. But before I had got
more than two thirds of the way to Norfolk, such were the
reports w ch. met me, of the prevalence of the yallow fever in
that Town, & the great mortallity that attended it, that I Judged
it the most prudent to return — I will however, keep your Letter,
& should I attend at the next gen l. Convention I will endeavour
to negotiate the affair agreeable to your Directions.
At our state episcopal Convention, when choice was made
of one of the Clergy for Consecration to the Office of a Bishop, —
We also passed a Constitution for the regulation & government
of the Church in this State. The 7th Article is as follows —
'That as speedily as possible after it is known in each County,
what numbers are desirous of becoming Members of the
protestant episcopal Church, they be convened, & Elect a Vestry,
consisting of 12 persons, to form the people into a regular
Society, & to produce a Clergyman who has been regularly
ordained according to the rites & ceremonies of y e s d. Church,
to officiate among them as frequently as it may be in his power,
& duely to administer the holy Ordinances. And the Vestry shall
be chosen annually."
Permit me now Sir to request you in behalf of our declining
Church (if of the episcopal persuasion) to have a vestry Chosen
in your County, of such as profess themselves Churchmen,
agreeably to the above Article. You will also I hope recommend
it to those of the next Counties, as opportunity may serve. By
this means you will fall into an Organized State, & may pro-
cure supplies, also place Readers in your Chapels, whereby you
will be known from those of differing persuasions by sollemnly
123 Charles Moore, the postmaster at Mt. Tirzah, has not been further
identified.
174 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Joining together on Sundays in the worship of Almighty God;
than which, nothing can ever render a Society more truely
respectable.
Accept Sir, my sincere thanks for your benevolent prayers in
my behalf — also for your generous offer in respect to my Letters
going to you postage free —
I should be happy (could you oblige me so far) to know who
are the most influential of our way of thinking in those upper
Counties.
With Due respect & esteem I am
D r. Sir your most Ob l. Charles Pettigrew
[Notation:]
The rough of a Letter to
M r. Charles Moore
Post Master at
Mount Tirzah Person County
N. Carolina
Marriage License for Robert Whyte and Pheddy
Sheppard Glasgow unc
[November 7, 1795]
State of North Carolina
To any regular licensed Orthodox Minister of
Gospel of Jesus Christ Greeting
Whereas application hath been made to me by Robert Whyte
Esquire for a License to solemnize the Rites of Matrimony
between the said Robert Whyte and Pheddy Sheppard Glasgow
and the said Robert having been given Security agreeable to Law.
These are therefore to Authorize and require you to join the
said Robert Whyte and Pheddy Sheppard Glasgow together as
man and wife in the Holy Estate of Matrimony according to the
rites and ceremonies in such cases provided.
Witness Willoughby Williams
Clerk of the Court of the County
of Glasgow under his Hand
and the
Seal of the s d. County this
7th day of Nov r. 1795
W. Williams
The Pettigrew Papers 175
[Notation:]
The within marriage was duely solemnized in presence of
Col. Glasgow the father of the Lady, besides Col. Shepperd,
& other family connexions & neighbours, agreeably to the form
prescribed & used by the protestant Episcopal Church of
America, by
The Rev d. Charles Pettigrew,
Nov r. 8 1795. B [isho] p Elect.
176 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Letters and Documents, 1796-1806
John and Ebenezer Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Skipperton Feb 23, 95 [1796] !
Hon d. Father ; —
After a long & tedious journey we have at last arrived here
safe. We found things very different from what we left them.
There was hardly one boy but what had chang'd his room; &
among the rest we lost ours. I confess that I was much dis-
pleas'd at it at first, and spoke to M r. Kerr [sic] concerning it ;
& he told us that he suppos'd we must have it again : but, upon
a second consideration, we concluded that we would move into
another room, where ther[e] were but four boys; two of them
are sober young men, that We like very well & the other two
are small boys.
M r. Hardy's son is also in a room just above us that had but
four boys in it. There was but one room in the university but
what had its number of beds in it, & I preferred this far before
the other.
There are now 73 or 4 students at the University. They Come
very fast, & there is not room for more than nine or ten more;
so that those who propose comeing up from Windsor had better
set of [f] as quick as possible.
We met with a series of misfortunes upon the road, — as
many as would fill a small volumn. I will acquaint you of one
of the worst, and you can make Glasgow2 inform you of the rest.
The worst was, when we got to the guts of Roanoak, the mare
gave out entirely; & would pull none attall, but I believe that
it was nothing but stubborness, so that we were obliged to get
one of M r. Lyscum, & leave the young horse to plough in his
room, for he was not able to go in the fills, but we have made
the mair pull before all the way. I will leave glasgow to tell
you all the rest, as I have not time.
We have not yet settle'd with the steward, but we expect to
do it tomorrow. I am much affraid that we shall be much pushed
for provisions this year ; for I am told that M r. Taylor buys
1 Since John and Ebenezer Pettigrew did not enroll in the university un-
til March of 1795 (see John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, April 5,
1795, in this volume, p. 142), this date should be 1796.
2 Glasgow was one of Charles Pettigrew's slaves; he is referred to fre-
quently hereinafter.
The Pettigrew Papers 177
corn by bag-fulls; so that in case of necessity, we shall have to
get in hollow trees, & do as the bears do ; for it would never do,
to set off home, — we should perish upon the roads. M r. M 'corkle
is not to be here this year, & I shall send his letter back enclosed
in mine.
All our class study french one half of the day, and lattin [sic]
the other half; but we shall be in a class in latin, and study greek,
when they study French. We shall be under M r. Delano read-
ing latin, but M r. Kerr [sic] or Hombs [Holmes] in the Greek.
Please to give our duty to our mother & compliments to those
who ask after us. We remain your Dutyful sons
In great haste —
John & E Pettigrew
NB. Please to wright me by
Outlaw if you should see
him before he comes up.
[Addressed:]
To The Re vd. Ch s. Pettigrew
Bertie County
by Glascow
Tuition Receipt for John and Ebenezer Pettigrew UNC
[February 24, 1796]
Received from Messrs John & Ebenezer Pettigrue twenty
pounds North Carolina currency it being for the first term of
the present Year By me
University of North Carolina
February 24th 1796
John Couch
for
John Taylor
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
M r. Taylor's Receipt
£ 20 for Board 1st part
of 1796 at y University
178 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Charles Pettigrew to Frederick Beasley3 A&H
Scotch Hall 1st March 1796
My dear Nephew,
Your Letter, of the 1st of February, I duely received ; and
am very happy to find that you are pleased with your situation.
Of this I had no doubt, for such a seat of Science must, in the
nature of things, be always a kind of Elysium to a youth of
genius, whose thirst is as insatiable as your's appears to be,
in respect to those improvements in wisdom & knowledge, which
are so necessary to render a public or private Character both
useful & respectable as a valuable member of a Community.
You are Sir, now at the fountain Head — Improve the invalu-
able opportunity. But beware of drinking to intoxication — This
some have done — And you know that nothing is more disgustful
than such an intoxication to sober thinking people who are blest
with descerning Minds — It is perhaps not very material how
the man gets drunk, whether by the imprudent use of ardent
Spirits, or by learning missimproved to the purposes of vanity
& self-conceit. Man has a Tincture of vanity inherent in his
nature — It is innate — It is therefore necessary, that, while in
the career, or progressive pursuits of knowledge in its various
Branches, he should set a due estimate on humility, as an indis-
pensible acquisition & adjunct to all his other acquirements of
what nature or kind soever. — This Grace is not splendid, yet it
is attractive — it is commanding, & as 'twere gives a power to
every Other Quallification and accomplishment to display them-
selves to the greatest advantage & with a Lustre which is
pectiarly [sic] pleasing.
My dear young friend I doubt not your assiduity, — nor do I
entertain the shadow of a Doubt of your success in acquiring
all the Learning which may be requisite in order to extensive
usefulness & a proportionable Degree of respectability in Life
whether public or private — but permit me as you Ask my advice
;! Mary Blount Pettigrew's sister Elizabeth Blount married John Beasley,
and they were the parents of Dr. John Beasley, Frederick Beasley, and
five other children. Hathaway, Historical and Genealogical Register, I,
132. The Beasley relatives are named in the Will of Dr. John Beasley,
November 23, 1814, in this volume. Frederick Beasley attended the College
of New Jersey at Princeton from 1793 to 1797, and after his ordination
into the Episcopal clergy he served churches in New Jersey, New York,
and Baltimore, eventually becoming the provost of the University of Penn-
sylvania. John Henry Hobart, The Correspondence of John Henry Hobart
(New York: Privately printed, 5 volumes, 1912), III, 325-329.
The Pettigrew Papers 179
to tell you honestly that it will depend greatly on the principle
by which your actions are governed — for it is the principle
which, in the sight of God, stamps our Actions with either
Virtue or Vice. — Compared with the approbation of Heaven &
a good Conscience, what is the approbation of all the world? —
Besides, without principle, it is a painful Task to keep up &
preserve appearances long — Permit me therefore to hope that
you will above all things endeavor to attain a principle of real
& eternal piety towards God as your father in Heaven & uni-
versal goodwill towards men as brethren, & that before you
venture to read the Ebullitions of Infidellity, such as Pain's
[Thomas Paine], you will make yourself acquainted with the
writings of those Great Advocates for Xtianity, Addison, Lock,
Grotius, Newton, Boil [Boyle] , & Littleton besides those eminent
writers of the Clergy who have set forth the divine evidences
of Xtianity in the most convincing Light. —
Your Mother & friends I believe are all well, I had a Letter
yesterday from your Cousins at y e University who are also
well. M rs. Pettigrew is in good health — I am My D r. Nephew
Affectionately yours
Charles Pettigrew
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
The rough of a Letter
To Master Frederic Beasley
at Princeton
Fragment of a Letter by Charles Pettigrew Pertaining
to a Civil Suit4 UNC
Bertie 27th March 1796—
Gentlemen,
When at the Lake, I rec d. a notification with your Joint signa-
ture requiring me to attend on the 22 d. Instant to have my
Land on Maul Creek processioned, with a threat of running
me to expences, in case I did not attend. Be assured I was
4 Charles Pettigrew sold some land to the Lake Company under a fraudu-
lent survey, and the company intended to revoke his "Deed of Gift" to use
the canal. Wall, "Charles Pettigrew," 68. The court records, if the issue
came to trial, have not been found.
180 N.C. Department of Archives and History
greatly surprized at such a requisition or mandate, at such a
time & season of the year, when those grounds are covered with
water, & when there appears to me no necessity for such a
procession — When I applied to court for the Benefit of an act
of assembly for the rectification of a mistake, by which I
concieve [sic] myself much injured in that survey, an undue
advantage was taken, by which I was counteracted; & will not
my loss of near or quite half satisfy you? If I must be limitted
by the swamp what more can you desire? It will never be in
my power either to contract or extend such a Boundary. — And if
any fortunate event in nature should produce such an effect,
it will be but what I deserve; for I purchased, & honestly paid
for it above 16 years ago.
Have you gentlemen, so soon forgot the obligation of my
accommodating matters so much to your interest by so advan-
tagious an exchange of Land for which I had neither the
quantity nor the quallity in return? Is it not enough to deny
me the priviledge of draining into the Canal, after taking away
a natural benefit, by shutting up Maul Creek, while but little
water is vented thro' the Canal more than for the use of your
mills whereby the Lake is now got so full as to overflow its
Banks to the great injury of my Land & the entire deluging
of my plantation while I am denied a Ditch to carry it off?
What [torn] have I been employing my hands near, or quite a
fortnight in the sickliest parts of the season now five or six
years for, on the Canal to clear the sides & deepen it by taking
out the sawdust from your Mills, whereby it is rendered shallow ?
And what are my advantages to counterbalance all these Dis-
advantages, to which I have tamely submitted for the sake of
peace & quietness. Have I even been allowed so much as a
clear path along the Lake to the Canal ? It is true, I sometimes
ride along the Road & have a small quantity of rice carried once
a year thro' the Canal. But is this an Equivalent? In the
name of everything that ought to be dear to a gentleman — where
is your gratitude? Where your Justice & Equity? Have I
rendered myself deserving of such treatment? By what? I
know not unless it is by happening to possess a small quantity
of Land there, long prior to your knowledge of the place. No,
you say we are told by Frank Ward that you gave him little
or nothing for it. Then I suppose the conclution is that I am
a villain, & deserve not even common Justice. But gentlemen
The Pettigrew Papers
181
the case is far very far otherwise. And I am sorry to hear
that you propagate such a report from the mouth of a man of
Ward's Character.
The fact is simply this. In the year [17] 79 M r. Anderson
told me that Ward wanted to sell the 100 acres I let you have
& the half of 400 acres which lay on the Old road, & mentioned
his price. I told him I should be glad to buy both if he would
take that. To which Anderson replyed that Ward was a con-
nexion, & that he had his smith work done there, at his shop,
& that he was soon going up. I told him if Ward would take
the prices he had mentioned, I would give them for the Lands &
wished him to purchase both pieces for me & I should fetch
the money to the Chapel as I was soon to give my attendance
there — Pursuant to this Anderson purchased the Land for me,
& met me at the Chapel, where I paid him every stiver of the
purchase money, which he paid to Ward the following week
at Court & took a Bond for the Conveyance when he (F. Ward),
Ik
Sa *Z&€*t ',-4 >
8k1,
' -fy a -< JsjsU.il aft
*" & -« SfJU*. *fl/00j£*l£
<S**f#L&^
9
i&rS %*%££**-£*
4} \Jty&dd'ffivt^s*& ' iPujr&c** KytM^ts?*^
t&£jyM&4?
UX^t-ifpU
i^fryzs?*/
i^-^Wr/
A map of a fifty-acre plot of land surveyed for Charles Pettigrew by John
Hooker. Photograph from the files of the State Department of Archives
and History, Raleigh.
182 N.C. Department of Archives and History
should obtain the patent from the Office.5 Now, in the name of
common-sense, in what am I here chargible w th. fraudulency?
Was there ever a purchase made with more symplicity, & less
appearance of design than this? The money never depreciated
in my hand, for I paid it down, & Ward has always been to[o]
needy to let it depreciate in his — Tis true he fraudulently sold
or Peter Wynn for him, the land which I had purchased of him
to John Norman for an 100 £ hard money, since which I obtained
it by an exchange of a piece of Land for which I gave a 125
Barrels of corn, & tooke from him a conveyance of the other
half of the Land in which he fraudulently foisted in the word
more or Less [incomplete]
John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Orange County, University April 12 th. 1796
Hon d. Father ; —
Your most affectionate letter came safe to hand on the 19 th.
March by M r. Outlaw. It gave me no small satisfaction to hear
that all were well, & that Glasgow returned safe back before
you set out for Bonerva [sic], for I doubt not your anxiety for
his arrival was great; but I am in hopes you have been over,
got your rice beat out, and returned before now, although you
have had very disagreeable weather, it has been so warm that the
rice I suppose broke very much, & it was also very laborious
for the beaters. Upon the reception of yours I rote back by
M r. Watson to my Mother which I am in hopes she has received
before this time.
Brother Ebenezer & myself are both well at present, only
the spleen which is a little increased but the reason of that
is because I have not taken so much exercise, and have been
more confined than when I was at home. My nose is not more
inflamed than when you saw me.
There are here at this time 86 Students : they are all in a
perfect state of health ; except one who was taken with the
rheumatism last knight.
Cursing & swearing is carried on here to the greatest per-
fection ; even from the smallest to the largest : they vent out
6 The Tyrrell County tax lists for 1782 and 1784, the only ones for this
period, do not show that Charles Pettigrew owned any land. County
Records, Tyrrell County, List of Taxables, 1782; and Legislative Papers,
Tax Lists, 1783-1785, State Archives.
The Pettigrew Papers 183
the oath's with greatest ease immaginable. They have lately
got a supply of bo[o]ks, & those are chiefly Payn's [Thomas
Paine] Age of reason, they prefer it to all the books that were
ever wrote since the creation of the World ; they also say that
he was sent into the World to set menkind to liberty; but I
would not have you think that they are all of this opinion but
there are a great majority of this cast. The house will not con-
tain more than three or four more boy's, except the trustees
should alter the law and have eight in each room ; but I am in
hopes they will not do it for I find it very difficult to get six
well-behaved in a room as we have not an opportunity of
choosing & in my opinion it would be almost impossible to get
eight well bred boys in a room. I shall now inform you of
something as strange as what I wrote upon my first arrival
here: that is we have moved into another room. One of the
young men into whose room we moved, when we came up first,
fully acted up to the character we gave him, but the other we
were much deceived in; he is disliked by more than half the
students in Colledge, & as to his roommates he desired to reign
King & said if we did not obey him he would use rough methods ;
this we greatly disliked knowing that no student durst take upon
himself that authority, & that here we were all on an equality
and to be room-mates and not one superior to another. I shall
say nothing of my new companions untill I get better acquainted
with them.
As to our diet we have had no reason to complain considering
the scarcity of the year for all kinds of provisions. You men-
tioned coming up in July but I am of opinion you had much
better not, as provisions on the road will be extremely scarce, the
weather very warm, & the journey fatiguing when it would
answer almost the same purpose to send up and I am certain
there will be several opportunities between now and then. We
forgot our Greek Lexicon which we shall want by July.
There is to be a q[u]arterly examination next Saturday it is
not certain whither the Trustees will be here or not. My paper
& leisure time both giving out I can give you no more news
at present. My Brother joins me in sending his duty to our
Mother. I remain you dutiful son
Pettigrew
184 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Solomon Hailing to Charles Pettigrew a&h
[April 19, 1796]
Reverend and Dear Sir,
When M r. Beesly left this place [Edenton] I purposed answer-
ing by him, your favor which was forwarded by M r. Ryan,
but the former never called for my letter. — The paucity of oppor-
tunities, and my affliction for the death of M rs. Hailing, and a
long and severe illness from which I have not yet recovered,
and feel at times doubtful whether I ever shall, will I hope be
considered by you as sufficient apologies for my long silence —
After the receipt of your letter, I called the Vestry together,
and consulted them upon the propriety of acting as You had
directed, and urged the extreme necessity, of adopting the
measures You had proposed, for the advancement of the interests
of our Church, — they objected to the time, and could not be
induced to proceed to the election of a vestry in the manner
You had recommended. — Their reasons against the former,
were the impropriety of choosing persons for a religious pur-
pose, at the time of electing Members for the general assembly,
as Many are then either too much interested in the issue, or
intoxicated with liquor, and the opposition that might follow,
in consequence of Numbers of other sects, being then present. —
The manner they objected to, from this principle, that the
Congregation, and more especially those, who may be properly
stiled the Members of our Church, are Residents in and near
Newbern, who might be convened at the usual time, on Easter
Monday, and they appeared to be unanimously disposed to pro-
ceed according to their former custom. — How they have acted
in the other Counties, I cannot tell ; from the Rev d. M r. Blounts'
letter to me on this subject, He pursued your plan, in the differ-
ent places where he preaches, but, he has not yet informed me
of his success. —
Methodism and Anabaptism appear to be contending for the
victory in the vicinity of this place, and of consequence, the
efforts of both seem at present not to be so immediately directed
to obtain proselytes from our Church. — The advocates of the
former are about erecting a meeting house in this Town, — but
I do not observe, since they have determined upon this, that
their number increases. — I believe the novelty of new sects is
The Pettigrew Papers 185
the reason, that in the beginning, the itinerant preachers, have
so many followers. — It is a pity that in our Church, we have
not a rotation among the Clergy, — this variety might have good
effects, and to this I am pretty well assured, — that the two sects
above mentioned, owe the enlargement of their congregations, —
for although, from what I have observed among them, they all
preach, upon the same subjects, in the same language, and
almost in the same words, and that upon almost any text of
scripture; — yet these same sentiments, delivered by different
people, have all the effects of novelty. — But my D r. Sir, we want
a superintendent, and it is with great regret I have heard that
You was not at the last General Convention. — Can You not be
consecrated at any other period? If possible, it is my sincere
wish that it could be speedily effected, there are several here,
who wish for confirmation. — What an happy union might be
cemented among the members of our Church, by the frequent
use of all it's sacred ordinances ! —
I have heard we had no representation either of Clergy or
Laity in the Gen l. Convention, — neither my health, nor circum-
stances, admitted my attendance, and I presume for the latter
reason, the Rev d. M r. Wilson could not attend ; and the people
on these occasions, I believe unwillingly contribute to the ex-
pence, tho' I have not made the experiment, but concludes this
was the cause of his not complying with the wish of our last
convention. —
Permit me now, My dear Sir, however late, to make you my
felicitations on your nuptials, and to request You to present my
respects to your good Lady and believe me to be, Dear and
Reverend Sir, with
respect and esteem, your affectionate
Brother and obed K Serv \, in our
common Lord —
S. Hailing
Newbern
19 th. April 1796—
The Rev d. M r. Pettigrew —
P.S. M r. [Wm.] Shepard is so obliging as to undertake the con-
veyance of this to you if You should see him, pray favour
me with a line. — S. H.
186 N.C. Department of Archives and History
[Addressed:]
The Rev d. Charles Pettigrew
Bertie County
near
Edenton
Charles Moore to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Mount Tirzah Person County April 21st., 1796
Reve d. Sir /
Your favour of the 2 d. Nov r. last was rec d. the 2 d. Dec r.
following and with pleasure shoud have been answer'd long
since but that I have been waiting in hopes to have had it in
my power to acquaint you with our having a Donation of a
piece of Land for the purpose of erecting a Church on, as also
for a parsonage ; which has been promised us but we have not
yet been able to get a conveyance for it.
As I am not entitled to frank any Letters but to or from my-
self, and even those are limited to half an Ounce Avoidupois
weight, I can not at this time transmit you an Account of the
whole proceedings, of the few Episcopalians in our County ; but
shall annex so much of them, as to give you some light into
them.
According to a recommendation from the State Convention
held at Tarborough on the 21 st. of Nov r. 1793 an Invitation was
given to the Inhabitants of this County, professing themselves
of the Protestant Episcopal Church in America, to meet at the
Courthouse on the 26 th. of July 1794, When the following Rules
were agreed to
At a Meeting of the Inhabitants of Person County pro-
fessing themselves of the Protestant Episcopal Church in
America — On Saturday the 26 th. July 1794 in consequence of
Advertisements distributed in the County, in order to elect
a Vestry for said County, to endeavour by all Christian means
to promote said Church : And Stephen Moore being chosen
Chairman of the Meeting the following Rules by way of Con-
stitution to be observed by the Board of Wardens & Vestry of
the Protestant Episcopal Church in America of Person County,
were agree to — Viz fc.
Vestrymen to the Number of twelve Persons to be chosen
by residents of the County, professing themselves adherents
to the Protestant Episcopal Church in America to serve three
Years.
The Pettigrew Papers 187
When so chosen they shall nominate two of their own Num-
ber to serve as Church Wardens, the presence of one of whom,
as also a majority of the Vestry, shall be necessary for the
transaction of any business respecting Church matters, and
when so convened, shall be called a Board of Wardens & Vestry
of the Protestant Episcopal Church in America for Person
County.
One of the Wardens shall act as Treasurer for a year in
alternate succession
This Board shall have Power,
To nominate a Clerk to keep Minutes & Records of their
proceedings.
To nominate when requisite a fit person or persons to rep-
resent the Society of the County in State Conventions.
To make regulations & orders for their own Government,
& for that of the Church under their Care.
To solicit & receive Subscriptions & Donations for the sup-
port of a Clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal Church in
America, who is to hold Divine Service in said County on
Sundays & other Holy days as often as may be, & for other
purposes that may be necessary to promote said Church.
To fill up vacancies that may happen between the stated
times of Elections ; And the person so appointed to be ac-
counted of the Vestry until the next general Election of
Vestrymen.
The next general Election to be on Easter Monday that
will be in the Year of our Lord 1795 and so on Easter Monday
in every third year thereafter.
The foregoing Rules have been considered by paragraphs
and unanimously agreed to : the meeting then proceeded to the
nomination of Vestrymen and the following persons were unan-
imously chosen for that duty.
John Payne Robert Dickins
Sam l. Sneed Stephen Moore
Willi m. Sapp Peter Bennett
Josias Dixon Benj n. Johnson
Cha s. Moore Charles Holeman
John Holloway Sen r. Edw d. Atkinson
Witness
Stephen Moore Chairman
188 N.C. Department of Archives and History
You will observe by the 8 th. Article of the Rules or Consti-
tution above that the Vestry are to be Chosen only once in
three Years, the reason of which was, the difficulty of Con-
veneing the Inhabitants except on more public occasions & the
present mode coincides with the time of Electing the Wardens
of the poor, when the Inhabitants Convene for that purpose ; and
shoud we be so happy as to have a worthy Clergyman of the
Church, once settled among us, that article, would gladly be
altered to an annual one.
On the 1 st. of September 1794 the Vestry met & chose Gen K
Steph n. Moore and Col Rob K Dickins as Church Wardens agree-
able to the 2 d. Article, and at the same time requested of them
to write to the Gen l. Convention of the Bishops Clergy and
Laity to be held at Philadelphia, acquainting them with our
efforts and desires and to request the Convention to assist us in
providing a Clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal Church,
to Officiate among us ; the said Wardens did Write, to the Con-
vention Octo r. 1 st. 1794 but have no official Answer.
As I was from my childhood, brought up in the Church of
England and since I have arrived, to Mans Estate have had some
opportunity, to examine the Tenets & practices of other De-
nominations, the more I know of my sisters, the closer I am
at [t] ached to my Mother Church, and the flourishing of the
Protestant Episcopal Church is a circumstance very near my
heart, but I have to lament that the few of us that are in this
and the neighbouring Counties are almost as Sheep without a
Shepherd, and many who formerly were of that Church from a
motive of piety, have been drawn aside to other Denominations,
not having an Opportunity of Worshiping God in the way they
had been brought up in. Should be we so happy as to have a
worthy pious Pastor of the Church fixed among us, I make no
doubt but many wou'd return to the Bosom of our Mother and
the rising Generation wou'd be nourished under her Wings.
Perhaps shoud you write to the following Gentlemen who
profess themselves Episcopaleans [sic] and are I believe of in-
fluence in their Counties, it might stimulate them to exert them-
selves in behalf of our depressed Church
Gen l. Thomas Person \ Edw d. Jones Esq r.)
Col Joseph Taylor (r .„ John Macon Esq r. > Warren
Col Robert Burton t John Falcon Esq r. )
Capt Henry Syne ;
The Pettigrew Papers 189
With fervent Prayers for your temporal & eternal Happiness,
and for the prosperity of our Sion, I am Reverend & Dear Sir
your obedient Humble
Servant
Charles Moore
[Addressed:]
The Reve d. M r. Charles Pettigrew
Bishop-Elect for the State of North Carolina
Bertie County
North Carolina
Frederic Beasley to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Princeton May 8 th. 1796
Dear Uncle
I cannot express the satisfaction I felt at receiving your letter,
and should have taken a more early opportunity of returning
you my thanks for your good advice had it been in my power.
I am clearly convinced of the justness and necessity of your
remark in the beginning of your letter. The frequent instances
which you have seen of young men just leaving College, or
in College, running into every kind of dissipation, intoxicated
with the dregs of learning and more frequently with ardent
spirits, could not do otherwise than induce you, from your
friendly disposition, to give me this warning, and endeavour
to excite me to avoid those rocks upon which others have split.
For my own part I have always felt a contempt for those self-
sufficient pedants who, puffed up with the idea of being learned,
seem to suppose themselves above the rest of mankind, and pay
no attention to decency, morality or religion. I trust and hope that
I shall be directed in a quite different course. As it seems we
must all feel the pangs of this intoxication in some degree,
I comfort myself with Mr. Pope's observation, that if a little
learning intoxicates the brain, drinking deeply sobers us again.
For my own part I think that a proper attention the books
which are ordinarily read in Colleges would be sufficient to give
us a disgust and abhorrence of such trifling characters. At least
I am inclined to hope that reading such books as I have read,
will teach me to avoid that dreadful gulph, which seems to
absorb all who come near it.
190 N.C. Department of Archives and History
The next piece of your advice is no less necessary & important.
I have made it my business to read those books, and find what
I have read to greatly confirm me in my opinion. I assure you,
there is no one who has less inclination to read books of in-
fedility [sic] than myself. I have not seen the advantage which
resulted to any one from being an infidel. I have never seen
that infidelity ever made a man greater, more respected, or
better. I never knew it make him more patient in adversity,
or serene in prosperity, or what is still more, did I ever see it
enable any person to leave this world with a firm confidence
of happiness in the next, I have known all this of religion.
Why then should I be an infidel? To have the pleasure of
becoming a slave to a few ruling appetites & passions which
lead to disgrace & ignominy. No, sir — let me rather never have
been born than forget my entire dependence on him who made
me. Without piety no man can be truly great and virtuous;
Without it the greatest appear defective, but with it the lowest
appear great & respectable. Remember me to my Cousins &
all relations & for the want of room to write I must conclude
with again expressing my thanks for your kindness, & hoping
you will believe me to be as ever
Yr affec' Nephew
Frederic Beasley
[Addressed:]
The Reverend Charles Pettigrew
of Edenton
No: Carolina
from
Princeton
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
an excellent answer, from M r. Fred.
Beasley at College, to one from me,
in which I advise him.
The Pettigrew Papers 191
Elizabeth Pugh6 to Mary L. Pettigrew A&H
June the 17th 1796
Dear Aunt Pettigrew
M r. Pugh has concluded to send for Bet for fear that she
may be troublesome to you in the straw you will please send &
old Ma [illegible] with her[.] the looking glass you will please
wrap up in the blanket I have sent for that purpose and put it
in the bed[.] Brother informs me you had some Idea of Coming
to see me Which gives me great pleasure should you fail I will
Come down to see you in four or five weeks M r. Pugh joins in
Love to your self & Uncle Pettigrew
I am Dear Aunt your
affectionate neice
Elizabeth Pugh
[Notation:]
From M rs. Elizabeth Pugh to her Aunt M rs. Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
M rs. Mary Pettigrew
Irish Hall7
John Pettigreiv to Charles Pettigrew unc
Orange County, University, August 23 d., 1796
Hon d. Father.
The ensuing week after your departure, I was taken with the
ague & fever, which I had for two or three days, I then took
a vomit, which relieved me for a few days ; I then took the
ague again, had a few fits more & then set inn [sic] upon the
bark, which entirely relieved me, & now feel myself very well,
but have not yet recovered my strength as the spell reduced me
very much; my appetite is very sharp, for I can eat more now
than before I was sick. Brother Ebenezer is well.
6 Mary Lockhart Pettigrew had five nieces named Elizabeth (see the
Lockhart family chart in the introduction p. xix), and it has not been deter-
mined which one married a man named Pugh. It is possible that this a great-
niece, since one Elizabeth Tunstall of Bertie County married Francis Pugh.
Marriage Bonds, Bertie County, for Francis Pugh to Elizabeth Tunstall,
August 28, 1792. The second husband of George Lockhart's sister-in-law,
Janet Bryan, was Thomas Whitmell Pugh. Worth S. Ray, Old Albemarle
and Its Absentee Landlords (Austin [Texas], 1947), p. 657.
7 This is apparently an error for "Scotch Hall."
192 N.C. Department of Archives and History
M r. Christmas did not send for us in the Vacation according
to promise, & I have heard nothing from him since you was here,
but I shall make it my business to get a horse and go to see
him time enough to inform you whither he can furnish us with
horses, saddles, & saddlebags. We shall stand in need of boots
these you will furnish, & send up by the first opportunity, I
should also be very glad if you would send cloth & trimmings
to make me a satoot coat; for my brother will want mine to
ride down in; as his will be entirely worne out, & then I shall
stand in need of another; we shall be very bare of shoes but
I sup[p]ose it will not be in your power to send these up; but
we shall want them immediately after we get home.
We are now employed in reading the Greek Testament under
M r. Hombs [Samuel Holmes] ; Latin every other fournoon under
M r. [Nicholas] Delvaux ; & Arithmetic every other fournoon
under M r. [William] Richards who set inn [sic] about a fort-
nit [e] ago.
The man who was supposed to have had the flu has got
well ; & no person has ever caught his disorder, so that now it
is supposed to have been some other disorder.
M r. Kerr [sic] & his family still continue in the Presidents
house.
There are here now 96 Students, they are all well at present.
Since the 1 st. of August the Steward has provided wheetbread,
& that which is very good.
Please to give my Duty to my Mother & compliment to M r.
Bryan.8 I remain your Dutiful Son, J. Pettigrew
PS. I shall stand very much in need of a pair of gloves as I
have none ; & should be glad if you could send me a pair. Brother
Ebenezer has a pair.
ut supra JP.
[Addressed:]
The Rev d. Charles Pettigrew
Bertie County
Near Windsor
By Post
8 This is probably David Bryan, the brother-in-law of Mary Lockhart
Pettigrew.
The Pettigrew Papers 193
David Lockhart to Charles Pettigrew a&h
Teneriffe 24 th. Aug l. 1796.
Dear Sir.
On the Arrival here of Capt n. Currie the 12 th. instant, he
handed me Your Obliging & very Acceptable favour of the
30 th. May last : my Sister, as well as myself, was extreemly
pleased to learn so particular an Account as You were pleased
to give me of Our Relations in that Quarter of the Globe: We
regret the loss of those that have quitted this transitory World,
& rejoice for the Health & happiness of those that Survive.
Of all Our Carolina Relations, we were only personally ac-
quainted with Our deceased Cousin James:9 with his Brother
Lillington both my Father & me, had formerly some Corre-
spondence; but with the Other Brother, George, we never had
any intercourse as he never took the trouble to Address a single
line to my Father when living, and consequently wou'd suppose
me less intitled to such a favour: this never Operated in dimin-
ishing my regard & good wishes for him, finding myself at all
times & under all Circumstances strongly byass'd by Family-
Attachment: On this principle I have been made excessively
happy with the good fortune of my Cousin M rs. Pettigrew in
being so happily United with You, & it will at all times be highly
pleasing to me to hear of every prosperity attending both You
& her: pray then, when Opportunity offers do not refuse me
the Satisfaction of a line. Were I and my Sister to remove our
present situation here, We certainly wou'd point Out to Our-
selves that Country where so many of Our nearest Relations
reside; but the insanity of Your Climate throws an insur-
mountable Bar in Our way: Other parts of Your Continent are
infinitely healthier; but even so, I cannot say that I cou'd with
any satisfaction to myself make choice of any to fix myself in;
as Your present political Systhem by no means meets with my
Acquiescense.
As You are not in the Commercial line, I shall not trouble
you with much on that Subject, & merely Observe for the in-
formation of any of Your friends who might incline to Adventure
this way, that good pipe-Staves, some Wh d. & Q r. Cask d °.,
9 David Lockhart's degree of kinship to this "Cousin James" is not known,
but the letter refers to Lillington, James, and George Lockhart, all
brothers of Mary Lockhart Pettigrew. See the Lockhart family chart in the
introduction p. xix.
194 N.C. Department of Archives and History
are generally stand g. articles here : prices are uncertain &
fluctuating according to Circumstances : at present & for some-
time We are abundantly Supplied, they cannot therefore be
encouraged. Bee's Wax generally will fetch two Shillings
Ster g. p. cwt, and either You or Your friends might if it suited
Your purpose send a Considerable quantity of it; say 10-12-or
15 c [hundred] weight & might depend on the price mention'd
payable in Wines at £13 Ster g. p. pipe, Cargo, and £17 Ster s. p.
pipe for Our best Particular Wine: Ten or a dozen Tierces of
good new Rice wou'd also answer very well especially if it gets
here at or before the Lent Season : It cou'd never answer to send
a Vessell here merely with these two Articles, & for the present
I cannot encourage Your more bulky Commodities; but it may
happen that Vessells coming here might bring on freight these
articles, or e[i]ther of them & agree to carry back the Wines in
return. I know of no prohibition for any of Your Productions,
Tobacco & Snuff of every spetie excepted, which must not on
any account be meddled with. Pray tell M rs. Pettigrew that
both her Cousins here, have a great & sincere regard for her:
be so Obliging as to make her Our ex Corde & genuine expres-
sions of esteem: Accept of the Same Yourself & make Our
kindest remembrance to all & to each of Our Cousins ; at the
same time assure Yourself I am — D r. S r.
Your kinsman & hble Serv fc.
David Lockhart
Rev d. M r. Charles Pettigrew.
F. P. Lennox10 to Mary Pettigrew UNC
Aberdeen Sep \ 11 th. 1796
I write my Dear Madam on a very melancholy occation, it
is to get you to request the favor of M r. Pettigrew to come up
here early tomorrow, to preach a funeral Sermon, for our poor
unfortunate friend M r. Hunter, who departed this life last
evening if he will be so good as to come we shall ever take it
as a particular favor, & should be very glad to see you with
him if it is convenient, do My Dear M rs. Pettigrew urge him
to come, as we wish to have the funeral over as soon as possible.
10 F. P. Lennox has not been identified.
The Pettigrew Papers
195
if you please send the boy off im[m]ediately that we may know
tonight whether M r. Pettigrew can comply with our request.
Jenny joins me in affectionate love to you, & best respects to
M '". Pettigrew. With every wish that can conduce to your
happiness, I remain your truely sincere
F P Lennox
Charles Pettigrew* s Account with William Little John a&h
[September 17, 1796]
Parson Pettigrew,
1796
Bo l. of William Littlejohn —
Sep K 17 th. To 25 th. 10 dy.
ft ft " A th Of) dy
ft ft ft r th a dy
ft ft tt Q th g dy
//
" " 2 Plain Irons
[penny] Nails .
