Edmund Fanning (colonial administrator)
| Edmund Fanning | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia | |
|
In office 1783–1786 |
|
| Lieutenant-Governor of St. John's Island/Prince Edward Island | |
|
In office 1786–1805 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 24, 1739 |
| Died | February 28, 1818 |
| Signature | .jpg){kind=small} |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Great Britain
|
| Rank | full General |
| Commands | North Carolina militia King's American Regiment |
| Battles/wars | |
Edmund Fanning (April 24, 1739 – February 28, 1818) was a British North American colonial administrator and military leader. Born in New York, he became a lawyer and politician in North Carolina in the 1760s. He first came to fame as the focus of hatred of the Regulators, and led anti-Regulator militia in the War of the Regulation. When the American Revolutionary War broke out, he was driven from his home in New York, and joined the British Army, recruiting other Loyalists. He served during campaigns in New England and the South. At the end of the war in 1783 he became a United Empire Loyalist, settling in Nova Scotia.
Fanning was appointed lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia not long after his arrival, and helped oversee the resettlement of other Loyalist refugees in the province. In 1786 he was appointed lieutenant governor of Saint John's Island, which was renamed Prince Edward Island during his tenure. He served in that post until 1813. He retired to London, where he died in 1818.
Edmund Fanning was born in the Town of Southold on Long Island in the colony of New York to Captain James Fanning and Hannah Smith. Nova Scotia Governor John Parr believed Fanning was, like Parr, a Protestant Irishman, and was from Ulster and owned great estates there.
He graduated from Yale College in 1757 and studied law in New York. He then moved to the Province of North Carolina in 1761 and settled in Hillsborough. He held several local political posts and became a protégé of colonial governor William Tryon. Fanning came into conflict with the leaders of the Regulator movement. He, along with lawyer Francis Nash, was charged with extorting money from the local residents, but was fined only a small fine. After several riots, the movement was crushed by the army of North Carolina militia led by Tryon at the Battle of Alamance on May 16, 1771.
...
Wikipedia