Armistead Family History #12

                                                                     Reflections on Life

Last time I said we would pick up in my next post after William Armistead's death in 1791.  I'm going to hedge on that just a little bit.

Before we part ways with William Armistead, I want to look back at the years prior to his death in 1791.  Have you ever stopped and thought about the things you have experienced in your life?  Who were the presidents, or what great events do you remember?  I wonder what Sarah and William thought about the great events of their lives prior to 1791?  Let's suppose that they some how found time in the late hours of Dec 25, 1790 to sit down and reflect on their lives over the previous 20 years.  It's possible William had been sick or maybe he was simply feeling the effects of being 60 years old but let's say something caused him to take a little time to take stock of his life. Imagine that we are able to listen in on William and Sarah Armistead reminiscing.  Outside a cold winter wind is howling and the snow is blowing as the conversation between William and Sarah turns more serious and maybe a little melancholy.  Sitting in their chairs in front of a nice warm roaring fire in the fireplace, sipping from a glass of port wine, they quietly talk about their family as well as historical events that had taken place during their lives.

Their personal state of affairs must have brought them a great deal of satisfaction.  William was a very large plantation owner and a very successful business man.  Together they had brought into this world eleven children, of course Sarah had the hardest part of bringing them in but they both had a part in raising them.  Now the children were growing up, indeed half of them were adults and several were married.  Some had moved out to neighboring counties and started to become successful on their own.  I'm sure they were proud of their grown children but still had concerns for those children still at home.  Maybe they discussed who might marry one of their daughters or wondered about the younger children and what they were going to make of themselves.

As they turned their attention to world affairs and talked about what they had witnessed together, I wonder if Sarah and William had any idea of just how momentous the last 20 plus years had been?   Just think of what they had lived to see. They had been there for the build up and execution of a long bloody Revolutionary War, the winning of that war, and then the creation of a new nation.  They witnessed the official end of the Revolutionary War with the signing of the Peace Treaty with Great Britain on Sep 3, 1783 and they benefited from a very significant event that took place on Nov 3, 1783, when General George Washington signed orders to dissolve the Continental Army and then departed for his home in Virginia. (1)  This is one of the most significant things Washington did for his new country.  Because of his popularity and power, he could have taken his army and assumed control of the government and set himself up as the head or the king of this new country.  That is exactly what would have happened in Europe.  But he didn't do that and by that act he set the country on it's road to allowing the people of the new United States of America to carry on the country's business as a free and democratic country, a country that was no longer controlled by a monarch.

Signing of the Constitution of the United States.

Artist:  Howard Chandler Christy (1873–1952)    
Title:  Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States  
Description:  George Washington presiding the Philadelphia Convention.  
Depicted people: George Washington , Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin - among others: see image notes orFile:KeySceneAtTheSigningOfTheConstitutionOfTheUnitedStates.jpg.
Date:  1940
Medium:  oil on canvas
Current location:  United States House of Representatives
Source/Photographer:  The Indian Reporter
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person’s official duties under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code. See Copyright.

The Armisteads probably would have reflected, as they sat by that fire, on the passage, by the U.S. Congress, in July of 1785, an act which established "the decimal coinage system, with the dollar...as the monetary unit," making the dollar the unit of currency in place of the pound. (2) The U.S. was the first country to do this. Then they may have mentioned the time in 1786, when delegates from several states got together and called for a Continental Congress to hold a convention to write a constitution. In response to that call a Constitutional Convention was held, and by Sep. 17, 1787, this convention, which, of course, was presided over by General Washington, produced a constitution that was submitted to the states to be ratified.  By June of the next year it was ratified by enough states to be adopted as the Constitution of the United States. (3)

First page of the United States Constitution.

This file was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the National Archives and Records Administration as part of a cooperation project. The National Archives and Records Administration provides images depicting American and global history which are public domain or licensed under a free license.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person’s official duties under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code. See Copyright.

William Armistead possibly took part in the next significant event by voting for a North Carolina Representative. Sarah, being female, would not have been able to vote.  This event was the creation of the first Congress under the new Constitution, which convened for the first time in Federal Hall, New York, NY on Feb 4, 1789.

Old City Hall, New York City, NY where the first United States Congress met in 1789.

Description:  "Old City Hall, Wall St., N.Y." Steel engraving by Robert Hinshelwood, from Washington Irving's Life of George Washington, 5 vol. (1855-59).
Date:  1855-59.
Source:  New York Public Library - Digital Gallery. Digital Image ID:801114, Digital Record ID:709553
Author:  Robert Hinshelwood  
Licensing:  This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or less.   You must also include a United States public domain tag to indicate why this work is in the public domain in the United States. Note that a few countries have copyright terms longer than 70 years: Mexico has 100 years, Jamaica has 95 years, Colombia has 80 years, and Guatemala and Samoa have 75 years. This image may not be in the public domain in these countries, which moreover do not implement the rule of the shorter term. Côte d'Ivoire has a general copyright term of 99 years and Honduras has 75 years, but they do implement the rule of the shorter term. Copyright may extend on works created by French who died for France in World War II (more information), Russians who served in the Eastern Front of World War II(known as the Great Patriotic War in Russia) and posthumously rehabilitated victims of Soviet repressions (more information).

Congress Hall in Philadelphia where the third meeting of the United States Congress was held.

Description:  Exterior Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Date:  11 December 2007, 01:18
Source:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/angstdei/2103167194/
Author:  tim eschaton from Los Angeles, USA
Permission(Reusing this file):  This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
You are free:·to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work: to remix – to adapt the work Under the following conditions:·attribution – You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).·share alike – If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.
This image was originally posted to Flickr by tim eschaton at http://flickr.com/photos/81592379@N00/2103167194. It was reviewed on 7 September 2008 by the FlickreviewR robot and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-sa-2.0.

