Well, he may have been born on Jan 18, 1730, but I tend to believe a new version of where, and who his parents were. I've just discovered an article in the Union County Heritage about him in 1981, which shows his parents were in Virginia, not Maryland. The article was published by the Union County Heritaqge Committee, Hunter Publishing Co, Winston Salem, NC.
The Maryland parents that some trees in Ancestry had given me had actually been born AFTER his own birth date of 1730. So I already was doubtful about the Maryland connection.
As a young man Thomas went to North Carolina. He married in Virginia, according to Ancestry (and the Union County Heritage article)...and started having his 10 children And he has substantiating documents that he took part in the Regulators movement against the crown...and even later a petition asking for his pardon.
War of the Regulation, British Royal Governor William Tryon confronts the North Carolina Regulators in 1771.
Just what was the Regulator movement?
------------------------------------------------------
Regulators of North Carolina
United States history
Regulators of North Carolina,
(1764–71), in American colonial history, vigilance society dedicated
to fighting exorbitant legal fees and the corruption of appointed
officials in the frontier counties of
North Carolina.
Deep-seated economic and social differences had produced a distinct
east-west sectionalism in North Carolina. The colonial government was
dominated by the eastern areas, and even county governments were
controlled by the royal governor through his power to appoint local
officers. Back-country (western) people who suffered from excessive
taxes, dishonest officials, and exorbitant fees also became bitter about
multiple office holdings. They formed an association called the
Regulators, which sought vainly to obtain reforms. They then refused to
pay taxes or fees, punished public officials, and interfered with the
courts. Finally, the Regulator insurrection was crushed by Governor
William Tryon at the Battle of Alamance (May 16, 1771). Many
frontiersmen fled to
Tennessee, but the
legacy of bitterness induced many Regulators to side with the
loyalists during the
American Revolution, in addition to continuing their own
futile agitation for five more years.
Also ---------------------------
by John Spencer Bassett, 1867-1928
"The Regulators of North Carolina (1765-1771)
[Washington]: [Govt. Print. Off.], [1895].
John Spencer Bassett (1867-1928),
professor of history at Trinity College (later Duke University), wrote
extensively about North Carolina history, including the Regulation
movement, about which he published a lengthy article in the 1894
American Historical Association Report.
The Regulators were a large group of North Carolina colonists who
opposed the taxation and fee system imposed by colonial officials in the
late 1760s. This political argument led to a battle between the
colonial militia and the Regulators in 1771. Following this battle, a
few Regulators were hanged and the majority pardoned, bringing the
movement to an end.
Prior to Bassett's investigation, North Carolina historians had seen
in North Carolina's War of Regulation the beginning of the American
Revolution in the colony, in part spurred by the religious beliefs of
backcountry settlers. John Spencer Bassett argues in his frequently
cited text that North Carolina's Regulation movement was not a
revolution and that it was only slightly tied to the unrest in other
parts of the North American colonies. Bassett's view is that the
Regulators did not wish to change the form or principle of their
government, but simply wanted to make the colony's political process
more equal. They wanted better economic conditions for everyone, instead
of a system that benefited the colonial officials. Bassett interprets
the events of the late 1760s in Orange and surrounding counties as "a
peasants' rising, a popular upheaval" (
142).
Bassett notes that this upheaval was not religious in nature, but
rather was opposed by four of the five leading denominations in the
area. Indeed, Presbyterians were instrumental in helping raise troops to
fight the Regulators, and a portion of Baptists excommunicated those
who had taken part in the unrest. Bassett also downplays the role played
by Herman Husband, the Quaker pamphleteer who is often identified as
one of the movement's leaders. To Bassett, Husband was a moderate,
simply attempting to bring the various sides together, but because of
his prominence as a writer and a correspondent of Benjamin Franklin,
government officials continually identified him as a leader of the
disgruntled faction. Bassett's analysis of the Regulators' uprising
remains the predominant understanding of these events, although today
Herman Husband is still generally recognized as a leader of the
Regulators.
Kevin Cherry
--------------------------
Wikepedia has this:
Population increase and new settlers arrive
The origins of the War of Regulation stem from a dramatic population increase in
North and
South Carolina
in the 1760s, following migration from the larger eastern cities to the
rural west. The inland section of the colonies had once been
predominantly composed of planters with an agricultural economy.
Merchants and lawyers began to move west, upsetting the social and
political structure. They were joined by new Scots-Irish immigrants, who
populated the backcountry.
Economic depression
At
the same time, the local inland agricultural community suffered from a
deep economic depression because of severe droughts throughout the
previous decade. The loss of crops cost farmers not only their direct
food source but also their primary means of an income, which led many to
rely on the goods being brought by newly arrived merchants. As income
was cut off, the local planters often fell into debt. The merchants, in
turn, relied on lawyers and the court to settle disputes. Debts were
common at the time, but from 1755 to 1765, the cases brought to the
docket increased nearly sixteen-fold, from seven annually to 111 in
Orange County, North Carolina, alone.
