Brice Goldsborough (judge)

Brice J. Goldsborough (May 30, 1803 – July 23, 1867)^[1][2][3] was a justice of the Maryland Court of Appeals from 1860 to 1867.^[4]

Early life, education, and career

Born in Cambridge, Maryland, to Dr. Richard Goldsborough and Achsah (Worthington) Goldsborough, he was a drummer boy in the War of 1812, at the age of nine. He graduated from St. John's College in Annapolis and read law under Col. Smith of Winchester, Virginia to gain admission to the bar in Cambridge bar around 1825.^[3] Goldsborough was then elected to represent Dorchester County, Maryland, in the Maryland House of Delegates in 1826, 1827, and 1829,^[3] after which he engaged in the private practice of law until 1835.^[3]

Judicial service

In 1835, Governor Thomas Veazey appointed Goldsborough judge of the county court of Dorchester County, Maryland.^[3] Goldsborough served for many years as judge of the Circuit Court, and in 1861 was appointed by Governor Thomas Holliday Hicks to a seat on the state's high court, the Court of Appeals for Maryland,^[2][3] vacated by the death of Justice John Bowers Eccleston.^[5] Goldsborough was subsequently nominated for election to the office in 1862,^[5] winning re-election by a large margin over his competitor, James B. Groom, of Cecil County.^[2] Goldsborough remained on the court until his death, in July, 1867.^[2]

Personal life and death

Goldsborough married Leah Goldsborough, a daughter of his cousin James Goldsborough, of Talbot County. They had two sons, James Richard Goldsborough, and M. Worthington Goldsborough.^[2][3]

He died at Cambridge, Maryland, at the age of 64.^[1]

References

1. The Law Almanac for the Year 1870 (1870), p. 171.
2. Elias Jones, History of Dorchester County, Maryland (1902), p. 294-295.
3. "Brice John Goldsborough (1803-1867)". Archives of Maryland. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
4. "Maryland Court of Appeals Judges, 1778–". Archives of Maryland. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
5. "Judicial Nomination", The Baltimore Sun (September 16, 1861), p. 2.

Political offices
Preceded by John Bowers Eccleston	Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals 1860–1867	Succeeded by Court reconfigured