North Carolina General Assembly of April 1784

8th North Carolina General Assembly (April to June, 1784)

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Overview
Legislative body| North Carolina General Assembly
Jurisdiction| North Carolina, United States
Meeting place| New Bern
Term| 1784
Senate
Members| 55 Senators authorized
Speaker| Richard Caswell, Sr.
Clerk| John Haywood
Assistant Clerk| Sherwood Haywood
Doorkeeper| Malley
Assistant Doorkeeper| Peter Goodin
House of Commons
Members| 116 Delegates authorized (110 from counties, 6 districts)
Speaker| Thomas Benbury
Clerk| John Hunt
Sessions
| 1st| April 19, 1784 – June 3, 1784

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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.[1][2][3][4][5]

## Legislation[edit]

This General Assembly passed an act that changed the date of elections from April to the third Friday in August every year and changed the first meeting of the General Assembly to the first Monday in October. That is why there were two General Assemblies in 1783, one that started in April and one that started in October. It was difficult for legislatures to leave their farms and businesses in April to attend the assembly. It was more convenient for them to attend the assembly in the winter. The assembly also passed acts to raise taxes on imports, transfer land in the west to the federal government to pay for war debt, and take care of Revolutionary War veterans. For additional laws and minutes of the 1784 General Assembly, see Legislative Documents.[6]

## Councilors of State[edit]

Hawkins Philemon, II Nathaniel Macon

As prescribed by the 1776 Constitution of North Carolina, the General Assembly elected the governor and the following members of the North Carolina Council of State on May 8, 1784:[5][1]

* Thomas Polk, Mecklenburg County (President)
* Pleasant Henderson, Granville County (Clerk)[7]
* Robert Bignall, Edgecombe County[8]
* Philemon Hawkins, Sr., Warren County
* Nathaniel Macon, Mecklenburg County
* James Saunders, Caswell County
* Thomas Eaton, Warren County[note 1]

James Glasgow continued to serve as North Carolina Secretary of State. Alfred Moore continued to serve as the North Carolina Attorney General.

## Assembly membership[edit]

See also: State of Franklin

There were 55 counties for this assembly. Each County was authorized two delegates to the House of Commons and one delegate to the Senate. In addition, there were six Districts, which were large towns. The Districts were authorized to elect one delegate each to the House of Commons. During the 1783 General Assembly, Davidson County and Greene County were created. These counties were represented in the House of Commons for the first time in the 1784 General Assembly. Sullivan, Washington, Davidson, and Green counties became part of Tennessee in 1796. Sampson and Moore Counties were also formed in 1784 and sent their first delegates to the General Assembly. For this assembly, Cumberland County had changed its name to Fayette County but changed the name back to Cumberland County for the next assembly in October.[9][10]

In April 1784, this assembly voted "to give Congress the 29,000,000 acres (45,000 sq mi; 120,000 km2)[note 2] lying between the Allegheny Mountains" (as the entire Appalachian range was then called) "and the Mississippi River" to help offset its war debts.[11] This area was a large part of what had been the Washington District (usually referred to simply as the Western Counties).[12] These western counties had originally been acquired by lease from the Overhill Cherokee, out of which the Watauga Republic had arisen.

The North Carolina cession to the federal government had a stipulation that Congress would have to accept responsibility for the area within two years, which, for various reasons, it was reluctant to do. The cession effectively left the western settlements of North Carolina alone in dealing with the Cherokee of the area, many of whom had not yet made peace with the new nation. These developments were not welcomed by the frontiersmen, who had pushed even further westward, gaining a foothold on the western Cumberland River at Fort Nashborough (now Nashville), or the Overmountain Men, many of whom had settled in the area during the days of the old Watauga Republic.[13] Inhabitants of the region feared that the cash-starved federal Congress might even be desperate enough to sell the frontier territory to a competing foreign power (such as France or Spain).[11]

