Williamsburg County, South Carolina - Chapter 1: Before Williamsburg Had a Name, 1923

The territory in Southern North America claimed by the British at the beginning of the seventeenth century was called Virginia. In 1663, that portion South of the parallel of latitude 36° 33' was separated from Virginia and named Carolina in honor of Charles II, King of England. This territory, however, had been designated Carolina by Charles I when he made in 1629 a grant of land to Sir Robert Keith.

Charles II granted Carolina in 1663 to eight noblemen, known as Lords Proprietors. At that time, there were a few scattered settlements along the Roanoke and Chowan Rivers, in what is now North Carolina, but none other in all the vast territory denominated Carolina. These Lords Proprietors believed that they could establish almost at once in this naked country a feudalistic civili¬ zation more complex than had grown up in many centu¬ ries in their mother country. They secured John Locke, a celebrated English philosopher, then under the patron¬ age of Ashley, one of the Lords Proprietors, to write a Constitution for Carolina.

While Locke was one of the most influential thinkers of modern times and wrote a Constitution for Carolina from which Jefferson, Hamilton, and Marshall, a century later, drew many valuable suggestions, he had never visited Carolina and had only his vast store house of learning and his imagination to aid him in creating his remarkable scheme for the government of the widely scat¬ tered settlements in these wilds. His Fundamental Con¬ stitution for Carolina was accepted by the Lords Propri¬ etors and made the law of the land. It was a beautiful theory which Locke had created and he and the Lords

The Lords Proprietors did all they could to consummate the ideal empire that had its origin in the brain of Locke. They made large grants of land in Carolina to seemingly eager English noblemen, expecting these pampered prod¬ ucts of wealth and ease to migrate with their retainers to this wilderness and soon establish an aristocratic Carolina.

These English lords did not come to Carolina to live on their estates. They attempted to send hirelings to over¬ come the pioneer matters and create a condition their masters could endure. But hirelings never make a wilder¬ ness a garden unless severely superintended.

The English government gave the Lords Proprietors a free hand for more than a half century while Carolina was a Proprietary Province, but the plans of Locke would not work. Finally, seven of the Lords Proprietors ceded back to the King their claims to Carolina, and in 1719 it became a Royal Province. In 1729, Carolina was divided into the provinces of North Carolina and of South Caro¬ ling along the lines now obtaining.

In 1729, there were only two small settlements in South Carolina. These were Charleston and Beaufort, both along the coast. These two settlements had no back country to support them and nothing for maintaining their existence except the nominal trade with the Indians. Charleston and Beaufort then produced practically nothing. Besides, they were dangerously near the Spanish territory of Florida, and the Spaniards were forever foraying on them. The Indians from the West were likewise frequently dis¬ turbing them and constantly threatening their existence.

King George knew that up to 1730 but little of prac¬ tical value had been done towards the creation of a suc¬ cessful colony in South Carolina. He realized that the colonies at Charleston and Beaufort were not self sus¬ taining and could not be made so without the development of the back country ; and, furthermore, that the Spaniards and the Indians might at any time unite and exterminate these two towns on the coast. In 1730, he gave the fol¬ lowing instructions to Governor Robert Johnson of South Carolina:

"Whereas, it has been found by long experience in our province of New Hampshire and Massachusetts Bay, that the settling of such persons as were disposed to become planters there hath redounded very much to their ad¬ vantage, not only with respect to the assistance they have been able to afford each other in their civil concerns, but, likewise, with regard to the security they have thereby acquired against the insults and incursions of the neigh¬ boring Indians :

"We have thought it for our service, and you are hereby required to mark out and set apart eleven townships in our said province, on the banks of rivers, at sixty miles distance from Charleston; that is to say, two townships on the Altamaha, two on the Savannah River, one on Ponpon River, two on Santee River, one on Wateree River, one on Black River, and one on Waccamaw River. Each of these townships must consist of twenty thousand acres of land, to be laid out in square plots, - one side thereof to front the respective rivers on which they shall be settled.

"In each of these townships, you shall mark out proper place for the situation of a town, contiguous to the river, where the township lies, to consist of so many lots, and each lot of such quantity of land as you shall judge con¬ venient, and to each inhabitant, at their first settling there, besides their respective town lots, you shall grant fifty acres, part of the above mentioned twenty thousand, for every man, woman, or child, of which the grantee's family shall consist, which grants shall be augmented from time to time as the abilities of the respective inhabitants shall render them capable of cultivating more lands, always taking care to proportion profitable and unprofitable land in each grant and to mark the same out in such manner that every grantee, by the situation of his land, may reap equal advantage of access to the river to which the town¬ ship shall be contiguous, and to the intent that land near the said township may not be wanting for the convenience of the inhabitants, as their substance shall increase.

