Editing Caswell County, North Carolina (section)

===Early history before 1777===
Caswell County's early history spans Native American habitation, European colonization, and the development of an agrarian economy. Key themes include tobacco agriculture, slavery, the influence of Scotch-Irish and English settlers, and the importance of religion and family networks in shaping the community. 

The area was originally inhabited by indigenous tribes who utilized the Dan River, Hyco Creek, other waterways, and fertile lands for centuries. During the second half of the 18th century, tobacco farming and the increasing reliance on enslaved labor began to lay the groundwork for the plantation system that would dominate the region in the 19th century until the American Civil War.
====Native American era====
The area was first inhabited by Native Americans over 10,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite web|last=Claggett|first=Stephen R.| title=North Carolina's First Colonists: 12,000 Years Before Roanoke| url=https://archaeology.ncdcr.gov/articles/north-carolinas-first-colonists|publisher=North Carolina Office of State Archeology|access-date=July 11, 2021}}</ref> Indigenous residents included [[Siouan languages|Siouan-speaking]] groups such as the [[Occaneechi]], [[Shakori]], and [[Eno people|Eno]].<ref name="ncpedia 2"/>{{sfn|Powell|1977|p=28-31}} Abundant evidence of indigenous activity, including pottery fragments, arrowheads, and stone tools, has been discovered across Caswell County, reflecting its long history of Native American habitation.<ref>{{cite web|title=Caswell County History – American Indian Heritage|url=https://ncccha.org/index.html#contents|publisher=NCCCHA.org|access-date=July 30, 2022}}</ref>{{sfn|Powell|1977|p=28-31}}

====Colonial period====
In 1663 and 1665, [[Charles II of England]] granted the land that includes what is now North and [[South Carolina]] (named for his father, [[Charles I of England|Charles I]]) to eight of his noblemen, the [[Lords Proprietors]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lords Proprietors|url=https://www.ncpedia.org/lords-proprietors#:~:text=The%20Lords%20Proprietors%20were%20the,restoration%20to%20the%20English%20throne.|access-date=March 2, 2022}}</ref> Caswell County was originally part of the [[land grant]] belonging to [[Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon]].<ref name="auto6"/>

Caswell County was once part of the northern region of [[Orange County, North Carolina|Orange County]], which was established in 1752.<ref name="CountyNamesake">{{Cite web |title=Orange County |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/geography/orange |access-date=April 12, 2025|website=NCpedia}}</ref> [[Thirteen Colonies|Colonial]] records show that land grants in the area now comprising Caswell County were issued as early as 1748. There were [[Scotch-Irish Americans|Scotch-Irish]], [[German Americans|German]], and [[English Americans|English]] [[human settlements|settlements]] along the [[Dan River (Virginia)|Dan River]] and Hogans and Country Line creeks by 1751.<ref name="auto6"/>

The first recorded settlements occurred between 1750 and 1755, when eight to ten families migrated from within Orange County, as well as from [[Culpeper County|Culpeper]] and [[Spotsylvania County|Spotsylvania]] counties in Virginia.{{refn| [[George Washington]] was [[Culpeper County]]'s surveyor from 1749 to 1750.}}<ref name="auto0"/> The primary reason for resettlement was economic. They were searching for fertile land, which the lowlands of the Dan River and several creeks provided.<ref name="auto6">{{cite web|title=Caswell County: The First Century, 1777–1877 |url=http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/sartin_ruby_1972.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220013121/http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/sartin_ruby_1972.pdf |archive-date=December 20, 2019 |url-status=live|access-date=August 5, 2021}}{{Additional source needed|date=November 2022}}</ref>

