The Legend of Coharie was written by Ernest Minson Bullard who died in 1959.  It was published in a publication that I believe was called “Pitch ‘n Tar” but I can find no publication information, other than a mention at the bottom of this article in a passing way.  Given copyright restrictions, and the fact that I can’t even figure out who to ask for permission, I’ll extract the information from this article.

I must say, I’m very grateful for contributions.  Someone sent this to Anne Poole who sent it to me.  If you see something that might be of interest, please do send it our way.  I’ll share it with all and who knows where that next hint might be waiting.

Ernest Bullard was the field rep for the Farmers Home Administration.  He was born in Sampson County and lived in Cumberland County, NC when he died.  The FHA reps talked to everyone, in particular the farmers.  At the time, the FHA’s entire purpose was rural development, farm loans, loans for the installation of water systems and emergency relief.  Given who he worked with and talked to, he probably heard every legend that existed in his area, especially if people liked him.  From the looks of this article, people liked him.

Ernest does not tell this in jest.  He says he tells the tale as it was told to him.

In 1588 or 1589, the survivors of the Lost Colony took up residence with Manteo on Croatan Island.  A tidal wave had left the island ground salty and the survivors left Croatan Island for the mainland to the west of Roanoke Island.  One of the survivors was George Howe Jr., the son of George Howe who was murdered by the Indians on Roanoke Island on July 28, 1587.

A consultation was held on Croatan Island about what to do, and it was determined that some of the group would bypass Wanchese’s hostile tribe by going to the north and some would go south.  The ones who went to the north are not part of this story.

Manteo and most of the tribe chose the southern route and left about 1592.

The Indians and the colonists landed in what is now Carteret or Pamlico County.  Legend says they tried early the next year to ascend the Neus farther inland in order to reach higher land on which they could grow Indian corn.  The tidal wave had salted the land where they first settled so it would not grow corn.  Many colonists were sick due to lack of bread to each with the seafood and game that were abundant.

They were attacked  by an unfriendly tribe and some were wounded.  They turned south and dwelt “for many moons” along the coast, finally settling on the east side of the Cape Fear River where they lived peacefully “for many seasons.”

Eventually a colony of white people settled across the river, possibly the Clarendon Colony of 1664, and Manteo’s tribe began to migrate further inland until they reached the confluence of the Deep and the Haw Rivers here they settled on the eastern prong which they named the Howe River in honor of George Howe III who was the grandson of Manteo.  George Howe Jr. had married one of Manteo’s daughters.

They lived on the Haw about 170 moons when a severe drought dried the river and springs.  They then migrated downstream with the receding water supply until they encountered scattered Scotch settlements along the Cape Fear River in current day Cumberland County.

They dispatched two runners, one of which was George Howe the IV who found a clear spring and called out “co-her-ah,” “come here ah,” which eventually became Coharie.  They settled along the Coharies and the South River where many of their descendants still reside.

The legend itself ends here, but their descendants still live in that region.  This story was told to Ernest and had never been previously written and committed to paper.  It had been passed generation to generation by word of mouth.

He reports that the Manors who “have to a considerable degree” preserved their Indian blood and characteristics” and who at that time resided in the central western section of Sampson County and on both sides of and between the two Coharies claim to be the direct descendants of Manteo. Ernest says “The definition of Manor furnished a clue as to why the surname Manteo was changed to Manor after he was christened Lord of Roanoke by order of Sir Walter Raleigh and given dominion over all the Indians in that entire area.”

Ernest says that more than half of the colonist names can be found on the census of Sampson County and more than two thirds found among the people of southeast NC.  Of the remaining 25 or 30, 8 are known to have been changed to similar names.  One of those names is Howe.

The name Howe was given to the Haw River but the name evolved over time.

“Near the center of a small clearing on which these early people produced Indian corn and perhaps potatoes and collards, on top of a knoll overlooking the lowland of Big Swamp in the western part of what was known at that time as “the Territory” of Duplin County, there stood a small log cabin belonging to Enoch Hall.  Hall as said to have been a lineal descendant from George Howe of the “Lost Colony…the name having changed from Howe to Haw to Hall.”

Ernest says he believes that many descendants exist today from those 96 men, 16 women and 9 boys of the Lost Colony and have lived or were living at the time in Sampson County.  I estimate that this article was from perhaps the 1930s or 1940s.

Ernest gave us a lot of good information here, so let’s analyze it a bit based on what he said, in timeline fashion.

