| 7th North Carolina General Assembly (1783) | |||||
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| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | North Carolina General Assembly | ||||
| Jurisdiction | North Carolina, United States | ||||
| Meeting place | Hillsborough | ||||
| Term | 1782 | ||||
| Senate | |||||
| Members | 50 Senators authorized | ||||
| Speaker | Richard Caswell, Sr. | ||||
| House of Commons | |||||
| Members | 106 Representatives authorized | ||||
| Speaker | Edward Starkey | ||||
| Sessions | |||||
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The North Carolina General Assembly of 1783 was the state legislature that convened in Hillsboro, North Carolina from April 18, 1783, to May 17, 1783. Members of the North Carolina Senate and the North Carolina House of Commons were elected by eligible North Carolina voters. This was the last assembly to meet during the American Revolution. Much of their time was devoted to taking care of the North Carolina soldiers that fought in the war. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
The General Assembly elected Alexander Martin of Guilford County as governor on April 26, 1782. James Glasgow was Secretary of State. James Iredell was Attorney General. There was no Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina until 1868. [2]
The General Assembly elected the following Councilors of State on May 9, 1783: [2]
There was one senator and two members of the House of Commons for each of the 50 counties. In addition, each of the six districts had one representative each. The House of Commons leadership and staff included: Edward Starkey, Speaker; John Hunt, Clerk; and John Haywood, Assistant Clerk. The Senate leadership and staff included: Richard Caswell, speaker; John Haywood, clerk; and Sherwood Haywood, assistant cleark. Members of the House of Commons and Senate are listed below for each county and district. [1] [3] [4]
| County/District | Senate Member | House Member | House Member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anson County | Thomas Wade | John Jackson | John Jackson |
| Beaufort County | William Brown | Thomas Alderson | John Gray Blount |
| Bertie County | James Campbell | William Horn | David Turner |
| Bladen County | Thomas Brown | Samuel Cain | Francis Lucas |
| Brunswick County | Benjamin Smith | William Waters | Dennis Hawkins |
| Burke County | Charles McDowell | Waightstill Avery | Joseph McDowell |
| Camden County | Isaac Gregory | Dempsey Sawyer | Benjamin Jones |
| Carteret County | John Easton | Enoch Ward | Eli West |
| Caswell County | William Moore | David Shelton | Unknown |
| Chatham County | Ambrose Ramsey | Matthew Jones | Richard Kennon |
| New Bern District | Richard Dobbs Spaight, Sr. [note 1] | ||
| Chowan County | Charles Johnson | Stephen Chambers | Richard Benbury |
| Craven County | James Coor | William Bryan | William Blount |
| Cumberland County | Ica Atkins | Edward Winslow | Patrick Travis |
| Currituck County | William Ferebee | Thomas Jarvis | Joseph Ferebee |
| Dobbs County | Richard Caswell, Sr. (Speaker) | Richard Caswell, Jr. | John Herritage |
| Duplin County | James Kenan | Richard Clinton | James Gillespie |
| Edgecombe County | Elisha Battle | Robert Diggs | James Wilson |
| Franklin County | Alexius M. Foster | Simon Jeffreys | Harrison Macon |
| Gates County | Jacob Hunter | Joseph Riddick | David Rice |
| Granville County | Robert Harris | Thomas Person | Philemon Hawkins, Jr. |
| Guilford County | Charles Bruce | James Galloway | John Leak |
| Halifax County | Benjamin McCulloch | John Whitaker | John Geddy |
| Halifax District | Henry Montfort | ||
| Hertford County | John Brickell | Lewis Brown | Thomas Brickell |
| Hyde County | William Russell | Benjamin Parmele | John Eborne |
| Johnston County | Hardy Bryan | Arthur Bryan | Nathan Williams |
| Jones County | Nathan Bryan | Frederick Hargett | William Randall |
| Lincoln County | Robet Alexander | Daniel McKissick | John Sloan |
| Martin County | Whitmell Hill | Samuel Smithwick | Samuel Williams |
| Mecklenburg County | Robert Irwin | Caleb Phifer | David Wilson |
| Montgomery County | Edward Moore | James McDonald | Mark Allen |
| Nash County | Hardy Griffin | Micajah Thomas | John Bonds |
| Wilmington District | Archibald MacLaine | ||
| New Hannover County | John A. Campbell | Timothy Bloodworth [note 2] | Thomas Bloodworth [note 3] |
| Northampton County | Allen Jones | James Vaughan | Drury Gee |
| Hillsboro/Hillsborough District | Thomas Farmer | ||
| Onslow County | John Spicer | Edward Starkey (Speaker) [7] | James Howard |
| Orange County | William McCauley | Alexander Mebane | Thomas Burke |
| Pasquotank County | Edward Everagin | William Lane | Thomas Reading |
| Perquimans County | Jesse Eaton | Jonathan Skinner | John Reed |
| Pitt County | John Williams | John Jordan | Richard Moye |
| Randolph County | Thomas Dougan | Jeduthan Harper | Robet McLean |
| Richmond County | Henry William Harrington | Robert Webb | John Childs |
| Salisbury District | Dr. Anthony Newman | ||
| Rowan County | Griffith Rutherford | Matthew Locke | George Henry Barrier |
| Rutherford County | James Holland | William Gilbert [note 4] | Richard Singleton [note 4] |
| Sullivan County (became part of Tennessee) | Joseph Martin [8] | Abraham Bledsoe | William Cage |
| Surry County | Martin Armstrong | William T. Lewis | James Martin |
| Tyrrell County | Jeremiah Frazier | Nehemiah Norman | Nathan Hooker |
