Capt. Robert Hicks, Indian Trader

concerns

Do not confuse this Robert with Robert Hicks, of Chowan County.

not-so-brief biography and family

The origin of Robert Hicks, Indian trader of colonial Virginia, is not known. He is first identifiable from the Charles City Co. land records where his father-in-law, John Evans, gives Robert and his wife, Winifred Evans, two tracts of land totaling 1375 acres between Appomattox River and Blackwater Creek, one in 1690 and the other in 1694. It is believed that Robert was born in Charles City Co., Va. In the 1650's. If this is true then the Robert Hicks listed as one of 40 persons buying land in Charles City Co., April 8, 1654, as a transportee of Hugh Lee from England, could very possibly be Father of Capt. Robert and the immigrant of this very prolific family. There are , of course, some other possibilities as a study of the immigration records will show. (Future plans include links to these records)

Robert Hicks, nicknamed "Robin", was born circa 1650 (perhaps in Prince George Co.?). He married 1st Winifred Evans, daughter of John and Mary Evans. He married second, a woman named Francis, or Frances, dates unknown, and they lived in Charles City Co., Va., near the present day city of "Hopewell". His land extended along the Blackwater River east of the James. Nothing is definitely known of Robert's origins at this time, other than the fact that upon the death of one of his grandsons, in 1795, Col. George Hicks Jr., a South Carolina newspaper mentioned George's "English Descent" in his eulogy.

Robert's very large family settled throughout southern Virginia. Land records of this time and area indicate that a John, Thomas, and Henry Hicks were contemporaries of Robert's and perhaps were relatives of his. Also settling north of the James River were the Bryants, Ervins, Kings, Hills, Isbells (Asbells), Evans, Masons, Hollemans and Williams, all of whom can be traced through North and South Carolina wherever the Hicks family migrated.

Robert Hicks is thought to have fathered these 13 children:

The children of Captain Robert Hicks and his wives are believed to be -

• With Wife Winifred: Daniel Hicks, Robert Hicks
• With Wife Frances: Charles Hicks, George Hicks, James Hicks, John Hicks, Frances Hicks, Martha Hicks, Elizabeth Hicks, Rachael Hicks, Mary Hicks, Tabitha Hicks

1. Daniel who married Edith (by Winnifred)
2. Robert, Jr. Who married Elizabeth Ervin (by Winifred)
3. George who married Sarah
4. John who married Obedience
5. Mary who married a Mr. Irby
6. Tabitha who married Thomas Jacobs
7. James who married Martha
8. William
9. Francis who married Richard Ransom (Ransone), of Gloucester Co.
10. Rachael who married Matthias Davis
11. Charles who died 1745 without heirs
12. Martha who married a Mr. Beddingfield
13. Elizabeth who married a Mr. Lanier

    ---

In the 1660's and 1670's, Robert developed a lucrative commercial business trading with the Indians throughout Western Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia. Some of his family married into the Cherokees in the area of Broomstown, (northern) Georgia, by 1730. These descendents became important leaders in the Cherokee Nation. Robert traded with all the Indians of these states, but dealt primarily with the Cherokees and their branch nation known as the "Catawbas". Once, when New York trappers were captured by the Catawbas and held for ransom, the Govenors of New York and Virginia sought Robert's help. He dispatched his two oldest sons, Daniel and Robert Jr., to negotiate the captives' release. Upon their successful return, they were given an award by the Virginia House of Burgesses.

In 1714, the Virginia government built Fort Christiana on the Meherrin River and they appointed Robert as Captain of the Fort's paid militia, known as the "Rangers", and it's 12 indian scouts. Robert subsequently moved most of his family into this area. Governor Spotswood gave the family exclusive trade rights in western Virginia in return for their service. The family residence was known as "Hicks' Ford" and was located where the present day city of "Emporia" is found today, in Greenville Co., Va. In 1728, Capt. Robert was appointed to the large expedition that surveyed the boundary between North Carolina and Virginia.

Robert's success with the indians did not make all of the colonial fathers happy. Many of them wanted this trade for their own states. South Carolina authorities resorted to harassing him and seizing a lot of his goods. In an effort to improve his influence in the area, Robert moved several of relatives into South Carolina. Two sons, George and John, settled in "Old Cheraws" and Colleton Co. Respectively, between 1707 and 1741. They were followed by several other relatives. Captain Robert Hicks died in 1739 (his will was proved Feb. 7, 1739).

