History of North Carolina United States of America

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Local History Notes:

NORTH CAROLINA, one of the original states of the American confederacy, is bounded on the N. by Virginia, E. and S.E. by the Atlantic, S. by South Carolina and Georgia, and N.W. by Tennessee, from which it is separated by the Iron and other mountains of the Appalachian chain. It lies between about 33° 53' and 36° 33' N. lat., and between 75° 25' and 84° 30' W. lon., being about 450 miles in length, and 180 in its greatest breadth, including an area of 45,000 square miles, or about 28,800,000 acres, of which only 5,453,977 were improved in 1850.

Population: At the first national census, in 1790, North Carolina had 393,751 inhabitants; 478,103 in 1800; 555,500 in 1810; 638,829 in 1820; 737,987 in 1830; 753,419 in 1840, and 868,903 in 1850, of whom 272,839 were white males, 280,189 white females, 13,298 free colored males, 14,165 free colored females, 144,679 male, and 143,733 female slaves, and 831 Indians. This population was divided among 106,023 families, occupying 105,542 dwellings. Of the free population, 394 were born in England, 567 in Ireland, 1019 in Scotland and Wales, 344 in Germany, 43 in France, 137 in other countries, and 217 whose places of birth were unknown. In the twelve months ending June 1st, 1850, there occurred 10,207 deaths, or nearly 12 in every 1000 persons. In the same period 1931 paupers received aid, of whom 18 were foreigners, at an expense of about $31 for each individual. Of 407 deaf and dumb, 4 were free colored, and 52 slaves; of 532 blind, 28 were free colored, and 117 slaves; of 491 insane, 5 were free colored and 24 slaves; and of 774 idiotic, 32 were free colored, and 138 slaves.

Counties: North Carolina is divided into 82 counties, viz. Alamance, Alexander, Anson, Ashe, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Camden, Carteret, Caswell, Catawba, Chatham, Cherokee, Chowan, Cleveland, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Curitruck, Davidson, Davie, Duplin, Edgecombe, Forsythe, Franklin, Gaston, Gates, Granville, Greene, Guilford, Halifax, Haywood, Henderson, Hertford, Hyde, Iredell, Jackson, Johnston, Jones, Lenoir, Lincoln, McDowell, Macon, Madison, Martin, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Orange, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Person, Pitt, Randolph, Richmond, Robesen, Rockingham, Rowan, Rutherford, Sampson, Stanley, Stokes, Surry, Tyrrel, Union, Wake, Warren, Washington, Watauga, Wayne, Wilkes, Yadkin, Yancey. Capital, Raleigh.

Cities and Towns: Wilmington is the largest and most commercial town in the state; population, in 1850, 7264. The other principal towns are Fayetteville, population, 4648; and Raleigh, population, 4518. The other important places are Beaufort, Newborn, Edenton, Warrentown, Washington, Tarborough, and Plymouth.

Face of the Country, and Mountains: The S.E. and E. portion of North Carolina is level and sandy, and often marshy, interspersed with shallow lakes, especially between Albemarle and Pamlico sounds. A chain of low islands, or sandbanks, lines the whole coast, cutting off a series of shallow sounds, or lagoons, of difficult navigation. The Great Dismal Swamp, partly in the N.E. of this state, and partly in Virginia, is a spongy mass, that is said to be higher than the surrounding country, and to hold the water by capillary attraction. The Little Dismal Swamp lies between the two great sounds. The level region extends about 60 miles from the coast, and is succeeded by the hill country in the centre, which is followed, in turn, by the mountainous region off the west, formed by the passage of several ridges of the great Alleghany range in a S.W. direction through the state. These mountains vary from 800 to above 6000 feet in elevation. Mount Mitchell, or Black mountain, is in the N.W. part of the state, and is the highest summit E. of the Mississippi river: See MOUNT MITCHELL. The other considerable peaks are Roan mountain, 6038 feet, Grandfather mountain, 5556 feet, and Grandmother mountain, 2500 feet high. That part of the Alleghany range which separates Tennessee from North Carolina goes under various local names, such as Iron, Stone, Smoky, Bald, and Unaka mountains. Between these and the Blue ridge is a tableland elevated from 2000 to 2500 feet above the sea.

