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[Page 17]
      Thompson, Lucas P., was born in Nelson county, Virginia, but moved to Staunton, where he was made judge of the circuit court in 1831. He continued in this office for many years, and was elected in 1866 a judge of the supreme court, but died before taking his seat. He had a law school at his home in Staunton.

[Pages 17-18]
      Joynes, William T., born in Accomac county, Virginia, March 14, 1817, son of Thomas R. Joynes, a lawyer of ability, who is mentioned by Henry A. Wise, in his "Seven Decades of the Union." He settled in Petersburg, in 1839, and by his studious habits and talents soon gained for himself an enviable reputation as a lawyer. He was appointed United States district attorney, and discharged the duties of that position with marked ability. In the summer of 1863 he was elected judge of the first judicial district, under the Confederate establishment, which position he held until the termination of the war. In the fall of 1865 he was elected to the legislature of Virginia. During the following session he was elected to the supreme court bench, where he distinguished himself by his erudition and the practical good sense of his opinions. With a brief interval he remained upon the bench until March 12, 1873, when ill health obliged him to resign. When he tendered his resignation, the entire court addressed him in a letter of regret, in which they showed that he held the highest possible position in the estimation of his associates on the bench. He never regained his health, and died in Petersburg, March 14, 1874. On March 17, of the same year, was held a memorial meeting of the bench and bar of Petersburg, and eulogistic tributes were paid his memory by Maj. Charles S. Stringfellow and Captain (later Judge) Drury A. Hinton. He married in Petersburg, in 1839, a daughter of Judge John F. May.

[Pages 18-19]
      Bouldin, Wood, born at "Golden Hills," Charlotte county, Virginia, January 20, 1811, son of Hon. Thomas Tyler Bouldin, and Ann (Lewis) Bouldin, his wife; his grandparents on the paternal side were Wood Bouldin and Johanna Tyler, sister of John Tyler, of revolutionary fame. His early youth was passed in Richmond, where he attended a school conducted by Mr. Turner. He afterwards was a student at New London Academy, in Bedford county, then under the charge of the Rev. Nicholas H. Cobbs, afterward the distinguished Bishop of Alabama. At this celebrated school he completed his academic studies, and on his return home, for a year taught a neighborhood school. He then removed to Halifax county, where he took up law studies under the office preceptorship of the Hon. William Leigh, one of Virginia's greatest jurists, and who ever afterward cherished a genuine affection and admiration for his whilom pupil. On coming to the bar, Mr. Bouldin found his capabilities taxed to the utmost in settling the affairs of his father, and the extensive estate of Frederick Ross (for whom the elder Bouldin was the representative), which had been left greatly embarrassed. In discharging these onerous duties, Mr. Bouldin established a high reputation for ability and integrity. He now settled at Charlotte Court House, where he practiced his profession with great success. In 1842, seeking a larger field, he removed to Richmond, where he entered into a law partnership with Robert C. Stanard, one of the most eminent lawyers of his day. He at once took his position in the front rank of the Richmond bar, and Grattan's Reports record many opinions which attest his ability and learning. In 1853 he purchased the fine plantation on Staunton river, on which John Randolph, of Roanoke, had resided, and here took up his residence, and practiced his profession in Charlotte, Halifax and Mecklenburg counties. When civil war was impending, Mr. Bouldin was made a delegate to the Virginia convention of 1861. Here he insisted that the state should never leave the Union until she had made every endeavor to settle the differences between the different sections of the country, and refused to vote for the secession ordinance until President Lincoln called upon Virginia for troops, when he cast his lot with his state. During the war, he was one of the most trusted leaders in the legislature. After the surrender of Gen. Lee, he did not indulge in vain regrets, but took a patriot's part in seeking to recover the state and its people from the destructive results of the war. In the great "capitol disaster" in Richmond, he was among those who were in the court room, and went down with the falling floors. He was extricated, as was believed, without serious injury, but his system had been severely shocked, and he sought a brief rest. In 1872 he was elected by the legislature to the supreme court of appeals, to succeed the Hon. William T. Joynes, and, after much hesitation, he accepted, at the cost of considerable pecuniary sacrifice. His judicial career was short, his death occurring, at his home, October 10, 1876. "He exhibited a learning and grasp of intellect which placed him in the front rank of the great jurists who had adorned the Virginia bench."

