The
KingsTree Settlement and SC Beginnings
To set the stage upon which Archibald McKee would soon appear let's turn back the clock to 1663 and fast-forward to the 1730s
The Carolina Territory was granted to eight Lords Proprietors by King Charles II during 1663 in appreciation of their assistance in his restoration to the throne. The first English settlement was in 1670 but there was little or no movement inland until later. The Carolinas were divided into "North & South" in 1729 when the proprietors relinquished their rights and two royal provinces were formed. The next year the King ordered Gov. Robert Johnson to lay out eleven townships on the banks of navigable streams. Our interest is upon Williamsburgh Township on the Wee Nee (Black) River where our McKEE and WITHERSPOON families were to make their appearance within the next decade. This was in Craven County, one of the four original political divisions of South Carolina which was granted to a colony of Irish Presbyterians.
The initial Williamsburgh (which later became Kingstree) settlement was in 1732 when a group of 40 Irish Presbyterians made their way up the Wee Nee from Georgetown to Brown's Ferry and overland to the area of the "King's Tree". (some sources assume they were in the Charleston area or Georgetown for a year or two before proceeding to Kingstree) According to a Georgetown Gazette article of December 3, 1799, the origin of the Kingstree designation was said by early settlers to have been some large white pine trees, the straightest and biggest of which were marked with an arrow to show they were reserved to become masts for the King's naval stores
Early
Years in Williamsburgh County
Well we've got Archibald McKee in Williamsburgh County and have jumped ahead a little in discussing his marriages but let's go back to those earliest years. What was life like in and around KingsTree during those years when it grew from forty initial settlers to becoming an area of settled plantation owners?. Again the Robert Witherspoon Chronicle provides much of the flavor. Following excerpts enclosed by quotation marks and in a different font are from that source unless otherwise noted..
We know that there were just 40 settlers around Kingstree in 1732 with a second wave (likely a similar boatload) in 1734. As mentioned in the "when did he arrive" segment a reasonably good case can be made that he came on the same boat as Chronicler Robert's Uncle Robert.
"About the latter end of August 1736, my uncle Robert arrived here.
The ship he came in was called New Built.
She was a ship of great burden anal brought many passengers which chiefly
came up here and obliged to travail up by land they instead of provisionis had
money given them by the publick. Our second'crop being on the ground when they came.
A:s it was'in the warm season, they were much fatigued in comeing up and
many were taken with the fever and ague. Some
died with that disorder and many after the ague ceased grew dropsical and
died".
Assuming Archibald came in that "third wave" (or trickle) around 1736-1738 there had undoubtedly been some settling in, clearing of fields, construction of primitive roads, etc but not nearly enough time had elapsed for establishment of "civilization" comparable to that left on the other side of the Atlantic.
In light of the fate of the "Lost Colony" which had not been all that far away it is understandable that there was some fear of the nomadic Native Americans who had been in the area before they came and continued to come through on hunting or trading expeditions.
"Another alarming circumstance was the Indians.
When they came to hunt in the spring they were in great numbers in all
places like the Egyptians Locusts but they were not hurtful.
We had a great deal of trouble and hardships in our first settling but
the few inhabitants continued yet in health and strength.
Yet we were still opprest with fears on divers accounts, expecially of
being massacred by the Indians or bit by the snakesor torn by wild beasts or
being lost or perished in the woods. Of
the lost there was three persons."
Once settled into place attention turned to the fulfilling of spiritual needs.
"About
this time people'began to form into societys and sent to Ireland for a minister. One came named Robert Heron.
He stayed three years and returned back to Ireland....In May 1743 the
Rev. John Roe arrived here from Scotland. He
came upon a call from this congregation sent some time before to the Rev.
Willison from Dundee. He
continued a faithful and laborious pastor in this congregation until the year
1761, he being abroad up black river was taken sick with the pleurisy and died,
his remains were brought and buried at the meeting house, being 46 years
old."
From this we see that Archibald would have experienced at least the tail end of Rev Heron's ministry and all of Rev Roe's ministry. Chronicler Robert in another place mentioned specifically several persons who were apparantly more or less the backbone of the church. He did not mention Archibald McKee in that enumeration but did mention the former husband of Archibald's second wife. We can only speculate as to how prominent a role Archibald played in the early church but there are several indications that some of his sons and grandsons had distinct religious influence on their lives.
John Witherspoon Sr was the nucleus around which the Witherspoon settlement south of Kingstree sprang up. On the eastern edge of the Witherspoon settlement we will later find Joseph McKee named first among members of the Calvinistic Church body receiving land from James Witherspoon Jr (John Sr's grandson as executor of his father's) on which to erect a new church in 1806 so very likely Archibald also had settled in this immediate area. In 1837 the settlement lost their prominent pioneer..
"In the fall of 1737 my grand father took the rise on his leg which occasioned a fever of which he died and was the first buried at Williamsburgh meeting house."