Hofwyl Plantation [1976]

HOFWYL PLANTATION
By Victoria Reeves Gunn
July 1, 1975

Copyright

State of Georgia Department of Natural Resources Office of Planning and Research Historic Preservation Section

1976

TABLE OF CONTENTS .
I. The Narrative Foreword................................................... 1 The Rice Coast........................................... 2 Laurens and Mcintosh...................................... 48
The Brailsfords. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . 56
The Troups . ............................................ . . . 63 The Dents . ......................... ; . . . . . . . . . 72
II. The Illustrations III. The Bibliography IV. The Appendix

FORI!.'WORD
In 1860, C~orgia and South Carolina had an international reputation for producing the finest rice in the world. A decade later the prod.uctio:t of rice had sharply declined and, within half a century, had died out almost entirely along the coastlines of those two states. Today few Georgians understand or even know of the important role played by rice i.n the settlement and growth of Georgia; few have heard that before "Cotton is King," and even after, rice was queen of the seacoast.
The home of the Yamasee Indians, claimed for years by Spain, and granted first to two important figures of the Revolutionary era, Hofwyl Plantation had an extensive history before the lands were purchased by the family which owned it for the following 170 years. But it is this period of ownership by a riceplanting family which gives the plantation its importance to the State of Georgia.
It is therefore essential to give some understanding of the nature of rice in order to determine why the coast of Georgia adapts itself so well to its cultivation. The lives of the rice planters were so thoroughly ruled by the vagaries of their crop that comprehension of their attitudes and life styles is enchanced by a .study of the cultivation of rice as well as the culture which grew up aroupd it.
While the phenomenon of rice culture was of a regional nature, affecting large amounts of land ona number of coastal waterways, an-analysis may be made of specific sites. This can help illuminate the ways of life which characterized the rice plantations and provided cultural antecedents for the diffusion of plantation li'Ting based on other regions and on other products. In this, the State of Georgia is fortunate to have acquired Hofwyl Plantation.
1

THE RICE COAST

The LoW Country of Georgia and South Carolina in the 1600's was treach-

erous land, consisting primarily of tidal swatnpland, choked with a jungle-like

vegetation consisting of "enormous cypress, gum, ash, etc., matted together with

huge grape vine,

and cane

from fifteen to twenty

feet high.



nl

Thelandwas

"subject to the flux and reflux of tides;"2 the "dark, alluvial soil so soft that

one could scarcely walk any distance upon it everywhere his progress was im-

peded by dense undergrowth, and his clothes and flesh tom by briars n3

"Numbers of alligators were in the s~amps turtles ready at the slightest

alarm to slide quickly back into the dark water. Snakes of many kinds, especially water moccasins, luxuriated where the sun found its way through the thick foliage." 4

That men observed this wilderness and envisioned "many miles of serpentine embank-

ment enclosing thousands of acres, checked into fields which bear in waving luxuriance crop~ of translucent grain"S is testimony to the illlgenuity and am-

bition with which the joint problems of agriculture and economics were approached

in the seventeenth century.

Yet, by the early nineteenth century, the rice country could be described

as having '!an ease, a grace, a cordiality, hardly to be matched in any American society, equal to, in fact, the most civilized circles of old European countries,"6

~aving less vulgar display and more int~insic elegance than any distinct class among us." 7 .The very nature of the rice empire had become the quintessence of

the Old South; living up to the Southern Tradition in an age when the Southern

Tradition did not yet exist. What is most remarkable, therefore, in consider-

ing the development of "The Empire of Rice" is that it occured at all.

2

3 I

Although rice was first experimented with .in the colony of Virginia, 1

it is South Carolina which can claim the credit for turning the grain into the

significant crop it became and the dominant one of the coastal Low Country.

The actual introduction of the first seed rice is so shrouded in picturesque legend that exact dates and circumstances cannot be accurately determined. 2

As early as 1672, a bushel or barrel of rice was shipped from Charleston, but

the onslaught of production which might have been expected to follow this initial endeavor was not forthcoming. 3 The English colonists were "unacquainted with the manner of cultivating rice"4 and, therefore, the history of its intrench-

ment as the staple crop of the Low Country is one of painstaking experimentation

and gradual technological improvement.

From coincidental accounts of the intzoduction of a superior type of rice

from Madagascar, it can be assumed that the industry received a boost in the

form of a more adaptable variety sometime during the latter part of the seven-

.

c

5

teenth century. In 1691, a South Carolina law was passed to encourage the in-

vention of rice threshing and cleaning machines which resulted in a series of more or less successful devices, 6 and, by 1700, Charleston was having difficulty obtaining enough ships to export the rice which was produced by the colony. 7

With the intrenchment of the industry came a certain amount of expansion, within

set geographical limits, and, in 1733, twenty barrels of dee were donated to Georgia by the General Assembly of South Carolina. 8 The results of the experi-

mentation encouraged by this venture were successful and, in 1735, Georgia was

granted permission to export rice "to any port south of Cape Finnisterre on the Brittany Coast, "9 shipping 266 barrels the following year.l0

Although Georgia had proved that her climate was a favorable one for the

production of rice, there were a number of factors which kept the colony from

4
keeping pace with the production of her South Carolina neighbors. The development of rice as a commercial crop required a large, cheap labor force 11 and considerable amounts of land in order to be profitable; 12 neither of which were
available south of the Savannah River. Georgia had been settled as a colony
for debtors, responsible for providing a military barrier for South Carolina
and for producing a select group of commodities for England; none of which was rice. 13 Consequently, a set of rules was under effect, designed to prevent the
growth of the plantation system which would be essential for the growth of rice.
The primary feature of this code provided for the restriction of individual land
grants to fifty acres for debtorsl4 and prohibited slavery .15
While these regulations were not iron clad, especially for those with
enough money or ingenuity to get around them, they still were very unpopular
with the ge11eral public.l6 Directly across the Savannah River, the Carolinians
were prospering with the production of rice, an enterprise which "gave the best opportunity for industrial profit which America then afforded."17 In 1738, the
colonists,
finding that it required an immense expenditure of physical labor to clear the river swamp lands . finding that the air of the swamps was loaded with poisonous qualities which generated disease, which, if not fatal, ended in debility and entire destruction of the constitution, finding that the cul~ tivation of the pine lands was not productive, and finding that after the severe labor, exposure and ill health of several years, they were unable to provide even a coarse common subsistence for themselves and families, addressed an earnest ap~ peal to the Trustees of the Colony of Georgia frequesting] . 'the want and use of negroes, with proper limitations; which, if granted, would induce great numbers of white people to come here, and also render us capable of subsisting by ourselves by raising provisions upon our lands tmtil we could make some produce from it for exportation, and in some measure to ba11mce our importation. '18 .
The references to "disease" and "ill health" in the preceeding passage are
significant. The low lying area of the South Carolina and Georgia coast, with
its swamps, marshes and slow moving rivers was becoming a notorious center for

5
disease; the most prevalent of which was malaria. Mentioned with regularity in the accounts of travels in the area, 19 the "summer" or "country" fever, as it was known, seemed to strike primarily at night and during a specific season, usually mid-April to November, during which time the rice planters abandoned their
plantations for healthier locations, making periodic inspections, but without 20
spending a night in the affected areas. Since the existence of the anopheles mosquito and its connec~ion with the disease was not discovered until late in the nineteenth century, the cause was generally attributed to a "bad air" or "miasma" rising from swamps or standing water. 21 '!he correlation between the
disease and the summer months was early recognized, as well as its relation to rural areas.
In the hot season the human body is relaxed by perpetual perspiration, and becomes feeble and sickly, especially during the dog-days, when the air is one while suffocating and sultry, and another moist and foggy. Exhausted of fluids, it is perhaps not all, or very improperly, supplied. Hence intermittent, nervous, putrid and bilious fevers, are commo22 in the country and prove fatal to many of its inhabitants. It was observed from the peginning, however, that while slaves were prey
to certain endemic diseases not affecting the whites, they seemed less likely to to suffer from malaria. Recent medical research has shown that populations which are exposed to malarial climates, such as the West Coast of Africa, develop a genetic trait which produces a near-immunity to the disease. '!his heritable characteristic, however, produces a disadvantageous balance in the form of the so-called "sickle cell trait." Studies begun in the 1950's show that
the Gullah Negroes of the South Carolina and Georgia coasts show a higher incidence of sickle cell trait than the majority of Black Americans, indicating that the slaves in the rice-growing areas "would have perpetuated this genetic characteristic as long as it served a function in a highly malarious region." 23
A tradition arose in the Low Country, and spread throughout the South,
that African slaves were essential to perform labor that Europeans could not

7
more profit than he could obtain from his own labor35 and .since the production of rice relied .heavily on human labor and only incidentally on machines, 36 the addition of many pairs of hands was essential. "The planters had no sooner got the strength of Africa to assist them than they laboured with success, and the lands every year yielded greater and greater increase."37 If for no other reason than that the white colonists had not wanted to do the dirty work of preparing and cultivating rice lands themselves, the availability of African slaves gave new life to an industry that, tried briefly, had all but been abandoned.
Conversely, the growth of the rice industry was a great incentive to the expansion of slavery and the development of the plantation system. "It was now [after the successful beginnings of the rice industry] that importations of Negro slaves were made with great avidity. And the proceeds of the crop, were economified [sic] to increase the exertions of the ensuing year~"l" 38 In South Carolina the black population drew equal to and then surpassed the white population in roughly the twenty years when the rice industry was taking hold. 39 ~orgia experienced a similar population growth following the repeal of the slave restrictions. In 1753 the black population of Georgia was 1,066 as compared to 2,381 whites; increasing to 7,800 blacks and 9,900 whites in
40 1766. When the first United States Census was taken in 1790, while Georgia white outnumbered blacks by 52,886 to 29,662 in total, blacks constituted 69.9 per cent of the total population of the rice coast. 41
Since the purchase of slaves and the acquisition of large amounts of land required an enormous outl~ of capital, the lands along the coastline suited for
42 rice cultivation soon fell into the hands of wealthy proprietors. A conte~ porary observer figured the initial expenses of "undertaking" a rice plantation in Georgia in the late eighteenth century to be just over ~2,476 on pre-cleared and banked land; ennumerating as essentials 200 acres of land, 40 "working hands,"

8

oxen, horses, carts, collars, "hoes, axes, spades and other plantation tools,"

and the construction of a barn and pounding machine. Clothing and medical care

for the slaves, including a provision for losses due to slave deaths, taxes, quit rents and the overseer's wages were listed as annual expenses. 43 Since

early returns on this initial investment would be small, probably less than
44
~700 the first year, depending on the fluctuating price of rice, the small

planter could afford no real effort toward gaining a foothold in coastal Georgia after 1750. 45

A large number of the wealthy emmigrants of the 1750's were Carolinians,

mostly rice planters, "lured into Georgia by the prospect of easily obtaining the undeveloped rice lands." 46 The Georgia coast, accordingly, acquired a type

of plantation system which was loosely based on the absentee system of the West

.

47

Indies as it was channeled through the Carolinas. Because of the "narrow

hydrolic limi ts"48 of cultivation available to the rice planter, the coastal

section of the two colonies developed into a well-defined geographical region,

distinctive from the rest of the American mainland. Towns, Charleston and Sav-

annah, primarily, supported on a smaller scale by Georgetown and Beaufort in

South Carolina and Darien and Sunbury in Georgia, developed as centers of com-

merce and, during the malarial summer months especially, social centers. Con-

sequently, an interdependent type of city-state evolved which the coastal rice

planters had little occasion to leave and the smaller farmers of the uplands had

little occasion to enter. As a result, this rather isolated society grew more thoroughly dependent on the plantation system than other parts of the South. 49

Developments in the technology of rice planting in the 1700's were direc-

ted towards the change from the "inland swamp" method of cultivation to that of

the "tidal flow" system. While the advantages to be gained from planting rice

in "wet, deep, miry soil; such as is generally to be found in Cypress Swamps;

9

or a black greasy Mould with a Clay foundation " 50 were apparently recog-

nized at an early date, it was not until around 1724 that a system of periodic

irrigation began to be employed, and probably then only "for the parpose of

supplying moisture to the plant rather than for the systematic destruction of weeds and insects, as later." 51 These inland cypress swamps, .cleared of vege-

tation and equipped with an irrigation system which employed impounded rainwater or dammed-up springs as reservoirs, 52 had, however, certain disadvantages, being liable to flooding and extremely susceptible to droughts. 53

Although the change to the tidal marshes was beginning to take place as

.

. 54

early as 1758 in South Carolina and by 1771 in Georgia, it was not until after

the Revolution that planters began developing tide swamp plantations on a large scale. 55 The fertile river land, located close enough to the ocean to be affected

by the rise and fall of the tide and yet out of reach of salt water, had the ad-

vantage of a readily available water supply. The natural system of irrigation

to be found along the coastal rivers, flooding the land at high tide and drain-

ing it again when the tide fell, could be harnessed and used to the advantage of the rice planter. 56 In addition, the land had a completely renewable soil, provided by deposits of fresh topsoil brought by the river from the uplands. 57 "The

great shift, however, came during the last decade of the eighteenth century and

the earlyyears of the nineteenth, induced partly by the grassy condition of inland swanp lands and partly by development of the very advantageous water culture. " 58

Limited as it was to geographical areas which could be thus adapted, the rice coast had practically reached its full economic development by 1800. 59
Rice prices remained consistantly high enough to make the continued production of the grain profitable, in spite of fluctuations; 60 although production remained 100re or less stationary after the beginning of the nineteenth century. 61
In 1839, the beginning of the "Golden Years" of the Georgia rice coast, Georgia

10
ranked second only to South Carolina in United States rice production62 and boasted 25,000 to 30,000 acres of tidal flow plantations. 63
II
The engineering operation which transformed the virgin tidal swamp into the hydraulic "machine" which was the rice plantation was an enormous undertaking. It is difficult in an age of technological achievement to appreciate the monumental effort required to clear the swamp mud of acres of hardwood and undergrowth, replacing it with an elaborate system of embankments, trenches, sluiceways and culverts using only hand labor. One contemporary observer determined that it took eight slaves one day to clear an acre of swamp, and this seems a somewhat optimistic appraisa1. 1
The process by which "the tide is shut out, subjected to regulation and rendered tributary to the enlightened d,esigns of the Rice Planter, "2 began with a careful survey of the course which the main river embankment was to take. This area was cleared in a swath of approximately fifty yards in width, located from fifty to eighty feet from the water line of the river, 3 and at this point the main ditch or "face" ditch was dug, about eight feet wide and five feet deep. 4 The dirt was then used to construct the main river embankment, located about ten to twenty feet closer to the river. This dam rose at least two feet above the maximum high tide, usually about five feet, and was twelve feet wide at the base, tapering to three feet at the top. 5
Just above the low tide level, floodgates known as "trunks" were embedded in the embankment at regular intervals, allowing water access from the river to the newly enclosed rice fields. These rectangular wooden culverts were the most important mechanisms of the rice field. About twenty to thirty feet in length, 6 they were equipped with a swinging door at either end, and weighted with stones

11
at the bottom. In order to flood the field, the outer door was lifted, allowing the incoming tide to push open the inner.door, which would close again firmly at ebb tide, sealing the water in the field. To drain the field, the procedure was reversed, raising the inner door so that the outer door swung open with the pressure from within the field at low tide. 7 This relatively simple process, which was used th~oughout the growing season, could be easily adjusted and worked automatically, provided all of the drains, canals and dams were kept in good .order and no debris or water animals interfered with its operation. 8 The system of the raising doors had been developed in Georgia; the South Carolina method having called for the door to swing open, which necessitated waiting for a correspondingly favorable tide. 9
Since, in its natural state, the tidal swamp was subjected to a continual ebb and flow, which up to this point had caused the limitation of working hours, 10 the swamp was drained as soon as the trunks could be installed. 11 Natural springs
or creeks had to be carefully closed off and trunked to prohibit breakage in the dam. 12 The field was then divided into smaller fields or "squares" of eighteen to twenty acres each by a series of interconnected embankments and canals, extending from the main river levee and ditch. 13 It was essential that the individual fiel<is be laid out in the most efficif.ent pattern, making use of any natural barriers, 14 and, most importantly, that they be as uniformly level as possible to ensure the even flow and drainage which was required during the growing process}5
The secondary canals, usually attached to river floodgates for maximum efficiency, had the twofold purpose of transporting water to and from the "back" or interior fields 16 and providing a highway for in-field transportation via "flats"--the shallow boats which were poled along the ditches carrying everything from seed to harvested rice, earth for mending breals in banks to lumber for
17 trunk construction. These ditches were usually six to eight feet wide and

12
five feet deep, 18 although they were often dug to as much as a fifteen foot depth if extensive transportation, to and from market, for example, was expected. In this case, trunks were often constructed in such a way as to allow boats through to the river.19
Each "square" was divided into plots of one acre each by drains which opened off the interior ditch which surrounded each field, and further subdivided by "quarter drains," about fifteen to eighteen inches wide and three feet deep. 20 The water system, therefore, required a large portion of the arable land, and
21 considerably reduced the acerage which could be devoted to actual planting area. One source estimates that in a 500 acre rice field were approximately sixty
22 miles of dikes and attendant ditches alone.
The reclamation of tide lands became an art on which the rice planter prided himself, and the agricultural journals and societies of the day became forwm; of debate, as each planter presented his "improved melhods" of ditchinr and embankment. Thomas Pinckney of South Carolina, for example, wrote a series of letters to the state Agricultural Society recommending the adoption of his plans for a dike "superior in strength, tightness, durability, cheapness of construction and facility of repair;" and presenting his method of "puddling"
23 or cementing banks; and a remedy for "salt spots" in marshes.
As with embankment, each planter had his own ideas about rice planting, cultivation and harvesting. These varied from year to year and from plantation to plantation as the planter experimented with new methods and adapted to changes in the conditions of the fields and the weather. The year-long process was, however, similar on all plantations. Cyclical in nature, it began with preparation for spring planting immediately after the autumn harvest. At this time, the water system was cleaned and repaired and the fields readied for the next growing season. Embankments were checked for leaks, trunks repaired and the

13

drains cleaned or "slushed."24 Loose grains of rice whi'ch had fallen during

the harvest and were not consumed by birds were encouraged to sprout and then

turned over with the stubble of the previous crop, as any which were allowed to

mature in the next season would become "vohmteer rice," producing red kernels which devalued the crop. 25 Some planters chose to burn off the stubble before turning over the land, 26 although in most cases, especially if the growth was

not fully dry or if it was extremely heavy, it was me.rely turned under.

The land was usually broken up by hoeing, as plowing was race in South

Carolina and eve.n more so in Georgia. 27

28 Draft animals were expensive, and

there was a scarcity of land to raise feed. 29 In addition, it was necessary to

avoid cultivating to any depth as the surface of tidal swamps were underlaid

.

30

by a sour muck, caused by lack of drainage, which was injurious to rice.

Finally, subdivisions were too small 31 and frequently the land too soft to

32 accomodate a plow and mule. Although with the rising value of slaves, es-

pecially after 1850, animals were used with more frequency, 33 most of the work

on the rice plantation continued to be done by hand.

Occasionally a planter would choose to flood his fields for the winter, 34
changing the water often in order to benefit from the accumulated sediment, 35
but most only flowed their fields for a maximum of two to three weeks, being careful not to flow very deep so as not to pack down the soil. 36 Another sys-

tem called for flooding a very shallow layer in extremely cold weather and allowing it to freeze so that the ground would be broken up. 37 Most planters,

however, continued hand cultivation of the fields on some level throughout the

winter, so that the land would be prepared for an early spring planting.

The date for the beginning of planting was decided upon by a careful con-

sideration of the full moon and the approximate arrival of the spring flood tides, which could be used to advantage in covering the freshly planted rice.38

14
Planting generally took from four to five weeks 39 and was accomplished in several different plantings, usually two in the period from the tenth of March to the tenth of April and one during the period of the first to the tenth of June. 40 Rice planted from mid-April through May was subject to one of the most picturesque of pests, the May bird. Flocks of these birds, traveling north for the summer, could easily destroy fields of new rice in the few weeks they were in the area. The same birds would return around the middle of September, in a different plummage and known as rice birds, and would feast on the ripening rice. Rice planted in June was safe from both the May birds and the rice birds but did not produce as well as rice planted earlier. 41
Although ''broadcast" sowing, or the haphazard scattering of seed, was experimented with, 42 it was not generally employed, as the rice seed, usually two to three bushels to the acre, 43 was carefully planted in trenches, spaced thirteen to fifteen inches apart, two inches deep and three to four inches wide. 44 This meticulous spacing aided later in determining the cultivated rice plant from the volunteer rice to be removed. 45
Of the many methods and variations of rice planting experimented with, 46 two representative methods were generally used. The first, and oldest, usually called the "covered method," called for immediate inundation of the field as soon as the seed was covered. This first or "sprout" flow of a depth of twelve to eighteen inches47 protected the grain from birds and rodents and encouraged the rapid germination of the seed. 48 The rice would "pip" or sprout more quickly in warm weather, 49 although the usual length of time required was three to six days. 50 The water was immediately removed, as the rice seed would not take root until the field was completely dry,51 and the field remained dry until the plants emerged and developed ' a root system stationary enough for support, a point known as the "needle state."52 Until this time the grass and volunteer rice were removed by hand. 53 The second irrigation, which las ted about eight or ten days,

15

was called the "point" flow, 54 and mainly served the purpose of killing the

grass which had sprouted during the dry growth period.55 When the water was with-

drawn, the plants were approximately six to eight inches high and weakened from

the removal of the supporting water. A light hoeing was accomplished, followed

by the "stretch" flow of about three weeks, during which time the water continually topped the plants by ten inches, encouraging rapid growth. 56

The second method of rice planting, known as the "open" or "open trench"

method, was probably developed in the 1820's by South Carolinians, who were

.

57

facing the problems of soil depletion for the first time. This process involved

the "claying" of the rice seed, or coating it with a mixture of soil and water,

and eliminating the process of covering the seed. In this case, the initial flow

reamined on the field for twenty-one days. The water was then drawn off and the

field hoed over a fifteen day period, after which time a second, twenty-day flow 58
was put on. This system had the advantage of saving the labor of covering the

the seed and, in case of a sudden rush of water from the uplands called a "freshet" preventing the withdrawal of the sprout flow, the seed was less likely to rot. 59

Yields also increased; grass, volunteer rice and May birds were discouraged; and

the period from planting to harvest was reduced, allowing later plowing and planting and the cultivation of more acres by a smaller labor force. 60 In spite of these

advantages, Georgia rice planters did not employ this method often, not having the problem of soil exhaustion. 61

Following the three flowings of the covered system and the two required

by the open method, the rice fields were drained and underwent a period of dry growth for thirty to forty days. 62 The final "lay-by" or ''harvest" flow which

supported the heads of the rice as the ears were forming, lasted forty or fifty

days, until the time for harvest. The water was kept "up to the bead," or the point where the ear was forming. 63 During this period the water was either changed

16
often, at least every ten days, 64 or the trunks opened and closed daily in order to create a current in the standing water. 65 If necessary, some hand picking of
66
grass would take place during this long flow. Harvest began in late August or early September and lasted six to eight
weeks. 67 1he rice was cut by hand using a sickle called a "rice hook," then left on the stubble to dry for at least a day. 68 The dried rice was tied in sheaves, brought to the mill house or yard and stacked for "curing. \'69
Preparing the rice for market required several processes: threshing, to
remove the rice from the plant; cleaning or ''winnowing," to separate the grain from the chaff; two separate processes called "grinding" and "pounding" to remove the two hulls which surrounded the kernel; and sort.ing of the resulting flour and large and small grains. There was no set season for the beginning of this process, although it was usually started soon after harvest in order to take advantage of potential high rice prices. 70 Rice we.s then sent to market in several different shipments throughout the winter. 71
By the 1850's, most plantations had at least one building where rice was threshed, cleaned and stored, located near the river bank or a stream in order to facilitate loading and, if it was required, in order to harness tidal power or provide a source of steam for the running of machinery. 72 Until the 1850's and after in some areas, threshing was done by hand using flails and a large, raised floor built especially for that purpose. 73 The rice was then cleaned using a wind fan or the even more primitive and sometimes more effective winnowing house. These small buildings were perched on stilts and the rice dropped through a hole in the floor, allowing the wind to blow away the chaff. 74 The mid-nineteenth century, however, saw threshing devices perfected to the extent that they could be profitably employed. Although the cost was high, usually from $3,000 to $7,000,75 it paid off to use competitive machinery. A threshing

17
mill could turn out from 600 to 1,200 bushels of rice per day; 76 200 bushels yielding one 600-pound barrel or "tierce" of clean rice. 77 Rice for seed, however, was always threshed by beating the sheaves against the rim of a barrel, as vigorous flailing tended to crack the shell. 78
The earliest methods for processing rice had called for the grinding of the grain in wooden mills about two feet in diameter, blowing with a wind fan, followed by hand pounding with pestles in wooden mortars holding little more than one-half bushel and sifting through a sieve. 79 While a variety of machines were invented to shorten the process, the most successful did not come about until 1787, when Johnathan Lucas, Sr. of South Carolina built the first water mill. 80 His basic design, with certain improvements, many made by his son, the second Johnathan Lucas, remained the most important labor-saving device for rice culture, making Lucas, as some have said, the Eli Whitney of rice. 81
Pounding machinery was, however, extremely expensive; the $10,000 to $18,000 investment making it prohibitive for all but the largest planters. 82 While these planters usually made their . mills available for rice grinding on toll for their neighbors, 83 there was a gradual transition to the shipping of rice to market before the milling process as "rough rice" or rice "in paddy."84 It was then ground by large commercial mills in Savannah or Charleston, under the ~upervision of the planter's factor.
The factor was the planter's chief marketing agent. His responsibility, and that of his clerical and countinghouse personnel was "the shepherding of the planter's property through the routine of milling, weighing, grading, coopering, storage, insurance, 'starting,' [removing the rice from whole casks into smaller units] and loading."85 He served as banker and stockbroker for the planter, who drew drafts on his factor in the manner of present day

18
checking accounts. 86 In the event that there was an especially close relationship between agent and client, the factor might also procure goods for the planter and attend to other, more personal matters. 87 Perhaps most importantly, however, the factor provided the credit which was essential to the rice planter in meeting operating expenses as well in purchasing "capital goods:" the large investment expenses of land, slaves and equipme.nt. 88 Since the planter drew heavily on his returns for investment purposes, he was usually in debt to his factor at any given time, with the possible exception of a bump.er harvest year. 89
For all these services, the factor received the privilege of marketing the planter's crop.90 Through shrewd observation of the constantly fluctuating rice prices, the factor determined the most advantageous time for selling the crop, 91 now milled and labeled by an officially appointed rice inspector as "inferior," "strictly prime," or "choice," although rice in the rough kept longer, in the event that prices were low.92 The profits were deposited to the credit of the planter for his drawing account, less expenses and a personal commission, usually two per cent.93 Interest on cash amounted to eight or twelve per cent, and debts were often carried for years with the collateral being slaves and crop liens.94
Most Georgia planters dealt with Charleston factors until the 1830's, the decade which marked Savannah's emergence as a major commercial center.95 By 1859, Savannah had eighty-two factorage firms, with whom most of Georgia's planters were doing their business.96 Occasionally a planter had more than one factor, especially if he owned more than one plantation, and, with the increase in volume of plantation produce and the increased specialization among merchants which resulted, the planter was often doing business with a group of commission houses, purchasing agents, insurance agencies, warehouses, docks and shipping facilities.97
"The plantation became a great business enterprise organized upon a capital-

19

98

is tic basis, which resulted in a sort of agricultural industrialism."

This

business, based on credit and encompassing vast tracts of land and a technically

specialized labor force, was a tenuous one, requiring close supervision and skill-

ful management.

III

At the head of this extensive operation was the owner of the plantation.
While a great deal has been written concerning the romantic aspects of the life
of the planter aristocracy, the fact that the planter himself was required to be
a fairly astute farmer and business manager has been largely overlooked.
The tradition of the cultured old Southern gentleman sipping a mint julep, while sitting on the veranda of a magnificent plantation edifice is largely incorrect. The limited number of plantation owners who could indulge in such living had previously put in long years in .building up a competent organization of overseers, managers, and co-operating relatives, who profited from the older man's extensive experience and knowledge .in the running of plantations .1
The operation of a rice plantation required constant supervision. Changing weather conditions, the onset of disease or insects, 2 and broken embankments were
among the many potential catastrophes which had to be dealt with in terms of split
second decisions and subsequent orders. The planter had an enormous investment in
his plantation, which in the 1850's, the peak of Georgia's rice production, consisted of an average of 400 acres and 110 to 130 slaves, 3 and many planters owned
more than one plantation. With prime rice land valued at $40 an acre uncleared
and at least twice that much if cleared, and slaves worth from $300 to $500, the
planter had an investment of at least $100,000, including machinery and build-
ings.4 In land and buildings alone, the coastal plantation was worth at least
three times as much, on the average, as a plantation in any other section of
Georgia, and worth more in terms of slaves, implements, machinery and livestock

20

as well. 5 Therefore, with his capital in large investments and having little 6
cash on hand, the planter ."realized that his livelihood was a direct extension

of his vigilance.

In addition, a great deal of general day to day supervision of plantation

affairs was required:

selection, acquisition, training and classification [of slaves], supervision through channels of authority and responsibility, planning of work schedules and the flow of production supplies and materials, discipline and discharge of misfits, and finally morale, hea,th, old age security, and general working and living conditions.

All of -these duties were generally the responsibility of the planter himself,

for, "the truth is on a plantation to attend to things properly it requires both

Master

&

8
Overseer."

The position of overseer on the rice coast was, however, essential, although

another expense which added to the cost of producing a rice crop. The demand

for competent overseers in the south was greatest along the South Carolina and

Georgia coasts where, research has shown, the wages were highest and the managerial
9
ability the greatest. Since the planter and his family were not in residence

on the plantation during the summer months, the overseer had the responsibility for

being the only white person on the plantation during that time. In addition,

his responsibilities included the supervision of labor and the medical care and

.

10

welfare of the slaves. It was a sensitive position, requiring careful balancing

of authority and subservience. "If there bea favorable crop, the master

makes a splendid crop; if any circumstances be unpropitious and an inferior crop is

made,

it

is

the

overseer's

fault 41

11
"

However, it was the slaves who performed the real labor of the rice planta-

tion, and due to the large amount of hand work to be done, the ratio of slaves 12
to land was high. The greatest concentration of slaves in the south was on 13
the coast of Georgia and South Carolina; the slave population of coastal Georgia

21
totaling 66.7 per cent as compared to 31 per cent white. 14 Successful use
of this slave labor required obtaining the maximum work from the slave while
protecting his health and welfare; the accomplishment of one achieved at the expense of the other, 15
Work on the rice plantation was considerably more laborious than that on a cotton plantation. 16 A pre-revolutionary observer reported:
The reader must observe upon this account that the cultivation of it (rice] is dreadful: for if a work could be imagined peculiarly unwholesome, and even fatal to health, it must be that of standing, like the negross (sic], ancle [sic], and even midleg deep in water, which floats an ouzy mud; and exposed all the while to a burning sun, which makes the vry air they breathe hotter than the human blood; these poor wretches are then in a furnace of stinking putrid effluvia: a more horrible employment can hardly be imagined 17
An ex-slave recalled his own experience;
Watering and weeding the rice is considered one of the most unhealthy occupations on a southern plantation, as the people are obliged to live for several weeks in the mud and water, subject to all the unwholseome vapors that arise from stagnant pools, under the rays of a summer sun, as well as the chilly autumnal dews of night No 8t:ranger can \orork a week in a rice swamp at this season of the year, without becoming sick; and all the new hands were taken fgl within the first five days after we had entered this field. "It was a short .life . and a-hard one."19 The slave mortality rate on the rice
coast was high, for in spite of the slave's resistance to malaria, there were
snakes in the rice swamps, and fevers, and diseases due to exposure. Yet,
exactly how harsh the work on the rice plantation was cannot be determined
with any accuracy, as, for every planter rationalization, there exists an equally adamant account written by a slave or abolitionist giving an opposing view. 20
And, while certainly numbers of plantations were left entirely to the care of
overseers whose job depended upon a large crop regardless of the cost to the
slaves, perhaps an equal number were governed by masters with a concern for the
welfare of his workers. Obviously the institution did exist and the planters

22

regarded the loyalty and obedience of their slaves as divinely given. "Our

laborers aredescendants of the African bondsmen given to our ancestors by the

mother country at the same time that Indigo, and Rice and Cotton were sent to 21
them to cultivate."

This statement is also significant in view of the recent discoveries that

African slaves may have contributed more to the development of rice culture than

just their labor. It has been widely overlooked that the natives of the West

Coast of Africa were in an agricultural stage of civilization at the time that the slave ships were plying their trade22 and that large numbers of Africans

brought to the coast of Georgia and South Carolina were familiar with rice plant-

ing. Salih Bilali, an African who was the driver at Hopeton Plantation on the

Altamaha in the early nineteenth century recalled the cultivation of rice in

Africa for the pen of his master, James Hamilton Couper:

The great grain crop is rice. As a preparation for it, the soil is

turned with a sharp pointed hoe. The seed is then sown broad cast,

and is covered with the same hoe. The ground continued dry, until

the rice is nearly two feet high; when the river rises, and inundates

the country. The water continues up, until the rice is ripe; and it

is harvested in canoes, and carried to 2~e high ground, to which the

inhabitants retire during the freshets.

.

Especially in the early years of the rice industry in the American colonies,

it was probably not infrequent for the African slave to know more about the cult-

ivation of the crop than his European master and perhaps many of the tools and

techniques which became standard on the rice fields of South Carolina and Georgia

were of African origin. Among these are the rice fans, the flat baskets used for

the winnowing of small amounts of rice, and the mortar and pestle method of removing rice from its husk. 24 A distinctly African planting technique, practiced

on many rice plantations, involved using the . heel to.indent the soil for planting, 25
covering the seed with the foot.

The tribe to which the potential slave had belonged, in fact, became a

23

matter of importance to the potential slave owner. The Angolan was said to be

"of a gentle and affectionate nature and faithful to a trust. But, of rather low mentality, he was gullible and easily swayed by others."26 The Co ramantee

was loyal, but "revengeful when ill treated," Gambi3Ils '"seasoned' readily in

our latitude," but the Eboes were "despondent" and apt to commit suicide during the "middle passage."27

But for all the analysis of tribal attributes, the majority of slaves be-

came field hands, too numerous to train and mainly performing work of a repetitive, 28
simplistic nature. founded in sheer routine.

The slaves are all up by daylight; and every one who is able to

work, from eight or nine years old and upwards, repair to their

several departments of field-labour. They do not return to their

houses either to breakfast or dinner; but have their food cooked

for them continue

in the field, by negroes appointed to that thus at work till dark, and then return to

duty. their

They dwell

ings.

29

Duties were delegated by the "task," a system instituted on, and largely

confined to, the rice coast, where the drainage system divided the fields into

easily distributed units to be worked, usually a one-quarter acre square, 105 feet on each side. 30 Since the task was designed to be completed in eight to

ten hours, the slaves were allowed free time following the completion of their assignments. 31 Each slave was designated as a quarter, half, three-quarters or

full hand depending on health, age and ability, and his or her work modified accordingly. 32 Typical tasks consisted of ditchinc new land, 500 solid feet

(for men only); digging stiff land and turning in the stubble (men and women),

one-half acre for three hands, or if the stubble were already burnt, the same

acreage for two hands; one-quarter to one-half acre of levelling land; and three quarters of an acre of trenching. 33 Sowing, done by the best hands, 34 re. quired

completion of three half-acres; hoeing, depending on the condition of the fields,

usually one-half acre; reaping, three-quarters of an acre and thrashing, 600 sheaves by men, 500 by women. 35

24
A certain amount of non-divisible work was occasionally required in place of the usual task work. Gang work, "from sun to sun," consisted of such seasonal chores as burning stubble, loading schooners with rice for market, or emergency harvesting when weather conditions seemed ominous; and tidal work, the running of the mills, had to be performed to the dictates of the tides. 36
Half-tasks were done on Saturdays on most plantations and "no work of any sort or kind is to be permitted to be done by negroes on Good Friday, or Christmas day, or on any Sunday The two days following Christmas day; the first Saturdays after finishing threshing, planting, hoeing and harvest, are also to be holidays, on which the people may work for themselves." "Women with
37 six children alive at any .2!!!_ time" were allowed Saturdays off.
In addition to the field hands, who numbered an average of one to every seven acres of rice land,38 there were other, more specialized jobs on the plantation performed by slaves. The driver, the most important and powerful slave, performed the duties of assistant overseer during the day and keeper of discipline at night.39 Next in importance were the trunk minder, in. charge of regulating the flow of water during the growing season; the plantation carpenter and blacksmith; and the boat master or "patroon" and their respective staffs.40 If the plantation had milling facilities a mill engineer and cooper were essential personnel and most plantations had at least one nurse and a midwife. The domestic servants consisted of the staff of the plantation house: butlers, maids, waiters, footmen and a children's nurse; cooks for the family and for the field hands; and
41
several seamstresses and washerwomen. Those slaves too old or infirm for field work were given specialized duties and were assigned to watch the slave nursery or mind the livestock. Children were mainly given the job of "bird minder" and were stationed in the fields with the responsibility of chasing ar.-1ay as many of
42 the rice birds and May birds as possible.

