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| Major Isaac Roberdeau |
Answering the first question on my mind was not as easy as it first appeared when I investigated the many copies (seven in all) of Moseley's map available at the North Carolina State Archives.
These were all photostats. There are seven that were made at some time from original published versions of Edward Moseley's engraved map of 1733. Three of these are from a tracing of Moseley's map made September 5, 1822 by Major Isaac Roberdeau, Chief of the recently-formed (1818) Topographical Bureau of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Isaac, the son of Revolutionary War General Daniel Roberdeau is best known for his association with Peter Charles L'Enfant in surveying the new capital city of Washington, DC. The others are copies of a map held by a wealthy businessman who kept a winter home in South Carolina. The photostatic copy made from this map was held after 1937 and before 1966 by the University of South Carolina. This copy was lost... so, of course, was the original.
The Roberdeau tracing intrigued me because we knew so little about it. The question was, of course, about Roberdeau's involvement with an original copy of the 1733 Moseley map. It surprisingly evolved into a hunt for the provenance of ECU's copy of the same map because its provenance was tied intimately with how Roberdeau obtained access to the copy of the map that he traced... as I think, the ECU copy, which I also think was Moseley's personal copy.
Presumably, Roberdeau made his tracing from an original copy that the United States was not able to simply purchase... perhaps the owner would not part with it. Or, he could have gone to England, as some have suggested and traced one of their two copies, but it's not as likely.
Most likely, Roberdeau did not use either of the two copies available in England because only one member of the Bureau left for England during this time and he was to purchase special surveying instruments. Roberdeau made the tracing, so Roberdeau had to be where the map was and he was not the one who procured the instruments. Also, getting Congress to pay for two men to tour England on our recently-invaded country's dime was probably asking way too much.
Presumably, this original was available to Roberdeau either in Washington, where he began his residence in August 1818 or at the home of its owner in 1822. Assuming the latter, he would have had to be at the map's home at the time and, hopefully, there would be some reference to show this. So, where was this location? Most likely, it was in Edenton, where a published Moseley map of 1733 original was known to exist 30 years later with Hugh Williamson Collins (1812-1854). By chance, Roberdeau may have had that opportunity...
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| 1822 tracing of Moseley Map of 1733 by Major Isaac Roberdeau of the Topographical Bureau, U.S.Army Corps of Engineers. (original: "H 47 Roll" 57 x 45 inches, U.S. War Department), held by Library of Congress, lately lost - photostatic copy at NC Archives in Raleigh. |
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| Bottom right cartouche on the Topographical Bureau's tracing of the Moseley Map of 1733 including Major Isaac Roberdeau's signature and the date September 5, 1822. |
Professor Ralph Scott of East Carolina University presented a paper in 1991 detailing the provenance of "Plausible" Moseley's [this was the nickname that William Byrd II gave Moseley in 1728 as they surveyed the Virginia-NC line together] published map copies in the United States. His concern was to establish the origin of the Graham copy hanging on the wall of Joyner's Special Collections Library at East Carolina University. This copy was recently found (1982) in an attic of the Graham family home, the "Wessington" mansion in Edenton (see below):
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| Wessington mansion in Edenton, NC. Photo by Baylus C. Brooks (July 21, 2014). |
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| Henry P. "Harry" Kendall, ca. 1925 |
Kendall probably obtained his copy late, perhaps overseas. He had toured England in 1910 with his mother, Clara, sailing from Liverpool on the Zeeland back to Boston, Mass. Later, Kendall left Boston to visit Brown, Shipley & Company manufactures (on Pall Mall in London) on the Cunard Steamship Samaria in September 1925. He visited again two months later on the Cunard ship Alaunia to visit another manufacturer on Gibraltar Row. In 1930, he held a map exposition in which he exhibited numerous maps of North Carolina. Conspicuously absent from this exhibition was the alleged 1937 purchase of Moseley's 1733. He visited France in 1931, according to ship passenger records, of which there are many Henry Kendalls leaving from either Boston or New York in the 1920s and 30s and visiting many localities, mostly in England. Many of those travelers were likely this "Henry P. Kendall."