This Congress presided over the Electoral College voting for the first president and vice president of the United States. George Washington was elected President and John Adams was elected Vice President.  The new government was officially put in place on March 4, 1789 and the U.S. Constitution was declared to be in effect. Washington and Adams were inaugurated on Apr 30, 1789. (4)

After the inauguration, the new president had to start putting the new government together. Remember that President Washington did not have a manual on how to start a new government of a new country.  Yes, he had the Constitution, which outlined some of the things he and the new congress had to do, but many of the ways that things are done today were started by President Washington.

George Washington Portrait.  First president of the United States.

Artist:  Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828)    
Title:  English: George Washington
Description:  Portrait of George Washington (1732–99)
Date:  20 March 1797
Medium:  oil on canvas
Dimensions:  73.5 × 61.1 cm (28.9 × 24.1 in)
Current location:  Clark Art Institute    
Place of creation Germantown, Philadelphia
Object history:  William Willing by 1845; to (Lewis Rogers, agent, New York, 1845); to R.L. Paterson, 1845; to Charles Paterson, by descent; to (Hermann Schaus?); to Mrs. Elizabeth S. Clark, c. 1905; to Stephen C. Clark, by descent, 1909; to Robert Sterling Clark by April 1911.
Notes:  This portrait was based on the uncompleted Antheneum portrait by Stuart; the uncompleted portions were filled in by Peale. This copy has been published in pre-1923 materials, including p. 442 of The Life of George Washington[1] and p. 79 of Early American Painters.[2]

What do you suppose William Armistead thought about the new government?  Did he realize how radically different it was from the one presided over by the King in England?  I can only imagine that he approved of President Washington, since Washington was a Virginian and William was born in Virginia before moving to North Carolina.  And of course everyone loved Washington anyway.

Important events did not end with the inauguration. The Armisteads were witnesses to the Federal Judiciary Act of Sep 24, 1789, which created the Supreme Court, as outlined by the Constitution. Also, a series of amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, were submitted by Congress to the states for ratification on Sep. 25, 1789. After approval by the states, the Bill of Rights, which were put forward as a compromise in the Constitutional Convention of 1786, to help assure the Constitution's passage by the states, became the first ten amendments to the Constitution.  (5)

The Exchange Building in New York City where the Supreme Court first met.

The-Old-Royal-Exchange-building
Description:  English: This is a drawing of the Old Royal Exchange building in New York City, formerly located in Broad Street near the intersection with Water Street.
Source: This drawing was published in Vol. 2 of the History of the City of New York by Martha Joanna Lamb (1881; page 634), as referenced here.
Author: This file is lacking author information.
Licensing:  This media file is in the public domain in the United States. This applies to U.S. works where the copyright has expired, often because its first publication occurred prior to January 1, 1923. See this page for further explanation. 

On January 8, 1790, president George Washington gave the very first State of the Union address and established a precedent that is still carried out to this day. On Feb. 1, 1790 the Supreme Court held it's first session of this newly created court. (6)

Old City Hall in Philadelphia where the Supreme Court later convened.

Description:  Front of Old City Hall Supreme Court building in Philadelphia, PA
Date:  August 2008
Source:   Own work
Author: Ben Franske
Licensing:  I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following licenses: Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled GNU Free Documentation License.
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International, 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic,2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.
You are free:· to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work· to remix – to adapt the workUnder the following conditions:· attribution – You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).· share alike – If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.

On March 1, 1790 Congress commissioned something that is near and dear to my heart, the first decennial census of the United States. Once again, an act that was dictated by the Constitution and put into law by Congress. As a genealogist I rely heavily on the census that has been conducted every ten years, starting with 1790 up to the most recent, which was in 2010.  In that first census there were 3,929,214 people that were counted.  The largest state by population was Virginia with 691,737.  (7)

Title page of 1790 U.S. Census of Population and Housing.

Description:  Title page of 1790 U.S. Census of Population and Housing
Date:  1 March 1791
Source:   Census.gov
Author: U.S. Census Bureau
Permission(Reusing this file):   This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person’s official duties under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code. See Copyright.Note: This only applies to original works of the Federal Government and not to the work of any individual U.S. state, territory, commonwealth, county, municipality, or any other subdivision. This template also does not apply to postage stamp designs published by the United States Postal Service since 1978. (See § 313.6(C)(1) of Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices). It also does not apply to certain US coins; see The US Mint Terms of Use.  
This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights.

And then one last item of note that I imagine that could have been mentioned by the Armisteads on that December night, might have been the approval and signing by President Washington on July 16, 1790, of the Residence Bill, passed by Congress, that created the District of Columbia, the future home of the Federal Government. (8)

I would think that the time from 1770 to 1790 that William and Sarah experienced, was, at the very least, one of the most important periods, if not the most important period, of time that has taken place in our country's history.  I hope they were able to sense the importance of their time and be proud of their young country, and to be proud of the part they played in it's creation.

After a long and successful life, William Armistead died early in the year of 1791 at the age of 60. With his passing, Sarah, aged 52, was left with her hands full.  She had several young children at home to raise, a plantation to oversee and a fishery to run.  She did have some older children to help her and the records indicate she did quite well on her own over the coming years.  She did it all on her own as a single mother, having not remarried after William's death.

A notice in regards to William Armistead's death was reported by a local newspaper.  These two quotes are from The State Gazette of North Carolina:

Vol. VI.  Friday, March 11, 1791. Numb. 279.

"State of North Carolina, Edenton, March, 1791.  Public notice is hereby given...to all the creditors of the late William Armistead, Esq. of Bertie County, that the said William Armistead is dead, and that the subscribers, of said county, qualified as executors on the 23d ultimo.  John Armistead, William Armistead, Robert Armistead, Executors." (9)

Vol. VI.  Friday, March 18, 1791.  Numb. 271.

“Pursuant to the last will and testament of William Armistead, deceased, Will Be Sold, at his late dwelling house on Cashie River in Bertie County, on the 4^th Monday in April next, the perishable part of his estate…also the …Schooner Priscilla, burthened about 155 tons, the schooner Ostrich and Sloop Little Dick, about 55 tons each…Negroes, horses, two herring seines, one set of Blacksmith’s and joiner’s tools…The Executors.” (10)

In addition to the information I found on my ancestors, I found another article that is very interesting. It is unrelated to the Armisteads but I thought you might find it interesting as well.  This is from the same edition of the paper.  The quote is below:

Vol. VI.  Friday, March 18, 1791.  Numb. 271.

