Chapter 2
COUNTY LINE DISTRICT - GRANVILLE
COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
1785-1790
Settlers, mostly from
Virginia, had been attracted to Granville due to opportunities arising from the
superiority of soil, inexpensive land, abundance of wild animals and quality of
water. Many settlers only briefly resided in Granville County before moving on
to other areas which were newly opened for settlement. Tobacco became the main
crop produced in Granville County, which was perfectly suited for the rich
soil. In 1764, the State Assembly
established the county seat at Oxford, located on a portion of Representative
Samuel Benton’s plantation. The Granville County Courthouse was built at Oxford
and regular sessions were held there after 1772. When the Shapards arrived in
1785, Granville County held a population of about 6,000 inhabitants. Residents
entertained themselves through diversions, such as, cockfights, horse racing,
church activities and attending court sessions.
In August or September of
1785, the Shapard family loaded their wagons, livestock and slaves and ventured
80 miles from Cumberland County, Virginia, to their new home site in North
Carolina. Their choice of location was not by random, but directed by the
community of friends and family that had gradually congregated in Granville
County over the years. However, Mrs. Shapard’s sister, Amy (Booker) Webb (1752-1835)
and her husband, Col. John Webb (1747–1826), who had migrated to Granville
County in January of 1782, were the most influential in initiating the Shapard family’s
migration to North Carolina.
John Webb and his wife Amy
(Booker) were married in 1772. John migrated from Essex County, Virginia, to
the Goshen District of Granville County, North Carolina, in 1782, where he
purchased the former plantation of his brother-in-law Philip Vass (1750–1825). John
and Amy resided near the present-day town of Oak Hill. In 1786, they had 15 slaves working the
plantation. John Webb served honorably in the Continental Army during the
Revolutionary War. On January 26, 1778, he had advanced from a Captain to the
rank of Major, and then, on July 4, 1783, he was made a Lieutenant Colonel in
the 5th Virginia Regiment. Early in the war he was used heavily for
recruiting purposes, and acquired men from the counties of Essex, King and
Queen, and Middlesex. He was known as “a plain, blunt man of a great deal
of rugged force of character."
After moving to Granville
County, it appears that John Webb became a lawyer or a judge, having acquired a
vast knowledge of the law. Because of his expertise in this field, he became a
valued and trusted councilor to the Shapard family over the years. Religiously,
he was highly affiliated with the Grassy Creek Presbyterian Church, where he
became an elder along with Samuel Smith and John Young, among others. Note that
Samuel Smith was the husband of John’s sister Mary Webb, and John Young was
brother to Francis Young, wife of John’s brother William Webb. In 1822, John
Webb and the other members of the church helped organize the Spring Grove
Presbyterian Church, located closer to his home, which later became known as
the Oak Hill Church. John was described by his granddaughter, Frances M. (Webb)
Bumpass, as; “…a man of the strictest integrity, plain in his manners, he
thought and acted candidly, was remarkable for his firmness of character, his
action was governed by firm principles. Though his heart was sympathetic he
never permitted feeling to interfere with duty.” John Webb died on August 29,
1826, and was buried in the Oak Hill Church Cemetery, Oxford, Granville County,
Virginia.
Despite her husband’s
Presbyterian affiliation, Amy (Booker) Webb was a member of the Ebenezer
Methodist Episcopal Church at Oak Hill. Upon her death on March 25, 1835, she
had been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for 48 years (since 1787).
Amy Webb was buried next to her husband in the Oak Hill Cemetery. John and Amy
had the following children: Elizabeth (b.1773), Thomas (b.1776), James (b. 1779),
Mary (b. 1782), Ann (b. 1784) who married John F. Patillo (son of Mary Anderson
and Rev. Henry Patillo) in 1808, John Webb (b. 1787), William (b. 1787), Lewis
(b. July 15, 1789) married Ann Nutall in 1818, Isaac (b. 1709), Amy (b. 1794)
and Susanna (b.1796).
