Samuel Cornell (1730–1781)
New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
Samuel Cornell 1730 1781. Merchant, Loyalist, and Governorâs Councilor. He financed construction of Tryon Palace & campaign against Regulators, 1771. House stood 2 blocks S.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
Samuel Cornell was a wealthy New Bern merchant, a Loyalist, and a member of the royal Governor's Council. He helped finance the construction of Tryon Palace and Governor Tryon's 1771 campaign against the backcountry Regulators. His house stood two blocks from this marker before the Revolution drove many Loyalists like him from the colony.
Why it matters
Cornell's story illuminates the Loyalist merchants who bankrolled royal authority in the colonies—and the divisions that the Revolution would tear open.
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Related people
- · Samuel Cornell
- · William Tryon
Related events
- · War of the Regulation
Themes & tags
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