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North Carolina 1779
1820 Major Roads
1804 North Carolina Map showing the locations of Shocco Creek, Halifax, Williamston, Windsor and Tarboro.
1776 North Carolina map showing:
1 - Area on Little Shocco Creek where I believe Elisha Williams lived based on his being on this creek and in Franklin
county, this being the only portion of the creek in that location.
2 - Williams noted on the map. Not sure which Williams this was.
3 - Halifax.
4 - Norfleet Ferry referred to in the following story:
Jun 1777: A Certain woman by the name
of Dawson,
in the town of Windsor, N.C., had reason to hope her soul
was converted, saw baptism to be a duty for a believer to comply with, and expressed a great desire to join the church at
Cashie, under the care of Elder Dargan. Her husband, who was violently opposed to it, and a great persecutor, had threatened
that, if any man baptized his wife, he would shoot him; accordingly, baptism was deferred for some considerable time. At length,
Elder Tanner was present at Elder Dargan's meeting, and Mrs. Dawson applied to the church for baptism, expressing her desire
to comply with her duty. She related her experience, and was received; and, as Elder Dargan was an infirm man, he generally,
when other ministers were present, would apply to them to administer the ordinance in his stead. He therefore requested Elder
Tanner to perform the duty of baptism at this time. Whether Elder Tanner was apprised of Dawson's
threatening or not; or whether he thought it was his duty to obey God rather than man, we are not able to say; but so it was,
he baptized sister Dawson. And, in June following, which was in the year 1777, Elder Tanner was expected to preach at Sandy
Run meeting house, and Dawson, hearing of the appointment, came up from Windsor to Norfleet's Ferry, on Roanoke, and
lay in wait near the banks of the river, and when Elder Tanner (who was in company with Elder Dargan) ascended the bank from
the ferry landing, Dawson, being a few yards from him, shot him with a large horseman’s pistol, and seventeen shot went
into his thigh, one of which was a large buckshot, that went through his thigh, and lodged between his breeches and thigh
on the other side. Elder Burkitt was present when the doctor (who was immediately sent for) took part of the shot out of his
thigh. In this wounded condition Elder Tanner was carried to the house of Mr. Elisha Williams, in Scotland Neck, [Halifax County,
NC] where he lay some weeks, and his life was despaired of; but, through
the goodness of God, he recovered again. Dawson seemed somewhat
frightened, fearing he would die, and sent a doctor up to attend him. And, after Elder Tanner recovered, he never attempted
to seek for any recompense, but submitted to it patiently as persecution for Christ's sake.
From Lemuel Burkitt & Jesse Read, A Concise History of the Kehukee Baptist
Association - From Its Original Rise Down to 1808; Henry L. Burkitt, Lawrence, TN, editor, 1850. – jrd.
5 - The location of the town of Scotland Neck.
6 - The town of present day Tarboro NC.
Library of Congress Map Collection
1776 North Carolina map showing Windsor, Williamston, Tarboro, Shocco Creek NC along with Isle of Wight in
VA. All of these locations, with the exception of Isle of Wight, are within 40 miles of each other.
Elisha Williams was married in 1775 in Winsor. He was a close friend of Joseph D. Philips who lived in Tarboro
and moved to Nashville TN in 1791. Joseph talked him into following in 1804. Some of the Williams are known to
have moved to NC from the Isle of Wight area of VA. It is believed that Williamston was named after Colonel William
Williams who owned large plantations in the northwestern part of the county prior to the Revolution.
Colonel Williams' father, also named William Williams, migrated to this country from Wales in the early 1700s and settled
on the south bank of the Roanoke River in the upper end of the county, which at that time was in Edgecombe and was later a
part of Halifax before it became Martin. William Williams II was a delegate to the Hillsborough and Halifax conventions in
1776, was elected colonel of Martin County's militia when it was organized and continued in that capacity until after he was
elected the county's first state senator in 1777. He resigned his military commission shortly afterwards and was succeeded
as commanding officer of the county's militia by his nephew, Lt. Colonel Whitmel Hill.
The 1790 Federal census for Franklin County, NC, the location of the Shocco Creek site, shows Elisha Williams as head
of household with living with 3 male children, 4 females, and 13 slaves.
The 1790 Federal census for Halifax, Edgecombe County shows Elisha Williams as head of household with 5 male children, 3
females, and 1 slave.
The 1800 Federal census for Martin County, where Williamston is located, shows Elisha Williams as head of household
including 4 males, 1 female, and 1 slave.
The 1800 Federal census for Bertie County, where Winsor is located, shows Elisha Williams as head of household including
3 free persons and 1 slave.
Our Elisha Williams had 4 male children and 2 female children. However, I believe one of the male and one of the
female children died as infants. Based on this, the most likely of the above would be the Franklin Countly Elisha.
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