Abner Smith Lipscomb (February 10, 1789, in

Abbeville District Abbeville County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 24,295. Its county seat is Abbeville. It is the first county (or county equivalent) in the United States alphabetically. Abbevi ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

– December 8, 1856, in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

) was an American and

Texan Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

lawyer and judge. He was also appointed Secretary of State for the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

under the administration of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Mirabeau B. Lamar Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar (August 16, 1798 – December 25, 1859) was an Lawyer, attorney born in Georgia, who became a Texas politician, poet, diplomat, and soldier. He was a leading Texas political figure during the Republic of Texas, Texas ...

. Lipscomb studied law in the office of John C. Calhoun and passed the bar in 1810. In 1811, he began practice in St. Stephens,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

(then part of the

Mississippi Territory The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the western half of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Mississippi. T ...

.) He served in the Alabama territorial legislature in 1818 and when Alabama became a state in 1819, he then became a circuit judge, which automatically made him a justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. When chief justice Clement Clay of the Alabama Supreme Court resigned in 1823, Lipscomb was chosen to be the next chief justice. The court was reorganized in 1832; Lipscomb continued as chief justice of the court, where he served until 1835. Lipscomb served a term in the Alabama state legislature in 1838. He married on April 13, 1813, at St. Stephens to Elizabeth Gaines, sister of Ann Lawrence Gaines who married their cousin, Col. George Strother Gaines. Col. Gaines' nephew, Hon.

Francis Strother Lyon Francis Strother Lyon (February 25, 1800 – December 31, 1882) was a prominent Alabama attorney and politician. He served two terms in the Confederate States Congress during the American Civil War after being an antebellum member of the Unit ...

began the study of law while working for Abner Smith Lipscomb in his office in St. Stephens. In 1839 Lipscomb moved to the

and established a law practice in

Brenham Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, United States, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the county seat of Washington County. Washington County is known as the "Birthplace of Texas, ...

. He was Secretary of State under President Lamar from January 31, 1840, to December 13, 1840. Lipscomb was a member of the Convention of 1845; in 1845, he also served on a committee that wrote a report on the Texas General Land Office. He was appointed an associate justice of the

Texas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the supreme court, court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the ...

in 1846 by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

James Pinckney Henderson James Pinckney Henderson (March 31, 1808 – June 4, 1858) was an American and Republic of Texas lawyer, politician, and soldier, and the first governor of the State of Texas. Early years He was born in Lincolnton, North Carolina, on March 31, ...

. As he was elected in 1851 and re-elected in 1856, he continued in this post until November 1856. He taught Law courses at

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

from 1849 to 1856. Lipscomb died in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

and was buried in the State Cemetery.

Lipscomb County, Texas Lipscomb County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,059. Its county seat is Lipscomb. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1887. It is named for Judge Abner Smith Lipscomb ...

and its county seat of

Lipscomb, Texas Lipscomb ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lipscomb County, Texas, United States. It is the Lipscomb county seat. The population was 37 at the 2010 census. Geography Lipscomb is located south of the center ...

, are named in honor of him. The remainder of the Lipscomb Family lives in Houston Texas, the patriarch of the Lipscomb clan, Charles Marty Lipscomb, lives in Edinburg Texas with his wife JP Lipscomb and his three children.

References

Abner S. Lipscomb, Second Chief Justice
web page at the Alabama Department of Archives & History.

bio at the

law school web page.
Lipscomb, Abner Smith
entry in the ''

Handbook of Texas Online The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular ...

'' at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lipscomb, Abner Smith 1789 births 1856 deaths 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama Members of the Alabama Territorial Legislature People from Abbeville County, South Carolina People from Austin, Texas Secretaries of State of Texas