PIONEER PETITION TO NORTH CAROLINA. "To the Hon. the Provincial Council of North Carolina: "The humble petition of the inhabitants of Washington District, including the River Wataugah, Nonachuckie, &c., in committee assembled, Humbly Sheweth, that about six years ago, Col. Donelson, (in behalf of the colony of Virginia,) held a Treaty with the Cherokee Indians, in order to purchase the lands of the Western Frontiers; in consequence of which Treaty, many of your petitioners settled on the lands of the Wataugah, &c., expecting to be within the Virginia line, and consequently holding their lands by their improvements as first settlers; but to their great disappointment, when the line was run they were (contrary to their expectation) left out; finding themselves thus disappointed, and being too inconveniently situated to remove back, and feeling an unwillingness to loose the labor bestowed on their plantations, they applied to the Cherokee Indians, and leased the land for the term of ten years, before the expiration of which term, it appeared that many persons of distinction were actually making purchases forever; thus yielding a precedent, (supposing many of them, who were gentlemen of the law, to be better judges of the constitution than we were,) and considering the bad consequences it must be attended with, should the reversion be purchased out of our hands, we next proceeded to make a purchase of the lands, reserving those in our possession in sufficient tracts for our own use, and resolving to dispose of the remainder for the good of the community. This purchase was made and the lands acknowledged to us and our heirs forever, in an open treaty, in Wataugah Old Fields; a deed being obtained from the Chiefs of the said Cherokee nation, for themselves and their whole nation, conveying a fee simple right to the said lands to us and our heirs forever, which deed was for and in consideration of the sum of two thousands pounds sterling, (paid to them in goods) for which consideration they acknowledged themselves fully satisfied, contented and paid; and agreed, for themselves, their whole nation, their heirs, &c., forever to resign, warrant and defend the said land to us, and our heirs &c., against themselves, their heirs, &c. "The purchase was no sooner made than we were alarmed by the reports of the present unhappy differences between Great Britian and America, on which report, (taking the now united colonies for our guide) we proceeded to choose a committee, which was done unanimously by consent of the people. This committee (willing to become a party in the present unhappy contest) resolved, (which is now on our records,) to adhere strictly to the rules and orders of the Continental Congress, and in open committee acknowledged themselves indebted to the united colonies their full proportion of the Continental expense. "Finding themselves on the Frontiers, and being apprehensive that, for the want of a proper legislature we might become a shelter for such as endeavoured to defraud their creditors; considering also the necessity of recording Deeds, Wills, and doing other public business; we, by consent of the people, formed a court for the purposes above mentioned, taking (by desire of our constituents) the Virginia laws for our guide, so near as the situation of affairs would admit; this was intended for ourselves, and was done by the consent of every individual; but wherever we had to deal with people out of our district, we have ruled them to bail, to abide by our determinations, (which was, in fact, leaving the matter to reference,) otherways we dismissed their suit, lest we should in any way intrude on the legislature of the colonies. In short, we have endeavored so strictly to do justice, that we have admitted common proof against ourselves, on accounts, &c., from the colonies, without pretending a right to require the Colony Seal. "We therefore trust we shall be considered as we deserve, and not as we have (no doubt) been many times represented, as a lawless mob. It is for this very reason we can assure you that we petition; we now again repeat it, that it is for want of proper authority to try and punish felons, we can only mention to you murderers, horse-thieves and robbers, and we are sorry to say that some of them have escaped us for want of proper authority. We trust, however, this will not long be the case; and we again and again repeat it, that it is for this reason we petition to this Honorable Assembly. "Above we have given you an extract of our proceedings, since our settling on Wataugah, Nonachuckie, &c., in regard to our civil affairs. We have shown you the causes of our first settling and the disappointments we have met with, the reason of our lease and of our purchase, the manner in which we purchased, and how we hold of the Indians in fee simple; the causes of our forming a committee, and the legality of its election; the same of our Court and proceedings, and our reasons for petitioning in regard to our legislature. "We will now proceed to give you some account of our military establishments, which were chosen agreeable to the rules established by convention, and officers appointed by the committee. This being done, we thought it proper to raise a company on the District service, as our proportion, to act in the common cause on the seashore. A company of fine riflemen were accordingly enlisted, and put under Captain James Robertson, and were actually embodied, when we received sundry letters and depositions, (copie of which