Joseph Maddock(1720 ~ 1794)![]() Joseph Maddock's grandparents were Abel and Alice Maddock of Chester Shire, England. He was a baker. Chester was a strong Quaker area. Joseph's parents were Nathan and Hester Maddox who made the big move from England to New Castle Co., Delaware, in America. It was there at Brandywine Creek in 1720 that Joseph Maddocks was born. Around 1742, he married Rachel Dennis/Tennis at Haddonfield, Camden Co., New Jersey, just across the state line from Philadelphia. They settled in Chester Co., PA, near Philadelphia. For a time, Joseph was a magistrate there. In 1746 Rachel Maddox was received as a member of the Newark Quaker [also called Friends] Monthly Meeting.
Joseph did well and made friends with several influential community leaders, all Quakers or sympathetic to the Quakers. Between 1762 and 1763 there was a congregational dispute about re-instating a member, Rachel Wright. After this time, she was re-instated, but the hurt feelings among members continued. (I do not know if she was related to the governor of Georgia, James Wright.) Because of this and some political differences regarding British taxes, Joseph and his friends grew restless for a new beginning farther west. On September 1, 1767, his friend Joseph Stubbs, presented to Georgia Governor, James Wright, a petition of "Sundry families at present residents in Orange County in the Provence of North Carolina but lately from Pennsylvania," requesting a reserve of land for the Quakers. As a result, 12,000 acres were reserved for them, and five months later another 12,000 acres. The head of a family could be granted 200 acres, plus 50 acres for his wife and 50 acres for each child. In late 1767 and early 1768, Joseph led about 70 Quaker families to Georgia to get away from the politics of North Carolinians rebelling against the British government. They named their new community Wrightsborough after the governor of Georgia. It was in today's McDuffie County. A stone house built in Wrightsboroughin the typical New Jersey-eastern Pennsylvania style. ![]() Although someone else arranged for the two land grants, Joseph Maddock established the community and was a commissioner for the sale of the Ceded Land to prospective settlers. He was named deputy governor and magistrate. For a copy of the petition of February 7, 1769, and list of people Governor Wright granted land to, go here. There, at Sweetwater on the north fork of Briar Creek, Wrightsborough Twp., Joseph built another grist mill in 1768. Joseph also bought Lot #66 in the town of Wrightsorough on July 3, 1770. The town itself was located on Twon Creek, now known as Middle Creek. The township and town included all of today's McDuffie County, and portions of Warren and Columbia Counties. The community grew so fast that in 1768, Joseph Maddock and Jonathan Sell presented another petition to Governor Wright for more land, a road be built through it, and that the land be surveyed and warrants issued to the owners. But the Creek Indians stole so much of the settler's horses and cattle that they had difficult planting crops. In 1771, twenty-five families left the settlement; eventually all returned but thirteen. But their situation grew worse. So in 1774, the governor ordered that a fort be built there to protect the non-violent Quakers.
In the autumn of 1781, Joseph Maddock led one-fourth of the settlers of Wrightsboro to the Britsh-occupied Ebenezer, Georgia, near Savannah. British Governor Wright, an old friend of the Friends, provided them with financial assistance. They also appealed for aid from the London Meeting, and it is in this appeal that their story from their migration from Pennsylvania to the present time was told and preserved, with special emphasis on the activities of Joseph Maddock. While away from Wrightsborough, he suffered food shortages, severe weather, and diease. So they petitioned Governor Wright to return to Wrightsborough and face the raiders which they thought better than what they were suffering in Ebenezer. Their request was turned down. But Savannah was evacuated by the British army, and on July 11, 1782, Joseph Maddock and his Quaker followers were allowed to return to Wrightsborough.
By this time, the following Maddockses had been or were residents of Wrightsborough (provided at www.geocities.com.Heartland/Plains2064/wrightlist):
They tried to return to normal. But more and more non-Quakers were moving into the area. Plus, they could not compete when selling their crops with crops raised by slave labor of their neighbors. So a general exodus began once again. This time they haded for Tennessee and Ohio. Joseph remained behind. He died in poverty on April 9, 1794. The exodus was complete by 1805 and no Quakers that we know of were left in Wrightsborough. The town remained in existence until the 1920s. Much of the above is from an account given by Ralph Hayes, a Maddock descendant. ![]() |