Richmond Mumford Pearson.pdfDavie County Public Library
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Richmond Mumford Pearson
The following information was found in History of Davie County by James W. Wall, 1969, Davie County
Historical Publishing Association, Mocksville, North Carolina.
Page 214- Richmond Mumford Pearson was the son of Richmond Pearson, planter, merchant, and
Revolutionary War officer. Richmond M. Pearson was born in 1805 at “Richmond Hill,” the present day
Cooleemee. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1823, studied law under Judge
Archibald Henderson of Salisbury and was admitted to the bar in 1826.
From 1829 to 1832 he represented Rowan County in the General Assembly, working for transportation
facilities connecting Piedmont and eastern North Carolina. He also worked for equal representation for
the Piedmont and West in the General Assembly.
About 1835 Pearson moved to Mocksville and conducted a law school. The Pearson Law School was
located in a brick building fronting Gaither Street near the corner of North Main Street. Students
attending the law school boarded at the “White House,” a hotel operated by Lemuel Bingham. This
house was located at the Junker Feed Mill. (Note: As of 2013 Junker Feed Mill is no longer in business.
The site is sometimes used for community activities such as concerts and is located behind the Davie
County Chamber of Commerce.)
In 1836 Pearson became a Superior Court Judge and in 1848 he was named to the North Carolina
Supreme Court. He served as Chief Justice from 1858 until his death in 1878.
August 9, 1839 the citizens of Davie County voted “For Schools.” This election was authorized by the
North Carolina Public School Law. According to this law if a county voted for this law the county had to
lay off school districts and appoint a school committee for each district. Richmond M. Pearson was
named one of the seven “Superintendents” by the Davie County Court. In February 1840 the
“Superintendents” divided the county into fifteen school districts.
About 1848 he moved to Rockford in Yadkin County and continued his law school there until 1876.
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The following information was found at http://www.carolana.com/NC/Courts/rmpearson.html,
8/20/2013.
Richmond M. Pearson- born in Statesville, North Carolina (Rowan County) June, 1805; died January 5,
1878. Buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina. Party: Whig/Republican
Richmond Mumford Pearson was born in June, 1805, the fourth son of Colonel Richmond Pearson. His
older brother, the Honorable Joseph Pearson, was a member of the state congress from North Carolina
and ensured Richmond’s education after their father’s mercantile business fell on hard times. Richmond
studied under John Mushat in the Brentwood area of Washington, D. C.
In 1815 Richmond M. Pearson entered the University of North Carolina, graduating at the top of his class
in 1823. He studied law under Judge Leonard Henderson (later Chief Justice of North Carolina) and
attained his law license in 1826. He began his practice in Salisbury, North Carolina, and was first elected
to the House of Commons of the State Legislature from Rowan County in 1829. He would serve three
terms until 1832. He was elected a Judge of the North Carolina Superior Courts of Law and Equity in
1836 and “transferred” to the North Carolina Supreme Court in 1848.
In the mid-1850’s he operated a law school out of his home northwest of Boonville near the Yadkin River
and the community of Richmond Hill. In 1858, upon the death of Chief Justice Nash, Pearson was chosen
Chief Justice, closed his home school, and moved to Raleigh.
Pearson was a prominent pro-Union Whig Party politician prior to the Civil War. Although he was a slave
owner he believed in the constitutional supremacy of the central government and opposed secession.
During the war he became widely known in the state and the south because of his controversial rulings
concerning the conscription of men into the Confederate Army. In 1863 he ruled that the Governor of
North Carolina had no authority to use the states militia to enforce Confederate conscription laws. His
decision was denounced by Confederate civil and military authorities but upheld by Governor Zebulon
Vance. He used the writ of habeas corpus to free men who believed themselves unfairly conscripted. His
controversial decisions were not founded in any personal doubts about the legitimacy of the
Confederacy but in his firm belief in the rule of law and in the freedom of the individual.
At the conclusion of the Civil War Pearson was appointed provisional Chief Justice by the military
authority. When full civilian authority was restored during reconstruction he was elected to retain that
position. The restoration of full civilian authority occurred in 1868 and included a constitutional change
to elect Court Justices by popular vote, rather than by vote of the General Assembly. In 1868 Pearson
was the first Chief Justice elected by popular vote. He was elected as a Republican and served until his
death in 1878. He served as Chief Justice for a total of 20 years. The first ten years he was elected by the
General Assembly and the second ten he was elected by popular vote.
Pearson almost faced impeachment in 1870 after he was perceived by Democrats as acquiescing to
Governor William W. Holden’s actions against the Ku Klux Klan. The presence of many of his law
students in the state legislature is believed to have prevented his impeachment. Instead he presided
over Holden’s impeachment trial, the only one in North Carolina history.
Pearson was elected a judge when he was 30 years and presided over the North Carolina courts for
more than forty years. His record was so impressive that when United States Supreme Court Justice
Chase passed away, President Ulysses Grant signed the commission for Pearson to become Chase’s
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replacement. However, when Grant learned that Pearson was 68 years old he decided to appoint Justice
Waite, a youthful 61 years of age.
As a man Pearson was distinguished for his honesty of purpose, unbending integrity, inflexible idea of
justice and conscientious devotion to his duty.
He was married twice, first on June 12, 1832 to Margaret McClung Williams, a daughter of United States
Senator John Williams of Tennessee and niece of Hugh L. White, also a United States Senator from
Tennessee and unsuccessful candidate for president in 1836. His second marriage was in 1859 to the
widow of General John Gray Bynum, Mary McDowell Bynum. Judge Pearson and Margaret had one son,
Richmond Pearson, born in 1852.
Judge Pearson was crossing the Yadkin River by buggy on his way to Raleigh in January 1878 to open the
Spring term of court when he was stricken by paralysis. He died in Winston on January 5, 1878 at the age
of 73.
The following information was found at http://ncpedia.org. Richmond Hill Law School, by Wilson
Angley, 2006.
Richmond Hill Law School was established about 1846 by Judge (later Chief Justice) Richmond M.
Pearson. He had conducted an earlier law school in Mocksville. Until his death in 1878 it was one of the
preeminent laws schools in the state, rivaled only by Judge William Horn Battle’s school in Chapel Hill.
Instruction at Richmond Hill was offered to students studying for their county court licenses as well as
more advanced students studying for practice in superior courts. The mode of instruction was Socratic
involving intense discussion of both the law and its underlying principles.
The following information was found in the Davie County Public Library Biography file for Pearson
Folder 1 of 2.
Biography of Richmond Pearson (includes information concerning his offspring, including land
transfers) data compiled by Mary J. Heitman.
Page 5- Richard Mumford Pearson was the son of Richmond Pearson and his second wife Eliza Mumford.
Born in 1805, educated by his half brother Joseph Pearson. Opened his law office about the time Davie
County was formed. The offices occupied by his students were located on Salisbury Street near the
“White House”. The “White House” was built by Hugh Wilson and painted white.
Judge Pearson’s residence was the house on the corner of Gaither and North Main Streets, first owned
and occupied by the John B. Johnston family. In 1964 the Bank of Davie was located on the lot.
He became Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.
He married Miss Margaret Williams of Tennessee and they had 10 children. He later married Mrs. Mary
Bynum in Surry County.
One daughter married James Hobson of Davie County. They moved to Alabama and had a son Lieut.
Richmond Pearson Hobson.
“Law School Benefactor from Famous Family” The Yadkin Ripple, January 14, 1971.
Judge Richmond Pearson’s father was Richmond Pearson, a captain in the American Revolution, and his
mother was Elizabeth Mumford Pearson, eighth in descent from Elder William Brewster of the
Mayflower. His half brother was Joseph Pearson, member of Congress from 1809 to 1815. Another half
brother, Jessie A. Pearson, was a Major General in the North Carolina Militia, fighting a duel with
General Montford Stokes, later governor of North Carolina. Judge Pearson had a half sister Betsy who
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married Colonel John Stokes, later a United States District Judge and for whom Stokes County is named.
Judge Pearson married Margaret Williams, daughter of Colonel John Williams of Little Yadkin, who
settled in Tennessee and served as United States Senator from 1815 to 1823. Judge Pearson and his wife
had two sons and two daughters. Son John was a Lieutenant in the Confederate Army and Richmond,
born in Yadkin County about 1853 graduated from Princeton was United States Congressman to Greece
and Persia. Judge Pearson’s daughter Ellen was the wife of Governor Daniel C. Fowle and daughter Sallie
was the wife of James Hobson, Confederate officer and Superior Court Judge in Alabama.
“Richmond Hill’s Judge Pearson Left A Monumental Legacy” The Yadkin Ripple, October 16, 1986
Judge Richmond Mumford Pearson’s home, Richmond Hill, was restored and dedicated by state officials
on Saturday October 18, 1986. Judge Pearson loved Richmond Hill for its quietness and remoteness.
He was born in 1805, graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina in 1823, studied law
and was admitted to the bar in 1829. He started his practice in Salisbury, moved to Mocksville and
served in the state legislature from 1829-1833. He ran unsuccessfully for Congress.
He was elected by the Legislature as a judge of the Superior Courts in 1837, his commission being signed
by Governor Edward Dudley. His commission as judge of the State Supreme Court was dated 1849 and
his certificate of election as Chief Justice of North Carolina was dated May 16, 1868. To show his
popularity he had been nominated by both political parties.
He moved to Richmond Hill, one-half mile from the Yadkin River in 1848 when he was Associate Justice.
He built a two-story log home, log houses for the law students and a log office for himself. He opened
his law school about three miles from Rockford, the county seat. During the 30 years he operated the
school about 1,000 men benefited from his teachings.
Judge Pearson owned 644 acres of land and had 37 slaves. He raised corn, wheat, oats, and Irish
potatoes. He practiced soil conservation but his farming was secondary to his law school.
Chief Justice Pearson was one of the first Trustees of the University of North Carolina under the
Constitution of 1868, representing Yadkin County. When Memorial Hall of the University was opened in
1885 a memorial table to Judge Pearson was placed in the Hall.
On March 15, 1893 a portrait of Judge Pearson was presented to the Supreme Court by his son
Richmond Pearson of Asheville.
