Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Hagood, Johnson

HAGOOD, Johnson, lawyer, b. in West Virginia in 1771; d. in Charleston, S. C, in 1816. When he was four years old his father's family removed to Ninety-Six, S. C. He was on one occasion sent out in the night, when about seven years of age, to procure medical assistance for his father's family, and passed through the scene of one of the guerilla skirmishes so frequent at that time. Several corpses were, lying unburied on the field, and wolves were feeding on them. His nerves were severely tried, but he performed his errand. At the age of fourteen the lad determined to take care of himself, and walked sixty miles to Granby, where he succeeded in obtaining employment in a country store. At the end of a year he went to Charleston and entered a lawyer's office, having access to books, and attending a night-school. He soon began the study of law, was admitted to the bar in 1793 at the age of twenty-two, and immediately became a partner with his patron, who was elected to congress, and left to young Hagood the entire management of his practice. He practised law until 1813, and attained note in his profession. Mr. Hagood also devoted much attention to natural sciences, was interested in the study of electricity and galvanism, and procured from Europe extensive apparatus for his experiments. He educated his younger brothers and sisters and several children of his poorer neighbors. In 1806 he purchased lands, and, gradually withdrawing from practice, devoted himself to their improvement.