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Local figure

William H. Brown

William H. Brown was a Hillsborough man who served for years as chairman of Orange County's Board of Superintendents of Common Schools. In December 1860 he chaired the Orange County mass meeting at the courthouse that debated a call for a state convention after Lincoln's election. In March 1863, as a county commissioner with John W. Norwood, he advertised the contract for a new bridge over the Eno at Hillsborough. He died in 1866.

Source: The Hillsborough Recorder, January 2, 1861

6 indexed works are connected with this person. 1 held at OCPL →

Indexed works

Works in the index that concern this person directly, or were written by them. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it; background reading with wider context sits further down.

Information Relating to the William Brown Family of Orange County, NC

Browning, Hugh Conway · 1972

Hugh Conway Browning assembled these notes on the William Brown family of Orange County in 1972, one of several such compilations he made on county families. Family historians use gatherings of this sort for names, dates and connections that never reached print elsewhere. Part of the library's Wall Local History Collection.

Why this is here: Listed as its creator.

William H. Brown [and others]

Brown, William H. · 1852

Ledger of a shoe shop in Hillsborough, Orange County, kept by William H. Brown and others from 1852 to 1866.

Why this is here: Listed as its creator.

HOOKER-BROWN. Hooker-Brown Family Bible Records

North Carolina. Division of Archives and History · 1809

Two surnames carry this Bible record of 1809 to 1956, Hooker and Brown, part of the Bible Records collection of the State Archives of North Carolina. Margaret P. Hooker, Henry N. Brown and William H. Brown are documented here, with James Edgar Gay and the Gay family. Halifax and Orange counties are the two places.

Why this is here: Their name appears in the record.

Letter from Governor Martin (no.4) regarding six rebels sentenced to death and the location of Herman Husbands

1771

Governor Josiah Martin's dispatch numbered 4, written in 1771, on six rebels sentenced to death and the whereabouts of Herman Husbands, with Pennsylvania among the places. Six men are mentioned alongside Husbands: William Brown, James Copeland, Herman Cox, James Emerson, Forrester Mercer and James Stewart. Hillsborough is named, with petitions, mercy and capital punishment among the topics. From Colonial Office volume CO 5/329.

Why this is here: Their name appears in the record.

Letters sent by Josiah Martin and William Tryon to the Earl of Hillsborough relating to five military men convicted of high treason, states of rebellion, and the return of the army

1771

In 1771 Josiah Martin and William Tryon wrote to the Earl of Hillsborough on five military men convicted of high treason, on states of rebellion and on the return of the army. William Brown, James Copeland, Hermon Cox, James Emmerson, William Robson, Edward Smith and James Stewart are named. Colonial Office series CO 5/315, North Carolina correspondence of 1771 to 1772.

Why this is here: Their name appears in the record.

Brown, William (Chapel Hill Historical Society vertical file)

A report on William Brown, the only item in his folder in box 1 of the Individuals and Families series of the Chapel Hill Historical Society's vertical files. Undated.

Why this is here: Their name appears in the record.

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 BROWNING Information Relating to the William Brown Family of Orange County, NC Browning, Hugh Conway · 1972

    Hugh Conway Browning assembled these notes on the William Brown family of Orange County in 1972, one of several such compilations he made on county families. Family historians use gatherings of this sort for names, dates and connections that never reached print elsewhere. Part of the library's Wall Local History Collection.

Life and Orange County connections

Dated events connected with this person, earliest first. See these 3 dated events in the chronology →

  1. Orange County seats a Board of Superintendents for its common schools At its February 1852 term the county court elected an eight-man Board of Superintendents of Common Schools, among them William H. Brown, who at some point served as the board's chairman. That year a new state law obliged such boards to name committees to examine would-be teachers rather than merely allowing it. People: Samuel Wellwood Hughes, William H. BrownSearch the index · Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), pp. 22-23
  2. Sidney Smith speaks for a state convention at an Orange County mass meeting in Hillsborough At an adjourned mass meeting of Orange County citizens in the Hillsborough courthouse after Lincoln's election, with William H. Brown in the chair, William A. Graham's committee reported resolutions on the crisis. John W. Norwood moved to ask the legislature to call a state convention; Capt. Berry opposed it, Sidney Smith spoke for it, and the amendment was rejected before the committee's resolutions passed. People: William A. Graham, John Wall Norwood, Dennis Heartt, William H. BrownSearch the index · DigitalNC: Hillsborough Recorder, January 2, 1861, p. 2 (Mass Meeting in Hillsborough)
  3. County commissioners call for builders of a new bridge over the Eno at Hillsborough In a notice dated March 4, 1863, commissioners William H. Brown and J. W. Norwood announced they would let the building of a bridge over the Eno at Hillsborough to contract at the courthouse on Saturday, March 14. The plan was on view at the county court clerk's office. People: John Wall Norwood, William H. BrownSearch the index · DigitalNC: The Hillsborough Recorder, March 11, 1863, p. 3

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 them all.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange and OpenStreetMap; town and community pins mark the middle of their mapped buildings.

All places and the county map →

Named with them in the chronology

People named in the same dated entries as William H. Brown, 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.

Research sources

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Collections and databases

  • NC LIVE: prepared search for William H. Brown Library card An advanced search of the state’s shared databases already scoped to Orange County’s places and this subject; edit it freely, and sign in through your North Carolina library to read
  • Ancestry Library Edition In the libraryOrange County Public Library Census, birth, death and marriage records, and more, free on the public computers at OCPL libraries

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Books about William H. Brown

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