First, I want to say that we know that all of the Indians did not vacate Croatoan, now Hatteras Island.  Archaeology digs in combination with John Lawson’s records from 1701 that tell us that the Hatteras lived on Hatteras Island.  Lawson tells us they had grey eyes and said they descended from white people.  Other records confirm their early presence on Hatteras Island as well.  Of course, part of the group could have left and it has long been speculated that they did.

I also want to comment on the tidal wave. Hatteras Island has been routinely engulfed and flooded by ocean water, as has the mainland adjacent the sound.  Vegetation still continues to grow here.  If vegetation couldn’t survive, then neither could animals which eat vegetation.  This story mentions that corn wouldn’t grow due to the salt, but that animals were plentiful.  Those statements seem contradictory.  We do know that a severe drought was taking place when the colonists were left on Roanoke Island in 1587.  The impacts of the 16th century drought (1564-1573) on native agriculturalists in South Carolina was mentioned by Spanish colonists at Santa Elena but this record is too early for the drought mentioned in this story.  I was not able to find any records of prolonged or particularly severe droughts in the 1600s.  A drought severe enough to dry up a river would be extremely pronounced.

1592 – Colonists and Indians left Roanoke/Croatan Island. Some went North and were lost to this history and some went south.  They lived along the coast for many years and then established residence on the Cape Fear River.

1664 – A colony of whites established themselves across the river from the colonist and Indian descendants.  We don’t know when this was, but if it was the Clarendon colony, it was 1664.  They moved inland to the confluence of the Deep and Haw Rivers, naming the Haw after George Howe III, grandson of Manteo.

If George Howe Jr. was 10 years old in 1587, he would have been “marriage age” about 1597, so could have had a child about 1600, which indeed could have had another child by 1630 or so and George Howe III could indeed have been alive in 1664.

They lived “there” for 170 moons.  Ernest seems to interpret a moon as a year, but a moon is a month, so 170 moons would be equivalent to about 14 years.  We don’t know how long it took them to move up the Haw, but let’s say that it was only a few months, so we’ll ignore that, but keeping in mind it could have been a couple years or even more.

This puts us at between 1678 and 1680.

1678-1680 – In search of water, the tribe finds scattered Scotch in settlements along the Cape Fear River.

1678-1680 – George Howe IV finds the Coharie River.  Another generation of George Howes could well be alive in 1680.  They settled along the two Coharies and South River.

Here’s a problem.  The 1678-1680 dates don’t work, because the Scots did not begin to settle on the Cape Fear backcountry until in 1732.  If this story about Georg Howe IV finding the Coharie is now in 1732 instead of 1680, we are several generations off, given that an average generation is 25-30 years.

1587 – George Lowe Jr 10 years of age

1597 – George Howe marries Manteo’s daughter

1600 – George Howe III born

1620 – George Howe IIII marries

1625 – George Howe IV born

1732 – George Howe IV 107 years old when Scotch Irish begin settling Cape Fear region

1779 – Cabin belonging to Enoch Hall in Duplin County, overlooking Big Swamp in “The Territory” of Duplin County.  Hall is alleged to be a direct descendant of George Howe.

If this is the case, Enich would be very admixed and would have been listed as a free person of color in the 1790 census.

The 1790 census, 11 years after the last date given in the story, does not show an Enoch Hall living in Duplin County.  However, one Enoch Hall is shown in Robeson County along with Barnabas, Benjamin, Instance, Isaac, Lazarus, Lewis, Mary, Susannah and Bickley Hall.  In Duplin County, we show David, Isaac and two William Halls and in Sampson County, an Armager, Sampson, Moses, William and Josiah Hall. None of these families are enumerated as Free People of Color.

Hall is not recorded in Robeson, Sampson or Duplin, or elsewhere in NC for that matter, as a Free Person of Color, but Mainor is in Sampson County.  Both Howe and Hall are sporadically noted later as Native in Robeson County, but not Sampson County.  Hall has one death record and one draft registration and Howe has only a mention by Virginia DeMarce.  This is very scant evidence, and somewhat late as well.  By 1920-1930, these families should have been “of color” or Native for a long time.  Perhaps a female Native line married into the family.

I decided to take a look at the Hall DNA project.

There are two possible lines.  An Instant Hall is shown in group 18 and Barnabas Hall is shown in group 34.  I was interested to know if either of these men show any matches to a Howe.  Both of these haplogroups are European, which is what would be expected.  The Hall project administrator reports that neither of these men have any Howe matches.

There is a Maynor from Sampson County in the Lumbee DNA project.  His DNA is European, not Native American, so if the Maynor family descends from Manteo, it’s not the direct paternal line.