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THE McCAULEY FAMILY CEMETERY: MARCH 2017
This historic cemetery is strategically located on a promontory above University Lake on land
acquired by the University of North Carolina (hereafter, UNC) for the purpose of damming
Morgan Creek and creating a reservoir to provide water for the University and Chapel Hill.
Buried in the cemetery are Matthew McCauley, an immigrant seeking refuge from the English
king (having escaped Ireland before the Revolution), who later was a Revolutionary War
hero, and who subsequently donated 150 acres for UNC. During his lifetime he was a
prominent citizen—a merchant, operator of a grist mill and blacksmith shop or foundry on
Morgan Creek, a Mason, and, with his similarly prominent brother William, a participant in
the laying of the cornerstone of Old East, the first building of the first public university in this
country. He is also said to have been the brewer of the finest Irish whiskey in North Carolina.
At the time of his burial the Cemetery looked out over the Morgan Creek Valley where
Matthew had acquired extensive acreage beginning in the 1790s. The site changed
dramatically in 1932 when Morgan Creek was dammed, creating University Lake, which
consists of 232 acres and serves as the major source of water for the University and for the
Chapel Hill and Carrboro communities. At that time it appears as if a cottage, now deserted,
housed the “warden” or caretaker for the lake. The cottage is a scant 20 feet from the front
presentation of the Cemetery while the Cemetery is less than 100 yards from the shores of
University Lake.
The Cemetery also holds some secrets. The death date for McCauley on the headstone is
incorrect which would call into question the date of the founding of the Cemetery. This
incorrect death date (1832 instead of 1821) occurs regularly in the extant records including on
UNC’s McCauley website at Wilson Library. It is not clear why this repeated error occurs in
citing the date of Matthew’s death. I wonder if he who carved the headstone became
confused and mistakenly listed the date of Matthew’s eldest son’s death which was 1832—an
error which has been endlessly repeated. In earlier years the Cemetery appeared to have
nine graves but only three are known: Matthew, his wife Martha, and a great-grandson,
Charles, a young man of 21. Details regarding the remaining six burials of relatives were
unknown and those graves were marked only by rough native stones, now themselves buried
in leaf mold or possibly removed for mowing. The Cemetery has been restored a number of
times, but when a descendant, Rod McCauley, visited the site in 2016, he found it littered
with trash and it could not be entered due to fallen trees and branches. His posting on
Facebook led the Daughters of the American Revolution (hereafter DAR) and the Chapel Hill
Historical Society (hereafter, CHHS) to become involved and eventually for a grounds crew
from UNC to remove the worst of the trash, branches, and trees in February of 2017. Dr.
William Burlingame of the Society has undertaken this current documentation and he created
the accompanying photo essay and brief history. He, Rod McCauley, and the CHHS will
continue to clarify and amplify the known history, and will work toward the restoration of
this historical site.
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William V. (Bill) Burlingame, Ph.D., Member,
Board of Directors, Chapel Hill Historical Society, and
Clinical Professor of Psychology (Retired), University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
THE McCAULEYS IN NORTH CAROLINA
William and Matthew McCauley emigrated from County Antrim in Northern Ireland to North
Carolina in 1770s under most unusual circumstances. According to family tradition they were
aboard a ship bound for America, their party consisting of William, his brother Matthew (four
years younger), and William’s two small children. Matthew was wheeled aboard the ship in a
hogshead (a barrel or cask) of molasses (labeled as “china” in one account). He was said to have a
price on his head offered by the King of England due to his involvement in the insurrections of the
Irish who, for centuries, had been struggling against English rule. It wasn’t until three days out of
port—and beyond the reach of the English king—that Matthew was liberated from the barrel. In
the meantime he had been fed through a “bung hole” in the cask. Where they landed is unclear,
but they then moved on to Orange County. Over the next decades the brothers each secured
land, eventually acquiring considerable acreage, and became successful entrepreneurs,
merchants, colonial leaders, Revolutionary War soldiers, and planters, William in the New Hope
Creek, Morgan Creek, and Eno River watersheds and Matthew on Morgan Creek. For the
remainder of his life Matthew was jocularly addressed as “Bung” or “Irish Matt” in Chapel Hill and
Orange County, and he was known for brewing the finest Irish whiskey in North Carolina. Although
both contributed large tracts of land for the site of the newly established University of North
Carolina, from early on they assumed somewhat divergent paths. William undertook public
service, serving in Orange County and representing Orange County and North Carolina in the
legislatures and conventions of the new republic, while Matthew became a patriot soldier in the
Continental Army during the American Revolution before establishing the most prominent grist
mill and blacksmithing operation in Orange County.