[Page 19]
      Christian, Joseph, born in Middlesex county, Virginia, July 10, 1828, oldest son of Richard Allen Christian, M. D., and Elizabeth Steptoe, his wife. He was educated at Columbian College, Washington, D. C. (now Columbian University); studied law at Staunton, Virginia; was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-one; practiced his profession in Middlesex and adjoining counties. He was elected to the state senate in 1858, at the age of thirty years, and served as senator during the war. He was an old-line Whig in politics, and one of the electors on the Bell and Everett ticket in 1860. He was opposed to secession, until Lincoln called on the south for her pro rata share of troops, and he spoke against secession on many occasions, his chief opponent being the Hon. Beverley Douglass. He was elected circuit judge in 1866, at the age of thirty-eight, for the circuit composed of the counties of Middlesex Gloucester, Mathews, James City, Warwick, New Kent, Charles City and Henrico. He moved to Richmond, Virginia, in 1869, and formed a partnership in law with the Hon. William T. Joynes, of Petersburg, Virginia. They practiced together for eight months, when both were elected to the bench of the supreme court of appeals of Virginia for a term of twelve years from January 1, 1870. At the death of Judge R. C. L. Moncure, he was made president of that court, and served on the bench of that court for twelve years. He was defeated by the Readjuster party, and resumed the practice of law in 1882, and continued to practice his profession until incapacitated by ill health. He died at Richmond, Virginia, May 29, 1905.

[Pages 19-20]
      Staples, Waller R., born in Patrick county, Virginia, in the year 1826, son of Abram Staples. He began his collegiate education at the University of North Carolina, where he spent two years, then entered the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, from which he was graduated in 1845. Having attained his majority, he removed to Montgomery county, Virginia, where he began the practice of law in the office of the Hon. William Ballard Preston, secretary of the navy under the administration of President Taylor. In 1853-54 he was a member of the state legislature, and was a Whig presidential elector in 1856 and 1860. He was one of the four delegates sent by the Virginia convention of 1861 to represent the state in the Confederate provisional congress at Montgomery, Alabama, till February 22, 1862. On that day, the new Confederate congress came into existence, and Mr. Staples became a member of its house of representatives; he was re-elected in 1863, and served until the end of the war. He then resumed the practice of his profession in Montgomery county. In February, 1870, he was elected a judge of the supreme court of appeals, receiving the largest vote given any candidate except the Hon. R. C. L. Moncure. In 1882 the Readjuster party came into control of the state, and Judge Staples and his associates on the bench were not re-elected. In 1884, Judge Staples was a member of the committee chosen to revise the civil and criminal laws of the state, a work which occupied three years, and being embodied in what is known as the code of Virginia of 1887. Judge Staples was twice a Democratic presidential elector. During his term on the supreme bench, he could have received the nomination for governor on two occasions, and also that for attorney-general; but he was steadfastly reluctant to being a candidate for any political office. He was counsel for the Richmond & Danville Railroad Company, but resigned the position. He was a member of the law firm of Staples & Munford, acknowledged leaders at the bar.

