Abstract:
Montfort Stokes once gave up an opportunity to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat in 1805, citing family obligations. Stokes was later elected to the senate seat in 1816, and he held that position till 1823. Stokes was a Virginia native but lived in Salisbury and Wilkes County. Stokes assisted in the settlement of the North Carolina – South Carolina and the North Carolina – Tennessee boundaries while serving as boundary commissioner. Stokes remained active in state politics as a member of the state senate, the state house of commons, and as North Carolina governor from 1830-1832. Stokes died in 1842 while serving President Andrew Jackson in the Bureau of Indian Affairs.