Guilford

The Scotch-Irish in Guilford County

Early settlers to Guilford County were the families of Albright, Clapp, Cobb, Coble, Foust, Holt, Keim, Lineberger, Sharp, Sharps, Shoffner, Strader, Summers, Reitzell, Whitsells, Whitsetts and the Wyricks. In West Guilford were the families of Armfield, Beacons, Chipman, Coffins, Elliott, Edwards, Gardners, Horney, Mendenhall, Pugh, Starbuck, Stanley and Welborn. The central area of the county was settled by a large migration of Scotch-Irish settlers who had come into the country by way of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; while another group came from Charleston, South Carolina. Also, the Nottingham Company of Pennsylvania purchased a large tract of land on the Buffalo and Reedy Fork Creeks. These were the blue-stocking Presbyterians. ” From the stock of Scotch-Irish in the north of Ireland,” say Hawks,

Swain, and Graham in their History of the Revolution, page 51, ” came the Carolina immigrants. They reached the place of their settlement by two different avenues of approach; the one portion came to America by the Delaware River, landing in Philadelphia; the other touched our shores at Charleston, South Carolina. They struck into the fertile country of Virginia, and in Carolina, the two tides of migration met. The line of their settlements across the whole state from North Carolina to Virginia may be traced through Charlotte, Concord, Salisbury, Lexington, Greensboro, Milton, and the headwaters of Roanoke.” ” Our forefathers,” says Dr. C. H. Wiley in his address on the Centennial of Alamance Church, ” came not as adventurers or hunters, not as outlaws and wanderers, but as intelligent men, with good worldly substance, with implements of industry, with civilization and the church.”

The Battle of Guilford Court House

After Daniel Morgan had a victory over Tarleton at Cowpens in January of 1781, Lord Cornwallis was determined to destroy the American Army. Meanwhile, General Nathaniel Greene was reluctant to take his ragged army into battle against the British. Thus, in order to keep Cornwallis out of the Carolinas, Greene fought a ” fugitive war” where his army was on the move, waiting for the best opportunity to fight. During early February, the troops of General Greene fled across the Dan River into Virginia, leaving their bloody tracks in the snow. Cornwallis set up headquarters in Hillsborough and called for loyalists to join in, however, few did. Meanwhile, Greene recrossed the Dan River, this time with additional troops dispatched from Virginia, and went to the Guilford Court House where he arranged his troops in three lines, viz: 1,000 North Carolina Militia formed the first line, with cavalry units on their flanks led by William Washington and Light-Horse Harry Lee. The second line was infantry, and the third line about 500 yards back, was made up of Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware units. When Cornwallis began his attack, the North Carolina Militia fired two volleys and half of the British Highlands fell to the ground. The Welch Fusiliers charged the line but could not see the Americans forty yards away. The Carolinians withdrew in an orderly fashion after finding, yet they panicked and ran. This left the legion of General Lee isolated to hold up against repeated attacks. The British broke through into the woods, pushing the second American line back. But the worst of the battle occurred when the British reached the American third line. ” I never saw such fighting since God made me,” Cornwallis wrote later. ” The Americans fought like demons.” Although General Greene had lost the field, the British victory cost Cornwallis one-fourth of his troops!

The Fieldpiece at the Battle of Guilford Court House

American 6 Pounder Fieldpiece. At the outbreak of the War of Independence, American artillery was an accumulation of guns, mortars, and howitzers of every sort and some thirteen different calibers. Since the source of importation was cut off, the undeveloped casting industries of the Colonies undertook cannon founding, and by 1775 the foundries of Philadelphia were casting both bronze and iron guns. A number of bronze French guns were brought in later.

The mobile guns employed by the army of General Washington ranged from 3 to 24 pounders, with 5-1/2 and 8-inch howitzers. A few iron siege guns of 18, 24, and 32-pounder caliber were on hand, however, most guns were made of bronze. The guns used the round shot, grape, and case shot; mortars and howitzers fired bombs and carcasses. ” Side boxes” on each side of the carriage held 21 rounds of ammunition and were taken off when the piece was brought into battery. Horses or oxen, with hired civilian drivers, formed the transport. On the battlefield, the cannoneers manned drag ropes to maneuver the guns into position. Sometimes, as at Guilford Courthouse, the dense forest diminished the effectiveness of artillery, but nevertheless, the arm was often put to good use.

The Society of Friends

The first settlers to Guilford began arriving in 1740 from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New England. They were in search of fertile and affordable land. They were Quakers whose origin was in Maryland, then stemmed throughout other colonies. The settlement was around Greensboro and was known as the Garden Friends Meeting. They were followed by the German Reformed Church and Lutherans and the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. The ” Friedens Church” (meaning peace) was led by the Rev. John Ulrich Giesendanner from Pennsylvania in 1740 and settled around the Haw River along the creeks of Reedy, Eno, Alamance, Travis, Beaver, and Deep River. The first building used by Friedens Church was made of logs. An examination of the Encyclopedia of Quaker Genealogy by Hinshaw is indicated in all of the States of their immigration.

Quaker Life in New Garden

Shadrick Standley Jr. was born in the rural setting of a quaker community called New Garden. The area is now known as Guilford College, about six miles west of Greensboro. The name came from the New Garden Meeting in Chester County, Pennsylvania which was taken from New Garden in County Carlow, Ireland. The Quakers moved about the country, the first land was in Maryland, and from there they went into Virginia, North Carolina, and even Georgia. His father has brought the family from the Cedar Creek Quaker community of Hanover County, Virginia. Researchers of the Quaker records should refer to the Encyclopedia of Quaker Genealogy by Hinshaw for births, deaths, marriages, and other details.

Clyde Springs

Two natural springs of cool water on the grounds of Guilford were developed and beautified by the Northern gentlemen. Mr. William P. Clyde, of New York, for whom Clyde Spring is named, and Mr. Leonidas W. Springs, of Philadelphia, for whom the twin, ” Leonidas Springs,” is named.

Guilford County Genealogy, Wills, Estates

The settlement of Guilford County was mostly by Quakers who came out of Maryland and Virginia into North Carolina during the 1730s and formed the New Garden Meeting. They were followed by German Reformed churches and Lutherans from Pennsylvania. The county itself was formed in 1771 from parts of Rowan and Orange Counties and was named after the first Earl of Guilford (Francis North), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. In 1779 the southern third of Guilford County became Randolph County and in 1785 the northern half of its remaining territory became known as Rockingham County. The county seat is Greensboro, North Carolina.

Guilford County Records available to members of North Carolina Pioneers

Images of Wills 1779 to 1813

Images of Wills 1813 to 1838

Images of Wills 1837 to 1859

Deed Records

First Deeds of Rowan and Guilford Counties

Online Images of Old Wills and Estates

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