Robert Hicks, Surveyor of Albemarle Co, NC

Robert Hicks m. c1745 to Sarah Reeves (1722-1806) daughter of William Reeves.

Children of Sarah Reeves and Robert Hicks:

1. Sarah Hicks, b. 3 Oct 1746, m. Thomas Bell
2. Abigail Hicks, b. 15 Dec 1748, m. William Yancey
3. Elizabeth "Betsy" Hicks, b. 1750-1760
4. Faithy Hicks, b. 20 Nov 1751 - may have died as a child
5. Thomas Hicks, b. 25 Dec 1753, m. Constance Parham Hester
6. Lucretia Hicks, b. c1755 m. Robert Boyd, Rowland Jordan and John Locke
7. Robert B. Hicks, b. c1759 (aka Robert B. Hicks, Jr.), m. Sarah Raven
8. Isaac Hicks, b. c1760, m. Elizabeth Hines

Proof that this Robert and his brother William Hicks of Granville County were the two men who returned in June 1758 to Long Island for a brief stay is that in North Carolina Archives can be found the original of a surety bond among the Estate papers of William Hicks Orange County, 1827. The bond evidences that in New York on July 3, 1758.

Will

The will of Robert Hicks, made April 15, 1788, proved May Court, 1792.
Robert Hicks, Sr., wills to my daughter, Abagail Yancy, a large looking glass, all pictures and maps, silver tankard, 6 large silver spoons now in my possession provided that Thomas Hicks never marries, and also 40 pounds, in hands of Robert Hicks, Jr., also my coopers tools; also all household goods and furniture to my wife Sarah Hicks for her lifetime, and then to my daughter Betsey Hicks the bed and bedstead and all the furniture called her bed, cotton and flax wheels, 2 pair cotton cards, a Negro slave; and to my wife a horse also; to daughter Lucretia Lock and Betsey Hicks, 5 pounds each in the hands of Robert Hicks, Jr. to Abagail Cooper and Luty White, 20 pounds each. Execut: Thornton Yancey, John Young. Wit: Elizabeth Yancey, Wiley Yancey. Inventory, August term 1792, Robert Hicks, Sr., deceased, by Sarah Hicks, Adinstr.

Land in Antiqua next to DuRant. Trader with Capt/Councilman John Lightfoot.

Peter JONES had accompanied Joesph COLSON, Robert HICKS, Major MUMFORD, and William BYRD II during the survey of "Eden".

Trade business with DuRant of Antiqua. Spelled Hix in the records. Sailor man was Capt John Lightfoot of GA and descendants went to MS.

Careful research [via James Logan Colbert Family} was given to South Carolina's Indian Affairs records to see if his name was mentioned during the early 1730s or 1740s. The results proved negative. However, while going through South Carolina's DOCUMENTS RELATING to INDIAN AFFAIRS, several lists of Indian traders appeared. These lists were generated by laws created by the colonies of Georgia and South Carolina to control Indian trade within their own borders. The first laws monitoring Indian traders in South Carolina were inacted in 1702. They were specifically directed against Virginia Indian traders. One of the first Virginia Indian traders whose property was "confiscated" because of this act was Robert HICKS[Sr.]of Virginia in 1707.(18)

Similar acts were also made in Georgia. On 9 January 1735, "An Act for the Maintaining Peace with the Indians in the Province of Georgia" was passed by the Common Council of Trustees at Governor OGLETHORPE's insistence. It was sent to the Privy Council for review and a favorable report was rendered on 3 April 1735. It said:

.."that all such Persons that shall trade, traffic or Barter with any Indian (except the Chickasaw traders)shall come to the Town of Savannah at least once every Year; in order to take out a new License, in his own proper Person, that is to say, in the Month of March, April, May or June in which Months all Licenses shall expire [except] the Chickasaw traders shall take out their Licenses once in eighteen months..."(19)

Using the names of "Licensed Indian traders", a list of Virginai, North and South Carolina traders was created. A partial list includes Robert LONG, Charles HICKS, John BROWN, William GILCHRIST, Abraham COLSON, James ANDERSON, William KEMP, James MOORE, Richard HYDE, John SIMS, William WILLIAMS, and John PETTYGREW.

