# Second North Carolina Provincial Congress

The Second North Carolina Provincial Congress was the second extra-legal unicameral body of the North Carolina Provincial Congress that met beginning in 1774. They were modeled after the colonial lower house (House of Commons). These congresses created a government structure, issued bills of credit to pay for the movement, and organized an army for defense, in preparation for the state of North Carolina. These congresses paved the way for the first meeting of the North Carolina General Assembly on April 7, 1777 in New Bern, North Carolina. The second Congress met in New Bern from April 3 to April 7, 1775.

## Legislation

The second congress met at New Bern, from April 3 to 7, 1775. John Harvey served as moderator. The congress met at the same place and almost the same time as the Province of North Carolina General Assembly of 1775 and had almost exactly the same membership (61 of the 107 delegates attended both). This infuriated the royal governor Josiah Martin, who dissolved the colonial legislature on April 8 and never called another. This congress approved the Continental Association, an economic boycott of Great Britain authorized by the First Continental Congress. Just after this congress met, news reached North Carolina about the Battle of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. Following this news, Governor Josiah Martin fled and this ended the royal government in the Province. The first military action occurred on July 18 when patriots burned Fort Johnston, where Governor Martin had transferred his headquarters.

## Delegates

| County/Town Representing | Delegates to the Second North Carolina Provincial Congress (April 3–7) | Also delegate to the Province of North Carolina General Assembly of 1775 (April 4–8) |
| Anson | Samuel Spencer | |
| Anson | William Thomas | |
| Beaufort | Roger Ormond | Yes |
| Beaufort | Thomas Respess, Jr. | Yes |
| Beaufort | William Salter | |
| Bertie | John Campbell | Yes |
| Bertie | John Johnston | Yes |
| Bertie | David Stanley | Yes |
| Bladen | William Salter? | |
| Bladen | James White | Yes |
| Brunswick County | Robert Howe | Yes |
| Brunswick County | John Rowan | Yes |
| Bute | Thomas Eaton | |
| Bute | Green Hill | Yes |
| Bute | William Person | Yes |
| Bute | James Ransom | |
| Carteret | Solomon Shepard | Yes |
| Carteret | William Thompson | Yes |
| Chatham | Not represented | |
| Chowan | Thomas Benbury | Yes |
| Chowan | Thomas Hunter | Yes |
| Chowan | Samuel Johnston | Yes |
| Chowan | Thomas Jones | Yes |
| Chowan | Thomas Oldham | Yes |
| Craven | William Bryan | |
| Craven | Richard Cogdell | |
| Craven | Jacob Blount | |
| Craven | James Coor | Yes |
| Craven | Joseph Leech | |
| Craven | Lemuel Hatch | Yes |
| Cumberland | Farquard Campbell | Yes |
| Cumberland | Thomas Rutherford | Yes |
| Currituck | Samuel Jarvis | Yes |
| Currituck | Nathan Joyner | Yes |
| Currituck | Thomas McKnight | Yes |
| Currituck | Solomon Perkins | Yes |
| Currituck | Francis Williamson | Yes |
| Dobbs | Richard Caswell | Yes |
| Dobbs | William McKinnie | Yes |
| Dobbs | George Miller | |
| Dobbs | Simon Bright | |
| Duplin | William Dickson | |
| Duplin | Thomas Gray | |
| Duplin | Thomas Hicks | |
| Duplin | James Kenan | |
| Edgecombe | Not represented | |
| Granville | Memucan Hunt | |
| Granville | Robert Montfort | |
| Granville | Robert Williams | |
| Granville | John Paine | |
| Granville | Thomas Person | Yes |
| Guilford | Alexander Martin | |
| Halifax County | Willie Jones | |
| Halifax County | Nicholas Long | Yes |
| Halifax County | Benjamin McCulloch | Yes |
| Hertford | Joseph Worth | |
| Hertford | George Wynns | Yes |
| Hyde | Rotheas Latham | |
| Hyde | Samuel Smith | |
| Johnston | Needham Bryan | Yes |
| Johnston | Benjamin Williams | Yes |
| Martin | Edmund Smithwick | |
| Mecklenburg | Benjamin Patten | |
| New Hanover | John Baptista Ashe | Yes |
| New Hanover | William Hooper | Yes |
| Northampton | Jeptha Atherton | Yes |
| Northampton | Allen Jones | Yes |
| Onslow | William Cray | Yes |
| Onslow | Henry Rhodes | Yes |
| Onslow | Edward Starkey | |
| Orange | Thomas Burke | |
| Orange | Thomas Hart | Yes |
| Orange | John Kinchen | |
| Pasquotank | Edward Everagin | Yes |
| Pasquotank | Jonathan Herring | Yes |
| Pasquotank | Joseph Jones | Yes |
| Pasquotank | Isaac Gregory | Yes |
| Pasquotank | Joseph Reading | Yes |
| Perquimans | John Harvey | Yes |
| Perquimans | Thomas Harvey | Yes |
| Perquimans | Andrew Knox | Yes |
| Perquimans | John Whedbee | Yes |
| Perquimans | Benjamin Harvey | |
| Pitt | James Gorham | |
| Pitt | James Lanier | |
| Pitt | William Robeson | |
| Pitt | Edward Salter | Yes |
| Pitt | John Simpson | Yes |
| Rowan | Griffith Rutherford | |
| Rowan | William Sharpe | |
| Surry | Not represented | |
| Tryon | David Jenkins | |
| Tryon | Robert Alexander | |
| Tyrrell | Jeremiah Frazier | Yes |
| Tyrrell | Benjamin Spruill | Yes |
| Tyrrell | Joseph Spruill | Yes |
| Wake | John Hinton | |
| Wake | Tignal Jones | |
| Wake | Michael Rogers | |
| Bath Town | William Brown | Yes |
| Brunswick Town | Parker Quince | Yes |
| Campbellton Town | Robert Rowan | Yes |
| Edenton Town | Joseph Hewes | Yes |
| Halifax Town | John Webb | |
| Halifax Town | Joseph Montfort | |
| Hillsborough Town | Francis Nash | Yes |
| New Bern Town | Abner Nash | |
| New Bern Town | James Davis | |
| Salisbury Town | William Kennon | |
| Wilmington Town | Cornelius Harnett | Yes |
Notes:
* ↑ Nathan Joyner was recorded as Poyner.
* ↑ Campbellton became part of Fayetteville in 1783)