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Thomas Pollock Devereux

Gender:
Male
Born:
November 17, 1793
Died:
March 7, 1869
Home Town:
New Bern, NC
Later Residences:
Halifax, NC
Marriage(s):
Catherine Johnson Devereux (October 7, 1815)
Mary Maitland Devereux (after 1836)
Biographical Notes:
Thomas Pollock Devereux was born in New Bern, NC but spent his childhood in Stratford, CT. Devereux graduated from Yale in 1813, as well as studied at the Litchfield Law School but did not seek to actively pursue the practice of law until financial losses forced him to pursue the profession. While Joint Reporter of the North Carolina Supreme Court, he published four volumes of law reports and two volumes of equity reports. From 1820 to 1827 Devereux acted as a Trustee for the University of North Carolina. Following the death of his wealthy uncle George Pollock in 1839, Thomas’ mother inherited his assets, and Thomas left his career to take charge of managing the estate. He continued to be active in politics, and as a Federalist advocated a strong Union, opposing State’s Rights doctrines. However, ...
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Additional Notes:
Financially supported aunt Amelia C. Ogden (LFA 1797) living unmarried in Litchfield until the advent of Civil War.
Education
Years at LLS:
1813-1815
Other Education:
Graduated from Yale College in 1813.
Received an Honorary degree from UNC Chapel Hill in 1818
Profession / Service
Profession:
Lawyer; Political Office
Political Party:
Federalist; Whig
Federal Posts:
U.S. Attorney for the District of NC (NC) Before 1826
State Posts:
Reporter of the Supreme Court (NC) 1826-1839
Local Posts:
Chairman of the County Court (Halifax County,NC)
Related Objects and Documents
In the Ledger:
help The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation.

Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
Baldwin, Roger Sherman. "Notes on law taken from the lectures of the Honble. Tapping Reeve and James Gould, esquire … at the Litchfield Law School, 1812-1813."; Ledger. "Journals of the Barr - Litchfield County." Litchfield Historical Society.; Catalogue

Litchfield County Bar Association Records, 1814, Helga J. Ingraham Memorial Library, Litchfield Historical Society
Secondary Sources:
"Introduction." Journal of a Secesh Lady: The Diary of Catharine Ann Devereux Edmondston. Ed. Beth G. Crabtree and James W. Patton. 3rd ed. Raleigh: North Carolina Division of Archives and History, 1995. Xi-Xxxvii. Print.
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