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Third North Carolina Provincial Congress (1775)
2nd Provincial Congress
April 3–7, 1775
4th Province Congress
April 4 – May 14, 1776
EXTERIOR, WEST FRONT AND SOUTH SIDE - Hillsborough Presbyterian Church, Churton and West Tryon Streets, Hillsborough, Orange County, NC HABS NC,68-HILBO,8-1.tif
Hillsborough Presbyterian Church, site of the 3rd Congress
Overview
Legislative body North Carolina Provincial Congress
Jurisdiction North Carolina, United States
Meeting place Hillsborough, North Carolina
Term 1775
Members 213 Delegates (35 counties, 9 towns/districts)
President Samuel Johnston
Secretary Andrew Knox
Assistant Secretary James Glasgow
Sessions
1st August 20, 1775 – September 10, 1775

The Third North Carolina Provincial Congress was the third of five extra-legal unicameral bodies that met between 1774 and 1776 in North Carolina. They were modeled after the colonial lower house (House of Burgesses). These congresses created a government structure, issued bills of credit to pay for the movement, and organized an army for defense, in preparation for the state of North Carolina. These congresses paved the way for the first meeting of the North Carolina General Assembly on April 7, 1777 in New Bern, North Carolina.

Samuel Johnston Bust
Samuel Johnston, Chowan County

The third congress met in Hillsborough, from August 20 to September 10, 1775. Its president was Samuel Johnston (The Second congress president, John Harvey had recently died).

Legislation

This congress, which included representatives of all 35 counties and nine towns (also called districts), officially established itself as the highest governmental body in the province after British Governor Josiah Martin had fled, ending royal government rule. The last Province of North Carolina General Assembly had met on April 4–8, 1875 before Governor Martin disbanded its House of Burgesses.

The congress divided the state into 6 military districts for purposes of organizing militia and for determining representation on a new Provincial Council. These districts included Edenton, Halifax, Hillsborough, New Bern, Salisbury, and Wilmington. Later, an additional district, Morgan, was added for the western part of the state, including counties that eventually became part of Tennessee (Davidson, Greene, and Washington). Much of the deliberations of the congress dealt with safety of its residents and preparation for war with Great Britain.

Provincial Council and Committees of Safety

To govern North Carolina when the congress was not in session, a 13-member Provincial Council was elected, constituting the first executive body in a North Carolina free of British rule. Cornelius Harnett was elected as the first president of the council.

The following members were elected to the council by the delegates:

  • 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 state 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:

  • 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, 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
John Baptista Ashe, New Hanover County
Thomas Burke of North Carolina
Thomas Burke, Orange County
RichardCaswell
Richard Caswell, Dobbs County
Joseph Hewes
Joseph Hewes, Edenton
William Hooper
William Hooper, New Hanover County
MajGenRobertHoweOval
Robert Howe, Brunswick County
Samuel Johnston - Governeur von Nord Karolina
Samuel Johnston, Chowan County
Allen Jones
Allen Jones, Northampton County
WillieJonesNC
Willie Jones, Halifax County
James Kenan
James Kenan, Duplin County
NCG-AlexanderMartin
Alexander Martin, Guilford County
AbnerNash
Abner Nash, New Bern
NCG-BenjaminWilliams
Benjamin Williams, Johnston County

There were 213 delegates, representing 35 counties and 8 towns/districts in North Carolina.