There is one source which refers to them as half-brothers, but as far as is known they were
brothers, born in 1747 and 1750, whose father was Erin McCauley in the town of Carrickfergus in
County Antrim. This seaside town was then the largest settlement in Northern Ireland and the
family was said to be engaged in ship building. Prior history is indeed murky but the McCauleys
were descendants of the huge population (150 thousand lowland Scots) which had been resettled
by the English crown in Northern Ireland. They had been ousted from Scotland in the 16th and 17th
centuries as the English attempted to establish a Protestant powerbase in the northern six
counties of Ireland by locating a population also of Gaelic or Celtic origin which was Presbyterian
and Protestant in contrast to the Irish Catholicism of the remainder of Ireland (“Six counties lie
under John Bull’s tyranny” from “The Patriot Game,” an Irish folk song.) Tradition holds that the
earliest forbears of the McCauleys were the Norse who had occupied and settled in the Scottish
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Herbrides in the 13th century. There are the ruins of a grand and impressive castle in
Dumbartonshire which is associated with the McCauleys of that era.
Kemp Battle, historian for the University of North Carolina, provides oft-repeated anecdotes about
Matthew, particularly regarding a snake whose species are not native to Ireland. Matthew found
an attractive snake, took it and presented it to a neighbor lady who identified it as a rattlesnake
and promptly educated him about snakes. Within months of their arrival in North Carolina,
matters continued to deteriorate between England and the colonies. Matthew served in the
Continental Army, and wintered in 1777-78 at Valley Forge with General Washington. He
mustered out and then re-enlisted and served at the Battle at Whitesell’s Mill and the Battle of
Guilford Courthouse as well as in battles or skirmishes in South Carolina and Georgia. In 1781, he
was guarding Governor Burke in Hillsborough when Tory Loyalist Edmund Fanning swept through
town and captured him and the governor. For months he was imprisoned at sea on the British
prison ship, the “Eske,” before returning to Orange County in a prisoner exchange but in a
deteriorated condition due to maltreatment aboard. His wife Martha attested to this when she
later applied for a widow’s pension in 1837. Matthew left the Continental Army as a captain, but
for some reason he was mistakenly referred to as “major” or “colonel” from time to time.
The Revolutionary War ended with the American victory at Yorktown late in 1781. Matthew had
married Martha Johnston in 1780 and had acquired his first and possibly only land grant in 1782—
although that 100 acres was said to border on another property also deeded to him. Although the
legal documents we have involving Matthew are rendered in the flowery cursive of that time by
hired scribes, Martha also demonstrated in her affidavit that he was literate by showing the family
bible in which Matthew had himself inscribed six of their ten children’s names. For many reasons,
Matthew held enormous antipathy for the British and the local Tories. Kemp Battle, UNC’s
historian, describes him as a man of only modest size, who nonetheless, when encountering such
a man of Loyalist sentiment, would challenge the erstwhile Tory to fisticuffs on the spot.
Aside from his valor and prominence during the Revolutionary War, events conspired to bring
Matthew and William to the forefront in the years following. The state’s legislature created
mechanisms to establish the University of North Carolina. By 1792, in keeping with established
criteria, the search group narrowed the choices to a single site—the hill and plateau where a small
rustic chapel of the Anglican faith was located—at the intersection of two major roads or paths,
one running from the Chesapeake in Virginia, then to Oxford, and south to Pittsboro and beyond,
and the other from the North Carolina coast toward Raleigh and other early settlements in the
Piedmont. The patrons of the Chapel site had raised a substantial offering of cash ($1500) and
1290 acres of land to buttress their application. Matthew contributed the third largest acreage,
150 acres, and his brother William offered 100 acres. Mark Chilton, Register of Deeds for Orange
County, has identified the sites offered, some around or near the Davie poplar and others which
could be sold or traded to further the cause. In 1793, in a major, formal event, conducted by the
Masonic order, the cornerstone of the first building, Old East, was placed. The celebrants marched
with some pomp and pageantry from a local tavern, and the principals laid the stone and gave
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speeches. The brothers attended, of course, and William who assisted, wore his Masonic bib and
apron which is now preserved and on view at Wilson Library. General William Davie, the father of
the University and Grand Master of the Masons for North Carolina presided. Perhaps fueled by
Matthew’s Irish whiskey, Davie left for New Bern, forgetting to close the doors at the Masonic
lodge in Hillsborough. These were the events as described by Kemp Battle and other historians.
