Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Indian Traders

Colonial Indian Traders: The laws of each colony and documented references to Indian Traders.

3 comments:

FrontPorchRockerNews said...

Book L-3 p. 227
13 August 1768
Richard Lambton and Judith Wragg.
Bond of John Elliott, Indian Trader,killed by Indians; David McDonald, Indian Trader lost all by Indians, lives at Kewee.
Several other persons are named in this document but only these two are identified as Indian Traders.

FrontPorchRockerNews said...

South Carolina
Book K-3, p. 291
24 and 25 October 1757
Thomas Nightingale and wife Sarah of Charleston to Robert Govedey, Indian Trader, of Ninety Six, SC.

Anonymous said...

Introduction to topic:
I saw your post on the MSSWTERR list. I notice you have some Newsomes. I have two Newsom ladies who married into my Varnado lines. I think they are connected to Solomon Newsom/Newsome Jr. who moved from Isle of Wight, VA to GA. The first lady was Sarah Newsom (parents not known) who m. Samuel Varnado (son of Leonard Varnado & Sarah Hutto) in 1776 in Orangeburgh Dist., SC. Their son Samuel Jr. m. Keziah/Kesiah Newsom dau. of John & Sarah (Harp?) Newsom in Marion Co., MS. Terr. I have seen that Solomon Newsome Jr. was Keziah's great-grandfather. Do any of these folks sound familiar.

Indian Trader:
Leonard Varnado/Vernadeau of SC started out as an indian trader who became a farmer. On Saturday April 10, 1736 he & two associates obtained from the Lieut. Governor of the colony of SC a license to journey from Savanna Town in SC 100 miles up the Savannah River to trade with the indians. Among the items to trade they had rum which was against the law in the colony of GA. On April 20 1736 they were stopped by agents of GA on the river & the rum was dumped into the river. It was 3 hogsheads valued at 35 pounds sterling belonging either to Varnado or the boats owner William McKenzie. Their companion Peter Shepeard also lost all his rum and had to post a bond of ten pounds sterling. Besides letters of protest passed between the two colonies nothing further came of it. Varnado became a soldier at Ft. Moore for awhile before marrying Sarah Hutto and becoming a farmer with a large family in the Orangeburgh Dist. After the revolution in which the family took differing sides several members migrated to the MS. Terr. settling near Osyka, MS.
A good book on the deerskin trade you may want to check out if you already haven't is Deerskins & Duffels : Creek indian trade with Anglo-America, 1685-1815 by Kathryn E. Holland Braund. It has a good bibliography of sources & index. Which traders are you interested in? Well got to go now, hope to hear from you ,
Marcie Lee (mlee@uwf.edu)

I will look for the citation to the license or another reference to this and post it for anyone needing to locate the documentation for Leonard Varnado, Indian Trader. Rootdigger