Lenoir County NcArchives Biographies....John Sutton (abt. 1720-1730-bef. 1773)

*******************************************
Copyright  2022.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/ncfiles.htm

*******************************************

File authored and contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joe P. Sutton, PhD, jpsutton56@gmail.com, December 14, 2022.

JOHN SUTTON OF BUCKLESBERRY
(abt. 1720-1730-bef. 1773)

One of the oldest farm communities in Lenoir County, NC, Bucklesberry can be 
traced to eighteenth century Colonial America. Albeit a veiled reference, a 
1927 soil survey [20] described Bucklesberry as a pre-Revolutionary War 
"settlement [that] began near the present site of La Grange," (p. 3). Largely 
unsettled swamp land when it was first occupied, the nutrient-rich soil of 
Bucklesberry today produces some of the finest crops in the Southeast.

Bucklesberry's geographic location has remained the same over time. However, 
its county affiliation varied during the 1700s as North Carolina counties were 
being formed and renamed. Identified in early documents as Bucklesberry Pocosin, 
it was a settlement in then eastern Johnston County, which had been formed in 
1746 from Craven County. Referred to simply as Bucklesberry in later documents, 
it was part of old Dobbs County, formed out of Johnston County in 1758. Finally, 
Bucklesberry became part of Lenoir County, which was created from the southern 
part of old Dobbs County in 1791.

Nestled along the north side of the Neuse River five miles south of the town 
of La Grange, Bucklesberry was on the map long before La Grange and the nearby 
towns of Goldsboro and Kinston were established. La Grange was an outgrowth of 
Moseley Hall township [5], settled soon after the Revolutionary War ended in 
1783. Kinston (Kingston) [1] was founded in 1762. Goldsboro (Goldsborough) was 
an outgrowth of Waynesborough [28], the first town to emerge in Wayne County 
in 1787. 

Key records in the Clellan Sutton Collection [44] predate the founding years 
of Kingston, Moseley Hall and Waynesborough. Regarded as the largest album of 
historical documents about Bucklesberry, several of the Collection's more than 
320 documents prove Bucklesberry's early existence. In particular, two surveys 
[40, 41], one dated 1741 and the other 1757, identify Bucklesberry by name and 
reference land near its Neuse River location.

Among Bucklesberry's first settlers was John Sutton. Local historians Estelle 
Sutton Creech (1922-2017), Violet Grace Sutton (1918-2006), and Linda Ivey 
Cauley (1948-1988) acknowledged him as a Bucklesberry ancestor in their 1970 
book [11]. Moreover, the 1748 and 1757 surveys in the Clellan Sutton Collection 
described some of the first land obtained by John Sutton in Bucklesberry. No 
other known pre-Revolutionary War documents pertaining to then Johnston or old 
Dobbs Counties, with the exception of the Clellan Sutton Collection, reference 
the Sutton surname, thereby affirming John Sutton as the first in his ancestral 
line to arrive in Bucklesberry.

During her lifetime, well-regarded genealogist and historian Martha Mewborn 
Marble (1944-2019) conducted extensive research on numerous family lines, 
including the Suttons of Bucklesberry. Posted at the website (olddobbers.net) 
she created is a biographical record of John Sutton [24] and his descendants. 
A Bucklesberry Sutton descendant herself, Ms. Marble believed he was born about 
1720-1730 and died before 1773 based on available historical documents.

John's whereabouts prior to his arrival in Bucklesberry in then Johnston County 
have been a mystery for generations. Speculations from historians, genealogists 
and bloggers have ranged from New Jersey to New York, and from Virginia to 
northeastern North Carolina. Circumstantial evidence, however, including a will, 
a deed, and a bride strongly suggests that he migrated to Bucklesberry from 
Bertie County, NC by 1750.

CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE

Bertie County Will. The will [38] of Thomas Sutton, Sr. (1699-1750) of Bertie 
County, a province of Great Britain at the time, points to northeastern North 
Carolina as John's origins. Proved March 2, 1750, the will names John Sutton, 
one of Thomas, Sr.'s six sons. Married three times, Thomas, Sr. sired eleven 
children with his first two wives, Elizabeth Luerton Sutton (1705-1730) and 
Judith Hardison Sutton (1713-1748). 

Oddly, Thomas Sr. bequeathed 150 to 200 acres of plantation land to each of his 
sons, except John. Although John received no land, he was not totally excluded 
from an inheritance. He was given one slave named Andrew, sixteen head of cattle, 
and house wares from his parents' estate. The only son not bequeathed a share of 
his father's land, notwithstanding, John was assuredly reared in his father's 
household in Bertie County.

Why a share of land was withheld from John is unknown for certain. One theory 
is that Thomas, Sr. rationalized that John already had land and needed no more. 
Per a December 22, 1745 deed [6], John inherited 100 acres from the estate of 
his Aunt Mary Jones, sister of his mother Elizabeth, prior to his father's death. 
When Thomas, Sr. prepared his will a few years later in 1750, he would have been 
fully aware that John already owned a sizeable parcel of land.

This theory, however, cannot be reasonably supported, because John's brother 
Thomas, Jr. similarly received 180 acres of land from Aunt Mary's estate. Yet he 
inherited land from his father. Further, Aunt Mary awarded all of her cattle to 
John's brother George. Like Thomas, Jr., George also inherited land from his 
father.

Ms. Marble suggested an alternative theory that was more likely the reason why 
John was excluded. Perhaps at the time Thomas, Sr. was preparing his will, John 
had announced his intention to move away, or he may have already left Bertie 
County altogether and relocated to Bucklesberry in then Johnston County. If 
this was the case, perhaps Thomas, Sr. reasoned he was not obligated to bequeath 
a share of the family land to John, since he was not going to remain in Bertie 
County.

Another possible explanation is that there may have been pre-existing, irrecon-
cilable differences between John and his father that resulted in lingering ill 
feelings. Upon learning that he had been singularly excluded from a share of the 
homeland, John may have determined he needed to separate geographically from his 
brothers, all of whom inherited large tracts of land in Bertie County.

A young man, then in his early twenties, with prospects of building a family of 
his own, John may have concluded that he needed a fresh start elsewhere. This 
could have prompted his departure from Bertie County with an eye towards the 
backcountry of North Carolina and the Bucklesberry Pocosin, some one hundred 
miles away.

Bertie County Deed. A land sale deed [4] provides additional circumstantial 
evidence that establishes John's connection with Bertie County. About ten weeks 
after his father Thomas, Sr.'s will was proven, John sold the 100-acre parcel of 
land in Bertie County he had inherited from his Aunt Mary Jones. Located in the 
Cashoke Creek area of Bertie County, the deed entry documents the sale of John's 
land and names him as a son of Thomas Sutton, Sr.:

"John Sutton to James Lockhart of Scotch Hall May 17, 1750. 15 pounds for 100 
acres. 'John Sutton of the province aforesaid son of Thomas Sutton, Sen[ior]....
whereas Mary Jones my aunt by her last will and testament.... bequesthed to me 
John Sutton....part of that plantation on which she had lived...' In Cashoke. 
Adj. Hendersons Corner on Moratuck Bay [i.e., Albemarle Sound] at Spring Branch
...Wit: George Lockhard, Nathaniel ?, Elizabeth Lockhard. August Court 1750." 
(Book G, p. 299)

Other research from Ms. Marble confirmed the May 1750 land sale deed was the 
last Bertie County public or court record in which John Sutton was named. 
Although the deed places him in Bertie County at the time, it suggests he no 
longer lived there after 1750. 

That same year, or around that time, John first emerged in the Bucklesberry 
Pocosin of the backcountry of North Carolina. The April 28, 1750 will of 
Francis Grice [16], of then Johnston County, named John Sutton as one of three 
witnesses, proving he was living in Bucklesberry in 1750.

John may have departed his homeland of Bertie County a year or two earlier, 
though. The oldest document in the Clellan Sutton Collection [44], a 1748 survey 
of a 160-acre tract of land in Bucklesberry from John Giles, is believed to have 
been obtained by John, although he is not named in the survey. The earliest 
document in the Collection that explicitly names John Sutton is a circa 1757 
survey [41] of a 275-acre plantation in Bucklesberry. The year of this document 
is well within the first few years that John would have arrived in Bucklesberry. 

Bertie County Bride. Finally, the bride of John's son offers circumstantial 
evidence that John was from Bertie County. All of his known sonsJohn, Jr., 
William, and Benjaminwere purportedly born in the Bucklesberry Pocosin of old 
Dobbs County. The oldest of the three brothers, Benjamin (1752-1837) married 
Sarah Hardy Sutton (1759-1846) from Bertie County. The couple made their home in 
Bucklesberry where they reared a family of ten children.

Ms. Marble posited that the union of these two, reared in geographically separ-
ate communities some 100 miles apart, was no chance occurrence. Included in the 
Clellan Sutton Collection is a 1780 letter [43] addressed, To Benj[amin and] 
Sarah living [in] Dobbs, and signed, Your Loving Brother till death Wm [William] 
Parrot Hardy." This letter proves that Sarah was a sister of William Parrot Hardy, 
whose roots can be traced to Bertie County, suggesting she was also born and 
reared there.

It is plausible, then, that Benjamin may have accompanied his father John on 
trips back to the homeland of Bertie County from time to time to visit with 
Sutton relatives. This would have given Benjamin ample opportunity there to meet 
his bride Sarah. This 1780 letter implicitly ties John once more to Bertie County.

Lending support that John was the first in his paternal family line to arrive in 
Bucklesberry, Dr. Francis R. Hodges, PhD, retired professor of history and native 
of Lenoir County, claimed the Suttons of Dobbs County originated from Bertie County. 
In an undated manuscript [18] he noted the Suttons "migrated from Bertie County to 
the Neuse valley before the American Revolution, and which by the end of the 
eighteenth century had already established many branches in Bucklesberry and the 
adjacent regions of Lenoir and Wayne." (para. 9)

GENETIC PROOF

Although the available circumstantial evidence is persuasive, John Sutton's origins 
can only be determined for certain with DNA evidence. This requires establishing 
whether known descendants of John Sutton from Bucklesberry genetically match known 
descendants of John's purported father Thomas Sutton, Sr. (1699-1750) from Bertie 
County. These results, coupled with circumstantial evidence, would definitively 
prove that John migrated to Bucklesberry from his presumed homeland of Bertie 
County.

