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Key local figure

James Hunter

James Hunter (about 1735 to about 1783) came to Orange County as a young man, received a 200-acre grant in its western part in 1757, and became a Regulator leader who helped draft their petitions and Advertisements. After Governor Tryon defeated the Regulators at Alamance in 1771, Hunter was outlawed and his plantation destroyed; he was pardoned about a year later.

Source: NCpedia: Hunter, James

4 works about James Hunter 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.

StorylineThe Hillsborough district superior court, 1767–18061767–1806 · 18 events · The district superior court made Hillsborough a court town, and in the Regulator years it became the place where the Regulators' quarrel with the county officers was fought out. Set at Hillsborough by an act of 1767, it first sat in March 1768. Its September 1768 term tried William Butler and Herman Husband and found Edmund Fanning guilty; later terms threw out the Regulators' bills, and in September 1770 about 150 Regulators broke up the court. Shut by the court-law quarrel after 1772, it sat again on March 24, 1778, and Hillsborough kept its hold on the circuit until the act of 1806. StorylineThe test of allegiance in Orange County, 1775–17821775–1782 · 9 events · During the Revolution, Orange County's new authorities sorted friends from enemies by an oath of allegiance. In 1775 the Provincial Congress at Hillsborough tried persuasion with former Regulators and people of scruple. By 1777 the county court was jailing a man who refused the oath and ordering merchants who had traded with Britain to swear or leave within sixty days. Magistrates tendered the oath district by district in 1778, Loyalist property was inventoried, and in 1782 the Assembly named a commissioner of confiscated estates for the Hillsborough District.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 18 dated events in the chronology →

