Richard Pearis (1725–1794) was a pioneer settler of

Upstate South Carolina The Upstate, historically known as the Upcountry, is a region of the U.S. state of South Carolina, comprising the northwesternmost area of the state. Although loosely defined among locals, the general definition includes the 10 counties of the ...

and a

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

officer during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

Early life

Richard Pearis was born in Ireland in 1725, the son of George and Sarah Pearis, who were

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

of considerable affluence. The family immigrated to the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia in the United States. The Valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the east ...

of Virginia when Richard was ten, and by 1750, Richard owned of land near

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, where he lived with his wife Rhoda and three children.

Career

By 1753, Pearis was trading with the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

; and in partnership with

Nathaniel Gist Nathaniel Gist (15 October 1733 – 1812) was born in Maryland and fought during the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. He was reputed by Wurteh Watts to be the father of Sequoyah, the famous Cherokee. Like his father Chris ...

, he opened a trading post near present

Kingsport, Tennessee Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It lies along the Holston River and had a population of 55,442 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city in the Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area, ...

. During the mid-1750s Pearis also began trading with the Cherokee in South Carolina and fathered a son, George, by a Cherokee woman. "An orator of rude, savage eloquence and power," Pearis gained favor with Virginia governor

Robert Dinwiddie Robert Dinwiddie (1692 – 27 July 1770) was a Scottish colonial administrator who served as the lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1751 to 1758. Since the governors of Virginia remained in Great Britain, he served as the ''de facto'' head o ...

; and during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, Pearis led a company of Cherokee warriors on the

Sandy Creek Expedition The Sandy Creek Expedition, also known as the Sandy Expedition or the Big Sandy Expedition, (not to be confused with the Big Sandy Expedition of 1861) was a 1756 campaign by Virginia Regiment soldiers and Cherokee warriors into modern-day West V ...

in 1756 and served under British General John Forbes when he captured

Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne ( , ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed ...

in 1758. At the conclusion of the war, Pearis became Indian agent for colonial Maryland. In 1770, Pearis and another member of the frontier gentry, Jacob Hite, forged letters from Cherokee leaders, including

Oconostota Oconostota (c. 1707–1783) was a Cherokee '' skiagusta'' (war chief) of Chota, which was for nearly four decades the primary town in the Overhill territory, and within what is now Monroe County, Tennessee. He served as the First Beloved Man o ...

, declaring the Indians' willingness to cede land to the colony of Virginia. Pearis also claimed a deed from the Cherokee of twelve square miles in the area that is now

Greenville County, South Carolina Greenville County ( ; locally ) is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 525,534, making it the most populous county in the state. Its county seat is Greenville. The county is also home to ...

. An Indian interpreter, one John Watts, wrote the British Indian superintendent, John Stuart, that Pearis was "a very dangerous fellow who will breed great disturbances if he is let alone, for he will tell the Indians any lies to please them." With the help of an Indian ally, Saluy, Pearis secured approval of his land grant from the chiefs at Chota, apparently in exchange for the cancellation of their trading debts. But in 1772, Stuart complained to the governor of South Carolina that Pearis had gained his title by plying the Indians with liquor. The governor then urged Stuart to prosecute Pearis for violating a 1739 statute that forbade British citizens to own Indian land. Meanwhile, Pearis had begun to transfer the land to other whites. In November 1773, the circuit court at Ninety Six found Pearis guilty of holding Indian land, and he surrendered his deed. But the following month he secured another deed from Cherokee leaders granting his son George more than twelve square miles of land—most of which George then conveniently transferred to his father. GreatPlains

Sometime after 1770, Pearis, his family, and their twelve slaves began to clear of land near the falls of the

Reedy River The Reedy River is a tributary of the Saluda River, about long, in northwestern South Carolina in the United States. Via the Saluda and Congaree rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Santee River, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean. The ...

, at the heart of modern

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...

, where they planted grain and orchards on a plantation Pearis called "Great Plains." Pearis built "a substantial house" and a store as well as a

grist Grist is grain that has been separated from its chaff in preparation for grinding. It can also mean grain that has been ground at a gristmill. Its etymology derives from the verb ''grind.'' Grist can be ground into meal or flour, depending on h ...

and sawmill. In 1775, Pearis sought an appointment as a patriot commissioner to the Indians, and after the post was given to another, Pearis became a Tory captain. On 12 December 1775, patriot Colonel Richard Richardson captured Pearis and eight other Tory leaders. Pearis was kept in irons at Charleston for nine months, after which he made his way to British

West Florida West Florida () was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. Great Britain established West and East Florida in 1763 out of land acquired from France and S ...

. Pearis's house and plantation buildings were burned by Pearis's backcountry opponents in July 1776. Pearis continued to serve with Loyalist forces during the

during what amounted to a civil war along the frontier. After the fall of

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

to the patriots in June 1781, Pearis was captured, and General Andrew Pickens saved Pearis's life "by putting him in a boat and sending him down river, away from the angry soldiers who would have killed him." Pearis's land was confiscated by the state of South Carolina, and Pearis spent his remaining years as a planter in the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

. He was more than amply compensated by the British government for South Carolina lands that, arguably, he had never legally owned. North of contemporary Greenville, the locally prominent Paris Mountain and its Paris Mountain State Park take their name from Richard Pearis.Nancy Vance Ashmore, ''Greenville, Woven from the Past: An Illustrated History'' (Northridge, CA: Windsor Publications, 1986), 18.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearis, Richard 1725 births 1794 deaths British people of the French and Indian War Loyalists in the American Revolution from South Carolina American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by the United States Slave owners from the Thirteen Colonies People from colonial South Carolina People from Greenville, South Carolina People from Winchester, Virginia Irish emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies