Famous People

Betsy Byar is an author of children's books.  Her fiction attacks modern social problems with humor and sensitivity.  She won the Newbery Medal in 1971 for The Summer of the Swan.  Other books include:  Trouble River, The TV Kid, The Pinballs, The Cartoonist, and Cracker Johnson.  She was born in Charlotte, North Carolina.

William Allen was an American political leader.  He was elected to represent Ohio as a Democrat in the United States House of Representatives and served from 1837 to 1849.  In the Mexican War he was a senate spokesperson for President James Polk.  He wanted people to move west and settle in Oregon.  He was born in Edenton, North Carolina.