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| Comparison between digital copies of both the Kendall copy and the Graham copy now held by ECU. A line is missing between the "n" and "d" of the word "and" on the ECU copy but appears on the Kendall. The "K" and first half of the "e" in "Keeauwees"is partly missing on the Kendall copy, but appears on today's ECU copy ... since ink does not miraculously re-appear, the maps are different copies. |
Most likely, Kendall purchased this map and brought it back to his winter home in South Carolina, where he then photographed it and shared copies with map enthusiasts and the University of South Carolina before storing it at his estate. He probably never knew that another version existed in America...
The interesting part is that Moseley maps keep disappearing... Kendall's original copy was not in his papers when he died in 1959 and the photostatic copy that he had made for University of South Carolina (and map enthusiast [author of Southeast in Early Maps (1958)] and English professor William P. Cumming) had disappeared from the University of South Carolina's archives. In 1966, they borrowed a copy of the copy that the North Carolina State Archives had made earlier. So, thankfully, we still know what Kendall's copy looked like... and, it was in pretty good shape, actually! It had some inking variations, however, that distinguish it from the Graham copy (see comparison photos above).
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| William P. Cumming’s collection of maps were generously donated to the E.H. Little Library of Davidson College, and include forty-eight maps with special interest in the early Southeastern United States - Harris, Jim. “Cumming Map Collection,” Davidson Encyclopedia, 23 January 2012 |
The only original left in the United States (that we know of) remains ECU's copy, hidden until 1982. I've suggested, almost jokingly, that ECU institute National Archives-level security, of course. Still, even that failed at least once!
These maps were both 57 x 45 inches, within reasonable variation. Furthermore, the map tracing that Roberdeau made in 1822 is 57 x 45. So, it came from a published version of 1733, most likely... probably the only one known to have existed in NC at that time... again, the one found in 1982 in Edenton. After all, it could not have been Kendall's because that copy was probably still in England, waiting on the wall of some curio shop.
Interestingly and again, the War Department's "H 47 Roll" Roberdeau tracing of 1822 also turned up missing from the National Archives. Again, fortunately, Raleigh was able to preserve this one through its photostatic copies. It seems that the North Carolina Archives is the champion of both copies in its ability to preserve that which others have had difficulty! lol
Today, in the digital age, the chances of losing their information again would be almost nil... thank goodness, because the historic value of that map is extraordinary and we keep fumbling with it thanks partly to private owners whose momentary delight dies with them!
East Carolina University's original copy, found in 1982 is perhaps the most famous and has the most interesting story - and, some of it we can positively verify. Ralph Scott meticulously followed its life, detailed by manuscript holdings of ECUs Special Collections (undoubtedly, there are more in other archives).
As mentioned earlier, Gov. Arthur Dobbs (1689-1765) arrived in North Carolina in 1755 to replace Gabriel Johnston, who passed away in office in 1752. Scott originally postulated that Dobbs purchased one of Edward Moseley's famous maps of 1733 while still in England... [whether "famous" or "infamous" is a matter of whether or not you've read my work ;) ]. Scott postulated that Dobbs brought it with him when he came to America.
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| Moseley Map [1733] (#MC0017), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA. |
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| Advertisement for the published Moseley map; 9 September 1737; Virginia Gazette; Williamsburg, VA as shown at "A New and Correct Map of the Province of North Carolina: The Discovery of a 1737 North Carolina Manuscript Map" byMike McNamara - Interestingly enough, John Cowley advertised Seymour's Survey of London and Westminster profusely in every British newspaper, but I have yet to find the Moseley Map of 1733 advertised in any British newspaper. The interest may not have been in Britain. |
There's another possibility... proposed by another scholar, Mike McNammara: Dobbs may have urged the original engraver of Moseley's map (John Cowley) to make a smaller manuscript copy from Moseley's original survey, with added details showing improvements that occurred in the few years since the 1733 map was surveyed: the boundary between North and South Carolina and a settlement at the head of the Pee Dee, for instance. McNammara believes the printed 1733 had not yet been available by 1736 when Dobbs and associates presented a map to the Board of Trade in London... so, they needed a "quickie" made, so to speak. McNammara asserts that Dobbs kept the 1737 at his library at Castle Dobbs "on the second shelf of the catalog of his Northern Ireland library." Dobbs had serious interests in investing in North Carolina. Also, the 1737 manuscript map, to which McNammara refers, contained fewer details (settler's names) than Moseley's published version, indicating a more utilitarian purpose behind this smaller copy.
