History

Thomas Spratt

settler allied with Catawba Nation

settler allied with Catawba Nation

In the record (6)

  1. 1750

    Around 1750, Thomas Spratt (1685-1757), along with his brothers (or male relatives) James, Andrew, and Samuel and their families, moved from Pennsylvania and settled in what is now Mecklenburg County, becoming close allies of the Catawba Nation.

    Catawba Nation

    Source · checked 2026-08-13

  2. 1753

    Around 1753, Thomas Spratt moved to a property on Twelve Mile Creek and farmed the land for his father; he was described as a fast friend of the Catawba Nation, often accompanying them on hunting and war parties.

    Catawba Nation

    Source · checked 2026-08-13

  3. 1760

    The 1760 Treaty of Pine Tree Hill granted the Catawba Nation a 225-square-mile reservation along the Catawba River, land that included property Thomas Spratt had inherited near Twelve Mile Creek.

    Catawba Nation

    Source · checked 2026-08-13

  4. 1761

    Thomas Spratt later settled along Nation Ford Road roughly two miles north of the ford on the Catawba River, at the invitation of the Catawba Nation, which leased him several thousand acres of farmland -- making him the first documented tenant to lease land directly from the tribe.

    Unverified — sourced but not confirmed against a primary record.

    Ford Motor CompanyCatawba Nation

    Source · checked 2026-08-13

  5. 1774

    Thomas Spratt earned the nickname "Kanawha" in 1774 while fighting alongside the Catawba against the Shawnee on the Kanawha River (in present-day West Virginia) during Lord Dunmore's War.

    Catawba Nation

    Source · checked 2026-08-13

  6. 1786

    In 1786 the North Carolina legislature chartered a ferry "near a place known by the name of Old Nation Ford" on the Catawba River, to be operated by Thomas Spratt and Daniel Sturgis.

    Ford Motor CompanyCatawba NationDaniel Sturgis

    Source · checked 2026-08-13