Browse Items (916 total)

William Gaston was born to Dr. Alexander and Margaret Gaston (née Sharpe) in New Bern North Carolina in 1778. His father’s involvement in the Revolutionary War left Margaret a widow when Gaston was three. His mother, an incredibly devout Catholic…

Hinton Rowan Helper was born on December 27, 1829, in Mocksville, North Carolina, where he was educated at the Mocksville Academy and graduated in 1848. He caught gold fever in 1850 and headed to California, but he failed as a prospector, having made…

Camp French, near Petersburg, Va, Oct 8th 1862 My Dear wife: I take the pleasure of dropping you a few lines, informing you that I am well at present. We landed at Petersburg last Saturday, but I was detailed to stay with the baggage and did…

Camp Mangum, Wake Co., N.C.
May 17th, 1862
My Dear Wife:
I again embrace an opportunity of writin you a few lines. I am not very well. I have a very bad cold, though I am still able for duty. I feel that it is very hard to be…

W.W. Holden was an important figure for North Carolina in the Antebellum Period. Holden served as editor of the Standard, a North Carolina newspaper, which was used to express and build support for the Unionist. He was able to use his influence to…

Joseph J. Hoyle was a twenty-four year old soldier who fought alongside friends, cousins, and family members in the 55th Regiment of the North Carolina Infantry. Lieutenant Hoyle was born in Cleveland County, North Carolina, and much of what we know…

Thomas C. Ruffin (1787-1870) was the elected judge of the Supreme Court of North Carolina from 1829 through 1852 and once again from 1858 through 1859. From 1833 until 1853, Thomas Ruffin served the Court as Chief Justice. Ruffin attended Princeton…

Josephus Daniels (1862-1848) was the influential editor of the Raleigh News and Observer during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He used his newspaper, which he purchased in 1894, to promote the political agenda of the Democratic…

William Woods Holden was the Governor of North Carolina throughout the period of our nation's history known as Reconstruction. Governor Holden would become to be the first state governor to be impeached and subsequently convicted, in American…