A few months later, a newly elected North Carolina General Assembly of October 1784 reevaluated the situation. Realizing the land could not at that time be used for its intended purpose of paying the debts of Congress and weighing the perceived economic loss of potential real estate opportunities, it rescinded the offer of cession and re-asserted its claim to the remote western district. The North Carolina lawmakers ordered judges to hold court in the western counties and arranged to enroll a brigade of soldiers for defense, appointing John Sevier to form it.[11]

### House of Commons members[edit]

William Richardson Davie, Northampton County Benjamin Hawkins Philemon Hawkins, Jr., Granville County William Hooper, Orange County William Lenoir, Wilkes County Abner Nash, Jones County John Sitgreaves, New Bern

The House of Commons delegates elected a Speaker (Thomas Benbury), Clerk (John Hunt), Assistant Clerk, Doorkeeper, and Assistant Doorkeeper. The following delegates to the House of Commons were elected by the voters of North Carolina to represent each county and district:[3][4][5][10]

County/District | Delegate

|

Anson | Jonathan Jackson
Anson | John Auld
Beaufort | Thomas Alderson
Beaufort | John Gray Blount
Bertie | Zedekiah Stone
Bertie | Andrew Oliver
Bladen | Samuel Cain
Bladen | Francis Lucas
Brunswick | Jacob Leonard
Brunswick | David Flowers
Burke | Joseph McDowell
Burke | Waightstill Avery
Camden | Benjamin Jones
Camden | Enoch Sawyer
Carteret | Vacant
Carteret | Eli West
Caswell | David Shelton
Caswell | John Atkinson
Chatham | William Clark
Chatham | Vacant
Chowan | Michael Payne
Chowan | Thomas Benbury
Craven | William Bryan
Craven | William Blount[note 3]
Cumberland | Edward Winslow
Cumberland | James Emmett
Currituck | Joseph Ferebee
Currituck | Dr. James White[note 4]
Currituck | John Humphries
Davidson | Elijah Robertson
Davidson | Ephraim McLean
Dobbs | John Herritage
Dobbs | John Sheppard
Duplin | James Gillespie
Duplin | Thomas Gray
Edgecombe | Isaac Sessums
Edgecombe | John Dalvin (Dolvin)
Fayette | William Rand
Fayette | Alexander McAllister
Franklin | Thomas Sherrod
Franklin | Richard Ransom
Gates | Joseph Riddick
Gates | Seth Riddick
Granville | Thomas Person
Granville | Philemon Hawkins, Jr.
Greene | Alexander Outlaw
Greene | Joshua Gist
Guilford | James Galloway
Guilford | Ralph Gorrell
Halifax | Benjamin McCulloch
Halifax | Nicholas Long
Hertford | William Hill
Hertford | Thomas Brickell
Hyde | John Eborne
Hyde | William Russell
Johnston | Arthur Bryan
Johnston | Samuel Smith
Jones | William Randall
Jones | Abner Nash[note 5]
Lincoln | John Sloan
Lincoln | Daniel McKissick
Martin | Nathan Mayo
Martin | Samuel Smithwick
Mecklenburg | Caleb Phifer
Mecklenburg | David Wilson
Montgomery | James McDonald
Montgomery | William Kendall
Moore | John Cox
Moore | William Seals
Nash | Micajah Thomas
Nash | John Bonds
New Hanover | Timothy Bloodworth[note 6]
New Hanover | John Moore
Northampton | Howell Edmunds
Northampton | William Richardson Davie[note 7]
Onslow | Edward Starkey
Onslow | Daniel Yates
Orange | William Hooper[note 8]
Orange | John Butler
Pasquotank | Thomas Harvey
Pasquotank | Dempsey Conner
Perquimans | Jonathan Skinner
Perquimans | Robert Riddick
Pitt | John Jordan
Pitt | Richard Moye
Randolph | Joseph Robbins
Randolph | Aaron Hill
Richmond | John Speed
Richmond | William Pickett
Rowan | Matthew Locke
Rowan | George Henry Barrier/Berger/Barringer
Rutherford | Richard Singleton
Rutherford | James Withrow
Sampson | David Dodd
Sampson | John Hay
Sullivan | William Cage
Sullivan | David Looney
Surry | William T. Lewis
Surry | James Martin
Tyrrell | Benjamin Spruill
Tyrrell | Everard Stubbs
Wake | Nathaniel Jones
Wake | James Hinton
Warren | Benjamin Hawkins[note 9]
Warren | James Payne
Washington | Charles Robertson
Washington | Landon Carter
Wayne | William Alford
Wayne | Benjamin Sherrod
Wilkes | William Lenoir
Wilkes | Jesse Franklin
Town of Edenton | William Cumming[note 10]
Town of Halifax | Henry Montfort
Town of Hillsborough | Archibald Lytle
Town of New Bern | John Sitgreaves[note 11]
Town of Salisbury | Thomas Frohock
Town of Wilmington | Archibald MacLaine

