The Journal of Samuel G. Horton: A Fifteen Year Old Pioneer Lad in 1600

By Dean W. Brown

The Journal of Samuel G. Horton-Fifteen Year Old Pioneer Lad In 1600 is a story interwoven with many historical and interesting events that happened in the years 1660-1662 in America. The entries in his journals give the readers an insight into the lives of young people during the times when our nation was being developed. The trials and tribulations of any young person during this period of our history were enormous. They had to take on adult responsibilities at an age that our youth of today are still just anticipating their adulthood.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 9, 2010
• ISBN: 9781456804503

Dean W. Brown

Dean W. Brown has been a historian and collector of oral local histories of the Blue Ridge Mountains for most of his life and uses the material for his writings. He is the author of eight children’s books built around his recorded stories and mountain wisdoms. In addition, he has spent much time involved in historical projects in and around Mount Airy, North Carolina, and the foothills of the mountains of southern Virginia. Brown has been an active member of the Surry County Historical Society, a charter member of the Mount Airy Historical Commission, Horne Creek Historical Farm, and president of the board of directors of the General JEB Stuart Preservation Trust The author is a watercolor artist, painting folk art of the mountains. He uses some of his interpretations as illustrations in the writings of original folk tales of the mountains. He is also known as a writer of humorous poems and historical articles in magazines and newspapers. Brown states that his children’s stories teach virtues and morals and are suitable for children as well as adults. Brown is a retired teacher of forty-one years; most of his time was spent as a librarian in maximum security prisons for youthful offenders and alternative schools throughout the South. He attended Mount Airy Schools. He is a graduate of Appalachian State University of North Carolina. He successfully completed graduate work in criminal psychology at the University of South Florida and later completed additional graduate work in Library Science at Appalachian State University. He is married and the proud grandfather of three grandchildren. Brown is active in local affairs. He serves as commissioner for the City of Mount Airy, North Carolina. He is a member of the executive committee of the Surry County Economic Development Partnership Inc., and a member of the SCEDP Marketing Committee. He has spent many years researching city history, going through the original hand written documents and transforming them into books.

Book preview

Copyright © 2010 by Dean W. Brown.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2010916104

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4568-0449-7

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4568-0448-0

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4568-0450-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

81888

Contents

Introduction

Samuel G. Horton—Pioneer Lad

Order of Names and Relations

in Samuel’s Journal

Introduction

The Journal of Samuel G. Horton-Fifteen Year Old Pioneer Lad In 1600 is a story interwoven with many historical and interesting events that happened in the years 1660-1662 in America. The entries in his journals give the readers an insight into the lives of young people during the times when our nation was being developed. The trials and tribulations of any young person during this period of our history were enormous. They had to take on adult responsibilities at an age that our youth of today are still just anticipating their adulthood.

Some of this story is what could be called folklore; the facts come inextricably entwined with the journal entries. The folklore consists of many stories told by humble American men and women who have written out laboriously with pen and ink on scraps of paper, and collected in journals, or told in backwoods cabins and around campfires of their many experiences. I have made an effort to develop some of these stories and utilize them in this writing.

The early settlers of this period of history were exceptionally spiritual and relied on their faith and morals to guide and direct their lives. Samuel G. Horton and his friend William Bradford, as young boys, certainly demonstrated that they had been raised in families that taught their children to recognize and rely on their parents’ teachings and beliefs.

I owe a special thanks to my family for their assistance, contribution of ideas and general loving support in this writing. I owe a special recognition and gratitude to Samuel G. Horton, an ancestor of mine, for whom the journal is derived and dedicated.

Samuel G. Horton—Pioneer Lad

A Fifteen Year Old Pioneer Lad In 1600

               Chronology

May 15, 1660—My 15th Birthday

July 20, 1660—The Molly Ann Landed

July 21, 1660—My First Day in America!

July 22, 1660—Learning to Fire the Rifles

August 1, 1660—Hunting Successes? Or . . . . Failures?

August 2, 1660—At the Duck Pond

September 15, 1660—Searching for Gold!

September 25 1660—Hunting for More Gold

September 27, 1660—Bad Luck and Trouble

September 30, 1660—Life in the Indian Village

October 13, 1660—My Life as an Indian Hunter!

October 26, 1660—A New Camp

November 10, 1660—First Snowfall

November 15, 1660—Winter Camp In the "Mana orua"

November 26, 1660—Living in the Caverns

May 15, 1661—Spring and More Time Outside

June 1, 1661—Our Search for Home!

June 5, 1661—Heading South

June 12, 1661—We Attack the Valiant

June 20, 1661—A Storm Brews

June 22, 1661—Land At Last and Not Too Soon!

June 25, 1661—Our Trip Along the Coast

June 27, 1661—A New Horizon

June 28, 1661—The Sounds of Buzzards Fussing

June 29, 1661—More Duties at the Fort

July 9, 1661—A New Plan and a New Day

July 16, 1661—Crossing the Bay

July 18, 1661—Ajay’s Spy Glass

July 17, 1661—Crossing the Bay

July 18, 1661—Heading North

July 21, 1661—Beaches of the Shellfish Bay Peninsula

July 23-31, 1661-Traveling North Continued

August 20, 1661—End of the Peninsula

August 31, 1661—Reached the Village of Annapolis

September 1, 1661—A New Day—New Friends!

