Matthew Locke

Matthew Locke (1730 – September 7, 1801) was a general during the American Revolutionary War, a wagon driver, and a U.S. Congressman from North Carolina between 1793 and 1799.

Personal and early Life Locke was born to John Locke (1700, England –c.1744, Lancaster, Pennsylvania) and his wife Elizabeth (c.1705, England –1760, Rowan County, North Carolina) in the northern part of the Kingdom of Ireland, from where his family migrated to Pennsylvania, where his father died. His mother and siblings migrated to North Carolina and settled in Anson County, North Carolina (in an area now part of Rowan County). He was married to Mary (née Brandon) Locke (b. 1735) sometime around 1749 in Rowan County. He married a second time to Elizabeth Towers Gostelowe in 1798.

Affiliated with the United States Democratic-Republican Party, Locke was elected to the 3rd United States Congress in 1792 and served for three consecutive terms (March 4, 1793 - March 3, 1799). before being defeated for re-election.

After retiring from Congress, Locke was engaged as a planter and was an extensive landowner; he died in Salisbury, North Carolina on September 7, 1801, aged 71 years. He is buried in the Thyatira Churchyard, near Salisbury.