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Thomas Burke

Thomas Burke (about 1744–1783) settled on a farm near Hillsborough in 1772 and sat in the provincial congresses from 1775. While governor he was captured at Hillsborough in 1781 by the Loyalist raider David Fanning. He was buried on his farm near Hillsborough. He was an enslaver.

Source: NCpedia: Burke, Thomas

1747–1783 · Dates from the Library of Congress · On the Friends’ Local Authors roster → · Library of Congress authority record ↗

36 works about Thomas Burke are indexed here, as are 5 works by Burke. 1 held at OCPL →

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Thomas Burke
Thomas Burke

Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each has its own page.

StorylineSamuel Strudwick’s claim to the Haw Old Fields, 1754–17881754–1788 · 7 events · Samuel Strudwick held a mortgage claim to 30,000 acres of the Haw Old Fields, but the land was already held by settlers, and from 1754 to 1788 he struggled to make his title good against them. Those he met in 1766 agreed to recognize it; by 1768 his tenants had formed an association to hold the land against him, and after the Revolution settlers took state patents on nearly all of the tract, even his own house. Strudwick appealed to the Assembly and to Thomas Burke in 1780, and when the lawsuits ended in 1788 he had lost about a third of the property. StorylineThomas Burke of Hillsborough, 1772–17891772–1789 · 15 events · Thomas Burke went from a Hillsborough law practice to the Continental Congress and the governor's office, and Orange County sent him to each stage of the Revolution. Douglass credits him with drafting Orange's 1776 instructions to the Halifax Congress, and he sat on the committee whose report empowered the delegates to join in declaring independence. The Assembly at Hillsborough cleared him in 1778 in his quarrel with Congress. Elected governor in 1781, he was captured in David Fanning's raid, broke his parole to return, and died near Hillsborough in 1783. In 1789 the court let his executor sell four people the estate held in slavery. StorylineGuns, powder and paper at Hillsborough, 1775–17781775–1778 · 6 events · During the Revolution the Hillsborough merchant William Johnston apparently produced gunpowder, lead and rifle flints at his Snow Hill plantation northeast of the town. In 1776 Nathaniel Rochester was named to a commission to set up a gun factory near Hillsborough and led a wagon train to Philadelphia to get iron for it. On April 24, 1776 the Provincial Congress told three commissioners in each district to set up a public works for muskets and bayonets, gather gunsmiths and pay no more than 5 pounds a gun, and for Hillsborough District it named Johnston, Thomas Burke and Ambrose Ramsey, with up to 1,000 pounds to spend. On November 14, 1777 a notice in the North Carolina Gazette announced a newly built paper mill near Hillsborough and asked households to save linen rags for it. John Hogan owned the mill, a mile and a half northeast of town. In 1778 the Continental officer Absalom Tatom took charge of the state's arsenal at Hillsborough as assistant quartermaster. That summer the gun factory shut down: its shop sat beside a creek on Burke's land about two miles northeast of town, and a dry summer left the creek too low to drive its wheel. The drought slowed the paper mill as well, and the Assembly gave Hogan more time to earn the state's premium for paper. StorylineHillsborough as the southern army’s base after Camden, 17801780 · 15 events · After the American defeat at Camden in August 1780, Hillsborough became the southern army's base, and the town and county strained to feed it. Gates regrouped his army there, the General Assembly created a Board of War that directed the war effort from the town, the courthouse became a storehouse and the church a hospital, and fugitives crowded the town. In late November the board judged that Orange could not feed the army through the winter, and Gates marched it toward Salisbury. The story runs from de Kalb's halt in June to the arrest of four Maryland soldiers in December. StorylineThe Orange County Historical Museum, 1956–19631956–1963 · 8 events · A Hillsboro Garden Club committee founded the Orange County Historical Museum in the upstairs courtroom of the 1845 courthouse. The committee, chaired by Mrs. Clarence D. Jones, began work in November 1956. In April 1957 the county commissioners let the club use the courtroom, which Christopher Crittenden of the State Department of Archives and History had advised keeping intact, and voted $250 for display cases. A Webb descendant gave the bookcase of Governor Thomas Burke's secretary, which the paper called the museum's first contribution. The museum opened in November 1957. The commissioners gave it register of deeds John Laws's desk in 1959, and in 1963 Hillsboro women who had spent months refurbishing the museum reopened it.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 40 dated events in the chronology →

