David B. Gillespie (April 5, 1774 – September 28, 1829) was an American
land surveyor
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...
and politician. He was the first person granted a document in the nature of a diploma from what is today the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...
. He received the document prior to leaving the university in 1796 to assist the astronomer
Andrew Ellicott
Andrew Ellicott (January 24, 1754 – August 28, 1820) was an American land surveyor who helped map many of the territories west of the Appalachians, surveyed the boundaries of the District of Columbia, continued and completed Pierre (Pe ...
with determining the Southern boundary of the United States after the 1795
Treaty of San Lorenzo
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, conventio ...
with
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. Gillespie was a member of the
North Carolina House of Commons
The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, Speaker of the House, who holds powers si ...
from
Bladen County
Bladen County () , from the North Carolina Collection's website at the , served on the
North Carolina Council of State
The North Carolina Council of State is the collective body of ten elective executive offices in the government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina, all of which are established by the Constitution of North Carolina, state co ...
, and in the
North Carolina militia
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' is ...
as a second major in the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
.
Early life and education
David B. Gillespie, the son of James Gillespie and Dorcas Mumford Gillespie, was born on April 5, 1774, in Duplin County in the
Province of North Carolina
The Province of North Carolina, originally known as the Albemarle Settlements, was a proprietary colony and later royal colony of Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712 to 1776.(p. 80) It was one of the five Southern col ...
. He attended the
University of North Carolina
The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...
in Chapel Hill. He was a founding member of the Concord Society, which later became the
Philanthropic Society
Catch22 is a social business, a not for profit business with a social mission which operates in the United Kingdom (England and Wales). Catch22 can trace its roots back 229 years, to the formation of The Philanthropic Society in 1788. Catch22 desi ...
, along with his younger brother Joseph, and was its first president. The Concord Society's first meeting was held on August 10, 1795. The Concord Society split from the older Debating Society, which became the Dialectic Society, possibly due to several reasons including a disagreement about having an officer position known as the '' Censor Morum''. A reason is not listed in the journal of the society. The ''Censor Morum'' had grand powers and duties and was intended "to inspect the conduct and morals of the members and report to the society those who preserve inattention to the studies of the University, in neglect of their duties as members, or in acting in such a manner as to reflect disgrace on their fellow-members." Gillespie motioned for the Concord Society to be renamed the Greek Philanthropic Society on August 29, 1796.
Kemp P. Battle
Kemp Plummer Battle (December 19, 1831 – February 4, 1919) was an American lawyer, railroad president, university president, educator, and historian. He served as North Carolina State Treasurer and as president of the University of North Caroli ...
wrote he "was evidently a most promising student." Gillespie became the first person to receive a certificate in his name "in the nature of a diploma" by the university before he left to be the assistant to the secretary, Andrew Ellicott, on the commission to determine the Southern and Western boundary of the United States with
Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida () was the first major European land-claim and attempted settlement-area in northern America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and th ...
and
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
.
Career
George Washington
George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
appointed Ellicott as commissioner and Thomas Freeman as surveyor to determine the thirty-first parallel in cooperation with a Spanish commission first led by the astronomer
William Dunbar
William Dunbar (1459 or 1460 – by 1530) was a Scottish makar, or court poet, active in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. He was closely associated with the court of King James IV and produced a large body of work in Scots d ...
and after Dunbar returned to his home in September 1798, by the Spanish's surveyor,
Stephen Minor
Stephen Minor (1760–1815) was an American plantation owner and banker in the antebellum South.
Early life
Stephen Minor was born on February 8, 1760, in Greene County, Pennsylvania. He then served as the Secretary to the Spanish Governor Ma ...
. David Gillespie accepted the position of assistant surveyor for Ellicott, and was one of two assistants of Ellicott, the other being his son Andrew Ellicott Jr. The original surveyor of the commission was Thomas Freeman, who likely attained the position through political means. Freeman quarreled with, was thought to have acted "improper" and to be "insufferably arrogant", and "a detriment to the work of running the line" by Ellicott, who suggested for Freeman to be removed. A letter written by the Secretary of State,
Timothy Pickering
Timothy Pickering (July 17, 1745January 29, 1829) was the third United States Secretary of State, serving under Presidents George Washington and John Adams. He also represented Massachusetts in both houses of United States Congress, Congress as ...
, to Ellicott about Freeman's conduct mentions his actions were considered "wholly unwarrantable". Gillespie was appointed surveyor ''
pro tempore
''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to 'for the time being' in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a '' locum tenens'' ('placeholder'). The phrase is ...
'' for the United States boundary commission by Ellicott in Freeman's stead and afterwards was made the chief surveyor after the work began. Gillespie started the measurements of the guideline between the " Coenecuh to the
Chattahoochee
The Chattahoochee River () is a river in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern United States. It forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida and Georgia border. It ...