County/Town Representing Delegates
Anson David Love
Anson William Pickett
Anson Samuel Spencer
Anson William Thomas
Anson Thomas Wade
Beaufort John Cowper
Beaufort Roger Ormond
Beaufort John Patton
Beaufort Thomas Respess, Jr.
Bertie Thomas Ballard
Bertie William Brimmage
Bertie William Bryan
Bertie John Campbell
Bertie Peter Clifton
Bertie William Gray
Bertie Charles Jaycocks
Bertie Jonathan Jaycocks
Bertie John Johnston
Bertie David Standly
Bertie Zedekiah Stone
Bladen Walter Gibson
Bladen Thomas Owen
Bladen Nathaniel Richardson
Bladen Thomas Robeson, Jr.
Bladen William Salter
Brunswick Thomas Alton
Brunswick Robert Ellis
Brunswick Robert Howe
Brunswick Roger Moore
Brunswick Parker Quince
Bute Thomas Eaton
Bute Green Hill
Bute Rev. Henry Pattillo
Bute William Person
Bute Josiah Reddick
Bute Jethro Sumner
Carteret John Eason
Carteret Solomon Sheppard
Carteret William Thompson
Carteret Enoch Ward
Carteret Bryce Williams
Chatham John Birdsong
Chatham Elisha Cain
Chatham William Clark
Chatham Jeduthan Harper
Chatham Richard Kennon
Chatham Matthew Jones
Chatham Ambrose Ramsey
Chatham Joseph Rosser
Chatham Robert Rutherford
Chatham John Thompson
Chowan Thomas Benbury
Chowan James Blount
Chowan Josiah Grandbury
Chowan Thomas Hunter
Chowan Samuel Johnston
Chowan Thomas Jones
Craven Jacob Blount
Craven William Bryan
Craven Richard Cogdell
Craven James Coor
Craven Edmund Hatch
Craven Joseph Leech
Cumberland Farquard/Farquhard Campbell
Cumberland Alexander McAllister
Cumberland Alexander McKay
Cumberland Thomas Rutherford
Cumberland David Smith
Currituck Thomas Jarvis
Currituck Gideon Lamb
Currituck Solomon Perkins
Currituck James Ryan
Currituck James White
Dobbs Andrew Bass
Dobbs Simon Bright
Dobbs Richard Caswell
Dobbs James Glasgow
Dobbs George Miller
Dobbs Abraham Sheppard
Dobbs Spyars Singleton
Duplin Richard Clinton
Duplin William Dickson
Duplin Thomas Gray
Duplin Thomas Hicks
Duplin James Kenan
Edgecombe Robert Bignal
Edgecombe Thomas H. Hall
Edgecombe Thomas Hunter
Edgecombe Henry Irwin
Edgecombe Duncan Lamon
Granville Memucan Hunt
Granville John Penn
Granville Thomas Person
Granville John Taylor
Granville John Williams
Guilford George Cortner
Guilford William Dent
Guilford James Park Farley
Guilford Thomas Henderson
Guilford Alexander Martin
Guilford Ransom Sutherland
Guilford Nathaniel Williams
Halifax John Geddy/Gettie
Halifax James Hogun
Halifax Nicholas Long
Halifax David Sumner
Halifax John Webb
Hertford Lawrence Baker
Hertford Matthew Brickel
Hertford William Murfree
Hertford Day Ridly
Hertford George Wynns
Hyde Joseph Hancock
Hyde John Jordan
Johnston Needham Bryan
Johnston William Bryan
Johnston John Smith
Johnston Samuel Smith
Johnston Benjamin Williams
Martin John Everitt
Martin Whitmell Hill
Martin Kenneth McKenzie
Martin William Slade
Martin John Stuart
Martin William Williams
Mecklenburg John McKnitt Alexander
Mecklenburg Waightstill Avery
Mecklenburg James Houston
Mecklenburg Samuel Martin
Mecklenburg John Phifer
Mecklenburg Thomas Polk
New Hanover John Baptista Ashe
New Hanover Samuel Ashe
New Hanover William Hooper
New Hanover John Alexander Lillington
New Hanover George Moore
New Hanover James Moore
Northampton Jeptha Atherton
Northampton Howell Edmunds
Northampton Drewry Gee
Northampton Allen Jones
Northampton Samuel Lockhart
Onslow Isaac Guion
Onslow John King
Onslow Henry Rhodes
Onslow John Spicer
Onslow Edward Starkey
Orange John Atkinson
Orange Thomas Burke
Orange Thomas Hart
Orange John Kinchen
Orange John Williams
Pasquotank Thomas Boyd
Pasquotank Dempsey Burgess
Pasquotank Devotion Davis
Pasquotank Edward Everagin
Pasquotank Joseph Jones
Perquimans Benjamin Harvey
Perquimans Miles Harvey
Perquimans Thomas Harvey
Perquimans Andrew Knox
Perquimans William Skinner
Pitt William Bryan
Pitt James Gorham
Pitt James Latham
Pitt Robert Salter
Pitt John Simpson
Rowan William Kennon
Rowan Matthew Locke
Rowan William Sharpe
Rowan James Smith
Rowan Samuel Young
Rowan Moses Winslow
Surry Martin Armstrong
Surry William Hill
Surry Robert Lanier
Surry Joseph Williams
Surry Joseph Winston
Tryon Robert Alexander
Tryon William Graham
Tryon Frederick Hambright
Tryon Joseph Harden
Tryon John Walker
Tyrrell  Jeremiah Frazier
Tyrrell  Thomas Hoskins
Tyrrell  Stephen Lee
Tyrrell  Joseph Spruill
Tyrrell  Peter Wynn
Wake Thomas Hines
Wake John Hinton
Wake Theophilus Hunter
Wake Tignal Jones
Wake Joel Lane
Wake John Rand
Wake Michael Rogers
Bath Town William Brown
Brunswick Town Maurice Moore
Campbellton Town James Hepburn
Campbellton Town Robert Rowan
Edenton Town Jasper Charlton
Edenton Town Joseph Hewes
Halifax Town Willie Jones
Hillsborough Town William Armstrong
Hillsborough Town Francis Nash
Hillsborough Town Nathaniel Rochester
New Bern Town James Davis
New Bern Town Richard Ellis
New Bern Town Abner Nash
New Bern Town William Tisdale
Salisbury Town William Kennon
Salisbury Town Hugh Montgomery
Wilmington Town Cornelius Harnett
Wilmington Town Archibald MacLaine

Notes:

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