Richard Caswell (1729-1789) was the first elected governor of North Carolina and a white enslaver of over 60 individuals. Caswell was born and raised in Maryland, and moved to North Carolina in 1746. While studying law in the 1750s, he served as clerk for the Orange County court. He began practicing law in Orange County in 1754. Caswell was elected to serve in the colony’s House of Burgesses from 1754 to 1775, using his knowledge of land surveying and legal procedures to help establish several North Carolina towns.
In 1771, Caswell served as a militia officer under colonial Governor William Tryon in the Battle of Alamance. The battle ended the Regulator Movement, started by Piedmont farmers seeking relief from taxes and land fees. Due to his prominence in the state, Caswell attended the 1774 Continental Congress and, after being elected governor, headed the committee to draft North Carolina’s constitution. In 1777, Caswell was elected as the state’s first governor. When his term ended in 1780, he was given the title of Major General of the colony’s militia, and he worked with the later-named Founding Fathers to manage the larger Continental Army.
Richard Caswell owned several plantation homes in North Carolina. He and his second wife, Sarah Heritage, owned over 60 enslaved individuals living on those properties. Their names can be found on Richard Caswell’s webpage on the website North Carolina Historic Sites. Several enslaved individuals successfully escaped Caswell, likely to reunite with family members on other plantations in the state.