Book excerpt: This volume is one of the best county histories which have appeared in the South. It does not confine itself to genealogical and patriotic matters; but it very properly goes into the field of industrial and social history. This piece of good sense is, no doubt, the result of the author's long identification with the business interests of his county. He was known far and wide as a successful manufacturer, and, as a writer on topics connected with the cotton industry, he has done much good work. He has drawn from the "North Carolina Colonial Records" for his account of the early settlement of Mecklenburg; he has wrought into his book much of the revolutionary history of the period. In regard to the long-disputed matter of the "Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence" he has been content to tell the story simply in support of the "Declaration." He has not gone into the features of the controversy, but lets the reader judge from the documents given in the second part of this book to substantiate the theory. It is fortunate that this is so, for Mecklenburg county, aside from its disputed "Declaration," has had a history full of romantic interest. No other county in the State has surpassed it in its firm adherence to liberty and democracy.