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Local figure

William Barbee

William Barbee (1777–1857) was the son of Christopher Barbee, the largest donor of land for the university. He built a house on Columbia Street after his marriage in 1800, went into the lumber business with William Watson in 1813, and served the university for years as steward and superintendent of buildings and grounds. He was Chapel Hill's postmaster from 1816 to 1820 and sat in the House of Commons in 1819.

Source: Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle (Kemp Plummer), 1831-1919. History of the University of North Carolina. Volume…

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Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each has its own page.

StorylineBridging Morgan Creek: McCauley’s and Merritt’s mills, 1793–18181793–1818 · 10 events · Where the road from Hillsborough to Fayetteville crossed Morgan Creek, the county court had to get a bridge sited, built and paid for, and the record shows how a county did public works through its court. The court fixed a site at Matthew McCauley's public mill in 1794 and named commissioners and inspectors, and after a nine to nine vote in 1797 it paid the builder, Tobias Rogers, 94 pounds in 1798. Henry Merritt later built a mill and a bridge, which the court made a toll bridge in 1811, and in 1818 it paid Merritt 195 dollars for a bridge across the creek. StorylinePerson Hall and the Main Building (South Building), 1796–18141796–1814 · 8 events · Finishing the University's first chapel and its Main Building took private gifts, lotteries and years of waiting. Thomas Person's $1,050 completed the chapel, named Person Hall, in 1798. That year Charles Gerrard's bequest of Tennessee land emboldened the trustees to lay the cornerstone of the Main Building, but its walls stood roofless for years for want of money. Lotteries in 1801 and 1802, William Polk's appeal of 1803 and Joseph Caldwell's subscription tours of 1809 and 1811 paid for the work, and students moved into the building, later South Building, in 1814.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 12 dated events in the chronology →

