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
Earl of Northumberland Earl of Northumberland The title of Earl of Northumberland was created several times in the Peerage of England and of Great Britain, succeeding the title Earl of Northumbria. Its most famous holders were the House of Percy ("alias" Perci), who were the most powerful noble family in Northern England for much of the Middle Ages. The heirs of the Percys, via a female line, were ultimately made Duke of Northumberland in 1766. <section begin=Percy Family/> William de Percy, 1st Baron Percy, who came from the village of Percy in Normandy, was in the train of William I. After arriving in