The
Shapard family originally settled on approximately 220 acres of land in the
northwest corner of Granville County, about five miles north of the present-day
town of Oak Hill where John Webb had his 306 acre plantation. A few years later
in 1787, Lewis’ father purchased an adjoining farm from Mr. John Angus,
enlarging the Shapard plantation to about 900 acres. That same year, a road was
surveyed and constructed through the Shapard land, providing tremendous benefit
to the family. A branch of Jonathan’s Creek and a few ponds on the property
also benefited the family by provided water for their livestock and crops. Neighbors
were: John Royster, Charles Harris, John Stovall, William Royster, Thomas
Applin, John Puryear, Mr. Wade, Mr. Bohannon and Mr. Pemfrell. The Shapard
plantation was located within the County Line District of Granville County. This
district was bounded on the north by the Virginia state line; bounded on the
east and south by the meanderings of the Grassy Creek; bounded on the south by
the Hyco Road, which ran east to west across the county; and bounded on the
west by Caswell County (becoming Person County in 1791).
Lewis
and his siblings would have initially been sad to leave the world they knew in
Virginia, especially their friends. However, once in North Carolina, the
adventure and excitement of their new surroundings would have quelled any
melancholy. Twelve year-old Lewis would have spent many days, during the fall
of 1785, exploring the land around his new home with his siblings. They would
have become introduced to their neighbors and community through social settings
of school, church, hunting, etc. Records show that, while in Granville County,
Lewis received a quality education and became highly literate. It is also very
clear that, in his youth, Lewis showed a talent and interest in agriculture and
plantation management, a skill that would serve him well throughout his life.
On December 18, 1786,
Mildred married Anderson Williams (1767-1860) in Cumberland County, Virginia.
Anderson was the grandson of Thomas Williams (1712 - c.1794) and Susannah Anderson,
and the son of Samuel Williams (September 18, 1744 – 1823) and Susannah Ligon. Samuel and Susannah lived in Cumberland
County, Virginia, and had ten children: Anderson (born circa 1767), William
(born circa 1771), John (born circa 1773), Charles (born circa 1775), Reuben
(born circa 1777), Polly (born circa 1779), Samuel (born 1781), Robert (born
1786), Joseph (born 1789).
After
their marriage, Anderson and Mildred (Shapard) Williams remained in Cumberland
County for a few years; however, in the early 1790s, they migrated to Granville
County, North Carolina. Records show that, in 1794, they resided on or near the
land of Mildred’s father, William Shapard, in the Island Creek District, and
had one slave and no land. During his time in Granville County, Anderson
Williams developed a strong and fruitful relationship with his brothers-in-law Lewis
and James Shapard. In late 1797, that fruitful relationship carried Anderson
and Mildred (Shapard) Williams from Granville County to Caswell County, North
Carolina, where Lewis and James Shapard had settled years earlier with great
success.
Although
Lewis’ eldest brother Samuel initially settled with the family in Granville
County, it appears that he traveled back and forth between Granville County,
North Carolina and Cumberland County, Virginia from 1785 through 1788. Thereafter,
Samuel took up permanent residence in Virginia. On November 2, 1788, Samuel
married eighteen-year-old Susanna Holman in Cumberland County, Virginia.
Susanna was the daughter of Judge John Holman (1731-1818) and Susanna Yancy,
who were former neighbors of the Shapards when they resided in Virginia. Under Judge Holman’s guidance, Samuel
continued his education and learned the law, eventually becoming a lawyer.
