Jesse F. West was born in Sussex County, Virginia

Sussex County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,504 people, 4,126 households, and 2,809 families residing in the county. The population density was 26 people per square mile . There were 4,653 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile...

. He was educated in public schools, the Suffolk Collegiate Institute and the University of North Carolina

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

, where he graduated in 1885. Following his graduation there, he attended the University of Virginia

University of Virginia

The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...

 and studied law under Professor John B. Minor

John B. Minor

John Barbee Minor was an American academic. He taught law at the University of Virginia for fifty years. His students achieved eminence in professional or public lives...

. He was admitted to the bar in July 1886, and began practice in his home county of Sussex. In 1890, he was elected superintendent of schools, but resigned on January 1, 1892, to accept the offer of judge of the county court. He was elected by the Virginia General Assembly

Virginia General Assembly

The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...

 in 1902, to the position of judge of the Third Judicial Circuit, beginning his term on February 1, 1904. On February 1, 1922, he was elected to the Supreme Court of Appeals

Supreme Court of Virginia

The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears appeals from the trial-level city and county Circuit Courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative law cases that go through the Court of Appeals of Virginia. It is one of...

 and served there until his death at his home in Waverly, Virginia

Waverly, Virginia

Waverly is an incorporated town in Sussex County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,309 at the 2000 census.-History:Popular legend has it that William Mahone , builder of the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad , and his cultured wife, Otelia Butler Mahone , traveled along the newly...

.