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 Bellomont died without surviving male issue in 1766. The late Earl was succeeded in the barony of Coote by his first cousin once removed, Charles Coote, who became the fifth Baron. Charles was the son of Charles Coote (1695–1750), Member of Parliament for County Cavan, son of the Honourable Thomas Coote, a Justice of the Court of King's Bench (Ireland), younger son of the first Baron. On 4 September 1767 the earldom of Bellomont was created for the third time when Charles was made Earl of Bellomont (although the title was probably erroneously spelled "Bell"a"mont" in the letters patent). On 18