WAKE, North Carolina in the 1840s: 1 through 6 of 6
- Newspapers Report that Trinidad Offers Aid to Free Black Immigrants
March 18, 1840
WAKE, North Carolina
African-Americans, Race-Relations, SlaveryAccording to the Raleigh Star, in 1840 the colonial government of Trinidad, a possession of Great Britain, began to offer financial aid to any people of African descent who wished to move to the island. The law was passed in order to speed the economic development of the island, but it had a second effect of encouraging freed slaves in the United States to emigrate. This gave free blacks an alternative...
- 1840 North Carolina Gubernatorial Campaign and Election
January 1, 1840 to August 1, 1840
WAKE, North Carolina
EconomyThe 1840 gubernatorial campaign in North Carolina featured John Morehead, a Whig, and the Democratic Judge Romulus Saunders. The Whigs had won the previous election in 1836 and once again emphasized government-supported economic development in their platform. Paralleling the national election campaign, the parties focused personal attacks on each others' candidates and trumpeted their records on...
- Lunsford Lane Denied Extension of Residency
November 3, 1840 to May 18, 1841
WAKE, North Carolina
African-Americans, Government, Law, Politics, Race-Relations, SlaveryA free man must go. After three years of recommendations, petitions, and court proceedings, the Senate of the state of North Carolina denied Lunsford Lane extension on his residency in the state to allow more time to purchase his wife and seven children. Lunsford had been commended and allowed by his employer, the Governor of the State, to remain employed in the Governor's office keeping order, running...
- Lunsford Lane Finds Freedom
1845
WAKE, North Carolina
African-Americans, Government, Race-Relations, SlaveryLunsford Lane, a former slave, confidently declared in his autobiography, "I strove to keep self-possessed and employed in my mind day and night planning how I might be FREE." Lunsford Lane was born a slave in Raleigh, North Carolina and self-published an autobiography in 1845 recounting his experiences in slavery and his determination to buy his and his family's freedom. Lane was born and raised...
- African-American Traveler Jailed Despite Documents
January 5, 1848
WAKE, North Carolina
African-Americans, Law, SlaverySherriff Willie Pope incarcerated the black man calling himself Sam Fary just three days after Christmas. Though Sam claimed himself a free man, Pope placed a front page advertisement in the local paper requesting Fary's owner to come forward, prove property, pay charges and take him away, or he will be dealt with as the law directs. The newspaper notice included a small cartoon of a running black...
- Governor Issues Plan for Establishing Railroad
December 4, 1848
WAKE, North Carolina
Economy, Government, Politics, Migration/Transportation, Urban-Life/BoosterismGovernor Graham called upon the North Carolina Senate for action in implementing his plan to install continuous railroad from Gaston to Charlotte and connecting 250 miles of North Carolina's piedmont. His proposition required the formation of a joint stock company in which the State and private stockholders would split the 2 or 2.5 million price tag. In the Governor's estimations, 500,000 North Carolinians...
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