Imagine you are a hardworking farmer in North Carolina’s backcountry in the years before the American Revolution. You work from daylight to dark to support your wife and seven children, struggling to pay for your land and keep food on the table.
You pay your taxes as required, only to have the sheriff return and insist there is no record of your payment. Unable to pay twice, you take the matter to court, hiring a lawyer you can barely afford. The judge sides with the sheriff, and afterward, your lawyer demands twice the fee you had agreed to pay
You are angry, but you soon discover you are not alone. Your neighbors tell similar stories of unfair taxes, excessive fees, dishonest officials, and courts that seem to favor those in power. For many backcountry farmers, frustration was becoming something more. These were the conditions that helped give rise to North Carolina’s Regulator Movement.
Growing Anger Over Colonial Government
Before the Revolutionary War, governors were appointed by the King, and he then appointed local officials. At that time, mid-1700’s, many people in this area were upset by the way the government was functioning. Apparently, some of those in power charged exorbitant fees for such things as deeds, marriage licenses, and other legal papers. Remember that there were no set fees for any of these things at the time, so officials could charge what they wanted to and make money for themselves. In addition, there was no accepted method of taxation other than a poll tax — a tax on every person regardless of wealth or poverty. That tax was especially hard on the people in the western areas of the state. And in 1767 Governor Tryon himself admitted that much of the money was not turned over to the proper authorities.
Tryon Palace Becomes a Symbol of Resentment
However, that did not stop him from building Tryon Palace in New Bern, his home here in the colonies. That situation was the last straw for the colonists, most of whom really were poor. At that point, large numbers of people in Rowan County refused to pay their taxes, probably over half of the citizens. In response to all of these unfair practices, groups of resistors sprang up in Rowan County and in the area of the Yadkin that later became Davie County. These people were given the name “Regulators.” They did not want to be treated as if they were still in England.
From Petitions to Resistance
Finally, in 1769 the people of Rowan, Anson, and Orange counties petitioned the assembly asking for many changes, not only in taxation, but also in the fees paid to local governments. In that same year the Regulators elected people favorable to their cause. Yet that governing body was dissolved after just a few days, causing the Regulators to use force to try to change the situation. They interrupted court proceedings, attacked officials, and did other things, causing them to be a strong force against tyranny.
The Regulators Along the Yadkin
There has been speculation that the religious leaders of the day supported the Regulators, but no proof really exists except for the following information. In his book, James Wall states that many people in the Yadkin area were Regulators, according to the Moravian Records. The Moravian traveling preacher Soelle wrote that “the Regulator party was strong on the Yadkin.” Because he traveled from place to place, he would have known that for sure.
Davie County Connection: Where Was This Happening?
When Linda refers to Rowan County and the Yadkin area, she is talking about a landscape that included the communities that would eventually become Davie County.
Davie County did not yet exist during the Regulator Movement. It would not be formed until 1836, when it was created from a portion of Rowan County. That means residents of Mocksville, Farmington, Advance, Fork, Cooleemee, and surrounding areas were Rowan County residents during the events Linda describes.
The Yadkin River was a defining feature of this frontier. Settlers had established farms and small communities along the river and its tributaries, while routes through the region connected families and settlements throughout the Carolina backcountry.
For readers familiar with Linda’s earlier articles in this series, this is also the same general landscape where families such as the Bryans and Boones had settled. By the 1760s, the frontier communities they helped establish were becoming part of a much larger political struggle over taxation, representation, and the authority of colonial government.
Picture It on a Modern Map
To understand the story geographically, picture present-day Davie County before its boundaries existed:
- The Yadkin River formed the eastern edge of what would become Davie County and connected the area to settlements throughout the region.
- The Farmington area was part of the early Yadkin settlements associated with families including the Bryans and Boones.
- Present-day Mocksville and central Davie County were all part of Rowan County.
- The eastern and southern portions of present-day Davie County, including areas around Advance, Fork and Cooleemee, were also part of this much larger colonial Rowan County.
So when historical records describe unrest among the people of Rowan County or say that the Regulator movement was “strong on the Yadkin,” the story reaches directly into the land that would one day become Davie County.
From Regulators to Revolution
The Regulator Movement would eventually lead to open conflict between backcountry settlers and Governor William Tryon’s colonial government. Although the movement preceded the American Revolution and the motivations of individual Regulators varied, the disputes over taxation, government authority, and political representation reveal how deeply dissatisfaction with colonial government had already taken root in North Carolina.
For the people living along the Yadkin, the Revolution did not suddenly begin in 1775 or 1776. The tensions had been building for years.