The Salisbury District of North Carolina, was originally one of six colonial judicial districts established in 1766 by the Governor William Tryon of the

Province of North Carolina Province of North Carolina was a province of Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712(p. 80) to 1776. It was one of the five Southern colonies and one of the thirteen American colonies. The monarch of Great Britain was repre ...

. Immediately preceding the onset of the American War of Independence in 1775, these six regions were renamed "Military districts" by the

North Carolina Provincial Congress The North Carolina Provincial Congresses were extra-legal unicameral legislative bodies formed in 1774 through 1776 by the people of the Province of North Carolina, independent of the British colonial government. There were five congresses. They ...

and used for organizing the North Carolina militia. The other districts were Edenton, Halifax, Hillsborough, New Bern, and Wilmington districts. The districts designation was discontinued in 1835 during the North Carolina Constitution Convention.

Background

In 1766, the Province of North Carolina House of Burgess, at the direction of

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

William Tryon, divided the state into six judicial districts. The districts did not do away with the county divisions of the state, which continued. Since the boundaries of Tryon County (part of the Salisbury District) originally stretched into territory which was later found to belong to

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

(due to surveying errors), the Salisbury District was, for a time, the legal center of modern-day northwestern South Carolina as well. After the Third North Carolina Provincial Congress held at

Hillsborough, North Carolina The town of Hillsborough is the county seat of Orange County, North Carolina, United States and is located along the Eno River. The population was 6,087 in 2010, but it grew rapidly to 9,660 by 2020. Its name was unofficially shortened to "Hills ...

(Aug. 20-Sept. 10, 1775), the districts became known as "military" vice "judicial" districts. These districts were used to organize the North Carolina Minutemen Battalions for a six month trial as state troops, beginning on September 1, 1775. By April 10, 1776, the Provincial Congress decided in favor or District Brigades of militia with county militia regiments. Each brigade was led by a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. The county militia regiments were subordinated to the brigade. At that time, two additional districts were added, further dividing the western part of the state ( Washington District Regiment in 1776 and Morgan District in 1784). Also, district representatives were chosen and sent to the North Carolina Provincial Congress. These representatives were instrumental in the passage of the

Halifax Resolves The Halifax Resolves was a name later given to the resolution adopted by the North Carolina Provincial Congress on April 12, 1776. The adoption of the resolution was the first official action in the American Colonies calling for independence from ...

, in April 1776, during the Fourth Provincial Congress, which is now often referred to as the "Halifax Congress."

History

The Salisbury District was based in the town of Salisbury, North Carolina, in Rowan County. Salisbury was established as the county seat of Rowan County in 1755, two years after Rowan County was created from Anson County. Edmund Fanning was made the first official associate justice for the Judicial District of Salisbury in March 1766. The third colonial court, which regularly assembled at Salisbury, was the court of ''oyer, terminer and general jail delivery''. This court had jurisdiction over criminal cases. The Salisbury District court met in June and December of each year. James Smith had served as the justice presiding over the "Court of Pleas and Quarter Session for Rowan County," under King George III, from 1770 thru 1775. From 1775, he "took a prominent and active part in every movement tending to throw off the yoke of tyranny..." On April 22, 1776, he was appointed to major in the

Rowan County Regiment The Rowan County Regiment was originally established in about August 1, 1775 as a local militia in Rowan County in the Province of North-Carolina. When the North Carolina Provincial Congress authorized thirty-five existing county militias to be o ...

of the North Carolina militia, which was commanded by Colonel Francis Locke. Colonel Lock assumed command from Brigadier General Griffith Rutherford who was selected as commander of the

Salisbury District Brigade The Salisbury District Brigade was an administrative division of the North Carolina militia during the American Revolutionary War (1776–1783). This unit was established by the Fourth North Carolina Provincial Congress on May 4, 1776, and disba ...

Boundaries

The Salisbury District originally included

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, Guilford,

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

, Rowan, Surry, and Tryon counties. A later addition was the

Washington District The Washington District is a Norfolk Southern Railway line in the U.S. state of Virginia that connects Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria and Lynchburg, Virginia, Lynchburg. Most of the line was originally built from 1850 to 1860 by the Orange and ...

