Person:Abraham Skipper (1)

• Census: 1790 North Carolina, BRUNSWICK, Roll 7 Book 2, Page 23, WILMINGTON DISTRICT, 1m>16, 2m<16; 3f, next to Moses and John Skipper

Census: 1784 Brunswick County Tax List

Census: 10 OCT 1798 Named as son-in-law (meaning step son) in will of Miles Potter

Census: 1800 North Carolina, BRUNSWICK, Roll 29 Book 1, Page 38b, WILMINGTON DIST, listed as Scipper, 6 all other free persons, next to John Scipper

Census: 1810 North Carolina, BRUNSWICK COUNTY, Roll 38 , Book 1, Page 51, 1m<10, 1m 10-16, 1m>45; 2f<10, 2f 10-16, 1f>45

On January 26, 1819 the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions--hereafter "the court"--ordered that Letters of Administration for the estate of Abraham Skipper be issued to Jacob W. Leonard.

The letters are actually issued on January 27, 1819. The bondsmen are Uriah Sullivan and Henry Willets.

Also on January 27, 1819, the court ordered that Jacob W. Leonard be authorized to sell all the goods and chattels of Abraham Skipper.

On April 26, 1819, Jacob W. Leonard returned the inventory of the Abraham Skipper estate to the court.

On February 2, 1820, the court appointed Silas Skipper to be the guardian of David Alfred Skipper and Jacob Skipper, and that he enter into a bond of three hundred dollars with J W Leonard and Jno T Sullivan.

On February 2, 1820, the court appointed J W Leonard to be the guardian of Drucilla Skipper and John Wiley Skipper, and that he enter into a bond of two hundred dollars with Joseph Russ and Pitt W Robeson.

• The Skipper name is documented as descending from the Nottoway Indians, based on Bertie county colonial records.

• 1759 Brunswick County deed records a Jacob Webb, 100 acres “Adjoining lands of Benjamin Smith and ISAAC SKIPPER. This area is also located in the vicinity of Green Swamp. Isaac Skipper appears as a “black” taxable and Mulatto on later tax and censes records, living as neighbors to Skippers labeled as “white” The Skipper name itself is documented as descending from the Nottoway Indians, based on Bertie county colonial records. Benjamin Smith, however, can be presumed to be labeled as white as there is nothing in his land deeds that mentions his ethnicity. No “race” is mention for Isaac Skipper is his land deeds also. Jacob Webb is never listed on the censes, suggesting he may have died before the first censes. Colonial records of Brunswick Co tells us that Benjamin received a land grant of 100,000 acres, covering a vast range of Green swamp (much of Brunswick co at that time). Assuming that Benjamin is of white ancestry and an early settler of Brunswick, it does present an interesting observation that he received a grant in Green Swamp, which at that time was inhabited with indians. Colonial records do not tell us much of settlers acquiring land in Green swamp in early to mid 1700’s, an area that the white man apparently would not touch. Also, a 1755 state document circulated by the Arthur Dobbs, the Governor of North Carolina at that time, who was living in “province” of what would later become Brunswick Co, makes mention of a number of “indians, mixboods and runaway slaves living in the Swamps of Robeson Co and surrounding areas, and not paying taxes on their lands”. At that time Green Swamp covered several counties and was called the “Great Marsh”, according to colonial records. This information may suggest and supports the fact that Green swamp was inhabited by indians and persons of color. Court min at that time do not show or simply “exclude” settlers who took up residence in this area, as not much is recorded in terms of who settled in the “Great Marsh” area. Colonial records at that time certainly say nothing about indians inhabiting this area. It can be assumed that indians were residence in that swamp and no white man dare to venture there. Only through a censes taken around 1715 tells us of Waccamaw natives inhabiting this area. The censes interesting gives a count of number of indians present in the swamp at that time, but no names. Colonial records don’t reflect this. As with most native American settlements before the colonial times, Indians living on their lands are not mentioned in colonial records, unless they are living like their European counterpart (no more living like indians). Only then do you begin to see them in records, but not labeled as “indian”. At this time Green Swamp was inhabited by indians hidden deep in the swamp as is evidence by that early censes record.