John Harvey: N.C.’s ‘Father of the Revolution’

Robert Digges Wimberly Connor of Wilson, N.C., the original state archivist of North Carolina, wrote extensively about the contributions of John Harvey of Perquimans County as the “Father of the Revolution in North Carolina.”

 “The decade from 1765 to 1775 witnessed the revolt against the authority of Parliament, the inauguration of the Revolution and the overthrow of the royal government in North Carolina,” Connor said.

“The dominant figure in our history is John Harvey. As soon as he was old enough to understand such things, Master Harvey manifested a lively interest in colonial politics,” Connor wrote. “He was barely 21 when brought forward as a candidate for the General Assembly and elected in 1746.”

 

Robert Digges Wimberly Connor

“From that day till the day of his death 29 years later, he served continuously in the assembly, and gradually forged his way to the front until in 1766 he was elected speaker of the House of Commons, thus becoming the leader of the people in their contest with the Crown and its representative, the governor.” 

Routinely, John Harvey clashed with the colonial governor Josiah Martin, who had succeeded William Tryon in 1771. 

Connor said: “Martin was a man ill calculated to conduct an administration successfully even in ordinary times. Stubborn and tactless, obsequious to those in authority and overbearing to those under authority, he suddenly found himself in a position that required almost every quality of mind and character that he did not possess.”

 

Josiah Martin

“No worse selection could have been made at that time; the people of North Carolina were in no mood to brook the petty tyranny of a provincial governor, and Martin’s personality became one of the chief factors that drove men headlong into revolution and prepared the colony, first of all the colonies, to take a definite stand for independence.” 

“At the very outset of his administration the dull, inelastic mind of Martin came into sharp contrast with the vigorous intellect and determined spirit of John Harvey,” Connor asserted. 

On May 3, 1775, “under the clouds of a rapidly approaching revolution,” John Harvey, 50. “died after a very short illness, occasioned, it is said, by a fall from his horse.” 

Connor wrote: “Though (Harvey’s) strong hand was snatched from the helm at the most critical moment, nevertheless the Revolution moved on apace without a jar, without swerving an instant from its destined end.”

 

About two centuries later, another Perquimans County native emerged on the national scene…having a revolutionary effect on American professional sports. He was James Augustus Hunter, who became professional baseball’s first “modern era free agent” in 1974. 

You may know him as Hall of Famer Jim “Catfish” Hunter of Hertford. Hunter signed a pro contract after graduating from Perquimans County High School in 1964. He was “discovered” by North Carolinian Clyde Kluttz, a scout for the Kansas City Athletics. 

The Athletics’ (known simply as the A’s) team owner was Charlie Finley, who thought his 18-year-old pitcher needed a nickname.

 

Bob Ruegsegger, a freelance writer based in Virginia Beach, Va., said: “Finley decided his prized rookie would be Jim ‘Catfish’ Hunter.” 

“Finley fabricated a story: ‘You left home when you were 6. When your momma and daddy finally found you, you had landed two catfish, and you had a third one on the line. They’ve been calling you ‘Catfish’ ever since.” 

Hunter balked, but Finley said: “I just gave you $75,000,” (a reference to Hunter’s signing bonus). “Yes, sir. My name is ‘Catfish,’” Hunter conceded.