25
The two-fold responsibility of caring for and disciplining this tremendous work force was primarily that of the overseer, tvorking under strict regulations from the planter. Most plantation rules seem to have followed the underlying principle that "the care and well being . of the negroes" was of first concern, although "for the well being. of the negroes, it is absolutely necessary to
maintain obedience, order, and discipline." 43
No slave was allowed off the plantation without a ticket, or permitted to
leave his task until it was inspected by the overseer or driver. 44 Within these
restrictions the slave was allowed a certain amolDlt of freedom, although discipline on the rice plantation was stricter than on other plantations, due to the limited white supervision during the su11D1ler mouths. 45 "The best evidence of good management of slaves," it was felt, was "the keeping up of good discipline with little or no punishment." 46 Methods of punishment varied; most rules calling for whipping, although confinement, demotion, extra work and loss of privileges were also employed. 47
The annual cost of maintaining a slave usually ran between twenty and 48
thirty dollars. Food, distributed weekly, consisted primarily of vegetables and grains: sweet potatoes, turnips, peas, molasses, salt pork or bacon, and any rice or rice flour which was not to be marketed. A peck of com was usually
49 part of the rations for a full hand; others received proportionately less. On most plantations, slaves were encouraged to utilize any free time after their tasks and on Saturdays to raise food to supplement their allotment. Those who
50 did not work on the task system were then given larger rations in compensation. Fresh fish was probably easy to obtain on the rice coast, although fresh meat was less plentiful and might be given out at holidays. 51
A sort of seasonal ritual was the semiannual distribution of clothing usually
52
performed b' the planter personally. Annual issue typically consisted of four pairs of trousers, two of wool and two of cotton, four cotton shirts and a cap for

26
men and four dresses and a sunbonnet or kerchiefs for women. Slaves received one or two pairs of shoes per year and blankets every second or third year. 53
Although a certain amount of ready made clothing was ordered through the factor, 54
most clothing was made by plantation seamstresses or by the slaves themselves.
One rice planter distributed the cloth with needles, thread and buttons attached,
along with "two shirts, one cap, two pairs of woolen stockings, one and one half yards of lining and a greatcoat."55
Minor illnesses were generally attended by the overseer, or the planter or
his wife if they were in residence, and most plantations were equipped with a hospital for "lying-in"mothers and one for the sick. 56 Special care was given
to pregnant women. They were to be
attended by the midwife as long as is necessary, and by a woman put to nurse them for a fortnight. They will remain at the negro houses for 4 weeks, and then will work 2 weeks on the highland. In some cases, however, it is necessary to allow them to lie up longer. The health of many women has been entirely ruined by want of care in this particular. Women are sometimes in such a state as to render it unfit for them to work in water; the Overseer should take care of them at these times. The pregnant women are always to do some work up to the time of their confinement, if it is only walking into the field and staying there. If they are sick, they are to go to the hospital, and stay there until it is pretty certain their time is near.57
The most common diseases were cholera, pneumonia, influenza, dysentery and diseases
due to dietary deficiencies, in addition to a high incidence of accidents and injuries. 58 Doctors were called in at need and were often contracted annually at a set fee per slave. 59
Because of the large numbers of slaves on the rice plantation, the "quarters"
were actually several settlements located about the plantation so as to be as near the fields as possible, and often in a secluded location.60 Frederick Lmv Olmstead described his visit to one of these settlements along the Savannah River.61
After a dde of several miles through the woods, in the rear of the plantations we came to his largest negro-settlement. There was a street, or common, two hundred feet wide, on which the

21
cabins of the negroes fronted. Each cabin was a framed building, the walls boarded and whitewashed on the outside, lathed and plastered within, the roof shingled; forty-two feet long, twentyone feet wide, divided into two family tenements, each twenty-one by twenty-one; each tenement divided into three rooms--one, the conm~n household apartment, twenty-one by ten; each of the others (bedrooms), ten by ten. There was a brick fire-place in the middle of the long side of each living room, the chimneys rising in one, in the middle of the roof. Besides these rooms, each tenement had a cock-loft, entered by steps from the household room. Each tenement is occupied, on an average, by five persons
The dwellings were generally two one-family units, frequently made of tabby, with
the floors raised and planked, to be out of reach of the malarial soil, and with whitewashed walls which were believed to inhibit the spread of the "summer fever." 62
"The negroes have provided for them all the necessaries of life in sufficient
abundance," was the claim of one rice planter. "They are well fed and clothed,
well sheltered and cared for in sickness, . and during the infirm! ties and helplessness of old age In short, the educated master, is the negro's best friend upon earth."63
This paternalistic philosophy was widespread. Almost without exception, the planter
would refer to his slaves as his "people,"64 caring for them with a sense of noblesse
oblige which might match his economically-based concern for their well-being. In
return for his "good treatment ; the master required obedience and laboriousness and had the threat of punishment on his side. 65
Under this frequently contradictory management, the slaves "created unique
cultural forms which lightened the burden of opression, promoted group solidarity,
provided ways for verbalizing agression, sustaining hope, building self esteem and often represented areas of life largely free from the control of the whites." 66
Loosely synthesized from African and European elements, the distinctive culture of
the slave was one which prevented total identification with the master, thus pro-
viding a sense of group identifiction:, the most important aspect of t-:hich was that
slaves "were not solely dependent on th.e white man's cultural frame of reference for their ideals and values." 67

28
The acculturation of Africans into American life through the institution of slavery i.s perhaps best illustrated on the rice coast. The numerical do~&inance of the blacks, combined with the frequent and prolonged absence of the whites, favored a comparatively high degree of African retention.s, which was supplemented by the continued arrival of African slaves in the nearly half a c.entury after such traffic had been outlaWed nationally. 68 The seacoast of South Carolina and Georgia has rated highest in African retentions of various areas of
the United States , 69 as, ~'in the process of acculturation, the slave made European
forus serve African functions. 1170 The slave community was charactedzed by several interrelated cultural ele-
menta. The religion of the slave, while based primarily -on the Christian beliefs of his owner, borrowed from such predominantly African tendencies as the belief in magic and nature worship. Belief in a supreme being presupposed the existence
71
of a higher authority than the master and, while the Christian religion promised a better world after death, the addition of superstition and voodoo-like practices could insure immunity in the present world. 72 Superstition also played a part in the &lave's folk tales, which de.alt with such predictable themes as "t..eakness overcoming strength. The relating of personal experiences in both story and oral history form provided a method of instruction for a people forbidden to read or
73 write.
Music and dance were a part of both religious and secular life. The wellknown spiritual was complemented by work songs and songs dealing with punishments, the stupidity of the patrollers, the heartlessness of traders and the character-
74
istics of owners. Perhaps the most impressive work songs were those sung by
75
the boatmen. One woman rembered them vividly from her plantation childhood. "Sometimes we used to row down the Savannah River in a big, flat-bottomed boat, and the Negroes sang as they rowed us, and those working in the rice fields on

29

the islands would join in the re;frain, till it echoed back anc~. forth across the still waters, like music on a harp." 76 Hhile there was little difference between
77 the sacred and secular dances to the casual observer, the most significant

religious dance was called the "shout," and is described by several observers

including one woman who came to the coast of South Carolina in 1862 to teach those slaves freed in the capture of Port Royal: 78

The negroes sing a kind of chorus, -three standing apart to lead and clap, -and then all the others go sluffling round in a circle, following one another with not much regularity, turning round occasionally and bending the knees, and stamping so that the whole floor swings. 1 never saw anything so savage. They call it a religious ceremony, but it seems more like a regular frolic to me

The patois of the Geechee-Gullah dialects on the Georgia and South Carolina

c.ast is perhaps the mast persistent of African retentions and is generally attributed to the lack of contact between the slave and his white master. 79

"These Low Country. negroes," complained one South Carolinian, ''have hardly learned to speak intelligibly " 80 "The negroes of the coast failed to

acquire the English language in intelligible form." reported a twentieth century

historian. "They clung to voodooism aad other things Afric~ and they remained largely foreign in spirit and custom and the subject of mystery to their masters."81

It was this dichotomy of cultures which allowed the slave to reject his master's

view of his place in society and attempt to "hold onto the African cultural deter-

mination of his status." 82

83 Life was isolated, however, for white as well as black.

On the rice coast,

there were upwards of. twenty black familie.s to e.very. white. family, M and, in 1850,

there were only 551 rice plantations in the United States, as compared to 74,031

cotton plantations; 15,745 tobacco plantations; 8,327 hemp plantations and 2,681 sugar plantations. 85 As rice planters often owned more than one plantation, these

figures indicate that the rice community was . a small one, though "one to be reckoned with." 86

30
It was a privileged, articulate and somewhat insulated class, with a
"keen sense of personal pride and honor powerfully nourished by the institution of slavery."87 Travelers found the rice planters and their families hospitable, "highly refined and intelligent."88 "Meeting people of their cultivation and
delicacy in this remote and solitary abode was the source to us of equal surprise. and gr.ati f ication. .,89 A description of the rice planters who lived along
the Pee Dee River in South Carolina seems to speak of rice planters all along the
coast.
I don't believe any community of men &women in the world live in higher refinement of abundance than the Pee Dee planters
and their families The best colleges & most enlightened female
schools have polished their home virtues. They wear fashionable clothes, have the amusements of cultured people & use the hospitalities becoming to the best classes of human society. They ride and drive high bred horses, keep packs for the chase and tackle for the waters. They maintain a public library and no home is wanting in many books educative of mind and mo~s and taste. Every provision for the table that the stock yard, the poultry yard, the dairy, the vegetable garden, the orchard supply is found here. Floriculture is an art with the wives and daughters. That foundation of civilized customs, effective. and faithful domestic servants, is perfectly laid. The whole co~ munity is regular in religious services At all seasons dinner parties, evening parties, in summer small mid day meetings to take fruit and wine around the broad maho~any table, or in winter afternoons to crack nuts and drink wine.9 Education, considered essential training for leadership,91 was limited to
males, although there were "female academies" available for the daughters of the plantation. 92 A veritable chivalric code existed for the c:Onduc.t . of the man, the
conventions of which "permitted a considerable liberality in personal morals, de-
manded an attitude of reverence for women, and took for granted a devotion to that
sum of principles which is called honor. To take some part in politics was almost a canon of his class."93 A byproduct of such mores, however, was the comparative
stagnation of intellectual development on the part of .the rice ladies. And, although
there were exceptions to this tendency, it was strong enough to elicit comment from
a variety of observers throughout the antebellum era. Fanny Kemble, who said she

31
would rather "die--a thousand times--than live the lives of these Georgia planters' wives and daughters," had nothing but pity for "the stupid sameness of their most vapid existence, which would deaden any amount of intelligence, obliterate any amount of instruction, and render torpid and stagnant any amount of natural energy and vivacity."94 Anrta Matilda King of St. Simons Island managed her husband's plantation during his numerous absertces, but mourned, "Poor me, I have no change, the same dull routine--ordering breakfast, dinner and supper, looking after the servaats, then darning socks and thinking."95
The planters, having both a financial and intellectual interest in scientific agriculture, established both societies and publishing forums for the diffusion of such knowledge as their experience and education produced, as well as hunting and social clubs s .uch as the Hot and Hot Fish Club of All Saints Parish, South Carolina, which provided the planters with a context for "a commingling of
96 aristocracy without the taint of snobbery." These societies formulated a consid-
erable political machine which wielded wide influence in the affairs of government. 97 A significant aspect of the life of the rice society was the periodic and
seasonal movements of the planter and his family. Unable to reside on the rice fields during the summer months, the planter chose from a variety of fashionable resorts: Cla~ksville, in the Georgia mountians, Newport and Saratoga, or the Virginia springs. 98 The very wealthy with trusted overseers could summer in Europe, but most planters chose to remain near their plantations during the growing season. Nearly every planter had a town house which was used during the February social season and could be opened during the summer months, and most had a home on the sea islands or in the pine lands a few hours' ' journey by horse or boat from the plantat:f,gp. 99
The rice coast was both a distinctive geographical and social region and a model for emulation .by ' planters of the interior South. Cotton culture was, by

32

comparison, a widespread, heterogenous, and isolated (from urban influences)

phenomenon which required less capital and slave labor to turn a profit. Cot-

ton's enviornmental adaptability resulted in the continual expansion of the ante-

bellum frontier, and, as a result, a sort of solidification of frontier life-

styles on a large scale. The rice coast was narrow, both spatially and socially.

Where the cotton planter generally exhausted his land after several years and

followed the path of profit westward, the rice planter was sustained by the steady

100

renewal of his swamplands through river transport of upland soils.

The persis-

tence of a fertile land base provided the rice planters with a comparatively

stable and settled situation. And the productions of such stability could and

did sustain cultural forms which reflected not just financial success but the

refinement of such success over generations - the basis, along with its tidewater Virginia and lower Mississippi Valley parallels, 101 for the Old South of

fiction, folklore and the popular imagination. As such, the rice coast was sus-

tained by mixed blessings, as is evidenced by this 1778 account by a visitor to the area. 102

He turned from our direct road into a muddy avenue, two miles in length, cut through the forest. At its termination, we found ourselves in an open space, occupied by a miniature palace, elegant in its exterior and embellished by the most refined taste, in the midst of a noble plantation and surrounded by a little village of negro huts. Everything in and about the house announced wealth and elegance. A highly ornamental flower-garden I saw blooming on the sixteenth of February, in all the glory and beauty of spring in New England. In wandering over the grounds we observed a large collection of negroes, seated upon rice straw making a miserable meal upon boiled rice and pure water. It is truly astonishing how the slave can sustain life with this wretched pittance, and even appear in good health and condition, compelled to labor from dawn to night, through the long summer days, under the scorching rays of the intense sun, with no shelter for his head, and in most instances, his black and oily skin exposed to its full beams; yet they seemed joyous and happy. In contemplating the wealth and splendor and magnificence of the Southern planter, I cannot divest my mind of the idea that they are all produced by the sweat and blood of the slave.

33
IV
The rice plantations of the Old South were inseperably linked to the institution of slavery and did not long survive its abolition. The Civil War and its attendant physical and financial destruction of coastal plantations was an enormous setback; however, although revival efforts persisted until the early decades of the present century, the demise of the rice districts was insured when labor became a marketable coiniOOdity. Hurricanes and economic competition from the Louisiana-Texas-Arkansas regions contributed to the decline, but emancipation was the prime factor; the watershed between Old and New South.

34

FOOTNOTES
~~Coast

Introduction

1

.

J. Motte Alston, ~Planter,.!!!$ Sportsman (Columbia: University of

South Carolina Press, 1953), p. 51.

2Alfred Huger, quoting Henry A. Middleton SnQ.th in "lhe Story of 'the Low Co\Ultry"
in Augustin T. Smythe, et al, .!!!!, Carolina 1.2!, Country (New York: MacMillan,
1931), P 103.

3ntincan Clinch He~ard, Seed .!!:2m Madagascar (Chapel Hill: University of
North Carolina Press, 1937), p. 18.

4Ibid., p. 19.

1fuger, .2 s_g_., quoting Robert Francis llithers Allston (?), p. 106.

6
FranCis Pendleton Gaines, ~ Southern Plantation; !

Study .!!!, .!h.! Develop-

~~ Accuracy .!..! Tradition (New York: Columbia University Press, 1925), p. 154.

7
Frederick

Law

Olmstead,! Journey .!!.lh. !. Seaboa:r:d

Slave

States,

v.2

(New

York, 1856; reprint, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1904), p. 138.

Section I

1 Lewis

c.

Gray,

History .!..Agriculture.!!!, the Southern

United

States !2, ~

(Washington: The Carnegie Institute, 1933), p. 277.

2 .

For discussions of the legends see: A.S. Salley, The Introduction of Rice Culture into South Carolina (Coluri>ia: lhe State Printini"'Co., 1919); Peter~ Wood, Black"MaJoritt (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1974), PP 35, 36; Gray,~ cit.,

PP 277-279.

\rood, ~ .ill 1 PP 36, 58.
4Ibid., p. 58; quoting Thomas Lamboll in Gentleman's Magazine, XXXVI (1766), PP 278, 279 ~

5 Gray,

..!2.

..!!.;

Wood,

~

!!.,

P

57.

6 . Gray,

.
~

.!!,

. pp. 280-282;

. Lelia

. Sellers,

Charles ton

Buainess .2!!. h.!

Eve

.!.~American Revolution (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1934),

DD. 150. 151,

7 Thomas J. Wertenbaker; The Old South: The Founding of American Civilization (New York: Scribners, 1942), p. 290.

35
8Mary Granger, ed., Savannah River Plantations (Spartanburg, S.c. : The Reprint Co., 1972), p. ix.

9"An Act for granting Liberty to carry Rice from His Majesty's Province of Carolina in America, directly to any Part of Europe Southward of Cape Finisterre, in Ships built in, and belonging to Great Britain, and navigated according to law; and to extend that Liberty to His Majesty's Province of Georgia in America." (London, 1735).

10Allen D. Candler and Lucien Lamar Knight, eds., .!.!!.!, Colonial Records .2f .Eh!, State .2. Georgia (Atlanta, 1904-1916), v. 2, p. 177. (cited aftetwards as CRG.)

11 Ulrich B. Phillips, American Negro Slavery (New York: D. Appleton and Co.,
1918), pp. 89, 258. (cited aftetwards as ANS.)

12 Sellers,

.2

.ill,

p.

61.

13 James E. Callaway, Early Settlement~ Georgia (Athens: University of
Georgia Press, 1948), p. 30.

14CRG., v.l, P . ~73.

15CRG., v.3, p. 376. 16 .
Phillips, ANS, p. 94; Granger,.2 cit., pp. x, xi.

17Ulrich B. Phillips, Life and Labor in the Old South (Boston: Little,
Brown and Co., 1929), p. 49 .(ci't;d' aftetwards asTAL.)

18Joseph Jones, Agricultural Resources of Georgia (Augusta, 1861), p. 6; the Salzburgers o~ Ebenezer wrote the T~ustees to the contrary: (CRG, v.23, part
2, pp. 120-121) ''[we have] not the least reason now to make any Complaint about the hot season of the Countrey [sic), being not so very hoe, as idle & delicate people endeavour to persuade themselves & others, & for that unreasonable Reason
would like it mighty well rather to imploy [sic] Negroes in their Work, than white Europian [sic] people I take the Freedom to beseech the Honourable Trustees not to allow any Negro-man or Woman to be carried to & imploy'd [sic] at our Place or Neighbourhood, seeing that the Consequences of it would be very bad & the Ruin of poor Labourers. White people, if industrius [sic] & desirous to follow the Direction of God Gen:III.l9 are capable enough to plant here every sort of CountryGrain without hurting heir Health in the Summer season; of which is Witness my
whole Congregation."

19Two examples: John Silk Buckingham, The Slave States .of America (London,

1842; reprint, New York: Negro Universities Press, 1968), pp.S9, 90; Alexander

Mackay, The Western World (London, 1849; reprint, New York: Negro Universities

Press, 1968), p. 180.

.

20

Elizabeth W. Allston Pringle, Chronicles of Chicora Wood (Boston: Chris-

topher Publishing House, 1940), pp. 67..;.72.

-

21

.

.

Clement Eaton, The Growth of Southern Civilh;ation, 1790-1860 (New York:

Harper and Row, 1961), p:-103; see-also: St. Julian Ravenel Childs, Malaria and

Colonization in the Carolina Low Country (1526-1696) (Baltimore: The Johns Hop-

kins Press, 1940); William Dosite Postell, The Health of Slaves on Southern Plan-

tations (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University PresS: 1951).-

36

22Alexander Hewatt, An Historical Account of the Rise and Progress of the Colonies of South Caroli~~ and Georgia (London, 1779; reprint, Spartanburg, S.C.:
The Reprint Co., 1962), y\ II, p. 136.

23Wood, .92.. cit., pp. 88, 89.

24Hewatt, cit., v. I, p. 120.

2 ~enneth M. Stampp, ~Peculiar Institution (New York: P 7 1 quoting DeBow's Review.
26phillips 1 LAL, P 57.

Knopf, 1956),

27CRG, v.l, PP 400 1 408-411. 28CRG, v.l, PP 530 531.

29CRG, v.l, PP 531 1 532.

30CRG, v.2 1 P 500.

31Phillips, LAL, P 57.

3 2cRG , v 7 , p 3

33James c. Bonner, !:!.. History.! Georgia .AJriculture, ~-.!!!Q. (Athens:
University of Georgia Press, 1964) 1 p. 8.
34Stampp, .2 .!!., P 5.
35:rbid.
36Albert v. House, "Labor Management Problems on Georgia Rice Plantations,
1840-1860" Agricultural History, XXVIII (1954), pp. 152, 153.

37.Hewatt, .2 .ll_., v. II, p. 267.

38John Drayton. !_ ~ .! South Carolina.!!.!! Respects ~Natural ..!E.2, Civil Concerns (Charleston, 1802), P 115.

3Qvrood 1 .2 ..!!., p. 36, Phillips, ANS., p. 87. 40Granger, 12 ill.

4 ~lph Betts Flanders 1 Plantation Slavery ..!!!, Georgia (Chapel Hill: Uni-
versity of North Carolina Press, 1933), P 52.

4 ~. L. Bogart 1 Economic His tory .2.f American Agriculture (New York: Long-
mans, Green and Co., 1923) 1 p. 18.

D

i

s

t

r

i

4\ ct

oui
.2.f

s N

DeVorsey, orth Ameri

.J ca

r

. (

1
C

DeBrahm' olumbia:

s

Report Univers

.2!!.
ity

the General Survey .!.!!, ~ Southern
of South Carolina Press, 1971) 1

p. 162; Flanders, .2 ..!!. pp. 42 1 43.

49Ibid.

45 Callaway,

.2

..!!..,

p.

48.

37

46David R. Chesnutt, South Carolina's Expansion ~ Colonial Georgia, JllQ;~. PhD, University of Georgia, 1973, p. iv.

47Ulrich B. Phillips, f:. History ! Transportation .!!!, ,lli Eastern Cotton
Belt to 1860 (New York, 1908), p. 23; Ulrich B. Phillips, Plantation and Frontier
DOCUments; 1645-1863 (Cleveland, 1905), p. 81. (cited afterwards as PAF.)

48Douglas C. \-films, "The Development of Rice Culture in Eighteenth Century Georgia," Southeastern Geographer, XII, P 45.

49
Phillips,

ANS,

PP

95-97.

50Bartholemew R. Carroll, Historical Collections of South Carolina (New York, 1836), p. 201.

51
Gray,

.2E.

ill.,

p.

279.

52
Phillips,

ANS,

p.

88.

53
Sellers,

.2E.

.!!. ,

p.

149.

54
Gray,

12

ill.

55Sellers, .2E. .!!., p. 148.

56Amory Austin, Rice: Its Cultivation, Production and Distribution in !!.!.United States ~ "F''reignCountries. with~ chapter .2!!. !h!;, !!.!:_SoilS
.2f South Carolina, (Washington, 1893), p. 17.

57Arthur H. Cole, "The American Rice Growing Industry: A Study of Com-
parative Advantage," Quarterly Journal E.. Economics, XLI (1927), p. 601.

58
Sellers,

.2E.

!E. ,

p.

149.

59
Callaway,

.2E.

ill,

P

50.

60Gray,~ !! PP 723, 724.

61.I...b...i..d.. ., PP 724-726

62
DeBow's

Review,

I

(1845),

p.

333.

63
Albert V. House, "Labor Management Problems on Georgia' Rice- Plantations,
1840-1860 t II ..2. ill. t p o 149.

Section II

1 DeVorsey,

~

..!!. ,

p.

94.

2 R. F. H. Allston. "Essay on Sea Coast Crops, Read before the Agricultural
Association of the Planting States on Occasion of the Annual Meeting Held at
Columbia December 3, 1853" (Charleston, 1854), p. 27. (cited afterwards as
"Essay.")

38

3Edmun. d Rufh.n, Report of the Commencement and Progress of the Agricultural Survey of South Carolina for 1843 (Columbia, 1843), p. 101.
4 Ibid., p. 102.
5 Phillips, LAL, p. 117; Ruffin,~ cit., pp. 101, 102.

6Ruffin, ~ cit., p. 103; Sass, loc. cit.
7 Albert Virgil House, ed., Planter Management and Capitalism in Ante-
Bellum Georgia: The Journal of Hugh Fraser Grant, Ricegrower (New York: Columbia University Press, 1954), p. 27. (cited afterwards as PMC.); David Doar, Rice and Rice Planting in the South Carolina Low Country (Charleston: The Charleston Museum, 1936), p. 11.

8Phillips, LAL, p. 117.

9Ruffin, .2.. cit., p. 10 3

10Huger, .2.. cit., quoting Henry A. Middleton Smith, p. 103.

11 Doar,

~

cit.,

p.

9.

12
Ruffin, .2.. cit., p. 101.

13 House, PMC, p. 26.

14Ibid.; Herbert Ravenel Sass, "The Rice Coast: Its Story and Its Meaning"

co., in Alice Ravenel Huger Smith, A Carolina Rice Plantation of the Fifties (New

York: Williamw. Morrow and

1936), 'P724.

---

15Ruffin, .2.. cit., p. 103; Austin, ~ cit., p. 18.

16Ruffin, loc. cit. 17
House, PMC, pp. 26, 27; Sass, .2.. cit., p. 25.
18 Allston, "Essay," p. 27.
19 Ruff1..n, loc. cit. 20
Allston, "Essay," p. 27.

2 laouse, PMC, p. 27.

22

.

Theodore D. Ravenel, "The Last Days of Rice Planting," in Doar, .2.. cit.,

p. 46.

23

.

Agricultural Society of South Carolina. "Original Communications made to

the Agricultural Society of South Carolina and Extracts from Select Authors on

Agriculture, Published by Order of the Society" (Charleston, 1824), Letters from

Thomas Pinckney. (cited afterwards as ''Letters.")

39

24auffin, .2 ...!!_., p. 106.
25Gray, .2 .!!, p. 729; Allston, . "Essay," p. 31; Paul Wallace Gates, .!ll!:. Fanner's Age: Agriculture .!11--~ (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
1960), P 119.
29Herbert A. Kellar, ed., Solon Robinson, Pioneer~ Agriculturist. v.2
~-.!.ll. (Vol. 23, Indiana Historical Collections.) (Indianapolis: Indiana
Historical Bureau, 1936). p. 350; Heyward,~, ill, p. 28.
27House, PMC, PP 2. 7, 28.
28Ibid., p. 28.
29Gray, ~ _ill., p. 727.
30ueyward, ..21!. .!!, p. 30; Ruffin, ~ .ill, p. 105. 31Gray, 1.2. .ill 32Ruffin, ..2)2; _!!., p. 105; Kellar, .2 ill., p. 345. 33Gray, 1.2 ..ll 34"Letters, 11 pp. 23, 24; George c. Rogers, A History .2! Georgetown County,
South Carolina, (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1970), p.332.
35Sass, .2E. ill., p. 29.
36 Austin, .2E. cit., p. 18.

37.!ll.

38 House, PMC, p. 28
39 Ruffin, .2E. ..!!,
40ueyward, .22. ill,., P 31
41.!.!2!s! ' p. 32.
4211 Letters, 11 pp. 23, 24.
43 Gray, 1.2.. .ill ; Austin, 21?. ...!!., p. 19; Kellar, .2. .!!.., p. 366 44 Gray, 1.2. !.!

45ll!.

46 For a discussion of other methods see: Pl-lC, pp. 31-34; "Letters. 11
47 Aus tin, 12... .!!.

Ruffin,~ !! p. 112ff; House

40
48rrouse, PHC, P 28.
49Heyward, .2. ..!!, p. 36. 50Austin , .!2.. ..!!. 51Heyward, 12. .ill 52Ruffin, .2. ..!!., P 107; Austin, 12 _ill.; DeBow's Review XII (1852), p. 296.
5JoeBow's Review, XII (1852), p. 296. Letter from R.F.W. Allston. 5~ouse, PMC, P 32.
55Gray, .2. .!!, p. 728; Heyward, .2. .!!, P 37.
56nouse, PMC, p. 32. 57~., P 33. 58rbid., PP 33, 34.
59Gray, loc ..!!; Ruffin, .2. ill., p. 108. 60Albert v. House, "Charles Manigault's Essay on the Open Planting of Rice,"
Agricultural History XVI (1942), p. 186.
6luouse, PMC, P 34.
6212!& PP 32, 34.
6Jsass, .2. ill, p. 26.
64Allston, "Essay," P 35.
65Alfred Huger, "The Story of the LowCountry," Augustin T. Smythe 7 et al eta~, ~~e C~ro~;~~ ~Country (New York: MacMillan, 1931), p. 105.
66cray, .2. ill , p. 729. 67rbid.; Heyward, .2. ill, p. 40. 6~ogers, .2. ill, p. 333.
69Allston, "Essay," p. 36.
70rimothy Ford, "The Diary of Timothy Ford, 1785-1786," South Carolina Historical~ Genealogical Magazine, XIII (1912), p. 183.
71House, PMC, P 58.

41

72Heyward, ~ .!!, p. 41; House, PMC, p. 62.

73Frances Anne Kemble, Journal 2.!.! Residence .!!..! r.eorgian Plantation ..!.!:!.
1838-39 (New York, 1863; reprint, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1961), pp. 109, 110;
'iiO'US'e-;-PMC, P 60.

74Doar, ..21!. ill , p. 14.
75cray, ~ !!., p. 730; DeBow's Review, XII (1852), p. 297.
R.F.W. Allston.

Letter from

76aeyward, 1 ill 77Kellar, .2. ill , p. 352.
7\rouse, PMC, p. 61; Kellar, ..21!. ..!!., p. 366.
79An American, [Dr. John Mitchell?], "American Husbandry," v. 1 (London, 1775), P 393.
80"A Lucas Merorandum," South Carolina Historical Hagazine, LXIX (1968), p.
193; for a description of other machinery invented see Sellers, EE. ..!!, pp. 150,
151.

81Doar, .2,. .!! , p. 19
82 neBow's Review, XII (1852), p. 297. Lette.r from R.F.W. Allston.

83Rogers, ..21!. ill , p. 335; Gates, ..21!. ill, P 119. 84Sass, .21!. ill, p. 22; Gray,~ ill, p. 730.

8SHouse, LMC, P 71.

86 J .H. Easterby, "The South Carolina Rice Factor as Revealed in the Papers of R.F.W. Allston," Journal.2. Southern History, VII (1941), p. 166; House, PMC, p. 44.
87Easterby, .2 ill, p. 164.
88House, PMC, P 41.
89 Easterby, ~ ill, p. 167.
90~ pp. 167, 171.
91Rogers, .2.E. ill, p. 337.
92se11ers, .2.E. ,m., p. 152; Easterby, .2.E. .ill pp. 168, 169.
93Rogers, .2 .!!, pp. 337, 338.

42

94Alfred H. Stone, "The Cotton Factorage System of the Southern States,"
American Historical Review, XX (1915), p. 561; Sellers,~ 1! p. 57.
95House, LHC, pp. 45, 58; a description of Savannah's development as a commercial center, especially with regard to rice marketing may be found in House, LHC, pp. 70-79.
96
.!!!!!. p 71
97Ibid., p. 70.
98Sellers, . cit., p. 55 .

Section III

1House, LMC, P 50.
2
Discussions of the various pests and aiaeases affecting rice plants may
be found in Austin, E. ill, p. 31; and Doar, & ll., pp. 26, 27.
3Albert Virgil House, "Labor Management Problems on Georgia Rice Plantations, 1840-1860," Agricultural History, XXVIII (1954), p. 150. (cited afterwards as U1P.)

4 Ibid. ;

Bonner,

~

...ll. ,

p.

48

5Roland 1'1. Harper, "Development of Agriculture in Lower Georgia from 18501880," Georgia Historical Quarterly, VI (1922), p. 111.

6R.S. Cotterill, TI1e Old South . (Glendale, Calif.:

P 269.

--

7 House, U1P, p. 151.

Arthur H. Clark Co., 1936),

8Charles Manigault in Ulrich B. Phillips, Plantation and Frontier Documents;

~-~(Cleveland, 1905), p. 147.

-

9w.K. Scarborough, .!.!:!!. Overseer; Plantation Management ~ l l i ,ill South (Baton
Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1966), pp. 29, 56, 199.
10 H.K. Scarborough, "Plantation Overseer Reevaluated," Agricultural History,
XXXVIII (1964), pp. 13, 18.

11J.C. Bonner, quoting an overseer in "The Plantation Overseer and Southern Nationalism," Agricultural History, XIX (1945), p. 2.

12
Gates,~

/il

p.

119.

13Ibid.

14Harper, .!.2. ,.!!.
15 Ralph netts Flanders, "Planters Problems in Ante-Bellum Georgia." Georgia
Historical Quarterly, XIV (1930), p.22; Ulrich B. Phillips, "The Origin and Growth of the Southern Black Belts," American Historical Review, XI (1906), pp. 804, 805.

43

16Sidney Halter Hartin, ed., "A New Englander's Impressions of Georgia in

1817-1818: Extracts from the Diary of Ebenezer Kellog," Journal of Southern

History, XII (1946), P 262.

-

17An American, .2. ...!!, pp. 393, 394.

18 Charles

Ball,

Fifty Years ,!.!!. Chains;

.2!. illb!!.! .2f ~ American

Slave

(New York, 1858; reprint, Miami: The Mnemosyne Publishing Co., 1969), pp. 144, 242.

19 Thomas

L.

Stokes,~ Savannah

(New York:

Rinehart and Co., 1951), p. 122.

20 Two accounts which favor slavery are Hon. Amelia Murray, Letters from the
United States, Canada and Cuba (New York, 1856) and R.Q. Mallard, Plantat~Lrf; Before Emancipation (Ri'Chmond, 1892). Two anti-slavery accounts are Rupert -
Sargent Holland, ed~, Letters ~ Diary .2f Laura ..!:: Towne (Cambridge, 1912; reprint,
New York: Negro Universities Press, 1969) and John Brown, Slave ~.!!!, Georgia
(London, 1885; reprint, Savannah: The Beehive Press, 1972.)

21 Allston, "Essay," p. 40.

22Asa II. Gordon, Sketches .2f Negro .11!!. ~History.!!!, South Carolina
(Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1929), p. 6.

23rtlillip D. Curtin, ed., Africa Remembered (Madison: University of Hiscousin Press, 1967), p. 150.

24 Hood,

:E.

.!..!:. ,

p.

61.

25Hilliam R. Bascom, "Acculturation Among the Gullah Negroes," American Anthropologist, XLIII (1941), p. 49.
26 Dubose Heyward, "The Negro in the Low Country," in Augustin T. Smythe.t
et al, .!!:!! Carolina~ Country (New York: HacMillan, 1931), p. 173.

271l., pp. 174, 175.

28ulrich B. Phillips, "The Slave Labor Problem in the Charleston District,"
Political Science Quarterly, XXII (1907), p. 418; Phillips, "The Origin and G~owth
of the SouthetncBlack. Belts," .2. .!:!!., p. 804.

29Bucl~ingham, .2. .ill pp. 132, 133.

30 Stampp,

:E.

!!,

P

55;

House,

LNP,

P

153.

31James Harold Eas terby, ed., The South Carolina Rice Plantation as Revealed
~ill Papers .2f Robert!~ Al1ston-rGhicago: Univers~of Chicago Press, 1945),
P 31.
32
Frederick Law 01r.J.Stead, ,!h! Cotton Kingdom (New York, 1861), p. 1919
House, U1P, p. 152; Rogers, :E. .ill, p. 331.

33Ruffin, .2. .!!, p. 118; other task assignments in DeBow's Review, XVIII
(1855), pp. 350~352.

44

34 Allston, "Essay," p. 32.

35 Ruffin,

.!..

..!!

36 Smith,

.2.

.!.!:.,

p.

70.

37 Phillips, PAF, p. 117.

38House, LMr, p. 150; Bonner,! History .2!. Georgia Agriculture , .2. .!!.
p. 48.

39 Ketnble,

.2

.!!..,

p.

80.

40Phillips, 1::. His tory .2!. Transportation , .2. .!!., p. 26; Doar, .2E. cit. ,
p. 30.

41 House,

U1P,

p.

152;

Doar, .2 ill,

pp.

31,

33;

Kemble, .2E. ..!!,

pp.

63,

168.

42 House, LMP, PP 152, 154.

43Phillips, PAF, p. 116.

44.!.E.!.5!; Smith , .2E.. ill , p 77

45 House, LMC, PP 52, 53.
46 Southern Agriculturist, VII (1834), p. 368.

47Phillips, PAF, p. 118; John W. Blassingame,~ Slave Community: Plantat~. on

Life 1a~ Antebellum South (New York: Oxford University Press, 1972), p. 166;

see also H.M. Henry, Police Control of the Slave in South Carolina (PhD, Vanderbilt

University, 1914).

--

-

48 House, LMC, p. 53.

491.!2.!2. , p. 47; Kellar, .2E. ill , p. 367.

,p. 50House, LMC, loc. cit.; William Dosite Postell, The Health of Slaves on

Southern Plantations{BatooRouge: Louisiana State University Pre;, 1951)

32;

Kellar, 1:.2. ill

51Kellar, loc. cit.; House, LMC, loc. ,cit.; see also Hason Crum, Gullah (Durham: Duke U~ersity Press, 1940; repri'ilt," New York: Negro Universities
Press, 1968), pp. 248-250 and Olmstead, .!!:!!.. Cotton KingdQm, .2E. .!!_., p. 192.

sss:- - - - - 52Eugene A. Genovese, Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made (New
York: Pantheon, 1974), P

53Robert William Fogel and Stanley L. Engerman, Time on the Cross; the Ec-
onomics .2.f American Negro Slavery (Boston: Little, Br;-an:d Co':", 1974) ,p. TI6.

54 House,

UfC,

p.

49;

Postell, .2E.

cit.,

p.

40;

Duncan

Clinch Heyward, .2E. ill,

p. 181; Georgia Bryan Conrad, "Reminiscences of a Southern loloman," printed in

~ Southern Workman, 1901; published in pamphlet form by the Hampton Institute

Press, Hampton, Virginia, n.d.

45

55smith, .2 !!, P 73.

56 Postell,

.2.

ill,

P

56.

57Phillips, PAF, P 119.

58 Postell,

.21!

ill

pp.

84,

88,

89.

59House, LMP, p. 154; House, U1C, p. 49; Crum, .2. ill, p. 253; Postell, E.E.. ..sll.. ' p 72

60 Genovese, .2 ill, P 528.

61Olmstead,~ Cotton Kingdom, .2. !!., pp., 184, 185.

62Foge1, cit., p. 115; Bonner,~ History of Georgia Agriculture ,~

cit_. ' p 199
63 Allston, "Essay," pp. 40, 41.

64 Sass,

.21!

..!!.,

p.

39

65
Blassingame, .2.

..!!.,

pp.

144,

148;

for

a

complete

discussion

of

pater-

nalism in American slavery, see Genovese, .2.1?.!. ..!!.

66 Blassingame,

!.e.

.ll_.,

P

41.

67~., PP 39, 45, 76.
68 Importation of slaves was forbidden after January 1, 1808 by an act of
Congress March 3, 1807, Barnett Hollander, Slavery.!!!, America: .!!,! Legal History
(New York: Barnes and Noble, 1964); but continued on a clandestine baSis until the Civil War. It seems likely that large numbers of these contraband slaves remained on the coast. Lorenzo Turner, Africanisms ~~Gullah Dialect (Chicago, 1943)' pp. 1, 2, 5.

69Paul Oliver citing Melville Herskovitz' "Scale of Intensity of New World AfricanisTP.s" in "Problem, Method and Theory in Afroarnerican Studies," in Afroamerica, I (1945), pp. 5-24, in Savannah Syncopators (New York: Stein and Day, 1970), p. 16.

70 Blassingame,

..21!.

..!!..,

p.

17.

71 Ibid., p. 42~

72 Robert

E.

Park,

"The

Conflict

and

Fusion

of

Cultures,"

Journal .!. Negro

History, IV (1919), p. 128.

73Blassingame, .2 !!., pp. 24-26, 57, 58.

74.!!?.! ' p. 50.
75 ~., p. 53; one of the earliest writers to appreciate the power of the
hybrid Afroamerican musical forms was Fanny Kemble, ..12 cit., pp. 162-164, 195, 259-261.

46

76Sarah E. Torian, ed., "Ante Bellum and War Memoirs of Mrs. Telfair Hodgson,"
Georgia Historical Quarterly, XXVII (1943), p. 351.

77 Blassingame,

.2.

.!!.,

p.

17

2f 78Rupert Sargent Holland, ed., Letters~ Diary

Laura~ Towne (Cambridge,

1912; reprint, New York: Negro Universities Press, 1969), p. 20.

79 The definitive work on African retentions in linguistics is still Lorenzo
Turner's Africanisms .!!!, !h.! Gullah Dialect, .2. ill Turner has traced several
thousaad words of west African origin in the speech of the coastal Blacks.

80 John H. DuBose, "Recollections of the Plantation," Alabama Historical
Quarterly, I (1930), p.66.
81 Ulrich B. Phillips, "The Slave Labor Problem in the Charleston District,"
Political Science Quarterly, XXII (1907), p. 422.

