Third North Carolina Provincial Congress

Third North Carolina
Provincial Congress
←2nd 4th→
Overview
Legislative bodyNorth Carolina Provincial Congress
JurisdictionNorth Carolina (de facto)
Meeting placeSt. Matthew's Church, Hillsborough
TermAugust 20, 1775 – September 10, 1775
Provincial Congress
Members213 delegates
PresidentSamuel Johnston
Sovereign
MonarchHM George III
GovernorHE Josiah Martin

The Third North Carolina Provincial Congress was a meeting of the provincial congress of the de facto provincial government of North Carolina, composed of 213 delegates from 35 counties and nine towns. The congress convened in Hillsborough on August 20, 1775, and ended on September 10, 1775, during the final year of Josiah Martin's gubernatorial administration. Samuel Johnston was unanimously chosen as president as the former president, Colonel John Harvey, had died.[1]

History

Resolutions

The Third Provincial Congress, which included representatives of all 35 counties and nine towns, established itself as the highest governmental body within the Province of North Carolina after May 24, 1775, when British governor Josiah Martin fled the Governor's Palace at Newbern, ending sixty-three continuous years of colonial rule. The last North Carolina provincial assembly met at Newbern from April 4 to April 8, 1775, before Governor Martin prorogued the House of Burgesses.[2][3]

The Third Provincial Congress divided the province into six militia districts for purposes of organizing the militia and for determining representation on a provincial council. The militia districts included Edenton, Halifax, Hillsborough, New Bern, Salisbury, and Wilmington. Later, an additional district, Morgan, was added for the western part of the province, including counties that eventually became part of Tennessee (Davidson, Greene, and Washington). Much of the deliberations of the congress dealt with the safety of its residents and preparation for war with Great Britain.[4][3][5]

To govern the province when congress was not in session, a 13-man provincial council was elected, constituting the first executive body free of British rule. Cornelius Harnett was elected the first council president.[3][5]

The following 13 members were appointed to the North Carolina Provincial Council by the Provincial Congress:[5]

  • The Honorable Samuel Johnston, Esquire; Cornelius Harnett and Samuel Ashe, Esquires, Wilmington District
  • Thomas Jones and Whitmell Hill, Esquires, Edenton District
  • Abner Nash and James Coor, Esquires, New Bern District
  • Thomas Person and John Kinchen, Esquires, Hillsborough District
  • Willie Jones and Thomas Eaton, Esquires, Halifax District
  • Samuel Spencer and Waightstill Avery, Esquires, Salisbury District

The delegates formed a committee of safety at the provincial level. The delegates also elected members of the military district Committees of Safety "for their common defence against their Enemies, for the Security of their Liberties and properties". These committees at the district level would become the roots of the militias. The following persons were elected to the Committees of Safety for military districts:[5]

  • Wilmington District: Frederick Jones, Sampson Mosely, Archibald Maclaine, Richard Quince, Thomas Davis, William Cray, Henry Rhodes, Thomas Routledge, James Kenan, Alexander McAlister, George Mylne, John Smith and Benjamin Stone.
  • Edenton District: Luke Sumner, William Gray, John Johnston, Thomas Benbury, Gideon Lamb, Joseph Jones, Miles Harvey, Lawrence Baker, Kenneth McKinzie, Stevens Lee, Charles Blount, Isaac Gregory and Day Ridley.
  • Hillsborough District: William Taylor, Joseph Taylor, Samuel Smith, John Atkinson, John Butler, William Johnston, John Hinton, Joel Lane, Michael Rogers, Ambrose Ramsey, Mial Scurlock, John Thompson and John Lark.
  • New Bern District: John Easton, Major Croom, Roger Ormond, Edward Salter, George Barrow, William Thomson, William Tisdale, Benjamin Williams, Richard Ellis, Richard Cogdell, William Brown, James Glasgow and Alexander Gaston.
  • Salisbury District: John Crawford, James Auld, Hezekiah Alexander, Benjamin Patten, John Brevard,[6] Griffith Rutherford, William Hill, John Hamlin, Charles Galloway, William Dent, Robert Ewart and Maxwell Chambers.
  • Halifax District: James Leslie, John Bradford, David Sumner, Allen Jones, William Eaton, Drury Gee, John Norwood, the Revd Henry Pattillo, James Mills, William Bellamy, William Haywood, Duncan Lamon and John Webb.

Delegates

John Baptista Ashe, New Hanover County
Thomas Burke, Orange County
Richard Caswell, Dobbs County
Joseph Hewes, Edenton
William Hooper, New Hanover County
Robert Howe, Brunswick County
Samuel Johnston, Chowan County
Allen Jones, Northampton County
Willie Jones, Halifax County
James Kenan, Duplin County
Alexander Martin, Guilford County
Abner Nash, New Bern
Benjamin Williams, Johnston County

The following is a full list of delegates to the third congress by constituency.