About 25 years ago, an alternate version of events appeared in an alumni publication. It was said
to consist of “legends” in the McCauley family but there was no further attribution to specific
sources or documents. The following is text from the written account as printed in Carolina
Alumni Review, April 1990, by retired faculty member, John Graham, and Kemp Nye, “Franklin
Street fixture.”
The McCauleys were Master Masons and belonged to the Eagle Lodge of Hillsborough which had been asked
to provide support at the laying of Old East’s cornerstone. Since General William R. Davie, regarded by many
as the founder of the University, was also the Grand Master of Masons for North Carolina it was fitting that
he officiate. A mural on the west wall of the lobby of the downtown Chapel Hill Post office records what is
believed to have occurred. History suggests that something slightly different seems to have occurred.
A legend in the McCauley family is that the Post Office mural is incorrect in two respects. First, General Davie
should have been wearing a hat. (Masons will understand why.) Second, the stone was not lowered into
place by a hoist and windlass. The family says that the stone was heavier than anticipated, and the hoist rope
broke. When this occurred, “Bung” McCauley, a small man, turned to Big Dave, his body servant, a 6’5” slave
who weighed 300 lbs., and said, “Dave, pick it up and put it in place.” The story is Dave put his arms around
the stone and lifted it onto the spot designated by General Davie. Then, after a suitable oration by the Rev.
Dr. Samuel E. McCorkle and the sealing of documents and Masonic “jewels” in the cavity of the cornerstone,
the party repaired to a nearby spring for refreshments.
Another McCauley legend is that “Bung” furnished the chief “refreshment.” It is said that earlier in the day
Dave had placed a 25-gallon keg of their best whiskey in their cart, and this became the centerpiece of the
post-ceremony conviviality. General Davie was a heavy drinker, and the cup made many rounds. As nightfall
approached, the well-oiled General said his goodbyes, and departed for New Bern. Unfortunately, the
Masonic Grand Master had forgotten before departing to “close” the Eagle Lodge. It remained “open” until
the Grand Master’s next visit, more than a year later. It is said that by lying open for more than a year, the
Eagle Lodge of Hillsborough achieved a distinction unique in Masonic history.
To my knowledge, no documentation or cross referencing of most of these latter incidents has
ever been offered to authenticate the “legends.” Thus, their status remains that of folklore or
perhaps myth. It should be possible for serious students of history to peruse original documents
and achieve some perspective. By way of example I seem to remember that in the records of the
Eagle Lodge, there is some humorous reference to Matthew McCauley’s whiskey. I have not been
able to locate this passage again.
As Matthew’s presence became more substantial in the county, it appears that he identified a site
for a grist mill on Morgan Creek and began to acquire property. In December of 1790 he bought
large acreage (474 acres) near the creek for 2000 pounds “near the Big Road leading to
Hillsborough.” In 1793, he petitioned for approval to construct a grist mill on Morgan Creek.
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To the Worshipfull Court of Orange County
Your Petitioner Mathew McAuley Being the
Owner of a Certain Tract of Land on Morgans Creek
and Running Both Sides of Said Creek which includes
a Valuable Mill Seat he therefore pray of an
an Order of This Court for an order to Erect a grist
mill on the same.
Mathew McAuley
Feby Term 1793
In 1811, at age 60 (some 10 years before his death in 1821), Matthew drafted a rather
comprehensive will. Indisputably, he was a very wealthy man, residing with his wife and several
minor children who were still at home at his mill site, plantation, and the blacksmithing enterprise,
presumably all on Morgan Creek. To his wife he left “the home Plantation whereupon we now live
with the mill,” together with furnishings, horses, and her choice of livestock, and “also two
negroes by the name of Isaac and Nell.” He and Martha had nine surviving children and to the
four males he divided up 12 or more tracts of land (certainly totaling more than a thousand acres
comprised mostly of homesteads and plantations plus one tract in Chapel Hill). He assigned one
slave each by name to nine of the children. Whatever was left over of his estate would then be
divided equally among all nine. A census which listed the numbers of slaves in each household in
1790 reported his 10 slaves--a number of slaves in excess of that owned by most Orange County
citizens. Also of note is that in 1797, Matthew joined with two other prominent personages in the
county and they, together with a former Methodist minister, founded the Damascus
Congregational Christian Church. Over two hundred years later this church continues in its
Congregational Christian denomination and meets at its long standing rural location.
