Sketches Of Western North Carolina Historical And Biographical

Hunter, C. L. Sketches of Western North Carolina, Historical and Biographical. 1877.

Biography of Colonel Charles McDowell

Colonel Charles McDowell and his brothers, Joseph and William, were sons of Joseph McDowell and Margaret O’Neal, who emigrated from Ireland and settled in Winchester, Va. Here, Charles and Joseph were born, the former in 1743. Soon afterward, Joseph McDowell, Sr., moved to Burke county, N.C. In June, 1780, Colonel Charles McDowell being joined by Colonels Isaac Shelby and John Sevier from Tennessee, and by Colonel Clarke, of Georgia, near the Cherokee Ford on Broad river, in South Carolina, he determined to attack a post held by the enemy on Pacolet river, in Spartanburg county. The position was strongly fortified … Read more

Biography of Colonel Benjamin Cleveland

Colonel Benjamin Cleaveland, one of the distinguished heroes of King’s Mountain, and in honor of whom Cleaveland county is named, lived and died in Wilkes county at a good old age. In 1775 he first entered the service as Ensign in the second regiment of troops, and acted a brave and conspicuous part in the battle’s of King’s Mountain and Guilford court house. A serious impediment in his speech prevented him from entering public life. He is frequently spoken of in the mountain country as the “hero of a hundred fights with the Tories.” He was for many years the … Read more

Biography of Colonel Alexander Osborn

Alexander Osborn was born in New Jersey in 1709, and emigrated to the western part of Rowan county (now Iredell) about 1755. He was a Colonel in the Colonial government, and as such marched with a regiment of Rowan troops to Hillsboro in 1768 to assist Governor Tryon in suppressing the “Regulation” movement. He married Agnes McWhorter, a sister of Dr. Alexander McWhorter, president of Queen’s Museum College in Charlotte. His residence (called Belmont) was one of the earliest worshiping places of the Presbyterians of Rowan county before the present “Center Church” was erected, and became by compromise the “central” … Read more

Biography of Charles Cornwallis

Charles Cornwallis, son of the first Earl of Cornwallis, was born in Suffolk on the 31st of December, 1738. He was educated at Westminster and St. John’s College, Cambridge. He entered the army in 1759, and succeeded to the title and estates of his father in 1761. He was the most competent and energetic of all the British generals sent to America during the Revolution, but the cruelties exercised by his orders on a few occasions, have left an indelible stain upon his character. It was in pursuance of one of his orders, issued soon after the battle of Camden, … Read more

Biography of Charity Jack

Charity Jack, eldest daughter of Patrick Jack, of Charlotte, married Dr. Cornelius Dysart, a distinguished physician and surgeon of the Revolutionary army. The Dysart family, at that time, resided in Mecklenburg county. Dr. Dysart is said to have built the first house on the “Irwin corner,” assisted by his brother-in-law, Captain Jack, who owned the lot until his removal to Georgia, shortly after the war. Dr. Dysart died comparatively young, leaving a widow and two children, James and Robert Dysart, who settled in Georgia. Of their subsequent history little is known. Jane (or “Jean,”) Jack, second daughter of Patrick Jack, … Read more

Biography of Captain William Sharpe

Captain William Sharpe was born on the 13th of December, 1742, and was the eldest son of Thomas Sharpe, of Cecil county, Maryland. At the age of twenty-one he came to North Carolina and settled in Mecklenburg county, where he married a daughter of David Reese, one of the signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. He was a lawyer by profession and had a large practice. Soon after his marriage he moved to the western part of Rowan county (now Iredell) and took an active and decided stand for liberty. The Journal of the “Committee of Safety” for Rowan … Read more

Biography of Captain William Alexander

Captain William Alexander was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1749. He was long and well known in Mecklenburg county, N.C., among numerous other persons bearing the same name, as “Capt. Black Bill Alexander,” from being the reputed leader of a small band of ardent patriots who, in 1771, “blackened their faces”, and destroyed the king’s powder, on its way to Hillsboro, to obey the behests of a cruel and tyrannical governor. (For further particulars, see sketch of “Black Boys” of Cabarrus County.) He first entered the service of the United States as captain of a company, in … Read more

Biography of Captain John Mattocks

Captain John Mattocks was one of the brave soldiers who fell at King’s Mountain. He belonged to a family who resided a few miles below Armstrong’s Ford, on the south fork of the Catawba river, at what is now known as the “Alison old place.” There were three brothers and two sisters, Sallie and Barbara. The whole family, men and women, had the reputation of being “”uncommonly stout”.” John and Charles Mattocks were staunch Whigs, ever ready to engage in any enterprise in defence of the freedom of their country, but Edward Mattocks (commonly called Ned Mattocks) was a Tory. … Read more

Biography of Captain James Houston

Captain James Houston was born in 1747, and was an early and devoted friend of liberty. In the battle of Ramsour’s Mill, near the present town of Lincolnton, he took an active part, and by his undaunted courage greatly contributed to the defeat of the Tories on that occasion. During the engagement Captain Houston was severely wounded in the thigh, from the effects of which he never fully recovered. Seeing the man who inflicted the severe and painful wound he shot him in the back and killed him as he ran. When it was ascertained that Cornwallis had crossed the … Read more

