Hemphill's father was a Presbyterian minister, The Reverend John Hemphill, who emigrated to the United States from County Londonderry, Ireland.[1] His mother, Jane Lind, was also Scots-Irish but was born in Pennsylvania, where they met and married. John Hemphill the younger was born in South Carolina. He was educated at Jefferson College, graduating in 1825. He studied or "read the law" with David McCloud and was admitted to the bar in South Carolina in 1829. Several years later, in 1838 Hemphill moved his practice to Texas after it became an independent republic. Realizing that it was strongly influenced by Spanish law, he learned Spanish and studied its laws in order to be successful in this new environment.[2]
He was called the "John Marshall of Texas" for the role he played in the development of Texan law from the republic's early years, "laying the foundation of its judiciary system".[1][2] The challenges were far beyond the law; Hemphill became known for an incident in which he fought Indian warriors who had attacked him in a courtroom while his court was in session.
Hemphill was considered an expert on Spanish and Mexican law, and he considered Spanish civil law to be superior to common law in many areas, especially in relation to the property. He is remembered for expanding women's rights so that women could inherit equally. He also supported homestead rights in adoption of principles of Spanish civil law.[2] Hemphill was elected in 1858 to replace Sam Houston as United States senator from Texas when Houston would not support the assertion that states have a right to secede from the United States. He served from 1859 to 1861.
Hemphill never married.[4] He lived with his slave Sabina for more than a decade and had two daughters with her. He arranged for their education, sending them in the late 1850s to the newly founded Wilberforce College in Ohio, considered a "training ground" for abolitionists before the Civil War.[3] John Hemphill was a cousin of Charles Hare Hemphill, Lord Hemphill through his father, The Reverend John Hemphill.
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