82 Blassingame,

.2

.!!.,

pp.

24,

25.

83 Phillips, ANS, p. 97.

84Phillips, "The Slave Labor Problem ," .2 ..!!, p. 418.

85 Clement Eaton, The Growth of Southern Civilization; 1790-1860 (New York:

Harper and Row, 1961) , P.99.

-

--

86 Phillips, ANS, p. 97.
87 Clement Eaton, "Class Differences in the Old South," Virginia Quarterly
Review, XXXIII (1957), p. 361.

88 Elkanah \Iatson, Men and Times of the Revolution (New York, 1856), p. 54;

other travelers who wereTavorably imp?es"Sed with their visits with the rice

planters were Basil Hall, Travels in North America in the Years 1827 and 1828

(Edinburgh, 1830) and Frederick Law-Olmstead, f:. Journey .!!!, _lli seab(;'a-;r-sr;Ve"

States, .2 ill



89Watson, 1.2.. ..!!

90 DuBose,

12

.ill

91 P.S. Cotterill, The Old South (Glendake, Calif.:

1936). p. 281.

--

Arthur H. Clark Co.,

92 Chalmers

Gaston

Davidson, .!.!!!, ~ Foray

(Columbia:

Carolina Press, 1971), p. 47.

93 Cotterill,

.2

ill,

p.

270.

University of South

94 Kemble,

.2.

..!!,

p.

192.

95 Sudie Dnncan Sides, "Southern Women and Slavery," History Today, XX (1970),
P 55.

47
96Richard B. Harwell, "The Hot and Hot Fish Club of All Saints Parish," ~Carolina Historical~ Genealogical Magazine, XLVIII (1947), p. 40.

97Patrick H. Mell, "Rice Planting in the Agricultural Development of the
South," v. 5, ~ South in ~ Building .2f ~ Nation (Richmond, Va. : Southern
Historical Publishing Society, 1909), p. 173.

98 Rogers,

.2E.

.!!,

P

312.

99

Ibid., pp. 313, 318; Elizabeth H. Allston Pringle, Chronicles of Chicora

~ (Bo~: Christopher Publishing House, 1940), pp. 67-72.

--

100House, UfC, p. 3; Alston, .2 ..!!., p. xii.

101 Gaines,

.2.

....!!. ,

p.

144.

102 Hatson,

12

.ill

LAUREij'S . AND MciNTOSH
Bordering the estuaries of the rivers which penetrate Georgia's Coastal Plain are the marshes which were once the rice fields of a great plantation system. It was a society which lived on the brink of financial ruin, constantly indebted to the factorage system and functionally dependent on such variables as economic fluctuations and the vagaries of nature. Yet, in its upper echelons, it was a graceful and distinguished culture, central in the economy of early Georgia and dominant in the political and social custous of the young state.
In particular, the Altamaha River estuary society reads like a history of important names of the era: Butler, King, Couper, Bryant, Grant, Brailsford, Troup and Dent. The plantations along the south bank of the Altamaha - Hopeton, Altama, Elizafield, Grantly, Evelyn, Broadfield, Hofwyl and New Hope - made up a society which, like its proud sisters along ,the Savannah River and its cousins in South Carolina, held tightly to its manners and traditions through periods of social upheaval and personal tragedy. This tenacity is exemplified by the continuity of the plantation system of Hofwyl-Broadfield.
The Hofwyl Plantation of today is the result of the accumulation of several parcels of land by William Brailsford and his son-in-law, James McGilvray Troup, in the early nineteenth century. Prior to this however, the land had known a long and varied history.
Claimed by Spain since the early explorations, the territory of Guale, as the land between the Savannah and St. Mary's Rivers was known, was populated primarily by the Yamasee Indians and administered by a system of Spanish garrisons and missions. 1 The Spanish hold on Guale was steadily eroded after the founding of Charleston in 1670 as, throughout most of the following century English settle-
48

49
ments extended southward along the coast. 2 In 1721, Carolinians, prompted by the Yamasee War of 1715 and feeling the need of a buffer outpost, founded Fort King George at the mouth of the Altamaha. This blatant display of military force was followed in rapid succession by the settlement of the colony of Georgia at Savannah in 1733, and the towns of Darien on the Altamaha and Frederica on St. Simons Island. 3 A storm of Spanish protests was the result and, in diplomatic gestures, England encouraged the idea of a neutral zone south of the Altamaha, supporting this by refusing to grant any of that land. 4 This concession was largely unsuccessful. With the Great War for Empire, Spain entered what was to be the last of a series of conflicts over the "Debateable Lands," and, in 1763,
5 lost all claim to the lands east of the Mississippi to England.
Immediately after the ratification of the 1763 Peace of Paris, Governor Thomas Boone of South Carolina announced his intentions to begin granting lands south of the Altamaha, basing .his claims to the land on the proprietary charters of the colony which had marked Carolina's southern boundary at the twenty-ninth parallel. 6 Georgia Governor James Wright and the Council immediately went into action, first serving Governor Boone with a protest and caveat, which was refused, and then launching an appeal to the Board of Trade. Governor Wright's letters to the Board protested that the Crown alone had the right to set the limits of Carolina, that the grants were of a speculative nature and would limit the expansion of the frontier, and that annexation of the lands south of the Altamaha to Georgia would be more favorable for trade. He concluded with the most convincing argument of all: that it was the Georgians and not the Carolinians, who had suffered the hardships of serving as the Spanish buffer and should benefit therefore. 7
It was not until October 7, 1763 that a royal proclamation was issued annexing to the colony of Georgia "all the Lands between the Rivers St. Mary and

50
8 Altamaha," and by this time fifty-six petitions for land totalling 90,200 acres
9 had been granted by South Carolina. The controversy lingered on for over a decade, the p~tential rice lands remaining idle until after the Revolution. Finally, of the South Carolinians who petitioned for grants, only four made any real effort to develop their Georgia lands. 10
One of these Carolinians was Henry Laurens, a prominent Charlestonian who was to succeed John Hancock as president of the Continental Congress in 1777. 11 Previously a wealthy merchant, primarily in the business of exporting rice and i~ porting slaves, he began acquiring large tracts of land and shifting his interests to planting in the 1760's, owning by the outbreak of the Revolution some 20,000 acres in Georgia and South Carolina. 12 Blessed with the foresight, as well as the resources, to acquire portions of the limited rice lands early, Laurens also sought to obtain tracts of land in the newly opened territory for several of his friends, notably Lachlan Mcintosh of Georgia. 13
Mcintosh, a Revolutionary war general probably best known for his infamous duel with Button Gwinett, met Henry Laurens in Charleston as a young man. While the tradition that he worked in the Laurens counting house cannot be doc~mented, it
14 is certain that the two men became good friends, as well as b.us.i.ness partners. When Mcintosh returned to Georgia in the 1750's, he had the advantage of access to South Carolina credit and the good advice of his friend and began petitioning for
15 and acquiring large tracts of land. In this way Mcintosh, though not a shrewd businessman himself, was able to establish himself as a member of the planter
16 aristocracy.
There is little documentation to show the actual buying, selling, trading and political pulling which must have taken place in the second half of the eighteenth century as each planter maneuvered to obtain particular sections of land. The three tracts which became Broadfield-Hofwyl: Broughton Island, Broadface and New

51

Hope are no exception.

Broughton Island, located in the Altamaha River and therefore not subject to

the English restrictions on grants, had, on July 4, 1758, been granted to John-

athan Bryan, a South Carolinian who was to become an important figure in the affairs of coastal Georgia, especially the Savannah area. 17 Two days later,

Bryan traded Broughton, along with Doboy Island, to Lachlan Mcintosh and his 18
brother William for land which had been granted to them in Newport District.

Another swap, this time for a 1,200 acre tract on the mainland across from Broughton, brought the island into the hands of Henry Laurens 19

Laurens obtained other tracts of land south of the Altamaha River in the

1763 South Carolina giveaway, in particular a 3,000 acre tract opposite Broughton Island which Laurens named New Hope. 20 Edmund Egan, Laurens' surveyor, was dis-

patched to survey the land, followed immediately by another surveyor, John B.

Giradeau, who had been directed by another South Carolinian, Colonel Thomas

Middleton, to lay off the land for him. Middleton later claimed that Lachlan

Mcintosh waylaid Giradeau, getting him drunk, in order that Egan might survey

21

'

the land for Laurens first. Whether th~ alleged incident actually transpired

or not, it reveals much of the "land fever" which was rampant in South Carolina

at the time.

Laurens lost in another controversial land grant, this time for a 1,200

acre tract which came to be known as Broadface. Laurens attempted to obtain the

land, which adjoined New Hope to the northwest, for Lachlan Mcintosh, but the

land was granted instead to a small Charleston businessman named Darby Pendergrass. 22 Laurens entered a caveat against Pendergrass, lost, and eventually purchased the land for ~1,000. 23 A year later he sold the land to Mcintosh, probably as part of the Broughton Island deal. 24

Since Laurens ownership of New Hope was insecure, Broughton Island was

52
selected as the site of Henry Laurens' first Georgia plantation. The South Carolinian, however, had difficulties finding someone to manage the property. Entering into an agreement with two other Charleston grantees, he contracted a developer for the island, then left the supervision of the venture to the direction of another of the partners, who failed to obtain results. 25 It was two years later, in April of 1766, before a competent manager went to work, clearing Broughton Island and embanking the rice fields. 26 This time, however, Laurens took the precaution of touring the Altamaha area in May, June and July
27 of that year. Although Mcintosh never actually managed Broughton Island, he did keep a close eye on it for his friend, and the plantation became a strong tie between the two men, despite one incident which occurred during one of Laurens' diplomatic absences. At that time the overseer resigned, due to Mcintosh 1 s a.ttempts to direct the entire operation. 28
Laurens began planting Broughton Island in 1767, growing rice and hemp for market and experimenting in corn, pea and cotton production. 29 The 1767 crop cleared enough to pay the expenses of establishing the plantation and of clearing and errbank.ing additional rice acreage for the next year. 30 Laurens was encouraged by this success to begin developing New Hope the following year. 31
Lachlan Mcintosh, in the meantime, was busy with his General's Island plantation and Broadface was one of many tracts of land which he owned but did not develop. He did, however, petition for and receive 300 acres of "surplus land in a tract purchased by Lachlan Mcintosh from Henry Laurens originally surveyed and granted for 1,200 acres to total 1,500 acres."32
Although the Revolution was crippling to Laurens financially, it was an economic death blow to Mcintosh. In spite of his efforts, he could not regain his pre-war status, and consequently withdrew gradually from public life. In 1785, Mcintosh handled what was to be the lastrecorded business deal between

53
himself and Henry Laurens, obtaining renewal certificates, "in a frenzy of activity," for their land south of the Altamaha which had not previously been registered and was on the verge of being declared vacant. 33
When Laurens died in 1792, he had recouped his losses from the war, stating 34
that had it not been for the Revolution he would have been too rich. Mcintosh survived his friend by fourteen years, never regaining financial stability. 35

54

FOOTNOTES Laurens and MCintosh

1 Herbert E. Bolton and Mary Ross, Th~ Debateable Land (Berkeley, 1925),
p. 6.
2 Ibid., p. 3.

3Ibid., pp. 4, 72.

4..!..!.2.. ' p 5
5~., pp. 108, 109.

6Ibid., p. 109; David Rogers Chesnutt, South Carolina's Expansion into Coloni3l Georgia, 1720-1765 (PhD, University of Georgia, 1973), pp. 177,178.

7 ~., pp. 179, 181; Allen D. Candler and Lucien Lamar Knight, eds., ~ Colonial Records of the State of Georgia, v. 28, p. 736. (cited afterwards as CRG.)

8Referred to in a letter to the King, recorded in CRG, v. 34, p. 535.

9Chesnutt, .. cit., p. 1.78.

10~' p. 187.

11David Duncan Wa.llace, Life of Henry Laurens !!!.!:.h.! Sketch ,.2! ~ Life Ei His Son (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons~ 1915), p. 235.

12~., p. 130. 13
Ibid., p. 126.

14

Ibid., n.; Harvey Hardaway Jackson, General Lachlan Mcintosh, 1727-1806:

A Biogra~(PhD, Universi.ty of Georgia, 1973), p. 13.

--

15 Ibid., p. 16.

16 ~., pp. 17-19.

17 Georgia Grant Book! (1756-1758), p. 652; located in the Office of the
Surveyor General, Georgia Department of Archives and History.
18 Georgia Colonial Conveyance~ C-2 (1761-1766), pp. 632-633; on micro-
film reel 40/19, Georgia Department of Archives 'and History.

19 Georgia Colonial Conveyance ~ c-2 (176~-1766), pp. 990-992; on micro-
film reel 40/19, Georgia Department of Archives and History.

55

20 South Carolina Grant Book XX (1763-1764), p. 64; microfilm reel 145/49,
Georgia Department of Archives andlHistory.

21Jackson, ~ cit., p. 27; Chesnutt,~ cit., p. 188; letter from Henry
Laurens to Lachlan Mcintosh, May 4, 1763, the Letterbooks, Henry Laurens Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: "People say that you contrived to detain Col. Middleton's surveyor to drink . Middleton informs me that . you made him drunk and kept him so while our surveyor went ahead of him "
22 Chesnutt,~ cit., p. 190; South Carol~. na Grant Book XX,~ cit., p. 105.
23 Chesnutt, loc. cit.; Charleston County, South Carolina Deed Book C-3,
pp. 711-16; letter from Henry Laurens to Lachlan Mcintosh, August 15~6~the Letterbooks, Henry Laurens Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: "I am in treaty with Mr. Pendergrass for your favourite 1200 Acre Tract upon Altamaha he offerd it------ he has this moment agreed to sell it to me for One Thousand Pounds currency & I hope he will be as good as his word I shall endeavour to gett the platt & Grant from him in order to prevent fallbacks if possible for he seems to be very unsteady & in fact has no will of his own-------"
24 Charleston County, S.C. Deed~ E-3, p. 136.

25Chesnutt, .. cit., pp. 192, 193.

26Ibid. , p. 19 3.

27Wallace, .. cit. , p. 166.

28 Jacks on, .2

.!.E.. ,

pp.

28,

43.

29 Wallace, . cit., p. 131.

30Chesnutt, .. ..!!.., p. 194.

31 Ibid.

32 Georgia

Grant ~I

(1770-1774),

p.

951,

located

in

the

Surveyor

General's

Office, Georgia Department of Archives and His tory.

33Jackson, cit., P 222.

34 Wallace, .. cit., p. 136.

35 Jackson,

.. .!.!.,

p.

246.

THE BRAILS FORDS
After Henry Laurens' death, Broughton Island was placed on the market by his heirs. Although there is little to document it, it seems apparent that the man who eventually came to own Broughton was William Brailsford of Charleston.
William Brailsford's grandfather, Edmund Brailsford, seems to have been the first of his family to emmigrate to South Carolina. Correspondence bet\<leen Edmund and his father in England indicates that the young Brailsford married against his father's wishes; the father writing in the late 1720's requesting that Edmtmd allow at least one of the old man's grandsons to return to England. 1 Whether or not this was accomplished at that time is not known, but after Edmtmd Brailsford's death in the spring of 17332 at least some of the children returned to England.
Samuel Brailsford, a younger son of Edmund and his controversial wife, became "a respectable merchant," dealing in the colonial trade between South Carolina and England, and appears to have quite successfully negotiated two lives on e1. ther side of the Atlantic. 3 He married Susan Holmes of Charleston, but seems to hav~ made his home primarily in England. 4 Whether the couple's children, Susan, Elizabeth and William, were born in England or in South Carolina is not known, but Ophelia Troup Dent recalls in her Hemoirs that her grandfather, William, . grew up in England, "a gay yotmg man, visiting Paris, dressing in fine silks,
5 laces, silk stockings and buckles."
Although Samuel's business was in England, he retained his ties l<rith South Carolina. He was a founding member of the Charleston Library Society in 17486 and, as tensions between the colonies and Great Britain grew increasingly explosive,
56

57
joined with several other merchants to ~raft an address to the King on "the
7
situation of affairs between Great Britain and the American colonies."
The Revolution must have put an end, however temporary, to Samuel Brails-
ford's business and Mrs. Dent stated t r:a t a "mercantil ~ failure" (unnamed) brought 8
the family back to South Carolina. While Samuel eventually returned to Bristol and died there, 9 his son, William, apparently chose to remain in South Carolina.
He married Maria He~vard, a daughter of the great South Carolina rice-planting
dynasty, in June of 1786. 10 Maria's half-brother, Thom~s, was a signer of the
11 Declaration of Independence and her brother, Nathaniel, was acknowledged to be
the largest plante~ of his day, owning at least 2,500 slaves and seventeen rice 12
plantations . By the time William Brailsford acquired Broughton Island, he 13
had amassed a small fortune, in addition to his wife's, and a large family.
Of the sale of Broughton Island little is known, and existing documentation
is frequently contradictory. Sometime prior to 1802, Johnathan Fabian of Liberty
County, Georgia obtained possession of a portion of Broughton Island, one-third
of which he offered fer sale in the May 25, 1802 edition of the Columbia Museum
and Savannah Advertiser:
The Subscriber being desirous of increasing his number of Field Negroes, and possessing a much larger surplusage of land than he conceives any way expedient for him to retain, offers for sale, at private contract , one undivided third part of Broughton Island, on the Altamaha R~ver, in the South of Georgia, which by. an accurate resurvey thereof as late as the year 1795, is represented to contain 2,880 acres of as prime river swamp as any in the two states without exception; which from its peculiar quality is highly adapted to the culture of either cotton or rice. About 300 acres of the Island are under substantial banks, and in a state of progressive improvement-of about 230 acres under the growth /of rice last year, 15,000 bushels (at least) of grain were brought off the ground, although the force employed in gathering in and securing were by no means adequate for so ponderous a crop.
To compound the confusion, David Ramsay of Charleston, the son-in-law of
Henry Laurens, also advertised one-third of Broughton to be sold or rented

58
in the January 1, 1803 edition of the Georgia Republican and State Intelligencer. Mrs. Dent stated that her grandfather "bought Broughton Island from General Laurens' heirs, the Ramsays of Charleston. " 14 This seems the more likely, as the Charleston connection remained very strong for the Brailsfords and the two families were certainly acquainted: Martha Laurens Ramsay was a close friend of William Brailsford ' s sister, Elizabeth.. 15
There is, however, a deed dated December 2, 1803 between the administrator of the estate of Johna.than Fabian and William Brailsford, located in the Liberty County recor.ds. 16 It conveys ~-thirds of Broughton Island by means of an agreement wherein Brailsford takes up "certain bonds" executed by Fabian to, among others, Dr. Ramsay. There is no deed from Ramsay directly to Brailsford until, in 1816, after Brailsford's death, a deed between the children of David Ramsay and Maria Brailsford appears in the Charleston County, South Carolina records. 17 It records, rather obscurely, the division of Broughton Island and conveys onethird of it to Mrs. Brailsford. Some legal dispute apparently took place over the island, which is not clearly recorded in the deed.
At any rate, sometime during 1803, William Brailsford believed himself the owner of Broughton Island and came to Georgia with Heyward family slaves, experienced in rice planting, to staff the island, returning to Charleston convinced that the plantation would be in capable hands. 18 Unfortunately, he appears to have made a bad choice of overseers, for, during the great hurricane of 1804, the lives of seventy slaves were lost and Broughton Island devastated, apparently due to the negligence of the overseer. 19
"The Charleston life was at an end," according to Mrs. Dent, and the family "moved to Broughton Island as soon as a rough house, put up by plantation carpenters,
20 could be built." In addition to the personal tragedy involved in the death of the slaves, the event constituted an enormous financial loss. Once again, the

59
fate of Broughton Island is unknown. Mrs. Dent related that although one creditor
retracted the sale, "the others were wiser and held on, - Miss Eleanor Ramsay for
one, I know, receiving interest on $9,000 for fif~y years, when the debt was paid by my father's executors." 21 Mrs. Ramsay's memoirs, however, tell a different
22
StO:t")':
Near~y the whole of Mrs. Ramsay's paternal estate consisted of unproductive Georgia lands, which, from the unsettled state of our foreign relations for the last fifteen years of her life would either not sell or if previously sold, were not paid for The hurricane of 1804 frustrated a verbal contract for the sale of another portion of her paternal Georgia lands, for 5,000 pounds sterling which still remains unsold and unproductive.
Whatever the disposition, Broughton Island had proved to be unsafe, and,
although in a financial bind, Brailsford was in the market for a more secure loca-
tion for his plantation.
The Broadface tract was advertised for sale in the (Savannah) Georgia
Republican of February 2, 1806:
Prime Rice Lands for Sale - All that valuable tract of land fronted and being on the south side of the Altamaha River, known by the name of Broadface Tract, late the property of General Lachlan Mcintosh, containing 1,755 acres, of which 1,100 acres are prime tide swamp of the first quality and very best pitch of tide; the balance high (well timbered) pineland, and well calculated for a settlement or settlements~ This tract is divided into three parts, through the upper third runs a large navigable creek leading to a landing on which may be erected a Rice Mill, Saw Mill, or Grist Mill. This property is situated immediately opposite Major Butler's, Demere's Island; and from its local advantages is the most desirable river estate in Georgia."
Lachlan Mcintosh had sold this property to his son, Henry Laurens Mcintosh,
according to the deed which William Brailsford obtained upon purchasing the lower
th~d of this tract, 23 and the land was rechristened Broadfield, as the young
BDkilsfords preferred the name. 24 Although Mrs. Dent did not record a description
of Broadfield House, another source described it as "a wide spreading, two-storied
house with great chimneys at either end, hand-hewn timbers above, tabby walls
below. A carriage drive led through the center of the first story to a courtyard

60

in the rear." 25 There is no documentation for this description, although it

seems to have been fairly typical of the plantation houses of the area, and is

probably close to accurate. Many rice plantation houses utilized the high base-

ment with the main entrance on the second floor reached by a long flight of ex-

terior steps; the second story entrance most likely designed to raise the living

quarters of the house above the miasma of low-lying places and perhaps to avoid

.

26

flooding.

In addition, the family required a summer home and, "until a house was

built on the north point of Cumberland Island, the [Brailsford] family sunnnered in Charleston or in Mcintosh Cotmty."27 They retained the planter transience;

in 1806, for reasons not innnediately apparent, but probably having to do with

non-payment of debts, a federal court fotind it necessary to declare William
Brailsford a citizen of the State of (;_eorgia_:_~~-
In the Columbian Museum and Savannah Advertiser of December 16, 1810,

the death of the Georgia citizen was duly noted: "DIED, on Monday the 25th

ult. on St. Simons [Island] WILLIAM BRAILSFORD, Esq. formerly of South Carolina."

No will has been discovered for Brailsford, but he appears to have left all of

his property to the care of his wife, Maria, "a widow with an estate heavily in

debt." Unforttmately, Mrs. Dent tells little of her grandmother's "brave strug-

gle to pay her debts and save her property." The management of the property was

apparently entirely in the control of Mrs. Brailsford and her daughter, Camilla.

.

29

Cotton was planted on the high ground, as it brought a high price, and they

must have been successful rice planters as one source says that "the fields .[at

Broadfield] produced such a fine quality of grain that according to government

record, the superior 'Broadfield Rice' on the Charleston market took its name from the Brailsford plantati.on. 1130

61
FOOTNOTES
~ Brails fords
1"correspondence between Edmund Brailsford and his Father," South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, VIII (1909), pp. 165, 166.
2Lothrop Withington, "South Carolina Gleanings in England," South Carolina Historical~ Genealogical Magazine, V (1904), pp. 165, 166.
3ophelia Troup Dent, Memoirs, unpublished, original manuscript located at Hofwyl Plantation; transcript in appendix, pages a75-a86; Jeanie_Heyward Register, "Marriage and Death Notices from the City Gazette,".South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, XXVI (1925), p. 135.
4 Dent, loc. cit.
5Ibid. 6 Arthur Mazyck, "Preface to the Catalogue of the Charleston Library Society, 1786," South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, XXIII (1922), p. 163.
7The (Savannah) Georgia Gazette, January 17, 1776. 8
Dent, loc. cit. 9Register, loc. cit. 10
Joseph W. Barnwell and Mabel L. Webber, "St. Helena's Parish Register," South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, XXIII (1922), p. 22; Mabel L. \olebber, "Marriage and Death notices from the Charleston Morning Post and Daily Advertiser," South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, XX (1919), p. 144.
11Dent , lo c. cit. 12
Duncan Clinch Heyward,~!!! Madagascar (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1937), p. 74; Heyward devotes a chapter to his ancestor, "The L~rgest Planter of His Day."
13Dent, loc. cit. 14~, p. a172. 15
Martha Laurens Ramsay, Memoirs of the~ of Martha Laurens Ramsay, ~
~ 1.!l Charleston, South Carolina~~ .!.Q!!!. !June, 1811 l!!, ~~year of
her age {Privately printed, n.d.), contains a section of letters to her "attached and affectionate friend, Elizabeth Brailsford."
16Liberty County, Georgia Deed Book F (1804-1809), p. 119, located on m.1crofilm reel 30/17, Georgia Departm~of Archives and History.

62

17

.

Charleston County, South Carolina Deed Book 0-8, pp. 106=107.

18 Dent, lac. cit.
19 Ibid.; Katherine M. Jones, The Plantation South (Indianapolis: Babbs
Merrill, 1957), p. 92, quoting from Mathew Davis' Memoirs of Aaron Burr, v.7.
20 Dent, lac. cit.
21 Ibid ..

22Ramsay, op. cit., p. 47n. 23
Glynn County, Georgia Deed Book ABEF (1787-1808), pp. 483-485, on microfilm reel 82/32, Georgia Department~Archives and History.
24 Dent, lac. cit.
25 Burnette Vanstory, Georgia's Land of the Golden Isles (Athens: Univer-
sity of Georgia Press, 1970), p. 102.

26Jack Nelson Averitt, Georgia's Coastal Plain (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1964), p. 710; Mason Crum, Gullah (Durham: Duke University Press, 1940; reprint, New York: Negro Universities Press, 1968), p. 235.

27Dent, lac. cit.; a letter from William Brailsford to Thomas Spalding of Sapelo, dated Augus~, 1807 and located at Hofwyl Plantation, mentions an impending move to Cumberland, "where I have built a small House."

28Hinutes of the Circuit Court of the Sixth District, Georgia, 1806-1816 - D, p. 917.

29Dent, lac. cit. 30
Vanstory, lac. cit.

THE TROUPS
Camilla Brailsford married James McGilvray (spelling varies) Troup in 1813 or
1814 1 Troup, a phys1. cian, was .the brother of Georgia Governor George M. Troup, and
had lately taken up residence in Darien. 2 Dr. Troup took over management of Broadfield and the other Brailsford properties, making his winter home in Darien and his summer home at Baisden's Bluff, later Crescent, in Mcintosh County. 3
Troup must have been a successful planter, for he "brought [his lands] to the highest state of cultivation."4 In addition to the Brailsford lands, he also owned and managed a "fine tract of land known as the 'Court House' on the old stage road, planted cotton and corn, and kept cattle . an overseer was in charge. In the summer it was his custom to take a daily ride [there] on horseback, except on Monday and Tuesday when he visited Broadfield. "5
Troup was also active in the social, political and financial affairs of Darien, a small but bustling town at that time, with an active port. 6 It boasted, in 1845, a courthouse, jail, five churches, one hotel, an academy and twelve
7 stores. The lands along the Altamaha, 5,000 acres of which were devoted to
8 tidal-flow rice plantations, were considered second in value of all Georgia lands, superceeded only by the Savannah River area. The Altamaha soil, nonetheless, was considered superior, having "more of vegetable mould than the .lands on the Savannah," and lY,eing "more easily cultivated .,g Three plantation-owned steam engines on the Altamaha did the threshing and pounding of the local rice production. Social life along both sides of the river was extensive: ''hunting, dancing, visiting and fishing" and, typical of the rice society which based its existence on water, boat racing, with each planter priding himself on the swiftness of his boat and its crew of slaves. 10
63

64

The Union Agricultural Society, one of the earliest such societie~ in Georgia,

u was formed in Darien in 1823,ll James Troup serving as treasurer in 1825.

That

same year, having served as a director of the Bank of Darien since 1818, he was

elected president pro tern, 13 following with three terms as bank president beginning

14

. 15 .

in 1828. Troup was also elected treasurer of Darien in 1812 and mayor in

16

17

1829, and served terms as alderman and state senator.

James and Camilla Troup had six children who lived to adulthood, and the

daughters of Governor Troup, Florida and Oralie, grew up in the home of their

18 aunt and uncle in Darien, as well. Fanny Kemble remarked on the beauty of Ora-

.

19

lie Troup during her ill-fated "residence," but gave little indication of her

20

.

impressions of Camilla Troup, who paid the actress a visit. Similarly, when

Hr . and Hrs. Basil Hall visited James Hamilton Couper at his Altamaha plantation,

Hopeton, in 1827, Dr. and Hrs. Troup were invited to dinner, however Mr. Hall

does not mention the incident in his accounts of his travels and Mrs. Hall appear~d

more

impressed with

former

Governor Troup, \oTho "t-Tas

also a

21 guest.

Dr. and Mrs.

Troup's daughter, Ophelia, described the Troups in her Memoirs as "reserved and

silent," a marked contrast to the Brailsfords, who \vere "spirited and gay, spend-
22
ing money lavishly." Another contemporary, Charles S. Hylly, remembered that

"at the Troup's a stricter etiquette of manner and behaviour prevailed than in r1ost

of the houses I visited."
Mrs. Brailsford, grandmother of the younger people, to1as a strict disciplinarian, and had brought from Carolina to Georgia wuch of the habit of life that belonged to that older state. Dr. Troup, a son of Catherine Mcintosh of Alabama, was hitll.self something of a formalist Mrs. Call'.illa Troup herself "tolas a stickler for propriety of bearing and demeanor. As a mere boy I remember witnessinp the lessons given her daughters as to the corr~3t and proper mode of entering a room where company was asset'1bled

. Tile Troup homes were undoubtedly the showplaces of the Darien vicinity.

Baia.den 's Bluff ,was apparently a r~sort community_ and, although the planters and

their families who sununered there considered therr.selves "roughinr. it," the ckrellings

65
were rather grand. 'The only description of the Troup's summer home is brief:
"of tabby with very large parlour and dining room, and confined sleeping compartments, " 24 but the description of a home for sale on 'The Ridge, just south of
Baisden's Bluff, is more detailed:
The Subscriber offers for Sale his Summer Residence, named 1fizar situated in that pleasant neip;hborhood called the Ridge, about three miles from Darien.- TI1e prospect is a COIT'.manding one, having the vim-1 of three inlets - Li.ttle St. Simons, Doboy and Sapelo, and "t<lith respect to the health of said neighborhood, it has for several years been tested.
On the premises are a comfortable Dwelling House, 'vith four bedroorr,s, a hall, and piazzas extendinr; around three sides, v!ith a stoop in front; a kitchen and Hash room, a storeroom, stable and carriag~ house, and two provision and several servant's houses ornamented l.Jith a Vineyard, (which lvill be in full bearing in the year 1831) occupying the space of about four acres, with selectioning of the best quality for wine and table use, and two or three years ago, obtained direct from the Island of Haderia, Prince's and Labat's Vineyard in the State of Nc"t--1 York, and different parts of Georgia and South Carolina; so that with rerard to variety, it is equal to any in the Southern States.
There is also attached a large nursery of several thousand of these different varieties, together Hith raising orange, fip and peach trees - ~lith a kitchen garden; and a few acres besides of choice ground for farming.25
In 1824, James H. Troup "began buildinr; his beautiful 'tabby' house, employ-
inr, the same architect, Jay, ~1ho had pet up the old Habernnam and 0\-1ens Houses in 26
Savannah. " The architect referred to is probably Hilliam Jay, trained in Fnplanc, 27
and active for a period of time in Georgia and South Carolina. Little docurnen-
tation is available on his career in the South, and Hrs. Dent's statement is the 28
only one which connects hir.1 'vith the Troups. Unfortunately, she does not describe
the house, nor does she say on which of her father's properties it vJas constructed.
Although tradition holds that the hor.1e v!as built on I\roadfield Plantation,
Jl-!rs. Dent maintained that the familiy' s winter home was in Darien "until the '40's,
29
when for the great advantage to the plantation, '"e moved over [to Broadfield]"
As it seems unlikely that even as wealthy a planter as Dr. Troup would have
gone to the expense of building a seldom-occupied home, it would appear that the

66
Jay house would have been built in Darien, and would have been burned in 1863, when a fire destroyed that city.
Broadfield, in fact, was at least partially owned by Camilla Brailsford Troup's brother, Daniel Heyward Brailsford, 30 who was murdered in 1833 by an overseer whom he had discharged. 31 Mrs. Brailsford, the daughter of Thomas Spalding of Sapelo, 32 "preferred keeping her cotton plantation, Sutherland's Bluff. . .intact, and letting the Broadfield property be sold in 1834," Mrs. Dent remembered. "My father [James Troup] had no alternative but to buy." 33 In this way, James Troup became sole owner of Broadfield Plantation. In addition, Henry Laurens 1 heirs had sold New Hope Plantation in 1829 to Camilla Brailsford Troup's future brother-in-law, John G. Be11. 34 Bell married Eugenia Brailsford in 1838, and both died that same year without children. New Hope was left to Bell's family and was again put on the market. 35 "The purchase was put off as long as possible," Mrs. Dent recalled. "Biddle's Bank, in Philadelphia, had failed, and the country was passing through a monied crisis, rice selling as low as forty cents a bushel. eventually New Hope was bought at $26,000."36
When Dr. Troup died, nine years later, he left a heavily mortgaged property. His will directed that all debts be paid immediately, with no part of Broadfield being sold to pay these debts, and that none of the land be divided until all the debts were paid. Executors of this monumental task were Troup's eldest son, Brailsford, and his neighbor, James Hamilton Couper of Hopeton and Altama. 37 Charles S. Wylly suggested that the debt consisted of "$70,000 as a lien on land and negroes,"38 and Mrs. Dent remembered that the debt was "close on to $80,000, au~ the estate was thought again insolvent, as in my grandmother's time."39
At the time of his death, Troup was the owner of approximately 7,300 acres of land, two tabby houses, one wooden house, and 357 slaves. 40 As the settlement of the estate took approximately six years, there are, as can be expected, exten-

67
sive estate records, the accounts of which contain invaluable information on the day-to-day operation of Broadfield Plantation in its years of greatest production.
By far the largest number of entries relate to the sale and shipment of rice and attendant expenses, such as cooperage, wharfage, freight, d.rayage, porterage and insurance. The overseer's salary of $1,000 was no longer an item after 1850, when Daniel Heyward BrailsfordTroup began managing Broadfield personally, taking as his fee $750 for superintendence and $200 for medical services. 41 (Young Troup, like his father and younger brother, Robert, was a physician.) Foodstuffs ordered by the plantation included molasses, corn, slat, sugar, coffee, pork, bacon, oats and prunes, augmented by claret, champagne, brandy, whiskey, beer, ale and tobacco. One barrel of whiskey, ordered in August, was specifically designated "for the negroes," and was probably intended for the harvest festival. 42 Clothing for the slaves was ordered occasionally, but a large number of entries are for cloth: 251 yards of shirting, 477 1/4' yards of heavy twill, 630 yards of white "plains," 975 yards of blue stripes, and 1, 794 yards of "cotton oznaburgs. " 43 There are also or-
ders for eighteen pounds of thread and eighteen gross of "bone buttons. ,r44 Medical
supplies include eight gallons of castor oil, four gallons of spirits of turpentine, six ounces of "calomel," one pound of "Dover's Powder," two rolls of blister plaster, two quarts of paragoric, two ounces of laudanum, one ounce of opium, two pounds of sulphur, four ounces of tincture of myrrh and three gallons of alcoho1. 45 Other entries of ~nterest include jailer's fees for imprisoned slaves, eighty-two blankets at 35 cents each, a subscription to the Literary Messenger, and a bill for "machinery erected at Broadfield;" most likely a rice rni11. 46
James Troup's property was divided in 1856, 47 but it was not until two years later that a deed was issued which made the division officia1. 48 Broadfield and New Hope were divided into three portions, the largest and northernmost part cornposed entirely of Broadfield and held jointly by J. Robert Troup, Matilda B. Troup

68

Clelia Troup; the center section and northern part of New Hope became the property

of Ophelia Troup and her husl>and; George C. Dent; and the lower portion was deeded

to Daniel Heyward Brailsford Troup. Charles Manigault Morris, the husband of

Hannah Heyward Troup who had died during the settlement of the estate, agreed to re-

ceive only slaves and money as his share, rather than a portion of the plantations.

He, along with the other heirs; also received a one-sixth interest in James Troup's Mcintosh county >properties, including Broughton Island. 49

The exact disposition of Broughton remains as obscure as its original acquis-

ition. The Bryan family lived on it and planted it, apparently owning it jointly

50

51

with the Troups for many years. By coincidence, Mrs. Bryan was Florida Troup.

69

FOOTNOTES The Troups

1 Ophelia Troup Dent, Memoirs, unpublished, original manuscript located at
Hofwyl Plantation; transcript in appendix, pages a75-a86.
2 Ibid.

3 Ibid.,

p.

al77;

Charles

s.~ Wylly,

Annals

and

Statistics

of

Glynn

County,

Georgia (Privately printed, 1896), p. 66.

4 Wylly,



cit.,

p.

16.

5 Dent, loc. cit.

6 Joseph Warren Smith, Visits to Brunswick, Georgia and Travels South (Boston,
190 7) ' p 19 .
7 George White, Statistics of the State of Georgia (Savannah, 1849), p. 415.

8 Albert Virgil House, Jr., '~abor Management Problems on Georgia Rice Plantations, 1840-1860," Agricultural History, XXVIII (1954), p. 149.

9

.

J.D.B. DeBow, The Industrial Resources of the Southern and Western States

(New York: DeBow's :- Revew, 1853), v. I, p. 355':"" - -

--

10 White,. cit., pp. 286, 284.

A 11 James C. Bonner, History of Georgia Agriculture, 1732-1860 (Athens: University of Georgia Press), p. 110.

12The Savannah (Georgia) Republican, February 19, 1825.

13 The Savannah Republican, March 12, 1825; The Columbia Museum and Savannah
Daily Gazette, December 30, 1818, November 23, 1819, etc. Discussions of the financial role of the Bank of Darien may be found in Milton Sidney Heath, Constructive Liberalism: The Role of the State in the Economic Development of Georgia to 1860 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1954), E. M~rton Ooulter, Thomas Spalding of Sapelo (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1949), chapter 8, and Thomas P. Govan, "The Banking and Credit System in Georgia, 1810-1860," Journal of Southern History, IV (1939), pp. 164-184.

14 The Savannah Georgian, January 12, 1828.

15The Republican and Savannah Evening Ledger, January 4, 1812.

16 The (Savannah) Georgian, November 28, 1829.

17 Burnette Vanstory, Georgia's Land of the Golden Isles (Athens: University
of Georgia Press, 1970), p. 64; The Darien (Georgia) Gazette, January 1, 1821.

