William Bartram (1674 â September 22, 1711) was an English-born Quaker politician and settler who was a member of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly from Chester County in 1708. After settling in the Province of Carolina, he was killed in present-day North Carolina during the Tuscarora War in 1711. Bartram was the grandfather of the naturalist of the same name.
William Bartram was born in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, England, in 1674 to John Bartram and his wife Elizabeth. William emigrated with his family to the Province of Pennsylvania about 1683, when he was around the age of 9. He first married Elizabeth Hunt, the daughter of James Hunt of Kingsessing, on May 22, 1696. His first son John was born on June 3, 1699. His second son James was born on October 6, 1701. His first wife died two weeks later on October 21, 1701. Bartram and Elizabeth Smith declared their intent to marry on September 14, 1707, in Darby, Pennsylvania. Following in his father's footsteps, Bartram was chosen to be a member of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly and represented Chester County in 1708. Bartram purchased 840 acres on Bogue Sound near present-day Swansboro, North Carolina, in 1709. His daughter Elizabeth and son William were recorded as being born in Darby. Although some incorrect sources say his son William was born in Carteret County, North Carolina. John and James, his children with his first wife, were left to be raised by their grandfather James Hunt of Kingsessing. Bartram settled at Whitoc Plantation in North Carolina on the Cape Fear River or the White Oak River.
Bartram was killed during the Tuscarora War on September 22, 1711, and his wife and two children were captured by Native Americans. They were held as captives until they were ransomed by relatives from Philadelphia and moved to Pennsylvania.
While his family is known for their work in the field of botany, his sons John and William are also notable as some of the few Quakers who were involved with slavery in the United States. After his death, his son John remained in Pennsylvania but William later returned to North Carolina to take care of his father's estate, after Native Americans had been removed from the area, where he established a plantation known as Ashwood and was a member of the colonial legislature for many years. Ashwood was a very large rice plantation with a large slave labor force by the mid-eighteenth century. William Bartram the emigrant was the grandfather of the naturalist.