During their lifetime

  1. Thomas Burke is admitted as an attorney and settles at Hillsborough Burke, born in Ireland and trained as a physician, had practiced law in Virginia before coming to Hillsborough. He was admitted as an attorney in March 1772 and later lived two miles northeast of town. Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Nash, Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolutionary (1903), p. 34
  2. Orange County sends Thomas Burke, John Kinchen and Francis Nash to the second Provincial Congress The second Provincial Congress met at New Bern a day ahead of the royal legislature, with Burke, Kinchen and Nash as Orange's delegates. In the legislature itself Orange sat Ralph McNair and Thomas Hart, and Thomas Nash sat for Hillsborough. People: Francis Nash, Thomas Hart, Ralph McNair, John Kinchen Place: New Bern · Also named: Thomas NashSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 42
  3. Orange County sends Thomas Hart, Thomas Burke and three others to the Third Provincial Congress Thomas Hart sat for Orange in the Third Provincial Congress at Hillsborough with Thomas Burke, John Kinchen, John Atkinson and John Williams. A 1961 article names Nathaniel Rochester as elected too, citing the Colonial Records; he may have sat for the town of Hillsborough. People: Thomas Hart, Thomas Burke, John Kinchen, John Williams Place: Hillsborough · Also named: John Atkinson, Nathaniel RochesterInternet Archive: Durward T. Stokes, "Thomas Hart in North Carolina", North Carolina Historical Review 41 (1964), p. 332 · Also: Internet Archive: North Carolina Historical Review 38
  4. The Provincial Congress at Hillsborough adopts a test for its members to sign On August 21, 1775 the congress sitting at Hillsborough named Allen Jones to a committee of seven to prepare a Test to be signed by its members. The committee reported on August 23 and the Test was read, approved, ordered entered on the journal and signed. Subscribers professed allegiance to the King while denying that Parliament could tax them. People: Allen Jones, Thomas Burke, William Hooper, Willie Jones, John Penn, Maurice Moore, Robert Howe Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Minutes of the Provincial Congress of North Carolina, August 20 to September 10, 1775
  5. Provincial Congress at Hillsborough names a committee to confer with inhabitants who had scruples about the American cause The congress sitting at Hillsborough appointed thirteen of its members, among them Memucan Hunt of Granville County, to confer with inhabitants of the province who held religious or political scruples. They were directed to use argument and persuasion to bring those inhabitants into support of the American cause. People: Memucan Hunt, Thomas Burke, Richard Caswell, John Penn, Thomas Person, Henry Pattillo Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Minutes of the Provincial Congress of North Carolina, August 20 to September 10, 1775
  6. Orange County voters instruct their delegates to the Halifax Congress Orange County gave its delegates to the Halifax Congress written instructions asking for a two-house legislature, freedom of religion, and a constitution ratified by the people, with freeholders voting for the upper house and householders for the lower. Douglass found that the only known copy was in Thomas Burke's hand and credits him with drafting it, and he notes that the 1776 constitution took up the instructions' statement that all power comes from the people. People: Thomas Burke Place: Orange CountySearch the index · Internet Archive: Elisha P. Douglass, "Thomas Burke, Disillusioned Democrat", North Carolina Historical Review 26 (1949), p. 160
  7. Orange County's Thomas Burke and John Kinchen sit on the committee whose report becomes the Halifax Resolves On April 8 the congress named a select committee, Burke and Kinchen of Orange among its seven members, to weigh the British measures against America. Its report, adopted unanimously on April 12, empowered the colony's delegates at Philadelphia to join the other colonies in declaring independence. People: John Kinchen Place: HalifaxSearch the index · North Carolina Provincial Congress, Journal of the Proceedings of the Provincial Congress of North Carolina, Held at Halifax, April 4, 1776 (1831), scan p. 20
  8. The Provincial Congress orders a public musket factory for Hillsborough District under Johnston, Burke and Ramsey The congress told three commissioners in each district to set up a public works for muskets and bayonets, gather gunsmiths and pay no more than 5 pounds a gun. For Hillsborough District it named William Johnston, Thomas Burke and Ambrose Ramsey, with up to 1,000 pounds to spend. People: William Johnston, Thomas Burke Place: Hillsborough District · Also named: Ambrose RamseySearch the index · North Carolina Provincial Congress, Journal of the Proceedings of the Provincial Congress of North Carolina, Held at Halifax, April 4, 1776 (1831), scan p. 37
  9. Orange County sends Rochester, Burke, Kinchen, Butler and Saunders to the Provincial Congress at Halifax Orange County elected Nathaniel Rochester with John Kinchen, James Saunders, John Butler and Thomas Burke to represent it at the Provincial Congress at Halifax in 1776, the session that set up a provisional government, ordered six more Continental regiments raised and instructed the state's delegates in the Continental Congress to vote for independence. People: Nathaniel Rochester, John Kinchen, John Butler, Thomas Burke Place: Halifax · Also named: James SaundersSearch the index · Internet Archive: North Carolina Historical Review 38 (1961), p. 473
  10. Orange County votes again after the Halifax Congress voids its October return The Congress first upheld the sitting Orange members on November 21, then on November 28 ordered a new election run by named commissioners over as many as three days. Held December 10, it returned Thomas Burke, Nathaniel Rochester, Alexander Mebane, John Butler and John McCabe, who took their seats just before the state constitution was adopted. People: Thomas Burke, Nathaniel Rochester, John Butler, Alexander Mebane Place: Hillsborough · Also named: John McCabeSearch the index · Nash, Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolutionary (1903), p. 56 · Also: Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952
