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Rowan County Committee of Safety facts for kids

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The Rowan County Committee of Safety was one of the 18 Committees of Safety in North Carolina authorized by the Continental Congress and endorsed by the Second North Carolina Provincial Congress. It was established in Rowan County, North Carolina in 1774. Meeting minutes from 1774 to 1776 have survived and are available through a digital collection. The Rowan County Committee of Safety was instrumental in banning trade with Britain and preparing for the American Revolution. One of its major achievements was the Rowan Resolves.

Formation of Committees of Safety

The demand for independence came from local grassroots organizations called "Committees of Safety". The First Continental Congress had urged their creation in 1774. By 1775, they had become counter-governments that gradually replaced royal authority and took control of local governments. They regulated the economy, politics, morality, and militia of their individual communities. After December 1776 they came under the control of a more powerful central authority, the North Carolina Council of Safety.

Members and records

The following persons constituted the original Committee: James McCay, Andrew Neal, George Cathy, Alexander Dobbin, Francis McKon, Matthew Locke, Maxwell Chambers, Henry Harmon, Abraham Denton, William Lee Davidson, Samuel Young, John Brevard, William Kennon, George Henry Barger, Robert Bell, John Bickerstaff, John Couden, John Lewis Beard, John Nisbet, Charles McDowell, Robert Blackburn, Christopher Beckman, William Sharp, John Johnson, Morgan Bryan.

Additional members included: Colonel Hugh Montgomery.

The surviving records show that the committee met on the following dates:

  • September 23, 1774
  • November 2, 1774 - November 3, 1774
  • June 1, 1775
  • July 8, 1775
  • July 15, 1775
  • August 1, 1775
  • September 20, 1775 - September 25, 1775
  • October 17, 1775 - October 18, 1775
  • November 7, 1775 - November 9, 1775
  • November 10, 1775 - November 11, 1775
  • February 6, 1776 - February 8, 1776
  • May 7, 1776 - May 8, 1776
  • August 7, 1776
  • August 22, 1776

Other surviving records include:

  • Instructions to the Salisbury Jail keeper concerning the imprisonment of John Auston (July 13, 1776)
  • Address from the Rowan County Committee of Safety to the county militias (June 1775)

The instruction to the Salisbury jail keeper were from Griffith Rutherford and instructed the jailer: "John Auston, late of Tryon County, is charged of being an Enemy To Ammerican Liberty, & also Refuses to take the oath Proscribed by the Counsel of Safety of this Provance. These are therefore to Command You to Take the said Auston Into youre Possession, & him safely keep in youre Gole Till Furder Orders (sic)." Griffith Rutherford was commander of the Rowan County Regiment and Salisbury District Brigade of the North Carolina Militia.

Officers of the committee included:

  • Chairman, William Kennon
  • Chairman, Samuel Young
  • Chairman, Moses Winslow
  • Secretary, William Sharpe
  • Clerk, Adlai Osborne
  • Clerk, James Macay
  • Clerk, James Brandon

The Committees of Safety were authorized by the North Carolina Provincial Congress to appoint officers of the militia and minutemen when officers needed replacing.

First census

In 1775, the Continental Congress ordered that a census of North Carolina be taken. However, the only surviving complete records are those from Pitt County. The Rowan County Committee of Safety reported a summary of the census of Rowan County that was presented in their October 1775 minutes. The Companies referred to in this census were most likely captains in the Rowan County Regiment of the North Carolina militia, which had just been established in August 1775.

Pursuant to Resolve of last Congress the Number of Souls in Rowan County appears as followeth—(sic, directly from minutes)

Companies—Names Males, 16 to 50 Above 50, Under 16 Women, White Females, Children Male Slaves Taxable Female Slaves Taxable Slaves Not Taxable
Capt. Knox 165 209 169 142 33 32 66
Capt. Dickson 76 105 77 91 15 16 29
Capt. Davidson (up River) 71 129 74 104 12 9 5
Capt. McConrys 5 123 77 99 10 10 9
Snow & Rocky Creeks 27 47 34 33 1 1 2
Total (2107) 344 613 431 469 71 68 111

Committees in other counties

There were 32 counties in North Carolina by 1774. Eighteen of the counties had Committees of Safety, according to NCPedia. There are records of Committees of Safety in the following counties:

  1. Anson County
  2. Bladen County
  3. Brunswick County
  4. Chowan County, Edenton District
  5. Craven County (New Bern District)
  6. Duplin County
  7. Granville County
  8. Halifax County
  9. Johnston County
  10. Mecklenburg County
  11. Northampton
  12. Orange County
  13. Pitt County (Martinboro)
  14. Rowan County (Salisbury District)
  15. Surry County
  16. Tryon County
  17. Wilimington District, Wilmington, Wilmington-New Hannover County
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