Edgecombe County

by Macfie, John. Joseph Henry Baker, physician and surgeon, was born in Edgecombe County. His father was William S. Baker, a physician and farmer who had been a county representative in 1838 and 1840. His grandfather [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Macfie, John. Julian Meredith Baker, physician and surgeon, was born in Tarboro of English and French Huguenot background. His father, Joseph Henry Baker, was also a physician in Tarboro; his mother, Susan [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Woody, Robert H. John Spencer Bassett, historian, was born at Tarboro, the second child of Richard Baxter Bassett and Mary Jane Wilson Bassett. His father had come from Virginia to eastern North Carolina as a builder [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Taylor, R. Hargus. Battle, Elisha by R. Hargus Taylor, 1979 9 Jan. 1723–6 Mar. 1799 Elisha Battle, planter, revolutionary patriot, and state legislator, was born in Nansemond County, Va. He was the fifth child [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Littleton, Tucker Reed. Ephraim Battle, farmer, patriot, and local official, was born in the part of Edgecombe County that is now Nash. He was the son of the Thomas Battle, who died in Onslow County in 1769, and a grandson [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Battle, Elizabeth D. Battle, James Smith by Elizabeth D. Battle, 1979; Revised by SLNC Government and Heritage Library, April 2023 25 June 1786–18 July 1854 James Smith Battle, planter, judge, and manufacturer, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Gass, W. Conard. William Horn Battle, lawyer, legislator, and jurist, was born in Edgecombe County. His father was Joel Battle, cofounder of one of the first cotton mills in the Southeast; his mother was Mary P. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Battle, Elizabeth D. William Smith Battle planter and manufacturer, was born in Edgecombe County, the son of Sally Harriet Westray and James Smith Battle. He began his education at Stony Hill and Louisburg academies and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Rives, Ralph Hardee. Bellamy, William by Ralph Hardee Rives, 1979; Revised November 2022. 24 Oct. 1770–5 Oct. 1846 William Bellamy, pioneer Methodist minister of Edgecombe and Nash [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Chestnut, Paul I. Asa Biggs, jurist and senator, was born in Williamston, Martin County, the son of Joseph Biggs, a merchant and Primitive Baptist preacher, and his third wife, Chloe Daniel. His grandfather, Joseph [...] (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 Powell, William S. Joshua Bodley, attorney and land agent, may have been a native of Dublin, Ireland. He was living in the port city of Lorient, Britanny, France, on 3 Nov. 1755, when a marriage contract was drawn up [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bridgers, H. C., Jr. Henry Clark Bourne, attorney, farmer, publisher, and churchman, was born on the farm White Oaks near Tarboro, Edgecombe County. He was the son of Maria Toole Clark (25 Dec. 1859–4 June 1907), whose [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bridgers, H. C., Jr., Graham, Annie F. Henry Clay Bourne, soldier, farmer, merchant, and public official, was born near Portroyal, Tenn., the son of Catherine White Wimberley and Milton Bourne. His mother was a native of Robertson County, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Johnston, Hugh B., Jr. James Craig Braswell, banker and community leader, was born and reared near Battleboro, a son of Thomas Permenter Braswell and his wife, Emily Stallings. The founder of the line was the Reverend [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bridgers, H. C., Jr. Henry Clark Bridgers, athlete, attorney, railroad man, and entrepreneur, was born just west of Tarboro, at Hilma, the home of his parents, Laura Clark and John L. Bridgers, Jr. He attended school [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bridgers, H. C., Jr. John Luther Bridgers, attorney, agriculturist, and soldier, was born on a farm on Town Creek in southwest Edgecombe County. His father, second generation of the Bridgers family in the area, was the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bridgers, H. C., Jr. John Luther Bridgers, Jr., attorney, farmer, guardsman, and author, was born in Tarboro at the Grove, the home of his parents, Rebecca Louisa Dicken and Colonel John L. Bridgers. He went to school [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bridgers, H. C., Jr. Robert Rufus Bridgers, Confederate congressman and railroad official, elder son of Elizabeth Kettlewells Routh and John Bridgers, was born on a farm in southwestern Edgecombe County. Failing to apply [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Thomas Burges, Church of England clergyman, was born in the parish of Standon, Staffordshire, England, where he was baptized 6 Sept. 1712. He was the fourth of the fourteen children of John Burges [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Steelman, Lala Carr. Elias Carr, planter, North Carolina State Farmers' Alliance Leader, and governor, was born at Bracebridge Hall, the family plantation in Edgecombe County near Old Sparta. Born into the planter [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cross, Jerry L. Elias Carr (1839-1900), leader of the statewide Farmers’ Alliance and the broader agrarian movement, exemplified the fading tradition of the planter-governor. The son of Jonas and Elizabeth Hilliard [...] (from Research Branch, NC Office of Archives and History.)

