Archdale, John | South Carolina Public Radio

"A" is for Archdale, John [1642-1717]. Proprietor. Governor. In 1664 Archdale was in New England. In 1681, he purchased a share of the Carolina Proprietorship in trust for his son Thomas Archdale. From 1683 to 1686, he served as Governor of North Carolina in the absence of Seth Sothel. In August 1694, his fellow proprietors chose him to be governor of the Carolinas and he arrived in Charleston the following year. He had been given broad discretion to settle the factionalism that had made governing South Carolina difficult. With some effort, he accomplished his mission, pacified the assembly, and oversaw the passage of a series of laws known as "Archdale's Laws" that gave the assembly more legal authority. John Archdale left for England in 1696, sold his proprietary share, and never returned to the colony.