September 3, 1661—Alex and Christian Prepare to Leave

September 4, 1661—A Farewell to My Friends!

September 6, 1661—New Working Assignment

September 20, 1661—The Mules Return

September 21, 1661—Making Marriage Plans

September 22, 1661—A Busy Day in the Village

September 29, 1661—The Weddings

September 30, 1661—We Leave Our Friends

October 1, 1661—We Continue Our Journey North

October 2, 1661—A Day Not to be Forgotten!

October 4, 1661—Providence Village

October 12, 1661—Uneventful Travel

October 13, 1661—New Amsterdam and the Hudson Bay

October 15, 1661—Learning to Codfish

October 22, 1661—A Storm from the South

October 24, 1661—A Surprise Visitor

October 28, 1661—Goat Island is Spotted

October 29, 1661—The Rockwell Trail

November 1, 1661—The First Snow Storm

November 2, 1661—Olivia and Mary’s First Day in Rockville Village

November 15, 1661—A Good Day to go Hunting

November 16, 1661—Preserving the Animal Skins

December 2, 1661—A Large Winter Storm

December 25, 1661—Christmas Day at Rockville Village

January 10, 1662—More Animal Skins

January 30, 1662—The First Trader Purchases Skins

February 4, 1662—Our Days are Routine

April 1, 1662—Spring is Here

April 3, 1662—Arrival in New Providence Village

April 4, 1662—Supplies and then Home

April 8, 1662—Getting Ready for Our Big Drive

April 9, 1662—Loading Our Possessions

April 10, 1662—A New Trip To Find Mom and Dad

April 15, 1662—No Problems . . . . So Far

April 16, 1662—A Difficult Day for Mary Alice at Camp I

April 17, 1662—Some Improvement

April 30, 1662—Our Prayers are Answered

May 1, 1662—Moving on to Find Mom and Dad

May 15, 1662—My Birthday Surprise at Camp II

May 17, 1662—Another Surprise???

May 19, 1662—We Head for Camp III

May 20, 1662—Plant Life Along the Trail

May 29, 1662—River Fish for Supper

June 5, 1662—The Mountains Begin to Change

June 20, 1662—A River That Flows From West to East

July 1, 1662—Fort Chiswell-Trading Post

Insert#1 EastCoastMap.jpg

Charcoal Sketch, East Coast Map, by Samuel G. Horton, 1661-1662

Samuel G. Horton—Pioneer Lad

(Adventures taken from the diary of a fifteen year old pioneer boy)

The wind was at least fifty knots; the loose sails were flapping in the wind. The entire crew was exhausted as the thirty and forty foot waves lapped over the sides of the ship. The captain had been at the wheel for over 24 hours. Neither crew nor passengers had slept or eaten for more than two days. It appeared that the fifty crew members had almost conquered the storm. Suddenly a large wave taller than the others lapped over the starboard side of the vessel, pressing the front of the ship into a downward turn of at least 45 degrees. Then the ship rose out of the deep valley of salty brine at the same angle and leveled out. The crew members from the starboard side of the vessel were missing. The alarm sounded, Men Overboard!

I had been lashed to the main mast. Quickly untying myself, I tossed the huge rope over the side of the vessel as another smaller wave almost washed me overboard. By this time Ajay had reached my side, thrown a rope around my waist and lashed the ends to a railing on the ship’s side. I drew the rope in and tossed it out further, as one man grabbed the rope and we towed his drenching body to the deck. Immediately I tossed out the rope again for the other man. Ajay also threw out a much heaver rope a longer distance from the ship. But the man was not there. He had been claimed by the dreadful storm. It was a sad moment indeed when we realized that he was not to be seen again.

After a moment of silence, everyone had to return to their stations to maintain the ship in the now subsiding storm. By noon the ocean had returned to a much smoother surface and the winds had almost disappeared. The huge sails had been raised and the ship was moving along at a rapid clip. I assisted the crew in pumping water from rooms below and cleaning the salty brine from the deck. Everyone was exhausted from the battle with the storm.

Now we could continue our journey to America.

I was born in a small village named Horton, in England. The village was named after one of my ancestors. Many of my cousins, aunts and uncles also lived in that village. My schooling was in the village school. Father had been a soldier in the King’s Army. Mother was the daughter of a French merchant.

Now that I had turned fifteen, my world had changed remarkably. I would now have to move from my parents’ home to a boarding school some fifty miles away. As if this was not stressful enough, my mother’s father had passed on, leaving her a small inheritance. My father at this point in his life decided to leave the Kings Army and take mother and myself to America. Little did I know of the great adventures I would encounter in a new uncivilized country!

Insert#2TheMollyAnn.jpg

Charcoal Sketch, The Molly Ann, by Samuel G. Horton, 1660

May 15, 1660

My 15th Birthday

On May 15, 1660, just one week after my fifteenth birthday, we had boarded the huge three mast sailing vessel, taking only a few personal belongings and giving the remainder to my favorite cousins. I was excited to receive such a birthday gift, but wondered about the repercussions of leaving the familiar homeland which I had always known.

You might wonder what an English lad of fifteen looked like in the year 1660. I actually looked much older, being almost as tall as my father and slightly taller than mother. My height gave me the appearance of being older. I had blond hair as all my Horton cousins did.

The ship named Molly Ann was crowded and the private quarters were really tight, but to be on the ship would be an adventure itself. We left port as soon as all passengers