Captain Davis’s Company, 1805

 

Robert C. Carpenter, Contributor

Kathy Gunter Sullivan, Transcriber, 2010

 

Robert C. Carpenter:

Capt Davis's Company in present-day western Lincoln County was west of Lincolnton and west of the present Startown Road. It seems to include the Indian Creek watershed at least in part. Some names like Shittle (obviously not spelled this way), Helsm (Hellum), Moore (Moor), are in the southern portion of Indian Creek and border Capt. Carpenter’s tax list north of Crouse. This area includes the Bethpage Lutheran Church community with Houser and Saine. The tax list extends northward to include the Trinity Lutheran Church community with Daniel Lutes (Luts), Segel (Seggel) and Reeps residents on the list. The company list boundary extended westward to border Swan's 1805 company. The western boundary was very near Buffalo Creek and the Bethlehem Methodist Church community with taxpayers Bigham, Boggs, Helms (Hellum), Wilson, Boyles (Biles), Sprat, and Glenn (Glann). The western boundary of this tax list likely included some of the extreme eastern portion of present Cleveland County. The northern portion of the list may have also included some of the area around Daniel's Lutheran Church with Michael Mosteller (Mikil Mastellour), Kanipe, Lingerfelt, and John Rudasil. This tax list would have included parts of the fourth and sixth companies of the 1790 Lincoln County census. More of the fourth company is within Davis’s tax list than the sixth company but clearly people from both 1790 census companies are within this 1805 record. It was in the present-day Lincoln County townships of Howards Creek and North Brook.

 

There is a mix of Germans and English speaking peoples in residence: I count 48 possible Germans out of 89 persons listed. There may be more Germans as my counting was of persons and names I could most likely identify as German. If there was a question about a surname, I did not count it as German. This is an interesting and convoluted tax list. The mixture of German and non-German is really unique.

 

This tax list is very agricultural with few slaves (black polls) and little industry noted. Two stud horses were taxed but no cotton gins. The land acreage also is consistent with few large landowners. Most would be characterized as piedmont small farmers.

 

Kathy Gunter Sullivan:

At 1805 county court sessions, Justice of the Peace Samuel Ramsey was appointed to receive the taxpayers’ information in Davis’s company as well as for “Graham’s old company.” In 1806, Ramsey again was appointed in Davis’s company.

 

Map links:

Lincoln Co., NC Flood Maps

NC Current Townships

Captain Davis’s Company, 1805

Lincoln County Tax Lists 1805 [sic]-1806; box no. CR.060.701.4, North Carolina State Archives.

 

this be[a]rs the list of Captin Davis Companey for the ye[a]r 1805

 

 

Land 24,584

White Polls 60

Black Polls 17

 

Duplicate Made Out