[Pages 20-21]
      Anderson, Francis T., born at Walnut Hill, Botetourt county, Virginia, December 11, 1808, son of William Anderson and Anne (Thomas) Anderson, his wife; the latter a daughter of Col. Francis Thomas, of Frederick county, Maryland. He received his early instruction from his mother; then at the school of Curtis Alderson; for one session in a school at Ben Salem, Rockbridge county, and then for some years at the Fincastle Classical School. He subsequently entered Washington College, from which he was graduated with distinction at the age of nineteen. He read law under the direction of Fleming B. Miller and Chancellor Creed Taylor, and came to the bar just when he attained his majority. In his early professional life he for some years had a small class of young law students, but his practice demanded so much of his time that he dismissed them. In 1855 his health demanded a change, and he removed to Rockbridge county, and settled at Glenwood, where he lived until 1866, devoting himself chiefly to his farm and iron interests. In 1860 he was an elector on the Constitutional Union party ticket, was elected, chosen president of the elector college which cast the vote of Virginia for Bell and Everett — the first occasion in the history of the state when her vote was cast against the nominees of the Democratic party. He was a pronounced Unionist until war was precipitated, when he gave his firm adherence to the southern cause. In May, 1861, he was elected to the house of delegates, and in that body was distinguished for the zeal and ability with which he aided in providing for the troops in the field, and for security at home. Owing to impaired health he declined a re-election in 1863. In 1865 he was again elected, but, on account of war conditions, he was unable to take his seat. In 1869 he resumed the practice of law. In 1870 he was made, by the general assembly, one of the original five members of the supreme court of appeals, which position he held until January 1, 1883, when he retired and gave himself to the care of his private business. From the first, he took rank as an able and fearless judge. He was a devoted friend of education. In 1853 he was elected a trustee of Washington College. He participated in the reorganization in 1865, aided in bringing Gen. Robert E. Lee to its presidency, and cooperated with him in his plans for enlarging the usefulness of the institution. In 1879 he was chosen rector of Washington and Lee University, and held that position until his death, November 30, 1887, in his seventy-ninth year. He was married, December 8, 1836, to Mary Ann Alexander, daughter of Andrew Alexander, of Rockbridge.

[Page 21]
      Burks, Edward C., born in Bedford county, Virginia, May 20, 1821, came from a highly respectable family of Irish origin. In his boyhood he attended nine different schools, his education occupying all his time until he attained his majority. He was studying the classics when ten or eleven years of age. He attended several sessions of the New London Academy, in Bedford county, under the superintendence of Henry L. Davies, and then of George E dabney, afterward a professor at Washington College (now Washington and Lee University). In 1839 he entered the last-named institution, and was graduated therefrom in 1841, delivering the Cincinnati oration, the highest honor of the graduating class. Later the same year, he entered the law department of the University of Virginia, and was graduated in 1842. He at once entered upon the practice of his profession in Bedford and adjacent counties and steadily advanced in the estimation of both bench and bar. In December, 1876, he was elected by the legislature to the supreme court of appeals, and remained in that position for six years, when, the Readjuster party having come into power, a question was raised as to whether he had been elected for a full term or for an unexpired term, and it was decided against him, and he returned to his profession, with his office in Bedford City. He was one of the revisers of the code of Virginia of 1887, with Judge Staples and Maj. John W. Reily. He was a member of the house of delegates in 1861-62, and a part of 1863 — the only political office he ever held, and he declined a re-election. Washington and Lee University conferred upon him the degree of LL. D. In 1891 he was president of the Virginia State Bar Association, and that year delivered a most meritorious address, which was widely distributed.

