Pitt County

by Hill, Steven. Alford, Arthur Stafford “Ott” (December 30, 1929-April 23, 1982) by Steven A. Hill, 2019 Published with permission. For personal educational use and not for further [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Engstrom, Alfred Garvin. William Stanly Bernard, professor of Greek in The University of North Carolina, was born in Greenville, the son of Dr. William Augustus Bernard, a surgeon captain in the Confederate Army, and Mary [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Maupin, Armistead J. Jacob Blount, planter, landholder, and revolutionary soldier, was born in Beaufort County, son of Thomas Blount and Ann Elizabeth Reading. His father was a landowner and planter. In 1748, Jacob [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Worthy, Pauline. Reading Blount was a major in the Continental Army during the American Revolution and an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati. He was the third son of Jacob Blount and his wife, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Stewart, W. A. Blount. William Grainger Blount, congressman, was the oldest son of Southwest Territory Governor William Blount and his wife, Mary Grainger, the daughter of Colonel William Caleb Grainger of Wilmington. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Folmsbee, Stanley J. Willie Blount, lawyer, judge, and governor of Tennessee, was born at Blount Hall, Craven County, the son of Jacob Blount and Hannah Salter Baker, widow of William Baker. He was educated at Princeton [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Johnson, F. Roy. Tom Blunt (or Blount), a head chief and king of the North Carolina Tuscarora Indians, of obscure parentage, lived in the Upper Towns. During his time these numbered seven and formed one of three [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Proctor, Samuel. Robert Bullock, lawyer, soldier, judge, state legislator, and congressman, was born in Greenville, Pitt County. His father, Richard Bullock, and his mother, whose maiden name was Pannell, were also [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Rives, Ralph Hardee. Lucile Marie Hoerr Charles, lecturer, scholar, and first director of dramatic arts at East Carolina University in Greenville, was a native of Chicago, the daughter of Charles Ferdinand Hoerr and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Parker, Roy, Jr. Henry Selby Clark, congressman, legislator, and lawyer, was born at the family home near Leechville, Beaufort County, the son of Henry Clark and his wife, whose family name was Selby. The Clark [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Woodard, John R., Jr. Needham Bryan Cobb, Baptist minister, educator, historian, and author was born in Jones County, the son of William Donnell Cobb and his wife, Ann Spicer Collier. He received his B.A. degree from The [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Jones, H. G. David Leroy Corbitt, archivist and historical editor, was born in Chicod Township, Pitt County, the second of three children and only son of James Samuel and Mary Virginia Parkerson Corbitt. His [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Moye, William T. Bruce Cotten, collector, writer, and army officer, was a native of Wilson, but his family soon moved to Pitt County. His father, Colonel Robert Randolph Cotten, a businessman and owner of Cottendale [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Ingram, Charles M. Lyman Atkinson Cotten, naval officer and diplomat, was born at Wilson but grew up at Cottendale, the family plantation, in Pitt County. He was the son of Colonel Robert Randolph Cotten and Sallie [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Moore, James Elliott. Robert Randolph Cotten, planter and businessman, was born on his father's farm near Whitakers in Edgecombe County. He was the oldest son of John Lewellyn Cotten and his wife, Nancy Bell Penine Tart [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Copeland, Elizabeth H. Cotten, Sallie Swepson Sims Southall By Elizabeth H. Copeland, 1979 13 June 1846–4 May 1929 Sallie Swepson Sims Southhall Cotten, writer and Woman's Club and civic leader, was born in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Hill, Steven. Amos Graves Cox, a native of Pitt County, was the founder of Winterville, North Carolina.  He was a wealthy farmer, manufacturer, banker, and merchant. Winterville’s A.G. Cox Middle School was [...] (from NC Office of Archives and History.)

by Powell, William S. Lucy Cherry Crisp , museum administrator and poet, was born in Crisp, Edgecombe County, the daughter of Sellers M. and Annie Gorham Crisp. She was graduated from the North Carolina College for Women [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Hill, Steven. Willis Haynie Davenport, an African American educational leader, was born on August 18, 1900 in Burgess, Virginia to parents Addie Haynie and Warner Davenport. He worked for the Greenville, North [...] (from North Carolina's First Ladies: 1891-2001, North Carolina Historical Publications.)