The area grew rapidly after the initial settlements. Scotch-Irish and German families traversed the [[Great Wagon Road]], which was the main route for settlement in the region, and had come by way of Virginia and Pennsylvania. English and [[French Huguenot]] migrants came from settled areas of [[eastern North Carolina]], following the [[Trading Path|Great Trading Path]]. English colonists also came from Virginia using the same network of roads and trails.<ref name="auto14">{{cite web|title=History and Architecture of Orange County, North Carolina |url=https://files.nc.gov/ncdcr/historic-preservation-office/survey-and-national-register/surveyreports/OrangeCountySurveyPubManuscript-1996.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812200030/https://files.nc.gov/ncdcr/historic-preservation-office/survey-and-national-register/surveyreports/OrangeCountySurveyPubManuscript-1996.pdf |archive-date=August 12, 2021 |url-status=live|access-date=August 12, 2021}}</ref>

====Slavery and labor====
[[Slavery in the United States|Enslaved Africans]] were brought to the area by enslavers and slave-trading agents as early as the 1750s, primarily through the [[domestic slave trade]] from Virginia and other colonies.<ref name="auto5">{{cite web|title=Settlement of the Piedmont, 1730–1775 |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/history/colonial/piedmont|access-date=August 16, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Patterns in the intercolonial slave trade across the Americas before the nineteenth century|url=https://www.scielo.br/j/tem/a/cZmRvYM8FzJxBHvmPfWcfTw/?lang=en&format=pdf |access-date=August 25, 2021}}</ref>

Before the late 18th century, enslaved labor was generally concentrated on smaller farms rather than large plantations, with most white enslavers owning fewer than five enslaved individuals. The system of slavery developed through:

*Debt-based transactions, where enslaved individuals were pledged as collateral for loans or debts, a common practice among landowners seeking to expand their farms or acquire supplies.<ref name="auto6"/>
*Local auctions at trading posts along the [[Dan River (Virginia)|Dan River]], which facilitated the exchange of goods and enslaved individuals and served as a regional hub for the trade of enslaved people.<ref name="auto5"/>
*Intergenerational enslavement, wherein children born to enslaved mothers were automatically enslaved under colonial laws.<ref>{{cite book|title=Born in Bondage: Growing Up Enslaved in the Antebellum South|year=2001|publisher=Harvard University Press}}</ref>
This early period also saw the establishment of legal frameworks designed to reinforce the institution of slavery:

*The [[Slave codes|1741 North Carolina slave codes]] restricted the movement and autonomy of enslaved people.
*1774 laws prohibited enslaved individuals from learning to write, aiming to suppress rebellion and maintain control.<ref>{{cite web|title=Slave Codes in Colonial North Carolina|url=https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/slave-codes|access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref>
The number of enslaved persons in the county grew significantly throughout the second half of the 18th century, driven by the expansion of agriculture, especially [[tobacco]] farming. The cultivation of tobacco, a staple crop in the Piedmont region, required intensive labor and drove the demand for enslaved workers.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Growth of Slavery in North Carolina|url=https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/growth-slavery-north|access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref> By 1800, enslaved persons accounted for nearly one-third (32%) of Caswell County's population.<ref name="auto6"/>

====Social structure====
The earliest white settlers were primarily [[yeoman]] farmers and planters. Middle-class settlers, historically referred to as the "new families," arrived later in the 18th century.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Evolution of Gentility in Eighteenth-century England and Colonial Virginia|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc2617/m2/1/high_res_d/Thesis.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818075615/http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc2617/m2/1/high_res_d/Thesis.pdf |archive-date=August 18, 2017 |url-status=live|access-date=August 20, 2021}}</ref><ref name="auto6"/> The area's culture was strongly influenced by Scotch-Irish and [[English culture|English traditions]], shaping its social, spiritual, educational, and economic life.<ref name="auto10">"Caswell is Home of Flue-Cured Tobacco," ''[[The News & Observer]]'' (Raleigh, NC), May 18, 1940, p11</ref>

