# North Carolina General Assembly of 1779

The North Carolina General Assembly 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, from January to February, 1780.
Each of the 50 North Carolina counties was authorized by the North Carolina Constitution 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 was elected governor by the legislature.

## Legislation

For additional laws and minutes of the 1779 General Assembly, see 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 Sampson
* John Simpson from Pitt County
* Thomas Respass, Senior from Beaufort County
* 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: Thomas Benbury (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:
| County | House of Commons Member |
| Anson County | Charles Medlock |
| Anson County | Stephen Miller |
| Beaufort County | John Kennedy |
| Beaufort County | Robert Tripp |
| Bertie County | James Campbell |
| Bertie County | John Johnston |
| Bladen County | Samuel Cain |
| Bladen County | Thomas Brown |
| Brunswick County | William Dry (possibly) |
| Brunswick County | (vacant) |
| Burke County | William Morrison |
| Burke County | Thomas Whitson |
| Camden County | Willis Bright |
| Camden County | Caleb Grandy |
| Carteret County | John Easton |
| Carteret County | Solomon Shepperd |
| Caswell County | Peter Farrow |
| Caswell County | William Moore |
| Chatham County | Jonathan Harper |
| Chatham County | John Luttrell |
| Chowan County | Thomas Benbury |
| Chowan County | William Boyd |
| Craven County | Hardy Bryan |
| Craven County | Benjamin Williams |
| Cumberland County | Robert Cochran |
| Cumberland County | Robert Rowan |
| Currituck County | John Humphries |
| Currituck County | Thomas Youngblood |
| Dobbs County | Jesse Cobb |
| Dobbs County | William Caswell |
| Dobbs County | Thomas Gray |
| Dobbs County | Abraham Sheppard |
| Duplin County | Richard Clinton |
| Duplin County | James Gillespie |
| Edgecombe County | Ethelred Exum |
| Edgecombe County | William Haywood |
| Edgecombe County | William Haywood |
| Franklin County | Green Hill |
| Franklin County | John Norwood |
| Franklin County | Thomas Sherrod |
| Granville County | Philemon Hawkins II |
| Gates County | vacant |
| Granville County | Thomas Person |
| Guilford County | Daniel Gillespie |
| Guilford County | James Hunter |
| Halifax County | Willie Jones |
| Halifax County | Augustine Willis |
| Hertford County | Arthur Cotton |
| Hertford County | William Wynns |
| Hyde County | Joseph Hancock |
| Hyde County | Benjamin Parmele |
| Johnston County | Lewis Bryan |
| Johnston County | Phillip Raiford |
| Jones County | vacant |
| Lincoln County | vacant |
| Martin County | Samuel Smithwick |
| Martin County | Samuel Williams |
| Mecklenburg County | Caleb Phifer |
| Mecklenburg County | David Wilson |
| Montgomery County | Solomon Gross |
| Montgomery County | John Kimbrough |
| New Hanover County | Timothy Bloodworth |
| New Hanover County | John A. Campbell |
| Northampton County | Robert Peebles |
| Northampton County | James Vaughan |
| Onslow County | James Howard |
| Onslow County | Edward Starkey |
| Orange County | William McCauley |
| Orange County | Mark Patterson |
| Pasquotank County | John Blackstock |
| Pasquotank County | Thomas Riding |
| Perquimans County | Jonathan Skinner |
| Perquimans County | John Whedbee |
| Pitt County | James Gorham |
| Pitt County | John Williams |
| Randolph County | Jacob Shepperd |
| Randolph County | Absolam Tatum |
| Randolph County | John Arnold |
| Richmond County | vacant |
| Richmond County | |
| Rowan County | Matthew Locke |
| Rowan County | Moses Winslow |
| Sullivan County | vacant |
| Sullivan County | vacant |
| Surry County | Gray Bynum |
| Surry County | Frederick Miller |
| Tyrrell County | Benjamin Spruill |
| Tyrrell County | Joshua Swann |
| Wake County | Thomas Hines |
| Wake County | John Hinton, Jr. |
| Warren County | Joseph Hawkins |
| Warren County | John Macon |
| Washington District | Henry Clark |
| Washington District | Jesse Walton |
| Wayne County | vacant |
| Wayne County | vacant |
| Wilkes County | Elisha Isaacs |
| Wilkes County | Benjamin Herndon |
| Edenton District | Robert Smith |
| Halifax District | Henry Montford |
| Hillsborough District | Thomas Tulloch |
| New Bern District | Richard Cogdell |
| New Bern District | Richard Dobbs Spaight |
| Salisbury District | Maxwell Chambers |
| Wilmington District | William Hooper |

## Senate
### Senate leadership

* Speaker: Allen Jones (Northampton County), resigned October 25, 1779; Abner Nash, elected to replace Jones October 26, 1779
* Clerk: John Sitgreaves (Craven County)

### Members of the senate

Members of the senate and counties they represented included the following
| County | Senate Member |
| Anson County | John Childs |
| Beaufort County | Thomas Respess |
| Bertie County | Jasper Carlton |
| Bladen County | Thomas Owen |
| Brunswick County | (vacant) |
| Burke County | Ephraim McLean |
| Camden County | John Gray |
| Carteret County | William Thompson |
| Caswell County | James Saunders |
| Chatham County | Ambrose Ramsey |
| Chowan County | Samuel Johnston |
| Craven County | James Coor |
| Cumberland County | (vacant) |
| Currituck County | Solomon Perkins |
| Dobbs County | Benjamin Exum |
| Duplin County | James Kenan |
| Edgecombe County | Elisha Battle |
| Franklin County | Benjamin Seawell |
| Gates County | (vacant) |
| Granville County | Memucan Hunt |
| Guilford County | Alexander Martin |
| Halifax County | Oroondate Davis |
| Hertford County | George Wynn |
| Hyde County | William Russell |
| Johnston County | Samuel Smith |
| Jones County | Abner Nash |
| Lincoln County | William Graham |
| Martin County | (unknown) |
| Mecklenburg County | Kenneth McKenzie |
| Montgomery County | (vacant) |
| New Hanover County | Nathan Boddie |
| Northampton County | Allen Jones |
| Northampton County | Samuel Lockhart |
| Onslow County | Henry Rhodes |
| Orange County | John Hogan |
| Pasquotank County | Thomas Relfe |
| Perquimans County | Thomas Harvey |
| Pitt County | Edward Salter |
| Randolph County | John Collier |
| Richmond County | (vacant) |
| Rowan County | Griffith Rutherford |
| Sullivan County | (vacant) |
| Surry County | William Shepperd |
| Tyrrell County | Jeremiah Frazier |
| Wake County | John Rand |
| Warren County | John Faulcon |
| Washington District | Charles Roberson |
| Wayne County | (vacant) |
| Wilkes County | Benjamin Cleveland |