Skip to content
Orange County Public Library (opens the library’s website in a new tab)

Storyline

Mothers and the county court’s bindings, 1777–1868

Mothers in the apprentice records: women who asked the court to bind their children to masters they chose, who swore complaints or sued out habeas corpus for them, and whose children the court returned to them or bound to them.

In briefThe apprentice records show mothers acting for their children against the county court's power to bind them out. In 1777 the court returned Michael Riley to his mother, Mary Manakin. Mothers left without support asked the court to bind their children to masters they named, and free Black women did the same; in 1836 Jemima Mitchell set terms for her son's binding. Others went to law: Sarah Rickets's attorney won a writ of habeas corpus for her daughter in 1795. The court bound some children to their own mothers and returned others to them, and in 1868 it rescinded the binding of Calvin Godfrey because he was working for wages paid to his mother.

Read the full storyRead the 38 eventsAll storylines

Read the events and sources below.

No works in the index are currently linked directly to this storyline. The works below provide background on Law, Courts & Justice.

Browse all 722 works on Law, Courts & Justice Research sources View background reading ↓

The full story

The apprentice records show mothers acting for their children against the county court's power to bind them out, that is, to place them with masters as apprentices. In 1777 the court returned Michael Riley to his mother, Mary Manakin. Mothers left without support asked the court to bind their children to masters they named, among them Mary Underwood in 1792 and Polly Sullivan in 1820, and free women of color did the same: Lucy Morgan in 1828, and Jemima Mitchell, who set terms for her son's binding in 1836. Sarah Rickets's attorney won a writ of habeas corpus for her daughter in 1795, and Sarah Jackson moved in 1839 to take her son from his master. The court bound some children to their own mothers, among them Edy Weaver's five in 1804 and Elizabeth Mayho's four in 1836, and returned others to them, among them Jethro Pettiford in 1797, Thomas Day in 1850 and several boys in 1850 and 1851. In 1868 it rescinded the binding of Calvin Godfrey because he was working for wages paid to his mother.

In the chronology

Events in this storyline, in date order. See these 38 dated events in the chronology →