by Ham, Marie Sharpe, Blake, Debra A., Morris, C. Edward. Carr, William Eleanor Kearny by Marie Sharpe Ham, Debra A. Blake, and C. Edward Morris. Excerpted from North Carolina's First Ladies, 1891-2001, copyright 2001. Reprinted with permission from [...] (from North Carolina's First Ladies: 1891-2001, North Carolina Historical Publications.)

by Nash, Jaquelin Drane. Joseph Blount Cheshire, Episcopal clergyman and botanist, was born in Edenton, the second of nine children, of whom only he and two sisters grew to maturity. His father was John Cheshire, a [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by London, Lawrence F. Joseph Blount Cheshire, Jr., priest and bishop, the son of the Reverend Joseph Blount Cheshire, rector of Calvary Church, Tarboro, and Mary Toole Parker, daughter of Theophilus Parker and Mary Toole, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Iobst, Richard W. Henry Toole Clark was a lawyer, politician, enslaver, and one of the Confederate governors of North Carolina. He was born on his father's plantation on Walnut Creek near Tarboro. His [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cross, Jerry L. Henry Toole Clark (1808-1874) was the second of three chief executives to serve North Carolina during the Civil War. The son of Maj. James W. and Arabella Toole Clark, he was born on February 7, [...] (from Research Branch, NC Office of Archives and History.)

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 Farnham, Thomas J. Elijah Clarke, Revolutionary War hero, Indian fighter, and land speculator, was born near Tarboro in Edgecombe County, the son of Scot-Irish parents. He acquired no formal education. As a young man [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Rives, Ralph Hardee. Duncan Lamont Clinch, officer in the U.S. Army for more than twenty-eight years, congressman from Georgia, and leader of the Whig party, was born at Ard-Lamont, the Edgecombe County home of his [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Rives, Ralph Hardee. Joseph John Clinch, Jr., Revolutionary War officer and political leader in Edgecombe and Nash counties, was the son of Elizabeth Goodrich and Joseph John Clinch of Surry County, Va. He went to [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Stevenson, George, Jr. Corbin, Francis by George Stevenson, 1979; Revised by Andrea Smythe, November 2023  d. 1767 Francis Corbin was a council member, judge of the court of admiralty, associate [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Moore, James Elliott. Robert Randolph Cotten, planter and businessman, was born on his father's farm near Whitakers in Edgecombe County. He was the oldest son of John Lewellyn Cotten and his wife, Nancy Bell Penine Tart [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Copeland, Elizabeth H. Cotten, Sallie Swepson Sims Southall By Elizabeth H. Copeland, 1979 13 June 1846–4 May 1929 Sallie Swepson Sims Southhall Cotten, writer and Woman's Club and civic leader, was born in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Williams, Max R. William Ruffin Cox, lawyer, agriculturalist, Confederate general, congressman, and civic leader, was born in Scotland Neck, Halifax County, of English ancestry. His grandfather was John Cox. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Lucy Cherry Crisp , museum administrator and poet, was born in Crisp, Edgecombe County, the daughter of Sellers M. and Annie Gorham Crisp. She was graduated from the North Carolina College for Women [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Krieger, Marvin. John Campbell Dancy Jr., editor and public official, was born in Tarboro, the son of John C. Dancy, Sr., an enslaved person who became a freeman and, after the Civil War, was a builder and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Jones, Linwood. Elijah Longstreet Daughtridge, farmer, merchant, and politician, was born in Edgecombe County near Rocky Mount, the fourth of seven children (five girls and two boys) born to William M. and Dellah [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Yearns, W. Buck. William Theophilus Dortch, legislator and Confederate senator, was born on his father's plantation near Rocky Mount, which had been in the Dortch family since 1742. His parents were William and [...] (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 Barrett, Ruth L. Montfort Eelbeck, county official and planter, for thirty-five years held civil office in Edgecombe and Halifax counties, appointed in turn by governor and council, Provincial Congress, and state [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Manning, Elizabeth W. Peter Evans, planter and businessman, was born in Pitt County of English ancestry. His father was Major George Evans, a member of the colonial Assembly from Pitt County, a delegate to the Provincial [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Kuhl, Paul E. William Turner Faircloth, lawyer, Confederate officer, legislator, and judge, was born at the family farm on Otter Creek in Edgecombe County, the son of William and Susan Edwards Faircloth. He was [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. Evelyn Zaytoun Farris grew up in small-town North Carolina listening to love stories in Arabic and savoring the flavor of Lebanese dishes like kibbeh and koosa. Her family was part of the great [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Lennon, Donald R. Richard Tillman Fountain, lawyer, legislator, lieutenant governor, and gubernatorial candidate, was born at Cedar Lane near Tarboro, the son of Almon Leonidas and Sarah Louisa Eagles Fountain. After [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Garrett, Paul by William S. Powell, 1986 3 Nov. 1863–18 Mar. 1940 Paul Garrett, wine producer, was born in Edgecombe County, the son of Dr. Francis Marion Garrett, a Confederate surgeon, and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Thomas Gilchrist, merchant, was the subject of an unusual episode in the Revolutionary annals of North Carolina. Married to Martha Jones, sister of the Halifax Whig leaders Willie and Allen Jones, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Mary Lloyd Gregory, innkeeper, was born in Edgecombe County, the daughter of Nicholas and Mary Lloyd. Nothing is known of her early life. On 30 June 1796 she gave birth to a son, Joseph, fathered by [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Kassa, Kemisa. Edward “Ned” Griffin (Griffis, Griffes, Griffen) was a multiracial landowner and soldier during the American Revolution. Griffin was likely born in the mid-18th century. Edward’s true age, as well as [...] (from NCpedia.)