George's (Cheraw's) son, Col. George Jr., served in the Revolutionary War, along with other members of this family. Other family members may have moved into the Onslow Co. Or the Halifax-Bute-North Hampton area of North Carolina. One of these was Lewis Hicks, possibly a grandson of Robert's, who served as an ensign in the colonial navy during the war, sailing out of Wilmington. It is this man who we may be related to. Lewis wrote Gov. Caswell of North Carolina in 1777 resigning his commission due to reoccuring lung/respiratory problems. He stated his regret that he was unable to perform his duties properly and voiced his concern as to whether he would survive the approaching small pox season. He survived, apparently, and became one of Onslow Counties three sheriffs, after the war. He is listed as a land owner in Brunswick Co., Va., in 1772, and a taxpayer for 1800.

Lewis was the son of James Hicks ( born 1700, died 1761), in Brunswick Co., Virginia. Nothing is known of this man other than the fact that he married a Martha (Fathey?) and they had eight children: Lewis, John, Benjamin, Patty, Francis, Mary, Robert and James.

On April 6, 1773, the younger sister of Winifred Hill, Sarah, and a Lewis Hicks were married with Henry Hill, her older brother, and James Seawell (sowell) as witnesses. Soon, Winifred married George King and they eventually moved to Chesterfield District, South Carolina. Some of the Hicks family were married by the Reverend John King, a Baptist minister. He married Lucy and Benjamin Sowell and George Hicks. Rev. John King was married to Sally Hill.

It appears that Lewis died (or disappeared?) circa 1792-1794 at the age of 37-38 (or Lewis and Sarah separated? Divorced?) and (his widow? Ex-wife?) Sarah moved "next door" to Winifred and George King, in South Carolina. Sarah is listed on the 1800 census with a little girl born about the time that Lewis died (left?). In accordance with family tradition, the Rev. John Hicks was orphaned and raised by the (George?) King family (who apparently were his uncle and aunt). Sarah is not found on the 1810 census. Since Lewis was listed on the tax records of Brunswick Co., Va., in 1800, either this is not our ancestor or it is possible that Sarah and Lewis separated/divorced for some reason, leaving our John an "orphan", at least from his known parent. The fact that little is known of Lewis may be due to some defect of character on his part that the family would not have wanted made known. If divorced, I assume that would have been humiliating and never talked about. Sarah appears to have died in 1806 leaving her children to be raised by her sister's family, George and Winifred King. Lewis' will was proved in 1820, if indeed, this is the same person.

This information was taken from:

Virginia Land Records Colonial Records Two letters from Barnabas Hicks dated Dec. 9, 1980 and Sept. 26, 1996 Census records of the states Marriage records of Virginia Family tradition dating from Rev. John Hicks' children and King family descendents

Source for land granted to 40 transportees of Hugh Lee:

Patent to Hugh Lee, dated April 8, 1654, for 2000 acres, named Aberconaway, Charles City County, for transportation of 40 persons, including Richrd, Sparkes, Hen. Neale, Jno. Crew, Andr. Crew, Richd. Dennis, Wm. Marsh, Morris Joyce, Hen. Allaman, Jno. Browne, Wm. Bernard, Tho. Clark, Tomasin Harris, Jno. Browne, Phill. Pledge, Mary Browne, Jno. Cox, Richd. Warren, Tho. Michell, Jno. Drennett, Barbara Petingall, Cha. Bartlett, Wm. Taylor, Jno. Floyd, Tho. Stanley, Joan Liswell, Sara King, Rebecka Love?, Sara Swetland, Jocabus Jonson, Eliz. Cooper, Tho. Woods, Tho. Dance, Jno. Burges, Tho. Ory?, Addam Bradshaw, Robt. Hyme?, Martha Gibbs, Robt. Hicks, Jno. Allen, and Tho. Alford, on South Side Appomattock River, on North side the 3rd branch of the Black Water; nigh Warrick Path. Virginia Patent Book 6, page 510.

comments

Surname has also been reported to be Hix.

Date and place of birth have also been (erroneously?) reported to be April 5, 1670 at Jacobstown, Devon, England.

