"Shortly before the American Revolution, no more than two percent of the population of North Carolina lived in the few small towns of the province. However, towns and urban areas provided greater opportunities for women maintaining independent households. It is known that three women in Edenton kept taverns for a dozen years each during the eighteenth century: Dorothy Sherwin, Mary Wallace, and Elizabeth Wallace. This is Elizabeth Wallace’s story..." Read the full article her

"It is well known that the present dwelling house at Hayes plantation was designed and its construction overseen by the English architect, William Nichols. The house was built for James Cathcart Johnston on land he had acquired from his father, Samuel Johnston, by deed of gift dated December 29, 1814. Although Samuel Johnston lived at Hayes from time to time after he purchased the property in 1765, he did not reside there after 1793, when he and his family permanently moved t

"The first known member of the Johnston line of Hayes Plantation in Edenton, North Carolina, was the Rev. Samuel Johnston, who was born in 1655. He earned his M.A. at Edinburgh University in 1677. Records indicate that in 1690, he was admitted to the Presbytery of Southdean, Roxburgh, in the Borders area of Scotland. While living there, he and his wife, Isobel Hall, had two sons baptized: Gabriel Johnston (Bapt. in 1698) and Samuel Johnston (Bapt. Mar. 1699). .." Read the ful