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1. Revolution and early republic · 1775–1799

2. August 23, 1775
   Appointment, election or service · Hillsborough Congress at Hillsborough appoints a committee to address the inhabitants of the province

   The same day the congress named Maurice Moore, William Hooper, Robert Howe, Richard Caswell and Joseph Hewes to prepare an address to the inhabitants of North Carolina, stating the controversy with Great Britain in plain language and calling on them to unite in defence of American liberty. Doctor Burke was added to the committee on August 24.

3. August 23, 1775
   Appointment, election or service · Hillsborough Provincial Congress at Hillsborough names a Committee of Secrecy to procure arms

   On August 23, 1775 the congress sitting at Hillsborough resolved that its president, Mr. Harnett, Mr. Caswell, Mr. Hewes, Mr. Nash, Mr. Willie Jones and Mr. Young be a Committee of Secrecy for procuring arms and ammunition. The committee was to report what sums of money would be needed for the purpose.

4. September 2, 1775
   Appointment, election or service · Hillsborough Congress at Hillsborough appoints Hooper, Hewes and Caswell to the Continental Congress

   Meeting at Hillsborough on September 2, 1775, the congress thanked William Hooper, Joseph Hewes and Richard Caswell for their service as the province's delegates at the last Continental Congress and appointed the three delegates for a further year, each to be paid five hundred pounds proclamation money.

5. September 7, 1775
   Appointment, election or service · Hillsborough The Provincial Congress at Hillsborough appoints John Penn to the Continental Congress

   Richard Caswell told the congress at Hillsborough that his new duties as treasurer for the Southern District and as a signer of the public bills of credit left him unable to serve in the Continental Congress. The congress resolved the same day that John Penn take his place beside William Hooper and Joseph Hewes, with the same powers and allowance.

6. August 2, 1776
   Law, policy or court · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; later Hillsborough connection William Hooper signs the Declaration of Independence

   William Hooper signed the Declaration in Philadelphia. He later became a Hillsborough resident.

7. December 20, 1776
   Appointment, election or service · Halifax Thomas Burke of Hillsborough is elected to the Continental Congress

   The last Provincial Congress chose Burke with William Hooper and Joseph Hewes. Apart from April to August 1778 he served until April 12, 1781, sitting on 108 committees.

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Compiled and maintained by the Friends of the Orange County Public Library from county records, the sources named on each card, and the index’s event pages. Last updated October 3, 2026.