Key local figure
William Churton (active 1749 to 1767), a surveyor for Earl Granville's land office, staked out the lots of the town that became Hillsborough in 1754 on 663 acres he held in trust for Francis Corbin. He represented Orange in the colonial legislature from 1754 to 1762, and his survey was published in 1770 as A Compleat Map of North Carolina.
Source: NCpedia: Churton, William
1710–1767 · Dates from the Library of Congress · Library of Congress authority record ↗
4 works about William Churton are indexed here, as is one work by Churton. 1 held at OCPL →
Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each has its own page.
Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 7 dated events in the chronology →
People named in the same dated entries as William Churton, 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.
Works about or by William Churton. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it. Background reading appears below.
Hand drawn in color on a sheet 92 by 135 centimeters, this map of the rivers Little and Eno is attributed to William Churton, 1710 to 1767, and listed with a 2015 catalog date. A stamp to the right of the title reads Mark Chilton, Orange County, NC, Register of Deeds. Topics include land grants along the Eno River and in Orange County. Part of UNC's North Carolina Collection.
Marshall L. Smith's brief life of William Churton, 1710 to 1767, the surveyor who laid out Hillsborough in the 1750s, with notes on the Churton family. Self-published in Hillsborough in 1998, 22 unnumbered pages with illustrations and maps.
Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Churton, William, 1710-1767.
A colonial government journal from 1768 tracking the movements of insurgents in the North Carolina backcountry, with entries on the militia, sheriffs, tax collection, supplies and the intelligence reaching the council. William Churton, James Hunter, John Rutherford and George Sally appear in it, and the journal concerns Hillsborough and Orange County, the ground at the center of the Regulator unrest. Filed at CO 5/312.
Included because: Catalog heading in the Duke record: Churton, William.
First issue of the Hillsborough Historical Society Journal, July 1998, drawing on Mary Claire Engstrom's research on the town. Pieces cover William Churton, the surveyor who laid out Hillsborough; Edmund Fanning and the town in the Regulator troubles and the Revolution; the Third Provincial Congress, which met at Hillsborough in 1775; and figures and places of the old town: Mary Burke, known as Polly, the Presbyterian minister John Knox Witherspoon, Dr. Thomas Webb and Faddis Tavern.
Included because: Their name appears in the record.
A colonial act of 1760 establishing a town on land formerly granted to William Churton, on the north side of the river the title calls the River Ende, in the County of Orange. People named include Governor Arthur Dobbs, James Hasell and Samuel Swann, with town legislation as the topic. Reference: Colonial Office volume CO 5/336, North Carolina Acts 1755 to 1760.
Included because: Catalog heading in the Duke record: Churton, William.
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.
Marshall L. Smith's life of William Churton (1710 to 1767), the Granville District surveyor who in 1754 laid out the town that became Hillsborough. Named Orange County's first register of deeds in 1752, Churton sat for Orange in the colonial assembly, helped extend the Virginia boundary line in 1749 and worked from 1757 until his death on a map of the province. Issued by the author at Hillsborough in 1998; unpaged, with illustrations and maps.
William Churton, surveyor for Earl Granville, came to the colonies around 1749 and in 1754 laid out the town that became Hillsborough, the Orange County seat. Stewart E. Dunaway's life history of him follows his surveying career and his family, illustrated with maps and facsimiles and closing with a bibliography and an index. Published by the author in Hillsborough in 2017 through Lulu; 166 pages.
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, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.
Sources and research tools for this person. For ready-made searches of other catalogs, see Search further. Research guide: Trace a family through historical records.
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Catalog searches use the Library of Congress name heading: Churton, William, 1710-1767. Historical-record searches use the person’s name and may include namesakes. Links open in a new tab.
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