Nathaniel Macon, a nationally prominent senator and congressman from North Carolina, was born December 17, 1758. He served in the United States Congress continuously for thirty-seven years, as a representative from 1791 to 1815 and as a senator from 1815 until he resigned in 1828. As Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1801 to 1807, he was one of the most powerful men in the nation and exercised great influence until his death on June 29, 1837. He wished that no grief be expressed at his funeral and requested that dinner and grog be served and that each friend cast a stone on his grave. He is buried at his homeplace beside his wife and son, and the fourth grave is believed to be his grandson. Large mounds of stones cover all the graves. Thomas Jefferson referred to him as "The Last of the Romans."