Governor Ja
es Iredell,
Ho lias been eclipsed in history by his dis¬
tinguished father, hut he merits an im¬
portant niche in i\ortli Carolina's Hall of
Fame despite that fact.
I SEE it is proposed to have a com¬
petent commission compile n list
of the fifty most distinguished
North Carolinians. Naturally there
will he differences of opinion with re¬
spect to the names to be included in
such a list, hut there is no question hut
that all competent authorities would
agree that James Iredell, the Elder,
should be included. In my judgment
that of his only son, James Iredell,
Jr., should also he included.
No biography of the younger Ire¬
dell has ever been written, as the
fame of his distinguished father has
served somewhat to obscure his own
merits. It is well known that the elder
Iredell was not only one of our most
distinguished lawyers and judges, hut
that lie also served as attorney gen¬
eral and was appointed by President
Washington to a seat upon the Su¬
preme Court of the United States. He
has the honor of having had a Caro¬
lina county named after him.
No such honors have been paid to
the memory of his son, yet in my
judgment in the breadth of his intel¬
lect. in the depth of his learning, and
in the value of his service to the
public, the younger Jrcdell was a
greater man than was his father.
Born at Edcnton
The younger Iredell was born at
Edcnton, that home of so many dis¬
tinguished characters of that period,
in 1788. lie was educated at Prince¬
ton whose Sophomore class he entered
when hut fifteen and where lie grad¬
uated at eighteen. He came to the Bar
as soon as he attained his majority
and immediately began a career of
public service which was to continue
so long as ho lived.
He saw some measure of military
service, as did his sons after him. In
the War of 1812, the British threat¬
ened an invasion of the port of Nor¬
folk, the key to Chesapeake Bay, and
a company was raised from Chowan
to re|*el the threatened invasion, of
which company Iredell was elected
captain.
He began his long legislative career
in 1813, when hut twenty-five years
old. In that year he was elected ns
а
By It. €. LAWRENCE
iiieiiilter of the House of Commons
from the “borough’’ town of Edenton,
that village, together with New Bern.
Fayetteville, Halifax, Wilmington,
Hillsboro and Salisbury, having the
right to elect a member of the Hoibe
•»f Commons in addition to the mem¬
bers elected from the counties in
which those towns were located. This
system continued in effect until abol¬
ished l»v the Constitutional Conven¬
tion of 1835.
Great Orator and Lawyer
Iredell was repeatedly reelected as
a member of the Commons, serving
as chairman of its most important
committees and finally becoming its
Speaker at the session of 1S26. Ho
was also elected bv the legislature as
one of the judges of our Superior
Court, hut he only served a short time,
resigning that position to resume his
extensive private practice. He was a
gifted orator, and a great trial law¬
yer, and his services as counsel were
iu constant demand wherever there
was litigation of an important charac¬
ter.
His next important public service
was in the capacity of governor, to
which otfiee he was elected by the leg¬
islature in 1827, after a sharp contest
waged with Richard Dohbs Slight,
Jr., and John Stanly, both of Now
Bern, and Col. William Polk of Ra¬
leigh. Polk finally withdrew and threw
his strength to Iredell which gave him
the election.
Governor Iredell served in that ca¬
pacity but little more than a year be¬
fore he was elected as United States
Senator, succeeding the venerable Na¬
thaniel Macon. After his term of serv¬
iee iu the Senate ended, Governor
Iredell made his future home in Ra¬
leigh.
Iredell was a follower of the school
of Murphey, for he was a firm be¬
liever in the cause of education, and
lie was one of the most useful of the
University trustees. He was elected
as one of the trustees when only
twenty-live years old. and continued ns
such until his death.
After the completion of his career
as legislator. Governor and Senator.
Iredell devoted himself entirely to the
demands of his profession. He was a
profoundly learned lawyer, and was
the author of “Iredell on Executors”
which was a standard textbook for
many years. He also served ns Re¬
porter for the Supreme Court, and
the older members of the profession
very well remember the thirteen vol¬
umes of “Iredell’s law’’ and the eight
volumes of “Iredell’s Equity” which
were so frequently cited to the court.
When the Legislature in 1833 deter¬
mined to have the statute law of the
state revised and codified, Iredell was
named as a mem lie r of the Commis¬
sion.
Famous Descendants
Governor Iredell had ten children,
whose history should
!«•
of interest to
Carolinians. One of his sons. Major
James Iredell, was killed in the san¬
guinary battle of Spottsylvania court¬
house; his son. Captain Cameron Ire¬
dell, was fatally wounded at Gettys¬
burg; his son Cadwnllndcr was twice
wounded in battle. His other son,
James, was iu such poor health as to
be incapable of army service and ho
died soon after the Civil War. The
daughters of the Governor all mar¬
ried men who were distinguished in
the life of the state, their husbands
l*eing Griffith McKee of Wilmington,
Cadwalluder Jones of Hillsboro; Dr.
Charles E. Johnson of Raleigh. Judge
William M. Shipp of Lineolnton, and
Thomas D. Men res of Wilmington.
In the Hall of History at Raleigh
there are portraits iu oil of both Gov¬
ernor Iredell and his wife and it is
altogether fitting that this should have
been done; for
eessed a more d
our state never pos-
istinguished son.
The famous 1
gtiishcd son rest
ather and his distin-
at “Haves." the far-
famed Colonial
f .1 ? ••
man. himself ho
til a Governor and a
United States Senator- -Samuel John¬
ston. No three men can he found
whose names were more outstanding
in the history of their generation.
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