The

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

of 1778 met in three sessions in three locations in the years 1778 and 1779. The first session was held in

New Bern New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and t ...

from April 14 to May 2, 1778; the second session in Hillsborough, from August 8 to August 19, 1778; the third and final session in Halifax, from January 19 to February 13, 1779. Each of the 39 North Carolina counties and Washington District/County were authorized by the

North Carolina Constitution The Constitution of the State of North Carolina governs the structure and function of the state government of North Carolina, one of the United States; it is the highest legal document for the state and subjugates North Carolina law. All U.S. st ...

of 1776 to elect one Senator to the Senate and two representatives to the House of Commons. In addition, six districts (also called boroughs) were authorized to elect one House representative each.

Richard Caswell Richard Caswell (August 3, 1729November 10, 1789) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the first and fifth governor of the state of North Carolina from 1776 to 1780 and from 1785 to 1787. He also served as a senior officer of mil ...

was elected governor by the legislature.Holloman, Charles R. 197
Caswell, Richard.
NCpedia.

Legislation

This general assembly established Wilkes County in 1778 This general assembly established the following counties in their last session in 1779:

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

,North Carolina Laws, General Assembly of 1778-1779, Chapter 19, pages 227230

Gates Gates is the plural of gate, a point of entry to a space which is enclosed by walls. It may also refer to: People * Gates (surname), various people with the last name * Gates Brown (1939-2013), American Major League Baseball player * Gates McFadde ...

Jones Jones may refer to: People *Jones (surname), a common Welsh and English surname *List of people with surname Jones * Jones (singer), a British singer-songwriter Arts and entertainment * Jones (''Animal Farm''), a human character in George Orwell ...

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

, Montgomery, Randolph,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, Rutherford,

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

, and Wayne Counties. For additional laws and minutes of the 1778 General Assembly, se
Legislative Documents

Councilors of State

The General Assembly elected the following Councilors of State on April 18, 1778: * Joseph Leech, from Craven County * Thomas Bonner from Beaufort County * William Cray from Onslow CountyWilliam Cray Died in office. * Edward Starkey from Onslow County * Robert Bignall from Edgecombe County * Richard Henderson from Granville CountyRichard Henderson declined to serve. * William Haywood from Edgecombe CountyWilliam Haywood declined to serve. * William Bryan from Craven County * John Simpson from Pitt County * Frederick Jones from New Hanover County (elected on February 3, 1779)

House of Commons

House leadership

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

(

Granville County Granville County is a county located on the northern border of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,992. Its county seat is Oxford. Granville County encompasses Oxford, NC Micropolitan Statistical Are ...

), until April 28, 1778; Thomas Benbury ( Chowan County) elected to replace Williams. * Clerk: John Hunt ( Franklin County) * Assistant Clerk: Joseph Blithe

House members

The members of the House and the counties and districts they represented are listed below.

Senate

Senate leadership

President pro tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

: Whitmell Hill, until his election to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

;

Allen Jones Allen Jones may refer to: *Allen Jones (Continental Congress) (1739–1798), Continental Congress delegate *Allen Jones (artist) (born 1937), British pop artist *Allen Jones (record producer) (1940–1987), American record producer * A.J. Styles (A ...

elected to replace Hill * Clerk:

John Sitgreaves John Sitgreaves (1757 – March 4, 1802) was a delegate to the Congress of the Confederation, a United States Attorney for the District of North Carolina and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of ...

Senate members

The following senators and the counties they represented are listed. Notes:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:North Carolina General Assembly of 1778 1778

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

1778 1778