[Pages 21-22]
      Lewis, Lunsford Lomax, born in Lewiston, Rockingham county, Virginia, March 17, 1846, son of Samuel Hawes Lewis and Ann Maria (Lomax) Lewis, his wife, and a descendant of John Lewis, of county Down, Ireland, who came first to Pennsylvania, and removed to Virginia in 1732, being the first permanent white settler in Augusta county, and in 1745 was a justice of its first court. The father of Lunsford L. Lewis was a member of the state legislature, for many years a presiding justice of the Rockingham county court, and general of the state militia. On his mother's side he was descended from Sir Thoms Lunsford, lieutenant of the Tower of London, who came to Virginia in 1649.
      Lunsford L. Lewis was educated at Center (Kentucky) College, and at the University of Virginia. He was admitted to the bar, and entered upon practiced at Culpeper, Virginia, in 1869, and shortly afterward became commonwealth attorney. He was appointed by President Grant as district attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, and by successive reappointments filled the position until 1882, when Gov. Cameron appointed him to the bench of the supreme court of appeals, to succeed Judge Moncure, late presiding judge, who died August 28, 1882. He was elected by the next legislature (which was Republican) for the term of twelve years, and was immediately chosen by the court as its president; and in this capacity served with eminent ability until the end of his term. On January 1, 1895, Judge Lewis returned to his profession, and changed his residence to Richmond. He did not long remain in privacy, for President Roosevelt restored him to the office which he had held under President Grant, that of United States district attorney. He remained in that position until 1905, when he received the Republican nomination for governor, but his Democratic opponent was elected. He was then re-appointed district attorney by President Roosevelt. He was married (first) to Rosalie Botts, daughter of Hon. John Minor Botts, and (second) to Janie Looney, daughter of Col. Robert F. Looney, of Memphis, Tennessee. He resides in the city of Richmond.

[Page 22]
      Richardson, Robert A., born in Smyth county, Virginia; was elected to the bench of the supreme court of appeals in 1882, and served till 1895. He was very popular with the bar.

[Page 22]
      Lacy, Benjamin Watkins, born at "Ellsworth," New Kent county, Virginia, January 27, 1839, son of Hon. Richmond T. Lacy; his mother was a daughter of Col. John Lane, of "Vaucluse," Amelia county, Virginia. He was taught by his mother until sufficiently advanced in Latin and mathematics to enter the academies of Pike Powers, of Staunton; and Brown and Tebbs of Albemarle; and his education was completed at the University of Virginia, after which his father was his law preceptor. The war intervened, however, and he joined the New Kent troop of horse, April 17, 1861, as a private. He was three times disabled by wounds, but, in spite of his condition, participated with his company in all the battles of Gen. Lee's army. He rose to the rank of first lieutenant, and during the latter part of the war commanded a squadron of two companies, with which he surrendered at Appomattox Court House. After the war, he reviewed his law studies, and engaged in practice in partnership with his father — an association which was necessarily terminated when the son came to the bench of the county court in 1870. After three years service, he resigned, and in 1873 was elected to the house of delegates, to which body he was returned for three following terms; he was on the committee on courts of justice every term until the last, when he was made speaker. While serving in the latter position, he was elected in 1880 to the circuit court bench, from which he resigned in 1883 to take his seat as a member of the supreme court of appeals, and served till 1895, when his term expired.

[Pages 22-23]
      Fauntleroy, Thomas T., born in Winchester, Virginia, December 20, 1823, son of Gen. Thomas T. Fauntleroy, a Virginian, who in 1861 resigned his commission as colonel of the Eleventh United States Dragoons, and who was then the ranking officer in the United States army, of all who took sides with the south. He was educated at the celebrated high school of Benjamin Hallowell, in Alexandria, Virginia, and graduated in 1844 with the law class of the University of Virginia, with John Thruston Thornton, John Page, of Hanover, J. RandolphTucker, John C. Rutherfoord, William C. Rives, Jr., and others, among his classmates. He entered upon the practice of his profession in 1847, at Winchester. In 1850 he was elected commonwealth attorney in Frederick county. He was elected to the legislature. In 1859 he participated in the capture of John Brown and his followers at Harper's Ferry, and in 1861 was commissioned lieutenant in the state military service. Upon the passage of the "sequestration act of the Confederate congres, he was chosen as one of the receivers to execute the difficult and delicate responsibilities imposed by that law. At the close of the war, he resumed practice, with broken health. He again represented Frederick county in the legislature, and in 1879 he was elected by the legislature, secretary of the commonwealth. In 1883 he was elected by the legislature, one of the five judges of the supreme court of appeals, for a term of twelve years, and upon the organization of the court, he was made resident judge at Richmond. He made an excellent judicial record.

