Richard Dobbs Spaight (Jr.), New Bern
The marker to Richard Dobbs Spaight (Jr.) features a bronze plaque attached to a large boulder. The plaque was cast as the front elevation of a Greek revival architectural style building. In relief on the building’s pediment are several components from the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina, to include the state motto” Esse quam videri” meaning "To be, rather than to seem". Also prominent are the figures Liberty and Plenty facing towards each other. A bas-relief eagle in flight is directly below the pediment with the inscriptions appearing below the eagle’s spread wings. This marker was one of three dedicated on the same day and attached to the same boulder, the “Governors Boulder,” at the Craven County Courthouse. They honor three men who held that position in North Carolina: Richard Dobbs Spaight (Sr.), Richard Dobbs Spaight (Jr.), and Abner Nash.
The inscription misidentifies the location where the treaty was signed. See Subject Notes below.
Images:
“Governors Boulder"
RICHARD DOBBS SPAIGHT / THE YOUNGER / BORN 1790 - DIED 1850 / GRADUATE AND FOR TWENTY-NINE YEARS A TRUSTEE / OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA. MEMBER / OF
THE NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF COMMONS / FOR ONE TERM, AND OF THE STATE SENATE /
FOR FOURTEEN TERMS, MEMBER OF THE EIGHTEENTH /CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, GRAND / MASTER OF THE MASONIC GRAND LODGE OF NORTH / CAROLINA FOR TWO TERMS, MEMBER OF THE STATE / CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1835, AND THE / LAST GOVERNOR OF NORTH CAROLINA ELECTED / BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
ERECTED 1923 BY /THE NORTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL COMMISSION /RICHARD DOBBS SPAIGHT CHAPTER OF THE DAUGHTERS / OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION / COUNTY OF CRAVEN AND CITY OF NEW BERN
Craven County
June 7, 1923
35.108020 , -77.038000 View in Geobrowse
"Courthouse, New Bern, N.C." in North Carolina Postcard Collection (P052), North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, Wilson Library, UNC-Chapel Hill Link
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Barefoot, Daniel W. Touring North Carolina’s Revolutionary War Sites (Winston Salem, NC: John F. Blair Publisher, 1998), 76-77
Carraway, Gertrude S. 1994. “Spaight, Richard Dobbs, Jr.,” NCpedia.org, (accessed May 1, 2023 Link
“Craven County Courthouse in New Bern, North Carolina,” Bobbystuff.com, (accessed November 19, 2023) Link
“Descendants of 3 Governors Help to Honor Ancestors,” The Morning New Bernian (New Bern, NC), June 8, 1923
“Governor William Tryon: Western Boundary Agreement, 1767,” North Carolina Digital Collections, digital.ncdcr.gov, (accessed January 5, 2024) Link
“Interesting Historical Event,” The Tryon Daily Bulletin (Tryon, NC), April 13, 1951, (accessed January 5, 2024) Link
“Primary Source: Boundary Between North Carolina and the Cherokee Nation,” NCpedia.org, (accessed January 5, 2024) Link
“Richard Dobbs Spaight, the Younger: Born 1790 – Died 1850,” The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.org, (accessed May 1, 2023) Link
“Scenes at Unveiling of Boulder to Colonial Governors,” The Morning New Bernian (New Bern, NC), June 10, 1923
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“Tryon Mountain,” North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program, ncmarkers.com, (accessed January 5, 2024) Link
Yes
Bronze, boulder of Mr. Airy granite
Richard Dobbs Spaight Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, the North Carolina Historical Commission
The memorial dedications were a featured part of the first annual meeting of the fifth district of the Daughters of the American Revolution hosted by the Richard Dobbs Spaight Chapter. Mrs. Margaret Donnell Nelson, a lineal descendant of the Speights, and little Miss Arabella Cox, a lineal descendant of Abner Nash, performed the unveiling. Much of the ceremony took place in the courtroom with the presentation of a paper on Abner Nash by Frank Nash of Raleigh and a paper on the Speights by Judge Henry A. Grady. Dr. D. H. Hill represented the NC Historical Society. Addresses were also given by member of the D.A.R. and school children. During the ceremony “America,” “The Star Spangled Banner” and “Carolina” were performed.
Governors Boulder
[Additional information from NCpedia editors at the State Library of North Carolina: This person enslaved and owned other people. Many Black and African people, their descendants, and some others were enslaved in the United States until the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in 1865. It was common for wealthy landowners, entrepreneurs, politicians, institutions, and others to enslave people and use enslaved labor during this period. To read more about the enslavement and transportation of African people to North Carolina, visit https://aahc.nc.gov/programs/africa-carolina-0. To read more about slavery and its history in North Carolina, visit https://www.ncpedia.org/slavery. - Government and Heritage Library, 2023.]
The Treaty of Tryon was an attempt by the British to establish a definitive line between white settlers and Indians and also fix the western frontier of North Carolina. In 1766, John Stuart, Superintendent of Indian Affairs had urged Gov. William Tryon to negotiate a new boundary line with the Cherokee. After initial resistance, Tryon agreed and appointed a commission to survey the new line and then mounted a personal military expedition to take part in the negotiations. Impressed with a visit from the governor, the Cherokee gave him the title of “Great Wolf of North Carolina.”
The treaty was not signed on the top of Tryon Peak as stated on the tablet. Cherokee blood-marks were reported to have been obtained at “Tyger River Camp” in what is now Union County, South Carolina. The exact location of the camp has never been determined and it’s doubtful if Gov. Tryon ever saw the mountain named after him.
The commemorative boulder with three bronze plaques is located in front of the Craven County Courthouse near the intersection of Broad Street and Craven Street. The courthouse address is 302 Broad St, New Bern, NC 28560. Other memorials on the grounds include those to Abner Nash, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Sr., Craven County World War I and World War II Memorial, Purple Heart Memorial, and the Craven County War Memorial.
The boulder with commemorative plaques stands on the well-maintained front lawn.