by Harper, James F. Waldemar Eros Debnam, radio commentator, author, and Raleigh city councilman, was born in Snow Hill, son of Joseph Eppe and Birdice Speight Debnam. For some time his father was a public school [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Pitman, Louise L. Henry Churchill deMille, playwright, was the son of William Edward and Margaret Blount Hoyt deMille, both of Washington, N.C., where young deMille was born. During the Civil War his father joined the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Green, C. Sylvester. Joseph Dixon, congressman, was born in rural Greene County just across the county line from the town of Farmville in Pitt County. There apparently is no record of the names of his parents nor [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. John G. ("Ghost") Eliot, teacher, was the son of George Eliot of Ellerslie on Lower Little River, Cumberland County. The father was born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, in 1747, educated at the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Perry, Percival. Henry Small Ellenwood, teacher, author, poet, and newspaper editor, was born in Newburyport, Mass., the eldest son of Elisha Small, a mariner who died in the West Indies in 1806, leaving a widow and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. I visited with Jim Ellis in Fountain, a small town 70 miles east of Raleigh. A retired tobacco farmer and country preacher, he grew up there between the two largest tobacco markets in the world, [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. George Evans, Revolutionary patriot, was born in Bath, Beaufort County, the son of Richard and Mary Lillington Evans. In 1758 he moved with his brother Richard to what is now Pitt County, and in 1773 [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Manning, Elizabeth W. Peter Evans, planter and businessman, was born in Pitt County of English ancestry. His father was Major George Evans, a member of the colonial Assembly from Pitt County, a delegate to the Provincial [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Richard Evans, planter, legislator, and town founder, was born in Bath, Beaufort County, the son of Richard Evans, "Mariner," and Mary Lillington Evans. In 1758 Evans and his brother, George, sold [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. Mary Everett belongs to one of the state's oldest book clubs, the End of the Century Book Club in Greenville. For its 100th anniversary celebration last year, Everett studied the club's minutes, [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Franke, Matthew. Roberta Flack is a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and pianist renowned for her smooth, "velvety" voice. Born in Black Mountain in Buncombe County on February 10, 1937, she was one of four [...] (from NCpedia.)

by Neville, John D. Edward Gaskill Flanagan, businessman and politician, was born in Greenville, the son of John Flanagan and Mary Wise Gaskill. After completing his education at the Greenville Academy, he went to Texas [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Neville, John D. John Flanagan, manufacturer, was born in Pitt County, the son of Thomas Flanagan (d. 1831) and Sophia Turnage (d. 1829). After completing his apprenticeship at the Nelson Carriage Factory in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Hill, Steven. Garrett, Denison Dover By Steven A. Hill. Copyright 2017. Published with permission. For personal educational use and not for further distribution. 6 May 1915 - 28 May 2011 Denison Dover [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Holloman, Charles R. Glasgow, James by Charles R. Holloman, 1986; Revised by SLNC Government and Heritage Library, December 2022 ca. 1735–17 Nov. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. James Gorham, legislator and officer in the American Revolution, was born in Barnstable, Mass., the son of Captain Isaac Gorham and his wife, Mary Cobb. The Gorham family was prominent among the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Charles Sylvester Green, clergyman, newspaper editor, college president, and executive, was born in Greensburg, Ky., the son of Thomas Madison and Rosealthea Buck Green. The family moved to the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Maud Thomas. John Bryan Grimes, secretary of state of North Carolina, agricultural and cultural leader, historian, and public speaker, was born in Pitt County, the son of Bryan Grimes, a major general in the Army [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Frech, Laura Page. Henry Patrick Harding, teacher and public school administrator, was known most of his life as Harry P. Harding. He was born in Aurora, one of eight children (two of whom died in infancy) of [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Robinson, Catherine L. Frederick Hargett (or Harget), Revolutionary War captain, planter-enslaver, and lawmaker, was probably born in the area that became Pitt County. The second son of Frederick Hargett, he had only one [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. William D. Herrington, Confederate soldier and author, was born in Pitt County, probably the son of Moses Herrington and the brother of Lewis W., James L., and Mary A., all of