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Gabriel Johnston

Governor of North Carolina from 1734 to 1752

Field	Value
honorific-prefix	His Excellency
name	Gabriel Johnston
office	6th Governor of North Carolina
term_start	2 November 1734
term_end	17 July 1752
monarch	George II
predecessor	Nathaniel Rice (acting)
successor	Nathaniel Rice (acting)
birth_date	1699
birth_place	Scotland
death_date	17 July 1752 (aged 53)
death_place	Bertie County, North Carolina
resting_place	St. Paul's Church, Edenton
resting_place_coordinates
profession	Physician, writer, professor

| honorific-prefix = His Excellency

Gabriel Johnston (1699 – 17 July 1752) was a British colonial official who served as the sixth provincial governor of North Carolina from 1734 until his death in 1752. He was the longest serving governor, holding the office for 18 years.

Early life and career

Johnston was born in Scotland in 1699. He was a physician, political writer, and professor of Oriental languages at the University of St. Andrews.

Governor of North Carolina

Johnston's coat of arms

Johnston was greatly disturbed by the conditions he found in the province and deplored what he considered the moral laxity, the disregard for law, the inadequate educational facilities, and the oppression of the poor. His administration witnessed an increase in wealth, population, and development of resources.

The United Brethren purchased 100,000 acres of land and settled Wachovia. Another group emigrating in large numbers, and with especial appeal for the governor, were the Scots, who settled in the Cape Fear region. The union with England and a breakup in the clan system, as well as a pardon to all Scottish rebels who would emigrate, greatly stimulated their settlement in America. The General Assembly exempted all new settlers from taxation for ten years. It was probably motivated by a desire to increase immigration to the province, but doubtless the Scottish governor added weight to the measure.

Honors

Some years later the General Assembly of North Carolina provided for the erection of a fort on the south bank of Cape Fear and named it in honor of Johnston. Johnston County was also named for him.

References

Crabtree, Beth G.. (1958). "North Carolina Governors, 1585–1958; Brief Sketches". [[State Archives of North Carolina.
Gannett, Henry. (1905). "The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States". [[United States Government Publishing Office.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

18th-century-scottish-male-writers 18th-century-scottish-educators 1699-births 1752-deaths 18th-century-scottish-medical-doctors 18th-century-scottish-writers academics-of-the-university-of-st-andrews burials-at-st.-paul's-church,-edenton governors-of-the-province-of-north-carolina johnston-county,-north-carolina

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