..@.
...2/2
10.
.0
Ditto .
..@.
...2/
8.
Ditto . .
..@.
.. .2/4
11.
.8
Ditto .
..@.
.. .2/6
7.
.6
ns
@.
...2/
4.
4..1..2
Rec d. Edenton Sep fc. 17 th. 1796, payment of the above account
in full, for William Littlejohn
Nath \ Bond.
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
Mr. Wm. Littlejohn's
ace fc. Paid —
& Reciepted —
John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew
UNC
Orange County, University Sep \ 29 th. 1796
D r. Father
M r. Cherry11 has just arrived, and I feelt [sic] myself a little
disappointed upon not receiving a letter, but upon hearing that
11 Probably the father of William Cherry of Bertie County who graduated
from the University of North Carolina in 1800, studied law, and served in
the House of Commons in 1805 as a representative from Bertie. Battle,
History of the University, I, 162.
196 N.C. Department of Archives and History
you were well & had wrote me but a few days before by the
mail I feel much better satisfied ; but I don't expect it will come
to hand this fortnight.
I make no doubt but you have got a letter which I wrote
you by the Post some time ago, in which, I informed you that
M r. Christmast did not send down for us in the vacation as he
told you he would, & I also informed you that I would take a ride
& see him, accordingly I did last Saturday, I also carried the letter
which you left with me, to M rs. Christmast the old lady when
she read it expressed great satisfaction to find that you had not
quite forgot her, alledging that she had at a former period set
a great deal of store by you;12 & should be very happy to
see you again if it should ever lay in her power. Captain Christ-
mast told me that he was about to take a long journey to the
Messicippy, within about a fortnight, & was not certain when
he should return; & as to our get[t]ing horses he said we should
have them & that he would speak with his brother Charles
Christmast concerning it, that is I suppose to have them ready
if he should not be here at the time; & told me that he was
coming down & would tell me about it next friday; that is I
suppose upon what terms I should have them & to whom I
should apply to if he was absent. —
M r. Cherry told me that you wrote him to leave with me a
few dollars, & according to your desire he left with me six,
which will I am in hopes be sufficient to las[t] me untill I get
home ; except I should have to pay for the horses which I expect
to get when I receive them, & if I am obliged to do that, I shall
not have a sufficiency to pay for the horse-hire, washing, making
of clothes, & traveling expences but if I should not have to pay
for the horses upon receiving them, I shall have enough: but I
will write you & if I should stand in need, you will have another
very go [o] d opportunity of sending up by M r. Outlaw the
tenth of Nov m.
My Brother & myself have been very well & are making
midling good progress in the Greek Testament, Salast [Sallust],
& Arithmetic. The examination will begin about the 12 th. of
next month. The Steward provides very well.
12 A family by the name of Christmas lived in Warrenton around 1779.
Montgomery, Old Warrenton, 7, 8. They would have known Charles Petti-
grew before he moved to Edenton.
The Pettigrew Papers 197
There are the same number of students here as there were
when I wrote you last they are all well. M r. Kerr [sic] has not
yet removed out of the Presidents house. His family are well.
Please to give my duty to my Mother and inform her, that
I should take a great deal of pleasure in writing to her if I
had time but as M '". Cherry came late this afternoon, & will
be going early tomorrow morning I have not time, & therefore
beg to be excused.
Please to present my compliments to M r. Bryan
I remain your Dutiful Son John Pettigrew
NB, The reason that I do not write we, instead of I, as I used
to do, is, because I think my Brother, big enough to write for
himself, ut supra
P.
[Addressed:]
Rev d. Charles Pettigrew
Bertie County
Scotch Hall
Fav d. with M r. Cherries
Attention —
Robert Whyte to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Sept r. 30 th. 1796
Dear Sir
I had the pleasure of receiving yours of the 16 th. Ins t. by
M r. Hardy. I am sorry that my situation is such at present
as will not permit me to accommodate him. I am from home
nearly two thirds of my time, an absence which would be in-
consistent with the duties that ought to be rendered to a Student
of Law.13 Besides a Country situation is unfavourable for those
studies, great advantages being to be derived from the con-
versation of fellow-Students. A thousand minutia in Law and
necessary ones too will escape the attention of the closeted
student which the variety of conversation would necessarily
exhibit to the mind and the heat of argument imprint on the
memory. I have therefor recommended to M r. Hardy a Town —
13 Apparently Charles Pettigrew was attempting to find a place for young
Hardy to read law.
198 N.C. Department of Archives and History
where all these advantages may be enjoyed [.] I had some con-
versation with Parson Blount of Washington the first of this
Inst, and promised him that I would write you the purport
of it. He is extreemely [sic] anxious that the Ordinance of the
Tarboro Convention making you Bishop elect should be perfected
by Consecration. I can inform you that all your friends wish
the same of which number I flatter myself to be one. Col °.
Glasgow & M rs. Whyte join with me in sending our most
respectful Compliments to you
I am D r. Sir your Most Obt. Serv l.
Rob \ Whyte
[Addressed:]
The Rev rnd. Charles Pettigrew
Bertie
Fav d. by
M r. Hardy
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
From my worthy friend M r.
Whyte the Son in Law to
Col. Glasgow —
Receipt for' a Negro Boy A&H
[November 16, 1796]
Rec d. of M r. Charles Pettigrew a Negro Boy Abil which was
Divised to M rs. Evans by the last Will & Testament of Elizabeth
Lockhart Dec d.14 George Evans
November 16th 1796
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
M r. Geo. Evins's
Receipt, for a
negro Boy, Abele
14 Mrs. Lockhart died on January 31, 1796, at the age of eighty-seven.
Lockhart Genealogy, undated papers, Pettigrew Papers, UNC.
The Pettigrew Papers 199
Frederic Beasley to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Princeton December 12 th. 1796
Dear Uncle
Perhaps I do not take greater pleasure in reading the letters
with which you have honored me, than I do at this time in
unfolding my sentiments to you. I look forward with satisfaction
to that day when I shall meet with you again. Nothing is more
observable in youth than the frequency of their changing in senti-
ment. It is entirely governed by the society which they keep.
In my younger days I had I believe an instinctive knowledge of
the duties I owed my Great Creator. No doubt you may re-
collect the answer I gave my Tender Father, upon being asked
by him if I would practice the law, that L stood for lawyer
and L for liar. This altho' the language and sentiment of child-
hood, it evinced a disposition discordant to so Depraved a prac-
tice as that of the law. I hope however that I have now arrived
at that degree of maturity to found my opinion on a more lasting
foundation. You know I suppose, that it was my father's inten-
tion that I should practice the law, and that it is now the desire
of all my near relations — But altho' I feel perhaps as much
respect as any person for my relations, I must be of opinion
that as they are not acquainted with those springs by which I
am moved, and therefore cannot be proper judges of a suitable
profession for me. To have a knowledge of general law and
more especially of the laws of my Country shall always be my
desire — But at the very thought of the practice, every principle
within me seems to shrink back. I do not doubt that there are
some excellent men who practice the law, but to deter a person
from it in North Carolina, he need only look upon the Gentlemen
of that profession and recollect the influence which bad example,
has on mankind. It appears in fact as terrible to me as the most
dreadful gulph.
According to your direction I have read M r. Jennyn's on the
Internal evidence &c, but as M r. Leland's View is pretty long
I have not yet read it. I now employ the sabbaths in reading
such books as you would advise. At this time being sabbath I
am reading Paley's evidence of Christianity, which is I believe
deservedly said to be the best treatise in the english language
on that subject.
200 N.C. Department of Archives and History
You mentioned in one of your letters your fear of my being
contaminated by the false reasoning of some despicable philoso-
phers of thes Modern times, such as M r. [Thomas] Paine &c
But I can inform you that I never trusted my own reason
untill M r. Watsons answer came out and in a most satisfactory
manner cleared up every difficulty into which M r. Paines false
logick had entangled him. That religion which he tried to obscure
by casting a mist over it, has only like the sun after being
obscured by a cloud, shone with greater splendour. Our religion
has as M r. Watson has observed withstood the ingenuity of a
Gibbon, a Voltaire and a numerous train of writers distin-
guished for their knowledge & science, and it is not to be over-
turned by the trifling abuse of an American scribbler.
I have the pleasure to inform you that I begin I hope once
more to see the dawn of that health of which I have been so
long deprived. And Oh! may my reverence for Relig[torn]
redouble as my health increases untill I shall [torn] that degree
of perfection in religion which I desire
I would add more but have not room — I must therefore con-
clude— Remember with the most sincere respect to my Cousin &
all my relations. And believe me to remain as anxious to enjoy
your conversation as your son —
Frederic Beasley
[Addressed:]
Reverend Charles Pettigrew
Edenton
N °. Carolina
p post
Frederic Beasley to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Princeton February 6 th. 1797
Dear Uncle
You may believe that my not answering your last until now
has not proceeded from my following the dictates of my feelings.
I must confess to you that the reading that letter excited within
me emotions to which I have ever since been wishing to give
vent by expression. The number of the College exercises has
The Pettigrew Papers 201
prevented me untill now — Your letter came into my hands at
a time when nothing could have been more acceptable and noth-
ing better suited to the tone of my mind. I return you thanks
for the concern you seem to take in the recovery of my health ;
and your advice on the subject conveys a compliment of which
I am by no means worthy. As however it does not require
much application to injure my health at present, I am ex-
tremely glad that within eight months I shall be free from
the laws of College. By proper conduct I may perhaps re-
cover my health after that time but I have not the most
distant hope of the sort here unless I were devoid of all sense
of shame. I do not by any mean intend by this to find fault
with my lot any more than it is out of the power of humanity
to avoid — I am too sincerely convinced of the advantage it has
been to me both in the present and as it relates to a future life
to murmur at the will of providence — I sincerely think that it
has been the best thing that could possibly have been done
for me — But what do I say — It has been to me better than any
other thing that ever occurred — It has lead me to think on a
future state — By frequently placing me on the verge of ruin,
by presenting death to me in many shapes he, the father of us all
has awakened my fears, and roused me as much as so thought-
less a worm as myself is capable to be roused to the pursuit of
a good and holy life — But laying aside every other consideration,
that single expression in the sacred volume that Whom the
Lord loveth, him he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom
he receiveth. This single sentence is enough to soothe the
cares and apply balm to the wounds of the most unfortunate,
provided that they have a well founded hope in the love of
their Redeemer [.] But I must stop — I am not worthy to use
such language — May my Almighty Parent who rules all things
forbid that I never shall be —
I have just finished reading Paley's evidences of Christianity,
and I would now more than ever wish you to read it. The sur-
prizing comprehension of mind, the extent of information and the
habitual piety which appears in that work render him an orna-
ment to his species to his religion, and deserve the warmest
approbation of all the friends to Christianity. I am now reading
whenever I can get an opportunity from my College studies
D r. South's Lecture on hebrew poetry — where I can also see
the beauty as well as truth that are contained in the sacred
202 N.C. Department of Archives and History
writings — I now find that those writings which I have often
heard called the most dull and insipid in the world, are not only
the most beautiful and elegant but the most sublime and mag-
nificent. I now find that the most ignorant men are the most
positive in expressing their opinions and that thousands ridicule
the Scriptures who have not the smallest acquaintance with
them. This you know is too frequent in North Carolina — and
even among those characters who should set examples to the
rest and who are supposed to be the wisest — It may be true
that a wise man believes not in the Christian religion as some
of them say, or I would rather say that some wise men have
not believed in it, but I think that there never was an infidel
who perfectly understood the scriptures —
I hope you will remember me with the utmost respect to
your family — and to mine if you should see them — If I live I
shall be able to visit you I hope by the middle of October — I
communicated to my brother sometime ago that I should like
to enter into the university of NC : as a Teacher of the lan-
guages : if you think it a good scheme you will use your exer-
tions to get me a place if you please and informe me in the
next. I remain
As ever Yr aff Nephew
Frederic Beasley
[Addressed:]
Reverend Charles Pettigrew
Edenton
N °. Carolina
Howell Tatum15 to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Nashville [Tennessee] Feby 7 th. 1797
Sir
Your favors by M r. Bateman and M r. Holley came safe to
hand, as also one long before inclosing your power of attorney
15 Howell Tatum was a judge in Tennessee. In 1798 he told North Carolina
Governor Samuel Ashe about the frauds in land office transactions in-
volving William Blount and James Glasgow, the latter being North Caro-
lina's secretary of state. William H. Masterson, William Blount (Baton
Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1954), 333, hereinafter cited as
Masterson, William Blount. Judge Tatum was evidently well known to
North Carolinians who owned lands in Tennessee.
The Pettigrew Papers 203
which (as I long since wrote Col H[ardy] Murfree, not knowing
your address) shall be duly attended to.
I have seen M r. Gatling and also the person who located
H[enry] Flureys land,16 but am still at a loss to know whether
it is in the Indian boundary or not, tho I have, from their in-
formation, seen it. the reason why I cannot be certain is that
the land has not been run and there are various opinions on the
course it will take, I mean as to the locality of the line. I have
therefore thought it most advisable to pay the Taxes as they
are low, I believe 1 dol 87 cents or there abouts paid for 1000
acres so that your part did not amount to that sum — the re-
cording amounts to 2 do1. 50 Cents which I believe will be about
the sum sent — The taxes for the present year cannot exceed
two dollars, by taking in County taxes which are always laid
by the Courts, and consequently uncertain at present. That
sum you will please remit by the month of August or September
next.
The Lands are, in my opinion, very good if they lie where
the locator informs me they do, but they are not Lands of what
is called the first quality, tho conceive them to be good second
rate. . ~.
Am Sir
Your Most Ob l.
Hum \ Serv \
Ho Tatum
[Addressed:]
The Rev d. Charles Pettigrew
Near Windsor
N °. Carolina
16 A warrant dated December 14, 1787, for 1,000 acres of land had been
delivered to one Creecy for the heirs of Henry Fleury (Flewry), a sergeant.
Papers of the Secretary of State, Military Land Warrant Book, 1783-1841,
"A List of Warrants Issued to the Officers and Soldiers in the Continental
Line Raised In and Belonging" to the State of North Carolina," Warrant
No. 3580, unpaged (this warrant can be found on page 46 of a typescript
copy of this book), State Archives. Charles Pettigrew bought 800 acres of
this tract for £200 from Fleury, then a merchant in Bertie County, on
April 9, 1796. Book R, 1795-1798, pp. 98-99, Henry Flewry to Rev. Chs.
Pettigrew in the Bertie County Deeds, Q-R, 1794-1797, Reel 18 of microfilm
copy, State Archives. This deed gives the number of the original warrant to
Fleury as 2131 and its date as May 20, 1793, but this information is most
likely an error because warrant No. 2131 in the Military Land Warrant
Book is to Private Richard Howard and is dated September 9, 1785. The
deed was recorded on July 6, 1798, in Sumner County, Tennessee, according
to a letter from Ebenezer Pettigrew to Moses E. Cator, November 1, 1817,
in this volume, p. 591. Three successive agents handled this land for the
Pettigrews: Howell Tatum, Moses Fisk, and Moses E. Cator.
204 N.C. Department of Archives and History
John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew unc
Orange County, University, March 22 nd. 1797
My Dear Father
Being convinced in my own contience that I have been too
negligent with respect to writing you & especially the last time
I must beg to apologize a little, and endeavour to convince you
that it was not from a principle of ingratitude. I had but a
few moments to write in and not having settled myself in any
room was obliged to set down & write in the midst of a parcel
of boys, who were making a prodegious noise, and inform you
as well as I could of my arrival here, but I am affraid that
you was hardly able to read it, & when you had read it, to
understand its contents; which proceeded entirely from a hurry
& the situation I was in with a parcel of boys who were jabber-
ing around me a parcel of nonsense : it would even have puzzled
a philosopher to have wrote anything with much accuracy, or
to have produced many weighty arguments on any subjects
whatever; and more especially one who is a new hand at such
business & one who never proposed to be a proficient at it.
Hereafter I shall endeavour to take more time & pains, in any
performances of this nature for I consider it as one of the
smallest tithes of gratitude that it is in my power to bestow
at present, for the many & innumerable favours which I have
been continually receiving from your hand ever since my exis-
tance; and which I hope I shall never be ungreatful for; if I
was I should certainly incur the divine displeasure, and be
punished hereafter according to my deeds. I have always looked
upon ingratitude as one of the most unpardonable vices that
ever governed the human breast, & which undoubtedly deserves
the most severe punishment; & especially that of ingratitude or
disobedience to parents, which certainly is much worse than
ingratitude to an individual who may have done annother a
kindness. Even the thoughts of ingratitude or disobedience to
a parent who has raised one up from the cradle and supported
him in his helpless infancy when he was not able to provide for
himself, & must consiquently have perished had it not been
for the support of his parent or parents, and then after get[t]ing
to the years of maturity to transgress the laws of humanity so
far as to become ungreatful to a parent to whom he owes his
The Pettigrew Papers 205
support, & consiquently his life, — he would justly deserve to be
put to death by the hand of the common exicutioner; for com-
mit [t]ing so henious a crime as an example to others who might
follow his example ; but I am certain if I should ever live to
be so dissipated & wicked as to be guilty of either of those vices
to such an affectionate father as you have been, if ever I gave
myself time to reflect on my conduct, & if it was not in my
power to make amends for it, I should certainly be tempted to
be my own exicutioner; which would be adding another crime,
of not less weight than the former, but upon reflecting on my
conduct, I should wish to know the debth of misery to which I
must de[s]cend, to expiate for my guilt. But may God grant
that I may never act so far contrary to the dictates of human
reason, as ever to commit such unpardonable crimes as those
which I have above mentioned.
I have at last begun Geography which I am in hopes will
prove much more pleasant than the study of the Languages,
though what I mostly dread is the examination, as I am told
that it is a very difficult thing to be examined on, there being
so great a similitude between the several Countries that after
get[t]ing through them it is difficult to recollect the particulars
of every Country. I believe that there is nothing which has a
greater tendency to enlargen or extend a persons ideas & prepare
them for the study of the Sciences than this study. I learn
Arithmetic and Geography together the one, one half of the
day, & the other the other half of the day. They teach Guthries
Grammar here, & I have furnished myself with one from bentons
store, which is now kept at this place, but the part which treats
of America is thought to be very imperfect & they teach Morses
American Geography in preference; so that I should be very
glad if you would procure one & bring it with you when you
come up.
As I expect this will be the last year of my continuing here,
I shall endeavour to learn as much as I possibly can ; which can
only be attained by close application, & hard study. I know not
what I shall study after July but that may be decided on when
you come up.
I have never yet had an opportunity of making myself much
acquainted with history, a thing which I have always thought to
be very essentially necessary. The day after I left home namely
thirsday [sic] I had the pleasure of arriving safe at M rs.
206 N.C. Department of Archives and History
[Rebecca] Barnes's where I passed three days by far the most
agreeable that I have seen since I left home, or expect to see
before I return again. The Monday following, I set out for the
University, & arrived there safe on thirsday evening. We
traveled very slow, & consiquently the horses held out very well.
The boy set out on his return the following day, & am in hopes
that he returned safe home.
M rs. R [ebecca] Barnes I believe has resigned the thought
which she once entertained of going, & living, with her Aunt
[Mary Loekhart Pettigrew] which I am very sorry for; even if
it was only on my own account, for I am certain that I could
never be otherways than happy in the presence of amicable
a Lady, & more especially one for whom I have such a singular
regard. I am affraid that she is overpowered by the petitions
of her Neighbours, & Slaves, who I believe are very desirous
for her continuance which certainly is an excellent proof of her
good qualities.
There is a Dancing School at this place, it commenced about
six weeks ago. I have entered as a s[c]holar, being desirous
to become acquainted with so genteel an accomplishment; but
I am affraid that there cannot be as much improvement derived
from it as at some Schools where there are a genteel company
of ladies ; and gentlemen ; but here there are a number of Stu-
dents subscribed & not any Ladies so that it certain that there
would not be as much order & regularity, as if there were
several decent ladies. Brother Ebenezer has not joined it but
he will have opportunities enough hereafter & perhaps better
than the present when he may be more at leasure. The terms
are four dollars for six Months one upon entrance & the rest
at the close of the session.
I very much dread the approach of warm weather on account
of the chinces which are innumerable ; I do really think that
there are five times as many as there was last year, & then we
were hardly able to rest for them so we shall not want much
bleeding ; but we have no musquitoes which is one comfort, for if
we had both our condition would be truely deplorable.
The quarterly Examination will begin on the eighth of next
Month, & the semiannual at the usual time I suppose but the
annual will begin on the 15 th. of November, according to the
last regulation, & School will commence again 1 st. of J an. but
I immagine that it might as well have been delayed untill the
The Pettigrew Papers 207
15 th. as none of the boys would set out from home on Christmast
Day & that they would be obliged to do to get here at the
appointed time, and especially those who live at great distances
off.
I should suppose it best to come up before the weather gets
very warm, as it would answer the same purpose then & the
journey would be rendered much more pleasant. Ebenezer
desires you will bring up Greek Homer, the other books he will
want may be got here full as cheap as any where else. I should
also be very glad you would bring up the Cloth to make our
clothes as that will be the only op[p]ortunity of get[t]ing it.
I can get them made full as well here as down the country, &
upon better terms.
There are h[e]re upwards of an hundred Students they are
all healthy. The Steward provides midling well.
I have a great propensity to spend the next year in traveling
for I could never bear the thoughts of settling myself as it
were in the one quarter of the Globe, without knowing anything
of foreign countries. It is certain that much instruction may be
acquired from books, but that cannot give one half as much
satisfaction as which we gain from experience, as it is certain
that experimental knowledge is far preferable to any knowledge
that can be derived from books. It may very reasonably & justly
be alleged that I am two young to travel & that the morals of
youths at my age are two apt to be corrupted, which I must
confess is very true but in the first place it must be considered
that the dispositions of mankind are various, & I make no
doubt but there are a great many who would get no improvement
even if they were to travel all the world over but would con-
tract such habits as would ever make them despisable & after
get[t]ing their minds dissipated they could never settle them-
selves to business or be contented in their minds. But on the
contrary I think that there are some who might travel as much
as was necessary & after getting sufficient knowledge of the
World might return home, settle themselves, & become steady
farmers or whatever profession they choose to follow. It is
true that age, discernment, & steadiness, are three things very
essentially necessary for a traveller to possess, but it certainly
would be better for a person to set out upon his journey before
he settled himself than afterwards. I have not room to say
anything more upon this subject at present. I should be very
208 N.C. Department of Archives and History
glad to receive a letter for I have not heard one word from
home since I left there, & I never was more anxious to hear
in my life.
Please to give my duty to my Mother & my compliments to
M rs. Barnes if she is down. I remain your dutiful Son
J Pettigrew.
[Addressed:]
Rev d. Charles Pettigrew
to be left at the
Post Office
Edenton
By Post
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
From my dear Son Jackey
when at the University
Sally Clements to Mary L. Pettigrew A&H
Tarborough April 10 th. 1797
I have taken the liberty of writing to My Worthy Friend
once more to acquaint her that we are just about to remove
from Tarbo up to Cotentny [Contentnea] we shall move
in about a week[.] I feel rather uneasy at this time the thoughts
of Leaving this place and my D r. little girl is gone down with
her Aunt but I hope it will be for the Best — I heard My Dear
Friend that you have remov'd from Scotch Hall to Terril
[Tyrrell] it is my most ardent wish that you may enjoy better
health than you usually did[.] I wish I could hear from you do
write me by the first oppertunity you cant think how much satis-
faction it would give me to hear from you and M r. Pettigrew.
M r. Clements Joins me in Respects to you and M r. Pettigrew
and I am My Dear M rs. Pettigrew,
Yours affectionately
Sally Clements
The Pettigrew Papers 209
[Addressed:]
M rs. Mary Pettigrew
Fav'rd by
M r. Miller
John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Orange County, University May 27 th. 1797.
Dear Father
Nothing could have given me greater pleasure, & astonish-
ment, than the information I got upon the reception of your
two letters a few days ago ; in which I had the pleasure to find
that you & my Mother had enjoyed a tolerable share of health
since I left you ; & also that you had resolved upon removing us
from this on the expiration of the semiannual examination,
which a little surprised me at first (as I entertained no thoughts
of leaving here before the annual examination, which will com-
mence on the 15 th. of next November) though I cannot deny
it's being rather an agreeable surprise, than otherwise, for I
must candidly confess myself heartily tired of this place on
several occasions which would be too numerous to mention.
I am in hopes I shall be sufficiently acquainted with Geography,
& Arithmetic, the two principal things for which I came here
this year (by July) as I have applied myself very closely at
those two studies, and English Grammar, but on brother
Ebenezers account I am a little sorry as he is now making
considerable progress in the Latin, & Greek ; he has read Virgil
Horrace & Lucian and intended reading Cicero the next session,
so that he would have finished both the Greek, & Latin this
year, but if he should be taken from it any length of time he
will certainly forget what he has been this six months learning.
Your observation with regard to ones morals being corrupted
is very just: it is in my opinion certainly better to have no
education than by endeavoring to obtain it, to loose [sic] all
sense of religion, & by that means their education will enable
them to do more injury than they otherwise could, although
this is a copious subject I shall say nothing more at present,
as time will not permit.
The steward provides very sorrily & barely fulfills the laws
in any respect so that I can assure you that we have very poor
living.
210 N.C. Department of Archives and History
I should be very glad you would send up for us by the 15 th. of
July as I suppose that the examination will be over by that
time, & I should be the most solitary person in the world if I
was here & not under the regulations of College. You men-
tioned coming up yourself but I think that it would be advisable
in you not to undertake such a journey when it is so excessively
warm ; & more especially as sending up would answer nearly the
same purpose. You also advised me to go to M r. Ch [r] istmastes
after the session was out, & stay untill my horses came up, but
I am rather opposed to this plan, as I think it would be rather
intruding upon the people, & I do not suppose them to be in
very good circumstances, from what I saw when I was there;
another very principal objection is this, that I do not think
they behav'd well in not let[t]ing us have those horses which
they had promised us : so that I should much rather board at
M r. Pucket but I am in hopes there will be no need of going
any-where, and that the horses may be up in time.
The most convenient way for us to go down would be to send
up a double-chair with a portmanteau, & a pair of saddlebags,
(as our chests will be too unhandy to be carried in a chair) in
which we could carry our clothes, & some particular books, but
as there are a great many of them it would be needless to attempt
carrying them all in a chair, & in my opinion the best way
would be, to let the rest stay untill next December when the boys
who come from Bertie will be coming up in a cart, & as the
cart will go back empty, I make no doubt they would take down
a chest of books to Windsor, from whence they might easily
be conveyed down into Tyrrel.
My bed I can dispose of provided you will send word what
beds generally sell at.
The mumps is a disease which is very prevalent in this place at
present; I suppose there are about thirty or forty who now
have them, but none of them have been hurt by them much.
As for myself, & brother, I do not know whether we have ever
had them or not but we have felt no symptoms of them yet.
The Small-pox has also been prevailing in the neighbourhood
at the distance of about 7 or 8 miles. There was a man that had
it who brought it on him from Norfolk : I believe he has got
well, & about 10 days ago I heard that his mother had taken it,
but have heard nothing since concerning it, and am in hopes that
it is stopt, but if it is not I immagine that great care will be
The Pettigrew Papers 211
taken to prevent its spreading out of that family; as the people
here are very much affraid of that disease & will use great
precaution to prevent spreading, but if it should get into College
it certainly would be very destructive to this institution, as I
make no doubt it would kill one half that it infected, as in my
opinion our blood is in as bad a state as it possibly could be,
owing in a great measure to the vast quantities of butter which
we eat, & we should have no proper attendances : but if it should
reach here I would get a horse if I possibly could for each of
us, & go home.
Please to give my own & brothers duty to our Mother, &
compliments to M rs. Barnes if down.
I remain your Dutiful Son J. Pettigrew.
P.S. Please to write me as soon as you possibly can after the
reception of my letter.
[Addressed:]
Rev d. Charles Pettigrew.
Per Post.
To be left at the Post Office Edenton.
John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Orange County, University, June 27 th. 1797.
Rev d. Father
I was very much surprised to find by your letter which came
to hand by the last post that you had upon deliberating on
your late resolution (with respect to removing us from this)
differed in opinion from what you first wrote me; & which I
am very sorry for as it will breed great confusion in my studies,
unless you should act up with your first resolution or what
you first wrote me; for upon hearing that I was to leave this
on July and not expecting that I should go to school anywhere
else after I left here, I quit the study of Geography in order
to get a sufficient knowledge of Arithmetic, which I knew
would be out of my power if I continued the study of Geography
which I could study full as well at home, but if you should per-
sist in sending us here after July I do not suppose it would
212 N.C. Department of Archives and History
be impracticable to enter the same class again as it went but
a few lessons after I left it, before it began to revise, but it
will be much against both my brothers & my will to stay any
longer than the time you proposed, as I can assure you the
place has become very disagreeable from the many incon-
veniences with which we are burthened. The Chinches or what
we call Sabines have increased & multiplied, & become so
num[e]rous, that in the late engagements which they have had
with us, they have quite defeated us, & obliged us to retreat
from our rooms which they hold the entire possession of at
night : none of the room-mates have been able to sleep in my
room for upwards of three weeks, & it is nearly the case with
respect to all the rest ; as for my part I generally spread the
tables in the passage & pour water around their feet, by which
means I escape them as they are in general bad swim[m]ers.
The steward has provided very poorly untill lately when the
Trustees gave him a severe overhall, and I believe threatened
him severely.
You desired me to give you a full & just statement of the
management of affairs, & also with regard to the conduct of the
Students in general ; with such allowances as might be thought
proper; with regard to the performance of this request I can
assure you that I feel myself quite inadiquate to the performance
of it, but in compliance with your request I shall give you
as true an account as possible. The Students in general have
nothing very criminal in their conduct excep [t] a vile, & detest-
able practice of cursing, & swearing, which has become very
fashionable here, there can be hardly a sentence spoken without
some of those highflown words which sailors commonly use
to divert each other. As to study I believe those who are in the
senior classes, & far enough advanced in years to study their
own interest ap[p]ly themselves perty clocely [sic], but on the
contrary there are here a great many small boys the half of
whom do little or nothing with regard to improv[e]ment;
those are the ones that make the greatest proficiency in the
art of swearing. I have given you as true a statement as I
could, but as for making allowances I know of none that
could be made in those two cases, & I shall leave that matter
to be desided on according to your judgment. This I hope you
will relate to no person, as I should be sorry to be the means
of spreading a report which might injure the University; I
The Pettigrew Papers
213
doubt not but its character will be known soon enough to its
own disadvantage, & confusion.
My brother & myself have both had the mumps, he had them
midling severely, & has been unwell ever since, untill within
this few days, I had them very slightly. The students in general
have had them but none have been injured by them excep[t] one
who had the misfortune to be rejicula.
If you should conclude upon sending us here the remainder
of this year we must endeavour to board in the village, as I
cannot bare the thoughts of staying in colledge, where, there is
no chance of sleeping, & there is no house in the village that is
fit to take in boarders except M r. Puckets & I do not know
whether they intend doing it.
According to your request I write this letter but at the same
time I hardly think it worth while as you will certainly have
determined on one or the other before this can possibly reach
you, & I question whether it ever will if it meets with as good
success as its predecessors however it is quite likely that they
are in the mail at Edenton, if you have not inquired for them
that being the place to which they were directed.
The examination commences on the 14 th. of next month. I
have nothing more to relate at present. Please to present
my duty to my Mother.
I remain your Dutiful Son
J. Pettigrew
In haste)
[Addressed:]
Rev d. Chas. Pettigrew
Tyrrell County
To the care of
Colonel Blount
214 N.C. Department of Archives and History
A Speech to be Delivered by Ebenezer Pettigrew17 UNC
[August 4, 1797]
"People of Lacedemon," said he, "I have been witness of
many wars, as have also several amongst you, & am for that
very reason but the most disposed to fear for the event of that
you are about to undertake. Without preperations, and without
resources, you are going to attack a nation expert in naval
affairs, formidable from the number of its souldiers & its ships,
& rich from the productions of its country & the tributes of its
allies. What is to inspire you with this confidence? Is it your
fleet? What a length of time will it require to restore it? Is it
the state of your finances? We have no public treasurey, &
individuals are poor. Is it the hope of detaching from Athens
her allies? but as the greater part of them are islanders, you
must be masters of the sea, to excite & maintain their defection.
Is it the project of ravaging the plains of Attica, & terminating
this mighty quarrel in one campaign? Alas! do you imagine
that the loss of a single ha [r] vest in a country with a flourishing
commerce will engage the Athenians to sue for peace? ah! how
much more do I dread that we shall be compelled to leave this
war as a wretched inheritance to our children! The hostilities
of cities & individuals are transient; but when war is once
enkindled between two powerful states, it is as difficult to
foresee the consequences as to extricate ourselves with honour.
I am not of opinion that we should abandon our allies to oppres-
sion; I only say that, previous to taking arms, we should send
ambassadors to the athenians, & open a negotiation. They have
just proposed to us this mode; & it were injustice to refuse it.
In the interval we shall address to the nations of Greece, &, since
necessity requires it, to the barbarians themselves, in order to
obtain succours in money and ships. If the Athenians reject
17 John and Ebenezer Pettigrew were members of the original Debating
Society which was formed in June, 1795, at the university; and one of the
policies of the society was that its members, which were divided into three
groups, alternately debate, read or recite an extract from some author, or
compose essays of their own. This speech by Ebenezer is evidently in
accordance with the society's requirements. In July, 1795, the original De-
bating Society was divided and the Concord Society was formed, but the
Pettigrew boys remained in the Debating Society. In August, 1796, the
Debating Society changed its name to the Dialectic Society, and the Con-
cord Society became the Philanthropic Society. Battle, History of the
University, I, 72-77.
The Pettigrew Papers 215
our complaints, we will repeat them after two or three years
preparations, when we shall perhaps find them more tractable.
["]The tardiness imputed to use has always constituted our
security: never have praises or reproaches excited us to rash
enterprises. We are not skilled enough to depricate, by elo-
quent harrangues the power of our enemies ; but we know that
to enable us to conquer, we must esteem them, judge of their
conduct by our own, guard ourselves agains [t] their prudence as
well as agains [t] their valour, I reckon less upon their errors
than on the wisdom of our own precautions. We are of opinion
that one man does not differ from another, but that the most
formidable is he who, on chritical occasions, conducts himself
with the most prudence and wisdom.
"Let us not deviate from the maxims we have recieved [sic]
from our fathers, & which have preserved this state, deliberate
at leisure; let not a single moment decide on our properties,
our glory, the blood of so many citizens, & the destiny of so
many nations ; let war be prepared for, but declare it not ; make
your preparations as if you expected nothing from your nego-
tiations; & reflect that these measure are the most useful to
your country, & the best addapted to intimidate the Athenians."
E. Pettigrew.
August 4 th., A Domini 1797
University, Orange County
John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Orange County, University, August 29 th. [17] 97
Reverend Father,
After a long lonesome and very fatiguing journey I have at
last arrived at the university where I found everything agreeable
to my desires. The morning I left you I expected to have had
M r. Sprewel's [Spruill] company as far as Tarborough but
was much disappointed : he met me at M r. Chessons & left me
at Plymouth alledging that he must go another way in order
to see some of his relations and that he should not get to
Tarborough untill Wednesday, however I got here in four
216
N.C. Department of Archives and History
days & a half very easily. Ebenezer is well & (I am informed
by his teacher) reading latin to great advantage. The Steward
has provided very scandalously since my absence, and the
students have, & do, still complain very much, so that if he does
not make a speedy alteration I am induced to believe that he
will be obliged to quit the post which he has so long unworthyly
held. Since my arrival I have settled my acts [accounts] as
follows
Washing I shall settle for at the
end of the session. I have now five
dollars remaining which I am in
hopes with frugality will be suffi-
cient. M r. Morgan Outlaw sup-
plyed me with money to go down
& I have not had it in my power
yet to refund it; so that I should
be much obliged if you would
transmit four dollars to him by
the first opportunity. I remain
your Dutiful Son John Pettigrew
Dollars.
Board
43 =
%
Tuition
15
—
H Hire & c
V2
D. School
3
V2
T Expences
3
V2
Returned
8
2)77 =
0
38 £bs =
10
[Addressed:]
To Rev d. M r. Pettigrew.
To the care of
Coin. Blount
Tyrrel County
To be left at the Post Office Plymouth
Tax Receipt18 for Charles Pettigrew
UNC
[September, 1797]
This is to certify that Charles Pettigrew of the County of
Tyrrell, and District of North Carolina hath paid the duty
of two Dollars upon a two wheel carriage called a chair, owned
18 On August 25, 1796, the State Gazette of North-Carolina (Edenton)
carried a notice that "Officers of Inspection will attend in each county
of the state of North-Carolina, during the month of September, to receive
Entries of Carriages, and grant certificates to owners as in manner by law
prescribed, of which all concerned will take notice. [Signed:] William Polk,
Supervisor of the Revenue District of North Carolina." This receipt is for
the tax Charles Pettigrew paid on his carriage.
The Pettigrew Papers 217
by him, without a top on wooden Springs, to be drawn by one
horse, for the conveyance of one person for the year to end
on the 30 th. of September 1798.
