NC Gazetteer

Purchace Islands

A group of islands in Martin County, Washington County and Bertie County
… the name given on the Smith map, 1624, to the nine islands in Roanoke and Cashie Rivers at the conjunction of Bertie, Martin, and Washington Counties. Apparently one of the islands is unnamed, but the other eight are known as Louse Island, Rice Island, Goodmans Island, Wood Island, Great Island, Huff Island, Conine Island, and Tabor Island. Smith is thought to have named the islands in honor of Samuel Purchas (1575?-1626), an English compiler of travel books.