Gov Gen
Richard
Caswell
IV
Born in Joppa, Harford, Province of Maryland
Ancestors 
Son of Richard Caswell III
and Christian (Dallam) Caswell
Brother of
Elizabeth Caswell, William Caswell [half], Mary Caswell, Martin Caswell, Benjamin Caswell, Christian Caswell, Joseph Winston Caswell, Ann Caswell and Samuel Caswell
Husband of
Mary (Mackilwean) Caswell
— married
21 Apr 1752 [location unknown]
Husband of
Sarah (Herritage) Caswell
— married
20 Jun 1758 in North Carolina
Descendants 
Father of
William Caswell, Richard Caswell, Anna (Caswell) White, Dallam Caswell and Susan (Caswell) Gatlin
Died
at age 60
in Fayetteville, Cumberland, North Carolina, United States
Profile managers:
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[send private message], SJ Baty [send private message], John Simmons [send private message], and Susan Fitzmaurice [send private message]Profile last modified
| Created 31 Jul 2014
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| Preceded by Office established December 1776 4th Governor Alexander Martin |
Richard Caswell 1st Governor of North Carolina 1776—1780  1785—1787 |
Succeeded by 2nd Governor Abner Nash 6th Governor Samuel Johnston |
| Richard Caswell IV participated in the American Revolution. Join: 1776 Project Discuss: 1776 |
Contents |
Biography
Gov Gen Richard Caswell IV served with American Founding Fathers during the American Revolution.
Major General Richard Caswell IV served with New Bern District Brigade, North Carolina Militia during the American Revolution.
Richard Caswell IV is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A020332.
Richard Caswell IV is Notable.
Richard Caswell was born Aug 3, 1729 in Joppa, Harford, Maryland, the son of Christian Dallam and Richard Caswell.[1]
Spouses and Children
- He married Mary Mackilwean on 21 Apr 1752 at Tower Hill. (Mary died on 7 February 1757.) They had the following children:
- Stillborn Daughter (b. 15 September 1753)
- William Caswell (b 24 Sep 1754)
- Daughter (b. 4 February 1757, died in infancy)
- He married Sarah Herriitage on 20 Jun 1758. They had the following children:
- Richard, Jr. ("Dicky"; b. 15 Sept. 1759)
- Sarah (b. 26 Feb. 1762)
- Winston (b. 7 May 1764)
- Anna (b. 4 Dec. 1766, d. Feb 1850)
- Dallam (b. 15 June 1769)
- John ("Jack"; b. 24 Jan. 1772)
- Susannah ("Susan"; b. 16 Feb. 1775
- Christian (7–9 Jan. 1779)
Eight of the eleven children lived to adulthood.
Political and Revolutionary War Service
He was a lawyer and surveyor by training and represented North Carolina in the Continental Congress of 1774 and 1775.
Military Service Record: New Bern District Minutemen: 9/9/1775, a Colonel of the Minutemen. 5/4/1776, a Brigadier General. From Dobbs County. Born on 8/3/1729 in Cecil County, MD. Participated in battles of Great Cane Brake (SC), Snow Campaign (SC), and Moore's Creek Bridge.[2]
When the Revolutionary War broke out, Caswell was the commander of the district of New Bern, NC Minutemen. As a Patriot officer, Caswell led North Carolina militiamen in the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge.
While General Washington was encamped at Valley Forge, he corresponded with Governor Caswell. Several of which are extant. [3]
In 1780 he was also commissioned as a Major General of North Carolina troops. At the Battle of Camden, his troops fled after the Virginia militia broke and fled in a panic exposing Caswell's militia to attack without greater defense, leaving the Continentals behind to suffer defeat.
Caswell was president of the provincial congress that wrote the first North Carolina Constitution in 1776. As the congress adjourned, it elected Caswell as acting governor. He took the oath of office on January 16, 1777. Under the new constitution, the state Legislature ("General Assembly") re-elected him as the first Governor in April 1777. He stepped down in 1780, as the constitution allowed only three consecutive one-year terms. He then assumed command of all of North Carolina's militia, which he commanded at the American defeat at Camden, August 16, 1780.