L Blount
Collector of the Revenue 5 th. Division
Survey N °. 2 North Carolina
Rec ts. for Carriages of Pleasure
for September 1797
[Notation on back by Charles Pettigrew :]
M r. Livi [Levi] Blount's
Receipt for my Chair Tax
Charles Pettigrew to John Pettigrew UNC
Belgrade— Tyrrell 8th Oct r. 1797
Dear Jackey,
Yours' of 20th [29th?] August, announcing your safe
arrival at the University we rec d. last evening. Your Brother's
health & his assiduous application to his studies, which you
mention, gives us very great pleasure. I hope you will not be
behind him in any thing which may have a final tendency to
make you both useful & respectable in whatever station a wise
& unnerring providence may place you — The time of Life is
but short, & youth is the season for improvement, improve there-
fore every moment, in its hasty flight, to the acquisition of useful
knowledge.
I am happy to find that you have made out to settle up your
accompts so much to your satisfaction. I object against no
part of the statement, except the tavern expences, — and them
I had rather you had laid out in any other reputable place; as
I think it by no means reputable, for Students to be found in
public houses, unless in Cases of necessity. And I hope you do
not go for the sake of Company, particularly the company of
such of your fellow students as may have contracted a fondness
for such places, & the company which too generally frequent
them.
218 N.C. Department of Archives and History
It is uncertain whether I may go up for you myself, or send
(the midle of next month) as I shall have the superintendency
of a great deal of business on my hands. I request therefore
that you will give me by post a statement of your washing Bill,
& what other expences may accrue, untill you arrive here; that
I may send the money in case of its being too inconvenient for
me to be at the Examination, of which I have a great Desire,
that I may have it in my power to Judge of the proficiency you
have made in useful improvements.
It being now the time of the General court at Edenton, I am
just setting out for Town, & am in hopes to meet with an oppor-
tunity of sending this. If your Cousin Frederic Beasley should
be returned from the Northward, I shall probably see him, &
give you some further information in post script, respecting
a Domestic Teacher for the insuing year.
Your Mother thanks you for the line, & sends her Love to
you & Ebenezer. She has Anthony out gathering Walnuts as
a treat for you both at your return. How many better things
she may be able to provide I know not. Give my Love also to
Ebenezer & accept the same from your affectionate father
Charles Pettigrew
P.S. You thought by your two Letters on the same sheet, or
rather Yi sheet of post-paper, to save expences, but I find
44 cents upon the letter — 45 is Just the postage of 3 Letters.
Your putting 2 wafers, & 2 addresses has made it a Double
Letter, for which they have charged treble postage, so that
your well designed frugallity has accidentally fallen thro'.
I shall send the 4 Dollars to M r. Morgan Outlaw from Town
should an opportunity offer, with a line of Thanks.
NB Your Mother has since my writing suggested that what I
took in your statement to be Tavern Expences, from the single T,
may be traveling expences as T stands for both, which I am
pleased to admit.
[Addressed.]
M r. John Pettigrew
at the University of N. Carolina
Chapel-Hill
The Pettigrew Papers 219
Charles Pettigrew19 to Joseph Caldwell20 UNC
Tyrrell, Nov r. 10 th. 1797
Reverend Sir,
I should been very happy to have attended during the exami-
nation of the Students, but a variety of circumstances concur
to render it impracticable, I must therefore request the favor
of a line, should it not interfere too much with business, respect-
ing the propriety or impropriety with which my sons, John &
Ebenezer Pettigrew, have conducted themselves both as Students
& civilians, for some months past; also how they acquit them-
selves when examined.
I have thoughts of taking John home, that he may acquire
some knowledge of how matters are to be conducted in the
farming line, & also that he may in some degree relieve me of
so disagreeable a burden. The other, namely Ebenezer I could
wish to continue, & to finish his education, but have had some
thoughts of sending him to the northward. This I should be
very far from doing, could he enjoy equal advantages in our
University, without the danger of having all fear of the Al-
mighty eradicated from his mind, by the habitual use of Oaths
& imprecations, which report says, & which my own Ears have
informed me are the too common impletives in the conversation
of the Students. An Education without the fear of God, may
suit those who confine their views to this world, & to the present
life only, but to one who expects his Children are to survive
the ruins of time, in a state of immortal & endless existence,
where the practice of virtue or vice here shall make the eternal
Distinction there, between the happy & the miserable, such an
Education must be very shocking.
This observation may seem like an illiberal reflection against
yourself & other gentlemen of the faculty, but I can assure
19 The original of this letter is in the University Papers, University of
North Carolina Archives, Manuscript Division, UNC. A copy of it is in the
Pettigrew Papers, UNC, with a notation on the back in handwriting that
has been identified by the curator of the Southern Historical Collection as
that of David L. Swain, president of the university from 1835 to 1868.
^Joseph Caldwell came to the university in 1796 as professor of mathe-
matics. He was presiding professor of the school in 1797 and 1799 and
was elected the first president of the institution in 1804. On his own request
he filled the position of professor of mathematics from 1812 to 1816, and
then was president again from 1816 until his death in 1835. Battle, History
of the University, I, 111, 115, 162, 173, 231, 245, 826 (sketch of Caldwell,
108-118); Wheeler, Historical Sketches, I, 118; Foote, Sketches, 534-545;
Johnson, Ante-Bellum North Carolina, 292.
220 N.C. Department of Archives and History
you it is not expressed with that view, as I should be very
sorry to offend. And permit me to say, I know the difficulty
of your situation, in the place of the president without his
authority, & over youth many of whom have not had any
advantages from religious instruction prior to their coming
under your care, but many of them perhaps the reverse.
Should I take my oldest son home, the [other] I am affraid
would be much more likely [illegible] pernicious habits, unless
I could board [illegible] in the house with yourself, or some
other gentleman of the faculty, who might have an influence on
his conduct. In this Case I should expect to give higher board,
nor should I regard it, in order to have him so properly situated.
Of this, I wish, if it should not be too much trouble, you would
inform & advise me, which will confer a singular obligation on
Your most Obedient
H.ble Serv \
Charles Pettigrew
Excuse incorrectness, as my boy is just setting off for my Sons —
M r. Caldwell
[Addressed:]
The Reverend
M r. Caldwell
at the University
Thomas G. Amis21 to Ebenzer Pettigrew UNC
University 25 th. June 1798
Dear Friend,
I expected that you would have let me know before this time
where you are & what about that I might be able to write you
with more certainty. However I shall venture to break silence;
but I will not promise to give you anything new. There has
been nothing going forward here but expulsions & suspensions:
21 Thomas Gale Amis of Northampton County graduated from the uni-
versity in 1801. Battle says, "Amis had a very large brain and won
distinction in his studies. He afterwards [following graduation] sailed from
Charleston without disclosing his object, and was nevermore heard from."
Battle, History of the University, I, 165.
The Pettigrew Papers 221
A young man named Edmonds from Virginia was expelled;
Tho s. [Hart] Benton22 & Benjamin Sherrod are suspended until
next January. Old friend Bob Lue has not returned. We are
studying Geography & Euclid. I suppose you have heard of
the death of William Hunt. Our old enemies the chinces have
attacked us with renewed vigor. Kinchin23, Tho s. Bennehan24
& all old friends send their compliments to you. I am still your
sincere friend.
Tho s. G. Amis
[Addressed:]
M r. Ebenezer Pettigrew
Tyrrell County
Ebenezer Pettigrew to Thomas G. Amis unc
Tyrrell County August 6, 1798
My Dear friend
Your letter of the 25 of June came to hand yesterday. I am
not able to tell you how much satisfaction it gave me being
the only one from all my fellow students since I left the Uni-
versity. As I have been very desirous to know the state of
affairs among you I wish you had been more circumstantial
but I beleive [sic] you wrote in haist by your folding up two
sheets of paper in stead of one. The clean one I shall take the
22 Thomas Hart Benton, who was born in Hillsborough in 1782, took a
"partial course" at the university before moving first to Tennessee and
then to Missouri. He represented the latter state as a United States
senator. Dictionary of American Biography, II, 210. During his 1798-1799
term at the university, Benton engaged in a fray that resulted in his
drawing a pistol on Archibald Lytle of Tennessee, who declined to duel with
him. Benton was suspended because of the incident, which was occasioned
by his striking Lytle's nephew, a boy in the grammar school. Battle,
History of the University, I, 194.
23 Henry Kinchen of Franklin County was a charter member of the
Debating Society along with the Pettigrew boys. Battle, History of the
University, I, 73, 76.
24 Thomas Davis Bennehan was a graduate of the university in the class
of 1801. He became a wealthy farmer and merchant in Orange County who
was known for his "bounteous hospitality" and was a trustee of the
university. Battle, History of the University, I, 165. The Bennehan family
left many records of their mercantile activities and trade connections with
Petersburg, Virginia; these papers are included in the Cameron Papers,
UNC.
222 N.C. Department of Archives and History
liberty of filling up and sending you back again as it found
me out of paper. And in the first place to my acknowledgment
of your favor I return you additional thanks for the paper on
which I have the pleasure to write you. In the second place I
confess my negligence in not being the first to take up the pen.
And in the third place I promice [sic] now to cherish the corre-
spondence which you have so obliging begun. You must not
however complain should my letters be miscarried as I live in
a remote not to say obscure part of the state from which oppor-
tunities I expect will be but rare.
You observe that nothing seams to go forward but expulsions
and suspensions ; This indicates one of two things to wit : That
the students increace in Depravity or the faculty in their strict-
ness respecting the Execution of the laws. I wish you had in-
formed me what Edmonds was expelled for also what Benton
and Sherrod were suspended for I suppose however, it was not
for building churches.
You mention your being employed in the study of Euclid
and Geography. I wish I was one of your class again. But I
believe my father was affraid that with out strict Discipline
the morals of the students would become so depraved and vitiated
that the useful knowledge they might acquire would probably
be of very little service to them or the world. I dont know but I
shall prevail on my father to send me back to finish my educa-
tion where I begun it, I wish therefore you would write me
whether I can board out in the village and on what terms, as
we sold our bed and it would not be worth while for me to
carry another so far — Or whether I could take share of a bed
in the University and with whome and for how much and then
I shall be able to make up my mind on the subject — You can
write me by the post to the care of M r. John Armistead at
Plymouth and I shall get it from thence.
I am very sory for the Death of Master Hunt also that you
have your old enemies the Chinees to encounter they are too
good republicans to be conquered or subdued. Should you think
them unworthy of the name republican you may I hope call
them carmagnoles without offence or sansculottes or Citizen
Chinee25; for as old veterans they certainly merit something
25 The humorous use of French republican terms such as "carmagnole,"
"sansculottes," and "citizens" reflects the political influence of the times.
Charles Pettigrew may not have liked his sons exposed to such extremism,
even of a humorous sort.
The Pettigrew Papers 223
out of the common stile. I have been some employed in the
study of Arethmetic, Brother Jack has entered upon the study
and practice of physic under the Direction of doctor Knox at
Nixonton. And now
Be so obliging as to present my compliments to Mes rs. Mason,
Cherry, Th °. Benehan, Kinchin [,] Allen Green, [John] London2"
and all those who respectfully ask after me.
And beleive [sic] me to be your much obliged friend
and Sev l. Ebenezer Pettigrew
[Addressed :]
M r. Thomas Amis
University of North Carolina
By post
Rev. Dr. William White and William Smith
to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Philad d. Aug \ 8 th. 1798.
Rev. Sir
We are sorry to inform you that the appearance of the Yellow
Fever within this week past, & the alarming probability of its
spreading through this city, (unless abated by a special provi-
dence of God,) beyond the time appointed for the next general
convention of our church, will render it imprudent to attempt
a meeting at that time.
The chairman & some members of the standing committee
of the church, have had a conference with bishop White on the
subject, and have considered it as their duty, to circulate this
notice to their brethren in each state, to prevent the trouble &
expence of an unavailing attendance.
26 John London of Wilmington was the president (1811) of the Bank of
Cape Fear. H. M. Wagstaff (ed.), The Papers of John Steele (Raleigh:
North Carolina Historical Commission [State Department of Archives and
History], 2 volumes, 1924), II, 662, 828. Battle also states that John
London was president of the Bank of Cape Fear. This is possible, but it
seems to be a rapid advance for a young man matriculated in the class
of 1802 at the university to be a bank president by 1811. Battle, History of
the University, I, 168. Ebenezer Pettigrew's letter of September 29, 1798,
to London (Pettigrew Papers, UNC) has been omitted from this volume
because it is almost identical to this letter to Thomas Amis.
224 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Measures will be taken, either by adjournment, agreeably to
the constitution, or by a recommendation of the standing com-
mittee to the bishops, as provided pp. 19. of the journals of
1789, to have a special convention called about the beginning
of June next, to discuss the various important matters, which
were left unfinished at the last general convention, & specially
recommended to the next.
Of the time & place of this special meeting, you will have
due & reasonable notice.
A true copy
W m. White
W m. Smith
Ja s. Abercrombie — Sec y.
[Addressed:]
The Rev : M r. Pettigrew
Near
Edenton
North Carolina
John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Nixonton Sep tm. 4 th. 1798.
Rev d. Father
It being court week no doubt I shall meet with an opportunity
of transmit [t] ing you a letter which I know you are ever happy
to receive as coming from one in whom you as a father posses'd
of the most paternal affection have ever endeavoured to instill
the most salutary precepts accompanied with the most noble
examples, both of piety and wisdom ; for which may God grant
that I ever feel myself actuated by the strictest obligations both
of felial duty & affection, to obey.
The study which I have commenced is truely an arduous
undertaking & one that requires much time & application to
books, which I should not regard had I a large fund of scientifical
knowledge which I concieve [sic] to be the basis upon which all
other studies of importance should be founded; as it is by a
knowledge of these that the mind becomes supernaturally ex-
patiated & the ideas grand & noble. I flatter myself it will not
The Pettigrew Papers 225
be too late to commence those studies after perfecting this which
call fourth my present attention. Though this preceeded [stc]
is in general little to be confided in, as most persons upon com-
pleting the superior part of their house too often neglect the
foundation, whereby the house is ever incomplete, & in much
danger of falling; thoug[h] I earnestly hope it may not turn
out so in the present allusion.
Knowledge is certainly the primary source of all true happi-
ness, & without it I am sure I should never be happy though
I posses'd the most independent fortune.
I am peculiarly ill situated here in being deprived of even an
agreeable companion whose company would not only be instruc-
tive but relaxing to the mind after being much fatigued with
intense application to study. I suppose it is because I cannot
submit to accommodate my conduct to the customs of the place
nor do I wish to do it wh[i]lst I have any regard for myself,
my present prosperity, or future respectability in the world.
This undoubtedly is the critical period of my life the habits
which I form will probably be lasting, & my character if ren-
dered bad almost irretrievable; as the first impressions made
on the minds of people are by far the most lasting We find
there is hardly a youth that makes a respectable figure if he
has any dependence but his own industry.
Doctor Knox requested me to inform you that he should be glad
to take your Bees Wax & as much more as you can procure; as
he has an intention of sending it to the Northard. If you agree
to let him have it, he requests you will send it over as soon as
possible.
Please to present my compliments to my Mother, & Brother.
I remain as ever your Dutiful Son
John Pettigrew
In haste
[Addressed:]
Rev d. M r. Pettigrew
Tyrrell C
226 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Beaufort County Sept \ 15 th. 1798
Rev d. & D r. Sir
It is now a very considerable time since I had the pleasure
of receiving a line from you ; — nor have I ever known why you
did not apply for Consecration ; — hope you did not decline with-
out some great and good reason.
At the time of our Convention at Tarborough, I was at first,
(for particular reasons) opposed to our recommending (then)
any person to be Consecrated a Bishop ; — but finding so great
a Majority in favour of the measures, — was at last willing to
join in doing it. How then am I disappointed in its stop[p]ing
at that, and matters of the Church being no better conducted
since than before. Nothing that we did then, — has, that I know
of, been of consequence at all. How little regard has been paid
to the intended Constitution ; — nor have we ever been yet (that
I know of,) represented in any of the General Conventions. Oh!
the deplorable situation of the Episcopal Church in this State!
What a handle is it to those who may wish its downfall ! which
we have too much reason to believe are not a few. Glad would
I be to see a revival from its declined & languid State; to see
Order and discipline established upon the most permanent Basis.
But alas ! what reason have we to expect it ; What further
attempts could be made that wou'd probably have any desirable
effect?
May the Great And Adorable Saviour Of sinners, Direct And
Guide us, If It Be His Blessed Will, In the way that we ought
to proceed. May He Be Graciously Pleased To Give you, dear
Sir, and me, and all who Serve In The Sacred Ministry of His
Church, (of every Sect and denomination, — ) His Grace And
Heavenly Benediction; — that both by our life and doctrine, we
may shew forth His Glory, And Set Forward The Precious And
Inestimable Salvation Of our dear Fellow-creatures.
I have understood that you have left Bertie County, — & know
not particularly how to direct a letter to you; but expect you
reside some where in the County of Tyr[r]ell; and hope I may
be so fortunate as for this to reach your hand.
Please present my Compliments to M rs. Pettigrew ; & believe
me to be Reverend & dear sir, with Brotherly esteem,
Your most Obed '.
N Blount
The Pettigrew Papers 227
[Addressed :]
The Rev d. Charles Pettigrew.
John London to Ebenezer Pettigrew unc
Wilmington the 11 of December
1798
My Dear Friend
I received your letter of the 29th Sept m. by the Gentleman
to whose care you directed it — but it was by mere chance that
I did, for after the dismission of the School M r. Jones27 the
Solicitor General sent for me up to Hillsborough, as my Father
could not hear of it for some time, and it happened that I staid
at the same Tavern as he did, hearing my name mentioned
said he had a letter for me, and it was lucky that I was there
or I suppose it would otherwise never have come to my hands;
I should have answered your letter sooner but I have been
very much indisposed since I got home. I have no excuse of
not writing to you but of not knowing w[h]ere to direct my
letters But I shall venture to write this time; I hope you will
prevail upon your father to let you come back again to the
University — but I cannot tell whether I shall return or no — As
you mentioned in your letter you wished to know for how much,
and with whom, you could get a bed, the general price is 7 doller.
a peice [sic], there are places in the Village were you might
Board or in colledge just as you like, tho' I cannot inform you
at present of any particular boy who would share a bed with
you, Yet I make no doubt there are many who will do so — You
can be boarded in the Village at 70 doller. per annum — and have
every thing found — You have heard I suppose of the fire which
has happened and consumed about 130 houses on the 31 st. of
October — I am glad to hear your Brother has entered upon the
Practice of Phisic — remember me to him if you please, do
write often.
I am your affectionate Friend
John London
27 Edward Jones of Wilmington was solicitor-general of North Carolina
from 1792 to 1827. Connor, Manual, 1913, 445.
228 N.C. Department of Archives and History
[Addressed:]
M r. Ebenezer Pettigrew
in
Tyrrell County
Nathaniel Blount to Chaises Pettigrew A&H
Beaufort County 17 th. of Jan y. 1799.
Rev : and Dear Sir,
Your favour dated the 19 th. of Nov r. I had the pleasure to
receive. I had not heard of your great indisposition, from which,
if not yet relieved, I heartily wish you an entire & speedy
recovery.
Through unmerited Mercy, I enjoy as much bodily health
as I can expect but afflicted in mind, & of a sorrowful spirit!
On the fourth friday night in November, (which was soon after
the date of your letter,) My beloved companion and bosom
Friend — My Dear and tender Wife — closed Her mortal life —
and fell into the silent sleep of Death ! — oh — my dear departed
Nancy! — I hope she Is Truly Blessed and Forever Happy, — but
Alas! How unhappy am I — a poor, frail, mortal creature, —
bereaved of Her, — My greatest earthly delight and comfort —
and left to mourn & weep — in this wilderness of sin & sorrow ! —
"The Lord Gave, and The Lord Hath Taken Away; Blessed Be
The Name of The Lord," — I humbly bow with Adoring Resigna-
tion To The Blessed And Holy Will Of My All-merciful Heavenly
Father, Who Was Pleased To Take Her from me! But oh — my
dear Friend ! you I doubt not, can have a feeling, for my sorrow-
ful— my great — my irreparable loss! —
Your reasons for not applying for Consecration, certainly
were weighty ; and I make no doubt but you was right in declining.
You certainly were the best Judge of the matter. Perhaps it
wou'd been better if you had endeavour'd to get a Convention &
made a formal resignation ; but dont know whither it wou'd been
best or not; or whither a Convention cou'd been got. Had you
by some other means informed the members of the last Conven-
tion, believe that might been sufficient. However, you certainly
knew as well as I do, how was best to act; and why should I
think otherwise, than that you acted as you thought best; both
in that, and also about declining to proceed any further in the
The Pettigrew Papers 229
Matter. Far be it from me, to smite by censure my dear friend ;
tho' "like precious oil," it wou'd not wound, rather, much rather,
were it in my power, would I pour on the comforting balm of
Gilead, — and heal the wounds that I doubt not his own reflections
have made.
While we continue here, pray dont fail to write to me when
time & opportunity will permit; that if we never should meet
again in this vale of tears, I may enjoy sometimes, the pleasure
of your thoughts in writing. I expect to send this to the post
office at Edenton, and as I expect you live some distance from
there, think it may be best to write to the Post-master there,
either to contrive it to you, or by some means let you know of it.
May true earthly felicity attend you & Mrs. Pettigrew through
your probationary state ; — and when the lamp of your mortal
life shall be extinguished — May you both, through The All-
sufficient Merit Of The Great Saviour Of sinners, Be Inheriters
Of The Glorious Kingdom Of Heaven.
I am dear Sir, your sorrowful friend, and
Brother in The Gospel
N Blount
[Addressed:]
The Reverend
Mr. Charles Pettigrew
Tyr[r]ell County
To be lodg'd
in the Post Office
at Edenton. —
John Little28 to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Edenton 12th March [17] 99
Sir
M r. Oliver handed me your letter of the 1 st. ins t. & del d. me
twelve casks of Rice, which I shall ship for Jamaica in the
vesall mentioned to you at Tyrrel; observing your directions
respecting the manner in which you wish the proceeds to be
employed —
28 John Little was a prominent Edenton merchant and a close friend of
Charles Pettigrew. Wall, "Charles Pettigrew, " 75. Little owned 400 acres
of land in Tyrrell County. Tax list, Tyrrell County, 1815.
230 N.C. Department op Archives and History
I dont know of any vesall going to the W Indies just now
by which you could make another shipment, or would endeaor
to accomplish your wishes — Should any opporty offer, will
attend to your request ; but you are to recollect that opportunities
might offer, & it would still not be in my power to avail myself
of them ; from the uncertainty of your Rice being sent up in
time — I will therefore suggest to you, that it might be to your
advantage if you are desirous to ship y r. Rice to the W Indies to
have it coop[e]d here, so as to be ready for any oppy that
might occur — As to my services in the business, I can assure
you they are at y r. command, without any expectation of a
remuneration
As you wish to know what is going on in the Political World,
I was in hopes this days Post would have furnished me with
something new to have given you ; but the Papers are quite
barren, — I can however give you a summary answer to your
request, from prior papers — to reply to them in their order;
I will inform you that Commerce is once more a float — vessels
have risen very much in their value, & are in great demand —
foreign markets are generally good — shipments are consequently
encreased & fresh life given to trade ; which seems to be much
favord by the British, & more neglected by the French; which
are certainly favorable auspices —
— I cannot judge of the probability of Peace, not being in the
secrets of the Cabinet, but as the President has appointed a new
Mission to the French Republic consisting of Van S Murray
(our Resident Minister at the Hague) Judge Ellesworth, &
Patrick Henry,29 we may conclude that prospects are in favor
of it — This appointment is in consequence I believe, of some
overture made by the Great Nation [France] ; but the Envoys
are not to proceed on their Mission, untill the President recieves
[sic~\ certain assurances, that they will be rec d. & respected as
the Ambas[s]adors of a great & independent Nation; and untill
an appointment equal in rank is made by the Great Nation to
deal with them —
— The last accounts of Bouneparte say, that he was asassinated
by some African Chief whom he had admitted to his Confidence,
& his whole army either slain or taken by the Arabs — They
29 The third delegate was not Patrick Henry but William R. Davie of
North Carolina. Samuel Flagg Bemis, John Quincy Adams and the Foun-
dations of American Foreign Policy (New York: A. A. Knopf, 1949), 101,
hereinafter cited as Bemis, John Quincy Adams.
The Pettigrew Papers 231
appear to be tolerably correct, & are generally believed — The
English are making fresh preparations for war which they
appear determin[e]d to prosecute, having form[e]d a con-
federacy with the Porte, Emperor of Russia, & King of Naples —
— Neilson [Admiral Nelson] has taken Malta, Minorca &
Leghorn; or rather a division of his Fleet — where he is just
now I do not know as there are no late accounts respecting him —
Whether the French have abandoned their pretensions to Ireland
or not since the late defeat of the Armament they fitted out
for that Island, I cannot say; as we have not had time to hear
what their intentions are since that event — Lest you may not
have heard of this defeat I will briefly relate, that they dis-
patch [e] d 8 Frigates & a 94 gun ship for Ireland, full of Troops
& implements of War, which Commodore Warren30 fell in with
off that place, with a smaller force, & completely defeated; tak-
ing every Ship except one Frigate — That the five headed Monster
[the Directorate] appears to grow sensible of his ill treatment
to this County, we ought to suppose was the case from his
cringing & overtures for a reconciliation, but / place no con-
fidence in his professions, nor do I believe you w d., or that the
Executive of this Country does —
I have sent you some of the latest Philad a. Papers that have
been rec d. at this place (as none came by this days mail) to
which refer you for further news — & have only to add that
we have accounts in Town brought by Benners Vail from
Philad a. that the President has ordered P. Porcupine31 to leave
the U States and am TX7.,, , ,
With great respect
Y r. mo obd t.
John Little
You will see some (as the Printers call it) [illegible] news in
one of the Norfolk papers —
[Addressed:]
The Rev d. Charles Pettigrew
Tyrrell
30 This is probably Sir John Warren, who commanded a squadron of
the British navy off Brest, France, in 1796. State Gazette of North-Caro-
lina (Edenton), May 19, 1796.
31 "Peter Porcupine" was William Cobbett, who published Porcupine's
Gazette in Philadelphia from March 4, 1797, to October 26, 1799. Cobbett
was sued for libel in 1800 by Dr. Benjamin Rush and returned to England
shortly thereafter. James Truslow Adams (ed.), Dictionary of American
History (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 5 volumes and index, 1940),
IV, 314.
232 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Frederic Beasley to Charles Pettigrew a&H
Princeton March 18 th. 1799
Dear Uncle —
I am sorry that I have been prevented from writing to you
untill this time, by the business in which I have been enguaged
[sic] — Time seems to have flown so rapidly over my head for
several months past, that I have not marked the successive
periods — You will perceive by this that I am not so unwell at
present, or that I have not been so unwell since I received
your last letter, as I was for some time before — At this time
I am just getting over the effects of a very bad cold, and I
think I have a tolerably good prospect of recovering my health
this summer — The spring in this Country is a most delightful
season — Seated on an eminence as we are at princeton, with a
level Country on one side extending for some miles, and then
hills rising gradually one above another untill they seem to
be lost amongst the distant clouds, presents to the imagination a
scenery truly delightful & sublime — But the whole becomes still
more pleasing, when covered with the verdure of Spring — By
frequently travelling over the delightful fields of this Country
I hope I shall once more meet with health that charming com-
panion which has so long fled my society — And should she deign
to visit me my joy will be pure & celestial — if you will allow
me the use of the term — And I believe I cannot use one too strong
to express my feelings —
I am at this time busily enguaged [sic] in pursuing my
theological studies — or rather I am enguaged [sic] in the study
of general science — I have read a small portion of Patrick's
commentary on the bible — I am now reading Leland on the
necessity of the Christian religion which he attempts to shew
from the corrupted state of morality even amongst the Wisest
Philosophers of the heathen world before the commencement
of the Christian era, and from the obscurity in which all the
great doctrines of both natural & revealed religion were in-
volved by the fallacious & absurd conclusions of human reason
at that period — I am highly gratified with the extent of informa-
tion which this author displays in this treatise — It is worthy
the perusal of any one fond of cultivating his mind —
If my health should be restored, (which thank God I have now
some reason to expect, [)] I wish to remain in this College as
The Pettigrew Papers 233
a teacher for a considerable length of time — The Duties of my
office I am now enabled to discharge with so much facilety, that
they employ but a small portion of my time and the rest I shall
employ in the perusing of those excellent books with which our
libraries are stored — But I must not forget to perform that
business w h. is incumbent on me at this time — You mention that
you intend sending my Cousin Ebenezer to this College — I hope
you will persist in your determination : — It will be of the greatest
advantage to him — and you could not send him at any time of
the year better than at this — and perhaps not a more proper
period of his life — The expences of the College may amount to
about three hundred dollars a year, if he finds himself in cloaths
after coming here — If you provide cloaths for him it will be
considerably less — But this is nothing, when compared to the
advantages of study that are here enjoyed — And he is a youth
towards whom you will not discharge the duties of a parent not
to give him a good education — I hope you will send him as
soon as you get this letter, if you have not sent him before —
believe me, I shall use all my exertions to advance him in im-
provement Remember to my two Cousins — & your family
I am as ever Yrs
Frederic Beasley
[Addressed:]
Reverend Charles Pettigrew
near
Edenton
N °. Carolina —
Chaises Pettigrew to John Pettigrew UNC
Tyrrell 18th May 1799
Dear Jackey,
I had the pleasure to hear from you at Court, by some of
your neighbours, & addressed a line to you by one of them.
We should be again very glad to see you, together with the
Doctor [Knox] & his Lady; but your Mother objects, that from
the backwardness of the spring she has nothing good to enter-
tain you with, by way of treats ; however that may be, I will
234 N.C. Department of Archives and History
venture to pledge myself that the best she can command will
be at your service, & that she will derive a singular pleasure
from the Joint visits of the Doctor, his Lady, yourself & M r.
Pattillo, when ever it will be convenient. And as the calls of
patients at this healthy season of the year must be less frequent,
I should think it the best time to make an excursion.
I should been glad to have accompanied M r. Maccrae to Nixon-
ton, but having no Overseer at Home, I am constrained to give
the more close attention, & particularly at this season of the year.
Your Cousin, Miss Betsey Lockhart,32 is with us, & has been
now about 3 weeks, but thinks of returning sometime next week.
Her hand is recovered & quite well. She is in good health, &
gives her compliments to you. Your Mother is as usual, & gives
her Love to you. Ebenezer also is well, & presents his fraternal
respects. I have generally been in good health for some time
past, for all which I thank the father of mercies.
I am just now building a farm house at the Lake, & expect it
will be raised on Monday.
I have not been able to sell my Rice yet. I have now two Ofers
for the whole, but not a stiver of money in less than 5 or 6
months. The great Difficulty is in getting vessels, to the W.
Indies. I should be very glad to ship one half for the other on
freight for 80 tierces, & wish if you can hear of any chance of
freighting out any on any terms, but particularly one half for
carrying the other & fetching the neat proceeds either in money,
or the produce of the Island by the return of ye vessel, you
will let me know.
I will catch every opportunity of writing, & wish you to do
the same. Present my best respects to the D r. & his Lady, also
to M r. Pattillo & believe me to be as ever your
affectionate father
Charles Pettigrew
N.B.
By this conveyance your Mother sends you four Shirts, which
I hope will not be unacceptable. The Linen is not fine, but a
fine price. It appears to be good which is the most material. —
M r. Pettigrew
32 Elizabeth (Betsey) Lockhart was a daughter of George Lockhart and
his wife Mary Bryan. See the Lockhart family chart in the introduction,
p. xix.
The Pettigrew Papers 235
[Addressed :]
M r. John Pettigrew
at Nixonton
Favor'd by
M r. Maccrae
Frederic Beasley to Elizabeth Beasley A&H
Princeton May 28 th. [17] 99
My Dear & Hon d. Mother —
I know not by what strange concurrence of events it is that
I so seldom sit down to write to you, for I am sure I never feel
more happiness than when I think of you — I have been accus-
tomed to hear it repeatedly advanced as a truth not to be
disputed that absence from the object which we love diminishes
our affection for it — But I know from experience that this effect
is not produced on me, by my absence from those friends and
connections of whom I have once been fond — The longer I have
been separated from them, with the more ardor and tenderness
do I call them to my remembrance — Often do I retire into some
secret corner, where I may undisturbed enjoy the melancholy
pleasure of reflecting on those scenes thro which I have passed
with my nearest and dearest relations — And need I tell you,
my dearest mother, that you are always the principal object
that occupies my attention? Now however, I must console my-
self with the reflection that I am doing that which you would
wish me to do — and can I say without vanity that is unbecoming,
that which may contribute to your honor & happiness, as well
as my own — that I am endeavouring to walk in the way of
the righteous — Yes, my mother, however long I may be absent
from you, and however perplexing the difficulties in which I
may be entangled, yet you may rest assured I will never swerve
from the line of my duty — I will never do any thing that shall
bring your grey hairs in dishonor and sorrow to the grave —
No — As it was Joseph's joy that he gladdened the heart of his
father in the close of his life, so it is one of the strongest motives
which I have to duty and exertion, that my aged mother will
have her heart filled with joy in the evening of her life, should
I be able to succeed — That mother, who bore me in her arms,
and afforded me nourishment & defence, during the helpless
state of my infancy — Who first reared my tender mind, and
236 N.C. Department of Archives and History
fortified it against the influence of bad example by inspiring
into it the principles of virtue and religion — Who has placed
me in possession of all the advantages of improvement w h. I at
present possess — But, my dear mother — I must stop here — I can
say no more — Heaven, virtue, and my love be ever with you —
I have just received the Edenton paper & there I find an
account of the marriage of my brother written with the pen,
will you permit me to say, of a devil33 — I never was more
astonished, than when I saw it — Poor young man — why should
he have enemies? I am as confident as that I live, that he never
harmed or wished to harm any creature on earth — But this is
the present disordered state of things — The proud, the daring
& the vicious, trample under their feet the meek the humble,
the unassuming & the virtuous — I suppose this is the gratitude
of his admiring mistress — She sees all her own schemes vanish
at his marriage, and she takes this method of giving vent to her
malignant passions — or is it some of his old enemies for it seems
as if our family was perpetually pursued by them —
I have been in better health for a few weeks past than I have
ever been since my ride from Newbern which I am sure was
the great cause of all my woe — I am now seated at my studies —
The money which I can get I find scarcely adequate to provide
me with the means of study — I wish I had some good friend to
assist me — Remember me My Dear Mother, to my Sisters & all
my Freinds & relatives. & I am
as ever y. affect son
Frederic Beasley
[Addressed:]
M rs. Elizabeth Beasley
Edenton
N°. Carolina
33 The item read as follows: "Married, on Sunday evening last, by the
Reverend Charles Pettigrew, JOHN BEASLEY, of mean parentage, but
clear blood, by profession a quack Doctor, to NANCY SLADE, of clear
blood, and oldest daughter of Mr. William Slade, all of this town." Herald
of Freedom (Edenton), May 1, 1799, quoted in "Newspaper Notices of
Marriages and Deaths Copied from Miscellaneous North Carolina Papers,
1764-1813," unpaged typescript, arranged alphabetically by newspaper,
State Archives.
The Pettigrew Papers 237
Ebenezer Pettigrew to John London UNC
Tyrrel County July 15, 1799
My Dear Friend,
Your letter of the 11th of December came to hand 8 days ago,
opportunities are so seldom from where I live to Plimouth, it
being 30 miles that I believe it stayed there about 5 months,
and was packed up to send to Philidelphia to be burnt. Nothing
gave me more pleasure than to receive a letter from one I respect
so much. I am very sorry to hear of your being indisposed, but
hope you have recovered you[r] health again.
Peter Evins who lives within 7 miles of me informed me that
you were in Caesar when he left the University, I am very glad
to hear that you go on so well with your studies ; you write me
that you cannot tell whether you shall return or no but Peter
was at the University last January told me that you had I
was very glad to hear it, and am very sorry that you have any
expectation of not finishing your education there as I expect I
shall return next January and nothing will give me more pleasure
than to be a student with you.
I was very sorry to hear of the fire in Wilmington.
Now you have found where I am I hope you will write me
often, I had almost given you out and was affraid you had
forgot me before I received you letter but am in hopes you
will cherish the correspondence as I see in you letter write often.
Be so obliging as to present my complimence to all those who
respectfully ask after me.
I still remain your
sincere friend.
Ebenezer Pettigrew.
[Addressed:]
Mr. John London
University of North Carolina
From ye post office at Hallifax
238 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Charles Pettigrew to Andrew Knox unc
Tyrell 20th August 1799
Dear Sir,
I sincerely thank you for your favor by Jackey. The contents
of it would have been much more grateful to us, viva voce, in
a social conversation, could you have so ordered your matters
as to have made us a friendly visit with your good Lady. Since
Jackey's arrival, we have made it a continued subject of regret,
that you & M rs. Knox were not with him ; for we have abounded
in excellent fruit, & have had also plenty of watermelons. But
as you have now missed the best treat we could have promised
you, — we still beg leave to hope, that you will take a run over in
grape time. This you may easily ascertain, from the time you
were over last year. And then, I flatter myself, we will be able
to shew you crops, equal to the best you can boast on the rich
Lands of pasqu tk., though they will not be in that highly
flourishing state of vegetation which they are at present.