Biography of Captain Charles Alexander

Captain Charles Alexander was born in Mecklenburg county, N.C., January 4th, 1753. He first entered the service of the United States as a private in July, 1775, in the company of Captain William Alexander, and Colonel Adam Alexander’s regiment, General Rutherford commanding, and marched across the Blue Ridge Mountains against the Cherokee Indians. The expedition was completely successful; the Indians were routed, and their towns destroyed. He next served as a private for two months, commencing in January, 1776, known as the “Snow Campaign,” in Captain William Alexander’s company, and Colonel Thomas Folk’s regiment, and marched to Rayburn’s creek, where … Read more

Biography of Capt. Thomas Caldwell

Capt. Thomas Caldwell, of Irish parentage, was born in the eastern part of Mecklenburg county, (now Cabarrus), in 1753. He early espoused the cause of liberty, and entered the service in 1775, in Capt. John Springs’ company as a private, and marched to the protection of the frontier settlements from the murderous and plundering incursions of the Cherokee Indians. He again joined the service in Capt. Ezekiel Polk’s company and marched against the Tories in South Carolina, near the post of Ninety-Six. In 1776, he volunteered under Captain William Alexander, Colonels Adam Alexander and Robert Irwin, General Rutherford commanding; marched … Read more

Biography of Benjamin Patton

“Benjamin Patton” was one of the earliest settlers in the eastern part of Mecklenburg county (now Cabarrus). He was a man of iron firmness and of indomitable courage. Descended from the blood of the Covenanters, he inherited their tenacity of purpose, sagacity of action and purity of character. He was an early and devoted friend of liberty. He was a delegate to the Provincial Congress which met at Newbern on the 25th of August, 1774. This was the first meeting of representatives direct from the people. The royal Governor, Josiah Martin, issued his proclamation against its assembling, as being without … Read more

Biography of Abraham Alexander

“Abraham Alexander”, the Chairman of the Mecklenburg Convention of the 19th and 20th of May, 1775, was born in 1718, and was an active and influential magistrate of the county before and after the Revolution, being generally the honored chairman of the Inferior Court. He was a member of the popular branch of the Assembly in 1774-’75, with Thomas Polk as an associate; also one of the fifteen trustees of Queen’s Museum, which institution, in 1777, was transformed into “Liberty Hall Academy.” After the involuntary retreat of Josiah Martin, the royal Governor, in June, 1775, from the State, its government … Read more

Biography of Dr. Ephraim Brevard

“Dr. Ephraim Brevard”, the reputed author of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, proclaimed on the 20th of May, 1775, was born in Maryland in 1744. He came with his parents to North Carolina when about four years old. He was the son of John Brevard, one of the earliest settlers of Iredell, then Rowan, county, and of Huguenot descent. At the conclusion of the Indian war in 1761, he and his cousin, Adlai Osborne, were sent to a grammar school in Prince Edward county, Va. About a year later, he returned to North Carolina and attended a school of considerable … Read more

Biographical Sketch ofGeneral John Moore

General John Moore was born in Lincoln county, when a part of Anson, in 1759. His father, William Moore, of Scotch-Irish descent, was one of the first settlers of the county and a prominent member of society. He had four sons, James, William, John and Alexander, who, inheriting the liberty-loving principles of that period, were all true patriots in the Revolutionary war. John Moore performed a soldier’s duty on several occasions and was one of the guards stationed at Tuckaseege Ford, watching the movements of Lord Cornwallis after his entrance into Lincoln county. He also acted for a considerable length … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Zaccheus Wilson

“Zaccheus Wilson”, was one of three brothers who moved from Pennsylvania and settled in Mecklenburg county about 1760. At the time of the Mecklenburg Convention on the 19th and 20th of May, 1775, he signed that instrument, pledging himself and his extensive family connections to its support and maintenance. He was said to be a man of liberal education, and very popular in the county in which he resided. He was a member of the Convention which met at Halifax on the 12th of November, 1776, to form a State Constitution, associated with Waightstill Avery, John Phifer, Robert Irwin and … Read more

Biographical Sketch of William Polk

William Polk, son of Colonel Thomas Polk, was born in 1759, and was present at the Mecklenburg Convention of the 19th and 20th of May, 1775. He commenced his military career with his father in the expedition against the Scovillite Tories, in upper South Carolina, in the autumn of 1775. He was with General Nash when he fell at Germantown; with General Davidson, at Cowan’s Ford; with General Greene, at Guilford Court House; and with the same officer at Eutaw Springs. In the last named battle he was severely wounded, the effects of which he carried with him to his … Read more

Biographical Sketch of William Kennon

“William Kennon” was an early and devoted friend of liberty. He was an eminent lawyer, resided in Salisbury, and had a large practice in the surrounding counties. He was one of the prominent advocates for “absolute independence” at the Convention in Charlotte, on the 19th and 20th of May, 1775. He, with Mr. Willis, a brother-in-law, Adlai Osborne, and Samuel Spencer (afterward Judge Spencer), took an active part in arresting two obnoxious lawyers, John Dunn and Benjamin Booth Boote, preceding the Revolution, in giving utterance to language inimical to the cause of American independence. They were conveyed to Charlotte for … Read more

Biographical Sketch of William Houston Jack

William Houston Jack, second son of Captain James Jack, was one of the first settlers, and successful merchants of Augusta, Ga. After his withdrawal from the mercantile business, he settled in Wilkes county, taking care of his aged father and mother until their death. He married Frances Cummins, a daughter of the Rev. Francis Cummins, one of the witnesses of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. He was universally beloved by all who knew him, and sustained through life a character of unsullied integrity. He left one son, William Cummins Jack, a teacher by profession, a fine classical scholar, and a … Read more