John W. Brady

John W. Brady
Black and white photograph of John W. Brady
Personal details
Born (1869-04-06)April 6, 1869
Brenham, Texas, U.S.
Died December 14, 1943(1943-12-14) (aged 74)
Austin, Texas, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Nellie C. Burns
Education University of Texas (LLB)

John W. Brady (April 6, 1869 – December 14, 1943) was an American lawyer. He served as a county attorney, the assistant attorney general for the state, and a judge on the Texas Third Court of Civil Appeals. In 1929 he was convicted of murder, and sentenced to three years in prison.

Early life and education

John W. Brady was born on April 6, 1869, in Brenham, Texas.[1][2] His parents were James and Agnes Brady,[3] British emigrants who became early settlers of Austin when they moved to the city in 1871.[4][5][6] He was the brother of Will Paul, David John, Agnes, and Helen Brady,[5][7][8] and the uncle of, among others, the philologist Caroline Brady.[9]

In 1887, Brady graduated from high school, and commenced a two-year literary course at the University of Texas at Austin (UT).[2] From 1890 to 1891 he studied law at UT,[2] obtaining a Bachelor of Laws.[10]

Career

Brady began practicing law in Austin immediately after his graduation from UT.[2] In 1893 he purchased property from his parents for $1,000;[3][note 1] an 1894 newspaper notice stated that he was "steadily building up a lucrative practice, making a specialty of collections and commercial law", and that his offices were located in the city's Masonic Temple.[2] That same year he began working as an assistant to county attorney George Calhoun.[12][13]

Brady's first foray into elected politics came in 1901, when he unsuccessfully ran for city attorney.[14] After stating to the Austin Daily Statesman on March 3 that he would be running for city recorder,[15] three days later he instead announced his candidacy for city attorney in the same April 1 elections.[16][14] Brady spoke at several events over the following three weeks.[17][18] In the five-way race he came in second with 1,285 of the 4,214 votes cast (30%), 240 behind the winner, V. L. Brooks.[19][20]

Less than a year after his defeat in the city attorney race, Brady ran again, this time for county attorney of Travis County, Texas.[21] Winning the election, he worked as the county attorney, after which he served as the assistant attorney general of the state.[22] On November 20, 1918 he qualified to the Third Court of Civil Appeals in Texas.[22]

Murder of Lehlia Highsmith

In November 1929, in a case that garnered front-page headlines, Brady killed his 28-year-old mistress, Lehlia Highsmith.[23] Arriving drunk at her boarding house around midnight on the 9th, he got into an altercation with those there, and then stabbed Highsmith to death when she turned up escorted by another man.[23] Brady was tried twice.[24] The first trial ended in a hung jury, with nine jurors reportedly favoring the death penalty, two life imprisonment, and one acquittal.[24] In the second trial, tried in Dallas this time, Brady was found guilty of murder without malice on the jury's fifth ballot and sentenced to three years in prison, at which point he cried out "I didn’t do it; I didn’t do it. I do not deserve that sentence."[24] With credits for work performed while incarcerated Brady eventually served less than two years, and was released on July 1, 1932.[25] He returned to his home in Austin and engaged in legal research.[26]

Personal life

Brady married Nellie C. Burns, an Austin resident but originally from Alton, Illinois, on June 18, 1901.[10][27][28] The couple had an adopted daughter, Margaret Butler,[23][29][30] who was born in Austin on July 4, 1901;[31] she married Sam E. Pondrom of Houston on January 18, 1923, in what newspapers described as "one of the most prominent society events of the season".[32] Brady died on December 17, 1943, at 7:45 am at Austin's Seton Hospital, following a long illness; he was a Catholic and was buried in Austin's Mt. Calvary Cemetery.[7]

