Revolution Era
Josiah Collins, Sr. (1735-1819)
1664-1775
Josiah Collins, Sr. (1735-1819) was a prominent businessman, merchant, plantation owner, and land speculator from Edenton, North Carolina. Collins was a well-respected member of the Edenton community, and he engaged in global trade, rope making, land development, and farming. He built and operated Somerset Place on Lake Phelps, which became one of the largest plantations in North Carolina and the upper South.
Manteo
Manteo was a Carolina Algonquian who assisted the three English expeditions to Roanoke Island during the 1580s. Governor John White declared Manteo to be Lord of Roanoke in 1587. Manteo was the first person baptized in America into the Church of England.
John White (ca. 1540 – 1593)
John White was an artist, surveyor, cartographer, and colonizer who attended the second and third expeditions to Roanoke Island in the late-1500s. During the first attempt to colonize Roanoke (1585-1586), White served as the expedition’s artist and cartographer. During the second attempt at colonization in 1587, White served as the governor of the colony. His granddaughter Virginia Dare was the first English child born in America. He returned to England to request aid, but his return was delayed. When he returned in 1590, the colony had disappeared. Today, it is today known as the “Lost Colony.”
The Lake Company
The Lake Company was created in 1784 by Josiah Collins, Sr., Nathaniel Allen, and Dr. Samuel Dickenson to acquire and develop land around Lake Phelps. The Lake Company was a successful agricultural business and built canals around Lake Phelps. After a long legal battle, Collins bought his partners’ shares in the company, and turned the Lake Company into “Somerset Place” Plantation.
Somerset Place Plantation
Somerset Place is plantation located on the land around Lake Phelps in present-day Washington County, North Carolina. Originally part of the Lake Company’s holdings that spanned over 100,000 acres in Washington and Tyrrell Counties, the area became Somerset Place in 1816 when Josiah Collins, Sr. became sole owner of the Lake Company. Under Collins’s grandson, Josiah Collins III, Somerset Place became one of the largest plantations in the South. Today it is a North Carolina State Historic Site.
Josiah Collins II (1763-1839)
Josiah Collins II was the son of the prominent merchant Josiah Collins, Sr. He became manager and eventually the owner of the Collins Ropewalk in Edenton. Under his management, the Edenton Ropewalk became one of the most prosperous rope manufacturing sites in North America. When his father died in 1819, Josiah II became the temporary owner and manager of Somerset Plantation until his son Josiah III came of age. Josiah II was also important in the organization of North Carolina’s Episcopal Diocese in 1817.
Josiah Collins III (1808 – 1863)
Josiah Collins III was the heir to Somerset Place, a plantation originally built by his grandfather Josiah Collins, Sr. and his Lake Company. Josiah Collins III was educated at Harvard and later studied law in Litchfield, Connecticut, and lived in New York City for a time. At age 21, he assumed management of Somerset Place and turned it into one of the largest and most prosperous plantations in the South. Josiah Collins III died shortly after the beginning of the Civil War and his death marked the end of Somerset Place. It was restored as a North Carolina State Historic Site in the 1950s and 1960s.
Madison County (1851)
Madison County is located in North Carolina’s mountains along the Tennessee border. It was formed in 1851 out of Buncombe and Yancey Counties, and was named for President James Madison. Marshall, the county seat, was incorporated in 1863.
Wayne County (1779)
Wayne County was formed from Dobbs County in 1779 in North Carolina’s Coastal Plain. Wayne County is named after “Mad Anthony” Wayne, one of George Washington’s most trusted generals. Goldsboro is the county seat, and Wayne is also home to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. Wayne is also the home of numerous cultural institutions and events.
Edenton Ropewalk
One of the first rope manufacturing establishments in North America; the Edenton Ropewalk (also referred to as the Hewes Ropewalk or the Collins Ropewalk) was originally established by Joseph Hewes in about 1777 and was acquired by Josiah Collins, Sr. in 1783. Under the management of his son, Josiah Collins II, the Edenton Ropewalk became one of the premier rope manufacturing sites in America. Covering an immense 131-acres of land, the Edenton Ropewalk was a large-scale rope making operation and by 1795 it is said to have created some of the best rope in the colonies. However, due to changes in the economic climate and the death of Josiah Collins II, the Edenton Ropewalk ceased operation in 1839.
Thomas Wynns (1760-1825)
Thomas Wynns was a politician and general from Hertford County, North Carolina. He served in the North Carolina House of Commons, the North Carolina Senate, and in the United States House of Representatives. He was also commissioned as a major general in the North Carolina militia.
Josiah Collins, Sr. (1735-1819)
Josiah Collins, Sr. (1735-1819) was a prominent businessman, merchant, plantation owner, and land speculator from Edenton, North Carolina. Collins was a well-respected member of the Edenton community, and he engaged in global trade, rope making, land development, and farming. He built and operated Somerset Place on Lake Phelps, which became one of the largest plantations in North Carolina and the upper South.
Reconstruction Bibliography
A list of important sources and further readings on American Reconstruction and Reconstruction in North Carolina.