KNOWPIA
WELCOME TO KNOWPIA
North Carolina General Assembly of 1781 
Summary
The North Carolina General Assembly of 1781 met in Wake Court House (also known as Bloomsbury) from June 23 to July 14, 1781. Each of the 50 North Carolina counties were allowed one Senator and two members of the House of Commons; 6 districts/boroughs towns also elected one House member each.[1][2][3][4]
| 5th North Carolina General Assembly (1781) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | North Carolina General Assembly | ||||
| Jurisdiction | North Carolina, United States | ||||
| Meeting place | Bloomsbury, Raleigh, North Carolina | ||||
| Term | 1781 | ||||
| Senate | |||||
| Members | 50 Senators (50 counties, including Washington District/County) | ||||
| Speaker | Alexander Martin | ||||
| Clerk | John Haywood | ||||
| House of Commons | |||||
| Members | 106 Representatives authorized (50 counties with 2 each, 6 districts with 1 each) | ||||
| Speaker | Thomas Benbury | ||||
| Clerk | John Hunt | ||||
| Sessions | |||||
| |||||
Leadership edit
- Speaker of the House: Thomas Benbury (Chowan County)
- Clerk of the House: John Hunt (unknown county)
- Speaker of the North Carolina Senate: Alexander Martin Guilford County
- Cleark of the Senate: John Haywood (Edgecombe County)
The governor of North Carolina during the time of this session of the legislature was Thomas Burke, who was elected by the General Assembly in June of 1781. James Glasgow served as Secretary of State and James Iredell served as Attorney General.[5]
Councilors of State edit
The North Carolina Constitution of 1776 required "that the Senate and House of Commons, jointly, at their first meeting after each annual election, shall by ballot elect seven persons to be a Council of State for one year, who shall advise the Governor in the execution of his office."[6]
The known North Carolina Council of State members elected by the General Assembly in 1781 included:[2][1]
- June 26, 1781 John Penn, Granville County
- June 26, 1781 Spruce Macay, Rowan County
- June 26, 1781 Willie Jones, Halifax County
- June 26, 1781 Benjamin Seawell, Franklin County
- June 26, 1781 Philemon Hawkins, Jr., Granville County (declined to serve)[2]
- June 26, 1781 John Butler, Orange County
- June 26, 1781 Edward Jones, Warren County
- July 11, 1781 Whitmel Hill, Martin County
Members edit
| County or District/City | House of Commons Member | Senate Member |
|---|---|---|
| Anson County | Vacant (no election held) | Vacant (no election held) |
| Beaufort County | Thomas Alderson | William Brown |
| Beaufort County | Charles Crawford | |
| Beaufort County | Thomas A. Grist | |
| Bertie County | William Horne | Jonathan Jaycocks |
| Bertie County | David Turner | |
| Bladen County | Samuel Cain | unknown or vacant |
| Bladen County | Unknown or Vacant | |
| Brunswick County | Vacant (no election held) | vacant (no election held) |
| Brunswick County | Vacant (no election held) | |
| Burke County | Hugh Brevard (died) | Andrew Wood |
| Burke County | Joseph McDowell, Jr. | |
| Camden County | Vacant (no election held) | Vacant (no election held) |
| Camden County | Vacant (no election held) | |
| Carteret County | John Easton | Unknown or vacant |
| Carteret County | Unknown or Vacant | |
| Caswell County | Josiah Cole | Unknown or vacant |
| Caswell County | Unknown or Vacant | |
| Chatham County | James Williams | Ambrose Ramsey |
| Chatham County | John Luttrell[note 1][3] | |
| Chowan County | Thomas Benbury | Charles Johnson |
| Chowan County | Michael Payne | |
| Chowan County | Edmund Blount | |
| Craven County | William Bryan | James Coor |
| Craven County | John Tilghman (Tilman) | |
| Cumberland County | David Smith | Ebenezer Folsome |
| Cumberland County | Thomas Armstrong | |
| Currituck County | James Phillips | Samuel Jarvis |
| Currituck County | John Humphreys | |
| Dobbs County | Benjamin Sheppard | Unknown or vacant |
| Dobbs County | William Caswell | |
| Duplin County | Thomas Hicks | James Kenan |
| Duplin County | John Molton | |
| Edgecombe County | Henry Irwin Toole | Elisha Battle |
| Edgecombe County | James Wilson | |
| Edgecombe County | Robert Diggs | |
| Franklin County | William Brickell | Henry Hill |
| Franklin County | William Green | |
| Gates County | Jethro Sumner | James Gregory |
| Gates County | Joseph Riddick | |
| Granville County | Thomas Person | Joseph Taylor |
| Granville County | Richard Henderson | |