“Remarkable instances of Persons bleeding to death.”

“On Tuesday, the first instant, died, near the North-Mountain, Frederick County,           Zoll, aged 19 years.  His death was occasioned by a slight cut in one of his feet with an axe.  From the time of his receiving the wound, … no method could…stop the bleeding.  Five brothers to the above person have bled to death at different periods…  The father of the above persons has had two wives and by each of them, several children; those who died in this singular manner were all by the first wife.”  (11)

The condition of abnormal bleeding has been recorded for hundreds of years.  In the late seventeen hundreds it did not have a name.  It has sometimes been called "the Royal Disease" because it "affected the royal families of England, Germany, Russia and Spain in the 19th and 20th centuries." (12)

"In 1803, John Conrad Otto, a Philadelphia physician, was the first to publish an article recognizing that a hemorrhagic bleeding disorder primarily affected men, and ran in certain families. Otto called the males 'bleeders'.  In 1813, John Hay published a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine proposing that affected men could pass the trait for a bleeding disorder to their unaffected daughters. Then in 1828, Friedrich Hopff, a student at the University of Zurich, and his professor Dr. Schonlein, are credited with coining the term 'haemorrhaphilia' for the condition, later shorted to 'haemophilia'."(13).

"The X and Y chromosomes are called sex chromosomes. The gene for hemophilia is carried on the X chromosome. Hemophilia is inherited in an X-linked recessive manner.... if a son inherits an X chromosome carrying hemophilia from his mother, he will have hemophilia. It also means that fathers cannot pass hemophilia on to their sons." (14)

Today we know that:  "Hemophilia is a rare disorder in which your blood doesn't clot normally because it lacks sufficient blood-clotting proteins (clotting factors).  Hemophilia is an inherited (genetic) disorder. There's no cure yet. But with proper treatment and self-care, most people with hemophilia can maintain an active, productive lifestyle." (15) But that was obviously not the case in 1791.

In the first census of the United States, which I mentioned above, that was taken in 1790-91, there were five Armisteads listed in North Carolina. Two that were listed were William Armistead in Warren County and Anthony Armistead in Northampton County. I'm pretty sure these two are related to William Armistead and moved to North Carolina from Virginia. There is an Anthony Armistead listed in Bertie County that I believe to be my William Armistead's brother and of course William is listed in Bertie as well. (Although the date of the census below is June 1791, I assume the William listed is William Armistead, Sr., and that he was counted before his death in Feb 1791.) The fifth person is John Armistead, living in Tyrrell County. Tyrrell County is just over one county to the east of Bertie and a little south.  I believe this is William's oldest son.  Eliza was married and no longer at home.  So at this first census the children still at home were Priscilla, 7, Stark, 10, Mary, 13, Jordan, 15, Sarah, 20, Robert, 23, William, 28. Only the head of household was listed by name.  The others in the house were listed by gender and age only and then by free or slave so I am taking an educated guess on the names of the ones at home.

1790 United States Federal Census.  First Census of the United States.

From Ancestry.Com
Source Citation
Year: 1790; Census Place: Bertie, North Carolina; Series: M637; Roll: 7; Page: 348; Image: 206; Family History Library Film: 0568147
Source Information
Ancestry.com. 1790 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
Original data: First Census of the United States, 1790 (NARA microfilm publication M637, 12 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

After William's death in 1791, the household probably still looked like that listed above for a while but would change over the next few years.  Sarah did not remarry and the children slowly moved on. His sons took on more work from their deceased father.  Several married and moved away. William's brother Anthony, who is also listed in the census above in Bertie county, died in 1792.

In searching for wills and other documents for my genealogy research, I came across a treasure trove of original documents in "North Carolina, Estate Files, 1663-1979," on the Family Search web site. These wonderful documents have been imaged and can be accessed online at FamilySearch.com.  I found hundreds of pages to sort through that were in the many Armistead folders.  Different hand writings of that period from county to county and from document to document made searching difficult and tedious at times.  I felt like I had taught myself a new language when I got to where I could read them.

One document I came across proved to be very interesting.  William Armistead, Jr., was the administrator of Anthony Armistead, his uncle, and in one of the many documents filed in various counties in regards to his estate, I found an account of William, Jr. explaining to the court why he had not taken action on a distribution from Anthony's estate, as ordered by the court.  Here is the quote from the document and then the original document below that.

State of North Carolina,

"William Armistead maketh oath that he was appointed by the court of Bertie at the              Session of the said Court in the year 1792 administrator of Anthony Armistead late of the said County deceased -- That this Deponent left the State some time in the year 1793 on a voyage to the West Indies and being captured by the British Cruiser he was detained till late in 1794 before his return -- that on the return he was informed and find it to be true that a Judgment had been entered up against him by the said Court at the February Session there of in the year 1794, in favor of ..." (16)

Copy of Court Document filed by William Armistead, Jr.

"North Carolina, Estate Files, 1663-1979," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/DGS-004763695_00176?cc=1911121&wc=93LD-ZV8:183206401,183204102,183316901 : accessed 3 May 2015), Currituck County > A > Armistead, Anthony > image 27 of 38; State Archives, Raleigh.

There are several reasons I found this interesting.  One was the fact that William had sailed to the West Indies.  He was apparently employed in the same business as his father and had gone to purchase products for his shipping business. The second thing is the fact that he was captured and held by the British.  This same thing was happening with regularity on the high seas.  Many of the individuals captured by the British were being impressed into the British Navy, much to the consternation of the U.S. Government and U.S. Citizens.  This issue would eventually be one of the main reasons for the War of 1812 between the U.S. and Great Britain.  It really brings it home and makes it personal to me, when I think that my 4th great-uncle felt this abuse directly by Great Britain.

