George Burrington

George Burrington

George Burrington (c. 1682-February 22, 1759) was the governor of the North Carolina colony, from January 1724 to April 1725, and again from February 1731 to 1734.

Not especially well educated or otherwise qualified for the job, Burrington gained his office by family influence. He was known principally for physically threatening other North Carolina officials, including most notably Chief Justice Christopher Gale. The Lords Proprietors of Carolina replaced him as governor because so many colonists complained about his behavior.

However, Burrington's successor, Richard Everard, proved even more unpopular with the people of North Carolina and they eventually requested that Burrington be re-appointed. When the Crown bought the colony back from the Lords Proprietors in 1729, Burrington was appointed as the first royal governor of North Carolina. He was instrumental in exploring and settling the Cape Fear area of the colony and resided in Brunswick Town.

He acquired a large tract of land in what is now Alamance County, but his son, also named George, sold his North Carolina inheritance to Samuel Strudwick in order to clear debts incurred by the elder Burrington with the Strudwick family. Somewhat coincidentally, the largest city in Alamance County is now named Burlington, North Carolina.

Burrington's 1731-34 term was almost as controversial as his earlier one, and he was again dismissed. He later returned to England and was killed in an apparent robbery attempt on February 22, 1759 in St James's Park, London.

External links

* [http://www.ncmarkers.com/Markers.aspx?sp=Markers&sv=D-32 North Carolina Historical Marker]
* [http://photos.historical-markers.org/v/northcarolina/nc-pender/006_0389.jpg.html Photo of Historical marker for Governor Burrington]
* [http://www.carolana.com/NC/Royal_Colony/gburrington.html Carolana.com biography]


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