Burdett Eskridge Plantation

OVERVIEW

Location: Ninety-six District, South Carolina; later Edgefield Co. (1785)
Date Constructed/ Founded: aft. 1763
Associated Surnames: Eskridge, Grigsby, Thomas
Historical Notes: Captain Richard Burdett “Bud” Eskridge (b.1740) migrated from his grandfather’s Sandy Point Plantation in Virginia. He established his own plantation in South Carolina built in part by the estate, including enslaved persons, he inherited from his father. Burdett, his wife Nancy Grigsby Eskridge, their son Samuel B. (b.1763), and three enslaved persons George, Bet, and Jenney, traveled 500 miles south to settle near Richland Creek. Burdett Eskridge was killed in the Cloud Creek Massacre in 1781 during the American Revolutionary War. The turbulence of war and dangers of colonizing land during that time may have prompted Burdett to file his Will two years earlier in 1779. In it he bequeathed his plantation to his sons Samuel and Richard. Sometime after Burdett’s death, guardianship of his son Samuel B. was granted to Joseph “Josiah” Thomas.
Associated Pages: Sandy Point Plantation (Westmoreland Co., VA), Richard Eskridge Plantation (Carroll Co., MS)

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ASSOCIATED ENSLAVED PERSONS

Eskridge family – from Sandy Point Plantation VA: George, Bet, Jenney

Eskridge family – Burdett Eskridge Plantation SC: Will (Eskridge) (b.1757-d.?) – from Virginia; Jenny “Jane” (Eskridge) (b.1747-d.?) – wife, was sold in 1793 to Capt. John Thomas of Green Co. GA; Ruth (Eskridge) (b.1773-d.?) – dau.; Barbe (Eskridge) (b.1776-d.?) – dau.; Rose (Eskridge) (b.1779-d.?) – dau.; Betty (Eskridge) (b.1783-d.?) – dau.; George (Eskridge) (b.?-d.?) – son; William (Eskridge) (b.?-d.?) – son

Eskridge family – Burdett Eskridge Plantation SC: Rose (Eskridge) (b.1779-d.?) – dau. of Will and Jenny; Lucy (Eskridge) (b.1804-d.?) – dau.; Lewis (Eskridge) (b.?-d.?) – son; George W. (Eskridge) (b.1820-d.?) – son; Clementine (Eskridge) (b.1821-d.?) – son; Feraby (Eskridge) (b.1822-d.?) – dau., taken to Richard Eskridge Plantation MS; Eliza (Eskridge) (b.1829-d.1878) – dau.

Information from Antebellum Census & Estate Records

1779: Will, Jane (wife), Ruth (daughter), Barbe (daughter), Rose (daughter) [1779 Estate inventory of Burdett Eskridge; S. Hanks (2)]

1782: Will age 25/26, Jane age 35, Ruth age 9, Barbe age 6, Rose age 3 [1782 Estate inventory of Burdett Eskridge; S. Hanks (2)]

1793: Sold to Captain John Thomas (father of Joseph “Josiah” Thomas) – Jenny (age 47) [S. Haynes (2)]

Note: Richard Eskridge established his plantation in Duck Hill ca.

ASSOCIATED FREE PERSONS

Eskridge family: Capt. Richard Burdett “Bud” Eskridge (b.1740-d.1781) – son of S. and J.A. Eskridge, grandson of Col. G. Eskridge, owner of Burdett Eskridge Plantation; Nancy “Nance” Grigsby Eskridge (b.1752-d.1780) – wife (m.?); Samuel B. Eskridge (b.1763-d.1852) – son; Richard Eskridge (b.1775-d.1860) – son, owned slaves in SC and later established Richard Eskridge Plantation in Carroll Co., MS; Hannah Bell Watson Eskridge (b.?-d.?) – second wife of R.B. Eskridge; Martha Eskridge (b.1780-d.?) – dau. of Capt. R.B. and H.B.W. Eskridge

Thomas family: Joseph “Josiah” Thomas (b.?-d.?) – guardian of S.B. Eskridge, son of Captain John Thomas of Green Co. GA; Elizabeth Eskridge Thomas (b.?-d.?) – wife (m.1795), dau. of Capt. R.B. and N.G. Eskridge

Thomas family: Frederick G. Thomas (b.?-d.?) – son of Captain John Thomas of Green Co. GA; Rebecca Eskridge Thomas (b.?-d.?) – wife (m.?)

 

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RESEARCH LEADS AND RECORDS

• None

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MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

• Cloud Creek Massacre (1781) – A confrontation during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), where 300 loyalists (Tories) led by William “Bloody Bill” Cunningham (b.1756 –d.1787) surrounded and massacred 28 rebels (Whigs) on November 17, 1781. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Bill_Cunningham

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REFERENCES

• Hanks S. (1) Akee Tree: A Descendant’s Search for his Ancestors on the Eskridge Plantation. Paper Bird Books, 2005.
• Hanks S. (2) Akee Tree: A Descendant’s Search for his Ancestors on the Eskridge Plantations. American History Press, 2013.
• Eskridge JC II. The Florida Society of the National Society Sons of the American Revolution, Application for Membership of John Coleman Eskridge II descendant of Burdett Eskridge, May 22, 1951. Public Member Files. Ancestry.com.