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An Old Republican Congressman from Edgecombe County and a friend of Nathaniel Macon, Thomas Hall consistently opposed what he deemed unnecessary federal intervention in North Carolina. As a young man he moved to Tarboro, North Carolina, practiced medicine, and married Martha Jones Green Sitgreaves, the widow of James Green and John Sitgreaves. Hall was first elected to Congress as a Jeffersonian-Republican (1817-1825), and again served in Congress from 1827-1835.
Considered by the North Carolina Department of Archives and History to possess the “finest Queen Anne interior styling in the entire state,” the Harper House of Hickory also has a restored landscape, including period gardens. The Catawba County Historical Association (CCHA) raised $2,000,000 for restorations to start the house museum to interpret not only the histories of Hickory and the families who lived in the house but also the history of the Victorian South.
Reginald Hawkins was as an boisterous and confrontational desegregation activist of the 1950s and 60s. His passionate avocation for racial equality propelled him to the national civil rights spotlight and helped to dismantle segregation in North Carolina and the South.
When the War of 1812 came, North Carolinians voiced pro and anti-war opinions and debated whether the threat from England was worth answering President Madison’s call for troops. During this time, Governor William Hawkins supported the war effort and cooperated with national authorities in defending the young United States from enemy invasion while increasingly becoming disenchanted with the national government’s lack of military assistance to ensure North Carolina’s safety.
During the early twentieth century, many Tar Heels moved to towns and urban areas to find work in mills and on railroads, while local pharmacists also began creating patent medicines. One such medicine, headache relief powders, became popular among mill and railroad workers who referred to them as “production powders.” Pharmacists often compounded their own headache relief medicine in an easier-made powder form rather than in the more complex pill form.
Two Lithuanian immigrants started a furniture company in Goldsboro that survived and grew during the Great Depression. In 1946, the two parted ways, and the company had 19 stores by 1970. During the next three decades, the number of Heilig-Meyers stores increased, and it grew exponentially in the 1990s (from 258 stores in 1988 to 647 stores in 1994). The chain reached its zenith in 1998 yet lost money. It filed for bankruptcy in 2000 and eliminated 4,400 jobs.
A reporter, television-radio executive, and U.S. Senator, Jesse Helms was born October 18, 1921, in Monroe, N.C., to Jesse Alexander and Ethel Mae Helms. The Almanac of American Politics labeled the conservative Helms a “Jeremiah” for believing in an imminent doom and warning against the encroaching dangers of big government, communism, and abortion—to name three examples.
Abolitionist, diplomat, and lecturer, Hinton Rowan Helper was born December 27, 1829, near Mocksville, North Carolina. In 1857 he published The Impending Crisis of the South: How to Meet It. This book ranked second only to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin in its influence for abolition. Although a racist, Helper profoundly influenced American politics and doubtless hastened the demise of “the peculiar institution."
lthough Joseph Hewes was a native of New Jersey, he was one of three North Carolinians to sign the Declaration of Independence. His business experience, education and honorable character enabled the Tar Heel to serve North Carolina vigilantly in public service for thirteen years.
Countless Highland Scots migrated to North Carolina during the colonial period and lived primarily in the Upper Cape Fear region during the late 1770s. Immediately the Highland Scots contributed to some of the greatest events in the state's history. As evidenced by the modern-day Highland Games, these Scots and their families migrated to other parts of the state, where aspects of their culture are alive and well today.
Daniel Harvey Hill was a Confederate States army officer and educator. Described as deeply religious and intellectual, Hill is most remembered for displaying an intense sense of honor, on and off the battlefield. Hill served as a mathematics professor, founded a military institute, and was president of colleges in Arkansas and Georgia.
After a sheriff seized a horse for delinquent payment of taxes, Piedmont farmers used traditional means of protest to call for government to perform its proper role. In the end, however, the Hillsborough Confrontation of 1768 failed to restore the colonial government to its proper function and started a series of events that included the Hillsborough Riot of 1770 and the Battle of Alamance.
Meeting in Hillsborough, North Carolina, Antifederal and Federal delegates convened from July 21 to August 4, 1788 to consider ratification of the newly proposed U.S. Constitution. The two-week long deliberations resulted in neither ratification nor rejection. North Carolina refused to make a decision. Ratification was postponed until the 1789 Fayetteville Convention.
During the 1760s and 1770s, the Regulators of North Carolina's Piedmont region worked to fight abuses they perceived to be rampant in the government of the time. Their methods, however, were controversial.
In spite of his illiteracy, Hinton was a successful entrepreneur. He ran two flourishing businesses when African Americans struggled for equality and respect and the chance to participate in a free market where each held his own.