Amos T. Akerman - Headmaster, Farmer, and Law Practice

Headmaster, Farmer, and Law Practice

Upon graduation, Akerman moved south and got a job as a headmaster instructor of a boy’s academy in Murfreesboro, North Carolina, at that time part of Richmond county. Akerman was known as a strict teacher. In 1846, Akerman was hired as a tutor for John M. Berrien's, children in Savannah, Georgia. Berrien had been President Andrew Jackson's Attorney General and was a prominent Whig. Akerman took advantage of Berrien's extensive law library and became fascinated with the field. Akerman passed the Georgia Bar in 1850, moved to Peoria, Illinois where his sister resided, and briefly practiced law. Akerman returned to Georgia and practiced law in Clarksville. Eventually, Akerman opened a law practice in Elberton, Georgia with Robert Heston. In addition to practicing law, Akerman also started a farm and owned eleven slaves. In terms of politics Akerman was a Whig.