70
18 Frances Anne Kemble, Journal of ~ Residence ~ ~ Georgian Plantation in
1838-1839, edited with an introduction by John A. Scott (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1961), p. 150n; Dent, loc. cit.
19 Kemble,.!?.. cit., p. 150.
20 Ibid., p. 176.
21Margaret Hunter Hall, The Ar~.stocratic Journey: Being the Outspoken Letters of Mrs. Basil Hall Written during !!.. Fourteen Months' Sojourn in America; 1827-1828 (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons', 1931), pp. 233, 234.
22 Dent, loc. cit,
23 Wylly, .2. cit., p. 67.
24 Ibid.
25 The Savannah Georgian, March 2, 1829.
26 Dent, loc. cit. 27
James Vernon McDonough, William Jay: Regency Architect in Georgia and South Carolina (PhD, Princeton University, 1950), p. 1.
28 Ibid., p. 75.
29 Dent, loc. cit.
30 Ibid. 31
The Savannah Georgian, August 27, September 3, November 26, 28, 30, 1833. 32
The Savannah Republican, June 21, 1821. 33
Dent, . loc. cit.
34Glynn County, Georgia Deed Book~ (1824-1837), p. 212; microfilm reel 82/34, Georgia Department of Archives and History.
35 Dent, loc. cit.
36 Ibid.,; original deed located at Hofwyl Plantation.
37Glynn County, Georgia Wills, Inventories and Appraisements Book! (18441853), p. 135; microfilm reel 82/4, Georgia Department of Archives and History. see appendix, p. a53.
38 Wylly, .2. cit., p. 62.
39Dent, loc. cit. 40
Glynn County, Georgia Wills .Book!'.!?.. cit., pp. 156-159; see appendix, pp. a54-:-a57.

71
41.!.E.!, P 250.
42Glynn County, Georgia \-Jills, Inventories ~ Appraisements ~!. (18531859), p. 348; microfilm reel 82/5, Georgia Department of Archives and History.
43Glynn Coup.ty, Georgia lUlls ~ _!, .2. .!!, pp. 169, 246, 247, etc.
44~, P 247.
45.!!?...!2. , p. 246.
-46 Ibid., PP 201, 249, e.tc.
47 Original estate papers located at Hon.ryl Plantation.
48Glynn- County, Georgia~~ 1::.!: (1922-1923), P 755; tt.;o copies of
original at Hofwyl Plantation.
49.IE.!.; .original estate papers located at IIofwyl Plantation.
50 Georgia Bryan Conrad, "Reminiscences of a Southern Homan," printed in
the Southern \Jorkman, 1901; published in pamphlet form by the Hampton Institute Press, Hampton, Virginia, n.d., p. 5.
51TKemble, .E. ill, p. 278n.

THE DENTS
Ophelia Troup was the first child to be born in her father's Jay house, in 1827, and was married twenty years later in the "old Broadfield House on the twentysecond of November, 1847," to George Columbus Dent. 1 The bridegroom, a native of South Carolina, was the son of John Hubert Dent, a naval officer who at one time
commanded the u.s.s. Constitution, "Old Ironsides." 2 The elder Dent died when
George was less than two years old, and Mrs. Dent moved to Georgia, living the rest of her life at her plantation, Cedar Hill, near Darien. For eight years following their marriage, Ophelia and George Dent lived at Cedar Hill, managing his mother's plantation.3 In 1856, following the elder Mrs. Dent's death, Ophelia and George "moved over to Broadfield and Hofwyl was settled," Dent "calling it after the then great Hofwyl school in Switzerland . . .where he had been educated."4
The popular date of construction of Hofwyl House is 1851. According to local tradition it had been built as an overseer's cottage, the family moving into it when Broadfield House burned around 1858. Research, however, tends to negate these traditions. No documentation has been found for the burning of Broadfield
'
and, while the estate papers of James M. Troup record several orders for nails, lumber and shingles in the early years of the 1850's, they also ~ndicate that the construction of a rice mill was going on at that time and that no overseer was employed after 1850, at least until after the settlement of the estate. 5
Much also has been made of the simple nature of the design of Hofwyl House as appropriate for an overseer's house. Simple design, however, seems to have been the rule on the rice coast rather than the exception, as so ~any of the planters made their homes on their plantations for only part of the year. The only
72

73

truly unique feature of Hofwyl House's architecture is its proximity to the

ground, an exceptional characteristic for a residence in the malarial low country.

Charles S. Wylly, a contemporary of George and Ophelia Dent, believed that

the couple had built the house for themselves, 6 and Mrs. Dent stated that "the

house at Hofwyl was not finished when our Civil War broke out.

"7 although

she may have been referring to repairs and renovations. While a precise date

for Hofwyl House has not been determined to date, it can be assumed from Mrs.

Dent's comments that it was under construction at the latest in 1860.

The Dent's ownership of Hofwyl was brief before the outbreak of the Civil

War. The decade of the 1850's had been Georgia's most prosperous in terms of

rice production, the state producing forty-five per cent of South Carolina's crop in 1859, 8'\but the onset of war brought a halt to the rapidly increasing

production. Like numerous other planters, George C. Dent chose to serve the

Confederacy and organized and commanded the Glynn Rangers, "the first company

to be equipped and take the field. This company, forming a part of the 4th

Georgia Cavalry did good and efficient service on the coast of Georgia and Florida, greatly distinguishing itself for vigilance and daring. ''9 l.Vith the arrival of

Union warships off the coast of Georgia, the "uncertain condition. render[ed] it unpleasant for Ladies to be upon the plantation,"10 and, consequently, large

numbers of coastalJfamilies evacuated, one source estimating as much as seventyfive per cent of the total population. 11

For one who had never witnessed the cruel effects of War the mind can hardly realize its saddening tendencies upon all classes . In Savan-
nah quite a Panic had taken place. Numerous families were hastening to seek shelter in the interior of Georgia whilst all business was at a stand. The same feeling existed in Charleston; Indeed had the Enemy known the weakness of our two cities and the great consternation spread throughout the entire community in November, 1861, they would have caused us far more injury than they did .. 12

The Dents and Troups moved to Ware county for the duration of the war, living in what became a refugee settlement for coastal families called Tebeauville. 13

74
Little documentation survives concerning their exile and the fate of the plan-
tations left tenantless on the Altamaha. The principal account is that of Georgia
Bryan Conrad, the daughter of Florida Troup Bryan of Broughton Islapd, who lived
with her cousins for several years in .the "miserable, wirerrass country, nl4 where
they had "with many other rice planters, bought large stretches of pine barrens,
and settled them with their slaves. nlS
We all lived in log houses or rough frame ones, unplastered and unpainted. The land was so poor, after it was cleared, that it did not supply enough corn for man and beast. The man had to be considered first, so the beast suffered . My cousins had but small supplies of coffee, tea, and loaf-sugar put aside for emergencies, so we fared as all around us did, having many substitutes for coffee and tea, and using brown sugar to sweeten them. The last year of the war, bacon, corn-meal, and hominy were the chief of our diet. There was no complaining, though this rough home was called Repine- ville. Often the women and children on these plantations would be left entirely alone, withou.t a white man, surrounded by hundreds of Negroes. In all that time we never had a rude word or look from any of them, they pursuing their accustomed avocations as if there was no such thing as war.
t.fuen we could no longer purchase ~,rhat He needed, ~ve learned to make substitutes for many things. For instance, we knit stockings, socks, gloves, mits, shirts and even guantlets [sic] We ripped up old slippers and shoesi and using these for ; patterns, supplied ourselves with .cQverings for our feet. If the material used was too stiff for our fingers, the plantation shoemaker ~.;rould stitch them for us. tve plaited palmetto and wheat straw and made hats. For my mvn amusement I learned to spin and weave and at last accomplished six yards a day, which was the regular task for a weaver.
Nustard and arrm1root t-.1ere planted and gathered. Castor oil was ob~ained from the bean. Soap was made, even for toilet purposes Hyrtle berries an'd beeswax supplied us with candles. Some very pretty homespun dresses were made and Horn Everything possible \vas u.qed for clothing. A small Negro boy ~1ho helped in the dining-room appeared or.e day, much to our amusement, in an entire suit of clothes made of ingrain carpet 16
Conditions lorere much the same all along the coastline. While the rice
coast remained isolated from much. of the ~Jar until the last year, the effect
of the Union blockade was continuously felt. Those planters liTho remained on
their plantations and continued the cultivation of their crops, found that the
occupation of Port Royal cut them off from ~ater communication with their factors
in Charleston, and those who dealt lvith firms in Savannah faced the "great scC~.rcity

75
of schooners at Savannah such was the eagerness of Planters to eet their craft
to Market, on account of the uncertain and alarming state of affairs that freight
17
rose to a point never before kno"t-m." That most cornmon of foodstuffs on the
rice plantation, the fish, was not to be had. There were no fish hooks and "the
Overseer and Hyself have taken all of the bullets from the fishnets "tole could find
and moulded them into bullets for our pistols, whilst it is impossible to purchase
18
Yarn of any kind for a Net either in Charleston, Savannah or Augusta."
a But the major problem \~as described by Charles Manigault,' Savannah River
rice planter: the lack of morale.
Even in our secluded position "tole are not entirely exempt from the suffering of the times The most self possessed have their feelings worked upon He have taken every precaution, yet the Enemy are quite near at hand and no one can tell what is yet in Store to befall us Dealing as has nm.r been proved with an Enemy of no principle whatsoever, whose only aim is to spread desolation and ruin over our land; - to arm our mvn Negroes against their very Masters; and entice by every means this misguided Race to assist them in their diabolic programme. Hith this species of Warfare none of us can boast of our position, for never vlith more truth can it be said None of us can tell "what a day nay bring forth. "19
In order to make their escape, the slaves "had only to take one of the 20
many boats owned by ourselves and neighbors, and at night row out to the enemy."
It seems from Mrs. Conrad's account that few of the Hofwyl-Broadfield slaves
took advantage of this opportunity, although the fact that most of them had been
moved inland might have been a factor. She stated:
'65 saw the end of the contest, but not until my cousin, calling the Negroes together, told them that they "t-.rere free, and could leave when they chose, did they begin to go. Then they left in ttvos and threes, carrying "t\rith them their belongings tied in immense bundles, on their heads. Hhen the rice planters returned to the coast, they found that the Negroes had simply preceded them. There they 't-lere, settled dmm i~ their mm quarters again. After all, it tvas only a day's journey. 0
"Before \ole returned," Ophelia Troup Dent remetr'bered, "the extinguishinr cap
of defeat was on our heads, our pleasant things were all gone, and strangers in

76

our homes. Large tracts of valuable lands passed a'r1ay for taxes, it was not surprising that in many instances two generations passed away in this wreck and ruin. " 21

Burnette Vanstory recalls the local tradition of the return of the Troups and Dents:

Matilda, eldest of the Troup daughters, felt a fierce pro-
tective love for the river plantations of her grandparents.
Faced with the almost insurmountable task of restorinr; order out of the chaos wrought ry war, Hatilda took everything into her inexperienced hands~ supervised the planting and harvest-
ing, the repairing of sluice-gates, the clearing of ditches and canals. And gradually family, servant~~ and land responded to the indomitable courage of Natilda.

Hrs. Dent's Memoirs substantiate this, for in them the author described her sis-

ter Hatilda as "the head of the household at our mother's death; and if she ever

fell short in her great responsibilities we never knew it. .After the ruin of

the Civil tvar she catl'l.e still more to the front, saving from the wreckage what she

thought

most

valuable .



1123


But the rice coast could not recover from the effects of war. The cen-

tral question concerned who, in fact, owned the land. In an order of January

16, 1865, General Sherman had ordered that all islands south of Charleston and

land thirty miles back from the seacoast down to the St. John's River in Florida
be reserved for freed~en. 24 This order was substantiated in March when the

Freedman's llureau Act declared all land which had been abandoned (which included

all property owned by persons "absent aiding the rebellion") could be doled out to

loyal freedmen and refugees; the refugees allowed to purchase not more than forty
25
acres for each person at the end of three years. The order was rescinded in

October, but ten months had passed during 'r7hich time the former owners of most of

.

26

the rice land in Georgia and South Carolina ~vere unable to claim their O'rm land.

In addition, the occupation of Union troops had resulted in the destruction 27
of most of the plantations, along with the hydraulic systems and machinery.

"Dams and flood-gates, quarter drains and canals, mills, barns, and houses were

either dilapidated or destroyed, and the power to compel the laborers to go into

78
and introduced into the southwest in 1900 by the United States Department of Agriculture, the rice producers of this area were able to drive down prices to the extent that the east coast rice planters were soon driven out of business. 42
Although rice was planted there as late as 1915, Hofwyl Plantation's wealth
was of the past. The man whose unfortunate duty it was to preside over its decline was the next master of Hofwyl,"James Troup Dent. Described by Wylly as combining
"all the personal and mental gifts that men and even women can desire: manliness, and gentleness; simplicity and polish of demeanor; generosity of hand and of thought,"43 James T. Dent headed a household which strove to retain something of the ante-bellum way of life:
Here we find repeated . ' the life, both mental, and physical, which once made Broadfield famous. Its large surroundings are suggestive of olden days, its owner contributed in his conversation the latest views of .the best thinkers and writers of the present age, leavened by a sound judgm~nt, that has not forgotten the work and glories of the past.. . " 4
It was while James Dent was the owner of Hofwyl that possession was secured of all the former Brailsford-Troup river property with the exception of the lower part of New Hope plantation. It seems most likely that the acquisition may
have occurred through the two mortgage foreclosures on Hofwyl and Broadfield which took place in the late 1800's.
James Dent had married Miriam Cohen on November 30, 1880. 45 The daughter of Solomon Cohen, a prominent Savannah lawyer, 46 and descended from a line of prominent Charleston and Savannah busines~men, as well as the intelligent and
beautiful Rebecca Gratz, allegedly the model for Sir Walter Scott's "Rebecca" in Ivanhoe, 47 the new Mrs. Dent proved to be an excellent manager. All property
transactions took place in her name and, when in the midst of Reconstruction mortgages were foreclosed on both Broadfield and Hofwy1, 48 it was her successful efforts
which managed to save the plantations. Hofwyl was returned to her ownership in 1885 49 and Broadfield in 1895. 50

79
James Troup Dent was not without talents, as well. Of a scientific bent, like many of the ri.ce planters of South Carolina and Georgia, he was among the first to experiment with the connections between malaria and the anopheles mosquito. In 1903, Dent screened Hofwyl House and spent the summer there instead of moving his family to their summer home, the Parsonage on Carteret's Point, and the experiment proved successfu1. 51 The fireplace screens which he had made for the experiment are still in use at Hofwyl Plantation.
Hofwyl and Broadfield remained the property of Mrs. Dent until her death in 1931. In her will, 52 she bequeathed one-third interest in her property to each of her daughters, Miriam and Ophelia, and a one-third interest for life only, to her son, Gratz. When Gratz. Dent died in 1936, his share of the property reverted to his sisters and Ophelia Dent became the sole owner of the Hofwyl-Broadfield plantations at her sister Miriam's death in 1953.
Although substantial portions of the original Hofwyl and Broadfield plantations were conveyed in the twentieth century, at the time of her death in September of 1973, Ophelia Troup Dent was the owner of 1,268 acres of land. This property was left to the Georgia Historical Commission, now a part of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Formal acceptance of Hofwyl Plantation by the State of Georgia took place on November 20, 1974.

80

FOOTNOTES The Dents

1ophelia Troup Dent, Memoirs, unpublished, original manuscript located at Hofwyl Plantation; transcript in appendix, pages a75-a86.
2Papers relating to the application of James Troup Dent for admission to the Sons of the Revolution organization, containing letters, family trees, etc.; located at Hofwyl Plantation.

3Dent, lac. cit.

4Ibid.

5Glynn County, Georgia Wills, Inventories, Appraisements Book~ (18441853), pp. 201, 202, 204, 249; microfilm reel 82/4, Georgia Department of Archives and History.

6 Charles S. Wylly, Annals and Statistics of Glynn County, Georgia (Privately
printed, 1896), p. 67.

7

.

Dent, lac. cit.

8Albert Virgil House,' "Labor Management Problems on Georgia Rice Plantations, 1840-1860," Agricultural History, XXVIII (1954), p. 150.

9wylly, ~ cit., p. 20.
10 Albert Virgil House, "The Deterioration of a Georgia Rice Plantation During
Four Years of Civil War," Journal of Southern History, IX (1943), p. 102. quoting Charles Manigault.

11 Dennis T. Lawson, "No Heir to Take its Place" (Georgetown, S~ C.: The
Rice Museum, 1972), p. 22.

12 House, "The Deterioration ," p. 101.

13Georgia Bryan Conrad, "Reminiscences of a Southern Woman," printed in the Southern Workman, 1901; published in pamphlet form by the Hampton Institute Press, Hampton, Virginia, n.d., p. 23.

14Dent, 1 oc. .c~t.

15Conrad, loc. cit.

16 Ibid., pp. 23, 24 0

17House,

Th e D . . 11

eter~orat~on.



, II p.

10 3

81

18Ibid., p. 108.

lY Ibid., pp. 98, 105, 106, 107.

20 Conrad,

.2.

cit.,

p.

25.

21Dent, _1 c~. t.

22 Burnette Vanstory, Georgia's Land of the Golden Isles (Athens: Univer-
sity of Georgia Press, 1956), pp. 103-104.

23 Dent, loc. cit.

24 George

C.

Rogers,

!

History

of

Georgetown

County,

South

Carolina

(Columbia:

University of South Carolina Press, 1970), p. 423; Oscar Zeichner, "The Transition

from Slave to Free Labor in the Southern States," Agricultural History, XIII (19 39),

p. 22; Paul Wallace Gates, Agric'Jlture and the Civil War (New York: Knopf, 1965),

pp 363' 364

25 Zeichner, . cit., p. 24.

26 Ibid.

27Willard Range, ! Century of Georgia Agriculture, 1850-1950 (Athens: Uni-
versity of Georgia Press, 1954), p. 67; Bell I. Wiley, "Salient Changes in Southern
Agriculture Since the Civil War," Agricultural History, XIII (1939), p. 66.

28 Range, loc. cit., quoting the Annual Report of the Q~ Connnissioners o
Agriculture (1871), p. 43.
29 Frances Butler Simkins, "The Problems of South Carolina Agriculture after
the Civil War," North Carolina Historical Review, VII (1930), pp. 61, 77.

30Alber~ Virgil House, "A Reconstruction Share-Cropper Contract on a Georgia
Rice Plantation," Georgia Historical Quarterly, XXV (1941), pp. 208-217, gives an excellent de~cription of the conditions which led to adoption of the share-cropper
system, as well as the text of a contract; see also, Bell I Wiley, "Salient Changes. , " p. 65.

31 Frances Butler Simkins, "The Solution of Post-Bellum Agricultural Problems
in South Carolina," North Carolina Historical Review, VII (1930), p. 202.
32 Theodore D. Ravenel, "The Last Days of Rice Planting," in David Doar,
Rice and Rice Planting _in the South Carolina Low Country (Charleston: The Charleston Museum, 1936), p. 46; Frances Butler Leigh gives the best account of post war conditions on the Altamaha in her Ten Years~~ Georgia Plantation (London, 1883), and mentions the employment of Irish laborers.

33simkins, "The Problems. , 11 p. 47.
34 Alfred H. Stone, "The Cotton Factorage System of the Southern States,"
American Historical Review, XX (1915), p. 564; J. W. Leigh, Other Days (London, 1921)' p. 134.
35 Rogers, 2. cit., p. 436.

82

36Patrick Hues Mell, "lhe Conditions of Rice Culture in the South Since 1865," in val. VI of lhe South in the Building of the Nation (Richmond, Va.: The Southern Historical Publishing Society, 1909), p. 74.

37 .

.

Range,.. cit., p. 109.

38
R,ogers, E. , .!!~ p. 488; Albert Virgil House, ed. , Planter Management
and Capitalism in Ante-Bellum Georgia: The Journal of Hugh Fraser Grant, Ricegrower (New York: Columbia University Press, 1954), p. 4.

39 Rogers, lac. cit.

40 Ibid., pp. 239, 245; Duncan Clinch Heywa:d, Seed From Madagascar (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1937), pp. 239-245.

41 Joseph Schafer, The Social History of American Agriculture (New York:
Macmillan, 1936), p. 256.

42 Mell, .2..2. cit., p. 75.
43 Wylly, .2..2. cit., p. 68.
44 Ibid., p. 17.
45 The Dent Family Bible, located at Hofwyl Plantation.

46

.

Sidney Andrews, lhe South Since the War . (Boston, 1866), pp. 366, 367.

47 Personal Papers at Hofwyl Plantation; see also Rollin G. Osterveis, Rebecca
Gratz; !:_Study in Charm (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1935).

48 Glynn County, Georgia Deed Books T (1879-1882), p. 73 (reel 82/37); CC (1888), p. 23 (reel 82/43);! (1884-1885)~ p. 485.
49 Glynn County, Georgia Deed Booky (1885), p. 222; reel 82/39.
50 . Glynn County, Georgia Deed Book NN (1895), p. 49, reel 82/50.

51 Vanstory, .. cit., p. 104.

52 Glynn

County, Georgia

Will

Book .!!.

(1917-1933),

p.

201.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Credits: Family photographs and rice field photographs from the Hofwyl Plantation collection. Exterior photographs by Victoria R. Gunn and interior ones by Van Jones Martin in 1974 and 1975.

pl
William Brailsford c. 1760 - 1810

p2 George Columbus Dent
.. 1822 - 1R84

p3
Miriam Gratz Cohen Dent ? - 1931

p4

. : 1 ........... J

~. ; r>~- .-'

(.

..
Ophelia Troup Dent, Gratz Dent, Miriam Gratz Dent - c. 1890

p5
James Troup Dent, Miriam Cohen Dent, Miriam Gratz Dent, Ophelia Troup Dent
Date unknm-Jn

p6
Hofwyl Plantation 1.90lf

p7
Main Drive Hofwyl Plar.lation

p8
Side vie~,, Ho fwy 1 Howw

p9

__ -.. ... -- - - - -.

~- ----

---..

F'Lrst Fltwr (,Jindm..rs Il.lustrnt: n~~ p:.ul'.:h: for addi.t. ion;,]_ vent: tlution

plO
.l~r=~ 1~1
Hofwyl House
Hear Vie~"

pll
'
.-::.1:" :.: 7
1 '-=~_:1 - .. ..: :;;:;;.:..;;
.- ... ._._.:;.:.,. :.-~- ...~.~.!'-:,,;: .
. . ~-
Hoiwyl Hous Front

p12



1..

Side Vir_'\v House and Outbuild.i.np;s

p13
Side View Hous.e and outbuildings

p14
Rear Yard
Servit~,ts' Ouarters

pl5

<,-._ , _A.,"!\"'
, ~-- , 'I ,..._

... ,. ., ~.

Outbuildings tiarns and Pay Shed

p16 Ice l!,luse and Lc:!Undry Yard

;i t ...".h'~"' "~' ~~f :
:.i
, "'
,;,,

pl8 Main Hall

pl9 Parlor

p20
: .~ . .
,
ffJ "'.l t:J
ParloJ:

