text: harry toulmin ( unitarian minister ) harry toulmin ( sometimes called henry toulmin ) ( april 7 , 1766 – november 11 , 1823 ) was a unitarian minister and politician . the son of noted dissenting minister joshua toulmin , toulmin fled his native england for the united states after he and his followers were persecuted for their beliefs . he arrived in virginia in 1793 , and aided by recommendations from thomas jefferson and james monroe , he was chosen president of transylvania seminary ( now transylvania university ) in lexington , kentucky . his unitarian views , however , offended many of the orthodox presbyterian members of transylvania 's board of regents , and toulmin resigned after two years . shortly after his resignation , toulmin was appointed secretary of state of kentucky by governor james garrard . he influenced garrard – a baptist minister – to adopt some doctrines of socinianism , for which he was expelled from the local baptist association , ending his ministry . as secretary of state , toulmin endorsed the kentucky resolutions and revised the state 's code of laws in conjunction with attorney general james blair . after the expiration of his term as secretary of state in 1804 , thomas jefferson appointed him superior court judge for the tombigbee district of the mississippi territory . he was the first u.s. district judge to hold court on alabama soil . as the highest - ranking authority in the large territory , he tried to prevent residents in his jurisdiction from conducting raids against the spanish in west florida and from participating in the creek war between two rival factions of creek indians . when the state of alabama was formed from part of toulmin 's district , he helped write the new state 's constitution and was elected to the state legislature . again , he was asked to compile a digest of the region 's laws , which he completed in 1823 . toulmin died in washington county , alabama on november 11 , 1823 . because of his work compiling the laws of several states , later historians called him the " frontier justinian " . his grandson , harry theophilus toulmin was appointed district judge for the u.s. district court for the southern district of alabama by president grover cleveland in 1886 . in 2005 , toulmin was inducted into the alabama lawyer 's hall of fame , and in december 2009 he was honored with the installation of a plaque in front of the baldwin county , alabama , courthouse . early life and family toulmin was born april 7 , 1766 , in taunton , somersetshire , england . his parents were joshua toulmin , a noted dissenting minister , and his wife jane ( smith ) toulmin . he received little formal education , but frequently read books in his mother 's bookstore and benefited from listening to conversations between his father and other noted ministers such as joseph priestley and theophilus lindsey . after attending hoxton academy and studying under thomas barnes and william hawes , he followed his father into the ministry in 1786 . during his ministry in england , toulmin served two dissenting congregations in lancashire . from 1786 to 1788 , he was pastor of a church in monton , and from 1787 to 1793 , he served another congregation at chowbent chapel in atherton . he soon had nearly 1 , 000 followers , many of his followers supported the french revolution , attracting the attention of anti - dissenting partisans in england . a group of these partisans once took advantage of toulmin 's absence to threaten his house , necessitating his swift return to protect his family . upon arriving , he was able to break up the mob via diplomacy alone . about 1787 , toulmin married ann tremlett . the couple had nine children , five of whom survived infancy . in 1808 , one of these children , lucinda jane , married colonel daniel garrard , the son of james garrard , the second governor of kentucky . after the death of toulmin 's first wife , he married martha johnson in 1812 . they had one child together . resettlement in kentucky spurred by the persecution endured by his followers and himself , in 1792 toulmin published an anonymous pamphlet entitled " thoughts on emigration " , containing his thoughts on members of the dissenter movement relocating to another country . the following year , his congregants raised enough money to send him to the united states to explore the possibility of relocating there . dr. priestly gave him letters of introduction to thomas jefferson and james madison to present on his arrival . during his two - month voyage from england to norfolk , virginia , toulmin kept a diary , which was later published under the title the western country in 1793 ; reports on kentucky and virginia . following his arrival in the united states , toulmin wrote letters back to england , giving potential immigrants information they would need to know for their journey ; these letters were published in the local monthly magazine . the following year , he published a description of kentucky , a pamphlet encouraging emigration from europe to kentucky . after seeing toulmin 's letters of recommendation from jefferson and madison , the board of trustees of transylvania seminary ( now transylvania university ) in lexington , kentucky , elected him president of the seminary in february 1794 . he was the first president of the seminary who was not a presbyterian , and his election was effected when the baptist and more liberal members of the board united against the more conservative presbyterian members . his unitarian views offended many of the conservative board members , and at their insistence , the kentucky general assembly passed legislation requiring a unanimous vote of the board of regents to re - elect the seminary 's president . toulmin resigned in protest in april 1796 . shortly after toulmin 's resignation , james garrard , a baptist minister who had supported toulmin as a trustee of transylvania , was elected governor of kentucky . at first , garrard elected to re - appoint sitting secretary of state james brown , but when brown retired in october 1796 , garrard appointed toulmin as his replacement . he served in this capacity from 1796 to 1804 , spanning both of garrard 's consecutive terms as governor . as a result of garrard 's relationship with toulmin , he began to accept some tenets of unitarianism , specifically the doctrines of socinianism . by 1802 , garrard and his associate augustine eastin had not only adopted these beliefs , but had indoctrinated their baptist congregations with them as well . the elkhorn baptist association condemned garrard and eastin 's beliefs as heretical and tried to persuade the two men to abandon them . when that effort failed , the association ceased correspondence and association with both men . this event ended garrard 's ministry and his association with the baptist church . as secretary of state , toulmin was signatory to the kentucky resolutions , the legislature 's official protest of the alien and sedition acts , which he regarded as an " unwarranted government intrusion into free thought , free association , and free speech " . in 1801 , he published the magistrate 's assistant , a guide to the state 