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| A New and Correct Map of the Province of N.C. (#MC0035), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.-Reproduction from original. Scale [1:633,600]. 60 miles = 1 degree. Note below title: "Survey by J. Cowley, London. 1737." |
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| A comparison of the compass roses on the Moseley maps and on the Hoare painting of 1752. |
Not only that, a 57 x 45- inch map would be difficult to hold casually while posing for a portrait. ;) McNammara makes a strong argumrent. Unfortunately for Scott's original timeline, the 1737 map was probably the one in Dobb's possession, as McNammara asserts. But, this may not be the end of the timeline just yet...
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| Portrait of Arthur Dobbs copied from the 1752 painting by William Hoare |
So, the Graham copy at ECU may not have arrived with Dobbs in 1755. Could Dobbs have purchased Moseley's personal copy from his estate when he arrived, six years after Moseley died in 1749? The governor did, after all, build Russellborough mansion adjacent to Brunswick Town on the Cape Fear River. He did reside in that town during his term, the same place where Moseley lived since 1734 and where he likely died [It was also where the 73-yr old codger met the 15-yr old Justina Davis and married her in 1762!]. The map might have been in his easy grasp at some point, especially after Moseley died, perhaps with his widow, Ann Sampson Moseley (she would later marry Hugh Munro of New Hanover, who d.1779). That would preserve Scott's explanation, anyway... considering Dobb's interest in North Carolina and his residence in the Lower Cape Fear at the right moment, it's quite possible.
This highly speculative tact requires an approach from the other end of the timeline that, hopefully may tie together. We have to "fore" track on the trail about a century... the Graham family was in possession of a map at some point and a 1853 article researched by Scott confirms that a cousin, Hugh Williamson Collins, a grandson of Josiah Collins Sr of Edenton, owned it by that time:
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| Portion from: "North Carolina," North Carolina University Magazine , v. 2, no. 1 (February 1853), 2. |
So, we have to connect the Moseley map from the time it fell from Moseley's own hands until it came into Collins' possession... assuming ECU's copy to be Moseley's personal copy.
Now, track to New Bern... with the Collins' kin... the Daves.
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| Josiah Collins II (1768-1839) of Edenton, N.C. |
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UPDATE: [7-29-2015]: Here's the other map purchase of David Barron:
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| From 1777 sale of Josiah Martin's belongings left in Tryon's Palace when he hightailed it to HMS Cruizer. This is on the facing page of the estate sale (10 total pages!) |
UPDATE [6-4-2015]: I went to the state archives and just happened across the estate sale of the vacated Josiah Martin from 1777. In it, I found this reference:
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| From 1777 sale of Josiah Martin's belongings left in Tryon's Palace when he hightailed it to HMS Cruizer. Titus and Thomas Ogden were New Bern merchants. It appears that Titus Ogden purchased another map from the estate. |
- Members of the Ogden family, headed by James and Mary Odgen, lived in Manchester, England. Their children Thomas Ogden (d. 1787), Titus Ogden (d. 1793), and Isaac Ogden (d. 1785) emigrated from Manchester to North America circa 1770, where they settled in New Bern, N.C., and became successful landowners and merchants. Titus Odgen later moved to Philadelphia, Pa., and then to Tennessee, where he died in 1793. Titus Ogden was a paymaster to the troops and of Native American annuities; he was present at the 1791 signing of the Treaty of Holston with the Cherokees in Philadelphia.
Further update below on John Pugh Daves Estate Sale....
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| Capt. John Daves of New Bern |
Major (later, Capt.) John Daves (1748-1804) of New Bern served as the "first collector of the newly-open United States Customs House in New Bern," as told by Scott. His home sat directly in front of the old governor's palace. Scott also traced the family lineage of Daves and especially his daughter, Anne Rebecca (1785-1833), the wife of Josiah Collins Jr. and mother of Hugh Williamson Collins and the oldest child of age at the time Daves' died in 1804.