Date and place of death have also been (erroneously?) reported to be March 6, 1739 at Rockyhock, Chowan County, North Carolina, United States.

links

• http://yanceyfamilygenealogy.org/NotesforThomasHicks.pdf

  ---

=============

30-Sep-2024 dfc

http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/photo/brunswick/pbrunswi.htm

http://www.fortchristanna.com/long_history.pdf

http://www.ncgenweb.us/richmond/wallloupoole.pdf

http://muse.jhu.edu/article/519247

https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/jame1/moretti-langholt...

robert Hix

Sketches of Greensville County, Virginia, 1650-1967
Chapter II

"That Honest Man, Captain Hicks"

Part I

IN THE EARLY HISTORY of Greensville County Captain Robert Hicks, the pioneer, has always been first in the imagination and affections of the people. His life on the frontier is a window to the past; his career the epitome of the traditional border captain.
There are two Robert Hicks - one the man of history, the other the man of fiction and folklore. Since this is so, it would not he proper to leave unmentioned the stories of him that have been repeated shout the firesides of Southside Virginia for more than two centuries.
According to the old tales, he was a British officer; he came up the James from Jamestown and up the Appomattox River. Here, Fort Henry on Flea Island protected a small frontier settlement on the Site of what is now Petersburg. He was caught up in a rollicking, hard-drinking crowd.

Once, while participating in a drinking bout with "the Bollings and other high rollers," he became so intoxicated he lost consciousness.

When he came to himself, he discovered his queue had been cut off short, an act implying great disrespect. Angered and deeply humiliated he left Fort Henry and followed the Indian trail southward through the wilderness toward Carolina. He journeyed forty miles, far beyond the outermost white settlements, until he came to the Meherrin River deep in the southern forest. Here he set down his stakes. He won the confidence of the Meherrin Indians who were numerous and had many settlements in the area. There was an Indian fort not far from the river crossing where he stopped. The Indians gave him a plot of ground on the river bank on which to build; they helped him cut down the huge trees and erect his double log cabin. Then one day when Vnuntsquero, the Chief of the Meherrins, saw Hicks wearing a fine silk hat with a plume, he said to him, "Last night I had a dream." "And what did you dream?", asked Hicks.

"I dreamed you gave me your hat," said the chieftain. (Vnuntsquero,

"Chiefs Man of the Maherian," signed the Treaty of 1677 thus: ; also signing was Horehannah, "next Chiefe man of the Maherians." His signature was .)

Robert Hicks, knowing the Indians placed great significance on their dreams and expected them to come true, and also remembering that it was their custom when receiving a gift to return one of equal or even greater value, seized the opportunity to improve his position among them. Taking the hat from his head, be graciously presented it to the chieftain who received it with apparent delight.

A few weeks later Robert hicks came upon Vnuntsquero and said, "I had a dream last night." "And what did you dream" asked the Indian. "I dreamed you gave me all the land for twenty miles along the river," Hicks replied quickly. The chieftain hesitated for a moment, then solemnly said, 'The land is yours, White Man, but go and dream no more!" And so it was, according to the legend, that Robert Hicks came to be rich in lands and spent the rest of his days near the river-crossing which became known as Hicks' Ford [Hicksford] and after a long time became Emporia. For a livelihood he built a Trading Post* and bartered with the Indians and the incoming white settlers. Under the huge oaks that still stand he would hold "pow-wows" with the Northern Indians when the occasion arose. His son "Robin" (Robert, Jr.) built himself a house in the woods on the southside of the river (between it and Jefferson Street), but "he died young." All this is folklore and with this the tales end. Captain Hicks is swallowed up by time. He is lost - except in legend. How much of the legend is true we shall now see. For of the real

Captain Hicks we know much more than we do of the legendary Captain.

Who he was or where he came from no one knows. Like Melchizdek in the Old Testament he appears out of nowhere. Attempts have been made to show that he was the same as the "Captain Hicks" who appeared in James City in 1694 as commander of His Majesty's Ship, "King Fisher," or that he was a descendant of Robert Hicks of Plymouth, Massachusetts, or the son of Robert of Lancaster County, Virginia. All have failed. Neither can it be shown that he was a British officer - retired or unretired - unless his service as the commander of the Surry Rangers be considered as such, as well it might be.

