It has been said that in 1781 General Charles Cornwallis arrived at the Davis plantation where his men were sheltered and fed. The Gant plantation was the headquarters for Cornwallis. The families had allied with the British and their farm had been used as a hosting ground for Cornwallis and his army and later ravaged by the opposition.
Cornwallis defeated the American Army commanded by Major General Nathaniel Greene at the Battle of Guilford Court House. The following fateful battle occurred after Cornwallis and his troops marched to Virginia, where on October 19, 1781 surrendered at the Battle of Yorktown, the last major battle of the American Revolution.
So thus all of this part of our journey was to find those sites in North Carolina that may or may not have been land my family lived and work on, but it is the only "maybe" information I have found up to this point.
I have a number of documents that said that on this exit from North Carolina they had been accompanied by faithful slaves. This may be a surprise for some and was a total surprise to me, Michael Groat (Groat) father or grandfather to my great great grandfather William Groat (Grote) may have been one of those slaves. A story for another post. William married to Elizabeth Adams, an Irish woman who also immigrated to the Guelph, Ontario area. They lived, bore nine daughters and one son, who died early and died within miles of their original homestead in Marden, Guelph Township, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada.
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After crossing Cape Fear on a ferry (SIDE NOTE: You know I sought out and found places where the movie Safe Haven was filmed) and spending one stormy night in Wilmington we headed inland to Raleigh/Durham (Orange County). I had spent years previous looking over this area and these lands. Many think you can do all this from home, maybe those smarter than I, but getting a layout of the land and the country and talking to local people always helps. We spend the greater part of our first day there talking on the phone, because of Covid, to historians, librarians and looking for the two places I had identified as possible places where my Groat/Grote ancestors lived, the lands of Robert and William Davis. I had some old maps and also looked online at land transfers in the area and spoke to people at those offices, as much as I could due with everything closed. The second day after having no success and getting to the point I didn't think we would ever find anything the first day we were going to go straight to Asheville but Jenny Smoot Preece had told me about a slave plantation, Stageville Plantation, near where she and Steve had lived, so we went there. We were the only people, so got a short tour and then a small car ride to the other part of the plantation. But I still felt like I needed to find Foresters Creek (Note: it is now Forest Creek) which flows into the South Fork of Little River. I finally found Forest Creek (now named) on google maps. We tried a couple of times. It was near the town Sh. I had tried the day before to find it but no way ... it was a lost and frustrating cause then and I thought it was going to be a lost cause today, but I felt propelled to find it. Michel Groat may have been born on and lived on this property that was owned by Robert Davis and possibly also William Davis, both of whom went to Canada after the Revolution. Robert Davis, at one time, owned 385 acres on Forester's Creek. He died at Little Rock, Orange County, North Carolina.
- January 25, 1772 Orange County waters of Haw River on both sides of Nelson's Branch, being part of 200 acres, more or less, part of a larger tract of land granted to David Phillips by the Earl of Granville. Phillips was father to Hannah Phillips who married William Davis. William Davis was deeded land by his father-in-law
- April 12, 1792 William Davis sold 195 acres on the west side of Haw River on Nelson's Branch to Henry White.
- 17 April 1797 Henry White sold 195 acres to John Powell (Margaret) .. 22 chains to the hickory pole in James Freelands line.
- Another try and again I marked the spot on google maps. It took us to a private community and when we got out I had Steve sit by the side of the road while I took another look. I thought I had it and up pulled a white car with a flashing light on it. Yes, it was the postman and who knows the area better than a postman. He confirmed my thoughts and we set off in the opposite direction down the road, a turn, another turn and finally a bridge over Forest Creek. I could not determine the piece of land by the old map I had as roads were not marked and lands were not the same divisions. If I had been more prepared and followed up the old map with subsequent maps I may have come closer. We went up a long lane and I knocked at the door and a man younger than I answered. He was very suspicious, but finally told me we were in the right area, but without road names, like Hunt, he couldn't give us more information. Why do I do this? It really doesn't matter and that is true, but there is a magic, peace, respect in walking the roads and lands where ancestors may have walked and lived. It is sacred to me and maybe so many don't understand it, but I feel it. Maybe it is like they walk with me, or they are at l east pleased with my effort to get to know them better. It's been a long trip, but it's moments like these that tmake it worthwhile. I am glad I didn't give up.
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