Mecklenburg County (NC) prior to the Revolutionary War: (Pastor) Alexander Craigheads principal legacy was to instill among the people of his congregations a fierce determination to resist the imposition of unwanted authority from outside the community, especially from the State capital in New Bern or from London. Social historians studying the more than two-century story of Mecklenburg might well agree that this communitys character has its roots in the independent-mindedness of her early citizenship, writes LeGette Blythe in his popular 1961 history of Mecklenburg County. Dramatic proof of this commitment to noninterference occurred during the so-called Sugar Creek War in 1765, the year preceding Craigheads death and three years following the creation of Mecklenburg County from a portion of Anson County in 1762. Conflict arose when Henry McCulloh, one of Governor Dobbss partners in land speculation and an agent for another absentee property owner, Lord George Augustus Selwyn assembled a team of surveyors in the area to determine the boundaries of Lord Selwyns land so that the Scots-Irish, many of whom were squatters, could begin paying the rent that they lawfully owed but had never attempted to defray. A group of local ruffians, led by Thomas Polk, warned McCulloh to desist or he would be tied Neck and heels and be carried over the Yadkin, and that he might think himself happy if he got off so. Undeterred, McCulloh attempted to perform his duties and ordered the parcel of blockheads to stand aside, whereupon the squatters, their faces blackened, attacked McCullohs men, including several members of the locally prominent Alexander family. Abraham Alexander was striped from the nape of his neck to the Waistband of his Breeches, declared one participant in this act of defiance. According to McCulloh, Jimmy Alexander very near had daylight let into his skull. McCulloh retreated and departed for New Bern. Lawlessness succeeded in winning the day. William Tryon, who became Royal Governor in 1765, sought to quell unrest in the backcountry by settling the outstanding land disputes. He appointed Thomas Polk and Abraham Alexander to a two-member commission to study the issue. Not surprisingly, the commission decided that McCullohs and Selwyns claims were invalid because they had not attracted a sufficient number of settlers to their property. Tryon accepted this decision and proclaimed McCullohs and Selwyns proprietorships null and void. The Proprietors had to sell their land to the settlers or to the Royal government. Governor Tryon donated part of the land formerly belonging to the Proprietors as the site for a county seat. Abraham Alexander and Thomas Polk were put in charge of the creation of the town in 1768, to be named Charlotte in honor of the Queen of Great Britain. Martin Phifer, leader of the Lutheran community of Dutch Buffalo Creek in northeastern Mecklenburg, protested the location of the county seat and labored unsuccessfully to have it moved. Eventually Buffalo Creek would separate from Mecklenburg and form Cabarrus County in 1793. The County seat was the center of power political power in Colonial America and in the early years of the United States. County courts, composed of appointed Justices of the Peace selected by the Governor, registered deeds, issued business licenses, collected taxes, and verified wills. Local courthouses also settled disputes among residents. The Justices of the Peace appointed local officers of the court, including the sheriff. One can understand why Thomas Polk wanted Charlotte to be in southern Mecklenburg County, where the Scots Irish were especially strong. The growing wealth of Mecklenburgs elite notwithstanding, deep-seated resentments against the Royal government continued to exist among the Scots-Irish. A particularly vexing issue was the status of the Presbyterian Church. Governor Tryon was most interested in strengthening the position of the Church of England in North Carolina. He pressured the colonial legislative to pass two acts that were galling to the Scots-Irish. The first assured that tax money would flow to the Anglicans. The second, the Marriage Act of 1766, denied non-Anglican ministers the right to legally bind couples in matrimony. To be legitimate, couples had to pay a fee to the Church of England. The Presbyterians of Mecklenburg County spoke out vigorously against the Marriage Act. The Mecklenburg Scots-Irish felt slighted again when they petitioned the colonial legislature in 1770 to establish a seminary in Charlotte. This was the first institution of higher learning south of William and Mary. They proposed to name it Queens College. North Carolina Statutes forbade the creation of dissenting schools. Governor Tryon supported the petition because of Mecklenburgs help in subduing the Regulator movement in Orange County in 1770, but the King disallowed the establishment of the school. It closed in 1773. -Dr. Dan Morrill, UNCC Professor and author
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 22:54:08 +0000
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