Genetic traits are biologically transmitted to succeeding generations through male 
descendants, which determines lineage. The YDNA-67 test analyzes sixty-seven STR 
(short tandem repeat) markers on the male Y chromosome. When the YDNA-67 test 
results of two males match on at least a 64 out of 67 markers, then they are 
genetically related and share a common ancestor.

In 2015, in consultation with the international Sutton Project of FamilyTreeDNA 
[13, FTDNA], Ms. Marble proposed a multi-phase strategy that would gather needed 
genetic evidence for comparison from known Sutton descendants.

Phase I of the strategy would obtain YDNA-67 samples from documented male descend-
ents of the three known sons of John Sutton of BucklesberryBenjamin (ca. 1752-1837), 
John, Jr. (ca. 1758-1820/30), and William (ca. 1760-bef. 1820). Although all Phase 
I participants would have the Sutton surname, they did not have to be residents of 
the Bucklesberry community or Lenoir County. The YDNA-67 markers would then be 
compared to determine whether Phase I participants genetically matched each other.

Similarly, Phase II would obtain YDNA-67 samples from documented male descendants 
of Sutton ancestors known to be related in Bertie County, where John's purported 
father Thomas Sutton, Sr. (1699-1750) lived, and in the adjacent Perquimans County. 
As with participants in Phase I, all participants in Phase II would have the 
Sutton surname, but they did not have to be residents of Bertie or Perquimans 
Counties. A subsequent comparison of the YDNA-67 markers would determine whether 
the Phase II participants genetically matched each other.

Phase III would conclude the study by comparing the YDNA-67 markers of participants 
from Phase I (Bucklesberry descendants) with the markers of participants from Phase 
II (Bertie County descendants). Genetic matches between the two groups of 
participants would provide definitive proof that John Sutton originated from Bertie 
County.

The study commenced in earnest in 2016. Five males with the Sutton surname agreed 
to participate in Phase I. All were documented descendants of the three known sons 
of John SuttonBenjamin, John, Jr. and William. Each participant purchased a 
YDNA-67 test kit from FTDNA, designed to analyze the 67 STR (short tandem repeat) 
markers on the male Y chromosome.

Phase I participants were identified as A, B, C, D, and E in order to preserve 
confidentiality. Participants A and C, both of La Grange, NC, and participant B 
of Smithfield, NC were documented descendants of John's son Benjamin. A resident 
of Weymouth, MA, Participant D was reared in Kinston, NC and was a documented 
descendant of John's son William. Participant E, also of La Grange, was a 
documented descendant of John's son John, Jr.

Phase II included two males with documented Sutton surnames whose lineages could 
be traced directly to Bertie and Perquimans Counties where Sutton families are known 
to be related. Participant F of Chattanooga, TN was born in Washington, DC, but he 
was reared in Rocky Mount, NC. His father was a documented Sutton descendant from 
Perquimans County. Participant G descended from a documented line of Suttons in 
Bertie County where he resided.

The study progressed throughout 2016. The seven participants purchased YDNA-67 test 
kits through FTDNA to obtain and submit genetic samples. The kit requires the user 
to gently rub the interior wall of the mouth cheeks using a cotton swab for one 
minute, after which the swab is inserted into a secured vial. Each participant 
submitted two swabbed samples of genetic matter to the FTDNA lab in Houston, TX for 
analysis.

Remarkably, the genetic markers of all five Sutton descendants in Phase I matched 
with a variance of no more than three markers, proving their genetic relationship 
to each other and to their common ancestor John Sutton of Bucklesberry. Unfortunately, 
the genetic markers of Phase II participants G and F did not match each other, which 
meant they were not genetically related and did not share a common Sutton ancestor.

The final Phase III of the study compared the markers of Phase II participants with 
the markers of Phase I participants. Although Phase II participant G was a Bertie 
County Sutton descendent who resided in Bertie County, and who produced documented 
Sutton lineage through a valid birth certificate and Bible records, he did not 
genetically match Phase I participants A, B, C, D and E, all Sutton descendants from 
Bucklesberry, Lenoir County.

The other Phase II participant F, a Perquimans County Sutton descendent, however, 
did genetically match Phase I participants A, B, C, D and E from Bucklesberry, Lenoir 
County with a variance of no more than three markers. This result was significant in 
that it established their genetic relationship to each other and to a common Sutton 
ancestor. Comparison of patrilineal relationships revealed the first immediate common 
ancestor of participants A, B, C, D, E and F was Joseph Sutton, Sr. (1673-1723) of 
Perquimans County who was married to Parthenia Durant Sutton (1675-bef. 1723).

The most important outcome of this study for generations of Bucklesberry descendants 
of John Sutton was confirmation of their ancestor's origin. The genetic match of 
Phase I and Phase II participants provided conclusive evidence that John originated 
from Bertie County and, by extension, Perquimans County.

Residents with the Sutton surname who live outside the Bucklesberry community in the 
nearby towns of Kinston and La Grange have traditionally held that they originated 
from a Sutton ancestral line from another part of the country other than the Sutton 
line from Bertie and Perquimans Counties. However, this view cannot be sustained 
from the current study. Two of the Sutton descendants (D and E) were born and reared 
in the towns of Kinston and La Grange. Further, they are proven descendants of one 
of the three known sons of John Sutton. Specifically, descendant D from Kinston 
descended from the William Sutton Sr. line, and descendant E from La Grange is a 
descendant of John Sutton Jr.

Admittedly, more than one Sutton genetic line exists in North Carolina. For example, 
results from YDNA-67 testing on Sutton males in neighboring Sampson County do not 
match the YDNA-67 results from the Suttons of Bucklesberry. Speculations are that 
they originated from the Pennsylvania Sutton line. 

Rather than another genetically distinct line for the Suttons outside Bucklesberry 
who reside or originate in Kinston, La Grange, and greater Lenoir County, the YDNA 
study [45; see DNA tab, Bucklesberry Study] proves they all join the Bucklesberry 
Suttons in sharing John Sutton as their patriarch.

JOHN'S PATERNAL LINE

With John's origins from Bertie County firmly established and no longer a mystery, 
his paternal ancestry can confidently be traced to the earliest years of Colonial 
America through wills, court records and other historical documents. John's parents 
were Thomas Sutton Sr. (1699-1750) and Elizabeth Luerton Sutton (1705-aft. 1730) 
of Bertie County. 

John's paternal grandparents were Joseph Sutton Sr. (1673-1723) and Parthenia Durant 
Sutton (1675-bef. 1723) of Perquimans County. John's paternal great-grandparents 
were Nathaniel Sutton (ca. 1644-1682) and Deborah Astine Sutton (1668-ca. 1732) of 
Perquimans County. Finally, John's twice paternal great-grandparents were George 
Sutton (ca.1613-1669) and Sarah Tilden Sutton (1613-1677) of Perquimans County.

George Sutton was the earliest known patriarch of John's paternal line to immigrate 
to seventeenth century America. He was among 197 confirmed passengers on the ship 
Hercules [39] that sailed from England in February-March 1634, landing in Scituate,
MA near Boston. 

George was a servant of yeoman Nathaniel Tilden, also a passenger on the ship. 
Both were from Tenterden Parish, Kent County, England. In 1636, George married 
Nathaniel's daughter Sarah Tilden (1613-1677).

According to Scituate historical records [27], George and Sarah built the 43rd house 
in the town by 1636 on the current Greenfield Lane. For the next several decades, 
they lived in Scituate where they grew their family of seven known children. The 
last published record of George in Scituate was a 1666 petition he filed with the 
court [33] to purchase a plot of Indian land on the west side of Scituate. No known 
records indicate he ever purchased this land.

By 1671, George and Sarah had moved away from Scituate and eventually found 
permanent residence in Perquimans County, NC after living a brief period of time 
in New York and Virginia. Why they left Scituate to begin with is uncertain. As 
Quakers [27], their departure from Scituate may have been influenced by religious 
persecution during that time period.

JOHN'S RELOCATION

A young man at the time, John relocated from Bertie County to the Bucklesberry 
Pocosin of then Johnston County by 1750. Interestingly, the Merry Hill area of 
Bertie County where he lived was also named Bucklesberry Pocosin. Two communities 
with the same name, in the same time period, and in the same geographic region is 
almost certainly not happenstance. 

Ms. Marble believed the Bucklesberry name was likely brought over to then Johnston 
County from individuals who migrated from Bertie County. Rather than John Sutton, 
though, she conjectured that members of the Herring family of Bertie County, who 
migrated a few years before John Sutton, could have been responsible. 

Abstracts of ten deeds and land patents (1663 to 1757) for acreage in or near the 
Bucklesberry Pocosion of Bertie County support Ms. Marble's claim. All ten documents 
named a Herring family member as either grantor, grantee, or witness [4, 17, 19]. 
For example, one of the land patents [19] was issued to Samuel Herring in 1726 for 
"640 a[cres] East side Cashy [sic., Cashie] River on Bucklesbury Pocoson, Bertie Pct." 

Not only does this document prove that Bucklesberry was a name familiar to both the 
Herrings and John Sutton, it confirms the Bucklesberry name existed in Bertie County 
decades before these families migrated to then Johnston County. Further, as residents 
of Bertie County, both the Herrings and John Sutton owned land in the Bucklesberry 
Pocosin in the vicinity of Cashie River, thereby establishing them as associates.

John's move from Bertie County to then Johnston County was no small feat, given the 
primary mode of transportation was horse-drawn wagon. The estimated distance from 
Bucklesberry in the Merry Hill area of Bertie County to Bucklesberry of then 
Johnston County was at least 100 miles. 

