8
The Decision to Migrate


H
istorian O'Neall in his 1890 work, The Annals of Newberry, states, somewhat indirectly, that Charles Crow moved to Perry County for two reasons.

First, because others in the Bush River community were going, and he became caught up in the excitement along with his friends, neighbors and parishioners from the Bush River Church.  The departure of so many with whom he had a close relationship probably caused him to come face to face with the reality that those relationships could be main-tained only if he went along with them.  There was the prospect of being left behind while the community was stripped of a large segment of its population.  Staying in Newberry County would leave him in a Bush River settlement greatly depopulated and controlled by large cotton farms and dominated by increasing Negro slave labor. 

This prospect of ending thirty-year-old relationships must have been disheartening.  O'Neall's record seems to state Charles' thoughts on the reasons for his move to Alabama.  O'Neall says, " . . . he thought it to be his duty to his family to seek his home in the Southwest."   The United States ended with Louisiana on the Gulf coast in 1819, and the Southeast of today was the Southwest then.  O'Neall's use of "he thought" implies that the writer has access to Charles' thoughts.  The only way this is pos-sible is for Charles to have stated his thoughts in a way which came to the attention of O'Neall.  One must believe that Charles is the source of this statement.  

Charles evaluated the situation as any human would.  He concluded that it was " . . . his duty to his family  . . . " to join the westward migration.  In 1819, Charles was forty-nine, and Sarah Harlan was forty-four years old.  By March 1820, Sarah was pregnant with her last child, Jesse.  The oldest child, Elizabeth, was twenty-two that year.  She had married Solomon Smith about three years earlier, and already had two children of her own.  Martha, the second child, was married to James Meredith and gave birth to a son in 1820.  

With the two oldest children gone from home, Charles still had eight children under his roof -- Silas, 16, Jane 14, Elijah 12, Mary, 10, Joshua, 9, Joseph, 6, Jonathan, 4, and Rebecca, 2.   This was a large economic responsibility for Charles.  His position at the church was without salary, and he was required to support his family through his own efforts and resources.  It was a strict principle among early Baptist preachers that the Gospel was free, and none received anything for their services except what might be given voluntarily and freely by them.   It was his familial duty to support his wife and children independent of his ministry.

In addition, Charles was a human with human needs and desires.  While his eyes were upon Heaven, his feet were upon the earth.  As shall be seen later, he wanted the benefits prosperity could bring to him and his children.  Land prices rose along the Bush River and throughout South Carolina.  Large planters with capital were buying up land to expand cotton production and taking advantage of rising demand for cotton and increasing prices.  Smaller farmers could not resist selling and moving on to cheaper land farther west.  

Under these circumstances, it was to Charles Crow's advantage to up-root himself and his family.  He could perform "his duty to his family" best by moving to Alabama where he could improve his financial posi-tion and take advantage of the benefits of cotton production on the Ala-bama frontier.  Therefore, when Charles spoke of his duty to his family, he was speaking in economic terms based on contrasting circumstances in South Carolina and Alabama. 

Neither O'Neall, nor any other Newberry historian, makes any specific reference to missionary work as a reason for Charles' migration to Ala-bama.  O'Neall simply says that "There he . . . preached most acceptably his Master's Kingdom, and . . . to labor in that work."   So, did Charles Crow move to Alabama to do missionary work?

The answer to this question, and the earlier theses regarding economic motivation for leaving South Carolina, is found in what Charles Crow did once he arrived in Alabama.  There is no question that he was in Alabama as a self appointed missionary.  One of the first things he did after arriving in Alabama was to begin preaching the Gospels, estab-lishing churches and joining and establishing umbrella organizations to coordinate Alabama Baptist activities.  He also set about to build a base for economic improvement.  He acquired land and slaves, and entered into the production of cotton.  By 1830, he had twelve slaves and in 1840 he owned eighteen slaves.   When Charles died in 1845, he had twenty-three slaves and owned a prosperous plantation.  He left and estate, after paying all his debts, which would probably be the equivalent of about a quarter million dollars today.