Captain Thomas Blount was an American officer, politician, and planter in colonial North Carolina. He served in the North Carolina Assembly and served as a Magistrate for Chowan County. He and his father James Blount participated and were rebels in Culpeper's Rebellion, one of the earliest instances of open defiance of British crown rule in America.
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Early Life & Family
Thomas Blount was born in 1655 to James Blount (colonist) and Elizabeth Wylde. He married his wife Mary Perry in 1685 and the two of them would have 10 children together.
Political Career
He first appears in surviving records as presiding justice of the Chowan County Precinct Court in 1694, a position that placed him at the center of local judicial administration. In 1696, he was appointed to the North Carolina Council, the governor's advisory board and the colony's upper legislative chamber.
He also represented his precinct in the colonial North Carolina Assembly around 1696 and again about 1703, participating in the lower house that drafted legislation and managed taxation. In October 1701, however, the General Court barred him from holding further civil or military office due to controversy surrounding his support of his son's marriage, which violated prevailing Anglican canon law. Despite this disqualification, Blount remained active in local religious and community affairs, serving as a vestryman of St. Paul's Parish until his death.
Legacy
His descendants became influential in Bath County, North Carolina and later eastern North Carolina. The Blount family remained active in politics, landholding, and local governance for generations, helping shape the region's early development.
