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Local figure

Abner Nash

Abner Nash moved to Hillsborough, then called Childsburgh, in 1762 or early 1763 and stayed long enough to buy town lots, dam the Eno River and build the town's first mill before settling in Halifax by 1764. Elected the state's second governor in 1780, he died in New York City in 1786 while attending Congress.

Source: NCpedia: Nash, Abner (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography)

1740–1786 · Dates from the Library of Congress · Library of Congress authority record ↗

28 works about Abner Nash are indexed here.

Search these works Research sources View indexed works ↓
Abner Nash, posthumous portrait by James Littlejohn Busbee, 1908–1909
Abner Nash, posthumous portrait by James Littlejohn Busbee, 1908–1909

Life and Orange County connections

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

Hillsborough as the southern army’s base after Camden, 17801780 · 15 events · After the American defeat at Camden in August 1780, Hillsborough became the southern army's base, and the town and county strained to feed it. Gates regrouped his army there, the General Assembly created a Board of War that directed the war effort from the town, the courthouse became a storehouse and the church a hospital, and fugitives crowded the town. In late November the board judged that Orange could not feed the army through the winter, and Gates marched it toward Salisbury. The story runs from de Kalb's halt in June to the arrest of four Maryland soldiers in December.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 8 dated events in the chronology →

  1. Abner Nash settles briefly in Hillsborough and builds the town's first mill on the Eno The Virginia lawyer Abner Nash moved to Hillsborough, then called Childsburgh, in 1762 or early 1763 with his younger brother Francis. He bought town lots, dammed the Eno River and built the town's first mill before moving to Halifax by 1764. People: Francis NashSearch the index · NCpedia: Nash, Abner (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography)
  2. Abner Nash and James Milner sue Herman Husband for their legal fees Husband had given notes to the lawyers Abner Nash and James Milner while he was a prisoner in September 1768, and refused to pay them at the March 1769 court, arguing the notes were taken under duress and that the lawyers had broken their promise to plead the Regulators' cause across the province. At the September 1769 superior court in Hillsborough each lawyer sued him for debt, and the suits were continued. People: Abner NashSearch the index · Internet Archive: Archibald Henderson, ed., "Hermon Husband's Continuation of the Impartial Relation", North Carolina Historical Review 18 (1941), p. 53
  3. Juries reject Herman Husband's plea of duress in the lawyers' fee suits At the March 1770 superior court in Hillsborough, James Milner sued Husband for 50 pounds and Abner Nash for 325 pounds. Henderson says the juries found no duress but assessed only sixpence damages, and Milner moved in arrest of judgment. By Husband's own account the court would not let his witnesses be sworn and the jury gave both verdicts against him without leaving their seats. Judgments for the full sums followed, and when execution was levied on his land a crowd of his neighbors stopped the sale. People: Abner Nash, Marmaduke JonesSearch the index · Internet Archive: Archibald Henderson, ed., "Hermon Husband's Continuation of the Impartial Relation", North Carolina Historical Review 18 (1941), p. 53
  4. Provincial Congress at Hillsborough elects a Provincial Council to govern between sessions On September 9, 1775, the Congress at Hillsborough elected a thirteen-member Provincial Council to direct the army and militia during its recess: Samuel Johnston for the province at large and two members for each of the six districts, among them Abner Nash and James Coor for New Bern and Thomas Person and John Kinchen for Hillsborough. People: Samuel Johnston, Samuel Ashe, Willie Jones, Waightstill Avery, Thomas Person, Cornelius Harnett, John Kinchen, Samuel SpencerSearch the index · Colonial and State Records of North Carolina: Minutes of the Provincial Congress of North Carolina, Aug 20 to Sep 10, 1775 (vol. 10, pp. 164–220)
  5. Horatio Gates, on his way to the Southern Army, presses the governor for supplies from Hillsborough Writing from Hillsborough, Gates told Governor Abner Nash that the army's commissary and quartermaster departments were in a deplorable state, asked the state to set up magazines of provisions and forage and to supply 700 tents for its militia, and urged Nash to come to Hillsborough himself. People: Abner NashSearch the index · Colonial and State Records of North Carolina, vol. 15, pp. 3-4: Letter from Horatio Gates to Abner Nash, July 19, 1780
  6. General Assembly meets at Hillsborough and creates a Board of War Meeting at Hillsborough under Governor Abner Nash, the Assembly levied a provision tax in kind to supply the army and navy, passed acts on treason trials and confiscated property, and created a five-member Board of War. The Board of War held its first meeting in Hillsborough on September 14, 1780. People: Alexander Martin, Abner Nash, Thomas BenburyColonial and State Records of North Carolina: Acts of the North Carolina General Assembly, 1780 (September session; vol. 24, pp. 344–357)
  7. Assembly at Hillsborough elects Abner Nash and Hugh Williamson delegates to Congress On May 3, 1782, a joint ballot of the General Assembly at Hillsborough elected Abner Nash, Hugh Williamson, Benjamin Hawkins and William Blount as the state's delegates to Congress for the year. Nash had been returned to the House for Jones County, and Williamson sat for the town of Edenton. People: Hugh Williamson, William Blount, Benjamin HawkinsSearch the index · Colonial and State Records of North Carolina: Minutes of the North Carolina House of Commons, Apr 16 to May 18, 1782 (vol. 16, pp. 1–177)
  8. General Assembly at Hillsborough opens the western land office and passes an act of pardon Meeting at Hillsborough, the Assembly re-elected Alexander Martin governor and chose Hugh Williamson, Benjamin Hawkins, Abner Nash and Richard Dobbs Spaight as delegates to Congress. Its laws opened a land office for western lands to redeem specie certificates and pay army arrears, and an Act of Pardon and Oblivion covered wartime offenses, with exceptions. People: Alexander Martin, Abner Nash, Hugh Williamson, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Richard Caswell, Benjamin HawkinsColonial and State Records of North Carolina: Minutes of the North Carolina Senate, Apr 18 to May 17, 1783 (vol. 19, pp. 129–232)

