Stephen Burgess was a resident of Tyrrell County. In 1777 he was overheard stating that if the British troops were to come to North Carolina and attack them, they deserved it for promoting the pro-independence movement. Burgess may have made the statement because he was a member of the Gourd Patch Conspiracy, as Daniel Leggett later stated that he had Burgess swear three oaths of secrecy to join the plot.