James Manuel Mangum was born December 28, 1796 in the Newlight Township on the Wake/Granville County line in North Carolina to John and Sarah Mangum. He was a third generation Wake/Granville Mangum. Unfortunately, not much is known of James' early life.
On September 27, 1816, James married Lydia Ferrell in Wake County. Lydia was the daughter of Hezekiah Ferrell. She brought a large amount of land (inherited from her father) into the marriage. This land is where they would eventually build their home.
James and Lydia had 6 children; John M., Joseph Manuel, Eliza, Sarah K., Lydia F. and Mary Susan. John, died early in life. It is believed he suffered from a mental or physical debilitation. By 1854, James had lost 3 of his daughters as well; Eliza (? - 1850), Sarah (1821 - bef. 1854) and Lydia (1836-1854). Joseph, was a school teacher. He married Francis Emily Rogers and they produced 4 children, Ellanora Josephine (1851-1931), Adella Eugina (1853-?), Mary "Mollie" Valona (1857-1896), and Sarah Susie (1859-1935). Joseph and his wife died during the winter of 1860-1861, Francis at Christmas and Joseph a few months later. Mary Susan, married Duncan Cannady 60 days after James' death. Duncan was Sarah's widower and executor of James Mangum's Will. They had 1 child, Francis (1855-1914).
In 1838, James Mangum was elected to the NC House of Commons (Present day NC House of Representatives). He was re-elected to the same post again in 1840. After leaving the House of Commons in 1842, James was elected Brigadier General of the 17th Brigade, 7th Division of the North Carolina Militia, a title of which he was very proud.
In 1844, James and Lydia built what would become a national historic site, the James Mangum House. The house was built in the greek-revival style. James stated that he would be pleased if he could live in it for at least 10 years. He would have been pleased.
James died November 22, 1854. He just had celebrated his 38th wedding anniversary. He had the opportunity to see his children get married and give him fifteen grandchildren. His investment in new technology, the North Carolina Railroad, was looking promising. He enjoyed the respect of his fellow citizens as they came to him for advice and to settle their dispute.
At the time of his death, James was one of the wealthiest men in all of North Carolina. He owned just over 1000 acres of land, which put him in the top 99½ percent of his fellow North Carolinians and, being a man of his times, also owned 24 slaves, which put him in the top 97 percent of all North Carolina slave owners. It should be noted that in his will, James allotted his slaves to his children by name and tried to keep children with their mothers (unlike his father, who ordered his slaves "valued" and divided into 6 lots for his heirs). His 1854 will, written by his own hand just 7 weeks before his death, listed his 24 slaves as: Jim, Sam, Ruth (and her child William), Emily (and her child Maranda), Benjamine, Malinda (and her children David and Isaac), Ned, Catharine, Linda, Mary, Caroline (and her child Louize), Harvy, Candis, Martha, Jerry, Amanda (and her child Hepsabah), Silvia, and Cary.
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 Lydia Ferrell Mangum (1790 - 1974) |
 Joseph Manuel Mangum (1822-1861) Worked as a school teacher |
 Francis Emily (Rogers) Mangum (1830-1861) |
 Mary Valona Mangum (1857-1896) |
 Clinton M. Rogers (1836-1907) Former Sheriff of Granville County |
Information for this page was taken from the works of Mangum family historian Hayes McNeill and is the intellectual and/or copyrighted property of same. Used with permission.