ConstituencyName
Anson CountyDavid Love
Anson CountyWilliam Pickett
Anson CountySamuel Spencer
Anson CountyWilliam Thomas
Anson CountyThomas Wade
Beaufort CountyJohn Cowper
Beaufort CountyRoger Ormond
Beaufort CountyJohn Patton
Beaufort CountyThomas Respess Jr.
Bertie CountyThomas Ballard
Bertie CountyWilliam Brimmage
Bertie CountyWilliam Bryan
Bertie CountyJohn Campbell[7]
Bertie CountyPeter Clifton
Bertie CountyWilliam Gray
Bertie CountyCharles Jaycocks
Bertie CountyJonathan Jaycocks
Bertie CountyJohn Johnston
Bertie CountyDavid Standly
Bertie CountyZedekiah Stone
Bladen CountyWalter Gibson
Bladen CountyThomas Owen[8]
Bladen CountyNathaniel Richardson
Bladen CountyThomas Robeson Jr.
Bladen CountyWilliam Saltar
Brunswick CountyThomas Alton
Brunswick CountyRobert Ellis
Brunswick CountyRobert Howe
Brunswick CountyRoger Moore
Brunswick CountyParker Quince
Bute CountyThomas Eaton
Bute CountyGreen Hill
Bute CountyRev. Henry Pattillo
Bute CountyWilliam Person
Bute CountyJosiah Reddick
Bute CountyJethro Sumner
Carteret CountyJohn Eason
Carteret CountySolomon Sheppard
Carteret CountyWilliam Thompson
Carteret CountyEnoch Ward
Carteret CountyBryce Williams
Chatham CountyJohn Birdsong
Chatham CountyElisha Cain
Chatham CountyWilliam Clark
Chatham CountyJeduthan Harper
Chatham CountyRichard Kennon
Chatham CountyMatthew Jones
Chatham CountyAmbrose Ramsey
Chatham CountyJoseph Rosser
Chatham CountyRobert Rutherford
Chatham CountyJohn Thompson
Chowan CountyThomas Benbury
Chowan CountyJames Blount
Chowan CountyJosiah Grandbury
Chowan CountyThomas Hunter
Chowan CountySamuel Johnston
Chowan CountyThomas Jones[9]
Craven CountyJacob Blount
Craven CountyWilliam Bryan
Craven CountyRichard Cogdell[10]
Craven CountyJames Coor
Craven CountyEdmund Hatch
Craven CountyJoseph Leech
Cumberland CountyFarquard Campbell[11]
Cumberland CountyAlexander McAllister
Cumberland CountyAlexander McKay
Cumberland CountyThomas Rutherford
Cumberland CountyDavid Smith
Currituck CountyThomas Jarvis
Currituck CountyGideon Lamb
Currituck CountySolomon Perkins
Currituck CountyJames Ryan
Currituck CountyJames White[12]
Dobbs CountyAndrew Bass
Dobbs CountySimon Bright
Dobbs CountyRichard Caswell
Dobbs CountyJames Glasgow
Dobbs CountyGeorge Miller
Dobbs CountyAbraham Sheppard
Dobbs CountySpyars Singleton
Duplin CountyRichard Clinton
Duplin CountyWilliam Dickson[13]
Duplin CountyThomas Gray
Duplin CountyThomas Hicks
Duplin CountyJames Kenan
Edgecombe CountyRobert Bignal[14]
Edgecombe CountyThomas H. Hall
Edgecombe CountyThomas Hunter
Edgecombe CountyHenry Irwin
Edgecombe CountyDuncan Lamon
Granville CountyMemucan Hunt
Granville CountyJohn Penn
Granville CountyThomas Person
Granville CountyJohn Taylor
Granville CountyJohn Williams
Guilford CountyGeorge Cortner
Guilford CountyWilliam Dent
Guilford CountyJames Park Farley
Guilford CountyThomas Henderson
Guilford CountyAlexander Martin
Guilford CountyRansom Sutherland
Guilford CountyNathaniel Williams
Halifax CountyJohn Geddy[15]
Halifax CountyJames Hogun
Halifax CountyNicholas Long
Halifax CountyDavid Sumner
Halifax CountyJohn Webb
Hertford CountyLawrence Baker
Hertford CountyMatthew Brickel
Hertford CountyWilliam Murfree
Hertford CountyDay Ridly
Hertford CountyGeorge Wynns
Hyde CountyJoseph Hancock
Hyde CountyJohn Jordan
Johnston CountyNeedham Bryan
Johnston CountyWilliam Bryan
Johnston CountyJohn Smith
Johnston CountySamuel Smith
Johnston CountyBenjamin Williams
Martin CountyJohn Everitt
Martin CountyWhitmell Hill
Martin CountyKenneth McKenzie
Martin CountyWilliam Slade
Martin CountyJohn Stuart
Martin CountyWilliam Williams
Mecklenburg CountyJohn McKnitt Alexander
Mecklenburg CountyWaightstill Avery
Mecklenburg CountyJames Houston
Mecklenburg CountySamuel Martin
Mecklenburg CountyJohn Phifer
Mecklenburg CountyThomas Polk
New Hanover CountyJohn Baptista Ashe
New Hanover CountySamuel Ashe
New Hanover CountyWilliam Hooper
New Hanover CountyJohn Alexander Lillington
New Hanover CountyGeorge Moore
New Hanover CountyJames Moore
Northampton CountyJeptha Atherton
Northampton CountyHowell Edmunds
Northampton CountyDrewry Gee
Northampton CountyAllen Jones
Northampton CountySamuel Lockhart
Onslow CountyIsaac Guion
Onslow CountyJohn King
Onslow CountyHenry Rhodes
Onslow CountyJohn Spicer
Onslow CountyEdward Starkey
Orange CountyJohn Atkinson
Orange CountyThomas Burke
Orange CountyThomas Hart
Orange CountyJohn Kinchen
Orange CountyJohn Williams
Pasquotank CountyThomas Boyd
Pasquotank CountyDempsey Burgess
Pasquotank CountyDevotion Davis
Pasquotank CountyEdward Everagin
Pasquotank CountyJoseph Jones
Perquimans CountyBenjamin Harvey
Perquimans CountyMiles Harvey
Perquimans CountyThomas Harvey
Perquimans CountyAndrew Knox
Perquimans CountyWilliam Skinner
Pitt CountyWilliam Bryan
Pitt CountyJames Gorham
Pitt CountyJames Latham
Pitt CountyRobert Salter
Pitt CountyJohn Simpson
Rowan CountyWilliam Kennon
Rowan CountyMatthew Locke
Rowan CountyWilliam Sharpe
Rowan CountyJames Smith
Rowan CountySamuel Young
Rowan CountyMoses Winslow
Surry CountyMartin Armstrong
Surry CountyWilliam Hill
Surry CountyRobert Lanier
Surry CountyJoseph Williams
Surry CountyJoseph Winston
Tryon CountyRobert Alexander
Tryon CountyWilliam Graham
Tryon CountyFrederick Hambright
Tryon CountyJoseph Harden
Tryon CountyJohn Walker
Tyrrell CountyJeremiah Frazier
Tyrrell CountyThomas Hoskins
Tyrrell CountyStephen Lee
Tyrrell CountyJoseph Spruill
Tyrrell CountyPeter Wynn
Wake CountyThomas Hines
Wake CountyJohn Hinton
Wake CountyTheophilus Hunter
Wake CountyTignal Jones
Wake CountyJoel Lane
Wake CountyJohn Rand
Wake CountyMichael Rogers
Bath TownWilliam Brown[16]
EdentonJasper Charlton
EdentonJoseph Hewes
New BernJames Davis
New BernRichard Ellis[17]
New BernAbner Nash
New BernWilliam Tisdale
WilmingtonCornelius Harnett
WilmingtonArchibald MacLaine
BrunswickMaurice Moore
HalifaxWillie Jones
HillsboroughWilliam Armstrong
HillsboroughFrancis Nash
HillsboroughNathaniel Rochester
SalisburyWilliam Kennon
SalisburyHugh Montgomery
Campbelton[note 1]James Hepburn
Campbelton[note 1]Robert Rowan

