James Turner Morehead (1799-1875) was born in Rockingham County, NC, just west of Caswell County in north central North Carolina. A member of the Dialectic Society, Morehead graduated from the University in 1819, became a lawyer and teacher, and served on the board of trustees from 1838 to 1868. He was a member of the NC Senate (1835-36, 1838, 1840, 1842) and the US House of Representatives (1851-53) (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography 4:319-20).