Burke, Aedanus | South Carolina Public Radio

"B" is for Burke, Aedanus (1743-1802). Jurist, congressman. A native of Ireland, Burke arrived in South Carolina in 1775 and served in the militia during the Revolution. In 1780 he was elected a judge of the Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions. He was captured at the fall of Charleston and spent sixteen months in captivity. In 1788, Burke was a leading opponent of the proposed U.S. Constitution, but on its ratification he pledged his support for the new government. He was elected as an anti-Federalist to the First Congress. He served one term in Congress and declined to stand for re-election when the legislature passed a law prohibiting a state judge from leaving the state. In 1799 Aedanus Burke was elected chancellor of the Court of Equity and served until his death.