The fifth volume of the Colonial Records of North Carolina chronicles a tumultuous period in North Carolina’s colonial history, spanning from 1752 to 1765, largely under the administrations of governors Nathaniel Rice, Matthew Rowan, and Arthur Dobbs. A central theme is the province’s persistent struggles with governance, particularly financial difficulties exacerbated by costly military contributions to inter-colonial conflicts, such as the French and Indian War. The text also delves into significant land disputes and the contentious administration of Earl Granville’s proprietary district, which led to widespread public dissatisfaction and “riots.” Furthermore, it highlights the evolution of North Carolina’s population and economy, detailing key industries, trade patterns, and the province’s surprisingly generous, though often financially crippling, efforts to support broader British colonial defense, often at odds with the other colonies.
Colonial Records of North Carolina, Volume 5
The Colonial Records of North Carolina is a ten-volume series that presents the official documentary history of North Carolina from its earliest days of settlement through the close of the colonial era in 1776. Compiled under the direction of historian William L. Saunders and published between 1886 and 1890, these volumes contain transcriptions of letters, proclamations, legislative proceedings, council minutes, correspondence with the Crown, and other government records drawn from British and American repositories.
For genealogists, the Colonial Records of North Carolina is an important resource as it contains some of the earliest documentary evidence of individuals and families living in the colony from the late 1600s to the Revolutionary era. While it is not a collection of compiled genealogies or vital records in the modern sense, it includes numerous references to people in official, legal, and civic contexts—often the only existing records of early North Carolinians.