  1. James Hunter holds land on Stinking Quarter and Sandy creeks Hunter, later a leader of the Regulators, had land on these creeks in western Orange by 1757. Place: Stinking Quarter CreekSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 15
  2. A general Regulator meeting agrees to send twelve men to meet county officials at Thomas Lindley's The meeting agreed to send twelve men and then named thirteen, among them Herman Husband, James Hunter and Rednap Howell, to gather at Lindley's on May 11 in hope of meeting representatives of the officers. The arrests of Husband and William Butler broke up the plan. People: Herman Husband, William Butler (Regulator), Rednap Howell, James Hunter Place: Thomas Lindley's · Also named: Thomas LindleyColonial and State Records of North Carolina, vol. 7, pp. 731-732: Regulators' Advertisement No. 8, minutes of the meeting of April 30, 1768 · Also: Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952
  3. Regulators meeting at George Sally's appoint a committee of eight to petition Governor Tryon Having agreed after the May confrontation to submit their case to the governor, the Regulators met at George Sally's in Orange County, declared their loyalty to King George and named William Moffitt, William Cox, Harmon Cox, John Low, John Marshall, James Hunter, Rednap Howell and George Hendry to gather the complaints into a petition and to implore the governor's pardon in the most submissive manner. People: James Hunter, Rednap Howell Place: Orange County · Also named: William Moffitt, William Cox, Harmon Cox, John Low, John Marshall, George HendryDocumenting the American South, Colonial and State Records: Regulators' Advertisement No. 10, minutes of a meeting of the Regulators, May 21, 1768
  4. James Hunter and Rednap Howell present the Regulators' petition to Tryon at Brunswick The petition, Advertisement Number Nine, carried 474 names, 31 of them written in German. Tryon told the Regulators to give up their name and pay their taxes, but he also warned officers against excess fees and had the lawful fees published. People: James Hunter, William Tryon, Rednap Howell Place: BrunswickLefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 34
  5. James Hunter and John Low deliver a Regulator letter to Governor Tryon at Hillsborough Hunter and John Low waited on Governor Tryon at Hillsborough with a letter from the Regulators. Tryon told them he would answer it on August 17, after consulting his Council. People: William Tryon Place: Hillsborough · Also named: John LowSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Colonial and State Records of North Carolina, Journal of William Tryon's journey to Hillsborough (Jun 20 to Oct 2, 1768)
  6. Grand jury indictments for rout against James Hunter are quashed at the Hillsborough superior court The grand jury returned three indictments for rout naming James Hunter with William Butler, Ninian Hamilton and other Regulators. The court quashed all three for an irregular return and ordered the attorney general to prepare new bills. People: William Butler (Regulator), Richard Henderson, Maurice Moore, Martin Howard, Peter Craven Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Ninian HamiltonSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Colonial and State Records of North Carolina, Minutes of the Hillsborough District Superior Court (Sep 22 to Oct 1, 1768)
  7. Tryon pardons the 1768 protesters except thirteen named leaders His proclamation left out men including James Hunter, Herman Husband, Ninian Bell Hamilton and William Payne. People: James Hunter, Herman Husband, Peter Craven Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Ninian Hamilton, Matthew Hamilton, William Payne, Ninian Bell HamiltonLefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 35 · Also: Nash, Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolutionary
  8. The March 1769 superior court at Hillsborough hears the Regulators' cases against the officers With no troops in town, many Regulators came to the March 1769 court to prosecute the officers, with little success. James Hunter's case was continued, and Fanning was tried again on the old fee charge and formally convicted. Herman Husband had already been acquitted at the September 1768 term. People: Herman Husband, James Hunter, Edmund Fanning Place: HillsboroughInternet Archive: Bassett, The Regulators of North Carolina (1765-1771) (1896), p. 182 · Also: Internet Archive: Hermon Husband, An Impartial Relation
  9. James Hunter presents a Regulator petition to Judge Henderson on the first day of the Hillsborough court On Saturday, the first day of the September 1770 Hillsborough superior court, James Hunter presented Judge Richard Henderson with a petition signed by many Regulators. Henderson put off his answer until Monday, the day the Regulators crowded the courtroom and broke up the court. People: Richard Henderson Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Colonial and State Records of North Carolina, Letter from Richard Henderson to William Tryon (Sep 29, 1770)
  10. The Assembly expels Orange County's member Herman Husband and the Council orders his arrest The House of Assembly resolved that Husband, a principal promoter of the late riots in Orange County and publisher of a seditious letter printed over James Hunter's name, be expelled. The same day the Council unanimously advised his arrest and the Chief Justice issued a warrant; he lay in the New Bern jail until a grand jury found no bill on February 8, 1771. People: Herman Husband, James Hunter, William Tryon, Martin Howard Place: New BernDocumenting the American South, Colonial and State Records: Minutes of the North Carolina Governor's Council, December 20, 1770
  11. James Hunter's family takes refuge at Gilbert Strayhorn's house John A. Freeland, grandson of Alexander Strain, told D. I. Craig that after James Hunter's house was burned and he was outlawed, the Hunter family took refuge at Gilbert Strayhorn's house near New Hope, and that Strayhorn's nephew Alexander Strain met and married Hunter's daughter there. Craig gives no date; the year assumes this was the Regulator James Hunter, outlawed in 1771. People: Gilbert Strayhorn, James Hunter Place: New Hope · Also named: Alexander StrainSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: D. I. Craig, Historical Sketch of New Hope Church in Orange County, N.C. (1891), p. 10
  12. Outlawed Regulator leaders petition Governor Martin for pardon From hiding, some in South Carolina, Jeremiah Field, Ninian Bell Hamilton, Matthew Hamilton, James Hunter, Thomas Welborn, William Butler and John Fruit asked the new governor, Josiah Martin, for pardon. The Assembly asked mercy for all but Husband, Butler and Howell, but Martin waited because Tryon had left the matter to the Crown. People: Josiah Martin, James Hunter, William Butler (Regulator) Place: Orange County · Also named: Jeremiah Field, Ninian Bell Hamilton, Matthew Hamilton, Thomas Welborn, John FruitInternet Archive: Bassett, The Regulators of North Carolina (1765-1771) (1896), p. 207
Show all 18 dated events
  1. Regulators marching on New Bern turn back at Haw River Regulators from Rowan, Orange and Granville gathered under James Hunter to march on New Bern, where Herman Husband was jailed. They broke up at Haw River on hearing that a grand jury had declined to indict him and he had been released on February 8. People: James Hunter, Herman Husband, Rednap Howell Place: Haw RiverNash, Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolutionary (1903), p. 21
  2. A special court at New Bern presents and indicts Husband, Hunter, Butler and Howell for the Hillsborough riot Sitting under Chief Justice Martin Howard with Maurice Moore and Richard Henderson, the special court of oyer and terminer at New Bern received a grand jury presentment against the Regulators who in September last 'broke up that Court' at Hillsborough, and returned indictments for riot against Herman Husband, James Hunter, William Butler and Rednap Howell among others. People: Richard Henderson, Herman Husband, James Hunter, William Butler (Regulator), Maurice Moore, Martin Howard, Rednap Howell Place: New BernDocumenting the American South, Colonial and State Records: Minutes of the New Bern District Court of Oyer and Terminer, including court docket, March 11 to 16, 1771
  3. Regulator threats keep the Hillsborough superior court from sitting At the March 1771 term the Hillsborough District superior court recorded that the Regulators led by Herman Husband, James Hunter, Rednap Howell, William Butler and Samuel Devinney, who had broken up the September court, were still threatening judges, lawyers and officers, so none attended. The court was continued to September 1771. People: William Butler (Regulator), James Hunter, Herman Husband, Rednap Howell, Samuel Devinney Place: Hillsborough · Also mentions: Hillsborough DistrictSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Colonial and State Records, Minutes of the Hillsborough District Superior Court, March 1771
  4. Tryon offers 100 pounds and a thousand acres for Husband, Hunter, Howell and Butler, dead or alive Marching back toward Hillsborough, Tryon proclaimed from Bethabara that Herman Husband, James Hunter, Rednap Howell and William Butler stood outlawed and liable to be shot by anyone, and offered one hundred pounds and one thousand acres of land to whoever brought any of them into his or General Waddell's camp. People: William Tryon, Herman Husband, James Hunter, William Butler (Regulator), Rednap Howell Place: Bethabara · Also named: Hugh WaddellDocumenting the American South, Colonial and State Records: Proclamation by William Tryon concerning a reward for the capture of Regulator leaders, June 9, 1771
  5. Governor Martin summons the judges to Hillsborough over the cases of the outlawed Regulators After Regulator leaders offered to surrender, Martin called the judges to Hillsborough and asked in writing whether their outlawry could be completed and whether they could still be tried. Writing from Hillsborough on August 30, he told London the troubles had been provoked by extortion from attorneys, clerks and other officers. People: Josiah Martin, Richard Henderson, Martin Howard, James Hunter Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Documenting the American South (Colonial and State Records): Letter from Josiah Martin to Wills Hill, Marquis of Downshire, August 30, 1772
  6. Michael Holt turns back from the Loyalist march and later takes the Whig oath Holt took a commission from Governor Martin and started for the Loyalist gathering at Cross Creek, but turned for home with some of his men. After his arrest he was permitted to take the Whig oath of allegiance, as James Hunter later was. People: James Hunter, Josiah Martin Place: Orange County · Also named: Michael HoltSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 44