(also known as the original Washington County, North Carolina) which covered most of the present day

State of Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. Eventually, as new settlements were carved out of the wilderness, the Salisbury District encompassed the counties of

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, Montgomery, Richmond, Rutherford, Wilkes (all in present-day North Carolina), and Sullivan (in present-day Tennessee) as well. * In 1775, Salisbury District included the following countries: Rowan, Anson, Guilbord, Mecklenburg, Surry, and Tryon counties. * In 1779, Salisbury District included the following counties: Rowan, Anson, Burke, Guilford, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Richmond, Rutherford, Surry, and Wilkes counties. * In 1783 at the end of the war, Salisbury District included: Rowan, Anson, Guiford, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Richmond, and Surry counties. * As late as 1800, the term ''Salisbury District'' was used in reference to the regional Federal Census headquarters in part of North Carolina. This 1800 Census ''district headquarters'' was located in Salisbury, Rowan County and the Census for Iredell, Mecklenburg, and Rowan counties all list Salisbury as the location for these counties, even though Salisbury was and still is located in Rowan County. * The Provincial Congress included representative from counties and districts. The six districts continued to be used under the North Carolina General Assembly after 1776 until 1835 when the State Constitution Convention changed the way representatives and senators to the General Assembly were determined. After the war, the districts were sometimes referred to as boroughs or just cities. In 1835, the general assembly set up 120 districts with representation in the assembly.

Delegates

The delegates from the Salisbury District to the North Carolina Provincial Congress were: * William Kennon, 1st Provincial Congress, August 25–27, 1774 in New BernRumple, p 134, 135, 172; moved to GeorgiaHunter, p 171 * William Kennon, 2nd Provincial Congress, April 3–7, 1775 in New Bern * William Kennon and Hugh Montgomery, 3rd Provincial Congress, August 20 - September 10, 1775 in Hillsborough * David Nesbitt, 4th Provincial Congress, April 4 - May 14, 1776 in Halifax * David Nesbitt, 5th Provincial Congress, November 12 - December 23, 1776 in Halifax The delegates from the Salisbury District to the North Carolina House of Commons were: * 1st, 1777, David Nesbett * 2nd, 1778, Matthew Troy * 3rd, 1779,

Maxwell Chambers Maxwell Chambers is an integrated alternative dispute resolution (ADR) complex located in Singapore. It provides hearing rooms and facilities for the conduct of ADR hearings in Singapore, as well as the regional offices of a number of ADR institut ...

* 4th, 1780, Anthony Newman * 5th, 1781, Anthony Newman (Nunan) * 6th, 1782, Dr. Anthony NewmanRumple, p 169 * 7th, 1783, Anthony Newman (Nunan) * 8th, 1784 April, Thomas FrohockRumple, pp 87-89 * 9th, 1784 October, Spruce McCoy (McCay, McKay) * 10th, 1785, Thomas Frohock * 11th, 1786-1787, Thomas Frohock * 12th, 1787, John Steele * 13th, 1788, John Steele * 14th, 1789,

* 15th, 1790,

* 16th, 1791-1792, Lewis Beard * 17th, 1792-1793, Lewis Beard * 18th, 1793-1794, John Steele * 19th, 1794-1795, John Steele * 20th, 1795, John Steele * 21st, 1796, Evan Alexander * 22nd, 1797, John Newman * 23rd, 1798, Evan Alexander * 24th, 1799, Evan Alexander * 25th, 1800, Evan Alexander * 26th, 1801, Evan Alexander * 27th, 1802, Evan Alexander * 28th, 1803, Evan Alexander * 29th, 1804, Joseph Pearson * 30th, 1805, Joseph Pearson * 31st, 1806, John Steele * 32nd, 1807,

Archibald Henderson Archibald Henderson (January 21, 1783 – January 6, 1859) was the longest-serving Commandant of the Marine Corps, serving from 1820 to 1859. His name is learned by all recruits at Marine recruit training (Boot Camp) as the "Grand old man of th ...

* 33rd, 1808,

* 34th, 1809,

* 35th, 1810, Joseph Chambers * 36th, 1811, John Steele (Speaker of the House) * 37th, 1812, John Steele * 38th, 1813, John Steele * 39th, 1814,

* 40th, 1815, John L. HendersonRumple, p 462 * 41st, 1816, John L. Henderson * 42nd, 1817, Stephen L. Ferrand * 43rd, 1818, John Beard, Jr. * 44th, 1819,

* 45th, 1820,

* 46th, 1821, Charles Fisher * 47th, 1822, Alfred McKay * 48th, 1823-1824, John L. Henderson * 49th, 1824-1825, John L. Henderson * 50th, 1825-1826, David F. Caldwell * 51st, 1826-1827, Charles Fisher * 52nd, 1827-1828, Charles Fisher * 53rd, 1828-1829, Charles Fisher * 54th, 1829-1830, Charles Fisher * 55th, 1830-1831, Charles Fisher (Speaker of the House) * 56th, 1831-1832, Charles Fisher (Speaker of the House) * 57th, 1832-1833, Burton Craig * 58th, 1833-1834, Richard H. Alexander * 59th, 1834-1835, Richard H. Alexander * 60th, 1835, William Chambers

References

Bibliography