James Iredell was one of the first Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.
17 Facts About James Iredell
2.
James Iredell was appointed by President George Washington and served from 1790 until his death in 1799.
3.
James Iredell was born in Lewes, England, the oldest of five surviving children of Francis Iredell, a Bristol merchant and his wife, the former Margaret MucCulloh of Ireland.
4.
In 1773, James Iredell married Johnston's sister Hannah and the two had four children after twelve childless years.
5.
James Iredell's work was published in 1791 as Iredell's Revisal.
6.
James Iredell was a leader of the Federalists in North Carolina, and a strong supporter of the proposed Constitution.
7.
The decision was unanimous, but James Iredell requested that Congress change the harsh statute governing the West decision.
8.
James Iredell's opinion indicated that only those actions of a state that explicitly violated a textual provision of the Constitution could be declared void.
9.
James Iredell mirrored contemporaries like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington in openly condemning slavery while participating in the practice itself.
10.
James Iredell owned 14 slaves in 1786, and he and his wife Hannah both owned slaves at the time of their deaths.
11.
In 1769, James Iredell assisted his father, Thomas, in selling a runaway slave and requested herring and red-oak staves as part of the proceeds.
12.
James Iredell addressed Virginian delegate George Mason's objection to Article One, Section 9, Clause 1 of the US Constitution on grounds of practicality.
13.
However, the transaction fell through, and James Iredell transferred the title for the slaves to Arthur.
14.
Peter regularly traveled with James Iredell before gaining his freedom, and was hired by James Iredell.
15.
In 1793, when the James Iredell family moved from Philadelphia to Edenton, North Carolina, James Iredell freed Peter along with 2 other slaves, Edy and Dundee.
16.
James Iredell was regularly hired by Iredell when Iredell returned to visit Philadelphia and, on one occasion, check on Hannah Iredell's nephew, James Johnston.
17.
James Iredell is featured as a character in A More Obedient Wife: A Novel of the Early Supreme Court, a historical novel by Natalie Wexler focused on his wife, Hannah, and her friend Hannah Wilson.