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
Richard Ryder (politician, born 1766) Richard Ryder (politician, born 1766) Richard Ryder (5 July 1766 – 18 September 1832) was a British Tory politician. He notably served as Home Secretary between 1809 and 1812. Ryder was a younger son of Nathaniel Ryder, 1st Baron Harrowby and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of the Right Reverend Richard Terrick, Bishop of London. Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby, was his elder brother and the Right Reverend the Hon. Henry Ryder, Bishop of Coventry and of Lichfield, his younger brother. He was educated at St John’s College, Cambridge. Ryder sat as Member of Parliament for Tiverton from 1795 to