Spartanburg County, South Carolina - Chapter 19: The Earle Family, 1900

Chapter 19: The Earle Family

Among the earliest settlers on North Pacolet were the brothers, Baylis and John Earle. The former settled about one-half mile south of the North Carolina colony line at what was afterwards known as Earlesville, two miles northeast of Landrum, S. C. The latter permanently settled about two miles north of said colony line, higher up the river in the present county of Polk, N, C, whereon his grandson, Mr. Lafayette Prince, now resides. Here he erected a fort in revolutionary times, known as Earle's fort.

After the treaty of Governor Glen with the Cherokee Indians in 1755, the upper portion of South Carolina, up to the Indian boundary line, was thrown open to settlement. This line, separating the territory of South Carolina proper and the Cherokee Indian Nation, was the present dividing line between the counties of Greenville and Spartanburg, and the present line between the counties of Anderson and Laurens. It is true that while the lower portion of this newly acquired territory was rapidly settled up by emigrants from Pennsylvania (mostly Scotch-Irish), Maryland, Virginia and other colonies, yet there were but few who dared to venture settlement along the border line, where they would be constantly exposed to the invasions and massacres of the Indians, but among those who did venture to open up a civilization on North Pacolet were Baylis and John Earle. At the time of their emigration from old Virginia to the Carolinas, which was in the early seventies of the eighteenth century, the great cane-brakes on North Pacolet were the

hunting-grounds of the Indians, and the latter were jealous of the approach of civilization in that section. It was during this trying period that the early settlers of that region sheltered themselves in the old Block House fort (where the line between Greenville and Spartanburg joins the North Carolina line), Earle's fort, and other places of refuge.

Baylis Earle, one of the brothers referred to, was born in Virginia (Westmoreland county), August 8th, 1734, O. S. He was the son of Samuel Earle and Anna (daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Sorrel) ; grandson of Samuel and' Phyllis Earle ; great-grandson of Samuel and Bridget Earle ; great-great-grandson of John and Mary Earle, who, supposed royalists in the great rebellion just consummated in the death of King Chiarles I., emigrated with three children, Samuel, John and Mary, from the southwest of England in 1649, first to St. Mary's, Md. (seventeenth year of the founding of the colony), and afterwards, in 1652, to Northumberland county, Va. (forty-fifth year of the founding of the colony). Between 1652 and 1660, the year of his death, John Earle received for the transportation of the thirty-four persons into the colony patents, besides the earlier ones revoked, aggregating seventeen hundred acres of land, located on Earle'^ creek, Jescomico Neck and Potomac in the latter located county of Westmoreland, which, exclusive of others subsequently granted by the Lords Proprietors of the Northern Neck to his immediate successors, descended in a single male representative for one hundred years to Samuel, the elder brother of Baylis Earle. His father, Samuel Earle, born in Westmoreland county 1692, educated at William and Mary College, was a planter, attorney-at-law, member of the house of burgesses from Frederick 1746, justice, colleague of Lord Fairfax 1749 to '52, collector of tobacco 1748, high sheriff, church warden 1751, and major of George William Fairfax's colonial regiment. He married, as already stated, Anna Sorrel, Richmond county, 1726, she being his first wife, and had issue : Samuel, Baylis^ John^ Rachel,, and Hannah. He married a second time to Elizabeth (daughter of Randolph and Jeannette) Holbrook, of Prince William, and had issue: Esaias, Samuel, Zioh, and Eettie. He died near the present Front Royal, Va., at a place called Earle's Ferry, on the Shenandoah River.

John Earle, brother of Baylis, born June 5th, 1737, soon after his first marriage emigrated to South Carolina, and settled the " old place," Earlesville, on the west bank of North Pacolet, and made a crop there in 1773, before his brother Ba^dis came ; then moving beyond the colony line, on the east side of North Pacolet, selling the place already described as Earle's Fort.

John Earle was a staunch patriot during the Revolution, and served as a militia captain a portion of the time, repelling the Tory and Indian invasiouG in his section. He was doubtless in the expedition of Major Howard against " Big Warrior " and his gang at the battle of Round Mountain, which occurred soon after the " Hannon Massacre," on North Pacolet, in 1776. (See "Colonial and Revolutionary History of Upper South Carolina," page 353.)

