Editing Caswell County, North Carolina (section)

====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.