Richard Dobbs Spaight

Richard Dobbs Spaight (March 25, 1758 – September 6, 1802) was an American politician, planter, and signer of the United States Constitution, who served as a Democratic-Republican U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 10th congressional district from 1798 to 1801. Spaight previously served as the eighth governor of North Carolina from 1792 to 1795. He ran for the North Carolina State Senate in 1802, and Federalist U.S. Congressman John Stanly campaigned against him as unworthy. Taking offense, Stanly challenged him to a duel on September 5, 1802, in which Stanly shot and mortally wounded Spaight, who died the following day.

This article is about the eighth governor of North Carolina. For his son, the 27th governor, see Richard Dobbs Spaight Jr.

Richard Dobbs Spaight
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 10th district
In office
December 10, 1798 – March 3, 1801
Preceded byNathan Bryan
Succeeded byJohn Stanly
8th Governor of North Carolina
In office
December 14, 1792 – November 19, 1795
Preceded byAlexander Martin
Succeeded bySamuel Ashe
Personal details
Born(1758-03-25)March 25, 1758
New Bern, North Carolina
DiedSeptember 6, 1802(1802-09-06) (aged 44)
New Bern, North Carolina
Resting place"Clermont," near New Bern, North Carolina
35°04′19.9″N 77°03′17.7″W
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
Other political
affiliations		Federalist
Spouse(s)Mary Leach
Children3
EducationUniversity of Glasgow
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/serviceNorth Carolina militia
Years of service1780
UnitAide-de-camp to Major General Richard Caswell
Battles/warsAmerican Revolution

Biography

Richard Dobbs Spaight was the father of North Carolina governor Richard Dobbs Spaight, Jr., and the grandfather of U.S. Representative Richard Spaight Donnell.

Early life

He was born in New Bern, North Carolina, the son of the Secretary of the Crown in the colony and grand-nephew of North Carolina governor Arthur Dobbs. Orphaned at the age of eight, he was sent to live with his Dobbs relatives at Carrickfergus in northern Ireland and later followed his cousin Richard Dobbs to the University of Glasgow.[1] During the American Revolution Spaight returned to North Carolina, serving as an aide-de-camp to Major General Richard Caswell at the Battle of Camden.

Political career
Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States
Richard Dobbs Spaight, No. 17.

The General Assembly elected Spaight a delegate to the Confederation Congress between 1782 and 1785; he then served in the North Carolina House of Commons from 1785 to 1787, and was named Speaker of the House. In 1787, he was a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention that drafted the U.S. Constitution, and he signed the document when he was only 29 years old.

Under the State Constitution of 1776, Spaight was nominated for governor in 1787, but was defeated by a majority in the General Assembly; he was nominated for the United States Senate in 1789 and was again defeated. In 1788, he was a member of the state convention which voted not to ratify the Constitution, although Spaight himself supported ratification. On March 24, 1788, he married Mary Leach; Mary had the distinction of being the first lady to dance with George Washington at a ball in Washington’s honor at the Governor's Palace, New Bern, in 1791.

Spaight retired from politics for several years due to ill health; he returned to the state House of Representatives in 1792. Also in 1792, he was elected the first native-born governor of North Carolina,[2] and later re-elected by the General Assembly for two further one-year terms. During his term as governor, sites were chosen for the new state capital of Raleigh and the newly chartered University of North Carolina. Spaight served as chair of the university's board of trustees during his term as governor. He stepped down as governor in 1795, having served the constitutional limit of three one-year terms.

Spaight was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1798, filling the unexpired term of Nathan Bryan; he was elected to a two-year term in 1799, serving until 1801, and though elected as a Federalist, his views on states rights led him to become associated with the Democratic-Republican party of Thomas Jefferson. He lost his bid for re-election to Congress, but returned to state government, serving in the North Carolina Senate beginning in 1801.

Death and legacy

Spaight died on September 6, 1802, following injuries sustained in a duel with John Stanly, the Federalist congressman who had defeated him in the election of 1800 for the House of Representatives. Spaight is buried at "Clermont," near New Bern, North Carolina. Spaight Street in central Madison, Wisconsin, is named in honor of Richard Spaight. Most of the main streets in downtown Madison are named after signers of the United States Constitution.

Arms
Coat of arms of Richard Dobbs Spaight[3]
Crest
A dove
Escutcheon
Argent, on a fesss Gules 3 pheons
Motto
Vi et virtute (Strength and courage)
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References
  1. Andrew H. Browning, "Richard Dobbs Spaight in Ireland and Scotland: The Education of a North Carolina Founding Father," North Carolina Historical Review 94:127-49.
  2. "September 1802 – Spaight-Stanly Duel". Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  3. Bolton's American Armory. Boston: F. W. Faxon Co, 1927

Bibliography
Political offices
Preceded by
Alexander Martin		 Governor of North Carolina
1792–1795		 Succeeded by
Samuel Ashe
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Nathan Bryan		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 10th congressional district
1798–1801		 Succeeded by
John Stanly
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