Family and Early Years
The Lenoir name is of French origin, literally translating to "the black," which was a term that was similar to how we now use "dark" to speak of someone with dark hair and complexion. Lenoirs came to the English colonies in America from Brittany as a result of 17th century religious troubles. Brittany was just across the English Channel from Southern England. Because it had such a long coastline, it is no surprise how many mariners came from the area. The Lenoir coat-of-arms, "Le Noir de Nantes" is named for Nantes, the largest city of Brittany and an important seaport.
William Lenoir was born the youngest of ten in a French Huguenot family in Brunswick County, Virginia. His mother was Mourning Crawley, the daughter of a well-to-do Virginia planter. Her grandfather was Robert Crawley who was an early vestryman of the most noted surviving colonial church, Bruton Parish in Williamsburg. Lenoir's father was Thomas Lenoir, who, like his own father, was a mariner in early life before his marriage when he became a tobacco planter for the remainder of his life. The family moved to eastern North Carolina when William was nine years old, which was where his father died in 1765. Of the four daughters, Ann, Betty, Leah, and Mary; Leah lived the longest, marrying John Norwood and dying in North Carolina at age 94. One of the six sons of Thomas and Mourning died unmarried, Robert remained in Virginia, Thomas Jr., Isaac and John settled in South Carolina, and William remained in North Carolina, where he went on to have a distinguished public career and found the Fort Defiance branch of the family.
Lenoir had no formal education, but could read and write Latin, Greek, and French. His first occupation was that of teacher and schoolmaster, before he became a surveyor. While surveying in western North Carolina, Lenoir decided to permanently settle there. He brought with him his wife, Ann Ballard, and a baby daughter, when he arrived in March 1775. The Lenoirs had nine children in all. One, Martha or "Patsy", married Israel Pickens.
Read more about this topic: William Lenoir (general)
Famous quotes containing the words early years, family and, family, early and/or years:
“I believe that if we are to survive as a planet, we must teach this next generation to handle their own conflicts assertively and nonviolently. If in their early years our children learn to listen to all sides of the story, use their heads and then their mouths, and come up with a plan and share, then, when they become our leaders, and some of them will, they will have the tools to handle global problems and conflict.”
—Barbara Coloroso (20th century)
“Nothing strengthens the judgment and quickens the conscience like individual responsibility. Nothing adds such dignity to character as the recognition of one’s self-sovereignty; the right to an equal place, everywhere conceded—a place earned by personal merit, not an artificial attainment by inheritance, wealth, family and position.”
—Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902)
“Our children need to be able to see us take a stand for a value and against injustices, be those values and injustices in the family room, the boardroom, the classroom, or on the city streets.”
—Barbara Coloroso (20th century)
“In early times every sort of advantage tends to become a military advantage; such is the best way, then, to keep it alive. But the Jewish advantage never did so; beginning in religion, contrary to a thousand analogies, it remained religious. For that we care for them; from that have issued endless consequences.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)
“Some of these people need ten years of therapy—ten sentences of mine do not equal ten years of therapy.”
—Jeff Zaslow (b. 1925)