You will permit me next to thank you for the perusal of our
old friends' Letters, while I beg leave to second his friendly hints
on the subjects of Religion. In this I am intimately persuaded
that your good uncle, & worthy farther [sic] would concur in
unison with us, were it in the power of the Dead to maintain
such an intercourse with the Living. As to your uncle I never
was so happy to have a personal acquaintance with him, but I
have been happy in an acquaintance with his valuable writings ;
and I will remember to have heard your farther express himself
most feelingly on the absolute necessity of religion to the well
being & happiness not only of individuals, but of society in
general. And indeed I believe it is almost universally confessed,
by every civilized nation on Earth (except by the present re-
generates & Leaders of france), to be the truest, and most
permanent Baysis of civil government.
In respect to Jackey's going to Philadelphia I have no objection
but one, & that I hope will be but temporary. It is the gamblers
first good reason of 12 for not playing, for which the company
excused him, without the trouble of giving them any more of
them. I need not tell you it was that, he had no money.
It is true, I have some resources, whence I have a right to
expect a supply. But from the Disappointments I have ex-
perienced, I dare hardly promise myself any thing. I have a
The Pettigrew Papers 239
fine crop on the ground, & some time ago, shipped for Lizbon
41 Tierces of rice & sold as many more on credit till Nov r. — I
have also other moneys due me, but if I may count upon the
future by the past, I can promise myself little but Disappoint-
ment. I feel extremely unhappy on your account, as often as
the thought occurs ; as I hoped it wo d. been in my power before
this time to have made you a remittance.
If we could have a free & uninterrupted traid once more,
money would grow plenty, & untill then, I am affraid little com-
paratively will fall to my share, as what is in circulation is all
too little for the grab of the Speculator. I am, believe me Sir,
as willing to do whatever might tend to the useful accomplish-
ment of my Child, as your benevolence can be to suggest it, &
will do every thing in my power to comply with both your & his
desire. Yet I am affraid it will not be in my power as soon as
we wish.
We have had on this side the most mortal fever, ever known
since the settlement of the place. The family it first appeared in,
lost four out of nine, not one of whome escaped it. And most of
the surviving have been reduced to the lowest extremity to
recover. About as many more of those who visitted the family
have also been taken with it, viz, 9 or 10, of whom but one has
yet died, & I trust in providence they may recover. It seems how-
ever to spread, for one of our Negroes has it. It is the slow
nervous fever, & in the advanced stage, it has been highly putrid.
I expended almost all my little stock of physic on them, & did
every thing I could as a Quack ; but the best remedy, / found too
late, for some of them. It was not in any Medical Book, but
a Newspaper & I think it one of the greatest discovery's ever
made of the kind, as far as I have had opportunity to prove it.
It is ye[a~\st. It has a miraculous power to quiet, & allay the
agitation of the nervous system & the putrid flies before it.
A couple of spoonfuls every 2 or 3 hours, or as the stomach of
the patient will easily bear it is the Dose. The ye[a]st I have
had an Opportunity of has been from New Cyder, in a state
of fermentation — and it has succeeded well — Cyder & water I
think has as good an effect to raise the pulse, as either wine
or french Brandy, & I am very apt to conclude from its well
known warming influence, it is superior to either [torn] — it is
happy for the poor, who can so easily command it.
240 N.C. Department of Archives and History
I am extremely sorry for the unhappy situation of poor M r.
Pattillo;34 and also for his parents, as their feeling must suffer
greatly thro' that parental sympathy which is so natural to
them both —
M rs. Pettigrew joins me in the most respectful compliments to
M rs. Knox & yourself, she says she will be very happy to see
you when you can indulge us with a little of your Company —
I remain as ever your affec fc. friend and serv \
Charles Pettigrew
NB.
I had written a letter prior to this on 13th August & my
Dear Jackey died on 24th of Sept r. at 3 o'clock in the morning.
His crossing was 3 or 4 time prevented by adverse winds, till
he was taken sick — Strange fatallity.
[Addressed:]
Doctor Andrew Knox
at Nixonton
John Beasley to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Edenton Sept r. 21 st. 1799.
Dear Sir,
From the contents of your letter, (which was to have been
handed me by M r. Reavis), I suppose you have not as yet
received a letter I wrote by Capt. Hathaway, in which I gave
you only a succinct acco t. of the malignant fever which pre-
cipated Chipman, Ramsey & Warren into eternity; — this fever
I have not a doubt in my own mind can be any other than a
yellow-fever, at all events not more than one grade removed
from it — every symptom which Cap t. Warren had during his
illness were accurately described by [Dr. Benjamin] Rush in
his treatise on yellow fever. — Warren sent for me the second
day from the attack. I bled him twice in about 6 hours, tho'
from the feebleness of his pulse I could not venture farther,
there appeared from the first of my seeing him to be every
ru This must be the son of Henry Pattillo. The young man was evidently
studying medicine under Dr. Knox along with John Pettigrew.
The Pettigrew Papers 241
tendency to dissolution. — he complained of a pain in the head
& back with a prostration of strength & continued to sink,
notwithstanding every stimulating exertion, till he died, this
was in two nights & three days from the time I first saw
him. — Since the death of Warren I was called to the Barber Jim,
taken in the same manner of the others with every mark of the
same disease. I bled him to about 90 Ounces in two days,
this blood was very different from Warrens as it was highly
inflamed, even the last bleeding, — he is now in a state of
recovery & will be well in a few days — there has been no other
case in town similar to Jims since his attack & I hope we shall
have no more of it, — Ten days ago I had about 20 patients
labouring under diseases common this season of the year, but
at this time have not half as many. — A number of the inhabi-
tants of Edenton have been much alarmed, so much so, that
several families left town tho' they are again returning. — You
will here with receive a bottle of castor oil 23 Boxes Andersons
Pills. — I am truly sorry to hear of the illness of my freind [sic]
& relation I wish I was so near him as render what assistance
my inclination prompts me to. —
You mentioned a mistake in you[r] former letter of a *4 of a
pound, this I suppose was Opium which was omitted. I suppose
you only want an ounce of it. — As the boy is now wa[i]ting I
cannot take time to look over my work to correct it therefore
hope you will excus [e] errors — With every wish for the recovery
of your Son
I am
D Sir
Y r. devoted Sev t.
Jo Beasley
[Addressed:]
The Rev d. Charles Pettigrew
Scuppernong
by George
242 N.C. Department of Archives and History
H. HookerVo to Charles Pettigrew UNC
[Illegible] 7 th. Sep \ [27 th.?] 1799
My Dear Sir,
I heard of your Disstresing misfortune Wednesday morning.
I can say I never was more [shocked?] The sound of the Blessed
young man's Name was seldom out of the House since, and our
minds are much Distrest on your & your Famileys account. I
wanted to see you but was not able to ride, or I would a Talked
with you : and I was afraid to wright for fear of Distressing
you, but I condole with you, & would to God I could take part
your Grief. I would Bear it, if it could Relieve you — a Dis-
tressing Loss it is. Such a one that few parrents can meet with
a morrolised Obedient Dutiful youth : but my Dear sir be Com-
forted, when you see the way you Raised and trained your
Child. — he did not Depart from it, and all who knew him may
Suppose that a well prepared Soul has gone hence; my Dear
Sir, don't let me distress you but as I cannot see you, I cannot
help wrighting a few words. Requesting you and your Dear
Lady to let Fortitude take place, and dont grieve, knowing he
is gone the way ap[p]ointed for all Living — Oh Distressing it
must be when I do suppose you have not a comforter comes
nigh you : and I understand that your nearest Neibours are the
furthest off. I sincearly wish that it was Convenient for you &
your Distress d. Lady to come & pass away some of the Lonesome
Hours with us — so my D r. Sir I will not intrude on your mind
any more fearing I Shall Distress you knowing that a Heart
Loaded with grief is Easy Bursted — M rs. Hooker is well & Little
Child n. Better than they were, I still continue lame and some
what unwell if you had not wrote to me I should not attended
on your Business to day. I conclude with subscribing myself
your most obt. Humb l. Friend —
H. Hooker
M rs. Hooker & M r. McCrae joins in Respects to you — & Familly
33 H. Hooker has not been identified. His reference to attending to
Pettigrew's business would indicate that he lived in Edenton. A Stephen R.
Hooker wrote to Ebenezer Pettigrew on November 10, 1807, and an Eliza
Hooker wrote Mary Lockhart Pettigrew on March 4, 1817, that she was
sending the latter some fresh shad. Both letters are in this volume, pp. 406,
550. The Hooker connections, if any, are not known. One Elizabeth Hooker
owned fifty acres of land in Tyrrell County in 1815; she is probably the
same Eliza Hooker mentioned above. Tax List, Tyrrell County, 1815.
The Pettigrew Papers 243
[Addressed :]
The Rev d. M r. Pettigrew
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew :]
This Letter speakes the goodness & benevolence of the Writers
heart. It is so tender that it awakened all my sensibility of the
inexpressible Loss which I have sustained in the death of one
of the Best of Children, & made my sorrows bleed afresh ; and
yet, though my heart bled afresh, the tender sympathy which
is express'd so much in the genuine symplicity of nature, was to
me very soothing, & I gave my D r. friend very great Credit.
May he never want a friend to administer the Balm of con-
solation in any of the Distresses of Life ! C. Pettigrew
John London to Ebenezer Pettigrew UNC
University September 28, 1799
My Dear Friend
I have received your letter of July 15 and am glad to hear
you enjoy your health your long silence caused me to suppose
that my letter had not come to hand or you had forgot me but
your last has prooved to me that it was occassioned neither
through carelessness nor forgetfulness. — My indisposition caused
me to come to the university very late and i was very much
surprised in not finding you here as i expected But I hope we
will have the pleasure of seeing one another at School once more
This place is not in the most thriving condition but I hope it will
turn out better than I thinke most of the boys that are here
this year will not return next I am afraid, which will tend to
hurt it, Our President has got a horsew[h]ip[p]ing;36 from a
boy which he and the Teachers had expelled unjustly and we
have been in great confusion in taking his part for he was
liked by all the boys but every thing is put to rights again only
our president relished the w[h]ip[p]ing so badly as to retire.
30 James Smiley Gillaspie, professor of natural philosophy at the Uni-
versity of North Carolina, was named principal professor of the university
in 1797. In 1799 the students opposed him, possibly on political grounds.
They "beat Mr. Gillaspie personally, waylaid and stoned Mr. Webb, accosted
Mr. Flinn with the intention of beating him" and "uttered violent threats
against Mr. Murphey and Mr. Caldwell. . . ." Three of the offenders were
dismissed from the school. Battle, History of the University, I, 116, 118,
155.
244 N.C. Department of Archives and History
William Baker, Robert alston [,] Samuel McCulloch are expelled
for taking an active part in the business, I was in a great
hurry or i should have wrote a great deal mor[e] concerning
it pay my respects to your brother John
I am yours
John London
M '. Pettigrew
if you donot write before november you had better direct your
letters to Wilmington
[Addressed:]
Mr. Ebenezer Pettigrew
Tyrell County N C
William Albertson37 to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Nixonton Jan y. 20 th. 1800
Charles Pettigrew
Respected Friend
I participate in sympathy with thee for the loss thy dear son
John, who I had the pleasure to be intimat[e]ly acquainted with
after his coming to this place, which I feignly would have
Cherished & improved. — he being a young man of a steady
mind & sweet disposition possessing (in my op [in] ion) those
internal principals that are worthy to be sought after by all
mankind & such as would make respectable men & citizens,
but as it has pleased the almighty in his infinite goodness to
take him from works to rewards, we dare not say nay, as he
who gives can take away when he sees meet, blessed be his
holy name forever. — he being of an orderly life & conduct &
religiously inclined, it is to be hoped he has gone to rest with
Christ Jesus in the mansions of glory & ever blissfull & eternal
peace, so be it saith my soul for a friend & companion, who I
sincer[e]ly loved and enjoyed as such, being sensible I have
nT William Albertson was possibly the father of William Albertson who
was editor of the Elizabeth City Star and North Carolina Eastern Intelli-
gencer in 1823. Nixonton is near Elizabeth City. Johnson, Ante-Bellum
North Carolina, 767.
The Pettigrew Papers 245
sustained great loss in his death, but being cons[c]ious my loss
will be his everlasting gain, (he being delivered from a world
of trouble anxiety and perplexity of mind) shall endeavour to
be resigned to the will of him who knows what is best for man
& cannot do wrong. Inclosed is John Pettigrews account with
W m. Albertson & C °. which they will be much obliged by thy
sending the cash for the am t. by the barer W m. W. Keand,
being much in want of it at this time they did not sopose it
necessary to prove it, but will do it if required.
I am with true
Esteem & Respect
thy friend
W m. Albertson
[Addressed:]
Charles Pettigrew Esq r.
Terrel County
f av d. by
W m. W Keand
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
From William Albertson that
very worthy and Good Quaker
A Circular Requesting Support for Edenton Academy38 A&H
EDENTON, February 15th, 1800.
SIR,
THE Trustees of the Edenton Academy, take the liberty of
enclosing to your care a Subscription Paper, for the Edenton
Academy, and rely much upon the support of the Citizens of
your County.
We think it unnecessary to descant upon the advantages of
Education, as every man must be fully impressed with a sense
of its importance, and every Citizen in this part of the country
must have felt and lamented the serious inconveniences under
which we have laboured from the want of an institution of this
kind.
38 The Edenton Academy taught 462 students during its first four years
of operation. North-Carolina Journal (Halifax), May 13, 1805, quoted in
Coon, North Carolina Schools and Academies, 326-327.
246 N.C. Department of Archives and History
The Subscriptions from the Town of Edenton and County of
Chowan, have been liberal, but the patronage of a single County
is very inadequate to the support of such an institution, upon
so comprehensive a scale as to render it extensively beneficial ;
and unless it is upon such a scale, it will be impossible to afford
such Salaries as to insure the services of Professors and Tutors
of talents and integrity.
The Inhabitants of Edenton are at present disposed to board
such Youth as may be sent to the school, upon as moderate terms
as can possibly be afforded ; and to ensure a continuance of this
disposition, we have it in contemplation, as soon as our Funds
will afford it, to erect a Boarding House, on the school lots, to be
always under the management and direction of the Trustees. —
We propose to erect the Buildings on the most dry, airy and
healthy situation that can be procured. We shall use our best
exertions to procure the ablest Tutors in the different branches
of learning usually taught in preparatory Schools ; and we
pledge ourselves to our fellow citizens, that if they will afford
us the means of effecting it, the institution shall and must
flourish, as no exertions on our part shall be wanting to attain
so desirable an end.
Below you have a list of the names of the Trustees, in which
is noted those who were absent, and those appointed to offices.
By order of the Board,
Will Blair Sec y. S. Cabarrus C [hairman]
LIST OF TRUSTEES.
1 SAMUEL JOHNS [T] ON, President, absent,
2 JOSIAH COLLINS, Sen'r,39 Building Commissioner
:,i) Josiah Collins, Sr., was an Edenton merchant. See footnote 80 in Part
I, p. 91. He served in the House of Commons as representative from Eden-
ton in 1801. Connor, Manual, 1913, 556. His wife was Anne Rebecca Daves,
the daughter of John Daves of New Bern. Ashe, Biographical History, II,
70. In 1815 Collins owned 21,558 acres of land in Washington County, and
together with Nathaniel Allen, he owned 41,600 acres more. Tax List,
Washington County, 1815. In Tyrrell County he owned 5,477 acres; and
Collins, Allen, and Dickinson owned a total of 12,000 acres in two tracts.
Tax List, Tyrrell County, 1815. In 1801 in Edenton, Collins owned 1,154
acres, 18 town lots, and 59 Negro slaves. County Records, Chowan County,
List of Taxables, 1801, 1810, 1814, 1826, State Archives, hereinafter cited
as Tax List, Chowan County.
The Pettigrew Papers 247
3 JACOB BLOUNT,40 ) _ .... _ . .
4 SAMUEL TREDWELL-J BuiWmg Commissloners
5 JOSIAH COLLINS, Jun'r. Treasurer, absent,
6 WILLIAM BLAIR, Secretary,
7 NATHANIEL ALLEN,
8 LAWRENCE BAKER, absent,
9 RICHARD BENBURY,
10 STEPHEN CABARRUS,42 Chairman,
11 LEMUEL CREECY,
12 SAMUEL DICKINSON,43
13 THOMAS FITT, absent,
14 JAMES GRANBERY, absent,
15 JOSEPH HARVEY,
16 JAMES HATHAWAY,
17 JOHN LITTLE, absent,
18 ELISHA NORFLEET,
19 JOHN SKINNER,
20 WILLIAM SLADE, absent,
21 DAVID STONE,44 absent.
[Addressed:]
The Reverend Charles Pettigrew
Tyrrell
40 Jacob Blount was the youngest brother of William, John Gray, and
Thomas Blount. He was trained in the mercantile business and after his
marriage to Nancy Collins, the daughter of Josiah Collins, moved to Eden-
ton where he engaged in business with his father-in-law. Keith John Gray
Blount Papers, I, xxvii-xxviii, Blount died in 1801 and his funeral was
conducted by Charles Pettigrew. See Alexander Millen to Charles Petti-
grew, January 22, 1801, in this volume, p. 274.
41 Samuel Treadwell or Tredwell was collector of the port of Edenton,
and he later engaged in the mercantile business with one Thorn. His
daughter married James Iredell, Jr. Wheeler, Historical Sketches, II, 94.
In 1801 his property in Edenton consisted of twelve town lots and twenty-
one male Negro slaves. Tax List, Chowan County, 1801.
42 Stephen Cabarrus represented Edenton in the General Assembly from
1784 to 1787. Altogether he served sixteen terms in the assembly and was
ten times speaker of the House of Commons. Connor, Manual, 1913, 555,
557, 457-458, 558, 460-461. In 1789 he was named to the first board of
trustees of the University of North Carolina. Cabarrus County was named
for him in 1792. Ashe, Biographical History, II, 47-50.
43 Samuel Dickinson owned ten town lots and fifteen Negro slaves in
Edenton in 1801. Tax List, Chowan County, 1801.
44 David Stone of Bertie was a judge of the Superior Court in 1794-1798
and again in 1806-1808. He served as a representative to Congress in 1799-
1801 and as senator in 1801-1807. Stone was governor of North Carolina
in 1809-1810 and then was a senator again in 1813-1815. Connor, Manual,
1913, 418, 448, 915-917, 920; Ashe, Biographical History, IV, 422-430.
248 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Arbitration Decision in the Case of Pettigrew v. Oliver* A&H
[May 1, 1800]
State of North Carolina
Tyrrell County pu[r]suant to a Rule of the worship-
full Court are the Arbitrators being Chosen by S d. Court to
Settle a Certain Dispute & Controversy between the Revn d.
Charles Pettigrew plaintiff & Joseph Oliver Defend l. after have-
ing Examined & hea[rd] the evidence on both parties Do award
& Determined that the S d. Joseph Oliver be acquited of the Suit
in trespass45 brought against him by the S d. Charles Pettigrew
we Devise & Determine that Each partie pay his own Costs
on said Suit as witness our hands this first Day of May 1800
Sam l. Spruell
N Hooker
Jno Bateman
a true Coppey
Test
C Spruell Clk
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
Charles Spruill's miserable Copy of a no less miserable award,
through the influence of an equally miserable & wicked Testimony
given by himself, in the Decision.
[Notation by C. Spruill :]
Coppey of the award in the Suit
the Rev d. C Pettigrew
vs
Jas Oliver
april term 1800
price 4/6
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew :]
Enough too, unless he could have done it better.
45 Although the records of this particular suit have not been found, the
Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions in Chowan, the records for which are
fairly complete, reveal many similar cases. For examples see County
Records, Chowan, Civil Trial Docket, County Court, 1798-1804; and County
Records, Chowan, Minutes of County Court, September 1798-December 1801
and March 1802-March 1808, both in the State Archives. It can be supposed
that unimproved land offered temptation both to squatters and to specula-
tors to move in and attempt to establish occupancy.
The Pettigrew Papers 249
Depositions Concerning Glebe46 Lands* a&h
These are to Certify that I have Often, and at Different times
heard the Rev. M r. Pettigrew Speak Concerning the Property
of the Glebe Land as belonging to the church. And I always
heard him say he wished the Monies arising from the sale of
said Glebe to be applied to the Purpose of Repairing & Building
Chappels. And I always heard him say also, that not a stiver
of it should come into his pockett. This he also repeated, as
nearly as I can recollect, at the Table when the Vestry had
been Sitting at M rs. Spruill's on Easter Monday, when he was
Insisting for a Vestry of twelve men to be Chosen as a religious
Regulation in the Protestant Episcopal Church. Given under
my hand May 7 th. 1800
Jos. Phelps
I, Certify that I have also heard the Re d. M r. Petigrew at
diferent times and Particular on the Day that the Vestrey Sat
at M rs. Spruills Declare that not a Stiver of the monies that
Should a rise from the Sale of the Glebe Land Should Ever
Come in his pocket Given under my hand this 7 Day of May 1800
John Swain
7th May 1800
I do also Certify that agreeable to the two above certificates,
I Have herd the Rev and . M r. Petigrew at Sevral times say,
that he wanted no part of the mones arrising from the saile of
the Gleabe, and perrtuclarly on Easter munday, at the Table
where the Vestry Had been Sitting He declared that not a Stiver
of said Money shood ever Cum into his pockett. Witness
Henry Norman
May 8 th. 1800—
And I also Certify that I Heard the rev d. M r. Petegrew, re-
peatedly, say the same that these-aforesaid Gentlemen have cer-
tified & Peticularly on Easter Monday, at the Table Where the
46 The glebe lands had been allocated by the crown during the colonial
period for the support of the established church. These depositions mark
the beginning of a bitter quarrel between Charles Pettigrew and Amariah
Biggs, who was a vestryman and apparently a preacher of some sort.
250 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Vestry had been Setting, he said not a Stiver of the Money
Arising from the Sale of the Glebe Shou'd Ever come into his
Pockets —
Witness
John Bateman
M r. Biggs47 told at Aligator,48 & I know not how many places
besides, that I had said at The Table where the Vestry had
been sitting on Easter monday before all present, I was deter-
mined that every stiver of the money arising from the sale
of the Glebe should yet come into my pocket — And had even
the assurance to assert it to my face the next time I saw him —
of this I am happy enough to have a Witness, who was along
w th. me or he might with an Equally good face deny it — Now
what must we think of such a man, who sets himself up as a
public Teacher — I suppose I might find as many more, who were
present, to prove the lie upon him. —
Charles Pettigrew
N.B. M r. Biggs owned that he had reported the contrary of
the above Certificates, even to my face and asserted that I had
said so. Of this I have a witness who was along with me —
Could any thing show more obduracy, & fixed assurances I
confess it shocked me more than any thing of the kind I had
ever met with ; as I knew it to be a posative Lie. The thoughts
of it deprived of sleep the greatest part of the night. —
C P[ettigre]w.
Charles Pettigrew to Amariah Biggs* A&H
May 11th 1800
Sir,
The uncommon stretch of assurance that you assumed the
other Day, for the purpose of asserting to my face, that I had
declared publickly at the Table where the Vestry had been
Just sitting & still present on Easter Monday, that / was deter-
17 The only record that has been found of Amariah Biggs lists him as
owning 100 acres of land in Washington County, but no slaves. Tax List,
Washington County, 1815. He must have been a member of the vestry to
have attended the meeting held at Mrs. Spruill's, which is mentioned in
these depositions.
8 This was probably somewhere on the Alegator [Alligator] River in
Tyrrell County. The river is shown on the Price and Strother Map.
The Pettigrew Papers 251
mined every stiver of the money arising from the sale of the
Glebe should yet come into my pocket, give me no small sur-
prize, as I knew the directly contrary of that to be the Truth ; —
and from the trembling of your knees which my so?i as well as
myself observed, I could not help thinking you conscious that
what I then asserted in so positive & solemn a manner was the
truth ; — but, that you knew you had reported it at Alegator &
elsewhere, & were determined then not to retract, but if possible
to stand it out. All this Sir, being so contrary to what I had
charitably hoped concerning you, made such an impression on
my mind as nearly to deprive me of sleep that night.
The next Day I took my horse & went to the following gentle-
men of the Vestry, as I knew they had not retired from the
Table when & where I should have made so extraordinary a
Declaration. They are as follows, viz, Joseph Phelps & Henry
Norman Esquires, Mess rs. John Swain & John Bateman. These
Sir, have certified from under their hands, that I declared (as
they had often before heard me say both in public & private)
when at the Table, that not a stiver of the money arising from
the sale of the glebe should ever come into my pocket. From
all which, & the missrepresentations you gave at Alegator &c,
of the private conversation you had with me on the same Day,
& which appeared to me to be perfectly friendly, & without an
objection on your part, I am almost petrified in a fixed state
of astonishment. The more I think of it, the more I find myself
utterly at a loss to reconcile your Conduct with my ideas of
either heathen Virtue or christian morallity, & am forced to
conclude, that it is as much opposed to both, as it is to Truth and
the principles of good breeding & politeness. I shall therefore
take the Liberty to direct your attention to a few verses of the
50th psalm, — from the 16th to the end, — & shall endeavour to
assist your meditation on the serious Subject.
16. "To the wicked God saith, what hast thou to do to declare
my Statutes, — or that thou shouldest take my Covenant in thy
mouth?" — Now Sir, what can be more offensive to the God of
Truth than falsehood? And what can be more wicked & base,
than by the use of it to endeavour to make a Man in a sacred
character an object of popular Odium & resentment? Then how
can you after being thus Detected, venture to declare the divine
Statutes, as a public Instructor, or to take God's Covenant in
your guilty mouth?
252 N.C. Department of Archives and History
17. "Seeing thou hatest instruction, & castest my words
behind thee." Have you not Sir, despised the Instructors & the
instruction which taught you better ? And however inadequate to
the Business, have you not undertaken to be an Instructor
of others ? And alas ! have you not cast the words of God
which were delivered with such divine pomp from the top of
trembling & burning Sinai behind your Back? Viz Thou shalt
not bear, false witness against thy neighbour. This awful Com-
mand you have flagrantly violated.
18. "When Thou sawest a Thief thou consentedst with him,
& hast been partaker with adulterers." When an attempt was
made to rob a Church of its property, though small, you appeared
publickly at the side of one of the gentlemen who made the
attempt, & expressed your consent & approbation. And why?
Because you had I believe apostalized from that Church — And
although a Church of Christ, you wished her property taken
from her. What for? To gratify your enmity to her, — and
at the same time, if not to get a few pieces of Silver, Judas Like,
yet to save as much of your public Tax as might perhaps amount
to one of those tempting pieces. As to the application of the
last Clause of the verse, I shall leave it to yourself. But 2 of
the gentlemen who made the attempt are married.
19. "Thou givest thy Mouth to evil, — & thy Tongue frameth
deceit." These expressions are very strong & pointed. — They
are Sir, so applicable to your conduct, that I think your Con-
science cannot but apply them unless stifled by violence. Being
ellevated by what you thought a victory that Day at the Court
House, when you went abroad, you ventured to launch out, —
thinking all safe. Perhaps you thought I would let you escape
without Detection, as I had others, without putting myself to
the trouble of self Defence. But Sir, you, as a public Instructer
are a little more worthy of my notice. How could you thus
stab me behind my back, after having appeared so fair &
friendly to my face? Good had it been for you, if you had kept
within the limits of Truth, & the fear of the Almighty.
20. "Thou sittest & speakest against Thy Brother: Thou
slanderest thine own Mother's son." This requires also but the
application of your own guilty mind. I am not only a son of the
Church of Christ, — I am more, — I am a Minister of that suc-
cession which the Redeemer established before his assension
[sic], & promised to be with to the end of the world. To Him
The Pettigrew Papers 253
as the great head of his Church, I can appeal for the rectitude,
& distinterestedness of my views & intentions.
21, & 22. 'These things hast thou done, & I kept silence.
Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself
But I will reprove thee, — & set them in order before thine Eyes.
Think on this ye that forget God, lest I tare you in pieces &
there be none to deliver." Whilst you were thus carrying on your
opposition both secret & open, & your Mind wholely taken up
in the hopeful Business, Conscience was silenced in the prevalence
& tumult of unhallowed passions, & you thought & acted as if
you believed the pure & holy God was altogether such an one as
yourself, & consequently could not but approve of your secret
enmity & party opposition to his Church. But what does God
himself say? Why, — I will reprove thee. This as his Servant
I now do, in his aweful name, & by his sacred Authority, while
I set the impropriety & wickedness of your Conduct before
your eyes. And I farther intreat you agreeably to the next verse,
seriously to consider the extent & heinousness of your guilt, &
the account you must finally render for your Duplicity & un-
christian behaviour. Repent of these things, & do so no more,
lest the dreadful Denunciation fall upon you, & there be none to
deliver.
23. "Whoso offereth praise, glorifieth me." — Let this rather
be the exercise of your mind in future And see that you order
your conversation aright, if you would finally experience the
Salvation of God.
I intended this Day to have gone down to your Meeting &
confronted you with proofs of the falsity of your assertion, &
to have called on you for a public acknowledgement. — But the
Day being so unfavorable, & being myself indisposed, I have
taken the trouble to write. And now I insest [sic] on a public
acknowledgement at those places where you have made so
free with me, Or if you do not, I must procure a a place for this
together with my proofs in one of the public papers. For this
purpose I shall reserve a Copy. From Sir,
An injured friend
Charles Pettigrew
M r. Biggs—
N.-l.
The Copy of a Letter to M r. Biggs
254 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Charles Pettigrew to Mary Verner* UNC
Tyrell County 26th May 1800
Dear Sister,
You will receive this in acknowledgement of your obliging
Letter of 10th of March. I had not the pleasure to see M r.
Ledbetter, but am obliged to him for procuring it a safe Con-
veyance.
I had never heard of the death of your partner. In him you
lost a worthy man, & a good Husband. But it is the will of
God; — & our Duty is resignation. I am happy to find he has
left you in easy circumstances. What industry & oconomy [sic]
could do for his family I know he did.
I am pleased to find that my nephews & nieces are married,
& like to do well, except the three that are with you, — who, I
hope will also do well, when it shall be their Lot to enter into
the Social State. This may however depend a good deal, on your
prudent advice, & their Dutiful attention to your maternal in-
structions. They can never be happy in Life or Death, unless
they form their minds, & regulate their manners on the prin-
ciples of religion & the fear of the Almighty. I feel myself
particularly interested in the turn which my namesake Charles
may take. Should he be induced by the prevalence of bad
counsel, or bad Example to set out wrong, he may never return
to the path of Life, virtue & happiness. The mind of a youth
who has lost his father, is in danger of growing obstinate &
refractory to the directions & restraints of a Mother; In this
case they soon become hardened thro' the deceitfulness of Sin;
& fit themselves for sudden & remidiless Destruction. I pray
God to avert such things, as the anxious fears of Love are apt
to suggest, & that he may keep you all under his holy protection.
We can expect no happiness in either Life or Death, in a State
of Detachment & estrangement of mind from God & religion.
Hence it is, that there is so little true happiness in the world.
It is sought in the Creature, when only to be found in the
Creator.
I thank you for the information respecting the health of
my Brother's, John, George & [torn: Ebenezer?] together with
their families. I sincerely wish to see them. But do not expect
it on this side of eternity. I find age is indeed the evil Day, &
the years are hastening on wherein we are constrained to say
The Pettigrew Papers 255
I have no pleasure. You seem to have concidered a Jealousie
that my station or circumstances in Life, have made me inatten-
tive to my relations. So far from that, that my most anxious
thoughts are about them, & these increase with my days. I
sincerely wish a promising youth or two of my Nephews would
come & live with me — such as are modest, Discreet, & teachable.
It might in the end tend much to their advantage.
I had but two Sons, & no Daughters — My oldest; namely
John, made his Exit from this, we hope, for a better Life, &
happier world, on the 12th [24th] of last Sept m. — He had
entered his 21 st. year, & I concieved [sic] was very promising.
He was a young man of the happiest tempers, the most regular
life, & the most benevolent mind I ever knew. He never once
murmured at any thing, nor Disobeyed my orders — I have
never heard of his being in a passion, or using a bad word in
his Life. I never knew him prevaricate, or be chargible with
a misrepresentation, much less a falsehood in his Life; no not
even when a Child, such was his uncommon Love of Truth. He
was engaged in the study of physic. But it was the will of God
to call him from me — He gave & he hath taken away, blessed
be his name! My son John had attain'd to my own height &
was well formed & graceful — My remaining Son Ebenezer is
the same height, altho' but turned his 17th year. I find his
constitution is very weak from his rapid growth — He has never
got over the Shock from the Death of his good Brother — I was
affraid it would have throwed him into such melancholy, as
would end in a Consumption.
My partner is turned of 50, & also of a very delicate Consti-
tution— We are both looking for our change to take place. She
is a great oconomist [sic] & an excellent wife. God has favored
us with more than a Competency, & what is more I find to be
a burden. I wish to withdraw my mind from the world; But
find it difficult to let any thing be lost for want of care. We
have a valuable plantation in cultivation beside the one we
live on ; but I am obliged to give an hundred a year to an over-
seer.— I have within this four years built & finished a good
house — we work about 25 hands who are able & stout generally —
I have preached this 6 years past without gratuity or reward,
nor shall I ever ask any thing. I wish I could do some good;
but I find mankind have greatly degenerated in the last 20
years. — Their minds were more open to conviction, & much more
256 N.C. Department of Archives and History
susceptive of religious impressions than they now are. They
were then simply Moral & virtuous, & attended with seriousness
on the worship of God & the preaching of the word. — They were
also honest, & attentive to truth in their matters of intercourse
one with another. But this being too cold a religion, The Baptists
& methodists undertook to annimate them. This they did by
what I call the grimmace of preaching — mere bodily exercise
which profiteth little. They worked the people up into such a
flame, by the constant application of fire & brimstone, that when
they got time to cool down, they have grown impenitrably hard
& obdurate, and many of them seem to indicate strongly that
their last State is worse than the first ; being now twice Dead —
plucked up by the roots. — and what, do you say, is the conse-
quence? Why, they are more deceitful, more lying & hypo-
critical than ever. They were warmed, but not instructed. Their
religion was placed in their passions, & these are now cooled,
& their religion is fled — The hobby Horse has been riden to
Death. — And alas ! what is worse, their minds have been in-
dustriously prejudiced against rational & instructive preaching.
My partner & son Concur with me in Love & the kindest
wishes for you & yours.
Your affect. Brother
Charles Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
M rs. Mary Verner,
Pendleton District,
South Carolina
To be left at the
post office at
Ninety Six
Amariah Biggs to Charles Pettigrew A&H
May 28 1800
Sir as to your first reference on the trembling of my kneese,
I felt some what attimedated [intimidated] to meet a man who
pretended to be a Christian with such an un saintly Counte-
nance— more Like a roaring Loian then a Lamb of god about
The Pettigrew Papers 257
to bow to the Immage of bale [Baal] or any of his prophets
but at prasent two my knees Secondly before you undertak to
reprove me again thou fool first Cast ought [out] the beam of
thyn own Eye and then shalt thou see Clearly to pull the mote
out of my 3 dy. you have not neither rote like a scolar [,]
Christen [,] or devine and yet per fess [illegible] a scolar reade
your Contrayre to the principals of [torn] ding and porlightness
[politeness] two of the gentelmen are maried repetion come
sudenly and tare you in pieces 2 d not Like a christen or you
neve[r] woould Cald on me to acknoleged a posetive truth to
be a Lye which you Could sertinly have know [no] ground for
such a thought before I would of[f]er that voilance to my
Conscience I would suffer myrterdom, 3 dy. as to put[t]ing me In
the publick papers you had bet[t]er Look before you Let [leap?]
and Inquire more perfectly abought the mat[t]er My time Is
preshus again [?] may write more mat[t]er In attupeny squib
then you have In your quarter volum I shall ubbruply
brak of [f]
fare you well
Amariah Biggs
Sir tho your ambition I ask
no odds In my next I shall not spare you
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew :]
a master piece of scholarship from Belshazzer Biggs — The
stupidest puppy that ever disgraced a pen.
[Addressed:]
M r. Charles pettigrew
Tyrrol County
Charles Pettigrew to Amariah Biggs* A&H
June 7th 1800
Sir,
Your boasted Two penny Squib, in answer to my quarter
Volume, as you are pleased to call them, I had the honor to
receive on my return from Edenton. The first thing that
attracts my notice is, your apology for the Belshazzar's fit of
trembling, which so visibly agitated your knees, upon your
258 N.C. Department of Archives and History
falling in with me on the road. And I must tell you, your
Apology Sir, contains about as much Truth, as your assertion,
respecting my Declaration before the gentlemen of the Vestry,
which assertion those gentlemen have done me the Justice
positively to contradict from under their hands, which as posi-
tively fixes an untruth upon you.
