George Lawrence Mabson was a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives and the North Carolina State Senate, as well as the North Carolina Constitutional Convention of 1875. [1]
Mabson was the son of a black woman, Eliza Moore, and a prominent white man, George W. Mabson, in Wilmington, North Carolina. [1] His brother was William P. Mabson, who was also a politician.
In the 1850s, he was sent to Boston to attend school. [1] During the Civil War, Mabson first served in the United States Navy and then joined Company G, 5th Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment in February 1864 and mustered out in Clarksville, Texas, a full Command Sergeant. [1] [2] After earning a degree from Howard University Law School, he became the first black lawyer in North Carolina. [1] In 1870, he unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. [1] He was elected to the North Carolina State Senate in 1872 representing New Hanover. [3]
He was the nephew of William B. Gould and correspond with him frequently during the Civil War. [4] [1] In the 1880s, a child who was likely either his son or nephew lived with and worked for Gould in Dedham, Massachusetts. [4]
He died on October 4, 1885, in Wilmington, North Carolina, and was buried at Pine Forest Cemetery in Wilmington.