Ocracoke History Follow Up

Oh boy, am I embarrassed. (Hangs head in shame.) I received a message from Mr. Howard of Ocracoke, who questioned my inclusion of the names Bonner & Hall as early residents of Ocracoke Island. Oops, I made a mistake. Blame it on sloppy research. Allow me to set the record straight. The Halls were a Carteret County family, however they lived south of Ocracoke Island. And, the Bonners were from nearby Beaufort county. Even worse, to have left off the name of Howard completely was a huge over sight on my part.

1790 U.S. Federal Census of Carteret Co., NC - Region of Ocracoke

The original Colonial owner of Ocracoke Island was John Lovick, who, by grant, acquired the island in 1719. He, in turn, sold the property to Richard Sanderson who bequeathed the island to another Richard Sanderson in 1733. On July 30, 1759, Sanderson sold Ocracoke, comprised of 2,110 acres, laying between the Ocracoke and Hatteras Inlets, for 105 pounds (approximately $164 U.S. dollars) to William Howard. By factoring in the inflation rate, Mr. Howard paid slightly less than $1, 900 for Ocracoke, all of Ocracoke, the whole kit & kaboodle of Ocracoke by current standards. Wow. You could maybe buy a grain of sand on the island for that price, now.

Below is a list of the early residents of Ocracoke Island with a brief history of each. This is excerpted from a paper published 1998 by Earl W. O'Neal, Jr. entitled "Ocracoke Island History."

Earliest Ocracoke Families:

BALLANCE - Came to Ocracoke about 1789 from Currituck County.

BRAGG - The name Bragg appears on Ocracoke between 1747-1770 when a Bragg was appointed constable. Came from Portsmouth Island and South River in Carteret County.

FARROW - The Farrows from Hatteras Banks were pilots at Ocracoke in the 1700s.

FULCHER - One of the Fulcher families on Ocracoke came from Hatteras Island. Two brothers that made Ocracoke their home came from Hatteras Island but their parents may have moved there from Carteret County. A third line came from Carteret County, on Core Banks.

GARRISH - The first Garrish was mentioned in the estate papers of Jobe Wahab, August 20, 1785, when his estate paid Garrish for grade schooling his son. He apparently was considered an educated man and may have been hired privately to teach Jobe's son. There is a possibility, he may have been a ship builder as his son was.

GASKINS - The first Gaskins on Ocracoke was a Collector of Customs at Port Ocracoke in 1789.

GASKILL - Benjamine Gaskill came from Portsmouth Island, married Jane Williams of Ocracoke and moved here sometime before 1787.

HOWARD - William Howard was the first identified on Ocracoke, when he purchased the island on July 30, 1759 from Richard Sanderson. He came toEastern North Carolina about 1745 from which time he was associated withCarteret and Hyde Counties. He may have come from the Maryland Colony, butproof has not been found.

JACKSON - The first was a pilot on Ocracoke and arrived between 1743 and 1746.

O'NEAL - The first three O'Neele's (O'Neel), brothers and their uncle moved to Ocracoke from Hatteras sometime before 1778.

SCARBOROUGH - Moved to Ocracoke between 1740's and 1790 from Hatteras Banks.

STYRON - The first Styron's identified at Ocracoke occurred prior to 1790 census. They moved from Portsmouth Island.

WAHAB - Thomas Wahab and his family moved to Ocracoke sometime after 1790 and is listed in the 1800 census. They moved from Hatteras Banks.

WILLIAMS - John Williams, a pilot, witnessed the deed when his friend William Howard bought Ocracoke on July 30, 1759. Two months later he purchased half of Ocracoke from William Howard on September 26, 1759. We have not been able to prove where John came from or when he arrived. He may have arrived any time after 1743 as a pilot.