November 21, 2022
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On December 19, 1859, port collector John Rollinson recorded the sailing vessel Sally Smith entering the Port of Hatteras. The vessel led by Master Captain Daniel Hayman was headed inland, hailing from Barbados, with 35 tons of ballast. Among his cargo was molasses, oranges, sugar and an unusual white sweet potato with a slight greenish tint when cooked. It’s reported that as soon as the potato entered North Carolina, a traveling Methodist minister came into possession of Hayman’s tuber import. He then transported the potatoes to the Eastern Shore of Virginia, where they were propagated and still grown to this day.
A local favorite, especially around Thanksgiving and Christmas, Hayman potatoes are well known on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Virginia and the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
This week, Kelley visited with a descendant of Captain Daniel Webster Hayman, (her mother) Sallye Hayman Bowen, as she shared some of the history of the fall delicacy we enjoy and other ways the three geographic areas are connected through the Hayman family:
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November 13, 2025, 10:26 pm
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