### Senate members[edit]

Sen. Richard Caswell, Dobbs County Sen. Samuel Johnston, Chowan County Sen. Willie Jones, Halifax County Sen. William Lenoir Sen. Nathaniel Macon, Warren County Sen. Benjamin Williams, Johnston County

The Senators elected a President (Richard Caswell), Clerk (John Haywood), Assistant Clerk, Doorkeeper, and Assistant Doorkeeper. Five counties that were authorized Senators did not send a representative. The following Senators were elected by the voters of North Carolina to represent each county:[3][4][5][9][note 12]

County | Senator

|

Anson | Thomas Wade
Beaufort | John Smaw
Bertie | John Johnston
Bladen | Thomas Brown
Brunswick | Alfred Moore
Burke | Charles McDowell[note 13]
Camden | Isaac Gregory[note 14]
Carteret | Enoch Ward
Caswell | William Moore
Chatham | Ambrose Ramsey[note 15]
Chowan | Samuel Johnston[note 16]
Craven | James Coor
Cumberland | David Smith
Currituck | James Phillips
Davidson | Vacant
Dobbs | Richard Caswell, Sr.[note 17]
Duplin | Robert Clinton
Edgecombe | Elisha Battle
Fayette | Thomas Armstrong
Franklin | Vacant
Gates | Jacob Hunter
Granville | Robert Harris
Greene | Vacant
Guilford | Vacant
Halifax | Willie Jones[note 18]
Hertford | Hardy Murfree
Hyde | Abraham Jones
Johnston | Benjamin Williams[note 19]
Jones | Frederick Hargett
Lincoln | Robert Alexander
Martin | Whitmell Hill[note 20]
Mecklenburg | Robert Irwin
Montgomery | Charles Robertson
Moore | Henry Lightfoot
Nash | Hardy Griffin
New Hanover | Caleb Grainger
Northampton | Samuel Lockhart
Onslow | Thomas Johnston
Orange | William McCauley
Pasquotank | Edward Everagin
Perquimans | John Skinner
Pitt | John Williams[note 21]
Randolph | Thomas Dougan
Richmond | Charles Medlock
Rowan | Griffith Rutherford[note 22]
Rutherford | James Miller
Sampson | Richard Clinton
Sullivan | Vacant
Surry | John Armstrong
Tyrrell | John Warrington
Wake | Joel Lane
Warren | Nathaniel Macon[note 23]
Washington | William Cocke
Wayne | Burwell Mooring
Wilkes | William Lenoir[note 24]