You insinuate that my unsaintly Countenance, being like that
of a roaring Lyon, frightened you into that Tremor. It was very
natural Sir, for Conscious Guilt to represent the Man you had
so injured in that light. To this I doubt not the distant view
which you had of me on the Canal contributed, not a little, as
it gave you Time for conscious reflection. Such is the power of
a violated & guilty Conscience In respect to my looks however,
you were mistaken — your guilty fears imposed on you — and the
Truth is, I approached you with perfect calmness. I had no
other look than that which is natural to me. It is true, I had
not the affected sanctimonious look of a Seducer. — Such a Look I
always abhored, being, as I have too generally observed, a Dis-
guise for the worst of passions & the vilest Dispositions. And
now Sir, I own that in respect to this general rule, I had
charitably thought you an exception; — but your late conduct,
so designing & base, has intimately convinced me, that all your
saintish, lamb-like looks are nothing but grimace — a mere Dis-
guise which you have artfully assumed, the more easily to
impose upon the simple & credulous ; for the Tree is known by
its fruit, & the fountain by its streames.
I am happy in this, that I was not alone — and that my son
was with me when I met you. For, although he is not Deficiant
in points of Duty & filial affection towards me, yet I believe
him to be incapable of a prevarication, & much more of a Lie
in my favor. No Sir, I have taken too much pains in his educa-
tion to inspire him with the Love of Truth & a Just abhorrence
of falsehoods, for him I hope now easily to violate his con-
science. And on reading your Letter, I turned & asked him
how I looked when I spoke to you on the road. To this he
replied, Sir, you appeared Calm & serious — and such I am
sensible was my appearance — But I doubt not Sir, I gave you
a Justly indignant look, when you asserted a positive falsity in
my face. And you cannot have forgot my solemnly reminding
you on that Occasion, of the account which you must finally
render to the God of Truth.
The Pettigrew Papers 259
The stoutness you boast, as unwilling to bow to the Image of
Baal, or any of his prophets (amongst whom I suppose you
charitably class me) and your declared readiness to suffer
Martydom rather than to oivn a well attested truth (which must
be very grateful to the father of Lies) Also your pertly calling
me a fool, are only so many characteristics of your breeding, &
of the religion you practice, while the blessed author of that
holy religion which you profess, tells you (But alas! in vain)
that Whosoever shall say unto his brother thou fool, shall be in
Danger of Hell fire. And his holy apostle St. John has also told
you (but equally in vain) That Lyars shall have their part &
portion in the Lake that burns with fire & brimstone.
You turn Critic on my Letter, & affect to be the Scholar, the
Divine & the Christian; in which three Characters you very
magistically pronounce me deficient. Your production however,
Sir, clearly evinces your utter incapacity for criticism, or any
thing else, as a Teacher. It is below, far below the particular
notice of a rational Critic. I shall not therefore take notice of
one of your improprieties, which are nearly as numerous as
your words. There is nothing more natural, than for ignorance
& folly to be arrogant. Knowing to whom I wrote, I guarded
against anything that might appear like scholarship, for I wished
to be understood, in hopes that the plain & pungent hints, which
I gave you in my official Character, would have brought you
to an acknowledgement of the truth. But now I have only to
regret my ill success upon your Obduracy, & the disagreeable
necessity which it lays me under of exposing you to the public,
which I think Justified by a principle of self defence — From,
Sir, an injured friend — but an enemy to falsehood
Charles Pettigrew
N.B. In your postscript], you tell me you ask no odds. There
is nothing more common than for ignorant & illiterate men
to buoy themselves up with the empty Bladders of self-conceit.
You also threaten not to spare me. all I have to request is, that
you will spare yourself, by paying a little more regard to truth
than you have lately done.
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
N °. 2 d.
The rough of a Letter
To M r. Amariah Biggs
260 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Amariah Biggs to Charles Pettigrew A&H
June the 15 1800
Sir
I received your Letters and perusing the greate purport which
was Composed In such a biasing Stile. It would have made a
man that was guilty of saying anything against you. that you
had not said yourself some what oneasey[,] but knowing what
I have related Against you are the vary words that dropt
from your mouth make me quite Easey and not anyways
distrest[.] It is vary Easey for a man to set down and quote
from Schripture a thousand texes [texts] and say all theese
favour A notion [,] but tis quite another thing to bring one
plain tex[t] which In Its Literal and grammaticel and received
sence proves It — the former method you have adapted In order
to deter me from answering you
for to reinstate the subject of your Let[t]er In Its one proper
Light and refute all your Carnal argament drown them [there]
from would fell [fill] a knewse paper cloguem [column] to
answar your small squib [.] you ware [were] a ware of this
and you may thank saten for your Counce[.] as to your request-
ing or demanding any acknoledgment, In publick I am reddy
and willing sir to meet you at any time and place you shall
think proper and with good Evidence will prove what I have
said of you to be trew — for God doth not allow one word of
truth to fall to the ground [.] I think I shall desoner [dishonor]
my god and my self for to retract one word of truth respecting
you I mean to be as brief as poseable with Juistus I can[.] Sir
as I well know you never faverd me with much of your go[o]d
will neither Do I Expect any from you nor no such a monarch
In disposition as you are[;] you that are doing all you Can to
Spread personall devision among the people and the SChripture,
sayeth Cursed, is he that Soeth Discord among breathren[.] we
war more Like breathren then any thing Else tell god permited
you as a grevious wolf to Come In to theese parts and now you
are the top of ridicule and Contempt. —
And has become Insted of an arnament a bye word and a
Comon table tolk among your Country men[.] In Consequence
of your mean and unheard of proceeding respecting the affairs
of your County which Lead me to make a few remarks on the
50 th. psalm which you have given for my Instruction [.] I think
The Pettigrew Papers 261
Sir their Is something theirin Containd that Is applycable to
you as well as other men[,] as all man kind are prone to Evil
as the sperkes to fly upward and their Is no man by nature
riteous no not one — virs 16 to the wicked god saith what havSt
thou to do to declair my statutes or that you should take my
Covenant In thy mouth, now sir who Can act more Contrary
to the god of truth then you have Done, you that do act In
what you Call the Church of Christ ought to Let political
mat[t]ers alone, County Contreversey you ought to have nothing
to do with[.] you make mention of my being apostetised from
your Church [.] my reasons for desenting If It mite be so cald
from your Church are theese[:] In short the bloody massacrees
that have been Commited In all ages by you gentelmen of the
black gound [gown] Every percicution against Christens have
had a high prest at the head of It and you have to my face
threttened me with the above [.] all that will be at the trouble
to read the naretive of the kings of Ingland will their see what
bloody percicution have been Commited by them[.] kill all said
the bloody clergy god knows his one and will reward them at
the Last Day[.] two hundred thousand protesters from the
whore of roam [Rome] ware masecreed In Ireland at one time
beside other dreadfull havocks this Sir you may apply to your
fine fealings In your preasant proceedings In the Countys and I
have not the lest doubt that was It In your power or was their
any Law to perfect you In So doing you would take the sword
In hand and Compell all who refused to join your in your unjuist
plans as some of your breathren the Cleargy have done before
you[.] neither have I any reason to believe that Concience or
religion such as yours would restrain you as this Is the Case
with you ; I hope you will never attempt to defille the Covenant
of the Lord In thy mouth before you repent of your sins and
receive trew Conversion from god — virce the 17 seeing thou
hatest Instriction and Casteth my words behind the[e] this you
apply In favour of yourself In as much as If you has Instructed
me[,] this I willingly deny for you never gave or offered to
give me Instruction in the spirit of same but In the Lord have
I waited for Instruction both day and night —
18 th. when thou sawest a thief thou consentest with him and
hast been a pertaker with adulters this I all so bitterly Deny
for when you wisted to defraod the publick as a thief hear
sir you have acted some thing Like a Judes yourself [.] I did
262 N.C. Department of Archives and History
not consent with you[.] I want my Equel parte of the arising
from the sale of the Glebe Land and my wish Is for the money
to defray the County Expences[,] but you Judes like are not
contented with a Little but appear to wish the hole bag[.]
but I am fully persuaded you wish to defrud the publick of the
hole bag[.] What will thy Evil heart bare the ougt to do[?]
I can sir trewly say I never give you any encureagement for
undertakeing what you have done neither did I stand by your
side at the attempt but Dispisd it to the Last degree [.] neither
have I been pertaker with adulterers nither Sir am I so easily
tempted with theese tempting piesese as you term them[.] Sir
I Labour trewly and honestly to get my one Living In that
State of Life which It has pleased god to Call me and am Con-
tented theirwith but you are not so[.] you put the yoke of Iron
on the poor Ethiopens and get your riches by their rod of
oppression [.] the SCripture saith tis Easir for a Camel to go
through the Eye of an needel then for a rich man to Enter into
the Kingdom of heaven [.] I have greater reson to believe that
at the last day without a repentence that need not to be repented
of You will be found at the Left of the throne of the magesty
on high Where you will Call for a drop of water to Cool your
tungue seeing that all ready tis on fiers of hell [ ;] but the above
answer will be[:] son thou In Joyest thy good things and we
poor Lazereses evel things and now thay are Comforted and
thou art tormented [.] In time Thou In joyest thy one oppressive
mind without detecton the sentence will be deper from me you
worker of Enequity among the fallon angels where their will
be weeping and knashing of teath[.] as to your makeing men-
tion of two of the gentelmen Being maried In your Litter I
know not what you mean neather do I conclude you know your
self, 19 th. thou givest thy mouth to Evil and thy tongue rameth
deciet theese words are the words of king david which you
endeavered to apply on me but sir give me Leaf to tell you[,]
you have not applyd them right [.] thou fool, If thou had pluckest
the beam out of thine one Eye thou might have seen Clearly
how to apply theese word and to have drawn the mote out of
my Eye — 20 th. thou settest and speakist against thy brother
thou slanderest thy own mothers son, theese words plainly
shows what thou hast been doing almost all thy life [.] If a
man do not think speake and act as you do he is immediately
bastambired by you and is the but[t] of your sentiment [.] but
The Pettigrew Papers 263
sir Let me tell you that I enjoy the Liberty of a free and
salutary Constitution that gives me free Liberty to do and
act as I think right and God forbid I should Ever Come under
your power to make any alteration [.] this Is I believe the reason
that makes you so much at Enmity with me[.] it makes you
immediately Come under the other virce as to your threts that
you make use of with expecttation to [illegible] me I am in no
wais oneased about [.] I put my trust In the god and father of
our Lord Jesus Christ he is able and willing to overturn the
works of you and the devel and will wave the sword of Juistes
around your defenceless head and there will be none able to
d[e] liver you from the open jaws of distriction[.] I say with
truth their never was a man agetated by the Spirit of oppres-
sion more than you are[.] you are the first man that have set
oppresion on foot In theese Country [.] While the people ware in
a perfect State of quietness you ware the Introduction of strife
and oppression to Each other [.] Where are your refined feel-
ings [?] Sir when you Left the pulpet with those petitions in
your hands inforseing argument to the people to assign them
against the Consent of their Intentions and acknolodg you
[illegible] them, an — you say you have procured a copy of
put in the public papers so do[.] If you think best I shall also
procure a copy of this which Shall be an answar with an addition
which will be a stigmy to you to the End of your Life[.] tho
full of [illegible] I for bare[,] tho I am a youth In war and
you a golia[t]h Like a man of war from your youth may god
bless the few smooth stones I have throne at the head of Joiant
[giant] oppression for the sake of Christ our Lord
I am yours
Amariah biggs
[Addressed:]
To Charles pettigrove
tyrrell County
264 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Charges Pettigrew to Amariah Biggs* A&H
3 d. July 1800
Sir,
Your last miserable production is before me — It is too scurril-
lous & impertinent to deserve an answer, being but the addition
of insult to injury. — Yet, as it is sometimes necessary to answer
f s according to their folly I shall condesend to take the
following notice of it.
In the Stuff you have given me you seem to have substituted
quantity for quallity — You begin your scribble on the last page,
& proceed to black a way like a Fidler Crab in a retrograde
Direction, so as scarcely to be followed from one page to another
unless there had been sense to direct one — But your odd manner
is not the worst of it — you have favored me with neither sense,
english nor spelling. And there are so many of your words &
phrases entirely original & of your own fabrication, that it
is scarce possible to ascertain your meaning, if you had any.
This however, I have been able to discover, viz, that your
impudence keeps way with your ignorance, & your canting &
hypocritical impiety keeps ahead of both. You set out some-
time ago with falsehood & misrepresentation, And on a Scrutany
this your extraordinaty production, which was to have been
so full of matter, in defence of that lie, is in reallity nothing
more or less than one Great lie throughout.
It may however be proper for your Conviction (of which I
dispair, you are so hardened) to take notice a little more
minutely of your untruths. You have still the consummate
assurance to say, that you have asserted nothing but the words
that Dropt from my mouth, when you well know, that the father
of lies never uttered a more palpable & positive falsehood, which
I can prove by a great number of respectable witnesses. The
way that you take to evade the force of those awful Scripture
quotations, I have had recourse to for your Conviction, & to
insinuate that you are not hurt by them, is not only a lie, but
an awful evidence of an unprincipled mind & a most obdurate
heart. And what you say of my Carnal arguments, is but the
hypocritical cant which you have been accustomed to, & is
without sense or meaning. What you mean by saying I may
thank Satan for my cource I know not. But if I had as much
to do with that father of lies as you appear to have, I might
The Pettigrew Papers 265
indeed be thought to be under some kind of Obligation. You tell
me you will meet me with good evidence to prove your Asser-
tion— If you have an Evidence I know not who he is, but I
will engage he is one of your Disciples, & dipt into your own
principles. — You have the hardiness to say with your usual cant &
whine, "for God doth not allow a word of Truth to fall to the
ground" — no nor will he let a falsehood escape unpunished —
again with the same hypocritical whine you go on to add, "I
think I should dishonour my God & myself to retract one word
of Truth" — Now, can anything be more daringly wicked &
unpious, than to make such a use of the name of the Almighty,
when you know, & cannot but know in your Conscience that
you are impudently endeavouring to vindicate a falsehood
against the Testimony of many witnesses to the contrary.
You deny having experienced my good will, This is as un-
grateful as it is false. You say I am a Monarch in Disposition. —
I confess I am so far so, (agreeable to Solomon's Description
of a kingly mind) that I utterly despise mean lying, & Lyars,
when I find them out. But the poorest, if a man of Truth &
virtue, has as much of my friendly attention, as the wealthies [t] .
Of this you have an Example in yourself, untill, by your own
base conduct you convinced me of my too Charitable mistake
in your favor, and now your unworthiness would not prevent
my relieving even you in Distress. You charge me with sowing
Discord, which is the Business of your Life, & not mine, while
you stick at nothing, not even the most gross misrepresentations
& falsehoods in conducting the pious business. To vent the
bitterness & vennom of your Spirit, you throw out a Curse set
me, as a quotation from Scripture. But it is not a quotation —
it is a bold & impious addition of your own to the sacred Text —
It is rather your wish, piously palmed upon the Scripture. Such
quotations may pass in your preechments, but you cannot impose
them on me.
You say I am the Top of ridicule & contempt, This I know is
a falsehood, for I have not deserved it, and the people are not
so ungrateful, unless it may be such of your followers as may
be under your particular influence. I can tell you Sir, by way
of whisper in your Ear, who is really an object of Just abhorence
& pity amongst the better sort of people as a Lyar & a malignant
slander, it is Belshazzer Biggs if you know such a man. You
go on to say, that I (ihas become instid of an arrament a bye
266 N.C. Department of Archives and History
word & a common Table talk," for such is your Language, which
would not be quite so bad were it true.
Your burlesque of the 50 th. Psalm as far as it is intelligible,
is a farago of impertinancies, perversions, impious falsehoods,
hypocritical rants & rash Judgings, although you are told by
the blessed Redeemer, That if you Judge you shall be Judged,
& the measure you give, shall be given you. — You a 2 d. time
call me a fool, as a quotation palmed upon the Redeemer, al-
though I cautioned you in my Last, reminding you that he had
threatened such illiberallity & rancour with the danger of hell
fire.
You have also the impudence to call me a wolf (your own
proper Title) & to run on with such impious rapsodies as you
imbellish your preachments with, which would be more hateful
from your impious month than the howlings of 50 wolves. Your
ignorance disqualifies you for discharging such an Office, &
your want of principle & a proper regard for truth much more.
Your excuse for apostasy or Dissension, is inde[e]d very
curious, for in the name of common Sense, how could the
Massacre of the irish protestors, as you call them above 100
years ago by the roman Catholicks effect you more than me?
What you say of the kings & clergy of England is like what
you have also said & impudently persist in saying of me — a
groundless slander — For what I know some one of your own
principles, & as ill read in the History of England or of Every
other Country as yourself — may have told you so, but I well
know you did not read it in any authentic History. If I
thought your reading extended as far back as the reformation,
I should more rationally suppose you had taken umbrage at the
Treatment of some of the ringleaders of your Society in Jer-
many [sic] about the year 1622. If you have read the History
you may recollect how the Jesuites broached the anabaptist Doc-
trines, in order to divide the protestants & spoil the reformation
set on foot by Luther, & afterwards boasted making them re-
nounce their Baptism. Such was their Success, that they had
presently a multitude of not only preachers, but of prophets also.
Mechanical employments were deserted or laid aside, for the
pious business of preaching for which they were now immedi-
ately inspired — Among the people they carried all before them,
like a whirlwind, & soon declared that Jesus Christ was about
to assume the reins of government. They then embodied, took
The Pettigrew Papers 267
up arms & declared war ag st. the existing government of the
Country — They took an Emperial City, namely Munster, for-
tified & kept it 22 months; in which time they set them up a
king whom they hailed the king of n Took a plurallity
of wives & run into the most direful excesses, till the City was
at length retaken, their king John Bockold put to Death, with
his Officers & some of his adherents which put an end to the
affair for that time.49
Now Sir has you mentioned this persecution of your Church
& antient kingdom, it would have been in point. I am however
sorry to see so much of that antient spirit reviving, [torn]
Endeavering to [torn] into our Legislature, in violation of our
Constitution. And in the name of Commonsense let me ask
you Sir, What good could a man of your ignorance do in that
House — points are not to be carried there by falsehoods — if
they were, you could do much for your Society — But Sir you
will find at last, your Attack on the Church thro' me will be to
you like the Attack of the viper on the file —
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
N°. 3
The Copy of a Letter to
Belshazzer, alias Amariah Biggs
Charles Pettigrew to Amariah Biggs* A&H
[July, 1800?]
Sir,
Although my correspondence with you hitherto, has been so
disagreeable to me & at the same time I am affraid so unprofit-
able to you, I still feel it a Duty incumbent on me to trouble
you with another Letter. This I shall do for several reasons, of
which compassion is one & none of the least.
I recollected an assertion in your last miserable production
(if it was yours) which had escaped my attention when I
answered it. It was this, that I had threatened you with perse-
cution. This, like your other assertions, is very foreign from
any tho't that ever entered my mind. If it is not a wilful
falsehood, it must be a very egregious mistake, which indicates
See footnote 96 in Part I, p. 128.
268 N.C. Department of Archives and History
such a weakness of mind, & dullness of comprehention, as be-
speakes you very unfit for the Offic of a public instructor which
you have taken upon yourself.
What you took that from I suppose is as follows. In the
private conversation you had with me at the Court House on
Easter monday, I told you I was jealous for the sinking interests
of religion — I was affraid the wicked would get the upperhand
so far as at last to persecute the professors of it, some few I
hoped, would be found who would rather suffer than renounce
it, & that it would rise like the fenix [phoenix] at last out of
its own Ashes. I might perhaps as well have spoken latin or
greek to you, as to have talked of the fenix in allusion to the
persecutions of the primitive christians. Again when I met
you on the Canal, & you asserted things so foreign from the
truth it shocked me to that Degree, as coming from a Man of
whom I had entertained charitable thoughts, I could not help
repeating what I had said at the Courthouse in part, — Said I,
if assemblies discourage rather than encourage religion, I see
it must fall, & rise again from the ashes of persecution — Now
Sir, this is as near the truth & the ideas I had, as it is in my
power to recollect — And I can, & do appeal to the Sercher of
hearts, that God whom I serve with my spirit, for the Truth
of this my assertion. And how you could misunderstand me so
far I cannot know, that it [illegible] ing at all is scarce within
the compass of my credulity. And if it was not a missunder-
standing, I leave it to yourself to say whether it was a wilful
perversion, or what it was. If conscience tells you it was a
wilful perversion, it will also tell you that it proceeded from
secret & unprovoked enmity & ill will w ch. had devoured every
vestige of Charity towards me which indeed your Letter fully
expresses.
Such is the latitude which I suppose your religion gives you —
and can it be the religion of Jesus — Is it not rather a Deception
a mere faction, invented to promote Schism in the Church, —
the mystical body of Christ? S \ Jude Describes such Teachers,
& pronounces a tremendous wo[e] against them, as indulging
the enmity & unprovoked malice of Cain — Also Balaams sordid
desire of gain, together with the seditious Desposition of the
gainsaying Corah, — and for their labours receiving the reward
of unrighteousness. Clouds without water, — carried about of
winds, — raging waves of the Sea, — foaming out their own
The Pettigrew Papers 269
shame, or ignorance, — Wandering Stars, to whom is reserved
the blackness of Darkness forever.
If you will impartially examine your own heart, & the manner
of your conducting yourself in the Office you have taken upon
you, — together with the motives of your actions, & particularly
those by w ch. you have so distinguished yourself of late, I am
affraid you will find this picture to suit you as an Original, &
as though the Appostle had had you in his Eye, or one exactly
such, when he drew the picture. And such Oppossers the
Appostles had in the earliest age of Christianity — but none who
dared to oppose the right of infants to initiation into the Church
of Christ, as you do. This is a trait in your Character which
exceeds any thing that was broached by the first errorists.
and now permit me to observe, which I do in the fear of
the God, that, Of all men I have ever had any controvercy with,
you appear to me to have the least of the fear of the almighty,
& the most of a bitter & malignant spirit. This I say coolly and
candidly, for pity has overcome such passions as were naturally
excited by the baseness of your conduct, in respect to me, in
the first instance, & your scurrilolous [sic] & insolvent Scrib-
blings in the next, as a vindication of your unchristian be-
haveour. I pray God to give you repentance ! for I shall not
dirty another pen with you. From an injured friend —
C. P W
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew :]
N°. 4.
The rough Draft of a Letter
To M r. Amariah Biggs
of Washington
John Little to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Edenton 16 July 1800
Sir
Your favor of the 11 th. per M r. M cCrae I have rec d., the
contents of which shall be duly attended to —
I am with respect
Yr. Mo Obd S1.
John Little
270 N.C. Department of Archives and History
PS There is a hand Bill in Town (& but one) from the Jacobin
press of Norfolk giving an ace of the French having defeated
the Austrians on the Rhyne & killed taken &C 20,000 men — I
have not seen it, as it is in possession of the Jacobins —
[Unidentified newspaper clipping, presumably enclosed:]
July 2.
American Negoeiation.
Extract of a letter from Boston, to a house of the first respect-
ability in this city, received yesterday, dated the 27th ult.
"A vessel arrived last evening from Bilboa, brings an account
that letters received there from Paris to the beginning of May,
stated that the Treaty with our Commissioners had broken off at
the second meeting. There was a clashing, which ended in this.
The reason giving by the Chief Consul, was a correspondence
with Mr. Pitt!
[Addressed:]
The Rev d. M r. Charles Pettigrew
Tyrrel C °.
M r. McCrae
Howell Tatum to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Nashville [Tennessee] 11 th. Sept r. 1800
DrSir
Maj r. John Weatherspoon [Witherspoon]50 has just furnished
me with your friendly letter favored by M r. Swain, and at a
time I have just a moment to give you but a concise answer.
I wrote you long since that I had paid one years tax on your
land (say 1796) least it should not be in the Indian boundary,
that line not being then run out — that Since, I had ascertained
60 John Witherspoon was Charles Pettigrew's nephew, the son of his
sister Martha. See Charles Pettigrew to John Witherspoon, September 22,
1802, in this volume, p. 293.
The Pettigrew Papers 271
that fact and stopped the future charge. — That the money pd
for you were as follows viz l.
Tax for the year 1796 $1.85
pd for recording grant & deed $2.25
$4.10
Pd. By cash $4.—
This remittance of four dollars I received, but by whom I
do not recollect — perhaps by M r. Davis, however it is all I have
rec d., and if you sent any more it never came to hand — I sent
you (I think) the receipts, with the grant & deed by M r. James
Meredith, which I trust you have received long ago.
In giving in lands for taxation on the demand of the United
States, commonly called the direct tax, the assistant assessors
have in many instances exceeded the powers vested in them by
law, and erroneously returned lands of non residenters, with
which they had nothing to do — This has happened in your case,
where, altho the land was not subject to the tax, they have
officiously given it in for Henry Fleury, by which it would
have been sold, had I not have discovered it and to prevent
the evil of contention, paid $1.98.7. which I conceived would
be more agreeable to you than creating a (probably) lawsuit —
Maj r. Weatherspoon promises to reimburse me the above
advance.
The money first sent by you, perhaps in 1795, was pd to
Gatling, who never paid any tax, or repaid me the money —
you had better write Maj r. Weatherspoon, who you sent it by,
and the amount so that he may collect it for your use.
I do not recollect having said any thing to a M r. Tarkington
about your land, but it is possible I might, as it is true that
lands lying in the Indian boundary (Military) may, by a law of
North Carolina be removed out of that boundary, if the owner
chooses, and can find vacant land to lay it on. — I did not say I
could do it. I am not of opinion you would better yourself by a
removal as lands are scarce that are worth the locating & it
would cost a large proportion of the land (perhaps half) to get
it done by those who have knowledge of vacant tracts, equal to
what you would wish or expect.
272 N.C. Department of Archives and History
I shall always be happy in rendering you any Services in my
power and hope you will command me freely
Am D Sir
Your friend &
Hum l. Serv l.
Ho Tatum
Rev d. Charles Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
Reverend Charles Pettigrew
Terrel County
N °. Carolina
William Slade to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Edenton 2 d. January 1801
D r. Sir
I Received your agreeable favour dated the 31. ult °. and in
answer thereto beg leave to State to you the reasons why a
redivision of the Counties of Tyrrel and Washington51 could
not take place during the last Session of Assembly. By an act
passed in the year 1796 No Petition for a matereal alteration
of holding the Places of Public Elections, or General Musters,
Seats of Holding the County Courts &c or of any other Public
matter wherein the County at large is Concerned Shall be re-
ceived unless It be made appear upon oath, that notice has been
Given by advertisement, at the Court House of said County and
Two other Public places it [sic] least 30 days previous to the
setting of the assembly, notice in this Case having not been
Given, agreeably to the directions of this act. It precluded the
business from being brought forward, — and the same reason
51 Washing-ton County was formed from Tyrrell County in 1799 with
Lee's Mill being named as the seat of court until the courthouse was moved
to Plymouth in 1823. In 1801 another part of Tyrrell County was annexed
to Washington County, including the area "up said [Collins] canal to
Lake Phelps. . . ." David Leroy Corbitt, The Formation of the North
Carolina Counties, 1663-19 43 (Raleigh: State Department of Archives and
History, 1950), 218-219. This divided Charles Pettigrew's property into
two counties, and apparently he was dissatisfied about it.
The Pettigrew Papers 273
prevented any interposition, respecting the Glebe Lands, yet I
am fully persuaded, that had the necessary notice been given,
Both those desirable objects might have been attained; and I
still have reason to hope, that by giving the Regular notice
which I should advise to be done in both Counties, that some-
thing may be done at the next assembly — I was very desirous
that all further proceeding respecting the Glebe might have been
Suspended in the mean time, but this was thought to be incon-
sistent with the rule laid down by said Law for the Government
of the Legislature in such Cases, the Committee to whom this
business was referred seemed to be duly impressed with the
impropriety, and injustice of that Act.
With respect to a new Petition I do not myself Conceive it
necessary as the late division was brought forward under a
Petition of some years standing — however a new Petition would
do no harm as both might be introduced together — I am sorry
that this matter miscarried being Sensible that injustice was
done on the Present division,
I sincerely sympathize with you on your situation, but believe
me my D r. Sir there is no happiness in this life without its
alloy, although I yield, that one of the Greatest blessings we
can Expect, comes from a social intercourse with a few Select
friends, without those time will ever hang heavy on our hands,
unless we are Constantly immersed in Business of some sort
or other, and have not time for relaxation —
M rs. Slade Joins me in
most respectful compliments
to yourself and M rs. Pettigrew,
and I pray you, to believe
me to be, sincerely
yours &c
W. Slade
[Addressed:]
The Reverend
Charles Pettigrew
Tyrrell County
274 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Alexander Millen52 to Charles Pettigrew UNC
Edenton 22nd Jany 1801
Dear Sir,
It is with extreme regret that I communicate to you the death
of Jacob Blount which took place about 1 oclock this morning —
it is proposed to bury him tomorrow, when it is earnestly re-
quested by his Family & M r. Collins that you would attend, if
with convenience to yourself, you can possible — a Canoe &
hands wait on you at M r. Chessons —
I am very respectfully
Dr Sir your ob Sr \
Alexr. Millen
[Addressed:]
Reve d. Charles Pettigrew
Washington
by Andrew
Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Beaufort County May 21 st. 1801.
Reverend and dear Brother,
Your two very acceptable letters, dated one in February the
other in April, safely came to hand, the last in a short time
after its date; & when I inform you that I have since the
reception of them, been a considerable part of the time from
home, attending to my appointments, — as well as truly unhappy
in mind when at home, — hope your [sic] be so indulgent as to
excuse my not writing sooner, and by no means from this, take
occasion to retaliate ; I acknowledge myself guilty of a fault
in putting it off so long, and hope to be more attentive for the
52 Alexander Millen was a resident of Edenton. In 1801 he owned one
slave but no land. By 1814, however, he had acquired two town lots. Tax
List, Chowan County, 1801, 1814. Millen is frequently mentioned in the
minutes of the Chowan County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions as an
auditor for estate settlements, so he was evidently a well-thought-of citizen.
County Records, Chowan County Court Minutes for 1791-1798, Part I,
1791-1795, and for 1795-1796, both in State Archives.
The Pettigrew Papers 275
time to come. Be assured your correspondence gives me great
pleasure, and am sincerely glad that your health is so far
continued to you, as that you are able not only to communicate
your thoughts to me in writing, but also sometimes to act your
part in the duties of your Ministerial Functions. That your
health may be daily increased, & you more enabled for that
great & important work, — is the cordial wish of your unhappy
friend. Your complaint of the weakness of the body enfeebling
the mind, I make no doubt but you are sorrowfully sensible of; —
Alas ! that I have so much reason to bewail, that the grief &
distress of the mind has such a tendency to weaken & unfit it
for the performance of those duties, for which, I was before,
not only unworthy — but also insufficient ! What a poor unhappy
creature, in this probationary state, is man ! his time at the
longest is short ; — but how much shorter is that portion of it
which can be said to be free from distress of both body &
mind; — "born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward" — how
are we tossed to and fro, with the waves & billows of this
troublesome World! How Miserable must those worldly sensual
people be, — who have no anchor of Hope for their precious
Immortal part, amidst the sorrows & distresses of this fluctu-
ating scene, — Who have no reason in their present situation —
their state of life, — to expect any thing, but as much greater
distress as the heart can conceive, — When the Curtain of time
(with them) shall drop, — & the shadows of Mortality fly away!
Great numbers tho' we have reason to fear, have so far imposed
upon themselves, — so far stifled the voice of their own reason, —
as to disbelieve, at times, that they shall have any Future
existence, — or to think, that if they should, — they shall never
suffer for any thing further than the present life ; — but the
great D r. Young in that excellent performance, The Night
Thoughts, — has (I think) observed, that a "Death-bed is a
detector of the heart." Then is the time for the Mask to fall
off, — & who but those poor deluded, unhappy creatures that have
felt it, can conceive the horror & distress that they must then
labour under ! How profitable, to some, is the School of adver-
sity;— Before I was afflicted, said the Psalmist, — I went astray;
but now have I kept Thy Word. I sorrowfully acknowledge with
him, in the former part of these words, that it was the case
with me, — & oh! that I could but truly say, and join with him
in the latter; Tho' I do not think that he, or any other Mere
276 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Man since the fall of our first Parents, ever arived to a state
of sinless perfection, yet how much further advances have
some made towards it, — than others tho' seemingly desirous, —
ever do attain to. Alas ! how weak are my best & strongest
resolutions, — & how frequently is folly & sin mingled with my
best deeds & performances! (How plainly does this teach &
point out to me the greatest necessity — the great want of a
Better or Greater Righteousness than I ever can attain to by
my own Works ; I mean The Imputed Righteousness, — The Merit
And Mediation of Our crucified, Bleeding, Dying Saviour, — So
plainly Taught In The Scriptures Of Eternal Truth.) But tho'
I confess & bewail myself a fallible & sinful creature, — yet how
plainly has my sorrowful & distressing bereavment, taught me
the vanity & emptiness of all Worldly things !
I have not yet found it by any means convenient to take a
ride to your house, which I much wished to do, & had hopes of
doing, some time in the course of last winter; but cou'd you be
acquainted with all the reasons that has hitherto prevented
me, — presume you cou'd not hesitate to excuse me; Be assured
D r. Sir it is my wish; for tho' as you have justly observed;
"the letter of a friend is the next thing to a personal interview,"
— yet surely the company of a friend is far more desirable;
glad shou'd I be to enjoy the pleasure of your company &
conversation; which I cannot expect in your afflicted state, at
my own house. But I still hope shou'd my life & health Be
Spared to find it convenient to Visit you, and also to make a
satisfactory stay with you.
By our late accounts from England, the scarcity for Bread
there does not seem to be so great; how lamentable a situation
must the common people of that Country with Scotland & Ire-
land have been in, — and especially Ireland, where there has
been such great commotions, — so much confusion & loss of
life, — so many widows & fatherless Children !
Be pleased to present my best respects to Mrs. Pettigrew, — &
believe me to be with great esteem and Sincerity,
Your truly affectionate Brother
In The Gospel.
N Blount.
The Pettigrew Papers 277
[Addressed:]
The Reverend Mr. Charles Pettigrew
Tyrrell County.
Care of Col.
Admd. Blount.
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew :]
This is done
to try my new
Bottle of ink
Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Beaufort County 23 d. Jan y. 1802.
Rev d. & dear Sir,
Your three Letters have come safe to hand; the first, — some
time after its date, — the last, I received the day before yester-
day. That you may not think me ceremonious, perhaps it may
be best not to Apologize for not writing sooner ; I must, however,
certainly be blamable, to let two such Valuable letters remain
so long unanswered. Am glad you & M rs. Pettigrew have en-
joyed so much of that inestimable Blessing health; may the
late indisposition of you both, be of short continuance. Through
unmerited Mercy — I enjoy at present, & for some time past,
a very considerable state of health, — but believe I had more
sickness in the Course of last fall, than I have had in 6 or 8
years before; suppose my complaint, at first, to have been what
is called the burning ague. Was pleased to find you had an
intention of writing me a Sermon by way of letter, — & sorry to
find by your next, that you should think of declining that inten-
tion,— as I shou'd been very glad to have seen your sentiments
& proofs, upon that important subject of Infant Baptism, —
which I think a Matter of much consequence indeed, — tho' so
little thought of at this time of lukewarmness, by a great number
of those that do not make any pretensions of being Anabaptists,
— but seem to consider themselves, in what little shew they
do make of Religion, as of the Episcopal Church, — or Presby-
terian. If by any means, you have leisure sufficient, — let me
request, and hope, that you will as that offers, by all means
proceed; who knows the good that might result, — the Blessing
278 N.C. Department of Archives and History
that might attend your endeav rs. Perhaps not any part of the
united States, where Infant Baptism was once so generally
approved of & used, is at this time in a greater state of in-
diffirency, or rather entire coldness about the matter, than the
eastern part of this State ; — where there has been so few preach-
ers (except Methodists) but what have endeavoured to set the
people against It. Charity teaches me to hope, that many of
them have not been aware of the evil they may have done, by
getting people into this state of neutrality to all Religion, —
which seems to have so great a tendency towards bringing them
forward in that lamentable situation (tho' now so prevalent
opinion) of Deism. Your observations on the Deistical &
detestable T. Paine & his adherents, are Weighty ; what a dareing
and presumptious man he must have been ! I presume, you very
probably have seen, that excellent performance, the answer of
Bishop Watson, to his vile attempt to ridicule & invalidate the
Holy Scriptures ! 0 ! what great reason have we to pray, "for
all Jews, Turks, infidels & hereticks." The Book you mentioned
as wrote by D r. Robinson, I have not read nor (that I recollect)
seen; but that society (if they can be so called without abusing
the word) of the illuminati, I have sometime, had some, — tho'
not much knowledge of. At this time of such a general depravity
of morals, in the republick of France, — I fear the consequence
of so many, as probably may come, from that part of the world
to this ; — I could heartily wish, such people, as I fear the
generality of them are, — never to intermix with, nor settle
among us ; — tho' I hope there are still some Religious people
among them.
