William Johnston Dawson
William Johnston Dawson ( * in Edenton, Chowan County, North Carolina; † 1796 or 1798 in Bertie County, North Carolina ) was an American politician. Between 1793 and 1795 he represented the State of North Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Career
The date of birth of William Dawson is unknown and its date of death is given in the sources differ with 1796 and 1798 respectively. He was a grandson of the colonial Governor Gabriel Johnston ( 1699-1752 ). His other grandfather was William Dawson ( died 1752), who was the second president of the College of William & Mary. About the childhood and youth of the younger William Dawson is not known. Later, he began a career in politics in North Carolina. In 1788 and 1789 he was a delegate at a meeting to revise the State Constitution. In 1791 he became a deputy in the House of Representatives from North Carolina. In the same year he was one of a commission, which determined the city Raleigh the capital of North Carolina.
In the congressional elections of 1792 Dawson was elected as a candidate of the anti - administration party in the first constituency of North Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he became the successor of John Baptista Ashe on March 4, 1793. Since he has not been confirmed in 1794, he was able to complete only one term in Congress until March 3, 1795. After his retirement from the U.S. House of Representatives Dawson retired from politics.