The HYDES of Northampton County

One of James COLBERT's 'hirelings' was Richard HYDE, listed above. His father, aslo known as Richard Hyde, had also been employed by COLBERT as a packhorseman. The elder HYDE was a former pirate and member of Blackbeard's gang. HYDE quit his life of piracy when Edward TEACH(Blackbeard) was killed in 1718.(20)

While escorting the Superintendent of Indian Affairs through Creek territory, both the Supreintendent and the elder HYDE were severely beaten and disfigured by some Creek warriors when they were caught in bed with the Indian's wives. According to ADAIR:

"Among the Indians, the trading people's ears are often in danger, by the sharpness of the law, and their suborning false witnesses, or admitting foolish children as legal evidence; but generally either the tenderhearted females or friends, give them timely notice of their danger...The Muskhoge lately clipped off the ears of two white men for supposed adultery.One had been a disciple of Black Beard, the pirate..."(21)

Records show that Richard HYDE and his family lived along the Roanoke River at Hyde Island. This island is a few miles upstream from Plumbtree (Mush) Island and the Occoneechee Neck.

The Chickasaw Traders of Sandy Bluff

Further research revealed a number of Chickasaw Indian traders lived along the Pee Dee River during the "off-season" at a settlement called Sandy Bluff (in present day Marion County, South Carolina). Acording to Harvey Toliver COOK, several North Carolina and Virginia "squatters" had lived at Sandy Bluff since the early 1730s and a substantial community had evolved by 1734.(22)

William BYRD made reference to the Pee Dee River in his book HISTORY of the DIVIDING LINE when describing the Indian Trading Path which crossed the northwest section of present day Warren County in North Carolina on its way "to the Catawbas and other southern Indians." According to BYRD, the Pee Dee was a place "where the traders commonly lie for some days, to recruit their horses' flesh as well as to recover their own spirits."

Sandy Bluff was farther down the Pee Dee that the "usual" rest stop for traders. At first, it was occupied by only a few of the Chickasaw woodsmen before they proceeded to Virginia and North Carolina. Most, if not all, of these woodsmen had Indian wives and half-breed children in the Chickasaw towns they traded in.Geographically, Sandy Bluff was remote from any of the major Indian paths or large towns in South Carolina. It was considered "out-of-the-way". In all respects, Sandy Bluff was a "self contained isolate community".

The Turbevilles of Northampton and Halifax Counties

One of the first families to live at Sandy Bluff was the TURBEVILLEs. North Carolina records show that between 1713 and 1726, the TURBEVILLEs had lived on the Occoneechee Neck of the Morattuck (Roanoke) River (in present day Northampton County). In May of 1726, William and Walter TURBEVILLE moved to Plumbtree Island(now called Mush Island in Halifax County). Their father, Richard TURBEVILLE, had died six months earlier, On 4 December 1725 the elder TURBEVILLE had written his last will and testament.AN abstract of his will reads;

"Wife Anne TURBEVELL-plantation where I now live for her lifetime. Eldest son John TURBEVELL-plantation and land where Jacob COLSON now lives on the west side of Reddy Run. Second son Francis TURBEVELL--100 acres on the south side of the Moratuck River in a survey of land bought of JOhn Lax{X}. Third son William TURBEVELL-land where he now lives, to be divided from the Piney Meadow across the survey. Fourth son Walter TURBEVELL-plantation where I now live after his mother's death. Daughter Elizabeth TURBEVELL-cows and calves, etc. less than one year after the death of her mother. Grandson Daniel COLSON and granddaughter Mary COLSON--cow and calf each, to be paid them when they are twenty-one."(23)

Richard TURBEVILLE's will was witnessed by John HOGG, Richard CURETON, and John HATCHER. All three lived on the Roanoke River near Occoneechee Neck and Plumbtree Island. John HATCHER was a descendant of a Virginian Indian trading family. The HOGGs and CURETONs had ties with the COLBERTs'

The most noteworthy of the TURBEVILLEs at Sandy Bluff, acording to the Reverend Alexander GREGG, was William TURBEVILLE. The Reverend Mr. GREGG said "Mr. TURBEVILLE had no children. Several brothers came with him, of whom some descendants are now in Marion." According to GREGG:

The Rev. Wm. TURBEVILLE came with this colony, and was their pastor. He was a well-educated man, and had a high reputation as a preacher...Mr.TURBEVILLE was a poor man through life. Wm. ALSTON, grandfather of Gov. ALSTON, lived near the Warhees(a few miles below Mars Bluff)...

References

• https://thereevesproject.org/data/tiki-index.php?page=Reeves_Sarah_...
• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Dec 27 2022, 16:32:22 UTC