Steven F. Avent (*)

Bill and Chris Barber

Samuel Johnston, of Edenton

Samuel Johnston was born in Dundee, Scotland in 1733 and settled in NC in 1736. In 1754 he moved to Chowan Co. and established his home, Hayes Plantation, there. An early supporter of independence, he served on the Colonial Assembly’s Committee of Correspondence beginning in 1773 and was elected to the first four Provincial Congresses, presiding over the third in 1775 (Hillsborough) and the fourth in 1776 (Halifax), the latter of which produced the Halifax Resolves, the first official call for independence from any of the thirteen colonies.

He also served as the Colonial Treasurer, District Paymaster of Troops (1775), State Senator (1779, 1783 & 1784) and a Delegate from NC to the Continental Congresses of 1780 and 1781. He was elected the first “President of the United States in Congress Assembled” on July 10, 1781, under the Articles of Confederation, but declined the office due to health and financial reasons. After the Revolution, he served as Governor of NC from 1787-1789 and presided over the 1788 and 1789 State Constitutional Conventions. He was an active and respected Freemason, as well, serving as Grand Master of Masons in North Carolina (the first) 1787-1788 and 1789-1792. He died on August 17, 1816 and was buried at his home, Hayes Plantation.

The Northern Albemarle Chapter sponsored a commemoration of the life and accomplishments of Samuel Johnston at his gravesite on Sat., December 13, 2008. Below is a slideshow of the event.

The town of Edenton is a storybook place. The view across Edenton Bay and the Albemarle Sound from the foot of Broad Street, the lovely waterfront parks, the tree-lined streets flanked by fine 18th and 19th century homes, the magnificent 1767 Chowan County Courthouse with its green running to the water, combine to produce an unsurpassed feeling of romance, charm, and warmth. (The Chowan County Courthouse is a National Historic Landmark). Edenton has been called "The South's prettiest town."

Established in the late 17th century and incorporated in 1722, it is located on Edenton Bay at the head of the Albemarle Sound, 90 miles southwest of Norfolk, Virginia. A town of 5,000 people, Edenton retains an extensive historic district with a wonderful assemblage of 18th, 19th, and early-20th-century buildings.

During the 18th and early 19th centuries, Edenton was a political, cultural, and commercial center in the colonies and in the fledgling nation. One of its citizens signed the Declaration of Independence (a second signer died in Edenton while fleeing his creditors), and another signed the U. S. Constitution. Artisans in Edenton and the surrounding Chowan and Roanoke River basins were leaders in building and cabinetmaking. During the early eighteenth century, Edenton was the second largest port in the colonies.