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Local figure

Richard Bennehan

Richard Bennehan came to Orange County in late 1768 or early 1769 as a one-third partner in William Johnston's Little River Store on the Snowhill plantation near Hillsborough, then opened his own Stagville Store and built a plantation house nearby. He was an enslaver: by 1799 he owned almost 4,000 acres and over 44 enslaved people.

Source: UNC Libraries, Southern Historical Collection: Cameron Family Papers finding aid (#00133)

1743–1825 · Dates from the Library of Congress · Library of Congress authority record ↗

4 works about Richard Bennehan are indexed here. 1 held at OCPL →

Search these 4 works Research sources View indexed works ↓

Life and Orange County connections

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

StorylineThe county patrol, 1787–18291787–1829 · 14 events · From 1787 the Orange County court named patrols to watch the movements of enslaved people: patrols for Hillsborough, for the county's districts and, in 1799, for the neighborhood of the University. From at least 1807 the patrols were paid with a tax on each Black poll, and committees of justices drafted rules for them in 1809 and 1813. The court also licensed some enslaved men to carry guns on their owners' land, on the motions of men such as Richard Bennehan and Duncan Cameron, and twice ordered patrollers to give back guns they had taken. In 1829 Chapel Hill's first town ordinance set up a town patrol, and the county was still levying its patrol tax on Black polls. StorylineStagville and Fairntosh: the Bennehan and Cameron plantations, 1799–18261799–1826 · 8 events · Stagville and Fairntosh grew into the Bennehan and Cameron plantations on the labor of enslaved people, and the county court's records show how the law reached into their lives. Richard Bennehan built Stagville in 1799 on about 4,000 acres worked by 44 or more enslaved people, and Duncan Cameron built Fairntosh beside it from 1810. In 1809 the court let four men they enslaved carry guns and made patrollers return six guns taken from others. Mary Walker was born into a family they held in 1818, and by 1826 the plantations sold close to 30,000 pounds of tobacco.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 14 dated events in the chronology →