Author-educator Terry Burns [7] noted that individuals could potentially travel 15 
to 25 miles a day using a horse-drawn wagon. In the best of environmental conditions, 
it would have taken John four to seven days to traverse 100 miles. However, the 
rough, unsettled and mostly wooded terrain in eastern North Carolina at the time 
suggests that it probably took him considerably longer.

Author Frankie Wallace [68] described the undeveloped infrastructure of colonial 
America in the 1700s: "During this century, the lack of established roads and road 
maintenance meant that travel was particularly slow, as horse-drawn carriages 
traveled at a near-glacial pace along bumpy and unsteady roads. In the summer, the 
roads were dusty and difficult, and in the winter, the rain and snow made them 
sticky and muddy. During the worst four or five months of the year, wheeled vehicles 
kept off the roads entirely because they were mostly unusable." (para. 4)

JOHN, THE MILITIAMAN

Challenges and risks awaited settler John when he arrived in the Bucklesberry Pocosin 
of then Johnston County. According to historian-author Dr. Lindley S. Butler, PhD [8], 
"the backcountry was the last area of the State to be settled and, consequently, the 
most volatile region of North Carolina society for many years," (para. 1). Fueling 
the volatility was unrest among native Indians.

Long before settlers first arrived, native Indians occupied North America. To them, 
settler encroachment represented an unwarranted land grab. Further, they viewed 
settlers as interlopers who threatened their societal culture.

"The European discovery and settlement of the Carolina region, "wrote historian 
William G. DiNome [12], "signaled an era of radical change for local Indians, one 
marked by the toppling of the previous Indian way of life..." (para. 5). In an effort 
to protect their culture and the land they believed was theirs, the Indians fought 
back.

The most populous and powerful Indians in eighteenth century North Carolina were the 
Cherokee and the Tuscarora, both Iroquoian tribes. The Cherokee occupied the Blue 
Ridge Mountain region in the western part of the State while the Tuscarora dwelled 
along the coast and in the central Piedmont areas.

Tuscarora resistance against encroachment came to a head with the Tuscarora War of 
1711-1713. The culminating battle occurred a few miles north of the Bucklesberry 
Pocosin at Snow Hill, NC. "The once great and powerful Tuscarora Nation was broken 
into pieces when their final stronghold, Fort Neoheroka, was burned to the ground," 
explained Sara Whitford [70], "a major blow to the Tuscarora, one from which the 
nation would never fully recover." (para. 17)

Although 900 were killed at Fort Neoheroka, according to the Tuscarora Nation of 
North Carolina [50, TNNC], "about 250 Tuscaroras fled to New York to join the Iroquois 
Confederacy, while as many as 3,500 additional Tuscarora sought refuge in the swamps 
of North Carolina," (para. 50). They continued to reside in their hunting territory 
villages along the Neuse and Cape Fear Rivers. 

After the French and Indian War of 1754-1763, according to the TNNC [50], "Many 
Tuscaroras settled in the lower southeastern part of North Carolina...and maintained 
their blood kinship ties with other Tuscaroras" (para. 3) in several counties, 
including nearby Duplin County. They were the first inhabitants of Wayne, Lenoir and 
Jones Counties prior to their formation.

A remnant of aging and next-generation Tuscarora Indians were likely living in or 
near the Bucklesberry Pocosin when John Sutton arrived by 1750. Not in great numbers, 
they resided in isolated villages. Settlers remained on alert for lingering Indian 
attacks, although most had ended by 1725. 

For defensive purposes, some early colonial houses had windowless basements made of 
stone or brick with ground level gun slits or gunports. Still standing today, the 
old John Ivey house, located a few miles west of Bucklesberry in the Seven Springs 
community, has a basement like this. Descendant Mollie Ruth Ivey [22] indicated the 
house may have been built as early as 1767.

Preventing Indian assaults was a primary goal of the colonial militia, comprised of 
all free white men. John Sutton served in the militia along with other local men, 
including the Herrings who preceded John by a few years in the backcountry of 
Bucklesberry. As did John, the Herrings migrated from coastal Bertie County. Late 
eighteenth century documents in the Clellan Sutton Collection indicate the Suttons 
and Herrings did business together and owned adjoining land. Descendents of both 
families are still landowners and residents in Bucklesberry today.

An early alliance of the Suttons and the Herrings after their relocation to then
Johnston County may have been militia service. They were among 94 foot soldiers 
listed on the 1755 roster of the Johnston County Militia [34]. Named were John 
Sutton, Anthony Herring, Frederick Herring, Jacob Herring, James Herring, John 
Herring, and Joseph Herring. The unit was commanded by Capt. Simon Herring (1709-
1769).

Formed one year after the start of the French and Indian War of 1754-1763, the 
Johnston County Militia was ill-equipped to defend local settlers, let alone to 
contribute to the cause of the War. Inscribed at the bottom of the 1755 roster, 
Capt. Herring wrote:

"To the Honourable Col. Lewis Dorassett to lett you know the full Curcumstance 
that my Company is in we have Collours and has Sent for A Drum and as for Other 
Armes but Very poorly fixed but few guns and no Amernition nor none to be had of 
Any Consequine. So as your honour or his Excellency is Desirous to know from your 
Inferor so Comd. Octobr 7th 1755. Simn. Herring." [34]

Capt. Herring's assessment was painfully accurate. In his 1919 book, History of 
North Carolina, author and first U.S. national archivist Robert D. W. Connor [9] 
described the plight of the militia in 1754:

"On paper the [N.C.] militia numbered more than 15,000 infantry and 400 cavalry, 
but long neglect had destroyed its organization....One of the first acts of Governor 
[Arthur] Dobbs upon assuming the administration in 1754 was to call for a militia 
return. The result was alarming. There were twenty-two counties each of which was 
supposed to have a fully organized regiment. The returns showed that in most of 
them there were organizations in name only, and in many not even that....The 
disorganization was bad, the equipment worse. Governor Dobbs stated that the 
militia were 'not half armed' and that such arms as they had were 'very bad'....
The militia of Johnston County were 'indifferently armed,' and without ammunition
..." (Ch. 15, Colonial Wars, paras. 19-20)

The colonial militia was the basis and starting point of the U.S. military. 
Intended primarily to protect local settlements, the militia served alongside 
the Continental Army in a number of Revolutionary War battles. John Sutton was 
deceased before the Revolution, although two of his sons, John Jr. (ca. 1758-bef. 
1830) and Benjamin Sr. (ca. 1752-1837), were proven Patriots.

To their credit, John Sutton and the local Herring men of Bucklesberry bravely 
volunteered to serve in the militia. They did so first for protection. The hope 
of liberty and the dream of a free and independent nation to come, though, was 
probably more than a forethought with them.

THE BACKCOUNTRY

Colonists who migrated inland from coastal North Carolina during the 1700s sometimes 
followed family and friends, all of whom were looking to improve their lives. For 
others, acquisition of land explained their exodus from the settled counties in the 
northeast part of the State into the unsettled backcountry.

This was likely John Sutton's primary motive in migrating to Bucklesberry. He had 
reason to leave his homeland of Bertie County since he was the only one of six 
brothers who did not receive an inheritance of family farm land. Within a matter of 
weeks after his father's will was proved in March 1750, John sold the 100 acres of 
land he inherited from his Aunt Mary Jones, all that he owned there. 

An abundance of land awaited John upon his arrival in Bucklesberry, then part of 
the backcountry of Johnston County of North Carolina, one of the thirteen British 
colonies at the time. Described by historian-author Lindley S. Butler, PhD [8], 
"'Backcountry' was the term used during the early settlement and colonial periods 
for the vast interior of North Carolina, located away from the coastline and 
including both the modern day Piedmont and Mountain regions..." (para. 1)

Creston S. Long, III, PhD [23] researched backcountry extensively in his 2002 
doctoral dissertation titled, "Southern Routes: Family Migration and the Eighteenth-
Century South Backcountry." He concluded that colonists were motivated to move 
inland for various reasons.

"For those who sought to improve their situations...or to join family in other 
backcountry areas," wrote Dr. Long, "heading south a hundred or so miles seemed to 
be a manageable risk to take..." (p. 137). Interestingly, the distance between 
Bertie County where John Sutton was reared to Bucklesberry of current Lenoir County 
where he migrated was about one hundred miles. 

Associated with a better life, Dr. Long explained that an abundance of land was the 
major attraction of the backcountry. Further,

"The North Carolina backcountry in the 1740s and 1750s provided migrants and recent 
settlers limited opportunities, but economic conditions there rapidly evolved in 
subsequent decades. The economy of backcountry North Carolina developed along several 
lines. While farmers constituted the greatest part of the population of Rowan and 
Anson counties, a large number of more specialized tradespeople and artisans quickly 
populated the regions. At first farmers participated mostly in subsistence agriculture; 
but because they were unable to produce all that was necessary to live from their own 
efforts, they quickly sought to establish trading ties beyond their localities. By 
the mid-eighteenth century, a handful of roads linked the growing western settlements 
on the Yadkin River with the trading towns in the central portion of the colony, 
which in turn connected to the coastal trade centers in North Carolina....These roads 
were essential to the growing mercantile trade within the backcountry which 
increasingly enhanced the number opportunities for artisans, small merchants, and 
farmers." (pp. 137-138)

Dr. Long described the backcountry of North Carolina that included Bucklesberry as 
expansive and appealing to colonists willing to accept the challenges and risks of 
settling unknown territory:

"The widespread belief that it was easy to acquire land in North Carolina and the 
growing opportunities in the backcountry made the area attractive to many colonial 
settlers. Reports throughout the colonies suggested the great magnitude of the 
settlers...were pouring into the backcountry of North Carolina throughout the 1750s 
and 1760s..." (p. 138)