Minerals: North Carolina is rich in mineral treasures, especially in gold, copper, iron, and coal. The McCullock gold and copper mine, near Greensborough, has for some time attracted much attention. A recent report of the president of the company working the mines claims for it "that nothing on this continent, in the shape of mining enterprise, can compare with that of the McCullock Copper and Gold Company, in position and resources." This is, no doubt, highly colored, but has, probably, considerable foundation in fact. The report also states that the gold refuse will yield, by aid of crushers, $2.75 per bushel on the average, and fresh gold ore $12, and that 3 negroes can take out 10 tons of copper ore in a day. Professor Jackson (a more impartial authority) considers the copper region of North Carolina unparalleled in richness. Between 1843 and 1851, at Gold hill, in the gold region W. of the Yadkin river, $801,665 were mined. Coal, both bituminous and anthracite, exists in large quantities, the former of the best quality. The greatest known coalfields in North Carolina are the Deep River, extending from Granville county S.W. into South Carolina, and the Dan River in Rockingham and Stoke counties. This coal, it is said, can be brought to tidewater at an expense of $1 per ten, whence it can be easily and cheaply transhipped to the different ports on the Atlantic coast. The coal, however, is most abundant on the Deep river, and extends at least for 30 miles, is near navigable water, and could be carried easily to any market on the coast. Professor Eramons says of the Deep River coal "its qualities are such as to give it the highest place in the market, being adapted to all purposes for which the bituminous coals are specially employed." The same authority remarks, "iron occupies an important place in North Carolina, and its advantages for making bar iron of the best quality are very great." Marl is also abundant, being found in the coast counties from Virginia to South Carolina, as far from the coast as Nash county. Large supplies of limestone, (from Danbury, in Stokes county, to King's mountain, South Carolina,) and freestone, (soft, and easy to work, but which hardens on exposure,) are furnished in inexhaustible quantities on the Dan and Deep rivers; grindstones of the best quality, and millstones, (as good as the French burr,) on Deep river. Magnetic iron ore, some silver, lead, manganese, gypsum, and salt have also been found.

Rivers, Lakes, and Sounds: There are two shallow sounds--Albemarle in the N.E., and Pamlico in the E. of the state--which are cut off from the ocean by long and narrow sand-banks or islands, through which there are inlets to the sea; but these are constantly changing--the old filling up with the shifting sands, and new ones being opened by the beating of the surges. The principal at the present time are Ocracoke and Roanoke inlets. Albemarle sound extends about 60 miles westward, with a varying breadth of from 5 to 15 miles. It has several arms or bays, and communicates with Pamlico sound, which extends 86 miles in a S.W. direction, parallel with the coast, having a somewhat greater breadth than Albemarle sound, and 20 feet depth of water. The Hatteras banks, which cut it off from the ocean, extend far out to sea in the well known and dangerous point of Cape Hatteras. Further down the coast are the prominent points of Cape Lookout and Cape Fear. In the low marshy grounds between these sounds are several small lakes. A chain of low islands, or sandbanks, extends to the mouth of Cape Fear river, cutting off several small sounds and lagoons. North Carolina is traversed by several extensive rivers, all--with the exception of a few small tributaries of the Tennessee--running in a S.E. direction through the state and discharging themselves into the Atlantic, after courses of from about 200 to 400 miles. Commencing on the N.E., the Chowan and Roanoke rise in Virginia, and empty into Albemarle sound. The Tar and the Neuse rise in the N. of North Carolina, and empty into Pamlico sound. The Cape Fear, the largest river that has its whole course in the state, rises in the N., and empties into the Atlantic at the S. extremity of the state. The Yadkin and Catawba rise in the N.W. and pass into South Carolina, where the former takes the name of the Great Pedee and the latter of the Wateree. The Wacamaw, also an eastern tributary of the Great Pedee, rises in the S. part of this state. Besides these, there are a number of tributaries of the Tennessee, Congaree, and other rivers, already named. The rivers of North Carolina are so obstructed by sandbanks at their mouths, and by rapids and falls farther up, as not to be navigable for vessels of a large class. The Cape Fear is navigable 40 miles to Wilmington for Vessels drawing 10 or 12 feet water, and to Fayetteville for steam boats. Small craft ascend the Neuse to Newbern, and steamboats 120 miles to Waynesborough. The Tar is navigable for steamboats 100 miles to Tarborough; the Roanoke for small seacraft 30 miles, and for steamboats 120 miles to Halifax; and the Chowan for steamboats 75 miles.

