North Carolina General Assembly of 1860–1861

73rd North Carolina General Assembly (1860-1861)

| ←| 1858–1859 | 1862–1864| →

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North Carolina State Capital in 1861

Overview
Legislative body| North Carolina General Assembly
Jurisdiction| North Carolina, United States
Meeting place| State Capital building in Raleigh
Term| 1860–1861
North Carolina Senate
Members| 50 Senators
President of the Senate| Henry Toole Clark
Party control| Southern Democrats
House of Commons
Members| 120 Representatives
Speaker of the House| William Theophilus Dortch
Party control| Southern Democrats

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.[1][2][3][4]

## Councilors of State

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The following persons were elected as Councilors of State on December 20, 1860:[3]

* John W. Cuningham Person
* W. L. Hilliard
* Council Wooten, Lenoir County
* W. A. Ferguson
* John J. Long
* David Murphy
* Jesse F. Graves, Surry County

## Legislation

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The general assembly passed numerous laws in 1860–1861, including the creation of Clay County from Cherokee County; creation of Mitchell County from Burke, Caldwell, McDowell, Watauga, and Yancey Counties; and the creation of Transylvania County from Henderson and Jackson Counties.[5]

The North Carolina Constitution was amended on May 20, 1861, to "dissolve the union between the State of North Carolina and the other states united with her under the compact of government entitled the Constitution of the United States of America."[6]

## Members

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### House of Commons

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Rep. Leonidas LaFayette Polk Rep. Augustus Summerfield Merrimon Rep. Matt Whitaker Ransom Rep. Richard Spaight Donnell Rep. Jesse Johnson Yeates

There were, per the North Carolina Constitution amended in 1825, 120 representatives in the House of Commons. Some counties had more representatives based on the county population. William T. Dortch was elected Speaker of the House of Commons. He served until he left to become the North Carolina Senator for the Congress of the Confederate States of America from 1862 to 1865. Nathan Neely Fleming was elected as Speaker after he departed. Edward Cantwell served as clerk. Eighty-two of the representatives were Southern Democrats.[2][3][4]

County | No of Members in County | Member's Name (party in 1860)

