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 Lessons from our founders
by Tom Campbell
April 29, 2010
In 1710, a group of 695 German and Swiss men, women and children left Europe to start a new colony. More than half of them would die before reaching the site they named New Bern at the union of the Neuse and Trent Rivers in Carolina. Bath, established in 1705, had about fifty residents and it would be 1712 before Edenton was established. New Bern struggled but became the largest town in the colony for many years. That colonial heritage and charm is alive to be seen today.
A new book, New Bern, 1710 in the Carolinas, gives fresh insights into what life was like for our early ancestors. Author Jimmy C. Waters use diaries, property deeds, news accounts and history books to tell the story of struggles with disease, wars with Native Americans, pirates and hardships in growing enough food to feed this settlement. On more than one occasion the future of this new colony was tested and it survived largely due to the men and women who faced challenges, heartbreaks and setbacks but would not be defeated.
This book weaves a story around the Bender family, a young boy whose parents die before seeing their new home. Using real-life characters the novel ties together historical events in a highly readable way we haven’t experienced since the late Inglis Fletcher’s 1940’s Carolina series. There is much to be learned about the Tuscarora War, the influence of pirates and the difficulty of travel within the state. There were déjà vu insights into the colony’s government, often stagnated by leadership arguments between the appointed governor and colonial legislature and the lack of revenues.
Sometimes we like to romanticize those early years but there is neither glamour nor grandeur recounting how difficult it was to give birth to a new town and new colony. While there were a few wealthy plantation families, most early residents of this state came searching for religious or personal freedom, wanting to make a better life than the one they left. We were not an aristocratic colony, mostly hard-working folks trying to provide for their families. We remain pretty much the same today.
On more than one occasion I found myself wanting to draw comparisons between those first colonists and people today, wondering if we could endure similar hardships. They couldn’t turn to government at any level to solve their problems. Early settlers had each other and were personally responsible for their own outcomes.
This year we celebrate with New Bern as they observe the 300th anniversary of their founding. Not too far away Tarboro is also celebrating its 250th birthday. It would do us well to go visit these early towns, to study their history and hear their stories about North Carolina’s early years. Lessons learned from early settlers might be worth learning anew. These stories are our stories; every generation faces challenges and we can both celebrate those brave men and women on whose shoulders we stand while taking comfort in knowing that they survived and thrived under conditions much worse than we will ever know, inspiring us to persevere in meeting our challenges. |
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