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- !BIRTH/DEATH/MARRIAGE/HISTORY: Greensboro Newspaper, Orange County
Section, Dated 8 Oct 1992: In 1792, Matthew and his brother William
donated land to help start the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, NC. In return, they were each guarenteed that on son would receive
a free education at the newly built institution.Matthew and William were
Irish immigrants who each came to America with a "single suit of clothing
and a handful of coins in his pocket". Legend has it that a
t least one of the McCAULEY brothers was on the lam when he left Belfast
in the mid-1700's, hidden in a wooden barrel on a ship.According to the
family tradition, Matthew was wanted in Ulster for seditious activities
against the crown. His b
rother loaded him into a barrel on a ship out of Belfast, bribed an
inspector and fed Matthew through a hole in the barrel until they were
well on their way to America.In truth, the brothers arrived separately;
William came first and became t
he first sheriff in Hillsborough, NC, after the revolution. Matthew, who
served under Wasington at Valley Forge, came to Chapel Hill and opened a
flour mill. The two brothers were mostly ordinary farmers.The McCAULEY
Clan has been forever gr
ateful for the generosity of the two brothers. In 1953, the McCAULEYs
held a ceremony at the grave site of Matthew near University Lake in
Carrboro, NC. In 1992, the Clan gathered again to celebrate.
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