[Page 23]
      Hinton, Drury A., born in Petersburg, Virginia. He was descended, on his father's side, from Maj.-Gen. Abraham Wood, who received a patent for the land upon which the city of Petersburg stands; and on his mothers' side, from Capt. John Stith. He attended the best schools in his native town until 1857, when he was sent to the famous teacher, Lewis Minor Coleman, at Taylorsville, Hanover county, where he remained two years. He was a hard student, and impaired his health by allowing himself not more than four hours sleep in the twenty-four, and this overwork so wrought upon him afterward, that at the United States he was not able to remain longer than four months in any one session. He was studying law in March, 1861, when he left the university to enter the Confederate army as first lieutenant of Company G, Forty-first Virginia Infantry. He served throughout the war, and was paroled at Appomattox. He was post adjutant at Sewell's Point during the fight between the Merrimac (or Virginia) and the Monitor. He was subsequently adjutant of the Forty-fourth Virginia Battalion. He served as volunteer aide to Col. (afterward General) C. A. Weisiger, and was subsequently commissioned as aide-de-camp, and continued on duty with that officer. In 1866 he reviewed his law studies under the distinguished judge William T. Joynes, and in August of that year was admitted to the bar. in 1872 he was elected commonwealth's attorney, and corporation counsel for the city of Petersburg, both of which positions he occupied until 1883, when he resigned to take his seat upon the bench of the supreme court of appeals. It is said that during his occupancy of the commonwealth attorneyship, no verdict was taken against the city of Petersburg. On the bench, he was regarded as one of the ablest of the five judges. In 1894 he left the bench, and resumed law practice in Petersburg. He was married, December 22, 1870, to Fannie Howard Collier.

[Pages 23-24]
      Keith, James, born in Fauquier county, Virginia, September 7, 1839, son of Isham Keith and Juliet (Chilton) Keith, his wife. In early childhood he was feeble, but his youth was robust. The influence of his mother was salutary in directing his education and shaping his life. He was prepared for college in the schools of his neighborhood, and took his law course at the University of Virginia, under Professor John /b. Minor. On April 16, 1861, he enlisted as a private in the famous Black Horse Cavalry, and in December, 1863, was made adjutant of the Fourth Virginia Cavalry Regiment. He saw service on many a field, under Payne, Wickham, Fitzhugh Lee and Stuart. The last scene was near Appomattox Court House, where his command drove the enemy back nearly two miles, but was finally intercepted by the Federal Gen. Ord with an overwhelming force. After the war he engaged in the practice of law. He was a member of the Virginia legislature, 1869-70. He was elected circuit judge in the latter year, and by successive re-elections was continued in that position until January 1, 1895, when he was elected to a seat on the bench of the supreme court of appeals of Virginia, and was soon made president. In January, 1906, he was re-elected for a term of twelve years. He is recognized as a most able lawyer, and most competent judge. He has received the LL.D. degree from the Washington and Lee University. He was married, February 16, 1887, to Francis Barksdale Morson, of Warrenton, Virginia.

[Page 24]
      Cardwell, Richard Henry, born at Madison, Rockingham county, North Carolina, August 1, 1845, son of Richard Perrin Cardwell and Elizabeth Martin (Dalton) Cardwell, his wife. In his youth he labored on the farm, and in winter attended school in a nearby village. Losing his father in infancy, he met with difficulties in obtaining an education, but his mother was an inspiring influence upon him. He attended the Beulah Male Institute and the Madison Male Academy, but this was the extent of his educational advantages. From 1863 until the close of the war between the states, he served as a private soldier in a North Carolina company, acquitting himself with soldierly courage and fidelity. At the close of the war, he returned to his North Carolina company, acquitting himself with soldierly courage and fidelity. At the close of the war, he returned to his North Carolina home, but in 1869 removed to Hanover county, Virginia, to be near his wife's people, and engaged in farm work, and reading law in his spare hours. In 1874 he was admitted to the bar, and entered upon practice, and had soon drawn to himself a considerable clientele. From 1881 to 1895 he was a member of the house of delegates, and from 1887 to 1895 was speaker. In 1884 he was a Democratic presidential elector, and displayed fine talents as a campaign orator. In 1892 he was a member of the state debt commission which settled the public debt of Virginia. He was chairman of the joint committee of the legislature to adjust and settle with Maryland the controversy over the boundary line between the two states, and he prepared the report which was adopted by the legislature of Virginia, and accepted by that of Maryland. In 1894 he was elected a member of the supreme court of appeals, for a term of twelve years, and in January, 1906, was re-elected for another term of twelve years. He is known as an admirable jurist — able, industrious, and entirely faithful to his trusts. He was married, February 9, 1865, to Kate Harwood, of Richmond Virginia.

