Chronology

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1. Antebellum and Civil War · 1800–1865

2. 1844
   Hillsborough Harriet, enslaved by the Smith family in Hillsborough, gives birth to Cornelia after Sidney Smith rapes her

   Harriet, bought by James Strudwick Smith in 1834 as a maid for his daughter Mary Ruffin Smith, was raped by his son Sidney and gave birth to Cornelia in 1844, while the family's home was in Hillsborough. Cornelia's granddaughter Pauli Murray told the story in Proud Shoes.

3. 1845
   Hillsborough James Strudwick Smith sells Harriet, Julius and Cornelia to Mary Ruffin Smith

   Shielding his property from creditors, James Strudwick Smith passed most of the family's holdings to his daughter Mary Ruffin Smith, including Harriet and her children Julius and Cornelia, whom he sold to her in 1845. Cornelia had been born in 1844 after Sidney Smith raped Harriet.

4. Reconstruction and the New South · 1866–1899

5. August 8, 1869
   Orange County Robert G. Fitzgerald marries Cornelia Smith of Chapel Hill

   Fitzgerald married Cornelia Smith, a niece of Mary Ruffin Smith, the Chapel Hill benefactor of the university. Their granddaughter Pauli Murray later told the family's story in Proud Shoes.

6. Recent decades · 1976–2026

7. February 13, 1977
   Publication, speech or performance · Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill Pauli Murray celebrates her first Eucharist at the Chapel of the Cross

   Murray, newly ordained an Episcopal priest, celebrated her first Eucharist at the Chapel of the Cross in Chapel Hill at the invitation of the rector Peter James Lee, who cited her family's connection to the parish. Her grandmother Cornelia Smith Fitzgerald had been baptized in the same chapel on December 20, 1854.

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Compiled and maintained by the Friends of the Orange County Public Library from county records, the sources named on each card, and the index’s event pages. Last updated October 2, 2026.