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This article is from the Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, 6 volumes, edited by William S. Powell. Copyright ©1979-1996 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.

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Chevin, Nathaniel

by William S. Price, Jr., 1979

d. ca. 1720

Nathaniel Chevin, justice and council member, first appears in the records of North Carolina late in 1695. By February of the following year, he was clerk of the Chowan Precinct Court, and throughout his life in the colony, his career was closely tied to the courts. Chevin was named to succeed William Glover temporarily as clerk of the general court in July 1697. Exactly three years later he assumed the position on a full-time basis, serving until October 1703, when Thomas Snoden succeeded him.

A staunch Anglican, Chevin served on the first vestry formed in Chowan Precinct late in 1701. A vestryman six and a half years, he served at various times as churchwarden and clerk. When he moved to Pasquotank Precinct in April 1708, he resigned from St. Paul's Parish vestry; in the Vestry Act of 1715, he was named first member of the Southwest Parish vestry of Pasquotank Precinct.

In July 1708, Chevin became a justice of the general court; he held that position through March 1712. Aided by his association with Thomas Pollock and others opposed to Thomas Cary, he became a council member as early as July 1711, under Governor Edward Hyde. An extremely active upper house member, Chevin served on the council through 1 Aug. 1717. Shortly after that time, he appears to have had a confrontation with Governor Charles Eden, which brought about his fall from favor. By March 1720, Chevin was dead.

References:

Mattie Erma Edwards Parker, ed., North Carolina Higher-Court Records, 1670–1696 and 1697–1701 (1968, 1971).

William S. Price, Jr., ed., North Carolina Higher-Court Records, 1702–1708 (1974).

William L. Saunders, ed., Colonial Records of North Carolina, vols. 1–2 (1886).

Additional Resources:

Nathanial Chevin in the Colonial and State Records of North Carolina, Documenting the American South, UNC Libraries: https://docsouth.unc.edu/csr/index.html/search?fSearch=Chevin&fStart=31&fFacet=documents

Subjects: 
Biographies
Religious Leaders and Clergy
Public officials
Authors: 
Price, William S., Jr.
Origin - location: 
Coastal Plain
From: 
Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.

1 January 1979 | Price, William S., Jr.