  1. The court orders Michael Riley returned to his mother, Mary Manakin The county court ordered that Michael Riley, a boy earlier bound to William Galbreath, be delivered to his mother, Mary Manakin, and had the sheriff serve Galbreath with a copy of the order. The minute gives no reason.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  2. The court has Mary Combs's child brought in by habeas corpus and gives it to her On a motion by Joseph Taylor, the county court ordered the child that Mary Combs had charged to James Miller brought into court, and on the sheriff's return of a habeas corpus for the child, then in the care of a Williams, ordered it delivered to its mother.Mark Chilton, Natural Child: Legitimacy, Sexuality and Shame in the Court Records of Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  3. The court grants Mary Underwood's petition to bind out her two children The court granted a petition from Mary Underwood, who said her husband Samuel had left her about four years before without support and was reported dead, asking that her two children be bound to masters she named. Her son Joseph, about twelve, was bound to William Patterson to learn shoemaking and to read, write and cipher, and her daughter Jean, about six, to John Ray, who was to teach her to read the Bible and give her a new spinning wheel.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  4. The court orders Thomas Nelson to bring in the child Patty Williams says he took from her On a motion by Patty Williams through her attorney Samuel Benton, the court issued a habeas corpus ordering Thomas Nelson, the reputed father of her child, to bring the child into court at once so it could inquire why he held it. Her motion said Nelson had lately taken the child by force and kept it from her.Search the index · Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: May Term 1794
  5. The court issues a habeas corpus for Sarah Rickets's daughter Polly, held by Absalom Roach On the motion of John Williams, Sarah Rickets's attorney, the court ordered a writ of habeas corpus commanding Absalom Roach to bring her daughter Polly Rickets before the court so it could decide what to do with the child, and enlarged the rule to the third day of the next court. In August 1799 the court bound Mary Rickets, daughter of Sarah Rickets, and Sarah's son William to Valentine Moore.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  6. The court has the sheriff bring in Mary and Ann Moore, children of James Moore, reported in want Told that Mary and Ann Moore, children of James Moore born outside marriage, were in want and distress, the court ordered the sheriff to bring them to the next court so it could provide for them. In 1806 James Moore gave bond for a child of Mary Moore, and in 1809 the court ordered him to pay her 27 pounds 10 shillings.Mark Chilton, Natural Child: Legitimacy, Sexuality and Shame in the Court Records of Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  7. The court orders John Marshall to produce Sarah Jones on Hannah Jones's petition Hannah Jones swore in open court that John Marshall held her daughter Sarah, an orphan, under an indenture made without the court's order and would not let her go, and she asked for a writ of habeas corpus. The court issued the writ requiring Marshall to bring Sarah into court, then enlarged the order and had the sheriff bring the child to the next term. In February Term 1797 the court bound Sarah, nearly fifteen, to Marshall to learn spinning.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  8. The court orders Jethro Pettiford, a free boy of color offered for sale as though enslaved, returned to his mother The court found that Jethro Pettiford, a free boy of color about seventeen years old, had been brought into the county and offered for sale by Adam Marley "as a Slave" (the minutes' words) and had been for some time in the care of William Partin. It ordered Partin to deliver the boy to his mother, Patience Pettiford of Nash County.Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: May Term 1797
  9. The court jails Susannah Jackson until she gives up her children to be bound out After the grand jury presented the children of William Jackson as coming under the orphan law, the court ordered the sheriff to bring them in and to notify their mother, with whom they lived in town. When she refused to give them up, the court ordered the sheriff to take Susannah Jackson into custody until she produced the children, calling her refusal a contempt of its order.Search the index · Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: May Term 1798
  10. The court binds Nancy Jackson to Levi Whitehead, named as her reputed father The county court bound Nancy Jackson, aged eight, daughter of Mary Jackson Collins and the reputed daughter of Levi Whitehead, to Levi Whitehead until she came of age; her indenture of 31 August was to teach her spinning.Mark Chilton, Natural Child: Legitimacy, Sexuality and Shame in the Court Records of Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  11. The court binds Margaret Crayton, Elizabeth Wells's daughter, to Levi Gifford The county court bound Margaret Crayton, daughter of Elizabeth Wells, who would turn three on 8 December, to Levi Gifford until she was eighteen, to learn spinning.Mark Chilton, Natural Child: Legitimacy, Sexuality and Shame in the Court Records of Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  12. The court binds Edy Weaver's five children to their mother, a free woman of color The county court bound Tabitha, Major, David, Sally and William Weaver to their mother, Edy Weaver, until they came of age, the girls to learn spinning and the boys farming. At the previous term the court had ordered Sterling Harris to bring Tabitha, Salley and Major Weaver, children of Edy Weaver, a free woman of color, to court to be bound out as apprentices.Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: February Term 1804
Show all 38 dated events
  1. The court binds William McCaddam to Edward Faucett, the man his mother named as his father At the May 1806 term the court bound seven-year-old William McCaddam, son of Elizabeth McCaddam, to Edward Faucett (written Fossett) to learn farming until he came of age; the indenture is dated 29 May 1806. In July 1798, shortly before the boy's birth, Elizabeth McAdams had named Edward Faucett as the father of her expected child, and he signed the bastardy bond that December.Mark Chilton, Natural Child: Legitimacy, Sexuality and Shame in the Court Records of Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  2. The court frees Fanny Smith, a free girl of color, from her master and binds her to her mother On application the court released John Taylor Jr. from his covenant for Fanny Smith, a free girl of color it had bound to him some time before, and bound her instead to her mother, Lucy Smith, until she came of age, to learn spinning.Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: August Term 1806
  3. On a grand jury presentment, the court orders orphans and children of single mothers brought in to be bound out On the motion of Reuben Wood and the grand jury's presentment, the court ordered the sheriff to bring to the next court three orphan sons of the late Joseph Pender, two children of Creecy Pender, Gilbert Hopkins (son of Milley Hopkins), Elzey Wood (son of Viny Wood) and the children of Ruth Delily and of Hannah Wa[bbleton?], to be bound out or otherwise disposed of.Mark Chilton, Natural Child: Legitimacy, Sexuality and Shame in the Court Records of Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  4. The court makes Henry Berry pay for the keep of Robert Alves Pinkerton After a grand jury reported in August 1808 that Elizabeth Pinkerton's small son was in a suffering condition at Anne Jordan's house and the sheriff took him into custody, the court ordered Henry Berry, as his reputed father, to pay Anne Jordan £15 for the boy's keep from his birth and Sheriff Samuel Turrentine £5 for three months' keep. The court bound the boy to Captain Robert Morrow and directed the rest of Berry's support to Morrow.Mark Chilton, Natural Child: Legitimacy, Sexuality and Shame in the Court Records of Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  5. The court binds three-year-old Rebecca Baldwin to her mother, Elizabeth Woods The court bound Rebecca Baldwin, aged three, daughter of Elizabeth Woods, to Elizabeth Woods herself until she came of age, to learn spinning. The indenture was dated 14 June 1810.