On January 5, 1878 Judge Pearson was traveling in the mail buggy toward Winston and Salem on his way
to Raleigh to preside at the session of the Supreme Court. He was apparently stricken with “acute
paralysis of the brain” soon after starting the trip. The driver thought he was asleep and did not try to
rouse him until they reached the Yadkin River ferry. The driver took him on to Wilson’s Hotel in Winston
where he died. According to the “People’s Press” printed in Salem, the bells of both towns tolled and
the courthouse was draped in mourning.
The family requested that his remains be taken to Raleigh to lie in state in the Capitol for one day.
Following this the funeral was held in Christ Church and burial followed in Oakwood Cemetery.
On January 14, 1878 a memorial meeting of the bar was held in Raleigh at which a sketch of Judge
Pearson’s life was given by two of his former law school students, T. C. Fuller and R. T. Gray. Mr. Gray
explained that in 1870-71 Judge Pearson’s decisions in well known habeas corpus cases were strongly
criticized. Mr. Gray felt that posterity would vindicate the integrity of Judge Pearson’s purpose. (Judge
Pearson was often attacked during and after the Civil War because he placed law above popular opinion.
He was threatened with impeachment at one time but it is said that action was averted because of the
affection his former law students had for him.)
On June 8, 1881 a monument was unveiled over his grave in Oakwood Cemetery. The monument was
erected by the Pearson Memorial Association. The memorial address was made by the Honorable R. P.
Dick, giving a sketch of Judge Pearson’s life. It was stated that the law school at Richmond Hill was very
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prosperous and Judge Pearson instructed over one thousand law students, scattered throughout the
State and nation.
His portrait was presented to the North Carolina Supreme Court in 1893 and the chief address was made
by Attorney General Osborne, one of Judge Pearson’s former students. In the address Attorney General
Osborne explained that Judge Pearson never turned away a student for lack of funds. He trusted that
their honor and ability would pay him in the future. If that failed Judge Pearson would absorb the loss.
List of Residents of Johnstone Home in Mocksville (compiled by Mary Jane Heitman)
Judge R. M. Pearson was the first owner of the J. B. Johnstone home, situated on what is now North
Main and Gaither Streets. The first real estate deed recorded is dated September 21, 1835 between
Samuel Austin of Rowan County, North Carolina and R. M. Pearson of the same county and state. The
deed is for the purchase of 136 acres of land north and northwest of Mocksville by Pearson. The Davie
County court records begin in February, 1837 since the bill to form Davie County from Rowan was
passed in December, 1836.
Mrs. Margaret Pearson, wife of Judge R. M. Pearson, is included on the 1837 list of members of Joppa
Presbyterian Church.
Judge Pearson had a law school in Mocksville for about ten years. The law office was a small brick
building located on Gaither Street. This building was torn down many, many years ago. In 1846 Judge
Pearson moved the law school to a part of the new Yadkin County, formed from part of Surry County. He
named the place “Richmond Hill” after his father’s plantation on the South Yadkin River.
After Judge Pearson moved away from Mocksville the house on Gaither Street was occupied by his
sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Pearson Beatty, and her family. It was the home of her son Dr. W. H. Beatty and
family until 1850. According to real estate records the Beatty family lived in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in
1863. During the War Between the States the house was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Gaither who
later moved to Charlotte. Sheriff Abner Kelly and family lived there some time after before also moving
to Charlotte. The Pearson House later became the home of Mr. William Jones and relatives. In the late
1880’s or early 1890’s the house was purchased by Captain Frank Brown who was not a native of Davie
County. He and his family lived in the house for a number of years and enlarged it. The Brown’s moved
to Salisbury about 1890.
Copy of Davie County Deed Book 1 Page 599
A deed was recorded for the February 28, 1828. It is an indenture made by Ebinezer Nelson to Thos.
McNeely, James F. Martin, William F. Kelly, A. G. Carter, A. R. Jones, and Richmond Pearson Trustees of
the Mocksville Academy, incorporated by act of the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina at
its ??? commencing on December 25, 1826. The deed is for the sum of $40 paid to Mr. Nelson by the
Mocksville Academy Trustees. The deed describes the boundaries of the property by roads, corner
stones, and surveyor’s chains and links.
“Famous Chief Justice Pearson Was One of Mocksville’s Early Settlers,” Winston-Salem (N. C.) Journal
and Sentinel, October 18, 19??, page 3-B, by Mary J. Heitman.
The home of the first Richmond Pearson was called “Richmond Hill” and was said to be located where
the Cooleemee Cotton Mills stand. (Note as of 2013: Although a mill building is still located on the South
Yadkin River, the mill is no longer in use. Plans are underway to re-purpose the building.) This Richmond
Pearson was born in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. He came to North Carolina at age 19 and settled in the
forks of the Yadkin River. He was a lieutenant in the Revolutionary War. He was married twice- first to a
Miss Hayden and they had four children. His second marriage was to a Miss Mumford and they had six
children. Richmond Mumford Pearson was born in 1805 to this second marriage at “Richmond Hill.”
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The War of 1812 seriously depleted the elder Pearson’s fortune so Richmond Mumford Pearson was
educated by his half-brother Joseph Pearson. Joseph served in the United States Congress from 1809 to
1815 and took Richmond to Washington, D. C. as a small boy for his education. Richmond was later
prepared for college by John Mushat of Statesville. Richmond graduated from the University of North
Carolina in 1823 with first honors.
Richmond Mumford Pearson had a great attraction to the study of law as a boy and set his ambition to
become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. After graduation from college he studied law under Judge
Henderson of Salisbury and was admitted to the bar in 1826. He was successful from the start and
repaid Joseph Pearson for his education.
From 1829 to 1832 Richmond Mumford Pearson represented Rowan County in the North Carolina
Legislature. In 1836 he was elected Judge of the Superior Court and held that position for twelve years.
Davie County was formed from Rowan County in 1836 and about the same time Judge Pearson opened
his law school in Mocksville. Students came to this school from all over the state. The students lived in
the White House, the first painted house in Mocksville. It was originally built as a home by Hugh Wilson
and was operated as a hotel for the law students by a Mr. Bingham. Judge Pearson’s office was on
Gaither Street.
In 1846 Judge Pearson moved his law school to a part of Surry County that later became Yadkin County.
He built a home there that he named “Richmond Hill” after his boyhood home.
In 1848 Judge Pearson was elected as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by the Legislature. After
the death of Chief Justice Nash he was chosen as Chief Justice by the court. In 1868 he was elected Chief
Justice by both political parties under the ruling of the new constitution.
Judge Pearson died in January 1878 in his carriage on his way to Raleigh to hold the Supreme Court.
Judge Pearson married Miss Margaret Williams, daughter of Col. John Williams of Tennessee in 1831
and they had ten children. His wife died in Surry County and he later married Mrs. Mary Bynum. His son
Richmond Pearson studied law under his father and moved to Asheville. He was a member of Congress
and minister to France. One daughter married Hayne Davis of Statesville. Another daughter married
James, Hobson of Davie and later moved to Alabama.
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The following information was found in the Davie County Public Library Biography file for Pearson
Folder 2 of 2.
“Richmond Pearson: Genius on the Yadkin,” Winston-Salem, N. C., Sunday Morning, January 27, 1963
by Chester Davis
Richmond Mumford Pearson was born on June 28, 1805 at “Richmond Hill”, his father’s plantation in the
forks of the South Yadkin and Yadkin Rivers.
Richmond Pearson was tutored at his brother Joseph’s plantation “Brentwood” and attended primary
school in Washington, D. C. when Joseph served in Congress from 1809 to 1815. Richmond prepared for
college at John Mushat’s academy in Statesville.
Richmond Pearson graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1823, sharing top honors in a
class of 23. (He was also a ring-leader in a “glorious”- also described as “drunken”- graduation
celebration. Scholarship and the bottle were to be partners with him throughout his life.) He was
offered an opportunity to remain at the University as a tutor but declined. Instead he enrolled in the law
school of Leonard Henderson, the second chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.
Henderson’s school was held at his home, “Jonesboro”, in Vance County and was among the first- if not
the first- law schools in the state. Henderson was a strong Union man like Pearson’s father and brothers.
Henderson also patterned his teaching methods on the question and answer technique of Socrates and
Plato.
In July, 1829 Pearson was licensed to practice law and began his practice in Salisbury. In that same year
he was elected to the House of Commons, representing Rowan County.
Pearson served in the legislature from 1829 to 1833 with two notable accomplishments. First he
continued his father’s fight to improve transportation between the Piedmont and the east. His major
effort in that regard was in proposing a railroad from Fayetteville to the Yadkin River. A plank road was
built along that route. Second he was active in the fight to gain a greater voice for Western North
Carolina in the General Assembly. (In 1830 Rowan County had a population of 18,180 and had three
representatives. Washington County had a population of 3,740 and also had three representatives.)
Pearson demanded a constitutional convention to address these imbalances and such a convention was
called in 1835.
Pearson retired as a legislator in 1833 but ran for Congress in 1835. He was beaten in a three way race.
In 1833 he was nominated by the legislature as a candidate for the Circuit Court (present day Superior
Court) bench but he withdrew his name.
In 1837 the legislature elected Pearson as a Circuit Court Judge from Davie County. In 1848 he was
elected by the legislators as an Associate Justice on the three member State Supreme Court. In 1858
when Chief Justice Frederick Nash died Pearson became the new Chief Justice. With the exception of a
few months of 1865 when all state offices were vacated Pearson remained Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court until his death in 1878.
For 41 years including 30 on the Supreme Court Pearson shaped the laws of North Carolina, both within
the Union and within the Confederacy. He did so during the two most tumultuous periods- the Civil War
and Reconstruction- North Carolina has ever known.
Pearson was said to be warm, genial, and generous to his friends while cold, austere, or cantankerous to
others. There was general agreement in his formidable intellect. Except for the law, he was not a widely
read man. He reasoned with orderly, analytical logic. He detested pretension and did not suffer fools
gladly. An attorney of his day described him as “mind and law, not feeling and rhetoric.”
Pearson did not draw men close to him save for his intellect. It is said that he could not be cited as a
model character due to his drinking. And although he was baptized a Catholic and buried an
Episcopalian, there is little record of church activities during his life. He had few hobbies- gardening early
in life and chess later- and had very little sense of humor.
