Province of North Carolina General Assembly of 1775
# Province of North Carolina General Assembly of 1775

The Province of North Carolina General Assembly of 1775 was a bicameral legislative body of the Province of North Carolina that met from April 4, 1775 to April 8, 1775 in New Bern. The upper house of the legislature was the Executive Council, which was appointed by The Crown as was the Governor, Josiah Martin. The lower house, the House of Burgesses, was elected by the eligible voters in the 34 counties and nine major towns as certified by the local sheriff.

This was the fourth House of Burgesses under Governor Josiah Martin and the final General Assembly of the Province of North Carolina. They met at the same time and with virtually the same representation as the Second North Carolina Provincial Congress, which met in New Bern on April 3 to April 7, 1775. Because the House of Burgesses approved the Continental Congress that was to be held in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, Governor Martin and the Executive Council issued a proclamation dissolving the House of Burgesses on April 8, 1775.

## Executive Council

The last Governor of the Province of North Carolina was Josiah Martin, who served from 1771 to 1776. His Executive Council, which was the upper house of the general assembly and advisor to the governor, included the following members:

* Samuel Cornell
* William Dry
* George Mercer (Lieutenant Governor)
* James Hasell (Chief Baron of the Exchequer, Acting Governor of the Province of North Carolina in 1771)
* Martin Howard
* Alexander McCulloch
* Robert Palmer
* John Rutherfurd (Receiver General)
* Lewis Henry De Rosset
* John Sampson
* Samuel Strudwick (Clerk)
* Thomas McGuire (Attorney General)

Governor Josiah Martin and the Executive Council issued a proclamation on April 8, 1775 dissolving the Province of North Carolina's General Assembly after the House of Burgesses presented a resolve endorsing the Continental Congress that was to be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Executive Council met on June 25, 1775 at Fort Johnston in Brunswick County. By this time sedition was rampant and many were under arms. As the Council met for the last time onboard HMS Cruizer in the Cape Fear River on July 18, 1775, they noted that the "deluded people of this Province" will see their error and return to their allegiance to the King.

## House of Burgesses

The delegates to the House of Burgesses represented the 34 counties and nine Towns. The number of delegates from the counties was determined by the population and varied from one to four. Each town had one delegate. Elections were certified by the county sheriffs. The delegates are listed below. John Harvey was elected speaker of the House of Burgesses by his fellow delegates.

