by Edward Ellis, Special Correspondent
Along with Swiss Baron Christopher DeGraffenried, John Lawson is considered one of the founders of New Bern. Lawson was an English explorer and naturalist who documented details about the Carolinas in the early 18th century. Born in 1674, he spent his childhood in London. Lawson was educated in natural philosophy and gained an interest in botany, which led him to explore the natural world around him.
In 1700, Lawson migrated to Charleston, South Carolina, to enter the trading industry. He soon became interested in the lands beyond the frontier of English settlements. In 1701, Lawson joined an expedition to explore the interior of Carolina, which was then mostly uncharted land. The group consisted of English traders and Native Americans, including a Tuscarora guide.
Lawson’s observations about the natural environment and the Native American inhabitants of the region proved valuable. The expedition gained knowledge about the geography, flora, fauna, and lifestyle of the different tribes. Lawson admired the “Indians.” He would later write that the natives lived in harmony with nature and were skilled farmers and hunters.
He lived for a time at the present-day locations of both Bath and New Bern. In 1709, Lawson was appointed deputy surveyor for the Carolina Colony by the Lords Proprietors. His mission was to help people migrate and settle in the wilderness by providing them with accurate maps and by guiding them from Europe to the Neuse River.
Unfortunately, Lawson’s career was cut short when he was captured by the Tuscarora tribe near present-day Grifton in 1711. He was brutally tortured and killed. His death, the first of the multi-year “Tuscarora War,” was a significant loss to the scientific world.
In addition to New Bern itself, Lawson’s legacy today resides in his book “A New Voyage to Carolina.” And it’s still a great read. His work was one of the earliest publications to document the wildlife, plants, and inhabitants of the southeastern region of the North American continent. To this day, his writings are widely referenced and respected by scholars of colonial history and natural history.
The painting shown here was purchased in the UK by an East Carolina University professor on the likelihood that it’s Lawson’s image.
For more online, visit “The Lawson Trek.”