In the years following Matthew’s death, and until her death, Martha claimed a pension, the
entitlement due to his extensive service in the Continental Army. She was, however, too ill to
travel to the courthouse in Hillsborough and she was interviewed at home by a justice of the
peace. In the subsequent account Martha seems to contradict a few aspects of the history as it
has come down. She stated, for example, that Matthew’s brother William had actually preceded
him in coming to North Carolina. Martha died in 1848 at age 88 and was buried alongside
Matthew at the family cemetery on the ridge above Morgan Creek.
This narrative to this point focuses mostly on Matthew, assuming that the Cemetery serves
primarily if not exclusively his family. Older brother William was born in Country Antrim in about
1747, emigrated with his two small children (James and Jane) and his brother Matthew to North
Carolina in the 1770s, and married Katherine Johnston Long, a widow, in the same year. Once in
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North Carolina, William acquired land grants in the upper reaches of the New Hope and Morgan
Creek watersheds before securing land for his plantation on the Eno River called “Great Meadows”
near Hillsborough. In the early years he served as justice of the peace, tax assessor, and
representative to the North Carolina House of Commons during the Revolutionary War (1778-
1782). He then was a state senator (1783-1789), was a representative to the constitutional
convention of 1788, and was the sheriff of Orange County in 1789 and 1790. He died about 1825.
Most documents state that his “exact burial place is unknown.” However, in 1992, Tom McCauley
of Durham reported that his father and his step-grandmother, “an avid genealogist,” both stated
that William was buried “in the family graveyard on his homeplace.”
CURRENT STATUS OF THE CEMETERY AND GROUNDS
As of this writing I have visited the Cemetery three times, first just to locate it, and then to
photograph and survey the site. Since Rod McCauley’s email which ignited the current interest
and follow-up, the Davie Poplar Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and
the CHHS have contacted UNC. A UNC grounds crew had indeed been there and I could tell from
the chainsaw sawdust that they had removed trees and branches which had fallen into the
cemetery from nearby. They also trimmed some of the Leyland Cypress trees which had branched
over the graves and blocked the entrance. Today I spoke at length with Mr. Ed Kerwin, OWASA
Executive Director, in a very productive conversation which clarified a number of issues. The
cottage and the site are actually on land leased to the Orange Water and Sewer Authority
(hereafter, OWASA) by UNC. And so, it is OWASA that is actually responsible for the site at this
time. Mr. Kerwin is the long time Executive Director of OWASA and he was unaware of issues
presented by the Cemetery and the other items noted below. He informed me that they had on
OWASA staff Bob Glosson who serves as Assistant Lake Warden. He did not know whether this
person was the Warden mentioned several times over the years by visitors and grave surveyors.
He and I will speak again soon once he has had time to investigate the various matters. We agreed
to remain in touch and update one another, and we agreed that it is in no one’s best interest to
restrict visitation to the Cemetery.
There are three marked graves with incised headstones. Three brass plates were placed adjacent
to the headstones much later, repeating what was carved in the sandstone headstones, text which
was becoming indistinct due to the depredations of time and weather on the sandstone. One such
plate indicated that Matthew’s date of death was 1821 not 1832 as the headstone
declares. Martha’s and Matthew’s graves and stones are located in the rear, first row, on the left.
The third marked grave site was for a great-grandson who died at age 21, but further research is
needed regarding that and the other burials. My first impression was that either someone had
vandalized Matthew’s headstone or possibly that a tree had fallen on it. The stone was lying
almost flat and there is a large piece missing from the right shoulder of the stone (which,
fortunately, does not seem to have carried much of the inscription with it). I did not see the large
fragment in the cemetery and the break in the stone seems dated. It left me wondering if the
break may have occurred years ago. Anyhow, the headstone is knocked flat. When I spoke later
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with Rod McCauley, he informed me that when he had visited in 2016, a large tree had fallen on
the headstone. Said tree was too large for him to move, but it was clearly taken out by the UNC
crew in February of 2017. Having learned that much I am assuming that the tree broke the
headstone and that the fragment is probably buried in the organic debris around that grave.
