Subject: Prince of Orange From: Joe Jones Date: October 26, 1998 I'm looking for anything about The Prince of Orange, and why Orangeburgh District was named for him. Here's what I know: First, a quote from Salley's "The History of Orangeburg County": "These persons became the first settlers in Orangeburg township, which had been laid out in a parallelogram of fifteen miles by five on the North Edisto, and was called Orangeburg in honor of the Prince of Orange.*" A footnote to this paragraph says: "William Charles Henry Friso, who had married Anne, daughter of George II., in 1734: - afterwards William IV., "stadtholder, captain, and admiral-general of Zealand" and later "captain and admiral-general of the whole union, and stadtholder of the Seven Provinces." (Holland, Zealand, Friesland, Guelderland, Utrecht, Overyssel and Groningen.) Here is a quote from a book at the Orangeburg County Library "Orangeburg 1735 - Bits of information gathered here and there from old papers, diaries and tales of old times told by my grandmother" by Addie Owen Bennett, 1961 (same general story appears other places): "The first 50 years after the settlement of the colony of South Carolina, newcomers built their houses near the coast, until there were at least 15,000 whites and many more negro slaves in or near the towns of Georgetown, Charles Town and Beaufort." "In 1730 by Royal Command, the General Assembly of the Province of South Carolina directed that the province be laid off into eleven townships along the banks of the chief rivers. One was called Edisto Township and was along the north banks of the Edisto River (then the Pon Pon River)." "A few years later a village, the site of which was the intersection of two Indian trails, was laid out in the southwest corner of this township. Colonel Thomas Broughton, Lt. Governor of South Carolina, renamed the township Orange and called the village Orangeburgh in honor of the IV Prince of Orange, who had married Ann, the daughter of George II, King of England." "The first white man to settle in Orangeburg was Jonathan Hearn in 1732 who had a grant of 500 acres of land from George II. The Hearn home was on what is now South Boulevard, south of the Fair Grounds." My question is: Does anyone know of other sources that would give reasons for Colonel Broughton's choice of a name for the Township, which later became the name of the District? Was it because the Prince of Orange was the son-in-law of George II, and George II was King of England at the time that the area was being laid out and settled? Was it because there was a close friendship between Lt. Governor Broughton and the King's daughter, hence her husband? Any facts, thoughts or references will be appreciated. ==== SCROOTS Mailing List ==== Go To: #, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z, Main |