University of North Carolina Chapel Hill - Yackety Yack Yearbook (Chapel Hill, NC)

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P on. (gjohn [fanning, (© . © PROFESSOR OF LAW IN THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA. DR. JOHN MANNING was born on the 30th day of July, 1S30, in the ancient capital of the colony of North Carolina, Edenton. His ances- tors, about the beginning of the i8th century, settled the Manning Manor plantation, situated near Norfolk, in Virginia, about two miles from the Great Bridge, where Gov. Lord Dunmore was defeated by a force con- sisting largely of North Carolina troops. His grandfather removed to North Carolina, settling first in Currituck county, and then, as a merchant, in Edenton. Thus it is that Dr. Manning ' s father, of the same name, and his uncle, the late Chief Justice of Louisiana, Thomas C. Manning, were natives of this state. John Manning, the elder, preferring a more adventurous life than that of a merchant, accepted an appointment in the nav} procured for him by James Iredell, the 3 ' ounger, Governor and Federal Senator. He rose to the rank of captain, resigned his post at the beginning of the Civil War, and served the Confederacy vmtil forced by bad health to retire into private life. The mother of Dr. Manning, Taniar Leary, belonged to one of the oldest and best families of the Albemarle country. As her husband was frequently absent on long cruises, under her wise and loving care her children were chiefly reared. Dr. Manning ' s earliest years were spent in Edenton. He was taught at a school of much local fame, the historic Edenton Academy, then under the charge of Mr. Charles Disbrow. Thence he was transferred to a still more famous institution, the Norfolk Militan, Academy, of which Prof. Hopkins, once of the United States Militar} Academy, was principal, and John V. Strange, a relation of Judge Robert Strange, of this state, was 14

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DR. MANNINQ.

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assistant. In his senior year he was appointed to the honorable position of Captaincy of Cadets. He left Norfolk in 1847 and entered the Sophomore Class in the University of North Carolina. Among his classmates were General George B. Anderson, Mr. Vm. H. Johnston of Tarboro, Professor W. C. Kerr and the late Judge Thomas Settle. He was one of the best debaters in the Philanthropic Society, and on account of his graceful delivery was chosen as one of the representative declaimers at the Commencement of 1848. Possessed of an uncommonly fine bass voice, he assisted i n form- ing the first student choir known in our history-, the leader being Dr. Richard H. Whitfield, of Meridian, Mississippi. He was a faithful student, graduat- ing with high honor, and showing the bent, of his mind by delivering an oration on The Influence of Religion on Law. After leaving the university, young Manning gladly availed himself of his father ' s offer to sail with him, as captain ' s clerk, along the Eastern coast of South America. The voyage was made in the U. S. brig Bainbridge, and he had the pleasure of visiting among others the great cities of Rio Janeiro, Montevideo and Buenos Ayres, and, as son of the captain, of having entree into the highest social circles of South America. Orders being received for the Bainbridge to proceed to the coast of Africa, not liking a naval life, he resigned his position and returned home on the national vessel, St. Louis. After consultation with his parents, he resolved to become a lawyer and settle in Norfolk, after studying his profession in the quiet village of Pitts- boro, under a cousin of his, an eminent lawyer, John H. Haughton. He procured his County Court license in 1852 and Superior Court license in 1853, along with the late Judge Fowle, Kemp P. Battle, Edward Graham Haywood, and others, of whom all are dead except himself and Dr. Battle. His cousin, Mr. Haughton, was so impressed with his industry and intellectual ability as to tender him a partnership in his large practice. Giving up his Norfolk plan, he accepted the offer, and as the senior partner soon afterwards concluded to change his residence to the county of Craven, the junior became the possessor of the extensive business of the firm. This was a most onerous burden for young shoulders, but he not only bore it succesfully, but drew to himself a still larger clientage. He attended the Supreme and Federal Courts in Raleigh, and all the courts of Chatham, Moore and Harnett, with excursions in special cases to Cumberland and Randolph. He was a lawyer of the old school, disclosing to his clients the weakness as well as strength of their cases, giving advice sagaciously and ■arrd frankly, in attack and defense strong, skilful, and active, but never in- dulging in, or allowing in his adversary, angry or insulting words, making 15