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1726–17 Aug. 1789

Jacob Blount, planter, landholder, and revolutionary soldier, was born in Beaufort County, son of Thomas Blount and Ann Elizabeth Reading. His father was a landowner and planter. In 1748, Jacob Blount married Barbara Gray of Bertie County and for some years following resided near Windsor. He inherited land on Contentnea Creek, and between 1757 and 1783 he acquired an estate of approximately six thousand acres.

Blount was interested in political affairs and became very active in the colony before the Revolution. He represented Craven County in the General Assembly in 1766, 1768, 1769, and 1770–71. He took part in the Battle of Alamance against the Regulators, but later became active against royal authority. He was a member of the provincial congress at New Bern in April 1775, of the third provincial congress at Hillsborough, and of the fourth provincial congress at New Bern. He was a member of the committee of safety for Pitt County. During the Revolution, Blount was appointed paymaster for the Second Regiment, North Carolina Continental Line, and later he became paymaster for the whole province.

Blount was an active member of the Church of England and was a vestryman in Craven County. His home, Blount Hall, was located sixteen miles southwest of Greenville, first a part of Craven County but later included in Pitt.

Jacob and Barbara Gray Blount had seven children: William (b. 26 Mar. 1749), Ann (b. 3 Oct. 1750), John Gray (b. 21 Sept. 1752), Louisa (b. 17 Jan. 1755), Reading (b. 22 Feb. 1757), Thomas (b. 10 May 1759), and Jacob (b. 5 Nov. 1760). Barbara Gray Blount died on 8 Apr. 1763; Jacob remarried, this time to Hannah Salter Baker, daughter of Colonel Edward Salter and widow of William Baker. Five children were born of this marriage, but only two lived to maturity: Willie (pronounced Wylie, b. 18 Apr. 1768), and Sharpe (b. 4 Apr. 1771). Jacob outlived his second wife also, and on 9 Aug. 1787 he married Mrs. Mary Adams. Two years after his third marriage, he died of "nervous fever" at Blount Hall.

References:

A. B. Keith and W. H. Masterson, eds., The John Gray Blount Papers, vols. 1–3 (1952–65).

S. M. Lemmon, ed., The Pettigrew Papers, vol. 1, 1685–1818 (1971).

N.C. Historical and Genealogical Register, 1 (1900), 70, 449, 456, 523. 2 (1901), 468. 3 (1903), 386.

William L. Saunders and Walter Clark, eds., Colonial and State Records of North Carolina, 30 vols. (1886–1914).

Additional Resources:

"Jacob Blount's Family." The John Gray Blount Papers volume 1. Raleigh [N.C.]: State Department of Archives and History. 1952. xi-xxxi. https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/john-gray-blount-papers-1764-1789-v.1/2691298?item=2792846 (accessed May 29, 2013).

"CSR Documents by Blount, Jacob, 1726-1789." Colonial and State Records of North Carolina. Documenting the American South, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. https://docsouth.unc.edu/csr/index.html/creators/csr10407 (accessed May 29, 2013).

"Extracts From The Memorandum Book Of Colonel Jacob Blount." Proceedings and addresses of the fourteenth annual session of the State Literary and Historical Association of North Carolina. Raleigh, N.C.: Edwards and Broughton Printing Co. 1913. 11-13. https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/proceedings-and-addresses-of-the-...-annual-session-of-the-state-literary-and-historical-association-of-north-carolina-1913-14th/2310415 (accessed May 29, 2013).

Citation

Maupin, Armistead J. "Blount, Jacob." NCpedia. Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press. Accessed on December 13th, 2024. https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/blount-jacob.