General Notes

The earliest record of George Roberts was in Mormon tape No. 579753. Th
is tape contained a miscellaneous collection of early Craven County record
s. Page 93 of this tape contained an entry concerning New Bern. An ord
er was passed by the City of New Bern giving the commissioners, Cullan Pol
lock, Richard Graves and Wm.-----, Esq, the power to sell lots of deceas
ed persons. George Roberts offered 40 shillings for each of the lots of t
he deceased ------ Graves, Esq. The commissioners accepted George's off
er to buy lots 210 and 211, each of one acre, provided that George bui
ld a good house on each lot; the dimensions of each house to be not less t
han 15 feet wide and 25 feet long. On page 107 of the same tape was record
ed a real estate transaction prior to 1730. The land was in Craven precin
ct on the Neuse River. He obtained more land in 1739 after the Lord Propri
etors had sold Carolina to England. Thus, instead of the seller being Jo
hn Lord Carteret papatine, it was now King George. Each deed was writt
en in the following form:" George the Second, by the grace of God, of Gre
at Britian, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith. To all to wh
om these presents shall come Greetings: Know ye that in the considerati
on of ___ pounds herein reserved, have given and granted. and by these pre
sents forever, our heirs and successors do give and grant unto George Robe
rts a tract of land containing 250 acres lying and being in the precin
ct of Craven in The province of North Carolina, on the south side of t
he Neuse Riner about 4 miles above South-west Creek, beginning at a whi
te oak, on the meadow side and a designated number of chains and pol
es to Picoson, thence up the Picoson to the first station." George Rober
ts could claim one half of the silver and one half of the gold on his land. The quit-rent was 4 shillings per 100 acres payable on 4 February each year. To hold the land he had to clear and plant three of every one hundred acres. ( South west creek is just below Kinston, in Lenoir County). George obtained a large acreage of land. His total holdings were about 7500 acres including two plantations. He was appointed Justice of the Peace of Craven precinct in 1734 with the power to hold court. On Janurary 21, 1734, he was appointed to a committee of the Upper House to regulate quit-rents and regulate currency. He was returned to the General Assembly in New Bern in 1734 as the Craven County representative and was a member of the Assembly until August 10, 1740. ( Information from North Carolina Colonial Records). The two plantations were known as Salisbury and Woodington.