Chatham County, North Carolina in 1771 from Orange County. It had been named in 1758 for William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, who served as British Prime Minister from 1766 to 1768 and opposed harsh colonial policies. In 1907, parts of Chatham County and Moore County were combined to form Lee County. While not devoted to large plantations, the county was developed for small farms, where slave labor was integral to the owners' productivity and success. By 1860 one-third of the county population were African Americans, chiefly enslaved. George Moses Horton, Historic Poet Laureate of Chatham County, (1797?-1883) lived most of his life enslaved
George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie 1748. He died on 28 September 1766 in Soho Square, London, having never gone north of the River Trent again, in keeping with the terms of his pardon. He married Isabel Gordon, daughter of Sir William Gordon of Invergordon, on 23 September 1724 and had a large family of young children in 1746. His numerous children, three sons, and nine daughters, were: George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie (c. 1703–28 September 1766) was a Scottish nobleman. He succeeded his father John, the 2nd earl, in February 1731. In 1745, he joined Charles Edward Stuart