was added an ungainly person, and an unpleasant harsh voice. But possessing great determination of character, an ardent love of study, and a lofty ambition, he overcame those disadvantages, and soon rose to the head of his profession. His success was manifested by his election, in 1791, by the legislature as attorney general, the successor of Avery, Iredell and Moore, all shining lights in the law. He held this office until 1794, when he was elected one of the judges of the superior courts, in place of Judge Spencer, deceased. Such was the estimate of his associates, that Judge Hall decided in 1828, (in Spier's case, Devereux 496,) as follows: "With no disrespect to the memory of the dead; or to the pretensions of the living, a greater criminal lawyer, than Judge Haywood never sat upon the bench in North Carolina."
In 1809, he resigned the office of Judge, to defend James Glasgow, against the charge of fraud in issuing land warrants while he was secretary of state.
The defendant was convicted, and Mr. Haywood incurred a degree of odium, for his course in defending him, that induced him to leave the state. He sought new fields of service in Tennessee. Here he took rank with the ablest advocates, and soon was elevated to the supreme court bench, in the place of Judge Cooke, and where he remained until his death, in December, 1826.
In addition to his labors at the bar and on the bench, Judge Haywood, while in this state, prepared "A Treatise on the Duty and Office of Justices of Peace, Sheriffs, &c.," "A Manual of the Laws of North Carolina," and two volumes of reports; all works of high merit.
He also published several theological and historical works. He was a firm believer in ghosts, and of the re-appearance of departed spirits--the great weakness of a great mind.
He published in 1823, two volumes of history. The first, "On the Natural and Aboriginal History of Tennessee," and the second, "The Civil and Political History of Tennessee, from its Earliest Settlement to 1796." The style of these works, however, is not elegant, and the reading is uninteresting. It is chiefly upon the fact of his being one of the most learned and profound lawyers of the nation, that the fame of Judge Haywood rests.
He married early in life Martha Edwards, from which union have sprung numerous descendents, many of whom live in Alabama and Tennessee.
When in North Carolina he resided on a farm he owned, about six miles north of Louisburg, in Franklin County.
John Henry Eaton, (born 1787, died 1856,) senator in congress, secretary of war, governor of Florida, and envoy to Spain, was a native of Halifax County. He was educated partly at the university, but never graduated. After leaving the university, he studied law, and emigrated to Tennessee. Here he entered successfully into politics, and so became, at the early age of thirty-one, by selection of the governor, one of the senators in congress from Tennessee, which position he held from 1818 to 1829. During the first session of his service, the invasion of Florida by General Jackson, was an important and exciting question. The communication of the president on the subject, was referred to a committee, upon which was Mr. Eaton, Mr. King, of New York, Mr. Forsyth, of Georgia, and a member from Pennsylvania. The majority of this committee submitted a report strongly condemning Jackson, from which report Eaton and King dissented. Eaton never during his life for a moment swerved in his devotion and fidelity to "the Hero of New Orleans." His letters, signed "Wyoming," in favor of Jackson were considered models of classical diction, and cogent reasoning. These contributed much towards elevating Jackson to the presidency. He further signalized his
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