________________

* See footnotes

Robert Hicks appears first in Charles City County (afterwards Prince George). In the records his name is spelled both Hix and Hicks, often both ways in the same record. He was born about 1658. He married Winifred Evans probably about 1678. She was a birthright Quakeress, the daughter of Captain John Evans and his wife Mary, of Charles City County. In 1663 John Evans' land lay on the south side of Appomattox River, near Fort Henry and adjoining that of Major General Abraham Wood, the great explorer, Indian trader and commander of the Fort. 'This site was to become Petersburg. John Evans, Senior, also a large landowner and successful Indian trader, was a devout Quaker.2 When the Act of Toleration was passed by the British Parliament in 1692 he petitioned for permission to hold a Quaker meeting once a month in "his old House and twice a week there alsoe and once a year where he now dwells." His son Captain John Evans, Jr. was a successful Indian trader and an associate, later, of Robert Hicks. It is probable that Robert and Winifred were married "in meeting" by the simple Quaker rites. Had it not been so she would have been dismissed from the Society for "marrying out" and he would have lost the favor of his father-in-law. As it was, John Evans, in 1690, gave Robert and Winifred "for love and affection" 560 acres adjoining General Wood's land. It is reasonable to interpret this as meaning he approved of the marriage. However, if Hicks was ever a Quaker himself he did not remain one for we soon find him taking oaths in Court and "bearing arms." Among his effects at his death would be a Prayer Book, something no good Quaker would have had.

Winifred Evans Hicks did not live long but it is believed that she was the mother of Robert's two oldest sons, Robert (Robin) and Daniel. Eventually Hicks married again, this time to Frances. Her surname is unknown. She was to be the mother of many children outliving her husband by several years. Robert Hicks was to become the father of twelve children, six sons and six daughters: Robert, Daniel, George, John, James, Charles, Martha who married John Beddingfield; Frances who married Richard Ransom; Rachel who married Matthias Davis; Tabitha who married Thomas Jacobs; and Mary and Elizabeth (one of whom married an Irby).

Robert Hicks must have been a handsome man, and blessed with a strong physique, for he lived a long, strenuous life. At eighty-three he was still in perfect health. The only description we have of him is by William Byrd, II, who speaks of him as "my old friend." When Byrd described him Hicks was seventy years old. The year was 1728. He wrote, "Beauty never appeared better in old age, with a ruddy complexion and hair as white as snow."3

Like many another lively young man Robert Hicks, no doubt, had years when he sowed his wild oats. On April 13, 1693, he appeared in Charles City County Court in a drunken state and was sentenced to the stocks. This was far from commendable (in fact, it was a common occurrence even for members of the Court) but he could not have been a worthless fellow or given to continuous drunkenness for his father-in-law soon afterward, perhaps at a vote of confidence, gave him another 1,120 acres of land on the south tide of the Appomattox and shortly after that (on his own initiative) Hicks claimed 6oo acres for transporting twelve persons into the colony. These early acquisitions of land were the be ginning of a habit he would follow to the year of his death - patenting, buying and selling land by the thousands of acres. He would become a wealthy man. The last mentioned grant was to the south of Fort Henry; it crossed the Second Swamp and adjoined tracts owned by Evans and James Cock(e).

