Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 05.pdf/353

 322

may be as well to sketch briefly the life of his distinguished son here, although the con tinuity of the history of the Supreme Court will be broken, as he did not become president until after the adoption of the Consti tution of 1829-30. Henry St. George Tucker was born at Matoax, near Petersburg, Dec. 29, 1780, and, like his father, was educated at William and Mary College. In 1802 he went to Winchester to live, and began the practice of the law under the kind encouragement of Judge Hugh Holmes. After reaching a high place in his profession, in 1806 he married Miss Ann Evelina Hunter, of Martinsburg, with whom for forty-two years he lived happily, and raised a large family of children, among whom was the now dis tinguished John Randolph Tucker, lately prominently mentioned as Attorney-Gene ral of the United States in Mr. Cleveland's Cabinet, and President of the American Bar Association. In 1807 Henry St. George Tucker was elected to the House of Delegates of Vir ginia, but returned to his profession after a year's service. He took part in the War of 1812; and when it was over, in 1815 was elected to Congress, where he served two terms, and formed intimate friendship with such men as John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, Lowndes, and others. He occupied a high position in the debates of the period, though a young man, and in contact with his bril liant colleague and half-brother, John Ran dolph of Roanoke. After leaving Congress he became a member of the Senate of Vir ginia for four years, when he was elected chancellor of the Fourth Judicial District in 1824, in place of the genial Judge Dabney Carr, who was promoted to the Court of Appeals. While judge of the Fourth Judicial District, he founded his famous Law School at Winchester, Va., which was the lar gest private law school Virginia has ever known. Among its students were such emi nent men as Green B. Samuels, George H. Lee, William Brockenbrough, R. M. T. Hun

ter (afterward Speaker of the United States House of Representatives), Henry A. Wise, and many other distinguished public men. After the adoption of the Constitution of 1829-30, the Legislature, at its session of 1830-31, elected Chancellor Tucker Presi dent of the new Court of Appeals, without his knowledge, over Judges Brooke, Carr, and Cabell, who had been on the bench for years. This unsolicited honor never dimin ished the mutual regard and esteem of these gentlemen, whose cordial intimacy lasted during all their lives. During the period from 3d to 1 2th Leigh's Reports, Judge Tucker presided in the Court of Appeals. But in the summer of 1841 he resigned, and accepted the professorship of law at the University of Virginia, where he remained until 1845, when broken in health he retired from all active employments, and returning to Winchester died there on the 28th of August, 1848. He had many charming traits of character. Some dissatisfaction existed at a very early day at the accumulation of business which was undisposed of in the court. The Legislature passed an Act, Jan. 9, iSu, providing, — "That the Court of Appeals shall hereafter con sist of five Judges; any three of said Judges shall constitute a court; the said court shall commence its sessions on the first day of March next, and its sitting shall be permanent, if the business of the court require it : provided always that the court may in their discretion adjourn for short periods; but it shall be their duty to sit at least two hun dred and fifty days in the year, unless they sooner despatch the business of the court." In conformity with this law, Francis T. Brooke and James Pleasants, Jr., were elected, by joint-ballot of the General Assembly, judges of the Court of Appeals in addition to the three judges then in office; but Mr. Pleasants having soon afterwards resigned his appointment. William H. Cabell was, on the 2istdayof March, 1811, commissioned by the Governor to supply the vacancy.