Charles Laban Abernethy
Encyclopedia
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
between 1922 and 1935.
Born in Rutherford College, North Carolina
Rutherford College, North Carolina
Rutherford College is a town in Burke County, North Carolina, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 1,293. It is part of the Hickory–Lenoir–Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, Abernethy attended local public schools and Rutherford College
Rutherford College
Rutherford College is:* Rutherford College, North Carolina, a small town in Burke County, North Carolina, United States* Rutherford College of Technology, one of the predecessors of the United Kingdom's Northumbria University...
before moving to Beaufort, North Carolina
Beaufort, North Carolina
Beaufort is a town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. Established in 1709, it is the third-oldest town in North Carolina.The population was 4,189 at the 2008 census and it is the county seat of Carteret County...
in 1893. There, he founded the Beaufort Herald newspaper. Abernethy studied law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
and was admitted to the bar in 1895. Practicing law in Beaufort, he was solicitor of the third (later the fifth) judicial circuit for twelve years, and a member of the executive committee of the North Carolina Democratic Party
North Carolina Democratic Party
The North Carolina Democratic Party is the North Carolina affiliate of the national Democratic Party in the United States. It is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. They are located in the historic Goodwin house which is located in the downtown area of Raleigh at 220 Hillsborough Street...
between 1898 and 1900.
Abernethy moved to New Bern, North Carolina
New Bern, North Carolina
New Bern is a city in Craven County, North Carolina with a population of 29,524 as of the 2010 census.. It is located at the confluence of the Trent and the Neuse rivers...
in 1913, and continued to practice law there. In 1922, he was chosen, in a special election, to fill the seat vacated by the death of Rep. Samuel M. Brinson
Samuel M. Brinson
Samuel Mitchell Brinson was an American politician.Brinson was born in New Bern, Craven County, NC to William George Brinson and Kittie Elizabeth Brinson. He was the member of the United States House of Representatives for the North Carolina 3rd district from 1919 to 1922...
; he was re-elected to five more terms, serving between November 7, 1922 and January 3, 1935, before being defeated for re-election in 1934. After leaving Congress, he resumed his law practice, retiring in 1938.
Abnernethy died in 1955 in New Bern and is buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery.