Horace Lurton
| Horace Harmon Lurton | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | |
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In office December 20, 1909 – July 12, 1914 |
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| Nominated by | William Taft |
| Preceded by | Rufus Peckham |
| Succeeded by | James McReynolds |
| Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | |
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In office March 27, 1893 – December 20, 1909 |
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| Nominated by | Grover Cleveland |
| Preceded by | Howell Jackson |
| Succeeded by | Loyal Knappen |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
February 26, 1844 Newport, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | July 12, 1914 (aged 70) Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education |
Douglas University (BA) Cumberland University (LLB) |
Horace Harmon Lurton (February 26, 1844 – July 12, 1914) was an American jurist who served for four years as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Appointed at the age of 65, Lurton was the oldest justice to be appointed to the Court for the first time.
Lurton was born in Newport, Kentucky, the son of a physician turned clergyman. He was a Sergeant Major in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, serving in the 5th Tennessee Infantry, 2nd Kentucky Infantry, and 3rd Kentucky Cavalry. He was twice captured by Union forces, the second time sent as a prisoner of war to Johnson's Island Prison Camp in Sandusky Bay, Ohio. He claimed he was later paroled by President Lincoln because of pleas for mercy from his mother but this was merely an anecdote he often repeated to dinner guests, according to historian Roger Long. Mr. Long explains in detail what the evidence shows in an article he wrote in the December 1994 edition of Civil War Times. According to Mr. Long, apparently he was paroled from Johnson's Island only when he signed the oath of allegiance, not because of any act of the president. Mr Long's article includes interesting details about Lurton's service as well as possible reasons for the anecdote he was so fond of repeating.
Lurton was a family friend of noted historian and jurist Samuel Cole Williams.
Before the war, Lurton attended Douglas University and earned an LL.B. in 1867 at Cumberland School of Law, then part of Cumberland University but now part of Samford University. At Cumberland he was a member of Beta Theta Pi. Lurton then practiced law in Clarksville, Tennessee.
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