Edwin Godwin Reade (November 13, 1812 – October 18, 1894) was a

U.S. congressman The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

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 ...

between 1855 and 1857. He later served in the

Confederate Senate The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly/legislature of the Confederate States of America that existed from February 1861 to April/June 1865, during the American Civil War. Its actions were, ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He was a justice of the

Supreme Court of North Carolina 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 ...

Early life

Edwin Godwin Reade was born on November 13, 1812, in

Person County, North Carolina Person County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 39,097 as of the 2020 census. The county seat is Roxboro. Person County is included in the Durham- Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

. In his early life, he worked on a farm, in a carriage shop, for a blacksmith, and in a tanyard. He attended the academy of George Morrow in Orange County. He was assistant teacher in the school of reverend Alexander Wilson. He started studying law at home in 1833 and was admitted to the bar in 1835.

Career

In 1835, Reade ran as a Whig for the house of commons, but lost. In 1835, he began practicing law in Roxboro. He continued practicing law until 1855. He was a member of the law firm Reade, Busbee & Busbee. Reade served a single term in the

34th United States Congress The 34th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1855 ...

as a member of the American Party (March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857), and refused to run for re-election in 1856. He returned to North Carolina and became presiding justice in the county court. He remained in that role for several years. In 1860, he was elected as judge of the superior court. During the Civil War, John A. Gilmer wrote a letter to Reade on behalf of

William H. Seward William Henry Seward (; May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as governor of New York and as a United States senator. A determined opp ...

to consider a cabinet position under President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

. Reade declined. In 1863, Governor

Zebulon Vance Zebulon Baird Vance (May 13, 1830 – April 14, 1894) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 37th and 43rd governor of North Carolina, a U.S. Senator from North Carolina, and a Confederate officer during the American Civil ...

appointed Reade to the

to fill the seat of George Davis, who had resigned to become the Confederacy's

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 ...

. Following the Civil War, Reade was re-appointed as judge of the superior court and remained as judge until 1866. He presided over the

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

convention in 1865 in

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

. In 1868, he was named as associate justice of 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 ...

, a post he held until 1879. Following his retirement from government, Reade engaged in banking in Raleigh. He was president of the Raleigh National Bank.

Personal life

Reade married Emily A. L. Moore. In 1871 or 1873, he married Mary E. (née Shaw) Parmalee, widow of Benjamin J. Parmalee. He was a Presbyterian. At the time of his death, he lived in the building of the Raleigh National Bank. Reade died on October 18, 1894, in Raleigh. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reade, Edwin 1812 births 1894 deaths People from Person County, North Carolina Know-Nothing members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina Confederate States of America senators Justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court People of North Carolina in the American Civil War Burials at Historic Oakwood Cemetery People from Roxboro, North Carolina 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives