John White Brockenbrough
Encyclopedia
John White Brockenbrough (December 23, 1806 – February 20, 1877) was a Virginia lawyer, federal judge
, educator, and the founder of the Washington and Lee University School of Law
.
Brockenbrough was born in Hanover County, Virginia
. His parents were William Brockenbrough
and Judith Robinson White Brockenbrough
. His sister was Judith White Brockenbrough McGuire, who wrote Diary of a Southern Refugee, During the War, By a Lady of Virginia. He was a first cousin of William Henry Brockenbrough
.
He attended the College of William and Mary
and the University of Virginia
before he studied law under Henry St. George Tucker
. Others studying with Tucker at that time included William L. Goggin
and Henry A. Wise
. Brockenbrough was born in Hanover County, Virginia
and served briefly as Commonwealth's Attorney for Hanover County.
In 1837, he published two volumes of reports, containing the decisions of John Marshall
's federal circuit court opinions. He was also the editor of the Lexington Valley Star in Rockbridge County, Virginia
.
Brockenbrough established the Lexington Law School
in 1849. His law students included John J. Davis
, John Goode
and Robert Murphy Mayo
. In his introductory address to the first class of incoming students, Brockenbrough offered this advice:
In 1852, Brockenbrough was elected to the board of trustees of what is now Washington & Lee University
(then Washington College), which had previously honored him with a Doctor of Laws degree in 1851. As Rector from 1865–1872, he was the one to approach Robert E. Lee
with the trustees' proposal to make Lee president of the College.
Brockenbrough was nominated by James K. Polk
on December 23, 1845, to the seat vacated by Isaac S. Pennybacker
on the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
. He was confirmed by the United States Senate
on January 14, 1846, and received commission the same day. He was also a professor of law at Lexington Law School, Lexington, Virginia, from 1849 to 1861.
Along with John Tyler
, William C. Rives, James Seddon
, and George W. Summers
, Brockenbrough represented Virginia at the peace conference of 1861
. When the War began, Brockenbrough resigned from his judicial position. Abraham Lincoln
nominated John Jay Jackson, Jr.
, to replace Brockenbrough in the Western District in 1861. During the War, Judge Brockenbrough served as the Confederate district judge for Western Virginia, and was a member of the Congress of the Confederate States
.
After the War, he returned to teaching law. In 1866, Robert E. Lee
, as president of Washington College
, invited Judge Brockenbrough to join his Lexington Law School with Washington College, and continue to teach as Professor of Law and Equity. In 1870, John Randolph Tucker, son of Henry St. George Tucker
, was hired to teach law along with Brockenbrough. Brockenbrough resigned in 1873, in a dispute over salary. He died four years later in Lexington, at the age of seventy.
United States federal judge
In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....
, educator, and the founder of the Washington and Lee University School of Law
Washington and Lee University School of Law
The Washington and Lee University School of Law is a private American Bar Association-accredited law school located in Lexington in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. Facilities are currently on the campus of Washington and Lee University in Sydney Lewis Hall...
.
Brockenbrough was born in Hanover County, Virginia
Hanover County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 86,320 people, 31,121 households, and 24,461 families residing in the county. The population density was 183 people per square mile . There were 32,196 housing units at an average density of 68 per square mile...
. His parents were William Brockenbrough
William Brockenbrough (jurist)
William Brockenbrough was born in Tappahannock in Essex County, Virginia, USA, the son of Dr. John Brockenbaugh and Sarah Roane. He attended the College of William and Mary in 1798. He studied law and then went into private practice...
and Judith Robinson White Brockenbrough
Judith Brockenbrough
Judith Robinson White Brockenbrough was born in King William County, Virginia, was the daughter of John Camm White and Judith Braxton. She married William Brockenbrough in 1806. An intimate of Dolley Madison, wife of President James Madison, she was present in Washington when the British burned...
. His sister was Judith White Brockenbrough McGuire, who wrote Diary of a Southern Refugee, During the War, By a Lady of Virginia. He was a first cousin of William Henry Brockenbrough
William Henry Brockenbrough
William Henry Brockenbrough was a US Representative from Florida.Born in Virginia, Brockenbrough studied law, was admitted to the bar and settled in Tallahassee, Florida. In 1837 he became a member of the State house of representatives and served in the State senate from 1840 to 1844, sitting as...
.
He attended the College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
and 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...
before he studied law under Henry St. George Tucker
Henry St. George Tucker, Sr.
Henry St. George Tucker, Sr. was a Virginia jurist, law professor, and U.S. Congressman .-Biography:Tucker was born in Williamsburg, Virginia on December 29, 1780. As a young man, Tucker pursued classical studies at the College of William & Mary; he graduated in 1798...
. Others studying with Tucker at that time included William L. Goggin
William L. Goggin
William Leftwich Goggin was a nineteenth century politician and lawyer from Virginia.-Biography:Born near Bunker Hill, Virginia , Goggin attended country schools and was eventually graduated from Tucker’s Law School. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1828, commencing practice in...
and Henry A. Wise
Henry A. Wise
Henry Alexander Wise was an American politician and governor of Virginia, as well as a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
. Brockenbrough was born in Hanover County, Virginia
Hanover County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 86,320 people, 31,121 households, and 24,461 families residing in the county. The population density was 183 people per square mile . There were 32,196 housing units at an average density of 68 per square mile...
and served briefly as Commonwealth's Attorney for Hanover County.
In 1837, he published two volumes of reports, containing the decisions of John Marshall
John Marshall
John Marshall was the Chief Justice of the United States whose court opinions helped lay the basis for American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court of the United States a coequal branch of government along with the legislative and executive branches...
's federal circuit court opinions. He was also the editor of the Lexington Valley Star in Rockbridge County, Virginia
Rockbridge County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,808 people, 8,486 households, and 6,075 families residing in the county. The population density was 35 people per square mile . There were 9,550 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...
.
Brockenbrough established the Lexington Law School
Washington and Lee University School of Law
The Washington and Lee University School of Law is a private American Bar Association-accredited law school located in Lexington in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. Facilities are currently on the campus of Washington and Lee University in Sydney Lewis Hall...
in 1849. His law students included John J. Davis
John J. Davis (congressman)
John James Davis was an attorney and politician in West Virginia who served as a United States Representative in Congress from that state.-Early life:...
, John Goode
John Goode
John Goode, Jr. was a prominent Virginia Democratic politician who served in the Confederate Congress during the American Civil War and then was a three-term postbellum United States Congressman, as well as the acting Solicitor General of the United States.-Biography:Goode was born in Bedford...
and Robert Murphy Mayo
Robert Murphy Mayo
Robert Murphy Mayo was a U.S. Representative from Virginia.-Biography:Born in Hague, Virginia, Mayo attended private schools and William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Virginia. He was graduated from Virginia Military Institute at Lexington, Virginia in 1858...
. In his introductory address to the first class of incoming students, Brockenbrough offered this advice:
Sooner or later the occasion will arise when you will appear before the dread tribunal of the public. Let us suppose that the time for the trial of your strength has now arrived. You are called to participate in the management of a cause which excites a profound public interest. A natural curiosity is felt to hear the maiden speech of the young lawyer! People have scarcely yet learned to look upon you as a man. Little is therefore expected of you, but you have had time for preparation, and you have used it well. You have anticipated every possible phase which the case can assume, and you are ready with your authorities to sustain all your positions. The eager crowd closes around you. They listen with surprised delight at the display of your learning and ingenuity, now enraptured with your splendid bursts of indignant eloquence, now melted into pity by some master stroke of touching pathos. With what a greedy ear they drink in those "words that burn, those thoughts that breathe!" You sit down overpowered by your own emotion. An audible murmer of approbation runs through that delighted throng! The cause is ended, the victory is won! Clients now pour in upon you, who before had none. You have made a great impression. Your reputation is now established on a firm basis, and the voice of hissing envy shall not retard your onward march. My friends, this is no fancy sketch. We are told by Mr. Butler in his "Reminiscences," that a celebrated English lawyer of the last century had said, that so sudden was his rise at the Bar, that he never knew the difference between having no income at all, and one of £3,000 sterling a year. A single great speech had established his reputation on an imperishable foundation. Who shall say that a like brilliant destiny may not be reserved for some of you, in the unwritten history of the future?
