Yeoman Farmers

In 1800, Charlotte was a crossroads, consisting of Trade and Tryon, and had one store. Salisbury was the closest town of any size. A talented, determined settler owned his own land and built his house, barn, fences, and furniture from readily available wood. He hunted and fished and grew fruits and vegetables. He probably kept hogs, allowing them to run freely and forage for themselves, and chickens and geese. If the family could afford one, a horse or ox would be used to till the fields and to draw a wagon for transportation.. They made their own clothing, spinning and weaving the textiles and sewing the garments. They were self-sufficient out of necessity.

Because these farmers worked their own land and were often fair-skinned, they tended to burn. Repeated burning caused sun damage, and they developed a permanent red tint to their necks. "Red-neck" was originally a term of derision the gentry applied to the farmers.
Such farm families frequently had twelve to fifteen children, while planter families had five to seven. The additional children were needed to work the homestead. They lived crowded together in a one- or two-room log house, undoubtedly heated by a fireplace although stoves had been invented and were in use in cities and larger towns.

Their children did not have much opportunity for education. If they got to go to school at all, it was normally at a school run by their family church.

This was the group that comprised most of the population of this section of North Carolina.

Oldest log cabin in Mecklenburg County