Aaron Ashley Flowers Seawell (1864 – 1950) was an American politician and jurist.

Biography

The son of Aaron Ashley Flowers Sr. (1822–1894) and Jeannette Ann (Buie) Seawell (1829-1907), he graduated from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

in 1884 and later studied law there. He was elected to represent first Moore County and then Lee County in 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 ...

for several noncontinuous terms from 1901 to 1931. Seawell was elected

North Carolina Attorney General The attorney general of North Carolina is a statewide elected office in the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. The attorney general is a state constitutional officer, constitutional officer responsible for representing state agencies i ...

and served from 1935 to 1938, when he 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 ...

, where he served until his death.

Legacy

His son, Malcolm Buie Seawell, followed in his footsteps as state Attorney General from 1958 to 1960. Another son,

Donald Seawell Donald Ray Seawell (August 1, 1912 – September 30, 2015) was an American cultural and civic leader, born in Jonesboro, North Carolina. He was the founder of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

, was an attorney, Broadway producer, and publisher of ''

The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in the Denver metropolitan area. it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 mil ...

'', before founding The

Denver Center for the Performing Arts The Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) is an organization in Denver, Colorado which provides a showcase for live theatre, a nurturing ground for new plays, a preferred stop on the Broadway touring circuit, acting classes for the communi ...

. Seawell Elementary School in Chapel Hill was named in honor of his daughter Elizabeth Seawell, who taught there for several decades. He was also the father of Sarah Jeanette Seawell Sommers Eddleman and Edward Harding Seawell, who graduated with honors from law school. Edward was aboard the USS Quincy on Aug. 9, 1942, when the Quincy was sunk, and 529 of her crew perished. Edward was among those missing in action and was awarded the Purple Heart. Aaron's grandson,

Buie Seawell Malcolm Buie Seawell Jr. (born July 8, 1937) is an American professor at the University of Denver. He is also an attorney, and former Colorado Democratic Party chair. Born in North Carolina, he is the son of the state's former Attorney General, ...

, moved to

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and became chairman of the state Democratic Party.

References

Political Graveyard
Justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court North Carolina attorneys general University of North Carolina School of Law alumni 1864 births 1950 deaths Seawell family {{NorthCarolina-politician-stub