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ Thomas Eaton was elected on May 11, 1784.
2. ^ About 40 times the size of Rhode Island.
3. ^ William Blount was a delegate to the Continental Congress/Confederation Congress in 1782–1783; 1786–1787. He signed the Declaration of Independence.
4. ^ James White was a delegate to the Continental Congress/Confederation Congress, 1786–1788. He was also a non-voting member of the U.S. Congress from the Southwest Territory in 1794.
5. ^ Abner Nash was a delegate to the Continental Congress/Confederation Congress, 1782–1783. He was also the 2nd Governor of the state (1780–1781)
6. ^ Timothy Bloodworth was a delegate to the Continental Congress/Confederation Congress in 1786.
7. ^ William Richardson Davie was the 10th state Governor (1798–1799).
8. ^ William Hooper was a delegate to the 1st Continental Congress in 1774 and the 2nd Continental Congress in 1775–1777. He signed the Declaration of Independence.
9. ^ Benjamin Hawkins was a delegate to the Continental Congress/Confederation Congress in 1781–1783 and 1787.
10. ^ William Cumming was a delegate to the Continental Congress/Confedertion Congress in 1785.
11. ^ John Sitgreaves was a delegate to Continental Congress/Confederation Congress in 1785.
12. ^ The President of the Senate is also referred to as the Speaker. John Haywood may have also served as assistant clerk of the House of Commons.
13. ^ Charles McDowell was a Brigadier General in the North Carolina militia during the American Revolution.
14. ^ Isaac Gregory was a Brigadier General in the North Carolina militia during the American Revolution.
15. ^ Ambrose Ramsey was a Brigadier General pro tempore in the North Carolina militia during the American Revolution.
16. ^ Samuel Johnston was a delegate to the 2nd Continental Congress, 1780–1781. He was also the state Governor (1787–1789).
17. ^ Richard Caswell was a delegate to the 1st and 2nd Continental Congress, 1774, 1775 and signed the Declaration of Independence. He was also the 1st and 5th state Governor (1776–1780, 1785–1787).
18. ^ Willie Jones was a delegate to the 2nd Continental Congress in 1780.
19. ^ Benjamin Williams was twice Governor of North Carolina (1799–1802, 1807–1808).
20. ^ Whitmell Hill was a delegate to the Continental Congress, 1778–1780
21. ^ John Williams was a delegate to the 2nd Continental Congress (1778–1779) and signer of the Articles of Confederation.
22. ^ Griffith Rutherford was a Brigadier General in the North Carolina militia during the American Revolution.
23. ^ Nathaniel Macon represented North Carolina in both houses of Congress. He was the fifth Speaker of the House, serving from 1801 to 1807. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1791 to 1815 and a member of the United States Senate from 1815 to 1828.
24. ^ William Lenoir served in the North Carolina militia during the American Revolution. After the war, he attained the rank of Major General in the North Carolina militia.

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "North Carolina Constitution of 1776". 1776. Retrieved September 4, 2019 - via Yale Law School.
2. ^ Norris, David A. (2006). "North Carolina Capitals, Colonial and State". NCPedia.org. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
3. ^ a b c Connor, Robert Diggs Wimberly, ed. (1913). A Manual of North Carolina (PDF). Raleigh, North Carolina: E. M. Uzzell & Company. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
4. ^ a b c Wheeler, John Hill, ed. (1874). The Legislative Manual and Political Register of the State of North Carolina for the Year 1874. Raleigh, North Carolina: Josiah Turner, Jr.; State Printer and Binder. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
5. ^ a b c d Cheney, John L. Jr., ed. (1974). North Carolina Government, 1585–1974. pp. 212–213.
6. ^ Lewis, J.D. "Laws of North Carolina, 1784" (PDF). Carolana. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
7. ^ Rodenbough, Charles D. (1988). "Pleasant Henderson". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
8. ^ Smith, Claiborne T. (1979). "Robert Bignall". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
9. ^ a b Lewis, J.D. "North Carolina State Senate April 1784". The American Revolution in North Carolina. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
10. ^ a b Lewis, J.D. "North Carolina State House of Commons April 1784". The American Revolution in North Carolina. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
11. ^ a b c Arthur, John Preston (1914);  [sic] "History of Western North Carolina – Chapter VI – The State of Franklin"; John Preston Arthur; 1914; (HTML by Jeffrey C. Weaver); October 1998. Retrieved from New River.
12. ^ A civil and political history of the state of Tennessee"; by John Haywood
13. ^ Caruso, John A (1959). "The Appalachian Frontier: America's First Surge Westward"; Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis; 1959; Library of Congress Cat. No. 59-7226.

* 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)

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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