Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

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1807 - Educating Ladies

Most girls receive no formal education. They learn homemaking skills from their mothers. Families who can afford the $5 per session tuition send their daughters to Mrs. Milligan's Young Ladies' School. Pupils learn reading, writing, grammar and needlework. Five years later, Mrs. Bevens will open a girls' boarding school.

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1781 - Serving Her Country

November 1781 - The British have allowed American nurses to care for wounded American prisoners, so Elizabeth Jackson travels to Charleston, South Carolina. Andrew Jackson is only 14 years old when he receives a small bundle from Charleston. The package contains his mother's belongings. Elizabeth Jackson has contracted the plague and died while caring for her country's fighting men.

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1814 - Treaty of Ghent

December 24, 1814 - The U.S. and Great Britain sign a treaty at Ghent, Belgium that will end the War of 1812. But before word of the treaty that is signed across the Atlantic Ocean reaches America, the British will attack again. One more major battle will erupt, this time on Southern soil.

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1808 - End of the Slave Trade

The United States will no longer allow slaves to be brought here, or imported, from foreign countries. But this ruling does not affect slaves who are already here. It will take a war to win their freedom.

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1781 - Jackson Tragedy

<p>April 9, 1781 - The British are chasing him, but wily Andy Jackson escapes. His cousin, Thomas Crawford, is not as lucky. On the way to warn Crawford&#39;s family, Jackson too is captured. So is his brother, Robert. Soldiers force the boys to march to a South Carolina prison. Their mother, Elizabeth Jackson, rides to Camden and demands their release. She succeeds. But both boys have fallen ill with smallpox, and Robert dies just two days after returning home.</p>

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1764 - Slave Trade

The first sale of a slave in Mecklenburg County is officially recorded. Prices are set in units of British currency, called pounds. The price paid for the African man is 75 pounds. Slaves are given new names by their masters. Some names, such as Joseph and Jacob, come from the Bible. Other names come from literature and history -- Romulus, Titus and Daphne. The slaves are not allowed to use their African names.

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1760 - Catawba Nation Declines

Of the many thousands of Indians who lived in the Piedmont just 50 years ago, only 1,000 remain. The diseases brought by settlers, and the battles with neighboring tribes and whites, have claimed many lives. Some Indians unite with other nearby tribes, such as the Wateree and Cheraw. By joining together, they become the Catawba Nation, with 500 warriors and 2,500 people.

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1780 - Change of Command

August 16, 1780 - More than four years after colonists proclaimed their independence from Britain, fighting continues. Soldiers in the Southern American army, commanded by General Horatio Gates, are defeated by British troops at Camden, South Carolina. Soon Gates will be replaced by Nathanael Greene, who will spend time in Charlotte.Gen.

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1766 - Colonial Physicians

Dr. Joseph Kennedy becomes the first physician to practice medicine in Mecklenburg County. Second is Dr. Ephraim Brevard. In just a few years, both men will become important leaders as the colonists fight for their freedom from British tyranny.

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1750 - Establishing Roots

The self-sufficient, hard-working settlers believe that adults and children alike should learn to read so they can study the Bible. They begin to build churches so they can worship as a community.

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