Israel Braddock Abbott (May 11, 1843-1887), a freeborn black house carpenter in New Bern, took an active role in local and state politics soon the Civil War, serving as a state legislator and running for the United States Congress in a crucial election. Like many people of color in the mid-19th century, some of Israel...

John Albright (fl. 1810s-1820s), carpenter and joiner, was among the first builders to appear regularly in Rowan and Davidson counties' apprentice bonds and other records. These documented references coincide with the decades from which far more buildings survive than from earlier years. Albright was probably of German background, for the name Albrecht as well...

The Badham family of carpenters, among the most prominent builders in late 19th century Edenton, included at least three generations: Miles Badham I (ca. 1811-1870s), his son Hannibal Badham, Sr. (1845-1918), and Hannibal's sons Hannibal Badham, Jr. (1879-1941), and Miles Badham II (1877-1925). Their lives and work were researched and discussed by Thomas R...

James Boon (1808-1850s or later) was a free black carpenter active in North Carolina from the 1820s through the 1850s. As historian John Hope Franklin relates, the rare if not unique survival of the personal papers of this free black artisan provides an important window into the "common experiences, the fortunes, both good and...

Jonas Bost (December 8, 1794-December 30, 1870) was a carpenter of German lineage in the western Piedmont who lived in Catawba County and executed projects there and in Burke and Mecklenburg Counties. Like many rural artisans, he combined his trade with farming and took a prominent role in local civic affairs. Jonas Bost was the...

Thomas Bragg, Sr. (1778-1851), was a prominent house carpenter whose work in the plantation counties along the Virginia border included houses, churches, and other buildings in Federal and Greek Revival styles. He was born in Craven County, son of Hannah Tolson Bragg (b. 1742) and John Bragg (1741-1816), a pilot and native of Carteret...

Nathaniel Bratton (fl. ca. 1815), was a house carpenter in the Albemarle region who constructed buildings for Tyrrell County planter Ebenezer Pettigrew, among others. He came from an established local family, for an earlier Nathaniel Bratton had been a property owner in the Albemarle in the early 18th century. Like many rural builders, the...

John J. Briggs (1770-1856), a highly skilled and widely respected Raleigh house carpenter, began work in the capital city during its early days and continued for more than a half-century. Along with accomplishing the fine carpentry work on a number of town and plantation houses, he served as "boss" carpenter at the North Carolina...

Thomas Henry Briggs, Sr. (1821-1886), builder and manufacturer, worked in Raleigh during a long career that extended from the antebellum period into the 1880s. With James Dodd, he formed about 1850 the company of Briggs and Dodd, contractors and manufacturers of building components. The firm constructed some of the city's most stylish and complex...

The Bunch family of farmers and house carpenters (fl. 1780s-1860) lived and worked in the plantation communities of Bertie County for at least three generations. The family is notable for its continuity in the trade as well as for the combination of farming and a building trade--a common practice in a rural society. Although...