Bertie County

by Parramore, Thomas C. John Alexander, Anglican clergyman, was a native of Northern Ireland. He was educated at the grammar school in Shrewsbury, England, and was received about 1760 into the ministry of the Presbyterian [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Crabtree, Beth G. Lillie Devereux Blake, author and suffragist, the daughter of George Pollock and Sarah Elizabeth Johnson Devereux, was born in Raleigh, a descendant of two famous churchmen of New England. Although [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Maupin, Armistead J. John Gray Blount, merchant and landowner, was born in Bertie County, the son of Jacob Blount and Barbara Gray. An important figure in the business and political life of North Carolina, he was a [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Folmsbee, Stanley J. William Blount, governor, senator, and land speculator, was born in Bertie County, the first son of Jacob and Barbara Gray Blount, one of the colony's earliest families. He obtained a good education [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Johnson, F. Roy. Tom Blunt (or Blount), a head chief and king of the North Carolina Tuscarora Indians, of obscure parentage, lived in the Upper Towns. During his time these numbered seven and formed one of three [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Mcfarland, Daniel M. Joseph Hunter Bryan, congressman and planter, was born in Windsor, Bertie County. He represented Bertie in the House of Commons in 1804, 1805, 1807, 1808, and 1809. He was a trustee of The University [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Parramore, Thomas C. John Campbell, legislator, political leader, and merchant, is believed to have been a native of northern Ireland, possibly from the town of Coleraine. He purchased land in Hertford (then Bertie) [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Parramore, Thomas C. William Cathcart, physician, was a native of Genoch, Scotland. He was apprenticed in 1726 to a surgeon at Edinburgh, and there is evidence that he also pursued some studies at the University of [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Speight, Francis. William Walton Cherry, legislator, was born near Windsor in Bertie County. His father, Solomon Cherry, was at one time or another sheriff, clerk of the court, and member of the General Assembly. His [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Parker, Roy, Jr. James West Clark, congressman, legislator, and chief clerk of the U.S. Navy Department, was born in Bertie County, the son of Christopher Clark of Elmwood on Salmon Creek, "a merchant of North [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Meehan, James. Locke Craig, governor and legislator, was born in Bertie County of Scottish heritage. His paternal ancestors had come in 1749 from Ireland to Orange County, where they played an active role in the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Nash, Jaquelin Drane. John Dawson, planter and lawyer, was born in Williamsburg, Va. His father, the Reverend William Dawson, D.D., was minister of the church in Jamestown, so John was probably baptized there. William [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Nash, Jaquelin Drane. John Dawson, member of the Assembly for Bertie and Northampton counties, justice of the court, and member of the governor's council, was born in Isle of Wight County, Va. His grandfather, William [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Moore, James Elliott. William Johnston Dawson, congressman, was born near Edenton in Chowan County, the son of Colonel John Dawson, member of the provincial council, and Penelope Johnston, daughter of Governor Gabriel [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Armistead, Terrell L. Devereux, John, Jr. by Terrell L. Armistead, 1986; Revised October 2022 17 Dec. 1820–10 Apr. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Carter, Ernest Rawls, Jr. John Drew, merchant and ship owner, was born in Virginia but died in Bertie County, N.C. The son of William Drew (1682–1739) and Judith Wood, daughter of Thomas Wood of Isle of Wight County, Va., [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. William Drew, attorney general and legislator, was probably born in Bertie County, the son of John Drew and his wife Patience Brewer. His grandfather, William Drew of Surry County, Va., acquired [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Malone, E. T., Jr. Edward Dromgoole, pioneer Methodist circuit rider, was born in Sligo, Ireland. After hearing the preaching of Methodist missionaries, he renounced Catholicism and was ostracized by his family. He [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Price, William S., Jr. Nathaniel Duckenfield, baronet, landowner, and councillor, was the son of Nathaniel and Margaret Duckenfield of Chester, Cheshire, England. His father, who had extensive holdings in Bertie County, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Nash, Jaquelin Drane. Eden, Charles by Jaquelin Drane Nash, 1986 1673–26 Mar. 1722 See also Charles Eden, Research Branch, NC Office of Archives and History Charles Eden, governor of North Carolina under the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Daniel Boone Friar, pioneer Texas settler, was born probably in Bertie County, the son of Willice Friar or Fryer and his wife, Sarah. In 1828 young Friar and his bride of about a year, Annie Graeme [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Moore, James Elliott. Thomas Miles Garrett, attorney and Confederate officer, was one of three children of Jesse Garrett and his wife, Cynthia Rayner. His father died relatively young and his mother married Wiley Hayes, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bullock, J. Marshall. Arthur Goffe, Council member and