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  6. Sally Riggs names Samuel McBroom as the father of her son Sally Riggs named Samuel McBroom as the father of her son. In 1815 the court bound Willis McBroom to Sally Riggs, his own mother.Mark Chilton, Natural Child: Legitimacy, Sexuality and Shame in the Court Records of Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  7. The court binds Willis McBroom to his own mother, Sally Riggs The court bound Willis McBroom, about five, son of Sally Riggs, to his mother until he came of age. Her bond, dated 28 November 1815, bound him to her to learn farming.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  8. The court binds John Long to his own mother, Catharine Long The court bound John Long, five, son of Catharine Long, to his mother until he came of age, to learn farming.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  9. Polly Sullivan asks the court to bind her son Joseph to John Long Polly Sullivan petitioned the court, saying she could not support her son Joseph, nearly nine, and asking that he be bound to John Long. The court bound Joseph to Long to learn farming and her daughter Nancy, nearly twelve, to Long to learn spinning. In October 1829 Long advertised Joseph, then nearly eighteen, as a runaway bound boy.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  10. The court calls in the children of Polly Elliott and of two Polly Starks to be bound out At the November 1822 term the court ordered the sheriff to bring to the next court three children of Polly Elliott, two children of Mrs. Polley Stark, three children of Miss Polley Stark and an orphan boy, Alexander Finley, to be bound out or otherwise disposed of. In February 1823 Sidney and Joseph Elliott were bound to James Forrest, and in November 1823 Minerva Elliott, daughter of Polly Elliott, was bound to John Huske.Mark Chilton, Natural Child: Legitimacy, Sexuality and Shame in the Court Records of Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  11. The court binds Alfred Way to Benjamin Way, the man his mother named as his father, and ends her claim At the February 1823 term the court bound Alfred Way, aged two years and three months, son of Anne Lineberry, to Benjamin Way to learn farming. In the same term it ruled that she had received $20 from Benjamin Way, charged as the boy's reputed father, for raising him and was owed nothing more. She had named Way as the father in April 1822.Mark Chilton, Natural Child: Legitimacy, Sexuality and Shame in the Court Records of Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  12. Lucy Morgan, a free woman of color, asks the court to bind her children to William Chamblee Lucy Morgan, unable to come to court herself, sent a signed statement saying that William Chamblee had taken her as a free girl, that she had stayed with him after coming of age and wished to live with him, and that she wanted her children Gabriel and Esther bound to him. That term the court bound Gabriel, four, and Esther, two, both called free children of color, to William Shambly.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  13. The court leaves Robert Stanford with his mother, Patsy Lashley, instead of binding him out Having ordered the sheriff to bring in Robert Stanford, also called Russel Stanford, son of Patsy Lashley, from James Stanford's house to be bound out, the court, once the boy was before it, placed him in his mother's custody until further order.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  14. The court cancels four Mayho children's bindings and binds them to their mother, Elizabeth Mayho The court rescinded its orders binding Richard Mayho to Josiah Turner, Molly and Faddis Mayho to William Riley, and Green Mayho to Catlet Campbell, and bound all four to their mother, Elizabeth Mayho, with William and Sanders Riley as her sureties. Bonds of February and May 1836 describe the children as of color and bind each to their mother.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  15. Jemima Mitchell arranges for her son William Barton, a boy of color, to be bound to Aquilla Compton In a signed agreement with Aquilla Compton, Jemima Mitchell said her son William Barton, a boy of color aged nine, had been living with Compton for some time and that she was not prepared to raise him properly, and she proposed that the court bind him to Compton if Compton would treat and clothe him well and pay him forty dollars at 21. Compton agreed, and at May Term 1836 the court bound William to him on those terms, with a bond as the law required.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  16. The court cancels Thomas Holloway's binding and delivers him to his mother At the same term in which it bound Thomas Holloway, eleven, to Matthew Lynn to learn farming, the court rescinded the order and directed that the boy be delivered to his mother, Mary Holloway. The minutes give no reason.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  17. Sarah Jackson gives notice she will ask the court to remove Martin Jackson from his apprenticeship Sarah Jackson served notice on Solomon Fuller that at the May court she would apply to have Martin Jackson removed from his apprenticeship to Fuller. Twelve days earlier Fuller had again advertised Martin in the Hillsborough Recorder as a runaway.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  18. The court binds Sally Davis's four children to their mother after her husband deserts the family Because Roling Davis had deserted his family, the court bound the children of his wife Sally Davis, Melinda Ellenor, Pleasant, Mary and Elizabeth Rhodes Davis, to Sally Davis herself until they came of age.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  19. The court sends John Alousa Knight, an orphan boy, to his mother near Petersburg, Virginia The court put John Alousa Knight, whom it called an orphan boy, in the charge of William Horner, to take him to his mother near Petersburg, Virginia.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  20. The court cancels Norfleet Horn's indenture and restores him to his mother The court ordered Page Scarlett to show cause that day why the binding of Norfleet Anderson Horn, son of Anderson and Eliza Horn, should not be rescinded, then rescinded the August 1846 order, cancelled Scarlett's indenture and ordered the boy restored to his mother.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  21. The court cancels Thomas Day's indenture and lets him return to his mother, a free woman of color The court ordered cancelled the 1846 indenture binding Thomas Day, son of Fanny Day, a free woman of color, to George W. Jones, and permitted the boy to return to his mother. The minutes give no reason.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  22. The court undoes William Couch's binding within the term and returns him to his mother On the Monday of August Term the court bound William Couch, about 11 and son of Nancy Couch, to Anderson Copley to learn farming and to read and write. Later the same term it rescinded the order and put the boy in the possession of his mother.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  23. The court cancels Matthew Crowder's indenture and gives him back to his mother After ordering John Dezarn in August to bring Matthew Crowder before the court, the court cancelled his indenture to Dezarn and ordered the boy delivered to his mother, Mrs. House. The court had bound Matthew, then 11 and son of the late George Crowder, to Dezarn in May 1849 to learn farming and to read and write.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  24. The court cancels Primrose King's indenture to James Parks and delivers him to his mother The court rescinded and cancelled the indenture binding Primrose King, also called Price, to James Parks and ordered him delivered to his mother. In February 1849 the court had bound him, about sixteen, to Parks for five years to learn shoe and boot making.Search the index · Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  25. The court binds Albert Scoggins, seven, to David C. Warren, a man named in a bastardy case The court bound Albert Scoggins, aged seven, to David C. Warren until twenty-one. In March 1861 Caroline Scoggins had named Warren as the father of her child, already born; the binding is filed with her records.Mark Chilton, Natural Child: Legitimacy, Sexuality and Shame in the Court Records of Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)
  26. The court rescinds Calvin Godfrey's indenture because he works for wages paid to his mother Richard J. Thompson brought Calvin Godfrey, a person of color bound to him, into court and asked to be discharged from his bond. Finding that Calvin was working for wages paid to his mother, Alvina Godfrey, the court rescinded the indenture. The court had bound Calvin, a minor of color aged fourteen, to Thompson in May 1864, with money and a suit of clothes due at twenty-one.Mark Chilton, Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868 (Wandering through the NC Piedmont)

