Maturin Colville was born in County Down, Ireland and arrived in America in about 1762. Prior to the American Revolution, he served as the clerk of the Bladen County Court. In late 1775 and early 1776 he was a captain in the Bladen County Regiment of the North Carolina Militia and led troops at the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge. Shortly after that, however, he left the regiment and eventually accepted a commission as a colonel in a loyalist regiment. In 1781 or 1782 he was killed by Patriot forces and the North Carolina government seized his lands and assets.