"The opportunity to acquire land in the North Carolina backcountry was greater than 
virtually anywhere else in the colonies in the mid-eighteenth century. Between the 
late 1740s and the early 1760s, migrants entered the western portion of the colony 
and purchased large tracts for very little money. Unpatented land in the southern 
portion of the backcountry, the area comprising Anson, Cumberland, Johnston, and 
later Mecklenburg counties, remained under the administration of the English crown 
through the royal government of the colony. There recently-arrived immigrants from 
Britain or from elsewhere in the colonies could achieve a title to 640 acres of 
landone square milefor about 30..." (p. 140)

"Settlement in backcountry North Carolina proceeded along the tributaries of the 
major rivers that drained the region....Immigrants patented land or purchased tracts 
along approximately twelve creeks that emptied into the Yadkin River. Settlers who 
took up land in this area did not live in closely-knit neighborhoods. Instead the 
arrangement of the tracts entailed neighborhoods that were dispersed over miles of 
land....Although this settlement pattern indicates that families and associates 
were often divided by substantial distances, it does not signify that backcountry 
settlers gave up their social connections. Instead families often took up land near 
or adjacent to other relatives and associates. As they sought out land, they did 
their best to secure tracts that allowed them to build secure lives and maintain 
their networks of family and associates." (p. 141)

Like other colonists of that time period, John wanted to improve his life. In the 
unsettled backcountry of North Carolina, he found abundant land and the opportunity 
to join other like-minded family and friends, according to Dr. Long:

"The availability of land...was not the only factor that motivated colonists...to 
migrate deep into the southern backcountry. When families decided to abandon their 
former communities, leaving behind land of varying size or no land at all, they 
often moved to an area where they could, to some extent, replicate their 
communities. To do this, families and individuals had to migrate to an area that 
had land enough not only to accommodate their own families, but to allow extended 
family and other associates to settle near them." (p. 143)

John Sutton joined other Bertie County associates in Bucklesberry who preceded 
him. For example, court records confirm John Herring (ca. 1680-ca. 1760) was a 
resident of Bertie County who eventually moved to Johnston County (later old Dobbs 
County) the latter part of his life. Between 1738 and 1746, before John Sutton's 
arrival in Bucklesberry by 1750, John Herring was awarded land grants totaling 1,500 
acres along Bear Creek, some on the south side where the Creek empties into the 
Neuse River in the heart of Bucklesberry. A 1763 land grant [46] to John Sutton for 
a 75-acre tract adjoined land owned by Capt. Simon Herring (1709-1769), one of John 
Herring's sons. The Herrings, then, migrated to the backcountry a few years before 
John Sutton.

John's decision to move inland meant separation from his Sutton siblings who 
remained in Bertie County. One exception was his half-sister Mary Elizabeth Sutton 
(1740-1800) who married Lemuel (Lamb) Hardy Jr. (1730-1797). They also migrated to 
the backcountry in the late 1760s, settling in the Snow Hill area in the Jason
community, north of La Grange, only ten miles from Bucklesberry.

Although colonists bonded together for numerous reasons, they established new 
communities in the backcountry that were similar to the ones they lived in 
previously, per Dr. Long:

"Throughout the North Carolina backcountry in the mid-eighteenth century, there 
were dozens of networks of families and relatives living close to each other....
Various underlying factors pulled these groups of families together across the 
hundreds of miles which constituted the migration route. Chief among them were 
religion, culture, and ethnicity....[They] were able to replicate many of their 
social networks...but they were able to do so where many of them could own more 
land than they had before. (p. 144)

A young man in his twenties in 1750 with no inheritance of family land from his 
father's estate, John faced limited opportunity to advance his life in Bertie 
County. In the backcountry, he found land aplenty, a conclusion Dr. Long reached 
in his research:

"When settlers left an area in which economic conditions were tightening and moved 
to an area where land was abundant....The amount of land a migrant could obtain in 
the backcountry dwarfed that of his former holdings. Indeed, it appears as though 
the question of motivation is readily answered: migrants moved on because they 
perceived better opportunity to advance themselves socially and economically." 
(p. 147)

JOHN, THE LANDOWNER

John flourished in the backcountry. He continued to enlarge his land holdings 
after settling in Bucklesberry. An April 9, 1763 receipt [47] in the Clellan Sutton 
Collection indicates John paid a deposit of two pounds, equivalent to about $462.00 
in today's economy, for "part of pay [to] secure and get him a patent for 100 acres 
of Land in Dobbs County North Side of Neuse River joyning [i.e., joining] John 
Giles and Thos [Thomas] Burnet's lines..." Owned by a Bucklesberry descendent who 
resides in Virginia is another deed, a December 22, 1763 Land Grant No. 68 from 
King George III [46] that awarded John 75 acres which also adjoined the land of 
John Giles on the north side of the Neuse in Bucklesberry.

John was a large landowner even by twenty-first century standards. He and his 
three known sonsBenjamin, John, Jr. and Williamand their heirs amassed 
significant acreage that spanned north and south of the Neuse River, and from the 
Bear Creek area near Seven Springs eastward to the current Pot Neck and Falling 
Creek communities stretching into the northwest Kinston area. Available deeds, 
deed abstracts, patents and surveys dated 1748 to 1773, some of which are found 
in the Clellan Sutton Collection [44], document at least eight transactions where 
John was granted land through purchase or gift. Four of these transactions specify 
exact acreage which totaled 610 acres of land.

The U.S. Census began recording the number of acres of land owned by farmers in 
1850. John and his three known sons were deceased by 1850, which precluded their 
inclusion in that Census. However, all of John's known male descendants, some of 
whom were fourth-generation great-grandsons of legal age and living in 1850, were 
accounted for in that Census. All but one had obtained hundreds of acres of land 
through inheritance or purchase, collectively totaling an astounding 7,249 acres 
[42].

Benjamin Sutton Sr.'s seven heirs, including five sons and two grandsons, owned 
4,189 acres: son Benjamin, Jr., 1,407 acres; son Hardy, 960 acres; son John, 437 
acres; son Thomas, 0 acres; grandson William, 735 acres; grandson, John Aldridge, 
300 acres; and grandson Josiah, Sr. 350 acres. William Sutton Sr.'s three heirs 
owned 2,260 acres: son John, 910 acres; son William (Old Billy), 1,100 acres; and 
grandson, John Fred Isler, 250 acres. Two of John Sutton Jr.'s sons owned 800 
acres: James, 300 acres; and William Isler, 500 acres.

The one descendant of the twelve named in the 1850 Census who owned no acreage 
was Thomas, son of Benjamin Sr. The Census indicated Thomas' occupation was a 
farmer. Given he owned no land of his own that year, he apparently was a 
sharecropper. Nonetheless, Thomas owned some land in Bucklesberry during his 
early adult life. As with his four brothers, Thomas inherited property from his 
father Benjamin, Sr., who gifted land to his children prior to his death. For 
reasons unknown, Thomas lost his inherited land. 

That said, according to Thomas' estate file [69] of 1853, and subsequent to the 
1850 Census, Thomas recovered from his apparent hardship and loss. His estate 
indicated he operated a mercantile store in eastern Wayne County until his death. 
Two deed abstracts, in particular, all dated around the year of his death in 1853, 
indicated he had obtained land, which he granted to his son Samuel Ivey (S. I.) 
Sutton (1834-1904).

Incredibly, after more than 270 years, much of the land in Bucklesberry amassed 
by John Sutton and his descendants has been passed down through the generations 
and remains in the possession of current-day Sutton heirs, some of whom continue 
to reside in Bucklesberry. Clearly, the Sutton farmers of early Bucklesberry 
viewed their land as a precious commodity. They were highly protective of it, 
and strived to keep it in the family line through gifting. They also utilized 
the legal maneuver of life estate, whereby land was automatically transferred to 
their heirs through the surviving widow, a practice that continues today.

JOHN, THE FARMER

For his life's work, John was a farmer, as were virtually all early settlers in 
old Dobbs County. Farming in colonial America was considerably more challenging 
and difficult than current-day mechanized farming, suggesting John was nothing 
less than a passionately hard worker.

The inordinate physical strain he experienced continuously year-round may have 
caused health issues that he battled without the aid of a physician or medical 
intervention, which could have prompted his early death. An immensely strong, 
daring, and brave man, John accepted the risks of relocating from his settled 
homeland in Bertie County to primitive old Dobbs County where he prospered. The 
unfortunate trade-off, however, may have been a shortened life.

John was not the only settler in Bucklesberry in the mid-1750s. He was joined 
by other men and women of equally strong character who shared common goals and 
shouldered similar burdens. Together, they worked sacrificially over many 
difficult years to develop a farm community that continues to flourish today.

Early Colonial American settlers and their descendants were considered "First 
Families." In addition to Sutton, other first family surnames of mid-eighteenth 
century Bucklesberry included Burnett, Giles, Herring, Johnston, Jones, Rouse, 
Uzzell, and Williams. All were referenced as neighbors or named in business 
transactions in the oldest Bucklesberry documents dated between 1748 and 1773 
in the Clellan Sutton Collection [44].

JOHN'S ASSUMED WIFE

Central to any first family are its matriarchs and patriarchs. Although John is 
the proven patriarch of the first Sutton family of Bucklesberry, his helpmate 
and family matriarch is unknown for certain. To date, the name of John's wife has 
not been proven, nor is it known for certain whether he was married more than 
once. Further, the mother of John's children is not proven. 

Marjorie Sutton Oliver (1933-2019) of the Jason community of La Grange, a 
Bucklesberry Sutton descendant and author of the 1974 book [30], The Suttons of 
England and North Carolina, USA, 1620-1974, believed that John's wife was Ann 
Sutton. Ms. Marble also considered the possibility that Ann Sutton may have been 
John's wife. 

As identified in the 1780 tax list [3] for old Dobbs County, Ann Sutton was a 
property holder and, therefore, viewed as John's assumed wife. Wives were not 
listed as property holders, however, if the husband was alive at the time the tax 
list was compiled. Although John was named in the earlier 1769 tax list [48], the 
absence of his name in the 1780 list suggests he was deceased and that Ann may have 
been his widow. Ann Sutton's name listed alone explains the significant value 
attributed to her taxable holdings that year, presumably from the estate of a 
deceased husband.

