Thomas Blount (statesman)

Thomas Blount
Thomas Blount
	1805 portrait
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives; from North Carolina's North Carolina's 9th congressional district district
	In office; 1793–1795
Preceded by	office created
Succeeded by	Thomas Blount
United States House of Representatives
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives; from 's North Carolina's 9th congressional district district
	In office; 1795–1797
Preceded by	office created
Succeeded by	Thomas Blount
Personal details
Born	May 10, 1759; Craven County, North Carolina
Died	February 7, 1812 (aged 52); Washington D.C.
	Military career
Buried	Congressional Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	North Carolina Line
Years of service	1777–1778
Rank	Lieutenant, Adjutant General
Unit	5th North Carolina Regiment, North Carolina militia

Thomas Blount (May 10, 1759 – February 7, 1812) was served as a Lieutenant in the North Carolina Line and as an Adjutant General to Major General Richard Caswell in the North Carolina militia during the American Revolutionary War. After the war, he served as a representative in the North Carolina General Assembly and served three terms in U.S. Representative from the 5th Congressional District in North Carolina.

Early life

He was born at Blount Hall on May 10, 1759 in Craven County, North Carolina (later became Pitt County, North Carolina in 1760). His parents were Jacob Blount of Beaufort County, North Carolina and Barbara Gray Blount. Jacob Blount acquired an estate of six thousand acres on Contentnea Creek between 1757 and 1783. Thomas had six siblings: William (b. 26 Mar. 1749), Ann (b. 3 Oct. 1750), John Gray (b. 21 Sept. 1752), Louisa (b. 17 Jan. 1755), Reading (b. 22 Feb. 1757), and Jacob (b. 5 Nov. 1760). Thomas's mother died in 1763 and his father remarried to Hannah Salter Baker. Thomas was educated at home. He was close to his brothers William and John Gray in both business and politics. Together, they ran the Blount Brothers mercantile business, which was one of the largest in North Carolina and based in Washington, North Carolina. John Gray and William were representatives in the North Carolina General Assembly.[1]

Military service

In 1777 at the age of 16, Blount entered the Continental Army's 5th North Carolina Regiment during the American Revolutionary War. He served as a lieutenant under Captain Benjamin Stedman. He was dropped from the rolls in January 1778, since he was captured during the conflicts (most likely the Battle of Germantown). He was among those prisoners of war shipped to England for detention. In 1780, he was back in North Carolina and served as Adjutant General to Major General Richard Caswell in the North Carolina militia.[1][2][3]

Political career

His brother, John Gray Blount, was a member of the North Carolina General Assembly House of Commons in 1783.

He served as a representative from the North Carolina in the United States House of Representatives:

(1793–1795), 3rd United States Congress, 9th North Carolina Congressional District, Anti-Administration party affiliation
(1795–1797), 4th United States Congress 9th North Carolina Congressional District
(1797–1799), 5th United States Congress 9th North Carolina Congressional District, Democratic-Republican Party
1798, lost to Willis Alston in a four-way race for the 9th North Carolina Congressional District (see 1798 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina)
1805–1807, 9th United States Congress, 3rd North Carolina Congressional District, Democratic-Republican Party
1807–1809, 10th United States Congress, 3rd North Carolina Congressional District, Democratic-Republican Party
1811–1812, 12th United States Congress, 3rd North Carolina Congressional District, He served until his death in February 1812. He died in Washington, D.C. and was interred at the Congressional Cemetery.

Family

He was the brother of William Blount and John Gray Blount and the uncle of William Grainger Blount. His wife, Mary J. Sumner, was the daughter of Jethro Sumner.[4][5][1]

His home at Tarboro, The Grove, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.[6]

References

Maupin, Armistead Jones (1979). "Thomas Blount". Retrieved December 11, 2019.
Lewis, J.D. "Thomas Blount, Lieutenant/Colonel". carolana.com. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
Lewis, J.D. "Captain Benjamin Stedman". carolana.com. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
"Thomas J. Sumner Blount". geni.com. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
Nash, Jaquelin Drane. "Blount, Mary ("Jackie") Sumner". ncpedia.org. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
"National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.

Congressional Bio

External links

Biographic sketch at U.S. Congress website

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by District created	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 9th congressional district 1793–1799	Succeeded by Willis Alston
Preceded by William Kennedy	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 3rd congressional district 1805–1809	Succeeded by William Kennedy
Preceded by William Kennedy	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 3rd congressional district 1811–1812	Succeeded by William Kennedy

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[NCPEDIA-1] Maupin, Armistead Jones (1979). "Thomas Blount". Retrieved December 11, 2019.

[Lewis-2] Lewis, J.D. "Thomas Blount, Lieutenant/Colonel". carolana.com. Retrieved December 11, 2019.

[3] Lewis, J.D. "Captain Benjamin Stedman". carolana.com. Retrieved December 12, 2019.

[Blount-4] "Thomas J. Sumner Blount". geni.com. Retrieved 24 August 2015.

[Mary_Sumner-5] Nash, Jaquelin Drane. "Blount, Mary ("Jackie") Sumner". ncpedia.org. Retrieved 24 August 2015.

[nris-6] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.