North Carolina General Assembly of 1778
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| 2nd North Carolina General Assembly (1778-1779) | |||||||
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| Overview | |||||||
| Legislative body | North Carolina General Assembly | ||||||
| Jurisdiction | North Carolina, United States | ||||||
| Meeting place | 1st New Bern, 2nd Hillsborough, 3rd Halifax sessions | ||||||
| Term | 1778–1779 | ||||||
| North Carolina Senate | |||||||
| Members | 41 Senators (41 counties, including Washington County/District) | ||||||
| Speaker | Whitmell Hill | ||||||
| Clerk | John Sitgreaves | ||||||
| North Carolina House of Commons | |||||||
| Members | 88 Representatives (41 counties with two each, 6 districts with one each) | ||||||
| Speaker | John Williams, Thomas Benbury | ||||||
| Clerk | John Hunt | ||||||
| Sessions | |||||||
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The North Carolina General Assembly of 1778 met in three sessions in three locations in the years 1778 and 1779. The first session was held in New Bern 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.[1][2][3][4]
Each of the 39 North Carolina counties and Washington District/County were authorized by the North Carolina Constitution 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 was elected governor by the legislature.[1][2][5]
This general assembly established Wilkes County in 1778[6] This general assembly established the following counties in their last session in 1779: Franklin,[7] Gates,[8] Jones,[9] Lincoln,[10] Montgomery,[11] Randolph,[12] Richmond, Rutherford,[10] Warren,[7] and Wayne Counties. For additional laws and minutes of the 1778 General Assembly, see Legislative Documents.[13]
Councilors of State
The General Assembly elected the following Councilors of State on April 18, 1778:[2]
- Joseph Leech, from Craven County
- Thomas Bonner from Beaufort County
- William Cray from Onslow County[note 1]
- Edward Starkey from Onslow County
- Robert Bignall from Edgecombe County
- Richard Henderson from Granville County[note 2]
- William Haywood from Edgecombe County[note 3]
- 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: John Williams (Granville County), 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.[3]
