Artisans

by Batson, Whaley W. Mordecai Collins, cabinetmaker, was born probably in Virginia, of unknown ancestry. His name first appears in Rowan County records on 3 Dec. 1809, in an entry stating that Collins purchased from John [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Wrenn, Tony P. Day, Thomas by Tony P. Wrenn, 1986; Revised by Jared Dease, Government and Heritage Library, December 2022.   See also: Thomas Day, Research Branch, NC Office of Archives and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by York, Maury. Johann Ludwig Eberhardt, clockmaker, the son of Johann Gottfried Eberhardt, was born in Stadtilm, Thuringia (southeast Germany). Raised in a devout Lutheran family, he was educated in a Lutheran [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Hirsch, Jerrold M. Joseph Fels, soap manufacturer and reformer, was born in Halifax County, Va., the second son and fourth of seven children and the first American-born child of Lazarus and Susanna Frieberg Fels, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. John Geddy, silversmith and patriot, was born in Williamsburg, Va., the son of James and Anne Geddy. His brother, James, was a prominent silversmith whose restored shop on Duke of Gloucester Street [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. Kenneth George may be only 30 years old, but he has 10 generations of pottery making behind him. He and his grandmother operate the famous Cole's Pottery in Sanford. The first Cole potter moved to [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Batson, Whaley W. James Gheen, cabinetmaker, may have moved to Rowan County from Chester County, Pa., in the late 1770s. The Rowan County tax list for 1778 shows that he resided in "Capt. Craige's District." Nothing [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Levy, Suzanne S. George Way Harley, Methodist missionary, physician, blacksmith, geographer, anthropologist, and researcher, was born in Asheville to George Gamewell (1862–1925) and Lillie [Lily] Way (1871–1959) [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. I visited with master plasterer William M. Hill at his home in Clinton, an hour southeast of Raleigh. At age 77, he is renowned for his painstaking restorations of some of the state's most historic [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Conway, Robert O. Ernest Auburn Hilton, master potter, was born in Catawba County near Hickory, the son of John Wesley Helton (or Hilton), a farmer and manufacturer of jugs. The family lived in the first section of [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Engstrom, Mary Claire. Roswell Huntington, Revolutionary silversmith in Hillsborough and founder of three generations of silversmiths, was born in Norwich, Conn., the son of Ebenezer, Jr. (1740–63), and Sarah Edgerton [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Engstrom, Mary Claire. William Huntington, Hillsborough silversmith and engraver, Presbyterian churchman, and businessman, was born in Hillsborough, the oldest of three sons of silversmith Roswell Huntington, a native of [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. I recently joined Marvin Tupper Jones at his family's annual reunion and fish fry. We were in Pleasant Plains, part of an extraordinary, 9-mile-long swath of land in the state's rural, northeast [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Wegner, Ansley Herring. Keckly (Keckley), Elizabeth Hobbs by Ansley Wegner, Research Branch, NC Office of Archives and History, 2013; Revised by SLNC Government and Heritage Library, January [...] (from Research Branch, NC Office of Archives and History.)

by Melvin, Katharine S. Kennedy, David by K. S. Melvin, 1988 20 Jan. 1768–2 May [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Peacock, Mary R. B. Leinbach, Traugott by Mary Reynolds Peacock, 1991 7 July 1796–30 Apr. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Stanback, Florence Q. Little, William by Florence Q. Stanback, 1991; Revised by Jared Dease, Government and Heritage Library, December 2022 10 May 1775–30 Aug. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Peacock, Mary R. B. Lynch, Lemuel by Mary Reynolds Peacock, 1991 5 Apr. 1808–19 Sept. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Peacock, Mary R. B. Robert Mellyne, silversmith, was living in North Carolina for some years prior to 1702 and may well have been the colony's earliest silversmith. His name, with all its variations of spelling (Moline, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cauble, Frank P. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Zug, Charles G., III. Benjamin Wade Owen, traditional potter, was born and raised near the Westmoore community in northwestern Moore County, the son of Rufus and Martha McNeill Owen. As a member of a large clan of [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. Hazel Reece is one of the finest quilters of our day. Her quilts have won many awards and honors, including a Best of Show at the N.C. State Fair. One of her quilts graces the N.C. Museum of History [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Peacock, Mary R. B. Charles Boudinot Root, silversmith, businessman, and civic leader of Raleigh, was born in Montague, Mass., the son and only surviving child of Elihu Root (1767–1869), a prominent landowner, and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Spach, John Thom. Spach, William Elias by John Thom Spach, 1994; Revised December 2021 24 Apr. 1830–21 Feb. 1891 William Elias Spach, wagon maker, was born on his father's farm at Waughtown (now part of [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Murray, Elizabeth D. R. William Stronach, state capitol stonemason, marble carver, Raleigh businessman, and founder of the family in North Carolina, was born at Stroneveagh (meaning "the place of the Stronachs") in Moray [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Davis, Sarajanee. Day, Thomas  Fine-Crafted Freedom By Sarajanee Davis, N.C. Government & Heritage Library, 2019; Revised December 2022. From the NCpedia K-8 Collection Ca. 1801-1861 Do you [...] (from NCpedia K-8 Collection.)

by Kemp, Amy. Bob Timberlake is a renowned painter and furniture designer. He famously has had no formal art education, but is noted for his intricate attention to color and detail in his paintings as well as his [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Powell, William S. Panthea Massenburg Twitty, photographer, ceramist, and historical writer, was born in Warrenton, the daughter of Nancy B. White and John B. Massenburg. She was educated in local schools, studied art [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Smith, Rosamond C. John Vogler, gunsmith, silversmith, and watchmaker, was the son of George Michael and Anna Maria Kunzel Vogler of Friedland. At age eleven John was left an orphan and lived with his maternal [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Peacock, Mary R. B. Woods, Freeman by Mary R. B. Peacock, 1996 ca. 1766–20 Nov. 1834 Freeman Woods, silversmith, was a native of New Jersey and worked in New York before moving to New Bern around 1794. For the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)