It
I
I
____ ~
__..................~~ ..._

p22 Downsta"lrs Bedroom

p2.3
.. 'i
Upstairs Hall

p24
.r....... . , 'j ' .,.
Upstairs Bedroom South Corner

p25
Upstairs Bedroom East Corner Rice Red

p26
Rice Bed t~oti f Detail

,
., - " ,; -~'}t ""J i.~ _,. . II

p27

Upstairs Bedroom Uorth Corner

p28

.-'
.t .
,~ .....~
-~
~~~ ,\,: : ~.~~ . ..... ...!t.:'fl. /
l'

':'
i. "' ",
) f)
":

"~;\. .
.,
':.
'i,t f
~

Small Second Floor Bedroom

p29
Rice Fields 1975

p30
Rice Field Workers Planting

p31
Rice Field Horkers Date unknovm

p32

,. :./ ., . . ~~:, ';~ ~

~-\>'?'.' :s.i.f.;,. , ':, .,.

.. ' ~: 'j ~.
.,., J! :.~:}

. ,'
,

':;,\,'!,,,I

~

,.,

.. '
. ~ ~).....
; ...... ',

. . . .. ~
.'

'

Rice Fields Harvest

p33
Rice Harkers Threshing and \-Jinnowing

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. Manuscripts and other unpublished materials

1. At the Department of Archives and History, State of Georgia:

Register of Grants; Office of the Suryeyor General.

Books of Conveyances (Colonial); Office of the Surveyor General; Microfilm Library.

Fiats for Grants; Microfilm Library.

United States Census Records, Glynn and Mcintosh Counties, Georgia, 1820-1880;

Microfilm Library.

United States A&riculture Census Records, Glynn County, Georgia, 1860-1880;

Microfilm Library.

Tax Digests, Glynn County, Georgia, 1874-1960; Manuscript Collection; 1965;

Microfilm Library.



Glynn County, Georgia Records: Deed Books, 1765-1908, and indexes; Hicrofilm

Library; Estate Records, 1810-1916; Microfilm Library.

Liberty County, Georgia Records: Deed Book, 1804-1809; Microfilm Library.

Papers relating to the Bank of Darien; Microfilm Library.

Dent-Horry-Troup-Brailsford Genealogy; Microfilm Library, originals at Hofwyl

Plantation and the Georgia Historical Society, Savannah.

South Carolina Grant ~ook!! (1763-1764); Microfilm Library.

2. At the Glynn County Courthouse, Brcunswick, Georgia.

Glynn County, Georgia Deed Books, 1908~present.

3. At the Charleston County Courthouse, Charleston, South Carolina:

Charleston County, South Carolina Deed Books, 1765-1816.

4. At the South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston, South Carolina:

Henry Laurens' Papers; also on microfilm at the University of Georgia Library.

5. At the Hist;oric_al Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

Henry Laurens' Letterbooks.

6. At Hofwyl Plantation:

Family genealogies. Original deeds, mortgages, marriage agre~ments, estate records. Newspaper clippings. Letters. Photographs. Maps. Unpublished memoirs of Ophelia Troup Dent, 19d2-1904. Account book of James Troup Dent, ca. 1900.
7. At the Federal Records Center, Atlanta, Georgia:

Minutes of the Circuit Court of the Sixth District, Georgia, 1806-1816, Vol. D.

bl

b2
B. Contemporary Reports: Periodicals, Newspapers
1. Newspapers (as cited) :
Brunswick, Georgia:
~ Brunswick Advertiser.
Darien, Georgia:
The Darien Gazette. The Darien Timber Gazette.
Savannah, Georgia:
The American Patriot. The Columbia Uuseum and Savannah Advertiser. The Columbia Huseum and Savannah Daily Gazette. ~ Daily Georgian.
,!h!:. Gazette E.f l l i State E.f Georgia.
~ Georgia Gazette.
1h! Georgia Republican.
~ Georgia Republican ~ State Intelligencer.
~Georgian.
~ Georgian ~ Evening Advertiser. ~ Public Intelligencer. ~ Republican ~ Savannah Evenins Ledger.
1h! Royal Georgia Gazette.
~ Savannah Georgian. ~ Savannah Republican
.:!:!.:!., Southern Patriot.
Charleston, South Carolina:
The South Carolina Gazette.
2. Periodicals (as cited):
~ American Agriculturist. ~ American Farmer. American Journal.of Science. DeBow 1s Review. Galaxy. Harper's Hagazine. Scribner's Magazine. ~ Southern Agriculturist.
c. Contemporary Reports: Pamphlets, Essays, Tracts, Observations
"An Act for granting Liberty to carry Rice from His :t-1ajesty 1 s Province of Carolina in America, directly to any Part of Europe Southward of Gape Finisterre, in Ships built in, and belonging to Great Britain, and navigated accordinr to law; and to extend that Liberty to His Majesty's Province of Geor~ia in America." London, 1735.

b3

Allston, R.F,W. "Essay on Sea Coast Crops, Read before the Agricultural Association of the Planting States on Occasion of the Annual Neeting Held at Columbia. December 3, 1853." Charles ton, 1854.

An American. [Dr. John Mitchell?] "American Husbandry." v.l. London, 1775.

DeBow, J.D.B. TI1e Industrial Resources of the Southern and Western States. 3 vols.

New York,ls53.

--

-

DeBrahm, John G.W. History .2f. ~ Province .2f. Georgia. Hormsloe, 1819.

DeVorsey, Louis, Jr., ed, DeBrahm' s Report .2f. ~ General Survey .!E_ ~ Southern District 2.f North America. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press,
1971.

Drayton, John . fl ~ .2f South Carolina~.! Respects b!:.!, Natural ~ Civil
Concerns. Charleston, 1802.

Jones, Joseph. "The Agricultural Resources of Georgia." Augusta, 1861.

Lawton, William M. "An Essay on Rice and Its Culture; read before the Agricul-
tural Congress convened at Selma, Alabama, December 5, 1871." Charleston, 1871.
Ruffin, Edmund. Report ~ ~ Commencement .!!!.2. Progress _2! ~ Agricultural Survey .!. South Carolina !2.:!. ~ Columbia, 1843.

D. Contemporary Reports: Letters, Journals, Memoirs, Personal Papers

Agricultural Society of South Carolina. "Original Communications made to the Agricultural Society of South Carolina and Extracts from Select Authors on Agriculture, Published by Order of the Society." Charleston, 1824.

Alston, Jacob Hotte. ~Planter~ Sportsman. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1953.
Ball, Charles.: Fifty Years ~ Chains; .2! ~ ~ .!. .!!l American Slave. New
York, 1858, (reprint, Miami: The Nnemosyne Publishing Co., 1969.)

Bassett, John Spencer, ed, A Southern Plantation Overseer as Revealed in His Letters. 'Hestport, Co;n.: lvestport Universities PreiS, 1923. - -
Botkin, E.A., ed. Lay .!:!I Burden~; .!. .!!.!History .!. Slavery, Chicar.o:
University of Chicago Press, 1945.
Brown, John. Slave .1.!!!:. .!E, Georgia. London, 1855. (reprint, Savannah: TI1e
Beehive Press, 1972.)

Burke, Emily. Reminicenses !. Georgia. Oberlin, 1850.

Conrad, Georgia Bryan. "Reminiscences of a Southern Woman." Printed in the Southern Workman, 1901; published in pamphlet form by the Hampton Institute Press, Hampton, Virginia, n.d.

b4

Curtin, Phillip D. Africa Remembered. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press,
1967.

Easterby, James Harold, ed. The South Carolina Rice Plantation as Revealed in
~Papers Ei Robert F.~. Allston. Chicag;:-University oTChicaro Pr;B"s,
1945.

Fishburne, Anne Sinkler. Belvidere: A Plantation Memory. Columhia: lTniverstty
of South Carolina Press, 1949.
Hawes, Lilla M., ed. Collections .2!. ~ Geor~ia Historical Society. v. 12. (Papers 21 Lachlan Mcintosh, 111.!!.--1779.) Savannah: Georgia His torical
Society, 1957.
Lachlan Mcintosh Papers in ~ University .2f Georgia
Libraries. University of Georgia Miscellanea Publications, #7.

Holland, Rupert Sargent, ed. Letters and Diary of Laura }f. Towne. Cambridge,
1912. (reprint, New York: Negr~niversitfes Pres;, 1969.)

House, Albert Virgil, ed. Planter Management~ Capitalism~ Ante-Bellum
Georgia: ~Journal f. Hugh Fraser Grant, Ricegrower. New York:
Columbia University Press, 1954.

Kemble, Frances Anne. Journal of a Residence on a Ceordan Plantation in 1838-
39. New York, 1863. (reprint, edited with-an introduction by John A:--
Scott, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1961.)
Killion, Ronald c., ed. 1 Slavery~~ ~ Chi11un ~ ~ Marster's Plantation: Interviews .!:!lh Georgia Slaves. Savannah: The Beehive
Press, 1973.

Laurens, Henry. !h!, Papers E.!.IIenry Laurens. v. 1. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1968.

Leigh, Frances,Butler. ~Years~ Georgia rlantation. London, 1883.

Leigh, J.W. Other Days. London, 1921.

~!allard, R.Q. Plantation~ Before Emancipation. Richmond, 1892.

Phillips, Ulrich B. Plantation and Frontier Documents; 1645-1863. 2 vols.

Cleveland, 1905.

---

--------

Pringle, Elizaheth W. Allston. Chronicles 21 Chicora lli?.22. Boston: Christopher
Publishing House, 1940.

!::. l"oman ~ Planter .Ez. Patience Pennington.
New York: The MacHillan Co., 1913.

Rai!Say, Hartha Laurens. ~femoirs f.~ Life f. Fartha Laurens RaJTI.say, ~ ~ ..!!!. Charleston, South Carolina .2!1. ill_ Tenth .f.~ .ill.!...!.!! ~ ~ year f.h! age. Privately printed, n.d.

b5

Steward, Austin. Twenty-~ Years ~Slave~ Forty Years ~ Freeman. Rochester, New York, 1861. (reprint, New York: Negro Universities Press, 1968.)

\vylly, Charles Spalding. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~.!!!,!.!.!.!; Colony .2f Georgia; 1740-
~ New York, 1910.

! Annals ~Statistics

Glynn County, Georgia. Pri-

vately printed, 1896.

Yetttnan, Norman R. 1.!..! Under ,E.h! ."Peculiar Institution." New York: Holt,
Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1971.

E. Contemporary Reports: Travel Accounts
Andrews, Sidney. The South Since ,ili li!!:. Boston, 1866.

Bartram, William. Travels in North America. London, 1792. (reprint, Savannah: The Beehive Press, 1973.)
Bremer, Frederika. ~Homes .!!!!..~World, Impressions .!America. 2 vola. New York, 1854.
Bryant, William Cullen. Letters 1 .!. Traveller; I_ Notes .! Things seen in. Europe .!!!!!!. America. New York, 1851.
i Buckingham, John Silk. ~Slave States America. 2 vola. London, 1842.
(reprint, New York: Negro Universities Press, 1968.)
Clark, Thomas D., ed. South Carolina: ~ Grand Tour; 1780-llii. Columbia, University of South Carolina Press, 1973.
Featherstonhaugh, G.W. Excursion Through!!!.! Slave States. London, 1847. (reprint; New York: Negro Universities Press, 1968.)
Hall, Basil. Travels .!!!, North America .!!!, the Years 1J!U. .!!:!. ~ 3 vols.
Edinburgh, 1830.
Hall, Margaret Hunter. ~Aristocratic Journey; Being the Outspoken Letters
.E.!~ Basil !!!!! Written during ~ Fourteen .MonthS'Sojourn .!!!, America;
1827-~. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1931.
Kellar, Herbert A., ed. Solon Robinson, Pioneer~ Agriculturist. v.2. 1846-1851. (Vol. 23 - Indiana Historical Collections.) Indianapolis: ~~istorical Bureau, 1936.

King, Edward. The Great South. Hartford, Conn., 1879. (reprint, edited by
w. MagruduDrake and Robert R. Jones, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State
University Press, 1972.)
Lane, Hills B., ed. The Rani>ler.!!!, Georgia. Savannah: The Beehive Press, 1973.
Latrobe, Charles J. ~Rambler.!!!, North America. 2 vols. New York, 1835.

b6

Lyell, Sir Charles. A Second Visit to the United States of North America. 2

vols. New York: 1849.

--

-

Mackay, Alexander. .'!h!:. Western \{orld. 3 vols. London, 1849.

Murray, Hon. Amelia. Letters from the United States, Canada and Cuba. New

York, 1~56.

--

--

Olmstead, Frederick Law. ! Journey .!E, ~Seaboard Slave States. 2 vols.
New York, 1856.

! Journey !2, ~ ~ Co\.nltry. New York, 1860.
----------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - .!h!t Cotton Kingdom. 2 vols. New York, 1861.

Parsons, Charles Grandison. f:!!. Inside ~!..Slavery. Boston, 1855. (reprint,
Savannah: The Beehive Press, 1974.)

Reid, Whitelaw, After the~: A Southern Tour. Cincinnati, 1866. (reprint, editedwith an introduction by c. Vann Woodward, New York: Harper and Row, 1865.)
Smith, Joseph Warren. ViSits !2. Br\.nlswick, Georgia .!!!!t Travels South. Boston,
1907.

Somers, Robert. The Southern States Since the War. New York and London:

MacMillan aii";ico., 1871.

--

Stirling, James. Letters from the Slave States. London, 1857. (reprint, New York: Kraus Reprint~' 1969.)

Trollope, Mrs. F.M. Domestic Manners of~ Americans. 2 vols. London, 1832.

Trowbridge, J.T. ~South. Hartford, Conn., 1866.
Watson, Elkanah. ~ .!!!.2. Times !!!:!.!. Revolution. New York, 1856.

F. Government Documents
Allston, R.F.W. "Rice." u.s. Patent Office Agricultural Report, 1854.

---~"""":"'-~ "Rice Crop in South Carolina in 1849." u.s. Patent Office

Agricultural Report, 1849.

--

"Rice Culture." .!l.i Patent Office Agricultural Report, 1850.

Austin, Amory. Rice: Its Cultivation, Production and Distribution in the
United State'S'andForeig!t CoWltries ~ a chapter .2!!.!!!! ilicesoils 2f South Carolina. Washington, 1893. u.s. Department of Agriculture
Division of Statistics Report Miscellaneous Survey 6.
Faveau, Augustin L. "Rice Culture." .!l.i Department 2f Agriculture Report,
1867.

b7

United States Department of Agriculture. .ill Survey Ef Glynn County, Georgia. Washineton: u.s. Government Printing Office, 1911.

G. Dissertations
Chesnutt, David Rogers. South Carolina's Expansion~ Colonial Georgia, ~-1121 PhD, University of Georgia, 1973.

Henry, H. N. Police Control of the Slave in South Carolina. PhD, Vanderbilt

University, 1914.

--

-

Jackson, Harvey Hardaway. General Lachlan Mcintosh, 1,ill-~: ! Biography.
PhD, University of Georgia, 1973.

NcDonough, James Vernon. William Jay: Regency Architect 1!!, Georgia .!!!!.!! South
Carolina. PhD, Princeton University, 1950.

H. Articles

Barnwell, Joseph H. and Habel L. Hebber. "St. Helenl't's Parish Register." South Carolina Historical ~ Genealogical Hagazine, XXIII (1922), 22.
Bascom, William R. "Acculturation Among the Gullah Negroes." American An-
thropologist, XLIII (1941), 43-50.

Bonner, J.C. ''The Plantation. Overseer and Southern Nationalism." Aericultural History, XIX (1945), 1"'!"11.
Cole, Arthur H. "The American Rice Growing Industry: A Study of Comparative
Advantage." Quarterly Journal E.f Economics, 1'LI (1927), 594-643.

Coleman, Kenneth. "Agricultural Practices in Georgia's First Decade." Ar,ricultural History, XXXIII (1959), 196-199.

"Correspondence between Edmund Brailsford and his Father." South Carolina Historical ~ Genealogical Magazine, VIII (1907), 151-154.

DuBose, John H. "Recollections of the Plantation." Alabama Historical Quarterly, I (1930), 63-75; 107-118.

Duncan, Bingham. "Diplomatic Support of the American Rice Trade, 1835-1845." Agricultural History, XXIII (1949), 92-96.

Easterby, J .II. "The South Carolina Rice Factor as Revealed in the Papers of
Robert F.H. Allston." Journal .2f Southern History, VII (1941), 160-172.

"South Carolina Through Nelv England Eyes: Almira Coffin's Visit

to the Low Country in 1851." South Carolina Historical ~ Genealogical

t!agazine, XLV (1944), 127-134.



Eaton, Clement. "Class Differences in the Old South." Virginia Quarterly Review, XXXIII (1957), 361-370.
Flanders, Ralph B. "Planters' Problems in Ante-Bellum Georgia." Georgia 1!!2..~ torical Quarterly, XIV (1930), 17-40.

b8

Ford, Timothy. "The Diary of Timothy Ford; 1785-1786." South Carolina Historical ~Genealogical Hagazine, XIII (1912), 180-184.

Frazier, E. Franklin. "The Negro Slave Family." Journal of Negro History, XV (1930), 198-259.

Govan, Thomas P. "TI1e Banking and Credit System in Georgia, 1810-1860." Journal of Southern History, IV (1938), 164-184.

Harper, Roland H. "Development of Agriculture in Lower Georgia from 1850-1880." Georgia Historical Quarterly, VI (1922) 97-121.

"Development of Agriculture in Lower Georgia from 1880-1920." Georgia Historical Quarterly, VI (1922), 323-354.

Harwell, Richard B. "The Hot and Hot Fish Club of All Saints Parish." South Carolina Historical~ Ganealogical Hagazine, XLVIII (1947), 40-47.

Hawley, Norman R. "The Old Rice Plantations in and around the Santee Experimental Forest, South Carolina." Agricultural History, XXIII (1949), 89-91.

House, Albert Virgil. "Charles Manigault's Essay on the Open Planting of Rice." Agricultural History, XVI (1942), 184-193.

"The Deterioration of a Georgia Rice Plantation During
Four Years of Civil tvar." Journal .2f. Southern History, IX (1943), 98-113.

"Labor Management Problems on Georgia Rice Plantations, 1840-1860."A""Sricultural History, XXVIII (1954), 149-155.

"The Management of a Rice Plantation in Georgia 1834-1861 as Revealed in the Journal of Hugh Fraser Grant." Agricultural History, XIII (1939), 208-217.

"A Reconstruction Share-Cropper Contract on a Georgia Rice Plantation." Georgia Historical Quarterly, XXVI (1942), 156-165.

Jervey, Elizabeth Heyward. "Harriage and Death Notices from the City Gazette." South Carolina Historical ~ Genealogical Magazine, XXXI (1930), 265.

"Letters from the Honorable Henry Laurens to his Son John, 1773-1776." South Carolina Historical~ Genealogical Hagazine, V (1904), 3,4.

Linden, Fabian. "Notes on Some Prevailing Fallacies in Southern Ante-Bellum History." Georgia Historical Quarterly, XXV (1941), 141-150.

"A Lucas Nemorandum." South Carolina Historical Hagazine, LXIX (1968), 193.

:Hartin, Sidney Walter, ed. "A New Englander's Impressions of Georgia in 1817-

1818: Extracts from the Diary of Ebenezer Kellog." Journal of Southern

History, XII (1946), 247-262.

.

-

Mazyck, Arthur. "Preface to the Catalogue of the Charleston Library Society,

1786." South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, XXIII (1922),

163.

---

b9

Nell, Patrick Hues. "The Conditions of Rice Culture in the South :51nce 1865."
v.6, pp. 72-78 of The South in .Eb!_ Building!.~ Nation. Richmond, Va.
Southern Historical Publishing Society, 1909.

"Rice Planting in the Agricultural Development of the
South." v. 5, p. 169 of .!!!!. South .!E, ~ Building!.~ Nation. Richmond,
Va.: Southern Historical Publishing Society, 1909.

"Papers of the Second Council of Safety of the Revolutionary Party in South

Carolina; November, 1775-March, 1776." South Carolina Historical and

Genealogical Nagazine, IV (1901), 11.

-

Park, Robert E. "The Conflict and Fusion of Cultures." Journal of Negro History, IV (1919), 111-133.

Patten, David M. "The Rise of the Plantation System in Georgia." Georgia Historical Quarterly, XVI (1932), 114-135.

Phillips, Ulrich B. "The Origin and Growth of the Southern Black Belts." American Historical Review, XI (1906), 798-816.

"The Slave Labor Problem in the Charleston District." Political Science Quarterly, XXII (1907), 416-439.

Range, Willard. "The Agricultural Revolution in Royal Georgia, 1752-1775." Agricultural History, XXI (1947), 250-255.

Register, Jeannie Heyward. "Marriage and Death Notices from the City Gazette." South Carolina Historical~ Genealogical Magazine, XXVI (1925), 135.

Scarborough, H.tc:. "Plantation Overseer Reevaluated." Agricultural History, XXXVIII (1964), 13.

Sides, Sudie Dnncan. "Southern \{omen and Slavery." History Today, XX (1970), 54-60, 124-130.

Simkins, Francea Butler. "The Problems of South Carolina Agriculture after the Civil War." North Carolina Historical Review, VII (1930), 46-77.

"The Solution of Post-Bellum Agricultural Problems in South Carolina.'r North Carolina Historical Review, VII (1930), 192-219.

Smith, Henry A.M. "Charleston and Charleston Neck: the Original Grantees and the Settlements Along the Ashley and Cooper Rivers." South Carolina Historical~ Genealogical Magazine, XIX (1918), 58-59.

Stoddard, Albert H. "Origin, Dialect, Beliefs and Characteristics of the Negroes of the South Carolina and Georgia Coasts." Georgia Historical Quarterly, XXVIII (1944), 186-195.
Stone, Alfred H. "The Cotton Factorage System of the Southern States." Amer~ Historical Review, XX (1915), 557-565.

blO
Thayer, Theodore, ed. "Nathaniel Pendleton's Short Account of the Sea Coast of Georgia in Respect to Agriculture, Shipbuilding, Navigation and the Timber Trade." Georgia Historical Quarterly, XLI (1957), 70-81.
Torian, Sarah H., ed. "Ante Bellum and Har Memoirs of Nrs. Telfair Hodgson." Georgia Historical Quarterly, XXVII (1943), 350-356.
\olebber, Mabel L. "Death Notices from the South Carolina and f..merican General Gazette and its Continuation, the Royal Gazette; Nay, 1766-June, 1782." South Carolina Historical~ C~nealogical Magazine, XVI (1915), 92.
"Harriage and Death Notices from the Charleston Morning Post and Daily Advertiser." South Carolina Historical ~ Genealogical Mar:~' XX (1919), 144.
\Hley, B.I. ''Salient Changes in Southern Agriculture Since the Civil Har." Agricultural History, XIII (1939), 65-76.
Hilms, Douglas C. "The Development of Rice Culture in Eighteenth Century Georgia." Southeastern Geographer, XII, 45-57.
Hithington, Lothrop D. "South Carolina Gleanings in England." South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Hagazine, V (1904), 165, 166.
Zeichner, Oscar. "TI1e Transition from Slave to Free Labor in the Southern States." Agricultural Histo.!,l, XIII (1939), 22.
I. llis tories and }1onop:raphs
Averitt, Jack Nelson. Georgia's Coastal Plain. 3 vols. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1964.
Bennett, Hugh llanunond. .!!:!.! Soils ~ Agriculture .!. ~ Southern States.
New York: The MacHillan Co., 1921.
Blassingame, John W. ~Slave Community: Plantation~..!!!,~ Antebellum South. New York: Oxford University Press, 1972.
Bogart, E.L. Economic History~ American Agriculture. New York: Longrnans, Green and Co., 1923.
Bolton, Herbert E. and Mary Ross. ~Debateable~ Berkeley, 1925.
Bonner, James c. ! History ~ Georgia Agriculture, l.lli-J&.2Q. Athens: Uni-
versity of Georgia Press, 1964.
Callaway, James E. Early Settlement ..2. Georgia. Athens: University of Geor-
gia Press, 1948.
Cate, Margaret Davis. Early Days~ Coastal Georgia. St. Simons Island, Ga.: Fort Frederica Association, 1955.
~ Todays ~Yesterdays: A Story .2!, Brunswick ~ ~
Golden Islands. Brunswick, 1930.

bll
Childs, St. Julian Ravenel. Malaria and Colonization in the Carolina Low Country (1526-1696). Baltimore!The Johns Hopk1ii'sPress, .1940.-
Coulter, E. Merton. Thomas Spalding~ Sapelo. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1949.
- Cotterill, R. S ~ The Old South. Glendale, Calif.: Arthur H. Clark Co., 193.
Crum, Nason. Gullah. Durham: Duke University Press, 1940. (reprint , Nc"' York: Negro Universities Press, 1968.)
Davidson, Chalmers Gaston. ~~Foray;~ South Carolina Planters 2[~:
! Sociological Study. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press,
1971.
Devereaux, Anthony Q. ! ..!!!~Princes; ~ Epoch Revisited. Columbia:
The State Printing Co., 1973.
Doar, David. lli!. and~ Planting 1E, i l l South Carolina~ Country. Charleston:
The Charleston Museum, 1936.
Eaton, Clement. ~Growth .2f Southern Civilization, 112.Q.-.!J!..Q.. Ne"' York:
Harper and Row, 1961.
Flanders, Ralph Betts. Plantation Slavery .!.!!, Georgia. Chapel Hill: University
of North Carolina Press, 1933.
Fogel, Robert William and Stanley L. Engerman. Time on the Cross; the Economics
.2.f American Negro Slavery. Boston: Little, Br;n7nd Co., 1974.
Gaines, Francis Pendleton. ~Southern Plantation; A Study .!E. ~ Development
..22. Accuracy .2.f.! Tradition. New York: Columbia University Press, 1925.
Gates, Paul Hallace. Agriculture ~ the Civil ~ New York: Knopf, 1965.
~ Far~er's Age: Agriculture, 1815-~. (Vol 3, ~
Economic i l l History~ United States.) New York: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston, 1960.
Gee, \Vilson. The Social Economics .2.f Agriculture. New York: MacMillan, 1954.
Genovese, Eugene A. .!2!!. Jordan, ]e!.!: ~World~ Slaves ~ New York:
Pantheon, 1974.
Gordon, Asa H. ~ Georgia Negro: ! History. Ann Arbor, 1937. (reprint,
Spartanburg, S.C.: The Reprint Co., 1972.)
Sketches .2f Negro ~ .!!l2, History 1E, South Carolina. Columbia:
University of South Carolina Press, 1929.
Granger, Mary, ed. Savannah River Plantations. Published in the GeorGia~ torical Quarterly; Spartanburg, S.C.: The Reprint Co., 1972.

bl2
Gray, Lewis . c. History Ef Agriculture .f.!!~ Southern United States .!:.!?_ ~
2 vols. Washington: The Carnegie Institute, 1933.
Heath, t-filton Sidney. Constructive Liberalism: The Role of the State in the
Economic Development .!.!:!. Georgia ~ .!!!.2Q c"8niliridge :-Hmard UniVersity
Press, 1954.
Hewatt, Alexander. ~Historical Account .!...!:!!~~Progress .!. ~ Colonies~ South Carolina~ Georgia. London, 1779. (reprint, Spartanburg, S.C.: The Reprint Co., 1962
Heyward, Duncan Clinch. ~ l!.2!!!, Hadagascar. Chapel Hill: llniversity of North Carolina Press, 1937.
Hollander, Barnett. Slavery in America: ~Legal History. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1964.
Huxford, Folks. Pioneers ~ Hiregrass Georgia. v. 6. Jesup, Ga.: The Jesup Sentinel, 19 71.
Irvine, Williams. Brunswick~ Glynn County, Georgia. Brunswick, 1902.
Johnson, Charles s. Shadow of the Plantation. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1934. (reprint:-M~n Co., Alabama: Phoenix Books, 1966.)
Johnson, G. G. A Social History .2f ~ ~ Islands l!.!!h Special Reference 12.
..!. Helena Island, South Carolina. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1930.
Folk Culture of St. Helena Island, South Carolina. Chapel Hill: Universit'Y'Of North Carolina Press, 1930.
Jones, Katherine M. ~ Plantation South. Indianapolis: Bobbs Herrill, 1957.
Lachicotte, Alberta Horel. Georgetown~ Plantations. Columbia, S.c.: The State Printing Co., 1955.
Lawson, Denni:::: T. No Heir to Take Its Place. Georgetown, S.C.: The Rice Museum, 1972.
Lewis, Bessie. Mcintosh County, Georgia. Darien, Ga.: The Darien t~ews, 1966.
Lovell, Caroline Couper. ~ Golden Isles i Georgia. Boston: Little
and Co., 1933.
Mesick, Jane Louise. ..!!1!:, English Traveler..!!!. America; .11.1-.!..ll. New York:
Columbia University Press, 1922.
Ochse, J.J. Tropical~ Subtropical Agriculture. New York: The MacMillan Co., 1961.
Oliver, Paul. Savannah Syncopators. New York: Stein and Day, 1970.
Osterveis, Rollin G. Rebecca Gratz,! Study~ Charm. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1935.

bl3

Phillips, Ulrich B. American Negro Slavery. Nel<' York: D. Appleton and Co., 1918.

A History .f Transportation lE_ the Eastern Cotton ~ .!._
~ New York, 1908.

Co., 1929.

~ ~ Labor..!!!,.!!!!:, .2.!E, South. Boston: Little, Brown and

Postell, Hilliam Dosite. .!.b!:. Health .f Slaves .2!! Southern Plantations. Baton
Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1951.

Prevost, Charlotte and Effie L. Hilder. Pawley's Island. Columbia, S.C.:
The State Printing Co., 1972.
Ramsay, David. History .2. South Carolina. 2 vols. Ne"t-7berry, S.C., 1858.
(reprint, Spartanburg, S.C.: The Reprint Co., 1959.)
Range, Willard. ~Century E.f Georgia Agriculture, .!2Q-.!22.Q.. Athens: Univer-
sity of Georgia Press, 1954.
Rawick, George P. From Sundown.. Sunup; l l i Haking of~ Black Community.
Vol. 1 of 1b.!:, American Slave; A Composite Autobiography. Hestport, Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Co., 1972.
Rogers, George C. A History E.f Georgetown County, South Carolina. Columbia:
University of South Carolina Press, 1970.
Salley, Alexander s., Jr. ~Introduction .2.B!.!;. Culture .!!U. South Carolina.
Columbia, S.C.: The State Printing Co., 1919.

Savage, Henry, Jr. The Santee. New York: Rinehart and Co., 1956.

Scarborough, W.K. ~Overseer; Plantation Management JE~Q! South. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1966.
Schafer, Joseph. ~Social History !!f. American Agriculture. New York: The
NacMillan Co., 1936.
Schmidt, Louis Bernard and Earle Dudley Bernard. Readings ..!!!.lli Economic History .! American Agriculture. New York: The MacMillan Co., 1925.

Sellers, Lelia. Charleston Business on the Eve of the American Revolution. Chapel Hill: University of North C"ar'ollnaPr;, 1934.
Shannon, Fred A. ~ Farmer's ~ Frontier: Agriculture, lJiQ-.!1!21. (Vol. 5 of~ Economic History .2. .!h!:, United States.) New York: Farrar and
Rinehart, 1945.

Smith, Alice Ravanel Hur.er. A Carolina Rice Plantation of the Fifties. Nev. York:

H. Harrow and Co.~ 1936:-

-

--

Smythe, Augustin T., et al. ~ Carolina~ Country. New York: MacMillan,
1931.

bl4

Stampp, Kenneth Milton. The Peculiar Institution: Slavery ..!!:, ~ Antebellum
~ New York: Knopf, 1956.
Stokes, Thomas L. The Savannah. New York: Rinehart and Co., 1951.
Stoney, Samuel Gaillard. Plantations .2f ~Carolina~ Country. Charleston:
Carolina Art Association, 1938.

Thompson, Clara Mildred. Reconstruction~ Georgia, Economic, Social and
Political: ..!2.-..!..!!. New York, 1915.

Turner, Lorenzo. Africanisms ~!h! Gullah Dialect. Chicago, 1943.
Vanstory, Burnette. Georgia's ~ .2f ~Golden Isles. Athens: University
of Georgia Press, 1956.
Wallace, David Duncan. 1..!!!;, .2f Henry Laurens ~.!. Sketch .2f !h! .b.!..!!. .f.~
Son. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1915.
Wertenbaker, Thomas J. ..:!:h!:.lli South: ~ Founding E!. American Civilization.
New York: Scribners, 1942.
Hhite, George. Statistics E!. ~State of Georgia. Savannah, 1849.

White, John and Ralph Willett. Slavery ~!h! American South. New York: Harper and Row, 1970.

n. Wood, Peter

Black Majority. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1974.

\-loodman, Harold D. , ed. Slavery ~ ili, Southern Economy: Sources ~ Readings.
New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1966.

\.Joofter, T.J., Jr. Black Yeomanry. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1930.

J. Bibliographies and Collections
Boyd, William K. and Robert P. Brooks. ! E!. Selected Bibliography~ Syllabus
~ History of ~ South, .,!1!!!-..!.!!Z... Athens, 1918.

Candler, Allen D. and Lucien Lamar Knight, eds. The Colonial Records of the
State ..21. Georgia. 39 vols. Atlanta, 1904-I9'I6. (in manuscript-;-vcis.
20, 27-39 .)

Carroll, Bartholemew R. Historical Collections of South Carolina. 2 vols.

New York, 1836.

--

Clark, Thomas D. Travels .!!!. i l l l l i South. 3 vols. Norman: University of
Oklahoma Press, 1956-1959.

Travels in the New South. 2 vols. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1956=!9597---
Coulter, E.M. Travels ,!ll i l l Confederate States: A. Bibliography. Norman:
University of Oklahoma Press, 1948.

blS
Edwards, Everett Eugene. A Bibliography of the History of Agriculture in the United States. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1930.
Rowland, Arthur Ray. !=_Bibliography of the Writings on Georgia History. Archon Books, 1966.
Schlebecker, John T. Bibliography of Books and Pamphlets on the History of Agriculture in the United States, 1607..,..1967. Santa Barbara, Calif.: American Bibliographical Center, 1969.
Wymberley Jones DeRenne Georgia Library. Catalogue of the Wymberley Jones DeRenne Georgia Library at Wormsloe, Isle of Hope ~ Savannah, Georgia. 3 vols. Wormsloe, 1931.
K. Special Thanks To
Col. Claude A. Black, U.S. Army, Retired Rudolph Capers Frances Haynes William Haynes Mrs. D.A. Howard, Jr. Bessie Lewis Kent Moore Edward Reed Dr. Julia Floyd Smith the staff of the Charleston, South Carolina.Library Society the staff of the Georgia Department of Archives and History the staff of the Georgia Historical Society the staff of the Historic Preservation Section
L. Photo Credits
Family photographs and rice field photographs from the Hof~l Plantation collection. E:xterior photographs by Victoria Reeves Gunn. Interior photographs by Van Jones Martin.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Appendix

A. Principal Land Records
. . (1) Broughton Island.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2) Broadface - Broadfield. . . . . . . . (3) New Hope.

al a3
.a7

B. Plats and Maps
. . . . . . (1) Henry Laurens' Grant, New Hope
(2) Darby Pendergrass' Grant, Broadface

alO all

. . . (3) Lachlan Mcintosh's Grant, Broadface
(4) The Altamaha River Corridor, 1847 . (5) Hofwyl, Broadfield, New Hope, 1869

. . . . . . . . . al2 . . . . . . a13
al4(a)

(6) Areas of each rice square

al4(b)

(7) Tract deeded to the State of Georgia.

al5

c. Selected Tax Digests

. . .

.al6

D. Census Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.a35

E.

Family (1)
(2)
(3)

Trees Sources Charts. Kinship

.


. .

. .

. .

Diagram

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. .


. .


. . .

. . .

. .


.
.

. . .

. .


. . 0

. . .

. .

. .

.

.

a4 7 a48
a5,2

F. Estate Records (1) Will of James M. Troup. (2) Inventory and Appraisement of Estate of James M. Troup.
(3) Accounts of Estate of James M. Troup. (4) Division of Estate of James M. Troup . (5) Statement of the Amounts received by the heirs of James
M. Troup in Property and Money

.a53 .a54
.a58 . .al53
.al58

F. Uofwyl Plantation Furnishings.

.al59

G. Floor Plan - Hofwyl House.

.al62

R. Agriculture Census Records . .

.al63

I. Memoirs of Ophelia Troup Dent.

~al70

PRINCIPAL LAND RECORDS BROUGHTON ISLAND

4 July 1758 Georgia Grant Book A (1756-1758), p. 652. Office of the Surveyor General, State of Georgia

English Crown Grant to Johnathan B;yan "that tract of land or Island called Broughton
Island" situated "on the River Altamaha 760 acres whereof are Marsh and 140 acres thereof River Swamp bounded on all sides by the said River and the branches thereof. "

6 July 1758 Georgia Colonial Conveyance Book C-2 (1761-1766), pp. 632-633, 989-990, recorded 16 November 1761 Microfilm reel 40/19

Johnathan Bryan to Lachlan Mcintosh &William Mcintosh Deed of exchange with 5 shillings consideration;
Broughton Island and other land "including a small. . island called Doboy." Transaction involves a trade of the above named property for 1,000 acres in Newport District granted to Lachlan and William Mcintosh.

8 December 1763 Georgia Colonial Conveyance Book C-2 (1761-1766), pp. 990--992, recorded 26 July 1765 Microfilm reel 40/19

Lachlan Mcintosh to Henry Laurens 5 shillings consideration for lease, ~4,500 for re-
lease; Broughton Island, "l)rii1g arid being on the River Altamaha .bounded on all sides by the said River . and the branches thereof."

2 December 1803 Liberty Co., Ga. Deed Book F (1804-1809~. 119, recorded 22 February 1806' Microfilm reel 30/17

John Eliot, Administrator ot the Estate of Johnathan Fabian to William Brailsford
An agreement in which Brailsford agrees "to take up certain bonds executed by the late Mr. Fabian" to Mr. James O'Hear of Charleston, Dr. Ramsay or Mr. Paul Hamilton, and '~onds in the hands of Mr. Bolton given to a Mr. Bunch with a small note given to Mr. Bolton by the said John Eliot as Administrator ofthe Estate " the whole sum being $30,000.

(chart continued on following page)

900 acres
900 acres (and an additional 100 acre tract north of the Altamaha) 900 acres
2/3 Broughton Island.

Broughton Island Land Records (continued)

10 March 1816 Charleston Co., S.C. Deed Book 0~8, pp. 106-107:--~rded 15 March 1816

David Ramsay, Eleanor !!.b. Ramsay, Martha R.L. Ramsay Catherine H.L. Ramsay, Sabina! Ramsay & Dr. John Ramsay, guardian of James, Nathaniel and William Ramsay, minor children of the late Dr. David Ramsay, all children of the late David Ramsay and grandchildren of the late Henry Laurens to Maria Brailsford
$23,130. 78 consideration; "being -that part assigned to the heirs of William Broughton (?) by a Resurvey (and) allotment made by order of the supreme cart (sic) of Mcintosh County in the State of Georgia in a division between the heirs of Brailsford and the heirs of (Thaiian?) the said heirs of Brailsford claiming under a contract made with David Ramsay which has since been set aside by the Court of Equity in South Carolina."

James Troup died 26 April 1849; will dated 20 December 1847 recorded 8 May 1849, Glynn co.,.
Ga. Wills, Inventories, !E.E.-
raisements Book E, p. 135. Microfilm r""i'e1"82/4. Division of estate took place 22 April
1858. Deed of Division recor-
ded 19 March 1923, Glynn Co., Ga. Deed Book 3-P (1922~1923}, p. 7ss:-~opies of original locateq at Hofwyl Plantation.

Administrators of the Estate of James Troup (James Hamilton Couper and D.!!.~ Troup) to his heirs (Daniel Heyward Brailsford Troup, J. Robert Troup, George and Ophelia Dent, Matilda B. Troup, Clelia Troup, and Charles Manigault Morris)
six equal, undivided shares in Broughton Island

1/3 Broughton Island
900 acres

PRINCIPAL LAND RECORDS BROADFACE - BROADFIELD

21 May 1763 South Carolina Grant Book XX (1763-1764), p. 105. Plat (not included) certified 18 April 1763. Microfilm reel 145/49 ALSO Glynn Co., Ga. Deed Book ABEF (1787-1808)Ttranscribed). pp. 127-129, plat p. 130, no recording date. Microfilm reel 82/32

English Crown Grant to Darby Pendergrass Land situated south of the Altamaha River, bound-
ed east by land surveyed for Henry Laurens, west by lands surveyed for David Deas, north by the Altamaha River, and south by "vacant lands and part of the lands laid out for Henry Laurens and David Deas."

28 November 1764 Charles ton Co. , S.C. Deed Book C-3, pp. ~ 711-716, recorded 13 March 1765. ALSO Glynn Co., Ga. Deed Book ABEF (1787-1808~rans cribed), pp. 131-139,_ recorded 12 September 1794. Microfilm reel 82/32

Darby Pendergrass to Henry Laurens 10 shillings consideration for lease, bl,OOO for
release; land situated on the banks of the Altamaha River, bounded east by lands of Henry Laurens, west by lands of David Deas, south by vacant lands and lan.ds of Henry Laurens and David Deas, north by _the Altamaha River.

9 October 1765 Charleston Co., S.C. Deed Book E-3, p. 136, recorded 14 October 1765, lease . dated 8 October 1765. ALSO Glynn _Co. , Ga. Deed Book
ABEF (1787-1808) (transcribed), pp. 139-147,
recorded 17 September 1794. Microfilm reel 82/32

Henry Laurens to Lachlan Mcintosh 10 shillings consideration for lease, bl,OOO for
release; originally land "laid out to and surveyed by Darby Pendergrass, 11 bounded west by David Deas' land, south by vacant land and Henry Laurens' land, north by David Deas' land and the Altamaha River.

(chart continued on following page)

1,200 acres 1,200 acres 1,200 acres

Broadface - Broadfield Land Records (continued)

6 April 1773 Georgia Grant Book I (17701774), p. 951, registered 17 June 1773. Office of the Surveyor General, State of Georgia

English Crown Grant to Lachlan Mcintosh Land situated in St. David's Parish "the quantity
of surplus land contained in a tract purchased by the said Grantee of Henry Laurens, originally surveyed for and granted to the said Henry Laurens (?) for twelve hundred acres only." To total 1,500 acres.

7 August 1786 Glynn Co., Ga. Deed Book CD (1765-1800) (transcribed)-,-
P 25. Includes plat, p. 26t
no recording date. Microfilm reel 82/33

Governor and Executive Council [ Georgia to Lachlan Mcintosh
Land situated in Glynn County, bounded southeast by New Hope Plantation, southwest by "said General Lachlan Mcintosh's land" and "on all other sides by the South Branch of the Altamaha River."

15 October 1807 Glynn Co., Ga. Deed Book ABEF (1787-1808~r~ cribed), pp. 483-485, recorded 7 December 1807 Microfilm reel 82/32

Henry Laurens Mcintosh to William Brailsford $5,000 consideration; lower third part of Broad-
face Tract, "the whole having been originally granted to the late Honorable Henry Lawrence (sic), deceased, and by him in his life time sold and conveyed to the late Major General Lachlin (sic) Mcintosh, deceased, and by him in his lifetime sold and conveyed to the said Henry Laurens Mcintosh."

(chart continued on following page)

300 acres 1,025 acres 500 acres

Broadface - Broadfield Land Records (continued)

James Troup died 26 April 1849; will dated 20 December 1847 recorded 8 May 1849, Glynn Co., Ga. Wills, Inventories, ~ raisements Book E, p. 135. Microfilm r~82/4. Division of estate took place 22 April 1858. Deed of Division recorded 19 March 1923, Glynn Co., Ga. Deed Book 3-P (1922-1923), p. 7ss;-~opies of original located at Hofwyl Plantation.

Administrators of the Estate of James Troup (James Hamilton Couper and Q.H.~. Troup) to his heirs (Matilda B. Troup, Clelia Troup and .{. Robert Troup
Three equal, undivided shares in Broadfield Plan~ tation, of which 925 acres are upland, and 400 acres
bottom swamp

31 December 1879 Glynn Co., Ga. Deed Book T (1879-1882), p.~ ~r~ ded 16 January 1880 Microfilm reel 82/37 Original deed at Hofwyl Plantation

Matilda ~ Troup and Clelia Key to George I Mills
$10,000 mortgage on "that plantation known as Broadfield on the waters of the Altamaha River" consisting of their undivided 2/3 interest in 266 acres tide swamp or rice land and 900 acres pine land

1,325 acres 1,166 acres

7 February 1888 Glynn Co. , Ga. Deed Book CC (1888), p. 23, ~rded 7 February 1888 Microfilm reel 82/43

William H. Berrie, sheriff to the Southern Bank of Georgia
$4,200 bid on Broadfield Plantation "containing 262 acres of tide swamp or rice lands, bounded on the north by the lands of the heirs of Robert Troup and the Altamaha River, east by a canal, New Hope Creek and Hofwyl Plantation, south by the highlands of the estate of Matilda B. Troup and Clelia Key and west by a canal and Grantley Plantation. Also 900 acres of high or pine lands. bounded north by the rice lands of the estate of Matilda B. Troup and C1elia Key, east by the pine lands of Hofwy1 Plantation, south by the pine lands of Evelyn Plantation and west by the pine lands of the Grant Estate." Levied in favor of George J. Mills.

1,162 acres

(ch.::lrt continued on following page)

Broadface - Broadfield Land Records (continued)

29 March 1895 Glynn Co., Ga. Deed Book NN (1895), p. 49, recorded 6 April 1895 Microfilm reel 82/50
24 July 1923 Glynn Co. , Ga. Deed Book 3-g (1923-1924), p. 469, recorded 10 August 1923
Will probated 6 July 1931, recorded 29 July 1931, Glynn Co., Ga.
li!.!! ~ H (1917-1923),
p. 201
1 October 1937 Glynn Co. , Ga. ~ Book 4-S (1928-1937), p. 683, ~orded 7 October 1937

Southern Bank of Georgia to M.f.. Dent $7,000 consideration; 2/3 Broadfield Plantation,
"having been divided off from the other 1/3 and containing 262 acres of tide, savannah or rice lands consisting of squares #1,2,3,4,5,6,7,13,14,&15, bounded north by the 1/3 portion consisting of the lands of the heirs of J. Robert Troup and by the Altamaha River, east by a canal,
New Hope Creek and Hofwyl Plantation, south by the undivid~ ed highlands of Broadfield Plantation and west by the rice lands of Grantley Plantation. Also, an undivided 2/3 interest in 925 acres high pine and swamp lands boundednorth by rice lands of Broadfield Plantation, east by lands of Hofwyl and Evelyn Plantations, south by the pine lands of Evelyn Plantation and west by the pine lands of the Grant Estate

1,187 acres

Robert Troup, heir of J. Robert Troup to Miriam Cohen Dent
All of a 1/3 undivided interest in Broadfield, excepting rice squares #8,9,10,11,&12 (consisting of 135 acres)
Miriam c. ~ to her heirs (Gratz ~. Miriam G. Dent and
Opfielia Demt) 1/3 undivided interest each in her landed estate, with
the interest of Gratz Dent being a life estate, reverting to his sisters on his death

Miriam & aphelia Dent to Jack Thigpen $17,000 consideration; all of Hofwyl and Broadfield
Plantations located west of the Darien-Brunswick Canal

780 acres

PRINCIPAL LAND RECORDS NEW HOPE

18 May 1763 South Carolina Grant Book XX (1763-1764), p. 64. Microfilm 145/49. Plat certified 14 April
1763, located Georgia Plat Book _, pp. 166 & 436 , - -
Office of the Surveyor General, State of Georgia

English Crown Grant to Henry Laurens Land situated south of the Altamaha River, bounded
northeast by "the said River and Broughton's (sic) Island and on all other sides by vacant land."

3,000 acres

1 January 1829 Glynn Co., Ga. Deed Book H (1824-1837) (tr~ribed) :p. 212. Includes plat p. 213, recorded 6 June 1830. Microfilm reel 82/34

Henry Laurens heirs (Dr. James Ramsay, Eleanor H.L.
Ramsay, Martha H.L. Ramsay, Catherine H.L. Ramsay,
Nathaniel Ramsay, William Ramsay, Henry .!! Pinckney
and Sabina, his wife) to John G. Bell $5,000 consideration; refers to plat for descrip-
tion, mortgage satisfied 19 July 1845

3,000 acres

~------------------------~----~----------------------------~-----------------------------+--------------------

12 February 1840 original deed located at Hofwyl Plantation

Administrators of the Estate of John G. Bell (J.T. Green, J.F. Green and Hugh Fraser Grant) to James Troup
$8,666 and 2/3 of a dollar consideration; New Hope Plantation, bounded north by the south Altamaha River and west by Broadfield, owned by James Troup and lands formerly owned by Robert Baily, John De as
and David Deas

3,000 acres

(chart continued on following page)

New Hope Land Records (continued)

James Troup died 26 April 1849; will dated 20 December 1847 recorded 8 May 1849, Glynn Co. , Ga. Wills, Inventories, ~ raisements Book E, p. 135. Microfilm r~8Z/4. Division of estate took place 22 April 1858. Deed of Division recor-
ded 19 March 1923, Glynn Co., Ga. Deed Book 3-P (1922-1923), p. isS,--t;ocopies of original located at Hofwyl Plantation.

Administrators of the Estate of James Troup (James Hamilton Couper and Q~! Troup) to his heirs
(A.) George and Ophelia Dent West New Hope (became Hofwyl Plantation) consisting of 925 acres of upland and 300 acres of river swamp
(B.) Daniel Heyward Brailsford Troup East New Hope, consisting of 925 acres of upland and 370 acres of river swamp and bay lands

19 December 1859 Glynn Co., Ga. Deed Book N, (1859-1869) (transcribed)~ p. 124, recorded 20 December 1859 Microfilm reel 82/36

George C. Dent to l Pinckney Huger $800 consideration; "part or land allotted to
George C. Dent in a deed of partition between the heirs
of the late Dr. James Troup, bounded north by the lands of J. Robert Troup and sisters, south by Daniel Heyward Brailsford Troup, east by the Brunswick canal. "

1,225 acres 1,295 acres
400 acres

3 February 1885 Glynn Co., Ga. Deed Book X, (1884-1885)' p. 485.--recorded 12 February 1885 Microfilm reel 82/39.

~Villiam ~ Berrie, sheriff to William Gourdin Young, as trustee of Joanna Carolina Roper
$500 bid; Hofwyl Plantation, of which 295 acres are rice lands and under bank and 450 acres are pine lands, bounded north by the Altarnaha River, east by New Hope Plantation and west by Broadfield Plantation

745 acres

31 March 1885 Glynn Co., Ga. Deed Book Y (1885), p. 22z:-Tecorded 9 May 1885 Microfilm reel 82/39

II William Gourdin Young, trustee of Joanna Carolina Roper to Miriam C. Dent
I $5,200 consideration; Hofwyl Plantation, of which 295 acres are rice lands and under bank and 450 acres are
1 pine lands, bounded north by the Altarnaha River, east by j New Hope Plantation and west by Broadfield Plantation

745 acres

~---(-c-h--a-rt -c-o--n-ti-n-u-e--d--o-n--f-o-l-lo-w--i-n-g-~p'a-g-e-)-----------------------------------------------------------L----------

New Hope Land Records (continued)

31 January 1898
Glynn Co., Ga. Deed Book TT (1900-1901), pp:-IOl-102,recorded 12 December 1900 Microfilm reel 83/12

J. N. Walker to R. T. Clark $2,000 consideration; "New Hope Rice Plantation"
formerly owned by "Dr. H. B. Troup, deceased," bounded north by the Altamaha River and east by Gordon's Plantation (Needwood)

1;250 acres

14 March 1904 Glynn Co., Ga. Deed Book
ww (1904-1905),~1~
recorded 18 July 1904 Microfilm reel 83/9
23 May 1923 Glynn Co., Ga. Deed Book
1:;,g, ( 192 3-192 4)-:-p:- 188 ,
recorded 24 May 1923
Will probated 6 July 1931, recorded 29 July 1931, Glynn Co., Ga.
.li!ll Book H (1917-1933),
p. 201
1 October 1937 Glynn Co., Ga. Deed Book 4-S (1928-1937)-:-p:-6~ recorded 7 Octobe r 193'7

Miriam .. Dent to ~! Dubberlx $1.00 and "for the -further consideration of the
mutual profits and benefits to be derived by each of the said parties . "; "The Island" of Hofwyl Plantation, bounded south and southwest by New Hope Plantation (the lands of J.E. Dubberly, northeast by the Altamaha River and north and northwest by Bell Creek.