"No person, except the inhabitants, shall be allowed to take up land within six miles of the said townships, respectively, to which the said township shall be contigu¬ ous.

"Each of these townships, together with all the lands on the same side of the river, lying within six miles of the said townships, respectively, be erected into a distinct parish, and that when any of the said intended parishes shall have one hundred householders, it shall be entitled to send two members to our Assembly and to enjoy all such other privileges as of right and common usage belong to other parishes in our said province.

"As other encouragement to such persons as shall be disposed to settle in these townships, we are graciously pleased to allow the inhabitants there the right of common and herbage in and through all such lands contained within the extent of the said townships as shall not be taken up by grants made to the said inhabitants; and that a quan¬ tity of land not exceeding three hundred acres contiguous to the said town shall be set apart for a common in per¬ petuity to each of the said towns free from quitrent ; and it is our pleasure that no person claiming right to take up land in South Carolina by former grant from the Lords Proprietors be allowed to take up lands within six miles of these townships by virtue of such grant.

"We have been informed that the number of white men in our said province bears a small proportion to that of the blacks, which is not only a hindrance to the peopling and settling of the same but may be also of dangerous consequence from the attempts of an enemy and from an insurrection of the negroes. It is our will and pleasure that you recommend in the strongest terms to the Assembly that it pass an Act giving suitable encouragement to all who shall import servants into the province, either men or women; and, as an encouragement for white servants to come, we are gracious to allow you to grant fifty acres of land, free of quitrent, to all white servants, men or women, who shall have served their masters the whole term of their agreement, and shall be allowed afterwards to become planters or settlers in the said province.

"You will not make any grants of land to any person whatsoever under a less quitrent than four shillings, proc¬ lamation money, for over one hundred acres, except for the first ten years to white servants as mentioned in the foregoing article and for those who shall undertake to settle the eleven aforementioned townships, or any of them.

"And to the end, the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Lord Bishop of London may obtain in that, our province, so far as conveniently may be, we do think fit that you do give all countenance and encouragement to the exer¬ cise of the same.

"A table of marriages established by the Canons of the Church of England must be hung up in every orthodox church and duly observed, and you must get a law passed in the Assembly of that province, if not already done, for the strict observance of said table.

"We have granted unto Edmund, Lord Bishop of Lon¬ don, the Right Reverend Father in God, and under our great seal of Great Britain, whereby he is empowered to exercise ecclesiastical jurisdiction by himself, or by such commissaries as he shall appoint in our several plantations in America. And you must give all commissaries due en-

"You must cause all laws already made against blasphemy, profaneness, adultery, fornication, polygamy, incest, profanation of the Lord's Day, swearing, and drunkenness to be vigorously executed. You are so to punish the above named vices that, by such example, infi¬ dels may be invited and persuaded to embrace the Christian religion.

"You must recommend the Assembly to enter upon proper methods for erecting and maintaining schools in order to be training up youths to read and to the neces¬ sary knowledge of the principles of religion; and you are also, with the assistance of the Council and Assembly, to find out the best means to facilitate and encourage the conversion of Negroes and Indians to the Christian reli¬ gion.

"You are particularly enjoined to use all possible ways and means for regaining the affections of the Indians and to preserve a good correspondence with such of them as remain faithful to our interest, but especially to the Cherokees. You are hereby directed to recommend in strongest terms to Indian traders to be just and reason¬ able in their dealings with the native Indians, and to recommend to the Assembly the passing of such laws as may be necessary for the encouragement and protection of such Indians as shall adhere to our interest.

"You shall take care that all planters and inhabitants and Christian servants be fitly provided with arms, and that they be listed under good officers, mustered, and trained, to be in readiness for the defense of the province, and especially in those parts bordering upon the Indians.

"Give due encouragement and invitation to merchants and others who shall bring trade to the province, particu¬ larly to the Royal African Company, and others, to the end that the province may have a constant and sufficient

In compliance with these orders of the King in 1730, nine townships in South Carolina in the interior on the banks of rivers were laid out. In establishing and set¬ tling these townships, the English government laid the foundation for the prosperous colony of South Carolina, which later became the State. Until these townships were settled, the colony of South Carolina at any time might have failed.