Surry County

by Anderson, Jean B. Martin Armstrong, Revolutionary War soldier, surveyor, and politician, was born in Augusta County, Va., the fourth son of James and Jean Armstrong, previously of Lancaster County, Pa. About 1750, the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Rodabaugh, K. John Morehead Brower, congressman and state legislator, was born in Greensboro, the son of John W. Brower and his wife. His father was a businessman in Mt. Airy. Brower received his early education [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Ayers, Annette. Chang and Eng Bunker Surry County’s Original Siamese Twins By Dr. Annette Ayers * Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian, Fall 2008.  Tar Heel Junior Historian [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Traywick, Darryl. Eng and Chang Bunker, the first conjoined (formerly known as Siamese) twins to receive world-wide attention, were born in the fishing village of Mekong, Siam (now Thailand), to unidentified [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Stafford, Garland R. Hugh Gwyn Chatham, industrialist, public servant, philanthropist, and promoter of various enterprises, was born in Elkin of English and Welsh ancestry. He was the eldest son of Alexander and Mary [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Pleasants, Julian M. Richard Thurmond Chatham, U.S. congressman, industrialist, and philanthropist, was born in Elkin, Surry County, the only son of Hugh Gwyn and Martha Lenoir Chatham. His grandfather was Alexander [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Waugh, Betty Linney. Benjamin Cleveland, frontiersman, was born in Virginia on the now-famous Bull Run. He was the son of John Cleveland and the grandson of Alexander Cleveland, who came from England and settled in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Butler, Lindley S. Daniel William Courts, legislator, state treasurer, and enslaver, was born in Culpeper County, Va., and by 1806 moved with his father, George Courts, to Rockingham County. Reared in Rockingham [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Mcgrew, Ellen. Calvin Josiah Cowles, merchant, real estate and mine operator, union leader, and assayer, was born in Hamptonville, the son of Connecticut natives Deborah Sanford and Josiah Cowles. In describing his [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Denny, Bessie B. Emery Byrd Denny, lawyer and North Carolina Supreme Court justice, was born on a farm near Pilot Mountain in Surry County, the son of the Reverend Gabriel and Sarah Delphina Stone Denny. After [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Christian, Ralph J. Alonzo Dillard Folger, attorney, judge, and U.S. representative, was born in Dobson, the son of Thomas W. and Ada Robertson Folger. After attending the public schools, he entered The University of [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Christian, Ralph J. John Hamlin Folger, attorney, state legislator, and U.S. representative, was born in Rockford, the son of Thomas W. and Ada Robertson Folger. Shortly after being graduated from high school in 1898, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Mcfarland, Daniel M. Franklin, Jesse by Daniel M. McFarland, 1986 24 Mar. 1760–31 Aug. 1823 See also: Jesse Franklin, Research Branch, NC Office of Archives and History Jesse Franklin, Revolutionary War [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Farnham, Thomas J. Meshack Franklin, congressman and legislator, was born in Orange County, Va., the son of Bernard and Mary Cleveland Franklin. In 1778 his parents sent their eldest son, Jesse, to North Carolina to [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Evans, Phillip W. William Franklin ("Dixie") Gilmer, congressman, was born at Mount Airy, the son of W. F. and Emma Elizabeth Prather Gilmer. The family soon moved to Oklahoma, where young Gilmer attended the public [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cusic, Don. Andy Griffith by Don Cusic, Professor of Music, Belmont University, 2010 Reprinted with permission from the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, 2010. Updated by the Government & Heritage [...] (from North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.)

