James Hogg (1729-1804) was born in Scotland, one of six sons of Gavin and Helen Stevenson Hogg. He married McDowal Alves in 1764 and in 1774 organized a group of 280 emigrants to come to the United States, where Hogg's brother Robert had been living since 1756. The Hoggs settled first in Wilmington, NC, then Fayetteville, and eventually Hillsborough. A merchant, planter, and land speculator, Hogg was a benefactor and friend to education. He became a trustee of Science Hall, Hillsborough's first academy, and a member of the University's board of trustees from 1789 to 1802. He helped select Chapel Hill as the site of the University by persuading his neighbors to donate land and money for the institution. The Hoggs had two sons and four daughters. Daughter Helen Hogg married William Hooper and, after his death, became the wife of Joseph Caldwell (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography 3:160-61).