If Ann Sutton was his wife, she may have been the former Ann Turner, daughter of 
John Turner, purportedly from Southampton County, VA. He owned land in old Dobbs 
County, likely in the Bucklesberry area where John Sutton was a landowner. Entries 
from grantor-grantee county indices [25] dated 1750 to 1758 show that John Turner 
gifted or sold land to John Sutton on three occasions. Probably not coincidental, 
these transactions suggest a familial relationship and lend support that Ann Turner 
(Sutton) could have been John Sutton's wife.

Ms. Marble noted that, although the Turner family owned land in old Dobbs County, 
they never lived there. Rather, the Turners were associates and neighbors of John 
and his Sutton relatives in Bertie County. If Ann was indeed John's wife, she could 
reasonably have accompanied him when he migrated from Bertie County to Bucklesberry.

Further muddying the waters, as it were, Ms. Marble's research identified 1773 
estate records which named a second widow named Ann Sutton in old Dobbs County. This 
Ann Sutton, however, was the former Ann Ward of Carteret County, widow of Joseph 
Sutton. Ann was the daughter of Enoch Ward. His 1750 will [37] names both daughter 
Ann and her husband Joseph Sutton. The origins of Joseph Sutton and whether he may 
have been a relative of John Sutton is unknown.

It is plausible, then, that Ann Sutton named in the 1780 tax list for old Dobbs 
County could have been either Ann Ward, daughter of Enoch Ward and proven wife of 
Joseph Sutton, or Ann Turner, daughter of John Turner and assumed wife of John 
Sutton. Ms. Marble's final assessment was that Ann Sutton named in the 1780 tax 
list for old Dobbs County was most likely Ann Ward Sutton.

Ms. Marble's view does not minimize or dismiss the possibility that Ann Turner 
could have been John's wife. Once more, the three properties transferred from Ann 
Turner's father to John Sutton suggest a possible familial relationship. This, 
coupled with the prior association of the Turner and Sutton families from John's 
homeland of Bertie County, provides a reasonable basis for the belief she was John 
Sutton's assumed wife. That said, there is no concrete evidence that Ann Turner 
was the proven wife and widow of John Sutton, let alone the mother of his children. 

JOHN'S CHILDREN

Although John's wife is unproven, his children are known and documented. According 
to Ms. Marble [24], John had three proven sons: Benjamin (ca. 1752-1837); John, Jr. 
(ca. 1758-bef. 1820/30); and William (ca. 1760-1813/20). From documents in the 
Clellan Sutton Collection [44], four other purported sons have also been ascribed 
to John: James (1755/67-unknown); Richard (1755/73-1800/10); Simon (1765/67-bef. 
1813); and Thomas (bef. 1758-1783/1800).

All of John's proven sons and three of his purported sons are listed as heads of 
household in one or more of the first three Censuses [51, 52, 53] for 1790, 1800,
and 1800. Only Thomas is omitted. Believed to have been deceased by 1800, he may 
never have married or possibly could have had health issues, either of which would 
have placed him in the household and care of one of his brothers when the 1790 
Census was taken, and, thus, left unnamed.

In addition, numerous records in the Clellan Sutton Collection account for all 
three of John's proven sons. Numerous receipts, inventories and tax records dated 
1786 to 1800 are also attributed to three of John's four purported sons. Once more, 
Thomas is the only purported son not mentioned in the Collection, although he is 
named in the 1780 Dobbs County tax list along with proven sons Benjamin and John, Jr.

Finally, children's names can be an indicator of lineage. Three of John's purported 
sonsJames, Richard and Simonhave names found in the family line of John's assumed 
wife Ann Turner but not in John's line. This suggests Ann Turner was not only John's 
assumed wife but could have been the mother of his children, although neither is 
proven. Thomas, the only purported son's name not found in the Turner line, is found 
in John's paternal line. His father from Bertie County was Thomas Sutton, Sr. (1699-
1750).

Available evidence, then, points to the likelihood that John sired seven sons 
altogether. "No doubt John had daughters," wrote Ms. Marble [24], "but there is no 
evidence as to [whom] they might have been." (para. 6)

All of John's sons were second generation Bucklesberrians, but not all remained in 
Bucklesberry. Descendants of several of John's sons have never been determined or 
cannot be traced in Census records.

Purported son James Sutton moved away from Bucklesberry by 1810. He is listed in 
the Wayne County Census [54] that year as head of household with six others, 
presumably his wife and children. Not listed or named in subsequent Censuses for 
Wayne or nearby counties, James' descendants are untraceable.

Purported son Simon Sutton also moved away from Bucklesberry by 1810. That Census 
[55] lists him in neighboring Duplin County as head of household with six others, 
likely his wife and children. He was deceased by the 1820 Census [57], which names 
his widow Mary Sutton as head of household with three others, probably his children. 
In the 1830 Census [58] and the 1840 Census [60], Mary is listed with fewer 
household members. The 1850 Census [62], first to name all members of a household, 
identified Mary as head of household living alone. She is not listed in the 1860 
Census, suggesting she was deceased by that year. Although unproven, some of the 
other Sutton heads of household listed in the 1860 Census for Duplin County may 
have been Simon's and Mary's descendants.

Purported son Richard Sutton is listed as head of household in the 1800 Census [52] 
for Lenoir County where he was probably living in Bucklesberry. By the 1810 Census 
[56], his widow Susana Sutton is named head of household, signaling Richard's death 
sometime after the 1800 Census. In the household with Susana are four younger ones, 
assumed to be their children.

The only descendant of Richard [Sr.] and Susana that can be traced in later Censuses 
is the youngest male child (under age 10 years) identified in the 1810 Census [53]. 
Probably the namesake of his father, the lad is listed as adult Richard Sutton [Jr.] 
in several subsequent Censuses. He is head of household in the 1830 Census [59] and 
the 1840 Census [61] with a wife and four younger ones, presumably his children. By 
1850 [63] when Census takers named all household members, Richard [Jr.], then age 
49, is listed with his wife Susan, age 47, and one child named Richard Sutton [III], 
seven years of age. He may have been their youngest surviving child or possibly 
their grandchild. Not named at all in the 1850 Census but counted in the previous 
1830 and 1840 Census households are Richard [Jr.'s] snd Susan's four children, 
making them untraceable after 1850.
 
A decade later, the seven-year-old Richard Sutton [III] is 18 years of age in the 
1860 Census [65] and a farm laborer living in the household of William H. Whitfield 
of the Bear Creek/Moseley Hall community. In the same 1860 Census [64], the elder 
Richard [Jr.], however, is listed in the household of Bucklesberry relative Josiah 
Sutton Sr. (1810-1898). In the next 1870 Census [66], Richard [Jr.], age 70, is 
found in the household of another Bucklesberry relative Elizabeth Sutton Wood 
(1827-1894) and her husband Dempsey Wood (1816-1882), where he is listed the last 
time in the 1880 Census [67]. The younger Richard Sutton drops off the Census 
radar altogether after 1870.

Finally, purported son Thomas Sutton was believed to have deceased by 1800. There 
is no evidence that he ever married or had children.

JOHN'S ADOPTED SON

Large households were common during the 1700s. With seven known and purported sons 
and probably daughters as well, John had a sizeable household for whom he was 
responsible. Making room for an additional dependant not biologically his own may 
have been viewed by some as foolhardy. Yet, he opened his home to an orphan George 
Wiggins.

Legally sanctioned by court order, orphan George Wiggins was assigned to John 
Sutton's care as an apprentice in 1768. Transcribed by genealogist Rose Medford 
Parks [31] and published online in 2010 by USGenWeb, the 1768 court record reads 
as follows (blanks signify omitted, partially faded, erased and illegible words; 
misspellings and capitalizations are literal):

"George Wiggins Indenture January Court 1768. This indenture ___  ___ the Thirteenth 
day of January in the year of our Lord [one thousand] seven hundred and sixty eight 
___ that Stephen Cade ___ presiding Acting Justice of Dobbs County [North Carolina] 
Inferior Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions hath ___ and placed George Wiggins, 
an Orphan of Gersham Wiggins, deceased, an apprentice to John Sutton of the said 
County with in he dwells ___ serve untill he ___ of Apprentice shall arrive at ___ 
of Twenty-one years. ___ to the art of a family in ___  ___  ___ time he the said 
Apprentice ___ the said Master Shall Faithfully Serve in all Lawfull Business and 
Orderly and Obediently in all things and behave himself Towards his Said Master for 
& during the Said Term as an Apprentice Ought to do, and the Said John Sutton doth 
Covenant, Promise and Agree to and with the Said Justices and their Superiors that 
he the Said John Sutton will provide and allow his Said Apprentice Convenient and 
Sufficient Meat, Drink, Lodging & apparel and will his best Indeavor to Instruct 
him in the art and ___  ___  ___ and also teach him as ___  ___  ___ Taught to Read 
& Write before the Expiration of his Apprenticeship. In witness whereof the Said 
Justice by the Clerk of the Said Inferior Court have hereunto interchangeably set 
their hands and Seals the day and year first above written. Signed, sealed and 
delivered in the presence of John Lindley } John Sutton (seal) Stephen Cade (seal)." 
[31] 

Orphans were often cared for by relatives or community people during the Colonial 
era [49]. They served as substitute parents and reared orphans as their own or 
treated them as apprentices or indentured servants. Although included as members of 
a household, Robert W. Baird [2] explained that "None of these circumstances conveyed 
any special legal rights either to the child or the substitute parent." (para. 2)

Adoption in American society was not legally formalized until 1851 when 
Massachusetts passed the first state adoption law. The abolishment of indentured 
servitude followed in 1865 with passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. 
Constitution. Prior to the mid-1800s, care provided to orphans by another family 
was viewed as informal adoption. 

