William J. Gaston (September 19, 1778 – January 23, 1844) was a jurist and
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
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
. Gaston is the author of the official state song of North Carolina,
"The Old North State".
Gaston County, North Carolina
Gaston County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 227,943. The county seat is Gastonia. Dallas served as the original county seat from 1846 until 1911.
Gaston County is included in the C ...
, created just after his death, was named for him, as later were the city of
Gastonia, North Carolina
Gastonia is the largest city in and county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest satellite city of the Charlotte area, behind Concord. The population was 80,411 at the 2020 census, up from 71,741 in 2010 ...
, artificial
Lake Gaston
Lake Gaston is a hydroelectric reservoir in the eastern United States. Part of the lake is in the North Carolina counties of Halifax, Northampton, and Warren. The part extending into Virginia lies in Brunswick and Mecklenburg counties. Lake Gas ...
, and the splendid
Gaston Hall
Gaston Hall is an auditorium located on the third and fourth floors of the north tower of Healy Hall on Georgetown University's main campus in Washington, D.C. Named for Georgetown's first student, William Gaston, who also helped secure the unive ...
auditorium at his ''
alma mater'',
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
.
Early life
Gaston was born in
New Bern, North Carolina
New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and t ...
, on September 19, 1778. He was the son of Dr. Alexander Gaston and Margaret Sharpe.
He entered the Catholic
Georgetown Academy in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, at the age of thirteen, becoming its first student. Due to illness shortly thereafter, he also became its first dropout. After Georgetown and some education in North Carolina, he graduated from the College of New Jersey (today
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
) in 1796, where he studied law.
Career
Gaston was admitted to the bar in 1798 and commenced practice in New Bern. He was a member of the
North Carolina General Assembly
The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...
in 1800, served in the
State House of Commons (now known as the House of Representatives) from 1807 to 1809, and as its
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
in 1808. He was a member of 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 ...
in 1812. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, on the
Federalist
The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''.
History Europe federation
In Europe, proponents of de ...
ticket, serving from March 4, 1813, to March 3, 1817 (the
13th and
14th U.S. Congresses). While in Congress, he obtained a federal charter for Georgetown College (today Georgetown University). In 1814, Gaston was elected a member of the
American Antiquarian Society
The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...
. In 1817, he was elected a member of the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
.
Gaston did not run for Congress in 1816, returning to serve in the North Carolina Senate in 1818–1819. He again served in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1824, 1827, 1828, 1829, and 1831.
In 1832, Gaston delivered the annual graduation address at the University of North Carolina. Although he owned slaves,
[ his speech included what was the last public statement in North Carolina urging the ]abolition of slavery
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The British ...
:
Gaston was appointed to the North Carolina Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...
in 1833; as a legislator in 1818, he had introduced the bill that established the Court as a distinct body. He held the position until his death. He wrote a decision that limited the control that slave-owners could exercise over enslaved humans. Gaston was offered but declined a nomination for election to the United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
in 1840, and he turned down an offer to be U.S. Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
under President Harrison
Harrison may refer to:
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* Harrison (name)
* Harrison family of Virginia, United States
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In Australia:
* Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin
In Canada:
* Inukjuak, Quebec, or " ...
.
Gaston won elective office on several occasions, even though the Constitution of North Carolina before 1835 seemed to prohibit it, because Gaston was a Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
. The young Rev. Andrew Byrne
Andrew J. Byrne (1802 – June 10, 1862) was an Irish-born American Catholic priest, who became the first bishop of the Diocese of Little Rock in Arkansas from 1844 until his death in 1862.
Biography
Early life
Andrew Byrne was born in 1802 ...
, later bishop of the Diocese of Little Rock
The Diocese of Little Rock ( la, Dioecesis Petriculana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church composed of the entire U.S. state of Arkansas. It was established on November 28, 1843. The seat of the dioc ...
, having contracted a serious illness during the course of his lengthy missionary labors, recuperated under the hospitable roof of Judge Gaston.Clarke, Richard Henry. "Rt. Rev. Andrew Byren, D.D.", ''Lives of the Deceased Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States'', Vol. 2, P. O'Shea, 1872, p. 265
/ref>
Gaston was largely responsible, as a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1835, for removing official discrimination against Catholics from North Carolina law.
Personal life
Gaston was married three times. His first marriage was on September 4, 1803, to Susan Hay (d. 1804). He married for the second time on October 6, 1805, to Hannah McClure (d. 1813). Together, William and his second wife were the parents of one son and two daughters:
* Alexander Gaston (1807-1848), who married Eliza W. Jones and then Sarah Lauretta Murphy.
* Susan Jane Gaston (1808-1866), who married Robert Donaldson Jr.
* Hannah Margaret Gaston (1811-1835), who married Matthias E. Manly.
His third and final marriage was on September 3, 1816, to Eliza Ann Worthington (d. 1819). With his third wife, Gaston was the father of two additional daughters:
* Elizabeth Gaston (1817-1874), who married George W. Graham.
* Catherine Jane Gaston (1819-1885), who did not marry.
He died in his office in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...
, on January 23, 1844. He was interred in Cedar Grove Cemetery, New Bern, N.C. His home at New Bern, the Coor-Gaston House, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1972. Elmwood, his home at Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...
, was listed in 1975.
See also
* Thirteenth United States Congress
The 13th 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, 1813 ...
* Fourteenth United States Congress
The 14th 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 the Old Brick Capitol in Washingto ...
References
External links
*
*
William Gaston Papers
Southern Historical Collection
The Southern Historical Collection is a repository of distinct archival collections at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which document the culture and history of the American South. These collections are made up of unique primary mat ...
, Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
.
Entry in the Dictionary of North Carolina Biography
William S. Powell, University of North Carolina Press.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaston, William
1778 births
1844 deaths
Princeton University alumni
Georgetown University alumni
Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives
North Carolina state senators
Justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court
Politicians from New Bern, North Carolina
Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina
Members of the American Antiquarian Society
18th-century American politicians
19th-century American politicians
19th-century American judges
Catholics from North Carolina
American abolitionists