Arthur Dobbs, for a long period the Colonial Governor, was at this time closely identified with the history of Newbern. He was 'by birth an Irishman, and by nature an aristocrat.' He died at an advanced age in 1764. In 1765, William Tryon succeeded Dobbs as Governor of North-Carolina. He first resided at Brunswick, on the Cape Fear River, then a town of note, but now a complete ruin, and where among its remains are still seen the massive walls of St. Philip's Church, built by his request, at the expense of the British government. As Newbern was a more central position, and possessed more social advantages, Tryon took up his abode there, not, however, till he had made himself odious by irritating the people of the western part of the province into a rebellion, and had butchered many who were contending only for justice and their rights. Tryon was aristocratic, tyrannical, and vindictive. To gratify his pride he conceived the idea of erecting a magnificent palace, and to obtain an appropriation from the Provincial Assembly he exhausted all his promises and intrigues. In this effort on the legislators he was aided by the blandishments of his lady and her sister, Miss Wake, relatives of Lord Hillborough, and he was finally successful. The result was, that he erected in Newbern, in 1770, the most elegant and expensive building on the continent, the cost of which was far beyond the resources of the province. The plans of it, which are still preserved, show that the old descriptions of its splendor are not overwrought. Its foundations can still be traced, and a part of one of the wings, though in a dilapidated state, is yet in existence. A Provincial Congress was held at Newbern, in August, 1774, of which John Harvey was President. In April, 1779, they elected delegates to the famous Continental Congress which met at Philadelphia, and Newbern was for some time the most important place in the province. During the Revolution, the State was twice invaded by the British, and many towns suffered severely, but Newbern being remote from the seat of war, did not particularly feel its effects. It is somewhat strange that in Newbern secession once found its strongest opposition, and finally its death-blow. It will be recollected that North-Carolina once extended to the Mississippi, and included all of what is now the State of Tennessee, the whole of which territory was ceded to the United States in 1784. It was then partially settled, and before the general Government had accepted the grant, the residents established a temporary government, and formally seceding from North-Carolina, formed 'the State of Franklin.'