North Carolina General Assembly of October 1784


The North Carolina General Assembly of October 1784 met in New Bern from October 25, 1784 to November 26, 1784. The assembly consisted of the 116 members of the North Carolina House of Commons and 55 senators of North Carolina Senate elected by the voters on August 20, 1784. As prescribed by the 1776 Constitution of North Carolina the General Assembly elected Richard Caswell as Governor of North Carolina and members of the Council of State.

Councilors of State

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:
James Glasgow continued as North Carolina Secretary of State. The assembly elected Memucan Hunt as first statewide North Carolina State Treasurer. Alfred Moore continued as North Carolina Attorney General.

Assembly membership

There were 55 counties in North Carolina in 1784. Each county was authorized to elect two representatives to the House of Commons and one delegate to the Senate. In addition, the six districts were authorized one delegate each. Richard Caswell was elected Governor of North Carolina by this General Assembly but did not take the governor's office until 1785. According to a book by the Secretary of State edited by Cheney and published in 1974, this assembly had a second session that concluded in June 1784.

House of Commons members

The House of Commons delegates elected a Speaker, Clerk, 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:
County/DistrictDelegate
AnsonJames Terry
AnsonJohn DeJarnett
BeaufortThomas Alderson
BeaufortJohn Gray Blount
BertieZedekiah Stone
BertieAndrew Oliver
BladenSamuel Cain
BladenPeter Robeson
BrunswickJacob Leonard
BrunswickDavid Flowers
BurkeJoseph McDowell
BurkeWaightstill Avery
CamdenBenjamin Jones
CamdenAbner Harrison
CarteretJohn Easton
CarteretEli West
CaswellEdward Clay
CaswellWilliam Moore
ChathamElisha Cain
ChathamJoseph Stewart
ChowanClement Hall
ChowanMichael Payne
CravenWilliam Bryan
CravenWilliam Blount
CumberlandEdward Winslow
CumberlandJames Emmett
CurrituckJoseph Ferebee
CurrituckDr. James White
Davidson Elijah Robertson
Davidson Ephraim McLean
DobbsWilliam Caswell
DobbsJohn Sheppard
DuplinRobert Dickson
DuplinThomas Gray
EdgecombeRobert Diggs
EdgecombeJohn Dalvin
FayetteWilliam Rand
FayetteAlexander McAllister
FranklinThomas Sherrod
FranklinDurham Hall
GatesJoseph Riddick
GatesSeth Riddick
GranvilleThomas Person
GranvilleThornton Yancey
Greene Alexander Outlaw
Greene Unknown
GuilfordJohn Hamilton
GuilfordJohn Leak
HalifaxBenjamin McCulloch
HalifaxJohn Baptista Ashe
HertfordWilliam Hill
HertfordThomas Brickell
HydeJohn Eborne
HydeWilliam Russell
JohnstonJoseph Boon
JohnstonKedar Powell
JonesWilliam Randall
JonesAbner Nash
LincolnJohn Sloan
LincolnDaniel McKissick
MartinNathan Mayo
MartinThomas Hunter
MartinJohn Ross
MecklenburgCaleb Phifer
MecklenburgDavid Wilson
MontgomeryMark Allen
MontgomeryWilliam Kendall
MooreJohn Cox
MooreWilliam Seals
NashMicajah Thomas
NashJohn Bonds
New HanoverTimothy Bloodworth
New HanoverJames Bloodworth
NorthamptonJames Vaughan
NorthamptonWilliam Richardson Davie
OnslowEdward Starkey
OnslowDaniel Yates
OrangeAlexander Mebane
OrangeJohn Butler
PasquotankThomas Reading
PasquotankJohn Smithson, Jr.
PerquimansJohn Reed
PerquimansRobert Riddick
PittJohn Jordan
PittRichard Moye
Randolph Joseph Robbins
Randolph Aaron Hill
RichmondRobert Webb
RichmondCharles Robertson
RowanWilliam Sharpe
RowanJames Kerr
RutherfordRichard Singleton
RutherfordJames Withrow
SampsonDavid Dodd
SampsonJohn Hay
SullivanWilliam Cage
SullivanDavid Looney
SurryJoel Lewis
SurryJames Martin
TyrrellBenjamin Spruill
TyrrellNathan Hooker
WakeTignal Jones
WakeJohn Humphries
Warren John Macon
Warren James Payne
WashingtonCharles Robertson
WashingtonLandon Carter
WayneWilliam Alford
WayneJohn Handley
WilkesBenjamin Herndon
WilkesJesse Franklin
Edenton DistrictStephen Cabarrus
Halifax DistrictHenry Montfort
Hillsborough DistrictArchibald Lytle
New Bern DistrictSpyars Singleton
Salisbury DistrictSpruce McCoy
Wilmington DistrictArchibald MacLaine

Senate members

The Senators elected a President/Speaker, Clerk, Assistant Clerk, Doorkeeper, and Assistant Doorkeeper. The following Senators were elected by the voters of North Carolina to represent each county:
CountySenator
AnsonThomas Wade
BeaufortJohn Smaw
BertieJonathan Jaycocks
BladenThomas Owen
BrunswickWilliam Walters
BurkeCharles McDowell
CamdenIsaac Gregory
CarteretEnoch Ward
CaswellVacant
ChathamAmbrose Ramsey
ChowanWilliam Boritz
CravenJames Coor
CumberlandDavid Smith
CurrituckJames Phillips
Davidson Unknown / Vacant
DobbsRichard Caswell, Sr.
DuplinJames Gillespie
EdgecombeIsaac Sessums
FayetteThomas Armstrong
FranklinVacant
GatesWilliam Baker
GranvilleJohn Taylor
GreeneUnknown / Vacant
GuilfordJames Galloway
HalifaxNicholas Long
HertfordJohn Baker
HydeAbraham Jones
JohnstonBenjamin Williams
JonesFrederick Hargett
LincolnRobert Alexander
MartinWhitmell Hill
MecklenburgJames Harris
MontgomerySamuel Parsons
MooreHenry Lightfoot
Nash Hardy Griffin
New HanoverJohn A. Campbell
NorthamptonAllen Jones
OnslowThomas Johnston
OrangeWilliam McCauley
PasquotankThomas Relfe
PerquimansJohn Skinner
PittJohn Williams
Randolph Thomas Dougan
RichmondCharles Medlock
RowanMatthew Locke
RutherfordJames Miller
Sampson Richard Clinton
SullivanUnknown / Vacant
SurryJohn Armstrong
Tyrrell John Warrington
WakeJoel Lane
WarrenNathaniel Macon
WashingtonWilliam Cocke
WayneBurwell Mooring
WilkesWilliam Lenoir

Legislation

This assembly approved an act to require county courts to conduct a census of white and black residents. Other acts concerned the following:
For additional details of the legislation of this assembly, see