Frederick Nash (February 9, 1781 – December 5, 1858) was an American lawyer and jurist from

Hillsborough, North Carolina The town of Hillsborough is the county seat of Orange County, North Carolina, United States, and is located along the Eno River. The population was 6,087 in 2010, but it grew rapidly to 9,660 by 2020. Its name was unofficially shortened to "Hi ...

. He served on 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 ...

and was its chief justice from 1852 until his death. Frederick was the son of

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Abner Nash Abner Nash (August 8, 1740December 2, 1786) was an American politician who served as the second governor of North Carolina from 1780 to 1781 and as a member of the Continental Congress from 1782 until his death. Life story Nash was born the so ...

and Mary Jones Nash, Abner's second wife. He was born in

New Bern New Bern, formerly Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 31,291 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse River, Neuse a ...

, and attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, graduating in 1799. He returned home to

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

, and to set up a law practice in New Bern. Nash moved to Hillsborough in 1807, and was elected to 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 ...

, serving from 1813 to 1817. He was a judge of

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

from 1818 to 1824 and again from 1836 until his election as an associate judge of the state's Supreme Court in 1844. When Justice Thomas Ruffin resigned in 1852, Nash was raised to Chief Justice and held that post until his death. He died at home in Hillsborough. Nash was married twice: first to Mary Kollock, then after her death to Anna Maria MacLean. After Frederick died, his daughters, Sally (1811–1893) and Maria (1819–1907), opened a school for young ladies in the family home at Hillsborough. His grandson, Francis "Frank" Nash (1855–1932), was for many years an assistant attorney general for North Carolina and clerk of the state Supreme Court. His office at Hillsborough was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1971. It is located in the Hillsborough Historic District.

References

Frank Nash Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nash, Frederick 1781 births 1858 deaths North Carolina lawyers Chief justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court Politicians from New Bern, North Carolina Princeton University alumni U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century North Carolina state court judges 19th-century American lawyers