Hobonny Plantation – Yemassee – Beaufort County

— Hobonny Plantation House © David Wise —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Basic Information

• Location – Combahee River, Yemassee, Prince William Parish, ACE Basin, Beaufort County

  Located off River Road south of the Town of Yemassee
  

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – ?

• Current status – Privately owned
  

— Entrance to Hobonny Plantation © David Wise, 2013 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Timeline

• 1741 – Earliest known date of existence (5 and 2, p. 239)
  

  Joseph Bryan received a grant for 500 acres. This grant adjoined 740 acres that had been part of Tomotley Barony. Bryan purchased the 740 acres from Landgrave Edmund Bellinger in 1731 (2, p. 239).
  

• 1744 – Joseph Bryan received an additional grant for 744 acres (5).
  

• 1744 – Walter Izard bought the combined tracts from Bryan (2, p. 239).
  

• ? – Walter Izard, Jr. was Hobonny's next owner. He also owned Old Combahee Plantation (2, p. 240).
  

• 1759 – Walter Izard, Jr. died leaving the plantation to his daughter Mary Izard who married Arthur Middleton, signer of the Declaration of Independence (2, p. 240).
  

• ? – Mary willed the plantation to son John Izard Middleton (2, p. 240).
  

• 1816 – John Middleton sold Hobonny to his brother Henry (2, p. 240).
  

• 1846 – Henry Middleton died and the plantation was put into a family trust (2, p. 240).
  

  During the Reconstruction Period, the Middleton family leased Hobonny to other rice planters including J. Bennett Bissell (2, p. 243).
  

• 1880 – House built (3)
  

• 1888 – Oliver Middleton Read began planting Hobonny. His grandfather, Oliver H. Middleton owned a share of the plantation as part of the trust. Read bought out the other members of the trust to own Hobonny (2, p. 244).
  

• 1921 – Read died (2, p. 244).
  

• 1925 – The plantation was purchased by a group of business men for use as a a hunt club. This club became known as the Hobonny Club (2, p. 244).
  

• 1980 – The plantation was divided into three parts. Two parts folded into Twickenham Plantation with the remaining section being purchased by Hobonny Club member T.W. Erickson (2, p. 245).
  

• 2013 – David Wise owned Hobonny Plantation (3).
  

— Hobonny Plantation Slave Cabin © Brandon Coffey, 2016 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Land

• Number of acres – 1,984 in the early 1700s; 1,368 in 1834; 1,640 in 1930; 825.9 in 2013 (2, 3, 4, 6)
  

• Primary crop – Rice and later cotton

— Hobonny Plantation Slave Cabin © David Wise —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Owners

• Chronological list – Joseph Bryan (?-1744); Walter Izard (1744-?); Walter Izard, Jr (?-1759); Mary Izard (1759-?); John Izard Middleton (?-1816); Henry Middleton (1816-1846); Middleton Family Trust (1846-?); Oliver Middleton Read (?-1921); Hobbony Club (1925-1980); T.W. Erickson (1980-?); David Wise (2013)
  

— Hobonny Plantation Brick Slave Cabin © David Wise —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Slaves

• Number of slaves – 66 in 1759 (2, p. 240)
  

  We are actively seeking information on the slaves who lived and worked at this plantation. If you find a resource that might help, please fill out this form. Thank you.
  

— Hobonny Plantation Cabin © David Wise, 2020 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Buildings

• There was a slave settlement on either side of the owner's house (2, p. 240)
  

— Hobonny Plantation Slave Cabin © Brandon Coffey, 2016 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

References & Resources

1. Lawrence S. Rowland, Alexander Moore, and George C. Rodgers, Jr. The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina: Volume 1, 1514-1861 (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1996)
    Order The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina: Volume 1, 1514-1861

2. Suzanne Cameron Linder, Historical Atlas of the Rice Plantations of the ACE River Basin - 1860 (Columbia, SC: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1995), pp. 239-245.
    Order Historical Atlas of the Rice Plantations of the ACE River Basin - 1860
   

3. Information contributed by David Wise
   

4. Robert B. Cuthbert and Stephen G. Hoffius, editors, Northern Money, Southern Land: The Lowcountry Plantation Sketches of Chlotilde R. Martin (Columbia, SC: The University of South Carolina Press, 2009)
   
   

5. 1741 and 1744 Kings Grant documents - PDF - contributed by David Wise
   

6. 1834 Plat of Hobonny Plantation - contributed by David Wise
   

— Hobonny Plantation Slave Cabin © David Wise —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)