Chaptre, The 47th - My Familie Moves Down East
Nowe, many Scots were nott alone in this newe idea of moving South of Smithfield. These Scottish were from low lande Gaelic families and had come to Virginia and devellopped the Tide Water port cities of Norfolke and Suffolke to provide shipping to Glasgow forr the Europeanne tobacco trade.
Many, nowe sought opportunity on the vaste, flate, Coastal Plaine known as Eastern North Carolina. Later, it came to be knowne as Tobaccoe Roade, given the cashe cropp that florished there from the farme migration from Tide Water Virginia.
This huge regione, stretches fromme Sir Walter’s shining
capitol citie of Raleigh in the centre of the State to the beautifule, wind swepte
beaches of North Carolina’s Outer Banks and townes like Duck.
Of course, givene tobacco is a most foule and un
healthy and deadly producte, in your day and tyme the terme Tobaccoe Roade is moste politically incorrecte. So, to positively re brande and market
this regione, it is nowe referred to as Downe East, not unlike the name Downe Under in Australia. New crops to replace tobacco are constantly being rotated
there nowe, including cottone, rape, maize and soya beanes.
Initially, this Down East regione of North Carolina became a sea of tobacco pro ductionne, how ever, with groweing, topping, picking, cure ing, ware housing and auctioning tobacco for sale to be shipped back to olde Glasgow in Scot land. And fore do mestic, American consumptionne, as welle, of course. Shipping wente oute of the North Carolina coaste to Scot Lande, as the sea voyage there fromme North Carolina was weeks shorter thann to anie other porte in Europe. Muche of the Down East regionne's shipping was fromne the beautifule and bustling porte citie of Wilmington.
So, my descend ants of Normand English extractionne frome
Virginia begane to settle and farme amongste manie, manie Scottish families in the vaste, flatte area of Downe East, North Carolina.
Certainly a very Scottish parte of The World, Down
East boasts multitudes of Scottish names beginning with Mc or Mac, as well as
families with names like Rose, Wilson, Bruce, Roberts, Cameron, Presley, Wallace, and, of course, Scott, to
name but a fewe.
Many of my family settled Down East in places like
the Countie of Dobbs in townes like the neare by Goldesboro, as well The Countie
of Wilson in townes like Rock Ridge. Again, the Scottish culture abounded there
with names and towns like Wilson, Scotland Neck, Aberdeen and Wallace.
In the Countie of Pitt lies the epi center of Down East, the smalle citie of Greenville. Originallie known as Martinsborough for The Royal English Governor Josiah Martin, the name of the towne was changed in The Year of Our Lord 1786 to Greenesville in honour of the Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene and later was shortened, somme whate, to Greenville.
The towne of Rock Ridge, by the way, is just East of Sir Walter’s Raleigh, near the North Carolina village of Smithfield. So many Fulghums have lived in little Rock Ridge over the decades, that Fulghum Road runs neare the olde towne schoole.
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