John Earle, some time during the revolution, obtained the title of colonel. He was married twice. A second time to Mrs. Rebecca (Berry) Wood, relict of John Wood, who was foully murdered by " Bloody Bill " Cunningham and his band of Tories, in November, 1781, an account of which we have given in the volume referred to. By the marriage between Colonel John Earle and Mrs. Rebecca

Wood several children were born, among whom we would mention Mrs. Lydia Prince, wife of Wm. Prince, who lived and died at the old John Earle homestead on North Pacolet, and Mrs. Amaryllis Bomar of Spartanburg, relict of Elisha Bomar and mother of Major John Earle Bomar, and Mrs. T. O. P. Vernon.

In referring to the old family Bible of Baylis Earle, it is recorded that he " married Mary Prince April i6th, 1757, aged 13 years nearly." She was born December 1 744, being a daughter of John Prince, a neighbor family in Virginia, who was a descendant of Edmund Prince, Gentleman, to whom, for the transportation of persons into the colony was issued, on the 4th of October, 1639, a patent for 500 acres of land " in the countie of Charles citie."

The issue of the marriage between Baylis and Mary (Prince) Earle were fourteen children, of whom eight were sons and six daughters, as follows :

1. Sallie, born January 4th, 1759, in Virginia. In South Carolina, after migration, she married Edward Hampton (second wife), whose son Noah, by his first wife, was killed at the battle of Earle's P'ord, and who himself was foully murdered by the Tories about the close of the Revolution. (See Hampton family.)

Sallie Hampton, after her husband's death, married Charles Littleton. Her issue by the first marriage were two daughters, Anna and Elizabeth, of whose after-life we can learn nothing. By the second marriage was born one son, Marcus Littleton.

5. John Earle, born September i8th, 1766, married* Nancy Holland Burns (called Earle), and had issue : Samuel, Esaias, Benjamin, Harriet, Messiniah and Elizabeth. The last named married Dr. John ]\I. Johnson of" Paducah, Ky., and with him refugeed to Atlanta, in 1863, where he died soon afterwards. John Earle moved from South Carolina to Pontotoc, Mississippi, thence to Southwest Kentucky.

6. Bay lis Earle, born September nth, 1768, married Mrs. Hewlett, formerly Miss Moseley, and had issue : Thomas, Baylis, Elizabeth, and one or two more, names not known. Baylis Earle is said, by the author of " Myra Cunningham, Tale of 1780," to have dressed as a lady and liberated Captain Harry Wood from the hand of the Tories. (See Magnolia, August, 1844.)

7. Damaris Earle, born January, 1771, died March 8th, 1804, married Benjamin Dillingham, and had issue : John, Rachel, Reese, Providence and Amanda.

8. Rhoda Earle, born May 25th, 1773 (the last born in Virginia), married Benjamin Clark, and had issue :: Sallie, Mahala, and the next also named Mahala, then Amanda and Baylis.

9. Miriam Earle, born November 4th, 1775, in South Carolina ; married January 28th, 1796, to William Gowen,, a Revolutionary soldier, known as Major Buck Gowen (see '"Colonial and Revolutionary History of Upper South Carolina," pages 361-2), had issue : ^Mahala, Matilda, John and Letitia.

11. Edward Hampton Earle, born October 15th, 1780 ;. married Susan Davis, and had issue: Ann, Richard,, William, John, Berkley,, Thomas and Josephine.

13. Aspasia Earle, born February 21st, 1785; married Mary Montegue, and had issue : Charlotte and Henry M. The former married John Dodd, had one daughter, Ann, who married Richard Bowdoine ; the latter married Sophia Rowland, and had issue: William E., Emma, Mary, John and Miriam.

These all married in South Carolina, and eight of them, viz., John, Baylis, Thomas P., Edward H., Anna,, Damaris, Rhoda and Providence, removed to Kentucky, the balance remaining in South Carolina for a time. Sallie died on North Pacolet. Theron died at his father's old place. Aspasia first settled on the north bank of North Pacolet, one mile from his father's old place, in the present county of Polk, N. C, and in March, 1846, removed to Floyd county, Ga., and settled on Oostanaula River.