There are some other interesting items in the above document but I will let you read and discover those items on your own.  The document is dated April of 1795.  Barely a year later William Armistead, Jr. would be dead.  Makes me wonder if he had some lingering effects from his captivity.
He died unmarried as there is no mention in his will of a wife or children.

I have included the notice of William Jr.'s death that was in the newspaper:

Vol. IX.  Thursday, May 19, 1796.  Numb. 540.

“Died, on Friday last, at Plymouth, Mr. William Armistead.  (Friday, May 13, 1796)” (17)

Vol. XI.  Thursday, June 30, 1796.  Numb. 546.

“Sold, at Plymouth, The brig Betsy,…and the schooner Dolphin…property of Mr. William Armistead, deceased…  The Executors.  June 25, 1796.” (18)

Vol. XI.  Thursday, October 20, 1796.  Numb. 561.

“Notice.  Will be Sold, at Plymouth, on the 4th of November, a large quantity of West-India produce, the property of William Armistead, jun. Deceased, consisting of Rum, sugar, Molasses, Coffee and Salt..; and at the same time and place, will be sold, his land, which lies in the counties of Beaufort, Tyrrell, Bertie and Franklin and a number of lots in the town of Plymouth, among which are several water lots… The Executors,.  Plymouth, October 13, 1796.” (19)

William and Sarah Armistead's seventh child and fifth son, who is my great-great-great-grandfather, Jordan Armistead, married Anne Cochran Stewart, daughter of John Stewart and Penelope (Daly) Stewart, on Oct., 6, 1796.  They had one son, William Jordan Armistead, my great-great-grandfather, on Sep 29, 1797, and a daughter, Penelope Daly, born Feb. 25, 1799.  I included below copies of pages from an Armistead family bible where I obtained this information, followed by the transcribed copies. Copies of the bible pages, along with the transcriptions, were given to me by Patricia Lyons and they have been extremely helpful in getting all the Armistead ancestors sorted out.

Copies of Birth, Marriage, and Death records from the William Jordan Armistead and Mary E.E. (Baker) Armistead Bible.  This Bible was given to Mary by William Jordan Armistead on April 20, 1822, two years into their marriage.

On June 24, 1795 Jordan was bondsman for his younger sister, Mary, who married David Wright. Of course, as mentioned, he was married in 1796.  Also, in 1796 he and his brother John were named administrators of his deceased brother William, Jr.'s estate.  In 1797 Jordan and Anne sold some land to Jordan's mother Sarah.  There were a number of documents where Jordan was active in administering William's estate and according to Hall's Wilmington Gazette dated September 5, 1799  Jordan Armistead was elected to the North Carolina House of Commons. (20)  There really is not a lot more information about Jordan because, tragically, he died Dec 27, 1799, at the age of 24.  I don't know how he died.  The first thing that hit my selfish brain was, "Wow, my DNA barely survived another close call!" Anne and Jordan's daughter, Penelope, died Nov 16, 1801.  Jordan's sister, Sarah, died a year after he did, in Dec. of 1800.

In the 1800 census of North Carolina Sarah Armistead is listed in Bertie County with a son and a daughter, Stark (20) and Priscilla (17), still at home.  However, the census also shows one male, under 10, in the household.  This might have been a grandson that she was caring for but I am not sure who that would be.  Ann Cochran (Stewart) Armistead is listed in Washington County (which just barely touches Bertie to the southeast) with one son, William Jordan, 3, and one daughter, Penelope, 1, along with a female between 16 and 25.  This may have been a sister or some other relative that was helping take care of the household.  Also, in Washington County are Robert Armistead and John Armistead, who I believe to be sons of Sarah and William, Sr. Additional Armisteads in North Carolina are Robert in Halifax, Anthony and Carver in Chatham, and William, still in Randolph.  All, most likely, are related in some way but it is just too much to try to go into all the relationships here.

William and Sarah Armistead's children still living by the end of 1800 were:  John, married and living on his own, Eliza, married to David Turner, Robert, married and living on his own, Mary, married to David Wright, Starkey, and Priscilla, still at home as mentioned above.

1800 United States Federal Census.  Second Census of the United States.

From Ancestry.com
Source Citation
Year: 1800; Census Place: Bertie, North Carolina; Series: M32; Roll: 30; Page: 26; Image: 33; Family History Library Film: 337906
Source Information
Ancestry.com. 1800 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
Original data: Second Census of the United States, 1800. NARA microfilm publication M32 (52 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Second Census of the United States, 1800: Population Schedules, Washington County, Territory Northwest of the River Ohio; and Population Census, 1803: Washington County, Ohio. NARA microfilm publication M1804 (1 roll).

And as a new century rolls in, the Armistead's lives continue to unfold in North Carolina.  William Jordan Armistead will come of age, marry and then do as his grandfather did, move on to another state to get a little more "elbow room".

In my next post I will catch us up on historical happenings in the 1790's (this post just got too long to include here) and then I'll get into the Armistead's continuing journey into the 19th Century.

References:

(1)  http://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1700.html  
(2)  http://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1700.html  
(3)  http://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1700.html  
(4)  http://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1700.html  
(5)  http://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1700.html  
(6)  http://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1700.html  
(7)  http://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1700.html  
(8)  http://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1700.html  
(9)  Fouts, Raymond Parker, Abstracts from the State Gazette of North-Carolina, 1787-1791, Volume I, GenRec Books, Cocoa, FL, 1982, pg 56, 57.
(10)  Ibid. pg 57.
(11)  Ibid. pg. 57
(12)  Hemophilia A. (2014). National Hemophilia Foundation. Retrieved 11 May 2016, from https://www.hemophilia.org/Bleeding-Disorders/Types-of-Bleeding-Disorders/Hemophilia-A
(13)   History of Bleeding Disorders. (2014).National Hemophilia Foundation. Retrieved 11 May 2016, from https://www.hemophilia.org/Bleeding-Disorders/History-of-Bleeding-Disorders
(14)  Hemophilia A. (2014). National Hemophilia Foundation. Retrieved 11 May 2016, from https://www.hemophilia.org/Bleeding-Disorders/Types-of-Bleeding-Disorders/Hemophilia-A
(15)  Hemophilia - Mayo Clinic . (2016).Mayoclinic.org. Retrieved 11 May 2016, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hemophilia/basics/definition/con-20029824
(16)  "North Carolina, Estate Files, 1663-1979," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/DGS-004763695_00176?cc=1911121&wc=93LD-ZV8:183206401,183204102,183316901 : accessed 3 May 2015), Currituck County > A > Armistead, Anthony > image 11 of 38; State Archives, Raleigh.
(17)  Fouts, Raymond Parker, Abstracts from the State Gazette of North-Carolina, 1787-1791, Volume III, GenRec Books, Cocoa, FL, 1982.
(18)  Ibid.
(19)  Ibid.
(20)  http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/statewide/newspapers/1799elec333gnw.txt, Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/ncfiles.htm
File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Carolyn Shank Carolynshank@msn.com August 4, 2008, 12:28 pm