Objects of Interest to Tourists: We cannot pretend to do any justice to North Carolina in this respect, as the facilities for travelling in that state are very poor in the region of her finest scenery. Of Black mountain or Mitchell's Peak, the highest point E. of the Mississippi, we have but little to state, except its situation between Yancey and McDowell counties, 20 miles N.E. from Asheville, and its height, 6476 ft. It commands a magnificent view of Swannanoa Gap, a pass in the mountains between Morgantown and Asheville. Near it are the picturesque Catawba falls. Pilot mountain, in Surrey county, rises in the midst of a nearly level country, in a cylindrical form. It received its name from having served as a beacon to guide the path of the Indians. In Buncombe county, on the French Broad river, in the midst of wild and romantic mountain scenery, are the Warm Springs. The principal hotel at this place is 280 feet in length. Painted Rock, a lofty precipice, from 200 to 300 feet high, and a rock called the Chimneys, are in the same vicinity. The Gingercake Rock, in Burke county, on the top of a mountain of the same name, is a curious pile of stone in the form of an inverted pyramid, 29 feet high, which supports a natural slab of stone 32 feet long and 2 feet thick, projecting about half its length beyond the edge of the inverted pyramid, and resting with the most perfect stability, though apparently just ready to fall. The view from this point is very fine, looking down a ravine of from 800 to 1200 feet in depth, with a river at its bottom, dashing over its rocky bed, and a cliff, called the Hawk's Bill, projecting over it, at an elevation of 1500 feet. About 5 miles from the same point may be seen Table Rock, a conical eminence of 2500 feet, rearing itself from the valley of the Catawba river.

Climate: The climate in the low counties is hot and unhealthy in summer, bilious and intermittent fevers prevailing; but the middle and western sections are temperate and healthy. Wheat is harvested in June, and Indian corn in September. According to meteorological observations made at Chapel Hill, by Professor Phillips, in 1851-2, the monthly mean for June was 72°.82; for July, 79°.46; August, 70°.05; September, 68°.07; October 59°.18; November, 46°.92; December, 39°.45; January, 36°.02; February, 45°.58; March, 53°.72; April, 56°.50; May, 68°.84. Mean for the year, 58°.46. First frost, October 24th. Frogs singing, 11th February. Hottest day, July 27th--102° at 3 P. M.; coldest day, January 20th--22° at 3 P.M. It rained on 102 days; there were some clouds on 326; and perfectly clear 40 days. The apricot bloomed the 29th of February, and the apple the 12th of March.

Soil and Productions: The soil possesses every variety, from the sands and marshes of the coast to the rich alluvions of the river bottoms. Some of the smaller marshes that have been drained have proved highly productive in rice, cotton, tobacco, and Indian corn. Much of the low sandy section, extending 60 miles from the coast, is covered with extensive forests of pitch pine, that furnish large quantities of lumber, tar, turpentine, and resin, which are exported to the Northern cities. In parts of this region, cotton, rice, and indigo grow well; but the higher grounds are better adapted to wheat Indian corn, hemp, tobacco, rye, and oats. The staples are Indian corn, tobacco, and sweet potatoes. In the latter article North Carolina is only exceeded by three states; in tobacco, by five; while it exceeds every other state in peas and beans. Large quantifies of wheat, rye, oats, Irish potatoes, cotton wool, rice, fruits, butter, cheese, garden vegetables, hay, flax, grass-seeds, beeswax, honey, and some barley, buckwheat, wine, hops, hemp, silk, and maple sugar are produced. According to the census of 1850, there were in the state 56,916 farms, containing 5,453,977 acres of improved land, (or about 90 acres to each farm,) producing 2,130,102 bushels of wheat; 229,563 of rye; 27,941,051 of Indian corn; 4,052,078 of oats; 1,584,252 of peas and beans; 620,318 of Irish potatoes; 5,095,709 of sweet potatoes; 38,196 of flaxseed; 5,465,868 pounds of rice; 11,984,786 of tobacco; 29,539,600 of cotton; 970,738 of wool; 4,146,290 of butter; 95,921 of cheese; 145,662 tons of hay; 593,796 pounds of flax; 27,932 of maple sugar; 512,289 of beeswax and honey. Live stock valued at $17,71.7,647; orchard products at $34,348; market products at $39,462; and slaughtered animals at $5,767,866.

