William Tryon

Biography

Photo of a large, two-story red-brick building, nine windows wide, with a brick gate in front — Tryon Palace in New Bern (AmRevNC photograph)

Englishman William Tryon was an infantry captain when we married into a widow’s money. A professional soldier from age 22, he fought in France during the Seven Year’s War. He used his connection to Lord Hillsborough through wife Margaret Wake to be named Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of North Carolina in 1764. Six months after arriving, he rose to the top job when the sitting governor died.