| Guilford County | James Hunter | Alexander Martin |
| Guilford County | William Gowdy | |
| Halifax County | John Branch, Sr. | Oroondates Davis |
| Halifax County | Benjamin McCulloch[note 2] | |
| Hertford County | Lewis Brown | Pleasant Jordan |
| Hertford County | Thomas Brickell | |
| Hyde County | Robert Latham | William Russell |
| Hyde County | Robert Jennett | |
| Johnston County | Joseph Boone | Benjamin Williams |
| Johnston County | Hardy Bryan | |
| Jones County | Frederick Hargett | Nathan Bryan |
| Jones County | Edward Whitty | |
| Lincoln County | Robert Alexander | James Johnston |
| Lincoln County | John Sloan | |
| Martin County | Samuel Smithwick | Kenneth McKenzie |
| Martin County | Samuel Williams | |
| Mecklenburg County | Caleb Phifer | Robert Irwin |
| Mecklenburg County | David Wilson | |
| Montgomery County | Robert Moss | Thomas Childs |
| Montgomery County | Peter Randle | |
| Nash County | Joseph Arrington | Hard Griffin |
| Nash County | Edward Nicholson* | |
| New Hanover County | Thomas Bloodworth | John DeVane |
| New Hanover County | Caleb Grainger | |
| Northampton County | John Dawson | James Vaughan |
| Northampton County | James Sikes | |
| Onslow County | Edward Starkey | John Spicer |
| Onslow County | Lewis Williams | |
| Orange County | Jesse Benton | John Butler |
| Orange County | Robert Campbell | |
| Pasquotank County | Unknown or vacant | Edward Everagain |
| Pasquotank County | Unknown or vacant | |
| Perquimans County | John Whedbee | Jesse Eaton |
| Perquimans County | Jonathan Skinner | |
| Pitt County | James Gorham | Edward Salter |
| Pitt County | George Evans | |
| Randolph County | Andrew Balfour | |
| Randolph County | Absalom Tatum | John Collier |
| Randolph County | Jeduthan Harper | |
| Richmond County | Edward Williams | Charles Medlock |
| Richmond County | Charles Medlock | |
| Rowan County | William Sharpe | Matthew Locke |
| Rowan County | Samuel Young | |
| Rutherford County | James Withrow | William Porter |
| Rutherford County | George Moore | |
| Rutherford County | David Miller | |
| Sullivan County (became part of Tennessee) | Unknown or vacant | Unknown or vacant |
| Sullivan County (became part of Tennessee) | Unknown or vacant | |
| Surry County | Samuel Cummings | William Shepherd |
| Surry County | Wilson T. Lewis | |
| Tyrrell County | Isham Webb | |
| Tyrrell County | John Harrington | Jeremiah Frazier |
| Tyrrell County | Nehemiah Norman | |
| Wake County | Burwell Pope | Michael Rogers |
| Wake County | James Hinton | |
| Warren County | Joseph Hawkins | Nathaniel Macon |
| Warren County | John Macon | |
| Washington County (became part of Tennessee) | Unknown or vacant | Unknown or vacant |
| Washington County (became part of Tennessee) | Unknown or vacant | |
| Wayne County (newly established in 1779) | Joseph Green | Unknown or vacant |
| Wayne County (newly established in 1779) | Burwell Mooring* | |
| Wilkes County | Joseph Herndon | Charles Gordon |
| Wilkes County | William Lenoir | |
| Edenton District | Robert Smith | |
| Halifax District | Henry Montfort | |
| Hillsborough District | Thomas Tullock | |
| New Bern District | Richard Dobbs Spaight | |
| Salisbury District | Anthony Newman (Nunan) | |
| Wilmington District | William Hooper |
Notes:
- ^ John Luttrell was killed while in office leading the Chatham County Regiment at the Battle of Lindley's Mill on September 13, 1781.
- ^ Benjamin McCulloch, Edward Nicholson, Jeduthan Harper, and Burwell Mooring were disqualified from taking their seats in the House of Commons since they were considered to be Prisoners on Parole. New elections were ordered for August.
References edit
- ^ a b Wheeler, John H. (1874). "The Legislative Manual and Political Register of the State of North Carolina". Retrieved April 9, 2019.
- ^ a b c Connor, R.D.D. (1913). A Manual of North Carolina (PDF). Raleigh: North Carolina Historical Commission. p. 453-. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ a b Lewis, J.D. "North Carolina State House 1781". The American Revolution in North Carolina. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- ^ Lewis, J.D. "North Carolina State Senators 1781". The American Revolution in North Carolina. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- ^ Watterson, John (1979). "Thomas Burke". NCPedia.
- ^ "1776 Constitution of North Carolina". Avalon Project. December 18, 1776. Retrieved October 6, 2019.