, there is no need of "storied urn or animated bust" to
keep alive in the hearts of his countrymen the memory of his name, and
of the brave, fearless spirit which made him a tower of strength to the
Old North State in the struggles of her early days.

CHAPTER II

THE FIRST ALBEMARLE ASSEMBLY--HALL'S CREEK NEAR NIXONTON

In 1653 King Charles II granted to eight noblemen of his court a tract
of land reaching from the northern shores of Albemarle Sound to St.
John's River in Florida, and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific
Ocean. A small strip extending from the north shore of the Albemarle
Sound to the southern boundary of Virginia was not included in this
grant, but nevertheless the Lords Proprietors, of whom Governor
Berkeley, of Virginia, was one, assumed control over this section; and
in 1663 these noblemen authorized Berkeley to appoint a governor to rule
over this territory, whose ownership was a disputed question for several
years.

In 1665 the Albemarle region, as it came to be called, comprising the
four ancient counties of Currituck, Pasquotank, Perquimans and Chowan,
had become very valuable on account of the rich plantations established
therein by such men as George Durant, of Perquimans, and Valentine Byrd,
of Pasquotank; and the Lords Proprietors, as the owners of the Carolinas
were called, begged the king to include the above-named strip of land
in their grant. This the king did, ignorant of the vast extent of the
territory which he had already bestowed upon the Lords.

William Drummond, whom Berkeley, of Virginia, had appointed to govern
this Albemarle country, came into Carolina in 1664, and assumed the
reins of government. To assist him in his arduous duties, the Lords
authorized Berkeley to appoint six of the most prominent men in the
settlement to form what came to be known as the Governor's Council. This
body of men, with the Governor, acted for many years as the judicial
department of the State, and also corresponded to what is now the Senate
Chamber in our legislative department.

That the liberty-loving pioneers in Carolina might feel that they were a
self-governing people, every free man in the settlement was to have
right of membership in the General Assembly, which was to meet yearly to
enact the laws. After the Governor, Councilors, and the freemen or their
deputies had passed the laws, a copy of them was to be sent to the Lords
for their consideration. Should they meet with th