[1]
Class war and political corruption
Such
court cases could often lead to planters losing their homes and
property so they grew to resent the presence of the newcomers. The shift
in population and politics eventually led to an imbalance within the
colony's courthouses, and the new and well-educated lawyers used their
superior knowledge of the law to their sometimes unjust advantage. A
small clique of wealthy officials formed and became an exclusive inner
circle in charge of the legal affairs of the area. The group was seen as
a 'courthouse ring', or a small bunch of officials who grabbed most of
the political power for themselves.
Regulators organize and arrival of Governor Tryon
In 1764, several thousand people from North Carolina, mainly from
Orange,
Anson, and
Granville
counties in the western region, were extremely dissatisfied with the
wealthy North Carolina officials, whom they considered cruel, arbitrary,
tyrannical and corrupt. Local sheriffs collected taxes, as supported by
the courts; the sheriffs and courts had sole control over their local
regions. With the arrival of
Royal Governor William Tryon in 1765, volatile conditions in the
Province of North Carolina
increasingly worsened, and a violent uprising would eventually occur.
Many of the officers were very greedy and often would band together with
other local officials for their own personal gain. The entire system
depended on the integrity of local officials, many of whom engaged in
extortion; taxes collected often enriched the tax collectors directly.
At times, sheriffs would intentionally remove records of their tax
collection to go back to residents to ask for more taxes. The system was
endorsed by the colonial governor, who feared losing the support of the
various county officials.
The effort to eliminate the system of government became known as the
Regulator uprising, War of the Regulation, or the Regulator War. The
most heavily affected areas were said to be those of
Rowan, Anson, Orange, Granville, and
Cumberland
counties. It was a struggle between mostly lower-class citizens, who
made up the majority of the backcountry population of North and South
Carolina, and the wealthy planter elite, who comprised about 5% of the
population but maintained almost total control of the government.
The stated primary aim of the Regulators was to form an honest
government and reduce taxation. The wealthy businessmen/politicians who
ruled North Carolina saw it as a grave threat to their power.
Ultimately, they brought in the militia to crush the rebellion and
hanged its leaders. It is estimated that out of the 8,000 people living
in Orange County at the time, some 6,000 to 7,000 supported the
Regulators.
The War of the Regulation is considered a catalyst to the American
Revolutionary War, and it was waged against corrupt officials
representing king and crown. Almost 300 Regulators became part of the
Patriot Movement, and only about 30 claimed loyalty to the British
Crown.
Regulator leadership under Herman Husband
Herman Husband became one of the unofficial leaders of the Regulators. Husband was from
Maryland, born into a
Quaker
family. One of the major flaws in Husband's campaign was he tried to
invite good relations with the eastern regions of North Carolina, mostly
unaffected by the issues with local sheriffs. Husband retained very
little control over the Regulators, who generally went against his
policies of winning over public sentiment and committed acts of minor
violence at regular intervals.
Another Regulator leader was James Hunter. He refused to take command of the Regulators after Husband's departure before the
Battle of Alamance.
Captain
Benjamin Merrill
had about 300 men under his control and would have assumed control over
military leadership after James Hunter, but he was unable to serve in
the Battle of Alamance.
Anti-Regulator forces
Governor
Arthur Dobbs, who wrote such popular works as
Trade and Improvement of H'elend and
Captain Middleton's Defense, served as the Royal Governor of North Carolina until his death in 1765.
William Tryon succeeded him. Tryon had an extremely lavish home built in 1770 in
New Bern (known as
Tryon Palace).
This was resented by the Regulators, who were already paying
substantial taxes. William (The Regulator) Butler was quoted as saying,
"We are determined not to pay the Tax for the next three years, for the
Edifice or Governor's House, nor will we pay for it."
Governor
Josiah Martin
succeeded Governor Tryon, in office, just after the end of the
rebellion. His policies eased the burden, on former Regulators and
allowed them to be assimilated back into society.
Edmund Fanning was the main opposition to the Regulators. A graduate of
Yale College,
he was generally regarded by his friends as well disciplined and firm.
He held many political offices in Orange County. He was once found
guilty of embezzling money (along with Francis Nash) but was fined only
one cent per charge.
Events
Breaking up the provincial court
North Carolina's colonial court met in
Hillsborough.
In 1768, the Regulators entered Hillsborough, broke up the court, and
dragged those they saw as corrupt officials through the streets.
[2]
The mob attempted to have the judge try the cases that were pending
against several Regulator leaders, including Husband. The presiding
judge (
Richard Henderson)
quickly adjourned the court until the next morning to avoid being
forced to make a ruling in the presence of an angry mob of Regulators,
and escaped in the night. The Regulators rioted, destroying public and
private property alike. Fanning was among the lawyers beaten, found
after taking refuge in a shop neighboring the courthouse. According to
judge Richard Henderson, Fanning's beating was so severe that "one of
his eyes was almost beaten out."