by Cecelski, David S. When I visited his home in Hillsborough, Allan Gurganus and I talked about his growing up years in Rocky Mount, 50 miles east of Raleigh. Best known for his acclaimed novel "Oldest Living Confederate [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Mcfarland, Daniel M. Thomas Harmison Hall, physician, planter, and congressman, was born in Prince George County, Va., and, after studying medicine, began a practice in Tarboro, N.C. In 1803 he married Mrs. Martha Jones [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Walser, Richard. Hunter Lee Harris, geologist and poet, was born at Sassafras Fork (Stem) in Granville County, son of Adam Clarke and Martha Hunter Harris and the youngest of six. He had two sisters and three [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Richard Harrison, planter and legislator, was born at Leonardstown, St. Mary's County, Md., the son of Kenelm and Mary Harrison. Having inherited a plantation in Edgecombe County, N.C., as provided [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Mitchell, Thornton W. John Haywood, state treasurer and public official, was born in Edgecombe County, the son of William and Charity Hare Haywood. He first entered public life upon his election on 27 Jan. 1781 as clerk [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Mitchell, Thornton W. Haywood, Sherwood by Thornton W. Mitchell, 1988; Revised by Jared Dease, Government and Heritage Library, December 2022 See also: Lane, Lunsford 17 Feb. 1762–5 Oct. 1829 Sherwood [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Watson, Alan D. William Haywood, merchant and politician, was the oldest of seven children of John Haywood and his wife Mary Lovatt of New York (perhaps born in Beverly, Mass., on 27 Nov. 1695). John Haywood was [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Wells, Mike "Lightnin'". For more than sixty years, George Higgs, of Tarboro in Edgecombe County, has been playing and singing the blues in his community and in places as far away as Australia and Switzerland—carrying on a [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Johnston, Hugh B., Jr. Theophilus Hill, interstate merchant and planter, was a son of the wealthy Abraham and Judith Hinton[?] Hill of Chowan County. By the end of 1761 he had established himself near Contentnea Creek in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Richard Hines, attorney and congressman, was born in the Old Sparta section of Edgecombe County, the son of Jesse Hines and his wife Celia, daughter of Colonel Jonas Johnston. His grandfather Richard [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bridgers, H. C., Jr. George Allen Holderness, businessman, farmer, banker, and state senator, was born in Caswell County near Milton, the son of Sarah Foreman and William H. Holderness. In his youth he was a traveling [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Steelman, Bennett L. William Henry Holderness, attorney and philanthropist, was born in Tarboro, the son of George Allen and Harriet Howard Holderness. His father, a businessman, served two terms in the state senate [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Johnston, Hugh B., Jr. Alexander Grice Horn, "one of the greatest news editors of his day" and secretary of the first Secession Convention at Montgomery, Ala., was a native of Wilson (then Edgecombe) County. His parents, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Joshua Lawrence ("Josh") Horne, newspaperman and civic leader, was born in Nash County, the son of Joshua Lawrence and Lula Parker Horne. Educated first in local schools, he attended Trinity Park [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Howard, Mary Ferebee. George Howard, Jr., lawyer and judge, was born in Tarboro, the son of George and Alice Thurston Clark Howard. His father, a native of Howard County, Md., moved to Halifax in 1824 and founded, edited, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Thomas Hunter, Revolutionary patriot, was the son of Isaac Hunter of Northampton County. He first appears in the North Carolina records in 1761, when he purchased a tract of land in Northampton [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Rives, Ralph Hardee. Inborden, Thomas Sewell by Ralph Hardee Rives, 1988 6 Jan. 1865–10 Mar. 1951 See also: Brick School; Era of Progress and Promise Thomas Sewell Inborden, a Black educator, was born near [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by . Henry Irwin, colonial official and Revolutionary War commander, was born of Scottish descent, probably in Virginia. He purchased land in Tarboro, N.C., in 1760 and was chosen a delegate to the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Johnston, Hugh B., Jr. Jonas Johnston, Revolutionary War officer, Edgecombe County official, and state legislator, was born near Courtland in present Southampton County, Va., the son of Jacob Johnston, Sr., and Mary Waller [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. Rudolph Knight is the caretaker of Tarboro's