Having traveled with archeologists for decades, I know not to disturb a site and to take only
pictures. The Cemetery itself is now free of trash but has accumulated so much leaf mold that the
stones which mark the other graves are mostly buried (assuming that they are there). The only
native stones I found were marking a grave on the right hand side next to the fence. I would
assume that the other stone markers are possibly still in place. Whose graves they designate is not
known, but they are included on the plat created in 1972. The corners of the Cemetery are
demarcated by attractive stacked and mortared rock pilings or piers. The front of the Cemetery
has two additional piers from which hangs a still functional wrought iron gate. A now very rusted
metal dogwood blossom is attached to the center of the gate and it faces outward to visitors. Split
rails once constituted the fence around the Cemetery and they stretched from piling to piling. I
would guess that they were placed in 1992 when the site experienced a major renovation. UNC is
aware of the need for new split rails.
One can see other well-meaning attempts to create an attractive site. Probably in 1992, or later,
rows of Leyland Cypress trees were planted around the Cemetery. When these trees are exposed
to full sunlight they retain their pleasing conical shape. However, since 1992, when they were
likely planted, they grew under a deciduous canopy, and this shaded circumstance produced
gangly and sprawling trees which intruded into the site with branches which sometimes fractured.
UNC took out some of the offending branches, but it would seem that all of those trees should be
removed. It appears that local myrtle, laurel, or similar shrubs or trees were also planted here and
there and they grew similarly to the Leylands. Landscape contractors know that black plastic
placed over soil which is then covered with mulch will prevent the growth of weeds and will
present a pleasing buffer. Such was apparently done around the entire site, probably in 1972.
This plastic when it is shaded from ultraviolet light does not decompose readily. It is now in torn
strips and is partially exposed in the four-foot margins around the fences. It contributes greatly to
the generally trashy appearance of the site.
There is an astonishing hillside of trash presumably generated by the residents of the cottage over
the years. It consists of barbeque grills, coolers, garbage cans, soda and beer cans, and much
much more. I glanced through the cottage windows and there were a few personal belongings but
any big pieces of furniture had been taken. There were pictures still on the walls. The collapsing
barn was full of tools, rope, electrical cables, furniture, and fish and animal traps and fishing
tackle. This building has large pieces of metal roofing which have now fallen off or flap in the wind.
Once the wooden infrastructure of such a building is exposed to the elements, it is only a few
seasons before it all begins to decay and then collapse. I give it about three years at most in this
case. In the meantime it will be dangerous for trespassers to tread upstairs in the barn. There is a
lean-to addition to the right side of the barn which houses more discards and is similarly impaired.
Behind the barn is more junk but also two canoes and a flat bottomed wooden boat.
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The carport which is attached to the back of the house contained more tools, two large Honda
outboard motors, and bicycles. Between my second and third visits, someone had discovered the
Honda motors and the engine cover of one had been removed. Both had been newly turned on
their sides. There is a metal utility shed located to the right of the house. While the house is
locked, this little building is not, and there is a goodly collection of tools inside. Down the hill
behind the house and below the cemetery, there is some sort of enclosure secured into the
hillside. My guess is that it served as a “deer stand” for the caretaker. There is a long row of deer
skulls and antlers once displayed neatly on the wall of the shed attached to the right side of the
barn. The artist had even encircled the skulls with strings of Christmas lights.
From the road, with the grass mowed, with the playground equipment to the left of the house,
and with a bicycle or two in the carport, persons in vehicles coming up the driveway could
conclude that the residence was occupied and then back away. Since it has clearly been
discovered (note the Honda outboard motors), it seems as if the site could soon be subject to
larcenies and possible break-ins. I hope that OWASA (and UNC on whose property this site is
located) will want to salvage what has value, remove what is collapsing, and clear the trash. I will
speak below to possible longer term ideas for the Cemetery and grounds.
