Abner Nash -- New Bern North Carolina
N 35° 06.493 W 077° 02.286
18S E 314251 N 3886944
Marker is in New Bern, North Carolina, in Craven County. Marker is at the intersection of Broad Street (U.S. 17) and Craven Street on Broad Street. This boulder with a bronze plaque sits on the courthouse yards to the right of the steps.
Waymark Code: WM81PP
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 01/10/2010
Views: 6
A resident of New Bern for fifteen years; born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, about 1740, but came to North Carolina in 1763; member of Colonial Assembly from Halifax Town in 1764 and 1765; from the County of Halifax in 1769, 1770 and 1771; Delegate from the Town of New Bern to the four Provincial Congresses 1773, 1774, 1775 and 1776; member of Provincial Council in 1775; Speaker of the first House of Commons in 1777; Senator from Jones County in 1779; Speaker of the Senate in 1780; Governor of the State 1780-1781; member of Continental Congress 1782-1786. Died in New York City, December 2nd 1786. Distinguished lawyer, zealous patriot, and able public servant.
Erected 1923 by the North Carolina Historical Commission, Richard Dobbs Spaight Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, County of Craven and City of New Bern.
Nash was an active supporter of the revolutionary cause. He represented New Bern in the rebel "provincial congress" assembled from 1774, and in 1776 was a member of the committee that drafted the state's new constitution. He became a member of the North Carolina House of Commons in 1777 (serving as the first Speaker of that house) and the State Senate in 1779.
He was elected Governor by the legislature in 1781. During his brief tenure as governor, North Carolina saw some of its worst conflicts as a battleground in the American Revolutionary War. Unlike his brother Francis, his temper and poor health were poorly suited to the needs of war. This brought him into difficulty with the legislature. The assembly appointed Richard Caswell as commander-in-chief of the militia, even though the constitution assigned this responsibility to the governor. Then in December of 1781 they named a Council Extraordinary that further encroached on his office. Consequently, Nash resigned and went home in the spring of 1782. Thomas Burke was named to replace him.
Later in 1782, North Carolina eased political tensions by sending Nash as a delegate to the Continental Congress. He would serve there the rest of his life, as he died at a session in New York City. Abner was originally buried in St. Paul's Churchyard in Manhattan, but his body was later returned for burial in a private, family plot in Craven County, North Carolina.
Type of Memorial: Other
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