Date Died: December 2, 1786

Place Buried: James City, Craven County, NC

Occupation: Lawyer

Abner Nash was born on August 8, 1740, in Prince Edward County, Virginia, the son of John Nash and Ann (Owen) Nash. He read law and was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1757. He also began his political career there, serving in the House of Burgesses from 1761 to 1762.

Around 1763, Abner Nash moved to Hillsborough, North Carolina, along with his younger brother Francis Nash. By 1764, he moved to Halifax, NC to practice law, where he remained for about twelve years. In 1764, Abner Nash was first elected to represent the town of Halifax in the House of Burgesses of the:
- 19th General Assembly that met in 1764
- 20th General Assembly that met in 1765

In 1770, Abner Nash was first elected to represent Halifax County in the House of Burgesses of the:
- 23rd General Assembly that met from 1770-1771
- 24th General Assembly that met in 1771

During the session of 1770, a bill was introduced to establish a seminary of learning at Charlotte. Abner Nash was appointed one of the first Trustees of Queen's Museum (later Queen's College).

While living in Halifax, Abner Nash married Justina Davis Dobbs, the widow of Royal Governor Arthur Dobbs. Justina Nash died in 1771, leaving three small children. Within a year, Abner Nash moved to New Bern and married Mary Whiting Jones, of Chowan County, the daughter of Harding and Mary Whiting Jones. They had five known children.

Abner Nash established the Pembroke plantation on the Trent River, where they all lived until the British invaded North Carolina in 1781. In August of 1781, Maj. James H. Craig sacked New Bern and Nash had to flee with his family. His home was burned and with it all the family's possessions, records, and papers.

He became active in the opposition to British imperial polices: he served on the Committee of Safety and in several other offices. In 1774, Abner Nash was first elected to represent the town of New Bern in the
- 1st Provincial Congress that met in August of 1774
- 2nd Provincial Congress that met in April of 1775
- 3rd Provincial Congress that met in August of 1776
- 4th Provincial Congress that met in April of 1776

In 1776, Abner Nash was elected to represent the town of Hillsborough in the:
- 5th Provincial Congress that met in November of 1776

In 1776, he helped draft the Halifax Resolves calling for independence from Great Britain.

In 1777, Abner Nash was first elected to represent the town of New Bern in the House of Commons of the:
- 1st General Assembly that met in 1777 - elected Speaker of the House

In 1778, Abner Nash was elected in a special election to replace John Tillman who opted to go lead the garrison at the newly-erected Fort Hancock - he represented Craven County in the House of Commons of the:
- 2nd General Assembly that met in 1778

In 1779, Abner Nash was elected to represent Jones County in the NC Senate of the:
- 3rd General Assembly that met in 1779 - elected as Speaker of the Senate after Allen Jones resigned
- 4th General Assembly that met in 1780 - resigned to accept office of governor

On April 20, 1780, Abner Nash was elected by the NC General Assembly as the second governor of North Carolina, succeeding Richard Caswell. His term of office as governor, extended by act of the legislature until 25 June 1781, was an unhappy one from the start. The British invaded South Carolina then North Carolina, and some of the bitterest fighting of the bloody war took place in 1780 and 1781 in the two Carolinas.

Gov. Abner Nash, finding the General Assembly and his own Council of State too dispersed and unwieldy to be of much help in guiding the State at war, requested a Board of War of three members. He soon bitterly regretted this request. Early on the members proved inadequate for their task and later actively opposed Gov. Nash, intercepting his correspondence with the generals in the field and flouting his authority as Commander-in-Chief.

He declined nomination for a second term in 1781 and became a member of the Continental Congress in 1782, serving as regularly as his health would allow until his death, on December 2, 1786, "of consumption," in New York City while attending the Congress. He was buried in St. Paul's churchyard there. Later his remains were re-interred in the family vault at Pembroke.

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