  11. The new state constitution provides for public schools and a university Section 41 of the constitution adopted at Halifax, modeled on Pennsylvania's, told the legislature to establish schools and to promote learning in one or more universities. Orange's delegates voted on it, and it became the legal basis for chartering UNC. People: Thomas Burke, Nathaniel Rochester, John Butler, Alexander Mebane Place: HalifaxLefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 68
  12. 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. People: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes Place: HalifaxSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 46
Show all 34 dated events
  1. Orange County elects Thomas Burke to the General Assembly Back from the Continental Congress in October 1777, Thomas Burke was elected to the Assembly from Orange. There he was put on the committee to report on the Articles of Confederation, which recommended ratifying only seven of the thirteen articles, and the Assembly followed its report. Place: Orange CountySearch the index · Internet Archive: Elisha P. Douglass, "Thomas Burke, Disillusioned Democrat", North Carolina Historical Review 26 (1949), p. 168
  2. Drought shuts down the state gun factory near Hillsborough The factory's shop sat beside a creek on Thomas Burke's land about two miles northeast of town, and a dry summer left the creek too low to drive its wheel. The dry spell slowed the paper mill as well, and the Assembly gave John Hogan more time to earn the paper bounty. People: Thomas Burke, Colonel John Hogan Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 48 · Also: Nash, Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolutionary
  3. General Assembly holds its August 1778 session at Hillsborough The second session of the 1778 General Assembly met at Hillsborough, elected Whitmell Hill and Thomas Burke as additional delegates to the Continental Congress, and authorized 850,000 pounds in bills of credit to pay the state's war debts. The House adjourned to meet next at Halifax in January 1779. People: Thomas Benbury, Allen Jones, Thomas Burke Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Whitmell HillColonial and State Records of North Carolina: Minutes of the North Carolina House of Commons, Aug 08 to Aug 19, 1778 (vol. 12, pp. 816–880)
  4. The Assembly at Hillsborough clears Thomas Burke in his quarrel with Congress Congress had referred Burke's conduct to North Carolina after he walked out to break a quorum and sent back a rough answer when summoned. A joint committee chaired by William Hooper reported on August 14 that he was answerable only to the state, and the Assembly, which had re-elected him to Congress two days earlier, adopted the report. People: Thomas Burke, William Hooper Place: HillsboroughNash, Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolutionary (1903), p. 66
  5. General Assembly charters an academy near Hillsborough named Science Hall Meeting at Halifax, the General Assembly passed an act to establish an academy in the neighborhood of Hillsborough, naming William Hooper, Thomas Burke, Nathaniel Rochester, James Hogg and others as trustees. The act named the school Science Hall and gave its trustees the same powers as those of Liberty Hall in Mecklenburg County. People: Alexander Martin, Nathaniel Rochester, Thomas Hart, James Hogg, Thomas Burke, William Hooper, William Johnston, John Kinchen Place: HillsboroughDocumenting the American South: Acts of the North Carolina General Assembly, 1779 (Colonial and State Records, vol. 24)
  6. Thomas Burke takes up his neighbors' complaints against army plundering Home from Congress in 1780, Burke found troops around Hillsborough grazing horses on growing corn, pulling down haystacks and taking cattle, wagons and smokehouse stores. He warned local officials, wrote to the president of Congress and to General Gates, and Nash credits him with largely stopping the abuse in Orange. People: Horatio Gates Place: Orange CountySearch the index · Nash, Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolutionary (1903), p. 76
  7. Barnaby Cabe takes a wagonload of flour to General Gates's army Thomas Burke of Hillsborough wrote to Horatio Gates that his neighbor Cabe was bringing a load of flour to the southern army and would hand it over only on Gates's order, having been put off by the commissaries. The former Tryon wagoner had come over to the patriot side. People: Thomas Burke, Horatio Gates, Barnaby Cabe Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Colonial and State Records of North Carolina, vol. 15, pp. 775-776: Letter from Thomas Burke to Horatio Gates, August 1, 1780 · Also: NC State Historic Preservation Office: Cabe-Pratt-Harris House, National Register nomination
  8. Samuel Strudwick asks Thomas Burke for help as settlers threaten his Haw Fields plantation Strudwick wrote Burke that a man named Bowles, who held a new patent for a small plantation in sight of his house, meant to take the peaches from his orchard to distill and said he could raise a posse to do it, and that another settler who had patented Strudwick's own house might drive the family into the woods. He asked Burke what he should do. People: Samuel Strudwick, Thomas Burke Place: Haw Old Fields (Hawfields)Search the index · Nash, Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolutionary (1903), pp. 97-98
  9. The Assembly elects Thomas Burke of Hillsborough governor Meeting at Wake Court House, the General Assembly chose Burke. He ran the government from Halifax for his first two months. Place: Wake Court HouseSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 58
  10. Colonel Alexander Mebane rides to warn John Butler after Fanning's raid on Hillsborough When David Fanning's Loyalists marched out of Hillsborough with Governor Thomas Burke and other prisoners, Alexander Mebane, a colonel in the local militia, rode to warn General John Butler, who then laid the ambush at Lindley's Mill. People: Alexander Mebane, John Butler, David Fanning, Thomas Burke Place: Hillsborough · Also mentions: Lindley's MillSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 60
