Captain Edmund Landgrave Bellinger

Edmund Bellinger, a ship's captain from Westmoreland County, England, settled in South Carolina by 1692, and in 1694 he was Attorney General of the province.  He was a member of the Second Assembly (1695) and represented Berkeley and Craven in the Third Assembly (1696-1697). Bellinger continued to follow the sea and in May 1696 he commanded the ship Blake bound for London. En route, the vessel was captured by the French and Bellinger was taken to France. He was in England in 1698 and was instrumental in getting the number of the articles of the Fundamental Constitutions reduced. On 1 April 1698 he was appointed Surveyor General for the Carolinas and on 7 May 1698 was created a landgrave. By 1700 he was the deputy for Thomas Amy, Collector of Customs, and deputy judge of the Court of Admiralty. NICHOLAS TROTT and others accused Bellinger, Governor Joseph Blake, and JOSEPH MORTON of seizing and condemning vessels and then purchasing them at auction for a fraction of their value. The Lords of Trade dismissed the formal complaint against Bellinger 29 May 1700. On 14 August 1700 he was named Receiver General of the Quit Rents. Among the other offices he held were commissioner, of pilotage (1694, 1702); commissioner, to make Sullivan's Island more remarkable to mariners (1700); commissioner, to hear complaints and appeals on tax assessments (1702); and commissioner, to repair fortifications (1702).

As a landgrave, Bellinger was nominated 11 September 1700 to replace the deceased governor, Joseph Blake. JAMES MOORE and ROBERT DANIELL objected to Bellinger's nomination on the grounds that he was a proprietor's deputy and held several offices. When the ballot was taken, Bellinger received only a single vote. His being a dissenter and a "proprietor's man" had more to do with his defeat than the reasons advanced. He again fell victim to factional politics in 1703 following the withdrawal of the Colleton County delegation from the assembly. As a justice of the peace he attempted to quell the ensuing riot and in the process was caned by WILLIAM RHETT. Bellinger supported the dissenters' sending JOHN ASH (d. 1704) to London to plead their cause.
Under his patent as landgrave, Bellinger was entitled to 48,000 acres of land. Ashepoo Barony, a tract of 7,260 acres was run out on the Ashepoo River and, apparently, was the only portion of the acreage that he claimed under his patent. However, he did take grants for an additional 2,054 acres in Berkeley County and 1,290 in Colleton. These lands and the patent passed first to his eldest son Thomas, who died without issue, and then to Edmund. Bellinger and Sarah Cartwright had six other children: Margaret (m. Nicholas Bohun), John, Elizabeth (m. John Palmer), William, Lucia (m. Barnaby Bull), and Ann (m. Richard Fairchild). The First Landgrave Edmund Bellinger died between 10 October 1705 when it is mentioned that he signed his will and 1 May 1708 when the Second Landgrave received two land grants.
Second Assembly Member 1695

   Third Assembly        Berkeley and Craven    1696-1697

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