Armistead Family History #11 - Armisteads in North Carolina

                                                                Revolutionary War


On the 19th of January, 1775, on the eve of the American Revolution, my great-great-great-grandfather, Jordan Armistead, was born on the Armistead Plantation in Bertie County, North Carolina Colony in the British Empire.  In a year and a half he would be living in a different country, the United States of America, and he wouldn't have to move an inch from where he was born to get there.

Patrick Henry's Speech

Description:  Peter F. Rothermel's "Patrick Henry Before the Virginia House of Burgesses", a painting of Patrick Henry's "If this be treason, make the most of it!" speech against the Stamp Act of 1765
Date:  1851
Source:  http://cgfa.sunsite.dk/r/p-rotherm2.htm
Author:  Peter F. Rothermel (1817–1895)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Patrick_Henry_Rothermel.jpg

Jordan Armistead was born just 2 months before Patrick Henry declared "Give me Liberty or Give me Death", and five months before George Washington was appointed Commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. William Armistead, Sr. was 45 years old at the time of Jordan's birth in 1775 with all 7 of his children (at that time) living at home.  Their ages ranged from 17 to new born.

This portrait of Washington was painted in 1772 byCharles Willson Peale, and shows Washington in uniform as a colonel of the Virginia Regiment. The original hangs in Lee Chapel at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. It is the earliest known depiction of Washington.

Charles Willson Peale - Washington-Custis-Lee Collection, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia And athttp://www.americanmilitaryhistorymsw.com/blog/536357-washingtons-mission/ Painting showing George Washington during his French & Indian War days. by Charles Volkmar, 1874, after Charles Willson Peale (Mount Vernon Ladies' Association)
http://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/french-indian-war/ten-facts-about-george-washington-and-the-french-indian-war/

I have not found any records indicating William Armistead Sr., served during the Revolutionary War, but it does seem obvious to me that the Armisteads supported the rebel government over the British government.  It is possible he provided some type of service in the form of supplies, etc. Many colonists did and I found reference to other Armisteads that were recognized for doing just that. I know many Armisteads served in the Revolutionary War, but I have found only two Armisteads from North Carolina.  In the book Roster of Soldiers from North Carolina in the American Revolution: With an Appendix Containing a Collection of Miscellaneous Records, the only two Armisteads listed are Anthony Armistead and Westwood Armistead. (1)  They are probably related in some way to my ancestors, but I am sure they are not direct ancestors. It seems to me the timing was not right for Jordan (too young) or for William, Sr. (too old, with many young children) to have fought in the war.  I do have other direct lines that have been documented to have fought in the war. Maybe I can get into those lines in some future post.

Title:  A new map of Carolina
Date Published:  circa 1690
Creator - Individual:  Lea, Philip, fl. 1683-1700.
Place of Publication:  London
Publisher:  Philip Lea
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
North Carolina Maps is made possible by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina.
This item is presented courtesy of the North Carolina Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for research and educational purposes. Prior permission from the North Carolina Collection is required for any commercial use.

During the years from 1775 to the end of the war in 1783, William and Sarah Armistead continued to thrive in growing their family and their businesses.  After Jordan's birth in 1775, their eighth child, another girl, Mary, was born in 1777.  Stark (or Starkey) was born in 1780 and the last two children to be born were twins, Thomas and Priscilla, in 1783.  Thomas only lived a short time before he died on Nov. 24, 1783.

The county records of these years in Bertie County reflect the fact that both William and his brother Anthony were important citizens of Bertie County.  They witnessed land transactions, were appointed overseers of roads, and presided over courts, as well as served on juries and grand juries.  They witnessed wills and helped divide estates.  On one transaction in 1783, Anthony was described as "Justice of ye Peace". (2)

Map of the Colonies in 1775

"Map of territorial growth 1775" by Cg-realms; adapted from a scan from the National Atlas of the United StatesThis vector image was created with Inkscape. - Adapted from National Atlas of the United States scan uploaded by Kooma using File:Blank US Map.svg as a template. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_territorial_growth_1775.svg#/media/File:Map_of_territorial_growth_1775.svg

For the Thirteen Colonies these same years of 1775 - 1783 encompassed a time in our history where tremendous challenges faced the Colonists.  It was a time of great change that ultimately led to the birth of a new and free nation where "all men were created equal", unless you were a slave or female and that "equal" part would take many more years to get spread around.