152 acres

Miriam Dent, aphelia Dent, and Gratz Dent to Mrs. Miriam C. Dent
$5.00 consideration; all their interest in Hofwyl Plantation as the heirs at law of James T. Dent

745 acres

Miriam c. Dent to her heirs (Gratz Dent, Miriam G. Dent and
Ophelia Dent
1/3 undivided interest each in her landed estate, with the interest of Gratz Dent being a life estate, reverting
to his sisters on his death.

Miriam & Ophelia Dent to Jack Thigpen $17,000 consideration; all of Hofwyl and Broadfield
Plantations located we~_t of the Darien-Brunswick Canal

780 acres

17 May 1955

Ophelia~ to Harry Liles and Alice Virginia Calahan~

Glynn Co., Ga. Deed Book

$10 consideration; bounded northeast by the South

7-T (1955), p. 53, re-

Branch of the Altamaha River, southeast by lands of New

C0 r ,~t~d 17 Hay 195.5

Hope Plantation, west by a portion of New Hope Creek, north

L_-

I northwest by Hofwyl Plantation

l --- ----- -----''-- -- - --- --------- --~-

- - - ---- ------------~--------'--

alO

-. I ,.~ ~~-.u:-~~.u...-~:._(J./J..u~u~u~~-".-.~.._a.,._..~_,-'&.rJ

, / ......... ,/,_

I I
-u .- .\ ....- 1

. I - .....r.II.

.
r.AJI- t .. - .
;---_ ---~.~ ""T'%'!..~~~c--.-~--

.J..

\

:\~

I'

'

. ,. ..,f....:/,\.'- ,." ' . ~~ .,;....,..,

I .~ .. ~ ~ ri~ (!
\ ... . ' ,,. L ..

r.. ..... - ........... H l

- ... . ...... a..

. .-

New Hope Plat John G. Bell no date
Glynn County, Georgia Deed Book H (1824-1837)
Page 213

all

Br o8dface Plat Darby Pendergrass
no date Glynn County, Georgia ~ ~ ~ (1787-1808)
Page 130

f.

"7"7 "~.:-'~./"

;~ . .....__,,_,"'

.. I' .. .,

"., ,
.--

- .. ._. f

~ ' .I j I . ' ~I f ' ' ,

~ ,' o o t \o

".
.... ' 4 l l - .t f /

I
I

. --- ---- ----

al2

- - --- -.-------- ---
,~';;.-::~ ',

.. .

A~~_r,.t,;~ir(lf. . ~~ . "',

czil..!.tl~~4/ .

.

.f~J~d - ~~ -. -:

~;a~~~ :.

Broadface Plat Lachlan Mcintosh
no date Glynn County, Georgia ~ Book _Q (1765-1800)
Page 25

al3
Altamaha River Corridor 1847
Frcm a map of Georgia by William G. Bonner
located in the Surveyor General's Office Georgia Department of Archives and History

+-
.,~'., .' ~
'

. :
estate Peirce,?
' '
, i
.. .
!

al4(b)

AREAS OF EACH RICE SQUARE*

Broadfield

Hofwyl

Number 1 Number 2 Number 3 Number 4 Number 5 Number 6 Number 7 Number 8 Number 9 Number 10 Numb~r 11 Number 12 Number 13 Number 15

10 acres 22 acres 36 acres 4 7 acres 53 acres 22 3/4 acres 17 acres 24 1/4 acres 30 acres 28 acres 27 1/4 acres 31 1/2 acres 18 1/4 acres 15 acres 394 1/2 acres

East number 1 W~st number 1 East Sand Square West Sand Square East John Adams West John Adams Cane Square Sugar Mill Square Buzzard Square

4 acres 8 1/4 acres 16 acres 14 acres 14 acres 16 acres 14 3/4 acres 18 acres 17 acres 127 acres

Island

3 acre slight Point New Ground Sawyer Creek Walley Leg Bridge Square Step Landing 10 acre slight

3 acres 36 acres 39 acres 23 acres 21 acres 18 acres 10 acres 140 acres

Broadfield 'Hofwyl
Total Less Negro Settlement
[Peters ville]

TOTAL ACERAGES

Pine

Rice

925 473
1, 398

394 1/2 267
661 1/2

140 acres 1,235 acres

Total
1,319 1/2 acres 740 acres
2,059 1/2 acres

*From a map located at Hofwyl Plantation; supposed to have been surveyed and drawn by Gratz Dent.

. . r ' .! /,
I _:

\. \ .

,. . \-~: ~-

......

~,......
-N-
~
....,. w?.:
() .
I. gf5
.. ~.:. ..:! ~
i '4 . D.;.
0
.."n1 >.

I

I

T.ract deeded to

.: . . The State of Georgia

I;:; !
: , I
l
I
I
l
i
" l

I
!.

al6

SELECTED TAX DIGESTS*
Mcintosh County, Georgia Glynn County, Georgia

1825 1837 1874

Mcintosh County, 27lst District James Troup

Item

2,000 acres inland swamp (2nd quality) 15 acres pineland, within (?) 3 miles (?) Town property 1 (4 wheel?); 1 (2 wheel?) carriage 37 - polls on free white males over 21 and
taxes on slaves

Total tax

Mcintosh County, 21st District James Troup

Item

2,000 acres inland swamp (3rd quality)

15 acres pineland, throughout

Town property

2 Lottery (?) (

) tracts

80 acres oak and hickory land (2nd quality)

1 (4 wheel?); 1 (2 wheel?) carriage

166 - polls on free white males over 21 and

taxes on slaves

Total tax

Glynn County, 26th District
George f. Dent

Item

155 acres of land Capital invested in shipping and tonnage Household and kitchen furniture Plantation and mechanical tools All other property not before enumerated
except annual crops, provisions, etc.

Mrs. J. Dent
Item
Number of shares of any Bank in this State Household and kitchen furniture

Valued At
$ 4,000
$ 53.65 2 1/2 mils
Valued At
$ 4,000
$ 39.33 2 1/2 mils
Valued At $ 3,100 125 25 75 500 $ 3,825
Valued At $ 250 25 $ 275

al7

1874 (continued)

Miss Matilda ! Troup
Item
164 (?) acres of land Capital invested in shipping and tonnage Household and kitchen furniture Plantation and mechanical tools All other property not before enumerated
except annual crops, provisions, etc.
Miss Matilda! Troup, Administratrix (?)
Item
231 acres of land Iron works, foundries, etc. Household and kitchen furniture Plantation and mechanical tools All other property not before enumerated
except annual crops, provisions, etc.
Estate, Robert Troup
Item
138 acres of land Plantation and mechanical tools All other property not before enumerated
except annual crops, provisions, etc.

1876

Glynn County, 26th District
George f Dent
Item
300 acres of land Household and kitchen furniture Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle, etc. Plantation and mechanical tools
27 hands employed
Miss Matilda ! Troup
Item
138 acres of land

Valued At $ 3,100 125 50 75 525 $ 3,875
Valued At $ 5 '775 75 50 45 450 $ 6,395
Valued At $ 1,380 45 500 $ 1,925
Valued At $ 5,000 75 500 35 $ 5,610
Valued At $ 3,450

al8

1876 (continued)

Item

Valued At

Household and kitchen furniture Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle, etc. Plantation and mechanical tools
12 hands employed
Miss Matilda .!! Troup, for Mrs .:!. R. Troup

$ 100 300 175
$ 4 '025

Item

Valued At

56 acres of land Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle, etc. Plantation and mechanical tools

$ 1,600 200 100
$ 1,900

Miss Matilda .!! Troup, for ... Key

Item

Valued At

126 acres of land Horse$, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle, etc.
12 hands employed

$ 3,150 200
$ 3,350

Estate, Daniel H~J! Troup

Item

Valued At

300 acres of land Plantation and mechanical tools
18 hands employed

$ 7,000 100
$ 7,100

1877

Glynn County, 26th District George _. Dent

Item

Valued At

160 (?) acres of land Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, etc. Watches, silverplate and jewelry of all
kind, worn by owner or not Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle and all
other stock Plantation and mechanical tools, law or other
library books, pictures, etc. All other property not before numerated

$ 4,000 (entry misplaced)
50
50
300
50 100 $ 4,550

Total amount of taxes: $34.12

al9

1877 (continued)

Miss Matilda ! Troup

Item

Valued At

60 acres of land Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, etc. Watches, silverplate and jewelry of all kind,
worn by owner or not Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle and all
other stock Plantation and mechanical tools, law or other
library books, pictures, etc. All other property not before enumerated
12 hands employed Total amount of taxes: $18.75

$ 1.5oo
50
500
225
25 200 $ 2,500

Miss Matilda! Troup, Agent for Mrs .:!_.R. Troup

Item

Valued At

50 acres of land Horses, mules. hogs, sheep, cattle and all
other stock Plantation and mechanical tools, law or other
library books, pictures, etc. All other property not before enumerated
Total amount of taxes: $11.25

$ 1,250
150
25 75 $ 1,500

Miss Matilda! Troup, Agent for~ M. Key

Item

Valued At

60 acres of land Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle and all
other stock Plantation and mechanical tools, law or other
library books, pictures, etc.
Total amount of taxes: $13.13

$ 1,500
225
25 $ 1,750

Mis~ Matilda! Troup, Agent for Estate of D. H. B. Troup

Item

Valued At

190 .acres of land Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle and all
other stock Plantation and mechanical tools, law or other
library books, pictures, etc.

$5,000 480 100

a20

1877 (continued)

Item

Valued At

All other property not before enumerated
9 hands employed Total amount of taxes: $42.60

$ 100 $ 5,680

1880

Glynn County, 26th District
Q~.f. Dent, Sr.

Item

Valued At

280 acres of land Capital invested in shipping and tonnage Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, etc. Watches, silverplate and jewelry of all kind
worn by owner or not Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle and all
other stock Plantation and mechanical tools, law or other
library books, pictures, etc.
All other property not before enumerated

$ 8,400 150
125
100
725
300 305 $10,105

Miss !!.!! Troup

Item

Valued At

113 acres of land Capital invested in shipping and tonnage Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, etc. Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle and all
other stock Plantation and mechanical tools, law or other
library books, pictures, etc.

$ 3,390 250
100
716
300 $ 4,756

J. ! Troup, Estate

Item

Valued At

75 acres of land Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle and all
other stock

$ 2,250
400 $ 2,650

Mrs. ~ Key

Item

Valued At

112 acres of land

$ 3,360 $ 3,360

a21

1880 (continued)

Daniel ~ Troup Estate, Jno.!. Nightingale, Agt.

Item

Valued At

250 acres of land

$ 7,000 $ 7,000

1882

Glynn County, 26th District
G. f Dent, Trustee
Item
225 acres of land Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, etc. Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle and all
other stock

Valued At
$ 6,750
325
750 $ 7,825

-James Dent
Item

Valued At

Household and kitchen furniture, pianos, organs, etc.
~ !!! Troup
-Item
120 acres of land Capital invested in shipping and tonnage Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, etc. Horses, m~es, hogs, sheep, cattle and all
other stock
Mrs. Clelia Key

$ 55 $ 55
Valued At $ 3,600 150 200 1 1200 $ 5,150

Item 136 acres of land
J. R. Troup, Estate Item
135 acres of land Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle and all
other stock

Valued At $ 4,000 $ 4,000
Valued At $ 4,050 240 $ 4,290

a22

~ (continued)
F. ~ Troup
Item
120 acres of land Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle and all
other stock All other property not before enumerated

Valued At
$ 3,600
200 100 $ 3,900

1885

Glynn County, 26th District James T. Dent

Item

Valued At

Household and kitchen furniture, pianos;

organs, etc.

$ 50

Watches, silverplate and jewelry of all kinds

worn by owner or not

15

$ 65

Mrs. M. C. Dent

Item

Valued At

250 acres of land Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, etc. Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle and all
other stock

$ 5,000
150
200 $ 5,350

James Dent

Item

Valued At

Household and kitchen furniture, pianos

organs, etc.

$ 35

Watches, silverplate and jewelry of all kinda

worn by owner or not

15

Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle and all

other stock

35

Plantation and mechanical tools, law or other

library books, pictures, etc.

40

$ 125

3 hands employed

Brailsford Dent
Item
Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle and all other stock

Valued At
$ 175 $ 175

a23

1885 (continued)

1887

Clelia I! Key
Item 136 acres of land

Valued At
$ 2,720 $ 2,720

Matilda ! Troup
Item
120 acres of land Ho-uieh-oid and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, etc. Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle and all
other stock

Valued At $ 2,400
$ 200 1,000
$ 3,600

J. R. ~roup, Estate

Item

Valued At

391 acres of land

$ 2,633 $ 2,633

Frazer (sic) Grant Troup

Item

Valued At

Amount of money and solvent debts of all kinds, including notes, accounts, etc.

$ 300 $ 300

Glynn County, 26th District James T. Dent

8 hands employed

Mrs. M. C. Dent

Item

Valued At

200 acres of land Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, etc. Watches, silverplate and jewelry of all kinda -
worn by owner or not
B. F. Dent (?)

$ 3,000
150
300 $ 3,450

Item

Valued At

Watches, silverplate and jewelry of all kind,

worn by owner or not

$ 50

a24

1887 (continued)

Item

Valued At

Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle and all other stock
Mrs. Clelia Key

150 $ 200

Item

Valued At

130 acres of land All other property not before enumerated

$ 1,950
50 $ 2,000

Miss ~ ! Troup, Estate

Item

Valued At

130 acres of land Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, etc.

$ ' 1~950
100 $ 2,050

Mrs. Mary ! Troup

Item

Valued At

125 acres of land City or town property Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, etc.

$ 1,250 2,400
150 $ 3,800

F. _. Troup

Item

Valued At

Watches, silverplate and jewelry of all kinds

worn by owner or not

$ 50

All other property not before enumerated

25

$ 75

1888

Glynn County, 26th District James Dent and wife

Item

Valued At

City or town property
Household and kitchen furniture, pianos, organs, libraries, pictures, etc.
Watches, silverplate and jewelry of all kin<S worn by owner or not
Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle, and all other stock

$ 430
40
15
10 $ 495

a25

1~88 -~-~~_;_!!l~ed)
Mrs. M;C. Dent

Item

Valued At

300 acres of land Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, libraries, pictures. etc. Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle, and all
other stock Plantation and mechanical tools
30 hands employed

$ 3,000
175
$ 1,050 370
$ 4,595

Mrs. ~ ! Troup

Item

Valued At

125 acres of land City or town property Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, libraries, pictures, etc.

$ 1,250 2,575
200 $ 4,025

1889

Glynn County, 26th District

- - - - Mrs. w. c. Dent (sic)

Item

Valued At

200 acres of land Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, libraries, pictures, etc. Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle and all
other stock Plantation and mechanical tools All other property not before enumerated

$ 3,000
75
1,070 285 150
$ 4,580 (sic)

Brailsford D. Dent

Item

Valued At

Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,

organs, libraries, pictures, etc.

$ 75

Watches, silverplate and jewelry of all kinda,

worn by owner or not

40

$ 115

Mrs. :!_. ! Troup

Item

Valued At

City or town property Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, libraries, pictures, etc. Watches, silverplate and jewelry of all kinds
worn by owner or not

$ 3,000
200
75 $ 3,275

a26

1890 1891

Glynn County, 26th District Mrs. M.C. Dent

Item

Valued At

660 acres of land Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, libraries, pictures, etc. Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle, and all
other stock Plantation and mechanical tools All other property not before enume~aled

$ 7,520
75
1,450 285 150
$ 9,480

James T. Dent

Item

Valued At

City or town property Household and kitchen furniture, pianos
organs, libraries, pictures, etc. Watches, silverplate and jewelry of all kinds
worn by owner or not Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle and all
other stock All other property not before enumerated

$ 1,500
170
10
10 50 $ 1,440 (sic)

Glynn County, 26th District Mrs. M. C. Dent

Item

Valued At

700 acres of land Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, libraries, pictures, etc. Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle, all
other stock Plantation and mechanical tools All other property not before enumerated

$.' 8,400
170
1, 775 625 400
$11,370

James Dent

Item

Valued At

City or town property Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs ..___!!~!~~~es, p_ictures, -~tc.
Watches, silverplate and jewelry of all kiDde
worn by owner or not Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle, all
other stock

$ 1,750 150
$ 15 15
$ 1,930

a27

l!2,! (continued)
!.:!. ~. Administrator (?)

ll!!
15 acres of land

1894

Glynn County, 26th District

Mrs. M. C. Dent

Valued At
$ 75 $ 75

ltea

Valued At

750 acres of land Capital invested in shipping and tonnage Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, libraries, pictures, etc. Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle, all
other stock
Plantation and mechanical tools A.J,.l .,othel' pr(}Jierty .not before enumerated

$ 7,500
5
275
1,681 375
.-_6op_.
$10,436

J. T. Dent

Item

Valued At

Watches, silverplate and jewelry of all kinds

worn by owner or not

$ 10

$ 10

James Dent

Item

Valued At

City or town property Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, libraries, pictures, etc. Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle, all
other stock

$ 1,200
90
50 $ 1,340

1897

Glynn County, 26th District Mrs. M. C. Dent

Item

Valued At

750 acres of land Capital invested in shipping and tonnage Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, libraries, pictures, etc. Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle, all
other stock Plantation and mechanical tools All other property not before enumerated

$ 7,500 35
325
1,610 1,000
30 $10,500

a28

1897 (continued) Mrs. Ophelia Dent Item 35 acres of land

James Dent
Item
City or town property Household and kitehen furniture, pianos,
organs, libraries, pictures, etc. Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle, all
other stock Carriages, wagons, and buggies, plantation
and mechanical tools

1898

Glynn County, 26th District Mrs. M. C. Dent
Item
750 acres of land Capital invested in shipping and tonnage Household audi<kitchen furniture, pianos
organs, libraries, pictures, etc. Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle, all
other stock Carriages, wagons, and buggies, plantation
and mechanical tools All other property not before enumerated
Ophelia Dent
Item
35 acres of land

James Dent
Item
City or town property Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, libraries, pictures, etc. Carriagel, wa&Qnllc.ancl.. buaaiea _plantation
and meehanieal tools

Valued At $ 350 $ 350
Valued At $ 1,100 75 40 10 $ 1,225
Valued At $ 7,500 35 325 2,110 1,000 30 $11,000
Valued At $ 350 $ 350
Valued At $ 950 40 10 $ 1,000

a29

1898 (continued)

F. G. Troup, Agent

Item

Valued At

5 acres of land

~ 115 $ 115

1906

Glynn County, 26th District

- - M. C. Dent

Item

Valued At

750 acres Capital invested in shipping and tonnage Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, libraries, pictures, etc. Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle, all other
stock Carriages, wagons and buggies, plantation and
mechanical tools All other property not before enumerated

$ 2,500 150
350
1,275
775 30
$ 5,080

Mrs. Ophelia Dent, Estate

Item

Valued At

35 acres of land

$ 350 $ 350

James Dent

Item

Valued At

City or town property Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, libraries, pictures, etc.

$ 625
100 $ 725

1908 Glynn County, 26th District
Mrs. M. c. Dent

Item

Valued At

900 acres of land

Capital invested in shipping and tonnage

Merchandise of every kind, including freights,

commercial fixtures

'

Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle, all other

stock

Carriages, wagons and buggies, plantation and

mechanical tools

$ 9,000 200
250
1,682
1,000 $12,132

a30

1908 (continued)

Mrs. Q Dent, Estate

Item

Valued At

1912'

22 acres of land
- James Dent
-Item
City or town property Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs.librariu. pictut'es, etc.
Glynn County, 26th District Mrs. M. C. Dent

$ 300 $ 300
Valued At
$ 625 100
$ 725

Item

Valued At

700 acres of land Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle, all other
stock

$ 7,500
1,000 $ 8,500

James Dent

Item

Valued At

City or town property Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, libraries, pictures, etc.
James Dent & Son

$ 625
100 $ 725

Item

Valued At

Cap,ital invested in shipping and tonnage Iron works, foundries, etc.
Mrs. o. Dent, Estate

$ 100 200
$ 300

Item

Valued At

28 acres of land

$ 300 $ 300

Gratz Dent

Item

Valued At

Automobiles and bicycles, owned by yourself, wife or children

$ 300 $ 300

a31

1915

Glynn County, 26th District M. C. Dent
Item
3 acres of land

Valued At
$ 15 $ 15

M. C. Dent Item
400 acres of land

Valued At
$ 8,300 $ 8,300

!!!!. !!.. l2!!!.t
Item

Valued At

250 acres of land Amount of money and debts of all kinds,
including notes, accounts, judgements and Fi. Fas. of all sorts Household and kitchen furniture, pianos, organs, libraries, pictures, etc. Watches, silverplate and jewelry of all kins Horses, mules, hogs, sheep, cattle and all other stock Dogs pwned by self 6r family Carriages, wagons, buggies, plantation and mechanical tools
Mrs. George f Dent, Estate

$ 5,000
450
350 20
1, 718 10
600 $ 8,148

Item

Valued At

23 acres of land
James Dent, Estate Item

$ 350 $ 350
Valued At

City or town property Household and kitchen furniture, pianos,
organs, libraries, pictures, etc.
James Dent & Son

$ 625
100 $ 725

Item Iron works, foundries and etc.

Valued At
$ 300 $ 300

a32

.!2.!1 (continued)

.illl

Gratz~

~

Valued At

1 acre of land, including the buildings

thereon

$ 10

Amount of money and debts of all kinds,

including notes, accounts, judgements

and Fi. Fas. of all sorts

20

Automobiles, motorcycles and bicycles owned

by yourself, wife or children

75

Cotton and other textile manufacturies

25

Household and kitchen furniture, pianos, organs,

libraries, pictures, etc.

10

Dogs owned by self or family

5

$ 145

Glynn County, 26th District
~ !1 .. ~
Item

Valued At

1,900 acres of land, including the buildings

thereon

$11,000

Automobiles, motorcycles and bicycles owned

by self, wife, child or children

150

Household and kitchen furntiure, silver, books,

pianos, clocks, bedding, etc.

300

Jewelry and watches, whether owned by self,

wife or minor children

50

Horses, mules, asses (4)

235

Cattle (100 or 160)

2,000

Sheep and goats (20)

40

Carriages, wagons, buggies, gins, thrashers,

presses, agricultural tools, implements

150

$13,925

James ~. Estate

.lli!!

Valued At

City or town property

$ 625

Household and kitchen furntiure, silver, books,

pianos, clocks, bedding, etc.

100

$ 725

Gratz~

ll!!!!
1 acre of land

Valued At

$

3

$

3

a33

l2E.
~
.!2Ji .!ill.

Glynn County, 26th District
1:! .f.. .!2!:!!!,, Es tate

Item

Valued At

1,900 acres of land

$ 8,941

Automobiles, motorcycles and bicycles

owned by self, wife, child or children

200

Household and kitchen furniture, silver, books,

pianos, clocks, bedding, etc.

300

Jewelry and watches, whether owned by self,

wife or minor children

50

Horses, mules, asses (1)

45

Cattle (50)

1,650

Sheep and goats (20)

20

$11,206

Glynn County, 26th District
1:! .f. Jl!!!! Estate

-Item
1,300 acres of land Automobiles, motorcycles and bi.cycles Household and kitchen furniture Horses, mules, asses, cattle, sheep, goats,
hogs and dogs
Less Personal Property Exemption: Less Homestead-Exemption: Net tax for all purposes:

Valued At
$ 4,975 460 300
1 1096 $ 6,831
300 2 1 000 $ 4,531

Glynn County, 26th District
!! .f. ~ Estate

-Item
1,225 acres of land Automobiles, motorcycles and bicycles Household and kitchen furniture Horses, mules, asses, cattle, sheep, goats,
hogs and dogs
Less Personal Property Exemption: Less Homestead Exemption: Net tax for all purposes:

V!.!!!,ed At
$ 4,939 350 300
1 1096 $ 6,685
300 2 1000 $ 4,385

Glynn County, 26th District
!! .f. .!!!!!! Estate

Item

Valued At

1,217 acres of land Automobiles, motorcycles and bicycles

$ 4,939 350

a34

.!2.i2, (continued)

-Item
Household and kitchen furniture
Less Personal Property Exemption: Less Homestead Exemption:
Net taxable for all purposes:

Valued At
$ 300 $ 5,589
300 . 2,000 $. 3;289

ill.!

Glynn County, 26th District
M. f ~. Estate

-Item
1,157 acres of land Automobiles, motorcycles and bicycles Household and kitchen furniture
Less Personal Property Exemption: Less Homestead Exemption:
Net taxable for all purposes:

Valued At
$ 5,815 1,225 300
$ 7,340 300
2 1000 $ 5,040

.!2Q

Glynn County, 26th District
!! f ~

~

Valued At

1,062 acres of land Automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles Livestock, Household and kitchen furniture,
jewelry
Less Personal Property Exemption: Less Homestead Ei~forn
Net taxable for all purposes:

$12,085 280
300 $12,665
300 2,000 $10,365

.llii

Glynn County, 26th District
Ophelia 1:!!!!!

-Item
1,247 1/2 acres of land Automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles Livestock, Household and kitchen furniture,
jewelry
Less Personal Property Exemption: Less Homestead Exemption:
Net taxable for all purposes:

V8l.ued At
$22,350 350
300 $23,000
300 2,000 $20,700

*With the exception of the Mcintosh County tax digests for the years 1825 and 1837, and the 1960 Glynn County tax digest, which have been microfilmed from county records, these citations are compiled from the bound volumes of
the State Department of Revenue tax digests. Both the original volumes and the microfilm are located at the Georgia Department of Archives and History.

a35
UNITED STATES CENSUS RECORDS* (182Q-1880)

1820 Georgia, Mcintosh County
Georgia, Glynn County
-1830
Georgia, Mcintosh County 22nd district

James Troup

White Males

- 1 - aged 16-26 1 - aged 26-45

White Females

- 3 - aged under 10 1 - aged 16-26 1 - aged 26-45

Male Slaves

- 1 - aged under 14 3 - aged 14-26 2 - aged 45 and upwards

Female Slaves - 3 - aged under 14 3 - aged 14-26

1 person engaged in agriculture

No Brailsford&

No Troups

No Brailsford&

D. H. Brailsford

White Males

- 1 - aged under 5 1 - aged 3Q-40

White Females

- 1 - a~ed 5-10 2 - aged 30-40

Male Slaves

- 9 - aged under 10 21 - aged lQ-24 16 - aged 24-36 6 - aged 36-55 8 - aged 55-100

Female Slaves

-12 - aged under 10 18 - aged lQ-24 11 - aged 24-36 9 - aged 36-55 6 - aged 55-100

a36

u.s. Census Records
(continued)

Township of Darien Georgia, Glynn County

James Troup

White Males

- 1 - aged 5-10 1 - aged 40-50

White Females

- 2 - aged under 5 1 - aged 10-15 1 - aged 15-20 1 - aged 3D-40 1 - aged 40-50 1 - aged 6Q-70

Male Slaves

-10 - aged under 10 7 - aged lQ-24
11 - aged 24-36 5 - aged 36-55 1 - aged 55-100

Female Slaves

-11 - aged under 10 8 - aged lQ-24 8 - aged 24-36 3 - aged 36-55 2 - aged 55-100

Daniel H. Brailsford

Male Slaves

- 6 - aged under 10 8 - aged lD-24 2 - aged 24-36 8 - aged 36-55 2 - aged 55-100

Female Slaves

-11 - aged under 10 6 - aged 10-24 8 - aged 24-36 3 - aged 36-55 5 - aged 55-100

James Troup & Mrs. Brailsford

White Males

- 1 - aged 3Q-40

Male Slaves

-15 - aged under 10 11 - aged lD-24 10 - aged 24-36 12 - aged 36-55 4 - aged 55-100

a37

u.s. Census Records
(continued)

1840 Georgia, Mcintosh County 27lst district
Georgia, Glynn County 1850 Georgia, Mcintosh County City of Darien Family number 283

Female Slaves

-13 - aged under 10 10 - aged 10-24 13 - aged 24-36 13 - aged 36-55 5 - aged 55-100

James Troup

White Males

- 1 - aged under 10 1 - aged 15-20 1 - aged 5Q-60

White Females

- 1 - aged 5-10 2 - aged 15-20 1 - aged 2Q-30 1 - aged 4Q-50

Male Slaves

-12 - aged under 10 15 - aged lQ-24 5 - aged 24-36 4 - aged 36-55 5 - aged 55-100

Female Slaves

- 4 - aged under 10 13 - aged lQ-24 6 - aged 24-36 5 - aged 36-55 5 - aged 55-100

74 persons employed in agriculture; 1 learned profession

No BraUsfords

No Troups

No Brailsfords

George c. Dent
Male, aged 28, born South Carolina Planter; value of real estate - $25,000
Ophelia Dent - Female, aged 22, born Georgia
James T. Dent - Male, aged 2, born Georgia

U.S. Census Records (continued)
Georgia, Glynri County Family number 142

a38

George Dent - Male, aged 12, born Georgia

Ann C. Dent - Female, aged 50, born South Carolina

Emm(?) Dent - Female, aged 32, born South Carolina

Catherine Dent - Female, aged 29, born South Carolina

No Troups

D. 1. B. Troup

Male, aged 25, born Georgia Physician; value of real estate- $97,700

M. B. Troup - Female, aged 30, born Georgia

Clelia Troup - Female, aged 22, born Georgia

Hannah Troup - Female, aged 20, born Georgia

Male Slaves

- 1 - aged 80 4 - aged 70 1 - aged 65 3 - aged 60 1 - aged 56 4 - aged 55 8 - aged 50 7 - aged 48 1 - aged 47 1 - aged 46 4 - aged 45 1 - aged 44 1 - aged 42 1 - aged 40
1 - aged 39 5 - aged 35 3 - aged 33 5 - aged 32 1 - aged 31 8 - aged 30
2 - aged 29 2 - aged 28 3 - aged 27 7 - aged 25

U.S. Census Records (continued)

a39

Female Slaves

2 - aged 23 6 - aged 22 2 - aged 21 4 - aged 20 1 - aged 19 6 - aged 18 1 - aged 17 2 - aged 16 1 - aged 14 2 - aged 13 2 - aged 12 2 - aged 11 7 - aged 10 2 - aged 9 1 - aged 8 2 - aged 7 3 - aged 6 2 - aged 4 11 - aged 3 3 - aged 2 3 - aged 1 1 - aged 5/12 (5 months) 1 - aged 2/12 (2 months)
- 3 - aged 80 1 - aged 75 2 - aged 70 (1 b1ir.d) 2 - aged 65 7 - aged 60 1 - aged 57 1 - aged 53 4 - aged 52 5 - aged 50 1 - aged 49 5 - aged 48 1 - aged 46 7 - aged 45 1 - aged 43 1 - aged 42 4 - aged 40 3 - aged 39 1 - aged 38 2 - aged 35 1 - aged 34 3 - aged 33 4 - aged 32 8 - aged 30 1 - aged 29

U.S. Cens.us Records (continued)
1860 Georgia, Glynn County Family number 141

a40

1 - aged 28 1 - aged 27 3 - aged 26 3 - aged 25 1 - aged 24 7 - aged 23 7 - aged 22 6 - aged 20 2 ... aged 19
2 - aged 18 1 - aged 16 2 - aged 14 1 - aged 13 2 - aged 12 3 - aged 11 5 - aged 10 6 - aged 9 8 - aged 8 2 - aged 7 8 - aged 6 2 - aged 5 3 - aged 4 5 - aged 3 3 - aged 2 3 - aged 1 1 - aged 8/12 (8 months) 1 - aged 5/12 (5 months)

Daniel H.B. Troup

Male, aged 35, born Georgia Farmer; $25,000- value of real estate, $41,500 value of personal estate

Maria H. Troup - Female, aged 8, born Georgia

Hugh F. Troup - Male, aged 6, born Georgia

Male Slaves

- 1 - aged 60 1 - aged 30 1 - aged 28 1 - aged 26 1 - aged 22 1 .... aged 13
1 - aged 8 2 - aged 6 3 - aged 1

a41

U.S. Census Records (continued)

Family number 142 James R. Troup

Female Slaves

- 2 - aged 55 1 - aged 48
1 - aged 42 1 - aged 33 1 - aged 32
1 - aged 30 2 - aged 28 1 - aged 26 1 - aged 18 1 - aged 13 1 - aged 12 1 - aged 10 2 - aged 4 4 - aged 1

20 slave houses

James R. Troup

Ma.le, aged 25, born Georgia Farmer; $20,000 - value of real estate, $22,000 value of personal estate

Matilda B. Troup - Female, aged 38, born Georgia Lady; $15,000 - value of real estate, $24,000 value of personal ~state

Clelia Troup - Female, aged 30, born Georgia Lady; $15,000- value of real estate, $24,000 value of personal estate

Male Slaves

- 3 - aged 60 1 - aged 55 1 - aged 50 1 - aged 45 1 - aged 38 1 - aged 35 2 - aged 30 1 - aged 25 2 - aged 20 1 - aged 18 2 - aged 17 1 - aged 12

Female Slaves

- 1 - aged 100 3 - aged 60 4 - aged 55 1 - aged 45 2 - aged 40

ci'""t.<.

U.S. Census Records (continued)

Miss Matilda Troup Miss Clelia Troup

4 - aged 35 1 - aged 30 1 - aged 27 2 - aged 25 1 - aged 20 1 - aged 16 1 - aged 15 1 - aged 14 2 - aged 12 2 - aged 8 1 - aged 6 1 - aged 4 2 - aged 1

20 slave houses

Male Slaves

- 1 - aged 60 1 - aged 55 1 - aged 50 3 - aged 40 2 - aged 35 2 - aged 30 2 - aged 25 1 - aged 18 1 - aged 14 3 - aged 12 2 - aged 1

Female Slaves

- 1 - aged 80 4 - aged 60 1 - aged 55 1 - aged 50 1 - aged 35 4 - aged 30 1 - aged 28 2 - aged 25 1 - aged 21 1 - aged 20 1 - aged 16 1 - aged 14 2 - aged 12 1 - aged 1

tO (?) slave houses

Male Slaves

- 1 - aged 90 1 - aged 60 1 - aged 55 3 - aged 50 1 - aged 45

U.S. Census Records (continued)
Family number 144

a43

2 - aged 40 2 - aged 30 1 - aged 27 (?) 1 - aged 25 1 - aged 24 1 - aged 20 1 - aged 18 1 - aged 16 1 - aged 15 2 - aged 12 1 - aged 8

Female Slaves

- 1 - aged 90 5 - aged 60
1 - aged 50 1 - aged 40 2 - aged 35 3 - aged 30 1 - aged 20 1 - aged 18 1 - aged 16 1 - aged 14 3 - aged 12 2 - aged 10

10 slave houses

George C. Dent

Male, aged 38, born South Carolina Farmer; $20,000- value of real estate, $47,500value of personal estate

Ophelia Dent - Female, aged 30, born Georgia

James Dent - Male, aged 13, born South Carolina

Brailsford Dent - Male, aged 4, born South Carolina

George R. Dent - Male, aged 2, born South Carolina

Male Slaves

- 2 - aged 70 2 - aged 60 2 - aged 55 3 - aged 50 1 - aged 45 3 - aged 40

a44

U.S. Census Records (continued)

-1870
Georgia, Glynn County Dwelling bouse number 118 Family number 109

1 - aged 36
1 - aged 35 1 - aged 30 1 - aged 28 3 - aged 26 3 - aged 25 1 - aged 24 2 - aged 20 1 - aged 17 3 - aged 15 2 - aged 10 3 - aged 6 4 - aged 4 1 - aged 3 1 - aged 2

Female Slaves

- 2 - aged 60 2 - aged 55 3 - aged 50 3 - aged 45 5 - aged 40 3 - aged 35 3 - aged 30 1 - aged 26 5 - aged 25 1 - aged 24 1 - aged 23 5 - aged 20 4 - aged 18 1 - aged 12 1 - aged 10 (?) 1 - aged 8 1 - aged 5 ~ - aged 4 2 - aged 3 1 - aged 1 2 - aged 6/12 (6 months)

18 slave houses

Daniel Troop (sic)
White male, aged 45. bon Georgia
Planter; $10,000 - value of real estate, $1,500 value of personal estate

a45

U.S. Census Records (continued)

Dwelling house number 154 Family number 141
1880 Georgia, Glynn County Nuabers 246/287

Mariah (sic) Troop - White female, aged 18, born Georgia, at school

Grant Troop - White male, aged 16, born Georgia, at school

Matilda Troop - White female, aged 50, born Georgia, housekeeper

Moodr,:..Alston .. Black male, aged 45, born Georgia, farm laborer

Almyra Alston - Black female, aged 35, born Georgia, keeping house

Edmond Allton - Black male, aged 8, born Georgia

Mssselle Alston - Black female, aged 5, born Georgia

(

) - White female, aged 10, born

Geollgia, at home

James R. Troop (sic)

White male, aged 35, born Georgia Planter; $10,000 - value of real estate, $3,000 value of personal estate

Mary Troop - White female, aged 28, born Georgia, keeping house

Cornelia Troop- White female, aged ' 3, born Georgia

Robert Troop - White male, aged 1, born Georgia

No Dents

George Dent
White male, aged 57, born South Carolina, father and mother born South Carolina; Planter, widowed or divorced (?)
James Dent - son - white male, aged 31, bo~ Georgia, father born South Carolina, mother born Georgia; Overseer, single

u.s. Census Records
(continued)
Numbers 247/287 Numbers 248/288

a46

Brailsford Dent - son - white male, aged 23, born South Carolina, father born South Carolina, mother born Georgia; Overseer, single.

Reginald Dent - son - white male, aged 30, born
South Carolina, father born South Carolina, mother born Georgia; At home, single ,.

Si~ney Dent- son- white male, aged 17, born Deorgia, father born South Carolina, mother born Georgia; Clerk in store, single

Aiken (t), (

) - servant- ( )male, aged

20, born Georgia, father born Georgia, mother

born South Carolina

Ophelia (

) - wife - wlite female, aged 55,

born Georgia, father born Georgia, mother born

South Carolina; keeps house, married

(this entry probably misplaced)

Grant Troup

White male, aged 26, born Georgia, father born Georgia, mother born South Carolina; Planter, single

*United States Census Records are located on microfilm at the Department of Archives and History of the State of Georgia. Indexes to the Census Records for the State of Georgia are provided for the years 1820, 1830 and 1840, and for Glynn County, Georgia for the year 1850.

a47

SOURCES FOR FAMILY TREES:

In the Archives, State of Georgia:

U. S. Census Records - Georgia: 1820-1880

Dent-Harry-Troup genealogy, "transcribed from the records of the Misses Dent;" original typescripts at the Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, Georgia, and at Hofwyl Plantation.

At Hofwyl Plantation:

The Dent Family Bible

Papers relating to the application of James Troup Dent for admission to the Sons of the Revolution organization, containing letters, family trees, etc. In the case of conflicting information, those dates most often cited were used.

Memoirs:

Mrs. Ophelia Troup Dent, unpublished, 1902-1904, original manuscript at Hofwyl Plantation.

Charles Spalding Wylly, published as Annals and Statistics of Glynn County, Georgia, privately printed, 1897.

Newspapers and Periodicals:

~ Darien (Georgia) Gazette The (Charleston) South Carolina Gazette The South Carolina Historical ~ Genealogical Magazine

Secondary Sour~es:

Cate, Margaret Davis. Early Days of Coastal Georgia. St. Simons Island, Georgia: Fort Frederica Association, 1955.

Huxford, Folks. Pioneers of Wiregrass Georgia. v.6. Jesup, Georgia:

The Jesup Sentinel, 1971.



Vanstory, Burnette. Georgia's ~of the Golden Isles. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1956, 1970 (reprint.)

HUSBAND William Brailsford

WIFE Maria Heyward

BORN c. 1760

PLACE_________________________ BORN c. 1769-1772

PLACE____________________________

DIED 11-25-1810

PLACE St. Simons Island, Ga.

DIED 4-3( ?)-1837

PLACE Darien, Ga.

FATHER Samuel Brailsford

Born c, 1728
Died 6-26-1800 MOTHER Susan Holmes

P P

lac lac

ee--C-.-:t-a-r-le-s-t-o-u-, -S-.-C-.---------

Born

Place

Died-----------------------Place-------------------------

FATHER Daniel Heyward

Born Died

Pl Pl

aaccee----------------------------

MOTHER Jane or Ann Elizabeth Gigni1~la-i-t-t ----------------------

Born

Place____________________________

Died

Place_ --------------------------

MARRIED ( 1) Maria Heyward

MARRIED (!)William Brailsford

Date;6-?b-J 786

Plac~"Euhaw, ',',- St~ Helena's Prsh,,

Date p.,:.2Qii-<--.....1-.7"""8...,6"---------_...;Place "Euhaw, 11 S-t. -Helena's Pr~h.

( 2)

South Carolina

(2)

South Carolina

Date------------------Place-----------------------

_ Date~----------------~Place ________________________

:::H- ILDREN
*Samuel
Elizabeth (Jane) William .Daniel Heyward Camilla (Maria) Eugenia

BORN ~. .172 c. 1790 c. 1794 1797 c. 1796 1803

PLACE

DIED 10-27-1807 11-16-180"1 3-1812 8-22-1833 9-9-1847 1-19-1838

PLACE

MARRIED

Charleston, s.c

DATE

Mcintosh Co., Ga. Major Jacob Woo:d

1-15-1807

Darien, Ga.

Jane Martin Leake Spaldin " 6-13-1821

Baisden s Bluff Mcintosh Co., Ga. James M. Troup

1813-14

Charleston, S.C. John G. Bell

1838

*Listed in the order cite ~ by Mrs. Op elia Dent

HUSBAND ,Tames McGilyray Troup

WIFE Camilla Brailsford

BORN 8-31-1786 DIED 4-26-1849

PLACE Savannah, Ga. Broadfield
PLACE Glynn Co., Ga.

BORN c. 1796 DIED 9-9-184 7

PLACEB_a~is~d~en~' ~s ~B~l-uf-f-------- PLACE Mcintosh Co., Ga.

FATHER George Troup

Born

Place

Died------------------~Place__L_i_b_e_r-ty---Co-.-.-G-a-.---------

MOTHER Catberine Mcintosh BDioernd----------------------~PPllaaccee__S_a_v-an__na_h__,_G__a .____________

FATHER William Brailsford Born c. 1760 Died 11-25-1810 MOTHER Maria Heyward Born c. 1769-1772 Died 4-3(?)-1837

Place P lace__,S_t_.__,S_,i_m_o_n_s__,I_s.,..l-an__,.d-,-G""a-.---
Place~~----~---------------- PlaceDarien, Ga.

~ED

(1) Camilla Brailsford

Date 1813-14

P1 ace,The

Ridge ,

Me I n t o s h

Co ,

MARRIED Ga

(l)James McGilvray Troup Dat-e"'"1"l''8..,.1"'~'3--..-1T"4______::______:__P....,..l-a-ce.....,Th,_..e--=-R..,.i"':'d_g_e-,-M~c-I!;!"'n-t:-o-s"'Th---:C.-o-.-,__,.(

( 2)

(2)--_:-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_~-------------

D a t e_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _~Place______________________

Date____________________~Place_______________________

Qi_ILDREN

BORN

PLACE

Maria Hevward

James

Catherine Augusta

Matilda Brailsford

c. 1820

James Daniel Heyward Brailsforc 1824

Baisden's Bluff

MrTnto~h Co

Ga

Ophelia Clelia Hannah Heyward

1-20-1827 1829 1831

Darien Ga. Baisden's Bluff Mcintosh Co., Ga. Baisden's Bluff Mcintosh Co. , Ga.

Septima

1833

James Robert

6-3-1835 Darien, Ga.

DIED before 1830 before 1830 before 1840 8-1886 before 1830 1R70 11-20-1905 7-1889 11-10-1854 1835 4-1-1874

PLACE

MARRIED

DATE

Atlanta, Ga.

Thorn Hill Glvnn Co, Ga.

-Frances Emelia(?) Grant 4-1851

George Columbus Dent

The Parsonage

Glynn Co., Ga. Daniel Murray Key

Old Sweet Springs

Va.

Charles Manigault Morris

11-22-1847 11-16-1869 2-1851

Broad field Glynn Co., Ga.

Mary Ray Nightingale

6-1866

HUSBAND George Columbus Dent

WIFE Ophelia Troup

Fenwicks or Phenix

.BORN 5-1-1822

PLACE St. Bartholomew Prsh., S.C-BORN 1-20-1827

The Parsonage

DIED 3-4-1884

PLACE Glynn Co., Ga.

DIED 11-20-1905

PLACE Darien, Ga. PLACE

FATHER John Hubert Dent

FATHER James McGilvray Troup

Born

Place

Born 8-31-1786

Died 4-26-1849 Died-7~-~3~rr-~rns~2~3r--------------Place-------------------------

Place Savannah. Ga. Place Broadfield. Glynn Co . Ga.

MOTHER .Anne Elizabeth Horry

MOTHER Camilla Brailsford

Born 8-7-1789 Died 2-18-1856

Place Charleston, S.C.

Born c. 1796

Place Darien, Ga.

Died 9-9-184 7

------~-----------------

Place______~--------------------
PlaceBaisden's Bluff, Mcintosh Co. Ga.

MARRIED (1) Ophelia Troup Date 11-22-1847

MARRIED (1) George C. Dent

PlaceBroadfield, Glynn Co., Ga.

Date_l~=-~l=-~--~'2:~:.~ ;2=~..- -_,-1::-.;-8::-:.-.4.~:.- .:7-~-- --------..-.;P-la-ceB~ro~ adf-ie- ld,~-G-ly-nn--C-o.-, -G~a- .

D(2at)e-__-_-_-_-_-__-_-_-_-_-_-__-_-_-..-..;~P-la-ce--------------------

D{2a)t_e________________~_-_-_-__-_-_-_-__-_-_-P-la-c-e-__-_-_-_-__-_-_-_-__-_-_-_-_-__-_-_-_-__-_-_-_

giiLDREN James Troup George Troup Frederick Preble Charles Morris An infant .Brailsford George Reginald John Sidney

BORN 9-17-1848

PLACE

DIED

Baisden's Bluff

Mcintosh Co., Ga. 10-11-1913

9-10-1850 Flat Rock, N.C. . 11-4-1850

PLACE Hofwyl Glynn Co., Ga. Broadfield Glynn Co., Ga.

MARRIED Miriam Gratz Cohen

9-16-1851 Clarkesville, Ga. 12-1-1851 (7?)

10-28-1852 Darien, Ga.

4-13-1854

3-1854 10-2-1856 4-15-1859

Sullivan's Island,

S.C.

7-25(6?)-1889 Brunswick, Ga.

St. Simons Island,

Charleston, S.C. 5-22-1886

Ga.

4-22-1862 Ware Co., Ga.

12-10-1894

Brunswick, Ga.

Anne Prioleau

DATE 11-30-1880
I
I
'
I
' !

'
i
I

HUSBAND James Troue Dent BOH-1 9-17-1848 DIED 10-11-1913

Baisden's Bluff PLACE Ms;!ns;osh Co._1 Ga.
Hofwyl
PLACE Gl;lnn Co. 1 Ga.

WIFE Mirtam Gratz Cohen
BOEN-------------------------~PLACE~~~~------------------
Hofwyl DIED~1~9-3-1----------------~PLACE Glynn Co., Ga.

FATHER George Columbus Dent

FATHER Solomon Cohen

~~ 5-1-1822

Place St. Bartholo~~ Prsh., S.Co~ ~~-------~--~--~----P~l-a-ce----------~~--~--~----~

Died 3-4..:.1884
MOTHER Ophelia Troup Born 1-20-1827 Died 11-20-1905

Place Glynn Co., Ga.

Died

Place

MOTH~ER~-M-ir-ia-m--G-ra-t~z ~M-o-s-es-~--~

----------~--~--------------

Place Darien Place

BDoiren d - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -.-PP 1l aaccee.-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

-----------~----------------

MARRIED (1) Miriam Gratz Cohen

. . Date 11-30-188o

Plac~avannBh, Ga.

(2) _____________________________________________________~------.....

Date

Place --------------------~---

MARRIED (1) James Troup Dent

Datell-30-1880

Place Savannah, Ga.

D(2a)t_e____~_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_~ --~-P -l ~a -c -e --_-_-~---_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Cli!LDREN Gratz .James Troup Miriam Grat.z Opchelia Troup

BOH-1

PtACE

9-24-1881 Savannah, Ga.

10-15,...1882 Savannah, Ga

11-12-1883 Savannah, Ga. 11-28..;1886 Savannah, Ga.

DIED

.

6,...12'""1932

4-4--1887

6-23-1953

9-5-1973

PLACE
Savannah, Ga. Hofwyl Glynn Co._, Ga. Hofwyl Glynn Co., Ga. Hofwyl Glynn Co., Ga.

MARRIED

DATE
..

.

.

KINSHIP DIAGRAM

Samuel Elizabeth (Jane) William Daniel Heyward

James McGilvray Troup

(Maria) Eugenia

Catherine Matilda

Daniel Heyward

James Augusta Brailsford James Brailsford

Clelia

James Septima Robert

George Columbus Dent

James

Miriam

Troup Dent Gratz Cohen

George Troup

Frederick Preble

Charles Morris

Infant

Brailsford

George Reginald

John Sidney

Gratz

James Troup

Miriam Gratz

Ophelia Troup

a53

WILL OF JAMES M. TROUP*

I James Troup of the County of Glynn and State of Georgia do make and publish this My last Will and Testament hereby revoking and making void all former Will by me at any time heretofore made. And as to such worldly Estate, as it hath pleased God to intrust me with, I dispose of the Same as follows --
First. I desire and direct that all my debts be paid as soon after my decease as posable (sic) from the proceeds of the Crops, and the sale of such Lands, as are not Cultivated or being Cultivated in Rice --
Secondly, I desire and direct that no part of my real or personal Estate, that is now Cultivated or being Cultivated in Rice shall be sold for the liquidation of my debts so long as the Executors can cantrall (sic) the same. --
Thirdly. lt is my desire and positive Command that no division of my Estate either real or personal shall be made until! (sic) all my just and lawful debts are paid. --
Fourthly. I desire that after all my debts are paid that my Estate both real and personal shall be divided in accordance with the Laws and Statutes of the State of Georgia therefor (sic) made and provided. --
I do hereby make and ordain my son Daniel H.B. Troup and my (esteemed) neighbor James Hamilton Couper Esquire Executors of this my last Will and Testament. In Witness whereof I James Troup the (testator), have to this my Will set my hand and Seal this twentieth day of December in the Year of our Lord Eighteen hundred and forty seven.

Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of us

James Troup

Hugh Fraser Grant Jas. Swan Sullivan Chas. Grant

By some strange inadvertence (sic) (Magt} Grant in writing out this will substituted as first Executor my Sons (sic) name, the object of this Codicil is to rectify the mistake by placing Mr Coupers (sic) name as first Executor.
James Troup

*Glynn County Court of Ordinary Wills, Inventories & Appraisals Book~
(1844-1853), p. 135. On microfilm at State of Georgia Department of Archives and History, Reel 82/4.

~~h...ne-6 ~-~~

1"1'~.~ ~u. ~

~_P.A'~dJH
tl/4-4./~~~.~ ~/..,.,...~

..... u--,:;;.~.,~ ~-w _,~,--~a.u.; ,~ ,u/

c~--~~~A~~/~
. , .j)/1"-/

.. ..,:1,174

- #lu:.k
. ~~ .w-";f?~'--' #-v ~ ,.#~.

~~ _/ ~ --~---' .

tht.b ~ 7 ,/-

4.

'
,

..dJ

.v

-11---,.,J,i-.v-

/)'Y'Z~--'
d.r.. tkd.~~!J..~ ~t.~~: (~. ,~~/_U4

~~
z. ~--.L

.J b.a- ~
~ l~---J

r ~/'- ~ L~ ~.e--

5tL-~~

~~ ~---t

/.J (1/',./. .)

hi ~~~--.r-

/, .1/n/: .:. w

~~ ~~

'I
0

~~L~~ '..1',~u7;

1/
6-

a~/;'.._7-.#"f.lv

s-
s-~ ;~,.
}',.,.
J$r 6' i",.
"/ "

.. /~' .. l''
-A,_-
Jn-
~ .2h'

/,..~
4./,.. . .L-)'n-
1/._. ~ ,. .
-~.~., 6~1"
,,./U .. ..

~~eft~~~~

/&-'C
~~
/:f.f;-

J;. .--:.~- L
~~;, , l",j ,~..,

~

f/P:;_ t!'-JI

ti:. .. 4

(/,.~

~ ~?" -
.
. l't~,.
- ~,.
~ - /~ -~

~~ ~-.-.~v

~~ /.J...~

r.~

II.&~~

-!J"tr

I !?~,.~

L-

"~ (.7[~

/.!r

1'1 5~ -

J~

,,~Q J~i~a/~c ) z- ~-

Jr )'~

r~

/'( -,~~~

/~

)'/ 4~
;.t. ~~

.,j,.. 2.-rr

~~. ~ ~ .... J,

-/IV"

?~ c~_,

, .z

~~ a/,:....~

.... /) Q'~
)'1' ~e......,

)~ ~

~

y,. (1.4.,,.. L

I/ (,2)../fr

'I IT &#
I /"''
I~ ,-r ~H ..! 1-'

~~ A:~~
tJ:~ ,,(J, ~.1
1.1
~ fl{N', tl <P~
,, (;UJ
..~~
"6-~ I (/.-./
''1lI' d-7'
~Jl 9.~
,', ~;:dZ,.

I''' ;'L"'.?/,r

,,,;~J?'

.. /,..,
f'l

"4"'"/'"'",:) ~

1,1- ~-

I,J~

. ~~

-,

I ~~
/,~j14-~

1') ~~:?'
I, /A-#--
~~ .a:~,
._, "";.1-.J
//~ ~.LJ~

,~~ f'~.-L--.~
I/J Ilk........ ~...,
~~~ <V~?,
~ 1/1
//If A~,
. ") r.~~-fr /
/ 1 r Nc-.~

