Chapel Hill in Orange County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Matthew McCauley

1750-1832

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, September 13, 2025

1. Matthew McCauley Marker

Inscription.
"He Also Shall Become a People, and He Also Shall Be Great" - Genesis XLVIII, 19

Emigrant from County Antrim, Ireland, to North Carolina before the Revolution; Lieutenant, 10th North Carolina Regiment, Continental Army; a donor of 150 acres of land for the founding of the University of North Carolina; husband of Martha, who is buried beside him.

This tablet is erected by descendants, 1939.

Erected 1939.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Education • Immigration • War, US Revolutionary.

Location. 35° 53.97′ N, 79° 5.465′ W. Marker is in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in Orange County. It can be reached from University Lake Road 0.2 miles south of Berryhill Drive, on the left when traveling south. Marker is located in the parking area just north of the University Lake main gate. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 115 University Lake Rd, Chapel Hill NC 27516, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Carolina’s Piedmont

and in the Research

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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 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Carrboro “Truth Plaque” (approx. 1.1 miles away); Elizabeth Cotten (approx. 1.4 miles away); Navy B-1 Band (approx. 1.7 miles away); Hargraves (approx. 1.8 miles away); The Chapel Hill Nine (approx. 1.8 miles away); Journey of Reconciliation (approx. 2.2 miles away); Kuralt Building (approx. 2.2 miles away); University Florist (approx. 2.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chapel Hill.

Regarding Matthew McCauley. Matthew McCauley's actual date of death was 1821, not 1832. There is some minor debate about the age of the gravestone and this particular inaccuracy, but general consensus based

Matthew McCauley 1750-1832 Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, September 13, 2025

2. Matthew McCauley 1750-1832 Marker

on the age given in the stone is that the tombstone was made perhaps as a replacement and bad data was added well post-mortem. While there is at least one theory that the marked grave for Matthew McCauley could instead be a later nephew of the same name, most genealogists and local historians are at least in agreement that Matthew McCauley is buried in this cemetery.

Matthew McCauley 1750-1832 Marker & Grave Headstone image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, September 13, 2025

3. Matthew McCauley 1750-1832 Marker & Grave Headstone

Matthew McCauley Cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, September 13, 2025

4. Matthew McCauley Cemetery

Marker is against the back fenceline.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 17, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 14, 2025, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 75 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 14, 2025, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.