Colonel Edmund Fanning
In most instances, when you have seen
Colonel Fanning's name mentioned, it lias
been coupled with hitter criticism. In the
accompanying article, Mr. Lawrence
spreads light upon another side of his
character.
HILLSBORO has been the the¬
atre of some of the outstand¬
ing events in the history of
Colonial Carolina, included in
which would necessarily be the
riots of the Regulators which
reached its culmination in the bat¬
tle fought on Great Alamance
Creek, where they were badly de¬
feated by the force commanded
by the Royal Governor William
Tryon. After the battle the Gov¬
ernor proceeded to take possession
of Hillsboro where he caused sev¬
eral of the ringleaders in that
movement to be summarily hung
"to encourage the rest."
History ascribes the principal
source of these troubles and dis¬
orders to the extortionate fees and
charges collected by Colonel Ed¬
mund Fanning in his capacity as
Register of Deeds for the Hillsboro
District. But the trouble evidently
had a much deeper source, for
even if it be admitted that Colonel
Fanning charged extortionate fees,
this could not account for the
widespread disorders created by
the Regulators who were the ene¬
mies not only of Colonel Fanning,
but also of the Governor, the
judges, the clerk, the sheriff, the
bar and officials generally.
Conduct Was Disapproved
It should be borne in mind that
the conduct of the Regulators was
disapproved by such patriotic and
outstanding Carolinians as Richard
Caswell, Cornelius Harnett, Hugh
Waddell, John Ashe, and other
Colonial leaders, who not only con¬
demned the conduct of the Regula¬
tors, but gave their aid and
assistance to the Governor in
subduing the rebellion.
Some colorful characters have
been associated with the county
offices at Hillsboro. Prior to the
Revolution. General Francis Nash,
who was killed at the battle of
Germantown, served as Clerk of
the Superior Court at Hillsboro,
as did also Judge Leonard Hender¬
son, who subsequently became one
of the most famous of all our Chief
By R. C. LAWRENCE
Justices. When Thomas Ruffin re¬
signed as Chief Justice in his old
age, upon his return to his Hills¬
boro home, he accepted an appoint¬
ment as Justice of the Peace and
sat as a member of the County
Court.
Colonel Fanning was a native of
New York, who graduated from
Yale in 1757 and emigrated to
North Carolina in 1761, locating at
Hillsboro where he rapidly rose
to prominence in his profession
and soon acquired an extensive
practice. That he was a man of
genius cannot be doubted, for he
was elected as a member of the
Colonial Assembly from Orange
when he had not been a resident
of Hillsboro as much as a year, and
he was repeatedly re-elected as a
member of that body. He also repre¬
sented the borough of Hillsboro
several sessions in the Assembly.
He was appointed Register of Deeds
in 1763, and continued to act as
such until his voluntary resignation
brought about by the violent con¬
duct of the Regulators and their
animosity against him. While a
resident of this state, he was also
appointed as a judge of the Su¬
perior Court, and he served as a
Colonel of Militia for several years
before he returned to New York
in 1771. lie was a staunch Tory
during the Revolution and in 1777
raised a regiment of British sympa¬
thizers in his native state which
he commanded through the Revo¬
lution.
Went to Nova Scotia
The results of the war rendered
it embarrassing for so prominent
a Tory as Colonel Fanning to re¬
main in America; so in 1783 he
went to Nova Scotia, where he was
appointed by the British govern¬
ment as Governor-General. Later
he was transferred to Prince
Edward Island, where he served
in a similar capacity for nearly
nineteen years.
In 1793 he was made a Major
General in the British army; he
was promoted to Lieutenant Gen¬
eral in 1799; and he became a full
General in 1808. As early as 1774.
Oxford University conferred upon
him the honorary degree of Doctor
of Civil Law; and notwithstanding
his Tory sympathies and the trou¬
bles through which he had passed
in North Carolina, he was created
Doctor of Laws by both Yale and
Dartmouth in 1803 — after he had
left this country. Surely this was
a man of great talent and ability.
The evident truth is that Fan¬
ning was largely made a scape¬
goat for the class of which he was
a conspicuous representative. Here
was a highly cultivated and edu¬
cated man. an aristocrat by birth
and training, coming to live among
plebeians, a people largely illiter¬
ate and filled with all the class
hatred and passions of the igno¬
rant. It was hard to make a living
on the farm in those days; markets
were few, remote and difficult of
access; and poverty was prevalent
through the countryside. This
made the average small farmer an
enemy of the few large and
wealthy landowners, merchants
and members of the professions;
in fact all those who did not earn
their livelihood with the labor of
their hands.
Boasted of ilis Wealth
Colonel Fanning speedily made
himself a favorite with the Royal
Governor, and was rapidly acquir¬
ing wealth, both from his land
speculations and from his exten¬
sive law practice. He does not seem
to have acted with much discre¬
tion under the circumstances in
which he was placed, for he was
inclined to boast of his possessions
and to make a display of his prop¬
erty. He built an elegant home
at Hillsboro, where he entertained
on a lavish scale of hospitality;
which brought down upon him the
{Continued on page IS)
9
THE STATE. MARCH 30, 1946