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Biography:
Nathan Mayo was born September 22, 1742, in Isle of Wight County, Virginia to William Mayo, Jr. and Martha Johnson Mayo. His father relocated the family from Virginia to Beaufort County, thence to Pitt County, eventually settling in Martin County (near present day Bethel, NC). He married twice, first to Julia Williams and after her death in 1777, to Elizabeth Barden Hyman.
In 1777, Mayo was one of twenty-two Justices of the Peace appointed by Governor Caswell to reorganize Martin County's government. He represented Martin County in the State House of Representatives 1778-1784 and served as a State Senator from Martin County, 1786-1791. Mayo also served as an officer in the Martin County Militia, first as a captain and later, after the revolution, as lieutenant colonel and colonel. Mayo was also very involved in the Kehukee Baptist Association and his local congregation of Primitive Baptists serving as a moderator for the Association on numerous occasions and as a deacon in his local Church.
Mayo became embroiled in a Tory conspiracy in 1777 led by his neighbor, John Llewellyn. Llewellyn, an ardent loyalist and member of the Anglican Church, led an effort by other northeastern North Carolina loyalists against the Whigs. This cabal, known as the "Llewellyn Conspiracy or the Gourd Patch Conspiracy" planned the assassination of local Whig leaders, including Nathan Mayo, as well as the capture of powder magazines located at Tarboro and Halifax. The conspiracy failed and several members were captured, including Llewellyn who was sentenced to death. However, he was pardoned by Governor Richard Caswell as a result of pleas by Llewellyn's wife, his neighbors who included his former target, Nathan Mayo, who personally met with Governor Caswell.
In August 1780, Captain Mayo and his company of militia marched to join General Horatio Gates at Camden, SC. Prior to arriving, they were alerted to Gates's defeat at the hands of General Charles Cornwallis. His company was then ordered to assist Colonel Thomas Sumter who they subsequently learned had also been defeated. Mayo and his men then marched toward Salisbury, NC but had to endure harassment by the British forces until they reached Shallow Ford.
Mayo passed away on March 14, 1811 in Edgecombe County, NC.
Sources:
Colonial Records of North Carolina
The Pensions of John Ross and Mark Murray, Southern Campaign American Revolution Pension Statements and Rosters
The History of the Kehukee Baptist Association
"The Llewellyn Conspiracy" by Dr. Jeffery Crowe, North Carolina Historical Review
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