  1. William Johnston offers Richard Bennehan a partnership in the Little River Store William Johnston offered Richard Bennehan a one-third partnership in the Little River Store on his Snowhill plantation near Hillsborough. Bennehan moved to North Carolina in late 1768 or early 1769 to manage it. People: William Johnston Place: Snow HillSearch the index · UNC Libraries, Southern Historical Collection: Cameron Family Papers finding aid (#00133)
  2. Richard Bennehan buys the land that began the Stagville plantation Bennehan bought land northeast of Snow Hill on the west side of the Flat River, the start of what became the Stagville-Fairntosh plantation complex. People: Tyree Harris Place: Orange County · Also mentions: Snow HillSearch the index · NCpedia: Bennehan, Richard (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography)
  3. The county court orders the road from Bennehan's to New Hope Chapel finished The road ordered earlier from Richard Bennehan's to New Hope Chapel had been cleared only as far as John Patterson's, so the May 1777 court named an overseer to clear the rest. People: John Patterson Place: Road from Richard Bennehan's to New Hope ChapelSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 174
  4. Richard Bennehan lists 31 enslaved people for taxes On the 1778 tax list Richard Bennehan of Stagville, one of the largest landholders in Orange County with 4,065 acres, reported 31 enslaved people. Most Orange households of the period held no one in slavery. People: Richard Bennehan Place: Stagville (then Orange County, now Durham County)NC Digital Collections: Historic Resources of Orange County, National Register multiple property documentation form (1993), p. 16
  5. Richard Bennehan buys land from Judith Stagg and opens the Stagville Store After William Johnston's death in 1785 Bennehan opened his own store, on land he bought from Judith Stagg, which became the Stagville Store. Place: Stagville · Also named: Judith Stagg, William JohnstonSearch the index · NCpedia: Bennehan, Richard (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography)
  6. The first federal census counts 2,060 enslaved people in Orange County The first federal census counted 12,216 people in Orange County: 10,055 white residents, 2,060 enslaved people and 101 other free persons. No other Piedmont county held as many enslaved people, and Richard Bennehan (24) and William Hooper (22, in Hillsborough) were the largest holders. People: Richard Bennehan, William Hooper Place: Orange CountyLefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 95-96
  7. Richard Bennehan gives shells for mortar for Old East Bennehan donated fifty bushels of shells for making mortar for the university's first building. In 1796 he gave an air pump and thirty-two books. Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · NCpedia: Bennehan, Richard (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography)
  8. The court licenses three men enslaved by Richard Bennehan to carry guns On Richard Bennehan's motion, the court ordered the chairman to grant certificates under the act of Assembly for Daniel at the Brickhouse plantation, Frank at Bennehan's Quarter plantation and Ned at his store to carry guns, Bennehan giving bond. The same term it ordered that the guns the St. Mary's District patrollers had taken from people enslaved by Bennehan, William Cain and others be returned to the owners. People: Richard Bennehan Place: Richard Bennehan's Brickhouse and Quarter plantations and store, St. Mary's District (now Durham County) · Also named: William Cain, Daniel, Frank, NedMark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: February Term 1794
  9. The county court proves a run of deeds to and from the University's trustees From May 1795 the county court proved or acknowledged deeds between the University's trustees and others so they could be registered: from the trustees to John Dannel (May 1795); from Dannel to the trustees and from William Shepperd, attorney for the trustees, to James Stockard (August 1796); to Daniel Booth, Richard Bennehan and Walter Alves (November 1796); to John Carrington (May 1797); to Nathaniel Harris and Joseph Holmes (August 1797); to John Caldwell (November 1797); and to Christopher Barbee and William Hayes (February 1798). Several were proved on the handwriting of William Watters, a witness who had died. People: Richard Bennehan, Walter Alves, Christopher Barbee Place: Chapel Hill (University lands) · Also named: John Dannel, James Stockard, Daniel Booth, John Carrington, Nathaniel Harris, Joseph Holmes, John Caldwell, William Hayes, William Shepperd, William WattersMark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: May Term 1795
  10. Richard Bennehan builds the Stagville house Bennehan built the house he called Stagville. By then he owned about 4,000 acres, worked by 44 or more enslaved people. The same year he joined the university's board of trustees. Place: StagvilleSearch the index · NCpedia: Bennehan, Richard (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography)
  11. The court lets four enslaved men on the Bennehan and Cameron lands carry guns The county court gave leave to carry guns to three men enslaved by Richard Bennehan, Frank Kennon at the store, Humphrey at the Little River plantations and a man at the Brick House whose name the transcription gives as Donom with a query, and to David, enslaved by Duncan Cameron at his Eno plantation. The owners gave bond and security as the law required. People: Richard Bennehan, Duncan Cameron Place: Richard Bennehan's Brick House, store and Little River plantations; Duncan Cameron's Eno plantation · Also named: Frank Kennon, David, HumphreyMark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: November Term 1809
  12. The court orders patrollers to return guns taken from Bennehan and Cameron slaves The court ordered Leonard Laws and George Laws, patrollers in what had been Captain Harris's company, now Duke's, in St. Mary's district, to return to Richard Bennehan and Duncan Cameron six guns they had taken from men the two held in slavery. People: Richard Bennehan, Duncan Cameron Place: St. Mary's district · Also named: Leonard Laws, George LawsMark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: November Term 1809
Show all 14 dated events
  1. Cameron builds Fairntosh east of the Stagville house On land beside Stagville that Richard Bennehan gave the couple at their 1803 marriage, Duncan Cameron began building Fairntosh in 1810, finished the main house in 1811 and added a large wing about 1818 to 1821. Its dependencies included his law office, a chapel and a family burying ground, and he went on to hold more than a thousand people in slavery. People: Duncan Cameron, Richard Bennehan Place: Fairntosh · Also named: Rebecca Bennehan Cameron · Also mentions: StagvilleSearch the index · UNC Wilson Library, Southern Historical Collection: Cameron Family Papers #00133, biographical note · Also: NCpedia (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography): Cameron, Duncan
  2. The court cancels the Bennehan's mill bridge contract and orders it let again The court rescinded the contract for building a bridge across the Eno near and below Richard Bennehan's mill and appointed John Cabe, Robert Harris and Hugh Cain to let the building of a bridge at the same place, in Hillsborough, to the lowest bidder after twenty days' notice. The builder was to give bond to keep it up for seven years. Place: Eno River near and below Richard Bennehan's mill · Also named: John Cabe, Robert Harris, Hugh CainSearch the index · Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: May Term 1816

People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as Richard Bennehan, 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.