African-American past. Even as a child, he treasured his elders' stories about the Eastern North Carolina town, especially the stories from the 1880s and [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Powell, William S. James Kern ("Kay") Kyser, orchestra leader, actor, and Christian Science lecturer, was born in Rocky Mount, the son of Paul B. and Emily Royster Howell Kyser. As a student at The University of North [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Duncan Lamon, Revolutionary Patriot whose antecedents are not known, appeared in Edgecombe County records in 1749, when he bought a tract of land on Toisnot Swamp. In the same year, Robert West sold [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Reid, Elizabeth Davis. Joel Lane, legislator, Revolutionary Patriot, planter, and vendor to the state of the land on which the capital was established, was born presumably in Halifax (then Edgecombe) County, the son of [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Fields, William C. Joshua Lawrence, Baptist minister, farmer, and pamphleteer, was born in Edgecombe County, one of several children of John and Absilla Bell Lawrence. His father died when he was about seventeen, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. John Leigh, physician and legislator, was born in Virginia, the oldest son of Francis and Elizabeth Roscow Leigh. He was an executor of his father's will dated 1780 and probated in Norfolk County, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Shrader, Richard A. William Lenoir, soldier, justice of the peace, state legislator, and planter-entrepreneur, was born in Brunswick County, Va. The youngest of ten children of Thomas and Mourning Crawley Lenoir, [...] (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 Horne, Meade B. B. Exum Percival Lewis, physicist and educator, was born in Edgecombe County. His father, Henry Exum Lewis, grandson of Colonel Exum Lewis of the Edgecombe militia, practiced medicine in Edgecombe and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Stephens, H. Kenneth, II. Richard Henry Lewis, educator and physician, was born in Edgecombe County, the son of Dr. John Wesley and Catherine Battle Lewis. He received his early schooling in the Edgecombe Academy and Lovejoy [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cotten, Alice R. Lichtenstein, Gaston by Alice R. Cotten, 1991 17 Dec. 1879–16 Jan. 1954 Gaston Lichtenstein, researcher, writer, and historian, was born in Tarboro, the son of David and Hannah Zander [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Nicholas, Westray B. Westray Battle Long, second director of the Women's Army Corps, was born in Rocky Mount, the daughter of Jacob, Jr., and Mattie Nash Wright Battle. The Battle family had immigrated from England to [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Hickman, Michael Wesley. Martin, Joseph John by Michael Wesley Hickman, 1991 21 Nov. 1833–18 Dec. 1900 Joseph John Martin, lawyer and congressman, was born in Williamston, the son of Wheeler and Caroline Watts [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. William Skipwith Mearns, eccentric, was the son of William Mearns, clerk of court for Chowan County (1748–50) and Currituck County (1757–58), and his wife Dorothy Skipwith, the daughter of Sir [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Thorp, John Mercer, Jr. William Parker Mercer, physician and state senator, was born on his father's plantation in the Town Creek section of Edgecombe County. He was the only son of John Routh and Susan M. Vick Mercer, who [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Stokes, Durward T. George Micklejohn, Anglican clergyman in colonial North Carolina, was probably a native of Berwick-upon-Tweed in the north of England, but no details of his family or early life have been found nor [...] (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 Stevenson, George, Jr. Joseph Montfort [read: Mumford], colonial legislator, public official, and provincial grand master of Freemasons, is said to have been the grandson of Colonel Thomas Montfort of Old Point Comfort, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Boushell, Thomas C. Arthur Joseph Morris, founder of the Morris Plan Bank and developer of consumer credit, was born in Tarboro, the son of Joseph and Dora Livingston Jacobs Morris. A graduate of the University of [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Martin, Katherine F. Robert Verelle Moss, Jr., educator, social activist, and president of the United Church of Christ, was born in Wilson, one of four children of Robert Verelle and Constance Bost Moss. Throughout a [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Sumner, Jim L. Murray, William David by Jim L. Sumner, 1991 9 Sept. 1908–29 Mar. 1986 William David Murray, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Engstrom, Mary Claire. Francis (Frank) Nash, lawyer, assistant attorney general, local historian, and author, was born at Floral College, Robeson County, the son of the Reverend Frederick