The following enslaved men built and sustained the Capitol from 1831 until 1865:
William Abott – George Andrews – James Andrews – Simon Andrews – Arthur Baker – Buck Baker – Ephraim Baker – Tom Battle – Jerry Bennehan – Henry Blount – Junius Brickle – Gilbert Buffalo – Clayton Cannon – Stepney Cannon – Gabe Cobbs -Dick Coman – Henderson Coman – Ingram Coman – John Coman – Matthew Coman – Sam Coman – Anderson Cooke – Benjamin Cooke – Edmund Cooke – Horace Cooke – Robert Cooke – Buck Cotton – Daniel Cotton – Riddick Cotton – Sampson Cotton – Wiley Cotton – James Curtis – Burrell Dilliard – John Dilliard – Boston Finch – Henry Ford – William Ford – Peter Gaddy – Anthony Gales – Sam Gales – John Geddy – Roger Haley – Isaac Harrison – Isam Harrison – Peter Harrison – Phill Harrison – Tim Harrison – Abraham Haywood – Anderson Haywood – Cato Haywood – Charles Haywood – Elich Haywood – Henry Haywood – Jacob Stanley – John Haywood – Joseph Haywood – Moses Haywood – Peter Haywood – Phillip Haywood – Rochester Haywood – Sam Haywood – Sandy Haywood – Wiley Haywood – Jack High – Jim High – Anderson Hill – Washington Hill – Bob Hinton – Henry Hinton – Jerry Hinton – Abraham Hunt – Peter Hunter – Pompey Hunter – Allen Hutchings – Ned Hutchins – Sam Hutchins – Dick Jones – Friday Jones – Logan Jones – Robin Jones – Roger Kelly – Lunsford Lane – Handy Lockhart – John M’Pheeters – Simon M’Pheeters – Henry Marshall – Beverly Morning – Edmund Nichols – Fountain Nichols – Sandy Nichols – Taylor Nichols – Thomas Nichols – William Nichols – Yancy Nichols – John Noyes – Nat Peck – Ned Peck – Anderson Phillips – Willis Polk – William Pruitt – Wesley Pulham – Bob Pulliam – Ivan Robinson – Glasgow Saunders – Henry Saunders – Peter Saunders – Washington Saunders – Jordan Spruill – Caesar Stone – David Stone – George Stone – Giles Stone – Nelson Stone – Reuben Stone – Robin Stone – Nathan Stuart – Isham Terrell – Garland Terry – Richard Terry – Horace Thomas – Joseph Thomas – Joshua Thompson – Alston Tucker – Unnamed – Lewis Ward – Alfred Wheaton – Andrew Whitaker – Frank Whitaker – Madison William – August Williams – Elisha Williams – Evans Williams – Tom Williams – William Winters – Phill Womble – Frank Wrinn – Squire Wrinn – Daniel Young – Isham Young – Joseph Young
Alfred Wheaton
Alfred Wheaton was born around 1807. Though we don’t know much about his early life, we know at some point Alfred married his wife Olive Wheaton. In the 1834 Report of the Commissioners appointed to superintend the re-building of the State Capitol, he was listed as a “laborer.” His work generated $.50 per day.
Andrew Whitaker
In the 1834 Report of the Commissioners appointed to superintend the re-building of the State Capitol, Andrew Whitaker was listed as a “laborer.” His work generated $.50 per day. Andrew likely did not keep that money; we have documentation that shows his enslaver asking for the money Andrew made. Most enslaved people were not able to retain the money their labor generated.
Arthur Baker
Arthur Baker was born around 1788. In 1834, he was listed in the Report of the Commissioners appointed to superintend the re-building of the State Capitol as a “laborer” compensated $.50 per day. Arthur was not able to keep the money his labor generated; it went to his enslaver, Dr. Simmons Jones Baker.
Boston Finch
Boston Finch was born around 1800. Though we are unsure of many details of his early life, at some point he married his wife Harriett. He was listed on the 1834 Report of the Commissioners appointed to superintend the re-building of the State Capitol as a “laborer” compensated $.50 per day. Like most of the enslaved people on the Capitol project, Boston’s enslaver likely kept the money Boston’s labor generated.
Cato Haywood
In the 1834 Report of the Commissioners appointed to superintend the re-building of the State Capitol, Cato Haywood was listed as a “laborer,” generating $.50 per day.
Friday Jones
Most of what we know about Friday comes from his 1883 autobiography Days of Bondage: Autobiography of Friday Jones, Being a Brief Narrative of his Tirals and Tribulations in Slavery. Friday was born enslaved in Wake County.
Giles Stone
Giles Stone was born on October 9th, 1815. His enslaver Sarah Stone listed his birthday on an 1819 list found in her journal. When he began working at the Capitol, he was about 18 years old.
Glasgow Saunders
Glasgow Saunders was listed on the 1834 Report of the Commissioners appointed to superintend the re-building of the State Capitol. Glasgow was highly paid for this project; his labor was valued at $1.00 per day, double what the labor of most of the enslaved men generated.
Handy Lockhart
Cabinetmaker Handy Lockhart (sometimes recorded as “Lockett” or “Locket”) helped craft more than 170 pieces of furniture, namely desks, chairs, and tables, for use in the House and Senate Chambers. He was a well-connected, politically active man of faith in the years after he gained his freedom.
Ingram Coman
Ingram Coman was listed on the 1834 Report of the Commissioners appointed to superintend the re-building of the State Capitol. Ingram was listed on the Capitol project as a “laborer” and was compensated $.50 per day.
James Curtis
We don’t know a lot about James beyond his name and the name of his enslaver. James’s name appeared in the 1834 May Time Books as a “quarry hand.” In order to provide building materials to the Capitol project, the state operated a granite quarry about a mile and a half southeast of the construction site – James worked at this quarry.
Jerry Bennehan
A receipt from 1834 noted that an enslaved man named Jerry Bennehan had hauled an anvil and bellows from Fayetteville to the Capitol. Jerry was enslaved at Stagville, a plantation in central North Carolina about a day’s ride from the Capitol.
Junius Brickle
Junius Brickle was probably born around 1806 to Bill Holmes and Nancy Brickle. He picked up his own compensation from the Capitol project – his mark can be seen in state records.
Lunsford Lane
Lunsford Lane was born enslaved in Raleigh on May 30, 1803. Lunsford was the only child of Clarissa and Edward Lane. Edward was enslaved originally by Colonel Joel Lane. Following Joel Lane’s death, Edward was willed to his wife Mary and then eventually bought by State Treasurer John Haywood.
Ned Peck
It is likely that Ned was born around 1802. Ned’s name appears on the 1834 Report of the Commissioners appointed to superintend the re-building of the State Capitol as a “quarryman.” Ned is mentioned multiple times in the will of his enslaver.
Phill Womble
Though very little is currently known about Phill’s life, he worked at the Capitol as a laborer and may have worked in the grocery store of his enslaver.
Pompey Hunter
After Emancipation, Pompey Hunter relocated from Wake County to Bibb County, Georgia. He lived there with his wife and family, working as a gardener.
Tim Harrison
Tim Harrison was born around 1795. He is listed on the Capitol project as a “laborer” and his enslavers were compensated $.50 per day for Tim’s work. Tim sought freedom multiple times.
Unnamed
Retracing the lives of enslaved people is a difficult process, as those updating written records were primarily White people and often enslavers. At time, historical documents refer to enslaved laborers at the Capitol but do not record names – we recognize and remember those individuals with “Unnamed.”