Forest Trees: In the upland country are oaks of several species, hickory, maple, ash, walnut, and lime; in the low country, pine; and in the swamps also pine, cedar, cypress, with some maple, white oak, poplar, and an undergrowth of vines, briers, &c., so dense as to be impassable. In the drier parts, white and red oaks flourish. Among the fruits are apples, pears, peaches, cherries, grapes, and strawberries.

Manufactures: Professor Emmons, in his geological report of 1852, remarks--"The water-power is immense, and the improvements on Cape Fear and Deep rivers will furnish water for several Lowells." North Carolina, however, has not yet applied much of her great and extended supply of waterpower to manufacturing purposes. By the census of 1850, she had 2523 manufacturing establishments, each producing $500 and upward annually: 28 of these were cotton factories, employing 1,058,800 capital, and 442 male, and 1177 female hands; consuming raw material worth $531,903, and producing 2,470,110 yards of stuff, and 2,267,000 pounds of yarn, valued at $831,342; one woollen factory, employing $18,000 capital, and 15 male, and 15 female hands, consuming raw material worth $13,950, and producing 34,000 yards of stuff, valued at $23,750; 26 furnaces, forges, &c., employing $139,500 capital, and 214 male hands, consuming raw material worth $64,355, and producing 1422 tons of wrought, cast, and pig iron, valued at $92,347; $21,930 were invested in the manufacture of malt and spirituous liquors, consuming 64,650 bushels of corn, and 4700 of rye, employing 75 hands, and producing 153,030 gallons of wine and whiskey; and 151 tanneries, employing $251,055 capital, consuming raw material worth $191,237, and producing manufactured leather valued at $352,535. Homemade manufactures to the value of $2,086,522 were produced in 1850: See Table of Manufactures, APPENDIX.

Internal Improvements: The great Southern railroad crosses the entire State of North Carolina, having its terminus at Wilmington. There is also a railroad from Gaston to Raleigh, and one from Weldon to Portsmouth, Virginia. The Gaston and Raleigh road has been purchased by the state, to save its own mortgage on it. A road is in progress from the Wilmington and Raleigh railroad in Wayne county, to Charlotte, to which the state is to subscribe $2,000,000 when individuals shall have contributed $1,000,000. In January, 1853, North Carolina had 249 miles of railroad completed, and 223 in course of construction, since which time a road has been opened from Wilmington through Manchester, South Carolina, to Camden Branch railroad, and from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Columbia, South Carolina: See APPENDIX. The Dismal Swamp canal unites the Pasquotank with the Elizabeth river, in Virginia. Companies have been formed for the improvement of the navigation of the Cape Fear, Roanoke, and Neuse rivers, to all of which the state is a subscriber. The Club-foot and Harlow creek canal, in which the state holds 30 shares, was projected in 1826 and connects the Neuse with Beaufort harbor. A board of internal improvement, consisting of two members, was established in 1825.

Commerce: As has been elsewhere stated, the rivers of North Carolina are obstructed at their mouths by shifting sands, which prevent the entrance of large vessels; and hence the commerce of this state is limited to the export of her products to the ports of the neighboring states in coasting vessels. North Carolina exports large quantities of lumber, pitch, tar, resin, and turpentine, with some rice, cotton, and other products. The export of naval stores (pitch, tar, resin, and turpentine) exceeds that of any other, if not all the states in the Union combined. About 800,000 barrels of turpentine are annually exported, and (in 1851-52) 16,242 bales of cotton. The tonnage of North Carolina in 1851-52 was 50,621 28/95 of which more than three-fifths was in the coasting trade; tonnage entered, 32,295; tonnage cleared, 53,099; number of vessels built, 32, with a tonnage of 2,228 52/95. The foreign imports amounted to $735,858, and the exports to $576,399.

