The Dumas Family, Elijah Clarke and the Remonstrance

 (On a recent “Finding Your Roots” Henry Louis Gates traced the family roots of Lonnie Bunch, the director of the Smithsonian Institute.  Mr. Bunch found out that one of his ancestors had been directly involved in very early Civil Rights efforts. He said that finding out his ancestor touched history in such a profound way made it come alive for him. I am always finding connections between my family and events in history and my Dumas ancestors are no exception. I hope you’ll enjoy this article and look for connections in your family.)

The Dumas Family, Elijah Clarke 

and the Remonstrance

Jeremiah Dumas (my 7^th great grandfather) arrived in America on the Mary and Ann on July 20,1708. He was in the first group of Huguenot refugees fleeing religious persecution in Europe. The refugees  settled in Mannikin Town a short distance from Jamestown. Jeremiah married Unity Lucy Smith  in July 1702 in St. Peter’s Church. Unity was the daughter of George and Mary White. She had inherited several pieces of property frommiah,  both her father and mother. Jeremiah had managed to marry into a very old Virginia family. Sir George Yeardley, Unity’s 2^nd great grandfather, had been appointed as Virginia’s governor in 1619.   The Dumas’s had eight children: Mathen, Esther, Sarah, Benjamin, Jeremiah, Elizabeth and Temperance, Jeremiah Dumas acquired property adjoining Peter Jefferson’s plantation on May 29,1729. (Peter Jefferson was the father of Thomas Jefferson.) Their son, Benjamin Dumas I (my 6^th great grandfather) was born in 1705. He married Frances Clark, the daughter of Francis and Cornelia Lankford Clark in 1730. Benjamin decided to leave Virginia in 1748 along with his children and their families. He left two thriving plantations. The group settled in western North Carolina along the Peedee River.  Benjamin Dumas ended up establishing a tavern on a small piece of property in the middle of the river and named it Dumas Island. He also began operating a ferry across the PeeDee.

Dumas Ferry and Dumas Island map

 Benjamin and his oldest son David (my 5^th great grandfather) became involved with the Regulator Movement around 1766. Most settlers in North Carolina were farmers, but slowly the influx of merchants and lawyers from Eastern colonies had disrupted the economic, political and social systems of North Carolina. Scottish and Irish immigrants moving into North Carolina led to friction between them and British officials. Adding to the explosive situation was the ten-year drought that had plagued the backcountry, leading to severe economic depression and hunger. The settlers, forced to buy food and supplies from the newly arrived merchants, were soon deeply in debt. Adding fuel to the dire situation, the courts were controlled by British judges, lawyers and sheriffs who often confiscated settlers’ homes and lands to settle debts.

William Tryon

 

Tryon "Palace"

 In 1765, William Tryon, an English aristocrat, was appointed governor of North Carolina by King George III. Tryon, wanting to build an impressive residence and government building, raised property taxes and appointed ruthless tax collectors. On June 16, 1765, the North Carolina chapter of the Sons of Liberty met to protest the Stamp Act. George Sims, a planter, delivered a speech in which he called on the local residents to join him in protesting the actions of Gov. Tryon and North Carolina officials. It led to the formation of the Regulator movement. The movement was strongest in Orange, Anson and Granville of counties. In 1769 a petition addressed to Governor Tryon and the General Assembly expressed their grievances. 

Regulators' Petition (first page)*

David Dumas and Benjamin Dumas signed the petition that would put them in the crosshairs of the British Royal governor, William Tryon.

The signatures of John and Elijah Clarke were also on the petition . Elijah Clarke, a very familiar name in the American  Revolutionary history of Georgia, was the son of John Clarke a Scot-Irishman.  (Benjamin Dumas and John Clarke had known each other for years. In 1748 John Clarke sold Benjamin Dumas 750 acres on the north side of the PeeDee River.)

   The result was the Battle of Alamance on May 16, 1771. Governor Tryon’s forces quickly subdued the rebellion resulting in six of the Regulators being hung.

   

Elijah Clarke

 

Kettle Creek Historic Site (near Washington, GA)

 After Alamance Elijah Clarke left North Carolina and moved to South Carolina, He found farming to be unsatisfactory and moved his family to Wilkes County, Georgia in 1773. He enlisted in the local militia and quickly rose to the rank of Captain. Once the Revolution began he quickly joined the patriots and was wounded at the Batlle of Alligator Creek in 1778. He established himself as a proven leader at Kettle Creek in 1779 by defeating Loyalists. He was promoted to Colonel and spent the next two years leading troops in South Carolina. He returned to Georgia in 1781 and helped to recapture Augusta from the British. For his services he received $30,000 and the plantation of Thomas Waters, a Loyalist. Elijah Clarke’s affiliation with my ancestors didn’t end with my Dumas family. My 5^th great grandfather, Jesse Stallings, fought under Clarke and was awarded 250 acres in Wilkes County in 1784. My husband’s ancestor, Cornelius McCardle, also fought under Clarke and he awarded him 287 acres in Franklin County that same year. 

Jesse Stallings Rev War Bounty Land Grant

Clarke’s reputation as a war hero unfortunately was tarnished by his involvement with the Yazoo Land Fraud and his attempt to set up a separate nation by seizing Creek lands on the Oconee River frontier near present day Washington, GA. After that venture failed Clarke was almost bankrupt and politically discredited. He died in Augusta, GA on December 5, 1799.

References

Revolutionary Soldier’s Receipts for Georgia Bounty Grants, Ruth Blair, Georgia Archives, 1928

Anson County, N.C. Deed Abstracts Volume 1:1749-1757, Brent Holcomb, 1974

History of Anson County, North Carolina, 1750-1976, Mary L. Medley, Anson County Historical Society, Wadesboro, North Carolina, 1976

https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/.../elijah-clarke-1742-1799

https://nhd.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/5-RegulatorMovement.pdf

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/governor-william-tryon

*You can find the Anson County petition here: https://docsouth.unc.edu/csr/index.php/document/csr08-0060