Indexed works

Works about or by Richard Bennehan. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it. Background reading appears below.

The Black family in slavery and freedom, 1750-1925

Gutman, Herbert G. (Herbert George), 1928-1985 · 1976 · Pantheon Books

Herbert G. Gutman's 1976 history of African American families from 1750 to 1925, published by Pantheon Books in New York, 664 pages with 38 leaves of plates. Its Orange County connection is the Bennehan and Cameron family plantations, Stagville and Fairntosh: the book discusses the people enslaved by Richard Bennehan (1743-1825) and the Camerons, and follows family ties among them under slavery and after emancipation. Subjects include African American families and enslaved persons in Orange County.

Included because: Catalog heading in the NCCU record: Bennehan, Richard, 1743-1825.

Reviewed in The Journal of Southern History (1977), The William and Mary Quarterly (1977), The American Historical Review (1977), Journal of American History (1977), The History Teacher (1977), Political Science Quarterly (1977), Journal of Black Psychology (1978), Journal of Social History (1978), Civil War history (1978), Signs (1978).

NCCU UNC CH Historical Society Library of Congress

The Cameron Plantation in Central North Carolina (1776-1973) and Its Founder Richard Bennehan

Sanders, Charles Richard · 1974 · Sanders

Charles Richard Sanders's short history of the Cameron plantation in central North Carolina from 1776 to 1973 and of its founder Richard Bennehan, whose lands became Stagville and Fairntosh. It covers the Bennehan and Cameron families and their connection with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Published by the author in Durham in 1974, 79 pages with a plate and illustrations.

Included because: Catalog heading in the OCPL record: Bennehan, Richard, 1743-1825.

✓ Held at OCPL · NC 929.209 SAN Duke Chapel Hill PL Library of Congress Davidson UNC

A portrait of Richard Bennehan

Bullock, Marshall · 1985

Marshall Bullock's A Portrait of Richard Bennehan, issued in Chapel Hill in 1985 together with pieces by Doris Betts, Elizabeth Sewell, Lucia A. Ciapponi, Lewis Leary and Phillip A. Snyder on southern writers and the Bible, the library as allegory, the Hanes copy of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili in the Rare Book Collection, Parson Weems and Bernard Shaw's correspondence.

Included because: Its title names this person.

UNC

Walter Alves papers, 1771-1858, Orange County, North Carolina : also Kentucky and Tennessee.

Alves, Walter, 1768-1819 · 1993 · University Publications of America

University Publications of America issued this two reel microfilm edition in 1993, reproducing the Walter Alves papers of 1771 to 1858 with a printed reel guide. Alves, 1768 to 1819, was an Orange County landowner, and the material runs to real estate investment in North Carolina and Tennessee, Scottish American families, and letters with Richard Bennehan, William Boylan and John Wickham.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Bennehan, Richard, 1743-1825 -- Correspondence.

UNC

Start at OCPL

Books in OCPL’s Rebecca B. Wall Local History Collection whose titles, catalog subjects, or descriptions match this person. The Friends’ recommended starting points are labelled.

  • Rebecca Wall Collection · NC 929.209 SAN The Cameron Plantation in Central North Carolina (1776-1973) and Its Founder Richard Bennehan Sanders, Charles Richard · 1974

    Charles Richard Sanders's short history of the Cameron plantation in central North Carolina from 1776 to 1973 and of its founder Richard Bennehan, whose lands became Stagville and Fairntosh. It covers the Bennehan and Cameron families and their connection with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Published by the author in Durham in 1974, 79 pages with a plate and illustrations.

Places in this person’s story

Buildings, schools, churches and other sites named in the dated events on this page, the most often named first. The map shows the 3 with a known location.

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.

  • Stagville Houses, farms, parks and cemeteries · Little River · 5 events here
  • Fairntosh Houses, farms, parks and cemeteries · Little River · 2 events here
  • Old East University buildings and grounds · Chapel Hill · 1 event here
  • Snow Hill (William Johnston plantation) Houses, farms, parks and cemeteries · Hillsborough · 1 event here

All places and the county map →

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  • NC LIVE: prepared search for Richard Bennehan Library card Search NC LIVE for this subject and Orange County. You can change the search terms. Sign in through your North Carolina library to access the materials.
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