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Local figure

Lemuel Lynch

Lemuel Lynch (1808–1893), a silversmith and watchmaker trained in William Huntington's Hillsborough shop, worked in Hillsborough from 1834 until his death. Appointed a justice of the peace in 1841, he held court in the town and repaired and regulated the courthouse cupola clock.

Source: NCpedia: Lynch, Lemuel (Mary R. B. Peacock, Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, 1991)

4 works about Lemuel Lynch 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.

StorylineBuilding the Orange County courthouse, 1842–18461842–1846 · 7 events · Orange County's new courthouse at Hillsborough was disputed from the start, because western voters saw it as a move to fix the county seat and block a division of Orange. In February 1844 the county court voted to build instead of repairing the old courthouse and laid a tax of $8,000. The building commissioners let the contract privately to John Berry of Hillsborough without public notice, and western critics attacked the bargain. Masons laid the cornerstone that September, and Berry's Greek Revival temple-form building was standing by May 1845. The old wooden courthouse became a church, and by mid-July 1846 the repaired town clock was striking the hours from the new cupola.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 24 dated events in the chronology →

During their lifetime

  1. Lemuel Lynch and John Huntington work as partners in Hillsborough Back in Hillsborough by March 1834, the silversmith Lemuel Lynch went into a two-year partnership with John Huntington. Their notices in the Hillsborough Recorder are signed John Huntington and Lemuel Lynch. The Dictionary of North Carolina Biography names the partner as William Huntington, in whose shop Lynch had trained. Afterward Lynch kept his shop alone, perhaps with help from his sons or apprentices. Place: Hillsborough · Also named: John Huntington, William HuntingtonSearch the index · NCpedia: Lynch, Lemuel (Mary R. B. Peacock, Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, 1991) · Also: Hillsborough Recorder, October 22, 1834, p. 3
  2. Lemuel Lynch sets up as a silversmith and jeweler in Hillsborough Lemuel Lynch, who learned his trade from William Huntington and had kept shops in Greensboro and Concord, begins working in Hillsborough, where he stayed for the rest of his life. He had first worked in Hillsborough in 1828, when Huntington sold him his stock of materials and rented him his tools and shop from August 1, calling him an attentive, industrious young man and a good workman. People: William Huntington, Lemuel Lynch Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 333 · Also: Hillsborough Recorder, July 30, 1828, p. 3
  3. Lemuel Lynch signs a Hillsborough town deed as a commissioner Lynch is among the Hillsborough town commissioners whose names appear on the town's deeds in the county register's records, first on November 3, 1838, before the town had a mayor. Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 367-368
  4. Hillsborough elects O. F. Long magistrate of police and seven town commissioners Hillsborough voters chose O. F. Long magistrate of police and elected seven town commissioners, among them Lemuel Lynch, William H. Brown, Isaiah H. Spencer, William Nelson and John A. Faucett, at the town election on February 2, 1839. People: Lemuel Lynch, William H. Brown, William Nelson Place: Hillsborough · Also named: O. F. Long, Isaiah H. Spencer, John A. FaucettSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, February 7, 1839, p. 3
  5. Lemuel Lynch is appointed a justice of the peace Lynch was appointed a justice of the peace in 1841 and afterward held court in Hillsborough. Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · NCpedia: Lynch, Lemuel (Mary R. B. Peacock, Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, 1991)
  6. Hillsborough's town commissioners engage J. Odend'hal to teach the town's English academy Hillsborough's board of commissioners, which owned the town's English Male Academy and had advertised for a teacher at the start of January, engaged J. Odend'hal, a teacher of eleven years' experience, and put the school under the board's superintendence to open on February 1, 1841. People: Edmund Strudwick, Lemuel Lynch, Stephen Moore, William H. Brown, James M. Palmer, John Berry Place: English Male Academy, Hillsborough · Also named: J. Odend'halHillsborough Recorder, January 28, 1841, p. 3
  7. Hillsborough re-elects Stephen Moore magistrate of police and returns its town commissioners In the annual town election, Hillsborough voters re-elected Stephen Moore as magistrate of police and returned the town commissioners for the coming year, among them John Berry, Edmund Strudwick, Lemuel Lynch, William H. Brown and James M. Palmer. People: Stephen Moore, John Berry, Edmund Strudwick, Lemuel Lynch, William H. Brown, James M. Palmer Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, February 11, 1841, p. 3
  8. Hillsborough men form the Washington Temperance Society of Orange County Meeting at the court house, Hillsborough men organized a Washington Temperance Society on the total-abstinence pledge, adopted a constitution and elected Col. Henry Webb president. The drive followed talks in the village by John F. Carey of the Baltimore Washingtonians, and about half the adult men of Hillsborough signed the pledge. People: James C. Turrentine, William Bingham (1835-1873), George Laws, Lemuel Lynch, Walter A. Norwood, Stephen Moore Place: Court house, Hillsborough · Also named: Henry Webb, John F. CareySearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, November 18, 1841, p. 3
  9. Hillsborough elects Thomas Clancy magistrate of police and chooses its town commissioners Hillsborough's annual town election made postmaster Thomas Clancy magistrate of police for the coming year and chose seven commissioners, among them William H. Brown, Lemuel Lynch, John Berry, John Jones, Pride Jones and James Mebane. People: William H. Brown, Lemuel Lynch, John Berry, Pride Jones Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Thomas Clancy, John Jones, James MebaneSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, February 10, 1842, p. 3
  10. Hillsborough elects Richeson Nichols magistrate of police Hillsborough voters chose Richeson Nichols magistrate of police for the coming year and elected Lemuel Lynch, William H. Brown, James M. Palmer, Dr. Pride Jones, Henry K. Nash, John A. Faucett and a Carmichael as town commissioners. People: Lemuel Lynch, William H. Brown, James M. Palmer, Pride Jones, Henry Kollock Nash Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Richeson Nichols, John A. FaucettSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, February 8, 1844, p. 3
