The Royal Colony of South Carolina - The 33rd Commons House of Assembly (1773-1775)




The Royal Colony of South Carolina

33rd Commons House of Assembly - 1773 to 1775
The Thirty-Third Commons House of Assembly under Royal Rule met on at least fifteen (15) known occasions. The first session met from March 8th to March 27th in 1773. The second session met from July 6th to July 8th in 1773. The third session met from August 9th to September 13th in 1773. The fourth session met on January 11, 1774. The fifth session met from March 1st to March 26th in 1774. The sixth sesson met from May 3rd to May 6th in 1774. The seventh session met on June 7, 1774. The eighth session met on August 2, 1774. The ninth session met on September 6, 1774. The tenth session met on October 18, 1774. The eleventh session met on November 22, 1774. The twelfth session met from January 24th to March 4, 1775. The thirteenth session met from April 20th to May 1st in 1775. The fourteenth session met on June 1, 1775. The fifteenth session met from July 10th to August 30th in 1775. This was the last Commons House of Assembly convened under the Crown. South Carolina launched its First Provincial Congress on January 11, 1775, prior to the twelfth session of this Royal Assembly. The Second Provincial Congress convened on November 16, 1775, after this Assembly ended.
Election District	Delegate
All Saints Parish (2 delegates)	Vacant (1)
	Vacant (1)
Christ Church Parish (2 delegates)	John Rutledge
	Arnoldus Vanderhorst
Prince Frederick's Parish (2 delegates)	Benjamin Farrar
	Theodore Gaillard
Prince George's, Winyah Parish (2 delegates)	Elias Horry, Jr.
	Thomas Lynch
Prince William's Parish (2 delegates)	Isaac Motte
	John Ward (2)
St. Andrew's Parish (3 delegates)	Thomas Bee
	William Cattell
	William Scott
St. Bartholomew's Parish (4 delegates)	*Rawlins Lowndes
	Thomas Osborne
	James Parsons
	William Skirving
St. David's Parish (1 delegate)	George Gabriel Powell
St. George's, Dorchester Parish (2 delegates)	David Oliphant
	Benjamin Waring
St. Helena's Parish (3 delegates)	Thomas Heyward, Jr.
	Edward Rutledge (3) / Charles Drayton (3) / William Sanders (3)
	William Wragg (4) / William Bull, Jr. (4) / Jacob Motte (4)
St. James, Goose Creek Parish (3 delegates)	John Parker
	Thomas Smith (5) / John Izard (5)
	John Ward (2) / Benjamin Smith (6)
St. James, Santee Parish (2 delegates)	Paul Douxsaint
	Thomas Horry
St. John's, Berkeley Parish (3 delegates)	James Cordes, Jr.
	John Huger
	Job Marion (7) / John Ravenel (7)
St. John's, Colleton Parish (3 delegates)	Thomas Evance
	William Gibbes
	Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
St. Luke's Parish (2 delegates)	Vacant (1)
	Vacant (1)
St. Mark's Parish (1 delegate)	Joseph Kershaw
St. Matthew's Parish (1 delegate)	Tacitus Gaillard (8)
St. Michael's Parish (3 delegates)	Miles Brewton
	John Edwards
	Thomas Loughton Smith (9) / Henry Laurens (9) / David Deas (9)
St. Paul's Parish (3 delegates)	Benjamin Elliott
	Thomas Ferguson
	George Haig
St. Peter's Parish (1 delegate)	Gideon Dupont, Jr.
St. Philip's Parish (3 delegates)	Christopher Gadsden
	Charles Pinckney
	Roger Smith
St. Stephen's Parish (1 delegate)	John Gaillard
St. Thomas's & St. Dennis's Parish (3 delegates)	James Akin
	Isaac Harleston
	John Wigfall (10) / Daniel Huger (10)
* Rawlins Lowndes was elected as Speaker of the House. Thomas Farr, Jr was elected as Clerk of the House. Edward Wheman and John Axson were elected as Messengers of the House. John Axson died between June 20, 1774 and June 27, 1774. John Calvert was then elected as a Messenger of the House on January 26, 1775.
(1) No returns were received from All Saints Parish or St. Luke's Parish.
(2) John Ward was elected to represent both Prince William's Parish and St. James, Goose Creek Parish. He chose to represent Prince William's Parish.
(3) Edward Rutledge declined to serve. Charles Drayton was elected to replace Edward Rutledge, but he too declined to serve. William Sanders was then elected to replace Charles Drayton, and he qualified on 3/8/1774.
(4) William Wragg declined to serve. William Bull, Jr. was elected to replace William Wragg, but he too declined to serve. Jacob Motte was then elected to replace William Bull, Jr., and he qualified on 3/1/1774.
(5) Thomas Smith declined to serve. John Izard was elected to replace Thomas Smith, and he qualified on 3/1/1774.
(6) Benjamin Smtih was elected to replace John Ward in St. James, Goose Creek Parish, and he qualified on 3/17/1774.
(7) Job Marion declined to serve. John Ravenel was elected to replace Job Marion, and he qualified on 3/8/1774.
(8) The election in St. Matthew's Parish was protested by Isaac Hayne who claimed that no public notice was given in writing at the door of the parish church two Sundays before the election, that the box containing the names of the voters was not produced until 2:00 pm, and then with two of the seals torn off, that many undue practices were allowed by the churchwardens, that several persons were not allowed to vote for the petitioner on the first day of the election, and on the second day were offered the vote provided they voted for Gaillard, that many persons under age, some with no property in the parish, and several mullatoes were allowed to vote. The Committee on Priveleges and Elections never reported on these allegations.
(9) Thomas Loughton Smith died on April 16, 1773. Henry Laurens was elected to replace Thomas Loughton Smith, but he declined to serve because he was unavoidably detained in England. David Deas was then elected to replace Henry Laurens, and he qualified on 1/24/1775.
(10) John Wigfall declined to serve. Daniel Huger and John Wigfall received equal votes in a special election, prompting yet another special election. John Wigfall was re-elected, and he qualified on 3/2/1774.

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