." During the measurements he was accompanied by a Spanish and American military escort with two chiefs and two warriors of the
Creek tribe
The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsEufala, the
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...
, and the Upper Creek, and Ellicott at times feared for Gillespie's safety in some of his writings. In one letter to Ellicott, Gillespie mentioned that
Miccosukee
The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians ( /ˌmɪkəˈsuki/, MIH-kə-SOO-kee) is a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. Together with the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, it is one of ...
warriors under their king, "a man of violent passions", had set out on July 4, 1799, to stop the surveyors. The Miccosukee leader calmed after hearing from the representatives of Spain and the United States. Gillespie also wrote to his father
James
James may refer to:
People
* James (given name)
* James (surname)
* James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician
* James, brother of Jesus
* King James (disambiguation), various kings named James
* Prince Ja ...
about the political events that surrounded the transfer of the Natchez region, near present-day
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez ( ) is the only city in and the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,520 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia, Louisiana, Natchez was ...
, to the United States in 1795. Some of his letters indicate his dissatisfaction with Ellicott. After his United States Survey of the Coast Service, he was a member of the North Carolina House of Commons and represented Bladen County in 1807 and during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
, from 1812 to 1813.
In the War of 1812, Gillespie served as a second major of the Fourth Regiment of the First Brigade of the North Carolina militia. He served under lieutenant colonel Alfred Rowland, the grandfather of U.S. congressman
Alfred Rowland
Alfred Rowland (February 9, 1844 – August 2, 1898) was a U.S. Representative from North Carolina.
Born in Lumberton, North Carolina, Rowland attended the common schools in the area. He entered the Confederate States Army in May, 1861 and ser ...
.
He was first elected to the North Carolina Council of State by the General Assembly of 1817 on December 6, 1817. He remained a councilor for several years, and was last elected as a councilor on December 18, 1823, by the General Assembly of 1823.
U.S. congressman
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
, and Dorcas Mumford Gillespie. He married Sarah Street, daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Clopton Street. Gillespie owned a number of
slaves
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
and a
plantation
Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
, known as Lebanon Plantation in Carver's Creek.
One of his daughters, Elizabeth (also known as Eliza), at the age of 14 married John A. Robeson, a descendant of Col.
William Bartram
William Bartram (April 20, 1739 – July 22, 1823) was an American naturalist, writer and explorer. Bartram was the author of an acclaimed book, now known by the shortened title Bartram's ''Travels'', which chronicled his explorations of the S ...
, the uncle of the naturalist. Robeson inherited Bartram's plantation, known as Ashwood. Elizabeth, along with a slave known as Dorcas, purported to have seen two ghosts at the plantation and it was consequently pulled down in 1856 or 1857.
Gillespie had twelve children with his wife Sarah:
*James Gillespie I (July 23, 1803January 19, 1804)
*Rebecca S. Gillespie (1804September 3, 1812)
*James Gillespie II (November 8, 1804June 3, 1847) married Susan O'Brien Flowers on November 29, 1829.
*Richard Street Gillespie (September 12, 1806July 9, 1878) married Elizabeth Flowers on June 5, 1832.
*Joseph Mumford Gillespie (May 3, 1808December 8, 1848)
*Elizabeth "Eliza" Street Gillespie (January 28, 1810June 2, 1898) married John Alexander Robeson on November 25, 1824.
*George Street Gillespie (October 28, 1811October 20, 1865) married Elizabeth "Eliza" Coddington Robeson on June 21, 1843.
*Ann Clopton Gillespie (April 13, 1813August 12, 1862) married James Gillespie Dickson on April 14, 1835.
*David B. Gillespie (February 28, 1815January 2, 1905) married Sarah Ann Davis on November 20, 1844.
*Albert Gillespie (September 25, 1817February 1, 1850) married Caroline F. Jones.
*Sarah Gillespie (January 22, 1820June 14, 1887) married David Flowers on December 12, 1843.
*Lucy Jane Gillespie (January 22, 1825February 14, 1889) married Thomas Jones Robeson on July 23, 1850.
Legacy
In 1936, twenty-three papers of Ellicott and Gillespie's manuscripts from their survey were accessible at the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
's division of manuscripts. Today additional papers have been donated to the Library of Congress. The documents in the collection are dated from the late 1770s to 1801. Some of Gillespie's papers have been digitized by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries as part of the
Southern Historical Collection
The Southern Historical Collection is a repository of distinct archival collections at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which document the culture and history of the American South. These collections are made up of unique primary mat ...
at the Wilson Special Collections Library.
A letter, fragments of legal documents, and a list of accounts written by Gillespie can be found at the
Dolph Briscoe Center for American History
The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History is an organized research unit and public service component of the University of Texas at Austin named for Dolph Briscoe, the 41st governor of Texas. The center collects and preserves documents and a ...
on the campus of the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...