Contents |
Shadrack Scarborough was the son of David Scarborough and his wife, Sarah, of Edgecombe County, North Carolina. [1] Shadrack's birth probably occurred between about 1755 and 1758, either in Virginia or very soon after his parents arrived in North Carolina.
On 5 August 1778, he purchased 133½ acres of land on the south side of Town Creek in Edgecombe County North Carolina for £108 proclamation money. [2] On the same day, Shadrack witnessed another land sale by Thomas Davis. [3]
Shadrack Scarborough enlisted in December 1779 in the North Carolina Continental Line in support of the Whig or Patriot cause against the British and Loyalists. He served as an ensign in a company commanded by Captain Fred Bell, belonging to the regiment commanded by Colonel John Shephard. His unit went to Charleston and participated in the siege, serving until April 1780. [4]
In April 1781, Shadrack and his brother Samuel enlisted in Colonel Abraham Shepard’s 10th Regiment, North Carolina Continental Line. Shadrack served in Captain Hall’s company, and he received a discharge on 12 April 1782. [5] Shadrack Scarborough received payment for his services in the North Carolina Continental Line in 1783 and 1784. [6]
On 26 September 1786, Henrietto Davis Brown sold 133½ acres of land “on the South side of Town creek" in Edgecombe County, North Carolina that adjoined “Shadrach Scarboroughs corner.” [7] Although Shadrack continued to own his 133½-acre tract on the south side of Town Creek property for another two decades, it appears that he had already emigrated from Edgecombe County by 1786. Either his elderly widowed mother or another relative may have resided on the tract during this period. On 3 March 1798, Solomon Forehand of Edgecombe County wrote his will, leaving to his son, Jordan Forehand, “all my land that lies on the road where Shadrich [sic] Scarborough formily [sic] lived.” [8] On 19 December 1807, as a resident of the “State of Georgia Burk [sic] County,” Shadrack Scarborough sold his land on Town Creek to Jonathan Gardner Jr. for “two hundred silver dollars." [9] By mid-1784, Shadrack Scarborough had joined the general post- Revolutionary War Scarborough immigration into Burke County, Georgia. He petitioned the Burke County Court of Justices for a land grant, and on 6 July 1784, they issued him a warrant for survey of a 250-acre tract on Dukes Pond near the land of Benjamin Richardson. The survey failed to complete the survey, perhaps an indication that Scarborough had returned briefly to North Carolina. On 5 September 1785, the Burke County Land Court ordered his warrant “renewed for the term of Six Months.” [10] The surveyor completed his work on 26 October 1785, showing a 250-acre tract for Scarborough on Dukes Pond that adjoined Richardson’s line to the southeast. [11] The state of Georgia issued Scarborough a grant for the land in March 1787. [12]
Due to a series of courthouse fires that destroyed all early records of Burke County, we know little else of Shadrack Scarborough’s life in Georgia. In 1795, “Shads. Scarborough” signed a Burke County petition protesting the Yazoo Land fraud made by Georgia’s corrupt governor. [13] In January 1799, Shadrack Scarborough served as the lieutenant of the Burke County Volunteer Light Infantry Company, attached to the 1st Battalion of 2nd Regiment, Burke County Militia. Scarborough served under Captain Samuel Bird. On 20 May 1801, Shadrack succeeded Bird as captain. [14] Shadrack Scarborough resided in Burke County when he registered for the Georgia Land Lottery in 1803/1804, apparently registering along with our Addison Scarborough. [15]
During the summer of 1809, Shadrack Scarborough appraised the estate of Elizabeth Banks in Bulloch County. [16] [90]. It appears that Shadrack’s land lay near the Burke/Bulloch county line, for his brother, Samuel, lived in Bulloch. Samuel Scarborough wrote his will on 13 December 1809, and in it he expressed apparent reservations about his wife’s ability to handle his affairs after his demise, writing,
"...if my wife Should make way with my property in an unlawful manner or not for the support of my family desire that Aaron Bennet and Shadrach Scarborough will take the Said Estate into their Care and dispose of it in that which they shall think most to the advantage of the same family and that they the said Aaron Bennet and Shadrach Scarborough which I authorize and request to be Executors of this my last will and testament will after the decease of my wife Cause my lands to be divided as before mentioned and also my house hold and moveable Effects...
Samuel named Aaron Bennett and Shadrack Scarborough “which I authorize and request to be Executors” of his will. Unusually, he had his wife, Elizabeth, sign the will at the time he wrote it, saying, “I do acknowledge that the within will made by my dear husband Samuel Scarborough is to my Satisfaction.” [17]
Despite his activities in Bulloch County, Shadrack Scarborough remained a resident of Burke County during this period. He had letters waiting for him in the Waynesborough Post Office, the Burke County seat, in April 1811, April and October 1812, and January 1815. [18]
One strong connection between Shadrack Scarborough and Addison Scarborough, believed to have been Shadrack's son, is their strong Baptist faith. The Skull Creek Baptist Church organized in 1804, then located in the portion of Bulloch County that became Emanuel County in 1812 and Jenkins County in 1905. Shadrack and his brother, Samuel Scarborough, both joined Skull Creek Church in 1804 or 1805. The church apparently selected Shadrack and Samuel as deacons, and on 27 August 1805, they accepted five acres of land for the use of the church from Abraham Lane. [19] The church had called Shadrack and Samuel’s nephew, Lawrence Scarborough, as its first pastor, but in 1807, Lawrence decided to emigrate from Georgia across the Creek nation into Mississippi Territory. [20] Upon his removal from the area, the church called Shadrack Scarborough as their pastor, and
"...while the sd. Church was under the pastoral care of Shadrack Scarborough the constitution was moved from Scull creek to Battle Branch in sd. County and was called Hebron Church..."
Shadrack Scarborough served Skull Creek Church as pastor until his death in 1818. [21]
Shadrack Scarborough left a will and named Reddick Scarborough as his executor. The estate took a at least a decade to settle, for in January 1827, Reddick Scarborough advertized for a sale to be held in early March 1827 of 250 acres of land that belonged to the Shadrack Scarborough estate. [22] Reddick Scarborough’s connection to Shadrack is uncertain, but he had served as the executor of the estate of Shadrack’s brother, Lemuel Scarborough, in 1816–1817. [23] Reddick could have been Shadrack’s son or his nephew. Reddick Scarborough had his mark and brand in Bulloch County on 16 June 1819. He registered his mark as “an over slope and under bit in each ear” and his brand as “R.S.” [24] Reddick lived in Bulloch County in 1820 and in Burke County in 1830, the last known record of him. [25]
Little is known of Shadrack Scarborough's family due to a lack of documentation, primarily caused by the destruction of the Burke County records. Many claim that Shadrack married Elizabeth, with different internet sources claiming a variety of maiden names for her. This appears to be speculation, for no one has produced any documented evidence that proves the name of Shadrack Scarborough's wife.
Shadrack Scarborough is documented as a Baptist minister, the second minister of the Skull Creek Baptist Church. When Baptists divided over the question of missions, this church became a Primitive Baptist Church. This strong connection to the Primitive Baptists suggests that Shadrack Scarborough was the father of Addison Scarborough (1780-1868). While there is no known proof of any of Shadrack's children, Addison was known to have lived in Burke County and based on associations and naming patterns, he appears to have been a grandson of David and Sarah Scarborough of Edgecombe County North Carolina. Records show that Addison Scarborough was staunch Primitive Baptist.
The 1805 Georgia Land Lottery provides a possible clue to a connection between Shadrack and Addison Scarborough. In 1803/1804, residents of Georgia registered for the statewide lottery intended to distribute the lands obtained from the Creek peoples in 1802. Ten Scarborough men registered for the lottery from Burke County, including "Adison," who was a single man when he registered, and Shadrack Scarborough, who was a married man when he registered. The land lottery commissioners assigned each registrant a registration number, with Addison assigned #74 and Shadrack, #76. The numbers represented the order in which the name was recorded within a specific letter group, and apparently have no further meaning. However, no other Scarboroughs had numbers this close together. This does not conclusively prove any specific connection between then, but one cannot help but wonder if it indicates that Addison and Shadrack registered for the lottery at the same time. [26]
Many claim that Shadrack was the father of Frederick Scarborough, but there is no known documentation for this claim.
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
Shadrack is 26 degrees from Herbert Adair, 21 degrees from Richard Adams, 19 degrees from Mel Blanc, 26 degrees from Dick Bruna, 15 degrees from Bunny DeBarge, 32 degrees from Peter Dinklage, 16 degrees from Sam Edwards, 18 degrees from Ginnifer Goodwin, 18 degrees from Marty Krofft, 15 degrees from Junius Matthews, 15 degrees from Rachel Mellon and 20 degrees from Harold Warstler on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
S > Scarborough > Shadrack Scarborough
Categories: 2nd North Carolina Regiment, Continental Army, American Revolution