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
Nicholas Hume-Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely invested as a member of the Privy Council of Ireland. On 23 October 1766 he was created Earl of Ely in County Wicklow in the Peerage of Ireland. He married Mary Hume, daughter of Sir Gustavus Hume, 3rd Baronet, on 18 August 1736. He was succeeded by his son, Nicholas Hume-Loftus, 2nd Earl of Ely. Nicholas Hume-Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely Nicholas Hume-Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely PC (I) (1708 – 31 October 1766) was a British peer and member of the House of Lords. He was the son of Nicholas Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus and Anne Ponsonby, daughter of