  11. David Fanning raids Hillsborough and captures Governor Burke Fanning’s Loyalists captured Governor Thomas Burke during a surprise raid on Hillsborough. People: David Fanning, Thomas Burke Place: HillsboroughNCpedia — David Fanning
  12. Butler's militia ambushes Fanning's Loyalists at Lindley's Mill The day after David Fanning's raid carried Governor Thomas Burke out of Hillsborough, John Butler rode with about four hundred militia to the ford where the Wilmington road crossed Cane Creek at Lindley's Mill and laid an ambush with Colonel Robert Mebane. The opening volley killed Colonel Hector McNeil, but Fanning organized a flanking attack that drove the militia from the field, and the prisoners went on to Wilmington. People: John Butler, David Fanning, Thomas Burke Place: Lindley's Mill, Cane Creek · Also named: Robert Mebane, Hector McNeilSearch the index · NCpedia: Lindley's Mill, Battle of
  13. Governor Burke returns to Hillsborough and raises a company against the Loyalists Hearing that Loyalists were plundering in southern Orange and that David Fanning was active again, Burke came to Hillsborough and formed a mixed infantry and cavalry company under a Captain Allen of New Hope to guard the area's Whigs. People: Thomas Burke, David Fanning Place: HillsboroughLefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 58-59
  14. Alexander Martin takes the oath as acting governor while Burke is in enemy hands Three weeks after Fanning carried Governor Burke out of Hillsborough, Alexander Martin, Speaker of the Senate, qualified before the Council of State at Colonel Williams's in Granville County and took up the administration. He told the council that the government must be supported and the most vigorous and decisive measures taken against so daring an enemy. People: Alexander Martin, Thomas Burke Place: Colonel Williams's, Granville CountyDocumenting the American South: Minutes of the North Carolina Council of State (Jul 23, 1781 - Dec 20, 1781)
  15. Burke is admitted to parole as a prisoner of war on James Island Held first as a prisoner of state after Fanning's men delivered him to Major Craig at Wilmington, Burke was admitted to parole on James Island outside Charleston. Loyalist refugees on the island, outlaws from the state he had governed, left him in what he called hourly danger of assassination. People: Thomas Burke, James Henry Craig Place: James Island, South CarolinaDocumenting the American South: Letter from Thomas Burke to Nathanael Greene (Jan 19, 1782)
  16. Burke escapes from his parole on James Island Having written General Leslie on December 30 asking for a parole within American lines, Burke slipped off James Island on the night of January 16. Two days later he offered Leslie to return within British lines if guaranteed the treatment of a Continental officer, and on January 19 he asked Greene that men of honor judge the act. People: Thomas Burke, Nathanael Greene Place: James Island, South Carolina · Also named: Alexander LeslieDocumenting the American South: Letter from Thomas Burke to Nathanael Greene (Jan 19, 1782)
  17. Thomas Burke returns to Hillsborough and takes up the governorship again After leaving his parole on James Island, Burke resumed his duties at Hillsborough. His breach of parole drew criticism from many constituents and a dispute between Greene and the British. People: Thomas Burke, Nathanael Greene Place: Hillsborough · Also mentions: James IslandLefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 61
  18. Three of David Fanning's men are hanged at Hillsborough Seven captured raiders were tried before Judge John Williams, with Alfred Moore prosecuting and William R. Davie defending in his first case. Three were hanged despite Fanning's threats, and Burke commuted the other four sentences to a year in the Continental army. People: Thomas Burke, David Fanning, William Richardson Davie, Alfred Moore, John Williams Place: HillsboroughLefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 61
  19. General Assembly at Hillsborough elects Alexander Martin governor and grants western land to Continental soldiers The Assembly met at Hillsborough, heard Governor Thomas Burke's message about his capture, and elected Alexander Martin governor on April 22. Its laws granted land in a western military reservation to officers and soldiers of the Continental line and directed the sale of confiscated Loyalist estates. People: Alexander Martin, Thomas Benbury, Hugh Williamson, Thomas Burke Place: HillsboroughColonial and State Records of North Carolina: Minutes of the North Carolina Senate, Apr 15 to May 18, 1782 (vol. 19, pp. 1–128)
  20. The General Assembly at Hillsborough votes its thanks to Thomas Burke A day after choosing his successor, both houses resolved that the thanks of the General Assembly be given to Burke for his steady and constant attention to the duties of his office and his vigorous dispatch of the public business while he was governor. The resolution passes over his capture and parole in silence. People: Thomas Burke Place: HillsboroughDocumenting the American South: Resolution of thanks from the North Carolina General Assembly to Thomas Burke (Apr 23, 1782)
  21. A false alarm of a Fanning attack turns the legislators out into Hillsborough's streets With the General Assembly in session and General John Butler guarding it with 200 county militia, members were roused from bed and paraded in the streets before the report proved false. Fanning had in fact married and fled to South Carolina. People: John Butler, David Fanning, Thomas Burke Place: HillsboroughLefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 62 · Also: Nash, Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolutionary
  22. Thomas Burke dies at Tyaquin Thomas Burke died at his farm near Hillsborough after serving as North Carolina’s governor. Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · NCpedia