References

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 Campbelton became part of Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1783.

Citations

  1. ↑ Butler, Lindley (2006). Powell, William Stevens (ed.). Encyclopedia of North Carolina, Provincial Congresses. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 917–918. ISBN 0807830712. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  2. ↑ Lewis, J.D. "3rd Provincial Congress". Carolina.com. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Connor, Robert Diggs Wimberly, ed. (1913). A Manual of North Carolina Issued by the North Carolina Historical Commission for the Use of Members of the General Assembly Session 1913. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  4. ↑ Lewis, J.D. "North Carolina Militia". "The American Revolution in North Carolina. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 North Carolina Provincial Congress. Minutes of the Provincial Congress of North Carolina. Vol. 10. pp. 164–220., August 20, 1775 – September 10, 1775
  6. ↑ Davidson, Chalmers G. (1979). "John Brevard, II". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  7. ↑ Parramore, Thomas C. Parramore (1979). "John Campbell". NCPEDIA. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  8. ↑ Powell, William S. (1991). "Thomas Owen". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  9. ↑ Powell, William S. (1988). "Thomas Jones". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  10. ↑ Watson, Alan D. (1979). "Richard Cogdell". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  11. ↑ Fields, William C. (1979). "Farquhard Campbell". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  12. ↑ Powell, William S. (1996). "James White". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  13. ↑ Ingram, Charles M. (1986). "William Dickson". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  14. ↑ Smith, Claiborne T. Jr. (1979). "Robert Bignal". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  15. ↑ Smith, Claiborne T. Jr. (1986). "John Geddy". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  16. ↑ Lewis, J.D. "William Brown". Carolana.com. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  17. ↑ Carraway, Gertrude S. (1986). "Richard Ellis". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
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