Still, there was another link:
[UPDATE:] There is some possibility that Daves' son, John Pugh Daves had both maps in his estate inventory in 1839. They apparently were sold to "James W. Bryan"... if the bad writing actually reads as "Maps"... Yes, another link in the chain... James West Bryan, lawyer and recently appointed postmaster for Russel's PO in Craven County [15 May 1838] confirmed Daves' handwriting on his will in the probate in 1838. Bryan's biography from the Bryan Family Papers, 1704-1940 (#00096) at UNC reads:
- James West Bryan (1805-1864), attorney and Whig legislator of New Bern, N.C., brother of John H. Bryan, graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1824. He represented Carteret County in the North Carolina State Constitutional Convention, 1835, and State Senate, 1835-1836. He was a trustee of the University of North Carolina, 1836-1856, and a member and vestryman of Christ Episcopal Church, New Bern. He married Ann Mary Washington (1814-1864) in 1831, with whom he had five children: John (died in infancy), Laura (1837-1868), James Augustus Washington (1839-1923), Henry (died in infancy), and Washington (1853-1927).
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| John Pugh Daves' Estate Sale in 1839, Craven County, NC [Updated info 6-4-2015] |
So, how did Hugh Williamson Collins in Edenton get the 1733 Moseley map in 1853!? It may have come to him through his mother or maybe he borrowed it from a cousin.
Dobb's seems to have possessed both maps (remember, two were sold from Martin's "going out of the country sale" in 1777 it seems). It would be interesting to know definitively what happened to Moseley's personal copy after his death slightly bef. 15 July 1749 and how Dobbs obtained it... Moseley never mentioned it in his eight-page will... damn him! :)
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| Major John Daves House 313 George Street, New Bern Ca. 1770 - from Walking Tour Map |
Furthermore, there is a narrative that may also preserve more of Ralph Scott's provenance detail and even how Major Roberdeau became involved in 1822. Even more interesting, this tale supports the idea that Roberdeau traced ECU's copy of Moseley's map of 1733... maybe Moseley's own personal copy with his own penciled revisions written directly upon it.
Yes... revisions... the penciled notations on the map portion below include revised waterways and names of settlers. The "S[tephen] Howard" printed on the north side of New River received this particular property in 1748, a year before Moseley died. Other names like "J[ohn] Harris" (friend of John Fonville and his neighbor on the Neuse River who died in Jan 1749), "T[homas] Spight" (Spaight) on the Neuse... Davis, Lewis, Joseph Morgan all received their grants and had been deeded their properties at the indicated locations before Moseley died. The "SW R..." on New River probably refers to today's Southwest Creek [which he then called "River"]. The lettering is sometimes ornate, with serif, and placed similarly to names that Moseley placed on the 1733 original. Also, the penciled-in portion that's probably Holly Shelter Creek, beginning near Burgaw (incidentally, there's a great seafood place on that creek called Hollands), is where Moseley and many of his "Family" members had significant real investments (see pics below). [Note: NC Archives map, call number: MC.167.H7461.1885h]
These notations are probably from the right time and they do appear to follow his interests...
The evidence is good for this being Moseley's writing.
It should be noted here that Prof. Jonathan Dembo, archivist for ECU's Special Collections, mentioned that Herman Moll would sell subscriptions to people to have their names printed on their land in his maps. If memory serves, William Mayo did the same on Barbados (there's a list of subscribers) and it may have been a common practice among hungry/indebted cartographers. Moseley was, by no means, starving, but he may have been continuing this common practice even after he published the map... plans for a revised edition, perhaps? The money could start rolling in before he could get it published! You would think he already had enough... lol.
