Wendell Phillips Stafford
Wendell Phillips Stafford | |
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Wendell Phillips Stafford, circa 1907 | |
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia | |
In office June 1, 1904 – May 4, 1931 | |
Appointed by | Theodore Roosevelt |
Preceded by | Jeter Connelly Pritchard |
Succeeded by | F. Dickinson Letts |
Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court | |
In office 1900–1904 | |
Preceded by | Laforrest H. Thompson |
Succeeded by | George M. Powers |
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from St. Johnsbury | |
In office 1892–1894 | |
Preceded by | Francis Walker |
Succeeded by | John Calvin Clark |
Personal details | |
Born |
Barre, Vermont | May 1, 1861
Died |
April 21, 1953 91) Washington, D.C. | (aged
Resting place | Mount Pleasant Cemetery, St. Johnsbury, Vermont |
Political party | Republican |
Education | Boston University School of Law |
Profession | Attorney |
Wendell Phillips Stafford (May 1, 1861 – April 21, 1953) was a Vermont attorney and jurist. He was most notable for his service as an Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court and a United States federal judge.
Early life
Born in Barre, Vermont, Stafford was the son of Franklin Stafford and Sarah (Noyes) Stafford. He attended the public schools of Barre, graduated from St. Johnsbury Academy in 1880, and received an LL.B. from Boston University School of Law in 1883. He was admitted to the bar, and began to practice in St. Johnsbury, Vermont in partnership with Henry Clay Ide.[1] Among the prospective attorneys who studied law in their office was William H. Taylor, who later served as an Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court.[2]
Start of career
He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives in 1892. He was a Reporter of Decisions for the Supreme Court of Vermont from 1896 to 1900. He was an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1900 to 1904, succeeding Laforrest H. Thompson.[3] He resigned to accept appointment as a federal judge, and was succeeded by George M. Powers.[4]
Federal judge
Stafford was a federal judge on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He received a recess appointment from President Theodore Roosevelt on June 1, 1904, to a seat vacated by Jeter C. Pritchard. He was formally nominated on December 6, 1904, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 13, 1904, and received his commission the same day.[5][6][7]
He became a Professor at George Washington University in 1908.[8]
Stafford served on the bench until retiring on May 4, 1931.[9]
Career as author
Wendell Phillips Stafford was also a poet, and his published works include: North Flowers (1902); Dorian Days (1909); and The Land We Love (1916).[10][11][12]
Death and burial
Phillips died at his home in Washington, D.C. on April 21, 1953.[13] He was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.[14]
Family
In 1886, Stafford married Florence S. Goss of St. Johnsbury. They were the parents of two sons, Edward, a Washington, DC attorney and Robert, who died as a child.
References
- ↑ The Poets' Lincoln: Tributes in Verse to the Martyred President, edited by Osborn Hamiline Oldroyd, page 236
- ↑ Cummings, Charles R. (November 1906). "The New Judiciary System: The Board of Superior Judges; William H. Taylor". The Vermonter. White River Junction, VT: Chas. R. Cummings. p. 296.
- ↑ The Court-House of the District of Columbia, by Francis Regis Noel and Margaret Brent Downing, 1919, page 77
- ↑ "Judge George M. Powers". Burlington Free Press. Burlington, VT. June 4, 1904. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com. (Subscription required (help)).
- ↑ Vermont, The Green Mountain State, by Walter Hill Crockett, Volume 4, 1921, page 373
- ↑ Georgetown University in the District of Columbia, 1789-1907, by James Stanislaus Easby-Smith, 1907, page 275
- ↑ Newspaper article, Protest Non-resident Judges, The Philadelphia Record, May 8, 1904
- ↑ Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College, published by the college, 1915, page 498
- ↑ Beacon Lights of Literature, published by Iroquois Publishing Co., Syracuse, Book 9, 1940, page 857
- ↑ North Flowers, by Wendell Phillips Stafford, 1902, title page
- ↑ Dorian Days, by Wendell Phillips Stafford, 1909, title page
- ↑ The Land We Love, by Wendell Phillips Stafford, 1916, title page
- ↑ The Journal of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia, published by the association, Volume 20, 1953, page 276
- ↑ Report of Proceedings of the Annual Meeting, published by Vermont Bar Association, 1954, page 50
External links
- Wendell Phillips Stafford at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- Wendell Phillips Stafford at Find a Grave
- Works by or about Wendell Phillips Stafford at Internet Archive
Legal offices | ||
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Preceded by Jeter Connelly Pritchard |
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia 1904–1931 |
Succeeded by F. Dickinson Letts |