Education: Common school education is at a low ebb in this state. According to Wheeler, her own historian, 1 out of every 7 white persons over 20 years of age can neither read nor write; and by the United States census of 1850, there were 71,150 white persons over 21 years of age in that state of ignorance. Yet their statesmen have not been indifferent to this subject. The state appropriates $100,000 a year from the literary fund for the payment of common-school teachers; and in 1850 there were 72,232 children in North Carolina, for whose education $124,300 was raised by taxation. There were in 1852, 3 colleges, with an aggregate of 335 students, and 23,000 volumes in their libraries. North Carolina University, at Chapel Hill, is the most important of these. There is one law school with 10, and one medical school with 158 students--See Table of Colleges, APPENDIX.

Religious Denominations: Of the 1678 churches in North Carolina in 1850, the Baptists owned 573; the Christians, 29; the Episcopalians, 47; the Free Church, 51; the Friends, 30; the German Reformed, 15; the Lutherans, 47; the Methodists, 727; the Presbyterians, 143; and the Roman Catholics, 4. The rest belonged to the Moravians, Tunkers, and Unionists--giving 1 church to every 517 persons. Value of church property, $889,393: See Table of Religions, APPENDIX.

Public Institutions: A state insane asylum is now in course of erection near Raleigh. A special tax has been levied for four years for this purpose, which is expected to yield $80,000. A deaf and dumb asylum is also being erected at the same place, towards which the state has contributed $30,000. In 1850 there were 8 public libraries, with 24,247 volumes.

Government, Finances, &c: In addition to the usual division of the governmental power, there is in North Carolina a council of state, consisting of 7 persons, receiving $3 per day while in service, and a like sum for every 30 miles' travelling. The executive power is vested in a governor, elected by the people for two years, and receiving an annual salary of $2000, with fees. The senate is composed of fifty members, elected for two years, by freeholders possessing fifty acres of land; and a house of representatives, of 120 members, elected for 2 years also. Every white man over 21 years of age, who has resided in the state a twelvemonth, is a voter. The judiciary consists--1. Of a supreme court, composed of a chief-justice and two associate judges, receiving salaries of $2500 per annum; 2. Of superior or circuit courts, whose judges receive $1950 per annum. The judges of both courts are elected by the two houses of the legislature on joint ballot, and hold office during good behaviour. There are 7 circuits of 10 counties each. North Carolina is entitled to 8 members in the national house of representatives, and to 10 electoral votes for president. The state is undergoing a geological and botanical survey by direction of the government. The state liabilities, mostly arising from endorsements of internal improvement bonds, was in 1852, $977,000. The expenses of the state for 1850 were $228,173.24, of which $30,000 were for the judiciary; $45,000 for the legislature; $10,000 for the executive, and $70,000 for interest on internal improvement bonds endorsed by the state. Ordinary expenses, $75,000. Partial returns give the banking capital of North Carolina, in January, 1853, $3,050,000; circulation, $4,276,978.50, and coin, $1,388,545.73. Full returns in March, 1851, gave the capital as $3,650,000, and in January, 1852, $4,305,000. Assessed value of property in 1850, $212,071,413.

History: Attempts were made, under the auspices of Sir Walter Raleigh, to settle North Carolina as early as between 1585 and 1589; but in one year after no trace of the colony could be found. The first permanent settlement was made on the banks of the Roanoke and Chowan by some emigrants from Virginia in 1653. John Culpepper rebelled against the arbitrary government of Miller in 1678, and held the government for two years. In 1693, North and South Carolina were separated. In 1711 the Tuscaterns, Corees, and other savages attacked and massacred 112 settlers, principally of the Roanoke and Chowan settlements; but the following year the united forces of the two Carolinas completely routed them, killing 300 savages. The same year the yellow fever raged. In 1729 the proprietors sold their rights to the crown. A party of malcontents in 1771 rose against the royal governor, but after two hours' contest, fled with considerable loss. A severe conflict with the North-west Indians occurred in 1774 on the Kanawha river, which resulted in the abandonment of the ground by the savages. North Carolina took an early and active part in the events of the Revolution, and within her borders took place sanguinary conflicts at Guilford Court House, Brier creek, Cedar spring, Fishing creek, and other places. The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence was made May 20, 1775: so North Carolina has the honor to have first proposed a separation from Great Britain.