The news of so general a peace in Europe, [Treaty of Amiens,
1801] is certainly truly pleasing to all those who have at heart
the humane feelings, — which, (to say nothing of the principles
of Christianity) one wou'd think, wou'd naturally influence the
hearts of reasonable creatures, but I doubt not, many that
pretend to make profession of the Christian Religion, are really
sorry, — as it will no doubt, be a means of preventing some
from advancing themselves so fast in the world & providing
the things that perish, — which are the things on which so many
set their hearts and affections. To human appearance, nothing
now, but the wants of good policy, — and the lack of real and
true Religion, — will prevent the united States of America, from
being, perhaps the most agreable and flourishing Region in the
The Pettigrew Papers 279
World; — indeed I know of no other part of the world, that has
any thing more than a shadow of real liberty, either civil or
Religious. Tho' while we think with delight on those temporal
Blessings and prospects of worldly happiness to our Country, —
Surely we who are Ministers of the Prince of Peace, — Shou'd
daily be rejoicing In, and proclaiming aloud, — The Glad And
Precious Tidings Of Free Salvation. — 0 ! who can sufficiently
Speak forth, — The Preciousness Of Redeeming Grace. — let us,
My Dear Brother — humbly and devoutly pray, — that we may
Be Illuminated with true knowledge and understanding, of This
Precious Word Of The Lord; — that both by our preaching, and
living — we, "may set It forth, and shew It accordingly."
What a remarkable pleasant Fall, & winter (so far) we have
had ; every way so agreable, — I do not recollect, ever to have
seen the like before; — & what a remarkable spring & summer
the last were, for farming; — how plentifully has the labours
of husbandry (generally speaking) been Rewarded. — How many
unmerited Mercies are Bestowed on sinful mortals, — & how
little thought of a grateful and thankful heart, have the gen-
erality of mankind, — even many of those, that make some pre-
tension to Religion principles !
The very promising young man (Mr. [Frederic] Beasley)
that you mentioned in your last, as a Deacon of our Church, — I
suppose has a much greater prospect of being rewarded for his
labours, in the State of New York, than he could expect to
meet with in this, — where there is so little thought, of the
labourer being worthy of his hire, — or reward.
I still have hopes, — should my life & health Be Spared, of
seeing a time (but cannot at present say when) that I may
make it convenient to ride as far as your House, — which my
situation at present, and the distance of the several places
where I have attended, & expect (if nothing unforeseen pre-
vents) to attend, — in Several Counties; would render incon-
venient.
May all the comforts & Blessings of Connubial Felicity, —
attend you and M rs. Pettigrew, through the Maze of this
transitory life; — May your continuance here, be long & happy;
— and when Time with you Shall cease, and Eternity Com-
mence,— May you Be Received Into Everlasting Happiness And
Glory. —
280 N.C. Department of Archives and History
I am reverend & Dear Sir, your Fellow-laborer
and most Obed l.
N Blount
[Addressed:]
The Reverend Charles Pettigrew.
Washington County.
Care of Col. Blount
[Notation on back by Charles Pettigrew :]
L b. 9 of iron in Bolts from M r.
Phelps's Shop — for the Flat —
Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew UNC
Washington [County] 10th April 1802
My dear Ebenezer,
I arrived safe last evening & found your Mother & M rs. Pam-
brun well, & my affairs as well as I expected — Our passage
was about 5 hours, from a head wind — Our horses were waiting
& ready for us, & M r. Vail set out for Newbern without delay,
in hopes to see his Bride to night.53
I enclose you M r. Bryan's Obligation which you will give
to M r. Slade, as he cannot levy attachment without it. In this
you will not delay — and above all things don't be wanting in
your polite attention to every branch of the family, & indeed
every body with whom you have occassion to be conversant.
Your figure & time of Life require it. To be a gentleman does
not, be assured, consist of informal Bows & scrapes, but in
53 Benners Vail was married twice. His first wife was Frances Mary-
Nash, to whom this reference is made. Marriage Bonds, Craven County,
for Benners Vail to Frances Mary Nash, March 20, 1802, and Benners
Vail to Elizabeth Lente, February 23, 1804. The son of Jeremiah Vail,
Benners was orphaned in 1795, and the Court of Pleas and Quarter Ses-
sions named John Vail to be his guardian. Thomas Vail and William
Littlejohn accepted bond of £2,000 for performance of his duty. County
Records, Chowan County Court Minutes, 1791-1798, Part II, 1795-1798,
September session, 1795, p. 8, State Archives. In 1813 Vail represented
Craven County in the House of Commons. Wheeler, Historical Sketches,
123. He died in 1815, and in July of that year his widow ran advertise-
ments in the Carolina Federal Republican (New Bern) offering long-term
leases on two mills and other property. There are scattered references to
Vail in the letters in this volume.
The Pettigrew Papers 281
a discreet & manly deportment. — This is very easy to a man,
who cultivates in his mind the principles of true benevolence to
all. — This benevolence, — this generous goodwill, is diffusive
through the man's whole Deportment, & gives an agreeable air
not only to his conversation, but to all he does.
I must therefore insist on the necessity of your acquiring
happy tempors & Dispositions, — & entire self command. In order
to this, keep your passions alway[s] down, & cool; this will
give you time for thought & deliberation. An excellent help to
this, is, an awful sense of the Divine presence impressed on
your mind at all times. What will have a happy tendency to
produce this, is secret prayer at your lying down & rising from
your Bed, evening & morning. In this I recommend to you the
practice of my youth. I am sensible I derived great advantage,
in point of regularity, & a Demeanour which commanded respect,
& procured me the friendship of the most worthy of my
acquaintance.
Take great care of your health — I have always found sassafras
tea, from the bark of the root good in a Cold — It ought not
however, to be continued too long —
M r. Collins has promised to sell my rice for me, should
Opportunity present itself — Be very respectful to him & his —
also to your Cousins & the family. Write me respecting the
criminal Tryals, at which I [torn] to attend. I will also send
your [torn] Book to you by M r. Skinner [torn] — God Almighty
bless & preserve you, [torn] make you a useful member of [torn]
is the earnest prayer of your [torn] father
Charles Pettigrew
M r. Slade will I suppose give you a receipt for the Note —
[Addressed:]
M r. Ebenezer Pettigrew
Edenton
Favored by M r. Skinner
282 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Beaufort County May 4 th. 1802.
My truly esteemed, & Rev d. Friend —
Your very friendly letter bearing date the 3 d. March, I had
the pleasure to receive the 25 th. of that month. I observed you
had an intention of crossing the sound (suppose) soon after
writing, tho' not then recovered of your cold before caught,
and wish you may have accomplished your intended voyge [sic]
with1, injury. I suppose March to be a most searching and
piercing Month to weak enfeebled constitutions, — & presume
your business must have been very urgent, — otherwise, that
you would not attempted it. My Eldest Brother (Reading
Blount) who was I believe, some (tho' but little) past his 60 th.
year, and for some time past, seem'd to be of a weakly con-
stitution, and was often sick, — was taken last July, — and after
a long and tedious illness, expired the 11 th. of March! To take
a serious view of Death in its most important consequences, —
to see it in its true and proper colours, — & then, — for it not
to wear (as you mentioned) a gloomy and disagreeable aspect, —
must be one of the greatest attainments that we can arrive to,
in this state of imperfection & vale of tears ; and I have no
doubt, but many who have talked quite otherwise — have done it
without due thought and consideration, — & perhaps, to make
their fellow-creatures that think as little about It as they do
themselves, think well of them ! Your candid acknowledgement
of your want of more genuine and fervent piety, — is I hope,
a real proof that you truly seek It. Oh ! that I had not such
great reason to make the same acknowledgement, — that I could
but pour out my Soul in the deepest, & with the most lively
Devotion, for Myself, & my poor fellow-sinners and probationers
for An Awful Eternity, — and with the greatest earnestness, "Do
justly, — love Mercy, — and Walk humbly," — With My Great, —
My Adorable Saviour, — Who, Was not only found In fashion as
an ordinary man, — But, (may I never be forgetful of It)
Humbled Himself and Became Obedient to Death, — even that
bitter, that cruel Death of the cross! To Save — sinners. My
dear Brother, — tho' we are so weak and unable to do any thing
of ourselves, yet what Great and Precious Promises do we find
Of Help and Assistance, in perusing The Sacred Pages Of The
The Pettigrew Papers 283
Scriptures Of Eternal Truth. Let us not then be weary in
truly endeavouring to do well, — for in due season we shall reap,
if we faint not. In one of the letters of the pious and Evangelical
M r. Hervey, to a friend, — I find this open confession, & humble
expression, — "What I wrote concerning a firm Faith in God's
Most Precious Promises, and an humble trust, that we are the
objects Of His Tender Love, is what I desire to feel, rather
than what I actually experience. Considerations they are, with
which I would ply my own heart, in hopes that they may be
effectually set home By Divine Grace, in hopes that they may
become the happy means of making me strong in Faith, and
enabling me thereby to give Glory To God." When I find that
men who were remarkable for their piety and Christian prin-
ciple, thus mistrustfully and humbly express themselves, — tho'
it was to them, no doubt, a lamentable matter, — it encourages
me in my Christian Warfare; — encourages me to hope, that
tho' my progress has been so slow, and my failings and im-
perfections are so great — yet, that I may, be enabled to lead
the life of a true Christian. 0 that I may at last, Be Enabled
to live the life, and die the death of the righteous.
What seems [scenes] of Blood and carnage are again opened
in that unhappy Island where Black Touissaint [1* Ouverture]
has the ruling power! When will those one and indivissibles,
those sticklers for liberty and equality (neither of which tho'
in fact, they seem by any means to like to allow [illegible] )
learn by the principles of humanity, to lay down the instru-
ments of death, and cease from troubling! What a pity it is
that so many in the united states, are such approvers of the
principles and conduct of that Bloody minded people, tho' in
saying this, I do not mean the whole of them; — for notwith-
standing the National proceedings, I doubt not, but there are
still many truly pious and religious people among them, who
have abhorred their cruelties and principles.
What Divissions, heats and animosities have lately been in
Congress ! It is a matter much to be lamented that they have
got so much into parties, — and sincerely do I wish that the
consequence may not be, that instead of being the united, we
may be become the divided states, and thereby, become an easy
prey to the European powers. The French getting such footing
in America as I suppose they lately have, to the southward
of the united states, — I wish may not prove seriously alarm-
284 N.C. Department of Archives and History
ing. The Spaniards were not perhaps much to be dreaded, —
but the French, I suppose, are at this day, by Land, the
most formidable nation in the world. 0 ! when will that
Happy Time Come, when the strong nations shall Be Re-
buked,— when 'They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks ; nation not lift up a sword
against nation, neither learn war any more."
Please present my best respects and Most cordial good wishes
to (your other self) Mrs. Pettigrew, whilst I am with the
greatest esteem and Brotherly regard, your affectionate Friend
and fellow-labourer In The Work Of The Gospel.
N Blount
[Addressed:]
The Reverend Charles Pettigrew.
Washington County
Care of
Col. Blount
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew :]
in favor of infants read
Mat : XVIII : to the 15th verse
Mat: XIX: 13—16 —
Mark IX : from 33—43 —
Luke IX : 46 to 49 —
D °. XV : 3— 8 —
and think they should be denied admittance
into the Christian Church by baptism if you
can. If you can I envy you not the power
of thinking so. But I most sincerely pity
you.
Charles Pettigrew to Nathaniel Blount*54 A&H
[May, 1802]
My rev d. & good Brother,
Your favor of 4th instant I have Just rec d., & being to preach
at a Chapel up the County to morrow I am sat down to answer
51 The sheet of paper on which the draft of this letter is written bears
an address on the reverse side in the handwriting of Nathaniel Blount.
Charles Pettigrew evidently prepared his reply on the blank inside portion.
The Pettigrew Papers 285
it, as from that Chapel I will probably meet with a Conveyance.
Your solicitude respecting my health, merits my grateful acknowl-
edgement, & I most cordially thank you. — I thank God ! I am
in as good a state of health, & have been since early in April,
as I have enjoyed for many years. I have taken to riding to
a plantation which I have on a Lake about 9 miles off once &
sometimes twice a week, which I find greatly conducive to
health. This I am under the necessity of doing, from the fullest
conviction that overseers require little less oversight from their
imployers than the negroes require from them, & that in point of
fidelity, there is not so much Difference between white & black
as our natural partiality for the former would persuade us.
At the same time I am not more intimately of this than of
the difficulty of serving of both God and mamon. The world
has indeed an awful tendency to alienate the mind from God,
& things serious, And to render it unfit in the great Degree
for the sacred Duties & exercises of the ministerial function —
But the people amongst whom I live are poor & I take nothing
from them ; I must therefore live from the field, while I perhaps
render them a more imperfect service than it might otherwise
be in my power to render.
Your reflections on the Death of your Brother are natural &
serious. I hope as it was preceeded by so long an illness, he
was induced to improve the afflictive Dispensation to his spiritual
use & comforts, — & that he made a happy exit from the dis-
tressful scenes of Temporary Life to the Joyful scenes of a
glorious immortallity. If so, May God prepare us by the example
of a lively faith. & sincere piety in our intercourse with god &
the world, to follow him. [Incomplete]
Charges Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew UNC
Washington 19th May 1802
My dear Son, —
Yours of the 15th, by M r. Collins we have just had the pleasure
to receive. It is the 2 d. — I have given you and it for both.
We are happy to find that M r. Blount has sent for his young
friends. I hope they will come up to his expectations, in respect
to prudence & propriety of Deportment, & that in the end
they will find thier [sic] account in it. We had heard of the
286 N.C. Department of Archives and History
negro plot.55 I wish it may be properly quelled — lenity will not
do it — it will make them worse — It is a pity that agreeably to
the nature of things, Slavory [sic] & Tyranny must go together —
and that there is no such thing as having an obedient & useful
Slave, without the painful exercise of undue & tyrannical
authority. I sincerely wish there was not a Slave in the world.
We are happy to find you are coming over, & will have the
Double Chair at M r. Lewises early in the Day, & an Horse for
you — We wish you to be out with the Ladies by sunrise, that you
may get down to Dinner, as I am to preach at Phelp's Chapel that
Day. We are, & have been well. Your Mother & M rs. Pambrune
present their Compliments to the Ladies & yourself, wishing
you a pleasant voyage & safe arrival at Bellgrade.56 — From
your affectionate father
Charles Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
M r. Ebenezer Pettigrew
at E dent on
Favor'd by M r. Collins
Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew UNC
Washington 21 st. June 1802
Dear Ebenezer,
I rec d. your's by Capt Butler. He has taken my rice, and
paid me 180$ & after you see it weighed at Town the remainder
he is to pay to you.
I have insisted on him to let the Doctor [John Beasley] have
a tierce, but he says he cannot carry any but for himself & must
keep it all. I feel myself very uneasey about it as the Doctor
will I am affraid be offended. If he did not take it, I do not
know by whom I could send it, & it might lie here some time. If
the Capt. will not spare it, I wish you would excuse it to the
Doctor & M rs. Beasl[e]y.
55 This was the first insurrection scare in North Carolina in the nine-
teenth century, though presumably unfounded. Johnson, Ante-Bellum North
Carolina, 510-512.
™ ''Belgrade" was Charles Pettigrew's plantation on the Scuppernong
River. See the introduction, p. xvii.
The Pettigrew Papers
287
The Pettigrew home on "Belgrade" Plantation. The plantation was lo-
cated on the Scuppernong River, and the house was erected in 1797 and
moved in 1838 to its present location near Creswell in Washington County.
Photographed by Dr. Sarah M. Lemmon.
Capt. Butler has taken 1000 of the staves & says M r. White
is to pay you, & he expects a Lighter will call for the remainder,
& some more M r. Cumstock has. You must not take any in-
different sugar or Coffee, & I will be over perhaps next week —
Should you receive the money it will command good sugar &c.
We have had a rumpus in the upper end of this County with
the negroes — whether there are any of the conspirators among
us I know not — no Discovery has been made nor any one
implicated that we hear of. I wish that when the[y] enter
upon the tryal of the Edenton boys, The examiners would be
very particular in regard to the negroes at the Lake whether
any of them have Joined for it is extraordinary if every other
place abounds so with conspirators & there should be none
there or among us.
288 N.C. Department of Archives and History
You will receive your Clothes by Capt Butler — they were
made the week you left us — Your Mother & Mrs. Pambrun
affectionately salute you, & present their compliments to the
Ladies of the Doctor, with those of your ever affect, father
Charles Pettigrew
— in great haste —
N. B. M r. Trotter rec d. a Letter yesterday from M r. Caten at
Washington informing him of fifteen being found guilty there
& 6 or 7 shot on their way to Williamston — I suppose for
running
[Addressed:]
Mr. Ebenezer Pettigrew
at Edenton
Favor'd by Capt. Butler
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
M rs. Pambrun has sent M rs. Beasley some Elder flowers57 —
Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew A&H
M rs. Blounts 30th June 1802
My Dear Ebenezer,
When at M rs. Horniblows last evening I found D r. Norcom58
had inoculated her Children with the kine pox, & that it had
taken very well. I asked the D r. what he had for a patient in
that way, he said 2 or 3 Dollars. I asked if he had any good &
genuine matter, he said he had, for he brought it from Norfolk
I believe by an insertion into his own hand — I intended to have
spoken to you on the subject — but forgot. Would it not be much
better to get inoculated with it, than to risk the small pox of
which you are still in Danger, & which taken in the natural way
57 Elder flowers were used to make elder blossom wine.
r>H Dr. James A. Norcom of Edenton was a well-known physician in
eastern North Carolina. John H. Wheeler, Reminisences and Memoirs of
North Carolina and Eminent North Carolinians (Baltimore: Genealogical
Publishing Company, 1966,) 124, hereinafter cited as Wheeler, Reminiscences
and Memoirs. The James A. Norcom Papers are in the State Archives.
The Pettigrew Papers 289
at this season, or betwist this & cool weather would be so
extremely dangerous — I wish you would have it done —
When I got down last night, they had not got the wheat near
cut down, nor secured, I therefore said nothing about going in
the morning, with an intention of going over in the evening
after it should be finished. — It is now 4 o'Clock & they have it
cut down, but not all stacked, & the wind is so fresh that we
cannot venture, & I am affraid will not have it in our power
before the morning.
I will write you again by M r. J. B. White & require him to
pay you money equivalent to the following purposs — viz, a
Couple of good chints pat [t] eras for Your mother & M rs. Pam-
brun, & perhaps & for myself of a strong but inferior quallity —
I shall also want as much good black Casimer or black Cloth,
as will make both yourself & me some Breeches &c but of this
I shall particularly write — I am sorry to lay out more money
than I cannot avoid, on ace l. of Dillens Land, which we must
have either in whole or in part, for I expect by & by to [illegible]
to my own Line, — & we have not half enough of open Land, it
being out of our power to rest a bit from constant culture —
I forgot my papers & [illegible] of my neighbours, I wish
you would get & procure a passage by Skin[ners] canoe as fre-
quently as possible, And any Bundle that you wish to send, it
may go by Skinner from Bossnan's for he always calls there, &
has all his Traid with him —
From your affec t. father
Charles Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
M r. Ebenezer Pettigrew
at Edenton
John Witherspoon to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Davidson County [August 5, 1802]
Tennissee State
Dear Uncle,
The friendship displayed in every letter received from you,
merits at all times a friendly reply. — I received your letter of
290 N.C. Department of Archives and History
the 13 th. of April, by the hands of M r. Smith on the 1 st. day
of August: — and think myself in duty bound to answer it. —
You have enformed me in your letter of the above date, that
you sent on 4 dollars by the hands of M r. John Davis for Judge
Tatum, The money was never delivered to Judge Tatum, &
I have enquired of M r. J. Davis & he says that it must be a
mistake that he never received the money; however I satisfied
Judge Tatum for the payment of the taxes of your lands. —
And if you would write me word posatively if you think it
posable that there could be any mistake in the buisness [sic] it
will probibly be further enquired into. I further enform you
that if I can be of any service to you in this country by any
attention that I could pay to your buisness [sic] that there is
nothing farther necessary than to let me know it & I will attend
to it with a great deal of cheerfulness. —
My family is in a good state of health at present thanks to
the Giver of all such blessings. We have experienced a very
seasonable spring and summer, and our fields at present promise
a plentiful automnal [sic] gathering.
And altho' our Western farmers appear to be growing rich,
by agraculture & our merchants by commerce, yet contrary
to the common course of things they appear to be advancing
progressively in Religion. Our country from external appearence
is more acctuated by the spirit of religion at this time than it
ever has since its settlement by a civilized people. The Metho-
dists & Presbyterians have measureably united & collect in very
large assemblies, where they appear to be very violently actuated
by the Spirit. How these proceedings are to end I cannot tell, —
I remain in principle as I was. —
I shall at all times thankfully receive any Epistolary in-
formation that you may have in your power to convey to me. —
I am with every sentiment
of esteem your
Sincere friend
&
Nephew.
John Witherspoon
August the 5 th. 1802
Rev d.
Charles Pettigrew
The Pettigrew Papers 291
Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigreiv UNC
Belgrade 13 th., Aug. 1802
My dear Ebenezer,
I have to acknowledge the receipt of two Letters, the first
by Capt. Starr, together with a variety of articles you were so
good as to procure in Town — the last by Capt. Bateman,59 in which
you inform me that you have not got the money from M r. White.
The longer some people can put one off, the more difficult it
grows to get it at all. So that you had better push, & dun him,
so as to give him no rest, for if you do not he may feel himself
easy in putting you off, as some have served me.
I am sorry for M r. Tredwells loss, Dick was very valuable
to him. Also for the Death of my friend Johnson. I wonder
who was his Ulogist [Eulogist]. Your Mother & M rs. Pambrun
think he has burlesqued him. But I am apt to think it was
well meant; but that the writer has been unfortunate in his
manner of doing it, and that the memory of his friend is by no
means advantaged by it. Simplicity & care is always the most
grateful to the reader in such compositions.
In regard to the samples of Chints, your Mother is partial
to none of them. Hers is the Old Taste, when the love of beauty
in things of that kind prevailed, & now since the Taste is
reversed I am affraid there is nothing that will command her
approbation in any of the stores. But as the youngest Child
makes the best choice of Spectacles for his parents, & as you
succeded admirably in the Choice of a pattern for me, I believe
you must venture to make a Choice for her also. And pray
Try to get a handsome & as good pat [t] era, & if she should not
like it, she may give it to M rs. Pambrun —
In respect to her Jaunt westward it depends in some Degree
on Contingency, that is, if M r. Tunstal60 would come down, of
which we have some hopes, it would prevent. And you will
59 Daniel Bateman of Tyrrell County was a shipper, and he is men-
tioned frequently in letters in this volume. In 1812 he was a witness for
Ebenezer Pettigrew in the latter's trespass suit against Samuel Blount.
Chowan County, Civil Action Papers, 1810-1812, September session, 1812,
State Archives, hereinafter cited as Chowan County, Civil Action Papers
In 1815 Bateman owned 200 acres of land in Tyrrell County and four
Negro slaves. Tax List, Tyrrell County, 1815. A number of Batemans
are buried in St. David's churchyard, Creswell, Tyrrell County.
60 Tunstall was the husband of Mary Lockhart Pettigrew's niece. See
footnote 6, p. 191, and Charles Pettigrew to Rebecca Tunstall, June 22,
1803, in this volume, pp. 307-308.
292 N.C. Department of Archives and History
receive a Letter herewith to send up by M r. [Thomas Whitmel]
Pugh's son To his mother, & to M r. Tunstal, or if there was an
opportunity soonner. I should like well enough to be at the
Examination,61 but expect it will not be in my power. I came
last evening from the Lake after sundown, being detained by
an abundance of rain from about 12 oClock. The Lake was
very visibly raised. Our crope [sic] there is at present very
promising also at home. I am Just setting in to saw a frame for
the Chapel. I am told that Shingles & Scantling are coming
greatly into demand to the Southward.
Pray attend to your health above all things, & beware of the
small pox & yallow fever, the last of which I see by the papers
are in both Philadelphia & Norfolk. It is not improbable it may
revisit Edenton. I have had some thoughts of sending up for
you, but if you would rather I should not, you will write me by
Capt. Starr, & I will send up to wherever you shall mention, &
when. Jemmie Sutton owes me ferriage, if you would choose
to cross there.
We are almost out of salt. I wish you could send a couple
of Bushels by Capt. Starr. We have been & are all in good
health, but I have been a good deal Teazed with a sore leg
from the Bite of a Dog of Miles Spruills this 3 weeks past. I
never either saw or heard him till ;he had me by the back of
the Leg. It is however getting well. Your Mother & M rs.
Pambrun send Love & compliments to yourself & the Ladies.
Present mine also to them & the Doctor — From your ever
Af [fject1.
Father
Charles Pettigrew
N.B. Your Mother has sent some cotton tied or sewed up in a
little bundle to Miss Hunter, which she will know is to make
into netting.
[Notation on back :]
Let the Pat [t] era be grave & neat — if you can Let it be dark,
for I want you to please your mother. C. P.
"' Evidently Ebenezer Pettigrew was attending school in Edenton. During
this period he formed lifelong friendships with Thomas B. Haug'hton and
James Iredell, Jr. See Ebenezer's correspondence in this volume.
The Pettigrew Papers 293
[Addressed:]
M r. Ebenezer Pettigrew
at Edenton
Favored by
Capt. Starr.
Charles Pettigrew to John Wither spoon**1 A&H
22 Sept r. 1802
Dear Nephew,
Your favor of 5 th ultimo I have Just had the pleasure to
receive in answer to mine of 13th of last april by M r. Smith.
I am a little surprized that you did not receive it soonner than
the 1 st. of August — I hope my letter which he gave you gave an
account of 5 or 6 Dollars which I sent by him & his Mother, &
that he delivered them together with the Letter or to Judge
Tatum for I wrote also to him in answer to one informing me
of the Tax which you were so obliging as to advance for me.
I observe you mention nothing of the money, which makes me
suspect that he had been perhaps too long under the influence
of John Davis before he presented the Letter — And that another
Letter has been made out from mine without the mention of the
money & mine suppressed. If this has been done you may know
by comparing this with the one you received, & Judging from
the parity or Disparity of the hands.
As Davis never gave the money as requested by me to Judge
Tatum I suspect he has pursued this plan not only with the
Letter which accompanyed the money but also the one to Judge
Tatum by M '". Smith & also that to yourself, for I mentioned
the money sent in both — If any thing has been done in this way
with the money last sent it is through the influence of Davis,
for Smiths family has always been reputed honest — But Davis
has been thought equal to any thing of the kind.
I did not take a receipt from Davis as the conveying of the
money conferred an Obligation on me & I thought I had
engaged his gratitude so far by my kind treatment of him that
there was no need of my taking a receipt, & therefore did not —
02 This is another letter drafted on the blank inside portion of one re-
ceived. The outside address is directed to Charles Pettigrew, but the letter
inside is also written by Charles Pettigrew.
294 N.C. Department of Archives and History
But I had determined to send no more money without taking a
Receipt, & wrote my Letters & set out with the Money & them
for M rs. Smiths But met them on the Road having set out on
their Journey so that I had not an opportunity to take a Receipt,
but If I recollect right gave the money & Letters to M rs. Smith
herself amongst a number of her neighbours who were walking
the road with her [incomplete]
Charles Pettigreiv to Ebeneze?' Pettigrew UNC
Sunday, 3 o'clock 17 Oct r. 1802
My dear Son,
I have been very sick since last monday, — I was taken with
an ague but bleeding as usual in the fever prevented its return. —
But my fever & sick stomach still sticks by me — I took a grain
of Tartar with a little Ipecac, [illegible] by which an enormous
quantity of the thickes & worst Bile has been discharged. The
sickness & — flatulency still continuing, I last night took a Dose
of Castor oil — But my fever continues, together with a total
disrellish of all food — I ought to have mentioned a great oppres-
sion from the sickness of my stomach, by which my breathing
was not good, this however has been greatly relieved by the
drawing of a large Blister on my left breast, so that I flatter
myself, I am on the recovery, & that there may not be any
danger — I must however request your return, & should you
wish to fetch a physician I have no objection, my choice if any
is Doctor Macfarlin — not that I have any objection to D r.
[John] Beasley taken in an unconnected view, for I have a
sincere & personal regard for him & his —
You will please to fetch me a couple of gallons of the best wine
you can procure, & present my compliments to D r. Macfarlin &
request him to accompany you — give our united compliments
to D r. Beasley & his Lady — also to M rs. Pambrun & tell her that
as M rs. Pettigrew is well, there is no necessity of her balking
her visit to her friends — after some time & at all times she
knows we shall be glad to [see] her — Your mother joins in Love
to you, I am as ever your Loving father.
Charles Pettigrew
The Pettigrew Papers 295
N.B. Enoch lies very sick [at] the lake so that I am affraid
nothing goes on there.
[Addressed:]
M r. Ebenezer Pettigrew
at Edenton
by George
Charges Pettigrew to Benjamin Hawkins63 a&h
Washington County, 16th Dec r. 1802.
Dear Sir,
So much time has elapsed, since we have had the pleasure
of an interview, from the remoteness of our situations from
each other, that it is not improbable, the name at the bottom
of the concluding page may give you surprize. Think not how-
ever that I write you from any other sphere, — for although we
have seen many of our friends & acquaintances consign'd to
the grave in the run of our near 30 years absence from each
other, through divine indulgence I am still alive, — still confined
to this state of mutability & imperfection.
My brother, from whose hand I expect you will receive this,
& whom I take the Liberty to introduce, Having mentioned your
name, as standing high in the esteem of the Georgians, I con-
fess I heard it with singular pleasure & could not but recognize
my early acquaintance with you, which I believe was mutually
happy, & at the same time I could not help recollecting the
sentiments I then was induced [to] entertain of you, from that
openness of mind & freedom of thoughts which appeared so
natural to you, & which I expected would influence your future
conduct through Life. In this I am happy to think from the
result, that I was not mistaken in my conjectures. Believe me
Sir, the prosperity and respectability of any of my old pupils
^Benjamin Hawkins was born in Warrenton. His father, Philemon
Hawkins, engaged young Charles Pettigrew to teach Benjamin, his brother
Joseph, and the neighboring youths John and Nathaniel Macon from 1766
to 1773. Dodd, Nathaniel Macon, 4. After serving as a Federalist senator
from North Carolina from 1789 to 1795, Hawkins moved to Georgia in
1796 and was appointed agent to the Creek Indians there by President
Jefferson in 1801. He died in 1815. Connor, Manual, 1913, 911-912; Merritt
B. Pound, Benjamin Hawkins — Indian Agent (Athens: University of
Georgia Press, 1951), 64, 79, 139-140, 242; Dictionary of American Bi-
ography, VIII, 413-414.
296 N.C. Department of Archives and History
gives me the sincerest pleasure, & I am peculiarly happy to
find that your old schoolmate [Nathaniel] Macon makes so
respectable a figure in Congress.64
My Brother is a resident at this time of South Carolina, but
having been unfortunate from the Death & insolvency of a
Sheriff, for whom he had become security, he now wishes to
try to repair his losses as an Adventurer in the western frontier
of Georgia, particularly by procuring a good spot of that Land
Lately purchased from the indians. With this view he thinks
of trying to get a Surveyers place. His honor & integrity I
have not a doubt may be relied on. Whatever services therefore
you may find it convenient to render him, shall be considered as
obligations on your old friend who spent so many happy Days
& nights of his youth together with you under the same roof.
I should be happy this my Brother william Pettigrew & family
were living beside me, but our Country is very low, & the Lands
that are good hard to reclaim & then uncertain, he therefore
cannot get over his partiallity for the State of Georgia. As it
is natural for friends to wish to be informed of the particular
circumstances of one another especially in cases of long absence,
I beg leave to refer you to my Brother for mine. Suffice it for
me to say, my Desires in regard to the world have been suffi-
ciently gratifyed, & we have great cause of gratitude to the
liberal Author of our Lives & the easy compitency with which
he has blest us. I should be happy to correspond with you by
post. With sentiments of esteem & the sincerest regard, I have
the honor to be my worthy friend, your friend & ob *. Serv \
Charles Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
Benjamin Hawkins Esq r.
Georgia
Favored by M r.
William Pettigrew
84 Nathaniel Macon was speaker of the United States House of Repre-
sentatives from 1801 to 1807. Dictionary of American Biography, XII,
157-159.
The Pettigrew Papers 297
Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew UNC
Washington [County] 21 st. Dec r. 1802
Dear Ebenezer,
I have sent the negroes agreeable to your Desire, & advise
you to lose no good weather that it is in your power to improve,
for it has of late been uncommonly severe & unsettled. We
expect you to bring your cousin Pambrun & your aunt or cousins
as it may suit them best.
A few Days ago I saw Capt. Nickerson who seemed to have
some notion to take our Shingles & corn for the west indies —
but he seems to know so little of his own mind, he could not
determine. — He however promised to let me know after last
Saturday, as he expected on that Day to meet such as owed
him lumber. If they could furnish it immediately, he could load
himself, if not, he said he would probably apply for mine — but
I have not seen him since, nor do I know what he has determined
on.
He observed at the time I talked with him that there had
arrived several, perhaps half a Dozzen [sic] or more new
england men at Edenton, in expectation of Corn, or otherwise
to come into the River, to load with lumber for the W. Indies,
& that it was probable you might make a bargain with one
of them.
If you have not sold the shingles, or agreed on sending them
out on freight, or made any engagement about them, you need
bring no cloth for me — I find M r. Cumstock has a pretty good
assortment of Clothes, from which I can supply my self. He
has not Salt, for I was there yesterday, & our hogs cannot go
longer than next Monday, I must therefore request you to fetch
over 2% bushels of Salt, — the Blown if you can possibly get
it, as your Mother prefers it greatly.
The negroes will carry over some Racoon Skins, & I shall
enclose you a 40/ [shilling] Bill for which I wish you to get
two good hatts from M r. Wharf, as I want one particularly for
your Uncle. — The Chair & Horsecart will be sent up to M r.
Tarkinton's on Friday, together with a Horse for you.
You will give our Compliments very respectfully to the Doctor
& his Lady, & all other friends & inquirers as opportunity or
occasion may offer. Joshua Alexander was moored the other
Day to Miss Ensley, & brought her up to the old place, where
298 N.C. Department of Archives and History
they had a complete Tuskarora [Indian] frollick. Had you been
here would been invited to a participation [torn] one but did
not go, from a preference of home enjoyment. Present my best
respects to M r. Wilson & ask him to come over & see me.
From your
ever affectionate father
Charles Pettigrew
N.B.
I have put in a 20/ [shilling] bill with
the 40/ above mentioned
I wish you could fetch over 2 or 3 quires of good large post
paper.
And pray don't forget the Cloverseed. —
[Addressed:]
M r. Ebenezer Pettigrew
at Edenton
By Pompey —
Thomas B. Haughton65 to Ebenezer Pettigrew A&H
Princeton Jany 2 nd. 1803 [1804]
Dear Ebenezer,
I am almost ashamed of myself for not writing to you sooner,
but I hope you will pardon this remission in me, as I was some
time before I could get thoroughly settled after my arrival at
this place.
This epistle, I believe, may be considered as the second link,
on my part, to that chain of written correspondence which we
began, & which I hope may subsist as long as I am here —
I suppose it is needless to inform you that I have entered the
Junior Class, as I suppose it is probable you may have heard
it before now — I was taken sick soon after I left Edenton &
65 Thomas B. Haughton was one of Ebenezer Pettigrew's closest friends.
After attending Princeton and then studying law, he represented Wash-
ington County in the General Assemblies of 1817-1819. Wall, "Ebenezer
Pettigrew," 20-21; Connor, Manual, 1913, 841; correspondence between
Haughton and Pettigrew, in this volume. In 1812 Haughton was Ebenezer's
attorney in a trespass suit against Samuel Blount, for which service he
charged £2. Chowan County, Civil Action Papers, March term, 1812. This
letter was erroneously dated by the writer.
The Pettigrew Papers 299
remained so untill I arrived at Princeton, but I had not been
here more than a day or two before I perceived my health re-
turning speedily, & now I am as hearty as ever I was in my life —
If ever you come near Princeton, I hope you will not pass by
your old friend without calling on him, as nothing would afford
him a more singular pleasure than to see one for whom he has
so much regard. I am much pleased with Princeton & am still
jogging on my usual pase [sic] in my studies — Answer this
letter as soon as it is convenient, & inform me of the occurrences
that have taken place since my departure, & also whether your
affection is still concentrated in the same object as when I saw
you last —
Give my respect to your Father & Mother & M rs. Pembrom,
and also to H. Hoskins. —
I remain with sincere respect your
devoted friend —
Thos. B. Haughton
[Notation on cover:]
Missent & forwarded
to Washi[n]gton
missent &
f orwa [r] d from Plymouth
Pr
Mail
Recv d. Jan y. 30. 1804
[Addressed:]
M r. Ebenezer Pettigrew
Washington County
N. Carolina
John Witherspoon to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Nashville [Tennessee]. March 4 th. 1803
Dear Sir
I rec d. yours of the 5th January, As to Mr John Davis he
never paid any Money to Major Tatum nor Myself. The Money
Sent by M Brittan was paid to Major Tatum. The money you
300 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Mention of Sending by M r. Smith is not paid to me nor Major
Tatum, As to the Situation of your Land it his [sic'] in the
Indian boundary — And the Law dont Authorise the land in
the Indian boundary to be Taxt. Tho it has been Sold by the
Sheriff for the Taxes, I shall proceed to Redeem the Land If
you have any Receipt, for the money you have sent which has
not come to hand — you can Send them on — to enable Major
Tatum or myself to recover it from those Sent by[.] my family
are well hope all friends are enjoying good health
Your &c
John Witherspoon
I am in hast as mail is closing
[Addressed:]
The Rev d.
Charles Pettigrew
Washington Cty
N °. Carolina
Edenton Post office
Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Beauf K County 9 th. May 1803.
