Search Old Wills and Estates to Find North Carolina Pioneers
County records are a true value in genealogical research. Locating your family names in will and estate books is easy online at northcarolinapioneers.com. Use the following link to find family names in various counties. https://northcarolinapioneers.com/counties/ Genealogy Tips from Jeannette Holland Austin https://northcarolinapioneers.com/become-a-member/
The Scotch-Irish Trail to Burke County
The Scotch-Irish, as they were called for several hundred years began migrating to America during the early 1700s. It is estimated that 3,000 to 4,000 Irish arrived at the port of Philadelphia before the American Revolution. Genealogy Hint: Because of language and dialects, settlers made their homes among their kind in Bucks, Berks, and Lancaster […]
George Swain Loses His Worldly Goods at Sea
George Swain, a hatter, was born in Roxborough, Massachusetts on June 17, 1763. Later, in 1784, he invested what property he had accumulated in provisions and set out with his merchandise from Providence, Rhode Island, for Charleston, South Carolina. Unfortunately, a storm arose during the voyage, and it became necessary to throw most of his […]
The First Hotel in Asheville
During pioneer days, Samuel Chunn maintained a hotel in Asheville on the southwestern corner of the public square in Asheville, North Carolina. He was also engaged in the business of tanning leather. His tanyard was on Glenn’s Creek, Beaverdam Street, and North Main Street. In 1806, he was made chairman of Buncombe County Court, and, […]
Edmund Sam’s Gun
Edmund Sams first made his home on the western side of the French Broad River, near Smith’s Bridge at Gaston’s place. During his early years, Sams was an Indian fighter. There is the story of once while in search of some Indian depredators, he was passing the woods with a single companion, his friend and […]
Jarrett’s Ferry on the French Broad River
For many years John Jarrett was a resident of Buncombe County. In later life, he lived on the western bank of the French Broad River at the place where the old Smith Bridge once stood (now a concrete bridge) near Asheville. There had never been a bridge across the river to Asheville, so when John […]
The Great Wagon Road
The Great Wagon Road of the 1700s: Scots, Germans, Swiss The Courageous Settlers of the Blue Ridge Mountains: Those who settled in the Blue Ridge Mountains were a cross-lot of poor people from the Lowlands of the Palatinate along the Rhineland in Germany, persecuted protestants from Switzerland, Austria, and Europe, and the Highlanders who suffered […]
Orton Plantation
Orton Plantation In 1725, the Lord Proprietors granted Colonel Maurice Moore 1,500 acres of land where he established Brunswick Town, North Carolina in June of 1726. Colonel Maurice Moore had seven brothers and four sisters. One of his brothers, Roger Moore built Orton Plantation using some of the lands that were granted to Colonel Maurice. […]
Brunswick Town and Fort Anderson
The Ruins of Brunswick Town, a Colonial North Carolina Settlement, and Fort Anderson The town was named after Brunswick-Lüneburg, a German territory ruled by Great Britain’s reigning King George I. Brunswick Town was an active and popular town for North Carolina settlers from 1720 to 1780. But the area was first occupied by Native American […]
Wilmington, a Port for Irish and French Huguenots
By Jeannette Holland Austin In the early pioneer days of North Carolina, Wilmington was a small port, mostly seasonable. Its history dates back to 1739 when it was incorporated and named after Spencer Compton, the Earl of Wilmington. Its location on the Cape Fear River supported immigrants from Europe. Typically, Scotch-Irish, Irish, and French Huguenots. […]
