William Johnston Dawson

Who was William Johnston Dawson?

William Johnston Dawson was a U.S. Congressman from the state of North Carolina from 1793 to 1795.

Dawson was born near Edenton in Chowan County, North Carolina. His grandfather was royal Governor Gabriel Johnston. He was also the grandson of William Dawson, the second president of The College of William & Mary, and a great-great grandson of John Stith and William Randolph. Dawson represented Bertie County in the state constitutional conventions of 1788 and 1789. He was elected to the North Carolina House of Commons in 1791 and was a member of the committee which was appointed to choose a site for the new state capital, Raleigh, that same year. Dawson Street in downtown Raleigh is named for him. Dawson was elected to the 3rd United States Congress in the election of Feb. 15, 1793, a three-way race in which he, as the Anti-Federalist candidate, defeated two Federalists: Stephen Cabarrus and William Cumming. Dawson served from March 4, 1793 to March 3, 1795. He lost his race for re-election on Feb. 13, 1795 to Dempsey Burges.

Dawson died in Bertie County, North Carolina. His obituary, printed in the North Carolina Journal on Feb. 1, 1796, stated that Dawson died on Jan. 16, 1796 but the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, which lists his middle name as "Johnson," puts his death at 1798.