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Stokes served as a captain in the Revolutionary
War. He later became a member of the House of Commons and a member
of the Constitutional Convention of 1789 that brought North Carolina
into the Union. In 1790, President George Washington appointed him
as the first federal district judge for North Carolina. Stokes also
practiced law in Salisbury. In 1788, he purchased a 275 acre tract
of land next to Richmond Pearson. The same year he married Pearson's
daughter, Betsy, and as a wedding present Pearson gave the couple
698 acres of land. In 1790, Stokes purchased four more acres and
started construction on his home. Whether Stokes lived long enough
to see his house finished is not known. He died in October 1790 on
his way home from his only term on the bench in New Bern. Richmond
Pearson served as administrator of his estate. (Courtesy of the
Salisbury Post.)