this act, the free exercise of all their rights as a church was secured throughout England and her colonies, which right was denied to them in other countries. Hence it was desirable to make settlements, where this liberty of conscience could be enjoyed. Offers of land were made from various quarters; but the most acceptable was that of Lord Granville, the owner of large possessions in North Carolina.
The Lord Proprietors, under charter of Charles II., (March 24th, 1663,) on account of the expenses incident to a distant colony, and the small revenue derived, in 1729, surrendered their claims to the Crown, receiving in return £2,500 sterling each; only Lord Granville retained his eighth part, which was laid off for him in 1743. He continued to receive rents, and have his agent and land office until the revolution. In the present century his heir brought suit in the circuit court of the United States to assert his rights. Mr. Gaston was his counsel. The suit went on appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, and there was dismissed for want of an appeal bond.*
* Swain's Lecture on the
Regulations; Moore I, 71.
Lord Granville offered to Count Zinzendorff 100,000 acres on reasonable terms. At a conference of the brethren, held in London, November 29, 1751, the offer was accepted, and on August 9, 1753, John, Earl of Granville, conveyed the title to a tract lying in the forks of Gargalee, or Muddy Creek, Rowan County, to James Hutton, of London, Secretary of the Unitas Fratrum. By the repeated divisions of Rowan, this tract has been successively in Rowan county; in 1770, in Surry; in 1789, in Stokes; and in 1848, in Forsyth.
An agent was sent out (Bishop Spangenberg,) in 1752, who, with Churton, the Survey or General and Agent of Lord Granville, after enduring incredible suffering and many privations, reached the Wachovia tract, so called from (Wach, the principal creek; and aue meadow,) and made the survey. In 1782, the legislature of North Carolina vested "in F. W. Marshal, and his heirs and assigns forever, the Wachovia tract, and all the lands in North Carolina acquired by the brethren. Of the thirty thousand Germans who left their native land for the far west, eighteen thousand eventually settled in North Carolina. The colony of Moravians suffered all the trials and tribulations incident to a settlement in a new country. Their salt was brought from Virginia; and the first bee hive, (an emblem of their industry,) from Tar River. The Indians for a while committed depredations and murders. The war of the Regulation, and that of the revolution brought many troubles to these peaceful and industrious non combatants. Hostile troops ravaged their fields and plundered their property. But the mild character of their people, their peaceful and industrious lives, their patient labor, and indefatigable industry triumphed eventually. In 1791, they were visited by General Washington, and the brethren of Wachovia addressed him a note of welcome, to which he responded as follows:*
* The Moravians: For this
valuable information we are indebted to the work of Rev. Levin T. Reichel, of
Salem, N. C., published in 1857.
"To the United Brethren of Wachovia:
"GENTLEMEN: I am greatly indebted to your respectful and affectionate expression of personal regard, and I am not less obliged by the patriotic sentiment contained in your address.
"From a society whose governing principles are industry and love of order, much may be expected towards the improvement and prosperity of the country, in which these settlements are formed; and experience authorizes the belief that much will be attained.
"Thanking you with grateful sincerity for your prayers in my behalf, I desire to assure you of my best wishes for your social and individual happiness.
"GEORGE WASHINGTON."
Bishop Ravenscroft, in his letters, describes
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