Rice was the big cash crop first in Dorchester, SC, and then in Midway, GA.
Since one needed much more than 50 acres for such a crop, the restriction on
land size by the founders of GA discouraged colonization until the colony was
turned over to the crown and the restrictions against slaves, rum, and land
size were removed. The New Englanders had farms of about 50 acres and the
original settlers at Dorchester started out with farms of about that size,
but what was okay for New England did not work out in the South. The
motivation to move to GA from SC was that land had been taken up around
Dorchester, families had grown in size, and they needed to move somewhere.
Going straight inland, however, the land was not swampy enough for rice.
Dane Bowen in Alexandria, Va., researching Bowen, Bacon, Carlton (Carleton),
Luker, Sanders (Saunders), Chaudoin (Chaudoins), Maverick, Richey (Ritchie,
Richie, Ritchey), Spence, Sumner, Way, and Wells families.
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