Born near Fayetteville, North Carolina, MacRae attended Donaldson Academy, and thereafter taught for two years while reading law to gain admission to the bar in 1859.
[2][3] Shortly thereafter, the American Civil War began, and in May 1861, MacRae enlisted in the Confederate States Army, serving first with the 1st North Carolina Volunteers, and then with the 5th North Carolina State Regiment.
[2][3] After the war, he returned to the practice of law in Cumberland County, North Carolina, and was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1874 to 1875.
[4] Following his court service, MacRae was dean of the University of North Carolina School of Law from 1900 until his death at the age of 71, following a lengthy battle with heart disease.
This biography of a state judge in North Carolina is a stub.