  11. Lemuel Lynch becomes Hillsborough's first mayor The silversmith Lemuel Lynch takes office as the first mayor of Hillsborough, which until then had been run by town commissioners and a magistrate of police. People: Lemuel Lynch Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 368
  12. Lemuel Lynch is paid to repair the courthouse clock The old town clock, in storage since the market house came down, was repaired for the new courthouse and by mid-July 1846 was striking the hours from the cupola, where it still hangs. Lemuel Lynch was paid $250 for the work and afterward $25 a year to keep it running on time. People: Lemuel Lynch Place: Orange County Courthouse, HillsboroughSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 22 · Also: Nash, Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolutionary; Hillsborough Recorder, July 23, 1846, p. 3
Show all 23 dated events
  1. Hillsborough tightens its patrol ordinance against enslaved and free Black people The town commissioners repealed the patrol captain's discretion to release or whip enslaved people found off their owners' lots without a pass, and ordered that anyone caught after ten at night be jailed and whipped the next morning unless the owner paid a fine. They also ordered the constable to jail any enslaved or free Black person found drunk in town on a Sunday, the enslaved to be whipped and free people fined two dollars. People: Lemuel Lynch Place: HillsboroughHillsborough Recorder, February 11, 1847, p. 3
  2. Hillsborough commissioners drop the paid town patrol for citizen patrol duty The Hillsborough commissioners repealed the ordinance that let the magistrate of police hire two paid patrolmen and made Thomas Faucett town constable and collector. They ordered the clerk to list the men liable to patrol duty so the magistrate could call out a patrol company every week. People: Thomas Faucett, A. C. Murdock, Lemuel Lynch Place: HillsboroughHillsborough Recorder, August 28, 1850, p. 3
  3. Hillsborough elects a Know Nothing slate in its town elections In the town election of February 3, 1855, Hillsborough voters chose a Nativist (American Party) ticket: Lemuel Lynch as magistrate of police and James C. Turrentine, Josiah Turner Sr., George Laws, Charles M. Latimer, Levin Carmichael, Joseph Reese and J. J. Freeland as commissioners. The same year the county's congressional vote went to the Know Nothing candidate. People: George Laws, Lemuel Lynch, James C. Turrentine, John J. Freeland Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Levin Carmichael, Charles M. Latimer, Josiah Turner Sr.Search the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 87 · Also: Hillsborough Recorder, February 7, 1855, p. 2
  4. Lemuel Lynch serves a second term as mayor of Hillsborough Ten years after becoming the town's first mayor, Lynch succeeded A. C. Murdock and served a year, followed by James M. Palmer. People: A. C. Murdock, James M. Palmer Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 368 · Also: Hillsborough Recorder, February 7, 1855, p. 2
  5. Hillsborough re-elects Josiah Turner Sr. a town commissioner In the town election Hillsborough chose Maj. James M. Palmer magistrate of police and elected Josiah Turner Sr., George Laws, James C. Turrentine, Lemuel Lynch, Levin Carmichael, Henry Richards and A. W. Hedgepeth commissioners. The board then re-elected Robert F. Pleasants town constable and John Laws treasurer. People: Josiah Turner Sr., James M. Palmer, George Laws, James C. Turrentine, Lemuel Lynch Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Levin Carmichael, Henry Richards, A. W. Hedgepeth, Robert F. Pleasants, John LawsSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, February 6, 1856, p. 2
  6. Hillsborough's commissioners organize the town patrol into weekly companies Meeting on the evening of Saturday, April 5, the Hillsborough commissioners ordered the town collector to give the magistrate of police a list of every citizen liable for patrol duty, the night watch kept over enslaved people. A committee of the magistrate and three commissioners was to form them into companies, one to be called out each week. People: James M. Palmer, George Laws, Lemuel Lynch Place: HillsboroughHillsborough Recorder, April 9, 1856, p. 3
  7. Hillsborough's commissioners pass ordinances against nuisances At a called meeting, Hillsborough's town commissioners made it an offense to keep a lot, house or cellar in a state that endangered the town's health, with a five-dollar fine and three dollars more for every day the nuisance stood after notice, and fined anyone who threw nuisances into the streets two dollars. An enslaved offender could instead be whipped, up to thirty-nine lashes, at the discretion of the magistrate of police. People: Lemuel Lynch, James C. Turrentine Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, July 30, 1856, p. 3
  8. The Court of Wardens of the Poor holds its last meeting The seven-member wardens' court, which had run poor relief and the county poorhouse, met for the last time before the new board of county commissioners took over its work. People: Lemuel Lynch, John Wesley Carr, James C. Turrentine, Nelson Parrish Hall Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 188
  9. Orange County's first elected board of commissioners takes office Elected in April 1868 at the election that ratified the new constitution, five commissioners qualified at the courthouse and chose Lemuel Lynch chairman, replacing the old county court of justices. Within days the newly elected sheriff, treasurer, register of deeds and clerk of superior court gave their bonds. People: John U. Kirkland, Jones Watson, David C. Parks, George Laws, Lemuel Lynch, William N. Patterson Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 193 · Also: Hillsborough Recorder, April 29, 1868, p. 2
  10. Mayor Andrew C. Murdock of Hillsborough dies Andrew C. Murdock, a Hillsborough magistrate and the town's mayor at his death, died of asthma on May 27 in his sixty-fourth year and was buried with Masonic honors. The probate judge appointed Lemuel Lynch magistrate in his place, and the town commissioners named Thomas Webb mayor. People: A. C. Murdock, Lemuel Lynch, Thomas Webb Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, May 31, 1876, p. 3
  11. Lemuel Lynch, Hillsborough's first mayor and its oldest citizen, dies Lemuel Lynch, the Hillsborough silversmith who had been the town's first mayor, died at his home after a long illness in his 86th year; the paper believed him Hillsborough's oldest citizen. His funeral was held from the Presbyterian church the next afternoon. Place: His home, HillsboroughSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), September 23, 1893, p. 3

