Adlai Osborne was born on June 4, 1744 and immigrated to North Carolina by 1749. A graduate of Princeton, Osborne became a lawyer in Rowan County, North Carolina. He became the clerk of the Rowan County Court in 1772 and held that office in one form or another through 1809. A member of the Rowan Committee of Safety, Osborne was a form supporter of the Patriot cause and voted for North Carolina's ratification of the constitution in 1789. Osborne died in Iredell County, North Carolina on December 14, 1814.