Gillespie family.

There is some uncertainty about the birthplace of James Gillespie (1747?-1805), planter, North Carolina state legislator, 1779-1786, and U.S. congressman, 1793-1799 and 1803-1805. The Dictionary of North Carolina Biography says that he was born in County Monaghan, Ireland, while the Biographical Dictionary of the United States Congress gives his birthplace as Duplin County, N.C. Gillespie was married to Dorcas Mumford Gillespie (1750-1801). Their daughter, Jane (1785-1858), married planter Isaac Wright (1780-1865).

The Gillespie and Wright families owned thousands of acres of land and significant numbers of slaves in the lower Cape Fear region of North Carolina, especially in Duplin County. Besides the political endeavors of James Gillespie, the men of the family tended to be active in local community affairs.