  1. The court names commissioners to contract for a bridge over Ben's Creek on the Raleigh road The court appointed John Taylor Sr., Pleasant Henderson and William Barbee to contract for a bridge across Ben's Creek at or near where the road from the University to Raleigh crossed it, and to report to the next court. People: Pleasant Henderson, William Barbee Place: Ben's Creek, on the road from the University to Raleigh · Also named: John Taylor Sr.Search the index · Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: February Term 1807
  2. The court names commissioners for a Ben's Creek bridge on the new road The court appointed John Taylor, William Barbee and Bryant Kittrell commissioners to contract for building a bridge across Ben's Creek where the new road crosses it near Henry Sears's plantation, and to report at the next court. People: William Barbee Place: Ben's Creek, near Henry Sears's plantation · Also named: John Taylor, Bryant Kittrell, Henry SearsSearch the index · Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: November Term 1807
  3. The court lets William Barbee close the old road through his plantation, the new road being open The court gave William Barbee leave to stop up the old road through his plantation, the new road being now open. Place: William Barbee's plantationSearch the index · Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: February Term 1808
  4. William Watson and William Barbee open a lumber yard William Watson came to Chapel Hill in 1813 to work on South Building and went into the lumber business with William Barbee. Their yard supplied much of the lumber used in village building; its site is not known. People: William Barbee Place: Chapel Hill (site unknown, perhaps near Franklin Street) · Also named: William WatsonSearch the index · Bernard Lee Bryant Jr., Occupants and Structures of Franklin Street, Chapel Hill (1998; Chapel Hill Historical Society, 1999), scan p. 39
  5. The court names commissioners to repair or rebuild the Ben's Creek and New Hope bridges The court appointed William Barbee, Abram Craig, Sampson Moore, Charles Trice and Ezekiel Trice commissioners to repair or rebuild the bridges across Ben's Creek and New Hope Creek on the road from Chapel Hill to Raleigh, and to report to the next term. People: William Barbee Place: Ben's Creek and New Hope Creek, on the road from Chapel Hill to Raleigh · Also named: Abram Craig, Sampson Moore, Charles Trice, Ezekiel Trice · Also mentions: Ben's CreekSearch the index · Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: February Term 1816
  6. The court names a committee to contract for a Morgan Creek bridge near Merritt's mill The court appointed Pleasant Henderson, John Taylor, Bryant Kittrell and William Barbee a committee to contract for building a bridge across Morgan Creek at or near Merritt's mill and to report to the next term. People: Pleasant Henderson, William Barbee Place: Morgan Creek at or near Merritt's mill · Also named: John Taylor, Bryant KittrellSearch the index · Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: August Term 1817
  7. Orange County elects Michael Holt to the state senate over Duncan Cameron Orange County voters chose Michael Holt over Duncan Cameron for the state senate, 695 to 555, and sent Willie Shaw and James Mebane to the House of Commons ahead of William Barbee. The borough of Hillsborough re-elected John Scott to the Commons. People: Duncan Cameron, James Mebane, William Barbee Place: Court house and polling places, Orange County · Also named: Michael Holt, Willie Shaw, John ScottSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, August 16, 1820, p. 3
  8. Christopher Barbee turns over his home tract and blacksmith shop to his son William In 1831 Christopher Barbee sold his son William the village blacksmith property and the tract where he lived, with all adjacent land. He died the next year, and his will left William more land on Morgan Creek and Bolin Creek. People: Christopher Barbee, William Barbee Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Bolin CreekSearch the index · UNC Research Laboratories of Anthropology: I. Randolph Daniel Jr., A Preliminary Archaeological Survey and Assessment of the Meadowmont Property, Technical Report No. 23 (1996), p. 3
  9. A notice offers Christopher Barbee's livestock and household goods for sale at his late home Two years after Christopher Barbee died, a public notice offered his horses, cattle, corn, farm tools and household and kitchen furniture for sale at his late residence on The Mountain. His son William was the executor. People: William Barbee Place: The Mountain (now Meadowmont), east of Chapel Hill · Also named: Christopher BarbeeSearch the index · UNC Research Laboratories of Anthropology: I. Randolph Daniel Jr., A Preliminary Archaeological Survey and Assessment of the Meadowmont Property, Technical Report No. 23 (1996), p. 14
  10. The county court names superintendents of common schools for Orange County At its August 1839 term the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions appointed nine superintendents of common schools for the county, among them Andrew Watson, John Stafford, John Trolinger, Giles Mebane, William Barbee, James A. Craig and Silas M. Link, and called them to meet at the Hillsborough court house on September 13. People: Giles Mebane, William Barbee, James A. Craig Place: Court house, Hillsborough · Also named: Andrew Watson, John Stafford, John Trolinger, Silas M. LinkSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, September 5, 1839, p. 3
  11. Whigs hold a log cabin festival at Chapel Hill A large crowd of all parties gathered at the Whigs' log cabin in Chapel Hill to hear Dr. James S. Smith, the Harrison elector, speak for nearly two hours, then sat down to a dinner given by Whigs of the neighborhood, among them the Rev. William H. Merritt and William Barbee. Speaking resumed after dinner and went on until night, with former Governor Owen, Hugh McQueen, Maurice Waddell and William Albright. People: James Strudwick Smith, William Barbee Place: Whig log cabin, Chapel Hill · Also named: William H. Merritt, Hugh McQueen, Maurice Waddell, William AlbrightSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, September 24, 1840, p. 3
  12. A storm and flood east of Chapel Hill wash away William Barbee's saw-mill A storm of wind, rain and hail struck the part of the county east of Chapel Hill along the New Hope waters, tearing up orchards and sweeping away fences and topsoil. William Barbee's saw-mill, called one of the largest in the county, was washed away and the dam of Mrs. Patterson's mill was carried off, with the streams four feet above the great April freshet of some years before. People: William Barbee Place: New Hope Creek waters east of Chapel Hill (partly now Durham County)Search the index · North Carolina Democrat (Hillsborough), May 16, 1849, p. 2

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Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

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People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as William Barbee, those sharing the most entries first. Each line links one of the shared entries in the chronology, where its source is cited. A shared entry shows these people in the same event, not how well they knew each other.

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