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NEWS 

“UPLIN COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) – In the days following the Fourth of July holiday, one of our state’s earliest congressmen, who had a key role in shaping American history, is being honored.

A historical highway marker will be unveiled at Routledge Cemetery along Highway 24 in Kenansville at 11 a.m. Friday. It’s dedicated to Revolutionary War hero and early Congressman James Gillespie.

Gillespie came to America from Co Monaghan, Ireland in the late 1760’s. He was elected as one of five delegates to represent Duplin County at the Fifth Provincial Congress in Halifax before serving on the United States Congress.

He also played a key role in fighting the Revolutionary War, helping to attack British loyalists in Duplin County.”  Link to TV News Report,    and an additional family history on NCpedia. 

 

GILLESPIE FAMILY HISTORIES 

The Gillespies of Tazwell County

Family History of Ary A Gillespie (1835- ? ) & Jessie Needham, Surrey Co, North Carolina by unknown author

Family History of George Gillespie & Ann Neilson of Roane Co, NC by Emma Wells

Published Books

Jane Gillespie Brown and the Cherokees, 1788 by J. W D Wright, edited by Gilbert G Lentz/Anna Wright 1989

Lentz-Gillespie, Family Histories, Summary 1613 to present, Gilbert G Lentz, Dec 1993

Lenze and Gillespie Families In Rowan County, North Carolina 1749-1818 by Gilbert G Lentz, 1994 (929.273 Sp31g) – Available Salt Lake City, Utah

Longrifles of North Carolina by John Bivins, Jr, George Shumway Publisher 1969 and 1988. (“It is believed that Daniel Boone carried a “Gillespie Rifle.”)

The History of Roane County, by Emma Middleton Wells, (lists Gillespie history on pages 184 to 187).