People named in the same events

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

Filter these works by material, period, or place. Counts refer to works, not individual copies. A work may appear under more than one period or place.

Material

Histories 24Letters & correspondence 6Historical sources 4Maps 1Photographs & portraits 1

Period

18th century 24Revolution (1775–1783) 23

Place

Hillsborough 28North Carolina (statewide) 27Orange County 27Eno River 26Chapel Hill 5Granville County (neighboring) 5

Mary Claire Engstrom photographic collection, 1930s-1979 (bulk 1950s-1976).

Engstrom, Mary Claire, 1906-1997 · 1934

Photographs gathered by Mary Claire Engstrom (1906-1997), dated from the 1930s to 1979 with most falling between the 1950s and 1976, about 2,140 items in 4.4 linear feet in UNC's North Carolina Collection. Subjects include historic buildings in Hillsborough and Orange County, the Alexander Dixon House, the Nash Hooper Graham House, Bingham School, Nash and Kollock School, the Hillsboro' Military Academy, Carrboro views, and the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Nash, Abner, Approximately 1740-1786.

UNC

Session of November 1792-January 1793: Miscellaneous Petitions (1 of 2)

North Carolina. General Assembly · 1792

First of two folders of miscellaneous petitions to the General Assembly, November 1792 to January 1793. Petitioners include Andrew Burke, Edward and Thomas Munford, Elizabeth Allen and the inhabitants of Goose Creek, on matters ranging from debts, canals and fisheries to crime and county boundaries. Orange County is one of many places named. Eighty-eight images.

Included because: Catalog heading in the NC Digital Collections record: Nash, Abner, Approximately 1740-1786.

NC Digital Collections

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

Session of November-December 1789: Joint Select Committees: Reports and papers, December 3 - December 14

North Carolina. General Assembly · 1789

Reports and papers of joint select committees of the General Assembly, 3 to 14 December 1789. They include a report on warrants drawn for Colonel Alexander Outlaw's guard station on the Tennessee River and one on a petition of Timothy Riggs, Rutherford County surveyor. Orange is among the counties named. Seventy-seven images.

Included because: Catalog heading in the NC Digital Collections record: Nash, Abner, Approximately 1740-1786.

NC Digital Collections

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

May 12: House bill to appoint certain persons to revise all the laws currently in force in the state (laid over)

North Carolina. General Assembly · 1784

Laid over in May 1784, a House bill naming men to revise all the laws then in force in North Carolina. James Iredell, Samuel Johnston and Abner Nash are connected with it, along with the printing of the laws. From the General Assembly's Hillsborough session; three images.

Included because: Catalog heading in the NC Digital Collections record: Nash, Abner, Approximately 1740-1786.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

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

Joint Papers: Material sent for perusal

North Carolina. General Assembly · 1783

Material sent to the North Carolina General Assembly for perusal in 1783, 16 images. Richard Caswell, Abner Nash and Samuel Ashe appear, and the papers touch on admiralty, the courts, public debt and the Continental Congress.