| Wake County | Joel Lane | Theophilus Hunter | Hardy Sanders |
| Warren County | Herbert Haynes | Joseph Hawkins | John Macon |
| Washington County (became part of Tennessee) | Unknown | Joseph Hardin | Thomas Haughton |
| Wayne County | Burwell Mooring | Needham Whitfield | Richard McKinnie |
| Wilkes County | Elijah Isaacs | Joseph Herndon | William Lenoir |
| Edenton District | William Cumming |
The American Revolution was ending, so much of the session was devoted to enacting legislation to compensate soldiers. There were also acts to name an agent for dealing with the Cherokees, dealing with slaves, monetary policy, and an act dealing with pardoning some loyalists (not David Fanning). The town of Fayetteville was authorized by the assembly. Martin Academy (later changed to Washington College) in Washington County was chartered by the assembly. [9] [10] [5] [11]
The territory of North Carolina extended to the Mississippi River in 1783. The General Assembly established Greene and Davidson Counties in the western region of North Carolina that eventually would become Tennessee in 1796. [12]
Richard Caswell was an American politician and lawyer who served as the first and fifth governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1776 to 1780 and from 1785 to 1787. He also served as a senior officer of militia in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War. As a delegate to the First Continental Congress, he was a signatory of the 1774 Continental Association.
The North Carolina State Treasurer is a statewide elected office in the U.S. state of North Carolina responsible for overseeing the financial operations of state government. The current state treasurer is Dale Folwell.
The North Carolina General Assembly of 1777 met in two sessions in New Bern, North Carolina, from April 7 to May 9, 1777, and from November 15 to December 24, 1777. This was the first North Carolina legislature elected after the last provincial congress wrote the first North Carolina Constitution. This assembly elected Richard Caswell as the state's first constitutional governor.
The North Carolina General Assembly of 1778 met in three sessions in three locations in the years 1778 and 1779. The first session was held in New Bern from April 14 to May 2, 1778; the second session in Hillsborough, from August 8 to August 19, 1778; the third and final session in Halifax, from January 19 to February 13, 1779.
The North Carolina General Assembly of 1779 met in three sessions in three locations in the years 1779 and 1780. The first session was held in Smithfield from May 3 to May 15, 1779; the second session in Halifax, from October 18 to November 10, 1779; the third and final session in New Bern, from January to February, 1780.
The president pro tempore of the North Carolina Senate is the highest-ranking officer of one house of the North Carolina General Assembly. The president of the Senate is the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, but the president pro tempore actually holds most of the power and presides in the absence of the Lt. Governor. The president pro tempore, a senior member of the party with a majority of seats, appoints senators to committees and also appoints certain members of state boards and commissions. From 1777 to 1868, North Carolina had no Lieutenant Governor, and the highest-ranking officer of the Senate was known as the "Speaker". The Speaker of the Senate was next in line if the office of Governor became vacant. This occurred on two occasions.
The speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives is the presiding officer of one of the houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The speaker is elected by the members of the house when they first convene for their regular session, which is currently in January of each odd-numbered year. Perhaps the most important duty of the speaker is to appoint members and chairs of the various standing committees of the House.
The Salisbury District of North Carolina, was originally one of six colonial judicial districts established in 1766 by the Governor William Tryon of the Province of North Carolina. Immediately preceding the onset of the American War of Independence in 1775, these six regions were renamed "military districts" by the North Carolina Provincial Congress and used for organizing the North Carolina militia. The other military districts were Edenton, Halifax, Hillsborough, New Bern, and Wilmington districts. The military district designation was discontinued in 1835 during the North Carolina Constitution Convention.
The New Bern District Brigade was an administrative division of the North Carolina militia during the American Revolutionary War (1776–1783). This unit was established by the North Carolina Provincial Congress on May 4, 1776, and disbanded at the end of the war.
The North Carolina General Assembly of 1780-1781 was the fourth elected legislative body of the State of North Carolina. The assembly consisted of a Senate and House of Commons that met in three sessions in at least two locations in the years 1780 and 1781. Each of the existing 50 North Carolina counties were authorized to elect one Senator and two members of the House of Commons. In addition, six districts also elected one House member each. The first two sessions were probably held in New Bern, North Carolina in April and September 1780. The third session met in Halifax from January 27, 1781 – February 13, 1781.