Background on Law, Courts & Justice

Background reading on Law, Courts & Justice. These works cover the broader subject and may not discuss this storyline. Follow a link to find a copy or view the material.

Widely held

Cross & Sampson

Patterson, James · 2026 · Little, Brown and Company / Hachette Book Group

An Alex Cross thriller by James Patterson with Chapel Hill among its settings alongside Washington, D.C. Bombings, a kidnapping, a missing-persons investigation, terrorism and fathers and sons are its subjects; the Sampson of the title is Cross's longtime partner John Sampson. Published by Little, Brown in 2026.

✓ Held at OCPL · F PATTERSO NC Cardinal Durham Chapel Hill PL Library of Congress

Dark Tales of the Eno River

Cook, David · 2025 · The History Press

David Cook collects the grim side of the Eno River's past in Orange and Durham counties: ghost stories, crimes, train wrecks and accidents, including the hanging of rebels near the river in 1771, a sawmill accident said to have started a run of hauntings, and a dance one Valentine's Day that ended badly. Published by The History Press in 2025, 141 pages with illustrations.

✓ Held at OCPL · 133.109 COOK NC Cardinal UNC NC State Durham

Bright and tender dark: a novel

Pearson, Joanna · 2024 · Bloomsbury Publishing

Joanna Pearson's novel of a cold case at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Karlie Richards was a nineteen-year-old student when she was murdered; decades later her onetime roommate, divorced and in middle age, finds herself drawn back to the crime as online conspiracy theories about it multiply. A psychological thriller with a Chapel Hill setting, published by Bloomsbury in 2024, 275 pages.