[Page 25]
      Buchanan, John Alexander, born in Smyth county, Virginia, October 7, 1843, son of James A. and Mary G. Buchanan. He received his early education in the old field schools, and his collegiate training at Emory and Henry College. When Virginia seceded he enlisted as a private in an infantry regiment in the Stonewall Brigade, and served entirely through to the end of the war, participating in many of its most sanguinary battles. In the battle of Gettysburg, he was captured, and held as a prisoner of war from July, 1863, to February, 1865, when he was exchanged, returned to his regiment, and was with it at its disbanding in April, following. He then entered the law department of the University of Virginia, competed the course, was admitted to the bar, and engaged in practice at Abington, Washington county,. He was successful from the outset, and soon came to be known as one of the most capable lawyers of southwestern Virginia. In 1885-87 he was a member of the house of delegates, in which body he made an excellent record. In 1889 he was elected to a seat on the bench of the supreme court of appeals, and came to be regarded as one of the ablest men on the bench. In 1913 he gave notice of his intention not to apply for re-election, when his term should expire in 1915, and in 1914 the general assembly elected Joseph W. Kelley, of Bristol, to succeed him.

[Page 25]
      Harrison, George Moffett, was born near Staunton, Virginia, February 14, 1847, son of Henry Harrison and Jane St. Clair Cochran, his wife. He had for his early teacher his talented father, who took a genuine pleasure in instructing his children. He was just at the proper age to prepare for college, when the civil war broke out, and he at once enlisted in the Confederate army. He acted with courage and fidelity during the entire struggle, serving in the Fredericksburg artillery, with which he surrendered at Appomattox Court House, April 9, 1865. Returning home, he busied himself with his books until 1869, when he entered the law school of the University of Virginia. Finishing his course in the summer of 1870, he was admitted to the bar and engaged in the practice of his profession, in Staunton which has since continued to be his place of residence. While in active practice, he was counsel in many highly important cases. For a number of years he was a member of the law firm of Harrison & tucker, his partner being Harry St. George Tucker. He was one of the master commissioners in chancery of the circuit court of Augusta county. He was elected a judge of the supreme court of appeals, January 1, 1895, and his marked ability as a jurist won for him a re-election in 1906, for a twelve year term. He married Bettie Montgomery Kent.

[Pages 25-26]
      Phlegar, Archer Allen, born at Christiansburg, Virginia, February 22, 1846, son of Eli and Ann Phlegar; his father was a well known lawyer. He attended a male academy in Montgomery county, and Washington College. He entered the Confederate army as a private, and rose to the rank of lieutenant. After the war, he worked on a farm, meantime studying the law, and in due time was admitted to practice, and became the legal representative of several railroad, mining and manufacturing companies. From April, 1901, to April 1, 1903, he was the managing receiver of the Virginia Iron, Coal and Coke Company, and vice-president of the Virginia & Southwestern Railroad Company. His first public position was that of commonwealth attorney for Montgomery county, to which he was appointed in 1870, and held for a period of seven years, through consecutive elections, and in 1877 he was elected to the state senate. In October, 1900, he was appointed, by Gov. J. Hoge Tyler, a judge of the supreme court of appeals, and held the office to February 22, 1901, when the legislature failed to return him to the office. In 1903 he was elected to the state senate, for the second time. He held high rank both as a legislator and jurist, and his mind was of the highest order. He married Sue Shanks, and had five children.

