Nash County

by Yanchisin, D. A. Archibald Hunter Arrington, planter, lawyer, and representative in the U.S. Congress and the Congress of the Confederate States of America, was born at the family home in Hilliardston on Swift Creek, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Wilkinson, Dorothy B. Jacob Battle, lawyer, state senator, and superior court judge, was born at the Falls of Tar River in Nash County. He was the eldest son of Turner Westray Battle and Lavinia Bassett Daniel Battle, [...] (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 Sims, Anastatia. Battle, Joel by Anastatia Sims, 1979; Revised by SLNC Government and Heritage Library, April 2023 16 May 1779–25 Aug. 1829 Joel Battle, planter, merchant, militia colonel, and cotton [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Roberts, B. W. C. Kemp Davis Battle, lawyer, was born in Rocky Mount. His grandfather, Kemp Plummer Battle, served as president and historian of The University of North Carolina. On his maternal side, he was a [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Wilkinson, Dorothy B. Turner Westray Battle, assistant to the U.S. secretary of labor, was born in Rocky Mount, the son of Jacob and Nell Gray Gupton Battle. The third Turner Westray Battle, he was a student at Staunton [...] (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 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. 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. Benjamin Hickman Bunn, congressman, was the son of Redmund Bunn of Nash County and his wife, Mary Hickman Bryan. The Bunn family had long been prominent in Nash County, and members were among the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Dougan, Michael B. Henry Gaston Bunn, Confederate colonel and chief justice, Arkansas Supreme Court, was born at Rocky Mount, Nash County, the son of David and Elizabeth Bunn. He removed with his parents to Fayette [...] (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 Pollitt, Phoebe Ann. Originally published in "North Carolina Nursing History." Republished with permission. For personal educational use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other uses [...] (from Appalachian State University.)

by Wallace, Carolyn A. Henry Groves Connor, judge, was born in Wilmington, where his parents, David and Mary Catherine Groves Connor, had moved from their native Florida. In 1855, David Connor, a carpenter described as a [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Seegers, L. Walter. Harold Dunbar Cooley, lawyer, farmer, and congressman, was born in Nashville, Nash County, one of five children of Roger A. Pryor and Hattie Davis Cooley. He was educated in the public schools of [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Pittman, Rachel N. Oscar Creech, Jr., surgeon, researcher, teacher, administrator, was born in Nashville, N.C., the son of Oscar Creech, Sr., Baptist minister, and Martha Gulley Creech. He finished high school in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Rives, Ralph Hardee. Frances Blount Renfrow Doak, leader in women's organizations and in the North Carolina Democratic party, first woman radio announcer in North Carolina, and civic, religious, and political leader, was [...] (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 Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Charles Gerrard, Revolutionary patriot and philanthropist, was born in Beaufort County. Little is known of his antecedents. His mother, Dinah, was married a second time—to one Sirmon—and was living [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Childs, T. Mike. Gibbons was born Bertha Kaye Batts in Nash county, N.C. on May 5, 1960. She had a poor and troubled childhood from which she has drawn liberally to create her novels. She grew up in a tin-roofed [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Cotten, Alice R. Pleasant Daniel Gold, Primitive Baptist leader and publisher, was born in Rutherford County, now Cleveland County, to Milton and Martha Fortune Gold. His grandfather, Daniel Gold, had moved to North [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Hardy Griffin, legislator and officer in the American Revolution, was the son of John Griffin, an early settler on Swift Creek in what is now Nash County. He was evidently the oldest son, as he was [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Louis Hilliard, Confederate officer, legislator, and judge, was the son of William Henry and Sallie Dortch Hilliard of "The Meadows" in Nash County. His grandfather, Robert Carter Hilliard [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bishir, Catherine W. Jacob W. Holt, contractor, architect, and builder, the oldest son of David and Elizabeth ("Betsy") McGehee Holt, was born in Prince Edward County, Va. When he was still quite young his mother died [...] (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 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 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 Johnston, Hugh B., Jr. Lawrence, Joseph Joshua by Hugh Buckner Johnston, 1991 28 Jan. 1836–14 Mar. 1909 Joseph Joshua Lawrence, chemist, physician, editor, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Thomas Nicholson Mann, lawyer, legislator, and U.S. agent to Guatemala-designate, was born in Nash County, the son of Allen Mann, a wealthy planter, and his wife, Elizabeth Nicholson. Named for his [...] (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 Simpson, Marcus B., Jr. Monk, Thelonious Sphere by Marcus B. Simpson, Jr., 1991 10 Oct. 1917–17 Feb. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Mitchell, Memory F. Bartholomew Figures Moore, attorney, was born in Halifax County, the sixth child of James Moore of Virginia and his second wife, Sally Lewis Lowe of Edgecombe County. His father, the son of James and [...] (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 Cecelski, David S. Hoover Jones, a private in the U.S. Army, has been missing in action since the first months of the Korean War in 1950. Last year the Army informed his family that his remains may have been [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Anderson, Walter W., Jr. Joshua Ernest Paschall, banker, lawyer, and legislator, was born near Black Creek in Wilson County. The son of Joshua Walter and Sallie Poole Paschall, he attended the public schools of Wilson County [...] (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 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 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 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 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 . 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 Cecelski, David S. During a half-century of midwifery, Lovie Beard Shelton brought thousands of babies into this world. She grew up on a farm in Nash County. Her mother paid her tuition at Atlantic Christian College [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by London, Lawrence F. Smith, Claiborne Thweatt by Lawrence F. London, 1994 13 Nov. 1893–28 Nov. 1989 Claiborne Thweatt Smith, physician, was born in Scotland Neck, the son of William Edward, a Confederate [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Long, Dorothy. Sorsby, Nicholas Turner by Dorothy Long, 1994 20 June 1818–27 Feb. 1868 Nicholas Turner Sorsby, [...] (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 Johnston, Hugh B., Jr. Micajah Thomas, Jr., planter, taverner, clerk of court, justice, and legislator, was the son of Captain Micajah (13 Feb. 1726–14 Nov. 1769) and Mourning Dixon Thomas. His father was a native of [...] (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 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.)