Archibald McBryde (September 28, 1766February 15, 1837) was a Scottish-born American politician who was a

Congressional Representative A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

from North Carolina's 7th congressional district.

Biography

He was born in

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the Counties of Scotland, historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an counties of Scotland, administrative county used for ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

to James McBryde (17371783) and Janet McMiken McBryde (17361814). He immigrated in 1775 with his parents and siblings and settled in Carbonton,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

aboard the ship ''Jackie'' (formerly the ''Stanraer''). McBryde studied under private

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

s and later studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

. He was admitted to the bar and served as

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

of the

superior court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

of Moore County between 1792 and 1816. He had previously served as the deputy clerk of Moore County between 1790 and 1792, and as justice of the peace of Moore County between 1792 and 1808. McBryde was elected as a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

to the

Eleventh In music theory, an eleventh is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a fourth. A perfect eleventh spans 17 and the augmented eleventh 18 semitones, or 10 steps in a diatonic scale. Since there are only seven degrees in a diaton ...

and Twelfth

Congresses A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...

(March 4, 1809 – March 3, 1813). During his terms he joined other North Carolinians in opposition to

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

's foreign trade policies and voted against the declaration of war against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

prior to the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. He was later elected as a senator of the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

in 1813 and 1814. After office, McBryde resumed his law practice until he died in 1837 in Carbonton and was interred in Farrar Cemetery. McBryde's death date is often given as February 1836. However, records from the NC Supreme Court indicate he was alive in September 1836. An 1841 statement written by McBryde's wife supports a February 1837 death date, as well.

Personal life and family

McBryde married Lydia Ramsey (17771861), daughter of Colonel John Ambrose Ramsey, who was then the county clerk of Chatham County, and Sarah Elizabeth Birdsong, in 1796. Archibald and Lydia had ten children who survived infancy. * Janette, 5 November 179923 June 1824 (age 24), married William Hayes. * Nancy Ann, 4 October 180125 December 1862 (age 61), first married Reverend Kenneth McIver, later married and has issue with Green Womack, son of John Womack who served in the North Carolina legislature as a representative from

Caswell County Caswell County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is located in the Piedmont Triad region of the state. At the 2020 census, the population was 22,736. Its county seat is Yanceyville. Partially bordering the state of Virginia ...

. * Mary Nancy, 18 June 18035 July 1857 (age 54), married first Benjamin Williams, son of

Benjamin Williams Benjamin Williams (January 1, 1751July 20, 1814) was the 11th and 14th Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina, from 1799 to 1802 and from 1807 to 1808. He was the first of two North Carolina Governors since the American Revolution to serv ...

who served as the 11th and 14th

Governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Seventy-five people have held the office since the first state governor, Richard Caswell, took office in 1777. The governor serves a ...

, later married Dr. Charles Chalmers. * James, born 1805, never married. * Eliza Winslow, 8 April 18089 July 1869 (age 61), first married Dr. Archibald McQueen, later married and had issue with John Pemberton DeJarnette. * Frances, born 1809, married William Pickett DeJarnette. * Archibald W "Archie" McBryde Jr, 16 June 181219 November 1874 (age 62), married Julia Holmes, daughter of

Gabriel Holmes Gabriel Holmes (1769September 26, 1829) was the 21st Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1821 to 1824. He also served as a Representative from North Carolina. He was non-aligned and represented no political party. Biography Gabrie ...

who served as the 21st Governor of North Carolina and was also the father of

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

Lieutenant General Theophilus H. Holmes. * Lydia, 19 December 18137 December 1866 (age 52), married Donald Street, their son

Hugh McQueen Street Hugh McQueen Street (January 7, 1833 – May 31, 1920) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician. He served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1870 to 1880, 1890 to 1894, and from 1908 to 1912. He was its Speaker ...

served in the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected for ...

. Donald's uncle Hugh McQueen served as the

Attorney General of North Carolina The attorney general of North Carolina is a statewide elected office in the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. The attorney general is a state constitutional officer, constitutional officer responsible for representing state agencies i ...

. * Sarah Tyson, 24 March 181721 April 1884 (age 67), married James Alston. * William Martin, 3 April 18191878 (age 59), married Sarah Francis Grigsby. Following McBryde's death, his widow and some of their children relocated to

Madison County, Tennessee Madison County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 98,823. Its county seat is Jackson. Madison County is included in the Jackson metropolitan area. History Madis ...

where his daughter Nancy Ann was living with her husband Green Womack. McBryde and his family also owned numerous

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. These enslaved peoples numbered at least seven at the time of his wife Lydia's death in 1861, three of which being willed to Archibald McBryde Jr. and the other four being willed to William Martin McBryde. McBryde was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

References

U.S. Congress Biographical Directory entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:McBryde, Archibald North Carolina state senators 1766 births 1837 deaths Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly