George Lawrence Mabson was a member of the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

and the

North Carolina State Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

, as well as the North Carolina Constitutional Convention of 1875. Mabson was the son of a black woman, Eliza Moore, and a prominent white man, George W. Mabson, in

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

. His brother was William P. Mabson, who was also a politician. In the 1850s, he was sent to Boston to attend school. During the Civil War, Mabson first served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and then joined Company G, 5th Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment in February 1864 and mustered out in Clarksville, Texas, a full Command Sergeant."Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations From The State of Massachusetts", available at

Fold3 Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018 ...

by Ancestry.com. Note: Listed as "Com. Sergt." After earning a degree from

Howard University Law School Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the old ...

, he became the first black lawyer in North Carolina. In 1870, he unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the

United States 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

. He was the nephew of William B. Gould and correspond with him frequently during the Civil War. In the 1880s, a child who was likely either his son or nephew lived with and worked for Gould in

Dedham, Massachusetts Dedham ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,364 at the 2020 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest b ...

. He died on October 4, 1885 in Wilmington, North Carolina and was buried at Pine Forest Cemetery in Wilmington.

References

Works cited

* {{authority control 1885 deaths Burials in North Carolina People from North Carolina Howard University School of Law alumni United States Navy sailors Union Army non-commissioned officers