In January of 1776 Thomas Paine, published his pamphlet "Common Sense" and in it he wrote about America's right to create a democratic and free nation.  He sold hundreds of thousands of copies of his pamphlets, which helped win the support of the Colonists for the cause of American Independence. (3)

As events were unfolding and escalating, the second Continental Congress appointed a committee to put together a document regarding their intentions.  This document, written by Thomas Jefferson, was received from the appointed committee, and approved by the Congress.  This document was The Declaration of Independence. (4)

"United States Declaration of Independence" 

by original: w:Second Continental Congress; reproduction: William Stone - numerous. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_Declaration_of_Independence.jpg#/media/File:United_States_Declaration_of_Independence.jpg, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence#/media/File:United_States_Declaration_of_Independence.jpg

After publication of the Declaration of Independence, there was no turning back and the Revolutionary War grew in intensity.  On Dec 25th of 1776 General Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River at night and defeated 1400 Hessian troops in the first Battle of Trenton. Then on Jan. 3, 1777, they defeated British General Charles Cornwallis at Princeton, New Jersey. European nations would begin to take notice of the Americans. (5)

Washington Crossing the Delaware

"Emanuel Leutze (American, Schwäbisch Gmünd 1816–1868 Washington, D.C.) - Washington Crossing the Delaware - Google Art Project" by Emanuel Leutze - KAHKUjVORM5STw at Google Cultural Institute, zoom level maximum. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emanuel_Leutze_(American,_Schw%C3%A4bisch_Gm%C3%BCnd_1816%E2%80%931868_Washington,_D.C.)_-_Washington_Crossing_the_Delaware_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg#/media/File:Emanuel_Leutze_(American,_Schw%C3%A4bisch_Gm%C3%BCnd_1816%E2%80%931868_Washington,_D.C.)_-_Washington_Crossing_the_Delaware_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

On June 14, 1777, the Stars ands Stripes was adopted as the national flag and on Nov. 15, 1777, the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union were adopted by the Continental Congress.  In December of 1777 John Adams and Benjamin Franklin were appointed Commissioners and sent by Congress to France to convince the French government to recognize the independence of the Thirteen Colonies and to agree to a treaty on alliance and commerce. Their success in France was a turning point in the war, but the full benefit of the treaty would take time to materialize. (6)

Going into the winter of 1777 the Colonial forces suffered through battles at Brandywine and Germantown without a victory and then British forces captured Philadelphia. As winter set in, George Washington took his ragged and weary group of 11,000 men that comprised the Continental Army into Valley Forge for the winter. Upon arrival many of the soldiers lacked adequate clothing and many had no shoes.  As they entered Valley Forge, they left bloody footprints in the snow. During the army's stay there, Friedrich von Steuben of the Prussian Army was directed to join Washington at Valley Forge to train the soldiers.  In February of 1778 von Steuben began drilling the army in an attempt to turn it into a fighting unit.  Also in February, France signed the treaty of Amity and Commerce with the United States, officially recognizing the new nation.  After a miserable winter at Valley Forge, the prospect of French assistance boosted morale. (7)

Painting of Washington at Valley Forge.

Description:  George Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge.
Date:  1907
Source:  http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/91792202/
Author:  John Ward Dunsmore
Licensing:  This media file is in the public domain in the United States. This applies to U.S. works where the copyright has expired, often because its first publication occurred prior to January 1, 1923. See this page for further explanation.

In June of 1778 British forces left Philadelphia to reinforce their troops in New York City.  This action came as a direct response to French involvement in the war.  But the war continued to go poorly for the Colonists.  Georgia was lost to British control in December of 1778 at the first battle of Savannah. (8)

In June of 1779 the American General, Benedict Arnold, turned traitor against the American cause and began fighting with the British. George Washington and his troops spent this winter in Morristown, New Jersey. (9)

The war continued to go against the Colonists in 1780 as British troops took control of Charleston, SC on May 12th, but on July 11th, the arrival of French troops on American soil at Newport, Rhode Island brought hope of good things to come.  In October things finally started looking better as the "over-mountain men" defeated British Loyalists at the Battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina, and killed the British Major General Patrick Ferguson. This reversed the downward trend in the south and that victory was followed in January of 1781 with a victory at Cowpens, South Carolina. In March American forces under Major General Nathaniel Green were defeated at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina, but the British victory proved to be a costly one in terms of lives lost. As it turned out, this battle was the opening battle of the campaign that led to Yorktown and the end of the war. (10)

1st Maryland Regiment holding the line at the Battle of Guilford

Battle of Guilford Courthouse, 15 March 1781 General Nathaniel Greene observed as the veteran en:1st Maryland Regimentthrew back a British attack and countered with a bayonet charge. As they reformed their line, William Washington's Light Dragoons raced by to rescue raw troops of the en:5th Maryland Regiment who had buckled under a furious assault of British Grenadiers and Guards Source: downloaded from Prints and Posters: Soldiers of the American Revolution, Center of Military History. Access date: June 1 2006.

Original uploader was Oldwildbill at en.wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia

The Guilford Courthouse battle was about 170 miles to the west of Bertie County, North Carolina. This seems to be the closest major battle to Bertie County and the Armisteads.  Cornwallis and his troops did go through Halifax in Halifax County (about 40 miles to the northwest) on their way to Virginia in 1781.  Local militia in that county tried to harass his troops and stop them but they were only successful in killing a few men before Cornwallis moved on into Virginia, headed to Yorktown. (11)  From what I can tell, there were not any troop movements in Bertie County, probably because there were several large rivers to cross and lots of swamp land that would have had to be negotiated.

The battle at Guilford was followed on May 22 by Major General Greene and Harry "Light-horse" Lee leading the Continental Army in a siege of the British at Ninety-Six, South Carolina.  The Continental troops were repulsed and were eventually forced to withdraw on June 18th. (12)

Although the Continental Army suffered losses and didn't "win" a lot of these battles, the constant pressure and harassment by the Continental forces started to have an effect on British forces.  Lord Cornwallis began moving his weary troops toward the Virginia coast so he could maintain his sea routes and communications with the large force of General Henry Clinton in new York City.  He settled in at Yorktown in August of 1781.  Meanwhile General George Washington and the French Count de Rochambeau joined forces near Williamsburg, VA.  Washington had previously instructed Marquis de Lafayette and his American force of 5,000 to block any land escape route by Cornwallis out of Yorktown. (13)

