Marmaduke Scott of Pasquotank County, North Carolina, Part 1

Yes, me too.  I thought of the comic strip.

When I was in middle school, I was a History Club geek! I say it with pride. We took a field trip to the Anderson Public Library, where Phyllis the librarian taught us how to do genealogy. She was short. I mean I didn't have to look up to her, I only looked up to her.  She took this geeky middle schooler and taught him how to research.  In hindsight, I was honored that I had a great teacher.  But back to where I was going with this...

I have no idea what sparked the interest in my family's history.  Maybe I thought I would find out I was related to some one famous like George Washington or Lizzie Borden or Attila the Hun.  At the time, all of the elder generations were still around and I was able to gather some great stories about my family and where they came from... as best as they could remember... Or as best as they would tell me...  (Wait... is that the rattling of a closeted skeleton I hear?)

One branch that intrigued me the most was on my mother's side. The Scott line.  They had traveled to central Indiana from a place called Pasquotank County, North Carolina.  And the furthest back, so far, leads me to a man named Marmaduke Scott.  "Duke" for short.

All these years later, I pulled out that file, re-read the research (which to be honest, was done by a distant cousin), and became further intrigued about this man named Marmaduke Scott. So my researching began. With the advances of Internet access, I was amazed how much I could find in the privacy of my comfy pajamas at home.

Pasqutoank County, NC, Google Maps

Pasquotank County lies almost on the Atlantic Ocean. A long narrow stretch of land where you can find Kitty Hawk lies between the county and the actual ocean.  It was north of the county seat, Elizabeth City, where Marmaduke settled, and according to the land records, and acquired land in 1784 and began making a name for himself.

From the many estates and wills that I have scoured, I can find no family connection between him and the county's long-settled Scott families. But there are some possibilities and I am still determined. I'm willing to do a seance if necessary.

I do know that he served in the Revolutionary War, but oddly enough, he enlisted and served in Massachusetts. I mean like what the...?!  There's like a zillion miles between Massachusetts and Pasquotank County.  So was he born and raised in Massachusetts or was he visiting relatives or just traveling about, checking out the country before settling down?  I'm not really sure.  From what I've read, apparently, he was a sea-faring man.  Steering ships up and down the coast.  Well, if it's true, I've not found any evidence of it and am beginning to wonder if it's mythology.  Regardless, when he enlisted in 1776, he gave Middleborough, Massachusetts as his residence.  Hmmm...  What a mystery...

Tune in next time, for Part 2...  Working title:  Marmaduke Takes a Wife, Or... Great Scott!
CSM