Loflin Quinn -

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Laughlin Quin first appears in the historical record during the Spanish Alarm of 1747. He is listed in Colonial and State Records of North Carolina, CSR22-0046 (Volume 22, pp. 262–268), titled “Payroll for Thomas Lovick’s Regiment of the North Carolina Militia.”[1]

This undated document (covering June 14–September 10, 1747) records the names of soldiers who answered “sundry alarms” to repel Spanish privateers attacking Beaufort and its harbor (then known as Topsail Inlet, not to be confused with present-day New Topsail Inlet in Pender County).

On page 265, second from the bottom, appears the name of Laughlin Quin, who was paid on September 10, 1747, for six days of service. This suggests he served from approximately September 4 through September 10, the period during which the Spanish privateers withdrew. This entry provides the earliest known record of his presence, his allegiance to the Crown, and his association with fellow Carteret settlers.

In the September Court of 1749 at New Bern, Colonel Thomas Lovick (his former commander) appears as “Esquire” and assigns 100 acres and 100 lbs. of flax seed to “Loflin Quin, planter,” near the mouth of Jumping Run Creek and Bogue Sound, adjoining Lovick’s own land and that of George Read, the regimental clerk.[2]

In 1750, Laughlin returned the grant, declaring the land unsuitable for flax, and surrendered his remaining seed allotment. George Read witnessed the release. (A later grant in 1764 added 220 acres to the original 100, forming the 320-acre tract that would remain in the family.)

At the June Court of 1753, Loflin Quin witnessed a deed transferring 200 acres on Bogue Sound from Ann Wilkins to Samuel Chadwick Whitehurst. The deed was also attested by Valentine Wallace and ordered registered by the court.[3]

In 1758, Joseph Bell compiled a tax list of Carteret County’s 320 residents. Laughlin appears as a taxable individual—yet notably without a household. His wife Mary and their children are absent from Carteret’s rolls. Instead, Mary’s relatives, including her brother-in-law Owen Canaday, appear nearby. This suggests that Mary and the children may have been residing with her kin in Bertie County at the time.[4]

At the August Court of 1761, Beaufort Town nominated a jury to lay out a road from Newell Bell’s property on the north side of the Newport River to New Bern. Loflin Quin was among those appointed jurors.[5]

In the November Court of 1764, Carteret County Deed Book 18, p. 103, records Grant No. 177 to Loflin Quin, dated November 9. The grant consisted of 320 acres on the north side of Bogue Sound, adjoining Jumping Run, David Shephard, and Col. Lovick.

This tract remains linked to the Abner Quin line, with portions today lying within the Croatan National Forest and adjoining modern Newport, NC. Laughlin’s grave is located on this private land, still maintained by Quin descendants today.[6]

In 1765, the December Court again ordered Loflin and others to lay out the road to New Bern. Constables were instructed to deliver summons personally, with penalties imposed for non-compliance.

In 1766, Loflin was again appointed juryman for the same road, with the court setting a September date to complete the order. These records confirm Laughlin remained in good health in the mid-1760s.[7]

On February 17, 1766, Loflin Quin composed his last will and testament. The document, preserved among the papers of Royal Governor Josiah Martin, was later carried off from Tryon Palace when Martin fled in April 1775.[8]

The will, written on oversized hemp paper, was proved on February 4–5, 1774, shortly after Laughlin’s death. The text provides our first mention of his wife by name:

“I give and bequeath unto my loving wife Mary Quinn, formerly Mary Canaday…”

This reference to her “former name” has prompted debate: was Canaday her maiden name, or the name from an earlier marriage? The document names only three children—William, Margret, and Thomas—though tradition holds that Loflin and Mary had several more children.

Witnesses included William Coale, Sarah Coale, and Abigail Coale. On the reverse, Governor Josiah Martin endorsed the will on February 5, 1774, attesting to its validity.[9]

By 2014, the original will had become too fragile to handle. It was retired and digitized in high resolution, now accessible through the North Carolina State Archives.

In March Court, 1772, Laughlin submitted a petition for relief from taxation, declaring:

• He had lived in Carteret County for “thirty odd years.”
• He had paid taxes faithfully since his arrival.
• At age sixty, he was no longer able to support his family while also paying taxes.

The court forwarded his request to the Assembly in New Bern. On January 27, 1773, the General Assembly granted his petition, exempting him and several others from paying public taxes and duties.[10]

Based on the endorsement of his will, Laughlin Quin likely died on Friday, February 4, 1774. His will was proved before Governor Josiah Martin the following day, Saturday, February 5, 1774. He was buried on his 1749/1764 land grant at Jumping Run, in present-day Newport, NC.

This sequence of records outlines a man deeply embedded in his community—militiaman, planter, juror, taxpayer, and finally, petitioner for relief in old age. His will not only fixes the date of his death but also provides the first recorded name of his wife, Mary Canaday (Kennedy?) Quinn, and at least three children.

The absence of his family on the 1758 tax list strengthens the theory that Mary and the children lived with kin in Bertie County during those years. Combined with the Canaday family presence there, it is plausible that Mary’s origins lay in that county.

Loflin’s trajectory from militia service in 1747 to his death in 1774 mirrors the evolution of Carteret County itself: from contested frontier harbor to settled agricultural community, with Loflin Quinn’s name woven through its earliest civic and military records.

Sources:

1. Colonial and State Records of North Carolina, CSR22-0046, “Payroll for Thomas Lovick’s Regiment of the North Carolina Militia” (1747).
2. Carteret County Court Minutes, September Court 1749.
3. Carteret County Deeds, June Court 1753.
4. Joseph Bell’s Tax List, Carteret County, 1758.
5. Carteret County Court Minutes, August Court 1761.
6. Carteret County Deed Book 18, p. 103, Grant No. 177, 9 Nov. 1764.
7. Carteret County Court Minutes, December Court 1765; December Court 1766.
8. North Carolina Secretary of State Papers, Miscellaneous Box, Last Will and Testament of Loflin Quinn (1766).
9. Endorsement by Gov. Josiah Martin, 5 Feb. 1774.
10. Colonial and State Records of North Carolina, CSR09-0170, Petition for Tax Exemption (1772–1773).

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