| County/Town | Delegate |
| - | - |
| Anson County, North Carolina | Unknown / Vacant |
| Anson County, North Carolina | Unknown / Vacant |
| Beaufort County, North Carolina | Roger Ormond |
| Beaufort County, North Carolina | Thomas Respess, Jr. |
| Bertie County, North Carolina | John Campbell |
| Bertie County, North Carolina | John Johnston |
| Bertie County, North Carolina | David Stanley |
| Bladen County, North Carolina | William Salter |
| Bladen County, North Carolina | James White |
| Brunswick County, North Carolina | Robert Howe |
| Brunswick County, North Carolina | John Rowan |
| Bute County, North Carolina | Green Hill |
| Bute County, North Carolina | William Person |
| Carteret County, North Carolina | Solomon Shepard |
| Carteret County, North Carolina | William Thompson |
| Chatham County, North Carolina | Unknown / Vacant |
| Chatham County, North Carolina | Unknown / Vacant |
| Chowan County, North Carolina | Thomas Benbury |
| Chowan County, North Carolina | Thomas Hunter |
| Chowan County, North Carolina | Samuel Johnston |
| Chowan County, North Carolina | Thomas Jones |
| Chowan County, North Carolina | Thomas Oldham |
| Craven County, North Carolina | James Coor |
| Craven County, North Carolina | Lemuel Hatch |
| Cumberland County, North Carolina | Farquard Campbell |
| Cumberland County, North Carolina | Thomas Rutherford |
| Currituck County, North Carolina | Samuel Jarvis |
| Currituck County, North Carolina | Nathan Joyner |
| Currituck County, North Carolina | Thomas McKnight |
| Currituck County, North Carolina | Solomon Perkins |
| Currituck County, North Carolina | Francis Williamson |
| Dobbs County, North Carolina | Richard Caswell |
| Dobbs County, North Carolina | William McKinnie |
| Duplin County, North Carolina | Thomas Gray |
| Duplin County, North Carolina | Thomas Hicks |
| Edgecombe County, North Carolina | Elisha Battle |
| Edgecombe County, North Carolina | William Haywood |
| Granville County, North Carolina | Memucan Hunt |
| Granville County, North Carolina | Thomas Person |
| Guilford County, North Carolina | Vacant |
| Guilford County, North Carolina | Vacant |
| Halifax County, North Carolina | Nicholas Long |
| Halifax County, North Carolina | Benjamin McCulloch |
| Hertford County, North Carolina | William Murfree |
| Hertford County, North Carolina | George Wynns |
| Hyde County, North Carolina | Unknown / Vacant |
| Hyde County, North Carolina | Unknown / Vacant |
| Johnston County, North Carolina | Needham Bryan |
| Johnston County, North Carolina | Benjamin Williams |
| Mecklenburg County, North Carolina | Unknown / Vacant |
| Mecklenburg County, North Carolina | Unknown / Vacant |
| New Hanover County, North Carolina | John Baptista Ashe |
| New Hanover County, North Carolina | William Hooper |
| Northampton County, North Carolina | Colonel Jeptha Atherton |
| Northampton County, North Carolina | Allen Jones |
| Onslow County, North Carolina | William Cray |
| Onslow County, North Carolina | Henry Rhodes |
| Orange County, North Carolina | Thomas Hart |
| Orange County, North Carolina | Ralph McNair |
| Pasquotank County, North Carolina | Edward Everagin |
| Pasquotank County, North Carolina | Jonathan Herring |
| Pasquotank County, North Carolina | Joseph Jones |
| Pasquotank County, North Carolina | Isaac Gregory |
| Pasquotank County, North Carolina | Joseph Reading |
| Perquimans County, North Carolina | John Harvey (Speaker) |
| Perquimans County, North Carolina | Thomas Harvey |
| Perquimans County, North Carolina | Andrew Knox |
| Perquimans County, North Carolina | John Whedbee |
| Perquimans County, North Carolina | Unknown / Vacant |
| Pitt County, North Carolina | Edward Salter |
| Pitt County, North Carolina | John Simpson |
| Rowan County, North Carolina | Unknown / Vacant |
| Rowan County, North Carolina | Unknown / Vacant |
| Surry County, North Carolina | Unknown / Vacant |
| Surry County, North Carolina | Unknown / Vacant |
| Tryon County, North Carolina | William Alston |
| Tryon County, North Carolina | William Moore |
| Tyrrell County, North Carolina | Jeremiah Frazier |
| Tyrrell County, North Carolina | Benjamin Spruill |
| Tyrrell County, North Carolina | Joseph Spruill |
| Tyrrell County, North Carolina | Unknown / Vacant |
| Tyrrell County, North Carolina | Unknown / Vacant |
| Wake County, North Carolina | Unknown / Vacant |
| Wake County, North Carolina | Unknown / Vacant |
| Bath Town | William Brown |
| Brunswick Town | Parker Quince |
| Campbellton Town (became Fayetteville in 1783) | Robert Rowan |
| Edenton Town | Joseph Hewes |
| Halifax Town | Unknown / Vacant |
| Hillsborough Town | Francis Nash |
| New Bern Town | Isaac Edwards |
| Salisbury Town | Unknown / Vacant |
| Wilmington Town | Cornelius Harnett |

Notes:

* 1 2 Election results were not returned and the seats remained vacant.
* ↑ Isaac Edwards died before taking his seat and the seat remained vacant.
