Swiss American Historical Society Review
Keywords
Purrysburg, southern frontier, Jonas Pelot
Abstract
Jonas Pelot, a master shoemaker in his late forties, embarked on a new adventure at an age when many men entered the twilight of their lives. For more than three hundred years, the Pelot family had lived in La Neuveville, a French-speaking medieval village in the canton of Bern. But Pelot wished to escape the political tumult that had disrupted community life and business in his small town. Citizens charged local government officials with corruption. Though Jonas Pelot had nothing to do with the controversy, one of the accused was a personal friend. At the same time, the promises of Jean-Pierre Purry sounded appealing. Purry, a Swiss entrepreneur, promised land, opportunity, and wealth along the southern frontier of North America. After lobbying European governments for more than a decade, Purry secured land in South Carolina along the Georgia border and recruited European Protestants of all backgrounds. Pelot caught the "Rabies Carolinae." The emigrants benefited the province by establishing a buffer from Indians and foreign enemies. They would help to counterbalance the black majority population.
Recommended Citation
Tortora, Daniel J.
(2013)
"From Purrysburg to Prosperity on the Southern Frontier: Francis Pelot of South Carolina, 1720-177 4,"
Swiss American Historical Society Review: Vol. 49:
No.
1, Article 2.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sahs_review/vol49/iss1/2