The First meeting of Washington and Lafayette, Philadelphia, Aug. 3rd, 1777·

Creator(s): Currier & Ives.,·
Date Created/Published: New York : Published by Currier & Ives, c1876.· Medium: 1 print : lithograph.·
Collections:  Popular Graphic Arts
Date:  1876
Source:  http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006691579/ http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/cph/3b50000/3b50000/3b50200/3b50200r.jpg
Author:  Currier & Ives
Licensing:  This media file is in the public domain in the United States. This applies to U.S. works where the copyright has expired, often because its first publication occurred prior to January 1, 1923. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_du_Motier,_Marquis_de_Lafayette#/media/File:First_meeting_of_Washington_and_Lafayette,_Currier_and_Ives_1876.jpg

On the high seas a very important naval battle at Virginia Capes raged on September the 5th of 1781 between the French Navy and a British fleet under Admiral Thomas Graves.  The French Navy prevented the British from breaking through to the coast, where they would have been able to supply crucial reinforcements to Cornwallis.  Instead this allowed a large French fleet of war ships under Count de Grasse to attack the British by sea and completely seal them off. (14)

Plan of the Battle of Yorktown.

Date:  1875
Source:  Goodrich, S. G. (1875). A Pictorial History of the United States. Philadelphia: J. H. Butler & Co., 277.
Author:  S. G. Goodrich
Licensing:  This media file is in the public domain in the United States. This applies to U.S. works where the copyright has expired, often because its first publication occurred prior to January 1, 1923. See this page for further explanation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yorktown#/media/File:Plan_of_the_Battle_of_Yorktown_1875.png 

Washington and Rochambeau's armies joined Lafayette at the end of September 1781 and for two weeks these 14,000 French and American forces, along with the French warships, gradually beat down the British.  On October 19th General Cornwallis surrendered "...7,087 officers and men and 900 seamen along with 144 cannons, 15 galleys, a frigate and 30 transport ships" to Washington's army. (15)

Surrender of Lord Cornwallis
  
Description:  This painting depicts the forces of British Major General Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (1738-1805) (who was not himself present at the surrender), surrendering to French and American forces after the Siege of Yorktown (September 28 – October 19, 1781) during the American Revolutionary War. The United States government commissioned Trumbull to paint patriotic paintings, including this piece, for them in 1817, paying for the piece in 1820.
Artist:  John Trumbull (1756–1843)
Date:  1820, placed 1826
Medium:  oil on canvas
Current location:  Rotunda of the US Capitol Washington D.C.
Source/Photographer:  http://www.aoc.gov/cc/photo-gallery/ptgs_rotunda.cfm
Permission(Reusing this file):  This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1923.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yorktown#/media/File:Surrender_of_Lord_Cornwallis.jpg              

Although there would be some battles at sea and other areas later on, the battle at Yorktown was the last major battle and effectively ended the revolutionary War.  Peace negotiations began later in the year and ended on Sep. 3, 1783 with the Treaty of Paris, which formally recognized the United States as a free and Independent nation.

If you love history then you are like me and you can get totally involved in reading and studying the years from the early 1770s to the early 1800s.  So many things were happening.  Of course there is the war itself and the years of battles and the ups and downs of the Colonies, and then, after the war, you have the Continental Congress and the writing of the Constitution, the election of our first president and vice president, etc.  President Washington, in his first term, had to get all the workings of the Federal Government established and up and running.  It is quite amazing how everything actually came together.  All of these men that were involved in events that led up to war, the war itself, and the establishment of the government and our Constitution are such larger than life figures in our history.  Names like Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Franklin, Monroe, just to name a few, have inspired hundreds of books over the years.  I could write full time on a blog just about these 30 to 40 years and the people that founded our nation and be quite happy.

So, now back to the Armisteads.  I mentioned above the births of the last four children which brought the total to eleven and as I said, Thomas died shortly after birth.  Of the 10 surviving children, Elizabeth was married in 1785 and four others, Mary, Sarah, Robert, and Jordan, were married during the decade of the 1790's.  I do not know when John married but it was possibly during this time as well, maybe in the 1780's as he would have been 33 by 1790.  Anthony Armistead died in 1789, apparently without having married. So, by 1790, William and Sarah had as few as 5 or as many as 7 children still at home.

Bertie County, North Carolina

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertie_County,_North_Carolina#/media/File:Map_of_Bertie_County_North_Carolina_With_Municipal_and_Township_Labels.PNG                            

William Armistead, Sr. made his will on Jan. 19, 1791.  He must have known he was very sick, because he died a few days later. As I mentioned above, probably at least half of the children were still at home, with the youngest being 7 years old.  There was a lot for Sarah to have to take on by herself.  She did have the older boys to help out, but four children under the age of 16, a plantation, ships, and a fisheries business would have been a very tall order to take over by anyone.

William Armistead, Sr.'s will is below.  It is hard to read the old script but it is very interesting so maybe give it a shot.  If you click on the image it will open up larger.  At least it does for me.

                                 
                            

                                                     
                                                 

                                                                            
                                   

          

The four pages of the Will of William Armistead Sr.  (With my transcription on the one page at the bottom.)

"North Carolina, Estate Files, 1663-1979," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/DGS-004763695_00266?cc=1911121&wc=M9W4-NM9 : accessed 18 February 2015), Currituck County > A > Armistead, William > image 54-57; State Archives, Raleigh.  

William's will and inventory of his estate reflects a wealthy plantation owner with a large amount of land.  But surprisingly to me, he also owned a couple of ships or to be more accurate, schooners.  A schooner "is a type of sailing vessel with fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts, the fore mast being shorter than the main and no taller than the mizzen if there is one.  Originally gaff-rigged..." (16) (I have no clue what that means.)  First used in the 16th or 17 century by the Dutch, these vessels were important in North Carolina because they could sail in shallow waters.  The colonists used schooners to sail up rivers such as the Cashie River, where other type ships could not go.  One of William's schooners was named Priscilla, apparently after his youngest daughter.

A traditional gaff topsail schooner.

