Letter from Thomas Avent, 1728

As Sheriff and Justice of the Peace of Surry/Sussex County, VA, Thomas Avent would have been the chief law enforcement officer for the area. As such, he was called in by the Council of Gov. Alexander Spottswood of VA to investigate some troubles involving the local Indian tribes, the Sapony, the Nottoway, and the Catawba (Thomas calls them the 'Cotobers' in his letter).

The original of the letter is in the archives of the Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, VA. (They can provide you with an excellent printed copy of it, for a moderate fee.) A scan of an original copy of it, in Thomas' handwriting, can be viewed here, but here's the text of it (punctuation added by webmaster):

Sir:

The 27^th of September John Carter brought Negro Cofey to my house, as he says, by your orders, for me to examine concerning what the Saponys have told him about the white people, which I have done, and he tells me:

that Great George told him that John Sauano and a fellow called Ben Harrison was gone to the Cotobers to fetch one hundred of them to come and see why their Indians was put in prison,

and if Capt. Tom was hanged they would carry their wives and children over the Roanoke River and then they would drive the white people and negros as far as James River,

and he says that Tony Mack told him that if Pyah was hanged he and the Cotobers would come and take revenge of the English,

and he says that Sapony Tom told him if his son Harry Erwin was hanged they would kill you and three or four more Gentlemen and then go off,

and he says that Dick told him that we had no business to come to the fort armed to concern ourselves about their killing one another, but we were like a sow that had lost her pigs would rally for a little time and then have done *, but when they began a war with the English they never would have done *.

This from your humble servant to command,

Thomas Avent

(* the British, then and now, have always used the phrase "have done " to mean "finish".)

The fort mentioned in the the letter was likely Fort Christanna, which was constructed in Brunswick County, VA, in 1714 at the direction of Gov. Alexander Spottswood. There is lots of interesting information regarding the fort at this website. The site of Fort Christanna can easily be found today, and is a state historical site. From the town of Lawrenceville, VA, take State Rt. 46 a few miles south. When you cross the Meherrin River, take the first right onto Fort Hill Rd. and look for the historical marker a mile or so down the road.

It might be dealing with other troubles than the ones mentioned in his letter above, but here is another reference showing Col. Thomas Avent's involvement in Indian affairs, as well as some of the rough conditions in what was then the wild frontier. From "The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography", Vol. 4, Executive Journals, Council of Colonial Virginia, p. 185 (the "Tottero" Indians are probably what are now called the "Tutelo" - see reference below):

"August the 16th, 1728 - The great men of the Nottoway and Saponie Indians, together with the Tottero King this day attending the Governor (i.e., Spottswood) in Council, the said Tottero King complain'd that the Nottoway Indians some time since attack'd and killed his son near to his own house, and charges an Indian of that nation named Hickory particularly as one of the party , which was also confirmed by a letter from Capt. Thomas Avent, an inhabitant of that neighborhood, that the Tottero King's son on his death bed told him he knew the said Nottoway Indian named Hickory was one of the Indians that fired at him, and afterwards came up and knock'd him down with a Tommahawk.."

What do we know about the Sapony Indians? According to the interesting website saponitown.com they were part of the Sioux nation:

"These are Siouan people, commonly referred to generically as the Saponi or Tutelo. These tribes of the NC/VA Piedmont spoke Siouan languages, of them only a small portion of the Tutelo language was recorded.  Many families connected to these bloodlines have carried the identification of "Blackfoot." …"Blackfoot" is an identification found among descendants also aware of their Saponi origins, and is a mysterious designation reported among many native-descended people with ties to southeastern states."

Regarding some of the names mentioned in Col. Thomas' letter, there was the following posting on the saponitown.com website referenced above:

"The following Saponies are recorded at or near the Fort Christanna Reservation circa 1728, Saponi surnames / names are: Captain Tom, Sauano, Great George, Pyah, Pryor, Ned Bearskin, Dick, Ben Harrison, Sapony Tom, Harry Irwin, Tom Erwin and Chief Mahenip and Chief Tom."