Bucklesberry: Early Beginnings: Summary (cont.)
Dr. Joe Sutton
A recent study identified 131 patents and surveys archived at NClandgrants.com for tracts of land geographically located in the greater Bucklesberry area of Lenoir County. Dated 1729 to 1759, these records named 92 settlers that represented 64 surnames, proving the settlement of Bucklesberry began long before 1825, the year it was previously purported to have been opened up for colonization.
Many of these settlers are omitted in some historical accounts. For example, Mike Kohler's well regarded 1976 book, 200 Years of Progress: A Report of the History and Achievements of the People of Lenoir County, provided a list of 158 early settlers, representing 135 surnames, all of whom reportedly had arrived in the Lenoir County area of old Dobbs County by 1757.
Only 23 of the 64 (or 36%) settler surnames identified in the archived Bucklesberry area land records appear on Kohler's list. They include Atkins, Bush[ey], Byrd, Cade, Carruthers, Dawson, Giles, Harrison, Herring, Hines, Hughes, Jones, Mackilroy, Parker, Roach, Rouse, Stanley, Sutton, Thompson, Turner, Vining, Whitfield, and Wiggins.
The omission of the remaining 41 of 64 (or 64%) settler surnames may be attributable to advances in technology since 1976, the year Kohler's book was published. Many historical records, including antiquated land grants and surveys, not readily available nearly a half-century ago when Kohler's list was researched, are now digitized (e.g., NClandgrants.com) and easily accessible online. Future revisions of Kohler's list of early Lenoir County settlers should include the remaining 41 Bucklesberry area settler surnames identified in the current study, which would expand his list considerably.
Factual findings of the current study of archived Bucklesberry area land records are also at odds with other historical accounts of early settlers in Lenoir County. For example, in the introduction of his 2014 book, Images of America: La Grange, local author Chris C. McCallister wrote:
"La Grange began just a few miles from its current city limits as a small farming area known as Bear Creek. The settlement later grew into what would be known as Moseley Hall, which was begun in the early to mid-1700s by the Joshua Herring and Matthew Moseley families....Eventually, other families began to move in and settle the area, including the Rouse, Dawson, Fields, Mewborn, Sutton, Best and Whitfield clans."
The contribution of Joshua Herring and Matthew Moseley in establishing Moseley Hall from which La Grange eventually grew is rightly acknowledged. However, McCallister's claim that Moseley Hall began in the "early to mid-1700s" is incorrect. Rather, it is generally known that Moseley Hall township was not established until the late 1700s, after the conclusion of the Revolutionary War.
In addition, McAlister's assertion that Moseley Hall township "began just a few miles from its current city limits as a small farming area known as Bear Creek" is largely incorrect as well. Located near Bear Creek, north of present-day La Grange, there was a farming area settlement called Rantersville. Matthew Moseley's plantation home was the first sizeable house of its kind built there. Although the township eventually took on the name of Moseley's plantation, referred to as Moseley Hall, the township did not begin where Moseley's plantation home was situated.
According to Patsy Boyette, "The two-story [Moseley Hall] was the only home of any consequence in the area at that time....[and] reference to Moseley Hall includes all areas in the township," not just Rantersville. Thus, the early Moseley hall township in all probability also drew settlers who were residing in Bucklesberry, the only other known, much older, and more established settlement along Bear Creek at the time.
In actuality, an expanding Bucklesberry community that began around 1720-1730 probably contributed significantly to the growth to the Moseley Hall township. Still considered outskirts of greater La Grange today are several other nearby farm communities that added to Moseley Hall's population, prior to the incorporation of La Grange in 1869. They include Jason, Institute, the west side of Falling Creek, and the east sides of Seven Springs (formerly White Hall), Walnut Creek, and New Hope.
McAlister's claim that, "Eventually, other families began to move in and settle the area, including the Rouse, Dawson, Fields, Mewborn, Sutton, Best and Whitfield clans" is also not entirely accurate. In fact, four of the seven named families–Dawson, Rouse, Sutton, and Whitfield–had already migrated to the area decades before Matthew Moseley arrived and built his plantation home in 1777. Identified in the current study, these four families are named in numerous land documents dated in the early to mid-1700s that were geographically associated with Lenoir County.
Next month's article will continue the summary of information shared in this series. Interested readers may enjoy reading a previously published Bucklesberry article titled "River Lifeline" available at https://rb.gy/cv6sj7.
Neuse News is a locally-owned small business startup in downtown Kinston. Our goal is to provide free, hyper-local news to Lenoir, Greene and Jones counties. The kind of news our grandparents read in a format fit for today's times.
We provide this by having supportive advertisers and we encourage you to click on their ads, shop with them, and eat with them. Every bit of financial support is important to help us sustain free, hyper-local news.
Please consider supporting Neuse News with as little as $5 one-time or via a monthly option. Every little bit helps us, help you.