Baylis Earle was a staunch Whig during the Revolution, though he was too far advanced in years to take the field as a soldier. In a MS. letter to a friend under date September iith, 1814, he states that on "the Sunday next before Colonel Ferguson's defeat at King's- Mountain, a large party of British and Tbries came tohis dwelling and plundered at their pleasure, killed a steer and destroyed a large quantity of oats, say four or five hundred dozen. It was near his homestead that the battle of Earle's Ford took place, an account of which we have given in another volume.* ization of the county (afterwards called district) of Spartanburg (1785), Baylis Earle was appointed by the governor as one of the county court judges for Spartanburg, which office he served with ability and fidelity to the people of said county for several years. His commission as such hangs neatly framed in the Kenedy Laboratory at Spartanburg, issued from the Executive Department at Columbia by Governor Charles Pinckney, on February 13th, 1791, to continue during good behavior, " to be a judge of the County Court in and for the County Court of Spartanburg," etc.

Baylis Earle was one of the founders of Wolf Creek (Baptist) Church (at^ Landrum, S. C), organized in 1803. He was the first clerk of said church. The old churchbook, with his record of the proceedings, neatly and legibly written, is still to be seen among the archives of the church, now almost a century old.

Baylis Earle lost his wife, who had long been his faithful companion, in 1807, but survived himself until January 6th, 1825, ^yi^& i^^ his 91st year. It is said that he retained to a remarkable degree to the last his strength, faculties and suavity, and was perfectly resigned to his approaching end.

Hon. Samuel E4Rle

eldest son of Baylis and Mary (Prince) Earle, was born in Frederick county, Va., November 28, 1760. In 1774 he followed his father's migration to South Carolina, settling- with him at the old homestead on North Pacolet in what was then Ninety-six District.

On the 20th May, 1777, when in his 17th year, he received through the unsolicited interest of Major Andrew^ Pickens a commission which he took up on the nth of June following, of ensign of the 5th S. C. Regiment of the Continental Line. He w'as promoted two grades, second and first lieutenant at the battle of Stono, June 20th, 1779, and was paroled on the terms of capitulation by General Lincoln, of Charleston, June nth, 1780. About October of the same year he again took up arms, acting independently, but under authority of his Continental commission. He acted as a volunteer with different officers or with different corps: with Sumter at Blackstocks, November 20th, 1780, and declined a captaincy with him in 1781; was at Bush River with Colonel Roebuck, and was in the famous retreat into Virginia with General Greene, after Morgan's victory at Cowpens; was at the siege of Ninety-six with Lee's Legion, and Hammond's Cavalry, June, 1781. He was acting on the staff of General Pickens, when, during the Cherokee expedition in 1782, he was detached to raise a troop of cavalry, South Carolina Rangers, and operated against the "authors," one of whom he engaged in a single mortal combat, and when his pistol failed to fire was rescued from instant death by the timely arrival and interposition of his lieutenant, Henry Machan Wood, afterw^ards one of the first county court judges for Spartanburg. He served to the end of the war, his corps being probably the last in arms in the upper part of South Carolina.

After the close of the Revolution, as Deputy Provost Marshal, he served the first writ ever made returnable to Old Cambridge or Ninety-six. As deputy to John (afterwards general) Martin of Edgefield, the first high sheriff for Ninety-six District, Judge Heyward holding court under an arbor, and General Thomas Pinckney being the only attorney present, Samuel Earle levied on a mill on Bush River in Newberry - the first civil process served in the upper part of the State after the war.

elected a member of the State convention which framed, the Constitution, and he was also a member of the State convention which adopted the Constitution of the United States. He Was afterwards elected a member of the-4th Congress, from 1795 to '97, for the districts of Greenville, Pendleton, Laurens, Abbeville and Spartanburg as the successor of General Andrew Pickens, who was the first member to represent said congressional district under the Federal Constitution. He was a Federalist, and supported Washington's administration and favored Jay's treaty. He removed to Pendleton about 1809; was elected sheriff of that district by the legislature and served in that office for four years. He was appointed one of the commissioners, on the part of South Carolina, to settle the boundary line between the latter State and Georgia - this being about the last public service rendered by him to his country.