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Alamance | 2 | Giles Mebane (Whig)[7]
Alamance | 2 | John Tapscott
Alexander | 1 | John M. Carson
Anson | 2 | Edward R. Liles
Anson | 2 | Leonidas LaFayette Polk (Whig)[8]
Ashe | 1 | Thomas N. Crumpler[9]
Ashe | 1 | James M. Gentry
Beaufort | 2 | William T. Marsh
Beaufort | 2 | Richard Spaight Donnell (Whig)[10]
Bertie | 2 | Peyton T. Henry
Bertie | 2 | John R. Ferguson
Bladen | 1 | Charles T. Davis
Brunswick | 1 | Thomas D. Meares
Buncombe | 1 | Augustus Summerfield Merrimon (Southern Democrat)[11]
Burke | 1 | John H. Pearson
Cabarrus | 1 | William S. Harris
Caldwell | 1 | William W. Dickson
Camden | 1 | Dennis D. Ferebee
Carteret | 1 | David W. Whitehurst
Caswell | 2 | John Kerr (Whig)[12]
Caswell | 2 | Elijah K. Withers
Caswell | 2 | Samuel P. Hill
Catawba | 1 | Jonas Cline
Chatham | 3 | Robert N. Green
Chatham | 3 | William P. Taylor
Chatham | 3 | Turner Bynum
Cherokee | 1 | George W. Hayes
Chowan | 1 | Richard H. Small
Cleveland | 2 | Abraham G. Waters
Cleveland | 2 | John R. Logan
Columbus  | 1 | Nathan L. Williamson
Craven | 2 | Frederick E. Alfred
Craven | 2 | Charles C. Clark
Cumberland | 3 | James S. Harrington
Cumberland | 3 | John C. Williams
Cumberland | 3 | Clement G. Wright
Currituck | 1 | Burwell M. Baxter
Davidson | 2 | Edmund B. Clark
Davidson | 2 | Lewis Hanes
Davie | 1 | Henry B. Howard
Duplin | 2 | John D. Stanford
Duplin | 2 | James G. Branch
Edgecombe | 2 | Robert R. Bridges
Edgecombe | 2 | James S. Woodard
Forsyth | 2 | Philip Barrow
Forsyth | 2 | John F. Poindexter
Franklin | 1 | William F. Green
Gaston | 1 | James H. White
Gates | 1 | John Boothe
Granville | 3 | James M. Bullock
Granville | 3 | Samuel H. Cannady
Granville | 3 | William H.P. Jenkins
Greene | 1 | Arthur D. Speight
Guilford | 3 | Julius L. Gorrell
Guilford | 3 | Cyrus P. Mendenhall
Guilford | 3 | Charles E. Shober
Halifax | 2 | Archibald H. Davis
Halifax | 2 | William B. Pope
Haywood | 1 | Samuel L. Love
Henderson | 1 | Joseph P. Jordan
Hertford | 1 | Jesse Johnson Yeates (Southern Democrat)[13]
Hyde | 1 | Tillman Farrow
Iredell | 2 | Asa B.F. Gaither
Iredell | 2 | Absalom Knox Simonton
Jackson | 1 | James R. Love[9]
Jackson | 1 | Allen Fisher
Johnston | 2 | James Mitchiner
Johnston | 2 | William H. Watson
Jones | 1 | William P. Ward
Lenoir | 1 | John C. Wooten
Lincoln | 1 | John F. Hoke[14]
Lincoln | 1 | V. A. McBee
Macon | 1 | David W. Siler[12]
Macon | 1 | Henry G. Woodfin
Madison | 1 | John A. Fagg
Martin | 1 | Joshua L. Ewell
McDowell | 1 | Charles H. Burgin
Mecklenburg | 2 | Stephen W. Davis
Mecklenburg | 2 | John McK. Potts
Montgomery | 1 | Edmund G.L. Barringer
Moore | 1 | Alexander Kelly
Nash | 1 | Henry G. Williams
New Hanover | 2 | Samuel J. Person
New Hanover | 2 | Daniel Shaw
Northampton | 2 | Matthew Whitaker Ransom[15]
Northampton | 2 | William W. Peebles
Onslow | 1 | James H. Foy
Orange | 2 | Hugh B. Guthrie
Orange | 2 | William N. Patterson
Pasquotank | 1 | John T. Williams
Perquimans | 1 | Nathan Newby
Person | 1 | John D. Wilkerson
Pitt | 2 | Burton J. Albritton
Pitt | 2 | Churchill Perkins
Randolph  | 2 | Isaac H. Foust
Randolph  | 2 | Thomas L. Winslow
Richmond | 1 | John G. Blue
Robeson | 2 | Alexander McMillan
Robeson | 2 | Eli Wishart
Rockingham | 2 | Rawley Galloway
Rockingham | 2 | Thomas S. Slade
Rowan | 2 | Newberry F. Hall
Rowan | 2 | Nathan Neely Fleming
Rutherford | 2 | Champion T.N. Davis
Rutherford | 2 | Berryman H. Paget
Sampson | 2 | George W. Autrey
Sampson | 2 | Nehemiah C. Faison
Stanly | 1 | Lafayette Green
Stokes | 1 | Horatio P. Kallum
Surry | 1 | Harrison M. Waugh
Tyrrell | 1 | Charles McCleese
Union | 1 | Cyrus Q. Lemmond
Wake | 3 | Henry Mordecai
Wake | 3 | Sion H. Rigers
Wake | 3 | John P. H. Russ
Warren  | 2 | Joseph B. Batchelor
Warren  | 2 | William H. Clark
Washington | 1 | Charles Latham
Watauga | 1 | George N. Folk[16]
Watauga | 1 | Thomas Farthing
Wayne | 2 | William Theophilus Dortch (Speaker, Southern Democrat)[17]
Wayne | 2 | Marcus K. Crawford
Wilkes | 2 | Augustus H. Martin
Wilkes | 2 | Phineas T. Horton
Yadkin | 1 | Andrew C. Cowles
Yancey | 1 | Jacob Weaver Bowman[18]

