Jonathan Haralson (October 18, 1830 – July 11, 1912) was an Associate Justice on 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 house ...

and president of the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...

.judicial.alabama.gov/library/bios/JonathanHaralson.pdf and obituary for the ''Selma Journal'', Thursday, July 11, 1912

Biography

Haralson received A.B. and A.M. degrees from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

in 1851 and 1854. He received an LL.B. from the University of Louisiana in 1853. Haralson married Mattie Ellen Thompson in 1859, and in 1869, he married Lida J. McFaden. He had three children. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

he was an agent of the

Nitre and Mining Bureau The Confederate Nitre and Mining Bureau was a civilian government bureau to provide the Confederate States of America with needed materials such as copper, iron, lead, saltpeter, sulfur, zinc, and other metals. The Bureau oversaw civilian contracts ...

of the Confederate States. One of his slaves,

Jeremiah Haralson Jeremiah Haralson (April 1, 1846 – 1916?), was a politician from Alabama who served as a state legislator and was among the first ten African-American United States Congressmen. Born into slavery in Columbus, Georgia, Haralson became self-educ ...

, later became a member of 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 ...

. He worked as a lawyer in

Selma, Alabama Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. About ...

. Alabama Governor

George Smith Houston George Smith Houston (January 17, 1811 – December 31, 1879) was an American Democratic politician who was the 24th Governor of Alabama from 1874 to 1878. He was also a congressman and senator for Alabama. Early life Houston was born near F ...

appointed him Judge of the City Court of Selma in 1876. He was elected Associate Justice of the

Alabama Supreme Court 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 house ...

in 1892 and was re-elected to this position until his retirement in 1908. Haralson was a trustee of Howard College (later renamed

Samford University Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama. In 1841, the university was founded as Howard College by Baptists. Samford University describes itself as the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United Sta ...

), Dallas Academy, and the

Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

. He was a Democrat and a Baptist, serving as president of the

from 1889 to 1898. He is buried at Live Oak Cemetery (

Old Live Oak Cemetery Old Live Oak Cemetery is an historic cemetery in Selma, Alabama that was founded in 1829 and expanded in 1877. The newer portion is sometimes called New Live Oak Cemetery and the cemetery is collectively known as Live Oak Cemetery. It contains ...

) in Selma, Dallas County, Alabama.

Civil War era poem

Haralson's efforts to collect supplies for the Confederate Army are commemorated in a poem. ''John Haralson, John Haralson—you are a wretched creature;'' ''You’ve added to this bloody war a new and useful feature.'' ''You’d have us think, while every man is bound to be a fighter,'' ''The Ladies, bless the pretty dears, should save their pee for nitre.'' ''John Haralson, John Haralson, where did you get the notion,'' ''To send the barrel ‘round to gather up the lotion?'' ''We thought the girls had work enough to making shirts and kissing,'' ''But you have put the pretty dears to Patriotic Pissing.'' ''John Haralson, John Haralson, pray do invent a neater,'' ''And somewhat less immodest way of making your saltpetre.'' ''For ‘tis an awful idea, John, gunpowdery and cranky'' ''That when a lady lifts her skirts, she’s killing off a Yankee.''

References

1830 births 1912 deaths Southern Baptist Convention presidents Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama University of Alabama alumni Tulane University alumni 19th-century American judges 19th-century Baptists {{Alabama-state-judge-stub

Biography

Civil War era poem

See also

References