whom were orphaned in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Louis Hilliard, Confederate officer, legislator, and judge, was the son of William Henry and Sallie Dortch Hilliard of "The Meadows" in Nash County. His grandfather, Robert Carter Hilliard [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Humber, John L. Robert Lee Humber, lawyer, legislator, business executive, cultural leader, and founder of the Movement for World Federation, was born in Greenville, the son of Lena Clyde Davis and Robert Lee [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Jones, H. G. William Henry Jones, educator, was born in Caswell County, the son of Thaddeus Cornelius and Rebecca Jane Roberts Jones. He attended rural schools in Caswell and Rockingham counties and was graduated [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Perry, Percival. Daniel William Jordan, planter-enslaver, collateral relative of John Jordan Crittenden of Kentucky, was born at Jordan Plains, Pitt County, of English ancestry. One Thomas Jordan migrated from [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Malone, E. T., Jr. Edmund Noah Joyner, Episcopal priest, missionary, soldier, poet, and newspaper editor, was born in the Marlboro community near Farmville in Pitt County, the son of Dr. Noah and Emily Adelaide [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Flowers, John B., III. William Kennedy, lawyer and congressman, was the son of John and Sarah Kennedy of Beaufort County. Nothing is known of his early life and education. As a young man he was admitted to the bar and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Copeland, J. Isaac. Edgar Wallace Knight, university professor and distinguished historian of American education, was born in Northampton County near the town of Woodland. His parents were John Washington and Margaret [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Bell, John L., Jr. Laflin, Byron by John L. Bell, Jr., 1991; Revised by SLNC Government and Heritage Library, June 2023 24 Apr. 1829–20 June 1901 Byron Laflin, manufacturer, army officer, and legislator, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Holley, I. B., Jr. Lang, John Albert, Jr. by I. B. Holley, Jr., 1991 15 Nov. 1910–27 June 1974 John Albert Lang, Jr., teacher, federal civil servant, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Latham, Louis Charles by William S. Powell, 1991 11 Sept. 1840–16 Oct. 1895 Louis Charles Latham, Confederate officer, congressman, and attorney, was [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by York, Maury. Charles O'Hagan Laughinghouse, physician and state health officer, was born on the family plantation near Grimesland in Pitt County. He was the first of at least eight children of Joseph John and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Taylor, R. Hargus. Lineberry, Gustavus Ernest by R. Hargus Taylor, 1991 12 Jan. 1870–25 Dec. 1952 Gustavus [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Foltz, Meredith S. May, Benjamin by Meredith S. Foltz, 1991; Revised by Jared Dease, Government and Heritage Library, December 2022 17 Mar. 1736–8 Aug. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Lawrence Quincy Mumford, librarian of Congress, was born in the community of Hanrahan in Pitt County, the son of Jacob Edward and Emma Luvenia Stocks Mumford. Raised on a farm, he knew the hard work [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Crabtree, Beth G. Frederick Augustus Olds, historian, newspaper columnist, lecturer, and editor, probably was born in North Carolina. He was the son of Louis and Pauline Evans Olds, natives of Pitt County. His father, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Green, C. Sylvester. John Alsey Park, journalist, was born in Raleigh, the son of Benjamin Franklin and Frances Beavers Park. His ancestral lines extended from Scotland and Ireland on his father's side, and from Great [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Stevenson, George, Jr. Joseph Parker, general Baptist (now Free Will Baptist) clergyman, founded churches in Halifax, Pitt, Greene, and Lenoir counties. According to tradition, he was a member and probable pastor of the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Uzzell, Odell. Perry, Samuel L. by Odell Uzzell, 1994; Revised October 2022. Related Entries: African American; Civil Rights; Transportation; Exodusters b. 1849 Samuel L. Perry, teacher and civil rights [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Sparrow, W. Keats. Ovid Williams Pierce, Jr., author and college teacher, was born in Weldon, the son of Ovid Williams, a well-to-do farmer, and Minnie Deans Pierce, and the grandson of a country doctor. In 1932 he was [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Johnston, Hugh B., Jr. Jeremiah Rhame, colonial minister, was presumably the son of Peter Remm (Rhem, Rheam), who in 1740 received a power of attorney from the High German Church in Craven County. He afterwards settled on [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Hill, Steven. Rose, Junius Harris By Steven A. Hill, Copyright 2017. Published with permission. For personal educational use and not for further distribution. 7 Jan 1892 - 29 Mar 1972 J.H. Rose was [...] (from Research Branch, NC Office of Archives and History.)