### Senate

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Sen. Henry Toole Clark Sen. Jonathan Worth Sen. John Motley Morehead Sen. Bedford Brown Sen. James Graham Ramsay

Henry Toole Clark was elected Speaker or President of the Senate. As such, he was first in line of succession to the Governor since there was no Lieutenant Governor until 1868. When Governor John Willis Ellis died of tuberculosis on July 7, 1861, Senator Clark took over as Governor and remained in that position until September 8, 1862. He was thrust into this leadership position just as the U.S. Civil War started. Thirty-two of the Senators were Southern Democrats.[19]

The clerk of the Senate was J.W. Alspaugh. Senator William Holland Thomas was an adopted chief of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation and represented their interests as he served in the Senate from 1849 to 1861.[4][3][1][20]

Senators William Waightstill Avery and John Motley Morehead served as delegates from North Carolina to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America in the third through fifth sessions in 1861 and 1862.

The following table lists the Senators from the 50 Districts in North Carolina.[2][4][3]

District | Counties Represented | Senator (party) | Home County

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1 | Pasquotank & Perquimans | James M. Whedbee | Perquimans
2 | Camden & Currituck | Benjamin T. Simmons | Currituck
3 | Chowan & Gates | Mills H. Eure | Gates
4 | Hyde & Tyrrell | Jones Spencer | Tyrrell
5 | Northampton | Joseph M.S. Rogers | Northampton
6 | Hertford | Joseph B. Slaughter | Hertford
7 | Bertie | David Outlaw (Whig)[21] | Bertie
8 | Martin & Washington | Jesse R. Stubbs | Martin
9 | Halifax | Matthew Cary Whitaker | Halifax
10 | Edgecombe | Henry Toole Clark (Southern Democrat, Speaker)[19] | Edgecombe
11 | Pitt | Elias J. Blount | Pitt
12 | Beaufort | Frederick Grist | Beaufort
13 | Craven | Nathan H. Street | Craven
14 | Carteret & Jones | M.F. Arendell | Carteret
15 | Greene & Lenoir | James P. Speight | Greene
16 | New Hanover | Eli W. Hall | New Hanover
17 | Duplin | James Dickson | Duplin
18 | Onslow | Lott W. Humphrey | Onslow
19 | Bladen, Brunswick, & Columbus | John D. Taylor | Brunswick
20 | Cumberland | Duncan Shaw | Cumberland
21 | Sampson | Thomas I. Faison | Sampson
22 | Wayne | William K. Lane | Wayne
23 | Johnston | J.W.B. Watson | Johnston
24 | Wake | Moses A. Bledsoe | Wake
25 | Nash | A.G. Taylor | Nash
26 | Franklin | Washington Harris | Franklin
27 | Warren | Thomas J. Pritchard | Warren
28 | Granville | C.H.K. Taylor | Granville
29 | Person | C.S. Winstead | Person
30 | Orange | Josiah Turner Jr. | Orange
31 | Alamance & Randolph | Jonathan Worth (Southern Democrat)[22] | Randolph
32 | Chatham | W.S. Harris | Chatham
33 | Montgomery & Moore | Willis D. Dowd | Moore
34 | Richmond, & Robeson | Alfred Dockery (Know Nothing)[23] | Richmond
35 | Anson & Union | Samuel H. Walkup | Union
36 | Guilford | John Motley Morehead (Whig)[24] | Guilford
37 | Caswell | Bedford Brown (Southern Democrat)[25] | Caswell
38 | Rockingham | Francis L. Simpson | Rockingham
39 | Mecklenburg | John Walker | Mecklenburg
40 | Cabarrus & Stanly | Victor C. Barringer | Cabarrus
41 | Davie & Rowan | James Graham Ramsay | Rowan
42 | Davidson | John W. Thomas | Davidson
43 | Forsyth & Stokes | John A. Waugh | Forsyth
44 | Ashe, Surry, Watauga, & Yadkin | Joseph H. Dobson | Surry
45 | Alexander, Iredell, Wilkes | Leander Q. Sharpe | Iredell
46 | Burke, Caldwell, & McDowell | William Waightstill Avery (Southern Democrat)[26] | Burke
47 | Catawba, Gaston, & Lincoln | J. Stowe | Lincoln
48 | Cleveland & Rutherford | A.W. Burton | Cleveland
49 | Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, & Yancey | Marcus Erwin | Buncombe
50 | Cherokee, Haywood, Jackson, & Macon | William Holland Thomas[20] | Jackson

