That’s a unique facet that people look for when they’re trying to find their family history in this area.
Lynn Bancroft: The Revolutionary War was certainly a factor in North Carolina. There were battles all throughout the state, and there are records you can find of people who fought in them. Mecklenburg County has a unique connection to the Revolutionary War through what’s called the “Meck Dec” — the Mecklenburg Declaration. Presumably, a group of men got together in May of 1775, more than a year before the actual Declaration of Independence was signed, and declared their independence. They took that up to Philadelphia, where the Continental Congress was getting organized, and were supposedly the first to do that. There’s a little controversy because experts can’t find the actual document, but a lot of people are very proud to be descended from the folks who signed the Meck Dec. That’s a unique facet that people look for when they’re trying to find their family history in this area.