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“A Brief Summary of the Career of Chief Justice Richmond Mumford Pearson” by James Albert
Hutchens, March 20, 1999. Produced by the Yadkin County Heritage 2000 Steering Committee
Richmond Mumford Pearson was born in what is now Cooleemee, Davie County, North Carolina in 1805
to Richmond Pearson. He graduated with honor from the University of North Carolina in 1823. He
studied law at Williamsboro in present day Vance County in the early law school of Leonard Henderson
who later became Chief Justice of North Carolina.
Biography of Richmond M. Pearson- found in the Biography- Pearson Files- Folder 2 of 2. This
information is copied from a book but there is no reference to the book. The first page of the
information includes a picture of the Chief Justice and a single page of the book. The second page of
the information begins with page 296 of the book. The information concludes with page 307 of the
book.
(First sheet of the information- no page number for the book.) The following information about Chief
Justice Richmond M. Pearson was taken from the memorial address delivered by Judge Robert P. Dick at
the unveiling of the monument erected to the memory of Judge Pearson in Oakwood Cemetery in
Raleigh.
Richmond Mumford Pearson was born in June, 1805 in Rowan County at Richmond Hill, the paternal
home. His father was Colonel Richmond Pearson who moved from Dinwiddie County, Virginia to the
forks of the Yadkin River. Colonel Pearson was an officer in the Revolutionary army. He and his first wife,
Miss Hayden, had four children: General Jesse A. Pearson, Honorable Joseph Pearson, Richmond
Pearson, and Elizabeth. (Page 296 of the book) Colonel Pearson and his second wife, Miss Mumford,
daughter of Robinson Mumford, an Englishman, had six children: Sarah, Eliza, Charles, Richard
Mumford, Giles, and John Stokes Pearson. Colonel Pearson was a successful planter and merchant until
the War of 1812 wrecked his fortune.
The second Mrs. Pearson was eighth in descent from Elder William Brewster. She was a woman of
remarkable force of character and helped guide the family through the downfall of her husband’s
business.
After the failure of Colonel Pearson’s fortune, his son, Honorable Joseph Pearson, agreed to pay for the
education of half-brother Richmond Mumford Pearson. At that time, Honorable Joseph Pearson was a
member of Congress and he took Richmond Mumford Pearson to Washington, D. C. and placed him in
one of the primary schools in the city. He also had him baptized by Archbishop Carroll of the Roman
Catholic Church.
On his return from Washington, Richmond began his academic studies in Statesville under John Mushat,
a celebrated teacher at that time. He prepped for college in that school and entered the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating with first honors in 1823.
He studied the classics as required by the course curriculum but spent little time on poetry or polite
literature.
After graduation he was offered a tutorship at the University but he declined so that he could begin his
study of the law. As a boy he had dreamed of becoming the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. (Page
297 of the book) He entered law school, studying under Judge Henderson. He remained in law school for
about two years and was a diligent student, acquiring extensive legal learning with great accuracy.
Judge Pearson was admitted to the bar in 1826 and started his practice. He was so well prepared for the
duties of his profession that he did not have to undergo the usual long probation period that lesser
prepared lawyers had to endure. In a few years he was regarded as an equal among the lawyers in his
circuit with larger experience. He was known for his integrity, strict attention to professional business,
and diligence in the preparation of his cases.
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(Page 298 of the book) After successfully practicing law for nine years, Pearson became a member of the
Superior Court bench in 1836. He administered justice with wise discretion, strict integrity, and
impartiality. He was on the Superior Court bench for twelve years.
In 1848 he was elected by the Legislature as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. He served in
that capacity with Chief Justice Ruffin and Judge Nash and was soon recognized as their equal in ability,
integrity, and common law learning.
In 1858 Judge Pearson was chosen Chief Justice by the Court to fill the vacancy caused by the death of
then Chief Justice Nash. He remained in that office until he was elected Chief Justice in 1868 under the
terms of the new North Carolina constitution. Under the terms of the new constitution the Chief Justice
of the North Carolina Supreme Court was elected by vote of the people. Chief Justice Pearson was the
first to be elected in this manner. He was nominated by both political parties and the vote of the people
was almost unanimous. He remained in that office until his death in January, 1878 while he was on his
way from his home in Yadkin County to Raleigh for a session of the Supreme Court.
(Page 299 of the book) Chief Justice Pearson had an exalted intellect, extensive learning, and cheerful
devotion to the duties of his profession. He displayed attention and care to all cases before the Court,
striving to dispose of cases and to prevent an accumulation of undecided cases. He felt that justice
delayed was justice denied. He was patient and attentive when hearing cases.
Chief Justice Pearson was always ready to meet the responsibilities and duties of his office. He could
look through a case and understand the facts and points of law involved.
His style of composition in his opinions was not marked with the elegance of classic culture. Instead he
had a power of appropriate diction and ability to clarify his thoughts precisely. He was able to gather the
most complicated facts (Page 300 of the book) and apply the proper legal principles. He often used
homely phrases and illustrations taken from everyday life to explain the matter under discussion.
In 1829 Pearson became a member of the North Carolina legislature and served until 1832. In 1835 he
ran against the Honorable Abram Rencher and the Honorable Burton Craig for a seat in Congress. He
used all of his energies in opposition to the spirit of nullification, which was rife in the South. He
believed in the fundamental doctrine of American independence and freedom and that all political
power was derived from the people. He felt that the American people established the Constitution and
that the (Page 301 of the book) Constitution was a covenant of a perpetual union, linking the American
people into a great nation. He felt that this was not a loose confederation between independent states
that could be dissolved by the action of one of the States of the Confederacy.
He also understood the true principles of State sovereignty, that States should control the
administration of local affairs, should secure, protect, and enforce individual and local rights, and
exercise all of the reserve powers not delegated to the Federal government. He felt that our general
government should adjust and mold the principles of State and National sovereignty in a harmonious
system that would sustain, strengthen, and vitalize each other.
He felt that the purpose of the founding fathers could only be accomplished by preserving the Union,
which was formed by the Constitution.
He was defeated in the 1835 election by the Honorable Abram Rencher, (Page 302 of the book) who was
a State’s Right Democrat but not an advocate of the doctrines of nullification. After this defeat Pearson
devoted himself to the profession of law. He had no political record until his celebrated letter in July,
1868- “An appeal to the calm judgment of North Carolinians,” where he explained in patriotic terms why
he supported General Grant for the Presidency of the United States.
Chief Justice Pearson was an old-line Whig and was sometimes called a Federalist because he so firmly
believed in the constitutional supremacy of the general government, was such a supporter of the Union,
and was so opposed to the doctrines of secession and nullification. He never held extreme opinions or
expressed his views offensively, nor did he allow his views to influence his judicial decisions. He
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earnestly wished that the bitter sectional political animosities could be soothed and not transmitted as
an inheritance of hatred forever.
Pearson watched as the clouds of civil war gathered and was sorrowful when North Carolina left the
Union. (Page 303 of the book) He was loyal to his native State, sympathizing in the sorrows and
misfortunes of people. He was proud of the endurance and deeds of North Carolina soldiers.
In 1863 the civil war turned against the South. The Confederate Government was trying to win against
overwhelming odds and disastrous defeats. In the process, conscription laws with unjust discriminations
were passed by Congress. Military escorts began visiting homes to arrest unwilling conscripts, forcing
them to fight in a cause in which they had no personal interest and against the Union government they
still loved. During this time military authority became the law of the land and many of the fundamental
principles of constitutional freedoms were disregarded.
At this time Chief Justice Pearson was presented with requests for writs of habeas corpus to protect and
secure the legal and constitutional rights of citizens, citizens who fled to the civil courts for protection
from the oppressions of military power. Pearson issued the writs, stating clearly the supremacy of civil
over military authority. Persons who had been illegally detained were discharged from custody. The War
Department at Richmond tried to disregard the decision of Judge Pearson but he was upheld by
Governor Vance who felt it was his duty to uphold the supremacy of civil law when declared by judicial
authority.
(Page 304 of the book) After his 1868 election as Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court,
Pearson found himself in the midst of many situations presenting difficult legal questions. These
situations and legal questions were caused by the war and Reconstruction measures that followed. Slave
property had constituted a large part of the wealth of the State. With its abolition, financing for railway
improvements was disrupted; the State banks went broke; the State labor system and industrial
interests became disorganized; and many citizens went bankrupt. This gave rise to a large number of
court cases. Numerous remedial statutes and ordinances were enacted in legislatures and conventions,
making many innovations and changes in our old system of government. Many of these innovations and
changes were ill-considered and were frequently amended or repealed. The system of pleading and
procedure in the courts, a system that had been derived from the judicial wisdom of the ages, was
changed and a new system of civil procedure was established. The difficulties surrounding the courts
during this time were increased by the bitter partisan contests that divided and estranged the citizens of
the State. The courts and judges were continually denounced in the public press and during political
campaigns. Many members of the bar, some in high positions of leadership and influence, condemned
the justices of the Supreme Court based upon the unjust statements of the press, party animosity, or
political defeat. However, the Court exercised its power in right reason, using well-established
precedents. (Page 305 of the book) The justices acted from a high sense of duty in maintaining the rights
and dignity of the court, not from any influence by personal animosity or prejudice.
The following information is found in the Biography file, Pearson Folder 2 of 2. “The Late Chief Justice,
Funeral Obsequies, His Remains Deposited in Oakwood Cemetery” Raleigh News and Observer,
January 10, 1878
It was reported by the Raleigh News and Observer that the funeral service for Chief Justice Richmond
Mumford Pearson would be held on January 10, 1878. However, a telegram was received stating that his
son, Richmond Pearson, would arrive at midnight and the funeral would be held at 3:30 p.m. on January
9. Barely a third of the residents of the city had heard of the change in plans.
Christ Church was well-filled long before the service began despite the sudden change. At 3:30 p.m. the
pall bearers entered the rotunda of the Capitol and received the body, then lying in state, from the
Guard of Honor and conveyed it to Christ Church. The service was held by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Lyman,
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assisted by Rev. Marshall, in the form of the Protestant Episcopal Church. The body was then conveyed
to Oakwood Cemetery where Bishop Lyman concluded the service.
