George Mathews | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presiding Judge of theLouisiana Supreme Court | |
| In office 1813–1836 | |
| Preceded by | New position |
| Succeeded by | Henry Carlton |
| Justice of the Superior Court of theTerritory of Orleans | |
| In office 1806–1813 | |
| Preceded by | Ephraim Kirby |
| Succeeded by | Court abolished |
| Justice of the Superior Court of theTerritory of Mississippi | |
| In office 1804–1806 | |
| Preceded by | New position |
| Succeeded by | Court abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 30, 1774 Augusta County, Virginia |
| Died | November 14, 1836 St. Francisville, Louisiana |
| Resting place | Grace Episcopal Church |
| Spouse | Harriet Flowers |
| Relations | George Mathews, father; Mathews family |
| Residence | Butler Greenwood Plantation |
| Alma mater | Liberty Hall AcademyWashington and Lee University |
| Profession | Judge |
George Mathews Jr. (September 30, 1774 – November 14, 1836), was a Judge of the Superior Courts of theTerritory of Mississippi and theTerritory of Orleans, and Presiding Judge of theLouisiana Supreme Court from 1813 until his death in 1836. His ruling inMarie Louise v. Marot was cited as precedent by dissentingU.S. Supreme Court JusticeJohn McLean in the 1856landmarkDred Scott v. Sandford case.
Mathews was born inAugusta County, Virginia, on September 30, 1774, the son of a planter andRevolutionary War officer,George Mathews and his wife, Polly. The elder Mathews would later serve twice asGovernor of Georgia. In 1785, the elder Mathews moved himself and his whole family toWilkes County, Georgia, to land that today is inOglethorpe County.
Mathews returned to Virginia for his education at Liberty Hall Academy (which later becameWashington and Lee University). He originally set out to become a physician but was persuaded by his father tostudy law under his brother, John Mathews, inAugusta, Georgia.[1] He married Harriet Flowers in 1809 and they resided nearSt. Francisville, Louisiana, at her family'sButler Greenwood Plantation.[2]
George and Harriett Mathews raised indigo, cotton, sugar cane, and corn on theplantation, shipping the crops from their own dock on Bayou Sara and extending their land holdings to include a sugar plantation inLafourche Parish that, according to Lewis Gray's figures, placed them among the top 9% of sugar planters in the state in the 1850s.[3]The Mathews owned slaves, and used their labor on their plantation. In an 1826 report, George Mathews relayed in family correspondence that his slaves in the field were picking 126 pounds of cotton, each.[4]
In 1804 Mathews was appointed by PresidentThomas Jefferson to be judge of the Superior Court of the newly createdTerritory of Mississippi. He served for two years on that court before being appointed judge of the Superior Court for theTerritory of Orleans in 1806.
When Louisiana became a state in 1813, the territorial courts were replaced by a new Supreme Court. Mathews was appointed by GovernorWilliam C.C. Claiborne as judge of that new high court on February 23, 1813. He served alongside JudgesDominic Augustin Hall,Pierre Derbigny andFrancois Xavier Martin.[1] He reputedly learned bothFrench andSpanish as much of the law of the State of Louisiana was rooted in the traditions of the land's previous colonial overlords and many lawyers spoke one of the two languages but not English.[1]
In the early 1830s, a Louisiana family went to France with their young slave girl, Josephine Louise. When the family returned home, the slave girl's mother filed afreedom suit to obtain a declaration of immediate emancipation as a result of the girl being transported to a country that did not recognize the institution of slavery. The 1835 case,Marie Louise v. Marot (1836) was heard by the Louisiana state district court and appealed to theLouisiana Supreme Court. The Court held that a slave who is taken to a territory prohibitive of slavery cannot be again reduced to slavery on returning to a territory allowing of slavery. Mathews, speaking for the court, stated that "[b]eing free for one moment...it was not in the power of her former owner to reduce her again to slavery."[5]
21 years later, his precedent was relied upon byUS Supreme Court JusticeJohn McLean, who dissented from the court'sDred Scott ruling that a slave was a piece of property that could by transported by his owner from a Southern state into a territory that forbade slavery without losing his slave status.[5] Six of 8 justices did not abide by the precedent in what has been considered the worst decision ever made by the Supreme Court.[6]
Mathews died in St. Francisville on November 14, 1836. He left a very large fortune at his death, and hiswill was successfully attacked; one of its dispositions being annulled by the Louisiana Supreme Court.[7]
TheLouisiana Historical Association celebrated the Centenary of the Louisiana Supreme Court in 1922 and at that time Mathews was remembered as, "short, rotund, placid, even-tempered, and genial, with a touch of humor and pleasantry in his intercourse with men and on the bench. His disposition crops out in his opinions which, moreover, are fine specimens of taste and learning."[8]
Mathews, Louisiana, is named in his honor.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by newly created position | Judge of the Superior Court of the Territory of Mississippi 1804–1806 | Succeeded by unknown |
| Preceded by | Judge of the Superior Court of the Territory of Orleans 1806–1813 | Succeeded by court abolished |
| Preceded by newly created position | Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court 1813–1836 Chief Justice 1821–1836 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
