Eugenius Aristides Nisbet (December 7, 1803 – March 18, 1871) was an American politician,

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

, and lawyer.

Biography

Nisbet was born near

Union Point, Georgia Union Point is a city in Greene County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 1,597. History Union Point was laid out in 1834, when the railroad was extended to that point. The name "Union Point" reflects the fac ...

. He attended the Powellton Academy in

Hancock County, Georgia Hancock County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,735. The county seat is Sparta. The county was created on December 17, 1793, and named for John Hancock, a Founding Father of the Amer ...

from 1815 to 1817, the University of South Carolina in Columbia from 1817 to 1819, and graduated from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

with an Bachelor of Arts in 1821. Nisbet then attended the

Litchfield Law School The Litchfield Law School of Litchfield, Connecticut, was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietary school was unaffiliated with any college or university. (Whi ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. After receiving admission in 1824 to the state bar by a special act of the

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly ...

as he was not yet twenty-one, Nisbet began the practice of law in

Madison, Georgia Madison is a city in Morgan County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta-Athens-Clarke-Sandy Springs Combined Statistical Area. The population was 3,979 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Morgan County and the si ...

. Nisbet was elected to the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. T ...

in 1827 and served until 1830 when he was elected to the

Georgia Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Legal provisions The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, with the lower house being the Georgia Ho ...

. He served in the state senate until 1837. Nisbet unsuccessfully ran for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

in 1836; however, he was elected to that body in 1838 and again in 1840. Nisbet resigned from the U.S. House in 1841, due to "the condition of his private affairs and a growing distaste for political life."New Georgia Encyclopedia: Eugenius A. Nisbet (1803-1871)
/ref> Nisbet was later elected as one of the three initial justices of the Supreme Court of Georgia in 1845, and he served as an associate justice on that court until 1853. In 1861, Nisbet was a delegate to the

Georgia Secession Convention The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly e ...

and signed the

Ordinance of Secession An Ordinance of Secession was the name given to multiple resolutions drafted and ratified in 1860 and 1861, at or near the beginning of the Civil War, by which each seceding Southern state or territory formally declared secession from the United ...

. He also ran an unsuccessful campaign to become

Governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor also has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either veto or approve bills passed by the Georgia Legisl ...

in that same year. Nisbet served as a trustee of UGA from 1864 until his death in 1871 in

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

. He was buried in that city's Rose Hill Cemetery.

References

''History of the University of Georgia'', Thomas Walter Reed, Imprint: Athens, Georgia : University of Georgia, ca. 1949 pp.196-197
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nisbet, Eugenius Aristides 1803 births 1871 deaths 19th-century American politicians American slave owners Deputies and delegates to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Members of the Georgia House of Representatives Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers People from Hancock County, Georgia People from Madison, Georgia People from Union Point, Georgia Signers of the Confederate States Constitution Signers of the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States Signers of the Georgia Ordinance of Secession Justices of the Supreme Court of Georgia (U.S. state) University of Georgia alumni Litchfield Law School alumni Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers

Biography

See also

References