John Davidson came to the North Carolina back country circa 1751 as a young man, with his sister and widowed mother. Typical of Scots-Irish settlers, they arrived with little more than basic farming tools, determined to make it on their own terms. Davidson worked hard, prospered, married well and built a plantation on the Catawba River he called Rural Hill. The Davidson's were loyal British citizens who paid their taxes and participated in colonial government. When the Crown's overbearing authority interfered, independence became paramount and Davidson and his neighbors became soldiers in the Revolutionary War. After the war Davidson managed his plantation, created shad fisheries, helped develop the local iron industry with his sons-in-law and was an early planter of cotton. His sons and grandsons, along with their slave families, continuously increased and improved the acreage and became early practitioners of scientific farming. Drawing on public documents, family papers and slave records, this history describes how a fiercely independent family grew their lands and fortunes into a lasting legacy.

John Davidson came to the North Carolina back country circa 1751 as a young man, with his sister and widowed mother. Typical of Scots-Irish settlers, they arrived with little more than basic farming tools, determined to make it on their own terms. Davidson worked hard, prospered, married well and built a plantation on the Catawba River he called Rural Hill. The Davidson's were loyal British citizens who paid their taxes and participated in colonial government. When the Crown's overbearing authority interfered, independence became paramount and Davidson and his neighbors became soldiers in the Revolutionary War. After the war Davidson managed his plantation, created shad fisheries, helped develop the local iron industry with his sons-in-law and was an early planter of cotton. His sons and grandsons, along with their slave families, continuously increased and improved the acreage and became early practitioners of scientific farming. Drawing on public documents, family papers and slave records, this history describes how a fiercely independent family grew their lands and fortunes into a lasting legacy.

When Clans Collide: The Germination of Adams Family Tree through Surname, Life Experience, and DNA tells the story of author Wayne Rudolph Davidsons surname and its ancestral connection to individuals and events that have shaped the world in which we live. When Davidson set out to discover the ancestral history of his surname, he had no idea what he would encounter. On his journey, he discovered that people with the surname of Davidson have contributed to government and politics, business and economics, social sciences, religion, education, science and technology, music and entertainment, sports and recreation, and military history. The research included here illustrates events ranging from the evolution of the English Crown and the building of North America to the American Revolution and the American Civil War. He also discovered quite a few events linked to African American history, including the period of Reconstruction, Buffalo Soldiers and the Great Plains, and the Great Migration. Davidsons have also contributed to the popularity of sports and entertainment, the growth of the office of the president of the United States, both World Wars, and the sacrifice of heroes. Interesting and informative, When Clans Collide explores the history of one surname and provides a foundation and plan for making the connection to your own ancestral heritage through your surname.

Vol 1 905p Vol 2 961p.

Written by a parent for parents, this opinionated, personal, and easy-to-use guide has hundreds of ideas to keep the kids entertained for an hour, a day, or a weekend! Fun with the Family North Carolina leads the way to amusement parks, historical attractions, children’s museums, wildlife habitats, festivals, parks, and much more. The whole family will enjoy… Riding the rails and taking in the sights aboard a steam locomotive on the Great Smoky Mountain Railway Getting wet on Sliding Rock, a 150-foot natural waterslide, and exploring the waterfalls at Pisgah National Forest Celebrating the holiday spirit in McAdenville, better known as Christmastown USA, where every December the small community shines bright with more than 350,000 Christmas lights Traveling the world and getting wild at the many exhibits at the North Carolina Zoo, one of the largest walk-through zoos on the planet

The most comprehensive state project of its kind, the Dictionary provides information on some 4,000 notable North Carolinians whose accomplishments and occasional misdeeds span four centuries. Much of the bibliographic information found in the six volumes has been compiled for the first time. All of the persons included are deceased. They are native North Carolinians, no matter where they made the contributions for which they are noted, or non-natives whose contributions were made in North Carolina.

Describes the history of the Bryson families of North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, starting with Scotch-Irish immigration to the US in the 1700s, through to Davis and Gladys Bryson in the 20th century. Includes extensive photos of original documents, illustrations of life during each generation, discussions of what life was like for each family, and coverage of many different branches of the family. The author writes of the old photographs, letters, clippings, and historic information that he and two of his cousins collected: "I realized that many of these items resided with a single individual and might soon be gone. The idea of a way to make this information available to a wider range of friends and relatives started to form. .... Thus, I felt inspired to write this book." "It was surprising to me to see the large number of our ancestors who in every sense of the word were true pioneers and moved to the very edge of a new frontier. Hence, the title of this book: The Bryson Ancestors--On the Edge of New Frontiers."

This account of the settlement of one segment of the North Carolina frontier -- the land between the Yadkin and Catawba rivers -- examines the process by which the piedmont South was populated. Through its ingenious use of hundreds of sources and documents, Robert Ramsey traces the movement of the original settlers and their families from the time they stepped onto American shores to their final settlement in the northwest Carolina territory. He considers the economic, religious, social, and geographical influences that led the settlers to Rowan County and describes how this frontier community was organized and supervised.