My rev d. & dear Friend —
Your fav r. bearing date 8 th. Feb y., rec d. and with pleasure
perused (tho' not till the 9 th. April) being unwell at the time,
and before I was well able to go home to attend several appoint-
ments some distance from home, hope you'll excuse my delay
in answering. Am very glad of your recovery from the dan-
gerous [illegible] you was afflicted. May your health be perma-
nent,— your advancement in true piety great, and your labors
crowned with the greatest and most lasting success. I have the
last winter been sorely afflicted with a complaint that I suppose
is the Rheumatism, — of which am yet far from being well ; —
was not out of the house after the 23 rd. Jan y. till 18 th. March;
(tho' believe might have gone out some days sooner) with this
complaint was formerly much afflicted, — but had not had an
attack of it so as to be confined, or to suffer much pain, for I
The Pettigrew Papers 301
believe, nearly 18 years. May the School of adversity, and
rod of affliction, aided by Divine Grace, fit and prepare me for
that great change which will e'er long remove me from this
probationary state, — this world of sin and sorrow. The winter
has been severe, which has I suppose been very trying to the
human constitution ; — do not remember, ever to have know
before, so many aged people taken from time to Eternity, in one
Fall, winter & Spring; some of them tho' so far advanced in
years, I fear gave too much reason to believe that they had
done but little, if any thing, towards being prepared for that
awful hour of Death ; Oh ! that they were wise said Meek and
holy Moses that they understand this, that they would consider
their latter end. how many thousands, & tens of thousands,
are ruined through the want of serious consideration, lead their
lives in direct opposition to the principles of Religion, and the
repeated checks & warnings of their own Conscience! It seems
the infamous Tom Paine has some time since made his appear-
ance,— may we not say, his triumphant entrance into the United
States, — and make no doubt [torn] disseminating the seeds of
his horrid principles ; — which, alas ! that there are so many in
our country, willing to receive and embrace with avidity!
perhaps it might been best, if he had stayed in France; tho'
who can say whether it would or not? who knows but his com-
ing where freedom of speech and the freedom of the press is so
unbounded may make some impressions of reformation in him,
and open the eyes of many of his blind adherents, tho' this does
not seem very probable, — yet charity hopeth all things. Oh!
that infidelity was banished from our happy Land — and the
Precious Truths of the Blessed, the Everlasting Gospel, — truly
and deeply imprinted on all our hearts, ungrateful Americans !
Who, said (the enchantment seeker) Balaam, can count the
dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel ? and
who can count, — who shall be able to sum up, the many great
and precious Blessings, that has been, and still is enjoyed by
the people of the united States ; whom, not withstanding, hardness
of heart, and satanical principles are so predominant ! The con-
sequence of the French Louisiana Scheme, I fear, may prove
a serious matter to us ; — if they do not look out, who have the
Watch, — we may soon perhaps be involved in a most dangerous
situation; shou'd the inhabitants of our frontier western states
be induced, either through necessity or from choice, to Join
302 N.C. Department of Archives and History
those fighting & formidable people how truly alarming must it
be to the other parts of the union, and is there not the greatest
probability, that whenever they get proper & secure footing
that they may use the greatest endeav rs. to divide the eastern
and western States, as the likeliest means for subjugating the
whole of them? But when we reflect how short our time is
here, — and what weightier matters should employ our minds ; —
how inconsiderable, must we think the rise and fall of the
grandeur of nations. Tho' liberty both civil and religious, is
what all nations must have an undoubted right to contend for, and
where is a more despotick power than that exercised by the first
Consul of "the great nation"? those deluded people, who have
made so great an outcry about liberty and equality, poor mis-
taken, unhappy creatures ! how many have lost their lives in the
wilderness of the national career about liberty? & those that
have survived, — to what a miserable state of Vas[s]alage are
the[y] likely to be reduced, — as well as those subdued nations,
who have received the fraternal hug! but after all the exploits
of the great Consul, it seems by out Ace ts. that they will have a
hard struggle, if ever they accomplish it at all, to subdue the
liberty & equality tribe, of Domingo.
With the most cordial good wishes for the pres t. and future
happiness of you and M rs. Pettigrew, I am your affectionate
Brother in The Gospel of
Our All-Merciful Redeemer.
N Blount
[Addressed:]
The Reverend Charles Pettigrew
Washington County
Care of
Col. Blount
Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew A&H
Washington 19th May 1803
Dear Ebenezer,
Last monday morning Pompey ran away, while the others
came to their Breakfasts, and we have not heard of him since.
The Pettigrew Papers 303
I am affraid he has gone for Edenton, & perhaps intends trying
to get to a Brother whom Cambridge boasts of having a white
wife somewhere northward. I wish you therefore, to have
secret enquiery made, as it is probable he may meet with
sue [c] our a few Days from his father, if in Town. I am sorry,
I had occasion to take him to Town lately, as he had opportunity
to hear of so many getting off so easily from there.
I was yesterday at the Lake — the birds are very bad upon
the corn — The wheat will I suppose be fit to cut in the first
week of June — The white wheat, perhaps a little soonner — The
birds are fallen very badly upon it, also upon M r. Trotter's,
particularly the rice birds & pigions. We are pretty well &
expect you about Harvest — I am as ever, your
affectionate father
Charles Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
M r. Ebenezer Pettigrew
Edenton
The care of
D r. Beasley
Charles Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew UNC
Washington [County] 22 d. May 1803
Dear Ebenezer,
Herewith I send you the Rice, that you may store it, & get
some good opportunity of selling, or sending it to New York,
either by M r. Martin, M r. Poppleston,66 or some other good
man who can be relied on to negotiate for us. If you can get
66 John Poppleston (Popleston, Popelston) of Edenton was the son of
Samuel Poppleston and his wife Esther. In 1789 the elder Poppleston died
leaving John the land and plantation where the latter was then living.
Another son, Hardy, and a daughter, Sarah, also received small bequests of
land. Chowan County Records, Wills, 1694-1808, Vol. IV, Pop-Wor, State
Archives, Will of Samuel Popleston, April 19, 1789, p. 1. The 1801 tax list
for Chowan County shows that John owned no land or slaves, but by 1814
he had acquired 425 acres of land and three town lots in Edenton. Tax
List, Chowan County, 1801, 1814. The Edenton Gazette, April 9, 1801,
contains an advertisement for John Popelston & E. Brown offering for
sale rum and salt.
304 N.C. Department of Archives and History
storage any where else don't let it go into a cellar, for rice is
but too apt to grow musty even in a dry place. It is not weighed
you must therefore before you ship or sell, get it weighed &
marked.
I am apt to think, should it be war in Europe, rice & wheat
will bear a good price — Our wheat at the Lake is very lik[e]ly.
It will be ripe the second week in June, & I cannot now persuade
myself it will be ripe any soonner. The white wheat may prob-
ably admit cutting a little soonner. — but we have not much of
that. Our rice is very promising — The corn has been so often
bit by the frost, that it only begins to come on. The Birds are
as bad at the Lake as ever. I have almost all our force there at
present, to assist in replanting, keeping out the birds & going
over the corn with the Hoe. M r. Pomp [Pompey] came in on
Sunday afternoon, expecting I suppose that as it was Sunday,
he would escape with impunity; & so he did, until Monday
morning, when I made George give him a civil cheek for his
impudence, & the loss of just a week's work. The great affront
was, I had made him wait upon us on Sunday to church ; Anthony
being out in the field keeping the birds off the rice, & Cambridge
had not come in from his going to feed the hoggs in the morn-
ing.— On monday, I began to chide him for his behaviour, on
that occasion, & he could not bear reproof without giving me
so much impu[d]ence as made me threaten him, on which he
put off. I have sent him to the lake, & intend he shall stay there
with fortune.
When you come over, which will I suppose be at the last of the
first week in June, pray dont forget to fetch my manuscripts
from M r. Moffat — and as the Squirrels are very numerous, both
here & at Bonarva, & will doubtless be very troublesome, I wish
you to fetch 1 lb. of Gun powder & 4th. of good squirrel shot.
I have enjoyed a good state of health & desire to be propor-
tionably thankful to the great & good author of all our blessings.
Your Mother has been very ill of her rheumatic complaints —
She is considerably reduced, & has had something like an ague
to Day. Your Cousin Pambrun is well. — They unite in love &
compliment with your ever affectionate
Father
Charles Pettigrew
The Pettigrew Papers 305
N.B. Pray fetch your mother a pound of Brimstone as she
has the rheumatic almost constantly & sometimes very ill — in
haste.
P.S. Should you sell the Rice in Town, you can redeem the
Barrel of sugar, as your Mother would rather have it as it is
so good, & we have all so great an aversion to bad. I would
much rather pay the money, & hope to get it soon. But I flatter
myself you will get it from our friend Fitt's Estate. Give our
Compliments to the Doctor & his lady — Give my Compliments
to Capt. Batten & tell him I cannot procure any staves worth
his taking. —
[Addressed:]
M r. Ebenezer Pettigrew
at D r. Beasley's
Edenton
Favored by Capt. Tarkenton67
Charles Pettigrew to Nathaniel Blount68 A&H
Washington County June 6th 1803
My rev d. & Dear Sir
Your letter of 9th May I rec d. yesterday at Church & take
this earlyest opportunity to make my sincere acknowledgements.
I read it with that pleasure which the perusals of your Letters
generally gives me. Your appology for Delay is more than
sufficient. The fulfilment of your appointments contributed I
hope to the satisfaction & religious improvement of many, to
which considerations of less importance ought ever to give
way. I sincerely sympathize with you on the return of your
Rheumatic, but am happy to find it has eased off — permit me as
a quack to prescribe for you what I think will probably keep
it off, & perhaps eradicate it interely [sic] from the system.
The free use of Brimstone I have known relieve many. And I
am of opinion were you to get of the Roll which is much the
67 Captain Joseph Tarkinton of Tyrrell County owned 320 acres of land
and five slaves. Tax List, Tyrrell County, 1815.
88 This letter was drafted by Charles Pettigrew on the blank inside page
of a letter he had received from Nathaniel Blount.
306 N.C. Department of Archives and History
strongest & most effectual, & powder it fine — and take of the
powder as much as will Heap in a Tea spoon night & morning
for about a fortnight, & then let a week intervene, then begin
again with the process & continue for another fortnight you
would feel the most salutary effects.
The School of adversity is perhaps the best for us in the
present state. Too much health & prosperity is sometimes pro-
ductive of forgetfulness of our Duty to the great author of our
Lives & our blessings. The son who grew prodigal & left his
brother, never thought of returning until brought to himself
by adversity. And we are too apt to run away from our heavenly
father & seek our happiness in the Creature until reduced to a
sense of our Duty by the rod of adversity. The afflictive Dispen-
sations of providence when accompanied with a blessing are
certainly most propitious to growth in the graces & virtues of
our holy religion. [Incomplete]
Phillis Jennings69 to Mary [B.] Pettigrew UNC
Point petses70 Guadulope June 10, 1803
My Dear Mother
I imbrace this Opportunity to inquire after your health which
I hope you happily enjoys with all my family and friends
particularly, My Mistress — and Children, and Master James,
and Miss Nancy Blunt — all whom I, hope enjoys good health —
better than I do at preasant — , , , pray do not forget M rs. Beasly
and family — but I am truly sorry — to hear of the Death of my
Master, but as I — happy Enough to find and Opportunity of
writing to write you. where I am I hope you will be good enough
to write me by all Opportunity directing to me as above Men-
tioned, nothing can afford me more pleasure than a letter from
you. I have nothing at preasant, to send you but hopes, you
will be kind Enough to write me by all Opportunity — but rely.
69 Phillis Jennings was the slave Charles Pettigrew sold in the West Indies
in 1784. She evidently had heard of the death of John Pettigrew and, mis-
taking him for Charles, had written to Mary Lockhart Pettigrew believing
her to be Mary Blount Pettigrew. See also footnote 48 in Part I, p. 38.
70 Pointe-a-Pitre is located on the Guadeloupe island of Grande Terre.
The Edenton Gazette, May 18, 1809, refers to the arrival of a ship from
Point Petre, Guadeloupe, where some four thousand soldiers were reported
to be defending the island against a British blockade.
The Pettigrew Papers 307
I am ever to be your affectionate daug[h]ter — and always —
ready to send all Service — but — do not forget — Masr Jacke —
whom I nurse — tell him I hope he has not forgot me — , Since
I left you — I never Sent you any thing — but two Juggs — Jinn
[Gin] — by Pollidore, Betsy White Husband — my love to my
Brother forchin [Fortune] — & Aron — and Children — and believe
me ever to be your dutiful Daughter
Phillis Jennings
[Addressed:]
M rs. Mary Pettygroe [sic]
Edington [sic]
North Carolina
Charles Pettigrew to Rebecca Tunstall* UNC
Washington [County] 22 d. June 1803
Dear Madam,
We received your Letter of 23 d. of April, by post, & return
you thanks for it. We are sorry for your having been balked in
your intended visit last fall, as we should been happy to have
seen you both. But such are the affairs of this life — subject to
Disappointment. We hoped to have seen you before this, but
find it very difficult to find a time, in which we can with
propriety leave home so long. We have no Overseer, choosing
rather to oversee the negroes, than an Overseer & them too,
without which Employers generally go to leeward. The negroes
at the Lake plantation have commonly done better by them-
selves with a little direction than with such overseers as we
have had. We are sorry it will be out of your power to come
down in the fall, & if we both cannot go to see you, we must if
possible contrive it so that your Aunt may go. Her state of
health has been very feeble since the winter, & continues so,
which seems to increase her anxiety to make you a visit. Some-
times she talks of going to your Sister Pughs, in hopes to meet
you there, & it is probable she may take that rout[e], — An old
gentle horse, to which she had a great partiallity as a Chair
Horse, dropt dead the other day full fat, by the bursting of a
blood vessel, & I do not know that we have another that she
would drive.
308 N.C. Department of Archives and History
M rs. Pambrun is with us, but talks of making a visit to
Edenton soon by way of a change. This will make us very lone-
some for a while.
We are sorry to hear that M rs. Pugh had caught cold on her
visit to us, & also for M r. Pughs unwellness after her return.
We hope however, that they are got quite well & healthy before
this. Also that M r. Tunstall & you together, with the children,
are enjoying the health & soundness so peculiar to the piney
woods.
Ebenezer has been over at Edenton some time, until the other
Day, he came over to take some of the burden of Harvest off
my hand. He is now at the lake & well.
We have had a terrible rainy time now six weeks, which has
greatly injured our Corn & some of our wheat, — but thank God
the weather seems at present to have taken a favorable turn. —
We flatter ourselves you have had no fresh in the river. Your
aunt wishes to know if you received this, by a Line informing
her when you expect to be confined to your room, in obedience
to the command, Genesis 1 :28. That is a time, the view of which
is too often discouraging to Ladies, & more are lost for want
of resolution than any other cause — We beg therefore that
you will not indulge disponding thoughts, but put your confidence
in the Divine goodness, & rest assured that you will not be for-
saken but supported in the critical hour — With such thoughts
fortify your mind with heroic firmness & there will be no danger.
We take the papers, & a line by the post will reach us imme-
diately, we shall therefore expect it.
Your aunt & M rs. Pambrune unite in love to you. Present my
best respects to M r. Tunstall & believe me to be as ever your
affectionate uncle —
Charles Pettigrew
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew :]
The copy of a letter to M rs. Tunstall
The Pettigrew Papers 309
Charles Pettigrew to Amariah Biggs71 a&H
23 d. of June 1803
Sir,
Your appearing last Sunday at Church, induces me to think,
that you wish an accommodation of our Difference. Had I
been the aggressor, it should not have continued so long, for I
have always considered it not only a christian Duty, but highly
honorable to acknowledge a fault & retract an Error. Be assured
I have no Desire to indulge or cherish an unchristian Spirit &
temper towards any man upon earth. On the contrary I have
not only indeavoured to forgive, but I have, & still do earnestly
pray that God may forgive you, & inspire your mind with the
love of truth, & that charity without which we are nothing in
his account.
But can you Sir, after such treatment, with the colour of
reason expect to creep into my forfeited friendship? Can you
suppose, that coming to sermon & publickly shoving your hand
into mine, is a sufficient attonement & satisfaction for your
past unchristian behaviour towards me? Is not this the rule
which the blessed Redeemer has prescribed, & given us to act
by in such cases? "If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke
him." (this I have done repeatedly you know) "And if he
repent forgive him" (but how am I to know whether you have
repented or not?) "And if he trespass against thee seven times
in a Day, & seven times in a Day turn unto thee, saying / repent,
forgive him," Luke XVII. 4. Now Sir, have you thus turned to
me saying, / repent of my past ill-treatment of you, & of the
Design I had formed of injuring your Church through you, in
Hopes thereby to increase my popularity & strengthen my own
Society, as I knew that at that particular Juncture you had
enemies, whose support & assistance I expected would have
enabled me to complete the business. No Sir, although this is the
concession, which I believe you are conscious that you ought
to make, I fear your mind is of a Different cast. I cannot
therefore without a proper concession, cordially give my hand
to you as a friend, or admit you to an intimacy with me; for
71 This is the first draft of this letter. There are two other drafts of it in
the Pettigrew Papers, State Archives, but none of them appears to have
been sent.
310
N.C. Department of Archives and History
fM&3
N.C
The sketch reproduced
above shows the first Petti-
grew Chapel, built by
Bishop-elect Charles Petti-
grew in 1803 at Scupper-
nong, now Creswell. The
signature of Brent S.
Drake appears at the low-
er right. The print is
taken from the files of the
State Department of Ar-
chives and History, Ra-
leigh. The original chapel
was incorporated into St.
David's Church at Cres-
well, shown at the left.
Photographed by Dr.
Sarah M. Lemmon, 1967.
The Pettigrew Papers 311
until you profess repentance, you stand still in the same un-
favorable light, & as capable of acting the same base & un-
christian part over again. Judas could kiss after betraying.
It is true, in the last conversation I had with you, you said
that the affair had brought you to your tears, but that you had
been sorry for nothing but your having rendered evil for evil.
In the name of all that is sacred, permit me Sir, to ask, what
evil had I ever done you? If you alluded to my first Letter as
evil, I can solemnly appeal to that God at whose impartial Bar
both you & I appear, for the purity & uprightness of my inten-
tions as expressed in that letter. And I cannot but think, that
had your mind been under the sacred influence of truth, when
you read it, you & your patron could not have sent me so scurril-
lous an answer. I was indeed surprized to find that your mind
was proof against it.
I shall take the liberty farther to observe, that I have been
not a little astonished to hear of your attempting to administer
the sacraments of the Lord's supper, without first making a
proper advance towards a reconciliation. For when you took
your gift to the Alter [sic], you could not but remember what
your Brother had against you, & how culpable you had been;
and how could you Sir, neglect taking the previous step of going
with a proper concession & indeavouring, first to be reconciled,
before you offered your gifts, agreeably to the solemn injunction
of the great Redeemer? Such things give me a very unfavour-
able idea of the state of your mind. And give me leave to tell
you Sir, that it is the religion of the heart that will avail either
you or me at last. Splendid shows, & specious appearances will
never recommend us to the favor of that god, who seeth not
as a man seeth, but looketh on the heart, & requireth truth in
the inward part. Hypocricy however flattered by short sighted
mortals, is threatened with the heavyest condemnation.
From Sir,
Your injured friend
Charles Pettigrew
Should you treat this as you did my other Letters, I shall not-
withstanding enjoy the reflection of having done my Duty in
regard to you. If you are too proud & impenitent to own a
fault of which you are conscious, I shall give myself no farther
\_sic~] trouble. May God forgive you !
312 N.C. Department of Archives and History
[Addressed:]
M r. Amariah Biggs
Head of the River
Ebenezer Pettigrew to Thomas B. Hanghton* A&H
M r. Haughton.
Washington C[ounty]. August 11, 1803
Dear Friend,
To fulfill my promise, and a duty, which I owe my friend, I
have began, a correspondence, which, I hope will be as perma-
nent, as our seperation in this world, but must beg, you will
excuse, the barrinness of my epistles, as there can be nothing
entertaining, or agreeable, in this valley of misery, believe Sir,
it is a sacrefice, yet I console myself, with the great morril
maxim, "That all is for the best," hoping that in a few years,
I shall be placed, in a situation where life, will be life.72 I hope
you intend paying me a visit, at the vacation, nothing would give
me more pleasure, than your company, at that time, but as a
letter is the next to your presence, I flatter myself you will
cherish the correspondence, which I have begun, and transmit
me, a circumstantial account, of occurrences, favourites, & c.
without fear of my Father. Thank the giver of all good gifts,
I continue to enjoy a good share of health. I had an agreeable,
and quick, passage down, of but five hours. Should M r. Martin
not be gone, would take it favour, if you will ask him, to bring
me a pair of good suspenders. When you wish to send a letter,
and have no other safe opportunity, the mail is the alternative,
direct it to the Scuppernong post office, and I shall get it. Be
so obliging, as to present my compliments, to my friends
[James] Iredell, Martin, and [J.] Dickinson. And believe me to be
Your most sincere Friend & Serv '.
Ebenezer Pettigrew
72 Ebenezer was called home from Edenton by his father to take charge of
"Bonarva," the plantation on Lake Phelps. The young man appeared to feel
that he had been sent into exile. Wall, "Charles Pettigrew," 87.
The Pettigrew Papers 313
Thomas B. Haughton to Ebenezer Pettigreiv A&H
Edenton August 15 th. 1803
Dear Friend,
I received your letter from the Post-office the 15 th. of this
ins l. — which afforded me a singular pleasure to find that you
had commenced a correspondence, which I hope will be pro-
ductive of reciprocal satisfaction & advantage.
In the first part of your letter, you begged me to excuse the
barrenness of your epistles, which I readily would do, if there
was a necessity for it, but if they should all be like this, they
will need no excuse. — With re to your wishing that you
may be placed in a few years in a situation where life will be
life, all that I can say is, may God grant your wish & prosper
your designs — You desired me to give you a circumstantial
account of occurrences, favorites &c. without reserve. — As to
occurrences there are none worthy of notice except you might
think it of importance to know our new members, who are the
same that were elected last year, except Sam l. Maguire, who
is elected instead of M r. Small. A mate of a vessel arrived here
a Saturday from Norfolk, who said he was robbed on the road
of 49$ and some cloathes by a negro (who is supposed to be a
negro named Peter formerly the proper [ty] of Jet Benton in
Gates) about half way between here & Norfolk. — With respect
to favorites I have not had a good opportunity of seeing or hear-
ing from them, for I was sick the greater part of last week
but thank God I have recovered my health again ; however I have
had the pleasure to see the principle one today who looks as
charming as ever and the other, I see pass by every day who
seems to enjoy her health verry well; but as I have not changed
a word with either of them since you left this place, I can say
no more about them — All the other young Ladies I believe
are well —
I spoke to M r. Martin concerning the suspenders, and he
says he will bring them; he sets off a Wednesday.
The visit that we are speaking of, I don't know whether I
could pay, unless you could make it convenient to come over
at the examination, and then I would go with you. I have not
yet given your compliments to J. D. [Dickinson] and J. I. [Ire-
dell] but will tomorrow. As I have but one friend near my age
314 N.C. Department of Archives and History
in Scuppernong, viz. you to whom I write I need not send
compliments to any besides, so I now conclude with expressing
mysel[f] in the most sincere terms to be your true & unfeigned
friend.
Tho s. B. Haughton
M r. Petti grew —
P.S. Excuse scribling, interlining, and all deficiencies & imper-
fections, for this letter was vamped up in haste.
I put this blank paper to keep others from seeing the writing
[Notation by Ebenezer Pettigrew:]
Received August 21 st. of the same year
[Addressed:]
M r. Ebenezer Pettigrew
Scupppernong P. Office
pr mail
Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Beaufort County Aug K 16 th. 1803
My reverend & D r. Friend —
Your valuable letter dated 6 th. June, & which bro't me the
Ace1, of your good health, came safe to hand the third of last
Month. How truly welcome, — and especially to a person in my
very unhappy situation, is the letter of an absent friend; — as
it is good & "pleasant, for brethren to dwell together in unity," —
So, how pleasing, how good & comforting a thing it is, for a
person that cannot conveniently enjoy the company of a friend,
to converse with them freely and frequently by letter. Be
assured, your letters have given me great satisfaction, — and
nothing I hope, while your life is Spared, and your health per-
mits,— and my life is also Spared, — will prevent you from a
continuance of your favours. I still hope to see the time that
it may be convenient for me to take a ride to your house; tho'
I shou'd think the distance very inconsiderable, yet other reasons
have hither to prevented me from attempting it. I am Through
Divine Mercy much better of my complaint (tho' I have mended
The Pettigrew Papers 315
but slowly) than when I wrote you last. Should be rather afraid
to make so free a use of brimstone as you advised, tho' from
what I have before understood, added to your knowledge and
advice in the matter, I have no doubt but it may be helpful,
if carefully taken ; while confined mostly to my bed, I took
very considerable of it made up in pills with Turpentine. I
have formerly thought the cold bath serviceable to me, — and
think if I should live till suitable weather at the Fall to try it
again; the weather was so very cold after I was taken last
winter, was afraid to make very free with it; took it once
before I got confined and desisted ; and after I got about in the
spring of the year and wished to try it, — the weather was so
often unsettled when I cou'd be at home, — did not take it, only
sometimes pour'd water on my knees, and one or both of ancles
and feet. From the account you have given of M rs . Pettigrew's
complaint it does not seem to me, to be the Rheumatism, — tho'
cannot say certain, as I suppose it affects differently on different
constitutions. Be the Malady what it may I heartily wish her a
happy & speedy relief from it.
The two Potent nations of England & France, I suppose, have
again unsheathed the sword of war! how many poor unhappy
creatures must now loose their lives to gratify the thirst for
power, of those rival rulers ! If Agag for his cruelties, suffered
so much in this world, as to be hewed in pieces, — what must
those cruel rulers expect Hereafter, — who wanting to increase
their power and dominion, — destroy so many of the lives of their
people! "Wo to him that buildeth a Town with blood, — and
establisheth a City by iniquity" ! If Louissianna is ceded to the
United States and the Matter gets properly confirm' d on good
terms, I suppose the acquisition must be great; should this be
the case, the emigration to it, and the advantages to the first
set[t]lers, may probably be very considerable, 'tis probable
the French were afraid the English might get possession of it? —
which might induce them to agree the Americans shou'd have
it; as they are so jealous of the power and intention of each
other. Should this world continue a few centuries more, — what
a vast number of people in all probability there must be on the
continent of North America. But and if the inhabitants of a
single continent is so great, — how great — how inconceivably
great — must be the number of the whole Assembled World, —
When The Trumpet Shall Sound and all the dead both small
316 N.C. Department of Archives and History
and great Shall Be Raised, and make their appearance Before
The Judgment Seat of Christ ? — Oh ! my precious immortal
Soul, — Where wilt thou then stand among that most amazing
Multitude? come make a solemn pause. — Wilt thou Then Stand
on The Right Hand, — or On The Left of Thy Great Almighty
Judge? — Hast thou truly sought the Blessed Treasure Hidden In
the Field of The Gospel? — art thou Adorned With That lovely
Garment of true Justifying Faith; — is thy whole trust and
confidence, Only in pleading The Precious Atoneing Merit, Of
thy once crucified, bleeding, Dying Saviour? (But Then, The
Great And Glorious Judge Of the quick and dead.) For By
nothing but that, canst thou expect to Find Favour And Mercy
When thou Shalt appear Before That Awful Judgment Seat. —
Will you my beloved Friend — sometimes remember me in your
Addresses To The Throne of Grace; — that I may be strong in
Faith ; — Taught and Enabled for that Great and important work
in which I ought to be so constantly employed; — strengthened
against the temptations of the World, the flesh and the devil;
and Be Directed And Guided through this wilderness of sin
and sorrow, — To The Straight Gate, — That Leads To Everlast-
ing Life. And May the Greatest Blessings and comforts attend
you & Mrs. Pettigrew; May you both, — influenced by the prin-
ciples of true and unfeigned Religion glide hand in hand along
the current of Time ; and at last by an easy transition, — Go from
Time To The Glories of Eternity.
I am my reverend and dear Friend, — (tho a most unworthy
servant, — I hope with great sincerity) your fellow labourer In
the Ministry of The Glorious Gospel.
N Blount.
[Addressed:]
The Reverend Charles Pettigrew
Washington County.
Care of
Col. Blount
The Pettigrew Papers 317
Ebenezer Pettigrew to James Iredell, Jr.* A&H
Washington C[ounty]. Aug fc. 17, 1803
Most Esteemed Friend,
From an ardent desire to enter into a correspondence with
one for whom I have so great a regard I have ventured to begin
one which I flatter myself you will cherish and transmit me a
circumstantial account of occurrences without reserve, but beg
you will excuse the barrinness of my letters as there can be
very little either entertaining or agreeable in this lonesome but
pleasant retirement believe me it is a sacrefice to spend so many
of my days here but I console myself with the great morril
maxim "that all is for the best" expecting it will not be many
years before I shall be quite in a different situation.
I hope you intend giving me the pleasure of your company
at the vacation [ ;] be assured nothing would add more to my
happiness at that or at any other time. If it were in my power
I should be very glad to come over at the examination but am
afraid it will not be. Pray write me by the first opportunity
and should one not offer immediately put it in the Post Office
and direct it to the scuppernong Post Office I shall get it. I
must here remind you of the promise not to let any one see
my Letters I still beg you will not. And now, Be so obliging
as to present by compliments to Mess rs. Haughton, [John]
Conner, and [J.] Littl[e]john and tell the latter to have mercy
on me in my absence.
And believe me to be with sen-
timents of the high l. esteem
your m l. sincere Friend and Ser l.
Eben r. Pettigrew
[Notation by Ebenezer Pettigrew:]
Copy of a Letter dated August 17, 1803
[Addressed:]
M r. James Iredell
Edenton
Per post
318 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Charles Pettigrew to Amariah Biggs* a&h
[August 20, 1803]
Sir,
The enclosed73 I wrote the week after your appearance at
Church, but having some time ago formed a resolution to give
myself no farther trouble with you, I throwed it aside. But
upon its falling into my hand the other Day, I opened it, &
reperused & considered the contents, whence I have been induced
to think it indispensibly my Duty to give it a passage, be the
effect as it may. And now I pray you to read & consider it, as
in the presence of the Omniscient & heartsearching God. Trifle
not with it ; for it may be a swift witness against you, at the
great Day of final retribution
20th Aug. 1803
Your injured friend
Charles Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
M r. Amariah Biggs
Head of Scuppernong
James Iredell, Jr., to Ebenezer Pettigrew A&H
Edenton August 23 d. 1803
r
My dear Friend,
With great pleasure I received your letter of the 17 th. Ins K
commencing a correspondence, which, I am sure, cannot be
more agreeable to you than to me, & which will be most punc-
tually observed by me. To give a proof of this, I write you by
the present opportunity, the first that has offered since the
receipt of your letter.
Our examination commenced yesterday, but of that you will
hear a better account from the bearer of this letter, than I can
give you. There is no news in town, that I know, worth com-
municating.
7i See Charles Pettigrew to Amariah Biggs, June 23, 1803, in this volume,
p. 309.
The Pettigrew Papers
319
Portrait of James Iredell, Jr. (1788-1853). Iredell was a governor of
North Carolina (1827-1828) and a lifelong friend of Ebenezer Pettigrew.
Photograph of a James McGibbon original in the collection of Mr. Willie
Jones is used with the permission of the owner and reproduced by courtesy
of the Frick Art Reference Library.
I should be very happy to visit you if I could, but I have
engaged to go down to the sea with cousin Jas. C. Johnston74 &
M r. Tredwell. I have had some attacks of the ague & fever this
summer & I am in hopes the Sea-air will restore me to health.
74 James C. Johnston was the son of Samuel Johnston of Chowan County,
a patriot, state senator (1779 and 1784), governor (1787-1789), United
States senator (1789-1793), judge of superior court (1800-1803), and the
owner of "Hayes" Plantation near Edenton. Connor, Manual, 1913, 556,
557, 417, 911, 912, 448. James Johnston was "famed for his attainments
and culture and great wealth." Ashe, Biographical History, IV, 251. At his
death in 1865, James left his large estates to three friends, and although
his disinherited relatives challenged his will in 1867, the North Carolina
Supreme Court upheld the decision favoring the defendants. Thomas C.
Parramore, Cradle of the Colony: The History of Chowan County and
Edenton, North Carolina (Edenton: Chamber of Commerce, 1967), 78-79.
James has the largest tombstone in the family cemetery at "Hayes."
320 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Littlejohn, & Conner desire to be remembered to you. I beg
you will observe the same care in not shewing my letters, that
you request of me, & remain
Your very sincere friend
James Iredell.
P.S. Pray excuse the writing, as I am obliged to do it by
night, being generally now busy in the day.
J. Iredell
[Addressed:]
M r. Ebene. Pettigrew
Washington Co.
[Notation by Ebenezer Pettigrew :]
Recv d. 28 August 1803
Charles Pettigrew to Nathaniel Blount* A&H
Washington County 23 d. August 1803
Reverend & D r. Sir,
Your welcome Letter of the 16th instant, I received yesterday
& now sit down with a wish to make you that grateful return
it so Justly claims.
Your observations respecting the advantages that result from
brotherly Love & unity, are not only scriptural, but so exactly
coincident with my own sentiments & feelings on the subject,
that I wish nothing more than a continuation of our mutual
interchange of sentiments through the Quill, in hopes thereby
to cultivate & cherish that fraternal friendship, & Christian
Charity, without which we are nothing in the Divine estimation.
This intercourse by Letters is a happiness I enjoy with no other
clergyman but yourself in the State. I made an advance a few
years ago towards a correspondence with the Rev d. M r. Ervin
[Irving]75 at Newbern, immediately on his entering into holy
Orders, but he made no return,. & I troubled him no farther.
7r> Thomas Pitt Irving (Irvine), a native of Somerset County, Maryland,
was a schoolmaster and deacon in charge of Christ Church, New Bern,
following the departure of Dr. Solomon Hailing. Ordained in 1796, Irving
The Pettigrew Papers 321
Pray do you ever go that far in your Excursions? And do you
know how he is esteemed in the exercise of his sacred function?
You renew my hopes of seeing you at our Cottage. We shall
be very happy whenever it shall be convenient, to see our hopes
realized. I am building a Chapel on my own Land close by
me, & am in expectation of having it so forward in about 6
weeks that we can convene in it with conveniencey to ourselves.
We have got one nearly finished about 12 miles above where I
attend two Sunday in the month unless prevented by sickness
or bad weather. In the Subscription we declared it open to all
Societies who could hold mutual communion with the protestant
episcopal Church, precluding those of contrary principles, as
two cannot walk together except they are agreed. By this means
the anabaptist preachers, it is hoped, will be kept out. They try
to encroach upon every Society for the purpose of dividing
them & carrying away their serious members after them.
I sincerely congratulate you on your recovery so far, from
your Rheumatic affection. I am still of opinion, that the free
use of Brimstone would entirely rid you of it. Some who were
in the most deplorable situation are indebted to it for relief.
Such was the Situation of a M r. [Benners] Vail who lived at
Edenton, but removed to Newbern. He took a Table spoonful
of the powdered Roll three times a Day, until entirely well.
I am apt to think you are too apprehensive of Danger from the
use of it. Such experiments, & such happy effects have suf-
ficiently proved both the harmlessness, & geat utillity of the
medicine, when taken with proper care, at the same time, not
to expose onesself to too much cold or wet. I should think how-
ever, that reasonable exercise, such as riding in good weather,
would tend to promote the cure. The cold Bath I have a high
opinion of, having myself about 12 years ago tryed & experienced
its happy effects. But shall man have his blessings & not his
afflictions? — Shall he sin & not suffer? Happy they, my Dear
friend, who by a wise improvement, turn their sufferings,
whether personal or relative, into blessings. "Amidst my List
of blessings infinite, stand this the foremost, that my heart
served in New Bern for seventeen years. In 1813 he moved to Hagerstown,
Maryland, where he served as principal of the Hagerstown Academy until
his death in 1818. Wheeler, Historical Sketches, II, 120; Gertrude S.
Carraway, Crown of Life: History of Christ Church, New Bern, N.C.,
1715-1940 (New Bern: Owen G. Dunn, 1940), 112-117, hereinafter cited
as Carraway, Crown of Life.
322 N.C. Department of Archives and History
has bled," said the great D r. Young. And Oh ! that we could
adopt it with stricter propriety.
In respect to the War in Europe, it is probable it will be
carried on with an uncommon Degree of vigor and animosity on
both sides. With England it is now or never and as they are
the nation from whence we claim our Origin, as they speake our
own Language, & profess the same religion, I cannot but cor-
dially wish them success ; & that they may maintain their una-
nimity & firmness. This alone, under the smiles of an auspicious
providence, can insure them success, against that subtile &
intriguing power, which seems to have conquest & universal
extension of Empire, as the objects of its insatiable ambition.
Should the first Consul succeed against England, his next Object
would be America. And God forbid that our Country should
ever be brought under subjection to such a power.
Although a stranger to your political sentiments permit me
my Dear Sir, farther to observe without offence, I am awfully
affraid that Designs may already be formed against our Country.
There appears at this time to be an infatuated majority, who
first called themselves Antifederalists, that is, against, or
enemies, to our Constitution, which is one of the best in the
world, & truely framed on republican principles. They have
now changed their name, and affect to be called Republicans.