receiver general of North Carolina, was living in the colony by 1723. On 15 January of that year, after he produced for Governor Burrington and the Council his [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cheape, Kathleen S. H. Benjamin Franklin Grady, educator, soldier, congressman, and farmer, was born in Albertson Township, Duplin County, the oldest son of Alexander Outlaw and Anne Sloan Grady. His Grady forebears were [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Moore, James Elliott. Joseph Gurley, episcopal priest, was born in Southampton County, Va., the second child and oldest son in a family of ten children. His father, the Reverend George Gurley, was an Anglican priest [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Young, James R. Whitmel Hill, Revolutionary officer and government official, delegate to the Continental Congress, state senator, and member of the Council of State, was born into a wealthy family in Bertie County. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Keyes, Elizabeth Dortch Dix. Gavin Hogg, lawyer, was born in the town of Wick, Caithness, Scotland. He came to the United States with his parents, James and Mary Finlayson Hogg, in about 1797. After arriving in Wilmington, the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. I recently visited Helen Hoggard to learn about old-fashioned hog killings. Born in 1917, she grew up on a farm in Bertie County, 120 miles east of Raleigh. Pork was the cornerstone of Southern [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Evans, Phillip W. Charles Hooks, planter, legislator, and congressman, was born in Bertie County. At age two, he moved with his parents to Duplin County where the family settled on a plantation near Kenansville. His [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Paschal, Herbert R., Jr. Edward Hyde, first to hold the office of governor of North Carolina, was probably born at the family estate of Norbury Manor in Cheshire County, England. He inherited the family manors of Norbury and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Nash, Jaquelin Drane. Gabriel Johnston, second royal governor of North Carolina, was born in Southdean, Borders Region, Scotland, where he was baptized on 28 Feb. 1698, the son of the Reverend Samuel and Isobel Hall [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Moore, James Elliott. Johnston, Samuel Iredell by James Elliott Moore, 1988; Revised by Jared Dease, Government and Heritage Library, December 2022 28 Dec. 1806–12 Aug. 1865 Samuel Iredell Johnston, Episcopal [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. John Lewelling, Tory partisan, was born in Norfolk County, Va., into a family of small landowners and boatwrights. He was the only son of William Lewelling, of the western branch of the Elizabeth [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Peele, Lois Jacobs. Carl Raby Livermon, inventor, was born at his parents' home in Roxobel, with his maternal great uncle, Dr. Preston C. Jenkins, in attendance. He was the son of Asa Thomas (1847–1929), a Roxobel [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Lowry, Charles B. Maule, William by Charles B. Lowry, 1991; Revised by Jared Dease, Government and Heritage Library, December [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Kenzer, Robert C. George Allen Mebane was a Black educator, legislator, editor, businessman, and writer. He was born at the Hermitage in Bertie County to enslaved parents. His father was Allen Mebane. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Jordan, John R., Jr. John Mitchell, Baptist clergyman, educator, benefactor of denominational causes, colporteur of religious tracts, and missionary in the Confederate army, was born in Bertie County, the son of Mary [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. James Moir, colonial clergyman, was sent to Edisto Island in South Carolina as a missionary of the kirk of Scotland prior to 1739. In that year, he decided to take Anglican orders and went to London [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Taylor, R. Hargus. Godwin Cotton Moore, physician and political and religious leader, was born in Hertford County, the oldest of three children of James Wright and Esther Cotton Moore. The elder Moore had moved to [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Thomas Newnam, Anglican clergyman, was born in England and moved to North Carolina in 1722 as a missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. He began his work in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. William Norwood, Episcopal clergyman, was born in Hillsborough, the son of Judge William Norwood and his wife Robina Hogg, the daughter of James Hogg. He received an A.B. degree from The University [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Littleton, Rebecca B. David Outlaw, lawyer, legislator, and congressman, was born near Windsor, Bertie County, the son of Ralph and Elizabeth Cherry Outlaw. His maternal grandfather was Solomon Cherry, a captain in the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Taylor, R. Hargus. George Outlaw, merchant and legislator, was the only child of Ralph, Jr., and his second wife, Mary Knott Outlaw, whose plantation lay a few miles north of Windsor, Bertie County. The immediate [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Stevenson, George, Jr. Joseph Parker, general Baptist (now Free Will Baptist) clergyman, founded churches in Halifax, Pitt, Greene, and Lenoir counties. According to tradition, he was a member and probable pastor of the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bowman, Charles H., Jr. John Tyrant Patrick, journalist and resort developer, was born in Wadesboro, the youngest of six children of William H. and Margaret A. Campbell Patrick. The Civil War interrupted