Following the death of Alexander, Catherine remarried in 1713, in County Donegal, Ireland to James Patrick Calhoun, son of Reverand Alexander Calhoun and Lady Judith Hamilton. Patrick and Catherine took their children to America in 1733, after her Stewart children were grown. They landed at New York or Philadelphia and moved to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where they settled in the Chestnut Level area. Around 1748, some time after Patrick’s death, Catherine moved her family to some new lands that were opening up in Augusta County, Virginia. In 1755 the Indians became more active and Catherine moved again to the Long Cane Creek area of Abbeville, South Carolina. They moved in the middle of winter and got there in February 1756. The place for a while was called North and South Forks of Calhoun Creek, where it joined the Little river. They were sixteen miles from the nearest Indian settlement and thought they would be safe there. The morning of January 31, 1760 a messenger came through the little settlement and told them that the Indians were on the warpath and moving toward their area. The afternoon of January 31st and the morning of February 1st were spent loading wagons and getting provisions ready to move out. About noon on February 1st, some 200-250 settlers moved out for Augusta, Georgia, a larger town about 40 miles southeast of their location. They had only gone about 10 miles when in crossing the Long Canes Creek, several wagons got stuck. By the time they had all the wagons across the creek it was dark so they camped for the night. Soon after dark, they were attacked by a band of Cherokee Indians. Some of the settlers escaped by horseback, some on foot, but most of them scattered finding shelter in the trees or whereever they could hide. Mostly women and children were killed as 23 settlers were left dead at the sign of the massacre. The Indians had burned all the wagons and nearly all the goods were stolen. In the group that was killed, Catherine Montgomery Stewart Calhoun was among them. She was 76 years old. A momument to the dead, including Catherine, was erected in the 1790’s by Catherine’s son, Patrick Calhoun. Two small girls, ages 3 and 5 of the Calhoun’s were abducted by the Indians. One eventually returned, but the other was never heard from again.

The following articles appeared in the South-Carolina Gazette:

“Yesterday se’night the whole of the Long-Cane Settlers, to the number of 150 souls, moved off with most of their effects in Waggons; to go towards Augusta in Georgia, and in a few hours after their setting off, were surprized and attacked by about 100 Cherkees on horseback, while they were getting their waggons out of a boggy place. They had amongst them 40 gunmen, who might have made a very good defence, but unfortunately their guns were in the waggons; the few that recovered theirs, fought the Indians half an hour, and were at last obliged to fly. In the action they lost 7 waggons, and 40 of their people killed or taken (including women and children) the rest got safe to Augusta whence and express arrived here with the same account on Tuesday morning.”

“Canes, who were attacked by the Cherokees on the 1st Instant, as they were removing their wives, children and best effects, to Augusta in Georgia for safety, is just come to town and informs us, ‘That the whole of those settlers might be about 250 souls, 55 or 60 of them fighting men; that their loss in that affair amounted to about 50 persons, chiefly women and children, with 13 loaded waggons and carts; that he had since been at the place where the action happened, in order to bury the dead, and found only 20 of their bodies, most inhumanly butchered; that the Indians had burnt the woods all around, but had left the waggons and carts there empty and unhurt; and that he believes all the fighting men would return to and fortify the Long-Cane Settlement, were part of the rangers so stationed as to give them some assistance and protection.’”

“We have no late advices from Fort Prince George, or any consequence from places in that route. But from Fort Moore, we learn, that a gang of about 18 Cherokees, divided into 8 or 4 parties, on the 15th instant, way-laid, killed and scalped Ulric Tobler, Esq.; a Captain of Militia in those parts, as he was riding from his father’s to that fort; and shot Mr. William Calhoon, who was with him, in the hand; 3 other persons, who were in company escaped unhurt; the Indian who killed Captain Tobler, left a hatchet sticking in his neck, on which were 3 old notches, and 3 newly cut.”

In the fall of 1993, Mr. and Mrs. Tracy L. Forsythe traveled to Abbeville, South Carolina to find the common gravesite of those killed in the massacre. Mr. Forsythe had obtained information and clues concerning the location of the gravesite from different people and also from historical articles. They had a difficult time locating the gravesite, as many of the Abbeville townsfolk had not been there in a long time and could not give very specific directions. Mr. Forsythe finally pieced together various clues given to him and was able to locate a sign that read “Indian Massacre Cemetery - 3 miles.” They followed the road until they came to a fork and did not know which way to go. They discovered a small sign in the weeds near a fencepost that read: “Indian Massacre Cemetery - 1 mile,” with an arrow pointing down the right-hand fork. They finally found the cemetery after crossing over a narrow, “walk-over bridge” and entering a clearing surrounded by tall pine trees. There was the cemetery containing three stones. One stone was for Catherine Montgomery Stewart Calhoun, another was very old and they could not tell if it had any inscription. The third looked new with the names of four Norris family members who had also been killed in the massacre. After all the travels over many dirt roads, the Forsythes now know how to get to the cemetery. Go to Troy, South Carolina, either via McCormick or Bradley; Troy is very small. When you get into town, you will find a railroad track on one side of the road and a gas station/mechanic shop on the other. Turn to the southwest and cross the tracks and immediately (right now) stop and turn your head and look over your left shoulder and there is an exact duplicate of the sign that was found at the entrance to the cemetery. From there, the sign that says “three miles west is the site of the Massacre” is correct, as the first line on the sign at the cemetery is incorrect. So you go ahead and follow this road as it makes a curve to the left and in a little distance, about 1 mile from the tracks) you will arrive at a fork. Take the left-hand road and you will soon reach another fork where the arrow points to the right-hand lane. Take that fork and soon you will reach the sign that reads “Long Canes Massacre.” A sign points to a road to the left which says, “Massacre Cemetery 1 mile.” You soon arrive at the cemetery from the same direction as the victims. Before crossing the footbridge, there is a large sign which reads:

SOUTH CAROLINA
LONG CANES MASSACRE
Three miles west is a Site
of an attack by Cherokee Indians
upon settlers of Long Canes in the
Cherokee War of 1759-1761. There
on Feb. 1, 1760, about 150 settlers,
refugeeing to Augusta, were overtaken
by 100 Cherokee Warriors. Twenty-three
victims were left on the scene of action
and are there buried in one grave.

Catherine was pregnant with their daughter, Mary, before the death of Alexander. Following Alexander’s death, Catherine remarred in 1713, County Donegal, Ireland, to James Patrick Calhoun.

Some records show Catherine and James with a daughter, Jean, who may have died young. Mary (Catherine and Alexander’s daughter) was born after Catherine’s marriage to Patrick Calhoun so, therefore, was called Mary Calhoun or in some records Catherine Mary Calhoun. 294