Biographies:

Thomas Lanier Clingman, senator, was born in Huntsville, N. C., July 27, 1812; son of Jacob and Jane (Poindexter) Clingman, and grandson of Alexander and Elizabeth (Kaiser) Clingman. His grandfather emigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania about 1770, and served throughout the war of the Revolution. Thomas was graduated at the University of North Carolina in 1832. He established himself as a lawyer and was sent to the state house of commons in 1835. In 1836 he removed to Asheville and in 1840 was elected a state senator. In 1842 he was elected as a Whig a representative in the 28th congress, was defeated for the 29th but was again elected to the 30th and succeeding congresses to and including the 35th, in which he was chairman of the committee on foreign affairs. Upon the resignation of Senator Biggs in May, 1858, Representative Clingman was appointed to succeed him as U.S. senator, and his appointment being confirmed by the state legislature, he took his seat Dec. 6, 1858. On Dec. 3, 1860, he was the first senator to obtain the floor and violently arraigned the north for its opposition to slavery, and justified secession. He was re-elected at the expiration of Senator Biggs's term for a full term extending to March 3, 1867, but was expelled on account of disloyalty, July 4, 1861. In congress he was distinguished in debate; had a notable encounter in the house with Henry A. Wise of Virginia; replied to Representative Duncan's "coon speech"; made a speech on Henry Clay's defeat which led to his duel with William L. Yancey of Alabama; and opposed the Clayton-Bulwer treaty and commercial restrictions. He was a Whig but joined the Democratic party. In the Confederate government he was commissioner to congress from North Carolina to express to that body the loyalty of the state. In the army he entered as colonel and rose to the rank of brigadier-general, in command of a North Carolina brigade. He surrendered at Greensboro, N. C., with Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. He was a delegate to the Democratic national convention of 1868. As a scientist, he made numerous contributions to geology and mineralogy and first made known the wealth in mineral resources of North Carolina, including the diamond, ruby, platinum, corundum and extensive mines of mica, which he first opened. He explored and measured many of the peaks, the highest of which in the Black mountain ranges the Smithsonian institution named Mount Clingman in his honor, and in 1858 he determined the highest peak in the Smoky mountains, afterward known on the map as Clingman's dome. He published a volume of his speeches, and Follies of the Positive Philosophers (1878). In September, 1897, he was sent from his own home, by order of his physician, to the insane asylum at Morganton, N. C., and died there Nov. 3, 1897.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Wharton Jackson Green, representative, was born in St. Mark's, Fla., Feb. 28, 1831; son of Gen. Thomas Jefferson and Sarah A. (Wharton) Green; grandson of Solomon and Fanny (Hawkins) Green, and of Jesse Wharton, and a descendant of William Green, of Philemon Hawkins, who settled in Bute county, N.C., in 1717, and of Abigail Sugan, better known as "Grandmother Cook." Wharton attended Georgetown college, D.C.; the U.S. military academy; the University of Virginia, and Cumberland university, Tenn. He read law in the last two institutions and was admitted to practice in the supreme court of the United States, being associated with the law firm of Robert J. Walker and Louis Janin. Failing health for the time necessitated the giving up of that profession for one requiring more active out-door exercise. In 1858 he was married to Esther Sargent, only child of John S. Ellery of Boston, Mass., by whom there were four children born, namely: Sarah Wharton, wife of Pembroke Jones of New York; John Ellery; Adeline C., and Mabel Ellery, wife of George B. Elliott of Richmond, Va. After the decease of his first wife, Mr. Green was married to Adeline Burr, widow of Judge David Davis of Illinois (1815-1886). He spent the year 1858 in Europe, and in 1859 became a planter in Warren county, N.C. In 1861 he enlisted in the Confederate service and was commissioned lieutenant-colonel, commanding shortly after. He was wounded at Washington, N.C., in 1862; was taken prisoner at Roanoke Island, Feb. 8, 1862; was again wounded at Gettysburg and taken prisoner on the train carrying wounded soldiers from the field of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863, and was confined on Johnson's Island, Lake Erie. After the close of hostilities he settled in Fayetteville, N.C., and interested himself in viticulture. He was a delegate to the Democratic national conventions of 1868, 1872, 1876 and 1888, and was a representative from North Carolina in the 48th and 49th congresses, 1883-87. He introduced the first resclution to prevent food adulteration and supported the resolution as submitted by the select committee on the public health in an able speech delivered in the house of representatives, April 21, 1884. He was also active in framing and supporting the anti-oleomargarine bill and supporting the bill providing for the national library building At the close of his second term in congress he retired from public life and devoted himself to the cultivation of his extensive vineyards and to literary pursuits. liam Henry

