For the first few months Henry and Sophie concentrated their efforts on establishing a good business, and the discussions in his shop were somewhat restrained and cautious. He resolved just to listen until he knew his customers and the loungers better, but he was naturally loquacious among his peers and couldn’t restrain himself for more than a few days. His first impressions were of how different life was in this frontier area, compared with what it had been in Philadelphia and Norfolk. Even though there was a clear distinction and natural incompatibility between the rich and poor families in Orange County, both groups seemed relatively satisfied with the status quo when the Pratts arrived in Hillsborough. The social and political divisions seemed secondary to a common scramble to establish new lives in a strange environment.

His impressions changed when a small group of regulars at the shoemaker shop began to stay for an hour or so after Henry quit working, to share a few pitchers of ale and enjoy a more frank and incisive discussion. Henry was caught up in the arguments and intrigues of the region and soon aligned himself with the small property owners, workers who had no businesses of their own, and farm families and tradesmen who wanted freedom to manage their own lives. None of them shared the social status or governmental authority of the more prosperous merchants, large landowners, and courthouse politicians, most of whom derived their wealth and influence from ties to their equivalents on the coast.

Henry’s new friends combined their skills as raconteurs with an eagerness to learn as much as possible about the political situation in their own area. They were fascinated with Henry’s description of his involvement in Norfolk with the Sons of Liberty, and he repeated some of the political opinions he had derived from them and from Mr. Knox. One of the group, Richard Pyle, was employed as a scribe in the courthouse and, despite the danger of losing his job, was willing to share with Henry and a few others information that was recorded there on wills, tax digests, and property transfers. It was clear that, as in other communities, the powerful families were using every device to increase their wealth and influence. In Orange County, their procedures were not always legal or proper.

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