NC Cardinal UNC

Fair-skinned Brunette With the Porcelain Shine

Bare, John · 2021 · Wisdom House Books, Inc

John Bare's mystery set in Chapel Hill. Lassie James is drinking at the Pig Farm Tavern one October night when Holly Pike, the woman who left him years earlier when they were about to marry and never explained, walks in; before he can settle his feelings she draws him into trouble involving fraud, corruption and a murder that he ends up investigating as an amateur. Published by Wisdom House Books of Chapel Hill in a first edition of 2021, 287 pages.

✓ Held at OCPL · F BARE NC Cardinal UNC

Ella Baker's catalytic leadership: a primer on community engagement and communication for social justice

Parker, Patricia Sue · 2020 · University of California Press

Patricia S. Parker draws on civil rights organizer Ella Baker (1903-1986) to set out a method of community engagement and communication for social justice work, illustrated by case studies from the Ella Baker Women's Center for Leadership and Community Activism in Chapel Hill. Chapters cover entering into community partnerships, creating participative spaces for organizing, storytelling as leadership, and self-care for activists, with a case study timeline and curriculum overview appended. Published by the University of California Press in 2020, 177 pages.

NC Cardinal UNC Duke NC State NCCU Methodist UNCSA
Show 6 more

Reclaiming the University of the People: Racial Justice Movements at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1951-2018

Fryar, Charlotte · 2019

Charlotte Fryar's 2019 doctoral dissertation on racial justice movements at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1951, the year the university admitted its first Black students, through 2018. Topics include African American students and employees, school desegregation, racial discrimination and activism, and the work belongs to the history of race relations on the Chapel Hill campus.

UNC ERIC

Last girl gone

Hetherton, J. G. · 2018 · Crooked Lane

J. G. Hetherton's mystery novel set in Hillsborough, in which a woman journalist returning home investigates murder and missing children. Published in New York by Crooked Lane in 2018, 312 pages.

UNC

Jane Crow: The Life of Pauli Murray

Rosenberg, Rosalind · 2017

Rosalind Rosenberg's 2017 biography of Pauli Murray (1910-1985), lawyer, poet and Episcopal priest, raised in Durham. Its six parts follow a Southern childhood, the move to New York, the 1938 application to the University of North Carolina that was refused because Murray was Black (the chapter is titled 'Members of your race are not admitted'), law school and the coining of the phrase Jane Crow, the Cold War years, the push toward 'an NAACP for women', and a late-life ordination. 494 pages with portraits.

Reviewed in The Journal of Southern History (2018).

✓ Held at OCPL · BIO MURRAY ROS Duke NC Cardinal Durham Chapel Hill PL

African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties

Bolduc, Jean · 2016

Jean Bolduc's 2016 collection of interviews with African American residents of Durham and Orange counties, presented as short biographies. The subjects are Floyd McKissick (1922-1991), the first African American admitted to UNC's law school, Walter Jackson, Brenda Stephens, Nate Davis, poet Jaki Shelton Green, Jackie Wagstaff, Diane Wright and Michelle Johnson, with a closing chapter on the Ku Klux Klan. 125 pages with illustrations.

✓ Held at OCPL · NC 975.656 BOLDUC Duke

Hillsborough, North Carolina History of Town Lots

Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2015 · Stewart E. Dunaway

Stewart E. Dunaway's 2015 addendum to his history of Hillsborough's town lots, adding deed records arranged by lot number and further town history, with the expansion of the 1890s covered for the first time. Self-published in North Carolina as version 1.0, 446 pages with illustrations, facsimiles and maps. Topics include deeds, court records, land titles and real property in Hillsborough.

✓ Held at OCPL · NC 333.3 DUNAWAY NC Cardinal UNC Durham

Chapel Hill, N.C. History of Town Lots (1790-1930s)

Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2014

Deed transcripts for the town lots of Chapel Hill and adjoining land from 1790 to the 1930s, compiled by Stewart E. Dunaway. Each transcript keeps only the working facts: grantor and grantee, price, acreage and the metes and bounds of the parcel. Self-published in 2014 as Issue 1G, 702 pages with maps and facsimiles.

✓ Held at OCPL · NC 333.3 DUNAWAY NC Cardinal UNC Durham CH Historical Society

Research sources

Sources and research tools for this storyline. Research guide: Follow an event across several accounts.

Background

Records of the time

Collections and databases

Local help

More to discover

Keep Reading Local

The Friends connect people with new library materials, local writers and publishers, and resources documenting Orange County.

Browse New Arrivals → Meet Local Authors → Explore Local Publishers →
Two mice reading back to back against a leaf, with the hand-lettered words Friends of the Orange County Public Library
Illustration by Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell, gifted to the Friends 2026