Yet are still opposed to the friends, and admirers of Washington
under whose auspices it was framed, & by whose wisdom &
integrity it was faithfully executed during the first 8 years.
It is well known that under the administrations of Washington
& his immediate successor, America rose to great respectability
& importance in the eyes of the nations. Times at first were
difficult, & threatened to be worse. Taxes were laid accordingly
— But they were laid as much as possible they could on Luxuries,
that the Burden of government might lie upon the rich, to the
easement of the poor. But they are now taken off those luxuries,
& retained on the real necessaries of Life, such as salt, sugar
& Coffee, as a popular stroke amongst such as have influence
generally at Elections. But this is not the worst. We are
attacked on the side of Religion, by those who despise & blas-
pheme it. Of these Tom Paine is a most inveterate Enemey. But
observe, after being a Citizen of france for many years, — after
writing the most insolent & scurrillous Letter to President Wash-
ington, just previous to their Depredations on our Trade, — after
The Pettigrew Papers 323
the dissemination of his blasphemous principles called the age
of reason, throughout our Country, by his emissaries, with an
evident Design to prepare his way, by poisoning the minds of
our Countrymen, & divertting them of the fear of God that they
might no longer retain the regard of man, — After all this, he
has been corresponded with, by our first magistrate, sent for in
an armed Vessel at the public expence, — rec d. with open arms
of cordial respect & affection, — thanked for his useful Labours,
And is now kept under his patronage, as his Bow-wow to bark
at, & insult the friends of our Constitution, by his impudent
Letters. Said vile miscreant, had the impudence, in his scurril-
lous Letter to the great & good Washington to say that when
he came again to this Country he would have our Constitution
altered, — & it is too well known that his patron & admirer was
never cordially friendly towards it. Paine is an illuminatus, &
an enemy to all religion & civil government. He was a member
of the french Convention, when it proposed atheism as their
creed, but finding the people not quite ripe for the adoption of
it, they Declared as a first step for Deism. But, that not a
Vestige of revealed religion might long remain, they altered
the Callandar, so as to leave out the Sabbath. And in their zeal
for Atheism they set up over Burying Grounds this infernal
sentiment, The Place of eternal Sleep, well considering that
if they could bring the people to believe, that there was no future
state of rewards & punishments, it would not be long before they
would come to an entire disbelief of the being of a God. Religion
being the foundation of all civil government, if they can but
Destroy it, the superstructure must fall of cource. Then man-
kind will be prepared for that wished for patriarchal state when
every man may do that which is right in his own eyes, without
any controul from the fear of God or regard of man.
With sentiments of cordial respects & affection, I have the
pleasure to subscribe myself, your friend, Brother & fellow
Labourer in the precious Gospel of Christ. —
Charles Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
The Reverend M r. Blount
Beaufort County
The Care of
Col. Blount
324 N.C. Department of Archives and History
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew :]
This was not sent as directed on account of the political part
of it — another was preferred.76
Charles Pettigrew to Howell Tatum UNC
Washington County 12 th. Sept r. 1803
Dear Sir,
Your Letter which accompanied my Patent & Deed, after your
having them recorded, favored me with a statement of your
disbursements, which exceeded the money you had received a
few Cents ; I therefore having an opportunity by M r. John
Davis in the fall of 1799 sent you four Dollars.
You since wrote me that my Land had been given in for
taxation, although in the indian Boundery, and that you thought
it better to pay the Tax than dispute about it. This I would
have done myself. You also mentioned Major Witherspoon's
having proposed to reimburse you ; from which I began to
suspect that Davis had kept the money, & suppressed my Letter.
Or that he had wrote one from it, leaving out the mention of the
money sent. This you may know, if you have kept my Letters, by
comparing it with this or my other Letters, for I never sent one
but what was written by my own hand. In that Letter I particu-
larly mentioned the money, also the Death of my oldest son which
event took place while M r. Davis was in the neighborhood.
From a persuasion however, that Davis had kept the Money, I
sent six Dollars by M rs. Smith, together with Letters to you &
Major Witherspoon, mentioning the money first sent by Davis.
These Letters I also suspect have been suppress'd, & other Letters
made out from them, without the mention of the money, because
I find young Smith Delivered a Letter to Major Witherspoon.
But Major Witherspoon writes me that neither Davis nor Smith
had delivered any money, either to yourself or him (for I had
told them they might deliver both the money & letters for you
to M r. Witherspoon, who would give them to you) and requests
that I would send on the Receipts.
The fact is, I have no receipts. For as it was a matter of
76 Since this draft reveals Pettigrew's political views more precisely, it
is included here. The expurgated version which has been omitted here can
be found in the Pettigrew Papers, State Archives.
The Pettigrew Papers 325
courtesy in Davis to carry it for me, it appeared to me rather
indellicate to ask one, & I had mentioned the money in my
Letters, which I had no idea of his tampering with or suppressing.
In regard to M rs. Smith, I have been equally unfortunate. For
although I had determined to take her Receipts, I did not.
Hearing that they were about to set out on their Journey, I
went with the money, & instead of finding them at home, I
met them on the Road, & had no chance of taking a Receipt.
I however gave her Six Dollars in presence of several women
who were walking the Road with her, whose depositions I
intend to insert b[e]low. I at the same time gave her a letter
to yourself done to M r. Witherspoon, in my own hand writing.
In respect to Davis, I will also insert the Deposition of my
Son who is now in his 21 st. year, and was present when I gave
the money to Davis.
The moneys I sent by way of compensation & acknowledge-
ment to you for the services you had so obligingly done me.
And if there is any way of recovering the Money from them,
by means of the Depositions, I shall be glad to hear that it is
done. M rs. Smith & her Son would never have attempted to
act so fraudulently but from the advice & influence of Davis.
They were under too many Obligations to me, once to have
thought of it. This Davis well knew. For when her husband
died the whole family were down with a dreadfully putrid fever,
so that those who visitted or attended them generally took it,
until I was obliged to send a negro wench to nurse them. By
this means I brought the disorder into my own family & lost
my Son by it — a most promising youth. During the sickness in
M rs. Smith's family I generally visitted them twice a Day, tho'
the distance of two miles and gave them physic, & under god,
Isaac Smith owes his Life to my friendly exertions. For all
which I never took a single farthing, having done it on a prin-
ciple of humanity. But such is the gratitude of the world ! —
With esteem & regard I have the honor to be your much
obliged humble Servant
Charles Pettigrew
The Deposition of Ebenezer Pettigrew of Washington County
and State of North Carolina, who being Duly Sworn on the
holy Evangelist, Deposeth and Sayeth, that Some time in the
fall of 1799 he Saw his father, the Revd. Charles Pettigrew
326 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Deliver several Dollars to M r. John Davis of the State of
Tenessee telling him there was four which Said Davis promised
to deliver to the Honourable Howell Tatum of Said State to-
gether with Two letters further this Deponent Sayeth Not.
Sworn to before me the 28 th. Septemb r. 1803
A. Phelps J. P. Ebenezer Pettigrew
[Addressed:]
Major Howell Tatum
Near Nashville
State of Ten[n]essee
Ebenezer Pettigrew to James Iredell, Jr.* A&H
Washington C[ounty]. Oct r. 15 th. 1803
My dear friend,
Your's of 23 rd. August came to hand on the Sunday following,
and I am happy to find that our correspondence is productive
of mutual satisfaction. I shall always expect singular pleasure
from the cultivation of it, as it may cherish that spark of friend-
ship begun at so early a period, and render it as permanent
as life.
I was very sorry to hear of your late indisposition, and hope
that by this time you have recovered your usual health. I made
an excursion to Town some time ago, and regreted my not having
the pleasure of seeing you. I flatter myself however, that the
next interview will be so much the more grateful. This has
been a very disagreeable fall to farmers.
It gave me great pleasure to find from M r. Haughton (whose
company I have had a few Days) that you acquited yourself with
so much honor at the last examination, and I hope it will be
the case at every succeeding one.
When at Town, I was informed of the infamous behaviour of
Speight. The demo's however seem to think he was used ill,
and one with whom I conversed seemed to wish that he would
take vengence on M r. J Skinner for his expulsion.
I am sorry that M r. W. did not consider his own interest and
the honor of the institution more, than to suffer such inflamatory
The Pettigrew Papers 327
stuff to be vented on such an occasion, and by such a young
Blockhead — But if men who ought to have more sense, will
act so inconsiderately they must take the consequence.
I find I think on our friend Haughton the influence of evil
communication since I left Town, for being wholely left in the
society of men of democratic principles and conversation, he
appears to be sadly warped towards antifederalism. And as the
depravity of human nature inclines men to be more tenatious
of the wrong than the right, I suppose he will be more firmly
fixed in democratic than he was before in federal principles.
Shall I ever have the pleasure to see you in Washington?
believe me nothing would contribute more to my enjoyment
than such a friendly visit — But if you cannot consistenly with
the prosecution of your more useful studies at present, and
until it may be more convenient, I hope we may continue to
co [n] verse through the quill and reciprocate the news of Town
and country as it may occur.
Be so obliging as to present my compliments to such of my
acquaintance as you may think they would be acceptable to, and
believe me to be with very great esteem and regard
Your sincere friend
E. Pettigrew
[Notation by Ebenezer Pettigrew:]
Copy of a Letter dated Oct r. 25, 1803
[Addressed:]
M r. James Iredell
Edenton
Fav d. by
M rs. Pambrun
Ebenezer Pettigrew to Thomas B. Haughton* A&H
Washington C[ounty]. October 16, 1803
Dear Friend,
When you left me, I expected to have had the plea [sure] of
seeing you, at Edenton, the next day; but to my great dis-
appointment, you were gone, before I got there, I should have
went in the morning but waited to see M r. Poppleston (who
328 N.C. Department of Archives and History
was coming to Aunt Blounts) concerning that vessel, which,
lay opposite the landing, but I had as well not; as I could not
get our wheat in it, neither could procure one at Edenton, we
postponed sending, untill the middle of this month; therefore
from the preceding and suc[c]eeding part of my letter you
will find my mission neither advantageous nor agreeable; what
time I spent in Town was so lonesome, that I almost thought
Scuppernong preferable, the principle one gone, the other
gone, Iredell, Martin, Dickinson, gone, in a word all gone, no
one at the Doctor's, but himself, and his Lady ; it appeared to me
that it would not have had a more solitary aspect if the In-
habitants had had the yellow-fever for a month; Why Sir! I
should have had the highstrikes if I had staid there but one
fortnight.
From what I could learn, concerning Speight, it is my opinion,
his behaviour was infamous, but such are the democrats, that
they consider him as very ill used, so much that the Doctor, said
he intended to write him, that he was expel [l]ed, and he would
give J. Skinner a flog[g]ing; is it not astonishing that they
will countenance such behaviour? because he sais [sic], he is
of their way of thinking. Also M r. Wilson is to have his dis-
charge, at Christmas for interfering in favour of Speight; I
pity the mistaken old Gentleman, but if men that have their
reason and understanding, will be so imprudent they must
take the consequence.77
I dont expect to be at Edenton during the court, nor do I
know when, as my Father will be over about that time, he will
do all the buisness [sic] , and I shall be too much engaged at the
Lake, to go that distance upon a visit; therefore, am afraid, I
shall not have the pleasure, of seeing you before you set out
for the Northward, if not, do write me as soon as you get
settled, but you need not withhold your pen, before you go, for
that request, as you know, I shall always be glad to receive a line.
Be so obliging as to present my compliments, to all old Friends.
And believe me to be your very
Sincere Friend
Eben. Pettigrew
M r. Haughton.
77 Although this incident probably occurred at the university, nothing con-
concerning it appears in Battle. Possibly it was connected with the outbreak
of dueling in 1803. Battle, History of the University, I, 198.
The Pettigrew Papers 329
James Iredell, Jr., to Ebenezer Pettigreiv A&H
Edenton Nov r 11 th 1803.
Dear Friend,
Your letter of the 25 th Ult. I did not receive till the Sunday
following about ten oClock. I should have answered it immedi-
ately, had I had time. But I was very anxious to hear your
father preach that morning, and he went out of town immei-
dately [sic] after dinner. I intended to have written to you
by the ensuing post, but my head was so full of frolicking that
I could do nothing.
The beginning of these frolicks was M r. Muse's wedding on
Thursday the 27 th. of Oct r. On the Tuesday following M r.
Littlejohn had a dance at his house, where I spent a very agree-
able evening. On Thursday following Miss Luton (daughter of
King Luton) was married to Cap t. Freeman. On Friday there
was a Public Ball in the Court-house, & to close all Miss Mazy
Sinclair was married to M r. Wade the shoemaker on Sunday
evening last.
Our friend Haughton sat [sic~\ off for the northward the 20 th.
Ult. on board a vessel commanded by Cap. Norcom. He proposed
going by Water to Baltimore & from thence by land to Princeton
where I imagine he has arrived before this. I expect to hear
from him by post in a few days as he promised to write me as
soon as he arrived there.
There is, I believe, no more news worth relating in town, &
therefore I conclude my letter & remain
Your ever affectionate
Friend.
James Iredell.
P.S. D r. K[no]x has an elegant carriage arrived here from
Philadelphia, so that it is supposed he is pretty certain of success.
J. I.
[Addressed:]
M r. E. Pettigrew.
Washington C °.
330 N.C. Department of Archives and History
James Iredell, Jr., to Ebenezer Pettigrew A&H
Edenton Dec r. 16 th. 1803
My Dear Friend,
Lest you should accuse me of too much ceremony, if I neg-
lected so favorable an opportunity as the present, I sit down
to write you a few lines, tho' you are still a letter in debt to me.
I suppose you must have heard of the elopement of Miss
Jordan & Cap l. W. Harris, which has engrossed the conversa-
tion of the town, almost ever since. If you have not however, I
must refer you to the bearer of this letter for particulars, as,
to give you a history of it, would require more time & occupy
more room than I feel disposed to give it.
M r. Jos. Collins arrived from the Northward about three
weeks ago in an elegant coach & four with two white servants.
He has since gone on to Newbern, & it is said, is to be or was
married this week.
The amusements in Edenton have rested some time, only (I
imagine) to gain fresh vigor for Christmas, & the arrival of
M r. & M rs. Collins. I have not yet received a letter from Haugh-
ton, but I have heard of his safe arrival at Princeton by M r. P.
Lawrence, who saw him there.
Jno. Conner78 intends going up to the University in January.
I am afraid it will prove the ruin for him ; for poor fellow, tho'
I believe he is a very worthy young man & have a sincere
esteem for him, yet I do not think he has resolution enough to
withstand temptations to amusement & dissipation, such as he
will meet there.
Poor Littlejohn has been severely attacked by the Rheumatism,
with which he is still confined, tho' he is much better than he
has been.
I wish you a merry Christmas & happy New- Year & that you
may live to enjoy many, many more.
I remain
Your ever affectionate friend
Ja. Iredell
78 John L. Connor attended the University of North Carolina. He was a
sophomore in 1805 when he wrote to his brother describing the "Great
Secession" and gave his reasons for joining the movement. Connor left the
university without graduating and died early. Battle, History of the Uni-
versity, I, 209-210, 214. (For an account of the strict ordinances adopted
by the trustees of the university in 1805 and the strong student opposition
to them, see Battle, History of the University, I, 200-208.)
The Pettigrew Papers 331
[Addressed :]
M '. E. Pettigrew
Washington C °.
Ebenezer Pettigrew to James Iredell, Jr.* A&H
Washington 26 Dec r. 1803
[No salutation]
Your obliging Letter in acknowledgment of my last, I duely
received, and sincerely thank you my worthy friend, for the
quantity of news which is contained, in regard to the great
affairs of matrimony; — I call them great, from the important
consequences, and vast events of which many of them are
productive, and will be no doubt to the end of the world. If
T. Jefferson's father and mother had never been mar[r]ied,
it is probably [sic] we had never been so blessed in an immacu-
late republican president — And if T. Paine's father and mother
had not happened to get into the nuptial noose, it is equ[a]lly
probable he had not been produc'd, nor ever honoured with
presidential thanks for his useful labours of sedition infidelity
and blasphemy, nor our Country poisoned with his principles —
Neither would our most noble and virtuous president have had
so famous a B-ow-wow, to bark and insult our Countrymen from
the new [s] -papers. These however are but small affairs, com-
pared with many others, — Such as the birth of a Buonopart,
the decapitation of Lewis the 16 th., and the invasion of England
&c &c &c. I would not however be thought to insinuate a
probability of such disasters happening from any of the late
happy junctions you have mentioned. If I thought so, & that
it was in the power of my father to disunite them, I would
use all the influence I have to persuade him to go over and under-
take the pious and Laudable buisness [sic].
But I find I have forgot the first and most essential part of
my duty as a friend, which is to appologise for my suffering
your valuable letter to lie by me unanswered so long, but it
is never too late to do right — Permit me therefore as truth is
certainly at all times the best apology, to say, I have been too
much engaged in the farming line, to attend minutely to the
duties of friendship, however sacred.
332 N.C. Department of Archives and History
I have as a filial duty, been relieving my father from the
ove[r] sight of sowing a pretty large crop of wheat and gather-
ing the corn, which I have found very difficult from such fre-
quent showers and even gluts of rain, as to a slouching and lazy
fellow would have rendered the buisness [sic] utterly imprac-
ticable. Besides I have had the lake to contend with, which from
its extraordinary height has threatened a general inundation.
I have been obliged, from its having sweept [sic] away such
banks as had been raised, to make new ones, and to exert all my
force, and the small share of sagacity and contrivance I am
master of, to prevent the plantation from being swept fore and
aft, as with the besom of destruction. It appears to me, that
it rains here more than any where else, so that if I was sure
every season would be as unfavourable as the last for crop[p]ing,
I would almost as soon risk it with the infidel French and
Spaniards at Louisiana.
After the compliments of the season permit me to assure you
that I shall always be happy to cherish your correspondence,
untill you get to be so exalted a professional character, that a
farmers letters would be too insipid to have any claim on your
attention.
By this time it is probable you will have received a communi-
cation from M r. Haughton. If so pray let me have some of the
best of it in your next — And believe me to be with the most
frenchified consideration your eve[r] affectionate friend
Eben r. Pettigrew
P.S. I begin to be affraid you will soon fall in love with some
of the young Ladies, which s[h]ould be rather against your
dry studies, however useful — This I only conjecture from your
partiality to their manner of folding letters. In regard to the
Doctor's [Knox] carriage I am glad my cousin Sally has so good
a prospect of riding with both comfort and dignity.
[Notation:]
Copy of a letter to
M r. James Iredell
Edenton
Dec r. 26. 1803
The Pettigrew Papers 333
Ebenezer Pettigreiv to James Iredell, Jr.* a&H
Washington Co Dec. 31, 1803
[No salutation]
Having my D r. friend, answered your favor of 11 th. ultimo,
and your favor of 16 th. instant being just come to hand, it lays
me under the necessity, on a principle of justice, to send you
two letters together in order to pay the debt of which you
remind me.
Miss Jordan's adventure in run[n]ing away with cap l. Harris
had reached my ears — I think she showed great enterprize, for
a young Miss of her age I wish it may terminate agreeably to
her fond expectation.
In regard to M r. Collins, he has not been so rash ; and as
his judgment must be mature at his time of life, I hope he has
made a choise so prudent and wise, that it will result in a corre-
spondent degree of social happiness & mutual enjoyment.
As Haughton has arrived safe at the desired seat of science,
on which he had fixt his mind, I hope you will find by every
letter he writes you the pollish comes on, & what proba[bi]lity
there is of his being either a usefull or shining character.
I do not think M r. [John] Conner is in danger of being led
astray at the University by scen[e]s of amusement, so much
as that of having his principles depraved, by a free & impious
use of Oaths & execrations, by which I am apt to think the
mind is in time divested of the fear of God, a certain degree
of which appe[a]rs to me to be highly requisite to form the
character of a good moralist & happy man.
I sympathize with poor Littlejohn under his rheumatic affec-
tions, and feel thankful to providence that I have never been
visited by so severe a calamity. Returning you by way of echo,
the compliments of the season, a happy new year & many
successive ones, in the enjoyment of heven's best blessings,
I am with very great regard your
friend & sev l.
E. Pettigrew
[Notation by Ebenezer Pettigrew:]
Coppy of a Letter dated Dec r. 31, 1803
M r. James Iredell
Edenton
Mail
334
N.C. Department of Archives and History
James Iredell, Jr., to Ebenezer Pettigrew
A&H
Edenton Jan y. [26 th. ?], 1804
My dear Friend,
How I have suffered your two last letters, dated the 20 th. &
31 st. Ult. which I received in due time, to lie by me so long
unanswered, I cannot conceive. It certainly was not from a
principle of retaliation, since that is no ingredient in my dis-
position, nor would it have been just in this case because you
had so excellent & laudable an excuse for not writing, whereas
I have none. The only way then by which I can amend my
past faults must be by my future attention & punctuality.
Nothing new has occurred in Edenton since my last except
the arrival of M r. & M rs. Collins & a public Ball in consequence
of it.
I have rec d. a letter from Haughton dated the 16 th. Dec r. He
had then been at Princeton about a month & was very much
pleased with the town & its inhabitants. He was admitted into
the Junior Class, & expected in a few days to enter the Whig
Society so that we may still hope he will not desert the cause of
Federalism.
Littlejohn has recovered his health so far as to be able to dance
at the last Ball. Conner has postponed his departure for the
University till the Spring.
I cannot close my letter without again begging pardon for
my want of punctuality, & promising to be more punctual &
attentive in future.
I am
Your Ever Affec e. Friend
&
Humb e. Serv t.
Ja. Iredell.
[Addressed:]
M r. E. Pettigrew
Washington C °.
The Pettigrew Papers 335
[Ebenezer Pettigrew] to James Iredell, Jr.* a&h
[1804] 7!)
Sir
Your's of 26th u[l]timo I received and admit your apology
for a seeming neglect to answer mine soonner as more than
sufficient, for I do not wish you to conceive of me as either
punctitious or overly ceremonious.
As I do not mean to bother you any more with political re-
marks or observations, I must try to ballance the account with
a little country news.
We live so near the County Line which divides Washington
from Tyrrell, that without much trouble I can peep alternately
into both Counties. I can however give you but little news
from my own Observation. But if report deserves credit the
people amongst whom we Sojourn are none of the least prolific.
The girls (would you think it) have found a way to propagate
without husbands, & are no less fruitful than the Lake Lands
of which you have heard so much. And what may appear still
more wonderful, two of father Big's80 spiritual children, whom
he had washed from all their p [illegible] tions in Scuppernong
River, made out some time ago to fabricate a natural produc-
tion, with such natural curioseities [sic} our Counties abound —
And more is the pity unless they were disposed to make more
corn. We have however, sometimes mar [r] iages among us, & but
two Days ago, we had one [of] your Chowan girls married to
one of our widowers, her name was Price — I presume I have
tired you already, & shall therefore conclude my Epistle with
wishing you a hearty good night.
Believe me to be as ever your real friend & Serv l.
[No signature]
79 This is a reply to a letter from James Iredell, Jr., to Ebenezer Pettigrew
written on January 26, 1804. Since the date is noted on the back of the
letter, the date 1804 has been assigned to Ebenezer's reply.
80 Possibly this is a reference to Amariah Biggs, with whom Charles
Pettigrew had such an extended quarrel.
336 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Charles Pettigrew to Nathaniel Blount* a&h
Washington County Feb. 22 d. 1804
Reverend & D r. Sir,
Some time ago I received your Last friendly communication,
and an Oprtunity now presenting itself by M r. Trotter who is
on his way to Washington I have seated myself for the purpose
of making you a return. But having misslaid your Letter, I find
it out of my power to refer correctly to either the Date or the
sentiments therin expressed. Memory I find is one of the
faculties which I believe are first impaired by age. This incon-
venience is perhaps more sensibly felt in preaching than in any
thing else, & particularly when I extemporize.
Since I have got our new Chapels in such a State as to meet
comfortably in them, I feel myself quite happy in the exercise
of my ministerial function, from a variety of favorable cir-
cumstances, One of which is, the people attend much better.
Indeed my own Chapel is generally crowded, while they hear
with great seriousness & attention — And now I begin to hope
that through the concurrent blessing of God my feeble Labours
may be useful amongst this people. I am in hopes they now
begin to think me in earnest, after having preached to them
above seven years, & built them a Decent & commodious Chaple
at my own expense, except a few Daeys works, besides attending
at their funerals to the neglect of my own business, & taking
nothing from them for any services I render them, in the united
characters of their Clergyman & physician. This however, ap-
pears like boasting — Be that as it may, I must own that I derive
a far greater pleasure from it, than ever I did while as a
dependent I received an emolument for my services — Now I
feel myself independent altogether, and am happy in the
thought, that they cannot attribute my faithfulness in the Dis-
charge of my Duty to an expectation of being paid for it, having
long ago publickly relinguished all hope or expectation of any
such thing during my Life, & indeed positively declared I would
receive nothing from them.
My reasons for this one, we (I thank God) can live without
it, & the people are poor. But I have also discovered that such
people when they are not under the influence of religious prin-
ciples have little or no gratitude, & would consequently give or
contribute grudgingly, which I could not bear to have wrung
The Pettigrew Papers 337
from their hands. Recieving [sic] would hurt me nearly or quite
as much as giving would them. Before the Dissolution of the
establishment, I absolutely forbid any thing to be collected from
the Quakers for me, as I would not recieve [sic~\ it. Niether [sic]
have I taken any thing for either visiting the sick, or baptising
during the cource of my ministry. But Alas ! my Dear Sir, I am
after all this vein of boasting but an unprofitable servant at
best. Pray for me & expect a return in kind, from your un-
worthy fellow labourer in the vineyard — pray ex [c] use haste &c
Charles Pettigrew
[Notation by Charles Pettigrew:]
The copy of a Letter to The
Reverend M r. Blount
of Beaufort
•
Ebenezer Pettigrew to James Iredell, Jr.* A&H
Washington Co Mar. 15, 1804
My dear Friend,
Yours of the 26 Jan. I received & admit your apoligy for a
seeming neglect to answer mine sooner as more than sufficient
for I do not wish you to conceive of me as either punctilious or
overly ceremonious.
I was very sorry I gave you the trouble to come to M rs.
Horneblow's the morning I left Town and eaqually sorry that
I had not the pleasure of seeing you once more before my
departure ; but when I got up in the morning I went to see
Doctor Beasley & he insisted upon my staying to breakfast
accordingly I did which was near 9 Oclock. I then went as
soon as possible to the Tavern but when I got there was in-
formed you had been there & was gone I beg you will excuse
my inattention.
I had a very agreeable time down of about five hours but how
much more satisfactory could I have had the pleasure of your
company. I expect to be in Edenton some time in April before
you set out for Princeton.
338 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Be so obliging as to present my compliments to Littlejohn
& Conner & tell the former to look out for squals as I shall
come out of winter quarters pretty early.
I am with regard & Esteem your sincere
Friend & humble Serv t.
E. Pettigrew
M r. Iredell
P.S. Do tell that Read I live in Washington county & not in the
Town of Washington for I never get a letter but it either goes
to W. or Plimouth.
E. P.
Ebenezer Pettigrew to Thomas B. Hanghton* A&H
March 18, 1804. Was h. C
My Dear Friend
With pleasure I received yours of the 2 nd. Jay. and admit
your apology for not writing sooner I began to fear you had meet
with new friends whose acquaintance so far exceded your old
Lake friend in agreeableness that you had entirely forgot him but
your letter gives him reason to hope that by the addition of
links this chain will be stretch [ed] to the length of the East
India Company's in London.
I am happy to find you succeeded so well in your introduction
into the College. With respect to your illness immediately after
leaving Edenton it is not to be wondered at when you reflected
on your Leaving so many ANGELS perhaps not to see more
before torn from you by powerful rivals in your long absence.
0 the Charming E. Mc! [Elizabeth McDonald?] how must you
have felt when you considered on your quit [t] ing her without an
engagement that she might behold every one with an air of
indifference untill she blessed her eyes with sight of her
dear long looked for Tommy but perhaps your love is not so
deep rooted as I expect; or you see some as charming objects
in Princeton for I observe you recovered soon after your landing
but I cannot think you have a mind that will forget so quick,
however if the sight of the Princeton Ladies brought on so
The Pettigrew Papers 339
immediate a recovery I should be glad to know whether it acted
as an opiate to your former amours or how.
I suppose you have heard of the weddings which have taken
place during the fall and winter I shall therefore not trouble
you with a relation of them. My Father has received a summons
to attend the 27 inst. for purpose of solemnizing the nuptials
between Doctor Knox and Miss S[ally] Dickinson.
I have some hopes of going to New York in August if I should
I will most certainly go and see you as a meeting cannot be more
agreeable to you than me.
I have been once to Edenton (the first of Feby) since I met
with you and stayed six days but did not have the pleasure of
seeing many of the young Ladies my heart towards them is
nearly as it was when you left me cool and collected. Littlejohn
appears to be still violently in love with Miss M. L. L. also I
was informed when in Town that my Friend Joseph S r had
commenced a warm courtship there; I believe his success is yet
uncertain also Lemmuel S r begins to feel a violent pain
about his heart occasioned by the thought of Miss P. B. D. and
says he cannot wait much longer I suppose those sparks will
become fires by time. Do answer this as quick as possible for
the pen is the only instrument by which I can receive any
pleasure from my friends at this Valley of —
I am with regard & Esteem
your sincere Friend,
Ebenezer Pettigrew
[Notation by Ebenezer Pettigrew :]
Coppy of a Letter dated Mrch 18, 1804
M r. Thomas Haughton
Princeton N J
Mail
James Iredell, Jr., to Ebenezer Pettigrew A&H
Edenton March 28 th. 1804
My dear Friend,
I only received yours of the 15 th. Ins t. yester-evening and am
informed that your father intends going over this morning, so
340 N.C. Department of Archives and History
that you must excuse the shortness of my letter. I expect to
set off for the northward about the 25 th. of the next month, &
as the only place in which I can have any opportunity of seeing
you, will be Edenton, I hope you will not fail to come up before
that time if you can possibly make it convenient.
Our Academy & indeed the Public have sustained a great loss
by the death of M r. Metcalf , who expired yester-morning about
nine oClock. He was certainly the best school master we have
ever had in this town since my recollection, & I believe the main
prop & support of this Institution. I had the greatest personal
respect & esteem for him. If I had not I should have accused
myself of the greatest ingratitude, for I have received more
benefit, instruction & attention from him than from all the
other masters I have ever had put together.
It is now growing late I must therefore hasten to conclude
& subscribe myself
Your ever affec.
Friend
Ja. Iredell
[Notation by Ebenezer Pettigrew:]
Recv d. 31 st.
[Addressed:]
M r. E. Pettigrew.
Washington C °.
Thomas B. Haughton to Ebenezer Pettigrew a&h
Princeton N. Jersey April 4 th. 1804
Dear Friend,
I wrote you Jan y. 2 nd. thinking that epistle would be a prelude
to that correspondence which we had agreed should exist be-
tween us while I remained at College ; but it certainly has never
reached you, or I should have received an answer before now —
I hope you will write me immediately on the reception of this
letter, that I may have the pleasure of hearing from you once
more — Give me an account of all things worthy of relation which
have taken place since my absence. Also inform me whether
The Pettigrew Papers 341
the load stone which sometime ago attracted your fancy, still
has the same influence over you or whether the power of its
attraction is impaired by long absence. I have received two
letters from my Friend J. Iredell, since I have been here. He
has informed me of several weddings which have taken place
in Edenton, since my departure, & of a number of others which
are supposed to be shortly.
I am much pleased with Princeton. If you come to the north-
ward next fall, I hope you will not return home without calling
on me — I wrote to D r. Beasley the same time that I did to you,
& to J. Dickinson the 6 th. Jan y. and have not received any letter
from either — If you should see them shortly, give my respect
to them & tell them that I hope they have not forgotten me —
We are examined here quarterly; & our examination is now
existing. I have studied since I have been here Algebra, Bossuet,
Pra[c]tical Geometry. & Trigonometry; & all we have to study
of the Mathematics, is Conic Sections — Our vacation commences
10 th. of this month & last[s] four weeks, during which time I
believe I shall take a trip to New-York — Give my respect to
your Father & Mother, and also to M rs. Pembrom if at your
Father's —
I remain your affectionate friend,
Tho s B. Haughton
[Addressed:]
M r. Ebenezer Pettigrew
Washington C °.
North Carolina
Nathaniel Blount to Charles Pettigrew A&H
Beaufort County 7 th. May 1804
Dear & rev d. Friend
Your fav r. bearing date 22 Feb. came safe to hand as
early as the 25 th. tho' I have so long delayed to answer it ; hope
you will consider this with the indulgence of a Friend.
The account you have given me of the great prospect of a
Blessing attending your labours, is truly pleasing; May the
342 N.C. Department of Archives and History
impressions made on your audience, be deep & lasting — and may
your pious endeavors be crowned with the greatest success.
I have attended, and expect if nothing unfor [e] seen prevents,
to attend, two places in my own Neighborhood, — three other
places in the County — five places in Craven, one in Hyde, &
one in Pitt Counties ; besides having attended a great number
of the funerals of my poor fellow-creatures and probationers for
Eternity; and Oh — that I could but with certainty say, that in
all this — I had not been an unprofitable, as well as a most un-
worthy servant ; alas ! I know not that I have even been the
means of bringing one lost sheep home to the true flock! Tho'
this is truly lamentable, yet I hope it will not discourage me;
may it on the contrary make me double my diligence — and make
me more ardently circumspect for the time to come! When
Elijah that resolute restorer of the Law of the Lord, fled from
the murderous rage of Queen Jezebel and had gotten himself into
the lonely wilderness, — how, as he seated himself under a Juniper
tree, — he requested that he might die. It seems he was much
greived [sic] and distressed for the wickedness of his people, —
and not thinking himself better than his fathers, who could
not effectually call them off & reclaim them from their idolatrous
and sinful practices, — he did not wish to continue with them,
nor in the world any longer, and what am I, a poor weak,
feeble-minded creature, to oppose — to withstand the torrent of
corruption & sin that flows from the rocky hearts of so many of
the enimies [sic] of Christianity! The great Apostle of the
Gentiles has informed us, that when he was weak, then was
he strong, — meaning I presume that when he was weak in him-
self,— then was he strong In The Power Of his crucified Lord.
Tho' we dare not compare ourselves to those great and holy men
of old time, yet it is undoubtedly incumbent on us, to tread
as near as we possibly can in their steps, — to run with an
aspiring patience, that race that Is Set before us. When we
consider how many men so eminent for their abilities & religious
principles, there has been even in the last century, — does there
not seem to be the greatest probability that there may now be
but very few such in the world! Charity certainly teaches to
hope for the best, — but the depravity of the present age is so
great, the inlets of corruption so wide — and vice and immorality
is so generally predominant, — that surely we have too much
reason to fear, that the world at large, and especially the part
The Pettigrew Papers 343
called Christendom ; may be compared to the City of Sodom, —
within the limits of which, not even ten righteous persons were
to be found. What a lovely character is that of the true Chris-
tian,— how far surpassing all the accomplishments that the
worldling can possibly attain — or all the gifts and honours
that the hand even of royalty can possibly bestow. May I live the
life, that I may die the death of the righteous, — Oh, may my
latter End and Future state be like theirs.
How many hired servants of my Father's, said the poor suffer-
ing, self-condemned prodigal, have had bread enough and to
spare, and I perish with hunger ; I will arise and go to my
Father ! What a lamentable thing it is, that poor perishing
sinners will not be persuaded to arise by repentance, and go
by Faith, To The Throne Of Grace. Ye will not come to Me
Said The Great Compassionate Saviour of sinners, — that ye
might have Life ! surely all obstinate and impenitent sinners can
plead no reasonable or profitable excuse, — and yet, tho' many
are Called, how few are there that lead their lives in such a
manner as to have reason to think that they Shall be Chosen!
By the latest accounts that I have seen from England, the
great nation had not then visited the British shores, — and
should they be as rash as they have pretended, — what a bloody
scene must commence ! how many poor unhappy creatures on
both sides must loose [sic] their lives ! I suppose it is very
probably [sic] that England, in which, so much blood has
been shed, never saw a more dreadful time. Tho' I never could
have much reason to think that Buonaparte really intended an
invasion.
May you and I my dear friend, be Conducted in peace through
this troublesome World ; — May our prayers for each other, Be
Graciously Heard — and may Our All Merciful Heavenly Father
Be Pleased To Direct and Guide us both, in the way that we
should go. please remember me to Mrs. Pettigrew, — and believe
me to be with great sincerity, your affectionate Brother
in the Ministry.
N Blount
[Addressed:]
The Reverend Charles Pettigrew.
Washington County.
Care of
Col. Blount
344 N.C. Department of Archives and History
Thomas B. H aught on to Ebenezer Pettigrew A&H
Princeton May 19 th. 1804
Dear Friend,
I am happy to find that you have not entirely forgotten me;
for your delay in answering my first letter Jan v. 2. caused me to
suspect that the foundation of our friendship began to decay
on your part; & being desirous to prevent its dissolution, I was
induced to write you a second letter April 4 th., which is still
unanswered. But the arrival of our Friend Ja s. Iredell at this
place the 9th inst, when I received yours of the 20 th. March put
an end to all my doubts. Your jocoseness with regard to the
effect which the Girls of Edenton (especially Miss E. M) had
on my health on my departure, & how mu 
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