The service was deeply touching as Bishop Lyman’s somber tone combined with the grief of the Chief
Justice’s widow. Every heart beat in sympathy for her.
The following information is found in the Biography file, Pearson Folder 2 of 2. “Yadkin’s Great
Jurist—Judge Pearson: Lawyer, Educator, Politician, Supreme Court Justice” by Lewis Brumfield, pages
1 and 4, Yadkin Ripple, January 5, 1978.
(Page 1) Richmond Mumford Pearson was born in Davie County in what is now Cooleemee in 1805. He
moved to Yadkin County in 1848 at about the same time he was first elected associate justice of the
state supreme court.
He built a home school in the northern section of Yadkin County in a wilderness setting. It was close to
the main road from Huntsville to Rockford, the two most important towns in the area in that day. At
that time Rockford was the county seat of Surry (prior to Yadkin County seceding from Surry). Also, at
that time law schools were not associated with universities or colleges. People became lawyers by
working or “reading law” with noted lawyers or judges until they were ready to take the bar
examination.
Pearson chose the location of his home and school so that his law students could attend court in
Rockford but still be in a secluded setting that allowed the students to concentrate on their studies. He
wanted a place where the excitement of society would not distract his students.
His law school was extremely successful, educating a generation of lawyers between 1848 and 1878. He
educated six state supreme court justices, two of whom became chief justices, and several governors,
congressmen, and judges.
Pearson’s father, also named Richmond, was a Captain in the Revolutionary War. He fought a duel with
Tory leader Captain Samuel Bryan to win the local militia for the patriot cause. Pearson’s mother was a
Mayflower descendant, eighth in line from Elder William Brewster, a leader of the Pilgrim fathers.
Pearson’s half-brother, Joseph, was a U. S. Congressman who married the daughter of the first U. S.
Supreme Court Justice John Jay. Another half-brother, Jessie, was a Major General in the North Carolina
Militia. He fought a duel with General Montford Stokes who later became Governor of North Carolina.
Pearson’s half-sister, Betsy, married Colonel John Stokes, brother of Montford Stokes. Col. John Stokes
became a U. S. District Court Judge and Stokes County is named for him.
Chief Justice Pearson’s wife was Margaret Williams Pearson of the Panther Creek Williamses of Little
Yadkin. (Little Yadkin is the part of Forsyth County, just across the Yadkin River, that was part of Yadkin
County until 1928.) She was the daughter of Col. John Williams who moved to Tennessee, served as a
soldier under Andrew Jackson, and served as a U. S. Senator from 1815-1823.
Chief Justice Pearson’s daughter Ellen married Daniel G. Fowle, one of Pearson’s students who later
became Governor. His son John was a Lieutenant in the Confederacy and was lost at sea in a hurricane in
the 1880’s. His daughter Sallie married a Hobson and moved to Alabama where her husband was a
Confederate Officer and later became a Superior Court Judge. His daughter Mary married Hayne Davis, a
prominent Salisbury attorney. His daughters Margaret and Laura died young. His son Richmond moved
to Asheville and served as a U. S. Congressman and Minister to Greece and Persia.
Efforts to restore the law school and grounds began in 1965 with the Yadkin Historical Society. In 1968
the title to the land surrounding the law school was secured and in 1970 a commission was appointed to
oversee the restoration. $45,000 in funding was received from the federal and state governments,
foundations, and local sources. Those funds were used to re-construct the entrance roads, put in
electricity and telephone service, stabilize building walls, replace the roof, put in flooring and re-
construct a lean-to room. That work was completed in 1972. In 1974-75 $63,000 was spent in building a
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park and restoring the outside of the building. This made the Richmond Hill Law School the first
combination historical site and state park in North Carolina.
Chief Justice Pearson graduated with honor from the University of North Carolina in 1823. He studied
law and was admitted to the bar in 1829. He began his practice in Salisbury but moved to Mocksville. He
served in the state legislature from 1829- 1833. He ran for Congress unsuccessfully in 1835 as a member
of the Federalist- Whig faction. The Federalist Party was the party of George Washington and Chief
Justice John Marshall. The party had almost faded from the scene and been succeeded by the Whig
Party in 1835. The Whig Party was later succeeded by the Republican Party. Pearson’s philosophy of the
more conservative founding fathers can be seen in his alignment with the Federalist Party.
Even though he was aligned with the conservative heritage of the founding fathers, the Democratic
legislature elected him to be an associate justice of the state supreme court in 1848. He established his
law school in Yadkin County the same year.
He used the teaching methods of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle in his law school. He would assign
readings and then examine the students by questioning them in his office or while walking on the
grounds.
Pearson never expressed his views of the Civil War but based on his beliefs in the conservative heritage
of the founding fathers he had no great enthusiasm for the Confederacy. There was much opposition to
the war in this section of the state and Pearson sympathized with his neighbors in Yadkin and Davie
Counties. During the war his court continued to upheld traditional freedoms over temporary policies
exercised with the excuse of war-time emergency. He held that those who did not want to serve in the
Confederate Army should not be forced to become soldiers. Pearson remained courageous in that
stance but in 1864 his colleagues on the state supreme court, under severe pressure from the
Confederate government, outvoted him in Gatlin vs. Walton.
At the end of the war a convention was held in Raleigh to draw up a new state constitution. Judge
Pearson was a candidate to represent Yadkin County. (Page 4) He was defeated by Thomas Haynes. This
was a most extraordinary election, a Chief Justice running for the legislature. It would be illegal today
but Civil War times were extraordinary. In the election of 1868 Pearson ran for re-election as Chief
Justice. Carpetbaggers controlled most of the state government and most of the old establishment
figures had been removed from office. Pearson was a favorite of both the carpetbaggers and the
regulars and was elected without opposition for ten years.
After his re-election as Chief Justice he encountered trouble when he got into politics and advocated for
the election of Republican Ulysses Grant as president. This enraged the old line Democrats in the state
and they signed a protest against Pearson’s political activity. He was so powerful though that he and
others managed to get those who had signed the protest temporarily disbarred.
In 1870 Judge Pearson became involved in criminal case appeals growing from the bloody Kirk – Holden
War. This case resulted when a county official was murdered in the courthouse in Yanceyville in Caswell
County. On appeal, Pearson held for the carpetbaggers instead of the prominent Caswell men involved.
There was a movement in the legislature to impeach Pearson but it failed.
The next year Governor W. W. Holden of Greensboro, an ally of Pearson’s in the Federalist, Whig,
Republican tradition, and author of the 1868 Constitution was impeached despite his reputation as a
good governor by detached observers. As Chief Justice, Pearson presided over the proceedings, the first
impeachment trial of a North Carolina governor. Despite his considerable power and his sympathy for
Gov. Holden, Pearson refrained from influencing the legislators and Gov. Holden was impeached.
Pearson continued as Chief Justice into the 1870’s. He rendered many important decisions but some say
his greatest influence was in teaching. Possibly the most remarkable thing about his career was that he
was the only high official in the state to serve through the stormy pre-Civil War days, the war itself, and
then through reconstruction. It is a tribute to him that he had the respect of his political opponents as
well as those who believed as he did and was able to serve through such turbulent times.
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Toward the end of his term in 1878 the old-line Democrats were gathering force. Pearson had alienated
them by trying to keep peace during Reconstruction but that was ending. It was doubtful that he would
be re-elected, especially at the age of 73. He was in his carriage on his way to Winston to catch the train
to Raleigh to hold the last session of court of his term when he had an attack. He was taken to Wilson’s
Hotel where he died on January 5.
Gov. Zeb Vance appointed W. N. H. Smith as Pearson’s successor. When the next election came up
Pearson’s son-in-law Daniel Fowle and David Schenck ran for Chief Justice against Smith. Both Fowle and
Schenck were law students under Pearson. Smith, the incumbent won the election. Fowle later became
governor and Schenck became a judge.
There is not much about Chief Justice Pearson in contemporary North Carolina history books though he
was one of the most important and most extraordinary of the Chief Justices of our state. He was not an
ardent supporter of the Civil War and therefore of little interest to romantic historians of the Civil War.
He was not in the Democratic party tradition that has reigned in our state. He would be known today as
a Republican- living in a heavily Democratic state. Those who write our state’s history are of the liberal
Democratic tradition and have little to say about Pearson.
Pearson was a great but unorthodox educator, leaving him outside the history of the great educational
establishments of the state. And he was a protector of individual liberties rather than governmental
authority when such a stance was not popular. All of these reasons make other parts of the state want
to forget Judge Pearson.
A portrait of Judge Pearson hangs in the Yadkin County Courthouse along with other Yadkin lawyers. The
portrait came from Glenwood, the home of the Glenn family near Enon. It was presented by Robert
Howes. The portrait had hung in Glenwood for over 100 years. Judge Pearson often visited Glenwood as
he was connected by marriage through his wife to the Glenns.
The following information is found in the Biography file, Pearson Folder 2 of 2. “Chief Justice Pearson:
The Issues of War Ruling in Conscription Cases Irked Military Leadership in State, South” by Chester
Davis, Sunday Journal and Sentinel Winston-Salem, N.C., Sunday Morning, February 3, 1963.
Early in 1863 12 state militia officers surprised a group of 16 army deserters in a Yadkinville school
house. A fight ensued and two men on both sides were killed. Several of the deserters were arrested
and turned over to Confederate military authorities.
Lawyers representing the arrested men appeared before Chief Justice Richmond Pearson at Richmond
Hill and requested that he issue a writ of habeas corpus (a writ releasing a person from illegal arrest and
detention). It was believed by some in Yadkin County that Judge Pearson wanted to declare the
Confederate Conscription and Exemptions Act unconstitutional and that his would be his opportunity to
do so. However, the Judge did not go that far.
Judge Pearson issued the writs and heard the cases. He ordered the men released on the grounds that
the original arrests were illegal. He ruled that only Confederate troops could enforce the conscription
acts and the arrests by state militia were illegal.
After learning of Pearson’s ruling, James A Sedden, Confederate Secretary of War ordered Major Peter
Mallet, the army’s recruiting and conscription officer in North Carolina, to disregard the ruling. Judge
Pearson asked “Who made the Secretary of War a judge?”
