James Proth(e)ro

James Proth(e)ro was born (est.) 1722. He was the son of John Pruddo. He died in 1765 in South Carolina.^1,2

Carolina Colonist.

In South Carolina: A Bicentennial History Louis B. Wright tells of a group of Welsh Baptists from migrating from the north to South Carolina in the mid-1700s: "In 1736 a group of Welsh Baptists from Newcastle, Pennsylvania (now Delaware), obtained a grant of some 175,000 acres on both sides of the Great Pee Dee River in the region between the present towns of Bennettsville and Hartsville. Two years later they founded a Baptist Church near the river crossing, not far from Society Hill, and endeavored to keep out interlopers of other faiths lest discord should arise. The small town of Society Hill was the center of what became known as the Welsh Neck."

"One of the most prosperous communities of the middle region was the Welsh tract, not properly one of the townships but having some of their characteristics. Situated on the east side of the Great Pee Dee, north of the township of Queensborough, it had water communication with both Georgetown and Charleston. Land was fertile and suitable for indigo, which after time became a profitable money crop. By 1757 the Welsh Tract had some 3,000 white settlers and 300 black slaves. Many of the Welsh Baptists had come from Pennsylvania."


One correspondent passed along information regarding a land grant for a James Brothero that had been recently found during a search of the South Carolina Archives. In cursive script of that era, a capital "P" often looks like a capital "B". This search was apparently the result of someone doing a follow-up to some information that they had received years earlier of a James Brothero coming to South Carolina on the ship Phoenix from Pennsylvania and they believed the passenger to be James Prothro (my 6th great-grandfather), Evan Prothro's father. The area of the land grant (described below) was located between two of the stalwarts of the Welsh Baptists, so it appears safe to figure that this is James Prothro.


According to Mr. Coulter, the record referred to here is found in the minutes of the South Carolina Council, dated 27 April 1748. It shows that James Brothro (sic) arrived in the ship Phenix (sic), and petitioned at Charleston for a warrant for "150 acres of land to be laid out in the Welsh Tract free of charge." The petition was granted, ultimately resulting in a survey for James Brothero (Prothero) dated 20 December 1749, "pursuant to warrant dated 18 May 1749." Unless the date of this warrant was transcribed incorrectly, this would suggest that James made a SC land entry in 1748, but was compelled to apply for a new warrant by reason of caveats filed against the parcel then selected. The Phenix was a Philadelphia-based sailing vessel that plied the coastal trade. James must have traveled down the Cape Fear River to Wilmington to board the vessel for the trip to Charleston, where petitions for land warrants were received and considered by the South Carolina Colonial Council.


There was also found a Mary Prothro who was in the Welsh Neck Church records as dying in the late 1750s and it has been speculated that this was James' wife. However Mr. Coulter believes that it is more likely that she was the wife of John Proth(e)ro, an elder son of John Pruddro who also lived in this region during the time that James lived there. John (the younger) is known to have married a Mary. The given name of the wife of James is uncertain.
Land Grant Details: Series Number: S213184 Volume: 0005 Page: 00139 Item: 01 Date: 20 December 1749. Description: Brothero, James, Plat For 150 Acres In Craven County. Names Indexed: Brothero, James; Screven, William; James, Abel; Hunter, George; Kerslake, Abraham. Locations: Craven County, Pee Dee River, Welsh Tract.