John Stokes was a 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...

 attorney, politician, and judge.

Stokes was born in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, and became an attorney with a private practice in Salisbury, North Carolina

Salisbury, North Carolina

Salisbury is a city in Rowan County in North Carolina, a state of the United States of America. The population was 33,663 in the 2010 Census . It is the county seat of Rowan County...

. A Continental Army

Continental Army

The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

 Captain from 1778 to 1783, Stokes was severely wounded when British Colonel Banastre Tarleton

Banastre Tarleton

General Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet, GCB was a British soldier and politician.He is today probably best remembered for his military service during the American War of Independence. He became the focal point of a propaganda campaign claiming that he had fired upon surrendering Continental...

's cavalry practically destroyed Col. Abraham Buford

Abraham Buford

Abraham Buford was a Continental Army officer during the American Revolutionary War, best known as the commanding officer of the American forces at the Battle of Waxhaws.-Biography:...

's Virginia regiment in the Waxhaw massacre

Waxhaw massacre

The Battle of Waxhaws took place during the American Revolution on May 29, 1780, near Lancaster, South Carolina, between a Continental Army force led by Abraham Buford and a mainly Loyalist force led by Banastre Tarleton...

 in 1780. Stokes served in the North Carolina State Senate from 1786 to 1787 and in the North Carolina House of Commons in 1789, also serving at that time as a member of the North Carolina convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

He was nominated by President George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

 on August 2, 1790, to be the first judge of the United States District Court for the District of North Carolina, a new seat created by 1 Stat. 126. The following day, Stokes was confirmed by the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

, and received his commission. He served until his death, less than three months after his appointment.

Stokes County, North Carolina

Stokes County, North Carolina

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 44,711 people, 17,579 households, and 13,043 families residing in the county. The population density was 99 people per square mile . There were 19,262 housing units at an average density of 43 per square mile...

 is named for him.

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