Anderson Crenshaw*

 

Judge Anderson Crenshaw was born in South Carolina, on May 22, 1783,and died in Butler county, Ala., August 31, 1847. He was the first graduate of the university of South Carolina, at Columbia, and entered the legal profession and became distinguished as a lawyer in his native state. He removed to Alabama about 1819, and settled at Cahaba, the capital, and removed to Butler county about 1821. He was circuit judge from 1821 to 1838, and the circuit judges constituted the supreme court of the state until 1832; was chancellor of southern division of Alabama from 1838 till his death, in 1847, and while on the supreme bench became somewhat noted for rendering dissenting opinions, which afterward became the law. He was a fine classical scholar, and of considerable attainments and quaint learning.

The following extract is from Garrett's Public Men of Alabama: "He was a whig in politics, but so moderate in his views and feelings, and so devoted to the duties of the high places he occupied, that the question of party politics was never brought to bear upon him, in consequence of which he was retained in office under elections of the legislature, when large democratic majorities existed. His virtues as a man, and his abilities and integrity as a judge, gained the public confidence from the beginning of his long administration of justice, which he retained to the last. Nothing more need be added to such a pregnant record of success." Crenshaw county, Ala., was named for him.

 

*Reprint from MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA, VOL I by Brant & Fuller, Madison, Wis., 1893

 

This article was original submitted by Grant Johnston

 

NOTE: Anderson Crenshaw was born May 22, 1783 in South Carolina, son of Charles Crenshaw and Eunice White. Crenshaw graduated as a lawyer from South Carolina College in 1806 and passed the bar in 1809. He served during the War of 1812. In 1816, he married Mary Chiles. He and his wife relocated to Alabama in 1819 settling in the state’s first capital, Cahaba, where he served as the town’s first mayor. Mary’s first child, a daughter died while there. They moved to Butler County in 1822 and settled on The Ridge. The Crenshaws raised four sons: Walter Henry, Thomas Chiles, Charles Edward and Frederick William. They adopted a girl, Adah Thigpen, after their daughter died.  Judge Crenshaw died August 31, 1847 in Butler County. He and members of his family are buried in the Crenshaw Cemetery in Butler County. – information provided by Annie Crenshaw.

 

 

2013, Butler County ALGenWeb Coordinator

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Last updated July 19, 2013