Gov. Zebulon Vance supported Pearson, believing that the Secretary of War was entitled to his
interpretation of the acts of the Confederate Congress but those interpretations were subject to review
by the civil courts.
By June, 1863 when the full court met in Raleigh more than 30 habeas corpus cases had arisen. Pearson
decided 27 of them at Richmond Hill and ordered 18 of those 27 released. The basic pattern of each
case was the same in that individual rights had been violated by an increasing desperate government
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using more desperate measures. Pearson repeatedly cited the legal principle, fiat justitia ruat coelum,
let justice be done though the heavens fall.
The heavens almost fell. Confederate authorities operated under the principle inter arma silent leges, in
the midst of arms the law is silent (or the highest law is the safety of the state) and they were desperate.
They did not want a confrontation with the government of North Carolina but they could not tolerate
Pearson’s rulings.
Pearson never ruled the Conscription Acts unconstitutional but many men in the army believed he did.
In April, 1863 General William Dorsey Pender reported 200 desertions in 30 days to General Robert E.
Lee. Pender felt the trouble was that the deserters believed that when they arrived in North Carolina no
one would bother them, even though that was not true. Pearson came to be known as “the friend and
protector of conscripts and deserters.” Men left Lee’s army at a time when the South was struggling to
survive and Lee’s generals believed it was because of Pearson.
But Judge Pearson was supported by many of the state papers. William Wood Holden, editor of the
Fayetteville Observer explained that Lincoln had suspended the writ of habeas corpus in some areas and
that if we expected to retain any rights we could not sink to that level that allowed the military to
subvert civil authority.
Moreover, Pearson’s rulings were supported by Governor Vance, the majority of the members of the
General Assembly, and the majority of the North Carolina delegation to the Confederate Congress.
Early in 1864 as the situation of the Confederacy became more critical, Congress abolished the right to
buy an exemption from military service by hiring a substitute. And a crisis began.
In 1862 Edward Walton hired a substitute to fulfill his military service. The substitute was accepted for
service and Walton was exempted. In 1864 after the privilege of substitution was abolished Walton was
again conscripted. He resisted and was arrested. Walton appealed to Pearson for a writ of habeas
corpus. Pearson ruled that the government made a contract with Walton in 1862 when it accepted his
substitute and could not later repudiate that contract. He ordered Walton released.
This ruling caused General W. H. C. Whiting, who was in charge of the Confederate troops in
Wilmington, to write to President Jefferson Davis calling Pearson a traitor. Davis probably agreed with
Whiting but was reluctant to risk an open break with Governor Vance. Davis also felt that when the full
court met in Raleigh in June, 1864 the two associate justices would overrule Pearson. For those reasons
he postponed any action concerning the ruling.
In the meantime, Pearson struck another blow. Governor Vance had ruled that all state employees,
including those working in the state-owned cotton mills were exempt from military service. Confederate
military authorities disagreed but Pearson upheld the Governor.
When the full court did convene in Raleigh in June, 1864 the Confederate government asked for a
review of the Walton case. Pearson remained steadfast in his previous ruling but the two associate
justices, William Horn Battle and Matthias Manly, disagreed and overruled him.
When the war ended President Andrew Johnson appointed editor William Wood Holden provisional
governor of North Carolina. Holden reappointed Pearson, Battle, and Manly to the state Supreme Court.
Later in the year all state offices were vacated, Pearson sought a federal pardon and re-entered politics,
running in Yadkin County as a delegate to the 1865 Reconstruction convention.
Pearson was beaten soundly by Thomas Haynes, much to the surprise of everyone except Governor
Vance. One observer explained the defeat when he wrote that Pearson did not preserve sobriety or
temper while Haynes did. However, Pearson preserved his public stature and was reappointed as Chief
Justice of the State Supreme Court in late 1865.
In 1868, under the new constitution, the membership of the state Supreme Court was increased from
three to five and those justices were elected by vote of the people instead of the state legislature.
Pearson was the nominee from both the Radical-Republican and Conservative-Democratic Parties. He
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was elected almost unanimously, believing it reflected his efforts to have no party affiliations in his
rulings as a judge.
However, Pearson misinterpreted the vote as neither party felt comfortable that he would stand by it.
He felt so comfortable with his election that he wrote a public letter endorsing Grant for President and
Colfax for Vice-President of the United States. He said he did so to avoid a race war in North Carolina
and to ease the state’s readmission to the Union.
The Republicans gladly used the letter as a major campaign document in the 1868 election. The
Democrats, on the other hand, complained that Pearson had broken the Supreme Court’s policy of
staying out of partisan politics and that he had written the letter in an effort to gain an appointment to
the U. S. Supreme Court.
The letter led Bartholomew Figures Moore, the “father of the North Carolina bar”, and 108 attorneys
(about 20% of the state bar) to sign “A Solemn Protest of the Bar of North Carolina Against Judicial
Interference in Political Affairs.” Pearson was so enraged in the action that he started contempt
proceedings against Moore and all of those who prepared “The Protest.” The Chief Justice was unable to
make the contempt proceedings stick.
As the elections of 1870 drew near, Governor Holden was anxious to consolidate his position and
decided to crack down on the openly active Ku Klux Klan. An opportunity presented itself when state
senator and Holden supporter John W. Stephens was murdered in the Caswell County courthouse. At
about the same time a Negro Republican leader was murdered by klansmen in Alamance County.
Holden declared that Caswell and Alamance Counties were in a state of insurrection on June 8, 1870. He
ordered Colonel George W. Kirk and his regiment of volunteers in the Union Army into the area to
impose military law and restore order.
On July 5 Kirk arrested Adolphus G. Moore and two other men in Graham. No reason was given for the
arrests and no opportunity to post bail was offered. Similar arrests followed.
On July 16, a group of prominent lawyers led by former governors William. A. Graham and Thomas
Bragg presented Pearson a petition for the release of Moore and the others arrested by Kirk. Pearson
granted writs of habeas corpus. The writs were served on Kirk on the 17th but he refused to release the
prisoners, explaining that he had arrested them by order of the governor and he would release them
only by order of the governor.
On the 18th Pearson wrote the governor requesting he order Kirk to release the men but Holden refused
to do so. Pearson ruled then that the Governor had the right to impose martial law, that imposing
martial law did not suspend the writ of habeas corpus or the obligation of the military to abide by civil
authority, that Kirk could not be held accountable since he acted on direct orders of the governor, and
that since Holden refused to honor the writ the court was helpless. He concluded “The power of the
judiciary is exhausted and the responsibility must rest with the executive.”
Moore’s attorneys argued that the court was not exhausted. They believed that Pearson could issue a
Posse Comitatus (the power of the county) and instruct the sheriffs of Caswell and Alamance Counties to
take the prisoners from Kirk, by force if necessary.
Pearson would not do so, as he believed that the persons who would be required to execute the order
had been declared insurgents by the governor. He felt that such an action on his part would usurp the
executive function and trigger a civil war.
On July 26 Pearson sent the writs and a copy of his opinion to Holden who acknowledged them with a
note indicating that the Chief Justice had done his duty and he would do his.
Moore’s attorneys then turned to the Federal Courts. Holden appealed to President Grant for support
but Grant refused to support Holden. Instead George H. Brooks, judge of the federal district court in
Salisbury ordered the prisoners released. With that, Kirk and Holden had to comply and the prisoners
were released.
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Largely because of the Kirk-Holden war the Conservative-Democrat party took the majority in both
houses of the Legislature in 1870. The takeover was bitter and there were calls for impeachment of both
Holden and Pearson. Josiah Turner, Jr., the editor of the Raleigh “Sentinel” was the most vocal. He
believed that Holden had “paid off” Pearson by offering him the post of code commissioner. The post
paid $2,500, the same as Pearson made as Chief Justice and Pearson would retain his seat on the bench.
Pearson refused the post.
But Turner continued his criticism of Pearson, saying that Pearson was unafraid of presidents and
governors in times of war but afraid of Governor Holden and a band of cutthroats in times of peace.
Pearson suffered through the criticisms, pointing out that in the Civil War habeas corpus cases he had
the full support of Governor Vance and the state’s military force. In the Moore case he had neither the
governor’s support nor that of the military and issuing the Posse Comitatus would have incited a new
civil war.
Holden was impeached, the first governor of any state to be impeached. Chief Justice Pearson presided
at the trial. He presided fairly by all accounts. Pearson expected to be next as Turner boasted that the
demand for Pearson’s impeachment was greater than that for Holden.
Pearson’s law students were then in prominent positions in the bar, the bench, and councils of state.
They rallied to Pearson’s support, quickly defeating the move for impeachment. Pearson remained the
Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. He was the only person to serve the state in high
office during both the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Pearson was the focal point of two great struggles. During the Civil War he was forced to rule on issues
between the needs of a struggling government and the rights of individuals. In Reconstruction he was
forced to rule between two hate-ridden and uncompromising forces.
When the time for the January, 1878 session of the Court came, Pearson left Richmond Hill with a driver
for Winston. He intended to take a train to Raleigh from there. Three miles from Richmond Hill the judge
slumped forward. Thinking the judge to be asleep the driver continued to Glenn’s Ferry across the
Yadkin River. There it was determined that the judge had suffered a stroke. He was taken to Wilson’s
Hotel in Winston and was attended by Doctors Roan and Bynum. He died on Saturday, January 5, 1878
at 10:35PM.
The following information is found in the Biography file, Pearson Folder 2 of 2. “Famed Yadkin Jurist
Held Steadfast to Legal Logic” by Chester Davis, Sunday Journal and Sentinel Winston-Salem, N.C.,
Sunday Morning, February 3, 1963.
In 1860 the question of secession was the dominant issue in North Carolina. Richmond Mumford
Pearson, at the age of 55, was in his prime. He had 22 years of experience as a judge- 10 years on the
Circuit Court (present day Superior Court), 10 years as an Associate Justice on the state Supreme Court
and two years as the Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court.
Pearson was admired for his ability to go to the heart of a legal problem and solve it logically. He
believed in correct reasoning over strict adherence to legal principles. In his court a legal principle
improperly applied had no more status than a discredited witness.
Pearson felt that the common law was ever changing and his goal was law that was “reasonable and
just” not simply “fixed and steady.”
Pearson was sometimes accused of “judicial legislation” because he was not fastbound to past decisions.
