The History of Mecklenburg County, NC, 1740-1900

Westminster, MD: Heritage Books Inc. New. 2008. Paperback. 458 pages. Mecklenburg County, located between Yadkin and Catawba Rivers in southern North Carolina, had most of its present boundaries marked off in 1762. The sparse pioneer population of the region at that time was much increased over the next two decades by several tides of immigration, especially from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ireland, and Germany. Charlotte is the county seat. J. B. Alexander, a resident of Mecklenburg, was unabashedly proud of his home. From the fiery, anti-tax preaching of Rev. Alexander Craighead, in the years preceding the War of Independence; to the early life of James Knox Polk, Mecklenburg's home-grown U.S. president; all the glories of Mecklenburg County are faithfully recorded here. Likewise, from the many brave Confederate officers of the Civil War to the general courage and dignity exhibited by Mecklenburg citizens during the hardships and abuses of Reconstruction, the nobility of the Old South is mourned and eulogized. Interspersed throughout the historical narrative of the book are dozens of brief biographical sketches of prominent citizens. These sketches usually include such information as the individual's education, occupation, ancestors, and descendants. One chapter lists the rosters of all "Twenty-One Companies Furnished by Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, in the War of 1861-1865." Many portraits, a map and a new surname index are included. .