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History Timeline

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 - Andrew Jackson

April, 1780 - Andrew Jackson is just 13 years old, but knows how to find his way through the tangled trails surrounding his home at Waxhaw on the North-South Carolina border. Revolutionary War Major William R. Davie needs help, and enlists young Andy as his scout and messenger.

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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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1767 - Land Grants

Jan. 15, 1767 - Lord Augustus Selwyn agrees to sell 360 acres of land to Abraham Alexander, Thomas Polk and John Frohock. Since there is no American currency yet, the price is determined in British units of money, called pounds. The price for the land is 90 pounds. The land lies where the future downtown Charlotte will flourish.

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1767 - A President Born

March 15, 1767 - Andrew Jackson is born at Waxhaw, on the border between North and South Carolina. Though his father died before Jackson's birth, this working-class descendant of Scots-Irish immigrants will be elected to the highest office in the U.S. He will become its seventh president in 1828.

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1711 - Lawson's Violent End

September 16, 1711 - There are bitter arguments between the Indians and white settlers over hunting and trading practices. Englishman John Lawson, who surveyed and wrote about North Carolina a decade previously, is killed in the eastern part of the state by a tribe of Indians called the Tuscaroras.

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1763 - Love for a Queen

February 1, 1763 - From the western section of Anson County, a piece of land is set aside to form a new county. It is called Mecklenburg County, in honor of King George III's wife. Her name is Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and the county is named for her homeland in Germany. Later, the city itself will be named for Queen Charlotte. A law passed in the previous year made the changes effective as of February 1, 1763.

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1740 - Rural Settlers

The rivers of the Piedmont are difficult to navigate from outside areas, and this interior region becomes known as the Backcountry. Swiss and French settlers from Charleston, South Carolina slowly begin to make their way here. They join the English settlers.

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