After their death in 1783

Later events: estates and burials, and the buildings, honors and histories that remember them.

  1. The court gives Thomas Burke's executor leave to sell four enslaved people to pay the estate's debts The court gave James Hogg, executor of Thomas Burke, deceased, leave to sell Flora, Cate, Peter and Fran, people held in slavery by the estate, with other perishable property, to pay the debts the estate owed, and to report to the next court. People: James Hogg, Thomas Burke Place: Orange County · Also named: Cate, Flora, Fran, PeterMark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: August Term 1789
  2. Students place the first marker at Governor Thomas Burke's grave A committee of university summer-school students working with the Boone Trail Highway Association cleared the unmarked grave of Governor Thomas Burke near Hillsborough and set a stone with an iron tablet at its head. People: Thomas Burke Place: Thomas Burke grave, Tyaquin, near HillsboroughSearch the index · DigitalNC: Durham Morning Herald, August 9, 1923, p. 3 · Also: Durham Morning Herald, July 29, 1923, p. 12
  3. The state casts a highway marker for Governor Thomas Burke's capture at Hillsborough The North Carolina highway marker G-16, cast in 1939, stands on Churton Street in Hillsborough. It records that Governor Burke was captured in the town by David Fanning and his Tories on September 12, 1781, and taken to Charleston. People: David Fanning Place: US 70 Business (South Churton Street), Hillsborough · Also mentions: Churton StreetSearch the index · NC DNCR, North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program: Thomas Burke (G-16)
  4. The Burke grave plot is given to the State of North Carolina The university chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution gave the state the small plot holding Governor Thomas Burke's grave. The chapter had cared for the site since students found it in 1923 and was raising money for a monument. People: Thomas Burke Place: Thomas Burke grave, Tyaquin, near HillsboroughSearch the index · DigitalNC: The News-Journal (Raeford), August 26, 1943, p. 1
  5. A granite monument is dedicated at Governor Thomas Burke's grave The Sons of the American Revolution and the Lloyd Memorial Association dedicated a memorial monolith at Burke's grave on the Latta plantation northeast of Hillsborough and presented it to the state. Governor J. Melville Broughton and Archibald Henderson were among the speakers. People: J. Melville Broughton, Archibald Henderson, Thomas Burke Place: Thomas Burke grave, Latta plantation, near Hillsborough · Also named: H. F. LattaSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 12, 1944, p. 1 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 5, 1944, p. 2; Chapel Hill Weekly, October 12, 1944, p. 1; The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 26, 1944, p. 4
  6. Governor Thomas Burke's bookcase is given to the planned county museum Mrs. Mickle of Winston-Salem, a descendant of the Webb family, gave the Orange County historical museum the bookcase of a secretary that had belonged to Governor Thomas Burke and had been left in the Webb home when the Burkes moved from their town house next door. The paper called it the first contribution to the museum then being set up in the old courthouse. Place: Orange County historical museum, old courthouse, HillsboroughSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 25, 1957, p. 1

