Philemon Hawkins was born in Virginia on September 28, 1717. In 1735 Hawkins moved to Bute County, North Carolina and began serving in local offices there in 1743. Hawkins was a justice of the peace and also served as Governor William Tryon's aide-de-camp during the Regulator movement. He represented Bute in the North Carolina Provincial Congress and later served in the General Assembly for several terms between 1779 and 1787. He died in Warren County, North Carolina on September 10, 1801.