Daniel Island, South Carolina is an island laden with history. The small island has played a huge role in the development of South Carolina’s economy and to an extent, the world at large. It’s place in the history of South Carolina is very important and thanks to the efforts of such institutions as the Daniel Island Company, Brockington Associates, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Office of Coastal Resource Management, much of Daniel Island’s history has been preserved even in the midst of recent development on the island. Here is her intriguing story.

The first known inhabitants of Daniel Island were Native Americans. Their name for the island was Etiwan or Ittuian and their presence on the island has been dated as far back as 2500 B.C. Arrowheads and pottery shards were found that date as far back as 10,000 years ago during excavations on Daniel Island. The existence of a sixteenth century Indian Village on Daniel Island has been proven by extensive excavations and research conducted by archaeologist Brent Livingston. His research has shown that there were semi-permanent villages located on Daniel Island evidenced by the location of refuse pits and the findings of other artifacts such as glass beads that were used by the Spanish and English to trade with the Native Americans. Shards of pottery were also found that date from 1400-1500 BC.

When the first English settlers arrived in the area in 1670, the Etiwan Indians inhabited Daniel Island. The first English settlers who came into South Carolina on the ship Carolina, from Barbados, to live and work on Daniel or Etiwan Island were Originall Jackson and John Norton. These two men, Jackson a carpenter and Norton a joiner, formed a partnership and cleared land on Etiwan and planted there until 1673. According to Daniel Island historians Michael Dahlman and Michael Dahlman, Jr., after some debate within the governing council, these two men were officially granted land on the island with the second land grant to be recorded in South Carolina.

Others who were officially granted land on Daniel Island in the late seventeenth century were William Jones who received 210 acres, William Thomas received 810 acres, Mathew English and John Morgan, William Jackson received land in 1677, Richard Codner, James Hutton and then Robert Daniell from whom the island’s present day name was derived. With a large grant of 972 acres given by the Lords Proprietors, Robert Daniell became the owner of all land that had not been previously granted in 1696. He paid 20 pounds per thousand acres and by 1715 the name of the island slowly evolved from Etiwan Island to Daniell, Daniels and then Daniel Island.

Famous Landowner

Robert Daniell was a Captain, a Major, a merchant, a Deputy-Governor, a Governor and a Landgrave. For the best understanding of the man for whom Daniel Island was named for, it’s important to understand the roles he played in the development of the colony of Carolina. The best place to start is with a description of a landgrave. A landgrave was the highest form of nobility there was in South Carolina. In order to be a landgrave, a person had to own a barony which was made up of several thousand acres.

The colony of Carolina was originally set up by the Eight Lord’s Proprietors as follows: There were to be counties established consisting of 480,000 acres each, then each of these counties were subdivided into forty parcels of 12,000 acres each which were made up of eight baronies, eight signiories, and twenty-four colonies. Four of these baronies were granted to landgraves, the highest form of nobility in the colony and then two of these were granted to caciques or lesser nobles in the colony. However, as noted below, there came a time when the Lords Proprietors felt that it was necessary to begin selling these titles to help the colony flourish.

Robert Daniell was granted one of the baronies known as Winyah Barony in which he received 48,000 acres of land in South Carolina as part of a patent he was given by the Lords Proprietors. A historian of South Carolina history from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Henry A.M. Smith, best explains Daniell’s ownership of land in South Carolina as follows:

Robert Daniell first appears on the record on 3rd of June, 1678, when a warrant was issued to survey out a lot in Charles Town for him. On 4th April, 1679, he appears as sailing from Barbados for Carolina…On 15th December, 1680, and on 10th May, 1682, he is mentioned under the title of “Capt.,” as owning lands in South Carolina. On 7th May, 1682 he is granted lot 34 in Charles Town, and he is again referred to by that rank in a deed dated 1693 and in a will, making him an executor, in 1695. In May and August, 1692, we find him styled “Major;” and on 24th November, 1693, he is styled “Major,” and commander of the ship “Daniel of Carolina;” and on 12th September, 1696, 10th March 1696/7, and 10th January, 1697, he is styled “Major” in the communications from the Lords Proprietors to the Governor and Council at Charles Town. In 1702 he is styled “Col.,” and so again in 1710, 1712, and 1716. In what service or how he obtained his successive promotions the record does not disclose.

Robert Daniell inherited his place in the world through his father’s legacy as a ship and land owner in London. His brother was a captain in the East India Company on the ship New London and just like his brother and father, Robert was involved early on in the maritime business. He traded between London, Barbados and Bermuda and from Barbados he eventually found his way to South Carolina. Daniel did much for the colony after having accrued a substantial amount of wealth.

In 1680 he joined the Goose Creek Militia led by Colonel George Chicken. He also took part in a defense against an invasion of Carolina by Spanish warships in 1686 that had anchored off the coast of the Port Royal River near present-day Beaufort. Robert Daniell, along with 90 men, was sent by Governor James Colleton to help ward off the Latin intruders. After rounding up a sizeable Native American force to accompany them, Daniell and his crew arrived at Port Royal on August 26th. The next day a hurricane struck the South Carolina coast and totally destroyed Daniell’s vessels. According to Daniel Island historians Michael Dahlman and Michael Dahlman, Jr., there was never any evidence that Daniell actually engaged the Spanish in battle, but the Spanish quickly retreated back to St. Augustine after the storm hit.

Besides his military exploits, Daniell remained a ship captain and merchant for several years and continued to acquire land in the South Carolina Lowcountry and in downtown Charleston. His holdings on the peninsula included lot number 299 which Daniel acquired in 1694/5. The first land grant that was given to Daniell on Etiwan Island was a plot of land along the Wando River. He developed it into a Pier known as “Daniell’s Pier” and a settlement of sorts that had slaves working there. The island to the north of the Daniel Island (where Blackbaud Stadium is today) was acquired by Daniell as well and at the time it was called Brady Island or St. Jogues Island. This island was sold in 1715 to Richard Codner.

Daniell’s influence in the colony became increasingly important as he served in the eighth, eleventh and fourteenth assemblies in Carolina. He also acted as a judge, Chief Justice, and a tax commissioner for the colony. After traveling to England to help the Lord’s Proprietors revise the Fundamental Constitutions for the colony, he was given the title of landgrave in 1698 along with the right to sell six other titles of landgrave and eight titles of cacique. He then held land all over the Lowcountry including the remaining lands on Daniel Island, lands on Parris Island and lands in the present-day Georgetown area.

As his land holdings grew as well as his stature in the colony, Captain Daniell eventually became Deputy Governor and then eventually Governor of North Carolina. He fought against the Tuscarora Indians successfully in 1711 and as a result was granted another landgrave with 48,000 acres in 1713. He also fought for the colony of South Carolina in 1715 against the Yemassee Indians and he then became the 18th governor of the colony in 1716. He was only governor for a short period of time and died at age 72 in 1718. He was buried on Daniel Island and survived his wife Martha and five children. His grave marker was found in 1895 it was moved to the main graveyard at St. Philip’s Church in Charleston.

Today Daniell has left a lasting impression on the history of the colonies. One of the most significant is the island that now holds his namesake. His contributions to the development of our nation at large include his development of lands throughout North and South Carolina, his extensive involvement in the defense of the most influential and important colonies in the New World and his helping to shape the way in which our early governments were formed. There is even a Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Colonists named after him in Athens, Georgia.