## See also

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* List of North Carolina state legislatures

## References

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1. ^ a b Lewis, J.D. "North Carolina State Senators 1860-1861". The American Revolution in North Carolina. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
2. ^ a b c Lewis, J.D. "North Carolina State House 1860-1861". The American Revolution in North Carolina. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
3. ^ a b c d e Connor, R.D.D. (1913). A Manual of North Carolina (PDF). Raleigh: North Carolina Historical Commission. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
4. ^ a b c d Wheeler, John H. (1874). The Legislative Manual and Political Register of the State of North Carolina. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
5. ^ "Public Laws Passed of the State of North Carolina Passed by the General Assembly of 1860-186". Raleigh, North Carolina: John Spelman, Printer of the State. 1861.
6. ^ "North Carolina Constitution and Amendments". NHINET.ORG. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
7. ^ Stokes, Durward T. (1991). "Giles Mebane". NCPedia. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
8. ^ Noblin, Stuart (1994). "Leonidas Lafayette Polk". NCPedia. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
9. ^ a b Resigned his seat to join the Conferate Army
10. ^ Carraway, Gertrude S. (1986). "Richard Spaight Donnell". NCPedia. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
11. ^ Bell, John L. Jr. (1991). "Augustus Summerfeld Merrimon". NCPedia. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
12. ^ a b Resigned his seat
13. ^ Parramore, T. C. (1996). "Jesse Johnson Yeates". NCPedia. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
14. ^ Resigned his seat after being appointed Adjutant General, joined the Confederate Army
15. ^ Barrett, John G. (1994). "Matthew Whitaker Ransom". NCPedia. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
16. ^ Resigned his seat, joined the Confederate Army
17. ^ Yearns, Buck (1986). "William Theophilus Dortch". NCPedia. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
18. ^ Hightower, Emily K. (1979). "Jacob Weaver Bowman". NCPedia. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
19. ^ a b Iobst, Richard W. (1979). "Henry Toole Clark". NCPedia. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
20. ^ a b McKinney, Gordon B. (1996). "William Holland Thomas". NCPedia. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
21. ^ Littleton, Rebecca B. (1991). "David Outlaw". NCPedia. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
22. ^ Zuber, Richard L. (1996). "Jonathan Worth". NCPedia. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
23. ^ Fawcett, Michael J. (1986). "Alfred Dockery". NCPedia. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
24. ^ Kearney, H. Thomas Jr. (1991). "John Motley Morehead". NCPedia.
25. ^ Jones, H. G. (1979). "Bedford Brown". NCPedia. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
26. ^ Watson, Elgiva D. (1979). "William Waightstill Avery". NCPedia. Retrieved September 30, 2019.

