Manning, John, 1830-1899

Lawyer of Pittsboro, N.C.; U.S. representative from North Carolina; and professor of law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

John Manning was born on 30 July 1830, at Edenton, North Carolina, the son of United States naval captain, John Manning. He was graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1850, was licensed to practice law in 1853, and settled in Pittsboro, North Carolina, where he married Louisa J. Hall in 1856. While serving as first lieutenant of the Chatham Rifles in 1861, Manning was elected delegate to the Secession Convention; he was appointed as a receiver of the Confederate States of America later that year.

In 1870, Manning was elected to the 41st Congress to complete the unexpired term of John T. Deweese. In 1880, he served in the state legislature, where he introduced the first bill to provide an annual state appropriation for the University of North Carolina. In 1881, Manning was elected professor of law at the University, a position he held, while maintaining a private law practice, until his death in 1899.

Among his seven children were: Issac Hall Manning, Dean of the University of North Carolina Medical School, 1905-1933, and James Smith Manning, N. C. Attorney General and Associate Justice of the State Supreme Court.