Thomas Lloyd

In the late 1760’s there was an uprising of backcountry farmers who came to be known as the North Carolina Regulators. They were being unfairly taxed on their property, having to pay the same rates of those in the eastern part of the state where the land was much more plentiful and yielded better crops, and corrupt sheriffs were pocketing the money then coming back and claiming they still owed. Edmund Fanning was the worst of these, and although he was eventually convicted of extorting money from the locals, he

was charged only a small fine. Additionally, Governor William Tryon was given £15,000 in taxpayer dollars to build himself a new residence called Tryon’s Palace. (£15,000 is equivalent to over $2.5 million in 2022.) The corruption also included justices and other officials and Thomas Lloyd was closely involved with many of the key players and events.

The Regulators made several attempts to have their grievances heard and in August 1766, at the Hillsborough court, it was proposed that a meeting be held at “a suitable place, where there is no liquor.” The place suggested and approved was Quaker Joseph Maddock’s mill, just outside of Hillsborough on the Eno River. Thomas Lloyd “declared his Approbation” of the plan, and “the Rest [of the court] acknowledged that it was reasonable.” He did, however, propose to schedule the meeting for October, instead of November, so it wouldn’t interfere with his attendance at the assembly.

Citizens spent the next two months, meeting, discussing, preparing, and electing representatives for the event. Officials repeatedly assured them that they would attend but on October 10, twelve representatives showed up at the appointed site and waited all day for officials to appear. Finally, toward evening, a message from Edmund Fanning arrived stating that he could not, by his presence, condone such a usurpation of power on the part of the people, and in fact, looked on the meeting “as an Insurrection” and he could not “brook the meanness of being summoned to a Mill, the Court House appearing to him, a more suitable place.”

Regulators made continued attempts to gain the attention of officials. Hermon Husbands, commonly considered the leader of the Regulators, was a Quaker and a Pacifist, so he preferred to accomplish this by peaceful means, but officials still saw him as an agitator. On May 1, 1768, Thomas Lloyd ordered Husbands arrest and, although he was shortly let out on bail, the Regulators never forgave Lloyd for what they considered an act of duplicity. In 1769 Husbands urged locals to elect their own into the assembly in the upcoming election and they did just that. Hermon Husbands won Lloyd’s seat for Orange County in the assembly. Edmund Fanning, John Frohock, Samuel Spencer, and Samuel Benton were also defeated in the election.

Jeremiah Fields spoke “for the whole Body of the People called Regulators” saying they had come “to see Justice done, and Justice they would have.” The court was unresponsive and soon riots broke out. They dragged Edmund Fanning out of the courthouse, spitting on and hitting him along the way. They let him escape but managed to give a beating to 4 other justices: Thomas Hart, Alexander Martin, Michael Holt, and John Litterell (or Lutrell). The most hated justices, Thomas Lloyd and Tyree Harris, managed to “make their escape.” The next day they chased Fanning out of town, destroyed his furnishings, papers, and clothing, and leveled his house to its foundation.

It all came to a head on May 16, 1771 at the Battle of Alamance. 2,000 Regulators showed up at Alamance Creek hoping their superior show of force would intimidate the governor and he would concede to a meeting. Tryon, with only 1,000 men, refused and the battle began. Tryon’s men were outnumbered 2 to 1, but the regulators were disorganized and out-munitioned. By the end, the Regulators were defeated with some taken prisoner and hanged without a trial.

Thomas Lloyd was a Major in Governor Tryon’s Military but it’s not known if he took part in the battle. He didn’t serve in any capacity in the Revolutionary War and his loyalty to the crown put him in a difficult position after the war. In order to keep his property from being confiscated, he sold his land to his sons-in-law Daniel & John Hogan for 5 shillings only to lease it back the same day for an annual rent of six-pence sterling. The property remained in the Hogans’ possession after Lloyd’s death in 1792.

If you visit Chapel Hill today you can drive through the neighborhoods of Lake Hogan Farms. It’s a beautiful place with lovely homes and neighborhoods. You will find a monument to Thomas Lloyd at the entrance of Stony Hill Road. Please note, however, that there were 2 Thomas Lloyds in North Carolina at this time. Ours, from Orange County, and a Physician from New Hanover who was born in Pennsylvania in 1736. Records for both were intermingled and included on the plaque and the duality was not discovered until the 1960’s, 20+ years after this monument was erected.