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| New River portion of ECU's Graham copy of the 1733 map with penciled notations/revisions |
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| Moseley Map of 1733 (ECU) compared with 1770 John Collett showing the same area of the Lower Cape Fear. Note that the penciled-in extension for the creek running east from the NE Cape Fear is in the approximate area of Holly Shelter as indicated by John Collett on his map. Moseley and his "Family" owned quite a bit of that property. The Swanns were his in-laws as well as the Lillingtons ("Lunington" on Collett) and both families owned saw mills on that creek. Also, Moseley's nephew, John Ashe, a later Rev. War General, founded the short-lived town of Exeter and Moseley himself had owned 2,000 acres directly South from Exeter and between Thomas Merricks' and Charles Harrison's lands that he deeded to sons James and Sampson when he died in July 1749. They subsequently passed this property on to John Alexander Lillington, also a later Rev. War General in the 1760s. The picture below shows a 1764 survey for this 2,000 acres by the "Great Island" in the NE Cape Fear River. |
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| 1764 Survey by John Colson for 2,000 acres (Moseley's grant originally stated 1,850 acres) formerly belonging to Edward Moseley on the east side of the NE Cape Fear River adjacent to the "Great Island" - from the Lillington Collection, Pender County Library Annex, Burgaw, Pender County, NC. |
This is great fun, but we'll have to stop glaring at the map and get back to the narrative... ;)
Enter Major Isaac Roberdeau in the early 19th century... he's already surveyed Washington, DC with L'Enfant, been appointed by Calhoun to the Topographical Bureau and avidly seeking maps of the United States. His story explores early antebellum North Carolina and the "Era of Good Feelings," a period in the political history of the United States that reflected a sense of national purpose, especially with the failure of the Federalist party and a forlorn opportunity to create George Washington's hope of a no-party system. Nevertheless, historians consider the "Era of Good Feelings" something of a misnomer because the history of the era expresses a strained and divisive political atmosphere (human beings in America have difficulty getting along, it seems). There were particularly strong factions within the Monroe administration and the Jeffersonian Republican Party that fueled repeated investigations... a lack, rather, of "good feelings."
John C. Calhoun, as Secretary of War, formed the Topographical Bureau and appointed his friend, Isaac Roberdeau in charge of it (was once accused of overpaying Roberdeau in 1821). The Secretary of War was accused of abusing his office and Roberdeau testified in his defense that, during his term as Chief, he struggled to increase the map holdings of the War Department from 65 at start to 1,180 and it was still increasing. Roberdeau assured that it would soon reach 2,000. This testimony for his friend Calhoun was delivered before Congress in 1825. One of those "acquired" maps had to be his tracing of the Moseley Map, made three years earlier.
Roberdeau Buchanan talked about the relationship between the engineer and John C. Calhoun and Roberdeau's usual trend regarding his inspections in his Genealogy of the Roberdeau Family: Including a Biography of General Daniel Roberdeau:
- Between Mr. Calhoun and the family of Colonel Roberdeau, there existed a warm friendship ; commencing with their official relations while the former was Secretary of War. Upon his yearly tours of inspection of the various military posts, Colonel Roberdeau generally accompanied him, and kept a private journal of the movements and expenses of the party. The Columbian Sentinel of Boston, September 27, 1820, contains a notice: "Secretary of War left New Haven on Friday last on his return to Washington, accompanied by Major Roberdeau of the Topographical Engineers, and Mr. Hagner, one of the Auditors of the Treasury."
Roberdeau made his tracing of Moseley's map on September 5, 1822. Where he obtained access to a copy of a Moseley original, 57 x 45 inches, is the question.
Hugh Williamson Collins' father, Josiah Collins Jr. lived, like his father, in Edenton at a large estate that at least one map labels as "Monticello" in the 1830s (be warned: I have been informed that this map may be inaccurate, though Collins did live in Edenton, on the Albemarle shore):
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| Walter Gwynn, [untitled], 1830s |
A New and Correct Map of the Province of North Carolina: The Discovery of a 1737 North Carolina Manuscript Map
Mike McNamara
- See more at: http://www.mesdajournal.org/2012/correct-map-province-north-carolina/#sthash.foRZKWhB.dpufA New and Correct Map of the Province of North Carolina: The Discovery of a 1737 North Carolina Manuscript Map
Mike McNamara
- See more at: http://www.mesdajournal.org/2012/correct-map-province-north-carolina/#sthash.foRZKWhB.dpufA New and Correct Map of the Province of North Carolina: The Discovery of a 1737 North Carolina Manuscript Map
Mike McNamara
- See more at: http://www.mesdajournal.org/2012/correct-map-province-north-carolina/#sthash.foRZKWhB.dpuf |
| Collins, Josiah, Sr. by A. C. Menius III, 1979 |
- NOTE: Josiah Collins' grandson Josiah III would become known for his estate at Somerset Plantation on Lake Phelps. However, he was the first generation to move away from Edenton and the first to be born in America and not England.
