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 1779 met in three sessions in three locations in the years 1779 and 1780. The first session was held in Smithfield from May 3 to May 15, 1779; the second session in Halifax, from October 18 to November 10, 1779; the third and final session 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 January to February, 1780. Each of the 50 North Carolina counties was 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 and two members of the House of Commons. In addition, six districts (also called boroughs) were authorized to elect one House member 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

For additional laws and minutes of the 1779 General Assembly, se
Legislative Documents

Councilors of State

This General Assembly selected the following Councilors of State on May 3, 1779: * Joseph Leech from Craven County * Robert Bignall from Edgecombe County * John SampsonJohn Sampson declined to serve as councilor of state. * John Simpson from Pitt County * Thomas Respass, Senior from Beaufort CountyThomas Respass declined to serve as councilor of state. * Isaac Guion from Craven County * William Whitfield from Dobbs County * Waightstill Avery from Burke Count (selected on October 25, 1779) * Edward Starkey from Onslow County (selected on October 30, 1779)

House of Commons

Leadership of the House of Commons

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 ...

Thomas Benbury Thomas Benbury (November 28, 1736 February 6, 1793) was a revolutionary leader in the early formation of the State of North Carolina. He was a member of the North Carolina Provincial Congress, a member of the North Carolina House of Commons fr ...

( Chowan County) * Clerk: John Hunt ( Franklin County)

Members of the House of Commons

In 1779, the General Assembly abolished Bute County and Tryon County. They also created eleven new counties: Franklin, Gates, Jones, Lincoln, Montgomery, Randolph, Richmond, Rutherford, Sullivan, Warren, and Wayne Counties. Members of the House of Commons are listed below, along with the county they represented:

Senate

Senate leadership

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 ...

( Northampton County), resigned October 25, 1779;

Abner Nash Abner Nash (August 8, 1740December 2, 1786) was the second Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina between 1781 and 1782, and represented North Carolina in the Continental Congress from 1782 to 1786. Life story Nash was born the son of Co ...

, elected to replace Jones October 26, 1779 * 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 ...

(

Craven County Craven County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 100,720. Its county seat is New Bern, North Carolina, New Bern. The county was created in 1705 as Archdale Precin ...

)

Members of the senate

Members of the senate and counties they represented included the following

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:North Carolina General Assembly of 1779

1779 Events January–March * January 11 – British troops surrender to the Marathas in Wadgaon, India, and are forced to return all territories acquired since 1773. * January 11 – Ching-Thang Khomba is crowned King of Manip ...

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 ...

1779 1779