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Judge On Horseback

by Michael Polzella

Many of us race through Iredell County on our way to somewhere else. Iredell is a name you don’t hear often. So, who was the county’s namesake?

James Iredell was English-born, but the family immigrated to Edenton to avoid bankruptcy. James became a lawyer, and after the Revolution helped create the state’s judicial system, becoming North Carolina’s second attorney general. George Washington appointed him one of the first federal Supreme Court judges. He traveled by horseback throughout the state interpreting the new Constitution.

It was a hard, tough life, and it took its toll. James Iredell died at 48.

Ron Smith, S&A Communications

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