's magisterial laws . he also promoted public awareness of governmental activity by compiling and publishing the proceedings of the general assembly as the public acts of the general assembly . government officials chose toulmin and state attorney general james blair to revise the state 's code of laws . the results of their work – a three - volume tome entitled review of the criminal law of kentucky – was published in 1806 . near the end of governor garrard 's term , he appointed toulmin registrar of the state land office . toulmin was the first of six candidates that the state senate rejected in a bitter showdown between garrard and the legislature . the seventh candidate , john adair was finally confirmed by the senate . life in alabama toulmin supported president thomas jefferson 's re - election bid in 1804 . following his victory , jefferson appointed toulmin to succeed ephraim kirby as superior court judge for the tombigbee district of the mississippi territory in 1804 . because kirby only served six months and never held court in the present - day state of alabama , toulmin is regarded as the first u.s. federal judge on alabama soil . toulmin and his family relocated to fort stoddert , just north of the border between the united states and the spanish territory of west florida . toulmin 's district was large – by his estimate , 340 miles long and 330 miles wide – and he served as minister , physician , judge , postmaster , and diplomat for the area . he published both the mississippi magistrate 's guide and the laws of mississippi in 1807 . the residents of tombigbee district objected to spanish control of mobile bay , which prevented them from accessing the mississippi river and the port of new orleans . in 1805 , he formally petitioned congress to intervene , but they did not . although he personally favored u.s. annexation of west florida , he defended it as an independent nation until the annexation occurred . in 1807 , he arrested former vice - president aaron burr ; burr had been accused of conspiring to create an independent state in the southwest that would belong to neither the u.s. nor spain . in 1810 , he arrested reuben kemper and two other members of a group styled the " mobile society " following an unsuccessful attempt to " liberate " mobile and pensacola . toulmin 's actions were seen as supportive of spain , and a baldwin county grand jury charged him with acting on behalf of spain . a congressional investigation cleared him of any wrongdoing in may 1812 . toulmin was less successful in preventing residents of his district from entering the creek war between to rival factions of creek indians . in 1817 , alabama territory was formed from part of mississippi territory . when the state of alabama was created from part of the tombigbee district in 1819 , toulmin was chosen to represent baldwin county at the state 's constitutional convention in july 1819 . he served on the committee of fifteen that drafted the first constitution of alabama . the document was influenced by the kentucky constitution of 1800 , which contained more democratic provisions than some of the older state constitutions . after the constitutional convention , he was elected to the alabama legislature . in 1821 , his fellow legislators chose him to write a digest of the state 's laws . the final product , digest of the laws of the state of alabama , was published in 1823 . it comprised over 1 , 000 pages and contained the laws of mississippi and alabama territories as well as the acts passed by the alabama legislature to date . toulmin maintained a cotton plantation in washington county , alabama . although he was opposed to slavery when initially arriving in the united states , and he advocated for provisions in the alabama constitution that permitted the eventual emancipation of slaves , nevertheless he eventually came to be a slave owner himself . in his will , he provided for one of his slaves to be freed , deeming him " fit for freedom which few negroes are . " death and legacy toulmin died on his plantation on november 11 , 1823 . he is presumed to have been buried on his plantation , but the exact location of his grave is unknown . because of his work in codifying the laws of several states and territories , later literary scholars referred to toulmin as the " frontier justinian " , an allusion to byzantine emperor justinian i , who was known for codifying the empire 's laws . one of toulmin 's sons became a prominent state legislator in alabama , and his grandson , harry theophilus toulmin was appointed district judge for the u.s. district court for the southern district of alabama by president grover cleveland in 1886 . the original judge toulmin was elected to the alabama lawyer 's hall of fame in 2005 . a plaque honoring toulmin was placed in front of the baldwin county , alabama , courthouse in december 2009 . works published by harry toulmin toulmin , harry ( 1806 ) . the american attorney 's pocket book : being a collection from the best authorities of approved precedents in : interspersed with various legal provisions from the statutes of several of the united states . mathew carey . toulmin , harry ( 1806 ) . the american public prosecutor 's assistant : being a collection of precedents in criminal prosecutions , more immediately founded on the common law , and of the statutes of kentucky , but generally applicable to the laws of the several states of america . w. hunter . toulmin , harry ( 1806 ) . the clerk 's magazine and american 's assistant : being a collection adopted to the united states : of the most approved precedents of , agreements and covenants [ etc . ] mathew carey . toulmin , harry ( 1802 ) . a collection of all the public and permanent acts of the general assembly of kentucky which are now in force . w. hunter . toulmin , harry ( 1823 ) . a digest of the laws of the state of alabama : containing the statutes and resolutions in force at the end of the general assembly in january , 1823 : to which is added , an appendix containing the declaration of independence , the constitution of the united states , the act authorizing the people of alabama to form a constitution and state government and the constitution of the state of alabama : with a copious index . ginn & curtis . toulmin , harry ( 1807 ) . the magistrate 's assistant : being an alphabetical illustration of sundry legal principles and , accompanied with a variety of necessary forms : compiled for the use of the justices of the peace , in the mississippi territory . samuel terrell . toulmin , harry ( 1817 ) . petition from the citizens of the counties of clarke , monroe , washington , mobile , and baldwin , in the alabama territory . october 1817 : december 30 , 1817 . referred to the select committee , appointed on the 17th instant , on a memorial of the mississippi convention , relating to an extension of the limits of that state . e. de krafft . toulmin , harry ; james blair ( 1804 ) . a review of the criminal law of the commonwealth of kentucky . w. hunter . toulmin , harry ( 1807 ) . the statutes of the mississippi territory , revised and by the authority of the general assembly . samuel terrell .