John Gayle (September 11, 1792 – July 21, 1859) was the 7th Governor of Alabama, a

United States representative 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 ...

from

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

, a justice of the

Supreme Court of Alabama The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the state of Alabama. The court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for staggered six-year terms. The Supreme Court is hous ...

and a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama The United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama (in case citations, M.D. Ala.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appea ...

, the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama The United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama (in case citations, N.D. Ala.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are a ...

and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.

Education and career

Born on September 11, 1792, in Sumter County,

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 = ...

, Gayle pursued classical studies and graduated from South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina) in 1813 and read law in 1818. He was President of the Clariosophic Society while at South Carolina College. He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in St. Stephens,

Alabama Territory The Territory of Alabama (sometimes Alabama Territory) was an organized incorporated territory of the United States. The Alabama Territory was carved from the Mississippi Territory on August 15, 1817 and lasted until December 14, 1819, when it ...

(State of

from December 14, 1819) starting in 1818. He was a member of the Legislative Council for Alabama Territory from 1818 to 1819. He was solicitor for the First Judicial Circuit of Alabama from 1819 to 1821. He was a member of the Alabama House of Representatives from 1822 to 1823, and again from 1829 to 1830, serving as Speaker in 1829. He was a Judge of the Alabama Circuit Court for the Third Judicial Circuit from 1823 to 1825. He resumed private practice in Greene County, Alabama from 1826 to 1828. He was a justice of the

from 1828 to 1829. He was Governor of Alabama from

1831 Events January–March * January 1 – William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing '' The Liberator'', an anti- slavery newspaper, in Boston, Massachusetts. * January 10 – Japanese department store, Takashimaya in Ky ...

to 1835. He again resumed private practice in

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

, Alabama from 1835 to 1846. Gayle was mentioned in '' American Slavery As It Is'', an abolitionist book published in 1839. He is given as an example of slavers who disregard marriages of enslaved African Americans. The book reprints a signed advertisement Gayle had placed in a newspaper seeking help with capturing an escaped man and suggesting the fugitive could be heading to a neighboring county where the enslaved man's wife lived.

Notable state court case

During his service as a judge, Gayle presided over the Petition for Freedom of Cornelius Sinclair, a young African American child who had been kidnapped and sold into slavery in

Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of ...

, Alabama.

Notable achievements as Governor

During Gayle's term as Governor of Alabama, the state bank was expanded and the first railroad was completed in Alabama. The Bell Factory, the state's first textile mill, was incorporated in Madison County.

Congressional service

Gayle was elected as a Whig from Alabama's 1st congressional district to the

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of the

30th United States Congress The 30th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1847 ...

, serving from March 4, 1847, to March 3, 1849. He was Chairman of the Committee on Private Land Claims for the 30th United States Congress.

Federal judicial service

Gayle was nominated by President

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

on March 12, 1849, to a joint seat on the

, the

and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama vacated by Judge

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. He was confirmed by the

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on March 13, 1849, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on July 21, 1859, due to his death in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, Alabama. He was interred in Magnolia Cemetery in Mobile.

Family

Gayle was married to Sarah Ann Haynsworth, formerly a resident of South Carolina, from June 11, 1819, until her death in 1835, due to lockjaw (

tetanus Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is a bacterial infection caused by ''Clostridium tetani'', and is characterized by muscle spasms. In the most common type, the spasms begin in the jaw and then progress to the rest of the body. Each spasm usually ...

). They had six children. In 1837, Gayle married Clarissa Stedman Peck at Gaston, Alabama. They had four children. Gayle died of ill health and natural causes on July 21, 1859, aged 66. During his time on Alabama Supreme Court (1828–29) John Gayle constructed his family home in

Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

, Alabama, then a part of Greene County, now part of Hale County. There Sarah gave birth to

Amelia Gayle Gorgas Amelia Gayle Gorgas (June 1, 1826 – January 3, 1913) was librarian and postmaster of the University of Alabama for 25 years until her retirement at the age of eighty in 1907. She expanded the library from 6,000 to 20,000 volumes. The primary libr ...

. She was the wife of Gen. Josiah Gorgas, Chief of Ordnance of the Confederate States of America, mother of

William Crawford Gorgas William Crawford Gorgas Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG (October 3, 1854 – July 3, 1920) was a Medical Corps (United States Army), United States Army physician and 22nd Surgeons General of the United States Army, Surgeon General of the ...

, 22nd

United States Surgeon General The surgeon general of the United States is the operational head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government of the United States. Th ...

who freed the Panama Canal Zone of

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gayle, John 1792 births 1859 deaths 19th-century American judges 19th-century American politicians Alabama state court judges Democratic Party governors of Alabama Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama Judges of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives Members of the Alabama Territorial Legislature Politicians from Mobile, Alabama People from Sumter, South Carolina Speakers of the Alabama House of Representatives Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law United States federal judges appointed by Zachary Taylor University of South Carolina alumni Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama Lawyers from Mobile, Alabama