The 1768 court record plainly states that young George Wiggins was an indentured 
servant and apprentice assigned to John Sutton. Although primarily an indenture 
of servitude, the arrangement involved more than George learning a trade. John was 
also directed to provide George with lodging and subsistence as well as reading 
and writing instruction, suggesting the arrangement was tantamount to informal 
adoption.

According to Rita Meiser, Esq. and Marcie Velen [26], the need for child labor 
typically meant that the motivation for informal adoption in the form of 
apprenticeships and indentured servitude was largely rooted in economics. 
Unfortunately, these children "were often treaded [sic., treated] as chattel 
[i.e., enslaved property]..." (para. 3)

Whether John's chief motive in apprenticing orphan George was a compassionate act 
of charity or a pressing need for farm labor may never be known. Nonetheless, John, 
orphan George, and his deceased father Gersham Wiggins Sr., also named in the 
indenture, were probably not strangers.

Like John Sutton, the Wiggins family were landowners in the Bucklesberry area. 
George Wiggins, brother of Gersham Wiggins Sr. and uncle of orphan George, owned 
270 acres on the west side of Falling Creek, which, at the time was geographically 
contiguous to the east side of Bucklesberry. Per his will [32] proved in 1750, 
George bequeathed 200 acres to his wife Margaret Wiggins and the remaining 70 
acres to his nephew Gersham Wiggins Jr. Both were area residents and were named 
as heads of households in the 1769 tax list for old Dobbs County.

John Wiggins [35], another brother of Gersham Sr., also owned land in or near 
Bucklesberry. His acreage adjoined that of local landowner John Giles whose 250 
acres was located on the north side of the Neuse River, east of Stirrup Creek, 
according to a 1745 land grant to Giles. 

Orphan George's father Gersham Sr. owned land in the Bucklesberry area, too. From 
a warrant and plat issued to him in 1746, he received a Colonial land grant patent 
[36] a decade later from King George III:

"Gersham Wiggins Three hundred acres Johnston [County] on the No. side of Neuse 
River including Sloop Landing beginning at a white Oak on the river bank and runs 
No 62 Wt 216 poles to the Center of three pines John Gilles [sic. Giles] line 
thence So 45 Wt 130 poles to a white Oak in a Swamp thence No 65 Wt 78 poles to a 
maple near the mouth of Stirrup Creek thence down the meanders of the run to the 
beginning ~ March 17th 1756. Arthur Dobbs." (p. 99)

John Giles, then, owned land that adjoined the properties of both Gersham Wiggins, 
Sr. and his brother John Wiggins. Interestingly, Giles also had land that adjoined 
several of John Sutton's properties. 

Three land documents in the Clellan Sutton Collection [44] name John Giles in 
conjunction with John Sutton. A 1748 survey [40] of 160 acres for John Giles in 
Bucklesberry on the north side of the Neuse River was presumably acquired by John 
Sutton soon after he migrated from Bertie County by 1750. Another 1757 survey [41] 
of 275 acres for John Sutton in Bucklesberry adjoined land owned by John Giles. 
Finally, a 1763 receipt [47] to John Sutton was for purchase of a patent for 100 
acres on the north side of the Neuse River that adjoined John Giles' land. 

One other document currently in the possession of a Bucklesberry Sutton descendant 
(anonymous) is also relevant. A 1763 King George III land grant [46] awarded 75 
acres to John Sutton on the north side of the Neuse River that adjoined land owned 
by John Giles.

The prominence of John Giles' name as an adjoining landowner in several Gersham 
Wiggins Sr. and John Sutton land documents in the same time period and in the same 
geographic area is not happenstance. In all likelihood, John Sutton and Gersham 
Wiggins Sr. were not just associates who lived in the Bucklesberry community, they 
may have been close neighbors who knew each other well.

This would explain the court's decision to assign Gersham Wiggins Sr.'s orphan son 
George to John Sutton in the 1768 indenture [31]. Perhaps the greater mystery is why 
the local Wiggins family who were biological relatives of orphan George did not 
embrace their own by taking him into one of their households.

JOHN'S DEATH

The move from his homeland of Bertie County, NC to unsettled Bucklesberry in old 
Dobbs County was one of the biggest challenges of John's life. Combined with other 
uncertainties he undoubtedly faced, the exceedingly difficult journey required 
extraordinary strength and steadfast character.

A young man in his early twenties when he arrived in Bucklesberry, John was only 
about 40 to 45 years of age when he died. In light of current life expectancy 
standards, he lived a comparatively short life. The average life span for Americans 
in 2020 was 78.6 years, according to the World Health Organization [71]. 

In 2004, economic historian Robert W. Fogel [14] analyzed the adverse effects of 
low-level diets on high-energy work required of typical 1775 early colonial American 
laborers. He determined their average life expectancy was about 53.5 years. John's 
interpolated maximum age of 45, then, would have placed him at least nine years 
below the average life expectancy at the time, an indication he could have died 
prematurely.

No available information exists on the cause of John's death. Although Bucklesberry 
boasts at least 17 known family cemeteries, a marked grave for John Sutton has never 
been identified. No doubt, though, he is buried in Bucklesberry. Like most graves 
in eighteenth century rural America, John's grave probably had a wood marker, but 
it would have deteriorated rapidly and decayed to dust within 50 to 100 years.

JOHN'S DESCENDANTS

The Suttons of Bucklesberry and greater Lenoir County are a procreant family. One 
genealogical database [44, see Descendants tab] has conservatively documented more 
than 2,500 of John's descendants representing at least ten generations. According 
to Forebears [15], Sutton was the most prevalent surname in Lenoir County by 1880, 
followed by Davis, Jones, Williams and Taylor in rank order.

John's four purported sonsJames, Richard, Simon and Thomashad few known early 
descendants. Traces of them disappear in Census records after 1880. Virtually all of 
John's known progeny to date have descended from his three proven sonsBenjamin, 
John Jr. and William. They and their immediate offspring intermarried locally. All 
three sons remained in Lenoir County where they grew their families.

Benjamin Sutton Sr. settled in the heart of Bucklesberry north of the Neuse River 
along the Kennedy Home Road between Bear Creek and the Pot Neck area. The Benjamin 
Sr. line arguably has been the most procreative. Two early descendants, his son 
Benjamin Sutton Jr. (1795-1864) and his grandson Jeremiah Sutton (1836-1900), both 
married three times and sired 21 children each, which included a set of twins each. 
Three historically significant descendants in Benjamin Sr.'s line were Samuel Ivey 
Sutton (1834-1904)La Grange Justice of the Peace and railroad agent; Andrew Jackson 
Sutton (1859-1919)Kinston department store owner; and Noah Norwood Sutton (1921-
1991)La Grange shoe store proprietor.

Several later descendants of Benjamin Sr. include Estelle Sutton Creech (1922-2017), 
Glenwood Allen Fields (1943-2021), Julian Thomas Sutton (1945-2019), Kendrick 
Darrell Sutton Sr. (1941-2009) and Myra Sutton Herring (1948-2015).

John Sutton Jr. also settled on the north side of the Neuse River on the ridge area 
of Bucklesberry near Mays Store and Jim Sutton Roads. Three historically noteworthy 
descendants in John Jr.'s line were Alexander Richard Sutton (1860-1928)La Grange 
Mayor and gin-mill operator; Dr. Carl Whitt Sutton, MD (1882-1943)Richlands 
physician, banker and businessman; and Nathan George Sutton (1847-1919)La Grange 
steam mill operator.

Several later descendants of John Jr. include Marcellus Lanier Sutton (1923-2017), 
Marjorie Sutton Oliver (1933-2019), Mary Rose Sutton Stocks (1931-2015), Matthew Lee 
Carr Sutton Sr. (1930-2016) and Richard Elliott Sutton (1931-2021).

William Sutton Sr. settled just outside of Bucklesberry in the northwest area of 
Kinston along U.S. Highway 258 between Pauls Path and Fred Everett Roads. Three 
historically prominent descendants in William Sr.'s line were Fred Isler Sutton, 
Sr., JD (1886-1971)Harvard graduate, Kinston Mayor and attorney; Fred Isler 
Sutton Jr. (1896-1995)Kinston real estate developer; and Lillian Sutton Perry 
(1864-1946)Salem College graduate, Kinston business woman and philanthropist.

Several later descendants of William Sr. include Dr. Warren Seipp Perry, Sr., DDS 
(1924-2003), Eli Jackson Perry Jr., MD (1926-2004), Bernard Spillman Sutton (1927-
2005), Franklin Hoggard Sutton (1926-2021) and Fred Isler (Ricky) 
Sutton III (1943-2018).

CORRRECTED RECORD

Undocumented and unconfirmed information about John Sutton's origins prior to 
his arrival in Bucklesberry in the mid 1700s has been bandied about for years. 
Genealogical research conducted over the last half-century, including primary 
sources now available online and previously undisclosed historical documents, allow 
for a more accurate account of his life. Therefore, Internet genealogical blogs and 
discussion sites contain mistakes about John that need to be appropriately 
corrected. 

Aside from than the inspired, inerrant Word of God, all other recorded history is 
subject to oversights and errors. As such, some written historical records about 
John Sutton contain misinformation. The Heritage of Lenoir County, a mammoth 564-page 
book [10] published in 1981 by the Lenoir County Historical Association (LCHA), is 
no exception. Rightly regarded as the seminal book of its kind about the history 
of Lenoir County and its people, the biographical entry for John Sutton Sr. has 
mistakes.

Statements published in the LCHA warrant correction with research support provided 
in the current document. For example, the LCHA states, "John Sutton Sr. was born 
June, 1718 in Piscataway County, New Jersey" (p. 391). However, there are no known 
documents that confirm the exact month and year of John's birth. Various historical 
papers indicate he was born 1720-1730 and that his birthplace was Bertie County, 
NC, not Piscataway County, NJ. The LCHA further states, "He was the son of Moses 
and Yanick Sutton of Piscataway," (p. 391). John's documented parents, though, were 
Thomas Sutton Sr. (1699-1750) and Elizabeth Luerton Sutton (1705-aft. 1730) of 
Bertie County.

