North Carolina General Assembly of 1785

The North Carolina General Assembly of 1785 met in New Bern from November 18, 1785, to December 29, 1785. The assembly consisted of the 114 members of the North Carolina House of Commons and 54 senators of North Carolina Senate elected by the voters on August 19, 1785. During the 1785 session, the legislature created Rockingham County. As prescribed by the 1776 Constitution of North Carolina the General Assembly elected Richard Caswell to continue 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 Richard Caswell as governor on December 9, 1785, and the following members of the North Carolina Council of State: James Glasgow continued as North Carolina Secretary of State.
 * Joseph Leech, Craven County, President, elected on December 10, 1785,
 * James Gillespie, Duplin County, elected on December 10, 1785
 * Winston Caswell, Dobbs County, Clerk
 * John Hawks, Craven County, elected on December 10, 1785
 * William McClure, Craven County, elected on December 10, 1785
 * John Spicer, Onslow County, elected on December 10, 1785
 * Green Hill, Franklin County, elected on December 12, 1785
 * Miles King, Richmond County, elected on December 28, 1785

House of Commons members
There were 114 positions authorized for the House of Commons in this assembly, including one representative from each of six districts and 54 counties. Only 105 delegates are known to have attended this House of Commons assembly.

Fayette County, which was formed in July 1784 from the eastern part of Cumberland County, reverted to Cumberland County three months later, so does not appear in this assembly.

Greene, Sullivan and Washington Counties had formed the State of Franklin in an attempt to create a new state. They did not send representatives to this assembly.

Anson, Bladen, and Gates County only sent one elected official to the House of Commons.

The House of Commons delegates elected a Speaker (Richard Dobbs Spaight), Clerk (John Hunt), Assistant Clerk (John Haywood), Doorkeeper (Peter Gooding), and Assistant Doorkeeper (James Malloy). The following delegates to the House of Commons were elected by the voters of North Carolina to represent each county and district:

Senate members
The Senators elected a President (Alexander Martin), Clerk (John Haywood), Assistant Clerk (Sherwood Haywood), Doorkeeper (William Murphy), and Assistant Doorkeeper (Nicholas Murphy). The following Senators were elected by the voters of North Carolina to represent each county:

Legislation
The assembly passed the acts concerning:


 * establishing a post-war militia
 * jurisdictions of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, North Carolina justice of the peace and other courts
 * regulation of commerce and imports
 * collection of public debt
 * emitting paper currency
 * regulating the towns of Wilmington, Edenton, and Fayetteville; regulating and restraining the conduct of slaves and others in these towns
 * securing and quieting forfeited estates
 * raising revenues and suppressing excessive gambling
 * levying taxes and redemption of Continental money
 * opening land offices
 * dealing with traitors and loyalists
 * registration of marriage contracts
 * liquidating accounts of officers and soldiers of the continental line and reviving district board of auditors for a limited time
 * relief of disabled veterans of the late war
 * recovering artillery belonging to the state that was thrown into the river at Edenton
 * settling accounts between the United States and the state of North Carolina
 * making provision for the poor, including building houses for them
 * regulation of the town of Tarborough
 * resolving disputes regarding building mills in certain counties
 * relief of children and widows of soldiers that died in the service of the United States
 * creating Rockingham County from Guilford County and selecting board of trustees for Salisbury Academy in Salisbury District
 * annexing part of Pitt County to Beaufort County
 * preventing blocking or obstructing of ways leading to houses of public worship
 * empowering County Courts of Pleas and Quarter Session to deal with public roads, ferries and bridges
 * securing literary property
 * duties and salaries of public printer
 * destruction of wolves, wildcats, panthers, bears, crows, and squirrels in several counties
 * promoting learning in Davidson County at Davidson Academy
 * establishing Grove Academy in Duplin County
 * conveying common land to Smith Academy in Edenton
 * establishing Kinston Academy in Dobbs County
 * repairing jails and court houses, establishing a gaol in Edenton District
 * changing the location of the county court in Beaufort County from Bath to Washington
 * acts dealing with personal estates
 * pardoning the citizens of Washington, Sullivan and Green counties if they return to allegiance to North Carolina
 * establishing a Superior Court in Davidson County
 * temporarily preventing distillation of spirituous liquors in Davidson County
 * appointing tobacco inspectors in some counties
 * establishing towns: on the land of Whitmell Hill in Martin County on the Roanoke River; on the lands of Luke Mizell and William MacKay in Martin County; on the land of Mial Scurlock in Chatham, County; on the land of Jessee Peacock in Sampson County; in Lincoln County; at Guilford Courthouse named Martinville; in the fork of the Cumberland and Red River on the east side of the Red River in Davidson County; Morgan in Morgan District

For additional details on minutes of the assembly and laws, see Legislative Documents.