Uploaded by:  en.wikipedia user - taken from en.wikipedia at [1]
Taken:   4-JUL-1976, NYC.
Permission details:  This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Scott Rasmussen at the English Wikipedia project. This applies worldwide.In case this is not legally possible:Scott Rasmussen grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

Taking a close look at the inventory of his estate, it appears William Armistead was involved in the import and export business, the fisheries business, and the running of a large plantation.  It is fascinating to read what all is listed on his estate inventory.  I included a copy below but to give a few examples besides the two schooners:  a vessel now on the stocks, 2 moses Boats, 1 canoe, 13 hogsheads of West India Rum, 19 bags coffee, 7 1/2 kegs of different color paint, 7 time glasses of 28 seconds each, 4 time glasses of 14 seconds each, 1 two hour glass, 14 3/4 doz wine glasses, dozens of yards of different type of cloth, yards of silk, all types of cooking utensils, all types of dishes, 10 muskets & bayonets, 9 cutlasses, 2 small guns, 10 boarding pikes, 10 cannon guns with carriages, etc., 2 riding chairs, 4 bee hives and bees. Very interesting stuff.  There are eight pages.  Take time to read through them, I think you will find it very interesting.

                                      

                                           

                                                  

                                                  

                                                      

                                                       

                                                                   
   
                                      

Inventory of William Armistead's Estate.

"North Carolina, Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-21483-55235-65?cc=1911121&wc=93G9-L2N:183208201,183204102,183331001 : accessed 26 August 2015), Bertie County > A > Armistead, William > image 101-108; State Archives, Raleigh.

There is also listed, 32 Negroes (his slaves), right on the list with all the other property in the inventory. That is pretty hard to read and not cringe.  I know it is the reality of the time and I will not go into a discussion of it here.  This is obviously part of who he was and I have to accept that, but it doesn't mean I have to be proud of it.

For some time now I have been studying the description of William's land purchases and looking at topographical maps to see if I could determine where his land was located along the Cashie River in Bertie County.  Not too long ago, I came across an article online titled: "PEOPLE & PLACES: Hidden History: Cashie Reveals Backwater Wharfs, written by Jerry Allegood.  The URL is:

http://ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/coastwatch/previous-issues/2010-2/summer-2010/people-places-hidden-history-cashie-reveals-backwater-wharf/       

The article is about Bob and Becky Bowling, who live on the Cashie River, and discovered, during a temporary dropping of the river due to high Northwest winds, a previously unknown shipwreck a few feet from their shoreline. Exciting, right?  As they say on TV ads, "But wait, there's more!"  East Carolina University's Program in Maritime Studies researchers came in to examine the site.  Theresa Hicks, an ECU graduate student studied the site as a North Carolina Sea Grant project.  She believes the ship was a part of a wharf or landing and was possibly over 200 years old. These "remote landings were key points for shipping and trade at plantations and large farms along the river during the 1700s" (17)

Another short paragraph about the Bowling site is located at the URL below.  When you get to the website, scroll to the bottom to find the article.

http://inlandseasinstitute.com/projects.aspx

Researchers found a curious thing about this landing.  A ship had been pulled up to shore, stern first, an oddity they had not seen before.  Ships usually enter to the shore bow first.  It appears the ship somehow was used as a part of the wharf. The bow was actually sawed off and the remaining part of the ship was actually fixed in a way that it was used as a part of the wharf.

And now the really fun and exiting part.  Theresa Hicks "believes the Bowling's 67 acre tract was part of 750 acres owned in the late 1700s by William Armistead Sr., a wealthy planter and merchant who died in 1791." (18)  Holy Cow!!  That's my ancestor!

Google Maps.  The approximate location of the Armistead Plantation along the Cashie River. 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Blanchards+Rd,+Windsor,+NC+27983/@35.9332573,-76.8468692,13z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89afa04eb4ebc7e1:0x918f7a6701016093?hl=en

According to the article the original property owned by William Armistead actually had two landings, one at Bowling Farm and another at what today is called Blanchard's Landing.  I don't know when he got into the shipping business but I imagine he either bought land on the river intentionally for that purpose or after being on the river a few years he saw the potential and got into it then. Being located down river from Windsor, the destination for many ships, gave him a prime location to have his own landing and to bring merchandise in and out.  So, if you remembered what I said in my Armistead Post # 9, about how important these landings along the rivers were to the county, and how important they were to my ancestors, well, I guess you get a gold star.

Google Maps.  Obviously my lines do not indicate the exact outline of the plantation, but rather a rough idea of where William Armistead's land was probably located.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Blanchards+Rd,+Windsor,+NC+27983/@35.9332573,-76.8468692,13z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89afa04eb4ebc7e1:0x918f7a6701016093?hl=en

Ms. Hicks wrote her thesis on plantation wharves and the Armistead wharf is included.   She covers the Bowling Farm (Armistead) wharf starting on page 116.  I recommend you read both the People & Places article and Theresa Hicks discussion of the Armistead wharf.  You can go to this URL to read her paper:

http://thescholarship.ecu.edu/bitstream/handle/10342/3837/Hicks_ecu_0600M_10666.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

This is a very long post but I hope you enjoyed it.  Finding the article about the Armistead Plantation in Bertie County, NC., was one of the most exciting things I have ever come across and this time period in history has been the subject of many of the books I have read over the years.  So, I really enjoyed researching and putting this one together.

I will take up the Armistead story again next time, starting after William's death in 1791.

References:
(1)  Roster of Soldiers from North Carolina in the American Revolution: With an Appendix Containing a Collection of Miscellaneous Records, Clearfield Company, Inc., Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD, 2003. pg. 571, 589. 
(2)  Bradley, Stephen E., Jr., The deeds of Bertie County, North Carolina, 1772-1785, Bradley, Virginia Beach, Virginia, 1994, pg. 69.
(3) - (15)  http://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1770.html 
(16)   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schooner
(17)   Allegood, Jerry, PEOPLE & PLACES: Hidden History: Cashie Reveals Backwater Wharfs, Coastwatch,  http://ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/coastwatch/previous-issues/2010-2/summer-2010/people-places-hidden-history-cashie-reveals-backwater-wharf/        
(18)  Ibid.