Kollock Nash, a Presbyterian [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Green, C. Sylvester. Dallas Walton Newsom, educational administrator, county manager, scholar, and poet, was born in Littleton, Warren County, the son of Marion Eaton and Annie Soule Heptinstall Newsom. His grandparents, [...] (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 Morgan, Thomas S. Annie Land O'Berry, administrator of the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration, president of the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation, and a leader in women's clubs, civic affairs, and the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Rives, Ralph Hardee. Francis Marion Parker, Confederate officer, was one of nine children of Theophilus Parker (1775–1849), an Edgecombe County merchant, planter, and president of the Bank of Tarboro, and Mary Irwin [...] (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 Roff, Carolyn F. Thomas Jenkins Pearsall, legislator, attorney, businessman, and farmer, was born in Rocky Mount, the son of Leon F. and Maryetta Jenkins Pearsall. He was educated in the public schools of Rocky Mount [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. David Pender, grocer and businessman, was born in Tarboro, the son of Robert W. and Martha Wallace Pender and the nephew of General W. D. Pender. His father was a cotton commission merchant. Educated [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Johnston, Hugh B., Jr. Josiah Solomon Pender, poet, artist, army officer, and Confederate blockade-runner, was the son of Solomon and Mary Batts Pender of the Tarboro area of Edgecombe County, both of whom were descended [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. I met Mayor Delia Perkins at the town hall of Princeville, a historic little town next to the Tar River, 70 miles east of Raleigh. Founded by former slaves in 1865, Princeville was the first town in [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Skinner, Sue Dossett. William Person, county justice, vestryman, commissioner, sheriff, militia officer, and planter, was the son of John Person (ca. 1660–1738) and his wife Mary (ca. 1670–pre-1721), the daughter of [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Eagles, Brenda M. William Shepard Pettigrew, planter and clergyman, was born at Bonarva plantation on Lake Scuppernong (now Lake Phelps) in Tyrrell County, the son of Ebenezer and Ann Blount Shepard Pettigrew. He was [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Philips, James Jones by Claiborne T. Smith, Jr., 1994; Revised by Jared Dease, Government and Heritage Library, December 2022 12 Mar. 1798–10 Apr. 1874 James Jones Philips, physician and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Hobson Lafayette Pittman, painter and teacher, was born in Edgecombe County, where his father, Biscoe Pittman, was a merchant in the small community of Epworth. His mother, Alice Walston, was a [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Newsom Jones Pittman, physician, surgeon, and gynecologist, was born in Halifax County, the son of John and Catherine Jones Pittman. He was graduated in medicine from the University of Pennsylvania [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Putzel, Rosamond. Thomas Richard Purnell, jurist, was born in Wilmington, the son of Thomas Richard and Eliza Ann Dudley Purnell. His grandparents were John and Sarah Purnell and Governor and Mrs. Edward B. Dudley. He [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. A native of Rocky Mount, 60 miles east of Raleigh, Henry Ramsey Jr. has had a distinguished career as a lawyer, law school professor and judge in California. He was also dean of Howard University Law [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Andrews, William L. John Baptis Rayner, educator and politician, was born into slavery in Raleigh, the son of Kenneth Rayner, a prominent plantation owner, and Mary Ricks, a slave. With the aid of his father, Rayner [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Ricks, Robert Henry by William S. Powell, 1994 4 Apr. 1839–1920 Robert Henry Ricks, farmer and capitalist, was born in the Stony Creek section of Nash County, the son of David and Martha [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bingham, Warren L. Karl Robbins, textile manufacturer and philanthropist, was born near Kiev, Russia, and in 1905 moved to New York, where his father had already been living for four years and operating a small [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Edmondson, M. D. Frank Sheppard Royster, Sr., industrialist and philanthropist, was born in Granville County on the farm of his father, Marcus D., near Oxford. Marcus, the son of Francis and Elizabeth Sheppard [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Meekins, A. Christopher. Saunders, William Laurence By Christopher Meekins, North Carolina Office of Archives and History, 2020;  Revised December 2021 by NC Government & Heritage Library 1835-1891  “I [...] (from NC Office of Archives and History.)

