Seeking The Past:Defining the African

American Hillfield Community & Cemetery

A Project Summary A Project Summary By Claire BowerBy Claire Bower

Intro to ArchaeologyIntro to ArchaeologyFall 2008Fall 2008

Proximity of Site to Atlantic Ocean

The Croatan National ForestCedar Point, North Carolina

Site Map

Canoe Launch at White Oak River:Paleo-Indian Site

• Native Americans occupied the territory of the present Croatan National Forest long before the arrival of European settlers. A population of 17,600 Indians were living in the Carolina coastal plain in 1584. Among the Indians, the Algonquian and Iroquoian tribes were about evenly represented, with about 7,000 people each. Siouan tribes comprised the remainder. (Simpson, Murdoch, and Garner)

Early Inhabitants of the Croatan

• The Tuscaroras and the Core (one of the smaller Iroquoian tribes) lived in the area the longest. They built and named several villages along the Neuse River. "Croatan" literally means "town talk" or town where councils were held.

• "Neusiok" was the name of one of the villages on the Neuse River in the vicinity of Clubfoot Creek and provided the name for the tribal group.

• The houses were typically constructed from a circle of poles that were set into the ground then bent together at the top to form a dome-shaped structure and covered with bark.

• Fishing was the main source of food, but crops, including corn and peaches, supplemented the Indian diet. The Indians ranged over a wide region and many of their trading paths became routes for North Carolina's major highways.

• In the early 1700's the coastal Indians were forced off their lands by white settlers.

– (Simpson, Murdoch, and Garner)

William Henry Singleton• I have lived through the greatest

epoch in history, having been born August 10, 1835, at Newbern, North Carolina. That was not so many years, you see, after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and the winning of the Revolutionary War. But in the country of the Declaration of Independence I was born a slave, for I was a black man. And because I was black it was believed I I had no soul. I had no rights that anybody was bound to respect. For in the eyes of the law I was but a thing. I was bought and sold. I was whipped. Once I was whipped simply because it was thought I had opened a book.– (William Henry Singleton 1835-

1938)

Mary Norcott Bryan(1841-1945) “First stands out in bold

relief the delightful plantation life at Woodlawn.This phase of society is a thing of the past, and I know the tender tie that existed between mistress and servant. To the credit of the colored people be it said that during the Civil War, when on plantation after plantation the mansions were occupied only by wives and daughters, not a disloyal act or word ever occurred.”

A Different Account…At this early day the question of slavery was agitated. I

quote from the will of your Great Grand father, Rev. Wm. P. Biddle, written in 1820:

        "I will that Isabel, Owen and Lillie be made and set free the first court after January. Isabel belonged to my Grandfather and lived with him a faithful servant and has greatly assisted me. Lillie nursed me and belonged to my parents; I desire her to be free. At the end of five years I desire Eli to be free, for there are few such servants for faithfulness and merit… I wish that in this, and the former freeing they may be tendered to the Colonization Society of Virginia, they shall be settled in the most eligible place in Africa or in the South West of our continent. I will that all of twenty-one years of age shall receive from my estate six months' education."

Arrowhead Plantation c.1775

Durham, North Carolina

Foscue Plantation House, Pollocksville

1803-04

Archaeological Mystery to be Solved:Was the Hillfield Cemetery Used by Freedmen or as

a Mass Grave Site During a Cholera Epidemic?

• Cemetery was not in any records.

• Graves were unmarked with no headstones.

• Discovered by a hunter looking down from his tree stand.

• Body-sized depressions seen all across forest floor-he knew what they were and called authorities.

What was Accomplished During Phase 1 at Cemetery:

• Datum point and boundary of graveyard was established on a north/south grid.

• Small trees and brush cleared from area.• Neon flags inserted into each depression

found. • Total Station used to plot & count points.• Map of graves compiled to be submitted to

the state of North Carolina.• A new site of over 200 human burials will be

added to official records.

The Croatan Crew Upon Completion of Work at

Cemetery

Hill Family Tree

Artifacts Found at Seven Room House: Our First Discovery of Whitewear

Artifacts Found at Seven Room House: Metal, Whitewear

Artifacts Found at Seven Room House: Glass with Writing

Artifacts Found at Seven Room House: Red Bead

Artifacts Found at Seven Room House: Bisque Baby Doll Face

Artifacts Found at Seven Room House: Bisque Baby Doll Face

Artifacts Found at Seven Room House:

Excavating the Brick Pillar at The Seven Room House

Sarah, the Forest Service InternTaking a Compass Reading at the Brick

Pillar

Working the Sifters:Left to Right: Claire, Sarah,

Josh

A Typical Pack of Anthro-Geeks: Two Archaeologists, a Chainsaw Guy, a Biologist, and Some Volunteers Checking Out the Map

Present Day Ecology: Boardwalk at the Marsh

BibliographyThe Croatan Forest and Neusiok Trail

http://www.clis.com/canoe2/neusiok.html

William Simpson, Michael Murdoch, and Mackey Garner

An internet brochure cited 11/23/08 6:27 p.m.

Recollections of My Slavery Days:Electronic Edition.

Singleton, William Henry, 1835-1938

Funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities supported the electronic publication of this title.

http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/singleton/singleton.html#id1

Cited 11/23/08 7:20 p.m.

A Grandmother's Recollections of Dixie:Electronic Edition

Bryan, Mary Norcott, 1841-1925

Funding from the Library of Congress/Ameritech National Digital Library Competitionsupported the electronic publication of this title.

http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/bryan/bryan.html

Cited 11/23/08 8:54 p.m.

http://collectdolls.about.com/od/dollprofiles/p/bisquedolls.htm

Cited 12/02/08 11:39 p.m.