After the first European landed in or very near to what is Brunswick County today, it took almost a hundred years before settlers decided to give the county a try. In 1662, William Hilton, Jr., an Englishman decided to explore the coast of the present day county. Oh, do not excited. Hilton did not travel across the Atlantic to see our county. In fact, he sailed down the east coast from Massachusetts to begin exploration of the Cape Fear River and valley, including the southern part of the area. He had gathered enough information for Nicholas Shapley to draw a very detailed map of the Cape Fear River area.
Hilton was born in 1617 in Cheshire, England. When he was four his father left England for New Plymouth colony in America. Two years later young Hilton, Jr. and his mother moved to “the new world.” William Hilton, Jr. lived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony for much of his life. In August of 1662 Hilton set sail along the coast of America and returned to Massachusetts in November of the same year.
In 1663, Hilton set sail again for the area, employed to explore by businessmen from New England, London and Barbados. Now, Hilton, whether he really liked our area or not, returned to Massachusetts with a positive report. Maybe he didn’t like his Massachusetts neighbors. Who knows? Anyway, in 1663 a group of potential settlers from Massachusetts headed south to build a settlement right here in Brunswick County. Perhaps, this group of New Englanders were the first to really transact business with the local Indians. They purchased about thrity-two square miles from the native Indians — in many cases referred to as the Cape Fear Indians. For those of us who love our land and our history, it is sad to say that while it seems that the Cape Fear Indians thrived for years, little is known about them.
No one has recorded — that I can find — how much these settlers paid for the 32 square miles, but ever how much it was, it seems that it was too much. In fact, it does not seem that they put too much effort into the settlement. They stayed only two or three months before returning to New England. So, let’s just say that in 1663 settlers came, bought land, and left. They did not like the area.
In 1664 William Hilton, Jr. published a book named A Relation of a Discovery Lately Made on the Coast of Florida. Who mentioned Florida? Oh, well. The book seemed to spark interest in North Carolina and Brunswick County.
According to all I can discover, in 1664 another group of settlers came to Brunswick County, led by Sir John Yeamans from Barbados. It is interesting that Hilton had connections to Barbados on his earlier expeditions, but it seems a bit unclear as to whether Hilton was in anyway tied to Sir John Yeamans or the 1664 settlement.
The second group of settlers seemed to establish a settlement in the same place those from New England tried to establish. There is no mention of the group purchasing or paying for the area. Maybe they just decided to become squatters. This group that eventually topped out at around 800 hearty souls named the settlement Charles Towne. This is not to be confused with the Charles Towne farther south, now known as Charleston, South Carolina.
The settlers from Barbados and the settlers seemed to peak in 1666. It is worth mentioning that is the year that Thomas Horne published such glowing reports about the area in England. For anyone who may not have read the first published advert for Brunswick County, it is a must read.
In 1667 apparently the weather got the best of the settlers. In August of 1667, as the settlers were running out of food and supplies a major hurricane hit land and wiped out the settlement. Instead of trying to hold out and rebuild, the settlers gave up and literally walked away. It has been reported that most walked north, some as far as Virginia.
It seems that after the short eplorations of the 1500′s and an on and off and on and off try at settling the area during the four years between 1663 and 1667, our area was ignored until the 1700′s. With so much beauty and the rivers it is hard to imagine that settlers did not find this region inviting. William Hilton, Jr. died in 1675, so he never lived to see a successful settlement in our county. Anyway, it seems that the settlers or colonists were more interested in the areas to the north — the Albemarle Sound area — and areas to the south — Charles Towne, now Charleston.
______________________________________
As a note on William Hilton, Jr. from Ancestral Lines of Jared Handspicker
William Hilton , Jr. was naturalized; CAPTAIN. He THIS IS THE WILLIAM HILTON AFTER WHICH HILTON HEAD, SOUTH CAROLINA IS NAMED. AS CAPTAIN OF THE ‘ADVENTURE’ HE SAILED FROM SPEIGHTS BAY (BARBADOS) 10 AUGUST 1663. HE EXPLORED THE EAST COAST TO CAPE FEAR AND THE SAVANNAH RIVER. HIS REPORT WAS SO POSITIVE THAT IN 1670 A SETTLEMENT WAS MADE AT CHARLESTON LANDIN G AND LATER HILTON HEAD WAS NAMED FOR HIM. ALTHOUGH DEBATE ABOUT WHICH WM. HIM OR COUSIN WAS EXPLORER, GEN DICT OF ME AND NH CLEARS IT ALL UP. He was born circa 1615 at Northwich, Wilton, England. He was the son of William Hilton and Mary _____. William Hilton , Jr. married Sarah Greenleave circa 1640 at Newbury or Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA. William Hilton , Jr. married Mehitable Nowell on 16 July 1659. William Hilton , Jr. died on 7 September 1675 at Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA.
You must log in to post a comment.