Notes

  1. ↑ In 1898 John Brady sold the property back to his parents for the same price.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "John W Brady in the Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982". Ancestry Library. Missing or empty |url= (help)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bar of Austin: John W. Brady". The Austin Daily Statesman. XXIII (Special Business ed.). Austin, Texas. March 22, 1894. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 "Real Estate Transfers". The Austin Daily Statesman. XXII. Austin, Texas. August 28, 1893. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Mrs. James Brady Dies at Long Beach, Calif". The Austin Statesman. 50 (357). Austin, Texas. May 25, 1922. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 "James Brady". The Austin Statesman. 54 (180). Austin, Texas. December 16, 1924. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Brady House – 1915". Ancestry Library. Judges Hill Historic District. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  7. 1 2 "John Brady, Legal Figure, Dies at 74". The Austin Statesman. 73 (81). Austin, Texas. December 17, 1943. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Mrs. Wilder Services Scheduled". El Paso Herald-Post. LXXXVIII (I). El Paso, Texas. January 9, 1968. p. B3 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "BRADY, Col. David John". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. January 28, 1953. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. 1 2 "Alumni and Ex-Students". The University of Texas Record. University of Texas. III (1): 297–305. March 1901.
  11. ↑ "Real Estate Transfers". Austin Daily Statesman. XXVII. Austin, Texas. January 24, 1898. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Sidewalk Notes: County Attorney Calhoun". The Austin Daily Statesman. XXIV. Austin, Texas. December 8, 1894. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Calhoun Rites Set for 11 A.M. Wednesday". The Austin American. 34 (313). Austin, Texas. April 6, 1948. pp. 1–2 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. 1 2 "Mr. Brady's Candidacy". Austin Daily Statesman. XXX. Austin, Texas. March 7, 1901. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Mr. Brady on the Recordership". Austin Daily Statesman. XXX. Austin, Texas. March 3, 1901. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Announcements". Austin Daily Statesman. XXX. Austin, Texas. March 6, 1901. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Citizens' Meeting". Austin Daily Statesman. XXX. Austin, Texas. March 9, 1901. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Rousing Meeting of Colored Citizens of Austin Held at the Court House". Austin Daily Statesman. XXX. Austin, Texas. March 24, 1901. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "The Official Returns of the City Election, April I". Austin Daily Statesman. XXX. Austin, Texas. April 7, 1901. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "Death Claims Victor Brooks". The Austin Statesman. 55 (58). Austin, Texas. September 1, 1925. pp. 1–2 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "Mr. John W. Brady for County Attorney". Austin Daily Statesman. XXXI. Austin, Texas. February 9, 1902. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. 1 2 "Jno. W. Brady Takes Seat as Member 3D Civil Appeals". Austin American. 73 (81). Austin, Texas. November 21, 1918. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. 1 2 3 "Judge John Brady Held After Girl Dies of Knife Wounds". American-Statesman. 16 (165). Austin, Texas. November 11, 1929. pp. 1–2 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. 1 2 3 "Jury in Famous Case Gives Former Jurist Sentence in Prison". Corsicana Semi-Weekly Light. XLV (46). Corsicana, Texas. May 20, 1930. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ "John Brady, Pen Term Over, Back Home in Austin". The Austin American. 19 (32). Austin, Texas. July 2, 1932. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ↑ "Final Rites Set for John Brady, Former Justice". The Austin American. 30 (200). Austin, Texas. December 18, 1943. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ "To be Married". Austin Daily Statesman. XXX. Austin, Texas. June 16, 1901. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ "Mr. John Brady". Austin Daily Statesman. XXX. Austin, Texas. June 20, 1901. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ↑ "Pondrom-Butler". The Austin Statesman. 51 (224). Austin, Texas. January 19, 1923. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ↑ "Butler-Pondrom Wedding". The Houston Post. 38 (294). Houston, Texas. January 23, 1923. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ↑ "Margaret Pondrom". The Odessa American. 55 (90). Odessa, Texas. March 29, 1980. p. 2A – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ↑ "Attendants Named for Society Wedding; Parties Planned for Attractive Bride". The Austin Statesman. 51 (212). Austin, Texas. January 7, 1923. p. 2-1 – via Newspapers.com.
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