The LCHA also indicates, "Soon after the death of his father in 1740, John, along 
with others, started the southward trend, out of Virginia to the counties of eastern 
North Carolina," (p. 391). But John never resided in Virginia, and his parents lived 
their entire adult lives in Bertie County, where all of their children were born. 
Further, the proven death year of John's father was 1750, not 1740. Weeks after his 
father's death, John moved directly from Bertie County, not Virginia, into the 
backcountry of North Carolina where he arrived in then-Johnston County by 1750. 
There is no evidence that he migrated with a group of others.

Further, the LCHA states, "There were already kinsmen and neighbors of [John's] here 
from Virginia," (p. 391) when he arrived in Bucklesberry. True, others preceded John, 
but there is no proof they came directly from Virginia. For example, ancestors of 
the current Herring family of Bucklesberry were residents of Bertie County, as were 
John and his Sutton relatives. Thus, the Herrings and Suttons were likely associates. 
Among the Herrings who moved to Bucklesberry several years before John was Capt. 
Simon Herring (1709-1769). However, none of John's kinsmen preceded him. He was the 
first of his Sutton line to arrive in Bucklesberry.

The LCHA indicates, "John married Ann Turner, the daughter of John Turner and 
Elizabeth Wiggins," (p. 391). The transfer of three Dobbs County properties from 
Ann's father John Turner to John Sutton, coupled with the prior Bertie County 
association of the Turner and Sutton families, support the belief that Ann Turner 
was, at best, John's assumed wife. That said, there is no concrete evidence that 
she was his proven wife, let alone the mother of his children.

The LCHA also states, "John Sutton served with the Dobbs Militia under the command 
of Captain John Oxley Harrison," (p. 392). The Dobbs County Militia, however, was 
not established until 1775, several years after John's death, which was before 1773. 
John did serve in the militia, but it was two decades earlier. His name appears on 
the Johnston County Militia roster dated 1755.

Finally, the LCHA indicates one of John's sons, "William Sr. (1756) left North 
Carolina and settled in Georgia," (p. 392). As stated earlier, William Sutton Sr. 
(ca. 1760-1813/20) and his immediate descendants settled just outside of Bucklesberry 
in the northwest area of Kinston along U.S. Highway 258 between Pauls Path and Fred 
Everett Roads.

The LCHA book is not the only historical record with mistakes about John Sutton Sr. 
Journalists who wrote about La Grange and surrounding communities in the 1906 
Industrial Issue of the Kinston Free Press [21] did not have access to previously 
undisclosed historical documents that have come to light in the last several decades. 
Rather than crediting settler John Sutton Sr., they mistakenly attributed the 
settlement of Bucklesberry to his grandsons John Sutton (ca. 1779-1848) and Hardy 
Sutton (1803-1861):

"The [Moseley Hall, La Grange] township as a whole is composed of good farming land; 
but in the Buckleberry [sic., Bucklesberry] section, it is exceedingly productive. 
This section is for the most part reclaimed swamp land. It was opened up about 1825 
by John and Hardy Sutton, and most of the land is still in the Sutton family. It 
constitutes a large part of the township and produces cotton and corn in abundance, 
tobacco, etc. It is excellent fruit and strawberry land; as good as can be found 
anywhere. Land sells for twelve, fifteen or twenty dollars an acre." (paras. 2-3)

EPILOG

Many colonists of the eighteenth century pre-Revolutionary War period were men and 
women of irrefutable integrity and impeccable character. A daring and brave people, 
they were driven to survive and succeed by fearless determination and unwavering 
faith. Moreover, they yearned for a time when they and their families could enjoy 
the benefits of liberty in a free nation. Settler John Sutton of Bucklesberry was 
among this estimable group.

Rather than remaining safely and comfortably in his homeland of Bertie County where 
three generations of his family line had thrived, John migrated westward into the 
unsettled backcountry of North Carolina. There he accepted the challenges, risks and 
dangers in order to build a better life with greater opportunities for himself and 
his family.

The life and legacy of John Sutton have been memorialized in a forty-five-acre tract 
of cropland in the heart of Bucklesberry that he once owned. Located on the Kennedy 
Home Road in La Grange and bearing his name, the John Sutton Family Farm remains a 
working farm. Owners are John's fifth great-grandson Dr. Joe Perry Sutton and wife 
Connie Jett Sutton.

In 2022, the John Sutton Family Farm was designated a Bicentenniel Farm by the North 
Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services [29], one of only two farms 
in Lenoir County that has received this honor. Eligibility for the award is continuous 
family ownership of the farm, in whole or in part, for 200 years or more by blood 
relatives of the original owner. The current title holder of the farm must be a 
proven descendant.

REFERENCES

[1] About Lenoir County. (n.d.) https://lenoircountync.gov/about-lenoir-county/
history-of-lenoir-county/ 

[2] Baird, Robert W. (n.d.). Orphans, adoption & inheritance. https://genfiles.com/
articles/adoption/

[3] Barwick, Allen J. (1999). Dobbs County, NC, 1780 tax list [transcription]. 
USGenWeb, North Carolina, Lenoir County. http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/lenoir/
taxlists/1780tax.txt

[4] Bell, Mary B. (Ed.). (1963). Colonial Bertie County North Carolina: Deed books 
A-H, 1720-1757. Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press.

[5] Boyette, Patsy M. (n.d.). A brief history of La Grange. https://lagrangenc.com/
723/History 

[6] Bradley, Stephen E. (1994). Early records of North Carolina, volume VII, wills, 
1750-1755. Harbeson, DE: Colonial Roots Publishing.

[7] Burns, Terry. (n.d.) How fast could they travel? https://web.archive.org/web/
20110103150141/http://www.terryburns.net/How_fast_could_they_travel.htm.

[8] Butler, Lindley S. (2006). Backcountry. NCpedia. https://www.ncpedia.org/
backcountry.

[9] Connor, Robert D. W. (1919). History of North Carolina, Chapter 15: Colonial 
wars. https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/
North_Carolina/_Texts/CBHHNC/1/15*.html

[10] Cooper, Edwin B, M.D., Fuller, Dorothy B., Matthis, Mildred B., & Landauer, 
Elizabeth A. (Eds.). (1981). The heritage of Lenoir County. Kinston, NC: The Lenoir 
County Historical Association.

[11] Creech, Estelle S., Sutton, Violet G., & Cauley, Linda I. (1970). John Sutton 
and Benjamin Sutton. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1prVlTXgUE5uHmQtpBgiZSJK0mKY2pP8Q/
view 

[12] DiNome, William G. (2006). American Indians, Part III: Indian tribes from European 
contact to the era of removal. NCpedia. https://www.ncpedia.org/american-indians/
european-contact.

[13] FamilyTreeDNA. (2022). International Sutton project. Houston, TX: Author. https://
www.familytreedna.com/groups/sutton/about.

[14] Fogel Robert W. (2004). The escape from hunger and premature death 17002100: 
Europe, America, and the Third World. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=qY-1Bto2yNcC&oi=fnd&pg=PR11&ots=
5KR8FtpuWs&sig=uUo7ZlB_nO9dlQvsEha38inuOlk#v=onepage&q&f=false 

[15] Forebears. (2022). Most common surnames in Lenoir County, 1880. https://
forebears.io/united-states/north-carolina/lenoir-county#surname-tab-1880

[16] Grimes, J. Bryan. (1910). Abstract of North Carolina wills [1690-1760]. Raleigh, 
NC: E. M. Uzzell & Co. https://books.google.com/books?id=xRczAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA143&lpg=
PA143&dq=%22Jno.+Sutton%22+bertie-county+nc&source=bl&ots=ZYecx5YGmN&sig=
Tm9Ev0I88yS5dVWkaH_M_Lo-e-Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEgQ6AEwB2oVChMIx7Ts3c-syAIVR56ACh3HaAJh#v=
onepage&q=%22Jno.%20Sutton%22%20bertie-county%20nc&f=false

[17] Herring, Jim. (n.d.). Bertie County, NC, Herring deeds. USGenWeb Archives, North 
Carolina, Lenoir County. http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/bertie/deeds/herring.txt

[18] Hodges, Francis R. (n.d.). Susan Elizabeth (Sutton) Herring Daly. USGenWeb 
Archives, North Carolina, Lenoir County. https://web.archive.org/web/20130210070632/
http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/lenoir/bios/daly01.txt.

[19] Hoffman, Margaret M. (1979). Province of North Carolina, 1663-1729: Abstract 
of land patents. Weldon, NC: Roanoke News Co.

[20] Jurney, R. C. & Davis, W. A. (1927). Soil survey of Lenoir County, N.C. Washington, 
DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Chemistry and Soils. https://
play.google.com/books/reader?id=a4iSBn93puIC&pg=GBS.PP2&hl=en

[21] Kinston Free Press. (1906). Magazine industrial issue of the Kinston Free Press: 
Moseley Hall Township and La Grange. http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/lenoir/history/
other/issue014.txt

[22] Ivey, Mollie R. (1982). "John James Ivey." In The Heritage of Wayne County, North 
Carolina (Mary Daniels Johnstone, Coordinator), pp. 295-296. Goldsboro, NC: Wayne County 
Historical Association and Old Dobbs County Genealogical Society. https://
smithharper.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/JohnIveyHeritageWayne.pdf

[23] Long, Creston S. III. (2002). Southern routes: Family migration and the eighteenth-
century southern backcountry [Ph.D. dissertation]. Richmond, VA: The College of William 
and Mary. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3202&context=etd

[24] Marble, Martha M. (n.d.a). Descendants of John Sutton 1. https://
www.olddobbers.net/sutton/john_sutton.html. 

