Governor Benjamin Williams, Carthage
The memorial to Governor Williams is a roughhewn, lectern shaped block of granite several feet tall. Attached to the lectern top is a rectangular shaped bronze tablet holding the inscription. Centered beneath the tablets title lines is the Great Seal of North Carolina with inscriptions to either side. The marker stands next to Williams’s grave site which is surrounded by a white picket fence. A small Sons of the American Revolution marker is in the ground next to the Williams marker and grave.
Images (by Marisa Balatico):
Bronze plaque |
Sons of the American Revolution marker
BENJAMIN WILLIAMS / 1751-1814 / CAPTAIN / SECOND REGIMENT / NORTH CAROLINA / CONTINENTAL LINE / 1776-1778 / COLONEL / NORTH CAROLINA / MILITIA / 1781 / MEMBER OF THE PROVINCIAL CONGRESS 1774-1775 / MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 1779-1785-1789 / STATE SENATOR 1781-1784-1786-1788-1807-1809 / MEMBER OF CONGRESS / 1793-1795 / GOVERNOR OF NORTH CAROLINA / 1799 TO 1802 – 1807-1808 / PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE / UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA / 1799 TO 1802 – 1807-1809 / INSPIRED WITH THE LOVE OF LIBERTY AND ANIMATED / BY FAITH IN THE ACHIEVEMENT OF INDEPENDENCE, IN EARLY / MANHOOD HE CAST HIS LOT WITH KINDRED SPIRITS OF CLEAR / VISION AND DAUNTLESS COURAGE, WHO DEFIED THE CROWN, / SEVERED THE BONDS OF AMERICA’S ALLEGIANCE TO BRITAIN, / ACQUIRED THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE COLONIES, ESTABLISHED / CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, CHANGED THE COURSE OF / HISTORY, AND HELPED TO SHAPE THE DESTINY OF THE WORLD.
North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
January 1921
35.467870 , -79.384340
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Carraway, Gertrude S., 1996. "Williams, Benjamin," NCPedia.org, (accessed May 12, 2023) Link
“Governor Williams Memorial Association Busy. Order Given for Tablet to Mark the Last Place of Governor Williams on Deep River,” The Moore County News (Carthage, NC), April 22, 1920
“Join General Carr in Saving Williams' Grave,” The Moore County News (Carthage, NC), January 22, 1920
“Memorial Put Off Indefinitely,” The Moore County News (Carthage, NC), September 2, 1920
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Granite, bronze
Governor Williams Memorial Association
The dedication was first scheduled for July 3, 1920 and then September 1920. The delays were possibly caused by the bronze tablet not being ready. After the second delay further attempts to arrange a formal dedication were not formulated. The memorial was finally in place in January 1921.
The marker was placed as part of an effort to properly mark and restore Governor Williams’ grave. Julian Carr initiated the efforts and acted as president of the memorial association.
[Additional information from NCpedia editors at the State Library of North Carolina: This person enslaved and owned other people. Many Black and African people, their descendants, and some others were enslaved in the United States until the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in 1865. It was common for wealthy landowners, entrepreneurs, politicians, institutions, and others to enslave people and use enslaved labor during this period. To read more about the enslavement and transportation of African people to North Carolina, visit https://aahc.nc.gov/programs/africa-carolina-0. To read more about slavery and its history in North Carolina, visit https://www.ncpedia.org/slavery. - Government and Heritage Library, 2023.]
The marker is located at 288 Alston House Road, Sanford, NC 27330.
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