Yeoman farmers accounted for more than half of the settler population.<ref name="auto6"/> Few if any were enslavers at this time. The yeomanry owned small family farms and lived in log homes. They farmed for [[subsistence farming|subsistence]], with surpluses going toward debt settlement or bartering for goods. Relying on the skilled and unskilled labor of family members, neighbors, and others, they contributed significantly to the local agricultural economy by linking farms to early [[gristmill|grist mills]] and [[sawmills]].<ref name="auto14"/>

Middle-class families, though a smaller portion of the settler population, played a significant role in the area's early economic and social development. Families including the Coles, Holts, and Stephens were among the "new families" that contributed to local prosperity by fostering business, trade, and settlement in towns such as [[Leasburg, North Carolina|Leasburg]], [[Milton, North Carolina|Milton]], and nearby villages through entrepreneurship, craftsmanship, and small-scale farming.<ref name="auto6"/> Unlike the planter class, such families primarily relied on family labor and hired workers rather than enslaved labor.

The planter class, or gentry, constituted the [[American gentry|upper class]] and were the smallest segment of the white settler population. Most came from prosperous families, owned extensive landholdings, and were familiar with Enlightenment ideas. Their status stemmed from landholdings and reliance on enslaved labor, which were central to the agricultural economy and reinforced their social and economic dominance. Due to their privileged position derived from land and slave ownership, they profoundly influenced the county economically, culturally, and politically.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gentry|url=https://www.ncpedia.org/gentry |access-date=August 25, 2021}}</ref><ref name="auto6"/>

Exemplifying this gentry class was the Graves family, who migrated to the area from Virginia in the mid-1750s. John Graves (1715–1792), a large landowner and patriarch of the family, acquired extensive tracts along Country Line Creek and contributed to the county's early economic and social development. His descendants, notably [[Azariah Graves]] (1768–1850), became prominent planters, legislators, and community leaders who exemplified the planter class's influence on the region's agricultural, political, and cultural life. The family also contributed to religion and education: Rev. Barzillai Graves (1759–1827) served as pastor of local Baptist churches, where he played a key role in leading the community’s spiritual life. Azariah supported missionary efforts and is said to have hosted a [[female seminary|school for young women]] on his plantation in the 1820s.<ref name=auto0>{{cite web|title=The Graves|url=https://ncccha.org/pdf/graves/thegraves.pdf|access-date=May 10, 2025}}</ref>

While the Graves family exemplified the height of influence within the planter class, the area's smaller and less prominent planters were less wealthy and lived more modestly. These smaller-scale planters, often referred to as "common planters," occupied a position between the gentry and moderately prosperous families.<ref>{{cite web|title=The North Carolina Historical Review|url=https://www.dncr.nc.gov/about-us/history/division-historical-resources/historical-publications/north-carolina-historical-review|access-date=August 25, 2021}}</ref> They participated in land speculation, agricultural production, and trade, establishing mills, selling livestock, and growing profitable crops such as wheat, corn, [[oats]], and [[tobacco]]. In the mid-18th century, several employed [[Indentured servitude in British America|bound apprentices]], including mixed-race individuals, under fixed contracts, often for agricultural labor or skilled trades.<ref>{{cite web|title=Davis Family|url=http://www.freeafricanamericans.com/Davis-Drew.htm|access-date=August 31, 2021}}</ref> However, as enslaved labor became more accessible and affordable in the late 18th century, the reliance on bound apprentices diminished, reflecting the growing dominance of slavery in the agricultural economy.