~~ /?
~~

1.,/

d:.~
~.

/.,~ ~"""'--

1~1 ~~

~~ ~b
""' ~
, "~~ _L-~. .._
..~~, ~J.L:~
/ ~ ~ .~'.7

tR..~t"?.-:..4./!:~~.~.~,y~~.
J,.,. /J . A..k
J~ /JI
~t n-- IJZ .6-Ju
,, IJJ
~7' J,. IJ.-1 ~...,

,.,.. .... . J,. /J# .._//; '~. /JI ')1~ ..-f(l j~ 1./)' )f,A"/."' ~J~ IJ .A?/~....-

L~ /J,? $t#-/~./
J,.../

:h'?:z 2.17"' 1-+/ ~.0,
II~ I#.Z
.z.,. ~~~ r/1'.~

. rJ~
~, ~Prr
~
J,.. AI-,.

,.,~
~ /.rrl' ./-~
./~Z ~~
/#~ .~,J~
/4 'ttl~
/4'~ (1/u-~
/~,. rrtl~~

/h- /I-, ~A

~$7-
,..~ .,.,.
-~
:1,..,...
~i7-
.t~
$-,...
)'--
.hi~

/$2 ~
/~1 w~

/J-~ ~~';fA-

/4- 4!~

"JI 1r;

...:::?K--,..)
6~-AJ

/:fi' t./~---~

/4? ~

n ~--
1~1 ~/-....-

. (;z;L.. ~J? /~l
.z.~ IJJ

/.:J,I.,*

/.

.,..,

J.Ot#- I~+ ~~
/~r f/~

/~ -~~~

. I,.,. ~~ (i/A.-*'- ..J)

,,, 1ff,-, 'l' 1~- .""'ll'r- ~~
$1'11""

~~ .4-J I) I //l

.!

ljJ ~_M..... ~<>U

~d- /)~ d~

t/,.,... IJ$" -~-~--

4t,~ / j l ~~

a 55

---- . ~ .,4../_IA-_ ~<HIM, J.h- /)") ,f}f.....:.............

~c.4-...4.
y;~r

''r r.lf~ ~~.,..

t/..4.)

z.,_ IJ~

~~ 2.~

ITr
/T/

JJr
;;,..
J;..
?,_.

s:~~ 11- ~~

~ 2' ~J.,.
z.--

/rJ
,,.~

J;, .z;y,.

.,.,..r; /I LJ~

.

lr~ (i'.....:~

7'~
J,.,..

JVT /Y)

:Z: .t~ lit"

,,, ~,.,.

....,~~

,,,. /J,..

...~ .

~ /Ptr IJI

/ //.t. -

,~

/~J ,~

J J,..
. I,.,..
.,_-"J7'
Jir
.t~l
/.-.

1: ~-.- I lr /)'$ :1-,- /}'l

-?"-, ~,,..
J~

I}')
II

~&-.-A
..J.:.......,

JN-- ~~~

~1-r I t - ;;~~.

z I.,/ ~~

/,_I
4h-J
s-:~~t
,d,.-:.J...,
J-1.ts-r- I I
_J,_,.

;,;.. ...7 /"" ~.,,

~

z.,J ..4,.......--:-..1'

/$.,..
/-

,.-,~.,.. J,Jf ..a~--.:Y

.... $,... ~, ~~

~

~ . ~,~

,,.,.. ~ .1 I.? ~.,,.

,J,, .u~

"''?
J/1

(91~
n--L.....

.*"- .;;~-~ ~,. "..r

v ~ .~~~.
An
L/1

Z/4 r:y',..:_.,

q!~ 11 4/~ 11~

..

"~

Fi'TW /~l
/ ~..,_ 1
#_,_
s./7-
.t S"r
~~, .J,.,..
t
..~~
J ;{g-
,;--
:rJ

c.?
""'~J)I ~']:_/ .
;L_? .t.z

~"'

-1J..~ .~

..t II. ~-~

-1~7 ?,p~ ~~~

J J I'
J ,:(-
,/.-.. ;~ ,,,
l .! J.

..... .::..

:;~ e ~,~~ A~ ,..._.-~ y.-~ -11 ~ ...; ~~~;.. ~~-~ :;'d

--- - - - - ~ ~-~.,.. - ~--

itr _ .,..(l'j ;.~:..t.~

tn6tt.a'ist

~r

_., - /~1 .

2:t'< J/1 .Jl.f ~

'/"

,,, 'rf? (/, .f..J"
...,~~

~ _.. ? '. 4
~~:~~

.q
41Z'
..,r
...,t'
..,/
...,/ -T
-/
- -/
..,/ ....,/

~I'

..,('

~~--~ r,.,./rv?, 1.~~,',

,.,r ~~--~-.,J F.," .I~.,.

~~,J

~~

d~/~~ l.$1' --'- .

. , -r., _,, ,. r ~ - . "';}- !";... . .~ ""

....~ -N~~ ,_,, ...-.(

-"/---k~_,. ~,,. ~.,

c. ...,.. .,..~. ~1', -44/

~y~#)_

-~~~
(,-r

..,~-,.

s.~' I
-~
~,

~I
f'/f ...c..r
Nf ~(

--; .... vy.J 'r/f J.l-1"

~__,~ / / f ~/

. ;,,, 7"~

{'

. . .,,, 4-~r--.-~'

~

,_-~ ,~~

..N,..c.;

.JU, / "'"-IY~,/
"-~;"/.~~

-..._,
,t

-r"rl( 1''' $

r?"~P lt~l

.,, ,...""7-' ~ r~~

r

"Y.-/v_/ Uf
(~~~ _..,r

, ~.1/) ~,. . .

. r "rYII "

~. ~ ~'.T,.?J...' .-f'"'?rr. ..

,,, ~""'

.

~.." -. yn;Jr u,.

-~..~ ''r

~.,,,

~,. ~S'I
t4;:~;.7:;,,;, i

. ,- ,,, ~ _,,, ~

~--~ (9 ..~7.

~'''

-?r~ , , ,

~/
.s('
-41/'
:...q/
..-r
-Tt
-/""""'/
~~I

('?~ "~

"-"F'~"

....,~
?

~ 1'1'1' r

?C~ ,~,.
, ~.. :r-' r~J-1'

~- :~p.' l,~r

~ ~" -.~ ,_., h .. 7. "1.(."1'1'.'--.M4d.1jl'
~--":( -Ill .,..,,,

1'7? Qr -~
'7-{j/. . /r
. "":~ 1
r4-/';1p'~>~ /1'
,.. /' ~/r
Ltf!,~, ,~,
....,.,, ~?(.,,,.w rtl,
?f/H.. 1:.../~ //f'

-~"}:ft ur
7 .-. ~ '.;.;//J I r :
ro/r7 ~~, -J
..... ?_.:~ .11'1 '

"r~P (,-~
4-r~I?T

,.,. ~ , ., i

4 ~w "/"'?

wf~1r

'

---?/

?It .. , ..-..~-">

r

... "'T/ ~I'/ "~" ,....., T

~y ti'T

...,t'
-l.f.T

,,, <!"7*-// ,, -~r

..,r

-z'ld ~II

~T

,.--~fit

41~

~_,, 'Til'

rzz/"."~1 ~6r ..,_,7

.ur

,..~

~ ::: ..._.....,,.,( ~

,~_f7.7-?-.o, ..~.,, ~f'r

,,., ~#--
~-~

.

_lr,,T,.

.~ .., /

~f

:!11?7-r~ :.. nr .,..,.,,/

..,r

~

, , ~f

~ 1':/~ ?II' ~(' U l ' ~,.

~n7:1 liT
...,..... ~4

~$

--uo

4-IT

'7'/.,..fl 7'1'

~

'r!*J' ..~ .

y

~(

~--.--?

44-F

4.~
~

.,,_.,,,,

,T ~ .~~ . .~'f?~ ,~,7

---,q.

.... ,.._r ,......y

-4-f~

,.

'?'7!7 ~~,.
-.Iii.,~,

...,.,,r

~..J ,,, 1.--4#,
;?-7- rrr 411

~-r".Jf! ~(r ~#' ~,,

t r r ~-:-,P

.-.,,. ~~'1"? .

~~

.,,, '77'~' ~;.,

...ql':

1 ....? 71't 4/~

.,_/ .~rr ~r

~ ~t' ~ l'~t'

~ (rT
~ ~ r~

...,,' -41.
- ~'

7"77'6~ ~t ~I'
~,. ~,. ~?",
~~ ~ '"?-!/

.,r, '*"' -~_,P 1~7
....,..--......?. o:rr
~;~ ~ ~

[, .. . ., ~~~ ,~ ,""~-.:..., . ... ..... : ."-tw~~-~~;~~ l'\.:- ....._ .:1 '~ ~~,.......,....~~-,-.. . . .... , . ....~~t ,

~~-~~-- - . ~ _ ,.... .

--r'fi], -'~' .
~R7r?
- - . .. .,.,...~. ...~......4... ... ' ~ 'r;','
"" .
.../
t .... .........:. ,..,, . .. :;: .-,..-<!.... '1'

*Inventory and Appraisement of the Estate of James M. Troup; recorded 25 January 1850; Glynn County Wills, Inventories, Appraisements ~~ (1844-1853), PP 156-159.

a 58

DIVISION OF ESTATE OF JAMES TROUP* 22 April 1856
Deed of division dated 22 April 1858

Distributors:

Hugh Fraser Grant Robert Hazlehurst John W. Hutchinson Urbanus Dart Robert Hazlehurst, Jr.

Distrubutees:

D.H.B. Troup J. Robert Troup George and Ophelia Troup Dent Matilda B. Troup Clelia Troup Charles Manigault Morris

To Daniel Heyward Brailsford Troup:

925 acres upland

370 acres river swamp and bay lands

1/6 interest in Broughton Island (900 acres)

1/6 interest in Court House Plantation (2,500 acres)

1/6 interest in a lot in Darien, whereon is a certai.n tabby house, formerly

the residenc.e of James Troup

1/6 interest in a lot in Darien

10 slaves: (Court House)

Adam

valued at

$800

sue

valued at

$700

Margaret

II

250

John

II

200

Eve

II

200

Alfie

II

50

Old Alfie

II

100

Charlotte

II

700

Maria

II

150

Kit

II

700

43 slaves: (Broadfield)

London

valued at $1,000

Rachael valued at

$700

Palty

II

300

Ezekiel

II

150

Paul

II

50

Silas

II

150

Abram

II

600

Fanny

II

700

Lyman

II

1,000

Charlotte

II

450

Anthony

II

250

Elsie

II

150

William

II

700

Tyra

II

300

Patty

II

250

Cloey

II

150

Harriet

II

700

Grace

II

700

Saus

II

1,000

Sylvia

II

700

Jacob

II

200

Jackson

II

250

Ainaritta

II

50

Clarissa

II

50

Robin

II

1,000

Phyllis

II

700

Hagar

II

200

Ivey

,,II

700

Prince

II

1,000

Paul

300

Billy

II

150

Quash

"

1,000

Mary

II

700

Floyd

"

150

Stephen

II

1,000

Sue

"

700

Cornelia

II

100

Phillip

II

450

Riurty

II

1,000

Carpenter John "

1,100

John

II

1,000

Eliza

11

700

Mary Ann

II

50

a 59

Division of the Estate of James Troup (continued)

To J. Robert Troup:

l/3 interest in 925 acres upland

1/3 interest in 400 acres bottom swamp

1/6 interest in Broughton Island (900 acres)

1/6 interest in Court House Plantation (2,500 acres)

1/6 interest in a lot in Darien, whereon is a certain tabby house, formerly

the residence of James Troup

1/6 interest in a lot in Darien

8 slaves: (Court House)

Cyrus

valued at $1,000

Patience valued at

$400

Eve

It

700

Alfie

II

400

Allen

II

100

Sally

"

400

Marlboro

II

600

Katy

II

150

51 slaves: (Broad field)

Moses

valued at 1,000

Abigail valued at

700

Miley

II

350

Mary

II

250

Sarah

II

150

Pender

II

50

Bob

II

1,000

Molly

II

550

Henry

II

600

Edward

II

550

Balenda

II

300

Old Caully II

450

Old Phoebe

II

50

Reggy

II

700

Caully

II

1,000

Lizzy

II

700

Jane

II

100

Decimar

II

700

Phoebe

II

350

Emeline

II

250

Sap ley

II

150

George

II

50

Jimbo

II

450

July

II

700

Maria

II

600

Elsie

II

700

James

II

450

Jim

II

250

John

II

350

Sap ley

II

300

Peter

II

200

Old Jimbo

II

300

Brutus

II

900

Old Peggy

II

150

Nansy

II

450

Sap ley

II

350

Billy

II

750

Old Lydia

II

250

Old Dinah

II

00

Hamlet

II

250

Betsy

"

700

William

II

150

John Black

"

1,300

Old Sally

"

75

H. Tenah

"

400

Sharper

II

600

Old Molly

II

00

Loriter

"

700

Aleck

II

600

Jemima

"

150

Maurier

"

50

To Clelia Troup:

1/3 interest in 925 acres upland

1/3 interest in 400 acres bottom swamp

1/6 interest in Broughton Island (900 acres)

1/6 interest in Court House Plantation (2,500 acres)

1/6 interest in a lot in Darien, whereon is a certain tabby house, formerly

the residence of James Troup

1/6 interest in a lot in Darien

8 slaves: (Court House)

Sampson valued.at 1,000

Sarah

valued at

500

Princus

11

600

Daphney

II

400

Amos

II

700

Morris

II

100

Ishmael

"

400

Old Rose

II

00

a60

Division of the Estate of James Troup (continued)

To Clelia Troup: (continued)

46 slaves: (Broadfield)

Paul

valued at

Joan

II

Colta

II

Doll

II

August

II

Joe

II

Rusty

II

William

II

Jane

II

Robin

II

Hector

II

Nimrod

"

Alonzo

"

Ishmael

"

Jack

II

June

II

Grace

II

Mingo

II

Adam

"

Peggy

II

Phoebe

"

Sue

II

Old Smart

II

1,500 350 300 700 900 200 150 100 700 350 50
oo
100 1,000
800 200 300 1,000 1,000 500 100 200
50

Fanny

valued at

Joe

II

Lucy

II

Sancho

II

Jenny

II

Charlotte

II

Dido

II

Tom

II

Hope

II

Phoebe

"

Nanny

II

Lin a

II

Ellen

II

Charles

"

Molly

II

Edward

II

Guy

II

Salena

II

Jemima

II

Judy

II

Luke

II

Old Nancy

II

Old Molly

II

700
400 700 1,000 400 700 250 1,000 450 200 250 250 150 800 700 600 100 700 650 100 450 150
so

To Matilda B~ Troup:

1/3 interest in 925 acres upland

1/3 interest in 400 acres .bottom swamp

1/6 interest in Broughton Island (900 acres)

1/6 interest in Court House Plantation (2,500 acres)

1/6 interest in a lot in Darien, whereon is a certain tabby house, formerly

the residence of James Troup

1/6 interest in a lot in Darien

8 slaves: (Court House)

Ben

valued at

1,000

Sinder valued at

400

Friday

II

700

Betty

II

150

Nick

II

400

Young Ned

II

300

Paul

II

700

Hector

II

150

44 slaves: (Broadfield)

William valued at

800

Rhinah valued at

500

Jacob

II

Sally

II

Old Terra

II

Caty

II

Simon

II

August

II

.II

Terra

Abel

"

Judy

II

Jolly

II

Old Betsy

II

Lymus

II

100 350 100 350 1,000 1,000
75 100 700 700 200 280

Rose

II

Laura

II

Harry

II

Fanny

II

Bob

II

Nanny

II

Carolina

II

Jim

II

Gabriel

II

Sally

II

Phillis

II

Lycheire

"

150 250 1,200 700 600 600 250 1,000 1,000 700 200 500

a61

Division of the Estate of James Troup (continued)

To Matilda B. Troup: (continued)

Jeany

valued at

London

II

Joe

II

Rilta

li

Old Fanny

II

Nancy

II

Hamilton

II

Delia

II

Martha

II

600 150 600 200 100 600 1,000
50 700

July Princes Betty H. Jenny Polly Harry Ishmael Mingo Lazarus

valued at
II II II II II II II II

280 350 700 700 350 800 250 1,000
so

To George and Ophelia Troup Dent:

9~5 acres upland

. 300 acres river swamp

1/6 interest in Broughton Island (900 acres)

1/6 interest in Court House Plantation (2,500 acres)

1/6 interest in a lot in Darien, whereon is a certain tabby house, formerly

the residence of James Troup

1/6 interest in a lot in Darien

10 slaves: (Court House)

John

valued at

800

Darkus valued at

700

Maria

II

250

Susan Ann

II

50

Old Milly

II

00

Bob

II

350

Rose

II

700

Edward

II

50

Old Ned

II

100

Carolina

II

800

45 slaves: (Broadfield)

Tyra

II

700

Hercules

II

600

Henry

II

150

John

II

50

Pussy

II

50

Petro

II

700

Frederick

II

1~000

Sandy

II

800

Lyddy

II

500

Tom

II

1,000

Lucy

II

500

July

II

400

Patty

II

350

Marian

II

500

Tyra

II

300

Elizabeth

II

250

Adam

II

150

Mingo

II

100

Frank

II

1,000

Sue

II

300

Peter

II

1,200

Katy

II

600

Georgia

II

600

Peter

II

250

Martha

II

100

Esau

II

1,000

Clarinda

II

200

Quanima

II

1,100

Silby

II

100

Old Adam

II

100

Old Doll

II

50

Martha

II

600

Rebecca

II

300

Georgianna II

150

Jaines

II

1,000

Venus

II

700 (?)

Morris

I,.I,

700

Sophia

"

600

Selina

150

Branch

II

300

Friday

II

300

Sary

"

700

Marlborough "

50

Emily

II

150

Justice

II

400

To Charles Manigault Morris: 1/6 interest in Broughton Island (900 acres)

a62

Division of the Estate of James Troup (continued)

To Charles Manigault Morris: (continued)

1/6 interest in Court House Plantation (2,500 acres)

1/6 interest in a lot in Darien, whereon is a certain tabby house, formerly

the residence of James Troup

1/6 interest in a lot in Darien

9 slaves: (Court House)

S,lick (?) valued at

Suckey

"

Sarah

"

Simon

"

Malina

"

$1,000 700 250 500 75

Phoebe valued at

Ned

"

Hardtimes

u

March

"

$400 400 100 '
400

44 slaves: (Broadfield)

Cyrus

valued at

Will

II

Bella Molfy

."..

Jim

"

Harrington

"

Old Frank

"

Cato

"

Sibby

"

Jacob

"

Luke

II

Dan

II

Laura

"

JaJI)eS

II

Margaret e:dWard

..II

Mary

II

Cain

II

Affey

II

John

II

Betty

II

Lucia

If

$800 1,000
700 100
50 1,1,0
100 400
50 1,000 1,000
600 700
50 700 1,200 150 1,000 150 1,000 350 700

Branch valued at

Lizzy

II

Susan

.n

Old Betty

"

Dye

"

Catharine

"

Arney

"

Emelia

II

Charles

"

Delia

"

Neptune

"

Andrew

II

sandy

"

Tesby

II

Prince

"

Pussey

"

Wiliiam

"

Old Becky

II

Victoria

II

Dolly

II

Old eye

II

Polly

"

$600 600 700
00 400 700 500 300 300 400 500 450 150 700
180
600 100 00
700
700 100 ' 100

In addition to land and slaves, all "horses, mules, oxen, carts, ploughs, hoes, SpadeS,. (U'ld Other agriCUltural tOOlS and instrumentS' II along With 11hOUSe-
hold ftimiture, plate, wines and liquors" were to ,be divided into 1/6
portion~:~. Of special note: The slaves appear to have been divided in
family units of from two to ten persons.

*Compiled from estate records of James Troup, in manuscript form at Hofwyl Plantation.

STATEMENT OF THE AMOUNTS RECEIVED BY THE HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF JAMES TROUP IN PROPERTY AND MONEY*

Lands

IN PROPERTY Negroes

Total

Miss M.B. Troup $15,333.33 $25,625.00 $40,958.33

~ss Clelia Troup 15,333.33 25,500.00 40,833.33

~s. 0. Dent ~rs. H.H. Morris

26,000.00
-----

25,700.00 25,525.00

51,700.00 25,525.00

Dr. D. H.B. Troup 21,000.00 26,200.00 47,200.00

Mr. J.R. Troup

15,333.33 25,875.00 41,203.36

TOTAL $93 .ooo .00 $154,425.00 $247,425.00

Principal $ 8,331. 70
8,018.47 6,298.41 10,038.85 10,743.89 8,068.90

IN MONEY Interest $.1,603 .6 7
1,702.75 1,095.11 1,125.79
999.04 1 ,151. 32

Total $ 9,935.02
9 '721. 22 7, 39 3.52 11,164.64 11,742.93 9,220.22

TOTAL OF EVERY KIND $50,893.35
50,554.55 59,093.52 36,689.64 58,942.93 50,428.56

$51.500.22 $7,677.33 $59,177.55 $306,602.55

*Taken from papers of the division of the estate of James M. Troup, located at Hofwyl Plantation. Figures are reproduced as accurately as possible; errors in totals are unexplained. Also according to the chart: Mrs. 0. Dent received $7,993.09 1/2 excess beyond the average share; D.H.B. Troup- $7,842.50 1/2 excess; M.B. Troup received $207.02 1/2 deficiency below the average share; Clelia Troup- $545.87 1/2 deficiency; H.H. Morris - $14,410.87 1/2 deficiency; and J.R. Troup $671.86 1/2 deficiency.

a64
HOFWYL PLANTATION FURNISHINGS*
A. Entrance Hall
Four side chairs, mahogany, Empire style, probably English, 1815-25, belonging to Governor George M. Troup (1780-1856). One of these is now at the Owens-Thomas House, Savannah, and another in possession of Miss Sydney Dent, Charleston.
Card table, mahogany, "Duncan Phyfe" type with urn shaft, possibly American, 1810-20. Was purchased by Miriam and Ophelia Dent from Miss Sydney Dent.
Desk and bookcase, mahogany, glass doors, Federal period, possibly Massachusetts, circa 1820. Purchased by Miriam and Ophelia Dent from Walter deLorne, a Savannah architect. Objects in the bookcase include silver spoons with the Brailsford crest, silver spurs, coral jewelry, silhouettes, etc.
Pair of double-armed mirrored wall sconces, brass, circa 1875. Mates to two in parlour.
Chandelier, brass; bought by James Troup Dent from Wymberly Wormsloe DeRenne.
Oriental rug, probably a Kabistan or a Ferraghan. Purchased by Miriam and Ophelia Dent.
Guns and a cane owned by James Troup Dent, on a gun rack built by the Dent's butler.
Two Victorian "opera chairs."
B. Parlor
Desk and bookcase ("secretary"), mahogany; glass doors with mostly original panes; attributed to Charleston, circa 1790; originally owned by Solomon Cohen in Georgetown, South Carolina.
Armchair, shield-back, Federal period, attributed to Charleston, 1795-1812; originally owned by Solomon Cohen; lilly of the valley inlay on back splat.
Pedestal table, mahogany, "Duncan Phyfe period," circa 1815-20; of Governor Troup or Dent origin.
Meridienne or chaise-longue, English Regency period; a Troup piece.
Three velvet-covered Louis XVI Revival armchairs, circa 1845.

a65

Tall bookcase with glass pannelled doors, mahogany, circa 1845.

Two Victorian "opera chairs," like two in hall and one in first floor bedroom.

Pair double armed, mirrored wall sconces, brass, circa 1875; like two in the hall.
c. Dining Room

Small mahogany sideboard, American Empire period, circa 1845;

called the Dent sideboard.



Banquet table with leaves, mahogany, circa 1800.

Tripod fire screen, Victorian period, circa 1860; a Cohen piece.

Twelve, Victorian (Easklake period) side chairs, walnut, circa 1875; of Cohen origin.

Large bookcase with panelled glass doors, the companion to one in the parlor, mahogany, circa 1845; owned by Solomon Cohen.

Shallow china cabinet, mahogany, circa 1780.

Silver, crystal and porcelain.

D. Downstairs Bedroom

Spool bed, American, circa 1850.

Small pedestal table with drop leaves, mahogany, American, Empire period, circa 1840; a Cohen piece.

Second Empire period settee.

Chest of drawers, mahogany, American, Empire period, circa 1840; a Cohen piece.

Gentleman's dressing table and mirror, mahogany, probably English, circa 1800.

Large mahogany wardrobe, circa 1845, a Cohen piece.

Card table ort tripod, mahogany, "Phyfe" period, circa 1820.

Oriental rug.

Victorian "opera chair".
E. Upstairs E!!!