Later Years and Death
The period from 1784 to 1789 was one of grief for Caswell. His two oldest sons, his oldest daughter, his mother, two brothers, and a sister all died. His throbbing headaches and giddiness came more often and stayed longer. These symptoms, of which he had complained at times since 1769, were evidently caused by high blood pressure. On 8 Nov. 1789, he suffered a fatal stroke of total paralysis while presiding over the state senate at Fayetteville. A state funeral was held at Fayetteville. His body was then taken to Kinston and buried in the cemetery at the Red House plantation. His widow, Sarah Heritage Caswell, died at Newington in 1794.[4] [5][6]
An archaeological dig was performed to find Governor Caswell's exact grave location. For an interesting article, including pictures of the dig site, see the Old Dobbers web site [7]
Legacy
Caswell County, North Carolina is named in his honor.
Born 15 Feb 1733. Joppa, Baltimore, Maryland, United States. [10]
Died 20 Nov 1789. Johnston, North Carolina, USA. [11][12]
Sources
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7801751/richard-caswell
- St. John's Parish] Joppa --:"William Caswell son of Richard and Christina his wife was born the 8th day December 1726."[13]
- ↑ #Bible, Space:Bible of Richard Caswell attached, #Wikipedia, #Locke, #Holloman
- ↑ #Lewis
- ↑ http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/dobbs/history/letters/richardc105gms.txt
- ↑ https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/caswell-richard-0
- ↑ North Carolina Historical Sites: Richard Caswell
- ↑ Find A Grave Memorial# 7801751
- ↑ http://olddobbers.net/Wed_Dig/WedDig.html
- ↑ Source: #S51184467
- ↑ Source: #S50895815
- ↑ Source: #S50895815
- ↑ Source: #S51184467
- ↑ Source: #S50895815
- ↑ familysearch.org Register Log of St. John's Parish Joppa. page 68 image 363 attached
- Wikipedia:Richard Caswell, Richard Caswell. en.wikipedia.org. Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted. Last Edit 1 Nov 2015. Accessed: 1 Dec 2015
- North Carolina History Project: Richard Caswell. (C) 2015 John Locke Foundation. Accessed 1 Dec 2015. Link
- Holloman, Charles R., Richard Caswell. 1979. Accessed 1 Dec 2015. NCpedia. Link
- North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources: North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program. 2008. Accessed 1 Dec 2015. Link
- Richard Caswell Bible [fhp_400110590_caswell_0003], see also Space:Bible of Richard Caswell, original located ?
- J.D. Lewis, Revolutionary War Service for Richard Caswell
- Biography of Richard Caswell, Sr., father of Richard Caswell, Jr., Maryland State Archives, Link
- Source: S50854295 Repository: #R50045028 Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=100902923&pid=378
- Source: S50895815 Repository: #R50045028 U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
- Source: S51184467 Repository: #R50045028 U.S., Newspaper Extractions from the Northeast, 1704-1930 Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
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Rejected matches › Richard Caswell (1721-1785)
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C > Caswell > Richard Caswell IV
Categories: Caswell Memorial Cemetery, Kinston, North Carolina | Signers of the Continental Association | Special Improvement Projects | North Carolina Governors | North Carolina, Notables | Namesakes US Counties | New Bern District Minutemen, North Carolina State Troops, American Revolution | War of Regulation | Battle of Alamance | American Founding Fathers | New Bern District Brigade, North Carolina Militia, American Revolution | NSDAR Patriot Ancestors | Notables
I will develop the profile with biography and sources.
Caswell-2063
Richard came to North Carolina from Maryland in 1745 at the age of 16 to New Bern which is Craven County. He later lived on the plantation of Mackilwean in Johnston County. Dobbs County was created in 1758 from Craven and Johnston.
Richard and William reached New Bern in late autumn of 1745 with a letter of recommendation from the governor of Maryland to North Carolina's royal governor, Gabriel Johnston. William was given employment in the secretary's office. Richard, then age sixteen, was made an apprentice to the surveyor general, James Mackilwean. For the next two years he lived with the Mackilwean family on their 850-acre plantation, Tower Hill, located at Stringer's Ferry on Neuse River, near present Kinston. During the rest of his life, Richard Caswell resided in that vicinity.
https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/caswell-richard-0
Monument at Tower Hill where the capital was located from 1758 to 1762 on land owned by William Heritage. https://cdn.lib.unc.edu/commemorative-landscapes/media/monument/236_full.jpg
Tower Hill is where Richard was married to Mary Mackilwean in 1752.