James Hogg was born in 1729 in East Lothian, Scotland. He and his wife immigrated to North Carolina in roughly 1774, following his brother who had been in the state for some time. Hogg first settled in Wilmington, where he became a partner in a mercantile company operated by his brother and Samuel Campbell. He then moved to Fayetteville, where he opened a store, before finally settling on a farm near Hillsborough.
During the American Revolution, Hogg sided with the colonists, serving on Hillsborough’s Committee of Safety during the war and sitting on the town’s Board of Commissioners in 1777. He was captured in his house when the British took Hillsborough, though he was soon released.
Hogg was a land spectator, land owner, and enslaver. These endeavors made him enough money to become a benefactor of education. He was a primary backer and trustee of Hillsborough’s first academy in 1779. He was also very involved in the formation of UNC, being on its first board of trustees. He campaigned for land donations to the university and was involved in the selection of a site for the school. He died from a stroke in 1802.