# North Carolina General Assembly of 1782

The North Carolina General Assembly of 1782 was the state legislature that first convened in Hillsborough, North Carolina, on April 15, 1782, and concluded on May 18, 1782. Members of the North Carolina Senate and the North Carolina House of Commons were elected by eligible North Carolina voters.
The General Assembly elected Alexander Martin of Guilford County as Governor on April 26, 1782. James Glasgow was Secretary of State. James Iredell was Attorney General. There was no Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina until 1868.

## Councilors of State

The General Assembly elected the following Councilors of State on May 3, 1782:
* Richard Henderson of Granville County
* Allen Jones of Northampton County
* Spruce Macay of Rowan County
* Philemon Hawkins II of Granville County
* Griffith Rutherford of Rowan County
* Benjamin Seawell of Franklin County
* John Penn of Granville

## Members

There was one Senator and two members of the House of Commons for each of the 50 counties. In addition, each of the six districts had one representative each.
The House of Commons leadership and staff included: Thomas Benbury, Speaker; John Hunt, Clerk; and Lovett Burgess Assistant Clerk.
| County/District | Senate Member | House Member | House Member |
| Anson County | Thomas Wade | Stephen Miller | John Jackson |
| Beaufort County | William Brown | Richard Nassau Stephens | John Gray Blount |
| Bertie County | Jonathan Jaycocks | William Horn | David Turner |
| Bladen County | Thomas Brown | Benjamin Clark | John Willis |
| Brunswick County | Archibald McClain/Alfred Moore | William Waters | Dennis Hawkins |
| Burke County | Charles McDowell | Waightstill Avery | Joseph McDowell |
| Camden County | Isaac Gregory | Dempsey Sawyer | Benjamin Jones |
| Carteret County | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Caswell County | John Williams | William Moore | Josiah Cole |
| Chatham County | William B. Smith/James Williams | James Williams/Elisha Cain | John Ledhill/Matthew Ramsey |
| New Bern District | | Richard Dobbs Spaight, Sr. | |
| Chowan County | Joseph Blount | Michael Payne | Thomas Benbury |
| Craven County | James Coor | William Bryan | John Tillman/Tilghman |
| Cumberland County | James Atkins | Edward Winslow | Thomas Armstrong |
| Currituck County | William Ferebee | Thomas Jarvis | Joseph Ferebee |
| Dobbs County | Richard Caswell, Sr. (2nd Speaker) | William Caswell | Benjamin Sheppard |
| Duplin County | James Kenan | Richard Clinton/David Dodd | James Gillespie |
| Edgecombe County | Isaac Sessums | Robert Diggs/Etheldred Phillips | James Wilson |
| Franklin County | Henry Hill | Simon Jeffreys | Harrison Macon |
| Gates County | William Baker | Jethro Sumner | Joseph Riddick |
| Granville County | William Gill | Thomas Person | Philemon Hawkins, Jr. |
| Guilford County | Alexander Martin (Speaker, Governor) | William Gowdy | James Hunter |
| Halifax County | Willie Jones | John Branch | Benjamin McCulloch |
| Halifax District | | Henry Montfort | |
| Hertford County | John Brickell/Baker | William Wynns/Lewis Brown | Thomas Brickell |
| Hyde County | William Russell/Abraham Jones | Robert Jennett | John Eborne |
| Johnston County | Thomas Gray | Arthur Bryan/Joseph Boon | Nathan Williams |
| Jones County | Nathan Bryan | Abner Nash | Unknown |
| Lincoln County | James Johnston | John Moore | John Sloan |
| Martin County | Kenneth McKenzie | William Slade | Samuel Williams |
| Mecklenburg County | Robert Irwin | Caleb Phifer | David Wilson |
| Montgomery County | Thomas Childs | Robert Moss | Peter Randle |
| Nash County | Hardy Griffin | Joseph Arrington | Edward Nicholson |
| Wilmington District | | William Hooper | |
| New Hannover County | Caleb Grainger | Timothy Bloodworth | James Bloodworth |
| Northampton County | Samuel Lockhart | John Dawson | James Spikes |
| Hillsboro/Hillsborough District | | Thomas Farmer | |
| Onslow County | Dr. Isaac Guion | Thomas Johnston | George Mitchell |
| Orange County | William Mebane | William McCauley | Mark Patterson |
| Pasquotank County | Edward Everagin | Joseph Jones | Thomas Reading |
| Perquimans County | Jesse Eason/John Whedbee | Jonathan Skinner | Richard Wedbee |
| Pitt County | John Williams/Edward Salter | James Gorham | John Simpson |
| Randolph County | John Collier | Jeduthan Harper | Edward Williams |
| Richmond County | Charles Medlock | Robert Webb | Thomas Crawford |
| Salisbury District | | Dr. Anthony Newman | |
| Rowan County | Matthew Locke | William Sharpe | Samuel Young |
| Rutherford County | James Miller | William Gilbert | David Dickey |
| Sullivan County (became part of Tennessee) | Andrew Bledsoe | Isaac Shelby | Joseph Martin |
| Surry County | William Sheppard | Samuel Cummings | Trangott Bagge |
| Tyrrell County | Jeremiah Frazier | Nehemiah Norman | Nathan Hooker |
| Wake County | Joel Lane | James Hinton | Burwell Pope |
| Warren County | Nathaniel Macon | Joseph Hawkins | John Macon |
| Washington County (became part of Tennessee) | William Cocke | Joseph Hardin | Thomas Haughton |
| Wayne County | Andrew Bass | Burwell Mooring | Richard McKinnie |
| Wilkes County | Elijah Isaacs | Joseph Herndon | William Lenoir |
| Edenton District | | Dr. Hugh Williamson | |

## Legislation

This General Assembly met during the midst of the American Revolution. Many of the session laws that they passed dealt with the war. Other laws dealt with taxes, setting up judiciaries, chartering towns, and regulating rivers and forests.