Robert Harris

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg_Declaration_of_Independence

http://www.cmstory.org/history/hornets/declare.htm (text)

The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is allegedly the first declaration of independence made in the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolution. It was supposedly signed on May 20, 1775, at Charlotte, North Carolina, by a committee of citizens of Mecklenburg County, who declared independence from Great Britain after hearing of the battle of Lexington. If the story is true, the Mecklenburg Declaration preceded the United States Declaration of Independence by more than a year. The authenticity of the Mecklenburg Declaration has been disputed since it was first published in 1819, forty-four years after it was reputedly written.

http://www.ashevillelist.com/history/mecklenburg.htm