Peter Hairston (ca1695-1780) was born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland and emigrated to America in 1729. His great grandson, Peter Hairston married Alcey Perkins, niece of Elizabeth Perkins (Letcher), fought in the Revolution, moved to Saura Town in Stokes Co., NC in 1786 and bought Cooleemee in 1817. Peter Wilson Hairston (1819-1886) a later descendant built the plantation house and fought in the Civil War. He married twice: (1) Columbia Stuart and (2)...

Constitution of the state of North Carolina, together with the Ordinance and Resolutions of the Constitutional Convention of 1868 and published in 1869 in Raleigh. This convention was required by the Reconstruction Act, and resulted in the enfranchisement of blacks and more power to the people and to the governor. It also provided for free public schools between the ages of six and twenty-one, as well as for state prisons and charitable institutions....

The story of the Scots-Irish is one of the struggles and achievements of an American immigrant group that existed for only a short period, whose descendants continued to make their marks on the young country for generations. From the North of Ireland to the backwoods of the American frontier, the tale of the Scots-Irish includes a massive exodus to the New World, where they founded communities in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and the Irish Tract...