Ethan walked from the room, stunned and angry, and decided to return home. Since it was not much out of his way, he rode by to visit one of the Quakers, whose name was Jonathan Mabry. When he recounted what had happened to him, Mabry responded, “We have had the same experience more than a month ago—all of us Friends—but we didn’t know that any others were involved.”

“I guess my farm is just in the wrong place. Have you decided what you are going to do?”

“We’re going to leave North Carolina. I’ve just come back from Georgia, where I visited with Joseph Maddock. Our people there are getting along fine, and Brother Maddock has just obtained a grant of more land near their first settlement. My family and two others are planning to move down there next month, and the other Friends will be going back to Pennsylvania, where they have relatives.”

That night, Ethan and Epsey sat up late, discussing their future. Their overriding sense of loss was still about Henry. In her quiet way, Epsey had reminded her husband several times that he was not to blame, and that there had been nothing he could have done. They shared the general realization that political and financial decisions in Orange County would be made by people who would never accommodate their presence, at least not on this land.

Ethan said, “I reckon the leather shop is ours, and the folks around Hillsborough could still use a good shoemaker.”

Uncharacteristically, Epsey spoke up strongly. “Ethan, you left Philadelphia because you didn’t want to be shut up for the rest of your life in a shoemaker’s shop. It’s farming, and being alone in the outdoors, where you find happiness.”

Ethan thought for a while and then replied solemnly, “We don’t have many choices. I’d rather stay here on our own place, but I’ve become convinced that this won’t be possible. Even if I wasn’t Henry’s brother, our land has been tied in with that of the Quakers, and there are powerful people determined to get it. We could move westward with some of the Regulators, but I’ve never felt at ease with most of those who have gone ahead.

“There are really just two more choices: to return to Philadelphia or to move to Georgia with Mabry and his people. I guess it’s Georgia.”

CHAPTER 9

The Pratts Move to Georgia

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