President James Monroe often traveled by new maritime technology. August 17, 1807 marked the launch of Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat. This brand new technology was making inroads upon maritime navigation and characterized the innovative atmosphere of the era, as also the newer and better Dismal Swamp Canal, by coincidence, an engineering specialty of Major Isaac Roberdeau who published "Mathematics and Treatise on Canals" in 1796. Certainly, the Collins should have known of Roberdeau's work. Although it was eventually Major James Kearney who surveyed the Dismal Swamp Canal, Roberdeau must have had some impact upon the project and good reason to accompany his friend Calhoun on the journey to investigate the coastal fortifications, another of his professional interests. So, Collins and Roberdeau would have much to share.
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| President James Monroe |
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| Secretary of War John C. Calhoun |
The Edenton Gazettte issue of April 6th, 1819 reported that they brought along members of the Army's "Corps of Engineers" that were to show the president "objects particularly deserving his attention" relative to "a naval depot, dock-yards and fortifications." Major Isaac Roberdeau never appeared by name in the newspaper reports, but as the Chief of the Topographical Bureau, Corps of Engineers and a personal friend of John C. Calhoun's, he undoubtedly did accompany them, perhaps anonymously included in the president's military contingent.
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| Edenton Gazette header for April 13, 1819 |
The president and party left Washington, DC on March 31st. They took the steamboat Roanoke for Norfolk, arriving there the next day. The Gazette printed the news from Norfolk on April 1st:
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| Edenton Gazette April 6th, 1819 |
The president was to return to the Dismal Swamp Canal which he had inspected the year before, falling into the canal when some loose logs on a bridge rolled as he tried to stand on them. One reporter noted sarcastically that he only got "[Henry] Clay" on his coat. lol Nevertheless, Monroe saw Lake Drummond and experienced one of the first trips through the newly opened Dismal Swamp Canal, seen as an important advance in national security after the recent war with Britain... the second one... War of 1812.
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| Edenton Gazette ad for Steam-boat Albemarle, April 1819 |
Although the newspaper did not specifically mention the Collins, the two men were prominent local citizens of Edenton who should have been there... with at least John C. Calhoun in attendance, if not his friend and engineer, Roberdeau. Still, Calhoun was closely associated with the Topographical Bureau that was then actively engaged in acquiring a massive collection of maps and would have been interested in a copy of Moseley's map that anyone, like Collins, would wish to share.
It's still possible that Roberdeau and Moseley's map may have missed each other in Edenton. Perhaps another explanation for the connection between Roberdeau and an original copy of Edward Moseley's map might assume that Collins did not obtain access to the map in 1804 when his father-in-law, Captain John Daves died and that it actually fell into the hands of his son, John Pugh Daves (1789-1838) of New Bern (perhaps given to his sister and mother of Hugh Williamson Collins, Anne Daves Collins after his death in 1838)...
No problem... because the president's party made their way that April over land to Washington, NC, then by the waters of the Pamlico to Neuse Bridge on the Neuse River, and then, into New Bern. Calhoun and/or Roberdeau may have found the map in Edenton or they might have heard about it and decided to ask Daves about it when they reached New Bern on the president's tour the morning of April 10th.
By luck, the committee awaiting them in New Bern consisted of many prominent citizens of their fair town, including John Stanly, Edward Graham, and Jonathan P. Daves (yes, this is him).
