In 1746 Nathaniel Ayers began selling his land in Baltimore County, Maryland.  By about 1755, he and his wife, Rhoda, and family had migrated to Halifax County in southern Virginia (near Danville today), on the border of North Carolina.  Why did they leave what appeared to be a prosperous livelihood in MD?   Why did they undertake such an arduous journey which took them over 300 miles to the south?  The answers are not known for sure, but it is believed that religion was a primary factor along with a desire for more land, and perhaps opposition to slavery.

After 1735, as the supply of land grew short in colonies farther north, numerous farmers from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and northern Virginia began packing their possessions and making the long journey to the Southern Piedmont in the Virginia colony.

In addition, it seems that Nathaniel converted to the Quaker religion in Maryland, perhaps when he married Rhoda.  The Quakers were one of the first groups to oppose slavery, which was heavily employed by most tobacco farmers. In the 1750s, there was a large Quaker migration to the frontier areas of Virginia and North Carolina, and Nathaniel’s family probably joined in with others from Pennsylvania and Maryland moving southward. The proceedings of the Quaker South River Monthly Meeting (held near what is today Lynchburg, VA) show that Nathaniel  Ayers was accepted into membership in 1758. This Quaker Meeting covered many of the southern VA counties including Halifax County.

Also, in 1758, Nathaniel purchased 116 acres of land on Little Double Creek. In 1767, the western part of Halifax County where Nathaniel and his family lived became Pittsylvania County, and not long after that he was granted 200 acres on branches of the Dan River.  Before he died, he also acquired another 600 acres of adjoining land. In 1760, Nathaniel and several of his neighbors are credited with “laying a road”.

Nathaniel Ayers died in early 1777, and his will was probated at the courthouse in Chatham, in Pittsylvania County.  His oldest living sons, Thomas and Moses were the executors.  Mentioned in the will were his wife Rhoda and 5 surviving children.

The map above shows the general Piedmont area where Nathaniel settled.  I have been to this area on a research trip in 2006.  Pittsylvania County and the surrounding counties in both VA and NC contain beautiful gently rolling farmland as far as the eye can see.  One can certainly understand why northern colonists migrated to this area.