Richard Caswell was the first elected governor of North Carolina. Throughout his life, he was an active member of the colonial government and militia, and participated in the many efforts that went on to shape North Carolina history. This included such events as the Battle of Alamance in 1771, wherein Caswell successfully commanded the right wing of Royal Governor William Tryon's army against the Regulators, marking a significant defeat for the regulator movement. When relations between the colonies and England became further strained in 1774, he was elected to the Continental Congress. During the American Revolution, Caswell resumed his military career and commanded Patriot forces at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge in 1776. It was during the war that Caswell was chosen to be North Carolina's first elected governor and headed the committee which would write the new state's constitution. He would eventually serve six one-year terms as governor both during and after the war. Richard Caswell continued working as a public servant up until his death in 1789. He suffered a fatal stroke while presiding over the state senate in Fayetteville. A state funeral service was held, and it is believed that afterwards his body was returned to Kinston for burial in a family cemetery.

Richard Caswell had quite a large family during his lifetime, and documentation of his affection for them still survives to this day in the form of letters and notes within family Bibles. Growing up in Maryland, Caswell had several brothers and sisters, and went on to have many children of his own. He married his first wife, Mary Mackilwean, in 1752. Mary was the daughter of James Mackilwean, who taught Caswell the skill of surveying. They had three children together, including two daughters who died as infants and their son William, who survived into adulthood. Mary died from complications from the birth of their second daughter in 1757, and Caswell soon remarried in 1758. His second wife was Sarah Heritage, the daughter of William Heritage, under whom Caswell studied law. Richard and Sarah had eight children together during their marriage. Present day descendants of Richard Caswell can be found all over the United States, and many of them continue to keep his legacy alive in the present day. 

When looking at historical documents, the spelling of a person or location's name can vary based on who wrote the text. For example, in Richard Caswell's will, we see his wife Mary's surname spelled "Mackilwean."

When looking at other sources, you may find the name spelled as "McIllwean," "McLewean," "McIllwain," etc. The various lists and charts available on the Richard Caswell web pages use the spelling that is found within primary sources in order to keep the information true to the time. 

Would you like to learn more about Governor Richard Caswell? If so, please check out our new Governor Richard Caswell video series on YouTube. This content was created by Haley Dixon, the site's summer intern in 2024, and Mr. Bass, the assistant manager at the CSS Neuse Museum.

Richard Caswell owned several plantations throughout his life. On these plantations, many enslaved people lived and worked, several of whom were moved from location to location throughout their lifetimes. During this period, slaves were often left to family members or friends in the will of a slaveowner who had died. Historians can utilize documents such as wills, slave auction accounts, and runaway slave ads to try and trace a certain person through time. On this page, a chart is provided of the known slaves owned by or associated with Richard Caswell. 

Note*- This chart consists of people enslaved by Richard Caswell as named in a Caswell slave census, in Richard Caswell's will, or in his father-in-law, William Heritage's, will. Information about individuals who are listed in one of the wills but were not given to Caswell or his wife Sarah, are listed by their information from the Caswell sources. A question mark follows some names on the chart; this indicates that the name has been transcribed from the Richard Caswell list of slaves but that some parts of the writing could not be fully transcribed. Some of the names are listed as being illegible, as they were unable to be read accurately enough to provide correct information. Information about runaway slaves has been matched to a person via the slave's age and location. However, this information could potentially belong to someone other than the slave it appears with. All data has been collected as accurately as possible before appearing in the chart below.