his formal [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. They call him "Big Norm" in Bertie County. His name is Norman Perry Sr., and he's 82 years old, tough as old leather, and passionate about big swamps, hot-nosed dogs and coon hunting. He has been a [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Gass, W. Conard. Thomas Pollock, lawyer, planter, colonial official, and acting governor of the colony of North Carolina, was a native of Glasgow, Scotland, and a descendant of Pollok of Balgra, Renfrewshire, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Harris, William C. John Pool, U.S. senator, was born on a plantation near Elizabeth City, the son of Solomon and Martha Gaskins Pool. After receiving his early education at home, he entered The University of North [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bullock, J. Marshall. Whitmell Hill Pugh, physician, planter, and state legislator, was one of ten children born to William Scott and Winifred Hill Pugh of Bertie County. The Pughs, who had moved to Bertie County in the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Jordan, John R., Jr. Kenneth Rayner, congressman, legislator, national leader of the Whig party, and planter was born in Bertie County, the son of the Reverend Amos Rayner, a Baptist minister and a veteran of the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Rhodes, William Henry by William S. Powell, 1994 16 July 1822–14 Apr. 1876 See also:  Rhodes, Elisah Averitt William Henry Rhodes, pioneer writer of science [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Parker David Robbins, soldier, legislator, and inventor, was born in Bertie County, the son of John A. Robbins; his mother's name is unknown. A mulatto with Chowan Indian ancestors, Robbins was [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Miller, Linda Angle. John Henry Rogers, attorney, congressman, and judge, was born near Roxobel, Bertie County, the son of Absalom and Harriet Rice Rogers. In 1852 the family moved to Mississippi and settled near Madison [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Osborn, Dorothy H. Roulhac, Joseph Blount Grégoire by Dorothy H. Osborn, 1994 13 Aug. 1795–23 Jan. 1856 See also: Roulhac, Psalmet Grégoire de Joseph Blount Grégoire Roulhac, merchant, was the first son of [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Howerton, Timothy L. Alfred M. Slade, legislator and diplomat, was the son of Jeremiah and Janet Bog Slade. Jeremiah Slade was a commissioner of Indian Affairs with the War Department in 1803 to deal with Indians in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Sparrow, W. Keats. Francis Wayland Speight, artist and teacher, was born at Sharrock plantation in Bertie County, the son of Thomas Trotman and Margaret Otelia Sharrock Speight. Although he had not completed [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Taylor, Melonie Johnson. David Stone, governor, congressman, senator, legislator, and justice, was born in Bertie County of English ancestry. He was the son of Zedekiah and Elizabeth Shivers (or Shriver) Hobson Stone. His [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Stevenson, George, Jr. William Surginer, General Baptist leader who established churches in present Warren, Halifax, Edgecombe, and Nash counties, was a major figure in North Carolina colonial Baptist history. He is said [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Eben-Ezer Taylor, clergyman, was born in England and moved to South Carolina at an undetermined date as a minister to the dissenters in that colony. There he gained the attention of the governor, Sir [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Margaret Ridley Long Tyler, teacher and preservationist, was born in Roanoke Rapids, the daughter of Thomas W. M., a physician, and Maria Greenough Burgwyn Long. She attended St. Mary's College and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Thomas Whitmell, legislator and Indian agent, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Whitmell, was born in Virginia shortly before the family moved to North Carolina. His grandfather, Thomas Whitmell, the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Fulghum, R. Neil. Francis Donnell Winston, lawyer, judge, state legislator, and lieutenant governor of North Carolina, was the third surviving son of prominent lawyer and planter Patrick Henry, Sr., and Martha [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Fulghum, R. Neil. George Tayloe Winston, scholar, educator, and university president, a native of Bertie County, was the second son of Patrick Henry Winston, Sr., and Martha Elizabeth Bird (or Byrd). Like his older [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Patrick Henry Winston, lawyer and public official, was born in Franklin County, the son of George W. and Anne (Nancy) Fuller Winston. George Winston was a descendant of John Winston, uncle of Sarah [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Robert Watson Winston, lawyer, judge, and author, was born in Windsor, the son of Patrick Henry and Martha Elizabeth Bird Winston. After attending the Horner School in Oxford, he entered The [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Worthington, Samuel Wheeler by William S. Powell, 1996 28 Nov. 1875–14 Jan. 1956 Samuel Wheeler Worthington, businessman and bibliophile, was born in Bertie County, the son of Colonel [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Newbern, Thomas R. J. Benjamin Wynns, state assemblyman, militia colonel, and planter, was born in Chowan Precinct, the son of Captain George and Rose Bush Wynns. George Wynns was a large landowner on the Chowan River and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Yeardley, Francis by William S. Powell, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)