Roy Everett Lamb II. The Maritime History of Edenton, North Carolina: 1768-1773 (Under the direction of William N. Still, Jr.) Department of History, 1981.

To look at Edenton, North Carolina, today it is hard to believe that this now quiet coastal town was once one of the most important ports in North Carolina. In fact, Edenton was the most active exporting and importing port in the colony of North Carolina during the five-year period covered in this study. 

The purpose of this study is to examine the shipping and trade routes of Colonial Edenton prior to the American Revolution in order to gain a better understanding of the port's importance. This study will be based primarily upon the British Customs Accounts, the official records for all colonial ports in North America.

These records were compiled by the various comptrollers and collectors of customs who were assigned to each of the colonial ports. The officials were required to report annually to the Commissioners of Customs at Boston, who then forwarded these reports to the Board of Trade in London, where the original records are kept. The records used in this study are photocopies of the originals and are stored in the Southern Historical Collection in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.