by Wilson, Paul F. Schloss, Simeon Archibald by Paul F. Wilson, 1994   See also: Opera Houses. 10 Oct. 1865–22 Dec. 1913 Simeon Archibald Schloss, predominant figure in theatrical management in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by . Sharp, Susie Marshall 7 Jul. 1907-1 Mar. 1996 by University of North Carolina Libraries See also: Supreme Court of North Carolina; Judicial Branch Susie Marshall Sharp was born [...] (from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Peter Evans Smith, inventor, the eldest son of William R., Jr., and Susan Evans Smith, was born at the Edgecombe plantation of his maternal grandfather, Peter Evans. He received his early education [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Green, C. Sylvester. Richard Harrison Speight, physician, planter, and state senator, was born in rural Edgecombe County, the son of John Francis and Emma Lewis Speight. His father was an ordained minister of the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Lucien Douglas Starke, newspaper editor and Confederate officer, was born at Pleasant Level near Cold Harbor, Hanover County, Va., the son of Colonel Bowling and Eliza G. New Starke. His mother was [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bell, Jordan. Adolphus Staton, naval officer, was the younger brother of Henry and the son of Dr. Lycurgus Lafayette and Kate Baker Staton. The scion of a prominent family in Tarboro, he attended the Virginia [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Long, Dorothy. Staton, Lycurgus Lafayette by Dorothy Long, 1994 1 Feb. 1849–1 July 1921 Lycurgus Lafayette Staton, physician and businessman, was born [...] (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 Powell, William S. Haywood Maurice Taylor, toxicologist and biochemist, was born near Tarboro, Edgecombe County, the son of David Dawson and Margaret Elizabeth Brown Taylor. His studies at The University of North [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Alexander Telfair, Loyalist, was born at Town Head in Kirkcudbright on the Firth of Solway, southwestern Scotland. He came to America in 1759 with his brothers Edward, Hugh, and William. The Telfairs [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Johnston, Hugh B., Jr. John Thomas, religious leader, justice, and militia officer, was born in Nansemond County, Va., the son of John and Mary Lawrence Thomas. Educated locally, he was "bred a Churchman," but after [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Reising, R. W. Thorpe, James Francis by R. W. Reising, 1996 28 May 1888–28 Mar. 1953 See also: Jim Thorpe and Babe Ruth James Francis Thorpe, perhaps the greatest performer in the history of sport, spent [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. John Franklin Tompkins, Jr., agriculturist and physician, was born in Edgecombe County, the son of John F. and Rosanna Spruill Tompkins. His mother's brother, George Evans Spruill, was a graduate of [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Weddell, Alexander Watson by Claiborne T. Smith, Jr., 1996 20 May 1840–6 Dec. 1883 Alexander Watson Weddell, clergyman, was born in Tarboro, the son of James and Margaret Ward Weddell. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Thompson, Taylor. Have you ever been in a situation where people around you were being treated unfairly?  Did you want to do something about it? George Henry White found himself in the same situation. He wanted [...] (from NCpedia K-8 Collection.)

by Wilkinson, Dorothy B. Frank Smith Wilkinson, teacher and scholar, was born in Edgecombe County, probably in Lower Fishing Creek Township, the youngest of eleven children of Charles Wilkinson and the ninth child of his [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Rives, Ralph Hardee. Wills, William Henry by Ralph Hardee Rives, 1996 4 Aug. 1809–22 June 1889 William Henry Wills, Methodist Protestant minister, educator, and administrator, was born in Tarboro. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Johnston, Hugh B., Jr. Wilson, Louis Dicken by Hugh Buckner Johnston, 1996; Revised by SLNC Government and Heritage Library, March 2023 12 May 1789–12 Aug. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Macfie, John. Dred Wimberly, member of the General Assembly, was born at Walnut Plantation near Tarboro, where he was raised and worked in the fields of James S. Battle prior to the Civil War. In 1865 Kemp Plummer [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Burt, Daniel, V. Henry Lawson Wyatt, the first Confederate soldier from North Carolina to be killed in battle during the American Civil War, was born in Richmond, Va., the son of Isham Belcher and Lucinda N. L. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)