Few white men dared to journey in that direction except in the company of others. We do not know when Robert Hicks first started trading with the Indians but it must have been at an early date - certainly prior to 1700. It is probable that he became involved from the time he arrived at Fort Henry. The Fort, built in 1646, had been the center of Indian trade from the early 1650s. Most of the men whose names we know who lived in the locality were traders or factors in the peltry trade. Some were involved in a large way sending caravans (made up of as many as 100 horses) out on the Trading Path which began at Bermuda Hundred where the ships anchored.4 It would have been unusual had Robert Hicks not become involved in so profitable a commerce and popular a pursuit. In 1700 Governor Francis Nicholson of Virginia, who had long been interested in the trade, conferred with Robert Hicks and John Evans giving them "instructions to be observed . . . concerning which they are to treat with such great nations of Indians as they shall trade to, and particularly the Usherrees (The Catawbas, 283 miles southwest of Ft. Henry) and the Tottevay (Nottoway or Toteros?) in regard to a school to be established for the Indians." The Usherees lived in upper South Carolina, their lands extending southward to what is now Camden. This fact suggests how far these early traders had penetrated the then unknown wilderness. That Robert Hicks and his associates went even farther south is intimated by the fact that before 1705 he had brought into the colony an Indian slave. Her English name was Bess and she belonged to the Appalachian tribe whose original lands were about Tallahassee, Florida. The tribe never lived farther north than Augusta, Georgia, where the great "Western Trading Path" ended.6 In the years before tobacco became the major crop in Virginia the fur trade (especially beaver) was the most advantageous in the colony. Profits were fabulous. Many of the early fortunes were founded upon it both in Virginia and South Carolina. Skins of wild animals bought for a handful of glass beads or a cheap trinket brought handsome prices on the European market. For the man with a little money to equip a trader or a man with enough courage to venture his purse and person in the Indian country, the opportunity to secure quick wealth was unexcelled. Hand in hand with the "skin trade" went the trade in Indian slaves, it being the accepted custom to buy the prisoners of war (whom the Indians automatically made slaves) and resell them to the Virginia planters or on the New England market.7 Unscrupulous white men engaged in "slave catching." Though the Indian slave trade was a common practice at the time we have no evidence that Hicks and his associates ever engaged in it. Robert Hicks, his father-in-law, John Evans, and John Evans, Junior (later called "Captain Evans") were very active in the "south we trade." Others in the same business and with whom Robert Hicks was on intimate terms were: Col.William Byrd II, John and Robert Bolling (who had "an immense trade with the Indians" and a Store near Petersburg), Col. Robert Mumford, several of the Joneses including Peter, Thomas and Richard, and the Poythresses. The records tell of Robert Hicks' visits to "Westover" to discuss the "skin trade" and his frequent and friendly associations with these "Gentlemen." It is probable that William Byrd shipped Hicks' furs for him. He certainly went out of his way to accommodate him by buying two Negroes belonging to Captain Evans, "in hope of gaining the trade." Beginning as a "private trader" (as independent traders' were called), or perhaps in conjunction with his relatives, it was not long until Robert Hicks had a company of his own, which meant enough capital to buy pack-horses, trade goods, ammunition and guns, provisions, and wages for the pack-horsemen. His partners were: John Evans, Richard Jones, "Gentleman" (later Captain); David Crawley, Nathaniel Urvin (sometimes spelled Urven and again, Irwin), and possibly Nathaniel Irby. With the exception of Jones, these men were related by marriage or otherwise. Nathaniel Urvin's daughter would marry Robert's son and a daughter of Hicks would marry an Irby. These traders (with the exception of Hicks himself) would post bonds in Charleston, S. C., in 1710/11. Logan in his history of Upper South Carolina says they carried on "a regular and honorable commerce."8 For a number of years they ranged so widely and did so handsomely they aroused the intense jealousy of the South Carolinians with whom they competed. They were representatives of a large number of white traders' from the Southside. As early as 1698 the South Carolina Commons House debated a bill forbidding Virginians to trade with any Indians in that Province - as if Virginians had not been doing this very thing since the 1650s. In 1701 the Carolinians proposed that all of the Virginia traders' goods be confiscated but this did not pass. However, in the same year they levied a heavy tax on every horse brought into the colony, an ill-conceived plan to stop Virginia caravans. Knowing this law was contrary to Her Majesty's royal decree of free trade between her colonies, the Virginians refused to pay the tax. In 1707, invoking this act, the South Carolinians seized a considerable quantity of skins and "diverse other goods" which Hicks and his partners had left in one of the Catawba towns while they were further on trading with "the Western Indians." The order had been to "seize the said Traders in their return and take from them all they had and strip them and send them back to Virginia."9

∼Robert Hicks, nicknamed "Robin", was born circa 1650 (perhaps in Prince
George Co., Virginia). He married 1st Winifred Evans, daughter of John and Mary Evans.
He married second, a woman named Frances, dates unknown, and they lived in Charles City Co., Va., near the present day city of "Hopewell". His land extended along the Blackwater River east of the James. Nothing is definitely known of Robert's origins at this time, other than the fact that
upon the death of one of his grandsons, in 1795, Col. George Hicks Jr., a
South Carolina newspaper mentioned George's "English Descent" in his eulogy.* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Sep 30 2024, 11:43:41 UTC