However, many of the changes his opinions brought to the law survive. He analyzed cases and often
brought original and always logical opinions. In North Carolina he achieved a stature few other judges
have attained. His law school at Richmond Hill placed many graduates in prominent positions across the
state.
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Pearson, a Whig, wanted no part of secession. When that became a reality for North Carolina, Pearson
abided by that decision and remained loyal to the state.
When the Confederacy formed it did not create a national Supreme Court. Instead the state Supreme
Courts took on increasing importance, importance they had never had in the Union. As long as the
Confederacy was able on the battlefield there was little conflict between the Confederate government
and the State Courts. However, when conditions on the battlefield worsened the Confederate
government began to take desperate measures and the conflict with the state Supreme Courts began.
The conflict started with the Conscription and Exemption Acts of 1862. Under these laws certain classes
were exempt from military service and a man could hire someone to take his place in the army. These
laws were unpopular in North Carolina, particularly in Northwest North Carolina, as they helped to
support the feeling that the conflict was “a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight.”
The following information is found in the Biography file, Pearson Folder 2 of 2. “Legal Legend” by
Mary Giunca, Winston-Salem Journal, Saturday July 26, 2008.
Richmond Mumford Pearson ran his law school at Richmond Hill in Yadkin County from 1848 until he
died in 1878. It was an unorthodox law school in that Pearson would gather his students under the trees
and conduct question and answer sessions in the Socratic style of teaching. Historians believe that
Pearson placed the school in a remote area because he got the land from his first wife or he felt that the
lack of the distractions of a city would keep his law students focused on their studies.
School was in session from April to Christmas and a student was usually certified for graduation after a
year or two of study.
Pearson was opposed to secession and became known for his rulings against conscription into the
Confederate army during the Civil War. He used the writ of habeas corpus to free those who felt they
were unjustly conscripted.
Pearson brought his first wife, Margaret Williams, to Richmond Hill in 1848. She was not accustomed to
the isolation of the estate and missed the engagement of society. She found Richmond Hill unbearable
and was declared insane. She died in 1855.
Pearson married Mary McDowell Bynum in 1859 with a detailed prenuptial agreement that even set the
height of the porch of the house.
After Pearson died in 1878, Bynum left the house and not much was known about the estate until
restoration efforts started in the 1960’s.
The following information is found in the Biography file, Pearson Folder 2 of 2. “Group Preserving
History of School” by Andy Matthews, Winston-Salem Journal, Sunday, September 8 1991.
Chief Justice Richmond M. Pearson and his wife moved to an isolated 290 acre section of Surry County
near the Yadkin River in 1848. He wanted a secluded place where he could live and work without
distractions. The area he chose was near Rockford in a part of Surry County that would become Yadkin
County a few years later.
Pearson built an eight-room Georgian house where he lived. His law school was held in a modest
building on the lawn. He also built a group of cabins where his law students boarded for $7.50 a month.
The group of cabins was known as “Logtown.”
While it was the perfect environment for Pearson and his law students, his wife, Margaret, was used to
the attractions of city life and was unable to adjust to the quiet and solitude. She found it boring and it is
felt that it contributed to her mental illness. Even though she was taken to specialists for her illness she
had to be institutionalized and died in 1855.
However, the environment at Richmond Hill contributed to the success of the law school. The students
were able to talk with other lawyers and judges and attend court in Rockford which was the seat of
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Surry County at the time. Andrew Jackson and Andrew Johnson, two former presidents practiced law in
Rockford.
The following information is found in the Biography file, Pearson. This is a thin red folder containing a
series of articles published in the Salisbury Post. This particular article is entitled “Pearson family
produced line of finest legal minds” Sixth of seven parts, by George Raynor, The Salisbury Post, Friday,
September 12, 1986, pages 1D and 3D.
(Page 1D) In the period prior to the Civil War Richmond Mumford Pearson was caught between his love
for the Union and his love for his homeland. He chose to continue his pursuit of the truth through the
law during secession and the ensuing Civil War.
Richmond Mumford Pearson was born at Richmond Hill plantation in present day Davie County in 1805.
Joseph Pearson, his half-brother, was a Representative to the U.S. Congress and took Richmond to
Washington, D. C. for his primary school education. Joseph was a lawyer and believed in a strong Union.
After his primary education was complete Richmond returned to North Carolina. He attended John
Mushat’s academy in Statesville in preparation for entry into the University of North Carolina. He
excelled in academics, sharing top honors in his class of 23 students. Tales of a glorious and drunken
1823 graduation celebration indicate he may have also learned of the pleasures of the bottle.
Pearson declined the offer of a job as a tutor at the university and studied law at Leonard Henderson’s
law school. When he completed those studies he was accepted to the bar and started his law practice in
Salisbury. He was elected to the North Carolina House and served from 1829 to 1833. (Page 3D) He
concentrated on two subjects while in the House, transportation and representation.
He chose transportation because it was vital to moving goods produced in the interior of North Carolina
to the ports on the coast. River transportation all the way was not feasible due to portions of the river
that were not navigable. Though unsuccessful, he proposed the construction of a railroad from
Fayetteville to the Yadkin River area of Salisbury.
Pearson chose the subject of representation because he felt, as did his father and brothers, that the
eastern part of the state had more representatives than the western sections. He called for a
constitutional convention to correct that.
In 1835 Pearson ran for the United States House of Representatives but finished last among three
candidates. During the campaign he spoke against secession and the doctrine of nullification, the
doctrines that led to the Civil War.
Although he lost the election, Pearson impressed his fellow lawyers with his knowledge of the law and
his intellect. He moved to Mocksville in 1835 and in 1837 he accepted an election to the Circuit
(Superior) Court. In 1848 he was chosen as associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. He
served on that court until his death in 1878; the last 20 years he was the Chief Justice.
When Pearson moved to Mocksville in 1835 he opened a law school. The school was on Gaither Street,
near Main and his students boarded in the “White House”, a hotel.
In 1848 he moved his residence and law school to what is now the northern part of Yadkin County. At
the time the school was located in Surry County, across the Yadkin River from Rockford, then the Surry
County seat. Why he chose a location that was so isolated is unknown. The only possible advantage was
the proximity to Rockford where his students could visit the courts.
Pearson built a large brick house and named it Richmond Hill. He also built two rows of log houses as
living quarters for the law students since the law school was in such an isolated place. Students found
opportunities for recreation along the Yadkin River or in Rockford. One former student said that in
Rockford the students prepared “to practice at more bars than one.”
However, Pearson’s knowledge and teaching was highly sought after and the law school became the
most famous in the state despite its isolation. He estimated that he taught over 1,000 students and the
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school did not close until two years before his death. He taught many who went on to lead North
Carolina in law and politics. Many of his former students supported Pearson when he faced
impeachment after the Civil War.
Pearson’s teaching method was informal and he did not depend on textbooks or law notes, relying
instead on his phenomenal memory. It is said that one of his fellow justices asked Pearson about a point
of law that had him stumped. Pearson replied that he would find the answer in the middle section of the
second volume of Saunder’s report, about halfway down a left hand page. Pearson explained that he
remembered reading it 40 years prior. The associate found the answer where Pearson said it would be.
Pearson favored the Socratic teaching method, using questions to develop skills in logical thinking.
When students strayed onto incorrect paths, Pearson would guide them back to the correct line of
thinking, He did the same with lawyers arguing before him when he was on the bench.
Pearson’ first wife, Margaret McClung Williams, was the daughter of U. S. Senator Joseph Williams of
Tennessee. Her family was wealthy and owned land in the western part of Forsyth County. Margaret
loved a more involved social life than the isolation of Richmond Hill offered. She also suffered from
some sort of mental problem. It was also said that Pearson was a drinker and although that never
caused problems in his duties it did adversely affect the marriage. Pearson’s drinking, along with the
isolation and mental problems leads to a sense of an unhappy marriage. She and Pearson had 10
children but only three survived to maturity.
The following information is found in the Biography file, Pearson. This is a thin red folder containing a
series of articles published in the Salisbury Post. This particular article is entitled “Pearson challenged
conscription, Last of seven parts, by George Raynor, The Salisbury Post, Saturday, September 13,
1986, pages 3 and 8.
(Page 3) During the formation of the United States the founding fathers recognized that the strength of
the whole was greater than that of the 13 parts. They realized that the 13 parts were divers in how they
derived their wealth, what drove their economies, and what their ambitions were. The representatives
of the 13 colonies knew that the strength of a new nation would be found in a federal system that
placed states rights secondary to national rights.
Challenges to that spirit rose in the early 1800’s in a line of thought that if the states came together
voluntarily to form a union they had an equal right to secede from that union. And a second claim was
that even if a state remained in the Union it had the right to nullify laws it did not care to obey.
Richmond Mumford Pearson opposed both of those lines of thinking, remaining a staunch Federalist in
support of a central government. He became a member of the North Carolina Supreme Court and in
1858 its chief justice. The Civil War and Reconstruction would test his beliefs and knowledge of the law.
Pearson did not want North Carolina to secede but he remained loyal to his home state. He also
remained loyal to his principles by staying on the bench. He was the only major officeholder in North
Carolina to serve continuously through the Civil War and Reconstruction.
The first challenge came in 1863 when a group of 16 men, either army deserters or conscripts, were
trying to flee to Union lines. The group hid in a Yadkin County schoolhouse where a group of 12 state
militia officers tried to capture them. A fight ensued in which several were killed and the rest were
captured and turned over to state military authorities. Lawyers representing the captured men
appeared before Pearson at Richmond Hill requesting writs of habeas corpus that would free the men
from illegal detention. Pearson granted the writs based on the grounds that only Confederate military
and not state militia could enforce the Confederate conscription act.
That decision reached James A Sedden, Confederate secretary of War, and he ordered the state
conscription officer to ignore the court. Governor Zeb Vance felt the Confederate military was running
roughshod over state’s rights and the power of the state civil courts. He reminded Sedden that even
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though the War Department was not bound by the decision of the state courts the executive of that
state was.