After their death in 1893

Later events: estates and burials, and the buildings, honors and histories that remember them.

  1. Maude Faucette dies at 97 and leaves part of her estate to Fairfield Presbyterian Church The last descendant of builder David Faucette died in the family house in 1983. Her will gave a quarter of her property, with family portraits, to Fairfield Presbyterian Church near Efland, where she had been a lifelong member; silver spoons by Lemuel Lynch found in her papers went to the Hillsborough Historical Museum. People: Lemuel Lynch Place: David Faucette House, 1830 Halls Mill Road at the Eno River, north of Efland · Also named: Maude Faucette, David Faucette · Also mentions: Fairfield Presbyterian ChurchSearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: David Faucette House, National Register nomination (OR1376), p. 9

People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as Lemuel Lynch, 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.

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Indexed works

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

Fiddle back, Double-tipped End Coin Silver Teaspoons

Lynch, Lemuel, 1820-1893 · 1840

Pair of coin silver teaspoons in the fiddle back pattern with double-tipped ends, about 1840 to 1870, marked Lemuel Lynch on the back along with pseudo-hallmarks of a head, a D and a lion. Lynch, born at Back Creek in Orange County, trained under William Huntington in Hillsborough before setting up as a silversmith in Greensboro.

Included because: Listed as its creator.

DigitalNC DPLA

Lemuel Lynch Seal

Lynch, Lemuel, 1820-1893 · 1840

Copper plate seal that Lemuel Lynch, a Hillsborough jeweler and watchmaker who died in 1893, used as his mark. Dated 1840 to 1870. Part of the Images of North Carolina collection.

Included because: Listed as its creator.

DigitalNC DPLA

Teaspoon

Lynch, Lemuel, 1820-1893 · 1840

Teaspoon in the fiddle pattern with an angular shoulder above a pointed bowl and a slightly upturned tip, stamped L Lynch on the back. Hillsborough silversmith Lemuel Lynch made it between about 1840 and 1870.

Included because: Listed as its creator.

DigitalNC DPLA

Thomas and Mary Bingham Lynch Papers,

Lynch, Thomas · 1794

About 600 family letters of Thomas Lynch, a Presbyterian minister in the Orange Presbytery, and his wife Mary Bingham Lynch, with dates beginning in 1794. There is material on their son W. B. Lynch, who ran an academy at High Point, and on Major Robert Bingham, head of the Bingham School in Orange County. Topics also include Lemuel Lynch and silversmith and jewelry work. At Duke's Rubenstein Library.

Included because: Listed as its creator.

Duke

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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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