William Preston Bynum was an American jurist. He is noted for his service as an associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.
Background
William Preston Bynum was born on June 16, 1820 in Stokes County, North Carolina, whither his grandfather Gray Bynum had moved from Virginia prior to the Revolution. William's father, Hampton Bynum, was a large landowner in the county and married Mary Colman, daughter of Col. John Martin.
Education
William's early education was received at home, but he subsequently proceeded to Davidson College where he graduated with distinction in 1843. He then studied law with Chief Justice Pearson and was admitted to the bar in 1844.
Career
William Bynum practiced at Lincolnton up to the outbreak of the Civil War, and acquired an extensive legal connection. When Lincoln called for volunteers to coerce the South, however, he threw in his lot with his state, and in 1861 was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 2nd North Carolina Regiment by Governor Ellis. For two years he was on active service, participating in the battles in the neighborhood of Richmond and in the first battle of Fredericksburg.
In 1863 he was appointed by the North Carolina legislature solicitor for the 6th judicial district of the state, and retired from the army in order to take up his duties. He occupied this position for eleven years, resigning on his appointment to the supreme court in 1873.
He was a delegate from Lincoln County to the state constitutional convention which assembled at Charlotte in October 1865 and held an adjourned session in May 1866. Its proceedings were important, involving radical changes in the constitution, and Bynum took an active part in the discussions, serving on the Committee on Amendments to the Constitution not otherwise referred and the Committee on Acts of the Convention, the Legislature and the Courts since 1861. In 1866 he was elected state senator for Lincoln, Gaston, and Catawba Counties, but served only one term.
He was appointed by Governor Caldrock an associate justice of the supreme court of North Carolina, on November 20, 1873, and remained on the bench till the expiration of his term on January 6, 1879. Though strongly urged to accept nomination for another term, he declined, and resumed law practise in Charlotte, to which city he had removed.
Bynum initially came from a Federalist-Whig family of strong nationalist convictions. Later he declined the Republican nomination for chief justice, and on several occasions refused to consider nomination for governor of the state.
Views
As he was financially independent, he thereafter did not concern himself much with either professional work or public affairs.
Personality
As of his personality, Bynum possesed such qualities as strong individuality, clear intellect, and keen analytical powers.
Connections
He was married to Ann Eliza, daughter of Bartlett Shipp and sister of Judge W. M. Shipp of the supreme court of North Carolina. There were born to Bynum and his wife two children, Mary Preston (1849–75) and William Shipp (1848–98), a lawyer and Episcopal clergyman of Lincolnton. By William Shipp and his wife, Mary Louisa Curtis, daughter of Moses Ashley Curtis, Bynum had eight grandchildren.