we now enclose you,) you will then readily judge that there was occasion for them in another place, where we daily expected an attack. We therefore thought proper to station them on our Frontiers, in defense of the common cause, at the expenses and risque of our own private fortunes, till farther public orders, we flatter ourselves will give no offence. We have enclosed you sundry proceedings at the station where our men now remain. "We shall now submit the whole to your candid and impartial judgement. We pray your mature and deliberate consideration in our behalf, that you may annex us to your Province, (whether as county, district, or other division,) in such manner as may enable us to share in the glorious cause of Liberty; enforce our laws under authority, and in every respect become the best members of society; and for ourselves and constituents we hope, we may venture to assure you, that we shall adhere strictly to your determinations, and that nothing will be lacking, or anything neglected, that may add weight (in the civil or military establishments) to the glorious cause in which we are now struggling, or contribute to the welfare of our own or ages yet to come. "That you may strictly examine every part of this our Petition, and delay no time in annexing us to your Province, in such a manner as your wisdom shall direct, is the hearty prayer of those who, for themselves and constituents, as in duty bound, shall ever pray. The above signers are the Members in Committee assembled. Jacob Womack, Joseph Dunham, Rice Durroon, Lew. Bowyer, D. Atty. Joseph Buller, Andw. Greer, his Joab X Mitchell, Hugh Blair, Jos. Brown, John Neave, John Robinson, Wm. Tatham, Clerk P. T. Christopher Cunningham, Jas. Easeley, John McCormick, Adam Sherrell, Samuel Sherrell, junr. Samuel Sherrell, senr. Ossa Rose, Henry Bates, jun. Christopher Cunningham, sen. Ambrose Hodge, Dan'l Morris, Wm. Cox, John Brown, Andrew Greear, jun. Teeler Nave, Lewis Jones, John I. Cox, David Hughes, Landon Carter, Jos. McCartney, Joseph Calvit, Elijah Robertson, John X Dunham, William Roberson, Henry Siler, Frederick Calvit, John Barley," The pioneers had been living under the government of the Watauga Association for four years when this petition was presented to the legislature, and that body did not put into effect the request for annexation until November 1777, when it formed Washington District, which was the name the pioneers had given to their country, into Washington County, and gave to the County the boundaries of the whole of the present State of Tennessee. At the same session of the Legislature it was provided that a land office should be opened in Washington County with liberal provisions for taking up land. The motives leading the pioneers to seek annexation to North Carolina are set out in the petition quoted; the motive of North Carolina in accepting the annexation was the motive of selfinterest through the acquirement of a large territory. Looking back on the situation from our day, it is difficult to see how anything but disappointment, dissatisfaction and final rupture, could have been the result of this annexation. The Watauga people were far removed from North Carolina, separated by a high mountain range, had no wealth to tax, with practically no money in circulation, a new country to be developed from the very beginning. On the other hand, the State of North Carolina, while better developed, was hardly able to take care of itself. The Revolutionary War began shortly after the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and the Whig element in North Carolina adhered to the American cause while the Tory element adhered to Great Britain. The State was divided and was under the heel of the British Army which had practically subjugated the entire State. North Carolina, therefore, was in no condition to help the Watauga people. In fact, but for the Watauga people the Battle of King's Mountain would have been lost, and North Carolina in all probability placed indefinitely in the grasp of Great Britain. Between the two parties to the annexation it would seem that the Watauga people were better able to take care of themselves independently than North Carolina was to take care of herself independently. North Carolina at no time exercised any real control over the Western people. The annexation was a practical nullity from the start, and the Watauga people saw that there were no benefits to be derived from North Carolina, but they put up with the situauation from 1777 to 1784, when, patience ceasing to be a virtue, they organized the State of Franklin which continued in existence until 1788. To show the feeling of North Carolina towards the mountain people it is only necessary to refer to the action of the legislature of that State at the April Session in 1784 when it ceded to the United States the Western country, now the State of Tennessee, and gave the government two years in which to decide whether it would accept the gift; North Carolina, during the two years, to retain jurisdiction over the Territory. It was not at all difficult for the pioneers to see that if North Carolina was so desirous of getting rid of them, that during the two years they had absolutely less than nothing to expect from that State. The legislature at the same session that offered the Territory to the United States closed the land office in Washington County. No Tennessean who has carefully read the early history of the State can blame the pioneers for establishing the State of Franklin. |