Mahogany linen press

a66
F. Southeast Bedroom The Rice Bed; circa 1790, probably Charleston made, removable headboard and plain headposts, rice motif carving, mahogany, extremely rare. Lap desk, mahogany, made by George C. Dent at the Hofwyl School in Switzerland.
G. Southwest Bedroom Fourposter bedstead with removable headboard, mahogany, circa 1835. Worktable with removable top, pedestal type, mahogany, circa 1845. Drop-leaf pedestal table, mahogany, "Phyfe" period; possibly New York made; circa 1815.
H. Northeast Bedroom Linen press, mahogany with secondary woods of cypress and Southern pine, circa 1795-1800. Double doors in the top section, with a lower section of two small drawers over two long drawers, all placed on bracket feet. The doors and drawers are decorated with string inlay of holly. Probably Savannah made. Chest of drawers, mahogany, straight front with a wide strip of reeding down each side. Turned legs. The drawer sides of cedar with the runners of Southern pine. Circa 1825, probably Savannah made.
*Inventory condensed from art appraisal made by William R. Mitchell, Jr. of the Georgia Historical Commission in April, 1970 for insurance purposes. Articles which were bequeathed in Miss Ophelia Dent's will have been eliminated. The author is grateful to Mr. Mitchell for his identification and descriptions.

t..AUHOfiN OLD
F\0011\ KtTc.HEN

Ni"
OK.\(\iH~L
sc.A.L.E
Ys =\~oo+-
HOF\Y'IL PLAN TA..T I0"'\

REM
POR.c.H

DIMIN(i 1\00/"
/~IN \4~L

fRONT
POR.Oi

BED\0011\.
{~~~
- - FI~TFL~

PARLOR
J

a68
EIGHTH UNITED STATES CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE* Glynn County, Georgia 1860
Daniel H. B. Troup
300 acres improved 400 acres unimproved
$25,000 - cash value of farm $3,000 - value of farming implements and machinery
Livestock 6 horses 1 ass or mule 12 milch cows 6 working oxen 10 other cattle 14 sheep 2 swine
$1,050 - value of livestock
Produce 500 bushels of Indian corn 250 bushels of oats 379,500 pounds of rice SO pounds of wool 150 bushels of peas and beans 1,000 bushels sweet potatoes 1 ton hay
$60 - value of animals slaughtered
James R. Troup
550 acres improved 1,000 acres unimproved
$50,000 - cash value of farm $4,000 - value of farming implements and machinery
Livestock 7 horses 6 asses and mules 12 milch cows 12 working oxen 15 other cattle 35 sheep 12 swine
$2,200 - value of livestock

a69
1860 Agriculture Census (continued)
Produce 800 bushels of Indian corn 400 bushels of oats 690,000 pounds of rice 100 pounds of wool 100 bushels of peas and beans 1,000 bushels sweet potatoes
$300 - value of animals slaughtered
George C. Dent
300 acres improved 300 acres unimproved
$20,000 - cash value. of farm $1,500 - value of farming implements and machinery
l-ivestock 6 horses 2 milch cows 8 working oxen 2 other cattle 42 sheep 4 swine
$1,050 - value of livestock
Produce 150 bushels of Indian corn 348,500 pounds of rice 120 pounds of wool 70 bushels of peas and beans 500 bushels sweet potatoes
$45 - value of animals slaughtered
*Located on microfilm in the State of Georgia Department of Archives and History; original in the Duke University Library, Durham, North Carolina.

a70
NINTH UNITED STATES CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE*
Glynn County, Georgia 1870
James Robert Troup
400 acres improved 800 acres unimproved woodland
Farm values $1,000 - present cash value of farm $100 - present cash value of farming implements and machinery $200 - value of livestock $453 - estimated value of all farm production, including betterments and additions to stock
Farm expenditures $100 - total amount of wages paid during the year, including value of board
Livestock as of June 1, 1870 2 horses 1 milch cow
Produce 300 bushels Indian corn no Rice 20 pounds butter
Daniel H.B. Troup
250 acres improved 800 acres unimproved
Farm values $10,000 - present cash value of farm $50 - present cash value of farming implements and machinery $100 - value of livestock $225 - estimated value of all farm production, including betterments and additions to stock
Farm expenditures $75 - total amount of wages paid during the year, including value of board
Livestock as of June 1, 1870 1 horse 2 working oxen 11 sheep

a71
1870 Agriculture Census (continued)
Produce lSQ~~hels Indian corn no Rice
*Located on microfilm in the State of Georgia Department of Archives and History; original in the Duke University Library, Durham, North Carolina.

a72
TENTH UNITED STATES CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE* Glynn County, Georgia 1880
Columbus Dent (George C. Dent)
275 acres improved, tilled 550 acres unimproved, woodland forest
Farm values $9,000 - value of farm; land, fences and buildings $100 - value of farming implements and machinery $900 - value of livestock $1,000 - estimated value of all farm produce (sold, consumed or on hand) for 1879
Farm expenditures $500 - cost of building and repairing fences in 1879 $40 - cost of fertilizer purchased in 1879 $4,500 - amount paid for wages for farm labor during 1879, including value of board (weeks hired labor in 1879 upon farm and dairy, excluding house work: white - 29 weeks; colored - 52 weeks)
Livestock Horses of all ages on hand June 1, 1880 - 5 Mules and asses of all ages on hand June 1, 1880 - 4 Poultry on hand June 1, 1880, exclusive of spring hatching - 12
Produce (1879) 100 eggs 45,000 pounds rice (260 acres) 100 gallons molasses (1~ acres sugar cane)
Grant Troup (acting as agent, probably for Matilda Brailsford Troup and cl:elia Troup Key)
140 acres improved, tilled 460 acres unimproved, woodland forest
Farm values $4,000 - value of farm; land, fences and buildings $100 - value of farming implements and machinery $256 - value of livestock $5,100 - estimated value of all farm produce (sold, consumed or on hand) for 1879
Farm expenditures $80 - cost of fertilizer purchased in 1879 $4,000 - amount paid for wages for farm labor during 1879, including value of board (weeks hired labor in 1879 upon farm and dairy, excluding house work: white - 6 weeks; colored - 52 weeks)

a73
1880 Agriculture Census (continued)
Livestock Horses of all ages on hand June 1, 1880 - 2 Mules and asses of all ages on hand June 1, .1880 - 2 Swine on hand June 1, 1880 - 6
Produce 176,000 pounds rice (156 acres)
Grant Troup (acting as agent, probably for the estate of Daniel Heyward Brailsford Troup)
300 acres improved, tilled 900 acres unimproved, woodland forest 100 acres other unimproved lands, including old fields not growing wood
Farm values $30,000 - value of farm; land, fences and buildings $500 - value of farming implements and machinery $725 - value of livestock $12,000 - estimated value of all farm produce (sold, consumed or on hand) for 1879
Livestock Horses of all ages on hand June 1, 1880 - 4 Mules and asses of all ages on .hand June 1, 1880 - 9
Produce 196,000 pounds rice (175? acres) 100 bushels Indian corn (3 acres)
Mary R. Troup (widow of James R. Troup)
225 acres improved, tilled 425 acres unimproved, woodland forest
Farm values $8,200 - value of farm; land, fences and buildings $220 - value of livestock $5,000 - estimated value of all farm produce (sold, consumed or on hand) for 1879
Livestock Mules and asses of all ages on hand June 1, 1880 - 2 Cows on hand June 1, 1880 - 2 (2 calves dropped)

a74 1880 Agriculture Census (continued)
Produce 150,000 pounds rice (150 acres)
*Located on microfilm in the State of Georgia Department of Archives and History; original in the Duke University Library, Durham, North Carolina.

a75

MEMOIRS OF OPHELIA TROUP DENT

Laurens County, August 6, 1902

The first Brailsford I know of was my great grandfather, Samuel Brailsford. Whether he was born in this country or in England I do not know; he was a merchant living in London or Liverpool and doing business with the Colonies. He married his wife, Miss Susan Holmes, in Charleston, South Carolina. Their English portraits, and that of his only son, my grandfather William Brailsford, are still in existence.
By looking into the history of the Supreme Court of the United States you will find its first case was "Samuel Brailsford versus James Spalding," - a wealthy Scotch gentlemen of the Mcintosh clan in Georgia, a family with whom in the years to come the closest of ties were formed, and friendships that have gone down to the fourth generation.
My grandfather Brailsford grew up in England, a gay young man,
visiting Paris, dressing in fine silks, laces, silk stockings and buckles, the fashion of the day, which we have seen and masqueraded in. He admired the silver forks in Paris so very much that when he had a family of children to bring up properly in Charleston, he imported six small forks for their use, and saw to it that they did use them. (My grandfather was very particular about his children, they must all be straight! My mother as a child on the plantation sprained her shoulder jumping out of a boat. In nursing the sprain she was getting one shoulder higher than the other; it was a source of constant reproof from her father. On their return to Charleston Dr. Barron was sent for and found the collar bone broken. She grew up as straight as an arrow. The young p'ople turned up their noses at eels. His rule was to learn to eat everything, so he ordered them
cooked and served. The cook did not know they were to be cut in pieces before cooking. When the gruesome dish came on table it was ordered off at once and for all.){l)
A merchantile failure brought the family from England to Charleston. It must have been after the Revolution, from little incidents I have heard related, - sympathy for Andre's family- distain for Arnold's. The family consisted of Samuel Brailsford, his wife Susan, and three children, Susan, Elizabeth, and William my grandfather.
Susan was killed in a carriage accident in New York. Elizabeth never married; was a devotee to religion and feminine friendships, living to eighty years, and leaving my mother her sole heiress, in 1838 or 1839. (Her very old English Bible, in longs's and calf skin binding, filled with devotional thoughts, particularly the book of Psalms, written on the margin in a beautiful English hand, was lost during the war in a warehouse at the Satilla crossing. I tried to recover it, but was unsuccessful.) (2)
I do not know the date of my grandfather William Brailsford's marriage to my grandmother Maria Heyward; (she was born in 1772, and died in 1827.)(3) The Brailsford's came over from England after the Revolution.
The first Heyward who settled in South Carolina was Thomas Heyward. To Daniel Heyward, his son, the Crown of England granted a noble estate on the Combahee river, still cultivated by his descendants.

Daniel Heyward's two sons by his first wife were Thomas, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and William.
The children by his second wife, Miss Giguillait (Huguenot), were Nathaniel, James, and Maria my grandmOther. This . lady, Miss Gignillait, must have been most amiable and liberal, for at her death she left her young daughter, Maria, to the care of her step-son William, though she had her two own brothers, - to which trust he and his son William were as true as steel, under trying circumstances. To this day my grandmother is spoken of, in that branch of Heywards, as the only sister of her brothers, Nathaniel and James. As far as I know, her inheritance was equal to theirs.
There was a third marriage, but the two children born died young, and their property reverted to my grandmother and her brothers.
Thomas Heyward, the elder half-brother, was educated in England; had just entered as barrister when the Revolution started. He rushed home, threw himself into the strife, was in the first Congress and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
William Heyward had two beautiful daughters, Hannah (Mrs. Trappair), and Maria (Mrs. Drayton of Philadelphia), and one son, William, one of whose daughters was Mrs. Cutting of New York.
My grandmother's brother James married an English woman, and died without children. Between his widow and his brother Nathaniel, was a compromise, honorably carried out, what she, Mrs. Heyward, should keep her husband's property intact until her death, when it would all go to Mr. Nathaniel Heyward, who had been his brother's banker to the half of his fortune. This was the decision of the courts. Both lived to over eighty years. Mrs. Heyward married the second time, - Mr. Charles Baring. She died first, in 1848, her Heyward estate passing over to Mr. Nathaniel Heyward.
This gentleman soon became the head of his family, in many ways besides his great wealth. He owned near 3,000 colored people, with land to utilize them. His settlements to his children were princely. Three grandsons who were orphans were brought up as sons in his house~ He was a matchmaker, -his sons married Barnwells, Blakes, and Shubricks; his daughters, Manigaults. The Heywards are very numerous; many are still rice planters; but their wealth is of the past. Plantation management was one of their characteristics, which my grandmother had, and, later, my sister Matilda Troup (your Aunt "Maude") showed in such a wonderful way.
Your father comes under a new regime. I do not know the year of my grandmother's marriage to my grandfather, but I know the youngest child was born in 1800. The Brailsfords were highly educated, spirited and gay, spending money lavishly, - a great contrast to the Heywards.
Eight children were born to them: - Samuel, killed in a duel in Charleston; Elizabeth, married an.d died, and had no children; William, U.S. Navy, died at Broadfield; Daniel Heyward, murdered on the stage road twelve ridles from Darien; Camilla, married to James Troup 1814, died at Baisden's Bluff September 9, 1847; Eugenia, married and died in 1838 and left no children, and who married John Bell and owned New Hope plantation.
Daniel Heyward Brailsford married Miss Jane Spalding. He left two children, one of whoni was our charming cousin, Sarah Brailsford, who married Richard Lewis Morris in 1844 or 1845, and died leaving no children, in Darien December 24, 1850.
Williammarried Julia Wardell of New York, 1848. She died, leaving no children in 1858. William died in Bryan county, 1886.

a77
To go back to Carolina. - In 1800 much was said of the large bodies of land lying on the Altamaha River. Butler's Island and Hopeton were settled places, also Broughton Island. Mr. Pinckney had visited the Spaldings at Sapelo Island, on his return giving a glowing description of his visit. Mrs. Spalding, he said, "was a woman who could grace a throne, or make a dairy sweet." She was a wonderfully beautiful woman, with true eloquence and lovely manners . . Mr. Spalding was a man of wealth and learning, with a valuable library, and building Italian palaces to live in. He was a great cotton planter and the chief of the Mcintosh clan, giving freely to those requiring it with an unbounded hospitality.
Gen. Henry Laurens received grants of land on Broughton Island and Hofwyl, then known as New Hope. My grandfather Brailsford bought Broughton Island from Gen. Laurens' hei.r12 ...th_e R,a,msays of Charleston. There was another heir also, as you will see. All the negroes ~ho were.of the Heyward estate were moved out in 1802 or 1803, my grandfather coming out with them and settling them. He was courteously received by the surrounding residents and must have found congenial friends on St. Simon Island, where he was kindly entertained. There must have been storms to warn the people, for a barn had been built as a storm house, and Broughton was exposed to the sea on the farthest point back. Between the barn yard and the settlement flowed a broad, deep canai, with a_board-and""'raii crossing. The order to the overseer was, to move the people in flats across the canal to the barn at the first approach of a storm.
My grandfather returned to Charleston for the summer. All went well until September, when a hurricane swept that part of the coast. Some say the overseer was drunk; certainly when the move was ordered it was too late! One flat load of over 70 men, women and children, was started- theywere never seen again, and only heard of by their shrieks through the dismal howling of the wind. The remainder survived. How this appalling news was carried to Charleston I do not know; it may have been by an express messenger by land. Fifty years after, my sister and I were dining at Miss Lynch Bowman's on Sullivan Island and were asked if the following anecdote of my grandfather was true? - viz.: "The news of the disaster reached my grandfather on the eve of a dinner party. He received and entertained his guests, and no one at the table knew of the tragedy until the next day." I do not think the family were included in this withholding, - it may have been a gentlemen's dinner.
I remembered the circumstance, my sister did not; but the direst distress prevailed in the home. The Charleston life was at an end, and the family, except the eldest son Samuel, moved to Broughton Island as soon as a rough house, put up by plantation carpenters, could be built. My grandfather, with his eldest daughter Elizabeth, went ahead of the family and were entertained by Major Butler on St. Simon until it was safe to stay at Broughton. The advent of the Brailsford family - young, with high spirits - was the first event that lifted their people out of their despondency, my mother often said. The effects of the storm swelled the loss of life to 100. No one knew better than they did how to keep up the spirit and loyalty of their people, and to take care of them. To my mother Broughton Island always stood for Golgotha. Of course, with no crops, there were no possible payments. The largest creditor was indignant; he retracted the sale; my grandfather accepted instantly, and held him to it. The other heirs were wiser and held on, - Miss Eleanor Ramsay for one, I know, receiving interest on $9,000 for fifty years, when the debt was paid by my father's executors.
Opposite Broughton lay Broadfield, wooded from one end to the other, and unowned but by the State, - called "Broadface" on surveyors' maps. How

al~
possession was given and taken I do not know, you can look it up in State records. But the first tree felled was by the Brailsfords, and the first bank from the "hollow-over" was a succession of cut trees, on which the Brailsford's walked to and fro while the clearing of land and the building of houses went on. They were a gay-spirited set and took up the gauntlet quickly, without throwing it down. They had broad faces, and insisted on. changing the 'name from "Broadface" to "Broadfield." This is how Broadfield came into my family. My grandmother has walked some of the banks or the foundations that your father walks on today, - the fourth generation and all have loved it.
I do not know what time they moved over, but Elizabeth Brailsford, my aunt, was. married at Broughton to Major Wood, a Virginia gentleman and rice planter. He owned Potosi Island. She lived only a year and died in Mcintosh county, leaving no children. At the same time, in Charleston, my uncle, Samuel Brailsford, was killed in a duel with John Parker. They were attentive to the same lady. My uncle was engaged to her, and she was his cousin, Anne Glover. Your father's grandmother Dent, who knew the Parkers, said his life had been made gloomy and misanthropic by the tragedy. He married another lady. All those events and dates are in the Brailsford Bible, which Aunt Mary Troup has, rebound by Aunt Maude.
As a rule great misfortunes follow great moves, ~ acclimating is full of vicissitudes. Until a house was built on the north point of Cumberland Island the family summered in Charleston or . in Mcintosh county. Haw did they go to Charleston? In an eight-oared row boat, with a small cabin. During one of these absences my grandfather Brailsford died on St. Simon and was buried at Cannon's Point. He left my mother, a girl of 12 or 14, to his friend Mr. Bailly, a Scotch gentleman and widower and, I think, a university man, celebrated for his wit and sarcasm. He spent his winters at Hofwyl, then a part of New Hope.
In my grandmother's service was a man-servant named Frederick. He was not a house servant, his work was outside. He was honest and truthful, a good waterman, with devoted allegiance. After the death of my grandfather he was the captain of every boat journey that was ever made, and always in attendance on my grandmother, whose sons were absent, one at Cambridge, the other in _the United States Navy. Frederick's judgment on wind and tide was unerring. On one of the trips to Cumberland my grandmother found the keys had been left at Broadfield. Frederick said he would go for them in his paddling canoe and be back the second morning from the day he started, crossing and recrossing St. Andrew sound two hours before day, which he did. As I remember him, he was our fisherman at Baisden's Bluff, with a big boy to wait on him, and we always had on our table the best the river could give. His winters were spent at Broadfield. When my grandmother died in 1837 he came over to Darien (our home) to take his last look of his mistress; he kissed her feet, while the tears ran down his cheeks. He died a short time before my mother, in 1847.
My grandmother, left a widow with an estate heavily in debt, found a priceless friend in .her half-brother, William Heyward, and, after his death, his son William. With the latter she had a most tender meeting in New York in . 1836, also with many of her near relatives, at the American Hotel, the one of its day. She died six months after, - I think, 63 years old, which would make her birth year 1772.
During the brave struggle to pay her debts and save her property the winters were spent at Broadfield and the summers at Cumberland, twelve miles from Dungeness, the home of Mrs. Shaw, GeneralNathaniel Greene's daughter.

a79
Only formal visits were exchanged. I presume my mother was too young, and my grandmother too grave for anything more.
In 1877 on a visit to Cumberland I asked our host if anyone remembered the Brailsford Place? He said he knew it, and his mother, still living, knew the family. She came over to see us, dressed in white, an old lady. She knew them all by name and had kept up with their marriages and deaths, but the number of servants seemed to have held her.
My grandmother's butler, named "Jeems" (South Carolina), was celebrated, one trick was for the way he could open and throw a long tablecloth from one end of a dinner table to the other without a fold. Nothing put into his care was ever known to be lost. I never knew him, but two .of her women-servants I remember; one, a small brown woman who nursed all the babies born in our house for a month. She had the care of the old Broadfield House (not the work), which was occupied off and on by my father and uncles, our headquarters being Darien. She was called "My Little Aunt" by our servants; but the big brown woman, who ruled our yard with a rod, was called "My Big Aunt. " We children, and everyone else I knew, except my father and mother, called her "Mom Betty." She carried the keys when my mother was confined to her room, and in the spring made us sassafras beer, as in Charleston. She was the most scornful woman, black or white, I ever knew. She took care of the Darien house in the summer. She lived to a great age and died at Broadfield during the war.
Except in Charleston, my mother never went to school; her education was carried on by Mr. Baillie, before alluded to. His home at Hofwyl was only a ten minutes' walk to Broadfield. He was her constant friend and adviser. My mother's peculiar case and leadership in gentleman's society was, I think, intensified by his training. Her brothers nursed the gayety which was inherent. Mr. Baillie wasa widower, -society said he would end in a lover. But it was not so; he introduced my father to my mother, my father having settled in Darien from Savannah as a physician. Mr. Baillie did everything to further the match. He was an honored guest in their home, and was loved and esteemed by both to the end of his life in 1836.
On the high ground of Broadfield cotton was planted. It brought a high price, and later on, during the embargo of 1812, both rice and cotton commanded high prices. The risks of shipping, of course, were great.
During all these years, my mother, Camilla Brailsford, by the winsomeness of her ways, her high courage and fine judgment, was more than a right hand to her mother. She conquered and rooted out evils, made right triumphant, and by her judicious devotion to their black people gave them a loyalty and contentedness to be proud of. Her undeviating love and reverence for her mother made a tie so strong it could never be broken.
When my grandmother divided her property she only took, by Georgia law, a child's portion, and lived with my mother, who taught us all to call my grandmother "Mother," telling us she was our best friend. She was "Missis," my mother was always called by the servants "Miss Jane;" "Camilla" was too fine for them, except her own immediate servants. After my grandmother's death, she was "Missis."
One little episode in my mother's girl life was the taking a child. In the newness of their experience a young overseer and his family died of fever, leaving one little tot, called "Jane," they thinking Jane was her name. She took the child and kept her until she had children of her own, when some of the child's relatives in Virginia wrote for her, and after investigation she was sent to them.
While a girl, her mother gave her a light colored boy named Jack, to be her page. He brought her notes on a silver waiter and her pocket handker-

a80
chief when she dropped it. He grew into a most accomplished butler and manservant, - from the cutting out of a fish hook to making a mustard plaster; his table service left nothing to wish for. He was a sportsman at heart, having dogs and gun, loved fishing, and after the death of my father and mother Jack left us to h~s son James whom he had trained, and had his liberty .
The War of 1812 coming on, Cumberland was thought by my grandmother too gay for her daughter - from our own soldiers - and too exposed to Admiral (Cochran's) fleet. Major Wood put at her disposal his summer home on "The Ridge" near Darien. There my mother was married to my father, Dr. James Troup, 1813, by Dr. McWhir, an Irish Presbyterian clergyman, who had been a tutor in General Washington's family a short time. He was a man of firey temper, the terror of school children and examinations. He claimed the hospitality of all the couples he married. One shy young bride started for a seat before the irrevocable words were spoken. The "Rev. Father," as he was called, followed, took her by the arm and put her in place, saying: ''Young woman, you are not married yet."
(One of the anecdotes told of him was after his marriage to a very nice lady with some means. They had some girls boarding with them to go to school. In a candy boiling one of the girls burned her hand, and screamed out: "It is hotter than hell." The Rev. Father hearing it, ordered her to her room, to stay until she could bound the place she knew so well. She was clever, and, being familiar with surroundings, located Mrs. McWhir's plantation as hell, and her neighbors on the north, south, east and west.)(4)
My mother's marriage must have been in 1813 or 1814. The coast was attacked by English fleets, the outlying islands all visited, and the negroes carried off when it suited them. Darien was under arms; my father was Surgeon. My mother and grandmother were sent to a friend's house (General McCall, I think) in the interior of the state, sorely against my mother's will. All the Broadfield negroes were sent up to my uncle Robert Troup's plantation in Montgomery county. Broadfield was visited, the house broken into and robbed, a lively young fellow going off with them. The second visit "Will" came back, in gay uniform. His old fellow-servants tried to shame him, but Will was not to be downed and returned with his new friends to their boats. Mr. Thomas Spalding of Sapelo, with his large family and great possessions in land and negroes, never left the island, the British fleet being in the sound. They were never molested.
In an illness in Mr. Spalding's family my father was sent for in a row boat to Darien. He was overhauled and taken on one of the fleet. While on deck he recognized a small vessel from Broadfield, with rice, trying to run the blockade to Florida. He waived them back with his handkerchief; it was not noticed, neither was he detained. Major Wood, a friend, who was with him for his own pleasure, pled with my father to call him "Mr. Wood" for his safety. For a little while he remembered, but soon the "Major" was spoken, and instantly withdrawn, not before the officers were on the alert, thinking they had a prize. The doctor could go, but Mr. Wood could not. After some expostulation both were allowed to proceed.
Now I will introduce my father, - and .if I can not write as much of his side of the house as of my mother's side it is not my fault.
The Troups, to whom I belong, were too reserved and silent to give traditions. Their sisters died in childhood. They had lived in many places, shown by the birth places of the children.
My grandfather, George Troup, came out from England as bookkeeper to
Mackay & Spalding on St. Simon Island. The firm had large trading posts in
Georgia and Alabama, and as he was sent from one to the other it is easy to

a81
see how he was thrown with Catherine Mcintosh, whom he married in London, England. I will give you, on another page, their record. My mother tried to glean items from their relatives in Mcintosh county and from their friends in Savannah, where they last lived.
The Troups as well as the Mcintoshes were Stuart adherents, and losing all in the wars and risings the Troups went into the mercantile life in London. Many of the Mcintoshes came to Georgia, with money and servants, - quite a clan.
My grandfather Troup's family lived for some years at Belleville, a lovely point of land on the water across from Sutherland's Bluff. There their boys had their guns, dogs and horses, and were always sportsmen. My grandfather Troup died on March 26, in Liberty county, Georgia.
After my grandfather Troup's death, my grandmother moved to Savannah. She was a fine woman. Her manners were her great attraction. In receiving and entertaining it was said each guest, from the eldest to the youngest, thought he or she had received most attention. When her three sons were old enough she sent them to a school of note at Flushing, Long Island.
From there my uncle, George M. Troup, went to Princeton, New Jersey, and led a party for Thomas Jefferson.
Uncle Robert went to New York to study merchantile life, which he never followed, becoming a prosperous cotton planter in Montgomery county.
My father went to Philadelphia to study medicine under Dr. Rush. The three brothers were a model of devotion to each other and to their mother. Uncle George never married until his mother died. He nursed her tenderly through her last illness. He also had the care of his brothers and their embarrassed estate, paying the debts and dividing the inheritance. My grandmother died in Savannah and was put in her cousin's vault, General Lachlan Mcintosh. The vault was repaired after 1865 by Mr. Charles Spalding and Mr. Bayard. After a succession of storms, when the old cemetery was changed into Colonial Park, all that was left in the vault (little or nothing, I believe) was interred. A great grandson of General Mcintosh, from Chicago, put up a granite monument to General Lachlan Mcintosh and a low, handsome iron railing round the enclosure. On my father's graduating at Philadelphia and returning to Savannah, his friend Dr. James Ewell (a man remarkable for his skill and charming manners) asked Col. Troup as he was then called, and it some authority to give my father a position in the Savannah hospital, which they were then preparing for war in 1812. But the Colonel said "he did not hold office to enrich his family." So my father was advised to go to Darien, then a promising town and one of two of the largest cotton ports in Georgia (St. Mary was the other), a fine trade with the West Indies, and the country in large rice and cotton plantations. His relatives the "Mallow" Mcintoshes were there, and Mr. Thomas Spalding a cousin; but the friendship quite eclipsed the cousinship, lasting through generations and cemented by marriage. Sarah Morris, nee Brailsford, our cousin, was a charming emanation of Spalding and Brailsford. Capt. Charles Wylly is of the third generation, and your father of the fourth. In Darien my father, James Troup, met his fate and fortune (a very good one) in my mother, Camilla Brailsford. She was "comme il faut" in appearance and manners, high courage and spirit, with all the Brailsford gayety, cheerfulness and sense of humor-, fine administrative ability, a beautiful housekeeper from the garret to the cellar and provider, and all for the comfort of her family. My aunt Mrs. Daniel H. Brailsford has told me that when her husband came from college, before he married her and lived at my mother's, the home evenings, owing to the presence of those two genial

a82
spirits, were simply delightful, my grandfather and grandmother enjoying it quietly.
Their first home, at Cathead, Darien, was very simple. My father was an excellent physician, with all the practice he could attend to, that of the Spalding family alone furnishing a small income. My mother called those her "monied days." (My father was too reserved and silent for the adandonment of love of children, but we all grew up with high appreciation of what he was - To be left a fair name and a goodly heritage/Are good things. -) (5)
In 1824 my father began building his beautiful tabby house, with the same architect, Jay, who had put up the old Habersham and Owens houses in Savannah. I was the first child born in this house.
As soon as Uncle George paid the debts of the Troup estate he divided with his two brothers. My father, not wishing to put his negroes on rice fields, bought a fine tract of land known as the "Court House" on the old stage road, planted cotton and corn, and kept cattle. The marsh lands bordering on Sapelo creek, the lowlands and canebrakes, kept cows and sheep in very fine order. The dairy was large enough to oversupply a large family in summer and feed all the negro children with clabber and buttermilk. The quality of the butter was not equal to our neighbors', but found ready purchasers in Darien by "Mom Betty." The increase of negroes under these circumstances was almost phenomenal. In my memory 100 bales of cotton were shipped yearly. An overseer was in charge. In winter my father spent every Saturday there, but in summer it was his (custom to take a) daily ride on horseback, except on Monday and Tuesday, when he visited Broadfield. His summer home was always at Baisden's Bluff, - on a river widening as it took its course to Sapelo sound. His first house was on a bluff 20 feet high, with the channel on the bluff side, very dangerous to children. But the old "tabby" academy building which was converted into a dwelling in 1838 was on a lower bl~ff, with a natural terrace and a roadway on which a cart could drive up and down, with the marsh grass salt that the horses loved and ate; with the channel on the other side, giving every facility for crabbing and bathing, sailing and boating, and catching every breeze that blew. This was our summer home until 1856, seven years after my father's death.
There were two remarkable springs, - one, the "Dripping Spring," down a natural grotto, where the water dripped from a rocky formation 12 or 15 feet above in a not large opening. It was not deep, but clear and cool, and no pole ever tried reached the depth of it. It ran into the river, but only real storms ever brought the salt water up to make it brackish. The grotto was so dark no young servant would ever go alone after dark for water. This was on our let.
The "Sulphur Spring" was a short walk above or below the bluff, where every high tide in the 24 hours covered it, but two minutes after the tide left it it was fresh, cold and clear as crystal, with a strong taste of sulphur, and very light. It did not mix well with liquors, but made beautiful bread. The Dunwodys lived here for years, the ages of the children tallying with ours. But on her father building her a spacious house at Brighton, Mrs. Dunwody moved there and we lost our neighbor. In my time this Sulphur Spring had only a dug-out cypress log, with a leather hung at the spout. With a change of name from Baisden's Bluff to "Crescent," it may have. been given more adorning.
The Dripping Spring was hurt while we lived there from a great excess of rain finding its vent above the spring. On the opposite side was an ex~ cavation 400 or 500 yards long and 20 feet deep, made by a planter closing a ditch and not mentioning it.

a8l
My father had been left executor to his aunt Mrs. Mcintosh's estate at Mallow. One of his cousins, Anne Mcintosh, had never married; her lands were near his, and always under his immediate care. I doubt if she knew anything but what the factors' .accounts told her, and occasional short visits. She spent her winters at the south with her relatives, and her summers at the north where she had very nice friends.
She had a wonderfully nice, light colored maid called Fanny, who went back and forth with her in the most faithful manner. She left her free with my father as guardian at her death, and Fanny established herself in Savannah.
She, Anne Mcintosh, still made my father executor to her will, and her negroes were to choose their master. An old African among them, named Ned, advised them to remain where they were, - "it was better to belong to a rich man, who never followed you up too close." But they all had to go to the courthouse in Darien to say who they chose. Of course these people were bought; one man, a carpenter, followed his wife.
On the other side of the Altamaha, in Glynn county, very much the same circumstances threw the Brailsford estate into my father's hands, including New Hope. My mother's wishes, his own pride and the clamor of the negroes, that they should not be separated (they were all of Mr. Daniel Heyward's estate, my grandmother's father), brought about this. Poor old Rachael, when she would say "I'rn an estate-woman or servant," it meant to her a patent of nobility.
My uncle Daniel Heyward Brailsford left his portion of Broadfield property involved. His widow, my aunt Mrs. Brailsford, preferred keeping her cotton plantation, Sutherland 1 s Bluff, where her home was, intact, and letting the Broadfield property be sold, in 1834. My father had no alternative but to buy.
In 1837 the Brunswick Canal was begun, when Brunswick had its first boom, - very much a Boston speculation. My father hired his people for three years, at $10,000 a year, with the restriction of his own overseer and his own visits when required. Broadfield became pasture and the cattle rolling fat; there were many fine marsh tackys amongst them with good blood. My father said this saved him, for the three canal years were not good rice years, and this money reduced his debts.
Mrs. Bell (Eugenia Brailsford, my mother's sister) and her husband dying without heirs, and Mr. Bell leaving it to his family, New Hope and its people were thrown on the market. Biddle's Bank, in Philadelphia, had failed, and the country was passing through a monied crisis, rice selling as low as 40 cents (a bushel). This purchase was put off as long as possible, but eventually New Hope was bought at $26,000. Later, the negroes were ordered to Brunswick
to be sold. Then came great lamentation all round. My father went with them,
and, finding they were to be picked and chosen, he bought them. The return trip made the woods ring with: "We 1 ve won the day!" - "We are going home! " This was in the early 40's.
Failures were on every side. Nothing but my father's high integrity, singleness and simplicity of purpose, with the strictest economy at home (for the crops were not large), enabled him to pull through. But at his death, in 1849' the debts were close on to $80,000' and the estate was thought again insolvent, as in my grandmother's time.
Before I go further I will give the record of my father and mother's family, as well as I can remember. Their family Bible Minnie Nightingale has through her father, but there was no record in it, - the one in it I wrote, before giving it to her. Of the dates I am very uncertain, but not of the names of my brothers and sisters.
Our winter home was Darien, until in the '40's, when, from the discomfort of a flat roof that would leak, the downfall of Darien as a great

a84
cotton port, and for the great advantage to the plantation, we moved over, living first at ~ew Hope, in a small house requiring a bachelor's hall for my brother Brailsford and his friends situated near the dairy, where an old chimney stood.
Our home life was thought a very happy one. We were all united in the worship of our mother, with whom the sun rose and, in her dying, set. I often wished your father could have known her, - he would have loved her dearly, as he did his grandmother Dent. They were both far above the average, with a generous love and high ideals.
Our first cousins, Florida and Oralie Troup, Sarah and William Brailsford, were our constant companions. Our Troup cousins lived with us for years. Cousin Florida was married at my father's house in Darien in 1835 to Thomas Bryan, afterward Forman, his grandfather's name. Their descendants are the Robert Waylores and Holmer Conrads of Virginia.
Our aunt, Mrs. Brailsford's home, and servants, were like our own to us. For years our winters were spent a hundred yards from each other; our summers, in exchange of visits. We had our share of beauty, too. Cousin Oralie was like a queen in hers, and her manners were graceful and elegant. Sarah Brailsford, as I wrote before, was charming in all ways, with great vivacity and spirit. My sister Hannah was lovely and refined in person and manners; she could never have roughed it, yet was ready for any sacrifice for the good of those she loved or for children,- so . cheerfully and gently, you would never know the truth until after reflection.
My sister Matilda Brailsford Troup, your "Aunt Maude," became the head of the house at our mother's death, and if she ever failed or fell short in her great responsibilities we never knew it, - few were not satisfied with the content and pleasures of her house. She had the wholesome tongue, which is a tree of life. After the ruin of the Civil War she came still more to the front, saving from the wreck what she thought m9st valuable, ever ministering to the needs of those whom God gave her. She educated Uncle Sidney, who I think loved the ground she trod on. During his four years in Winchester, Virginia, Georgia Conrad took her place, making him think Virginia was as much his home as Georgia. They were his blissful days, -both women were in his heart.
Aunt Clelia, always called "Nina" by her nephews and nieces, was of high spirit and courage, with presence of mind, gay, joyous, happy and independent, giving and receiving, loving youth and children. Her real life, to which she was born and for which she was reared, ended with the war. She gave you many blissful days in your early childhood at Broadfield, which you cannot remember. Her one child, Frank Key, is in the United States Army in the_Phillipines.
Your father's grandmother, Elizabeth Anne Dent, widow of Captain John Herbert Dent, U.S. Navy, and daughter of Jonas Horry (Huguenot), sold her plantation, called "Fenwick," in South Carolina, and moved to Georgia in 1844, having bought the Cedar Hill plantation on the Altamaha river near Darien. The first Horry mentioned was stabbed to death in the massacre of St. Bartholomew, his son escaping to America. Elizabeth Anne Horry was most carefully educated by French abbes driven to Charleston by the French Revolution. She was highly accomplished, with charming manners and appearance. Her father thought she should be the wife of an ambassador, but she fell in love with a naval officer. In "Memoirs of Washington Irving" by his nephew, in one of his letters you will see his meeting with Mrs. Dent, introduced l;>y Captain Dent, in whose United States vessel he had come from the Mediterranean. Your great grandfather Captain Dent distinguished himself in the Tripoli War and was

a85
presented with a sword by Congress, which sword he lent the great tragedian of the day, cooper, to play Othello; sailor-fashion, he did not recall it until too iate, - in the various vicissitudes of an actor's life it was lost.
Your grandfather, George Columbus Dent, and I were married in the old Broadfield house on the 22nd of November 1847 by the Rev. T. Longfellow Smith.
The first eight years of our married life were passed at Cedar Hill, near Darien, (the winters, I mean), with your father'~ grandmother Dent, whose plantation your grandfather managed. At her death, in 1856, the division of her estate and the Troup estate occuring the same year, we moved over to Broadfield and Hofwyl was settled, your grandfather calling it after the then great Hofwyl school in Switzerland - (Professor Fredenberg) - where he had been educated. From all I hear, it does not stand as it di:d.
The house at Hofwyl was not finished when our Civil War broke out and we left, for four years living in Ware county near Waycross, a miserable wiregrass country. Before we returned the extinguishing cap of defeat was on our heads, our pleasant things were all gone, and strangers in our homes. Large tracts of valuable lands passed away for taxes, it was not surprising that in many instances two generations passed away in this w~eck and ruin.
I must close now. Your father can answer your questions; if not, Captain Wylly may. You can rearrange these crude pages to suit yourself the notes you can use of as you think best - it is only an old woman's recollections, at the request of her grandson. To you and yours and to all who have gone before you - Pax vobiseum -
Parsonage - June 23, 1904
(6) My sister Clelia had all the instincts of a sportsman, following my father with his dog and gun, keen at crabbing and fishing, going about with bare model feet and ankles, cat.ching, out of the deep holes of mud and water left by the receding tide, many soft-shell crabs, which we did not know until later were the same delicacy as the Maryland soft-shell crab. She ran a fish-hook into her hand while fishing, and came home holding her hand. There was great distress in the house, for my father was away and a doctor twelve miles off. But Jack, the above mentioned butler, assured our mother, who was in tears, that he could cut it out with his sharpened razor -which he did.
Jack had a fine cur named Sharper. In some way he bit severely my dear little sister Hannah. Jack, who brought her into the house, said: "Master, shall I kill the dog?" "Certainlynot," answered 11y father, "the dog is not mad; he was prot:ecting what he thought was yours." But my little sister was on her back several days.
All these little episodes were at Baisden's Bluff, a paradise for
children. As children, Nina and I, with Cousin Oralie Troup, went down the
bluff and finding a large rice flat, tied at one end to the landing, the other end in deep water, and a high spring tide, we three stepped aboard. Nina must have thrown a line, and fell over on the outside end. The third time she rose Cousin Oralie was able to stretch out her hand, catch and draw her in. It was a narrow escape. Nina said her one fear was, being sucked under the flat, and she tried to keep off.
She had been a beautiful child. She was always handsome, but not what her childhood promised. But in later life, with her marvellous suit of white hair, a great deal of it returned. Her hair had been black, fine, soft and curly; no scissors had ever been put into it. Her role was social

a86
life, but her religious life ran through it, widening to the end. Her sympathies were immediate, and also she was a generous help in word or deed.
Our brotners Brailsford and Robert were devoted sons and brothers. They were brave, honorable men, good physicians, planters and masters. Their work ended with the war. My brother Brailsford was left executor with Mr. James Hamilton Couper of my fathers estate at the age of 23 years, one year after his graduation, to an almost insolvent property. In five or six years the debts were paid; the heirs lived generously and got whatever they asked for, even a European trip (not such a common thing as it is now), and we were all united.
My brother Robert served with honor through the war as Captain always an aid(e) - in Virginia and Georgia, also South Carolina. His war record and your grandfather Dent's, are in the Abbey at Richmond. Your father can give you the best account.
If you wish to have a general idea of your grandfather Dent, read the seventh chapter of "The End of an Era" - John Wise - "My Brother." You must take poetical license, and the knowledge that many facts, traits and circumstances were just the contrary; but the general impression of sensation, gayety, charm, accomplishments, grace and beauty and attractiveness, are well described.
The original manuscript of this document is located at Hofwyl Plantation. Punctuation and insertion of later notes by Mrs. Dent (marked by numbers) and occasional words or letters for clarification were done by a later transcriber or transcribers, and have been retained.