Burgess Sidney Gaither

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Burgess Sidney Gaither (born March 16, 1807 at Turnersburg , North Carolina , † February 23, 1892 in Morganton , North Carolina) was an American lawyer and worked as a politician for both the United States and the Confederate States . He was a member of the Presbyterian Churches and was a leader in the Sons of Temperance .

Career

Burgess Sidney Gaither was born about five years before the outbreak of the British-American War at Rocky Creek in the Tabor Church Ward near Turnersburg, Iredell County . He was the eighth son of Amelia Martin and Burgess Gaither (1757-1819). His father represented Iredell County in 1792 and in the North Carolina House of Representatives every year between 1796 and 1801 . The Gaither came from a distinguished family from Maryland from, originally whose ancestors of Jamestown ( Virginia dragged) there. Burgess Sidney Gaither attended the school of Dr. James Hall (1744–1826) at Bethany Church in Iredell County. Around 1829 he moved to Morganton ( Burke County ), where he went to the Morganton Academy . For a short time in 1830 he attended the University of Georgia . Before that he studied law with his older brother Alfred Moore Gaither (1793-1829) and after his death with the judge David Franklin Caldwell (1792-1867) from Salisbury ( Rowan County ). He was admitted to the bar in 1829. He was hired in 1830 by Judge Willie Person Mangum (1792-1861) as a clerk at the Superior Court of Burke County - a position he held until 1837.

Gaither also pursued a political career. In 1835, at the age of 28, he represented Burke County at the North Carolina Constituent Assembly , which was held in Raleigh between July 4th and 11th . Between 1840 and 1841 he then represented Burke County in the North Carolina Senate . He was a member of the Whig Party and chaired the party. In 1839 he participated in the delegate as a Whig National Convention in Harrisburg ( Pennsylvania part). During that time he was called by Colonel Gaither. US President John Tyler (1790–1862) appointed him superintendent of the Federal Mint in Charlotte ( Mecklenburg County ) in 1841 . Gaither resigned from his Senate seat on August 31 and held the new post until 1843. That period was overshadowed by the economic crisis of 1837 . Gaither was re-elected to the North Carolina Senate for Burke County in 1844 and served as speaker that same year .

In addition to his political activities, he worked as a solicitor between 1844 and 1852 in the geographically extensive seventh judicial district, which included the area from Burke County and Cleveland County to the border of Tennessee . He traveled a lot at the time to attend court hearings, which gave him a good political base in western North Carolina. This time was overshadowed by the Mexican-American War .

In 1851 and 1853 he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the US Congress . Both times he was defeated by the Democratic candidate Thomas Lanier Clingman (1812-1897). Gaither served in the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1852 and again in the North Carolina Senate between 1860 and 1861. When the polarizing disputes that arose in 1860 led to the outbreak of civil war , Gaither initially supported the Consolidated Union Party , but later changed his position in favor of the Confederate States , as US President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) on April 15, 1861 began to draw in troops. Gaither was a staunch opponent of secession. On February 12, 1861, however, he wrote the following to the former US Senator William Alexander Graham (1804–1875):

"I see no hope for anything else but a civil war of interminable extent."

After he had switched to the side of the secessionists, he was elected to the first Confederate Congress in November 1861 , where he represented the ninth electoral district. This included the following counties: Alexander County , Alleghany County , Ashe County , Burke County, Caldwell County , Davie County , Iredell County, Surry County , Wilkes County and Yadkin County . He began his service on February 18, 1862. Two years later he was re-elected to the Second Confederate Congress and served there from May 2, 1864 until the end of the Confederation in 1865. As a delegate, he chaired the committee of inquiry into the Roanoke Island disaster. Supported the Confederate central government where jurisdiction was clear, but took vigorous action against any attempt that encroached upon the rights of states and individuals. In March 1863 he stood up for the loyalty of North Carolina when it was challenged in the legislative debate in Richmond, Virginia. He was the only member of the North Carolina delegation that advocated arming the slaves .

After the war he resumed his practice as a lawyer in Morganton.

As an advocate for the Conservative Party and later as a Democrat, he was strictly against radical reconstruction . Although Governor Jonathan Worth (1802-1869) and others requested a presidential pardon for Gaither, William Woods Holden (1818-1892) refused to grant him one. The Conservative Party nominated Gaither for a seat in the US Congress in 1868. He was defeated by the Republican candidate Alexander H. Jones (1822-1901) from Asheville ( Buncombe County ). During his campaign, Gaither spoke out strongly against the Constituent Assembly of 1868.

Gaither then continued to practice as a lawyer in Morganton until his death. He was buried there in the old cemetery of the Presbyterian churches. When the cemetery was later changed to enlarge the church, his tombstone was lost and his grave has not been marked since then.

family

Gaither was married twice. On July 30, 1830, he married Elizabeth Sharpe Erwin (1804-1859) from Morganton, daughter of Matilda Sharpe (1769-1843) and William Willoughby Erwin (1764-1837). The couple had three children: Alfred Haywood (1833–1861), William (* 1834) and Delia Emma (1837–1913). After the death of his first wife, he married Sarah F. Corpening (1850-1911), daughter of Jane Eliza "Eliza" Horton (1819-1875) and David Jackson "Linville Jack" Corpening (1819-1870). The couple had a son: Burgess Sidney junior (1872–1942).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Burgess Gaither on The Political Graveyard website
  2. ^ North Carolina: A Guide to the Old North State , North American Book Dist LLC, 1939, ISBN 978-0-403-02182-6 , p. 403
  3. ↑ Alfred Moore Gaither in the Find a Grave database (English)
  4. ^ Rumple, Jethro: A History of Rowan County, North Carolina , Heritage Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-7884-1203-5 , pp. 223f
  5. ^ The Confederate States almanac and repository of useful knowledge: for the year 1863 , Gale Cengage Learning, ISBN 978-1-4328-0493-0 , p. 33
  6. ↑ NCPEDIA - Conservative Party
  7. ↑ Elizabeth Sharpe Erwin Gaither in the Find a Grave database (English)
  8. ^ Burgess Sidney Burgess on the familytreemaker.genealogy.com website
  9. ↑ Alfred Haywood Gaither in the Find a Grave database (English)
  10. ↑ Delia Emma Gaither Pearson in the Find a Grave database (English)
  11. ↑ Sarah F. Corpening in the Find a Grave database (English)
  12. ↑ Burgess Sidney Gaither junior in the Find a Grave database (English)

Web links
personal data
SURNAME Gaither, Burgess Sidney
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gaither, Burgess S.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer and politician
DATE OF BIRTH March 16, 1807
PLACE OF BIRTH near Turnersburg , North Carolina
DATE OF DEATH February 23, 1892
Place of death Morganton , North Carolina