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| William Blount Shepard (1844-1913) |
Afterward, Scott tells us that Hugh's nephew Arthur Collins (1842-1913, son of Josiah III) left "an old map in the room" to the care of his cousin William Blount Shepard (1844-1913) who happened to live at Josiah Collins III's Somerset Plantation in Creswell, North Carolina [Collins-Shepard genealogy]. Arthur made his request that Shepard "Please take care of [the map] for me." He must have done so before his death. He died June 1913. Little did Arthur know at that time that Shepard would die before him, in January of the same year. Still, Shepard's daughter, Anne Cameron Shepard had married William Alexander Graham, MD (1875-1911). Their son was John W. Graham, husband of the woman who found the map in her attic in 1982 and transmitted it to ECU.
So, it may have been that, by this time, the Collins and allied families viewed the map as an honored possession - certainly not when Bryan had two maps for only 75 cents. Still, the 1733 map had been sought by the federal government for the Topographical Bureau's collection and traced in 1822, then by the North Carolina University Magazine in 1853. Anne Shepard Graham and her husband may have recognized the map's historical significance as well... Edward Moseley's name was well known, especially after Confederate attorney-general and Wilmington resident (and member of Moseley's "Family") George Davis' glorious praise of him following the Civil War.
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| NC Gov. William Alexander Graham (1840-1843) |
So, we have two possible transmissions from Daves to Graham, one via Daves to Collins-Shepard and the other via Bryan/Washington to Graham. It may have happened both ways, the map temporally being loaned to Hugh W. Collins who died prematurely and the old map falling to Shepard who gave it back to the next generation of Grahams.
Of early North Carolina "historians," commonly trained as lawyers and politicians, Gov. William A. Graham was something of an antiquarian/amateur historian himself whose daughter had married Walter Clark, noted politician, lawyer, and compiler of the state records, another twilight-years historian like his father-in-law. Graham was well-noted for his strong Confederate sympathies and white supremacy and much of his historical contributions undoubtedly had a slightly-biased revisionist historical "flavor." He also may have imparted "historical" sympathies to his son, William, the doctor who married Ms. Anne Shephard and brought the Collins' map into his orbit.
- Still, the next generation folded the map and stored it in their attic (in a large encyclopedia... part of a collection of books stored there)... not archival conditions, but dry. Bugs and other environmental factors may have taken their toll and many places along the fold lines have been eaten away... a perfect argument for proper, non-antiquarian and third-party/public archival care. The map could have been lost at any number of occasions while in the private care of people who may or may not understand its value to the state. The Kendall original copy of Moseley's map is now lost to us because Kendall chose to keep it in his own, personal collection... a collection that he had no control over after his death. A part of our cultural heritage was irresponsibly thrown away... Public institutions are not perfect, no. Still, they have YET to lose an original copy of this map and have a much better track record than the private whims of the average human being. Archives have many stages of oversight... it's their job. Yes, I feel strongly about this...at least we may still have Moseley's personal copy thanks to Mrs. Graham's wisdom in 1982.
- Of the "Edward Graham" that served on the committee to meet President Monroe in New Bern in April 1819 with John Pugh Daves, he was probably not related to Gov. William A. Graham, but, irregardless, he was John Pugh Daves' father-in-law. Daves married his daughter, Elizabeth Batchelor Graham. Again...this can be confusing!
Obviously, Major Isaac Roberdeau had plenty of opportunity to "discover" an original copy of Edward Moseley's map of 1733... the full-sized 57 x 45-inch version.
In all of the trouble to discover how a copy of Moseley's map arrived in America... and, just happened to land in Edenton, historians and other scholars have seldom dared to hope that it might be Edward Moseley's personal copy. The penciled notations, I believe, were made by Moseley himself... in preparation for a revised version. We may occasionally be rewarded for our dares! :)
Surely, Moseley had to own a copy of his own final product! He died in 1749 and he lived in Edenton for most of his adult life, between 1704 and 1733. But, he spent 1734-1749 living part-time in Brunswick Town, just a stone's throw away from Gov. Arthur Dobb's future plantation of Russellborough, built only five years after Moseley died. Moseley and the rest of his "Family" owned tens of thousands of acres (nearly 165,000 by my calculations so far) across the colony. Moseley's sons inherited his portion and, perhaps his other possessions, such as a large map... Indeed, it may still have been hanging on the wall in his home in Brunswick Town when Dobbs arrived six years after Moseley died! Anne Moseley, who resided in Brunswick Town after her husband's death, more than likely rolled out a welcome mat for the new governor. It may have been the first time he had seen Moseley's original map.