Interestingly, due to Samuel’s superior education and scholastic training, he,
for a brief time, established schools and taught in Cumberland County. One
school begun by Samuel was at Brown’s Church which was located about two miles
north of Raine’s Tavern on John Randolph Road in Cumberland County, near the
old Shapard Plantation. In 1797, Samuel traveled to Kentucky to tend to some
real estate legal matters, especially dealing with land bounties assigned to
colonial soldiers. From 1802 to 1805, it is believed that Samuel resided in
South Carolina, thereafter moving to Russell County, Virginia, where he
purchased 100 acres on Copper Creek from his uncle, John Woodson. After Samuel
sold this land in 1807, he and his wife Susanna returned to Cumberland County,
Virginia. In 1811, Samuel Shapard was listed as having “no fixed residence,”
implying that he traveled frequently and for extended periods of time. In 1814,
Samuel was residing in Buckingham County, Virginia, where he and his brother-in-law,
John Holman, Jr., sold some jointly owned land in Cumberland County. The last
known record of Samuel Booker Shapard is dated March 4, 1815, and simply states
that he (at 52 years of age) “had gone to parts unknown.” No truer words could
express his whereabouts, historically speaking, as he and his wife literally
vanished from the records after this date. Thus far, it is unknown if Samuel
and his wife had children, though the probability of a continuation of his line
is high, and hopefully will be located by a future researcher.
Religion
remained an important aspect of life for the Shapard family in Granville
County. Not only did it serve a valuable spiritual and moral function, it also
provided an important social aspect that was in contrast to the daily solitude
of rural existence. Evidence suggests that Lewis Shapard and his family
attended services at the Grassy Creek Presbyterian Church located about 7 miles
east of the present-day town of Oak Hill. In 1761, the Presbyterians
established a small congregation in Granville County at Grassy Creek. During
and after the Revolutionary War, anti-British sentiment steered members away
from the Anglican Church (Church of England), causing a substantial rise in
membership in the Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist churches. Rev. James
Criswell was the first full-time Presbyterian minister at Grassy Creek congregation,
followed by Rev. Henry Patillo in 1774.
Rev. Henry Patillo was born in Scotland in
1726 and immigrated to Virginia approximately 1740. He married Mary Anderson in
1755, and was licensed as a Presbyterian minister about the year 1759. He migrated
to Orange County, North Carolina, in 1765, then to Bute County in 1774 and
finally to Granville County in 1780. He was the second Presbyterian minister to
assume the pulpit at the Grassy Creek and Nut Bush communities in Granville
County, beginning in 1774. Due to the rigors of his job and concern over the
well-being of his family, his congregation gave him 300 acres of land in the
Island Creek District upon which to live, provided that he remain in Granville
as their pastor. He began the ‘Henry Patillo Nutbush Seminary’ in 1788, which
was renamed to the ‘Williamsboro Academy’ in 1790. Rev. Patillo died in 1801.
The location of his gravesite has been lost through the ages.
Interestingly, when Lewis
Shapard was 16 years old, in 1789, major changes occurred with the local state government
as well as the federal government of the United States. On November 21, 1789,
North Carolina was admitted to the Union as the twelfth State. Earlier that
same year, the Articles of Confederation, being the initial governing document
of the United States, from 1777, was overthrown by the implementation of the
Constitution of the United States. It became apparent, over time, that the
first form of government was too weak to function effectively. As a remedy, the
Constitution formed a stronger Federal government while weakening the powers of
the individual states; however, as a safeguard, the Bill of Rights, being the
first ten Amendments to the Constitution, was ratified in 1791, in an effort to
protect the rights of the citizens against tyranny in this more powerful
centralized government. The new Constitution established, for the first time,
the office of President. George Washington, the former Commander-in-Chief of
the Continental Army and Founding Father of the United States served as
America’s first president from 1789 to 1797. Interestingly, only about one percent
of the estimated three-million population of the United States voted in the
first election in 1789 and the second election in 1792. This clearly
illustrates that Americans, like Lewis Shapard, living in such a vast and
sparsely populated country, had little awareness or need of anything beyond
their local government.
Between the timeframe of
the implementation of the Constitution and the ratification of the Bill of
Rights, the Shapard family also pursued some monumental changes. Lewis
Shapard’s father had become enticed by the excellent business and social
opportunities developing around the newly formed town of Williamsboro, in the
upper east section of Granville County, in the Island Creek District. In 1790,
Mr. Shapard engaged in negotiations and purchased from Mr. Robert Burton a
large estate north of the town. The adventure of living near a town for the
first time in his life would have been very exciting for seventeen year-old
Lewis Shapard.
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