Christopher Gale (1670February 17, 1735) was the first Chief Justice of the Colony of North Carolina. He was also briefly

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

and a customs collector for various ports of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

Biography

Christopher Gale was born in 1670 (some sources say 1679) in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, the son of the Rev.

Miles Gale Miles Gale (1647–1721) was an English antiquary. Gale was the eldest son of John Gale. His father, a descendant of the Gales of Scruton and Masham in Yorkshire, served under Count Mansfeld in the Low Countries (1622–5), returned to Englan ...

and Margaret Stone. He read law under an attorney in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

but Gale migrated to Carolina when he was in his early twenties, settling in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. He made his fortune in trade with the

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

. In 1702, Gale married Sarah Laker Harvey, widow of Governor Thomas Harvey. They had four children: Miles, Theophilus, Penelope and Elizabeth. He lived at Kirby Grange, a large plantation near Bath.

Career as a Justice

In 1703, Proprietary Governor

Robert Daniel Robert Williams Daniel, Jr. (March 17, 1936 – February 4, 2012) was an American farmer, businessman, teacher, and politician from Virginia who served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican Party (United States), Re ...

appointed Gale to serve as a Justice of the General Court, the supreme court of the colony and in 1704, he concurrently was appointed attorney general of Carolina. Following the upheaval of

Cary's Rebellion Cary's Rebellion (also known as the Cary Rebellion) was an uprising against the Deputy Governor of North-Carolina in 1711 led by Thomas Cary, who refused to give up his governorship to Edward Hyde. The rebellion was a part of a long-standing t ...

in 1708, Gale was removed from office as Chief Justice by Governor William Glover. Gale traveled to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

where the Lords Proprietors of the Carolina colony were meeting to lay his case for reinstatement before them. He was immediately reinstated. Gale was a capable explorer and was slated to go with John Lawson and Baron

Christoph de Graffenried Christoph von Graffenried, 1st Baron of Bernberg (15 November 1661 – 27 October 1743) was a Swiss nobleman and explorer who was one of the founders of New Bern, North Carolina. Born in Worb Castle in the Canton of Bern, he played a major role ...

on their fateful 1711 expedition into Indian territory. De Graffenreid and Lawson were captured by Tuscarora Indians and Lawson was killed. Gale was unable to join them due to his wife Susan's illness. Gale later reflected that her illness likely saved his life. Later that year Governor Edward Hyde sent him to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

to secure military aid for the war against the Tuscarora Indians. On his return trip, Gale was captured by the French who held him briefly as a prisoner of war on

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. Finally arriving home in July 1712, Gale was rewarded for his service with a re-appointment as Chief Justice. He held that office, with only brief interruptions, until 1731, during which time he obtained commissions as collector of customs at the ports of Beaufort, Currituck, and Roanoke successively. He also briefly served as the absentee Attorney General of the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

. In 1729, Gale was appointed to a commission to determine the boundary between North Carolina and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

along with Colonel John Lovick and William Little.

End of life

His wife Sarah died in 1730 and Gale married Sarah Catherine Ismay, widow of John Ismay, about 1733. Gale died in 1735 in

Edenton, North Carolina The town of Edenton is located on the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. It is the county seat of Chowan County. The population was 4,397 at the 2020 census. Edenton served as the second official capital of North Carol ...

leaving a will that stated, “To All my friends I leave my hearty prayers & Good wishes, To my Enemys forgiveness & prayers for their Repentance for the many ill offices done me.” Several of his letters are printed in John Nichols's ''Illustrations'', iv. 489–92. DNB

References

External links

North Carolina Historical Marker B-5
* William S. Price Jr., “A Strange Incident in George Burrington’s Royal Governorship,” North Carolina Historical Review (Spring 1974): 149-158 * Alan D. Watson, Bath: The First Town in North Carolina (2005) * Marshall DeLancey Haywood, Builders of the Old North State (1968) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gale, Christopher 1670 births 1735 deaths People from colonial North Carolina American jurists People from Beaufort County, North Carolina