Gov. Arthur Dobbs may have "inherited," "purchased," "acquired" Moseley's map in Brunswick Town. This is the only missing link... between the heirs of Edward Moseley and Gov. Dobbs or between Moseley and Collins... the lines do get crossed... Plus, the Revolution caused enough confusion to lose the trails of both maps, the 1733 and the 1737, when Gov. Martin snuck away in the night to avoid being lynched or killed by irate Americans. Which did he have at Tryon? One? Or both? Some day we may answer that question... some document somewhere, perhaps in the estate of eldest son John Moseley or Edward Moseley Jr., or brothers Sampson, Thomas, James, or William... not to forget daughter Ann Humphries or widow, Ann Sampson Moseley Munro (after 1762, the wife of Hugh Munro).
One thing that seems significant is that Edward's widow probably remained at his home in Brunswick Town through 1762, where a tax list shows her as still "Ann Moseley." She had not yet married Hugh Munro (d. 1779). So, when Dobbs lived in Brunswick Town, Moseley's widow was young and a "free agent" as they say... Dobbs married the still-giggling Davis girl in 1762 as well... the Davis family was related to Moseley through marriage and Dobbs most likely met her in Brunswick Town or Wilmington. He had ample opportunity to come into contact with Moseley's map.
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| Last Page of Edward Moseley Will, dated 20 March 1745 |
Moseley's kids weren't hurting for wealth... the most interesting aspect of Moseley's eight-page will is that he spends a great deal of time devising his many acres with various houses (including the unfinished "Moseley Hall" on the west side of the Northeast Cape Fear River that was to be his grand estate), improvements, and the produce of his slaves and vineyards. He names his many slaves (about 100 in all), his more than 150 books, various rings worth a "guinea" each, demanding payment of his debts only from the more than plentiful money owed to him and not from the sale of any of his property or slaves, worrying about every minute detail of even the most insignificant fiscal nature, even to who gets what silverware... but, he never seems concerned specifically about the one primary creation of his own genius and artistry, the one thing that we, today, have come to revere the most... his copy of the map of 1733. Presumably, it is included in the last item... "The rest & residue of my Estate, both real and personal I give to be equally divided among my Sons & the Survivors of them."
I will say this: he had damn good handwriting!
Even Moseley, himself, the "land-hungry" man described by Noeleen McIlvenna in A Very Mutinous People, the “factious man” who “found little use for his talents save that of stirring up strife and encouraging contention for ends purely selfish" that historian Rev. Francis Lister Hawks found in 1858, cared so much more for his wealth, slaves, and possessions than anything else, including his own creation. I guess we think more of it than he did. As for us North Carolinians, we will remember his map... and the one that's hanging on the wall of Joyner's Special Collections at East Carolina University could very well be the one that he thought not so worthy to mention in his will.
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I will say this: he had damn good handwriting!
Even Moseley, himself, the "land-hungry" man described by Noeleen McIlvenna in A Very Mutinous People, the “factious man” who “found little use for his talents save that of stirring up strife and encouraging contention for ends purely selfish" that historian Rev. Francis Lister Hawks found in 1858, cared so much more for his wealth, slaves, and possessions than anything else, including his own creation. I guess we think more of it than he did. As for us North Carolinians, we will remember his map... and the one that's hanging on the wall of Joyner's Special Collections at East Carolina University could very well be the one that he thought not so worthy to mention in his will.
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| Graham Copy of Edward Moseley's Map of 1733 Hanging on Wall of J. Y. Joyner's Special Collections at East Carolina University |
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Dethroning the Kings of Cape Fear: Consequences of Edward Moseley's Surveys
Purchase an e-copy for $5 or get a print version among more titles by B. C. BrooksAristocratic Pyrates of the Albemarle
Purchase an e-copy for $5 or get a print version among more titles by B. C. Brooks
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