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 Chatham her husband had wished to remain a member of the House of Commons. Their second son was William Pitt the Younger, who became the country's youngest Prime Minister in 1783, at the age of 24. Their eldest son, John Pitt, inherited the earldom and viscountcy in 1778 and the barony in 1803. Upon his death in 1835, all three titles became extinct. The second creation of this title came in 1761 in favour of Lady Hester Pitt; the first creation was for John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll and hence the Duke of Argyll. Earl of Chatham Earl of Chatham,