Hillsborough in Orange County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Thomas Burke
Photographed by Michael Buckner, February 25, 2022
1. Thomas Burke Marker
Erected 1972 by Office of Archives and History. (Marker Number G-3.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Patriots & Patriotism • War, US Revolutionary.
Location. 36° 5.507′ N, 79° 6.244′ W. Marker is in Hillsborough, North Carolina, in Orange County. It is at the intersection of North Carolina Route 57 and Route 86, on the left when traveling north on North Carolina Route 57. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 405 NC-57, Hillsborough NC 27278, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in North Carolina’s Piedmont and in the Research Triangle. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Hillsborough Academy (approx. 0.6 miles away); Welcome to The Burwell School (approx. 0.8 miles away); Elizabeth Keckly (approx. 0.8 miles away); Burwell School Historic Site (approx. 0.8 miles away); a different marker also named Thomas Burke (approx. 0.9 miles away); This Building Tells Many Stories (approx. 0.9 miles away); Constitutional Convention, 1788 (approx. one mile away); William Hooper Esquire (approx. one mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hillsborough.
Also see . . .
this page online
Thomas Burke, governor and poet, was born in Ireland and grew up in Dublin, probably in a Protestant household. He migrated to the colonies following family quarrels in 1759 or 1760 and settled in Northampton County on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. He first practiced medicine but switched to law, which appeared more lucrative. While in Virginia he began to write poetry, and one of his early poems celebrated the repeal of the Stamp Act. A number of his poems and essays were published in the Virginia newspapers between 1766 and 1768 (they have been more recently collected by Richard Walser and published as The Poems of Governor Thomas Burke of North Carolina [Raleigh: State Department of Archives and History, 1961]). Burke moved to Norfolk in 1769 and in March of the following year married Mary ("Polly") Freeman. As a lawyer he was chiefly engaged in collecting debts for merchants, but his legal activities did include a correspondence with Thomas Jefferson.(Submitted on May 12, 2023, by Michael Buckner of Durham, North Carolina.)
Credits. This page was last revised on May 15, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 12, 2023, by Michael Buckner of Durham, North Carolina. This page has been viewed 265 times since then and 33 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on May 12, 2023, by Michael Buckner of Durham, North Carolina. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