[Pages 26-27]
      Whittle, Stafford Gorman, born at "Woodstock," the family home, in Mecklenburg county, Virginia, December 5, 1849, son of Commodore William Conway Whittle and Elizabeth Beverley Sinclair, his wife. The father was a commodore in the United States and Confederate States navies, and the mother was a daughter of Commodore Arthur Sinclair, of the United States navy. The son, Stafford G. Whittle, in early years took instructions in schools in the city of Norfolk, but upon the breaking out of the civil war he returned to his native county, and there continued his education. He was subsequently under the care of a tutor at his father's home in Buchanan, Botetourt county, and the instruction was supplemented by a course of study at the Chatham Male Institute, in Pittsylvania county. At the age of eighteen, he entered Washington College, under the presidency of Gen. Robert E. Lee. The following year (1868) he studied law at the University of Virginia, under Professor John B. Minor. In 1891 he was admitted to the bar, and entered upon law practice in Henry county, and was soon employed in most of the important litigation in the counties of the district. After ten years practice, he was appointed ,February 1, 1881, by Gov. F. W. M. Holliday, judge of the fourth judicial circuit, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Judge Benjamin Green. The Democratic caucus of the succeeding legislature nominated him for the unexpired term, but he was defeated by the Readjuster legislature, and retired from the bench in March, 1882. In 1885 he was elected to the position by the Democratic legislature, for a full eight year term, and at its expiration was re-elected for another term, without opposition. Upon the death of John Randolph Tucker, Judge Whittle was unanimously chosen to succeed him as law professor at Washington and Lee University, which honor he declined. In 1900, he was called upon to sit with President Judge James Keith, and Judges B. R. Wellford, Jr., and Henry E. Blair, as a special court of appeals in the Peyton's administrator vs. Stuart Case, involving the entire property of the White Sulphur Springs. When the Lynchburg judicial circuit was abolished, that city and Campbell county were attached to Judge Whittle's circuit, upon the unanimous petition of their bars; his circuit, by this addition, becoming the largest in the state. On February 12, 1901, he was elected, by the legislature, judge of the supreme court of appeals, to fill the unexpired term of Judge John w. Riely, deceased, succeeding Hon. A. A. Phlegar, a temporary appointee. In January, 1906, he was re-elected for the term beginning February 1, 1907. He is recognized as a most industrious and capable jurist. He married, in 1880, Ruth Drewry, daughter of Dr. H. M. Drewry, of Henry county, Virginia.

[Page 27]
      Kelly, Joseph L., born in Smyth county, Virginia, March 4, 1867, son of John A. Kelly and Martha Peck, his wife; his father was a lawyer, and for twenty-five years was a judge of the sixteenth judicial circuit of Virginia. He began his education in the neighborhood schools, and completed it at Emory and Henry College, from which he was graduated in 1886, with the B. A. degree. After reading law for a year under the preceptorship of his father, he entered the law school of the University of Virginia, and was graduated B. L. in June, 1889, Later, Emory and Henry College conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. He began practice in 1889, at Estillville (now Gate City), in partnership with Gen. Rufus A. Ayers. In 1892 he removed to Big Stone Gap, where he followed his profession until the fall of 1892, when he took up his residence in Bristol, where he has since remained. Since 1895 he has been a member of the law firm of Bullitt & Kelly, who have an extensive practice in southwest Virginia, maintaining two offices — one at Big Stone Gap, in charge of J. F. Bullitt, and the other at Bristol, under the management of Mr. Kelly. In January, 1915, Mr. Kelly was elected to the bench of the supreme court of appeals. He is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. He married, July 29, 1896, Mary Eloise Hull, daughter of Capt. D. D. Hull, of Marion, Virginia, and they have four children.