People named in the same events

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

Account of mob violence witnessed in the courts of New Bern by Richard Henderson

1770

Richard Henderson's account of the mob violence he witnessed in court, written in 1770 and sent on to London. Edmund Fanning, James Hunter and Governor William Tryon all appear, and subjects include weaponry, rebellion, attack, property and civil disturbance. The violence occurred in Hillsborough, the Orange County town at the center of the Regulator quarrel. Reference CO 5/314.

Included because: Catalog heading in the Duke record: Hunter, James.

Duke NC State

Collection of responses to the insurgents by various governors and settlers, and minutes of a council held at Hillsborough, 13th August 1768

1768

Governor William Tryon's council met at Hillsborough on 13 August 1768, and this file gathers its minutes together with replies to the insurgents from governors and settlers. People named include Tryon, James Hunter, William Butler and Tyree Harris, and subjects include rebellion, treason, taxes and civil disturbance. The setting is Orange County itself. Reference CO 5/312.

Included because: Catalog heading in the Duke record: Hunter, James.

Duke NC State

Government Journal documenting insurgent activates and advances

1768

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: Hunter, James.

Duke NC State

Advertisements, financial papers, and the insurgents address delivered to the council on the 20th June 1768

1766

Papers gathered around the Regulator troubles: printed advertisements, financial statements and the address the insurgents delivered to the governor's council on 20 June 1768. William Butler, James Hunter, Edmund Fanning and Isaac Edwards are among the men named, and the papers turn on taxes, grievances, oaths and petitions. Orange County was the center of the rising. Reference CO 5/312.

Included because: Catalog heading in the Duke record: Hunter, James.

Duke NC State

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