In 1852, Brockenbrough was elected to the board of trustees of what is now Washington & Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
(then Washington College), which had previously honored him with a Doctor of Laws degree in 1851. As Rector from 1865–1872, he was the one to approach Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
with the trustees' proposal to make Lee president of the College.
Brockenbrough was nominated by James K. Polk
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...
on December 23, 1845, to the seat vacated by Isaac S. Pennybacker
Isaac S. Pennybacker
Isaac Samuels Pennybacker was an American lawyer, federal judge, and politician from Harrisonburg, Virginia.- Early life and education :Pennybacker was born at Pine Forge, near New Market, Shenandoah County, Virginia....
on the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia is a United States district court.Appeals from the Western District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (in...
. He was confirmed by the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on January 14, 1846, and received commission the same day. He was also a professor of law at Lexington Law School, Lexington, Virginia, from 1849 to 1861.
Along with John Tyler
John Tyler
John Tyler was the tenth President of the United States . A native of Virginia, Tyler served as a state legislator, governor, U.S. representative, and U.S. senator before being elected Vice President . He was the first to succeed to the office of President following the death of a predecessor...
, William C. Rives, James Seddon
James Seddon
James Alexander Seddon was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms in the U.S. Congress as a member of the Democratic Party. He was appointed Confederate States Secretary of War by Jefferson Davis during the American Civil War.-Biography:Seddon was born in Falmouth, Stafford County,...
, and George W. Summers
George W. Summers
George William Summers was an attorney, politician, and jurist from Virginia .Summers was born in Fairfax County, Virginia, where his father served in the House of Delegates for four terms. His family moved to Kanawha County in 1814...
, Brockenbrough represented Virginia at the peace conference of 1861
Peace conference of 1861
The Peace Conference of 1861 was a meeting of more than 100 of the leading politicians of the antebellum United States held in Washington, D.C., in February 1861 that was meant to prevent what ultimately became the Civil War. The success of President Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party in the...
. When the War began, Brockenbrough resigned from his judicial position. Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
nominated John Jay Jackson, Jr.
John Jay Jackson, Jr.
John Jay Jackson, Jr. was a United States federal judge, first from Virginia, and then from West Virginia, at the time of its creation as a separate state.-Early life and career:...
, to replace Brockenbrough in the Western District in 1861. During the War, Judge Brockenbrough served as the Confederate district judge for Western Virginia, and was a member of the Congress of the Confederate States
Congress of the Confederate States
The Congress of the Confederate States was the legislative body of the Confederate States of America, existing during the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865...
.
After the War, he returned to teaching law. In 1866, Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
, as president of Washington College
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
, invited Judge Brockenbrough to join his Lexington Law School with Washington College, and continue to teach as Professor of Law and Equity. In 1870, John Randolph Tucker, son of Henry St. George Tucker
Henry St. George Tucker, Sr.
Henry St. George Tucker, Sr. was a Virginia jurist, law professor, and U.S. Congressman .-Biography:Tucker was born in Williamsburg, Virginia on December 29, 1780. As a young man, Tucker pursued classical studies at the College of William & Mary; he graduated in 1798...
, was hired to teach law along with Brockenbrough. Brockenbrough resigned in 1873, in a dispute over salary. He died four years later in Lexington, at the age of seventy.
Sources
- Judge John White Brockenbrough Founder of Washington and Lee Law School
- Hon. Armistead M. Dobie, "Federal District Judges in Virginia before the Civil War," 12 F.R.D. 451 (1951,1952) (viewed on Westlaw)