[25] Marble, Martha M. (n.d.b). Grantor-grantee indexes of Johnston, Dobbs and Lenoir 
Counties [North Carolina]. https://smithharper.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/
ncgranteeindexdobbsjohnstonlenoir.pdf

[26] Meiser, Rita, & Velen, Marcie. (n.d.). The history of adoption. https://
www.researchetcinc.com/historyofadoption.html 

[27] Meissner, B. (n.d.). Early families of Scituate. Scituate, MA; The Scituate 
Historical Society. https://scituatehistoricalsociety.org/early-families-of-scituate/

[28] Moore, Claude. (1985). A history of Waynesborough, North Carolina. https://
www.carolana.com/NC/Towns/Waynesborough_NC.html 

[29] North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. (2022). 
Bicentennial Farm program. https://www.ncagr.gov/paffairs/Century/Bicentennial-Farms/ 

[30] Oliver, Marjorie S. (1974). The Suttons of England and North Carolina, USA, 
1620-1974. La Grange, NC: Author. https://drive.google.com/file/d/
1tayKhi5ngiysM-EGK6LUm9pl6O_XImRb/view

[31] Parks, Rose M. (2010). Apprentice, George Wiggins 1768 [transcription]. USGenWeb, 
North Carolina, Dobbs County. http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/dobbs/court/
wigginsa1499wl.txt 

[32] Parks, Rose M. (n.d.). Will of George Wiggins 1749 [transcription]. https://
www.olddobbers.net/wiggins/pafn02.htm#147 

[33] Shurtleff, Nathaniel B. (Ed.). (1857). Records of the colony of New Plymouth in 
New England, Miscellaneous records, 1633-1690. Boston, MA: William White Press. 
https://archive.org/details/recordsofcolonyo0708newp/page/128/mode/1up

[34] State Archives of North Carolina. (1755, October 7). A list of the company of 
foot soldiers commanded by Captain Simon Herring and his inferior officers. Raleigh, 
NC: North Carolina Digital Collections. https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/
p16062coll26/id/209/rec/2

[35] State Archives of North Carolina. (1745, April 4). Johnston County file no. 256, 
John Wiggins. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
https://nclandgrants.com/grant/?mars=12.14.50.256&qid=785474&rn=22

[36] State Archives of North Carolina. (1756, March 17). Johnston County file no.348, 
Gersham Wiggins. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural 
Resources. https://nclandgrants.com/grant/?mars=12.14.78.346&qid=785472&rn=56

[37] State Archives of North Carolina. (1750). Will of Enoch Ward (Carteret County). 
Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Digital Collections. https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/
collection/p16062coll41/id/7028

[38] State Archives of North Carolina. (1750, February 3). Will of Thomas Sutton Sr. 
(Bertie County). Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Digital Collections. https://
digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p16062coll41/id/6202.

[39] Stevens, Anne. (n.d.). Good ship Hercules of Sandwich, England, 1634 [roster 
transcription]. https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/hercules2.htm 

[40] Sutton, Joe P. (2017a). John Giles survey 1748 [transcription]. USGenWeb Archives, 
North Carolina, Lenoir County. http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/lenoir/bios/sutton/
survey/survey11748.txt 

[41] Sutton, Joe P. (2017b). John Sutton survey ca. 1757 [transcription]. USGenWeb 
Archives, North Carolina, Lenoir County. http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/lenoir/bios/
sutton/survey/survey1757.txt 

[42] Sutton, Joe P. (2017c, January 11). "Old Sutton farm land." La Grange, NC: The 
Weekly Gazette. https://www.olddobbers.net/sutton/gazette/Article8.Bucklesberry.pdf 

[43] Sutton, Joe P. (2018). William Parrot Hardy to Benjamin and Sarah Hardy Sutton, 
1780. USGenWeb Archives, North Carolina, Lenoir County. http://files.usgwarchives.net/
nc/lenoir/bios/sutton/letterscards/letter1780.txt.

[44] Sutton, Joe P. (2022a). Clellan Sutton Collection of Bucklesberry documents. 
USGenWeb Archives, North Carolina, Lenoir County. http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/
lenoir/suttonclellan/sutton_clellan.htm 

[45] Sutton, Joe P. (2022b). Bucklesberry Suttons: Dedicated to the ancestry and 
origins of the Sutton family from Lenoir County, NC. https://suttonancestry.com/ 

[46] Sutton, Joe P. (2022c). King George III land grant no. 68 to John Sutton 1763 
[image]. https://drive.google.com/file/d/10qXVYoO0ruG_S-_aApoH8Bp5Clld5GlA/view

[47] Sutton, Joe P. (2022d). John Sutton 1763 receipt [image]. https://drive.google.com/
file/d/1hfJ5CZSbzdKhw9MK7EpU8MDxXzzCS5tC/view 

[48] Tew, Jerome. (n.d.). Dobbs County 1769 taxables [transcription]. USGenWeb, North 
Carolina, Dobbs County. http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/dobbs/taxlists/dobbs2.txt 

[49] The origins of adoption in America. (n.d.). https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/
americanexperience/features/daughter-origins-adoption-america/#:~:text=
During%20the%20colonial%20era%2C%20most,but%20never%20adopt%20them%20legally.&text=
The%20first%20Jewish%20orphanage%20in,established%20in%20Charleston%2C%20South%20Carolina 

[50] Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina. (n.d.). Our tribal history. https://
tuscaroranationnc.com/tribal-history

[51] U.S. Census Bureau. (1790). North Carolina, Dobbs County. [Sutton heads of household]. 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EmIXfH21IjvM7HTSIi6L89KQ9Y26edvi/view?pli=1 

[52] U.S. Census Bureau. (1800). North Carolina, Lenoir County. [Sutton heads of household].
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RBvYcE6QREi_uwt1QhHyDF3NwrawWREZ/view?pli=1 

[53] U.S. Census Bureau. (1810). North Carolina, Lenoir County. [Sutton heads of household]. 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10HfRgSRLLu5q4gBnS4HuXVW-bak3ge0Y/view?pli=1 

[54] U.S. Census Bureau. (1810). North Carolina, Wayne County. [James Sutton]. 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mFfsNRquOtrvtyJt-Bu09voFC8sLbYdE/view?pli=1 

[55] U.S. Census Bureau. (1810). North Carolina, Duplin County. [Simon Sutton]. 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1idz8WlCdJkX9Df7kkpLQOaJ6799hztwg/view?pli=1 

[56] U.S. Census Bureau. (1810). North Carolina, Lenoir County. [Susana Sutton]. 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Wuii4EfbZc6OWV5CbhOTK2x3MO1XQoFm/view?pli=1 

[57] U.S. Census Bureau. (1820). North Carolina, Duplin County. [Mary Sutton]. 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aYr1j1m34WwaHMF6k6n8iz74Qr3eMWzI/view?pli=1 

[58] U.S. Census Bureau. (1830). North Carolina, Duplin County. [Mary Sutton].
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U0bgE-uyXj9AlRolv9lZ_0ZMYwg0JQ90/view?pli=1
 
[59] U.S. Census Bureau. (1830). North Carolina, Lenoir County. [Richard Sutton, Jr.]. 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wfket0c8rojd9p2tf_mZ6OczrhrFfn3m/view?pli=1

[60] U.S. Census Bureau. (1840). North Carolina, Duplin County. [Mary Sutton]. 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zCXuYN0GmGo1VCUaJ1QwdwGrs8xFufBv/view?pli=1 

[61] U.S. Census Bureau. (1840). North Carolina, Lenoir County. [Richard Sutton, Jr.].
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aZmOBDqu02t_7yU6y0YQ26KT5TR5cYqk/view?pli=1

[62] U.S. Census Bureau. (1850). North Carolina, Duplin County. [Mary Sutton].
https://drive.google.com/file/d/172Rbf0fY-YGNcCIg-Jjj0mdk5fxVOTQv/view?pli=1 

[63] U.S. Census Bureau. (1850). North Carolina, Lenoir County. [Richard Sutton, Jr.].
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b3p1bu9f5EDeu7VSFiCGpgh_vT0FeBFh/view?pli=1 

[64] U.S. Census Bureau. (1860). North Carolina, Lenoir Count. [Richard Sutton, Jr.]. 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-7OD9KmYzVrMUv-DmZnP0QWdml08WmZk/view?pli=1 

[65] U.S. Census Bureau. (1860). North Carolina, Lenoir County. [Richard Sutton, III].
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-bam5QJbC6rS9KBgxyYH0Z8GOdkN4cAL/view?pli=1  

[66] U.S. Census Bureau. (1870). North Carolina, Lenoir County. [Richard Sutton, Jr.]. 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-bam5QJbC6rS9KBgxyYH0Z8GOdkN4cAL/view?pli=1

[67] U.S. Census Bureau. (1880). North Carolina, Lenoir County. [Richard Sutton, Jr.].
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BJgjIrCrRkscoiM-c8_FuKTqq6x-OVEC/view?pli=1

[68] Wallace, Frankie (n.d.). How was infrastructure maintained during the 1700s? 
https://www.history1700s.com/index.php/articles/14-guest-authors/
2082-how-was-infrastructure-maintained-during-the-1700s.html

[69] Wayne County North Carolina. (1857). Estate of Thomas Sutton 1857. https://
www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99CF-P9M8?wc=
QZCC-B3F%3A1066694502%2C183204002%2C1066715525%3Fcc%3D1911121&cc=1911121

[70] Whitford, Sara. (2014). A new look at the Tuscarora War. https://
www.coastalcarolinaindians.com/
case-1-on-the-trail-of-tom-or-a-new-look-at-the-tuscarora-war/

[71] World Health Organization. (2020). World health statistics 2020: Monitoring 
health for the SDGs, sustainable development goals. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/
cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1547&context=srhreports 

_____________


NOTE: Dr. Joe P. Sutton is a native and resident of Bucklesberry. This biography
represents a synthesis of 21 articles he wrote for The Weekly Gazettle, La Grange, NC. 
Published in 2022 and titled, "Settler John Sutton," the articles were part of the 
ongoing series, Bucklesberry, Back in the Day. Settler John Sutton was the fifth great-
grandfather of the author.