Conscription was not only unpopular among many but in many cases unfair and this first action by
Pearson was followed by many more. Thirty more habeas corpus petitions were on the June, 1863 court
docket but Pearson handled 27 in his Richmond Hill “chambers.” 18 of those 27 were freed. Although
many, especially soldiers, thought Pearson had declared the conscription law unconstitutional, that was
not true. As the war grew on the Confederate ranks grew thinner and conscription officers used any
practice available to gain conscripts. As their practices were exposed and found illegal, conscripts were
freed.
Pearson was not alone in opposition to the illegal practices. Governor Vance also found himself in
constant conflict with Confederate President Jefferson Davis on a wide range of subjects including
conscription. Vance was dealing with troubles at home as there was a small civil war in Randolph,
Davidson, and Guilford counties. In Yadkin, Wilkes, and other mountain counties Union sympathizers
outnumbered the secessionists.
Confederate authorities tried to counter Pearson’s belief in the Latin dictum that “justice must be done
though the heavens fall” with their own Latin dictum that “in the midst of arms the law is silent.” (Page
8) Judge Pearson ruled against the Confederacy when he ruled that a man who had escaped service in
1862 by hiring a substitute could not be drafted under a later law that abolished the law that allowed a
substitute to be hired. The contract of 1862 stood.
Pearson again ruled against the Confederacy when he upheld Governor Vance who had declared that all
state employees, including those who worked in state-operated cotton mills, were exempt from military
service. The Confederate authorities called Pearson a traitor.
Pearson had his supporters, including W. W. Holden, the editor of the Raleigh Standard. Also, the editor
of the Fayetteville Observer wrote that we must not submit to subversion of civil authority by the
military.
Pearson’s rulings had encouraged desertion in the army ranks, a major problem in the late stages of the
war. General Pender wrote to General Lee in 1863 that he believed the trouble was that the deserters
felt that when they reached North Carolina they would not be bothered.
In 1864 Pearson’s ruling on the case concerning hiring a substitute was appealed and his two court
colleagues, W. H. Battle and Matthias Manly, voted against his original ruling. Pearson’s power on
wartime acts was effectively over but then so was the war for all practical purposes.
When the war ended Pearson and all officials were suspended from office by the Union until they
received a federal pardon. Pearson wanted to be a delegate in the Reconstruction convention and ran as
a representative of Yadkin County. He was defeated but was reappointed as chief justice later that year.
In 1868 he was elected Chief Justice under a new constitutional law that called for that office to be
decided by popular vote. He was nominated by both the realigned parties, the Radical-Republicans and
the Conservative-Democrats. He won easily, believing that to be a vote of confidence from both sides.
Pearson was so confident that in 1868 he endorsed General Ulysses S. Grant for president. This nearly
ended his judicial career as many saw the action as partisan politics in a bid for appointment to the
United States Supreme Court. He did not receive the appointment but instead incited an effort to
protest his letter of endorsement. B. F. Moore, a leader of the state bar, felt that Pearson had dragged
the judiciary into partisan politics and convinced about 20 per cent of the state bar, approximately 108
attorneys, to sign a letter protesting the endorsement letter. Pearson in turn fought back and tried to
initiate contempt proceedings against Moore and the others. That attempt failed.
At about this same time the whites of the Conservative-Democrat party started an effort to suppress
black voting rights. The Democrats knew that they would not be able to regain power as long as the
blacks came out in large numbers to vote. The violent actions of the emerging Ku Klux Klan were ignored
or subtly encouraged. A supporter of Governor Holden, John W. Stephens, was murdered in Caswell
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County and a Black Republican leader was murdered in Alamance County. In 1870, as conditions in those
areas worsened, Holden declared a state of insurrection. He brought in Colonel George W. Kirk, a
Unionist from Tennessee, and his command of Union Army volunteers to impose military law and order.
Kirk arrested three men in Graham.
Pearson was presented writs of habeas corpus for the release of the men arrested by Colonel Kirk. Since
the men were being held on vague charges and without privilege of bond, Pearson granted the writs and
ordered the men freed. Colonel Kirk refused to release the men claiming that he had been ordered to
arrest them by Governor Holden and that he would release them only if ordered to do so by Holden.
Pearson requested the order to release the men from Holden but Holden refused, claiming that he had
the authority of martial law to suppress an insurrection. Pearson ruled that judiciary power had been
exhausted and that the responsibility to release the men rested in the executive branch.
The defendants’ attorneys claimed, though, that Pearson could call on the power of the county (posse
comitatus) and instruct the sheriffs to take the prisoners from Kirk, using force if necessary. Pearson
pointed out that the Governor felt that the local sheriffs were part of the Klan conspiracies when he
imposed martial law. To use the sheriffs to take the prisoners would supplant executive power and
could cause a civil war between the citizens of the county and Kirk’s forces.
Pearson sent his opinion to Holden who replied that Pearson had done his duty and he would do his.
The prisoners remained in custody of Colonel Kirk.
The defendants’ attorneys took their writs to Federal Judge George H. Brooks in Salisbury. He ordered
the prisoners released and Holden, fearing the threat of federal intervention, ordered Kirk to release
them.
As a result of these actions, the Conservative-Democrat party gained control of both houses of the
General Assembly in an atmosphere of bitterness and revenge. Joseph Turner, Jr. was the editor of the
Raleigh Sentinel and made many attacks on Holden and Pearson. He called Holden’s position “criminal
conduct” and called for Holden’s impeachment. Turner also attacked Pearson but Pearson defended
himself by pointing out the differences in the circumstances regarding his decisions during the war
versus those after the war.
Governor Holden was impeached and narrowly convicted on party lines, the only governor of North
Carolina to be impeached. Surprisingly, Pearson presided at the trial as chief justice. His conduct of the
trial was evenhanded although some say that he subtly guided Holden’s attorneys in their defense of the
governor.
Governor Holden’s impeachment and conviction did not satisfy Turner and he turned his efforts to
having Pearson impeached as well. However, many of Pearson’s former law students were in powerful
political positions and came to defend him. The impeachment effort failed to gain enough support to
even begin a trial.
Pearson served until January, 1878. He left Richmond Hill for Raleigh to attend a new term of court. He
suffered a stroke on the way and was taken to a hotel in Winston. He died of a stroke on January 5. He
lay in state in the rotunda of the state capital and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh.
The following information is found in the Biography file, Pearson. This is a thick red folder containing
the master’s thesis of James Albert Hutchens entitled “The Chief-Justiceship and the Public Career of
Richmond M. Pearson, 1861-1871.” This thesis is dated 1960 and was approved by Hugh T. Lefler,
Advisor.
Page ii: Richmond M. Pearson was a distinguished state judge, known beyond North Carolina for his
application of the principles of law and justice that were developed over centuries of English and
American experience and modified to apply to the needs of justice and their societies and times.
Page iii: Pearson served for 41 years as a state judge, the last 19 as chief justice of the state supreme
court. His actions as a judge during the period from 1861 to 1871 were especially controversial as he
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served during two of the most difficult periods in the history of North Carolina, the Civil War and
Reconstruction.
Page iv: After the Civil War, Pearson did not choose a party and the Conservative-Democrats never
claimed him. He became popularly identified with the Radical-Republicans even though he was not a
politician. When the Conservative-Democrats came to dominate state politics Pearson’s contributions to
North Carolina were not celebrated.
Page v: The decade of 1861-1871 was a great and difficult decade for North Carolina. The Civil War
exacted a toll on everyone in North Carolina, from the troops who fought to those who contributed
goods to the effort. The war also changed the way ordinary citizens were treated by the Confederate
government. Pearson and the state Supreme Court were often found in the difficult and responsible
position of deciding how these matters would be resolved. Pearson is the only public figure of statewide
importance to survive both the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Page 1: Richmond Mumford Pearson was born on June 28, 1805 in the vicinity of Cooleemee.
Page 2: Half-brother Joseph Pearson was a U.S. Congressman from 1809 until 1815 and took Richmond
Mumford Pearson to Washington D.C. for his education. Joseph enrolled Richmond in primary school
and had him baptized by Archbishop John Carroll of the Roman Catholic Church.
Page 3: Richmond returned to North Carolina to prepare for college at John Mushat’s school in
Statesville. Pearson enrolled in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1820 and graduated in
1823. He studied the classics as directed in the college curriculum but spent little time on poetry.
Page 4: Pearson also studied English history and graduated with honors at the age of 18. He was offered
a tutorship at the university but declined.
Page 5: He began the study of law, determined to achieve his dream of becoming the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court. He studied law under Leonard Henderson in Williamsboro in the Roanoke River area for
about two years.
Page 7: He acquired his law license from the Supreme Court in Raleigh on July6, 1829. He started his law
practice in Salisbury. He served in the state House of Commons from 1829-1833, representing Rowan
County.
Page 8: In January, 1832 the House of Commons addressed the need for a new state constitutional
convention. Pearson was in favor of such a convention to address what he felt was an imbalance of
representation between the eastern and western parts of the state. He felt that all citizens should be
equally represented.
Page 9: In 1833, Pearson married Margaret McClung Williams, the daughter of former United States
Senator John Williams of Tennessee. Pearson then started his married life in Mocksville, about halfway
between his birthplace of Cooleemee and his wife’s ancestral home at Panther Creek, now in Forsyth
County. Pearson and wife Margaret had 10 children.
Page 10: In early 1833 while still a member of the House of Commons and still working for a
constitutional convention to address representation, Pearson was nominated to become a judge of the
superior court. Page 11: For some reason Pearson’s name was withdrawn.
Page 11 During this session of the legislature and act was passed to incorporate the “North Carolina
Historical Society.” Pearson was listed as one of the incorporators.
Page 11: Pearson ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Congress as a representative from Salisbury in 1835.
Page 12: Pearson opposed nullification. Pearson felt that when a law was passed by Congress the law
must be followed until it was repealed or the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional.
Page 13: The doctrine of nullification allowed individual states to declare federal laws as
unconstitutional and not follow the laws. Pearson felt that nullification weakened the Union and the
Constitution and amounted to government without laws.
Page 14: Pearson was opposed to secession and nullification. After his election defeat in 1835 Pearson
devoted himself to the legal profession and back to the affairs of North Carolina.
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Page 15: Pearson was elected a superior court judge by the legislature in 1836 and took the oath of
office on January 5, 1837.
Page 17 and 18: In 1848 Pearson transferred his residence to Richmond Hill, the site of his outstanding
law school.