He married March 12th, 1793, to Harriet, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Hampton) Harrison. Issue : Bay lis John, Andrew Pickens, James Harrison, Elizabeth Hampton, Edward Preston, Morgan Priestly, IMary Prince (Maxwell), Damaris Miriam (Mays), Sarah Mariah (Lewis), Harriet (Earle), Elias Theron, Samuel Maxcy, and Edward Hampton.

Mr. Earle was a pious member of the Baptist church, and all through life was a man of high and pure character, his honor, integrity or patriotism never having been questioned throughout his long life.

Hon. Theron Earle

son of Baylis and Mary (Prince) Earle, was born at Earlesville, the old homestead place of his father, March 13th, 1783, where he ever afterwards lived and died. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence, honest, upright, and progressive as a farmer. He was a repre- sentative in the State legislature from Spartanburg District from 1832 to '36. In politics he was a Protectionist. Major Hoy, in his writings, states that he issued a sensible circular advocating protection for home manufacturing ; that he admired the logic of Hayne and McDuffie and commenced his circular by wishing their ability to help him do his subject justice.

He served for several years as adjutant of the old 36th Regiment, South Carolina IMilitia, and made an efficient We hear no more of him in public life.

He married Hannah, daughter of Michael Miller, an estimable lady, and had children : Samuel Earle, who died at the age of twelve or thirteen years ; Dr. Michael Baylis Earle, an eminent physician, who lived and died in Greenville, S. C, married Harriet, daughter of John Maxwell of Pendleton, S. C. ; Oliver P. Earle, who will receive further notice ; John Chevis Earle, who died young ; Elizabeth Earle, who married General Joel W. Miller ; Nancy Miller Earle, who married Rev. John G. Landrum (second wife); Rev. Thomas J. Earle, an earnest, able and humble (Baptist) minister of the Gospel for more than a quarter of a century, whose works "follow him," who married Miss Jane Kenedy of Georgia ; Crawford Earle, a promising young man who died in Greenville, S. C, and James Earle, who died aged four five years. Theron Earle died November 3d, 1841. His widow survived him for nearly twenty-five years.

Hon. Oliver Perry Earle

son of Theron and Hannah (Miller) Earle, was born September 25th, 1816, at the old homestead (Earlesville) of his father and grandfather, where, in after years, he became the proprietor of this valuable estate, which he held up to the time of his death, which took place Nov^ember 4th, 1894. He was raised on his father's farm, but was educated in the very best common schools of his day, and acquired a good, practical, business education, which was manifest throughout his life.

But few men have ever lived in his community or county who measured up to his pure and upright standard of citizenship. He was a man of the purest motives, and unsullied honor and integrity. He was well known in a wide locality as a thriving, progressive and successful planter, and in financial judgment and business forethought he had but few superiors. In a word, he ranked among the solid men of his county. He was rather reserved in deportment, prudent in the expression of his opinions, and modest almost to a fault.

In 1856, at the earnest solicitation of many friends, he entered the race and was elected to the State legislature as one of the representatives from Spartanburg District, his colleagues being J. W. Miller, O. E. Edwards, J. Winsmith and James Farrow. On all public questions that came before the House of Representatives, while he was a member of the same, it was accorded to him that he showed excellent judgment in the recording of his vote, as he well understood and appreciated the best interests of his constituents.

In 1858 he married Miss Catharine, daughter of Hon. Tolliver Davis of Rutherford county, N. C, who still survives him. Some time after his marriag^e he con- nected himself with the Wolf Creek Baptist church, and was made a deacon of the same, which office he filled to the day of his death, with a conscientious discharge of duty to his Saviour and brethren.

By his marriage with Miss Davis he had children as follows : Tolliver D., married Miss Hallie Lee ; Hannah, married George Harrison ; Sarah Catharine, died in infancy ; Nancy Elizabeth, married Rev. Paul Bomar ; Eliza Harriet, married Joseph Eee ; Mary Miller, married Dr. R. G. Christopher, and Bay lis Theron, merchant at Spartanburg.