McRae, John, 1793-1880

John McRae was the postmaster in Fayetteville, N.C., in the 1840s and 1850s, and a private farmer and businessman in Mangum, N.C., from his retirement in 1853 to his death in 1880.

John McRae (1793-1880) served as postmaster at Fayetteville, N.C., with his father, Duncan, 1801-1853. He then went into private business in Mangum, N.C., where he resided until his death in 1880. He married first Margaret Scott Kirkland in 1814, and second Mary Ann Shackleford in 1826. He had thirteen children, including sons Duncan K., Alexander, Thomas, and James Cameron McRae.

Duncan K. McRae (1820-1888) was appointed United States consul general to Paris in 1853 and served until 1858. He unsuccessfully ran for public office in North Carolina in 1858-1859 and then served as an officer in the Confederate Army. During the Civil War, he commanded the 5th North Carolina Regiment in the Battle of Williamsburg, May 1862, and the Seven Days fighting around Richmond, and Garland's Brigade in fighting at South Mountain and Antietam. Later in life, he was a lawyer in North Carolina and Memphis, Tenn.

Alexander McRae (1829-1862) attended Delaware College and then the United States Military Academy at West Point, from which he was graduated in 1851. As a U.S. Army officer, he served at several western posts. He was killed at the Battle of Val Verde in 1862.

Thomas McRae (1831-1896) was a minister at Ocracoke, N.C.; Cairo, S.C.; and other locations in the South. He travelled throughout the South and Midwest, and settled in Pleasant Hill, Ky., a Shaker community.

James Cameron McRae (1838-1909) was first a teacher in Little River, S.C., and then studied law in New Bern, N.C. He became a lawyer in Fayetteville, judge of the Superior and Supreme Courts of N.C.; and dean of the Law School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There is no material in the collection about his career as judge or dean. During the Civil War, he fought in the battles of Big Bethel and Williamsburg. He also served as a major on the staff of General Lawrence Simmons Baker. In 1867, he married Frances Broadfoot Hinsdale and had nine children: Samuel Hinsdale, Elizabeth, Mary Shackleford, John Donald, Cameron Farquhar, James Christopher, Theodore Hinsdale, Frances Wetmore, and Duncan.

James G. Burr was a business man in Wilmington, N.C. He was involved with a number of banks, especially the Bank of Cape Fear, as well as with railroads.

Joshua G. Wright was a lawyer and businessman in Wilmington, N.C., and an Burr's associate. He pursued a legal career, settling debts and claims against estates, and was an officer of the Bank of Cape Fear.