The North Carolina General Assembly of 1836–1837 met in Raleigh from November 21, 1836 to January 23, 1837. The assembly consisted of the 120 members of the North Carolina House of Commons and 50 senators of North Carolina Senate elected by the voters in August 1836. During the 1836 session, the legislature created Davie County, but it was not until 1842 that Davie County began sending delegates to the General Assembly. William H. Haywood, Jr was elected speaker of the House of Commons and Charles Manley was elected clerk. Hugh Waddell was elected President of the Senate and Thomas G. Stone was elected Clerk. Richard Dobbs Spaight, Jr. was the Governor in 1835 and 1836. He was elected by the previous legislature. In 1837, the Governor of North Carolina, Edward Bishop Dudley from New Hanover County, was elected, for the first time, by the people vice the legislature. The Whigs would control North Carolina politics until 1850. While in power, their notable achievements included funding railroads and roads, public education, and State chartered banks.
The North Carolina General Assembly of 1781 met in Wake Court House 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.
The North Carolina General Assembly of 1860–1861 met in Raleigh, North Carolina in regular session from November 19, 1860, to February 25, 1861. They met in extra sessions from May 1, 1861, to May 13, 1861, and from August 15, 1861, to September 23, 1861. This General Assembly decided that each county should vote for special delegates who would decide whether North Carolina should secede from the Union. On May 20, 1861, those special delegates convened in Raleigh and voted unanimously that the state would no longer be a part of the United States of America.
The North Carolina General Assembly of 1782 was the state legislature that first convened in Hillsborough, North Carolina, on April 15, 1782, and concluded on May 18, 1782. Members of the North Carolina Senate and the North Carolina House of Commons were elected by eligible North Carolina voters.
The Fifth North Carolina Provincial Congress was the last of five extra-legal unicameral bodies that met beginning in the summer of 1774. They were modeled after the colonial lower house. These congresses created a government structure, issued bills of credit to pay for the movement, organized an army for defense, wrote a constitution and bill of rights that established the state of North Carolina, and elected their first acting governor in the fifth congress that met in 1776. These congresses paved the way for the first meeting of the North Carolina General Assembly on April 7, 1777 in New Bern, North Carolina. The Fifth Congress met in Halifax from November 12 to December 23, 1776. Richard Caswell served as president, with Cornelius Harnett as vice-president.
The North Carolina General Assembly of 1835 met in Raleigh from November 16, 1835 to December 22, 1835. The assembly consisted of the 137 members of the North Carolina House of Commons and 65 senators of North Carolina Senate elected by the voters in August 1835. This was the last assembly elected before the amendments to the Constitution of North Carolina from the North Carolina Constitutional Convention of 1835 took effect. Thus, the House of Commons included representatives from towns and the number of members of the house was greater than 120. William H. Haywood, Jr was elected speaker of the House of Commons and Charles Manley was elected clerk. William D. Mosely was elected President of the Senate and William J. Cowan was elected Clerk. Richard Dobbs Spaight, Jr. was elected the Governor by the assembly and served from December 10, 1835 to December 31, 1836. He was the last governor of North Carolina to be elected by the General Assembly.
The North Carolina General Assembly of April to June 1784 met in New Bern from April 19 to June 3, 1784. The assembly consisted of the 120 members of the North Carolina House of Commons and 50 senators of North Carolina Senate elected by the voters in April 1784. As prescribed by the 1776 Constitution of North Carolina, the General Assembly elected Alexander Martin to continue as Governor of North Carolina. In addition, the assembly elected members of the Council of State.
The North Carolina General Assembly of October 1784 met in New Bern from October 25, 1784 to November 26, 1784. The assembly consisted of the 116 members of the North Carolina House of Commons and 55 senators of North Carolina Senate elected by the voters on August 20, 1784. As prescribed by the 1776 Constitution of North Carolina the General Assembly elected Richard Caswell as Governor of North Carolina and members of the Council of State.
The North Carolina General Assembly of 1785 met in New Bern from November 18, 1785, to December 29, 1785. The assembly consisted of the 114 members of the North Carolina House of Commons and 54 senators of North Carolina Senate elected by the voters on August 19, 1785. During the 1785 session, the legislature created Rockingham County. As prescribed by the 1776 Constitution of North Carolina the General Assembly elected Richard Caswell to continue as Governor of North Carolina and members of the Council of State.
The North Carolina General Assembly of 1862–1864 met in Raleigh from November 17, 1862, to December 22, 1862. Extra sessions were held on January 19, 1863 – February 12, 1863; June 30, 1863 – July 7, 1863; November 23, 1863 – December 14, 1863; and May 17–30, 1864. The assembly consisted of the 120 members of the North Carolina House of Commons from 82 counties and 50 senators representing one or more counties in North Carolina Senate elected by the voters in October 1862. Zebulon Baird Vance was Governor of North Carolina during this assembly. This assembly met during the American Civil War as part of the Confederate States of America. Much of the legislation passed by this assembly dealt with the managing the state and its population during wartime.
