![]() Motherhood was an exciting new experiment that Eliza took on happily.Įliza’s family along with her production was growing. And finally the youngest son, Thomas, was born in 1750. Then her only daughter Harriott was born in 1749. Their second child, George Lucas, was born in 1747 but passed away soon after. ![]() Her first son Charles Cotesworth was born in 1746. Prior to their marriage, Charles Pinckney fathered no children. The marriage saved her from returning to her father’s home. He was forty-five, and she was twenty-two. Having been widowed, Charles Pinckney proposed to the young Eliza. Her dear friend Eliza Lamb Pinckney died shortly afterwards. Her father wanted the family to return to Antigua. However, the same year brought her devastating news. Under the guidance of a Frenchman from Monserrat, sent by her father, Eliza was able to send a small sample of the indigo dye to Great Britain. Years of persistence paid off, however, when in 1744, she was able to grow enough indigo to begin the process of dye production. They had known that the tropical plant did not do well in the winter months. Out of many surely one may hit.” And one did-Indigo.Įliza’s experiments with indigo were ridiculed by her neighbors. He wrote “Tell the little visionary come to town and partake of some of the amusements suitable to her time of life.” To which she responded “Pray tell him…what he may now think whims and projects may turn out well by and by. Charles Pinckney, in particular, was very skeptical of Eliza’s interest in planting. Her relationship with the Pinckneys was quite close. The Pinckneys acted as guardians and friends to Eliza while her father remained in Antigua. However, she could be found visiting the home of Charles and Eliza Lamb Pinckney on occasion. During these months it was customary that planters of Eliza’s status would socialize in Charleston-removing themselves from the unsavory conditions of the plantations. While Eliza spent the majority of her time on her plantations, the summer months and swampy environment brought mosquitos to the land. She wrote to her friend Mary Bartlett: “I am making a large plantation of oaks, which I took upon as my own property, whether my father gives me the land or not.” She believed the oaks would be “more valuable than they are now-which you know they will be when we come to build fleets.” When she was nineteen, she wrote that she had planted a large fig orchard “with design to dry and export them.” She experimented with various schemes to make the plantations more profitable. Keenly aware that rice was the only major cash crop of the region, she was determined to increase the wealth of the Lowcountry. It was at their Wappoo Plantation, located about 3 miles southwest of Charleston that Eliza chose to take residency. There the Lucases owned three Lowcountry plantations. She cherished her education saying “education which esteems a more valuable fortune than any could have given, will make me happy through my future life.” Under her father’s request, Eliza along with her sister Polly and mother were sent to South Carolina when she was only sixteen. At a young age she was skilled in botany-a life passion of hers. She was raised on a Caribbean plantation. Her unique situation as the manager of her father’s lands helped carve her name into the history of South Carolina.īorn in Antigua, Eliza Lucas was the eldest daughter of George Lucas, lieutenant governor of the island. Historians often credit Eliza Lucas Pinckney (1722-1793) with the development of the successful indigo industry in the mid-1700s in South Carolina. Eliza Lucas Pinckney SCETV artist rendition
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