When Milton Forsyth, the indefatigable documentarian of lost and forgotten Orange County
cemeteries, visited and photographed the site in 2005 he found it to be “well-kept.” He referred
to the restoration of the cemetery in 1992 when the chain link fence was replaced by rock pillars
or pilings and split rails. Milton was admitted to the site by one Bob Glosson who lived in the
cottage by the cemetery and identified himself as the University Lake “warden.” It would appear
that the most recent resident has vacated the cottage and property in the near recent past. It
does appear that some months have elapsed since someone lived there.
TIMELINE FOR THE McCAULEY CEMETERY
1811 Matthew, now 61, drafted his comprehensive Will this year. With mortality on his mind,
perhaps he also sited a location for his burial and a family cemetery. This location was at a
high point on the ridge overlooking the Morgan Creek Valley, on his own property, and
near Jones Ferry Road as well as the “big road’ from Hillsborough to Pittsboro which had
existed for many years before Chapel Hill was founded. Jones Ferry Road is also a historic
road running southwest out of Chapel Hill which would have provided ready access to the
Cemetery in the 19th century. It is not certain whether it existed at the time that Matthew
was buried.
1821 This is the correct date of Matthew’s death at age 70. Presumably he was buried at this
time and may have been the first burial in the Cemetery.
1844 Martha died at age 88 and was buried at the Cemetery. A comparison of the gravestones
reveals identically formatted very brief inclusions of data, identical “arched” stones, and
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nearly identical stylized carved inscriptions. Note the letter “I” in the photographs which
allows comparison of the headstone inscriptions. The simplest explanation is that the
headstones were created by the same artisan after Martha’s death and sufficiently long
after Matthew’s death that the artisan did not notice the improbable and incorrect death
date.
1872 This was the death and burial of Charles at age 21, a great-grandson. Inasmuch as he is
buried in the middle of the Cemetery, Row 2 (of 3 rows of graves), one could reason that
there were burials of other family members both before and after Charles.
1932 Morgan Creek was dammed and University Lake formed. The caretaker’s cottage was
relocated from the edges of Morgan Creek to the Cemetery, and the site was incorporated
into a seasonal recreational facility just yards down the hill. OWASA now administers these
properties and facilities.
1939 A memorial plaque with brief biographical data was placed this year by Matthew’s
descendants on the large rock at the foot of Matthew’s grave. Whether this rock was
always part of the site or was moved in order to display the plaque is not known. The
chain link fence, replaced in 1992, was likely installed at this time. Dr. Frank Porter
Graham, president of the University, spoke, honoring the donors of land to UNC.
1972 Beatrice Doak surveyed the Cemetery and created the plat. Note trees and stumps of
significant radius in her plat, suggesting that the Cemetery may have been long neglected
such that two major hardwoods could have matured within the Cemetery itself.
1992 In this year the Morrow family, at the bicentennial of the McCauley gifts of land to help
found UNC, and “in devoted memory of John Charles Morrow III,” a descendant of
Matthew and Martha, funded a major restoration of the Cemetery. A landscape architect
was consulted, and the cyclone fence was removed and replaced by stacked stone piers
and split rails. Brass markers were placed next to the three headstones, repeating the
carved inscriptions, and a plaque was placed at the entrance.
1992 On October 10, 1992, a McCauley Reunion and celebration of UNC’s bicentennial was held
at the Damascus Congregational Christian Church (the church Matthew helped found in
1797) to commemorate the UNC bicentennial and the gifts of land. C.D. Spangler,
president of the UNC system, was the principal speaker and McCauley descendants from
throughout the country attended.
2005 Milton Forsyth surveyed the Cemetery and photographed it.
2017 Dr. William Burlingame of the Chapel Hill Historical Society surveyed the Cemetery and
created this documentation. An inquiry and visit by Rod McCauley of Florida alerted
parties (except OWASA) and led to a clean-up by a UNC grounds crew. Dr. Burlingame and
the Society will continue to advocate for the Cemetery and to document the McCauley
history. Much work remains to be completed as detailed below.
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POSSIBLE SHORT-TERM GOALS
1. Determine who the parties are that have legal and administrative responsibilities for the
site known as The McCauley Family Cemetery
2. Secure written or oral permission for CHHS to continue to visit, photograph, and advocate
for the restoration and maintenance of the Cemetery
3. Contact Allen Dew of Cemetery Census and provide data to update the listing for The
McCauley Family Cemetery
4. Provide material to the Register of Deeds for Orange County to update the Orange County
Cemetery file
5. Attempt to secure a commitment to replace the split rails at the Cemetery
6. Develop a plan to repair and to re-install the Matthew and Martha McCauley headstones
to be undertaken in consultation with professional entities. Secure professional
consultation regarding the stabilization of the surfaces of the three head- and footstones.