People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as Thomas Burke, those sharing the most entries first. Each line links one of the shared entries in the chronology, where its source is cited. A shared entry shows these people in the same event, not how well they knew each other.

Show 21 more

Indexed works

Works about or by Thomas Burke. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it. Background reading appears below.

Filter these works by material, period, or place. Counts refer to works, not individual copies. A work may appear under more than one period or place.

Material

Histories 31Letters & correspondence 23Historical sources 9Biography 1

Period

Colonial era (to 1775) 218th century 32Revolution (1775–1783) 2319th century 20Civil War (1861–1865) 2

Place

Hillsborough 33Orange County 32North Carolina (statewide) 31Granville County (neighboring) 8Chatham County (neighboring) 6Alamance County (neighboring) 2

By Thomas Burke

Governors' Papers: Thomas Burke, Correspondence, April 1782

Burke, Thomas, approximately 1747-1783 · 1782

Thomas Burke, the state's third governor, wrote and received these letters in April 1782, after his return from British captivity. Seized at Hillsborough by the Loyalist raider David Fanning in 1781, he had been paroled to James Island before making his way home. The 49 images mention the Cape Fear River and Hillsborough.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Governors' Papers: Thomas Burke, Correspondence, March 1782

Burke, Thomas, approximately 1747-1783 · 1782

Thomas Burke's papers as governor from March 1782, 88 images, written after he came back to North Carolina from captivity. Hillsborough, where the Loyalist David Fanning had seized him in 1781, is named, along with Camden, Chatham and Halifax counties.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Governors' Papers: Thomas Burke, Correspondence, July 28, 1781 to August 29, 1781

Burke, Thomas, approximately 1747-1783 · 1781

A run of Governor Thomas Burke's letters dated 28 July to 29 August 1781, in 63 images. The correspondence reaches Hillsborough and Anson, Bladen, Cumberland, Franklin, Granville, Northampton, Wake and Warren counties. Burke had been elected the state's third governor that June.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Governors' Papers: Thomas Burke, Correspondence, September 1781

Burke, Thomas, approximately 1747-1783 · 1781

Letters of Governor Thomas Burke from September 1781, in 71 images. Burke was captured at Hillsborough by the Loyalist David Fanning that year and later resumed his duties. Bertie and Chatham counties are also named in the month's papers.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Governors' Papers: Thomas Burke, Correspondence, September 9, 1781 to September 11, 1781

Burke, Thomas, approximately 1747-1783 · 1781

A short run of Thomas Burke's correspondence, 9 to 11 September 1781, in 12 images. Granville County and Hillsborough are named. Burke, the state's third governor, fell into Loyalist hands at Hillsborough later in 1781.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

About Thomas Burke

The Battle at Lindley's Mill

Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2009

Stewart E. Dunaway's account of the Battle of Lindley's Mill, fought in September 1781 after the Loyalist David Fanning raided Hillsborough and carried off Governor Thomas Burke. Burke, Fanning and the Lindley family, whose mill gave the fight its name, are the people at its center, with the Revolutionary campaigns in North Carolina as the frame. Published in 2009.

Included because: Catalog heading in the NC Cardinal record: Burke, Thomas, Approximately 1747-1783.

✓ Held at OCPL · NC 975.602 DUN NC Cardinal Durham

Thomas Burke, Restless Revolutionary

Watterson, John Sayle · 1980 · University Press of America

John Sayle Watterson's biography of Thomas Burke, the Irish-born Hillsborough lawyer who sat in the Continental Congress and served as governor of North Carolina during the Revolution, published by University Press of America in 1980. Topics include the state's politics and government from 1775 to 1783 and the Continental Congress. 288 pages with maps.

