Asa Biggs (February 4, 1811 – March 6, 1878) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as a member of both chambers of the United States Congress and as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Albemarle, Cape Fear and Pamptico Districts of North Carolina.
Education and career
Born on February 4, 1811, in Williamston, Martin County, North Carolina, Biggs attended the common schools and pursued classical studies, then read law in 1831. Biggs owned "several slaves" as a result of his marriage.
He was a delegate to the North Carolina constitutional convention in 1835. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1846. He was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1855, until May 5, 1858, when he resigned to accept a federal judicial post. Warren County, North Carolina, where he wrote his autobiography.
Asa Biggs House
thumb|Historical marker, Williamston, North Carolina
The Asa Biggs House and Site at Williamston was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
References
Sources
- Dictionary of American Biography; Biggs, Asa. Autobiography of Asa Biggs, Including a Journal of a Trip from North Carolina to New York in 1832. Edited by Robert D. W. Connor. North Carolina Historical Commission Publications. Bulletin No. 19. Raleigh: * Edwards and Broughton Printing Company, 1915.
- Autobiography of Asa Biggs, Including a Journal of a Trip from North Carolina to New York in 1832. Raleigh, [N.C.]: Edwards & Broughton, 1915.