7. Consider restoring, replacing, or removing the corroded metal dogwood blossom on the
gate.
8. Develop a plan to deal with the Leyland Cypresses and other shrubs surrounding the
Cemetery; remove the remnants of black plastic sheeting around the perimeter
9. Constitute an ad hoc or standing committee consisting of the representatives of OWASA,
UNC, CHHS, the DAR, the McCauley descendants, representatives from Chapel Hill and
Carrboro if interested, consultants, and interested parties to address short-term and long
term goals and lingering questions regarding the history of the McCauleys
10. Consider securing media coverage
11. Consider developing funding resources for those items which are beyond the missions of
OWASA and UNC; develop a funding mechanism for accepting donations
12. Determine whether there is a national organization of McCauley descendants, and if not,
advocate for creating such an entity
13. Contact local McCauley descendants to determine interest in creating the support groups
noted above
14. Continue research to validate, correct, and to extend the above historical synopsis;
attempt to identify the other burials at the Cemetery.
15. Encourage the clean-up of the hillside, the removal of the barn, and the disposition of the
multitude of loose and unsightly items
16. Secure the assignment of routine and ongoing maintenance responsibilities, and in time,
an advisory group to consult and advise regarding the Cemetery
17. Advocate for a roadside historical marker denoting Matthew McCauley’s grave and/or
Cemetery.
18. Collaborate with OWASA and UNC to facilitate visitation by the public and McCauley
descendants to the Cemetery
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POSSIBLE LONG TERM GOALS
1. Consider assisting in convening a summer meeting and possible reunion in 2017 or 2018 of
McCauley descendants who would attend a program undertaken by CHHS, visit the
Cemetery, involve themselves in planning for its rejuvenation, and generating funding to
support these activities
2. Consider the feasibility of undertaking and supporting the creation of “McCauley Park,”
consisting of picnic tables, a children’s playground, and parking in front of the Cemetery, to
augment and encourage visitation. The existing cottage could be sold and removed by
OWASA or converted into a small on-site museum. Utilities are already in place, and
restrooms could be added. Interpretive panels could be installed. With additional
resources, OWASA or perhaps the town of Carrboro could administer the Park.
ADDENDUM
In creating this summary of history and attaching related photographs, many secondary
sources and only a few primary documents were consulted. The data are frequently
contradictory and some mistakes are continued through further iterations. If readers find
errors or have information which elaborates and adds to this document, please advise me
using the contact information below. Feel free to forward this document and the
photographs to interested parties and particularly to McCauley descendants. This
document is not copyright protected nor are the photographs or any of the quoted
material to the best of my knowledge. As further research is undertaken and as this
process proceeds, I anticipate additional updates in later 2017. If you would like to be
included in mailings, please advise me. Please contact me if a contribution in dollars or in
kind is contemplated. Please become familiar with and support the Chapel Hill Historical
Society, under whose auspices this project has been undertaken.
Bill Burlingame March 14, 2017
William V. Burlingame, Ph.D.
2793 Pickard Mill Lane
Hillsborough, NC 27278
919-967-5383
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DIRECTIONS TO THE McCAULEY FAMILY CEMETERY:
FOLLOW MAIN STREET WEST THROUGH CARRBORO TO JONES FERRY ROAD.
CROSS UNDER NC 54 BYPASS, PASS WILLOW CREEK SHOPPING CENTER ON
THE RIGHT, AND AT THE TRAFFIC LIGHT, TURN LEFT ONTO SOUTH OLD
FAYETTEVILLE ROAD. GO 400 FEET AND TURN RIGHT ONTO UNIVERSITY LAKE
DRIVE. SEE THE WHITE COTTAGE TO THE LEFT. THE CEMETERY IS JUST
BEHIND AND TO THE LEFT OF THE COTTAGE.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 1. UNC’s clean-up of the Cemetery. Photo provided by UNC to Richard Ellington.
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Figure 2. The Warden’s cottage, apparently vacated, viewed as one ascends to the site. All photos by Bill Burlingame on 2/28/17 unless otherwise noted.
Figure 3. Entering the cemetery with the corroded metal dogwood blossom on the gate.