Judge John Haywood

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/139893874/john-haywood

https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/haywood-john-1

John Haywood, Revolutionary soldier, lawyer, jurist, and historian, was born in Halifax County where his grandfather had migrated from Virginia. His parents were Egbert and Sarah Ware Haywood, both of whom were of English heritage. Egbert Haywood was active in the political life of the colony, was an officer in the North Carolina militia during the Revolutionary War, and, after the Revolution, was a member of the state legislature.

John Haywood, too young to enter military service at the beginning of the war, volunteered near the end of the conflict and was assigned as an aide to a North Carolina officer. Although he had received only a limited education, he apparently was admitted to the Halifax bar soon after the Revolution, because in 1785 the General Assembly elected him judge of the Superior Court of Davidson County (Tenn.), a position he declined. In 1791 he was named attorney general, and in 1793 he was appointed to the Superior Court of North Carolina. Haywood established himself as the dominating legal mind on the court and was, as one observer noted, "as completely the court as Chief Justice [John] Marshall was of the Supreme Court of the United States." Before resigning from the bench in 1800, he published two volumes of the court's decisions, which are the earliest of the North Carolina law reports. He later published two other works in North Carolina: A Manual of the Laws of North Carolina (1808) and The Duty and Authority of Justices of the Peace (1810).

Haywood moved to Tennessee—one source indicates as early as 1802 and another as late as 1807—and purchased a farm near Nashville, which he named Tusculum. Recognized immediately for his acute legal mind, he became both a successful practitioner before the Nashville bar and a teacher and counselor of young men who wished to "read law." In 1816 he was elected to the Supreme Court of Errors and Appeals (court of last resort) and served until his death. Haywood edited and reported the opinions of the court and, in association with Robert L. Cobbs, compiled The Statute Laws of the State of Tennessee (2 vols., 1831).

Sometimes referred to as "Tennessee's Earliest Historian," Haywood organized in 1820 the Tennessee Antiquarian Society, a forerunner of the Tennessee Historical Society, and became its first president. His interest in history led him to read widely on the subject and to publish several works, the first of which was a book of some 350 pages entitled The Christian Advocate (Nashville, 1819). In this philosophical account, he attempts to trace the aboriginal inhabitants of Tennessee and of America to Asia. Much of the material in this volume appeared a few years later in his The Natural and Aboriginal History of Tennessee (Nashville, 1823). In the same year he published his best known work, The Civil and Political History of Tennessee (Knoxville, 1823). Both trace the development of the Tennessee country to the time of statehood.

Physically, Haywood was massively formed and weighed more than 350 pounds at the time of his death. Judge Nathaniel Baxter, who believed him to have only Felix Grundy as a peer, described him thus: "His arms, his legs, and his neck were all thick and short, his abdomen came down on his lap and nearly covered it to his knees. His head, which rested nearly on his shoulders, was unusually large and peculiarly formed. His under jaw and his lower face looked large and strong, and his head above his ears ran up high and somewhat conical, and viewed horizontally it was rather square and round. His mouth was large, expressive, and rather handsome."

Haywood died at Tusculum and was buried there.

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"Judge Haywood's death occurred on Dec. 22, 1826. it was an event noted in the Raleigh (NC) Register on Jan 19, 1827, as follows:

'Died. Suddenly at his residence near Nashville, Tennessee, on the 22. Ult., in the sixty year of his age, the Honorable John Haywood, Judge of the Supreme Court of that State. Judge Haywood, it is know to our readers generally, was a native of this State and had attained great eminence both at the Bar and on the Bench, before he removed nearly twenty-five years ago to Tennessee. He was acknowledged to be one of the most profound jurists in the country, and was particularly so in all matters relating to land titles, etc., which form a large portion of the business of the western courts. His death is deeply regretted, and is considered a serious loss to the State'."

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!* Judge Haywood resided in Halifax Co NC. Distinguished jurist; elected in 1791 Attorney General of NC; 1794, a judge of the Superior Court, which he resigned in 1800. Author of the manual of the laws of NC. He moved to TN. Wrote The History of Tennessee. He was a firm believer in spirits and ghosts. (HAY17)

!* His home was called Tusculum, on Murfreesboro Pike, near Nashville, TN (Hay14) He and his wife are buried here (Hay12)

!* Latter part of Judge Haywood's residence in NC was a farm owned by him located about 6 miles north of Louisburg, Franklin Co, NC. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Univ. of NC. Judge Haywood's oldest child married in NC and remained there. The other 6 children married in TN. He died suddenly on Dec 22, 1826 at his residence six miles south of Nashville, on the Nolensville Rd, at Tusculum. He was 66 years old. His death was due to his great corpulence. He weighed 350 pounds. He was the first President of the Historical Antiquarian Society in 1819, and the organizer of same. He established the first law school in the southwest at Tusculum, his home. He was Chief Justice of the Supreme Courts of two states, NC and TN. He founded the Judicial System of the latter, if not the former state. (Hay5)

!* Haywood Co TN named after Judge Haywood. Author of "Natural and Aboriginal History of Tennessee", published in 1823. (Hay4)

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GEDCOM Note

Judge John Haywood, a native of N.C. attained great eminence both at the Bar and on the Bench before he moved to Nashville. He died Dec. 22, 1826 at his home near Nashville, Tuscalum. He was one of the orginal founders and trustees of the University of N.C. in Chapel Hill. Haywood Co. is named for him.

• Residence: 1790 - Edgecombe, Halifax, North Carolina
  • Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: Jun 21 2021, 1:30:33 UTC