| Bird M. Pearson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Justice of the Florida Supreme Court | |
| In office 1856–1859 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Douglas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1803 (1803) Union County, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | October 9, 1859(1859-10-09) (aged 55–56) Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. |
Bird Murphy Pearson, or Byrd Murphy Pearson, (1803 – October 9, 1859) was a Florida lawyer, planter and a Democratic politician who served on the Florida Supreme Court from 1856 to 1859, one of the first to be popularly elected. He replaced Thomas Baltzell as Chief Justice.
Person was born in Union District, South Carolina, in 1803. He graduated from South Carolina College and read law. Little is known of his law practice, though he served as a state solicitor in South Carolina. He lived for a time in Faunsdale, Alabama, where he built a plantation. He moved to a Hernando County plantation near Brooksville, Florida in 1845. The plantation he built at what is now Chinsegut Hill Manor House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
An ardent proponent of states' rights, slavery, and secession, he was a delegate to the 1850 Nashville Convention. In 1851, he moved to Jacksonville. It was felt that a bid to run for the Florida Supreme Court would be premature in 1853, as the State's sentiments were too pro Union. In 1855, he ran to fill the vacancy left by the death of Thomas Douglas. Ill health forced him to not seek reelection. He died in Jacksonville on October 9, 1859.
References
- Manley, Walter W., Brown, E. Canter. and Rise, Eric W. The Supreme Court of Florida and Its Predecessor Courts, 1821-1917. pp 164–165. University Press of Florida. Gainesville, Florida. 1997. eBook ISBN 978-0-8130-2298-7. ISBN 978-0-8130-1540-8. at Netlbrary. Online. May 14, 2008.
- The Political Graveyard, Pearson
- Justices of the Florida Supreme Court
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- 1803 births
- 1859 deaths
- People from Union County, South Carolina
- 19th-century American planters
- Lawyers from Jacksonville, Florida
- American proslavery activists
- Chief justices of the Florida Supreme Court
- People from Hernando County, Florida
- U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law
- 19th-century American judges
- 19th-century American lawyers
- Florida politician stubs
- Florida state court judge stubs