Included because: Catalog heading in the NC Cardinal record: Burke, Thomas, Approximately 1747-1783.

Reviewed in Journal of American History (1980), The Journal of Southern History (1981).

NC Cardinal Durham UNC Library of Congress

Governor Alexander Martin (2nd Administration) Correspondence: January 12-November 27, 1792

Wolcott, Oliver, Jr. · 1792

Governor Alexander Martin's correspondence from his second administration, 12 January to 27 November 1792, with some items from 1791, in 121 images. Oliver Wolcott Jr. is among the writers. Matters include taxation, tobacco, liquor, military pensions, debts and the army's clothing accounts, with William Blount, Benjamin Hawkins, Richard Caswell and Hillsborough named.

Included because: Their name appears in the record.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Governors' Papers: Alexander Martin, Correspondence, April 1791

Thomas, Abishai · 1791

April 1791 letters of Governor Alexander Martin, eight images, including correspondence from Abishai Thomas. Martin was elected governor six times. Hillsborough and Orange County figure in the month's business.

Included because: Their name appears in the record.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Governors' Papers: Alexander Martin, Correspondence, January 1791

Thomas, Abishai · 1791

Governor Alexander Martin's letters from January 1791, during his second administration, in 20 images. Abishai Thomas is among the correspondents, and Richmond County, Hillsborough and Orange County are named.

Included because: Their name appears in the record.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Governors' Papers: Alexander Martin, Correspondence, June 1791

Thomas, Abishai · 1791

June 1791 correspondence of Alexander Martin as governor, 14 images. Letters from Abishai Thomas are among them, and Hillsborough and Orange County come up in the month's affairs.

Included because: Their name appears in the record.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Show 6 more about Thomas Burke

Governors' Papers: Alexander Martin, Correspondence, October 1791

Martin, Alexander, 1740-1807 · 1791

Letters written and received by Governor Alexander Martin in October 1791, in 22 images, part of the Governors' Papers at the State Archives of North Carolina. Hillsborough and Orange County are among the places concerned.

Included because: Their name appears in the record.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Governor Alexander Martin (2nd Administration) Correspondence: March 6-December 26, 1790

Williamson, Hugh, 1735-1819 · 1790

Hugh Williamson is among the correspondents in Governor Alexander Martin's letters from 6 March to 26 December 1790, during his second administration. County boundaries are a recurring matter, and the 33 images touch Anson, Cumberland, Granville, Johnston, Mecklenburg, Rowan and Orange counties.

Included because: Their name appears in the record.

NC Digital Collections

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Governors' Papers: Alexander Martin, Correspondence, May 1790

Child, Francis · 1790

Francis Child is among the correspondents in Governor Alexander Martin's letters for May 1790, 14 images. Hillsborough and Orange County appear in the month's business.

Included because: Their name appears in the record.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

House Joint Resolutions: April 21-June 3

North Carolina. General Assembly · 1784

House joint resolutions from the session of April 21 to June 3, 1784 at Hillsborough, 193 images of resolutions, petitions and depositions. They range from a replacement certificate for John Hogan and claims by auditors and veterans to courts-martial, Cherokee affairs, taxation and the Continental Congress.

Included because: Catalog heading in the NC Digital Collections record: Burke, Thomas, Approximately 1747-1783.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Joint Standing Committees: Committee of Claims and Depreciation: reports and papers

North Carolina. General Assembly · 1784

Two reports of the Committee of Claims and Depreciation dated 26 May 1784, in 15 images. One answers John Huske, who had been secretary to the late Governor Thomas Burke, and the other a petition from Burke's executors, with its enclosures. Burke, governor from 1781 to 1782, made his home near Hillsborough.

Included because: Catalog heading in the NC Digital Collections record: Burke, Thomas, Approximately 1747-1783.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

May 8: Senate bill to appoint an Inspector General for the finances of the state (laid over)

North Carolina. General Assembly · 1783

Senate bill of 8 May 1783, laid over, proposing an Inspector General to oversee the state's finances. It comes from the General Assembly's session at Hillsborough in the last year of the Revolution and bears on public finance. Thomas Burke, the Hillsborough lawyer and former governor, also figures in it. Nine images.

Included because: Catalog heading in the NC Digital Collections record: Burke, Thomas, Approximately 1747-1783.

NC Digital Collections DPLA

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

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Start at OCPL

Books in OCPL’s Rebecca B. Wall Local History Collection whose titles, catalog subjects, or descriptions match this person. The Friends’ recommended starting points are labelled.

  • Foundational · NC BIO BURKE DUN The Complete History of Thomas Burke: Poet, Doctor, 3rd Governor of North Carolina Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2009

    Stewart E. Dunaway's life of Thomas Burke (about 1747 to 1783), the Irish-born physician, lawyer and poet who settled at Hillsborough, sat in the Continental Congress and became North Carolina's third governor in 1781. Loyalists under David Fanning captured Burke that September; he died at Tyaquin, his Orange County home. The 2009 second issue has 195 pages with illustrations, maps and an index; the first appeared in 2008.

  • Rebecca Wall Collection · BIO BURKE DUN Thomas Burke: Poet, Doctor, 3rd Governor of North Carolina Dunaway, Stewart E.

    Thomas Burke, a doctor and poet from Ireland, settled at Hillsborough in 1774, sat in the Continental Congress and became North Carolina's third governor in 1781; Stewart E. Dunaway tells his life. Taken prisoner that September by David Fanning's Loyalists, Burke escaped British captivity in 1782 and died in 1783 at Tyaquin, his Orange County home. Printed through Lulu at Morrisville in the 2000s; 160 pages with illustrations, maps and an index.

  • Rebecca Wall Collection · NC 811.2 BUR The Poems of Governor Thomas Burke of North Carolina: On Divers Matters, Including A Few Written in Praise of the American War for Independence Against Great Britain : & Also A Number Concerning A Young Man's Affairs of the Heart Burke, Thomas · 1961

    Thomas Burke, the Irish-born physician and lawyer who settled in Hillsborough in 1774 and was governor when David Fanning's Loyalists captured him in 1781, wrote these twenty-three poems, from verses on the war for independence to love poems. Seventeen were printed here for the first time. Richard Walser supplied an introduction and notes, and the 69-page book, published in Raleigh in 1961, imitates eighteenth-century printing.

Places in this person’s story

Buildings, schools, churches and other sites named in the dated events on this page, the most often named first. The map shows the 3 with a known location.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

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Records of enslaved people

2 records, 1783 to 1789, name Thomas Burke as a party to the sale, gift, trust or other transfer of enslaved people. Each record lists the people named in it, with their ages and family ties.

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Deeds

One deed of 1779 in the county’s deed books name Thomas Burke as a party, from Mark Chilton’s published abstracts. Each links to the deed-book page at the Register of Deeds.

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Wills

One will or paper in the county’s will books names Thomas Burke, from Ruth Herndon Shields’s abstracts. Each shows the role and the year.

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Research sources

Sources and research tools for this person. For ready-made searches of other catalogs, see Search further. Research guide: Trace a family through historical records.

Background

  • NCpedia: Thomas Burke Dictionary of North Carolina Biography entry
  • Historical marker G-3: Thomas BurkeNC Highway Historical Marker Governor, 1781-82. Member of Revolutionary, Provincial, & Continental Congresses. Grave is 1 1/2 miles N.E.
  • Marker: Thomas BurkeHistorical Marker Database (HMdb.org) Plaques and memorials outside the state program, with inscriptions and photographs

Historic sites, markers, and maps

  • NC DNCR: Thomas Burke (G-16)NC Dept. of Natural and Cultural Resources Marker text on Governor Thomas Burke, born in Galway about 1744 and taken prisoner by Loyalists, placed on Churton Street in Hillsborough.

Records of the time 7

Show all 7

Collections and databases

  • NC LIVE: prepared search for Thomas Burke Library card Search NC LIVE for this subject and Orange County. You can change the search terms. Sign in through your North Carolina library to access the materials.
  • Ancestry Library Edition In the libraryOrange County Public Library Census, birth, death and marriage records, and more, free on the public computers at OCPL libraries

Local help

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Search other catalogs and collections for this name. Results may include other people with the same name and have not been reviewed by the Friends.

Books about Thomas Burke

Books by Thomas Burke

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Photographs, papers, and newspapers

Historical records and collections

Catalog searches use the Library of Congress name heading: Burke, Thomas, approximately 1747-1783. Historical-record searches use the person’s name and may include namesakes. Links open in a new tab.

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Picture: Thomas Burke. No known copyright restrictions. Photograph by State Archives of North Carolina; www.flickr.com; via Wikimedia Commons

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