Encyclopedia starting with v

Colonial North Carolina

Vail, Edward (1717-1777)

1664-1775

Edward Vail, resident of Edenton, North Carolina, is most known for his support of American Independence.  He served on North Carolina’s Committee of Correspondence prior to the American Revolution and was a colonel in the State Militia.

Governors

Vance, Zebulon Baird (1830-1894)

1836-1865

Widely hailed as the South’s most prominent politician during the Civil War and post-bellum periods, Zebulon Baird Vance’s decorated career as a public servant included positions in the military, the Governor of North Carolina, and a U.S. Senator.

Political History

Vance-Carson Duel of 1827

1776-1835

Robert Vance and Samuel Carson, two North Carolina natives and politicians, dueled on November 5, 1827. Although the General Assembly had outlawed the practice of dueling in 1802 after the Stanly-Spaight duel of 1802, Vance and Carson agreed to settle a political dispute with pistols. During the duel, Carson shot and wounded Vance who died a day later.  Although Carson became somewhat of a pariah in North Carolina, he later helped create the Republic of Texas.

Civil War

Vance Birthplace

1776-1835

Mountain pioneers built their cabins in the high valleys and coves of western North Carolina. The Vance family pioneer homestead is nestled in picturesque Reems Creek valley, shadowed by the mountains of the Blue Ridge. Members of this family included five outstanding men of character, each of whose lives was marked by service to the people of North Carolina in local, state, and national capacities.

Counties

Vance County (1881)

1664-1775

Established in 1881 in the eastern Piedmont region of North Carolina, Vance County was named after the famous Civil War governor, Zebulon B. Vance. Home to the first military academy in North Carolina and Rose’s Department Stores, Vance County has since become a popular tourist attraction for water sport enthusiasts because of its large man-made Kerr Lake. The county seat of Vance is Henderson.

Places

Venus Flytrap

1916-1945

Only a few hundred carnivorous plants are on Earth, and only six of those are native to the United States. One is the Venus Flytrap. It grows along the North Carolina coastline, within a seventy-five mile radius of Wilmington.

Business and Industry

Virginia Dare Wine

1866-1915

North Carolina provided the United States with its most purchased wine during the early 1900s and before Prohibition: Virginia Dare red and white wines.  The product’s popularity rested in great part because winemaker Paul Garrett led an innovative and aggressive advertising campaign.

African American

Voting Rights Act of 1965

1946-1990

The United States Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA 65) to strengthen the Civil Rights acts of 1957, 1960, and 1964 and eliminate voter discrimination at the state and local levels.  Forty North Carolina counties came under the provisions of VRA 65.