Island bears Governor Robert Daniell’s name

In a new community like Daniel Island where most residents are newcomers, it’s important to develop a sense of home – it will, after all, be "the old hometown" for the children who grow up here. Part of doing that may be learning about the history of the place, going back to the earliest historical and archaeological records. Part of it, too, is chronicling the present-day development, noting the people and events that have shaped the community as it is now. With that in mind, in this and future articles, The Daniel Island News will look at the distant and not so distant history of Daniel Island.

The first question a newcomer or even a visitor might ask is, "Well, who was the Daniel of Daniel Island?" Actually, the name was originally spelled with two ls and it was the surname of a South Carolina Assembly member and early governor, Robert Daniell (1646-1718). Six different spellings of Daniel Island can be found in historical documents: Daniel Island, Daniell Island, Daniel’s Island, Daniell’s Island, Daniels Island and Daniells Island. The dropping of the final l and apostrophe-s is attributed to British mapmakers.

Robert Daniell was born c. 1646, and died May 1, 1718, at age 72, according to a memorial inscription at St. Philip’s Church, Charleston. He was the son of John Daniell, a mariner and ship builder, of London, and his wife, Sarah. Sarah Daniell’s maiden name has not been established, but when she was widowed, in 1661, and remarried, papers filed indicate that she and John Daniell had six children, John, Sarah, Robert, Christopher, James, and another daughter whose name may have been Ann.

The eldest son, John, became the captain of a ship, The New London, voyaging to India and Java and associated with the East India Company. His letterbook and a ship’s log have survived, and letters corroborate his relationship to Robert. John’s granddaughter Sarah Procter married Robert’s son, Robert Daniell Jr.

Robert Daniell was aboard the "Carolina," one of three ships that set sail in 1669 from London carrying settlers and some of the original Lord Proprietors to Carolina via Barbados. During the voyage, two of the original ships were lost and replaced by sloops in Barbados. Daniell may have boarded the ship in Barbados. A land warrant for Carolina in 1677 identified him as a resident and another in 1675 suggests he may have been there earlier.

The Daniell family members were royalists, loyal to King Charles I, who was deposed by Parliament under Oliver Cromwell in 1649, and his son, Charles II, who was returned from exile and made King of England in 1660.

King Charles I gave a proprietary charter to his attorney general Sir Robert Heath in 1629, for a colony in North America to be known as Carolana, which included territory from coast to coast between parallels 36"30 and 29." Heath did nothing to claim his colony, however, until after the restoration of 1660, when Sir John Colleton, and Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, petitioned Charles II for a charter to reward a group of eight royalists. The charter was granted in 1663 and the eight men became the original Lords Proprietors of Carolina. Lord Ashley, aided by John Locke, wrote the original Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, under which the colony was to be divided into two provinces, north and south. Finally, in 1669, the fleet of three ships set sail for Carolina via Barbados. The original settlement was named Charles Towne, later Charleston. Daniell continued his family’s maritime tradition as owner of several ships.

Daniell was active in political and military affairs in Carolina. He returned to England to counsel the Lords Proprietors on the fifth and final revision Fundamental Constitutions and brought the document back to Carolina in 1698. He was rewarded for his activism with a patent as a Landgrave in 1698, which entitled him to 48,000 acres in Carolina. His holdings included what was then known as St. Thomas and St. Dennis Parish, and he had a home there. It was also known Etiwan, for the Etiwan Indians who inhabited the area at the time of the settlement. It was renamed for Robert Daniell in 1740.

Daniell was one of the leaders of the Goose Creek Men in provincial politics —
the Anglican faction. These men chafed under the control of the Lords Proprietors and their governors, who wanted to collect more taxes and stop the settlers’ trade with pirates and Indians. He supported the ouster of the incompetent governor James Colleton but later returned to the Proprietors’ good graces. Capt. Daniell commanded several ships and fought the Spanish when they invaded in 1689. The Carolinians were successful although their ships were devastated by a hurricane and several towns were destroyed. Daniel commanded the militia in 1702 but was placed second in command of an expedition against St. Augustine. The Carolina forces laid siege to the city but didn’t have adequate bombs and mortars to take the fortress. Daniell was sent to Jamaica to get supplies. When he returned, the siege had been lifted and Daniell narrowly escaped capture by the Spanish to return to South Carolina. He refused an offer to command a second expedition to Florida. During the Yemassee War (1715), he commanded a force that pushed the Yemassee Indians into Florida.

As captain of the provincial militia, Daniell was disliked for his high-handed methods. Appointed deputy governor for North Carolina (1703-04), he became embroiled in a controversy with Quaker settlers, insisting that they take an oath of allegiance to Queen Ann, which was against their faith. He was removed from that post and returned to South Carolina, where he was elected to the Eighth, Eleventh and Fourteenth assemblies representing Berkeley and Craven counties. When Governor Charles Craven left the province in 1716 he appointed Daniell deputy governor and acting governor in his absence. Then 70 years old, Daniell tangled with the House over appointments of Commissioners to the Indian Trade. He was replaced as governor in 1717 when he tangled with the proprietary faction.

As a Landgrave, Daniell was entitled to 48,000 acres of land but obtained only 31,247 acres and sold almost all. At his death he owned 1,519 acres, including a 700 acres plantation on Daniell’s Island, another South Carolina plantation of 549 acres and one of 270 acres in North Carolina. He also owned town lots is Charleston and Beaufort. He died sometime between May 1, 1718, when he signed his will, and May 18, when it was registered. He was survived by his wife Martha and children Martha, Robert, John and Ann.

Sources for this article include: Documentation for the Origin of Robert Daniel, d. 1718, Berkeley Co., prepared Sept. 12, 2002, by Kenneth F. Daniell of Mableton, GA., the 6^th great grandson of Robert Daniell. Another source, Daniel Family History Book Two, compiled by Clara Daniell Williams, Lithia Springs, GA, published 1992, gives conflicting information as to Robert Daniell’s place of birth and parents’ names. Other sources were: Biographical Directory of the South Carolina House of Representatives pp. 180-182; Home Upriver: Rural Life on Daniel’s Island, Berkeley County, South Carolina, by Jeanne Calhoun and Martha Zierden of the Charleston Museum and Lesley Drucker, Carolina Archaeolocal Services.