David Gillespie (surveyor)

David Gillespie
North Carolina Councilor of State
In office
December 6, 1817 – December 1824
Member of the
North Carolina House of Commons
from Bladen County
In office
November 16, 1812 – December 25, 1813
Preceded byJames Owen
Succeeded byJohn Sellers
In office
November 16, 1807 – December 18, 1807
Preceded byAmos Richardson
Succeeded byJames Owen
Personal details
Born(1774-04-05)April 5, 1774
Duplin County, Province of North Carolina
DiedSeptember 28, 1829(1829-09-28) (aged 55)
Bladen County, North Carolina, U.S.
Burial placeCarvers, North Carolina, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
Spouse
Sarah Street
(m. 1802)
Children12
Parents
Alma materUniversity of North Carolina
Occupation
  • Planter
  • engineer
  • surveyor
  • military officer
  • politician
Military service
Branch/serviceU.S. Army
North Carolina militia
RankSecond Major
UnitFirst Brigade, 4th Regiment
Battles/wars

David B. Gillespie (April 5, 1774 – September 28, 1829) was an American land surveyor and politician. He was a member of the North Carolina House of Commons as a representative from Bladen County and the North Carolina Council of State. He was the first person granted a document in the nature of a diploma from what is today the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He received the document prior to leaving the university in 1796 to assist the astronomer Andrew Ellicott with determining the Southern boundary of the United States after the 1795 Treaty of San Lorenzo with Spain. Gillespie served in the North Carolina militia as a second major in the War of 1812.