Included because: Catalog heading in the DPLA record: Nash, Abner, Approximately 1740-1786.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

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

Apr.-May, 1782 Jt. Select Comm., Reports and Papers (petitions, messages, etc.) April. 17-27

North Carolina. General Assembly · 1782

Joint select committee reports and papers of the 1782 General Assembly at Hillsborough, covering 16 to 27 April. They answer the governor's messages and resolves of the Continental Congress and take up a petition from Wilmington inhabitants. Names include Alexander Martin, Abner Nash, Henry Pattillo, William Sharpe and John Springer; Quakers, slavery, soldiers' wages and the Continental Navy also appear. 116 pages.

Included because: Catalog heading in the NC Digital Collections record: Nash, Abner, Approximately 1740-1786.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

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

Show 6 more

Senate Joint Resolutions, May 7 - May 15

North Carolina. General Assembly · 1782

Senate joint resolutions of 7 to 15 May 1782, 76 images with messages, a committee report and petitions. Among them: Francis Newby of Franklin County, David Marshall of New Bern, and Dennis O'Bryan, George Duncan and Joseph Pitman of Granville County. Thomas Burke, Willie Jones and Waightstill Avery figure in the papers, and Hillsborough is among the places tied to them.

Included because: Catalog heading in the DPLA record: Nash, Abner, Approximately 1740-1786.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

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

Senate Joint Resolutions: February 1-2

North Carolina. General Assembly · 1781

Resolutions of 1 and 2 February 1781 before the North Carolina Senate, 33 images: a flag of truce to Charles Town carrying supplies for prisoners, a rejected purchase of arms taken at Kings Mountain, pay for John Haywood as secretary of the board of war, and Anthony Bledsoe's appointment as lieutenant colonel of militia. William R. Davie and Isaac Shelby are also named.

Included because: Catalog heading in the NC Digital Collections record: Nash, Abner, Approximately 1740-1786.

NC Digital Collections

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

August-September, 1780: Joint Select Committees (Reports of and messages concerning)

North Carolina. General Assembly · 1780

Reports and messages of joint select committees from August and September 1780, when the General Assembly met at Hillsborough after the defeat at Camden. Committees worked on supplies and provisions for the army and the adjustment of public claims. Horatio Gates, Richard Caswell, Abner Nash, William Hooper, hospitals, surgeons, cavalry and wagons all appear. 88 pages.

Included because: Catalog heading in the NC Digital Collections record: Nash, Abner, Approximately 1740-1786.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

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

Governor Abner Nash correspondence: May 2, 1780-June 2, 1781, n.d.

Martin, Alexander, 1740-1807 · 1780

Abner Nash's correspondence as governor from 2 May 1780 to 2 June 1781, with some undated pieces, in 68 images that include letters and resolutions. Nash served as the state's second governor, 1780 to 1781. Topics include military bounties, prisoners of war, debt, wages, the Continental Army and the French navy, with Hillsborough and Orange County among the places concerned.

Included because: Catalog heading in the NC Digital Collections record: Nash, Abner, Approximately 1740-1786.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

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

Governors' Papers: Abner Nash, Correspondence, August 1780

Williams, William · 1780

Governor Abner Nash's letters for August 1780, the month of the American defeat at Camden, in 51 images. William Williams is among the writers, and Richard Caswell, Alexander Martin, Thomas Jefferson and the Continental Congress are named, as are Hillsborough and Chatham, Hyde and Pasquotank counties.

Included because: Catalog heading in the NC Digital Collections record: Nash, Abner, Approximately 1740-1786.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

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

Governors' Papers: Abner Nash, Correspondence, October 1780

Salter, Robert · 1780

Correspondence of Governor Abner Nash for October 1780, in 35 images, with Robert Salter among the writers. Names include Robert Howe, Samuel Huntington, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Caswell and Alexander Martin, and Hillsborough, Hyde and Pitt counties also appear.

Included because: Catalog heading in the DPLA record: Nash, Abner, Approximately 1740-1786.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

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

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Picture: Abner Nash, posthumous portrait by James Littlejohn Busbee, 1908–1909. Public domain. Photograph by James Littlejohn Busbee (1870–1947); MUSEUMOFHISTORY North Carolina Museum of History; via Wikimedia Commons

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