Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 05.djvu/506

 IREDELL

IRELAND

Hic'JiarJ Irl)y was graduated from Ratiilolph- Maoiii college iu 1844; engaged in fanning in his native conuty, 184.1-7; was an iron nianufafturer in Rioiunond, Va.. USG7-78; general agent for the bureau of immigration of Virginia, 1879-86; sec- retary of the Virginia Bible society, 1882-86, and secretary and treasurer of Riindolph-Macon col- lege. Ashland, Va., from 1886. He was married, Oct. 1. 1846, to Frances Virginia Fitzgerald, of Florida. He was elected a trustee of Riindolph- Macon college in 1854. and iu 1900 was senior m.-Tnl>er of the board, lie is the author of: History of Xottdiniy Grays (1878); History of Randolph- Macon College (1898); Bird Notes and other Sketches (1900), and numerous contributions to perid lical literature.

IREDELL, James, associate justice of the U.S. supreme court, was born in Lewes, England, Oct. .'), Kol; son of Francis and Margaret (McCuUoch) Iredell. In 1767 he was sent by his father, an English merchant, to North Carolina, where he was appointed comptroller of customs of the port of Edenton. Feb. 29, 1768. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1770. He was married, July 18, 1773, to Hannah, sister of Samuel John- st^)n. a well-known la%vyer of North Carolina, with whom he had studied law. When the colonies declared their independence he joined the patriots and resigned his office under the crown. He was appointed by the provincial con- gress of North Carolina a commissioner to revise the laws of the province, and in November, 1777, Gov. Richard Caswell made him one of the three judges of the supreme court of the state, and he was api)ointed attorney-general, July 8, 1779, but resigned the same year when Abner Nash suc- ceeded to the governorsliip. He was a leader of the Federalists in North Carolina, and in the state convention at Hillsborough. July 21, 1788, he made a vigorous effort to secure the adoption of the Federal constitution. President "Wash- ington appointed him an associate justice of the U.S. supreme court, Feb. 10, 1790. He was a charter trustee of the University of North Caro- lina, 1780-90. Iredell county, N.C., was named in Ijis honor. Under a commission from the state legislature in 1787, proposed by W. R. Davie, lie prepared and published a digest of the statutes of the state as IredclVs Revisnl (1789). See Life and Correspondence of James Iredell, by his son- in-law, Griffith J.:McRee (1857). He died in Edenton, N.C.. O.t. 20, 1799.

IREDELL, James, governorof North Carolina, was l).)rn in E'lenton, N.C., Nov. 2, 1788; son of James and Hannah (.Johnston) Iredell, andgrand- •son of Francis and Margaret (McCulloch) Iredell. He was graduated at the College of New Jersey, A.B.. 180(5. and A.M., 1809. He was admitted to the bar in 1809, and in 1812 was captain of a com-

pany of volunteers and went to the defence of Norfolk, Va. He was a representative in the state legislature iu 1816-27, and speaker, 1817 and 1819. He was judge of the superior court from March to May, 1819, when he resigned. He was governor of North Carolina in 1827-28, resigning in December, 1828, to accept a seat in the U.S. senate, made vacant by the resignation of Senator Nathaniel Macon, and he served as a senator till March 4, 1831. He practised law in Raleigh, N.C.; was reporter of the decisions of the .state supreme court, and a commissioner to revise the laws of the state. He was a trustee of the Uni- versity of North Cai-olina, 1813-53, and president of the board. 1827-28. He prepared and pub- lished: Revised Statutes of 183G-37 (1837); Sil- previe Court Reports 13 vols., and Reports in Equity, 8 vols. (1841-52); Treatise on the Law of Execidors and Administrators, and Digest of all the Reported Cases iu the Courts of yorth Carolina, 177S to 18^5 (1839-46). He died in Edenton, N.C, April 13, 1853.

IRELAND, John, governor of Texas, was born in Hart county, Ky., Jan. 1, 1827; son of Patrick and Rachel (Newton) Ireland. He was brought up on a farm and was educated at the " old-field school." When not eighteen years old he was made a can- didate for sheriff of Hart county, and having his disabili- ties removed by spe- cial act of the legisla- ture was elected to that office. He stud- ied law at Munifords- ville, Ky., and in less than six months was admitted to the bar. He at once removed to Seguin, Guadalupe county, Texas, where he attained promi- nence as a lawyer. When the civil war broke out he advocated secession, and was a member of the constitu- tional convention of 1861. He enlisted in the Confederate army, and was promoted succes- sively to the ranks of captain, major, lieutenant- c<jlonel and colonel, serving in the trans-Mi.ssis- sii)pi campaigns. He was a member of the con- stitutional convention of 1806, and in the same year was elected district judge, but was removed in 1807 by military authorities. He was a repre- sentative in the state legislature in 1872, a state senator in 1873, and was appointed associate judge of the state supreme court in 1875. He was elected governor of Texas in 1882 by a major- ity of 48,000, and in 1884 by a majority of 98,000,.