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

James Iredell, associate justice of the U.S. supreme court, was born in Lewes England, Oct. 5, 1751; son of Francis and Margaret (McCulloch) Iredell. In 1767 he was sent by his father, an English merchant, to North Carolina, where be was appointed comptroller of customs of the port of Edenton, Feb. 29, 1768. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1770. He was married, July 18, 1773, to Hannah, sister of Samuel Johnston, a well-known lawyer of North Carolina, with whom he had studied law. When the colonies declared their independence he joined the patriots and resigned his office under the crown. He was appointed by the provincial congress of North Carolina a commissioner to revise the laws of the province, and in November, 1777, Gov. Richard Caswell made him one of the three judges of the supreme court of the state, and he was appointed attorney-general, July 8, 1779, but resigned the same year when Abner Nash succeeded to the governorship. He was a leader of the Federalists in North Carolina, and in the state convention at Hillsborough, July 21, 1788, he made a vigorous effort to secure the adoption of the Federal constitution. President Washington appointed him an associate justice of the U.S. supreme court, Feb. 10, 1790. He was a charter trustee of the University of North Carolina, 1789-90. Iredell county, N.C., was named in his honor. Under a commission from the state legislature in 1787, proposed by W. R. Davie, he prepared and published a digest of the statutes of the state as Iredell's Revisal (1789). See Life and Correspondence of James Iredell, by his son-in-law, Griffith J. McRee (1857). He died in Edenton, N.C., Oct. 20, 1799.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Gabriel Johnstone, governor of the province of North Carolina, was born in Scotland in 1699; grandson of James Johnstone, second earl of Annandale. He was a graduate of, and professor of oriental languages in the University of St. Audrews, and subsequently political editor of the Craftsman of London, England. He immigrated to the province of North Carolina about 1730, and settled and made large purchases of land near Wilmington. He was made governor of the province in 1784, as successor to George Barrington, the first governor under the Crown, 1729-84, and he served as such until his death. In 1746 Governor Johnstone displeased the people of the northern sections of the state known as Albemarle county, by proroguing the general assembly convened at New Berne, to meet at Wilmington on Nov. 18, 1746. For eighty years the general assembly had met either at New Berne or Edenton and the thirty-one representatives from Albemarle refused to appear at Wilmington. The twenty-two members for Bath, the southern county of the province, assembled, and the general assembly, so constituted, was recognized by Governor Johnstone and at once proceeded to reduce the representation for the precincts of Albemarle county from five burgesses from each precinct to two, so as to give a majority to the less populous county of Bath. The people of Albemarle county rebelled and refused to appear at musters, attend courts or pay taxes, and this condition continued for eight years. Not a single representative from the Albemarle section during all these years would change his vote in favor of two burgesses from a precinct, and led by Benjamin Hill and others in 1748 or 1749 they preferred three different interests against Governor Johnstone to the home authorities. The Hill charges were: that no quorum was present when the obnoxious law was passed; and that it was passed by surprises, fraud aud trickery. The validity of the act was referred to the attorney and solicitor-general of England. On Dec. 1, 1750, he reported: "The act was passed by management, precipitation and surprise when few members were present and seemed to be of such nature and tendedncy, and to have such effect and operation, that the governor ought not to have assented to them," and the obnoxious law was repealed, April 8, 1754, a solitary instance in the history of the government of provinces by the Crown where the government sustained rebels struggling for constitutional liberty. The want of success in the administration of Governor Johnstone seemed to be his extreme aristocracy and failure to mingle with or recognize the social equality of the people he was sent to govern. His brother, Gilbert, having espoused the cause of the Pretender, was wounded at the battle of Culloden and was forced to flee to America, settling in North Carolina. Governor Johnstone died in Chowan county, N.C., in August, 1752.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of North Carolina

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