by White, Emmett R. William Hall, governor of Tennessee and congressman, was born in Surry County, the son of William and Thankful Doak Hall. His father was a major in the Surry County militia during the early period of [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by York, Maury. William Hill, public official, son of William and Eliza Halbert Hill, was born in Surry (now Stokes) County. His father, a Baptist minister, attended the Provincial Congress at Hillsborough in August [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Green, C. Sylvester. Holland Holton, educator, the son of Samuel Melanchthon and Aura Barrett Chaffin Holton, was born at Dobson, but his family moved to Durham in 1894. He completed his secondary education in Durham [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Conway, Cecelia. Benjamin Franklin Jarrell, musician, was raised in Surry County on the southern slope of the Blue Ridge, the son of Rufus A. and Susan Turney Jarrell. According to his father, the Scot-Irish family [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Conway, Cecelia. Thomas Jefferson Jarrell, musician, born and raised near Round Peak in Surry County, was the oldest child of Benjamin Franklin and Susan Letisha Amburn Jarrell. He was an exceptional instrumentalist, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Stanfield, Linda Blue. Tommy Jarrell was born Thomas Jefferson Jarrell, one of eleven children of Benjamin Franklin and Susan Letisha Amburn Jarrell. The family lived in a community called Round Peak in Surry County. Like [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Sparger, Celia C. Thor Martin Johnson, musician and educator, was born in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., the son of the Reverend Herbert B. and Anna Reusswig Johnson. In 1925 his father entered pastoral service in the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Howe, Richard D. Edward Francis Lovill, Confederate officer, attorney, legislator, and Indian agent, was born near Siloam, Surry County, the son of William R. and Eliza J. Reeves Lovill. His great-grandfather, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Inscoe, John C. Lyon, John by John Inscoe, 1991 1765?–14 Sept. 1814 John Lyon, botanist and plant [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Rodenbough, Charles D. James Martin, merchant, soldier, and legislator, was born in Lebanon Township, Hunterdon County, N.J., the second son of Hugh and Jane Hunter Martin. His father conducted an English school for a [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Brown, Nevin C. McCorkle, William Parsons by Nevin C. Brown, 1991 2 Apr. 1855–7 Mar. 1933 William Parsons McCorkle, clergyman and religious writer, was [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Yearns, W. Buck. McLean, James Robert by Buck Yearns, 1991; Revised by Jared Dease, Government and Heritage Library, December 2022 21 Sept. 1823–15 Apr. 1870 James Robert McLean, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. Dennis Moody has been laying souls to rest since 1932. When I visited him at the Moody Funeral Home in the small town of Mount Airy, in the lovely foothills of Surry County, he described how funerals [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Rodenbough, Charles D. Moore, Gabriel by Charles D. Rodenbough, 1991 1785–6 Aug. 1844 Gabriel Moore, congressman, U.S. senator, and governor of Alabama, was born in Surry [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Yearns, W. Buck. Puryear, Richard Clanselle by Buck Yearns, 1994; Revised by Jared Dease, Government and Heritage Library, January 2023 9 Feb. 1801–30 July 1867 Richard Clanselle [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Williams, Max R. Paul Apperson Reid, a professional educator who in a forty-three-year career served North Carolina at every level of the public education system, was born in Stokes County, the son of Margaret [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by McMillan, Douglas J. Elizabeth Bond Roberts, pioneer, minister of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and author, was born in Surry County, the daughter of Society of Friends members Edward and Anna (Annie) Huff [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Jolly, Benjamin A. Ralph James Scott, congressman, state legislator, and district attorney, was born on a farm in southeastern Surry County's Shoals Township, the son of Samuel Martin and Daisy Murphy (Cook) Scott. His [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Mcfarland, Daniel M. Augustine Henry Shepperd, lawyer and congressman, was born at Rockford, a village on the Yadkin and the seat of Surry County until 1851. His parents were Jacob and Pamela Shepperd. In early life he [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Walser, Richard. Taliaferro, Hardin Edwards by Richard Walser, 1996 1811–2 Nov. 1875 Hardin Edwards Taliaferro, humorist and preacher, was born [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. James Wellborn (Welborn), army officer and legislator, was born in that part of Rowan County that first became Surry County and then Wilkes County in 1778. Here he made his home during a long life, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Shrader, Richard A. Williams, John by Richard A. Shrader, 1996; Revised by Jared Dease, Government and Heritage Library, January 2023 29 Jan. 1778–10 Aug. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Mcfarland, Daniel M. Lewis Williams, congressman, was a native of Surry County, the son of Joseph (1748–1827) and Rebecca (or Rebekah) Lanier Williams. His father, a native of Virginia who moved to Surry shortly before [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Hendricks, J. Edwin. Winston, Joseph by J. Edwin Hendricks, 1996; Revised by Jared Dease, Government and Heritage Library, January 2023 17 June 1746–21 Apr. 1815 Joseph Winston, Revolutionary patriot, militia [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Fant, H. B. Thomas Jefferson Word, lawyer and congressman from Mississippi, was born in Surry County, the son of Thomas Adams and Justiana Dickerson Word. His grandfather, Charles Word, died at Kings Mountain on [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Salter, Frank. Gideon Wright, Loyalist, one of the prominent men in early North Carolina who stood for law and order, was the son of John and Ruth Ludlam Wright. Gideon and his brother, Hezekiah, served in the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Alexander, Roberta Sue. Tyre York, physician and politician, was born in Rockford, Surry County, the son of Michael York, a Surry County farmer. After attending the common schools in his home county, young York entered the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)