North Carolina

This book's narrow focus on the mid-18th-century frontier settlement of northwestern North Carolina will necessarily limit its potential audience. However, readers with an interest in the local history of this region or who have ancestors among its early settlers will find it a rich source of information. Readers will want to keep this book handy as its maps, appendices, and bibliography are all useful reference sources. ( )

Ramsey's now classic work discusses the settlement of northwest North Carolina, particularly the Yadkin Valley area including Rowan County. His research goes back to those settlements in Pennsylvania from which the settlers came--chiefly Berks, Lancaster, and Chester Counties with some from Somerset County in Pennsylvania and a few counties in Maryland as well. Ramsey's history includes research on several of the families in the study, making this an absolutely essential "read" for those with ancestors in the area at that period. Ramsey discusses the tensions during the French and Indian War and the settlers' and government's response. Anyone interested in North Carolina history, the Scots-Irish, Germans, or Quakers should prioritize this if not previously read. ( )

NC/North Carolina, Rowan - History/North Carolina, Rowan - Land and property/United States - Migration, Internal