Page 18: Pearson was elected a judge of the supreme court by the state legislature in 1848. He was the
first supreme court judge from the western part of the state, with the west defined as west of a north-
south line running from Caswell to Robeson County.
Page 19: Pearson was commissioned as a supreme court justice on January 17, 1849 by Governor
Charles Manly. Pearson believed that law was a liberal science based on general principles and correct
reasoning, not just a list of decisions on cases. Cases were evidence of what the law was and if cases
were not supported by principle and reason the court was not bound to follow them.
Page 20: In the years 1854-1855 Mrs. Pearson suffered from a mental affliction and died on December
27, 1855. Supreme Court Chief Justice Frederick Nash died on December 4, 1858 and Pearson was
appointed Chief Justice. Pearson married again in September, 1859. His new wife was a widow of John
Gray Bynum of the Morganton-Rutherford area and the daughter of Charles (page 21) McDowell of
Morganton.
Page 21: On the matter of church-state relationships, Pearson felt that although the United States was a
Christian country, Christianity was not established by law and our free institutions require the
separation of church and state.
Page 23: Pearson believed strongly in the union of the states and the “constitutional supremacy of the
general government.” He was opposed to nullification and secession.
Page 24: Pearson used his efforts to prevent secession but when it occurred he remained loyal to the
state, feeling that it was his duty to retain his office.
Page 25: In the absence of a supreme court of the Confederacy the supreme courts of the Confederate
states rose to a level of authority and responsibility previously unknown in the Union. The associate
supreme court justices serving under Pearson at that time were William Horn Battle and Matthias Evans
Manly.
Chapters II and III explain Pearson’s rulings on the writs of habeas corpus in detail. Pearson believed
strongly that the rights of the individual had to be preserved but those rights were challenged by
legislative acts passed by the Confederate Congress and military actions taken by the Confederate Army.
The legislation and military actions that concerned Pearson the most were those regarding conscription.
He received and granted many writs of habeas corpus requesting release from conscription, basing his
rulings on the constitutionality of the conscription laws or the application of those laws. In 1864 one of
Pearson’s ruling concerning conscription and substitutes was overturned by the two associate justices,
Battle and Manly. This allowed the Confederacy to place the necessity of government above the rights
of individuals.
Page 91: At the end of the Civil War, President Andrew Johnson appointed William Woods Holden as the
provisional governor of North Carolina. Holden was charged with assembling a constitutional convention
to adopt measures to re-establish the state as a member of the Union and to re-establish state
government. Holden appointed the existing bench to the same office of state supreme court.
Pearson complied with President Johnson’s amnesty proclamation and applied for pardon for any
actions he had taken that yielded for the confederacy.
Page 92: Pearson explained in his petition for amnesty that he had opposed secession and tried to
prevent the state from doing so. However, after the state seceded he felt it his duty to retain his office
and work to maintain the rights of his fellow citizens. Although the war had caused huge losses he was
glad that the union of the United States had been established as a government and not a compact from
which states could leave at pleasure. He expressed his desire to aid in reorganizing state government
and help North Carolina as a member of the United States.
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Page 93: On August 28, 1865 Governor Holden approved Pearson’s application for pardon.
Page 94: In the fall of 1865 Pearson became a candidate to represent Yadkin County in the state
constitutional convention. He lost to Thomas Haynes.
Page 95: In January, 1866 Pearson was recommended to President Andrew Johnson for appointment to
the United States Supreme Court. In late 1865, the state legislature elected the (Page 96) state supreme
court judges, returning Pearson as chief justice and William H. Battle as associate. Matthias E. Manly was
replaced by Edwin Godwin Reade.
Page 97: In November, 1867 the people voted for a new constitutional convention to bring the state into
conformance with congressional reconstruction.
Page 98: Two changes were made by the convention in regard to the state supreme court. First, the
number of justices increased from three to five. Second, the justices were elected by the people for
eight-year terms instead of a single life-term election by the legislature. In early 1868 the Republican
Party nominated Holden for governor and Pearson, Reade, Robert P. Dick, William B. Rodman, and
Thomas Settle for the state supreme court. The Conservative Party nominated Thomas S. Ashe for
governor and Pearson, Reade, William H. Battle, Matthias E. Manly, and A. S. Merrimon for state
Supreme Court. Pearson and Reade were assured of election since they were nominated by both
parties.
Page 99: The election was held in April, 1868. The new constitution was adopted, Holden was elected
governor, and all of the Republican nominees for state supreme court were elected.
Page 101: Pearson took a bold step on July 20, 1868 when he endorsed General Ulysses S. Grant to
become president of the United States. This act was highly unusual as no one in the judiciary in North
Carolina had ever endorsed any political candidate. Pearson broke the tradition of non-partisanship of
the judiciary and urged the election of the man who had conquered the South, a man regarded as a
Republican-Radical.
Page 102: Pearson believed that he had the support of both the Republicans and Conservatives as he
had been nominated by both in the 1868 election. He felt that the endorsement would be viewed as
“the advice of a good friend who has no motive save the public good.”
Page 109: Bartholomew Figures Moore, the “father of the bar” in North Carolina felt that the political
activity of the judiciary was wrong and he believed it his duty to warn the people and prevent its
reoccurrence. He wrote “A Solemn Protest of the Bar of North Carolina against Judicial Interference in
Political Affairs” in which he declared that a partisan judge could not be trusted to decide cases while
under the banner of a political party.
Page 110: 108 lawyers, about 1/5 of the state bar signed the protest and the document was published
on April 19, 1869. The excitement was less than anticipated until June of that year when the state
supreme court met. At that time Pearson declared the protest a contempt of court. He ordered that 25
of the protestors who practiced before the court should be served with an order to show cause why
they should not be silenced until they had purged themselves of the contempt. The order was only
served on Moore and two others and they were to appear in court the next week.
Page 111: Moore and the other two did appear in court and vowed that the supreme court had no
authority to make or enforce the rule. They said their protest was not meant to disrespect the court but
was to express their dismay at the conduct of individuals in high judicial offices. Their effort was meant
to maintain the purity and distinguished administration of justice by the North Carolina courts. Pearson
ruled that the court did have authority to enforce the rule and that the protest was libelous and did
intend to impair the respect due the court. However, the court accepted the disavowal as sufficient and
allowed a motion to discharge the rule.
Chapter V (pages 113-133) explains the forces at work from 1870-1871. During this time the Ku Klux Klan
was formed in an effort to prevent Blacks from voting, holding office, and gaining political influence. The
Klan secretly aligned with the Conservative-Democrats and became increasingly violent. John W.
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Stephens, a state senator and one of Governor Holden’s allies was murdered in the Caswell County
courthouse in Yanceyville and a Black Republican official was murdered in Alamance County. Holden did
not believe the local officers and courts were discharging their duties as vigorously as they should,
particularly in Caswell and Alamance counties. On June 8, 1870 he placed those two counties under
martial law, engaging Colonel George W. Kirk and his troops. Three men were arrested by Kirk and held
without reason for their arrest and without bail. Pearson was presented a writ of habeas corpus by
attorneys for the men. Pearson granted the writ but Kirk refused to release the men on the grounds that
he had been ordered by Holden to enforce martial law and he would only release the men if ordered to
do so by Holden. Pearson wrote to Holden to determine if that were true and Holden confirmed that it
was. Holden said these men were military prisoners and were not to be delivered to civil authorities. The
attorneys for the men then argued that the county sheriff should be called upon to take the men from
the military by force if necessary. Pearson argued that the counties were under martial law because the
governor had decided the local sheriff was not enforcing the law. To order the local sheriff to take the
men by force would amount to ordering insurgents to execute the writ and possibly causing civil war.
Pearson declined to do so. Pearson ordered the writ and his opinion presented to the governor. If the
governor did not comply then Pearson wrote that he had done all the judiciary could do and the
responsibility rested with the governor. The governor respectfully declined to follow the writ. Since the
state court had been unsuccessful in obtaining their release, the counsel for Kirk’s prisoners petitioned
the federal court. On August 6, 1870 district court Judge George W. Brooks granted the writ to all of
those prisoners. Holden appealed to President Grant for his assistance in the matter but Grant did not
intervene and the governor was forced to free the men. The Raleigh Sentinel seized this matter to call
for the impeachment of both Holden and Pearson. The state legislature that was elected in August, 1870
was a majority of Holden opponents. Proceedings for Holden’s impeachment started in December, 1870
in the state House of Representatives led by Speaker Thomas J. Jarvis. There was also a strong element
in the House in favor of impeaching Pearson as well but Jarvis prevented that action. Thomas Bragg felt
that corrupt intent would have to be proved to impeach Pearson and that the conservative Senators
could not be convinced of that in regard to Pearson’s rulings and actions. The “High Court of
Impeachment” presided over Governor Holden’s trial beginning on February 2, 1871 with Pearson
serving as chief justice. Holden was charged with proclaiming insurrection, declaring martial law, illegally
arresting citizens, illegally recruiting soldiers, and refusing to obey the writs of habeas corpus. He was
convicted and removed from office on March 23, 1871. Although Pearson presided over the proceedings
he was prohibited by the legislature from deciding any substantive issues during the trial. He remained
in a learning mode as this was the first impeachment of a state governor in American history and there
were no precedents available save the trials of William Hastings and Andrew Johnson. After Holden was
impeached no proceedings against Pearson were instituted.
Chapter VI (pages 133-140) explains Pearson’s last years in office, the period from 1871-1878. The
decade of 1861-1871 was troubled and challenging with many controversies. After Governor Holden
was impeached those controversies subsided and Pearson was able to slip back into the more relaxed
role of chief justice and law school teacher. Pearson had been elected as chief justice by popular vote in
1868 for a term of eight years. During that term Pearson was at times in poor health. In the summer of
1874 he was so ill that some of his friends were afraid he would not complete his term. The last term of
court he attended was in June, 1877. In January, 1878 the court was to convene in Raleigh and Pearson
left his home at Richmond Hill in a buggy to go to Winston and catch the train to Raleigh. He was
stricken unconscious on the way to Winston and taken to the Wilson Hotel there. He passed away there
later that night, January 5, 1878. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh and a monument was
later erected over his tomb by his former law students.