by Powell, William S. Ralph Henderson Scott, dairyman, political leader, and legislator, was born near Haw River in Alamance County, the son of Robert Walter and Elizabeth Jessie Hughes Scott. His brother, William Kerr [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Maupin, Armistead J. John Simpson, Revolutionary leader, was born in Boston, the son of John and Mary Randall Simpson. Shortly after 1750 he moved to Beaufort County, N.C., with a group of New Englanders. In 1757 he was [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Johnston, Hugh B., Jr., Eagles, Brenda M. Owen Lun West Smith, U.S. minister to Liberia and Methodist leader, was born in Giddensville, Sampson County, the son of Ollen and Maria Hicks Smith, both of African descent. As a youth he served as [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. One of my favorite historians, Lu Ann Jones, recently showed me an oral history interview so interesting that I just can't resist sharing it, with her permission. It's the story of Ardathy Spikes, a [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Green, C. Sylvester. John Barham Spilman, business educator and college administrator, was born in Weldon, the son of Bushrod Washington and Helva Roxanna Barham Spilman. His father, a native of Westmoreland County, Va., [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Alexander Stewart, public official and perhaps a poet, was born in Scotland but was clerk of court in Beaufort County, N.C., by 1751. He may have been the Stewart who represented one of the borough [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Alexander Stewart, Anglican clergyman, was born at Lisburn, County Antrim, Ireland, the son of Charles Stewart. He matriculated at the University of Dublin on 4 Oct. 1739 and was graduated with a [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Hill, Steven. H.B. Sugg’s parents, Bryant Sugg and Penny Briggs Sugg, were both born enslaved. Bryant Sugg told of his life as a slave and how he had fled his master’s plantation in Greene County to connect with [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Riley, Jack. James Moore Tatum, star athlete, football coach, and university athletic director, was born at McColl, S.C., the youngest of five sons of Walter Robert and Jessie Carmichael Tatum. His father was a [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Alexander Telfair, Loyalist, was born at Town Head in Kirkcudbright on the Firth of Solway, southwestern Scotland. He came to America in 1759 with his brothers Edward, Hugh, and William. The Telfairs [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Johnston, Hugh B., Jr. John Thomas, religious leader, justice, and militia officer, was born in Nansemond County, Va., the son of John and Mary Lawrence Thomas. Educated locally, he was "bred a Churchman," but after [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Hatcher, Susan Tucker. Rufus Sylvester Tucker, merchant and planter, was born in Raleigh, the third son of three children of Ruffin, a prominent merchant of his native Wake County, and Lucinda M. Sledge Tucker of Franklin [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Benjamin Brown Williams, physician, was the son of Robert, a planter and a prolific enslaver of Pitt County, and Mary Williams. Benjamin's brother William (1785–1850) married Nancy May (1792–1858); [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. Robert Williams, physician, legislator, and Revolutionary patriot, was born near Falkland in Pitt County, the son of Richard and Mary Williams. He was the grandson of one Robert Williams who [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Ronald Bonar Wilson, newspaperman and journal editor, was born in Greenville, the son of Lewis Henry and Jackie Anne Caroline Smith Wilson. After attending The University of North Carolina (1901–3) [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Rives, Ralph Hardee. Robert Herring Wright, teacher and educational administrator, was the first president of East Carolina Teachers Training School (later East Carolina University). He was a descendant of John (d. 4 [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Burt, Daniel, V. Henry Lawson Wyatt, the first Confederate soldier from North Carolina to be killed in battle during the American Civil War, was born in Richmond, Va., the son of Isham Belcher and Lucinda N. L. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Alexander, Roberta Sue. Edward Clement Yellowley, lawyer and politician, was born in Martin County, where his father, Edward Yellowley, settled after emigrating from England shortly following the end of the American [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)