====Agricultural economy====
Tobacco played a significant role in the region's agricultural economy during this period. Until the early 1800s, it was grown by the settlers as both a primary and secondary crop, depending on market demand, pricing, soil exhaustion, and other variables.<ref>{{cite web|title=Soil Survey of Caswell County, North Carolina|url=https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/north_carolina/caswellNC1908/caswellNC1908.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119175405/https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/north_carolina/caswellNC1908/caswellNC1908.pdf |archive-date=January 19, 2017 |url-status=live|access-date=August 11, 2021}}</ref> 

From the early 1760s until the early 1770s, many regional planters received credit loans from [[Tobacco Lords|British-owned mercantile companies]] in the [[Province of North Carolina|province]] to expand agricultural production. The loans funded land purchases and enslaved labor, while British merchants managed tobacco exports sent to Virginia warehouses and supplied imported goods.<ref>{{cite web|title=Scotch Merchants|url=https://www.ncpedia.org/scotch-merchants|access-date=August 25, 2021}}</ref> Initially, these companies offered favorable terms to planters, but over time, declining tobacco prices and high debts forced many to sell land or enslaved people to remain solvent. Due to the [[American Revolutionary War]], most of these debts were never repaid. After the war, the demand for tobacco rose when new markets were found without such middlemen.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tobacco & Colonial American Economy|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1681/tobacco--colonial-american-economy/|access-date=August 17, 2021}}</ref>

====Community development====
Agriculture, including tobacco, remained central to the local economy. At the same time, the early settlers prioritized building a sustainable community. The Graves and Lea families were particularly prominent, playing leading roles in the area's development. Alongside them, the Delone, Barkston, Reynolds, Kimbro, and Peterson families were among the first to settle in the area during the early to mid-1750s, contributing in smaller but meaningful ways to its initial growth. The Delone family, in particular, played a role in the establishment of Leasburg by selling land they owned to support the town's formation.<ref name="auto6"/>

The Lea family was integral in both advancing education through [[Christian school |church-affiliated schooling]] at Lea's Chapel and contributing to the formation and establishment of Leasburg, which is named for William Lea, a militia captain, planter, and civic leader.<ref name="auto6"/> Like the Lea family, other older families tended to be more politically and fiscally conservative than the "new families" who arrived later in the century. They often opposed funding for post-Revolutionary War [[internal improvements]] and resisted expenditures that increased the county's debt, reflecting their reluctance to raise taxes or expand the role of government.<ref name="auto6" />

Before the Revolutionary War, the biggest threats to public safety and social stability in the region were the [[French and Indian War]] and the [[Regulator Movement]] in present Orange County.<ref>{{cite web|title=Regulator Movement  |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/history/colonial/regulator-movement|access-date=August 16, 2021}}</ref> While the movement increased class tensions within communities, the settlers came together in support of the [[American Revolution]].<ref name="auto6"/>

====Religion====
Prior to the Revolution, the [[Church of England]] was the most common religious affiliation in the area.<ref name="auto6"/> Lea's Chapel  was  formed  as  an [[Anglicanism |Anglican]] chapel in 1750. In 1779, the State of North Carolina granted the land on which the chapel was standing to William Lea. It soon became a [[Methodist]] church after Lea's conversion.<ref>{{cite web| title=Chapel on South Hyco: The Story of Lea's Chapel United Methodist Church, Person County, North Carolina: 1750-2000 AD| url=https://archive.org/stream/chapelonsouthhyc00rose/chapelonsouthhyc00rose_djvu.txt| access-date=June 7, 2022}}</ref> Pennsylvania missionary Hugh McAden founded [[Red House Presbyterian Church]] possibly as early as 1755.<ref>{{cite web| title=McAden, Hugh| url=https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/mcaden-hugh| publisher=NCPedia.org|access-date=August 16, 2021}}</ref><ref name="auto6"/> Country Line [[Primitive Baptist]] Church was established in 1772.<ref>{{cite web| title=Historical Sketch of Country Line Church| url=http://www.ancestraltrackers.net/nc/caswell/historical-sketch-country-line-baptist-church-yanceyville.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817090830/http://www.ancestraltrackers.net/nc/caswell/historical-sketch-country-line-baptist-church-yanceyville.pdf |archive-date=August 17, 2021 |url-status=live| access-date=August 17, 2021}}</ref>  Churches served as places of worship and community gathering, playing a vital role in the settlers' social and spiritual lives.