Hi, Mary Jane.  Depends on WHERE in Southside they lived. Notice that by 1790 there were myriad trails and bridle paths that went south from everyplace in VA east of the Blue Ridge, however those routes that perhaps were more widely used might be as stated below.  As everywhere, the earliest roads followed the ages old animal and Indian trading routes, and those from Norfolk hugging the coast south were heavily traveled. 

Of course, the Nottoway and the Blackwater rivers provided easy access by boat downstream to Meharrin, thence South to Albemarle Sound, and a huge volume of travel and carriage of goods and naval stores went by such boats.  From Meharrin on to Albermarle Sound gained all easy access to the ocean.  

Those who did not go by boat to the eastern NC settlements commonly used the early road from Norfolk thru Suffolk and on to Franklin and Riverdale.  Another very early wagon road and trail extended south from Jerusalem (now, Courtland) through Boykins and on to Weldon, NC, that center being just South of the rapids of the Roanoke.

Of course the main road/path southward and one of the earliest pre-Revolutionary principal mail roads was from all points north through Richmond, Petersburg, Emporia and, again, on to Weldon, the river, and all points south, east and west.  

From the Portsmouth and Norfolk area, all were forced to travel either south by the coast road - present #168 - or go west to and beyond Suffolk and then south, in order to avoid the Great Dismal Swamp.  That natural barrier was virtually impassable except by men on foot or on agile horses.  

My own Drakes, Hines and some Parkers, I believe, went south from S'hmptn county to Murfreesboro, NC and then down present day US 258 to Edgecombe, Nash and nearby counties.  

Those who traveled from the north and the Great Valley (or "Wagon") Road South to the Carolinas and the counties near Rowan, and then often west to the old Southwest Territory, passed through South Hill, South Boston or Danville, and from those places passed into NC.  As to those, check with Lee who is very well acquainted with the other available and passable more western roads of the early days.  

Again, there were literally hundreds of trails, bridle paths, and primitive roads from all of Southside south and into NC, and I suspect others on these lists will have additional stories. Lee, what say you?  

I would urge you all to take a look at N. M. Pawlett, "Historic Roads of VA; A Brief History 1607-1840" (VA H. & T. Research Council, Charlottesville, 1977), which may be found in many good VA and northern NC libraries.   Paul   
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Mary Jane Phillips-Matz 


  This question is for Paul Drake or anyone who has information on which routes Southside families took in the early-to-mid-1700s to get from Southside VA to North Carolina.
  Particularly to the Neuse River and Tar River areas in NC.
  My direct ancestors, Thomas Phillips and his wife, Isabel [no maiden name known], are documented in the Bristol Parish Vestry Book in Prince George County VA from 1726-1734.
  I have no trace of them from 1734-1743.
  In 1743 they were in Craven County, NC. Thomas Phillips died there, and his will was taken to the court house in New Bern late in 1743.
  >From then on, there is a great deal of documentation about this family.
  Good wishes and many thanks,
  Mary Jane Phillips-Matz



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