BLOUNT, William, statesman, born in North Carolina in 1744; died in Knoxville, Tennessee, 21 March 1800. He was a son of Jacob Blount, who was a member of the provincial assemblies of 1775 -'6. He was a delegate from North Carolina to the old congress in 1782-'3 and 1786-'7, member of the assembly from Newbern in 1780 and 1784, a signer of the federal constitution in 1787, and in1790 was appointed governor of the territory south of the Ohio. Chosen president of the convention to form the state of Tennessee in 1796, he was its representative in the United States senate in 1796, but was expelled in July 1797, for being concerned in a conspiracy to deliver New Orleans to Great Britain, and for having instigated the Creeks and Cherokees to assist the British in conquering the Spanish territory of Louisiana. The proceedings against him increased his popularity in Tennessee, and he was elected to the state senate, and chosen president of that body.*His brother, Thomas, soldier, was born in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, in 1760 ; died in Washington, District of Columbia, 7 February 1812. He volunteered in the revolutionary army at sixteen, became deputy pay-master-general in 1780, and, with the rank of major, commanded a battalion of North Carolina militia at Eutaw Springs. He became a Major-General of militia, and was a representative in congress in 1793-'9, 1805-'9, and 1811-'2. He again sat in congress, being elected as a democrat. *Another brother, Willie, governor of Tennessee, was born in North Carolina in 1767; died near Clarksville, Tennessee, 10 September 1835. He was secretary to his brother William while the latter was territorial governor of Ohio, and afterward removed to Montgomery County, Tennessee, and was soon returned to the legislature. He was governor of the state from 1809 till 1815.