Samuel Johnston
Revolutionary leader, Governor, U.S. Senator. His home, "Hayes," and grave are one mile S.E.
This historical marker is located on US 17 Business (North Broad Street) in Edenton. It was erected in 1936.
Samuel Johnston (December 15, 1733– August 17, 1816) was an American planter, lawyer, and statesman from Chowan County, North Carolina. He represented North Carolina in both the Continental Congress and the United States Senate, and was Governor of North Carolina.
Johnston was born in Dundee, Scotland, but came to America when his father (Samuel, Sr.) moved to Onslow County, North Carolina in 1736. Samuel Sr. became surveyor-general of the colony where his brother, Gabriel Johnston, was Royal Governor. Young Samuel was educated in New England, then read law in Carolina. He moved to Chowan County and started his own plantation, known as Hayes near Edenton....
Under the new state Government, Johnston was elected to the state senate in 1779 and again in 1783 and 1784. North Carolina sent him as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1780 and 1781. In July of 1781 the Congress elected him Pressident, but he declined the office and Thomas McKean was elected the following day.
Johnston served as Governor of North Carolina from 1777 to 1789. He presided over both conventions called to ratify the U.S. Constitution. The first in 1788 rejected the Constitution in spite of Johnston's strong support. He called another convention in 1789 which did complete ratification. After statehood Johnston resigned as governor to become one of the state's first two United States Senators, serving from 1789 until 1793. In 1800 he was made a Judge in the Superior Court of North Carolina, and office he held until his retirement in 1803.
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