Wilkes County

by Cross, Jerry L. Richard Allen, Sr., Revolutionary War captain and public official, was born in Baltimore County; Md. At the age of twenty-one, Allen moved to Frederick County, Va., where he spent seven years before [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Holeman, Sarah E. Hamilton Brown, planter, stockraiser, and land speculator, a resident of Wilkesboro, was the son of Jane McDowell and John Brown, a Scot-Irish immigrant. Brown served as a lieutenant, Eighteenth [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Holeman, Sarah E. Hamilton Allen Brown, Confederate officer and planter, was born the son of Hamilton and Sarah Gwyn Gordon Brown at Oakland, the old Gordon homestead in Wilkes County. He attended the Naval Academy at [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Ayers, Annette. Chang and Eng Bunker Surry County’s Original Siamese Twins By Dr. Annette Ayers * Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian, Fall 2008.  Tar Heel Junior Historian [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Traywick, Darryl. Eng and Chang Bunker, the first conjoined (formerly known as Siamese) twins to receive world-wide attention, were born in the fishing village of Mekong, Siam (now Thailand), to unidentified [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Stafford, Garland R. Alexander Chatham, merchant, farmer, and industrialist, was born near Wilkesboro of English ancestry. His father, Martin Chatham, had come from Augusta County, Va., and located in Wilkes County in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Stafford, Garland R. Hugh Gwyn Chatham, industrialist, public servant, philanthropist, and promoter of various enterprises, was born in Elkin of English and Welsh ancestry. He was the eldest son of Alexander and Mary [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Waugh, Betty Linney. Benjamin Cleveland, frontiersman, was born in Virginia on the now-famous Bull Run. He was the son of John Cleveland and the grandson of Alexander Cleveland, who came from England and settled in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Lanier, Jerry. Willard Glover Cole, newspaper editor, was born in Wilkes County, the son of Phoebe Mariah Bumgarner and Thomas H. Cole. He graduated from high school in North Wilkesboro and began his [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Mcgrew, Ellen. Calvin Josiah Cowles, merchant, real estate and mine operator, union leader, and assayer, was born in Hamptonville, the son of Connecticut natives Deborah Sanford and Josiah Cowles. In describing his [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Raper, Horace W. Charles Holden Cowles, editor, deputy clerk of U.S. District Court, state legislator, and congressman, was born in Charlotte, the son of Calvin J. and Ida Augusta Holden Cowles. His father was at [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Keever, Homer M. William Henry Harrison Cowles, attorney and congressman, was born in Hamptonville in the southern part of the present Yadkin County. His father, Josiah Cowles, was a native of Connecticut who had [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. William Nelson Darnell, missionary, was born in Wilkes County, probably the son of Peter Darnell, Esq., the only one of that name in the county at the time of the 1830 census. In 1834 he moved to [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Wood, Steve. James Wagner Davis, physician, was born in Statesville, the son of Lawson Davis of Wilkes County and Delia Josephine Wagner Davis of Statesville. He studied in the public schools of Statesville until [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Mitchell, Thornton W. Thomas C. ("Tom Dooley") Dula, Confederate war veteran, convicted murderer, and folk subject, was born in Wilkes County, the son of Mary Dula. On 15 Mar. 1862 he enlisted in the Confederate Army as a [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Adolphus Hill Eller, lawyer, banker, and political leader, was born in New Hope community, Wilkes County, the son of James E. and Mary Ann Carlton Eller. He was prepared for college at the Moravian [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Samouce, Elton Foote Hall. Percy Wright Foote, naval officer, was born at Roaring River, Wilkes County, the son of Confederate Major James Henry Foote (writer, educator, and a founder of Wake Forest College) and Susan Hunt [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Mcfarland, Daniel M. Franklin, Jesse by Daniel M. McFarland, 1986 24 Mar. 1760–31 Aug. 1823 See also: Jesse Franklin, Research Branch, NC Office of Archives and History Jesse Franklin, Revolutionary War [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Branch, Paul, Jr. James Byron Gordon, merchant, farmer, politician, and Confederate soldier, was born at Wilkesboro. His family, of Scottish descent, was founded by John George Gordon who emigrated from Scotland in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Woodard, John R., Jr. George Washington Greene, Baptist minister, teacher, and missionary to China, was born at Globe. The names of his parents are unknown. In 1865 he was baptized in the Lower Creek Baptist Church, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Blackburn, George T., II. Richard Nathaniel Hackett, attorney and congressman, was born in Wilkesboro, the son of Dr. Robert Franklin and Caroline Gordon Hackett. His mother was a sister of Brigadier General James B. Gordon. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Thompson, Lawrence S. John Hammon, second-to-the-last Revolutionary War veteran to die, was born in Goochland County, Va. He was the son of James Hammon[d], who died in 1763, and Mary Hargis Hammon, who later married John [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Shrader, Richard A. Harper, George Washington Finley by Richard A. Shrader, 1988 7 July 1834–16 Mar. 1921 George Washington Finley Harper, merchant, soldier, railroad builder, banker, and entrepreneur, was born [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Hughes, Gregory L. Johnson Jay Hayes, federal district court judge, was born in his parents' cabin between Cole and Purlear creeks, near Purlear, in Wilkes County. His father was John Lee Hays, son of Joseph Washington [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Caldwell, Martha B. Hickerson, Thomas Felix by Martha B. Caldwell, 1988 30 Apr. 1882–8 Aug. 1968 Thomas Felix Hickerson, Kenan Professor of Applied Mathematics [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Mordecai E. Hyams, botanist and herbalist, was born in Charleston, S.C., a descendant of Solomon Hyams who came to America from Prussia in 1744. Although an obituary notice reports that Hyams [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Green, C. Sylvester. Law, Sallie Chapman Gordon by C. Sylvester Green, 1991 27 Aug. 1805–28 June 1894 Sallie Chapman Gordon Law, humanitarian, was born in Wilkes County, the daughter of Chapman and Charity King [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Hubbard, Jule. Romulus Don Laws, newspaper publisher and editor, the son of Coffey and Amanda Robinson Laws, was born on his father's farm at Moravian Falls in Wilkes County. While largely self-taught, he did have [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Linn, Jo White. Jesse Lee, a pioneer Methodist preacher in North Carolina and "the apostle of Methodism to New England," was born in Prince George County, Va., the son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Lee, prosperous [...] (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 Branch, Paul, Jr. Collett Leventhorpe, physician and soldier, was born at Exmouth, Devonshire, England, where his parents were temporarily residing for reasons of sustaining his father's health. His family lineage [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Brown, Nevin C. McCorkle, William Parsons by Nevin C. Brown, 1991 2 Apr. 1855–7 Mar. 1933 William Parsons McCorkle, clergyman and religious writer, was [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Jernigan, Allen. Mitchell, Anderson by Allen Jernigan, 1991 13 June 1800–24 Dec. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Fant, H. B. Allen Ferdinand Owen, lawyer, Georgia legislator and congressman, and U.S. consul to Havana, was born in rural Wilkes County, N.C. His family moved to Georgia when he was four. The census of 1830 for [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Walser, Richard. Guy Owen, teacher and writer, was born of Welsh and English ancestry in the Elkton community near Clarkton (called "Clayton" in his fiction) in Bladen County ("Cape Fear County"), the oldest of four [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Anonymous. The second Poet Laureate of North Carolina was born in Wilkes County, September 13, 1879. His name was James Larkin Pearson, son of William and Louise McNeil Pearson. Born in the Berry's Mountain [...] (from James Larkin Pearson Library, Wilkes Community College.)

by Warner, Anne. Frank Noah Proffitt, farmer, craftsman, and singer of traditional songs, was born in Laurel Bloomery, Tenn., the son of Wiley and Rebecca Alice Creed Proffitt. His paternal grandparents, John and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Peck, Stephen R. Addison Hardcastle Reese, banker and civic leader, was born in Baltimore County, Md., the son of Gordon Lippincott and Edith Octavia Ford Reese. His great-grandfather, John T. Ford, was owner of [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Jolly, Benjamin A. Ralph James Scott, congressman, state legislator, and district attorney, was born on a farm in southeastern Surry County's Shoals Township, the son of Samuel Martin and Daisy Murphy (Cook) Scott. His [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by London, Lawrence F. William West Skiles, Episcopal missionary and teacher, was born in Hertford, Perquimans County. Following a few years of formal schooling in the local schools, he worked as a mechanic and later as [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Mcfarland, Daniel M. Montfort Stokes, Revolutionary veteran, U.S. senator, governor, and Indian commissioner, was born in Lunenburg County, Va., the eleventh child of David and Sarah Montfort Stokes of Halifax County, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Montfort Sidney Stokes, military officer, was born at Morne Rouge, the Wilkes County home of his parents, Montfort and Rachel Montgomery Stokes. He was a grandson of Hugh Montgomery, who served under [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. James Wellborn (Welborn), army officer and legislator, was born in that part of Rowan County that first became Surry County and then Wilkes County in 1778. Here he made his home during a long life, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Self, Lois S. Charles Calvin Wright, educator, school administrator, and religious and civic leader, was born on a small farm at Hunting Creek in Wilkes County and lived there all of his life. His [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Alexander, Roberta Sue. Tyre York, physician and politician, was born in Rockford, Surry County, the son of Michael York, a Surry County farmer. After attending the common schools in his home county, young York entered the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)