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Local figure

William Courtney

William Courtney, a Quaker or of Quaker family and a fairly recent arrival in Hillsborough, kept a tavern in the town in 1777–1779 and was one of its first town commissioners under the state. He represented Hillsborough in the House of Commons in 1777 and 1778 and was a county magistrate and member of the county court.

Source: Nash, Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolutionary (1903), p. 71

2 works about William Courtney are indexed here.

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Life and Orange County connections

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

StorylineChapel Hill's first inns and taverns, 1793–18051793–1805 · 7 events · The county court licensed Chapel Hill's first taverns as taverns at the University, beginning in 1793 with James Patterson, Old East's contractor, whose inn was the starting point of the cornerstone procession. William and Betsy Nunn bought it in 1795 and added a tavern, the trustees barred students from taverns without leave in 1796, and John Taylor Sr. opened a second tavern by 1799. Betsy Nunn ran the inn from about 1805 until her death, and it stayed in the Nunn family for more than half a century. StorylineThe county court tries enslaved defendants, 1793–18281793–1828 · 12 events · Enslaved men accused of crimes in Orange County were tried at Hillsborough, first before a called court of justices and freeholders and later before juries in the county and Superior courts. Between 1793 and 1828 some were discharged when no one proved the charge and juries acquitted others of murder, while the court sentenced Bob to whipping, mutilation and branding, Joshua and Jim to hang, and Sam to branding under the benefit of clergy. In 1818 the court bound over Samuel Strudwick for the death of a woman he enslaved and had whipped.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 10 dated events in the chronology →

  1. James Watson becomes register of Orange County and a Hillsborough commissioner under the new state When county government resumed under statehood in 1777, James Watson was the county's register and one of the first commissioners of the town of Hillsborough, with William Johnston, James Hogg, John Shields and William Courtney. People: James Watson, William Johnston, James Hogg, William Courtney Place: Hillsborough · Also named: John ShieldsSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 46
  2. William Courtney buys the East King Street lots from Ralph McNair William Courtney bought from Ralph McNair the lots at 141 East King Street where the house later called William Courtney's Yellow House stands. People: Ralph McNair, William Courtney Place: William Courtney's Yellow House, 141 East King Street, Hillsborough · Also mentions: East King StreetSearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation, National Register (OR0077ad, 2014), 141 E. King Street (William Courtney's Yellow House)
  3. William Courtney is one of the first Hillsborough town commissioners under the state When the new state government was organized, the commissioners for the town of Hillsborough were William Johnston, James Hogg, John Sheels (Shields), William Courtney and James Watson. People: William Johnston, James Hogg, James Watson Place: Hillsborough · Also named: John SheelsSearch the index · Nash, Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolutionary (1903), p. 71
  4. William Courtney represents the town of Hillsborough in the House of Commons Courtney held Hillsborough's borough seat in the House of Commons in the Assemblies of 1777 and 1778. At the August 1778 session held in Hillsborough he sat on joint committees on Indian affairs and on claims. Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Nash, Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolutionary (1903), p. 71
  5. The Orange County court sits for the first time under the new state The May 1777 court recorded 22 justices commissioned by Governor Richard Caswell, and eleven took the state oath and their seats. It named Alexander Mebane Jr., son of the first sheriff, as the first sheriff under statehood and county treasurer, and appointed 33 road overseers. People: Richard Caswell, Nathaniel Rochester, John Butler, William Courtney, Alexander Mebane Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Alexander Mebane Jr.Search the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 173
  6. The Assembly orders a new courthouse built at Hillsborough Nathaniel Rochester and William Courtney oversaw the work. Planned in brick but built of wood because of wartime shortages, it was one room about 40 by 25 feet near the present courthouse site and served until fire destroyed it in late 1789 or 1790. People: Nathaniel Rochester, William Courtney Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 48
  7. William Courtney serves as state senator for Orange County In 1780 William Courtney was Orange County's senator in the General Assembly, while William McCauley and Mark Patterson represented the county and Thomas Tulloch the town in the House of Commons. People: William McCauley Place: Orange County · Also named: Mark Patterson, Thomas TullochSearch the index · Nash, Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolutionary (1903), p. 88
  8. The court licenses James Patterson to keep a tavern at the University James Patterson obtained an order of the court to keep a tavern at the University and gave bond of 500 pounds with William Courtney as surety. People: William Courtney Place: The University seat (later Chapel Hill) · Also named: James PattersonMark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: August Term 1793
  9. A jury convicts Isaac, a man enslaved by William Lytle, on a charge the minutes do not name In State v. Isaac, a man held in slavery by William Lytle, a jury of twelve heard Africa, a man enslaved by William Courtney, and Silvia, a woman enslaved by a man whose name the transcription leaves unclear, testify for the State, and found Isaac guilty as charged. The minutes do not give the charge or the sentence. People: William Courtney Place: Hillsborough (county court) · Also named: William Lytle, Africa, Isaac, SilviaMark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: August Term 1795
  10. William Courtney mortgages a man named Africa to William Cain William Courtney of Orange County pledged an enslaved man known as Africa to William Cain as security for 200 pounds, the bill of sale to be void if Courtney repaid the debt with interest by the following February 28. People: William Cain Sr., William Courtney Place: Orange County · Also named: William CainOrange County Register of Deeds: Deed Book 7, p. 321 (deed image) · Also: Orange County Register of Deeds: sales of enslaved people, 1761-1867; Orange County Indexed: the record of Deed Book 7/321, with everyone named in it; Mark Chilton’s abstract of Deed Book 7/321, in Orange County Indexed’s historic deeds

People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as William Courtney, 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 William Courtney. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it. Background reading appears below.

Joint Standing Committees: Committee of Propositions and Grievances, Nov. 10 - Nov. 24

North Carolina. General Assembly · 1788

Reports of the General Assembly's Committee of Propositions and Grievances, 10 to 24 November 1788, in 124 images. The first day's business covered petitions from William Jamison, William Courtney and Wilson Taylor, and one from western inhabitants about the price of entering land. Later papers deal with loyalists, disabled veterans, orphans, sheriffs, pardons, and matters in Hillsborough and Orange County.

Included because: Their name appears in the record.

NC Digital Collections

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Senate Bills (April 22): Bill to vest title of a lot in William Courtney, Esquire

North Carolina. General Assembly · 1780

Senate bill of April 1780 from the North Carolina General Assembly to vest title to a lot in William Courtney. It belongs to the Revolutionary-era business of confiscated loyalist property, and Hillsborough figures in it. Eight page images.

Included because: Their name appears in the record.

NC Digital Collections

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

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, 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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Research sources

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.

Background

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Records of the time

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  • NC LIVE: prepared search for William Courtney 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.
  • 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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