[1]
The courthouse was systematically and symbolically vandalized. Human
waste was placed on the judge's seat, and the body of a long deceased
slave was placed upon the lawyers' bar. The mob continued to destroy
shops and property in the town, and ultimately brought their destruction
to Fanning's personal residence. After destroying all of the furniture
and drinking all of his alcohol, they picked apart his entire house.
Henderson's barn, along with his stables and home, were burned to the
ground.
[3] They cracked the church bell of the Church of England, but stopped short of looting the church due to their religious beliefs.
[2]
Documents (more from my personal sources later, including one signed by Thomas Welbourn in 1868)
There
were several different publications and petitions circulated to promote
the end of taxation and other issues. A number of influential members
of the area communities signed the
Regulator Advertisement and the
Regulator Petition,
of which there were several versions of each. Each document identified
concerns and issues relevant to the Regulator Movement. The terms
Regulation and
Regulator were introduced in the Regulator Advertisement in 1768.
[4]
War
While small acts of violence had been taking place for some time, mainly out of resentment, the first organized conflict was in
Mecklenburg County
in 1765. Settlers in the region, who were there illegally, forced away
surveyors of the region assigned with designating land. Minor clashes
followed for the next several years in almost every western county, but
the only true battle of the war was the
Battle of Alamance on May 16, 1771.
Governor Tryon and his forces which numbered just over 1,000, with
roughly 150 officers, arrived at Hillsborough on May 9. At the same
time, General
Hugh Waddell,
supporting the governor, en route with his contingent of 236 men was
met by a large contingent of Regulators. Realizing his force was
outnumbered, he fell back to
Salisbury.
On May 11, having received word of the retreat from a messenger, Tryon
sent the force to support General Waddell. He intentionally chose a path
that would lead his forces through Regulator territory. He gave strict
orders that nothing was to be looted or damaged. By May 14, his troops
had reached Alamance and set up a camp. Leaving about 70 men behind to
guard the position, he moved the remainder of his force, slightly under
1,000 men, to find the Regulators.
About 10 miles (16 km) away, a force of approximately 2,000 Regulators (by some accounts, 6,000)
[2]
without any clear leadership or supplies was gathered mainly as a
display of force, and not a standing army. The general Regulator
strategy was to scare the governor with a show of superior numbers in
order to force the governor to give in to their demands. The first clash
of the battle was on May 15 when a rogue band of Regulators had
captured two of the governor's militia soldiers. Governor Tryon had
informed the Regulators that they were displaying open arms and
rebellion and that action was to be taken if they did not disperse. The
Regulators did not understand the severity of the crisis they were in
and ignored the warning. Despite hesitation from his own forces,
Governor Tryon allegedly initiated the main battle of Alamance on May 16
by shooting Robert Thompson, who was the first death of the battle. The
Regulators resistance crumbled somewhat quickly. The battle was over
with nine deaths for the governor's forces and about the same for the
Regulators. Virtually everyone captured in the battle was fully pardoned
in exchange for an allegiance to the crown; however, six Regulators
were hanged for their part in the uprising, including 4 officers of the
colonial militia who had joined ranks with the Regulator's side. Those
officers were Captain Robert Messer, Captain Benjamin Merrill, Captain
James Pugh,and Captain Robert Matear.
Aftermath
Following
the battle, Tryon's militia army traveled through Regulator territory,
where he had Regulators and Regulator sympathizers sign loyalty oaths
and destroyed the properties of the most active Regulators. He also
raised taxes to pay for his militia's defeat of the Regulators.
[2]
At the time of their defeat at the battle of Alamance, public opinion
was decidedly against them. They were seen as a bunch of "lawless
desperadoes" and Governor Tryon was praised for his actions in stamping
out the rebellion.
[5]
As news articles spread the word of his victory, Tryon was branded a
hero of the colonies for defeating the larger group of Regulators with
his small, well prepared militia. However as the initial excitement over
the glorious battle died down, many newsmen, especially in the
Boston
area, began to question the reasons behind the rebellion and
investigated further to find its cause. Several reasons were found to
see the destruction of the Regulators as an act of an oppressive
government. Most particularly admonished was the methods in which Tryon
himself had used to win the battle of Alamance. The use of a
riot act,
and the execution of rebellion leaders after the battle was frowned
upon. Reports also indicated that severe battlefield misconduct had
taken place on the governor's side, including giving the farmers a
two-hour warning period before the battle began, and subsequently
breaking that agreement to bombard them with artillery fire.
[5]
Several trials were held after the war, resulting in the hanging of
six Regulators at Hillsborough on June 19, 1771. Many of the main
leaders remained in hiding until 1772, when they were no longer
considered outlaws.
Many Regulators moved further west into places such as
Tennessee, notably establishing both the
Watauga Association at
Sycamore Shoals (1772) in present day
Elizabethton, Tennessee, the first independent white republic on American soil, and the
State of Franklin (1784), another short-lived republic that failed to join the Union of the
United States.
Source:Wikepidia
---------------------------
There's the document that my ancestor signed, a petition to the Governor, which I'll show you in tomorrow's post. There is also a petition signed by others asking for pardon of Thomas Welbourn.