* v
* t
* e

North Carolina General Assemblies by year convened and order

List of North Carolina state legislatures
Senate
President pro tempore of the Senate
House of Commons
House of Representatives
Speakers of the House of Representatives (see Note)|

* 1 (1777)
* 2 (1778)
* 3 (1779)
* 4 (1780)
* 5 (1781)
* 6 (1782)
* 7 (1783)
* 8 (Apr 1784)
* 9 (Oct 1784)
* 10 (1785)
* 11 (1786)
* 12 (1787)
* 13 (1788)
* 14 (1789)
* 15 (1790)
* 16 (1791)
* 17 (1792)
* 18 (1793)
* 19 (1794)
* 20 (1795)
* 21 (1796)
* 22 (1797)
* 23 (1798)
* 24 (1799)
* 25 (1800)
* 26 (1801)
* 27 (1802)
* 28 (1803)
* 29 (1804)
* 30 (1805)
* 31 (1806)
* 32 (1807)
* 33 (1808)
* 34 (1809)
* 35 (1810)
* 36 (1811)
* 37 (1812)
* 38 (1813)
* 39 (1814)
* 40 (1815)
* 41 (1816)
* 42 (1817)
* 43 (1818)
* 44 (1819)
* 45 (1820)
* 46 (1821)
* 47 (1822)
* 48 (1823)
* 49 (1824)
* 50 (1825)
* 51 (1826)
* 52 (1827)
* 53 (1828)
* 54 (1829)
* 55 (1830)
* 56 (1831)
* 57 (1832)
* 58 (1833)
* 59 (1834)
* 60 (1835)
* 61 (1836)
* 62 (1840)
* 63 (1842)
* 64 (1844)
* 65 (1846)
* 66 (1846)
* 67 (1848)
* 68 (1850)
* 69 (1852)
* 70 (1854)
* 71 (1856)
* 72 (1858)
* 73 (1860)
* 74 (1862)
* 75 (1864)
* 76 (1865)
* 77 (1866)
* 78 (1868)
* 79 (1869)
* 80 (1870)
* 81 (1872)
* 82 (1874)
* 83 (1876)
* 84 (1879)
* 85 (1881)
* 86 (1883)
* 87 (1885)
* 88 (1887)
* 89 (1889)
* 90 (1891)
* 91 (1893)
* 92 (1895)
* 93 (1897)
* 94 (1899)
* 95 (1901)
* 96 (1903)
* 97 (1905)
* 98 (1907)
* 99 (1909)
* 100 (1911)
* 101 (1913)
* 102 (1915)
* 103 (1917)
* 104 (1919)
* 105 (1921)
* 106 (1923)
* 107 (1925)
* 108 (1927)
* 109 (1929)
* 110 (1931)
* 111 (1933)
* 112 (1935)
* 113 (1937)
* 114 (1939)
* 115 (1941)
* 116 (1943)
* 117 (1945)
* 118 (1947)
* 119 (1949)
* 120 (1951)
* 121 (1953)
* 122 (1955)
* 123 (1957)
* 124 (1959)
* 125 (1961)
* 126 (1963)
* 127 (1965)
* 128 (1967)
* 129 (1969)
* 130 (1971)
* 131 (1973)
* 132 (1975)
* 133 (1977)
* 134 (1979)
* 135 (1981)
* 136 (1983)
* 137 (1985)
* 138 (1987)
* 139 (1989)
* 140 (1991)
* 141 (1993)
* 142 (1995)
* 143 (1997)
* 144 (1999)
* 145 (2001)
* 146 (2003)
* 147 (2005)
* 148 (2007)
* 149 (2009)
* 150 (2011)
* 151 (2013)
* 152 (2015)
* 153 (2017)
* 154 (2019)
* 155 (2021)
* 156 (2023)
* 157 (2025)

Other|

Executive Branch: Governor of North Carolina (List), Lieutenant Governor (since 1868), Cabinets, Council of State, Attorney General

Conventions|

Hillsborough Convention of 1788, Fayetteville Convention of 1789

Provincial Congresses and Constitution|

North Carolina Provincial Congress (1774–1776: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th), Constitution of North Carolina (1776, 1835 Convention, 1861 Convention, 1868 redraft, 1875 Convention, Constitution of 1971)

Notes: Prior to the Constitution of 1868: the lower house of the North Carolina Legislature was known as the House of Commons and the leader of the Senate was called the Speaker of the Senate.
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