John Haywood (politician)
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Honorable John Haywood |
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|---|---|
| 2nd North Carolina State Treasurer | |
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In office 1787–1827 |
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| Preceded by | Memucan Hunt |
| Succeeded by | William S. Robards |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
February 23, 1754 Edgecombe County, North Carolina, USA |
| Died | November 18, 1827 (aged 73) Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Leigh (d. 1791); Eliza Williams |
| Children | 1 son with Sarah; 12 children with Eliza |
| Residence | Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina |
| Occupation | North Carolina Senate clerk, North Carolina State Treasurer |
John Haywood (born Edgecombe County, North Carolina, February 23, 1754; died Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, November 18, 1827) was an American politician, who was the longest-serving North Carolina State Treasurer (forty years, from 1787 until his death).
Haywood began public service in 1781 as clerk of the State Senate, and held this office for five years, after which he was elected Treasurer by the state legislature. Haywood also became the first Intendant of Police, or Mayor, of Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1795.
Haywood County was named in his honor after its creation in 1808, and he also subsequently had a town named after him in Chatham County.
In 1820 "Treasurer John," one of the most popular men in the state, had been accused of "abusing his trust." The legislature promptly exonerated him following an inquiry, but an examination of the records after his death in 1827 disclosed that public funds in excess of $68,000 were, in fact, unaccounted for. That was a massive shortfall in those days – more than half the state's entire budget for the year. Haywood's heirs reimbursed the state nearly $48,000 for the missing money, but examiners shortly afterward discovered an additional shortage of almost $22,000 in Cherokee bonds, revenue from the sale of public lands in western North Carolina.
The historian William K. Boyd commented that the accounting of public funds in those days was deficient in three respects: "First, the comptroller did not have oversight of the actual money in the treasury; the auditing by the comptroller did not include all state funds; and the method of bonding the treasurer was not adequate." In 1784 a law had been enacted requiring the Treasurer to post a bond in the amount of "one hundred thousand pounds," but an 1801 statute reduced the amount of the required bond to a sum equal to the balance of existing treasury funds, plus estimated annual revenue for the following year. It stipulated moreover that no penalty would be imposed for failure to comply with the requirement.
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